Sinema Buns

As I think about the recent mid-term elections, I find myself very proud of my home State, Arizona. Though Arizona did stand for President Trump in 2016 as he gained 49% of the Statewide Vote (1,252,401) and all 11 of their Electoral College votes... the recent mid-terms indicate to me that Trump support in the State is not necessarily as strong as the 2016 election would indicate.

For one thing, if we look back at the 2012 election, Mitt Romney also received all 11 electoral college votes, but he managed to secure the support of Arizona with 53% of the voters (1,233,654 voters).  That would indicate a noticeable percentage drop in support for Trump verses the Republican candidate in the previous election.

As mentioned in my previous note, I was pretty shocked in 2016 to realize that Arizona had fallen for the narcissist Trump.  Though I can relate to the trepidation of my fellow Arizonans over the qualifications that Hillary Clinton possessed...I did expect more people to see Trump for what he really is. I was very wrong!

But, maybe not so terribly wrong.  If you closely examine what transpired during the 2018 Arizona midterms, there is some signs that could provide some slight glimmer of hope that Trump support in Arizona is not as strong as indicated.

As we rolled through 2016 and beyond, Arizona was considered a stronghold of Republican power. Arizona had two Republican Senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake.  Arizona's House delegation of 9 was made up of a mixture of 5 Republicans and 4 Democrats.  Interestingly, both McCain and Flake were known as  mavericks, not always towing the Party or Trump line.  And both have had significant moments of standing firm against the constant barrage of Trump craziness.  I think Arizona has always had a certain love for political mavericks.

In my mind, this is the point when the trouble for Trump's dominance first gained breath and effected the Arizona Midterms.  Senator Jeff Flake would not follow the script Trump would have had him take. Flake spoke out against Trump often. Certainly, because of this, his poll numbers suffered. Flake, a  pretty solid libertarian Republican in the mold of Reagan and Goldwater...did not approve of Trump policy or process,  and this included speaking out against Trump's policies on Trade restrictions.  Thus began an interesting timeline.

• October 25, 2017 - Jeff Flake announces he will not seek reelection for the Arizona Senate. This opens the mid-term election wide open for his Senate Seat, a Republican seat.
• August 25, 2017 - John McCain passes away.  A blow to the Nation and to Arizona, Senator McCain was not due for reelection during the 2018 mid-terms.  The Arizona Governor would select the retired long term Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, a Republican,  to take McCain's seat temporarily. Senator McCain, a war hero, a statesman, a family man, and a maverick...Arizona will miss him greatly.
• August 29, Martha McSally - a more moderate Republican wins the Republican Primary to replace Jeff Flake, outpacing Trump stalwarts like Kelli Ward and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. McSally, represented the Arizona 2nd District in Congress. This would create a new opening in the 2nd District for the 2018 mid-term elections.
• August 29, Kyrsten Sinema wins the Democrat nomination for the Jeff Flake seat. This would mean Sinema's Congressional 9th District Seat would be wide open for the 2018 mid-terms also.
• November 6, 2018 -  In somewhat of a surprise, Sinema defeats McSally for the vacated  Jeff Flake Senate seat.  The Arizona Senate delegation, for the first time in many years, is now split down the middle.  Sinema's election is notable in many ways, including her becoming the first female to become a Senator in Arizona. 
• Sinema's 9th District seat is won by Democrat Greg Stanton. 
• McSally's 2nd District seat is won by Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick, meaning that not only did McSally lose her bid for the Senate, but her Congressional seat was turned over to a Democrat.
• The Arizona Congressional delegation now consists of 1 Republican Senator, 1 Democratic Senator, 5 Democrat Representatives, and 4 Republican Senators.  
• December 17, 2018 - Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announces the selection of Martha McSally to replace Jon Kyl in the Senate seat up until the 2020 election.  

That chain of events is quite remarkable and demonstrates for me a serious weakening of support for Trump in Arizona.  Though Trump may not have appreciated McCain nor Flake very much, their replacement by Sinema and McSally certainly can not thrill him.  And the loss of McSally's Republican seat in the House also had to be a blow for him.

It will be interesting as we move into 2019 how both Sinema and McSally respond to Trump overtures.  Though Sinema is considered moderate for a Democrat, I have quite a bit of anticipation that she may still stand mostly to the left of Trump. As for McSally, perhaps her defeat in 2018 can help lean her closer to the middle too.  Her record will be interesting to see.  She will have a desire to be electable in 2020 to retain her Senate seat, it is possible she may have learned that  Arizona is not another Trump bastion. If nothing else, she will certainly be influenced by those thoughts.

Don't you just love Arizona!

Cheers, nca

p.s.  Some years back I was able to meet Jeff Flake.  He came across as someone real, someone you could talk to. 
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The Parisian

I realized today that I created a huge, important gap here on my blog. I left out something very important. My wife and I were blessed to spend a week during the summer of 2017 in beautiful Paris France!

This was the first trip overseas for either of us.  No big bells or whistles, no tour or cruise....just 6 days getting a taste of one European city.

What a city!

I loved every inch of it.

We never got into the Louvre, never saw Madame Mona Lisa. We never stepped foot in Versailles. We missed many of the famous attractions.  But I must say, I truly felt the immense charm of this beautiful city.

Our quaint little Hotel was The Apostrophe Hotel  in the 6th arrondisement. This was charming little hotel, very near the Jardins du Luxembourghttps://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/what-to-do-in-luxembourg-gardens-in-paris/.  The charms were many, we loved our desk staff.  The night host was so kind, hooking up with probably the best restaurant Lori and I may have ever eaten at. Our tiny room was charming and romantic.

The Jardins were lovely, we spent many hours in those beautiful lush walkways.   I am not sure what possessed us to center our trip in the 6th arrondisement, but I think it was the perfect decision for us.

Yes, my spouse and I need to get out and see more of Europe. But for my money, I could do Paris countless times.  I think we just barely scratched the surface there....but my heart now resides in the 6th arronisement near the Jardins.

I love this quote by Gertrude Stein: "America is my country and Paris is my hometown."  Those words express exactly how I feel. Even more so in the 6th arronisement.

à tout à l'heure

nca

Ribkins My Brother

Ever since my youth I have found immense pleasure and delight with the random and coincidental unveiling of some new literary treasure. My passion is in novels, and when I find an author I like, I would read everything they ever produced.  Alexander Kent...read one novel, read them all. Tolkien and Stephen King. Cormac McCarthy.  Larry McMurtry.  Henning Mankell.   I could go on an on.

I take great pleasure in the discovery of something new in my literary diet.  I love novels that take me to some new place, or to some new point of view. I like being placed in new shoes and new situations.  A writer who is adept in taking me comfortably to parts unknown is cherished. 

And I love it when something is discovered walking though library or bookstore shelves and some trick of the eye flashes something completely different and fresh. It is a feeling similar to 'love at first site'....that moment of recognition of some beautiful new thing, a virgin novel entering my consciousness.

An literary moment as I describe took place just last week.  I had finished "The Last Ship" and I was looking for an audio book that had a similar apocalyptic plot.  I found several lists in GoodReads and other similar places...I would take rough ideas I found and then search through OverDrive at my library for one of those titles suggested.  Unfortunate, none were available. I put a couple on hold. But I needed something NOW....it is very painful for me to travel those hour long drives to work, or 2 hour flights to Dallas....without one or two audio books to sustain my powerful lust.

During my search, I came across an interesting title....but found that Overdrive had no audio copies available. However, OverDrive did provide me a list of  'You Might Also Like' suggestions. Desperate, I browsed through those suggestions.  The really odd thing, is almost all the suggestions they provided really had nothing whatsoever to do with what I was end of the world type scenarios.

Knowing I needed something for the next days commute, I decided on two of these random suggestions hoping at least one would pay off.  I also knew that onc of the holds I had placed may come through before too long, therefore I figured I was in pretty good shape.

Well, let me tell you friend...I found myself in much better shape than I could ever have imagined. Both turned out to be treasures. I had struck literary gold, and the gods of RANDOM had blessed me greatly.

The First Novel I read was "Tell The Wolves I'm Home", by Carol Rifka Brunt.  This was narrated very well by Amy Rubinate.  Set in the early 80's,  dealing adeptly with both AIDS and homosexual themes, this was a well crafted story about a young teen girl coming of age and having to deal with the AIDS related death of her beloved Uncle, and later again with the death of his lover Toby.  The novel also handled the young hero's own troubled relationship with her family, with her sister n particular. Her uncle was a famous but reclusive artist, and the book explores his past and legacy.  If I can think of any weakness to this novel, it may have been that I felt a bit the odd voyeur into this young teen's life. That feeling may have arisen from the fact that I d may have wandered a bit into YW literature this time around.  I have wandered into these 'shelves' before, much due to the fact that I had three daughters myself, it was not unknown for me to read some of their stuff from time to time.  Still, the author treated me allowing me to visit perspectives and settings that were foreign to me, and my visit was enlightening, warm, and comfortable. If I had wandered into YW land, so be it.   Two thumbs up.

The second 'find' was fantastic!  "The Talented Ribkins" by Ladee Hubard.  This book was wonderfully narrated by Kevin Kenerly.  A quick check in OverDrive revealed no additional books by this Author available. Drat.  But I was able to find a Audio Book narrated by Kenerly on OverDrive and I have already checked it out. That will be for my commute tomorrow.

I loved this book. The Author roughed me up a bit and squeezed me into the shoes of a post middle aged Civil Rights 'Freedom Fighter' with just a touch of  odd SUPERPOWERS.  I can't think of anywhere I would have rather been than driving through the African American neighborhoods of North Western Florida with this gifted author behind the wheel.   I won't give away the plot too much here, but I highly recommend this Audio Book.  The thought occurring to me right now is that this book is a screen play just waiting to happen...are you listening out there Denzil?  There are some wonderful characters filling these chapters just begging to be played by an all star, all black cast. I'd pay to see that. More of hint than a spoiler; look for a reference to Luke Cage about 3/4 of the way through.  Lots of really great detail work by this author, I felt that I was being educated into black culture and civil rights history.

Two thumps up, I suggest you check this one out.

Now, if you happen to do as I do and read both back to back...I'd love to discuss with you the common ground between these two seemingly disparate novels. There are several I noticed. Comments encouraged.

Cheers, nca