Gitzo Loc: Indiana

Supreme Court Upholds Michigan Affirmative Action Ban, Liberals Flip Out

April 22, 2014


WASHINGTON (UPI) — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of a voter-approved Michigan law banning affirmative action in college admissions, overturning a lower court decision that invalidated the ban.

Writing for the majority in the 6-2 decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the court’s ruling was not a judgement on the Constitutionality of affirmative action, but instead determined that the lower court exceeded its authority in striking the ban.

“This case is not about how the debate about racial preferences should be resolved,” Kennedy wrote in his opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. “It is about who may resolve it. There is no authority in the Constitution of the United States or in this court’s precedents for the judiciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit this policy determination to the voters.”

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote of the dangers of preventing Federal courts from serving as a means to check majorities from using the ballot to disadvantage minority groups.

“Without checks, democratically approved legislation can oppress minority groups,” she wrote in her dissent, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “For that reason, our Constitution places limits on what a majority of the people may do. This case implicates one such limit: the guarantee of equal protection of the laws.”

Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas both agreed with the majority, but said they would have gone further to undo previous court decisions upholding cases dealing with affirmative action in education.

Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the decision, presumably because of dealings she may have had with the case while serving as solicitor general or as dean of Harvard Law School.

The case, Schuette v. BAMN focused on Proposal 2, a 2006 ballot initiative approved by 58 percent of Michigan voters to amend the state constitution to prohibit discrimination or preferential treatment in public education, government contracting and public employment. An 8-7 decision by the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2012 found the ban — specifically with regards to public education — was unConstitutional because it made it more difficult for minorities to advocate for change.
End of article;

Update Via Personal Liberty Staff:

Following the SCOTUS ruling, American affirmative action supporters freaked out.

Prolific race baiter Al Sharpton released a statement through his National Action Network, calling the decision a “devastating blow to the civil rights community” and urging his base to “mobilize” immediately.

“The Supreme Court decision upholding the state of Michigan’s ban of using race as a factor in affirmative action is a devastating blow to the civil rights community. The ramifications of this will be far reaching and could tie us up in endless battles. We must mobilize immediately for state referendums to counter this decision to protect the ongoing battle to redress the historic needed repairs to racial discrimination,” Sharpton said.
End of race-baiter's diatribe;

Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), also weighed in on Twitter:

pelositweet
She also said, “Our society, our economy, and our democracy depend on young people of all backgrounds, races and ethnicities having a fair shot at a strong education – the foundation of a better life for themselves and their families. These ladders of opportunity are essential to the vitality and strength of our nation, and the Supreme Court’s recent blindness to the real and enduring effects of discrimination diminishes all of us.”
End of Nancy Polooka's "rant";


My comments;

"Great"! (I love it! )

cthahn

What does this have to do with photography?

Bobbee

did you see the section it is in.............. READ the last description in case you missed it.

Photography Forum -> General Chit-Chat (non-photography talk)

HEART Loc: God's Country - COLORADO

Finally...a court using common sense! The Supremes finally get one right. Now, about that Obamacare Law...

Gitzo Loc: Indiana

Probably not much; but then again, why would it? It isn't on a photography forum.......it's on a "chit-chat" forum......(which BTW, is only one of about a dozen forums on a "photography website" )

While some people may like to talk about photography 24-7, 365, other people like to talk about "other things", A. "some of the time", B. "all of the time", C. "now & then", or D. a combination of the preceeding.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

Guess it depends on who you are, what race, gender, religion. If you are a white male, then perhaps you might feel it was right to ditch affirmative action.

Kombiguy Loc: Cedar Rapids, IA

58% of the people voting felt it was right. Are they all racist?

RichieC Loc: Adirondacks

Funny, your kid works hard, gets great marks, is smart and will be an attribute to society, and yet is in competition with those, who did not work as hard, did not get great marks and may very well be a drain on society...

all determined because colleges are forced to look at the line of skin color and/or gender.

That line should be abolished as well as gender. And a last name only- if any name at all- perhaps a number.

If we want excellence in this country, we need to nurture accomplishment. Recognizing and rewarding accomplishment does not make one a racist, ignoring it for the skin color line does.

Bobbee

But that would be unfair to slackers. How dare you.



:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

neco Loc: Western Colorado Mountains

It is clear that Affirmative Action is in trouble across the nation. Most conservative people/judges reject it. What I find difficult to come to terms with is the number of years (maybe 300) that white people insisted on Affirmative Action (maybe in reverse) and during those years people of color were openly excluded from much of the good things in our country. Only white people could vote, could walk on the sidewalks, could go to good K-12 schools and certain universities, could drink from the white drinking fountain, and so on and on. ALL of the social and economic advantages in the country went to the white people.

Are we white people to come though these same 300 years with no accountability at all? I see AA as some recompense for those years. The consequences of those 300 years are still with us in some places and, in terms of college entrance, many white kids have an academic advantage over many kids of color.

Call me a bleeding heart but it probably won’t be for long. As in South Africa, people of color will soon be the majority and it will be interesting to see if they treat us like we treated them.

Maybe our schools should teach the knowledge and skills needed to like with differences.

Kombiguy Loc: Cedar Rapids, IA

Neither I, nor my children, enslaved people, or prevented them from voting, or made them go to the back of the bus. Why should my child be deprived of a spot at the University because 300 years ago someone else did? Is that really equitable?
And the Constitution mandates color-blindness. Should we again enter the arena of judging people by their skin color?
I see no problem with outlawing race-based anything.

Bobbee

Seriously, isn't AA Race biaz? But it's ok to do that because whites don't get a fair share. Kind of a double standard. Like alot of other things. Maybe it is time to level the playing field. Heck both sides have hand plenty of opportunity to get acustom to change and also put themselves in a better position to achieve what was not offered before. I really don't think as a majority you can place whites in the same thinking group they were inbefore. Things have changed. It's only wen that empty barrel, two timing rat Al S gets his mouth going that he tries to keep hate alive and tries to get all of us to draw a line down the center and fire shots at each other. Are there still hate mongers out there. Surely, there always will be on both sizes. But it is not the same world we used to live in. If you believe that maybe you are part of the problem. I cannot help to agree that like Unions, this may be a ting of the past and served it's purpose.

Kombiguy Loc: Cedar Rapids, IA

I agree.

RichieC Loc: Adirondacks

People of "color" have always been the majority in South Africa, now they are running things, but civilization isn't their strong point. Things have greatly improved since they took over, you should go and visit! I You can see similairites in CHicago, DC, LA... wow things are much better. I suppose if you can say the dominant race of an area has a right to "cleanse", then you support that we have some cleaning here to do as well!

Nobody anywhere owes anything to anybody that their great grandfather did, or I could go back and ask for land and gold the Vikings took, or the normans, or the Italians, or whoever. My ancestors never lived here till this century, I owe nothing to anyone for slavery... Where would it end???

http://www.genocidewatch.org/southafrica.html

"Over 3000 white farmers have been murdered since 1994. The South African police have not made investigation and prosecution of these farm murders a priority, dismissing them as crimes by common criminals. The government has disbanded the commando units of white farmers that once protected their farms, and has passed laws to confiscate the farmers’ weapons. Disarmament of a targeted group is one of the surest early warning signs of future genocidal killings."

GaryS1964 Loc: Northern California

The Peoples Republic of California has a similar law voted in by the people. Go figure.