By Courtney Costello- Talk Radio News Service

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) explained their support Thursday for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in relation to the nominee’s gender.

“[Sotomayor’s nomination is] important because we want our [government] institutions in this country…to reflect the diversity of our country, and the majority of the people in this country are women and we need to be represented. It doesn’t mean women are better but we are equal,” said Boxer.

The Senators described how Sotomayor’s 17 years of experience as a judge is more than any other nominee to the Supreme Court in the past hundred years.

In addition to gaining the backing of law enforcement organizations, The American Bar Association and the National Association of Women Lawyers found Sotoymayor to be very qualified, said Klobuchar.

Boxer stressed that Sotomayor deserves a fair process without any foul play.

“This woman, this excellent judge deserves to be treated fairly and equal to those who came before her,” said Boxer.

Sonia Sotomayor’s will begin confirmation hearings on Monday July 13th by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

In 2003, the New Haven, Connecticut, Fire Department administered written and oral exams to determine which employees would be eligible for promotions to lieutenant and captain; there were seven captain and eight lieutenant vacancies, but despite those who passed, no one moved up.

Of the 41 applicants who took the captain exam, the top nine scorers included seven whites and two Hispanics, and of the 77 applicants who took the lieutenant exam, the top 10 scorers where white.

After the Civil Service Board discovered from the scores that no black employees and only two Hispanics passed the test, they determined that the results had produced a significant disparate impact and chose to not certify the results.

The only information provided to the firefighters and public were the scores, given by race and gender. Test-takers did not receive their individual scores.

Seventeen white candidates and one Hispanic candidate who had taken the exams filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of New Haven, the mayor, and other city executives.

Frank Ricci, a firefighter who took the exam stated that the questions on the test were drawn from “nationally recognized” books and believes the test was fair, and therefore the city should honor the results.

Part of Ricci’s case is that before throwing out the results the city should at least have to consider whether the exam was fair.

In the Supreme Court today the justices expressed concern over the bind that New Haven is facing: because the city didn’t use the results, they were sued for reverse discrimination, but if the city had used the results, they could have faced a lawsuit for discrimination.

Justice Souter expressed this dilemma by saying “You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

The decision in the case of Ricci vs. DeStefano is expected in May.

by Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service and Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

Talk Radio News Service speaks with Lilly Ledbetter after a news conference to discuss her Fair Pay Act 2009. January 22, 2009.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Brookings Institution hosted the third seminar in a series on “Issues, Ideology, Gender and Race in the 2008 Election” featuring Sunshine Hillygus, Associate Professor of Government at Harvard University; Daron Shaw, Associate Professor of Government at University of Texas at Austin; and Shankar Vedantam, columnist for the Washington Post.

The panelists discussed specific factors pertaining to the 2008 Election such as; campaign tactics, youth involvement, the role of race, gender, ideology, character, and party identification. All three panelists agreed that voters participate in “proximity voting” whereby they determine their own vague ideas on an issue and gravitate towards the candidate that seems the most similar. In this way, they rationalize their own vote choice based on the comfort they feel from their candidate. The youth vote was a large
point of discussion due to the efficiency with which the Obama campaign has used first-time voters and the new millennial generation to his advantage.

The challenge they outlined for Senator McCain, who has fallen behind in recent polls particularly due to the economy, is for him to swing voters who “have a foot in each camp.” Those voters, such as pro-life Democrats, have a large decision to make and it will be up to both candidates to convince those voters that the issues that matter to them are the issues each respective candidate can support.

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) talks about what it meant to her to be a woman and run for president. (1:00)

 

 Standard Podcast [1:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tamara Draut, director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, talks about the relationship between worker income and having a college degree for both males and females during conference call on “Young Americans and the Economy.” (0:55)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A passionate news conference to condemn human rights abuses by China only 99 days before they host the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing was held today., The news conference included speeches by prominent senators such as Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), and human rights activists from organizations including SaveDarfur.org and Amnesty International.

The crowd, activists, and each of the speakers was incredibly passionate about protesting the United States’ involvement in the Olympic games. The press conference’s attendees called for President Bush to not attend the opening ceremonies, and described the Chinese as oppressive people, who violate human rights and are the biggest supporters of the genocidal Sudanese government in the world. (more…)