Barack Obama recently announced his choice for the new Supreme Court justice. He has selected Sonia Sotomayor – apparently because of her impressive record and the fact that she is female and Latino.

Bravo to them both. But if the President really wants to shake things up with some bold choices, here are my picks for the newest appointee to the court.

1)  Hillary Clinton. Now, I realize she wanted to be President. But seriously, she would have made a perfect judge. It’s just too bad she already has a position: Secretary of State. Lord knows Obama wanted her in a job that would send her FAR away most of the time. Having her in Washington DC would probably be too close for comfort. He wouldn’t want to have to always sleep with one eye open.  Lady Macbeth anyone?

2)  If he wants to replace one judge with another, why not pick someone with true experience – and great ratings?  Judge Judy! Imagine her in DC at the highest court of the land. Do not pee on my leg, Clarence Thomas and tell me that it’s raining! Continue reading BARACK OBAMA’S NEW SUPREME COURT NOMINEE →

Bookmark It

Jan Perry A Blogside Chat

It is late at night or early in the morning, hour fifteen of work has passed by some hours ago, and as the quiet of the night will often lead me to, I find myself reflective. My screenwriting obligations have precluded me from blogging the past few weeks as much as I would liked to have, but many of downtownster’s twenty-four writers / soldiers of truth and enlightenment, have made up the difference. And to them I say, THANK YOU.

The fact that I have not posted more than a piece or two a week does not however mean that I have been remiss in working on stories. Admittedly, I am backlogged, there is simply more to write about than I have time in the day and that would be true even if I were not busying myself with two screen adaptations and a television pilot. But one story must begin and that is the story of something I think to be unique to downtownster—I call it the blogside chat.

We live in challenging times. And if we are to be honest with our collective selves, most generations can claim such. Of course the challenges differ from generation to generation, but almost all are challenged nontheless. What are our difficulties? How are they resolved? These are questions that should be first and foremost on all Americans’ minds. The answers to these questions and their many tangents are rooted in our ability to communicate with each other. And for the purpose of this blog, and all to come, it is imperative to recognize that communication begins with understanding the concept of common reality. Continue reading A BLOGSIDE CHAT WITH JAN PERRY →

Bookmark It

All politicians make promises on which they cannot or will not deliver. That they do has to be one of the oldest truths in politics. You watch them at rallies and fundraisers, throwing promises out like confetti and know – with hardly a dash of cynicism – that political reality will swallow most of their campaign platform the moment they leave the dais and enter their office. How could it be otherwise? The political process (in Washington especially, but elsewhere as well) moves fantastically slow. There are always pressing issues that command a legislators undivided commitment; seniority (and lack off it) will usually block or ignore most items proposed; and a politician may find that they just do not have the necessary support to maintain a promise made to constituents. They might have tried very hard behind the scenes but failed. And invariably there will be politicians who will say whatever the crowd they are speaking before wants to hear. Speaking before Latinos, they are liberal on immigration; speaking before the Minutemen, not so much. You get the idea.

Gay voters across the United States are reading the news and wondering which strain of candidate is President Obama. Continue reading Obama’s Paradoxical Stance on Gay Marriage →

Bookmark It