Come for the Politics, Stay for the Pathologies



Friday, August 7, 2009

I’ve Still Got Questions, Sonya

NOTE: this was originally posted 5-30-09 and reposted 7-14-09, but I’m still waiting for the answers.

Judge Sotomayor was confirmed by the Senate on August 6, 2009; she will be sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court on August 8, 2009. She will be the first Hispanic to serve in this position, if you don’t count Judge Benjamin Cardozo who was of Portuguese ancestry and therefore would only have been considered Hispanic if his family had emigrated to South America instead of North America. Got that?

I don’t have time to come up with anything original, as I’m assembling my enemies list to hand in to the White House. I’m not sure exactly what they’re going to do with it, but since I understand they are asking the narcs to include full names and addresses of the people “agitating” against Obamacare,  I’m betting a White House Christmas card is in the offing. Or, more likely, a Holiday card.

So, for the last time…

 Questions I Would Ask at Sotomayor’s Congressional Confirmation Hearings

“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,” said Sotomayor, whose parents came from Puerto Rico.

Based on the much reported statement that Sonia Sotomayor made in a speech in 2001, here are a couple of questions I would ask if I were on the Judicial Committee:

“Judge Sotomayor, would you say that a wise black woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina woman? How about a wise black man? Where might he fall in your spectrum of ‘good conclusions’? What about a wise Latino man? And I guess I’m also curious as to how you think an Asian woman might stack up.

“Also, among wise Latina women, is there a distinction between the wisdom of a Latina from Puerto Rico and one from Mexico? Or Cuba? And what about Guatemala?

“We assume, Judge Sotomayor, that white males would come in dead last, but I’m just wondering if perhaps, for future appointments to the bench, you could share with us some of your Latina wisdom and help us rank the full spectrum of color and gender combinations. That way we could ensure that all subsequent appointments will go only to those that are capable of reaching the wisest conclusions.”