Absurd:

A federal judge on Friday found that an exam for New York teaching candidates was racially discriminatory because it did not measure skills necessary to do the job, the latest step in a court battle over teacher qualifications that has spanned nearly 20 years.

. . . .

According to Friday’s decision, written by Judge Kimba M. Wood of Federal District Court in Manhattan, the pass rate for African-American and Latino candidates was between 54 percent and 75 percent of the pass rate for white candidates. Once it was established that minority applicants were failing at a disproportionately high rate, the burden shifted to education officials to prove that the skills being tested were necessary to do the job; otherwise, the test would be ruled discriminatory.

SIDE NOTE: Those with a long memory will recall that Bill Clinton tried to make Kimba Wood his Attorney General, until it was revealed that she (like Zoe Baird) had hired an illegal.

BACK TO THE MAIN POST: What was the exam’s offense? Requiring teachers to know about liberal arts:

“Instead of beginning with ascertaining the job tasks of New York teachers, the two LAST examinations began with the premise that all New York teachers should be required to demonstrate an understanding of the liberal arts,” Judge Wood wrote.

Joshua Sohn, a partner at the firm Mishcon de Reya, who represents the prospective teachers in the case, echoed the that sentiment.

“They started with the conclusion, without any support, that this is what you actually needed to know to be an effective teacher,” Mr. Sohn said.

Just be glad you don’t have any kids in the New York public schools.

Yesterday, there was a big story concerning the fact that the Air Force has revealed how they have been using social media to track ISIS:

Although ISIS is known for using social media for recruitment purposes, U.S. Air Force intelligence has been using it to track down Islamic State militants, according to Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command.

“These guys that are working down at Hurlburt (Florida), they’re combing through social media. And they see some moron standing at this command and control capability for Da’Esh, ISIL. These guys go, ‘ah we got an in,'” Carlisle said at a speech in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday.

Twenty-two hours after seeing the post, U.S. warplanes went in for the kill.

“Long story short…three JDAMs take the entire building out,” Carlisle said in the speech to the Air Force Association.

Although revealed yesterday, Gen Carlisle’s speech was actually made on June 1. More here.

People have been wondering why we are broadcasting this.

Could Nancy Pelosi’s remarks a few days earlier be the answer?

FMR. REP. PATRICK MURPHY, MSNBC HOST: This past week, though, when it comes to ISIS, the mixed result — unfortunately, Ramadi was taken over by ISIS. The same time, the army’s delta force captured the money man for ISIS in Syria. so obviously mixed results. So you think the strategy’s working? What else needs to be done?

REP. NANCY PELOSI: It’s an enormous challenge. And we have to fight it on every front, including the front of social media. That’s a place where they have really made more advances than you would have suspected. And that is where we have to fight them, as well. This apprehension in Syria — well, killing of one and taking of his wife, as well as important intelligence information was a success. Again, we have to fight them on all fronts. Communication-wise as well as militarily.

Was she spilling the beans about something she shouldn’t have been talking about? It’s unclear, but note this: Pelosi ran her mouth about this on May 23 — just days before the general’s speech.

Were they going to reveal this all along — sacrificing the full utility of an intelligence tool for some cheap publicity? Or did San Fran Nan force their hand?

We’ll probably never know whether it was Obama or Pelosi who caused the reveal; both suspects are plausible.