Archive for June 13, 2021

Two lawsuits filed over Democrats’ gerrymandered legislative districts in Illinois

Posted: June 13, 2021 by John Ruberry in elections, News/opinion, politics
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Minding the Illinois political maze for decades.

By John Ruberry

Since posting my Illinois gerrymandering entry here last week there is an update.

First some background: Despite multiple promises to veto a partisan remap of Illinois state legislative districts, Democratic governor JB Pritzker signed into law new hyper-partisan new state House and Senate districts, claiming that these new maps preserve diversity.

Not so fast, JB.

Late Thursday the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, on behalf of five Hispanic voters, filed suit in federal court claiming that the new maps are “malapportioned.” AP sums up the controversey beautifully. “But the challenge from MALDEF,” the wire service says, “expands the source of objections to the very groups whose voting rights Democrats say they are protecting.”

Earlier last week the Illinois Republican Party also filed a federal lawsuit that claims that the new maps violate the 14th Amendment to the US Contsitution’s Equal Protection Clause.

Indeed it may. Illinois’ constitution states that new General Assembly district maps must be drawn by legislators by the end of June after each decennial census. If not, the process moves to an eight-person committee evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. If that panel can’t come to a decision then two names are placed in a hat, one Republican and one Democrat. Lovers of political theater will be thrilled to learn that the four times the remapping committee was formed, three times times no decision was reached and the tiebreaker clause was invoked. In 2000 a stovepipe hat said to have been worn by Abraham Lincoln was used for the tiebreaking ceremony.

The complete Census figures won’t be available until August. But it’s clear that the Democrats didn’t want the redistricting process to be left by chance, or worse, given to Republicans. So the Dems, rather than work with hard numbers, instead used population estimates from the American Community Survey.

This weekend on Fox Chicago’s Flannery Fired Up, host Mike Flannery ventured into what-aboutism expressed by the left regarding gerrymandering in Republican states. During an interview with state Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield).  Flannery phrased their argument this way, “That the Democrats here stopped short of annihilating as many Republicans as they could in the General Assembly–do you buy that?” Butler responded that he does not and he explained to Flannery, “We have 14 members–Republican members of the House–that were drawn in districts together and we have zero Democrats that were drawn into districts together.” That’s an observation the Wall Street Journal made earlier this month. Because of Democratic gerrymandering after the 2010 census, there are currenly only 45 Republicans among the 118 members in the Illinois House. 

While of course there are no state or federal legal protections to protect GOP state legislators, as I mentioned earlier in this post and last week, Pritzker promised he would veto a partisan remap.

There is a better way. Twice in the 2010s enough signatures were collected to put an amendment to the Illinois Constitution on the general election ballot that would take redistricting out of the hands of legislators and placing a non-partisan committee in control. Twice a lawyer closely tied to Boss Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), the longtime Illinois House speaker who was forced out of power early this year, sued to block having Illinois voters decide the issue. In a party-line vote, the Illinois Supreme Court sided with the Democrats both times.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

Ends and Means vs Love of Neighbor

Posted: June 13, 2021 by datechguy in catholic, culture
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Ernst Zimmerman Christ and the Pharisees

Daniel Hughes [PM senior policy advisor]: Jim Hacker will win though with a thoroughly public spirited self sacrificing policy. The PM will probably kick him upstairs: Lord Hacker of kamikaze.

Sir Humphrey: I hardly think that’s funny Daniel or likely

Daniel Hughes: Why not? I mean he [Jim Hacker] ran the leadership campaign against the PM didn’t he? This could be the PM’s master stroke. In one fell swoop, approbation, elevation and castration. In one fell swoop You know the PM’s motto: “In defeat malice, in victory revenge”

Yes Minister: The Writing on the wall 1980

In yesterday’s piece I wrote this quite startling proposition:

This is heading to a place where the people left in the military will be the ones who will when a woke officer decides that a crowd of conservatives are a threat and says “Fire”

This is heading to a place where the people in the police will be afraid to stop a looter or a violent criminal of the left but will not hesitate to fire at or arrest a person of the right defending themselves or their property.

Ashley Babbitt is the future the left wants for us. Her death is not a bug it’s a feature to them.

One enough people realize this is the case all hell is going to break loose.

To a lot of people I’m sure this sounded alarmist just like in the 90”s those of us who saw the logical conclusion that “civil unions” would lead to were told. It took but a generation for the calls for “tolerance” to become an inquisition any who would declare these now dubbed evil words:

The question is how did we get to this point and why are we heading to where we are going.

Easy. We have a society and culture that is divided between it’s Christian component (Traditionally American) and non Christian (Communist Marxist) society.

That is why as I wrote years ago the enemy for the left is always Christianity because the rules of Christianity are anthemia to all that the left wants to achieve:

Love your enemies, Thou shalt not steal, all men are equal before the Lord, Honor your father and mother, male and female they created them, Thou shalt not kill.

All of these principles are deadly to the left but the worst of all is the Unity of belief in Christ in Christ and the brotherhood of man. Many passages of scripture are hated by the left but none more than this one:

One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And when Jesus saw that (he) answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Mark 12:28-34

Love of God, the idea that there are principles and rules beyond ever changing memes and the love of neighbor not limited by the division of rich and poor, of race, of national origin, or of sex all of these are poison to he left. As Paul Wrote:

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:27-29

You can’t divide and conquer if all men are brothers , nor can you wreak vengeance if you embrace empathy and tradition:

Shame not a repentant sinner; remember, we all are guilty.

Insult no man when he is old, for some of us, too, will grow old.

Rejoice not when a man dies; remember, we are all to die.

Spurn not the discourse of the wise, but acquaint yourself with their proverbs; From them you will acquire the training to serve in the presence of princes.

Reject not the tradition of old men which they have learned from their fathers; From it you will obtain the knowledge how to answer in time of need.

Kindle not the coals of a sinner, lest you be consumed in his flaming fire.

Let not the impious man intimidate you; it will set him in ambush against you.

Sirach 8:5-11

And you especially can’t divide people if they forgive:

Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.

Matthew 18:21-22

For forgiveness is what checks hate and division and once you have forgiveness, once you seek 1st the kingdom of God then ends and means goes out the window. And you can find no better description of the tactics of the left than the parable that followed that passage:

That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.

At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.

When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. 22 He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt.

Matthew 18:23-30

This is the left all over. Begging for tolerance when they are weak and wreaking vengeance when they are strong but it That is what the left is, that is what the left always will be and that is why they must be fought while we still can. Our willingness to stand up and having courage to fight against this will be our second greatest test.

It, like the parable started above will end bad for them.

Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair.

His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’

Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.

So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

Matthew 18:31-35

And it it does end bad for them, either by our courage to fight it now or by the courage of our our children and grandchildren who will throw off their yoke, our greatest test will be to forgive them after we prevail.