7 Things: ALGOP resolution against a gas tax passes, your tax dollars go to racists and newspaper owners, Jones wants to bring the ISIS bride to the United States and more …

7. A new set of kneelers has emerged, and this group doesn’t understand why people don’t like their protest either

— As irrelevant clowns protested on their campus, Ole Miss basketball players kneeled in protest during the national anthem, even though those groups don’t care and most Americans don’t like that form of protest. Although the flag/nation/anthem they were protesting defeated the Confederacy, Ole Miss players still don’t get it. Ole Miss basketball player Breein Tyree tweeted, “To the people that fight for this country, my teammates and I meant no disrespect to everything that you do for us, but we had to take a stand to the negative things that went on today on our campus.”

6. Former Trump campaign manager continues to lie, but still no collusion

— Sentencing memos revealed this weekend show Paul Manafort was a repeat and unrepentant criminal who lied to everyone he came in contact with, which continued after he was arrested and convicted. Importantly, Manafort, like others close to the president, still has not been accused of participating in Russian election interference, and all of the redactions in the report seem to be from the time prior to Manafort’s work with the Trump campaign.

5. Former Attorney General and U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions endorsed President Donald Trump for re-election

— While appearing at the ALGOP’s Winter Dinner, Sessions made it clear he was proud of his work in the Trump administration even with the frayed relationship with the president it caused. While laying out the promises kept by the president of the United States, Session made it clear to the ALGOP members in attendance that he believes in the “need to re-elect President Trump.”

4. The head of the Alabama Hospital Association believes the federal government will keep paying for most of a potential Medicaid expansion, but he gets the math very wrong

— While appearing on Alabama Public Television, AHA’s Don Williamson said he believes the fear of the federal government ceasing the payments to states who expand Medicaid is an unfounded fear. As he admitted taking on more costs, Williamson claimed the state will be “pulling in $3 billion of additional federal money for an investment on the state side for about $25 million.” This math is bad, as it normally is. He claimed the state’s cost will be $25 million, while it is actually over 10 times that with $300 million from the state. States like Wisconsin are having the same issue. Some estimates place this number at $168 million in year one, but new tax revenues don’t cover that cost. But with some questionable math, they arrive at $25 million.

3. Alabama’s junior U.S. senator wants the ISIS bride to be brought back to the United States with the offspring of a terrorist

— Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) has made it clear he disagreed with both the president of the United States and the Secretary of State in regard to Hoda Mathana being brought back to the United States. Jones wants her in the U.S. and facing justice. He said, “My view is that she should absolutely be brought to justice for inciting violence against Americans. Doing so would send a powerful message that any American who lends support to a terrorist organization will be pursued to the fullest extent of the law.” The obvious problem here is that eventually she would be released into the country she called for terror attacks against.

2. Alabama state law requires your tax dollars being given to racists and newspapers conglomerates

— Archaic laws mandating advertising for both public and private entities are a windfall for newspapers, with the racist editorial-running Democrat-Reporter getting over $350k this way and AL.com’s Alabama Media Group raking in over $500k last year. The owner of the Democrat-Reporter has now turned over his responsibilities to an employee of his. The media is excited by this because the embattled publisher turned them over to a black female, but he continues to own the paper.

1. ALGOP passed a resolution against the gas tax at their winter meeting; Any increases face strong headwinds

— The resolution that “reject[s] any increase to the current state fuel tax” passed with a 61-39 percent split after a contentious debate over the purpose and wording of the resolution.  Many legislators don’t believe the resolution carries much weight. One told Yellowhammer News “these people don’t have to answer to anyone.” With the passage of this resolution, the state party and prominent conservative groups, including the Alabama Policy Institute have publicly expressed opposition with former State Senator Phil Williams (R-Rainbow City) saying if a gas tax doesn’t cut taxes elsewhere is “going to fail.”