Court Rules Against Lolo National Forest

By Perry Backus - December 9, 2005 -- The Missoulian News

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has called the Lolo National Forest's efforts to log in areas burned by the fires of 2000 “arbitrary and capricious” and reversed a lower court's ruling in favor of the agency.

The San Francisco-based court likened the U.S. Forest Service's efforts to thin old-growth stands for forest health without knowing for sure how those efforts would impact wildlife to pharmaceutical companies marketing drugs without ensuring they are safe and effective.

But one justice, in a written dissent, said the court went too far in its decision, insisting it had “crossed the line from reviewer to decision maker.”

The arrogance of our judiciary continues. The problem is especially accute in the 9th Circuit. The federal judges continue to believe that expanding court power is their right. These unelected judges with lifetime tenure are out of touch with citizens and have lost any respect for the very concept of repesentative democracy. Having established the premise that they can make law and superced the legislature, the latest program to expand power is to replace the executive branch and make all decisions of government.

This must be stopped now. If the judiciary becomes a single branch of government with all power, totalitarianism is not far behind.