Sotomayor Quits Elite Women-Only Club

(NEWSER) - GOP senators may have pooh-poohed Sonia Sotomayor’s “wise Latina” comment, but wise Latinas everywhere are wearing the phrase like a badge of honor, the New York Times reports. From t-shirts to blogs, women of Hispanic heritage have warmed to the phrase much like other minority groups appropriate slurs, a linguist says. “‘Wise Latina’ is not just sticking your chin up. It’s a fist in the air.” More»

Sotomayor battle could be jolt the party needs —or invite backlash

(NEWSER) - To fight, or not to fight—that is the question for the fractious GOP on the matter of Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination, and one that may not be easy to answer. On the one hand, taking a united stand against the Democratic nominee could energize the Republican base and send a message. But that message could also energize the wrong groups, writes Politico. More»

He also refers to the 'eight' Supreme Court justices

(NEWSER) - Ouch. Rick Perry gave an interview to the Des Moines Register today in which he criticized "activist judges" on the Supreme Court, but he suffered an awkward silence as he struggled to come up with the name of Sonia Sotomayor. In fact, the best he could do was "Montemayor" before a reporter helped him out. More»

Huge initiative supports women-owned companies

(NEWSER) - Walmart may have some serious image problems in how it treats women, but the business behemoth is throwing around some serious money that could help change that. Under a new initiative announced today, it pledges to spend $20 billion over the next five years to buy products from women-owned businesses in the US, double its current amount, reports the Washington Post . It also promises to train and educate low-income women here and abroad, notes Reuters . More»

Obama too timid on federal nominees, with big issues coming

(NEWSER) - With big issues working their way toward the Supreme Court on such vital issues as health care reform, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and police stops of undocumented immigrants, liberals need to be on guard, writes longtime court-watcher Emily Bazelon for the New York Times . Sure, there are solid progressives, such as Obama appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. But frequent swing vote Anthony Kennedy, while he may side with liberals on occasion, has a voting record on par with Ronald Reagan. More»