Is Reverse-Racism Real?

The New York Times is having fun debating this question – Do whites suffer from racism? What are your thoughts?

For a good discussion on the issue, check out the debate between Pat Buchanan and Rachel Maddow.

Supreme Court to California – Release 30,000 Inmates

In a shocking decision a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court ordered the State of California to release roughly 30,000 inmates. The majority opinion, written by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, argued the release was necessary because overcrowding in California’s prisons caused “needless suffering and death.” The majority stated California’s bulging prison population meant the State was not in compliance with constitutional requirements (yet school officials can still lay hands on children and such an action is deemed discipline). Justice Antonin Scalia dissented, calling the decision “absurd.”

The Los Angeles Times explained the impact of the decision:

“State officials and lawyers for inmates differ over just how many prisoners will have to be released. In recent figures, the state said it had about 142,000 inmates behind bars, and the judges calculated the prison population would need to be reduced to about 110,000 to comply with constitutional standards.

Kennedy said the judges in California overseeing the prison-release order should ,accord the state considerable latitude to find mechanisms and make plans” that are “consistent with the public safety.’”

For the Supreme Court’s decision, complete with dissents, click here.