The Miami Progressive

It’s been a while since I’ve written here; however, someone walked up to me in conference yesterday and asked if I write this blog. That has given me some renewed vigor in terms of writing this blog. I also hadn’t known that the only progressive talk radio station in town has changed format – again. So, I think for this post, I’ll take on Barack Obama’s pick to replace Justice David Souter, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, a judge on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second District.

Judge Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1976, and received her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1979. Like her nominator, President Barack Obama, Sotomayor has not only practiced law, but has also taught law at New York University School of Law and at Columbia Law School. Raised primarily by her mother, she is of Pureto Rican descent, having grown up in The Bronx borough of New York City. However, her intellect has been called into question by “leading” Republican politicos, while she has been denounced as a racist by some others. Let’s address first the claim that Sotomayor is a racist.

The claim that Judge Sotomayor is a racist has been made by several high-profile members of the Republican Party, including Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich. This is based on the fact that Sotomayor has indicated in the past that it would be difficult to separate her upbringing from the day-to-day task of ruling on cases which she faces as a jurist. Similar statements have been made by other, more conservative-leaning nominees, to the highest court in the land. For example, Justice Samuel Alito has said pretty much the same thing. My opinion on this is simply that we all grow up in different communities, each of which shape our own backgrounds. It is difficult, if not impossible, to separate one’s shaping from one’s actions in life.

Insofar as Judge Sotomayor’s intellect is concerned, Karl Rove seems to have some questions about the intellect of someone who graduated with highest honors from Princeton, who graduated Yale Law and sat on their Law Review. Makes me wonder what he truly thought of his former boss… who also went to prestigious schools, but who obviously didn’t graduate with similar praise.

Your thoughts, as always, are welcome…

If my wife and I had become pregnant when we were boyfriend and girlfriend, I don’t know what we would have done.  I can’t condone the use of abortion as birth control.

The case of the woman in the video above, though, does show one reason why I support the right of individual choice.  Frankly, what anyone else does with their body is none of my business – and I should have no right to regulate it.

I found this article in the Christian Science Monitor today, though it was published on the 20th. I found it to be interesting, and, at least in my case, quite true.

I truly believe I am an equal-opportunity employer.

Clinton or Obama? Gender less important to young voters.:
As Obama gains, he whittles Clinton’s lead among baby-boomer women.

And I don’t mean that turncoat, Joe Lieberman, but rather Joe Scarborough from MSNBC.

When I’ve been asked who I support for the Democratic Party’s primary race, I originally backed John Edwards, primarily because of his messages on poverty and healthcare. After Edwards stepped aside earlier this year, I very easily, perhaps too easily, was willing to switch my allegiance to Barack Obama, the senator from Illinois.

But I wasn’t able to put a finger on why.

Was it because Hillary was old-school? Was it because I couldn’t stand her? Certainly not. I hardly know her, so it couldn’t be either of those. In fact, I couldn’t put a finger on why.

While waiting for the bus this morning, I was GoogleNewsing on my BlackBerry, and found this linked article from Joe Scarborough in the Pensacola News-Journal, which, for better or worse, was able to articulate my feelings on the matter quite well.

Now, I have a place in my heart for Bill Clinton, because I think he is one of the best leaders this country has ever had, so I take with a grain of salt what Mr. Scarborough has to say about him; however, if he has, indeed, acted the way it was depicted in the article, I must say that I would be very disappointed. However, the comments about Mr. Clinton notwithstanding, I favored more the comments about Mr. Obama than anything else.

Besides… we’re not voting for Bill Clinton – he can’t run again… and we can’t move this country forward by looking at the rearview mirror.

It’s time for a change in leadership and leadership style. We need someone who is charismatic, who can rekindle the American spirit… someone like Barack Obama.