let's hurry up

and approve the raises for judges while we're leaving our heads stuck in the sand for the raises of military members

this isn't a democratic or republican thing. both sides are, as it turns out, a bunch of spineless cowardly id-jits. let's just concentrate on giving our troops THEIR raises then we can worry about the judges. ok?

Chief Justice Again Calls for Pay Raise for Judges

By LINDA GREENHOUSE
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Monday renewed his call for a pay increase for federal judges. A measure now moving through Congress with bipartisan support is “vital” and long overdue, the chief justice said in his annual report on the state of the federal judiciary.
This report, his third, struck a tone quite different from the one issued a year ago, which was devoted completely to the salary issue. The chief justice used sharp language then to depict a looming “constitutional crisis” if Congress did not grant a prompt and substantial raise; since 1989, Congress has withheld from the judges the cost-of-living adjustments that other federal employees have received.
The tone was softer this time. “I simply ask once again for a moment’s reflection on how America would look in the absence of a skilled and independent judiciary,” the chief justice said.
Judges have been leaving the federal bench at an increasing rate, some expressing bitterness at the fact that their law clerks can expect to outstrip them in earnings in the first year of law practice. First-year associates at some major law firms are now paid as much as $180,000, not counting bonuses.........


Veto Pinches Troops' Pockets
The new year rolls in today with a 3 percent pay increase for servicemembers.
And also with yet another military pay snag.
President Bush's veto Dec. 28 of the National Defense Authorization Act will delay military personnel from receiving an extra half percent raise today.
That means a loss of slightly less than $12 per month for an Army buck sergeant until the White House and Congress resolve the issue.
The delay will take a pinch out of the pay of between 50,000 and 60,000 people in the Fayetteville area.
The National Defense Authorization Act included authorization for a 0.5 percent additional pay raise for troops, on top of the 3 percent increase that will go into effect today regardless, the White House said. The 3 percent increase amounts to about $70 per month for a buck sergeant.
White House officials pledged to work with Congress upon its return this month to adjust the Act to protect Iraqi funds in the United States and ensure that the additional pay raise is retroactive to today. ................