what do you think of Sotomayor as a Supreme Court nominee?

[karyn]

i've seen articles claiming she is racist which seem like right wing propaganda but i've also seen articles which suggest her Freedom of Speech record is not great. what do you think of Sotomayor as a Supreme Court nominee?

[Buster Friendly]

I don't know enough about her legal record- her record as a judge, and such. I need more information.

Yes, I believe the tempest in a teapot accusations of 'racism' are rightwing bullshit. Her remark that they're basing this claim on was dumb, but little more than that.

I heard, but did not confirm that she's catholic. Without knowing her stance about the religion, and if it informs her legal philosophy, my knee jerk reaction is to say that I don't want another catholic on the bench, but more information is needed. I want abortion safe, and legal, and fuck the pope.

[incog]

I agree with Buster Friendly on the abortion issue.

I'd add that I read a little about the case of Avery Doninger from Lewis Mills High School in New York who got blocked from student council for calling a school official a douchebag on her blog at home. Sonia Sotomayor has not fallen on the side of the right to Freedom of Speech.

[Buster Friendly]

So in the wake of the shooting of a Kansas doctor who was an abortion provider I did some mild poking around, and am not pleased with what I found.

Sotomayor is supposedly a "nonpracticing" catholic, but her stance, and opinions on abortion are not publicly known.

What I did find that is bugging me is that there are already 5 catholics on the supreme court. Practicing or not Sotomayor would be the 6th.

I am willing to grant that catholics can render legal opinions that are strictly interpretations of the law, unbaised by their religious upbringing, or current religious beliefs. But fuckin' c'mon...

...and yeah, maybe her public silence on the topic of abortion is a calculated tactic to edge her past some unreasonable quibbling.

But 6?

Fuck the pope!