Americans divided on Sotomayor, expect fireworks

Wake up people Sotomayer is a distinguished judge! Make no mistake we still live in a racist, bigoted society. She is a woman so that is strike one but heaven forbid that God made her Latina as well. Women are more than just caregivers and Barbie dolls to titillate and please people...we are complex sentient beings who comprise 51% of the population. Every single person on the face of this earth makes decisions against the backdrop of their own upbringing and life experiences...Alito and Roberts are not above that.

I do not like her comments on white men..think she would be very biased towards Latinos who seem to have too much power already.

I would like to see the Republicans put up a real fight. They have lost almost all demographics. They still have some support among hispanics. I'd love to see them loose that group too.

To my fellow Repuiblicans"
Let's confirm Sotomajor. If she goes down the Dems may gve us another Ginsburg.

"Justice, justice, shall you pursue..." Deut. 16:18-20.
Note it does not say preferences to ANYBODY for any reason. If the courts don't seek justice, people will revert to tribalism. We have to have confidence that when we go to the law for resolutions we will get a just conclusion, not one that favors the party closest to the heart of the Judge. Then we (each tribe or ethnicity) will have to get its own judge for judgments beneficial to them. That's why the symbol of Justice is blindfolded.
This lady has demonstrated that she gives preferences in her decisions that favor certain groups. That favoritism and identity politics is the last thing we need.

i dont understand why race/gender/etc. are even an issue. THe constitution does not require equalizers within its bounds, in fact it defeats the point of our Constitution to appoint someone clearly on their political and demographic qualities. Everyone needs to look at her record, which has yet to be opened up. If your duty is to uphold the law from the highest bench in the land, you HAVE AN OBLIGATION to follow the Constitution. I think more americans need to read our Constitution before deciding on how they feel about her. Clearly anyone who supports her simply because of her race or gender is not clearminded.

Wake up America- this woman has an agenda! Equality does not mean that because you are a different color you get put on a soapbox and don't have to meet the same requirements as other people appling for same position or work. Had we made people of color take a different test- THEN Sotomeyer would have made the correct judgement, but they all took the same test, and the ones who worked hard and studied did well, and the ones who didn't give a damn got what they deserved- and she took up for them. Don't need this crap on Supreme Court!

SHE IS A KNOWN RACIST, SHE HID HER FINANCIAL DATA, SHE IS WRONG ON HER PAST JUDICIAL RULINGS AND IF CONFIRMED FOR LIFE WE CAN EXPECT CIVIL UNREST IN OUR ONCE GREAT NATION.
SHE IS A POLITICAL PICK FOR A MOMENT IN TIME, AND WHEN THINGS GET BACK TO NORMAL IF EVER IT WILL BE A REGRETFUL ERROR.
BUT AS ALL THINGS THESE DAYS THE DECISIONS HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE.
WE NO LONGER HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT.
.

Harvey Gatlin: Put down your bible and pick up the Constitution. When Judge Sotomayor voted to uphold the actions of New Haven’s town council, she ruled based upon Supreme Court precedent and federal statute. Both precedence and statute required her to deny the appeal of the firemen. If she had done anything else, she would have been legislating from the bench. The Supreme Court decided to change the law in its act of judicial activism by a vote of 5-4. Read the Ricci decision. Her actions were constitutionally correct and the Supreme Court saw its job as legislating from the bench. Your criticism should be aimed at the activist conservative Justices of the Supreme Court.

To Katherine

Your the only one here who mentioned race. My objections to her appointment pertain to her rulings , not her race or gender.
The notion we should select judges to fill a quota or agenda is what is truly racist. Supreme Court judges should be chosen strictly on their merit.

Sotomajor is qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice. I question rather anyone really looked into the case in question, instead or relying on media outlets to pick and choose "highlights." If anything that ruling should show America that she does not rule according to her ethnicity. Let us not forget that the the lawsuit involve an Hispanic male. I'm sorry but last time I check the current Supreme Court did nothing but further confused the issue with its majority opinion. Furthermore if America does believe that this country has moved past racism, then why not call for the removal of the Civil Rights Act? Because as a country We haven't gotten there yet. Sotomajor is ethical and has integratey.

Empathy and racism have no place on the Supreme Court. It does not matter if it is a man or woman, white, black, asian or hispanic. To think that you will make a better decision then someone of a different sex or a different race is blatant racism. Her ruling on the NH firefighter case is a perfect example of her empathy affecting her ability to rule justly. Judges are not to decide how this will affect other people or have empathy for a particular defendent. They are to determine whether what happened broke the law or not. It is not up to them to determine motive or to let empathy or personal experience make their decisions. They are also not to "make law or policy" by making rulings that change what the law states. She believes that is what the appelate courts do. There is no way she should be confirmed.

The politics of race have no place in the nation's highest court. Ms. Sotomayor has a troubling tendency toward ethnic discrimination.

I would like to see a Judge that looks at the law through open eyes, not ethnic ones. The law is supposed to be for one and all, there is not supposed to be a ruleing class that is above the law. Specal interests will not serve the people they serve themselves. This county needs a Judge that can stand up for the Law and not try to show favoritism for any groups.

This is crazy! Many of the same people who think Sotomayor is not qualified to be a SCJ conveniently think Sarah Palin is presidential material. Agreeing or disagreeing with a candidate's politics does not equal qualification!

If you don't like someone's politics, say so! Don't assert that they are not qualified. Many people seem to forget the difference between fact and opinion.

It is amazing how many people do not even understand the role of the Circuit Court of Appeals – to uphold Supreme Court precedent and interpret the laws of the United States. If you do not like the Civil Rights Act of 1991, then contact your Congressman and Senators to change it. Until then, if there is a thread of patriotism in you, support the judges who religiously adhere to their constitutional duties like Judge Sotomayor. I guess completing a high school course on Civics is not a requirement to yammer on in this forum.

@Marsha
Repubs can't lose Hispanics as they don't have them now. What they stand to gain however, is your typical taxpayer who will be getting hit on the head with a dose of taxes, inflation, and the degradation of our culture in about 10 months. I suggest you get a helmet yourself.

Wow, betther numbers than Harriet Miers! What about if Michael Jackson were nominated? He's the King of Pop! How would his poll numbers be???

Once, while homeless, I competed with another fellow for a day labor job that was to run for several weeks and pay quite well. I'm white. The competitor was black. The white employer decided to make his choice between the two of us as fair as possible by flipping a coin. He flipped the coin and I won. In an effort to be 'very fair' and prove that he wasn't 'racially biased', the white employer decided after the first coin toss that he should flip the coin again. I started to protest but, because I needed the job so badly, I held my tongue rather than upset the employer. I won again. He reluctantly gave me the job and I was probably one of the hardest working employees he had ever had. If you have feelings of quilt or overprivilege because of your race, please try not to become a racist in an effort to compensate for same.

Obama appointed her based on her ethnicity and gender. Her appointment is purely political to get votes. If this is acceptable behavior by your leaders don't complain when you find yourself living in a banana republic with a lifetime appointed presidente 10 years from now.

Polls show that most Americans are against racial preferences no what what hateful things people on this blog. She is losing in popularity because people rightfully disagree with her on that issue. Her membership in la Raza probably doesn't help either.

JUDGE SOTOMAYOR WILL REPLACE JUDGE SOUTER AND THE CURRENT COURT CONSERVATIVE BIAS WILL NOT BE AFFECTED. SOTOMAYOR HAS MORE JUDICIAL EXPERIENCE THAN EITHER ALITO OR ROBERTS WHEN THEY WERE APPOINTED BY BUSH. REMEMBER WHEN THE SUPREME COURT STOPPED THE RECOUNT IN THE 2000 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ORDERED BY THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT THAT HAD PROPER JURISDICTION. THAT US SUPREME COURT WAS AN ACTIVIST COURT MAKIING A POLITICAL DECISION. WHERE WERE YOU STRICT CONTRUCTIONISTS IN 2000??

I find it odd that so many people are attacking Sotomayor for her Latino heritage, but when Alito said that his Italian immigrant heritage influcenced his rulings there wasnt a peep.

I guess the fact that Italians are WHITE and not BROWN has alot to do with it.

This isn't about politics at all. Thinking one race better than another is exactly the opposite of what this great nation stands for. I don't care if you're liberal, conservative, white, black, latino, asian, or what; if you think one group should get special privilege then you do not deserve a place in U.S. law.

I would be satisfied with someone who will uphold the laws we have now and not try to write new ones....................

Sotomayor is a polarizing figure who lets her ethnicity color her decision making process. She also has ties to ethnocentric groups as well. Thus, she is clearly not fit to sit on the SC, although this likely won't stop the Deomcrats from ramming her through.

Sotomayor is an excellent choice and very well qualified. Justice is not an opinion poll.

She may be a known racist, she may have hidden financial data, she is certainly a blatant political pick, she unquestionably has a racist, leftist agenda and she sure as hell doesn't adhere to law, but so what? This is the very essence of the leftist politics that is in ascendancy and has been since FDR. Illegal aliens voted for the community organizer in chief in very high percentages and it is pay back time. What do you expect? Socialism and political correctness, combined with state sponsored racism, will rule your life. Can you say Aztlan? Get used to it.

I AGREE WITH MAJORITY OF POSTS - SHE MUST BE WITHDRAWN.

To Katherine, the only racist I know I white rich liberals like you! I live in Atlanta and there has never been a more racist city in the world. White people can not get jobs, promotions or even work for any city, county or airport jobs. Save us with your pathetic attempt a political correctness. You are a joke. I pray one day you are passed over for a job because you were not a so called " minority".

All this talk is getting us nowhere! Let the ones of us who think that this country has been hoodwinked into World Global socialism get out in the street,like Iranians and Chinese and other freedom loving people and see if our government will STOP us...they did in 1968...42 years later and the one thing we have learned is that love doesn't work where there is more hate and division than people that want "peace and love". Ask Mrs. Sotomayor if she would loose the hounds on us if we protseted STRONGLY against her and the Obama takeover machine?
I'll bet her answer would be "What hounds?" LOL

Racism is alive and well in the Republican right wing. Watch them stub their toe on this one again. Sotomayor will win while these bigoted, self-righteous nut cases will be further minimized. Good for America !!. We are bending the curve towards a more just, more egalitarian, and more outward looking society. Our dreams and ideas will be realized in the long run.

This judge has minimal understanding of the US Constitution. This is an obvious fact that cannot be disputed. Most of her rulings that have made their way to the US Supreme Court for review have been reversed. Most of these reversals have been supported by both the conservative and the liberal Supreme Court justices. This woman is an intellectual light-weight who was nominated due to her Hispanic background -- simply a ploy by Obama to cement his support amongst Hispanics. Political appointment. Plain and simple.

If Supreme Ct. judges were appointed based solely on merit, there'd be more females on the court....unless you believe that females are less competent. Sotomajor will be a superb addition to the court. And to those her appointment is for political purposes, it's no moreso than Bush's selection of Roberts or Alito....pandering to the conservative right.

The long and short of it is how qualified is this person. Obama has clearly decided it is more important to pick a minority judge, which is fine but she wasn't even in the top 100 of any of the judical review boards which rate judges on multiple levels of compitence. Say what you want but the fact there are so many better choices he could have made is undeniable. It's usaually the norm when you hire someone you'd a least pick a top ten canidate, not someone who's qualifications are way below that. This is a Supream Court nomination not a bell hop. When Bush picked Meyers it was a joke, so is this.

if she is going to decide cases based on her race then no she should not be on the supreme court it would re raciest. the law is blind to race we all have equal rights under the Constitution and equal rights under the law her personal experience have no place in upholding the bill of rights and the constitution

Steve,
Put down your rhetoric and study the Constitution you speak of...
It says EQUALITY! Sotamyer is a RACIST as proven by the New York Firefighter she ruled against, and the high court ruled AGAINST HER!
She lied about her finances. She is a LIAR. Do we want a LIAR on the high court? Or a racist? I think not!
She uses her so called MINORITY status to get special exceptions. She is a CULL. Look up the definition.

It is rather ironic to see Republicans accuse a Democratic president's nominee of lack of empathy!
Those Republicans need to look in the mirror first.

As for the person who commented on Sotomayor's finances, what are you talking about? Compared to most people in public life, she has much less money, and does not own any stocks! There was never any accusation of hiding anything. In fact, she has big credit card debts.

This is crazy!!!. What do you think all these 5-4 decisions mean? All the Justices are people and the issues that reach them are analyzed in light of their backgrounds. Nobody comes to the Supreme Court a blank slate and most issues that are adjudicated by the this Court are NOT DEFINED in the constitution. Does the constitution mention DNA? 5-4 against using it to clarify a life or death decision...we all know who the 4-4 are and always in the same block: take a look at the backgrounds and philosophy of any 4 Justices in each block. Do you find any significant difference between them?. Whether Hispanic, Black or white only the legal qualifications should count for approval up or down. As for nomination I applaud Obama for trying to increase diversification into the court.

Racism is alive and well in the Republican right wing. Watch them stub their toe on this one again. Sotomayor will win while these bigoted, self-righteous nut cases will be further minimized. Good for America !!. We are bending the curve towards a more just, more egalitarian, and more outward looking society. Our dreams and ideas will be realized in the long run.

This woman is a legal light weight who wants to legislate from the bench. Her opinion on guns is proof positive that she doesn't understand the Constitution and will sabotage it whenever necessary to meet her predetermined opinions. Her job, as a SCJ, will be to interpret and apply the Constitution as written. Her track record so far indicates an inability to understand or accomplish that. For a lifetime appointment it is imperative that we get the best legal mind possible, not a half fast hack. There are no doubt at least a thousand candidates that are superior.

this is BS, according to Sotomayor she is better then me and all other "white men", because she is "latin"... this is racist. GOD HELP US ALL. we will soon be out lawed in our own country. A country that was founded and built by us and our families.

I don't care what color or gender she is, her job is to interpret the Constitution and there should be no agenda attached or reflected in her decisions, and being a Latina has nothing to do with that job if you DO IT! However if you come to the job thinking that you are superior to the Constitution and you are somehow going to improve it with your superior presence then you are not Qualified for the job, because the only way the Constitution can be modified is by consensus of 3/4ths of the States, and not any Judge has Constitutional authority to change the Constitution(see Article V). In my opinion she is not qualified.

Latinophobic if you voice anything against her or woman hater and I've been called both but she reminds me of the Oxnard HUD housing projects and the women that stood in from of cops when they tried to take kids that had broken the law. They had that mentality of so he broke the law, you are white you can't take him to jail. she is Bad news in all respects and with no respect for real Americans.

OMG!!! What is the BIG deal, she's just as qualified to "make law" as Obummer is to run this nation. What is everyone complaining about..... just roll over and take it.

She is anti white men. No question about it.

When people such as Sotomayor and Ginsburg who spend their time busy pushing their unAmerican unconstitutional agendas on the rest of us, It is funny to see them caught with knickers down. Check out that idiot UACLU hag Ginsburg's latest blurb.

Great candidate. Incredible how many people repeat what they hear on 'talk radio"
as gospel truth. Wake up folks, these guys on the radio don't deal in facts but rather are ideological republicans spouting the party line. Candidates for the SC will not be picked on the basis of the bias of a few radio entertainers, but rather on her judicial record and personal conduct, which are pretty impressive when compared to recent nominees.

Well, I see all of the retards are out in force, the democrats have the votes they need, so she will be confirmed like it or not, in this country the system really doesn't care what the general public thinks, and there isn't diddle that you folks who don't like her can do about it. Get used to it conservatives, you put this country thru hell for years and now it's payback time, god I love to hear pigs squeal.

It's all part of the progressive plan, I'm just going to locate the grounds where they plan on building the gas chambers and just wait. I'm a white, heterosexual, working, veteren, so I suppose yhey'll cme and get me first, so I'll just save them the trip.

As for racism/sexism, I know how most conservatives really think. If you want to know where it truely exists, ask yourself how Hillary carried 90+% of the female and Obama 90+% of the black vote? Usually when someone accuses, they are the ones doing it. I hate Liberals. I suggest a 'two state solution', but none of the liberals would want to live in a liberal state without conservatives. Who would they tax?

There are many that think and believe that the courts will not permit the citizen to lose their rights but once more President Thomas Jefferson was ahead of his time when he wrote: “To consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions [is] a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy. Our judges are as honest as other men and not more so. They have with others the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps. Their maxim is boni judicis est ampliare jurisdictionem [good justice is broad jurisdiction], and their power the more dangerous as they are in office for life and not responsible, as the other functionaries are, to the elective control. The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing that to whatever hands confided, with the corruptions of time and party, its members would become despots. It has more wisely made all the departments co-equal and co-sovereign within themselves.” He believed that judges should be technical specialists but should not set policy. Now we have at least one Judge that thinks that Judges create and set policy from the bench. That same Judge feels that the Second Amendment “gives people no rights at all when it comes to state or city laws.” Yet, the Second Amendment states quite clearly “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”, it does not say the state has the right but that the people have the Right. But that is Judge Sotomyor's view.

Her position and rulings re: the 2nd ammendment are reasons enough to vote to not confirm her appointment. When you also consider her opinions on quotas and her propensity to legislate from the bench; the decision to not confirm is even more compelling. As to the Republicans not wanting to offend the Latin community, I think they should be more concerned about not serving their true constituents.

This judge is clearly racist. Not only is she racist but she does not believe that the 2nd amendment grants an individual the right to own a firearm, in opposition to the constitution and supreme court. Obama picked her because of her race and gender just to force his extremist ideals on the nation.

Sonia Sotomayor is and will be an excellent jurist. The Republican attack of her has already begun a backlash in the Hispanic community; since Latinos are the fastest growing portion of the electorate the Republicans once again shoot themselves in the foot. President Obama is a constitutional law professor and is highly qualified to pick the right person for the job. I only hope he gets to pick two more Supreme Court justices. Obamanos!

if it were in my power to vote,on sotomayor.I would against,i feel she is slightly racist, mucho femnicist,pro amnesty,anti second amendment.She cant be the worst choice,but surely we have many better ones.this nomination,mostly because,of her gender,and her race smacks of a crowd pleasing ploy,not the decision of a strong leader.

I promised my self that I would not read the comments page anymore but I broke my promise and suffered again. Here is a Judge who has served longer on the bench than any current Supreme Court Justice and has been on both the trial and appeals courts. Those who hate Obama will automatically hate her. Those who hate Hispanics will also hate her. Conservatives who hate any one who they think is a liberal.Those with any intelligence might look at how the Republicans on the SCOTUS voted in Bush v Gore. Those cowards did not have the cojones to sign their name to the decision. Or they might look up Garner v Tennessee and see if they would say it is O.K. to shoot an unarmed 15 year old purse snatcher.

wawas fleeng from a p[o

She was NOT chosen for being a poor minority, she was chosen because of her ideologies.

Sonia Maria Sotomayor was born in The Bronx, a borough of New York City in 1954.

Clarence Thomas was born in Pin Point, Georgia, a small, impoverished African American community in 1948.

Her father had a third-grade education and did not speak English. He was from the Santurce area of San Juan. Her mother, was from the neighborhood of Santa Rosa in Lajas, a mostly rural area on Puerto Rico's southwest coast.

His family are descendants of American Slaves in the American South.

Her father worked as a tool-and-die worker and her mother was as a telephone operator and then a practical nurse.

His father left his family when he was two years old.

When She was 3, the family moved to the well-maintained, Bronxdale Houses housing project in Soundview (which has at times been considered part of both the East Bronx and South Bronx). Her father died when she was nine years old.

When He was 7, after a house fire left them homeless, the family moved in with his maternal grandfather, Myers Anderson, and Anderson's wife, Christine, in Savannah, Georgia. His mother worked as a domestic employee. Thomas's sister Emma stayed behind with relatives in Pin Point. When Thomas was 10, Anderson started taking the family to help at a farm every day from sunrise to sunset.

Her mother put great stress on the value of education, and bought the Encyclopædia Britannica for her children.

His grandfather believed in hard work and self-reliance; he would counsel Thomas to "never let the sun catch you in bed."

For grammar school, Sotomayor attended the parochial Blessed Sacrament School in Soundview. Sotomayor passed the entrance tests for, then commuted to, the academically rigorous parochial Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx.

Mr. Thomas was the only black person at his high school in Savannah.

When she was 24 the family moved to Co-op City in the Northeast Bronx. When Sotomayor entered Princeton University on a full scholarship, there were few women students and fewer Latinos (about 20). In the fall of 1976, Sotomayor entered Yale Law School, again on a scholarship.

He considered entering the priesthood at the age of 16, becoming the first black student to attend St. John Vianney's Minor Seminary (Savannah) on the Isle of Hope. He also attended Conception Seminary College, a Roman Catholic seminary in Missouri, briefly. No one in Thomas's family had attended college, and Thomas has said that during his first year in seminary he was one of only "three or four" blacks attending the school. At a nun's suggestion, Thomas attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where as a sophomore transfer student he had to adjust to a New England atmosphere very different from what he was used to in Savannah. Thomas graduated in 1971 with an A.B. cum laude in English literature. Thomas then entered Yale Law School, from which he received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1974.

On the recommendation of Cabranes, Sotomayor was hired out of law school as an Assistant District Attorney under New York County District Attorney Robert Morgenthau starting in 1979. She was admitted to the New York Bar in 1980.

His Yale law degree was not taken seriously by law firms to which he applied after graduating, and potential employers assumed he obtained it because of affirmative action policies, suggesting that they doubted he was as smart as his grades indicated.

So what do we have here.

A poor minority woman, a minority man who was more poor for a longer period of his life.

A girl who’s elders placed a higher priority on book learning rather than learning from life. A boy who’s elders placed a higher priority on learning from life rather then learning from books.

A girl/young woman who had a few minority peers at school, a boy/young man who had no minority peers at school.

A girl who had most everything paid for her, dependent; a boy who worked from age 10, independent.

So Sotomayor grew up poor. According to liberals who did not grow up poor, this matters. For some reason. Why? Supposedly it makes people more empathethic.

Didn't Just Clarence Thomas grow up really poor? And he’s black! Liberals should thus be pleased that Clarence Thomas is on the Supreme Court. Right? Well, you would think so, but there are years of libral opinions that prove that they are not pleased with him. Why are they not pleased? He opposes their view that government must be the prime engine in solving all problems, because he was brought up to believe in hard work and Independence, not dependence on government.

No one cares about Sotomayor's upbringing. They care about her ideology. Rather than admit that people form ideologies for many reasons - upbringing being just one of them – I guess we should pretend that a certain ideology magically appears in everyone who grew up poor.
It’s not about her empathizing, so I am not surprised that he didn’t search for a much more moderate minority.

I think that she does not really understand the second admenment. she wants to take away our righ to own and bere arms. She is denfinately a rasist.
I do not beleive she should be confirmed and I am neither a Republican or a Democrat I vote for the person and I do my home work to see what they are made of. don a 7 10 09

Up with Sotomayor. Down with Whitey! Let every illegal alien into the USA and get free benefits....I love, Sonia. Maybe you have some good friends just like you to be inducted onto the Supreme Court. Let's become like the rest of Latina America.

Judge Sotomayor is a feminist and in some points a racist but hey who hasn't said one racist thing in their life before. I say we give her a chance and hope that she may realize that what happened in the past happened and its time to move on. Being Hispanic I know there are going to be certain things where she might look at it in a bised point of view, such as an immigration reform. All we can hope is that she goes by the Constitution and not her gut feeling.

I am expanding here on what arnie said in #43---he is spot on---the job is to intepret the constituion first and foremost!!
The Sotomayor supporters are claiming her decision in Ricci was valid bc Title # in the civil rights code allowed the state to essentially throw out the results of a perfectly fair test bc the desired results were not acheived---
This is racism pure and simple---so perhaps the entire civil rights legislation needs to be looked at bc clearly something is very wrong here when equal rights under the law all of a sudden become a stress test with the quantity of minorities passing or failing an exam becomes the key indicator for advancement in our society.
Indeed barry Goldwater---a great man---who was accused of being a racist when he found these exact problems with the civil rights legislation at the time knew all too well the crap that would be coming down the pike later---he was right about alot of things as it turns out and the social planners of the world were wrong---the civil rights laws are too often twisted and a abused to create the social agenda that some people want.

People need to be treated equal under the law---plain and simple--affirmative action is just a racist as "seperate vs equal was"...i am sick and tired of people being judge by racial or gender labels--and sick and tired of affirmative action nonsense. what a frickin insult to african americans affirmative action is---It's like Justice Thomas says---why do some feel in their infnite wisdom that what blacks do is somehow inferior or somehow needs help---how insulting? if a given black man cant make it today so be it---I am a Jew---if someone offered me a job bc of my religion or gave me favored status I would take it as a freakin insult---I want to ecel or advance on my own accord---not with a handout or leg up from anyone---it's a freakin insult---remember all those hard working immigrants coming over 100yrs ago---they wanted nothing but the opportunity to work---no handouts---I see alot of hispanics today with that same work ethic--I dont hear too many wanting a handout---just a fair shake--no affirmative action
point is we need to stop giving a crap when it comes to race or the composition of our courts of government---justice is blind and our support of politicians and workers needs to be on ideas and character not on race or gender. any mention of race or gender as any sort of qualification for judgeship is ridiculous.

who pass or fail a test is the critical factor.

I'm a multiculturalist, non ethnocentric Hispanic woman. I do not care for Sotomayor. I vote for a person on the "content of their character" rather than the "color of their skin". She obviously shows preferences towards the Hispanic community. I don't think she will be or is non-biased. I'm frankly tired of all this glamorization of her poor upbringing and being a Latina. Isn't this what America is all about anyway, rise from the bottom to the top for both women and men. This is no news that in America someone from humble roots can be successful. Frankly there are many well accomplished Hispanic people in the Americas, it's just that the press portrays us all as peasants, poor and uneducated. They make a big deal out of a successful Hispanic as if it is more the exception than the rule. I don't care what color someone is or where they are from. I focus on their character and political ideology. Thumbs down to Sotomayor.

Easterners are so different from us in the Northwest. There you have this obnoxious firefighter sueing the very people who hired him because he has a learning disability. Now he is sueing again for racial discrimination because he is claiming to be white. This is hard for us to understand because how can a person with a foreign-sounding name like Ricci claim to be white? Isn't he just another member of yet another non-white minority group...Italian-Americans? His skin color looks darker than a white man.

If someone can show me where "Judicial Precident" is intended to be the law of the land, replacing the US Constitution in that role - then, and only then, will I be forced to admit that her judicial record qualifies her for this position. That NOT being the case should promptly retire her from consideration. The function of the SCOTUS is to interpret the US Constitution as it pertains to legal challenges - not to further allow the polution from legal precident. Dred Scott was "settled law" unti it was really challenged in light of the Constitution. I cannot see Sotomayor making that kind of statement.