Thomas Sowell: Quota 'logic' part II

We need not rely on personal anecdotes, either his or mine. My research, using data from the American Council on Education, showed that black faculty members with the same degrees and publications as white faculty members were receiving higher pay than their white counterparts, as far back as 1969.

"Do you realise self-righteous ignorance has a half-life of over 4.5 billion years?"

ArabNews: Pirates Have Taken Over the Mayflower

For what have ideals and lofty pronouncements to do with the capture of foreign vessels, the massacre of their crews and the subsequent looting? All that matters is the heady knowledge that there are always greater treasures to be seized. After perhaps the third raid, that was it: This was the lifestyle they had gotten used to, and piracy became the defining principle of their existence. Never could there be any thought of returning to the shores from which they set sail. Others sailing freely and at leisure on the great ocean, which once belonged to everyone, are now all anchored — preoccupied only by the fear that their ship could be next on the Mayflower’s hit list.

But what of the small minority on the other ships who resist setting sail on a new course in uncharted waters, driven not by their own best interests but rather the forces of piracy? Yes, they acknowledge, their own ship is not the best place to live a life. But they are nevertheless proud of the fact that it is uniquely theirs, built by their forefathers and proudly maintained for generations against all the odds and against the elements. And after all is said and done, they have 4,000 years of history, not a mere 200.