W E D N E S D A Y , J U L Y 2 7 , 2 0 0 5Once More Into The Breachby Michael in New York on 7/27/2005 04:34:00 PMOkay, how about THIS article in The New Yorker.</p><p> Jeffrey Toobinhas a fine piece about one of the first big cases the SupremeCourt will face in October.</p><p> It's about gay rights, in a way, andJudge Roberts would probably be voting with Scalia, Thomas,et al.In short, it's about the Solomon Amendment -- it demands thatany college or university that accepts federal money must allowmilitary recruiters on campus, even if those recruiters violatecampus policy and insist on discriminating against theuniversity's students.The practice of refusing to allow recruiters for businesses oncampus when they made clear they would discriminate againstblacks or Jews or women began in law schools and wasremarkably effective.</p><p> It didn't end prejudice or discriminationbut major companies and law firms that wanted access to thebest and the brightest had to end their explicit bans onminorities.</p><p> This practice really flourished on gay rights.</p><p> Sincethe military bans gays from serving openly, they've beenbanned from many campuses around the country.So whose rights prevail? The right of the federal government toattach strings to money it gives to universities? Or the right ofuniversities to free speech and the ability to reject hate anddiscrimination against its students?Here's my beef.</p><p> Toobin writes:Even though the FAIR case is rooted in the law schools’attempt to address discrimination on the basis of sexualorientation, the case is not, strictly speaking, about gayrights.</p><p> It is, rather, a First Amendment case, about whetherthe Solomon Amendment impinges on the right to freedomof speech at universities, and whether the governmenthas the right to use the leverage of federal aid toinsist that the military be treated like otheremployers.That's certainly the point of view of the Bush administration:The theme of the government’s brief in the case, which wasfiled last week, is equality: the amendment simply puts thegovernment on a level playing field with other potentialemployers.But isn't this case about the exact opposite? Bush wants the militarytreated DIFFERENTLY from every other employer.</p><p> Every otheremployer must abide by certain basic university policies and agreenot to discriminate against its students.</p><p> No other employer can walkon campus and say to them, "Don't bring us any black students.</p><p> Wewon't hire them." Or behave similarly with women or gays or Jews orMuslims or any other group you can name.So Bush wants special rights for the military.</p><p> If the military wastreated the same as everyone else, it would be shown the door andtold "Thanks but no thanks." Just like everyone else.</p><p> EschatonPretty Much - I think this encapsulates nicely ourmodern media environment.1 hour ago HuffPost PoliticsHuckabee's Huck Pac In Turmoil With StaffTurnover, Mounting Debts - Former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee's political action committee, HuckPac, is undergoing a "restructuring," ExecutiveDirector Sarah Huckabee said Wednesday....2 hours ago Ben SmithGoing small - My story tonight: President BarackObama came alive about 50 minutes intoWednesday night’s news conference – whensomebo2 hours ago FiredoglakeLate Late Night FDL: What Eclipse? - A new videofrom Fatoumata Diawara, and and oldie from Bob.2 hours ago Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Today, srkp23(pulling a double shift), ybruti, taylormattd,ItsJessMe and vcmvo2 combed through hundredsof diaries to find this powerful list.</p><p> Today's...3 hours agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T V AmoLatino.comFeedback - Ads by Google Next 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Once ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/once-more-into-breach.html 1 of 57/23/09 3:51 AMVisit ourAMERICAblog TV site.see all 322 videos >I collect with vodpod In honor of SenatorDeMint For the GOPers, healthcare is politics.</p><p> They just Traditional media has todebunk the birthers One small step...</p><p> The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, inAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Once ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/07/once-more-into-breach.html 2 of 57/23/09 3:51 AMThe TreatmentObama Has a Grown-UpTalk With America(Gulp)3 hours agoEzra KleinTab Dump8 hours agoWonk RoomSen.</p><p> Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’9 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .10 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' ProposalsG AY P O L I T I C S Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S Blog RSS AMERICAblog TV RSS Twitter RSSTwitter Feed Get the blog by email: Subscribe me! 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