Ashcroft thinks federal judges are too lenient, so he's demanding they sentence as harshly as possible, limiting plea bargains. I get the feeling he'd just as soon have robots administering justice in this country, using his rules without discretion. For once, Chief Justice Rehnquist and I agree on something:
The effort to bind judges to the guidelines, supported by President Bush, is opposed by many jurists, among them Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who say Congress and the executive branch are trampling the independence of the judiciary.
Then there's this one: if you're looking to go to work for a non-profit outfit run by a religious organization, you'd better be a member of the same faith or you're likely out of luck. Since the Administration couldn't get Congress to sign on to this discriminatory hiring, he's done it by Executive Order, using some fairly specious reasoning, too:
"In any employment decision, there's discrimination," said Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. "Universities hire smart people."
Um, yeah, but the law says those smart people can't be discriminated against on the basis of race, creed, gender or sexual orientation. Laws appear to apply only selectively under this Administration, though, so not to worry.
Posted by Linkmeister at September 23, 2003 12:01 AM