7. An economist at Troy University says that Alabama should bet on sports betting
— Daniel Sutter’s main argument is the obvious argument for sports gambling. He wrote, “Without legalization, Alabama will not share in these jobs and tax revenues. Alabama sports bettors’ money will support businesses and government services in other states.”
— Even though he doesn’t see Alabama legalizing gambling any time soon, the professor’s main argument is one of freedom to gamble and lose one’s money in their home state as opposed to sending it elsewhere.
6. Leaked Google e-mails reveal the company did try to leverage search results against President Trump
— The furor over tech companies’ bias against conservatives has died down, but new e-mails show employees were working on using the search engine to weaponize its users against the president’s travel ban, to boost pro-immigration groups and lawmakers.
— Google says the ideas were never implemented, but the fact that they were being bantered about show that the organization is aware of its massive power and has some employees who are willing to use it.
5. More news about the president’s former personal attorney appears to be bad news for the president
— Michael Cohen, has been spending hours with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team over the last month. He has no immunity in those talks because his previous deal was with the southern district of New York’s prosecutors.
— This obviously is not good for the president, but there is a chance that Mueller could actually get that elusive Trump interview after all, with his legal counsel telling Fox News that they are “pleased with the progress being made”
4. Another Alabama municipal leader joins the chorus of calls for parents to be held responsible for their kids
— Montgomery’s City Council blocked an attempt at a citywide curfew and the mayor repeated unheeded calls to add penalties to parents who have kids that commit criminal acts.
— Earlier this month, Birmingham City Councilwoman Lashanda Scales wanted stronger laws doing the same thing. She told the council, “I’ve been trying to get a bill sponsored where we could put some teeth into holding parents accountable for what they call ‘Capricious Acts’ or contributing to acts of violence of their children.”
3. BREAKING NEWS: TRUMP NOT ANGRY
— Most news stories where Trump issues a reasonable and rational response to the day’s news are followed by stories about how the “The president is seething behind the scenes.” This isn’t happening today.
— After a week of dust-ups over Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, Trump still isn’t mad. CNN wrote, “Rather than lashing out in anger or defensiveness, Trump said Monday he’d like to ‘see a complete process.’”
2. Sen. Doug Jones compares a baseless 36-year-old allegation to the murder of four young girls in Birmingham
— Alabama’s junior senator sent a tweet referencing his work as a prosecutor, invoking four dead girls in Birmingham. He said, “I’ve successfully prosecuted 38-year-old crimes. It wasn’t easy, but it was the right thing to do to get justice for the victims.”
— While Jones did successfully jail people for those crimes, he also had evidence and eyewitness testimony. A Republican would be crushed for saying this.
1. Now Kavanaugh’s accuser may be willing to testify if she can set the terms — and get the date she wants
— As the drama continues, the accuser’s lawyers have had phone calls with both Republicans and Democrats about coming to an agreement that would allow her to come to the table and “tell her story.”
— These demands include, “NO questions from lawyers, only Qs from Committee members, #Kavanaugh cannot be in the room, Kavanaugh must testify FIRST”.
