woiyo wrote:I could not disgreee more with Krugman on this position.
"Last Thursday there was a huge march in Jena, La., to protest the harsh and unequal treatment of six black students arrested in the beating of a white classmate. Students who hung nooses to warn blacks not to sit under a "white" tree were suspended for three days; on the other hand, the students accused in the beating were initially charged with second-degree attempted murder.
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The problem is not that the black student was punished too severly.
It is that they did not punish thew white kid s for hanging the rope on the tree.
They didnt punish the white kids enough, thats true.
BUT,there is a big difference between hanging a noose in a tree and actually beating somebody.
Should the kids that hung the noose have been punished more?
YES they should have.
But,they didnt assault anyone, they didnt beat anyone, and they didnt use a gang to attack one person.
That is the difference.
Advocate,
As far as giving DC a voting member in Congress, that would require changing the Constitution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Washington%2C_D.C.
Quote:Throughout much of its history, Washington D.C. residents lacked representation in the Federal government. The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961, gave the District representation in the electoral college. The 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act provided the local government more control of affairs, including direct election of the city council and mayor. Because it is not a state, the District of Columbia still lacks voting rights in Congress.
Quote:Amendment 23 - Presidential Vote for District of Columbia. Ratified 3/29/1961. History
1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
And for your education, here is the District of Columbia Home Rule Act...
http://www.abfa.com/ogc/hrtall.htm
So,until DC actually becomes a state,they cannot have a voting member of congress, according to the constitution.