Free Republic

New York Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez portrays herself as "a normal, working person," but one of her positions may have helped 150 people lose their jobs. After enduring mockery for declaring Sunday that a walk in a national park was an example of democratic socialism, Ocasio-Cortez lamented Monday the shutting down of an iconic New York coffee shop that closed mostly due to a higher minimum wage – which Ocasio-Cortez supported. **SNIP** But unlike what Ocasio-Cortez wants you to believe about the closing down, it wasn’t the result of greedy capitalists trying to squeeze the workers, but rather government regulations...

A Pittsburgh coffee shop is brewing up backlash over a loyalty punch card featuring pictures of President Trump and other conservatives. Black Forge Coffee House owner Nick Miller says the satiric cards are meant to express frustration with the system and nothing more. However, critics complain the punch holes make it look like the politicos have been shot in the forehead. The subjects include Vice President Mike Pence, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and conservative pundits Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly....

Concern is growing in Odessa over an under-21 club that has not yet opened. KMBC's Dan Weinbaum reported that the person who is opening the club is believed to be the former leader of the Neo-Nazi group, the Aryan Nation.

A faith-based campus coffeehouse is struggling to survive now that its 50 or so volunteer workers are boycotting it. Catacombs Coffeehouse, 731 State St., lost most of its kitchen help and customer base over a dispute between the board of directors and the students who provided the free labor and positive word of mouth. Former volunteer Charlie Hoyt said board members are pushing a hard-core Christian theology that is at odds with the coffeehouse's reputation for religious tolerance and open- minded discussions. "It's not welcoming," said Hoyt, who is Jewish. "I think people are really scared about being proselytized while...

Coffee cups featuring a quote by a gay author about growing up homosexual have been pulled from Baylor University's on-campus Starbucks. Aramark, which as the contractor for Baylor dining services oversees the coffee outlet, pulled cups from the campus store earlier this month after a university staff member sent out an e-mail complaining about the appropriateness of the quote at a Baptist university, Baylor officials said. The e-mail was sent on to Baylor dining services, which consulted with Starbucks' district office, which said it fully supported a decision to take the cup out of circulation to avoid offending others, Baylor...

Translation from Hebrew to English by me It has been allowed for publication that during the month of August the security forces foiled 15 terrorist attacks. Among them, during August, a Tanzim terrorist from the Bethleham area, with a blue ID card, was caught under suspicion he was planning a suicide terror attack in the "Filter" cafe in Jerusalem. The suspect worked as a cook at the place and it seems he wanted to execute the terror attack to clean himself from suspicions he was cooperating with Israel.

How about a nice large cup of coffee, light on the guilt? The Colombian Coffee Federation, which represents more than 500,000 Colombian coffee growers, is planning to open its first coffee shops - all bearing the name Juan Valdez, after the federation's signature character - in the United States by early 2004. Gabriel Silva, the president of the federation, which is based in Bogotá, says the coffee growers have been "too passive" in claiming a larger piece of the $8.4 billion specialty coffee industry."In a cup of coffee that you get at a coffee shop, between 1 and 2 cents...