Colombia Reports--US Court Clears Former Paramilitaries to Testify Against Drummond Coal

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ordered that the former paramilitaries alias "Bam Bam," "El tigre," "El samario," and Jesus Charris are to give testimony before representatives of the victims who claim that the multinational is responsible for the 600 murders.

Drummond allegedly ordered the assassination of rural dwellers who chose not to sell their land to make way for the company's railroad which transported carbon from the land-locked Cesar department to the Caribbean Sea.

Drummond is facing two lawsuits in the United States, one for the death of three trade unionists in 2002 and the other for the death of 18 rural dwellers in Cesar.

Read more here

Spanish speaking readers: Noticias Uno Colombia video report

Recent court filings against Drummond (C 2:09-cv-01041-RDP) indicate the legal team representing the company is being less than cooperative: exceeding production deadlines by months, pushing for a faster trial without the plaintiff's attorneys having all the needed evidence in hand, and blaming the other side for their own by design difficulties.

Depositions of the paramilitary witnesses against Drummond were set to proceed in September before the Colombian officials delayed. The next tentatively scheduled deposition dates, that must occur in Colombia, are in November 2011. Time is of the essence according to one of the plaintiff's lawyers in this sharply worded passage from the court records:

"It is simply not an option to wait a year or more for the letters rogatory process to advance when our key witnesses are being threatened, attacked and offered bribes to, in Duarte's (aka "Bam Bam") words, "Keep quiet about Drummond."

--Libardo Duarte was attacked in prison shortly after he made public statements to a television reporter about Drummond's relationship to the Colombian paramilitary unit AUC.

--"El tigre" has hidden his family away in Colombia after receiving repeated threats from would-be sympathizers of the AUC (and possibly Drummond) that they would "kill them all" if he testified against Drummond.

Details from the witnesses in the court documents describe events so evil and cold-blooded, we can't begin to fully describe it in detail at this time, but you can read it for yourself, and then decide what conclusions you may arrive to after viewing the recent activity in this case.

In our opinions, any further delay, particularly if it is a purposeful maneuver, to impede obtaining crucial testimony of these witnesses, who have first-hand knowledge about what really happened in Colombia, is a tactic of ominous intentions.

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Earthjustice August 2011 Report on Coal Ash Toxicity--"State of Failure"

Despite the Alabama legislature's attempts to appear like they were doing something beneficial for the citizens of Alabama's health and environment, with the passage of SB80, a bill designed to regulate dry coal ash disposal, it's a 'dam' shame the wet coal ash storage ponds, maintained at APCO utility plants around the state, remain unregulated. Was the exclusion of these dams that by accident or by design?

APCO registered twenty-six lobbyists for 2011, according to figures with the Ethics Commission, and they all worked hard on our lawmakers to pass the coal ash bill despite the impassioned outcries from the citizens of Perry County, Alabama. Those citizens have served as a test case of what SB80 will do to our communities, but no one on Goat Hill listened to their pleas--choosing instead to do what they were told to do on behalf of the small army of APCO lobbyists.

Landfills are a toxic soup in and of themselves. Adding coal ash to our landfills and promising that regulations from SB80 will safeguard our communities and groundwater from any untoward effects of that action is hubris personified, with a stench of possible payoffs and corruption wafting from the inception and process of that bill that's hard to ignore.

Our laws and regulations in Alabama were woefully lax on landfill monitoring, inspections and enforcement before this bill, and passing SB80 won't change what's inherently wrong with ADEM--their utter failure to protect the citizens of this state from big polluters and their waste products. Particularly the low income and minority communities where most of these industries and waste dumps are located.

Conspicuously absent from this legislation was any language to tighten controls on the existing wet coal ash ponds, and the problematic dams that surround them, located around Alabama and almost exclusively at the state's electric utility sites.

Wet coal ash storage remains unaffected and practically unmonitored and regulated, with the exception of the Rattlesnake Dam at the APCO Gorgas Plant. The EPA has that site on its radar, and APCO is employing its usual stance of we-would-rather-fight-than-comply to back them off of any future scrutiny, in addition to blocking the release of more detailed data by claiming CBI--confidential business information.

According to the EPA's website the final decision on whether to allow APCO's CBI request  is still in process. 

We noted at last count, the Southern Company, (SOCO) had spent at least *26,670,000 for the combined years of 2009-2010 on lobbying in Washington. Tracking their expenditures in Alabama is made more difficult by the unlimited contributions corporations can inject into Alabama's political system, combined with a non-requirement of lobbyists expenditure reporting.

*page 20 "Leadership We can Live Without" The Real Corporate Social Responsibility Report for Southern Company--May 2011, Green America

It boggles the mind that SOCO and APCO spend so much on lobbying and corporate legal attack dogs, but when they are asked to spend some of their enormous profits to upgrade their plants and reduce the overall risk *(est. to be $9 billion in increased health care costs) to hundreds of thousands of people from their toxic emissions, they complain 'if you make us improve we'll have stick it to the ratepayers' and "compliance costs jobs."

*pg 16 of Green America Report

It's a scare tactic argument that's successful on the masses who simply don't know any better and blindly accept the well-honed propaganda machine messages of these corporate behemoths.

Our state regulatory agency, ADEM, functions more as enabler than regulator by their refusal to enforce strict guidelines on APCO. They have grown dependent on the money they take in from the numerous fees they levy against APCO to operate. On smokestack emissions, ADEM charges APCO between $33-$37.00 per ton. The typical emission total per year is in the range of 180,000 tons, and frequently higher. More emissions equals more money. It's a diabolical arrangement in the best of circumstances.

ADEM also does not require any groundwater monitoring (GWM) at APCO's sites despite the enormity of their coal ash storage ponds and their close proximity to our rivers and groundwater supplies.

Dry coal ash is also stored at their sites in quantities that can only be estimated through aerial satellite photos because no records of any actual measurable amounts are available for public examination. It is entirely possible that no one but APCO really knows.

Alabama Power's Gaston Plant Wilsonville, Alabama. The Coosa River is on the right, one of the two wet coal ash ponds is wider than the river. Additional dry coal ash waste areas are in the immediate foreground.

 The state of Alabama set up ADEM in this manner with huge involvement from the utility giant in writing the rules. They hold onto this archaic arrangement in the same way aided and abetted by like-minded politicians eager to sweep the only thing green about APCO, their monetary influence, into their campaign coffers. This too is a diabolical arrangement that ends in predictable outcomes.

We suspect the utility companies, anticipating future problems from the EPA, sought the passage of SB80 to allow them to clean out their nearing capacity wet storage ponds, dry the waste, and ship it to landfills statewide, in addition to recycling the product for everything from road building to kitchen counter tops:

"This is a classic leap-before-you-look EPA initiative, where health and safety questions get asked only after the fact." Through Freedom of Information Act requests, PEER also recently found that the EPA had allowed the coal industry to edit information regarding coal ash use in products, including promoting "beneficial uses" while downplaying or completely eliminating mention of possible risks.

Burning coal for electricity generates more than 100 million tons of coal waste a year, but about half of that winds its ways back into consumer products, on food crops, or in structure- or road-building materials. Coal ash is routinely mixed into cement, drywall, kitchen counters, and carpet backing, and used in retaining walls and as ground fill. Because it is often laced with arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals, many toxicologists say more research is needed about what we're putting in the ground (and potentially the water supply) and in our homes. But as of now, industry is running wild—and making a pretty penny—possibly at the expense of our health. "We cannot and should not view agricultural lands as suitable waste-disposal sites for industrial or societal pollutants, just because it's cost-effective in the short term."

Earthjustice lays out the existing problems in their latest report appropriately entitled "State of Failure." Tables 2 & 3 (ppgs. 10 & 11) contain data detailing the failure of strict supervision and safeguards that should be required by our state regulatory agencies on coal ash disposal.

Page 14, in the report, labels Alabama the "worst of the worst" when it comes to coal ash disposal:

Alabama represents the worst of the worst when it comes to coal-ash disposal. 

First, Alabama has no laws or regulations on the books to specifically ensure the safety of the state’s coal ash dams.
It is the only state in the country without such laws. 
Because there are no federal laws to ensure dam safety, this essentially means that Alabama dams are completely unregulated. Until 2011, Alabama also completely exempted coal ash disposal in landfills. Consequently, coal ash from its ten coal-fired plants has been dumped mostly in unlined, unregulated, and unmonitored ponds and landfills. Given the historical absence of controls on coal ash disposal, it is outrageous that more than 5 million tons of ash from the Kingston TVA spill was shipped to Alabama for disposal.

State oversight of Alabama’s dangerous dams is also totally missing.

None of the state’s 15 coal ash dams have been subject to state regulatory inspections in the past five years. After inspections by the EPA and TVA contractors in 2009-2010, five of the dams were given poor ratings and two had to make immediate repairs to improve stability. Alabama dams are, on average, the tallest and largest coal ash dams in the 12 most dangerous states. The average height is nearly 7 stories tall (over 66 feet), and the average surface area is greater than 192 acres (about 151 football fields) more than twice the average of coal ash ponds in the other nine states. These large ponds pose high threats—two of Alabama’s dams are high hazard, and 11 are significant hazard dams. Lastly, these ponds are old-the average age of an Alabama coal ash pond is 40 years. According to the EPA, that’s the estimated lifespan, but Alabama utilities have announced no retirement plans.

Alabama’s coal ash ponds disproportionately impact low income communities and communities of color. The EPA statistics show that more than 40 percent of the citizen’s living near coal ash ponds in Alabama is non-white. Also, about 25 percent of nearby residents are below the poverty line, which is more than twice the national average poverty rate of 11.9 percent.

The facts and statistics are a sobering eye-opener into the serious risks that Alabama's governmental agencies and lawmakers stubbornly continue to ignore in favor of big business wants. A grim picture emerges of a system completely devoid of stringent accountability coupled with a total lack of consistent oversight. We, as citizens, have no choice but to live in a "state of failure" when it comes to the protection of our communities from corporate and political Alabama, and it's a risk we should not be forced to accept.

State of Failure

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In a League of His Own--Mayor William Bell

Birmingham Mayor William Bell is doing his level best to sidestep any taint from the Walter Energy contamination in north Birmingham by claiming that “until spring of this year he’d never been notified of soil contamination.” Bell’s coziness with the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA), the entity who lured *Walter Energy away from Tampa where they had been headquartered since the end of WW II, makes us wonder if he’s being truthful about what he knew and when, or slyly covering for the generous corporate campaign and event sponsor at the direction of the BBA.

*entry #243--"I wish they were all this easy," said a beaming Jim Searcy, vice president of business and industry retention at Birmingham Business Alliance.

William Bell has always been a team player, but it's questionable whose team he has been a member of all these years--the one that benefits him or the one that steps up for his constituent's interests. Why isn't he going to bat for his citizens in north Birmingham? All we're hearing from him is excuses of why no one should put the bead on him for any responsibility in the toxic mess.

(On a side note, Walter Energy is up for takeover after their CEO of three months decided to call it quits. Watch for the next corporate owner to be hailed as yet another big bucks entity coming to Birmingham.)
 

In a recent CBS 42 “Deadly Deception” clip, Mayor Bell incredulously claimed that he was not permitted to even communicate with the EPA about the decades-old issue in north Birmingham or anything else EPA related:

“The EPA still had the Mayor of Birmingham, not William Bell, but the Mayor of Birmingham listed as being banned from being able to communicate any form, way shape or form, with the federal government, in particular the EPA.”

What Mr. Bell was referring to, and twisting to suit his purposes, is a move by the federal government in 2009 that came after former Mayor Larry Langford was indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges, which placed him on a federal “Excluded Parties List:”

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford no longer has the authority to sign federal grant applications or enter into agreements that involve federal money as a result of his indictment on bribery and conspiracy charges.

Langford's name was placed on the federal government's Excluded Parties List -- a list of people and organizations barred from conducting business with federal agencies -- by the Environmental Protection Agency in March. Langford received a notice of the action in late February.

That action by the feds was to prevent Langford from having any more authority over federal grants and monies. It did not mean that Bell was "barred" from communicating with the EPA like he would have everyone believe with his recent statements. Unless he wants us to think that the EPA would not be willing to take a call from him that should have gone something like this:

‘I need help over here in my city Region 4, my residents are sick and dying because of a nearby coal plant. I'm hearing from them every day. We have three schools in the area and I am really worried about the children. Could you please send someone over here to do some testing and let’s see what we have going on over here?’

Bell never made that call and he’s never shown any concern for those residents until CBS 42 pulled back the curtain on the whole deal through their investigative reporting. Has anyone with CBS 42 put two and two together and questioned, among themselves, the validity of what Mayor Bell is now offering as an excuse?

Giving Bell the benefit of the doubt, that he really didn't understand, is not any more comforting because it suggests he isn’t sharp enough to comprehend the 2009 decision. The leader of a large metropolitan area should be quick on their feet in the critical thinking department and possess an ability to fully understand the detail and meaning of any federal actions directed at his city.

Blaming his inaction on Larry Langford's misdeeds is a lame ploy. And Bell knows it. He's a savvy political player who's well-versed in the game of misinformation and distraction.

We think he's playing the ‘I didn’t know’ card for political duck and cover in a publicly embarrassing situation while following the scripting of certain corporate interest coaches.

Much like the Birmingham News, who won't break themselves of the habit of protecting Walter Energy's misdeeds by continuing to use words like "voluntary cleanup," in addition to allowing Walter to continue the incessant parroting of their "good neighbor" and 'not our fault' nonsense.

We also find it ironic that Walter Energy teamed up with the Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute for Jackie Robinson Day earlier this year. The Mayor has an on and off reputation for favoritism to minority rights and figures when it seems to suit his own agenda, financial interests and publicity stroking.

It’s a proclivity he often forgets when it comes to the Big Mules and the BBA’s pie-in-the-sky ideas. He’s way too caught up in his chameleon-like changeability of ‘I’m for my people until someone else has an economic scheme that will bring in the money and elevate my importance.’ Luring the Barons to Birmingham is high on Bell's list of importance.

With the Robinson tribute he got the trifecta--he appears (albeit selectively) racially sensitive, Walter Energy grateful and Birmingham Barons bone-throwing all rolled into one. But what has he done for those north Birmingham residents who have been suffering for years so far? Absolutely nothing, because there's no glory in it for him, and he knows he'll get a sackful of angry corporate cats (aka Walter Energy and the BBA) if he gets too involved with the little people.

It's a shame really, because he could have had his own Robinsonesque moment, if only he'd managed to call up enough courage to get on the right team just once in his long and often controversial political career.

Jackie Robinson’s contribution to baseball and his people deserved to have that honor in April, we won’t disagree with that, but of all the sponsors who could have been approached for the event the city chose Walter Energy. The same company who is the number one alleged suspect primarily responsible for the toxic poisoning in the minority neighborhoods of Collegeville and Harriman Park since 1989.

What would Jackie Robinson have said about that choice?

He would have called it what it is: foul ball.

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The Truth in Black & White About Stephen E. Bradley of Bradley & Associates

Birmingham's alternative "city paper" Black & White exposes the complicated and sinister web of one of Alabama's most infamous "public relations hustlers" and the ubiquitous damage that one man can accomplish when he practices to deceive.

Not at all content to remain confined in one state, Bradley's expanded his web of duplicity.

In 2008, Mr. Bradley created a multi-state network consortium of like-minded public relations, advertising and governmental affairs agencies to spin out beyond Alabama's borders through the Issues Management Network.

Coming soon to an area near you is trouble like you cannot begin to imagine. 

Mr. David Pelfry explains why in the following issue of Black & White with his featured story: "Spinning a Web."

*Story begins on page 6 in this PDF option

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American Rivers Most Endangered Rivers 2011--Black Warrior River #8

Photo credit: Brian T. Murphy

American Rivers annual list of America's most endangered rivers places another Alabama river on the endangered list. Last year, it was the Coosa River at number #10. Both rivers are under threat from the utility giant Southern Company and its subsidiary, Alabama Power, and their insatiable appetite for coal.

More to be proud of from Alabama's self-professed number one "environmentally conscious" big industry.

Strip Mining for Coal Putting Public Health in Danger

Location: Alabama

Flowing for roughly 300 miles, Alabama’s Black Warrior River is a major drinking water source supporting over one million people. Two of Alabama’s largest cities, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, obtain drinking water from the Black Warrior and its tributaries.

The river is also home to many fish, mussel, turtle, crayfish, amphibian, and snail species, including nine threatened or endangered species. The headwaters of the Black Warrior River include the Wild and Scenic Sipsey Fork, which, along with the Mulberry and Locust Forks, is rated among the top 2 percent of United States streams by the National Park Service for its outstanding recreational values.

And all of this is at risk from poor management of surface coal mining.

The Threat

 

The Black Warrior River overlaps with the Warrior Coal Field, which is home to approximately 95 active coal mines – the majority of Alabama’s mines.

Every year, the US Army Corps of Engineers issues special permits that allow numerous mines in Alabama to operate in the same watershed with no consideration of how they impact water quality, public health, and the environment. This type of permit for coal mining is a legal loophole, allowing mines to destroy entire stretches of streams and untold acres of wetlands in the Black Warrior watershed each year.

The US Army Corps of Engineers wisely suspended the use of these permits across most of the Appalachian mining region but continues to allow them in Alabama. And now these permits have become a rubber stamp for nearly all coal mines in the region.

Despite a legal duty to protect Alabama’s waters from the impacts of coal mining, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and Alabama Surface Mining Commission have routinely failed to control pollution. These agencies often issue permits with very weak standards, allowing companies to pollute without any accountability. 

What Must Be Done

Coal mining in the region is polluting the river, destroying wetlands and tributary streams, and threatening public health by polluting the clean water with heavy metals.

 Stronger protections from the impacts of surface coal mining are needed to hold polluters accountable and enforce the law. If the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and the Alabama Surface Mining Commission do not close this dangerous mining loophole and tighten clean water protections, coal mining will continue to damage the Black Warrior and its communities.

 Take action to help protect the Black Warrior River 

Black Warrior RiverKeeper action item against Sheperd's Bend Mine

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WikiLeaks Latest Info Drop--Alabama's Drummond Coal Co.

From L-R: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Drummond Co. President Gary Neil Drummond, Former Chief of Drummond's Colombian Operations Augusto Jimenez

The Colombian newspaper El Spectador.com reports on Embassy cables leaked to the paper March 16, 2011 that details murder and politics involved with Drummond's Colombian coal operations.

The story is widely circulating in the European press, but we haven't seen much in the US papers on it yet.

ColumbiaReports.com:

Over the course of four years U.S. Embassy officials sent 15 diplomatic cables to Washington which expressed concern over the company's labor disputes, lax environmental practices and apparent links with paramilitary death squads.

A year ago, a Federal Court in Alabama, U.S., where the mining company is based, began a civil case against Drummond for its alleged paramilitary links. The case is still underway.

The Florida-based law firm of Conrad & Scherer LLP filed the lawsuit on behalf of 252 plaintiffs who are relatives of the 67 victims, including 63 men and four women. Their names are withheld from publication to prevent reprisals against them, said attorney Terry Collingsworth. The lawsuit was filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Western Division by Collingsworth, Conrad & Scherer founding partner William R. Scherer and Garve W. Ivey, Jr. of the Jasper, Alabama-based, Ivey Law Firm.

"The 60-page complaint outlines allegation after allegation of brutality, describing how hundreds of men, women and children were terrorized in their homes, on their way to and from work, and often murdered by AUC paramilitaries acting on behalf of Drummond," said attorney Collingsworth. "These are innocent people being killed in or near their homes or kidnapped to never to return home, their spouses and children being beaten and tied up, and people being pulled off buses and summarily executed on the spot."

Victims of paramilitary violence in Colombia accuse Drummond of having paid paramilitary organization the AUC between 1999 and 2005, during which time 116 civilians were murdered, allegedly by the right-wing militia, in the region where the coal company operates.

The civil case also seeks compensation for the relatives of several people who were murdered, which they claim was for refusing to sell their land to to make way for the company's railroad.

Wikileaks cables:

Cable one, created October 16, 2009 Unclassified, released by WikiLeaks March 16, 2011

A US diplomatic visit to the Port of Santa Marta on February 18 and 19 in 2009, detailed a stop at Drummond's coal shipping port. The diplomat that visits expresses no concern then over the possibility that Drummond is cooperating with paramilitary forces, even though a case has been in the news for the past few years. Instead, port expansion and increased production that would lead to the addition of rail line from Drummond's mine to the port is discussed. 

Cable two, created March 3, 2009, Unclassified, released by WikiLeaks March 16, 2011

11. (SBU) Drummond Vice President Gary Norman highlighted Drummond's
environmental and coal-field restoration programs and discussed
Drummond operations and plans, during a luncheon and tour of the
facility.  Since 1996, Drummond has invested USD 1 billion and
increased production from 8 million tons to 22 million tons in 2008,
expecting production to reach 25 million tons in 2009.
15. (U) Colombia is already the world's fifth largest coal exporter, exporting a total of 67.2 million tons in 2008.  Alabama-based Drummond sources all of its non-U.S. coal in Colombia, and accounts for one-third of Colombian coal exports.  In large part due to
Drummond's expansion plans, Colombia could become the third largest
exporter by 2012.
POSITIVE PRESS COVERAGE AND RESULTS

Cable three, created May 26, 2006 Confidential, released by WikiLeaks March 16, 2011

"Although XXXXXXXXXXXX said Drummond was not yet "deeply concerned"

over the strike, the company, its contractors, and the national economy

are facing significant financial losses. He doubted that the company

would be able to make up for lost production as the company was already

operating at 100 percent capacity, and estimated that the company is suffering

daily coal production losses of approximately 70,000 tons, with lost revenue

to be about 3.5 million USD daily. According to the company, its domestic

and international suppliers are losing approximately 2.8 million USD daily

and the GOC is suffering over 250,000 USD daily losses in sales, income, 

and import tax revenue.”

It appears that Drummond may have been seeking the diplomat's help for the bad publicity stemming from the murders of the three union leaders and the company was upset with the US press coverage of the case.

Drummond has successfully defended itself twice, but new evidence has surfaced, and a key witness who was imprisoned during the last trial was released and will testify in the case. In addition, the US Court of Appeals 11th Circuit has allowed the survivors of the three union leaders to proceed with the wrongful death lawsuit in the US.

Justice for Colombia has a number of stories on Drummond.

In another legal action involving Big Coal, federal prosecutors want to block Massey Coal shareholders from reviewing documents gathered during civil and criminal investigations on the Upper Big Branch (UBB) disaster. The feds claim it would hamper their efforts to prosecute Hughie Stover, who's accused of lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice for ordering thousands of pages of security documents on UBB to be destroyed.

The business of Big Coal is black for reasons besides the obvious-- where there's coal, money and great power, strange and sordid things cling to it like a bad shadow or coal ash, whichever you prefer.


**WikiLeaks cable 1 & 3 verbiage appears to be some of Kevin Gosztola's writing. It was sent to us, unsourced and we want to make certain to credit sources that it appears to be from.

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American Lung Association--Coal Fired Power Plants Nation's Most Toxic and Prolific Polluters

The American Lung Association (ALA) recently released a new report on the dramatic health hazards surrounding coal-fired power plants.

The report, "Toxic Air: The Case For Cleaning Up Coal-Fired Power Plants," reveals the dangers of air pollution emitted by coal plants.

One of the starkest findings in the report claims, "Particle pollution from power plants is estimated to kill approximately 13,000 people a year.'

So what's the biggest culprit?

"Coal-fired power plants that sell electricity to the grid produce more hazardous air pollution in the U.S. than any other industrial pollution sources." 

According to the report details, over 386,000 tons of air pollutants are emitted from over 400 plants in the U.S. per year. Interestingly, while most of the power plants are located in the Midwest and Southeast, the entire nation is threatened by their toxic emissions.

So who's Alabama's number one polluter?

The single most influential corporation in our state political system--BARDs Big Mule Alabama Power.
Toxic Air Report March 2011

US EPA Press Release March 16, 2011

"EPA Proposes First National Standard for Mercury Pollution From Power Plants"

The new Power Plant Mercury and Air Toxics Standards – which eliminate 20 years of uncertainty across industry – would require many power plants to install widely available, proven pollution control technologies to cut harmful emissions of mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases, while preventing as many as 17,000 premature deaths and 11,000 heart attacks a year. The new proposed standards would also provide particular health benefits for children, preventing 120,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 11,000 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year. The proposed standards would also avert over 12,000 emergency room visits and hospital admissions and 850,000 fewer days of work missed due to illness.
This rule will provide employment for thousands, by supporting 31,000 short-term construction jobs and 9,000 long-term utility jobs.

Maybe the 'gut the EPA' republicans can explain why they are for more heart attacks, childhood asthma and bronchitis. They certainly should don't you think?

If they want insist on this corporations first, kids second stance and continue to claim jobs are more important than our children's health, then that should speak volumes to everyone about what really matters to them.

Equally guilty is the Democratic National Committee who just accepted a $10 million dollar "loan" from the notorious Duke Energy.

Big business is hedging its bets of course, but these politicians, on both sides of the aisle, should be held fully accountable for what they are and aren't doing.

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Forty Acres and a Governor

Union General William Sherman provided black union troops with land and a mule as a reward for their loyalty to the cause, particularly for Sherman’s march that ended in the burning of Atlanta. Alabama’s version of General Sherman, the Big Mules, rewards its faithful too by putting former governor Riley in charge of organizing troops for a march that may end in the burning of Alabama’s republican party.

There’s a brand new old battle raging in Alabama for the heart and soul of the republican party. Former Governor Riley has joined forces with two leaders of the Alabama legislature to root out any candidates and elected officials who they claim are RINOs. Detractors claim it’s a selfish act and designed to split the GOP as a whole into two separate factions, we see it as more of keeping power where it has always been through Alabama’s republican party--in the hands of the real shadow government of the Big Mules.

Bradley Byrne, the Riley backed gubernatorial candidate, is busily at work with his own group to reform Alabama claiming the non-profit group will:

1. Institute a more transparent state budget process

2. Allow stronger oversight of campaign finance laws

3. Create a searchable database to help the public track where candidates get their money

4. Give more local control over how state education dollars are spent

Like most political promises, it sounds good and hits all the right notes that resonate with voters, but considering the source, we don't think all is as it appears. 

Our suspicion is that these are cleverly designed tactics schemed up in a war room to undermine the current administration, and to distract the Tea Party group of conservatives, who are now incensed by Riley and Byrne’s latest maneuvers, from what the real issue is--the Big Mules want complete and total control of the party. 

And they are well positioned for the move because they co-opted the republicans ranks long ago. The Tea Party arm of the republicans is loudly crying foul, with most of their anger directed at Riley. They claim that what he's doing will split the party in two and result in the entire party being weakened. We say that if the angry crowd in the Tea Party leaning GOP wants to take up arms against something, then they need to amass their ranks and go after the real invaders of their party and get them out for good before they can take on Riley and Byrne.

There is historic precedence for our theory:

The Big Mule Coalition focused its major political action on the Alabama Senate using a tactic referred to as "18 plus 1." In the 35-seat Senate, the coalition needed 18 seats to hold a majority and thus control the legislative agenda. In the executive branch, the governor had the ability to veto legislation, and in a tradition not broken until the late twentieth century, the lieutenant governor helped organize the Senate and select legislators to chair the various committees. 

Thus, control of 18 senate seats plus either the governor's or lieutenant governor's office meant control of state government. Members therefore funneled campaign money and other resources to races for the state senate and either the governor or lieutenant governor. Their efforts were very successful when it came to the legislative races that were local in emphasis. 

In another popular Big Mule tactic, a corporation such as the Alabama Power Company would buy the loyalties of recent law school graduates by placing them on a monthly retainer. They rarely did any work for the corporation, but its status as a client would prevent them from taking any cases against it. If any of these men had political ambitions, they would be beholden to the corporation. These retainers represented a major source of income for lawyers just establishing their practices in Alabama's small towns and cities.

Governor Riley knows all about this power structure because both of his campaigns received hundreds of thousands in donations from the Mules. His political loyalty was purchased long ago, and much like the young law school graduates, he's beholden to them for his political career. So is Byrne and present Governor Bentley. These recent salvos by Riley and Byrne are not based in any reform of the republican party so much as they are for the interests of the Big Mules.

When Bradley Byrne was running for governor, his campaign records listed huge donations from this powerful group, while Governor Bentley was struggling for donations. Alabamians are still arguing over what really sunk Byrne, the AEA and Stan Pate, or Byrne’s negative turn during campaigning that seemed to turn off the voters. We think it’s more complicated than that, and what people are debating as the real cause is a distraction.

Once Byrne started his downward spiral of no return, almost overnight the Mules poured hundreds of thousands into Bentley’s campaign. Governor Bentley was asked about the Big Mules and BARD contributions to his campaign on a Birmingham radio show, and the man who claimed “we know who every donor is and can account for every dime” answered the host’s inquiry with “Never heard of ‘em.”

Since Byrne’s appeal to the voters turned sour so fast, we can’t help but wonder if his demise was helped along by the Mules more so than AEA, but since the AEA is such a hated organization, bad ol’ democrats and all of that, the real saboteurs flew under the radar as they often do.

Did a meeting between Byrne and these power brokers go south? Did Byrne tell them his plans might not be their plans? On the intelligence and sophistication scale, Byrne and Bentley are on opposite ends of the line, though neither is as sharp as they think they are.
But Bentley was the more malleable of the two candidates, and he’s where he is because that’s what serves the Mules for the moment.

Bentley fell quickly in line with the game and filled his transition team with Mules and BARD operatives by appointing Charles McCrary, Stephen Bradley and S. Eason Balch among others.

We suspect it took a lot more than the AEA and Hubbert, who is publicly perceived as the most powerful man in Alabama politics, but actually pales in comparison to the long-standing power and money of the Mules, to knock Byrne out of contention.

Hubbert's power base is democratic and the Mules focus on republicans. In the battle between the two republican candidates, Byrne and Bentley, there had to be a few moles in Byrne's camp. Stan Pate was one mole disguised as a tool for the AEA.

A Decatur Daily article that listed the 12 most influential people in Alabama quotes Pate about the muscle of Alabama Power and McCrary:

"It's a powerful organization, and he's got a lot of tools in his toolbox," Tuscaloosa developer Stan Pate said of McCrary.
"He walks into that job with the credibility that goes with it. You put with it his credentials and the relationships, and like it or not, when they want to weigh in on something, they do."
"He walks softly and carries a big stick of his organization behind him," Pate said. "He is right up in the middle of every significant issue that involves the state."

Former Governor Riley weighs in on McCrary:

"People of Alabama don't understand the tremendous input in economic development Alabama Power has," Gov. Riley said. "Charles' greatest asset is he can take a complex problem and simplify it down."

Riley has it half right: McCrary does have tremendous economic influence, but what else he has in that “toolbox” is the same ability the Mules have always had--the power to build a Mule barn right there on Goat Hill and load it up with his personally approved stock. 

And he does just that year after year, quietly and effectively, while the voters and most of the media are given a shiny thing to follow as the man behind the curtain makes the trick work. 

The Mules will break pattern and hedge their bets by co-opting willing democrats, but the republican platform of big business gives them the perfect vantage position to pick off the republicans.

Now we have Riley back on the scene, aided by Mike Hubbard and Del Marsh, all in cahoots to drain money from the state party to their own organization, who will endorse candidates "that pass the litmus test of Bob Riley." The self-proclaimed Tea Party faction of the republicans is seething with anger over Riley's sneak attack, and calling up their ranks of true conservative faithfuls to go to war with Riley and his operatives. But if they don't get the commander, the won't win the battle and this will go on and on.

Our advice to them is don’t be so tunnel visioned by the front and center troops that you forget to guard your flanks. Because your real problem are the mule trains gathering on your left and right, and the moles that are already in your ranks that serve one commander, not the party.

Forty acres and mule is symbolic of an impetus to fight hard and remain loyal and it worked well for Sherman all those years ago. In the modern day, access to unfettered amounts of cash hidden in the smoke screen of donations, non-profit groups and promised political position, replace the old symbols. Riley has demonstrated a taste for these that is unequaled, making him the obvious choice as the Mules general. 


Maybe it's past time for the Tea Party republican faction to reassess what they are being drawn into and who they are really fighting. This is not about a war with two groups of the same camp, it's about the total domination of one party by special interests at any cost.

Wars have been won throughout history by studying the strategy of previous battles and developing a keen sense of who the enemy is. This is a war that has a lot of history too, and if the Tea Party faction of the republican party wants to do more than take the field for the day, they would be wise to identify their true opponent and proceed accordingly.

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Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Mr. Corruption retains his job as CEO of Alabama politics and fired Mr.New Day to rehire Mr.Same Old Day.

When you're the party in power, you don't turn around and incorporate with your political enemy and expect anyone to take you seriously. It's nonsensical, hypocritical and disingenuous on its face, and whoever is advising the republican party in Alabama we hope they continue because it's just too much fun to watch. But what this nonsense really says is that politics in this state is all about the money, the political payback and Mr. Corruption is still in charge of Goat Hill on both sides of the aisle.

----Paul Hamrick was recently tapped by Senator Waggoner to be the PR man for the Republican Senate Majority Caucus.

For those not familiar with who Mr. Hamrick is, he was involved in the huge scandal of HealthSouth which led to the conviction of former Alabama governor Siegleman and HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. Mr. Hamrick was eventually found not guilty of 7 counts of racketeering and taking bribes, but he did not come out of the scandal unscathed and damaged goods in the public eye, and in some political views.

Hamnrick was also employed by the political hit machine Matrix Group that has far too much influence in Alabama politics and has the dubious distinction of the ability to destroy a political career in the blink of an eye.

Alabama State Senator Jabo Waggoner, a former VP with HealthSouth (scrubbed from his legislative page) thought that hiring Hamrick was a fine idea.

Waggoner decided unilaterally to hire Paul Hamrick, and what's happened since then has been a proverbial maelstrom of controversy that may end in Waggoner being stripped of his post. We won't lie, that couldn't happen to a more deserving political dinosaur than Waggoner, who's single-handedly destroyed the republican's message before the legislature starts their first session in March.

We're enjoying this immensely because we never bought into that "new day in Alabama politics" crap to begin with. There isn't a politician in this state that would know what ethics was if it bit them on their backsides and held on for all it's worth. They're all tone deaf to the people, and spend most of their time tripping over lobbyists for special interests on their way to the legislative floor to vote on legislation that has real consequences on the populace. Nine times out of ten, it's in favor of the special interests fat cats rather than Alabama.

And that benefits a lot of our politicians, who are by and large, business men who will also reap profits from the same political favors. Mr. Corruption runs the machine and his orders are to cut deals and grow the 'company.'

----In another glaring example of political favoritism and the fleecing of taxpayers on the federal and state level, the Northern Beltline (aka Zombie Highway) has been broken down into actual cost per mile: $90,000,000.00.

This is BARD's mule train trail, the Beltline project is, and anything they're involved in should always be viewed with a skeptical eye and a close examination for the potential for corruption. More often than not, you'll find it. In this case, BARD Big Mules Drummond Coal and US Steel are large landowner's in the route of the Beltline and they'll make millions in this deal.

They have their cheerleaders for the project in Alabama Senator "King of Pork" Richard Shelby and the mouse that roared for big coal Representative Spencer Bachus:

"While I can't speak to the accuracy of the Federal Highway Administration's new cost estimate for the Northern Beltline, I do know this is a critical infrastructure project for our state, and I will continue to work to fund it expeditiously," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, agreed: "The completion of the Northern Beltline is a high priority for the Birmingham region and retains my total support." 

These are the same perpetually tone deaf Aladumba politicians, who rail against the "out of control federal spending by the Obama administration" when the cameras and press are present, and they think they are addressing a receptive republican audience. Potential voters and donors you betcha. Tell 'em what they want to hear.

Federal spending is a real problem unless it affects their own pet projects and the pockets of their big corporate donors. For these two spend-it-faster-than-they-can-print-it Alabama porkers to support the project, in this current economy, despite huge public outcries of NO, shows who they really take orders from--Mr. Corruption.

----BP "Master of Disaster" Ken Feinberg is at it again with his own brand of nonsense "I'm impartial, but BP pays me" and claims to be a bastion of fairness and transparency.

The post oil spill claims process has been a total fiasco of epic proportions, and transparency has been eternally absent from the process thanks to Mr. Feinberg being large and in charge of the whole system. The Gulf Coast Claims Facility is Feinberg's brainchild and he is vehemently resisting calls for measures of oversight of the program claiming incredulously that:

“The openness and transparency with which the GCCF has conducted itself is unparalleled in the history of the statute and nothing short of extraordinary,” they said in the filing. “The facts regarding the GCCF’s performance show that it should be the ideal against which future, large-scale OPA claims handling should be measured.” 

Orange Beach, Alabama Mayor  Tony Kennon wins the prize for retort of the day for his view on Feinberg's claim:

Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon laughed for about 15 seconds after a reporter read the quote to him.

“Sounds to me like he had one too many mimosas,” Kennon said. “With all due respect, the man is either delusional or the greatest demagogue I’ve ever met. There is zero accountability, zero transparency. For him to make that statement, someone should step in and relieve him of his duties immediately.” 

Bravo Mayor Kennon and very well said!

Courthouse News Service has an interesting article on Feinberg and the GCCF that might have started the call for oversight.

----In a story from the Gadsden Times on February 22, we learn that the Friday before Governor Riley left office, he transferred (at the request of *Luther Strange) $7.9 million dollars from the state's BP account of "unrestricted funds" to the AG's office to help with "ongoing litigation and anti gambling efforts" according to the legislative memo.
*(Who is this 'Strange' man and is he really looking out for Alabama's interests in handling the BP case? History seems to suggest otherwise.)
 
Strange admits to requesting the money to "stave off red ink in his office totaling about $8 million." How did he know that? He wasn't even in office yet. Outgoing AG Troy King said he knew nothing of the transfer that was handled by Riley's chief of staff, Dave Stewart, who now works for law firm Bradley, Arant, Boult & Cummings.

Questions are raised about Luther Strange's new 'hammer of corruption' Michael Hart in the article too:

Senator Roger Bedford said Riley was rewarding cronies, particularly former assistant Attorney General Matt Hart who returned to the AG’s office from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in northern Alabama in order to prosecute white collar crime and public corruption.

Riley said he doesn’t know Hart except by name.

Riley said something similar when asked about the source of the $12 million in Abramoff tainted Indian gaming money contributed to his election campaign: "I didn't know what the source of the money was."

This smacks of cronyism and political payback. Maybe this was a down payment for Strange to "look after Riley's children." $7.9 million would have gone a long way to our education system that is now facing proration AGAIN, if it was going to moved around for something other than what it was intended for.

We've become a corporation nation with no semblance of the political system our forefathers envisioned-- politics has all but disappeared to be replaced with the machine of big business and corporate lawyers. Whether it's Alabama, or federal, it's all the same company: Corruption, Inc.

Alabama has become so adept at political corruption we've provided endless material to the national news outlets for years, and if nothing else, at least the state is consistent--consistently crooked in both of its political parties and its ability to garner bad press.

Mr. Corruption is so proud. He's proud of his company and his elected employees. They serve him and his ideals with unwavering loyalty, and there will be no corporate shakeup anytime soon with his lead man Mr. Same Old Day cracking the whip on the Mules of Goat Hill.

**Podcast of interview with Senator Del Marsh defending Jabo Waggoner's decision to hire Hamrick. Marsh just doesn't get it.

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Birmingham Says"We're Open" (and Building More Places For Criminals to Loot)--Named 3rd Most Dangerous City in the US

The Birmingham Business Alliance rolled out their latest builditis campaign with nauseating fanfare promising to "move the region forward," and they have a catchy phrase for it that's been splashed all over the local media, in slick ads, and on billboards all around the city proclaiming "We're Open." (variations: "I'm Open" "Birmingham is Open")

That's music to the ears of all the crooks and rapists who have created a "Magic City" that's sure to be attractive to potential businesses, and here's the BBA is trying to convince us all that it doesn't exist. They're masters at look at the shiny thing and pay no attention to the man behind the curtain game.

Thanks to this Feb.17th US News report (using data supplied by the FBI) "The Most Dangerous Cities in the US" we can see that the Flash Harry's of the BBA are up to their same old tricks of promise them everything and get them to pay for it no matter how nonsensical it really is.

And just to add insult to injury, a previous report came out on Nov. 23, 2010 that had Birmingham ranked as the 10th most dangerous city. The BBA campaign rolled out in September of 2010, and maybe the ne'er do wells have flocked to the area in anticipation of the looting they can start looking forward to courtesy of the BBA's grand illusions.

Yep, "We're Open" alright and it's going to be one hell of a melee' for Crime, Inc.

Here's the 'good' news:

Only St. Louis and Atlanta ranked ahead of the Magic City who tied with Orlando for third place. Birmingham's high ranking was due in part to the high rate of forcible rapes and robberies over the last seven years.

Crime Risk Index: 380

In 2009, the latest year on which the data is based, the murder and non-negligent manslaughter rate in the greater Birmingham metropolitan area was nearly twice the national rate of five per 100,000. Likewise, the rate of all property crime in that area was 50 percent higher than the national rate.

Alabama as a whole was ranked 13th in the nation for the worst crime rate in March 2009. 

Is anyone starting to see a pattern here? What company worth its salt is going to look at these statistics and say to themselves; "sounds like a great place to set up shop in!"

Maybe before we start building crystal cathedrals and laying down streets of gold it might be a good idea to fix what seems to be inherently wrong with Birmingham first--Its corrupt and clueless leadership that is led around by the nose by the Mules and the BBA, and then maybe turn the crank on the complete ineffectiveness of the police department.

Sounds good to us.

Does it to you?

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