Author

Josh Moon

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

There’s a reason so much anger is being directed at the Parkland kids

The kids are right That’s what makes the current gun debate, led by the teenage survivors of the Parkland school shooting, so vitriolic. The kids are right. Everyone knows it. Including the people who are arguing on the other side, slinging insults and ducking any meaningful debate. I’d probably duck debates, though, after what happened … Continued

Josh Moon

April 3, 2018

State Rep, prominent Alabama lobbyist arrested on federal bribery charges

Another prominent Alabama Republican lawmaker has been arrested on public corruption charges. According to a release from U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin, Birmingham Rep. Jack Williams was arrested on federal bribery and wire fraud charges for his part in a scheme to push through legislation in the Alabama Legislature that benefitted a California diabetes care company, … Continued

Josh Moon

April 2, 2018

Opinion

Attention voters: You should listen to Alabama Republicans

Thank you, Alabama Republicans. For folks like me, a progressive living in this regressive state, the uphill climb towards electing a good number of forward-thinking, intelligence-valuing lawmakers in this state often seems roughly equivalent to scaling Everest with asthma. Then there are days like the final ones of the 2018 legislative session, when you guys … Continued

Josh Moon

March 30, 2018

Would HB317 help some state officials avoid indictment?

From the start, the backers of HB317 — an ethics bill that offers a reporting exemption to full-time and part-time “economic developers” — have maintained that it wasn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card. It appears they were right. Instead, it’s an avoid-jail-altogether card. Sources familiar with the ongoing, closed-door debates over HB317 have told APR that the … Continued

Josh Moon

March 27, 2018

Funeral arrangements for Milton McGregor set, remembrances pour in

Everyone in Alabama, it seems, has a Milton McGregor story. The casino owner and longtime political kingmaker passed away on Saturday, and since that time news outlets have written and aired countless stories from elected officials and various other politicos about McGregor. A visitation for McGregor will be held Wednesday at noon at Frazer Memorial … Continued

Josh Moon

March 27, 2018

Opinion

Is leadership in the Alabama Legislature planning a bait-and-switch on HB317?

The wall is crumbling. Last week, a small group of senators held firm against an ethics bill, HB317, that would, among other things, exclude full-time and part-time “economic developers” from laws requiring them to register as lobbyists. Heading into what should be the final week of the 2018 session, sources say that small group has … Continued

Josh Moon

March 27, 2018

Opinion

Milton McGregor lied to me

One of the first things Milton McGregor ever told me was that he wouldn’t lie to me. That was in March 2014, several months before I wrote an in-depth series on the history of gambling in Alabama and McGregor’s role in it. It was the first of many interviews, and McGregor wanted to set the … Continued

Josh Moon

March 26, 2018

Opinion

Alabama lawmakers continue to embarrass state when it comes to issues of race

There was no irony in the Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday evening. Oh, several members of the House billed it as such, when the Republican-dominated body voted down an anti-racial profiling bill just moments after passing a resolution honoring Rosa Parks. But that wasn’t irony. It also wasn’t hypocrisy. Because for either irony or … Continued

Josh Moon

March 23, 2018

Opinion

HB317: A measure of just how stupid our government is

The most depressing thing about Alabama politics these days is just how stupid our scams are. I think that’s a sign of a good, healthy government: the more well-planned and well-executed your scams, the better overall government you have. Because smart scams require smart people to carry them out. So, if nothing else, at least … Continued

Josh Moon

March 22, 2018

Opinion

HB317: The ethics bill that just won’t die

It’s the bad ethics bill that just won’t die. For most of the 2018 Legislative session, HB317 — a bill that would implant a broad exception into Alabama’s ethics laws to allow fulltime and part-time economic development professionals to not register as lobbyists — has been pushed down the throats of wary lawmakers. And it’s … Continued

Josh Moon

March 21, 2018