Peek-a-boo!

Obama's comments raised eyebrows his views about "empathy" being a worthy qualification for candidates of the United States courts:

That last mile can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy.

Nearly every man and woman (and millions of children!) in this great and free country knows that Justice is Blind, so where are the scholars on the left who should stop and wonder aloud why the President of the United States, a law school graduate, not know one of the basic tenets of one of our primary branches of government?

At least we know why he chose Sonia Sotomayor... . Her own view of justice certainly jibes with his.

From a statement of hers featured by that color-blind (**cough**, see the pic below) cultural icon La Raza:

Senate Republicans investigating Sonia Sotomayor’s record are zeroing in on a speech she delivered in 2001 in which she stated her hope that a “wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences,” including appreciation for Latin-American cuisine, “would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

They are also taking a close look at the Supreme Court nominee's skepticism, expressed in the same speech, about whether it is possible for judges to “transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices.”

...

“Personal experiences affect the facts that judges choose to see,” Sotomayor said. “My hope is that I will take the good from my experiences and extrapolate them further into areas with which I am unfamiliar. I simply do not know exactly what that difference will be in my judging. But I accept there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage.”

Sotomayor also claimed: “For me, a very special part of my being Latina is the mucho platos de arroz, gandoles y pernir — rice, beans and pork — that I have eaten at countless family holidays and special events.”

So, yeah. Race, experience, gender, class... whether or not you like Latin-American cuisines... apparently it all matters. Who knew? I'd say that I qualify too, seeing I make a pretty mean Arroz con Pollo... but, then I read about how 60% of her decisions have been overturned by higher courts and realize that there is a lot more to being a qualified justice than either she, or the president understand. Maybe I'll send them a copy of The United States Constitution as a present... tucked inside a copy of The Great One's Men in Black.

About La Raza:


Any questions? Oh, I know, I know. It should say "This is OUR land", not "ARE land"... but if you point that out you're just an elitist English-was-your-first-language bigot.