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Kevin, the last sentence of your letter seems very logical to me. Good letter.

We know, of course, that the liberal minority has NEVER sought to impose anything on anybody. That's why this congress is such a model of restraint?? That's why the president feels too constrained by the Constitution??

I totally agree, Mr. Smith. With every other institution in the country getting dumbed down and mediocrity now being accepted as the new norm in the name of fairness, why should the Baltimore Fire Dept. be any different? If the rest of the country can accept the fact that some of us may have to be burned to death in a house fire in order to dispel this notion that the same test given to two people is 'fair', the people of Baltimore can too.

"...it is now the case that all four judges who heard the facts decided to allow New Haven to make its own employment decisions and to reject the results of an obviously flawed test."

Who said the test was "obviously flawed" or did Kevin Smith simply make up this "fact" on his own?

BTW, Kevin. The city of New Haven had a contract with the firefighters union and this contract spelled out that this test, both written and oral, was the basis of the promotion. This has nothing to do with a conservative majority wanting to impose their ideology, IT WAS IN THEIR CONTRACT.

The only reason the city reneged on the promotions was the fear of being sued by the black firefighters. Well that decision sure backfired.

Good for those firefighters to fight for what is right. They proved their merit according to the contract and should have been promoted according to the terms of the contract. This case is Exhibit A of what can happen when feel good diversity advocates attempt to trump individual merit in the name of diversity.

Excellent letter Mr. Smith. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone capable of rational thought debunked Davenport on this. I could have, I suppose, but I didn't know all the details of the decision in question, and was far too lazy to do the research.
I think Davenport came up with the names of every one of Bush's programs: the plan which allowed for more air pollution was the 'Clear Skies Act', the plan to dismantle the public school system was 'No Child Left Behind', the slogan for the debacle in Iraq was 'Mission Accomplished'.
Davenport is like Bizzarro from the Superman comics. His reality is the exact mirror opposite of the reality the rest of us live in. If Davenport tells me it's going to be hot and sunny tomorrow, I'm digging out my snow shovel and wearing my boots. I could go on, but even Lefties have to go to work in the morning...

"a form of dicrimination that does not exist" is untrue. If the white firefighter performed best on a test that was prepared especially to be non discriminatory and they did not receive the promotions they earned they were discriminated against solely because of their race. This is wrong and you know it. Even ultra liberal ginsberg said in her dissent that you must have more than statistics to prove a test is discrimanatory.Promotions should be based on merit not the color of someones skin. How someone could defend the absolute racism of sotomayors decision baffles me.I have a feeling that Kevin wouldn't mind the court imposing it's idealogy on local hiring if it agreed with his own ideology. What a letter full on garbage.

HURRAY FOR WHITE PEOPLE WHO STOOD UP FOR THEMSELVES . . . AND DIDN'T ALLOW REVERSE DISCRIMINATION ON THIER WATCH . . . SOMEONE SHOULD ISSUE A STATEMENT OF "REGRET" FROM THE "OTHER" COMMUNITY . . . FOR THESE WRONGS SUFFERED BY THE WHITE FIREMEN . . . IT'S ONLY FAIR.

I guess the SAT is flawed as well.

It's an insult to blacks to insinuate that they aren't able to perform as well on a standardized test as whites. What could possibly be on this test that would make it harder for blacks to pass?

Kevin, never mind what the conservative "naysayers" say here; next time (with a new court appointee) the count may again be 5-4, in favor of the "yeasayers!" Much to the chagrin of the "naysayers," of course! Naysayers just don't seem to understand anything practical these days. do they?

"obviously flawed test"
Basketball at most high schools must be a racist game since most whites do not make the team even though whites outnumber blacks in America 6:1.
In fact, all sports are racist since the makeup of sports teams do not properly include white players. It *must* be discrimination when white players do not make the team, as I am sure Kevin Smith would agree.

The fact is, we have been lowering the bar for years in the interests of "ethic" diversity. It started in our schools and is now being projected into the workplace. Instead of crying for people who do not or refuse to meet the requirements, why not celebrate our minority citizens who are the achievers and leaders in society. There are many outstanding minority citizens who have earned and deserve our respect and accolades.