Judiciary Committee Approves Wise Latina Woman...

David Brooks
Dana Milbank
Mark McKinnon


As expected, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved of Sonia Sotomayor by a 13 - 6 margin, as reported by the NY Times. The only Republican to vote for her was Lindsey Graham, who gave her the meanest, toughest time during the hearing: "Mr. Graham said he supported the nomination, despite early reservations. “I feel good about Judge Sotomayor,” he said, adding he was sure that she would decide cases “based on what she thinks is right” and be an inspiration for young women. The Senate is expected to debate the nomination next week, so Judge Sotomayor is likely to be sworn in as the Supreme Court’s first Hispanic justice (and only its third woman) in time for the start of the high court’s next term, which begins in October." I salute Mr Graham's honesty and courage to vote how he feels, not like the other grandstanding Republicans such as Mr Sessions, who obviously made crap up to kowtow to the party line. To put the hearings in perspective and how its grown, back in 1962 the hearing for a Supreme Court nominee lasted 15 minutes and consisted of eight questions...

She should easily win full confirmation and be on the bench when the court is back in session in October. The funniest thing to watch is when someone moderate to liberal is nominated, the Republicans label them an "activist" judge. Same thing happens when a conservative judge is nominated, the liberals also label them an "activist." And it all centers around the judge's viewpoints on abortion. Here's to seeing what a wise latina woman can do...

The Internet is coming to Afghanistan, according to the Christian Science Monitor: "New underground wires in Afghanistan carry bits and bytes, not bomb blasts. The fiber-optic cables run to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, linking Afghanistan by land to the global Internet for the first time.
Until last month, most Afghans could only surf the Web through satellite links to other nations. That's expensive, stunting Internet penetration to just 3 percent of the Afghan population.
Afghan officials say the country's expanding fiber-optic network will drive down prices for Internet services dramatically, extending access to ordinary Afghans and potentially expanding business and educational opportunities in a country where both are in short supply." Next, if I can find Internet cafes in Papua New Guinea, our world will truly be interconnected. It has already been a great influence on the recent American election and the fake election in Iran with its aftermath. Our world will never be the same, I don't know if I'll be here 10 years from now to witness the changes, but I hope I will, still typing away at this silly blog. Which reminds me that some things are timeless and universal. A few years ago I was traveling in northern Thailand and parts of Laos. Out in the fields, miles from nowhere in the middle of the jungle, was a young boy riding a buffalo, listening to an old, scratchy Bob Marley tape. In fact, in almost every bar I ended up in many tiny towns, they always had some Bob Marley playing, a real tribute to his music and the simple genius of the man himself...

Evidently some politicians in Wisconsin are not so Internet savvy, with embarrassing repercussions, from the UPI: "The Wisconsin secretary of state said he was "disgusted" to find his former campaign Web site, which was sold to save money, is now home to pornography.
Secretary of State Doug LaFollette, 69, said his campaign stopped paying the monthly $25 fee to maintain rights to the site's domain name, assuming it would be available when election time came back around, but someone from St. Petersburg, Russia, swooped in and purchased the domain after the payments ceased, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Monday." But hey, the Russian who owns the domain is willing to sell it back for a mere $500...