These are news article links and comments that were listed on our website, prior to the November 2024 election. For newer links on this topic visit our website: https://www.dalecodemocrats.com
Focus On Alabama and Alabama State Officials:
Analysis | ALGOP’s “Contract with Alabama” reveals hidden consequences beneath promises
Comment: "On Thursday, the Alabama GOP unveiled its 'Contract with Alabama,' positioning it as a roadmap for the state’s future. However, as with any political proposal, it’s crucial to cut through the rhetoric and assess its true intentions and potential consequences."
"Although the GOP frames its plan as a path to economic growth, freedom, and public safety, a closer examination reveals contradictions and hidden consequences that challenge those promises. Here’s a breakdown of what is being offered versus the realities beneath the surface."
Please open the link and read the article to discover the real meanings behind some of the self serving statements in the GOP roadmap.
Alabama Policy Institute releases 2024 Blueprint
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/01/16/alabama-policy-institute-releases-2024-blueprint/
Comment: This "Blueprint for Alabama 2024" might be be considered Alabama's Project 2025. This is an older article from January. Many of the priorities in this "Blueprint" were addressed in the 2024 Alabama legislative session.
"These priorities include removing barriers to allow 14- and 15-year-olds to join the labor force, while creating barriers for them to make medical decisions or read library books."
"The platform also includes support for 'educational freedom,' which suggests the coming push for an Education Savings Account system, but the document doesn’t lay out specific ways to pursue educational freedom."
"Regarding abortion, API emphasizes that the Legislature needs to act to ensure abortion-inducing drugs are prohibited to meet the intent of the state’s abortion law. Currently, women are not penalized under the law for terminating their pregnancies; only the providers face felony charges."
"The document continues to address other hot-button issues such as prohibiting public drag performances, resisting Medicaid expansion, and ending DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs at public universities."
Analysis | Alabama’s Medicaid expansion: Dispelling API’s myths and fears
Comment: "The Alabama Policy Institute (API) has once again published its objections to Medicaid expansion in Alabama, framing it as a fiscal and economic disaster waiting to happen. They paint a picture of ballooning costs and shrinking labor participation, but behind all that, they’re really just telling Alabama’s working poor to fend for themselves. Let’s break down their claims, piece by piece, and expose the truth about why Medicaid expansion is not only viable but necessary for Alabama."
Please open link and read article for details.
Opinion | Alabama lawmakers fear the increased scrutiny of more voting options
Comment: "That’s right, there is no vote-by-mail option in Alabama. There is no early voting in Alabama. We do have an absentee ballot option, but you must provide an acceptable reason for requesting the absentee ballot in order to get approval."
"There is no legitimate reason for this, other than the folks in charge in this state are perfectly happy with the status quo. And also happy making it as hard as possible for people to cast a ballot."
"There’s absolutely no reason that Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana and all the other states – 47 have early voting or mail-in voting or both – can manage to pull this off, but we can’t."
"There’s no viable excuse for it, either. Elections officials used to lean heavily into the idea that more options would invite fraud, would essentially ensure it. But they don’t. And we just had a 2020 election that proved it. Despite tens of millions of ballots cast by mail, thanks to the pandemic, there was no increase in fraud, and a multitude of investigations – almost all of which were conducted by Republicans – found zero evidence of fraud in any of the voting systems and procedures."
"Study after study has shown that the single most cited issue that prevents people from voting on Election Day is work responsibilities. CEOs and executives have no trouble finding the time. The wealthy and retired find no obstacles."
"But the working folks, they’ve got an 8-hour day and all the rest of life that gets in the way. Some days, you can’t fit in a full lunch, much less an hour-long trip to your voting precinct."
"And you shouldn’t have to."
Federal judge blocks portion of Alabama law criminalizing some absentee ballot assistance • Alabama Reflector
Comment: "A federal judge Tuesday blocked a portion of Alabama’s law criminalizing some forms of ballot assistance, saying it burdened blind, disabled and illiterate voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act."
"Proctor allowed the rest of the law to go into effect."
"Proctor directed the attorney general to issue 'corrective instructions' that the section of the law has been enjoined."
AL.com: Alabama Secretary of State issues court-ordered press release
https://www.al.com/news/2024/10/alabama-secretary-of-state-issues-court-ordered-press-release.html
Comment: "The Alabama Secretary of State’s office Friday sent a news release that a plan to 'inactivate' people the office suspected of not being U.S. citizens had been held up by a court order."
"Judge Anna M. Manasco on Wednesday wrote that Allen’s attempts 'blew the deadline' under the National Voter Registration Act, which requires election law changes to be made no later than 90 days before an election."
In other words, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen's plan to remove folks from the voter rolls cannot take place because it was initiated within a period less than 90 days before an election, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act.
ABC News: DOJ sues Alabama, state's top election official for allegedly purging voters too close to election
Comment: "The National Voter Registration Act prohibits states from removing voters from rolls within 90 days of a federal election, and Alabama's voter roll maintenance commenced 84 days ahead of the November election, the Justice Department alleged."
Once again, Alabama state officials violate federal law for their partisan political purposes.
"A coalition of voting rights groups separately sued Allen earlier this month over the move, alleging he illegally targeted and intimidated naturalized citizens."
When these other groups win their case against Allen, guess who will pay the winning groups' legal bills. You guessed it, Alabama taxpayers.
AL.com: Alabama sending 125 troops to Mexican border, Ivey says
https://www.al.com/news/2024/10/alabama-sending-125-troops-to-mexican-border-ivey-says.html
Comment: "Alabama is deploying 125 soldiers to the Mexican border, Gov. Kay Ivey announced on Friday."
"Ivey said the soldiers will support Customs and Border Protection operations."
"The soldiers are out of the 152nd Military Police Company headquartered in Hartselle."
" 'Their mission duration is approximately 400 days. Currently at the Southern Border, Alabama has 269 soldiers from the Mobile-headquartered 226th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade and the 158th Surface Maintenance Company headquartered in Tallassee. These two companies will begin the process of returning from the mission in phases,' the statement read."
Am I correct in assuming that the decision to deploy these national guard troops was made by Alabama state officials and that the the cost of the deployment will be borne by Alabama taxpayers, in order to make a political statement?
WDHN: For small cities across Alabama with Haitian populations, Springfield is a cautionary tale
Comment: "Recently, though, as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate began promoting debunked misinformation about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, causing crime and 'eating pets' Jacques said there have been new, unforeseen challenges."
"Amid this mounting tension, a bipartisan group of local religious leaders, law enforcement officials and residents across Alabama sees the fallout in Springfield as a cautionary tale. They’ve been taking steps to help integrate the state’s Haitian population in the small cities where they live."
"As political turmoil and violence intensify in Haiti, Haitian migrants have embraced a program established by President Joe Biden in 2023 that allows the U.S. to accept up to 30,000 people a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela for two years and offers work authorization. The Biden administration recently announced the program could allow an estimated 300,000 Haitians to remain in the U.S. at least through February 2026."
" 'We can look at (Springfield) and become them in a year,' Hanson said, referring to the animosity that’s taken hold in the Ohio city, which has been inundated with threats. 'We can sit back and do nothing and let it unfold under our eyes. Or we can try to counteract some of that and make it to where everyone is productive and can speak to each other.' "
"Enterprise police Chief Michael Moore said he shared statistics from his department that show no measurable increase in crimes as the Haitian population has grown."
"Moore said his department had received reports of Haitian migrants living in houses that violated city code, but when he reached out to the people in question, the issues were quickly resolved. Since then, his department hasn’t heard any credible complaints about crimes caused by migrants."
Fear, anger follow Haitian immigrants working at an Alabama poultry plant: Here’s the reality - al.com
Comment: "Poultry processor Pilgrim’s Pride, the employer which originally chartered the buses that began the controversy, said the workers in question are eligible to work under U.S. law."
Critics have erroneously claimed that Democrats are bringing immigrants to the U.S. to vote for them. This is false. Only U.S. citizens can vote.
Beware the cry of fraud. That’s where American authoritarianism always starts.
Comment: Article discusses history of suppression of Black voting rights in Alabama, justified by past false claims of fraud.
AL.com: Ivey could save struggling rural Alabama hospital ‘with one stroke of her pen,’ advocate says
Comment: "Following the recent closure of a rural hospital, health care advocates are renewing calls for Gov. Kay Ivey to expand Medicaid access in Alabama but the governor still says her worry is how to pay for the expansion long-term."
"The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network of Alabama and Alabama Arise have called on Ivey to expand Medicaid access following the closure of Thomasville Regional Medical Center in Clarke County and worsening health care issues. Jane Adams, Government Relations Director for ACSCAN, said Ivey’s refusal to expand Medicaid would threaten more hospital closures and suffering for Alabamians especially in rural areas."
Anti-DEI legislation is driving educators out of Alabama
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/10/23/anti-dei-legislation-is-driving-educators-out-of-alabama/
Comment: "In August, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) conducted a survey that received 2,924 responses from educators across the South, including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Around 60 percent of the respondents indicated that their state was not a desirable place to work in higher education."
"The responses among Alabama educators were particularly damning of the state, with 57 percent of Alabama’s respondents saying that they would not recommend their state as a place to work to work in higher education. About 29 percent of Alabama professors who responded to the survey stated that they have applied for jobs outside of the state since 2022."
"Reduced academic freedom in the face of new 'anti-DEI legislation' was of particular concern among Alabama’s 88 survey respondents. SB 129, which went into effect on Oct. 1, prevents any state institution in Alabama from using public funding for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The law also restricts classroom discussions on gender, race, and sexual orientation — listing them as 'divisive concepts.' The law has resulted in campuses across the state closing or rebranding their DEI offices and campus resource centers."
Schools superintendent promises to levy 'the furor' of his office on those who use test score to determine students' fate
Comment: "The Alabama state superintendent said Thursday afternoon that a diploma pathway focused on career readiness should not be used to remove lower achieving students from another diploma pathway."
"SB 253, sponsored by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, the chair of the Senate Education Policy Committee, was part of a package of bills focused on workforce development in the 2024 regular legislative session. The legislation requires the board to create a diploma under the law’s goal of facilitating “the development of a career pathways diploma at the K-12 level that would enhance career and technical education opportunities for high school students who plan to enter the workforce immediately after graduation.”
"But the superintendent said he was worried about returning to an old educational model where people sent students to vocational schools just to get them out of the building."
Donnie Chesteen (who is the State Senator for much of Dale County) seemed to be saying that his bill was not designed to force lower scoring students into a vocational education path, but saying that it would offer them options.
Police employment history is usually a public record. In Alabama, it’s a state secret. - al.com
Comment: "In a wave of criminal justice reforms passed after George Floyd’s murder by police in Minneapolis, Alabama lawmakers created a secret statewide database to track misconduct and complaints against police officers."
"A national report found that Alabama’s was one of only two state-level police databases created as part of the post-George Floyd reforms that is entirely off-limits from public access."
AL.com: What are Glock switches? Will Alabama ban them after Birmingham’s latest mass shooting?
AL.com: These 5 proposed gun control measures are likely to die in the 2025 Alabama legislative session
Comment: "'No one is trying to take away anyone’s Second Amendment right,' Givan said. 'We must come up with something with regards to gun control and getting these guns out of the hands of children. It’s simple. This is not rocket science.'"
AL.com: DOJ challenges Alabama threats to prosecute those helping women get abortions out of state
Comment: "The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) last week sided with reproductive health providers seeking to stop Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall from prosecuting those who help Alabama women obtain abortions across state lines."
ABC News: Alabama officials sued for allegedly suppressing new citizens' voting rights
Comment: "The lawsuit alleges that a recent policy intended to remove noncitizens from Alabama's voter rolls 'undermines the fundamental right to vote' by relying on faulty information that discriminates against naturalized citizens, disenfranchises eligible voters, and wrongly refers cases for criminal prosecution."
Civil rights organizations threaten legal action to halt purge of voter rolls
Comment: Please check your voter registration status.
WAFF: U.S. Citizen removed from voting, placed on inactive list
https://www.waff.com/2024/08/29/us-citizen-wrongfully-removed-alabama-voter-list/
Comment: This is why we recommend that you check your voter registration status.
Alabama Republican Party chair becomes state library board chair
Comment: "The chair of the Alabama Republican Party is now the chair of the Alabama Public Library Service Board."
"John Wahl, who has been chair of the party since 2021, became chair of the APLS Thursday."
"The appointment of Wahl, an outspoken advocate of restrictions on library content approved by the APLS earlier this year, drew criticism."
"In a statement Thursday, Read Freely Alabama, an activist group opposed to censorship in libraries that formed in opposition to Clean Up Alabama, called Wahl an 'anti-library extremist' whose positions are 'dangerous to Alabamians’ First Amendment rights and the public library’s mission of intellectual freedom.'"
"'For the past year, Mr. Wahl abused his position as Alabama GOP chair and APLS board member to collude with extremist groups Moms For Liberty and Clean Up Alabama in attacking libraries for books about LGBTQ communities and racial justice, as well as books written by Black and Indigenous authors in Alabama,' the statement said."
This Alabama library had to review 8,000 books. Here’s what happened - al.com
Comment: This is both a Dale County story and a story for all of Alabama. Article discusses the recent closure of the Ozark-Dale County Library so that it could review book content.
"Gov. Kay Ivey mandated that libraries ensure that no books with 'inappropriate content' are available to minors or risk losing state funding."
"For four weeks, 10 people pulled children’s books from library shelves in Ozark and checked each title for explicit content.
It took a month for library staff to review about 8,000 children’s and young adult books and make sure they complied with new guidelines from the Alabama Public Library Service. During that time, the library was closed to the public, save for one room left available as a cooling station."
The "staff found no books in the library’s collection with obscene, sexually explicit or other materials deemed inappropriate for minors," but given Ivey's mandate, the library director "felt she had to close her library indefinitely in order to figure out how to follow the state’s new rules."
Alabama Political Reporter: North Shelby Library director resigns after board takeover
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/08/21/north-shelby-library-director-resigns-after-board-takeover/
Comment: More fallout as Alabama politicians try to take control of libraries, this time in Shelby County.
Alabama case will decide if state can prosecute people who help abortion-seekers find care
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna164036
Comment: “'No Alabama law authorizes such prosecutions. Nor could it. That would be a blatant extraterritorial overreach of state power,' the providers' lawsuit states, arguing that Marshall’s vow violates the First Amendment, the right to travel and other constitutional protections."
Alabama GOP sends voter registration forms with political mailers; Secretary of State disapproves
https://share.newsbreak.com/899rmell
Comment: Allen's "disapproval" of the GOP practice seems rather tame when compared to his recent accusation against the League of Women Voters, a truly non-partisan organization. (Please see article below.)
Alabama Secretary of State accuses League of Women Voters of ‘data mining’
https://share.newsbreak.com/7zk4j34n
Comment: "Kathy Jones, president of the League of Women Voters of Alabama and its Education Fund, said in an interview on Monday that Vote411 guides users to appropriate state websites for voter registration and other election-related services. It’s the way it has been done for years, she said." “'What Wes Allen said in his statement was very misleading. He’s trying to build a conspiracy when there is no conspiracy,' Jones said."
Please note that this dalecodemocrats website has a link to assist voter registration, but it links directly to the Alabama Secretary of State's website. We do not collect user information from this link.
AL.com: Alabama must pay $5.25 million to the lawyers who sued over redistricting
Comment: This is just some of the monetary cost paid by Alabama taxpayers when our elected state officials decide to defy federal law and U.S. constitutional principles in their stubborn pursuit of political objectives. Alabama officials try to undermine the Voting Rights Act, and the voters (taxpayers) have to pick up the tab. I wonder what price tag will result from Steve Marshall's threat to prosecute people helping those seeking abortion out of Alabama, in a state where abortion is legal.
History; lack of competition, lack of access keep Alabama’s voter turnout rate low
Comments: "Alabama in 2022 had the fifth-worst voter turnout in the nation. Experts blame a history of voter suppression; a lack of access and a lack of competitive races."
Democrats need to work harder in recruiting viable candidates (to encourage competitive races) and in turning out Democratic voters. Greater Democratic turnout will encourage viable Democratic candidates to run in the future.
Voter registration spikes in Alabama as Election Day approaches
https://share.newsbreak.com/87amv7o0
Comment: According to Secretary of State Wes Allen, Alabama voter registration is quite high but voter turnout is low. While I agree that voter turnout is low (which Alabama Democrats need to improve), I question Allen's very high estimate of voter registration (94%). I think his methodology was to simply divide the 3.8 million Alabamians on the voter rolls by the total estimated number of voting age citizens. While this methodology would be correct if the voter rolls were 100% accurate, I believe that the current voter rolls contain entries from citizens who have either moved out of state or have passed away. We are not advocating purging these names from the rolls without evidence, but we are pointing out that these extra obsolete entries might skew Wes Allen's percentage estimate of voter registration.
Medicaid Removed From 370,000 Americans in One State
https://www.newsweek.com/medicaid-alabama-disenrollment-numbers-news-1921544
Comment: Article refers to Alabama, which refuses to expand Medicare and, thereby, refuses Federal money which could help fund better care for its poorer citizens.
AL.com: Rural Alabama loses even more doctors: ‘I cannot be the pediatrician for every child’
Comment: "Pediatricians in rural communities have struggled to keep their doors open. The price of rent, utilities and supplies have gone up, while the rate they’re paid by Alabama Medicaid has remained the same for decades."
"Alabama is one of 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid for people with low incomes."
"Officials with the Alabama Hospital Association have said that expanding Medicaid could boost the finances of rural hospitals and those that serve people with low incomes."
Alabama’s I.V.F. Shield Law Now Faces a Constitutional Challenge - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/14/us/politics/alabamas-ivf-shield-law.html
Comment: More right-wing attacks on in vitro fertilization.
Alabama's ties to "Project 2025"
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/06/21/alabamas-ties-to-project-2025/
Comments: Alabama's contribution to Trump's dangerous post election plans.
Alabama GOP chair says thinking of America as a democracy “leads to socialism”
Comments: Another quote from Wahl, "When you think about a democracy, it’s mob rule."
AL.com: ‘It’s a shame’: Alabama congressional delegation praise Mobile’s $550 million I-10 project; most voted against
Comment: Although we're happy that Alabama got $550 million from the federal government for a much needed I-10 bridge in Mobile, we note that the money came from the infrastructure bill pushed by the Biden-Harris Administration. Alabama Republicans voted against it. Only Terri Sewell, Alabama's lone Democratic Congressperson voted for it. However, Alabama GOP politicians hypocritically want to take credit for the funding.
Bill to arrest librarians filed for 2025 session
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/07/10/bill-to-arrest-librarians-filed-for-2025-session/
Comment: Bill failed in the 2024 Session, but it's been refiled for 2025, just in time to energize the GOP base.
Opinion | HB4's tyranny: A roadmap to autocratic control
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/07/11/opinion-hb4s-tyranny-a-roadmap-to-autocratic-control/
Comment: Op-ed on the bill to arrest librarians for library content.
Bill allowing city and county officials to terminate library board members prefiled for 2025
Comment: "A bill that would give local governments the power to fire library board members will go before Alabama lawmakers again in 2025."
"SB 6 sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliot, R-Josephine, gives either county commissioners or city council members the authority to appoint members to the library board for four year terms and to terminate current library board members by a two-thirds vote." Article specifically mentions Ozark-Dale Library.
New APLS policies to impact libraries throughout Alabama
https://www.waff.com/2024/07/29/new-apls-policies-impact-libraries-throughout-alabama/
Alabama Political Reporter: Opinion | The Alabama AG would really, really like your attention
Comment: Why is Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall standing outside Trump's felony trial in New York City instead of doing his job here in Alabama?
Alabama Political Reporter: Opinion | AG Marshall: A threat to women's rights and the rule of law
USA TODAY: Alabama Democrat wins special election with abortion, IVF message
AL.com: Alabama among states suffering biggest ‘brain drain,’ study finds
https://www.al.com/news/2024/05/alabama-among-states-suffering-biggest-brain-drain-study-finds.html
Alabama Power Takes Steps to Address Coal Ash Issues, Full Solution Unclear
https://share.newsbreak.com/96exrwgp
Comment: "Alabama Power has reached an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about how it handles coal ash at Plant Barry, near Mobile."
"This settlement comes after concerns about millions of pounds of coal ash stored in unlined ditches at the plant."
"While some issues have been addressed, the bigger question of coal ash sitting in groundwater remains unresolved."
AL.com: EPA rejects Alabama plan to store coal ash in unlined ponds near rivers
Comment: The State of Alabama was willing to let Alabama Power endanger the state's drinking water. It took the federal government to say no. Perhaps this ruling will encourage Alabama Power to wean itself off its company owned coal companies and to use other energy sources that are more ecologically friendly and, in many cases, more economical for their customers.
The complacency of the Alabama Public Service Commission • Alabama Reflector
https://alabamareflector.com/2024/09/03/alabama-public-service-commission-complacency/
Comment: "On paper, the PSC is the state’s chief electricity regulator, meant to ensure that Alabamians not served by the Tennessee Valley Authority (a federal agency) pay fair and reasonable power bills."
Article discusses the PSC's lack of transparency in how they determine electricity rates and its willingness to allow Alabama Power to impose obstacles to solar power provided by third parties. Article also describes now PSC candidates run political campaigns based on issues (such as "culture war" issues) that have nothing to do with job they are supposedly elected to do.
"What good is a regulatory body whose members seem distracted by culture wars and don’t push back against the entities they regulate?"
AL.com: Alabama solar fee lawsuit moves forward in federal court
https://www.al.com/news/2024/10/alabama-solar-fee-lawsuit-moves-forward-in-federal-court.html
Comment: "A federal lawsuit challenging the fees levied on people who install solar panels on their homes will move forward, after a judge in Montgomery denied a motion to dismiss the case."
"The plaintiffs argued that the PSC violated federal energy laws by allowing Alabama Power to charge fees to people who use solar panels."
"Alabama Power and the PSC had asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that the court did not have jurisdiction and that the plaintiffs did not make a claim for which relief can be granted."
"But U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled against the defendants on Monday, arguing that the court does have standing to adjudicate claims made under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), a federal law designed to encourage renewable energy use."
" 'As a result, Alabama, despite its abundance of sunshine, lags almost every other state in the U.S. in customer-sited solar deployment,' the plaintiffs said in an amended legal filing in 2023."
"Alabama lags behind some neighboring states in solar power use. As of the second quarter of 2024, 0.85% of the state’s electricity is generated from solar power, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. In Georgia, 6.21% of the state’s electricity is generated from solar, and in Florida, 7.65% of the state’s electricity is solar."
Alabama Power gets green light to cut payments to third-party energy producers • Alabama Reflector
Comment: "Daniel Tait, executive director for Energy Alabama, an advocacy group that hopes to increase renewable energy generation in the state, said Alabama Power was 'trying to protect their monopoly, first and foremost.'"
'It doesn’t really matter about the energy source,' he said. 'Solar is just the one that is the most economical and the one most likely to challenge that monopoly, so that is why you see the fight on solar.'"
"The Alabama Public Service Commission said in a statement that the rate adjustments are appropriate based on the figures that Alabama Power provided." [emphasis added]
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs DEI bill into law: What the ‘divisive concepts’ ban will do - al.com
New report: Alabama has worst maternal mortality rate in the U.S.
Opinion | Stop acting like the Alabama Supreme Court ruling was a shock
Comment: Opinion piece describing why the outrageous Alabama Supreme Court embryo decision occurred and what we, the public, can do to improve our state government
Democratic voter turnout more than doubles in Alabama's redrawn congressional district
Survey: Alabama healthcare ranks as second-worst in the nation
https://www.wtvy.com/2024/04/15/survey-alabama-healthcare-ranks-second-worst-nation/
AG asks court to allow absentee voting law to remain in place while lawsuit is considered
https://share.newsbreak.com/7azobhzm
Comment: Steve Marshall wants to still inhibit voting in the November elections, even though the courts may likely rule against Alabama.
Alabama wrong in its defense of new absentee voting restrictions, U.S. Justice Department says - al.com
Comment: Although the U.S. Justice Department has expressed its opinion on the Alabama law, the restrictions still remain in place until the courts settle the issue.
Republicans Attack Voter Assistance in Alabama, U.S. Department of Justice Steps In - Democracy Docket
Lawsuit filed to block criminalization of absentee ballot assistance
Alabama Legislature Passes Restrictive Absentee Ballot Assistance Bill - Democracy Docket
Voter ID and absentee-ballot limits: the South tightens key voting laws ahead of election
Comment: New Alabama law is part of a Republican strategy in the South to inhibit minority voting, after Supreme Court limited certain requirements of the Voting Rights Act.
Archibald: Alabama Supreme Court is a theocracy
https://www.al.com/news/2024/02/archibald-alabama-supreme-court-is-a-theocracy.html
Opinion | Alabama’s battle for the boards
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/03/01/opinion-alabamas-battle-for-the-boards/
PARCA: Alabama's property taxes lowest in nation; sales taxes among the highest
Comment: Alabama's tax structure is among the most regressive in the nation. "This means the state’s poorest residents shoulder a higher tax burden than their wealthy counterparts."
Marshall files brief opposing expedition of Trump’s prosecution
https://www.alreporter.com/2023/12/21/marshall-file-brief-opposing-expedition-of-trumps-prosecution/
Comment: Why is an Alabama Attorney General spending his time and our money getting involved in this federal issue outside of his jurisdiction?
Court rejects AG’s argument that private citizens can’t bring VRA Section 2 claims
Comment: Alabama Attorney General Marshall inserts himself into Louisiana case in an attempt to weaken Voting Rights Act, after losing related case in Alabama.
Lawsuit over state Senate district lines set for November
https://aldailynews.com/lawsuit-over-state-senate-district-lines-set-for-november/
Comment: This lawsuit alleges that certain State (not Federal) Senate district lines in Montgomery and Huntsville are racially gerrymandered. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is defending the existing district lines.
Ensler to reintroduce multiple gun safety bills - Alabama Daily News
https://aldailynews.com/ensler-to-reintroduce-multiple-gun-safety-bills/
Ret. Major General explains the difference between an AR-15 and the military's weapons of war
Comment: There's a reason the "AR" stands for "assault rifle." I know of few deer hunters that hunt with an AR-15, because it will tear up the deer meat. As the general states, it's a "weapon of war."
AL.com: Bill to replace Alabama ethics law dead for this session
https://www.al.com/news/2024/05/bill-to-replace-alabama-ethics-law-dead-for-this-session.html
Comment: Thank goodness! This was a bad bill to gut the current ethics law.
Whitmire: Alabama lawmakers want to legalize gifts to Alabama lawmakers
Alabama Political Reporter: Bill penalizing voluntary recognition of unions is headed to governor's desk
‘Economic development’ is another way to say ‘cheap labor’
https://alabamareflector.com/2024/04/01/economic-development-is-another-way-to-say-cheap-labor/
Alabama legislator revives bill to increase oversight of state Board of Pardons and Paroles
Comment: "HB 40, sponsored by Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, would create a committee to update risk assessments of those incarcerated in state prisons and direct the Board of Pardons and Parole to create guidelines when considering parole."
"The move comes amid a years-long controversy over declining parole rates, which fell to 7% last year. Parole rates have gone up to between 20 and 30% this year, according to England, but with ongoing violence in state prisons, lawmakers from both parties have discussed safety and overcrowding in public forums, such as the Contract Review Committee."
AL.com: Alabama lawmakers distance themselves from parole board, families say loved ones ‘stuck for life’
New Alabama mega prison’s price tag now double its original projected cost
Comment: Not only does this fact indicate mismanagement in the Alabama prison administration, it also illustrates the taxpayer costs associated with failure to parole eligible prisoners after years and years of captivity. (Please see previous article.)
State continues to seek funding for second new prison
https://aldailynews.com/state-continues-to-seek-funding-for-second-new-prison/
Comment: In addition to the new mega prison described above. ADOC is requesting additional funding for a 2nd new prision. "Lawmakers and Ivey in 2021 dedicated $1.2 billion to two prisons in Elmore and Escambia counties. The Elmore site is under construction and was originally expected to cost less than $700 million. That’s increased to more than $1 billion because of inflation and an increased scope to included education and mental health services, ADOC says."
"Two prisons are what was promised in the prison construction package approved by lawmakers and Ivey in 2021. The U.S. Department of Justice has an ongoing lawsuit with the state over the violent conditions in the crowded existing prisons. And public pressure, including recent meetings in which the families of inmates recounted gruesome details about abuse in prisons, is mounting."
Families speak about horrors in Alabama prisons at oversight meeting
Man’s death in frigid jail cell ruled homicide. Two more cops to plead guilty, feds say
https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-death-frigid-jail-cell-200025080.html
"Mitchell, 33, was kept in what was “essentially a cement box” that had no sink, toilet or running water, often lying naked on the bare ground of his cold cell with no blanket or mat for two weeks, according to prosecutors."
"He froze to death on Jan. 26, 2023 after visibly deteriorating in front of officers, who are accused of denying him food, water and medical care, a lawsuit filed over his death says. His death was ruled a homicide, McClatchy News previously reported."
"A correctional officer was concerned that a man who was housed naked inside a frigid and filthy cell would die without help — and suspected jail nurses were avoiding caring for him, according to new court documents."
"But the officer was afraid of being branded as a 'snitch' and kept her concerns to herself at the Walker County Jail in Alabama, court documents say."
Archibald: To Alabama AG Steve Marshall, justice is a one-way street
Comment: "The parole system these days releases only a fraction of those eligible, only a fraction of those recommended by its own staff, only a fraction of those who should be given a second chance. That’s according to the agency’s own guidelines, which the parole board ignores."
State Sen. Elliott refiles bills to remove Archives, library board members at will
Comment: All designed to help ban books and rewrite history.
Alabama Political Reporter: Prattville library pulls 60 books for review based on Clean Up Alabama list
Comment: Book bans and library intimidation continue in Alabama.
AL.com: Prattville library board sued over ‘sledgehammer’ policy that restricts LGBTQ books
Alabama Political Reporter: Opinion | Why we're suing the Prattville Library board
https://www.alreporter.com/2024/05/14/opinion-why-were-suing-the-prattville-library-board/
Alabama Political Reporter: House passes 18 percent cut to state library operations budget
AL.com: Library organizations react to Prattville library firings: 'A travesty'
Alabama public library agency quits American Library Association - al.com