This is one of those rare times I agree with Mo Brooks

A broke clock is right (no pun) twice a day. 

"Lessons learned from War: 1.) The rich will profit from it, 2.) The Middle Class will pay for it. 3.) The Poor will suffer from it 4.) The Innocent will die from it....."

I must admit I was feeling helpless watching  some of the same ones that marched us to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, beating the Deja Voodoo drums all over again for war with Syria, but then Mo Brooks saved the day  issuing the following statement via his mouthpiece.

Dale Jackson @TheDaleJackson

Just got off the phone with @RepMoBrooks, he wants @BarackObama to wait until Congress returns in 10 days to debate military action in Syria

1:11 PM - 30 Aug 2013

Hallelujah!  Here comes Congress to save the Day!  Everybody knows if President Barack Obama is for it, republicans are against it, and this is one of those rare times I agree with the TeaPublicans.  We shouldn't be spending money we don't have attacking Syria.  I bet even  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be against drones dropping bombs on innocent people.

 Maybe we should help the Syrian Refugees instead of killing Syrians

If, as Juan Cole recommends, Obama decides to pivot and move to diplomacy after losing British support, focusing on the plight of refugees and using our airlift to send them aid would be smart politics as well as good policy.

We have our own problems over here, I wish the Obama Administration would be as Hawkish about domestic issues as they are foreign affairs.

Shouldn't the problems in Detroit,  Chicago,  New Orleans,  health care and the economy come before killing more people in Syria?

Hell Yes, they should!

"Let's have an up or down vote and put these hypocrites on record. "

RedEye Around Red State AlaBAMA~Update

 H/T Teanderthal Party

Most red states are dirt poor because they are fed a steady diet of distortions via News(sic) Talk  Radio, whose job it is to use the public airways to misinform the uniformed, and, distract them with so called wedge issues, which in turn, makes them vote against their self interest.  

I meet you all the time. You hate Obama. You hate gay people. You hate black people, immigrants, Muslims, labor unions, women who want the right to make choices concerning their bodies, you hate em all. You hate being called racist. You hate being called a bigot. Maybe if you talked about creating jobs more than you talk about why you hate gay people we wouldn't call you bigots. Maybe if you talked about black people without automatically assuming they are on food stamps while demanding their birth certificates we wouldn't call you racist. You hate socialism and social justice. You hate regulations and taxes and spending and the Government. You hate.

RedEye's  Right Wing Watch

I'm glad I have my own blog to debunk the right wing distortions since Dale "Jackson" won't allow me to comment on his blog because he's afraid to engage me in a debate/discussion.Yep, the same Dale who refuses to debate me online is demanding that Huntsville City Councilman Will Culver bow down, I mean, apologize to him, for daring to walk out of the Council meeting after Dale took aim at him and Calhoun Community College , and, for (get this) threatening to sue Dale, which he really didn't threaten to do, and even if he did so what? 

"I'm saddened by the inaccuracy of the information that's being disseminated," said Culver. "All those things that are being alleged did not happen."
During the ensuing debate over whether Jackson should be allowed to continue speaking, a clearly agitated Culver packed his briefcase, walked out of the meeting and did not return.
On Friday, Culver called Jackson's allegations "totally unfounded" and said he is "looking at my legal options."

Psst Dale!  Will Culver has the right (pun intended) to pack up his briefcase and walk out of  meeting and to look at his  legal options.  You can't force him to recant his charge any more than he can force you to recant your charges.  You both have 1st amendment rights, remember?  You might want to read  this.  I'm just saying...BTW, you are welcome to comment on my blog anytime because I believe in freedom of speech.

The same Alabama Red Republican Controlled State Legislature that wants to arm teachers, recently passed new gun laws, and the so called Alabama Accountability Act, want to ban certain books in public schools because (wait for it), State Senator Bill Holtzclaw (yes you read it right) finds Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye highly objectionable and sees no value or purpose in this book, educational or otherwise.  And you wonder why most red states are dirt poor?

The University of  Alabama sorority row bought, I mean, brought, a late surge in voter registrations for Tuesdays election which helped elect  Lee "Penis Nose" Garrison President of the Tuscaloosa City School Board. And how did the Sorority girls pull off such a feat you ask?  Why they did what any self respecting Southern Belle, I mean, Sorority girl would do...they chartered them some stretch limos and offered free drinks to members who voted.  There are allegations,  not to be confused with facts, that some of the voters weren't even from Alabama.  Why does this remind me of State Senator Scott Beason's infamous Aborigines comment?

The recording followed a different conversation that jurors heard Thursday in which Beason and other Republican senators can be heard talking about “HUD-financed buses” taking black voters to the polls in the November 2010 election if the ballot included a referendum to legalize electronic bingo.

Meanwhile way down yonder in Mobile, Alabama,  the white candidate mayoral beat the incumbent black mayoral candidate with a white surge . Surge must be the word of the day for Al.com.

Mayor Sam Jones lost support among both white and black voters in Tuesday’s election, compared with his first successful mayoral race eight years ago, an AL.com/Press-Register analysis suggests.

White voters left him for challenger Sandy Stimpson, while black voters abandoned him for home.

The difference is that there were fewer black voters, while white turnout was higher and went emphatically for Stimpson.

 Steve Raby, the mayor’s political consultant, said he did not know why white voters turned out in such higher numbers than blacks.

 There's just one little problem with this analysis....

Overall, voter turnout was 46 percent, roughly the same as in 2005.

Which leads me to believe the part about black voters abandoning the black candidate for home, which black voters don't do because the right to vote is sacred to black voters, which is why republicans are trying to suppress the black vote, is not true, but the part about white voters abandoning the black candidate, is true.

On Tuesday, Jones did not come close to winning a district where white voters outnumber blacks. Turnout averaged 48 percent in the precincts that are at least 55 percent white and exceeded 50 percent in five of them. In the precincts that are at least 55 percent black, meanwhile, turnout averaged only 39.2 percent

Rut Rho...Absentee ballots brings scrutiny and confusion on Election Day.

Less than an hour into the Mobile municipal election, people were already complaining of issues at the polls — the most common of those being that when the voter went to the poll, he or she was marked as already voted by absentee ballot. 

The absentee ballots in this election have become a flashpoint over the past few days after it came to light Friday that the U.S. Postal Inspector was looking into possible mail fraud in regard to the way the ballots were being sent in. The inspector, Tony Robinson, told FOX10, "We do have an active investigation in the Mobile area and inspectors there will be seeing that through toward prosecution.”

Herding Alabama DemoCats Rant

So, the Alabama Democratic Majority, which seceded from the Alabama Democratic Party because they refused to bow down to Joe Reed and his bunch,  held a democratic revival were they were supposed to be preaching the democratic gospel of of education, equal opportunity, voting rights, and inclusiveness (sic), however the headline in AL.com said Mark Kennedy's Alabama Democratic Majority seeking Dem's, Republicans to run for Legislature.

Add Republican candidates for public office to the growing umbrella of the Alabama Democratic Majority organization.
Speaking at a reception in his honor tonight, Mark Kennedy, who formed the Alabama Democratic Party in April following his resignation as chair of the state Democratic Party, said his group is seeking not only Democratic candidates to support but also Republicans.
"We're going to support Democrats but we're also going to look at opportunities to support independents and even Republicans to have a more balanced approach to government," Kennedy said.

Add this to the list of  I tried to tell some of y'all this is a farce.  Now why would Democrats seek republicans to run for office?  I don't see republicans say they are seeking democrats to run for office.  You know why? Because democrats and republicans have an entirely different agenda.  I'm sick and tired of  candidates running on the democratic ticket, getting elected with democratic votes, then governing like a republican.  If my choice is between a conservadem and republican I will stay my Ebony Donkey at home on election day.  If I wanted to vote republican, I would be a republican.  Maybe Kennedy and Company didn't get the memo that recent polls suggest calling Someone a republican is an insult?

 The independent political polling company NSON Opinion Strategy [1] recently published the results of a case study in which 250,000 randomly selected American voters were asked a series of questions. The details of how and where the study was conducted have yet to be released but the results are clear: 87% of Americans consider the word “Republican” to be synonymous with greed, racism, and violence.

No Absence of Malice in Bama  Update;

Attorneys for former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, who is in jail for something that is not a crime,  filed a brief with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals asking for a new trial, or at the minimum additional discovery about the role of former U.S. Attorney Leura Canary.  Maybe now that President Obama's former White House counsel is listed as the lawyers on is defense team this travesty of injustice will be over for the Siegelman family.

 Seven years after the former governor was found guilty, and after numerous failed appeals, Dana Siegelman said the family is still driven to overturn what she describes as a miscarriage of justice carried out by those who wanted her father exiled from state politics.

Free at  Last!  Free at Last!  Thank God Almighty Chris McNair is Free at Last!

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A federal judge this afternoon issued an order for the immediate release of 87-year-old former Jefferson County Commissioner Chris McNair, who is serving time in prison for his conviction on public corruption charges related to the county's sewer system. 
 McNair is the father of Denise McNair, one of the four little girls killed in the KKK's bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on Sept. 15, 1963. The 50th anniversary of that  pivotal moment in Civil Rights history is 17 days away.

RedEye Around Red State AlaBAMA over and out for now.

Hump Day Hypocrisy Diary # 2

 2000+ Comments

From DaleJackson @aol.com

To Redeyeblog.Alabama@yahoo.com

Wednesday, 

Sent Monday August 26, 2013 at 9:04 AM

You can continue to make them all day, but you will be blocked and I will not engage you on Twitter UNTIL you acknowledge you will NOT play the "I don't understand card"...

Ignore this e-mail if you want.

Dale Jackson
PD/ Host of The Dale Jackson Show 6AM-9AMThe Attack Machine Blog
NewsTalk 770 AM/92.5 FM WVNN
Cumulus Media - Huntsville , ALdale.jackson@cumulus.com
Office:  (256) 216-0165
Fax: (256) 232-6842

This is a copy of an email I received this morning from conservative radio talk show host, and Rush Limbaugh wannabe, Dale "Jackson" informing me he is still standing in the Blogosphere Door and preventing me from commenting unless I bow down to his demand and admit I will NOT play the "I don't understand card"...  In other words, it's my way or the highway.  

 What exactly is playing  the "I don't understand card" you ask?   It's when a person dares ask Dale to clarify, explain or justify, his comments/point of view. You know, that thingy that usually happens during the course of a civilized, respectful, mature,  debate/discussion.

Either Dale thinks I can read his mind, knows when he's joking, or, what he's trying to say, or, he feels as if he is one who can not be questioned.

Yes, the same Dale Jackson who is accusing Huntsville City Council member Will Culver of running away from his questions,  demanding answers from high profile city officials,  and, who filed a freedom of information request with the City of Huntsville regarding the hiring of Kenneth Anderson as the Multicultural Affairs head.

What's amazing to me is the fact Dale doesn't see the gross hypocrisy of his actions. He can dish it out, because he's not government..

RT @RedEyesPage: @TheDaleJackson you can't complain about the 1st amend when you don't practice the first amend // DJ: I am not government.
— Dale Jackson (@TheDaleJackson) August 23, 2013

He can't take it because according to him,  he's press but not a journalist. Huh?

RT @RedEyesPage: @TheDaleJackson And according to you, you are "free press" // DJ: I never said I wasn't press, I am NOT a journalist.
— Dale Jackson (@TheDaleJackson) August 23, 2013

There is more than a whiff of hypocrisy.  

 Yeah! (0.00 / 0)

Figure it out...
Downrating coming in 3...2...1...
Squash dissent!

Do better. Dale, I have to say you were right - mooncat You're an entertainer son! -Parker Griffith

 This is how Dale Jackson responds to people he doesn't agree with.

Again,  I don't know Jeff Mosley, but I wish he'd spoken up for himself at the City Council Meeting, or at least had someone to speak on his behalf that doesn't censor liberal comments on his blog, screen liberal callers to his radio show,  and resort to name calling, personal attacks, and insults when the substance of his arguments fail.

Update~ 50th Anniversary March is History-Now What?

The right to childhood should be protected

TheSkeptikOne: 50th Anniversary March is History-Now What?

 It's done, we marched, we shouted, we sang, we cried, we vented, some of us shared our memories of the first march, many of whom, like me, were alive, but too young to take part. Others who took part, wanted and desperately needed to recapture the moment. We needed to feel the energy. For whatever reason, we were compelled to be there. We needed to believe we were making a difference, again, and that people were listening to us, and that great things such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act were just around the corner, maybe this time signed by a Black President. That would truly be history and fulfillment of the dream as well as a direct answer to those determined to resurrect Jim Crow and nullify the rights of all minorities once again.

Now what indeed?  Let me say right now, If President Barack Husein Obama doesn't turn talk into action after his speech at the Lincoln Memorial today I'm going to be pi$$ed.  I never expected President Obama to be the President for/of Black Folks and only Black Folks, but never did I dream he would be the President for/of everybody except black folks.  It's time for President Obama to channel his inner African/American and do something about the condition of a race of people who are under constant attack.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King was not referring to people when he made this statement, he was referring to a system of, institutional racism.

 In other words, I've seen and heard instances where the phrase "content of their character" is often used to implicitly reinforce one's prejudices and preconceived notions of a particular group. During my brief lurkings at the Free Republic, I ran into constant examples of people denigrating a certain segment of black Americans as criminal-minded and predisposed to general thuggery, only to claim that they were merely looking at "the content of their character, as Dr. King would have them do."

The Trayvon Martin case is the perfect example of when white people judge black people. George Zimmerman, his defense (sic) team,  and the all female, 0% African American jury viewed unarmed teen Travyon Martin as a threat.  Compared to Antoinette Tuffs, who viewed heavily armed Michael Brandon Hill as a human being.


We still have a long way to go to reach the American Dr. King preached about about.  The Trayvon Martin case is another reminder that black life still has no value in America. He is our generation's Emmett Till. 

I agree with these reflections of a Clark Atlanta University student posted on facebook : "We need to step it up, get out there & stand up for what we believe in....because its one thing to talk about it but we need to BE about it!"

Martin Luther King, Jr  believed that radical activism, even at the risk of arrest, was more important than moderation and compromise. Principle over popularity.

Ain't gonna let nobody turn me around,  because we have a mighty long way to go before the dream becomes a reality.

*Long Sigh*

"Keep in mind, this little game has a victim" and it's not Dale "Jackson"

I’m the news, I should not be….

If there was ever any doubt about the power of the press, and I don't mean the printing press, I mean the people who report the news, look no further than the latest media enabled, faux, right wing outrage, starring none other than conservative talk radio host, and Rush Limbaugh wanna be, Dale Jackson.

During the public comment portion of Thursday's Huntsville City Council meeting, Jackson, host of a conservative talk show on WVNN, alleged that Calhoun wanted a powerful African-American elected official on the faculty to help push through its plans for a larger Huntsville campus. Jackson contends that Calhoun dismissed Jeff Mosely, an instructor with "excellent" personnel evaluations, to make room for Culver.

Click and read the full timeline, much of which was complied with the "help of folks who wish to remain anonymous", complete with a copy of a letter written by Jeff Mosley, "sent to many in the 2-year college chain of command, up to the Governor", without a response.

Actually there are some valid questions and concerns surrounding this issue, however, the media has made this about conservative talk show host Dale Jackson, instead of Jeff Mosley, the expansion of Calhoun Community College into Huntsville, and the  hiring of the Director of Multicultural Affairs.  Was this a quid pro quo?

We have to question the motives and the agenda of folks who wish to remain anonymous, and conservative talk radio host......who probably just added 10% to his ratings.

I don't know Jeff Mosley, but I wish he'd spoken up for himself at the City Council Meeting, or at least had someone to speak on his behalf that doesn't censor liberal comments on his blog, screen liberal callers to his radio show,  and resort to name calling, personal attacks, and insults when the substance of his arguments fail.

Keep in mind, this is not a little game, it's about real people.  The real victims are the truth and the taxpayers.

"I'm marching to save my own life, and the lives of millions of other Black people who will not be able to attend this march"

Memorializing the Freedom Riders

Joseph Postiglione, Freedom Riders' bus after attack in Anniston, Alabama, 1961. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. - See more at: http://www.southernspaces.org/2009/memorializing-freedom-riders#sthash.CUJdcdJM.dpuf

Joseph Postiglione, Freedom Riders' bus after attack in Anniston, Alabama, 1961. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. - See more at: http://www.southernspaces.org/2009/memorializing-freedom-riders#sthash.CUJdcdJM.dpuf

 Joseph Postiglione, Freedom Riders' bus after attack in Anniston, Alabama, 1961. Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

Why I Will Not Be Marching to Commemorate the 1963 March on Washington

I am still emotionally reeling from the death of Trayvon Martin and devaluation of Black life in our society. I am outraged at Black unemployment rates hovering above 12% and hundreds of thousands of hard-working Black Americans who live in poverty while working at poverty-wage paying jobs. I am tired of the constant attacks on our rights and policies put forward by radical right-wing legislators that codify inequality and put our lives in danger. I am marching to demand an end to injustices that are having a very real impact on my life today. In a sense, I am marching to save my own life and the lives of millions other Black people who will not be able to attend this march.

Hide your children and your wife.....George Zimmerman is on the prowl for a new gun

Let us March on until Victory is Won!

See you Monday.

The 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington-Segregation Then, Segregation Now, Segregation Forever

TheSkeptikOne: 

 50 years. Just passed my 63^rd birthday and I'm packing for DC. Going to the Anniversary March. Going to stand in front of the Lincoln Memorial with other like-minded people and remember the words of Dr. King. I am geeked about this trip because it's been a long time coming, but instead of total elation, my heart is heavy thinking about it.

Hump Day Hypocrisy Diary

 

Breaking News!  Recent Polls suggest calling someone a republican is insulting.  I wonder why?

The independent political polling company NSON Opinion Strategy [1] recently published the results of a case study in which 250,000 randomly selected American voters were asked a series of questions. The details of how and where the study was conducted have yet to be released but the results are clear: 87% of Americans consider the word “Republican” to be synonymous with greed, racism, and violence.

Bradley Manning exposed war crimes, torture, abuse, soldier laughing as they killed civilians...leaks not responsible for any deaths and is sentenced to 35 years in prison.  George Zimmerman  profiles, stalks and shoots There is more than a whiff of injustice.and kills an unarmed teenager  is walking around free.  And they want us to sing God Bless America?  There is more than a whiff of injustice.

Taxpayers who thought they had guaranteed rights that don't exist in black and white.  So, African American taxpayers  thought they could transfer their children out of predominantly black, underfunded, failing schools, to school non failing public schools, or private schools under the Alabama non Accountability Act, and white taxpayers thought they could take their gun anywhere, anytime,  including schools and athletic events under Alabama's  new gun laws.

  NOT.

In one area, the law says gun owners with a concealed carry permit are allowed to carry weapons to athletic events, regardless of whether they're hosted professionally or by a school. However, the law also gives property owners the right to ban firearms in places where there are strong security measures, such as guards.
The discrepancy has left many asking which part of the law supersedes the other -- are gun owners allowed to carry at athletic events that have additional security measures, like to a football game in Jordan-Hare or Bryant-Denny, or not?
The matter may have to be decided in court.

Since the Alabama courts are controlled by republicans look for the hypocrisy, I mean confusion, to continue.

Long Sigh

Update~ Thought for the Day

I wonder what part of the 2012 election was a referendum on the Affordable Health Care Act (aka ObamaCare) and we won, don't the Suckers understand?   I mean, really?  Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (r. Tuscaloosa), who has access to the best healthcare our money can buy, announced his plans to reject key provisions of the Affordable Health Care Act while the citizens he's supposed to serve are suffering.  Congress Critter Mo Brooks (r. 05), who also has access to the best healthcare our money can buy, keeps voting to keep the Suckers, I mean, his constituents from having access to the same quality Affordable Health Care.

Bentley and Brooks aren't representing the  majority of Alabamians,  no they are pandering to the the small, vocal, well funded,  percentage of Alabamians who hate President Obama, who also has access to the best health care our money can buy,  more than they love themselves.

And republiklans call themselves pro-life?  More like pro-death.  GOP Lawmakers, and I use that term loosely, can pretend they care about the well being  poor children but we know that's a L-I-E.

Edit~So, I went to see "The Butler" last night, and it made me mad

 H/T This is Your Conscience

For those of you who haven't seen the movie I won't give too much away,  but historical events in  Sweet Home Alabama  play a prominent role.  Why am I mad after seeing The Butler you ask?  Because the more things change in America....

The  

More

They 

Don't.

Favorite line from the movie: "If the federal government doesn't enforce Brown v. Board who will"?

Who indeed?

- This movie reeks of white supremacy and black submission to white supremacy
– This movie is literally being marketed as a slap in the face to black pride, african heritage, and as a portrayal that somehow turning the other cheek in the face of oppression is some kind of strong character trait [the author is referencing Oprah slapping her son in the trailer]
– BOYCOTT “THE BUTLER” and let america know that black men arent buck dancing, subservient, weak minded servants of whites or any other race/culture. This depiction is not a part of black history, it is proof of how bigotry and racism interrupted black history - See more at: http://www.thisisyourconscience.com/2013/08/from-slaves-to-servants-do-black-films-like-the-butler-deserve-to-be-boycotted/#sthash.XFWbsn2j.dpuf

- This movie reeks of white supremacy and black submission to white supremacy
– This movie is literally being marketed as a slap in the face to black pride, african heritage, and as a portrayal that somehow turning the other cheek in the face of oppression is some kind of strong character trait [the author is referencing Oprah slapping her son in the trailer]
– BOYCOTT “THE BUTLER” and let america know that black men arent buck dancing, subservient, weak minded servants of whites or any other race/culture. This depiction is not a part of black history, it is proof of how bigotry and racism interrupted black history - See more at: http://www.thisisyourconscience.com/2013/08/from-slaves-to-servants-do-black-films-like-the-butler-deserve-to-be-boycotted/#sthash.XFWbsn2j.dpuf

The Washington Times tries to blame the NAACP and the DoJ for Huntsville's Failing Schools via The Attack Machine

@TheDaleJackson @Mark_Kellner The NAACP nor the DOJ are responsible for 40+ years & 71-74  failing schools in AL being predominantly black.
— Red Eye (@RedEyesPage) August 16, 2013

Read  the Concern Trolling for the poor African American students who are trapped in "failing schools" because of the mean ole  NAACP and the DOJ  Here:

There will always be arguments over whether and how much the schools have improved. It may indeed be the case that once-failing schools in Huntsville have improved substantially in the past six years. And perhaps the Alabama Accountability Act could stand an overhaul. But the issues of school choice and of putting students first seem to be lost on both the Department of Justice and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Seeking to keep their lawyers busy, these two enterprises are more concerned about “balance” in the classrooms than what is actually being learned in those classes.

HCS aren't approving Alabama Accountability Act transfers and blaming it on the court ordered desegregation order.  Can you say Scapegoat?

Huntsville Sitty Schools Ignore the Feds to Ignore the Feds Redux

According to Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Casey Wardynski the Feds instructed Huntsville City Schools to ignore the Alabama Accountability Act in favor of the Desegregation Order, which they are also ignoring. 

Despite Alabama law allowing all students to flee “failing” schools, Huntsville will not allow hundreds of requested transfers.
“Under the Alabama Accountability Act,” said Superintendent Casey Wardynski, “we don’t have to do any.”
In fact, district officials say Huntsville will grant just eight Accountability Act transfers this year, or one fewer than the number of “failing” schools in the city.

 Initially, Wardynski said Huntsville City Schools were expecting a couple of handfuls of transfers under the Alabama Accountability Act, but  the system rreceived 502 transfer requests under the Alabama Accountability Act and granted just eight.

Questions:  If "we don't have to do any transfers under the Alabama Accountability Act", why were  eight Accountability Act transfers granted this year?  Are you going to ignore the AAA, or not?

Let's recap:  The red, republican controlled, Alabama State Legislature, with all their infinite sleaziness, passed the so called Alabama Accountability Act under the guise it helped parents flee so called failing schools.  School Board President, Laurie McCaulley said, and I quote:

“We have a lot of parents who bought into the Alabama Accountability Act, and thought they had guaranteed rights that don’t exist,”

 Now why would parents/tax payers think they had rights that don't exist?  It's not like the state legislature passed a bill that became law or something.

Here's the rub, Huntsville still operates under a desegregation order that HCS has been ignoring for over 43 years. That order, based on constitutional claims, requires transfers based on student race.

“We’ve had to be very careful with respect to AAA transfers,” said school board attorney J.R. Brooks. “We can’t take any action which is resegregative.”

 There is only one problem with the school board attorney's statement...the HCS system is re segregated  and African American students aren't being allowed  to transfer on basis of race either.

Wardynski today estimated the system has granted about 200 majority-to-minority transfers for the coming school year, although figures aren’t final yet

 Two hundred granted, over a thousand denied.

In past years, Huntsville typically received 1,000 to 1,500 transfer requests under the desegregation order and other guidelines. The vast majority of requests came from black students in north Huntsville. The system usually granted around 500 transfers a year and rejected the rest.
Wardynski said this year some schools, such as Huntsville High, began the year over capacity and did not accept a single transfer. He said a longer list of south Huntsville schools, including Grissom High and Mountain Gap and Whitesburg, were able to take a small number.
For example, he said Grissom High had space for 10 children. The system allowed nine transfers based on the desegregation order and had space left for one based on the new state law.

Frustrated parents, who believe they have rights the school system has determined they don't have, are being told  if they haven't received written notification of a transfer request by the time school starts to take their students to their home school.

The court order does not say a student may transfer from a school where they are in the majority to a school where they are in the minority if there is space available, HCS added the if space is available.  That's how they ignore the court order and maintain a "resegregative" (sic) school system.

A dual school system is re-emerging in Huntsville, marked by race, separated by geography and sorted by income.

For the first time, blacks account for 43 percent of the students in Huntsville. That's an increase of four percentage points in five years. But what sounds like a high-water mark for integration is just the opposite.

Despite rising numbers, black students here increasingly attend school among themselves. In 1997, Huntsville had five schools where more than 90 percent of the students were black. There are 10 such schools now.

The racial divide is similar among teachers, principals, even janitors and lunch ladies.

 Attack Machine commentator  George has the solution to the problem;

 Why not consolidate the schools. HSV saw peak enrollment in about 1983 at 35k. Current enrolled is about 24k, and we about many more schools now.
It would be an order of magnitude cheaper than building another $50million high school.

 JOJ (J.O. Johnson High School) is at about 50% capacity, so there is no need for a new GHS (Grissom High School).  Buses are cheap and plentiful. Include BHS (Butler High School) and eliminate one school entirely and sell the property (and the other empty buildings) to get rid of the maintenance and utilities cost.
This could have included LHS (Lee High School) too, but that was really a urban renewal project and not a school issue.

This is a great idea, but of course it won't be done because then Huntsville City Schools would be integrated, and all students, regardless of race, gender, income, or zip code, would have equal access to a quality public school education, and parents wouldn't be forced to keep their students in schools they want to get them out of.  According to this commenter at AL.com Wardinsky is doing the job he was hired to do. Keep the public schools segregated and go around the tenure laws.

Casey you have to break the mold and prove you're not afraid of minorities, democrats, liberals, aclu types and the entire entitlement crowd! Do that, and you'll be doing the job you were hired to do! Oh yeah, not to mention striking down all racial transfers. And that includes allowing not allowing whites to racially transfer either. If you don't like where your child goes to school, move to where they can be zoned into a school of your preference, that's what I had to do!

 There is no right (pun intended) way, to do the wrong thing, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result.

What George said;

 The question is, do you want busing, or to be under a federal court desegregation order in perpetuity? Or is there some other way to integrate HSV practically all white and all black schools?

There is another way, which I will discuss in another post.

Yes, Rodeo Clowns have freedom of speech too

"Though I often disagreed with republicans, I actually never learned to hate them the way the far right who controls their party seems to hate our President and other Democrats"~ President Bill Clinton

 Dale Jackson is defending the Rodeo Clown who mocked President Obama.  Surprise!  Surprise! Surprise!  (Said in my best Gomer Pyle voice).  What's funny is Dale, who moderates comments on his blog,  is defending him on the grounds that we are about to live in a society where "Freedom of Speech" is seen as a negative thing.  RedEye Roll

Hold on to your teeth.  I agree with Dale.  I repeat, I agree with Dale.  The Rodeo Clown has the right to mock, demean, and disrespect the President of the United States of America.  It says more about him and his character, or the lack there of,  and the character, or lack there of,  of those who condone this type of behavior than it does about the character of  President Barack Hussein Obama.

Proceed.

  “We are caught up right now in a culture – and you see it every single day – where as long as we are negative, as long as we are vicious, as long as we can tear down our opponent, we don’t have to worry, so we don’t. “This is a very deep problem,” he added. “I’m being totally candid with you.”~ Newt Gingrich

RedEye Around Al.com

I canceled my subscription to the Huntsville Behind the Times when they gave Dale Jackson a column so he could continue to misinform the uninformed, choosing to read the Decatur Daily: The Independent Voice of the Tennessee Valley instead, but two articles on al.com caught my attention and made me do a double take.

First Take:

"I don't usually write about race.
As a Christian, I don't like to give a lot of power to such division. The Bible makes it clear that there's only one race – the human race."

These are the words of Anthony Cook, the community news director for al.com/Huntsville and the Huntsville Times, and the same Anthony Cook who explained why The Huntsville Times risk tainting its brand by associating itself with the likes of Dale Jackson, but as a Christian" he doesn't like to give power to such division by writing about race.

If Christians can't write about race who can?  I mean really?

Take Two:

“We have a lot of parents who bought into the Alabama Accountability Act, and thought they had guaranteed rights that don’t exist,” said McCaulley.

Correction, Ms. McCaulley, we have a lot of poor/black/brown parents who thought they had guaranteed rights that don't exist, affluent/black/brown parents are laughing all the way to the bank.  Maybe if you'd had some town hall meetings and explained the situation to your constituents they wouldn't think they had guaranteed rights that don't exist.

Despite Alabama law allowing all students to flee “failing” schools, Huntsville will not allow hundreds of requested transfers.
“Under the Alabama Accountability Act,” said Superintendent Casey Wardynski, “we don’t have to do any.”
In fact, district officials say Huntsville will grant just eight Accountability Act transfers this year, or one fewer than the number of “failing” schools in the city.

If there was every any doubt the quality of education in Alabama depends on what zip code you live in all you have to do is read this, this, and this. I pity the poor/black/brown parents and students of Alabama.  Really, I do.

That is all.  For now.

With demoCATS like this who needs republicans?

If you are going to continue enabling the republicans, at least change the name of your blog from Left in Alabama to Wrong in Alabama.

Sigh.  Here we go again, I hate it when democrats help republicans turn the good guys and gals into the bad guys and gals.

The Shirley Sherrodding of Nancy Worley.

You know the drill.

Leak spin to the media.

Right-wing blogs promote the meme.

Left in Alabama fall for the Okey-Doke.

Viola!  A scandal is created.

And who wins in the end?

Not liberal/progressive democrats that for sure.

Some of what BamaRainbow said.

I'm not trying to excuse Worley's behavior here but I'd be a bit more leery of believing anything that comes out of a REPUBLICAN operative's office.  Not all GOPers are technically incompetent but all the POLITICAL ones I've seen are unscrupulous when it comes to protecting their own power base.
When someone in the SOS's office can provide a SCREENCAP that shows BEYOND ANY DOUBT that Worley's email account actually received the email, I'll be a bit more willing to believe their story.  BUT,  bear in mind, it doesn't take much effort to fake ELECTRONIC documents.  Or has everyone sort of forgotten the recent attempt in Texas to alter video records of legislative debate?  The ONLY reason that was caught was because the streaming of the debate was being done live and records actually showed (at first) the correct information.  But internet watchers following the events found their ability to access the vote record suddenly (and inexplicably) vanished, and when it came back up, the record changed (in a "1984"-esque manner).  Now, that LIE perpetrated (and eventually admitted to) by Texas REPUBLICANS was only caught due to the diligence of people WATCHING THEM.  We don't have any sort of outside proof beyond--again--what was provided by REPUBLICANS. 
I'm surprised that anyone would take a Republican's word about anything.  But this website--knowing how completely two-faced and backstabbing this state's GOP can be--should be the LAST to take a Republican's word at face value.
Again.  Worley isn't exactly a favorite on this site but, without more evidence on the Republicans' side, I'm not willing to condemn Worley fully.  And really, countrycat, you can end a paragraph with the following and still keep a straight face:  " the one that did the party a HUGE favor by accepting the documents after the deadline."  Please.  Do you really think the Dems have a real chance at taking AL-1?  The Dems couldn't even GET a candidate to run in the last THREE elections.  And the Dems haven't managed to get better than 40% since 1988 when John Tyson pulled 40% against Sonny Callahan.  The GOP are only being so "magnanimous" because they can afford to be.  I'll guarantee you, if the GOP even so much as thought they could lose the district in a truly fair election, they wouldn't have been so willing to grant that "favor."

First of all, the headline says Alabama Democrats fail to meet deadline, but it should have read, Alabama Democrats miss filing deadline by 1 hour because the acting chairwoman of the Alabama Democratic Party didn't find out about the deadline until she received a call from a Democratic legislator after the deadline passed at noon Tuesday.

Instead of giving Worley the benefit of the doubt countrycat chose to believe what the republicans told the media. And it's a sorry spectacle that just further tarnishes the image of all Alabama Democrats.

Psst, countrycat!  Did the Alabama Democratic Majority meet the filing deadline?  Oh wait... first the Alabama Democratic Majority must have some candidates to meet the filing deadline.

Oh, and BamaRainbow, I do believe the Dems have a real chance at taking AL-1, that's why the GOP tried to pull a fast one over on the Alabama Democrat Party.  We owe the democratic legislator who called Nancy Worley and help foil their evil plan big time.

Wonderin' 'bout Juan

Juan Williams is a nationally recognized correspondent for the Washington Post (ah, oops, some unprofessional conduct there, per the WP action and apology.) But that's not what this about. Let's look at his most recent post at Faux News. Mr. Williams wrote:

"...if we're going to have an honest discussion among people who care about the problems inside the black community, we have to be dealing with honest brokers. Unfortunately, a lot of people in the so-called civil rights community are frauds, outright hucksters.
Two of the worst: civil rights activist and MSNBC host Al Sharpton and Georgetown University Professor Michael Eric Dyson....
But do they ever confront the real problems and threats in the minority community? No. High murder rates? How about that? What about high dropout rates? What about the breakdown of the family?"

OK, let's take a look at high murder rates, high dropout rates, and the "breakdown of the family." 1-2-3.
According to Politifact, "Using the number 8,500, that translated to 21.65 blacks murdered each day by other blacks. So the blogger came up with a mathematical formula: 21.65 times 513 days=11,106. That 8,500 figure seems high, though, especially if we look at more recent figures. The FBI reported for 2011 that 6,329 black people were murdered, for example.
The blog post makes it sound as if the black-on-black murder rate is particularly significant, but we found similar high percentages for whites."
O, dang, sounds pretty similar.
OK, let's move on to "high dropout rates" Juan mentioned.
According to the National Institute of Educational Sciences' "Fast Facts" the status dropout rates of 16- through 24-year-olds in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population, by race/ethnicity: for selected years, 1990-2010 declined from 13.2% in 1990 to 8.0% in 2010, a 60% decrease.
Lastly, Mr. Williams wrote:

Stable, healthy families are at the heart of strong societies. It is within the family environment that an individual’s physical, emotional and psychological development occurs. From our family we should learn unconditional love, understand right from wrong, and gain empathy, respect and self-regulation. These qualities enable us to engage positively at school, at work and in society. Yet tragically, half of all children born today will experience family breakdown by the age of 16; this breakdown is particularly acute in the most disadvantaged communities. Dysfunctional family life and chaotic relationships can ruin the lives of those involved and damage children, particularly in their earliest years. We know that family formation affects the outcomes of children and general wellbeing: evidence clearly demonstrates that two-parent families are the most stable.

But here again, the stereotype is inaccurate. Henry A. Rhodes, a career teacher in the New Haven public school since 1977 and Facilitator for Social Development and Curriculum in the Yale National Initiative developed a curriculum called "The African-American Family in Crisis." In it, Mr. Rhodes notes that "One point which is often overlooked is the fact that a majority of black families are headed by two parents....The importance of children in African societies can not be overstated. The extended family took great care in the prosocialization of their children in the ways of their elders. Children were shown the importance of the helping tradition in African society by the example set by the adults of the extended family."
Rather than denigrating illustrious, accomplished black men with smears to promote erroneous stereotypes, Mr. Williams should concentrate on lifting people up instead of putting them down.

Then As Now: Struggling to Vote

All Jimmie Lee Jackson wanted was the right to vote.
Jackson, a deacon of the St. James Baptist Church in Marion, Alabama, had tried to register to vote without success for four years. Jackson and 500 peaceful protesters had planned a peaceful walk from the church to the county jail and back, singing hymns. Jackson never made it back to the church. They were attacked by Alabama police and state troopers and beaten with clubs. Many protesters took refuge in a cafe behind the church. There, Jackson attempted to protect his mother from being beaten when he was shot twice in the abdomen by a trooper. He was unarmed. Injured badly, he was still able to run out of the cafe, followed by the troopers who continued to club him. He died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Selma, on February 26, 1965. He was only 26 years old.
Jimmie Lee Jackson was the inspiration for the first Selma to Montgomery march that occurred a few days later, known as “Bloody Sunday.” On March 7, 1965, an estimated 525 to 600 civil rights marchers led by John Lewis were again met by state troopers and beaten with nightsticks, gassed, and trampled by mounted troopers. Immediately after "Bloody Sunday," Dr. Martin Luther King organized a second march on Tuesday, March 9, leading 2,500 marchers to a prayer. That night, three white ministers who had come to support the march were beaten by the Ku Klux Klan, killing one of the ministers who was refused treatment at the local hospital because he supported the march.
Because of the impact of the marches, President Johnson presented a bill to Congress, saying "What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and state of America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life. Their cause must be our cause, too, because it is not just Negroes but really it is all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome." The bill was the Voting Rights Act. When Dr. King heard this speech, a tear rolled down his cheek.
Finally, on this day, March 21, 1965, Dr. King attempted to complete the march from Selma, where Jimmy Lee Jackson died, to Montgomery Alabama. The march started with close to 8,000 people. By the time, Dr. King reached the Montgomery capitol on Thursday, March 25, nearly 25,000 people were with him. Most of the participants were black, but some were white and some were Asian and Latino. Spiritual leaders of multiple races religions and faith had marched abreast with Dr. King. King delivered the speech "How Long, Not Long." "The end we seek," King told the crowd, "is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. ... I know you are asking today, How long will it take? I come to say to you this afternoon however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long."
The Voting Rights Act became law on Aug. 6. 1965.


Republished courtesy of Jon S. Randal: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=548167005228298&set=a.115630875148582.7129.100001050091122&type=1&theater