Center for Equal Opportunity
Chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a nonprofit public-policy, research organization in Washington, DC that is against affirmative action; former White House director of public liaison and staff director of the US Commission on Civil Rights (1983-1985)
Affirmative Action in College Admissions and the US Supreme Court In the Grutter case almost 10 years ago, a divided US Supreme Court rejected racial quotas in college admissions. But it said race could be one factor in the effort to diversify student bodies and make up for the history of racial discrimination. It was a divided decision, and the court said it would take up the issue again. Today, in the case of Abigail Fisher , a white student rejected by the University of Texas, it made good on its promise. We hear what the Court heard about race-based and race-neutral strategies.
Affirmative Action in College Admissions and the US Supreme Court In the Grutter case almost ten years ago, a divided US Supreme Court rejected racial quotas in college admissions. But it said race could be one factor in the effort to diversify student bodies and make up for the history of racial discrimination. It was a divided decision, and the court said it would take up the issue again. Today, in the case of Abigail Fisher , a white student rejected by the University of Texas, it made good on its promise. If not affirmative action based on race, then what? What about economic class? Or should academic merit be the only standard for deciding who gets in, especially to more selective institutions? We hear arguments with far-reaching implications about guaranteeing equal opportunity in an increasingly diverse society.
Wall Street, Main Street and Economic Crisis The finger of blame for the worst economic mess since the Great Depression has been pointed mainly at Wall Street, but what about Main Street, where ordinary Americans were living on credit cards and subprime mortgages, borrowed money might never pay back? The Christmas season was as dismal as had been expected? On this archived discussion of To the Point, it's worth asking, as we did in October, about economic recovery. Does China's high savings rate and few credit cards offer a better model? Will the crisis change America's values?
Consumer Complicity in the Credit Crisis The finger of blame for the worst economic mess since the Great Depression has been pointed mainly at Wall Street. But what about Main Street, where ordinary Americans have been living on credit cards and sub-prime mortgages, borrowed money they'll never pay back? Now that the roof's falling in, can consumers afford to continue spending? If they don't, what happens to economic recovery? China's consumer economy is booming, with a high savings rate and very few credit cards. Is that a better model? Will the crisis change America's values? We'll raise these and other questions today.
Racial Balance in Public Schools Thirty-nine years after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King , America is still arguing about how to achieve racial equality. In the 1950's, US Supreme Court decisions provided a legal rationale for the civil rights movement and Dr. King. Key among those was Brown versus the Board of Education , which outlawed school segregation on the grounds that separate schools were inherently unequal. Forced busing is a thing of the past, but racial preferences are still used in many places to accomplish ethnic diversity. The current US Supreme Court has been asked to outlaw voluntary affirmative-action plans in Seattle, Washington and Louisville, Kentucky . Does the Constitution require that government be "color blind" or does "equal opportunity" mandate that race be a factor in school admissions? We speak with journalists, educators, public policy experts, civil rights activists and others.
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?