Free Republic

Gregg Woodworth may not look like who you would expect to file a lawsuit claiming racial discrimination. He’s a 55-year-old white man who likes to ride his Harley. But he says the color of his skin is ultimately why he ended up losing his job as a Mascotte Police officer. Rolando Banasco was promoted to police chief in early 2012. Woodworth was second-in-command, as his lieutenant. “He flexed his arms in front of me and told me he could now start making room for Spanish speaking officers, and he immediately started going after Caucasian officers,” Woodworth said. Attorney Eric Frommer...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed prepared Tuesday to uphold a voter-approved ban on taking account of race in college admissions. The court heard arguments over a 2006 change to the state constitution to prohibit the University of Michigan and other state schools from any consideration of race when they decide whom to admit. The justices' focus was more on whether they could craft a narrow ruling to uphold Michigan Proposal 2 or would have to overrule earlier cases that protect minorities' rights to participate in the political process. Affirmative action supporters say the amendment itself is a form of...

The National Park Service is allowing an Oct. 8 pro-immigration rally on the national mall, even as it posts pickets and barriers to bar Americans from visiting their open-air memorials. “They’re going to be allowed to go [ahead] because it is a First Amendment activity,” Shannon Maurer, a spokeswoman for the “March for Immigrant Dignity and Respect,” told The Daily Caller. “They allowed us to have it because it is part of the First Amendment of the constitution,” said Susana Flores, a spokeswoman for CASA in Action, which is organizing the rally. ”We’re going to have a stage and microphones,”...

A Spanish judge has got himself into hot water after he said a driving school was within its rights to charge female learners more than their male counterparts. … Back in 2011, Autoescuela Zaragoza advertised a deal where, for €665 ($900), prospective male drivers aged 18 to 22 could get as many classes as they needed to obtain their driving license. The price for female learners was €850 ($1,155). …

During recent comments to members of the Boston Bar Association, officials from the Department of Children and Families indicated that Massachusetts will no longer allow individuals with conservative social values to raise foster children. In a video of the address, recruitment officer Michelle Gordon described “new expectations” of foster parents, explaining that the DCF is in the process of “weeding out some of this passiveness and sort of destructive behaviors that are occurring.” Gay rights activist Erika Rickard, who serves on the Commission on LGBT Youth, claimed that two in every 10 foster children are gay. As a result, she...

Tamara Miyanaga’s husband went to school in Taber’s Horizon School Division when he was a boy. The couple’s three children later enrolled with the same public board. Miyanaga, herself, works for the school division, at Ace Place Learning Centre. So the Taber mother was surprised to learn she is not allowed to become a trustee with the public board. Miyanaga found out last week she wasn’t eligible to run for one of the trustee positions at Horizon School Division in the upcoming election — because she is Catholic. “All of a sudden my voice was restricted because of my faith,”...

2. “That just isn’t possible.” Always speak to your boss in terms of what can be done. For instance, rather than saying “We can’t get this done by Friday,” say “We could definitely get this done by Monday, or if we brought in some freelance help, we could meet the Friday deadline.” When you talk to your boss, think in terms of solving problems for her, not in terms of putting problems on her plate. 6. “It’s not my fault.” Are you a whiny 8-year-old or a take-charge professional? Assume responsibility and take steps to fix a problem that you...

As American Idol begins its 13th season with a new judges' panel, new producers and a whole new slew of hopefuls, the show's business practices are under scrutiny as a discrimination lawsuit filed by 10 black former contestants continues to wind its way to court. The plaintiffs, all of whom were disqualified from the show over six seasons for reasons other than singing -- including criminal history -- were recently issued notices of "right to sue" by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, allowing the 429-page lawsuit they filed in July to move forward. In response, American Idol, FOX and the...

Tourists visiting the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City can read its brochures in 10 different languages – but Arabic is not one of them. Nor will it be any time soon. “Nine languages are spoken by over 97 percent of our visitors: English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Mandarin, Italian, Japanese and Russian,” a representative from the memorial told the New York Post. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, claiming Arabic is the world’s fourth-most-spoken language, is sending letters to memorial coordinators demanding answers on why the language is not included. But it appears that the Arabic community is looking for...

You may say that there is no discrimination against Christians in America or casually dismiss it because Christians need no protection here because this is allegedly a Christian nation. But there is plenty of such discrimination, as I documented in my book "Persecution" a few years back. During the publicity tour for the book, I had a mini-debate with Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz on CNN, as I recall. Dershowitz, who was very respectful and who is unquestionably quite intelligent, advanced a curious argument that night. If memory serves, he suggested that it is absurd for me to argue that Christians...

The Washington Post is being sued for age and race discrimination by a longtime black advertisement department employee who was abruptly fired and replaced with a younger white man in what the lawsuit suggests was part of a larger effort by the paper to push out older black workers. Sounds sinister, but in the federal lawsuit, which has not been reported anywhere else, David DeJesus, 59, does not actually allege any overtly discriminatory behavior by his boss, such as racial slurs or derogatory comments based on his age. But thanks to the expansive interpretation of civil rights laws that the...

--In 2011 the agency sued the retail giant, Abercrombie & Fitch, accusing it of religious discrimination for firing 19-year-old Umme-Hani Khan for wearing a hijab at a northern California store. The company, which focuses on hip casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22, has a policy against head covers of any kind for its employees. In the case of this Muslim woman it amounts to discrimination based on religion, according to the EEOC, and that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Employers are required to accommodate the sincere religious beliefs or practices of employees, the...

She’s one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. She won the Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for her1988 hit “Working Girl.” She's the daughter of Golden Era star Tippi Hendren and the wife of Antonio Banderas. But Melanie Griffith says today, the work offers have pretty much dried up. “It is what I never thought would happen when I was in my 20s and 30s, hearing actresses bitch about not getting any work when they turned 50. Now I understand it, it is just different. In a lot of ways, (Hollywood) a very superficial place,”...

At the same time the IRS harassed Republican nonprofit groups during the 2012 political campaign, it selectively advised black churches and other Democrat nonprofits on how far they can go in campaigning for President Obama and other Democrats. This raw exercise in political favoritism has not been reported in the context of the still-smoldering IRS scandal, in which the agency in 2012 audited big GOP donors and blocked Tea Party groups trying to obtain tax-exempt status as part of what House investigators suspect was an effort to re-elect the president. But that same year, top officials with both the IRS...

<p>The Tennis Channel has lost its bid for a review of a pivotal court decision in its marathon legal match against cable giant Comcast Corp.</p> <p>On Wednesday, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Tennis Channel's petition that asked the full panel of judges to hear its case accusing Comcast of anti-competitive behavior.</p>

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The federal government has dismissed allegations that three University of California campuses failed to effectively respond to claims of anti-Semitism that arose out of pro-Palestinian events at the schools. The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights said in letters sent last week to leaders at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz and UC Irvine that the protests, teach-ins, lectures, graffiti and heated confrontations that gave rise to the claims didn't constitute harassment of Jewish students. In its Aug. 19 letters to the universities, the Education Department said in most cases the activities at issue were...

And, the odds are much better in discrimination lawsuits. Most everyone has heard of the Pigford Case, where over 18,000 black "farmers" (even those who farmed no more than a potted plant) were offered  up to $62,000 each from a class action lawsuit via President Obama's signature. Without a whole lot of evidence, it was determined that the U.S. Department of Agriculture discriminated against minorities when implementing certain farmer financing programs. These sort of stories are reminiscent of the infamous New York "Ghost Riders," - people who would jump on buses involved in accidents - after the accidents, and, thereby, were...

London Mayor Boris Johnson has blasted European Union (EU) immigration for favoring Eurozone workers instead of those from Commonwealth nations today. The Conservative politician said Britain needs to look beyond the EU and should forge stronger ties with fast growing economies, in particular Australia. Mr. Johnson said the UK and Australia should set up a “free labor mobility zone” where he feels there are “immense opportunities”. … Mr. Johnson launched his attack on the EU after receiving a letter from Australian Sally Roycroft, who had been working in London schools. The London Mayor said the teacher had been “effectively kicked...

Syndicated columnist Pat Buchanan made a statement Friday guaranteed to make liberal media members' heads spin. During a discussion about Affirmative Action on PBS's McLaughlin Group, Buchanan said, "Whites are the only group that you can discriminate against legally in America now" (video follows with transcript and commentary): (VIDEO-AT-LINK)JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, HOST: Are you saying college admissions should be based on diversity? ELEANOR CLIFT, NEWSWEEK/DAILY BEAST: Yeah, I mean, I think lots of factors go into diversity. I think race can be one of them, and I think the Supreme Court so far agrees with that. MCLAUGHLIN: 67 percent opposed it,...

Starting Jan. 1, Bert Fish Medical Center will no longer hire tobacco users, joining two other local hospitals in telling smokers not to apply. Applicants will be tested for a nicotine byproduct and sign an agreement to remain tobacco-free during their employment with the New Smyrna Beach public hospital. The prohibition doesn't apply to volunteers, medical staff or Bert Fish's roughly 700 employees who were hired before the implementation date... "Not all slopes are slippery but this one really is," said Lewis Maltby, president on the National Workrights Institute, a nonprofit offshoot of the American Civil Liberties Union based in...