I wish my friend Hinton Mitchem godspeed and good luck after his retirement from public service. Hinton, on Monday, announced what many had suspected — he will not seek re-election. I remember meeting Hinton for the first time while I was a student at Auburn University. He served the people of his [...]

On Thursday, Republicans tried unsuccessfully to get the gambling issue brought to the Senate floor for quick debate and for certain action.  Using the “let’s vote on the issue” mantra, the surprise tactic by the Republicans forced democrat leaders to show that gambling forces don’t have the votes for their proposed constitutional amendment in the [...]

Thursday, the Senate will begin its 4th day of debate on a road construction bill that proposes to spend $100 million a year for 10 years in addition to the regular road program and any federal stimulus plans.  The billion dollars for this extra road program would come from the state’s savings account which is [...]

In a largely partisan vote, democrat legislators in the Senate and then in the House quickly proved their loyalty to AEA (and to their large PAC) by nullifying the State Board of Education’s (SBOE) attempt to pass a “teacher Code of Ethics”.  The SBOE this summer asked the Legislative Council to approve a rule change [...]