Sonia Sotomayor 0, white people 1

[Onkel Neal]

Although New Haven's firefighters deservedly won in the Supreme Court, it is deeply depressing that they won narrowly -- 5 to 4. The egregious behavior by that city's government, in a context of racial rabble-rousing, did not seem legally suspect to even one of the court's four liberals, whose harmony seemed to reflect result-oriented rather than law-driven reasoning.

The undisputed facts are that in 2003, the city gave promotion exams to 118 firefighters, 27 of them black. The tests were prepared by a firm specializing in employment exams and were validated, as federal law requires, by independent experts. When none of the African Americans did well enough to qualify for the available promotions, a black minister allied with the seven-term mayor warned of a dire "political ramification" if the city promoted from the list of persons (including one Hispanic) that the exams identified as qualified. The city decided that no one would be promoted, calling this a race-neutral outcome because no group was disadvantaged more than any other.

The city's idea of equal treatment -- denying promotions equally to those deemed and those not deemed qualified -- was particularly galling to Frank Ricci, who had prepared for the exams by quitting his second job, buying the more than $1,000 worth of books the city recommended, paying to have them read onto audiotapes -- he is dyslexic -- and taking practice tests and interviews. His efforts earned him the sixth-highest score.

He and others denied promotions for which their exam scores made them eligible sued, charging violations of the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection of the laws and of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The city argued that if it had made promotions based on the test results, it would have been vulnerable under the 1964 act to being sued for adopting a practice that had a "disparate impact" on minorities. On Monday, the court's conservatives (Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority, joined by John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito) held:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/29/AR2009062903382.html


I wonder if I can stop studying for my college exams and then insist I get an A...?

[Buddahaid]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/29/AR2009062903382.html


I wonder if I can stop studying for my college exams and then insist I get an A...?

No, you can stop studying and insist everyone gets an A so you can maintain a feeling of self worth. This is the way schools are being run now.

Buddahaid

[Graf Paper]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

I wonder if I can stop studying for my college exams and then insist I get an A...?

That's right my brother! RE-PREE-SENT!
We ain't takin' it from "The Man" no more!

(This reminds me somewhat of Robert Downey Jr.'s role in "Tropic Thunder".)