Updates!

PANTS SUIT:

Remember the DC administrative law judge who brought the $54 million dollar pants lawsuit? Well, it seems he's lost more than his pants (which were returned to him). He has now lost his job.

The Associated Press reports:

A judge who lost a $54 million lawsuit against his dry cleaner over a pair of missing pants has lost his job, District of Columbia officials said.

Roy Pearson's term as an administrative law judge expired May 2 and the D.C. Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges has voted not to reappoint him, Lisa Coleman, the city's general counsel, wrote Nov. 8 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Associated Press.

Pearson lost his lawsuit, and his $120,000-plus per year job. All I can say is GOOD. Someone with such a misguided sense of "justice" should not be sitting on a bench.

The couple he sued have sold their cleaning business and moved on.

Previous posts:

Tearful Judge in $54 Million Pants Lawsuit June 2007

DC Judge Loses $54 Million Pants Lawsuit June 2007

Judge tries (again) to take cleaners to the cleaners August 2007

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HEAD START:

For months Congress has debated the reauthorization of Head Start, a popular program for pre-kindegarden children. This year, however, religious right conservatives in Congress decided to try and attach an amendment to the bi-partisan bill that would have added a 'faith-based' component.

Conservative Republicans were attempting to strip away the civil rights protections that have been part of the bill since it was first signed by President Nixon, more than 30 years ago!

Democrats and the few moderate Republicans opposed the move, and in 2006 the fight began.

Supporters of church-state separation were concerned that members of Congress would not want to vote against funding for a children's program during an election year. The Coalition Against Religious Discrimination (CARD), which includes a national organization that represents Head Start programs, began the long task of lobbying members of Congress to keep the amendment from being added to the bill.

And even with a change of leadership in Congress, CARD had to continue to monitor action on the legislation.

Well there is finally good news to report. Both the House and the Senate have agreed to a Head Start reauthorization bill that DOES NOT contain language that would strip away civil rights protections.

The House vote was 381 Yeas, 36 Nays, 15 NV. And the Senate vote was 95-0 (all voting but the 5 absent presidential candidates).

This is a tremendous victory for church-state separation supporters. The Bush Administration made 'faith-based' initiatives a cornerstone of their first term in office, and here we are in the middle of the second term and they have not succeeded in getting a 'faith-based' bill out of Congress.

Bush has, by executive order, initiated 'faith-based' programs -- but an executive order is much easier to change than a bill that has been signed into law.

Previous posts:

'Faith-Based' Discrimination September 2005

'Faith-Based' Discrimination in Head Start September 2005

Catholics or Jews Need Not Apply September 2005

Would someone please remind me why I bothered to vote March 2007

No taxpayer funded job discrimination May 2007

Win for civil rights, loss for GWB May 2007