Greene County Democrat

Category: Politics

  • Newswire : On 61st Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, worries about the future of voting rights and calls to action

    Newswire : On 61st Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, worries about the future of voting rights and calls to action

    A diverse group of people, including several public figures, gathered on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, singing and celebrating while holding signs advocating for voting rights.

    People crossing the Edmund Pettus bridge on Sunday and  Spiver Gordon, Greene County civil rights veteran and foot soldier next to Congresswoman Sewell on bridge

    By Kim Chandler, Associated Press and other sources

    SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Sixty-one years after state troopers attacked Civil Rights marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, thousands gathered in the Alabama city this weekend amid new concerns about the future of the Voting Rights Act.
    The March 7, 1965, violence that became known as Bloody Sunday shocked the nation and helped spur passage of the landmark legislation that dismantled barriers to voting for Black Americans in the Jim Crow South.
    The anniversary was celebrated in this city that served as crucible for the voting rights movement, with events through the weekend ending with a commemorative march across the bridge Sunday. But the commemoration came as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could limit a provision of the Voting Rights Act that has helped ensure some congressional and local districts are drawn so minority voters have a chance to elect their candidate of choice.
    “I’m concerned that all of the advances that we made for the last 61 years are going to be eradicated,” said Charles Mauldin, 78, one of the marchers beaten on Bloody Sunday.
    Former and current Democratic officeholders, civil rights leaders and tourists descended on Selma to pay homage to the pivotal moment of the Civil Rights Movement and to issue calls to action. Speakers warned of the looming court decision and criticized the Trump administration’s actions on immigration and efforts to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion.
    Standing at the pulpit of the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, said that like the marchers on Bloody Sunday, they must press forward.
    “Years after Bloody Sunday, the progress that stemmed from that sacrifice is now being rolled back right in our faces,” the governor said. Moore is the nation’s only Black governor currently in office.
    “We are choosing this fight because those who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge deserve better than us cowering while the freedoms that we inherited and they fought for, are being ripped away,” Moore said.
    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, speaking at a rally at the foot of the bridge, said racism is on the rise in America and “Trump’s Supreme Court is gutting the Voting Rights Act.”
    “Let’s march forward today with the knowledge that we are the inheritors of the faith that brought marchers to the bridge 61 years ago. It is now on us to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice,” Pritzker said.
    The annual commemoration in Selma is a mix of a civil rights remembrances, church services and a street festival filled with vendors and food trucks. It is also part political rally with an eye on November’s midterm elections and a longer view to the 2028 presidential race.
    The commemoration included a tribute to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate who regularly attended the annual Selma march. He died on Feb. 17 at age 84.
    Yusef Jackson said his father’s legacy will be carried forward. “In November, we will go back to the polls and take our government back, setting our country on the right path,” Jackson said.
    The looming court decision cast a shadow over the festivities. Justices are expected to rule soon on a Louisiana case , Calais vs Louisiana, about the role of race in drawing congressional districts. A ruling prohibiting or limiting that role could have sweeping consequences, potentially opening the door for Republican-controlled states to redistrict and roll back majority Black and Latino districts that tend to favor Democrats.
    U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures won election in 2024 to an Alabama district that was redrawn by a federal court to give Black voters a greater voice. His district will likely be targeted if the state gets the opportunity to redraw lines. He said what happened in Selma and the subsequent passage of the Voting Rights Act “was monumental in shaping what America looks like and how America is represented in Congress.”
    In 1965, the Bloody Sunday marchers led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams walked in pairs across the Selma bridge headed toward the state capital of Montgomery. Mauldin, then 17, was part of the third pair behind Williams and Lewis.
    At the apex of the bridge, they could see the sea of law enforcement officers, including some on horseback, waiting for them. But they kept going.
    “It wasn’t that we didn’t have fear, it’s that we chose courage over fear,” Mauldin recalled.
    Spiver Gordon, Greene County civil rights leader said this anniversary was a little bitter-sweet, since three close friends, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Joanne Bland and Rev. Bernard Lafayette, had all passed in the three weeks leading up to this 61st anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
    A crowd of several thousand filed behind elected officials on this Sunday for the march across the bridge, this time protected by state law enforcement officers.

  • Newswire : After a president-filled celebration, Rev. Jesse Jackson’s family gathers for an intimate homegoing

    Newswire : After a president-filled celebration, Rev. Jesse Jackson’s family gathers for an intimate homegoing

    Private family funeral for Rev. Jesse Jackson

    By The Associated Press

    CHICAGO — A day after former presidents, sitting governors and local Chicago residents alike attended a vibrant, televised celebration for the late Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., the family and friends who knew him best hosted a more intimate gathering Saturday to grieve the civil rights leader at his organization’s headquarters.

    The private memorial service at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s headquarters on the South Side of Chicago includes only a few hundred attendees, most of whom are family members, allies and confidants. The homegoing is meant as a capstone to a week of services held across the country

    “I foresee tomorrow will represent everything that Rev. Jackson stood for,” the Rev. Chauncey D. Brown, a pastor to a Chicago-area church and mentee of Jackson’s, said Friday.. “It will include dignitaries and icons, as well as many from where the true power lies, with the people in the streets.”
    Some members of the public who gathered outside the PUSH headquarters were allowed to enter the chamber.
    “Over the last two weeks, we’ve been focusing on connecting to people that Reverend worked with across the years,” said Rev. Janette Wilson, a longtime senior advisor to Jackson and executive director at Rainbow PUSH Coalition. “When you look at his work, it is so vast in the economic and political arenas.”
    Since his death last month, Jackson’s family and allies have honored the late reverend with commemorations, community service and demonstrations they say continue his work.
    Mourners were first allowed public visitations at the Rainbow PUSH headquarters in February, giving Jackson’s longtime neighbors a chance to say goodbye to the civil rights leader.
    The late reverend then lay in state at the South Carolina Capitol. Jackson grew up in segregated Greenville, South Carolina. As a high schooler, he led fellow students into a protest that desegregated a local library, starting a lifetime of civil rights activism.
    Services honoring Jackson in Washington, D.C., were postponed after a request for him to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol was denied. House Republican leadership cited the precedent that only former presidents and senior generals regularly receive the privilege.
    Jackson’s mentees also honored his legacy by organizing on issues such as voting rights, economic inequality and political organizing in the weeks after his passing. Rainbow PUSH hosted a forum for community organizers and clergy whom Jackson mentored to discuss his impact on their careers.
    Wilson said that the best way to honor Jackson is to continue advocating for progressive, inclusive solutions to the pressing economic and political challenges of the day. She cited policies that addressed the impending socioeconomic effects of artificial intelligence, improved public schools and a focus on youth mental health as areas he was contemplative on at the end of his life.
    She also said that Jackson never shied away from being political.
    “We’re in a global moment where peace in the world is in jeopardy, where we just have bombs being dropped carelessly, killing children, innocent victims of political actions,” said Wilson of the ongoing war in the Middle East. “When the government cuts SNAP benefits and you have millions of children and families who will be food insecure, I think you have to tell them that we’re fighting for you.”
    Services honoring Jackson in Washington, D.C., were postponed after a request for him to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol was denied. House Republican leadership cited the precedent that only former presidents and senior generals regularly receive the privilege.
    Jackson’s mentees also honored his legacy by organizing on issues such as voting rights, economic inequality and political organizing in the weeks after his passing. Rainbow PUSH hosted a forum for community organizers and clergy whom Jackson mentored to discuss his impact on their careers.
    Wilson said that the best way to honor Jackson is to continue advocating for progressive, inclusive solutions to the pressing economic and political challenges of the day. She cited policies that addressed the impending socioeconomic effects of artificial intelligence, improved public schools and a focus on youth mental health as areas he was contemplative on at the end of his life.
    She also said that Jackson never shied away from being political.
    “We’re in a global moment where peace in the world is in jeopardy, where we just have bombs being dropped carelessly, killing children, innocent victims of political actions,” said Wilson of the ongoing war in the Middle East. “When the government cuts SNAP benefits and you have millions of children and families who will be food insecure, I think you have to tell them that we’re fighting for you.”
    The headquarters also greeted nearly 100 progressive activists from Minnesota. The assembled groups represented civil, labor and immigrants’ rights groups who were recently thrust into the national spotlight after President Donald Trump’s administration’s enhanced immigration enforcement operation in the state sparked protests.
    “It’s really empowering, at least for me, to see the coalition coming together and to understand the history of civil rights and human rights and immigrants’ rights,” said Yeng Her, the organizing director at the Immigrant Defense Network, one of the organizations that has protested the Trump administration in Minnesota.
    The Jackson family invited the activists to Chicago to learn more about Jackson’s strategies and find resources for their own organizations. Organizers met Rainbow PUSH alumni and some of Jackson’s children.
    The gathering was a prelude to both the private service for Jackson’s family and another commemoration.
    On Sunday, members of the Jackson family and many of Jackson’s mentees will travel to Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the “Bloody Sunday” protest marches when civil rights activists were beaten by police on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965.
    Jackson himself often attended the same anniversary march.
    “Reverend always thought three-dimensionally,” said Jimmy Coleman, a longtime aide to Jackson and native of Selma.
    “Selma has always stood for the basics of what civil rights is, what we are debating in policy. He was always focused on what we needed in terms of policy in any given political moment, and that’s what the march represents,” said Coleman.

  • Newswire : Iran War already increasing gas prices, mortgage rates 

    Newswire : Iran War already increasing gas prices, mortgage rates 

    President Donald Trump said he wasn’t concerned about rising gas prices, despite celebrating how low prices were during the State of the Union. 
    By Joe Jurado, NewsOne
    Last week, President Donald Trump shocked the world when he authorized targeted strikes against Iran while still negotiating terms over Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The consequences for this war are already being felt stateside as gas prices and mortgage rates have increased.
    CBS News reports that gas prices have gone up on average by 26 cents since the war started. Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy, told CBS News that the increase represents an “unusually strong weekly climb.

    While prices dipped below $3 in December, they’ve been steadily rising as the conflict between Iran and the United States has begun to simmer. “Oil prices have been creeping up on the possibility of attacks,” De Haan told CBS News. “The actual attacks themselves, obviously, are a major escalation.” De Haan predicts that prices will continue to increase by another 10 to 15 cents in the upcoming week before stabilizing.

    One of the key oil shipping routes is the Strait of Hormuz, which runs through Iran. The prolonged bombings have slowed shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to a crawl, with Iran’s counterattacks also impacting oil production in Saudi Arabia. De Haan estimates that the United States is losing access to 20 million barrels of oil supply a day as a result of the bombings.
    “Nothing can replace that,” De Haan told CBS News.
    Like many of us, I’ve seen the impact of the Iran war on gas prices firsthand. Two weeks ago, gas prices in my native area of Phoenix were around $3.15. Last week, when I filled my tank up on Wednesday, it was about $3.60. On Thursday night, as my best friend and I were driving home from a Joey Valence and Brae concert, we were both shocked to see gas prices had increased to $4.15 in just a day. Nothing quite kills a post-concert high like the realities of the U.S. economy.
    The increases come just over a week after Trump bragged about how low gas prices have been during his State of the Union address. Trump was asked by Reuters if he had any concern about how the Iran war would affect domestic gas prices.
    “I don’t have any concern about it,” Trump replied. “They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over, and, if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit.”
    The lack of concern is crazy work, considering that affordability is one of the biggest issues facing Americans. We’re in the buildup to the midterm elections, and Trump has no concern about how his shortsighted actions in Iran. Polling shows that the majority of voters already disapprove of Trump taking military action in Iran. According to the Hill, a poll by Fox News also revealed that the majority of voters feel that Trump’s actions in Iran have made the United States less safe.
    If it’s only been a week and the majority of people aren’t on board with the war, public opinion is only going to fall further as the war in Iran continues to negatively impact their wallets. According to NBC News, the effects have already extended past the gas pump, as mortgage interest rates have ticked up from 5.98% to 6.13%.
    The reason the Iran war is affecting mortgage prices is that mortgage rates are heavily tied to the price of U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds. The yield on those bonds has increased as concerns rise that the war in Iran will lead to higher inflation. Should inflation increase, it could also lead the Federal Reserve to refuse to cut interest rates.
    At a time when the average American is already struggling to afford the cost-of-living, and the labor market continues to contract, Trump decided to make that problem worse over weapons of mass destruction that Iran doesn’t even have.
    Trump’s second term really feels like a monkey’s paw moment for Republicans. On paper, they’ve been getting everything they’ve wanted from mass deportation to a more hawkish approach to foreign policy, yet it’s only resulted in more widespread disapproval for the GOP.

  • Newswire : President Trump refuses to sign bills until SAVE America Act passes 

    By NewsOne staff
    On Sunday, President Donald Trump posted on social media that he wouldn’t sign any more legislation unless Congress passes the SAVE America Act.
    According to NPR, Trump took to Truth Social, demanding that the SAVE America Act “be done immediately” and “supersedes everything else.” While Republicans have tried to position the SAVE America Act as a simple voter ID bill, the changes the bill would make to voting would disenfranchise millions. The voter ID aspects would require a voter to provide two forms of ID that prove citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate. This could create problems for married women who could have a different name on their birth certificate than on their driver’s license.
    The bill would also place a blanket ban on mail-in ballots except for military and people with disabilities. The GOP’s justification for all these changes is that it’s intended to prevent noncitizens from voting, despite all evidence showing that’s an incredibly uncommon occurrence. Trump and the GOP seem to think these changes will exclusively hurt Democrat voters, despite 1 in 3 voters using mail-in ballots.
    “MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed, AND NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION – GO FOR THE GOLD,” he wrote. The Guardian reports that Trump also demanded new provisions be added to the bill that would ban transgender people from participating in women’s sports and gender-affirming surgeries for minors.
    Trump is a deeply unpopular president, as more and more voters disapprove of his handling of the economy, the tactics employed by ICE in their mass deportation campaign, and the war in Iran, which is already having a pronounced, negative impact on the American economy. It was already looking like the Democrats would flip the House last year, which is why Trump pushed several red states to engage in mid-decade redistricting efforts. Several blue states, most notably California, began redistricting efforts of their own to neutralize the gains.
    So now Trump is trying to make it that much harder to vote in the hopes that the GOP maintains its narrow majority in Congress. In addition to pushing for the SAVE Act, Trump has also called for the transfer of control over elections from states to the federal government. Several of Trump’s advisers are reportedly drafting an executive order that would declare a national emergency and allow the president to make changes to how elections are conducted.
    While the SAVE America Act passed in the House, it’s facing significant pushback in the Senate, where it needs to clear a 60-vote threshold to pass. The GOP has only a 53-47 majority in the House, meaning several Democrats would need to vote for the bill. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has publicly stated that no Democrats will vote for the bill.
    Additionally, a study by the Brennan Center found that 21.3 million Americans lack immediate access to proof of citizenship, meaning nearly a quarter of eligible voters could be disenfranchised. “The SAVE Act would disenfranchise Americans of all ages and races, but younger voters and voters of color would suffer disproportionately,” the Brennan Center for Justice wrote in February.
    “If Trump is saying he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate,” Schumer posted on X Sunday. “Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any circumstances.”

  • “5th Little Girl”, Sarah Collins Rudolph, sole survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham speaks at Second Baptist Church Black History program

    “5th Little Girl”, Sarah Collins Rudolph, sole survivor of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham speaks at Second Baptist Church Black History program

    by John Zippert, co-owner

    On February 15, Second Baptist Church hosted a Black History program that brought Sarah Collins Rudolph to Greene County to talk about her experience as the sole survivor of the September 15, 1963 bombing, by the Klu Klux Klan, of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Sarah Collins Rudolph was the younger sister (aged 12 at the time) of Addie Mae Collins, one of four girls tragically killed in the bombing of the church, in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement.


    Sarah Collins Rudolph was in the ladies restroom in the basement of the 16th Street Baptist Church, with four other young ladies – her sister Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, all 14 years old. They were taking a break between Sunday School and a Youth Day program at the church.


    When the bomb exploded around 10:22 in the morning, Sarah Collins Rudolph said she had just walked across the rest room from the other four to wash her hands in the sink. The Klan placed the bomb in an outside stairway that led to the basement that was adjacent to the women’s rest room. The last thing she remembers before the blast, was Denise McNair asking her sister Addie Mae Collins to adjust a sash on her dress.


    Four of the girls were killed instantly by the blast and Sarah survived with serious injuries from the bomb, including glass and other fragments that cut her eyes, face, arms, legs and other parts of her body. She was rescued and sent to the hospital by the first church members that dug through the rumble from the explosion.


    Sarah was confined to the hospital for weeks after the explosion. She was blind in her right eye and had it replaced with a prosthetic eye. Her many cuts healed leaving visible scars both physical and psychological. She says, even today, when she hears loud noises, she revisits the terror of the bomb explosion. She relates this to PSTD experience by soldiers in war, reliving their combat experiences.Sarah was not able to attend the funerals of her sister and the other three girls because she was in the hospital. When she returned to school, she received no special counseling or other assistance to adjust to the explosion which changed her life.


    She finished high school and then worked in various capacities at industrial fabrication plants and domestic work, taking care of elderly and sick people. She married three times. She said that she eventually found a church in Birmingham that helped her to understand that by accepting Christ and his teachings could help her to live a fuller and more meaningful life.


    She testified at the trials of the three KKK members, who were eventually brought to justice for the horrendous crime of bombing the church in 1963, including ‘Dynamite Bob” Chambliss, Frank Cherry and Thomas Blanton.
    In the mid 1990’s more than thirty years after the bombing, she began giving interviews and speaking out about her life and experiences. She tried unsuccessfully to get compensation for herself and families of other victims of racial and civil rights crimes. So far she has been unsuccessful in getting any compensation from the state of Alabama or the Federal government, for her injuries and suffering from the 1963 bombing of the church.


    In her travels to speak on the bombing and being the only survivor, she met Tracy Snipe, a professor at Wright State University in Ohio, where he teaches history, politics and related subjects. Snipes collaborated with Sarah Collins Rudolph to write a book on her life including the 1963 bombing. The book is entitled “the Fifth Little Girl”. At the end of the Second Baptist Church Black History Program, participants were able to purchase copies of her book ($30.00) and have it inscribed to them by her.
    The program at Second Baptist Church was sponsored by United Purposes, and its community partners. The organization is headed by Miriam Leftwich, who organized the program and introduced Ms. Rudolph. The program also featured information on Black History, singing, poetry reading , and a liturgical dance presentation, mostly by young people to honor the guest speaker.


    This program had a very profound impact and impression on this writer and others who attended the program and were not aware that there was a fifth little girl, who survived the bombing , that has lived another more than six decades to give first-hand testimony about one of the most consequential events of the Civil Rights Movement and Black History in America.

    Sarah in the hospital with both eyes bandaged from the bomb explosion
    Sarah in the hospital with both eyes bandaged from the bomb explosion
  • Tonjula Carey holds kickoff rally in Boligee for her campaign to be District Judge

    Tonjula Carey holds kickoff rally in Boligee for her campaign to be District Judge

    by John Zippert, co-owner

    On Saturday, February 21, 2026, at the Boligee Town Hall, Attorney Tonjula Carey held a campaign kickoff for her run for Greene County District Judge. 200 friends and supporters from around the county attended the kickoff rally and enjoyed a dinner that was served after the program.
    Tonjula Carey is running for the Democratic nomination for the Greene County District Judge position, which will be vacant because the current District Judge, Lillie Osborne, is retiring. Carey is running against Rob Lee, a Eutaw based lawyer. His grandfather was Bill Lee, the last white Sheriff of Greene County prior to the election of Thomas Gilmore, as the first Black Sheriff of Greene County in 1970.

    Several friends and family members spoke in favor of Tonjula Carey and her support for them as well as her legal knowledge. Attorney Glenn McCord, who practices in Greene and Sumter counties said he was proud to support her for the position. “Although some will say she is too young and does not have the experience, I have watched her practice law in Greene County courts and she is well qualified. We need to put a Black person like her on the bench.”

    Tonjula Carey then spoke and introduced herself to the people present. “My family has lived in Greene County for generations. When I was six years old my mother moved me to Birmingham but I have come back often to visit and work in Greene County. I attended the University of Alabama for my undergraduate degree and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law Texas Southern University for my law degree in 2021. I have been practicing law since then in Alabama and Greene County.

    “My motto is fairness, integrity and concern for the people of Greene County and rendering service to them in their everyday struggles and challenges. I cannot afford to buy your votes, I can only ask that you support me in this primary election on May 19 and I will help and serve you as District Judge after that.”

    Judge Lillie Osborne also spoke to support Tonjula Carey. Osborne said, “Don’t say she is not ready. She has more than the four years of legal experience that is required to run for this position. I want someone to replace me that shares my passion for the people, especially the children of Greene County.”

  • Latasha Johnson Announces Candidacy for Greene County Commissioner, District 3

    Latasha Johnson Announces Candidacy for Greene County Commissioner, District 3

    Greene County, Alabama —I, Latasha Jenikco Johnson, proudly announce my candidacy for Greene County Commissioner District #3 in the May 19, 2026 election. Guided by my motto, “Trust God, Do Good,” I bring proven leadership, faith-based values, and a lifetime of service to my campaign.
    I previously served the citizens of Eutaw as both a City Councilwoman and Mayor, where I worked to strengthen local government operations, support community development, and advocate for residents. My experience in municipal leadership gives me firsthand knowledge of budgeting, infrastructure planning, and community engagement.

    I earned my Associate Degree from Shelton State Community College, Bachelor’s Degree from University of West Alabama, and am a Licensed Practical Nurse through Herzing University. My background in healthcare reflects my heart for service and advocacy for families.

    I am the proud daughter of Annie Davis Polk Johnson and the late Major Johnson, an active member of New Peace Missionary Baptist Church, serves as Greene County District Association Youth Advisor, is a member of Order of the Eastern Star, St. John Beauty Chapter #735, and is active in the Greene County Usher Alliance.“As a former Mayor and Councilwoman, I understand how government decisions impact everyday people, “My motto, Trust God, Do Good, guides every decision I make. Greene County deserves leadership rooted in faith, transparency, and action.”

    My campaign priorities include:
    Economic Growth & Job Development – Expanding opportunities and supporting local businesses.

    Infrastructure & Public Services – Improving roads, utilities, and county resources.

    Public Safety & Communities Health- Supporting first responders and promoting wellness. Fiscal Responsibility & Transparency- Ensuring that county funds are managed wisely and decision – making is open and accountable. Youth & Community Engagement- Investing in future generations and building strong partnerships. Greene County has tremendous potential. With experience, faith, and a servant’s heart, I am ready to continue serving and working for every resident of this county.

  • Kelvin Scott announces candidacy for Greene County Commissioner, District 2

    Kelvin Scott announces candidacy for Greene County Commissioner, District 2

    Campaign theme: “Grow Greene Together” — change that’s rooted, shared, and lasting

    EUTAW, AL — Kelvin Scott, a lifelong public servant, local business leader, and Greene County native, today announced his candidacy for Greene County Commissioner, District 2. Scott’s campaign will focus on practical leadership, clear direction, and shared economic growth for Greene County families.

    “I’m running because Greene County deserves a clear path and direction—then consistent follow-through,” Scott said. “We don’t need more confusion or politics as usual. We need steady leadership that listens first, acts responsibly, and delivers results people can feel.”
    Scott, a graduate of Eutaw High School, retired after serving 20 years in the United States Marine Corps. After military service, he continued supporting the mission of the Department of Defense in leadership roles. He is also a local entrepreneur and community member—CEO of Colvin & Daniel Trucking DBA Greene County Carriers and owner of Rooted Farms LLC.

    Scott’s campaign slogan is “Grow Greene Together,” paired with the guiding message: “Change that’s rooted, shared, and lasting.” His platform is built on four key focus areas:
    1) Strategic Economic Development
    Scott is prioritizing economic growth that strengthens local opportunity—supporting small businesses, improving the infrastructure that commerce depends on, and pursuing partnerships that create job pathways in Greene County.“Economic development should be practical,” Scott said. “That means building and attracting and a county government that helps—not hinders—local progress.”
    2) The Future Is Our Children
    Scott’s plan emphasizes youth opportunity and long-term stability, including stronger support for programs and partnerships that connect young people to skills, mentorship, and reasons to stay and build in Greene County.
    “A county that plans for children plans to last,” Scott said.
    3) Health, Wellness, and Food Security
    Scott will advocate for common-sense solutions that improve access to wellness resources and strengthen local food systems—because health should not depend on zip code.
    “Wellness isn’t a luxury,” Scott said. “It’s infrastructure.”
    4) Support for Farming and Land Stewardship
    Scott is committed to supporting farmers and landowners through fair land-use decisions, improved rural infrastructure, and responsible stewardship that protects Greene County’s land and legacy.
    “Land is livelihood here,” Scott said. “We have to protect what makes Greene County strong.”

    Scott said his approach to county government will be guided by transparency, accountability, and open communication. “People deserve to understand what the county’s real plan is for the foreseeable future. We need to understand the decisions being made and why. My commitment is simple: listen, plan, and deliver.”

    For more information, visit: http://www.growgreentogether.com

  • Newswire: Peace talks be dammed; the U.S. and Israel invade Iran, and casualties mount

    Newswire: Peace talks be dammed; the U.S. and Israel invade Iran, and casualties mount

    by Frederick H. Lowe, BlackmansStreet.Today

    President Donald Trump announced on his social media that a joint invasion between the U.S. and Israel resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

    In addition, three U.S. soldiers were also killed, and five others were seriously injured, according to U.S. Central Command during “Operation Epic Fury,” the joint U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran. Trump said more American deaths are expected. As of March 3rd, the death toll of U.S. Service personnel was 6, with many injured.

    At least 165 people were killed when a strike hit an all-girls school in Minab, which is in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province. A local official said among the dead were students, parents, and school staff.

    Trump also urged the Iranian people to “seize control of your destiny” by rising against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.

    The attack on Iran by the U.S. and Israel was launched in the middle of diplomatic efforts to avert conflict. Congress was not consulted on the invasion, which has been cast as a war.

    President Trump does not have the power to declare war on another country. The Founding Fathers and the Constitution gave war authority and power to Congress, and Congress alone, said the ACLU.

    President Trump violated the Constitution when he announced that the U.S. was going to war and launched an open-ended bombing campaign against Iran, a country with nearly 100 million people, without ever going to Congress for authorization.

    President Trump ordered U.S. military strikes against Iran without prior congressional authorization, and key members of the U.S. Congress say they were not given intelligence briefings before the operation began.

    Several lawmakers strongly criticized the decision as a violation of constitutional and statutory war powers.

    The attack on Iran reportedly targeted military sites as well as the leadership of the Iranian regime.

    Explosions were heard in Israel and Gulf countries after Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles in a strong response to being attacked.

    Trump announced the invasion in an eight-minute speech after the first bombs had fallen.

    Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation and warned that a failure to do so risks a wider regional conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability.

    Mr. Guterres declared that the military escalation in the region undermines international peace and security, and recalled that all Member States must “respect their obligations under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations,” which prohibits “the threat of the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

    The attack on Iran reportedly targeted military sites as well as the leadership of the Iranian regime.

  • Newswire: Congressman Green raised a bold sign at State of the Union indicating Black men are ready to fight

    Newswire: Congressman Green raised a bold sign at State of the Union indicating Black men are ready to fight

    Texas Congressman Al Green was shown the door during President Donald Trump’s “State of the Union” Monday night after holding up a sign written in large block letters that “Black People Aren’t Apes.”

    Green was responding to Trump’s racist social media post that depicted former President Barack Obama and Former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes on Trump’s “Truth Social Platform.”

    Representative Troy Nehls, a Texas Republican, attempted to snatch the sign from Green, a Democrat, as he held it up so all could see, but Green pushed Nehls away. Nehls was best known for having President Trump autograph a tie he wore to the “State of the Union.”

    Green was pushed and somewhat dragged through the crowd. White lawmakers cheered.

    Afterward, Green commented to Raw Story on his willingness to challenge Trump’s racism openly and directly: “If you tolerate this level of racism, you perpetuate it. I refuse to tolerate it. I don’t wanna see it normalized.”

    “And that’s why I flashed this to the president, so there would be no question as to where I stand. He needs to know that there are some people who have the courage to tell him things that he doesn’t want to hear, and that nobody else will tell him.”

    Green’s comments mirror those he made in 2025, when he was also removed from Trump’s joint address to Congress for speaking out. “It’s worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up to Trump,” Green said.