Here’s the pattern: As both mayor of Fairfield and president of the JeffCo Commission, he raised taxes and promised better schools, laptops for those schools, and college scholarships. He also supported the building of major tourist attractions each time. And each time, he never delivered on the school promises, but he did build VisionLand, and you know the history of THAT catastrophe. He also sold bonds to fund these grand schemes each time.

Now, based on that pattern, he’s already STARTED to make the same mistake again. He’s raising taxes, making promises, there’s a dome involved, and he’s selling bonds. The same man is overseeing those bonds. Now, based on the law of probability, what is most likely to happen next?

It’s not that he MIGHT make the same mistake again. It’s that he WILL make the same mistake again unless someone slows him down, and don’t count on the City Council to be the ones to do it. They’ve already been bought off for the tidy sum of $1 million in pork slush each.

Anyone with a rational mindset would realize that if a county government like Jefferson County with a track history of convictions of corruption wouldn’t have done what he did with the bond swipes. However, over and over again he has shown that he is too busy thinking about keeping own personal finances via the county’s by pulling this act. If he does get indicted I say, “He deserves it.”

I am also a citizen of Birmingham and feel that it is not right for this city or this region to suffer because of the bumbling of one person. I didn’t vote for him for this very reason, but I’m not bitching about this like some. Hopefully, Langford won’t make the same mistake twice with the City of Birmingham.

You might find it interesting that the same guy who was involved in the overpriced bond deals for Jefferson county under Larry Langford, Steve Sayler, has been hired to be the finance director for Birmingham so that he can handle the bond deals for Birmingham. I’m, of course, referring to bond deals for the school construction (under the 1 cent JeffCo sales tax), the bond swap deals that are under investigation by the SEC, and the bond deals to fund the building of the domed stadium.

There’s a rather interesting article in today’s Birmingham News regarding how JeffCo didn’t take bids on the bonds and as a result paid more than the state.

Don’t you see the REASON in that argument? Langford was DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED and therefore, everyone else should just shut up and deal with it.

And if you thought George W. shouldn’t have been president, you are nothing more than a sore looserman. I mean, who cares that there were uncounted ballots and confusion at polls and even allegations of outright cheating? Am I right?

Yes, that was sarcasm.

You are correct. There are those who didn’t vote for Langford and who will suffer. There were also those who reported problems at the polls and never had their votes counted, and it was suspicious that some districts went the way they did… Truth be told, there’s no way out of this that will be fair and will have no problems. Even with Langford removed, you still have a corrupt council, and the next dunderhead will take over. Bhmhomeboy’s previous statement that the nation survived Geroge W. Bush isn’t entirely correct. This nation has suffered great losses in finances, morale, and even in lives as a direct result of his presidency. It remains to be seen what effect we will see in the far future.

And just as some in other countries will suffer if the U.S. ceases to intervene in international affairs, the consequences of intervention are far greater. The same can be said for state and county intervention into the city affairs of Birmingham. It may put a band-aid on things for now, but ultimately, it will suck the county and state dry if we continue on this path. The best that we can hope for is that those who dissent now will get fed up and convince more of their neighbors to take action.

Well, no, not exactly. 50.3% of the voters allowed themselves to be scammed into voting for Langford. The other 49.7% preferred someone else. That’s a bit like blaming me for George W. Bush. Yes, I realize in an ideal Libertarian world, every one of those 49.7% would have jobs that are portable, families that don’t mind being uprooted, parents in perfect health who won’t suffer if the kids move out of town, etc., etc., and they could all just up and leave if they don’t like it. Back here in reality, actual people who didn’t do anything to deserve it are going to suffer in large and small ways if Larry completely screws up. And many of those people have been working hard for years to improve the city and the region. I can’t celebrate that.

Larry Langford isn’t being “targeted” any more than Don Siegelman, Richard Scrushy, Troy King, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, or Alvin Holmes. Where is your defense of these people?

Lack of a criminal conviction has little to do with lack of evidence. It has everything to do with getting a jury to believe you, and trust me when I say that they can be convinced not to convict you. If you don’t believe me, just ask Richard Scrushy and O. J. Simpson and a number of other criminals who have gotten off on a technicality. Kenneth Lay was never convicted, either, but I don’t see you rushing to his defense. The least you can do is be honest with yourself and with us.

And what of the democratic process should Langford actually go to jail? What then? Are you suggesting that he should be able to run the mayoral office as a convicted felon from a jail cell?

When a person admits in front of news cameras that he doesn’t live in a place… When UPS deliveries to that place go ignored for weeks at a time… It doesn’t take a judge or a genius to tell you that the person doesn’t live there. When a person orchestrates a bond swap deal, and when those who profit pay that person’s debts for him, and those things are readily admitted from the person’s mouth, it doesn’t take the SEC to tell you that the person was bribed. It’s what we call a “Duh” conclusion. These aren’t made up claims, either. There are plenty of past quotes from Langford in which he admits them. If anything were ever in question regarding Langford, it would be the definition of “residency” and the definition of “bribe.”

Kathy to answer your earlier statement… I’m not suggesting that it will help Birmingham at all. In fact, I’m suggesting the opposite. I’m very much a Libertarian in that I believe people gain the lifestyle that they earn. The people of Birmingham allowed themselves to be scammed into voting for Langford and therefore must live with their decision. The only objection I have is when (not if) the other county and state taxpayers will be forced to clean up the mess, and they did NOT vote for Langford. But I do believe that it will cause more business and businesses to travel outside of Birmingham– the most likely places being Trussville and Hoover, although Hoover would most likely see the bigger boost of the two.

Yeah, you should keep up your living room, but if your living room is built over a sink hole, you can’t fix the problem by throwing your bedroom furniture into the hole.

Birmingham has become our sink hole. We can throw money at it all day, but the hole will still be there. And the outlying areas will be the ones who suffer as their money is continuously thrown into the sink hole that is Birmingham. So maybe we take the house in a different direction and build a new “living room” elsewhere. I know that Mobile is waiting in the wings, and it already attracts a comparable number of tourists.

Honestly, I think that Birmingham is going to have to hit rock bottom before it gets better– much like a drug addict. Until the people of Birmingham get so fed up that they’re willing to work to improve it rather than rely on the government or a politician to do it for them, it will only get worse.

ALmod, I’m right there with you re: Larry as a great generator of blog fodder, but I don’t think the greater Birmingham area will benefit if he drags down the city proper. Someone (I wish I could recall who) described downtown as the living room to our collective house. It’s the first room a visitor sees, and if it’s in disarray, the rest of the house looks bad. Not to mention the tremendous human cost to people who are already among the most vulnerable.