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Fairfax County Public Schools is facing a second lawsuit over changes officials made last year to the admissions process at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, its flagship STEM magnet school. The suit, filed in federal court Wednesday, alleges the changes are discriminatory against Asian Americans and therefore violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. Some of the plaintiffs are also part of the initial lawsuit. Thomas Jefferson High, known as TJ, often ranks as the best public high school in the nation — but is also nationally known for struggling to admit Black and Hispanic...

The Merriam-Webster dictionary added a new definition of the word “preference” after Democrats criticized Judge Amy Coney Barrett for using the term “sexual preference” during her confirmation hearing. The dictionary now says that using the word “preference” in the context of “sexual preference” might be considered “offensive.” According to media critic Steve Krakauer, who is also the executive producer of Megyn Kelly’s podcast, the change was made Wednesday.

I wanted to create an open, honest & nonjudgemental thread about the possibility of a future conservative female candidate for president. I wonder what most males opinions are on the subject & how it might affect the vote for our side. I would like everybody to feel comfortable being totally honest. Everybody is entitled to their own preferences & I wouldn't assume anything bad about someone based on that opinion. In fact, often wondered what my own husbands opinion truly is on the topic. Would you go so far as to say you would never vote for a female for...

LEICESTER, United Kingdom - Catholic schools in the Republic of Ireland can no longer give preference to Catholic students. Richard Bruton, the Irish Minister for Education and Skills, made the announcement Oct. 3 on Twitter. Unlike in the United States, the government funds religious schools in Ireland, and about 96 percent of elementary schools in the country are under the patronage of a religious group, and approximately 90 percent of these schools are run by the Catholic Church. In some areas of the country - mostly in and around the capital Dublin - there are more students seeking places in...

The “good moral character” of President Obama’s illegal immigrant uncle, arrested for drunken driving in 2011, has earned him legal U.S. residency and a chance to apply for American citizenship, a judge has decided. This is a classic example of the benefits of having friends—in this case a nephew—in high places. Onyango “Omar” Obama had lived illegally in the U.S. for decades when he got busted driving drunk in Framingham Massachusetts. At the time of his arrest Uncle Onyango had already been deported yet continued to live and work in the Boston area and he had a valid Massachusetts drivers’...

Many studies have shown that being ugly is actually an economic disadvantage: it's a fact that good looking people make more money than ugly ones. But if you've got a face that only a mother could love, take heart. Economics professor Daniel S. Hamermesh of the University of Texas at Austin has a legal solution: affirmative action for ugly people! Why this disparate treatment of looks in so many areas of life? It’s a matter of simple prejudice. Most of us, regardless of our professed attitudes, prefer as customers to buy from better-looking salespeople, as jurors to listen to better-looking...

There are too many white men in the U.S. military. So says a report released this week by the Military Leadership Diversity Commission (MLDC), commissioned by Congress to examine ways to "increase diversity" in the military. The MLDC report finds that 77% of active-duty senior officers are white, 8% black, 5% Hispanic, and 16% women (of unspecified race). What's the answer to this "problem"? Is the MLDC recommending that white males stop volunteering for military service? Do they want to start "selecting" who among them volunteers for service? Are they recommending that there be quotas for military service, as with...

GARY | Black males have higher rates of incarceration and of repeat offenses that land them back in jail or prison, statistics show. Changing that dynamic could begin with expunging their criminal records. That was the consensus of a discussion Thursday sponsored by the Gary Commission on the Social Status of Black Males in conjunction with the East Chicago-based group Working Outside the Walls and an alliance of grassroot activists. The panel discussion brought together activists, religious leaders, law enforcement officers and area legislators to talk about a possible Expungement Summit in Northwest Indiana. Expunging the criminal records of juveniles...

Have not found scientific studies yet . . . but this link has some interesting assertions from the profession: http://planetoftheweb.com/components/promos.php?id=182&channel=Quantum%20Tips Evidently . . . "Lowercase letters are much more legible than uppercase letters. There is no difference in legibility between headlines set in all lowercase and those set in Uppercase/Lowercase. Display lines set in all capital letters are difficult to read. Body copy set in all caps is totally illegible. [the scientist in me says that's not accurate--hyperbole or some such] Words set in all caps are read letter by letter. Reading is approximately 15% slower in words set in...

Many N.Koreans Would Choose U.S. Over South: Poll Signs that the U.S. is opening its doors to refugees from North Korea, starting with a group of six who found asylum there Saturday, suggest defectors may soon be able to choose whether to go to America or South Korea, with many expected to pick the former option. A survey conducted by the Chosun Ilbo on Monday among 100 North Korean refugees who settled in South Korea found that 50 would go to the U.S. given a choice and 46 South Korea. The others were not sure. Of those who chose the...

4/7/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Airmen now have increased eligibility for veterans’ preference when released or discharged from active duty, Office of Personnel Management officials here wrote in a recently released memo. More servicemembers are now eligible for veterans’ preference when applying for government civilian jobs. Pres. George W. Bush signed into law the Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2006, which contained two provisions that broadened the definition of a “veteran” and clarified eligibility for those released or discharged from active duty, said the statement. The first provision gives preference to those who have served on active duty for a...

Editor's note: Readers may also be interested in New Jersey: An Islamic Murder of Coptic Christians?.Anyone following the investigation into the mid-January slaughter of the Armanious family (husband, wife, two young daughters), Copts living in Jersey City, N.J., knows who the presumptive suspects are: Islamists furious at a Christian Egyptian immigrant who dares engage in Internet polemics against Islam and who attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity.The authorities, however, have blinded themselves to the extensive circumstantial evidence, insisting that "no facts at this point" substantiate a religious motive for the murders.Somehow, the prosecutor missed that all four members of this...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

SACRAMENTO -- Borrow, don't tax. That appears to be Lesson No. 1 that lawmakers and interest groups can take away from last week's election. Lesson No. 2: If you must impose a tax, do it on a group too small to vote it down, like the rich or smokers. Voters approved two bond measures -- for stem cell research and children's hospitals -- that will cost the state about $7.5 billion to repay over 30 years. They turned down a $500 million-a-year tax on telephone bills to pay for emergency services, but they approved a tax on millionaires to pay...

<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland Senate committee has killed a bill that would have made some white males eligible for minority business preference by including them in the definition of socially disadvantaged.</p> <p>The Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs committee voted 10-1 Thursday to reject the measure that was intended to help non-minority males in economically stunted areas.</p>