The End of Reverse Discrimination?

Reverse Discrimination, according to Wickipedia, is defined as the practice of favoring members of a historically disadvantaged group at the expense of members of a historically advantaged group. Since the 1964 Civil Rights Act when the phrase came into usage, it has been practiced in many different ways. Some examples include employment practices and college admissions. A more euphemistic way of saying reverse discrimination would be “affirmative action.” However you say it, it is still discrimination plain and simple.

The United States Supreme Court tackled the issue in the seminal case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 438 US 265 (1978). In that case, the Court found that race could only be one of numerous factors in determining admission to a university. It stated that the University of California policy was unconstitutional, but that the policy used by Harvard was a valid type of affirmative action. The result was that Mr. Bakke was admitted to medical school and became a respected physician.

Since that time, there have been many more challenges to the doctrine, some of which were successful and some of which failed. In my opinion, yesterday the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision basically eliminated affirmative action or reverse discrimination whatever you want to call it.

In the case of Ricci v. Destefano, the Supreme Court held that an affirmative action policy by the City of New Haven, Connecticut was invalid. The litigation began when the City tossed out the results of a promotion exam because too few minority members passed. Accordingly, the white firemen who did pass the test were not promoted.

The Court ruled that the white firemen who did pass the test should have been promoted. Four justices in dissent felt otherwise. The dissenting opinion was written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who stated that although the court felt sorry for the passing firemen, it wasn’t enough.

Hopefully, this decision puts the final nail in the coffin of reverse discrimination which is anything but fair to either side. By definition, it is discrimination. Anything that puts one group above another is discrimination whether it is to make up for past wrongs or not. What has happened in the past is past. What matters now is the future. And, in the future of the United States, there should not be discrimination of any kind, reverse or otherwise. These policies have lived past their time, if, in fact, they ever actually had a time.

But, this case is interesting on other grounds besides what it may mean to affirmative action. The Supreme Court, by deciding as it did, was overruling a decision in which Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotamayor took part. Does this mean her nomination is in jeopardy? I think not, but it does mean that she should be more carefully examined by the Senate. Remember, this is the woman who stated that her rich cultural background as a Puerto Rican woman would qualify her more to decide certain types of cases than a white man.

Maybe, she is the one who is guilty of discrimination and being racially biased. I do not believe that the Senate should give her a free ride. She should be examined very carefully before being put on the bench.

Is the EPA Hiding Evidence on Global Warming?

A report came out yesterday that the EPA could possibly be covering up evidence that global warming does not exist in order to allow President Obama to get his environmental agenda through Congress. Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma has begun talking about initiating an investigation into this and possibly taking the EPA and anyone else involved to task. Further, he has stated that the controversial legislation which passed the House last week would be dead on arrival in the Senate.

In fact, the stated Legislation had a number of more conservative Democrats vote against it. And, if it weren’t for a handful of Republicans that voted with the President, it would have failed in the House and never even have gone to the Senate.

The alleged EPA report says that Global Warming does not exist and, in fact, there is evidence that global temperatures might actually be lower than those averages of the last Century. If this is true, then why would anyone want to cover it up? The answer is very simple: The Liberals want to pass sweeping environmental legislation that could potentially harm the economy and they do not want any legitimate reason for it to fail.

If there is any evidence whatsoever that Global Warming is a fraud, then the Legislation would not have a chance. In fact, the legislation in question here, if passed, will cause loss of employment and additional taxes. In order for a majority of Congress to succeed on this legislation, the President, Ms. Pelosi and their other cohorts must have no evidence whatsoever against them.

I think that Senator Inhofe should follow through on his investigation wherever it may lead. If this report is true that there is a cover-up, it will not bode well for Mr. Obama’s Administration or the EPA. And, based upon the current state of the multi-trillion dollar health care plan, Mr. Obama can not lose on this environmental legislation. It would mean that two of his major policy goals would have been defeated. Unfortunately for him, they would be going away for the right reasons.

And, as for Global Warming, we all know how much money Al Gore has made off of it, probably more than 100 million dollars. Maybe, he should do his share by staying off of private jets?

The Palestinian Conflict and Iran Both At a Crossroads?

I am on vacation in South East Asia visiting friends and touring some areas that I am quite familiar with and some not so much. I have not had much access to news or the internet until the last two days. However, from what I have heard recently, there are definitely a few things that need to be addressed.

A few days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, made a speech in we he agreed for the first time to the possibility of a two state solution. To many countries in the world, this is considered a major breakthrough in the Palestinian conflict. For the first time in recent memory, Israel is ready to consider giving the Palestinians a homeland. The entire western world applauded the concessions. Of course, the Palestinians did not: they condemned them.

Why? Part of Netanyahu’s concessions consisted of two demands upon the Palestinians. Unfortunately, for the rest of the world, the Palestinian leaders refuse to accept them. For one, Palestine must accept that the capital of Israel is Jerusalem. And two, the Arab World and particularly the Palestinians must recognize Israel’s right to exist.

First, we will discuss the Jerusalem situation as this is the most complicated. Jerusalem is the natural homeland to all three of the major western religions. Christians, Moslems and Jews all consider it sacred. It has always been the natural center of Israel and the home of the original Jewish Temple built by David.

When Israel was created in 1948, all of Jerusalem was not within its borders. The city was completely taken by Israel in one of its many wars about forty years ago. The Moslem world has always felt that it should not remain part of Israel because of this and because it is the city in which one of the most sacred and important Mosques stands. Since the conflict in which Israel took Jerusalem, this has always been one of the major stumbling blocks in any peace accord.

In my opinion Israel will never concede any of Jerusalem and it should not. As this is the home of Judaism, Israel must retain it within its borders. The Palestinians must concede on this issue. Jerusalem was never part of Palestine as Palestine would be a newly created state. This was not a stumbling block to peace with Egypt and it should not be a stumbling block to a resolution to the Palestinian situation.

As for the second issue, I simple cannot understand why the Palestinians would not recognize Israel’s right to exist. After all this time and after the majority of the entire world have accepted Israel, why would the Palestinians not concede on this point? The reason is very simple and gets to the heart of the whole conflict. The Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world care more about the existence of a Jewish homeland than they care about the existence of a Palestinian homeland.

A quick review of the history of the region shows that every time the Palestinians were offered a homeland, they have always turned it down. This has been done at least four times since the creation of Israel. The Palestinians always say no because they do not really want a homeland, they want Israel to cease to exist, plain and simple. Until the Palestinians change their position on this, there will never be peace in the region.

President Obama should immediately put as much pressure on the Palestinians as he has put on Israel to change its position. He cannot continue to favor Palestine in this debate over Israel. He must change his viewpoint and take a firm stand. Netanyahu has made a major concession. Now, Obama must force the Palestinian leaders to do the same. If he does not, he is proving that he is not a true friend of Israel, which is still the only true democracy in the region.

Or, might that be changing?

Since the obviously fixed Iranian election last week, the people of Iran have been protesting by the thousands. In fact, the protests which started peacefully last week have now turned violent since the Supreme Commander of Iran has decided that they should be quashed in the same manner as the Chinese quashed the protests in Tiananmen Square. In fact, the bloodshed of the last few days actually is beginning to look exactly like the Chinese bloodshed 20 years ago.

It all started when the current President was declared the victor in the nationwide election in less than two days after the election took place. Considering that all of the ballots in Iran are handwritten, I simply do not understand how the current government of Iran would actually believe that the world would accept these results as being anything other than fixed. How is it possible to count 39 million ballots in a 48 hour period?

The opposition leader immediately declared the election a sham and told his supporters to take to the streets. And, they have! By the thousands! The protests which started in Tehran have spread to all sections of the country and most importantly, include women which in the Arab world is a major surprise.

At first the current regime allowed the protests. But, as they have become larger with each passing day, the dictators realized that their regime was in danger of collapsing. On Friday, the Supreme Leader, the current Ayatollah stated that any continued protests would be done at the peril of the demonstrators. Since this statement, the government has completely eliminated the press from the country and the bloodshed began. The only source of information from Iran is now coming from internet networking sites and Twitter of all places. Imagine Twitter is a proponent of a populist revolution.

And, what has our Supreme Leader Mr. Obama done while this was going on; absolutely nothing except to comment that the “The World is Watching You,” to the Iranian leaders. Of course, this plays well with dictators. Hitler listened very carefully when Mr. Chamberlain sold off Czechoslovakia in 1938 and came back to the UK and said “Peace in our time.”

President Obama must immediately put the same level of pressure on the Iranian government that he has put on the Israeli government. The Iranian election which was obviously a sham should be thrown out and a new election under the watch of the United Nations should be had.

Yet, President Obama does nothing except say our watchful eye is upon you. As of this writing, he has not, even so much as condemned the election results. The Iranians protest and lose their lives and President Obama just watches. In fact, a poll was recently released which shows only single digits of Americans approve of the President’s handling of this situation. Even approval among Democrats is in the single digits.

I guess Mr. Obama is just living up to his campaign promise of being a pragmatist in this situation. I just wish he would finally do something before something happens that he will woefully regret. Remember, Iran either has or is very close to having nuclear weapons. I’m quite sure the current dictator and the Supreme Leader will have no problem using them if necessary either against Israel or his own people to quell the uprising!

© 2009 by Frank T. DeMartini. Permission to copy will be given freely upon request.

Is The Republican Party Lost?

Every article you read these days from the liberal media has a very clear message: the Republican Party is dead and should be buried. Conservatism is in shambles. The Democrats have the upper hand and the correct solution for the country. Tax and Spend is working. The Stimulus is working. Foreign powers love us. All is happy in liberal land.

I beg to differ. In fact, I believe the evidence is stronger each day that the Republican Party is making inroads into the Democratic “majority.” The election happened and Obama and the Democrats are in power. We have to live with that for another 18 months. But when one looks at the trends a new picture begins to develop.

All evidence indicates that the country is going the other way and still leans center-right. Look at what happened in Virginia yesterday. In a hotly contested Democratic primary for governor, R. Creigh Deeds, a conservative Democrat, whooped an ex-head of the DNC and staunch supporter of the Clintons. Deeds is about as far to the right as the Democratic Party gets. He is so pro-gun that he supports concealed weapons in bars and nightclubs. I’m not even sure if I go that far.

Why did Deeds get the nomination? Well, according to every article and news report, it is because the Virginia Democrats are afraid of losing the governorship in November to the Republican candidate. Robert McDonnell is a staunch Republican Conservative and the Virginia populace is definitely to the right regardless of whether the state went with Obama. A liberal Democrat is never going to win Virginia right now and probably never.

Another example can be seen by the current events in the New York Legislature. The Democrats which have had control of the New York Senate for as long as anyone can remember have physically locked the chamber to keep the new majority Republicans from enacting any legislation. How has this happened? Well, two members of the Senate switched sides tipping the scales in favor of the Republicans. The Democrats, according to Governor Patterson, a Democrat, are now acting like children and have physically taken the keys to the chamber to stop the Republicans from doing anything. In fact, they are refusing to recognize that two of their brethren have abandoned them.

Speaking of Governor Patterson maybe we should talk about his approval rating for a minute. This is the man that became governor after Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace about a year ago for being the typical Democratic hypocrite. He “played” with the people he took on. Governor Patterson’s approval ratings are so low that some people believe that a Republican may actually have a chance to win New York. That would be only the second Republican to hold office in New York since 1975. The last, George Pataki, took power during the Republican revolution in the mid-nineties and barely lasted two terms.

What would happen if New York gets a Republican governor in the next election cycle? With California currently having a Republican governor and a strong potential candidate in Meg Whitman, the top two states would be Republican. If you factor in Texas and Florida which are third and fourth in population, and both of which have Republican incumbents, you would have approximately 32% of the US Population controlled by Republican governors in just four states. To me that doesn’t sound like a dead party! Rather, it sounds like one that has the potential for a strong majority.

On the national front, Nancy Pelosi’s current popularity is at the lowest it’s ever been. According to a Gallup poll released on Friday, Pelosi’s ratings are currently at 34%. If I’m not mistaken, these are lower than President Bush’s at the end of his administration. In fact, the same poll showed that Ex Vice President Dick Cheney’s popularity is actually higher at 37%. Eight months ago, this was one of the most disliked men in the country. I guess that speech he gave a few weeks ago on National Security and the effects of 9/11 made a lot of the population think.

One of the most important facts about these poll numbers is where the change is actually coming from. Both Ms. Pelosi’s fall and Mr. Cheney’s rise are directly related to a change in independent electorate which went strongly Democratic last November. And, we all know that is where elections are won.

Just yesterday, the Obama spin started on the stimulus package. The President stopped talking about creating jobs and started talking about saving jobs. How will anyone prove the accuracy of his statement yesterday that 150,000 jobs were saved as a result of the stimulus package so far? Last month the economy lost more than 500,000 jobs net. That’s a loss, plain and simple. When that number turns around and there is job growth in a month, then he can start to claim credit. But, by saying that 150,000 jobs were saved last month, he is making it look like the stimulus worked when there is no proof one way or the other. It’s spin, pure and simple.

Newt Gingrich, it seems, is already running for President and his popularity is growing. At a conference in the past few days, he stated that Obama has already failed. And, he is strongly criticizing Ms. Sotomayor. Maybe, the American public is beginning to agree. For the first time, the President’s approval rating has sunk below 60%. I predict it will be teetering around 50% by the end of the year.

Jon Voight publicly stated at the same conference that he is embarrassed by the President and that the President will cause the downfall of this country. Jon Voight, who in my opinion is a great American, should probably think about running for Congress. I am still moved by his Memorial Day comments about Hollywood being in a sorry state when it cared more about Earth Day than Memorial Day.

Why is this change happening so shortly after the “Democratic Revolution?” I can answer that one, but it would take a book. To put it simply, the American people are beginning to see this Administration for what it is: A return to the failed policies of Jimmy Carter and Democrats of the seventies. Weakness in Foreign Affairs and out-of-control spending will not sit with the American electorate at either the national or state level. And, unfortunately, that is what the first five months of President Obama’s Administration has brought. And, unfortunately, that appears to be what the future will bring as well.

©2009 by Frank T. DeMartini. All rights reserved. Permission to copy will be freely granted upon request.

Is Obama Going to Abandon Israel?

President Obama has left the United States for a foreign trip that includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France and Germany. Unfortunately, a stop in Israel is not included. Why? With increasing rhetoric, Mr. Obama and his administration seem to be leaving Israel in the cold and partnering up with Israel’s Arab enemies at the same time that he is not taking the threats of North Korea seriously.

In the past few weeks, President Obama has told Israel that it must now accept a two state solution to the Palestinian problem, and just yesterday, he told Ehud Barak that Israel must stop all growth in the west bank settlements. Further, the President has taken the position that Iran may continue its nuclear programs provided that it intends only to pursue nuclear energy and not nuclear weapons, in contravention of Israeli wishes.

What is going on here? Does the President believe that by kissing up to our enemies; i.e. Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Radical Islam, that he is going to make all of the problems of the world go away? Does he believe that by allowing Israeli/US relations to go by the way side, he is going to make Al Qaeda disappear? I think not.

In fact, yesterday another tape of Osama Bin Laden appeared condemning the United States for backing the Pakistani military in taking on the Taliban. The tape made it clear that President Obama was no different from President Bush in Bin Laden’s eyes and that the blood of Muslims and retribution for their deaths would be on Obama’s hands. The War on Terror is not over regardless of what President Obama wants to call it, and based upon the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it is about to escalate.

And, the Israel/Arab situation will not get any better as a result.

The situation with the Palestinians is multi-faceted. To begin with, the Palestinians believe they were wronged when their land was given by the UK at the end of WWII to create the Jewish homeland. They will not have full peace with Israel unless they are given land by Israel for the creation of Palestine. President Obama has taken the position that this so called Two-State Solution is the best solution for the problem. And, there are many Israelis that agree with him.

However, the far right wing in Israel is vehemently opposed to the Two State Solution. These right wing radicals will do everything in their power to oppose it. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your point of view, they have much power in the current Netanyahu Coalition Government. In fact, the first time Netanyahu was Prime Minister, he lost power because he angered the far right.

This is Netanyahu’s problem again. The far right wants continued growth of the settlements in land that would become part of Palestine. And, if Netanyahu takes on the far right again, he will be ousted a second time as a result of his coalition collapsing. So, by forcing the issue on the settlements and the Two State solution, Obama is causing a thaw in Israeli relations. He is putting Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the only democratic country in the region, into a no win situation.

And, to make matters worse this week, the Obama Administration declared that any negotiations over the Palestinian situation would have to include Hamas at the negotiating table. Hamas has been and always will be a terrorist organization. What is happening to our country’s declaration that we will never negotiate with terrorists? This has been our policy for well over twenty years. And, a damn good policy it is. Has President Obama decided that talking to a terrorist organization that advocates the dissolution of Israel is the best way to solve this problem or is he just further exhibiting his abandonment of Israel? I wonder how President Obama’s supporters in Hollywood feel about this turn of events.

Obama’s speech this morning in Egypt was very conciliatory to the Muslim World and, so it should be. However, the President must still remember, that we are at war with radical Muslin. The Taliban and Al Qaeda will do whatever they can to destroy the United States of America. The Hamas and to a lesser extent Hezbollah will do the same. And, all of these organizations have one thing in common. They all hate Israel and do not recognize its right to exist. If you add the extremist leader of Iran to this group, you have a very powerful group of radical Muslims that want to end the Israeli State.

Obama must keep this in mind when he is forming his foreign policy for the Middle East. These groups will not tolerate any existence of Israel and will become enemies of anyone that does. By kissing up to Iran and now accepting the Hamas as a legitimate organization without either one of them recognizing Israel, he is snubbing his nose at one of our strongest allies. And, he is making the possibility of peace a further impossibility.

You may disagree with President Bush’s foreign policy, but you cannot disagree with its results. After 9/11, there was not one additional act of terrorism on US soil or against US assets abroad. Strength comes with fear. The Muslim dictators know this. It is the way of the Arab world. Do you think the Saudi leaders would be parading around the body of an executed be-headed man in the past week for any other reason? This is the way that Obama must build his foreign policy with the Arab world. The only way true peace can be achieved in the Middle East is through strength.

Unfortunately, this also seems to be the case in North Korea. Kim Jong-Il is showing, almost on a daily basis, that the Obama doctrine of conciliation is not working. Each day, North Korea is boldly acting to make the world a more dangerous place and the President does nothing. Is he waiting for an all out war to break out in Asia or will he do something before that happens? Keep in mind, that this week North Korea started bragging about an ICBM that could reach Alaska.

I know my ranting on this topic will upset many on the left that believe in the Obama doctrine. I can only wish that I am wrong. In fact, there is nothing that I would like more than to say in this column that Obama was right and that the acts of conciliation and kindness towards our enemies have solved the problems of the world. But, what if I am correct? Would you want to be the one who has to tell the people of the United States that our safety had been compromised because you did not take the actions of a few rogue states seriously? Do you want to be the one to tell the electorate that you did not adequately protect American interests in the Middle East? I think not.

©2009 by Frank T. DeMartini. Permission to use excerpts will be freely given upon request.