No Freedom without a Free Press

The face of American jurisprudence changes with confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor as the newest Supreme Court Justice, as reported in the LA Times on August 12, 2009 and elsewhere. As a Mexican-American, I gladly welcome the Latin-American to the highest Court in our land, hoping that she will bring greater balance and integrity to that august institution.

I also shudder to think of the consequences had our former POTUS appointed his Hispanic shill to the Supreme Court.

To refresh your memory, check out The Gonzales Game - Is he really the best Supreme Court pick liberals can hope for? By Emily Bazelon – posted to Slate Magazine Tuesday, July 12, 2005, at 5:37 PM ET

Bazelon publicly outed Alberto G’s advocacy of chucking American adherence to the Geneva Conventions.

Based on his Torquemada-inspired conclusion that the never-ending war on terror is a “new kind of war”, she quoted Gonzales’ own words: "In my judgment this new paradigm renders obsolete Geneva's strict limitations on questioning of enemy prisoners and renders quaint some of its provisions."

Quaint limitations on “harsh” interrogation techniques which are outlawed in the USA, because they constitute torture. We have sacrificed too many men and women fighting regimes which openly justify torture and other human rights abuses to adopt the practice for ourselves.

Eventually, Bush’s dream Justice never made it past the lead trial-balloon stage, thanks to the keen reporting of Bazelon and the rest of the Fourth Estate.

The Associated Press reported in its Initial look at Sotomayor’s First Amendment Record that our newest Justice has a good track record on matters pertaining to the press. With a Free Press intact, we Americans still have a fighting chance to defeat Slavery in the 21st Century.