Do As I Say, Not As I Do: Ricci, Affirmative Action and the New York Times

In the wake of Ricci the Times had a scathing editorial that lead with, "On Monday, the Supreme Court dealt a blow to diversity in the American workplace."  In the article the Times went out of its way to both support the dissent and provide cover for Sotomayor.  Following this, Maureen Dowd went on to write a column on the confirmation hearings entitled "White Man's Last Stand."  In this column she said that

"A wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not know that a gaggle of white Republican men afraid of extinction are out to trip her up.

After all, these guys have never needed to speak inspirational words to others like them, as Sotomayor has done. They’ve had codes, handshakes and clubs to do that."

Jeffery Lord decided to look into "diversity" at the Times and not surprisingly he found a bunch of hypocrites.

"It seems the "American workplace" (to use the Times description) that is the New Haven fire department has a higher percentage of minorities than the American workplace that is…yes indeed… the New York Times editorial board its very self. To be quite specific:

• The New Haven fire department, according to press accounts, is 43% black and Latino. Or, if you prefer the term of art, 43% of the fire department is "minority."

• The New York Times editorial board, according to the information provided by The New York Times, is -- wait for it -- 12% black and Latino. Or, again, 12 % "minority" if you prefer the term.

• The New York Times Op-Ed page team of columnists, an elite group of which Ms. Dowd is a star, is 19% black and, again according to theTimes listing of its Op-Ed page columnists, 0% Latino."

Lord goes on to tear Dowd and the Times apart over their blatant hypocrisy.  Read the whole thing, and keep it in mind next time the Times jumps on its high horse to lecture the country on affirmative action and diversity.