Interview with Chairman Ann at Beliefnet.com
Here's a sample.
Q:"You say that the Episcopal Church is "barely even a church." Why?
Ann: Because it's become increasingly difficult to distinguish the pronouncements of the Episcopal Church from the latest Madonna video.

Q:"You say you're a Christian. Do you think Jesus would want you to be nicer to your political opponents?
Ann:"Who knows? Maybe He'll say I was too tough or maybe He'll chastise me for not being tough enough on those who hate Him. Ask the money-changers in the temple how “nice” Jesus was. Maybe He'll say I needed more jokes or fewer adjectives. I'll just apologize for not getting it right and thank him for dying for my sins.

• For Ann's favorite Bible verses, click here.

Riley gains 1% point in latest poll.
Riley- %52
Baxley- %38
go here to see the crosstabs.

• In 5 weeks, Riley has gained 1 point and Baxley has lost 2 points.
• Riley now leads by 14 points, up from 11. Riley gets 81% of Republican votes. Baxley gets 75% of Democrat votes.
• Riley leads 5:3 among Independents.
• Riley leads by 6 points in Northern AL and 24 points in Southern AL.

Top 50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill
courtesy of The Hill.
Congrats to Kimberly Hunter of Alabama (pictured at right) who came in at #6, but we just wish she would have kept the accent.

Runoff Election Results
(as of 10:00; see results here)


Luther Strange 101,265 54.89%
George Wallace 83,21 45.11%


Samantha Shaw 77,073 50.56%
Wes Allen 75,372 49.44%


Perry Hooper 94,024 57.97%
John Amari 68,181 42.03%


Terri Thomas 81,735 54.88%
Phillip Wood 67,211 45.12%

ALABAMA McCainiacs Unite!!

A new blog has entered the blogosphere seeking to be your place for all things John McCain. Check out Alabama for McCain.

Economic Good News
Read the whole thing.

On Tuesday, White House officials are expected to announce that the tax receipts will be about $250 billion above last year's levels and that the deficit will be about $100 billion less than what they projected six months ago.

Contrary to a popular assumption, a disproportionate share of income taxes is paid by wealthy households, and their incomes are based much more on the swings of the stock market than on wages and salaries. About one-third of all income taxes are paid by households in the top 1 percent of income earners, who make more than about $300,000 a year.


Bad News

Baby boomers will be eligible for Social Security benefits in just two years. Conservatives and liberals alike predict a huge escalation in costs of Social Security and Medicare over the next several decades.

And federal debt has ballooned to $8.3 trillion, up from $5.6 trillion when Mr. Bush took office. Republicans are trying to raise the authorized debt ceiling to $9.6 trillion

A Convenient Lie By John Stossel

"Twenty-five billion dollars in government funding has been spent since 1990 to research global warming. If scientists and researchers were coming out releasing reports that global warming has little to do with man, and most to do with just how the planet works, there wouldn't be as much money to study it."

And the politicians would have one less excuse to take control of our lives.

WaPo Feature on Montgomery native and Samford alum.

Thanks to Southern Appeal.

Does Clinton Deserve Blame for North Korea?
Kim at WizbangBlog thinks so.

1993: North Korea threatens to leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. After conducting U.N. inspections there for a year and a half, former International Atomic Energy Agency chief Hans Blix warns he can't provide "any meaningful assurances" North Korea isn't making nuclear weapons.
• 1994: Under the "Agreed Framework" negotiated by the Clinton administration with help of ex-President Carter, North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons. In exchange, it gets billions in aid, including food, oil and modern nuclear reactors.
By 2000, according to a congressional report, North Korea would become the "largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid" in Asia. North Korea immediately starts cheating on the deal, acquiring nuclear know-how and material from Pakistan and China.
• 1998: A U.S. government report finds at least 1 million North Koreans have died of starvation as aid is used to kick-start the nuclear weapons program.
• 1998: Clinton's military chief of staff tells Congress North Korea has no active ballistic missile program. A week later, North Korea shoots a Taepodong-1 missile over Japan and toward Alaska.
• 1999: Clinton eases sanctions against North Korea. U.S. signs a $5 billion deal to build two nuclear reactors. North Korea diverts aid to speed WMD program. Mass starvation reportedly continues.
• 2000: Despite continued breaches of the "agreed framework," Albright travels to Pyongyang, where she cheerfully clinks glasses with Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il. Media hail the meeting as a diplomatic masterstroke by Clinton.
• 2002: New York Times headline: "North Korea Says It Has A Program On Nuclear Arms."