First, let’s take care of today’s big political news, before moving onto the intersection of sports and politics as promised in my headline.
Supreme Court Nominee expected today
Later today a new SCOTUS appointee will be announced. According to several reports, there’s a shortlist of 3 possible candidates. The three are, Raymond Kethledge, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh. What follows is a bit of background on these 3 candidates.
Raymond Kethledge — Currently is a Judge on the US Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. If approved he’d be the only Justice on the Court with his undergraduate and law degrees from a public university, having graduated from the University of Michigan. Has recently been called, “Gorsuch 2.0” because of his similarity to Gorsuch, also a law clerk of Justice Kennedy. According to a Washington Post article about him, he has faced criticism from conservatives for a ruling in support of an immigrant. www.washingtonpost.com/...
Amy Coney Barrett — Appointed last year to the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. During her confirmation hearing, Senator Feinstein remarked, “The dogma lives loudly within you” in reference to her remarks about being a “faithful Catholic” along with her associations and a writing of hers that indicated she didn’t think a judge should set aside their religion and rule contrary to their religion’s teachings. Her involvement with anti-abortion groups, along with her willingness to set aside judicial precedence is a large part of her appeal to Republicans. www.washingtonpost.com/...
Brett Kavanaugh — Served on Ken Starr’s Whitewater prosecutorial team, then an aide to Pres. George W. Bush, and now serving on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. His possible nomination is causing some conflict among conservatives. He served GWB, and has gop supporters, but a recent ruling against an immigrant teen seeking an abortion wasn’t as heartless as some would like to have seen.
According to the Washington Post,
Some Trump supporters are torn. “Kavanaugh is clearly the best choice. But Barrett would be the most fun,” conservative commentator Ann Coulter tweeted Tuesday, referring to federal appeals court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, another finalist for the high court, who clashed with Senate Democrats last year during her confirmation hearing when they asked questions about her Catholic faith.
www.washingtonpost.com/...
And although this was written about Kethledge, I would assume it would apply to any of the nominees...
The liberal Alliance for Justice posted in a summary of Kethledge that he “fights for wealthy and powerful over the rights of all”; had issued rulings harmful to the environment, immigrants and voters; and, if nominated, “would threaten the rights of consumers, workers, and immigrants, as well as women’s reproductive rights and the rights of the accused.”
www.washingtonpost.com/...
I guess we will find out later today who the nominee will be. I’m not sure I really care which awful nominee it is, but maybe some of you do. If so, share with us why you think a particular nominee wouldn’t be as bad as we fear. Would love to have a glimmer of hope on this pick.
Hooray for NATO World Cup Teams!
Despite the corruption in Russia, and in FIFA, Croatia managed to win their match against the Russians on Saturday. I’m still amazed by that. I have to think Putin would have loved to have his team win the tournament. Alas, that will not happen.
There are now 4 teams left in the tournament — France, Belgium, England, and Croatia. Not only is Russia out, but the remaining teams are all part of NATO. Sweet, sports justice for us democracy and sports fans!
Tomorrow, July 10th, France and Belgium will play at 11am, Pacific time. I was born in France, so I’m definitely rooting for France.
Wednesday, July 11th, England and Croatia will play at 11am, Pacific time. I have no beef with England, and since they’re flying a giant baby balloon when d45 is in town, I’m all in for England.
Saturday, July 14th, the loser of these two matches will play at 7am, Pacific time.
Sunday, July 15th, the winner of these two matches will play at 8am, Pacific time.
Not to be forgotten, Wimbledon is happening
Apparently today is “Manic Monday” at Wimbledon. That means, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal are all playing today. www.bbc.com/...
You may be asking yourself how Wimbledon intersects with politics. Let me break down the discussion surrounding Serena Williams’ return to the court. Glamour Magazine sums it up well…
After 14 months off the court to recover not just from childbirth but from near fatal complications that kept her bedridden for six weeks, Williams will compete in the French Open, dropped from her previous rank of number one down to number 453.
emphasis mine
That’s right, from #1 to #453. This has rightly caused plenty of discussion because the basis of that drop is because professional tennis treats giving birth the same as an injury. Her competitors also claimed that her new ranking for the French Open wasn’t fair; yes, her competitors. I don’t want to get into the nuts and bolts of tennis ranking, but if you’re interested I’m certain there are several solid articles out there about how this could be remedied for women on the courts.
Issues we see discussed in our political campaigns are being discussed in professional tennis — maternity leave, childcare, and undoubtedly pay gap due to maternity leave. Serena is breaking ground anew.
I’ll end with this from the same Glamour article…
But the fact that the WTA uses the same protocols to respond to genuine impairments and the birth of an infant speaks to just how much ground the tour needs to cover to meet the modern needs of its participants.
www.glamour.com/...
Let’s continue to hold the Thai soccer team, and their rescuers in our hearts
Ok, time for some voting fun.