THE CHAMBER OF HORRORS.

Karl Rove had a horrible, Grinchy, ugly idea.  Supreme court judges are prohibited from spending more than $5,000 to run for re-election in some states. Why not outspend them and get rid of “liberal” judges?

John Grisham wrote a book on just how it could happen.  It was fiction and being a fan, when I read it, it was a scary prospect, IF it could really happen.

In real life, could a well-financed shadowy,  group,  get an ordinary judge, one who made decisions for people suing for redress from corporate neglect, be replaced by a corporate leaning judge?  They began their push in the Southern States of Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas which is how they caught the attention of John Grisham.

Grisham appeared on LINK public television, along with members of Public Citizen and explained that it is happening all over the United States.  The Chamber of Commerce funds these power grabs,  attacking judges who make decisions in favor of ordinary people and replaces them on the bench with corporate friendly judges.

Here is how they did they did it to Judge Oliver Diaz of Oklahoma.

The Chamber spent $19 million dollars distorting his reputation, using decisions he made for a defendant, and dishonestly twisting the results in the newspaper.  When Diaz tried to buy ad time on television in his area, the Chamber used all the ad time and squeezed him out. He borrowed money from an attorney friend, Paul Minier, to defend himself with ads in the newspapers. The Chamber of Horrors immediately filed suit against him claiming that he made decisions in favor of this attorney. He was suspended from the bench. But, he had recused himself every time his friend came before his court. The case got thrown out after the opposition pulled delay after delay after delay. Then they filed suit against him for tax evasion while he was still in suspension. Again, delay, after delay and the phony suit was thrown out, costing the judge a million in defense, and three years off the bench. When he finally got back on the bench, he lost re-election to Keith Starret because people believe, where there is smoke there is fire. There MUST have been something shady going on.

There was. The Chamber of Horrors.

Chamber CEO Richard Bush has turned the Chamber of Commerce into the leading lobbying group for removal of judges and tort reform, which is another avenue of attack on ordinary citizens in favor of corporate rule. (More about that tomorrow.)

If a defendant has his leg cut off by a piece of farm machinery that was defective and goes for a jury trial and wins in court. The court has the power to reverse the decision, lower the amount, or throw it out and the defendant has to start over again.  Corporations win over 90% of the time against people suing for redress. This is the only weapon the people have against corporate neglect and we are losing our ability to fight because corporate money is strangling the life out of our democracy.

Make your vote count. Vote for corporate regulation and protect judges in your community. Support every measure you can to keep money out of politics.

ANIMALSCAPES ART SHOW.

Hidden Giants by Lori Kelly.   The rules behind this competitive art show called Animalscapes, of Amador, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, required depictions of animals from our area. I know we don’t have elephants.

Chains to Flowers by Jim Sells.  A second elephant, embracing an unmistakable theme, and preciously done, reminded me that we do have elephants in Calaveras county, in the rescue acres at PAWS, the Performing Animal Welfare Society. They definitely live here.

Black Tail Deer by Laurie Williams.  The animals I see the most is deer.

Companions-Sifu Berchtold. And these pesty little beauties, the pileated woodpeckers.

Whee! By Juliana Tillman. Visitors can vote for a favorite. I spoke with an arts council friend who was a judge and she was surprised at the outcome. She did not reveal her choice as discretion is important in these things. None that placed would have been my picks. I find that happens a lot at art and quilt shows.  I quickly decided this one was going to be my fav. The opening event was one where you could meet the artist, and I met some of my favorite artists. Not all had an entry, but they do turn up for the arts.

Meet the artist, Juliana Tillman  I managed to corral the artist, I’d never met before.

Spotted Owl-Forget Me Not, Diana Boyd.  There were many owls entered in the competition. Held at Kautz Winery, I learned that the Owl is the symbol of the Kautz Coat of Arms.

And, two real owls there to raise money for Wildlife Rescue organizations. This is a barn owl.

And this sawwhet owl is three years old and looks like a baby. She bites, the rescue worker told me. Her role in life is to tear her prey to bits and she is good at it. On an African Safari I took in 1997, that point was made so unforgettably clear, I could never again view deer as Bambi’s nor lions as talking characters. The wild is something to respect and I never cross that line and feed wild animals. I love watching, though.

Bell Meadow Bears, Karen Nina Kling. Baby animals, no matter what specie, are adorable.

The Threat by Marta Magstrali.  Named the threat, huh!  The most petted piece in the show. You couldn’t help but run your hands over this unique fellow.

The little mouse on his behind made me smile. What an enjoyable piece of art.

And, then I came upon the piece I voted for. This Horse Head by Larissa Stephenson. So real looking I wanted to reach out and pet its nose, even though the feel of velvet would be missing.

The show had a musician and young women passed out champagne and hors d’oeuvres. It was lovely and I’ll see the show again when it moves to Amador County. I’m meeting a friend from Discovery Bay there for lunch next month.

I met Art Director, Susie Hoffman. I stopped her to take a picture of her feather earrings, very Native American looking. She bought them in Paris. She is director at Town Hall Arts, Galerie Copper in Copperopolis. She invited me to visit and I will get there one of these days. I love that I live in a community where the arts have such  great prominence. For the rest of my photos click the link below:

 

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