Scalia Nails It Again

Posted on | April 23, 2014 | 47 Comments

James Taranto on yesterday’s Supreme Court decision upholding Michigan’s ban on discriminatory quotas in university admissions:

The six justices who voted to reverse the Sixth Circuit and let the Michigan amendment stand split 3-2-1 on the grounds for doing so. The result is a clear outcome but a doctrinal muddle. We thought it would be amusing and enlightening to go through the four main opinions in descending order of clarity.
Clearest of all is Justice Antonin Scalia’s concurrence in the judgment, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. “It has come to this,” Scalia begins portentously. “Called upon to explore the jurisprudential twilight zone between two errant lines of precedent, we confront a frighteningly bizarre question: Does the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment forbid what its text plainly requires?”
Scalia and Thomas’s view, thus far joined by no other sitting justice, is that racial discrimination in public-university admissions is flatly unconstitutional. . . .
Then there’s the [Obama-appointed Justice Sandra] Sotomayor dissent, which begins as follows: “We are fortunate to live in a democratic society. But . . .” An empty piety, followed by an equivocation, followed by a total of 58 pages — you know this is going to be a tough slog. . . .

Read the whole thing.

Category: Education, Racism, Supreme Court

Comments

47 Responses to “Scalia Nails It Again”

K-Bob
April 23rd, 2014 @ 1:24 pm

A lot of these brave defenders of social justice probably never bothered to read the original factors that led to this amendment.

You had situations in Michigan where class valedictorians were rejected at U of M, while C-student minorities were given preference.

When a huge chunk of your property taxes go to fund education, and your own kid busts his ass, and plays by the rules, and has his efforts denied in favor of some stupid quota system based on skin color and other ridiculous factors like being homosexual or having participated in a protest somewhere, then as a property owner you WILL get angry.

Whatever “social justice” is, it isn’t that.
ScaliasWrong
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:00 pm

The only thing that’s clear is that Scalia is an old, racist, dog. What white male conservatives want is to go back to the days when they were the undisputed masters(say about 1950-1963), and didnt have to compete with women, and minorities.
Mm
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:12 pm

Do you hate all Italians? Do you also call them dagos?
Mm
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:12 pm

Do you hate all Italians? Do you also call them dagos?
ScaliasRight
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:19 pm

Did you read the “joined by Justice Clarence Thomas” part? Oops, there went your (ignorant) argument.
ScaliasRight
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:19 pm

Did you read the “joined by Justice Clarence Thomas” part? Oops, there went your (ignorant) argument.
Mm
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:21 pm

Or resident racist troll probably does not count Thomas as a full person.
Mm
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:21 pm

Or resident racist troll probably does not count Thomas as a full person.
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:45 pm

Whiny leftist is whiny.
Mmmoron
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:45 pm

One, I am italian, and two I didn’t call Slalia a “dago” although it is my privilege as a fellow italian to do so.
ScaliasWrong
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:46 pm

Clarence Thomas is the perfect example of how white supremacy can inhabit black skin. His opinion on this is noted, but definitely not surprising.
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:47 pm

Leftists love to redefine people to fit their little pre-conceived bins, because their minds are so brittle.
MMMoron
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:47 pm

Yeah, supporting affirmative action is “racist”. Thank you for another example of the backwards reality old conservatives inhabit.
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:48 pm

Affirmative action is discriminating on the basis of race, hence racist.

So sorry that elementary logic is beyond your mental capabilities.
FinRodMoron
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:56 pm

Those laws existed because regardless of the civil rights act it was shown that white employers still discriminated on the basis of race, dummy. Sorry, white people are not a class who are discriminated against no matter how much whining white, RACIST, conservatives do. Second, blacks are disproportionately disadvantaged economically which is really the main factor in getting into a good school as you will have parents that know how to play the game, tutors, access to private schools, etc. Is it any wonder that 85% of Ivy Leaguers come from the top 10% of incomes, or are you just dumb enough to believe they are more “virtuous?”
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:57 pm

Every word you wrote is a lie, including ‘a’ and ‘the’.
FinRodMoron
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:57 pm

Or maybe Thomas is just an “uncle tom” and a “housekeeper”?
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:57 pm

Racist.
FinRodLovesRod
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:58 pm

Dumb, racist, conservative, is dumb, and racist.
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 3:59 pm

So what are your college degrees in, troll? The only one that has shown racism in this thread is YOU.
Anon Y. Mous
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:00 pm

Affirmative Action *requires* treating people differently, depending on what race they are. That is the point of the policy.

Treating people differently based on what race they are is what racism is all about. It is the very definition of racism.

Noting the intersection of these two facts is therefore “backwards reality”?

Thank you for your insight.
FinrodIsInDenial
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:00 pm

So, 85% of Ivy Leaguers are not from the top 10% of incomes? You are in denial, and everything I wrote is a verifiable fact, goofball. Even McCain wrote that here, although he did it to attack feminists.
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:01 pm

[citation needed]
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:02 pm

Glad to see you agree that everything else you wrote was a lie.
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:03 pm

Blacks are So Disadvantaged that no black will ever be President or a Supreme Court Justice. (/sarcasm)
FinRodIsAnIdiot
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:07 pm

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2012/05/02/poor-students-are-the-real-victims-of-college-discrimination/2/

You’re in denial, loser. Wake up, and realize the american dream is fantasy.

I’ll be back with more.
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:07 pm

Do us a favor and don’t let the back button hit you in the ass on the way out.
FinRodIsAnIdiot
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:09 pm

http://theothermccain.com/2014/03/29/the-prestige-of-elite-credentials/
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:10 pm

I’d love to see you say that to Scalia’s face. Your dentist could use the extra work.
FinRodIsAnIdiot
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:12 pm

http://clinton2.nara.gov/WH/EOP/OP/html/aa/aa04.html

Face it, you’re simply uninformed, and your prejudice blinds you.
FinRodIsAnIdiot
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:16 pm

It’s also simple common sense to realize that if you come from wealth and have access to elite private school education, tutors, and family who know how the game is played both for school admissions, and career, you are far better positioned to achieve those things than if you are from a single parent household in the ghetto. Are you really this reality challenged, idiot?
Wombat_socho
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:31 pm

You’re also a moron. At least you’re honest about that. Bye now.
Wombat_socho
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:32 pm

To say nothing of new libertarians. Enjoy your ban.
Wombat_socho
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:34 pm

Stop feeding the trolls.
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:39 pm

Which is why we never see second-generation Asians, for example, rising to the top of their class. (/sarcasm)
Finrod Felagund
April 23rd, 2014 @ 4:40 pm

Ok, sorry. Sometimes I find them useful as a punching bag.
FinrodFuckhead
April 23rd, 2014 @ 5:00 pm

Oh, wow! We’ve had one black president! The system must work! LOL!
Justice Sotomayor gets a little crazy over the Michigan affirmative action SCOTUS case… | Batshit Crazy News
April 23rd, 2014 @ 5:13 pm

[…] TOM: Justice Scalia nails it… […]
Quartermaster
April 23rd, 2014 @ 8:17 pm

Thank You Wombat. Sometimes I ask “why us,” but I already know. Trolls are H8erz and H8erz will H8.
Quartermaster
April 23rd, 2014 @ 8:20 pm

I know how you feel. It can be fun, although it can make the Moderator’s job a bit harder. Particularly just after he escaped indentured servitude, other wise known as Tax Season.
Dana
April 24th, 2014 @ 9:04 am

Oddly enough, what Justice Scalia is saying is that race should not be a factor, period, which would mean that that old, racist dog would like to see everybody competing, equally, with nobody getting special privileges.

Of course, it’s pretty easy to see what has happened, if you are willing to do something really radical like open your eyes. More women than men are being graduated from college now, yet white men don’t seem to have any qualms about competing with women for college admissions . . . because they are being considered as equals, and not getting special points.

Heck, looking at the arguments of the Affirmative Actioneers, and the fact that 25% more women than men were graduated from college, one would think that AA ought to establish some sort of preferences for white men over white women, to even out the results, but no one is arguing for that.
Dana
April 24th, 2014 @ 9:06 am

Unlikely: Justice Scalia is 78 years old, while Mmmoron’s comments have me believing that he is probably a callow youth, at least to judge by his maturity level.
Dana
April 24th, 2014 @ 9:11 am

Perhaps you might ask why “blacks are disproportionately disadvantaged economically.” The fact that something like 70% of black children are born to single mothers means that black children are far more likely to be raised in poor households; how do “whining white, RACIST, conservatives” prevent black mothers from being married? It’s also true that black males drop out of high school at far greater rates than white males (for females, the drop out rates are not quite as disparate by race), and that is going to mean that black males, as a group, will have lower earning potential than white males. How do “whining white, RACIST, conservatives” force black males to drop out of school?
Dana
April 24th, 2014 @ 9:14 am

The Ivy League schools are private schools; if they want to use Affirmative Action, they can . . . and do.
Dana
April 24th, 2014 @ 9:25 am

It’s also simple common sense to realize that if you come from wealth your parents were probably more intelligent, and that intelligence is at least partially hereditary.

More, it’s also simple common sense to realize that if you come from wealth, your parents were probably better educated, and your family had more of a culture of studying hard and pursuing education.

Now, if you’ve worked harder in school, because that’s how you were reared, and you are just plain smarter, because that’s what you inherited, why ought you to be held back because someone who didn’t work as hard and wasn’t as intelligent wants your spot?
Scalia v. Sotomayor - BitsBlog
April 24th, 2014 @ 11:21 am

[…] Hat tip: Robert Stacy McCain. […]
K-Bob
April 24th, 2014 @ 8:33 pm

I think today is national “everyone call conservatives racist day” in honor of the remarks made by a man who isn’t on MSNBC every day, isn’t running for office, isn’t a self-appointed spokesman for a skin color group, isn’t a preacher in a famous church, isn’t a community organizer, and isn’t a tenured faculty member anywhere.

So naturally, Holder is praising Sotomayor’s novelette while people are claiming Scalia is a racist.

In fact, you’re all racist for reading this.

On the other hand, we get to watch yet another Little Green Footballs moment as Glenn Beck is pulling a Johnson over the Bundy thing. Expect bannings, I guess. Followed by a rapid diminution of Beck’s formerly-rapid-growing network.

It’s like everyone is going insane, except you and me.

And I’m not so sure about you.