Billy Graham Meets Bill Ayers
There’s hardly an evangelical who doesn’t know about Wheaton College. Alma Mater of the Reverend Billy Graham, Wheaton boasts a student body of superior intellect and an education rivaling much of the Ivy League. more
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Liberty, Justice, and Gambling

The first salvo in the battle over electronic bingo in the state of Alabama was fired today at the State House here in Montgomery. At a press event today, several members of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, along with Jimmy Jackson, Dan Ireland, and others, renewed their opposition to the expansion of gambling and introduced a previous resolution calling on the Legislature to likewise oppose any expansion of gambling.
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Gambling Must Be Controlled by Referendum.

In a recent op-ed piece by Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute, a number of assumptions are made and incorrect case law is cited in his critique of the Christian Coalition of Alabama's examination of the legal parameters that affect the operation of electronic bingo and other forms of bingo within the state of Alabama and that conducted by the Poarch Creek Indians in Atmore and Elmore County.
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ALABAMA VOICES: Referendum essential
February 15, 2010 Montgomery Advertiser

In a recent Alabama Voices column by Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute, a number of assumptions are made and incorrect case law is cited in his critique of the Christian Coalition of Alabama's examination of the legal parameters that affect the operation of electronic bingo and other forms of bingo within Alabama and that conducted by the Poarch Creek Indians in Atmore and Elmore County. more

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James, Bentley Shake on Policy
Ivey "Burns" Byrne on Solutions to PACT 

Thee Christian Coalition of Alabama hosted a lively debate among the leading candidates for governor Tuesday in Montgomery, AL at Taylor Road Baptist Church. The format was the first true debate, although the candidates rarely took the opportunity to go on the offensive with each other.

At least until later in the questioning, when Kay Ivey scolded Bradley Byrne over his suggested solution to the PACT funding crisis. Ms. Ivey opined and presented to the audience her 3 point solution to the PACT plan which included prepaying the universities that participated in the PACT payments based on a 5 year rolling average of payments and then requiring the universities to honor the PACT recipients in the future based on the number of contracts that they had been prepaid.  Mr. Byrne stated that the next governor needed to sit down with the university presidents to come to a solution. Ms Ivey retorted that "Mr. Byrne, you were on the board for the last 5 years, and know that the 4 year universities only say NO, NO, NO...." Mr. Byrne was in fact a board member during the time of the decline in the PACT receipts and no solution had been reached during that time period.

Artur Davis and Ron Sparks both got into a dispute over solutions to the state budget. Davis stating that Sparks was the only one on the stage that supported the Obama health care plan with Sparks firing back that Davis had received thousands of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry to stop his support. Davis also chided Sparks with banking on gambling to support the state budget shortfalls, while Sparks challenged the rest of the field to remedy the nearly 600 million potential budget shortfall, without raising individual or corporate taxes.  

Tim James and Robert Bentley both supplemented the debate with specific policy initiatives that would help fund the state budgets and also create jobs. Dr. Bentley had introduced legislation, HB 260, which would give a business tax deduction of up to 50% of an employee’s salary if he remained in that position for one year. It has been projected to generate over 5,000 new jobs. Mr. James highlighted the problem with the growing state budgets and specifically, the education trust fund growing to over 6 billion dollars from 3.5 billion in 2003, with the same number of students, which was unsustainable. He also supported the specific job tax credits and health care proposals outlined by Dr. Bentley, stating during the forum, "I defer to Dr Bentley's expertise" and then embracing him.

Bill Johnson highlighted his experience with the Alabama Dept of Economic Development and his partnerships with faith based institutions as means to be an economic stimulus and promote jobs. Dr. Bentley highlighted his experience as a physician, veteran, small business man, and the only lifetime Republican, except Tim James, who was too young to remember Alabama being all Democrat and proclaimed the state is sick and they need a doctor... It might be the best remembered phrase of the campaign.

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For Immediate Release:
February 4th 2010

"The Christian Coalition is involved in dozens of issues across the state that have nothing to do with gaming and receive support from many, many organizations. We have not solicited contributions from the gaming industry, directly or indirectly through PAC. In fact, to insure that this is not an issue in the future we will no longer accept any contributions from any PAC for any purpose."

Dr. Randy Brinson
Chairman, Christian Coalition, Alabama

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February 2, 2010 Montgomery Advertiser
Alabama Supreme Court defines 'electronic bingo'
The lack of clarity over the type of electronic gambling that Alabama does or does not allow is finally being cleared up by the state Supreme Court, but don't expect that to bring an end to the midnight raids on gambling establishments around the state. more

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For Immediate Release:
February 2nd, 2010
Media Contact
Collier Craft
205-757-6927

Christian Coalition of Alabama to Host Gubernatorial Forum

All Candidates Slated to Attend

Montgomery, AL - The Christian Coalition of Alabama will host its second gubernatorial forum at 7:00 PM, February 8th, 2010 at Taylor Road Baptist Church located at 1685 Taylor Rd. in Montgomery, AL. Candidates for the Democratic nomination Congressman Artur Davis and Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks will be in attendance, as will candidates for the Republican nomination Robert Bentley, Bradley Byrne, State Treasurer Kay Ivey, Tim James, Bill Johnson, and Judge Roy Moore. The forum is expected to last approximately 90 minutes, and candidates will answer questions posed to them by a panel.

"We're thrilled with the opportunity to have all the candidates on one stage," said Dr. Randy Brinson, Chairman of the CCA. "Alabamians want to know what issues matter most to the candidates, where they stand, and how their values shape their policy decisions. This forum provides the perfect chance for candidates and voters to come together and discuss the issues." 

The forum will cover a wide range of topics but will focus on the economy, jobs, education, health care, and moral issues. Members of the panel are Dr David Lanoue, Chairman, Dept of Political Science, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL; Ms. Cheryl Ciamarra, Alabama United for Life, Birmingham, AL; Rev. John Ed Mathison, John Ed Mathison Ministries, Montgomery, AL; Ms. Eileen Jones, WSFA, Montgomery, AL; Dr Leon Davis, Community Care Network, Practicing Internist, Montgomery, AL; Dr Allen Gribben, Chairman, English Dept, Auburn University Montgomery, Montgomery, AL.

Asked why he decided to host this forum, Dr. Brinson said, "Many of issues that we discussed in the previous forum began conversations that should be taking place over the course of this campaign. We want to continue these discussions to remain engaged in the process and to see where these candidates stand today on issues important to the Christian community."

WHAT: Gubernatorial Forum
WHO: Candidates for Governor
WHERE: Taylor Road Baptist Church, 1685 Taylor Rd., Montgomery, AL
WHEN:Monday, February 8th at 7PM

**To schedule an interview with Chairman of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, Dr. Randy Brinson, please contact Collier Craft at 205-757-6927 or colliercraft@gmail.com.

About the Christian Coalition of Alabama:
The Christian Coalition of Alabama is a 501c4 nonprofit organization committed to promoting and pursuing the application of Christian principles to public policy that is devoid of partisan politics and convey reasonable conservative solutions to issues that confront government at both the state and federal level. For more information, visit the Christian Coalition of Alabama’s Web site at www.ccalabama.org .

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Statement on the early morning raids of Country Crossings and Victoryland.
wtvynews4 - Jan 29, 2010

The incidences today both at Country Crossings and Victoryland in Macon County further substaniate the need for both sides in the debate over the legality of gambling in the state to pause and step back so that a reasoned and thoughtful approach to addressing gambling can be formulated. I was terribly grieved by the fact that at a time when there is limited resources to address both public safety and job creation in the state, the governor dispatched hundreds of troopers and other public safety officials to conduct these operations, with little regard for the exposure of the public to dangerous drivers or other potential public safety hazards across the state.

The Attorney General correctly asserted that he is the dutifully elected official to deal with the enforcement of the laws of our state, including those that deal with gambling. The actions by the governor if found to be in violation of the Constitution, further exposes the taxpayers to litigation and costly damages that would be borne by all of us. The statement by DA John Tyson that the state statues prohibit the operation of slot machines is irrelevant if there is a constitutional amendment that allows for electronic bingo.. This particularly relevant since recognized experts in the field of gambling legislation have asserted that as long as any bingo operations are allowed, including paper bingo in the state of alabama, then the state will have no legal recourse to deal with Indian gambling on Indian sovereign land, where the same electronic bingo machines have not been designated slot machines by the federal government.

Endless court challenges and legal maneuvers are clearly not the answer to solving these differences, It is clearly the need for a vote of the people to either allow or eliminate gambling in the state, and do so in a responsible manner. I fear that the continued activity by the governor with little regard for settled case law, only lends more credibility to those that want to see gambling proliferate and weakens the public support for those of us that seek its elimination.

Regards,
Dr. Randy Brinson
 
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