The conservative opposition has so far focused on her decision in the Ricci v. DeStefano reverse discrimination case. However, as a physician, I believe that Judge Sonia Sotomayor's health is the real reason why she may be unqualified to fill a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Supreme Court. She has been a 50-year type 1 diabetic. She has already survived her actuarially predicted life span. The general prognosis includes a much higher risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and dementia. These and other tendencies challenge calm judicial deliberation by a healthy mind over a lifetime.
Examine the candidate's judicial philosophy. She may satisfactorily rebuff all challenges. Do not, however, overlook the implications of her diabetic history. It is not discriminatory to fully evaluate what a 50-year history of type 1 diabetes may mean to the judicial sanctum of the Supreme Court.
JOHN F. BRIDGEMAN
Ramona
A doctor, no less.
Perhaps he's a veterinarian. Then again, I wouldn't take my cat to see him!!!
But truthfully, seriously, how many calls do I get every week from someone who got fired because they missed work? Too many. In many cases, it's legal -- if you aren't covered by the Family & Medical Leave Act, or if you use up the allotted 12 weeks of leave in a 12 month period, you can be fired for absenteeism if being present is an "essential function" of your job (i.e., if you can't do your job from home). But where it isn't, it's very easy to negotiate a severance agreement because employers would pay good money to rid themselves of a chronically ill employee.
Let's hope Justice Sotomayor -- who WILL be confirmed despite the idiocy of some of her detractors like the one above -- can help make sure this never happens to any of us ever again. Jennifer
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