This is fairly insane...

Article: Lack of Minorities Closes Boise Bone Marrow Center

Let me get this straight...a successful bone marrow donation center which, according to the article, has resulted in 120 positive matches over the years (bone marrow matches are very difficult) has been closed.

Why?

Because some horseshit centralized bureaucracy dictated that they had to meet a certain number of "minority donors".

It's in Boise fucking Idaho. The Wiki on Boise indicates: The racial makeup of the city was 92.15% White, 0.77% Black or African American, 0.70% Native American, 2.08% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 1.74% from other races, and 2.39% from two or more races. 4.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.The top 5 heritage groups in Boise are · German – 19%[4] · English – 16% · Irish – 11% · Scottish – 3% · Norwegian – 3%.

I wish this were as silly as a federal "midnight basketball" program. WTF part of legislating as close to the issue as you possibly can don't people get?

Now, it does seem to me logical to stimulate donations from minorities. Bone marrow matches quite often go along ethnic lines. But wouldn't common sense dictate that, at most, regulations be made stipulating that the donation centers should attempt to match the ethnicity of the area's population?

I swear, this story seems like something out of The Onion.

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"Compassionate Conservatism"?!?! That is a stupid phrase. Conservatism is inherently compassionate. It is liberalism that is cruel for the sake of maintaining a constituency.

There's nothing like one-size-fits all, heavy-handed and centralized bureaucratic requirements to serve as an example of how government programs embody diminishing marginal returns. You want something changed? Don't bother analyzing underlying causes and trying to address those - just pass some reactionary law. Not enough minorities in some bureacrat's opinion? That's easily fixed - just pass a law mandating more, and consequences be damned.

Shitheads.

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"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have... The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

-Thomas Jefferson

Indeed...funny how they're sending them to Spokane, WA, now. I just checked...Christ...it's 300 miles as-the-crow-flies (over 400 miles by car) from Boise to Spokane.

That would be like telling people in Atlanta they have to go to Cincinnati. What the hell?!?!

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"Compassionate Conservatism"?!?! That is a stupid phrase. Conservatism is inherently compassionate. It is liberalism that is cruel for the sake of maintaining a constituency.

So racial minorities don't donate as much bone marrow. Okay. How is that the the centre's fault?

This is a textbook case of the sheer insanity of political correctness. One of the primary tenets of PC is that people are, first and foremost, a member of a group. They are not to acknowledged as individuals, but by their category. Eventually, this will destroy the basic assumptions of the rule of law and of democracy. In the short run, it produces destructive, crackpot abuses like this.

It is far more interesting to note that this has received almost no coverage at all in the media.

One of the reasons I fear an Obama presidency is that he will provide an open door for an endless stream of such stories. That does not mean I think he will necessarily support them personally. I have no idea what he supports or opposes. But he is a very weak and passive man, and the organizations that produce this sort of red-tape for a living are looking forward with excitement to an Obama government and a far left congress. They will steamroll him. They will run amok - even more than they are now.

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"Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety."

Macbeth 3:1

That kind of misses the point.

Boise, Idaho is 92.15% "white".

Using 2006 figures:

211,473 total people in Boise, Idaho
92.15% white --> 194,872 total whites
7.85% "non-white" minorities --> 16,601 total minorities
About 25% of the population is under 18 and about 10% of the population is 65 and older. Put those together and figure 35% of the population is probably not typical "voluntary donating age" (yes, I know there are exceptions)
65% of 16,601 is 10,790 minorities of donating age in Boise (represents 24 Mexican families )

The mandated goal is 1,000 minority donations per year.

Not even 10% of the population is willing to donate blood ("Only 38 percent of the U.S. population is eligible to donate blood – less than 10 percent do annually" according to AmericasBlood.org). Bone marrow donation is a shitload more intrusive, painful, and time consuming that donating blood. If only 38% of the population is eligible to donate blood...I can't imagine bone marrow percentages are much better...but we won't even factor that in.

So, in order for the center to stay open, 1 out of 10 minorities from Boise would have to voluntarily go through the painful process of donating bone marrow once a year (or 1 in 20 would have to do it twice a year...whatever).

Point is, they cannot possibly achieve it.

The only way you can "blame" the minorities if by saying they don't live there. Maybe there is an ulterior motive at play - leftist bureauweenies said, "Wow...Boise is way too white...need to motivate them to import some minorities..."

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"Compassionate Conservatism"?!?! That is a stupid phrase. Conservatism is inherently compassionate. It is liberalism that is cruel for the sake of maintaining a constituency.

Not only is affirmative action unconstitutional - but counter-productive, divisive, "two wrongs equals a right", costly, ineffective and well, stupid....no wonder the leftist love it.

Out of curiosity, how many folk here are registered as donors? I am, though IO'm not currently eligible for another few months, since I had to have a rabies post exposure booster. I likely would not be, though, if it weren't for the program recruiting minorities because (at least at the center here) it actually costs money to get on the registry. Unless you are a minority, in which case the 'recruitment requirement' above means that they waive the fee. Since I'm a student raising kids, i wouldn't have fronted the money. Just sayin'.
Yes it was the pit of stupidity to close that center; maybe what we really need is better funding for all donors, and more outreach.

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"The only abnormality is the incapacity to love"
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