Trilogy of Supreme Court Decisions
First Supreme Court Decision- Ending Race-based Affirmative Actions in College Admissions. This decision renews the premise of equal opportunity, which is the promise our founders wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “All men are created equal.”
JB Pritzker called the decision to end affirmative action based on race a “travesty” in his press release. He taunts the ruling in his press release saying,
…to students of color, you belong in our institutions. And no archaic ruling will ever change that."
What exactly does he mean by that? Will he continue to make race a factor in public higher ed admissions in Illinois?
He mentioned the damage slavery and Jim Crow laws did to blacks, arguing that they have not been atoned for. He does so without mentioning that it was his Democrat party that wanted to keep slavery, instituted Jim Crow laws, and advocated for separate but equal government schools.
For Pritzker and his party, it is all about race. The Black Caucus effectively controls the Illinois House. There’s a Latino Caucus too. Can you even imagine having a White caucus?
Hopefully, the ruling ends other race-based programs. But I doubt it.
The Illinois FY24 budget includes $4 million each for the Asian American Family Commission, the Latino Family Commission, and the African-American Family Commission.
Pritzker’s Opening Doors initiative this year provides $20 million for closing costs and down payments to ONLY low-income PEOPLE OF COLOR. That’s racist.
There’s $10 million for the African-American HIV/AIDS Response Fund. And many more such programs.
In Cook County, they attempted to distribute $71 million in small business grants with one of the factors being race. Women, veterans, LGBTQ, and disabled people were also given preference. That all stopped when a white business owner took them to court and won because, of course, obvious to everyone but elected race-baiting politicians – the program violated the 14th Amendment. Not rocket science folks.
Indeed, that statute’s (The Civil Rights Act of 1964) language is so clear that some analysts suggested there was no need to look at the Constitution at all: “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
The Illinois Board of Higher Ed put out a statement too, saying, “The ruling is an attack on people of color, particularly black people, who face discrimination through multiple facets of American society,”
The biggest discrimination minorities face is the poor education they receive in failing public schools before they get to college. From Chicago to Decatur, black and brown students are not getting a good education. The reasons are multi-faceted, no one doubts that, but if you can’t read by the end of third grade, no amount of affirmative action is going to help.
Don't have time to read Justice Clarence Thomas' 60-page decision on the affirmative action case?
The Federalist gives readers a top 15 list of his most salient points. Read here:
Side note, the fact that the ruling does not apply to military academies needs to be corrected. Read here for more on that situation: STARRS: Responds to US Supreme Court Ruling and Service Academies | STARRS
Second SCOTUS Decision – Overturning Biden’s Student Loan Bailout. This is a start. But, taxpayers have already bailed out many student loans. I wrote about the Illinois bailout two years ago. In case you missed it, here is a link to my Chicago Tribune Op-Ed. This would have cost a minimum of $430 million and would have increased our national debt and added to the current inflation from the reckless spending of the last three years.
Bottomline - No one should be forced to pay off anyone else’s personal debts!
And any politician who thinks we should bail out failed banks, failed companies, failed green energy projects, social justice majors, or literally anyone else should lose their next election.
In his press release about the ruling, Pritzker had the audacity to say, “40% of Americans with student loans do not have a college diploma. These are hard-working families just trying to get by, who hoped to further their education and instead found themselves often saddled with insurmountable debt.”
OH – so because they didn’t get a degree, is more reason for me to bail out their student loan? You can’t make this up. Can anybody say Personal Responsibility?
Brian Wesbury had a great tweet about the whole thing.
On this topic, the WSJ editorial is good if you want to read more. The Supreme Court Cancels Biden’s Student Loan Power Grab - WSJ. They write:
Mr. Biden has now lost four big cases at the Court over his executive power grabs, including the vaccine mandate, the rent-eviction moratorium, and the Clean Power Plan. You’d think he’d get the message, but on Friday, he showed no regret for his lawlessness.
He vowed “to find other ways” to forgive student debt. In January, he proposed to sweeten the Obama income-based repayment plans by capping monthly payments at 5% of discretionary income and discharging unpaid debt after 20 years.
Borrowers who make less than $32,800 wouldn’t have to pay a penny, while the average borrower would save more than $1,000 a year or $20,000 over 20 years. The Penn Wharton budget model estimates this expansion could cost as much as $471 billion, which is on top of the half a trillion or so that is already set to be forgiven.
Congress didn’t authorize the President to cancel student loans on the installment plan either. There’s seldom education in the second kick of a mule, as Mitch McConnell likes to say, but the courts will have every reason to try over Mr. Biden’s next illegal loan cancellation.
“This article by NPR gives some pragmatic information about what happens now. 5 takeaways from Supreme Court's student loan relief decision: NPR
The Third SCOTUS Decision – The state cannot force you to use your creative talents in a way that violates your religious belief.
How many more times is SCOTUS going to have to settle this argument?
The Federalist writes,
In a perfect close to “pride month,” the Supreme Court ruled Friday that the alphabet people, or anyone else for that matter, cannot force you to affirm beliefs in violation of your own.
According to the high court, laws like Colorado’s “Anti-Discrimination Act,” which LGBT activists have used to bully Christians into going against their faith, violate Americans’ First Amendment right to free speech.
The reaction to this ruling is over-the-top! Literally every slippery slope argument that can be made is being made.
Again, our Governor taunts the ruling by saying this, as reported by NBC Chicago:
Today’s Supreme Court decision allows LGBTQ+ discrimination to pervade under the guise of free speech," Pritzker said in a statement. "This decision weaponizes religious freedom as a boon for bigotry, and in doing so, puts the burden on the millions of Americans who have fought for their right to love and live as they are.LGBTQ Americans deserve the same protections and rights as everyone else,
The statement continued,
Make no mistake: in Illinois, I promise that we will continue to fight to ensure you are respected and safe no matter who you love.
Can anyone take him seriously? A complete misinterpretation of the facts.
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