Thursday, August 01, 2013 8:58:48 PM
Supreme Court Ethics Act Proposed In Response To Controversial Behavior By Justices Scalia, Thomas
By Nick Wing
Posted: 08/01/2013 1:45 pm EDT | Updated: 08/01/2013 7:06 pm EDT
A group of congressional Democrats is set to introduce legislation Thursday that would apply stricter ethical standards to the Supreme Court, amid concerns that justices have been engaging in questionable behavior.
The proposed Supreme Court Ethics Act of 2013 would subject the justices to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges [ http://www.uscourts.gov/RulesAndPolicies/CodesOfConduct/CodeConductUnitedStatesJudges.aspx ], a set of standards that currently applies to all other federal judges. Those rules would have forced the justices to recuse themselves from certain cases or explicitly prohibited some high-profile activities that have attracted scrutiny and demand for reform in the past few years.
The controversy over Supreme Court ethics re-emerged late last month, when Mother Jones reported [ http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/groundswell-rightwing-group-ginni-thomas (the post to which this is a reply)] that Ginni Thomas -- a well-connected tea party consultant and wife of Justice Clarence Thomas -- held an integral role in Groundswell, a conservative coalition of journalists and activists that has been meeting privately to coordinate talking points and messaging on key political issues. The revelation led to a new round of questions [ http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/ginni-thomas-groundswell-conflict-interest ] about whether her brand of partisan activism should constitute a conflict of interest for her husband, who has been tasked with ruling on many of the issues that she is involved in.
Currently, the Supreme Court's system for dealing with conflicts of interest, or appearances of conflicts, is to leave it to each justice's own best judgment. In the past, justices have recused themselves from cases apparently because they held significant stock in a company before the court or when their adult offspring were professionally involved in the case. But Thomas took part in the Obamacare decision despite calls to recuse himself due to his wife's outspoken advocacy against the law.
Reform advocates have similarly noted that Justices Antonin Scalia and Thomas attended a Koch Industries fundraiser in 2010 [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/scalia-thomas-koch-industries_n_769843.html ], just months after siding with the majority in the landmark Citizens United case, which effectively empowered the billionaire Koch brothers to spend millions of dollars in support of conservative political candidates.
The liberal Alliance for Justice has argued that the appearance of Scalia and Thomas as speakers at a 2011 dinner fundraiser for the conservative Federalist Society [ http://www.afj.org/connect-with-the-issues/supreme-court-ethics-reform/3%29%09http:/www.afj.org/connect-with-the-issues/supreme-court-ethics-reform/federalist-society-fundraiser.pdf ] is reason for a closer look at Supreme Court ethics. Legal experts also questioned Scalia's appearance at a 2012 fundraiser for Friends of Abe [ http://www.commonblog.com/2013/06/07/scalias-speech-to-secretive-hollywood-political-organization-raises-questions/ ], a group of Hollywood conservatives that has championed Republican causes and candidates.
The bill to be introduced Thursday -- by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) -- will be the latest move to impose binding ethics rules on the justices. Murphy introduced a similar effort in 2011 [ http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr862 ], when he was a congressman. Slaughter has been pressing the issue [ http://www.louise.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2907:supreme-court-accountability&catid=89:justice&Itemid=136 ] since 2011, when she and a group of 19 other representatives raised questions over apparent discrepancies in Thomas' income disclosure forms [ http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/22/nation/la-na-thomas-disclosure-20110122 ]. In 2012, a group of congressional lawmakers including Slaughter asked Chief Justice John Roberts [ http://www.louise.house.gov/images/stories/Report_Response_FINAL_3.7.124.pdf ] to voluntarily adopt the Judicial Code of Conduct. He declined [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/02/21/National-Politics/Graphics/Ltr_to_Chairman_Leahy.pdf ].
The initiative appears to have public support, as a petition at Credo [ http://org.credoaction.com/petitions/tell-supreme-court-justice-john-roberts-apply-a-code-of-conduct-to-the-supreme-court ] echoing the Supreme Court Ethics Act's call for reform has attracted more than 125,000 signatures.
The Supreme Court's traditional resistance to a binding code of conduct [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/chief-justice-john-roberts-supreme-court-ethics_n_1184780.html ] could make the bill difficult to implement if passed. Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones noted [ http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/07/democrats-introduce-supreme-court-ethics-bill ] that the legislation could also open up a legal fight over the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches.
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/supreme-court-ethics-act_n_3689351.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
--
Matt Shea, Washington Legislator, Tells Tea Party Group To Buy Ammunition To Prepare For Economic Collapse
Washington state Rep. Matt Shea said that residents should stock up on ammunition to prepare for an economic collapse.
By John Celock
Posted: 08/01/2013 12:15 pm EDT | Updated: 08/01/2013 7:04 pm EDT
A Republican state legislator in Washington told a group of tea party members and survivalists at a rally to buy thousands of rounds of ammunition to prepare for an economic collapse.
At an Idaho state park last weekend, State Rep. Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley) said that preparation is the key to surviving what he said is an "inevitable collapse that is going to happen," the Coeur d'Alene Press reported [ http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_322c8855-9ea1-5ae1-a06e-1e69f3104eab.html ]. Shea was one of multiple speakers to bring up preparation; another speaker urged the creation of militias.
Shea, an Army veteran, told the crowd how to prepare, the Coeur d'Alene Press reports [id.]:
"When it happens, we need to look at this as a opportunity, not a crisis," he said. "Who's [sic] job is liberty? That's our job."
Shea urged the crowd to stock up on thousands of rounds of ammunition and to stay in shape, practice shooting, learn self defense and special tactics.
When he was in the military, Shea said one of his superiors told him something he will never forget.
"Be prepared at any given moment to give up your job to do what is right," he said. "You have to stand up for what is right - even if it means you have to stand up to your government."
Shea, a third-term lawmaker, was introduced to the crowd [ http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_322c8855-9ea1-5ae1-a06e-1e69f3104eab.html ] as one of the Southern Poverty Law Center's most hated politicians, a label Shea embraced at the rally. The SPLC's website [ http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/publications/attacking-the-constitution-slli-and-the-anti-immigrant-movement/the-legislators ] describes Shea's belief that President Barack Obama is planning to take guns away from Americans and that the federal government is setting up concentration camps. The SPLC notes that Shea once told conservative talk show host Alex Jones that the federal government was behind the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995 and that Obama is running a secret army Shea described as "very sinister."
This year, Shea promoted legislation to bring more ammunition and gun-parts manufacturers to the state [ http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130328/BLOG13/130329788/1036/NEWS05#Bill-aims-to-lure-ammunition-manufacturers-to-state ] to help residents who own guns.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported [ http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/07/30/rep-matt-shea-economy-is-going-to-collapse/ ] that Shea was in the news in recent years when his ex-wife accused him during their divorce of treating her as a "possession" and forcing her to walk on his left hand side since he could carry a sword on his right. In 2011, Shea was involved in an incident [ http://www.washblog.com/story/2012/10/27/195621/06 ] where he pointed a loaded gun at a driver who cut him off and then engaged the other vehicle in a high-speed chase.
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/matt-shea-washington-ammunition_n_3689576.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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By Nick Wing
Posted: 08/01/2013 1:45 pm EDT | Updated: 08/01/2013 7:06 pm EDT
A group of congressional Democrats is set to introduce legislation Thursday that would apply stricter ethical standards to the Supreme Court, amid concerns that justices have been engaging in questionable behavior.
The proposed Supreme Court Ethics Act of 2013 would subject the justices to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges [ http://www.uscourts.gov/RulesAndPolicies/CodesOfConduct/CodeConductUnitedStatesJudges.aspx ], a set of standards that currently applies to all other federal judges. Those rules would have forced the justices to recuse themselves from certain cases or explicitly prohibited some high-profile activities that have attracted scrutiny and demand for reform in the past few years.
The controversy over Supreme Court ethics re-emerged late last month, when Mother Jones reported [ http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/groundswell-rightwing-group-ginni-thomas (the post to which this is a reply)] that Ginni Thomas -- a well-connected tea party consultant and wife of Justice Clarence Thomas -- held an integral role in Groundswell, a conservative coalition of journalists and activists that has been meeting privately to coordinate talking points and messaging on key political issues. The revelation led to a new round of questions [ http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/ginni-thomas-groundswell-conflict-interest ] about whether her brand of partisan activism should constitute a conflict of interest for her husband, who has been tasked with ruling on many of the issues that she is involved in.
Currently, the Supreme Court's system for dealing with conflicts of interest, or appearances of conflicts, is to leave it to each justice's own best judgment. In the past, justices have recused themselves from cases apparently because they held significant stock in a company before the court or when their adult offspring were professionally involved in the case. But Thomas took part in the Obamacare decision despite calls to recuse himself due to his wife's outspoken advocacy against the law.
Reform advocates have similarly noted that Justices Antonin Scalia and Thomas attended a Koch Industries fundraiser in 2010 [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/20/scalia-thomas-koch-industries_n_769843.html ], just months after siding with the majority in the landmark Citizens United case, which effectively empowered the billionaire Koch brothers to spend millions of dollars in support of conservative political candidates.
The liberal Alliance for Justice has argued that the appearance of Scalia and Thomas as speakers at a 2011 dinner fundraiser for the conservative Federalist Society [ http://www.afj.org/connect-with-the-issues/supreme-court-ethics-reform/3%29%09http:/www.afj.org/connect-with-the-issues/supreme-court-ethics-reform/federalist-society-fundraiser.pdf ] is reason for a closer look at Supreme Court ethics. Legal experts also questioned Scalia's appearance at a 2012 fundraiser for Friends of Abe [ http://www.commonblog.com/2013/06/07/scalias-speech-to-secretive-hollywood-political-organization-raises-questions/ ], a group of Hollywood conservatives that has championed Republican causes and candidates.
The bill to be introduced Thursday -- by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) -- will be the latest move to impose binding ethics rules on the justices. Murphy introduced a similar effort in 2011 [ http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr862 ], when he was a congressman. Slaughter has been pressing the issue [ http://www.louise.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2907:supreme-court-accountability&catid=89:justice&Itemid=136 ] since 2011, when she and a group of 19 other representatives raised questions over apparent discrepancies in Thomas' income disclosure forms [ http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/22/nation/la-na-thomas-disclosure-20110122 ]. In 2012, a group of congressional lawmakers including Slaughter asked Chief Justice John Roberts [ http://www.louise.house.gov/images/stories/Report_Response_FINAL_3.7.124.pdf ] to voluntarily adopt the Judicial Code of Conduct. He declined [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/02/21/National-Politics/Graphics/Ltr_to_Chairman_Leahy.pdf ].
The initiative appears to have public support, as a petition at Credo [ http://org.credoaction.com/petitions/tell-supreme-court-justice-john-roberts-apply-a-code-of-conduct-to-the-supreme-court ] echoing the Supreme Court Ethics Act's call for reform has attracted more than 125,000 signatures.
The Supreme Court's traditional resistance to a binding code of conduct [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/chief-justice-john-roberts-supreme-court-ethics_n_1184780.html ] could make the bill difficult to implement if passed. Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones noted [ http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/07/democrats-introduce-supreme-court-ethics-bill ] that the legislation could also open up a legal fight over the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches.
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/supreme-court-ethics-act_n_3689351.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
--
Matt Shea, Washington Legislator, Tells Tea Party Group To Buy Ammunition To Prepare For Economic Collapse
Washington state Rep. Matt Shea said that residents should stock up on ammunition to prepare for an economic collapse.
By John Celock
Posted: 08/01/2013 12:15 pm EDT | Updated: 08/01/2013 7:04 pm EDT
A Republican state legislator in Washington told a group of tea party members and survivalists at a rally to buy thousands of rounds of ammunition to prepare for an economic collapse.
At an Idaho state park last weekend, State Rep. Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley) said that preparation is the key to surviving what he said is an "inevitable collapse that is going to happen," the Coeur d'Alene Press reported [ http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_322c8855-9ea1-5ae1-a06e-1e69f3104eab.html ]. Shea was one of multiple speakers to bring up preparation; another speaker urged the creation of militias.
Shea, an Army veteran, told the crowd how to prepare, the Coeur d'Alene Press reports [id.]:
"When it happens, we need to look at this as a opportunity, not a crisis," he said. "Who's [sic] job is liberty? That's our job."
Shea urged the crowd to stock up on thousands of rounds of ammunition and to stay in shape, practice shooting, learn self defense and special tactics.
When he was in the military, Shea said one of his superiors told him something he will never forget.
"Be prepared at any given moment to give up your job to do what is right," he said. "You have to stand up for what is right - even if it means you have to stand up to your government."
Shea, a third-term lawmaker, was introduced to the crowd [ http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_322c8855-9ea1-5ae1-a06e-1e69f3104eab.html ] as one of the Southern Poverty Law Center's most hated politicians, a label Shea embraced at the rally. The SPLC's website [ http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/publications/attacking-the-constitution-slli-and-the-anti-immigrant-movement/the-legislators ] describes Shea's belief that President Barack Obama is planning to take guns away from Americans and that the federal government is setting up concentration camps. The SPLC notes that Shea once told conservative talk show host Alex Jones that the federal government was behind the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995 and that Obama is running a secret army Shea described as "very sinister."
This year, Shea promoted legislation to bring more ammunition and gun-parts manufacturers to the state [ http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130328/BLOG13/130329788/1036/NEWS05#Bill-aims-to-lure-ammunition-manufacturers-to-state ] to help residents who own guns.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported [ http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/07/30/rep-matt-shea-economy-is-going-to-collapse/ ] that Shea was in the news in recent years when his ex-wife accused him during their divorce of treating her as a "possession" and forcing her to walk on his left hand side since he could carry a sword on his right. In 2011, Shea was involved in an incident [ http://www.washblog.com/story/2012/10/27/195621/06 ] where he pointed a loaded gun at a driver who cut him off and then engaged the other vehicle in a high-speed chase.
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/matt-shea-washington-ammunition_n_3689576.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
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