I’ve been reading the Supreme Court’s decision rejecting Seattle’s and Louisville’s modest attempt to promote racial diversity and integration within their school district as unconstitutional. Many pundits have noted this, but I can’t go without mentioning how horrifyingly ironic (a “cruel irony” as Justice Stevens charges in his dissent) it is that the majority decision cites in part to justify itself the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education decision overturning segregation in schools.
This should be disheartening to all Americans, but I know that really it’s sad for mainly “Liberals.”
However, Conservatives should also disagree with this Court’s decision–issues of race aside–because federalism (balancing of federal powers with that of state and local prerogative) has been trumped by the Conservatives’ horror of horrors, judicial activism.
These are my summary thoughts for the moment.
3 responses so far ↓
tsar // June 29, 2007 at 12:39 pm
You’re a true student of Beiser mrod.
You’re right. Bush’s judicial legacy is, after the invasion of Iraq perhaps, or maybe inaction on global warming, the most deeply scarring wound he will have inflicted on this country and world.
check out this LA Times piece about the use of Brown by the court when you get a chance: http://beta.newstrust.net/webx?14@@.f0c778b
tsar // June 29, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Here’s a great post on the desegregation vs. integration debate: http://beta.newstrust.net/webx?14@@.f0c9cf4
Sam // June 30, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I don’t think reading a court decision has ever brought me this close to tears. And unfortunately, as Happy Gilmore says, ‘we’ve only just begun…’
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