SOMEBODY IS FINALLY MAKING SENSE:  Black lives matter.  That’s why protesters in Southeast Washington, D.C. want MORE police protection, not less.

(You’ll find my two cents on policing issues and race here.)

UNEXPECTEDLY: 400% surge in NY police retirement applications this week.

AMERICA:  LOVE IT … OR VOTE DEMOCRATIC: “How dare you question my patriotism!”

Good Question:  If We Jettison Standardized Testing, What’s the Replacement?

DC Statehood:  What Would Frederick Douglass Do?

IN OUR BRAVE NEW WORLD, ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM SEEMS TO BE TOPICAL AGAIN: Or maybe it’s never gone out of fashion.

When the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights tackled this topic, among the witnesses whose “expertise” we drew upon on was a “dancer, storyteller and facilitator” with a “focus on performance and also health and social change communication.” Really.

The only independent empirical research we conducted was a study of the proximity of coal ash deposits to minority neighborhoods. Alas for my progressive colleagues, our staff found that, if anything, coal ash landfills and ponds were more likely to be found near whites. That research was, of course, given no prominence in our report.

LET’S GET RID OF EVERYTHING THAT DISADVANTAGES DEMOCRATS :  Now that we’ve decided to open up the prisons and jails, eliminate fines and fees, and send the police packing, the issue of the excessive number of  “collateral consequences” for felony convictions is becoming a popular topic again.

Last year, the Commission on Civil Rights released a report calling for fewer such consequences.  My Commission colleague Peter Kirsanow and I filed a Statement that was somewhat sympathetic toward that goal.  We did worry that our colleagues were getting a bit carried away.

The most troubling thing about the Commission’s report was its over-emphasis of voting rights.  The report lamented that collateral consequences (e.g. laws that exclude convicted felons from certain jobs or benefits) make it difficult for ex-convicts to re-integrate into the economy.  But the only collateral consequence that it treated at length and indeed waxed poetic on–the denial of the right to vote–is also one that has nothing to do with re-integrating into the economy.  Funny thing that.

JOHN FUND:  AOC has a real primary challenger.

A DIFFERENT CASE:  If you are wondering whether Justice Gorsuch’s decision that Title VII prohibits discrimination on basis of sexual orientation will also control the case concerning bathroom and shower assignment of transgender students, the answer is (I believe) absolutely not.  The argument that Peter Kirsanow and I made in our amicus curiae brief should holds up just fine.

I FEEL LIKE I AM IN SOME SORT OF TIME WARP:  Suddenly every past report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights–no matter how poorly reasoned or flawed–is hot.  The one on inequity in public education is being talked about now.  Here is my dissent.  The data I saw showed that it’s true that the wealthiest school districts spend more on education than the poorest ones.  But the curve was U-shaped:  It was the ones in the middle that spent the least.  There may be reasons that the poorest districts need more, and I’m willing to engage on that issue.  But we need to be honest about it.

“ELITES APPEASE CANCEL CULTURE BULLIES“:  Read this if you can.  It’s by my friend Jim Allan at the University of Queensland.  It’s a rant.  But if you’re like me you could use a good rant right about now (and this is an excellent one).

If you run into the paywall (I didn’t until my third time through), I will try to come up with an alternative link.

FINES AND FEES:  The issue of what to do about jurisdictions that finance themselves out of fines and fees was popular right after the Ferguson riots.  Not surprisingly, it’s getting some play again now.

This is an issue for which there is a bit of agreement on the left and the right:  When municipalities see fines and fees as their primary method of raising revenue, they can get carried away.  Justice falls through the cracks.

The Commission did a report on the topic in 2017.  My statement agrees with my Progressive colleagues in some respects.  But it also points out that they’ve never seen a penalty that they didn’t hate–from the death penalty to incarceration to fines.  What’s left?  Should we go back to the pillory?

IS CHAZ EVOLVING INTO PARADISE?:  I’ll leave that for you to decide. 

OHIO IS CONSIDERING A “STAND YOUR GROUND” LAW: I am pretty sure this Commissioner Statement will clear up some of the misconceptions that Buckeye State legislators are hearing.

IT WAS EXPECTED, BUT IT STILL HURTS: The defenders of Proposition 209 were defeated in the Assembly late Wednesday. Our opponents had votes to spare (including the votes of one Republican, two post-election defectors from the GOP, and one Democrat who’d told his constituents in 2016 he would oppose any effort to repeal Prop 209).

The issue will now go to the Senate where we have a better chance. If ACA5 passes there, it will go to voters for a November referendum.

My friend Ward Connerly tweeted, “I never thought I would see the day when American citizens would have to vote to preserve their right to be treated equally regardless of skin color. But, I never thought I would see the day when my government would require me to drink my soda from a paper straw either.”

Many great Americans helped in the effort to convince the Assembly.

On to the Senate.

COSTLY MYTHS:  Certain myths are so commonplace on the left that I really don’t know how to bring them back to reality.  One is that crimes rates are equal across all racial groups and that if arrest rates differ it must be due to police officer racism.  A variation on that concedes that crime rates are different, but has an unusual explanation for it:  The claim is that African American children misbehave in school no more that Asian students, but they get punished more due to teacher racism.  This is turn causes the students to miss school due to suspensions.  They get behind in their studies and end up turning to crime when they get older.  I know it sounds like I must have simply misunderstood the argument, but that’s really not the case.  I dissented from a Commission on Civil Rights report that made that kind of argument here.

DON’T REPEAL PROPOSITION 209:  The Assembly is supposed to vote on whether to repeal Proposition 209 today.  Check out my op-ed in the San Diego Union Tribune:  “How Prop 209 Helped Under-Represented Minority Students Succeed at California Universities.”

“DO THE MATH … OR NOT”:  The dumbing down of college education is a frightening thing.  When University of North Carolina students failed at math and statistics at alarming rates, the administration “solved” the problem … by creating alternate “pathways” to success that are more “applicable and equitable.”  Beat your head against the wall, America.  We’re failing.

LET’S GET RID OF THE CHICAGO POLICE TOO … NO … WAIT:  “18 Murders in 24 hours:  Inside the most violent day in 60 years in Chicago.”

(Some history on how African American neighborhoods really do suffer most when law enforcement officers fail to keep the peace.)

OUR FEVERED TIMES:  Liberty Unyielding:  “Los Angeles Starts to Defund Its Police.”

(For more on the ridiculous view that tolerating more crime somehow benefits African American communities, see this statement of mine from a year or so ago.)

HOT:  The California legislature’s effort to repeal Proposition 209 continues apace.  Despite my written testimony before the Assembly Appropriations Committee showing that, over time, Prop 209 has saved the state at least a BILLION DOLLARS in public contracting costs, the Appropriation Committee reported the bill out Wednesday afternnoon.  (Testimony before that committee is limited to a bill’s fiscal impact.)  The issue now goes to the full Assembly.

Also reported out was a bill to study slave reparations.  (Note that California was never a slave state.)

NOTE TO WHITE HOUSE: PLEASE SEND REINFORCEMENTS: Since December, President Trump has the ability to appoint two new members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.  So far, he has only appointed one.  When we get the second appointment, the Commission will be politically balanced at 4-4.  At that point we won’t have accept reports that congratulate our current Chair for the work she in the Obama Administration to undermine the First Amendment, reports on school discipline that clearly and unequivocally misunderstand the empirical data, or reports that misleadingly suggest that immigration detention center are hell holes that serve maggots in the food.  I know you’ve got a lot to do.  But it’s been a while.

JOHN FUND:  “It’s Past Time to Examine How Police Unions Protect Bad Cops.”

“AMAZON BRUSHES OFF CONSERVATIVE QUESTIONS ON SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER TIES”:  Maybe they should read something about the SPLC’s history.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO HELP STOP THE REPEAL OF PROP 209: … but you don’t have a lot of extra time on your hands, one easy thing to do is follow me on Twitter as I argue against the repeal. Now and then “like,” comment, and/or retweet as you think appropriate.

Twitter is ghastly. I hate it. But times being what they are, it’s the easiest way to get messages to the otherwise very-difficult-to-contact state legislators who are deciding the fate of Prop 209. It’s just so #$% annoying that in this age of instant communication, it is harder than ever to make contact with our state legislators. All my tweets are directed to legislators. Otherwise Twitter is like yelling out the window to whoever happens to be walking by.

The next week or two (maybe even the next four days) will be crucial in determining the fate of Prop 209.