School Board votes – WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |.

Montgomery Advertiser – Montgomery County School Board Votes to Offer Thompson Job

This is purely speculation, but I have no doubt that there was a list of candidates and there have been reports of other potential candidates having conversations about a run. As you move further down the list, the odds certainly get longer, but there are still people out there willing to run.

Sue Bell Cobb Statement on Governor’s Race | NBC13.com.

Our own Sen. Jeff Sessions is certainly getting a lot of national media attention as the hearings for Judge Sotomayor approach, but I expect those will go off without much fanfare. There is still some buzz that Governor Riley will run for Senator Shelby’s senate seat, though he has repeatedly said he doesn’t plan to do so.

Overall, it just seems like we are in a period of relative quiet before the statewide races really ramp up for 2010. I expect to hear more people getting into the down ballot races over the coming months (Attorney General, State Treasurer, State Auditor, etc.) and certainly the rhetoric between the gubernatorial candidates will heat up as more attention is focused on them.

I look forward to having more to talk about soon…

Click here to donate to Josh’s campaign!

I’ll link to the same segment of video as countrycat, in case you need a demonstration of the kind of leader he is…

Left in Alabama:: Josh Segall Officially Kicks Off His Campaign for AL-03 Against Mike Rogers

The top-trending topics on Google Trends right now are…

1. verve ricky barnes

Ricky Barnes is the golfer who is trying to win a U.S. Open tomorrow and Verve is the energy drink that is his sponsor…looks like marketing works!

2. courtship of eddie s father

Airing on Turner Classic Movies tonight, in honor of Father’s Day…must be a slow search day

3. harpers island episode 11 preview

Must be a REALLY slow search day.

4. what channel is the much music awards on

The answer is! It’s not broadcast in the States…you could watch it live here…http://mmva.muchmusic.com/category/pepsi-backstage/

5. merlin nbc

New show premiering on NBC tonight…they’re trying to rope in the Harry Potter crowd with a preview of the new movie tucked inside…smart move.

6. tommy silverstein

Convicted murderer…must have had a reairing of one of his TV specials today…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Silverstein

7. sergio garcia break up

Greg Norman’s daughter broke up with Sergio….awww…poor guy…

8. leighton meester sextape video free

The “Gossip Girl” star has a sex tape on the web…isn’t this a pre-requisite for an actress these days?

9. lost tapes

Tougher to figure out…but looks like it’s a reference to an Animal Planet show…

10. bakugan new vestroia episode 11

No idea…but here it is.

I also agree that the defunding and de-emphasis of prevention under the Bush administration can be cited as one of the reasons for the change, but there are also cultural factors at play here, and having worked with the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program and understanding quite a bit about how it works on a nationwide basis, I believe the president is right to cut the funding, but I hope additional resources will be redeployed in a more targeted way, rather than just being eliminated.

Youth Drug Use May Climb | Reclaiming Futures Every Day.

Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby (R) is one of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) top recruits after she decided to challenge freshman Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.). But she may have to get through state Rep. Jay Love (R), who lost to Bright last year.

75 percent of the citizens of Montgomery couldn’t tell you who Martha Roby is…so I’m not sure what makes her a “top recruit” except someone has convinced the NRCC that she is. Don’t get me wrong, Martha is very intelligent and is a great campaigner, but she hasn’t even won citywide office, much less the size race she is about to take on…the press on her just continues to amaze me.

via .

I have gone through a lot of back-and-forth struggles with my support for Artur Davis, but I continue to support him as my candidate for governor precisely because so many of the entrenched powers want to see him fail. That is as sure a sign to me as any that he is planning to do the right things for this state. He’s not always going to get it right, but his aim is true.

Some Ala. Democrats seek candidate for governor | Opelika-Auburn News.

If it’s true that she told her staff this week of her departure, I would give it two to three weeks before there is an official announcement. Perhaps right after the July 4th holiday, but it certainly appears as if we will have a three-way race between Davis, Cobb and Sparks on the Democratic side, while there are that many horses and more on the Republican side. Strap on your helmets people, it’s going to be one heck of a ride!

One of those interactions has resulted in a new opportunity for my wife and I. I have become friends with one of the minds behind a new website called MedicalMommas.com. It’s an idea hatched by two medical journalists (one from the print world and one from television) to be a site that is a hybrid of WebMD and Facebook, a social network where women can get accurate medical information and exchange ideas. Obviously, the site was created as a site by and for women, but I have been able to angle my way in as someone with some expertise to offer.

My wife and I are currently moderating the “Blended Families” group and hope to move into other areas in the future. I encourage all of my female readers to come check the site out. It is currently in beta form, with a scheduled debut of September 1st. I hope to see you there!

Hampton Cove, Sanford’s biggest box, alone accounted for half of the final gap between the candidates. On Tuesday, Sanford received 1,641 votes to Hall’s 206 at Cove United Methodist Church, which sits in a largely affluent area where 93 percent of the registered voters are white.

He also dominated the totals in Blossomwood, Owens Cross Roads and much of south Huntsville.

On the other hand, at First Missionary Baptist Church in north Huntsville, where 77 percent of the registered voters are black, Hall won 666 votes to just 92 for Sanford.

She posted larger margins at numerous smaller boxes, including winning 123-to-1 at Cavalry Friendship Center in north Huntsville and 230-to-7 at Alabama A&M University.

In fact, it was hard to find neighborhoods that were nearly split evenly. At only eight boxes, including one in Five Points and two in southwest Huntsville, did neither candidate win more than 60 percent.

There will certainly be different explanations offered for why this was the case (Laura Hall’s advertising, historical migration patterns, etc.) It will be interesting to watch in the next election whether Sanford has been able to close that divide by the way he represents the district. I hope that is the case.

Many people first heard about the fake press release and fliers that were being circulated in Huntsville this afternoon, after the Secretary of State office issued a press release emphasizing that, in fact, the election would NOT be extended an extra day as the flier claimed (released just before 3pm this afternoon). However, anyone on Twitter would have known not only that this was out there, but who the source was first thing this morning.

I’ve been hitting a brick wall in trying to help campaigns understand what they’re missing by not engaging their supporters (and keeping an eye on those who oppose them), but no one seems to want to listen. Maybe someone will start listening now!

TWAY_Kris Tweet on @TheDaleJackson ’s post

Doc’s Political Parlor – Radio Show Host Responsible for Fake News Release

UPDATE: Latest press release from Dale Jackson…now admitting that using the State of Seal of Alabama on the “fake” press release was wrong…

Council President Carole Smitherman said members should have been told about Hilliard’s participation and his connection to bingo operators.

“Transparency is important to the council. Councilor Montgomery said he wrote the ordinance, so I had no reason to believe otherwise,” said Smitherman. She abstained from voting on the ordinance last week, saying she believed sections of the ordinance were vague or flawed.

While Hilliard’s involvement is not illegal, it’s not good government, said William Stewart, political science professor emeritus at the University of Alabama.

“I don’t think that’s an appropriate thing to do where someone has a vested interest,” he said. “Otherwise it’s suspicious that it may have been drafted to benefit one’s own client. And Birmingham’s city council has gotten so much criticism that you would think they would do everything they could to avoid situations that would cause criticism.”

Whether this deception will result in the repeal of the ordinance, I don’t know, but it certainly seems like the issue should come back up for discussion and the ordinance should be combed over and debated more thoroughly given these developments.

via Former Congressman Earl Hilliard Hilliard aided in creating Birmingham’s electronic bingo law – Breaking News from The Birmingham News – al.com.

The accusation is included in a legal motion filed by Riley’s lawyers in the White Hall gambling case. The case began March 19 when Riley’s gambling task force raided the White Hall Resort and Entertainment Center, a half-hour drive west of Montgomery, and seized more than 100 electronic bingo machines and just more than a half-million dollars in cash.

Hours after the raid, lawyers for the operators of White Hall headed to court to get back the machines and stop the task force from re-raiding the hall. A month ago, Cobb removed retired Circuit Judge Robert M. Harper of Lee County and appointed Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert S. Vance – the fourth judge assigned since the initial raid.

Riley claims the action by Cobb will result in months of delay in getting the issues before a jury. The motion seeks to void Cobb’s order replacing Harper with Vance.

“It must be assumed that as a retired judge without a formal pending docket of cases, Judge Harper did not have any reason that he could not handle the case promptly and efficiently, without any necessity of delay,” according to Riley’s motion.

Riley called Cobb’s replacement of Harper with Vance irregular and inappropriate.

According to Judge Harper, Chief Justice Cobb asked him to step aside because she thought Judge Vance, who was already handling a bingo case out of Walker County could handle the case more efficiently. I don’t know where the truth lies on this one, but I can certainly understand Governor Riley having a gripe here. The Chief Justice chose not to offer any comment because it is a legal pending matter, but she certainly had every right to make the move, just as Governor Riley’s attorneys have a right to complain.

Ultimately, it shouldn’t make any difference in the outcome of the case, and I don’t believe it is judge shopping, I suspect the Chief Justice was simply trying to avoid continued wrangling if two judges came to different decisions on similar cases.

Alabama Gov. Riley accuses Supreme Court Justice Sue Bell Cobb of judge shopping in pending gambling case – al.com.

If things had gone as planned in 1986, the conservative Alabama prosecutor would have been confirmed to a lifetime appointment to a federal judgeship. But allegations of racism cast Sessions as a throwback to the Jim Crow South, and the Senate Judiciary Committee voted down his nomination. Stunned and embarrassed, Sessions returned home to Mobile as a man undone.

Soon he turned to politics, was elected to the Senate and joined the very committee that denied him a seat on the federal bench. He ascended from behind the scenes to the panel’s top Republican spot, and it now falls to him to weigh the GOP’s competing interests and political calculations while guiding the fractured party through the upcoming confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Yesterday, the judge went to the Capitol for private meetings with Sessions and other key senators.

I have been a long-time critic of Senator Sessions on any number of issues, but so far, I am very proud of the way he has handled himself in this process. Of course he isn’t just going to let the nomination go forward without any scrutiny, but he has been extremely fair and deferential in his criticism up to this point. I expect vigorous questioning from him in the hearings, but nothing nasty or grossly unfair. I hope he doesn’t disappoint me.

Sessions, GOP’s Lead on Panel Weighing Sotomayor, Was Once Rejected for Bench – washingtonpost.com.