1. Fixes to Alabama’s ethics laws would require a special session; a Democrat candidate for Governor wants to see one
— As part of the conclusion of the state’s Bentley/Mason grand jury, there were multiple suggestions made for improvements to Alabama’s ethics laws which would require a special session.
— Speaking to Guerrilla Politics, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox stated he would support a special session on ethics but does not expect Governor Kay Ivey to call one.
2. Governor Kay Ivey officially bails on scheduled Birmingham debates
— After a few days of speculation, and nothing but bad press, the Governor’s spokespeople wrote in an email that Ivey has official engagements on the dates of scheduled debates. They did not answer questions about future debates.
—Evangelist Scott Dawson has stated that Ivey was never elected to the position and should explain to the people her vision. Mayor Tommy Battle took to Facebook to point out that Ivey has been a politician for 36 years, a Democrat, and that she sent a telegram to an opponent who wouldn’t debate.
3. President Trump says he knows nothing about the payment to Stormy Daniels by his attorney
— Trump denied Thursday that he knew about his lawyer’s $130,000 payment 11 days before the 2016 election.
— Daniels’ attorney continues to try and keep the story in the news, this includes the president’s private parts and calling CBS a “conservative” channel
4. Oregon’s governor will not send National Guard troops to the border, will become a punching bag for Trump
— The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to use 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard soldiers to bolster the nation’s border patrol.
— Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she would not send her National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, “If @realDonaldTrump asks me to deploy Oregon Guard troops to the Mexico border, I’ll say no,” Brown tweeted.
5. National Democrats see Congresswoman Martha as vulnerable after Sen. Doug Jones’ improbable win
— Democrats are looking for vulnerable Republicans and they think they have one in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, if she survives her 4 person primary that includes a former Congressman.
— DCCC spokesperson said, “We think that Doug Jones’ win coupled with Congresswomen Roby’s poor performance in the 2016 election could create room for a Democrat to win this seat, while still understanding the path is not easy.’’
6. Democrats in Alabama will campaign against allowing teachers to carry; former Tuscaloosa mayor calls it “idiotic”
— Maddox told a group of Democratic women, “Arming teachers may be the most idiotic idea that I’ve heard in the legislature since, well, since they didn’t expand Medicaid.”
— 58 percent of parents support allowing teachers to carry, 68 percent of Republicans support it, and this is Alabama.
7. Facebook could use this latest controversy to actually make money
— Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg says users would have to pay to opt out of all data-targeted ads.
— Users’ data is used by Facebook to deliver ads to individual users.
