| The Kensington Review |
28 October 2005 |
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Volume IV, Number 129 |
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Harriet Miers Withdraws Supreme Court Nomination -- Whether Harriet Miers really was qualified to take a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States has now become a moot point. Her nomination never had the votes to get her through without some serious revelation of her “judicial philosophy” – a grandiose word meaning ideology as it applies to interpretation of the law. In order to win confirmation, she was going to have to perform at an Oscar-winning level in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and she would need some White House papers to back up her statements. Since the White House didn’t want to reveal privileged information between a lawyer and the presidential client, her withdrawal merely acknowledged the inevitable
UK Government Pushes Ahead with “Unworkable” Partial Smoking Ban -- The British government has just published its latest health bill for England and Wales, which included a partial ban on smoking tobacco. In the clash between individual liberty and public health concerns, there will inevitably be problems about where lines get drawn. However, the Blair government has miscued with its partial ban, upsetting the health constituency with exemptions that have been accurately labeled “unworkable.” White House Reinstates Wage Rules along Gulf Coast --The disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita along the Gulf Coast of the US were exacerbated by government ineptitude and generally bad planning. However, the decision by the president to suspend the Davis-Bacon Act, which guarantees wages levels on federal projects, was worse than his nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. In a fit of wisdom, Mr. Bush has reversed himself, and effective November 8, the act will again apply in the devastated region. White Sox Sweep Houston Astros -- The championship of American baseball is rather over-sold as the World Series. With the exception of Toronto, the entire operation is based in the USA. A better term, though far from official, is The Fall Classic; it’s elegant, spartanly poetic. Now, if the competition could measure up to the billing, things might be worthwhile. As it is, the Chicago White Sox swept an under-achieving Houston Astros team in four straight to win their first World Series in 88 years. It might be a different matter if the National League champs turned up to the event. © Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux. |
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