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To Be or Not To Be Supreme Court Judge: Sonia Sotomayor

Commentary

By Manuel Hernandez Carmona

There has been a lot of debate over the qualifications and character of the nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor. To be or not to be Supreme Court judge that is the national question. The up and coming confirmation of the Puerto Rican judge from the Bronx has refueled the issue of who is and who is not qualified to be United States Supreme Court Judge. Her critics have questioned her integrity and vision, yet they admire her tenacity at the Senate Hearings.

Although in terms of curriculum vitae, she is overqualified---her critics continue to question decisions she made as Federal District judge and as judge at the US Circuit Court of Appeals. Many have questioned the influence that her ethnicity and humble backgrounds may have in future judicial decisions. The United States has made its forefathers proud with the election of President Barack Obama, but his choice for Supreme Court Judge really has taken liberty and justice for all to the next level of American understanding. No doubt, she is a woman and a Latina. 

To top all that, her parents were part of one of the most massive immigration movements in American history, precisely fostered by the Puerto Rican government’s ties to the American government in the early 1900’s which granted them U.S. citizenship and the right to enter the U.S. without having a passport. Sotomayor’s parents made the journey inspired by the so-called American dream, and the opportunities their children would have in New York City.

More than just a story, Sotomayor’s appointment brings down stereotypes that were ingrained in the minds of the American public with West Side Story’s (1957 Broadway play) prejudiced portrayal of the Latina woman. Hollywood has made a living off the bias depiction of the easy-slut and close-minded Latina woman. The Senate Hearings are underway, and some will use a magnifying glass to look closely at any little detail that will make Sotomayor unworthy of the highest appointment bestowed upon any attorney in the United States. The truth is that she is worthy beyond any reasonable doubt. Even Shakespeare would rethink his famous “to be or not to be” quote in light of what will come down in American history as one of the most “justified” nominations to the Supreme Court of all time.

Manuel Hernandez Carmona contributes his writings to Puerto Rico Sun.

Silent history

Pensamientos

Photography is a
story teller
though silent
i should not
feel ashame
i have no
photo history -- Coconut Brujita

Coconut Brujita contributes her writings to Puerto Rico Sun.

National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights national convention in Philadelphia

Community calendar

NATIONAL CONGRESS  for PUERTO RICAN RIGHTS   8TH NATIONAL CONVENTION OCTOBER 9-11, 2009 TEMPLE UNIVERSITY  PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA   AT THE CONVENTION WE WILL DISCUSS WAYS TO REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS:   * TO ADVOCATE FOR RESPECT AND EQUALITY FOR PUERTO RICANS IN THE U.S. AND ON THE ISLAND   * ENSURE ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUERTO RICANS  * PRESS FOR THE RESOLUTION OF THE STATUS OF ISLAND OF PUERTO

* AND MANY OTHER ISSUES   SPECIAL INVITED GUESTS

 

Wanda DeJesus, actress, Illegal Tender  Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY) Ana Ortiz, actress, Ugly Betty Frankie Negron, singer Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) Jimmy Smits, actor, Dexter, West Wing Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-ILL)  Angelo Falcón, National Institute for Latino Policy Marta Garcia, National Hispanic Media Coalition Daddy Yankee  and many others!   CONTACT:

www.ncprr.us or veteran712004@yahoo.com    SEND YOUR DONATION TO   NCPRR 4322 North 5th Street Philadelphia, PA 19140  ATTN: Victor Vazquez

Clarisel Gonzalez's TwitWall

Clarisel Gonzalez's TwitWall

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Our Barrio Love Story

Pensamientos

east harlem

lower east side

south bronx

los sures

each pueblo

has its own

fable

the honorable

judge

is our love

story with

el barrio -- Coconut Brujita

Coconut Brujita contributes her writings to Puerto Rico Sun.

Sotomayor LEMC PSA Lin-Manuel Miranda

This public service announcement by Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist, Lin-Manuel Miranda, famous for writing and starring in the Broadway musical "In the Heights," is part of a series of PSA's, in both English and Spanish, were developed by a team of independent, New York-based Latina producers in support of Judge Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination. The creators hope to raise awareness among an increasingly diverse U.S. Latino constituency about Judge Sotomayor's experience, credentials and qualifications. They also seek to motivate people from all walks of life to learn more about the nomination process and to contact their local Senator in support of Judge Sotomayor. The spots, which will primarily be seen on the internet, offer striking insights into how Latinos in America see themselves.

About LEMC: The Mission of the Latino Educational Media Center is to produce and distribute educational media materials in all technology and promote Latino media arts in order to represent the full spectrum and dynamic reality of Latinos in the United States, and to offer Latinos opportunities in media through a wide array of programs. The PSA's will be archived at LEMC for future historical review. www.lemctr.org
In addition to those mentioned above, the following professionals and companies have donated their services, time and equipment towards the success of this campaign.

source: LEMC at YouTube

Sotomayor Pledges Impartial Justice if Confirmed

Here's a clip of Sonia Sotomayor's pledge Monday to serve as an impartial justice if she is confirmed for the U.S. Supreme Court. If she is named, she would become the first Hispanic to serve in that post. She pledges "fidelity to the law." 

Listen to what she has to say.

source: AP at YouTube

Puerto Ricans in the United States

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, today released a statistical profile of the Puerto Rican population in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The profile describes the demographic, employment and income characteristics of Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin. The characteristics of Puerto Ricans are contrasted with the characteristics of all Hispanics and the U.S. population overall. The profile is based on the Center's tabulations of the Census Bureau's 2007American Community Survey (ACS).    The statistical profile is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan,  non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.   source: The Pew Hispanic Center

Featured story: From NY to PR

By Harry Marquez

 

In 1958, I recall the very first steps Puerto Ricans took to create the first Puerto Rican Parade. It united people across restricted boundaries set by street gangs. Puerto Ricans  always loved their culture, but now we wanted to express our pride to the rest of the world.  Everyone in El Barrio was involved in doing something to make this first parade a success.

The Barrio found common ground in its efforts to show cultural pride. 

For more, go to 

http://www.us-puertoricans.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=593&Itemid=103

PRSUN Radio to spotlight boricua/Latino bloggers

I have been blogging since 2004. Actually, this month Puerto Rico Sun (www.prsun.blogspot.com) celebrates its blogosversary. So, I'm an old school blogger. Since then, I have started up several other blogs and have become very much involved in social networking as a way to fulfill my mission of informing, empowering and building community.

Along the way I have met some pretty cool bloggers who cover issues of interest to Puerto Ricans and Latinos. I decided to put a spotlight on some of these bloggers who with their words and images are documenting our communities by dedicating a show to them at PRSUN Radio. Many of these bloggers cover issues and themes that the mainstream takes for granted or ignores.

The show is at 9 p.m. tomorrow night at www.blogtalkradio.com/prsunradio (which is an audio blog -- a podcast).

The show is aired live. If you miss, the show will be archived and available online.

And, happy blogosversary to PRSUN and to all my readers, visitors, fans, supporters, advertisers. You all are helping to build community. Thank you for that.

UPDATE: Listen to the PRSUN Radio archived show here:

Happy Fourth of July

This is my Sol, the mascot of Puerto Rico Sun. (photo by Clarisel Gonzalez)

La Reina Rhina Valentin chats with PRSUN Radio

Click to listen to my interview tonight with La Reina Rhina Valentin. She is the host of Bronxnet's "Open" and runs her own production company La Reina Productions, LLC.

She works in many different areas in the arts and entertainment industry. She's a producer, director, performance artist, emcee, comedic actress, dancer, writer, and an arts educator. She's also about to give birth to her baby girl.

Here's a photo of Rhina Valentin performing one of her characters at a show in the Bronx. 

For her full bio, go to my blog at www.blogtalkradio.com/prsunradio.

Check out Rhina Valentin in action at www.youtube.com/rhinavalentin.

(photo by Clarisel Gonzalez)