Bush Continues to Push William Myers Appointment

[Earth_First]

BUSH CONTINUES PUSH FOR ANTI-ENVIRONMENT CIRCUIT COURT NOMINEE

The U.S. Senate will vote later this week on whether to give a
lifetime seat on the federal bench -- with substantial influence
over environmental laws affecting 485 million acres of public
land in Alaska and the American West -- to a man judged barely
qualified for the position by the American Bar Association
(ABA).

Despite opposition from members of the California State
Legislature and more than 70 legal scholars and professors,
President Bush is urging the Senate to confirm William Myers,
his former chief attorney for the Department of Interior, to the
9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals. The ABA gave Myers its lowest
possible rating, with only a "slim majority" finding him
"qualified." More than a third rated him "unqualified" and no
one rated him "well qualified."<1>

Myers' nomination has generated opposition from more than 160
environmental, Native American, civil rights, labor, disability
rights, women's rights and other organizations, many of whom
"have never before opposed a judicial nominee by any President,"
said Sugameli.

"There is no good reason why any Senator should support Myers"
nomination and lots of reasons why Senators should exercise
their advise and consent duty to just say no to Myers, who has
the most anti-environmental and most anti-tribal record of any
of President Bush's appeals court nominees," Glenn Sugameli,
senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice, told
BushGreenwatch.

In a letter to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, members of the
California Legislature said Myers appeared to be "a singularly
poor choice" for the bench and urged her to "do all can to
ensure he is not confirmed."

"Mr. Myers is neither qualified to serve on the Ninth Circuit
nor has he demonstrated the ability to be fair and impartial as
an appellate judge," the letter states. "Throughout his career
he has single-mindedly worked to advance the interests of
grazing and mining industries at the expense of the environment
and acted against the interests and rights of Native Americans
and tribal governments. His record as Solicitor of the
Department of the Interior indicates that if confirmed, he would
be a threat to California's strong environmental laws."<2>

Opponents have criticized Myers for helping to weaken
protections for endangered species and public lands, for helping
to tilt Administration policies in favor of extractive
industries and for loosening protections against overgrazing
public lands. Myers is a former lobbyist for the National Mining
Association and a former executive director of the Public Lands
Council, a trade association that promotes the interests of
ranchers who graze sheep and cattle on public lands.

He angered Native Americans when, as chief attorney for the U.S.
Department of the Interior, he reversed his predecessor's
opinion to clear the way for a cyanide heap-leach gold mine in
California that could cause irreparable harm to an important
spiritual site for the Quechan Indian Tribe. He has also been
the subject of two ethics investigations while serving at
Interior.

[Toronto Ron]

1. Let's hope the Senate Dems show some backbone

and, if need be, filibuster against this bastard.