7 Things: Inflation at one of the highest rates in 40 years, U.S. Rep. Palmer one of many decrying what appears to be a two-tiered justice system and more …

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August 11, 2022

7. Better late than never, kids

Students in Birmingham City Schools are finally showing up to class. Roughly 23% of kids didn’t show up on the first day of school but now they are starting to trickle in. The reason for low attendance, if you ask Superintendent Dr. Mark Sullivan, was because parents were working, which makes no sense. It appears as if those parents are still at work because there are still a large number of kids missing.
City Councilman Darrell O’Quinn isn’t really helping when he says he doesn’t think his kid had any instruction on day one, “Perhaps they’ve had some experience that informs whether or not they show up that first week.”

6. No, we don’t need to defund the FBI

After the FBI raid at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called for the defunding of the bureau.
Former U.S. Attorney Jay Town has responded to this, saying it’s “the absolute wrong thing we should be saying right now,” and suggested that people should be calling for double-checking the investigations. He added, “[Y]es, we have to answer some more questions, but defund the FBI, all that’s doing is stalling whatever momentum we have on this red wave going into November, and we just can’t allow that to happen.”

5. No migrants were forced to go to New York

In response to criticism from New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has clarified some aspects of migrants being sent from Texas to New York City and Washington, D.C. Adams has alleged that migrants were forced onto buses, but Abbott has said that this is not true.
Abbott said, “In addition to Washington, D.C., New York City is the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within sanctuary cities.” Abbott has said that all of the individuals placed on buses had signed waivers before being relocated.

4. Remove the vaccine requirement for travel, Ivey is dead on

In a letter to President Joe Biden, Gov. Kay Ivey has joined with 16 other governors requesting that he remove the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for international travel. The letter states that these types of policies “put us at a competitive disadvantage as our states work to welcome international travelers, attract foreign business prospects, and host global athletic competitions. Your actions are hurting our states’ economies and unnecessarily hampering our economic growth as a nation.”
In her own statement, Ivey questioned, “Why is this Administration ok with letting folks flood through the gates at our Southern Border unaccounted for while we make it harder for the ones doing things the right way or simply just visiting.”

3. Trump pleaded the Fifth

During his deposition in New York, former President Donald Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment, and he’s said that it was on the advice of his attorneys. Trump also said that the situation was an “unfounded politically motivated Witch Hunt.”
Trump said, “I did nothing wrong, which is why, after five years of looking, the Federal, State and local governments, together with the Fake News Media, have found nothing. We cannot permit a reengage and out-of-control prosecutor to use this investigation as a means of advancing her political career … This is a vindictive and self-serving fishing expedition, the likes of which our Country has never seen before.”

2. Palmer has called out the double standard in the justice system

Recently, U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) pointed out where there were double standards in the justice system, saying that the recent FBI raid at former President Donald Trump’s home was an “unprecedented search and seizure.”
Palmer went on to say that this shows “the length the Biden Administration and Democrats will go to destroy their political opponents.” The congressman added, “There were no evening raids of residences or seizures of documents when Hillary Clinton and her lawyers held classified emails on a private server or after she had that server wiped while the DOJ sat by and waited for it to be turned over … This contrast shows that we live in a two-tiered justice system where evidence of wrongdoing doesn’t matter, only your political beliefs.”

1. Inflation is growing slightly less than expected… hooray?

For the month of July, national inflation slowed by about 0.6%, going from 9.1% in June to 8.5% in July. But it is still one of the highest rates since 1981. The higher months are June, May and March (tied) of this year. While this is an improvement, it is still far from where the country started at the beginning of the year and well off from the beginning of President Joe Biden’s term, much like gas prices.
Prices didn’t increase from June to July, a point that was made by a rattled and raspy Biden, who touted this as a huge success. The largest factor in the inflation rate falling slightly was due to gas prices. Part of the cause of fuel prices declining, though, is due to international demand.