THE FIRST STATE: On this day in 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The 30 delegates to Delaware’s ratification convention, meeting at the Golden Fleece Tavern in Dover, voted unanimously.

(Yes, I know that December 7^th is also, “a date which shall live in infamy.” But … well … I’m in the mood for a happier story than that.)

THE NEW UNTOUCHABLES:  Seattle contemplates exempting any citizen who suffers from poverty, homelessness, addiction, or mental illness from prosecution for so-called “crimes of poverty.”

THANKS TO BREXIT:  The U.K. was able to put the Covid vaccine on a fast track for approval, because it is no longer controlled by Europe.

WHO SHOULD BIDEN APPOINT AS SECRETARY OF EDUCATION?:  Yesterday I noted that Biden promised voters that he would appoint a teacher, but that a piece in the New York Daily News is urging him to break that promise.  It suggests instead that he appoint the current chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Here’s another reason such an appointment might be considered controversial.

WHO SHOULD BIDEN APPOINT AS SECRETARY OF EDUCATION?:  He promised voters that he would appoint a teacher. But a piece in the New York Daily News urges him to break that promise.  It suggests instead that he appoint the current chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Here is one reason such an appointment would be controversial: While she served as Asst. Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, she issued the notorious transgender bathroom guidance, which, as I explain here, was at best a misinterpretation of applicable law.  (The guidance was withdrawn by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary DeVos in the early days of the Trump Administration, but it can easily be brought back during the Biden Administration.)

Some people are assuming that Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the Supreme Court held that gender identity discrimination can be a form of sex discrimination under Title VII, vindicates the transgender bathroom guidance.  Actually it’s the opposite.  It makes the cases against the guidance even stronger.

There are other reasons that such an appointment would be controversial.  I may touch on some of them later.

DEMOCRATS SHOOT THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT:  As John Fund explains, by putting Proposition 16 on the ballot, California’s deep-blue legislators help elected Republicans Michelle Park Steel and Young Kim to Congress. Washington State’s Democrats may want to take note.

HANS BADER:  Virginia Attorney General rules (on a disparate impact theory) that the Loudoun County school system illegally discriminates by having a selective admissions policy for some of its schools.  Idiotic.

EVERY TOPIC LEADS BACK TO RACE:  Terry McAuliffe & Don Scott don’t just think marijuana should be legalized.  They argue that we need “conscious and purposeful investment” in minority-owned marijuana businesses too.

ONE GIANT STEP BACKWARDS:  One of the best things the Trump Administration’s Department of Education did was turn away from the Obama Era policy prohibiting disparate impact based on race in school discipline.  There are already hints that the Biden Administration will return to that policy.  Here is my explanation for why such a return would be very unfortunate for both students and teachers. 

HELP WANTED: Harvard University is creating a new position:   Associate University Librarian for Antiracism. It will pay up to $240,300 per year.

A TALE OF TWO CAMPAIGNS: As all good Instapundit readers know by now, Proposition 16 has been soundly rejected by California voters. This happened despite its supporters having spent $27 million to the NO side’s $1.72 million.

I thought you might be interested in a list the top donors to the YES campaign. They were:

Quinn Delaney ($7,900,000)

ACLU, Inc. ($2,450,538.70)

Open Society Policy Center ($2,000,000)

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. ($1,500,000)

ACLU of Northern California Issues Committee ($1,253,599.14)

Patricia Quillin ($1,000,000)

California Teachers Association/Issue PAC ($574,229.70)

Neighbors for a Better San Francisco ($536,000)

Anne E. Delaney ($500,000)

Blue Shield of California ($500,000)

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (MPO) ($500,000)

Connie E. Ballmer ($500,000)

Steven A. Ballmer ($500,000)

Our Voice, Our Vote-Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Ballot Measure Committee   Yes on Prop 16 ($389,365.50)

Salesforce.com ($375,000)

SF Workforce Housing Alliance PAC 2020, Sponsored by Neighbors for a Better San Francisco ($300,000)

California Nurses Association Initiative Political Action Committee ($300,000) California Democratic Party ($290,346.50)

Pacific Gas & Electric ($250,000)

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 3299 ($235,540.00)

Cisco ($200,000)

Cabrera Capital Market, LLC (Martin Cabrera, Jr.) ($200,000)

SEIU Local 1021 ($200,000)

Facebook, Inc. ($200,000)

Gwendolyn Marion Mathilde Sontheim ($200,000)

The San Francisco Foundation ($200,000)

Genentech USA ($200,000).

The No campaign did not receive a single donation that large. Its largest donation came from Students for Fair Admissions for $50,000. The second largest donation was from … uh … me. We won anyway, because Californians aren’t buying identity politics.

A list of the 34 largest donors to NO side (contributing $5000 or more) is available here.  If you donated (as many Instapundit readers did), thank you!

TAMING THE ADMINISTRATIVE BEHEMOTH BEFORE IT EATS US UP:  Mike Rappaport offers a workable approach for identifying unconstitutional violations of the non-delegation doctrine.

BIDEN HAS ENDORSED REPEALING THE SO-CALLED “SUBMINIMUM WAGE” FOR WORKERS WITH DOWN SYNDROME AND SIMILAR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES:  If the aim is to push individuals with Down Syndrome out of the workforce, I guess it’s a great idea.  But if the aim is to help them and their families out, it’s a rock stupid idea.  (Here’s a point worth noting:  Their families appear to be overwhelming against it.)

MINDING THE CAMPUS:  John Rosenberg explains what I hope politicians will come to understand:  Americans oppose race discrimination, no matter whose ox is being gored.

DEAR COLUMBUS DISPATCH:  Please don’t publish op-eds by teenagers with bogus statistics about stand your ground laws.  More accurate (though unavoidably incomplete) info here.

GEORGE LaNOUE:  “Critical Race Training or Civil Rights Law:  We Can’t Have Both.”

WHAT MAKES AMERICAN CORPORATIONS SO “WOKE”?:  I always assumed it’s because they get pressure from the left, but not from the right.  Whatever the reason, United Airlines decided to endorse Prop 16 on November 3rd  (just before 56% of California voters rejected this wrongheaded effort to authorize the State of California to engage in race and sex discrimination).

As a United Airlines Million Miler, I plan to express my displeasure via .  If you are so inclined, please join me.

PROPOSITION 16 GOES DOWN IN 22 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF FLAMES: I am happy to report that we have defeated Proposition 16 in California (56% NO/44% YES). Thank you to all Instapundit readers who helped us out by volunteering, contributing or voting!

The YES campaign supporters are now making excuses as to how they could have spent about $22 million (as against our pathetic $1.7 million) and still lost. Their claim is that voters were just confused. But that’s nonsense. Polls have been consistent for decades. Whenever the issue is stated fairly and clearly, opposition to race and sex preferences is overwhelming. All the NO campaign had to do is make sure voters knew what the issue was.

In 2003, 2006, 2013, and 2016, the Gallup has asked the following question of poll respondents:

“Which comes closer to your view about evaluating students for admission into college or university—applicants should be admitted solely on the basis of merit, even if that results in few minority students being admitted (or) an applicant’s racial or ethnic background should be considered to help promote diversity on college campuses, even if that means admitting some minority students who otherwise would not be admitted.”

The responses were consistent: The number of respondents choosing “solely on merit” is always at least twice as great as the number choosing “help promote diversity.” In 2016, it was 70% for “solely on merit” vs. 26% for considering racial or ethnic background.

Note that the question was posed so as to take account of the arguments on both sides. Respondents were alerted to the possibility that without considering race or ethnic background “few minority students” may be admitted. Note also that, if anything, the question is unfair to the “NO on 16” campaign, since most “NO” voters are willing to take into consideration things other than academic achievement (such as low income); they simply oppose using race or ethnicity as the measure of disadvantage.

In 2019, Pew Research conducted a similar poll that focused on employment instead of college admissions. Like the Gallup poll, the Pew poll gave respondents two choices:

“When it comes to decisions about hiring and promotions, companies and organizations should—

… Only take qualifications into account, even if it results in less diversity.

Or …

… Also take race and ethnicity into account in order to increase diversity.”

The results were consistent with the Gallup poll: 74% chose “only take qualifications into account,” while 24% chose “also take race and ethnicity into account.”

This was not because respondents didn’t see any value in racial and ethnic diversity in the workplace. When asked how important it is “for companies and organizations to promote racial and ethnic diversity in their workplace,” 75% said it is either “very important” or “somewhat important.” Only 24% said it was “not too important” or “not at all important.” They did not, however, believe race or ethnicity should be taken into consideration in hiring or promotions.

Pew Research also undertook a poll on the consideration of race and ethnicity in college admissions in 2019. The results were similar to those in the Gallup poll, except they were a little more critical of considering race or ethnicity than the Gallup respondents. Among adults, 73% said race and ethnicity should not be a factor. Majorities of all races and ethnicities agreed. Only 26% of adults said they should be either a major (7%) or a minor (19%) factor.

No wonder Prop 16 failed.

CELEBRITIES PAY $27 MILLION IN FINES & FEES SO 13,000 FLORIDA FELONS CAN VOTE:  In Florida now, ex-convicts must pay whatever fines and fees have been assessed against them before they are eligible to vote again.  But “celebrities” (like Michael Bloomberg and LeBron James) are paying those fines and fees on their behalf.

That’s not exactly charity.  No doubt the ex-convicts themselves would have much rather had been given a job. Or even some new clothes and shoes. The right to vote, while a wonderful thing, is unlikely to be at the top of their list. But benefiting ex-convicts has nothing to do with this.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights did a report last year on the “collateral consequences of a felony conviction” (with my statement here).  The “collateral consequence” that my progressive colleagues objected to the most was the denial of the right to vote.  How anybody is naive enough to view this behavior as concern for ex-convicts’ welfare is just beyond me.

BIDEN PROMISES TO BRING BACK THE OBAMA-ERA INITIATIVE ON RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE:  Alas, I thought Alison Somin and I had pretty much proven what a ghastly mistake that initiative was.

“HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY PATRIOTISM!”:  Remember when that question was on the lips of so many left-of-center elected officials?  It turns out that almost a third of Democrats don’t have a positive view of the United States of America.  By contrast, 95% of Republicans do, according to the poll conducted by YouuGov.

BIG TUNA: This story reminds me of when my Uncle Carroll told me that I just had to come down to the harbor with him. The tuna boats were in, he told me, and they had brought in the biggest tuna anybody had ever seen.

Of course, as a highly sophisticated 12-year-old, I knew that tuna comes in very small cans. I must have believed a “big tuna” was unlikely to be very big or interesting. I went with him from East Boothbay to Boothbay Harbor (Maine) only because my mother would have thought me rude if I’d declined.

But Holy Toledo! The tuna—Atlantic Bluefin—were huge—well over 1000 pounds each. And the tuna fishermen had fascinating stories.

Lesson learned: Highly sophisticated 12-year-olds run the risk of missing out on things.

THE THISTLE IS SHOWING ITS THORNS:  “Soft Totalitarianism Threatens Scotland.”

HEATHER MAC DONALD:  Northwestern University’s president should be commended for standing up to student rioters (but he did help create the climate for their destructive behavior).

UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S NOT SO:  The authors of a new report featured in Washington Post would have us to believe that arrests of African Americans are higher than for other races mainly because cops are biased and African American neighborhoods have historically been “over-policed.”

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recently made the similar claim that students of all races misbehave in school at equal rates, and that (by implication) disproportionate discipline rates should be blamed on biased teachers. It was easily proven false.

The reasons for arrest/discipline disproportionality are complex and nobody should claim to fully understand the problem.   But the notion that it’s primarily the fault of overzealous police and teachers is off base.