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Alabama capital: Montgomery, Alabama

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Alabama State Postal Code: AL: Alabama State Abbreviation: Ala.

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Alabama state is bordered by the states of Tennessee (north), Georgia (east), Florida (south), and Mississippi (west).

Alabama state also borders the Gulf of Mexico, part of the Atlantic Ocean (south).

Alabama

ALABAMA News:

20080424

John McCain - Prison - Labor - Alabama - Police - Politics - 2008 Election - "McCain campaign gets almost 80% off on Homewood gathering space, plus free labor from Homewood Jail inmates." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain got a deal when his campaign rented gathering space from the city of Homewood [Alabama] for a private fundraiser earlier this week." ... "His campaign was given a discount of about 80 percent off the standard booking rate for Rosewood Hall. In September, Jefferson County Democrats rented the same facility and were charged the full rate." ... "The McCain campaign was charged $250 to use two rooms in the hall, which normally would book for $1,200 on a weeknight. The campaign also was given free labor from Homewood City Jail inmates to set up tables and chairs for the event, avoiding a $100 set-up fee, but did pay a standard $50 cleaning fee." ... "Homewood Mayor Barry McCulley said the rental rate was discounted because the event was on Monday, a slow day for business. City Council members say they always vote on such discounts but didn't get a say in this deal. They're upset, as are local Democrats." ... "Homewood police Chief Phil Dodd said city jail inmates had never before set up at Rosewood Hall, but did so at the mayor's request." (1, 2) -By Kim Bryan with contributions by Hannah Wolfson -al.com

20080329

Don Siegelman - Karl Rove - Leura Garrett Canary - Alabama - US Attorney - Politics - Investigation - 2002 Election - La - Federal - Prison - "Freed Ex-Governor of Alabama Talks of Abuse of Power." ... "Former [Democratic Governor] Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, released from prison Friday on bond in a bribery and corruption case, said he was as convinced as ever that politics had played a leading role in his prosecution." ... "Speaking by telephone in his first post-prison interview, shortly after he had left the federal penitentiary at Oakdale, La. [Louisiana], Mr. Siegelman said there had been “abuse of power” in his case, and repeatedly cited Karl Rove, the former [Republican President Bush] White House political director." ... "“His fingerprints are smeared all over the case,” Mr. Siegelman said, a day after a federal appeals court ordered him released on bond and said there were legitimate questions about his case. He was sentenced to serve seven years last June after a guilty verdict on bribery and corruption charges a year earlier." ... "The investigation, trial and conviction of Mr. Siegelman, a veteran politician, has become a flash point for broader Democratic contentions that politics has influenced decisions by the Justice Department under [Republican] President Bush, including the firings of several United States attorneys, and other federal prosecutions besides Mr. Siegelman’s." ... "In a sworn statement, a Republican lawyer and political operative, Jill Simpson, told of hearing one of Mr. Rove’s allies here, William Canary, discussing Mr. Siegelman during the 2002 governor’s race, and saying “that he had already gotten it worked out with Karl and Karl had spoken with the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice was already pursuing Don Siegelman.” The United States attorney here, Leura G. Canary, is married to Mr. Canary." -By Adam Nossiter -NYTimes

20080312

Barack Obama - Hillary Clinton - 2008 Election - Lawmakers - Illinois - New York - South Carolina - Mississippi - Georgia - Virginia - North Carolina - Tennessee - Alabama - North Dakota - South Dakota - Kentucky - West Virginia - "Eyeing Obama coattails." ... "Democratic lawmakers are becoming persuaded that [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.[Democratic-Illinois]) would have a more positive impact on other Democrats on the November ballot than [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator] Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.[Democratic-New York])." ... "Obama’s advantage over Clinton would be most pronounced in the Southern and Western states President Bush carried in 2000 and 2004, say lawmakers interviewed by The Hill. In total, 32 members of Congress from these “red states” have endorsed Obama. Twenty-two lawmakers from those states have backed Clinton." ... "Obama will “bring new people into the process in Southern states, there’s no question about it,” said Rep. James Clyburn, the House Democratic whip from South Carolina. “In these Southern states he’s bringing out more people, young people, African-Americans. They’re being energized by him.”" ... "Clyburn, who has stayed neutral in the primary, said Obama at the top of the ticket would “certainly” do more to help other Democratic candidates, citing South Carolina and Mississippi specifically." ... "Obama has picked up congressional endorsements from Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, North and South Dakota, Mississippi, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Clinton has not collected congressional endorsements from any of these states, according to a tally kept by The Hill." -By Alexander Bolton with contributions by Sam Youngman -TheHill.com

20080311

John McCain - Bob Riley - European - Plane - Maker - Politics - US - Military - Arizona - Alabama - 2008 Election - "McCain Received Defense Firm Cash After Backing Its Contract." ... "Critics on Tuesday questioned whether [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain catered to special interests when he aggressively threw his support behind a $35 billion Pentagon contract for a European plane maker." ... "McCain, the presumptive GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] presidential nominee, played a crucial role in blocking the deal to build air tankers from going to U.S.[United States]-based Boeing, instead paving the path for EADS [European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company] to score the loot. He framed his decision as an example of political integrity; Boeing has previously been exposed of contract abuse. But a review of campaign finance donations and lobbying records suggests that money and personal lobbying may have also been in play." ... "On January 15, 2007, McCain appeared at Alabama [Republican Governor] Gov. Bob Riley's gubernatorial swearing in ceremony and formally called for multiple bidders in the tanker deal. The push for an open process had only one true beneficiary, however, and that was the Northrop Grumman/EADS consortium, which was poised to be Boeing's sole competitor." ... "A day after McCain made his proclamation, the contributions began to flow. John Green, a lobbyist for EADS donated $2,100 to the senator's presidential campaign. Ten days after that, Michelle Lammers, the "Chief of Staff" for EADS North America, gave $250 to the McCain campaign. It was her first political contribution ever. Less than a month later, the long-time head of EADS' government affairs program, Samuel Adcock, made a $2,100 donation to McCain. And eleven days later, Ralph Crosby, the head of EADS North America, donated $2,300 himself." ... "All told, as documented earlier by CQ PoliticalMoneyline, McCain received more than $15,000 from EADS and its subsidiary, Airbus North America. Not only was this the highest amount received by any federal candidate, but prior to 2006, not a single employee from EADS had ever contributed to McCain. Two Airbus employees did donate nearly $4,000 for his 2000 run at the White House." -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com

20080225

John McCain - Jack Abramoff - Bob Riley - Tom DeLay - Bob Ney - Money - Politics - Investigation - Law - EMail - Alabama - Louisiana - Mississippi - Arizona - Texas - Ohio - History - 2002 Election - 2006 Election - 2008 Election - "McCain Withheld Controversial Abramoff Email." ... "In the 2006 Senate report concerning [Republican Lobbyist Jack] Abramoff's activities, which [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain spearheaded, the Arizona Republican conspicuously left out information detailing how Alabama [Republican Governor] Gov. Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff's influence peddling scheme. Riley, a Republican, won election in November 2002, and was reelected in 2006." ... "In a December 2002 email [PDF] obtained by the Huffington Post -- which McCain and his staff had access to prior to the issuance of his report -- Abramoff explains to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the "help" he received from Abramoff's tribal clients." ... "An official with the Mississippi Choctaws "definitely wants Riley to shut down the Poarch Creek operation," Abramoff wrote, "including his announcing that anyone caught gambling there can't qualify for a state contract or something like that."" ... "The note showed not only the reach of Abramoff, but raised questions about Riley's victory in what was the closest gubernatorial election in Alabama history." ... "And yet, despite the implications of the information, McCain and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee sat on the controversial portion of the email. According to an official familiar with the investigation, McCain also subsequently refused to make the email public after the report was released." ... "There was a brief footnote in the report that quoted William Worfel, former vice chairman of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, saying that Abramoff told the chief of a Mississippi tribe to spend $13 million "to get the governor of Alabama elected to keep gaming out of Alabama so it wouldn't hurt ... his market in Mississippi."" ... "But Riley's name and the details of what was being asked of him were not mentioned once in the 373-page document." ... "Indeed, as the Associated Press noted in 2006, McCain stayed deliberately agnostic as to Riley's involvement." ... ""Although Sen. McCain has long bragged of his role in the Abramoff investigation, he let [former Texas Republican Representative] Tom DeLay and the other members of Congress who were doing Abramoff's bidding completely off the hook. The sole exception was [former Ohio Republican Representative] Rep. Bob Ney, who served time in prison," Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics In Washington told the Huffington Post recently. "Sen. McCain knew what his colleagues were up to, he chose to take the easier path and give them a free pass."" -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com

20080224

Don Siegelman - Karl Rove - Criminal - US Attorneys - Law - Politics - Secret - Spying - Intelligence - 2002 Election - 2006 Election - Prison - "Did Ex-Alabama Governor [Don Siegelman] Get A Raw Deal? 60 Minutes Reports On Bribery Conviction Of [former Alabama Democratic Governor] Don Siegelman In A Case Criticized by Democrats And Republicans." [WATCH: "The Prosecution of Siegelman." via 60 Minutes] ... "Is Don Siegelman in prison because he’s a criminal or because he belonged to the wrong political party in Alabama? Siegelman is the former governor of Alabama, and he was the most successful Democrat in that Republican state. But while he was governor, the U.S. Justice Department launched multiple investigations that went on year after year until, finally, a jury convicted Siegelman of bribery." ... "Now, many Democrats and Republicans have become suspicious of the Justice Department’s motivations. As correspondent Scott Pelley reports, 52 former state attorneys-general have asked Congress to investigate whether the prosecution of Siegelman was pursued not because of a crime but because of politics." ... "“I haven't seen a case with this many red flags on it that pointed towards a real injustice being done,” says Grant Woods, the former Republican attorney general of Arizona." ... "“I personally believe that what happened here is that they targeted Don Siegelman because they could not beat him fair and square. This was a Republican state and he was the one Democrat they could never get rid of,” Woods says." ...

[DON SIEGELMAN, former Alabama Governor]

TV: [

WATCH: "The Prosecution of Siegelman." via 60 Minutes]

"Now a Republican lawyer from Alabama, Jill Simpson, has come forward to claim that the Siegelman prosecution was part of a five-year secret campaign to ruin the governor. Simpson told 60 Minutes she did what’s called “opposition research” for the Republican party. She says during a meeting in 2001, Karl Rove, [Republican] President Bush’s senior political advisor, asked her to try to catch Siegelman cheating on his wife." ... "She says she spied on Siegelman for months but saw nothing. Even though she was working as a Republican campaign operative, Simpson says she wanted to talk to 60 Minutes because Siegelman’s prison sentence bothers her conscience." ... "One of Rove’s close Alabama associates was Republican consultant Bill Canary. Simpson says she was on a conference call in 2002 when Canary told her she didn’t have to do more intelligence work because, as Canary allegedly said, “My girls” can take care of Siegelman. Simpson says she asked “Who are your girls?”" ... "“And he says, ‘Oh, my wife, Leura. You know, she's the Middle District United States Attorney.’ And he said, ‘And then Alice Martin. She is the Northern District Attorney, and I've helped with her campaign,’” Simpson says." ... "“Federal prosecutors?” Pelley asks." ... "“Yes, Sir,” she says." ... "His [Bill Canary's] wife Leura Canary and Alice Martin are top federal prosecutors in the state. Both were appointed by [Republican] President Bush, and their offices investigated Siegelman. Details of some of those investigations leaked to the press. And Siegelman lost his 2002 re-election campaign narrowly to Republican Bob Riley." ... "Two years later, as Siegelman geared up to run again, the Justice Department took one of its Siegelman investigations to trial-an indictment involving an alleged Medicaid scam." ... "“He’s indicted. He goes to trial. That's a pretty big deal to have your former governor on trial. Everybody's there. The government gives their opening argument. The judge says, ‘I want to see you in chambers because this case, there's no case here,’" Grant Woods says." ... "Woods says the judge threw the case out, without a witness testifying. “The case is so lame that he throws it out,” he says." ... "Vindicated, Siegelman focused on winning the 2006 election. And that’s when Jill Simpson says she heard the Justice Department was going to try again. She says she heard it from a former classmate and work associate Rob Riley, the son of the new Republican governor." ... "“Rob said that they had gotten wind that Don was going to run again,” she says." ... "“And Rob Riley said what about that?” Pelley asks." ... "“They just couldn't have that happen,” Simpson says." ... "Asked how they were going to prevent that from happening, she says, “Well, they had to re-indict him, is what Rob said.”" ... "Simpson told this same story, under oath, to Congressional investigators in a closed session. Rob Riley told 60 Minutes he never talked to Jill Simpson about this." ... "Four months after Simpson says they spoke, Siegelman was indicted on new charges." ... "The prosecution was handled by the office of U.S. Attorney Leura Canary, whose husband Bill Canary had run the campaign of Siegelman’s opponent, [Republican Governor] Gov. Riley." (1, 2, 3, 4) -By Scott Pelley

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Emergency - Tennessee - Alabama - Kentucky - Arkansas - People - Homes - History - "Tornadoes in South Kill 50 in Rare Winter Strike (Update10)." ... "The deadliest tornado outbreak in almost a decade tore across the southern U.S. [United States] late yesterday, killing at least 50 people, sparking a pipeline explosion in Tennessee and destroying homes from Alabama to Kentucky." ... "The ``extremely dangerous'' tornadoes, spawned by unseasonably warm temperatures, prompted the first high-risk weather alert issued in February in 10 years, AccuWeather.com said." ... "``Tornadoes in February, especially this many and this strong, is a rare event,'' Buddy Rogers, spokesman for the Kentucky Emergency Management Office, said by phone." ... "The twisters first struck in the late afternoon, killing 26 people in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, seven in Kentucky and four in Alabama, the Associated Press reported, citing emergency officials." -By Demian McLean -Bloomberg

20071019

Water - Emergency - Weather - Environment - History - Farm - Animals - Food - Georgia - Alabama - North Carolina - Tennessee - Kentucky - "Southeast drought hits crisis point." ... "Outdoor watering bans already cover the northern third of Georgia and dozens of cities, counties and towns in surrounding states. Farmers are selling cattle because pastures have dried up. Alabama's Elmore County had to bring in floating pumps and barges to extend its water intake pipe farther out into shrinking Lake Martin. Georgia might have to do the same at Lake Lanier, Atlanta's main water source." ... "Although rain is due today across parts of the region, it will barely dampen the 16-month drought. Through September, it is the region's driest year in 113 years of record-keeping. In five of the six worst-hit states, rain totals this year are close to a foot below normal." ... "It is the driest year on record for North Carolina and Tennessee, second-driest in Alabama and third-driest in Kentucky. A tree-ring study this summer of Tennessee's rainfall history shows this is the third-driest year for the state in at least 350 years, behind only 1839 and 1708." -By Patrick O'Driscoll and Larry Copeland with contributions by Jordan Schrader, Marty Roney, Leon Alligood, Ron Barnett, Jessie Halladay, Matt Reed, and Jennie Coughlin -USATODAY
Georgia - Alabama - Florida - History - "Southeast withers from 16 months of drought woes." ... "Atlanta [Georgia] has long relied on 38,000-acre Lake Lanier north of the city to supply its tap water. But as Georgia became one of the nation's fastest-growing states, its capital grew to more than 4.5 million people, and the '50s-era reservoir simply could not keep up." ... ""Atlanta is one of the largest metropolitan areas on one of the smallest watersheds in the country," says Jill Johnson of Georgia Conservation Voters. "As we've continued to grow, our demand has increased. So there are more people using more water than ever before. But the amount of water available to us in the watershed didn't change."" ... "Atlanta [Georgia's capital] sought to increase its water draw from Lake Lanier in 1989. The state unveiled a plan for 12 new reservoirs on the Chattahoochee River to supply future needs. After years of eyeing Atlanta's increasing thirst, neighboring Alabama and Florida sued to protect their own water needs downstream." ... "The "Tri-State Water War" has been winding through the courts ever since." -By Larry Copeland and Patrick O'Driscoll with contributions by Jordan Schrader, Marty Roney, Leon Alligood, Ron Barnett, Jessie Halladay, Matt Reed, Jennie Coughlin -USATODAY

20071010

Karl Rove - Alberto Gonzales - Alabama - US Attorneys - Criminal - Politics - "Rove Linked to Alabama Case." ... "A Republican lawyer claims she was told that Karl Rove — while serving as [Republican] President Bush's top political adviser — had intervened in the Justice Department's prosecution of Alabama's most prominent Democrat. Longtime Alabama G.O.P. activist Dana Jill Simpson first made the allegation in June, but has now provided new details in a lengthy sworn statement to the House Judiciary Committee. The Committee is expected to hold public hearings on the Alabama case next week as part of its investigation of possible political interference by the Bush Administration in the activities of the Department of Justice." ... "Simpson said in June that she heard a close associate of Rove say that the White House political adviser "had spoken with the Department of Justice" about "pursuing" Don Siegelman, a former Democratic governor of Alabama, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. attorneys. Siegelman was later indicted on 32 counts of corruption, convicted on seven of them, and is currently serving an 88-month sentence in Federal prison." ... "If Simpson's version of events is accurate, it would show direct political involvement by the White House in federal prosecutions — a charge leveled by Administration critics in connection with the U.S. attorney scandal that led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales." ... "She [Simpson] recalls conversations in early 2005 with Rob Riley, Jr., son of Alabama's current Republican governor, over his father's coming gubernatorial race, in which Siegelman appeared to be the top Democratic challenger. The younger Riley, she says, told her that his father and Bill Canary, the state's top Republican political operative and a longtime friend of Rove, contacted Rove in late 2004, after which he intervened with the Justice Department's Public Integrity section to push for criminal prosecution of Siegelman." -By Adam Zagorin-TIME.com

20071004

Jeff Sessions - Karl Rove - Ala - US Attorneys - Money - Political - Enforcement - "Selective Justice in Alabama?" ... "On may 8, 2002, Clayton Lamar (Lanny) Young Jr., a lobbyist and landfill developer described by acquaintances as a hard-drinking "good ole boy," was in an expansive mood. In the downtown offices of the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, Ala. [Alabama], Young settled into his chair, personal lawyer at his side, and proceeded to tell a group of seasoned prosecutors and investigators that he had paid tens of thousands of dollars in apparently illegal campaign contributions to some of the biggest names in Alabama Republican politics. According to Young, among the recipients of his largesse were the state's former attorney general [Alabama Republican Senator] Jeff Sessions, now a U.S. Senator, and [Republican] William Pryor Jr., Sessions' successor as attorney general and now a federal judge. Young, whose detailed statements are described in documents obtained by TIME, became a key witness in a major case in Alabama that brought down a high-profile politician and landed him in federal prison with an 88-month sentence. As it happened, however, that official was the top Democrat named by Young in a series of interviews, and none of the Republicans whose campaigns he fingered were investigated in the case, let alone prosecuted." ... "The case of Don Siegelman, the Democratic former Governor of Alabama who was convicted last year on corruption charges, has become a flash point in the debate over the politicization of the [Republican President] Bush Administration's Justice Department. Forty-four former state attorneys general — Republicans and Democrats — have cited "irregularities" in the investigation and prosecution, saying they "call into question the basic fairness that is the linchpin of our system of justice."" ... "[Republican] Leura Canary, the U.S. Attorney whose office drove Siegelman's prosecution, is married to Bill Canary, Alabama's most prominent political operative and a longtime friend of [Republican] Karl Rove's. In May an Alabama lawyer and Republican activist named Dana Jill Simpson gave a notarized statement that she heard Canary say Rove "had spoken with the Department of Justice" about "pursuing" Siegelman, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. Attorneys." ... "Young testified that he had furnished Siegelman with an all-terrain vehicle and a motorcycle, lavishing money on the Governor and his aides. But he was an equal-opportunity influence monger. Early in the investigation, in November 2001, Young announced that five years earlier, he "personally provided Sessions with cash campaign contributions," according to an FBI memo of the interview. Prosecutors didn't follow up that surprising statement with questions, but Young volunteered more. The memo adds that "on one occasion he [Young] provided Session [sic] with $5,000 to $7,000 using two intermediaries," one of whom held a senior position with Sessions' campaign. On another occasion, the FBI records show, Young talked about providing "$10,000 to $15,000 to Session [sic]. Young had his secretaries and friends write checks to the Sessions campaign and Young reimbursed the secretaries and friends for their contributions."" ... "If true, Young's statements describe political money laundering that would be a clear violation of federal law. In 1996, when Young said he had made the contributions, it was illegal to give a candidate more than $1,000 for a primary or general campaign." (1, 2, 3) -By Adam Zagorin -TIME.com

20070819

Tennessee - Alabama - History - "Summer Heat Wave Death Toll Reaches 49." ... "Authorities in Memphis [Tennessee] and Alabama reported more heat-related deaths Saturday, bringing the toll in the Southeast and Midwest to at least 49 since oppressive triple-digit temperatures settled over the region last week." ... "Health officials in Alabama announced Friday that eight people there had died of heat-related causes this week and last week. The state has had 11 straight days with triple-digit temperatures, breaking records that dated back to 1881 in some areas." (1, 2) -By Kristin M. Hall with contributions by Bob Johnson -AP via -ABCNEWS.com

20070813

Hurricane Katrina - Real Estate - Disaster - Politics - Alabama - Mississippi - Louisiana - Government -Construction - Legislation - "Katrina aid goes toward luxury condos." ... "With large swaths of the Gulf Coast still in ruins from Hurricane Katrina, rich federal tax breaks designed to spur rebuilding are flowing hundreds of miles inland to investors who are buying up luxury condos near the University of Alabama's football stadium [in Tuscaloosa, Alabama]." ... "About 10 condominium projects are going up in and around Tuscaloosa [Alabama], and builders are asking up to $1 million for units with granite countertops, king-size bathtubs and 'Bama decor, including crimson couches and Bear Bryant wall art." ... "And they intend to take full advantage of the generous tax benefits available to investors under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, or GO Zone, according to Associated Press interviews with buyers and real estate officials." ... "The GO Zone contains a variety of tax breaks designed to stimulate construction in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama." ... "The GO Zone was drawn to include the Tuscaloosa area even though it is about 200 miles from the coast and got only heavy rain and scattered wind damage from Katrina." ... "Locals say Tuscaloosa was included in the GO Zone through the efforts of Republican [Alabama Senator] Sen. Richard Shelby, who is from Tuscaloosa, graduated from Alabama and sits on the powerful Appropriations Committee. But Shelby aides said Tuscaloosa made the cut because it was classified as a disaster area by the government after Katrina, not because of the senator's influence." -By Jay Reeves -AP via -USATODAY

20070629

David Vitter - Trent Lott - Racism - Politics - Immigration - Legislation - Civil Rights - History - Mass - La - Ky - Miss - SC - Ala - 2008 Election - "Senate immigration bill fails; issue "is going to have to wait." ... "The political battles that helped bring down sweeping immigration legislation in the Senate are sure to rage on, although the bill is all but dead until after the 2008 elections." ... "[Massachusetts Democratic Senator] Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the bill's architects, compared the fight with the Senate's long struggle for civil-rights legislation against segregationist opponents." ... ""You cannot stop the march for progress in the United States," he declared." ... "To that, [Louisiana Republican Senator] Sen. David Vitter, R-La., among the bill's most aggressive foes, snapped: "To suggest this was about racism is the height of ugliness and arrogance."" ... "Republicans on both sides acknowledged the immigration fight had riven the GOP. Republican Senate aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Senate Minority Whip [Mississippi Republican Senator] Trent Lott, R-Miss., was furious with Minority Leader [Kentucky Republican Senator] Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., over the leader's refusal to confront the bill's most implacable opponents, who had virtually commandeered the Senate floor, blocking introduction of amendments, refusing to offer amendments of their own, then complaining that an unfair process was preventing them from improving the bill." ... "Lott told McConnell that Sens. Vitter, [South Carolina Republican Senator] Jim DeMint, R-S.C., and [Alabama Republican Senator] Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., were becoming the uncompromising faces of the Republican Party, a prospect that could set them back for years as the Latino vote grows in power." -SeattleTimes.NWsource

20070601

Karl Rove - Alabama - Political - US Attorneys - 2002 Election - "Rove Linked to Prosecution of Ex-Alabama Governor." ... "In the rough and tumble of Alabama politics, the scramble for power is often a blood sport. At the moment, the state's former Democratic governor, Don Siegelman, stands convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges and faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Siegelman has long claimed that his prosecution was driven by politically motivated, Republican-appointed U.S. attorneys." ... "Now Karl Rove, the President's top political strategist, has been implicated in the controversy. A longtime Republican lawyer in Alabama swears she heard a top G.O.P. operative in the state say that Rove "had spoken with the Department of Justice" about "pursuing" Siegelman, with help from two of Alabama's U.S. attorneys." ... "The allegation was made by Dana Jill Simpson, a lifelong Republican and lawyer who practices in Alabama. She made the charges in a May 21 affidavit, obtained by TIME, in which she describes a conference call on November 18, 2002, which involved a group of senior aides to Bob Riley, who had just narrowly defeated Siegelman in a bitterly contested election for governor. Though Republican Riley, a former Congressman, initially found himself behind by several thousand votes, he had pulled ahead at the last minute when disputed ballots were tallied in his favor. After the abrupt vote turnaround, Siegelman sought a recount. The Simpson affidavit says the conference call focused on how the Riley campaign could get Siegelman to withdraw his challenge." ... "According to Simpson's statement, William Canary, a senior G.O.P. political operative and Riley adviser who was on the conference call, said "not to worry about Don Siegelman" because "'his girls' would take care of" the governor. Canary then made clear that "his girls" was a reference to his wife, Leura Canary, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, and Alice Martin, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama." -By Adam Zagorin -TIME.com

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