BILL FLETCHER JR.

(NNPA)—The court martial of Pvt. Bradley Manning for allegedly providing thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks is the latest in efforts undertaken by this administration to crush whistleblowers. In fact, the Manning case is reminiscent of that faced by Daniel Ellsberg in the famous “Pentagon Papers” incident surrounding the Vietnam War. In the case of the Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg released classified documents concerning the Vietnam War to the New York Times. These documents revealed the criminality and hypocrisy of the U.S. aggression.

Yet, the Bradley Manning case is not simply the latest in a list of prosecutions. It stands as a particularly illustrative example of steps taken by an administration that had promised so-called transparency when Obama was elected in 2008. Instead, we have found something to the contrary. Not only have whistleblowers faced retaliation, the Obama administration has used the Espionage Act six times in order to squash whistleblowers.

The lawsuits have begun, and they’re probably only the tip of the iceberg. Several of the victims of Wednesday’s building collapse in Center City Philadelphia have filed suit against property owner Richard Basciano and Griffin Campbell, owner of the construction company paid to perform the demolition.

Before the ink is dry on that lawsuit, others will surely follow. There are plenty of victims, and plenty of blame, to go around.

MARC H. MORIAL

(NNPA)—“The enduring hope is that race should not matter; the reality is that too often it does.”—Anthony Kennedy, associate justice of the Supreme Court
As early as this week, in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the United States Supreme Court may issue a ruling that could seriously limit or altogether eliminate the use of affirmative action in university admissions. While much of the current debate about the continued need for affirmative action has been distorted by the use of coded buzz-words like “preferences,” “entitlements,” and “quotas,” we should remember that the original intent of the policy when it was first introduced in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, was to foster non-discrimination and fairness.

U.S. SUPREME COURT

by Julian Zelizer

(CNN) -- The Supreme Court is expected to issue a number of historic decisions in the coming weeks about how the government deals with race issues.

With the Voting Rights Act and affirmative action on the agenda, the nation is watching closely to see what the highest court will say.

The court is tackling affirmative action through a case involving the University of Texas and a student who was denied admission. With the Voting Rights Act, the court is looking again at the law, including Section 5, which stipulates that some jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination are required to submit changes in districting and voting laws for clearance.