Liberal Cry Baby Cartoons

Maryland city mulling over idea to let undocumented residents vote

A D.C. suburb in Maryland is considering a plan that would give undocumented immigrants the right to vote, making their city the largest in the Old Line State to do so.

The city, which is home of the University of Maryland’s main campus and nearly 30,000 residents, is weighing approval of the new measure to let noncitizens cast ballots for mayor and City Council, The Baltimore Sun reported Sunday.

Supporters of the measure say that local elections focus on issues like trash collection, and other municipal services and they are issues that affect residents of the city, regardless of their citizenship status.
“These are folks who have a significant stake in our community, and who rely on the facilities in our city,” College Park City Councilwoman Christine Nagle, who is sponsoring the measure, said to the newspaper. “To me, it just made sense.”
Others in the community say that immigrants should not have a say until they have completed the process of becoming a citizen.
"On a personal level, I do not agree that noncitizens should be voting," College Park City Councilwoman Mary C. Cook said before adding that she will listen to her constituents before making a decision.
Jeff Werner, an advocate for tighter immigration restrictions with the advocacy group Help Save Maryland told the newspaper that he felt even more strongly about undocumented immigrants going to the voting booth.
“What gives them that privilege?” He asked.
A total of 10 municipalities across two counties allow noncitizens to vote in local elections. Voters in Takoma Park, a liberal enclave in Montgomery County, narrowly approved a referendum in making the town one of the first to allow the practice in Maryland.
It was preceded by Barnesville — a small town near Sugarloaf Mountain in Montgomery County — has allowed noncitizens to vote since 1918 and Somerset, which approved noncitizen voting in 1976.
The number of communities in Maryland adopting the measure has surged in recent months. Hyattsville in Prince George’s County approved immigrant voting just last year, followed by Mount Rainier, also in Prince George’s County.
The College Park proposal like the other municipalities, does not distinguish between legal permanent residents and undocumented immigrants.
Those in favor of the policy say that’s by design.
“We very intentionally made it so that we did not have questions about citizenship status,” said Patrick Paschall, a former member of the Hyattsville council who championed the legislation there said to the Sun. “It undermines the premise of noncitizen voting to try to draw a distinction.”

North Korea must halt missile tests for talks with US to occur, Tillerson says

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Monday that North Korea must halt its missile testing if they want any sort of negotiations with the U.S.

Tillerson -- who made the comments at a regional security meeting in Manilla, Philippines-- offered his most specific outline to date of what preconditions the U.S. has for talks with Pyongyang. He said stopping the launches would be the "first and strongest signal."

He added the caveat that it would not be as simple as The Hermit Kingdom simply stopping launches for a few days or weeks, saying that he would not give a concrete timeframe but that the U.S. will “know it when we see it.”
The Secretary of State also praised the most recent sanctions imposed on North Korea over their recent intercontinental ballistic missile tests, saying that in leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind whether there is a common view on the matter among the international community.
The sanctions against the communist nation include a ban on coal and other exports worth over $1 billion -- a huge bite in its total exports, valued at $3 billion last year.
The comments come after President Trump tweeted late Sunday that he spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae-In and was “very happy and impressed” with the United Nations Security Council's 15-0 vote to hit Kim Jong Un's regime with the tough new sanctions.
The White House added that Trump and Moon “committed to fully implement all relevant resolutions and to urge the international community to do so as well.”
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley called the resolution “the single largest economic sanctions package ever leveled against the North Korean regime” and "the most stringent set of sanctions on any country in a generation.”
Haley told Fox News' “Sunday Morning Futures,” “What we basically did was kicked them in the stomach, told them to stop and told them they are not going to put up with it anymore and the ball is now in North Korea’s court. They have a big decision to make. They can either respond by pulling back and said that they’re not going to be part of this reckless activity anymore or they can see where it goes and we’ll continue to keep up the strength and keep up the activity to make sure that we stop them.”
The sharp new U.N. sanctions also received a welcome boost on Sunday from China, North Korea’s economic lifeline, as Beijing called on its neighbor to halt its missile and nuclear tests.
For the U.S., it was a long-awaited sign of progress for Trump's strategy of trying to enlist Beijing's help to squeeze North Korea diplomatically and economically. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, meeting with North Korea's top diplomat during the gathering in Manila, urged the North to "maintain calm" despite the U.N. vote.
"Do not violate the U.N.'s decision or provoke international society's goodwill by conducting missile launching or nuclear tests," Wang said, in an unusually direct admonition.
On Monday, North Korea responded to the sanctions, saying that it will launch a "thousands-fold" revenge against the United States.
The North's statement issued Monday on state media came two days after the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved new sanctions, saying they were caused by a "heinous U.S. plot to isolate and stifle" North Korea.
It says the U.N. sanctions will never force the country to negotiate over its nuclear program or to give up its nuclear drive and that will take "action of justice" but didn't elaborate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Perry Chiaramonte is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @perrych

White House Warns GOP on 2020 Challenge

FILE – In this Thursday, June 1, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump speaks about the U.S. role in the Paris climate change accord in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. The Trump Administration is officially telling the United Nations that the U.S. intends to pull out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The State Department made the announcement late Friday afternoon, Aug. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

OAN Newsroom
The Trump administration sends out a warning to any Republicans thinking of running against the president in 2020.
Following reports that some GOP lawmakers are positioning themselves for a potential presidential-run, White House spokesperson Lindsay Walters quickly fired back.
She says the president is as strong as he has ever been in states like Iowa and every potentially ambitious Republican knows that.
President Trump is already forming his 2020 campaign and began raising money for the effort only weeks after the 2016 election.

Rosenstein: DOJ is Going After Leakers, Not Going After Journalists

OAN Newsroom
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says the DOJ crack down on Washington leakers will not affect journalists who publish sensitive information unless the circumstances warrant it.
During an interview Sunday, Rosenstein defended the investigations saying he wants to stop the criminals from breaking the law.
He also said reporters do not normally get prison time for printing classified intelligence, but depending on the intent and sensitivity of the leak criminal charges could be filed against journalists.
“We have the same position on that as attorney general holder, and that is we don’t prosecute journalists for doing their job,” Rosenstein said. We look at the facts and circumstances of each case. And we determine whether it’s appropriate to hold them accountable for it. I don’t think you can draw a general line like that, but it depends on the facts and the circumstances. generally speaking reporters who publish information are not committing a crime but there might be a circumstance where they do. I haven’t seen any of those to date, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said his crack down will also review DOJ subpoena policies for journalists who publish leaked information.

Maxine Waters Crazy Cartoons

Maxine Waters next House speaker: Dem activist

Democrats have “no reason” to try to make bipartisan legislative deals with President Trump and should instead wait until next year when outspoken Democrat Maxine Waters leads the House and Chuck Schumer leads the Senate, Democratic activist Robert Patillo said Saturday.

“Democrats looking at a president hovering around a 30 percent approval rating have no reason to run into a burning building and try to put it out, when they should instead just wait for 2018 when they have Speaker of the House Maxine Waters and Senate leader Chuck Schumer,” Patillo, an attorney, civil rights activist and Atlanta radio host, told Fox News’ “America’s News Headquarters.”

Waters, a California congresswoman, has been one of Trump’s most outspoken Democratic critics, with her calls to impeach him creating buzz about a possible 2020 presidential bid.
Patillo’s comment presumes Democrats next year would retake control of the House and Senate and that Waters would unseat now-House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, of California, who has been the chamber’s top Democrat for roughly the past 11 years.
Schumer, of New York, is now the Senate minority leader.
Democrats next year would have to win a net total of about 35 House seats.
Republicans how hold a 52-48 majority in the Senate, but Democrats next year must defend 25 seats, compared to just eight for Republicans.

Asia-Pacific regional disputes impede united stand on North Korea

Disagreements over North Korea's tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles and territorial disputes in the South China Sea are preventing foreign ministers from other Asia-Pacific countries from issuing a unified statement about North Korea's actions, diplomatic sources said Sunday.

Washington had hoped the region's countries, including members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), would issue a joint communique after their annual gathering in Manila. But Cambodia was concerned its views weren't adequately reflected in the statement being developed, causing a delay, a diplomat said.

The obstacle came one day after the U.N. Security Council on Saturday unanimously approved new sanctions against North Korea in the wake of the communist nation's first successful tests of ICBMs capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday urged his North Korean counterpart to abide by U.N. resolutions and stop provoking "the international community's goodwill" with missile launches and nuclear tests.
Wang spoke to reporters in Manila after meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting.
Wang said the two had an intensive conversation during which China urged North Korea to maintain calm. He said he told Ri, "Do not violate the U.N. decision or provoke the international community's goodwill by conducting missile launches or nuclear tests."
Wang also urged the U.S. and South Korea "to stop increasing tensions" and said that all sides should return to negotiations.

The sanctions resolution approved Saturday bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood — resources that are worth over $1 billion to the regime of Kim Jong Un. North Korea exported an estimated $3 billion worth of goods last year.
Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., praised the new sanctions, telling council members after the vote that it is "the single largest economic package ever leveled against the North Korean regime."
But she warned that it is not enough and "we should not fool ourselves into thinking we have solved the problem -- not even close."

"The threat of an outlaw nuclearized North Korean dictatorship remains ... (and) is rapidly growing more dangerous," Haley told council members after the vote.
Countries are also banned from giving any additional permits to North Korean laborers -- another source of money for Pyongyang. And it prohibits all new joint ventures with North Korean companies and bans new foreign investment in existing ones.

The resolution was drafted by the U.S. and negotiated with North Korea's neighbor and ally China. It is aimed at increasing economic pressure on Pyongyang to return to negotiations on its nuclear and missile programs.
The Security Council has already imposed six rounds of sanctions that have failed to halt North Korea's drive to improve its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons capabilities.
"All of this ICBM and nuclear irresponsibility has to stop," Haley told reporters as she headed to the council to vote.
The resolution condemns the launches "in the strongest terms" and reiterates previous calls for North Korea to suspend all ballistic missile launches and abandon its nuclear weapons and nuclear program "in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner."
A Security Council diplomat said coal has been North Korea's largest export, earning $1.2 billion last year which was then restricted by the Security Council in November to a maximum $400 million. This year, Pyongyang was estimated to earn $251 million from iron and iron ore exports, $113 million from lead and lead ore exports, and $295 million from fish and seafood exports, the diplomat said.
The resolution also adds nine North Koreans, mainly officials or representatives of companies and banks, to the U.N. sanctions blacklist, banning their travel and freezing their assets. It also imposes an asset freeze on two companies and two banks.
The council diplomat, who was not authorized to speak publicly and insisted on anonymity, called the newly sanctioned Foreign Trade Bank "a very critical clearing house for foreign exchange."

The Mansudae Overseas Project Group of Companies, which was also added to the blacklist, is described in the resolution as engaged in exporting workers for construction, including of monuments, in Africa and Southeast Asia.

The resolution asks the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea to ban the import of many more so-called dual-use items, which have commercial purposes but can also be used in conventional, biological, chemical or nuclear weapons.

It also gives the committee a green light to designate specific vessels that are breaking sanctions from entering ports all over the world and to work with Interpol to enforce travel bans on North Koreans on the sanctions blacklist.

The resolution expresses regret at North Korea's "massive diversion of its scarce resources toward its development of nuclear weapons and a number of expensive ballistic missile programs" -- a point stressed by Haley.

It notes U.N. findings that well over half the population lacks sufficient food and medical care, while a quarter suffers from chronic malnutrition.

"These sanctions will cut deep, and in doing so will give the North Korean leadership a taste of the deprivations they have chosen to inflict on the North Korean people," Haley said. "Revenues aren't going toward feeding its people. Instead, the North Korean regime is literally starving its people and enslaving them in mines and factories in order to fund these illegal missile programs."

Though the economic sanctions have teeth, Washington didn't get everything it wanted.

In early July, Haley told the Security Council that if it was united, the international community could cut off major sources of hard currency to North Korea, restrict oil to its military and weapons programs, increase air and maritime restrictions and hold senior officials accountable.

Neither oil nor new air restrictions are included in the resolution.

Its adoption follows U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's comments Wednesday reassuring North Korea that Washington is not seeking regime change or an accelerated reunification of the Korean Peninsula -- comments welcomed by China's foreign minister.

China's U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi said the Chinese government hopes the United States will translate these commitments "into concrete policies" toward North Korea.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow hopes Tillerson's assurances "would be clear that the United States is not seeking to dismantle the existing ... situation (in North Korea) or to force to reunite the country or militarily intervene in the country."

Tillerson also said the United States wants to talk eventually with North Korea but thinks discussions would not be productive if Pyongyang comes with the intention of maintaining its nuclear weapons.

North Korea has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear arsenal, which it sees as a guarantee of its security.

The resolution reiterates language from previous ones supporting a return to six-party talks with the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula; expressing the Security Council's commitment "to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation"; and stressing the importance of maintaining peace and stability in northeast Asia.

Liu said "China has been making tireless efforts to promote denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to uphold peace and stability" and will keep working to convince other governments to support its suspension-for-suspension proposal.

Under the proposal and a roadmap supported by Russia, North Korea would suspend nuclear and missile tests in exchange for the U.S. and South Korea suspending their joint military exercises. It also includes security measures for both North Korea and South Korea leading to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

But Haley told the Security Council that U.S.-South Korean military exercises have been carried out regularly and openly for nearly 40 years and "they will continue."

Russia's Nebenzia stressed that sanctions "need to be a tool for engaging the country in constructive talks" and must not be used for "economic asphyxiation" of the country or "to deliberately worsen the economic situation."