Free Republic

New York City to Ban Discrimination Based on Hair New guidelines out this week give legal recourse to individuals who have been harassed, punished or fired because of the style of their hair. By Stacey Stowe Feb. 18, 2019 Under new guidelines to be released this week by the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the targeting of people based on their hair or hairstyle, at work, school or in public spaces, will now be considered racial discrimination. The change in law applies to anyone in New York City but is aimed at remedying the disparate treatment of black...

Protests planned across US on Presidents Day in response to Trump's national emergency for border wall By Aris Folley - 02/16/19 06:33 PM EST Protesters have planned demonstrations across the U.S. for Presidents Day in response to President Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency for border wall funding. USA Today reports a wave of protests have been planned from New York to California and Texas to oppose the president’s national emergency declaration. A number of demonstrations are being planned by the liberal advocacy group, MoveOn.org, and others have been listed on Rally List. “Donald Trump has declared a #FakeNationalEmergency—an...

Disgraced ex-US congressman Anthony Weiner is out of prison and has started his pre-release program after his sentence for sexting a 15-year-old girl was cut by three months for good behavior Anthony Weiner, 54, admitted sexing a 15-year-old girl from South Carolina A judge jailed Weiner for 21 months in November 2017 and fined him $10,000 He pleaded guilty to one charge of transferring obscene material to a minor The disgraced politician was also ordered to undergo a sex offender programme By Darren Boyle for MailOnline Published: 05:56 EST, 17 February 2019 | Updated: 07:49 EST, 17 February 2019 Disgraced...

Bill de Blasio: The Path Amazon Rejected It could have answered the concerns of citizens. Instead it bolted. By Bill de Blasio Mr. de Blasio is mayor of New York City. Feb. 16, 2019 The first word I had that Amazon was about to scrap an agreement to bring 25,000 new jobs to New York City came an hour before it broke in the news on Thursday. The call was brief and there was little explanation for the company’s reversal. Just days before, I had counseled a senior Amazon executive about how they could win over some of their critics....

Time to Panic The planet is getting warmer in catastrophic ways. And fear may be the only thing that saves us. By David Wallace-Wells Mr. Wallace-Wells is the author of the forthcoming “The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming.” Feb. 16, 2019 The age of climate panic is here. Last summer, a heat wave baked the entire Northern Hemisphere, killing dozens from Quebec to Japan. Some of the most destructive wildfires in California history turned more than a million acres to ash, along the way melting the tires and the sneakers of those trying to escape the flames. Pacific hurricanes forced...

Pelosi, Schumer Joint Statement on the President’s Unlawful Emergency Declaration February 15, 2019 Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released this joint statement on President Trump declaring a national emergency: “The President’s unlawful declaration over a crisis that does not exist does great violence to our Constitution and makes America less safe, stealing from urgently needed defense funds for the security of our military and our nation. This is plainly a power grab by a disappointed President, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to...

Ocasio-Cortez: Get ready for our 15-city Magical Green New Deal Mystery Tour Ed MorrisseyPosted at 12:01 pm on February 14, 2019 “Let’s go,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says in promoting a new 15-city tour in support of her Green New Deal. Just one question — how exactly will they “go”? Unless it’s by bicycle or on foot, the organizers might have some explaining to do. They can’t travel by car, not even electric, since the energy to recharge vehicles comes primarily from coal and nuclear sources. I know, I know … this qualifies as pouncing, doesn’t it? Via Twitchy: Let’s go:...

Republican leader says U.S. Senate will vote on Green New Deal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that the U.S. Senate will vote on a “Green New Deal” introduced by Democrats that seeks to eliminate U.S. greenhouse gas emissions within a decade. “I’ve noted with great interest the Green New Deal, and we’re going to be voting on that in the Senate, give everybody an opportunity to go on record and see how they feel about the Green New Deal,” McConnell said. The document introduced last week marked the first formal attempt by lawmakers to...

Cory Booker: ‘This Planet Simply Can’t Sustain’ People Eating Meat Democrat 2020 hopeful is vegan because eating eggs 'didn't align with my spirit' BY: Elizabeth Harrington Follow @LizWFB February 12, 2019 5:00 am Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) said the planet "can't sustain" people eating meat, as the 2020 hopeful aims to become the first vegan president. Booker told the vegan magazine VegNews earlier this month that he became vegan after coming to the realization that eating eggs "didn't align with my spirit." While claiming he does not want to lecture Americans on their diets, Booker says Americans need to...

Democrat to acting AG: 'We are not joking here' By Morgan Chalfant - 02/08/19 12:26 PM EST Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) chided acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker for behaving in an unacceptable manner during a confrontational House Judiciary Committee hearing Friday. “Mr. attorney general, we are not joking here,” Jackson Lee said. “And your humor is not acceptable.” The tense exchange came as the congresswoman asked Whitaker a series of yes or no questions about his role at the Justice Department and oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Members often asked yes or no questions during oversight hearings...

Ocasio-Cortez: Latinos Can’t Be Illegals Because They’re ‘Descendants of Native People’ BY: Cameron Cawthorne Follow @@Cam_Cawthorne February 7, 2019 4:31 pm Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Thursday criticized U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and argued in support of undocumented Latinos in the United States, saying the latter cannot be "criminalized" on "Native" U.S. land because they are "descendants of Native people." The self-described Democratic socialist spoke on Thursday alongside several liberal groups, including MoveOn and United We Dream, a pro-immigration group that calls for ICE to be abolished. She repeatedly slammed ICE, claiming it "repeatedly and systematically violates human...

Pelosi: Virginia Scandals Don’t Damage Democratic Party’s National Brand BY: Andrew Kugle Follow @AndrewJKugle February 7, 2019 12:56 pm Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) dismissed the idea that the numerous scandals plaguing Virginia Democrats will have any impact on the party's national brand. "With everything that's been going on with Virginia, the governor, the attorney general here … does that filter down and damage the national Democratic brand in any way?" Fox News congressional reporter Chad Pergram asked. "No, it does not," Pelosi responded. "They will resolve — the Virginians will resolve their issues that they have...

Abolish Billionaires A radical idea is gaining adherents on the left. It’s the perfect way to blunt tech-driven inequality. Farhad Manjoo By Farhad Manjoo Opinion Columnist Feb. 6, 2019 Last fall, Tom Scocca, editor of the essential blog Hmm Daily, wrote a tiny, searing post that has been rattling around my head ever since. “Some ideas about how to make the world better require careful, nuanced thinking about how best to balance competing interests,” he began. “Others don’t: Billionaires are bad. We should presumptively get rid of billionaires. All of them.” Mr. Scocca — a longtime writer at Gawker until...

Georgetown students may pay reparations for slavery with new student fee Jennifer Kabbany - Fix Editor •February 6, 2019 UPDATED ‘We recognize the great privileges we have been given, and wish to at least partially repay our debts’ Georgetown University students will soon vote on whether they want to tax themselves to benefit the descendants of slaves sold by the university in the 1830s. Its student government recently authorized a campuswide student referendum on whether to establish a fund for the families of the 272 men, women and children sold by Georgetown in 1838. If approved, the semesterly fee would...

Pelosi Statement on State of the Union Address February 6, 2019 Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address: “Tonight, the President spoke about the honor of being in the House Chamber, and all the progress that has been achieved here. But at the same time, he threatened the United States Congress not to exercise its constitutional responsibility of oversight. “It will take days to fact-check all the misrepresentations that the President made tonight. Instead of fear-mongering and manufacturing a crisis at the border, President Trump should commit to...

Ocasio-Cortez, progressives accuse Trump of using socialism as scare tactic By Juliegrace Brufke - 02/06/19 12:15 AM EST Progressive Democrats accused President Trump of engaging in scare tactics for his warning in the State of the Union address about new calls for socialism in the United States. “I thought it was great. I think he's scared,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told reporters when asked about Trump’s remarks. “He sees that everything is closing in on him and he knows that he's losing the battle of public opinion.” Ocasio-Cortez is a democratic socialist who has soared to political fame following her...

Kermit Gosnell To Attend State Of The Union As Pelosi's Special Guest February 5th, 2019 WASHINGTON, D.C.—Notorious serial killer and champion of women's rights Kermit Gosnell is set to attend Trump's State of the Union address this evening as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's special guest, sources confirmed Tuesday. Gosnell is serving life in prison but was let out at Pelosi's request to attend the event. The House Speaker stated she wanted a guest who could stand for reproductive healthcare and women's rights during Trump's speech. She called the move a "powerful statement" against those who would infringe on...

Mary Poppins branded racist by US academic - for 'blacking up' in iconic sweeps' rooftop scene US Professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner criticised the classic Mary Poppins film The academic criticises the film in an article published in the New York Times In one scene Mary Poppins's face is covered with soot after going up a chimney Professor Pollack-Pelzner writes: 'Her face gets covered with soot, but instead of wiping it off, she gamely powders her nose and cheeks and gets even blacker' By Chris Hastings for The Mail on Sunday Published: 17:38 EST, 2 February 2019 | Updated: 20:17 EST, 2...

Northam: ‘I Don’t Have Any Regrets’ About Abortion Comments BY: Nic Rowan Follow @NicXTempore January 31, 2019 7:09 pm Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D.) on Thursday doubled down on his controversial comments from the prior day regarding a new state bill that would allow abortions through the end of the third trimester of pregnancy. "I'm a physician. I'm also the governor. But when I'm asked questions, a lot of times it is put in the context of being a physician," he said at a press conference. "Realizing how we approach, how we mange patients, how we offer advice and counseling....

Sanders Introduces Estate Tax Reform to Combat Inequality Thursday, January 31, 2019 WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 – In an effort to combat rising wealth inequality, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation Thursday to establish a progressive estate tax on the fortunes of the top 0.2 percent of Americans and significantly increase rates on billionaires. Sanders' legislation, the For the 99.8% Act, would raise $2.2 trillion from the nation's 588 billionaires. In contrast, Senate Republican leadership proposed a bill this week that would repeal the estate tax for the richest 1,700 families in America. "At a time of massive wealth and income...