Case dismissed

Mculpa to the Nevada Supreme Court. On Sunday, we criticized the justices for affirming a lower court decision in a case involving the state constitution’s separation of powers clause. In fact, the appellant in the case withdrew his appeal before filing briefs, meaning there was nothing for the high court to decide, so the dispute was dismissed on Nov. 20.

The state Supreme Court made no decision regarding the lower court ruling or the merits of the arguments.

The case had been brought on behalf of plaintiff Douglas French by the Nevada Policy Research Institute, a free-market think tank based in Las Vegas. It challenged the right of state Sen. Heidi Gansert, R-reno, to sit in the Legislature while also working for the University of Nevada, Reno. The Nevada Constitution prohibits anyone serving in one branch of government from carrying out “any function” of another.

Carson City Judge James Russell sided with Sen. Gansert in July, apparently giving more weight to an opinion from the Legislative Counsel Bureau — which offers legal advice to lawmakers — than to the clear language of the constitution, state Supreme Court precedent and a 2004 opinion from the Nevada attorney general. NPRI attorney Joseph Becker filed an appeal in August.

But in mid-november, Mr. French “decided not to pursue” the matter, Mr. Becker said Tuesday.

That’s too bad. The issue cries out for resolution. How long can certain lawmakers continue to moonlight as state or local government workers and insist that the plain language of the constitution doesn’t mean what it says? The separation of powers clause provides a vital check on the dangers of concentrated authority. Those who treat it as mere distraction to be ignored when it’s inconvenient betray a dangerous indifference to the concepts that nourish a democratic republic.

Mr. Becker said he has no backup plaintiff waiting in the wings to file another challenge, but his organization “would love to see the issue finally litigated.” Let’s hope this comes to pass in the near future and the Nevada Supreme Court has the opportunity to weigh in on the subject.

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Fax 702-383-4676 Second Amendment: So all citizens are armed and able to protect us from enemies, both foreign and domestic.

Thousands of ranchers — including Mr. Bundy — have been grazing their cattle on unused, open public lands for a modest fee. But Mr. Bundy was singled out and his grazing fees were raised to an exorbitant amount. So high that his cattle ranch would become unprofitable without raising his beef prices higher than his fellow ranchers. So of course Mr. Bundy refused to pay the higher fees. As he should have.

Then the federal government sent armed agents to create another Waco or Ruby Ridge. But good patriots came to the rescue. Outmanned and outgunned, the federal agents backed off from their illegal act. Ms. Romeo should get educated. We are a democratic republic, not a democracy.

The charges against

Cliven Bundy and his fellow patriots should be dropped immediately. They should all receive restitution for their losses. That would be true American justice. the office paid out $17 million of taxpayer money on behalf of congressional workers. Until this past month, information about that “slush fund” and the use of public funds to pay off sexual harassment claims against elected members of Congress was not public.

It can be assumed that nearly every member of Congress knew about that fund but did nothing to end its dubious function to protect unethical senators and representatives. I can think of no better reason than that to drain the entire congressional swamp of every corrupt and unethical member of Congress that has had more than one term in office.

I am quite sure that if Thomas Jefferson and our other Founding Fathers were with us today, there would not be the smell of tea in Boston Harbor. Instead, we would have the smell of burnt powder over the Potomac.

As Jefferson asserted,

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”