totallyblase wrote: "It's a skill, unlike using a slide rule or an abacus, that pays off." Yep, I can use an abacus, though the slide rule eludes me. And yes, they are all skills. But given my 'druthers, I'll use my little keychain calculator, thank'ee. And no, if you've been to a store in the Far East recently, outside of a bazaar in Burma, you'd know that everything, and I mean is scanned. In fact, they don't even count out the change anymore -- all done electronically. But thanks for playing . . .

Thank you for your introduction and maintenance of sanity in this collection of letters. I'm not surprised that I see Cornyn and Limpbow on the TV claim that 5-4 equals 9-0, and then see it repeated here by Sotomayor's detractors. The trolls are dittoheads. And by their reasoning, any judge who has had a decision reversed by the Supreme Court is unworthy of the robes.

These people get hysterical when they think a white person (especially a male) is wronged and attribute it to some colossal, conspirational racism practiced by liberals. Some of them actually, publicly yearn for the good old days of Jim Crow, when everything was decided solely by merit. These same people don't seem to give much of a damn when something worse than being denied a job promotion -- say, being jailed without charges for years and tortured -- happens to a non-white person.

This applies to almost any issue. For instance, these righties demand access to their guns. But one of their heroes, Ronald Reagan, instituted one of the nation's first comprehensive gun control laws when he was governor of California, as a reaction to the black citizens of Oakland practicing their Second Amendment rights. Hypocrisy ain't new.

... I am perfectly comfortable asserting that Frederick Douglass, and for that matter Dred Scott, would applaud and personally ratify the Wisdom of the Court in this decision.

Just sayin'.

Five white men really are wiser than one Latina.

Who knew?

Apparently Justice Thomas didn't.

Moron.

rockybalboa rather than the "real" Rocky Balboa.

For those who don't get it, my ending dialogue is taken from the movie script "Rocky Balboa."

I've never seen those movies--it's true!--and I'm pretty sure that makes me a cinematic illiterate (which is a cross I'm willing to bear), but it'd be a lot more fun if you'd quoted lower-case rockybalboa.

bernbart:

Besides the 'written word' is some what different from typing skills.

Good.

bernbart to omooex:

And for those supporting taking practice tests. Why do es anyone need to practice taking a test, you should know the material. Otherwise your not learning anything except how to take a test.

Not so good.

Barack Obama came from a broken working class family to become editor of the Harvard Law Review, an Illinois state legislator, a U.S. Senator, and now President of the United States. It should be noted that President Obama didn't get any of his electoral votes just given to him because he was African American. He earned each and every one of them by out working, out smarting, and out campaigning his opponent. Yet the horrifying fact is that despite all evidence to the contrary that African Americans who work hard can make it, and even excel in our society, Judge Sotomayor and 4 Justices of the Supreme Court still believe African Americans aren't smart enough, or hard working enough, to study, pass a test, and get promoted on their own merits. They want to discriminate against a dyslexic Man who spent $1000.00, and worked his tail off to overcome his handicap to exel at the test and earn his promotion. And they want to discriminate against him because he is White. If Obama's election has proven anything it is how fundamentally unjust racial discrimination is in this country whether its a practiced by an appeal court judge or 4 Justices of the Supreme Court.

This situation just shows how warped and lousy this country has become. These firemen worked hard, studied and took extra courses, and should have been promoted, but instead let's give the promotion to the more unqualified person. A white person has to go all the way to the Supreme Ct just to be treated like another human being. It's unbelievable.

It's just like you don't care enough about what you write to pay any attention to it. And that kind of makes it hard for me to care.

-- Paul Daniel Ash

very juvenile.

-- bernbart

Not really. Would you go to a job interview for a high paying job at a Fortune 500 company wearing bluejeans and sandals and answer questions with a "Fuck no!" when your answer is in the negative? Of course not.

Why then, would you believe that writing like a slob when you are attempting to demonstrate a modicum of intelligence to readers here doesn't detract from your message?

"If you told me you had arthritis I'd be sympathetic".. --PDA

I do, but I'm not looking for sympathy.

Besides the 'written word' is some what different from typing skills.

-- bernbart

That's where you're wrong. Unless you are defining the word "written" to mean hand written as opposed to type written (cute but no cigar), taking care to produce an accurate product indicates that some care went into your "written word" and that you at least take yourself seriously enough to make a good presentation. Of course, if you don't value what you write enough to attempt to make a good presentation, why would anyone else value what you write and if you don't value what you write, why do you write it?

Maybe you don't have arthritis. Maybe you just have a case of opticular rectalitus.

Arthritis doesn't normally affect the brain, does it?

[Obama] earned each and every one of [his electoral votes] by out working, out smarting, and out campaigning his opponent.

He lied to get those votes.

And he's still lying.

This situation just shows how warped and lousy this country has become. These firemen worked hard, studied and took extra courses, and should have been promoted, but instead let's give the promotion to the more unqualified person. A white person has to go all the way to the Supreme Ct just to be treated like another human being. It's unbelievable.

Perhaps I missed the part where the City of New Haven gave promotions to anyone, much less unqualified people. Where did you read this?