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Scales of justice are blindfolded for a reason
Monday, July 13, 2009 12:33 AM PDT
Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor, for all intents and purposes, disqualified herself from consideration to the High Court with the following statement: "A Latina woman would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who has not lived that life." If the aforementioned "white male" had made the statement that "(a) Caucasian man would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Latina woman who has not lived that life," he would not only have never been considered, but he would rightfully be branded as racist — and I would lead the campaign against him.
The lady holding the scales wears a blindfold for a very good reason. Ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, weight, eye color, etc., have no place in an appellate judge's decision-making process. While many of their decisions may be based upon complex issues, the rules by which they reach them are relatively simple: As a Supreme Court Justice, all are to make decisions based upon the law and whether the law passes Constitutional muster. President Obama, as he announced Sotomayor's nomination, has determined that each of those statues should have the blindfold completely removed by virtue of his desire to have someone on the bench who would bring "empathy" to the job. Clearly, the oath that Sotomayor will be required to take that includes, "(administer)ing justice without respect to persons," flies in the face of what this president expects her to do during her lifetime appointment.
Of course, there are those who believe that a simple apology from Sotomayor for her racist comment might suffice to avoid her being taken out of consideration. But that would place her in an equally difficult situation. If she contends that she said nothing wrong, for what, exactly, would she be apologizing? And if she does offer even a tepid retraction or other such statement to distance herself from her own words, would that in and of itself indicate that not only was her statement racist in nature, but that she truly is racist? This is a very serious problem; the only solution is for Obama to ask her to withdraw and permit the next person on his list to take a shot at this coveted position.
Jerome R. Kinderman
Lodi
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Brian wrote on Jul 17, 2009 3:18 PM:
"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault.
-The resemblance to Sotomayor was simply unintentional. "
Brian wrote on Jul 17, 2009 3:16 PM:
The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and
100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.
"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."
"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still
lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."
The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."
"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?" "
danielh wrote on Jul 16, 2009 1:11 PM:
Did things get out of hand? "
jeff wrote on Jul 16, 2009 9:27 AM:
stantaves wrote on Jul 16, 2009 7:06 AM:
Bob Hussein Loblaw wrote on Jul 15, 2009 9:10 PM:
Billy Rubin wrote on Jul 15, 2009 6:31 PM:
stantaves wrote on Jul 15, 2009 5:13 PM:
richardh wrote on Jul 15, 2009 12:21 PM:
Comments on this story are now closed.