Appeals Panel Could Drop Siegelman Case Tuesday

In light of recent information from a new whistle-blower in the Bush Justice Department's political prosecutions still under investigation by Congress, including the case of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, the federal court in Montgomery has re-opened the investigation into juror misconduct, according a document just filed with the appeals court in Atlanta. And the three-judge panel could drop the case against Siegelman and HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy next Tuesday, Dec. 9, in Atlanta.

Read the full breaking news story here in The Locust Fork News-Journal:

http://blog.locustfork.net/2008/12/04/justice-department-re-opens-juror-....

    http://tinyurl.com/6addol

LocustFork.Net

With a new day dawning in Washington, D.C., due to the election of Barack Obama as the first black president in American history who looks determined to govern like Lincoln and make changes in that corrupt town, is it possible that Bush administration officials will totally escape the long arm of justice for their roles in high crimes and misdemeanors more damaging than any corruption in our history?

The Case For Why Siegelman’s Verdict Should Be Overturned

A detailed analysis of the appeals briefs in the Siegelman case reveals four solid arguments the appeals court panel could stand on to reverse the conviction, order a mistrial, or reduce the sentence after a hearing scheduled for Dec. 9 in Atlanta.

Full news feature with links and photos here:

http://blog.locustfork.net/2008/11/15/a-day-of-reckoning-for-siegelman-1...

In a five part series, Jill Simpson tells the story of her affidavit filed in the interest of seeking justice against the Bush and Riley political machines in the case of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and deposed HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy.

The Locust Fork Journal

Glynn Wilson
Editor & Publisher
The Locust Fork News and Journal
http://www.locustfork.net/news/
http://www.locustfork.net/blog/

Connecting the Dots
by Glynn Wilson

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."
- Albert Einstein

Under the Microscope
by Glynn Wilson

My favorite answer to just about any political, social or technological question these days is: "It's a mystery."

When it concerns the workings of computers and the Internet, it's "a dang old dot dot dot mystery."

Life is full of mysteries. Love them or hate them, you can't avoid them.

There are things we can know; things we can't.

For a journalist or a scientist, even a social scientist, this can be infuriating.

But you learn to live with it.

What we need is not a national day of protest. What we need is a national day of rest.

Blog on...

Glynn Wilson
Editor & Publisher
The Locust Fork News and Journal
http://www.locustfork.net/news/
http://www.locustfork.net/blog/

The Iraq study group report, which dominated the news on Wednesday with the alleged revelation that the politics of George W. Bush in the Middle East are not working, just as the day before Robert Gates' Senate confirmation hearings dominated the news with his admission that the U.S. is losing the war in Iraq, are both part of an orchestrated campaign to provide political cover for one of the most corrupt governments in the history of democracy and to keep public interest and media coverage away from key issues that face the planet.

And once again, the complete lack of understanding of the issues on the part of the U.S.

 Looking For Hope In All the Right Places

Early in the evening on New Year's Eve, I walked into The Garage bar on the Southside of Birmingham with a friend and somehow managed a smile.

"Happy New Year," I said to those seated at the bar.

Jimmy — the proprietor of GQ magazine's Number Two on the Top Ten Bars To Fly To in the country — sat there nursing a scotch.

He looked up and, indicating a less than optimistic view of the prospects for 2005 being any better than 2004, he said sardonically, "We will see."

"Hey, I was just trying to put an optimistic face on it," I said. "I don't have much hope either."

What I was saying, and I think he was feeling, is that hope — in the intelligence of humankind or the future of the United States of America — are not exactly at an all time high.

Prospects for the planet are not that great either, although to any naturalist those prospects are better in the long-run than the chances of man.

An American Christmas Carrol

It was the night before Christmas in the White House and President George W. Bush dismissed his loyal aides, patted the dog, took his Xanex, kissed First Lady Laura goodnight and tried to sleep.

He heard the First Lady breathing evenly, but sleep would not come. He heard a faint voice as if from the fireplace.

"George," the voice called. "Georgie. George W!"

The president sat up in bed quietly. The voice spoke again, in a thick Jamaican accent.

"Georgie, come here mon."

The president got out of bed and walked toward the fireplace, stopping by the coffee table to admire one more time the copy of the new Time magazine with his picture on the cover. He was Man of the Year, after all. The most powerful man in the world.

As he gloated to himself, the face on the cover changed. The image looked distinctly like, could it really be, Bob Marley?

"Why boasteth thyself, O evil men," the ghost sang. "Playing smart and not being clever, oh no! I say you're working iniquity. To achieve vanity."

The president shook his head and blinked . . .

To read the whole column, hit the hyberlink or paste it into your Web browser address window:

http://www.southerner.net/blog/weeklyblog055.html

For all the headlines, including the details of Bush as Time Man of the Year, you know what to do. Visit us at the Southerner Daily News:

http://www.southerner.net/blog/

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said Wall Street's support for partial privatization was a conflict of interest, calling it "a risky scheme for America, but a sure bet for the financial services industry."

Sweeney urged the Securities Industry Association to disavow Bush's planned overhaul.

"Will the financial services industry behave as professionals with a duty to speak candidly to the investing public, or will elements of the industry once again seek to make money at the expense of their customers, only this time on a much grander scale?" Sweeney said in a letter obtained by the Associated Press.

To read the whole story, go to:

http://www.southerner.net/blog/

And hit this headline:

Sweeney Blast's Wall Street's Support SS Privatization

It is not morning in America and the sun may in fact be setting on this great experiment in representative democracy. Some American Century, eh?

I've been making this case for the past year in my own words. Perusing the Web for interesting news this week, I ran across a guest column in a Texas newspaper by a journalism professor who makes the case so explicitly that I literally fear for his job and even his life. So I will share his piece with you and see if you agree. 

Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of Citizens of the Empire: The Struggle to Claim Our Humanity, starts out with these shocking assertions. 

"The United States has lost the war in Iraq, and that's a good thing," he writes in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "As a U.S. citizen, I welcome the U.S. defeat for a simple reason: It isn't the defeat of the United States — its people or their ideals — but of that empire. And it's essential that the American empire be defeated and dismantled."

Is this guy a traitor? Or a true patriot?

Kerik Pulls Out as Bush Nominee for Homeland Security Job

This is bad news for Bush, and Giuliani, but good news for honest democracy and homeland security. From all the stories we've been following, this guy is an incompetent, careerist crook.

http://www.southerner.net/blog/

There are a number of stories out this week that prove the Bush administration is intent on eroding American domestic civil liberties while trying to convince us they are promoting democracy in the Middle East.

This is clearly double-speak and we at the Southerner Daily News are keeping up with all the headlines on this. So hit the link and get informed.

Southerner Daily News

http://www.southerner.net/blog/

W.House: Borrowing to Help Fund Social Security Plan Dec 6, 3:00 PM (ET) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday for the first time that President Bush's plan to add personal retirement accounts to Social Security would be financed in part by new government borrowing that could top $1 trillion.

Bush has made reform of the U.S. retirement program a top priority in his second term and will push for creating private accounts in a meeting later in the day with top congressional leaders.

Bush's economic advisers have been analyzing financing options for more than a year. But the White House, until now, had declined to say that borrowing would be used to cover the transition costs.

 Experts say Bush has few other options because of record federal budget deficits. The president has ruled out tax increases. "There will be some upfront transition financing that will be needed to move toward a better system that will allow younger workers to invest a small portion of their own money into personal savings accounts," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.