Loose Ends August 23, 2000January 27, 2017 Mike Cheymann: “Gore couldn’t or wouldn’t stand up and admit Clinton screwed up. That alone disqualifies him from any further sumstantive puplic position.” ☞ Well, that settles that! Amit Basu: “How do the parties decide which one holds its convention first?” ☞ The party that holds the White House goes second. Kurt Hemr: “Just a quick clarification to Jim Batterson’s comments: There is no backlog of criminal cases in the federal or state courts, nor could there be, because the Constitution guarantees a speedy trial. Nevertheless, J.B.’s correct that unfilled seats on the bench create a backlog — it’s a backlog in civil cases, which are moved to the back of the line to ensure that the criminal cases are tried in a timely manner.” Jim Batterson: “Since you’ve posted my rant on slavery and other international issues I’ve been checking my facts and thought you might like some references and updates. As to slavery in Mauritania and Sudan, click here . . . I was wrong, or at least outdated, about the US position on children in combat. We refused to sign this treaty for six years but in January the pentagon relented and Clinton signed July 5th. Let us hope the Senate ratifies. . . . Click here for a fierce indictment of the (Republican) Senate Judiciary Committee holding up minority judgeship appointments . . . and here for a country-by-country synopsis that explains why the U.S. has not accepted the International Criminal Court. Finally, it was Trent Lott who blocked the vote on Hormel’s appointment to be ambassador to Luxemburg, not Jesse Helms, although Helms has blocked many on his own.”