Obama Wins Madison County ::

Obama-69%
Clinton-30%
Edwards-1%

This is about what I had expected, but I still find it fascinating. I was curious about the turnout and it looks like only around 39,000 or so voted Democratic in the Madison County primary. Given the hype and excitement of this election cycle I would have thought that the turnout would have been much larger. Curious!

Off to find the Republican numbers. (we're having a thunderstorm here and where I live in the county has notoriously bad power-it's already winked off once!).

Yep, there went the power.

The Republican race was much closer

Huckabee-33%
McCain-32%
Romney-30%
Paul-4%

That's with roughly 40,000 voting in the Republican primary so their turnout pretty much mirrored the Democrats.

One surprising thing to me is the ability of Ron Paul's supporters to raise money, but his campaign cannot seem to raise supporters.

[update] I posted these numbers from CNN this morning. I have since seen some that give Clinton a few more % points and Obama a few less. I don't know which numbers are correct, but the final results still stand. Obama by a bunch!

Election Night At 8:30 PM ::

I'm curious about why CNN hasn't called Alabama for Barack given that he has a huge lead. Both he and Hillary have been given other states with much narrower margins.

Nationally I'm surprised at how badly Ron Paul is doing. I think the largest % I have seen for him is 7 and most of the states he is hovering around 4 to 5%. Tonight should be the end of him and Huckleberry!

Primary Voting ::

I went over to my polling place which happens to be city hall in downtown New Hope and J. and I cast our ballots at about 4:30pm. The turnout seemed to be pretty good, and I'm looking forward to the results from this precinct.

I was in a small local store last summer and one of the local residents came in just ranting and raving about what a miserable failure George Bush and his entire administration was. I was taken aback as I had expected just the opposite from this small rural community, but, as it turned out, we had a lively discussion and everyone in the store was in agreement that Bush was driving us down a one-way road to disaster!

Gave me faith in the intelligence of my fellow man!

Plan Now For Upcoming Events! ::

A friend called a short while ago with news of the upcoming Alabama Chicken and Egg Festival at the Lions Club fairground in Moulton. I had never heard of this festival before, but the musical guests this year are supposed to be Webb Wilder and Pure Prairie League. I may have to make the trip as I'm a big Webb fan and wouldn't mind at all seeing Pure Prairie League. I try to live by the Webb Wilder Credo:

Alabama's Tuesday Primary ::

Like many I was a John Edwards supporter and was mightily disappointed when he dropped out although I can understand why he made this choice. I struggled to make a decision on who to support in tomorrows primary, but I finally decided on Barack Obama. I was at the grand opening of his local headquarters, before Edwards dropped out, and I was very impressed by the energy of his support and the depth of his organization.

There are things I disagree with on his platform, but I have decided that he will be best to lead us into the morass that will be the undoing of 8 years of the criminal Bush administration.

My prediction is that Obama will win big in Alabama tomorrow!

The Sue Schmitz Story

Has been picked up over at The Left Coaster. I haven't checked any of the other blogs this morning, but I'm hoping this will get huge play!

[I had done a long update to this post, but it seems to have disappeared into the cyber-ether, so I'm going to try to recreate what I had to say as best I can)

The Sue Schmitz tale is beginning to get wider play and Susie Madrak led me to the story as told by Scott Horton over at Harpers:

The morning calm in the small Alabama town of Toney, located near Huntsville, was broken at 6:15 a.m. yesterday morning. A team of five FBI agents, accompanied by a prison matron, pounded on the door. When the man of the house answered, he was forced into the yard, shirtless in the early morning cold. The team had come for his wife, Sue Schmitz. She was dragged out of her bathroom, where she was taking a shower, handcuffed, breaking her flesh and scraping her wrists, and hustled off to prison.

Who was this threat to the community? Sue Schmitz is a diminutive, 63-year-old retired social studies teacher who has lived in the town for 38 years, roughly 20 of them as a civics teacher. She is loved in the community and among her students is legendary for her passion for civics and her outreach to the disadvantaged. The dream of her life was to let the fire of civic spirit catch on in communities and among families on the margin of society, where the danger of drug abuse and criminality are the highest. She dedicated her life to it. She launched a program called “We the People,” designed to build civic spirit and interest in participatory democracy among school children. And Sue Schmitz’s advocacy of civic engagement led directly to her conflict with U.S. Attorney Alice Martin, who considers it to be criminal. But one other fact figures directly in this drama. Schmitz is a Democratic member of the state legislature.

The U.S. Attorneys office in Alabama seems to be focused on prosecuting Democrats during state election cycles and Sue Schmitz is their latest sacrificial lamb. Here is a bit more:

And today we see the typical pincer movement involving the Alabama G.O.P. election campaign’s third arm, the U.S. Attorney’s office. Specifically, Alice Martin, the sometime U.S. Attorney, sometime G.O.P. candidate for elective office. Martin fully understands the benefit to the party and its election efforts of criminal prosecutions being commenced that target elected Democrats, are geared carefully to the election cycle, and are hyped extensively to the party media apparatus. And yesterday, as Sue Schmitz was dramatically dragged from her home in Toney, Alice Martin went before the press with an announcement which will feature prominently in Republican campaign literature for the coming years. She announced an indictment that Blackledge signaled, with his usual perfect clairvoyance in all things prosecutorial, was in the works months back.

Here is how the AP characterizes the charges:

The indictment claims Schmitz made as much as $53,403 annually as a program coordinator despite rarely showing up and doing virtually nothing for the money.

Schmitz was charged with mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine, and fraud involving a program receiving federal funds, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000.

Schmitz is scheduled to enter a plea during a hearing set for Feb. 11 in Huntsville. She was the latest in a string of state officials swept up in a joint federal-state investigation of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education.

Oh yeah, the same AP story chronicles what Sue Schmitz is best known for in the legislature:

Legislatively, Schmitz is best known for introducing a bill to give Alabama a new official insect by replacing the monarch butterfly with the queen honey bee. The measure passed the House but died on the final days of the 2005 session.

And just who is U.S. Attorney Alice Martin? Well, she was at the forefront of the prosecution of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman and she seems to have some ethical problems of her own. Again, from Scott Horton:

U.S. Attorney Martin seems to have a problem with the truth. She’s currently under investigation for giving perjured testimony in connection with an employment litigation. I lay out the details of the accusations against her, which are quite compelling, here. However, Martin serves at the pleasure of the president, and, as comedian Jon Stewart would say, it clearly pleasures him for her to continue to serve. And it pleasures Karl Rove and the G.O.P. state organizers even more.

The emphasis above is mine. I have a feeling this is going to be a high profile prosecution and I hope someone will start a defense fund because I have a feeling that Sue Schmitz is going to need all of the help she can get!

I almost forgot this little bit of theater from the arrest courtesy of what passes for the Huntsville Times web presence:

The legislator worked for a prevention program for troubled youth based at the college from January 2003 until October 2008. During at least part of that time, she also sat on the House Education Appropriations Committee.

That committee wields considerable power over the budget of her employer, although it isn't clear at this point to what extent, if any, she was active in deciding the school's budget.

As for the claim that the prosecutor could have tipped the press if she wanted to humiliate Schmitz, at least one other reason for not doing so seems as likely. Pictures of the tiny woman in handcuffs might have generated sympathy for Schmitz and criticism of Martin.

"I can't see where she has committed any crime," Watson said Friday.

Ironically, Schmitz was arrested on the same day she planned to go to Montgomery with a group of high school students to participate in the government study program "We the People."

After signing her bond, she traveled to Montgomery to join her students. When she got there, Schmitz and the students definitely had something to talk about.

Representative Sue Schmitz Indicted And Arrested ::

I have been kinda following this 2 year college probe for the past couple of years, but I am clueless about what this is actually about, but I'm beginning to wonder if it is nothing more or less than a witch hunt started at the behest of the U.S. Attorney, Alice Martin since only Democrats seem to be targeted.

The Legal Schnauzer has a bit more. I'm going to excerpt some of his comments, but I urge you to go to his blog and savor his take on this:

I haven't seen the full indictment, and I look forward to checking it out so I can better understand what could make a 63-year-old retired social-studies teacher a federal criminal. But according to a quote from Martin in one news report, the indictment is based partly on the fact that Schmitz allegedly "generated virtually no work product."

Don't know about you, but I know all kinds of people who generate virtually no work product. They are called managers. If we are going to indict all of them, we'd better start a serious program to build more courthouses and prisons.

My tongue is bleeding after reading The Legal Schnauzer's take on the work output of managers!

Breaking For Obama ::

Or at least that will be my vote, as well as J's, in the Tuesday primary. Since Edwards pulled out I have been severely conflicted about which candidate to support in the primary although J has been unwavering in her support for Obama. I still have my concerns, but I would really like to ride the wave of change both in Alabama and in America. Neither Obama nor Clinton convince me on their plan for what is my major concern which is universal health care, but I can see the kernel which could grow into a true universal health care package. I am just not convinced that either of these candidates truly care enough to make it happen, but we'll see.

So it's Barack Obama for me and J. Whatever your political persuasion I urge every reader to get out and vote on Tuesday, February 5, 2008. Let's make our voice heard!

The Big Dog In Huntsville ::

From Thom in comments:

http://www.waff.com/global/story.asp?s=7799124

President Bill Clinton will speak at a fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton in Huntsville.

The event will be Saturday morning, February 2, at the home of a local attorney Tommy Siniard.

The cost is $1,000 entry or $2,300 to be a "VIP Host," which includes a picture with the former President.

I have the same problem with Clinton's visit as I did with Obama's last year. The movers and shakers get some access for their money and there is little exposure left over for those without the price of admission.

I realize and appreciate the importance of money needed for campaign financing, no matter how obscene, but Huntsville is home to at least 3 major universities and the youth vote will be very important in this election and this segment of the voting population needs to be energized by each of the candidates!

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions ::

Still an embarrassment to the state of Alabama as well as to humanity!

I was flipping through the channels this afternoon and stopped at C-Span with Kit Bond (Rethug-Missouri) speaking for a FISA bill with immunity for the telecoms which would also presumably give the Bush crime regime immunity. After spouting his drivel for a couple of minutes the camera panned over to "Beau" Sessions who was, as I near as I could tell, playing the straight man to Bonds comedic character and was feeding him talking points. A couple of my co-workers started watching with me with the resulting laughter at Sessions' inanity causing us to double-up.

I got the impression that there were few, if any, senators in the chamber and their performance was primarily for the C-Span cameras, but I wish that all of the citizens of Alabama could see "Beau" Sessions for the buffoon that he is!

Please, someone kick some life into Vivian Davis' campaign!

Internet Woes ::

I don't know if my ISP is just incredibly slow tonight or if a lot of the sites I visit are inundated with traffic, but I'm have an very difficult time getting to what should be sites experienced in high traffic!

Happenings In North Alabama ::

I thought that I was pretty good about following what was coming up here in north Alabama, but I've decided I'm continually behind in knowing what is happening in a lot of areas. John Edwards had originally scheduled a visit to Huntsville Wednesday, but the news is that this visit has been canceled and he will be going to New Orleans. The latest from al.com is that John Edwards will be at the Huntsville Airport Thursday morning for an appearance:

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards will fly into Huntsville Thursday morning for an airport press conference.

The event is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Huntsville airport. The Edwards campaign originally had scheduled the press conference for today but canceled it in favor of a campaign trip to New Orleans.

Edwards will be back in Alabama Saturday for an afternoon appearance in Birmingham. A campaign spokeswoman said the time and place of that appearance has not yet been decided.

The campaign of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain also announced today that he will be in Birmingham Saturday afternoon for a rally at a downtown hotel.

Alabama voters go to the polls Feb. 5th to cast ballots in the state's presidential primary, one of 22 primaries and caucuses being held on that day.

And McCain will be in Birmingham Saturday afternoon. I'm glad to see that candidates are at least making some sort of appearance in Alabama! I'm hoping that I will be able to take a couple of hours off Thursday morning to at least make an appearance and show my support for John Edwards.

Dr. Doug Phillips is also making appearance on Monte Sano Mountain this evening. I didn't find out about this until about 4pm and was unable to rearrange my schedule althought I am a fan of Discovering Alabama on Alabam Public Television! Phillips' show is a wonderful resource for educating citizens of Alabama on the wonderful natural surroundings we have here in Alabama.

I follow the local media pretty closely, but I seem to miss a lot more than I should and I don't know how to remedy this. I have yet to decide if this is a failing on my part or simply a local failing of PR campaigns.

Politically I get e-mails from all of the top tier Dem candidates, but I'm not sure that the candidates, other than Obama, are doing a good job of publicizing their appearances.

I will continue to urge the Democratic candidates to become more high profile in Alabama. I really don't think that this is such a red state as it has been profiled.

And where is the Vivian Davis Figures campaign?

Obama In Birmingham ::

Here are some details:

Stand for Change Town Hall with Barack Obama in Birmingham

Bartow Arena
University of Alabama at Birmingham
617 13th Street South
Birmingham, AL

Sunday, January 27
Doors open: 12:00 p.m

Here's the link to the page where you can order tickets:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/birmingham?source=homepage_events

or you go to the local Huntsville office and request tickets.

Obama for America - Huntsville
2227 Drake Ave SW
Building 27
Huntsville, AL 35805
703-554-2158
9 a.m.-9 p.m.

I wish could make it, but my schedule for the weekend will not allow the trip. Please, someone go down and post some photographs!

Obama Headquarters In Huntsville ::

I went down to the grand opening of the Obama office here in Huntsville last Tuesday evening and I must say that the energy displayed was electric and I gained a huge amount of respect for his ground organizers here in Alabama! There were probably between 55 to 75 people attending in one capacity or another and the crowd was wonderfully diverse. I'm still sticking with my support for John Edwards, but all Obama supporters should drop by his office and show their support.

The only problem is that the office is stuck back off of Drake Avenue and I had to drive around for a few minutes before finding it. The address is:

2227 Drake Ave., Building 27

Obama Headquarters In Huntsville ::

It's about time someone opened an office up here in north Alabama and thanks to Mooncat for the news.

Join the Movement

Please join Huntsville for Obama for the opening of the Huntsville Campaign Headquarters. Meet local Obama supporters and learn how you can get involved. Change can’t happen without you!

The event will be held at:
Brahan Spring Professional Village
2227 Drake Avenue
Suite #27
Huntsville, AL
on January 22, 2008 at 6:30 PM.

This timing should be good for me and I am going to try to make an appearance. I don't currently support Obama although my wife does and I think I will pick up some campaign swag for her!

When Obama made a quick appearance in Huntsville last year I was vocally critical of him for spending his time with the political and business elite while virtually ignoring the student community that is so important to Huntsville. In fact, I fired off an e-mail to the Obama campaign expressing my displeasure and, to their credit, I got a timely response addressing my specific complaint. I have to say that the Obama organization impressed me with this response and I will support him if he is the eventual nominee, but I'm leery of his positions on most issues and I keep hoping against hope that he will flesh out his policies.

Sunday Night On The WWW ::

It's been cold here in north Alabama today and I don't believe that the temps made it above freezing, at least at my house. The wind died down later in the day which was a relief because the wind chill was pretty brutal this morning. My car needed washing, but that task will have to wait for a warmer day.

I also want to note that Glynn Wilson has a re-design of The Locust Fork Journal up and I have updated my link over on the sidebar. This link is to his frontpage, but his blog is here. Be sure and make The Locust Fork Journal a regular stop on your journeys around the web!

I have been keeping most of my plants in the garage during the winter, but I surveyed the rooms today and I'm going to be bringing most inside. I don't think that the cold will really bother them, but I'm sure they'll be much more comfortable inside.

Werner Dahm Passes Away ::

There is surprisingly little news up today of the passing of one of the original members of Wernher Von Braun's team of rocket scientists who were resettled in the U.S. following the end of WWII. Werner Dahm had worked up until just a few short years ago before he was debilitated by an auto accident. Here is a photograph of Dahm taken in early 2007 by my co-worker, David Higginbotham:



I never knew Dahm, but all of those I work with who did know him remember him as a very dynamic individual!

(cross posted at The Haze Filter)

A Winter Wonderland!

Or at least it looked that way as I left work this evening although the precipitation seems to have turned to rain now. That's fine with me. In my mis-spent youth when I was in the Navy I spent a year on the island of Adak in the Aleutians and I saw more than my share of snow there; not to mention -65° windchills from 125mph winds. We haven't had a good ice or snow storm here in several years so we're overdue, but I don't think this will be it!

Geese In The Sky ::

I needed to pick up some things at the Wal-Mart this morning and decided to make the trek into Guntersville to do the shopping. I hadn't been around there in a while and I thought that there might be an opportunity of 2 for a photograph (I was right). Just past Claysville I looked up and there were hundreds of geese v'ing up to fly over to the lake and it was a glorious sight! I see flights of 10 to 20 geese often, but this had to have been the biggest flock I have ever seen.

The Southern Bypass

Also known as the Patriot Parkway has been granted funding for a feasibility study for creating a toll road across Redstone Arsenal by the state. From today's Huntsville Times:

MONTGOMERY - A contract for a feasibility study on building the Southern Bypass in Huntsville as a toll road was approved Thursday without comment by the joint legislative contract review committee.

A $150,000 contract between the Alabama Department of Transportation and Columbia, S.C.-based Wilbur Smith Associates will take effect once it's signed by Gov. Bob Riley.

I'm curious to see a justification for this road which seems to me to be an upside down project which I cannot see taking traffic off of the major bottleneck which is Memorial Parkway. I just can't see the need for a shortcut from I-565 to Hobbs Island Road. I would think that a loop around Huntsville would be much more efficient!

Mayor Loretta Spencer endorsed the concept of a toll road years ago when serving as chairman of the City Planning Commission. She reiterated that support Thursday in a meeting with Times editors and reporters. Noting the area's growing traffic (a Redstone general recently told her of 165 more families moving soon under the BRAC transfers) and the years it would take to build if dependent totally on highway allocations, Spencer agreed a toll road could speed construction.

"We have to be realistic. We do have a responsibility to move traffic," she said.

I will reiterate my stance that the residents of Huntsville, Madison and Athens will never use a toll road enough to justify the cost of construction regardless of the toll fee!

The Immigration Commission Meeting

was apparently a relatively rowdy affair! I wish I could have made it and not have to rely on the local news media for the play-by-play, but I'm afraid that was not possible. Here are a few snippets from today's Huntsville Times:

As police tried to quiet the taunts, the first Hispanic speaker of the night continued to argue that undocumented workers aren't criminals, that there were more worthy topics for statewide study.

But after an hour of hearing just the opposite, after hearing a series of speakers suggest everything from illegal immigrants drive down working wages to they spread leprosy, the audience loudly objected.

[snip]

Rosa Toussaint Ortiz, raised in Puerto Rico but a Huntsville resident since 1985, suggested the state ought to create a panel to instead probe domestic violence, or homelessness, or why so few blacks are involved in local politics.

"Where are the African Americans?" she asked repeatedly, pointing at the largely white and middle-aged audience. At that point, a police officer had to walk into the center of the hall to stop the public hearing and calm the crowd.

Once Ortiz regained the floor, she concluded: "Fear is driving much of the conversation over immigration."

Somewhere in all of these pleasant back-and-forths the Huntsville police had to step in to restore some order, but the dialogue continued to be heated:

Phil Goodale, chapter leader of the North Alabama Minutemen, linked illegal immigration to tuberculosis and drugs in public schools. "We need to end public assistance period for any undocumented people."

Marie Gray, also of the Minutemen, earned one of many loud rounds of applause when she said: "This is not about race. It's not even about a particular group of people. It's about the law." She said some illegals may be hard workers but others may be drug smugglers or rapists.

I was more than a little taken aback to find that we have a chapter of the Minutemen somewhere around here and I'm not at all sure if this thought doesn't frighten me much more than the thought of illegal immigrants!

Two hours into the public hearing, Jose Guerrero of Athens became the second Hispanic speaker to approach the microphone. He told the audience he felt like a goldfish in a bowl of piranha.

Guerrero, who was born in the states, praised the United States and asked of the panel only one thing: "Tell the governor there are Hispanic citizens out there, too."

I have long felt that the only answer to the immigration problem is some sort of amnesty program, but if we keep losing construction jobs at the pace we have for the past few months there will be no jobs even for the undocumented ones!

Go read the Huntsville Times article for more of the flavor for the love felt amongst the two sides!

[a further update] Here is what Bud Cramer has to say over on his official House website:

"Our communities should not have to cope with the influx of those who break our laws and settle in our area illegally. Anyone who wishes to enter our country must follow our nation's immigration rules and procedures and those who choose to bypass the system and enter our country unlawfully should be sent back to their home country. I do not support an Amnesty program.



"Illegal immigration jeopardizes our national security. We cannot protect our nation if we are unable to control our borders and know who is entering and leaving our country.”

Bud's immigration position page has his less than progressive views on dealing with immigration. Go read it all!

Immigration Commission To Meet In Huntsville ::

A meeting of The Joint Interim Patriotic Immigration Commission will meet at 6pm Thursday in the Beck Room of the Huntsville Museum of Art seeking input from the local public.I'm going to try to make this meeting if my schedule will allow it! I'm really curious to hear what the north Alabama public has to say about our current immigration policy (or lack of).

I have yet to hear any rational policy other than some sort of amnesty and logical path to at least guest worker permits. Some big businesses in this area, not to mention the construction industry, rely on immigrant labor and I really hope to hear what their solution to the immigration problem may be! Here are the members of the commission:

Gov. Bob Riley’s appointees:

Jay Reed (chairman), Birmingham, vice president, Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc.

Bill Cotter, Enterprise, contractor.

Patricia DeVane, Dothan, native of Guatemala who became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Jed Downs, Dothan, construction.

Ronnie Mobley, Delmar, cattle rancher.

Ricky Walker, Holly Pond, head of Tyson Foods Inc. in Alabama.

Elois Zeanah, Tuscaloosa, Republican activist.

Lt. Gov. James Folsom’s appointees:

Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale.

Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville.

Sen. Hinton Mitchem, D-Union Grove.

Chris Issacson, executive president, Alabama Forestry Association.

Wendy Padilla Madden, Hoover, immigration attorney.

Dennis Maze, Cullman, poultry producer.

Jacquealine Myers, professor, Alabama State University.

House Speaker Seth Hammett’s appointees:

Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur.

Rep. Randy Hinshaw, D-Merdianville.

Rep. Rod Scott, D-Fairfield.

Boyd Campbell, Montgomery, general counsel, Alabama Center for Foreign Investment.

Elia Ordonez, Huntsville, Hispanic Programs Officer in Marshall Space Flight Center’s Equal Opportunity Office.

Oliver Washington III, Theodore, greenhouse operator.

Ricky Wiggins, Andalusia, turf farmer.

Just looking over the commission members there seems to be representation of industries which are most dependent on immigrant labor. This should be interesting!

Clemson Once Again Snatches Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory ::

I spent some digital time this morning e-mailing my Auburn friends congratulations and tomorrow morning I will be forced to listen to crowing from my co-worker, Merry!

I glad I don't take football very seriously!

Near Death On New Years Eve ::

I had to run to the store early this morning and the fog was pretty bad. I was turning onto Hwy. 431 at New Hope as the light turned green and a silver van came right through the red light in his direction at a high rate of speed barely missing me!

Not a good way to end one year and start another, but we're wishing each and every one of you a Happy New Year as well as a safe one! I will celebrate by watching Clemson trounce Auburn this evening. (Actually I'm touting Clemson by 6 although the official line is, I believe, Clemson by 2 1/2.)

See you in the new year!

Heat Applied To The Gov?

I first came across this story on Raw Story earlier this afternoon:

Alabama's Republican Governor Bob Riley may have attempted to conceal illegal corporate donations to his 2002 and 2006 campaigns by representing them in campaign finance reports as having come from individuals, according to an an investigation carried out by the Montgomery Independent.

I'll be watching the local paper closely to see if they pick up on the allegations, but I have few doubts that the Huntsville Times is anything more than a corporate shill and will either not report the story at all or will bury it as deep in the newspaper as possible! Let's look at what the Montgomery Independent has to say:

Riley's campaign finance reports for the 2006 campaign list in-kind contributions for transportation totaling $7,929.47 from John Saint of Mobile. Saint is listed on the Secretary of State Web site as president of a number of Alabama corporations. When asked about the in-kind contributions Saint said he did not recall when Riley may have used his company's plane. He said: "Our plane gets used every day. A lot of charities use our plane for Angel Flights."

When asked if he had reimbursed his company for the Riley campaign's use of the plane, he said: "I don't recall." He said he would have to go back and look, but it would be after the first of the year. When asked who owned the plane he said JDC Support Services, Inc. and added: "I own the company."

Federal Aviation Administration records show that JDC Support Services, Inc. owns a Bombardier Challenger CL-600-2B16, a twin engine jet airplane. There are no aircraft registered to John Saint individually

All bold emphasis added here is mine!

But, there is more!

Neither Saint nor Wellborn, through his spokesman, are able to affirm that they reimbursed their corporations for the Riley campaign's use of their corporate airplanes. It appears that the Riley campaign may have improperly reported in-kind contributions from corporations, by listing the presidents of the corporations individually, rather than the corporations themselves, as contributors. If that is the case, it would appear to be a violation of the Fair Campaign Practices Act.

Also, under Alabama law, there is no limit on campaign contributions from individuals, but corporate contributions, whether cash or in-kind, are limited to $500 per election cycle. Riley's name was on the ballot in only two election cycles in 2006, the Republican primary and the General Election. That means any corporate contribution more than $1,000 would appear to be unlawful.

Seems as though Riley has some questions to answer! Go read the entire article from the Montgomery Independent. I see some interaction with with my state legislative representative in my future!

A Christmas Message From Don Siegelman

As posted over at The Legal Schnauzer via Pam Miles:

Merry Christmas to all of you, with heartfelt gratitude for your support.

Please enjoy this meaningful holiday season and appreciate your freedom, your homes, and your loved ones. I look forward to cherishing these precious gifts, more than ever, in the coming year.

With your continued hard work, I believe this Christmas will be my only one within these walls. Despite the grim conditions here, I will celebrate this special day by keeping my faith, and by maintaining the hope that, with your help, we can move Congress to expand their investigation and restore American justice --our once bright beacon in the free world.

I cannot thank you enough, or ask more emphatically that you continue and intensify your extremely important efforts. May the many blessings of this season bring joy to each of you.

Don Siegelman
Oakdale, LA

Don Siegelman # 24775-001
Satellite Prison Camp
Post Office Box 5010
Oakdale, LA 71463-5019

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We're wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and the safest of holidays!

Cinram

This story has lasted about as long as I thought it would before the powers that be who benefit from cheap labor in Huntsville succeeded in killing it. I had some responses from current and former employees of Cinram testifying to the terrible working conditions, but our local political and business leaders continue to support the exploitation of the north Alabama work force, not to mention the terrible treatment of the foreign workers they coerced into coming here for what should have been a positive economic experience for them rather than for the recruiting firm!

Why can't we keep Cinram's feet to the fire on this! Not to mention our elected politicians--they should be held accountable for this human resource debacle also!

A Firearm Shooting Range For Columbia High In Huntsville?

This item was buried on one of the back pages of today's (Friday) Huntsville Times:

The Huntsville city school board Thursday approved nearly $285,000 for construction of an indoor firing range at Columbia High School.

John Brown, director of operations for Huntsville City Schools, said the 1,400 square-foot facility could be ready in late spring or early summer. It will be used by the school's Junior ROTC program.

This is the entirety of the report in the paper and I find this proposal disturbing on many levels, as should any parent who has a student at Columbia High School. I have never, ever, heard of any high school in this country with its own shooting range and, given the problems throughout the country with school shootings, why are we building a shooting range in a high school. The story says that this range is for use by the Junior ROTC program, but this is just beyond the pale.

I attended a land grant college where ROTC was mandatory for freshmen and sophmores and our experience at firing a weapon was one time in a year on a local range off the university site. As it turns out I had classes when this was scheduled and missed firing the M14. The participation was voluntary instead of mandatory.

I think that some serious questions should be asked about this. Not only why someone felt that a shooting range should be built in a high school environment, but how did this proposal get approved apparently without much, if any, public notice.

I find this to be truly frightening and makes me wonder about the reasoning ability of the Huntsville city school board!

Thom Hartmann Follows The Siegelman Saga

I normally listen to the web feed of Air America while at work and Hartmann has really begun to follow and push the injustice brought on Siegelman by the Bush administration and the Republicans in Alabama. The story is beginning to really gain national traction and we hope that questions will soon be asked and answered!

The Siegelman Saga Grows Legs ::

I've been working on putting another web site together for the past few days and it has been time intensive, but the story of Don Siegelman's legal woes due to the Republican dirty tricks is beginning to gain well deserved national traction. Thom Hartmann on Air America has picked up on the story and has prominently featured it at least once this past week expanding on the time he had previously given it. It's gratifying to see Siegelman characterized as what he is: a political prisoner of the Bush crime administration!

Vivian Davis Figures-"I Believe"

Whew, her campaign has finally put up a web site with which offers information about her campaign and her policies as well as opportunities for donating and volunteering.
I am going to be tossing some dollars her way and I will volunteer in any way that I can!

More Cinram Madness

I don't watch much television of any sort although I right now I'm watching Martin Scorsese's No Direction Home DVD about Bob Dylan so I seldom get to see any of the newscasts from the local stations. Mooncat has a link to a WAAY story up on Left In Alabama which I found pretty interesting so I'm going to excerpt a bit of it:

After just three months on the job, Angela DeLaveleye decided she'd had enough with Cinram. DeLaveleye and her former co-worker Alison Glaze both quit the Huntsville plant earlier this month, and they now say what's going on inside is not only appalling, but illegal.

"At Cinram you don't go and make a big stink if you want to keep your job," said DeLaveleye. "I've seen 14-year-olds, i've asked them, they've said they're 14 years old. You have 14-year-old Hispanic people working here."

[snip]

Both women said many workers at the plant are too afraid to do anything because of their legal status. And there are other allegations as well.

"The conditions are filthy, it's dirty," DeLaveleye said. "The bathrooms are dirty, they're not cleaned, they smell. You walk into the bathrooms, someone has spit in them, left hair in the sink."

"When a friend of mine left, she was told by a security guard that there is TB at Cinram right now, and you need to go get checked," Glaze said. "(This happened) about four weeks ago."

I've had friends who worked at Cinram, and one that I see infrequently still works there, I think. I'll have to look Gordie up, but all characterize the company as little more than a sweatshop. I'm interested in seeing just how long this story will last until the local powers-that-be kill it!

[UPDATE]

Mooncat has an expanded post which expands on the entire situation regarding Cinram. Here's another excerpt:

The H-2B workers at Cinram are living in multi-person apartments and paying an exorbitant amount for a rent/transportation package. The apartments are no better than expected. A local reporter found some female Cinram workers from Jamaica living in a place with a non-working heater, a tub that won't drain, closet doors on the floor and drafty windows. One of the women said, "I have a pet goat and I would never let her stay here." They were paying a total of $1280 per month for that, a ride to work and twice a week rides to Wal-Mart.

The same reporter quizzed the women on earnings and expenses and calculated that if they only spend $10/day for food and necessities, they can save about $2000 each during their 8 month stay. Good, huh? Not really, because they had to pay $1400 in fees to an agency to get the job, $500 for airfare to get here and $100 for a visa application and background checks. So they spent $2000 to get the job and they will have $2000 left after working 8 months. Even, Steven. So much for "helping poor people get ahead."

This is the part of the story which really concerns me. The only term sticking in my mindright now is "economic peonage"!

Contacting Your Local Representative

I have been ranting for sometime about our state and national representation, but today I e-mailed my local county commissioner with a concern about a bridge. Within a couple of hours he had returned my call with a full explanation of how the matter was being handled and I firmly complimented him on his response.

Being involved starts at the ground up!

I listen to the webcast of Air America radio and I am a big fan of Thom Hartmann:

"Tag You're It!"

Cinram And Imported Labor

This story gets more and more bizarre and Mooncat is covering it nicely over at Left In Alabama. Just af few minutes ago I was in a local convenience store picking up something when the news piece of today's meeting between community leaders and the Cinram management was reported so I stopped in the aisle and watched it since I had seen the teaser earlier at home but knew I would miss the story.

Upon seeing the local newscast my first thought was that Cinram has spent a lot of money on PR spin given how big this story has grown in the past few weeks.

When I got to the cash register the cashier asked me what I thought of the story and I told her that I thought the entire episode has been despicable and that we should be expecting more of not only local companies, but also we should expect more from our local government. She proceeded to tell me that she had worked at Cinram until just before this story broke, she had been there several years and she was just about to be slated for upgraded benefits when she was laid off. The bitterness sort of dripped from her voice and we both agreed that there were more than enough local workers, given the wages to be paid, to fill the jobs which Cinram had open.

What also concerns me is the treatment of the foreign workers which I think will be documented even more in the coming days. From Mooncat:

The Jamaican women interviewed are not making as much money as they were promised, and the living conditions are, shall we say, piss poor.

"They told us they're nice people, and the housing will be comfortable," Erin said. "I have a pet goat and I would never let her stay here."

However, a call to the apartment manager reveals that the unit normally rents for $395 a month. Together these women pay $1280 a month to a man who drives them to work.

If I understand that correctly, that means someone is renting the apartment for $395, driving the women to work and back daily and charging them $1280 for room and transportation. That's $785 for transportation. There has to be a big profit in that deal.

In fact, it sounds like everybody is profiting, except the foreign workers. Stephens looked at pay stubs and figures that, if they can limit expenses for food and necessities to $10 per day, they can save $2000 over the 8 month stint in Huntsville. Sounds good, you say? Wrong! They had to pay $2000 in fees and transportation to get the job here.

So, they quit jobs in their home countries, come to Huntsville, work long hours at a dead end job, pay three prices to live in bad conditions and go home no richer. I'm sure they will leave with a wonderful impression of what a friendly, caring, Christian nation America is.

I have long believed that Huntsville is a large hearted city and I don't see why we can't arrange some sort of community transportation to get these people to work and back home. What would interest me would be who would be crying the loudest about the loss of the transportation fee! Doesn't the city offer public transportation? I have yet to see this being overused and I see no reason why bus schedules could not be rearranged to get these people to work and back in a cost effective manner.

I see more phone calls to the Huntsville City and Madison County representatives in my future!

Get involved!

Grrrrr!

I got the OS reloaded on the desktop computer, but it will take me some time to get everything reloaded and back up to speed. Luckily I have just recently backed-up most of my desktop stuff to my flash drive. Losing those items would have negated several days of work! I began noticing a problem a few days ago printing out of Photoshop to my Epson 2200 printer. I now wonder if this was a precursor to my OS problem?

Computer Problems

My desktop seems to have crashed so I'm posting here from the old PII 233 laptop. Actually the problems seem to be happening across web sites so we're going through all recovery ideas including re-installing the desktop OS! My thoughts at the moment include damnations for Microsoft!

I'll post later tonight or tomorrow morning with an update!

The Republican Debate

I thought that was pretty interesting and my feeling is that Guiliani and Romney both got hammered and Mike Huckabee came out far ahead. Ron Paul didn't hurt himself, but I still think that he has to be seen as a fringe candidate.

Romney certainly did not help himself and Guiliani was probably booed almost as much as he was applauded.

Fred Thompson is irrelevent.

McCain didn't hurt himself and had some great responses to the question of torture.

Tancredo=irrelevance

Ron Paul didn't hurt himself, but he is not going anywhere.

I'm tired and this has been a pretty draining experience. I'll have some more to say about this tomorrow

The Republican You Tube Debate!

I watched the Democratic You Tube debate and I enjoyed it immensely so I have been looking forward to this one for some time. I was surprised at just how tepid the crowd response was to the introduction of each candidate.

Guiliani and Romney start out with immigration fireworks and it's looking like immigration may be the hot topic of the evening!

I wonder who did the lighting for this set because it's certainly not flattering to any of the candidates.

Duncan Hunter loves fences!

Mike Huckabee looks like Gomer Pyle, but Romney thinks he's a "liberal". Everyone loves piling on Mitt! They're fighting over educational benefits for immigrants while I would much prefer to hear what they propose for universal affordable education for everyone!

Ah, on to the economy. McCain loves him some veto power over wasteful spending, but he seems to have been silent for the past few years when the Republicans were spending! Guiliani wants to cut the federal work force (He obviously has not thought this position through).

Ron Paul is a master at playing to his base and he wants all troops brought home from all over the world. Huckabee wants to do away with the IRS totally.

McCain wants to change the tax code, but he draws boos when attacking Ron Paul's proposal to bring the troops home! This is getting really interesting now!

A question from Grover Norquist about the positions on increasing taxes? WTF is that all about?

Mitt Romney loves him some farm subsidies, but I don't think he has much of a grasp of American subsidies as opposed to subsidies throughout the rest of the world!

Anderson gets to the root of the question of Guiliani's expensing of visits to his then (now wife)on consecutive weekends! Guiliani sloughs the answer off to his security detail!

Duncan Hunter wants everyone to buy American-just how clueless is he on just what manufacturing capability is left in this country!

Huckabee is pretty good with those souther witticisms we have come to love:

"when your getting kicked in the rear it means you're still out front" (or at least something like that.

[commercial time=guess which room I'm about to visit]

Duncan Hunter says all usns need guns for protection!

Guiliani is shooting himself in the head with the gun loving 2nd amendment crowd and drawing boos! This is perfect television theater!

Thompson also wants everyone to own a gun.

Some bozo asks about the candidate's gun collections?

The question is black on black crime. Romney wants every kid to have a mother and a father and he wants to change the values of the black community. Romney wants to put criminals in jail as if they're not terribly overcrowded now.

Guiliani seems to be at good butt-pulling of statistics. I was in interested in his statistic of crime in Harlem since by all accounts he was never a visitor to Harlem due to his irrational fear of black neighborhoods!

Abortion.

Ron Paul thinks it should be up to the states, but Thompson wants Roe overturned toute-suite! He wants Doctors jailed for providing the service.

Curiously all of the questions to this point about abortion have been asked by young adults.

Romney would not hesitate to sign a federal bill outlawing abortion.

What would Jesus do in regards to the death penalty. This has to be the best question of the night and it's directed to Huckabee. Huckabee dances around the question to a great degree. Jesus was too smart to run for public office? What does this tell us about the morons we ultimately elect?

Do the candidates believe every word of the bible?

Guiliani is killing himself with the evangelicals!

Romney believes that the Bible is the word of God? Please, someone ask him about the Book Of Mormon!

Huckabee, as a Baptist minister, is fairly transparent to the evangelicals and I think that he probably has that vote firmly in hand.

[another commercial break and another visit to that little square room where the square paper resides]

Guiliani: noun+verb+9/11

McCain loves him some surge! I think he wants some more rugs! He hates Democrats for their defeatist strategy!

Waterboarding?

Romney opposes torture, but will not say that waterboarding is torture. He doesn't care as long as he is not waterboarded and he wants to keep the prisoners in Guantanomo there with no rights.

McCain jumps right on Romney and increases tremendously in my estimation of his morality!

Romney dances around his response to McCain regarding torture. I hope that the American people are watching Romney on this and McCain is hammering him on the immorality of using torture.

Long term commitment to staying in Iraq?

Thompson wants to stay as long as it takes, whatever that means! He is scared crapless of the Muslim infidels!

Ron Paul draws some boos by advocating an immediate pull-out from Iraq.

Mc(Cain wants to stay--he too is scared crapless!

Tancredo--he be scared crapless of Muslims also!

Guiliani is asked about his record--He hates himself some immigrants? Single-handedly
destroyed the Mafia and was lionized by George Will!

(noun+verb+9/11)

Presidential and Vice-Presidential power.

Thompson loves him some Dick (shooter) Cheney.

McCain loves him some Dick (shooter)Cheney.

[last break]

An openly gay retired Brigadier General asks a question!

Duncan Hunter would not share a foxhole with a gay man!

Mike Huckabee loves himself some UCMJ, but he would not share a foxhole with a gay man!

Mitt Romney thinks hates him some gays!

This retired gay general officer served 43 years and is very articulate in stating his position.

McCain dances around the question of gays in the military, he loves himself some "don't ask, don't tell".

Log Cabin Republicans:

Mick Huckabee loves him some gay republicans as long as they vote for him.

Fred Thompson (actor, lawyer, former senator) wants to change social security.

Mitt Romney loves himself some Ronald Reagan on the economy.

NASA:

Huckabee in favor of expanding the space program but he ends with a personal attack on Hillary by offering to send her to Mars.

Tancredo doesn't want to go to Mars.

Guiliani hates himself some public schooling as well as welfare! His crime busting in New York brought opportunities to African-Americans.

Huckabee sees race as a medical problem?

Confederate flag:

Romney has nothing to say. "Reach out to all Americans" and attacks John Edwards.

Thompson just doesn't care a whole lot as long as the display is private.

Infrastructure:

Which candidate will commit to repairs?

Guiliani say the solution is multi-generational!

Ron Paul turns the question around to rebuilding Iraq as opposed to rebuilding American infrastructure.

McCain will veto all pork (while brandishing a Sharpie)

Ron Paul to run as an independent?

Ron Paul says he will not run as an independent! This disappoints me as I have been counting on him being a divisive force in the Republican party.

Happy Birthday To Me !!!!!

I turned 60 years old today! My thoughts on aging have naturally changed quite a bit in the last few years and I find it interesting to think about just how I look on life now versus how I viewed it even 20 years ago. I'll have some more to say about this later!

The wonderful co-workers surprised me with a birthday cake today. They're great people and we care a lot for each other!

The Sock Industry In Fort Payne

Just before I got home this evening NPR was running a story highlighting the decline of the sock production industry in Fort Payne, Alabama and how it has impacted the region. I didn't get to hear it all, but the story as well as the podcast is up on NPR web site.

There were several interesting aspects to this story of how a major portion of the sock production was exported to Honduras (and other Central American countries). I had never realized just how mechanized the sock industry is, but I was amazed to find that the major labor involved, manually closing the toe, has been outsourced to 3rd world countries based on as little as 1¢ cost differential per sock! Some excerpts:

There were more than 150 sock factories, churning out a big chunk of the socks worn in the U.S. But lately, there has been a flood of cheaper socks coming in from China, Pakistan and Honduras. It has devastated Fort Payne. Two-thirds of the town's sock mills have closed.

[snip]

Sock workers are paid per sock, rather than an hourly wage. They generally make 22 to 30 cents for every dozen pairs of socks they sew. In Honduras or China, it's a penny per sock cheaper to sew a toe closed than in the U.S.]

Here's where it gets interesting. The bill to pass CAFTA was deadlocked with Robert Aderholt, Fort Payne's representative, being the swing vote.

Bush met with Fort Payne's congressman, Robert Aderholt, to talk about tariffs and the sock business.

That meeting was, most likely, the moment Aderholt had more power than at any other time in his life. The House was voting on CAFTA, the Central America Free Trade Agreement. The vote was an exact tie. Aderholt was the holdout. And President Bush very much wanted CAFTA to pass. So, Aderholt offered the president a deal: He could get his big free-trade deal only if he rolled back free trade on one industry, the sock industry.

"I told him this was what I needed," Aderholt said. "This was the one thing I had great concerns about."

That night, President Bush agreed to Aderholt's deal. CAFTA passed. And the White House gave itself a self-imposed deadline of Dec.19, 2007, to put back tariffs on sock exports from Honduras.

What do you suppose happened? According to the NPR piece Fort Payne is not doing badly and new industries have taken up where the sock factories left off when they closed. Color me skeptical that the workers who lost their jobs are doing better, but the bright side to the story is that the citizens of Fort Payne have learned the value of education and seem to be aggressive in its pursuit!

I was struck this morning by a story in the N.Y. Times about outsourcing the purchase of manhole covers to India. I have a difficult time understanding the concept of worldwide prosperity predicated on cheap labor! There seem to be only a few winners and billions of losers based on this concept!

I hope that Aderholt's constituents will hold his feet to the fire on the sock tariff agreed to between he and George Bush, but I shall not hold my breath!

Raw Story On The Siegelman Saga

Part 2 of the Raw Story piece is up here.

I'm fairly well pressed for time with some projects right now, but I will try to post the PDFs to the server for download in a couple of days.

[update] I see at the bottom of part 2 of the story that there will be a part 3. Let's bring on as much heat as we can!

Raw Story On The Don Siegelman Case

Part 1 is up here.
I'm running late this morning and I will try to post some excerpts and comments later this evening.

Snapping Noises

I just heard a mouse trap being triggered. If someone lives in the country then one of the problems that must be dealt with happens to be mice in cold weather, but mine seem to be especially bold these days. I have kicked around the idea of getting a cat, but I don't think my dog would appreciate that and I have no desire to get between a dog and cat fight. I have enough scars from previous fights between dogs!

Oh, yeah-birthday today! I turn 60! Maybe there will be more on the Trent Lott retirement story. That would be a great birthday present.

Trent Lott To Resign?

This morning's news seemed to catch everyone, including me, off-guard and there was much speculation that the timing was in order to get around new regulations regarding the time wait required for retired legislators to become lobbyists. I was reading some of the comments to Greg Sargent's article over at Talking Points Memo when I came across this link to a Perez Hilton piece (so to speak) alluding to the coming news break of Trent Lott in a gay escort relationship!

The Republicans keep falling!!!!

Trent Lott oddly and abruptly announced his resignation from the U.S. Senate on Monday.

And now we know why!

The Mississippi Senator reportedly has had a relationship with one high-rent male escort!!!!!

Click here for all the juicy details!!!
Posted: November 26, 2007 at 6:54 pm

I just love stories about hypocritical Repubs being outed! The next couple of days could be very interesting in Mississippi politics!
Make no mistake that all I abhor here is the hypocrisy of the situation. I don't seem to remember Trent Lott championing the causes of the gay community!

A Cold, Grey, Slow Weekend

All news seems to be relatively slow this weekend with many of my favorite bloggers, with a few exceptions, in holiday mode. I doubt of the muck will take the holidays off, so hopefully everything will be back to normal soon and my blood pressure can go back up.

I took another 4 day weekend, counting Thanksgiving Day, but the weather turned off damp and cloudy. I'm not complaining since we really need the moisture, but I seem to be more sensitive to the weather as I get older. Even in the house this weekend I had a difficult time staying warm and I stayed relatively active.

We put up lights outside this year and I'll have a photograph of the country mansion all lit up (kinda) in a few days. I'm not much of a fan of decorating, but J. wanted to do some this year so I went along. We even lit up the boulders in front of the house!

Speaking of photographs, most of my plants have been moved into the garage although I have quite a collection at work. Here is what the garage looks like:



Mmmm, this is the first photo I have uploaded to blogger, but I guess it works ok. I would prefer it be centered, but I don't have time to play with it right now. Actually, I like blogger. I had played around with a blogger site years ago when I first got started with all of this, but I never did anything with that site and, indeed, I don't even remember the name-it still might be orphaned somewhere in cyberspace even now!

A Thanksgiving Story ::

All too often we lose sight of those who are less fortunate, especially at this time of year so I found this story from The Huntsville Times to be heart warming. Here are some excerpts highlighting the large heart of Cathy Briggs who owns a small burger restaurant in Huntsville.

Robert Kincannon lives in a shed. It's not often that Kincannon, 59, feels like someone out there is doing something nice, just for him. But Wednesday, as he sat on the curb outside Soul Burger and ate a heaping plate of turkey and sweet potatoes, Kincannon said he felt, for a moment, just a little bit special.

"Besides my mom's, that's the best dressing I ever had," he said about the free Thanksgiving meal cooked up by Soul Burger owner Cathy Briggs. "It's real nice of her to do this for us. It's nice to be remembered.

[snip]

The need to do this struck her one holiday when several homeless people came by her restaurant, asking for food, "and it hit me, I needed to be feeding the hungry."

And this year, she solicited the help of her young grandsons to set up tables and fetch things, "so they can see up close how important it is to help those people who aren't as fortunate as us.

[snip]

As a small business owner, Briggs said her budget doesn't actually have room for such benevolence, "but God always finds a way."

I found this to be a truly heartwarming story and Cathy Brigg's little place is fairly near where I work, but I don't get to that area very often and I have never noticed it, but I will definitely make a point of eating there whenever I can! The name of the restaurant is Soul Burger and it is located at the intersection of Bob Wallace and Wall Triana in Huntsville. This is just down the street from the Botanical Garden.

Football Saturday

Everyone here in Alabama is anticipating the outcome of the Iron Bowl game between Auburn and Alabama. I'll probably be switching back and forth some, but my prime game today is Clemson versus South Carolina. All of my South Carolina relatives are huge Gamecock fans, but I went to Clemson so I always pull for them.

Last year I was watching the game and the Clemson Tigers were kicking some serious butt in the first quarter. I started to call my brother to gloat a bit, but I luckily decided that gloating would be premature and it was a good call on my part. The South Carolina Gamecocks came back to defeat Clemson.

The sports bars will done a fine business today but I hope everyone is safe on their drive home!

[update] I had to run out for a bit and got back sometime in the middle of the 1st quarter of the Clemson-Carolina game and Clemson was up 10 to nil, but I found the station just in time to see the Gamecocks score a touchdown so the score right now is 10-7 Clemson's favor. Both teams look pretty fired up so we'll see what happens. The game is being played in Columbia so the Gamecocks have home field advantage. That's not good.

[last update]

Clemson tried to give it away, but they pulled the win from defeat with a field goal on the last play of the game so the final is Clemson 21 and South Carolina 20. I'll wait until tomorrow for my gloating phone call to my brother, or, better yet, I think I'll express my glee in an e-mail.

Pumpkin Pie For Breakfast

But it is sugar free so that's ok! Life is good.

A 14¢ Noodle Lunch!

Well, that will not be the Thanksgiving dinner around the country mansion, but it will only be the two of us enjoying the meal, as far as I know. We have invited a couple of other friends, but I haven't heard from them. If they show up that will be great and, if not, then we'll freeze lots of food and enjoy it for the next week or so.

I have the turkey marinating in juices and spices ready for the fryer. J. will be cooking the other dishes in the morning and I'm sure I will be helping.

Actually I like this time of year very much and I love to cook. We have a Christmas dinner at work each year and I am noted for by contribution of unusual dishes. Last year it was a Crawfish Casserole. We will be doing it again in just 3 or 4 weeks so I have to find something different as my dish o' the year!

We're wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving and a safe holiday season!

John Ehinger and Tone Deafness From The Huntsville Times On Cinram Importing Foreign Workers ::

Ehinger wrote a piece in Sunday's paper and some points bear refuting;

Immigration - in whatever form, legal or otherwise, temporary or permanent - is a hot-button topic. The present situation pleases no one. Still, even a modicum of intellectual honesty should force Americans to recognize that valid concerns are one thing and irrational xenophobia is another.

Huntsville is home to a packaging plant of Canada's Cinram International Inc. The firm, which packages DVDs and CDs for consumers to purchase, also operates two other plants in the United States.

I would wonder just how the local builders who primarily employ foreign labor would feel about Ehringer's statement about the "present situation pleases no one". They certainly benefit from the cheap labor and they have no incentive to check the legal status of those employees. I also wonder just how many of these employees are classified as "contract labor", but let's progress a bit more into Ehinger's op-ed:

So Cinram has looked abroad. Its current plans are to bring in about 800 temporary workers from Jamaica and 550 from other countries. Some are already here. They'll work at Cinram's northeast Huntsville plant in 12-hour shifts for $8 an hour. The company has made living arrangements for the workers. Their jobs will last through the season of the highest demand and then they'll go home.

But a chorus of critics has rushed forth. They say Cinram should not bring in foreign workers. They say the pay is too low. They say the community will have to bear the cost of health care and education. They say Cinram should have built a plant in, say, Jamaica, if that's where the labor pool is.

First, Cinram was unable to find local workers. That comes as no surprise. Huntsville's unemployment rate has fallen to 2.3 percent. It's hard to find people to fill any low-end jobs.

True, $8 an hour is not much, but it's still higher than the minimum wage. If Cinram's critics are serious on that point, they'll join groups asking the Alabama Leghislature to increase the minimum wage in this state.

Ehinger's points here do nothing more than to serve to infuriate me more regarding his position and I have added some bolded emphasis on some of my key points. Madison county's unemployment rate is stated at 2.3%. I think it's probably a bit higher than that, but let's not quibble. Given the population that would indicate somewhere between 5 and 6 thousand unemployed locally. I have a hard time believing that Cinram could not fill these jobs locally.

Will these imported workers be leaches on the health care system? I don't care! If they need medical care while they work here then they should have access to it. Nothing in any of the articles I have read have mentioned benefits other than that the company will be providing housing and, on this matter, I wonder who is footing the bill for housing.

This entire thing stinks to high heaven and I'm ashamed of our local politicians for allowing it to happen and I reserve my highest disdain for The Huntsville Times which I have long felt is nothing more than a mouthpiece for the local establishment!

I'll have more to say about this later!

Cool Nights

I love the evening temperatures we have now, but the skunks also love it. One passed through my yard just a short while ago leaving us with his distinctive aroma! Let me say up front that I don't consider the smell of skunk musk to be particularly offensive, but it is distinctive!

A Local Company Importing Labor

Cinram, a company which produces CDs and has a plant in Huntsville, has been importing low paid workers from other countries and has begun to provide them housing. Here are some bits and pieces from yesterday's Huntsville Times:

Lyne Beauregard Fisher, a company spokeswoman in Toronto, confirmed Wednesday that the Canadian company's Huntsville plant plans to recruit about 800 workers from Jamaica and another 550 from the Dominican Republic, Nepal, Bolivia and Ukraine.

[snip]

Still, Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison said he's sure Cinram could find workers here, because many people come to his office in north Huntsville looking for work. He said companies have an obligation to shareholders, but also to provide jobs to the community.

"I would hope there is not an intent on their part to ignore that responsibility," Harrison said. "If this is a widespread company practice, it has a lot of potential problems."

The new Cinram employees will be housed in old apartment complexes, homes and hotels across western Huntsville. They are bused to the plant on Moores Mill Road.

[snip]

The new Cinram employees will be housed in old apartment complexes, homes and hotels across western Huntsville. They are bused to the plant on Moores Mill Road.

I thought I had seen the last of the "mill villages", but it looks as if there might be more in our future. Huntsville has several remnants of mill villages and I grew up around the duplexes that constituted mill worker living conditions in South Carolina.
I can hardly wait for the community comments!

Ah, wait-the fall-out begins:

"If this is the way Cinram plans on operating, I'd just as soon they left our community," said Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks, who worried about local taxpayers subsidizing health care and education for the workers. "They are not being a good neighbor or responsible citizen. If they want Jamaican workers, open a plant in Jamaica. The Jamaicans would be most appreciative."

[snip]

"We have enough people in our community that would do the work for decent pay," said City Councilman Glenn Watson. "Eight dollars an hour won't cover lunch."

He said instead of looking overseas for cheap labor, Cinram ought to pay $10 or $12 per hour for the same work. "I think what Cinram is doing is detrimental to the city of Huntsville and the nation." He said Cinram's practice ought to be illegal.

[snip]

"Companies are going overseas while we've got people here," said Rev. Dante Moss, who runs a county program that helps ex-convicts find jobs.

Moss said he has 193 candidates looking for work, and that he has found employers in construction and other fields. But he said Cinram and five other area manufacturers declined an invitation to talk about potential workers.

This could really become interesting in the days to come given the closings of the textile plants in North Alabama over the past few years. Huntsville may be experiencing low employment, but I'm not convinced that is true for many of the smaller communities around the area.

As a personal aside let me say that I am always suspicious of anyone who has "Beauregard" as part of their name as does the Cinram spokesperson! OK, that's enough snark for one post!

Little Time

I'm afraid that I go through periods where my outrages become too much to bear and I have to go silent to recharge my batteries. This is one of those times plus I'm working on updating another site which is taking quite a bit of time. In the meantime let me suggest that you read Left In Alabama each day. This is a great community blog and I highly recommend it. I have also daily been following the legal tales of The Legal Schnauzer which I find to be more and more interesting. I also religiously follow Glynn Wilson's Locust Fork Journal, as you should!

Hopefully by this weekend there will be more to say!

The Joy Of Living In A Well Insulated House

Last month my electric bill was $84. I got my latest today and it went down to $71, but I know that is about to end. We have been making a concerted effort to conserve and it seems to be paying off.

Turnip Greens!

A co-worker knows someone who sell turnip greens out of the back of his truck and he brought me back a huge bunch after lunch today so I guess that will be what I eat for the next couple of days. Good thing i like them since that is what I had for supper last night and lunch today! I also made some vegetable soup to kinda break up the turnip green monotony.

The Huntsville Times And The Siegelman Case

David Prather tossed in his 2¢ worth on yesterday's Huntsville Times' editorial page:

From Time magazine to the Harper's blogger, it's the analysis that won't go away. On Monday, there was an Associated Press story that added another bit to the brouhaha, this time questioning whether there were disagreements among state and federal prosecutors over whether U.S. Justice Department attorneys were reluctant to call a special grand jury in the Siegelman case.

What can that possibly matter?

It's just more smoke in the eyes, distracting vision from the fact that Siegelman used his powers of appointment to get a huge chunk of change from HealthSouth guru Richard Scrushy for the ill-fated education lottery vote. It was sleazy, illegal governance and Siegelman and Scrushy deserved to go to jail for it.

The link to the entire editorial piece is here,
but I found the editorial to be more than a bit glib and lacking substance. I can't help wondering if this is nothing more than a reaction to recent changes at the newspaper!

The Siegelman case was certainly not handled as a normal criminal matter and his handling after conviction was assuredly ham-fisted.

I guess I'll have to compose something expressing my disdain for the Huntsville Times and it's kow-towing to the corporate interests in Madison County!

First Pot O' Chili Of The Season

I have been salivating for some chili since the weather has turned cooler so yesterday I picked up the ingredients and set about creating a pot of chili which will last for at least several days. I don't eat much red meat and, given the E. Coli scares of the recent past, I was a bit nervous about the hamburger, but I went ahead and bought it, but I made sure that I browned it extremely well. Then I wake up this morning to this headline from CNN :

Million pounds of beef recalled

Of course I ate the chili about 12 hours before I read this so I'm hoping I'm ok (said tongue in cheek!), but I wonder when we will aggressively confront this problem with the contamination of our food supply, not only ground beef, but also including some vegetables. If everything goes according to plan I will have a large garden planted next spring and I hope to need very little reliance on the local supermarkets!

The Red Clay Survey Exhibition At The Huntsville Museum Of Art Ends November 4th

Today, Friday, was a free day at the museum and I took some time from work to go visit. The Red Clay Survey items were interesting, but I was disappointed that there was so little photography. Lucinda Bunnen had a couple of her photographs in the show, but, unless she has changed her shooting style, I don't think they were indicative of her best work. There were some very interesting artworks shown, especially the sculptuure, but the museum also has a show of portraits of jazz performers. Now that was interesting! The portraits were great, but, technically, the prints ran the gamut from platinum, to silver gelatin, to inkjet. This was much more interesting than the current Red Clay Survey show.

Blogger Weirdness!

Maybe it's just me tonight. There is some chance that in the next few days for some period of time this will become my primary blog. I'll let you know.

Shrinking Water Supplies From Lake Lanier

Heads are beginning to pop out of the sand now that the lives and jobs of millions of people from North Georgia through Alabama and on into Florida are being affected by the shrinking water level in Lake Lanier. This is a problem which has been lurking for decades, but, with the unbridled growth of all three states, not to mention the explosion of growth around Atlanta, government officials on all levels are finally being forced to confront the problems associated with a profound drought!

I once lived in Cumming, Ga. very near Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochie river and, before that, I lived in Marietta near the The Hooch so I have spent many hours on the lake along with trout fishing the river from Helen down to Atlanta (most people don't realize that good trout fishing can be enjoyed inside the city limits of Atlanta). Right now I live in Alabama withing walking distance of the Paint Rock River and just 3 or 4 miles from Lake Guntersville and the Tennessee River. I love the water and being round bodies of water and find that most people have little understanding of a river eco-system.

The Chattahoochie river essentially begins just above Helen as a small water flow from the ground and the river picks up water from the watershed as it meanders down through Helen where it is only several yards wide. The water flows into Lake Lanier which is dammed just outside of Cumming. The dam releases water from the bottom of the lake which is much colder year round that water which would be released from the top of the lake thus sustaining a vibrant trout population all the way down into Atlanta.

I know little of The Hooch as it leaves Atlanta and wanders down through Alabama and on into Florida, but water is pulled for many uses: municipalities draw water for drinking and for industry; Alabama draws water for cooling the Farley Nuclear Power Plant, and Florida depends on the fresh water to support the shellfish industries around the Apalachicola Bay.

The water needs of Atlanta will not be magically dissolving and I fear that without concerted conservation efforts the problems faced by Atlanta could become devastating! Here where I live we have no shortages in the water supply, but I see them coming. I see the same unbridled growth with little thought to providing infrastructure to support this growth including the development of a logical road system.

Infighting will not solve the problem and it's up the the governors of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida to reach some sort of compromise on their water usage!

Revisiting SCHIP

With some changes the bill to expand SCHIP coverage was overwhelmingly passed in the house, but without a veto proof margin. As usual the entire republican house delegation from Alabama voted against this most important bill so I will be e-mailing and calling over the weekend hoping to change at least a couple of minds. I'm pessimistic that any of the neanderthals will change their vote, but at least I will have tried.

World Series

I haven't watched a World Series in a long time since the Braves proved to be so disappointing, but I think I'm going to like the match up between Colorado and Boston. I don't really have any favorite here, but I think I'll pull for the Rockies since this is their first visit to the Big Show since then entered the league.

Woofstock in Guntersville!

I meant to post this a few days ago, but I guess late is better than never. Woofstock will be happening in Guntersville today at the Civitan Park. There will be plenty of good music including Microwave Dave and his Nukes. Here is where you can find all of the information.

Ear Ache Update!

I love alliteration! I called my ENT specialist yesterday morning and his person said that he could see me on the 24th. Didn't matter that the pain was excrutiating so I made an appointment with my family Dr. which I guess I should have done in the beginning. Turns out I have fungal ear infection and I was prescribed some drops. I didn't get much sleep last night, but the pain is pretty much gone today although my ear is still stopped up, I can't hear out of it, and there is some degree of ringing. I'm hoping that I'll be back up to snuff by this weekend.

Ear ache ::

My enthusiasm level has been low for the past few days. I thought I had gotten some water behind my eardrum a few days ago, but I seem to have developed an ear infection which got much worse this morning. I haven't had a chance to make an appointment with my ENT specialist, but I guess I'll have to do that tomorrow. We're getting toward the end of the month and I'm sure that his Mercedes payment is due soon! Actually, I'm just kidding. He is a great guy and I have a lot of confidence in him, but I want the pain, the ringing, and the loss of hearing to go away.

S-Chip Veto Override Vote ::

I believe this comes up Thursday and I urge everyone in Alabama who even pretends to care about health care for children to e-mail and call their representatives urging them to support the vote to override the Bush veto of this most important health care proposal for our children! Do we really care more about killing Iraqis than we do about taking care of our own children? This should absolutely be a losing proposal for Republicans in their drive to privatize all things meaningful!

Cool Weather

Things are comfortably cool around the country mansion these days and sitting out here on the back porch is most pleasurable!

My blogging energy has been low in the past few days, but, over the weekend, I will be offering some comments and links to the ongoing saga of former Alabama Don Siegelman as well as the testimony of Dana Jill Simpson before staff memebers of congress.

We are also getting into the time of year when I really enjoy cooking and I will be adding some recipes here from time to time! Let's do a quick recipe right now with Acorn Squash, one of my favorites this time of year.

For 2 people:
Buy a good sized Acorn Squash and cut it in half.
Scoop out the center and rub the center with a bit of Olive Oil.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and whatever else spices you like.
Brown a bit of hamburger along with some sauteed onions and mushrooms and fill the center of the Acorn Squash.
Top with some spaghetti sauce and cheese.
Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

You will notice that I'm not big on specific amounts of ingredients. Cooking should be an adventure and should be enjoyable for everyone involved!

Vivian Davis Figures Campaigning?

Sadly not! Her campaign for the Senate seat held by Jeff Sessions is becoming nothing less than an embarrassment! Her campaign web site is nothing more than a sign-up sheet for e-mail notifications. I signed up over a month ago and I have yet to receive anything from anyone associated with her campaign. Please, someone jump into this race-Elmer Fudd would present a more cogent campaign that Vivian Figures has put together!

Loretta Spencer To Run Again?

From Sunday's Huntsville Times:

Several rumored mayoral hopefuls discounted their possible candidacy as just that - rumor. The list of potentials include city school board President Doug Martinson; retired Lt. Gen. Jim Link; city Councilwoman Sandra Moon; state Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, who ran for mayor in 2004; and state school board member Mary Jane Caylor, who also lost a bid for mayor in 2004. All told The Times they have no plans to run for mayor in 2008.

Griffith, who lost to Spencer in the 2004 mayoral runoff, said she proved a tough candidate to beat.

[snip]

But Spencer's tenure is not without its vulnerabilities. The bungled jail project - now $40 million over budget, two years behind schedule, and mired in lawsuits with contractors - is one setback an opponent could hit her with, Brown acknowledged.

"If you're going to run and (are) looking for something, that may be the best thing you have," he said.

Challengers could also hammer her over her appointment of former Fire Chief Dusty Underwood, who quit after a stormy relationship with the firefighters' union and allegations of sexual harassment of a City Council secretary. The secretary, Carol Jones, is suing the city for $1 million over the incident.

[snip]

Brown repeated the difficulty of toppling a mayor who has presided over a city during some of its most prosperous times.

"You'd be facing some powerful economic forces: the Chamber of Commerce, developers, bankers, the leadership at Redstone Arsenal, the Marshall Space Flight Center and (Cummings) Research Park," he said. "As best I can tell, Mayor Spencer has very good relationships with all of those. I just don't sense the mayor is in trouble with the deep pockets in town that would fund the other campaigns."

Mayor Spencer seems to be planning on business as usual with the support of the local business and development community. Huntsville has some extremely serious growth problems which are not being addressed including increased traffic on our roads as well as the strain on our school system, but, unfortunately given the influence of the business and development community, I see no change in our offerings.

We, as citizens, have little, if any, control of our community and this is also true of the county.

Saturday Night On The Back Porch Of The Country Mansion

I'm enjoying my normal Saturday night routine out here on the porch with the radio tuned to "The Folk Sampler" on WLRH, the local NPR radio station. In a few minutes Microwave Dave will be on "Talking The Blues". The temps are just right this time of year although I do have more than my share of mosquitoes buzzing around. I can live with them though.

My Columbus Day weekend began badly. Thursday evening I developed a toothache which haunted me most of the day Friday at work, but it was nothing more than a dull ache so I was not terribly concerned. Last night I had to take a couple of extra strength Tylenol to dull the pain, but the ache is better today although I must be careful with what I eat. Anyone have any spare baby food out there? My dentist is not open on Friday and I have not yet felt this to be an emergency so I'll see how things are tomorrow and Monday morning.

Here's hoping everyone has a safe and wonderful Columbus Day weekend and holiday!

SCHIP

The Withering Azalea seems to be going out his way to spin his veto of the State Childrens Health Insurance Program. We should have votes in the senate to override the veto, but the house is much more problematic. We need to switch some republicans from con to pro. Bud Cramer, my representative, is a safe vote, but others in Alabama need some impetus to change their vote to yea! I don't follow other districts very closely, but Mooncat at Left In Alabama should be providing some good information in the coming days.

I have no compunctions about letting representatives outside my district know just how I feel, so I will be e-mailing the entire Alabama house delegation urging each representative to support the expansion of SCHIP. Too bad our senators are such neanderthals, although Sessions may be getting a bit nervous these days given the scrutiny he is beginning to get from the national press! Too bad his opposition, Vivian Davis Figures, remains silent!

Jeff Sessions On The Hot Seat ::

So, the Wall Street Journal has a story about Sessions proposing sweetheart legislation affecting banks he and his wife have interests in. I hope the smarmy little bastard is squirming tonight!

In late July, Sen. Jeff Sessions began promoting legislation that would aid some of the nation's biggest banks -- among them, two institutions in which he and his wife hold shares.
Working closely with allies in the industry, the Alabama Republican championed an amendment that would allow banks to avoid paying what an industry executive says could amount to billions of dollars a year in royalties. The royalties, on a technology that converts paper checks into electronic images, are being claimed by DataTreasury Corp. of Plano, Texas, which holds a handful of patents related to the process.

Skipping to the chase, here are the closing paragraphs of the WSJ article:

A former Alabama attorney general, Mr. Sessions is a longtime proponent of imposing limits on civil liability claims, supporting legislation that would shield doctors and handgun manufacturers, among other things. "I believe in America's litigation system, but we have a lot of abuses," Mr. Sessions says.

Mr. Sessions says his office worked closely with the financial-services industry on the amendment, citing discussions with the Financial Services Roundtable, a trade group representing an array of financial-services firms. Mr. Sessions says his office also had discussions with an Alabama-based bank, which he declined to name, except to say it wasn't Compass Bancshares.

I will be watching this closely and I recommend that you also follow the comment threads at Left in Alabama.

Jeff Sessions is up for re-election in 2008 and, sadly, has some extremely pitiful opposition in the race by Vivian Davis Figures. The figures campaign has a web site which offers registration for an e-mail newsletter. I registered at least one month ago and I have yet to get any information from the Figures campaign leading me to the conclusion that she has absolutely no intention of making this anything more than a token campaign for Session's senate seat!

I am unable to express my disappoint adequately! At one time in the recent past I felt that Sessions was vulnerable, but am losing hope.

Road Construction In Alabama ::

I almost titled this "Road Construction In Huntsville" 'til I thought about some of my other experiences when I lived at Honeycomb and dealt with the widening of Highway 431. The reason I think of this is that there is a road construction project, of sorts, going on in South Huntsville to build overpasses on South Memorial Parkway. I am struck at how road construction projects here in Alabama are a start-stop-go-stop roller coaster. Preliminary work was done a couple of years ago, but there has been no work in months. When Highway 431 was being widened I remember when almost the entire road had been widened to 4 lanes, but the needed bridge construction over Honeycomb Creek had not even begun. I still don't understand why the entire widening project, other than this bridge, was completed before the bridge construction was done.

A few days ago I posted about the little known Metropolitan Planning Organization and I began to wonder if this collection of civic leaders is also involved in the road planning or is that simply a function of the state government.

When I lived in North Georgia and Atlanta road construction projects seemed to logically go from concept to completion without long months of inactivity. Seems to me that this would be a logical progression around here, but I guess I would be wrong!

Big Spring Jam

Co-worker M. and her boyfriend N. went Friday night and had a great time. From all reports the crowd was slim Friday night, but picked up tremendously Saturday and Sunday. M. had the great opportunity to see Joan Jett and color me jealous. I have long been a Joan Jett fan. According to today's newspaper account the Dr. John performance was relatively lightly attended. I'm not quite sure what that means, but a lot of people missed a treat if the passed up the Doctor. I had forgotten that KoKo Taylor was here this past weekend and this would have been a most worthy show. I will not even bring up the worthiness of watching George Clinton.

M. enjoyed her Friday night and she and N. were not able to get back on Saturday and Sunday due to Alabama and Auburn football coupled with massive quantities of Tequila! (I'm kidding her about the tequila), but M. commented on the high price of drinks, eats, and souvenirs at the venue. I realize that this is an important way of defraying event costs, but a lot of people are locked out just because of the high cost of attendance. I understand that the performers must be paid and their transportation cost must be tremendous not to mention the local set-up costs. There was much more reliance this year on paid attendants whereas, in past years, volunteers performed much of the grunt work in exchange for free passes. I'm interested in seeing just how this plays out given that charitable organizations are supposed to be the ultimate recipients of the excess monies.