Troubled by Judge Sotomayor

I always hate to have even close to the same opinion as people like Ann Coulter, but I do have some serious reservations about Pres. Obama's nomination for Supreme Court Justice.

Judge Sotomayor has said, and I quote,

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,"

Now, some of Obama's supporters have given explanations such as this,

"Charles J. Ogletree Jr., a Harvard law professor and an adviser to Mr. Obama, said Judge Sotomayor’s remarks were appropriate. Professor Ogletree said it was “obvious that people’s life experiences will inform their judgments in life as lawyers and judges” because law is more than “a technical exercise,” citing Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.’s famous aphorism: “The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience.”

I do not disagree with Mr. Ogletree at all. I do think that people's life experiences will to some extent affect their judgements, however, nothing he says seems to go to the heart of her comment. She says, and feel free to disagree or point out where I am misunderstanding her statement, that one judge would 'more often than not' rule better from the bench, or be a better judge if they were a) hispanic and b) female. At least, they would make a better judge than a white male, I guess we cannot extrapolate where a black man/woman, white woman, hispanic man, etc. etc. etc. fall on her scale of who makes the best decisions.

As much as I feel that this process has become too obstructionist, I would have to oppose her confirmation, if it were up to me.

Things I don't get; heavy bass.

So I was running an errand yesterday, and behind me, at a stoplight, was some moron with his bass pumping. I don't get the bass thing, I don't get why it makes you 'cool'. I find it nauseating, literally, whatever it is doing to my inner ear or insides is incredibly uncomfortable. When I get stuck by someone blasting their bass away I get the urge to take a baseball bat to their sound equipment.

My Anniversary

I know, 4 posts in a row, but I was thinking about it, and had to post a bit.

So, on May 18th Alisa and I had our 7th anniversary. For some of you that's small beans, but then you're old so.... Anyway. I find it kind of odd, on the one hand it seems like only yesterday and its wierd to think that its been 7 whole years, but on the other hand, I can hardly remember my life without her. Alisa is amazing. I am so grateful for her.

Star Trek

To follow up on the post a few inches down, I went and saw this movie with Alisa, it was awesome. I give it *** 1/2 stars, and I am quite confident it will be just as good the second time around. Probably one worth owning. Go see it.

C.S. Lewis

I just finished rereading The Chronicles of Narnia. Its been said so many times that I don't really know what I could add to it, but those books are fabulous. I would implore anyone who hasn't read them to read them. They are some of the most beautiful literary works ever. Yes, you read that right, not just in children's lit, or fantasy genre. Of all literary works ever written, these are some of the most touching and beautiful. I love these books. As I reread them I was at time amazed at times moved by the simpleness of the story, and the wonderful way he is able to convey such deep religious themes in what on the outside seems to be a children's tale of centaurs, dwarfs, and magic.

Read them, you won't regret it. Read them again.

Back: Something about Obama

So, I have been meaning to blog about something now for weeks. So, today I'll drop two quick little entries, and hopefully be back in the full swing of things.

Pres. Obama just signed into law a regulation that will require auto makers to up their fleet mpg to 35. I like this. Before anyone starts talking about free market etc. etc., I don't buy it. When the consumer has true choice you might be able to argue free market. However, that is not the case. The vast majority of people either cannot afford some sort of hybrid car, or the cars currently in manufacture will not meet their needs (large families, etc.). Furthermore, I believe that as a country we have a flat out security/environmental need here. Our petroleum based economy is absolutely flawed, and we need to get off the oil kick (not just because of foreign oil, I frankly don't care that much where it comes from), and we have a need to lower emissions in any responsible way possible. And in case you've never read my environmental opinions before, that stance isn't because I implicitly believe that we are causing global warming or any such thing. It is because I believe we are required to be wise stewards and I do not think, as a society, we are....at all.

So, thumbs up Pres, I think that is a great move.