This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE

This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE.

Who runs the nation?

Is it the President…..or is it the Congress…..or just who is at the helm in leading the country?

One sees the now Democratically controlled Congress using the dollar sign to run the war in Iraq. They have put together a bill that would okay additional funds for the military, but added a deadline for withdrawing from Iraq. Not only that, but it contains millions of pork projects, including the federal forest receipts that our local government is hoping for.

There is no doubt but that this is a constitutional donnybrook.

It not only poses a gigantic question, but also certainly dimishes the image of this country in many ways.

But who really holds the power to run the nation. It might surprise you.

It is the Federal Judges. Take our forests for one issue.

Recently the Bush Administration issued new rules to govern the 192 million acres of federally owned forests in the nation. He gave the national forest managers more discretion to approve logging and other commercial projects without a lengthy environmental review that sometimes can take as long as seven years.

Recently a District Court Judge ruled that the administration failed to adequately consider the environmental effects the new rules would have and neglected to properly gather public comment on the issue.

The feminine judge said that the government “appears to have charted a new path and adopted a new policy approach regarding programmatic changes to environmental regulations.

She ruled the government could not institute the new rules until proper environmental reviews were completed…..but get this…..she did not specify how the nation’s federal forests should be managed in the interim.

The Forest Service said the ruling differed from decisions in two other Courts including the U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver.

When the new forest rules were instituted the manager said it would allow them to respond more quickly to wildfires and other threats. The new rules, now suspended, would allow managers to conduct environmental reviews in two or three years, but now it may take as long as seven years.

On another matter….the Fish and Wildlife service have been ordered to take another look at another endangered specie…..two rare salamanders that, they claim, reside in old growth forests. The matter first came up in 2005, in a suit, and the service agreed to take another review. In 2006 they said there was not enough scientific study to determine if they were endangered. The Center for Biological Diversity and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center sued again…..this time halting timber sales.

So…..the federal judges can usurp the President, and have done so time and again….always putting the fate of some questionable endangered specie ahead of any economic issues.

They can wrangle in Washington about who runs the country, but there is no doubt federal judges can trump everybody.

This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.

Text Box:
This is Floyd Wynne with THE VIEW FROM HERE.

Who runs the nation?
             Is it the President…..or is it the Congress…..or just who is at the helm in leading the country?
             One sees the now Democratically controlled Congress using the dollar sign to run the war in Iraq. They have put together a bill that would okay additional funds for the military, but added a deadline for withdrawing from Iraq.   Not only that, but it contains millions of pork projects, including the federal forest receipts that our local government is hoping for.
There is no doubt but that this is a constitutional donnybrook.
It not only poses a gigantic question, but also certainly dimishes the image of this country in many ways.
But who really holds the power to run the nation. It might surprise you.
It is the Federal Judges. Take our forests for one issue.
Recently the Bush Administration issued new rules to govern the 192 million acres of federally owned forests in the nation.   He gave the national forest managers more discretion to approve logging and other commercial projects without a lengthy environmental review that sometimes can take as long as seven years.
Recently a District Court Judge ruled that the administration failed to adequately consider the environmental effects the new rules would have and neglected to properly gather public comment on the issue.
The feminine judge said that the government “appears to have charted a new path and adopted a new policy approach regarding programmatic changes to environmental regulations.
She ruled the government could not institute the new rules until proper environmental reviews were completed…..but get this…..she did not specify how the nation’s federal forests should be managed in the interim.
The Forest Service said the ruling differed from decisions in two other Courts including the U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver.
             When the new forest rules were instituted the manager said it would allow them to respond more quickly to wildfires and other threats. The new rules, now suspended, would allow managers to conduct environmental reviews in two or three years, but now it may take as long as seven years.
             On another matter….the Fish and Wildlife service have been ordered to take another look at another endangered specie…..two rare salamanders that, they claim, reside in old growth forests. The matter first came up in 2005, in a suit, and the service agreed to take another review. In 2006 they said there was not enough scientific study to determine if they were endangered. The Center for Biological Diversity and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center sued again…..this time halting timber sales.
So…..the federal judges can usurp the President, and have done so time and again….always putting the fate of some questionable endangered specie ahead of any economic issues.
They can wrangle in Washington about who runs the country, but there is no doubt federal judges can trump everybody.
This is Floyd Wynne and that’s THE VIEW FROM HERE.