The LA Times has a roundup of legal analysis on the Sotmayor hearings (We, of course, have BTD, just scroll down through today's posts.)

Marcy Wheeler was on Shuster's MSNBC program tonight and used the word "bl*wjob". Here's the video. Please don't use the word in comments without asterisks as the censor software at law firms will block us. Howard Kurtz thinks she should have used another word. Go, Marcy!

President Obama's telemprompter crashed to floor and broke today during a speech. He finished using his notes and the remaining prompter.

I'm going to put these weighty topics aside for a while as I watch The Bachelorette go from three to two in Maui and Weeds.

Happy 7th Blogiversary to Skippy.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

After being introduced by New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand, Judge Sonia Sotomayor presented her opening statement. The key part from Judge Sotomayor's opening statement:

In the past month, many Senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. It is simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make the law – it is to apply the law. And it is clear, I believe, that my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms; interpreting statutes according to their terms and Congress’s intent; and hewing faithfully to precedents established by the Supreme Court and my Circuit Court. In each case I have heard, I have applied the law to the facts at hand.

The process of judging is enhanced when the arguments and concerns of the parties to the litigation are understood and acknowledged. That is why I generally structure my opinions by setting out what the law requires and then by explaining why a contrary position, sympathetic or not, is accepted or rejected. That is how I seek to strengthen both the rule of law and faith in the impartiality of our justice system. My personal and professional experiences help me listen and understand, with the law always commanding the result in every case.

The complete statement on the flip.

First, my huge thanks to Big Tent Democrat for his excellent blogging of this morning's Sotomayor hearing. Not only is his analysis right-on, he manages to hit the highlights and lowpoints of each round of questioning.

If I may divert for one post, please contact these Senators today and ask them to oppose the Pass I.D. Act, a flawed fix to the Real I.D. Act. A hearing is being held Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

The ACLU and 17 other civil liberties groups sent a letter to Congress today. Their action alert is here. We need to repeal, not fix, the Real I.D. Act of 2005. [More...]

Senate Al Franken (D-MN) will be making an opening statement today in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. In other words, the Al Franken Decade is about to begin.

Franken up now.

This is an Open Thread.

Senator Whitehouse's opening statement was masterful, substantive, cerebral, historical and did honor to the Senate. He is truly becoming a great Senator. The statement on the flip:

Excellent work from Senator Feinstein.

Speaking for me only

While Kyl and the GOP Senators meander on (only Sessions has gone full frontal with his "Lost Cause" approach), Howie Kurtz twitted that no one pays attention to Senator Russ Feingold. Well, here at Talk Left, we do. Here is his opening statement, which was great:

Two decades ago, it was the NAACP. Today it is the PRDLF. Here is the video of Sessions admitting he did so from 23 years ago:

This morning, Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions (R-AL), attacked Judge Sonia Sotomayopr for being on the Board of Director of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense amd Education Fund. As Ian Millheiser noted, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions has a long history of opposing civil rights and groups that advocate for civil rights:

Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions said the following in his opening statment regarding the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court:

[A]s you have already seen, our confirmation process is not a pretty site. Time and again, you will have your legal positions, your predecisional memoranda -- even as a young lawyer -- distorted or taken out of context.

These attacks are driven most often by outside groups. They will dig through the many complex cases that you have dealt with in an effort to criticize your record. They will produce on cue the most dire warnings that civil liberties in America will be lost forever if you're confirmed as a federal judge.

[MORE . . ]

This is the week that will make Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions (R-AL), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a Republican star. Here is the man that is the very embodiment of the Republican Party that emerged out of the Civil Rights Movement, the anti-everybody not a white male party. He is what the Republican Party is today - a reactionary, resentful, paranoid, white Southern male.

In the Sotomayor hearings, I will be watching for two things - (1) will Democratic Senators try to fight and win the framing wars on right wing judicial activism? (Sotmayor's confirmation is a foregone conclusion imo.); (2) Will Republicans allow (and Democrats encourage) the GOP image to be cemented as the party against women, Latinos, African Americans, Asians and "Others" - refighting "The Lost Cause"? The NYTimes provides a list of "experts" who point to other things to "look for":

Thousands showed up in Denver today to register to audition for American Idol. By 7am, the line extended 1/4 mile around the stadium. The process continues through Tuesday, when those selected today and Monday will get to sing for the judges.

I wonder how many of them have read the release (pdf)they must sign before going on. Or, in the case of the younger aspirants, if their parents have read and understand it. Why do these reality shows get away with these one-sided contracts filled with legalese only a legal expert could decipher? Compare it to their FAQ's for auditioning, and the Rules, which are in plain English.

What happened where you are today? This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Former police officer Clyde Ray Spencer spent 20 years in prison after his kids claimed he sexually molested them and he pleaded no contest to the charges. On Friday, at a court hearing, the kids, now adults, said the abuse never happened.

What persuaded them at first that it did happen and why did it take them so long to retract the claims?

Matthew, now 33, was 9 years old at the time. He told a judge he made the allegation after months of insistent questioning by now-retired Clark County sheriff's detective Sharon Krause just so she would leave him alone.

Tetz, 30, said she doesn't remember what she told Krause back in 1985, but she remembers Krause buying her ice cream. She said that when she finally read the police reports she was "absolutely sure" the abuse never happened. "I would have remembered something that graphic, that violent," Tetz said.

[More...]