ConfirmThem

Posted at 3:06pm on Jan. 21, 2008 MLK Day

By AndrewHyman

Here's a brief part of Martin Luther King's letter from a Birmingham jail (1963):

One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.

If an unjust law violates the Constitution, then judges can overturn the penalty. But not all unjust laws violate the Constitution, in which case the penalty should be accepted, as Dr. King said.

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Posted at 5:47pm on Dec. 31, 2007

By AndrewHyman

THE NEW YEAR
by John Greenleaf Whittier (1839)

The wave is breaking on the shore,
The echo fading from the chime;
Again the shadow moveth o'er
The dial-plate of time.
In that dying year hath been
The sum of all since time began;
The birth and death, the joy and pain,
Of Nature and of Man.
O'er the blackness of the storm
A bow of promise bends on high;
And gleams of sunshine, soft and warm,
Break through our clouded sky.

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Posted at 6:26pm on Dec. 22, 2007 Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Happy Channukah, and This is Not Necessarily an Endorsement :-)

By AndrewHyman

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Posted at 1:39am on Nov. 23, 2007 Hope you enjoyed this time of mourning

By Curt Levey

While on the subject of Thanksgiving (see previous post), I was both amused and disturbed to hear that the Seattle School District sent a letter to teachers and other staff, telling them "Thanksgiving can be a difficult time for many native students." The letter references the "myth" that "Thanksgiving is a happy time" and advises the staff that Thanksgiving is a "time of mourning" for many Indian people, and a "reminder of 500 years of betrayal."

This from the same Seattle School District whose web site, until recently, included some bizarre statements about race—for example:

1) "Future time orientation"—planning ahead—is a white characteristic that it is racist to expect minorities to exhibit.

2) "Cultural racism" includes "emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology" and "defining one form of English as standard."

3) Only whites can be racists.

4) The district has no intention "to hold onto unsuccessful concepts such as [a] . . . colorblind mentality."

Once it was pointed out that these statements are a great example of why local officials shouldn’t be given deference under the Equal Protection Clause, the school district took the statements down so as not to jeopardize their chances in Parents Involved v. Seattle School District. The Supreme Court struck down the race-based student assignment plan at issue anyway.

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Posted at 3:25am on Nov. 22, 2007 Happy Thanksgiving

By AndrewHyman

Here's a link to some nice poems about Thanksgiving. Trivia buffs might like to know that this holiday is today instead of next Thursday due to a 1941 decision by the U.S. Senate.

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Posted at 11:55pm on Jul. 3, 2007

By AndrewHyman

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Posted at 12:51pm on Dec. 31, 2006

By AndrewHyman

THE NEW YEAR
by John Greenleaf Whittier (1839)

The wave is breaking on the shore,
The echo fading from the chime;
Again the shadow moveth o'er
The dial-plate of time.
In that dying year hath been
The sum of all since time began;
The birth and death, the joy and pain,
Of Nature and of Man.
O'er the blackness of the storm
A bow of promise bends on high;
And gleams of sunshine, soft and warm,
Break through our clouded sky.

Posted in Holidays — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 5:21pm on Dec. 24, 2006 Season's Greetings

By AndrewHyman

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