Sweet Home Alabama

[image alt text: Picture taken from just inside a tent looking out the open tent flap. A pair of sock clad feet stick out onto a rock ledge. The tent is only a few meters from the edge of a cliff. The view looks out over a wide river valley, and in the far distance are mountains. The river has been dammed and in the center of the image is Weiss Lake, which looks vaguely like an alien from the classic Space Invaders arcade game.]

The view is from Cherokee Rock Village, on top of Lookout Mountain. They have one of the best campgrounds in the state, highly recommend.

A group of LGBTQ+ baristas is working to unionize a Starbucks in Huntsville for what they hope will help create a more fair and equitable workplace for everyone.

If successful, the store on Memorial Parkway would be the third organized Starbucks outlet in Alabama, after stores in Scottsboro and Birmingham. The organizing team wants to join Starbucks Workers United (SBWU), the union that represents over 570 union Starbucks stores, out of about 15,000 outlets in total.

In a scathing opinion more than 570 pages long, a panel of three federal judges issued a final ruling on Thursday concluding that not only did the congressional map Alabama Republicans adopted in 2023 violate the civil rights of Black voters, but that lawmakers had also intentionally discriminated against that same group in passing their map.

The decision likely means that Alabama's congressional delegation will remain split between five Republicans and two Democrats for the rest of the decade, but a more serious consequence looms.

Because of the court's finding of deliberate discrimination, the state could be brought back under federal supervision to ensure that any future changes it makes to voting rules and procedures—which include anything from relocating a polling place to imposing new voter ID laws or redistricting plans—do not disadvantage minorities.

The Alabama Senate Wednesday gave final approval to a bill making Juneteenth a state holiday in Alabama.

HB 165, sponsored by Rep. Rick Rehm, R-Dothan, closes state government offices on June 19 for the holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S. The bill passed on a 13-5 vote. Nearly half of the Senate body abstained from voting. 

The bill goes to Gov. Kay Ivey, who has made Juneteenth a state holiday for the last four years. A message seeking comment was left with Ivey’s office on Wednesday. Gina Maiola, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a text message Ivey plans to sign the legislation.

But there’s no need to argue the finer points of this, because Sells didn’t do this for serious consideration or because he’s a serious lawmaker looking to make a real difference in the state. He did it for attention, and because he watched Fox News a few times and saw the prison porn segments on El Salvador’s mega prison and the idea of treating humans terribly as a form of corrections was appealing.

Because 100 years of operating the absolute worst, most cruel prisons in America has apparently taught us absolutely nothing. Such as we can’t cruel our way out of crime.

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/38939427

The agreement, reached under the Biden Administration, required the state’s Department of Public Health to improve sanitation efforts in Alabama’s Black Belt. It’s unclear what the termination will mean on the ground.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18641111

An Alabama grand jury has recommended that a city's police department be "immediately abolished," finding there is a "rampant culture of corruption," officials said Wednesday while announcing the indictment of five of the agency's officers, including its police chief.

Five Hanceville police officers were arrested and charged amid a probe into the department, Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker said. The spouse of one of the officers was also charged, he said.

Cody Alan Kelso, Jason Scott Wilbanks, Jason Shane Marlin, William Andrew Shelnutt, and Eric Michael Kelso are shown in these booking photos released by the Cullman County Sheriff's Office.

NIH cuts will hit Birmingham hard. Tuberville pleading that no one knows how much UAB gets missed years of press releases.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24563561

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24494689

Summary

Alabama and Mississippi commemorate Robert E. Lee Day alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the same day, reflecting a long-standing juxtaposition of contrasting legacies.

Both states combined these holidays in the 1980s when King’s federal holiday was established. Black lawmakers have since unsuccessfully attempted to separate them.

Critics argue it disrespects King’s civil rights leader legacy to pair his honor with Lee, a Confederate general who fought to preserve slavery and uphold white supremacy.

Other southern states have abolished similar practices, leaving only Alabama and Mississippi with shared celebrations for King and Lee.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24282064

Summary

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) argued that California does not deserve federal aid for its deadly Los Angeles wildfires unless the state adopts changes.

In a Newsmax interview, Tuberville criticized California leadership, falsely attributing wildfire mismanagement to "inner-city woke policies."

While he expressed willingness to support some funding, he insisted it be conditional on reforms.

The wildfires have killed 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes, per the Associated Press, intensifying debates on state accountability and federal disaster relief.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/16448519

No state has a longer, more profit-driven history of contracting prisoners out to private companies than Alabama. With a sprawling labor system that dates back more than 150 years — including the brutal convict leasing era that replaced slavery — it has constructed a template for the commercialization of mass incarceration.

Most jobs are inside facilities, where the state’s inmates — who are disproportionately Black — can be sentenced to hard labor and forced to work for free doing everything from mopping floors to laundry. But more than 10,000 inmates have logged a combined 17 million work hours outside Alabama’s prison walls since 2018, for entities like city and county governments and businesses that range from major car-part manufacturers and meat-processing plants to distribution centers for major retailers like Walmart, the AP determined.

https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-alabama-3b2c7e414c681ba545dc1d0ad30bfaf5

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/23368377

Summary

Alabama profits from a vast prison labor system, earning over $250 million since 2000 by leasing incarcerated workers to private companies like McDonald’s and Home Depot.

While inmates earn at least $7.25/hour, the state deducts 40% plus additional fees, leaving many with only $100-$200 weekly.

Inmates working outside prisons face risks, including unsafe conditions and lack of oversight, leading to fatalities like a recent van crash that killed two prisoners.

Critics argue this system exploits incarcerated workers, many denied parole despite holding jobs deemed too dangerous for release.

Advocates call for fair pay, workplace rights, and reform.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22019279

Summary

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) warned Republicans against opposing Donald Trump's nomination of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as attorney general, stating that MAGA supporters would target their jobs if they break ranks.

Tuberville defended Trump’s right to choose his team, urging senators to “vote with President Trump.”

Gaetz, who recently resigned from Congress, is a divisive figure within the GOP, having faced FBI and House Ethics investigations over alleged misconduct.

Some Republicans are openly concerned about the nomination and are deliberating their next steps.