The Alabama State Capitol
The Alabama Education Association has filed a lawsuit protesting Alabama Board of Education policies banning two-year college employees from serving in the state Legislature.
The policies were a reaction to a slate of scandals involving two-year colleges across the state in which two-year colleges were paying legislators huge consulting fees for little if [...]
An Artist’s Impression of the British Bullet Train
The first train of what will eventually be a new fleet of high-speed trains in the United Kingdom arrived from Japan this morning. The high speed trains, which can travel up to 140 MPH, will eventually link the heart of London to the famous Channel Tunnel in southern [...]
The Tuscaloosa News is reporting that, at long last, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has reimbursed the state for his use of an ADEM plane to go to a fund-raiser more than four months ago. Neverthelss, it is doubtful that the controversy will end here, as many are now questioning the wisdom of a strapped-for-cash Environmental [...]
As reported in this morning’s WaPo, Sen. John W. Warner called on President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq in time for Christmas. The senator’s declaration came as a new intelligence report concluded that political leaders in Iraq are “unable to govern effectively.”
The man can shoot AND talk about education. I say we make him a candidate and see how it goes.
Michael
via - Matthew Yglesias
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has been heavily criticized by Japan’s right-wing extremists for refusing to pray at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, received a severed pinkie finger in the mail at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters this week.
Yoshihiro Tanjo, 54, was arrested in suspicion of mailing the severed digit, which [...]
I’m reading a study by the RAND corporation that was done during the Vietnam War, entitled “Viet Cong Motivation and Morale 1964.” I found the following to be particularly interesting, and perhaps relevant to the Bush administration’s current adventures in the Middle East.
$250,000 Gundam Figure
A jewelry store in Fukuoka, Japan created a platinum Gundam figure with a .15 karat diamond in its head. The statue, reportedly worth around $250,000, was created by the famous Japanese jeweler Ginza Tanaka and toy maker Bandai. It will be on display in the Ginza Tanaka store in Fukuoka until Sunday.
To this point, and despite having some of the most ruthless foreclosure laws in America, Alabama has managed to dodge the mortgage foreclosure nightmares that have plagued the rest of the country.
Some might say it’s the result of sheer irrelevancy. Unlike many other states, Alabama has not seen its housing prices skyrocket since the late [...]
State Sen. Vivian Davis Figures announced today that she will challenge Sen. Jeff Sessions for his seat in the US Senate.
