We lost the election, now do as we say!

We recently observed the federal holiday commemorating the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights crusader who is very well known for saying he longed for the day when a man is judged for the content of his character, not for the color of his skin.

This lesson is apparently lost on some people, namely the members of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, who are demanding the newly-installed governor fire some of the 23 cabinet members he has appointed, and replace them with people who are black, because, you see, the governor's cabinet so far is all white. A spokeswoman for the caucus complained that since blacks are 12.1% of the state's population, they must make up 12.1% of the cabinet.

A quick hit on the calculator reveals that 12.1% of 25 (total cabinet positions) equals 3.03.

I do not know if the black legislators want that rounded up or down, or if they will accept a person of mixed race with enough "black blood" to get to that .03 of a person.

They also do not care about other minorities, because they have not demanded Hispanics, Asians, American Indians and other minorities be proportionally represented in the governor's cabinet as well. They are even threatening to file lawsuits in federal court and complain to various civil rights organizations for relief.

An aide to the governor said that two blacks had been offered positions in the cabinet, but had declined the offers.

If this group is truly serious about proportional representation, then we must take it to its logical conclusion: proportional representation at every level of state government. We can begin with the Hispanic/Latino Affairs Commission and the Commission on Minority Health, both of which are heavily staffed by minorities, and deal exclusively with "minority" issues.

In my 33 years as a state employee, it is quite apparent that far more than 12.1% of state employees are black, so, I presume the legislators will have no problem firing the "excess" number of blacks (and other minorities?) so we can then bring the state employee population back into proportional representation levels.

I will not hold my breath until that happens.