Sotomayor Confirmed @3:25 PM
The United States Senate has confirmed Sonia Sotomayor as the 111th Justice of the Supreme Court by a vote of 68-31. Suck it, empathy- (and Latina-) haters! 8
Sotomayor Approved With Just One Republican Yea @12:36 PM
Sonia Sotomayor (the activist Latina judge who adjudicates through the lens of her personal experience, unlike Clarence Thomas or the Italian judges, what's his name and what's his name, they're all black to me, since I live in the year 1910) has made it through the sort of grueling, sort of totally ridiculous Judicial Committee hearings with approval for a Senate vote on her elevation to Lord Queen Justice of NAFTA. That will be another boring spectacle. "Among the seven Republicans on the committee, only Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina voted in favor," says the Times. It is sad that the Republican understanding of Sotomayor's deep-seated unfitness to serve, because she believes that judges interpret and therefore create law in the course of their work, law which actually circumscribes human and governmental behavior (instead of Baby God or the Giant Space Jesus Monkey doing so), will not be further heard because of things like democracy and voting and our attention span. 1
And That's When I Clicked "Close Tab": Harry Potter Edition @12:20 PM
"This is the same week where the American people have been treated to the unseemly spectacle of conservative politicians using 'racism' as a club to beat up Judge Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic American woman nominated to the United States Supreme Court. These attacks on her, as illustrated but not limited to Senator Sessions' remarks, illustrate that her questioners have no insight into their own racial formation, and deformation, in a white-dominant American society.
I highly recommend that several of these Senators go see the Harry Potter film–and better yet, read the books where the racial prejudice by some in the wizarding community is horribly illustrated." 11
Sotomayor Explains Latina Wisdom @11:45 AM
In case you're interested, here's Judge Sotomayor explaining the "wise Latina woman" comment that got Republicans so riled up because if we're going to be allowed to praise life experience as a character builder those life experiences had damn well better be white life experiences, or at least Italian ones (which we are now counting as white). 6
Heckler Interrupts Sotomayor Hearings @12:05 PM
An anti-abortion demonstrator disrupted the hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor earlier this morning; he was immediately removed from the Senate chamber. There's no word yet on the man's identity, but some Republicans are saying that this so-called "Joe The Shouter" could be the next leader of the party. 3
Sotomayor Hearings Start at 10! @9:37 AM
Unemployed, glued to your computer and have a faint sense of civic interest? Here is your C-Span stream to watch Sonia Sotomayor get grilled about how she hates white people. They actually let you choose which camera view you want to watch, which is rather wonderful. 2
"Whitey The Firefighter" To Be GOP's New Joe The Plumber? @2:40 PM
"Republicans plan to call a white firefighter whose reverse discrimination claim was rejected by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to testify against her." Great! Maybe they could also cut an ad showing a Hispanic hand bringing down a gavel while the voiceover intones "You needed that promotion, and you were the best qualified, but they tried to give it to a minority, because a Latina woman thought she was wise enough to interpret the law." You're really gonna put up a firefighter to discuss a difficult issue of constitutional jurisprudence that even some conservatives have agreed Sotomayor was compelled to rule for by precedent? Lowest-tech lynching ever. 7
Court Rules For Firefighters In New Haven Case @10:07 AM
The Supreme Court has reversed the Second Circuit's ruling in Ricci v. DeStefano by 5-4, "on ideological lines." The case, in which a white firefighter claimed discrimination after being denied a promotion, will be at the center of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. The full decision is here. 6
Rich People Things: Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas And The Trouble With The "Up From Poverty" Narrative @11:15 AM
The thing with humble beginnings in American life is that one is supposed to leave them decorously as just that-the harrowing, Dickensian prologue to an adult life of implacable success and celebrity splendor. That's why the personal story of Sonia Sotomayor is being tirelessly rehearsed as a classic instance of the American Dream coming true-something that claims its significance on the basis of what the Bronx-bred jurist left behind, as opposed to her much-bruited views on how her ethnic heritage continues to shape her approach to her job. READ MORE 3
The Privileged Life Of Sonia Sotomayor @4:45 PM
"I'm sure when Sonia Sotomayor was six years old, being raised by a single Puerto Rican mother in the Bronx in the 70's, she knew she could kick back and riiiiiide it out, because she was on fucking Easy Street, baby." Sonia Sotomayor was nine when her father passed away. Other than that, this refutation of some of the most recent idiocies uttered about the Supreme Court nominee is pretty damned perfect. 8
What If Sonia Sotomayor Had A Distended Testicle? @12:56 PM
An article in the American Spectator asking the probing question "What If Sotomayor Were White?," makes some good points! For instance:
Take everything that is known about Sonia Sotomayor and change three factors — her race, sex, and family's initial socioeconomic status — and the points cited in praise of her selection would be diminished by more than 50 percent. The complimentary commentary would be reduced to: Mr. Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton and has had a breadth of experience over his lengthy legal career. That's it.
So true! In fact, she'd be just like Justice Samuel Alito, who also graduated from Princeton and had a lengthy legal career prior to nomination. Except she got a summa and he didn't. But, you know, six of one… 2
Sonia Sotomayor's Reversal Record Explained @8:29 AM
Apart from how she is clearly an affirmative action pick (she has to be, because how else would a PUERTO RICAN end up on the Supreme Court?), and also how she is stupid and uses too many footnotes, and also how it's crazy that she defended Fendi against knockoff purses, and also she is a racist against whites, the real truth that everyone knows about Sonia Sotomayor is that she is always being overturned by higher courts and so she is a terrible, horrible judge who must be stopped. 7
Sotomayor: Further Reasons To Oppose @12:01 PM
Not only is Judge Sotomayor frivolous with money, she is also trying to damage our traditional American pronunciation values. READ MORE 11
Sotomayor: The Case Against Confirmation @8:42 AM
Absent massive scandal—and one would think that by now the White House has finally figured out this whole "vetting" thing—Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is pretty much a guaranteed confirm. Never mind that the Dems already have 59 votes plus the Republican ladies from Maine on their side; the only Republicans who are going to vote against the first (blah blah blah or is she) Hispanic Justice are the total dead-enders from states where the Latino vote is irrelevant. And they probably should! READ MORE 9
The Portuguese And The Hispanic Problem @12:48 PM
Sonia Sotomayor has only been a Supreme Court nominee for two-and-a-half hours and she's already proving divisive among Hispanics, Jews, and Talking Points Memo readers. 3
GOP Wonders How You Solve A Problem Like "Maria" @11:45 AM
Senate Republicans will reserve judgment on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor until internal polling tells them how badly they'll damage their standing with Hispanic voters by attacking her. Meanwhile, other prominent Republicans have wasted no time in condemning the choice and proving why they already have a problem with Hispanic voters. 0
Possible Supreme Court Hispanic Lady Mouthy, Dumb @2:11 PM
Hopefully Barack Obama will move quickly to appoint a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, if only to put a halt to all the whining and carping and speculating and handicapping that's going on regarding the next nominee. Case in point: this absolutely bizarre attack on Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who sits on the Second Circuit and is considered the favorite for the position because she's a Hispanic woman and Barack Obama has a secret edict to never give another white man a job again unless he works in the financial sector, in which case he's welcome to all the money he can grab. Anyway, TNR's Jeffrey Rosen presents "the case against" Sotomayor. READ MORE 6
