Block Bush's plan to stack the courts

Dear MoveOn member,As we write this, the Senate is debating the nomination of mining and cattle industry lobbyist William Myers III for a lifetime appointment to the Circuit Court of Appeals -- the second highest court in the land. Myers is the first of 20 nominees Bush has re-submitted in his second term. All 20 repeat nominees were rejected last term by Senate Democrats (as compared to 204 judges they accepted) because these nominees consistently sided with corporate special interests over the rights of ordinary Americans.The Senate has the power to approve or reject judicial nominations because judges -- above all else -- must be trusted by Americans on all sides to rule fairly. So why does Bush refuse to send new nominees both parties can agree on? Because while his presidency will be over in 4 years, the judges he appoints will be on the bench for the rest of their lives. This is Bush's big push to lock in his hard right, corporate-friendly ideology for decades to come -- and that is exactly why we must not back down now.The fight begins today. The Myers vote is a key test -- and may well determine whether Bush can stack the judiciary, all the way up to the Supreme Court, with a steady stream of hard right, pro-corporate judges. It's crucial that our Senators know that we out here in America are counting on them to hold the line against all 20 of Bush's rejected, partisan judges.Please sign today:http://www.moveonpac.org/judges/We will deliver your comments to your Senators before the crucial votes on these 20 judicial nominees.Here's a brief summary of just the first three of the 20 partisan judges re-nominated by President Bush.
William Myers III has never been a judge and spent most of his career as a lobbyist for the cattle and mining industry.[1] He has written that all habitat conservation laws are unconstitutional because they interfere with potential profit.[2] In 2001, Bush appointed him as the chief lawyer for the Department of the Interior. In that role he continued as a champion of corporate interests, setting his agenda in meetings with former employers he promised not to speak with, and even illegally giving away sacred Native American land to be strip mined.[3]Terrence Boyle was a legal aide to Jesse Helms. As a judge, his signature decisions have attempted to circumvent federal laws barring employment discrimination by race, gender, and disability.[4] His rulings have been overturned a staggering 120 times by the conservative 4th District Court of Appeals, either due to gross errors in judgment or simple incompetence.[5]William Pryor Jr. served as Attorney General of Alabama, where he took money from Phillip Morris, fought against the anti-tobacco lawsuit until it was almost over, and cost the people of Alabama billions in settlement money for their healthcare system as a result.[6] He called Roe v. Wade "the worst abomination of constitutional law in our history," and has consistently argued against the federal protections for the civil rights of minorities, lesbian and gay couples, women, and the disabled.[7]
If we falter now, then decades down the road dozens of judges like this will still be ruling in favor of unchecked corporate greed and against the basic principles of accountability and fairness.
The Bush Administration is prepared to stop at nothing to smash Democratic resistance and stack the courts. As President of the Senate, Dick Cheney has even threatened to push these 20 through by using a parliamentary trick so abusive even he calls it the "nuclear option." If they can get away with it, the "nuclear option" would eliminate the right to filibuster -- a rule that has allowed 40 or more Senators to keep extremists from all sides off the courts for centuries.
If that happens, when Supreme Court vacancies begin to open up in a few months there will be no motivation for Bush to nominate justices acceptable to both parties, and no ability for Democrats to oppose even the most dangerous extremists.
We must draw the line here, by stopping Bush's 20 repeat nominees. They were rejected once -- they can and must be rejected again.
Please sign the petition today:http://www.moveonpac.org/judges/
Thanks for all that you do,
--Ben Brandzel, Eli Pariser and the whole MoveOn PAC Team Tuesday, March 1st, 2005
Notes:[1] "Unfit to Judge," Community Rights Council, 4/2/04.[2] "Myers Troubling Legal Philosophy," People for the American Way.[3] "Environmental Group Calls on Senate to Block Myers Nomination: Ethical Problems and Anti-Environmental Activism Make Him Unfit for Judgeship," Friends of the Earth, 2/5/05.[4] "Federal Judge Terrence Boyle Unfit for Promotion to Appeals Court," People for the American Way, 2/23/05.[5] "Eastern District of North Carolina Terrence Boyle Nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit," Alliance for Justice.[6] Eric Fleischauer, "Pryor Called a Tobacco Sellout," Decatur Daily News, 10/30/02.[7] Ann Woolner, "Bush Judicial Candidate Shows How Things Change," Bloomberg News, 5/16/03.
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Please join me in signing these petitions

ACTFORCHANGE ACTIVISM UPDATE: March 1, 2005
You are receiving this newsletter because you have previously taken action on ActForChange in support of progressive values.
IN THIS BULLETIN:
ACTIVISM OPPORTUNITY: Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from Oil Drilling
ACTIVISM OPPORTUNITY: Don't Give Dick Cheney the "Nuclear Option" on Judges
Protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from Oil Drilling
The special interests that want to drill in the crown jewel of the national wildlife refuge system just do not give up. The results of the last election have brought them to the verge of success in the Senate, while the House is already on record supporting drilling.
Urge your senators to oppose any and all efforts to open any part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to exploration and drilling by oil and gas interests.
Click here to take action!
Please forward this newsletter to your friends and help spread the word about this important campaign!
Don't Give Dick Cheney the "Nuclear Option" on Judges
Last week, ActForChange members from Maine to Arizona to California met face to face with senators and their staffs to express their opposition to the right wing power grab to trample the rights of the minority by eliminating the 200-year-old filibuster. Here's a quote from just one of the many participants:
"It was great fun...Feeling that we were in some way doing our part for our country was extremely gratifying. Thanks for giving me the chance to be involved."
If you were able to meet with your senator's office, thank you. If not, please take action today. Senators on both sides of the aisle — but especially moderate Republicans — need to hear from their constituents that trampling minority rights is bad for our democracy.
Click here to take action!
Please forward this newsletter to your friends and help spread the word about this important campaign!
Thank you for working to build a better world.
Jennifer Willis DirectorActForChange.com

Please join me in signing the petition to Repair the Vote

After the last two presidential elections, it's incredibly important to repair our election system. We need to guarantee paper printouts for electronic voting machines, cut long lines, and prohibit partisan election officials.There's lots of legislation in Congress to do just that, and we need to demand our representatives pass it immediately.I just signed a petition to Congress. Can you join me by signing this petition?http://www.moveonpac.org/repairthevote/This is urgent because states are preparing to spend over a billion dollars on new electronic voting machines. Unless Congress requires paper printouts now, we'll be stuck with expensive machines that can't do a simple recount.I hope you'll sign this petition to Congress:http://www.moveonpac.org/repairthevote/

Thank you,
Lilly

Article regarding Spencer Black's discussion

State Representative Spencer Black's visit to Green Lake, WI

On February 7^th, Operation GLAD welcomed State Representative Spencer Black from the 77^th Assembly District to Green Lake. Representative Black came to discuss TABOR (Tax Payer's Bill of Rights). There were over 65 people in attendance at the Gooseblind for this event. They came from Green Lake, Berlin, Ripon, Wautoma, Montello, Princeton, Markesan, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac. In all, there were 6 counties represented.

On January 6^th, the Berlin Journal ran an informative article regarding TABOR, written by Melissa Adler. In that article, Ms. Adler referred to “Colorado's ill-conceived TABOR law that has resulted in a faltering economy and a decline in public services.” Representative Black also warns Wisconsin residents about the faults in TABOR for these same reasons.

In response to TABOR, Representative Black is authoring Assembly Bill 44 , Homeowners Property Exemption (HOPE). HOPE will actually cut (reduce) property taxes for Wisconsin property owners. HOPE offers property owners a homestead exemption of $60,000. This will save the average property owner $600 on their property tax bill. “How can the state afford to do this?” was obviously one of the first questions to be raised. Representative Black's answer is to solve the inequity in our tax system.

There has been a dramatic shift in our taxes over the past decade. At one time, businesses provided 11% of the overall revenues for the state while property owners provided 48% of the revenues. Currently, in 2005, businesses provide 4% of the revenues, while property owners are responsible for 72%. This shift in the in the tax burden has resulted in higher property taxes for the homeowner and lower taxes for business.

Representative Black believes it is essential to have loopholes removed from the tax codes which give business a real financial advantage and leaves property owners with an unfair proportion of the tax burden. Representative Black gave examples of two such loopholes in the tax code. The first is a tax exemption on luxury box seats at the Brewer's stadium. The general public, who cannot afford the luxury box seats at Miller Park, are required to pay taxes on the sale of baseball tickets. Another loophole, referred to as the Las Vegas Loophole, allows business to have their earnings reported in Nevada, where there is no state tax. So a business in Wisconsin that has a profit can show zero profit ( and thus pay NO STATE TAX) by transferring their their revenues to a P.O. Box in Nevada. According to Representative Black,this loophole results in $100 million of lost revenue for the state of Wisconsin.

Of course, not all businesses in Wisconsin are taking advantage of these loopholes. Small businesses, owned by local residents, pay their fair share of taxes to the state of Wisconsin. But there are several larger businesses that do take advantage of these loopholes and do not pay their fair share of state taxes.

In coming weeks and months as you start to hear more about TABOR and HOPE, think about the equity and fairness of the tax burden. As Spencer Black points out, who benefits from good schools, good roads, well trained and staffed police forces and firefighters? Yes, of course Wisconsin residents benefit from these services. But so do businesses. Businesses count on highly educated Wisconsin students to graduate and work for them. They count on well maintained roads for their trucks to transport their goods and for employees to use on the way to work. They count on the police and fire services to protect them in time of need. Businesses count on the snowplows to make the roads safe for their customers and employees. Businesses need schools, public safety, roads and libraries as much as the residents. They should have to pay their fair share for these services. Should property tax owners be responsible for 72% of state revenues while businesses are only responsible for 4%?

If you are interested in learning more about your state government, please refer to the following web sites: Who are my Legislators? http://165.189.139.210/WAML/

WI State Legislature http://www.legis.state.wi.us/.

If you do not have a computer, there is free Internet access at your local library. Courteous and friendly library staff are available to help you with questions.

Laura Hutchison

on behalf of GLAD
http://aweinspiring.blogspot.com

Demand appointment of Special Prosecutor

Dear Friend:
Last week we added Gonzales to the war crimes suit we filed with the German prosecutor that charges Rumsfeld and other high-ranking officials with responsibility for torture at Abu Ghraib. Despite the thousands of letters many of you sent, the evidence, and the legal merits of the case, Rumsfeld strong-armed the German government into refusing the suit before he would agree to attend an important security conference in Munich.
We knew this would be a long fight: we'll be re-arguing the case in 10 days, submitting additional papers and appealing to a higher court in Germany. Please take a minute to sign a letter demanding the appointment of a Special Prosecutor here in the U.S.
Those of you who joined us in standing up early to oppose the Gonzales nomination made a real difference - the debate began with a ranking Democratic Senator hugging Mr. Gonzales and calling him a non-divisive choice for Attorney General and ended with every one of the eight Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee doing their moral duty and voting no on the nomination of an architect of torture.
Thank you for acting and speaking out. We promise we'll be judicious in calling on you and won't clog your mailbox with endless appeals and symbolic actions. We want you to know that when we ask, we think we can make a real difference.
If you'd like to show your support for the critical work we do by making a donation, please click here.
Please look for more from us in the coming weeks on the military's Stop Loss policy of enforced extended tours of duty. As always, please forward this far and wide!
Yours,
Ron Daniels and Michael RatnerExecutive Director and President, Center for Constitutional Rights
P.S. Last week we filed a petition on behalf of 570 John Does at the Guantanamo Bay interrogation camp. The Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo was not a law-free zone in CCR's successful suit last June, but the Bush Administration has done everything in its power to deny the detainees access to due process. We continue to fight them every step of the way.
For more information about CCR's mission and work, please visit www.ccr-ny.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
New to CCR? Let us tell you a bit about the important cutting edge work we do: In the wake of 9/11, the Center for Constitutional Rights has been at the forefront of the legal battle to save our freedoms from the right-wing extremists in the Bush Administration and to protect the rule of law.
We won the ground-breaking Guantanamo case in the Supreme Court and have already had significant victories and filed historic suits challenging :
* The Patriot Act
* Post-9/11 immigration dragnets
* "Rendition" - aka outsourcing torture
* Private contractors' role in Abu Ghraib
* Racial profiling
* Oil companies' abuse of human rights in third world countries
CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization that fights to uphold and advance the rights guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights demonstrators in the South, CCR is committed to the creative use of law for social change.
CCR has always been unafraid to take on the tough cases when no one else would and to stand up and do what is right, regardless of the political climate.If you do not wish to receive emails from CCR in the future, please respond to this email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Privatizing Social Security is not a Nest Egg

Participants Would Forfeit Part of Accounts' Profits
By Jonathan Weisman / Washington Post
Under the White House Social Security plan, workers who opt to divert some of their payroll taxes into individual accounts would ultimately get to keep only the investment returns that exceed the rate of return that the money would have accrued in the traditional system.
The mechanism, detailed by a senior administration official before President Bush's State of the Union address, would hold down the cost of Bush's plan to introduce personal accounts to the Social Security system. But it could come as a surprise to lawmakers and voters who have thought of these accounts as akin to an individual retirement account or a 401(k) that they could use fully upon retirement.
"You'll be able to pass along the money that accumulates in your personal account, if you wish, to your children . . . or grandchildren," Bush said last night. "And best of all, the money in the account is yours, and the government can never take it away."
The plan is more complicated. Under the proposal, workers could invest as much as 4 percent of their wages subject to Social Security taxation in a limited assortment of stock, bond and mixed-investment funds. But the government would keep and administer that money. Upon retirement, workers would then be given any money that exceeded inflation-adjusted gains over 3 percent.
That money would augment a guaranteed Social Security benefit that would be reduced by a still-undetermined amount from the currently promised benefit.
In effect, the accounts would work more like a loan from the government, to be paid back upon retirement at an inflation-adjusted 3 percent interest rate -- the interest the money would have earned if it had been invested in Treasury bonds, said Peter R. Orszag, a Social Security analyst at the Brookings Institution and a former Clinton White House economist.
"I believe you should be able to set aside part of that money in your own retirement account so you can build a nest egg for your own future," Bush said in his speech.
Orszag retorted: "It's not a nest egg. It's a loan."
Under the system, the gains may be minimal. The Social Security Administration, in projecting benefits under a partially privatized system, assumes a 4.6 percent rate of return above inflation. The Congressional Budget Office, Capitol Hill's official scorekeeper, assumes 3.3 percent gains.
If a worker sets aside $1,000 a year for 40 years, and earns 4 percent annually on investments, the account would grow to $99,800 in today's dollars, but the government would keep $78,700 -- or about 80 percent of the account. The remainder, $21,100, would be the worker's.
With a 4.6 percent average gain over inflation, the government keeps more than 70 percent. With the CBO's 3.3 percent rate, the worker is left with nothing but the guaranteed benefit.
If instead, workers decide to stay in the traditional system, they would receive the benefit that Social Security could pay out of payroll taxes still flowing into the system, the official said. Which option would be best is still unclear because the White House has yet to propose how severely guaranteed benefits would be cut for those with individual accounts.
The administration official explained that the "benefit offset" merely ensures that those who choose personal accounts are not given an unfair advantage over the traditional system.
"In return for the opportunity to get the benefits from the personal account, the person forgoes a certain amount of benefits from the traditional system," the official told reporters. "Basically, the net effect on an individual's benefits would be zero if his personal account earned a 3 percent real rate of return. To the extent that his personal account gets a higher rate of return, his net benefit would increase."
Robert Pozen, a Massachusetts investment executive who served on the president's Social Security Commission, said the mechanism makes sense. Workers who draw money out of the Social Security system for their accounts should have to pay that money back with interest.
But critics of the Bush plan said the proposed "claw back" renders the whole idea of "personal retirement accounts" virtually meaningless. Indeed, the system would ultimately look something like a proposal made by President Bill Clinton, in which the government would have invested Social Security taxes in the stock market.
That idea was criticized by conservatives because the federal government could end up choosing winners and losers in the financial markets. But under the Bush system, the government is still choosing the stocks and bonds to be bought with Social Security money, said Jason Furman, a former Clinton administration economist. Individuals would get a limited choice, and the government would still keep most of the returns.
"They hope people will think they will take on these accounts and after 40 years, they'll have this huge windfall, but that won't happen," said Dean Baker, co-director of the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research. "I think they're trying to confuse people."
Stephen Moore, a conservative supporter of Bush's Social Security effort, said the mechanism would undermine the president's notion of an "ownership society."
In a nod to lawmakers worried about the budget deficit, the White House will also hold down the initial cost of the Social Security plan by phasing it in over three years, beginning in 2009. The administration official said funding the individual accounts would cost $754 billion through 2015. But because of the phase-in, the personal-accounts system would not be fully effective until 2011.
In its first 10 years, 2009 to 2018, the system would cost more than $1 trillion, Furman said. Between 2019 and 2028, the cost would jump to about $3.5 trillion, he said.

Welcome Ripon College Democrats

Thank you to Mr. Joe Fontaine, the Chair of the Ripon College Dems, for getting involved with GLAD. I hope to see some action on this blog now that we are getting the college students involved!

We have another goal, GLAD--we must get the interested hispanic community involved with our grassroots democratic efforts.

Ideas?
Suggestions?

Please comment.

Message from Senator Harry Reid

Dear Friend,In a few moments I will go to the floor of the Senate and introduce ten bills which will make up the Senate Democrats’ legislative agenda.Each measure represents one of our core values; opportunity so that every American can get the education they need to compete for good-paying jobs; responsibility, so that the United States government meets its obligations to future and past generations; and security, that the American way of life and our freedom will be protected by using all the tools available to take the fight to the terrorists while strongly supporting those who keep us free.With your help thousands of Americans can stand with the Senate Democrats as we fight for these 10 bills. Normally Senators first approach each other to cosponsor their legislation. I am turning to you.Become a citizen Cosponsor of the Democratic Agenda by visiting:http://democrats.senate.gov/cosponsor-form.htmlOur ten bills cover a wide variety of subjects, but each one is an important part of keeping America’s promise.It is the promise of opportunity so that every American can get the education they need to compete in the 21st century; live in an economy with good paying jobs and high quality health care; and participate in our democracy. Keeping the promise of America also means meeting our responsibilities both to future and past generations by providing our seniors what they have spent a lifetime work for; acting responsibly with taxpayer’s dollars and with our children’s future by restoring fiscal discipline.It is the promise of security, that the American way of life and our freedom will be protected by using all the tools to take the fight to the terrorists and standing with those who have served. It is these values that will continue to guide the Democratic agenda as this Congress moves forward.Please join us, learn more about the Democratic Agenda and become a ”Citizen Cosponsor” by visiting:http://democrats.senate.gov/cosponsor-form.htmlThank you,Harry Reid
To Opt-Out from further messages, send an email to LISTSERV@LIST.DEMOCRATS.GOV with 'unsubscribe dem-debate' in the body of the message.

visitors please comment

Hello folks, if you are reading this it means that your are visiting this BLOG, and that's a good thing. Hope you visit often and encourage others to do so also. I will be posting articles, petitions, and things that I find of interest, and hopefully you will find interesting and useful, also. I encourage everyone to comment, and especially to let me know if there are certain subjects that you would like more information about, or anything that you would find of interest that I can research and post here.

There is a website that you might like to visit, and that is www.buyblue.org
Check it out, and please post your comments, it will help to know that people are reading my posts.

Thanks,
Lilly

Web site for State legislature info

Try www.legis.state.wi.us.assembly.html for names, e-mail addresses, tel #'s. etc for state assemblymen and state senators.

Also has list of bills pending etc.

Nothing on Tabor yet but it should be added as soon as legislature is in session early in Jan 2005.

Get to know the WI Democratic Party

http://wisdems.org

A complete listing of your elected representatives, their phone numbers, email, addresses, etc...

Be sure to join the party of your choice. 50% of your contribution goes back to the county where you live!

TABOR

Tax Payer's Bill of Rights

For anyone with kids in school, it would be worth your while to contact the school board and consider going to a meeting to find out how TABOR would effect your kids' school.

My kids go to Green Lake, so I will contact someone on the school board as soon as possible, If I find anything out, I'll let you know.

BTW: I am training to be a First Responder in Green Lake and I read in the WI Firefighters Association magazine that the firemen are lobbying to keep all of their funding --as they too are concerned with TABOR.

Welcome to this blog.