10 Things About Judge Sonia Sotomayor

1. Judge Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the bench than any Supreme Court justice in 100 years. Over her three-decade career, she has served in a wide variety of legal roles, including as a prosecutor, litigator, and judge.

2. Judge Sotomayor is a trailblazer. She was the first Latina to serve on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and was the youngest member of the court when appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of New York. If confirmed, she will be the first Hispanic to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

3. While on the bench, Judge Sotomayor has consistently protected the rights of working Americans, ruling in favor of health benefits and fair wages for workers in several cases.

4. Judge Sotomayor has shown strong support for First Amendment rights, including in cases of religious expression and the rights to assembly and free speech.

5. Judge Sotomayor has a strong record on civil rights cases, ruling for plaintiffs who had been discriminated against based on disability, sex and race.

6. Judge Sotomayor embodies the American dream. Born to Puerto Rican parents, she grew up in a South Bronx housing project and was raised from age nine by a single mother, excelling in school and working her way to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton University and to become an editor of the Law Journal at Yale Law School.

7. In 1995, Judge Sotomayor "saved baseball" when she stopped the owners from illegally changing their bargaining agreement with the players, thereby ending the longest professional sports walk-out in history.

8. Judge Sotomayor ruled in favor of the environment in a case of protecting aquatic life in the vicinity of power plants in 2007, a decision that was overturned by the Roberts Supreme Court.

9. In 1992, Judge Sotomayor was confirmed by the Senate without opposition after being appointed to the bench by George H.W. Bush.

10. Judge Sotomayor is a widely respected legal figure, having been described as "...an outstanding colleague with a keen legal mind," "highly qualified for any position in which wisdom, intelligence, collegiality and good character would be assets," and "a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity."

Sources for each of the 10 things:

1. White House Statement, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51451&id=16226-14347080-BCXQl1x&t=1

2. White House Statement, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51451&id=16226-14347080-BCXQl1x&t=2

3. Cases: Archie v. Grand Cent. Partnership, 997 F. Supp. 504 (S.D.N.Y. 1998) and Marcella v. Capital Dist. Physicians' Health Plan, Inc., 293 F.3d 42 (2d Cir. 2002).

4. Cases: Flamer v. White Plains, 841 F. Supp. 1365 (S.D.N.Y. 1993), Ford v. McGinnis, 352 F.3d 382 (2d Cir. 2003), and Campos v. Coughlin, 854 F. Supp. 194 (S.D.N.Y. 1994).

5a. "Sotomayor's Notable Court Opinions and Articles," The New York Times, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51454&id=16226-14347080-BCXQl1x&t=3

5b. Cases: Bartlett v. N.Y. State Board, 970 F. Supp. 1094 (S.D.N.Y. 1997), Greenbaum v. Svenska Hendelsbanken, 67 F.Supp.2d 228 (S.D.N.Y. 1999), Raniola v. Bratton, 243 F.3d 610 (2d Cir. 2001), and Gant v. Wallingford Board of Education, 195 F.3d 134 (2d Cir. 1999).

6. "Sonia Sotomayor: 10 Things You Should Know," The Huffington Post, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51452&id=16226-14347080-BCXQl1x&t=4

7. "How Sotomayor 'Saved' Baseball," Time, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51455&id=16226-14347080-BCXQl1x&t=5

8. "Sotomayor's resume, record on notable cases," CNN, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51453&id=16226-14347080-BCXQl1x&t=6

9. "Sotomayor's resume, record on notable cases," CNN, May 26, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51453&id=16226-14347080-BCXQl1x&t=7

10a. Judge Richard C. Wesley, a George W. Bush appointee to the Second Circuit.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51451&id=16226-14347080-BCXQl1x&t=8

10b. "Sotomayor is Highly Qualified," The Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2009.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51456&id=16226-14347080-BCXQl1x&t=9

10c. Honorary Degree Citation, Pace University School of Law, 2003 Commencement.

Get Your Tissues Ready

I feel very sad about California tonight.

The 3/50 Project

I am loving this project! It's something that I already do, but want to become more conscious of it and even increase my support.

This is all about supporting local businesses.

(click to enlarge)


You can learn more here. I challenge you to support this project and your local businesses.

Ideas include:
Grab coffee at a local coffee shop instead of a large national chain.
Buy greeting cards & gift wrap at a local gift shop instead of a discount store.
Have lunch, dinner, drinks at a locally owned restaurant instead of a huge national chain.
Find a small, local pet store for your pet's needs.
Bypass a mega home store, head to your local hardware or paint store.

The bonus is this....you'll get way better service at most of these places and you're doing the right thing for your neighborhood!

Sunday Nights

I know that tonight isn't Sunday night, but it is the last day of the weekend before going back to work. My weekend was productive. I packed, cooked, saw a movie, relaxed and got a little work done.

Things are good, and yet, just a little off.

Sunday nights are always a little hard for me. I'm sad for the end of a weekend and always a little lonely. The years that I spent with Patrick eased the Sunday Saddies with our own Sunday night ritual. Sunday nights in my family were always fun, cozy and comfortable. Now, Sunday nights are usually just me mentally preparing for the week and wrapping up the weekend. I'm generally a little deflated each Sunday night.

Packing is hard, too. Going through sentimental items and reliving memories. Fun and sad at the same time. I miss my friends in Phoenix, I miss Patrick or at least the idea of Patrick.

I'm a little sad to displace the cats again. I know that they'll be fine, but they're a little different than they used to be and I can help but think that it's because of all of the moves.

Not sure what's gonna happen with the boy. He's not the one, but he's fun. Trying to figure out what to do there. Just be friends? I've never successfully done that, but when you're in a new city and have no friends, can you really toss a potential one to the curb?

I'm in a little funk at work and can't quite figure that one out either. I'm apparently in a little funk all the way around.

I've not been eating well or getting enough rest. I should be more strict about that, but I've been lazy. The gym would probably help, too.

Blarg.

Catch Up?

Bad blogger. Bad. I should be in blogger timeout.

There's not really much going on here. Packing and getting ready for the move is pretty much the only thing going on with me. I close on Friday!

I'm trying to adhere to my "not eating out" moratorium in an effort to use up everything in my pantry & freezer before moving. I've made a pineapple upside down cake, turkey tacos, Swedish meatballs, potstickers, etc. in recent days.

I did buy my new kitchen table/chairs and a coffee table at a local shop here in Andersonville. I love the vintage kitchen set from the 1960's. So not what I was expecting to buy, but I fell in love.


The coffee table is an old leather travel trunk that's had legs added. Love.


The shop, Brimfield, just opened a few weeks ago and it's lovely. I was so happy to be able to support a local store. Vintage ain't cheap, but it's got so much character and I'm happy about my purchases. These items will be delivered once the place is painted.

Today, I went to CB2 and bought the couch for my office/guest room. I love it too! It will be delivered on the 2nd. Can't wait. I'm planning to paint the walls similar to the color in the picture.


Speaking of painting, I'm deciding on colors now. I met with the painter to get the estimates and he's very happy with my color choices and ideas. I'm hoping to have him start painting on the 3rd or 4th. In the kitchen I'm doing orange; either Tangerine Melt or New Dawn. For the living room, it will be a spring green -- there are quite a few contenders, including: Candy Green, Citron Cocktail & O'Reilly Green. Where do they come up with these names? The Benjamin Moore folks are good with names, I tell ya.

I'm pretty happy with my packing progress. I have 10-12 boxes waiting for the Salvation Army and another 15 or so boxes of my books and winter clothing already packed up. A few boxes a day and I'll make it in time. The closing is the 29th and the movers aren't coming until the 11th and I have to give the keys back on my current place on the 15th. Having 2 weeks of overlap will be great!

Oh, I've also made 2 batches of Banana Nut Dark Choc Chip Muffins in my pantry/freezer clean up. I've posted about them before. The only change this week was the addition of walnuts that were hanging out in the freezer. Yum with a cup of coffee for breakfast or with a glass of milk for dessert.

Friday Firsts

The boy and I are doing well. We've been dating about two and a half months or so. No complaints. He's fun, funny and smart. And he loves to cook and has a great appreciation for good food. In fact, he's cooked for me a few times and I've cooked for him.

Yesterday we decided to go over to Devon Avenue, which is center of Desi culture in the city. Need anything Indian or Pakistani? Head to Devon. We wanted to shop, check out the produce, spices and baked goods.

I'd never been to Devon before and it was great! We bought so much great, tasty stuff. Patel Bros. Grocery was the hit! We bought fresh, hot naan, yogurt, chilis...all the things to make Achar Gosht for dinner. Actually, we bought the achar gosht spice mix, so I suppose we cheated a little bit. It was really tasty.

Here's the other kicker though. The boy found out that I've never eaten a fresh, whole artichoke and was shocked. Is that weird? Have y'all all eaten one? I love artichoke hearts, but I've never eaten or cooked a fresh one. So the boy insisted on fresh artichokes, too. He was on artichoke duty and we decided that we needed hollandaise sauce to go with it. I'm not really a fan of hollandaise sauce, but figured I'd give it a whirl. I've heard horror stories about people making hollandaise.

Folks...it was perfect! It was easy! Most of all...it was spectacular! Fresh artichokes with fresh, homemade hollandaise sauce! I am in love! The boy said it was the best hollandaise he'd ever had.

All of these things were new to me! I love new things.