Once again members of Congress are discussing a compromise immigration bill. The details on the table appear to be similar to the deal that fell apart last week after a bipartisan group of legislators met with President Trump.

One might reasonably ask: If a compromise deal fell apart last week, why should we expect better things from Congress and the White House this week?

The Republican-controlled Arizona legislature will consider a constitutional amendment that would close all statewide primary elections. HCR 2014, introduced by Republican State Representatives Brenda Barton, Drew John, Jay Lawrence, Becky Nutt, and Kevin Payne, reads:

The list of Republican lawmakers and American citizens demanding the release of a classified report that they say reveals political bias at the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) is growing.

The non-profit legal watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is taking the Federal Election Commission to court. Click here to read the actual motion but here is the full press release from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington with a summary:

On the eve of another government shutdown, President Trump told reporters outside the Pentagon that the effect would be hardest felt by the nation’s military, something that the president’s critics were quick to dismiss as hyperbole.

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has made the headlines seemingly every week since his spat with President Trump back in 2017, and since then, it has been a war of words:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/898136462385979392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffreewheelus.com%2Fsenator-flake-actions-speak-louder%2F

Senator Flake is a man capitalizing on the emotions President Trump brings out in our society, especially those who identify as “anti-Trump”.

Note: the author is an independent candidate for Ohio’s 12th Congressional District.

Whatever my stance is on any other issue won't matter if we don't take care of this one: the national debt. I have a plan to avoid the coming crisis; however, we need to act now to implement it, as our window of opportunity is rapidly closing.

This chart, from the Congressional Budget Office, illustrates exactly where we are at this point in our nation's history (I added the "we are here" with an arrow):

On January 17, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v Commonwealth, a partisan gerrymandering case challenging congressional redistricting in Pennsylvania. Here is a Pittsburgh Post Gazette news story about the hearing. 

Public Affairs and Communications Strategist Tony Manolatos joined our podcast to talk about the very important issues facing the San Diego City Council and the measures that will likely go before voters in November later this year.

The news website, The Island Now, published an editorial recently that is worth reading. It challenges the way many people view voter suppression in the US.

The focus in most media outlets are perceived efforts in Republican state legislatures to suppress the votes of Democrats, as if the problem is just one-sided. But it isn't. Voter suppression, and the attempt to silence people who refuse to have a (D) or (R) next to their name is something both parties do.