Free Republic

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston wants to add a 20% service charge to local restaurant tabs — and then tax it — to help restaurants cope with the city’s minimum wage and promote what he called pay equity among tipped and non-tipped employees. On Monday, Johnston told City Cast Denver, a popular podcast, that he has already been discussing the idea with restaurant owners. He didn’t say whether they are on board. He also did not discuss if increasing people's dinner costs would decrease restaurant visits. Johnston has incurred the ire of some local restauranteurs, who this month penned a letter...

House Oversight Committee Democrats are panicking over comments President Donald Trump made Friday about reforming the U.S. Postal Service. While Trump has not established a specific plan, he criticized the Postal Service and talked about how it might be improved upon during the swearing in of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “We want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money, and we’re thinking about doing that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And it will be a form of a merger, but it’ll remain the Postal Service, and I think it’ll operate...

Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign, two leading LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday challenging the Trump administration over the president’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military. The lawsuit, which was obtained by ABC News, was filed in the U.S. District Court-Western District of Washington on behalf of six active duty transgender service members, a transgender person seeking to enlist in the military, as well as Seattle human rights organization Gender Justice League. "By categorically excluding transgender people, the 2025 Military Ban and related federal policy and directives violate the equal protection and...

A new broadband law is going into effect this week in New York state requiring internet provider to offer low-income residents access to monthly broadband rates of $15 for 25Mbps or $20 for 200Mbps. As a response, AT&T has decided that it no longer plans to offer its 5G home internet in the Empire State and will begin notifying users about the decision on Wednesday. "While we are committed to providing reliable and affordable internet service to customers across the country, New York's broadband law imposes harmful rate regulations that make it uneconomical for AT&T to invest in and expand...

A Washington, D.C.-area restaurant server has been fired after she spoke out about possibly refusing service to incoming Trump administration officials. "I personally would refuse to serve any person in office who I know of as being a sex trafficker or trying to deport millions of people," Suzannah Van Rooy, a server at Beuchert's Saloon on Capitol Hill, told the Washingtonian this week. "It’s not, ‘Oh, we hate Republicans.’ It’s that this person has moral convictions that are strongly opposed to mine, and I don’t feel comfortable serving them." Her remarks were part of a report about whether there would...

Lt. General William G. Boykin FRC Action 801 G Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 Tel: 1-877/372-2808 Dear Robert, I wanted to share some good news regarding the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an important piece of legislation that provides funding and sets policies for the U.S. Department of Defense. First, the effort to "Draft our Daughters" has been thwarted for another year! Language requiring women to register with the Selective Service (which would make them eligible for any future military drafts) has been removed from this year's NDAA. In addition, this year's NDAA includes a provision that prohibits taxpayer...

Lt. Kaffee (Tom Cruise) struggles to get the truth from Col. Jessep (Jack Nicholson)… | Buy or rent A Few Good Men here: https://amzo.in/movie/2w1/a-few-good-... When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are assigned to a murder case, they uncover a hazing ritual that could implicate high-ranking officials such as shady Col. Nathan Jessep.

Vice President Kamala Harris released a message on Thursday with her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, wishing everyone a “happy Thanksgiving” and expressing “gratitude” for U.S. service members and their sacrifices. In a video posted to X, Harris sits next to Emhoff, who talks about how Thanksgiving is a day when people “come together to reflect” on what they are thankful for. Emhoff adds that Thanksgiving is also a day where people cook their favorite recipes and “share family stories” with each other.

These beverages are being booted. Starbucks’ olive oil-infused drinks are being nixed just a year after being added to the menu as the company’s new CEO looks to streamline service. Oleato products will be permanently removed from the core menu starting Nov. 7, when the Starbucks’ holiday drinks launch, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News. The memo said that Starbucks is “saying goodbye to Starbucks Oleato beverages and toffee nut syrup.” New CEO Brian Niccol, who took over the chain Sept. 9, noted that one of his priorities to accelerate growth at the company is to simplify the...

An investigation by French newspaper Le Monde found that the highly confidential movements of U.S. President Joe Biden, presidential rivals Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and other world leaders can be easily tracked online through a fitness app that their bodyguards use... Le Monde found that some U.S. Secret Service agents use the Strava fitness app, including in recent weeks after two assassination attempts on Trump, in a video investigation released in French and in English. Strava is a fitness tracking app primarily used by runners and cyclists to record their activities and share their workouts with a community. Le...

On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” host and NBC News Chief Washington Correspondent and Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell stated that 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) hasn’t been attacking his Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s (D), service, but has found “criticism, a lot of it verified, about the way he accounted for his service.” While speaking to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mitchell said, “Talk to me about Tim Walz, because you know him so well. He’s the Governor of your state. And he’s being attacked, he’s a 24-year veteran of the National...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed a revenue procedure this week to crack down on the service industry's reporting of tips. The Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program would be a voluntary tip reporting system in which the IRS and service industry companies cooperate, according to the announcement Monday. As part of the proposal, the IRS will give the public until early May to provide feedback on the program before implementing it.

Some food for thought about Pres Trump's speech, customer service, and planning for contingencies. 1. Last night during his speech Pres Trump pointed out that so far $6.1M had been raised for the three affected families. He also pulled out a physical check (not a personal check) for $1M. He said softly "thanks Dan." I *do* wonder if the Dan of that donation is Dan Bongino. Dan's there at the RNC; he's a personal friend-acquaintance of Mr. Trump with access; and this is the kind of thing Dan can now do due to his success. 2. For years I have...

Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle was shielded by her own officers after furious US senators pursued her down the corridors of the RNC, demanding she explain how a gunman was able to get a clear shot at Donald Trump. Cheatle was in the Milwaukee convention hall to oversee security arrangements on Wednesday evening - just hours after making a 'cover-your-a** call' to senators about the shooting in Pennsylvania on Saturday night.

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Only a single building was near the Butler rally and the shooter had an elevated direct line-of-sight view between himself and Donald Trump ... it's inconceivable the secret service left this rooftop completely unprotected simply due to incompetence ...

Amtrak is still facing service disruptions Friday in the Northeast after service between New Haven, Conn., and Philadelphia was suspended Thursday afternoon. “As of 8:24 am ET, Due to a disabled commuter train in New York (NYP), All rail services will be delayed/modified between PHL & NYP,” Amtrak Northeast said in a post Friday morning on the social platform X. “Resumption of service is estimated at 12:00 pm. Delays of at least 60 mins are expected. Updates to come.” Amtrak Northeast noted the cancellation and suspension of some trains in the New York region Friday morning due to the disabled...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A U.S. Secret Service agent was robbed at gunpoint as President Joe Biden was visiting Los Angeles for a fundraising event over the weekend, officials said. The agent was returning from work Saturday night when he was accosted in a residential community in Tustin, about an hour’s drive southeast of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Secret Service.

Two things keep the IRS out of most people's hair: the annual gift tax exclusion and the lifetime exclusion. Nerdy takeaways: * A gift tax is a tax owed on the transfer of money or property to another person while receiving nothing or less than full value in return. * The gift giver is the one who generally pays the tax, not the receiver. * If you give more than the annual gift tax limit, you may have to file a gift tax return, but this does not necessarily mean that you'll owe taxes on the gift. * The 2024...

What About Me is the fifth album by American psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. Released in December 1970/ The words to What about me? They fit US now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4RBB07S5Jo