Just in…

Appeals Court Sides With Cheney in Lawsuit:

The Sierra Club and Judicial Watch alleged that energy industry officials had in effect become part of Cheney’s 2001 task force and that the panel was a federal advisory committee with an obligation to provide public disclosure about its operations.

The appeals court disagreed, saying “There is nothing to indicate that nonfederal employees had a right to vote on committee matters or exercise a veto over committee proposals.”

Cheney’s energy task force was not an advisory committee and “it follows that the government owed the plaintiffs no duty, let alone a clear and indisputable or compelling one,” said the appeals court opinion by Judge A. Raymond Randolph.

And a surprise from the Left Coast…

9th Circuit panel rejects minority-contract awards:

Washington state cannot favor minority-owned firms in awarding road-building contracts because it hasn’t proved minority contractors have faced discrimination, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday.

Western States Paving of Vancouver, Wash., sued the state Department of Transportation, Clark County and the city of Vancouver after losing several road-paving contracts to minority-owned firms with higher bids.

I’ve heard from many frustrated contractors in similar situations losing out to so-called “disadvantaged minorities” who are nothing more than City Hall cronies fleecing the public or business fronts exploiting the diversity racket. Will be interesting to see what repercussions the ruling may have across the country.

Hugh Davis Graham wrote a very interesting book related to this problem:
Collision Course: The Strange Convergence of Affirmative Action and Immigration Policy in America. Check it out.