Supreme Court will re-hear Texas affirmative action

The Supreme Court said Monday it will dive back into the fight over the use of race in admissions at the University of Texas, a decision that presages tighter limits on affirmative action in higher education.

The justices said they will hear for a second time the case of a white woman who was denied admission to the university's flagship Austin campus.

The conservative-leaning federal appeals court in New Orleans has twice upheld the university's admissions process, including in a ruling last year that followed a Supreme Court order to reconsider the woman's case.

The case began in 2008 when Abigail Fisher, who is white, was denied admission to the University of Texas's flagship Austin campus because she did not graduate in the top 10 percent of her high school class -- the criterion for 75 percent of the school's admissions. The university also passed her over for a position among the remaining 25 percent, which is reserved for special scholarships and people who meet a formula for personal achievement that includes race as a factor.

The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2013. But rather than issue a landmark decision on affirmative action, it voted 7-1 to tell a lower appeals court to take another look at Fisher's lawsuit. That meant the university's admissions policies remained unchanged.

Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals again upheld the university's admissions policy. Fisher is a graduate of Louisiana State University.

Justice Elena Kagan is not taking part in the case. She sat out the first round as well, presumably because of her work on the case when she served in the Justice Department before joining the court.

The case, Fisher v. University of Texas, 14-981, will be argued in the fall.

Via: Fox News

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Austin’s Plastic Bag Ban Worse for Environment Than Bags It Outlaws

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CNSNews.com)-- In an effort to protect the environment, Austin,Texas passed an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags in 2013.

However, a recent review concludes that Austin’s bag ban has backfired, creating more negative effects on the environment than the plastic bags it outlawed.

“Beginning March 1, 2013, no person may provide single-use carryout bags at any City facility, City-sponsored event, or any event held on City property,” the ordinance reads. “Beginning March 1, 2013, a business establishment within the City limits may not provide single-use carryout bags to its customers or to any person.”

Two years after the bag ban was implemented, the city asked the Austin Resource Recovery group to investigate its effectiveness. Their June 10 report, written by Aaron Waters, states that while the ban was successful in lowering the amount of single-use plastic bags made from high-density polyethylene in city landfills, it was actually worse for the environment overall.

“The amount of single use plastic bags has been reduced, both in count and by weight,” Waters states. “However, in their place, the larger 4 mil [4/1,000ths of an inch] bags have replaced them as the go to standard when the reusable bag is left at home. This reusable plastic bag, along with the paper bag, has a very high carbon footprint compared to the single use bag.”

The 4 mil reusable bags are often made from non-recycled low-density polyethylene and require more resources to manufacture than the single-use bags, Waters explained. Many of the heavier gauge 4 mil bags are also shipped from overseas, which increases their carbon footprint compared to the single-use bags.

Via: CNS News

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Why Veterans Preferred to Call These 10 Cities Home

1. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

Pittsburgh has an active business community with a number of companies headquartered in the area. The Pittsburgh area offers a vibrant downtown, historic neighborhoods and plenty to do with ample downtown shopping and nightlife along the river.

>> Find Out How Much You Need to Make in Pittsburgh

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Pittsburgh Snapshot

• Population - 2,357,981

• Median Home Price - $113,500

• Median Rental Price 2BR - $799

• Unemployment - 6.8%

• Local Employers - Alcoa, FedEx Ground

• Nearby College - University of Pittsburgh

2. AUSTIN, TEXAS

Austin area residents enjoy a strong economy, education opportunities, attractive housing options, a relatively pleasant climate and abundant activities. Area highlights include the University of Texas, an important music scene and a large tech industry. 

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Austin Snapshot

• Population - 1,731,777

• Median Home Price - $201,400

• Median Rental Price 2BR - $1,098

• Unemployment - 5.2%

• Local Employers - Union Pacific, City of Austin 

• Nearby Colleges - University of Texas

3. OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City, the capital and largest metro in the state, is a major hub for the oil industry and related manufacturing. The modern downtown features attractive parks and the restored "Bricktown" residential and entertainment district with a canal and promenade. 

>> Find Out How Much You Need to Make in Oklahoma City

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Oklahoma City Snapshot

• Population - 1,256,947

• Median Home Price - $126,000

• Median Rental Price 2BR - $751

• Unemployment - 5.1%

• Local Employers - 77 Energy, Chesapeake Energy

• Nearby Colleges - University of Oklahoma

Via: Daily Caller

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Americans Keep Moving to States With Low Taxes and Housing Costs

Where are Americans moving, and why? Timothy Noah, writing in the Washington Monthly, professes to be puzzled. He points out that people have been moving out of states with high per capita incomes -- Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland -- to states with lower income levels.

"Why are Americans by and large moving away from economic opportunity rather than toward it?" he asks.

Actually, it's not puzzling at all. The movement from high-tax, high-housing-cost states to low-tax, low-housing-cost states has been going on for more than 40 years, as I note in my new book Shaping Our Nation: How Surges of Migration Transformed America and Its Politics.

Between 1970 and 2010, the population of New York state increased from 18 million to 19 million. In that same period, the population of Texas increased from 11 million to 25 million.

The picture is even starker if you look at major metro areas. The New York metropolitan area, including counties in New Jersey and Connecticut, increased from 17.8 million in 1970 to 19.2 million in 2010 -- up 8 percent. During that time, the nation grew 52 percent.

In the same period, the four big metro areas in Texas -- Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin -- grew from 6 million to 15.6 million, a 160 percent increase.

Contrary to Noah's inference, people don't move away from opportunity. They move partly in response to economic incentives, but also to pursue dreams and escape nightmares.

Opportunity does exist in the Northeastern states and in California -- for people with very high skill levels and for low-skill immigrants, without whom those metro areas would have lost, rather than gained, population over the last three decades.

But there's not much opportunity there for people with midlevel skills who want to raise families. Housing costs are exceedingly high, partly, as Noah notes, because of restrictive land use and zoning regulations.

And central city public schools, with a few exceptions, repel most middle-class parents.

High taxes produce revenues to finance handsome benefits and pensions for public employee union members in the high-cost states. It's hard to see how this benefits middle-class people making their livings in the private sector.

Via: Real Clear Politics

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Obama Declares “Al-Qaeda Has Been Decimated”…

Even as new information continues to surface revealing that the Obama White House may be embroiled in a cover-up scandal regarding the terror attack in Benghazi that left four Americans dead, the president took to the campaign trail in Wisconsin Thursday morning and actually declared that “al Qaeda has been decimated.” Recall that the carnage in Libya was, according to experts, waged by al Qaeda or pro-al Qaeda affiliates like the militant group Ansar al Sharia, which even claimed credit for the attack.

The president made the ire-inducing remark during a campaign stop at Austin Straubel International Airport Thursday morning where he spoke to a crowd of some 2,600 people. Obama, wearing a flight-jacket, addressed Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, then touched on the economy but  highlighted what he framed as his accomplishments in foreign policy, including smiting Osama bin Laden and yes, “decimating al Qaeda.”

“The war in Afghanistan is winding down,” the president said. “al Qaeda has been decimated. Osama bin Laden is dead. So we made real progress these last four years, but Wisconsin, we know our work’s not done yet.”

Obama’s statement, for many conservatives, is the ultimate in hubris and they took to Twitter to convey as much. Consider the following tweets, courtesy of Twitchy:

Via: The Blaze

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