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Filed under: Community Events

Obama Nominates Sotomayor for Supreme Court

Supreme Court Nominee

President Obama has nominated federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Sotomayor would become the nation’s first Hispanic justice. Speaking at the White House Tuesday, Obama hailed her experience and background.

President Obama: “After completing this exhaustive process, I have decided to nominate an inspiring woman who I believe will make a great justice: Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the great state of New York. Over a distinguished career that spans three decades, Judge Sotomayor has worked at almost every level of our judicial system, providing her with a depth of experience and a breadth of perspective that will be invaluable as a Supreme Court justice.”

The fifty-four-year-old Sotomayor is the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who raised her in a public housing project in the Bronx. If confirmed, she would become the nation’s 111th justice and the third woman to hold a seat on the court. Sotomayor is Obama’s first appointment of a new justice since taking office. The vacancy opened up with Justice David Souter’s pending retirement at the end of the Supreme Court’s term next month.

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Filed under: Barack Obama

Well Delivered Commencement : John Legend

Democracy NOW! provided video from John Legend’s commencement address to his alma mater, University of Pennsylvania. He is a very strong public speaker and has become very active in using his social status as a catalyst for social change. I admire that in artists who don’t lose sight of the cause and get caught up in the mass hoopla.

“From the war in Iraq to credit-default swaps to the internet bubble to the real estate bubble, too often we got caught up in the hype and fail to see the real truth too often, we become apathetic. We see the lies, we see the obfuscation, the deception. And we fail to point it out. Were afraid to rain on the parade, afraid to rock the boat, afraid to pursue the truth.” -John Legend

Watch for yourself.

Part 1

Part 2

Filed under: Uncategorized , activism, Barack Obama, commencement, democracy now, iraq war, john legend, michelle obama, social change, upenn