7. The media is outraged that some criminals may have to pay their own bills
- For some reason, it is a big news story that some local law enforcement agencies would rather incarcerated individuals pay for their medical treatment rather than taxpayers pay for the treatment they receive.
- While Alabama’s media is giddy over this story, and its premise that it’s wrong to charge criminals for their care, the argument is that it is a violation of the inmates’ rights even though the inmates are receiving medical care and then being billed for it instead of being denied the care outright.
6. Death row inmate could get a new trial
- In Jefferson County, a judge is considering granting death row inmate Toforest Johnson, who in 1998 was convicted of killing Jefferson County Deputy William Hardy three years prior, a new trial due to a claim that a key witness only testified because the state was offering a reward.
- The key witness was Violet Ellison, who said that she listened in on a three-way phone call with Johnson, who on the phone call confessed to killing Deputy Hardy. Ellison then went on to receive $5,000 for her testimony, but the issue is that Johnson has claimed that the prosecutors never informed the defense that Ellison was a paid witness.
5. Buttigieg is using Jesus to call for more refugees
- On Christmas Day, South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg went on Twitter to wish everyone a “Merry Christmas,” but first, he said, “Today I join millions around the world in celebrating the arrival of divinity on earth, who came into this world not in riches but in poverty, not as a citizen but as a refugee.”
- Even though there is no refugee story in the virgin birth, a popular liberal talking point, Buttigieg’s 2020 Democratic presidential campaign has very recently released Buttigieg’s plan to increase refugees admitted into the country, setting the minimum at 95,000.
4. Gardendale taxpayers pounded for trying to leave Jefferson County Schools
- The City of Gardendale attempted to start its own school district because the citizens were tired of being forced into the Jefferson system. A federal judge said they and their kids were trapped, and now they have to pay extra for the privilege.
- The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and former federal judge U.W. Clemon get the money because U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Haikala said the parents “acted in bad faith” because of posts on Facebook that were used as justification to stop the school system from being created, speaking of bad faith.
3. Police in Alabama are being killed with stolen guns
- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said that out of the six police officers killed in Alabama in 2019, five of them were killed with stolen guns.
- This is the highest number of officers shot and killed on duty since 1987; nationally there were 128 officers killed while on duty, and Texas, California and New York are the only states who had higher numbers than Alabama.
2. Trump continues to tweet about impeachment
- Since the House has passed two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has delayed sending the articles to the Senate, tensions have risen between the president and Pelosi.
- Trump tweeted, “Crazy Nancy should clean up her filthy dirty District and help the homeless there. A primary for N?” Trump has also said that the Democrats are “liars” and “hypocrites” for their handling of impeachment by deeming him a national security threat and then delaying the impeachment process.
1. Gary Palmer blasts Speaker Pelosi, says she isn’t interested in a fair process
- U.S. Representative Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) spoke about the impeachment process and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) keeping articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump from moving to the Senate and he thinks this is far from over.
- Palmer repeated Pelosi’s claim that she won’t send the articles of impeachment “until she is sure that there will be a fair process,” but Palmer said that this is just a way of saying she wants “a rigged process.” Palmer also noted how there were things that happened during the House impeachment process that “rigged” the process, such as “witnesses that they declared classified so that you and I and the rest of the country could see that, couldn’t hear what they were saying.”