Posted by 
This site is an ongoing effort to contribute to the understanding, discussion, and flow of information around Alabama politics and policy. Toward that end, early in the legislative session I thought, “It seems like a little effort could make archived recordings of the House and Senate proceedings available to interested parties.”
I figured the occasional researcher might have interest. Perhaps a legislator who didn’t get to hear the discussion of his/her bill in the other chamber. A reporter now and then. I never figured there would be a stampede to the recordings, but I figured a few folks would be really glad to find them.
I didn’t announce the effort to make it happen early in the process because I knew there were a lot of issues to work out, technical hurdles, and we just weren’t sure how it would work out. I hated to announce it to find that we could not reliably make it happen.
Well, the effort might not have been as little as imagined, and truth be told, it was Walt who makes so many things happen around the Parlor who took the idea and ran with it. It was really quite an undertaking on Walt’s part, writing scripts, experimenting with different software, dealing with the headaches of power outages, and so on. But starting from Day 9 in the House and Day 10 in the Senate (the session is 30 days), we got most of the audio in both chambers.
So if you have curiosity to satiate, insomnia to cure, iPods to fill… heck, parts are mind-numbing enough that you could might could use them to extract a confession from someone… head on over to the 2009 Legislative Audio page and check it out.* House and Senate podcasts, if you will… no special equipment needed though.
LINK: 2009 Legislative Audio Page
More information is good.
*Do not operate heavy machinery under the influence of this audio. Excessive use or prolonged exposure may cause irritation. Repeated use may adversely affect mental health. If side-effects persist, consult a physician.
Legislative Dispatch
Purple Dot Connection
2010 Big List
2010 Senate Elections
2010 House Elections
Press Releases
thank you so much for this legislative archive..its something i have looked for time and time again…this will be a great tool for us all…good job Danny!!
whoops…make that thank you Walt and Danny…
They really ought to get into the 21st century do (at least on-line) versions of the session (like C-Span) for the house and senate.
I’m not holding my breath.
#3, that would bring on way to much opportunity for openness in government, we can’t do that…
This is awesome! Thanks guys!
Sweet! You should charge at some level. That’s a lot of BW.
Currentily, the host is offering a good deal so, thats not a problem for now.
Would be a goodness though if others would record and share. All you need is mplayer, sox and some time.
Both are programs are free and ports are available for windows and of course unix like systems.
Danny,
I get more real news, and opinions, about Alabama politics here than any other place. Heck, I spend more time on your site than anyother site on the web.
I dont know you (at least I dont think I do), but sure wish I did b/c I would buy you a cold beer for all you do. So for all you do, this Bud’s for you.
Thanks again!
Is the commotion I hear going on in the background another fight between Barron and Bishop? Haha!
In all seriousness though, thanks for making this available to us!
hey walt..if they start charging i’d be glad to pay for a huge ad for my pawnshop on docs main page..that should cover your cost… lol.. i’ll hold my breath awaiting your reply..
on a serious note, is there/will there be a link on the sidebar to get to these archives?? if its there i’m overlooking it…
CC Dollar, I just put a link up in the sidebar. If you can think of a better name for it there, let me know.
CC Dollar, Matt, Dan, Stand Up for Bama, and Thunder3325, thanks for the kind words and you are most welcome! Maybe I can take you up on that some time, Stand Up for Bama!
Don’t expect it will come to that, the hosting company is quite generous in their terms. And there’s the icky business of billing, accounting, taxes etc which make this not fun anymore. If its not fun, its not worth doing.
Then there is issue of who’s paying the piper which I think muddle of the road/independent political blogs should avoid.
However, you could create a web site for your business, download the files (please don’t hotlink them) and put them up there as a public service. A page of daily specials to click thru then ta daa! Several folks in the local area who could probably fix you up. I don’t do web work for hire because people actually expect results.
sweet…looks fine to me..i forwarded this link on to some local news sources..i forsee it being used alot….oh,i guess that means no ad?? :)
Well, I’m not sure that I’m philosophically opposed to ads though I agree that it does add a new dynamic.
Not yet, CC. :)
i talked rickey stokes news into doing ads and he dragging in around 17 grand a month now just off ads…just something for you to think about…..have a good weekend..i’m outta here..
This is amazing! Thank you so much for the time you guys spent on this!