Senate panel endorses Sotomayor
Except only one Republican voted for the endorsement. That is quite frankly embarassing. Sotomayor is a moderate judge with a whole lot of judicial experience. It speaks volumes about the GOP’s general arrogance and stubbornness that all but one Republican on the committee chose not to endorse her. Republican critics of the judge expressed displeasure [...]
...read moreFacing Down Condescension and Lectures, Sotomayor Teaches Senators About Civics and More
My thought about Sotomayor are up at RH Reality Check. A teaser: If there’s one thing that this week’s Senate confirmation hearings made clear, it’s that Judge Sotomayor is not just a great mind, but a patient and generous teacher. Surrounded by senators who seemed primarily concerned with topping each other in condescension, Sotomayor responded [...]
...read moreSotomayor Open Thread
What did you all think of the hearings?
...read moreSupreme Court rules strip-search of child was illegal
Good news: The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a school’s strip search of an Arizona teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen was illegal. In an 8-1 ruling, the justices said school officials violated the law with their search of Savana Redding in the rural eastern Arizona town of Safford. Redding, who now attends college, [...]
...read moreI know I shouldn’t be paying any more attention to Rush Limbaugh…
But if this is the new leader of the Republican party, it explains why they’re failing. Rush: ” I think I’m going to send Sotomayor, and her club, a bunch of vacuum cleaners to help them clean up after their meetings.”
...read moreOn GRITtv with Laura Flanders
The lovely Laura Flanders graciously had me on her show today, along with Mario Murillo and Russ Baker. In small-world strangeness, Mario was my first journalism professor at NYU. It was a great panel, and even though I say “you know” too much, I think it’s worth checking out, if only for the very insightful [...]
...read moreName That Quote.
Who do you think made this empathetic, identity-politics-reliant statement? I tried to in my opening statement, I tried to provide a little picture of who I am as a human being and how my background and my experiences have shaped me and brought me to this point. … I don’t come from an affluent background [...]
...read moreRacism, Sexism and Sotomayor, in a few easy-to-read bullet points.
Some notes to conservatives and journalists: 1. Sonia Sotomayor is a judge. It is her job to ask questions. Many judges — including, notably, Antonin Scalia — are known for their assertive styles and difficult questions. Scalia, though, is revered for his blunt style. Sotomayor’s “temperment” is discussed as if she were a racehorse or [...]
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Red Velvet Cupcakes Made Me Do It
It’s true: One’s love of a particular food group is highly influential when it comes to performing the duties of one’s job. Personally, I discovered red velvet cupcakes, and the next thing I knew I was a hairy-legged man-hater. I wonder what Puerto Rican food will do to Sonia Sotomayor? Maybe all the pig will [...]
...read moreActually, comparing Sonia Sotomayor to Sarah Palin is kind of insulting
No, Sotomayor is not getting Palin-ed. I’m the last person who is going to stand up for the media’s crappy treatment of Sarah Palin during the Presidential elections, but I do think intelligence and achievement are fair issues to bring up when considering an elected official or a Supreme Court justice. And while I don’t [...]
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Weighing Sotomayor’s Opinions
I have a piece up in RH Reality Check today about Sotomayor’s various legal opinions, including her one reproductive-rights-related decision (which has a conclusion that none of us are going to like). A teaser: Sotomayor would not have been my first choice, primarily because my political leanings are far to the left of her legal [...]
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Sotomayor, identity and experience
I have a piece up in the Guardian about how identity and experience shape the courts, and how Sotomayor’s professional and personal experiences add a necessary diversity to the Supreme Court bench. A taste: Republicans and conservatives will argue that [Sotomayor's] nomination is an exercise in affirmative action, and that Barack Obama has effectively posted [...]
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