After searching far and wide for recent examples of humorous content relevant to our Supreme Court (and believe me, after a long and busy week, I needed the laugh), I came up empty.  Apparently, it’s been a very unfunny week for the Colorado judiciary.

Looks like we’ll have to generate our own humorous content for the site - and yes, we do have some great projects in the works, but they’re not quite ready for prime time.  Check back next week, though…

Meanwhile, courtesy of designer/illustrator/cartoonist Benjamin Hummel, we reprise his depiction of the straw that broke TABOR’s back: the “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” ruling of 16 March 2009:

The infamous “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” ruling did more than just (unconstitutionally) raise property taxes; it also opened the door to millions in new taxes, some of which were proposed literally hours after the legislature was briefed on the ruling before passing into law in the last legislative session.

Added to the stealthily-issued (the day before national elections) ruling upholding an outrageously expansive definition of “fees” (replacing “taxes”) and the later unconstitutional repeal of the Arveschoug-Bird spending limit, and TABOR has indeed been “bumped off the cliff” by the Mullarkey Court.

Wow - I guess it has been a pretty unfunny week after all.

Don’t let the Mullarkey Court throw grandma (er, TABOR) off the cliff.  Ditch the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) by voting “NO” to retain these unjust justices in 2010!  Let’s Clear The Bench, Colorado!

Come back every week for another edition of the Friday Funnies at Clear The Bench Colorado!

Reprising Thursday’s broadcast “Under The Dome” special report, Clear The Bench Colorado director Matt Arnold appears on Backbone Radio (710 KNUS in Denver, 1460 KZNT in Colorado Springs, and on http://www.710knus.com) at 7PM Sunday evening.  From the original station promo:

“A campaign is underway to vote down Colorado’s chief justice and three of her colleagues on the 2010 ballot.  What are the pros and cons? Get the story from former Senate President John Andrews and his guest experts on “Under the Dome,” a NewsTalk 710 special report.”

If you missed Thursday’s presentation (or just want to hear it again), tune in Sunday evening at 7PM to hear Matt present the case for restoring accountability to our judiciary in Colorado.

Exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on retaining the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your 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, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”

Let’s Clear The Bench, Colorado!  Vote “NO” on unjust justices in 2010!

Following “three days of grueling questioning” (including such hard-hitting gems as “what was the publisher of  the encyclopedias your working-class mother bought you because she so strongly believed in the value of education” and “Perry Mason won all but one of his cases - what was the one case that he lost?“), Sonia Sotomayor is set to be confirmed as the next U.S. Supreme Court justice - the most rapid (rushed?) confirmation of any Supreme Court justice in U.S. history (beating out current justice and Clinton nominee Ruth Bader Ginsburg by a few days, depending on when the vote is actually held).

It was apparent even before the hearings began that the fix was in (Feinstein: Sotomayor a sure thing). Given the overwhelming numerical advantage of Democrats in the Senate, and hard behind-the-scenes arm-twisting to ensure party discipline, there was little that either “blue-dog” Democrats or Republicans could do to block confirmation.  However, our Senators missed a golden opportunity to stand on principle and make the case for the rule of law, and the importance of confirming (or retaining) justices on that basis.

Instead, the discussion revolved around racial politics (”underlying politics are dicey for Republicans“), personality (She is an amazing, warm and intelligent woman“) and her “inspirational life story:”

Now, I’m as much a fan of “inspirational life stories” as the next guy; and when I have a daughter, I hope she’s just like Gracie (the cute, wide-eyed, precocious kid in the ”Baldo” comic strip, above) - especially since if I have a son, he’s MUCH more likely to resemble Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes) at that age.  But an inspirational life story is NO BASIS for confirming or retaining a Supreme Court justice! 

A judge’s appearance, gender, ethnicity, “inspirational life story,” etc. are irrelevant.  Our system of justice requires a judiciary committed to upholding the rule of law and equal administration of justice.  Although “we the people” don’t (directly) have a vote at the Federal level, we CAN vote to uphold the rule of law here in Colorado.  Vote “NO” on the unjust justices of the Mullarkey Court in 2010 - let’s Clear The Bench, Colorado!

Although the Colorado Supreme Court’s assault on our constitutional rights is unrelenting, even a crusading commentator needs a break from time to time.  This video clip by the insightful and ever-amusing Steven Crowder of PJTV is not only on-topic, but outrageously funny (in a sad but true way).