Why Democrats Can't Win in #SweetHomeAlabama, Hint...It's the Media

Regular readers know EYE don't "celebrate" Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday because it reminds me of his murder, specifically why he was murdered.  IMHO the King Holiday is a chance for those who hated in him life to celebrate his death.   You know the drill. Recite  selected quotes from  his "I have a Dream" speech,  join hands and sing "We Shall Overcome", leave the venue, go back to wag the tail  politics/business as usual.  EYE call it "See we aren't racist day."

Alabama Media Groups'  Kyle Whitmire, John Archibald, John Hammontree, must have experienced an awful King Birthday 2016, because the day after, they came out shooting, both barrels blazing.

Kyle Whitmire took aim at Joe Reed and his supporters (of which EYE am one), likening him to a self serving plantation overseer, and his supporters as slaves.  He blames Joe Reed and Hillary Clinton because the Alabama Democratic Party looked like America instead of the Alabama Republican party.

Bernie Sanders' stop in Birmingham Monday night revealed at least two important things.
It revealed what's wrong with the Alabama Democratic Party.
And it revealed what's wrong with Hillary Clinton.
But to understand exactly how, you have to know one man in Alabama politics. That man is Joe Reed.

Because everybody hates Joe Reed and his bunch.

John Archibald takes aim at Hezekiah Jackson, president of the Birmingham Chapter of the NAACP, political action group Team Seven, Jefferson County Commissioner Sandra Little Brown, and The Young Democrats thrown in for color (pun intended).  Their alleged crime?  Forcing people to pay for endorsements, like it's a black thing, counting on misinformed readers to assume the NAACP is involved.

It's not unique to Team Seven. But it is rarely displayed in a manner as brash, and mercenary, if perhaps as honestly as in the team's email.

Because why would anyone want an endorsement from Team Seven or the NAACP?

John Hammontree rounds out the Trifecta accusing Bernie Sanders of literally leaving poor people out in the cold as a weapon of mass distraction from the unexpected success of the rally and to keep from talking about the substance of the rally. You know, like who was there, what was said, etc.

The failure of the city of Birmingham to plan and account for its homeless population while accommodating a Sanders rally shows how absurd it is to believe that simply voting for Bernie Sanders will somehow end systemic poverty and racism. Particularly in a state like Alabama that will remain under the control of a Republican-controlled state government skewed to favor the wealthy.

And you wonder why Alabama remains under the control of a Republican-controlled state government skewed to favor the wealthy?  Really?  Look in the media, EYE mean, mirror.

Update~ What Looks Like #VoterSuppression on an Ordinary Day in #SweetHomeAlabama

#MediaDrivenNarrativeAlert:   Gov. Robert Bentley, left to right, Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., and Peggy Wallace Kennedy, daughter of former Gov. George Wallace, in a commemoration of the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery (Julie Bennett/ jbennett@al.com)

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Alabama get voter suppression right!  (pun intended).

Alabama has followed its voter ID requirement that went into effect last year with closing drivers license offices in eight of 10 counties with majority black voting populations. The voter suppression effect is complimented by raising the fee for driver license renewal from $23.50 to $36.25 earlier this year.

EYE don't know why the Alabama Media Group , EYE am look at Y-O-U, Kyle Whitmire, John Archibald, and Dale "Jackson", are acting all shocked and awed Alabama has figured out a way to remain the reddest of the red, Confederate Slave States... today, tomorrow and forever.

EYE don't know why some people are acting all shocked and ashamed to learn Alabama to stop issuing drivers licenses in counties with 75% black registered voters.  Didn't Alabama State Senator Hank Sanders (D. Selma) try to tell y'all?

Hank Sanders knew the red, republican, controlled House would pass the Voter ID bill to disenfranchise black/poor/brown voters.

The Alabama Legislature, under Republican control for the first time since Reconstruction, passed a voter ID law this year. The law takes effect in 2014.
Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin have passed laws this year that allow voters without the required photo ID to cast provisional ballots, but the voters must return to a specific location with that ID within a certain time limit for their ballots to count.
Indiana and Georgia already had such laws. Other states have photo ID laws too, but provide different way to verify a voter’s identity without a photo ID. Texas and South Carolina are awaiting approval for their laws from the Justice Department because of those are among that states with a history of voting rights suppression and discrimination.

EYE knew when the republican majority Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act because things had changed dramatically in the south,  clearing the way for republicans to gerrymander their way to a permanent majority,  this was going to happen.  And it's too late to call for a justice department investigation into the closings Mr. Archibald, Sir.

Maybe if the Alabama Democratic Party had joined with The Alabama Democratic Conference instead of fighting with the Alabama Democratic Conference we wouldn't be in this mess.

EYE am just saying...

Still think Voter ID laws aren’t meant to keep folks from voting? What other purpose can they possibly serve? Back in 2011, Alabama passed a voter ID law requiring Photo ID. For most Americans, that’s a driver’s license.
Unfortunately for folks living in Alabama’s “Black Belt” – the state’s 15 mostly Black counties – those driver’s licences are about to become a LOT harder to get. Why? Because on Thursday, October 1, the state’s shutting down a staggering 31 driver’s license offices, leaving only four open.
Officials claim they’re doing this because of budget cuts, but it looks a lot more like the GOP-controlled state legislature wants to keep Black people from voting. After all, this certainly isn’t the first time the state of Alabama’s tried to keep Black people from voting. And now that the majority -GOP Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, they’re free to do it again.

EYE Report.  YOU Decide. 

Update: There is more than a whiff of hypocrisy in #SweetHomeAlabama

Gov. Robert Bentley and Dianne Bentley attend the Montgomery Prayer Breakfast on May 7. Source: Governor’s Office website

Poor John Archibald.  He can't see the fire for all the smoke, therefore he can't confirm or deny if Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R. Tuscaloosa) is having an affair ..or not.

Several media outlets – bloggers and radio talkers – this morning cited "sources" as they reported that Gov. Robert Bentley has without question had an affair with a female staff member, a torrid love cuddle that caused the governor's wife of a half century, Dianne Bentley, to file for divorce and ask for everything the guy ever made.
All they offered was "sources." Not proof or fact or anything more than smoke.
Perhaps they are right. Perhaps the governor is a two-timing overgrown teenager who better start taking his state salary before he loses everything. Or perhaps they are wrong. They offered nothing in the way of facts, and until we see those we cannot know enough to judge.
I don't know. I just don't know.

EYE just don't know either, but EYE do know this is another glaring example of media enabled hypocrisy. The Alabama Media Group doesn't want to rush to judgement regarding allegations Gov. Bentley is having an affair, but they have plenty to say about the allegations against Bill Cosby.  Which leads me to believe the allegations the media is afraid of Gov. Bentley are true.  And, if the media is afraid we should all be afraid.  

Mainstream media organizations are afraid to report the details of Governor Bentley's secret love affair. Such reporting will likely cost the print media corporate advertising dollars and sponsorships, as well as revenues derived from legal notices published by the state of Alabama. It is well known that Bentley is mean-spirited, reckless, and vindictive. He is known to retaliate against individuals and entities that do not support this love affair. Additionally, they have a conflict of interest because nearly all of them endorsed Bentley's bid for reelection last November.

We may never know what we don't know about the Bentley's divorce because the proceedings are cloaked in secrecy. 

The sealing of the records was unusual in several respects. First, both parties are 72 years-old. Second, there are no minor children involved. Third, both parties are public officials in the state - Robert Bentley is Governor and Dianne Bentley is First Lady (until the divorce is granted). Fourth, the Governor's financial profile already appears on his ethics forms, which are filed annually.
The Governor has won the first round of legal action that is designed to shield the fascinating details of his love affair from the public. It is unlikely that the state's mainstream media organizations will challenge this questionable ruling. Frankly, they are too afraid to do so.

 Are the worms beginning to turn on each other?

There is no private matters in public life. If you want to be private, then you need to get out of politics," Farley said.
Farley said the governor needs to clear the air over the allegations but there are other concerns. He said there are also allegations of misuse of taxpayers resources.
The lawmaker said possible misuse of state trooper overtime involved with the governor's security and use of state planes need to investigated for any possible wrongdoing.

"If our chief executive officer has been improperly utilizing some of the funds in our coffers, then I think that needs to be brought out and investigated and the appropriate measures taken," Farley said.
As a man of faith, Farley finds all the speculation unsettling.
"So if you are looking at somebody from our eyes, from our Christian perspective this was bigger than a bombshell. It was Hiroshima," Farley said.
Farley said he will ask Attorney General Luther Strange’s office to investigate those allegations.

Psst Luther....you might want to start here .

If Robert Bentley had been a democrat the media would have been on this like white on rice. EYE sure do miss the good old days when the media prevented candidates and elected officials from lying to we the people, instead of enabling them.

#ItsTheHypocrisy 

"The Republican Party supposedly stands for higher values and morals than this. With all the indictments, DUI's, and alleged affairs it makes the party look like a bunch of hypocrites. It's a disgrace to the State of Alabama," Dunn added, referring to the indictments against Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard and the recent driving while impaired arrest of Sen. Cam Ward of Alabaster.

EYE report, You decide. 

Edit~Alabama Democrats want to go back to the future. #Dixiecrats

The Alabama Democratic Party isn't a big tent party. It doesn't even have a tent. http://t.co/hDqwO21WHR #alpolitics

— Kyle Whitmire (@WarOnDumb) July 14, 2015

EYE am still seething at Alabama Media Group columnist Kyle Whitmire's assertion the Alabama Democratic Party is racist and  being lead by an "old black man named Joe Reed."  First of all, who/what gives Kyle Whitmire the right (pun intended)  to determine who/what is racist/racism?  Secondly, someone who works for the white, male-dominated Alabama Media Group has some nerve calling the Alabama Democratic Party a "Country Club."  There is more than a whiff of hypocrisy, which is why EYE decided to as the young people say Flip the Script.  

Want to see racism at work?  Meet the Alabama Media Groups all white/ male/ columnist.  According to Whitmire, the Alabama Democratic Party does not have a tent, much less a big tent because whites can't infiltrate the Minority Caucus under the guise of inclusion to dilute its power on the committee.  But I digress. It could be said the Alabama Media Group doesn't have a big tent either.  All of the columnists above are white males, two of which who hate Dr. Joe Reed with a passion that is unparalleled.   But it's not reverse racism.  

Let's cut to the real nitty-gritty.   Race is the big white elephant in the big white tent.  There is the perception the Alabama democratic party is the party of blacks and as long as that's the case republicans will continue to win elections and rule the state.  So, instead of embracing diversity, democrats want to dilute and destroy diversity.  They want to go back to before.  Back to the party of Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms, George Wallace, and Bull Conner.  The Dixiecrats.

The Dixiecrat Party was formed after 35 Democratic delegates from Mississippi and Alabama walked out of the 1948 Democratic National Convention. These delegates were protesting the adoption of Sen. Hubert Humphrey's (D-Minnesota) proposal of civil rights planks calling for racial integration and the reversal of Jim Crow laws in the party platform.
They met in Birmingham, Alabama, and nominated Gov. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina for president. They opposed abolition of the poll tax, while endorsing segregation and the "racial integrity" of each race. Their campaign slogan was "Segregation Forever!" and their platform also included the call for "states' rights." Like the modern day Tea Party, the Dixiecrats called for freedom from governmental interference in an individuals or organization's prerogative to do business with whomever they wanted. Thurmond received more than one million votes in the 1948 election, won four states and 39 electoral votes.

White Democrats believe the Alabama Democratic Party is the black man's party, like that's a bad thing, and blame black democrats for wrecking their party.  Again, the reason EYE oppose the republican party has nothing to do with me being a democrat, and EYE don't oppose republicans just to support democrats. EYE oppose republicans because the people who perpetrated the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and other terrorist acts joined the GOP.

Did EYE say White Democrats believe the Alabama Democratic Party is the black man's party, like that's a bad thing, and blame black democrats, specifically Joe Reed,  for wrecking their party?

What is the Joe Reed problem you ask? For one thing he's not one of those go along to get along Negroes who is content with being seen and not heard. He refuses to be treated like Chattel. There are some who believe black voters don't have enough sense to know who to vote for unless white folks tell them who their leaders should be. (cue in Eyes on the Prize).

EYE say let them take their party back.

Mark Kennedy resigns as ADP chair and announces the formation of the anti "Joe Reed and his bunch group"

Oops, I mean the formation of the Democratic Majority. :)  So, Judge Mark Kennedy basically gave the same speech to the Democratic Majority he gave to the Alabama Democratic Party two years ago.  I hope he has a different result with his "new organization" , because you know what they say about doing the same thing over and over again.  Since he won't have Joe Reed and his bunch to obstruct him at every turn,  he's leaving the ADP millions of dollars in debt,  raided most of the  ADP staff and opened field office in Birmingham,  he shouldn't have a problem turning the ADP into his uncle's ADP.

You can think what you want, but If you have any doubt Kennedy took his toys and went home because of Joe Reed and his bunch look no farther than this statement by Madison County Democratic Chair Clete Wetli.

"Part of the issue is just the way Joe Reed has operated and some of the decisions he has made, especially recently, it kind of promotes a divisive sort of politics that most Democrats are not interested in," Wetli said. "What we're interested in doing is fixing the economy in Alabama, ensuring public education is where it needs to be, making sure we promote a message of real equality and real inclusion.

Now why wouldn't Joe Reed be interested in fixing the economy in Alabama, ensuring every child has access to a public education, and making sure we promote a message of real equality and real inclusion?  It's not like that's what he's fought for all his life.

"If you look back, unfortunately, over the past decade of how Joe Reed has operated in Montgomery, that certainly hasn't been the message he put out there. I think Judge Kennedy did his absolute best to try to change things from within. When that became impossible, he decided to do something different."

So let's look at what things Judge Kennedy did his absolute best to try to change from within and how Joe Reed obstructed, I mean operated in Montgomery.  As John Archibald says,  It's all about the Racism. Intolerance. Prejudice.  of Joe Reed and his bunch.

And none of this would have happened if not for the blatant politics of race. It would not have been necessary – let's be real – without Nikki Still.
You remember Still? She was a candidate for a Jefferson County judgeship who finished second in her party primary. When the first place finisher was disqualified, the Alabama Democratic Executive Committee met and ...
The rest is disturbing history.
The committee – controlled in large part by Joe Reed, the powerful lightning-rod leader of the black wing of the party -- refused to appoint Still to the judgeship because she is white. Really.
They chose a black woman candidate – one who did not even run in the primary – because the first-place finisher was a black woman.
It was a powerful message of racial politics, from the party that claims to have a big umbrella.
Of course, the split wouldn't have happened without Patricia Todd, either. Todd is a white woman from Birmingham, the first openly gay member of the Alabama Legislature and a representative who has gained grudging respect from Democrats and Republicans alike.
Reed tried – and failed – to have Todd kicked out of office.
Because, as he saw it, a white woman had no business representing a majority black district. Even if it was the majority black district that elected her.

Let's debunk the Nikki Still misinformation first.

It continues to be a source of consternation to the Alabama, white power structure they keep being outsmarted by the State Democratic Executive Committee led by their arch enemy Dr. Joe L. Reed.
Just like Andrew Breitbart took a snippet of Shirley Sherrods' speech to the NAACP out of context to illustrate so called "black racism", The Big Mules, aided and abetted by some white democrats, accuse the SDEC of blatant racism because they didn't select the white women who lost the election to replace the black woman who won the election, after she was removed from the ballot.

Marshall, who is black, had her law license suspended, and that caused her to be removed as the Democratic Party nominee for a Jefferson County judgeship. That led the Alabama Democratic Executive Committee (ADEC) to replace Marshall with Elisabeth French, who is black, instead of Nicole Gordon Still, who is white and was runner up to Marshall in the primary election.

Legal Schnauzer breaks it down.

Alabama's mainstream press has tended to portray ADEC's decision as based on race. French is black and Still is white--and the nomination came open when Kenya Lavender Marshall, who is black and won the Democratic primary, had her law license suspended over allegations from the Alabama State Bar that she had misappropriated some $30,000 from a client account.
But this is not the first time recently that Alabama Democrats have rejected a candidate who seemed too cozy with the state's elites. Just a few weeks back, Artur Davis was beaten soundly in the party's primary for governor. Davis, who is black, had sought support from the Business Council of Alabama and other corporate types. Still had been appointed to the judicial seat last June by GOP Governor Bob Riley, and we suspect that helped sink her chances with the Democratic committee.

 Thanks to the folks at Left in Alabama, we can see for ourselves. Here is a video from the event, with Reed's comments starting at about the 2:10 mark. Elisabeth French speaks at about 4:50, and a clearly agitated Nichole Gordon Still speaks at about 6:08.

As for the Patrica Todd affair, her opponent, Gaynell Hendricks mother in law, Mattie Childress contested the election on these grounds:

 In a document filed on July 27, Ms. Childress accused Jefferson County election officials of “malconduct which occurred [that] was calculated to prevent a fair, free and full exercise of the elective franchise”. She claimed that Patricia received “illegal” votes and that vote totals were changed without notification to Ms. Hendricks. 

It is true Patrica Todd is a white woman represented a majority black district.  It is true Joe Reed opposed her election as he should have.  Attorney Jerome Grey explains why:

In 2000, the district was drawn with a 63 percent black majority. In the years since, gentrification has shrunk that proportion, and some estimate the current black population at about 50 percent. In his letter endorsing Hendricks, [Joe] Reed warned black community leaders that if they elected a white candidate, the district could be redrawn without a black majority.

It was NEVER about Todd or her sexual orientation, it was about the district and the real possibility a the district lines would be redrawn to the exclusion of African American representation.  Yes,the same African American representation mean, evil, old Joe Reed fought and sacrificed for.

Joe Reed is known as a “fighter for fairness” for black representation. In 1975, Joe Reed led the efforts to get equitable representation for blacks on the Montgomery City Council. His efforts resulted in four (4) blacks of nine (9) being elected. He served on the Montgomery City Council for 24 years. In the Democratic Party today, Alabama’s black representation exceeds all other states in the nation. For over 40 years he has led the effort to get more blacks elected and appointed to public office, including federal marshals, federal and state judges, members of the boards of registrars, legislators, county commissioners, city councils, and school boards. Due largely to his leadership, today Alabama has more black elected officials than any state in the nation. He drafted two (2) plans that increased black representation in the Alabama House of Representatives from 13 to 27; and in the Senate from 3 to 8 in 1982, and 1992, respectively. He also drew a reapportionment plan that provided for 25% (two of eight) majority black districts on the State Board of Education. Alabama is the only state in the nation where the Legislature reflects the state’s population of blacks and whites. Dr. Reed’s congressional plan also led to Alabama’s gaining a black congressional seat.

And let me clear something else up while I'm on a roll.  Black folks aren't stupid.  We don't sit around and wait on Joe Reed to tell us what to do and when to do it. We don't sit around and wait on Joe Reed to give us advice.  We don't hate Joe Reed.  We admire Joe Reed.  We are grateful to Joe Reed for his SERVICE and his accomplishments.... because without Joe Reed there would be no Congressman Artur Davis (DINO).

No one will be able lead the Alabama Democratic Party until it becomes less about race and more about ideology.Until that happens, Alabama will never be a two-party state.~ John Archibald

The Truth about the ALGOP School Flex Bill and nothing but the truth

National Center for Children in Poverty

 
Let's get one thing straight about the so called School Flex Bill the ALGOP rammed down the throats of Alabamians once and for all...THE ALGOP DID NOT PASS THIS BILL BECAUSE IT GIVES POOR CHILDREN A CHANCE TO LEAVE FAILING PUBLIC SCHOOLS.  You got that?

The ALGOP could care less about poor children having access to a quality public education.  If poor parents think republicans are going to allow poor children from failing schools to transfer into non failing schools, after all they've done to keep their failing donkey's OUT of them....I have a bridge in Selma for sell.

The purpose of this bill is to bankrupt the government school system by giving those who choose to send their students to private schools a tax credit.

I wonder if John Archibald is reading my blog?

Update~Paging JD Crow, Joey Kennedy and John Archibald!

Birmingham School Board Warts n'All Crowblog al.com

Oh how I wish self described moderately disturbed Press-Register cartoonist J.D. Crow,  Birmingham News Pulitzer Prize winner, editorial writer, columnist and blogger Joey Kennedy  and  metro columnist John Archibald would drive/fly up here to north Alabama and show their sister paper how to report on the superintendent  and the school board.

To be honest, I haven't been keeping up with what's going on within the Birmingham Public School system, I do know the mainstream media covers the school board like white on rice, and, they are not taking their foot out of the behinds of the school board, or the superintendent.

This is the kind of education reporting I wish we had in Huntsville, instead of the lap dog ( yes I said it) education reporting we have.  If it weren't for unpaid blogger Geek Palaver I never would have known there was a call for the superintendent to resign, and the citizens comments deck was stacked against the citizens.

If I relied on reporting from mainstream media as my sole source of information I would believe "the superintendent and board are bringing the schools back to the status they enjoyed as the best in the state."

Compare and contrast coverage of the Birmingham City School Board of Education with the Huntsville City School Board of Education

No problems here.
Everything is just lovely.
Pay your taxes and go back to sleep.
We have everything under control.

Yeah right.

Thomas Jefferson said democracy demands and educated and informed electorate.

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." (as cited in Padover, 1939, p. 89)
". . . whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that, whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right." (as cited in Padover, 1939, p. 88)

The above quotes were the cornerstones of Jefferson's interest in education and the franchise. He placed education as the foundation of democracy and a prerequisite to vote.

I report.  You decide.

Today's Must Reads
The American Public's Distrust of the News Media Hits Record Low

The Bias of Mainstream Media

If Paige Parnell cheated why didn't she win?

So the righty's who are allowed to comment on Left in Alabama are accusing democratic HD45 candidate Paige Parnell of vote buying because Gasp! She used the Obama for America organization to promote her campaign, based on an article written by John Archibald for the Birmingham News, under the headline Felons and consultants rock house vote, which mooncat agrees with, especailly this part.

And Parnell -- let's be clear -- is not the only candidate to use such ... consultants. What Parnell did, bless her enigmatic heart, was give us a peek inside.

We should thank her. Calling these folks "consultants" may have been insincere, but at least she wrote down names. Too often, such payments are recorded as impossible-to-follow wads of cash to operatives who deal it out on the streets with no accountability.

Oh really? I am going to turn the floor over to The Birmingham Skews, who asks John Archibald, Does The Birmingham News Employ Felons?
Excerpt;

Look no further to see a journalist scraping the bottom of the barrel for news than John Archibald’s latest. Really, John, are you so lazy that you have to resort to piggybacking on “hype” generated by political operatives? Would you have even known where to look if not for the efforts of your apparently more capable “counterparts?” As we say in the news-making industry: you got scooped.
Dang.
The real crux of my criticism of John Archibald today is, however, his hypocrisy (as it so often is.) Archibald criticizes Ms. Parnell for hiring five felons (without documenting who those people are or if he even has the right person or not) to do what, he admits, every political campaign does: canvassing of some sort or other. He suggests that, in so doing, political campaigns have put our homes and neighborhoods in some kind of peril. I guess that’s an interesting perspective, and one that may hold some truth if one also believes that felons can’t be rehabilitated, should be kept from re-assimilating into society, and (heaven forbid) earning at least a little money.
Tell me something, John: what kind of background checks does your employer, The Birmingham News, require for the people it hires to deliver papers to our homes and neighborhoods? From the looks of it, The News doesn’t really dwell on whether or not its news carriers are felons, just like you don’t dwell on things like veracity and intellectual honesty. In fact, the requirements for a “B’HAM NEWS CARRIER” look like this: “AL drivers license and reliable transportation. Early am hours. Must live near area.”

All I'm going to say is if Paige Parnell engaged in vote buying it sure didn't work.   Despite being significantly outspent by Drake, Parnell lost by only 376 votes.

More on Paige Parnell here.

Update! Hypocrisy Pot Meets Hypocrisy Kettle in Bama, Oh My!

This just in!

Yes, Skews, you will get a few clicks from my post here. And I suppose you figure that means you have real support, and you might have some. Donald Trump gets a lot of publicity these days, too, and he certainly has supporters. Maybe for your next trick you can out yourself as a birther. That would certainly get you a few clicks.

MeOuch!

I love it when the covers are pulled off and the bright lights are turned on to expose the face of real, raw, unadulterated hypocrisy by the so called liberal thinking,mainstream media all stars. Note the names in bold for future reference.

You won't want to miss our all star media panel happening just 4 days before the start of Mayor Langford's trial, just 9 days after the Birmingham City Council runoffs, and who knows what else might happen between now and then?

Panelists
Bill Payer, CBS42 News Dir.
Mooncat, Left in Alabama
Ron January, WATV
John Archibald, Bham News
Charles Dean, Bham News
Kyle Whitmire, Bham Weekly

We can thank new blog The Birmingham Skews for making them squirm. And squirming they are.

Most people by now have read John Archibald's column from this morning's Birmingham News. As so many who tend to tell the truth, he's scared someone with enough resources to pull together what looks to be a fake grassroots blog and can pay for a private domain registry.

I'll spare you the details of the attack in general. It's nothing that I find personally interesting or unusual, and it really has no bearing one way or the other on any criticisms Archibald has ever written.

But an attack on a journalist is an attack on anyone who wants to spread the truth, and that includes us lowly bloggers, boys and girls.

So I'm here to ask the question: Who could be behind such attacks on Archibald and the Birmingham News?

Who indeed? But as Legal Schnauzer notes, who really cares about who is behind the attacks on Archibald and the Birmingham News? I mean God forbid Archibald and the Birmingham News be *ahem* attacked.

One of the South's most nauseating right-wing media puppets recently had someone return fire. The puppet howled in pain when the buckshot found its target--right in his white, doughy flanks. We're still struggling to wipe the smile from our face.

John Archibald, a columnist for The Birmingham News, consistently has trumpeted the Karl Rove agenda in Alabama over the past 10 years or so. Anything GOP Governor Bob Riley did was pure and honorable. Anyone pursued by Bush-appointed U.S. attorneys Alice Martin and Leura Canary was guilty. Official "corruption"--if it involved a Democrat, person of color, or individual who refused to testify falsely against Don Siegelman--was public enemy No. 1.

Archibald specializes in clucking at the misfortune of others--whether they have committed wrongdoing or not. So imagine our delight in learning Archibald has some untidiness in his own closet. When confronted about his personal mess, Archibald first lied about it, claimed ignorance, and then essentially blamed his wife. What a guy!

That's right (pun intended) Archibald and the Birmingham News can dish it out but they can't take it. I also find it laughable Almoderate at right leaning Left in Alabama is attacking the messenger in an attempt to silence the messenger.

I have spent a fair amount of time criticizing the Birmingham News on this blog, but you do not know much about me. I have a few friends who think that I leave myself open for criticism by not identifying myself. I think that is reasonable. At this point I am only willing to say that I am an ordinary citizen who loves my country, state, and city. I also love being informed, and learning the whole story.

I will not identify myself by name and for that I will make no apologies. When reporters like John Archibald use unnamed sources and “leaked” documents to bolster facts that are shaky to begin, then use them to paint their targets in a negative light, those reporters should be able to handle reasonable criticism from any source, named or anonymous.The News buys its paper by the ton and its ink by the barrel, and their resources are limitless when compared to my own. All I have to offer is the truth, and a critical way of looking at how the news has been reported in Birmingham. The Birmingham News does not appreciate this, and therefore, I remain anonymous.

Those without sin cast the first stone? H/T julie for this Interesting Dichotomy, or more Pots and Kettles.

Call Mayor Larry Langford the king of all Birmingham media -- or at least all media that take cash.

---John Archibald, Birmingham News

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford Put Media on His Payroll

Go ahead, John Archibald, and remind us who you are and how you really feel about the Alabama Democratic Party and Dr. Joe Reed.

Go on. Remind us why Alabama's Democratic Party has less to fear from Republicans than from, say, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

John Archibald is Wrong you say?

John Archibald stated in the 16th and 17th paragraphs (I judge paragraphs online by double line breaks) that:

This is not, I repeat, about French. To be honest, I feel for her as much as anyone.

She will, after all, become known as the judge who earned her robe with one credential: her skin color.

I don't think she deserves that. But the whole process wreaks of unfairness -- the same kind battled at lunch counters and schools and bus stops across the South.

Have we learned nothing?

I'm sorry, John, but I think you meant that "the process reeks of unfairness." I think it stinks to high heaven!

And the unfairness wreaks havoc on the fabric of the Alabama Democratic Party. Although you didn't write that.

Otherwise, the whole article was spot on and correct. We like what you're doing, sir, just get the verbs right...

IMHO the rank hypocrisy stinks to high heaven. Thanks The Birmingham Skews and Legal Schnauzer for exposing the Fake News. I like what you're doing and you have the verbs right....

For those who don’t already know, John Archibald hosts a live chat every Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. CST. I’m not the host of the party, but I’d like to extend the invitation to anyone who is interested in participating. I’ve attempted to submit questions about his blatant disregard to the facts, but have fallen victim to censorship, or have possibly been banned altogether. He doesn't care to answer my questions, but maybe he'll answer yours. I invite you all to join in this week and see for yourself. You can find the link to the chat at the end of his column found here.

They want me fired.

Perhaps they're right.

These anonymous people, these people who want me fired, dug deep into my past and set up a website to post their findings. They've gone door to door in mostly black Birmingham neighborhoods, leaving fliers that portray me as a liar and racist.

Speaking of fliers in the black neighborhood and gutter campaigning, remember THIS?

Agriculture Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Ron Sparks spoke to the Morgan County Democrats last night and, in light of the really heated and ugly races coming to an end yesterday, it seemed an appropriate time to ask what Sparks thinks of innuendo and whisper campaigns bent on character assassination, such as the one we saw last weekend against Patrick Cooper in the Birmingham mayoral race.

In that case, as you may recall, this letter from Frank Matthews was widely circulated via email. Under the guise of "giving you the facts about Patrick Cooper," it "informed" readers that Cooper standing next to Howard Bayless -- who is openly gay -- is "an abomination" and "unpleasing" in the eyes of God. The letter was closely followed by a Powerpoint presentation that dropped the gloves altogether and just asked "Is Patrick Cooper Gay?" It was 10 pages of hints about divorce, contributions from Cooper's ex-wife, endorsements and how terrible it would be if Birmingham ended up like Atlanta. Pure character assassination, not an issue in the whole mess.

I've also seen Frank Matthews at Sparks events, doing official looking stuff. It turns out he isn't paid directly by Sparks2010, but by their consultant, Matrix, LLC. Nevertheless, with that kind of ugliness being openly distributed, I wanted to find out if we should expect similar, under-the-radar smears in the gubernatorial primary.

Don't dish it out if you can't take it in. I'm just saying....

Now someone cross-post me to Kos so that I can get some hits.

It. Is. On.