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William Wong With President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, we are hearing from certain quarters (Republicans, conservatives, some white guys) complaints about the judge’s invocation of her Puerto Rican cultural heritage as an important part of who she is and why she might make a good Supreme Court Justice. Moreover, President Obama made a big deal of Judge Sotomayor’s personal story, along with her stellar legal credentials, when he announced her nomination to the nation’s highest court. This matter of her cultural heritage and background – as well as the fact that she is a woman – re-animates a continuing debate in America about power and equal opportunity. It’s often labeled “identity politics,” which is a battering ram in the quarters that are whining about Judge Sotomayor’s invocation of her cultural heritage to pummel those of us from the historic margins of American life – women, and non-white ethnic minorities. Frankly, I’ve wearied

c The legendary longtime Oakland Tribune Columnist William Wong sent me this column presenting his unique take on the China Olympics. I'll be interviewing Bill, as he's called, today in video form on this subject. The Olympics, China & Me By William Wong Copyright, 2008, William Wong Now that the Beijing Olympics have begun (weren’t the opening ceremonies stunningly over-the-top?) who will I, a Chinese American, root for – American or Chinese athletes, and by extension, the United States or China? Simple question, complicated answer. I’ve loved sports most of my life and even wished at one point to play basketball for my (American) high school team. Alas, I am 26 inches shorter than Yao Ming, China’s superstar professional basketball player, and not nearly as skilled, so I long ago became an avid sports fan instead. I even started my journalism career as a sportswriter for my high school and college newspapers. The sports and athletes I know best are most