Author

Josh Moon

Josh Moon is an investigative reporter and columnist. You can reach him at [email protected].

News / National / State

Mexico isn’t paying for Trump’s border wall. Alabama is.

Looks like Mexico isn’t paying for that “big, beautiful wall” at the southern border. Alabama is. The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it would be diverting more than $260 million of funds originally slated for a Navy ship building operation located in the Port of Mobile and will instead use those funds to construct … Continued

Josh Moon

February 14, 2020

Opinion

Voter suppression is still a deciding factor in Alabama elections

John Merrill is going to write me a snarky letter, and that’s OK. I’m going to write a snarky column about Alabama’s voter suppression — and Merrill’s role in it — and I don’t write these things expecting everyone to agree. I write them so at least a few people will at least consider that … Continued

Josh Moon

February 11, 2020

Opinion

Tuberville, Byrne and Sessions: Selling fear because they have no good ideas

Tommy Tuberville wants to scare white people. Bradley Byrne wants to scare white people. Jeff Sessions wants to scare white people. The Muslims are going to kill us all. The black people are committing scary crimes and kneeling a lot. The Hispanics are hauling deadly drugs over the border to kill your grandkids. The terrorists … Continued

Josh Moon

February 10, 2020

Opinion

Jim Zeigler has reminded everyone how useless the state auditor is

Alabama is known for its bad politicians. From George Wallace to Mike Hubbard, and all the Guy Hunts and Robert Bentleys in between, we do political crooks better than anyone. And we’ve got more do-nothing, pander-happy, waste-of-space political dolts per capita than any other state. But rarely — I’d say maybe even never — has … Continued

Josh Moon

February 7, 2020

New report offers advice for fixing state’s charter school issues

Local school boards should have more authority in approving proposed charter schools and parents of students attending the charters should have a larger role on the schools’ governing boards. Those were two of the suggestions contained within a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, which reviewed problems with Alabama’s charter school law and the … Continued

Josh Moon

February 6, 2020

Former state senator challenges Poarch Creek legal status

Former state Sen. Gerald Dial raised questions at a Tuesday press conference over the legal status of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, distributing letters from high ranking officials in the Department of the Interior who question the tribe’s history and its legal rights to operate casinos. In one letter, written by then-Interior Department solicitor … Continued

Josh Moon

February 5, 2020

Opinion

Alabama Charter School Commission finally did its job

Finally, the Alabama Charter School Commission is doing its job. On Monday, the Commission voted to revoke the charter for Woodland Prep, the beleaguered charter school in Washington County, and it took steps to force LEAD Academy, the steadily failing charter in Montgomery, to provide the Commission with necessary information to assure it is operating … Continued

Josh Moon

February 4, 2020

Opinion

Republicans know Trump did it. They’re too cowardly to punish him

This impeachment is a sham! That was the Republican tagline when this all started. You heard it all over this state. None of “that stuff” was true. Trump was innocent. The phone call with the Ukrainian president was “perfect.” Nothing to see here. Just Democrats making stuff up and the fake news media helping them … Continued

Josh Moon

February 3, 2020

Opinion

Sentencing of former Montgomery cop sends an important message

A former Montgomery police officer was sentenced on Wednesday to 14 years in prison for the killing an unarmed black man. That is important. Do not misconstrue what I’m saying, or what I’m going to say, into a statement of joy or satisfaction. There should be none of those feelings, because nothing that happened in … Continued

Josh Moon

January 30, 2020

Opinion

Prepare for more gambling debates in the 2020 Legislative Session

More gambling arguments are on their way. Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, the House budget chairman, told several media outlets on Monday that he planned to file legislation that would create an education lottery in Alabama. Clouse’s bill would create a paper lottery with scratch-offs and PowerBall options, but would exclude video lottery terminals. Clouse said … Continued

Josh Moon

January 28, 2020