No substance for white men

News flash: white men have no substance! For the past two days the Nation has been treated to the "grilling" of the next Justice of the Supreme Court: Judge Sottomayor. For the past two days she has gone through the process of being asked questions about her writing, her temperament, and what she has meant by white men. Notice there has been no substantial question asked about how she views the law or how she looks at cases but in the manner of what she says in speeches to various groups she has spoken to.

This is rather tawdry as this woman is one of great accomplishment and will be confirmed by the whole Senate. So what is the real issue here? It is not a matter of competence, nor is it temperament (they can not Bork this judge). Nor is it a matter of rulings or the fear of the empathy question. And it is not about gender, so what is the issue for these no substance white men? I believe it is ethnicity period. Sottomayor is attacked solely because she has the nerve to challenge people of her own background to achieve. An act of love for those who are of the same background as she. Again, not one question did the panel of no substance white men ask that was pertinent. There were inquires of her temper: do you have a temperament problem? Are you a bully to certain attorney's? Do you stand by those inflammatory words that elevate your race, ethnicity and background above others? This from men that represent areas of this Nation that have enslaved, denied, imprisoned and executed people of color without a thought. This from a "club" that for so long had no people of color (the first was Edward Brooke in the modern era) or women from any state. One wonders why they are so frightened - these no-substance white men.

My guess is that they see their paternalistic rule ending and they are having a hard time of it. I can not blame them for this thinking. After all, they have suffered through the indignity of a man too small for the job, who in his two terms as President did more harm than good. They have seen one of their own lose to a man of color despite their best effort to place in nomination an unprepared person (Pailin) who (as I stated in an earlier blog) was a cynical choice to represent the ticket. And the final straw, to see the "cream of the crop" of the Republicans Party go down in flames. To whit: Sanford for love of a woman of color; Ensign, another man's wife; McCain, age and vision; and Cheney, whose ego maniacal words are doing more harm than good. What are they going to do? Hopefully, admit they have no solutions and stay out of the way. Later