7 Things: Tuberville questions Biden’s overseas blunder; Montgomery mayor doubles down; and more …

7. Equity means enforced mediocrity 

• A California high school removed its honors English class in the name of racial equity. According to data from the school board, “Latino students made up 37% of the student body, but only 12% of the Advanced Placement English students in the 12th grade. Black students, meanwhile, made up 15% of the student body and 14% of the AP English students.”
• In other words, white and black students must be brought down to the reading and writing level of Latino students, some of whom may not be native English speakers. Reports have long shown that Los Angeles has one of the highest Latino immigrant populations in the country and the conclusion is to prevent other students from learning.

6. Detransitioners sue in multiple countries

• Transgender individuals who have started to detransition are suing health providers and gender transition clinics for failing to address their underlying mental health conditions and urging them to go ahead with permanent surgeries and altering drugs with very little counseling. It is happening in Canada, and with at least two cases in the United States.
• Medical practitioners are starting to question this movement, as well. Sweden, England, Finland, and Florida have all performed reviews which show that transitions cause more harm than good. It is spreading, with medical entities in Italy, Australia, and Spain starting to raise similar concerns.

5. Proposed policy to limit asylum to illegal immigrants

• Title 42 is ending May 11, and with it the ability of border security to expel thousands of illegal immigrants due to the public health crisis of COVID. Biden has proposed a policy that would automatically consider immigrants ineligible for asylum if they entered the U.S. illegally or failed to claim asylum in a country they passed through.
• Exceptions will be made in the case of minors, trafficking victims, and those with an immediate medical crisis. They can also schedule an asylum claim if they’ve been denied in three other countries or can challenge the assumption of ineligibility. Still, most Democrats oppose this policy, despite the estimates that 14,000 immigrants will enter the U.S. a day once Title 42 ends. 

4. Bipartisan support to lobby the Legislature to remove or reduce grocery tax

• Many Alabamians want to be done with the grocery tax, the rejection of it is now bipartisan with organizations on both sides of the aisle announcing their intent to lobby legislators to reduce or end it. Currently, Alabamians can pay around 10% in local and state taxes on groceries, which ends up funding education.
• On the left, Alabama Arise has emphasized how the tax hurts low-income families. On the right, the Alabama Policy Institute has stressed that with a $1.5 billion budget surplus, the state should cut taxes that burden citizens, especially in a recession. Alabama is one of only 13 states that taxes groceries.

3. Train company ordered to deal with its spill

• The Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern, the company at the center of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, to manage the cleanup of the toxic chemical spill. They must purify contaminated soil and water, and reimburse the EPA for the costs of cleaning private homes and businesses. 
• The agency said if the company failed to clean up the spill, it would do the work itself and charge the company triple the cost. Norfolk Southern responded saying it was already paying for the cleanup and is committed to doing so. It does seem strange that when a liberal city is hit with an environmental crisis, the government bends over backward to spend money, but if it’s a conservative town, the government suddenly believes big companies should solve their own problems.

2. Montgomery mayor claims victimhood, refuses to apologize

• In a press conference, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed addressed his recorded profanity and callousness toward his city and voters. He did not apologize but announced he is opening an investigation and stressed how the video was recorded without his permission and was edited in a misleading way.
• Reed claims the recording was made three years ago when Charles Lee, the head of the nonprofit That’s My Child, attempted to extort $30,000 from him. Lee denies he recorded the video though says he was present when Reed made the comments to political activists following George Floyd’s death. 

1. Biden visits Poland, Russia to withdraw from nuclear treaty

• In his latest effort to look tough and put together, Biden visited not only Kyiv for a photo shoot, but visited Poland as well, to awkwardly reminisce (read: lie) about growing up in a Polish community and give a speech about how great the War in Ukraine is going. But Russia’s President Vladimir Putin hit back by saying he will withdraw from the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and potentially resume nuclear testing. Concerns have also been raised about China strengthening its offer of military support to Russia, an act both the U.S. and NATO have warned China against. 
• As all these Ls are unfolding for what was essentially an Instagram post from someone with a Ukrainian flag profile, At home, leaders asked what the endgame is. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) emphasized that we need a diplomatic resolution to this war and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wondered “what a win looks like?”