• After the poultry plants in Mississippi were raided, all five companies have been investigated further. Now, federal immigration officials have reason to believe that the companies knowingly hired illegal immigrants, according to videotaped statements of managers.
• Some of the illegal immigrants had Social Security numbers that belonged to the deceased, some wore ankle monitors because they were waiting for their deportation hearing, and some of the workers had been hired by the same manager but used a different name upon rehiring. Both Koch Foods and Peco Foods have a long history of hiring illegal immigrants.

5. New polls bring new wrinkles to 2020

• According to a new poll by Fox News, out of the Democratic candidates for the 2020 presidential election, former Vice President Joe Biden is still in first with 31%, which is the same rate he was polling at in March 2019, but U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has jumped to second place with 20%, which is a 16% increase since March.
• President Donald Trump’s poll numbers are sliding with a glut of bad news as the media and their Democrats attack. As of today, all four leading Democratic candidates are still shown as beating President Trump in 2020.

4. Omar and Tlaib barred from entering Israel; Trump supports Israel

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has barred U.S. Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from entering Israel. President Trump tweeted that Israel would “show great weakness” if they allowed Tlaib and Omar into the country, and he went on to tweet that Tlaib and Omar “are very anti-Jewish and they are very anti-Israel. I think it is disgraceful the things they’ve said.”
• Netanyahu, who recanted on Tlaib, has said that the congresswomen’s boycott of Israel was a leading reason in barring them from Israel. The prime minister has also said that the visit was planned with the objective “to strengthen the boycott against us and deny Israel’s legitimacy,” but of course, Omar has already said that Netanyahu is imposing a “Muslim ban” in Israel.

3. 15 states are fighting back against Alabama

• Fifteen states, including New York, California, Washington and Nevada, and cities like the District of Columbia, Seattle, Atlanta and others have decided to fight Alabama’s federal lawsuit against the U.S. Census Bureau to count only legal citizens in the 2020 Census.
• The group of states and cities have used the Constitution to strengthen their argument, and New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “The United States Constitution is crystal clear that every person residing in this country at the time of the decennial census – regardless of legal status – must be counted, and no matter what President Trump says, or Alabama does, that face will never change.”

2. Texas wants what Alabama has

• It’s expected that on Friday, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is going to announce that the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama will head up the development of two of the three moon landers needed for the 2024 mission.
• However, Politico has reported that U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and John Cornyn (R-TX) and U.S. Representative Brian Babin (R-TX) have signed a letter written to Bridenstine requesting that he reconsider Texas for leading the moon lander development, arguing that it would be more “cost-efficient, streamlined, and effective approach” if they were developed where astronaut corps and mission control are based, as well as being the place with “the longest history and deepest institutional knowledge of human space exploration.”

1. Get ready for the gas tax

• On September 1, the six-cent increase on a gallon of gas will take effect, which will raise Alabama’s overall tax on one gallon of gas to 24 cents and 25 cents for diesel. Other increases will take place on October 1, 2020, when there will be a two-cent increase, and then another two cents on October 1, 2021.
• Meanwhile, the talk of tolls is almost all located in the southern part of the state, but if these plans for tolls move forward, there will be growing opposition, according to State Representative Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals), who advised, “When they start tolling I-565, it is going to be an issue in our area,” adding, “It’s going to be an issue in North Alabama.”

Sharp talked to radio and TV talk show hosts, state senators, has-been commentators and party leaders outside of the affected area and they appeared to be indifferent to the controversy.

“Guerrilla Politics” co-host Waymon Burke worries about the precedent but doesn’t seem to think there is much anger organically growing.

Excerpt from Sharp’s article as follows:

The shock has been explored on talk radio by Waymon Burke, a political science professor at Calhoun Community College. Burke and co-host Dale Jackson have poured over the I-10 tolling issue on their show, “Guerrilla Politics.”

“The primary concern that Dale and I have talked about quite a bit is that it does set a dangerous precedent around the state,” said Burke. “Statewide, we don’t want to pay for it.”

Burke said that the radio attention appears to be spreading a larger awareness of the tolling’s import.

State Senator Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) believes no one cares, but talk radio keeps hitting it.

“It’s being discussed more on talk radio than I would have expected,” Givhan told Sharp. “That’s a bit of a surprise.”

He added, “People up here largely consider that a coastal Alabama issue.”

Political columnist Steve Flowers believes it’s a non-issue.

Excerpt as follows:

Steve Flowers, a former Republican in the Alabama House who now writes a statewide column about Alabama politics, said for the “average person in this state” who does not live in Mobile and Baldwin counties, “they could care less.”

But will that continue?

Auburn political science professor David Hughes says it is “unlikely” voters in other parts of the state will care “until tolls affect individuals’ daily commutes, it’s unlikely to gain widespread salience anytime soon.”

But it could affect their daily commutes if the Alabama Department of Transportation Director John Cooper gets his way.

Cooper reportedly told legislators that toll roads were the future for road projects in the state, but an ALDOT spokeswoman said there are no current plans in place for more tolls.

Regardless, 77% of those polled in the region oppose the toll project while the rest of the state apparently shrugs and says this is not their fight.

State Representative Andrew Sorrell (R-Muscle Shoals) called into WVNN radio’ in Huntsville Thursday morning and said he thinks this is round one of a big fight.

Sorrell suggested that legislation to address the issue of tolls could be proposed in the next legislative session and noted that members of regions affected will be interested in moving that legislation forward.

He also wondered why we passed a $400 million dollar gas tax if we are just going to do tolls on these projects.

Sorrell added that by the time people start caring, it may be too late.

He told “The Dale Jackson Show,” “When they start tolling I-565, it is going to be an issue in our area,” adding, “It’s going to be an issue in North Alabama.”

My takeaway:

The anti-toll fight is currently raging over one bridge over the Mobile Bay, and that may be where all the attention is right now, but if it succeeds, it seems pretty clear that the tolls will not end there.

Listen:

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

• It was announced yesterday that the Sierra Nevada Corporation has selected the Alabama-based ULA as the launch vehicle provider for its Dream Chaser spacecraft’s six NASA missions to the International Space Station.
• The project will include the Decatur-built Vulcan Centaur rocket launching the Dream Chaser “spaceplane” that will bring cargo to the space station, operate as a space laboratory for 75 days, and then return to earth with “large quantities of critical science.”

5. People are really upset that Trump doesn’t want immigrants living off government assistance

• Two counties in California have decided to sue the Trump administration due to the new rule that immigrants may not be issued a green card if it’s proven that they would require government assistance, but the counties are claiming that the rule violates federal immigration law.
• San Francisco City attorney Dennis Herrera has said that the new immigration rule is the “latest effort by the Trump administration to target immigrants, including those who are lawfully seeking visas and green cards, is abhorrent, and we will do everything in our power to protect our residents’ ability to access the critical services and benefits we provide.”

4. Lots of blame to go around on guns

• A new poll shows that there is a growing majority of voters in the country that support more gun restrictions after the mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, but voters still support gun ownership.
• The poll conducted August 11-13 showed that 56% of people blame mass shootings on easy access to guns, 40% of people blame white nationalism, 39% blame inadequate parenting, 34% of respondents blame President Trump’s rhetoric, 33% believe Trump’s anti-immigration sentiment is the cause, but only 23% blame violent video games, while 15% blame sentiments from Democratic political leaders.

3. If you’re a citizen, participate in the census

• Governor Kay Ivey wants you to know how important it is to participate in the 2020 Census, and while speaking at the Cullman Regional Medical Center, she said, “If we turn out at the rate we did in 2000, we will lose two congressional seats.” But she added, “If we turn out the way we did in 2010, we will lose one.”
• Ivey wants to have at least 80% of people participate in the census, and U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) has stressed how important the census data is to determine the distribution of $1 trillion of federal funding that’s spent on “services and infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, senior centers, emergency services, bridges and other public works projects.”

2. Shootings are no joking matter

• A student at the Riverchase Career Connection Center in Hoover, Alabama, received a message from another student that said, “Tomorrow all chocolate kids will die.” An investigation into the matter began almost immediately to determine if the threat was credible.
• There were proper security measures in place on Wednesday when students were at school, but on Wednesday afternoon, the school announced that the investigation had been concluded. There was no credible threat, and this wasn’t a racially motivated situation, as superintendent Kathy Murphy said that both students were black. The student who sent the message has already come forward.

1. Market craters as recession fears grow

• An 800-point drop in the market was sparked by warnings from the Treasury bond market, which basically means it is harder for banks to make money and it usually signals a recession is in the making and a broader global slowdown.
• Wednesday’s 800-point drop was the fourth-largest point drop in market history and the roughly 3% drop places it in near the 300th-largest percentage drops of all-time. But for perspective, four of the other top five point drops occurred in 2018 and the market still hit an all-time high last month.

Alabama Media Group’s award-winning columnist John Archibald wrote a weird piece declaring that we all are a little bit racist.

Ima go ahead and say yes. https://t.co/XCWLqT5rc7

— John Archibald (@JohnArchibald) August 11, 2019

The hook here, of course, is that it is still 1965 and only through liberalism can your sins be cleansed.

Great, but … in this piece, he makes a couple of pretty weird admissions that tell us that the hallways of AL.com in Birmingham and the Archibald inner-circle might need a little affirmative action.

Excerpt:

We don’t talk enough about race. But that’s not all. We don’t think about it enough, either. We sure don’t think about our part in it. And that’s really the only thing we can do something about.

Of course, Archibald constantly talks about race but he rarely gets it right, so there is that.

“What if you embrace your inner racist?” he asks.

What’s the last racist thought you had, John? Be specific.

But Archibald’s admitted racism might help us understand this next line: “Because we hear overt racism more now than I’ve heard my whole lifetime, and I grew up in Alabama.”

We do? I know I don’t.

So, who is John Archibald hanging out with?

Who is saying racist things to the most well-known liberal writer at the most well-known liberal rag in Alabama?

Why do they think it is OK to be racist around him?

Why are they attracted to him?

Why isn’t Archibald outing these people?

Name names, John! Kyle Whitmire? Josh Moon? Roy Johnson?

You are complicit with your silence, John! And we all know white silence is violence!

Also, who believes 2019 Alabama is more racist than when Archibald grew up? No one. Not Archibald, not his editors and not his readers.

This is just sad theater for liberals that feel bad about their position in life.

Speaking of that, one-term caretaker U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) is also a racist — according to a fellow Democratic leader in the state.

Are there any Alabama liberal icons that aren’t racist?

Maybe not, according to their own comments. In an open letter screed about the Democratic National Committee (which is called racist in this letter), Alabama’s junior senator is called out for his alleged racism by Alabama Democratic Party Secretary Val Bright.

Alabama Democratic Party officer: Doug Jones, DNC ‘plan to strip voting rights from blacks’
By ⁦@Sean_yhn⁩https://t.co/jpGCAQdJUl

— Yellowhammer News (@yhn) August 14, 2019

This Democratic leader says that the DNC and Jones’ attempt to change the rules for the Alabama Democratic Executive Committee is really just an attempt to “target” the “blacks” in the Alabama Democratic Party.

Excerpt from her letter as follows:

Although blacks have been faithful to the Democratic Party and are largely responsible for electing Doug Jones and any white seeking office in this state, once elected on the backs of blacks, the urgency to remove black leadership begins.

This echoes ADP chairman Nancy Worley’s claims that this whole debacle is “racial” and Bright thinks this racism is coming from the top of the national Democratic Party.

Bright stated, “This is a huge taint on the national Party and the Senator who depends on our vote to get re-elected.”

So, what can we take away from this?

Former Democratic Governor George Wallace would be so proud. The media and their Democrats in Alabama have always been racist apparently. They are racist today, they will be racist tomorrow and will be racist forever.

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

• President Donald Trump has decided to call off a series of tariffs on Chinese goods and cited the upcoming Christmas shopping holiday and the impact it could have on consumers as the reason. This is a departure from his normal refrain that Americans don’t pay for tariffs.
• The stock market really liked this decision. The tariffs were ready to go into effect on September 1, but cellphones, laptops, video game consoles, clothing, shoes and toys will not see the increase in tariffs until December 15 — that could obviously change.

5. We should talk about the rhetoric

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into “targeted attack” where an individual fired into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a contractors office. The agent in charge said, “Political rhetoric and misinformation that various politicians, media outlets and activist groups recklessly disseminate to the American people regarding the ICE mission only serve to further encourage these violent acts.”
• Last month, United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) referred, and defended referring, to facilities holding illegal immigrants as “concentration camps.” Since that time, at least four ICE facilities have come under attack from domestic terrorists.

4. Birmingham church opens its doors to illegal immigrants

• In Birmingham, a group of church members has decided to welcome in illegal immigrants due to the raids at the Mississippi food processing facilities, but they’re ignoring facts of the situation.
• The group, “Concerned Clergy, Faith Leaders, and Faith Communities of Birmingham,” released a statement saying that they would protect the illegal immigrants that came to their church for refuge, and while they want to protect and help the children whose parents were picked up during the raid, they missed the part where the parents who are the main caretaker of their children were released and the fact that the illegal immigrants arrested also committed crimes of identity theft and fraud.

3. Tennessee is following Alabama’s lead

• This week, Tennessee lawmakers will be considering a bill that will ban abortion at the earliest detection of pregnancy. It’s also hoped that this will go on to become a Supreme Court challenge.
• While it will be argued that the bill is unconstitutional, that’s kind of the point of the bill, as State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-TN) said that they want “a vehicle to lead the Supreme Court to consider, I hope, overturning or at least chipping away at Roe v. Wade.”

2. Never let a crisis go to waste

• On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that he’s going to ask President Donald Trump to use the $5 billion in funds the president has requested for the border wall for gun control and fighting white supremacy. Schumer’s office has said that the money would be used for gun violence research by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, counter violent extremism programs at the Department of Homeland Security and domestic-terrorism investigations at the FBI.
• Schumer said in a statement that the “scourges of gun violence and violent white supremacist extremism in this country are a national security threat,” even though the number of deaths caused by white supremacists is dwarfed by the number of people killed by illegal aliens every year.

1. No surprise: people hate the toll

• A new poll conducted by WT&S Consulting shows that 77% of voters in Baldwin and Mobile county are against the toll plan for I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project.
• Dean Young, who paid for the poll to be conducted, said that the results send a clear message to Governor Kay Ivey to stop the toll from happening. The poll had 1,149 people opposing the toll and only 346 people in support of the toll.

• Our houses of worship will be sanctuary for those seeking refuge. We will not allow immigration authorities to enter into our houses of worship without a warrant signed by a judge.
• Those of us who cannot safely offer sanctuary will actively and intentionally support those who do open the doors of their houses of worship to provide sanctuary to those who are being targeted by immigration enforcement operations.
• Following the lead of the communities who are most impacted, we will take action and speak out when ICE raids target our neighbors.
• We will challenge xenophobic, racist, and white nationalist rhetoric both inside and outside our places of worship. We will seek to create intentionally inclusive and accepting worship spaces that protect the rights and dignity of all human beings.

Delightful.

But stuff like this completely misses the point, and these entities join the long list of American institutions that once again place the needs of illegal immigrants over the needs of American citizens.

Americans are tired of this.

First, these illegal immigrants did more than just enter our country illegally. They also committed identity theft and fraud.

Second, parents were released if they were the main caretaker of their children.

That’s right. If you are in this country illegally and have children with you, we will let you out of confinement and let you continue breaking our laws.

All this does is incentivize people entering our country and using children as their “get out of jail free” card.

Third, there are people who want these jobs.

The jobs that were taken by these lawbreakers could and should be filled by Americans. There was a job fair that proves Americans showed up to fill those jobs.

Lastly, with this news and the news of the Trump administration using a President Bill Clinton-era law to potentially deny green cards to immigrants in the country, we are finally putting American citizens and taxpayers first.

These are good things that should be applauded for helping Americans better their lives. It would be nice to see our leaders be as concerned for Americans as they are for illegal immigrants.

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

• State Representative Steve Hurst (R-Munford) has been advocating for changing the school schedule in Alabama that would allow students to have summer vacation between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but after appearing on “The Dale Jackson Show,” it became very clear that Hurst doesn’t know if a longer summer vacation would actually improve education.
• Hurst’s main concern is students being able to get summer jobs and students getting skilled training that aren’t going to college, but during the interview, Hurst admitted, “I didn’t say it would get better, and you didn’t say it would get better, and the polls don’t say it’ll get better, what the polls say is it hasn’t improved.”

5. Roy Moore loves his social issues

• California wants to require at least one person “who self-identifies her gender as a woman” on the boards of companies located in their state. U.S. Senate candidate and former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore is having none of it.
• The governor of California, at the time, questioned the legality of the law, but he signed it anyway. Moore says this signals how out of touch California is, stating, “What else can you expect out of California? This will lead to all kinds of problems in an age where people are picking a different gender every other day. They are the model state of liberalism in America and we should not follow their lead.”

4. Steve Marshall is returning gambling money

• Bruce Pettway, the brother of Jefferson County sheriff, had his lawyers file a lawsuit in July against Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office claiming that Marshall’s office illegally seized $240,000 from a bank account due to $150,000 being deposited into the account from Pettway’s bingo operations.
• Now, Marshall has agreed to grant Pettway access to all but $15,500 of the funds that were seized, which was decided after Chief United States District Judge Karon Bowdre wrote that it was possible the state’s “actions against plaintiffs were politically or personally motivated, have been procedurally tainted, were all with intent to harass plaintiffs and were all in bad faith.”

3. People linked to Jeffrey Epstein should be worried

• While it appears it may in fact be suicide by his own hand, Epstein’s legal case may have legs that stretch further than most think. Attorney General William Barr made it clear that there were “serious irregularities” and announced, “Any co-conspirators should not rest easy.”
• Epstein’s “pedophile island” was raided, which signals ongoing investigations. This could mean there are asset forfeiture plans in place or even that there could be additional arrests.

2. Hit the brakes on I-10

• U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) wants to see the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project paused so that the people of Alabama can be heard. He added that he doesn’t think state officials have listened to the people and their concerns with the current plan.
• Despite the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) being willing to work with Byrne, he said that he’s been working with other state officials in an attempt to “fix” the project, however, Allison Gregg, ALDOT spokeswoman, previously sent an email saying that the “support of all elected leaders is vital” toward the Bridge and Bayway project being a reality.

1. Donald Trump getting tougher on immigration

• On Monday, the Trump administration announced that now federal officials will be able to deny green cards to immigrants that are more likely to rely on government assistance, which is meant to further ensure that more self-sufficient immigrants are granted residency.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) acting Director Ken Cuccinelli told Fox News that this move “will also have the long-term benefit of protecting taxpayers by ensuring people who are immigrating to this country don’t become public burdens,” adding the new “public charge” will be defined as an immigrant who has received Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, most forms of Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), for more than 12 months within a 36 month period.

How will this be accomplished? Hurst doesn’t know.

When asked what kind of plan he has in place to get this done, he doesn’t have a single clue.

Hurst also doesn’t think his “plan” would actually make education in the state better, which isn’t the problem he is addressing.

He is concerned about summer jobs, Alabama’s vacation industry and students who aren’t going to college.

During an interview Monday on WVNN radio’s “The Dale Jackson Show,” Hurst was asked about what he would like to do and how it would make things better.

He tersely responded, “I didn’t say it would get better, and you didn’t say it would get better, and the polls don’t say it’ll get better, what the polls say is it hasn’t improved.”

He also didn’t have a plan for what kind of fix he was looking for.

Statewide mandatory start dates? No plan.
Longer school days but less instructional days? No plan.
Elimination of fall break? No plan.
Community college training programs during the summer? No plan.
Technical school training programs during the summer? No plan.
What about kids below high school? No plan.
Do Alabama’s 3rd graders need to get their resumes ready? No plan.

My takeaway:

It looks like this was not a well-thought-out policy roll-out. It was just an idea with a couple of end goals.

Those goals are longer summers, more vacation spending on Alabama beaches and more skilled employees for Alabama’s growing industrial base.

One of those is really important, but there is no plan to get more students who aren’t college-bound trained for new jobs.

I guess we will have to wait for the end of summer for an actual idea to be formed, but this doesn’t seem like an idea that will make our state’s education system better. And it doesn’t even seem like that is on the agenda here.

Listen:

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

• The federal government is granting Alabama $6.3 million to aid in fighting the opioid addiction epidemic; the money will help fund facilities and programs treating and preventing opioid addiction.
• According to federal health authorities, in 2017 there were 70,000 drug overdose deaths in the country, which is 21.7 per 100,000 people. But in some Alabama counties, there is an even higher rate, and the government has already established that the opioid issues in the country make for a crisis.

5. Tuberville says he’s not a politician … again

• During former football coach Tommy Tuberville’s visit in Vestavia where he spoke at the Mid-Alabama Republican Club meeting, he emphasized that he isn’t a politician and how little he thinks of his opponents that are “career politicians.”
• Tuberville said that when he goes to Washington, D.C., he’s going to vote for you and not for corporations, as well as stating that he thinks if you’re an outsider, you can’t get in because the political system is made for people that “take money from lobbyists and the establishment.” Tuberville went on to imply that most of his opponents are career politicians and they need to “go get a dang job” so that they know what’s happening in the country.

4. Phony Joe Biden has a rough weekend on the campaign trail

• The Democratic front-runner told supporters that he remembered being vice president when the mass shooting happened at Parkland High School and he spoke with the children from that school. Of course, this took place after he was out of office so he just made it up.
• This latest “gaffe” came on the heels of Biden saying that he believes “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.” He also told followers that “we choose truth over facts,” but his campaign said he misspoke on both occasions.

3. Survey says Alabamians want a longer summer

• You wouldn’t think that people would look at Alabama’s schools and clamor for less classroom instruction, but a recent poll says just that with over 80% of respondents wanting the school year to start after Labor Day and end before Memorial Day.
• The polling was done by the Alabama Association of Camps, a group with a big interest in longer summers. It is being used by State Representative Steve Hurst (R-Talladega) when talking about having fewer school days so kids could get jobs (so get that resume ready, third-graders).

2. AL.com says we are probably all racist

• John Archibald at AL.com wants you to understand that everyone is probably racist deep down, and it’s time for you to realize it and stop being so racist. But in his column, Archibald also asked what would happen if you looked deep into your own soul and considered if you’re racist, saying if you don’t self-evaluate it’s because you’re scared to “embrace your inner racist.”
• Archibald also said that he’s heard more “overt racism” more recently than in his entire life. To emphasize how shocking that is, he wanted everyone to also know that he grew up in Alabama, but according to Archibald, because we “don’t talk about race enough,” it’s causing more issues and there are more divisions between people. Apparently not talking about race leaves us all comfortable in our own racism.

1. The people you don’t like killed Jeffrey Epstein

• Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell, and not long after, President Trump retweeted a conspiracy theory tweeted by Terrence K. Williams that said, “Died of SUICIDE on 24/7 SUICIDE WATCH? Yeah right! How does that happen #JefferyEpstein had information on Bill Clinton & now he’s dead.” Now, 2020 Democratic presidential candidates former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) are calling Trump out for his “dangerous” actions.
• People on the left have their own conspiracy theorists. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough believes there may be a Russian plot at play and his colleague Joy Reid thinks Attorney General William Barr had a role in Epstein’s death.

Jackson and Burke are joined by State Representative Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs) to discuss his campaign and his back and forth with former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville over Tuberville’s comments about President Donald Trump and veterans’ suicide.

Jackson closes the show with a “parting shot” at a segment of society that is beginning to call everyone that disagrees with their politics of the moment a bunch of “racists.”

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

Tuberville made it clear that he believed this issue was being created by State Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs) and noted that he was polling at 2%.

None of these defenses are very good.

Is this the biggest issue on the table these days? Absolutely not.

Will this issue be used by Tuberville’s opponents? It absolutely will.

Tuberville’s opponents are already seeking to make this an issue. First, it will be a whisper campaign, and then it will be a direct attack.

Is that silly? Of course. Have you not been paying attention to our politics?

Will it work? Meh.

It will have an impact. Alabamians love this state and any sign of disloyalty will cost you votes.

I asked listeners of my radio show to come up with a name for the people who want to see Tommy Tuberville’s drivers license and here are there “best” answers:

• Drivers license truthers
• Carders
• Bouncers
• DMV deniers
• Alabamians
• Residencers
• Never-Tubers

Here is how Tuberville can circumvent that issue: Produce an Alabama drivers license.

Send one of your staff to your car, take a picture of it and tweet it out.

If it is an Alabama license, great, but what if the expiration date is April 2019?

If it is a Florida license, good luck with that one.

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

• Former Vice President Joe Biden, a gaffe machine and the frontrunner for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2020, visited Iowa Thursday and uncorked a serious of absurd statements and declared, “We choose truth over facts.” Of course, this will get almost no mainstream media attention because of how embarrassing it is.
• Biden made a series of racially insensitive comments at another, including, “Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids,” and, “There’s less than 1% of the population of Iowa that is African American. There is probably less than 4 or 5% that are minorities. What is in [D.C.]? So look, it goes back to what you start off with, what you’re dealing with.”

5. ICE raids didn’t do very much in the end

• Several food processing plants in Mississippi were raided by ICE where 680 illegal immigrants were arrested, but now half of those arrested have been released. Thirty were released for “humanitarian” reasons and 270 others were released after being processed by ICE.
• ICE has said that they will be working on a case by case basis to decide who will be released, but ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said that the immigrants who were released “were placed into proceedings before the federal immigration courts and will have their day in court at a later date.”

4. You are likely a white supremacist

• According to U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), white supremacy is a virus in America that’s lying dormant, which was her view that she shared on Twitter. She also said that white supremacy drives the “logic of slavery, of Native genocide, of Jim Crow, of segregation, of mass incarceration, of ‘Send Her Back.’”
• AOC also shared her view that normal people also engage in or aid in “racism & white supremacy,” but all of this lunacy was in response to President Trump’s reaction to the El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, mass shootings and many Democrats demanding something be done about Trump’s rhetoric, since they believe it’s inciting violence.

3. Mooney says Tuberville is just helping the Democrats

• After former football coach Tommy Tuberville said that President Trump is responsible for the 22 veteran suicides every day and weakly backtracked, State Representative Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs) called him out and defended the president.
• Mooney while appearing on WVNN’s “The Jeff Poor Show” said that Tuberville’s comments only give Democrats more ammunition to use against Trump. He pointed out that Tuberville won’t even admit that he made a mistake about his remarks on Trump and veterans and that the issues with the VA existed long before Trump took office.

2. A gun was fired in a school drop-off line

• One parent pulled a gun on another after a road rage incident led to a confrontation at Blount Elementary School which led to a lockdown and criminal charges against Isaiah Johnson, Jr., a father at the school.
• Johnson fired his gun and then ran into the school and placed the gun on the desk in the school office, a school employee locked it in a safe and Johnson was arrested and charged with “certain person forbidden to carry a pistol” and discharging the firearm into a vehicle that was occupied.

1. Mitch McConnell is ready to move on guns

• In response to the most recent mass shootings, President Donald Trump has expressed that he might be open to expanded background checks on gun purchasers without laying out a clear plan. Now, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says he would at least be open to considering the idea.
• Democrats have already said that’s not enough and the National Rifle Association (NRA) is not happy about this either. The head of the NRA has suggested that the plan is not popular among Trump’s supporters.

• The Alabama Act 2019-507 has created new requirements for voters casting absentee ballots in Alabama. Secretary of State John Merrill has said that this will make it “easier to vote and harder to cheat!” which infuriates simpletons.
• In addition to making it easier to submit absentee ballots, election managers are no longer allowed to release voter information so that their privacy is protected and they’re less likely to be contacted by those intending to influence elections.

5. Alabama-based “J̶o̶u̶r̶n̶a̶l̶i̶s̶t̶” Twitter user goes hunting for big dollar Trump donors

• The Alabama Political Reporter’s Josh Moon wanted to copy the terrible decision by U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) to post the names and businesses of political enemies to make them afraid to donate money, but apparently, Moon couldn’t find any maxed-out donors.
• Moon’s embarrassing failure and cowardice is made worse by the fact that he didn’t have the stones to follow Castro’s terrible, and self-defeating, actions and instead weakly tweeted, “Trump’s top individual donor in Alabama is a retired lady in Vestavia. Only 4 people in the state have maxed out the individual contribution for the primary. A property mgr from Athens, a PowerSouth employee and a Citadel professor,” surely hoping someone else would complete the job he was afraid to do.

4. Bradley Byrne “doubles down” on your rights

• U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) held a town hall meeting in Hoover, AL, where he said, “There are people in politics and government in America who do not believe in God. They’re actively passing bills that would take away your right and my right to freely exercise our religion.”
• Of course, AL.com’s Abbey Crain finds this all offensive and framed this all as Byrne doubled down on his belief in upholding the Second Amendment which is an insult to murdered people, but all Byrne was saying is that we need to deal with “the heart of the problem” and not just the “superficial thing,” adding that just taking people’s guns away isn’t the solution and violates the constitution.

3. ICE raids in Mississippi

• Several food processing plants in Mississippi were raided by U.S. immigration officials where 680 arrests were made. These 680 illegal immigrants took jobs from American citizens and suppressed wages.
• Workers who were able to confirm their legal status were released, but those who were illegal were taken to a military hangar to deal with immigration violations. The media used this as an opportunity to complain about the evilness of separating criminals and their children.

2. Alabama loves Trump

• A poll released by Morning Consult shows that Alabama has the highest approval rating for President Trump for three consecutive months at 61% of people in Alabama approving of Trump’s job performance and 35% disapproving.
• Since June, Trump’s approval rating in Alabama has increased 2%, but overall, Trump’s approval rating is actually down 10% since he was inaugurated in January of 2017. On the other end of the spectrum, Massachusetts, California and Vermont have the lowest net approval ratings for Trump

1. They all couldn’t stop for one day

• President Trump visited the victims of the Dayton shooting and afterward took to Twitter to criticize U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley for politicizing the visit and misrepresenting how Trump’s visits in the hospital went.
• Trump tweeted that the press conference Brown and Whaley held was “a fraud” and that it was actually a “warm & wonderful” visit, but despite how “warm” the visits may have been, when Trump arrived in Ohio, he was met with protesters that were demanding gun control legislation.

• Since U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) won reelection in 2016, his campaign account hasn’t raised any money from PACs or individuals, but Shelby isn’t concerned.
• Despite not having raised any money since his reelection, Shelby still has almost $10 million left in his campaign account from his previous election. Shelby has said that he doesn’t need any money and for now, he’s just enjoying his sixth term as senator.

4. Byrne backs Trump’s latest China move

• U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) has praised the Trump administration for its decision declaring China a currency manipulator, saying, “President Trump has finally put his foot down and said enough is enough.” Byrne went on to say he will work with Trump to stand up for “American workers and hold China accountable or their rouge actions.”
• Even though this move contributed to a weakened market on the first day, China backtracked and set their yuen at less than a seven-to-one valuation, so this may have been a temporary symbolic shot at Trump for announcing new tariffs but a trade war continues.

4. Joaquin Castro should delete his Twitter account

• U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX), the brother of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro and his campaign chairman, is in hot water with the Trump campaign after Joaquin publicly released the names and employers of Trump donors in Texas on Twitter.
• The Trump campaign has called this harassment and said that the Castro campaign is targeting Trump supporters and their employers. A Trump campaign official said that “in this political climate, particularly at a time when Democrats are associating rhetoric with violence, it’s a pretty disgusting thing to do.”

3. Birmingham church says black people who vote for Trump are mentally ill

• An attention-seeking church that previously put up a sign saying black worshippers needed to stay out of white churches is at it again with a sign that reads, “A black vote for Trump is mental illness.”
• Previous ploys for attention by New Era Baptist Church, led by Pastor Michael R. Jordan, have worked. This one will probably work as well because of the anti-Trump message.

2. Two Alabama billboards go up against Doug Jones

• Two billboards have gone up in Huntsville taking aim at U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) with one saying “DEMOCRAT DOUG JONES WILL DO ‘EVERYTHING HE CAN’ TO STOP TRUMP JUDGES’ and the other taking him to task for saying he will support whoever the Democratic nominee is. That billboard features fellow Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
• Meanwhile, Warren has decided to take advantage of the latest mass shootings and raise money for  Jones’ reelection campaign, which continues Jones’ trend of fundraising from out of state, but this one focuses on gun control.

1. As Trump tries to heal, the media and their Democrats keep up the attacks

• President Donald Trump is prepared to visit both sites of the most recent mass shootings in spite of the fact that local elected officials have demanded he not come, made it clear they will not go with him and in some cases have called for protests against him.
• While the media is calling the president a white supremacist, elected officials are preparing to offer more aggressive laws, and in some cases, likely unconstitutional “mandatory” gun buybacks and other bans.

His backtrack is pretty weak.

His original words as follows:

I’m pissed off at Donald Trump that our vets can’t get health care. And if I ever get to see him, I’m going to tell him that. You said you were going to fix it and it ain’t fixed. And that’s who we ought to be taking care of — these young men and women. I’ve had them come up to me and cry. “Coach, we can’t get health care. Nobody will take care of us.” 22 vets every day – every day are committing suicide. We can’t take care of them. We won’t take care of them. We’re paying for illegals to come over here – everything they’re getting: cell phones, health care, everything they want. That’s Donald Trump’s fault. That’s his fault. He’s got to get it done. That’s one of the most important things I think we need to do because we send young men and women over to fight for us, put their life on the line and we don’t take care of them? What are we doing? What are we doing?

I’m a Donald Trump guy, but there are things that he hasn’t done yet that we got to get done. And I think he’s had to fight every battle by himself. He can’t get to all of them because nobody is helping him. Nobody is standing up for him.

His then backtracked his comments on Twitter.

going to improve healthcare for our veterans if we recycle the same ole tired politicians. We can all do better. And we must! @realDonaldTrump @ArnoldforAL

— Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville) August 5, 2019

What kind of weak leader goes from “This is Donald Trump’s fault” to “My point is this: Donald Trump has done more for our Veterans and our military than any President we’ve ever had and he was dealt a big mess by Congress and Obama?”

A weak one that has no respect for you and one that thinks you are stupid.

As for his “Career politicians and Never Trumper’s like Arnie have nothing to run on so they attack others” remarks, this is just a sad moment for Tuberville. Can he prove State Representative Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs) is a “career politician” or a “Never Trumper”?

If Tuberville has evidence that Mooney is a “Never Trumper” he should show it.

Is there a quote where Mooney says something like Tuberville did about Trump where he can back that up?

It’s sad to watch Tommy Tuberville say whatever pops into his head and then blame other people.

This is sad and shows that Tuberville thinks barking “Trump” and calling other people “Never Trumpers” is an effective strategy.

Tuberville has no respect for Alabamians if this is how he is going to run his campaign.

He touts that he isn’t a politician and that is something he thinks is a feature of his candidacy, but this experience shows that he is a politician and will say whatever he thinks he needs to in order to get elected.

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

• NumbersUSA has released new grades this year for Congress, and U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) has been ranked #1 for the eighth year straight on border security, which means that Brooks received 100% on his border security record.
• Brooks spoke about the grading, thanking them for “helping the public know which members of Congress fight to protect American lives, property, jobs, and incomes from the current flood of illegal aliens.” This issue is the #1 issue for Americans heading into 2020.

5. Dow drops 767 points

• The uncertain trade war with China and the self-devaluation of Chinese currency spooked the stock market yesterday. The government Chinese yuan fell below its seven-to-one ratio against the dollar in an attempt to soften the blow China is being dealt in a trade war.
• President Donald Trump has already promised even more tariffs against the Chinese. He also declared them to be a “currency manipulator.” China responded by halting plans to buy American agricultural goods, so this is impacting both countries negatively.

4. The school year should be shorter, apparently

• State Representative Steve Hurst (R-Talladega) said that we need to shorten the school year for students in Alabama, reasoning, “We’re not any better than we were years ago academically,” and Hurst argued that if students had longer summers they could get jobs and learn “work ethics, learn some discipline, and earn some money that could help their parents.”
• Hurst said that Alabamians are in favor of longer summers, and a survey conducted by the University of South Alabama showed that 85% of Alabama voters want longer summers.

3. Mooney isn’t happy with Tuberville

• State Representative Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs) tweeted about former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville’s recent quote slamming Trump and added that Tuberville is “dead wrong.” He went on to say Trump loves our veterans more than anyone. Mooney ended with saying that “Tuberville owes our President an apology.”
• Tuberville responded to the controversy by foolishly declaring, “Career politicians and Never Trumper’s like Arnie have nothing to run on so they attack others. My point is this: Donald Trump has done more for our Veterans and our military than any President we’ve ever had and he was dealt a big mess by Congress and Obama,” which directly contradicts his previous statement.

2. The media and Democrats are on the attack

• The shooting in El Paso, TX, and Dayton, OH,left 31 people dead, and President Trump has condemned the attacks as he plans to visit El Paso on Wednesday, called out white supremacist terrorism and called on Congress to address these issues in a number of ways, but the Democrats and their media have declared this to be insufficient and are seeking a full-on culture war.
• U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said that Trump’s statement was a “bulls—t soup of ineffective words…we should quickly condemn his lack of a real plan.” And when former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) was asked if Trump was racist, he replied,  “Jesus Christ, of course, he is racist,” making it clear that there is no chance there will be real attempts to come to a consensus and all things will be viewed through a prism of the 2020 election.

1. McConnell to consider bipartisan solutions

• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made a statement on Monday and has said that after the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, he’s willing to consider bipartisan solutions, saying that “Senate Republicans are prepared to do our part.”
• McConnell also pointed out during his statement, “Partisan theatrics and campaign-trail rhetoric will only take us further away from the progress all Americans deserve.” McConnell is encouraging the Senate committee leaders to develop a solution that doesn’t infringe on “Americans’ constitutional rights” but will still protect communities.

But that wasn’t the take away that Erick Erickson’s conservative website “The Resurgent” took from Tuberville’s statements at that meeting.

Alabama GOP Senate Candidate Blames Trump For Veterans Committing Suicide https://t.co/hrxhytO1As

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 5, 2019

Tuberville noted that he was “pissed off at Donald Trump” and promised to take it up with him if he ever gets to see him. He laid the 22 veterans who commit suicide daily at the feet of the current occupant of the White House.

Erickson wasn’t the only one who had a problem with this critique. Tuberville’s GOP primary opponent State Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs) thinks Tuberville owes the president an apology.

Coach Tuberville is a good man, but he’s dead wrong about President Trump. Nobody loves our veterans more than Trump. Blaming Trump for veterans’ suicides is wrong. Coach Tuberville owes our President an apology. #alsen https://t.co/UjNgaXCtzj pic.twitter.com/I8n09SyP2A

— Arnold Mooney (@ArnoldforAL) August 5, 2019

Is this a fair criticism from Tuberville? Probably not.

Trump did talk about this issue, but it has also been an issue that has gone across multiple presidencies.

Trump also can take credit for serious reform to veterans’ healthcare, which will benefit veterans.

It would probably be better for us to talk about how we are going to take care of our veterans than trying to score points on the issue.

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

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

5. Dekalb County school isn’t intimidated

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

4. Alabama still wants the citizenship question

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

3. Tuberville owning his carpetbagger label

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

2. Meeting to be held on Mobile Bay bridge toll

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

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

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

Jackson and Burke are joined by former State Representative Mac Buttram (R-Cullman) to talk charter school issues and more.

Jackson closes the show with a “parting shot” at Democrats who can’t get over the Trump-Russia storyline even after polls show support for impeachment has gone down.

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

When asked a question about what he would do with Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s $1,000 Universal Basic Income, Zeigler went after the toll issue in Mobile.

He said Friday, “$1,000, I would still be $80 short of the annual toll to cross Mobile Bay. It’s going to cost $1,080 per car for people to go back and forth on interstate 10, supposed to be an interstate, a freeway, so I’d have to save that money and get 80 more to go with the 1000 and that would pay my years’ worth of tolls per car.”

Most respondents answered with talk of new cars, lake houses, “hookers and blow,” but Zeigler was on message.

It is that issue that has Zeigler in the news again.

Zeigler is up on radio stations across the state running commercials imploring people to call Governor Kay Ivey to demand she does something to stop this toll.

That could be having some impact.

Here's some news: Gov. Kay Ivey has called a meeting of the Alabama Toll Road, Bridge & Tunnel Authority to discuss the latest plans for the I-10 Bayway in Mobile.

A public meeting is set for Sept 17 at the State Capitol.

Via @ALDailyNews https://t.co/cutvAF9y4g #alpolitics

— Todd Stacy (@toddcstacy) August 2, 2019

Zeigler is also running a Facebook page that has accumulated over 40,000 likes in three months.

The 40,000+ people in the group are likely dialed into what is going on in their community and state. They are voters.

Those voters could be activated for an election. Should he run for Senate? What about the race for Alabama’s 1st Congressional District?

His anti-toll activism is something that will motivate people even more if the tolls actually happen on the Mobile Bay bridge and other roads in the area.

Zeigler noted later in the interview, “The next one could be I-565, or it could be the new bridge over the Tennessee River towards Decatur, it could be Highway 280.”

He gets what people are talking about.

If Zeigler is leading this fight, he can capitalize.

This is not to say that I think Zeigler would/should/could win any of these seats. But I truly believe he could be a player in these elections because he understands the same thing as President Donald Trump: Things that bother people motivate them. And this toll talk is bothering people.

Listen:

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

• Recently, the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) sent out a press release that said “voter fraud” doesn’t exist in Alabama, but Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill wants you to know that’s not true. In an interview with Yellowhammer News, Merrill pointed out specific confirmed cases of voter fraud in Alabama.
• But the deputy legal director of SPLC, Nancy Abudu, has a different theory about voter fraud, and after President Trump tweeted that “We should immediately pass Voter ID,” Abudu responded by saying voter ID laws “create barriers for Black, Latino, low-income, and elderly voters, who are more likely than the general population to lack an acceptable form of identification.” She added that voter fraud is only a myth that undermines the black vote, but the group can not cite a single instance of voter suppression.

5. Trump ready for more tariffs

• President Donald Trump is ready for yet another round of tariffs on Chinese goods if President Xi Jinping does not come to the table for a trade deal that the United States can live with. This could be a real threat or another Trump bluff.
• Trump is no stranger to tariffs and this round would go after $300 billion in Chinese goods, which will include consumer products like smartphones, apparel and toys. This is on top of the previous round of $250 billion in tariffs and will affect all American consumers.

3. Trump rallies and media doesn’t get the chants they want 

• Before President Donald Trump’s rally last night, he spoke to reporters outside the White House on Thursday, where he mentioned that he doesn’t want people to chant “Send her back!” at his campaign rally in Cincinnati, but he doesn’t “know that you can stop people.”
• Even without those chants, the media clutched their pearls over chants of “Lock her up!” that broke out after the president mentioned former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and pointed out the sad state of big cities like San Francisco, New York City, Baltimore and Los Angeles being controlled by Democrats in America.

3. Birmingham police officer stages an attack

• Officer Keith Buchanan is looking at some serious trouble, as he should be, after he made up a distress situation in order to frame himself as a heroic officer, but a police investigation found the entire event to be a “hoax.”
• The officer staged an attack that included gunshots into his vehicle, an attack that left him injured on a railroad track and worried officers rushing to the UAB medical center to check on the allegedly wounded officer. Now, the Birmingham Police Department will pursue suspects in this case, “even when one of those suspects is one of our own.”

2. Senator Jones defends Alabama from his fellow liberals

• U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) is trying to distance himself from New York City after saying that he couldn’t stand to live there because he loves the South, or so he said at book-signing event in Aspen, Colorado, but Jones has been referred to as New York’s third Senator and he’s received $2.8 million in donations from New York since 2017.
• Although, Jones was recently in New York City watching the Broadway adaption of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and after the play he expressed that he wishes the show would travel so more people around the country could see it so that people would be taught to “treat people with some respect,” but apparently no one has told Jones that “To Kill a Mockingbird” has been taught in schools for years.

1. Senate passes spending deal

• The U.S. Senate has passed a bipartisan budget and debt limit that will increase spending caps and suspend the debt ceiling until July 31, 2021. The bipartisan bill will load up the debt and further send the country towards a debt crisis.
• President Trump tweeted that the spending deal is good for “our Great Military, our Vets, and Jobs, Jobs, Jobs! Two year deal gets up past the election. Go for it Republicans, there is always plenty of time to CUT!”

• The main complaint about the Trump tax cut changes depending on the day. Unfortunately for the media and their Democrats, they may have to shelf the line about wages not growing after the latest economic news.
• Revisions to economic data show that employee compensation has risen much faster than previously reported. It rose 4.5% in 2017, 5.5% in 2018 and increased 3.4% in the first six months of 2019, while personal savings are also up significantly.

5. James Comey may be looking at some serious issues

• New reporting indicates FBI agents went to former FBI Director James Comey’s home because he leaked at least four memos that he hoped would start an investigation against the president. Inspector General Michael Horowitz then referred Comey for possible prosecution, but the DOJ has apparently declined prosecution because of a lack of intent.
• No one expects Comey to face any actual penalties for this, but this will be a major blow to the reputation of the man the media originally was relying on to help build the Trump-Russia narrative that continues to fall flat while also showing no sign of stopping.

4. Does Cummings not want to see that his district actually has issues?

• U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings (D-MD) was invited to tour a Baltimore Housing and Urban Development (HUD) facility with Secretary Ben Carson after President Trump made comments that the city is a “rodent-infested mess,” but Cummings declined the invitation even as video of him calling the city “drug infested” has emerged.
• Trump has said that he will visit Baltimore “at the right time,” but Carson is familiar with the issues in Baltimore and the work that needs to be done. Carson has told Fox News that he’s worked on issues with politicians including childhood education and “improving the life for the people.”

3. You better not allow Christianity in your schools

• DeKalb County Schools superintendent has received a letter from an attorney from the Freedom From Religion Foundation to complain that there isn’t a true separation between church and state in the schools because they’re promoting a “Back to School Worship Service” that’s to be held in the school gym on August 4 from 4-6 p.m.
• The service was advertised on the school’s Facebook page in a post that simply invites people to the worship service, but a “concerned Dekalb County Schools parent” has taken issue with the post and event, saying that promoting the service is unconstitutional. According to Christopher Line on behalf of FFRF, “Dekalb County Schools should be particularly mindful of ostracizing non-Christians, given that over 47 percent of young Americans are non-Christian, either practicing a minority religion or no religion at all.”

2. Alabama Democrats hate Alabama Democrats

• Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman isn’t impressed with how the Alabama Democratic Party is being run. He said that party Chairwoman Nancy Worley and Alabama Democratic Conference Chairman Joe Reed are to blame, calling the state of the party “pathetic.”
• Siegelman also said that the way he thinks the party should be run and organized the way the Republican Party was in the ’70s and “get rid of Joe Reed’s appointment process, which distorts the Democratic elected members of the committee.”

1. Winners and losers 2.0

• After two days of debates, former Vice President Joe Biden is still clearly the frontrunner as he was able to punch back at all of his adversaries who appear to want to out-liberal each other to their own detriment. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) had a couple of good lines to legitimize his campaign, but President Donald Trump has to feel good about last night because these people aren’t ready for a debate with that guy.
• The big loser of the night was former President Barack Obama, who was under attack all night on health care and illegal immigration. Phony Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) continues to embarrass herself on the national stage and Kamala Harris couldn’t follow up her first debate performance with an equally impressive performance here.

• It’s yet another blow for the Trump-Russia collusion narrative as U.S. District Judge John Koeltl on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit brought by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) claiming the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks hacked DNC documents.
• Democrats have attempted to go after President Donald Trump and his campaign for engaging in illegal activity with Russia. Koeltl said that the campaign “did not participate in any wrongdoing in obtaining materials.”

5. Scarlet letter of Alabama

• In Alabama, transgendered people are allowed to change their sex on their driver’s license if they have a letter signed by their doctor that performed reassignment surgery or an amended birth certificate. Three transgender women are trying to change the policy, and on Tuesday U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson heard arguments in the lawsuit.
• The three women represented by the American Civil Liberties Union are arguing that the driver’s license policy violates their equal protection rights and opens them up to “hostility aimed at transgender people,” according to AL.com. Judge Thompson said that “you might as well have a scarlet letter T on your driver’s license,” but a decision will not be made in the case until Thompson goes over written arguments.

4. Who will Alabama Democrats vote for?

• New data has been released from the Federal Election Commission on second-quarter donations for Democratic presidential candidates in Alabama, which shows that U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and former Vice President Joe Biden are nearly neck-and-neck with overall donations, but Biden received more than Harris from Alabama voters in the second quarter.
• U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is in third place, where the support in Alabama drops off dramatically, and then trailing in 10th place is U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) with no second quarter donations from Alabama.

3. Doug Jones is a standard Democrat

• A new ad released by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is hitting U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) on his statement that no matter what, he’ll support the Democratic nominee in the 2020 presidential election.
• The ad highlights how Jones would be willing to support higher taxes, free health care for illegal immigrants, decriminalizing illegal immigration and doing away with employer-based health care. The ad was released just ahead of the second round of Democratic presidential primary debates.

2. CNN attacks Alabama to “defend” Baltimore

• In a strange interview, CNN’s John Berman tried to take RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to task for the conditions of Alabama’s 5th congressional district. He tried to imply that it is equally “in distress” as Rep. Elijah Cummings’ (D-MD) district, which no one truly believes.
• Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) responded with a text to Yellowhammer News highlighting the district’s need for more workers for high-paying jobs, new houses for those moving here and help with new roads and schools to handle the population growth.

1. Winner and losers in Democratic debate

• As the first night of CNN’s Democratic Party debate wrapped up, the real winner might have been Donald Trump because Democrats continued their lurch to the left that seems to be irreversible as the leaders continued to promise government-run health care for all, including illegal immigrants. Otherwise, self-help guru Marianne Williamson was the most Googled and quotable candidate. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) kept their top-tier status.
• The main losers from last night’s debate were the moderate Democrats who tried their best to wrestle the party away from the more liberal members, but Warren and Sanders ruled the day.

You watch this and you feel bad for @JohnBerman.

He doesn't believe this stuff he is saying, he provides NO context, he can't actually defend Cummings and Baltimore, and he's afraid to let @GOPChairwoman speak.

Put @RepMoBrooks or anyone from AL-05 on your show.#alpolitics pic.twitter.com/OK4Amu8LMs

— Dale Jackson (@TheDaleJackson) July 30, 2019

Berman forgot to point out that Trump was factually correct.

Oddly, Berman didn’t target Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, which has a median income that is almost $20,000+ less than Brooks’ 5th District.

Dishonest hacks are going to dishonestly hack.

We all know that the 7th District has a black Democratic Congresswoman, Terri Sewell, and Berman surely wasn’t going to single her out.

There is an old saying about the “soft bigotry of low expectations” that might apply here.

Berman is right. The median income in Cummings’ district does have a higher income and home values in his district, but that hardly tells the whole story.

North Alabama is booming, there is no question about that.

Huntsville has been named to the following lists:

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