Following is the bulk of a news release put out by Deborah Bell Paseur's campaign. What does it take to get Alabamians to respond to this outside interference in our judicial system?
"Washington Money Spent on Shaw Outpaces His Own Campaign As New Link Between Two Emerges
Birmingham, AL – A shadowy "group" just outside Washington DC that goes by the name "the Center for Individual Freedom," has now pumped a total of $1,274,815 into the Alabama Supreme Court race on behalf of Shaw, outspending even the candidate's own campaign. More than $250,000 was added just this week. ...
The Paseur Campaign renewed its call on Judge Greg Shaw to keep his campaign’s commitment to transparency in funding, as a new link between the Shaw campaign and CFIF became clear. Terry Benham, a Shaw consultant and oil and gas lobbyist, worked along with CFIF on a campaign to promote the appointment of certain federal judges. On Tuesday, FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose mission “aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics,” added the following to its website: “It's also the case that a top consultant to Shaw, to whose firm he has paid more than $300,000 in this campaign, is Terry Benham. Since August, 2006, Benham has been affiliated with The Livingston Group, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm, and in that time the firm has been paid $820,000 by oil and gas companies, according to federal lobbying reports. It's not clear how much the oil and gas interests might have paid additionally for state and local lobbying, which is Benham's specialty. And Benham's biography on the LinkedIn Web site says that he "has interests...in oil and gas exploration.” “CFIF has not yet filed as a PAC with the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, a clear indication that they do not intend to disclose their finances by Thursday’s campaign deadline,” said Marion Steinfels, Paseur Campaign Manager. “We are simply asking the Shaw Campaign to keep their commitment to make public the names of those funding their campaign. The people of Alabama have a right to know why this out-of-state group has pumped over a million dollars into Judge Shaw’s campaign.” The officers and former officers of CFIF have lobbied Congress on behalf of oil and tobacco interests. CFIF has routinely refused to reveal its funding sources, running afoul of election laws while attempting to affect the outcome of judicial races in other states. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled against them, keeping their television advertisements off the air in West Virginia."
Does it not infuriate people to know that big oil and evil tobacco are trying to pack - and have with one bright exception succeeded in packing - the one forum where our citizens can seek justice?
Or at least rewrite the part that deals with taxes on oil and natural gas production. Late last year the Republican heavy Alabama Supreme Court overturned a $3.6 billion judgement against Exxon Mobil in a dispute over taxes they owed Alabama for natural gas extracted here. Now, Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom advocates simplifying the tax code to avoid any future rannygazoo over how much Big Oil owes in taxes.
"Alabama is blessed with wonderful natural resources, but we must require powerful corporations to pay a fair price if they are going to take advantage of our natural resources - like our oil and gas," Folsom said Wednesday.
...
Alabama's tax on natural gas is currently a percentage of the value of the gas after it has been processed. Folsom said the Legislature should look at changing it in the upcoming session to a volume-based tax levied when the natural gas comes out of the ground.
Folsom said that would erase issues that came up in the Exxon Mobil dispute about what costs of production the company could charge off.
"That way Exxon will have to pay the same way you do - based on what they pump," Folsom said.
Not surprisingly, the petroleum industry spokesman quoted in the story thinks this is a very bad idea. He trots out some veiled threats to just stop pumping oil and natural gas in Alabama. Don't hold your breath, environmentalists.
If you recall, the dispute was over natural gas royalties Exxon-Mobil owed the state of Alabama. Simple, non-legal jargon version is: they underpaid. The state argued Exxon-Mobil knew they owed more, underpaid on purpose and were guilty of fraud. Exxon-Mobil argued that Alabama knew or should have known they were being underpaid and didn't squeal at the time, so it was just an honest mistake. Two juries found fraud and awarded multi-billion dollar damages. The Republican dominated Alabama Supreme Court found a way to nullify both those jury awards.
In light of this history, Folsom's plan to simplify the tax accounting makes a lot of sense. Eliminate the fine print, just charge a fee based on how much corporations extract and you eliminate the potential for fraud (or book keeping errors, if you're a Republican Supreme Court Justice) and the ensuing lawsuits and legal bills.
Is this genius, or what? Republicans who oppose Folsom's plan will be arguing in favor of a complex tax code that requires beaucoup accountants to enforce and still results in expensive lawsuits and big bills to those evil trial lawyers. Look out for the exploding heads.
T.H.E. Social Work Agency Adoption home studies & care management services in the North Alabama area.
Licensed, certified, caring social workers. blog advertising is good for you
