7. Rioters on the march in Oregon and Minnesota
- As the George Floyd murder trial goes on in Minnesota, an officer-involved shooting in the state on Sunday has led to heated protests and destruction. The National Guard was used after 20 businesses were attacked, crowds threw rocks and other objects at the Brooklyn Center Police Department, and bullet holes were found in the door to the station.
- Saturday night, there was an attack on federal officers in Portland, where a mob attempted to burn down a federal building (again). This time, protesters targeted a building housing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and it is receiving far less attention than it deserves. No arrests have been made.
6. Changes to the Confederate tax could be coming
- There is still a statewide property tax that was originally set up to fund the pensions of Confederate soldiers, but now 1% goes to maintaining the Confederate Memorial Park and the rest is redirected. Now, State Senators Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville) and Bobby Singleton (D-Greensboro) want to change how this funding is used.
- A bill that Chambliss and Singleton are planning to sponsor would take 1% of the Confederate tax and instead use it for preserving black history in the state. Chambliss said, “It is imperative that we remember all of our history and learn from both the good and the bad.”
5. We just have to redefine what infrastructure means
- President Joe Biden has been pushing his new infrastructure plan, which has been criticized for including funding for programs that aren’t infrastructure. In response to this, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has said that infrastructure needs to be redefined. This means anything America’s left wants can be declared “infrastructure.”
- Granholm asked, “What is it that we all need to ensure we as citizens are productive?” Since Biden’s plan has been announced, many Democrats have encouraged redefining how people think of infrastructure, such as with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) saying, “Paid leave is infrastructure. Child care is infrastructure. Caregiving is infrastructure.”
4. Brooks endorsed by Moore
- U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) has received the endorsement of U.S. Representative Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) for U.S. Senator just ahead of a pro-free speech event both attended in Coffee County. This comes just after Brooks received the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
- Moore said that Brooks is “one of the finest men I know,” and noted his willingness to bring forward election integrity concerns on January 6. Moore added, “Brooks has a strong record of voting to protect our borders, our 2nd Amendment rights, election integrity, the unborn, our military and fiscal responsibility.”
3. Trump is going after McConnell and Pence for some reason
- While speaking at an event at Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump took aim at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and said he’s a “stone-cold loser.” He also added that he’s “disappointed” in former Vice President Mike Pence.
- These comments came as Trump was discussing his commitment to the Republican Party. He declared, “We transformed the Republican Party into a party that truly fights for all Americans.” Inexplicably, the targeting of these two men comes after both of them spent four years working for his agenda.
2. No unionizing in Bessemer
- Despite the national media attention, the vast majority of workers at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer have voted not to unionize, with more than 70% of employees voting “no” on the issue.
- The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union attempted to claim that there was an integrity issue within the election, despite no evidence to support this claim.
1. Alabama congressional leadership pushes back on Biden defense funding
- President Joe Biden has introduced his budget for fiscal year 2022, and representatives from Alabama have already raised concerns over how Biden and other Democrats support cutting defense funding. U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) said in a statement, “President Biden recently said, ‘If we don’t get moving, [China] is going to eat our lunch.’ Today’s budget proposal signals to China that they should set the table.”
- U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-Saks) highlighted the issues in cutting defense funding, saying, “This budget will impact our readiness, dampen our efforts to modernize our strategic weapons, limit our naval and projection forces, and prevent the latest innovations and enhancements from getting to our warfighters.”
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