Remember Tweety's comments re: Ricci v DeStefano (Affirmative Action Fire Dept)?

Here's a nice commentary from The Root.com regarding that show with Pat Buchanan. Apologies if it's been posted before. Also I have to leave so I won't be responding right away (e.g. not intended to be a "hit and run").

"The justices will issue their ruling next month. Ricci is an important affirmative action case for many reasons, not least of which because it’s become something of a rallying point for white men who can finally release some of the pent-up tension after the election of the first black president (in the Hardball segment, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan suggested that the Republican Party reorganize its image around the white plaintiff in this case). But it’s also got the kind of facts that make well-meaning white folks, and even some blacks, uncomfortable about the parameters of affirmative action.

It seems like a simple case. The New Haven Fire Department conducted an examination for applicants seeking promotion to captain and lieutenant. No black test takers made the cut, so the city, fearing it would run afoul of employment antidiscrimination laws, scuttled the test. To many, this just sounds fundamentally unfair.

But the Ricci case is not that simple. And that’s the problem with conversations about affirmative action. You say “affirmative action,” and people think they know what you’re talking about. They threw out the test? That’s unfair to the white applicants. Why couldn’t the black applicants just pass the test? Who wants a firefighter in a command position who can’t pass the test? Won’t this just stigmatize black firefighters?

What the exchange on Hardball and most discussions about this case show is the danger of talking about affirmative action in the absence of facts. I know that we lawyers tend to muck up good arguments with facts, but facts are important. So here are a few facts you may want to know about the Ricci case before you get into an argument about affirmative action at the water cooler."

http://www.theroot.com/views/playing-hardball-affirmative-action