By GottaLaff
Today's Shallow Thought:
Media punditiots and GOPers have defended Supreme Court Justice Alito's grimacing and mouthing his disagreement during President Obama's State of the Union address. If instead, Justice Sotomayor had smiled and mouthed approval, would the same people be defending her?
By GottaLaff
Justice Sotomayor’s opinion in the case, Mohawk Industries v. Carpenter, No. 08-678, marked the first use of the term “undocumented immigrant,” according to a legal database. The term “illegal immigrant” has appeared in a dozen decisions.Terms like “illegal alien” and “illegal immigrant” are considered pejorative and offensive by immigrants rights organizations. (HT: ImmigrationProf Blog)
Now imagine who Bush would have (and has) nominated.
Done? Good.
Now grab some Pepto and imagine what Lou Dobbs must be thinking.
I'll stop pushing unpleasant thoughts into your noggins now. I'm sure you'll come up with many more all on your own.
By GottaLaff
By mid-morning on the first day of the Supreme Court's term, it was clear new Justice Sonia Sotomayor would fit right in -- and in particular with her talkative fellow New Yorkers.Three years and not a peep? I see that as a plus.
Sotomayor peppered the lawyers with questions in a pair of cases, joining with Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg during the oral arguments. Together, they left the other justices sitting in silence for much of the time.
In the first hour alone, Sotomayor asked 36 questions, and Scalia followed with 30. Ginsburg is particularly interested in legal procedures, and she and Sotomayor dominated the questioning for much of the second hour.
In the past, some rookie justices listened for days before joining in the fast-paced arguments. Justice David H. Souter, the reserved New Hampshire native whom Sotomayor replaced, said little during his first year. Justice Clarence Thomas has not asked a question for more than three years.
If anyone assumed Sotomayor would play the role of shy rookie, she dispelled that idea within the first minutes of the opening argument. [...]Ooo, "the girl" knows how to put herself out there. How long until the Rushpublics go on the attack again? 5...4...3...
The possibility of a rivalry between Scalia and Sotomayor has been the topic of speculation since her appointment. Scalia has been the court's most outspoken conservative for more than 20 years, and Sotomayor had shown herself to be strong and assertive as a judge on the U.S. appeals court in Manhattan.
Outside the courtroom, she has already managed to upstage Scalia. A lifelong Yankees fan, she was invited to throw out the first ball in a recent game at Yankee Stadium. Scalia, another lifelong Yankees fan, is awaiting his invitation.
This actually surprises me, I thought everything was on the teevee these days.
WASHINGTON -- When Sonia Sotomayor is sworn in Saturday to the Supreme Court, she'll be able to claim two firsts: first Hispanic justice and first high court member to have her oath-taking made available to TV cameras.
Sotomayor, who won a groundbreaking Senate confirmation vote Thursday over intense conservative opposition, will be sworn in twice by Chief Justice John Roberts.
She will repeat one oath as prescribed by the Constitution in a private ceremony at the high court. It will be open only to members of Sotomayor's family. Then, Roberts will administer a second oath, taken by judges, with the new justice's family and friends, and reporters present.
Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the ceremony apparently will be the first one open to television cameras in the court's history.
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