7 Things: Two weekend shootings, Ivey calls meeting on tolls, Tuberville embraces being a ‘carpetbagger’ and more …

7. The Democratic socialist convention got overly sensitive

• The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) hosted their national convention in Atlanta, GA, where a delegate from Sacramento, CA, James Jackson, spoke and began by saying that he uses “he/him” personal pronouns, but then he claimed of “sensory overload” because “guys” in the room were whispering too much.
• A member of the audience became visibly upset after Jackson said “guys,” and then a “comrade” quickly asked for a “point of personal privilege,” where they requested that Jackson “not use gendered language to address everyone.” Everyone involved in the interaction was overly sensitive and it was something out of a nightmare.

6. No asylum ban

• Judge Randolph Moss has ruled that President Trump can’t prevent migrants from claiming asylum, even if they cross the U.S. border illegally, despite Moss saying that Trump had shown that the number of migrants coming across the border poses a “particular problem for the national interest.”
• Moss referenced the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that determined who can apply for asylum. The INA says anyone in the United States can apply for asylum, but Trump’s next immigration policy that is awaiting a court ruling is the “safe third country” deal with Guatemala that requires migrants to apply for asylum in the country they pass through to get to the U.S.

5. Dekalb County school isn’t intimidated

• The Freedom From Religion Foundation claimed that Fyffe High School of Dekalb County Schools was in violation of the separation of church and state because Fyffe had planned a “Back to School Worship Service” for August 4 from 4-6 p.m.
• However, Superintendent Jason Barnett defended the event by saying that the event isn’t sponsored by the school and there was “no administrators or faculty members involved in the organization and planning of the event,” and the event continued as scheduled.

4. Alabama still wants the citizenship question

• Despite President Trump backing-off of putting the citizenship question on the 2020 Census, Alabama is still fighting for the question to be printed on the census.
• U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall brought the case against the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Census Bureau, and now U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor has given all those involved until August 19 to file a joint report on what should come next, despite the federal government requesting on July 19 that the case be dismissed.

3. Tuberville owning his carpetbagger label

• Former football coach Tommy Tuberville spoke at the Shoals Republican Club meeting where outside of the venue, someone had posted a printout of the definition of “carpetbagger,” which prompted Tuberville to address the carpetbagger issue that’s been brought against him by his opponents.
• Tuberville’s decided to own the title by saying he’s a “carpetbagger of this country.” He added, “I love this country. I love this state. I’m a carpetbagger. I pay a lot of taxes. I brag about that because I’m fortunate I’ve made a little money in my lifetime. I can do this and not take any money.”

2. Meeting to be held on Mobile Bay bridge toll

• After pressure from State Auditor Jim Zeigler and others, Governor Kay Ivey has called a meeting for Tuesday of the Alabama Toll Road, Bridge and Tunnel Authority members to address questions and concerns about the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project.
• In the letter, Ivey wrote that she’s inviting all state and constitutional officers, “at least some who seem to believe there is an easy solution out there if we would just look for it,” which seems to be a shot at Zeigler who has been leading social media efforts against the toll.

1. Two shootings, one weekend — everyone you dislike is to blame

• Over the weekend, two mass shootings took place in the United States, one in El Paso, TX, that killed 20 people, and a shooting in Dayton, OH, that killed 10 people. The El Paso shooting is getting more focus due to the racial motivation behind the shooting and the politics involved.
• U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) tweeted about the shooting in El Paso, where he said that most people will do what they’ve done previously in these situations, which is “go to their corners and talk about guns.” He then stated, “Our failure to protect people is more pronounced today given the early reports of racial motivations behind the shooting in El Paso. Unfortunately, that seems to be the tone that has been set in this country.”