Library 4.1.22
The Week's Headlines, Links and References
Historic Justice
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Historic Nomination to the Supreme Court (The New Yorker)
The fact that Jackson is eminently qualified doesn’t mean that her confirmation hearing won’t be a bonfire of bad faith—far from it.
Jackson Vows to Be Independent on Supreme Court if Confirmed (The New York Times)
Jackson pledges to decide cases ‘without fear or favor' (Associated Press in The Charlotte Observer)
[but note how temperature changed from these first day pieces once right wingers picked up heat on Cruz, Graham et al]
Opinions | Ketanji Brown Jackson shows why she was nominated (The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin, historically a pre-Trump conservative voice)
Takeaways from Day 3 of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings (PBS)
Supreme Court nominee Jackson faces more questions on sentencing, precedent (From The Washington Post, some good coverage with fact-checking analysis in real time)
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Grace Notes
Who’s who in the Jackson family (CNN.com)
Jackson’s spouse Patrick Johnson (From Town & Country Magazine)
(high school and lifelong friend tribute)
Ketanji Brown Jackson was a hall of famer even in my high school (From CNN)
draw parallels/compare and contrast to Kavanaugh
high school yearbook etc.
-bypartisan support from family member/inlaw paul ryan ( back in… 2012 or 2013)
How a High School Debate Team Shaped Ketanji Brown Jackson (NYT)
The Supreme Court nominee honed her oratory on Miami Palmetto’s powerhouse debate team. She was not the only alum who went on to an impressive career.
With Jackson the capacity for finding middle ground history goes back to school days (The Washington Post)
At Harvard, a Confederate Flag Spurred Ketanji Brown Jackson to Act (NYT)
Specters in the Room
Republicans just can't seem to find a good way to attack the Supreme Court nominee. (Again, WAPO’s Jennifer Rubin)
Judging a Judge on Race and Crime, G.O.P. Plays to Base and Fringe (The New York Times)
And that base and fringe performance intensified…
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Some Not-So-Pure Silliness
Jackson had to keep her cool. These Black women could relate. (The Washington Post)
Many Black women interpreted Jackson’s reactions as a prime example of how they try to maintain composure in the face of workplace hostility.
Retired federal judges defend Ketanji Brown Jackson’s sentencing record on child porn cases as 'entirely consistent' (CNN)
-Booker to Ketanji Brown Jackson: 'You are my harbinger of hope'
Video from Rachel Maddow — part where Cory Booker addresses Jackson personally begins about
Cory Booker to Katanji: “Nobody is going to steal my joy… you have earned this.” (From NPR)-
Supreme Court nominee Jackson says she would recuse herself from Harvard affirmative action case (The Washington Post)
[how this almost foreshadows the breaking news this week intensifying around contrast and PARALLEL THIS TO:-to emerging Ginni and Clarence Thomas ethics -
Review of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's opinions shows outcomes cut both ways (USA Today)
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Part II: Widening the lens to four arenas:
1. Our Halls of Government
Ginni Thomas Urged White House to Overturn the Election in Unhinged Texts (From New York Magazine)
Justice Thomas discharged from hospital, faces mounting ethics scrutiny (From The Hill)
Legal Scholars Are Shocked By Ginni Thomas’s “Stop the Steal” Texts (From The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer)
Several experts say that Thomas’s husband, the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, must recuse himself from any case related to the 2020 election.
Virginia Thomas urged White House chief to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 election, texts show (The Washington Post)
(Columnist Michael Gerson in WAPO 3.29) on Ginni T and religiosity in politics, deification of ignorance)
What the Ginni Thomas text furor warns about an outsize role of faith in politics
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2. The World Stage…
American officials scrambled to clarify Biden’s suggestion that Putin ‘cannot remain in power.’ (NYT)
meanwhile, as Women’s History Month draws to a close, a parallel… senate confirmation hearings…
Madeleine Albright, First Woman to Serve as Secretary of State, Dies at 84
(NYT)
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3. Arts & Entertainment
Why We Can’t Agree On Will Smith’s Slap (From USA Today)
Will Smith Apologizes to Chris Rock After Academy Condemns His Slap (NYT)
Pinkett Smith one of millions with alopecia condition (The Charlotte Observer)
Chris Rock's joke was stupid, and Will Smith’s slap was uncalled for. But the worst part was the bind it all put Jada Pinkett Smith in.
The Fresh Prince of Belles-Lettres? Will Smith Has a Memoir. (NYT November 2021 book review)
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4. Sports
Deshaun Watson Won’t Face Criminal Charges in Houston Cases, Grand Jury Decides (NYT)
A grand jury heard evidence Friday to consider criminal charges against the Texans quarterback accused last year by two dozen women of lewd behavior. He was also deposed in two civil lawsuits.
North Carolina’s Brady Manek Ejected for ‘Flagrant 2/Throwing-Elbow’ Foul (The Charlotte Observer)