Articles written by David Ingram

Palin visits UN, meets officials

wpolley — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:28:00 -0400

Palin

NEW YORK — As global leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made her debut meeting with world leaders and notable players of American foreign policy.

The meetings were designed to showcase Palin, the G.O.P. vice presidential nominee, as competent to operate in the arena of foreign policy and diplomacy. Criticism has been directed at Palin from Democrats and some Republicans who have tried to make her lack of a firm grasp on foreign policy a talking point of the campaign.

The meetings come one week before Palin’s first and only debate with her vice presidential opponent, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. Although the debate, to be held at Washington University in St. Louis, has no set agenda, it is widely seen Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, might be able to swing the debate in his favor on areas of foreign concern. The McCain campaign is exhausting options to prep Palin; Director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, prepped Palin for more than two hours Tuesday, prior to the meetings.

'Don't ask, don't tell' questioned

coreyshep — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:26:01 -0400

BIRMINGHAM — For the first time since its implementation 15 years ago, Congress is considering overturning the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in place by the military.

The policy, drafted by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colin Powell, and supported by President Clinton, bars openly gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans from serving in every branch of the U.S. armed forces.

At the time, in 1993, the policy relaxed a long-standing outright ban on gays from serving and was seen as an advancement in gay rights; however, today the conversation seems to be shifting.

Critics claim the policy excludes many highly qualified gays from serving in the military. The Pentagon has discharged an estimated 12,000 servicemen and women because of their sexual orientation since “don’t ask, don’t tell” was adopted.

The House armed services military personnel subcommittee held hearings Monday to consider whether the ban needs to be updated or edited.
Rep. Christopher H. Shays, R-Conn., attended the hearings and broke party ranks to voice strong opposition to a policy he sees as “holding America back.

“I think the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy is unpatriotic, I think it’s counterproductive, in fact, I think it’s absolutely cruel,” Shays said.

Alabama sued by ACLU

coreyshep — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:11:19 -0400

TUSCALOOSA — Carl Q. Jefferson, 67, is an American citizen, and it is illegal for him to vote. Jefferson is a convicted felon.

Alabama, like virtually all states, bars many citizens convicted of a felony the right to vote; however, some say Alabama law goes too far in restricting democratic rights to its people.

Olympics affect Auburn and Birmingham

coreyshep — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:31:11 -0400

Birmingham mayor organizes a committee for the bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games

BIRMINGHAM — The world stage is set in Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics to open in less than a month with more than 1.5 million, including nearly 11,000 athletes, to converge on the Chinese capital for the two weeks of competition.

Mayor Larry P. Langford wants the stage in Birmingham in 12 years, announcing he is organizing a committee to put together a bid for Birmingham to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

Langford said last week during a press conference, Birmingham has everything it needs to host the Olympics; however, much stands in the way of Langford, and most say he will have to pull more than a rabbit out of his Magic City hat if he is to pull this off.

The International Olympics Committee, based in Switzerland, organizes the summer and winter Olympics, in addition to choosing the host city.
The IOC is comprised of 15 members from countries all over the world. Members are elected to serve a term of eight years.

The last American city to host the Summer Olympics was Atlanta in 1996; Chicago hopes to beat Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo for the right to host the 2016 Games, but if it fails, it will have been 24 years since the summer Games were held in the United States.

Michelle Obama in Birmingham for fundraiser

jclark — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:15:45 -0400

BIRMINGHAM — Michelle Obama, wife of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, raised more than $250,000 for her husband’s general election campaign at a fundraiser here on Monday.

The fundraiser, held in Mountain Brook, lasted from just after noon until 3 p.m. and required a $1,000 per-person donation, $10,000 if you were hosts. Birmingham lawyer and former chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party Giles Perkins provided his home and served as host to Mrs. Obama and hundreds of supporters who attended the event.

Southern Baptist Convention elects president, discusses issues

coreyshep — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:50:19 -0400

BIRMINGHAM — The Southern Baptist Convention ended its annual meeting Wednesday in Indianapolis with new beginnings.

The convention, which is the controlling body of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, made steps in hopes of rectifying recent membership drops, by electing a new president who promised to make “bringing people back to the faith,” his top priority.

Pride Week success despite Birmingham mayor’s efforts

coreyshep — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:23:32 -0400

BIRMINGHAM — The 20th annual Gay Pride parade, sponsored by Central Alabama Pride Inc. went off without a hitch Saturday, much to the dismay of Mayor Larry P. Langford.

Langford, a Democrat, originally said May 23 he would not grant Central Alabama Pride Inc. a parade permit, sign a proclamation for the annual celebration or allow banners to be hung on city property.

Editorial: The (Inevitable) Page Full of Columns ... That’s What’s Right

wpolley — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

This is it.

This is the 27th time I write to you as editor-in-chief and the last. It is now my time to say goodbye.

My term as your editor is now at an end. It has been the honor of my life to be editor of this newspaper. I will continue to be grateful for the opportunity Auburn gave me to serve. I will never hold a position higher or a covenant more sacred than that of editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.

Editorial: The Third Wheel Chronicles

wpolley — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:21:23 -0400

If you ask a single person what they dislike most about being single, typically, you won’t hear that it’s about being alone. Rather, that it’s about being the only one left alone.

It’s difficult when everyone from your group of friends becomes an “us” and you are the only “I” left standing.

For me, this is a very real predicament.

Lately, I’ve realized seemingly all my friends are in relationships.

Editorial: Free Parking, not like Monopoly

wpolley — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:08:13 -0400

LOS ANGELES — One possible solution to Auburn’s parking issue might be found near the plush houses and rolling hills on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. I traveled here over spring break and found numerous similarities between Auburn’s campus and that of UCLA.

UCLA has approximately 12,000 more enrolled students than Auburn, but the campus is significantly more compact, taking up 419 acres to Auburn’s more than 1,800. What I found, like Auburn, is that UCLA is becoming more and more of a commuter school. More students are choosing to live a little farther away from the close confines of campus and driving to campus everyday.