Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Joey Kennedy has been fired from the Alabama Media Group for being too liberal

Joey Kennedy via Alabama Political Reporter

Another one bites the dust.....
According to a Facebook post by Veronica Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Joey Kennedy has been fired from the Alabama Media Group.

“For those of you who haven't heard: My husband, Joey Kennedy, was fired by Alabama Media Group on Thursday for being 'too personally involved' in covering his beat and for 'threatening sources' wrote Mrs. Kennedy wrote of her husband's fate.
For years Kennedy has been pilloried over of his left-leaning columns. But it was his refusal to tailor his message to fit nicely into the every growing echo chamber of faux right-wing talking points that led to his declining voice on the pages of the Birmingham News and at al.com.

And they wonder why Alabama is solidly republican?

It's the media.

It doesn't pay to be too liberal in AmeriBama.

It's Election Day! #KeepCalmVoteDem #VoteBlue

Save this phone number: 1-866-OUR-VOTE If you have any trouble voting today, call it. They will help. pic.twitter.com/svT244yWiW #VoteBlue
— Stronger Together (@UniteBlue) November 4, 2014

Change has come to some of the Alabama Airways!

I make a concerted effort to be in my car from 12-3 PM CST, Monday-Friday so I can listen to Keeping it Real with  Rev. Al Sharpton on XM 169 The Power.  Imagine my surprise when a the guest host identified a caller listening on WEUP AM radio in Huntsville, Alabama!!!  We don't have to listen to all Ru$h and Company, and all  Ru$h Wanna Bees  all the time anymore and I don't have to drive around to hear liberal talk!

Finally, conversation about social and political issues from the liberal prospective!  There is a saying, he/she who controls the message controls the outcome.   Why do republicans control the outcome?   Because they control the media.

Any media that dares report the truth is labeled liberal, like that's a bad thing.  In an effort not to appear liberal, the media adopted the false "fair and balanced" narrative.  It ought to be against the law to use the airways to misinform the public.  But it's not.  An informed electorate is an educated electorate.

It's not the Fairness Doctrine, but it's a start!  Liberals/progressives in Dothan, Alabama can listen to Keeping It Real on WAGF AM 1330, M-F, from 12-3 PM.   Keeping It Real is pending in Montgomery and Mobile. So stay tuned!  Tennessee Valley listeners can also listen online to conserve gas. :)

The number to the live line is 1-877-532-5797.  Get your  Liberal/Progressive Talk On!

Support Obama or Else!

Support Obama and STFU!
Support Obama or leave!
Don't think, support Obama!
Stop whining, Support Obama!
Give him credit for what he has done!
Give him time, he's only been in office 18 months!


There shall be no criticism of President Bush, I mean Obama. Deja Voodoo all over again? One thing that gets my goat is people who don't have problem with President Obama's policies and who don't want to criticize his actions bashing those of us who do

 If you support Obama blindly, that's fine. If you don't want to question Obama that's fine. But don't try and suppress dissent or dissenters. That's something that happens under evil dictatorships and under gop administrations. Remember?

For the record I am a strong supporter of President Obama's, but I have serious and strong objections to some of his policies. It's not the CHANGE I HOPED and VOTED for.

I voted for our troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
I voted for restoring honesty, integrity and justice to the Justice Department and an end to Scooter Libby justice and Brownie incompetence.
I voted for closing Gitmo.
I voted for health care reform that included a public option.
I voted for public education reform.
I voted for jobs.

Now, the way Obama is heading he will be a one term President because his base, aka The Professional Left will stay home in November (can you say Scott Brown?).

Former White House Press Secretary  Robert Gibbs showed his true colors (pun intended) when he attacked The Professional Left.  Like former Mississippi Senator Trent Lott , he told us us how some in power in this administration really about the base. It also explains why President Obama's agenda is what it is (not) and why his poll numbers are tanking enabling republicans to get their hands on the car keys in November.

Was Robert Gibbs in cahoots with Rush Limbaugh to make sure President Obama failed? How many more Robert Gibbs are there in the Obama administration? Hmmmmm....

Gibbs re "Professional Liberals":

"They will be satisfied when we have Canadian health care and we've eliminated the Pentagon. That's not reality," he added. "They wouldn't be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was President."

Wrong Mr. Gibbs. I would be perfectly satisfied if Dennis Kuchinich was President. For one thing, our sons and daughters would be coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Our tax dollars would be used to rebuild America. We would have health care reform that included a public option. As a matter of fact Mr. Gibbs, Dennis Kuchinich has been right (no pun) about everything.

What The Rude Pundit said, all the damn way! Warning, contains raw, language.

So, let's get this straight, Bobby G. We on the left warned your boss and the Democrats that every time you reached out your hands to the Republicans, those f&^kers would just gnaw on 'em. But you kept on with the effort of bipartisanship, watering down bills and watering 'em down. Anyone with a lick of sense knew that the GOP was just setting you up: force 'em to compromise and then make sure that what gets passed does just a scintilla of what could have been done. On bill after bill these mad negotiations occurred, and now you're accusing us of not living in reality? No, really, truly, f&*k you, man.

And all of you who don't have a problem with President Obama's agenda STFU. Really, truly.

My Liberal Rant

I am not a Progressive, I am a proud, card carrying, bleeding heart, tree hugging, Birkenstock wearing, LIBERAL big D Democrat. You got that?

The term "progressive" is today often used in place of "liberal." Why? Because republicans made liberal a dirty word. In an effort to appease the gop Liberals decided to call themselves progressives. Unfortunately the progressive brand has been hijacked by neo-liberals and corporatist dems.

H/T to Captain Plaid for Making It Plain!

I am libeRAL as I believe humanity can advance.

o Our civil liberties must be protected. No exceptions!

o I believe in the power of law. She’s not perfect and I’ve seen injustices, often related to power and poverty frankly. I’m very concerned with the burrowed in Federalist Society sorts on benches across this land. Our Alabama Supreme Court is largely bought and paid for by the Business Council of Alabama and other Big Mules like Alfa. The Court of Criminal Appeals used to be rather hostile to defense lawyers and I know for a fact they dodged a serious question I once raised in a brief.

o Lockean libertarians who recognize the need for social insurance and regulation were once celebrated yet are now having rocks thrown at them.

o I favor same-sex marriages or at least civil unions. Discrimination can hardly be tolerated as to a person’s sexual orientation.

o I had a person once tell me liberals believe people are inherently good. I'm not sure I buy that yet I do think many are. On some of the laggards, ignorant, … I occasionally think of how I used to work with critters by making it easy for them to do the right thing. Policies to prod, channel, and the like are OK for me but then again just help and a hug work on the face to face work I try to do. I know for a fact I helped some kids I taught or have known and likely could have done more if carrying a fair work load and able to really teach and represent.

o Education is an investment. We ought to be proud to spend money for our future generations.

o Clinton’s welfare “reform” sounded perhaps good on paper and was a winner politically yet only a booming economy avoided a train wreck. The costs of having those babies being taken from their mothers so she could do some type of “make work” is hard to measure but I bet there were and are costs.

mooncat says I am not typical of any democrat she knows
What is she thinking?

I begged readers to read the History: Democrats $ Republicans On Civil Rights and Equality which let me know what kind of democrat I'm not;

Conservative Democrats left the party in opposition to civil rights and became Republicans. After the Civil Rights law was signed into law, conservative Democrats left the party. Strom Thurmond, who ran as a segregationist in 1948, became a Republican, as did Jesse Helms (who went on to filibuster against making Martin Luther King Jr. day a federal holiday).

I'm not the kind of democrat who runs away from Nancy Pelosi and President Obama in an attempt to woo so called moderates/independents and other concern trolls.

I'm not the kind of democrat who jumps in bed with the Tea Party Gang.

I'm not the kind of democrat who says support my candidate/point of view or else.

I'm not the kind of democrat who falls for the Talking TeeVee Pundit Head spin

I'm the kind of democrat who is sick and tired of being bullied by the right wing because you know what? I really don't want to hear the other side.

So There!

WHY would a liberal democrat WANT to vote for a republican?

Seriously. Mooncat over at Left in Alabama asked republican gubernatorial candidate Bradly Byrne the following question at a candidate forum sponsored by right wing radio station WVNN last week;
I'm a Liberal Democrat, Why Should I Vote for You?
Bradly Byrne replied;
"If you're a liberal Democrat, I can't think of any reason you'd want to vote for me" -

I can't either. The key word is IF.
IF you are a liberal democrat why would you want to vote for a republican? republicans are against everything liberal democrats stand for.

Liberal Democrats are pro choice, republicans are anti choice.

Liberal democrats are pro quality of life, republicans are pro life as long as it's in the womb, after that all bets are off. republicans are pro life and anti welfare. republicans are pro life and pro death penalty.

Liberal democrats are pro public education, republicans are anti public education.

Liberal democrats are pro labor, republicans are anti labor.

Liberal democrats are pro civil rights, pro equal rights, pro human rights, pro LBGT rights, republicans are anti civil rights, anti equal rights, anti human rights, anti LBGT rights.

Liberal democrats are anti war, republicans are pro war.

Liberal democrats are pro government, republicans are anti government unless they are the the government.

Liberal democrats care about the least of these, republicans care about making the rich richer.

I guess it depends on what the definition of "liberal democrat" IS.

Wanted: Alabama Democrats has a must read rant about the conventional wisdom infecting Alabama democrats with learned helplessness. We are not republicans. We don't want to be republicans.
We are democrats and we are right.

We are proud liberals.

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

Real liberals don't WANT to vote for a republican, or a republican lite.

What If Wednesday

What If the Dems were a party of Alan Graysons instead of a pack of gutless weasels?

What If a Real Progressive Wins the 5th district Congressional seat in Alabama?

What If next they come for you?

What If Sarah Palin just STFU?

What If the media really was liberal?

To be continued.....

Poo Pot Punks and Profiles in Political Cowardice

Contrary to popular belief I do have a life outside of the blogosphere and lately said life has inhibited my ability to blog on a regular basis. I also believe it's a good thing for us political junkies to step away from the blogosphere, XM talk radio and Cable News from time time for a mental health break and do "normal" things.

The mental health break is over, I'm back, rejuvenated, reinvigorated and ready to go! I haven't decided if this will be a random Redeye Rant or if I will just cover a few issues of the day so here goes my re-entry into the blogospehre!

Somethings never change. Artur Davis is what is known in my community at a Poo Pot Punk. You know, the kid who throws a rock and hides his hand. Or, the kid who starts the fight then runs home and hides behinds his Mommy's skirt tail. Every since Davis voted against the health care reform bill he has been skipping out on forums and public appearances. Not only that, Davis announced he was giving traditional black organizations the middle finger because he's afraid to face them after voting against health care reform and the hate crimes bill. My friend bluebearcat has the best comment regarding Davis's *ahem* courage;

I am so glad that we finally have a black Democratic candidate bold enough to oppose equal rights for gays, universal health care, cap-and-trade, and bridge loans to domestic auto companies while supporting billions in bailouts for the financial sector. We finally have a black Democrat who is progressive enough to have a stronger relationship with the BCA than with teachers' unions, the ADC, and the ANSC. Thank god we finally have a black Democrat willing to stand up for the banks against the consumer. Oh yes, and he supports constitutional reform but has no plan for actually achieving it. What progress we will make over those regressive old groups that just spent time all those years marching for voting rights, public education, and ensuring that black voters actually had representation in Montgomery (it's easy to forget that Alabama has the highest proportion of black legislators in the U.S., which is almost solely due to Joe Reed's redistricting prowess).

Pull yourself out of the running before you have the chance to lose; that is real courage, Artur Davis.

Let the race baiting begin! Davis resorts to "race baiting" by announcing 16 black mayors have endorsed him. I wish Davis would make up his damn mind. He doesn't need the endorsement of the Alabama Democratic Conference or The New South Coalition, but he welcomes the endorsement of "16 black Mayors". What if Ron Sparks issued a press release that said "16 white mayors" endorsed him? If Davis is so confident his vote against health care reform was the right (pun intended) thing to do, why won't he defend it? If there ever was an award for Profiles in Political Cowardice, Davis would win hands down. His friend Bart Stupak would come in second. I say we need to purge the party of Poo Pot Punks. Good riddance.

Our beloved Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is making Sweet Home Alabama look good again as the ranking gop member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Not. On the contrary, he's up to his old tricks.

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the committee, said he feared that Liu would engage in "intellectual judicial activism" and abuse the Constitution. And he questioned Liu's experience.

Sessions has some nerve questioning someones intellect or their experience IMHO.
I guess he's gearing up for his next great stand and getting ready to lead the charge against President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court. Speaking of which, President Obama you owe us a progressive/liberal nominee to make up for Alito, Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia.

The good news is that the president who selects Stevens’ successor is Barack Obama, so unless our president loses his mind, there’s no chance that the nominee will be one of those nose-in-the-air conservatives who thinks his main job is to prove how unmerciful they can be with individuals and how generous they can be to corporate and institutional powers.

The danger is that it could be one of those nose-in-the-air moderates who feels so guilty about being in the middle that he or she turns out to be a kite – that is, one who follows the wind. These folks can often pass as liberals or progressives. They’re on justice’s side when it comes to things like reproductive rights and civil rights and liberties. But on other matters – like favoring corporate prerogatives over citizen’s rights – they are as conservative as it gets. Justice Stephen Breyer, a Clinton appointee, comes to mind

If President Obama has the political courage to open off shore drilling surely he has the political courage to appoint a progressive/liberal to the Supreme Court.

I'm just saying....

Yer either wit the Tea Baggers or yer aginst the Tea Baggers. You can't join with the Tea Baggers for a common cause then bash Tea Baggers for being white and racist.

Can a Real Progressive win in CD 05? You Betcha!

That is the question being asked by some in light Capt. Howie Mitchell throwing his hat into the ring as a candidate for the congressional seat presently occupied by Parker Griffith(r.turncoat).

There are some who say Howie sounds to good to be true because heis what I call a real democrat i.e. socially liberal/fiscally conservative. After the Parker Griffith charade/fiasco democrats understandably gun shy of anyone claiming to be a liberal democrat. Mitchell Howie can't just talk the talk, he's going to have to walk the walk. Fool us once...can't fool us again.

I don't expect the local or state Democratic Party elite to fully embrace Howie in favor of a *ahem* conservadem because they listen to the polling pollsters who pollster tell them that's the only way they can win (can you say Parker Griffith?), however as someone from my list serve said;

People are so sick of the ‘good ole boy’ politics from the likes of Parker Griffith and some of the other establishment candidates, that with the support of good Democrats and Progressives to help him get his message to folks throughout the district he will win!

This person hit the nail on the head:

There is a large progressive community in every part of the country. Any honest, reputable progressive is electable if the progressives can be inspired to vote.

I second what this person said;

Mitchell Howie is a candidate that can not only win, he can inspire. He represents an opportunity for North Alabamians to have a leader with integrity to represent us in Washington. But he can't do it without our help. He's going to need foot soldiers making calls, knocking on doors, and yes writing checks. It takes resources to bring down the status quo. Parker Griffith and other establishment candidates are going to be well funded by sources with their own agenda. It's up to us to ensure that Mitchell is funded by the people's agenda.

The question should be why can't Mitchell Howie win in north Alabama? Is north Alabama the hot bed of conservatism the polling pollsters claim it to be? I think NOT. I submit there are more of us than it is of them. It's past time for progressives to come out of the closet,stop being afraid to stand up for our principles/values and elect a progressive representation for a change. It's time to take our state back from the right wing. It's time for our state to make progress, to move forward, not backward.

This is how a true Progressive can win in CD 5;

1. Steve Raby and Taze Shepard can withdraw from the race and put all their support and resources behind Mitchell Howie. Nothing against either one of them, but it's time for some new blood.

2. Progressives need to organize. Those with money should give. Those without money should knock on doors, make phone calls, write letters to the editor, in other words have Howie Mitchell's back.

3. Get out the black vote. I'm going to say that again. Get out the black vote. It's the key. Give black folks something to vote for and they will vote in record numbers. Ask Barack Obama.

It's Yes we Can! Not No We Can't. If an African American man named Barack Hussein Obama can be elected President of the United States of America, Capt. Mitchell Howie can be elected Congressman from Alabama's 5th district.

Remember?