Sliding Backwards

The Trump administration appears set to ban women from combat positions in the military. No doubt they would prefer women's role in the military be restricted to being military wives. 

The Pentagon is mounting a six-month review of women in ground combat jobs, to ensure what it calls the military "effectiveness" of having several thousand female soldiers and Marines in infantry, armor and artillery, according to a memo obtained by NPR.

Hegseth, an Army National Guard veteran with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, opposed women in ground combat units while he was a Fox News host and author. "I'm straight up saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective. Hasn't made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated."

So much for gender equality. How anyone thinks that banning over half the population from being in combat will increase the effectiveness of  the force is beyond me. 

Complaint Against Federal Judge Sarah Merriam

The Legal Accountability Project filed a formal complaint against Sarah Merriam, a federal appeals judge on the 2nd Circuit.

A nonprofit group that advocates for law clerks is alleging a judge, Sarah Merriam, bullies and mistreats clerks. 

Filing a formal complaint is very rare. Only a few of them are filed every year even though there are hundreds of federal judges. Law clerks are wary because they fear retaliation. They really can't report bullying or abusive conduct without that getting back to the judge, and that could destroy their legal careers. Federal judges have so much power, especially over clerks. And people who work in the federal courts don't have the same employment protections other Americans do.

And that's worth emphasizing. The federal courts are exempt from Title VII antidiscrimination laws. So people who work there generally cannot sue over mistreatment on the job. They have to use the court's internal process to complain and try to seek justice. And our NPR investigation this year found problems with that process.

Without controls, without transparency, abuse and corruption will flourish. It is that simple. 

If this judge abuses clerks in such a manner imagine what she does to litigants.