“My only agenda is to be a good judge.” –Antonin Scalia, in his 1986 Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing I wrote this article for The Weekly Standard in 2006 and am republishing it here this week in light of the fact that we have a new Justice—Brett Kavanaugh—and he is a jurist who has echoed Scalia’s aspiration, that of being a good judge. Forgive the length of this piece, but it does cover many things about Scalia that are worth knowing: what the judicial power is, what originalism and textualism are, what the Living Constitution is, and why we should …

Two items in the news recently highlight the creepiness of racial preferences. First, do you think it’s a good idea for medical schools to consider race, instead of simply who’s the best qualified, in deciding whom to admit?  To put it another way, would you like it if you knew your doctor might have been admitted in part for some reason other than his or her likely ability to become a good doctor? I explained to a reporter why such preferential treatment is a bad idea, and am quoted in this article.   Here’s the full response I emailed to …

The government says there is evidence strongly suggesting that Harvard may be engaging in ‘racial balancing.’  The lawsuit claiming that Harvard College discriminates on the basis of race is scheduled to be heard starting on October 15. I wrote the piece below for The Weekly Standard, praising the Justice Department for filing a Statement of Interest in the case. As the date approaches the department may add to its filing. There is a lot to be tried, as I point out in the article. If it reaches the Supreme Court, the case could generate a landmark decision. The Justice Department …

A few weeks ago on National Review Online, where I’m a contributing editor, there was a good exchange among David French, Reihan Salam, and yours truly, begun by David’s post, “There’s a Need for More Constructive Conservatism on Race.”  Below are my responses, first to David, and then to Reihan, who had replied to me. *          *          * Thanks for your post, David. I’d offer a few thoughts. First, the principal reason for the stubbornness of racial disparities in this country is family structure — i.e., out-of-wedlock birthrates. About seven out of ten African Americans are born out-of-wedlock, more than …