7. Joe Biden was on a tear last night, it was pretty crazy

• President Joe Biden continued escalating his rhetoric at an event last night in Wilkes-Barres, Pa., to promote his gun control message. The news media and the Democrats love this side of Biden, suggesting this is the path Biden needs to keep going down. Biden, who will give a speech on the “soul of the nation” soon, also ironically commented on rhetoric, saying he didn’t expect politics to be “pattycake” and asking “where the hell are we?”

• While speaking to the crowd, Biden targeted gun owners saying, “And for those brave, right-wing Americans who say it’s all about keeping America — keeping America as independent and safe: If you want to fight against a country, you need an F-15. You need something a little more than a gun,” adding, “No, I’m not joking. Think about this. Think about the rationale we use — that’s used to provide this. And who are they shooting at?  They’re shooting at these guys behind me.” The guys behind him were police officers.

6. Gay pride flags come down in Madison City Schools

• Teachers in Madison were told that it was time to take down their gay pride and other political flags. Teachers and students missed the point completely with one student telling WHNT in Huntsville, “Even if they say it is just policy, they’ve [put] themselves on the side that they believe in, and that side is homophobia.”

• Parents have made themselves crystal clear in Alabama and elsewhere, that they do not want the teachers to indoctrinate their children in politics or cultural issues. Eventually, educators will need to accept this or we will have these issues non-stop. Madison City Schools is being pretty clear, “Allowing teachers and staff to display flags on school grounds with respect to political, religious, or cultural issues may create an environment of exclusion for some students who hold different viewpoints on sexuality, religion, or politics.”

5. Nurses in Tuscaloosa are about to go on strike

• Nurses in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Augusta and Atlanta, Ga. are planning to go on strike due to working concerns at VA facilities. The group planning to strike is National Nurses United.

• The protest is set for the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center. Jennifer Giles, a nurse practitioner at the facility, has said they need leadership “to demonstrate they are wholly committed to the highest quality of care for the veterans we serve. We know that if we have better working conditions, including better staffing and flexible schedules, we will be better able to recruit and retain experienced nurses to care for our veterans.”

4. Tourism could generate about $24 billion in Alabama

• During the Alabama Governor’s Conference on Tourism, Gov. Kay Ivey announced that Alabama is likely to see more than $24 billion in revenue for 2022. This estimate comes from the Alabama Tourism Department Director Lee Sentell.

• Ivey went on to say, “in the past 10 years, our industry has more than doubled. We have grown from $11 billion to more than $24 billion this year. And since I have been governor, I am extremely proud that our tourism industry has grown by $10 billion.” In 2021, Alabama also saw the second highest revenue generated from tourism on record.

3. Lawsuit challenging electronic vote counting

• There is an attempt to block Alabama from using electronic ballot counting machines for the November midterm election, in a lawsuit heard by Madison County Circuit Judge Greg Griffin. There have been claims that electronic counting could be tampered with and is unreliable.

• A hearing on the case was held yesterday, but Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has previously asked for the case to be dismissed, saying the lawsuit is based on speculation. An attorney for plaintiff Jay Hinton suggested hand-counting votes, saying “it may be difficult. But you know what? Constitutional rights are often difficult to preserve.”

2. Alabama’s Democrat candidate for governor has lost an endorsement somehow

• Yolanda Flowers is the formerly pro-life Democrat candidate for governor, a decision that has made many pro-choice Alabama Democrats very unhappy. Strangely, she has now lost the endorsement of a pro-life Democrat group; Democrats for Life America has announced that they have removed an endorsement of Flowers.

• The group says Flowers has changed her views on abortion after her endorsement and are upset they expended resources to the candidate. To their point, Flowers sounds very pro-choice now, “I’ve always stated that women have the right to do they want to do health-wise for their own bodies,” adding, “People just took that out to left field, but I’ve always been pro-choice.”

1. Marshall is joining suit against military vaccine mandates

• In an effort to do away with the vaccine mandate for U.S. military members, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined the lawsuit of the U.S. Navy SEALs v. the Biden administration.

• Marshall has released a statement on his involvement, saying, “Many thousands in uniform are being denied their constitutional rights by the Biden administration’s blanket refusal to grant their wishes for religious exemption from the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. U.S. military personnel deserve and are indeed entitled to the same First Amendment protections of their religious liberties as any other American citizen.”