Senate set for showdown over judges as Frist prepares to advance two nominations News
Senate set for showdown over judges as Frist prepares to advance two nominations

[JURIST] Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Friday in a statement [text] that after the Senate completes deliberations next week on a highway bill he will put forward the hitherto-blocked nominations of Judges Priscilla Owen [DOJ OLP profile] and Janice Rogers Brown [DOJ OLP profile] for seats on the federal appeals bench, forcing a showdown with Democrats. He also indicated that if all seven blocked Bush judicial nominees [AP report] are not give up-or-down votes on the Senate floor, he will use what critics have called the "nuclear option" and force a rule change that would ban filibusters of judicial nominations [Frist factsheet]. Senate Democrats say that they have rejected only 10 of 215 Bush judicial nominees and insist on the constitutionality and political legitimacy of the filibuster [Senate Democrats factsheet] as a Senate practice in the face of majority power. Bloomberg has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.