I try to avoid going "off topic" but the decision today by the U.S Supreme Court on issues of race, is of such wide-ranging importance, I hope my readers will forgive a short diversion. Courtesy of The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, here is a quick overview with a link to the 185-page opinion in a Q and A format. The court ruled that race could not be used as a factor in assigning students to certain schools. Here is a money quote: “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race,” said Chief Justice Roberts.
This is a slight variation on the idea that the remedy for past discrimination is not more discrimination. I also think the statement from Justice Thomas’ concurring opinion is notable. In reasoning that the U.S. Constitution does not allow race-based decisionmaking, he wrote: “Indeed, if our history has taught us anything, it has taught us to beware of elites bearing racial theories." The formal caption of the case is: Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1.