7. Alabama could move forward with drug testing for food stamp recipients
— Representative Tommy Hanes (R-Bryant) has proposed legislation that would require some food stamp recipients to be drug tested if “there is a reasonable suspicion” they could be on drugs. This includes a previous drug conviction. The bill includes a tiered system if one tests positive. The first positive drug test leads to a warning, the second test would make you ineligible for a year with a carve-out if you have children and the third positive test would make the person permanently ineligible for the benefits. If someone were to refuse to take the test, they would be ineligible for food stamps.
6. Court filings in the latest Roy Moore/Leigh Corfman have some pretty amazing “details”
— Former judge, multiple time loser and potential U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore’s attorney defense team is seeking a subpoena of a recording made by a Breitbart reporter where her lawyer makes comments about how promiscuous his client was. Corfman’s attorney Eddie Sexton’s allegedly trashes his own client and claims to have slept with her. Sexton disputes the totality of these allegations, but testified this week to some of the allegations. He testified this week that “over the years he had heard of sex parties in Corfman’s home from various members of the community and from people at the Gadsden Country Club.”
5. The House adopts a watered-down resolution condemning Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) anti-Semitism, which Alabama Congressmen Mo Brooks (R-Hunstville) and Mike Rogers (R-Saks) oppose
— It was meant to be a resolution condemning the multiple offensive comments made by Omar, but it became watered down to include pretty much everyone such as “African-Americans, Native Americans, and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, immigrants and others.” The resolutions referenced as “the kitchen sink” resolution passed 407-to-23. Voting “no” were two Alabama congressmen, Brooks and Rogers. Brooks explained that he was “shocked” that the resolution “refused to similarly condemn discrimination against Caucasian Americans and Christians.” After the vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Omar didn’t know what she was doing when she made her multiple comments.
4. Former campaign manager to President Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, gets significantly less jail time than requested — still no collusion
— The judge in Manafort’s case blasted prosecutors for their heavy-handed sentencing suggestion and sentenced Manafort to 47 months in prison. The judge made it clear that Manafort was not being sentenced for “anything to do with Russian colluding in the presidential election.” Manafort’s attorney argued the prosecution has been heavy-handed, and the judge seemed sympathetic to that. He stated, “Unable to establish that Mr. Manafort engaged in any such collusion, the special counsel charged him . . . with crimes . . . unrelated to the 2016 campaign or any collusion with the Russian government.”
3. As Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) raises more money from abroad than in Alabama, he also “stands by” his absurd voter suppression statements
— With at least one opponent already in the race against him, Jones is raising money for re-election like every politician, but he has raised almost $100,000 from overseas and only $55,000 from Alabama. Jones is also trying to cuddle-up to the extreme left by pushing a completely baseless accusation of voter suppression by claiming it is everywhere — without evidence. He said, “They have gerrymandered a number of districts to concentrate white voting power among a few districts. Voting rolls are being purged across the country.” Neither Jones, the multiple Democrats making this charge, nor the media can actually back these charges up with a single person who couldn’t vote.
2. Former Governor Robert Bentley bizarrely weighs-in on the Rebuild Alabama Act and claims credit for local and federal dollars
— The disgraced former governor took to his Facebook page to urge people to not support the latest attempt at increasing Alabama’s gas tax. Bentley mentioned the ATRIP program, but that’s misleading because the program is 80 percent federally funded, 20 percent locally funded and zero percent state-funded. Bentley’s new life as an anti-tax advocate doesn’t gel with his attempt to raise $700 million when he was governor before he let his personal life destroy his public life.
1. The gas tax increase has a public hearing and passes the first hurdle in the House
— A public hearing was held in Montgomery for the Rebuild Alabama Act. Only a few people showed up to speak against the bill on a Thursday morning at 10:30. Limestone County Commissioner Ben Harrison outlined to the panel that they were focusing on the wrong part of the road building process, adding the problem isn’t raising money and he believes the problem is the inefficiencies in the road building process. After the meeting, the Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure Committee approved the bills with a voice vote with no opposition. The bills now move to the full House for an up or down vote on Friday.
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