Freedom of BLEEP

How does a judge that has favored discriminatory practices and has ruled against freedom of speech become nominated for the Supreme Court? Sixty percent of her decisions that came before the high court have been reversed. Her record merits close scrutiny, but first let’s search for a trace of logic behind Obama’s nomination. (Hint: We won’t find any.)

While introducing Sotomayor as his nominee for the Supreme Court, President Obama quoted Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, saying “[t]he life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience.” The aphorism was taken out of context and does not support the President’s endorsement of legislating from the bench. Perhaps Obama should have considered this adage by Holmes:

“Men should know the rules by which the game is played. Doubt as to the value of some of those rules is no sufficient reason why they should not be followed by the courts.”

The views of Holmes and Sotomayor, at least with respect to the role that a judge should play, are diametrically opposed to one another. Holmes abided by the written law, and applied it accordingly no matter how repugnant he found it to be. However, Sotomayor stated in her address yesterday that she strives to “never forget the real world consequences” of her decisions. Maybe Sotomayor should have been a legislator instead.

Sotomayor has spoken at length about her pride in being Hispanic, and openly admits that this skews her decision making. “I simply do not know exactly what the difference will be in my judging. But I accept there will be some based on my gender and my Latina heritage.” Sotomayor wrote that these attributes most definitely “affect the facts that judges choose to see.” This is a bold statement by someone who has taken an oath to uphold our Constitution - but instead decides cases based on her whims and fancies, her political ideology, and outright favoritism for certain adversarial parties. A look at her judicial record shows a dangerous and disrespectful thumbing of her nose at the rule of law.

Against Equal Rights
In her most publicized case, Ricci v. DeStefano, Sotomayor ruled against a group of white firefighters who were denied promotions after passing the qualifications exam. The first time the test was administered, none of the black firefighters passed. The city declared the results invalid and had everyone take the exam again. And again, none of the black firefighters passed so the city decided to throw out the results and not promote anyone. The firefighters sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause, but the city argued that it was just trying to avoid being sued by minorities (interestingly, the City has not administered another test or promoted anyone in 5 years). The Second Circuit rejected the firefighter’s claims, essentially draining the Equal Protection Clause of all its meaning. Apparently, not all people are protected under the Constitution according to Sotomayor. Even fellow Clinton appointee, Judge Jose Cabranes wrote a scathing dissent, observing that “the opinion contains no reference whatsoever to the constitutional claims at the core of this case.”

Against Freedom of Speech
In August 2007, Sotomayor ruled against freedom of speech. Avery Doninger was disqualified from running for student government after she posted something on her blog that criticized the superintendent and other officials. Sotomayor declared that the student was a “foreseeable risk of substantial disruption” because she didn’t succumb to mind-control attempts made by the public school system.

Soft on Criminals
In 2006, Sotomayor ruled that convicted felons should have the right to vote. In 2003, she ruled that prisoners should be entitled to holiday feasts. In 1993, she criticized the five-year mandatory sentence for drug dealers, calling it an “abomination” that they do not deserve. In 1998, she jeopardized prison security by lifting the ban on beads that guards claimed were being used as gang symbols.

And after all of these absurd rulings, Obama has nominated Sotomayor to become a Supreme Court Justice. Wake up, America. This is your slap in the face.

The following is an abridged account of Obama’s racist history. Please note that it is comprised almost entirely of direct quotes from Obama, as well as his former pastor.

While Obama denounced Reverend Wright, he approved of his “social gospel” focusing on Africa, saying “and I agree with him on that.” Well, here is Reverend Wright’s social doctrine, which Obama agrees with:

1. Commitment to God
2. Commitment to the Black Community
3. Commitment to the Black Family
4. Dedication to the Pursuit of Education
5. Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence
6. Adherence to the Black Work Ethic
7. Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect
8. Disavowal of the Pursuit of Middleclassness
9. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the Black Community
10. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions
11. Pledge allegiance to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System
12. Personal commitment to embracement of the Black Value System

This doctrine was posted on the church website for many years (as seen below), but was removed during the presidential campaign.

Now, if another church were to adopt this same doctrine, but used the word ‘white’ instead of the word ‘black,’ wouldn’t that be considered extremely racist? If so, how is the doctrine of Trinity United - the social gospel that President Obama said he agrees with - not racist?

Click to Enlarge

The fact of the matter is that Reverend Wright made racist anti-American statements long before the controversial “God Damn America” sermon during the election. Wright said that the government was responsible for “inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color.” The Sunday after 9/11, Wright said that the terrorist attack was “America’s chicken’s coming home to roost.” Wright also said, “If God is not for us and against whites, then he is a murderer, and we’d best kill him.”

Obama denied hearing any of this, but he even quoted some of Wright’s racial remarks in his book, Dreams from My Father, on page 159: “White folks’ greed runs a world in need, apartheid in one hemisphere, apathy in another hemisphere. That’s the world! On which hope sits!”

That sermon, entitled “The Audacity of Hope,” inspired Obama so much that he named his next book after it.

But let’s look at a few more quotes out of Dreams from My Father:

“That hate hadn’t gone away [...] blaming white people - some cruel, some ignorant, sometimes a single face, sometimes just a faceless image of a system claiming power over our lives.” -Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, Page 236

“I ceased to advertise my mother’s race at the age of twelve or thirteen, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was integrating myself with the whites.” -Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, Page 6

“The emotion between the races could never be pure [...] The other race [white] would always remain just that: menacing, alien and apart.” -Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, Page 71

“[...] The African could never win against the white man because the black man only wanted to work with his own family or clan, while all white men worked to increase their power.” -Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, Page 223

“The white man alone is like an ant, Onyango would say. He can be easily crushed. But like an ant, the white man works together. His nation, his business-these things are more important to him than himself. He will follow his leaders and not question orders. Black men are not like this.” -Barack Obama on the teachings of his grandfather, Dreams from My Father, Page 223

“It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.” -Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, Page 59

These quotes aren’t taken out of context. But don’t take my word for it. I encourage you to read Dreams from My Father, just so you can see what kind of man our President is. In fact, if I know you then I have a copy you can borrow.