Jordan Richardson: Too many ordinary people caught in web of injustice

  Overcriminalization, the overuse or misuse of criminal law to address societal problems, is a troubling phenomenon that touches every segment of society. It manifests itself in a variety of ways, including overly broad definitions of criminal acts, excessively harsh sentencing and criminal sanctions for simple mistakes or accidents.

  However, overcriminalization has a more tangible aspect beyond legislation and legal theory: For every problematic law or criminal procedure, there is a victim with a story to tell.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Behind the gambling curtain

  As I was walking out of the Statehouse recently someone asked me, “Do you think we will have gambling in Alabama?” My response was simple: we already have gambling, the state just does not derive any revenue from it.

  Indeed gambling is widespread in our state just as it is in all of the other 49 states and the District of Columbia. People gamble online every day. There are no state line boundaries for internet gambling. All of the revenue from that activity goes out of state. Our people play the lottery; they just buy their tickets in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. Our surrounding sister states fund their government and educate their children with our recreational dollars.

Michael Josephson: Self-control

  A frazzled mother with a fussy child caught the eye of a grocery store manager. He overheard her say, “Lily, you can do this. We just have to get a few things.”

  Moments later, when the child became more upset, the mother said calmly, “It’s okay, Lily. We’re almost done.”

Hank Sanders: Why the Edmund Pettus Bridge must be renamed

  The Edmund Pettus Bridge is a symbol of freedom all over the world. It is also a symbol of voting rights and democracy. However, the very name stands for the exact opposite. Symbols are powerful.

  Symbols enter into our conscious and subconscious minds without us screening them. Then they impact us without us knowing it. The effects manifest themselves in manifold ways that we don’t even recognize. The name of the Edmund Pettus Bridge is a symbol. Symbols are powerful.

  Until recently many knew the name, but few knew who Edmund Pettus was. Now that we know, we must protect all those who come in contact with the bridge, especially our children. We must change the name of the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Symbols are powerful.

Strengthening child welfare systems by resisting LGBT discrimination

  On May 19, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, a federal measure designed to maximize the number of qualified parents available to the hundreds of thousands of children who currently live in the American foster care system. The law would prevent child welfare organizations that receive federal funds from discriminating against potential parents on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.

Stephen Moore: Using tax dollars to lobby for more tax dollars

  Here's a half-serious question: How much do taxpayers have to pay off Boeing to make the Export-Import Bank finally and irrevocably go away? If the feds wrote a check to Boeing for $100 million, would they then let the Ex-Im Bank fade away after the current portfolio winds down?

  I ask this because the aerospace giant is the largest beneficiary of the Ex-Im Bank. The bank provides subsidized loans and insurance contracts to foreign companies that buy American exports. Ex-Im Bank doles out billions of dollars of loans and insurance subsidies every year and has become the poster child for corporate cronyism in Washington.

Steve Flowers: Inside the Statehouse: Special session likely on tap for legislature

  We are in the final days of the first regular legislative session of the quadrennium. The session constitutionally has to end June 15. The governor and legislature are at a standoff. The financial dilemma in the General Fund has not been addressed and the budgets are up in the air.

  As the session began four months ago, Gov. Robert Bentley was the first to cry wolf. No Republican likes to say the word tax, much less propose such a solution or vote for such a blasphemous resolution.

Craig Ford: Combining Alabama’s two budgets would make the crisis worse

  It’s no secret that the State of Alabama is in a budget crisis. It’s a crisis that we’ve known for three years was coming, but our state leaders waited until the elections were over before they publicly acknowledged it or offered any solutions. There have been several solutions proposed, from more taxes to expanding gambling. However, the most recent proposed solution isn’t really a solution at all.

  Last week, a committee in the Alabama Senate passed a proposed constitutional amendment that would combine the state’s two budgets. Combining the General Fund budget and the Education Trust Fund budget into one big budget won’t solve the problem, and it certainly isn’t in the best interests of our state despite what others might be saying.

Hank Sanders: Senate Sketches #1460: The squeeze of reality

  The squeeze of reality is so powerful. It moves us when we refuse to be moved. It dissipates expectations, hopes and prayers. It changes our reality. As the 2015 regular legislative session moves to a close, the squeeze of reality is forcing itself upon every legislator, every lobbyist, many organizations and countless citizens. The squeeze of reality is so powerful.        

  Many of us commenced this legislative session with strong expectations, billowing hopes and swarming prayers. We expected to pass or prevent the passage of various legislation. Some of us didn’t expect, but we did hope. Some of us knew we had just a wing and a prayer. Many of these expectations, hopes and prayers were not rewarded. Our expectations were squeezed into hopes, and our hopes were squeezed into prayers, and our prayers were squeezed into non-existence. The squeeze of reality is so powerful.

Ann Coulter – A white nationalist in the mainstream?

  Ann Coulter was back in the news again last week following racist comments she made during an interview with Fusion TV host Jorge Ramos. Coulter claimed the Mexican culture is “deficient” and went on to claim that part of Mexican culture includes “uncles raping their nieces.” Such quotes are nothing new for Coulter, who uses her mainstream popularity as a platform to spread white nationalist messages and ideas to a large audience.