U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, harshly criticized federal spending and President Joe Biden’s policies while attacking what he called the administration’s “weaponization” of the Justice Department.

Speaking at a breakfast of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Moore repeatedly criticized federal spending on the war in Ukraine as well as federal energy policy, which he said is the “driving factor” in driving inflation up and economic challenges Americans may be facing.

“When energy fuel costs goes up, folks, everything you do, whether you build a house and when you buy a car, the parts that go into that — the petroleum investment in there is higher,” Moore said to the attendees.

Moore blamed Biden for increasing energy costs, claiming he halted energy production “from day one.” Moore did not provide a specific example, but Biden did shut down oil and gas lease sales in public lands and waters in his first days in office due to concerns about climate change, according to The Associated Press.

The move was seen as an effort to change the U.S. fossil-fuel economy into clean energy, but the rule has been on hold since February 2022 due to a Western District of Louisiana court decision after Louisiana and nine other states sued the Biden administration. It’s unclear the effect it has had on inflation due to energy, as U.S. energy exports hit a record high in 2023.

Moore also claimed the Biden administration added about $1 trillion to the national debt in the last one hundred days but did not cite a source. According to Politifact, Biden’s debt accumulation is expected to reach about $7.9 trillion by the end of his term in January. In his four-year term, former President Donald Trump added about $7.8 trillion.

When asked about Trump’s spending after his speech, Moore said that while they may occasionally have to reject Trump’s funding requests, he shifted to promoting energy independence, proposing “you drill here and you drill now” to bring down the national debt, as well as halting international aid.

“They told him no on the wall, $5 billion, and now we spend $176 billion in Ukraine. I think there’s some ways there. Then certainly go ahead and quit spending money all over the globe in the areas that we not even got oversight,” he said.

Trump in 2018 asked Congress for $5 billion to build a border wall, but the House of Representatives, headed by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, offered $1.3 billion for border security. As a result, Trump diverted $6 billion in military funds for the wall construction, which the Supreme Court in 2020 approved.

Congress also has passed five bills appropriating $175 billion in response to the war in Ukraine, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent thinktank, but $107 billion is directly spent on Ukraine. The remaining portion is funding other U.S. government activities associated with the war.

Moore also expressed concern over what he called the “weaponization” of federal agencies, including the FBI and the IRS. He claimed an incident, claimed by the Wall Street Journal editorial board, where the home of a journalist testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by House Freedom Caucus deputy chair Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, was visited by the IRS, which Moore suggested was an attempt to intimidate.

There has been no evidence of the incident, other than the Judiciary Committee sending a letter to the IRS asking for details.

Moore, who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, also denounced the Russian election interference “narrative,” calling it a hoax that top Democratic officials knowingly perpetuated, but on July 13, 2018, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for allegedly interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections. A bipartisan U.S. Senate committee concluded in 2020 that “Russia launched an aggressive effort to interfere in the election on Trump’s behalf” and that Trump associates “were eager to exploit the Kremlin’s aid,” according to The Associated Press.

Moore insinuated that Democrats will use it again to try to win the election.

“We certainly don’t want the federal government picking our next elected official. We want to have a fair election process,” Moore said.

One year ago, the USF Bulls were coming off of a 3-year stretch of being one of the worst teams in all of college football (you can thank Dabo for sending them Jeff Scott) and they had just hired Alex Golesh, the offensive coordinator at Tennessee who had the Vols and Hendon Hooker being all the rage in college football.

We didn’t totally know what to expect, but the Bulls were expected to improve on offense, at least. A few games into the season, and they took on Alabama, giving the Tide one of the most frustrating games of Nick Saban’s career. Except, for some reason, it was because the Bulls kept Alabama’s offense in check, not because their offense ran wild.

Whatever the case, the game seemed to be both a springboard and a fluke for them, as their defense was generally bad in 2023, but they turned into one of the better offenses in the country and racked up 7 wins ( a big deal when you won less than two for three straight years).

in 2024, much of the same offense returns. This is what I wrote about their scheme last year, and much of it remains true:

As a Heupel disciple, the offensive scheme is one that Alabama fans are now familiar with: the wide receivers will be lined up WIDE, and the ball will often be snapped within 10 seconds of the previous play ending. It’s an offense predicated on very little mental work from the QB, but more of a stand-up-and-throw it kind of thing that relies on slants, screens, and the occasional go-ball for most of the passing game.

So far, though, it’s not been too effective through the air. First year starter QB Byrum Brown is sitting at 51.5% completion rate, a paltry 5.3 yards per attempt, and 2 interceptions to 4 TDs. Receiver Sean Atkins is the only returning pass catcher from last year’s team, and small slot guy is Brown’s favorite target. Khafre Brown (transfer from UNC) also caught an 80-yard go ball in the season opener, so he leads the team with 109 yards.

The rushing game, on the other hand, has been much more of the focus for Golesh. Transfer Nay’Quan Wright played on and off for the Florida Gators the last four years, and now takes over as the lead back, rushing 17 times for 111 yards against WKU in the opener.

Meanwhile, Michel Dukes was a transfer from Clemson a couple of years ago that got 62 touches for the Bulls last year and looks to be building on that role this year. He’s got 21 carries for 104 yards so far. Both backs are averaging over 5 yards per carry through two games. The USF offense is built to spread a defense out as wide as possible and have them open up running lanes between the tackle/guard or just off tackle with TE’s coming across the formation as a lead blocker.

And, of course, Byrum Brown is really the centerpiece of the rushing attack. There’s plenty of designed QB draws, and USF has 0 issues calling a speed option play on 3rd and long. Brown is lanky and quick. He’s not going to break many tackles, but he can gobble up open yards in a hurry. He leads the team with 183 rushing yards.

Byrum Brown really turned things on as the season progressed last year, completing 65% of his passes for 3300 yards and 26 TDs to only 11 picks, while also leading the team with 809 rushing yards and 11 more TDs on the ground. He’s as dynamic of a runner as you’ll find at QB in college football, and he’s steadily improving as a passer. Slot receiver Sean Atkins also returns as a his main target from a year ago, and the diminutive receiving threat is a Biletnikoff Watch list and First Team All-AAC preseason guy who looks poised to really build on his 1000 yards from last year.

Running back Nay’quan Wright (the guy who trucked Caleb Downs last year) returns as well as a former SEC running back that can really do some damage on the ground.

Overall, it’s a fast, dynamic offense that takes some parts of the Tennessee/Huepel offense – the wide splits and the ridiculously fast tempo – but incorporates more of a power running and QB option game out of those wide splits. Screens and deep shots make up the bulk of the passing game to stretch the defense as far from the middle as possible, then they’ll relentlessly run the ball at those vacated areas.

For Alabama’s new look “Swarm” defense, this will be something of a test to see how the new scheme fares against what is considered the up and coming current trend of college football offenses. Can the linebacker crew handle the QB run, or will they get caught vacating rush lanes? Can the new secondary effectively swarm to screen passes while still being wary of the vertical shots?

I think Alabama may do better against the QB scrambles than we’ve seen in years past, as the defensive coverage should be more focused on watching the QB than under Saban’s pattern-match coverages. But I do worry that the Bulls may be able to get some deep shots on them and score a few more points than we like.

I predict they will score 17 on the Alabama defense.

The high school football season is well underway around the country, and it is time to start tracking how Alabama football commits fared over the last week of high school action.

Each week, The Tuscaloosa News will track how some of the top Alabama football commitments performed during high school games the week before. Here’s a roundup of how some of future Crimson Tide players performed during high school action from the week of Aug. 19.

Anthony Rogers

Carver-Montgomery (Montgomery, Alabama), running back

Performance: Rogers continued with his dominance this season, scoring a rushing touchdown in Carver’s 44-12 win over Percy Julian. Rogers touchdown came from more than 30 yards out with him breaking multiple tackles while getting to the end zone.

Lotzeir Brooks

Millville (Millville, New Jersey), wide receiver

Performance: Brooks set a New Jersey high school football state record, reaching 54 career touchdown receptions in his team’s 35-0 win over Holy Spirit last week. In the win, Brooks had five catches for 200 yards and three touchdowns.

London Simmons

Hartfield Academy (Flowood, Mississippi), defensive lineman

Performance: In Flowood’s 40-0 win over Simpson Academy last week, Simmons accounted for five total tackles —three assisted, two solo — along with three tackles for loss. Simmons currently sits at 11 total tackles and four tackles for loss three games into the season.

Luke Metz

Mill Creek (Hoschton, Georgia), linebacker

Performance: In Mill Creek’s 48-14 win over Archer, Metz accounted for four tackles, one of those being for loss, along with one sack. He now sits as 28 total tackles on the season, four for loss and three sacks.

ALABAMA FOOTBALL: Alabama football depth chart projections: Our updated prediction is in

ALABAMA FOOTBALL: Where Alabama football ranks in US LBM Coaches Poll for Week 2

Kaleb Edwards

Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, California), tight end

Performance: Edwards had six receptions for 84 yards, a long of 25-yards, and one touchdown. It marks the four-star tight ends first touchdown of the 2024 season.