"The Global Consciousness Project, also known as the EGG Project, is an international multidisciplinary collaboration of scientists, engineers, artists and others continuously collecting data from a global network of physical random number generators located in 65 host sites worldwide. The archive contains over 10 years of random data in parallel sequences of synchronized 200-bit trials every second."
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, April 9, 2017
Recently, numerous off-kilter, slanted “yellow journalism” Internet-based outlets parading under guise as “conservative,” “right-wing,” or GOP-sympathizers (TRANSLATE: Fake News generating trolls) have trumpeted a regularly mandated HUD OIG report which they deceitfully and improperly credit to some specially unique directive or missive issued, given, or ordered by new HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, MD.
Problem Number 1, is that Carson didn’t do any such thing. HUD OIG reports are – as stated above – regularly mandated.
In their false, purposely misleading, and deliberately deceptive reports, they boldly claim that in the brief time he’s been Secretary (<90 days), that Carson ordered an audit, which audit was completed, and which audit “found” money that was due to “bookkeeping errors.”
Problem Number 2, is that audits are not performed in <90 days. And in some cases, audits of multi-billion-dollar agencies, companies, or organizations are not performed within 6 months, because they cannot be performed wholly, fully, completely, reliably, or accurately in such a short time frame.
The only part of those salacious and deliberately fraudulent claims made by such pernicious “Trolls” and malignant “Fake News” writers that is even remotely close to truth, is that there was a report made by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) upon the accounting given by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The rest of their specious assertions are total lies and yes, utter bullshit.
Problem Number 3, the liars and prevaricators who churn out such garbage take you, and other readers, to be fools, because they prey upon your, and others’ ignorance. And just like the snake oil salesmen, miracle-cure peddlers, sideshow hucksters & barkers that they are, they only want to make a fast buck on “click-through” Internet visits, and so, they write stories that are accurately called “click bait.” That’s because they’re fishing for you!
Let’s face it – there is not any one person who knows everything about anything, or everything. So in essence, we’re all ignorant about something. That’s exactly why it’s important to rely upon TIME-HONORED TRUSTED SOURCES who back up their reports with direct quotes, and links to original sources. And ~THAT!~, my dear reader, is precisely why I supply links to validate, and verify about what I write… so that YOU may check my work. And I fully encourage you to do so!
Moving along…
Overall, this report is ~not~ something of which to be ashamed, per se, inasmuch as it demonstrates Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, October 21, 2016
I HAD A LATE TERM ABORTION.
IT IS NOTHING LIKE DESCRIBED BY TRUMP.
PLEASE DON’T BASE YOUR VOTE ON THE FEAR MONGERING HE IS DOING.
PLEASE READ MY EXPERIENCE:
I had to have a late term abortion. It was the worst moment in my life. What made it even worse was the State of Utah had made it illegal. I had one dead twin. The other had severe Spina Bifida, and would only have lived with life support, in great pain, for a few days.
I lay on the hospital floor, bawling hysterically, for twelve hours, waiting for an ethics committee of the health care corporation to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, October 20, 2016
A few thoughts on a Presidential Debate topic by Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News, with candidates Hillary Clinton (D) and Donald Trump (R) from the third, and final debate held last night at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Wednesday, 19 October 2016:
2.) A portion of her blog entry (linked herein) on the topic from the Debate states: “Trump’s statement, as incorrect as it may be, supports the fallacy of the due-date abortion. It is a common anti-choice narrative that Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, April 8, 2015
A bill by State Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) to privatize the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board has died in the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee by a 7-6 vote along party lines, with one Republican voting ‘NO.’ The vote received applause from attendees.
A substitution bill presented by Orr would’ve changed the suspension penalty for Selling to Minors from one year to one week, and increased taxes, was also adopted along party line vote.
Orr said earlier that, “Part of our job is to downsize government,” and demanded a committee vote be taken on his bill today.
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Administrator Mac Gipson testified that employees are paid from mark-ups from sales in the state’s 176 ABC stores. He also noted that by comparison, there are 587 private package stores in the state.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, October 13, 2014
Update: Saturday, 20 February 2021 NOTE: TO THE READER: As you read any story mentioning, involving or written by Donald V. Watkins, Sr., it must be borne in mind that he is now a Federal Convict, and along with his son, Donald V. Watkins, Jr., was found guilty of numerous charges. “Donald Watkins Sr. was convicted of seven counts of wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy. Donald Watkins Jr. was convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy.” As of the date of this note, he is in Federal Custody at Oklahoma City Federal Transfer Center, an administrative security facility, having been relocated away from the minimum security Federal Prison Camp on Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
Here also is the SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT dated December 2018 entitled as:
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DONALD V. WATKINS, SR. and DONALD V. WATKINS, JR. – 2:18-cr-166-KOB-TMP https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1116081/download
Retired state trooper Capt. Mark Whitaker ran the Protective Services Division and Capitol Police in the Alabama Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) until this year. This is the DPS division responsible for guarding and driving Governor Robert Bentley. Wendell Ray Lewis was a sergeant under his command.
While running his division, Whitaker learned that Lewis’ overtime pay was pre-approved by Bentley and never to be questioned. This was even true with regard to Lewis’ claimed entitlement to 24 hours of overtime for a single day. Prior to Lewis, Whitaker had never seen a trooper make a claim for or receive 24 hours of overtime pay for a single day.
On January 14, 2014, Whitaker was called into then-DPS Director Hugh McCall’s office where McCall told Whitaker that his entire division would be transferred to the newly created Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (“ALEA”). As a result of the transfer, Whitaker, a highly respected captain, would fall under the command and supervision of Lewis, who at that time was a sergeant. Unbelievably, Captain Whitaker would be reporting to Sgt. Lewis.
This order came directly from Governor Bentley.
This humiliating role reversal was the ultimate insult for Whitaker, a career officer who had climbed the ranks within DPS and earned his command position. According to published reports, Whitaker believes this demeaning and insulting personnel action – a captain reporting to a sergeant – occurred merely because he sought to question Lewis’ overtime pay in the months prior.
“This is what I get for doing my job,” Whitaker complained to McCall at the time. He retired soon after.
Whitaker is the second high-ranking trooper to retire over the Bentley-Lewis overtime pay scandal. In 2011, Major Marc McHenry, now retired, served as the DPS chief over Protective Services and the Capitol Police. Lewis also worked under McHenry.
When McHenry realized in 2011 that Lewis had accumulated a gigantic amount of overtime pay, he tried to put an end to Lewis’ financial windfall. At the time, troopers were not being paid for overtime. They were given time off instead.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Recently, I had the opportunity to view a YouTube video which, as I considered the title, immediately aroused suspicion.
You too, can view the video, which is linked herein at the close.
The title is “Kennedy Jr. Loses Cool at Climate Rally; Gets Handsy w/ PJTV’s Michelle Fields When She Corners Him.”
Think about it for a brief moment. You’re cornered. What’re you gonna’ do?
Yeah.
So anyway, points deducted for that.
Who is this “PJTV,” anyway?
Here’s what they say about themselves: “PJTV is the first center-right online news and commentary television network, focusing on the key political and economic issues of the day.“
Okay… great. Right wingers. So what?
Well, I’m no fan of the radical right, so points deducted for that.
‘What?!,’ you exclaim?! ‘You don’t like the right?’
Not quite. It’s the RADICAL RIGHT which I oppose. Note the presence of the word RADICAL which precedes the word “right.”
But let’s talk about the video.
The Girl Holding A Microphone (whom identifies herself as “Michelle Fields”) claims to be at the Read the rest of this entry »
Alabama is on the verge of a complete takeover of it’s prison system. That is a VERY sad indictment, and fact. Further, most Alabamians are COMPLETELY unaware of the dangers the state faces.
Alabama is a state in crisis.
Fiscal crisis from a failure of long-term management, unwise, unsound policy, unnecessary prolonged and costly legal battles at the state and federal levels over inane laws which have had no positive effect upon the state, from policies and procedures which have only burdened the people, tax giveaways to corporations, funded corporate welfare, an inequitable personal income taxation system which has hampered and hamstrung state growth, and further placed the state’s citizens into poverty.
Face it folks… I don’t give a damn about what political colors you wear, or how or what you describe yourself as politically in Alabama… if everything were peaches and cream in the state, then why in the Hell is the state’s poverty level 18% – 4 percentage points ABOVE the national average?
Why is the state sick in their persons? Of all states, Alabama continually ranks high in rates of obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc., even among CHILDREN!
Why does the state have a high crime rate?
Why are Alabamians largely “largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command”?
WHY?
WHY?!?
WHY!?!
***
***
Why Alabama Cannot Wait on Prison Reform: Guest Opinion
Guest opinion By Alabama State Senator Cam Ward
August 06, 2014 at 9:00 AM, updated August 06, 2014 at 9:05 AM
By Cam Ward
Prisons are an issue that would never rank high on any list of priorities for the people of Alabama and understandably so. With unemployment hovering near 7 percent and many schools in need of repair, people ask me why prison reform should be a major subject at this time. The answer is simple – because our failure to maintain a good corrections system is going to push over a fiscal cliff that we may never recover from.
For years as our corrections system became more crowded the political leadership in Montgomery turned their eyes to issues more palatable to the voters during election time. The general feeling for decades has been “let’s wait and deal with that when we have more money.”
As we waited our system grew to 192 percent capacity and despite this incarceration rate our state has the 8th highest violent crime rate in the country. Both of these statistics point to a failing system of corrections.
In addition to allowing for a broken system to continue down a path of inefficiency we have also created a fiscal nightmare of the likes our state has never seen before. While we spend Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, August 7, 2014
This is indeed tragic news, a permanent stain of shame awash a wave of indignation.
To put things in perspective, Blood Alcohol Content is expressed in percentages and abbreviated as BAC. In medical terminology, it measures a concentration ratio of blood to ethanol alcohol (beverage alcohol).
So, BAC of 0.10 (which is 0.10%, or one tenth of one percent) would be written as BAC 0.1, and would mean there is 0.10 g (gram) of alcohol present in every deciLiter (dL) of blood.
So in other words, with a BAC of 0.377 Mr. Lutzenkirchen was EXCEEDINGLYDRUNK, quite possibly even to the point of alcoholic toxicosis (alcohol poisoning), and very possibly, unconsciousness.
There is no doubt he was a beloved collegiate athletic figure.
For him to die in such an undignified manner… I have no words.
There are four very sorrowful lessons which may be learned in this tragedy: 1.) FRONT OR BACK, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT; 2.) NEVER EVER DRIVE INTOXICATED; 3.) NEVER EVER ALLOW ANYONE INTOXICATED TO DRIVE, and; 4.) NEVER EVEN THINK ABOUT RIDING WITH AN INTOXICATED DRIVER.
AUBURN, Alabama – Former Auburn star Philip Lutzenkirchen and the driver of the vehicle that crashed on June 30 and resulted in their deaths were both legally drunk, according to documents released Wednesday.
Wesleyan’s Ian Davis (5) steals second base in a game vs. Greater Atlanta Christian School on March 25, 2008, in Norcross. (Jason Getz / AJC) Davis was the driver of a vehicle in a multiple-fatality crash in the early morning hours of June 29, 2014. The vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and traveled approximately 451 feet before overturning several times in a church yard, according to Georgia State Patrol. Davis and former Auburn Tigers tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen died in the crash. Photo by Jason Getz.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, July 16, 2014
(Editor’s Note: The reader should recognize the following commentary as sarcastic and comedic. Butt if’n yew don’t, pleez kuntinyew ta votes Teapublican.)
BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) – When an employee at Gino’s Restaurant in Baton Rouge cut into an eggplant Monday, he found “GOD.”
Chef Jermarcus Brady couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “I saw a miraculous image formed by the seeds,” said Jermarcus Brady. “It spelled out the word God!” Chef Brady has many responsibilities, one being cutting, salting and sauteing eggplants.
Jemarcus Brady holding the “GOD” eggplant (Source: Jemarcus Brady)
“When you sliced into it, the pattern showed from the seeds that were forming in the inside the letters G-O-D as God,” said Brady. “I couldn’t think of anything. I just had to tell somebody to come look at it.”
Brady showed the eggplant to the owner of the restaurant and fellow coworkers and took photos, but he believed it was meant to be shared with everyone.
Hobby Lobby funded disgraced fundamentalist Christian leader accused of harassing dozens of women
For a decade or so, Hobby Lobby and its owners, the Green family, have been generous benefactors of a Christian ministry that until recently was run by Bill Gothard, a controversial religious leader who has long promoted a strict and authoritarian version of Christianity. Gothard, a prominent champion of Christian home-schooling, has decried[1] the evils of dating, rock music, and Cabbage Patch dolls[2]; claimed[3] public education teaches children “how to commit suicide” and undermines spirituality; contended[4] that mental illness is merely “varying degrees of irresponsibility”; and urged wives to “submit to the leadership”[5] of their husbands. Critics of Gothard have associated[6]him[7] with Christian Reconstructionism[8], an ultrafundamentalist movement that yearns for a theocracy, and accused[9] him of running a cultlike organization. In March, he was pressured to resign[1] from his ministry, the Institute in Basic Life Principles, after being accused by more than 30 women of sexual harassment and molestation—a charge Gothard denies.
More MoJo coverage of the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision.
The Institute traces it origins to 1964, when Gothard designed a college seminar based on biblical principles to help teenagers. The ministry says[15] it was established “for the purpose of introducing people to the Lord Jesus Christ” and to give individuals, families, businesses, and governments “clear instruction and training on how to find success by following God’s principles found in Scripture.” The group, which operates what it calls “training centers” across the United States and abroad, says more than 2.5 million people have attended its paid events, which have brought in tens of millions of dollars in revenue. Gothard and the Institute have drawn support [16]from conservative politicians, including Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. The Duggar family, the stars of the reality show 19 Kids and Counting, have been high-profile advocates[17] of Gothard’s home-schooling curriculum and seminars. (One of Gothard’s alleged victims has called[18] on the Duggars to break with Gothard and the Institute.) Don Venoit, a conservative evangelical who has long been a critic of Gothard, contends[19] that Gothard’s approach to Christian theology emphasizing obedience to authority creates a “culture of fear.” In 1984, Ronald Allen, now a professor of Bible exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary, observed[20] that Gothard’s teachings were “a parody of patriarchalism” and “the basest form of male chauvinism I have ever heard in a Christian context.” He added, “Gothard has lost the biblical balance of the relationship between women and men as equals in relationship. His view is basically anti-woman.”
We’re good with Sharia Law as long as it’s for business purposes.
Think about that next time someone’s favorite religious nut job goes to court.
Because of extremist, right-wing religious radicals, women are again being relegated to second class citizens, WITHOUT full rights and being further victimized by having access denied to birth control/oral contraceptives – i.e., Ortho Novum 777, progesterone, estrogens, etc. – NOT abortion.
Those medications also treat other diseases exclusive to women, including polycystic ovarian disease, endometriosis, amenorrhea/ dysmenorrhea, etc.
The question before the court was this:
“At issue here are regulations promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), which, as relevant here, requires specified employers’ group health plans to furnish “preventive care and screenings” for women without “any cost sharing requirements,” 42 U. S. C. §300gg–13(a)(4). Congress did not specify what types of preventive care must be covered; it authorized the Health Resources and Services Administration, a component of HHS, to decide.”
One’s private personal religious beliefs should never be on trial.
Yet now, because of extremist right-wing radicals, the door is now opened wide to mandate any employee of a “closely held” multi-national corporation, to FORCE them to adhere to THEIR religious beliefs… even when it jeopardizes their health.
Lately, much has been made of raising the Minimum Wage, which does nothing more than establish a minimum standard.
But who cares about minimums?
We should strive to exceed!
Some well-known, publicly-traded, highly profitable firms, however, revel in greed, and wallow in the slop, when they can do far better for the employees who operate their businesses.
The question is often asked “why pay unskilled workers $10 or even more per hour?”
It’s a valid question, and deserves a genuinely thoughtful response.
For instance, shopping. If Walmart doesn’t have it, the nearest outlet is at least two hours away. Now, a Swiss investment firm has announced plans to Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, May 29, 2014
According to Dr. Tommy Bice, Alabama State Superintendent of Education, high schools in the state have achieved an 80% graduation rate. While that sounds impressive, there is an underlying problem, which is this:
How do we know that the children being graduated are competent?
Competency is exemplified as being able to do something successfully. So if merely graduating high school was sufficient demonstration of competence, everyone with a high school diploma would be competent. But sadly, we know that is NOT the case. For example, one need only look to private high schools to so illustrate. Very few private high schools have any such problems. And, it is not to say that all public schools suffer problems. And yet, it is evidence as well that many courses taught in 1960, or even 1860 at the “high school” level are more advanced than those taught today.
For example, consider the following courses of study were required for a diploma of graduation from Middletown City High School, Connecticut in 1848: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, May 8, 2014
Yet more bad news from Governor Bentley’s incompetent, do-nothing administration.
Chalk up more jobs lost.
This is a DIRECT RESULT of the closure of the International Paper manufacturing facility in Courtland.
And the best worst part is, he’s playing with our children’s lives.
Be certain to thank him at the ballot box this November.
And the bad, sad news is undeniable: Alabamians are “largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command.”
When will Alabamians learn?
Wait… if the residents are “largely poor” they’re certain to be “uneducated, and [therefore] easy to command.”
Remember the cheer” We like it, we love it… we want some more of it!
Or if not, how about the line in the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist?
“Please, sir… I want some more“.
Alabama obviously likes it, and hasn’t gotten a bellyful yet.
Again… apply the circular logic of:
“largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command.”
—
(Board Of Education) BOE cuts local funded teacher units
Posted: Thursday, May 8, 2014 6:00 am
By Calvin Cooley Staff Writer
The Lawrence County Board of Education continued to take steps to solidify the county’s financial footing Monday night, eliminating five certified positions in an effort to cut the number of locally funded teacher units.
Superintendent Heath Grimes said more cuts could be on the horizon.
“We have to start focusing on building our financial reserves and this is one step in doing that,” he said. “We’ve been working closely with the state Board of Education to get a plan in place to build a one-month operating reserve and this is one of the suggest measures.”
Lawrence County’s one-month operating cost is roughly $3.2 million. Grimes said the board has $1.5 million in reserve.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, April 4, 2014
It occurred to me recently in a couple conversations I had with friends in various parts of our United States, that equal representation is a matter with which we still struggle.
While on occasion I’ve opined about injustice through inequality – the United States’ Constitution guarantees Equal Protection and Equal Rights under law via the 14th Amendment – it occurred to me recently that there are some who “just don’t get it.”
More to the point, I was spurred by a photograph sent to me by a friend in one of our Northern sister states – the Land of the Frozen Chosen, sometimes also referred to as “The Great White North.”
It was a photograph of my friend’s co-worker which sparked my interest, and subsequent curiosity.
The co-worker was Afro-American, aka “Black.”
I was somewhat surprised to see a Black person in Minnesota, so I queried the Census Bureau for some Quick Statistics about our United States.
Here’s what I found:
Only 5.5% of Minnesota’s population is Black.
In comparison to the United States at large, 13.1% of our American population in general is Black. And in Alabama, 26.5% are Black, while in neighboring Mississippi, 37.4% of that state’s residents are Black. Alabama’s Eastern neighbor Georgia has a closely similar percentage with a 31.2% Black population, while Tennessee is nearly half, with a 17% Black population.
Examining some other states, I found that Alabama’s Southern neighbor, Florida has a very closely similar Black population with 16.6%, while Louisiana’s Black population is just about double with 32.4%. The “Natural State” of Arkansas has a 15.6% Black population, while North and South Carolina are almost evenly tied with 22 & 28% respectively.
On the other hand, Texas has a lower Black population than either Tennessee or Arkansas with only 12.3%.
Kentucky? Only 8.1% of Kentuckians are Black.
Interestingly, of the 16 players on the Kentucky Wildcats Basketball team, only 6 are not Black. In other words, 62.5% of the team is Black – a clear majority. And yet, the state’s general population is completely and disproportionately unrepresentative of the team.
What about Virginia? With a 19.7% Black population, Virginia stands in distinct contrast to West Virginia, which only has a 3.5% Black population – a very stark contrast, indeed.
But what about some of the other Midwestern states?
Missouri has an 11.7% Black population, while only 3.2% of corn-fed Iowans are Black.
From Minnesota moving West, South Dakota has a mere 1.7% Black population, while Montana…
Well.. there just about no Black folks in that state, at all. Only a mere 0.6% – 6/10ths on one percent – of that state’s residents are Black.
A casual observation would be that it’s mighty White up North.
The headline “Public Food Establishment Not Fit For Human Consumption” would be adequate, I suppose, but I really like this lead as a headline much better: “I feel like I should’ve eaten a cucumber sandwich.”
That was actually a SMS which I’d sent a good friend of mine, who had mentioned that earlier in the day, he purchased some cucumbers at a local Farmer’s Market, was pondering how to prepare them, and was considering preparing cucumber sandwiches. Naturally, I gave him a fair amount of good-natured ribbing over the matter (suggesting perhaps that he should consider joining a ladies tea party group) particularly given that he has a penchant for sausages & “fair food,” sometimes aka “carnival food.”
How did I feel after that decidedly “ungastronomic” experience? A picture is worth a thousand words. Here is but one.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, July 4, 2013
Reverend Carl Ralph Nuss, Cullman, Alabama, has plead GUILTY to violating Federal Law – Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
This is how he treats our troops?
I have nothing good to say about this, save that he plead guilty.
I hope the judge gives this criminal the maximum sentence.
And you know what else is REALLY sad?
Reverend Carl R. Nuss
Carl R. Nuss is a minister of the Gospel.
Apparently – and sadly so – he doesn’t know the Gospel too well.
Hopefully, this criminal and his criminal enterprise will soon be put out of business.
—
CullmanCar DealerPleads Guilty to Violating Legal Protections forActive-DutyService Members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2013
BIRMINGHAM – A Cullman used car dealer pleaded guilty today for violating federal protections for active-duty military service members by refusing to reduce the loan interest rate and repossessing the vehicle he sold to a man who was later deployed overseas with the Alabama National Guard, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr.
Mitt Romney owned a significant interest in a firm that profited by laying off workers, dumping their pensions, moving to China, and then profiting rapaciously from the TARP bailout. That large plant – one among many, with the largest one being in Alabama – was the Delphi Steering Gear facility in Tanner, near Decatur, in Limestone County.
The men & women who made careers there, whose labors enabled their children to attend college, provided their families’ clothing, groceries, housing & healthcare, and provided for their own retirement, and which was a union shop, was shuttered several years ago.
Most of what news I recall about it centered around how corporate traders, not unions, were wanting even more & more profit when they were already profitable. Time and time again, the workers took cuts in benefits & pay to keep their jobs for as long as they could… all to no avail.
Like a gazelle savaged on the plains of the Kalahari Desert in Africa, that once prosperous plant has been laid to waste, and there are only industrial skeletal remains. Even the human buzzards, scavenging metal for recycling from the industrial carcass, have left. For many years now, the hollow exterior hulk, instead of employees, materials & labor, has been drawing cobwebs, dust & rust. And soon, like all things left unattended, it too will crumble.
There are no taxes paid to Limestone county, or to nearby Decatur, Athens or Huntsville, or to Alabama for roads, schools, police & fire protection. But there is an even greater issue, one which is exceedingly more weighty and sorrowful. As a result of it all, there is no hope, there are no jobs, and there is no future.
Here’s the even more disturbing part: Mitt Romney had his hand in that pie.
And yet the saddest and most perplexing part is, that most Alabamians will vote for the GOP nominee/candidate.
Following the economic investigative report are historical local news reports that show the progression about the issue (which validate the economic investigative report by Greg Palast), from the:
• Decatur Daily,
• Huntsville Times,
• Associated Press,
• Athens-Limestone News Courier,
• Saginaw News (via MLive.com), and
• Wall Street Journal,
dating 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010.
For the benefit of the reader, Greg Palast is an economist and financial investigator turned journalist whose series on vulture funds appeared on BBC Television’s Newsnight. He is the author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Penguin) and, most recently, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps (Seven Stories). For additional information about him, his website is: http://www.gregpalast.com.
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Mitt Romney’s Bailout Bonanza
Greg Palast, October 17, 2012 | This article appeared in the November 5, 2012 edition of The Nation.
This investigation was supported by the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute and by the Puffin Foundation. Elements of it appear in Palast’s new book, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps (Seven Stories). Research assistance by Zach D. Roberts, Ari Paul, Nader Atassi and Eric Wuestewald.
2012 GOP Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Mitt Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout has haunted him on the campaign trail, especially in Rust Belt states like Ohio. There, in September, the Obama campaign launched television ads blasting Romney’s November 2008 New York Times op-ed, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” But Romney has done a good job of concealing, until now, the fact that he and his wife, Ann, personally gained at least $15.3 million from the bailout—and a few of Romney’s most important Wall Street donors made more than $4 billion. Their gains, and the Romneys’, were astronomical—more than 3,000 percent on their investment.
It all starts with Delphi Automotive, a former General Motors subsidiary whose auto parts remain essential to GM’s production lines. No bailout of GM—or Chrysler, for that matter—could have been successful without saving Delphi. So, in addition to making massive loans to automakers in 2009, the federal government sent, directly or indirectly, more than $12.9 billion to Delphi—and to the hedge funds that had gained control over it.
One of the hedge funds profiting from that bailout— $1.28 billion so far—is Elliott Management, directed by Paul Singer. According to TheWall Street Journal, Singer has given more to support GOP candidates—$2.3 million—than anyone else on Wall Street this election season. His personal giving is matched by that of his colleagues at Elliott; collectively, they have donated $3.4 million to help elect Republicans this season, while giving only $1,650 to Democrats. And Singer is influential with the GOP presidential candidate; he’s not only an informal adviser but, according to theJournal, his support was critical in helping push Representative Paul Ryan onto the ticket.
Singer, whom Fortune magazine calls a “passionate defender of the 1%,” has carved out a specialty investing in distressed firms and distressed nations, which he does by buying up their debt for pennies on the dollar and then demanding payment in full. This so-called “vulture investor” received $58 million on Peruvian debt that he snapped up for $11.4 million, and $90 million on Congolese debt that he bought for a mere $20 million. In the process, he’s built one of the largest private equity firms in the nation, and over decades he’s racked up an unusually high average return on investments of 14 percent.
Other GOP presidential hopefuls chased Singer’s endorsement, but Mitt chased Singer with his own checkbook, investing at least $1 million with Elliott through Ann Romney’s blind trust (it could be far more, but the Romneys have declined to disclose exactly how much). Along the way, Singer gained a reputation, according to Fortune, “for strong-arming his way to profit.” That is certainly what happened at Delphi.
* * *
Delphi, once the Delco unit of General Motors, was spun off into a separate company in 1999. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
The reader should understand: The cost of trying capital cases – cases in which the penalty is, or may be death – are EXCEEDINGLY more expensive than any other case, simply because of the numerous levels of mandatory appeals. Thus, by pleading guilty, and spending the rest her natural life behind bars – without the possibility of parole, and being given humane healthcare – the District Attorney, Amy Bishop and her defense attorneys have saved Madison County, Huntsville, and the State of Alabama many MILLIONS of tax dollars.
That is true, even given that she may live perhaps another 40 years – though that is highly unlikely, simply because incarceration exacts a physical toll upon a person’s life, shortening it by many years. Estimating a cost of $20,000/year (which includes the total cost of employees to guard & manage the system, cost of operations, etc.), and supposing she lives another 40 years (which is less likely, than not) the total flat-line cost would be $800,000.
A 2004 report entitled “State Prison Expenditures, 2001” by James B. Stephan, Statistician for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, of the Department of Justice, found that the cost of food and medical expenses, food service & utilities cost per prisoner in Alabama was $1776. Alabama’s Average Annual Operating Cost per prisoner was $8128 – THE lowest of 50 states. Other components of cost – employee cost, salaries, wages, benefits, supplies, maintenance, contractual services, and other aspects of facility operation, etc. – account for nearly 96% of all operating costs. According to the report, of all states, Alabama has the HIGHEST per-prisoner cost of utilities as a percentage of operating expenditure, at 5.7%. Perhaps it’s time to rethink solar, wind and other sources of renewable energy?
Amy Bishop, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder involving two or more people and three counts of attempted murder. She had earlier pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Amy Bishop pleads guilty to murder and attempted murder in Madison County.
Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against the Harvard-educated Bishop and it was not immediately clear if they would drop the penalty as part of the plea deal. Sentencing will be after arguments are heard at a hearing on Sept. 24.
Alabama‘s Republican Governor Robert Bentley – who has said he would take no salary until Alabama achieves “full employment” (whatever that is!) – has given a private farm in rural Marshall county $5000 to buy light bulbs.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Bear in mind also, that the state is already in a period of budgetary proration.
What’s that?
Alabama’s Constitution forbids debt spending, so the budget must equal – not exceed – the state’s revenue.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, February 2, 2012
Republicans of all stripe are just plain stupid.
Period.
Well, there seem to be so many stupid ones… genuinely stupid ones. They seem to think folks live in little Utopian, Ivory-towered worlds where everything is nice and clean and pretty and sweet smelling, and everything is perfect all the time.
Sorry folks. That ain’t my world.
Prolly ain’t yours, either.
Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t like the people – I like some folks whom identify as “Republican,” and on occasion think some things a few of ’em have said to be worthwhile – it’s the rampant radical stupidity that seems to so freely ooze from their pores.
Read on.
Republican Alabama State Senator Shadrack McGill, Woodville - Times-Journal photo by Lindsay Slater
A RepublicanAlabama state senator – Shadrack McGill, from Woodville – whom represents Alabama’s 8th District, recently decried any possibility of increase in teacher pay while defending raising his own pay.
Warm Southern Breeze 
Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson visits Alabama and advocates teen brides
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, June 24, 2014
In a town infamous for it’s bigoted, inglorious racist history, and “dry” Oktoberfest, comes this not-so-unusual item.
The north-central Alabama town of Read the rest of this entry »
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