Proofreaders wanted; letter to all or some Senators on filibuster.

[catatonic]

I am PMing it to certain of you. If you want to be PMed ask me.

[catatonic]

I may also add that George Bush said he would only select a person of faith, whereas the Constitution directly precludes a religious test for judges.

[catatonic]

Now I play the waiting game.

[racer5.0stang]

Oh man, I wasn't preselected.

Darn.

[D_Raay]

The greatest fear of, I believe, George Washington was that one party would dominate the government.
I believe you could reword this statement.

Also, you mispelled perceived here...
The reason the number blocked is unprecedented is that their percieved extremism is unprecedented.

Other than that though well written, and well received for your sense of reason and your perception of the culpability of the attempt.

Maybe this would help a little upon any future modifications you may make.

By U.S. Law, certain judicial appointees, particularly Supreme or other federal court Justices, must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a simple majority before taking office. Under current Senate rules, a minority of senators are able to prevent the confirmation of judges via filibuster unless a supermajority (60 out of 100 Senators) can be reached to 'break' the filibuster by passing a cloture motion. The 'nuclear option' refers to the technicality that only a simple majority (51 out of 100) is necessary to change the interpretation of this rule. Although a supermajority is currently necessary to break the filibuster, a simple majority could alter the rule's interpretation by ruling filibusters of executive business (as opposed to legislative business) unconstitutional and therefore not subject to the rule. Judicial nominations would be treated as executive business, and therefore would violate separation of powers. This proposed interpretation of the rules is considered by many to be novel, and the Senate parliamentarian has publically stated that he will oppose such an interpretation. Supporters, though, would use their simple majority to overrule the parliamentarian. The term's connection to nuclear war illustrates the extreme consequences some people think the rules change would produce.

[Bob]

i know you didn't PM it to me and i don't have the time or energy to proofread it even if you did, (i have stuff of my own to edit, sorry), but what are you trying to say with this sentence:

The greatest fear of, I believe, George Washington was that one party would dominate the government.

are you trying to express uncertainty as to who had the fear, or are you proposing the opinion that that's what washington's biggest fear is? if it's the latter, i'd say "I believe the greatest fear of George Washington was..." etc. etc....if it's the former, i'm too tired to work it out, but it's a confusing sentence as is

[Echewta]

Didn't the people of this country vote into power the Republican party?

[Qdrop]

i will try and proof read when i get a chance...

but let me just say that i think it's awesome that you're doing this.

[catatonic]

"George Washington's farewell address expressed deep fear that a political faction would take too much control and become entangled in foreign affairs."

percieved->perceived

I don't think I'll add your suggestion D_raay unless it's a lot shorter. Are you saying a majority vote would mean the Senate no longer would have control to check the President? I think that's true and I've suggested that in my reference to the Federalist Papers... I'm talking more about the Senate rules for how it checks the President and why those rules, in my view, shouldn't be changed.

[catatonic]

I will add or replace text with this:

Harry Reid has said correctly, "Judicial filibusters have occurred throughout American history, according to Professor Michael Gerhardt and other scholars. Seventeen judicial nominees were filibustered between 1949 and 2002 - including President Johnson's nomination of Abe Fortas to be Chief Justice. Also, 69 judicial nominees of President Clinton were bottled up in Committe and denied an up-or-down vote."

[catatonic]

I sent out the second draft to those who showed interest, except racer since I'm guessing he's on the other side of the issue, and Ace42.

I'm hoping to send the email out by Justice Sunday 2. I think I will send it to every Senator but Orin Hatch and Bill Frist.

[D_Raay]

Excellent. My personal thanks to you for getting involved...

[racer5.0stang]

I sent out the second draft to those who showed interest, except racer since I'm guessing he's on the other side of the issue, and Ace42.

What issue would that be, exactly?

It would probably help your case out if you had an opinion from someone who did not agree with you.

But then again, maybe not.

[catatonic]

Alright racer. I sent you the second and perhaps final draft. I hope you will proofread it in time but I want to send out this letter as soon as possible.

[catatonic]

I'm tired of waiting. I'm not going to let you filibuster my filibuster letter. I'm sending it. :)

[catatonic]

Well I e-mailed about 85 of them. I hope I never do that again.

[DroppinScience]

Well I e-mailed about 85 of them. I hope I never do that again.

Why not send the letter to the remaining 15 (there's 100 Senators, yes?)?

May I also suggest snail-mailing the Senators as well? Or would that be too much hassle?

[catatonic]

It took over 2 hours to e-mail the 85 or so. Snail mailing would probably require 4 hours or much more, plus I don't have a printer I could use, plus it would cost at least $40, and it might be too late by the time the letter gets there, and many are still afraid of anthrax (for good reason), and it's less convenient for them. I mean, they're busy; John Kerry had a limit of 1000 characters.

The other 15 were either too one-sided (Harry Reid, Orrin Hatch, Bill Frist, Ted Kennedy), or else they didn't have an e-mail address or there were technical problems or they didn't want to even receive out-of-state e-mails.

[Running_Beastie]

I would like to see a copy of the letter. Could you email it to me? easier_to_run_20@hotmail.com

Thanks

[catatonic]

Yes. Some were abridged.

[racer5.0stang]

Alright racer. I sent you the second and perhaps final draft. I hope you will proofread it in time but I want to send out this letter as soon as possible.


Sorry just got it today.

I have been tied up with an advertising project.

[catatonic]

I just found out that they're all going to send a copy of my e-mail to my Senator. Oops. I feel terrible. I hope I don't take too much time out of his schedule.

[catatonic]

Progress seems to have been made. In the following statement by Orrin Hatch, no mention is made of whether the up-or-down vote is constitutional, whether the judges follow judicial proceedings, or whether the filibuster has been used before.

I strongly believe it is in the best interest of the American people to expedite the judicial confirmations process and resolve our long-standing judicial vacancy crisis. Federal judges are important in preserving our constitutional rights and ensuring Americans have access to an independent judiciary. I believe judicial nominees should be evaluated based on judicial temperament, integrity, intelligence, and experience.
Unfortunately, a few partisan Senators have politicized the judicial confirmation process with the use of unprecedented filibusters against President Bush’s judicial nominations. I am working very hard to end this obstructionism, repair the broken judicial nomination process, and stop the current tyranny of the minority.

[catatonic]

His argument makes me think though when he puts it like that. I don't want to argue with him. Maybe he's right! .

[Running_Beastie]

I liked the letter. I think it is very good.

[D_Raay]

and stop the current tyranny of the minority.

Completely ridiculous... Maybe somebody should end HIS tyranny. Hopefully the people will.

[catatonic]

Thanks Running Beastie. That means a lot to me, although I don't take any credit for anything I do good. God is the author of good.

[catatonic]

Hey, the nuclear option is perceived as extreme and not highly-favored, that's what a letter I got from some activist organization says.

Great.

Times are like, there will be people threatening to do the wrong thing a lot, but the worst situations will keep somehow being avoided. (Gay marriage would also be the wrong thing, but it's not being widespread).

[catatonic]

Well, John Titor said this would be the month everyone who watched carefully would know civil war was upon us. I also predicted when Star Wars I came out that once Star Wars III came out there would be some kind of war.

If the filibuster goes through, I think we will be right, and I'm probably siding with the Democrats.