Free Republic

Shakespeare didn’t think names were important. The Ninth Circuit, however, disagrees with the Bard. by John Canoni. August 02, 2005 Shakespeare didn't think names were important. In Romeo and Juliet, he observed “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The Ninth Circuit, however, disagrees with the Bard. In El-Hakem v. BJY, Inc.,[1] the court upheld a jury verdict against an engineering firm CEO who insisted on calling an Arab employee, Mamdouh El-Hakem, “Manny” and “Hank” despite El-Hakem’s strenuous objections over a period of almost a year. The CEO, Gregg Young, asserted a “Western”...

A coalition of Muslim and civil libertarian organizations Friday demanded that Gov. Mitt Romney apologize for his comments last week, when he suggested that some mosques should be wiretapped. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee of Massachusetts delivered a letter, which was co-signed by 21 other organizations, saying that Romney's comments characterized Muslims living in the U.S. as potential or actual terrorists. "Governor Romney, the safety of Massachusetts is built upon the trust all residents -- citizens and immigrants -- have in their government," the letter stated. "Your willingness to profile and scapegoat an entire community based on religious affiliation only serves...