Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Breaking News: Obama Names First Latina U.S. Supreme Court Justice!

President Obama has named Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor (54) to be his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court Justice in U.S. history.
Sotomayor is a brilliant and highly qualified nominee. She is a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She is considered a political centrist by the American Bar Association Journal and others. Sotomayor was nominated on November 27, 1991, by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. On June 25, 1997, she was nominated by former President Bill Clinton to the seat she now holds.
Sotomayor was born in The Bronx, New York, to Puerto Rican parents. She grew up in a housing project in the South Bronx, a short walk from Yankee Stadium. She was diagnosed with diabetes at age 8. Her father, a tool-and-die worker with a third-grade education, died the following year. Her mother, a nurse, raised Sotomayor and her younger brother, who is now a doctor.
Sotomayor graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. She earned her A.B. from Princeton University, summa cum laude, in 1976, where she won the Pyne Prize, the highest general award given to Princeton undergraduates. Sotomayor obtained her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. Sotomayor then served as an Assistant District Attorney under prominent New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, prosecuting robberies, assaults, murders, police brutality, and child pornography cases. In 1984, she entered private practice, making partner at the commercial litigation firm of Pavia & Harcourt, where she specialized in intellectual property litigation. Robyn Kar, who clerked for Sotomayor from 1998 to 1999, described her as a "warm, extraordinarily kind and caring person."
In 1998, for her current seat, the New York judge won the support of 25 Republicans, including eight senators who still serve. If Sotomayor is able to maintain the support of just a few of those GOP senators this year, Senate Republicans would face an almost impossible task in defeating her nomination, even by filibuster, which requires 40 votes. Currently, Republicans hold 39 senate seats. The president has said he hopes hearings will be held in July, with the confirmation completed before Congress leaves for the summer.
In the meantime, right wing extremist pundits have already started their attack against this brilliant, summa cum laude, highly qualified judge. Both Jeffrey Rosen and Mark Krikorian have called her dumb and obnoxious, admittedly without studying any of her rulings and instead relying on their own biased opinions and so-called anonymous sources. They both racistly added that the ONLY reason she is being named is because she is a Hispanic Woman. Their remarks are so typical of good ole boys. They find it hard to believe that any woman or any minority can be brilliant and qualified and should be candidates for high nominations. Rosen and Krikorian prove what racist cavemen they truly are!

16 comments:

. said...

"They both racistly added that the ONLY reason she is being named is because she is a Hispanic Woman."And of course you're being unbiased...?
After all, I'm sure you didn't write this post because she's 'hispanic' or because she is a woman, but because she's a qualified person for the job....

Defensores de Democracia said...

Now, all Minorities should stand firm behind Sonia Sotomayor and support her nomination.

National Organization for Women : "We celebrate the Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor and we launch a campaign to ensure the Swift Confirmation of Sotomayor as Next Supreme Court Justice"

Mr Obama has shown courage and bravery. He is no coward before the Violence and Racism of Republicans.

So let us support Sonia Sotomayor and let us put all our force of little ants to push for her approval and appointment in Congress.

Milenials.com

Vicente Duque

. said...

Personally, I find it appalling that we are still judging people on the basis of gender and 'race'.
Just my opinion.

Dee said...

Az,
I would agree with you if all were equal. We should have the ability to have the most qualified person for the supreme court and not even mention race or gender. However, the good old boy network still reigns supreme.

With Sotomayor's vast experience, amazing qualifications and educational accomplishments, she is, by far, the leading, most qualified candidate. We shouldn't have to even mention her ethnicity or gender. It should not be an issue. However, look at what the pundits are doing already.

Racist Idiot Pundits like Rosen, Limbaugh and Krikorian are bashing her for being a stupid woman Latina. Sheesh!!!

Dee said...

I have to give kudos to John McCain. Of so many Republicans, he cares about our country. He proudly stood up and applauded her nomination. I commend him for his dedication to country!!

. said...

Who the hell is Rosen and Krikorian?
Never heard of them.... Limbaugh is Limbaugh, plus I have no idea what he is saying. Do you listen to his show?

Defensores de Democracia said...

Fox News is in a big campaign to discredit Sonia Sotomayor, using the most Idiotic Republican Clowns, that are presented like Great Jurists and Experts. ( interviewed by Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Laura Ingraham, etc ..)

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The Kernel and Nucleus of American Politics is Race and Racism, or in other words Minorities and the Destiny of Minorities. Everything revolves around Minorities, like planets around the sun.

Enter Fox News and you are hypnotized, mesmerized, suggested and hinted, nonstop 24hours/7days :

That Minorities are lazy, that they live on Welfare, that American Values are destroyed by Minorities. That Western Civilization is doomed if Minorities have some Progress. That Minorities and Foreigners are incapable of Civilization ( Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly ), that Mexicans, Latinos, Africans, etc ... are dangerous lepers with syphilis and other venereals.

They do not tell those lies outright but are always suggesting them in the most Hyprocrital way.

Some people like Glenn Beck speak as if they were the owners of "God" and with a very personal relation to "God" .... and I use quotes for "God" because that is not a Good God but an idiot God created by the deranged mind of a child that was raised in a dysfunctional family as Glenn Beck candidly admits. There may be a Good God, but that is not the God of Fox News Hyprocritally promoted by Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Bill O'Reilly, etc ...

Charles Krauthammer and Fred Barnes are most boring, even if they are not so stupid and idiotic as the other mentioned guys. Unfortunately Charles and Fred use their intelligence and culture to be boring, tiring. With all due respect I call Charles and Fred, the Mummy and the Zombie.

One rare and extraordinary day Juan Williams ( the Black Guy ) spoke up against them and stood up to say that Republicans were degenerating into a White Race Party that did not understand Minorities.

My opinion of Juan Williams changed 180 degrees after that speech. I know that Charles Krauthammer and Fred Williams are highly respected in American Journalism. But for me they are dead corpses with a lot of cobwebs. I do not dislike them like Glen, or Bill, or Sean, or Laura. But my only use for Charles and Fred is to combat insomnia.


Milenials.com

Vicente Duque

. said...

“Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see,” Sotomayor said. “My hope is that I will take the good from my experiences and extrapolate them further into areas with which I am unfamiliar. I simply do not know exactly what that difference will be in my judging. But I accept there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage.
Sorry, but I have to disagree with that conclusion. I would rather be judged by the law, not personal feelings....

ultima said...

President Obama carried through on his threat to nominate a Justice who would indulge her policy preferences and biases on the bench," says Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a group opposing Sotomayor's candidacy. "I'm going to continue to do all I can to expose Sotomayor's view of judging and why she's not a good pick for the court."

Sotomayor was caught on tape saying, "We [the judges] make the laws." This was at a panel discussion at Duke University. She immediately corrected herself by saying, ..."but we're not supposed to say that, are we?"

ultima said...

Sotomayor is certainly bright and well qualified by experience but there is more to it than that. This cartooncaptures the essence of the legitimate concerns that might be raised. Who cares about her gender or ethnicity. Judicial activism should be a no no on the high court. She provides no assurance that she will honor the constitution instead of making law according to her own personal philosophy and political orthodoxy. Let's talk about that. If someone has access to her decisions, that is where her qualifications for the high court should be determined not through an sort of political hatchet job.

ultima said...

El Duque wrote, "Now, all Minorities should stand firm behind Sonia Sotomayor and support her nomination."

Not so fast there Duque. We haven't even studied her decisions so none of us including you have any basis for deciding her willingness to follow the constitution. There are strong indications that she may want to make law herself. I guess she has forgotten that that is the job of the elected representatives of the people not a political appointee.

Indigenous Xicano said...

Dee,

I feel the same about McCain except for when he ran for President in 2008 and compromised who he by trying to appease the far-right of his party.

I would have proudly voted for the McCain of 2000 had he won the nomination.

Defensores de Democracia said...

Republican Party and Fox News - Mad Lady like Howard Hughes - Five dogs peed the Furniture - Pissed Mattresses - Help from the Sun !


And the lady with five dogs as mad as Howard Hughes, the horrible stench that made my wife throw up, rebellion of the workers in our truck.

A story about peed furniture, peed couch and chairs, peed dining table ( on the basis ), pissedd mattresses. Filth and Dirt everywhere.

I had the most horrible experience of Animal Odors, a House of a Mad Lady with five dogs, they do not know what is a bath and soap, never any disinfection against fleas.

My wife threw up and almost passed out and was dizzy and extremely angry.

The strong guys in the truck rebelled and did not want that load of stinking stench.

But I like to earn a penny - Finally I cajoled the guys with my personal example and we moved that damned load.

The story gets worse because I am in charge of the Wharehouse where the furniture, pissed beds and mattresses are stored.

Fortunately we have had some sunny days, and I am taking the furniture out to a big patio to receive the benefit of the sun's radiation.

My wife bought some bicarbonate and chloral disinfectants and we fumigated the furniture and added some liquid soda and other chemicals.

The situation is improving.

To me this is the perfect metaphor for Fox News and the Idiots that are interviewed by Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck as if they were the Maximun in Juridical Wisdom, Great Jurisprudence and Judicial Acumen, when in fact they are only perfect idiots and clowns. All is Racism and Hate against Sonia Sotomayor.

If you want to see the best in Great Jurisprudence and Wisdom, then go to my MILENIALS.COM and see Great Judges and Sages giving opinions about Judge Sotomayor.

Milenials.comVicente Duque

Dee said...

Ultima,
I know the extreme right wing is already spinning the spin negatively against this fine judge. No one expected anything else from them. I am glad their are sane/logical/honest Republicans like McCain who are already supporting her.

ultima said...

Dee wrote, "I know the extreme right wing is already spinning the spin negatively against this fine judge."

Probably so. Still it sounds as though she is prepared to spin the constitution to fit her own predilections. That is what the real fear is, not her other qualifications. Often in an offhand remark people betray their real feelings and we should all judge them accordingly.

Dee said...

Ultima,
I started a whole new blog on the insanity spinning Tancredo is doing on her.

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