7 Things: Pointless criminal referrals for Trump; tax rebate in peril; and more ...

7. GOP lawmakers more brazen about abandoning Trump

With the Jan. 6 committee wrapping up the latest angle the media and their Democrats have promoted non-stop since President Donald Trump’s presidency began and with the former president’s campaign sputtering out the gate, Republican politicians seem more willing to step back from Trump.
This is not about Trump’s policies or even his personality, it is about his lack of inevitability. Up until recently, it was expected that the nomination would be Trump’s if he wanted it; that seems less of a lock now. Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) sums it up well, “I do believe that people are over the 2020 election, and they want to move on.”

6. Alabama’s superintendent wants TikTok ban

There will be no more dance challenges and fast food fight videos delivered to your kids’ cellphones on the public school’s Wi-Fi if State Superintendent Eric Mackey gets his way. Why TikTok wasn’t banned on these networks already is another story.
Mackey wrote to the state’s school superintendents that it is up to them but they need to block the Chinese government-owned data-mining app now. “I believe you should strongly consider removing TikTok apps from your devices and blocking its use on your network,” Mackey wrote in a weekly newsletter to superintendents, acknowledging that local boards of education have sole authority for making that decision.

5. Hard to understand this decision, but it is respectable

Alabama’s NFL-bound starting quarterback Bryce Young and other stars on Alabama’s star-studded lineup have made it clear that they will be playing against Kansas State in a meaningless Sugar Bowl. The decision is an odd one given there are players sitting out everywhere, even from the College Football Playoff.
Young makes it clear this is about his team. “There’s been a lot of work, a lot that has gone into this year. I just get another chance to play with my brothers. That’s really how I look at it.” This is a testament to the players and to the culture head coach Nick Saban has built at Alabama. The Crimson Tide is a three-point favorite to win this game, I will bet that line with these words being said by the star QB.

4. More child labor found in Alabama, illegal labor allows people to be taken advantage of

Auto parts manufacturers in Alabama continue to find themselves employing underage employees in their facilities, this comes after a father outted the people who employed him and his 14-year-old daughter illegally – she worked alongside him at Hwashin America Corp. in Greenville. There are now four more instances, according to Reuters.
There is clearly an issue with employment at these plants. Reports indicate U.S. Labor Department and state officials arrived unannounced at a plant, but workers rushed out of the facility before they could be questioned. This is similar behavior that is seen on construction sites, leading most to believe this is a child labor and illegal labor issue. It is also believed to be related to farming-out hiring to less-than-reputable employment agencies.

3. Title 42 will remain, not that it matters

Early Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre scolded members of the media and thinking humans for suggesting that the end of Title 42 will lead to open borders. She even claimed the reporters were doing the smugglers’ work. KJP is partially correct because the borders are basically open with Title 42 in place, anyway, and the American media has largely ignored this issue and that does benefit the bad guys at the border and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Title 42, the Trump-era plan to deport illegals to Mexico to deter illegals from coming, was only successful when the Trump administration sought to enforce the law as the media and their Democrats attacked them. In an attempt to save the day, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a stay to keep Title 42 in place, not that it is really doing that much.

2. Pump the “breaks” on the tax rebate

Talk of tax rebates and reforming the tax code seem to be slowing down in the Alabama Legislature because of the fears of where the U.S. economy is headed. State Rep. Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville) was on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal” and tried to calm those fears, “I just see a confidence in spending in Alabamians, and yes, that is stood up some by federal dollars and inflation. But, I think Alabama’s going to hold strong.”
However, Reynolds also stated that if there is going to be some form of tax reform, it will be a one-time rebate, “I know some of my colleagues are adamant about a tax cut and I think my comment is to those individuals that I certainly would like to have them sitting in my seat, not just in the last few weeks as the budget chair, but with being on the General Fund for the last four and a half years, and understanding the needs of so many agencies … there’s still additional needs that are vital to service to all Alabamians, so I think we just have to be cautious with that.”

1. This is where they think they get Trump, this time for realsies

The failed Russian collusion hoax, failed impeachment for Ukraine, failed impeachment II for Jan. 6, multiple arguments about emoluments and taxes and his businesses and (insert freakout here), now we get a second take on Jan. 6 with the committee investigating it offering their help, unsolicited, to the Department of Justice. They have asked the DOJ to pursue Trump on four charges, some folks organizing alternate electors, and also included referrals against four GOP U.S. Reps. for ignoring their subpoenas – Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif), Scott Perry (R-Penn.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).
All of this is stupid. The Department of Justice is already investigating all of this and even sycophants in the media know this is theater. The Washington Post‘s Greg Sargent, straight up admitted it, on accident, on Elon Musk’s Twitter, “It’s big that the 1/6 report is set to refer charges of seditious conspiracy and insurrection against Trump. Some dismiss this as ‘theater.’ But it will alert the public that DOJ *should* be seriously investigating him for 1/6-related crimes. That matters.” It does not, it is stupid.