Steven Reed takes office as Montgomery’s first black mayor
Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed was sworn in Tuesday as the capital city’s first African American leader. Reed took the oath of office after easily winning the mayoral runoff last month. He is the first black mayor of a city that was the first capital of the Confederacy and later the birthplace of the civil rights movement. “We are assembled here because we chose destiny over division. Today, we are assembled here because we chose the future over fear,” Reed said. In a nod to his history-making win, Reed said his inauguration was an event that the enslaved people once sold on the banks of the Alabama River just a few feet from his inauguration ceremony “could only have imagined.” “This is a culmination of those distant dreams,” Reed said. Reed replaced outgoing Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange, who has served since 2009 and did not seek reelection. Reed is the first black mayor of the city where Southern delegates voted to form the Confederacy in 1861. The city also played a critical role in the civil rights movement. Montgomery was a city that led the fight for change, he said. “This is why the son whose parents would not have been served in a local restaurant just up the street, and whose father led sit-in protests for equal treatment under the law can now take this oath and help write laws that apply equally to all,” Reed said. Reed said Montgomery is a city with a “complicated past” and ongoing challenges. The major said the city “must lay a new foundation for growth.” “We must lay more fiber, pay our teachers and first responders their worth, implement apprenticeship programs, reinvest in our neighborhoods, and show a stronger commitment to strengthen the ties that bind us together.” Reed was already the first black probate judge elected in Montgomery County and was one of the first to issue marriage licenses to gay couples in the state. His father, Joe Reed, is the longtime leader of the black caucus of the Alabama Democratic Party. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Man: Slashing ‘Baby Donald Trump’ was matter of good versus evil
An Alabama man charged with criminal mischief in the slashing of a towering “Baby Trump” balloon has defended his actions, saying it was a matter of good versus evil. Al.com reports Hoyt Deau Hutchinson called the syndicated radio show “Rick & Bubba Show” on Monday to describe what happened. Hutchinson said he was shaking in anger when he drove past the balloon and its handlers Saturday during President Donald Trump’s visit to see Louisiana State play against the University of Alabama. He yelled at the protesters, but then realized they might have seen him, so he bought a University of Alabama shirt to better blend into the crowd and get close to the balloon, he said. Pretending he wanted a picture with the balloon, Hutchinson said he used a material cutter with a sharp razor to slice the symbol open. The orange, diaper-clad caricature of the president is often floated at Trump appearances to protest and mock the president, which the balloon shows clutching a cellphone. The balloon measures over 20 feet (6.1 meters) tall and was left with an 8-foot-long (2.4-meter-long) gash in its backside. “I get so mad about people not taking a stand,” he said. “The left wants to use religion against you like you shouldn’t act like this and stuff but I’ll tell you this — the Devil knows the Bible as good as we do.” Asked if the slashing was Hutchinson’s attempt to echo the Biblical story of Jesus turning over the temple tables of money changers, he said yes. “It comes a point when you gotta take a stand. We don’t have two parties anymore. We have good versus evil. When you got one party that says it’s OK to kill babies and by the way, this is the first time I’m ever seen a liberal get mad about chopping up a baby.” He said he yelled “Trump 2020” as he was being arrested. He later posted bail and was released. When asked about his motivations, the 32-year-old Hutchinson told the radio station he keeps up with politics by watching Fox News and his two favorite anchors, Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity. “I’m not young but I’m not old. I’m sort of middle aged. I feel like a lot of people my age don’t keep up with the news and politics the way they should,” he said. Information from: The Birmingham News, https://www.al.com/birminghamnews. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Sheriff Mike Blakely pleads not guilty to indictment
An Alabama sheriff says he is innocent of ethics violations and theft. News outlets report Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely pleaded not guilty during a hearing Tuesday. Blakely is free on bond and remains in office after being arrested in August on charges that include accusations of taking thousands of dollars from campaign and law enforcement accounts. The plea came days after Circuit Judge Pride Tompkins refused to dismiss an indictment against the longtime sheriff. The Decatur Daily reports that the defense argued in court papers that the state’s ethics law is unconstitutionally vague, but the judge disagreed. The 69-year-old Blakely has been sheriff of the north Alabama county since 1983. Any felony conviction would automatically strip him of office. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Bradley Byrne: Serious about corruption? Investigate the Bidens
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, and their Democratic colleagues have spent countless hours and taxpayer dollars to find evidence that President Donald Trump was involved in corruption. At the same time, Democrats refuse to even consider the fundamental issue at hand – was President Trump right to question the activities of Hunter Biden in Ukraine? Months ago, media reported Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings. But, once impeachment began, the mainstream media moved to kill the story. We’re told nothing to see there. Yet each week, new information continues to emerge demanding a full investigation of the facts. We know that Hunter Biden essentially made his living as a high-powered lobbyist benefiting from his father’s career as a Senator and Vice President. When Joe was elected Vice President, Hunter claimed to leave lobbying, but really he just shifted his game. He formed a series of companies with Christopher Heinz, the stepson of Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman and later Secretary of State John Kerry. These kids, trading on their fathers’ names and political ties, made a pretty powerful combo. As the New York Times reported, Biden and Heinz pursued multiple foreign business investments “where connections implied political influence and protection.” These guys closed lucrative deals with China right after Hunter visited China on Air Force II with his father. Importantly, they were working in Ukraine while Joe was leading Ukrainian policy for the U.S to fight corruption. Ukraine is known for its corruption. A small group of oligarchs hold most political power. Hunter and his company went to work for one of these guys and his notoriously corrupt energy company, Burisma Holdings. Hunter was paid up to $50,000 a month to sit on its board. We know Hunter knew nothing about energy or Ukraine. But, when you’re dealing a with a corrupt country like Ukraine, and the son of the Vice President of the United States is involved in a corrupt company, that sends a signal to government officials when considering pursuing investigations. At the same time, Vice President Biden was threatening to withhold aid to Ukraine unless they fired the prosecutor allegedly looking into Burisma. Senior State Department officials raised concerns about Hunter to the Vice President. Yet, the arrangement continued until recently. The bottom line is that there are serious allegations here, they directly relate to impeachment, and Congress needs to find out what happened. In fact, I introduced a House Resolution 631 directing the relevant committees to investigate alleged Biden corruption. Despite having a substantial number of cosponsors, my resolution has been bottled up by Speaker Pelosi. Last week, Republicans on the Intelligence Committee echoed my resolution, requesting that if Hunter Biden is going to be the basis for impeachment, Congress should get his testimony in the impeachment inquiry. But, Democrats have signaled they won’t allow it. My question is, why? We know the answer – this is a partisan witch hunt against President Trump. President Trump never once demanded a quid pro quo from President Zelenksy. You can read the transcript yourself. While the Democrats and their allies in the press have trashed President Trump for raising Burisma and Ukraine’s role in the 2016 elections, those are serious issues worthy of investigation. I am proud to be a leader in the pressure campaign to expose the hypocrisy of the Democrats’ sham process. And I will continue leading the fight to investigate the Bidens and expose real corruption that may exist. If Democrats are serious about exposing corruption, investigating Hunter Biden cannot be ignored. One thing I’ve learned is that you can’t win a fight you don’t join. When you fight, good things can happen. That is why I am going to keep fighting, to make sure the truth is out there.
Supreme Court lets Sandy Hook shooting lawsuit go forward
The Supreme Court said Tuesday a survivor and relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting can pursue their lawsuit against the maker of the rifle used to kill 26 people. The justices rejected an appeal from Remington Arms that argued it should be shielded by a 2005 federal law preventing most lawsuits against firearms manufacturers when their products are used in crimes. The court’s order allows the lawsuit filed in Connecticut state court by a survivor and relatives of nine victims who died at the Newtown, Connecticut, school on Dec. 14, 2012 to go forward. The lawsuit says the Madison, North Carolina-based company should never have sold a weapon as dangerous as the Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle to the public. Gunman Adam Lanza used it to kill 20 first graders and six educators. It also alleges Remington targeted younger, at-risk males in marketing and product placement in violent video games. Lanza was 20 years old. Lanza earlier shot his mother to death at their Newtown home and killed himself as police arrived at the school. The rifle was legally owned by his mother. The Connecticut Supreme Court had earlier ruled 4-3 that the lawsuit could proceed for now, citing an exemption in the federal law. The decision overturned a ruling by a trial court judge who dismissed the lawsuit based on the 2005 federal law, named the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. The federal law has been criticized by gun control advocates as being too favorable to gun-makers, and it has been used to bar lawsuits over other mass killings. The case is being watched by gun control advocates, gun rights supporters and gun manufacturers across the country, as it has the potential to provide a roadmap for victims of other mass shootings to circumvent the federal law and sue the makers of firearm. The 2005 federal law has been cited by other courts that rejected lawsuits against gun-makers and dealers in other high-profile shooting attacks, including the 2012 Colorado movie theater shooting and the Washington, D.C., sniper shootings in 2002. The National Rifle Association, 10 mainly Republican-led states and 22 Republicans in Congress were among those urging the court to jump into the case and end the lawsuit against Remington. By Mark Sherman Associated Press. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
