We Want Soto!

I was watching C-Span during my lunch break today. Why? Because nothing great was on Comedy Central, that's why. So the famous Sotomayor has been voted in as a supreme court judge. You can check out the video of the committee making that decision by clicking here. It gives an interesting perspective of the difference in thinking patterns between liberals and conservatives. Particularly between Senators Cornyn of Texas and Durbin of Illinois.

Of particular interest is the lack of logic in Durbin's commentary. The emphasis on her race and gender is out of proportion to its importance and often appears to take precedence over her true qualifications. Perhaps she will be an excellent judge. I hope so. But the fact that she is a Latina woman and the possibility that fact will encourage young Latina girls to seek better education and a better life is a bonus. It is not a qualification in and of itself. The current emphasis on her status as a minority is backwards. It is her ability, wisdom, and citizenship that matter, and whether or not she's black, white, yellow, a purple Teletubby, male, female, androgynous, or a giant talking anteater matters not one stitch of a damn. After giving numerous reasons why a lifetime appointment to supreme court is so incredibly important (none of which were race or gender related), Dick Durbin follows his own point by reminding the committee that the vast majority of supreme court justices have been white males, therefore Sotomayor's appointment is an amazing opportunity almost too good to pass up. This is his key focal point on why she is a good pick, not because she matched the definition he gave seconds earlier of what makes a good judge. To rephrase his speech into a simpler analogy, it's as if he'd said: "I like marshmallows for their gooeyness, flavor, and texture, but I'm buying this particular package of marshmallows because I and my liberal president like pink, and by-golley these are some really pink marshmallows. Look how pink they are! They couldn't be anything but gooey, tasty, and firm." Makes perfect sense to me, Dick.

In honor of Soto's confirmation and our more liberal brethen's impression that we, the American people, are generally "uninformed" I direct you to some resources regarding the law of this land. First, an introduction to the US Code and the Federal Register courtesy of Wikipedia. Secondly, there is a new link in the "Lifeline to Reality" section to the right (where all those random links are). It is called "Law of the Land" where you can access things like the US Code and the Federal Register and Library of Congress. These resources will allow you to research the law as it exists and keep track of bills before they become law. Maybe you can stop some bad ones or encourage some good ones by contacting your representatives and letting them know what you want.