Introducing Judge Sonia Sotomayor - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

cmac2012 · #1 05-29-2009, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS Fowler

How do you all feel by here comments that a latino woman will make BETTER judgments than a white male?
Is that not a racist comment? Would a white male saying that a white male would make BETTER judgments than a latino female be a racist statement?
This is a lifetime appointment with no recall. We need to be very careful who we place in this position.

Lord have mercy, what a tempest in a teapot. This is the modern right, America. So convinced that they are correct in all matters, they grab any sort of out of context, deliberately misunderstood snippet and try to pummel the dreaded liberal with it.

She was saying that an experienced, older and wiser judge should be able to come to better conclusions than say, just any white male. This is not exactly what she said but the context makes it clear that this is what she meant.

Referring to former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's saying that "a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases," Sotomayor said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Diversity helps. Duhh. The recent case before the SCOTUS about the young girl strip searched on suspicion of holding extra strength Ibuprofin (shudder) is a good example of why the old boys club exclusively of aging white males so beloved by the right is not the best way to go. The boneheaded reactions by some of the men as opposed to female justice Ginsberg were sorta telling.

Get used to it folks. Espanish speaking Americans are on the increase, big time. Myself, I'm learning Spanish as fast as I can.

Honus · #2 05-29-2009, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Lord have mercy, what a tempest in a teapot. This is the modern right, America. So convinced that they are correct in all matters, they grab any sort of out of context, deliberately misunderstood snippet and try to pummel the dreaded liberal with it...

It's not just the right that do this. I had NPR on the radio on the way home yesterday. Their report on this provided no more context than Hannity did on his show last night. NPR had a commentator who said that the statement didn't show that she is a racist, but they provided no context to explain why that was the case.

Her statement is true and completely reasonable, except to a listener who is looking for ways to attack her.

cmac2012 · #3 05-29-2009, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dculkin

It's not just the right that do this. I had NPR on the radio on the way home yesterday. Their report on this provided no more context than Hannity did on his show last night. NPR had a commentator who said that the statement didn't show that she is a racist, but they provided no context to explain why that was the case.

Her statement is true and completely reasonable, except to a listener who is looking for ways to attack her.

I'm certainly grateful for what NPR brings to the table but I agree that they can often put out a sort of saccharine sweet neutrality that ends up being just not too enlightening.

And while I appreciate Olbermann and Maddow for the good research and generally informed opinions they offer up, too often they grab some unpersuasive bit of dirt on oppenents and run it into the ground.

MS Fowler · #4 05-29-2009, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

Lord have mercy, what a tempest in a teapot. This is the modern right, America. So convinced that they are correct in all matters, they grab any sort of out of context, deliberately misunderstood snippet and try to pummel the dreaded liberal with it.

She was saying that an experienced, older and wiser judge should be able to come to better conclusions than say, just any white male. This is not exactly what she said but the context makes it clear that this is what she meant.

Referring to former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's saying that "a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases," Sotomayor said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Diversity helps. Duhh. The recent case before the SCOTUS about the young girl strip searched on suspicion of holding extra strength Ibuprofin (shudder) is a good example of why the old boys club exclusively of aging white males so beloved by the right is not the best way to go. The boneheaded reactions by some of the men as opposed to female justice Ginsberg were sorta telling.

Get used to it folks. Espanish speaking Americans are on the increase, big time. Myself, I'm learning Spanish as fast as I can.

Oh, I don't know. I am an old white male, and I would have been quite disturbed about a strip search for ibuprofin.

cmac2012 · #5 05-30-2009, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS Fowler

Oh, I don't know. I am an old white male, and I would have been quite disturbed about a strip search for ibuprofin.

The story is just incredible. People were too worried about covering their arses to use common sense. Good Lord, call the parents before you strip search a 13 year old. And on the basis of an allegation by a classmate with a less than stellar track record for veracity. The men of SCOTUS were not prominent in that case, IMO:

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/22/nation/na-scotus-stripsearch22

http://cbs2.com/national/teen.strip.search.2.989131.html

Interpretation of the law is not something that can be done with the latest generation Big Blue computer, adapted from the chess playing program. Law is law but nuances and unexpected situations are many.

Obama said that he voted against Roberts because his opinons struck him as invariably favoring the powerful over the weak. This is one downside of our system. The richest players have much control over the lawmaking process, and as a result, oddly enough, strict enforcement of those laws can often tend to favor money and power over all else for little rhyme or reason.

The judge is there in part to prevent the law from becoming an ass, which can easily happen. Empathy is a word with broad meaning -- conservative critics leap to the assumption that it means favoring the poor in all matters. But then, foes of Obama have been leaping willy-nilly regarding Sotomayor.

Same crowd were going on back when about all the racists who opposed A. Gonzales for AG.