History of Women on the Supreme Court

In the Supreme Courts 230-year history, four women have served as Supreme Court justices. A total of 114 justices have ever served on the Supreme Court, meaning that women make up just 3.5% of the total. The first woman seated on the Supreme Court did not do so until 1981, and even today, the court does not approximate a gender or racial balance of the country as a whole. One early change to the court was the form of address from Mr. Justice, previously used in the Supreme Court for associate justices, to the more gender-inclusive single word Justice. The four women justices—all associates—who have served on the Supreme Court are Sandra Day OConnor (1981–2005); Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1993–present); Sonia Sotomayor (2009–present) and Elena Kagan (2010–present). The latter two, nominated by President Barack Obama, each earned a distinctive footnote in history. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 6, 2009, Sotomayor became the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court. When Kagan was confirmed on August 5, 2010, she changed the gender composition of the court as the third woman to serve simultaneously. As of October 2010, the Supreme Court is one-third female for the first time in its history. Together, the justices histories represent successes against uncountable odds beginning with their acceptance into law school. Sandra Day OConnor Justice Sandra Day OConnor is the 102nd person to sit on the Supreme Court. Born in El Paso, Texas on March 26, 1930, she graduated from Stanford Law School in 1952, where she was a classmate of future Justice William H. Rehnquist. Her career included civilian and private practice, and, after moving to Arizona, she became active in Republican politics. She was an assistant attorney general in Arizona and ran for and won a state judgeship before being appointed for the Arizona Court of Appeals.   When Ronald Reagan nominated her for the Supreme Court, he was fulfilling a campaign promise to nominate a woman. After a unanimous confirmation vote in the Senate, OConnor took her seat on  August 19, 1981. She generally took a middle road on many issues, finding in favor for states rights and tough rules on crime, and was a swing vote on rulings for affirmative action, abortion, and religious neutrality. Her most controversial vote was that which helped suspend Floridas presidential ballot recount in 2001, ending Al Gores candidacy and making George W. Bush president. She retired from the court on January 31, 2006.   Ruth Bader Ginsburg Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the 107th justice, was born March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, and studied law at Harvard and Columbia University Law schools, graduating from Columbia in 1959. She worked as a law clerk, and then at the Columbia Project on International Civil Procedure in Sweden. She also taught law at Rutgers and Columbia universities, before heading up the Womens Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).   Ginsburg was appointed a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals by Jimmy Carter in 1980, and was nominated to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton in 1993. The Senate confirmed her seat by a vote of 96 to 3, and she was sworn in on August 10, 1993. Her important opinions and arguments reflect her lifelong advocacy for gender equality and equal rights, such as Ledbetter versus Goodyear Tire Rubber, which led to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009; and Obergefell v. Hodges, which ruled same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. Sonia Sotomayor The 111th Justice, Sonia Sotomayor was born on June 25, 1954, in the Bronx, New York City and earned her law degree from Yale Law School in 1979. She served as a prosecutor in the New York County District Attorneys office and was in private practice from 1984 to 1992.   She became a federal judge in 1991, after nomination by George H. W. Bush, and joined the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1998 nominated by Bill Clinton. Barack Obama nominated her for the Supreme Court, and after a contentious Senate battle and a vote of 68–31, she took her seat on August 8, 2009, as the first Hispanic justice. She is considered part of the liberal bloc of the court, but places Constitutional and Bill of Rights principles ahead of any partisan considerations. Elena Kagan Justice Elena Kagan is the 112th justice on the court, born April 28, 1960 on the Upper West Side of New York City. She earned her law degree from Harvard University in 1986, and worked as a law clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall, was in private practice, and taught at the University of Chicago and Harvard Law Schools. From 1991–1995, she worked at the White House as a counsel for Bill Clinton, eventually achieving the role of Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council. Justice Kagan was Dean of the Harvard Law School in 2009 when she was selected as Solicitor General by Barack Obama.  She was nominated to the Supreme Court by Obama, and after a battle in the Senate, she was confirmed by a 63–37 vote and took the seat on August 7, 2010. She has had to recuse herself on many decisions, the result of having worked in the executive branch for Bill Clinton, but voted to support the Affordable Care Act in King v. Burwell and same sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges.   Sources Ruth Bader Ginsberg Biography Oyez.com.Sandra Day OConnor BiographyOyez.com.Sonia Sotomayor Biography. Oyez.comElena Kagan Biography. Oyez.comJustices 1789 to Present. SupremeCourt.gov

Success of Al Jazeera English in Pakistans Media - 695 Words

Despite Pakistan’s opposition at the time, a 2008 survey was taken on Pakistani media preference and provided a belief that Al Jazeera English would find success with the country. Surprisingly, news stations were watched more frequently and on a regular basis over entertainment channels and networks. Pakistan is known for a high volume of individuals and families that are wealthy, educated, and urban. This demographic has been proven to be more likely to watch the news. It was also found that rural and low income Pakistanis also chose satellite television over state-run media. On top of that, 70 percent of Pakistan’s general population have access to satellite in their residences, paving a clear way for Al Jazeera’s success in this particular area of the world. This day and age, there are a large number of networks covering world news. From Al Jazeera to CNN, there is a variety to pick and choose from. Though similar in the topics the networks cover, discuss, and air, they all have a different approach in presentation. Al Jazeera English’s website covered The â€Å"Park 51 Mosque† Controversy. It has also been referred to as the â€Å"Ground Zero Mosque†. There was a proposal to build an Islamic center, on 51 Park Place, costing near $100 million. It was to be located in Manhattan, New York. This became a national and global controversy regarding the September 11th terrorist attack. â€Å"Some Sept. 11 victims’ families and others view the proposed mosque site -- in a building

By the Waters of Babylon Free Essays

â€Å"By the Waters of Babylon† is a short story by Stephen Vincent Benet , well- known as a post-apocalyptic short story. The Story took place in a community of people called â€Å"the people of the hills†. â€Å"John† who was the son of a priest loved to gain more knowledge about the place of the gods (an area east of the river where supposedly the gods live. We will write a custom essay sample on By the Waters of Babylon or any similar topic only for you Order Now ) The people of hills were told that traveling to the place of the gods was forbidden. Anyway, John began his journey one day by fasting and waiting for a sigh of where he should go. After several signs, they all pointed to the east. He crossed the river known as ou-dis-sun on a raft and headed toward the place of the gods. The place of the gods had many towers, buildings and streets called god-roads. He then headed north on a god-road towards a building called a dead house. In the house he notices that in the home there were places to cook, but nowhere to put fire. He also noticed that there is a bathing place, but no water. At that night, he went asleep. He dreamed he saw the gods, and how the Place of the gods used to be. He then saw in his dream how the great burning had destroyed the world. He then finally realized that the gods he and his people had been devoted to were not gods, but men. So, he returned to his father and told him what he saw. His father reassured him and told him that he had to find out the truth little by little so that they will not again destroy themselves. When John became the chief priest, he planned to take his people back to the place of the gods and build again. â€Å"John† is not only the main character of the story, but he is also the narrator of the story too, as we know everything through his point of view. He is a good and brave boy as we can see from his words that shows knowledge is more important for him than his own life. He is not afraid when he knows that where he is going to will bring death. Anyway, he is also a dynamic character, caused by knowledge and experiences he finds for himself. In the end, John vows to bring his people back to rebuild it. This shows the strength of John’s spirit, representing for human spirit too. The setting and symbol are very important to the story. When we read the story at first, we may think that the setting is somewhere in the ancient city, but if we read it again and again, we may find that â€Å"The place of the gods† is like a city in the North of the United Stated, as seen from the word â€Å"ASHING† which may presumed to be a statue of George wASHINGton, when John walks through a building with stars on the ceiling and tunnels, this may be Grand Central Terminal, the place called the Biltmore, may be the New York Biltmore Hotel, and the great cliffs, may be presumed to be the Brooklyn Bridge. These show the use of symbol in the story, and the destruction of the city is also symbolic, important one that shows the important theme of the story. Apart from these, there are also the use of personification, irony, metaphor and imagery of vision and auditory that the writer uses to tell this story. So, I think the most important theme of this story is â€Å"the effects of knowledge†. The destruction reflects the present world that many nations compete to one another to have the great power by using their knowledge which is the most important source to give human power to do both better things and worse things. It shows human’s ability too. This story reminds us that we should use over knowledge in the good way for there would not be the great destruction like â€Å"the place of the gods†, and our knowledge can protect us from the great loss, like those that our world used to face in the past. How to cite By the Waters of Babylon, Papers By The Waters Of Babylon Free Essays By the Waters of Babylon is about a son of a priest becoming priest by the name of John who goes on a quest to find himself show he is worthy to become a priest. Just as in the movie â€Å"The Village† there are forbidden places enter into. It’s forbidden to go to any of the dead places except to search for metal he who touches the metal must be a priest or son of a priest or they will die. We will write a custom essay sample on By The Waters Of Babylon or any similar topic only for you Order Now John’s father takes him on a journey to search for metal it is only after John touches the metal does his father see that John is â€Å"truly his son and would be a priest.† As the time comes for John to become a priest, he has to undergo a â€Å"purification† rite. John’s father tells him to look into the fire and to say what he sees in his dreams. John sees a river, and, beyond it, a great Dead Place and in it the gods walking. His father calls this a â€Å"strong dream† that â€Å"may eat you up. † He then makes his son promise not to travel to the east and cross the great river to visit the Place of the Gods for these places are forbidden to enter. His father sends him off on a spiritual journey, but does not know he is going to  the forbidden places of the Gods. As John prays fasts he takes a journey through the forest for eight days, and crosses the forbidden river Ou]-dis-sun. He crosses it does not die. Once John gets to the Place of the Gods, he steps on the ground he does not burn. Instead he only feels energy and magic. As he travels through the place of the Gods in search of food he sees a statue of what seems to be a â€Å"God† that says â€Å"ASHING† on its base. While being chased by dogs and finds a building with stories he climbs to get away from becoming food. John explores what seems to be an  apartment he see pictures, sculptures things he has never known of. As he continues looking around he comes upon what he thinks is a dead God. Upon viewing the visage, he has an epiphany that the gods were simply humans whose power overwhelmed good judgment. After John returns to his tribe, he speaks of the places â€Å"New York† and â€Å"Biltmore†. His father tells him not to, for sometimes too much truth is a bad thing that it must be told little by little. The story ends with John stating his conviction that, once he becomes the head priest, â€Å"We must build again.† How to cite By The Waters Of Babylon, Papers