In yet another oops moment for flailing Republican candidate Rick Perry, the Texas Governor froze up during an interview Friday with the Des Moines Register editorial board when trying to come up with the name of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Sotomayor. “When you see his appointment of two, from my perspective, inarguably activist judges whether it was…” Perry sputtered. “Not Montemayor.”

After a lengthy set of Senate confirmation hearings and a 63-to-37 vote in her favor on Thursday, Elena Kagan has now officially become a member of the United States Supreme Court. She is the fourth woman to serve on the Court and the third to be joining the current bench.

With Justice John Paul Stevens officially stepping down from the Supreme Court, the pundits kicked the name game into high gear yesterday. Glenn Beck, however, didn’t express much hope that Barack Obama would pick someone moderate, so instead of speculating, he gave the president some words of wisdom on his radio program: his best bet is to pick a “gay, handicapped, black woman who’s an immigrant.”

“The night of Bush v. Gore, Scalia called to see if Ginsburg was alright. She wasn’t. But the fact that he cared enough to call her demonstrates unseen inner workings of those who make up the highest court.”

What I would like to know is who thought this was a good idea? In this year’s NYT’s Annual Holiday Gift Guide there is a section devoted to “Of Color | Stylish Gifts.” Really New York Times? REALLY?

If you knew one thing about Sonia Sotomayor in the days before her confirmation hearing, it probably had something to do with her ‘wise latina’ comment. But which crack journalist pulled this dirty tidbit from Sotomayor’s past and thrust it into the center of national news coverage of public debate? Are politically driven bloggers and cable news networks ruining “the life of kings” for journalists.

Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and … most recent SCOTUS addition Sonia Sotomayor — probably the most famous Nuyoricans we can think of. And they’re friends too!

GossipCop reports today that Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony hosted a dinner in honor of Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Supreme Court Justice.

It started as a quiet radio talk show—a dialogue between two journalists from competing Hispanic television networks. Both were praising the way their stations had been covering the ongoing hearings of Sonia Sotomayor before the Senate Judiciary Committee. It was the usual display of Hispanic pride, respect for the accomplished judge and her mother, and [...]

Over the weekend a tipster directed our attention to a part of the “President Obama’s African Journey” AC 360 special featuring the interviews Anderson Cooper conducted with President Barack Obama during his trip to Ghana. One line of the President’s stood out as possible fodder for criticism in much the same way Judge Sonia Sotomayor‘s “wise Latina” comment became a conservative talking point.

Where is the Hispanic New Yorker? What would a Latino-oriented equivalent look like? Questions like these have haunted me ever since I started working for a local Spanish TV station four years ago. And while I am aware that “a Hispanic New Yorker” could be an oxymoron —it can be seen as a product of a white-dominated world— the idea may be useful to try to explain the lack of sophisticated national outlets for the largest minority in the country.

If you’ve been wondering why the Sonia Sotomayor hearings seem to have ended today, you probably haven’t been watching CNN.

No, the “Most Trusted Name in News” is the only of the big three cable news networks to devote significant time to the coverage of the hearings today, while witnesses testify for and against Sotomayor. We asked CNN why they chose to stick with the story in Day 3.

If you were wondering how former TV star Sen. Al Franken would begin his political career, we found out today in his Q&A with Judge Sonia Sotomayor: with TV references.

The newest U.S. Senator spent the first three minutes of his time reminiscing about what apparently was a favorite show of his and Sotomayor’s. Let’s watch!

News reporters like to catch readers’ attention with a few zingy lines at the start of each article. Sometimes, these so-called “ledes” go horribly wrong. In Today’s Worst Ledes, we highlight some of the (you guessed it!) worst ledes:

Lights! Camera! SCOTUS! All eyes this week are turned toward the confirmation hearing of Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Mediaite asked some of our favorite legal eagles to share their thoughts on the Sotomayor hearings: The New Yorker/CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick, CBS’s Andrew Cohen and SCOTUSblog’s Tom Goldstein weigh in on today’s events.

Here we go again – Chris Matthews has another one of those thrills.

Following MSNBC’s wall-to-wall coverage of the Sonia Sotomayor, Matthews, Andrea Mitchell and Richard Wolffe were recapping the highlights. And then, just as he famously did with President Barack Obama, Matthews described a “thrill” watching the hearings.

MSNBC, 2:32pmET: “Live, from Washington, D.C. it’s Al Franken at the Sonia Sotomayor hearing!” Franken’s opening statement was just a few minutes, and got interrupted by a protester like some of his other Democratic colleagues. The “I know that I have a lot to learn” chyron choice by MSNBC was employed by a couple other [...]

After what felt like eons Michael Jackson coverage, the news mags turn their attention back to politics. In the week following Obama’s G-8 jaunt, and with Sonia Sotomayor’s hearings on deck, political celebrities — young and old — are back on the cover.

The confirmation hearing of a Supreme Court nominee allows senators an opportunity to put on an oratorical show for the viewers. The Sonia Sotomayor hearing taking place today and tomorrow is getting wall-to-wall coverage by cable news networks hanging on their every word, providing each senator free reign to bloviate for the viewing public.

But one thing sure to annoy the senators is any unforeseen interruption to their moments in the spotlight – loud and vocal protesters that take the camera away from the senators themselves.

According to TVEyes.com, there were more than 20,000 mentions of “Michael Jackson” yesterday. There won’t be as many, but expect to hear a lot of “Sonia Sotomayor” on every channel come Monday, as Pres. Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee begins her confirmation hearings.