Alabama Politics
BIRMINGHAM NEWS: Trying to save Birmingham schools is … racist?
Rep. Mary Moore — who called reporter Marie Leech “retarded” Tuesday before nodding vigorously in support of special ed programs — claimed the state intervened at the bidding of the white business community.
“It won’t dictate to us,” she said loudly.
Outside the school board operatives held placards calling their foes “Nazis,” and critics of Superintendent Craig Witherspoon argued inside and outside of the building that schools containing white students get too much support.
And inside the bigtop, the band played on.
In the name of jobs, in the name of hardball politics and self-determination, the effort to improve Birmingham schools, where nine out of every 10 students are black, has come to be characterized as racist.
JACKSONVILLE NEWS: Inside the Statehouse Here’s a few things going on in the state
As the long, hot summer continues, several events have transpired that warrant mentioning.
Several of you have asked if the September 18 constitutional referendum on borrowing money from the oil royalty trust fund is not approved will Gov. Bentley call a special session to address the gigantic void in the general fund budget.
There will be a tremendous deficit in the budget between what is appropriated and the revenue that will be available. There will be a very short window to resolve the dilemma as the new 2013 fiscal year begins on October 1. Your guess is as good as mine.
Gov. Bentley has repeatedly said that he will not call for any new revenue enhancement measures.
You can also bet your bottom dollar that the legislature is not going to raise taxes, especially without the governor requesting such measures.
SOUTH UNION STREET: Report ranks state 45th for child welfare
Alabama still lags the country in many areas of children’s welfare but is showing some improvement. Lydia Seabol Avant of The Tuscaloosa News reports the annual Kids Count report ranked Alabama 45th out of 50 states in children’s overall well-being. The state did show some improvement in math and reading proficiency among students, but those numbers remained high: 69 percent of fourth-graders were not proficient in reading in 2011, while 80 percent of eighth-graders were not proficient in math that year.
National & International Politics
POLITICO: Scott Walker Knocks Romney Campaign
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker criticized Mitt Romney’s campaign Wednesday for being too cautious and for assuming the election could just be a referendum on the president.
“I think there’s a lot of caution. I think the mistake that they’ve made is the feeling like it can just be a referendum on the president,” said Walker on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “It’s certainly a part of it for any incumbent; it’s got to be a referendum on, do you like or dislike, not just the president, but his policies … but there’s got to be something more. People don’t just vote somebody out; they’ve got to vote somebody in.”
Walker said that he thought Romney had the capacity to take a stand but has not yet done so, something he hopes to see during the Republican convention.
THE BLAZE: Video shows enraged man attacking U.S. flag bearer during Obamacare protest
A video posted by a conservative student group during a recent anti-Obamacare protest shows a man losing his cool and attacking protesters during what they say was a peaceful gathering to oppose the president’s healthcare mandate.
The group, Tradition Family and Property (TFP), was protesting in North Little Rock, AR, on July 17, the group’s website says. Sometime during the protest — with cameras rolling — a man approached the group and eventually attacked.
THE DAILY CALLER: Obama for America Dines on Chick-fil-A
Unlike many pro-gay-marriage activists who have been boycotting Chick-fil-A, President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign Obama for America has spent money at the restaurant chain.
Obama famously came out in support of gay marriage in May, enjoying a surge in campaign donations post-announcement.
But in 2011 activists at ThinkProgress, Equity Matters, and other outlets pinpointed Chick-fil-A as a multimillion-dollar donor to anti-gay marriage causes through its charitable foundation arm.
While gay activists have staged boycotts of the chain since then, expenditure records at Political Moneyline show that on June 29, 2012 Obama for America spent $62 at Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, Ga.
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Axelrod Hammered On National Security Leaks Coming From The White House
