May 27, 2009

Why did the White House select this photo of Sotomayor for its website slideshow?



Here's the whole slideshow — which is labeled "Sotomayor Bio."

An emailer calls this to my attention saying: "I don't think you should post about this, but why would they put in this photo where you can see all the way up her skirt??"

Well, I am posting about this, and I wouldn't say "you can see all the way up her skirt." You can see that Sonia Sotomayor wears a skirt and crosses her legs in a relaxed and casual way that lets you see some leg. The photo also has her smiling prettily, with her hair in relaxed ringlets, one of which falls gently into her eye. Her left hand is devoid of any relationship-manifesting rings, but she's wearing long dangling earrings, and the hand is unclenched and draping gracefully.

Get the message? She's a woman. A womanly woman, fully embodying womanhood — even as she is not married, she's wearing a professional suit, and she's at home with the law books.

IN THE COMMENTS: Palladian, who has expertise in art, writes:
Her knee looks like a giant grey Idaho potato hovering in the foreground. The arm of the chair repeats the shape on the right of the frame, making it look like her other knee, which in turn makes it look like her hand is dead center in her enormous crotch, pawing at her cooch. You avoid those things in portraiture. Also not good to crop her right arm off. It implies that she's an amputee.
He is right, of course, but that isn't the answer to my question why the photograph was selected.

ALSO IN THE COMMENTS: Andrew Koenig said:
My first thought was of this famous picture of J.P. Morgan...


... in which the light reflecting from the arm of his chair makes him seem to be holding a dagger.
The photo is by Edward Steichen. The effect was accidental, but in this case, we love it (as much as Morgan hated it). The important thing is to have an eye not just for what you are hoping to capture in a photograph — such as Sotomayor's femininity — but also for the accidental imagery that others may notice. See what can be seen and then decide if you want to use a photograph.

114 comments:

ricpic said...

So she's a woman. What does that have to do with?...oh, I get it...empathy. She feels. With one exception: the dreaded white heterosexual male. That bastard doesn't deserve her feelings. And good on him!

Sloanasaurus said...

I would argue that the photo shows that the law is no longer a serious profession and that Sotomayer/Obama represents the flowering of a new era - the age of empathy.

Is the age of reason, the one established by the founders, who suffered through the times of religious tyranny, now coming to an end? I think yes. IN fact the complacency of living under the rule of law has allowed tyranny to rise again.

This new idea of ruling based on "empathy" is little different than the tyrannic rule by kings and the clergy from the middle ages. It is based soley on the opinion of men and/or women who occupy positions of power. They are not bound by the law, but bound by whim. Obama/Sotomayer of course rationalize this new era by arguing that legal equality occurs across generations. In otherwords they rationalize that it is fair to treat some groups differently today because they may have been treated differently 100 years ago.

Obama's actions thus far with the economy respresent this new era. His quest to disregard the law with the Chrysler bond holders, with the bail-outs etc.., are manifestations of Obama's casual disregard of the rule of law.

There is much more to come from Obama's new "government by empathy." I suspect at some point, Obama will take it too far an personally disregard the law himself as Nixon or Clinton did. We will know we are in the new era when Obama gets a free pass.

Bissage said...

It is a proposition well-established in the law beyond both peradventure and cavil that the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America is TEH SEXXXAY!!1!!!!!

AllenS said...

Are the law books US Code Annotated, Latino Female Version?

Palladian said...

Her knee looks like a giant grey Idaho potato hovering in the foreground. The arm of the chair repeats the shape on the right of the frame, making it look like her other knee, which in turn makes it look like her hand is dead center in her enormous crotch, pawing at her cooch. You avoid those things in portraiture. Also not good to crop her right arm off. It implies that she's an amputee.

traditionalguy said...

I see the same things. She may be the first whole woman on the Court. Her talents are not limited to being a female who has the same intellectual, and over-educated,mindset as the men on the Court. I am also fascinated at reactions from liberal intellectuals who are against her for a basically false premise that she is "unqualified".What they mean is that she has a skill set beyond theirs that they don't want to have to deal with.

garage mahal said...

If you're seeing amputee porn in that pic you need to seriously take a time out and check yourself.

KCFleming said...

Woman? check.

Wise latina? check.

Raised in public housing projects? check.

Judicial ability? dunno.

Temperament? dunno.

Knowledge of the law? dunno.

So an affirmative action President appoints an affirmative action Supreme Court Justice.
One more hack at the roots of the Constitution, but hey, whatever.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Well the backdrop definitely gives her points for looking wise.

MayBee said...

I find the whole bio slide show on the WH website on the very day of the nomination very weird.

We are supposed to believe Obama called her at 8 o'clock Monday night for the Tuesday announcement. Did he tell her to pack up some family photos and bring them with her?

Then there's something about the WH itself managing the presentation of her bio. As if they can't trust TIME magazine to put something together.

MadisonMan said...

Knowledge of the law? dunno.

I have read of no one who disputes her knowledge of the law, save some anonymous law clerks. Her fellow judges sing her praises.

John said...

Can we please ban the barbaric use of the term "latina" and "latino". The English language stopped using male and female endings sometime in the middle ages. She is an American who was born in Puerto Rico.

section9 said...

So when Palin or Jindal nominates Althouse for the Supreme Court, is that the way you want us to depict you for your rollout picture to the Nation, Ann? Nice and Womanly, in an attractive and approachable way? Yet with a battery of law books in the back to describe seriousness of purpose.

With a fetching and exposed knee, as opposed to the Pantsuit and Sandals of the Earnest Law Professor?

"Empathy". It's the New Black.

John said...

"Her fellow judges sing her praises."

Considering her 60% reversal rate, I would say the Supreme Court Justices are not in that group. But, hey, who are they compared to a "wise latina"?

John said...

"Nice and Womanly, in an attractive and approachable way? Yet with a battery of law books in the back to describe seriousness of purpose.

With a fetching and exposed knee, as opposed to the Pantsuit and Sandals of the Earnest Law Professor?"

No. They won't. If a Republican woman poses like that she is called a bimbo. You have to remember misogyny is always acceptable when referring to Republican women.

traditionalguy said...

We will know more about her temperament soon. She seems to me to have a high emotional IQ to go along with a fine legal mind. As a traditionalist, I have learned that being able to admit when you are wrong is one sign of a mature person. Either Rush or myself will have to admit we were wrong about this Lady soon.

Sloanasaurus said...

If we now require judges that have life experience rather than intellectual skill, shouldn't we make sure that they have a full life experience.

Sotomayer is a single hispanic woman with no kids. She has spent the last 35 years, 70% of her life, hobnobbing in ivy league schools and hanging out with intellectuals at coffee shops never going through the emotional roller coaster of being a mother or a wife.

Im not sure, but I think not raising any kids or having never been married, is a pretty big strike against you when it comes to "life-experience."

John said...

"She seems to me to have a high emotional IQ to go along with a fine legal mind."

I will give you the IQ part based on her academic record. But what makes you say she has a high emotional IQ? The reports of her clerks seem to indicate the opposite. What specific evidence do you have to contradict that other than she happens to agree with you about things?

rhhardin said...

I don't read any of the photo. It must be intended for some other audience.

Palladian said...

"If you're seeing amputee porn in that pic you need to seriously take a time out and check yourself."

Visual artists notice the implications of visual choices. I would expect a professional photographer on that level to have the same outstanding visual and compositional acuity, especially a photographer for the supposedly sophisticated imagists in the Obama Administration.

I wouldn't expect you to notice anything amiss, because that requires sensitivity, a critical eye and an uncompromising aesthetic. You display little sensitivity to anything except slights against your party and little critical ability in neither eye nor brain. And you're hardly uncompromising. In fact, you've been nothing but compromise since Hillary got horsewhipped.

Titusisfeelinggreatthankyouforasking said...

She's not just a woman.

She is a regular woman.

Average.

You know women like her in your life.

You could see her in the grocery store.

We think of Supremes as Stuffy Old things that we can't associate with wearing black robes.

Not CumInMyEar. She is someone you would bowl with or go to a buffet with.

Also, love her accent.

I think it was a smart political move on Obama's part. But still I am unable to support her candidacy.

John said...

"Im not sure, but I think not raising any kids or having never been married, is a pretty big strike against you when it comes to "life-experience."

But no one held that against Souter. I don't think that is a fair standard. I don't care that she is single. That is her business. I care that she thinks that Puerto Ricans are somehow automatically smarter and more deserving than anyone else.

Wince said...

Judge Sotomayor, you're trying to seduce me.

Aren't you?

Palladian said...

"Then there's something about the WH itself managing the presentation of her bio. As if they can't trust TIME magazine to put something together."

To paraphrase the Borg Queen: "You imply disparity where none exists."

Time magazine probably put that together for the White House.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It's an appeal to our most Basic Instinct (1992);)

Newman!

rhhardin said...

The English language stopped using male and female endings sometime in the middle ages.

``How long have you been a server, honey?''

John said...

"To paraphrase the Borg Queen: "You imply disparity where none exists."

Time magazine probably put that together for the White House."

Maybe. But managing a state run media is harder than it looks. They will mess things up occasionally or get off message. Sometimes it is just easier to do it yourself and give it to the media.

Palladian said...

"The English language stopped using male and female endings sometime in the middle ages."

Actor, actress?

Palladian said...

"They will mess things up occasionally or get off message. Sometimes it is just easier to do it yourself and give it to the media."

And they'll certainly try and fix it up for them.

Palladian said...

Her smile is ambiguous. There's enough nasal pull to make it read as a sneer or a grimace. Dick Cheney has a similar problem.

MayBee said...

Ha!


Hey- are those bruises we're seeing on her knees and shins?

traditionalguy said...

John: I have no evidence about her yet, and neither do any other commenters here so far. I do admire her style and her family background. The "emotional IQ" means her ability to successfully interract with persons emotionally. That is a missing skill in many thinking centered people. I also suspect that she has enemies from being a strong and highly successful person, like all such people have. Anyway, I would not Bork her based on the "charges" against her alone.

John said...

"Actor, actress?"

Yes. There are some non-paralell nouns left. They are leftovers from Norman French. Last I looked the feminists, of with Sotomayor no doubt considers herself, have spent the last 40 years trying to stricken those from the language.

Titusisfeelinggreatthankyouforasking said...

I would like to see a little more bustline and tit in the pictures.

Maybe more pronounced nipple too.

But that's just me.

Titusisfeelinggreatthankyouforasking said...

Dick Cheney had no problems. Take that back Palladian.

Fred4Pres said...

It is not a bad photograph. It makes her look relaxed and has the typical lawyer stuff like law books in the background. It does emphasize her as a woman. No disagreement with our host's assessment.

But it is boring too. The WH should have thrown in some winter trees, a reflection on a Wisconsin pond, or changed the setting to a quirky restaurant and a steaming cup of coffee to give the photo an Althouse edge.

John said...

"Anyway, I would not Bork her based on the "charges" against her alone."

I wouldn't either. But I have a sense of decency. I don't think what your law clerks wisper to some hack in TNR should determine if you get on the court. What makes me angry is that everyone knows liberals would do exactly that if she were a conservative. Given that fact, I frankly see no reason for conservatives to play fairly with her.

MadisonMan said...

the supposedly sophisticated imagists in the Obama Administration.

Empahsis on supposedly. I've said repeatedly that I think Democrats are dunces when it comes to imagery. Little has happened with the present administration to make me change my mind.

I do agree with about her smile though. Cheney-esque.

Sloanasaurus said...

But no one held that against Souter. I don't think that is a fair standard. I don't care that she is single. That is her business. I care that she thinks that Puerto Ricans are somehow automatically smarter and more deserving than anyone else.Except Souter was not chosen for his life experience and ability to identify with certain groups. He was chosen because of his legal mind to apply the law and interpret the constitution. If you are choosing someone for their legal mind it should not matter if they are single have kids, are black ,white, male, female, etc..

MadisonMan said...

...and as to why this photo was chosen, well we'd have to see the reject pile, wouldn't we?

Maybe she's not comfortable having her photo taken. My grandmother was like that.

Palladian said...

"I have read of no one who disputes her knowledge of the law, save some anonymous law clerks. Her fellow judges sing her praises."

Beware of singing judges.

Titusisfeelinggreatthankyouforasking said...

Personally, I would like to see her Borked. Then watch her get all Ghetto in the proceedings.

Saying things like, "talk to the hand", "no you didn't", "don't go there alabama". Shit like that.

Wince said...

Okay, I apologize for this, in advance.

Actually, I think its just an unflattering angle, but I love the sight gag of that scene.

Titusisfeelinggreatthankyouforasking said...

There will be props and large blown up pictures in the proceedings, natch.

Those are so tired.

Isn't she like the 6th "catholic" on the court? I guess we have our quotas of catholics now.

Fred4Pres said...

Of course, if we are discussing leg crossing scenes, how can we forget this one.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Can we please ban the barbaric use of the term "latina" and "latino". The English language stopped using male and female endings sometime in the middle ages. .

I suggest you mention that little tidbit to Ms. Sotomayor and other Latinos who regularly use the term. Evidently they didn't get the memo.

She is an American who was born in Puerto Rico..

She was born in the Bronx. That's in New York for your edification.

Zachary Sire said...

It's quite a juxtaposition. Here you have a not very feminine, not very traditionally attractive woman, in a very feminine, traditionally womanly pose. They are trying to fuck with your head.

Anonymous said...

At first, I thought Dear Althouse! Why are you giving credence to a trollish comment? Then I realized that Palladian was totally telling the truth. It is like that old optical illusion of the beautiful young lady and the crone (or "faces or vases?). This picture can be looked at both ways-each equally true.

John said...

"I suggest you mention that little tidbit to Ms. Sotomayor and other Latinos who regularly use the term. Evidently they didn't get the memo."


So what? Everytime I go into a store and see "10 items or less" rather than "10 items of fewer" it grates my nerves there to. Lots of people misuse the language. But that doesn't make it correct.

"She was born in the Bronx. That's in New York for your edification."

That is right. Her parents were Americans who happened to be born in Puerto Rico.

Ann Althouse said...

No one held it against Souter? You're wrong. Orrin Hatch said he'd prefer a family man.

Fred4Pres said...

Bronx, Puerto Rico, same same.

Well, maybe not same same in winter.

John said...

"No one held it against Souter? You're wrong. Orrin Hatch said he'd prefer a family man."


I had forgotten that Ann. But was Hatch really being fair to Souter? I don't think so. I will be the first to admit Souter was a lousy justice. But, the fact that he is single and lives with his mother had nothing to do with it.

Fred4Pres said...

Family man? I thought Orin said he preferred a Vermont man.

Andrew Koenig said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Salamandyr said...

You know...

I too grew up in public housing.

I too am a racial mixture of Spanish and Native American ancestors.

I too rose from my humble beginnings.

So when can I expect Obama to be calling on me?

Zachary Sire said...

Y'all will love this.

MadisonMan said...

Lots of people misuse the language. But that doesn't make it correct.

Amen.

Andrew Koenig said...

My first thought was of this famous picture of J. P. Morgan, in which the light reflecting from the arm of his chair makes him seem to be holding a dagger.

The Dude said...

The picture was selected for the same reason that woman was selected - the people in charge are clueless.

David said...

"Sometimes a photo is just a photo."

garage mahal said...

You display little sensitivity to anything except slights against your party and little critical ability in neither eye nor brain. And you're hardly uncompromising..

Sleights against my party? Haha. If you mean Democrats outside of a handful they are completely worthless to causes I care about. That doesn't mean I can't poke fun of someone who think that picture is unintentional amputee pr0n.

Hoosier Daddy said...

So what? Everytime I go into a store and see "10 items or less" rather than "10 items of fewer" it grates my nerves there to. Lots of people misuse the language. But that doesn't make it correct. .

Well one is grammatically incorrect and the other simply offends your sensibilities. Sorry but I can't get worked up over the word Latino or Latina when the very people who should be offended are using it as a term of identification.

goesh said...

- Ruth is going to have to quit wearing baggy sweat pants in Chambers now

KCFleming said...

Will she recuse herself from decisions not within her wise latina experience?

Probably not.

John said...

"Well one is grammatically incorrect and the other simply offends your sensibilities. Sorry but I can't get worked up over the word Latino or Latina when the very people who should be offended are using it as a term of identification."

I am sorry but it offends me when non-native speakers corrupt our langauge. Further, you should be offended by the appalling double standard even if you don't care about the language. Acress is now sexist, but Latina is okay because cute brown people use the word.

kjbe said...

So the photo isn't perfect, isn't that the point?

john said...

You all sound like the democrats after the Bush WH distributed that picture of Miguel Estrada posing in shorts.

Palladian said...

Yes, k*thy, imperfection does seem to be the point of the Obama Administration.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Further, you should be offended by the appalling double standard even if you don't care about the language..

I save being offended for things that actually matter to me.

Acress is now sexist, but Latina is okay because cute brown people use the word..

Is actress sexist? Someone needs to tell the Academy ;-)

AllenS said...

The photo was published to take everybodys mind off of the true question, how much tax does she owe?

KCFleming said...

...coerced imperfection.

MayBee said...

I had a friend whose father- I kid you not- used to refer to black women as negresses. As in "She's a very attractive negress".

Latina seems not as offensive, but perhaps that's because it's always said in a heavy hispanic accent, even in the middle of an otherwise English sentence.

traditionalguy said...

In the 500 years of New World hispanic culture there were always many distinctions made about the degree of direct descent from the aristocracy of Spain. The higher classes were always very well educated. So I don't knee jerk equate Hispanic with peasants from Mexico. Whatever the truth is about the Soto-mayor family, I do to see a woman who values education, as her mother and brother do, and having thereby earned great self respect, which also tells me she will likely show respect the US Constitution.

MadisonMan said...

how much tax does she owe?

I have to think that tax returns were the first thing that Obama's vetting team asked for. But they've surprised me in terms of their incompetence before.

Anonymous said...

But they've surprised me in terms of their incompetence before.

Really? Not me. Amused me, yes. Surprised, no.

Titusisfeelinggreatthankyouforasking said...

If I was a senator on the panel I would put up large pictures of sea creatures to see what type of response it illicits from Sotamayor.

I am going to stop calling her CumInMyEar because it is both juvenile and unbecuming. Please accept my apologizz.

Christy said...

Gasp! Dangling earrings? In a professional setting! Her momma didn't raise her right. No way is she qualifed for a serious job in The District.

gawker said...

Seriously Ann...you actually believe Palladian's comment deserved wider appreciation?

John said...

"So I don't knee jerk equate Hispanic with peasants from Mexico. Whatever the truth is about the Soto-mayor family, I do to see a woman who values education, as her mother and brother do, and having thereby earned great self respect, which also tells me she will likely show respect the US Constitution."

Yes because educated people have over the centuries shown so much respect for human rights. Intellectuals have never adopted crazy, utopian ideas that resulted in the deaths of millions or anything. Are you kidding?

essaybee said...

I think they selected the picture because she looks attractive and white.

Too bad they didn't have Palladian on staff to warn them that some people might think she looks like she's "pawing her cooch". Lovely turn of phrase, that.

hdhouse said...

Please spare us any more of Palladian's "expertise" in art. If that is the best he can do as a conveyor of composition, then please request a course in basic english and good usage.

What does he say when he goes to church and sits next to a woman? "hey there broad, nice ass"?

gutteral usage has a place, perhaps, but just being dirty and crude really doesn't equate to the setting.

former law student said...

Althouse is right: the picture shows Sotomayor's all woman, all professional, and all legal scholar.

Everytime I go into a store and see "10 items or less" rather than "10 items of fewer" it grates my nerves there to. Lots of people misuse the language. But that doesn't make it correct.

It's an elliptical construction, and grammatically correct:

10 items or less (than 10)

One is less than ten; two is less than ten, eleven is more than ten, and so on.

You wouldn't say "Four is fewer than ten," correct?

you actually believe Palladian's comment deserved wider appreciation

Indeed. A gay man's perspective of how a woman looks is about as valuable as a color-blind man's perspective of how well your outfit matches.

She looks as good as someone of average looks can.

Sotomayer is a single hispanic woman with no kids./...how much tax does she owe?

This pick is strategic: No kids, no nannies, hence no Nannygate for not paying witholding, FICA, and Medicare taxes.

it offends me when non-native speakers corrupt our langauge.

Ersatz punditry about the alleged purity of English offends me, too, buckaroo. English is a whore; it picks up bits from every language.

Big Mike said...

@Professor, concerning your comment at 10:03. I knew there was a reason why I like Orrin Hatch.

Ah, those law books in the background don't look like they've ever been read. May even be a painted backdrop.

Sofa King said...

You wouldn't say "Four is fewer than ten," correct?

You would if you were talking about discrete objects, i.e., groceries.

You say "four is less than ten" when you are talking about a continuous range.

So grammatically the proper construction really should be "10 items or fewer (than 10 items)."

Likewise: if I have 10 cans of soda and someone takes 3, I have fewer cans of soda. I have less soda overall.

Big Mike said...

@former, the word "less" does not refer back to the number ten, it refers back to ten items. Hence "fewer" is correct and "less" is reserved for the illiterate and/or innumerate.

[signed]
former math major

Martha said...

Sloanasaurus at 9:37am said: Im not sure, but I think not raising any kids or having never been married, is a pretty big strike against you when it comes to "life-experience."

Also troubling to me is the fact that although Sotomayor earns more than $175,000 a year now and has worked at a law firm as well as other significant government jobs, she has essentially NO savings or investments. Since she has no children and no obvious expenses other than herself, I wonder why and how she spends most of her take home pay. Would she have empathy for those of us who must live on much less income or who save and scrimp to send children to private colleges? and still manage to save and invest?

Palladian said...

I love when hdhouse criticizes someone else's writing ability and lack of gentility. I LOLed.

MadisonMan said...

Hence "fewer" is correct and "less" is reserved for the illiterate and/or innumerate.

That's what I say when I go through that lane with 15 items. :)

MadisonMan said...

Martha, based on the bio pictures, she does have nieces and nephews and an elderly mother on whom she may spend her money.

But that's not my business.

traditionalguy said...

John...You are speaking about Obama and not Judge Sotomayor,I presume. If we later find a Che Poster on her wall, then you may be right. But watch out for photo-shopped images replacing the Case books with a Castro like setting. She will have a lifetime appointment, and the Progressives will be the most suprised by her, I predict.

The Dude said...

hdhouse wrote '"hey there broad, nice ass"?

gutteral usage has a place, perhaps, but just being dirty and crude really doesn't equate to the setting.'

What? Is that supposed to be English? Back to ESL with you, old timer.

shake-and-bake said...

Palladian's usage is excellent. Add a "cooch pawing" tag.

Ann Althouse said...

Spending all of your net income on a $175,000 salary living in NYC? Anyone could easily do that. It's no special profligacy. Get a 1 bedroom apartment in a good neighborhood, buy the clothes you need for work, go out to dinner a couple times a week, travel for a few weeks a year in the style that is needed for reasonable comfort when you are an older woman traveling alone, buy some Christmas and birthday presents for family, take cabs to get around the city... and you'll go through all that money, I bet.

Palladian said...

"and you'll go through all that money, I bet."

You could easily spend the net income of 175,000 living comfortably but not lavishly in New York City. Especially considering your net income from 175,000 would be about 90,000.

But it doesn't matter. What this "wise Latina woman" does with her salary is her business. Nosing around in someone's personal finances is a Democrat sort of thing to do.

KCFleming said...

And "all that money" is no longer hers, at least according to the Democrats.

It's the government's for the taking. You are permitted to buy trinkets and doodads with what's left over after funding national health care, GM, Chrysler, a $billion a day on something or other, universal pre-K, education K-12, college funding, welfare, and Social Security.

The mold is set by Obama that property is not among your rights. Marriage maybe, not property; at least not anymore.

Titusisfeelinggreatthankyouforasking said...

Excuse me but gays appreciate the beauty of women.


Who do you think dresses them, and does their hair and shit?

Mos know women.

hdhouse said...

Palladian said...
I love when hdhouse criticizes someone else's writing ability and lack of gentility. I LOLed..... and later he added....Nosing around in someone's personal finances is a Democrat sort of thing to do."

as to point one, your writing ability is fair to midline and you are still crude no matter how you slice it.

as to the little cutie barb about Democrat/personal finances....1. I do remember the past administration pawing through bank accounts as part of "keeping us safe" (from?) and the republicans are the last group on earth to point that finger.

otherwise, nice try at being funny. ho ho ho.

Palladian said...

Help! This drooling, babbling, creepy old man keeps following me around!

The Dude said...

He is - thank goodness the gibberish he posts is not in English.

veni vidi vici said...

Photo caption:

"Here is the expression of someone immediately after discovering she has misjudged a fart."

Even the shifting-in-the-seat body language seems to confirm this.

Brother Bastardfish said...

Shocking! Even worse is the portrait that other lawyer lady, the one just to the right. The way that woman's hair is cut and the angle of her head are reminiscent of the knob end of a tumescent prong. Extremely suggestive....

Palladian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Palladian said...

"tumescent prong"

Man, that community college creative writing course really opened up your talent.

Kirby Olson said...

She looks like she has to go to the bathroom.

Cedarford said...

JP Morgan was also famously shy about his large acne'd nose. And was reportedly most upset with the photo because it displayed his schnozz as the center, most luminous object in the picture.

But a better man than the "capitalism is evil" branch of historians and textbook editors give him credit for.

One new secretary warned for months that the magnate occasionally visited the workplaces of the office help outside Manhattan was warned repeatedly by her boss and co-workers "Don't look at JP Morgan's big ugly nose if he shows up. Remember!"

So when JP arrived one day, in tophat and surrounded by a swarm of syncophant managers and lawyers and encountered that secretary, surprising her...all she could think to do was blurt out "Mr Morgan!" stand up immediately and timidly declare, "And I'm not looking at your big, ugly nose at all!" Morgan's face got red, he grunted, and walked away.

She thought she had committed career suicide by brain fart. So did her manager, who promply fired her and told her to gather her things while he drafted a pink slip and her last paycheck.

The manager took a long time. Finally, he reappeared with one of JP Morgan's lawyers who had a large bouquet. The manager said she was "unfired". The flowers were for her. With a note from JP. Paraphrasing: "It was somewhat enjoyable meeting you. Perhaps next time the conversation will take a different course. Meanwhile, keep working my accounts.."

(In his era, Morgan understood aspects of psychology very well. He knew that "big ugly nose" didn't come from her, but other office staff. That low-level employees habitually told not to do or say something in a potential future high stress situation will, reinforced again and again - frequently, in actual high stress remember and do the one thing they are told not to do. Reacting, do it reflexively.

The AF trained, as services are want to do, on mistakes that other service branches did. In ROTC, we learned that the 50s and 60s epidemic of Army people dropping grenades after pulling the pin was a function of poor management. Green soldiers were repeatedly told before 1st grenade practice how awful and lethal a grenade is and to NEVER EVER DROP IT after pulling the pin. DON'T DROP IT!! Pull the pin, DONT DROP IT!! and cast it with a smooth overhead motion.

And you can guess what certain freaked out recruits with two pounds of instant death in their hands did...
And how the AF, being superior, avoided that by mentally imprinting IT'S soldiers with a simple "pull the pin and chuck it" message DECADES before the Army caught on to good MGMT theory.

-------------------
Anyways, on the Sotomayor pic. I think it is bad because it has her all crinkle-beady eyes squinty - and her unadorned left hand is almost deliberately displayed as something as notable as her face..signalling she is proudly without a (Latino?) man and childless by choice.

Palladian said...

"JP Morgan was also famously shy about his large acne'd nose. And was reportedly most upset with the photo because it displayed his schnozz as the center, most luminous object in the picture."

I've always liked this picture of him. Knew how to deal with the paparazzi he did.

I have a great deal of respect for Mr Morgan because of his love of books and art. He built one of world's most spectacular private libraries, which I urge anyone to visit when in New York, and he managed to scoop up vast amounts of great art, with a concentration on wonderful medieval art, at a time when Europeans were busy selling off everything that wasn't nailed down. He also was a founding member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his wonderful bequest, as well as his financial support made it into the great institution it is today.

Dr Zen said...

God you hate women who are smarter than you and real feminists, hey Ann? I just thank the lord she wasn't wearing a sweater.

former law student said...

Excuse me but gays appreciate the beauty of women.

Some don't -- not the pq's/

Floridan said...

Salamandyr: "So when can I expect Obama to be calling on me?"

I take it from this that in addition to the qualifications you mentioned, you also have two degrees from Ivy League colleges, have served as a prosecutor and been nominated by two presidents and confirmed both times by the Senate leading to 17 years as a federal judge.

If I were you, I would send my resume in to the White House right away.

Wilson said...

Where are the serious concerns?

Does this liberal activist judge use dijon mustard?
Does this non-white pro-choice judge read from a teleprompter?

Come on folks, stop worrying about her cooch and worry about the important and very serious mustard/teleprompter conspiracy.

Brother Bastardfish said...

Man, that community college creative writing course really opened up your talent.Ohh, snap!

I've never been to a community college and I'm pretty sure that I don't have any talents, other than pussy tickling. It's a personal thing for me, I just feel that 'tumescent prong' is less aggresive than 'fully loaded junket pumper' or 'blood engorged cock.'

Take it as you will, my comment stands.

Ann Althouse said...

"God you hate women who are smarter than you..."

Yes, you're right! I don't hate anyone.

hdhouse said...

Palladian said...
"Visual artists notice the implications of visual choices.

I wouldn't expect you to notice anything amiss, because that requires sensitivity, a critical eye and an uncompromising aesthetic."

LOL the defense rests. Uncompromising aesthetic? ya'betcha.

dbp said...

former law student said...

Indeed. A gay man's perspective of how a woman looks is about as valuable as a color-blind man's perspective of how well your outfit matches.

Who do you think design all their clothes?