Birmingham’s school district debacle

Where do I start? I will say that Birmingham school district is royally fucked if this isn't solved very soon.  In my opinion, they seem they have such a dilemma that most urban school districts seem to have these days. That problem is fiefdom mentality when it should even be this way. (Preference, what I am about to say is the honest yet objective truth). When it comes to the Birmingham school district, the whites that mostly now live in the suburbs such as the municipalities Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Gardendale, Fultondale, Clay, and Trussville or incorporated areas like McCalla and Grayson Valley, or western Saint Clair and northern Shelby counties were the ones that screwed up the school district because they didn't want their children to attend schools with blacks back in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, but it was the mismanagement of the majority black and AEA (Alabama Education Association) led administrators that has led to the school districts problems since the 1990s. This is nothing new because school districts in New Orleans, Memphis, Atlanta, Washington DC, and many others across the South has this problem as well.

The whole "they are trying to take over our schools" mantra perpetuated by the Frank Matthews and the same crew of misguided individuals aided the selection of the ineptitude leadership of William Bell aka "the Jackal".  I weep for the socially progressive, working-class, and urban enthusiasts in the city of Birmingham because they have no true allies at all. It seems like instead of find some common ground with those across the city whom want to turn the school district around.  Many of these individuals have children in the district's schools that refuses to provide a quality education that is offered in the surrounding school districts.  As a result, many are forced to do just day either leave for the suburbs if their children cannot get into the Ramsey High School, the baccalaureate academy at Parker High School, or cannot afford to send their children to one of the private schools in the region if they want to remain within the city.  Instead of trying to improve the school district, the board members want to continue status quo so they preserve the jobs of those whom are family and friends in the Birmingham Board of Education central office.  Advocates of reform had to turn to the one entity within the government organization that probably has the least amount of regard for the urban school district in the one city that it wish would die more than anything else, the Alabama State Board of Education.  

Yeah, sure the current board has attempted to oust the current superintendent, Craig Witherspoon, more than once, but the Alabama Board of Education and apparently the courts are against that. However, it is the unlikely allies that reformers of the school districts battle against mediocrity and the current foes are what are worrisome. Let me not forget the current Birmingham School Board president being ruled a resident of Trussville rather than Birmingham after proof of him not being a full-time resident of the city was discovered. The school district is at risk losing its accreditation with the Southeast Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) over the recurring problems with specific schools and the majority of the board's idiocy (can you say Clayton County, Georgia all over again). Finally, having a group of entitled urban mostly black bureaucrats are actually making things worse than their white counterparts and have the working-class, majority black electorate in the city thinking this is a racial usurp to get retribution on them by the state of Alabama. Now this is truly sad…

The one bright spot is the fellow blogger, Laura Kate Whitney, of MagicCityMade blog pointed out that Birmingham like most urban places are worth fighting for in the long run.  This battle has revealed that racial animus is behind the majority of this foolishness on the black members whom are against district reform on the Birmingham Board of Education.  As a black American, I understand and fight for the struggle of a socially egalitarian US by calling out the inequities of all times and bigotry of all.  However, the board members needs to realize that sometimes it best to not fight change because all they are doing is inadvertently destroying Birmingham's chances of recovering.

It's not about you guys, it is about fixing this declining school district before there is nothing left. *SIGH*

Who in the hell still steals copper?

Copper is practically worthless these days after the market drop in late 2007 (because let's be honest take into account the price of gas to travel to where it is and a place to sale it then it is worthless).  Meanwhile, the late thieves in Alabama (where it seems 90% of everything is way behind the curve) are still attempting to steal copper to make a quick buck.  This morning in downtown Birmingham, where the city's Christmas tree was standing in Linn Park was burned down by a couple of these late copper stealing morons.

According to the Birmingham News, the thieves attempted to melt the plastic from the copper to extract the metal to sale by dousing the tree in gasoline and set a small fire.  The idiots also set the tree on fire and burned the majority of the tree lower portion resulting in being taken to the city recycling center to be made into mulch.

It's a damn shame after Birmingham has already suffered through another election of another member of the status quo group, continued plunging of city population, the ongoing battle to handle a deficit, and now this.  Birmingham really needs a break...SIGH!

UPDATE: The local urban adult contemporary radio station WBHK, "98.7 Kiss FM" has decided to step in and help replace the city's tree.  They had the tree delivered to Linn Park around 3PM this afternoon, and other surrounding cities are offering up extra ornaments that have storage to the city of Birmingham to decorate the new tree.  There is a tree lighting ceremony planned for 9AM Thursday morning.

However, on a personal note, it still doesn't change my feelings about the boring ass Kiss FM.  Birmingham should have a station more like V-103 in Atlanta as its leader and community-oriented urban station.

Alabama's Democratic gubernatorial primary update

Since all the gubernatorial primaries will occur next Tuesday, I felt the need to comment on the status of the races in the Alabama.  Well, it's confirmed that Artur Davis is pretty much going to be the winner of the Democratic primary since he is beating Ron Sparks in most polls with key demographic groups.  On the Republican side, it's going to be a toss-up if not a run-off between Bradley Byrnes and Tim James, the other candidates such as the controversial and all-around bigot Roy Moore (just Google "Roy Moore controversy" and you see what I mean) and other nobodies will be left in the dust.  However, what really irks me more than anything else is the lack of resolution of any of the candidates discussing the issues like gambling and the lack of ethnics reform.  Constitutional reform is getting some attention only via the Davis campaign, but the others are seems to ignore the existence of such.  In other words, aside from Davis all of them sound like business as usual without any derivation from the status quo of the past 3 decades in Montgomery. 

On the foolishness from the stupid ass campaign ads by James with "common sense" as the central theme (see here, here, and here) to the front organization called "Concerned Citizens" set up by Republicans and the Alabama Education Association (AEA) railing against Byrnes to the Byrnes and his reactionary, uninspiring campaign ads (this one alone sums up his whole lame campaign) themselves has made for another typical personality-and-association only campaign ignoring the issues on the Republican side.  In the past 2 weeks Ron Sparks finally was able to gather enough spare change after running an essentially penurious operation to finally air campaign ads on television.  Also this week, Sparks realizing (finally) that he is on the losing end of things that he must actually attack Davis with something on TV and radio, but the futility of the ads are laughable.  Especially, considering Sparks has been connected to being a racially bias towards Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industry employees, getting a suspiciously large private loan from a Montgomery area community bank, being directly connected to special interest groups (cue AEA, Alabama Power, ALFA, & crew), and being involved with incendiary individuals like Milton McGregor and James Powell of the political consultant group Matrix, LLC, who were involved with the racially bias and homophobic mayoral campaigns of Larry Langford and William Bell in Birmingham.  Finally, Sparks appearing on the incomprehensible fool known as Glenn Beck's show on FOX News Channel last summer babbling in reference to global warning while clearly playing it up for the white reactionary and closed-minded crowd. 

Although Davis seems to be the best candidate amongst all these fools with endorsements of progressives like Georgia congressman and Civil Rights activist John Lewis and Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr.  However, I've already laid out the fundamental flaws of Artur Davis as a politico that will cause him more heartache down the line and have liberal activist harping for years over his stances and track history in politics.  Also Artur Davis has made known that he doesn't want any part of the ignorance involved with the Alabama black political establishment, but of course they along with Sparks wants to make it a wedge issue.  On the other hand, progressives realize that in a politically warped and socially conservative state like Alabama and the South in general one must make allegiance with Satan himself to push this state forward.    Overall, this is considering the so-called "good guys" are just a self-serving as the "bad guys".

Uh ok...

So there is a heaping load of craziness in the Greater Birmingham area to keep me looking at the region with a blank stare.

For starters, the jackal for mayor, William Bell, has proposed cutting city employee salaries by 10%, closing 5 public libraries, community and recreation centers, and killing funding to non-profits to "close the financial gap".  Meanwhile, he along with the City Council has given the A'OK to the entertainment district near the Birmingham-Jefferson County Convention Complex (BJCC) anchored by a Westin hotel.  The kicker is the Birmingham City Council is basically alright with funding the entertainment district via the tourism tax money (aside from the 2-member oversight board consisting of Birmingham's mayor and a member of the BJCC board to issue the bids and planning process).  Of course, the City Council would be up in arms about the cuts in services and salaries, but not for the reasons one would initially believe.  It's about the fact that it essentially cuts their slush fund they have sitting around and ability to do what they want with it.  IMHO, this is a huge clusterfuck screwing over everybody except the elected officials and their appoint staffers who are practically immune to this since they will always find a way to pay those overpaid fools a salary as long as they are in power.  Meanwhile, the average city employees are going to have a chunk taken out their asses along with that jackal proposing to leave a number of areas of Birmingham without a public library or community center for months.  It just shows that idiot shouldn't have been elected as mayor in January or allowed to wreak havoc on the populous.

Then on to the ongoing saga known as the Jefferson County occupational tax and its now-defunct predecessor.  Apparently, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last week that Jefferson County must refund taxpayers $37.5 million of their money from the now-defunct Jefferson County occupational tax which levy 0.5% of each check.  However, the Ala. Supreme Court also ruled that Jeffco could get back that money via usage of its current occupational tax statute and to give those greedy ass bastard lawyers who sued to remove the tax $13 million.  HUH?  In other words, they want to tax the taxpayers after they were just told their former tax was illegal.  Just another bizarre lesson in Alabama's warped legal code that makes no sense at all.  This is main reason why I don't care for the lawyers or Jeffco Commission for this bullshit that has basically destroyed the reputation of Jefferson County worldwide in the media.  It's like the greedy just can't stop on either side of the foolishness.

UPDATE: After being ridiculed by City Councilors, citizen, and other groups, the jackal suspended the vote on the extension of the tourism tax and its allocation towards the entertainment district and hotel on Tuesday.  Now the BJCC board and the full Birmingham City Council will make to discuss the contract details.

Another chapter in the ongoing saga involving Birmingham

As mentioned earlier this year, there is a bill that has been floating around the Alabama State Legislature to synchronize all municipal election seats including City Council and mayor into one date every four years.  It would alleviate the double-dipping, backstabbing, and saboteur behavior of elected officials in Birmingham City Hall every 2 years while vying for the seat of mayor all the time.  Although that version had passed the Alabama State House, Merika Coleman listened and used some common sense and resubmitted her bill back to its original version with ending the current mayoral term held by the jackal, William Bell, in 2011 rather than extending it to 2013.  The next mayor of Birmingham would have an abbreviated term of 2 years and would have to run again in 2013 with the City Council. 

Wise choice, Coleman, very wise choice.  You are wise to listen to those who warned you of the repercussions of extending that jackal's term. 

Oh, WOW! Step away for a week and all hell breaks loose...

In Virginia, Bob McConnell pretty much tells his own State Attorney General to STFU on the whole removal of non-discriminatory language from state colleges and universities.  McConnell's own words:  "It was very important for me... to say discrimination will not be tolerated, and there will be sanctions for anyone that engages in discrimination."  Now, that's what I call COMEDY!  He told Mr. Cuccinelli to shut his shit the fuck up on the political grandstanding against LGBTs in Virginia.  Also McConnell is covering his own ass so he won't be seen as an overt bigot but not as a "traitor" to the socially conservative cause. 

The officials in Itawamba County, Mississippi, decided to cancel the main county high school's prom because of a lesbian couple want to attend together as a couple.  Now, unlike what went down at Thraptown High School in Franklin County last year in Northwest Alabama, these students both attend this high school, so the circumstances have a more internalized effect.  Whereas, the Franklin County situation was their "justification" of outside-of-district, but it was soon resolved when the lack of logic and rationale of the argument was exposed for the world to see.  However, in the case of Itawamba County in Northern Mississippi, the officials are standing by their guns so one of the teens has filed a lawsuit against the school district in federal court.  In all likelihood, she will win because the school isn't violating any real policies since they are both students of the school at an event just hosted by not an official event of the school. 

In Texas, a state that I've always considered a lost cause socially and politically, the state board of education has approved a referendum that would enforce an ultra-conservative curriculum in state public schools.  An ultra-conservative faction within the Texas Board of Education was successful in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade.  They want to remove mentions of the Enlightenment period and Thomas Jefferson from the state curriculum and replace these with the discussion of John Calvin and the Judeo-Christian ideology of the nation.  Also mention the nation is not a democracy, but constitutional republic.  Now, that is true about the last part, but the rest is bologna.  However, I stand my statement that Texas is a lost cause politically because it is one of those places where you see more ignorance-based emotional foolishness pedaled than logic.  Let's be real, the only real election there is the Republican elections because outside of Dallas, Houston, and Austin, there is little to any progressiveness in the state, and even then I wouldn't waste my time trying to move there.  Honestly, Austin doesn't count because it is too damn whitewashed for politically because the non-white population is too small to make any real affect, so that "Keep Austin Weird" crap is for the birds.  It's a crazy state where you have to give the side-eye to altogether. 
 
Also in Oklahoma, another lost cause, the state senate has approved a bill that would become an amendment of the state constitutional allowing the law enforcement to chose not to assist federal officials in the investigation of hate crimes.  Here's some of the bill's language:  Under the new provisions of Senate Bill 1965, reports that were collected during investigations of possible hate crime that did not end in a conviction would be destroyed or kept by the Oklahoma Bureau of Invesigations.  The bill originally was to investigate the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, but state senator Steve Russell, a socially conservative Republican from Oklahoma City and former army commander at Fort Hood in Texas, was the one who perverted the bill into its current form.  I'm going to take some words from Dr. Martin Luther King, "an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere".  Especially in a racially-aversive state like Oklahoma, where if you are non-white, LGBT/SGL, or anything out of the WASPy-ordinary then you are subject to be a victim of this ignorant law.

Meanwhile, here in Alabama, a caravan of idiots, OOPS!  I mean Birmingham City Council members, mayor, and some of their staffers are going to the National League of Cities conference in DC this week.  However, they are practically leaving the city without any really leadership.  The jackal, William Bell, just announced last week that the city is going to have to make cost-cutting measures such as delaying funding and contracts for the rest of the fiscal year, yet he along with the rest of the caravan of idiots are going to DC blowing $31,000 of city funds.  Now, Carole Smitherman is staying behind and politically grandstanding saying "somebody has to man the shop".  Yeah, the judgment is clear that all of the leadership in Birmingham is idiotic and irresponsible as hell as far as I'm concerned.  Who in the fuck goes on a trip and then takes their staffers as well to when you have a $77 million gaping hole in the budget?  Smitherman, you are just as irresponsible as the rest in my book because you knew what has been going on since jump and just trying to reconcile your reputation with folks, but it's tarnished so save the drama for ya mama.  SMDH

Oh yeah, the jackal and that xenophobic third-generation Greek immigrant mayor of Hoover, Tony Petelos, wanted to question the financing of the monstrosity that is being forced-fed on people in the Greater Birmingham area.  Here's a clue you two morons, why don't you flat out and oppose the thing instead allowing this bullshit to be constructed? Also the Battle Royale of 2 white women with power trips is amusing to me, Jefferson County Commission President Bettye Fine Collins and Jefferson County Treasury Jennifer Parsons Champion over the distribution of federal funds that were allocated from the federal stimulus package last year.  CUTE, BUT YOU BITCHES ARE BOTH STUPID...

That's what been going on that I want to talk about in the past week, and I'll be back to regularly posting probably this week...

A bill to synchronize the elections of Birmingham City Council members with the mayoral elections

Alabama State House Representative Merika Coleman of Birmingham drafted a bill that would synchronize municipal council and mayoral elections in Birmingham to all on the same day.  The bill passed the House committee on Monday and will go to the full Jefferson County delegation to debate the bill.  However, the bill would extend the term of the jackal from 2011 to 2013 (hmmm...). It sounds like to me Coleman is allowing that jackal more time to prove how much of a jackass he is to the people rather than who potent he is to the city.  The Birmingham City Council agree with me (to certain extent) and that is not giving Bell an additional 2 years in office.  The election should be held next year in 2011 rather than 2013. 

Also State House Rep. John Rogers of Birmingham also has drafted a bill that would realign the City Council representation from 9 districts to 8 districts and on at-large seat for the City Council President (not a bad idea).  However, why don't they just go back to all at-large voting for all seats which would allow the possibility of a more progressive city council?  I mean it would remove the existence of fiefdom ideology from the City Council elections where people think they can talk shit about one side of the city and its demographic of citizenry without being held accountable to all the citizens at the ballot.  The more accountability, the better because Birmingham needs to force those idiots "who want to have their cake and eat it to" to be gone if they decide to run for mayor instead of going back to being a vindictive city councilor.  My advice to Merika Coleman is, rewrite the bill and move the election to 2011 if you want to gain more support and likelihood of your legislation's passage. 

Birmingham is $77M in deficit...

Well, well, well, the jackal had to admit this afternoon that the City of Birmingham is facing a $77 million in the deficit for the fiscal year 2010.  At its half way point in the fiscal year, the city brought in $35 million shorter in revenue than anticipated under the Langford-led administration and Smitherman-led City Council, and even worse the jackal-led administration is about as clueless as they come.  Bell is saying that the city needs to make cutbacks or the shortfall will come a reality.  REALITY CHECK: IT IS A REALITY, JACKAL!  You and your hair brained projects like pushing forward with the BJCC multipurpose facility expansion under your inept ass would be as wise as the man with his last dollar going to the casino to put it in a slot machine.  This is pathetic yet not surprising to me because Bell is an idiot and unable to competently to lead Birmingham.  Instead of focusing on mass transit like Patrick Cooper said Birmingham needs to do which is apart of its infrastructure, Bell wants to continue with the same path laid out by Langford...

I'm wondering how the jackal plans on paying James S. Holbrook, CEO of Sterne Agee & Leach with the city suffering that huge shortfall?  Hmmm...

Wait a minute! Did the jackal admit Birmingham can't fund the BJCC expansion?

Yeah, I think the jackal did.  He is so damn stupid like the 54% of the 30% of eligible votes within the City of Birmingham that did vote on January 19th.  Meanwhile, myself and the other 46% knew otherwise that it couldn't because the city of Birmingham is treading on broke aside from its capital expenditures which wouldn't be enough to fund the expansion of the BJCC.  It's like DUH!, but of course some assholes wanted to vet or didn't personally like Patrick Cooper so now jackal is backpedaling in the mayor's chair about what he said on the campaign trail.  ANYWAYS! 

Birmingham needs to be taking care of basic daily operations and getting the books straight rather than trying to fund something that requires something like capital.  That is clearly something the city is lacking at the moment and the jackal and the City Council knows this...

Birmingham is held in contempt of court?

Well, this time for missing a key deadline on a 30-year-old lawsuit involving making all the personnel data of the City of Birmingham and Jefferson County Personnel Board transparent for everybody (since they are publicly-funded governmental agencies).  Birmingham under the tenure of the jackal, William Bell, failed to comply by January 31st, which was the deadline set back in 2008.  Oh well, another day on the voyage of a ship without an incompetent captain for the next 20 months...

A picture speaks a thousand words

But in my book it only says one, NARCISSIST.  This power hungry jackal is now mayor of Birmingham, UGH!  Just another reason why I'm tired of the niggerdom of Birmingham...

The jackal has been coronated...

Today at 2:00 P.M. in downtown Birmingham in Linn Park and in front of Birmingham City Hall, the jackal known as William Bell was inaugurated as mayor of Birmingham.  Of course, the chain of fools such as former mayor personally dubbed by me as "Big Chief No-Do", Bernard Kincaid, was in attendance along there was Frank Matthews, the new golddigger (I mean 2nd wife) of Civil Rights activist Fred Shuttlesworth, Shelia Shuttlesworth, and the other fools who think that Bell will mean well for Birmingham.  What's even more embarassing is the fact that former federal justice and attorney U.W. Clemmons, sworn Bell in and will be apart of his staff.  This is displaying that Birmingham is a three-ring circus for only the niggas and the fools that buy into their demagoguery.  I'm not surprised, but another sign from many directions and above that Birmingham is not my home anymore and I'm well on my way of hatching a plan to be leaving this place soon and there is no change of mind (because when I make it up then it is final).  SMH.

This is enough to make me want to sucker punch Frank Matthews

This degenerate ignorant ass nigga needs his ass beaten severely.  That jackass has penned a letter and spread it around the community via e-mail sequesting the "concerned citizens" of Birmingham to be distrubed by the "facts about Patrick Cooper".

Here is the contents of the letter:

Dear Concerned Citizen,



My name is Frank Matthews. As most of you are aware, I am radio talk-show host and former co-director of the Mayor’s Office of Citizen’s Assistance. First, I want to thank you for your prayers and support during the past few weeks, then I want to thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Many in the media criticize my methods, but I have a great love for our city. With that being said, I felt compelled to write this personal letter to you giving you the facts about Patrick Cooper. While this letter is in no way intended to attack his character, as many people accuse me of doing, it is intended to expose how his values will affect our city’s moral fabric.


As a minister, I am compelled to reveal to you Mr. Cooper’s public position concerning a vital moral issue that impacts the foundation of our families, our churches, our schools, and all of society: the issue of homosexuality. It is true “all of us have sinned and fallen short of bringing God glory” as stated in Romans 3:23. It is also true that we must repent for known sins. The Word of God clearly states homosexuality is a sin according to Romans 1:24-32. God loves us as sinners, but He hates our sin. Traditional marriage between a man and a woman has been the foundation of every civilized culture since the beginning of time. The citizens of Alabama understand this and showed their agreement by voting overwhelmingly in 2006 by an 81% to 19% margin in favor of the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment Act defining marriage as between one man and one woman. In October 2007, Birmingham elected the first openly gay man to public office in Alabama as Howard Bayless won a seat on the Birmingham City School Board governing the affairs of almost 30,000 young hearts and minds in our city. He did this with the support of the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender political action committee in the nation along with the very public endorsement of Patrick Cooper standing proudly at Mr. Bayless’ side. It is not my intention to disrespect either of these men, but it is my duty to remind God’s people that this is an abomination and unpleasing in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.


All across the nation, school boards for children at the elementary and kindergarten levels are approving curriculum that promotes the homosexual lifestyle. This is morally wrong, brings confusion about gender identity to our children, condones sexual perversion, and can ultimately have detrimental influence socially. Not only would Patrick Cooper seek to advance this radical agenda upon our matriculating school children, but he wants to eliminate the “Laptops for Kids” program altogether, and replace it with Pre-K programs. These programs would indoctrinate the acceptance of this lifestyle, by our children, at an even earlier age. Within the last two years, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that Jefferson


County had the highest rate of syphilis per 100,000 residents of any county in the nation and warned our citizens about the “epidemic rate” of the growing number of cases. Of course, syphilis is spread through heterosexual as well as homosexual relationships, but we need a leader who will stand for purity and traditional family values.


In conclusion, Patrick Cooper’s anti-traditional family values can only be a detriment to the children of our city. This is not the kind of leadership, vision, and action we want and need in Birmingham. Please get out and vote January 19th for what’s best morally, for Birmingham now and for future generations. Vote William Bell to be the next mayor of our great city!


Brought to you, and paid for, by:


Frank Matthews

That retard is exactly what is so wrong with some black folks, they are just ignorant and prejudice as racist whites, but they want to whine racism when they are doing the same thing as those whites against those who threaten their grasp of power.  It is bizarre yet tell-taling about how psychologically unstable some individuals are and will go to no ends to try to spread baseless lies about somebody just to win and election.  Matthews so badly wants his $72,000 annual salary job as co-director of the Office of Community Assistance that is pathetic.  I've said it once and I'll say it again, black folks like Bell, Langford, and Matthews are the reason why the so-called "black community" is so fucked up and has so many problems.  They want to toss bigot at LGBT/SGLs, yet they fail to realize that there are black LGBT/SGLs as well. 

More negativity...

It must be all out war between Team Cooper and Team Bell because the mudslinging has gotten to a point of hilarity on my end.  Interim mayor Roderick Royal has called for both camps to tone it down, but why because Team Bell started and Team Cooper apparently wants to finish it.

Team Cooper, which apparently includes radio spot announcer and prospective Jefferson County Commission District 1 candidate, Chris Tally, has gotten out there.  He exposed Bell for his past allegations about a domestic spat between him and his wife, Sharon, back in 1979.  The report was profiled in the Birmingham News, Birmingham 911 records, and by UAB Hospital, but Bell and his wife denies it even occurred.  Meanwhile, Bell and his band of retards and degenerates have stirred up about Patrick Cooper's divorce from his wife which is sealed, but even tryied to tie him to his former firm, Maynard, Cooper & Gale with the Jefferson County bond swaps by former Jeffco Commissioner and Birmingham mayor Larry Langford.  Langford tried to do that portion of the dirty work saying that Cooper and his former firm contacted him for the work involving the bond swap.  Either way, Cooper still doesn't have the wrap sheet or plethora of negative history as long as William Bell, so Team Bell can jump off a bridge because nobody really cares about Cooper's past since he hasn't been involved in Birmingham politics since the 1970s as Bell.

It kind of reminds me of why I can't stand stupid simplistic black people because they are just as bad as ignorant whites, but they try their best to play dumb when you call them out and swear they don't racebait.  Idiots, is the best word to describe those who support Team Bell, and the idiocy and complacency is why Birmingham has been stuck on neutral since the late 1980s in a number of categories because we have been represented by ignorant black leadership or inept ones that doesn't do anything.  I would rather have a black leader like Patrick Cooper because at least he has the common sense to realize to make progress you have to leave the past in the past when it comes to some aspects of racial issues, but remember that those who are still being affected by such has to be helped while other things such as economic development, urban revitalization, and crime must be tackled as well.

Things that make me wonder if Birmingham is worth saving anymore...

First Monday, I get word that the Fraternal Order of Police and the Firefighters union have endorsed William Bell.  Now, this afternoon I get word that the Steelworkers Union endorses that idiot.  I'm so sick of the foolishness being peddled by these clowns in this town to the point, I'm seriously considering relocating to another city after I finish my graduate studies.  Atlanta, Orlando, Raleigh, etc. is looking very enticing at this point especially if Patrick Cooper doesn't win next Tuesday.  The sad part is Cooper is doing his best to contend against the overwhelming level of acrimony coming from the predominately black folks in Birmingham who have as much sense as a bunch of baboons in a cage.  Bell has proven his track record is joke and as effective as rusted out screwdriver, but of course the fools who want to claim "experience counts" will buy anything this idiot is selling.  It makes me want to scream and throw my hands up because you would think they would learn by now that voting for the same people proves to be ineffective and pointless.

Birmingham, on the verge of success or failure, part I

The first of the 3 televised or broadcast debates were last night on ABC 33/40 from the UAB Alys Stephens Center for the Performing Arts moderated by their news anchor Pam Huff, and the production was amateur at best thanks to Birmingham's piecemeal ABC affiliate.  They had only 3 cameras and the operation was cheap looking compared to what they did in Atlanta with their news stations.  Also ABC 33/40 focused too much on the face rather the person themselves.  Anyways.

William Bell and Patrick Cooper faced off and boy was it a show to say the least.  Cooper tried his best to focus on his platform for the city whereas Bell tried his best to make a many side swipes at Cooper as possible and when he wasn't doing that he was talking about how much "experience" he has a politician.  It didn't amount to much because the debate was so fruitless in my opinion because only a dumbass with prejudicial bias against somebody who isn't "considered one of them" would vote for Bell.  Bell's platform is a vague as it comes and here I am watching this shit and wondering how in the hell did Bell say "I-65 & 41st Street is Eastlake". HUH?  That is North Birmingham, you moron.  You don't even know the city, yet you want to run the place.  He is so full of hot air that it is embarrassing.

I'm not even wasting my time listening to the debate that god-awful WBHK "98.7 Kiss FM" will be broadcasting because I'm not going to give them the listening cume or the advertisement dollars because as I've said in the past, they are garbage.  I'll just give the details of the last debate which will be aired on WBRC, "FOX 6" during their 9PM newscast Thursday live.

Mudslinging Galore! Racial inneudoes and Homophobia

First Monday, Gene Adelman, the so-called "Bean Counter" on Birmingham decided to buy some ad space in the Birmingham Times and titled it "White people deserve a second chance. Vote Patrick Cooper".   Suprisely, the Birmingham chapter of the SCLC and some area ministers and pastors have called for the Bell and Cooper campaigns to denounce these racial inneudoes and tactics.  This is the kicker, publisher of the Times, James Lewis, said in the past that they have turned down ads that are "clearly vindictive, and false", but this ad was "borderline" and Adelman is well-known in the community.   However, they decided to run this because...  Sounds like to me somebody is playing sides in this and the Times doesn't like Cooper because he isn't embedded in the same cesspool of fools that have kept Birmingham stuck on neutral since the late 1980's.  Nobody is giving him a pass because Cooper has his shortfalls, but the Times' publisher isn't as objective as he claims.

Then another act came from somewhere, fliers titled "Cooper, Wrong Values, Wrong Choice" and "Cooper Won't Commit to Keeping Chief Roper", and they claim to be "Paid for by Faith in Birmingham".  The fliers peddles homophobia because Patrick Cooper supported the candidacy for Howard Bayless, Alabama's first openly gay male elected to public office, for his failed run for Birmingham City Council District 3 seat against incumbent Valerie Abbott.  The latter flier is alleging that Cooper will not keep Birmingham Police Department Chief A.C. Roper if he wins the mayoral race.  IMO, how cares in either case because anybody with half a brain will keep Roper since overall crime has been going down in the city and on Bayless there are some tacky asses that just have issues with LGBT/SGLs yet they want to scream "woo is me" all the time about this place.  Hell, LGBT/SGLs are the reason why Birmingham is gain new residents because they are the ones buying homes in the city and fixing them up.

Cruella Deville will not run for a fifith term on the Jeffco Commission

Congrats Cruella, I mean, Bettye Fine Collins for having the common sense to realize that you have a better chance of going to hell than being reelected to the Jefferson County Commission.  It's not a surprise considering under her tenure as Commission President, i.e. pretty much the head fool who runs the county government, that there have been more meltdowns at Jefferson County than the 3-Mile Island in Pennsyvlania.  Now if we could tell Shelia Smoot to realize that about running for Alabama's 7th Congressional district race and William Bell about running for Birmingham mayor then we will be on to something.  IT'S OVER, FOLKS!  TIME FOR YOU ALL TO GO HOME AND GET REGULAR JOBS THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE MAJOR DECISIONMAKING THAT AFFECTS ANYBODY BUT YOURSELF AND YOUR HOUSEHOLD!

Another round of campaigning

Patrick Cooper has to verbally, mentally, and likely physically battle the forces of stupidity, ignorance, and pseudo-racialized foolishness from the denizens of status quo over the next 6 weeks as he campaigns to become Birmingham's next mayor.  Anybody with half-a-brain knows not to underestimate the power of the favoritism and ignorance of some citizens of Birmingham because of the 45% eligible voters that voted in October 2007 50.1% of them elected Larry Langford as mayor.  However, there a number of advantages on Cooper's did this time around including the proof of Langford being a fraud along with overcoming the forces of status quo and delusion from Carole Smitherman by nearly 2-to-1, but this is a new election and he has to start from scratch again.  He has to maintain and convince Emory Anthony supporters along with some of Smitherman supporters while keeping his own based electrified to come out in droves on January 19th.  Bell will be a formidable foe since the Old Guard and Establishment will be backing him hands down because they have a distrust of any newcomer that doesn't kiss their entitlement-complicit asses because he's biracial, successful withouth their help, and popular with white voters and inhabitants in the surrounding areas.  However, he is the best candidate considering the interesting things about Bell.

1. William Bell's legal address is a mystery.
2. "In 1994 WILLIAM BELL ran for the County Commission, but his qualification to run was questioned because redistricting had left his house in College Hills outside the district in which he was running. To satisfy the residency requirement, BELL rented a room at the Pickwick Hotel and then moved into Quinlan Castle. During the campaign, which he lost to Chris McNair, BELL fractured his leg in a scuffle with a private investigator who caught him mowing the yard at his regular residence."
3. Bell's failure to report your investments in a business that benefitted from city votes in which you took part such as the lobbying on the behalf of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, which is a violation of state ethics laws.
4. Bell being in office for the past 3 decades and ironically nothing has occurred other than the city continuously losing population, temporary decreases, but overall increase in crime, decline of the City Schools, the transferral of the Birmingham Water Works Authority from the city, but higher levels of nepotism.
5. Finally, he allegations that he is a functioning crackhead like former DC mayor, convict, and current council person Marion Berry.
6. He was interim mayor for a few months in 1999, but still lost the election because people knew who the hell this idiot is.

The facts speaks for itself, so who would any sane person choose?  I know it wouldn't be Bell in a million years for mayor of Birmingham.

Populous meets with perspective users of the BJCC multipurpose facility expansion

Yesterday, Populous, formerly known as HOK Stadiums along with the local team of architectural firms met with 18 potential users of the dome, including officials from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), PapaJohns.com Bowl, and Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau about what amenities they desire in the multipurpose facility expansion.  A 30-minute presentation was shown then, Dennis Wellner of Populous spent an hour soliciting suggestions and answering questions from board members of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex and Councilmen Jonathan Austin and Jay Roberson of the Birmingham City Council at the BJCC.  Also in attendance was Birmingham mayoral candidates Patrick Cooper and William Bell.  However, Cooper left before the Populous presentation began and Bell stayed about 30 minutes into it.  INTERESTING, Cooper and Bell are dedicated to be there to show face, but I wonder if somebody tipped off Bell that Cooper was going to be there since he is a private citizen so that he could one-up on him and be there as well...

The City of Birmingham will not own the Civic Center expansion. The Civic Center Authority does and will. The Civic Center Authority will issue the bonds.  The City of Birmingham will contribute 60% of the money needed for debt service on the expansion. The BJCC Authority will contribute 40% of the money needed for debt service.


The BJCC expansion is not a stadium or a DOME. The expansion is a 1.2 million square foot multi purpose facility. It will be designed so that it can be re-configured for many different events. It will not have a dome roof, but a flat roof that can possibly be used in some environmentally friendly way for power generation or to channel rainwater for reuse.


The 165-170 thousand square foot interior free space is large enough for a regulation football, basketball or soccer playing surface. It can also be use for trade shows, exhibitions, conventions. In addition to the flat floor space the facility will house about an additional 50,000 square feet of meeting rooms. It will be fully integrated into the existing HVAC, electrical, data and AV systems. The physical connection between the existing complex and the expansion will be seamless.


The facility is not, and has never, been planned around an NFL team or any other professional sports franchise. The primary concern for this facility is to provide the overall complex additional free floor space. If such a facility can be value engineered (this is what Popolous has been hired to do) so that 65,000 seats can be placed around the free floor space then it has even more flexibility for more events.


The existing civic center complex has not run down and crumbled into the dirt. More than $50 million has been spent on upgrading the arena, concert hall, meeting rooms, parking and installation of a skywalk system that connects the entire complex together. If you have visited the BJCC lately you would be able to see these improvements.

In 2009 the BJCC has hosted 5 of the top 10 touring acts in the United States! Despite 911 and the current recession, the BJCC has operated in the black seven of the last eight years. The facility hosts close to 2 million visitors every year.

If more people including the media would realize this they would waste their time calling it a "dome" when it is a just a large multipurpose facility then they would just STFU.  Birmingham needs more exhibition space for larger events including concerts, conventions, and sports.  However, this region suffers from "C.A.V.E.-dwellers Syndrome" (Citizens against virtually anything), and they wouldn't say anything about this if it was located in Hoover or Shelby County because it continue to make Birmingham look bad in contrast to the suburban areas.  Small-minded idiots.