This week is National Tire Safety Week. As you head out for the Fourth of July celebration, it’s a good reminder to check your tires! In fact, checking tire pressure at least monthly, regularly checking tire tread depth and ensuring vehicle tires are rotated and properly aligned are simple maintenance practices that can protect travelers and improve fuel efficiency.
In Arizona, the economic impact of tire manufacturing is responsible for more than 5,600 jobs and $376,000,000 in wages. I’m grateful to serve on the Congressional Tire Caucus and recently had the privilege to visit the Goodyear Aircraft Tire Retreading facility in Kingman, Arizona. Arizona is also home to Toyota, General Motors, Volvo, Chrysler and several other company testing grounds where tires and cars are road tested.
Supreme Court Rules Affirmative Action is Unconstitutional
This week, the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for colleges and universities to discriminate against Asians and White students in their admissions process. Incorrectly called “affirmative action,” the Court was correcting a gross abuse of the Constitution created by the same court in 1978.
This ruling, correcting a manifest injustice created by a far-left Court, is similar to the Dobbs decision last year, where the Court corrected an abusive and irrational decision known as Roe v. Wade.
The pattern is encouraging, as the courts of the past engaged in raw legislative activism, creating “rights” where none existed, and in the case of college racism, aggressively approving racism while simultaneously admitting their reasoning was unconstitutional.
Because this ruling has implications for other areas, including corporate boards, corporate and business employment hiring, police and fire department hiring, and pretty much all areas across the country, I will set forth some details by this Q and A.
Q. What was “affirmative action” and how was it approved by the court initially?
All the way back to 1978, there was a white student named Allan Bakke who was denied admission to medical school, even though he had great grades and great score results on the standardized testing. His objective scores far exceeded the minority students who had been admitted, and it was determined that the University of California had adopted racial quotas where the number of White students would be arbitrarily capped in order to allow an arbitrary number of black students into medical school. The Court in University of California v. Bakke ruled that racial quotas were in fact unconstitutional, and violated the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause. Oddly, though, the Court ruled that the schools could nevertheless engage in “affirmative action” whereby White students could be marginalized in favor of less qualified black students. The net result was the same however—black students were admitted to colleges even though they did not qualify for school based on the objective minimum requirements and qualified White students were rejected.
Q. How does the 14th Amendment apply here?
The 14th Amendment was enacted in 1868 after the Civil War and granted full citizenship to all citizens, irrespective of their race or other qualities. It required that the federal government, and the states (and all their political subdivisions), apply the laws equally and that no law or practice could favor one group over another. This Amendment is at the heart of racial quotas, affirmative action, and other racial policies.
Q. How were Asian students impacted by this?
A. In 1978, there was about 3.3 million Asians in the U.S. As of 2020, there are 18.4 million Asians in the U.S. The number of Asian students accordingly grew exponentially. For many Asian families, there is an emphasis on academic excellence. Data submitted in the recent case demonstrated that if there was no racial discrimination and quotas in school admissions, Harvard would be 51% Asian students. Because of the racial discrimination at Harvard, Asians were arbitrarily limited to 15% of the student population. The Asian community was a key impetus in the law suits challenging the racism and discrimination engaged in by universities.
Q. What was the Grutter v. Bollinger case?
A. The Grutter case, handed down in 2003, approved “affirmative action” under the 14th Amendment under the pretext that discrimination against Asians and White students was ok because it helped to “diversify” colleges and diversity was supposedly an educational goal. Thus, the University of Michigan Law School was allowed to engage in racial discrimination. Oddly, Justice O’Conner recognized that the Bakke ruling, and the Court’s own ruling in Grutter, was in violation of the 14th Amendment and in fact was an unequal application of the law, as she stated “race conscious admission policies must be limited in time” and that the “Court expects that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary.”
If racial quotas were truly lawful and constitutional, there would be no need to rule that these policies “must be limited in time” and to conclude that within 25 years these racist policies should be eliminated.
The Court in Harvard noted that the Court in Bakke and Grutter were “temporarily” suspending the Constitution. This is an amazing concession. What good is a Constitution if courts can willy-nilly suspend it from time to time because of arbitrary reasons and good intentions?
Q. So what did the Court just rule in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard?
A. In the Harvard and University of North Carolina cases, the Court overruled the Bakke and Grutter cases and concluded that racial discrimination in college admissions was unconstitutional and a violation of the 14th Amendment. The Court explained:
“Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” Put another way, discriminating against Asian and White students is not acceptable under our Constitution any more than prior discrimination against Black students was acceptable.
“The 14th Amendment applies without regard to any difference of race.”
“Most troubling of all is what the dissent must make these omissions to defend: a judiciary that picks winners and losers based on the color of their skin. While the dissent would certainly not permit university programs that discriminated against Black and Latino applicants, it is perfectly willing to let the programs here continue” that discriminate against Asian and White students.
Q. What about Justice Thomas’ concurrence?
Justice Thomas issued an astute, very well written concurrence that explained how the Supreme Court has at times shamefully allowed discrimination (segregation, Jim Crow laws and racial quotas) at its worst times, and then had to remedy them in better times of judgment. He noted that no matter what the Court has ruled, the Constitution is unchanged and “continues to embody a simple truth: two discriminatory wrongs cannot make a right.” He noted that good intentions and good feelings are irrelevant to the Constitution and the 14th Amendment. He explained: “I write separately to offer an originalist defense of the colorblind Constitution, to explain further the flaws of the Grutter decision, to clarify that all forms of discrimination based on race—including so called affirmative action—are prohibited under the Constitution.”
Bottom Line: Racial discrimination is wrong, immoral and harmful to our society. There is no basis under our laws to permit racial discrimination, and no racial group, including Asians and Whites, should be discriminated against. The Court’s decision is long overdue, and the leftist activist Court in 1978 engaged in rank discrimination and policy making from the bench. This week’s ruling remedied this dark era.
Supreme Court Rules Biden’s Student Loan Scam is Unlawful
Speaking of unconstitutional, this week the Supreme Court also struck down Biden’s phony student loan forgiveness scam. Citing Nancy Pelosi who previously noted that only Congress, not Mr. Biden, can forgive debt, the Supreme Court ruled that no federal law allows the Secretary of Education to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt. Previously, by executive overreach, Mr. Biden claimed that the COVID-19 national emergency declaration provided the federal government justification for student loan forgiveness. Fairthful Gosar Newsletter readers will remember that Mr. Biden signed into law H.J. Res 7,legislation I introduced terminating the COVID-19 national emergency declaration on April, 10, 2023. Candidly, it was never Biden’s intention to forgive student loans, it was merely a political stunt to win votes.
Read my full statement about this important ruling here.
Gosar Scores Another Legislative Victory
Last week I shared that the House Appropriations Committee released their Fiscal Year 2024 bill and included my language preventing taxpayer funding to pay forsex change surgeries on minors in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. Wait, you missed last week’s newsletter? No problem, read it here!
I have more good news to share! This week the House Appropriations Committee included my language preventing taxpayer funding to pay for surgical procedures or hormone therapies for the purpose of gender affirming care through TRICARE in the annual defense spending bill.
Specifically, page 138, section 8143 of the bill states:
“None of the funds made available by this Act may be used for surgical procedures or hormone therapies for the purposes of gender affirming care.”
Gosar Demands Answers About California Dumping its Waste in Arizona
You may have heard stories or read news reports about California dumping its hazardous waste in Arizona’s La Paz and Yuma Counties. I wrote about it a few months ago, click here to get caught up.
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who represents the region in Congress, said California should keep its waste. “It’s bad enough that liberal Californians are moving in droves to Arizona after torching their own state and turning it into a cesspool of crime and homeless junkies,” Gosar told The Epoch Times in a statement. “We certainly don’t need or want their toxic waste. I will ask the attorney general to review this and see what laws are being broken, if any. Don’t California my Arizona, keep your waste in Los Angeles, where it belongs.”
This week, I sent a letter to the United States Department of Transportation demanding answers and documentation about this madness. As I noted before, It is bad enough that Californians move to Arizona and bring their toxic liberal politics. We don’t need their toxic waste. I will be sure to keep you updated on this important matter!
I Want to Hear from YOU! Fill Out My Survey!
It is estimated that approximately 48 million Americans experience some degree of hearing loss, including over 400,000 Arizonans. The use of hearing aids plays a critical role in helping individuals overcome hearing impairments and enhance their quality of life. Hearing aids have become indispensable devices, empowering these individuals to engage effectively in conversations, enjoy various activities, and maintain social connections.
But, did you know that Medicare does NOT cover hearing aids or exams for fitting hearing aids, which can be very expensive? I was, quite frankly, taken aback to learn that something so essential to your health and well-being was not covered.
I’m conducting a short survey to determine if I should introduce a bill to make Medicare pay for hearing aids and would appreciate your feedback. If you have a moment, please take the time to complete this poll by clicking here.
It’s Mail Time!
I received more than 5,600 letters in June! I appreciate hearing from everyone. Here’s a small sample of the letters I received just this week:
Kirkwood D. from Yuma shares this kind note:
I am writing to you today to thank you for all the hard work that you and your staff perform for the citizens of Arizona. I like your political views and plan to vote for the Republican nominee for President in ’24 (whoever it is, although I have 2 favorites.). Please keep up the good fight and as my Uncle Roy the butcher used to say: “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”
Kirkwood: Thank you, your words are much appreciated. Uncle Roy knew what he was talking about. I assure you, my grind is moving along and I am focused on winning back our country and putting the people first.
Diane S. from Buckeye has me blushing:
The world has seen what ONE godly, courageous, bold man can do! In my 70 years I have not seen a politician accomplish the things that you accomplish on a daily basis. Honestly, if the need arose, and I don’t mean to be crude, but I would clean your toilets and mop your floors to help you. ALL of us need to be extremely grateful to Almighty God and you. He has raised you up to help humanity. I cannot thank you enough for the sacrifices you make every day for our FREEDOM. Your loyalty goes beyond, it is an honor to have you as my Representative, because you truly epitomize “WE THE PEOPLE.”
Diane: Wow! Thank you. Your comments mean a lot to me. You inspire me to continue fighting for “we the people” every day. I will never sell out to the global elites, and the godless communists that have taken over so much of our country.
Roger R. from Goodyear chimed in with this note:
Every time I turn on the TV, I hear a Republican shouting out that Trump is innocent of all charges against him–it’s a Witch Hunt! I want to see him brought to Justice on the removal of classified documents from the White House and the Insurrection orchestrated by Trump on January 6, 2021.
He’s the worst form of a human being that ever walked the face of the earth. I am personally getting sick and tired of the false rhetoric coming out of the mouths of the Republicans. Please take a stand and speak out about Trump’s lawlessness.
Roger, prone to exaggeration much? Trump is the “worst form of a human being that ever walked the face of the earth?? ” Worse than Stalin and the 40 million people he and his socialist buddies murdered? Worse than the 100 million killed by global socialism after 1917? Worse than Pol Pot and the 4 million he and his socialist buddies murdered? Worse than the Ottoman genocide of 1.5 million Armenians? Worse than the murderous Ghenghis Khan? It is hard to take someone like you seriously Roger.
Look, I don’t care for the socialists in the U.S. But I do not wish them to be jailed or executed simply because I strongly disagree with their politics. We know that Hilary Clinton shared highly classified documents and destroyed 33,000 emails that were subpoenaed. We know Hunter and Joe Biden have taken classified documents. We know Obama took classified information. The bottom line is the president can take whatever documents he wants and is the sole decider on what he can take and what he will leave. Hilary, on the other hand, never had the Executive authority to do that. Accordingly, the only one of the above people that violated the law was Hilary, not Obama, not Trump and not Biden. I will therefore, speak out about Hillary’s lawlessness.
Tweet of the Week:
Photo of the Week:
Paul Smith from Prescott shot this photo and explains that he snapped it from the head of the Bill Hall Trail on the North Rim just as a big storm was brewing. The shot is looking southeast towards the canyon. Thanks, Paul. Great shot!
Now, who is next!? Do you have photography skills? Do you want the chance for your photograph to be featured as our “Picture of the Week?” If so, send your best shots of our great state to Anthony.foti@mail.house.gov. Remember to include your name and where you live. We have a beautiful state, let’s show her off!
