Get to know your legislators and what they have in store for you - click "State Legislature Page" above. Read the BILLS that will come up in the House & Senate this year - http://alisondb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/ViewPrefiledBillsACASLogin.asp. Will they affect you and your family? If so, visit the Capitol, meet your representatives, talk to them, and build relationships.
Thank goodness Gov. Riley didn't call a state of emergency, but sending in the National Guard to perform police functions?! What is the state gonna do about the man-made crisis that is Jefferson County?
Guard troops may be needed in troubled Ala. County
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The sheriff in Alabama's most populous county may call for the National Guard to help maintain order, a spokesman said Tuesday, after a judge cleared the way for cuts in the sheriff's budget and hopes dimmed for a quick end to a budget crisis.
Circuit Judge Joseph L. Boohaker ruled that leaders in Jefferson County - now trying to head off a municipal bankruptcy filing of historic proportions - could go ahead with plans to slash $4.1 million from the budget of Sheriff Mike Hale, who had filed a lawsuit that temporarily blocked spending cuts for his office.
About 1,000 county workers already are on unpaid leave because courts threw out a key county tax, and Hale has warned that reductions to his budget would mean fewer patrols by deputies and decreased courthouse security.
A spokesman for Hale, Randy Christian, said the sheriff told Gov. Bob Riley after the ruling that state assistance may be needed to perform basic law enforcement tasks once the department's current funding is exhausted in early September.
"We will certainly be looking at calling in the National Guard," said Christian.
Hale may have to cut as many as 188 deputies and almost 300 civilian workers out of more than 700 employees total because of Boohaker's ruling, Christian said. That would leave just enough workers to staff the county's two jails, which hold about 1,000 prisoners on average.
Christian said the department couldn't close either jail or release inmates, but it would send as many prisoners as possible to the state prison system, which already is badly overcrowded.
Riley previously refused to declare a state of emergency in Jefferson County, which has about 640,000 residents and includes the state's largest city, Birmingham. But he hasn't ruled out sending in Guard members or state troopers if needed.
Members of the county's legislative delegation scheduled a meeting to consider a replacement for the defunct occupational tax. However, Jefferson County Commission president Bettye Fine Collins said she doubted the commission would approve the plan since lawyers already have questioned its constitutionality.
"It wouldn't make sense to support it since we would likely be right back where we are now," Collins said in an interview.
The crisis followed court rulings that blocked Jefferson County from using money from an occupational tax that provided some $75 million annually, or about one-third of its budget.
Riley has promised to call a special session as soon as the county's legislative delegation can agree on a new tax, but prospects for passage are in doubt if Collins and other county commissioners don't go along.
The budget crisis comes as the county seeks to avoid filing what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy ever over some $3.9 billion in sewer bonds it can no longer afford to repay. As with the tax problem, elected leaders can't agree on a solution.
The sewer system is still operating normally, but the county has closed four satellite courthouses because of the loss of the revenue from the occupational tax. Residents are standing in line for hours at the main courthouse to do routine business like renewing car tags.
I just received a phone call from a representative from my congressman, Robert Aderholt's office. He was calling to let me know that Mr. Aderholt is planning on co-sponsoring H.R. 1207, the Audit the Fed Bill. This is GREAT news and very encouraging to me as I was starting to wonder if my numerous calls and messages over the past few weeks were having any effect at all. DON'T GIVE UP! Keep the pressure on those who have not yet co-sponsored, and keep encouraging those who have!
Birmingham grassroots activists, comprised of average citizens, members of the Rainy Day Patriots (organizers of the Birmingham/Shelby County Tea Party), The Campaign for Liberty, and Students for Liberty will gather at 5 Points South in Birmingham Saturday, April 25, 2009, from 12:00 to 2:00 pm to demand a full and independent audit of the Federal Reserve.
The Birmingham protest of the Federal Reserve Act is part of a nationally coordinated action organized in support of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act H.R.1207, the rally will highlight the lack of accountability in the Federal Reserve System, and protesters will call for President Obama to honor his campaign pledge for increased government transparency.
"Regular independent audits are standard practice for any legitimate financial institution, so we believe our demands will receive strong mainstream support," said Marcelo Muñoz, local coordinator of the Campaign for Liberty and Rainy Day Patriot. "Americans need to know what is really happening to their money, and we know an audit will expose the true and fraudulent nature of the Federal Reserve."
A little background: In 1950 the law was changed to exempt the Federal Reserve from any auditing procedures. Essentially, the Fed can use our tax dollars however they wish, without any obligation whatsoever to disclose what they're doing. HR 1207 seeks to repeal that portion of the code, so when we ask questions, they HAVE to answer.
Why is this important? As just one example, the Fed is refusing to give a public accounting of the trillions in recent taxpayer backed loans. Just look at the 700 billion in TARP funds that Congress appropriated and the Fed refused to talk about - we now know a portion of it ended up going to bonuses for the AIG execs.
We deserve to know how our tax dollars are being spent, and allowing the Federal Reserve to remain out of control and shrouded in secrecy clearly allows for abuse.
The good news is that this bill is actually gaining momentum - we're up to 60 co-sponsors as of today (4/21), which is pretty phenomenal. The American people are starting to demand more oversight and push for transparency, and that's exactly what we need to get things turned around.
The bad news is that some very powerful special interests really don't want this to happen, so we're up against a pretty major hurdle. Our own representative in the 6th district, Spencer Bachus, has not co-sponsored the bill.
The following blog comment (from a source I personally know) illustrates that the Birmingham/Shelby County Tea Party stuck to their activist guns:
The highlight of the event in Birmingham was Beth Chapman, our Secretary of State.
Unbeknowst to most people, she showed up unannounced at the back of the stage and demanded to speak. Apparently she wasn't there when I announced that no elected officials would be speaking and that at this rally politicians would listen to we the people.
As a matter of fact, she wasn't there when the Rainy Day Patriots (25 in number) stood on 280 in the middle of a tornado warning with their protest signs. She wasn't there during our organizational meetings. She wasn't there during setup of the event. And she certainly wasn't there during cleanup.
Needless to say, she wasn't a very happy camper when she was told "NO". I guess politicians are not used to being told no because she lingered for another 30 minutes quibling for a speaking spot.
It is a great day in Alabama when a group of citizens can grow their numbers from 25 to 7000 in a couple of weeks and tell our politicians "NO!"
Chapman is Alabama's Republican Secretary of State.
Commenter Marcelo Munoz is a local Campaign for Liberty organizer.
To put it in context, in the opening remarks I made it a point to mention that the party was for the people to speak and the politicians to listen - I was not going to lose all credibility by letting her get up there. I had the support of my co-organizers - we made the decision together.
208 CHOB Washington, DC 20515-0107 DC Phone: 202-225-2665 DC Fax: 202-226-9567 [Website] [Contact]
Voted for 2008 bailout
Voted for HR 1: ["The Scamulus Package"] American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Voted for HR 1388: ["Obama's Camps"] Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act [More info]
Voted for HR 1256: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act [More info]
Voted for HR 2346: 2009 $106B War Supplemental [More info]
Voted against HR 2454: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 [More info]
Voted for co-sponsoring HR 645: To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations [More info]
Voted for the Garrett amendment to H.R. 3269: Another $2 billion for clunkers [More info]
Voted for HR 2749: Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009
Voted for HR 2647: Imperialism Authorization Act of 2010 / Hate Crimes Creation Act [More info]
Voted for co-sponsoring HR 2194: Expanding Economic War with Iran [More info]
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
—Thomas Jefferson
Campaign for Liberty is a 501(c)4 lobbying organization which neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office and claims no responsibility for the actions of individuals or groups of individuals who use the Campaign for Liberty logo or name or who may claim to act as representatives of the Campaign for Liberty without prior written consent of the Campaign for Liberty. [?]
