ANNOUNCEMENTS (2)

NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD URGES DEMOCRATIC SENATORS TO USE ALL MEANS—INCLUDING FILIBUSTER—TO DEFEAT NOMINATION OF ROBERTS FOR CHIEF JUSTICE

Contact: Michael Avery, President, 617-573-8551
Marjorie Cohn, Executive Vice President, 858-484-2387
Paul Gattone, Executive Vice President. 520-631-6385

New York. The National Lawyers Guild urges the Democratic senators to use all means, including the filibuster if necessary, to defeat the nomination of John Roberts for Chief Justice of the United States. Roberts' record reveals a callous disregard for the rights the poor, for minorities, for women, for the disabled, for workers, and for a clean and safe environment.

John Roberts' career has established his credentials as an uncompassionate conservative. He has worked consistently to deny access to the courts to individuals who have suffered harm.

John Roberts:

§ tried to cut back the federal law that allows people to sue the government when they have been deprived of their federal rights, by arguing that the state of Virginia should not reimburse hospitals for Medicaid claims at reasonable rates. Roberts said the Medicaid Act did not create any enforceable rights.

§ viewed legislation to fortify the Fair Housing Act as "government intrusion."

§ condemned a Supreme Court decision striking down a Texas law that allowed schools to deny admission to the children of undocumented workers.

§ fought for a narrow interpretation of the Voting Rights Act that would have made it much harder for minorities to get elected to public office, and mischaracterized the Act as requiring "a quota system for electoral politics."

§ contended that Congress could pass a law to prevent all federal courts from ordering busing to achieve school desegregation, a position much more extreme than that adopted by the Reagan administration.

§ took the position that affirmative action programs are bound to fail because they require recruiting "inadequately prepared candidates," an unfounded and racist stance.

§ referred to the "so-called 'right to privacy'" in the Constitution, and argued that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided and should be overruled.

§ worked to keep women who have suffered gender discrimination out of court.

§ ridiculed the gender pay equity theory of equal pay for comparable work as a "radical redistributive concept."

§ supported a dramatic weakening of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, by arguing that a deaf student who got by in school by lip-reading and using a hearing aid was not entitled under the Act to receive the services of a sign-language interpreter in the classroom.

§ defended Toyota for firing a woman with carpal tunnel syndrome.

§ argued on behalf of the National Mining Association that West Virginia citizens could not prevent mining companies from extracting coal by blasting the tops off of mountains and depositing the debris in nearby valleys and streams.

Throughout his career, John Roberts has taken positions that demonstrate his insensitivity to the rights and needs of the disadvantaged. The 50-year-old Roberts would have the opportunity to shape the Supreme Court for the next two to three decades. A Roberts Court would threaten the rights of all but the rich and powerful.

The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, comprises over 6,000 members and activists in the service of the people. Its national office is headquartered in New York City and it has chapters in nearly every state, as well as over 100 law school chapters.
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National Conference for Ending the Korean War

From Veterans For Peace

We will observe the 60th anniversary of the landing of US troops in S. Korea this September. There are some 35,000 U.S. troops still stationed in S.Korea today because the Korean War is still going on. How long would it take to bring our troops from Iraq if it takes so long to bring our troops home from Korea? Is there a history lesson that we can learn from our past intervention in Korea?

In view of the continuing military tensions between the US and N. Korea at this time, it is imperative for the peace and justice groups in the U.S. to come together to learn about the current situation on the Korean peninsula and develop a common strategy to avoid another hot war; end the costly, lingering Korean War finally; and move the U.S. toward peace and normalized relations with North Korea.

This Conference will also provide an opportunity to exchange information on projects promoting peace and reconciliation between the U.S. and Korea. It is also hoped that a national network of peace/justice groups concerned with the peaceful resolution of the US-Korea conflict can be developed.

For those participants who want to engage with members of Congress, an optional visit to the Congress is planned for September 26.

Time
Sept. 25, Sun., 10 am-5 pm

Place
Georgetown Law Center,
600 New Jersey Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.

Program

Keynote Speeches:
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) & Rep. Ron Paul (R) (Invited)

• Panel Discussion on Peaceful End to the Korean War:
• Don Oberdorfer, Army veteran, served in Korea, & Author of The Two Koreas: Contemporary History
• John Feffer, Author of North Korea/South Korea: U.S. Policy and the Korean Peninsula
• Doug Bandow, Author of Tripwire and Senior Fellow at Cato Institute
• Roundtable Group Discussion
• Reports
• Briefing on Capitol Hill
• Reception
Reg. Fee : $20/person (includes lunch)

RSVP/Info:
KoPeaceC@aol.com or Sirotkin@igc.org;
917-533-9467

Cosponsored by:
Veterans For Peace-Korea Peace Campaign,
National Lawyers Guild-Korean Peace Project
& others

VETERANS FOR PEACE - Veterans Working Together for Peace & Justice Through Non-violence. Wage Peace!