Hell No--We Won't Go

The purpose of this site is to expose corruption and injustice in forms that affect the lives of many. Sprinkled in-between is strong opinion on matters of public interest, in addition to stories that the owners of this site feel are important to offer to our wide, global audience of readers.

We exist to level the playing field and to try and fill the void that the mainstream media cannot or will not report on for a myriad of reasons: laziness, conflicts of political and advertiser interests, a lack of time and workforce power, and sometimes the deliberate suppression of information the public should know about.

This site has been successful in its purpose if our readership and traffic are indicators of the popularity of truth-telling.

But someone is really upset with us, enough to make threats that wade into the area of a federal crime. They want us to shut up, go away and stop talking about what we cover. Maybe they are uncomfortable with having their misdeeds on the worldwide web for a mass audience to peer into. Maybe they're just too accustomed to getting away with 'it' as a matter of the accepted norm.

They shouldn't be, but that's what the state media has allowed them to do for years--operate right out in the open without harsh examination no matter how much they do to the regular folks. Or the environment. We think that's wrong on so many fronts it's hard to know where to end that miles long list of egregious, and sometimes criminal behavior.

'Let's lean on Max and his gang a little harder so they'll be quiet.'

We've upset the usual suspects with some of our reporting and commentary. We've upset some in the media who sit on lofty perches and sneer down on bloggers as ankle biters outside the realm of "serious journalism." How dare anyone have an opinion, and dare to write about it, unless they are reporter with a mainstream media outlet.

We dare to.

And we'll continue to do it.

As long as there is corruption and injustice to write about it, we'll write about it.

No amount of threats or pressure will silence what we have committed to do in the name of exposing wrongs.

Would you expect any less from us our readers?

What say you to those who hide behind anonymous threats of "homes are so fragile....you're debt is now due and payable isn't it?"

Doesn't it sound similar to the the old capos who would send their henchmen into a place of business, in an attempt to intimidate a reluctant-to-being-shaken-down owner: "You have such a beautiful store here, it would be a shame to have it burn to the ground."

Yes, it kind of does sound somewhat similar. The intent is clear.

And to them we say: not just 'no' but hell no, we won't go.

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"Capitol City Plume"--Fifty City Block Toxic Underground Plume in Montgomery, Alabama

This story has a compelling similarity to the Walter Coke contamination in north Birmingham--state and federal environmental officials have known about the contamination for decades and have been slow to act in cleaning up the area, while development has proceeded at a fast clip. A statewide pattern seems to be finally making its way onto the public radar revealing Alabama to be systemically and dangerously contaminated.

There's a tradeoff cost in human health and life that doesn't seem to figure into our governmental and business leader's plans. We cannot seem to count on EPA Region 4 for help either--they too seem to be carrying the water for the developers and getting into the *PR business outside of their environmental and public safety watchdog purview.

*(linked further on down in article on the phrase "revitalization of downtown Montgomery")

How many other areas in Alabama is the deadly deception going on unbeknownst to the potentially-vulnerable-to-exposure general public? And why?  Here's a list for Alabama from the Center For Public Integrity National Priority sites. Five Alabama sites are on the "Most Dangerous Superfunds Sites" list. The Capital City Plume, according to the census figures from 2000, was affecting a population of 209,615.

News story July 26, 2011 Associated Press via Al.com state wire:

The Environmental Protection Agency has identified the Montgomery Advertiser as one of the entities that may have caused the plume when operating at its former location.

County Commission Chairman Elton Dean said he remains confident that the county did due diligence before purchasing the old newspaper building and turning it into the county's main building after renovations.

News story by Ben Flanagan Al.com September 28, 2010: "Montgomery Commission tests air quality of county building":

"During a search for the source of the problem, a black, sooty substance was discovered in several isolated areas on the original concrete structure, according to a press release. A sample of that substance was collected on Sept. 3 and sent to Sutherland Environmental Company, Inc., where it was analyzed for 58 volatile organic compounds. Fifty-five of the compounds were not detected but small concentrations of *three compounds were detected." *note that the substances are not identified.

Region 4 Superfund

The Capitol City Plume site is located in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. The contaminated ground water plume is believed to exist throughout the downtown area. In September 1993, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) began investigating a report of Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) soil contamination at the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA) Energy Plant site at the corner of Monroe Street and McDonough Street.

After 17 months of investigative work, ADEM came to the conclusion that there are a minimum of 6 ground water plumes contaminated with PCE and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX). The site covers an area from Alabama Street (south) to Pollard Street (north) and Court Street (west) to Union Street (east). 

In 1993, soil containing PCE was excavated during construction of the RSA Tower. The soil was removed and disposed of properly. The discovery of the PCE in the soil prompted ADEM to conduct a preliminary assessment of the area near the RSA Tower. The preliminary assessment performed by ADEM concluded that ground water was contaminated with PCE and BTEX.

Field work for the RI/FS began in March 2000 and was completed in 2003. Soil samples and ground water samples have been collected to delineate the areal extent of the contamination plumes. Analytical results from the ground water indicate that the shallow aquifer in the Montgomery downtown area is contaminated with PCE, BTEX, TCE (Trichloroethylene), and metals. 

Installation of 16 new monitoring wells and 16 temporary wells has been completed. The City has removed and plugged two shallow drinking water wells at the Court Street Pump Station but continues to pump drinking water from deep wells.
The City of Montgomery has implemented a moratorium on well drilling in the vicinity of the site (downtown area). Beginning in May 2006, the City began monitoring the ground water contamination through monitoring wells. Monitoring will continue for five years. The City will be sending the ground water monitoring data to ADEM and EPA Region 4.
The City of Montgomery has also been working with EPA in implementing a voluntary phytoremediation effort in the ground water plume to reduce risk to human health and the environment.

A supplemental remedial investigation took place in stages from August 2008 to the present. *Sample results have identified sources of contamination and the time at which the contamination was discharged to the environment.

*Please note the above sentence which states that there are "identified sources of contamination" while this linked narrative from May 11, 2000 cites only "potential sources" generally identified without a specific business name as "a chemical wholesaler, airport maintenance shops, airport fueling areas, an auto repair shop and a dry cleaner."

Site investigation activities are being led primarily by EPA and the United States Geological Survey.

From August 2-5, 2011, EPA and USGS representatives will conduct field sampling activities to further delineate the groundwater contamination as well as to assess if vapor intrusion is taking place in an existing Montgomery County building.

Who's making the decision to "move forward with privately-funded activities" instead of applying for Superfund monies to clean up this massive twenty year old contamination?

On August 1, 2011, EPA will meet with representatives of two potentially-responsible parties identified in a Site remedial investigation, Alabama Department of Environmental Management, City of Montgomery, USGS, and Montgomery Water Works representatives to discuss moving forward with privately-funded activities related to Site characterization and remediation. 

Alabama could have applied for the $600,000,000 made available for Superfund cleanup from the 2009 Stimulus Funds but they did not make any applications for a percent of the available money in this area: (but they did in many other areas for federal handouts)

Hazardous Substances Superfund - (Alabama will not be receiving stimulus funds for this program)

(National Appropriation: $600,000,000)

Description: This program provides additional funding to the Environmental Protection Agency for the Superfund Remedial Program. This program allows states to enter in competitive agreements with the EPA to conduct certain remedial actions at Superfund sites and receive a credit from the government for 90 percent of eligible expenses.

John Archibald, of the Birmingham News, in one of his recent columns offered this statement about Alabama's rampant pollution and economic development mindset: "That's traditional Alabama values again: better dead than unprofitable." EPA Region 4 seems to go along with that idea, especially since they knew about the CC Plume, in the following statements on the *revitalization of downtown Montgomery and the importance of 'sticking to the plan':

Capitol City Ground Water PlumeGround water in western portions of downtown Montgomery, Alabama, is contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), chemicals commonly used in dry cleaning and cleaning of machine parts. Work to assess the ground water contamination and develop the site’s cleanup plan is currently ongoing. The City of Montgomery is working closely with EPA to facilitate the site’s cleanup. Downtown Montgomery remains open for business during the site’s ground water cleanup. Land uses include retail districts, neighborhoods, parks, offices and industrial areas. The revitalization of Montgomery’s downtown is a major community priority. The area is recognized as the “heart of the city.” Recent redevelopment projects include the Montgomery Biscuits minor league baseball stadium, retail centers, downtown apartments and restaurants.

Have our business leaders, politicians, economic developers and state agencies simply lost their minds from the effects of all the pollution or are they just out to eliminate the undesirable elements of Alabama's communities? The location of the Capital City Plume seems to negate the latter, because a large portion of the businesses and developments in the affected area are housing some of our state elites, primarily in the RSA Tower Complex of Montgomery, located in the toxic zone.

So what other possibility does that leave us as to why Alabama continues to labor under the delusion of their favorite hackney-eyed, overused phrase of describing economic development as "world class?" There's nothing blue ribbon or superior about any development that comes with a staggering cost of health to a large segment of people.

Unless Archibald's right--"better dead than unprofitable."

Or maybe it's something else entirely consisting of the usual BARD suspects and their webs of deceit.

Maybe it's a combination of the two strengthened by the political pay to play system our legislators have grown ridiculously accustomed to.

Whatever the reasons, the citizens of this state deserve truth, accountability and transparency with information that directly affects the quality of their lives and not the same old deadly deceptions of business as usual.

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Black Water Don't keep On Rollin'--Jim Walter Mine Coal Slurry Spill in Fayette County, Alabama

On Friday July 15, 2011, at the Jim Walter Mine North River Steam Coal Mine in Fayette County, Alabama, a sensor failed to shut off the coal slurry pumping system for an estimated four hours, resulting in toxic waste being discharged into Freeman Creek. The creek flows into North River and on downstream to Lake Tuscaloosa and into the drinking water supply for the City of Tuscaloosa.

Here's a picture of how the water in the *North River usually appears:

Here's how it looks *post spill:

The Alabama Surface Mining Commission's (ASMC) Randy Jackson is assuring viewers that the "sediment will not be harmful" and "it will wind up in Lake Tuscaloosa and settle out there." It should be noted that neither Mr. Jackson or anyone else at the ASMC have any authority over water issues. They're not experts, but they'll try and portray themselves as them on TV.

ADEM's spokesman Scott Hughes says he notified the Tuscaloosa Water Department to "monitor its water" and says "the water is safe to drink."

Dennis Hall, JW North Mine spokesman is quoted as saying this about the spill: "It's like it rained and piles of mud slid into the water."

Everybody involved is attempting to downplay the spill as nothing to be concerned about. 

They're dead wrong and what we should worry about is why they want to mislead us about the dangers of what is really in that 'harmless' slurry:

Below is a list of chemicals found in coal slurry and sludge:

Aniline Acenaphthene Acenapthylene Anthracene Benzidine Benzo(a)anthracene Benzo(a)pyrene Benzo(b)fluoranthene Benzo(ghi)perylene Benzo(k)fluoroanthene Benzyl alcohol bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate bis(2-chloroethoxy)-methane bis(2-chloroethyl)ether bis(2-chloroisopropyl)ether Butyl benzyl phthalate Chrysene Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene

Dibenzofuran Dibutyl phtalate Diethyl phthalate Dimethyl phthalate Dioctylphthalate Fluoranthene Fluorene Hexachlorobenzene Hexachloroethane Indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene Isophorone N-Nitrosodi-n-propylamine N-Nitrosodiphenylamine Naphthalene Nitrobenzene Phenanthrene Pyrene

Acrilamide Hexachloro-1,3-Butadiene Hexa-Cl-1,3-Cyclopentadiene 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene 1,2-Dichlorobenzene 1,3-Dichlorobenzene 1,4-Dichlorobenzene 2,4-Dinitrotoluene 2,6-Dinitrotoluene 2-Chloronaphtalene 2-Methylnapthalene |2-Nitroaniline 3-3'-Dichlorobenzidine 3-Nitroaniline 4-Bromophenyl phenyl ether 4-Chloroaniline 4-Chhlorophenyl phenyl ether 4-Nitroaniline

Specific Elements and Compounds
Source: Kentucky Division of Water. DOW-DES Analytical Data File.
Electronic File: Martin Co.Coal.Co.Slurry Release Data.xls

Jim Walter Resources (aka Walter Energy) is not a small company bringing in peanuts for profit. In the first quarter of 2011, the company brought in higher than 2010 profits of $408.7 million. It's a hugely successful company with money to burn who springs generously for some hay bales, a few truckloads of gravel and near-site pumping to mediate their spill of 'no consequence' in Fayette County.

We would like to ask ABC 33/40 why they did not check out these claims of 'no big deal' before they ran their story on the incident. By not doing that, what we're left with is propaganda and half-truths, and even more reasons to view Walter Energy as an extensively problematic operation in Alabama.

Shame on all of them.
*Photo credits Tuscaloosa News and: psellers

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Long-time Alabama Lobbyist Massey Admits "I Am A Criminal"

Tweet from BingoTrial coverage Kyle Whitmire/Second Front

Lobbyists call their profession "honorable and responsible" despite what the public overwhelmingly thinks about the industry. Alabama lobbying is a cottage industry of huge monetary proportions and undue influence on an epic scale. No one trusts these paid mouthpieces and suspect they play fast and loose with the law as a rule, not the exception.

Jarrod Massey admits what he is and what he has been doing as a lobbyist.

Massey's revelation on the stand in the gambling trial may only apply to his actions involving bingo corruption, but since he has other clients and he admits acting "corruptly" on behalf of one client, was he doing the same with all the others? It's a fair question.

Whether or not the indicted Jarrod Massey can be considered a credible witness is open for debate, but what he admits to confirms the impression of Alabama lobbyists by most of the general public--they're probably closer to being paid crooks and liars than they are honorable representatives who operate above board in their endeavors.

Many of them have been paid with state dollars i.e. taxpayer funds, which is all the more reason they deserve much harsher scrutiny than the legislature is willing to implement on their activities. 

The same old brand new goats on the hill had a chance to rein in the monetary persuading by passing a reporting requirement on lobbyists funds and expenditures when they enacted the "toughest ethics laws in the nation" last December. Predictably, and likely at the urging of the lobbyists, that requirement was removed from the final version of the ethics laws.

This sounds like a perfect opportunity to take a closer look at Jarrod Massey and his clients for at least the last decade. In fact, let's go one step further and examine the entire system of Alabama lobbyists while we're at it and see how just deep the criminality runs.

Our guess is any honest examination of the system would overload the courts with cases in subsequent indictments. It would be money and time well spent considering the potential benefit on our political process. Isn't "rooting out corruption" one of the grand promises our lawmakers told us they went to Montgomery for?

If they cannot or will not do this, then as far as we are concerned the "Handshake with Alabama" is not "a promise kept" it's a promise denied.

So Say We The Opinion Board of The Vincent Alabama Confidential

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Churnalism, Inc. and the North Birmingham Walter Coke Contamination

In an editorial from the Birmingham News on July 9, 2011, once again the editorial board missed the mark of accuracy, and either failed to gather the known facts or purposefully spun the the issue of the Walter Coke contamination in north Birmingham. Either way, the idea of verify first and print second is absent in our state media.

The editorial started out in the right direction and raised the importance of testing new and proposed school sites before construction begins. It's unthinkable that the Birmingham School Board and the City of Birmingham would embark on erecting a new school, especially in an area of years of heavy industry, without doing an environmental assessment first. They were forewarned about the existing problems as far back as 1989.

An ounce of prevention would have been well worth the proverbial pound of cure for students attending the Hudson K-8 school in Collegeville. The CBS 42 series "Deadly Deception" (DD) has been following the Walter Coke contamination story in north Birmingham for months now, and once again, print media is slow to catch up to the fast moving train of hard-hitting investigative reporting that CBS 42 has led with.

What makes the mistakes by the BNED so disappointing is that CBS' series has done the work for them, and all it takes to run an accurate editorial is to spend a little time looking through the video reports from Sherri Jackson and Ken Lass, lead reporters for the DD series. We wonder if they even bothered, based on their editorial, and hope that they did not rely too heavily on press releases and conversations with Walter Coke and Birmingham officials in forming their print opinion.

Here's what they got wrong:

"Walter Coke has been under an EPA enforcement order since 1989, so the agency can require Walter Coke to perform testing and cleanup, which the company is doing voluntarily now."

When you are under an enforcement order, clean up is not voluntary. It's ordered, as in you have to do this. Walter Coke has spit out the same angle; "we are doing the remediation on our own motivation to be a good neighbor." 

"-- arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or benzo(a)pyrene -- are associated with Walter Coke," said the EPA's Brian Holtzclaw, although a spokesman for the company said they can come from a number of sources, "even nonindustrial sources, other than us."

Still, Walter Coke is doing its part and voluntarily paying to replace soil at Hudson K-8 and residential properties in the area where high levels of contamination were found. 

'Voluntarily doing their part' is a repetition of repeating the illusion that the company is 'doing the right thing just because.' It's interesting they allow the company to slip in the possibility that 'something else' may be causing the contamination besides the coke plant that has been operating at that site since 1967. Walter Coke even went so far as to blame the residents in the area for some of the contamination in previous correspondence with the EPA, read: "non-industrial sources." CBS included those documents in their series, all it would have taken to find them was for someone on the BNED to bother to look.

While Birmingham school officials said they didn't know about the contamination and didn't conduct environmental tests, they should know better now.

Yes they should, but they did know and CBS 42 made that clear in their previous segments on DD. Birmingham School Superintendent, Dr. Craig Witherspoon knew about the contamination in 2010, according to a document from the EPA, and he did nothing to inform the parents despite being asked to do so. The City of Birmingham also had to know prior to construction because of the 1989 order from the EPA documenting the contamination in the area. Why is the editorial board unable to put two and two together and report it decorously?

The most recent soil tests at Hudson showed "unacceptable levels" of contamination, said Holtzclaw, which led Walter Coke to strip out six inches of soil, put down a vapor barrier, fill in with new soil and resod the contaminated area. Soil testing will continue. 

The contaminated soil can and should be replaced we agree, but if the source of the contamination persists recontamination of the 'new soil' is certain and inevitable. Considering that it took decades for action to begin on any remedial action, it's not a stretch to presume additional remediation will not be timely.

 "If the pollution is coming to the soil...you can clean up that individual soil. but it's still going to be getting dirty and polluted so you gotta look at the source of the air pollution."---Dr. Anne Turner-Henson. 

Despite the residents calling for the school to be closed, the EPA is incredulously claiming that's not necessary, and the residents remain unhappy with the over-their-heads technical speak coming from the Jefferson County Department of Health:

The level of chemicals found at Hudson doesn't warrant closing the school, Holtzclaw said, but the testing will continue. Meanwhile, the county health department is monitoring air quality to make sure the school and surrounding areas are safe. 

Completely glossed over and absent from the editorial was the statement of EPA official Holtzclaw who said he was "shocked" that the Hudson K-8 school was built on ground that the EPA had already deemed contaminated. As far as the surrounding areas being safe, that's wide open for debate too, and we'll put that monkey squarely on the back of the EPA who has a nasty habit of raising the levels of acceptable exposure to allow big polluters leeway.

Birmingham News writer Marie Leech included in her story the glaring problem that happens in Alabama and other states, about the lack of a federal mandate that cities test for contamination before building new schools:

For most states, including Alabama, "EPA has recognized over the years that there were no guidelines or oversight when it came to the safety of building school properties," Holtzclaw said.
That led the EPA in November to establish a set of voluntary guidelines for school sites that suggests site reviews, environmental reviews and public involvement.
Environmental testing before schools are built is not required in Alabama, officials say, which could lead to more problems like the one at Hudson. 

The BNED did take issue with the nonsense of not testing first, but why did they let the city officials who knew off the hook? If there is something upsetting in this whole ordeal that ought to rank high on the list, although the EPA and ADEM are the most deserving of harsh criticism because they knew first and did nothing for decades. The EPA added insult to injury and failed miserably in making recommendations "voluntary" not federal requirements. However, even if there had been mandatory guidelines, Alabama would have found some way to challenge the legality of it, preventing adoption of the rules until the lengthy legal battle ran it's course.

 

Bob Morgan director of capitol projects for city schools gets dangerously close to sounding like an utter incompetent when he feigns 'whadda ya want from me, nobody said anything': 

Morgan said several community meetings were held when plans for the new school were being drafted, and nobody raised any concerns.
"In fact, everybody in the community said they wanted a new school," he said. "As long as we have people living in the community and sending their children to school, we have to provide them a school to go to." 

No one in the community knew they were living in a carcinogenic soup Mr. Morgan or they would have raised the same concerns (and hell) they are raising right now. But the city and state knew. Did you know too? Is it appropriate for you to assign any blame to parents for wanting new schools for their children to attend? We cry foul on that and you too, sir.

The worst transgression continues to be the blase attitude of our media who fail to get the facts straight and present honest stories on matters of tremendous public interest in a timely manner. The information was there since 1989 why didn't anyone in the print media find it?

The new motto of the Birmingham News is "this is our story" and they've taken some flack from some who felt the motto would have been better suited to 'this is your story.' Many are now distrustful of the News and their trend in recent years of filtering news stories with a biased interest, slanted in favor of business, established politicians and deference for certain advertisers endeavors.

Their position seems to have shifted to a predetermined discourse on particular issues  that doesn't rock the boat too hard and create a spillage of revenue dollars. Or political tempers. 

What took them so long to offer an opinion about the contamination in north Birmingham, and once they did, why does the BNED 'voluntarily' swing at the issue with velvet gloves and allow Walter Coke, the Birmingham School Board and city leaders some leeway? We suspect it's rooted in the bending of news stories and editorials to fit news values, political interests and media logic--the new norm in the age of press releases from governmental and corporate propagandists permeating news rooms.

The end result is more 'churnalism' than journalism.

Children continually being exposed to deadly toxins and city leaders acting dangerously irresponsible is not an issue to come late to reporting on, and if you are going to be tardy, at least make every effort to be 'dressed appropriately' in accuracy.

Anything less is not the real story.

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Rewriting Alabama's State Motto One Legislative Session at a Time

If it looks like a tombstone...

Alabama's official state motto adopted in 1939, "Audemus Jura Nostra Defendere" (We dare defend our rights) will be soon be changed again by our current legislature to "Audemus Jura Cape" (We dare to take your rights) at the rate our lawmakers are moving in furthering empowerment to the state and corporations and away from the citizens.

There's nothing great about the state of Alabama if you're not in the loop, a political player, a generously political corporation or one of the many bottom feeders known as lawyers for the state's interests.

Don't be from the wrong side of the tracks, exhibit any complexion hue other than lily white (or the occasional golden lily color during Redneck Rivera months) and above all else make sure you attend the white right church.

And have your politics straight, as in tunnel vision like--capable of focusing only on one narrow view of the world and everyone around you.

We've become a state of the privileged few unable to shake off our racist past. We've gotten more PC about it and hidden the more overt racism into the now accepted classicism the religious right is so fond of, but what was ugly then is still hideous now.

The gambling trial going on in Montgomery has opened up a view to an unseemly and intolerant attitude that pervades our State House like a skunk shot. We've learned that our lawmakers are not only prejudiced to great faults, but we've also found out just how corruptly they operate right out in the open, with unabashed shamelessness.

For the most part, it appears we are short on how many hides ought to be on the stand and under indictment.

We have one republican that's an I-go-to-church-but-play-me-a-little-poker-on-Friday-nights hypocrite who's taking thousands of dollars from a lobbyist for admittedly doing absolutely 'nothing' annually. Other republicans who gather in groups and denigrate minority citizens and the counties they live in like they were at a Saturday night Klan meeting. Political snakes lying in the tall grass of morality and lying in wait (courtesy of hidden recording devices) for one of their own to stroll by so they can strike and deliver a fatal political bite.

Montgomery rightfully earns its nickname of Goat Hill--it's a literal animal farm of bad behavior from top to bottom.What makes the whole sordid bunch even worse is their attitude of us first, you citizens last.

No grocery tax relief passed the legislature this year, while corporate friendly tax abatement and incentives sailed through. Alabama taxes its people at the lowest rate of  income seizure in the nation--$4,500. If you make $4,500 per year, by God you are going to pull your weight and pay the state its share, but if you're a giant corporation like Thyssen Krupp, the state of Alabama will allow you millions in goodies from state coffers, and a generous reduction in tax revenues, to come to Alabama for "the good of the people."

Former Governor Riley stormed through the Alabama Senate in 2007 demanding lawmakers step-up the handouts through big business legislation by telling them if they didn't, he would defy them to "go back home and say I'm doing the right thing for the people of this state."

It's always about corporate coddling and never about giving "the people of this state" one whit of relief for their families.

An issue came up towards the end of the legislative session about Public Adjusters. PA's act as insurance policy advocates who are hired by policy holders to even the tilted playing field of the claims process. They're consumer advocates who know every in and out of the meant to confuse complicated lingo in insurance policies. And they're under attack in Alabama:

In at least 44 states, insurance policyholders can hire their own adjusters, called public adjusters, to help settle claims after a loss. But the legal status of public adjusters is cloudy at best in Alabama.

Following April’s savage tornadoes, the Alabama State Bar warned that public adjusters are illegal in Alabama, saying that they are practicing law without a license and could face criminal prosecution.

We have our fair share of natural disasters in Alabama--hurricanes, tornadoes and severe droughts that wreck not only our communities, but our chances as average citizens to be made whole after a tragedy of Mother Nature. We need the power to hire representatives who will fight on our side when one of the state's big insurers refuses to honor protection we have faithfully paid for in the form of premiums.

When someone files a claim with an insurer, the company sends an adjuster to examine the damage and determine how much repairs will cost.

A public adjuster, however, represents the policyholder, working up a separate damage estimate and bargaining with the insurer. The policyholder pays for the service, *giving a public adjuster 10-25% of a settlement depending on the state and type of claim. *(Avg. fees are 10-15%)

Insurance companies are huge players in Alabama's political process gifting millions to candidates that are raised by premiums payments from policyholders. One large insurer ALFA, has had its dirty hands in legislative sessions bills for years, directing lawmakers to favor their own corporate interests with increased campaign donations. They've bought their way into the statehouse and pay for laws designed for their sole agenda--decrease policy holder rights and increase our immunity and profits.

The right of citizens to hire PA's is an issue that will have a huge effect on everyday citizens in ways they don't fully comprehend. This July 3rd story from the Mobile Press-Register entitled "Public Insurers Called Illegal in Alabama" lit a fire under commenters who roundly thrashed the state's stance of no rights for you John & Jane Q. Public, and if you try, we'll make it actionable:

 "Alabama does not license claims adjusters so any claims settled by such third-party recovery firms are considered to be the unauthorized practice of law, which is subject to criminal prosecution," the statement said. "Anyone assisting third-party adjusters attempting to settle claims on behalf of claimants could also be charged with aiding and abetting in this illegal activity."

Alabama insurance Commission Head Jim Ridling sent a letter to Alabama AG Luther Strange for an opinion on the legality of PA's in Alabama. Shortly after, Ridling pulled the request back and said through his spokesman that he would seek a "legislative solution instead." He knows what agreeable minds he'll find in the insurance friendly legislature.

Predictably the insurance industry wants to deride PA's, but when we are entertaining the idea of making it illegal for citizens to hire advocates on their side of things, we are going way too far. Taking it a step further and suggesting that even the citizens who seek these advocates may also be charged with a crime moves it into Gestapo territory.

Like the bad model of Arizona's anti-immigration law that Alabama picked up and ran with, charging straight into a you-should-have-seen-it-coming legal wall of trouble soon after, Florida is serving as the model for Alabama's war on Public Adjusters:

Several bills are floating around the Florida legislature which deregulate the insurance industry in Florida or strip away vital rights held by insureds in disputes with their insurance carriers. The legislative session launched earlier this month with bills which allowed Citizens to raise its rates by as much as 25% each year, prohibited Citizens insureds from retaining a public adjuster to assist in the handling of their claim, and rewording the consumer protections contained within the bad faith statute. 

Following Florida's anti-citizen rights governor's lead is an idea that makes as much sense as, well, what Alabama does all the time! Name one meaningful bill that has come out of Montgomery in the last 50 years that gave any power to the people. Next, see if you can name how many have come out of Montgomery that have ensured power remains centralized in Montgomery. You should have one blank piece of paper and a stack of page after page with the latter.

We are at the bottom of the pile on so many other issues what's this one more going to hurt?

This one will, a lot. 

We hope that citizens will begin to pay more attention to what Montgomery is doing to their rights before they wake up one day and realize they have very few left. Bit by bit the legislative goats continue to gnaw away at the tree of citizen's rights. How much more are we, as a collective people, willing to allow them to take away from us?

SI NOS NON CAPIEMUS

*if you let us we will take it

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Betting the Farm: Vanity Fair Magazine

SOW LONG? The White family, clockwise from bottom left: patriarch John C. White, Jeffery, Johnnie, Thomas, and Barbara, on the front porch of the main house on their potato farm, in Sagaponack, New York.

By Michael Shnayerson•

Photograph by John Huba

John White’s family has been working its 57—acre oceanfront farm in Sagaponack since 1695, the last holdouts against a tide of Wall Streeter mansions. But in an effort to save his children's inheritance—by selling 10 of those acres to a Houston oil mogul—White may have lost it all.

Read more here

Michael Shnayerson's story chronicles the battle between the White family and Anthony Petrello, an enormously wealthy and determined man who does not like being told "no." It's a tale of the predatory nature of men like Petrello, who in another article by the Hamptonscurbed.com had offered to "assist John White in estate planning and subdividing other parts of his land." Petrello knew what he was doing by making that offer--stacking the proverbial deck squarely in his future favor.

Land values in that area were sure to skyrocket soon, especially ones with a beachfront like the White farm has.

Petrello also knew that White's intention was to leave the bulk of his remaining 57 acres (minus the 9.6 sold to Petrello) to his descendants after his demise, but White was no match for the savvy and manipulative Petrello who made sure any future land sales had his "first right of refusal" attached to it.

This wasn't the only battle Petrello got into over property he was determined to have by any means necessary. His 900.00/hr lawyer, David Berg, stays quite busy on Petrello's behalf.

In Houston's upscale gated community of Shadyside, Petrello sued his neighbor over a property adjoining his own after being denied purchase of the house on a verbal offer. Petrello stooped down low, despite never signing a contract on the home, and brought suit citing discrimination on disability and fair housing grounds to force his neighbor into selling him the property. Petrello had never mentioned anything about wanting the property for his daughter's medical team (she suffers from CP) until the case saw its day in court.

One pull quote, courtesy of a Houston builder who had a legal dispute with the Petrellos about their historic mansion in Shadyside, describes Petrello as "a modern-day Satan." The photo of a dapper Tony and Cynthia on the grounds of their Houston estate is captioned "Texas Crude."

Petrello eventually lost that legal challenge and had to pay a substantial amount to his neighbors, the Prukas, for "unmeritorious and conspiratorial" claims against them:

Based on the Court's estimate that 70% of the time expended in the case was expended on the conspiracy and housing discrimination claims, the Court awards an attorney's fee to the Pruckas on 1,120 hours at the rate of $400 per hour or $448,000. In the event of an appeal by the plaintiff, and the Pruckas prevail, an appellate fee of $60,000 is awarded.

Like most obscenely wealthy men, Petrello is dubbed a philanthropist and uses his money to garner points with the society set and the press. Of course we all know that the enormous 'giving' that men like this do serves their own interests first and foremost--they receive glowing press coverage at upscale events and deduct huge tax write-offs for appearing so 'charitable and humanitarian oriented.'

Anthony and Cynthia Petrello. Photo credit: Jenny Antill

Powerful men are used to getting what they want. John White has learned that lesson the hard way in his decades-plus fight with Petrello over the White family potato farm that's now worth millions more than it was when the deal was first struck between White and Petrello.

For a simple man who was just trying to keep his farm together, John White bit off Texas sized trouble the day he unknowingly put any stock in the likes of Anthony Petrello, but John White was only doing what he thought was best for his family and his legacy. He's not to blame for being horribly wronged by a petulant and overbearing big oil mogul who did not reveal his true intentions until after the fact.

Still, it's a sad story that didn't have to go the way it did if it weren't for the greed of a man with too much vs a man of gentle spirit and good intentions.

Men like Petrello thrive on outwitting and out-lawyering the average person for a living. They make a sport of getting one over on the other guy in their incessant appetite for more of more. If there's such thing as mercy in the epilogue of the saga of Sagaponack farm, hopefully John White will go to his maker before he lives to see what"'betting the farm" has finally cost him in the end.

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