Thursday, March 10, 2005

Filibustering Against The Freebooters FEATURED ARTICLES - Urgent Supreme Court Action, MoveOn - RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE: - Filibustering the Truth , by Judd Legum & Christy Harvey, The Nation, 3/21/05 QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Filibuster: The use of the term for „a politically delaying tactic such as a long irrelevant speech or several such speeches used by politicians to delay or prevent the passage of some undesired legislation‰ has now virtually obliterated its former semantic equivalence to freebooter which originated in the USA in the 1880‚s. A freebooter is defined as „anyone who lives by plundering others, especially a pirate." - - Senior Scribe Publications http://www.wordphiles.info/image-word-unit1/word-image8.html KNOW YOUR HISTORY: March 10th 1848 -- The US Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the war with Mexico and flipping the entire Southwest and most of the Left Coast from Mexican territory to US property. http://www.azteca.net/aztec/guadhida.html RHINO SEZ: This week the Senate is debating the judicial nomination of William Myers III. He's a career cattle and mining industry lobbyist who is now up for a lifetime appointment to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He's just one of Bush's 20 judicial nominees that Democrats rejected last term, (compared to over 200 they approved). But Bush is still fighting hard to make sure every single one gets confirmed. These 20 judges were singled out because they consistently picked corporate interests over basic rights, and want to roll back decades of progress on anti-discrimination, women's rights, worker's rights, and the environment. If we don't act now to support a real opposition, these corporate judges will be given lifetime appointments to lock in Bush's ultra conservative ideology for decades. Plus, the Bush administration has threatened to use this fight to take away the Senate Democrat's ability to resist any future judges, including Supreme Court nominees. MoveOn has started a petition calling on our Senators to stand firm against Myers and all 20 of these rejected corporate nominees, and to fight any manipulation of the rules to force them through. Please join me in signing today: AT: http://www.moveonpac.org/judges And for a great overview of the coming Judicial struggles, read The Bottom Line today, Filibustering the Truth by Judd Legum & Christy Harvey of The Nation. (o/)(o/)(o/) 9:09:16 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Filibustering the Truth Filibustering the Truth by Judd Legum & Christy Harvey, The Nation, 3/21/05 The greatest impact of George W. Bush's second term will likely be from his judicial nominations, including the appointment of one or more Justices to the Supreme Court. The President's selections will have long-lasting effects on all aspects of American life, including our health, our freedoms and our privacy. Senate conservatives, led by majority leader Bill Frist, have already launched a determined campaign to insure that any potential opponents are silenced--principally by attacking the Senate's most effective tool, the judicial filibuster. A closer look shows right-wing arguments for doing so are based on a series of myths about the Constitution, history and the right wing's own conduct. Myth 1: Judicial filibusters are unconstitutional. ... Myth 2: Judicial filibusters are unprecedented. ... Myth 3: Republicans have the moral high ground. ... Myth 4: Filibusters are more appropriate for legislation than judges. ... ... Bush may make the nominations, but federal judges interpret the law for all Americans. Members of the Senate have the responsibility to use every tool they have to make sure the right judges are confirmed. There is no reason that taking a hard look at every nominee precludes a civil, substantive and productive process. But the first step toward ending the acrimony over judges in Washington is putting a stop to Frist's partisan propaganda campaign. IT'S ALL AT: http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050321&s=legum (o/)(o/)(o/) Rhino's Blog is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. Feedback & requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. (rhino@kifaru.com) See The Latest Greatest Political Cartoons      While You Read Rhino's Blog AT : http://www.rhinosblog.info Rhino's Other Web Sites: http://www.dreamcatchers.org  (Indigenous Assistance & Intercultural Dialog) http://www.kifaru.com  (Native American Relations Video Documentaries) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 8:00:17 AM    comment

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