The Power to Exercise #Racism in America

Once upon a time,  in a far away galaxy called Left in Alabama, I was trying to explain racism to their resident Righty,  Old Prosecutor.

I said then: I believe most of us can agree it takes power to exercise racism.  Meaning, a person can harbor racial prejudice against a certain group of people in their hearts and minds, but when they have the power/authority to act on those beliefs it's racism.

Exhibit A:  Washington GOP State Senator:  Colored People are more  likely to commit crimes. 

During a committee hearing last Thursday, Republicans in the Washington State Senate had a really hard time wrapping their heads around a proposal that would require the state to carry out racial impact statements on legislation when requested by lawmakers.
What's a racial impact statement? It's an assessment of whether something will affect all racial groups equally, or whether it will harm some groups more than others. (Like an environmental impact statement, except dealing with race.) For example, sentencing laws are much harsher on people dealing crack cocaine—more often people of color—than those dealing powder cocaine, even though the drugs are virtually identical. A racial impact statement on these laws would inform lawmakers of their disparate effects. (And, in an ideal world, would do this before the laws get voted upon.)

Exhibit B:  Judge Gets To Keep Job After Calling Black People Country N****rs

Judge Gerald Popeo will keep his job, even though he was heard openly using racist epithets against African American defendants. The Utica City, New York judge is accused of using the racial slur after a court session when he asked an African-American lawyer “do you know what New York City blacks call black people from upstate New York?”
The attorney just looked at him, apparently in shock that the judge would ask such an obviously problematic question. When the attorney had no response for the judge, Popeo answered: “country n*******.”
The judge thought his “joke”, apparently about a defendant, was hilarious. But the lawyer obviously did not.
For his part, Judge Popeo has vehemently denied making the racist “joke.”
But two separate lawyers claim to have heard this one-way exchange according to Syracuse.com.
Back in 2011, Popeo was caught referring to a prosecutor as a “cigar store Indian” …twice.

Exhibit C:  Justice Department Finds Pattern of Police Bias and Excessive Force in Ferguson

Police officers in Ferguson, Mo., have routinely violated the constitutional rights of the city’s black residents, the Justice Department has concluded in a scathing report that accuses the officers of using excessive force and making unjustified traffic stops for years.

Exhibit D:  Here is the racist Obama joke the Justice Department reportedly uncovered in it's Ferguson Investigation.

It seems the investigation also uncovered additional disturbing material that suggests a culture of racial bias among those who hold power in the city: according to the Associated Press, the report includes a 2008 message — which appears to be an attempt at humor — from a municipal email account that says President Obama wouldn't be in office long, because "what black man holds a steady job for four years."

There's more, but I think you get my drift.  Now can we have an open and honest dialogue about race in this country?

President Obama is coming to Sweet Home AmeriBAMA....Yawn

"It’s easy to get complacent about battles won long ago. But rights not safeguarded can be eroded or lost.... http://t.co/HqMzEHOGxP
— Anti-Racism Media (@AntiRacismTv) January 22, 2015

Why am I not excited President Obama plans to visit Selma, AmeriBama to celebrate the 5Oth Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act?

The White House says the March 7 trip also will highlight the upcoming 50th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act.
Obama last visited Selma for the 2007 anniversary, when he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Both candidates and former President Clinton marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where white police officers beat civil rights protesters in 1965.

Maybe it's because 50 years later Shelby County v. Holder gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

You have to give Alabama credit for its cheek. Last year, the state's Shelby County persuaded the US Supreme Court to find unconstitutional part of the Voting Rights Act that required certain states with histories of discriminatory election laws to get permission from the federal government before changing their voting practices. On Wednesday, Alabama will argue before the court that the same provision it helped decimate compelled lawmakers to racially gerrymander the entire state.

Maybe it's because 50 years later some (not to be confused with all)  police are killing black people and some are getting away with it. 

Justice Department lawyers will recommend that no civil rights charges be brought against the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Mo., after an F.B.I. investigation found no evidence to support charges, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Maybe it's because 50 years later we are still fighting for the right to vote.

 The specific means of suppression have changed, but the objectives haven't: People in power are still trying to keep specific groups of Americans from voting.

 Maybe it's because 50 years later tax payer funded, government issued Weapons of Mass Destruction are being used on black citizens for protesting.

 “It didn’t look like America. It looked like Soweto,” Mr. Lyon said, referring to the South African township that was a hotbed of protests against apartheid. “It looked like soldiers. And soldiers’ job isn’t to protect. Their job is to kill people and to be ready to die.”

Maybe it's because 50 years later black people are still begging for the right to breathe.

 “I can’t breathe,” protesters chanted, in mostly peaceful demonstrations that brought longstanding strains over race to the heart of America’s most populous city. Earlier in the day, prosecutors announced the jury’s decision not to charge Daniel Pantaleo, one of the New York police officers who had confronted Garner for selling loose cigarettes on Staten Island in July.

Maybe it's because 50 years later, the more things change in America, the more they don't change in AmeriBama.

Taylor's decision, which he says was made in part out of concern for Dekalb County's taxpayer money being spent on "filthy language," comes as theaters across the country are hosting free-screenings to hundreds of thousands of students hoping to view the same film. Despite the national embrace and Selma's official PG-13 rating, however, Taylor said he simply could not permit students to experience a movie with the "F-word in it."

So come on down to the land of cotten, take some pretty pictures then board Air Force 1 and head on back to the White House Mr. President Obama sir.

 Don't worry about us.

Out of sight out of mind.

Look away.

Look away.

Look away. 

Dixieland.

RedEye tiptoeing away from the computer to go pray....

Here is a peek at what's on RedEye's radar #AmnestyforFerguson

 

  US, Ukraine or Middle East?  #Ferguson images made it hard to tell.

Only in America can a Lawyers bid to become Americas top Civil Rights attorney fails because he supported Civil Rights.  The fact he is black probably didn't help either.

Debo Adegbile, who previously served as the acting head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, is one of the nation’s top civil rights attorneys. He’s also a leading expert on voting rights who twice defended the Voting Rights Act before the Supreme Court — the first time successfully. He was, in other words, an ideal candidate to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division — the division which, among other things, oversees the federal government’s voting rights work in an era where conservative state lawmakers are currently waging a widespread campaign to prevent demographic groups that tend to vote for Democrats from casting a ballot.

Question:  Is the media cry, to hang them high, really about domesticviolence, or is it about racism. 

Why is the NFL under scrutiny, when their domestic violence statistics are better than the norm? Why are there no white athletes, who are the focus of media calls for punishment, and impoverishment?

Let's talk about Adrian Peterson so we won't have to talk about real child abuse.

 A young black man with a towering Afro, Hunt stood out in this overwhelmingly white city about 30 minutes south of Salt Lake City. So much so that just moments before officers killed him in a barrage of gunfire on Sept. 10, passersby pulled out their cell phones and snapped photos of the 22-year-old with the big hair, bright red shirt and toy sword slung over his shoulder.

White America's drug problem is getting worse, but they aren't being thrown in prison for it.

 White people have a painkiller problem. According to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, painkiller overdoses accounted for almost 17,000 deaths in 2011. The majority of deaths were among whites, at a rate that’s growing faster than for any other racial group.

What's that you say?  Ferguson Plan for police oversight is derided as "insulting"?  I'm shocked!  Shocked I tell you!  NOT.

 The proposal does not mention whether the board would be empowered to investigate citizen complaints against officers, given resources to conduct independent investigations. The word "review" is not mentioned in the proposal other than to describe the committee as a "review board."

#BlackLivesMatter
#racism

Equal Justice Is An American Value (Isn't It?)

Last night on AC360, Martin family attorney, Benjamin Crump, said the importance of the Justice Department review of the Trayvon Martin case and the Stand Your Ground law is so that parents know what to tell their children.

He raised a more chilling question, too. When the next child is murdered in a Stand Your Ground state, what do you think the defendant will say?

In June, right after the Zimmerman jury selection, Attorney Crump said:

"Well, you know, we've said all along this case is about equal justice. Equal justice under the law is not a black value, it's not a white value, it's an American value. And with the make-up of this jury, five white women and one hispanic, it's gonna be the question can every American get equal justice no matter who sits on your jury. And so, they're just praying that they can get justice for their child."

Sadly and disgustingly, we know how that worked out.

In a gut-wrenching chronology, Journalist Charles Blow enumerated the many ways the system failed Trayvon Martin.

Then, he asked what parents are asking, "What do I tell my boys?"

The idea of universal suspicion without individual evidence is what Americans find abhorrent and what black men in America must constantly fight. It is pervasive in policing policies — like stop-and-frisk, and in this case neighborhood watch — regardless of the collateral damage done to the majority of innocents. It’s like burning down a house to rid it of mice.

As a parent, particularly a parent of black teenage boys, I am left with the question, “Now, what do I tell my boys?”

We used to say not to run in public because that might be seen as suspicious, like they’d stolen something. But according to Zimmerman, Martin drew his suspicion at least in part because he was walking too slowly.

So what do I tell my boys now? At what precise pace should a black man walk to avoid suspicion?

And can they ever stop walking away, or running away, and simply stand their ground? Can they become righteously indignant without being fatally wounded?

Laura Murphy, Director of the Washington ACLU Legislative Office, provided these compelling and ludicrous rules of conduct, in her piece "A Mother's Rules for Being Young, Black and Male."

Right now we send our Black children disturbingly contradictory signals on how to conduct themselves so that they are free from discrimination and violence. Here are a few examples:

1) Black boys and men should not walk too quickly or run because that suggests they've done something wrong. They also should not walk too slowly because that suggests they must be looking for trouble.

2) Young black men should not put their hands in their pockets but should instead always keep their hands where others can see them. They should also avoid gesticulating, because others might misinterpret their gestures as aggressiveness.

3) Black boys and men should wear business attire at all times because casual clothes—especially hoodies—suggest they're up to no good.

4) Black youth should never hang out with more than three friends at one time, because large groups are likely to be mistaken for a gang. They should also be careful about walking alone—young men hanging out by themselves, like Trayvon Martin, are suspicious.

5) When shopping, whether at a grocery store or a department store, young Black men should check out quickly in order to avoid suspicion. But they should not check out too quickly, because that means they've pocketed merchandise on their way out.

6) Young black men should never make eye contact with others because it is threatening; they should never avert their eyes because that looks furtive.

7) Black men must be careful about walking, driving, or flying while black, especially in neighborhoods or in destinations where there are typically not a lot of black people. But they should avoid low income neighborhoods, because that is where the police are even more inclined to respond with brutality and arrest.

8) And the most important lesson of all to be learned from this tragedy is that Black boys and men must be careful about defending themselves because, no matter what happens, they will be seen as the aggressor.

She ends with a call to action.

"I simply don't know what to tell my son about how to live his life under these circumstances. I have known for a long time that there is nothing I can do to protect my son from prejudice. But I simply refuse to accept that there is nothing I can do to protect him from violence. This is the current reality that my son and countless parents like me face, but we cannot stop here.

We must call on the Justice Department to update the guidance on the use of race in federal law enforcement, and we must get Congress to Pass the End Racial Profiling Act, for the sake of my son and Black children across the country."

The Feds are Fed Up with the city of Huntsville

A Tale of two Hoods, separate and unequal.

Whats that you say? The city of Huntsville is facing a full scale fair housing investigation and it wasn't chosen at random? I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you!
Not.

Huntsville has stumbled into the cross hairs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mayor Tommy Battle said HUD's Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Program Center in Atlanta recently notified the city that it will conduct an exhaustive civil rights compliance review of local affordable housing programs.
The probe will look for any evidence of discrimination in the city community development office's use of HUD dollars from 2008 to 2010.

The spin is in!

Battle said he strongly believes that office, led by Michelle Jordan, follows civil rights guidelines in administering HOME, Community Development Block Grant and Neighborhood Stabilization Program money.
The city gets about $1.8 million a year from HUD for affordable housing activities.

For those who don't know Michelle Jordan just happens to be an African American, so they are already playing blame it on the black woman game because in addition to claims of racial discrimination the Feds are focusing on the actions of the previous director of Community Development.

Michelle Jordan, the city's community development director, said two auditors from HUD's Atlanta regional office were in Huntsville from Feb. 7 until late May looking into Mirabeau's finances.
Jordan's predecessor, Jerry Galloway, began lending large chunks of the city's HOME dollars to Reynolds in March 2002 to stabilize what had become a crime-ridden apartment complex.
While the money was primarily used for construction work, part of it went to pay Reynolds' developer fees and to hire lawyers and marketing experts.
Reynolds used the largest of the low-interest loans, $932,831 in November 2004, to refinance old debt at Mirabeau, according to a timeline provided by the city.

Now the righty's, bless their hearts, just can't understand why Huntsville is being reviewed because of negative public comments about fair housing in The Times and local blogs.

Psst! Here's a clue.

Battle said HUD officials have been watching closely since the housing authority’s 2009 purchase of Stone Manor Luxury Apartments ignited a public outcry.

On April 6, 2009, about 1,000 south Huntsville residents jammed into the Chaffee Elementary School lunchroom to protest the relocation of public housing residents from downtown to Stone Manor.

From the stage, Mo Brooks, now in Congress, advocated ending public housing and giving tax credits to low-income families instead.In the weeks that followed, two civic groups sprang up to monitor housing authority activities. Republican state lawmakers floated bills to strip the authority’s eminent domain power and require it to notify adjacent homeowners before buying property.

Oh, and this might have helped put Huntsville in the *ahem* cross hairs.

the Senate haWhile no one should minimize the many positive things accomplished during the just-concluded state legislative session, it is nevertheless bitterly disappointing to many in this area to learn that, despite having overwhelming Republican majorities in both houses, the legislature could not manage to pass the public housing reform bills.

There were two bills under consideration, both introduced by Rep. Mike Ball. The first would have required public notification before a public housing authority could purchase property. That bill was later amended so that it only applied to Huntsville. The second bill would have stripped the state’s public housing authorities of the power of eminent domain.

Rep. Ball did yeoman’s work shepherding these bills through the committee votes and getting them passed in mid-April by the full House. The bills then went to the Senate, where they were approved at the committee level during the first week in May. At that point, d a full month to bring the bills up for a vote, but it never happened.

But then again, it was probably blog post like this

Dear SHCA Members,

The included link will take you to a story on flashpoint blog. With the exception of Dr. Moores involvement, SHCA leadership has worked with the author in confirming the details reported. The initial incident reports provided to the media by the Huntsville Police Department were so highly sanitized, that they gave no details which cought the attention of the media. We have been told that this sanitation is due to laws which protect minors. Unfortunately, these laws encouraged the continued endangerment of the child who was assulted (sic) in the second attack.

SHCA will continue looking into this matter. We would like to know whether the perpetrator was transferred to another south Huntsville school. If you have any first hand knowledge of this situation which has not been reported, please reply to this message. The identity of members who wish to help will be kept confidential

.

But then again, it might have been comments like this

"Poor kids deserve exposure to a more normalized atomosphere(sic) if they are ever going to have a chance to integrate."

I agree! My kids (and, of course, myself and my wife) deserve to be relocated to The Ledges immediately! How are we supposed to integrate socially if we are forced to live in the area that we can actually afford? It's discriminatory and outrageous that we should be turned away and forced to live in a "bad" area.

Oh, wait. I don't live in a bad area. I live in an area consistent with my economic means, but instead of whining about it I keep going to work and paying my bills. I don't sit at home smoking crack and complaining about how I'm being kept down by The Man. I don't break into my neighbor's house when he's at work. I make sure my kids are in school and not running around with gang-bangers. I mow my yard and keep the house up so as not to bring down the value of my property or the properties around me. I don't pick-up truck with no wheels sitting on cinder blocks in my front yard.

In other words, I behave and live in a manner consistent with the neighborhood I wish to live in.

What revbob said!

I just love the reaction of white conservatives in the comments. "We aren't racists. It's all you damn Americans who are racists!"

If you want to learn exerything that's important about white conservative power in Alabama, just read those comments.

The feds read about it in blogs (let's all take a bow). They didn't read about it in the papers.

The South Huntsville White People's Times completely dropped the ball on the story on Huntsville's continued segregation and their Massive Resistance to integration.

Segregation: it's as conservative as Ku Klux Pie.

"You can lead a horse to water"

There are some who want to blame the sad,sorry, segregated, state of Huntsville City Schools on black parents and life's unfairness. Instead of acknowledging, as the DOJ has done, that there is a real and significant achievement gap in Huntsville, they dream up excuses for why educational achievement can't improve, can't be achieved.

Attending or not attending parent teacher conferences does not address the disparities or the segregation.

Helping or not helping your child with their homework does not address the disparities of the segregation.

Reading or not reading to your child does not address the disparities or the segregation.

Parental involvement or the lack there of does not address the disparities or the segregation?


North Huntsville parents don't have to "accept responsibility" for the disparities or the segregation because they didn't create or cause them. Through the Department of Justice they are holding those who are responsible accountable.

Playing blame the victim is a convenient game of scapegoat that is leaving poor/black/brown children behind.

While some continue to play the blame the victim, scapegoat game, others are going to look for solutions and accept the things that can't be changed (parental involvement), change the things that can be changed (disparities/segregation) and the wisdom to know the difference (parental involvement can't be dictated or legislated).

Every child in this city has the right to a quality public education regardless of race, gender, zip code or degree of parental involvement because Education is the Hope of the Republic.

Remember?

The DoJ to Huntsville City Schools-"Don't even think about it."

For some reason, the Huntsville City School Board of Education wants the school district released from a court order to desegregate even though the school district is segregated. The Department of Justice told them not to even think about being released from the federal court order.

The District’s 2007-2008 overall student enrollment was 43.1% black and 48.7% white. However, the majority of the District’s 47 schools were racially identifiable black or white due to the composition of their respective student bodies.

Here is the *ahem* rationale for the segregation

The DoJ can’t force people to live where they don’t want to live (yet), so it is basically saying that either Huntsville must engage in massive busing or… engage in massive busing.

The DoJ can't force people to live where they don't want to live, but the HCS can force them to send their children to school based on where they live. In most cases it's not where parents want to live, it's where parents can afford to live. Affluent parents have access to the best public schools their tax dollars can buy. Disadvantaged parents have access to the worst public schools their tax dollars can buy.

Why should parents be forced by the school system to send their children to failing public schools? Remember the Ohio parent who was convicted of sending her children to a school outside of her district?

American educational apartheid dictates that schools in poorer neighborhoods are of significantly less quality than other schools. The racial divisions within American schools are nothing less than a blatant and consistent human rights violation and should certainly be treated as such.

Blogger Ben at Flashpoint says;

The magnet schools that were supposed to lure white students to north Huntsville have been a colossal failure as a tool of integration, so it’s hard to see how else the system could otherwise meet this requirement.

Well, that's not quite true. The magnet schools did lure white students to north Huntsville, and far from being a colossal failure, they are a colossal success. They are racially balanced (thanks to busing) and have high test scores. The problem is there are no magnet schools located in south Huntsville to lure black students.

One thing is clear, Huntsville will not be released from the federal court order unless and until they reach a unitary status. My recommendation is they look at other systems who have achieved unitary status as a model.

The current school system is the result of a 1976 merger between the previous (historically largely white) Wake County school system and the former (historically largely minority) Raleigh City schools. The merger was proposed initially by business leaders in the early 1970s out of concerns that continued "white flight" from Raleigh's inner-city schools would negatively impact the county's overall economy. Political and educational leaders also hoped that merging the two systems would ease court-mandated desegregation. The proposal proved initially unpopular with residents, however, who rejected it by a 3-1 margin in a non-binding referendum in 1973. School and business leaders instead convinced the North Carolina General Assembly to force the merger.[2]

The district since has become notable for its integration efforts. Schools in the system are today integrated based on the income levels reported by families on applications for federally subsidized school lunches, with the goal of having a maximum ratio of 40% low-income students at any one school. Consequently, thousands of suburban students are bused to magnet schools in poorer areas—and likewise, low-income students to suburban schools—to help maintain this income balance.

The neighborhood school concept not only enables segregation but it affects property values. Houses cost $40-50,000 dollars more in south Huntsville because property values are tied to the academic success (or failure) of the schools. Eliminating the neighborhood school concept and instituting public school choice would not only integrate the school district but equalize property values. Instead of attending the nearest schools, parents and students could choose to attend schools based on their interest (i.e. magnet schools).

I repeat;

As long as the quality of public education in Huntsville is based on parental income and property values there is no hope for the Huntsville City Schools.


As long as those in positions of power believe it’s a silly, unrealistic, line that every school should be as good as Grissom, there is no hope for Huntsville City Schools.

As long as those in positions of power believe them uppity coloreds and sneaky Mexicans would receive an education only white, god-fearing, clean, and law-abiding children deserve, there is no hope for the Huntsville City Schools.

As long as black parents aren't politically involved to the same extent as white parents there is no hope for the Huntsville City Schools.

I don't care how many Superintendents, clueless consultants and school boards are hired and fired, there is no hope for the Huntsville City Schools as long as long as people with racist beliefs have the power to exercise racism.

One would think a school system whose motto is Education is the Hope of the Republic would make an effort to educate ALL students regardless of race, gender, sex or address.

Redeye's Week in Review

Get the rope! Light the torches! The Obama/Holder InJustice Department is cleaning up that there democratic culture of corruption and cronyism down here in Sweet Home Alabama with a couple of token republicans, independents and lobbyist thrown in for good measure. Yep, republicans are breathlessly salivating over the Bingo indictments and having multiple orgasms over the prospect of Milton McGregor and company spending lots of time at Club Fed. The spin is in.

Meanwhile under the radar...a Watchdog Groups Calls on Criminal Investigations and an IRS Audit of U.S. Chamber of Commerce over allegations of Foreign Money.
Hundreds Of Thousands Collected By Chamber To Influence Elections

Washington, DC--StopTheChamber.com, a group of watchdog organizations dedicated to corporate accountability, today renewed its calls for a criminal investigation and complete audit of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in light of yesterday’s stunning revelation that the Chamber has been actively soliciting money from foreign companies to influence American elections. In a report released yesterday, the non partisan Center for American Progress Action Fund found that the Chamber has been blatantly violating campaign finance laws not only by accepting money from foreign companies but also soliciting that money and then using it to try to influence U.S. Elections.

Race Baiting Radio Boy aka Dale Jackson (r. voter suppression with the state seal of approval) must really be desperate for ratings if he's going on location to Democratic Party Headquarters. I would rather run through hell with a pair of gasoline drawers than show up at Democratic Party Headquarters, or listen to his hate radio show myself, but y'all have fun. I hope radio boy shows up at the correct address. Oh wait, this might be another one of his *ahem* parody's.

Hallelujah! About 100 people from Alabama are traveling to Washington D.C. on October 30, 2010 to have their sanity restored! Please let them come back ready to fight the right wing noise machine, support the democratic nominee(s) and stop pandering to the right at the expense of the left. Amen.

This week, Elon James White provides what I believe to be the most persuasive and urgent articulation of the extreme importance of getting your Donkey out there and voting in this year’s election. H/T Jill Tubman Warning video contains the F word and it's not just for black people.

It’s not just the President who is under attack y’all…and yeah, it hasn’t all been perfect. Some things have happened that shouldn’t have happened. But overall it’s been pretty good and the Prez is working hard to pull America from the brink and get us back on track. The vision the Republicans and their Tea Party appears to involve some weird fetish for the America of the Founders….many of whom were active slave owners. If y’all can’t grasp the underlying significance of that fetish and have our President’s back, then you know what to do. Despite the fact that Barack Obama has not turned out to be a bacon-flavored magical unicorn avatar who can solve all America’s problems by appointing Professor Dumbledore to his cabinet — you betta vote (to crib a little RuPaul). Enthusiasm gap? Get over it. And vote.

Vote like your life depends on it.

This is what a Legal Lynching looks like

The worst kept secret in Alabama came to light yesterday when the Bush/Dick/Artur Davis infused InJustice Department spread out across the state and"perp walked" Victory Land owner Milton McGregor and other individuals on federal charges of conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud, 29 days prior to an election, but it's not a political witch hunt because the Bush/Dick/Artur Davis infused "Obama" In Justice Department is bringing the charges and they certainly wouldn't want to "hurt their own party prior to the election". *Snark* Take off your tin foil hat and go back to sleep. *Snark* This is about cleaning up and restoring faith in our state government dammit! Yeah right.

Now where have we heard of charges of conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud being filed prior to an Alabama gubernatorial election before? Oh, I know!
Shades of Siegelman

Is Don Siegelman in prison because he’s a criminal or because he belonged to the wrong political party in Alabama? Siegelman is the former governor of Alabama, and he was the most successful Democrat in that Republican state. But while he was governor, the U.S. Justice Department launched multiple investigations that went on year after year until, finally, a jury convicted Siegelman of bribery.

Here we go again. The last time it was about an Education Lottery, this time it's about B-I-N-G-O and democratic gubernatorial candidate Ron Sparks PLAN to tax gambling revenues.

State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks fashioned a campaign platform for governor that calls for taxes on the gambling industry and the creation of a state lottery to provide tax cuts for Alabama families and college scholarships for their children.

I am still trying to figure out why it's illegal for grown A$$ people to play BINGO or the lottery with their own damn money in Alabama but I digress, I want to debunk the "it's not a political witch hunt because it's Obama's Justice Department" meme.
Legal Schnauzer reports;

The U.S. Justice Department is spinning today's actions as a legitimate probe focused on corruption connected to gambling legislation. But our sources have been saying for weeks that it is designed to affect the November elections. Polls show Republican Robert Bentley already leading Democrat Ron Sparks in the race for governor, and the arrests could help the GOP take over one or both houses of the Alabama Legislature, a long-stated goal of outgoing governor Bob Riley.

Although President Obama is the President and Eric Holder is the Attorney General, their power is shall I say limited because their nominees to fill key Justice Department slots are being held up by Secret Holds.....

All of the people that are questioning Pres. Obama do not really know about the legal process. All US Senators can place what are called "HOLD" or a block of replacing federal officials. Obama cannot replace Canery because she is being held up by our two US Senators (Shelby and Sessions). Now I think that everyone knows why the holds are in place.

If Obama wants to replace any attorney, he has to send that nomination to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Do anyone knows who is the ranking member of that Committee? Yes that's right it is Senator Jefferson Beauregard Session III.

A lot of us Professional Lefty's have long questioned why President Obama hasn't stoped the Legal Lynching and restored honesty and integrity to the Justice Department like he promised, now we know we can thank Artur Davis for providing the rope.

With Davis largely at the helm, what do we have in terms of federal appointees? Well, Bush lackey Leura Canary still is U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. Joyce White Vance holds office in the Northern District, where she has done little but protect and cover up for her corrupt predecessor, Alice Martin. And I have seen evidence that one Obama nominee to the federal bench, chosen with Davis' help, is little more than a toady for corrupt corporate interests. The notion that these people were chosen for their "legal ability" makes me want to guffaw.

In short, Davis' handling of the federal-nominations process in Alabama has been an unmitigated disaster.

Former democratic Alabama Governor Don Siegelman was the first to sound the alarm;

I think this will make Watergate look like child's play when it is fully
investigated, not so much this case because certainly it's not about
me. It's about restoring justice and protecting our democracy and,
because this case shows the lengths to which those who are
obsessed with power will go in order to gain power or retain power,

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ron Sparks is sounding the alarm;

“Anyone who loves democracy and freedom should be concerned with the timing of these indictments. Waiting to announce indictments after the election would have had no impact on the cause of justice. The timing of this, regardless of how you feel about it, is suspicious and must be questioned.”

This is a bipartisan alarm(please read the comments and tell me it's not political)“This is an outrage. This is a nakedly political move, coordinated by prosecutors in cahoots with the Governor’s office to deny the people of the Wire grass their right to vote and their lawful representation,” Smith said. “We are not going to allow this to happen! I am committed to fighting these charges, and winning this election.”

What we have here is called exaggeration for effect You know the drill....spin the facts to make it look like the democratically controlled state legislature is guilty of ethical and legal improprieties, try the "case" in the media and on blogs, then convict in the court of public opinion, hoping the misinformed/uninformed voters will fall for the Okey Doke. Voila! Legal Lynching.

What I want to see front and center from my party regarding this matter is a condemnation of corruption and political prosecutions of/for/and by the republican infused Justice Department, which would be something on these lines;

Corruption has no place in the Justice Department, period. Injstice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. When injustice is present in government corruption thrives. We believe in liberty and justice for all and a justice system that works for people and not to punish political oppenents. Turning a blind eye to political prosecutions goes against the very fabric of the system of justice our country was founded on. Political Presecutions are something a Communist country or an evil Dictator would do. Remember?

This is what I would to like hear from the gop regarding this matter;

“The ongoing investigation and subsequent arrests should cease immediately until republican Senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions stop obstructing the Obama Justice department. This should serve as a referendum on the culture of corruption that has been prevalent in the Justice Department infused with loyal Bushies for far too long. It is our hope that today’s action by the gop infused, Obama Justice Department will lead to a systematic change in the U.S. Justice Department, and one that will restore honesty and interity to the people’s government.”

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) on Thursday placed a blanket hold on all of President Barack Obama's nominees before the Senate, according to the office of Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Shelby's holds mean that the Senate cannot vote on a nominee unless the hold is broken using a cloture vote that requires 60 senators or if the senator lifts the hold.

You would think with all the problems facing Alabamians the state wouldn't waste precious resources to prove so called "vote buying" but here we go.

I don’t see any real point to clogging up the courts and spending money on this. It’s effectively turned into a longstanding p***ing contest between Riley and whoever favors gambling. I agree there are a few things in the indictments that are gonna screw a couple of these folks. But if the cash for votes policy is such a prosecutable offense, you might as well arrest everybody in the legislature that’s ever spoken to a lobbyist. Oh, and panty wuss of the year award goes to Benjamin Lewis. Hope he’s enjoying that cushy judgeship. He sure was at a lot of their get together. It almost sounds like he was interested.

A wiser investment of time would be to pay the guy at the state house to draft a bill requiring a commissioned fight between Bob Riley and Milton McGregor. Riley wins, no gambling, McGregor wins, Vegas vacation! Makes use of the boxing commission we got a couple years back at the least. Plus, you can put it on pay-per-view and make up for that education shortfall and then some. No betting allowed though! I’d say Bob’s got a longer reach and a good jab, but my money would be on Milton. He’s got more power and balance and is a submission hold guru.

Democrats are under attack by the Justice Department in Alabama.

"Montgomery, AL -- Alabama Democratic Party Executive Director Jim Spearman today called into question the method by which U.S. Marshals attempted to serve legislators subpoenas to appear to testify in a grand jury proceeding. Reporters were apparently tipped off by calls stating U.S. Marshals were coming to the Alabama Statehouse to serve some legislators. "The drama surrounding these actions and the U.S.

Department of Justice's disruption of a legislative session for the routine serving of a summons to appear in court sends a poor signal to Alabama citizens who are already complaining about partisan political interference into the federal prosecution of former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman," says Spearman.

This is what a Legal Lynching looks like;

The attorney for Bessemer City Councilwoman Louise Alexander, accused of using her position for personal gain, has asked a judge to dismiss the case.

U. W. Clemon's motion, filed late Thursday, claimed that Alexander is "being selectively and vindictively prosecuted" by Attorney General Troy King, while similar cases have not been prosecuted. Clemon asked the judge to compel King's office to turn over information that would support the selective prosecution claim.

Alexander is charged in a five-count indictment in Jefferson County Circuit Court. She is accused of soliciting funds from businessman Stan Pate on Jan. 30, 2006, and Jan. 30, 2007.

This is what Artur Davis is saying today;

"Once again, the State of Alabama is the subject of an embarrassing spectacle that only confirms the worst suspicions about Alabama politics," Davis said in a statement issued today. "The indictments announced today are a sad commentary on the grip that gambling interests have on Alabama politics and the extent to which they have sought to corrupt this year's elections."

But this is what he said in February of 2008 regarding political prosecutions in Alabama before he resigned from the House Judicary Committee to run for Governor;

Here's Congressman Artur Davis (D, AL-07) pressing Attorney General Mukasey to identify steps he has taken to determine whether sworn allegations of political influence in the Department of Justice are accurate.

Is governing while democrat the problem?

Don Siegelman was the most prominent Democrat in the state when the Justice Department began investigating him. It looked like he had a bright future back then. As a frequent reader of newspapers in those days, it looked like the Alabama press were very happy to cover his problems and not interested in digging to see if there was a political angle to the investigations and the timing of the charges against him. Siegelman is now in prison (he is appealing the conviction) and his political hopes are in tatters.

Is it a coincidence that Rep. Artur Davis is one of the most prominent Democrats in Alabama right now, frequently mentioned as a future Governor or Senator? Surely we aren't seeing the beginning of a campaign to slime another Southern Democrat who looks like he could go places.

Government can't be "cleaned up" until the Justice Department is "cleaned up".

NO CLEAN JUSTICE.
NO CLEAN GOVERNMENT.