Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy says claims from Bradley Arant re: collection on $2.87-billion judgment are "hogwash" and will be proven false

Richard Scrushy (center)

 

Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy says that claims he is hiding millions of dollars related to a $2.87-billion civil judgment are "hogwash" and will be proven false in the court discovery process. From a report at 1819news.com:

Richard Scrushy said he's ready for the truth to come out following allegations in court that he is hiding millions of dollars he could use to pay what he owes from a civil lawsuit.

"This entire story is completely false and hogwash, and the discovery will prove that," Scrushy told 1819 News.

The former HealthSouth CEO, who spent time in prison for bribery involving former Gov. Don Siegelman, owes $2.87 billion in a 2009 civil case. Now, attorneys for Encompass Health have accused him of writing $7.3 million in checks in the name of prisoner Eddie Briskett, who is serving time for multiple convictions, including property theft, burglary and assault.

"I'm not on that man's account," Scrushy said. "I cannot write a check on his account, I've never signed a signature card, and no, none of that is true. Not a single word and they know that."

Scrushy's comments refer to claims by attorneys for Encompass Health (the current name for what once was HealthSouth, the company Scrushy founded) that he is hiding money related to the $2.87-billion judgment. Reports Erica Thomas at 1819news.com:

The attorneys with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP claim Scrushy is using friends and family to conduct business and has written two checks to himself totaling $3 million.

Now, Scrushy told 1819 News that he wants the truth to come out in discovery. He has asked the judge to put him under oath and gain access to Briskett's account to prove the allegations are false. Scrushy said this is another way for the law firm to make more money off Encompass Health.

"There's nothing to this," said Scrushy. "And they have billed and billed Encompass Health. It's shameful what they've done."

Scrushy alleges the law firm has billed Encompass Health more than $110 million in about 10 years, although no documentation has been presented to back that claim. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has not responded on the record to inquiries from 1819 News.

Longtime Alabama attorney, businessman, and civil-rights advocate Donald Watkins reported at his Web site that Encompass Health has paid more than $100 million for Bradley Arant  to collect $33 million on a $2.9-billion civil-court judgment. Watkins said Bradley Arant is using an unusual "fee for services" contract in an effort to collect in the Scrushy matter. The arrangement, according to a post at DonaldWatkins.com, has provided little in the way of benefits to Bradley Arant's client, but it has created a financial windfall for the law firm in the form of what might be called "open-ended legal fees."

Rather than working on a standard 15% contingency-fee contract for debt-collection work, Watkins says, Bradley Arant  has operated on an open-ended arrangement that has turned into a "gravy train" for the law firm.  From 1819 News:

Scrushy said after 20 years of legal battles and 11 years since his release from federal custody, he feels he and his family continue to be attacked. He said he has a calling to do prison ministry, and now the positive thing he is doing is being turned into a negative.

"I've been doing prison ministries for years and years and years, and there are a lot of people that I've helped," Scrushy explained. "Those that have gotten out of prison, I have helped and gotten to know their families. There are people that go to prison, but it shouldn't mean that it destroys their life. I have worked with a lot of different people, and this young man [Eddie Briskett] is a good, Christian guy… When they did this, they hurt him. They hurt that guy, and he's a good man."

Scrushy said in his prison ministry, he has gotten to know a lot of inmates and formed strong bonds with them. He said he continues to communicate with them after they are released.

That is how he met Briskett 20 years ago, and he hopes the negative publicity does not impact Briskett's upcoming parole hearing.

"And to be attacked like this and for one of the people I deal with to be attacked like this is just really wrong," Scrushy added. "But it will all come out and prove to be right."

Judge John England, Jr. ordered a preliminary injunction stopping all transfers from the account in question pending discovery.

With Americans' attention focused elsewhere, the stage is set for a Three Mile Island-style nuclear disaster at Southern Company plant near Waynesboro, Georgia

Vogtle Units 3 and 4 (right)

 

As Americans are pelted with news of Donald Trump's mounting legal woes, Russia's attack on Ukraine, and the horse-race politics of the 2024 elections, the country's next nuclear disaster -- with frightening parallels to the 1979 meltdown at Three Mile Island -- appears to be brewing in East Georgia, according to a report at DonaldWatkins.com.

A longtime Alabama attorney, businessman, and civil-rights advocate, Watkins says the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) could still take action to avert a disaster at the Vogtle nuclear power plant near Waynesboro, Georgia. But in a process where sloppy workmanship has trumped technical efficiency, corruption has trumped corporate integrity, and influence peddling has trumped effective oversight, Watkins says that is not likely to happen before one of two nuclear units at Vogtle is scheduled to be brought online later this month. Under the headline "Politics Trumps Public Safety: The Southern Company's Making of a Nuclear Disaster at Vogtle," Watkins writes:

Considering the sheer size, scope, and complexity of the Units 3 and 4 projects, and given the history and extent of the engineering flaws and shoddy workmanship at these units, there is no way the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can thoroughly perform a high-quality inspection of the engineering, procurement, and construction work performed by Bechtel/Southern Nuclear in time to bring Unit 3 online this month -- without compromising public safety in a major way.

This is exactly why the meltdown at Three Mile Island happened. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission yielded to political pressure from Three Mile Island's owner/operator and, in the process, compromised the soundness and safety of the nuclear plant's operations.

The NRC promised that this kind of political influence peddling would never happen again. However, all the objective evidence to date suggests that the Southern Company prowess at influence peddling is strong enough to cause the NRC to break this 1979 promise.

Is an ugly chapter in American history about to repeat itself? Watkins says that appears to be the case:

Interestingly, the NRC has not scheduled an evidentiary hearing on two February 3, 2023, complaints relating to the Southern Company's ownership and operation of Units 3 and 4, even though the complainants requested such a hearing prior to the issuance of the final operating permits for Units 3 and 4.

The complaints challenged the Southern Company’s “fitness” to hold a combined Owner/Operator licenses for Vogtle Units 3 and 4. When the licenses were issued for these units, the NRC explicitly found that the applicants were "fit" to hold the licenses for these nuclear plants, which is a requirement for licensure under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as amended).

Because of the Southern Company's $27-billion accounting-fraud scheme and its multi-state racketeering enterprise, the company is no longer "fit" as licensees of a nuclear power plant in America.

Additionally, it does not appear that any panel of credible and capable independent nuclear experts has been appointed by the NRC to review and assess: (a) the innumerable construction flaws; (b) the purported remediation work; (c) the installation of adequate safety devices and required redundancy systems; (d) the long-term and objectively measured reliability and dependability of each unit’s commercial operation; and (e) the adequacy of employee safety and training, plant safety protocols and procedures, and operational controls at Units 3 and 4.

Because the probability of a catastrophic disaster event at Units 3 and 4 is so high, all counties, cities, and communities within a 100-mile radius of Vogtle should be made aware of an NRC-approved “Disaster Plan” that sets forth an evacuation plan and describes what steps affected residents must take to minimize the loss of life when the nuclear disaster occurs at Units 3 and/or 4 prior to Unit 3 being placed into service. This has not happened.

Yes, you read that correctly: A disaster and evacuation plan is in place to minimize loss of life when a nuclear disaster occurs at Vogtle, but people living within a 100-mile radius of the plant have not been made aware of the plan. Should that inspire confidence that the NRC has the situation under control at Vogtle? Probably not. 

On top of that, Southern Company entities hold insurance coverage that provides funds up to $13.7 billion for public-liability claims that could arise from a single nuclear incident. How many Americans, even those living near the Vogtle plant, are aware of this arrangement? Outside of Southern Company employees and those who work for the involved insurance carriers, the answer probably is close to zero.

How did we reach such a disturbing place? Watkins sets the scene:

Because of: (a) basic engineering failures; (b) shoddy workmanship during construction; (c) $21 billion in cost overruns; (d) a political chokehold on the Georgia Public Service Commission; (e) cronyism and influence peddling within the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); (f) a calculated “wokeness” decision to hire Chris Womack as the Southern Company’s chief executive officer; and (g) direct political connections with President Joe Biden's White House, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and the U.S. Department of Justice, it is highly probable that the Southern Company’s two newly constructed nuclear power units at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant will create the biggest nuclear disaster in the United States since the meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979.

Vogtle has been a disaster in the making for Americans since the NRC issued  combined Owner/Operator licenses for Vogtle Units 3 and 4 on February 10, 2012. As explained in an April 18, 2023, article titled, “Is the Southern Company’s Vogtle Nuclear Power Project the New Three Mile Island?” this disaster arises from the following contributing factors that have been documented by a team of nuclear experts:

• A culture of production over quality;

• A culture of poor inspecting or non-inspecting of work;

• High personnel turnover and absenteeism;

• Significant work backlogs;

• High first-time component testing failure rates; and,

• Need for extensive rework and retesting.

The list of major construction-related mistakes that Southern Nuclear Operating Company missed on the project-management checkoff sheets for Vogtle Units 3 and 4 is staggering and dangerous.

The shoddy workmanship and potentially catastrophic failures at the construction site fall within the five categories of instruction that are covered in basic high school industrial arts classes (e.g., Industrial and Engineering Drafting, Industrial Materials, Power and Energy, Information Industry, and Automation).

What about specifics? Watkins provides them:

Here are a few examples of these basic failures:

1. Approximately 8% of the original cabling that had been used in the construction needed to be recut/replaced, resulting in additional delays and costs to the project. As a result, approximately 500,000 linear feet of cable – equivalent to about 95 miles – had to be replaced.

2. Bolts that had been originally tightened had not been inspected at the time. So, each of those had to be loosened and then retightened to the specific torque value.

3. In 2022, there were some 26,000 electrical Inspection Records that had not been completed. While the work had been done, the Inspection Records weren’t complete at the time. The only explanation provided to the PSC for this faux pas was,“someone didn’t do their job.”

4. Bechtel, an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm hired by the Southern Company in 2017, and the Southern Nuclear Operating Company, the licensed operator and construction-management firm for Vogtle Units 3 and 4, missed the engineering check off during construction for the installation of the structural support systems required to prevent Unit 3 from vibrating during start-up testing in January 2023. This costly mistake is analogous to installing a motor in a new car without installing motor mounts to keep the motor from vibrating and tearing loose from the car frame over time.

The Vogtle Plant is jointly owned by Georgia Power (45.7%), Oglethorpe Power Corporation (30%), Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (22.7%) and Dalton Utilities (1.6%). The shoddy workmanship and remediation work at Vogtle Units 3 and 4 have resulted in $21 billion in cost overruns for the two construction projects, which were originally budgeted at $14 billion. Today, the total cost of the two Vogtle units is estimated at $31 billion. .

All three of Georgia Power’s partners in Vogtle sued the company in 2022 over the issue of cost overruns associated with Units 3 and 4. Two of these lawsuits are still pending in court, while the one filed by MEAG was settled last year.

Southern Company's influence peddling on the Vogtle project is perhaps the most disturbing part of this picture, and Watkins describes it as "obscene and dangerous":

The Southern Company’s political influence peddling for the Vogtle project is obscene and dangerous. It also evidences the Southern Company's chokehold on state and federal utility regulators, as well as its ability to impede criminal investigations by the Department of Justice into the company's business affairs.

In 2018, the Southern Company appointed Ernest J. Moniz to its board of directors. Moniz served as Secretary of the Department of Energy under President Barack Obama from May 2013 to January 2017. Moniz serves as the Southern Company’s direct link to President Joe Biden. The two men are buddies. His presence on the Southern Company’s board of directors also eases the way for final approvals needed from the Department of Energy.

In October 2021, the Southern Company appointed Kristine L. Svinicki to its board of directors. Ms. Svinicki served as a Commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 2008 to 2017 and then served as Chairwoman of the Commission from 2017 to January 20, 2021. Her presence on the board eases the way for final approvals needed from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

In 2020, the Southern Company appointed Colette D. Honorable to the board. Ms. Honorable served as Commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The FERC regulates the wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in interstate commerce. The Commission also reviews and licenses projects in the energy markets. Ms. Honorable was nominated by President Barack Obama in August 2014 and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. She served as an FERC Commissioner from January 2015 until her term expired in June 2017. Her presence on the Southern Company’s board of directors eases the way for any final approvals needed from the FERC.

If Units 3 and 4 go online as planned, a compromised CEO will be in charge of Southern Company. There is a reason for that, and Watkins describes Chris Womack's appointment to head the company as "An Act of Wokeness, Used as a Bridge Over Troubled Waters":

The Southern Company is using its May 24, 2023, appointment of Christopher C. Womack as its CEO as a bridge over the troubled waters engulfing the Vogtle Units 3 and 4 projects.

Womack, a legendary womanizer, has no college degrees, professional licenses, industry certifications, on-the-job training, or practical experience in any field of engineering or nuclear-power generation. Yet, Womack has become the public face of the Vogtle projects with the White House and key federal regulatory agencies in Washington.

Prior to his appointment as CEO of the Southern Company, Womack served as the CEO of Georgia Power for nearly three years. However, all major decisions involving Vogtle Units 3 and 4 during this period were made by former Southern Company CEO Thomas A. Fanning.

Chris Womack

Prior to his Georgia Power CEO position, all of Womack’s job experience in the Southern Company and its affiliates was gained in the external affairs and public relations divisions of the company..

The external affairs and public relations divisions of the Southern Company handle a variety of influence-peddling activities, including: (a) doling out campaign contributions to greedy federal, state, and local politicians; (b) awarding sponsorship money to legislative caucuses like the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington and Dr. Joe L. Reed’s Alabama Democratic Conference in Montgomery, Alabama; and (c) giving out free private jet rides and tickets to sporting events and concerts to federal, state, and local elected and appointed politicians and regulators, their spouses, lovers, and mistresses.

Former U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) is generally regarded as the greatest beneficiary of the Southern Company’s campaign money, free private jet rides, and free perks to federal politicians. Shelby never reported his private jet rides and other free perks. Shelby viewed them as a part of his Senatorial entitlement package, and the Southern Company willingly obliged him in this view.

Christopher Womack’s appointment as CEO of the Southern Company was designed to curry favor with the Biden administration by supporting its political “wokeness” agenda at the expense of the legitimate and well-documented public safety concerns arising from the two deeply flawed nuclear-power units at Vogtle. Womack's appointment as CEO of the Southern Company was a self-serving corporate personnel action that elevated a symbolic “feel good” moment over public safety.

That brings us to the issue of insurance coverage surrounding Units 3 and 4 at Vogtle -- and it involves some eye-popping numbers, writes Watkins:

The Southern Company’s Form 10-K for 2022 states that the company’s “[o]peration of nuclear facilities involves inherent risks, including environmental, safety, health, regulatory, natural disasters, cyber intrusions, physical attacks, and financial risks, that could result in fines or the closure of the nuclear units owned by Alabama Power or Georgia Power and which may present potential exposures in excess of insurance coverage.”

Page II-162 of the Form 10-K describes the Southern Company's basket of insurance coverages on Vogtle's nuclear power units. These insurance coverages are as follows:

Under the Price-Anderson Amendments Act (Act), Alabama Power and Georgia Power maintain agreements of indemnity with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that, together with private insurance, cover third-party liability arising from any nuclear incident occurring at the companies' nuclear power plants. The Act provides funds up to $13.7 billion for public liability claims that could arise from a single nuclear incident. Each nuclear plant is insured against this liability to a maximum of $450 million by American Nuclear Insurers (ANI), with the remaining coverage provided by a mandatory program of deferred premiums that could be assessed, after a nuclear incident, against all owners of commercial nuclear reactors.

Alabama Power and Georgia Power are members of Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited (NEIL), a mutual insurer established to provide property damage insurance in an amount up to $1.5 billion for members operating nuclear generating facilities. Additionally, both companies have NEIL policies that currently provide decontamination, excess property insurance, and premature decommissioning coverage up to $1.25 billion for nuclear losses and policies providing coverage up to $750 million for non-nuclear losses in excess of the $1.5 billion primary coverage.

NEIL also covers the additional costs that would be incurred in obtaining replacement power during a prolonged accidental outage at a member's nuclear plant. Members can purchase this coverage, subject to a deductible waiting period of up to 26 weeks, with a maximum per occurrence per unit limit of $490 million.

A builders' risk property insurance policy has been purchased from NEIL for the construction of Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. This policy provides the Vogtle owners up to $2.75 billion for accidental property damage occurring during construction.

Claims resulting from terrorist acts and cyber events are covered under both the ANI and NEIL policies (subject to normal policy limits). The maximum aggregate that NEIL will pay for all claims resulting from terrorist acts and cyber events in any 12-month period is $3.2 billion each, plus such additional amounts NEIL can recover through reinsurance, indemnity, or other sources.

What is Watkins' conclusion? He says a nuclear disaster at Vogtle Units 3 and 4 is "highly probable":

According to the Southern Companies Web site, Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 will be the first new nuclear units built in the United States in more than three decades, using the Westinghouse AP1000 advanced pressurized water reactor technology. Westinghouse Electric Company, LLC, which was the original EPC contractor for the Vogtle projects, went bankrupt working on Units 3 and 4.

If properly completed, the Vogtle site is expected to produce enough carbon-free electricity to power more than 1 million homes.

Georgia Power currently projects a Unit 3 in-service date later this month. Unit 4 is projected to be complete in either late 4th quarter of 2023 or 1st quarter of 2024.

Vogtle Unit 3 reached 100% power on May 29, 2023, marking a major landmark toward commercial operation. This event marked the maximum energy the unit is licensed to produce in the reactor core and is the first time the unit has reached its expected output of approximately 1,100 electric MW, which can power an estimated 500,000 homes and businesses.

Once all startup testing is successfully completed and properly verified and validated, Vogtle Unit 3 will enter commercial operation.

Unit 4 completed hot functional testing on May 1, a significant step for the new unit ahead of initial fuel load.

The Vogtle site team is now focused on completing the remaining work necessary to submit documentation to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that all inspections, tests, and analyses have been performed and all acceptance criteria, collectively known as ITAACs, have been met on Vogtle Unit 4 as required by Southern Nuclear Operating Company’s Combined Operating License. This is a Southern Company self-certification process.

Each ITAAC closure notice must be verified by the NRC before fuel can be loaded into the reactor.

On July 29, 2022, Southern Nuclear announced that all Unit 3 ITAACs had been submitted to the NRC. A mere five days later, on August 3, 2022, the NRC found that the acceptance criteria in the combined license for Unit 3 had been met. This allowed nuclear fuel to be loaded into Unit 3 and start-up testing to begin. Fuel load for Unit 3 was completed on October 17, 2022.

Do disturbing images enter your mind at the thought of a nuclear unit having to be shut down after it started vibrating during testing? Well that already has happened at Vogtle Unit 3. Writes Watkins:

In January 2023, the Southern Company started up Vogtle Unit 3 to perform criticality testing. The Unit started vibrating during the testing and had to be shut down.

Incredibly, the Bechtel/Southern Nuclear construction team failed to install the support systems specified in the original engineering plans and specifications to prevent this disastrous event from occurring. This construction flaw was dangerous and inexcusable

As expected, then-CEO Thomas Fanning downplayed this construction flaw and testing failure during his February 2023 earnings call with Wall Street analysts.

What steps need to be taken to avoid a nuclear disaster in East Georgia? Watkins spells them out:

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should pause its final approval of the Vogtle project until there has been an independent inspection and thorough review of: (a) all Front End Loaded engineering plans and specifications and major component equipment packages; (b) all EPC construction work; (c) all identified flaws in the construction; (d) all remedial work and documentation of work completion; and (e) all operational systems, safety systems, safety protocols, operating manuals, and personnel training by a qualified, capable, and independently chosen panel of nuclear experts.

Based upon the troubled history of the construction projects at Vogtle Units 3 and 4, the Southern Company lacks the trustworthiness to self-certify its full compliance with all applicable NRC licensure regulations. . . .

Interestingly, the NRC has not scheduled an evidentiary hearing on two February 3, 2023, complaints relating to the Southern Company's ownership and operation of Units 3 and 4, even though the complainants requested such a hearing prior to the issuance of the final operating permits for Units 3 and 4.

The complaints challenged the Southern Company’s “fitness” to hold a combined Owner/Operator licenses for Vogtle Units 3 and 4. When the licenses were issued for these units, the NRC explicitly found that the applicants were "fit" to hold the licenses for these nuclear plants, which is a requirement for licensure under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as amended).

Because of the Southern Company's massive $27-billion accounting fraud scheme and its multi-state racketeering enterprise, the company is no longer "fit" as licensees of a nuclear power plant in America.

Additionally, it does not appear that any panel of credible and capable independent nuclear experts has been appointed by the NRC to review and assess: (a) the innumerable construction flaws; (b) the purported remediation work; (c) the installation of adequate safety devices and required redundancy systems; (d) the long-term and objectively measured reliability and dependability of each unit’s commercial operation; and (e) the adequacy of employee safety and training, plant safety protocols and procedures, and operational controls at Units 3 and 4.

As Vogtle's two flawed units are to begin coming online later this month, Watkins describes the history surrounding Units 3 and 4 as a "hot mess for all involved":

With more than 9,000 construction jobs at its peak and more than 800 permanent jobs available once the units begin operation, Vogtle 3 and 4 is currently the largest jobs-producing construction project in Georgia.

Operating 24/7/365, nuclear energy facilities produce more than half of all U.S. carbon-free electricity. The Southern Company claims that Vogtle will play an essential role in supporting its goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

If Units 3 and 4 are properly completed, the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant is expected to be the largest carbon-free generating asset in the country. For this reason, President Joe Biden is eager to showcase the Vogtle project as one of the Crown Jewels in his clean-energy political program.

Is a scandal-plagued firm, such as Southern Company, capable of producing anything close to a "Crown Jewel"? That does not appear likely. Writes Watkins:

The Southern Company has placed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under extreme political pressure to get Units 3 and 4 approved for commercial operation. The company has subjected the Commission to non-stop influence peddling to secure the final authority needed to place Unit 3 in commercial service this month.

The Southern Company’s artificially high stock price, which is propped up by a long-running, massive $27-billion accounting-fraud scheme, depends upon this event happening, quickly.

In 2017, the Southern Company, which is bogged down with $63 billion in fixed and credit facility debt, began faking profitability in the hope that it could bring Vogtle Units 3 and 4 online quickly, despite the faulty engineering work and shoddy workmanship at the construction site. The company even implemented a practice of borrowing money to pay consistent quarterly dividends in increasing amounts -- a practice that is expected to continue through 2025.

Privately, the Southern Company’s mantra since 2017 has been to “fake it ‘til you make it.”

Is that the kind of mantra you want associated with construction and operation of a nuclear-power facility? Not exactly, and those in authority seem to be taking a "head stuck in sand" approach as potential disaster looms. Writes Watkins:

Politics in Washington have now overtaken public safety in Georgia. As a result, the lives of residents in and around Waynesboro, Georgia, will certainly be lost when the catastrophic disaster occurs at Vogtle Units 3 and/or 4.

At this juncture, the NRC seems to be focused on regulatory approvals that have more to do with propping the Southern Company’s stock prices and appeasing the Biden administration than providing public safety at Vogtle.

This is one hot mess for everybody involved in the Vogtle Units 3 and 4 projects.

Finally, I want the record to reflect that I did everything within my power as an independent journalist to prevent a highly probable catastrophic nuclear disaster at Vogtle. We will see if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does the same.

 

Downtown waynesboro, Georgia

The Holy Bible, filled with sex, violence, rape, murder, and other mayhem, becomes an inviting target for book-banning activists near Salt Lake City, Utah

With book banning all the rage around the country, it probably was only a matter of time before someone noticed that the Holy Bible, the book upon which America's predominant religion (Christianity) is based, features some salty content -- sex violence, infidelity, rape, murder, and other assorted mayhem. In the Year of our Lord 2023, a school district near Salt Lake City, Utah, has decided the Bible's content can be harmful for young minds and decided to remove the book from its elementary and middle-school libraries. (Isn't this a bit like the Koran being banned in Mecca?)

Donald Watkins, longtime Alabama attorney, businessman, civil-rights advocate (and Christian), takes a somewhat bemused look at this Biblical drama in a post titled "Utah Schools Ban the Bible, Claiming the Holy Book is Too Vulgar and Violent for Young Children." Writes Watkins:

As I watch right-wing conservatives rail against gender identification education and African-American studies in public schools, I knew it was just a matter of time before they would ban the Bible as too vulgar and violent for young children to read. After all, the Holy Bible contains graphic sexual content and gruesome scenes of violence, particularly in the Old Testament.

On May 12, 2022, I published an article titled, "Is the Bible Too Graphic for Children Under 18." Now, we know that one public school district thinks so.

[Yesterday], the 72,000-student Davis School District north of Salt Lake City, Utah removed the Bible from its elementary and middle-school libraries due to its vulgarity and violence. Historically, the Bible was available in Utah public-school libraries as a resource book for students who are interested in comparative religious studies.

The school district's ban on the Bible comes as conservative parent activists, including state-based chapters of the group Parents United, are descending upon school boards and statehouses throughout the United States, sowing alarm about how sex, violence, and racial matters are taught and discussed in public schools.

How rough can content get in the Holy Bible? Watkins provides examples, and it includes material that, if developed into a movie, probably would draw at least an R rating:

Here are some of the Biblical passages that make right-wing conservatives uncomfortable with the Holy Book:

1. The Old Testament Contains X-Rated Descriptions of Sexual Conduct, Male Genitalia, Ejaculation, Gang-Raping of Female Prostitutes, Mutilating Female Bodies, Murder, Acts of Terrorism, and Stoning Deaths.

In "The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV)," published by Biblica, Inc. (Miami, 2014), there is a graphic discussion of sexual conduct, male genitalia, ejaculation, gang-raping women, mutilating female bodies, murder, and acts of terrorism in Ezekiel 23:1-48. Chapter 23 discusses the story of two daughters of the same mother, Oholah and Oholibah. Both gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was the Lord's chosen people. "She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt, when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her." Ezekiel 23:8. "They stripped her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword." Ezekiel 23:10.

All of this happened to Oholah because "she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians -- warriors clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men and mounted horsemen." Ezekiel 23:5-6.

"Her sister Oholibah saw this, yet in her lust and prostitution, she was more depraved than her sister." Ezekiel 23:11. "When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from them in disgust, Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses." Ezekiel 23: 18-20.

Wow, that sounds like something out of Playboy After Dark -- and Watkins is just getting warmed up:

The New Living Translation (NTL) Study Bible, Second Edition, published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (Carol Stream, Illinois) uses the same language for Ezekiel 23:20: "She lusted after lovers with genitals as large as a donkey's and emissions like those of a horse."

God was angry at Oholibah because of her prostitution and stirred up her lovers against her. "They will cut off your noses and your ears...". Ezekiel 23:25. "[Y]ou will tear your breasts." Ezekiel 23:34.

"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob against them and give them over to terror and plunder. The mob will stone them and cut them down with their byword; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn down their houses."

2. The Bible Discusses the Use of Angelic Weapons of Mass Destruction.

In 2 Kings 19:35, the Bible discusses how a single Angel of the Lord "went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning -- there were all the dead bodies." The Angel's execution of 185,000 soldiers in one night, whether justified or not, constitutes an act of "mass destruction."

Apart from the Angel's execution of 185,000 Assyrians, the United States is the only nation in recorded history to inflict mass destruction on civilians. On August 6, 1945, America killed 100,000 Japanese civilians with a direct hit from an atomic bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima. An additional 100,000 residents of Hiroshima died from exposure to radiation after the blast. On August 9, 1945, America killed 40,000 Japanese civilians with a direct hit from a atomic bomb dropped over Nagasaki. On September 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered to American forces, thereby ending its role as an American enemy in World War II.

Jesus had twelve legions of Angels at his disposal (Matthew 26:52), with about 3,000 Angels in a legion. Based upon 2 Kings 19:35, each one was capable of killing 185,000 people in a single event. Yet, Jesus never killed or harmed any man, woman, or child. Likewise, Jesus nor God ever commanded any person to kill in their names. Both commanded that, "Thou shall not kill."

Our guess is that depictions of sexual activity is most likely to get parents stirred up, and the Bible has no shortage of that. Writes Watkins:

3. Unlawful Sexual Relations

In Leviticus 18:30, Moses lays out what he says is the Lord's list of "detestable customs that were practiced [by the Israelites]." In Chapter 20, Moses set forth the punishment for these sins.

"If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, .... [t]hey must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads." Leviticus 20:13.

"If anyone curses his father and mother, he must be put to death." Leviticus 20:9.

"If a man commits adultery with another man's wife -- with the wife of his neighbor -- both the adulterer and adulteress must be put to death." Leviticus 20:10.

"If a man marries both a woman and her mother, ... Both he and they must be burned in the fire.... ". Leviticus 20:14.

"If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, .... she must be burned in the fire." Leviticus 21:9.

Of course, Jesus explained to his followers that the laws laid out by Moses in Leviticus were too harsh and that it was "not this way in the beginning." Matthew 19:8.

What is more, Jesus never advocated the death penalty for any offense. He even stopped the stoning death of a woman who was accused of adultery, as commanded by the laws of Moses in Leviticus 20:10. See, John 8:2-11.

Jesus was a peace-loving guy, but the Bible has no shortage of good, old-fashioned violence, Watkins writes. Some of this would make Quentin Tarantino turn away:

4. Innocent Wives and Children Were Killed for the Sins of Their Husbands/Fathers.

In Daniel 6:24, the Bible discusses the story of Daniel, who was thrown into the lion's den. God protected Daniel from any injury and/or death by the lions. After Daniel was lifted out of the lion's den, "the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lion's den, along with their wives and children." Daniel 6:24. "And before they reached the floor, the lions over-powered them and crushed all of their bones." Id.

Some versions of the Bible are less sex-oriented than others, Watkins notes:

The reference in Ezekiel 23:20 to sexual organs of Olabah's lovers, "whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses," appears in other Bibles. For example, "The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures," published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (Penn. and New York, 2013), presents Ezekiel 23:20 this way: "She lusted after them like the concubines of men whose male members are like those of a donkey and whose genitals are like those of a horse."

The publishers of other Bibles toned-down the graphic sexual content that is found in Ezekiel 23:20. For example, The Santa Biblia Holy Bible, King James Version, published by Hendrickson Publishers (Nashville, Tennessee, 2018), and the Holy Bible, published by Holman Bible Publisher (Peabody, Massachusetts, 2011), use this soft-core sexual language for Ezekiel 23:20: "For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses."

The same toned-down language for Ezekiel 23:20 appears in the Gideon Bible and many others.

On a related subject, the Bible discusses "eunuchs" in the Book of Matthew. A "eunuch" is a castrated man -- a man without a penis and testicles. Jesus discussed this subject by saying: "For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others -- and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:12.

The most famous eunuch in American history is Dr. George Washington Carver, the distinguished botanist and Tuskegee University professor who invented scores of commercial uses for the peanut. Dr. Carver was castrated by his slave-owner so that he could serve his white slave master in the mansion and around the master's daughters.

The bottom-line question: Should the Bible be banned for children's reading? Here is Watkins' take:

In light of the graphic sexual content and violence depicted in Biblical scripture, particularly in the Old Testament, right-wing conservative Republicans seem to think the Bible should be banned for children under 18-years of age. The Bible ban in Utah public schools represents their latest victory in this growing book-banning movement.

Lost in the debate over banning the Bible is this pertinent question: Is there a version of the Bible that is religiously-correct and suitable for children under 18?

Finally, should Sunday-school teachers in Christian churches across America make references to the sexual and violent topics mentioned in this article when teaching scripture to children under 18?

[Author's Note: I am a life-long Christian. I was raised in the Baptist faith. My maternal grandfather, Rev. Willie Varnado, was a nationally-known black preacher in the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was my Sunday School teacher, pastor, and Baptist Training Union instructor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama (USA) in the early 1950s. In the 1930s, Rev. Varnado's first cousin was lynched in Mississippi on a Sunday afternoon by a crowd of white Southern Baptists, who returned to their afternoon church service after hanging, shooting, and burning this lynching victim. Dr. King preached and practiced non-violence in every aspect of his life. Yet, Dr. King died on April 4, 1968, from a white assassin's rifle bullet to his head.]

Tom Parker, chief justice of Alabama's all-white Supreme Court, makes little effort to hide his fondness for the glory days of the Confederacy in the Old South

Tom Parker, with Leonard Wilson and Mike Whorton

Tom Parker, chief justice of Alabama's all-white Supreme Court, has an affection for the Old South. Whether he's wrapping himself in Confederate symbols or palling around with noted White supremacists, Parker makes little effort to hide his fondness for the days of yore, according to a report at DonaldWatkins.com.

A longtime Alabama attorney, businessman, and civil-rights advocate, Watkins says Parker's predeliction for the "good old days" -- when the Confederacy, segregation, and Jim Crow ruled the South -- is more than just a bad look; it signals a desire to take the state back in time, rather than moving forward. Under the headline "Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker Revels in "Old South" Confederate Traditions," Watkins writes:

My mother, Lillian Bernice Varnado Watkins, said, “when people show you who they are, believe them.” She also told me that “birds of a feather flock together.”

I also believe a picture is worth a thousand words.

This brings me to Tom Parker, the 71-year-old Chief Justice of the all-white Alabama Supreme Court in a state that is 26 percent black.

At a time when courageous leaders in the South and around the nation were removing public displays of statues, flags, and other memorabilia that enshrined slavery-era Southern politicians and Confederate soldiers, Tom Parker was busy distributing miniature Confederate flags to those who gathered at the funeral of the last Confederate widow in Alabama.

The picture at the top of this post says a lot about Tom Parker, and Watkins provides the background:

The photo above depicts a smiling Tom Parker relishing his Confederate flags at the funeral. In addition to the Confederate flags Parker is holding in his right hand, he also proudly displays a Confederate flag in his suit-coat pocket. Parker appears to be mighty happy with his fist full of Confederate flags at this event.

Leonard Wilson on a flagpole

In the photo, Parker is sandwiched between two white supremacists. One of them is Leonard "Flagpole" Wilson, a board member of the Council of Conservative Citizens. Wilson earned his nickname in 1956 when he was a key figure in violent demonstrations against the admission of Autherine Lucy as the first black student at the University of Alabama. Leading chants of “Keep ’Bama white!” while swinging chimpanzee-like from a flagpole, Wilson led riotous UA students through two terrifying nights of racial unrest.

Confederate flags flapped near Wilson in the wind as he regaled the mob with racist jokes, exalted white civilization, and urged student resistance to Autherine Lucy's admission.

The mob responded by chanting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Autherine's got to go!" An intoxicated fellow UA student jumped up and down on a car, while its frightened black occupants cowered inside.

The mob pelted Autherine Lucy and university officials with eggs and descended on the president's mansion to demand her removal. The University responded by subsequently expelling Lucy for "causing a riot."

Wilson’s segregationist activities didn’t stop there. He later became a prominent member of the White Citizens Councils of the 1960s.

Watkins provides background about the other gentleman in the photo with Justice Parker:

On the other side of Tom Parker is Mike Whorton, who was reportedly a leader with the League of the South. Whorton is described in a 2004 WSFA 12 News article as the state leader of the League of the South, a group the Montgomery, Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center describes as a white-supremacist hate group. Whorton has denied membership in this group.

Tom Parker has also been criticized for attending a party in Selma, Alabama, commemorating the birthday of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, founder of the Ku Klux Klan. The party was hosted at "Fort Dixie" by Pat and Butch Godwin, operators of Friends of Forrest, Inc. The couple is also reported to be involved with the League of the South.

Parker told WSFA 12's Eileen Jones, "I know these guys [Leonard Wilson and Mike Whorton] and I have never heard anything like [expressions of racial hatred] come out of their mouth."

After WSFA busted Tom Parker by showing him the photo of him dripping with Confederate flags, Parker admitted distributing the miniature Confederate flags at the funeral. However, Parker claimed that his act of distributing the flags was a manifestation of his appreciation of Southern heritage, and not racism.

Watkins points to evidence that indicates Tom Parker was blowing smoke when he made the above claim:

Tom Parker claims he has always appreciated Alabama's dual heritage, the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. Parker also claims that he helped with race relations from the time he was student body President at Lanier High School up until the date of the WSFA article (October 14, 2004), when Parker says he organized a group of black and white ministers to improve their working relationship.

However, Parker’s actions and judicial rulings as a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court have aggressively undermined each constitutional and civil right that blacks enjoy under the First, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Fair Housing Act of 1968, the Alabama Constitution (as amended), and Alabama state statutes.

Parker's judicial rulings against black criminal defendants, including juveniles, are similarly hostile and awful.

What is more, Tom Parker has not lifted a finger to address or change the all-white makeup of the Alabama Supreme Court. Today, the state's Supreme Court looks just like Parker's Confederate heroes envisioned it would look if their agenda of white supremacy prevailed.

 

Alabama Supreme Court, in a state that is 26% Black