On Friday, one police officer was killed and another critically wounded when a gunman opened fire on them inside a Harlem apartment. They were the third and fourth officers to be shot in the line of duty in the last week. “This was just not an attack on three brave officers. This was an attack on the city of New York,” said Mayor Eric Adams. In a solemn speech today, Adams called for immediate changes to add police officers to city streets to remove guns, and for help from the courts and state lawmakers in the months ahead. Mr. Adams’s plan included the restoration of an anti-gun police unit and called on state lawmakers to make a number of changes, including to New York’s bail law and to a law that altered how the state handles teenage defendants. We can never forget that our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day. The violence needs to stop.
Per multiple sources including the NY Times, the Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide whether race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina are lawful, putting the fate of affirmative action in higher education at risk. The court has repeatedly upheld similar programs, most recently in 2016. But recent changes in the court’s membership have made it more conservative, and the challenged programs are almost certain to meet skepticism. The case against Harvard accused it of discriminating against Asian American students by using a subjective standard to gauge traits like likability, courage and kindness and by effectively creating a ceiling for them in admissions.
When I was younger, I was not a big advocate for affirmative action mostly because I was ignorant. Growing up in River Rouge and attending River Rouge High School, which was pretty much equally divided between black and white, I didn’t see a need for affirmative action. At RRHS you earned your status based on your accomplishments, not on the color of your skin. I sure never felt I had privileged status because I was white. It wasn’t until I started to see life outside of River Rouge that my eyes were opened to the need of affirmative action. When I looked around my workplace at U of M Hospital finance department, I didn’t see any people of color in management positions. I couldn’t even get applications of people of color for management positions because there were very few people of color going into accounting and finance. Those that were, were hired by the major firms. I also learned that people tend to hire people that they are comfortable with hiring (comfortable meaning the person looks and act like themselves), not necessarily the person who is best qualified for the job. My eyes were opened as to why there were so few women and people of color in finance and accounting. The more experience I gained the more I saw the need for important programs, such as affirmative action, that equal the playing field for minorities and women. It takes more than affirmative action programs to make a major difference. It takes commitment by those in charge. However, programs like affirmative action help level the playing field. If the Supreme Court starts tearing down affirmative action, the backsliding this country has been doing in recent years will only increase.
On Sunday I listened to or watched about ten minutes of football. The last five minutes of the Rams/Buccaneers game and the last five minutes of the Chiefs/Bills game. During those ten minutes there were six touchdowns, four extra points, one two-point conversion, and two last minute field goals that either won the game or sent it into overtime. A total of 48 points were scored. In all my years I have never seen two finishes like there were in the games on Sunday. Saturday’s games when both games were won by the visiting team with last second field goals were just a preview of what was going to happen on Sunday.
What are you doing today to stop violence? What are you doing today to expand mental health services for those in need? What are you doing today to make sure your guns are not are accessible to minors in your household?
Stay Safe. Social Distance. Wear your mask when indoors in public places. Schedule your vaccine and booster.
Orchid of the Day: The National Football League divisional playoff games. It was a tremendous weekend with all games in doubt until the final whistle was blown.
Onion of the Day: The violent hoodlums who ambushed the NY City police officers on Friday. Such a gutless act.
Quote of the Day: “We will not surrender our city to the violent few,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams
Song/Video of the Day: Matthew Stafford and the Ram’s last minute drive against Tom Brady and the Bucs.
Let’s see. My daughter, husband and father served proudly in the military. Other members lost their lives in various wars. The hope of having equal access to opportunity could be stripped away by the Supreme Court. There are 8500 troops on alert some of who will be directly affected by the decision to eliminate Affirmative Action. It would be tantamount to telling those affected, “You have the right to serve, potentially die but don’t ever expect to thrive.”
Sharon,
Thanx for your response my very good friend. Affirmative action is not perfect, but it is better than nothing. I hope SCOTUS does not overhaul it.
Biggs
Tom, nice to see you on Linkedin. I worked at Michigan Medicine for 40 years. The SCOTUS has disappointed us in decision after decision since the gutting of the voting rights law. Many of our hard won civil rights are threatened. Putin is a threat, 2022 and 2024 elections are up for grabs and yet we must persist in trusting that loooooong arc is bending to the side of more justice. Mask up!
Susan,
Good to hear from you. As we are learning SCOTUS is important. Unfortunately, it has been gutted.
Biggs