Free Republic

Patrons at Miami eatery Versailles cheered when Donald Trump twice declared “Food for everyone!” during a surprise stop at the Little Havana hotspot. Then he left without buying food for anyone, according to a local report. Fresh off pleading not guilty to criminal charges in a Miami federal court, Trump was all smiles as he entered the crowded restaurant Tuesday. Well-wishers sang “Happy Birthday” to the former New Yorker on the eve of his 77th birthday. Trump supporters told NBC 6 South Florida they thought the 45th president was treated unfairly when he was indicted on more than three-dozen counts...

In a quiet end to a highly contested investigation, the Justice Department signed a consent decree on Saturday with New Times Media and Village Voice Media, two newsweekly chains that it had accused of dividing markets when they closed competing papers in Cleveland and Los Angeles last October, according to representatives of both companies. The Justice Department is expected to file a complaint and a competitive impact statement today, along with the consent decree, they said. There is no admission of guilt in the consent decree, but each company is required to aid the opening of new weekly papers in...

After California’s then-Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced felony pimping charges last year against the two owners of Backpage.com — a classified-ad website that is a hub for sex trafficking and prostitution, one of the men cut a $10,000 check to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s super PAC. Mrs. Pelosi’s political action committee, House Majority PAC, has resisted giving the money back, and an aide to Mrs. Pelosi said the California Democrat knows nothing about the contribution. The uproar over sexual harassment that began with the Harvey Weinstein scandal has intensified the scrutiny of political contributions linked to Backpage, which...

Speaking at an April 4 awards banquet, Village Voice editor Mike Lacey let slip the N-word. The fact that his remark was uttered exactly 40 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King didn't help matters. Lacey didn't mean any harm, of course, and he issued the required apology. This wasn't the first time Mr. Lacey has crossed the boundaries of good taste - a few years ago he publicly defended Jesse Jackson when he referred to New York City as "Hymietown."But Lacey stands in good company.The discovery of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's expletive-laced sermons and anti-Semitic rants plunged the Obama...

Arizona will never shake its reputation as a backwards, redneck state with vestiges of racism as long as incidents like this are just swept under the rug. A week ago, the most powerful owner/publisher/editor of left wing newsweeklies in the country, Michael Lacey, made a racist remark, "my n****" at an awards dinner in Phoenix on the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. The mainstream media ignored it. Contrast this with talk show host Don Imus's racist remarks. Imus was admonished by every major network for days, until he was eventually fired.The difference is that Lacey champions far...

Liberal fish rot from the head. ... it brought me back to our guest speaker who was speaking about Tom Fitzpatrick, who, if you don't mind the expression, was my nigger. – Michael Lacey, co-owner of Village Voice Media, while accepting an award from the local chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Friday, referencing the late Pulitzer Prize winning reporter

Where is the outrage over the racist use of the word n**** at an awards ceremony by powerful editor and owner Michael Lacey of the Phoenix New Times, who also owns at least half a dozen other weeklies across the country, including Village Voice weeklies? Other prominent persons of influence have been forced to step down for similar remarks, including Senator Trent Lott, talkshow host Don Imus, and Gov. George Allen of Virginia had to drop his presidential bid. Arguably Lacey’s remark was even more derogatory than Lott’s or Allen’s.In his acceptance speech at the Society of Professional Journalists...