Free Republic

It's a warm Saturday night, and the party is getting hot at Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach estate that owner Donald Trump recently converted into a private club. As the Beach Boys harmonize on a makeshift stage, hundreds of revelers, many of them decked out in Hawaiian shirts, straw hats and leis, dance in the aisles and gyrate on wooden lawn chairs. At the height of the fete, Mr. Trump asks the crowd: "Does this remind you of the Bath and Tennis Club, anybody?" The answer is a definite no -- among the evening's partygoers, and for many more of the...

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a race-conscious admissions program at the University of Texas, Austin, handing supporters of affirmative action a major victory. The vote was 4-3. Only seven justices participated in the decision. Justice Elena Kagan had recused herself for prior work on the case as United States solicitor general and the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat remains vacant. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., dissented....

The following is the testimony of one David Campos, a former member of Share Wheel who witnessed first hand, discrimination, theft, fraud and other problems in SHARE My name is David Campos, I am a former member of SHARE. I was in Share from 2010 to 2012. I became homeless after I was laid off from work and my job got outsourced to China. I was able to get a part time job to help myself but it wasn't enough. I joined Share in 2010. I liked the place, it was laid back, everyone kept to themselves there were just...

Two weeks ago 42 Republicans voted to endorse President Barack Obama’s transgender agenda. They did it by voting for the Maloney amendment, which affirmed Obama’s 2014 executive order barring “discrimination” on the basis of “sexual orientation and gender identity” in the private employment policies of federal contractors. Over the weekend, Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., posted a characteristically thoughtful Facebook post defending his vote for the Maloney amendment. The overarching policy concern is whether the government should elevate “sexual orientation and gender identity” for special legal privileges, especially in terms of laws barring “discrimination.”

The Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Amendment Bill eliminates all white people including the disabled. “The definition of black people is now clear and aligned with the Constitution,” Tlhoaele said.... Read more on South Africa Today

Jeremy BerkeJune 1, 2016 91.8% of the people arrested for marijuana possession and sale in the city of New York between January and March 2016 were people of color, according to statistics from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services obtained by the Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP). PROP also found that 86.5% of New York Police Department (NYPD) misdemeanor arrests involved people of color, up 2% from 2015. Arrests for "small amounts" of marijuana were up a whopping 33.7% from last year. Robert Gangi, PROP's director, said in a press release that the statistics show that NYPD...

New York Bars Must Serve Pregnant Women Policymakers in New York have released new guidance which compels bartenders to serve pregnant women alcohol if they ask for it. Published on Friday 6 May by mayor Bill de Blasio and human rights commissioner Carmelyn Malalis, the document aims to precisely state what actions constitute discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy. The purpose of the document is to ensure that pregnant women are not discriminated against by employers and are provided a safe environment to work in. The guidelines read: “Judgments and stereotypes about how pregnant individuals should behave, their physical capabilities...

Progressive state attorneys general are emerging as the new lieutenants in a nationwide war on political dissent, which includes using government power and even the threat of criminal prosecution to silence opponents of progressive theories. Across the country, state attorneys general and some other officials are trying to use courts to pry loose information on donors to center-right nonprofits, and threatening to bring criminal charges. While these nonprofits and climate change dissenters are the current targets, one attorney warns the tactic represents a danger to political free speech that is protected by the First Amendment. A group of attorneys general...

NEW HAVEN >> Less than three months after her historic promotion, the Police Department’s first black female police captain is suing the city alleging racial and gender discrimination dating to 2012. Police Capt. Patricia Helliger filed the civil complaint at Superior Court in New Haven last week after the complaint was released by the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities on Feb. 29 — 10 days after her ceremonial induction at City Hall. ... Helliger is represented by East Haven attorney Patricia A. Cofrancesco. The city of New Haven is listed as the first defendant, with Police Chief Dean...

A group of Jewish families that included elderly people, pregnant women and children were taken off an EasyJet passenger plane in Barcelona waiting to depart for Paris, according to a report on the European Jewish Press. One of the passengers, a Holocaust survivor, said the behavior of police who came to take the travelers off the flight was similar to that of the German Nazi SS police during World War II. The families were removed after the plane had been sitting on the tarmac for more than two hours, waiting for departure. Many of the Jewish men were wearing kippahs,...

Two black women are each seeking $4 million in damages from Victoria's Secret, claiming they were treated like criminals and ordered out of the Beverly Center store by management after a confrontation with an aggressive customer. A lawsuit filed by Shaunda McDaniel and Tammi Robinson alleges negligence, slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false arrest and violations of various state codes. . . . According to the complaint, the plaintiffs went to the Victoria's Secret store, located in a predominantly white and affluent area, last June 16 for the chain's semiannual sale. They were perusing the sale items when a...

Crime: The Obama administration has just made it easier for felons to move in next door. Landlords who don’t want tenants who are going to mug their neighbors or deal drugs will now be treated as racists and potentially sued. Last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued new guidelines to landlords, warning that bans against renters with criminal convictions violate the Fair Housing Act because they disproportionately affect minorities. In effect, the Obama regime is now outlawing criminal background checks for apartment rentals, even though such screening is critical for the protection and security of tenants and...

More than 60 businesses including some of Missouri's biggest corporate names joined a coalition opposed to state legislation that would protect businesses objecting on religious grounds to same-sex marriages, the latest sign of a backlash against such proposals across the country. Agricultural giant Monsanto, prescription drug benefits manager Express Scripts, and pet food maker Nestle Purina are among employers to join the recently formed Missouri Competes, according to gay rights advocacy group PROMO, which released the list just hours before a House committee heard testimony from business, sports and religious groups. Dozens crammed in the Capitol basement for the late-night...

Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina, whose state has been the subject of withering criticism since he signed legislation limiting bathroom access for transgender people and eliminating anti-discrimination ordinances based on sexual orientation, announced Tuesday that he would strengthen workplace protections for state employees and urge the General Assembly to modify part of the law.... He also said he would urge lawmakers to reverse course and allow people to bring discrimination cases in state court.... Since the measure became law, North Carolina has faced a barrage of criticism from business interests and warnings of boycotts and canceled investments. PayPal, an...

You're a private landlord, renting apartments in a building you bought with your savings from years of hard work and modest living. You take pride in maintaining your property, keeping it clean, comfortable, and attractive. You charge a fair rent and treat your tenants with courtesy and respect. Your tenants, in turn, appreciate the care you put into the building. And they trust you to screen prospective tenants wisely, accepting only residents who won't jeopardize the building's safe and neighborly character. That's why you only consider applications from individuals who are employed or in school, whose credit scores are strong,...

There’s been plenty of anticipation about booking trips to Cuba since travel restrictions eased in the past year. However, a first-person report in the Miami Herald says there are some people living in the U.S. who can’t take part in a Cuba vacation cruise.... [the Carnival representative] asked me to hold. She returned to read me a statement from the legal department: “Current Cuban law prohibits Cuban-born individuals from entering Cuba via ship or other sea vessel, regardless of U.S. citizenship status. For that reason, at the present time, Fathom cannot accommodate Cuban-born individuals.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is warning landlords they could face discrimination charges for turning down prospective tenants with criminal records — if the decision has an “unjustified discriminatory effect.” A Republican senator described new HUD guidance issued this week as yet another move by the Obama administration to support convicted criminals. The 10-page document states that “where a policy or practice that restricts access to housing on the basis of criminal history has a disparate impact on individuals of a particular race, national origin, or other protected class, such policy or practice is unlawful under the...

New Top Cop's Fiancee Under Investigation For Alleged Police Exam Cheating By Mark Konkol and Heather Cherone Updated April 5, 2016 THE LOOP — Mayor Rahm Emanuel's newly appointed top cop Eddie Johnson's fiancee is a Chicago Police lieutenant named in an ongoing investigation into alleged cheating on the department's lieutenant's exam, DNAinfo Chicago has learned. It's the same cheating probe that sources said helped derail Deputy Chief Eugene Williams' chances of being promoted to police superintendent. Now the allegations are part of a separate probe, this one by Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson, sources said. Williams, one of the...

Just a simple question to debate . . . If the Protection Of Religious Freedom Act in a state is discriminatory and worthy of boycotts because people don't want to do business with companies that are located in a state that practices discrimination, then how do they justify . . . Affirmative Action Title IX Minority Carve-out Contracts by States just something to being up to the opponents . . .

The North Carolina legislature on Wednesday passed a sweeping bill overturning gay and transgender protections at the local level and requiring students to use public restrooms that correspond to their biological sex. [Snip] Legislators said immediate action was necessary to protect children and women from sexual predators who might pose as transgender to gain access to women’s restrooms. But gay rights groups called the measure blatantly discriminatory and condemned it as the most extreme bill of its kind in the nation. “Legislators have gone out of their way to stigmatize and marginalize transgender North Carolinians by pushing ugly and fundamentally...