Sotomayor, Race & Abortion: The Judicial Record

It’s as clear as Mud.

“Her most notable opinion in this field is her dissent from the en banc Second Circuit’s holding that a spouse’s forced abortion or sterilization cannot support a claim of persecution.”
I always find it odd that fathers have no rights when it comes to their children being aborted. Mothers have the right to choose whether their children are aborted, but the father has no say? Is this gender discrimination? When fathers have reproductive rights, then I will agree that there is gender equality.

Padma,
You obviously weren’t around during the Clarnece Thomas confirmation and Anita Hill fiasco, when none other than VP Joe Biden conducted a political hit job on Thomas.
Go to cspan and find out what an ‘attack’ really looks like.
When the Republicans start looking into which videos Sotomayor has rented and watched in private, then it will start to resemble an attack (as the Dems did against Bork AND Thomas)
When they start to make accusations of sexual harrassment against her without any rules of procedure or evidence, then you will witness an ‘attack’.

There’s an incredibily intellectually lazy attitude amongst journalists s “reporting” on Sotomayor’s rulings with sound bite ready one-liners.
This is “settled precident.” Judges don’t have magic wands, JUST THE LAW. This kind of reporting is bordering on misprepresentation. Either go to law school, so you know what you’re talking about, or try to report it accuratly from those whom you’re relying on to do that work.

matt wrote: “It is beyond obvious that conservative and Republican hate-mongers are not basing their attacks on anything resembling a fact concerning Sotomayor.”
Wow, with compelling logic like that who could disagree? Only someone with the power of critical thought, that’s who.

phillysmart -
Is Justice Alito a racist for his empathy and understanding of immigrants because of his stated life experiences?
Is Reagan appointed, Sandra Day O’Connor racist because of her eloquent tribute to retiring Justice Marshall stated below?
“Although all of us come to the Court with our own personal histories and experiences, Justice Marshall brought a special perspective. His was the eye of a lawyer who saw the deepest wounds in the social fabric and used law to help heal them. His was the ear of a counselor who understood the vulnerabilities of the accused and established safeguards for their protection. His was the mouth of a man who knew the anguish of the silenced and gave them a voice.
At oral arguments and conference meetings, in opinions and dissents, Justice Marshall imparted not only his legal acumen but also his life experiences, constantly pushing and prodding us to respond not only to the persuasiveness of legal argument but also to the power of moral truth.”
You call us “idiots” for “not getting it”, but we do. We understand everyone is a product of their life experiences otherwise; you’re just a nobody.

The definition of a racist is: A person with a prejudiced belief that one race is superior to others: Thus can be applied to Sotomayor statement
Noun 1. racist-a person with a prejudiced belief that one race, exs.latina, woman, is superior to others, exs. male, white.

Has anyone here even read her entire speech? Does anyone even know what she was speaking in regards to? I’m a Republican and don’t necessarily agree with this nomination, however, I have researched more about this particular speech and the title is, “Raising the Bar: Latino and Latina Presence in the Judiciary and the Struggle for Representation.” She recounted her life experience as a Latina women and how it might give her better insight as a judge EXPECIALLY where issues of sex and race are at issue.
Another part of her speech:
“Each day on the bench I learn something new about the judicial process and about being a professional Latina woman in a world that sometimes looks at me with suspicion. I am reminded each day that I render decisions that affect people concretely and that I owe them constant and complete vigilance in checking my assumptions, presumptions and perspectives and ensuring that to the extent that my limited abilities and capabilities permit me, that I reevaluate them and change as circumstances and cases before me requires. I can and do aspire to be greater than the sum total of my experiences but I accept my limitations. I willingly accept that we who judge must not deny the differences resulting from experience and heritage but attempt, as the Supreme Court suggests, continuously to judge when those opinions, sympathies and prejudices are appropriate.”
Anyone who calls her a racist may need to check themselves…they are the ones throwing judgements around without being informed.

“His conclusion: Sotomayor rejected discrimination-related claims by a margin of approximately 8 to 1.”
Now tell us in which direction those rulings were made, i.e. “person of color” with a claim against a white person, or vice versa, a la the New Haven firefighters case?
Prejudice and racism run both ways, which is what we are concerned with here in this affirmative action nomination.

Can we at least agree that there is no further need for affirmative action? Now we can appoint and elect people based on merit and not on race. I’d trade a Sotomayor lifetime appointment for that any day of the week.

Dimsdale:”Now tell us in which direction those rulings were made, i.e. “person of color” with a claim against a white person, or vice versa, a la the New Haven firefighters case?”
You could, you know, do your own research. You would very quickly find that there are very few discrimination cases involving where a white male is the plaintiff.

jw539; I guess you get through life via cliff notes and accepting one person’s opinion as truth. It’s a sad limiting/narrow way to exist.

Wow Ryan! You are the MAN!

Just one thing Ryan. What if it’s a married couple; the woman is pregnant and wants out of the releationship and is willing to go for the abortion; but the father wants their child, then what? If they are not married, I think the man forfeits any say because there is no guarantee there will be a 50-50 input in parenting. If they are married, the man has already made the commitment and deserves a say don’t you think?

“Just one thing Ryan. What if it’s a married couple; the woman is pregnant and wants out of the releationship and is willing to go for the abortion; but the father wants their child, then what?”
Then its an imperfect scenario where if the father is unable to convince the woman to have the child and split custody or even give him custody, then he has no recourse.
He cannot force his wife to have the child.

Just because she is Latina, who’s to say HER “Latina perspective” would be representative of:
a) all/most US Latinas
b) all/most US Latinos
c) all/most US women
d) even, all/most fatherless diabetics?
e) etc.
Were Sandy O’Connor and Ruth Ginsburg in lock-step on all issues (having to do with gender, reproductive rights, discrimination, workplace, etc. or not) being they were both women? Do you think Clarence Thomas and Thurgood Marshall would see eye-to-eye on all things because they were both black?
The fact that there’s a “liberal opening” (verses a “conservative” one) on the court now is proof that not even WHITE GUYS can agree on everything sufficient enough to keep the rest of us second-class citizens under their thumb of domination and exploitation. You would think that would be motivation enough to vote as a single bloc, but it’s not.
Conservatives are always accused of thinking of minorities as “people unlike me,” but why is it that “Progressives” always seem to be the ones keeping score?

Norman Thomas Quote:
“The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of ‘liberalism’ they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”
Sotomayor quoted Thomas on her year book: ( a guy that ran 5 consc years for P of Socialist Party ) ” I am not a champion of lost causes, but causes not yet won ” I would say she got a good shot at her dreams now. She will have an very active agenda.
Have you ever wonder why Liberal can’t keep a successful/competitive talk radio? They can not talk their minds/hearts out. Very corageous, Mr. Wright, Ayers, etc and now Obama, etc. with his ‘ spread the wealth bit ‘ I guess now they are going to be gaining ground fast. : – ( bye bye, capitalist , free America, thank you NOT Obama’s uninformed/ slobbering followers.