Sotomayor Hearings

I have been watching some of the questions raised by senators. They have tried to pin her down on some of the contentious issues including eminent doman, affirmative action, and gun control. Her answers have been evasive to put it charitably.

Concerning eminent domain, Senators Hatch and Grassley questioned her about the Kelo v. New London case and the Didden v. Village of Port Chester case. They specifically tried to get her to comment on the difference between 'public use', as is stated in the constitution, and 'public purpose' which has been used by the anti-property rights left in order to justify eminent doman seizures. She refused to respond to questions conerning the distinction.

Likewise, Democrat senator Feingold tried to pin her down on whether or not the 2nd amendment applies to state and local government restrictions on weapons. She refused to answer. If the 2nd amendment does not apply to state and local governments, then it is only valid in DC!

Likewise for questions concerning the Ricci case. She refused to answer the hard questions, dismissing them as 'hypothetical'.

Her refusals to answer the questions ought to be grounds for disqualification. But thats not going to happen. Since she has the favor of the left, she will undoubtedly be confirmed and then make decisions on the cases in the same way as Ginsberg, Breyer, Stevens, and Souter.

Racists Begin Attacks on White Firefighter

Frank Ricci was one of the plaintiffs in the Ricci v New Haven case, in which several white firemen were denied promotions because of their skin color.

Sonia Sotomayor, the racist appellate court judge who is 0bama's nominee for the Supreme Court, ruled that racist policies of the city of New Haven were legal. Her ludicrous ruling was recently overturned by the Supreme Court.

Now the supporters of Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme court are planning to make personal attacks on Ricci

WASHINGTON — Supporters of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor are quietly targeting the Connecticut firefighter who's at the center of Sotomayor's most controversial ruling.
On the eve of Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearing, her advocates have been urging journalists to scrutinize what one called the "troubled and litigious work history" of firefighter Frank Ricci.

On Friday, citing in an e-mail "Frank Ricci's troubled and litigious work history," the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way drew reporters' attention to Ricci's past. Other advocates for Sotomayor have discreetly urged journalists to pursue similar story lines.
Specifically, the advocates have zeroed in on an earlier 1995 lawsuit Ricci filed claiming the city of New Haven discriminated against him because he's dyslexic. The advocates cite other Hartford Courant stories from the same era recounting how Ricci was fired by a fire department in Middletown, Conn., allegedly, Ricci said at the time, because of safety concerns he raised.
The Middletown-area fire department was subsequently fined for safety violations, but the Connecticut Department of Labor dismissed Ricci's retaliation complaint.

Hey stupids. Ricci's discrimination lawsuit concerning his dyslexia and his firing by the Middletown fire department have what to do with the issue of racial preferences? Absolutely nothing.

So get a load of what the 'People for the American Way' have to say about Sotomayor's decision in the Ricci case:

"Sotomayor and her panel colleagues were bound by long-standing precedent and federal law," People for the American Way executive vice president Marge Baker said in a June statement. "They applied the law without regard to their personal views."

If that's true, Marge, then why did the Supreme court reverse her stupid decision? And why did Sotomayor say this about her feelings on the impact of race on job performance of judges?

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would, more often than not, reach a better conclusion."
That sentence, or a similar one, has appeared in speeches Sotomayor delivered in 1994, 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2001. In that speech, she included the phrase "than a white male who hasn't lived that life" at the end, which sparked cries of racism from some Republicans.

Since Sotomayor believes skin color can have an impact on the job performance of a judge, it is quite likely she also believes it can have an impact on the job performance of a fireman. It is clear that she has indeed used her personal views on race in her decision in the Ricci case.

At least 0bama and I have something in common.

More Democrat Cheap Shots Against Palin

Democrats in Alaska are still filing frivolous ethics complaints against Sarah Palin, even though she has resigned her position

ANCHORAGE - A resident of Sarah Palin's hometown has filed an ethics complaint against her, just days after her surprise announcement that she will resign as Alaska governor.
Zane Henning alleges in the complaint filed Monday that Palin is violating state ethics law by collecting per diem when she stays in her Wasilla home instead of the Governor's Mansion in Juneau.
It's the 16th ethics complaint filed against Palin, who noted in her resignation speech last week that "frivolous" ethics complaints had set her back more than $500,000 in legal debt. She steps down July 26.
Most of the complaints, including another one by Henning, have been dismissed.

Two can play at this game. There are 28 states that have Democrat governors. For that matter, there is one here in Oklahoma.

Instapunk on 0bama's Foreign Policy Incompetence

Say what you will about Bush's foreign policy. He had his victories and defeats. But comparing Bush with 0bama is like comparing an expert diplomat with a rank amateur. 0bama's view of the world may give him and fellow leftists much comfort. But when it comes to actually conducting the foreign policy of the world's most powerful democracy, it offers little or no guidance. Instapunk has some interesting thoughts on the subject.

In computer terms, the blinking cursor is a passive non-response to an instruction the CPU, for whatever reason, can't comprehend or process. I'm thinking this is pretty close to an accurate description of what's happening in Obama's head when events defy his own intentions, plans, and worldview. The Iranian people got in the way of his plan to negotiate with Ahmadinejad. The reality did not compute and he was unable to process it. The Honduran semi-coup does not compute with his plans to charm the world by negotiating equably with Chavez and the Castro brothers. Does not compute.

But it better compute. This is a world in which serious and unexpected events happen all the time. Like an airline pilot who is paid not for all the routine flights but for the moments of sheer terror that require instant action, the President of the United States is paid at least as much for his responses to catastrophe as he is for the policies he soberly noodles out with his experts.

If Obama can't make decisions when things go differently than he expects, we're all in a ton of trouble. Republicans and Democrats alike.

If a serious foreign policy challenge comes about during 0bama's term, we are in trouble. The belief that the USA and capitalism are responsible for all the world's problems will not serve him well when he is trying to administer the USA's foreign policy.