Free Republic

Mary Frances Berry, the combative chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, won't step down when her term expires in December, vowing instead to stay on the job six weeks longer at the government's expense. After the commission's Friday meeting, the liberal Berry told HUMAN EVENTS she would stay until midnight Jan. 21, 2005, a date the commission's Democrat-appointed staff director has decided is the end of her term. "I'm not doing anything except serving out my term," Berry said when asked about the dispute. "There's no question. You heard what the staff director said. I'm abiding by what...

<p>WASHINGTON — The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia overturned a lower court's decision and unanimously approved the appointment of Bush nominee Peter Kirsanow to the United States Civil Rights Commission. The president is pleased with this ruling," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Thursday. "The Bush administration is firmly committed to protecting civil rights for all Americans, and the Court of Appeals ruling will now allow the Civil Rights Commission to move beyond the question of membership to get to the important business before it."</p>