Education Secretary plays the race card

Education Secretary Arne Duncan was in Selma on Monday to commemorate the civil rights march that took place there. In a speech, Duncan said that the problems plaguing our public schools weren't due to teachers unions or low standards, but too much discipline against African-American students.

In a speech commemorating the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” civil rights protest in Selma, Ala., Education Secretary Arne Duncan referred to certain failing public schools in America as “dropout factories” and places that “seem to suspend and discipline only young African-American boys.”

“The achievement gap in our country is shameful,” Duncan said on Monday. He said some public schools are discriminating against students because of their race, gender, or disability by limiting their access to advanced and college preparatory classes. “Fifty-six years after Brown v. Board of Education, 45 years after Bloody Sunday, the achievement gap is still a cancer that imperils our national progress.”

Duncan is acting on behalf of teachers' unions like the National Education Association which want to see more federal prosecutions under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Title VI forbids institutions receiving federal assistance to discriminate on the basis of race, particularly schools. Duncan's words mirror the actions of the DOJ Civil Rights Division, which has aggressively prosecuted alleged cases of discrimination. If Duncan gets his way, the result could be an increase in civil rights prosecutions against schools. Schools could be targeted if Duncan feels that too many black children are being disciplined there, for example.

Before coming to Washington, Duncan was CEO of the Chicago Public Schools under Governor Rod Blagojevich. The CPS ranked 49th out of 50th in state-by-state ratings.

Civil Rights Division thinks American citizenship is racist

The good people of Georgia are still subjected to an old provision in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that requires them to get permission from the Justice Department to change state voting laws. The antiquated law was meant to prevent southern states from trying to limit blacks' right to vote. It's never caused any problems, until Obama's DOJ came to town.

A new law passed in Georgia would require new voters to present a driver's license and Social Security Number when they register to vote. It's to an effort to keep illegal immigrants off the voting rolls. The DOJ's notorious Civil Rights Division jumped in and refused to approve the law because it "unfairly burdened a disproportionate number of minorities."

Yes, Obama's government is actually arguing that presenting proof of American citizenship is racist.

It's unclear whether the CRD is doing this because illegal immigrants are a key Democrat constituency or because the CRD is populated by race-baiting radicals. (Probably a combination of both.) But Georgia is fed up. In a courageous move, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced the state will be suing the Justice Department to get the law passed. "The State of Georgia will no longer watch the Obama Justice Department play politics with our election processes and protections," Kemp said. This is the first time that anyone has stood up to the Civil Rights Division's racial bullying and we at ObamaWatchNews wish Kemp all the best.

Surprise! More wicked hypocrisy from the Justice Department

Today's instance comes from the Civil Rights Division (another shocker). The DOJ has refused to investigate ACORN. It has swept the Black Panthers' revolting voter intimidation in Philadelphia under the rug. But when some loser at his computer threatens La Raza, the big guns come out.

Vincent Johnson of Brick, New Jersey stands charged with sending threatening e-mails to several pro-amnesty illegal immigrant groups, including La Raza, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund, and the League of United Latin American Citizens. The e-mails contain violent threats, but they could have easily been handled by state police. "Nutjob Sends Threatening E-mails" isn't exactly a shocking development. Most political organizations get them every day.

But when Obama's cronies at La Raza are under attack, you can be sure the entire Civil Rights Division will swing into action. (Republican voters in Philadelphia are a different story.) Of course, this entire case has nothing to do with civil rights. The e-mails threaten illegal aliens, not Hispanics. File this under "Hypocrisy" while we stare at our watches and wait for the DOJ to lift a finger against ACORN.

Barack Obama's Sotomayor Justice

Remember the New Haven firefighters? They studied hard and passed an exam qualifying them to be firefighters in the city of New Haven, Connecticut. But their results were thrown out after New Haven determined that the test was invalid because not enough African-Americans had scored highly. The firemen sued the city and Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, ruled against them.

This toxic racism has spread from Sotomayor's office to Barack Obama's Justice Department. Today, Justice announced that it is suing the state of New Jersey. Why? New Jersey requires candidates seeking to become police sergeants to take an exam, and not enough African-Americans and Hispanics are passing.

According to the press release, Justice wasn't going to allow any employment practices that resulted in something called "disparate impact." Disparate impact, also known as adverse impact, is a legal theory loved by liberals that forbids any employment practice "that does not appear to be discriminatory on its face; rather it is one that is discriminatory in its application or effect." It's affirmative action gone wild -- if enough minorities can't pass the test, then the test itself is illegal, even if the intent was never to discriminate.

This travesty of a lawsuit is the result of Thomas Perez, the head of the Justice Department Civil Rights Division. Perez has pledged to increase hate crime prosecutions, among other racially discriminatory practices. He has promised to use his position to make sure any alleged victims of discrimination "are made whole." Thanks to disparate impact, Obama's Justice Department will practice Sotomayor Justice -- judging by skin color rather than the law.