Clarification Required in Conflicting Laws - Clear as Mud

It would seem as though the Illinois Supreme Court has made roads for Mr. Burris to take the matter to the US Supreme Court. The Illinois ruling has stated there is no state statue requiring the signature of the Secretary of State. However, there is a challenge to that and Mr. Jesse White may be in violation of a Federal Statute issued by the US Senate.

Durbin may or may not be correct. By 'routine' the appointment of a US Senator by a Governor needs to be accompanied by the Secretary of State. That 'routine' may or may not be law and it has to be clarified. If the US Supreme Court states a Secretary of State signature is mandated, it then also needs to rule as to the capacity of a Secretary of State to 'veto' the powers of a Governor.

It may be that the Writ of Mandamus now has to be issued to the US Supreme Court for enforcement.

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the secretary of state need not sign the document appointing Roland Burris' to the U.S. Senate....

...With the ruling, the fate of Burris' appointment falls to the Senate, which says its rules require the signature of both the governor and the secretary of state for any appointment. Sen. Dick Durbin said earlier this week that the Senate has never waived that rule....

10 Days until Inauguration - The compassion for a Pre-War strategy to serve Gaza civilians was absent.

Red Cross warns of deteriorating situation in Gaza (click title to entry, thank you)
1 hour ago
GENEVA (AFP) — The plight of Palestinians trapped in Gaza is becoming increasingly precarious as the Israeli attack on the territory enters its third week, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Saturday.
"People trapped in zones where military operations are taking place are particularly affected," it said in a statement from its Geneva headquarters.
The organisation, which has had to scale down its operations for security reasons, said it had received dozens of calls from people who were in zones which could not be reached and were experiencing increasing difficulty in maintaining contact with the outside world.
"Yesterday, we received a call from a family of 40 people, including 20 children, staying in a house in the Netzarim area. They told us they had not had drinking water for almost six days because the well supplying water to their house had been damaged," the statement quoted an ICRC employee in Gaza as saying....

Israel is still under seige. There are 3 IDF troops dead and rockets over the border from Gaza.

Tracers of rockets fired from Gaza. Photo: AP [file]

Jan 9, 2009 7:28
Updated Jan 10, 2009 8:42
Mortar shells fired at Kerem Shalom (click here)
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Palestinian gunmen in Gaza on Friday afternoon broke the three-hour humanitarian truce, during which Israel let in vital aid to the Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
While the supplies were being transferred, Gaza gunmen fired several mortar shells at the terminal. No one was wounded.
Earlier, just after 1 p.m., when the temporary truce was supposed to have already begun, Palestinians fired three Grad-type rockets at Ashdod.
In the early evening, gunmen fired two rockets at the Eshkol region, lightly wounding one person and damaging a building. During the day, rockets also hit the Sdot Negev region, Ofakim, Sderot, Beersheba, Ashkelon, and Merhavim regions. There were no other reports of wounded or damage....

In order to have a ceasefire, other sides have to stop their attacks, otherwise it is a very short agrement. So. Why should Israel agree to a one sided ceasefire? It makes no sense.

An LA Times Opinion makes a good point and one shared by myself and those that seek to protect the troops and civilians of Israel, namely their government.

Opinion
Hamas' war crimes (click title to article, thank you)
In Gaza, it targets Israeli citizens with rockets, then shields its fighters behind Palestinian civilians.
By Alan M. Dershowitz January 10, 2009
A temporary cease-fire in Gaza that simply allows Hamas to obtain more lethal weapons will assure a repetition of Hamas' win-win tactic of firing rockets at Israeli civilians while using Palestinian civilians as human shields....

Those that want Israel to simply stop the attacks, such as Iran and other Middle East sympathizers; are using 'the sympathy' for the civilians of Gaza as a PR weapon to bring pressure to Israel. There is no sympathy for the civilians of Gaza held hostage by Hamas? Or the civilians of Israel? I see.


IDF soldiers sleep next to the Gaza border.

The only action that makes any sense at all is that of the UN to reinstate the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. To that end, Israel has been successful in stopping any authority of Hamas, even as a political party. The question remains as to how the PA will actually exert its authority with Hamas still supplied and armed?

Regardless of any assumtion of power by the Palestinian Authority it will still need Israel to stop the shelling and assume control until the PA has sufficient ability to carry out sovereignty over Gaza.

Jan 10, 2009 10:13
Updated Jan 10, 2009 18:10
'UN drafting Gaza plan to reinstate PA' (click here)
...The Times reported on Saturday morning that the UN diplomats were drawing up a plan to bring in international monitors to police the border crossing which has been a porous entryway for weapons and other smuggled goods until Israel's Operation Cast Lead began 15 days ago....

I hate to see the Democrats be this silly. It isn't like there is an open and shut case against the Illinois Governor.

It would seem as though the Governor isn't completely alone in his view of the world, one member of the House voted in his favor. It would seem there was also a member that abstained as well.

The thing is this and why it is such a weak case is because there is no other defendant. In order for Governor Blagojevich to be found guilty of the charges (which haven't made it to indictment yet) proposed by Fitzgerald there has to have been an 'offer' to exchange an appointment for personal gain. In lacking 'ANOTHER' in this case, there is a clear indication there was no 'solid' offer to anyone.

Fitzgerald can listen to all the phone calls and take testimony all he wants, but, without a solid commitment to actually carry out a crime, there is NO basis for conviction. There is no other defendant that was ready to 'close the deal' on the 'purchased nomination' to the vacated Senate seat, so therefore there is no case.

The fact that others were very close to receiving the appointment, but, were never approached for 'favors' only proves that where ambition existed for an Illinois Governor in moving to Washington, DC; there was no actual bargaining that existed and all this mess is simply 'gaming and talk.'

At the end of the day, the Illinois Legislature will find itself in a sorry state come next election then it was before they attempted to play politics for THEIR personal gain.

Oh, yeah, the conspiracy 'thing.' What conspiracy? The conversation between Governor Blagojevich and his administrative assistant? That's a conspiracy? No, it isn't. A conspiracy is when there is 'another' to receive services. There was never 'another' to carry out the crime. It is all unfortunate that people don't put their Constitutional Rights first and value them above all else. Oh, well.

The Illinois governor says he'll continue to fight charges. His trial in the state Senate is to start Jan. 26.



Speaker of the House Michael Madigan presides over the Illinois House of Representatives as they discuss a resolution to impeach Governor Rod Blagojevich today in Springfield, Illinois. The House approved the resolution to impeach 114-1 with one member voting present.

It's nice to have friends that anticpate your every need when arriving. An office ready for my use with a view. How about that?

Trees and shrubs and a courtyard. Nice. And computer access. Wow. I guess they want me to stay awhile.