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Confirmation Watch:

Democrat Memogate: The Beginning of Political Scandal

As political scandals go, the case of the U.S. Senate Democrat memos is difficult to assess thoroughly, for the moment. The evidence is currently under lock and key by the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms. That evidence consists of some three to four thousand memos from or to Democrat members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, believed to detail collusion between Democrats and leftist groups to block confirmation of many of President Bush's judicial nominees.

The tiny fraction of memos that have been released reveal a cynical, no-holds-barred manipulation of the process by leftist groups, which have amassed gigantic war chests for their efforts. The most egregious memo exposed thus far, written by a staffer to Senator Ted Kennedy, bluntly discusses an effort to affect the outcome of a then-pending case by delaying confirmation of an appeals court judge. The memo specifically recognizes the impropriety of delay for that purpose. Another memo attacks Miguel Estrada, who subsequently withdrew his nomination. His offenses: his career has left no paper trail to be picked apart; he's Latino, and was thought being groomed for the Supreme Court.

To read more, click here.


State Issues:

D.C. Shouldn't Attack Neighbors' Liberty With Commuter Tax

Americans take taxation seriously. From the earliest days of our constitutional government, our leaders understood that taxes were an attack on freedom and liberty. In 1819, Chief Justice John Marshall famously declared that the "power to tax involves, necessarily, a power to destroy." Until the 17th Amendment was approved in 1913, the federal government was barred from levying an income tax, and questions about tax policy continue to dominate the public debate.

Today, the District of Columbia seeks to interject its authority into the tax policy of its neighbors and levy an income tax on the citizens of Virginia and Maryland who happen to work each day in the District. There's just one problem: the District of Columbia's government doesn't have the authority to attack the liberty of people who are not citizens of the District through an income tax.

To read more, click here.


Legal Update:

Beef: It's What's in Our Courts

Beef, it's not just "what's for dinner" these days. Beef is the main entree in courtrooms throughout the country, from the highest in the land to the rogue Ninth Circuit.

The Center for Individual Freedom received notice this week that oral arguments have been scheduled before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Charter, et al. v. USDA, et al., a case challenging the constitutionality of the beef checkoff program. The Center is participating in representation of the Charters and hundreds of other independent cattle ranchers who oppose the per-head charge on cattle to pay for promoting beef consumption. In briefs filed with the Ninth Circuit, we argue that the checkoff program violates the First Amendment rights of the Charters and others who oppose being forced to support speech that is directly contrary to their views and interests.

To read more, click here.


Freedom Line:

Center's General Counsel Recognized for Efforts in Pledge of Allegiance Case

The Center for Individual Freedom's General Counsel Renee Giachino was spotlighted this week in a feature story praising her and the Center's efforts to reverse the unprecedented decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that held the national Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. The Center filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, which is set to hear oral arguments in the case on March 24, 2004.

To read the feature story, click here.


CFIF History & Civics Quiz:

Question of the Week

What is the minimum representation of an individual state in the U.S. House of Representatives?

(a) 1 Representative
(b) 2 Representatives
(c) 3 Representatives
(d) 4 Representatives

For the correct answer, click here.


Jester's Courtroom: Tales Stranger Than Fiction
Featuring bizarre and sometimes humorous real life stories from the courtroom.

Betting on Disability

Barroom injuries are a foreseeable consequence of sending employees to boring destinations, at least according to a recent decision from the U.S Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

The court upheld an award of disability benefits to Hawaii resident Michael Ilaszczat for injuries he received as a result of a barroom bet he made while assigned to Johnston Atoll for business. The atoll is a two-mile-long chemical and nuclear arms dump located about 700 miles west of Hawaii.

Faced with little to do while dispatched to the isolated U.S. possession, Ilaszczat frequented a local social club and bet a group of U.S. soldiers that one of them could not perform a high-kick without touching him. Ilaszczat won the bet when a soldier's attempt left him kicked to the ground and in need of an artificial hip.

Kalama Services Inc., the employer which sent Ilaszczat to the island, opted to fire him after the incident led the U.S. military commander to bar Ilaszczat from Johnston Atoll. But an administrative board and judge decided that paying for Ilaszczat's artificial hip was a better course of action, given that its lack of entertainment makes Johnston Atoll a "zone of special danger." The 9th Circuit agreed, reasoning that "horseplay of [this] type" is the risk employers take when they send employees to such dull destinations.

Sources: Reuters

To read more, click here.

Since many of these gems do not attain national attention, the Jester welcomes you to share with us your favorite wacky stories from a courtroom near you! Please be sure to provide the source. You may e-mail us at mailto:info@cfif.org


Notable Quotes:

Quote of the Week

Jim Rosborg, Superintendent of Belleville School District 118, on a Proposal to Ban Soft Drinks and Candy in Vending Machines at all Illinois Schools"

"What's ironic is that it will actually force many schools to cut back on sports and other physical activities -- in other words, the very programs that actually help reduce obesity."

For more Notable Quotes, click here.

Do you have a notable quote you'd like to share with the Center, e-mail it to mailto:info@cfif.org Be sure to provide us the source of the quote.

Ray's Cartoon Corner:

Ray's Cartoon Corner

Visit "Ray's Cartoon Corner," the lighter side of CFIF's website. The Corner is a good place for freedom lovers and free market advocates to go to catch up on the latest social, economic and political issues affecting individual freedoms and rights through the humorous medium of editorial cartooning. The cartoons are drawn by Ray Gardner, a self described free market conservative and thirty-something cartoonist who lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona.

To view Ray's latest cartoons, click here.




 

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