April 13, 2005
WELL BEGUN IS HALF DONE:
Conservatives near lock on US courts: Senators will consider new judicial nominees Thursday. GOP-appointed judges already control 10 of 13 appeals courts. (Warren Richey, 4/14/05, The Christian Science Monitor)
As Democrats and Republicans in Washington prepare for an expected showdown over the use of filibusters to stall judicial nominees, President Bush is already well on his way to recasting the nation's federal appeals courts in a more conservative mold.Republican appointees now constitute a majority of judges on 10 of the nation's 13 federal appeals courts. As few as three more lifetime appointments on key courts would tip the balance in favor of GOP appointees on all but one appeals court - the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Which reminds us of an encounter between a Winston Churchill in his cups and Lady Astor:
-Why, Winston, I believe you must have drunk half a boxcar full of champagne.
-Ah, yes, so much done, so much yet to do.
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 13, 2005 10:47 PMWhy were his best encounters always with Lady Astor?
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at April 13, 2005 11:23 PMJim:
The best though was with a Socialist MP in the House of Commons head. Winston was at the trough and as the other sidled up slid all the way to the far end, prompting this exchange:
-My Winston, feeling a bit standoffish today, aren't we?
-Bah, every time you something huge you want to nationalize it.
Posted by: oj at April 14, 2005 12:43 AMThey should not count appointees by Nixon, Ford or Old Bush as Republicans.
Posted by: bart at April 14, 2005 8:53 AMNot until Stevens, O'Conner, Kennedy, Souter, Ginberg and Breyer have been keelhauled.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at April 14, 2005 10:31 PM