tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24395731490532606352011-07-07T16:20:16.938-05:00Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.comBlogger1081100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-50686257168721454862009-05-30T00:01:00.000-05:002009-05-31T23:49:44.526-05:00

(Originally published 5/30/09)America, meet Judge Sonia Sotomayor.In nominating her to the Supreme Court Tuesday, President Obama emphasized her personal story, her vast experience and past bipartisan support. He didn't say it, but it's just as important: She would bring badly needed gender and ethnic diversity to the Court. For these reasons, Sotomayor was on the short list of potential nominees

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-40959770024799899422009-05-23T00:01:00.000-05:002009-05-27T17:38:51.566-05:00

(Originally published 5/23/09)I just don't get the Rev. Arthur Dowdell.Fresh from ripping the scab off of racial wounds by unilaterally removing decorative Confederate flags from the oldest cemetery in Auburn, the city councilman has now proclaimed that city officials should redraw ward lines to get more black residents on the City Council. He says he wants this done "at the negotiating table"

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-57937430198289080582009-05-16T00:01:00.001-05:002009-05-20T13:08:47.925-05:00

(Originally published 5/16/09)In a stunning about-face this week, President Obama decided that his administration will fight the release of more photographs related to allegations of torture by members of the U.S. military, after all. It is common knowledge that military commanders have serious –- and well-founded, if not openly voiced –- concerns about the impact those photos could have on

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-17425993445314586742009-05-09T00:01:00.001-05:002009-05-20T13:19:42.046-05:00

(Originally published 5/9/09)The National Council for a New America was all over the news this week.Haven't heard of them? Maybe you know them by their informal name: The GOP Makeover Squad.OK, so that's just what I call them. But you get the idea.Anyway, the group held its initial event last week in Arlington, Va. I tuned in out of curiosity: Just how extreme might this makeover be?Let's put it

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-67018053907659211782009-05-02T00:01:00.000-05:002009-05-20T13:15:47.756-05:00

(Originally published 5/2/09)It's not often that one event encapsulates all the big things wrong with politics in Washington. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, former Republican, now Democrat, of Pennsylvania. Tuesday's news of Specter's party switch was greeted with breathless glee among Democrats in Washington. One pundit yammered on about how Specter's new party ID

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-40030110164666669152009-04-25T00:01:00.001-05:002009-04-29T11:04:57.702-05:00

(Originally published 4/25/09)The national tug of war between affirmative action and reverse discrimination wound its way back to the U.S. Supreme Court this week.The case was filed by 20 New Haven, Conn., firefighters who were among dozens who took oral and written promotional exams for lieutenant and captain positions in the state's second-largest city in 2003.But when the test results came

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-26593627675067164982009-04-18T12:01:00.001-05:002009-04-20T11:14:12.544-05:00

(Originally published 4/18/09)You can learn a lot from a tea party. Organizers meant the parties, held nationwide on Wednesday, as a visible demonstration of taxpayer anger with massive government spending and mounting federal debt.But for me, the lesson was about unity –- and whether this country has any of it left. Tea partiers carried all sorts of signs, some witty, some profound. But others,

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-86837243093479947242009-04-11T00:01:00.001-05:002009-04-17T21:41:30.978-05:00

(Originally published 4/11/09)My parents offered plenty of instruction, pointers and tips when I was learning to drive. Most valuable, however: "Never be the first car through an intersection."Have you ever counted the cars that run red lights?I've counted as many as six at once. But I never thought much about red-light cameras –- never, that is, until Mark Wandall.I was living in Florida and

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-18231093926037456912009-04-04T00:01:00.000-05:002009-04-05T23:44:07.970-05:00

(Originally published 4/4/09)A fellow blogger this week asked readers to list "progressive politicians (or progressive folks who might/should be persuaded to run for office)."In reading through the list, though, I found that folks on the list stood for a lot of different things. What is a progressive, anyway? I had an exchange with another fellow blogger and self-described progressive who tried

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-72123620194223090722009-03-28T00:01:00.001-05:002009-04-05T23:39:37.870-05:00

(Originally published 3/28/09)U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) jumped into the fray over a new business model for the American newspaper industry this week with his introduction of The Newspaper Revitalization Act. The bill would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies. Advertising

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-41961877784802742702009-03-21T00:01:00.001-05:002009-03-21T00:01:00.745-05:00

(Originally published 3/21/09)AIG has paid $165 million in performance bonuses -- including 73 bonuses of more than $1 million each this year -– to its employees since U.S. taxpayers forked over $170 billion in federal assistance and took ownership of nearly 80 percent of the company late last year.The American public, most of whom are getting a $13/week "bailout" from Uncle Sam in return for

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-23389622437723397452009-03-14T00:01:00.001-05:002009-03-19T13:07:10.375-05:00

(Originally published 3/14/09)In the 2002 movie "Sweet Home Alabama," Reese Witherspoon's character, aspiring fashion designer Melanie Carmichael, happens into a high school friend at a local bar upon her return to the small town she had left for New York City. "Look at you," she cooed in disbelief, eyeing the chubby baby boy on her friend's hip. "You have a baby ... in a bar."The line is built

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-78316851687182311322009-03-07T00:01:00.000-06:002009-03-11T11:49:04.811-05:00

(Originally published 3/7/09)After Tom Daschle's withdrawal from consideration to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I said on my blog that in selecting Daschle's replacement, President Obama would send a message to Americans about how moderate he really is. With health care reform behind only economic recovery on the president's agenda, the HHS chief will implement whatever

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-49314477164636072292009-02-28T00:01:00.000-06:002009-02-28T00:01:00.180-06:00

(Originally published 2/28/09)Tuesday night was billed as the battle of the big speeches. In one corner, President Obama, the reigning heavyweight champion of oratory, would deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress; in the other, the GOP tapped super middleweight and rising party star Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to skip a few divisions and give the Republican response.Well, if we

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-2939946982204743652009-02-21T00:01:00.001-06:002009-02-27T23:09:15.535-06:00

(Originally published 2/21/09)U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby thinks Alabama should have a new constitution. He told me so in a quick conversation we had as he left his town hall meeting in Auburn on Tuesday. But our short exchange on the sidewalk in front of his waiting car left me with mixed feelings. On one hand, I was pleasantly surprised to find not only that he supports the constitutional reform

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-91707647845857369882009-02-14T00:01:00.001-06:002009-02-16T14:44:00.175-06:00

(Originally published 2/14/09)At 9 a.m. today in Prattville, former Alabama Chief Justice Gorman Houston will swear in the 105 delegates to the first session of Alabama's mock constitutional convention, sponsored by Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform.Yes, the convention is only for show. But it is a powerful visual symbol that the constitutional reform movement, nine years in the making,

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-43390595266857298982009-02-07T00:01:00.003-06:002009-02-07T00:58:28.089-06:00

(Originally published 2/7/09)Last week I told you that idealists scored a victory with the signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.I also mentioned how idealism often struggles in the ugly muck of Washington.President Obama got a sobering lesson this week on the latter.Remember just after the election when Obama's transition team made waves with a detailed, 63-item questionnaire required of

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-60299975329536840182009-01-31T00:01:00.000-06:002009-02-02T00:09:31.512-06:00

(Originally published 1/31/09)A friend of mine once joked about beating the idealism out of me.I'll admit that there are days when it could be done more easily than others. Idealism sometimes struggles in the harsh reality of politics.But this week, it would have been tough. Thursday morning, I watched on television as President Obama signed his first bill -– the Lilly Ledbetter Act -– into law.

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-52989864315911172392009-01-24T00:01:00.000-06:002009-01-24T00:01:00.248-06:00

(Originally published 1/24/09)I heard an historian on television the other day lamenting the Hundred Days benchmark made famous by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the midst of the Great Depression. It is looked upon as an initial indicator, the first real measure of a president's success, he said, even though success by the standard FDR set is nearly impossible to achieve. Roosevelt's early

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-56019448419533255182009-01-17T00:01:00.000-06:002009-01-22T09:41:54.279-06:00

(Originally published 1/17/09)Every presidential inauguration is an historic event.But Tuesday offers us history-plus, if that's possible, in a chance to bear eyewitness to an event that millions in this country never dared to imagine: A black American sworn into the presidency. History has an interesting way of weaving things together. Barack Obama's inauguration will take place the day after

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-61068315847330733912009-01-10T00:01:00.002-06:002009-01-24T00:22:10.107-06:00

(Originally published 1/10/09)Did you hear the one about the Alabama sheriff who was locked in his own jail because the food was so bad? Unfortunately, it isn’t a joke. Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett spent about 18 hours in county lockup Wednesday and Thursday after U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon found that Bartlett had failed to abide by a 2001 directive to provide more adequate meals for

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-52336389190849119982009-01-03T00:01:00.000-06:002009-01-10T01:12:32.040-06:00

(Originally published 1/3/09)Bristol, Conn.: Home to ESPN, The Bristol Press and Ground Zero in the fight to save American newspapers.Like every other media company, The Press's owner, Journal Register, is drowning in rising newsprint costs and declining circulation and ad revenue, factors magnified and multiplied by the tanking economy. As a result, JR owners say they can't afford to keep The

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-66385315209417259752008-12-27T00:01:00.001-06:002008-12-29T12:27:17.117-06:00

(Originally published 12/27/08)Ah, the New Year ... time to resolve to lose those 15 pounds, get organized, quit smoking and make your life all you want it to be. In other words, it's time to make all of last year's old resolutions new again.For all the trite clichés about the new year (a fresh start, a blank slate, etc.), the new year can sometimes bring more of the same.That can be true in

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-59755157811065775472008-12-20T00:01:00.001-06:002008-12-29T12:18:20.551-06:00

(Originally published 12/20/08)We talked in this space Thanksgiving week about things for which Americans can be thankful -– even when times are tough, as they are now. Christmas is now upon us, and although this season means joy for millions around the world, for many others, the holidays just exacerbate their pain and loneliness.One of my favorite things about Christmas is Christmas music, and

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-26415719315223541302008-12-13T00:01:00.000-06:002008-12-15T10:29:29.654-06:00

(Originally published 12/13/08)An Illinois governor, the subject of a federal investigation, charged with corruption and urged to resign.Gov. Rod Blagojevich?Well, yes. But also Gov. George Ryan – the man Blagojevich replaced.In running to replace Ryan, who would later be sent to federal prison, Blagojevich promised in 2002 to clean up the governor’s office. On the campaign trail, he talked about

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-3671000739392846102008-12-06T00:01:00.001-06:002008-12-15T10:37:09.189-06:00

(Originally published 12/6/08)I wanted Tommy Tuberville to stay.Sure, it's been a disappointing year. But if you're wondering whether he could have turned things around, think back to what he inherited when he came to the Plains.Tuberville wasn't just a fireman. He has been a reconstructionist.And isn't it a testimony to Tuberville's success that 5-7 has been so painful? Thanks to Tuberville, we

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-1075448317753138412008-11-29T00:01:00.003-06:002008-12-15T10:39:03.849-06:00

(Originally published 11/29/08)Things are tough in America right now.Given the rocky economy, you may be a little further behind on your bills than you’d like. Maybe you’ve taken a pay cut or been told not to expect that Christmas bonus this year. Maybe you’ve lost your job. Maybe you fear that you might.In circumstances like these, a little perspective goes a long way. Here are some of the

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-69217404323300430142008-11-22T00:01:00.000-06:002008-11-22T00:01:00.159-06:00

(Originally published 11/22/08)The CEOs of the Big Three automakers and the president of the United Auto Workers are painting a Doomsday scenario similar to what financial leaders told Congress ahead of the first bailout fight back in September: Unmitigated disaster looms if Congress doesn’t fork over another $25 billion (or more). (The Big Three have already gotten $25 billion from the federal

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-26491398457105680572008-11-15T00:01:00.000-06:002008-11-15T00:01:00.842-06:00

(Originally published 11/15/08)This week was all about Sarah Palin.The Alaska governor who spent her early days as the Republican VP nominee on a virtual media lockdown has spent the last seven submerged in a sea of interviews, striking back against disgruntled GOP aides who have grumbled to the press that she is a “diva” –- and worse.Fox News Channel’s Greta van Susteren opened the media blitz

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-70472923786618710562008-11-08T00:01:00.000-06:002008-11-08T00:01:00.711-06:00

(Originally published 11/8/08)Almost two years and $700 million removed from the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., the triumphant junior senator from the Prairie State stood Tuesday before a sea of supporters as President-elect Barack Obama.Borne to the stage of victory on a wave and a promise of change, his journey was fueled by soaring oratory that has already made some

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-78372467530836115872008-11-01T00:01:00.001-05:002008-11-01T00:29:08.594-05:00

(Originally published 11/1/08)Over the past 21 months, have you fallen into a lull and let all the political noise fade into the background?Considering the commercials that have blanketed television over the past four weeks, tuning out is more of an adaptive survival skill than anything. But this campaign, which feels like it’s been going on forever, will end –- and it will end in something very

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-5821629584482414542008-10-25T00:01:00.000-05:002008-10-26T01:39:52.950-05:00

(Originally published 10/25/08)Plenty of things have likely changed in your life over the past 21 months, but there has been one constant: We’re still talking presidential politics. It’s hard to believe that some people -– a group large enough to constitute double digit percentages in some polls, if you believe the numbers -– say they still don’t know for whom they will vote. Who are these people

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-36441492685839827012008-10-18T00:01:00.002-05:002008-10-18T00:01:00.568-05:00

(Originally published 10/18/08)On Sunday morning, Joe Wurzelbacher was a regular guy, a plumber in Toledo, Ohio.Then he met Barack Obama on the campaign trail. Wurzelbacher questioned Obama about his tax plan and extracted from Obama a sentence Republicans received with glee: “I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”Someone nearby was running a video camera, so it

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-3683828677422693112008-10-11T00:01:00.001-05:002008-10-13T23:17:29.709-05:00

(Originally published 10/11/08)No end in sight.That’s how reporters described the markets’ freefall this week.But it seems there’s also no end in sight to Washington’s frantic scramble to stanch the financial bleeding.When Congress passed the $700 billion so-called bailout plan last week, lawmakers said it was only the first step toward restoring stability to an economy that suddenly resembled a

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-69774572187616704672008-10-04T00:01:00.001-05:002008-10-04T00:35:39.022-05:00

Originally published 10/4/08)PBS personality Gwen Ifill asked vice presidential nominees Joe Biden and Sarah Palin during their debate Thursday whether this week’s chaos on Capitol Hill over the financial industry bailout plan revealed the best or worst of Washington. It was both.This week in Washington was simply remarkable: Fascinating, thrilling and wonderfully messy. It was a beautiful chaos

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-19903225203411858842008-09-27T00:01:00.003-05:002008-09-28T21:38:05.980-05:00

(Originally published 9/27/08)Lilly Ledbetter had worked at the Gadsden, Ala., Goodyear plant for 19 years and was preparing for retirement in 1998. An anonymous colleague tipped her off in a note that that she had been underpaid by thousands of dollars a year compared to her male colleagues. Even her pension was affected. A jury awarded Ledbetter more than $3.3 million in back pay and damages.

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-37265977801717209742008-09-20T00:01:00.001-05:002008-09-20T00:01:00.505-05:00

(Originally published 9/20/08)$300 billion in two weeks.That’s what it has cost American taxpayers to expunge the recklessness and willful irresponsibility of corporate mortgage giants.The latest failure, of megainsurer AIG, was remarkable for its size and its speed; after it floundered almost overnight, AIG on Wednesday became the fourth financial institution overtaken by Uncle Sam this year.

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-77343628444238744732008-09-13T00:01:00.000-05:002008-09-13T10:21:45.652-05:00

(Originally published 9/13/08)What were you doing on Sept. 11?2008, not 2001.How did you remember the worst terrorist attack on American soil?Millions of Americans watched the observances from Ground Zero, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pa. Others participated in services involving first responders in cities and towns, like ours, all across the country. As Lincoln said at Gettysburg, this is

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-77686462670442352382008-09-06T00:01:00.001-05:002008-09-06T00:01:00.459-05:00

(Originally published 9/6/09)John McCain accepted the Republican presidential nomination Thursday, delivering a safe, if staid, address to the party faithful convened in Minneapolis. Pundits were split on the efficacy of the speech, but they agreed on one thing: The partisan tone struck at the Republican convention was over the top. I don’t understand that analysis, especially since many of these

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-87620926546808094032008-08-30T00:01:00.001-05:002008-08-31T22:59:16.858-05:00

(Originally published 8/30/08)Sarah Palin is a politician whose name you probably never heard before this week –- or maybe even yesterday.Why would John McCain pick a former “Miss Wasilla” and first runner up in the 1984 Miss Alaska beauty pageant, even if she is the state's popular governor? She’s unknown outside the Last Frontier. The national media is playing Palin’s pick as a surprise. But is

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-25856696634678685122008-08-23T00:05:00.002-05:002008-08-23T00:09:26.563-05:00

(Editor's note: Major media outlets are reporting that Barack Obama has selected Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate. For more, check out the Clarion Caller Blog.)(Originally published 8/23/08)Barack Obama is within hours of announcing his vice presidential pick. Of course, we’ve been hearing that since the first of this week. So let’s take a look at the list of contenders while we

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-23072951126909062192008-08-16T00:01:00.001-05:002008-08-17T22:28:24.714-05:00

(Originally published 8/16/08)The conventions are right around the corner, and you know what that means: Long-winded speeches with painfully predictable sound bites. Goofy pins and hats that look more at home in the Disney costume collection. The hackneyed balloon-and-confetti drop. And ... protestors! CBS 4 in Denver got an inside look at the holding facility city officials have prepared for use

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-652243720041996382008-08-09T00:01:00.000-05:002008-08-11T23:32:52.226-05:00

(Originally published 8/9/08)The case of Luis Ramirez is the latest incident that has civil rights advocates calling for an expansion in the federal hate crimes law.Ramirez, a 25-year-old illegal Mexican immigrant, had been at a friend’s house on July 12. While walking his fiancee’s sister home around 11 p.m., Ramirez encountered three white teenaged boys. Words were exchanged and epithets

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-11028678193734018852008-08-02T00:46:00.003-05:002008-08-04T10:22:49.350-05:00

(Originally published 8/2/08)The stories we’ve all heard about dead people voting are generally linked to allegations of fraud in tight races. Some locales have developed enduring reputations for, shall we say, high postmortem voter turnout. But those anecdotes usually involve people who have long since passed away. The Associated Press recently examined an oft-overlooked flaw in mail-in ballot

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-59998116182026547442008-07-26T14:29:00.004-05:002008-07-26T14:34:39.215-05:00

(Originally published 7/26/08)The media is meant to tell the story. Not be the story. But now it is, as the line of objectivity has become increasingly blurred during this presidential campaign.It’s been especially obvious over the last two weeks: As dozens of journalists have scrambled for their places on Barack Obama’s Amazing Incredible Tour of Europe and the Middle East, literally two

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-30241434730988109642008-07-19T00:01:00.001-05:002008-07-20T21:52:42.273-05:00

(Originally published 7/19/08)Bad news, friends: That dreaded disease, flipflopitis, is back – and it's spreading. Outbreaks of flipflopitis are common among politicians in election years. Notable recent cases include: Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who had opposed oil drilling off the Gulf Coast – until he supported it; President Bush, who had long insisted that his administration would not engage

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-86539288766229712372008-07-12T00:01:00.002-05:002008-07-12T18:54:29.062-05:00

(Originally published 7/12/08)With the War in Iraq now into its sixth year, a struggling economy and a growing sentiment among Americans that their government just doesn’t get it, it’s a good time to explore political protest.Hence, last week’s guest columns about whether Americans should “support” President Bush.The answer is subjective and based on each person’s individual values. As Americans,

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-85562374529027586032008-07-05T00:01:00.001-05:002008-07-08T01:03:38.322-05:00

(Originally published 7/5/08)Freedom. It’s a beautiful word, rolling off the tongue like a breeze. It’s a beautiful word for a beautiful concept: The ability to pursue opportunity, to practice individuality, to participate in the extraordinaries of ordinary life without fear of retribution.And we Americans celebrate this extraordinary concept in ordinary ways.In backyard barbeques and around

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-15937401803577474802008-06-28T00:01:00.001-05:002008-06-28T01:30:03.769-05:00

(Originally published 6/28/08)Is Election Day voter registration a good idea?Yes, says Tim Russert’s son, Luke –- especially as a means of increasing young voter turnout.Luke argued this week on CNN that if it was easier for young people to vote, more of them would do it.Yes, they would. But would that necessarily be a good thing for the country?I say no.I once believed that Americans should be

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-87897276016277041592008-06-21T00:01:00.001-05:002008-06-21T14:33:54.238-05:00

(Originally published 6/21/08)The national media must be sick of writing about John McCain and Barack Obama, because this week, it was all about the ladies.Michelle Obama appeared on The View Thursday to talk, among other things, about panty hose, whether Barack still takes out the trash (he doesn’t) and what she meant by that infamous proud-of-my-country remark.Politicos nodded in knowing

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-28519143869008394052008-06-14T00:01:00.000-05:002008-06-21T14:26:16.092-05:00

(Originally published 6/14/08)John McCain and Barack Obama are turning their attention to what John Adams once called “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived:” the vice presidency. And the focus isn’t limited to potential VPs themselves. This week, even the search teams have drawn scrutiny. McCain sniffed that Obama veepster Eric Holder

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-54841958243144316602008-06-07T00:01:00.000-05:002008-06-07T23:20:40.776-05:00

(Originally published 6/7/08)If you’re a regular reader of this column, you’ve read about the three little girls my husband and I have running around at our house.One of the primary things we’re trying to teach them is that actions have consequences. Sometimes their actions have positive consequences; when they work together and cooperate with each other, for example, we’re able to reward them

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-62375149661242632622008-05-31T00:01:00.000-05:002008-06-01T15:12:17.718-05:00

(Originally published 5/31/08)As you’re perusing your newspaper this morning, the Democratic National Committee is finally getting down to the ugly business of dealing with its delegate mess.You have heard – probably 3,000 times by now – about the decision by the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee to excommunicate the delegates from Michigan and Florida because those states held their presidential

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-58534747787540105042008-05-27T17:11:00.003-05:002008-05-27T17:27:57.095-05:00

(Originally published 5/24/08)Alabama lawmakers will return to Montgomery Tuesday to try to do in five days what they couldn’t in three months: Pass a budget to fund this state’s schools.I blogged about this earlier this week when the Alabama Senate failed to pass the education budget before the regular session expired at midnight Tuesday. The title of the post was, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, sen-a-tors

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-73582196075701241512008-05-17T00:06:00.003-05:002008-05-17T00:10:44.246-05:00

(Originally published 5/17/08)I knew that if I waited long enough, one of the presidential candidates would deliver an idea that would really fire me up.On Thursday, it finally happened.In a speech about his vision for the country, GOP nominee-to-be Sen. John McCain rattled off a laundry list of policy benchmarks he hopes to meet by the end of his first term.McCain also promised to “set a new

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-4913592492364248192008-05-10T00:05:00.000-05:002008-05-17T00:14:38.995-05:00

(Originally published 5/10/08)We're just about there, folks.Tuesday brought us Round 3,462 in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Hillary Clinton needed a big win in Indiana and at least a close race in North Carolina to close her delegate gap with Barack Obama.She got neither.In the wake of Obama's North Carolina landslide and the two-point squeaker Clinton pulled out in Indiana

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-21700291155267281912008-05-03T00:05:00.000-05:002008-05-17T00:15:18.091-05:00

(Originally published 5/3/08)This week has been crazy. And I’m not just talking about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and his Amazing Traveling Media Circus.Wright will be in Columbus next week to lead revival services at a local church. Part of me wants to go to see him for myself, without the filter of the ubiquitous media. But part of me wants to stop feeding the beast that is this story, because I

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-37067283770633027302008-04-26T00:34:00.006-05:002008-04-28T11:14:06.144-05:00

(Originally published 4/26/08)The good news: Hillary Clinton’s win in Pennsylvania on Tuesday assured political junkies like me of at least another month of drama and fun.The bad news: It will come at the high cost of more canned commentary from the candidates’ smarmy surrogates.As campaigns unfold, consultants make a lot of dough by presenting the events of the day in a positive light for their

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-76184480076311348522008-04-19T00:00:00.002-05:002008-05-29T22:45:50.231-05:00

(Originally published 4/19/08)Are the news networks just trying to out-awful each other when it comes to presidential debates?ABC started Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate from Philadelphia in negative territory for its ill-advised and poorly considered decision to allow “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos to co-moderate with Charlie Gibson.Stephanopoulos, of course, was a senior

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-7464770403962075732008-04-12T01:09:00.003-05:002008-04-12T01:19:22.035-05:00

(Originally published 4/12/08)Last week, I challenged our presidential candidates to ditch their television ads for the month of May and donate the money that would have been spent to air them to domestic violence shelters and/or child welfare programs.I’m still waiting to hear from them.But I don’t take rejection well, so I renew the call again this week, bolstered by another report that paints

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-60347758780413813452008-04-05T02:30:00.003-05:002008-04-05T08:38:36.250-05:00

(Originally published 4/5/08)A media watchdog group reported this week that when it comes to destination advertising for presidential candidates, nothing beats the Wheel – of Fortune, that is.CNN tells us that Barack Obama has spent more than $1 million on "Wheel" so far, followed by Hillary Clinton at $815,000 and John McCain at $168,000 (remember, he’s still catching up from having just missed

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-15314234149360411212008-03-30T15:46:00.005-05:002008-03-30T16:03:05.557-05:00

(Originally published 3/29/08)You may remember reading here last month about the “Democrats’ dirty little secret:” Under Democratic National Committee rules, there’s really no such thing as a “pledged” delegate. Theoretically, they’re almost all up for grabs at the convention.Much to the chagrin of DNC Chairman Howard Dean and others hoping for a united party going into November, that

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-56152823224323371332008-03-22T00:24:00.005-05:002008-03-23T23:39:18.157-05:00

(Originally published 3/22/08)Ever since the national press began taking marching orders from Saturday Night Live and started giving Barack Obama the once-over a couple of weeks ago, it was just a matter of time before the country was introduced to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., the now-former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.Digital clips of Wright’s sometimes vulgar rants

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-36450096554594084322008-03-15T02:27:00.002-05:002008-03-15T02:34:06.725-05:00

(Originally published 3/15/08)Political watchers were stupefied this week by the meteoric downfall of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in disgrace after being linked to a high-dollar prostitution ring.Spitzer’s scandal opened the door to all sorts of moral and legal debates, among them the criminalization of prostitution. Harvard University uber-law professor Alan Dershowitz led the way

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-9319175828707766462008-03-08T02:07:00.004-06:002008-03-08T02:20:17.794-06:00

(Originally published 3/8/08)Super Tuesday giveth clarity to the Democratic race for president; Super Tuesday II taketh away.Hillary Clinton managed to combine positivity and negativity ahead of Tuesday’s action: She appeared on late-night talk shows, most notably Saturday Night Live, while her surrogates turned up the heat on Barack Obama as he fumbled with NAFTA. The result: A candidate who was

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-26474288564172314172008-02-29T23:59:00.002-06:002008-03-01T00:05:58.679-06:00

(Originally published 2/29/08)The chair of a standing committee shall take a recorded vote on any motion if requested by a committee member and sustained by one additional committee member.– Rule 75 of the Alabama House of RepresentativesPresiding over the House of Representatives’ Education Policy Committee Wednesday, Rep. Terry Spicer (D-Elba) gaveled through a measure by Rep. Tammy Irons (

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-189307504663547762008-02-22T23:28:00.004-06:002008-02-22T23:38:11.635-06:00

(Originally published 2/23/08)Think the Democratic presidential campaign is in knots now? Hang on.Barack Obama made it 10-for-10 with victories over Hillary Clinton in contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii Tuesday while trend numbers continued to reflect his increasing reach into her core base of supporters. So-called superdelegates, those Democratic officeholders and party insiders with mystical,

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-22291318520666858802008-02-20T20:22:00.002-06:002008-02-20T20:34:09.687-06:00

Editor's note: I realized today that somehow, I neglected to post this column the week it was published. My apologies!(Originally published 11/3/07)Asked in Tuesday’s MSNBC debate whether she supported New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton gave just the sort of meandering answer her opponents have

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-85858036724942554232008-02-16T01:24:00.006-06:002008-02-17T00:45:17.388-06:00

(Originally published 2/16/08)Frontrunner status is a funny thing in politics.It’s a good thing to have at the beginning. It’s easier to raise money, get media attention, hire people and attract volunteers if you’re the brand name of the race.But once voting starts, frontrunners must perform.This is why Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have played hot potato with the frontrunner label since Iowa:

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-25422526165161473432008-02-11T23:23:00.000-06:002008-02-11T23:51:23.813-06:00

(Originally published 2/11/08)Some leftover thoughts from Super Tuesday: Several right-wing pundits lamented Mike Huckabee’s better-than-expected performance in southern states. At least one opined that Huckabee’s continued presence in the GOP primary meant that the conservative wing of the party “could not coalesce” around Mitt Romney, therefore clearing the way for the success of a more

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-44229157690534360672008-02-09T10:10:00.000-06:002008-02-09T10:15:36.087-06:00

(Originally published 2/9/08)It’s a good thing I’m a procrastinator. Here I was, all set to analyze Super Tuesday results for you, when former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney shocked influential conservative activists in Washington Thursday with news that he was “suspending” his campaign. That speech was his best yet. A reporter embedded with the Romney campaign for months noted that the

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-66918103550513183272008-02-02T12:28:00.000-06:002008-02-02T12:42:34.819-06:00

(Originally published 2/2/08)You may remember that last summer, a woman at Barack Obama’s campaign kickoff in Birmingham told me, “I haven’t been this excited about politics since the Kennedys.”Apparently, she’s not alone.Obama followed a surprisingly strong victory in South Carolina Saturday with news that he would pick up endorsements from America’s First Family of Politics on Monday.U.S. Sen.

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-39327043147091424602008-01-26T23:01:00.000-06:002008-01-27T09:57:15.670-06:00

(Originally published 1/26/08)The presidential primaries kicked into overdrive this week.Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney won the caucuses in Nevada (properly pronounced “nuh-VAD-ah,” as Michelle Obama learned), while John McCain edged Mike Huckabee in the GOP contest in South Carolina.The Democrats’ South Carolina forum, co-sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, was held on the

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-15057812023416692302008-01-19T00:09:00.000-06:002008-01-19T16:28:16.815-06:00

College football fans have bowl season. Style mavens have Fashion Week. Movie lovers have the Oscars (but that might be a bad example this year). And political junkies have presidential primaries. Ah, the primaries … the time every four years when obscure delis and diners make national news, when otherwise-politically irrelevant states swarm with national media more comfortable with Starbucks

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-26674192698565772972008-01-13T00:08:00.000-06:002008-01-13T00:16:41.754-06:00

(Originally published 1/12/08)Sometimes in political campaigns, one moment changes everything.By dawn Tuesday, political pundits and reporters had all but written their stories about Hillary Clinton’s sound defeat in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary. After all, Barack Obama rode a tidal wave of momentum out of his win in Iowa last week, and ALL the polls indicated that a

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-10907713221894293452008-01-08T10:33:00.000-06:002008-01-13T00:07:40.383-06:00

(Originally published 1/5/08) Compliments of the good people of Iowa, who serve as crash-test dummies of sorts for all manner of presidential primary poppycock, we now have 2008’s first list of winners and losers from the campaign trail.(Cue jingle: "Iowa! We watch the candidates with our Hawkeyes.")Winners from Thursday night’s first-in-the-nation-but-curious caucuses include:Democratic

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-22424372822210721892007-12-30T22:16:00.000-06:002008-01-01T23:08:03.342-06:00

(Originally published 12/29/07)“Is the view pretty good from the cheap seats, A.J.? … Because it occurs to me that in 25 years, I’ve never seen YOUR name on a ballot. Now why is that? Why are you always one step behind me?”So asks President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) of his chief of staff, A.J. MacInerney (Martin Sheen), in The American President.It takes a lot of work to support a

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-90456552404141009682007-12-25T12:53:00.000-06:002007-12-25T13:01:10.275-06:00

(Originally published 12/22/07)I love Christmas.I have fond memories of our family singing traditional Christmas carols at the candlelight services at our church when I was a kid. Afterward, my dad took us to check out the Christmas lights all over town. My mom used that time to wrap presents, stuff stockings and make all the final preparations for the big day. After we went to bed, my dad made

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-66809936985054268882007-12-18T10:54:00.000-06:002007-12-18T10:59:32.143-06:00

(Originally published 12/15/07)I have sometimes wondered why the general public has little to no use for presidential debates. After all, one of the participants is going to end up being sworn in as the leader of the free world; why aren’t people paying attention?After the debates this week in Iowa, I know why.The Des Moines Register-sponsored debates this week were so wanting in form and

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-32198388368067660472007-12-11T00:46:00.000-06:002008-01-30T23:59:52.703-06:00

(Originally published 12/8/07)You know that old saying about Social Security being the third rail of politics?That’s so last century.Now -- for Republicans, at least -- it's illegal immigration.GOP faithful are given to all kinds of gnashing of teeth when the topic comes up. They have the visceral reaction to it that government expansion used to draw, back in the days before there was an earmark

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-21739403286110960352007-12-04T16:24:00.000-06:002007-12-04T16:32:08.396-06:00

(Originally published 12/1/07)You are going to be very, very angry in about five minutes. According to a survey of 3,000 students at New York University last month, 66 percent of those polled said they would trade their right to vote next year for a year’s tuition at the school.That’s right. For about $35,000, two-thirds of NYU students would give up their right to vote.Think that’s crazy? Twenty

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-73281636685335956142007-11-26T23:06:00.000-06:002007-11-26T23:13:42.214-06:00

(Originally published 11/24/07)Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama stirred up controversy this week when he told a group of high school students about his experiences with drugs as a teenager. Although disclosed in his book, "Dreams from my Father," this was the first time he had mentioned it on the campaign trail. He told the students that he had made "bad decisions" by

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-38086557456370524572007-11-26T23:00:00.000-06:002007-11-26T23:06:52.873-06:00

(Originally published 11/17/07)Democratic presidential candidates rolled the dice in their latest debate, this week with voters in Nevada.After U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton fumbled a question about her support for driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants two weeks ago, pundits widely expected other candidates – namely, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards – to gamble and attack

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-73812305448340102082007-11-10T00:59:00.003-06:002009-06-03T13:15:08.728-05:00

I've been wanting to write the column that appears in today's paper for about a month now. Most of the ideas bouncing around in my head have come from news made over the past couple of months. But one incident in particular has stuck with me since it happened nearly a year ago: the way the evangelical establishment reacted when the Rev. Rick Warren invited U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to Saddleback

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-15970884182999662962007-11-10T00:30:00.000-06:002007-11-10T00:49:42.827-06:00

(Originally published 11/10/07)“???????”That was my reaction to the news that Christian televangelist Pat Robertson was endorsing Rudy Giuliani in the Republican race for president.What’s a pro-life, Christian conservative leader doing endorsing a pro-choice candidate who has contributed to Planned Parenthood, arguably the largest abortion provider in the world?Excuse the double entendre, but

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-78403832244273286952007-11-01T23:11:00.000-05:002007-11-01T23:19:30.414-05:00

(Originally published 10/27/07)In our house, the crescendo of little-girl voices is a sure sign of trouble:"That’s mine!""No!""THAT’S MINE!!!""Mom says you have to share!!!"And then, invariably:"MOMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!"You know the drill. One has something; the other wants it. They don’t share. They fight. You can almost hear the bell sounding.The bell sounded last week when Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-85330094904524983102007-10-22T23:34:00.000-05:002007-10-22T23:45:16.129-05:00

(Originally published 10/20/07)After more than 100 attempts over 30-plus years, the U.S. House passed the first federal shield law Tuesday.As discussed here last week, a free press is integral to any free society, and the ability of independent journalists to question and hold to account ruling governments is a powerful check on tyranny. Along with the unique protections of the First Amendment,

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-7266522910306061392007-10-16T22:59:00.000-05:002007-10-16T23:01:18.540-05:00

Today marks the end of National Newspaper Week, a celebration of the impact newspapers have on the daily lives of their readers.No one knows when the idea of the newspaper originated, but historians believe the first newspapers – quite literally, papers with news printed on them – were produced in Caesar’s Rome. As the centuries rolled on, the idea of information circulated on a printed page

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-69084070232785088292007-10-08T22:25:00.000-05:002007-10-08T22:29:14.498-05:00

President Bush engaged Congress this week in a D.C. showdown over S-CHIP, the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan. According to the White House Press Office, Bush warned months ago that he would veto an expansion of S-CHIP much beyond the $5 billion, or 20 percent, he had proposed. But given that Bush has spent heavy political capital defending the Iraq war and that health care reform is a big

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-38927317301618861562007-10-01T22:53:00.000-05:002007-10-01T22:55:38.737-05:00

(Originally published 9/29/07)Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Joe Turnham returned Wednesday from Washington, where he huddled with party leaders about, among other things, Alabama’s Second Congressional District. U.S. Rep. Terry Everett (R-Rehobeth) touched off a political feeding frenzy when he announced this week that he will not seek re-election in 2008.Turnham said that although political

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-18703085091152753932007-09-25T23:49:00.000-05:002007-09-25T23:52:38.019-05:00

(Published 9/22/07)With Labor Day behind us, it’s time for politicians to, as Emeril Lagasse would say, "kick it up a notch." I recently spoke with Alabama Republican Party Chairman and State Rep. Mike Hubbard for his take on some recent state and national political developments.On the potential for a special session for ethics reform: Gov. Bob Riley is "really debating the pros and the cons of

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-44735201049645280322007-09-18T00:13:00.000-05:002008-01-30T01:46:58.628-06:00

(Originally published 9/15/07)Following Gen. David Petraeus’ progress report to Congress on the troop surge in Iraq, President Bush delivered a prime-time address to Americans from the Oval Office Thursday and announced plans to bring 5,700 troops home by Christmas and decrease to 10 from 15 the number of brigades in Iraq by next summer.The president said that "return on success" would guide his

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-61036969525010552052007-09-18T00:06:00.000-05:002007-09-18T00:12:56.633-05:00

(Published 9/8/07)It’s been a good week for political junkies watching the presidential race: On the fall premiere of Ellen Degeneres’ wildly popular talk show, Democratic candidate and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton told the nation that she sometimes comes home to find her former president husband "rearranging the bookshelf" or cleaning up the kitchen. "He’s pretty handy to have around," she

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-46864311993640358912007-09-18T00:03:00.000-05:002007-09-18T00:06:26.873-05:00

(Published 9/1/07)Much of the work of politics is actually done after the election, when you can reflect on the campaign through the prism of the results and with the benefit of hindsight.After Tuesday’s triple rejection of the proposed millage increase for schools, there’s a lot of reflecting to be done – not only by school administrators, who now face enrollment, curriculum and facilities

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-74519494518653724652007-09-17T23:59:00.000-05:002007-09-18T00:03:20.189-05:00

(Published 8/25/07)This area’s public schools are some of our greatest assets, and that’s no accident. Their cultivation, development and achievement are the results of a lot of hard work by many dedicated people and the partnership among educators, local leaders and residents to give children a strong foundation for life.Success is attractive. Just ask anyone who’s moved here from surrounding

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-5262317688340147552007-09-17T23:56:00.000-05:002007-09-17T23:59:21.296-05:00

(Published 8/18/07)I love strange laws. You know the ones: You can’t shoot a rabbit from a waterboat in Kansas. In Florida, single women face fines or arrest for parachuting on Sundays. And in New York, a second conviction for flirting results in the offender having to wear a "pair of horse-blinders" whenever he goes out for a stroll on the city streets.While these laws are now just reminders of

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-2587250638413634992007-09-17T23:53:00.000-05:002008-01-30T23:34:05.521-06:00

(Originally published 8/11/07)My husband and I joined the legions of other parents this week that sent their firstborns to kindergarten.Facing this rite of passage, we tried to forget how quickly our daughter has grown from being the baby that, it seems, we brought home from the hospital just yesterday. But reminders, like the new haircut that somehow makes her look even older than before, are

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-44722766427436677442007-09-17T23:48:00.000-05:002007-09-17T23:51:18.907-05:00

(Published 8/4/07)Alabama two-year college system Chancellor Bradley Byrne is getting serious.Byrne announced this week a series of proposals that would, according to the account by Birmingham News reporter Charles J. Dean: End all personal services contracts lawmakers have with schools;Establish a Division of Internal Audit in the Alabama College System that would oversee financial operations at

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-65021506156897216162007-09-17T23:41:00.000-05:002007-09-17T23:47:08.115-05:00

(Published 7/21/07)An Associated Press-Ipsos poll released this week introduces us to the new frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination, and it’s someone named "None of the Above."Despite the constant campaigning and posturing by the Big Three - former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney - many in the GOP would apparently rather

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2439573149053260635.post-42994755728559466992007-09-17T23:37:00.000-05:002007-09-17T23:41:32.384-05:00

(Published 7/14/07)Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was in Birmingham Monday to kick off the Alabama portion of his campaign.I became aware of Obama after his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and I’ve followed his progress since Oprah made him her candidate on her show back in October.What is it about Obama that made people pour into the streets of

Jennifer Fosternoreply@blogger.com0