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From criticizing President Donald Trump for congratulating Vladimir Putin on his re-election in March, to saying earlier this month that Trump’s comments about withdrawing from Syria “emboldened” Bashar al-Assad, Arizona Senator John McCain in recent weeks has continued to uphold his reputation as one of the Republican Party’s most vocal critics of the president. But what was perhaps McCain’s most dramatic gesture of dissent against President Trump to date came at 1:30 a.m. on July 28, 2017. In the opening scene from the new FRONTLINE documentary McCain, which traces the Republican Party’s evolution across McCain’s political career, and how President...

I think I must have been ill that day. At some point, no one can say precisely when, libertarians apparently swore a feudal oath of fealty to the Republican Party. In response to an American Prospect article on libertarian disenchantment with the Bush administration, Reason's own former editor in chief Virginia Postrel explained that "real Dean voters don't like Jeff Flake. (I do.)" On the Crossfire view of politics, this makes sense: You pick your team and root for it, come hell or high water. The Platonic Real Dean Voter can't possibly hold any affection for a member of the...

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) Tired of all this Winning yet? – Hey, Californian’s, you’re in luck! The feds are going to audit Governor Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown’s high speed rail project, and, if the audit is conducted honestly, will likely conclude that it is time to cut off funding for the single biggest boondoggle in American history. Yes, dear readers, it isn’t bad enough that California’s utterly corrupt Democrat political class has already wasted billions of Californians’ dollars on this high-speed rail pipe dream, they’ve also already wasted $3.5 billion federal dollars, and are planning on wasting...

"Yesterday was another of my many cave adventures, but different than most. Instead of exploring and mapping newly discovered or out-of-the-way remote cave passages, I participated in a project of the Central Arizona Grotto (a chapter of the National Speleological Society and located in Phoenix) to remove years of graffiti from Peppersauce Cave. (Near Oracle, Arizona)Peppersauce has become what cavers call a “sacrificial cave.” It is open and ungated, relatively easy to traverse, and very well known throughout the state. Thus, many inexperienced people go there to see it, most of whom no little about caving, the ethics of protecting...

A federal judge in Los Angeles this week struck down the Trump administration’s policy of denying certain Department of Justice law enforcement grants to cities that adopt “sanctuary” policies and refuse to cooperate with immigration enforcement. The Los Angeles Times reports: U.S. District Judge Manuel Real issued a permanent, nationwide ban against a Justice Department policy that gave an edge to obliging police departments applying for a community policing grant program. In doing so, Real dealt a legal setback to the Trump administration in its aggressive campaign to crack down on illegal immigration and to force compliance from law enforcement...

The demographic-inevitability thesis is less credible than ever. Last week, one of the most powerful men in America, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, endorsed as a “great read” a Medium article entitled “The Great Lesson of California in America’s New Civil War.” The article, by Peter Leyden and Ruy Teixeira, is one entry in a lengthy four-part series called “California Is the Future,” and it posits that there is “no bipartisan path forward for America.” Leyden and Teixeira believe that there are two competing economic systems, classes, and cultures, and that one has to win while the other has to lose....

She added though “The Constitution gives Congress the power to authorize military action. If @realDonaldTrump wants to expand American military involvement in Syria’s civil war, he must seek approval from Congress – & provide a comprehensive strategy with clear goals & a plan to achieve them.” Her comments were echoed by Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who said “I’m deeply concerned that President Trump continues to conduct military operations without any comprehensive strategy or the necessary congressional authorization.”

"Because I live in southern Arizona, I take advantage of this location to make an annual trip to the Grand Canyon. On my previous trips I’ve talked about the right way to hike the canyon (slowly!) and then provided some suggestions for proper preparation....This time I am simply going to suggest two hikes. One is very easy and should be done by every visitor to the South Rim. The other hike is for those who go to the bottom, and reserve themselves one day there for a day hike. Ninety percent of all visitors to the Grand Canyon never step...

Sen McCain has been quick to jump on anything the President does, especially over the last few months. But can anyone state the last time we have seen him in public?

“I applaud the president for taking military action against the Assad regime for its latest use of chemical weapons, and for signaling his resolve to do so again if these heinous attacks continue,” McCain said in a statement. “To succeed in the long run, we need a comprehensive strategy for Syria and the entire region,” he added later. “The president needs to lay out our goals, not just with regard to ISIS, but also the ongoing conflict in Syria and malign Russian and Iranian influence in the region. Airstrikes disconnected from a broader strategy may be necessary, but they alone...

House Speaker Paul Ryan will push his open borders agenda during his last months in Congress, telling the media that he is interested in passing an amnesty for millions of illegal aliens who are enrolled and eligible for the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Ryan announced this week that he will leave Congress after his current term is up, but now he says he will continue pushing for a DACA amnesty despite his exit. In a comment to Fox News’s Chad Pergram, Ryan said he would “certainly” be interested in passing a DACA amnesty before his...

In his decision Friday to pardon a former Bush administration official convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, President Trump telegraphed his open hostility to the criminal justice system and his desire to use the power of the presidency as a personal political tool. As with his controversial pardon last year of a former Arizona county sheriff, Joe Arpaio, who had been held in contempt of court, Trump effectively thumbed his nose at the judiciary by pardoning I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. The Justice Department was not involved in either case, officials said.

This is the special election for Trent Franks' seat, with Debbie Lesko the R. Some 6k early/absentee votes came in today, bringing the total to 128,000: R 65,520 (48.7%) D 35,392 (29.6%) I 29,772 (23.2%) Hearing that the lead is slightly widening. See https://twitter.com/Garrett_Archer/status/984842377431941120

FULL HEADLINE: "PICTURED: Instagram stars and models on their private plane to Las Vegas moments before it crashed onto golf course killing all six on board" Four of the six people who died when their private plane crashed during a flight from Arizona to Las Vegas on Monday have been identified as Instagram stars, models and nightclub promoters. Models Mariah Coogan, 23, and Helena Lagos, 22, nightlife promoter Anand 'Happy' Patel, 26, and nightclub host and aspiring pilot James Pedroza, 28, were all on board the Piper PA-24 Comanche when it crashed into a golf course moments after taking off...

A Republican congressman said Tuesday he’s rounded up enough GOP co-sponsors to force multiple immigration votes on the House floor. Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) told The Hill that he has secured support from more than 40 House Republicans on a resolution that would allow debate and votes on four separate immigration proposals. Etc...

Jeff Bezos just donated $33 million to 'dreamers' Jeff Bezos just donated $33 million to 'dreamers' 41 Mins Ago | 00:41 Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos donated $33 million in college scholarships for "dreamers" — childhood undocumented immigrants granted stay in the country under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. TheDream.Us, a nonprofit working toward college access for undocumented immigrants, said the donation from Bezos and his wife MacKenzie is the largest in the organization's history and will fund 1,000 scholarships. "My dad came to the U.S. when he was 16 as part of Operation Pedro Pan," Bezos said...

AUBURN, Calif. (CBS13) -- A California dad has been called a hero after knocking out a kidnapper to rescue his 3-year-old daughter. Freddie Cantrell lives across the street from Regional Park in Auburn, California, where his two girls were playing with their mother and stepfather Sunday evening. He said park is a place they used to love, but now is part of their biggest nightmare. “I got a phone call from the mother saying, ‘Hey you got to get down here quick. Somebody tried to kidnap Aubrey,'” Cantrell told CBS Sacramento. The incident unfolded in front of their 6-year-old daughter,...

Texas and Arizona increased the number of National Guard troops they’re sending to the U.S.-Mexico border, the Associated Press reported on Monday. On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) increased the number of National Guard troops Texas will send to the border as part of President Trump’s recent call to send military officials to defend the southern border against migrants and drug trafficking from 250 to at least 1,000. On the same day, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) said that the Arizona National Guard would send 338 troops to the southern border. The Arizona National Guard said that 225 troops...

PHOENIX — Arizona's top elected officials, both Republicans, are not going to join the lawsuit filed by Democrat officials in some states challenging the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census even though it could mean that Arizona won't get its fair share of federal dollars and political representation. Daniel Scarpinato, press aide to Gov. Doug Ducey, said his boss is opposed to more lawsuits. "And he supports having accurate statistical information,'' Scarpinato said. Attorney General Mark Brnovich also has no interest in Arizona becoming one of the 17 states, seven cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors...

Washington (CNN) - Republican Sen. John McCain said Sunday that President Donald Trump's comments that the US military would leave Syria "very soon" had emboldened Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, resulting in the reported chemical weapons attack Saturday that killed dozens of the country's civilians. "President Trump last week signaled to the world that the United States would prematurely withdraw from Syria," the Arizona senator said in a statement. "Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian backers have heard him, and emboldened by American inaction, Assad has reportedly launched another chemical attack against innocent men, women and children, this time in...