7 Things: Secretary Pete goes through the motions; father of murder victim questions Bama; and more …

7. Wokeness takes a hit

• Florida has introduced Senate Bill 952 which would require employers who pay for transgender treatment and surgeries to also pay for those who wish to detransition. Employers would be required to pay for a detransition regardless of the individual’s status with the company, including if the individual traveled out of state for care.
• Tennessee wants in on the act as well. After conservative talk show host Matt Walsh highlighted the aggressive behavior of the staff at the gender-transition clinic at Vanderbilt, lawmakers immediately made this a top priority. A law banning these practices has now passed the legislature and is expected to be signed by Gov. Bill Lee.

6. Alabama secretary of state visits the supposed ERIC office 

• As he promised during his campaign, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen removed Alabama from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonprofit voter registration system that supposedly helps keep accurate track of voter rolls. 
• Secretary Allen also made an unannounced visit to the published address of the ERIC’s headquarters but found nothing but an empty office. So where are the employees and servers which have been collecting driver’s license numbers, contact information, and partial Social Security numbers? Allen said, “That information is stored on a server somewhere but we do not know where.”

5. Bill to make abortion a homicide would protect mothers from prosecution

• Alabama State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity) introduced a bill that would list abortion as a homicide in the state of Alabama. Under the Human Life Protection Act passed in 2019, abortion is a Class A Felony, on the same level as a homicide, but it specifically states that women who receive an abortion cannot be prosecuted.
• Yarbrough says “this bill is not offering blanket immunity for a particular group of people.” So women who receive abortions could potentially be held criminally or civilly liable. Abortion is already effectively illegal in the state, this bill serves to give Democrats a talking point with no actual gain for the pro-life position.

4. U.S. to increase troops in Taiwan

• The United States is making it clear that China is becoming a major threat and U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) rightly has pointed out, “There is no doubt that the CCP is our greatest geopolitical rival and national security threat, and everything they do is as our adversary.” Now the United States is weighing how to respond to China’s apparent coziness with Russia, this could include more sanctions.
• In the near term, the U.S. is sending more troops to Taiwan as tensions with China rise. Boosting the robust U.S. troop level to 130 by adding 100 to the 30 that are stationed there. This is the largest deployment to Taiwan in decades, which continues our military support for the nation as the U.S. will also train a contingent of Taiwanese soldiers on American soil. Defense Department spokesman Army Lt. Col. Marty Meiners stated, “our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China.” All of this is too push back against China for stating they could be more actively supporting Russia in its war in Ukraine.

3. $2.7B budget surplus for education, now what?

• Last year, AL passed a $7.7 billion budget for education, but the state collected $10.4 billion in income taxes, sales taxes, and other revenues that go to the Education Trust Fund. Now, we’re arguing about how to use the $2.7B surplus. Alabama State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey wants $984 million in new spending, a big ask.
• Some of the money has been requested for salaries, construction projects, new buses, college readiness programs, and more, but even after those programs, there will be an estimated $1.8B left over. Lawmakers insist that the massive surplus is a one-time fluke and so we should hoard the money away. Others want a tax rebate. And another group wants to see a repeal the grocery tax?

2. How does a player linked to a murder play ball the next day?

• The father of Jamea Jonae Harris, the 23-year-old mother allegedly killed by Michael Davis, is angry that Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller is playing basketball. Miller didn’t kill anyone, Michael Davis allegedly did after Darius Miles retrieved a handgun in Miller’s vehicle and handed it to Davis. Miller brought the gun after Miles texted him at 1:40 a.m. requesting the firearm. There is no indication Miller touched the gun.
• Kelvin Heard does not understand how the star player is back on the court, how the coach dismissed the situation so cavalierly, and how the University of Alabama allowed the player to play so shortly after being linked to the shooting. Heard said, “He brought a gun to where a person was murdered and he did nothing wrong,” adding, “Brandon Miller is knee deep in this situation no matter how they want to spin this.”

1. Secretary Pete will dress as a police officer tomorrow

• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg finally visited East Palestine, it was a disaster. However, at this point, people just want to pick on him, an understandable sentiment when the only reason Pete gave for his delayed visit was his “desire to follow the norm of other transportation secretaries.” Clearly, he cares much more about looking proper for his liberal masters of the universe than about these people.
• He blundered through a lackluster speech, even saying, “Sorry, I lost my train of thought.” His press secretary also refused to be on camera for an unknown reason. He’s also been criticized for wearing dress shoes instead of something more appropriate to a muddy, chemically trashed environment, like boots. Meanwhile, officials estimate the number of animals killed by the incident to be around 44,000, with 38,222 minnows specifically killed, with the human and economic impact yet unknown.