Mobile Mayor Sam Jones endorsed Congressman Artur Davis for Governor of Alabama today at a noon press conference in Mobile. Mayor Jones praised Davis’ leadership ability, experience, and positive vision for Alabama’s future as he issued his first ever endorsement in a statewide campaign.
“Artur Davis and I share a common approach to leadership,” said Mayor Jones. “Congressman Davis solves problems by bringing people together across traditional dividing lines like partisanship, race and ideology.”
Jones continued, “A vitally important quality that distinguishes Artur Davis from the other candidates in this campaign for governor is his positive vision for the future of Alabama’s economy. Artur Davis is not satisfied for our state to lag behind our neighbors any longer, not when we have so much talent and so much potential right here in Alabama.”
“I don’t just think that Artur Davis can win, I think he can lead,” said Mayor Jones. “I don’t just think Artur Davis can get elected, I think he has the potential to be one of our greatest governors.”
[Emphasis mine]
Sam Jones is Mobile's first African American mayor, elected in 2005 by a margin of 57-43 and reelected without opposition in 2009. Jones says his top priorities as mayor are: keeping citizens and visitors safe; creating an accountable, efficient and effective city government; preserving the historic beauty of the city; providing top-notch citizen service for easy access to city government; and offering an excellent workforce for current and prospective employers. He has an impressive biography that includes:
Past president of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama
National Association of Counties Election Reform Steering Committee
Served on Steering Committee - 1988, 1992 & 2000 Education Funding Referendum Initiatives
Former member of the Alabama Sentencing Commission
Judge, Alabama Court of the Judiciary
Former member Judicial Inquiry Commission
Past member of the Alabama Port Authority
Founder of the Mobile County Community Development Partnership
Founder, Prichard Federal Credit Union
Member, 100 Black Men, Mobile Chapter
Chaired 1998 United Way Campaign, raising $7 million
Trustee, University of South Alabama
In the 2005 runoff, outgoing Mayor Mike Dow endorsed Jones a few days before the election. Dow has been mentioned by some as a potential gubernatorial candidate -- I think Sam Jones' endorsement of Davis makes that candidacy even less likely.
As I've said before, the endorsements of big city mayors are still important because these are the guys and gals who know how to win elections in their cities -- and in the electoral calculus, cities are valuable because of the high concentration of voters there. Democrats typically do better than Republicans in urban areas. That has not always been the case in Mobile County -- it went for Riley in 2002 and 2006 -- but Jones endorsement should be a big help to Davis next year.
This is definitely a bigger deal than Mitt Romney's endorsement of Kay Ivey or even former Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington's endorsement of Davis' Democratic rival, Ron Sparks.
Michael Moore's latest film “Capitalism: A Love Story” will open Friday at Mobile-area theatres.
The Crescent Theatre on Dauphin Street has announced that it will carry the movie for a two-week run. Showings will be at 6 and 9 p.m. daily through Nov. 5.
Movie information site www.fandango.com indicates that the movie also will open Friday at the Hollywood Stadium 18 in Mobile and the Cobb Pinnacle 14 in Gulf Shores, with showtimes throughout the day. The site did not list any openings at theaters in coastal Mississippi.
Maxine Waters is my girl! Watch how she slaps President Obama's COS Ron Emmanual upside the head for giving us the Blue Dogs in the first place.
Here's a preview;
Emanuel, when in Congress recruited conservatives to run as Democrats, and promised them that they would not be strong armed into voting with the caucus. Now "those chickens are coming home to roost."
Giant blocks of population in these Blue Dog districts are impoverished and are clearly "not being represented by their Congressmen."
When the President ran for the Presidency he invoked his dear white mother and grandparents to get into power. Threw his former pastor under the bus, and made no commitments to black Americans for their collective vote. Now the president has pissed off the white cops. Instead of Barack Obama pissing them off for a good reason, like shooting black people in the back or tasering black folks while black, he had to say something about his Harvard Buddy.
A spokesman for the Mobile, Alabama police department said the officers' actions were justified because the man was armed with a potential weapon: an umbrella. But relatives of Antonio Love, 37, have asked for a formal investigation and said they plan to sue both the police and the store.
Yesterday I made a snide comment about the Mobile, AL Teabaggers against healthcare protestors being stuck on stoopid. But are they really stuck on stoopid, or are they doing what we should be doing and to quote countrycat "organzing the cleanup"?
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have to give the goppers credit where credit is due when it comes to organizing and taking a stand on principle, even if it's a misguided principle. They aren't afraid to "take it to the streets".
About 100 protesters from the Tea Party Patriots are outside Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack's office in Palm Springs waving signs and flags, and presenting her with pink slips that say "You're fired."
Look at the recent protest in Iran in the aftermath of the disputed aftermath of the Presidential election. Remember the Orange Revolution after the disputed Ukranian elections? Compare what happened after these elections to what didn't happen after the 2000 American Presidential election.
On election night, it became clear that Florida would be a contentious state. The national television networks (through information provided them by the Voter News Service, an organization formed by them and the Associated Press to help determine the outcome of the election through early result tallies and exit polling) first called Florida for Gore in the hour after polls closed in the eastern peninsula but before they closed in the heavily Republican counties of the western panhandle.
The North Alabama Peace Activist Network (NAPN)holds a Peace Rally every Saturday at 10 AM, at the intersection of Airport Road and Whitesburg Drive in Huntsville as they have been doing every since before the invasion of Iraq. Are they stuck on stoopid, or are they committed to their cause and willing to organize around that cause? I say they are the later. It is also an opportunity for other's committed to peace, economic and social justice, healthcare reform, GLGT rights, closing Gitmo and ending torture in our name to join them. They have organized the cleanup.
Does NAPN get media coverage like the Teabaggers do? No. But I'll bet if there was a large sign waving, diverse crowd of marching chanting protestors on the corner of Whitesburg Dr. and Airport Road the media would cover it, but more importantly our elected officials would notice too.
"When all the fingers on the hand work together it forms a mighty fist".~Mama Jo from the movie Soul Food.
Remember the U.S. Air Force tanker competition, which was awarded to Northrop Grumman/EADS(Airbus) but successfully protested by Boeing?
Apparently EADS North America, which would supply the airplanes to Northrop Grumman to convert into tankers, has now bought into a split contract. This would be an arrangement in which the tankers would be bought in batches, each of which would be competitively bid between two suppliers who had already proved to the Air Force that they could meet the requirements.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is opposed to splitting the procurement. From the military's viewpoint, it's a bad idea - the USAF is already supporting multiple tankers (KC-135, KC-10, KC-130) and adding two more types increases the logistics and servicing burden as well as crew qualification and training.
Sounds like EADS is revising expectations somewhat.
(Interesting introduction to a person that I'm not familiar with. Could we see yet another entry into the governor's race? - promoted by countrycat)
There was no way in hell Mike Dow was going to run against Jim Folsom. That seemed like a losing errand, it was simply Folsom's party. The departure of Folsom from the race and the potential entry of Bedford changes things dramatically because it now appears as if we will have a runoff. For those of you who are not familiar with him, he was mayor of Mobile from 1989-2005.
Dow was a transformative mayor in many respects. Dow's election represented the passing of the torch to the baby boom generation in the city. When Dow was elected Mobile's downtown was dying, and it appeared as if the city would be joining the likes of Birmingham and New Orleans in urban decay. In 1989, Mobile had one of the south's highest crime rates among cities of its size.
The city as it is today is a monument to Dow. That people are in downtown Mobile on Sunday, all because of Dow. It was Dow's policies that spurred the redevelopment of the old town. When you drive into the business district you notice the state's tallest building, also because of Dow. When you take a cruise out of Mobile, you are getting on a ship that is only there because of Dow and parking in a building that was built by Dow.
Election results from Mobile County as opposed to the rest of Alabama in 2006. I'm listing these by winner, with the exception of one race
-Riley: Mobile 62%, Alabama 57%
- Folsom: Alabama 50.6%, Mobile 46%
-Shaw: Alabama 54%, Mobile 55%
-Chapman: Alabama 57%, Mobile 56%
-Segrest: Alabama 60%, Mobile 60%
-Tyson: Alabama 47%, Mobile 59%
Mobile County currently leans Republican, to the tune of 2-7 points in any statewide election. The only countywide elected Democrats are judges who were first elected before this decade, and Tyson. This is a county where Republicans had not won a judicial race before 1998, where Democrats controlled a majority of county offices until this decade, and which had been a Democratic leaning county through the 1990s, although Mobile was always close, from the mid 80s onward.
With two years away and if he jumps into any race, he would have a long campaign and a long time to get his message across to the voters. That’s right Gary Johnson a two time democratic state representative nominee for AL House District 102, political activist and minister says that he is mulling a run for Congress in 2010 or State Senate.However Gary Johnson says that his heart and mind is set on helping the people of South Alabama especially in the rural and poor urban areas to end poverty and bring prosperity.
If Gary Johnson decides to make a run for political office in 2010 which office would he really run for? Gary Johnson says that south Alabama needs a democrat that will really look after the welfare of the middle-class and poor citizens of South Alabama, and also be conservative on spending of taxpayers’ dollars.
Gary Johnson says that no matter which office he runs for, he will run for the people and not the select few or interest. He believes that it is time that tax reform come to the business tax sector and the consumer sector. Gary believes that the time has come that state government or federal government reform the tax structure to be fair to every citizen and the business community as well.
Gary said that he is looking into running for congress for the 1st Congressional District, which may be a wide open race if Rep. Jo Bonner runs for Governor in 2010. Gary Johnson desired to run for congress in 2008, but considered the race to late and funding became an issue. Now that Mr. Johnson has two years to raise money and build a grassroots campaign he is now looking at giving it a shot.
It don’t stop there, Gary said that if he don’t run for Congress, he is also considering a run for State Senate in 2010, Gary believe that change has been promised to America and Washington in 2008, now it’s time for change to take place in Alabama in 2010.
Alabama State Courthouse 300 Dexter Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 (334) 242-4590
OverallThoughts: There are apparently seven statewide judicial positions up for election in 2010 (as far as I can tell, and all the incumbents appear to be Republicans). As I understand it, there will be two positions on each appellate courts – Criminal Appeals and Civil Appeals – and three positions on the Supreme Court. It represents a peach opportunity for Alabama progressives to take a position.
However, this last time around, we ran four people – one for the Supreme Court, two for criminal appeals and one for civil appeals – and we got four damned goose eggs for our trouble. Granted, Paseur came the closest, but close counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, not elections.
Next time we are going to have to do something different.
The Republican campaign was both well funded and well organized. In 2010, we need to have our campaign one or the other. Well organized seems more accessible than being well funded.
Next time we need to have our judicial races coordinated, where they and their staff members work together in terms of campaign appearances, getting the word out, capitalizing on advantages and the like. Also, it seems likely the Republican’s will again organize a bus tour for their candidates. We don’t have to do that, but next time lets have some of ours go out and heckle them at some of their appearances.
Specifics and Speculations… (Continued) Congressional District 1:Jo Bonner (GOP) Josiah Robins (Jo) Bonner, Jr. (born November 19, 1959), has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003. He was unopposed in the 2008 race.
Alabama’s First Congressional District includes Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Monroe, Escambia and parts of Drake counties. Traditionally the area and the district has been one of the most GOP-supportive areas in the country. He is not likely to be challenged during the Primary.
Thoughts: If we can arrange to get Vivian Figures to run for this seat – her home district – and then get great heaping gobs of campaign money, the race would cause ripples and get attention, which would force the Republicans to spend money. But the race will not be won by us. Is it probably not worth the time and effort to get the Republicans to spend their resources here. It is just an option. However, investing in the legal (i.e. eligible to vote) Latino population of Alabama (and many area in the Mobile Bay area) is probably a good idea.
Congressional District 2: Bobby Bright (Dem.) Bobby Neal Bright (born July 7, 1952) is the mayor of Montgomery and Congressman-elect. Bright received 143,997 votes to Love's 142,231 votes – a margin of 1,766 votes, or just over 0.6 percentage points.
Alabama’s Second Congressional District includes Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Elmore, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lowndes, Pike and parts of Montgomery Counties. The congressional redistricting of 1990 did much to change the nature of this district and now the voting power of the Black Belt is outweighed by the population of the Wiregrass area.
Thoughts: Bright narrowly won – we need to remember that. In 2010 the Republicans will focus most of their attention on the Wiregrass areas as a means of attacking Bright. We can hold this seat, but we will have to fight to do that.
Congressional District 3:Mike Rogers (GOP): Michael Dennis (Mike) Rogers (born July 16, 1958), has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003. Knowlegis, a nonpartisan lobbying information firm, dropped Rogers from being ranked as the 138th most influential Representative to being 402nd in that category in 2006.
Alabama’s Third Congressional District includes Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell, Talladega, Tallapoosa and parts of Montgomery and Coosa Counties. Politically, this was once home to populist white Democrats. However, Republicans took the seat over in 1997.
Thoughts: Rogers should have lost the 2008 election because he is an incompetent prick. Rogers was a recipient of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s ARMPAC campaign contributions. DeLay is being prosecuted on charges of felony money laundering of campaign finances and conspiracy to launder money. To date, Rogers has not offered to return any of the $30,000 he received. Rogers said that DeLay is innocent until proven guilty, and that he would not return the money "while the judicial process runs its course.” If we are lucky, DeLay will be in jail and we can attack Rogers over this connection.This is one we can take, so let’s keep that in mind.
Congressional District 4: Robert Aderholt (GOP): Robert Brown Aderholt (born July 22, 1965) has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997. In 2008, Aderholt theoretically ran against Nick Sparks in a race that was hypothetically contentious and totally not a waist of everyone’s time.
Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District includes Franklin, Marion, Lamar, Fayette, Walker, Winston, Cullman, Blount, Marshall, Etowah, DeKalb and parts of Morgan, Pickens Counties, as well as parts of the Decatur Metropolitan Area, and the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. While Democrats have a substantial majority in voter registration, most of them tend to be quite conservative on social issues.
Thoughts: If a progressive who is serious, and not entering the race on a damn lark, makes the run, then this one is doable. Aderholt voted in favor of CAFTA, which did tremendous damage to manufacturing industry within the district. If we attack him on that, then this one is possible.
Congressional District 5: Parker Griffith (Dem.) Dr. Parker Griffith (born August 6, 1942, in Shreveport, Louisiana) is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 7th District since 2006 and the congressman-elect. He received his medical degree from the Louisiana State University Medical School. Griffith carried all but one of the district's seven counties, but only narrowly won Madison County, home to Huntsville.
Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District includes Colbert (Stephen tells me the "T" is silent), Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Jackson and parts of Morgan County. Liberal politics have become an increasingly hard sell, and the region has increasingly voted for Republican presidential candidates since the defeat of Jimmy Carter.
Thoughts: In 2010 the Republicans will do the same thing to Dr. Griffith they did in the 2008 race, just meaner and with more money in 2010. We can hold this seat too, but we will have to fight to do that.
Congressional District 6: Spencer Bachus (GOP): Spencer Thomas Bachus III (born December 28, 1947) has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993. His is a difficult man to challenge in political circles because he is supported by the Bacchae.
Alabama's Fifth Congressional District includes Chilton, Bibb, Shelby and parts of St. Clair County, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, and Coosa counties. It forms a horse-shoe shaped area around Birmingham. A continual process of redistricting by state governments has seen the sixth district increasingly become one of the most Republican districts in the country.
Thoughts: Unless he is found to be a homosexual (in which case the Republicans will quickly abandon him) or a cannibal (in which case the Republicans will reluctantly abandon him), and he chooses to run again, then this will a hell of an uphill battle. Better to spend our resources on battles we have a better chance of winning.
Congressional District 7:Artur Davis (Dem.): Artur Genestre Davis (born October 9, 1967) is an American politician who has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, arts of Jefferson. Davis's name has been mentioned as a possible nominee for Attorney General in President-Elect Barack Obama's administration and as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2010. He was unopposed in the 2008 race.
Alabama's Seventh Congressional District includes Greene, Choctaw, Sumter, Marengo, Dallas, Wilcox, Perry, Hale and parts of Jefferson (specifically, the Birmingham metropolitan area), Tuscaloosa, Clarke, and Pickens counties. The 7th district was created as a black-majority district in 1992.
Thoughts: By 2010 Davis will have made up his mind about what he is going to do, and so this seat is likely to become vacant. We need to work to make certain they are a competent and progressive person.
I attended the grand opening of the Democratic party HQ last night.
2 topics that came up in various conversations:
1) "How do I find other like-minded folks?" Sometimes, the consensus was, it's as easy as coming out of the closet as a Democrat. We live in a red state - it's very easy for neighbors and co-workers to believe they're surrounded by Republicans. They need you to flaunt the fact that the Democratic party is alive and kicking in Alabama!
2) An idea for a legislative feedback website, from a young man named Patrick Senn at USA. It's a great idea that can probably be implemented with a Google widget or some Active Server programming - both of which I know just enough about to suggest. If you have more knowledge and are interested in helping make such a site happen, leave a comment and I'll get you together with him.
BTW, if you're in Mobile, HQ is at 3165 Dauphin St. - turn East from I-65 and it's on the right, just past the first stoplight.
Award recipients include Stewart Burkhalter, Robert Beckerle, Pollie Jackson, George Langham, and Pam Baker. Humanitarian award & guest speaker Dr. Ronald Myers, who is founder of the Myers Foundation. His story of providing medical care to the poor of Mississippi has been noted in The New York Times, People magazine and on several national TV shows.
Award recipient Pam Baker was a member of the Siegelman administration and has continued to be active on his behalf. Gov. Siegelman is expected to attend the banquet.
Greetings from the Lodmell campaign! We hope everyone is enjoying their Mardi Gras, and that everyone reading managed to get out and cast their ballots today!
We're still fighting hard down in AL-01 to get Ben elected and get Jo Bonner out, and we wanted to keep the Left In Alabama community updated on our efforts! So, without further ado, here's another exciting update to Ben's revolutionary campaign video diary. Over the last week, we've added several videos of Ben discussing his view on a whole host of different issues. His thoughts on public education are embedded below, but make sure you check out the whole video diary at YouTube.com/BenLodmell to see more of his ideas for a better and brighter future.
Also, back by popular demand, we've got some more videos showing the lighter side of Ben and our campaign. Embedded below is a message from Ben's wife, Leleca, and you can go to the YouTube Diary and even see Ben working in his kitchen or explaining how he chose his church!
Enjoy the videos below (please post them where ever you can!), and be sure to follow the links at the bottom of this post to keep up with and support the Lodmell campaign as we make our case for change.
Bonner should worry less about running a clean campaign and more about coming clean to his constituents.
Lagniappe recently quoted Bush’s man in Mobile, Rep. Jo Bonner, as saying he would be running a “clean” campaign this election year. Yeah! Well, if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.
And if you believe that, you’ll believe Jo’s going to use that humungous war chest of special interest money he’s banked to pay for love letters to his constituents in the 1st District – love letters similar to that eight-page self-glorifying, record-distorting drivel of an insert the taxpayers paid the Mobile Press-Register to distribute to a couple of hundred thousand of his constituents and others a few months back.
If Bonner wants to run “clean” campaign then he should come clean with his constituents about his sorry record in Congress. Bonner should come clean about why he takes so much special interest money that has such a corrupting influence in Congress. And why he votes time and time again in support of those very same special interests, the oil and insurance companies, the utilities, and timber interest. Heck, Jo could just as easily vote the way he has without taking a dime of their money - if he voted with his heart instead of his wallet!
Bonner should also come clean about why he invariably supports Bush’s failed domestic and foreign policies, particularly why he votes to deny health care insurance to children who can’t afford it, while wholeheartedly supporting Administration policies that created and perpetuate a bankrupting war without end and then denying adequate health care to tens of thousands of returning veterans of a war he helped induce.
In addition, he should come clean about why he pretended to support wind damage legislation to garner constituent kudos when out of the other side of his mouth he told reporters the legislation didn’t have a chance for passage, and, if it did, the president would veto it anyway.
And he should come clean about…. Well, I could cite another handful of political dirty laundry Alabama’s most devoted Bushketeer should clean up with those hundreds of thousands of dollars of special interest campaign cash Jo has salted away, but Jo’s actions inevitably will speak louder than his words. In the meantime, if Jo won’t come clean about his record, Ben Lodmell will have to help him.
(Support the workers at New Era Cap! - promoted by mooncat)
This is the year we find ourselves with a woman and an African-American presidential candidate. While this would probably make Dr. King feel terribly proud, we are guessing that he would applaud the changes and then use the changes to fuel his focus to where we still need to grow.
As we celebrate his birthday this weekend we need to realize that Dr. King’s dream of a land free of bigotry and discrimination has turned to a nightmare for Mobile workers at New Era Cap, Major League Baseball’s exclusive maker of baseball caps, and a staple in Hip-Hop gear.
Last year, in an effort to address poverty wages, racial discrimination and forced overtime, New Era Cap workers in Mobile turned to the Teamsters to organize a union. Workers, the majority of whom are black and female, were being passed over for promotion and were paid less than white workers. They were disciplining single mothers when they took time to bring their children to the doctor.
As the workers stood strong in organizing a union and protecting their Civil Rights, the company retaliated by launching a fierce anti-union campaign that included bullying and intimidation. New Era managers, in their infinite wisdom, even threatened the workers that if they voted in favor of unionizing, that they would lose their food stamps. During the course of the campaign, the company fired more than 20 workers, and then just as the holidays were approaching, they laid off another 35 dedicated employees.
I am taking a guess that Dr. King, on his birthday, would be down in Mobile with Felicia Walker, one of the fired New Era workers. He might stand at a podium and talk to the people who’d come out to support the workers. He might say, "It is time for a new day at New Era." Then, maybe, he would urge everyone to consider sending letters to the CEO of New Era, call up their clientele with outrage, alert the media to spread the word, and then arm everyday consumers about how New Era treats its workers down in Mobile.
On Monday morning, in celebration of Dr. King’s birthday, we will post a link where you can take action by sending an email to the CEO of New Era. Are you ready to join us in this effort?
DKos diary is here --consider a rec and a tip if you have an account. -- Mooncat.
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani made his second campaign stop of the year in Mobile on Friday, speaking to a small group of reporters and supporters before attending a fundraising dinner.
Giuliani touched on security issues, global warming and taxes in front of about 30 people on the deck of Oysterella's Seafood Restaurant on the Causeway.
Thirty people! Yowza! Alabama Republicans are excited about Rudy. And he is tremendously well versed on Alabama issues, instantly grasping that the primary on Feb. 5th conflicts with Mardi Gras:
"I'm skipping a Mardi Gras parade to vote for you," Mobile County District Judge George Hardesty told Giuliani.
"Oh, when's Mardi Gras?" Giuliani asked.
"Feb. 5. The same day you carry Alabama," Hardesty said.
Thank goodness. There is no more racial discrimination here. Racism is so dead that it's ok to do things that might kind of look like the old racist crap, because everybody knows we've changed. We've moved on and we can show it by acting like we haven't.
An all white jury in Mobile ruled that former Mobile county Sheriff James Tillman (who is white) did not show racial bias by suspending and transferring Jimmie Gardner, a black corporal in his department. Other employees testified that they had behaved similarly and were not disciplined. Tillman's defense successfully argued that "circumstances were different" in Gardner's case.
Of the potential jurors he struck during jury selection, defense attorney Paul Carbo said "Their race had nothing to do with it." Of course not, because discrimination is dead in Alabama. However, it doesn't hurt that blacks are underrepresented in the jury pool, because they are also underrepresented on the voter registration list. Partly because a disproportionately high number blacks lose their voting rights due to felony convictions in Alabama.
The jury also found that Sheriff Tillman did not create a hostile work environment by using racially derogatory language, including the "n" word.
Even if the sheriff did make those remarks, Carbo argued, the testimony indicates it was mostly in private conversations. ...
Carbo attacked the credibility of former Capt. James Crosby, a white man who testified about Tillman's alleged slurs, and a pair of black Mobile County Metro Jail employees who claimed Tillman disciplined black employees more harshly than white workers for similar offenses.
I'll bet you're as shocked as I am to find that anyone here still uses racial slurs, but it's no big deal as long as it's "mostly in private conversations." It was probably all in good fun, too. Capt. James Crosby and those two other jail employees who testified against Tillman have sued him as well. Four employees going to the extraordinary length of suing the boss doesn't mean it really was a hostile work environment. We're way past racial harassment now.
The plaintiff, Jimmie Gardner, apparently didn't get the memo. He said:
I believe in our justice system, but I believe we're going to have a difficult time when ... an African-American goes to court and is faced with a jury that's not representative. We better start opening our eyes, because the pendulum is swinging back in an old direction.
The Mobile Press-Register put staff reporter Brendan Kirby's story about this verdict on the front page, below the fold. Kirby didn't mention that Tillman was a Republican, but partisanship in Alabama is not dead and I thought it was worth mentioning.
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Mobile Mayor Sam Jones endorsed Congressman 
There was no way in hell Mike Dow was going to run against Jim Folsom. That seemed like a losing errand, it was simply Folsom's party. The departure of Folsom from the race and the potential entry of Bedford changes things dramatically because it now appears as if we will have a runoff. For those of you who are not familiar with him, he was mayor of Mobile from 1989-2005. 
