Bumped: Sotomayor: The Drinking Game!
Well, it is finally after High Noon here in AZ, and the Congress Critters are just warming up for a weeklong hogging of the media light they love oh so much…thus I am bumping this post :0)
Get your shot glass ready…it’s live on practically every channel…
Over at The Daily Beast Thomas Goldstein has the list of drinkable phrases, I would add drink before and after everything Al Franken asks!:
…If the proceedings instead end up as a boring snooze-fest, I suggest using the list as a drinking game. Whenever a senator utters one of the following names or phrases, take a shot.
Frank Ricci—The lead white plaintiff in the famous New Haven, Connecticut, firefighters case. The Supreme Court by a 5-4 vote recently reversed a decision by a panel of the 2nd Circuit (that included Judge Sotomayor), which had previously thrown out a suit challenging the city’s refusal to adhere to a promotional exam. Republicans assert that Judge Sotomayor’s vote indicates that she cannot eliminate her ideology and race-driven sympathy from her decisions—unlike, of course, the Supreme Court’s conservative white males.
Empathy—The worst-chosen phrase of the Obama presidency (since discarded), suggesting that a judge should decide cases on the basis of how much she shares the same feelings and experiences, rather than, say, the law.
Pearl-Def (PRLDEF)—The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. Depending on who is talking, either a well-established, mainstream civil-rights organization or an abortion-loving, death-penalty-opposing, terrorist front group. The latter characterization plays well with extreme conservatives, the former with a growing electoral group that is politically in play.
Miguel Estrada—A conservative Washington lawyer nominated by President Bush to a federal appeals court but blocked by Democrats. He is offered as proof that Democrats discriminate against Hispanic nominees as much as Republicans.
Update: Supreme Court Justice David Souter to Retire…
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Update: Ace has coverage of likely replacements, I havent seen anyone mention Cass Sunstein TOTUS’ BFF who is also married to TOTUS adviser and galpal Samantha Power…..
To go look at ruling and other fun SCOTUS stuff check out OYEZ.org. I spent a lot of time on that site when I took Constitutional Law….you can sort by Souter…Souter is a G H W Bush appointee who went ‘rogue’ on them and voted as a ‘liberal’ appointee might.Born in 1939, sworn in 1980…
A man of unusual and peculiar sensibilities, David H. Souter came to the Supreme Court as a complete enigma. Souter, who received his nomination to the Court from President George Bush only months after his promotion to a federal appeals court, lacked a public reputation. As a result, the press labeled him the “stealth justice,” an unknown judge with uncertain values. Conservatives praised Souter as a restrained jurist and predicted that he would bolster the right-wing bloc of Antonin Scalia and William H. Rehnquist. The Bush White House assured the Republican far right that Souter would be a “home run.” Liberals, on the other hand, hoped secretly that the Bush nominee would fail in expectations and emerge as a surprise to his sponsors. To this day, Souter has avoided validating either camp. The Free Congress Foundation, an organization dedicated to coordinating support for conservative nominees, has called their optimistic predictions “miserably inaccurate.” The Women’s Legal Defense Fund, a liberal group for the advancement of women’s rights, staged protests at various times against Souter and has expressed dismay at his votes. The unhappiness of both political extremes speaks volumes of the quirky justice. To this day, Souter has demonstrated a moderate jurisprudence though he has not appeared afraid to wander deep into either camp along the political spectrum. Court watchers continue to be amused by Souter’s eccentric habits and behaviors.
Moderate in the Middle 