This makes me so angry I can't think straight

One of the first steps on the road to straightening out my beloved state of Alabama is to purge it of idiocy such as this:

2 Illegal Immigrants Win Arizona Ranch in Court
(Registration required; use bugmenot.com to get around it)

The story isn't directly related to Alabama...but the useless lawyer who represented the illegal immigrants in this case is none other than Morris S. Dees Jr., co-founder and chief trial counsel of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery. Here is the Center's own story about the case.

Apparently this is not the first time the Center has sued to have property seized from its opponents, according to the NYT article:

This was not the first time the law center had taken property from a group on behalf of a client. In 1987, the headquarters of a Ku Klux Klan group in Alabama was given to the mother of a boy whose murder was tied to Klansmen. Property has also been taken from the Aryan Nations and the White Aryan Resistance, Mr. Dees said.

Now, someone correct me if I'm mistaken, but I don't believe such property seizure (or defense of illegal immigrants) falls under the scope of the SPLC's original mission. Furthermore, seizing someone's property (if it wasn't obtained by illicit means, at least) is patently wrong. The Klansmen should be on Death Row, but their land should remain with their families--not be given to the families of their victims. It certainly won't bring them back.

*Editor's note: I removed some particularly incendiary portions of this post which I should never have posted in the first place. I regret that some of you had to read it; I should have slept on the issue before hitting the "publish" button. (Like the first line of the post says, this made me so mad I couldn't think straight.) Nevertheless, it was atypical for me, and I apologize for writing it.

-D.

First week of school

Classes started Wednesday. I'm taking the following:

PSC 565 - Survey of Public Administration
PSC 562 - Public Personnel Administration
PSC 667 - Public Budgeting

All three seem like they're going to be interesting enough. I have a ton of reading to do already, and I haven't done any of it--I slept from 6 p.m. until around 7 a.m. on Wednesday evening (I was feeling sick; apparently I have some sort of virus that's making my throat sore, but at least it's not strep--at least not according to the Death Center).

I've also started work in the athletic department. I met one of the women's basketball coaches yesterday (the one who'll be our primary contact for video). She seems reasonable enough; hopefully we'll keep getting good news.

Right now our offices are in some temporary trailers beside the Coliseum, which is being renovated. We're scheduled to move in at the beginning of November, but I've heard they're behind (and I'm not surprised).

It is good to be working with Patrick. I know him from my earlier stint in intercollegiate video, and he's a nice guy. Pretty easygoing and good to get along with, and he does good work. It's going to be a good year.

Finally!

At last we got past all the hiccups and speed bumps...I'm in! I just talked to the office of graduate admissions, and I've been accepted as a candidate for a master's degree in public administration at The University of Alabama. Now to figure out just how to do this online registration thing--I haven't been able to access the online schedule of classes (and apparently even non-registered students are supposed to be able to view them). I have a feeling I'm going to be spending some time on the phone with the registrar's office...or perhaps making a trip to Tuscaloosa tomorrow.

Controversy in Lake View

Apparently I've moved into the heart of an annexation dispute:

Concerned Citizens of Roupes Valley

I haven't yet figured out whether my house sits in a disputed area, but here's the gist of the situation, based on my limited understanding. The town of Lake View (in Tuscaloosa County) annexed some properties on the south side of I-20/59, and the town of Woodstock (just across the Bibb County line) filed suit to block the annexation. Conversely, Woodstock annexed property in Tuscaloosa County--right up to the Lake View border--and so Lake View filed suit against Woodstock to block that annexation.

It looks like the CCRV group is against Lake View's annexation tactics. I haven't yet gathered enough information to figure out where I should stand on the matter.

Alabama limits eminent domain

This item isn't particularly timely, but I thought it was worth noting: the Alabama legislature voted unanimously in a special session last week to limit the state's powers of eminent domain:

Alabama yesterday became the first state to enact new protections against local-government seizure of property allowed under a Supreme Court ruling that has triggered an explosive grass-roots counteroffensive across the country.
Republican Gov. Bob Riley signed a bill that was passed unanimously by a special session of the Alabama Legislature, which would prohibit governments from using their eminent-domain authority to take privately owned properties for the purpose of turning them over to retail, industrial, office or residential developers.
Calling the high court's June 23 ruling "misguided" and a "threat to all property owners," Mr. Riley said, "A property rights revolt is sweeping the nation, and Alabama is leading it."

Good for you, Gov. Riley, and every member of the state legislature. I couldn't be prouder of my state. A unanimous vote! Are any of the liberals on the U.S. Supreme Court paying attention?

Back home again

I've been away from the Internet for the last nine days because we just moved from the gargantuan metropolis of Atlanta, Ga. to the diminutive town of Lake View, Ala. (population approx. 1,400). Between packing up all our stuff, finally closing on the house, and then moving in and unpacking, I've barely been able to keep up with all that's going on in the world. But now that we're pretty much settled, I should be able to get back to my usual routine.

I won't start school and work for two more weeks (assuming I get in--I've got to go check on that tomorrow). As of last Tuesday (the last time I was able to check email), I was still waiting on a recommendation letter from one faculty member (I guess they're the toughest ones). At any rate, I'm going to Tuscaloosa tomorrow to take care of paperwork for my job in the athletic department, hopefully meet the new basketball coaching staff (and say hello to the baseball guys if they're around), and finalize whatever I can for my grad school application.

For now, it's off to put the deck furniture together...I had to stay home from church because the refrigerator's being delivered today (we don't know what time). So I might as well make myself useful.