The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

davidwaters — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:46:58 GMT

I hope that Sotomayor does a good job on the Supreme Court if the nomination goes through. The challenges that face the current government are enormous, so everyone must do their job. One of the biggest challenges that the Obama administration faces is doing more to address global poverty. The Borgen Project has good info on the estimated cost of ending global poverty:

$30 billion: Annual shortfall to end world hunger.

$550 billion: U.S. Defense budget.

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

Dredd — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:36:13 GMT

They worry about her when they were all happy that a religious fanatic was sending out government memos with bad prophetic utterances to other national leaders?

A fanatic who had his finger on the nuclear triggers and was threatening to use them?

http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/05/dogma-of-high-priest-in-chief.html

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

walterblass — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:38:23 GMT

I appreciate the blog but am appalled that Newsweek doesn't spell-check your own people!

Haven't you heard about " i before e except after c or nwhen used as in 'weigh"

What has happened to journalistic standards"

Walter P. Blass

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

redone32 — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:51:45 GMT

Well, since the new format of the magazine is almost un-readable, I am forced to read news like this...and since the election, the bias is unending.

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

Lee Holmes — Wed, 27 May 2009 19:29:37 GMT

Oh its a ''war room'' all right.

The President of the White House Correspondants Assn., Jennifer Loven of the AP, is blasting the administration for their ''backround briefing'' strategy whereby Obama trots out a couple of functionaries to the podium in the West Wing to peddle the party line on Sotomayor,which created the scene of a menacing Gibbs [ I know,I know, Gibbs can be as ''menacing'' as a poodle anklebiter but it is rather,the position he represents], who delivers a threat to Loven which was deconstructed by pundits. ''Nice business you got there lady,darned shame if it was to go away''.

Gibbs sqwaked at Loven, ''I'm not sure that today is the day I would be making that argument'',only making the press corps this much more angry at Gibbs. Then too, a lousy three -judge ''panel'' of which Sotomayor was one of them,does not make for a ''well thought out''legal process,as the ever and anon overturned [and most liberal in the US] 9th US can tell you,which does not usually render decision en banc but often relies on these same ''three judge'' panels.

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

FOXYOLDWOMAN — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:21:46 GMT

Actually, in this really old womans opinion, the Republicans are just acting like 'sore loosers' or "spoiled brats'. There must be all kinds of representation in the surpreme Court in order for it to 'represent' the United State of America and all of it's citizens.

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

Marquette70 — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:14:30 GMT

What adult can say "You can't at once atack someone as a judicial activist and then attack her for following precendent....What? An activist does not change everything, just the stuff they are for. So, if 10 minority people pass the test and one white guy fails, we we throw out the test? The fair thing is to let the ones who passed the test get promoted. Then help the ones who did not pass to pass. If passing a test is the only reason for a promotion, then that is probably a poor way to get the best person. But don't play out the game, then make a decision who won.

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

Rindiv25 — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:59:29 GMT

Marquette70 You brought up a good point. I seriously doubt that if the situation were reversed and only Black or Hispanic people passed the test that we would be having this discussion. The test should stand; a test is the only fair way to examine someone's knowledge of something. The color of someone’s skin does not affect their intelligence or ability to learn, just ask president Obama.

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

Sentido_Comun — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:59:08 GMT

Isn't it interesting that some would have us believe it is illegal to conclude the obvious - that the black firemen might not have worked as hard for the promomtion as their white counterparts on a test for which the city had paid $100,000 specifically to ensure an unbiased nature? The fact that we don't accept this as a possible conclusion evidences that our reasoning is biased. If our reasoning is biased, we should not expect to reach valid conclusions. To reach valid conclusions, we should allow for the obvious rather than denying it.

You can't help those who don't help themselves except by convincing them to help themselves. Any attempt to otherwise help them is not only counterproductive by creating a dependent mind set but is a waste of time, money, and effort. Anyone who flunked that test could have hired tutors and worked just as hard as the should-be captain, but they didn't - plain and simple. Isn't it amazing how we consider race more of a handicap in this messed up PC world than dyslexia??? Here's the fact, and most of you will dismiss it because it's not PC: a dyslexic person worked hard and earned a spot that others did not work as hard for, and the results were dismissed on the basis of race, which is racist. Hard work should be rewarded! This is a very important rule for a society that wishes to maintain a high level of productivity, and the fact that we're even considering negating it is absolute absurdity!

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

voter101 — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:06:54 GMT

From BET to Black History Month to making sure blacks have priority in being admitted over whites to medical and law schools...this country has been practicing reverse discrimination and it is shameful...could you imagine a white history month, a white entertainment channel or letting white people into school programs based on color only? How would you like a surgeon who didn't make the grade to get into school, probably didn't do too well but graduated anyway because of quotas being met for the school? I feel the same about firefighters protecting my home! We no longer expect hard work and smarts to get positions...dumbing our society. I'd like to see this end.

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

CarolynO — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:59:22 GMT

I am white, middle-aged and out of shape. Clearly I am underrepresented in the NBA. If I try out for the Chicago Bulls and don't get in, can I sue them?

The initial ruling favored the city because of underrepresentation, not because of descrimination. There was no descrimination in the tests or in who passed. Our country is best served by having the most qualified people chosen for all jobs and positions.

re: The Administration's Line on Sotomayor and the New Haven Fire Fighters

tightwaddog — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:37:11 GMT

i remember when blacks were not allowed to play in college sports because they wer not

'intellectually capable' of playing at that level.

re the firefighter squabble. i remember an article that appeared in a ridder owned

san jose newspaper some years ago ( '90's if i remember) . it was complete with a graph

showing the preponderance of minorities employed by the post office when jobs were

an issue. the gist of the article was to leave the reader with the feeling that whites were

not getting a fair deal. when i read the article i thought there would be a similiar follow

up regarding the local fire dept which was and still is almost totally white. but no such

article appeared. i think this this is reflective of what the minority applicants in the

fire dept are facing today. (this ridder owner is directly related to the victor ridder

( staats-zeitung) vs foerster case in new york city , 1945. i have rarely if ever seen

a fair representation of minority groups in the local fire or police dept.

tightwaddog