Senate race in AZ: Kyrsten Sinema versus Joe Arpaio?

Wow, so now I may have to face the fact Joe Arpaio will be my next senator: 

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/joe-arpaio-running-for-senate-in-arizona/article/2645354

"Republican Joe Arpaio, a close ally of President Trump and former sheriff known for his provocative approach to combatting illegal immigration, is running for Senate in Arizona.

The 85-year-old Arpaio could shake up the late August Republican primary in a critical open-seat race to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. Trump pardoned Arpaio last summer, sparing the former sheriff jail time after he was convicted of ignoring a federal court order in a racial-profiling case."

& I won't say he'll never get elected. I never dismissed Trump as a strong candidate so I wouldn't dismiss Arpaio (despite his record):

https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2018/01/good-our-country
"The tough-on-crime policies that for years endeared Mr Arpaio to voters in Maricopa County, home to more than 4m people—about 60% of Arizona’s population—resulted in millions of dollars in legal settlements. In 2013 a federal judge found that his department had used race and ethnicity as grounds for pulling over local residents, in pursuit of immigrants without legal status. Last year he was convicted of contempt of court for wilfully defying court orders to stop. In 2016, after re-electing Mr Arpaio six times, voters in the reliably Republican county decided they’d had enough and opted instead for his Democratic opponent."

Only thing that could hurt Arpaio is the fact there's another right-wing contender already in the race: Kelli Ward: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/09/us/joe-arpaio-senate-arizona.html
"The contenders for the seat include Representative Kyrsten Sinema, a centrist Democrat, and Kelli Ward, a conservative Republican and former state senator who aligns herself with Mr. Trump. Mr. Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, lost his own re-election bid for that post in 2016 to Paul Penzone, a Democrat and Phoenix police officer."

Besides Arpaio, I am also very familiar with Kyrsten Sinema because she represents my district thus I've received her color leaflets/mailings. I voted for her because... who am I gonna vote for? The republican?  
Sinema's being described as "centrist" in the article. Obviously, being from Arizona, I'm sure she'd never govern as a progressive candidate. Nevertheless, just the fact she'd be facing Arpaio would help her immeasurably: 

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-senate-race-total-clusterfuck-unless-kyrsten-sinema-10026823
"Arpaio's decision to enter the race is good for exactly one person: Kyrsten Sinema, the current Democratic frontrunner.

Immediately after Arpaio's announcement, the Arizona Democratic Party saw an increase in donations and interest in volunteering.

Sinema's team couldn't immediately be reached for comment on whether they'd experienced an Arpaio bump.

But on Wednesday, there were quite a few people from around the country announcing on Twitter that they'd just donated to Sinema's campaign in hopes that she'd be able to beat the disgraced former sheriff."

Utility companies got a tax cut. Will they cut rates?

Trump made a big deal about how giving tax cuts to the rich and corporations would benefit the middle-class. 
Today, the NYTimes has an article about how utility companies will see their federal tax bill reduced by massive amounts. As a result, the newspaper asks: "will your bill reflect it?": 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/09/business/economy/tax-cut-power.html

"Economists at the Penn Wharton Budget Model at the University of Pennsylvania estimated that the new law will reduce the industry’s federal tax bill by $1 billion this year, compared with what it would have been if the law had not passed. In 2021, the savings would grow to $5 billion. The Penn economists projected that the law will yield a reduction of about 0.5 percent in electricity prices.

Continue reading the main story

Advertisement

Continue reading the main story

Economists have long debated how corporate tax cuts are distributed among shareholders, workers and customers. President Trump and other backers of the tax bill have argued that it will lead to higher wages, more jobs and greater investment. Independent analysts, however, have tended to assume that most of the gains will go to shareholders, especially in the short term.

For utilities and other regulated industries, however, the situation is different. They are granted a legal monopoly, but in return are expected to see that their customers benefit from any savings."

Because of their "legal monopoly", I think utility companies will always "win". But now, after the Trump tax cut, their profits will likely soar. According to the article below; no one is really sure how much exactly, but the utility companies will save so much money, the figure "is sure to reach several billions of dollars":

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article193817599.html

"One challenge is the complexity of the 503-page tax bill that President Trump signed into law on Dec. 22. The law reduces the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent but also includes numerous other provisions that affect utilities, including tax credits that the industry lobbied heavily to retain.

No one knows how much savings the new law will produce for utilities, but the figure is sure to reach several billions of dollars."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article193817599.html#storylink=cpy

Here in Phoenix, I don't need to tell you, the electricity bill during the summer is unbelievably high. & it keeps rising every year. But things look promising. There are already reports Arizona's largest utility (APS) "wants to cut customer bills":

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2018-01-09/tax-overhaul-leads-biggest-arizona-utility-to-seek-rate-cut

"PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona's largest utility wants to cut customer bills because of lower corporate rates in the tax overhaul law approved by Congress in December.

Arizona Public Service Co. announced Tuesday it wants regulators to allow it to cut bills by $119 million a year effective Feb. 1. The cut would be more than the $95 million revenue increase APS was awarded in August."

Now we just have to wait & see what kind of savings we all get. Anything will help, although if it's a really small amount, it's unlikely to make a significant difference to those of us with any type of debt: be it credit card, medical, student-loan, etc.  

Trump termina con el TPS para los Salvadoreños

Como ya lo habia amenazado, y como ya lo hizo con los Haitianos y los Nicaraguenses, Trump anuncio que terminara con el TPS para los Salvadoreños:

https://www.nytimes.com/es/2018/01/08/tps-el-salvador-trump/

"LOS ÁNGELES — Casi 200.000 personas de El Salvador que tenían permiso de vivir en Estados Unidos por más de una década deberán irse del país, anunciaron este lunes funcionarios del gobierno estadounidense. Es el revés más reciente de la administración de Donald Trump en materia migratoria y una de las que más consecuencias podría tener.

Los funcionarios del Departamento estadounidense de Seguridad Nacional dijeron que el gobierno dará por terminado el programa humanitario conocido como Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS, por su sigla en inglés) para los salvadoreños, que podían vivir y trabajar legalmente en Estados Unidos después de que hubo dos terremotos mortíferos en El Salvador en 2001."

Ademas de contraproducente y de ser dañino para la economia EstadoUnidense, esta decision tambien es anti-humanitaria. Debido a la separacion de familias, y al hecho que El Salvador no esta listo para recibir a los grandes numeros de deportados:

http://www.panorama.com.ve/mundo/El-Salvador-no-esta-listo-para-recibir-deportados-de-EE-UU-por-fin-del-TPS-20180109-0021.html

"César Ríos, que dirige el instituto del migrante donde trabaja Castro, es menos optimista y coincide en las dificultades que representaría para El Salvador el regreso de miles de personas desde Estados Unidos, e incluso considera que supondría una crisis humanitaria para el país centroamericano.

“El país no está preparado para recibir a miles de salvadoreños. Aquí no hay programas para ayudar a los repatriados. Aquí somos estigmatizados, la gente nos rechaza”, asegura."

Trump fue elegido porque supuestamente hiba a governar como un "populista". Segun Trump, despues de que ganara la presidencia, la clase media hiba a ganar y ganar. Un año despues, las cosas siguen igual. Los unicos que siguen ganando son los ricos y las corporaciones. La mayoria de la clase media no ha visto los beneficios prometidos por Trump. 

Trump ha governado como un republicano cualquiera. Si Jeb Bush hubiera sido elegido, hubiera pasado las mismas legislaciones de Trump. Lo unico diferente que ha hecho Trump, es atacar a las comunidades immigrantes. No nada mas a los imigrantes indocumentados, sino ahora hasta a los beneficiaros del TPS como los Haitianos, Nicaraguenses, y ahora al grupo mas grande, que son los Salvadoreños. 

Todo esto tiene malas consequencias para todos los Latinos, aunque seamos ciudadanos, residentes legales, o indocumentados. Simplemente por el ambiente anti-imigrante y anti-Latino que se ha creado en el pais. Yo ya he notado el cambio en actitud (para mal) hacia los Latinos sin importar status. Y aunque es deprimente y desesperante, la unica solucion para moderar el daño que esta haciendo la administracion de Trump, es votar en Noviembre de este año. Es la unica manera de mostrar disgusto por las actitudes toxicas de esta administracion.

Who will win today (AFC/NFC Sunday Wild Card)? Jaguars vs Bills/Panthers vs Saints

Jaguars vs Bills' predictions in the press:
http://www.newyorkupstate.com/buffalo-bills/index.ssf/2017/12/nfl_playoffs_odds_overunder_bills_open_underdog_vs_jaguars.html#incart_river_index
"According to pregame.com, the Bills have opened up as a 7.5-point underdog against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bills have been playing that role all season long, so this shouldn't be a problem for them. But as rookie cornerback Tre' Davious White said after the game, there aren't any underdogs in the playoffs."
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2752843-bills-vs-jaguars-final-odds-tv-schedule-predictions-for-2018-afc-wild-card
"Jacksonville is favored to win the contest, but as we saw Saturday, playing at home doesn't guarantee a victory."

In conclusion: Compared to the (9-7) Bills, Jaguars (10-6) have the better record. & even though they lost against the 49ers recently, I'm still picking Jacksonville. 

Panthers vs Saints' predictions in the press:
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/panthers-saints-picks-predictions-spread-vegas-odds-wild-card-game/11z0m2zfbe4j01mvrt7efkjsk7
"The Saints (11-5) already beat the Panthers (11-5) twice to edge them for the NFC South title. But that will mean little unless New Orleans can defeat Carolina for a third time Sunday in the wild-card playoffs."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/31/sports/nfl-playoff-predictions.html

"The Saints regained control of the N.F.C. South by finding some balance in their offensive approach. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara might have been the best combination of running backs in the N.F.L., and Drew Brees looked just as potent as ever in his 17th season."

Panthers & Saints have the same record (11-5). However, during this season, the Saints have beaten the Panthers twice before, so there's no reason (except it's the playoffs!) why they can't do it again. Still, if Cam Newton plays well, Panthers will be unstoppable. Nevertheless, I'm still picking New Orleans.

Who will win tomorrow (AFC/NFC Saturday Wild card)? Titans vs Chiefs/Falcons vs Rams

Some of the predictions about Titans vs Chiefs:

"AFC Wild Card preview 2018: Why Titans don't stand a chance against the Chiefs" https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/afc-wild-card-preview-2018-why-titans-dont-stand-a-chance-against-the-chiefs/

"The Chiefs are favored by 7.5 points and they're 10-6 against the spread this season and 8-5 against the spread as favorites. The Titans, meanwhile, are 8-7-1 against the spread and 2-1 against the spread as underdogs." 
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/titans-chiefs-picks-predictions-spread-vegas-odds-wild-card-game/vjj1txdc0piy1eqepzb4y9mrb"The Titans (9-7) were cold before Week 17, needing to hold off the Jaguars to end a three-game losing skid in order to take the top AFC wild-card berth. The Chiefs (10-6) are riding a four-game winning streak that has them back on track after dropping four straight games to begin the second half of the season."

http://www.espn.com/nfl/game?gameId=400999175
"The two clubs opening the wild card playoff round at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday afternoon enter from opposite perspectives."

Anything can happen during post-season games, but in my opinion, the Chiefs (10-6) will beat the Titans (9-7). Chiefs have the slightly better record & more importantly, Kansas city is on a 4-game winning streak. 
The game will be broadcast tomorrow on ESPN/ABC, 4:35pm Eastern time.

Some of the predictions in the press about Falcons vs Rams:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-20180101-story.html

'...Falcons players have NFL playoff experience. So does third-year coach Dan Quinn, who guided the Falcons to the Super Bowl last season.

The Rams have not been to the playoffs since 2004, only six players on the roster have postseason experience and Sean McVay is in his first season as an NFL coach.

But McVay does not foresee a disadvantage when the Rams play host to the Falcons on Saturday night in a NFC wild-card playoff game at the Coliseum.

“There’s a lot of value in experience,” McVay said Monday during a news conference in Thousand Oaks, but added, “for a younger team, we’ve demonstrated a maturity.”'

http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/265183/falcons-looking-to-make-another-playoff-splash-a-year-after-super-bowl-loss
"There's a good reason some call the Falcons a dangerous No. 6 seed. They have the reigning MVP in Ryan, a game-changing receiver in Jones, a dangerous running back combo in Freeman and Tevin Coleman and an improving and fast defense, one in which 2016 sacks leader Vic Beasley Jr. hasn't yet played his best football."

In conclusion, Falcons (10-6) vs Rams (11-5) is harder to predict. The Rams might prevail since they have both offense & defense. However, I'd say Falcons might have the edge because of their previous playoff experience... But since I have to choose, I'd say Rams will win.

The game will be broadcast tomorrow on NBC, 8:15pm Eastern time.

Trump demands book publisher halt release of "Fire & Fury". Meanwhile, Sessions to aggressively enforce federal marijuana laws

This morning, MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle referred to the Trump white-house as "buffoon city" based on details from a tell-all book titled "Fire and Fury" by Michael Wolff. Among other things, the book describes the Donald as eating cheeseburgers in his bed at the white-house & yelling at his house-keepers. 
And as pathetic as that sounds, those are the least interesting details from the book. What's much more interesting & revealing, is Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon wrecking havoc at the white house, & even attacking Donald Trump junior by calling junior's actions "treasonous" & "unpatriotic":
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/03/donald-trump-russia-steve-bannon-michael-wolff
"Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon has described the Trump Tower meeting between the president’s son and a group of Russians during the 2016 election campaign as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”, according to an explosive new book seen by the Guardian."

As a result, Trump supposedly cut all ties with Bannon (although we have heard it all before):

"Trump Breaks With Bannon, Saying He Has ‘Lost His Mind’" 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/us/politics/trump-bannon.html

"WASHINGTON — President Trump essentially excommunicated his onetime chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, from his political circle on Wednesday, excoriating him as a self-promoting exaggerator who had “very little to do with our historic victory” and has now “lost his mind.”

In a written statement brimming with anger and resentment, Mr. Trump fired back at Mr. Bannon, who had made caustic comments about the president and his family to the author of a new book about the Trump White House. While Mr. Bannon had remained in touch with Mr. Trump even after being pushed out of the White House last summer, the two now appear to have reached a breaking point."

In addition, Trump demanded the author & publisher halt the release of the book. 
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/us/politics/trump-threatens-sue-fire-fury-publisher.html
"WASHINGTON — President Trump escalated his attack on a new book portraying him as a volatile and ill-equipped chief executive on Thursday as his legal team demanded that the author and publisher halt its release and apologize or face a possible lawsuit."

Now, even some in the alt-right are turning against Bannon. However, I wonder if Trump himself will now call Breitbart "fake news": 

"‘Alt-Right’ Turns On ‘Globalist’ Bannon, ‘Jewish’ Breitbart Over Trump Book"https://forward.com/fast-forward/391353/alt-right-turns-on-globalist-bannon-jewish-breitbart-over-trump-book/

"On the social network app Gab, which is favored by alt-right and neo-Nazi supporters for refusing to censor content, one of the most popular users, “Ricky Vaughn,” shared a postresponding to Bannon’s seemingly permanent break with Trump by referring to Bannon’s website as (((Breitbart))) — using the “echo” meme often used by the far-right to identify Jews.

Andrew Breitbart, the website’s founder, was Jewish. The site was run by Bannon since shortly after Breitbart’s death in 2012."

Besides attacking Don junior, Bannon apparently had also been feuding with Ivanka "queen of leaks" Trump whom Bannon referred to as "dumb as a brick". It all culminated in a "tense exchange":
http://www.businessinsider.com/ivanka-trump-steve-bannon-white-house-meeting-jared-kushner-2017-12
'“You’re a f------ liar!” Ivanka told Bannon after he called her the "queen of leaks" in a tense exchange at the meeting, which was also attended by senior adviser Jared Kushner, Ivanka's husband, and President Donald Trump himself. The war of words occurred after Ivanka had herself accused Bannon of leaking information to the media, Vanity Fair reported.'

& although the ridiculous white house staff & their conflicts may appear entertaining, just remember it's all a distraction. In the meantime, the Trump administration continues to dismantle Obama-era policies. For example, today Sessions began cracking down on marijuana:
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/legal-pot/sessions-end-obama-era-policy-legalized-marijuana-n834591

"Attorney General Jeff Sessions is preparing to reverse an Obama administration policy that shielded legalized marijuana from federal intervention and enabled the pot industry to flourish, a senior Justice Department official told NBC News on Thursday.

In doing so, Sessions will give U.S. attorneys in states where marijuana is legal like California and Colorado the green light to aggressively enforce federal marijuana law, which prohibits growing, buying and using pot."

Today's twitter rampage by Trump

Rachel Maddow says "Watch what they do, not what they say", but I think it is the resistance against Trump who should also do & not just say (or tweet). 

To be honest, today I watched the TV reports about Trump's increasingly crazy tweets which culminated in the above post where the Donald compares his nuclear button with the North Korea's dictator's (as if comparing dick size)... & I didn't even care. 

The president of the United States threatening nuclear war & I was just thinking: "meh, the generals would prob never allow Trump to do anything anyway". I don't know if I was just justifying my apathy by placing my trust on "the adults" who I think are really in charge of the government (the "deep state" if you will), but if it works for me not to worry unnecessarily than so be it. Passing taxes for the rich is one thing, starting a nuclear war is another. Trump was allowed to do the one thing, but nuclear armageddon would most likely be unacceptable (to say the least) to the "deep state".  

Nevertheless, I'm sure many liberal or progressive people went straight to twitter to respond even though that's what Trump wants. The Donald craves attention from fans, haters, the "fake news", everybody. & unfortunately people give it to him.

The midterm elections of 2018 is when the resistance against Trump can actually respond instead of just tweet. A tweet against Trump is fine (if it's educational as far as policy) but action is a better use of one's time.

Trump's fans love it when the Donald angers "the libtards" so much that they have to respond. For example, Trump's recent tweet (above) about climate change which seemed custom-made to anger liberals (& anybody with common-sense) thus making the GOP's base happy.  

& I know I shouldn't say anything since I actually wrote a blog post about Trump's tweets but...whatever. 

I'm writing this post in the hopes that, instead of just tweeting, the resistance against Trump organizes in a way this november in which they can respond effectively, & send a clear message to Washington that Trump's behavior is unacceptable.