During oral arguments in a landmark affirmative action case before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, Justice Antonin Scalia sparked controversy with his comments on black students.
From the Los Angeles Times:
"There are those who contend that it does not benefit African Americans to get into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a slower-track school, where they do well," Scalia said. He cited a brief that, he said, "pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don't come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools" where they do not feel they're being pushed in classes "that are too fast for them."
Among the voices in a chorus of denunciation Thursday was civil rights legend and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, who said Scalia's thinking smacked of "the kind of prejudice that led to separate and unequal school systems." And he provides examples of African-Americans who did just fine at tough universities.
Here's Lewis' statement in full:
"Justice Scalia is supposed to be very well read, but he seems to have neglected study in African American history. Is he aware that the current head of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, the noted astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson, graduated from the University of Texas in 1983, before affirmative action was struck down?
"Does he know the story of Henry Sampson, the nuclear engineer, whose invention of the gamma-electric cell made the cell phone possible? He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1965 when affirmative action was likely in place. Dr. Charles Drew, the founder of the modern-day blood bank, attended Amherst on a football scholarship in the 1930s, and his medical innovations helped saved the lives of front line soldiers in World War II and are still saving lives today.
"These are only three of a host of examples which prove African Americans can not only compete in the best schools in the nation, even in applied sciences, but they can excel and even surpass some of their classmates and colleagues, if given a fair opportunity. Justice Scalia's evident bias is very troubling to me. It leads me to question his ability to make impartial judgments in this case."
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It looks like you'll have to wait until next week for a full reckoning on Georgia's voter data breach. From Peach Pundit:
According to a representative of the Secretary of State's office, employees are continuing to prepare the report and supporting background documents. That effort is taking longer than originally anticipated.
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These lines from a story by our AJC colleague Molly Bloom about the explosion of charter schools in Atlanta have caused quite a stir:
"That's like saying Chicago is the most murder friendly-city in the nation," she said.
Charlie Harper, head of Policy BEST, an advocacy group working to promote school choice among other issues, sent along the following retort:
"Murder is more than a concept to a lot of the kids trapped in failing schools. The reason too many are trapped is because some in the education establishment have chosen to prioritize the needs of the bureaucracy over the achievements of their students. Thus, too many are doomed to a cycle of poverty, living in neighborhoods where crime is not only an option but a way of life. The alternative is to provide every choice available to give these kids a chance to escape what many have written off as their destiny. This could even include a future that provides them high paying jobs in safe work locations where they can write edgy statements about murder as if it's just a theoretical rhetorical device."
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U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, formally announced his campaign for a sixth term, saying in a press release:
"Congress needs to work harder for the middle class – for those who want and deserve more time and resources to feel secure and comfortable in their lives. I look forward to continuing my work for the people of Georgia's Fourth Congressional District."
Johnson survived a tough primary challenge in 2014 against former DeKalb County Sheriff Tom Brown. No challengers have revealed themselves so far for 2016. Brown shut down his campaign account this year, indicating he is uninterested in a re-run.
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Out of office but still in the game, former Rep. Jack Kingston sent out a blast email reminding pals of all the work he's done raising money for the Georgia GOP. The full missive is here, which promises a fundraiser soon with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle "to hear an insider's view of the 2016 Session of the General Assembly."
Kingston is also keeping his campaign website warm, just in case.
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Speaking of former Georgia Republican U.S. Reps. who lost a Senate primary and might still harbor political ambitions, Paul Broun is still trying to rally small tea party donors across the country to one of those PACs that makes money for consultants.
Broun is pushing a presidential online poll conducted Survivor-style. The future of the republic depends on it, as a blast email in Broun's name describes:
This is our last chance at restoring the freedoms and principles that made our nation great! ...
P.S. After you cast your ballot.... please chip in $5 or $25 and make sure we are able to put this message in the hands of every tea party voter across America. Thanks!
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The Washington Republican establishment got together at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant to fret and plan about Donald Trump forcing a brokered GOP convention next year. From the Washington Post:
The development represents a major shift for veteran Republican strategists, who until this month had spoken of a brokered convention only in the most hypothetical terms — and had tried to encourage a drama-free nomination by limiting debates and setting an earlier convention date.
Now, those same leaders see a floor fight as a real possibility. And so does Trump, who said in an interview last week that he, too, is preparing.
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An interesting nugget from a new New York Times poll: Support for gun control has gone down as mass shootings have risen:
What has shifted notably are attitudes on gun control. Only 44 percent of Americans favor a ban on assault weapons, 19 percentage points lower than after the mass shooting in Tucson in 2011. And while 51 percent favor stricter gun control in general, that is down from 58 percent in October.
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