In battle for elected school board, undocumented immigrants might be left out

OMG don't tell me illegals might not be able to vote!!!

Seriously, I can't believe I'm reading this shit. Has anyone in Chicago got any common sense?

------------------------------

If the state passes an elected school board measure now working its way through the Legislature, undocumented immigrants would not be able to vote.

State Rep. Robert F. Martwick. File Photo. | Rich Hein/Sun-TimesRich Hein/Sun-Times

Should Chicago finally get an elected school board after years of attempts, undocumented immigrants — who are currently able to vote for and serve as local school council members — might not be able to vote for the citywide board members.

While some municipalities across the country let non-U.S. citizens vote in local elections, Chicago does not. Non-U.S. citizens can’t vote for city offices or state offices, according to the city’s Board of Election Commissioners. 

And the elected school board measure’s sponsor, state Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, said there’s nothing that can be done to give the undocumented a vote — unless a separate bill is filed to try to take up that battle. 

“All I want to do is make an appointed board an elected school board. Right now the undocumented have no say in who the appointed members are, but they can weight in on local school councils and serve on local school councils. So they can weigh in,” Martwick said. “I don’t intend to affect the LSC process. I’m seeking to bolster it.”

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton’s office last week told reporters that Martwick’s bill — which cleared the Illinois House on April 4 — is on hold, at the request of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who wanted to take a deeper dive into specifics. 

State Rep. Robert Martwick at a rally in support of his school board bill. File Photo.Stefano Esposito/Sun-Times

Martwick said he hasn’t been provided with any updates as the clock ticks to adjournment on May 31. 

“I assume that she’ll [Lightfoot] reach out to him [Cullerton]. I would think that as the person who has been the sponsor of the bill for five years and passed it three times that I would get a call and would be asked to be invited, but I don’t know yet,” Martwick said. “Not yet.” 

In February, Martwick and Lightfoot famously got into a shouting match — at a campaign news conference Lightfoot called to denounce legislation Martwick filed that would change the way the Cook County assessor from an elected to an appointed position. 

Martwick had endorsed Toni Preckwinkle over Lightfoot in the mayoral race. 

And Lightfoot accused Preckwinkle and Martwick of working together on a “power play” to undermine newly elected Assessor Fritz Kaegi. Martwick blasted Lightfoot for what he called Donald Trump-like theatrics that show “exactly why you are wholly unprepared to be the mayor of this city.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, left, and state Rep. Robert Martwick, right. File Photos. Sun-Times file photos.

Under Martwick’s school board proposal, the board would be comprised of 20 members elected in individual districts from around the city, compared to the seven appointed members currently on the Chicago Board of Education. And a board president would be elected citywide.

This is certainly not the first time legislators have tried to pass legislation to get Chicago an elected school board. Cullerton supported a measure in 2017, but the House didn’t act on it. Martwick re-filed the legislation this year.

Two years ago, the Senate’s version reduced the size of the board and created a Chicago panel to draw the boundary maps for board seats, rather than lawmakers, amidst concerns over who had that authority. The Senate adopted those changes, but the measure died in the Illinois House when lawmakers did not act on it.

In 1995, Mayor Richard M. Daley took control of the broken school system and began directly appointing a school board whose members previously were proffered by a grassroots nominating commission.

There have been several proposals in the mix over the years, and the number of board members has fluctuated in those proposals. But both Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker are supportive of an elected school board. 

Lightfoot has said she is not comfortable with the number of board members in Martwick’s proposal. She has said she wants to work with Springfield “to pass a fully elected and representative school board.”

Lightfoot, too, has suggested local school council members should run for the school board, should it become an elected office. But in that scenario, if a local school council member is undocumented, they would not be able to run.

The measure, should it pass, wouldn’t go into effect until 2023. On Wednesday, all seven members of the Chicago Board of Education announced they were stepping down, opening the door to Lightfoot’s appointees.

The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to calls for comment.

In battle for elected school board, undocumented immigrants might be left out

When WaPo praises a Republican you know their no damn good

Republicans may never forgive Justin Amash. The nation should thank him.

Amash is the son of a Palestinian father and a Syrian mother. Right there alone he missed his calling. Should have been a Democrat. What's the difference between McRomney, Amash, and the rest of the Democrats? Absolutely nothing. I suggest the Republican party run alternative candidates in Utah and Michigan. A dead dog would be better than these two rats! 

They should create their own website.

Backstabbers-r-us.com

---------------------------

Justin Amash finally said out loud what many other Republicans know but will only whisper: “President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meets the threshold for impeachment.” Amash’s party may never forgive him. His nation ought to thank him.

The Michigan congressman on Saturday became the first significant GOP official to acknowledge the clear implication of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report. Every Republican member of Congress should be pressed for an on-the-record response. How does the president’s conduct not amount to obstruction of justice? Where does the Constitution give Congress the right not to act?

Democrats should be asked these questions, too. I understand that many, apparently including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), think that starting impeachment proceedings would damage the party’s prospects in the 2020 election. But isn’t duty supposed to take precedence over political expediency? It clearly did for Amash, whose reward for his principled stance was a Twitter blast from Trump and a primary challenge for his seat.

Classy as ever, Trump called Amash a “total lightweight” and a “loser who sadly plays right into our opponents [sic] hands!” All the president accomplished with this name-calling was to give Amash’s analysis a much wider hearing.

Amash wrote in a series of tweets that he reached his conclusion “only after having read Mueller’s redacted report carefully and completely, having read or watched pertinent statements and testimony, and having discussed this matter with my staff, who thoroughly reviewed materials and provided me with further analysis.”

That sounds like the sort of thing we pay elected officials and their staff members to do. But Amash wrote that few of his colleagues “even read Mueller’s report; their minds were made up based on partisan affiliation.”

That’s actually a key point. Anyone who reads the 448-page report can see, as Amash concludes, that Attorney General William P. Barr — in his four-page summary, his congressional testimony and other statements — “intended to mislead the public” about Mueller’s findings. Barr apparently “hopes people will not notice” his deception, Amash said. Busted.

Amash’s emperors-new-clothes moment did not cause the dam of blind GOP solidarity to break. Instead, his colleagues attacked him, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) saying that maybe Amash “wants some type of exit strategy.” In other words, apparently, carefully reading the Mueller report and thoughtfully analyzing its findings means you’re no longer welcome in today’s Republican Party and might as well leave.

As McCarthy noted, this is not the first time that Amash has been inconveniently faithful to his principles. I disagree with many of Amash’s libertarian views, but it is refreshing to see a politician stand up for what he believes.

In the Mueller report, Amash finds “multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice.” Impeachment, Amash noted, “does not even require probable cause that a crime . . . has been committed,” but simply that an official “has engaged in careless, abusive, corrupt, or otherwise dishonorable conduct.” Trump does all of the above, all of the time.

I’m under no illusions here. At this point, it is clear that most congressional Republicans will stay aboard the rust bucket USS Trump, which has been taking on water from the beginning until it actually begins to sink.

But here is a line from Amash’s tweetstorm that Democrats should reflect on: “While impeachment should be undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances, the risk we face in an environment of extreme partisanship is not that Congress will employ it as a remedy too often but rather that Congress will employ it so rarely that it cannot deter misconduct.”

Speaking of misconduct, the Trump administration is now refusing to comply with perfectly lawful subpoenas issued by duly constituted committees of the U.S. Congress. If this president is allowed to get away with such defiance, why wouldn’t the next president do the same — or go even further? What good is a system of checks and balances if officials decline to use the tools that the framers of the Constitution so painstakingly crafted?

I can’t be certain what the political impact of a formal impeachment process might be. Trump would doubtless claim he was being persecuted, as a way to rile up his base and boost GOP turnout. But he will surely claim victimhood anyway, even if Pelosi decides not to move forward. Bullies cannot be appeased. They must be confronted.

Democrats’ options for avoiding impeachment are narrowing. Amash’s politically dangerous stand is a reminder that elected officials, regardless of party, are supposed to put duty first.

When WaPo praises a Republican you know their no damn good

Biden kicks off his campaign with a WHOPPER of a lie

Was in my favorite bar.  They always watch FOX and NEVER ran into a Democrat the 40 plus years I’ve been going there. Low and behold here comes Biden on TV. He’s donned in a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up like a typical slimeball politician. He starts out—"I’ve been all across America” in which case I shouted…ALL 57 STATES? There was laughter and a bunch of guys raised their beer. Now for the next part, you better be strapped down in a chair tighter than Ted Bundy. He says this, “The reason the country is doing so well is Trump inherited the Obama/Biden economy”. Preposterous to the point I couldn't believe my own ears! I thought...Hunter must have slipped him some crack.

It also brought back memories of Barry’s favorite line “It’s Bushes fault” and now that Trump has the economy humming along Biden/Barry are trying to take the credit. What's worst, his asshole followers actually believed what he said. Guess I forgot about all those bonus checks mailed out by over 100 companies to their employees during Barry's occupation of the WH.

His followers are dumber than he is. 

If that's even possible.

   Biden's narrative evoked the infamous magic wand statement made by his mentor. 

Video 509

“Those jobs just aren't coming back". Well, guess what happened Barry under the Trump administration…

Biden kicks off his campaign with a WHOPPER of a lie

Fran Lebowitz suggests murdering President Donald Trump

On Bill Maher, Fran Lebowitz suggests murdering President Donald Trump: “We should turn him over to the Saudis, his buddies. The same Saudis who got rid of that reporter. Maybe they could do the same for him.”
pic.twitter.com/s6anKrRdgr

— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) May 18, 2019

But wait, it's not her fault, said the bitch who could be mistaken for a buzzard on a shit wagon. We misinterpreted what she said...because we misinterpret everything.

Video 508

Fran Lebowitz suggests murdering President Donald Trump

Ex-Legionary, Fox News personality Father Jonathan Morris asks to leave the priesthood

Surprised to read this always enjoyed his commentary. I wish him well.

Rather would have read this SOB was defrocked. 

What a POS... and the church is afraid to get rid of him. He's become the 'Al Sharpton' of the Catholic church!

Pro-abortion...Pelosi, Biden, and a Catholic priest?

You be the judge.

https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2008/04/father-michael-pfleger-of-archdiocese.html

----------------------

Father Jonathan Morris, a former member of the Legion of Christ who was at one time among the most prominent Catholic priests in America as a contributor to Fox News, has asked to be dismissed from the clerical state, indicating he wants to be free to "marry and have a family" though saying it's not about an "existing relationship."

In a statement released Friday, Morris writes that the decision has filled him "with newfound joy," though he says he knows some people won't understand his decision to leave the priesthood.

"After taking some months of sabbatical to be with family and to dedicate more time to prayer and retreat, I have decided to ask the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to release me from the duties and responsibilities of the clerical state," Morris said in a statement, which he made available to Crux.

Morris left the troubled Legion of Christ in 2009, three years after the Vatican suspended its founder, Father Macial Marciel, from his priestly duties, having found Maciel guilty of various forms of sexual abuse and misconduct as well as abuse of power. Morris was incardinated into the Archdiocese of New York with the support of Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

He's appeared on several TV networks and is best known for his role with Fox News, though he was also a theological adviser to Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ", and was the program director for "The Catholic Channel," a project of the Archdiocese of New York, on the Sirius XM radio network for three years.

Morris said in his statement that the fear of "disappointing people's expectations" has held him back from taking the step he's now taking, something he's considered "often and at length in years past and discussed with my spiritual guides."

In his statement, Morris acknowledges that even though he's "loved and thrived" in much of his ministry, he's struggled with his vocation and the commitments demanded by being a Catholic priest, particularly not being able to marry and have a family.

Morris writes that his decision "is not about an existing relationship, but rather about the peace and spiritual freedom I trust will come in the future by following God's will for my life now."

Lastly, Morris says that his decision shouldn't "take away anything from the many heroic men and women who are living out their religious vocations with admirable fidelity and fulfillment."

"I will always be in the pews ready to support you, because my faith in God and love for my Church is stronger than ever," Morris said. "I look forward to serving in new ways alongside of you."

Morris told Crux he's "just beginning the process to request laicization," and there's no indication of when a response to his request is expected.

Morris is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. To read the full text of Morris's statement, click here: Morris statement.

Ex-Legionary, Fox News personality Father Jonathan Morris asks to leave the priesthood