We don’t vote for supreme court judges, but the president we elect has the power to appoint them. And the senators we elect confirm them, so our voices are heard indirectly. Not every president has the opportunity to appoint a supreme court justice, but President Obama recently nominated Sonia Sotomayor to take Justice David Souter’s place since he has decided to retire.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings began today. The senate Judiciary committee, called to order by Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, met for the first time this morning to discuss the confirmation of the 55 year old judge.
She was born to a Puerto Rican family, and grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx. Some say that Sonia Sotomayor “lived The American Dream.” If confirmed, she would be the third woman, and first Hispanic to serve on the United States Supreme Court.
The hearings are expected to last no more than a week, with time for an opening statement from the nominee, and possibly two days or more of questioning from senators. The last step in her confirmation is a vote by the full Senate, which has not been scheduled yet.
If you would like to find out more about Judge Sonia Sotomayor, you might find the following link helpful.
So, if you’re a Virgin Voter, are you following the Sotomayor confirmation hearings? What do you think of Judge Sotomayor? What’s your opinion? Comment here, or send me a message on Twitter.com/virginvoting.
There’s been a lot of talk in the media about the future of the Republican party. Do young people think that Charlie Crist is the “face of the future Republican party”? Or is it too soon to tell? John Roberts and I discuss this on CNN’s American Morning.
The other day I heard that Charlie Crist was going to be speaking at our local middle school. I “worked my contacts” to confirm this, and applied for media credentials. Today, I went over there, with Bryant Moreno, one of my classmates, along with our TV Production teacher, Jay Salon, to cover the event.
We caught Crist on camera getting out of the car and entering the school. Then we videotaped his speech, which focused strictly on education. One of the things that baffled me was how he claimed that Florida went from “31st in the nation to 10th in education.”
When I produced my documentary on education for the C-Span Student Cam competition, “Left Behind” (see my April 9, 2009 Post, “Making Education a Priority”) my research showed that we are 50th in funding for public education. I wonder what statistic Crist was quoting?
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to ask him to clarify that (there is always
a next time) but I did get to ask him some questions as I pushed my way through the crowd of reporters.
Crist only would answer questions about education. But the local reporters kept pushing him to answer other questions. How about his RUN FOR U.S. SENATE?
Speaking of that…it’s still early, but lets not forget that Crist has a Republican contender in the race for the seat that Sen. Mel Martinez is vacating, former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio. And on the Democratic side, U.S. Congressman Kendrick Meek has placed his hat in the ring, as well as former Florida Senator Dan Gelber. I will try to interview all of these candidates as the race unfolds. Stay tuned…
Here in Florida, Charlie Crist just announced that he will not run for a second term as Governor, but instead will run for the U.S. Senate. Many people are wondering why. He was on the short list for McCain’s VP running mate, so almost made it to Washington that way (and would have been on the “presidential track.”) Historically, senators don’t get elected to become president (Obama is an exception) but governors do. Hmm.
After the 2008 presidential election, the Republican party has been working on redefining itself. Is Charlie Crist the new generation of the Republican party? What does our generation think of him?
As the school year comes to an end, many young people are studying for finals. But are any of them preparing for midterms? Midterm elections that is.
I’m wondering if any “Virgin Voters” who will be eligible to vote for the first time in 2010 (like me) are following the announcements about who is running for U.S. Senate seats or Governor in their state, if terms are up for these leaders.
Unprecedented numbers of young first time voters registered and turned out to vote in the 2008 Presidential election, and much of the credit for President Obama’s win has gone to young people. Now that more young people are involved in politics, are they more inclined to follow the 2010 midterm elections?
I don’t know about you, but all I hear when I listen to our School Board meetings is how they have to lay off more school employees (administrators, custodians, bus drivers, etc.), cut funding for programs, not give teachers their well deserved raises, and cut back on supplies, field trips, and other resources. It’s budget cuts, budget cuts, budget cuts. And it’s been going on for a long time. How much more can they cut? We are already bringing our own copy paper, toilet paper and soap! And lots of really great, enthusiastic new teachers can’t be hired L I know that it’s a complicated issue, and public schools get their funding from the state and the federal government, but something’s got to be done. I decided to look further into this issue and produced a documentary called “Left Behind,” and entered it in the C-SPAN Student Cam competition, as a response to their question: What issue should the new President make a priority? It was a tough choice, but I said EDUCATION! As it turns out, “Left Behind” won 3rd place in the competition. From the state that’s earned its distinction as 50th in funding public education…
Finally, the campaigning is over, and I am in Washington, DC to celebrate this historic event. Inauguration weekend has been amazing - the concert on the Lincoln Memorial awesome! So many people here taking part in history. It’s great to see so many young people. Many of them were so excited that all of their hard work had paid off, and that they were experiencing what they never thought would happen - the inauguration of President Barack Obama!
I didn’t get a ticket to the inauguration, or to any of the inauguration balls, but to be honest, all of the action is really on the National Mall! (And besides, I had to be in CNN’s Washington Bureau this morning for a live interview).
I caught up with some “Virgin Voters” to ask them how they were feeling (besides freezing).
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The other day I heard that Charlie Crist was going to be speaking at our local middle school. I “worked my contacts” to confirm this, and applied for media credentials. Today, I went over there, with Bryant Moreno, one of my classmates, along with our TV Production teacher, Jay Salon, to cover the event.
Here in Florida, Charlie Crist just announced that he will not run for a second term as Governor, but instead will run for the U.S. Senate. Many people are wondering why. He was on the short list for McCain’s VP running mate, so almost made it to Washington that way (and would have been on the “presidential track.”) Historically, senators don’t get elected to become president (Obama is an exception) but governors do. Hmm.