Didn't take them long, did it? According to Stateline.org:With the Bush administration's reshaping of the U.S. Supreme Court, legislators in at least five states are proposing bold anti-abortion measures with a goal of challenging Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision... More...

The New York Times had an interesting article last week about a survey of 2660 day laborers at 264 hiring sites in 20 states across the country. Among the findings were that 75% of day workers are illegal immigrants, and... More...

Chris posted yesterday on the latest revelations that FEMA had ignored help that was available from other federal agencies, and notes that nobody seems to care and nobody is being held accountable. Here is a little thought exercise.Imagine that St.... More...

Pam Spaulding has an excellent post up reminding people that Coretta Scott King wasn't just "the wife of Martin," although she worked tirelessly to ensure his legacy was remembered -- including battling the unconstructed Southerners like Trent Lott who opposed... More...

ATLANTA - "Coretta Scott King, who turned a life shattered by her husband's assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality, has died. She was 78."... More...

Today's revelations about the grotesque failures of FEMA's response to Katrina weren't necessarily shocking for the information that was brought to light -- but by the fact that nobody seems to care, and no one is being held accountable.The report... More...

It's no mystery that Ken Lay and Enron were big benefactors of George W. Bush -- the biggest in Bush Jr.'s political career, by far. The question is, how much?Campaign finance groups like OpenSecrets.org offer a snapshot of the direct... More...

The rich man is dancing:DALLAS - Exxon Mobil Corp. posted record profits for any U.S. company on Monday — $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year — as the world's biggest publicly traded oil company... More...

President Bush must view it as an unhappy coincidence that, just a day before he tries to restore public confidence in Tuesday's State of the Union Address, lawyers in Houston begin jury selection in the trials against Enron executives Ken... More...

Earlier this month, right-wing pundit John Leo -- columnist for U.S News and World Report, syndicated to newspapers nation-wide -- wrote a piece that would be forgettable if it didn't echo a growing sentiment on the right about Hurricane Katrina... More...

In what passes for "the health care debate" in this country -- the only wealthy nation that doesn't attempt some form of universal care -- many states are forming commissions and holding hearings into how to face the two key... More...

No, not a repeat, but probably the same little fellow as last week. He likes to perch outside my window, and I like to watch him and take his photo. So here he is again.... More...

Survey USA has released its latest state-by-state poll of our President's net job approval ratings. The not-so-surprising finding is that Bush's approval percentage continues to languish in the low 40s.It may be more surprising to realize that most of Bush's... More...

Since we launched our humble Facing South blog in February 2005 -- warning, one-year anniversary post coming soon! -- we haven't done much in the way of self-promotion (aside from fundraising season, of course!). I also must confess that I... More...

Posted by R. NealThe debate raises several difficult questions:WASHINGTON - Property owners would face higher flood insurance premiums and more of them would have to have the coverage under proposals a congressional committee discussed Wednesday to reform the bankrupt National... More...

Posted by R. NealChoicePoint is nearing a settlement with the FTC regarding a security breach that led to hundreds of cases of identity theft:ATLANTA - Data warehouser ChoicePoint Inc. said Thursday it is close to a settlement of a Federal... More...

Posted by R. NealThe Alabama State Legislature is debating (!), again (!), whether they should have a referendum to remove segregationist provisions from the State Constitution:In 2004, the last go-round at deleting the racist provisions from the Constitution went by... More...

Katrina contracting scandals find their match in the latest audit from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, as reported today in the NY Times:A new audit of American financial practices in Iraq has uncovered irregularities including millions of reconstruction... More...

Scandals in Washington often overshadow the dozens of smaller scandals that unfold at the state level each year. In North Carolina, Democratic House Speaker Jim Black has been a magnet for dubious dealings, the most recently of which is described... More...

As more scandals emerge about the federal response to Katrina, the Bush administration is battening down the hatches.This week's big announcement: the White House has announced it will deny access to further information and undermine what little oversight power Congress... More...

Investigative reporter Tim Shorrock has an update at Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch on the unfolding scandal about why evacuation buses didn't show up until a week after Hurricane Katrina.Let's remember how important this story is to the Katrina saga. The... More...

Posted by R. NealHousing isn't the only crisis in New Orleans. Health care is turning into a medical emergency:The slow repopulation of the city picked up speed after the holidays as more schools reopened and, in the words of one... More...

Posted by R. NealOur pal Toby Applegate is pursuing his PhD in Geography at Rutgers and wrote this research paper on New Orleans housing in the wake of Katrina. [Ed. note: the paper was an assignment for a seminar on... More...

Not so well, says the New York Times:At the halfway mark between the onslaught of Hurricane Katrina last year and the beginning of the 2006 hurricane season on June 1, the Army Corps of Engineers has completed only 16 percent... More...

Tim Shorrock, reporter for the Institute's Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch project, will be on Houston's Pacifica station 90.1 FM at 5:30 pm today. They're doing a news piece on Tim's explosive investigation into why the fleet of private buses FEMA... More...

Fresh off the NSA eavesdropping scandal, Newsweek reveals that the Pentagon has its own domestic snooping operation. It's called Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), and writer Michael Isikoff offers a glimpse of who they're keeping tabs on:The demonstration seemed harmless enough.... More...

The Associated Press had a story yesterday about how many Congress-folk had actually been to the Gulf Coast to witness the wreckage and progress of rebuilding. Warning: for anyone who cares about what's happening down there, it will bring your... More...

One of the biggest mysteries of the botched response to Hurricane Katrina is this: why did it take nearly a week for FEMA to mobilize buses to evacuate thousands of city residents?In a special investigation for Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch,... More...

A major announcement came out today from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), who are slowing down Wal-Mart's lastest plan for economic domination, establishing its own bank:U.S. regulators will likely hold a public hearing on Wal-Mart's controversial application to open... More...

Outside my window. Dont' know about where you are, but here it's too nice outside to be inside working!... More...

Posted by R. NealIncoming Virginia Governor fires director of the Virginia Department of Minority Business Enterprise:While most government employees were taking the day off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Ed L. Hamm Jr. was in the office cleaning out... More...

Chris Fitzsimon of North Carolina Policy Watch notes that momentum is gaining for a hike in the state minimum wage. There's a "live" bill carrying over from the 2005 legislative session, which would boost the lowest wages by 85 cents... More...

Today, we cross-posted at DKos the news -- published earlier here at Facing South -- that the Supreme Court had decided against hearing South Carolina activist Brett Bursey's appeal over 2002 charges that he posed a "Threat to the President."It's... More...

Yesterday, the Supreme Court made a key decision which even federal officals admit will have major implications for free speech across the country.With all eyes on the Alito confirmation non-aftermath, the Court hastily refused to hear the appeal of South... More...

Posted by R. NealNew pension rules may result in reduced benefits:It may sound arcane, but a planned overhaul of the way companies keep their books on pensions and retiree health care plans could come at a very real cost to... More...

Posted by R. NealRepublican legislators in Alabama have to sign a sworn oath of allegiance to the Republican Party and pledge to only support Republicans for leadership positions. And conservatives say politics has become too partisan.... More...

Posted by R. NealHey, this sounds familiar:"The administration is trying to do through rule making what they have been unable to do through legislation, which is weaken the protections off Florida's coasts against drilling," said Mark Ferrulo, director of the... More...

For those of you in central North Carolina, I'll be speaking at a "teach-in" at Duke University about the politics of Hurricane Katrina today."Understanding Katrina: A Teach-in on the Politics of Disaster and the Geographies of Suffering" will be held... More...

My friend (and former Institute board member) William P. Jones has a good piece in The Nation, showing how the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday largely owes its roots to the labor movement and working-class agitation:Given the corporate sponsorship of... More...

No comment. I'll just let NY Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller tell the story, she was clearly having fun with this:NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 12 - President Bush made his first trip here in three months on Thursday and declared that New... More...

That sound you hear emanating from the northwest corner of Arkansas is the unmistakable wail of corporate CEO's in agony.The reason for their discontent: yesterday, in a 88-50 vote, the Maryland House of Delegates joined their senate counterparts in over-riding... More...

Our pal Fletch, the "high-tech drifter" over at No Direction Home, has redesigned his photo blog for better presesntation of his excellent photography of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and points beyond. Yesterday's photo was spectacular. Oh, and there's... More...

In the backyard yestarday. After a week of 60 degree weather the birds seem to think it's spring.... More...

Posted by R. NealFrom the Mobile Register:Although Alabama weathered Katrina in much better fashion than its neighbors to the west, local business leaders have struggled with a national perception that Mobile sustained heavy damage. Almost immediately after the storm, conventions... More...

Posted by R. NealIn a recent survey of Florida adults conducted by the Florida Bar Association, 41% could not name the three branches of government. Guesses included "local, state, and federal", and "Democrat, Republican, and Independent." Many couldn't explain "checks... More...

Posted by R. NealIn the wake of the Tennessee Waltz sting operation that resulted in seven arrests including four legislators (three Democrats and one Republican) for bribery and corruption, the Tennessee Legislature is in special session to discuss ethics reforms.... More...

Posted by R. NealThe Governor of Kentucky has proposed eliminating prevailing wage standards and also wants to make Kentucky a "right to work" state. Some legislators say the proposals are DOA. Here's an excellent editorial on why the proposals aren't... More...

Posted by R. NealSome residents are not happy with at least one proposal:Angry residents expressed frustration Wednesday at the debut of rebuilding proposals for this devastated city, taking aim at a suggested four-month moratorium on new building permits in areas... More...

Last August, country crooner Garth Brooks signed an exclusive deal with Wal-Mart to sell his music only through the chain. American Rights at Work has this hilarious, low-tech flash parody of Garth's hit song.After you watch the clip, you can... More...

Fresh news over at Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch: award-winning reporter Sean Reilly has a good piece looking at the $29 billion Katrina relief package passed by Congress, and signed by Bush, to much fanfare last December.Most media uncritically passed along... More...

Tonight is the third and final installment of "Country Boys," the PBS Frontline documentary about two white teens growing up in the Kentucky mountains. I've caught the first two installments, and I'll definitely be watching the last piece of this... More...

Wal-Mart wants to expand its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., and they want local tax money -- i.e., money used for schools, job training, etc. -- to pay for it, according to Arkansas Daily Blog:Morning News reports that Bentonville is forging... More...

Posted by R. NealRegarding the new law making it a federal crime to anonymously harass people on the internets:"There is this thing called NetFlow that reports to a log every IP traffic flow. You just play connect the dots. All... More...

Posted by R. NealFollowing the theme of posts titled with song lyric snippets and links to Think Progress, here's an astonishing report on the increase in lobbying activity over the past, uhm, few years. The most amazing statistic: Number of... More...

Posted by R. NealHere's an interesting report from Think Progress on Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) coaching Alito at the White House. Which is sort of odd, given Graham's Congressional oversight role and all that "advice and consent" stuff regarding judicial... More...

Posted by R. NealAccording to this New York Times article, Congressman Richard Baker from Baton Rouge has proposed an $80 billion federal buyout that would pay willing owners and lenders 60 cents on the dollar for property destroyed by Katrina... More...

Posted by R. NealLike a West Wing script in which the candidate has to go to Iowa to talk to farmers about ethanol, Sen. Dr. Bill Frist (R-TN) was at the Farm Bureau Federation's national convention this past weekend in... More...

Not long ago, it was Corporate America -- not political figures like Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff (who made contact with White House folks 200 times in the first 10 months of the Bush era) -- that was awash in... More...

Turns out that the State Treasurer of North Carolina isn't the only one who has recently found religion about the need to boost the minimum wage.The Arkansas Daily Blog points us to Lowell Grisham, an Episcopal priest in Fayetteville. In... More...

"I plan on pulling that curtain back. I plan on getting into the investigation."That was the surprise announcement than Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) issued from the Senate floor last November, when he declared that his committee would formally investigate the... More...

If you work hard, you shouldn't live in poverty. A simple idea, it seems, but for millions of workers wages have stagnated or are in decline, and Congress refuses to raise the floor by increasing the federal minimum wage.So it... More...

In her "Reflections on Katrina," Lindsay at Majikthise nails the lesson -- or more precisely, our country's failure to draw a lesson -- about Katrina:Katrina should have changed everything. When I took these pictures I thought that the loss of... More...

"We're working on it. I still have a few more meetings before I make a decision. I'm going back to Washington today. I'm meditating on it for a few more days."So said Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), as quoted in today's... More...

It's official: you did it! Thanks to the generous contributions of readers like you, we met our $20,000 goal for the Institute's end-of-year fundraiser.Your support makes possible the Institute's one-of-a-kind programs, delivering hard-hitting investigative reports and a vital progressive voice... More...

Fallout in the South from GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff's corrupt dealings show no signs of letting up. Add Arkansas to Mr. Neal's survey of Southern entanglements yesterday, although the state GOP is working hard to appear unfazed.In the ongoing saga... More...

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Posted by R. NealAtrios: I don't generally confuse "linking" with "reporting." I don't generally confuse punditry with reporting, opinion with fact, and have never claimed to be a reporter, even if at times I report stuff. In other words, I'm... More...

Posted by R. NealThe Florida Supreme Court has ruled that Florida's voucher program is unconstitutional:The Florida Supreme Court struck down the voucher system that allowed some children to attend private schools at taxpayer expense, saying Thursday that it violates the... More...

Posted by R. NealPoliticians from around the South are distancing themselves from the Abramoff scandal. In Mississippi:One of the biggest recipients of Indian donations was Sen. Thad Cochran. According to a report by the Center for Responsive Politics, the Mississippi... More...

Posted by R. NealOne of the more sensible new laws that went into effect Jan. 1st:For 22 years, South Carolina bartenders have had no choice but to pour liquor from the 1.7-ounce bottles most often associated with airplanes and hotel... More...

Posted by R. NealThe Department of the Interior is proposing changes to National Parks "Management Policies" that some say will be detrimental to the health of our National Parks. The National Park service is holding a public workshop in on... More...

Posted by R. NealWhen I first heard about this, I wasn't sure what to think:The idea of tourists paying to peer at the remnants of people's lives smacked of callous profiteering, some residents said. Distasteful at best, others said. Don't... More...

Posted by R. NealWBIR, our local NBC affiliate here in the Knoxville/East Tennessee area, is deciding whether to cave in to pressure from the American Family Association, local clergy, and dozens of angry callers and e-mailers and pull the plug... More...

Kevin Drumm relays an interesting post from Ellen Smith, editor of Mine Safety and Health News, about the unfolding mining disaster in West Virginia:How bad was the accident and injury rate at the Sago Mine? Terrible. The national average for... More...

The votes are in: Katrina and hurricanes were the media stars of 2005.Katrina and Rita made it onto almost every top-five list of the last year's "big news stories" -- which makes it all the more shocking and tragic how... More...

Facing South kicked off 2006 with a glitch over our domain name. Karl Rove has been mentioned as the culprit, but this is not confirmed.Maybe we can get those NSA spooks on the case (who apparently started illegal eavesdropping before... More...