Sessions hit Byrne for abandoning the president only weeks before the general election against Hillary Clinton.

Sessions explained on “The Dale Jackson Show,” “Well it’s a huge mistake. It would have guaranteed the election to Hillary Clinton.”

Sessions wants voters to know that he was on stage with now-President Donald Trump wearing a red MAGA hat while “my own Congressman was saying he was unfit to be president and should resign.”

“That would have split the party and been a disaster of monumental proportions, so it is a big deal, I just have to say,” he added.

The attacks pointed towards Tuberville are far more pointed.

Sessions hammered him on his Florida residency, pointing out that Tuberville claimed his homestead exemption in Florida and has never voted in Alabama. He also pointed out that Tuberville did not donate a cent to the Trump campaign, while millions of average Americans did.

“He filed for homestead in Florida in 2018, and he hasn’t voted in Alabama. He voted in Florida in 2018, it appears. I’m not sure he even voted for President Trump, I’m not sure, he certainly didn’t give a contribution to the Trump campaign, he never once spoke out in favor of the Trump campaign. So, now he waltzes in tourist-like, I think it’s a fair word, to say now I want to be Alabama’s senator, and go up there and defend Alabama’s values.”

Sessions in the interview also hit Tuberville on immigration, vets and trade.

My takeaway:

These are all fair arguments. Tuberville filed his homestead exemption, which you file on your primary residence in Florida in 2018. He paid his taxes there. He lived there and admitted to me that he moved here to run for U.S. Senate because he knew his name ID in the state would work.

Tuberville did talk about amnesty for illegals.

Tuberville did say he was blaming Trump for veterans’ health care.

Tuberville did say Trump was putting a noose around the neck of farmers.

The attacks show that Sessions knows he is in a dogfight for his former seat. He is not walking away with this like many thought he would. Polls indicate he is in first or second, so as this race continues to heat up, look for more attacks on his opponents’ records from Jeff Sessions.

Listen:

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

• U.S. Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) can think of at least one example of a U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “supporter being bad,” even though Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison can’t think of a single one being “unusually mean or bad.”
• Scalise was shot by a Sanders supporter while practicing for a congressional baseball game in 2017. Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) was there with others from the baseball team as well, and this exchange has happened among the debate on whether candidates are responsible for their supporters’ actions.

5. Stone only gets a little more than three years

• Roger Stone made false statements to investigators during the investigation into President Donald Trump and Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election; he has now been sentenced to three years in prison for his offenses.
• U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman said that Stone’s actions were “deliberate” and “planned,” but she also said the sentencing request was excessive, just as President Trump did. Berman sentenced him to the sentence Attorney General William Barr suggested, therefore the media panic was for nothing.

4. New poll suggests Trump wins in any matchup in key swing state

• The latest poll from Quinnipiac University shows that no matter who President Donald Trump is up against in Wisconsin, he wins by at least 7%, which would be if he were against former Vice President Joe Biden or U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
• In the event that Trump is up against former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg or former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Trump leads by 8%. If Trump squares off with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), he wins by 10%. Against U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Trump wins by at least 11%.

3. Tuberville confused about what ads attacking him are saying?

• While at an event hosted by the Downtown Republican Women of Huntsville and the Madison County Young Republicans, former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville addressed the campaign ads against him where he’s quoted that he’s “pissed off at Donald Trump” over the treatment of veterans.
• Tuberville has taken this to mean that the ads are saying that he “hate[s] the veterans,” but he said that “President Trump loves our military, loves our VA, he’s fighting for them. But we’ve got to keep fighting.” This mirrors his response to ads that showed him supporting amnesty.

2. Tuberville might have taken the lead

• The super PAC Club for Growth Action has conducted a new poll for the U.S. Senate race in Alabama, and the poll put former Auburn Football coach Tommy Tuberville in the lead with 32%.
• Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions fell to second place at 29%, while U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) has remained consistent with 17%. A total of 16% of respondents remain undecided.

1. It’s the Russians … again

• After years of Russia investigation speculation, zero evidence that anyone on the Trump campaign team colluded with the Russians and maniacal obsession with baseless conspiracy theories about Russians costing Democrats 2016, it appears that the same players are going right back to the same story that the Russians and Trump might be in cahoots for 2020.
• After a classified briefing to members of Congress, multiple sources proceeded to go to the New York Times, which led to a headline that screamed, “Russia Backs Trump Re-election, and Trump Fears That Democrats Will Exploit Its Support.” This just further proves the Deep State is continuing to operate to defeat Donald Trump like it did in 2016.

• As the nation continues to move towards more lacks bail rules, the Alabama House of Representatives advanced Aniah’s Law, a bill that would grant judges more ability to deny bail to those accused of violent crimes.
• The bill is named after Aniah Blanchard, who was allegedly abducted and murdered by a man who has been released on bond despite prior violent offenses.

5. The GIRL Act is going further

• The “Gender is Real Legislative” (GIRL) Act has been advanced by the Alabama House State Government Committee, which would require that public school student-athletes only compete in the gender which they were born.
• The committee vote was along party lines, 8-4. Bill sponsor State Representative Chris Pringle (R-Mobile) has said that “gender is a real biological truth. It truly defies logic that anyone would deny science and want male students competing in female sports.”

4. Assange’s lawyer claims Trump dangled a pardon

• Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has made an allegation that former U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (D-CA) met with him at an Ecuadorean embassy to offer him a pardon in exchange for information about the DNC server and who fed him the information. The media is reporting this as an absolute fact because they need it to be true.
• Rohrabacher and President Donald Trump say this is not true. Rohrabacher explains, “When speaking with Julian Assange, I told him that if he could provide me information and evidence about who actually gave him the DNC emails, I would then call on President Trump to pardon him.” He added, “At no time did I offer a deal made by the President, nor did I say I was representing the President.”

3. Presidential debate Wednesday night, but the guy at a rally in Arizona won 

• The Democratic presidential debate took place Wednesday night in Las Vegas. The main target was not President Donald Trump or the 78-year-old socialist that is running away with the race. Instead, most of the fire was trained on the 78-year-old billionaire Michael Bloomberg who was attacked for his money, his history with women and his history with “stop and frisk.”
• There wasn’t really a moment at this debate that will reset the field, but U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) essentially took over the debate early on and attacked every person on the stage with pointed criticism, except for Bernie Sanders. This will probably be seen as her attempt to damage Bloomberg and will be compared to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s takedown of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) from 2016 because she won’t win but she tried to make sure he won’t either.

2. Medical marijuana is going before the full Senate

• In an 8-1 vote, the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee passed the medical marijuana bill by State Senator Tim Melson (R-Florence). The bill will now face the full Senate; if eventually signed into law, Alabama would become the 34^th state to legalize medical cannabis. Last year, a similar bill passed the Senate but failed in the House.
• This bill will require Republican votes to pass the Senate. State Sens. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore), Tom Whatley (R-Auburn), Will Barfoot (R-Montgomery) and Cam Ward (R-Alabaster) showed there is some Republican support for it. Only State Sen. Larry Stutts (R-Sheffield) voted no while State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) abstained.

1. Doug Jones really wants to be a one-term senator

• U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) was recently asked by a tracker, “Do you think abortion should be banned after five months?” to which Jones responded, “[W]hat a stupid question.”
• The tracker referenced the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act that Jones will be voting on next week. Jones said he’ll “vote on it next week, just like I did last time.”

So, it should come as no surprise that the average readers of al.com are equally as out of touch with the average Alabamian because they are consuming a daily digest of anti-Alabama liberal media bile that could best be described as irrelevant and antagonistic to the politics and culture of the state of Alabama.

Former Yellowhammer News editor-in-chief Cliff Sims said it best when he called them a sports blog with a liberal bias.

Because of this, it should come as no surprise that they are attempting to pass off an online poll of their readers as representative of anything close to the opinion of the state of Alabama, but here you go.

It may be a small, and certainly unscientific sample, but it sure seems like folks in Alabama are ready for marijuana to be legal. https://t.co/ZVwwd9cYOs

— Ramsey Archibald (@RamseyArchibald) February 18, 2020

Actually, it doesn’t seem like that at all. Even Ramsey Archibald knows that.

Nationally, according to a Pew Research poll in late 2019, 69% of Americans favor some kind of legalization of marijuana. Of those who want to legalize marijuana, 59% want recreational and medical legalization and 32% want just medical legalization.

That’s a national poll — this is Alabama.

Love it or hate it, like the employees at al.com do, you have to acknowledge that there is nowhere near 83% support for recreational marijuana in this state.

Instead of legalizing marijuana, we might want to consider limiting the consumption of al.com for some of their readers whose brains are clearly being damaged by the content.

All polls like this do is show that the readership of al.com is far-left, out-of-touch and completely irrelevant in Alabama politics — just like the authors they read.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

• State Representative Rolanda Hollis (D-Birmingham) has seized on her newfound fame as the “vasectomy bill” sponsor and now has introduced a feminine hygiene bill that would require schools to provide products to students in grades five through 12.
• Similar bills are being considered in Massachusetts and Maryland, and such requirements already exist in Illinois, California, New Hampshire and New York. This bill has been referred to the House Education Ways and Means Committee.

5. Alabama’s mayors want the ability to create occupational taxes; lawmakers work to take it

• The City of Montgomery is in the process of raising taxes on every person that works in the city, even if they live elsewhere. Lawmakers want to stop it but the mayors of the 10 largest cities are working together to oppose the bill because it limits a potential revenue source and they want the ability to implement this tax.
• State Representative Chris Sells (R-Greenville) argued before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that the cities could raise the tax if they want but they will have to come to the legislature to do so because it raises a tax on people with no representation in the city. The mayors argued in a letter, “What it does is give the people outside a municipality a voice through us.”

4. Trump handed out a few pardons

• Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D), who was convicted of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by President Barack Obama, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump, saying that Blagojevich’s sentence was “ridiculous.” This brings Trump’s total number of pardons during what is being reported as a “pardon spree” to 26.
• Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, who was sentenced for tax fraud, former 49ers owner Edward Debartolo, Jr., who was convicted for failure to report a bribe, and financier Michael Milken, who violated U.S. security laws, have all been pardoned by Trump as well.

3. The Senate election is heating up

• All three leading Republican U.S. Senate candidates have now gone negative, with former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions releasing a new campaign ad that goes after former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville and U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope).
• In the ad, there’s a claim that Byrne “stabbed Trump in the back right before the election” because he didn’t support him at the beginning of his presidential bid. The ad goes on to say, “Tuberville is a tourist in Alabama – he lives, votes, and pays taxes in Florida.”

2. Tuberville catching heat for immigration comments

• Recently, the U.S. Senate race in Alabama has gained national attention for remarks former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville said back in August when he stated, “We’re paying for illegals to come over here. …  That’s Donald Trump’s fault.”
• While Tuberville did say that, he has been in clean-up mode as he clarifies his position saying that his immigration plan “mirrors everything Donald Trump has said on the issue.” He added, “We’ve got to close our borders, protect American jobs, stop illegal drugs, and block terrorists from sneaking into our country.” Tuberville also stated that he’s “simply backing President Trump’s policy … just like I’ll do in Washington.”

1. Donald Trump hits a new high in polling and with independents

• In a new NBC poll, President Donald Trump’s approval rating has hit 50%, even notching 50% with independents. This shows his numbers holding steady after improving post impeachment acquittal and as Democrats continue to battle for their party’s nomination.
• Speaking of Democrats, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has come out to a double-digit lead over Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg is effectively purchasing his way onto debate stages and into voters’ hearts with big ad buys and a campaign that makes voters think he has the endorsement of former President Barack Obama.

• Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that they’ll be sending their SWAT team to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with detaining illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities, and now U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) are demanding they “reverse course.”
• Warren and Markey said that this “initiative is unnecessary, unwelcome, dangerous, menacing, retaliatory and unlikely to achieve its stated goal,” and went on to demand that CBP and ICE change their plans. They also questioned the reason “for employing paramilitary-style immigration personnel.”

5. Ainsworth announcing legislation to shorten the appeals process

• Tuesday, Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth is planning to announce new legislation that would shorten the appeals process for those convicted of capital murder, which has been pushed for since the increased number of officers killed on duty throughout the state.
• On Twitter, Ainsworth said, “’Back the Blue’ must be more than just a slogan. Actions must follow words, murdering an officer who maintains law and order should quickly cost your own life.”

4. Cruz isn’t happy about mandatory vasectomies

• State Representative Rolanda Hollis (D-Birmingham) has introduced a ridiculous and embarrassing bill that would make it mandatory for men over 50 or with three kids to get a vasectomy, and now U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) is taking issue with the legislation.
• Cruz said on Twitter, “Yikes. A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take everything…literally!” Hollis has defended her bill saying that it’ll “help with the reproductive system, and yes, it is to neutralize the abortion ban bill.”

3. Obama wants credit for economic improvements, Trump calls that a “con job”

• On the 11^th anniversary of signing the 2009 economic stimulus package, President Barack Obama acknowledged the economy is booming — while the media and their Democrats are pretending otherwise —  and tweeted that he “signed the Recovery Act, paving the way for more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history.”
• President Donald Trump tweeted that is a “con job” and his campaign has responded to Obama’s claim, saying, “Trump reversed every single failed Obama-era economic policy, and with it, reversed the floundering Obama/Biden economy,” adding that the former president and vice president “orchestrated the worst economic recovery in modern history.”

2. John Rogers has no clue what he is talking about

• State Representative John Rogers (D-Birmingham) made very little news when he declared that NFL quarterback Cam Newton was transgender and there were 20 more transgender football players in the league without providing evidence.
• Turns out Rogers doesn’t know what it is to be transgender and, while speaking to “The Pluralist,” Rogers suggested that there should be genetic testing to determine the sex of athletes. He stated, “If a person ends up being male, they can compete as male, and if they end up being a female they can compete as female.”

1. Sessions responding to Byrne and Tuberville’s tactics

• Recently, U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) and former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville released campaign ads that throw punches at each other and at former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but now Sessions is responding with a statement and attacks of his own.
• Sessions has described these tactics as “sleazy” and added that it’s “unfortunate that both Tommy Tuberville and Bradley Byrne have abandoned any pretense of running a positive campaign.” He also pointed out that this behavior is expected as they’re both “trailing in the polls,” adding that it’s made Tuberville and Byrne appear “desperate and afraid.”

Current Alabama law requires government entities in Alabama to advertise and pay for legal notices, legislation, constitutional amendments, voter rolls and other public matters in the local print media outlets.

As I have pointed out before, this is not chump change.

• The City of Huntsville spends up to $115,000 each year.
• Madison County spends up to $153,000 each year.

The real cost across the state is clearly into the multiple millions of dollars range.

Last week, Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong appeared on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show” and explained that Madison County alone was forced to pay $75,000 to Alabama Media Group, the parent company of AL.com, which runs a sports blog with a liberal bias.

For what? A 112-page list of voters.

Strong says he knows no one is reading this list to see if they are eligible to vote.

“You’re printing a 112-page document that will be used to light fires in people’s burn pits,” he explained. “People don’t even look at it, they throw it in the garbage can.”

The Secretary of State’s Office has a phone number and a website where people can see if they are eligible to vote, so this is all completely unnecessary.

Keep in mind, this is one county. All 67 counties in the state had to pay for this “service,” and they all know it is a waste of their resources.

Strong noted, “I promise you $75,000 practically every two years over 10 years, that’s $375,000, and I can tell you Madison County has a bunch of needs that money could go toward a lot more beneficial than a list.”

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Multiple lawmakers have attempted to cut in on these legal notices over the years, with little success.

State Representative Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals) tried last year. He said in 2019, “I think it’s really hard to make a case in Alabama that we need more taxes while we are not spending the money we have in an efficient manner.”

Sorrell is trying again this year:

Relating to public notices; to provide for electronic publication of public notices on a public notice website operated by the Secretary of State; to provide for fees for publication; to allow counties and municipalities to opt out under certain conditions; and to provide for delivery of public notices to the Secretary of State for publication on the public notice website.

Secretary of State John Merrill is all in on supporting this bill.

My takeaway:

The same challenges that came up in 2019 will come up again in 2019. No one wants to fight the newspapers on this because they know the newspapers will fight back.

We all know the old saying: “Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.”

But it is time to pick this fight. The status quo is a scam that gives tax dollars to newspapers and citizens get little in return. It is time for other legislators to join him and get this done.

Listen:

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

• UAB Hospital has made the cut for one of America’s Best Hospitals based on overall clinical excellence. Only the top 5% of hospitals in the country qualify.
• There’s a total of 32 conditions and procedures that hospitals are evaluated on to be determined one of the best, including stroke, heart failure and heart attack. If treated at a hospital ranked as one of America’s best, there’s a 26.6% higher survival rate.

5. Every Trump appointee just needs to resign or be investigated?

• Amid the drama of the Department of Justice getting involved in the case of Roger Stone, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) is calling for U.S. Attorney General William Barr to testify before the Senate while others are calling for resignation or impeachment (which will never happen).
• Klobuchar wants to ensure that the decision of the Justice Department wasn’t influenced by President Donald Trump with him “constantly tweeting out different requests of the Justice Department.” Barr has already agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.

4. Medical marijuana vote expected this week

• On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding a public hearing where the medical marijuana bill will likely be discussed, and a vote on the bill could happen on the same day.
• State Senator Tim Melson’s (R-Florence) would require that people first get a prescription for medical marijuana from a state-approved doctor before going to a dispensary to purchase their products. Only those with specific conditions would be approved for a medical marijuana card.

3. Trump takes “The Beast” for a spin at Daytona

• President Donald Trump visited the Daytona 500 on Sunday where he acted as the Grand Marshall for the race and took the presidential limo on a lap around the track while chants of “four more years” and “USA!” filled the track.
• Obviously, the media and their Democrats were not happy with this and complained that the limo was a government resource being used for campaign purposes, which is the same complaint they make about Air Force One. Even though both parties have complained about this practice in the past, it is clearly permissible.

2. Tuberville isn’t for amnesty

• In the 2020 U.S. Senate race in Alabama, U.S. Representative Bradly Byrne (R-Fairhope) has released an ad that takes aim at former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, replaying audio from a Shoals Republican Club meeting where Tuberville talks about illegal immigration, saying, “Put the wall up – then let them come in and become citizens like we all became citizens.”
• The narrator in the ad responds with “Hey, Tommy, that’s amnesty,” but at a campaign stop in Hartselle, Tuberville said that when it comes to amnesty for illegal immigrants, “You have to go and start back the right way.” He added that people saying he’s for amnesty are part of “the swamp. … They can’t run on anything, they don’t do anything. They’ve never done anything.”

1. Byrne throwing punches shows the state of the race

• Whether he is in second or third is up for debate, but U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) is the first candidate to go on the attack in his own name in the 2020 U.S. Senate race, putting out a television ad saying that both former Auburn Football coach Tommy Tuberville and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions “should’ve stayed fired.”
• The ad compares Byrne to Tuberville and Sessions, saying that “Bradley is the proven fighter with a track record of defending President Trump and our values.” The Sessions campaign has responded to the ad saying that candidates attack when they’re “desperate and afraid.”

Jackson and Handback are joined by Secretary of State John Merrill to discuss the latest report by the Southern Poverty Law Center that claims Alabama is suppressing voters and Merrill’s willingness to take on more responsibility at the Secretary of State’s office.

Jackson closes the show with a “parting shot” at the waste of millions of dollars Alabama municipalities spend on “public notices” because of a series of outdated laws requiring publication of voter rolls and public notices in local newspapers.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

• In a new ad put out by the Jeff Sessions 2020 U.S. Senate campaign, Sessions’ record on illegal immigration takes the spotlight with things like his 2018 “Zero-Tolerance Policy for Criminal Illegal Entry.”
• The ad also mentions President Donald Trump saying that he and Sessions “took action” against illegal immigration. in the ad, Sessions addresses how a lot of people may say they want to fix issues with illegal immigration “but have no real commitment to do so.”

5. Police could become a protected class

• The bill that would add law enforcement officers to the class in the state was passed by the Alabama House of Representatives, but State Representative John Rogers (D-Birmingham) thinks the bill doesn’t go far enough.
• If signed into law, the bill would make crimes against law enforcement officers hate crimes, but Rogers said for anyone convicted of killing a police officer, “The death penalty ought to be automatic. I want to see them burn.”

4. Barr just wants to do his job

• President Donald Trump’s constant tweeting makes “it impossible for me to do my job” U.S. Attorney General William Barr said to ABC News. Barr also clarified that Trump “has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case.”
• This is all after the Department of Justice intervened to get Trump confidant Roger Stone’s recommended prison sentence reduced down from nine years. Barr added that “it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases. I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody … whether it’s Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president.”

3. Mandatory vasectomies

• A piece of legislation introduced by State Representative Rolanda Hollis (D-Birmingham) would require any man 50 years old or more or after fathering a third child get a vasectomy at their “own expense.”
• While discussing the bill, Hollis said, “Under existing law, there are no restrictions on the reproductive rights of men,” taking aim at the abortion ban passed last year.

2. John Rogers doesn’t know what it is to be transgender, thinks Cam Newton is gay

• The GIRL Act had its day in the Alabama House State Government Committee, and the bill that would restrict Alabama public school students to participating in athletics in the gender on their birth certificate wasn’t advanced.
• At the public hearing, State Representative John Rogers (D-Birmingham) had some especially interesting comments about the legislation, stating that his “favorite player is transgender” and that he knows of “about 20 football players are transgender.” He later was clarified that he was talking about former Auburn University quarterback Cam Newton and he actually believed him to be “gay” instead of transgender.

1. We’re better off now than we were three years ago

• A new Gallup poll has shown that a record 61% of Americans think that they’re better off now than they were in 2017, just after President Donald Trump took office. Only 36% of respondents said they weren’t better off.
• The same poll was conducted in 2012 when President Barack Obama was in office. In the 2012 poll, only 45% of people were better off than three years previous. In the current poll, only 3% of respondents said their situation is the same.

• Congressional candidate Jeff Coleman is running a new TV ad where he introduces the audience to a baseball bat called “The Respect Her” that he would make his daughters’ date sign before they were allowed to take them out.
• If that wasn’t enough, Coleman says the lesson for the dates was “respect, boundaries, honor and integrity.” He closed the ad with a promise to protect your family, stating “I protected my girls like I’ll protect your family in Congress. Sometimes, a little visual aid helps.” He is running to replace Rep. Martha Roby (R-Montgomery) in the Second Congressional District.

5. Now Democrats are going after Barr

• The House Judiciary Committee has announced that they will be interrogating U.S. Attorney General William Barr on March 31. Meanwhile, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) with other lawmakers are calling on Barr to resign.
• Blumenthal said that Barr should “be ashamed and embarrassed and resign as a result of his action directly interfering in the independent prosecution of Roger Stone,” as well as adding that this is an example of President Donald Trump politically interfering “to alter the independent decisions of the Department of Justice.”

4. Medical marijuana has been introduced in the legislature

• The medical marijuana bill by State Senator Tim Melson (R-Florence) has officially been introduced to the state legislature, which has been anticipated.
• If the bill were to become law, patients would have to go see a state-approved doctor to get a prescription and then obtain a “medical cannabis card.” Anyone looking to process, dispense, cultivate, transport or test cannabis would have to get a license through the state Medical Cannabis Commission.

3. Being a sanctuary city could become a felony

• State Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) has a bill that would make Alabama cities that are operating as sanctuary cities a Class C felony. That bill has now advanced by the Alabama Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee.
• The bill would mandate: “It is the policy of this state to discharge illegal immigration by complying with all federal immigration laws and assisting and fully cooperating with federal immigration authorities in the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”

2. Not everyone thinks all gaming talk is dead this legislative session

• The Poarch Band of Creek Indians continue to push their latest plan for expanded gaming in Alabama. Their “Winning for Alabama” proposal provides $1 billion upfront and $350 million a year to the state coffers, but the issue of other gaming such as the lottery and quasi-legal dog track bingo machines will need to be resolved before this happens.
• This all seems very unlikely to occur this year, as Governor Kay Ivey has scuttled any real chance of gaming legislation this session by calling for the creation of “a small working group of some of Alabama’s most distinguished citizens, to begin working, to gather all the facts on how much money we could really gain if some form of gaming expansion occurred.” The group’s work will provide cover to legislators who don’t want to move on this issue.

1. Sessions still leads but the race tightens

• A new poll shows former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is still leading the three-way race for the Republican nomination, and the right to beat U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) in November, against former Auburn football head coach Tommy Tuberville and U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope).
• The Alabama Daily News, WBRC and WAFF poll shows all three candidates trouncing Jones. Sessions has a lead with 31%, closely followed by Tuberville with 29% while Byrne has 17%.

That $400 million goes to the Education Trust Fund, and there is a better chance of Alabama legalizing prostitution than there is of the Alabama Education Association and their legislators agreeing to a budget that has a cut that large in it.

In fact, Governor Kay Ivey has already proposed pay raises this year, and we all know that impacts the cost for teachers’ retirement in the future, so that pay raise has more impact than just the pay to the educators this year.

There is nothing wrong with this. The teachers have a guaranteed retirement system, and while that is not economically viable in the long term, good for them.

The latest plan to address the grocery tax comes from a Republican legislator, which is a nice twist on the issue.

State Representative Andrew Jones’ (R-Centre) version recoups lost revenue by placing a cap on the amount Alabamians can deduct on their state income taxes based on their federal income tax liability.

Confused? Good.

Let me make this simple: it’s a tax increase.

By capping the deduction you can take, you will have to pay more.

Because it is a tax increase, it will require a three-fifths majority of both chambers in the Alabama legislature to approve placing a constitutional amendment referendum on a future ballot. The voters will then get to go to the polls and vote for a tax increase.

So Alabama voters will get to vote on new taxes? Yes.

It fails.

The ads will say, “You won’t pay, they will!”

It still fails.

The editorials will whine, “It’s for the children, we have to keep this money coming in!”

It fails bigly.

All of this is moot because most legislators are not going to be willing to attempt to cut one tax and then raise another while their name gets tied to the tax increase.

This won’t pass the legislature.

They will tell us, “It’s revenue-neutral!”

It fails and would scar anyone who votes for it.

The solution to this exists, and it is painfully obvious, phase the tax out.

Because the state is so reliant on this $400 million, phase it out over a decade and you will hardly miss the $40 million a year out of a $7 billion-plus budget.

A bill to end the sales tax on food passed the Alabama State House in 2008 and died in the State Senate. It comes up every year and it fails every year.

This year will be no different.

This debate has been going on for a long time, and shows no sign of ending anytime soon, at least not the way it is being proposed now.

If legislators want this tax gone, it is time for the state to slowly ween itself off of it.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

• After former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited Alabama, the Alabama Democratic Party announced that they’d be endorsing Bloomberg in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
• ADC chairman Joe L. Reed said Bloomberg “has shown a keen interest in the ADC. He has visited the state twice in the last two months.” The ADC referenced Bloomberg’s business success and experience as mayor in their reasoning for endorsing him.

5. Attorney General Barr acting like Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch is apparently not OK

• The American media has been warning you for years that President Donald Trump’s presidency would be the “end of America,” and now they really mean it because the president is not happy about the sentencing suggestions for Trump confidant Roger Stone.
• Barr has now taken control of multiple investigations at the Department of Justice, leading to multiple prosecutors resigning from the case. The American media is outraged, and Democrats are demanding investigations. so things are moving on exactly as they have for years.

4. Grocery tax continues to be an issue

• State Senator Andrew Jones (R-Centre) has filed a bill to eliminate the grocery tax, which he said was “a regressive tax which penalizes hardworking families in Alabama.”
• Jones also noted that “38 states and the District of Columbia have full or partial sales tax exemptions for groceries.” He also said if there’s a cap placed on the federal income tax deduction that people can file for, it would be the equivalent to what the grocery tax currently generates.

3. Alabama doesn’t have an issue with voter suppression

• The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report that accused Alabama of suppressing minorities’ ability to vote, but Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said that the report was just a way “to help them raise financial resources to promote their liberal agenda.” Merrill mentioned how voter registration and participation records have been broken in Alabama.
• According to the SPLC, the ways that Alabama suppressed votes was through requiring photo ID to vote, “maintaining a burdensome and discriminatory restoration scheme for those with felony convictions, closing polling places in predominantly Black counties, and purging hundreds of thousands of voters from the voter rolls.”

2. Doug Jones running ads in states not called Alabama

• After the impeachment vote, U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) tried to use the way he voted to raise money for his reelection campaign through Facebook ads targeted mostly at people outside of Alabama.
• In total, Jones spent $59,902 on 166 Facebook ads. Only 18% of the ads were targeted at Alabamians, while 21% of the ads were displayed to those in New York and California; the rest was spent in various states.

1. Bernie wins, Buttigieg second, Klobuchar surprises, Warren and Biden fall

• U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) won the first primary, eeking out a victory over former Mayor Pete Buttigieg. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) surprised onlookers by finishing third, which deals significant blows to the presidential campaigns of once frontrunners former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
• As these races continue, the field of legitimate contenders appears to be growing with Klobuchar and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg making noise and problems while showing that there are two likely outcomes ahead: a bloody fight that could end in a brokered convention, or a Bernie Sanders/Donald Trump battle.

• Last year, Jackson Hospital sued about 1,300 patients for unpaid bills. A handful of the patients sued had bills of less than $200.
• At least one woman, Tara Harriel, is claiming that she wasn’t notified of her outstanding balance until she was served a notice of the lawsuit.

5. Alabama a conservative state, the universities are not

• A list released by Niche, which was conducted through student surveys, showed the most conservative universities across the country, and none of the campuses in Alabama made the top 10.
• The first mention Alabama had on the list was Samford University in Birmingham, which came in at 16th. The second most conservative for Alabama was Troy University at 65th, Auburn University at 96th and the University of Alabama 138th.

4. Chris Pringle is building a wall around Pelosi’s office

• In a new campaign ad, State Representative Chris Pringle (R-Mobile), who is running for the First Congressional District seat, says, “I know how to build walls, so in Washington, I’ll help President Trump build his.”
• The wall he’s building is around a replica of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) office on Capitol Hill. Pringle also states, “I’ll build whatever wall it takes for America to stop illegal immigrants and stop these radical socialists.” He then adds under his breath, “Commies.”

3. Bernie surging, Biden slumping, Buttigieg climbing

• Quinnipiac University has released a new poll that shows U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has surpassed former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary just ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
• In the poll, Sanders moved up to 25%, Biden dropped to 17%, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg surprisingly had 15%, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) had 14%, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had 10% and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) came in at 4%.

2. Port of Mobile has received final funding for dredging, gas tax pays Alabama’s cut

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has budgeted $274,300,000 for Port of Mobile, which will provide the last amount of funding needed to dredge the port. U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) had a big hand in making this happen.
• Shelby worked to increase funding for projects like this to 75% from 50%, and secured the funds in the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations process while announcing the funding. The senator mentioned how this project has been a decade in the making and noted this is a “victory for Mobile and the entire state of Alabama.”

1. Severe weather all over Alabama

• Heavy rainfall across Alabama has led to canceled or delayed schools, swollen rivers and concern for more problems moving into Tuesday evening with most parts of North and Central Alabama under a flood watch.
• The flooding is expected to be so bad that the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office has placed four flat-bottom boats located near different flood zones and a trained swift water team at the ready, but they would rather you avoid rising water altogether to keep everyone safe.

• Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to have one of the more interesting presidential campaign collapses because he keeps insulting voters and lashing out at reporters who dare question him.
• At an event in New Hampshire, a woman asked Biden how he can win if he is doing so poorly. Biden asked if she had “ever been to a caucus” and when she said yes, Biden responded, “No, you haven’t. You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier.” 

5. Buttigieg: Decriminalize all drugs

• Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has said that he wants all drug possession to be decriminalized, not legalized. He doesn’t want people to be incarcerated for possessing any drugs, even meth or heroin.
• On Fox News Channel, Chris Wallace asked Buttigieg if possession of drugs currently being illegal acts as a deterrent, but instead of answering the question, Buttigieg simply stated that the focus needs to be on distribution and that “criminalizing addiction doesn’t work.”

4. Trump’s targets items driving debt and defiicit

• The $4.8 trillion budget proposal has been unveiled by the White House, and within the budget, there would be $2 billion for the border wall and increased funding for the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Department of Homeland Security and NASA.
• While there is increased funding for some, other areas are seeing big cuts in funding. Foreign aid would be reduced by 21%, the Environmental Protection Agency would lose 26% of funding and the Department of Housing and Urban Development would be cut by 15%.

3. Tuberville going after Sharia Law

• On the heels of a baseless attack by Paul Finebaum, without being specific, former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville spoke at the Mid-Alabama Republican Club where he made a point to warn people that “Sharia Law has taken over” and that he’s been to areas where “you can’t drive through a neighborhood. …Because terrorism has taken over.”
• Tuberville added that “it’s over” if they “get their hands on the Constitution one day” because “They want to get it for one reason: that Electoral College. If they ever knock that out we’re done, we’re done.”

2. Jones and Biden don’t seem to care about voters

• Channeling his hero Joe Biden, U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) continues to be asked about his decision to vote to convict President Donald Trump on both articles of impeachment in the U.S. Senate. Recently, Jones was asked about how he voted against the position a majority of constituents in Alabama hold, and he doesn’t seem to want to represent them in Washington, D.C.
• Jones defended his decision by saying, “The Constitution doesn’t require a poll in which to vote.” He added that he doesn’t make his decisions on polling, stating, “You can’t get 100% on anything.”

1. Trump isn’t going to let people forget about Jones

• The big star of the impeachment vote would have been U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) had U.S. Mitt Romney (R-UT) not bucked his party, but President Donald Trump is confident and outspoken that Jones will not be reelected because he voted to convict during the Senate impeachment trial.
• In a tweet, Trump described Jones as “that lightweight Senator,” and that he “thought his boss, Cryin’ Chuck, would have forced him to vote against the Hoax.” He then called Jones “A Do Nothing Stiff!”

Jackson and Burke are joined by Chris Lewis to discuss his run for Congress and term limits.

Jackson closes the show with a “parting shot” at the countless hours of negative media coverage directed toward President Donald Trump on impeachment with absolutely nothing to show for it.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=615874312306732

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

I will make a caveat with Trump’s problem with Pelosi’s “I pray for him” barb because it is a barb. What she is saying with this is the equivalent of a Southerner saying, “Bless your heart,” which I call the “Southern f-you.”

This week has been a weird flip-flop of attacks with a religious Republican attacking Democrats and moderates on faith. Usually, it is the other way around.

Alabama has its own battle over God’s support raging. Candidates for U.S. Senate in Alabama U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) and Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville both have ads on the air that reference their faith, with Tuberville stating, “[W]ith all of my heart, ‘God sent us Donald Trump’ because God knew we were in trouble.”

This is truthfully pretty benign political stuff, but it drew the typical politcial fire.

To make this a truly Alabama story, you have to add sports into the mix, so legendary radio host Paul Finebaum commented on the ad and, as AL.com reports, he was not kind to Tuberville.

“It clearly sounds like a new Tommy Tuberville,” said Finebaum, the iconic longtime radio personality whose show has long focused on the Southeast and SEC football. “I have no recollection of him ever bringing faith into a conversation.”

It could very well be true that Tuberville and Finebaum have never talked God with each other before, but why would they?

The implication here is that Tuberville is an opportunist, a fraud and is using God as a weapon to win a U.S. Senate seat. That is clear.

A simple Google search eviscerates this notion.

In 2010, Tuberville was the new head coach at Texas Tech, and he spoke in an interview about his faith and Church of Christ upbringing.

Tuberville told the Christian Chronicle, “There’s something other than football, I believe, and so we’ll be active in the church here. Actually, I want to bring in a full-time team chaplain here in our football program.”

Tuberville wanted these students to have access to their faith, even as they were busy with a hectic football schedule, and he wanted the chaplain to visit with players and give them “somebody they can relate to.”

The notorious Freedom from Religion Foundation has even targeted Tuberville football teams in the past and noted that Tuberville was doing this stuff at Auburn, too.

Former head coach Tommy Tuberville appointed Williams in 1999, one of his “first moves” as head coach, claiming the team experienced a “tremendous spiritual revival … moved on the Auburn team since his arrival. … players are getting baptized, carrying around Bibles and wearing wooden cross necklaces.”

Again, this is an unseemly conversation to be having. Barring some obvious hypocrisy, questioning a person’s faith rarely yields anything good.

Finebaum’s premise was wrong here, and he should probably apologize to coach Tuberville.

Why?

Finebaum is a legend. His opinion and comments matter. Without Finebaum, Robert Bentley is never governor. The coverage Finebaum gave, on radio and in print, to a Tim James joke about cutting the salary of Nick Saban in 2010 easily cost him the 270 votes that knocked him out of the run-off and let Bentley limp in.

Finebaum clearly has that kind of reach and die-hard Alabama fans didn’t take this joke kindly.

Bentley beat Bradley Byrne and then went on to appoint then-Attorney General Luther Strange to the U.S. Senate which set off the chain of events that saw Roy Moore lose to now-Senator Doug Jones (D-AL).

Yes, all of that happened.

The Finebaum rub, good or bad, matters.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

• Previously, State Representative John Rogers (D-Birmingham) has made comments on abortion, “kill ‘em now or kill ‘em later,” which gave him a lot of media attention. Rogers’ remarks on abortion led to a public dispute with U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL).
• Now, Rogers has said that he supports Jones’ reelection bid because he has “to support the Democratic Party.” Rogers went on to explain that unless Jones is up against former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore in November, he “has an uphill climb.”

5. An Alabama cop wants to lose his job

• After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech, assistant chief of the Geraldine police Jeff Buckles decided to post on Facebook about the event.
• Buckles said, “Pelosi just ripped up his speech. Road side bomb on her way home and any other Dumbocrats.” He has since apologized for “venting on FB,” and now Geraldine Mayor Chuck Ables will be meeting with an attorney and Police Chief Heath Albright to decide what happens next.

4. Let’s spend even more time on the Iowa caucuses

• With the headache of issues going on to get a final tally on votes in Iowa, and as the media blames Trump supporters, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez is now asking that the Iowa Democratic Party recanvass, stating, “Enough is enough.”
• As all of this is happening, final results are in and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg has claimed victory, but so has U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) while former Vice President Joe Biden has decided to take a day off the trail because things are going so well for him.

3. Governor Ivey recovering well from surgery

• After Governor Kay Ivey fractured her shoulder, she had to undergo surgery on her shoulder at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Ivey press secretary Gina Maiola said the surgery “went off without a hitch.”
• Maiola has also said that Ivey is in “high spirits and doing well as she begins her recovery,” and that Ivey is very grateful for the “continued support and prayers and looks forward to getting back to work” for Alabama.

2. Byrne: We need to know how much impeachment really cost

• The Statement of Harm to the American Majority (SHAM) Act has been introduced by U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) as an effort to figure out exactly how much money was spent on the lengthy impeachment process of President Donald Trump.
• Through the SHAM Act, the Government Accountability Office would audit the use of taxpayer funds throughout the impeachment process and the loss of government productivity. If passed, it would be mandated that the results found through the audit be released within 180 days.

1. Trump isn’t holding back now that he’s been acquitted

• While speaking at the White House, President Donald Trump took shots at U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) by calling them “horrible” and “vicious,” adding Romney used religion as a “crutch.” He also praised his supporters, including U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope).
• Trump went on to describe the impeachment as “evil” and “corrupt,” saying it “should never, ever happen to another president, ever. It was a disgrace.” He later said that his phone call with Ukraine that sparked the impeachment was “perfect.”

Because of this, Americans’ trust in the media is at an all-time low.

With that comes a weakening of their power and their ability to control a narrative.

The media tried their best to drag Hillary Clinton over the finish line in 2016. She lost, so they failed.

The media tried to convince us that Trump colluded with the Russians. He didn’t, so they failed.

The media tried to make special counsel Robert Mueller the man who would take down President Donald Trump and lead to his impeachment. He couldn’t, so they failed.

The media tried to utilize our super-special relationship with Ukraine as the catalyst for the removal of the President of the United States while simultaneously spiking the story of Hunter Biden’s absurd Burisma deal. Trump was exonerated, and Biden’s dad has been wounded. So, they failed.

But boy did they try.

On the networks’ night newscasts, viewers were subjected to 1,100 negative minutes on President Donald Trump since September 2019 as Democrats were being pulled towards their failed impeachment.

The booming economy? A whopping 14 minutes.

While Democrats were conducting their impeachment hearings and trial, the networks dumped their soap operas for over 200 hours of boring hearings about Ukraine. Station managers lost revenue on this; they were not happy.

This doesn’t even account for the non-stop impeachment talk on cable news.

What impact did this have? What did all this “scandal” coverage do? Nothing.

No minds were changed. Trump gained a net eight points in his approval polls while the #Resistance picked up U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), who cast an irrelevant vote to remove a president that isn’t going anywhere and is now a liberal icon?

This question was pondered by ABC News’ Terry Moran.

ABC News’ Terry Moran: Democrats “spent years trying to drive this president from office…what was the opportunity cost of that?” pic.twitter.com/JJd8HrUPOZ

— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 5, 2020

His answer is irrelevant.

The cost is clear. They further destroyed the credibility of their actual base — the American media.

The media is not controlled by the Democrats. The Democrats are controlled by the media.

People will whine about how Trump destroyed norms and erodes credibility in our “institutions.” They have the outcome right but the causation wrong.

Donald Trump is the solution to the problem of an out of control American media. He helped expose their dishonesty. He capitalized on it, but he didn’t cause it.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

• The Alabama Senate Education Policy Committee has approved the bill by State Senator Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa) that would require public schools play the national anthem at least once a week and at some sporting events.
• Allen said that schools within his district aren’t playing the national anthem, and his “hope” is the anthem playing will encourage people to “be great Americans.” However, State Senator Tim Melson (R-Florence) has expressed his concern with it, reasoning, “when the Kaepernicks move to a school district and the whole family sits down or takes a knee, what’s going to be the response in the community.”

5. Kimberly police officer dies at the hands of a career criminal

• Kimberly police officer Nick O’Rear was fatally shot Tuesday night during a pursuit on Interstate 65 South by Preston Johnson, who also attempted to shoot another officer from Warrior by firing into his vehicle.
• Somehow, Johnson had been arrested on 20 charges over the last 20 years and he has been convicted of six different felonies, yet he was released on his own recognizance in October 2019; he was out of custody when he committed this murder.

4. Will they get Trump this time?

• The investigations aren’t over, according to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who said that even though the impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate is over he may be planning to subpoena testimony from former National Security Advisor John Bolton.
• Nadler also indicated that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has already given the approval to subpoena Bolton, who has already expressed that he would be open to testifying during the Senate impeachment trial.

3. Hurst says school schedule bill is being misinterpreted

• State Representative Steve Hurst (R-Munford) plans to sponsor a bill that would make summer longer for public school students, but said the information being spread that students could be in school until 5:30 p.m. is “a complete fabricated lie.”
• The bill would mandate summer break be from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but because state law only requires that schools maintain 1,080 instructional hours, Hurst has said that some schools could extend school days to lengthen breaks. According to Huntsville school board member Elisa Ferrell, she was notified of potential eight-hour school days by the Alabama Association of School Boards.

2. Trump is found not guilty

• The final vote in the U.S. Senate came down to 52-48 to acquit President Donald Trump first on impeachment article of abuse of power and 53-47 on the article of obstruction of Congress. U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) is the only senator to vote against his party.
• U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) voted to convict Trump on both charges, but U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) voted to acquit, saying that for the Senate to convict Trump on these charges “will dramatically transform the impeachment power” and that impeachment would become “a tool for adjudicating policy disputes and political disagreements.”

1. Doug Jones is totally done in Alabama

• Hours before the completely inevitable exoneration of President Donald Trump, U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) all but ended his career by announcing that he will vote for a long-doomed impeachment and go against the president in the state where Trump regularly gets his highest approval rating for no reason.
• This move surely pleased Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Jones’ out-of-state donors, as he has raised $816,844 out of state. According to the finance report, 40.87% of his out of state donors were from Washington, D.C., New York and California while he only raised $279,429 from Alabamians.

The dance was obvious. He did the same thing during Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, but in this version of his dishonest theater, Jones even roped in his little boy to help sell it: 22-year-old Carson Jones told us that his daddy was having a hard time eating and sleeping because of the trial. That’s how heavy this was weighing on him.

Except it wasn’t. It was never weighing on him. He knew what he was going to do from the day House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced they were moving forward with this doomed impeachment effort.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) knew.

The media knew. I knew. You knew. Most importantly, Doug Jones knew.

This was preordained and terribly transparent.

This 100% signals the end of Jones’ time as a senator in Alabama.

But it didn’t have to happen this way. Jones could have continued down his path as the “moderate” senator from Alabama, a moniker the media and their Democrats were willing to let him use in spite of votes on abortion, Kavanaugh, comments on tax cuts, support for Schumer and more.

But that veneer has been demolished by Pelosi and her acquiescence to the type of people who spent the 2020 State of the Union sitting on their hands for a booming economy, veterans, a Presidential Freedom Medal presentation and people whose families were killed by illegal immigrants.

Those are the people that pushed Speaker Pelosi into a no-win situation of an impeachment trial with absolutely no chance of victory because of the desire of a liberal base of left-wing lunatics that are actively attempting to torpedo the Democrats’ chances in a general election against President Donald Trump.

Pelosi, “The Squad” and the media have killed off this man’s career for absolutely nothing.

They already had the base fired up to go against Trump.

They already had a lapdog media ready to jump on every Trump action or statement as one of the worst things that ever happened.

They already had the playing field slanted in their favor and they still had swing state senators and members of the House of Representatives who were able to potentially pull out victories as they did in 2018.

They were winning.

But now they are flailing.

They knew this would hurt swing-state Democrats.

They didn’t care.

This impeachment mess will cause Democrat candidates to lose; Doug Jones will be one of them.

So, just remember when they write his political obituary: his career didn’t die — it was murdered.

Trump will still be president. He is more likely to be reelected now and everyone knew this was the only possible outcome.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

• Any candidates seeking the office of governor, lieutenant governor, state representative or state senate may have to abide by a new campaign finance rule if State Senator Jim McClendon’s (R-Springville) new bill passes requiring candidates use lobbyists or PACs, which makes it a silly endeavor.
• The bill would prohibit any candidates from accepting contributions from gambling operations, including anyone connected to gambling operations from making contributions. McClendon has said this is to “get things in Alabama back in balance” somewhat by cutting the Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ influence.

5. Del Marsh wants people to know the cost

• After the first day of the legislative session for the State Senate, Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston) discussed the possibility of adding new prisons to Alabama and said that legislators are ready to tackle this issue. He mentioned that one thing that should come into focus is making sure prisoners are rehabilitated and educated.
• Marsh also emphasized the “need to see the new numbers” on how much it could cost. If there’s an issue with the final cost, he said they can address that with Governor Kay Ivey. The current estimation is that it could cost the government $78 million per year to go through privately owned prions.

4. Buttigieg and Sanders leading in Iowa

• After a long wait, it’s being reported that with only 71% of precincts reporting, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg are leading in Iowa.
• The data places Buttigieg with 26.8% of the delegates and Sanders with 25.2%, while U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has 18.4% and former Vice President Joe Biden has 15.4%.

3. Jones continues to pretend he is undecided

• Wednesday, U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) is going to announce how he’ll vote in the U.S. Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. He’s said he’s “tentatively” decided on how he’ll vote on the two articles of impeachment.
• So far, Jones has voted completely in line with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) throughout the trial so he’s expected to vote to remove Trump from office, and there is nothing that indicates Jones will deviate from repeating the behavior he displayed during the confirmation process of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh where he declared he would not vote to confirm him after weeks of disingenuous public vacillation.

2. State of the State

• Governor Kay Ivey gave her 2020 State of the State address in the Old House Chamber of the Alabama State Capitol where she talked about a billion-dollar bond issue for education and another teacher pay increase. She stated that she will create a study group to determine how much revenue any gambling expansion would create, a move that will pretty much kill that debate in any real substantive form.
• Ivey also addressed the issues of building more prisons in the state, criminal justice reform, healthcare and education in the state. The Alabama legislature is now in session and we will see how and if they will address these issues this year.

1. State of the Union

• President Donald Trump delivered a State of the Union that promised to build his reelection on the back of a soaring economy while delivering a speech that was excellently scripted for television with a military family reunion, Rush Limbaugh receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a young African-American girl receiving a scholarship and an introduction of the last surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen.
• The speech opened with President Trump snubbing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on a handshake and ended with her defiantly tearing up the speech after it ended, which even Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) said, “None of that’s good.” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) called it disgusting.

He offers his unvarnished opinion, unregulated by others, directly to his audience. His opinion, undoubtedly, has molded many minds in the radio business.

In the United States of America, you would be hard-pressed to find a place where you could not pick up “The Rush Limbaugh Show” from a terrestrial radio tower. He can be heard on over 600 radio stations and is one of the most listened to radio voices ever.

His daily radio show has definitely influenced talk radio hosts across the state of Alabama, as well.

Here are some of their reactions to his announcement:

Jeff Poor (WVNN-Huntsville)

When Rush Limbaugh says there will be a wing of the talk radio hall of fame named for him, there really will be. Without Limbaugh revolutionizing the medium and paving the way for countless others, the media landscape would be far different today.

Many so-called ‘Rush babies’ came into the conservative media and the conservative movement because they were exposed to Limbaugh in their formative years. That had an impact on the way many of us approach life and issues regarding politics and public policy. The country is better for it today.

Sean Sullivan (FM Talk 106.5-Mobile)

Limbaugh is the Lewis and Clark of the expansion of talk radio and all of us who followed owe him a great debt of gratitude. I’m saddened to hear the news but I’m not counting the Godfather out anytime soon.

Matt Murphy (Talk 99.5-Birmingham)

Rush is the father of modern talk radio. He re-invented the format at a time when many conservatives in America were searching for a voice that shared their ideals and belief structure. He, in many ways, validated the opinions of millions and created a platform that forced change in the liberal media. A game changer. He took Buckley concepts and delivered them to middle America in a way they could apply them in their own lives.

All radio talkers are in his shadow.

There will never be a replacement.

Will Anderson (WVNN-Huntsville)

When Rush announced that he had the disease earlier today, he said that he had thought about not saying anything about it on air. I suspect that would’ve been hard to do, as Rush — the pioneer of talk radio — has always given of himself to his audience, from his hearing loss to his prescription drug addiction, and now to his cancer. As always, we will live through it with him prayerfully and vicariously, and we’ll continue to tune in every day.

My takeaway:

Limbaugh is a fighter. He has overcome and succeeded in the face of controversy, industry headwinds and direct targeting of him by adversaries, politicians and the most powerful media conglomerates in the history of the world, and yet, he persevered.

Stage 4 lung cancer will undoubtedly be the biggest fight of his life and a fight for his life.

But he has been counted out numerous times and he always roars back.

Unfortunately for his detractors, he will probably roar back here as well.

No matter what happens, Limbaugh’s influence will be heard in the voice of talk radio’s biggest and smallest names for decades to come and the world is a better place for it.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN.

• Former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville has released his first U.S. Senate campaign ad on television, and it is similar to his radio ad. He said the ad tells people that he’s “a committed Christian who fights hard for the conservative principles I believe in.”
• Similar lines from his radio ad and campaign trail appear in the ad, such as “God sent us Donald Trump,” adding, “because God knew we were in trouble.” Tuberville reiterates that he’s “a politician’s worst nightmare,” and stated, “We’ve got to get the swamp cleaned out.”

5. Byrne takes on more celebrities for disrespecting the nation

• U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) has taken issue with Beyoncé and Jay-Z over their decision to stay seated during the national anthem at the Super Bowl, saying that the act showed “our nation’s cultural divide.”
• Byrne compared them to the Tuskegee Airmen from World War II who were honored at the coin toss. He noted how the “entitled celebrities … use the Super Bowl to dishonor our country and all those who served by refusing to stand during our National Anthem.”

4. FBI will now partner with Auburn

• A new FBI facility in Huntsville is paying off for the state as FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich agreed to partner with Auburn to “provide the next generation of specialists needed to take on critical roles across the agency.”
• The FBI is building a $1 billion facility at Redstone Arsenal where they’ll need to fill more than 4,000 jobs. With the partnership, the FBI “will also share mutually beneficial information, research and technology that advances criminal justice and student and faculty opportunities.”

3. Doug Jones’ campaign is really trying to sell that he has been undecided on impeachment

• According to U.S. Senator Doug Jones’ (D-AL) 22-year-old son, Carson, the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in the Senate has weighed heavily on the senator, with Carson saying for Jones, “[I]t’s not an easy burden to bear.”
• Carson also wrote in a blog post that due to the trial, Jones’ eating and sleeping have been affected, adding he “can tell his mind can’t turn off.” Jones shared his son’s blog post on Twitter, saying, “Leave it to our children to capture our true nature and approach better than we can ever articulate.”

2. The State of the State

• Governor Kay Ivey will deliver her State of the State Address after the 2020 legislative sessions start in Montgomery with a focus on prison reform that could include executive actions, healthcare and a doomed amendment to remake the state board of education. She also plans to highlight the importance of the next census.
• The legislative session could be contentious with a focus on criminal justice reform, gambling and the lottery, attempts to expand Medicaid and multiple economic development programs must be extended.

1. Iowa caucus results

• With the nation’s weary eyes trained on the small Midwestern state, the results never came as the state experienced a reporting glitch that meant that with zero percent of the vote reported, there was no clear winner and no way for the losers to explain away their losses.
• Regardless of the clear snafu, both U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg declared they are leading the field while former Vice President Joe Biden wants to see the results before they are released so they can formulate a response.