This was well researched and written, though it would almost be easier at this point to name rights that the DOJ is not weakening, tampering with or outright destroying. Their acting AG appears to be in lockstep or at least in cahoots with the resident of the White House and the six justices of the supreme court.
The magas in suits, maybe. Those in t-shirts and wearing work boots are already getting that it will only seem to apply to them. They will still be at the bottom. Approval ratings are going DOWN among them as they see their lives impacted directly by the so-called policies of the Trump "administration".
I think they are real policies, decided on a whim by the Ringmaster... ("whim" being the administrative process he put into place to decide which tribe of unfortunates to punish next); the policy is then executed by his abundant incompetent but extremely ambitious sycophants.
I don't even know what to say. This hits me in the pit of my stomach hard. I am retired now, but I worked in a male-dominated field. I was respected and got along well with my co-workers. One day, a recent hire joined us at break, while we were telling funny stories about our work. For some reason this guy informed me, out of the blue, that the only reason I had the job was "because of Affirmative Action". I looked him in the eye, and informed him that "No, I got this job because I was the best qualified". I was literally at the top of the list because I had the qualifications. He looked stunned when my male co-workers spontaneously and vociferously backed me up.
It made me realize how little many people knew about how Affirmative Action and similar programs work. It offsets the still entrenched bias against women, handicapped people, and people of color. It doesn't make it go away: I still experienced the bias on a personal level. It sure as heck hasn't gone away. The Justice Department didn't resurrect it: it just revealed how entrenched it is, and is attempting to rewrite the law that served as a guard rail. I have daughters and granddaughters who are also part of other protected groups.
This is one more illegal attempt to sideline their goals and skills. Are they going to have to fight the same struggles my generation and my mother's generation thought we'd finally broke through? It's even more startling that the Department of Justice did this on its own, outside any semblance of normal and legal procedures,
The DOJ can opine all it wants. The law still stands as written unless and until Congress changes it. Courts can ignore the DOJ to my knowledge, the DOJ has no authority to declare what a law means -- it is just an advocate. Courts can even ignore the EEOC, which does have authority to interpret the discrimination laws if the court believes the EEOC misinterpreted the law.
Amy, the law stands as written, and has been twisted by some courts (including SC) to mean something else. I hope that enough people and lawyers are willing to fight back. We know now we can win. I think you are right that Courts will cut this attempt off. But we had better not take it for granted, If you need an example, look at Roe v Wade.
The Department of Jokers strikes again.
This was well researched and written, though it would almost be easier at this point to name rights that the DOJ is not weakening, tampering with or outright destroying. Their acting AG appears to be in lockstep or at least in cahoots with the resident of the White House and the six justices of the supreme court.
Next, the fascists are going to make it illegal to have anything but white skin and the magats will cheer.
The magas in suits, maybe. Those in t-shirts and wearing work boots are already getting that it will only seem to apply to them. They will still be at the bottom. Approval ratings are going DOWN among them as they see their lives impacted directly by the so-called policies of the Trump "administration".
I think they are real policies, decided on a whim by the Ringmaster... ("whim" being the administrative process he put into place to decide which tribe of unfortunates to punish next); the policy is then executed by his abundant incompetent but extremely ambitious sycophants.
"...it is not the Supreme Court has held this. Rather, it is just the very conservative Justice Department on its own ..."
But, never fear, the Court will go along.
I don't even know what to say. This hits me in the pit of my stomach hard. I am retired now, but I worked in a male-dominated field. I was respected and got along well with my co-workers. One day, a recent hire joined us at break, while we were telling funny stories about our work. For some reason this guy informed me, out of the blue, that the only reason I had the job was "because of Affirmative Action". I looked him in the eye, and informed him that "No, I got this job because I was the best qualified". I was literally at the top of the list because I had the qualifications. He looked stunned when my male co-workers spontaneously and vociferously backed me up.
It made me realize how little many people knew about how Affirmative Action and similar programs work. It offsets the still entrenched bias against women, handicapped people, and people of color. It doesn't make it go away: I still experienced the bias on a personal level. It sure as heck hasn't gone away. The Justice Department didn't resurrect it: it just revealed how entrenched it is, and is attempting to rewrite the law that served as a guard rail. I have daughters and granddaughters who are also part of other protected groups.
This is one more illegal attempt to sideline their goals and skills. Are they going to have to fight the same struggles my generation and my mother's generation thought we'd finally broke through? It's even more startling that the Department of Justice did this on its own, outside any semblance of normal and legal procedures,
The DOJ can opine all it wants. The law still stands as written unless and until Congress changes it. Courts can ignore the DOJ to my knowledge, the DOJ has no authority to declare what a law means -- it is just an advocate. Courts can even ignore the EEOC, which does have authority to interpret the discrimination laws if the court believes the EEOC misinterpreted the law.
Amy, the law stands as written, and has been twisted by some courts (including SC) to mean something else. I hope that enough people and lawyers are willing to fight back. We know now we can win. I think you are right that Courts will cut this attempt off. But we had better not take it for granted, If you need an example, look at Roe v Wade.