April D. Ryan

 WASHINGTON - Gen. Stanley McChrystal, fired from his job as commander of the Afghanistan war after more than three decades in the Army, will be allowed to retire at the rank of four stars. 

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday that the White House will do what it can to ensure McChrystal keeps that rank. McChrystal had been a four-star general for just over a year when President Barack Obama demanded his resignation as Afghan war commander because of scornful remarks made to Rolling Stone magazine.

 
Under Army rules, McChrystal would have had to serve three years as a four-star officer to retain that rank, with its higher prestige and deeper retirement benefits.

 
The Army has been 55-year-old McChrystal’s only career. He is being replaced by Gen. David Petraeus, who was his boss at U.S. Central Command.

 
At his confirmation hearing Tuesday, Petraeus used his opening remarks to pay tribute to his former colleague. Petraeus said McChrystal’s leadership has contributed directly to the success in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We now see some areas of progress amidst the tough fight ongoing in Afghanistan,” Petraeus said. “Considerable credit for that must go to Stan McChrystal.”

Some Republicans at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan are raising questions about her work as a clerk for the late Justice Thurgood Marshall.    Arizona’s Jon Kyl said he wouldn’t consider Marshall’s judicial philosophy as being part of the “mainstream.” Marshall was a civil rights attorney and became the court’s first black justice.

Kagan is an admirer of the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, but Kagan tells senators that she’d think and act for herself, rather than trying to emulate the man she once clerked for. She adds that she thinks Marshall’s life was about “seeing the court take seriously claims that were not taken seriously anywhere else.”

This is not the first time Kagan has answered Senators inquires on her record.   The Supreme Court nominee submitted written answers to questions to the Senate last month.   Her responses were received on May 18, 2010.

The link for the Kagan Senate written question and answers.

http://judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/SupremeCourt/KaganQuestionnaire.cfm

One question she answered was on her work in the Clinton Domestic Policy office and her extensive work on the Hate Crimes Conference, where sexual orientation was added to the categories.

Danielle Gray, of the White House Counsels offices says, Kagan discussed in the questionnaire, her work on criminal justice, this was “President Clinton’s kick off saying we will support legislation that would both strengthen traditional hate crimes enforcement and provide more resources for federal prosecutors to go after these kinds of crimes and that would add sexual orientation to the categories.”

Another big area of her response was the criminal justice area. Gray says, “It is not true that she [Kagan] recommended President Clinton do nothing on the crack cocaine and powder cocaine disparity.   Gray contends, “she was supportive” of moving the disparity to “10 to one.” Gray believes Kagan was forward thinking as the sentencing rate now stands at 18 to one from the previous 100 to 1 sentencing disparity ratio.

The National Urban League and the NAACP are among the civil rights groups endorsing Kagan to become the next United States Supreme Court Justice.