7 Things: Mike Durant enters U.S. Senate race, no plans for big COVID-19 haul in Alabama, January 6 committee doing ‘work’ and more …

7. Alabama is one of the most unhappy states

• NiceRX has released a study of the happiest states in the country, and unfortunately, based on their ranking, Alabama is the fourth unhappiest state on the list. The factors considered were income, life expectancy, homicide rates, mental illness and poverty.
• The happiest state was Hawaii, but the unhappiest state was Mississippi. As the fourth unhappiest state, Alabama has an average income of $69,842 and a life expectancy of 75.1 years. By comparison, Hawaii had a low rate of mental illness and a life expectancy of 81 years.

6. Guaranteed basic income comes to Birmingham

• A movement to guarantee payments from the government has been attempted across the country to alleviate poverty. In some cases, they use COVID-19 stimulus funds to pay for the programs. In Birmingham, 110 single mothers will receive $375 a month for an undetermined amount of time.
• The program is supported and promoted by a group out of California, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. While details are scarce on the plan, there is no real schedule for when the plan will be implemented or how the women will be selected.

5. Police officers who don’t want the vaccine can go to Indiana

• Police officers and other first responders across the United States have been told that if they don’t get the coronavirus vaccine, they’ll lose their jobs, including police officers in Chicago, Illinois. However, Indiana has made an offer to those officers saying that they can move states to keep their job.
• U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) has said that police officers “deserve respect – not losing their pay or being fired for refusing to comply with a ridiculous vaccine mandate.” Braun noted that the police departments across Indiana are hiring “and will welcome you with the respect you deserve.”

4. Trump bodyslammed a corpse for no reason

• After the passing of General Colin Powell, former President Donald Trump released a statement on his life and death. Trump didn’t make the most tasteful of statements, as he said that Powell “made plenty of mistakes” and was a “classic RINO.”
• Trump went on to say that Powell was “always the first to attack other Republicans,” and concluded, “He made plenty of mistakes, but anyway, may he rest in peace!” Trump has come under fire for his remarks as they were viewed as disrespectful to Powell’s life and memory.

3. January 6 committee is doing super-serious work

• The committee of super-concerned members of Congress investigating the riot at the U.S. Capitol has voted to hold Steve Bannon, a former chief strategist of former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress. The group alleged that Bannon’s use of the phrase “all hell is going to break loose tomorrow” the day before the riot as one of the reasons for the subpoena.
• U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) opined, “It appears that Mr. Bannon had substantial advanced knowledge of the plans for January 6, and likely had an important role in formulating those plans.” Since the media and their Democrats are so fired up by people who question the integrity of elections, they will surely want to talk to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who questioned the legitimacy of Stacey Abrams’ loss in Georgia just yesterday.

2. No clear plans for American Rescue Plan money

• While $400 million of the American Rescue Plan funding that Alabama received will be spent on building new prisons, there is about $1.7 billion left to spend, and Governor Kay Ivey has made no indication about where that money could go.
• Ivey communications director Gina Maiola has said that it’s not been decided if the funding will be included in the redistricting special session that’s set to start on October 28. Half of the funds have already been given to the state, and the remaining funds will be sent in May 2022.

1. Durant is officially in the U.S. Senate race

• “Black Hawk Down” pilot Mike Durant has officially announced that he’s running for U.S. Senate in Alabama. He’s joining a race that already includes U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), former BCA president Katie Britt, former U.S. ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard and businesswoman Jessica Taylor.
• Durant is playing a similar note that the crowded field has been hitting — he is praising the successes of former President Donald Trump and added that he won’t “sit idly by while Joe Biden and the career politicians wreck the county I love. I’m signing up for one more tour of duty. I’m running for U.S. Senate.”