Friday Funnies
Friday Funnies: …and a Leftist Judiciary! (reprise, again)
Welcome to the 2012 Christmas edition of the Clear The Bench Colorado Friday Funnies!
Another tumultuous year has come and gone for the Colorado judiciary – and once again, Colorado Citizens and taxpayers have been hammered by the gavels of Colorado judges pounding their personal preferences over the will of the people – and the rule of law.
Last year closed with Colorado courts deciding the boundaries for Congressional districts (after the state senate reprised the 2000 playbook of abdicating responsibility to send it to the courts) and state legislative districts (following the Colorado Reapportionment Commission’s public hearings on re-setting the boundaries of our state legislative districts over the summer), both of which played a prominent role in determining Colorado’s electoral destiny in 2012.
Colorado courts were also a central battlefield for Education policy, as one Denver District judge threw out Douglas County’s attempts to enable greater school choice, and another Denver District judge declared the state system of funding schools “unconscionable” while advancing the power of the courts to determine “proper” levels of school funding (despite the Constitution’s delegation of that power to the legislative branch) – although that decision is likely to be overturned after an expensive – and long - appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.
The first stages of the court appeal seeking to preserve school choice concluded last month (Nov 2012) with oral arguments before the Colorado Court of Appeals (a ruling by the 3-judge panel isn’t expected until early next year, most likely late January or February).
Meanwhile, the ‘Lobato’ school funding lawsuit – called the “Super Bowl of school funding litigation” – continues to slog its way through the courts as well.
Earlier in the year, after two years of legislative inaction failed to repeal or roll back the unconstitutional and unpopular tax increase, the ‘FASTER’ Colorado Car Tax was challenged in court as a violation of the Colorado state Constitution (specifically, Article X, Section 20 – Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, TABOR).
Another, wider-ranging challenge to TABOR is still being fought out in Federal court: the notorious “Fenster’s Folly” frivolous anti-TABOR lawsuit (which not only challenges TABOR in particular, but more generally citizens’ right to petition under a flawed reading of the “republican form of government” language in the Constitution’s “Guarantee Clause” (United States Constitution, Article IV, Section 4 – “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government“) which multiple U.S. Supreme Court cases have ruled non-justiciable (meaning, not subject to determination by the courts).
One major ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court DID uphold the law – and the rights of Colorado citizens – when striking down the University of Colorado’s illegal gun ban (March 2012). Unfortunately, the CU administration (backed by the CU Board of Regents) moved almost immediately to circumvent the court’s ruling and continue to violate state law by promulgating policies banning guns in certain areas (not authorized by statute) and additional gun ban legislation (unfortunately backed by many on the CU Board of Regents) to further restrict and roll back hard-fought self-defense rights is coming.
Finally, to close out the year, the Colorado Supreme Court and Court of Appeals moved into the palatial new ‘Colorado Judicial Center’ (at significant taxpayer expense and incurring massive new “non-debt” debt, without required voter approval) just one week before closing for the holidays.
All of these issues were comprehensively documented by Clear The Bench Colorado over the last year – while the “mass media” and the majority of the state’s “news” organizations gave them short shrift.
Clear The Bench Colorado also continued the public service of providing comprehensive, well-referenced evaluations of judicial performance in 2012 – again, in contrast to the “official” taxpayer-funded “Blue Book” rubberstamp “reviews” disseminated at great expense (and, when put out at polling locations, in violation of state law) by the Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation.
Although remaining mindful that what’s at stake – holding our judiciary accountable for serial violations of our constitutional rights (to vote on taxes, even when taxes are called “fees”; defend our property against unjust seizure; bear arms in self-defense; and too many others to list) is serious business, all work and no play makes Matty a dull boy.
Although still awaiting payment over two year later after “Colorado Ethics Watch” (CEW, pronounced “sue” – it’s what they do) was once again ordered to pay Clear The Bench Colorado thousands of $ in legal fees (owed since the judge’s original ruling in July 2010 found CEW’s complaint to be “frivolous, groundless, & vexatious”) brings a rueful chuckle, the following video (even if focused on the national level) elicited a hearty laugh:
…and a Leftist Judiciary!
While still afflicted with the (black-robed) ghosts of Christmas past in our Christmas present, we can still act to save our Christmas future. Continue to support Clear The Bench Colorado with comments (Sound Off!) and contributions. Freedom isn’t free – nor is it always easy to be a Citizen, not a subject.
Ultimately, though – it’s worth the effort.
2011 Year in Review: Colorado Courts Continue to Play Politics
Colorado Courts Continue to Play Politics in 2011…
Another tumultuous year has come and gone for the Colorado judiciary – and once again, Colorado Citizens and taxpayers have been hammered by the gavels of Colorado judges pounding their personal preferences over the will of the people – and the rule of law.
Last year closed with Colorado being declared a “judicial hellhole” by a national judicial evaluation organization (one of only three state supreme courts nationwide to qualify for the “honor”, joining Michigan and perennial favorite West Virginia in being so recognized). The 2011 legislative session failed in repealing all but two of 2010’s unconstitutional “Dirty Dozen” tax increases (facilitated by the Colorado Supreme Court) or the even more onerous 2009 “FASTER” Colorado Car Tax legislation (aided and abetted by yet another anti-constitutional ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court’s “Mullarkey Majority” enabling taxes to masquerade as “fees”), and even almost passed another tax increase (the “movie-ticket tax“) attempting to exploit the court’s creation of anti-TABOR “loopholes.”
Spring and Summer was dominated by legislative battles over congressional redistricting (sadly, the state senate reprised the 2000 playbook of abdicating responsibility to send it to the courts) and the Colorado Reapportionment Commission’s public hearings on re-setting the boundaries of our state legislative districts. Both issues came to a head in court battles during the Fall, with the Colorado Supreme Court’s ultimate decision in both cases (determining the political shape of Colorado for the next decade) coming in early December (December 5th & December 12th, respectively).
Colorado courts were also a central battlefield for Education policy, as one Denver District judge threw out Douglas County’s attempts to enable greater school choice, and another Denver District judge declared the state system of funding schools “unconscionable” while advancing the power of the courts to determine “proper” levels of school funding (despite the Constitution’s delegation of that power to the legislative branch) – although that decision is likely to be overturned after an expensive (and long) appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.
In fact, 3 out of 4 “Top Colorado Political Stories of 2011” directly involve Colorado’s politicized judiciary (and the remainder, the voter rejection of tax increases at the ballot box, is juxtaposed against yet another court-approved tax increase the day before the vote):
- Redistricting/Reapportionment
- Failure of Prop 103
- Lobato decision
- Douglas County school vouchers
Cases such as Lobato – particularly Rappaport’s biased ruling – and the politicized nature of the court’s involvement in the congressional redistricting and state legislative reapportionment cases – highlight the importance of fair and impartial courts and of judges who exercise proper restraint (in accordance with the rule of law) in considering – let alone deciding – issues of policy more appropriate for the elected, representative branches of government. Our courts have an important – even vital – role to play in our society and system of government. Deciding issues of policy – instead of fairly and impartially upholding the law – is not it.
Clear The Bench Colorado will, with your support, continue to promote transparency and accountability in the Colorado judiciary, informing the public to increase awareness of the substantial public policy implications of an unrestrained activism and political agendas in the courts. We will continue to work to educate voters and provide information of relevance related to the judicial branch, and to provide useful and substantive evaluations of judicial performance.
However, we can’t do it alone – we need your continued support; via your comments (Sound Off!) and, yes, your contributions. Freedom isn’t free -nor is it always easy to be a Citizen, not a subject.
Ultimately, though – it’s worth the effort.
Friday Funnies: …and a Leftist Judiciary! (reprise)
Welcome to the 2011 Christmas edition of the Clear The Bench Colorado Friday Funnies!
Another tumultuous year has come and gone for the Colorado judiciary – and once again, Colorado Citizens and taxpayers have been hammered by the gavels of Colorado judges pounding their personal preferences over the will of the people – and the rule of law.
Last year closed with Colorado being declared a “judicial hellhole” by a national judicial evaluation organization (one of only three state supreme courts nationwide to qualify for the “honor”, joining Michigan and perennial favorite West Virginia in being so recognized). The 2011 legislative session failed in repealing all but two of 2010′s unconstitutional “Dirty Dozen” tax increases (facilitated by the Colorado Supreme Court) or the even more onerous 2009 “FASTER” Colorado Car Tax legislation (aided and abetted by yet another anti-constitutional ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court’s “Mullarkey Majority” enabling taxes to masquerade as “fees”), and even almost passed another tax increase (the “movie-ticket tax“) attempting to exploit the court’s creation of anti-TABOR “loopholes.”
Spring and Summer was dominated by legislative battles over congressional redistricting (sadly, the state senate reprised the 2000 playbook of abdicating responsibility to send it to the courts) and the Colorado Reapportionment Commission’s public hearings on re-setting the boundaries of our state legislative districts. Both issues came to a head in court battles during the Fall, with the Colorado Supreme Court’s ultimate decision in both cases (determining the political shape of Colorado for the next decade) coming in early December (December 5th & December 12th, respectively).
Colorado courts were also a central battlefield for Education policy, as one Denver District judge threw out Douglas County’s attempts to enable greater school choice, and another Denver District judge declared the state system of funding schools “unconscionable” while advancing the power of the courts to determine “proper” levels of school funding (despite the Constitution’s delegation of that power to the legislative branch) – although that decision is likely to be overturned after an expensive – and long – appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Although remaining mindful that what’s at stake – holding our judiciary accountable for serial violations of our constitutional rights (to vote on taxes, even when taxes are called “fees”; defend our property against unjust seizure; bear arms in self-defense; and too many others to list) is serious business, all work and no play makes Matty a dull boy.
Although still awaiting payment a year later after “Colorado Ethics Watch” (CEW, pronounced “sue” – it’s what they do) was once again ordered to pay Clear The Bench Colorado thousands of $ in legal fees (owed since the judge’s original ruling in July found their complaint “frivolous, groundless, & vexatious”) brings a rueful chuckle, the following video (even if focused on the national level) elicited a hearty laugh:
…and a Leftist Judiciary!
While still afflicted with the (black-robed) ghosts of Christmas past in our Christmas present, we can still act to save our Christmas future. Continue to support Clear The Bench Colorado with comments (Sound Off!) and contributions. Freedom isn’t free – nor is it always easy to be a Citizen, not a subject.
Ultimately, though – it’s worth the effort.
Friday Funnies – Sarcastic Supremes, and a “Cat Tax” upheld
“If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” Jimmy Buffet
Nowhere is this more true than dealing with Colorado’s consistently confusing and often arbitrary legal system and out-of-control judiciary – where the ruling majority on the Colorado Supreme Court recognizes no constitutional constraints, no limits to its untrammeled authority, no checks or balances to its power – in their view, the law means “just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.” This “Through the Looking Glass” worldview has precious little in common with the justices’ sworn duty to uphold the rule of law – and support (not dismantle) the Constitution.
Although remaining mindful of what’s at stake – holding our judiciary accountable for serial violations of our constitutional rights (to vote on taxes, even when taxes are called “fees”; keep your own property; bear arms in self-defense; and almost too many others to list); highlighting the judiciary’s dominant role in drawing up state legislative and congressional districts; and upholding the integrity of the judicial retention election process against the consortium of legal-establishment special-interest groups who attempted (and may have succeeded in) buying the election for their buddies on the bench in violation of Colorado campaign finance law – is serious business, all work and no play makes Matty a dull boy.
So – scouring the internet so you don’t have to – Clear The Bench Colorado presents another edition of the Friday Funnies.
From the reliably humorous (if often irreverent) Cracked magazine (online) comes the following list of “5 Awesomely Sarcastic Supreme Court Decisions“:
5. Bertman v. Kirsch (1964) – dealing with government shenanigans concerning notice of appeal (the government filed a notice of appeal late on the due date, leaving respondent no time to file a response within the statutory deadline). What makes it funny? The Supreme Court justice invoking Superman:
“I am aware of the argument that an able, alert, ever-diligent lawyer could have, had he tried hard enough, discovered that the Government had appealed — even in the closing hours of the sixtieth day. I do not doubt that had Bertman’s counsel been Superman, his X-ray eyes would have told him that a notice of appeal was being filed blocks away in the courthouse, or had he been a lawyer with no clients but Bertman he could have spent the sixtieth day hovering at the clerk’s office to see whether the Government would file a notice of appeal. But Bertman’s counsel (so far as the record shows) is not Superman, nor should the law expect him to be.”
4. PGA Tour v. Martin (2001) – in which a golfer sues to be able to use a golf cart instead of walking, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). What makes it funny? Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court’s funniest judge (as confirmed by a scientific study) waxes poetic on the “awesome responsibility… of determining the nature of golf.”
“We Justices must confront what is indeed an awesome responsibility. It has been rendered the solemn duty of the Supreme Court of the United States … to decide What Is Golf. I am sure that the Framers of the Constitution … fully expected that sooner or later the paths of golf and government, the law and the links, would once again cross, and that the judges of this august Court would some day have to wrestle with that age-old jurisprudential question, for which their years of study in the law have so well prepared them: Is someone riding around a golf course from shot to shot really a golfer? Either out of humility or out of self-respect (one or the other) the Court should decline to answer this incredibly difficult and incredibly silly question.”
(Scalia’s scathing wit highlights a basic fact: some issues are not – or should not be – justiciable; a fact acknowledged, in dissent, by a Colorado Supreme Court justice in the Lobato school funding case).
3. Pottawatomie School Board v. Earls (2002) – in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld drug testing for ALL extracurricular school activities (including the marching band and chess club). Why is this funny? Seriously – the chess club on crack? Band geeks blowing bongs? Freaked-out Future Farmers?
Notwithstanding nightmarish images of out-of-control flatware, livestock run amok, and colliding tubas disturbing the peace and quiet of Tecumseh, the great majority of students the School District seeks to test in truth are engaged in activities that are not safety sensitive to an unusual degree.”
2. Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners v. Jews for Jesus (1987) – in which the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that (Surprise!) that “a resolution banning all ‘First Amendment activities’ at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) violates the First Amendment.” Why is this funny? It’s not, really – except that the Los Angeles Airport Commissioners actually argued otherwise with a straight face.
1. Kyles v. Whitney (1995) – in which defense attorneys argued that testimony of four witnesses against a convicted murderer should be thrown out because “all clearly saw his face but hadn’t all agreed on his exact height and build. Why? One of them had seen Kyles only after he got into his getaway car.” Why is this funny? Once again, it’s the Supreme Court’s funniest justice (Scalia) bringing on the humor with a ‘Lone Ranger’ reference (a metaphorical “silver bullet”, if you will):
To assert that unhesitant and categorical identification by four witnesses who viewed the killer, close-up and with the sun high in the sky, would not eliminate reasonable doubt if it were based only on facial characteristics, and not on height and build, is quite simply absurd. Facial features are the primary means by which human beings recognize one another. That is why … bank robbers wear stockings over their faces instead of floor-length capes over their shoulders; it is why the Lone Ranger wears a mask instead of a poncho; and it is why a criminal defense lawyer who seeks to destroy an identifying witness by asking ‘You admit that you saw only the killer’s face?’ will be laughed out of the courtroom.”
Finally, demonstrating that government’s claim to authority to tax every living creature earning a living is quite literal comes this story of a court upholding the power to impose an occupational tax – on a cat.
Yes, that’s right – in the 1982 case of Blackie the talking cat (Miles v. City Council, 1982), the courts upheld the authority of the city of Augusta, Georgia to “impose an “occupation tax” on the plaintiffs [Blackie and his human "guardians"].
Sadly, judicial abuses of your constitutional rights are no laughing matter. Clear The Bench Colorado will, with your support, continue to promote transparency and accountability in the Colorado judiciary, informing the public to increase awareness of the substantial public policy implications of unrestrained activism and political agendas in the courts. We will continue to work with legislators and others interested in reforming the systemic shortcomings of Colorado’s “merit selection & retention” judicial review process to increase transparency and accountability to the public, and to provide substantive and useful evaluations of judicial performance.
However, we can’t do it alone – we need your continued support; via your comments (Sound Off!) and, yes, your contributions. Freedom isn’t free -nor is it always easy to be a Citizen, not a subject.
Ultimately, though – it’s worth the effort.
Friday Funnies: …and a Leftist Judiciary!
Welcome to the 2010 Christmas edition of the Clear The Bench Colorado Friday Funnies!
In all of the tumult, toil, and trouble of the weeks leading up to the 2010 judicial retention elections (and in the weeks following), Clear The Bench Colorado has been far too serious, falling short in our mission to amuse, in addition to our successful mission to educate & inform (as 9News reporter Adam Schrager recently commented at a forum evaluating this year’s election coverage, “the information was there if voters chose to get it” (referring in particular to Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold’s appearance on the Your Show television program) and CTBC’s Evaluations of Judicial Performance. Sadly, it’s been almost three months since the last edition of the CTBC Friday Funnies!
Although remaining mindful of what’s at stake – holding our judiciary accountable for serial violations of our constitutional rights (to vote on taxes, even when taxes are called “fees”; keep our own property; bear arms in self-defense; and almost too many others to list); highlighting the judiciary’s dominant role in drawing up state legislative and congressional districts; and upholding the integrity of the judicial retention election process against the consortium of legal-establishment special-interest groups who attempted (and may have succeeded in) buying the election for their buddies on the bench in violation of Colorado campaign finance law – is serious business, all work and no play makes Matty a dull boy.
While receiving the news earlier this week that “Colorado Ethics Watch” (CEW, pronounced “sue” – it’s what they do) was again ordered to pay Clear The Bench Colorado thousands of $ in legal fees (owed since the judge’s original ruling in July found their complaint “frivolous, groundless, and vexatious”) brought a smile, the following video clip (although targeting the national level) elicited a hearty laugh:
…and a Leftist Judiciary!
While still afflicted with the (black-robed) ghosts of Christmas past in our Christmas present, we can still act to save our Christmas future. Continue to support Clear The Bench Colorado with comments (Sound Off!) and contributions. Freedom isn’t free -nor is it always easy to be a Citizen, not a subject.
Ultimately, though – it’s worth the effort.
Friday Funnies – Clear The Bench Colorado celebrity spokespup contributes to Gulf Coast oil spill cleanup efforts
Whew! The Clear The Bench Colorado crew has had a busy week… time for a humor break.
First, a quick recap of “the week that was”:
Although the “Mary-mandering” bill to enable the legislature to abdicate its constitutional responsibilities for Congressional redistricting to the courts advanced out of the House (where a legislator’s use of the term “Mary-mandering” to – correctly – describe the bill in floor debate raised a bit of a stir) to the Senate this week, it has not (yet!) come to a final vote. Perhaps just as well, since many of our legislators appear to have little knowledge of how the judges who will be taking over for them in exercising this important responsibility are appointed to the bench.
Fortunately, despite legislative ignorance (and willingness to turn over responsibility to others), there are some good judges out there who apparently believe in exercising their proper role of applying and upholding the law – as a 3-judge panel on the Colorado Court of Appeals overturned the University of Colorado’s illegal ban on licensed concealed carry.
Finally, on the same day (May 5th) as hearing the good news that the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in favor of upholding state statute, Clear The Bench Colorado received the even better news of an attack (er, “Campaign Finance Complaint”) by the ludicrously misnamed “Colorado Ethics Watch” organization (CEW, pronounced “sue” – it’s what they do). We’ve enjoyed watching CEW’s “cheap political stunt” and “pathetic political ploy” (as noted by other respectable new organizations) backfire, as their complaint is laughably baseless and without legal merit – and we can think of no greater endorsement of our actual ethical compliance and political effectiveness (they are scared, aren’t they?) than being attacked by this completely discredited smear group. (Have they actually ever won a case?)
But on to more important things…
Clear The Bench Colorado celebrity spokespup Nola has been following the news about the oil spill threatening her birthplace (New Orleans) along with the rest of the Gulf Coast with increasing concern. Witnessing another episode of government ineffectiveness (that time, predominantly city & state government failures – along with a less-than-stellar Federal response – this time, despite lessons learned from Katrina and improvements to our response capabilities, an even worse Federal government failure to act) she decided that she would step up as a private citizen to do her part.
Nola asks, “what are YOU doing to help our country?”
Nola went in for a trim in order to donate her most prolific resource (hair!) to help save the Gulf Coast. She also collected the hair trimmings of countless canine companions to send in to help – contributing to help form some of the most effective (and eco-friendly) oil-absorptive measures ever designed & used: the “Oil Spill Hair Mat” (for more information on this citizen-designed innovation, and now you can help, check out the “hair mats info” page here).
Become an informed, involved, and active citizen (Nola does her part; can you do less?). Conduct your own evaluation of ANY official (including judges) asking for your vote, based on how (and whether) they follow the Constitution and uphold the rule of law. Better informed, Yes, you can exercise your right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your home or business from eminent domain abuse, your right to fair representation in legislative districts, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of suffering under rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.” Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!) and your contributions – and vote “NO” on retaining these unjust justices in the upcoming November elections!
Friday Funnies: Colorado Supreme Court is NOT “super cool”
Apropos of absolutely nothing – except that it features a dog (a recurring theme on our “Friday Funnies” installments) and I found it hilarious (“If only everyone saw you the way your dog does…”)
Be supercool this November – exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of suffering under rule by an oligarchy of activist, agenda-driven “justices.” Help to Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices!
“Friday Funnies”: CTBC SpokesDog scolds bad Colorado Supreme Court justices and legislators: Don’t Tax My Doggy Bag!
After two grueling days of testimony by citizens, business owners, workers, and lobbyists before the Senate Finance Committee (which, to its credit, conducted the hearings and heard testimony in a consistently civil manner, in marked contrast to the House Finance Committee), the remaining “Dirty Dozen” tax increase bills (including the much-derided “Candy Tax” bill and the “Doggy Bag Tax” bill) were all moved forward on a party-line vote concluding after midnight Thursday.
Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold testified in opposition to these bills on constitutional grounds – since it is clear that each bill represents “a tax policy change… resulting in a net revenue gain” and therefore, under the Colorado Constitution, requires prior approval by a vote of the people.
The highlight of Wednesday’s testimony – as remarked upon by the Denver-area alternative weekly Westword – was undoubtedly the testimony offered (in absentia) by the Clear The Bench Colorado celebrity spokesdog, Nola:
Don’t let unjust justices take a bite out of your rights – exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of rule by an oligarchy of activist, agenda-driven “justices.” Help to Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices!
Friday Funnies – Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold issues correction on “arrogant SOB” flap in House testimony
From the “any press is good press” files…
Appearing Friday morning to testify against the remaining unconstitutional stealth tax increase bills that had NOT (yet) been rammed through on a party-line vote by the Colorado House Finance Committee over the overwhelming opposition of citizens appearing en masse Wednesday/Thursday (specifically, against House Bill 1195: Suspend Agricultural Sales and Use Tax Exemption (Ferrandino/Heath)), another unconstitutional tax increase on Colorado ranchers and farmers, Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold may have crossed a linguistic line in response to abusive conduct by the committee chair, Rep. Joel Judd, in a story that appeared on KMGH-7 nightly news and online:
Witness calls committee chairman an “arrogant SOB”
Responding to repeated interruptions by the chair, who ultimately did not allow the witness to get back to the specifics of the bill being heard before “gaveling down” discussion and closing testimony on the bill (with a malicious, triumphant gleam), it is true that the witness… stated: “You are a rather arrogant SOB, are you not, sir,” as he was leaving the table.
Although the use of the term “arrogant” was, if anything, an understatement (by their conduct and demeanor, Rep. Judd and others clearly do not believe that either element of the term “Civil Servant” should apply to them), the use of the term “SOB” (yes, it was the acronym) was clearly inappropriate.
Clear The Bench Colorado disavows any perceived aspersion on Rep. Judd’s parentage – such was not intended; it’s quite likely that his mother is a sweet little old lady who would be ashamed at his lack of manners and common courtesy.
Clear The Bench Colorado further apologizes to all dogs and dog-lovers throughout the state – particularly the female dogs – for inappropriately associating them with Finance Chairman Rep. Judd. Clear The Bench Colorado recognizes the foremost qualities of canines as being both loyal & lovable - attributes clearly NOT shared by the House Finance Committee chair.
In all seriousness – it is a sad statement that the media coverage of this ‘linguistic flap’ has focused NOT on the frequently disrespectful, often abusive treatment of citizens (myself least among them) who took time from their jobs, family, and friends to come down to the state Capitol to testify against these dozen distinct assaults on their livelihood, but played up the “if it bleeds, it leads” aspect of the statement by one citizen who dared speak out against the arrogance on display.
Don’t let YOUR voice be “gaveled down” this November – you CAN exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of rule by an oligarchy of activist, agenda-driven “justices.” Help to Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices!
Friday Funnies – Colorado Supreme Court ridiculed by the Onion
At the close of a week dominated by news reports inserting partisan spin, additional partisan spin, misrepresentations, and ad hominem attacks, and yet more partisan spin and misrepresentations and finally a correction to the partisan spin surrounding the recent statement by Attorney General John Suthers that he would vote “NO” on retaining 3 of the 4 Colorado Supreme Court justices on the ballot (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) (whew, all that spinning is enough to make ya dizzy) it’s time for another dose of the Friday Funnies.
(Oh, sure, there was other news – something or other about an earthquake or major tectonic shift in Massachusetts – or was it Haiti? – and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on 1st Amendment rights, but this is clearly the big news in Colorado).
Apparently the Mullarkey Majority’s unconstitutional rulings have gone so far as to attract the attention of the parody/spoof site The Onion, which recently devoted their daily nationwide radio spot to ridicule the Colorado Supreme Court.
Wow – when The Onion singles you out for ridicule, you HAVE made the big time.
Congratulations to Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and especially to Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey for making the Colorado Supreme Court a national laughingstock.
Get the last laugh on the Mullarkey Majority – Exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and – last not least – Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of rule by an oligarchy of activist, agenda-driven “justices.” Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices this November!