"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 Thursday, August 17, 2023
Politico:
In Federal court, Alabama Republicans again defend not creating a 2nd majority Black district.
–//–
Alabama is ALWAYS “itching for a fight” because residents feel as if someone is forcing them to do something against their self-interest, or will, or that they’re going to suffer some kind of loss.
In order to motivate Alabamans, they must feel like they’re against something, that something, or someone, is going to take something away from them. It matters not what — it could be their household garbage — but they will no longer be in control of it, because someone is going to take it away from them, and therefore, they must oppose that oppressive, governmental edict-by-force issued from upon high by an alien enemy power, that they must “draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny.”
The astute will recognize, no doubt, the line uttered by the now-late former Governor George C. Wallace in his infamous “stand in the schoolhouse door” speech at Foster Auditorium in June 1963, on the campus of the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa.
Harmony and peace are “adults-only beverages” and Alabama cannot yet drink to the fullest from that wellspring, that fountain of life, a refreshingly cool, bubbling artesian well, and with all its other infantile behaviors, still suckles the teat of insecurity, demanding to be diapered and fed, to have attention given to it regardless, still incapable of sleeping through the night.
Mike Rogers-R,AL3 is restrained by Richard Hudson-R,NC8 from attacking Matt Gaetz-R,FL1 after Mike Rogers confronted Matt Gaetz because Gaetz voted “PRESENT” in the 14th round of balloting for Speaker of the House (SOTH), late Friday night, January 6, 2023. Kevin McCarthy-R,CA20 was finally elected as Speaker of the House (SOTH) on the 15th round of voting.
Alabama loved George Wallace.
They loved him so very much, that they elected him as Governor an unprecedented 4 times… not counting the time he was the puppet master, pulling the strings of his wife Lurleen’s campaign and her brief time in office as Governess.
Wallace was the state’s 45th individual to have served as Governor, and was elected as Governor in 1962, 1970, 1974, and 1982.
Later in life, after suffering near death following Arthur Bremer’s assassination attempt upon him while campaigning for the Office of President, Wallace had been paralyzed from the waist down by a bullet which had lodged in his spinal cord, and claimed to have changed afteerward, to have had a Christian religious conversion experience before he won election to an unprecedented nonconsecutive 4th term in office as Governor. As part of that conversion experience, he expressed contrition for his wicked deeds towards the Negro/Black community in Alabama — which were most notably expressed as bigotry, racism and segregation — directly to the Black community in Birmingham, Montgomery, and elsewhere, from the pulpits of their churches.
They believed him.
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham examined polling data, voter turnout, and other official records from the 1982 General Election, found a level of support for Wallace among the Black community so very great, so that without it, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, May 7, 2023
One of Texas’ most recent laws — Senate Bill 8, signed into law 19 May 2021 — which essentially turns the general public into vigilantes, and establishes a subjective quid pro quo, presuming — without evidence — that a woman is: 1.) Pregnant, and; 2.) That she’s undergone a legal, private, medical procedure – an abortion — is so bizarre that it defies imagination.
The Lone Star State’s Banana Republican Governor, a wheelchair-bound crippled hypocrite named Greg Abbott, also most recently deflected in a most bizarre manner when asked a question by a reporter September 7, 2021:
“Why force a rape or incest victim to carry a pregnancy to term?”
The Governor replied, saying:
“Aaah… it doesn’t require that at all, because it, obviously, it provides at least six weeks… aaah, for a person, aaah… to be able to, aaah… get an abortion. So for one, it doesn’t provide that. That said, however, let’s make something very clear: Rape… is a crime. And Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas, by aggressively going out and… ah… arresting them, and prosecuting them, and, and getting them off the streets. So, goal number one in the state of Texas, is to eliminate rape, so there’s no woman, no person, will be a victim of rape.”
The also-crippled-in-the-head Guvnah Greggy-poo gives a good straw man argument defense. The reporter should have followed up by asking how the law reduces rape.
And just to remind readers what a “straw man argument” is, it goes like this:
A ‘straw man’ — an effigy, a fictitious, make-believe, person-like character — is established, and then, verbally pummeled as being the responsible party for whatever ails or problems exist. The ‘straw man’ needn’t be a person, of course, but it helps. A ‘straw man’ could be sharks, such as “sharks are the cause of death in oceans, not only because they eat fish and other animals like seals, but are known to kill and eat humans, as well. Therefore, sharks are evil, and because sharks will eat your babies, and your pregnant women, sharks must be killed… because sharks kill and eat babies and pregnant women… and the elderly. You don’t want your granny eaten by a shark, do you? Save your babies! Save your pregnant women! Save your granny! KILL ALL SHARKS!” The speaker establishes an effigy, and verbally pummels it, INSTEAD OF directly addressing the question.
While that example of a straw man argument should suffice to demonstrate the speciousness of such rhetorical devices, it should also be borne in mind that Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, September 12, 2022
The reader should bear in mind that, in Alabama, there are: 399 TOTAL Law Enforcement Organizations 297 Municipal PDs 67 Sheriff’s Departments 25 Community College/University PDs 7 Judicial/Drug Task Force 2 Airport PDs 1 Special Investigations (fire/explosion)
CRIME IN ALABAMA
Alabama, like many, or even most, states, likes to crow about how much they appreciate, or even revere, their Law Enforcement Officials (LEOs). And, under a Republican ultra-majority dominated legislature, executive branch, and judiciary, for well over a decade, one would imagine that by now, the controlling party, since 2011, would have gotten a firm grip on problems facing residents — to either resolve, ameliorate, or eliminate them.
They have not.
Consider crime. Often touted as a Republican talking point, e.g. being “tough on crime,” one would imagine that not only the Corrections system would have corrected and reformed those entrusted to its “corrections,” but that Law Enforcement agencies statewide would be supported, strengthened, and improved by the Republicans to protect the public, and uphold the laws, as is their charge. The state’s prison system, like the ignored metaphorical “elephant in the room,” has long teetered on a Federal takeover for overcrowding, violence, inhumane conditions, and corruption, while Alabama’s LEOs and their agencies continue failing their charge of public protection by not arresting offenders, solving crimes, and bringing swift justice for the offended victims.
And that proverbial “three-legged stool” has at least one woefully short leg. And that, is solving crimes.
In law enforcement jargon, crimes are considered “cleared,” or solved, when a suspect is arrested, and sometimes, several crimes can be cleared with one arrest. But not always. That terminology is used nation-wide at all levels of law enforcement, Local, State, and Federal.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, July 3, 2022
When asked today (Sunday, 03July2022) by Dana Bash, CNN News Anchor, and Chief Political Correspondent about the matter excerpted and linked below, South Dakota’s GOP Governor Kristi Noem refused to answer a direct question about a real-life situation, if it were to have occurred in South Dakota.
The matter is a very real one, and it is the tragic sexual abuse of a 10-year old girl who became pregnant as a result of that abuse, and was referred by a Child Abuse physician in Ohio to an OBGYN colleague in Indiana.
These matters, while previously in the realm of the fictitiously surreal, as in “The Handmaid’s Tale” — a dystopian 1985 novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, in which a militaristic totalitarian theocracy has overthrown the United States government, as the story’s plotline explores themes of the women subjugated by the extremist, oppressive government, and the various ways by, and through which they gain agency in that society — sadly, have now become reality. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, June 26, 2022
Hearken back about 2 years, or thereabouts, when the COVID pandemic was descending into its deepest throes in our nation, when news came out of South Dakota that employees at a meat processing plant there in Sioux Falls began to suffer rampant infection with the viral disease.
Around March 25, 2020, the first news of an infected employee was shared with the Argus Leader’s FaceBook-based tip page when an anonymous tip was sent that an unnamed employee had tested positive for the disease. They published the story online the next day at 0735 with the straight-forward headline “Smithfield Foods employee tests positive for coronavirus.” (see: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2020/03/26/smithfield-foods-employee-tests-positive-coronavirus/2914475001/)
The Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods, though a company spokesperson, Keira Lombardo, Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs, had confirmed to the to the paper the veracity of that claim, and asserted that the unnamed employee was being quarantined for 14 days, with pay, at their residence, and would not be permitted to return to work until given medical clearance to do so. The exceeding majority of employees there were immigrants, and refugees from all over the world – including Congo, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Nepal, with over 80 different languages spoken in the plant – most of whom did not speak English, and rumors had been circulating of other employees who had earlier fallen ill and were hospitalized with a mysterious disease.
Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods pork processing facility in Sioux Falls, SD, where the American COVID-19 pandemic first began to escalate among immigrant & refugee employees characterized as “front-line” workers. A company spokesperson said a majority of meat they export to China are so-called “underutilized” products that are allegedly not consumed in the U.S.
In the 3-week period that followed, positive cases of coronavirus among plant employees rapidly escalated from 80, to 190, then to 238. And by April 12, with 644 confirmed cases, the number of infected individuals at the plant accounted for about 55% of all cases statewide, with a per capita concentration of 182.25 per 100,000 — far exceeding those of more populous neighboring states, greater even than Chicago, and Seattle — while Sioux Falls’ population was a little over 192,000. Ultimately, the number of positive cases continued skyrocketing, and eventually had at least 761 positive employees.
After the 1st confirmed death, and under mounting pressure from Republican Governor Kristi Noem, and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, both who wanted the plant to close for 2 weeks, officials at the plant announced that Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, January 31, 2022
If you want to see, and hear, what an insipidly milquetoast governor Bill Lee is for Tennessee, simply watch a few minutes of his disgustingly loathsome address, delivered to the General Assembly, Monday, 31 January 2022.
It is weak, weak, weak.
As the namby-pamby, weak-kneed, say-little-do-nothing Republican Governor Bill Lee gave his State of the State address today, I thought his knees would buckle under the weight of his featherweight words.
His was a vapidly bland address, delivered in a monotonic voice, devoid of fervor or passion, full to overflowing with the null set of simply maintaining the status quo. Nothing new, nothing exciting, nothing life-changing… a real snooze-fest.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, July 13, 2021
“You can shine your shoes and wear a suit. “You can comb your hair and look quite cute. “You can hide your face behind a smile. “One thing you can’t hide, “Is when you’re crippled inside.”
– John Lennon, “Crippled Inside,” from his 1971 album “Imagine”
Everything is BIGGER in Texas.
Including assholes.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott leaves the podium after speaking at the 11th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast May 7 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn) See BREAKFAST May 7, 2015.
The news item linked below, is from Daily Wire, a so-called “conservative” reporting outlet.
Texas’ BIGGEST problem is an incompetent and crippled Governor.
But then, what can one say about a 26-year-old man who, as new Vanderbilt University Law School graduate studying for the upcoming bar exam, while out jogging with a friend on July 14, 1984 in Houston’s wealthy River Oaks neighborhood, in a freak accident, had an oak tree to fall upon him, and then, sued the landowner, and the tree service company, and won a literal tax-free insurance jackpot for life?
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, June 4, 2021
Flowering bud (female) of the Cannabis Sativa plant, aka “marijuana”
There are 49 other states to which Alabama could turn to examine what works, and what does not, and could emulate the best of the best.
But, Alabama’s gonna’ Alabama, regardless of who, or what party’s in office.
Alabama patient advocates may have celebrated following “Guvnah Memaw’s” signature on the “Darren Wesley ‘Ato’ Hall Compassion Act” sponsored by Republican State Senator Dr. Tim Melson, MD (District 1).
But now, reality is about to set in.
The law, like so many others, is a fiasco. Citizens should rejoice the legislature cannot figure out how to connive and wheedle a gambling scheme to benefit themselves, or their “Big Mule” cronies.
Superficially, the “compassion act” sounds good.
That’s where it stops.
The law leaves patients high and dry when it comes to protecting them, and:
• Allows them to be fired without recourse, denied UC benefits, and denied Worker’s Comp benefits “regardless of the individual’s impairment or lack of impairment resulting from the use of medical cannabis.” {page 15, line 20, §20-2A-6(a)(10)} {page 16, line 13, §20-2A-6(a)(11)(c)}
But then, patient abandonment & neglect is Alabama’s forte.
• Allows DHR to remove children from a patient’s household, and states that the agency shall not be prohibited from “considering a parent or caretaker’s use of medical cannabis as a factor for determining the welfare of a child.” {page 16, line 19, §20-2A-6(a)(11)(d)}
• Penalizes diversion much more harshly than trafficking <500lbs of marijuana – 2 to 20 years vs 5 years + $50,000 fine, respectively. {Section 13A-12-231(1)(a)&(b)}
• Automatically suspends the driver’s license of “any person who is recommended a daily dosage of medical cannabis that exceeds 75 mg… regardless of whether he or she holds a valid medical cannabis card.” {page 99, line 9, Section 6}
• Taxes collected, over and above the board’s operating expenses, less 10%, will go to… The General Fund. {page 22, line 18, §20-2A-10(3)(c)}
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, April 23, 2021
50th Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R)
It makes me wonder… why are Banana Republicans so interested in others’ genitals – especially CHILDREN’S GENITALS?
Sounds VERY creepy to me.
In fact, it sounds very much like something a pedophile would do, or support.
What’s the possibility, eh?
Now, I’m not suggesting that the bill’s authors are pedophiles, but “if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck,” it’s probably a cow… right?
Maybe a pedophile influenced, or wrote the bill, eh?
But then, why are Tennessee’s GOP legislators listening to pedophiles, eh?
Of couse, this sounds very much like a remedy in search of a problem, rather than vice versa. Seriously. I mean, how “bad” a problem is the so-called “problem” it purports to remedy?
I’ve yet to read any news items about any such matters. You know… something like “Man Shoots Trangendered Victim In Public Toilet,” or “Teacher Shoots Transgendered Teen In Lockerroom” something else patently and absurdly similar. After all, we’re assaulted daily, 24/7 with Read the rest of this entry »
“It would not be too far-fetched to imagine (unless the Texas State Legislature asserted otherwise, and chose not to protect the people, but industry instead), that in the future, if such deliberate failures to act to prevent catastrophic loss in Texas – primarily as loss of human life, but property loss, as well – would be subject to litigation by others against the offenders – that being the entire spectrum of participants, ranging from Power Generators, Investor-Owned Utilities aka Retail Electricity Providers, and ERCOT as the esrtwhile ne’er do well pseudo-manager, and perhaps even the Public Utility Commission of Texas for allowing it all to happen under their watchful eyes.
“Ultimately, of course, the responsibility lies with Texas politicians who have horrifically and bitterly failed their constituents… again, and in magnificently resplendent fashion – making this catastrophic fiasco their magnum opus of failure.
“And there is precedent for the same. Pacific Gas and Electric (PGE), the primary electrical utility and NatGas service provider for California, was sued recently, and consequently filed bankruptcy because of the sheer volume of lawsuits filed citing PGE’s deliberate failures to act in a preventative manner to secure their power lines to prevent fire, which in turn caused massive wildfires in the state. To assert that affirmative corporate responsibility is somehow tortuous or onerous to justice or jurisprudence is beyond the scope of the pale. And ERCOT is a well-known name in Texas.”
And, have you noticed?
The ERCOT website, ERCOT.com has remained off-line for several days, and at last check, moments ago, remained off-line.
Fortunately, however, there is a thing called the “Internet Archive” which has a “Wayback Machine” that caches and “makes images” (copies) of websites worldwide. So the ERCOT website isn’t truly gone… even though they might wish it to be.
But ERCOT and Entergy… deserve to be punished for their failures.
The buck stops here.
$100M Lawsuit Alleges Negligence By Power Company, Grid Operator Led To Texas Boy’s Death During Winter Storm
The family of an 11-year-old boy who died in the freezing Texas weather last week has filed a lawsuit against the state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and power company Entergy, alleging that gross negligence led to the child’s death.
The lawsuit alleges gross negligence by the power grid operator and the electricity provider, saying it led to the death of 11-year-old Christian Pavon.
The boy died Tuesday after spending the night in his frigid mobile home that lost power.
The lawsuit says Christian died of hypothermia, and the family is asking for more than $100 million in damages.
Medical examiners have not yet released his cause of death.
Entergy released the following statement on the lawsuit:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in our community. We are unable to comment due to pending litigation.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, February 17, 2021
“This shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America. Our wind and our solar got shut down, and they were collectively more than 10 percent of our power grid, and that thrust Texas into a situation where it was lacking power on a statewide basis. It just shows that fossil fuel is necessary.”
The chart below, from the United States Energy Information Administration, shows that in Texas, Natural Gas-Fired electricity generation is BY FAR – by at least TWICE – the SINGLE LARGEST SOURCE of electrical power in Texas.
It is NOT Nonhydroelectric Renewables, which supplies only 8679 thousand MWh while Natural Gas which supplies 19,890 thousand MWh.
Yeah.
But wind turbines are the problem – according to Governor Abbott and other nuts.
It happened on YOUR watch, Governor Greggy-poo. Therefore, it’s YOUR fault.
It’s YOUR FAULT
because
YOU DID NOTHING
TO
PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING.
Simply put, you did NOT look out for the welfare of your state’s citizens.
You FAILED.
In a series of Tweets, Dan Crenshaw, Texas Republican U.S. Representative for CD2-Houston stated what many agreed is the problem – there’s no insulation in natural gas pipelines in Texas. Thus, they were freezing up, and creating problems.
Publix Gave $100K to DeSantis’ Re-Election Campaign Last Month
by Jessica Lipscomb<
January 12, 2021 – 10:26am
If you’ve been paying attention, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Publix — Florida’s cult-favorite grocery store — made a six-figure contribution to the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, last month.
For years, the Lakeland-based company and members of its founding family have supported conservative causes and backed efforts to oppose progressive legislation, including the legalization of medical marijuana and the regulation of polystyrene, better known by the brand name Styrofoam. In 2018, Publix leaders gave $670,000 to a campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam. The next year, heirs to the Publix fortune donated $28,000 to Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and $25,000 to a PAC supporting DeSantis’ re-election bid.
Last month, Publix doubled down on its support for the business-friendly governor. In December, the grocery chain made four $25,000 contributions to the Friends of Ron DeSantis PAC, which has raised more than $50 million to date. Publix previously donated $25,000 to the committee in January 2020 and another $25,000 in November 2019, according to state records.
A spokesperson for Publix’s Florida stores did not respond to an email from New Times asking why the company supports DeSantis’ re-election.
The grocery chain has previously come under fire for its political donations. After survivors of the Parkland shooting reamed Publix for its support of Putnam, who described himself as a “proud NRA sellout,” the company in 2018 said it would re-evaluate its corporate processes for political advocacy. But the controversy died down weeks later, and Publix continued to make campaign contributions.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a Publix COVID vaccine announcement.
While many businesses have suffered because of the COVID-19 pandemic, grocery stores like Publix have enjoyed record sales as more people shifted to eating at home. The Lakeland Ledger reported that Publix’s profits rose 41 percent for the first nine months of 2020 compared to the same time period in 2019.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, January 24, 2021
Bill Lee is the 50th Governor of the State of Tennessee, a Republican, and is serving his first term in office, having been elected in 2018.
Vice President Kamala Harris two days ago Tweeted:
“On the 48th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we recommit ourselves to ensuring that everyone has access to care—including reproductive health care—no matter their income, race, zip code, health insurance status, or immigration status.”
On the 48th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we recommit ourselves to ensuring that everyone has access to care—including reproductive health care—no matter their income, race, zip code, health insurance status, or immigration status. https://t.co/2CMdjihsXV
I’d like to address this entry to Governor Lee, and to every other person who, for whatever reason, opposes abortion – though opposition to the procedure is mostly religious-based, and that itself presents a Constitutional problem, insofar as our nation is not established upon any religion, and I mean specifically to refer to the “Establishment clause” of the First Amendment. I am NOT going to argue religion, that is for theologians, and I am not making a theological argument.
First, it is a very dangerous precedent to write a law that not only eliminates one’s ability to make an independent, and informed decision (about that, or any other private matter), but mandates that the government tell you (or anyone) what to do in your private life. That is the essence of what is happening with this type of argument. Proponents are: 1.) Forbidding exercise of Constitutional rights and freedom to make a free-will decision, and; 2.) Essentially forcing the pregnant woman to give birth to the child.
Regardless of whether one agrees, or not, that abortion should be discouraged, or even made illegal, the essence of what is happening is that, when government gets involved in a personal, private matter, there is no longer just a woman, and her physician, in that private treatment room, but 535 other people – 435 Representatives, and 100 Senators. And that’s just too many people in one small room.
Whenever government steps in and makes decisions for you, you no longer have freedom, you no longer have liberty. And whether they realize it, or acknowledge it, or not, that’s what the anti-abortion activists want – for government to make your decision, or more accurately, to deny you the ability to make a decision… one with which they disagree with upon religious grounds. Not only is that is the VERY antithesis of so-called “smaller, less intrusive” government (something about which GOP types have clamored about), but it is “Big Brother” government, another thing about which most right-wing, and GOP-type folks complain.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, September 24, 2020
I hate to admit this, but I am practically at the point of saying, when it comes to so-called “anti-maskers” (who are most often Trump supporters and GOP types), and others who proudly flout and steadfastly refuse to wear any type of face mask thereby endangering the lives of others, and who deny that COVID-19 is a pernicious health threat to our nation’s people, and by extension to our national security, I am just about ready to say to them all – FUCK YOU. I hope you get it, and die. It would serve you right.
Their maliciously malignant behavior is not merely stupid, it is cruel, and inhumane.
Michael L. Parson is the 57th Governor of Missouri.
Yet, there comes a time when good will is exhausted, and there is nothing remaining for those who would otherwise need it the most. The dregs having been long drained from the bottom of the barrel of the milk of human kindness, it has become bone dry, and utterly bereft of anything but empty space – a yawning void, a catastrophic chasm of unimaginable vacuousness. Yet it was them who gleefully rejected all sound advice, and threw caution to the wind.
That’s how utterly FED UP I am with the ignorance-promoting, anti-science nut jobs who loudly bray their ignorance like a donkey does its presence. Perhaps even more so.
And just yesterday, when I read the news that Missouri’s Republican Governor Mike Parson, a virulent anti-masker, along with his wife Teresa, tested POSITIVE for COVID-19, I thought that it serves him right. There is poetic justice in this world, and it’s often tragically ironic.
However, I hasten to add this:
The sowing of confusion and chaos in this matter is the work of America’s enemies, most notably, Russia.
And sadly, the American president (yes, like it, or not, he’s America’s President), has long played friendly with totalitarian regimes, again, most notably, Russia, long before he became the Misleader of the Free World, and Liar in Chief.
As usual with many reporting outlets, whether official, governmental, or news, there are often important underlying figures omitted, either through carelessness, or willfulness, which give understanding to the greater picture. In this instance, state population, and population percentages were missing.
According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2019, Alabama has an estimated population of 4,903,185, and the Black or African American percentage of that population is 26.8%. Thus, when observing item numbers 1, 6, and 9 citing the percentage of Alabamians tested, and distribution of the disease as being “practically equally affected,” the reality is that because of their minority population status, the Black or African American community is affected more significantly, and disproportionately affected with respect for the total population.
As well, residents aged >65+ constitute 16.9% of the population.
Alabama has a total of 15,330 staffed beds, in 89 hospitals statewide.
1.) Only 3.789% (almost 4%) of all Alabamians have been tested for COVID-19.
2.) Of the 551 related deaths in the state, 34.2448% were hospitalized.
3.) The majority of COVID-19 cases (39.75%, or very nearly 40%), were aged 25-49 – the “prime” of life.
4.) Those aged 65, or over, constituted only 23.67% (almost 24%) of all cases.
Kelly Loeffler was appointed by narrow-margin-of-victory Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp to fill the unexpired term of three-term Georgia Republican US Senator Johnny Isakson who resigned from office at the end of 2019 due to Parkinson’s disease.
The gubernatorially-appointed temporary fill-in “Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler told Politico she is not dropping out of the Georgia Senate special election despite facing scrutiny over $20 million in stock sales she made following a closed-door Senate briefing in January about the coronavirus.
““Not only am I not dropping out, but I’m gonna win,” Loeffler told the news outlet Thursday.
“Loeffler, who is married to New York Stock Exchange CEO Jeff Sprecher, has said she does not control her own stock portfolio and that she was unaware of the exchanges. She has submitted documents to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, both of which are investigating trading action among senators around the coronavirus pandemic.”
Loeffloer’s net worth is reportedly well over $500,000,000, and is being investigted by the FBI and the Senate for suspicious stock sales timing in response to insider knowledge of the coronavirus obtained in the Senate.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, May 3, 2020
Based upon recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Governor of your state, or mayor of your town orders numerous businesses and activities to be temporarily paused, halted, or ceased. (Take your pick of the choice of words, which essentially mean the same thing. Although “temporarily paused” sounds more palatable, in my estimation.) That includes practically every type of operation, ranging from retail to warehouse, to factory, to office… including corporate worship services.
Suddenly, people lose their jobs, their health insurance, their income, maybe even their residences, either rented, or mortgaged, and their private transportation.
It seems as if the world has come to a virtual, if not practical, standstill. Many grocery stores remain open, albeit with modified hours and operations, as do gasoline and diesel fuel stations, and hardware stores because they’re considered “essential” businesses. Barber shops, beauty salons and their suppliers, however, are shuttered. Restaurants and bars have closed, some which face certain bankruptcy. Yet banks and other financial operations remain open… including the stock markets, because they too, are considered “essential.” Suffice it to say, numerous sports games are cancelled.
Other “essential” businesses, such as farms and the plant facilities that process the animals and milk, are suddenly in a bind, because the low-wage employees who work there have become infected with COVID-19 coronavirus disease, and have “spread the love” to their co-workers, most of whom were not provided with either adequate safety equipment by their employers, nor were given any modifications to provide for adequate distancing to ameliorate the chance of spreading, or contracting the disease. The President can “order” them to remain open as long as he likes, but if there’s no one to work the lines… and I sincerely doubt the suits know how to do it.
Farmers in some states, notably New York, have complained that their milk supplies are suddenly becoming stockpiled, and they are being reduced to wasting it, and other products made from it. In response, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has told farmers of that state that the state will take all of their present “excess” product, and distribute it to needy families, which have suddenly become almost too numerous to count. The farmers consented.
Idaho potato farmers are giving away their crops as well, since critical links in the food supply chain have been broken, and left them unable to deliver their products to market. It remains to be seen what the pork, poultry, egg, and beef producers will do. Fisheries will simply stop collecting their stock for harvest. Pregnant sows (female pigs) will be administered abortifacients. Fowl will be fed, eggs will be laid, cattle will be fattened, and cows will be milked.
A note on the concentrated industrialization of American farms:
That’s NOT a good idea, and inherently, not only is it a violation of anti-trust laws which promote competition, but it’s a bad idea managerially because if one hiccups or sneezes, the whole industry gets sick. There’s STRENGTH in diversification, and as the old adage goes,
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
But for all the good that many, if not most, are doing, there remain a few crybabies, whinos, and belligerents whose cacophonous voices rasp the ears of those who have the misfortune of hearing them.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, December 13, 2019
Thus read Friday the 13th’s headline in the December 2019 edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal in Kentucky.
Why such a votriolic headline?
Shitbag former KY GOP Governor Matt Bevin did this on his way out the door following his re-re-election loss, as reported by NPR:
“Bevin, a Republican who narrowly lost a bid for a second term last month, issued pardons to hundreds of people, including convicted rapists, murderers and drug offenders.
“In one case, Bevin pardoned a man convicted of homicide. That man’s family raised more than $20,000 at a political fundraiser to help Bevin pay off a debt owed from his 2015 gubernatorial campaign.
“In all, the former governor signed off on 428 pardons and commutations since his loss to Democrat Andy Beshear, according to The Courier-Journal. The paper notes, “The beneficiaries include one offender convicted of raping a child, another who hired a hit man to kill his business partner and a third who killed his parents.””
“The Republican pardoned a convicted child rapist as well as a convicted murderer whose brother raised money for Mr Bevin’s election campaign.
“Mr Bevin was defeated by Democrat Andy Beshear in November after a contentious election.
“The flurry of pardons sent shockwaves through the state’s legal system. State prosecutors told local media they had not been consulted on Mr Bevin’s decision, and families of the victims were not notified in advance.
“”I’m a big believer in second chances,” Mr Bevin said in a statement to the Washington Post newspaper. “I think this is a nation that was founded on the concept of redemption and second chances and new pages in life.””
Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) on Friday night defendedhis controversial pardonsas reflections of America’s foundational “support for redemption,” a statement that followed a Republican state leader’s call for a federal investigation into Bevin’s actions.
The former governor, who lost his bid for reelection in November, made national headlines this week after he pardoned hundreds of people during his final days in office, including a man convicted of reckless homicide,a child rapistand a woman who threw her newborn in the trash. In one case, Bevin pardoned a man convicted of homicide who wasthe brother of one of the former governor’s campaign donors.
The pardonsoutraged local attorneys and prosecutors, who said they were not consulted during the process. As the backlash continued to build Friday, Republicans in the Kentucky state Senate issued a statement blasting Bevin.
And, as reported by the Courier-Journal, “.”
Kentuckians are outraged, and even his most ardent former supporters are shocked. “Nonplussed” is far too diplomatic a word to describe their thoughts of his actions.
“Bevin was known to issue pardons on July Fourth and Christmas Day during his time in office as a way to mark the country’s independence and holiday season. The individuals who were pardoned in those situations typically were Kentuckians who committed minor crimes and had demonstrated good behavior while incarcerated.
“But before leaving office, Bevin’s pardons included many violent and sexual offenders such as a man convicted of raping a 9-year-old, another who hired a hit man to kill his business partner, a man who killed his parents and a man who beheaded a woman before stuffing her in a barrel.”
While pardons, sentence commutations, and other types of clemency are within executive privilege, they should be righteously and judiciously wielded with wisdom, rather than wantonly abused as returned favors, or reckless examples of personal vendetta, and should be targeted to include resolution of actual or possible miscarriages of justice, such as restoration of voting rights following conviction, or other realistic social/civic benefits.
Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said he was surprised to learn that foreign nationals can legally buy guns in the U.S., and said, “I think that they should definitely look at that.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R)
Presumably, the “they” to whom he was referring were Federal lawmakers. You know… folks like Florida U.S. Senator Rick Scott, whom himself was the previous former Florida Governor before being elected as U.S. Senator in the 2018 election.
It’s kinda’ funny when you think about it – Republicans don’t like it when some nutzo with a LEGALLY PURCHASED FIREARM starts shooting up the place. But, what do they do in response?
Bupkis.
Nada.
Crickets.
Speaking of Mohammed Alshamrani, the Saudi terrorist training at Pensacola Naval Air Station who purchased a pistol and used it to kill several military service members on base Governor DeSantis said, “That’s a federal loophole he took advantage of. I’m a big supporter of the Second Amendment – but the Second Amendment is so that we the American people can keep and bear arms. It does not apply to Saudi Arabians. He had no constitutional right to do that, for sure.”
Vice President Mike Pence administers the Senate oath of office to Rick Scott, R-FL, accompanied by his wife Ann during a mock swearing in ceremony in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019, as the 116th Congress begins.
CLEARLY, Governor DeSantis does not understand Constitutional law, because there’s NO “loophole.” For if a Foreign National comes here, they too have First Amendment Rights, Second Amendment Rights, and they too have rights under law to fair trial. They too have rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, February 4, 2019
The yearbook photo ruckus with the Virginia Governor is, in my estimation, totally blown out of proportion, andthis Op-Edsuccinctly expresses what’s being overlooked, which is the PRESENT -and- the TRACK RECORD.
Wallace and Dr. James Hood admire Hood’s University of Alabama, Ph.D in Higher Education Administration diploma at Wallace’s Montgomery, Ala., home May 19, 1997. Wallace denied Hood admission to the University of Alabama in 1963.
Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace, right, is shown at the Governor’s Mansion in Montgomery with a meeting between presidential hopeful Rev. Jesse Jackson in this July 21, 1987 photo. In the 1980s he renounced his segregationist views, and he won his last term as governor (1983-87) with support from black voters.
There’s a significantly vast difference between the photo under question, and the matter of Iowa Representative Steve King, whose words and actions are not merely oblique, but blatantly white supremacist / racist.
I think also about late former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, who remains the only four-term Governor that State has ever had.
An August 26, 1994 photo of Wallace in an emotional moment as he shares a hug with friend Connie Harper at a celebration of his 75th birthday.
Several years following the 1972 assassination attempt upon him in Maryland, he campaigned for, and won re-election to an unprecedented fourth and final term in 1982 while wheelchair bound… and with the broad support of the African American voting community in the state, without whose support Read the rest of this entry »
Two men have been caned 83 times each in the Indonesian province of Aceh after being caught having sex. The men stood on stage in white gowns praying while a team of hooded men lashed their backs with a cane. The pair, aged 20 and 23, were found in bed together by vigilantes who entered their private accommodation in March. They have not been identified. Gay sex is not illegal in most of Indonesia but it is in Aceh, the only province which exercises Islamic law. It is the first time gay men have been caned under Sharia law in the province. The punishment was delivered outside a mosque in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, May 21, 2017
In case you’ve been under a rock for the past 4 years or more, Alabama’s two-term Republican Governor Dr. Dr. Robert Bentley, M.D. was forced to resign from office amidst ongoing impeachment proceedings resulting from a sex & corruption scandal in which he significantly abused the power of the office for personal gain, then under pressure, and facing possible felony charges, entered a plea agreement in which he pled guilty to two misdemeanor campaign finance violations, agreed to other court-ordered stipulations including never again to “seek or serve in any public office,” pay fines & court costs, surrender campaign funds, render Community Service as a physician, submitted his resignation, whereupon Republican Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey – formerly State Treasurer – took office as Governess.
It seemed most everybody was happy as a lark.
Until…
Until those damn pesky reporters started snooping around the back door.
Then, it turns out, they found evidence that strongly suggests she isn’t in good health, and so much so to the extent that her ability to govern and think clearly may be called into question.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, May 21, 2017
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
We recently experienced in Alabama what the nation is undergoing with President Donald J. Trump – a seemingly endless saga in which the top executive official is entangled in a web of deception that was spun to hide a scandal that is spiraling out of control. The culprit in Alabama was former governor Robert Bentley. He was attempting to cover-up a secret love affair with Rebekah Mason, a “senior political adviser” who was married to one of Bentley’s department heads.
Bentley’s twin of deception at the national level is the “real” Donald J. Trump. The parallels between the two men and their misconduct are striking and frightening.
Bentley and Trump were viewed as long-shot political candidates who ran the table to win it all. Against all odds, Bentley became Governor of Alabama and Trump became President of the United States. Both men were unprepared to govern after they won. Because of their oversized egos, arrogance and stupidity, both men became embroiled in explosive political scandals.
Bentley fell in love with his much younger paramour and used state resources, campaign funds, and “dark money” to romance her. Trump fell in love with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his highest-ranking KGB agents in the U.S. – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. In doing so, Trump has foolishly compromised America’s national security interests.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, April 10, 2017
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
By Josh Moon and Bill Britt
Alabama Political Reporter
MONTGOMERY — Gov. Robert Bentley has agreed to resign later today, several sources have confirmed to the Alabama Political Reporter.
The Governor reached an agreement with state lawmakers and law enforcement officials early Monday morning to step down. The terms of the deal were not immediately available.
Bentley’s resignation comes after a tumultuous weekend following the release of a salacious report from the House Judiciary Committee’s special counsel, Jack Sharman.
Sources told APR on Sunday that a steady stream of Bentley’s friends and confidants have spoken to the governor since the Friday release of Sharman’s investigative report. That report and its supporting documentation revealed embarrassing details about Bentley’s relationship with former aide Rebekah Mason and provided evidence of potential criminal misuse of state resources…
It started with a special series of exclusive investigative articles published on this Facebook page. This first series of articles was titled, “Forbidden Love – Robert Bentley’s Secret Love Affair”. This historic four-part series was published on September 4, 9, 11, and 13, 2015. It detailed Governor Bentley’s secret love affair with Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, March 28, 2017
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
Political Corruption in Alabama – legal, and illegal – is harming Alabama by robbing its children of education, and its people of economic opportunities. As long as its citizens continue to promote corruption by electing politicians who “turn a blind eye” to it, the state will continue to fail at everything it sets its hand to do.
Alabama could be so much more. And yet, it is sadly so much… much, much less.
Inside Rebekah Mason’s Relationships With Robert Bentley, Jonathan Mason
Last March, Alabamians and the rest of the world heard Governor Robert Bentley gushing on secretly recorded audiotapes about his love for Rebekah Caldwell Mason, about how he likes to grab Rebekah’s breasts and fondle her from behind, about the pride he felt parading in front of Rebekah in his boxer shorts, and about the love couple’s need to start locking the door to his private office inside the Executive Suite at the Capitol when they are alone in the office.
What the public heard on audiotapes was first reported in September of 2015 on this Facebook page in an exclusive series of investigative articles titled, “Forbidden Love” and “Executive Betrayal”.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, April 19, 2016
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
Alabama Governor Robert J. Bentley, 73, and political consultant Rebekah Caldwell Mason, 40, are expected to be charged by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) for using Bentley’s position as governor to execute a wide ranging racketeering conspiracy involving wire and mail fraud, tax fraud, bribery, money laundering, the unauthorized use of the federal National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Law Enforcement Tactical System (LETS) databases, and related criminal charges.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and paramour-cum-Senior Political Advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason
As we announced exclusively on April 9, 2016, federal prosecutors in Washington have decided to expedite the initiation of public corruption charges against Robert Bentley and Rebekah Mason. This article takes you deep inside the criminal case against the governor and his married lover.
Mason, a mother of three young children, is trying to stay out of jail by cooperating with the federal probe. She does not have the financial resources to mount a spirited or sustained defense to the expected criminal charges.
Bentley, whose criminal defense attorneys are paid from campaign funds and personal savings, is helping Rebekah Mason fund her criminal defense by keeping Jonathan Mason, her husband, on the state payroll as the director of Serve Alabama at an annual salary of $94,000. This financial assistance, however, is woefully inadequate considering the tidal wave of legal trouble Rebekah Mason faces.
Robert Bentley, Rebekah Mason and other co-conspirators are staring down the barrel of a criminal indictment that is expected to exceed ninety felony charges once the case has been presented to a federal grand jury. Bentley will be named as the “ringleader” of the racketeering conspiracy.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, January 14, 2016
Soon, the Alabama state legislature will reconvene, and soon enough, they will – once again – be faced with enormous fiscal shortfalls.
And, once again as well, the Republican super-dominated Alabama state legislature will be reticent, reluctant, and recalcitrant to raise taxes… except upon those least capable of paying them. I refer, of course, to the impoverished, which – according to the United States Census Bureau – comprise nearly 20% of Alabama’s population. And with a population estimated at 4,849,377, that’s 901, 984 people, who annually, according to the research, Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, December 2, 2015
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
Our report for the U.S. Department of Justice on Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s criminal conduct in office has been written and vetted by our editors and attorneys. The report, which grew out of our Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, November 16, 2015
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
by Donald Watkins, Monday, 16 November 2015 8:30PM CST
Alabama Governor, Robert Bentley – (R)
Our report for the U.S. Department of Justice on Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s criminal conduct in office has been written. The report, which grew out of our Facebook news team’s special series of investigative articles titled “Forbidden Love” and “Executive Betrayal“, is undergoing a review by our editors and legal team. The report is tentatively scheduled to be delivered to the Justice Department on Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Having made no bones about it, I remain searingly and scathingly critical of Alabama Governor Robert Julian Bentley, a retired physician-turned-Republican legislator from Tuscaloosa, who is twice elected governor – in 2010, and in 2014.
While I wished him well after his initial victory in the governor’s race against his Democratic opponent then-Secretary of Agriculture and Industries, Ron Sparks, he has disappointed the state since Inauguration Day 2011 when he put his foot in his mouth at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, Montgomery, where on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 17, 2011 – mere hours after taking the oath of office and inauguration – he said in part, “There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit. But if you have been adopted in God’s family like I have, and like you have if you’re a Christian and if you’re saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister. Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother.”
It was at that point that Rebekah Caldwell Mason became his Communication Director, and later, Senior Political Advisor-cum-paramour.
More to the point, however, I have maintained that among other things, as an elected official, he has been feckless, and clueless.
But, let’s let him speak for himself.
Here’s in part what Governor Bentley said in a speech to a statewide gathering of city officials in Montgomery, May 2013, “You know where I came up with that idea? Ron Sparks.Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, October 15, 2015
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
Alabama Governor Bentley with paramour/ Rebekah Caldwell Mason, Communications Director cum Senior Political Advisor
by Donald V. Watkins
Published via Facebook Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Used with permission
Once again, Governor Robert Bentley has hoodwinked Yellowhammer News and AL.com. This time, Bentley has deceived these two news organizations by providing them with a handful of sanitized text messages between Rebekah Caldwell Mason and himself in response to their separate Open Records requests for emails and text messages between the two lovers.
Like former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Bentley withheld the more embarrassing text messages about his illicit love affair with Rebekah from public disclosure. Of particular significance are the text messages where Bentley describes his true love for Rebekah, including a text message Bentley thought he was sending to Rebekah that he mistakenly sent to his former wife Dianne instead.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, October 15, 2015
Alabama Governor Bentley with paramour Communications Director/Senior Political Advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason
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
By Donald V. Watkins
Published via Facebook October 11, 2015, 9:54am
Used with permission
Our Facebook news teams is in the process of preparing a detailed prosecutorial memorandum on Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s misuse of taxpayer and donor money to carry on a love affair with Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his senior political advisor. It is anticipated that the report will be Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, October 6, 2015
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
By Donald V. Watkins
Posted to Facebook 6 October 2015
Used with permission
I know it is not my job to tell mainstream media journalists what questions to ask Governor Robert Bentley (assuming they have the courage to ask him any questions about his infidelity scandal), but I would suggest the questions below for them ask the governor (assuming they want to regain their credibility):
1. Why did you hire David Byrne as your chief legal advisor after he presided over the massive collapse of Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, October 5, 2015
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
I have a simple guide for Alabama’s mainstream news media organizations that want to assail or independently confirm the accuracy of our exclusive reporting on Governor Robert Bentley’s martial infidelity and misuse of taxpayer and donor money. Before starting, I want to note that I hold the individual record in Alabama for exposing the highest number of major corruption scandals involving public officials. Thus, I am going to give my fellow journalists some simple tips on effective investigative journalism as it relates to the governor’s cheating scandal.
First, ask for all of the text messages between the governor and Rebekah Caldwell Mason from January 2011 to the present. These records are public documents under Alabama’s Open Records Act. They are not confidential or privileged documents. They are Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, October 4, 2015
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
Since our initial September 4, 2015 edition, we published a series of articles titled, “Forbidden Love” and “Executive Betrayal.” Those articles disclosed a flaming love affair between Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and Rebekah Caldwell Mason, his married paramour and Senior Political Adviser. The adulterous love affair was underwritten by taxpayers, donors to the governor’s campaign organization, and contributors to a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation that Bentley used as a slush fund to sponsor his personal affair with Rebekah.
Alabama Governor Bentley with paramour/ Rebekah Caldwell Mason
Infidelity between two married “Christian” lovers is a moral and religious issue. The use of state and federal funds along with donor money to carry on and conceal the affair is a criminal matter.
Bentley’s case is dripping with evidence of wire and mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, misuse of public funds, and Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, September 25, 2015
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
Bobby Lowder was the founder, President, CEO & Chairman of the Board of the failed Colonial Bank. He was widely known as a manipulator and micromanager of Auburn University, where he was a member of the Board of Trustees, and donor. During his tenure there, the university suffered many scandals, including use of Lowder’s private jet for recruiting an Athletic Director & Head Football Coach that violated NCAA rules. His undue influence upon the university extended even to the university president, who was fired after a No Confidence Vote by the Board of Trustees. Governor Bentley named Lowder to reappointment to the Board after Lowder donated $25,000 to Bentley’s gubernatorial election campaign. A civil lawsuit in the Lee County Circuit Court complained that Bentley’s actions violated Alabama’s Open Meetings Act, and under such pressure, Lowder withdrew his name from consideration, and shortly thereafter, the Alabama State Senate voted him off the board.
On August 14, 2009, federal and state regulators took control of Colonial BancGroup, a regional banking powerhouse based in Montgomery. The seizure of Colonial Bank’s 346 branches and $26 billion in assets made it the sixth-biggest bank failure in U.S. history, the worst of 2009, and the third largest during the credit crisis that plunged the financial markets into turmoil in 2008. Colonial’s collapse cost the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation $2.8 billion. Colonial’s shareholders lost billions of dollars in stock value. Thousands of bank employees lost their jobs.
David B. Byrne, Jr. was admitted to the bar in 1966. He received his B.S. from The University of Alabama and his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law. He was Assistant U.S. Attorney, 1971-1974, Special Assistant Attorney General, State of Alabama, 1998 – Present; United States Army, 1966 – 70, Captain, JAGC USAFR, 1971 – Present Military Judge, Colonel USAF Trial Judiciary, 1993 – Present
Although the public focused on the failed leadership of Bobby Lowder, Colonial’s founder and CEO, it was David B. Byrne, Jr., who was Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Wednesday, September 23, 2015
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
Governor Robert Bentley abused Dianne Bentley emotionally, psychologically, and verbally. The abuse started when Rebekah Mason became Bentley’s closest advisor and lover during the governor’ first term in office. Bentley’s domestic abuse of Dianne was pervasive, degrading, and ugly, and his malicious words and deeds, ultimately left Dianne feeling irrelevant, disgraced, and utterly inadequate.
As Bentley’s romance with Rebekah Mason heated up, so did his abuse of Dianne. Though not physical in nature, Bentley’s abusive conduct was so disparaging towards Dianne that even the couple’s four sons and some of his grandchildren have felt the need to disassociate from him.
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
Governor Robert Bentley’s long-time personal CPA and heavy hitting moneyman for the Robert Bentley Campaign Committee, has split from the governor. Echols, who handled the financial books and records for both the Bentleys and the Campaign Committee, resigned his post over a disagreement with Bentley about Rebekah Mason, the governor’s mistress and married paramour.
The precise nature of this dispute, which occurred several weeks ago, is not known at this time.
What is known, however, is that Bentley wanted Echols to do something questionable with the financial records relating to Rebekah Mason. The governor’s request did not sit well with Echols, a respected Tuscaloosa accountant and well-known PAC organizer. During a heated exchange between the two men, Echols refused the governor’s request and turned over the various checkbooks and financial records in his custody to Bentley. With this handover, the professional relationship between Echols and Bentley ended.
Echols has been Bentley’s accountant for many years. He was also the Campaign Committee’s accountant in 2010 and 2014.
In a slick move that is expected to become the focus of First Lady Dianne Bentley’s divorce proceedings, as well as law enforcement agencies in Washington, the governor stashed Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, September 13, 2015
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
The state of Alabama is flat broke.
The Legislature is in the midst of the Second Special Session
that was called to pass a
General Fund budget for 2015-2016,
having failed the task during both the
Regular Session
and the
First Special Session.
Mugshot, Alabama Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard, (R, 79, Lee County-Auburn) is indicted on 23 state Felony Ethics Violation charges, changes to the law which he championed, and with the legislature, helped pass in 2010, though he now claims they’re “unconstitutional,” and “vague.”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, September 11, 2015
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
George L. Beck, Jr., is the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, which includes Montgomery.
George L. Beck Jr. was sworn in as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama on July 6, 2011. He was nominated by President Obama on March 31,2011, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 30, 2011. Prior to being appointed, George Beck served as Deputy Attorney General for the State of Alabama for eight years, and Judge Advocate General for the Corps of Alabama Army National Guard for over thirty years, retiring at the rank of Colonel. He joined a private law firm in January 2004 where he remained until he was confirmed as U.S. Attorney. Mr. Beck received his undergraduate degree from Auburn University and his law degree from the University of Alabama.
President Obama appointed Beck to the top federal prosecutor’s job in Montgomery in 2011. Beck’s Senate confirmation took a mere three months from the date of his nomination, even in the midst of a gridlocked Congress, because Beck enjoyed the support and loyalty of Alabama’s two Republican senators, as well as its Republican governor and state attorney general. For all practical purposes, Beck is a “closet” Republican.
Beck received his law degree from the University of Alabama, where he was a law school classmate and personal friend of David Byrne, Governor Robert Bentley’s chief legal advisor. Over the years, the two men formed Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, August 28, 2015
It seems that after 50 years, Dear Old Governor Bentley’s wife Dianne has filed for divorce citing “such a complete incompatibility of temperament that the parties can no longer live together.”
Seriously, divorce is a tragedy. The real reason behind First Lady Dianne Bentley’s divorce was infidelity.
And yet we know the real reason, which is sort of Ashley Madisonesque in nature, because Governor Bentley has been continually screwing over the state for the last 5 years.
Of course, impotence could also factor into the mix, since he’s quite obviously had a hard-on for them, rather than her.
We should thank Alabama’s former First Family for such a fine example of Family Values to the state’s citizens.
Rumor has it, also, that the Governor spoke with Senator Cam Ward who exults under a DUI charge, keeping his Driver License, while any other lowly peon would have to walk, ride a bicycle, take a taxi, public transportation, or beg a ride, and whom also is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Governor Bentley asked Ward saying, “What can I do to a woman that I cannot do to you?”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Thursday, August 6, 2015
UPDATE: Tuesday, 11 August 2015 CORRECTION ADDENDUM
In my first & earlier calculations, I inadvertently overlooked multiplying the Annual Medicaid Spending in Alabama figure (which is a TOTAL of $5,241,269,869) by 70%, which would represent the portion paid for by the Federal government. Alabama’s 30% share of that figure (the share paid for by the state) would be $1,572,380,960.70. It would also be reasonable to expect that Expanding Medicaid in Alabama to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level would increase total economic activity (through Medicaid spending) in the state at least 38%. So to Expand Medicaid, the baseline figure for TOTAL Medicaid spending (combined Federal and State funds) would approximate $7,232,952,419. According to the provisions of the law, Alabama’s sharing portion (if Governor Bentley chose to Expand Medicaid) would still be 2016-100%; 2017-5%; 2018-6%; 2019-7%; 2020 and beyond-10%. The corrections to the figures herein are dollar amounts only (based on the $7,232,952,419 total expanded figure), not the %ages. Data & figures are now also shown in table format.
—
Folks, it may (or may not) surprise you to know a sampling of the collective thoughts of our wrong-wing friends, and relatives on matters political in Alabama, especially as they pertain to Medicaid.
Here’s a verbatim excerpted sampling of what I came across today.
• No one want increased entitlements. Too much waste and abuse. get a job folks. no to medicaid
• Medicaid is a lifestyle
• scare tactic. nursing homes overcharge. working people of Alabama are tired of taking care of lazy people
• ask any hospital administrator or physician in private practice. Medicaid devalues services. Reject medicaid
I dare say, MOST are clueless about the genuinely tangible economic and public health benefits Medicaid provides to this state, and the revenue and jobs it creates. All they hear are the wails and moans of representatives and/or senators – mostly of whom, if not exclusively, are Republican.
Where does Alabama’s Medicaid money come from? Where does it go? Source: Alabama Medicaid Agency Annual Report – FY 2012
Medicaid is a Federal/State matching/sharing program which provides (pays for) healthcare services for the impoverished wherein states pay a minority matching portion, while the Federal Government through CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) pays the majority portion. Within reasonable guidelines, the states have broad discretion and liberty to operate Medicaid according to the way they see fit, and the needs of the residents they serve. There are, however, certain minimums standards to which every state must adhere.
Under the provisions of the OLD law, the states that do NOT Expand Medicaid pay a higher %age rate for their services than they would if they were to Expand Medicaid to provide services to those whom are at 138% of the Federal Poverty guidelines – which is what the PPACA provides. The PPACA is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act- though it’s more often called the ACA “Affordable Care Act,” and colloquially referred to as “ObamaCare.”
Under the provisions of the PPACA, states that choose to Expand Medicaid will have 100% of those costs paid-for by the CMS beginning 2014, until 2016. The incentive for expansion is based upon Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Friday, July 24, 2015
There are numerous reasons, actually.
Here are a few:
He has an excellent political background/pedigree/experience.
• In 1978, aged 26 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate’s 15th Senatorial District, and remains OH’s youngest ever elected state senator
• In 1982, he was elected to the US House of Representatives 12th Ohio District, where he served from ’83-2001 (was re-elected 8 times) by at least 64% each time
• In 2010, he was elected governor, and in 2014 re-elected in a landslide, carrying all but 2 counties (86/88) – including the traditionally Democratic-leaning Hamilton county, where Cincinnati is located
Ohio Governor John Kasich (2010 & 2014)
He has done quite well by Ohio voters.
• His approval rating (always fluctuating for any elected figure) among Ohioans, has been as much as 77%.
• He expanded Medicaid in Ohio (which reduces uncompensated care & increases hospitals’ solvency)
• He saved $3Billion in the Medicaid budget, and slowed growth in the plan from 9%-3%, the lowest rate nationally
• He used cost-saving reforms & turned a $6-8 Billion Ohio budget shortfall into a balanced budget without raising taxes
• During his first term as governor, he grew the “Rainy Day Fund” (surplus) from $890M-1.5B
• In his first budget, he implemented a Personal Income Tax cut
• In his second budget, he implemented a 10% Personal Income Tax cut, and a 50% Small Business Income Tax cut
• During his first term as governor, he created 316,800 new jobs, and the state Unemployment Rate fell from 9.4% to 5.1%
• Education funding is at the highest level it’s ever been
• Because of Criminal Justice reforms, Ohio’s recidivism rate (reoffending) of prisoners is the lowest in the nation
• He has vigorously worked Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, May 24, 2015
Someone asked: “Getting Alabama’s voters to overhaul the state constitution seems like a pipedream. Do we accept things as they are, and go about our business? I’m ready to overthrow ALL of Montgomery, purge the place, and start over.”
I responded as follows:
There’s certainly no question we’ve a fine kettle of fish to fry. These clowns have NO agenda, and are just flying by the seat of their pants, inventing some asinine idea at the drop of a hat, one day to the next.
Sadly, the people, for the greatest part, are blithely unaware of the shenanigans and goings-on amongst the Goat Hill Gangsters. The “media” – by which I mean Read the rest of this entry »
Her recent performance in Iowa should disqualify her from any role in the GOP going forward.
By Charles C. W. Cooke
In Des Moines this past weekend, Sarah Palin gave a speech, and at long last the vultures began to circle. “A tragedy,” declared Joe Scarborough, on Morning Joe; “bizarro,” ajudged the London Times’ Toby Harnden; “an interminable ramble,” said Iowa professor Sam Clovis. These, alas, were among the kinder adjectives.
In the Washington Examiner, Byron York treated those who missed the address to a brutal dissection. First, he recorded, Palin subjected the crowd to an “extended stream-of-consciousness complaint about media coverage of her decision to run in a half-marathon race in Storm Lake, Iowa.” Next, she offered up some self-righteous “grumbling about coverage of a recent photo of her with a supporter” and a litany of “objections about the social media ruckus over a picture of her six-year-old son Trig.” And, finally, she embarked upon a “free-association ramble on Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, the energy industry, her daughter Bristol, Margaret Thatcher, middle-class economics . . . women in politics, and much more.” All in all, York proposed, this did her no favors at all. Rather, the “long, rambling, and at times barely coherent speech, left some wondering what role she should play in Republican politics as the 2016 race begins.”
This, I think, is a good question, and one to which I have a modest answer: How about . . . none? Instead, Palin should Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, January 19, 2015
Oh! The Irony!
Every quadrennium, January 19 commemorates a special event in Alabama. It is Inauguration Day, when a new Governor takes the Oath of Office, and a new administration of state government begins. Second, this year, January 19, 2015 is unique because it marks the simultaneous and concurrent celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Ironically, Alabama commemorates the birthday of Robert E. Lee, General of the Confederacy, in conjunction with MLK Day.
Commemorative marker, Jefferson Davis Confederate Presidency Oath, Alabama State Capitol Building, Montgomery
So, today marked a triple peculiarity; 1.) a re-elected governor sworn in on; 2.) the day the state and nation celebrate the life and Civil Rights accomplishments of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and; 3.) the state celebrates the birthday of the General of the Confederate Army, Robert E. Lee.
There could hardly be any greater irony.
Freedom and equal rights under Constitutional law is simultaneously celebrated with the memory of a rebellious, oppressive regime which had a vested interest in indentured servitude… more often known as “slavery.” Patterson Hood, founder of the alt-rock Southern Rock group Drive-By Truckers, has described it as “the duality of the Southern thing.”
It reminds me of a hit song in the late 1970’s by a Christian Rock duet named DeGarmo & Key entitled “God Good, Devil Bad” which partial lyrics were: “I met a man in the Nassau hotel, “A stranger to my eyes. “He had a tattoo on his arm of Jesus “And the Devil side by side. “I found the nerve so I said “Hey buddy! “Just whats the matter with you? “Don’t you know that you can’t serve two masters “A real man’s gotta choose!”
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Sunday, October 26, 2014
Alabama Governor Bentley claims he, and his policies – whatever they are (he has none… just look for your self) – have been responsible for declining Alabama Unemployment. Fact is, he’s blowing smoke.
Alabama Governor Bentley claims he, and his policies – whatever they are (he has none… just look for your self) – have been responsible for declining Alabama Unemployment. Fact is, he’s blowing smoke.
Alabama’s Republican Governor Robert Bentley, MD has crowed about “success” in lowering Alabama unemployment during the past 4 years of his term.
However, to be certain, a random statistical examination of the state’s Unemployment rate shows that it is very likely, AT LEAST two points higher than reported. Here’s how.
Unemployment is calculated as a simple average. Take the number of people working, added into the number of people NOT working, AND who WANT to work, divided by the people who are available to work, gives the unemployment rate.
What are the basic concepts of employment and unemployment?
The basic concepts involved in identifying the employed and unemployed are quite simple:
• People with jobs are employed.
• People who are jobless, looking for a job, and available for work are unemployed.
• The labor force is made up of the employed and the unemployed.
• People who are neither employed nor unemployed are not in the labor force.
Simply put, the formula is:
Unemployment Rate =
Unemployed
Employed + Unemployed
However, if you’ve had a college course in Statistics – and most folks in Alabama have not (it’s part of maintaining the policy of “largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command”) – then you’d understand that a random sample of the set would show essentially the same results.
And face it… most folks in Alabama DO NOT HAVE A COLLEGE EDUCATION. In fact, according to the Alabama Department of Education, Alabama’s High School Drop Out rate is 28%. Page 2, Frame 2 of the linked document shows the 2010-2011 TOTAL Graduation Rate as 72%.
Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Monday, October 13, 2014
Robert Bentley, MD will say ANYTHING to get elected. In fact, he did. Is there any reason to believe he won’t do it again? He had no intention of fulfilling any of those promises. And that, my friends, is the definition of a sociopathic liar. Sociopathic Liars are defined as someone who lies continuously in an attempt to get their own way, without showing care or concern for others. These individuals are goal-oriented. Even though it might seem hard to believe, lying is focused – they are focused on getting their own way. Sociopaths don’t have a lot of respect or regard for the feelings and rights of others. They tend to be charismatic and charming, but they will use their exceptional social skills in a self-centered and manipulative manner.
Having met with Alabama Governor Bentley a couple times, I can attest that he came across to me as a “nice guy,” a decent human being.
However – and to be absolutely certain – when I refer to Robert Bentley, or Governor Bentley, I mean to refer to him as an elected political figure, nothing more. And in that sense, as a legislator from Tuscaloosa, he was an inept, do-nothing, milquetoast, mamby-pamby, clueless, bumbling, cowardly, lazy, yellow-bellied, gutless, craven, unimaginative, clueless, pedestrian, hackneyed, lame and feeble Representative.
As Governor, he has given Alabama all that, and more… in spades!
As an elected official, Governor Bentley is a liar, and there are LITERALLY 15-20 broken promises he made while in the 2010 campaign that were very likely the hopes upon which Alabamians hung their hat, and ideas for which they cast their vote. His Democratic contender – Ron Sparks – was a man who, as Secretary of Agriculture and Industries, had his finger on the economic pulse of the state of Alabama. Ron was the man whom opened doors of market opportunity for Alabama’s farmers to sell poultry in foreign markets. Ron regularly communicated with the captains of industry in Alabama, as well the numerous entrepreneurs, small businesses owners, and Mom & Pop shops, which are the lifeblood of any economy.
Bentley’s campaign is nothing more one Broken Promise after another. It is a history of lies, infidelity, and willful deception. To characterize his administration as duplicitous would be generously diplomatic. To say it has been treacherously fraudulent would be more accurate.
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.
ALEA, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, was a creation of /cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/T3OP5YV6YZOLPLJZVFHSNUDL7Q.jpg)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a Publix COVID vaccine announcement.
Warm Southern Breeze 