The state Republican Party Executive Committee went as far as opposing the gas tax with a resolution at their winter meeting. The committee rightly argued very few politicians ran on raising taxes. In fact, many opposed tax increases or ran on keeping taxes low.

Foes of the tax, yours truly included, felt the use of the special session was a nefarious work-around the legislative process.

Lastly, a small group of insurgents pushed the ingenious argument that the portion of the law spending millions of dollars every year on dredging for the Port of Mobile was unconstitutional.

And now, the opponents of this gas tax are moving on to the next level of the battle: the courts

Fredricks appeared Monday on “The Dale Jackson Show” on WVNN in Huntsville to lay out his legal strategy.

“It appears that it’s in direct violation of Amendment 354 … the constitution says that that money shall be used on the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges,” he outlined.

Fredricks has even launched a GoFundMe page to fund this endeavor after one lawyer told him he would need $25,000 to pursue this challenge.

But, former Senator Paul Sanford (R-Huntsville), an anti-tax advocate, believes this is a non-starter after initially thinking there would be an issue in battling the tax increase.

Sanford posted his findings on Facebook.

Fredricks himself believes this is a long-shot, but stated that he believes the people of this state need to continue having a voice on this issue.

Listen:

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

— Elecia R. Dexter took over for Sutton Goodloe after the latter became an international punchline for an editorial calling for the citizens to pretend to be in the KKK to thwart tax increases. Sutton gave up his control of The Democrat-Reporter but never truly stepped away. Dexter said she resigned to keep her “integrity and well-being.” Sutton claims the paper made $350,000 last year because of Alabama’s law requiring legal notices be advertised in local papers.

5. As Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall continues to fight the battle over census counts, the Supreme Court will take on the issue on another front

— Last week, Marshall warned that “our electoral vote will go to the state of California” if illegal immigrants are allowed to be counted for apportionment of federal monies, representation and electoral votes in the 2020 census. Marshall and Congressman Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) are suing the federal government over the matter. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine if Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross adding a citizenship question in the 2020 census is constitutional because a federal judge ruled he could not add the question. Several states and Washington D.C. oppose adding the question because they feel they will not get an accurate count of illegals and that will hurt their total population numbers.

4. New Zealand is preparing to overhaul their gun laws in response to last week’s terror attack by a white supremacist that wanted to use a gun to change American laws

— Even though New Zealand’s gun ownership rate is one of the highest in the world and their homicide rates are below average, the response to the horrific attack on two mosques is going to change those laws. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her cabinet will be “looking to move as quickly as we can” as they prepare to meet today to start making changes. Reports from the nation find that citizens are purchasing firearms, ammunition and magazines as the changes are expected to be wide-ranging.

3. The American media and their Democrats spent the weekend proclaiming “white supremacy” is the world’s largest terrorism problem as Palestinians handed out candy after a terror attack in Israel

— The main storyline in the American media following last week’s terror attack in New Zealand are the attempts to connect Donald Trump to the massacre and lambaste him for not rebuking white supremacy stringently enough for their liking. Although Trump has denounced white supremacy in the past, he has taken heat for accurately calling the movement “a small group of people that have very, very serious problems.” There are serious problems with white nationalists committing acts of terror, but no one is defending them or acting as if they have a point. The main terror threat on the planet is still radical Islam.

2. Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) says that there has been no deal cut on Medicaid expansion

— There have been questions about how serious calls to expand Medicaid in Alabama actually are with House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) saying there was a deal to hear the issue, Governor Kay Ivey not slamming the door on it, and McCutcheon said he doesn’t see it coming to fruition. When asked if he thought there would be a Medicaid expansion he said, “I don’t think so,” adding, “If you want to call it Medicaid expansion, that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about health care.”

1. Bigger counties will lose gas tax revenue in the first two years of the latest gas tax increase

— When the gas tax starts being distributed in 2020, the larger counties will end up losing out on some of the monies they should receive because the population numbers used will come from the 2010 census. This means counties that lost population will get more money than they are entitled to.  Conversely, counties that increased in size since 2010 will have to wait until the 2020 census is completed to see the numbers re-calibrated.

Jackson and Burke are joined by House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) to talk about the process and deals that led to the gas tax increase being approved and what comes next for Alabama Democrats.

Jackson closes the show with a “parting shot” directed at Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and blaming him for the lack of discussion about the gas tax during the last election.

— The recent shutdown slowed a still-unsolved software fix for the Boeing 737 MAX was delayed when the government shutdown stopped the work on the fix for five weeks. As most know, the shutdown was a result of an impasse over border security and funding for the border wall and both Democrats and Republicans refused to compromise on the matter for weeks. Eventually, President Donald Trump relented and agreed to reopen the government without funding for his wall. Regardless, the media and their Democrats have decided Trump is to blame for this delay.

5. Democrats continue to advocate for illegal aliens over Americans as Americans are brutalized and killed

— In the ongoing battle over the Democrats’ goal to get illegal aliens counted in the census for representation and for federal funding, they have decided to attack Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for misleading them. The goal is clear: Counting illegals grants them congressional representation. The illegal immigration opponents are opposed to this and believe adding a citizenship question will discourage illegal immigrants from participating in the once-a-decade count. Those who benefit from a large illegal population are opposed, with eight states, 15 big cities/counties and multiple immigrants’ rights groups challenging the idea in court.

4. Calls for a special counsel to look into how the FBI handled the Hillary Clinton investigation grow

— Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is now calling for a new special counsel to probe both the FBI and Justice Department. Graham believes the evidence points to the premise that the Obama DOJ treated Hillary Clinton more leniently than it should have and significantly different than how they treated  President Trump in the 2016 election. Citing the two years of a probe, that appears to be fruitless, “Somebody needs to look at the other side,” Graham said.

3. President Donald Trump touts Toyota’s growth in the U.S. and that includes Alabama

— In good economic news for the state and the nation, Toyota has announced their largest-ever expansion that will include $288 million and 450 new jobs in its Huntsville plant that will bring total investment there to $1.2 billion over seven total expansions in the plant’s life. The investment is part of a five-year $10 billion dollar investment pledge that will now reach $13 billion. President Trump reacted by congratulating the automaker and its employees, citing his yet unratified United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, “Congratulations @Toyota! BIG NEWS for U.S. Auto Workers! The USMCA is already fixing the broken NAFTA deal.”

2. The United States Senate passed a resolution to rescind the national emergency on border security with 12 Republicans siding against the president’s decision

— The surprising 59-41 vote in the Republican-led Senate had a few surprises. First, the number of defectors and, secondly, one of the Republican who sided with Trump was frequent Trump critic Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE). Sasse announced, “We have an obvious crisis at the border — everyone who takes an honest look at the spiking drug and human trafficking numbers knows this — and the president has a legal path to a rapid response under the National Emergencies Act of 1976 (NEA)”.  The president announced he will “VETO”  this measure and the emergency declaration, which is already headed to a federal court and will almost assuredly end up in front of the Supreme Court. Alabama’s senators split their votes.

1. A terror attack on two mosques in New Zealand kills at least 49 and injures dozens

— A 28-year-old from Australia walked into two mosques in New Zealand and opened fire. He has not been named at this point, but has taken responsibility for the attack and posted a white nationalist manifesto after he carried out the attack and streamed it on the Internet. There are three other individuals in custody.

Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Mobile) shared the Fox News coverage of a deadly story from California involving an illegal alien.

Yet another preventable crime. There is no good, reasonable argument that can be presented for not securing our borders and addressing the ongoing national security crisis. Especially when crimes like these can be stopped.https://t.co/TUo90jwgVL

— Rep. Bradley Byrne (@RepByrne) March 14, 2019

The response to these crimes is always predictable, as can be seen in the replies.

Absolute fear mongoring. What's your problem?

— Ace (@DeuceTheTweeter) March 14, 2019

This victim was stalked and murdered. Her murderer’s legal status is not why she was killed.
Outrage over this heinous crime should be met with action to protect women in our state from harassment and violence. #alpolitics

— Bri Schimmy (@MrsSchimmy) March 14, 2019

Now do the coast guard guy…..
The pulse shooter….
School shooters….
Church shooters…
Right wing nut jobs……
Tim McVeigh……
US when we murdered Native Americans….
ETC ad nauseam…..
Take all the seats sir and get back to us when you have an actual equivalence

— #Individual-1 Is Toast (@MenyaraC) March 14, 2019

We hear that the legal status doesn’t matter and that Americans commit more crimes than illegal aliens. Even if that were true – and it is not – a woman is dead in California and a 12-year-old was raped in Alabama because of our weak laws.

America’s left can continue to pretend they believe in border security, but neither their actions nor words indicate that this is true.

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

— Following the lead of dozens of countries, including European nations and China, President Donald Trump issued an emergency order to ground the planes involved in a series of accidents and other concerns with the computer system on the plane. The FAA and major U.S. airlines have said they believe the planes are safe and resisted calls to ground the planes, but the media was having none of this. Boeing stock has dipped after the announcement as business insiders believe this could harm the company’s reputation, but they have weathered storms before.

5. The Southeastern Conference and Toyota both make charitable donations to help Alabama residents

— The SEC has donated $100,000 to Auburn University to help students, faculty and staff impacted by the destructive tornadoes that hit the state and killed 23. Also, Toyota, who is already building a $1.6 billion manufacturing facility that could bring close to 4,000 jobs to Alabama as part of their partnership in Huntsville with Mazda, donated $1 million to help fight poverty in the state. Toyota made the donation to the National Center for Family Learning, bringing their total donations to the organization to $50 million over 28 years. There are currently 420 Toyota Family Learning Centers that have helped more than 4.5 million across the U.S. and Toyota will partner with local groups to provide literacy programs.

4. It appears President Trump is correct when he says former FBI Director James Comey lied under oath regarding the Hillary Clinton investigation

— While this seems to be treated by the media and their Democrats as something of conspiracy theory, the FBI did, in fact, kill the investigation into Clinton before it even started. Representative John Ratcliff (R-TX) said testimony by disgraced FBI lawyer Lisa Page “confirmed to me under oath that the FBI was ordered by the Obama DOJ not to consider charging Hillary Clinton for gross negligence in the handling of classified information.” The testimony calls in to count Comey’s honesty. He testified under oath that the FBI investigative team unanimously believed Clinton shouldn’t be prosecuted, but Page disputes this under oath and said a number of FBI agents on the team believed Clinton should have been prosecuted based on the evidence.

3. Democrats plan to offer 2 million “Dreamers” legal status and citizenship — ICE union is not happy

— Earlier this week, House Democrats unveiled a bill that would offer 2.7 million illegal immigrants a full pathway to citizenship. It would immediately protect them from deportation, allow them to work, allow some who have been deported to return and then give them an option for citizenship. Like Ann Coulter, the National ICE Council is not happy with the current status of immigration enforcement, most specifically the return of the Obama-era “catch and release” policy. The union said to Trump, “You don’t like ‘fake news’ and neither do our officers, so instead let’s provide transparency, tell Americans the truth, and stop this nonsense and these wasteful and dangerous policies now.”

2. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort gets more jail time as he is hit with more indictments in New York; Still no collusion

—  Manafort received 43 months on federal conspiracy charges, his secnd sentencing in two weeks. He will now be looking at seven-plus years in total for tax evasion. He will get credit for time served and all told will probably be out of jail in under four years. While the cases stem from evidence uncovered during FBI special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, there is still not a shred of evidence of collusion in the Manafort case, but the judge involved said that is irrelevant here.

1. It is entirely possible that the plan for Medicaid expansion in Alabama is already complete and just waiting to get on the floor of the legislature.

— Former State Sen. Dick Brewbaker (R-Montgomery) said Thursday that a few of his former colleagues have told him that the deal has already been cut and that Medicaid expansion would be moving forward in the legislature. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) spoke of movement on Alabama Democrats’ priorities moving forward in exchange for support of the Rebuild Alabama Act gas tax increase. Brewbaker added that the rank-and-file Republicans are probably not aware of this deal, but they will soon find themselves dealing with these issues in the regular session.

“[T]he members of the black caucus that I’ve spoken to, and I spoke to several yesterday, are under the impression that they’ve got a deal,” Brewbaker revealed.

But the funding mechanism is still up in the air.

He added, “I didn’t have a single person tell me that the deal was a lottery to pay for Medicaid expansion, but I did have people tell me the deal was ‘we are going to find a way to expand Medicaid.'”

Later, Brewbaker added that the rank-and-file Republicans are probably not aware of this deal, but they will soon find themselves dealing with these issues in the regular session.

Listen:

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

— The big story out of a massive enrollment scandal involving some of the nation’s top schools is that actresses from “Desperate Housewives” and “Full House” have had warrants for their arrests issued in an investigation called “Operation Varsity Blues.” The scheme had parents paying to arrange for a college prep service to take the test or correct students’ answers to help them get better scores and, additionally, the organization in question is alleged to have bribed college coaches to pretend students with little athletic ability were to be part of their teams. Those arrested include two SAT/ACT administrators, an exam proctor, nine coaches, a college administrator and 33 parents who just cared too much.

5. President Donald Trump is prepared to label Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations

— As he lamented the Mexican government’s inability to control the border violence and also called it one of the most unsafe countries in the world, Trump stated, “They’ve totally lost control of the cartels. Mexico last year had 42,000 deaths — murders — 42,000. It’s considered one of the most unsafe countries in the world.” The Center for Immigration Studies’ Todd Bensman pointed out that the declaration could have a real impact on how the war on drugs is fought on the border. He said, “A foreign terrorist organization designation opens a whole new armory of American weaponry that can be used to debilitate the cartels and all who lend support and assistance to them, just like ISIS, and this includes immigration restriction and strong penalties to those who provide assistance to the groups.”

4. Former Vice President Joe Biden has totally not made up his mind on running for president, but people in the crowd of a Biden event had “Run Joe Run” signs

— Biden is already leading most polls, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on his heels. He told a group of firefighters to save their energy for a few weeks because he may need it if he runs. Most reports indicate that Biden is all but decided and he will run, with some saying he is 95 percent certain. Recent polling of a head-to-head race between Biden and President Trump show Biden with a six-point lead, while Trump beats or ties the other Democratic challengers.

3. Democratic House members voted “yes” on the gas tax in exchange for their priorities being heard

— At a listening session, House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) made it clear that his caucus has priorities beyond the gas tax increase and it was made clear that they would receive a hearing. The big items include, according to Daniels, “Medicaid expansion, criminal justice reform, a lottery, remove the tax off of groceries. Those are the things that they committed to working with us on.” Daniels rationalized this trade-off to Yellowhammer News by saying, “You get in there for four years, and you can’t deliver anything. But at least you’re getting a commitment to be able to have some discussion about the priorities and the issues that are a priority for your community.” Daniels also added, “We look forward to moving on to human infrastructure. You will see more bipartisan efforts to address the tough issues in the state, as we move forward.”

2. The Rebuild Alabama Act faced minimal resistance in the Alabama State Senate and passed 28-6

— It was very non-controversial after all the hand-wringing. The vote wasn’t even close and an overwhelming number of state senators voted for the gas tax increase. The situation mirrored the State House vote where the outcome was never really in doubt, but Governor Kay Ivey and the legislative leadership ran up the score, got bipartisan support and rendered the calling of the special session unnecessary drama.

1. Governor Kay Ivey has signed the Rebuild Alabama Act

— The governor accomplished an amazing task here, whatever you think about the gas tax. She got a bipartisan super-majority of the legislature dominated by Republicans to approve a gas tax increase in a red state. Ivey praised the legislature for getting the job done, saying, “[Today] is a historic day for the state of Alabama. … I am so proud to have watched the legislature in its finest hours of operation.” The overwhelming passage with Democrats and Republicans removes the ability of Democrats to pound her Republican allies in future elections, but leaves those who voted “yes” vulnerable to primary challengers. Most importantly for politicians, the time between this action and the next election is significant and memories are short.

Almost every other tax you pay is indexed in a similar way.

As your income goes up, the income tax and payroll taxes you and your employer pay also go up, as does the tax collected.

As the price of goods and services go up with inflation, the sales tax you pay goes up, as does the tax collected.

As the value of the property you own goes up, the property tax you pay goes up, as does the tax collected.

This particular measure is wildly unpopular with the anti-tax group Alabama First, which conducted a poll that found 83.06 percent of respondents are opposed to that particular measure.

But why? If we had indexed the 1992 gas tax increase, we would not be having this conversation and, more importantly, the roads would be in better shape.

The road repair and building monies collected by the state would have increased slowly with the cost of inflation and, more importantly, the roads would be in better shape.

The argument that we haven’t raised a tax in 20-plus years would be non-existent and, more importantly, the roads would be in better shape.

Sometimes things that are unpopular are good, and this is one of those times. Roads need to be maintained, which is something that never ends. The price to do that is not going to go down.

Our laws need to reflect that and our politicians need to better job explaining it.

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

— The saga involving the former Alabama speaker of the House could be entering the beginning of the end as the Alabama State Supreme Court has agreed to hear his appeal on ethics law convictions that could see him go to prison. Fellow Republican, Attorney General Steve Marshall, issued a statement that appeared to show the AG’s office is eager to defend the conviction. It read, “Until now, the Alabama Supreme Court has only heard from Mike Hubbard. Once my prosecution team has the opportunity to brief the issues and argue the case, we feel confident the result will be the same as with the lower court rulings and justice will prevail.”

5. Representative Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) joined Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) as she ripped her state without evidence

— After Jones ripped Alabama nationally without evidence on “Face the Nation” and said Republicans don’t want minorities voting, Sewell wanted to get in on the act as well by declaring Republican are for “making it harder for folks to vote, or certain segments of the population, most vulnerable parts of our population, harder to vote.” She also referred to her state as one of the “old states of the Confederacy” in response to a question from MSNBC’s Joy Reid where she asked, “Do Republicans believe if more people get to vote, they won’t win?” Sewell apparently is ignorant to the fact that Alabama had record turnout in 2018.

4. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) says she is a “no” on impeachment

— In a statement that angered the media and their Democrats, Pelosi came out against impeachment unless  “there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country.” In an attempt to soften the blow, she declared that Trump is “not worth it.” Democrats aren’t having any of this. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) marched with people who want impeachment, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) talked about impeaching Trump in numerous interviews, Reps. Al Green (D-TX) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) have articles of impeachment ready and Democrat billionaire Tom Steyer, who considered running for president, has been pushing impeachment in TV ads for over a year.

3. President Donald Trump’s budget looks to significantly cut parts of the government while continuing to grow the debt and has no chance to become law

— The president’s proposed budget would cut domestic spending, slow entitlement growth and increase spending on the nation’s military while cutting discretionary domestic programs by $1.1 trillion over a decade, which never happens. With Democrats controlling the House, and having already won a budget showdown with President Trump, they seem unlikely to be on board with massive cuts, new military spending and expenditures on wall buildings. This story has played out already when Trump signed a budget that ignored his rhetoric on plans to massively cut in spending and instead expanded spending when Republicans controlled the House and the Senate.

2. A new round of polling indicates Alabama voters are not in line with the decisions being made by the Alabama legislature and Governor Kay Ivey

— The polling released by Alabama First, led by former Tuscaloosa County Commissioner Don Wallace shows that a vast majority (78 percent) of Alabamians believe we need to spend more on roads and bridges. In spite of this, those surveyed don’t like how this is being done, with 82 percent saying the Alabama legislature should use money from the Alabama Trust Fund, 85 percent opposing the vote plan to increase taxes and 83 percent opposing the automatic indexing that will lead to higher taxes. The belief that there is other spending to cut to get the money for road construction permeates the thinking of Alabamians; 79 percent think there is excess waste at the Alabama Department of Transportation with 84 percent wanting a full audit of the agency. Incorrectly, 71 percent of Alabamians believe Governor Ivey “purposefully concealed” her desires to increase the gas tax.

1. The Rebuild Alabama gas tax increase clears another hurdle and looks ready to pass today

— It looks all but inevitable that Alabama’s State Senate will vote to raise the gas tax by 10-cents on Tuesday. The act passed the Alabama Senate Transportation and Energy Committee unanimously, as did the companion accountability pieces. Don’t expect the bill to change much in the debate on the floor, according to Senate Pro Tem Del Marsh (R-Anniston), who said, “I think that everybody should have the ability to offer amendments. I’m going to encourage that, but I do believe that you’ll see the [final version of the] bill pretty close to where it is. I have not heard of any amendments that, as I would say, have legs on them. So I think right now the bill is going to end up passing pretty close to where we see it now.”

Jackson closes the show with a “parting shot” addressing how the Democratic Party is, in fact, a big tent.

The House voted 407-23 to pass a resolution that broadly condemned hate and intolerance, including anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim discrimination.

All 23 no votes were from Republicans. https://t.co/uCKocup03M pic.twitter.com/iltWbohavB

— CNN (@CNN) March 8, 2019

They are taking cues from the defacto leader of the Democratic Party, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Where’s the outrage over the 23 GOP members who voted NO on a resolution condemning bigotry today?

Oh, there’s none?

Did they get called out, raked over, ambushed in halls and relentlessly asked why not?

No? Okay. Got it.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 8, 2019

This is obviously absurd, but other Democrats and members of the media have since followed her lead.

The 23 Republicans who voted against the anti-hate resolution https://t.co/WPxTimO8oH pic.twitter.com/M9hnTDABBl

— The Hill (@thehill) March 8, 2019

Alabama media jumped in, too:

Why, I am SHOCKED to see Alabama racists Mo Brooks and Mike Rogers voting against an anti-hate resolution.

Actually, I'm not shocked. Because they're awful people and we should be ashamed every damn day that these two jackasses represent us in any way. https://t.co/9O0jSYFmFh

— Josh Moon (@Josh_Moon) March 7, 2019

But all of this ignores why the congressmen actually voted “no.”

Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-5) appeared on WVNN Friday morning and explained his vote.

He said he voted “no” because it did not go far enough,

He argued on “The Dale Jackson Show” that “there are three major problems with this resolution,” citing the deviation from the original intent and pointing out that there is “no punishment, no stripping of committees, nothing, and so that was a major problem.”

My takeaway:

This is an odd move for an alleged “racist.”

The American media is a front group for Democratic causes and nothing more at this point.

Most of the Alabama media is exactly the same.

Listen:

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

— Former judge, multiple time loser and potential U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore’s attorney defense team is seeking a subpoena of a recording made by a Breitbart reporter where her lawyer makes comments about how promiscuous his client was. Corfman’s attorney Eddie Sexton’s allegedly trashes his own client and claims to have slept with her. Sexton disputes the totality of these allegations, but testified this week to some of the allegations. He testified this week that “over the years he had heard of sex parties in Corfman’s home from various members of the community and from people at the Gadsden Country Club.”

5. The House adopts a watered-down resolution condemning Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) anti-Semitism, which Alabama Congressmen Mo Brooks (R-Hunstville) and Mike Rogers (R-Saks) oppose

— It was meant to be a resolution condemning the multiple offensive comments made by Omar, but it became watered down to include pretty much everyone such as “African-Americans, Native Americans, and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, immigrants and others.” The resolutions referenced as “the kitchen sink” resolution passed 407-to-23. Voting “no” were two Alabama congressmen, Brooks and Rogers. Brooks explained that he was “shocked” that the resolution “refused to similarly condemn discrimination against Caucasian Americans and Christians.” After the vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Omar didn’t know what she was doing when she made her multiple comments.

4. Former campaign manager to President Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, gets significantly less jail time than requested — still no collusion

— The judge in Manafort’s case blasted prosecutors for their heavy-handed sentencing suggestion and sentenced Manafort to 47 months in prison. The judge made it clear that Manafort was not being sentenced for “anything to do with Russian colluding in the presidential election.” Manafort’s attorney argued the prosecution has been heavy-handed, and the judge seemed sympathetic to that. He stated, “Unable to establish that Mr. Manafort engaged in any such collusion, the special counsel charged him . . . with crimes . . . unrelated to the 2016 campaign or any collusion with the Russian government.”

3. As Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) raises more money from abroad than in Alabama, he also “stands by” his absurd voter suppression statements

— With at least one opponent already in the race against him, Jones is raising money for re-election like every politician, but he has raised almost $100,000 from overseas and only $55,000 from Alabama. Jones is also trying to cuddle-up to the extreme left by pushing a completely baseless accusation of voter suppression by claiming it is everywhere — without evidence. He said, “They have gerrymandered a number of districts to concentrate white voting power among a few districts. Voting rolls are being purged across the country.” Neither Jones, the multiple Democrats making this charge, nor the media can actually back these charges up with a single person who couldn’t vote.

2. Former Governor Robert Bentley bizarrely weighs-in on the Rebuild Alabama Act and claims credit for local and federal dollars

— The disgraced former governor took to his Facebook page to urge people to not support the latest attempt at increasing Alabama’s gas tax. Bentley mentioned the ATRIP program, but that’s misleading because the program is 80 percent federally funded, 20 percent locally funded and zero percent state-funded. Bentley’s new life as an anti-tax advocate doesn’t gel with his attempt to raise $700 million when he was governor before he let his personal life destroy his public life.

1. The gas tax increase has a public hearing and passes the first hurdle in the House

— A public hearing was held in Montgomery for the Rebuild Alabama Act. Only a few people showed up to speak against the bill on a Thursday morning at 10:30. Limestone County Commissioner Ben Harrison outlined to the panel that they were focusing on the wrong part of the road building process, adding the problem isn’t raising money and he believes the problem is the inefficiencies in the road building process. After the meeting, the Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure Committee approved the bills with a voice vote with no opposition. The bills now move to the full House for an up or down vote on Friday.

— After a week of back-and-forth, House Democrats have indefinitely postponed a resolution condemning anti-Semitic language because Democratic members do not want to see a rebuke of one of their freshman members. President Donald Trump seized on this opportunity to call out Democrats, saying, “It is shameful that House Democrats won’t take a stronger stand against anti-Semitism in their conference.” He added, “Anti-Semitism has fueled atrocities throughout history and it’s inconceivable they will not act to condemn it!”

5. All are accounted for in Lee County after tornadoes claimed 23 lives in total

— The search for the dead has stopped in Lee County as officials overseeing the recovery say all that has been reported missing have been accounted for and there has been no increase in the death toll. Lee County Coroner Bill Harris doesn’t believe there are more dead, but advised the county is “in standby mode on the outside chance they find somebody else, which is not likely.” The E4 tornado cut a wide path and 34 total tornadoes struck the Southeast, with at least 11 twisters in Alabama, 14 more across Georgia, five in Florida and four in South Carolina.

4. Two companies are paying for all funeral costs for the dead in Lee County

— In the midst of every tragedy, there are people who look to do good things for those who are suffering and the two companies that have offered to carry the freight for the families of the lost are doing just that. Lee County Coroner Bill Harris would not name the two companies that will be covering these funerals and said, “I got a phone call from an individual that said, if the details get worked out, there’s a very large corporation that will probably pay most, if not all, of the cost of every victim’s funeral. I got another call from another company that will do the same thing. So, between the two, these expenses, which can be up into the thousands, will probably be covered by these two companies.”

3. As border crossings are up, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks) calls out Democrats for their hypocrisy on the border

— It is entirely possible that the numbers for February border crossings could help lead to the most border crossings for a February in 12 years. While the media is blaming the president, as usual, Rogers believes the Democrats’ hypocrisy is to blame. Rogers started by slamming the media’s false statements on drug seizures and ended by slamming his Democratic colleagues for their partisanship. He stated, “Border security and keeping Americans safe used to be priorities for both our parties. I’ve been on this committee since, just like the chairman said, since inception. We never argued about whether barriers worked until Donald Trump wanted them. This is not rocket science.”

2. The dumbest teacher alive has been sent home from school in Hoover for using the “n-word” during a discussion on racism 

— If true, a Hoover teacher made a mistake that could, and should, easily cost her as she decided to make a racially insensitive and stupid comment in the middle of a controversy over students making racially insensitive and stupid comments on social media. Allegedly, the teacher from Spain Park High School in Hoover used the “n-word” while explaining to students that, according to AL.com, “everyone uses the n-word, so she could use it, too.” The teacher was sent home and the school system is investigating the incident.

1. The vote over the gas tax may be really close — The pressure is on

— Speaker of the Alabama House Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) believes they are close to the number of votes needed to pass the gas tax advocated by Governor Kay Ivey. At issue is the fact that the bill has been changed and re-filed and some members are still not sure what the final product looks like. Ivey told WSFA-TV that the tax will not “go any lower” and addressed lawmakers asking for more time by saying they had been briefed before the last election. She said, “[T]hey were vetted before the House and Senate leadership and if they were not for the gas tax for infrastructure, they were not encouraged to run.”

— A vote to call out, but not by name, Rep. Omar for her repeated anti-Semitism is meeting the expected pushback by liberals and foes of Israel. Now, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has changed the language. Ocasio-Cortez claims the rebuke is “hurtful” because no one pushes for these measures when people are critical of Latinos. Stupidly, Ocasio-Cortez sighted a GOP member yelling “Go back to Puerto Rico!” to Democrats, which was a reference to a retreat they went on and not their race.

5. Racial video in Hoover leading to consternation as the school system tries to figure out what they can do (nothing)

— The students at Spain Park High School are meeting to talk about how “hurt” they are and to hear from the principal after some of their fellow students were seen saying terrible things about blacks and Jews on the Internet. Superintendent Kathy Murphy is still talking about taking action for non-crimes, although dumb behavior, that happened off campus. She stated, “To the extent that a matter happens off campus and has some residual impact in the school itself.’

4. President Donald Trump will be heading to Alabama to tour area affected by tornadoes on Friday

— At an event at the White House, Trump said, “I’ll be heading to Alabama on Friday,” adding, “It’s been a tragic situation. But a lot of good work is being done.” President Trump has approved the “Major Disaster Declaration for Lee County,” which triggers the release of federal funds to help parts of Alabama recover. At least 23 people were killed in Alabama alone and that includes seven individuals from one family who were killed in the storm.

3. The White House is not planning to comply easily with Democrat records requests

— Whether it is one of the probes into Trump’s personal business or an inquiry into security clearances, the White House isn’t having it because they view this as harassment and not oversight. Trump blasted the requests, saying, “Instead of doing infrastructure, instead of doing health care, instead of doing so many things that they should be doing, they want to play games.” The White House responded to the security clearance questions with a letter questioning their standing that read, “White House counsel Pat Cipollone in which he accused the committee of making “unprecedented and extraordinarily intrusive demands.”

2. “Ladies and gentlemen, this evening, I am proud to report that the state of our state is growing stronger each day.”

— The economy continues to be Alabama’s bright spot. The speech included references to the low unemployment rate, North Alabama’s space industry, Alabama’s booming auto industry, tech companies coming in and Mobile’s growing airplane manufacturing. The gas tax increase got a shoutout, too. Ivey declared, “Almost three decades have gone by, and Alabama has not made one change to our infrastructure funding. While our neighboring states are increasing their revenue for their transportation budgets, Alabama has not. We are dead last.”

1. The special session is a go

— Ivey called the special session shortly after telling the state she would give the legislature weeks to work and pretty much threatened to call one, saying, “I am willing to call you, the members of the Alabama Legislature, into a special session, if necessary, to focus solely on passing this critical legislation.” Passing this tax without a special session would have been a bit more complicated, but most expect the bill to pass rather easily now.

This is not good government. In fact, it is the most broken form of government that we could possibly see. This is not an emergency, and it is not something that could not be worked out in a regular session with compromises and appropriate debate.

How much money do we actually need for roads and bridges?

If the report from the University of Alabama and Auburn University said we need $600-800 million, why aren’t we addressing that?

Why is the dredging for the Port of Mobile, a project I support, the only actual item of work included in the bill?

What about the I-10 bridge?

Which rural roads will be worked on first?

Will Birmingham’s metro see their roads resurfaced?

Why isn’t the bridge Governor Kay Ivey stood in front of to announce this the state’s first priority?

What about the other bridges that are about to collapse?

Will I-565 be widened?

Why can’t we offset some of this gas tax increase with a state lottery?

When will the $60-plus million being transferred out of ALDOT be put back into actual roads and bridges?

Can we give Alabama counties the ability to raise their own road money?

What is the priority list for this new money?

These are all questions that deserve real answers and real debate. Telling the citizens of the state that those answers will doom a bill might tell you that there is not support for a gas tax increase.

I believe a gas tax is prudent for the state of Alabama, but we did not have an appropriate debate on the issue and this process is preventing that.

For that reason, I cannot support this gas tax increase at this time.

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

 — Instead of calling out Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and her repeated use of the “dual loyalty” smear, a watered-down measure by Democrats decries the myth of dual loyalty while other Democrats are calling her out on social media for her use of “offensive, painful stereotypes.” Jewish groups seem pretty adamant that her third strike should be the end of her run on the House Foreign Relations Committee.

5. Attorney General Bill Barr will not recuse himself from the Russia investigation; Barr will receive the Robert Mueller report soon

— As with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and acting-AG Matt Whitaker, the media and their Democrats have demanded the new AG recuse himself from the Russia investigation because of perceived conflicts. Barr isn’t having it and “senior career ethics officials advised that General Barr should not recuse himself from the Special Counsel’s investigation,” according to the Department of Justice. There is no timeline for the Mueller report, but now that Barr is cleared, he is expected to receive it at any time.

4. As the collusion narrative falls apart, Democrats seek information from over 80 different people as they seek out crimes

— It is becoming clear the Mueller report will not be the “smoking gun” the media and their Democrats need it to be, so they are largely moving on before that becomes clear. While the request is large, it should be noted that the committee in question has limited their requests to material already provided to other congressional committees or investigators. These investigations will not produce criminal charges — just political charges that can be used in public and for possible articles of impeachment.

3. Stupid kids in Hoover say stupid and racist things and make the international news

— The students in the videos attend two Hoover high schools and are heard on tape making racist slurs, joking about concentration camps and even discussing how to get rid of black people and Jews. The comments are obviously insane and shocking and include a lot of laughing as they say, “F*** n*****s, f*** Jews,” “Jews are fine because they’re white. We just need the n*****s gone” and “stick[ing] [blacks] in concentration camps and just bomb them.” There doesn’t appear to be much the school system can do as the students were not on campus and don’t appear to be breaking any laws.

2. Governor Kay Ivey has declared a state of emergency for parts of Alabama; President Donald Trump has pledged his administration’s help in dealing with tornadoes; Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) blames climate change

— Governor Ivey thanked the president for his support and added she has spoken with the director of FEMA after 23 were killed in eastern Alabama. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence said they are making every federal resource possible after the deadly storms, and Trump called Ivey, “one of the best in our Country.” Democrats and online trolls are claiming the president is playing favorites with Alabama. Don’t worry, AL.com is all over that angle.

1. Gas tax push starts in earnest today with Governor Kay Ivey’s State of the State address while the Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield touts it as well

— Ivey’s State of the State will most likely focus on the need for a special session to pass her “Rebuild Alabama Act,” reform the oversight of ALDOT and explain to the conservative state why these new taxes are necessary without a regular legislative process. Canfield said he believed this is an economic development matter, outlining, “If we want to continue to attract world-class companies and high-paying jobs to Alabama, we need to make an investment in the state’s infrastructure system.”

Former Secretary Hillary Clinton said, “Candidates both black and white lost their races because they have been deprived of the votes they otherwise would have gotten. And the clearest example is from next door in Georgia. Stacey Abrams should be governor.”

Presidential candidate and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) stated, “We know that in Georgia, they stole the election from who should have been governor.”

Remember when questioning election outcomes was deemed un-American?

And our own Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) even got into this act while he was doing a book tour as his fellow Democrats were grievance-mongering in Alabama.

“You have to look at the state legislatures, governors and members of Congress that are Republicans. For whatever reason they do not want African-Americans and other minorities to vote,” he lamented. “Rather than trying to get those votes, they seem to want to restrict those votes.”

There are obvious questions that should be asked to Jones.

“Who wants to stop minorities from voting?”

“Can you highlight some cases of minorities being kept from voting?”

“What are the names of these people victimized by these policies you are decrying?”

When these issues allegedly come up, they get blown up.

That Alabama A&M story was the sole voter-suppression story in Alabama, and it was absolutely nothing.

It is time for the mainstream media to start drilling down on these issues.

If voter suppression is happening, we need to know who is being impacted and if it isn’t, the media needs to report this as well.

The failure to follow through on this because the results would destroy a Democratic talking point is just another reason people don’t trust the media.

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

— As we move towards the Robert Mueller report being made public, all signs are pointing to a report that doesn’t show collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Schiff is telling reporters “there is direct evidence of collusion.” Knowing that this is not collusion, Schiff alleged he had proof on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” He declared, “There is direct evidence in the e-mails from the Russians through their intermediary offering dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of what is described in writing as the Russian government effort to help elect Donald Trump. They offer that dirt.”

5. President Donald Trump’s two-hour-long speech at CPAC hit all the issues that drive the media wild

— After hugging an American flag and admitting he was “being off script,” President Trump talked up the red meat his base craves,  saying, “They’re embracing open borders, socialism and extreme late-term abortion.” And as Democrats continue to lurch towards socialism, Trump is making it clear he embraces that fight and views it as one he can win. He stated, “We believe in the American dream — not in the socialist nightmare.”

4. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) becomes fourth Republican in Senate to support a resolution against President Trump’s emergency declaration

— In a move that will require the president to use his veto power to keep his emergency declaration in place, Paul  announced he will vote to end the declaration, explaining, “We may want more money for border security, but Congress didn’t authorize it.” Paul joins Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) to block the emergency. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) says  Trump could face a GOP rebellion if he vetoes the resolution and moves forward,

3. Democrats from across the nation flooded into Selma, Alabama, and proceeded to lie about voter suppression — Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) echoed the lie on national television

— Without evidence, speakers at the annual jubilee in Selma, Alabama, declared that voter suppression is alive and well. Two-time loser Hillary Clinton said it (again), and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), refusing to accept the results of an election, declared that Democrat Stacy Abrams should be governor of Georgia. Doug Jones told the outrageous lie, “For whatever reason, they do not want African-Americans and other minorities to vote.” No one will challenge him to produce evidence on that front.

2. The sponsors and advocates for “Rebuild Alabama” are on the offensive as the bill is expected to move this week

— Now that information about the bill has been released, we have learned that bill cost the average driver $55 dollars, a hybrid driver $150, and an electric car driver $250 a year. State Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville) declared he is sponsoring the bill in part because “Maintenance on the roads consumes 92% of our budget shrinking our ability to add lanes to congested roadways.”

1. At least 23 dead in eastern Alabama tornados

— The total number of dead, missing, and injured is unknown as an “outbreak of tornadoes” hit through Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Sheriff Jay Jones of Lee County says it may not be over yet, saying, “Unfortunately, I feel like that number may rise yet again.”  Governor Kay Ivey released the following statement: “Our hearts go out to those who lost their lives in the storms that hit Lee County today. Praying for their families & everyone whose homes or businesses were affected.”

Jackson and Burke are joined by State Representative Rex Reynolds (R-Huntsville) to talk about “Rebuild Alabama” and the problems it faces moving forward.

Jackson closes the show with a “parting shot” addressing how the phrase “if true” has broken journalism and cable news.

https://www.facebook.com/YHN/videos/2047537935333490/

— Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) is now actively trying to bait Moore into running, and it may be working. But many Republicans view this as a nightmare scenario, with the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s communications director saying, “The NRSC’s official stance is ABRM: anyone but Roy Moore.” Moore’s son is raising money under the absurd moniker “Conservative States of America” using “C.S.A.,” as a moniker that reminds you of the Confederacy, but claims, “I don’t even think he knows I’m raising money.” Delightful.

5. Alabama Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Mobile), Education Secretary Betsy Devos, and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) look to expand school choice

— With the support of President Donald Trump, Byrne, DeVos and Cruz announce a piece of school choice legislation that would be “historic” if passed. The Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act builds on the successful Alabama Accountability Act and uses similar Scholarship Granting Organizations. The bill would not use any funds currently allocated to public education, unlike the AAA, and it would not require new federal funding. This plan would provide a dollar-for-dollar non-refundable federal tax credit for contributions from individuals and businesses that donate to scholarship-granting organizations.

4. The U.S. Senate still hasn’t voted on rescinding the president’s emergency declaration — Its outcome is up in the air

— Opponents of President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to build the wall still have not gathered enough support to pass their bill in the U.S. Senate, and overcome the obvious veto. News reports say they need one more vote to pass the measure. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said the president’s move will “turn a border crisis into a constitutional crisis,” but he didn’t commit to voting to rescind it. The vote could come in two weeks, but Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) stated, “I wouldn’t be surprised if some changes are made.”

3. Michael Cohen is not done testifying on Capitol Hill; He now faces more perjury allegations

— Three straight days of testimony is not enough for Michael Cohen. Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) says the president’s former fixer will be back on March 6 for more testifying behind closed doors. Unfortunately for the convicted liar, Cohen is now facing more accusations of lying from his public testimony. Congressmen Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Mark Meadows (R-NC) sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr laying out false statements Cohen made under oath, including Cohen’s claim that he “never defrauded any bank,” even though he has pleaded guilty to bank fraud and tax fraud.

2. Your tax return is up — Fake news was wrong again

— In what is the most predictable news of the week, outside of Cohen’s perjury issues, is that the tweets of “your tax refund is going down” was fake news. The Treasury Department’s latest weekly figures actually show the average taxpayer refunds $40 more this year than last year. The media and their Democrats foolishly seized on the first few weeks of data to imply that the average American’s taxes went up even though everyone knows that is just not true.

1. ALGOP voters aren’t the only ones who have not seen the “Rebuild Alabama” gas tax bill — Some state senators haven’t seen the bill that will be up next week

— Wednesday, Governor Kay Ivey accurately pointed out that Republican Executive Committee members who passed a resolution against her gas tax proposal still haven’t seen the proposal. This was true because she was just unveiling it days after their vote. But other elected officials still haven’t seen a final bill or proposal and won’t commit to voting for the bill until they do. This bill will be discussed next week in a special session and the plan is to pass the bill by next Saturday.

NEW: Roy Moore, conservative lightening rod who cost GOP a Senate seat in deep-red Alabama, is signaling fresh interest in a 2020 campaign, sparking alarm on right that @SenDougJones could be gifted another unlikely victory. https://t.co/O8zy9Edwut @dcexaminer

— David M. Drucker (@DavidMDrucker) February 28, 2019

The media loves this.

So Roy Moore responded to Doug Jones' suggestions he should run for Senate again. #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/X8d5MUDIdj

— Brian Lyman (@lyman_brian) February 27, 2019

And Doug Jones wants Moore to run again. He wants it so bad that he is taunting him to run again.

At this point, it would be hard to identify a worse candidate for 2020 on the Republican side.

Moore should accept that he is tainted and a flawed candidate.

The math is simple. I have shared this before:

2017:

U.S. Senate, Alabama general election, December 12, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democrat	Doug Jones	50%	673,896
	Republican	Roy Moore	48.3%	651,972
	Independent	Write-in	1.7%	22,852
Total Votes				1,348,720
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

2018:

Governor, Alabama general election, November 6, 2018
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Kay Ivey	59.5%	1,022,457
	Democrat	Walt Maddox	40.4%	694,495
	Independent	Write-in	0.2%	2,637
Total Votes				1,719,589
Source: Alabama Secretary of State

Republicans stayed home with Roy Moore on the ballot.

This is not to say they won’t show up to re-elect President Donald Trump in 2020, but they will skip over Moore.

That’s not conjecture. That is history.

He should toss his support behind someone else if they want it, and the fact that some may not want his support should tell him everything he needs to know about his chances in 2020.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN

— Governor Kay Ivey’s proposal for a gas tax increase appears to do more than just work on the roads and bridges of the state. It also proposes some dredging to prepare the Port of Mobile for bigger ships. But the Alabama Constitution may not allow such a move, because Constitutional Amendment 354 appears to lay out that these taxes cannot be used for these measures. The amendment appears to forbid the state from using these resources for anything other than the building, maintaining and managing motor vehicle traffic.

5. A judge appears to be getting ready to consider whether the ISIS bride can return to America

— Judge Reggie Walton agreed that he would move quickly to resolve a lawsuit filed by a 24-year-old female who previously lived in Hoover, Alabama, who ran off to join the Islamic State and now wants to come home. Hoda Muthana’s family filed a suit against the Trump administration after the government declared she could not return to the United States because she was not a U.S. citizen. Her father claims she is a citizen because he ceased being a diplomat by the time she was born. Muthana and her son are currently in a refugee camp in Syria and she faces criminal charges if she is allowed to come home.

4. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jung-un fail to come to a deal 

— The president of the United States walked away from negotiations with North Korea after the “Hermit Kingdom” demanded cancellation of all sanctions. President Trump said he wouldn’t do that. He explained, “You always have to be prepared to walk.” He added, “I’d rather do it right, than do it fast.” Talks will continue. The North Korean leader has agreed to no more missile testing and said he was open to denuclearization, but reports indicate that was not an American requirement for some sort of deal with the North Koreans. Trump denies it.

3. U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) wants the federal government to entice Alabama to expand Medicaid by covering it 100 percent

— Alabama and 13 other states have chosen not to expand Medicaid, citing the millions of dollars in additional costs of doing so. Jones wants the federal government to eat that cost. He made it clear that this is all about making the feds pay, stating, “If this passes, the federal government will reimburse for 100 percent for three years.” After those three years end, the cost to the state government will be close to $300 million dollars, which the head of the Alabama Hospital Association, using fuzzy math, says will mostly be paid for by increased growth.

2. Governor Kay Ivey has a plan for her gas tax increase — A special session coming

— The plan to raise gas taxes is called “Rebuild Alabama” and calls for a 10-cent per gallon sales tax with six cents happening in 2019 and two-cents per year for the next two years. State Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa) and State Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville) will carry the bill that disperses the revenue amongst ALDOT, the cities and the counties. Facing headwinds, the bill is expected to be taken up in a special session to limit the ability of the opposition to stymie the bill.

1. Michael Cohen’s testimony was either a “nothing burger” or the thing that will destroy the Trump presidency

— If you are a Democrat, Michael Cohen is a reformed sinner who is finally telling the truth about a large number of sins committed by Donald Trump and, “if true,” one of them is collusion. If you are a Republican, you saw a man who is looking at a prison sentence for perjuring himself multiple times and telling the world that he knows of no collusion. The most likely outcome is whatever value this hearing has is eliminated once the Robert Mueller report comes out — in whatever form it comes out.

The Rebuild Alabama plan proposes a 10-cent increase in Alabama’s fuel tax with an index designed to coincide with the rising costs of building roads. The state currently imposes a flat excise tax of 18 cents-per-gallon on gas and 19 cents-per-gallon on diesel, without adjusting for inflation and other construction and maintenance costs.

This combined fuel tax revenue generates 80 percent of Alabama’s transportation funding. The plan’s 10-cent increase will be phased in over the next three years.

New revenue generated by the increase will be dispersed between state, county, and municipal governments in Alabama. These funds are to be used for transportation infrastructure improvement, preservation and maintenance projects. A separate portion of the revenues will go to pay a bond to be issued to finance improvements to the ship channel providing access to the facilities of the Alabama State Docks.

But one issue outside of the amount of the increase, and who gets what, is whether or not some of the money will be used to make the Port of Mobile accessible to larger ships. A plan to dredge to assist the Port of Mobile continues to be discussed as part of the larger gas tax plan.

Most proponents of the gas tax seem to be in favor of using the money this way, including Mayor Tommy Battle in Huntsville. Battle, whose North Alabama city is a manufacturing superstar believes helping the Port of Mobile “also helps us sell goods at a lower price throughout the world. That helps everybody.”

But can the state use these resources that way?

The Alabama Constitution seems to say maybe not.

Excerpt from the Alabama Constitution, as follows:

No moneys derived from any fees, excises, or license taxes, levied by the state, relating to registration, operation, or use of vehicles upon the public highways except a vehicle-use tax imposed in lieu of a sales tax, and no moneys derived from any fee, excises, or license taxes, levied by the state, relating to fuels used for propelling such vehicles except pump taxes, shall be expended for other than cost of administering such laws, statutory refunds and adjustments allowed therein, cost of construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of public highways and bridges, costs of highway rights-of-way, payment of highway obligations, the cost of traffic regulation, and the expense of enforcing state traffic and motor vehicle laws.

The bigger issue is whether or not we should be debating this type of project while talking about how our roads and bridges are falling apart. If we need a gas tax increase to deal with crumbling infrastructure, we should deal with that and allocate the money for dredging for the Port of Mobile through the normal legislative process.

@TheDaleJackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN