Inks Lake State Park in the spring

 

In recent years I’ve kept exploring more and more parts of Inks Lake State Park, which has become a favorite of mine for its combination of geology and botany. On April 5th all my time went to the Pecan Flats Trail, which a ranger had recommended as the best place for wildflowers at the moment. I pushed farther along that trail than I had last year, and as I went, first one person coming my way and later another told me—presumably because they saw that I was carrying a camera—how to get to a great colony of bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) still ahead of me. Eventually the path took me up a slope, from whose higher vantage point I was greeted with the sight you see above, which included a colony of spiderworts (Tradescantia sp.) at the left and a “lake” of bluebonnets in the distance. I continued and worked my way down close to the “lake.” Lichen-covered boulders were part of the appeal not only in that spot but throughout the park.

 

 

In many places dead trees figured prominently and added to the mix. The yellow flowers below were brown bitterweed (Helenium amarum var. badium).

 

   

And sometimes a dead tree became a subject in its own right, or at least co-starred with the clouds.

 

 

 

 

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A low-profile case decided Wednesday by the Supreme Court could have big implications for employers’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

Muldrow v. City of St. Louis was a case about a female police officer who alleged that she was transferred from one department to another because of her sex. She argued that the transfer violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which forbids “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” discrimination with respect to employment “compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges.”

She lost in the lower court because she could not show that the transfer caused her “significant” harm. The lower court held that the transfer “did not result in a diminution to her title, salary, or benefits” and caused “only minor changes in [her] working conditions.”

A unanimous Supreme Court reversed, holding that any harm—whether significant or insignificant—satisfies Title VII.

 

So begins an April 17th article by GianCarlo Canaparo in The Daily Signal titled “High Court’s 9-0 Ruling Lowers Bar for Filing Anti-DEI Discrimination Lawsuits.” You’re welcome to read the rest of the article. Following this decision, victims of the practically ubiquitous DEI (discrimination, exclusion, injustice) programs in government, education, and corporations may more likely be able to bring and win lawsuits against the enforcers of what has quickly become a secular religion carrying out the edicts of a punitive triune god.
 

 

© 2024 Steven Schwartzman