Day: May 28, 2009

How times have changed!   Who could have imagined that the Supreme Court of the United States would reach the stage 220 years into its history to be made up of a majority that are "minority", at least if religion is considered along with gender and race.

When Sonia Sotomayor joins the Court this fall, there will then be SIX Catholics on the Court  (Sotomayer, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Roberts, Alito), the most ever, and in history only eleven in total have served.  There will also be two Jewish justices  (Ginsberg, Breyer), and only one WASP (John Paul Stevens), even though they are still the majority of Americans, albeit in smaller numbers than ever before.

Additionally, there will be two women (Ginsberg, Sotomayor), one Hispanic (Sotomayor), two Italian Americans (Scalia, Alito), and one African American (Thomas).  This will mean that the Court is more representative of the nation than it has ever been, with the likelihood of future appointments further reflecting the diversity of America,  and even leaving the possibility that when Stevens finally leaves the Court, he might not be replaced by another WASP!

This series of developments in recent years demonstrates how the country is being more and more democratized and made open to equal opportunity, with of course the election of Barack Obama a shining example of this trend.  We are not going to allow the conservative Republicans and conservative groups in general to set us backward to the "old boy" system.  That is part of the prejudiced, limited past, and the time for that is over!  The country is changing for the better, and not too soon!

A senior Obama Administration official has told newsmen that Obama picked Sonia Sotomayor for many reasons, but that one of them was hopefully to have a positive impact on Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote on most Supreme Court cases.

The intention, apparently, is to win him over to the liberal side of the Court, and therefore, make 5-4 decisions that would put the conservative bloc in the minority.  IF that actually occurs, which only time will tell, it will have a major effect on future Supreme Court decisions.

Sotomayor’s selection is creating many interesting side stories, at the same time that it is exposing conservative talk show hosts and leading conservative groups as having a death wish by calling her racist, which is totally preposterous.  Look in the mirror, accusers, and see the truth:  You are the racists and a disgrace to America!  The American people will see you for what you are, and your tactics will NOT work!

An important footnote to the career of Sonia Sotomayor is her intervention in the Baseball Strike of 1994, which she helped to end as a Federal District Court judge.

A baseball fan who grew up within sight of Yankee Stadium, she stepped in to end the strike by a court injunction which was upheld by a Second Federal Circuit Court ruling, after a 234 day players strike shortened the 1994 season and canceled the World Series of that year.  She ruled against management in this injunction, and revived the game of baseball at a delicate time when its survival was at stake.

Therefore she is a champion of baseball fans, such as myself, and the game was revived after with the usual exciting accomplishments and great players who have always made baseball the National Pastime.  

President Obama referred to this when he nominated Sotomayor, and his joking hope that New Englanders , (meaning the Boston Red Sox fans),  would not hold it against her that she was a lifetime Yankees fan.  :)  LOL