Free Republic

Two diversity advocates in the Scottsdale, Arizona school district were so eager to find racism lurking in a (highly successful) fundraiser that they accused a black D.J. hired for the event of wearing blackface. Evidently, the costume and/or hairstyle of the D.J. at the '70s-themed event triggered them somehow to accuse Koko Hunter, second from the right in the photo below, of the sin of racial impersonation of an African American via blackface: According to the account in the U.K. Daily Mail, The two eager-to-be-offended diversicrats are Jill Lassen, co-chair of the Scottsdale Parent Council's diversity, equity and inclusion committee...

The producers behind the 94th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday night have drawn fire from critics who called it “insensitive” to accompany two black presenters as they took the stage at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles with Toto’s “Africa.” Toto’s “Africa” played as British actor Daniel Kaluuya and singer H.E.R., both of whom claimed Oscars in 2021, strolled into the spotlights to present best supporting actress. Some argued the 1982 song was a less than stellar choice to introduce two black presenters, the Hollywood Reporter pointed out and others agreed on social media.

A George Zimmerman supporter decided to show his support for the man charged with second degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin by selling gun range targets meant to represent the slain teen. The Orlando, Florida "businessman," says he has sold out of the targets, which feature a silhouetted character with a black hoodie and a target drawn on its chest, along with a bag of Skittles candy and an iced tea can in the pockets. Martin was walking home to his father's girlfriend's house after purchasing the items, when he encountered Zimmerman on February 26th. The targets were...

The Twittersphere went to war with Kenneth Cole Thursday after the clothing giant used the Egypt uprising to promote its new spring collection. "Millions are in uproar in #Cairo", the company's twitter account posted at 9:58 a.m. "Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available," the tweet continued, followed by a link to their latest designs. The message sparked uproar from throngs of Twitter followers who have been closely following events in Egypt using the hashtag #Cairo.

John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, announced today he is considering a bid for U.S. president in 2012. It was his first direct response to months of Internet speculation that he may join the next presidential race. Bolton was speaking to WND senior reporter Aaron Klein on the latter's investigative radio show on WABC in New York. "Yes, I am considering it," Bolton said when asked if he is considering a 2012 presidential run. "I am very concerned about the direction of national security policy." Continued Bolton: "I am concerned that we hardly talk about it...

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama stepped outside the White House doors Halloween night to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters.

(12-17) 09:44 PST ALAMEDA -- An Alameda police dog trying to flush out a burglary suspect was shot and killed by an officer today after the dog attacked the officer, a police spokesman said. Billy, a Belgian Malinois, and his handler were among those responding to a burglary at the Coast Guard Recruiting Center at 660 Central Ave. shortly before 6:15 a.m., police Lt. Bill Scott said. Billy bit another officer assisting on the call. The dog did not let go when his handler ordered him to do so, and the officer being bitten shot him to death, Scott said.

RUSH: Colorado Springs, Jennifer. You're next on the EIB Network. Great to have you here. CALLER: Well, Rush, you might change your mind about that. I'm kind of angry. All these accolades that you're receiving are literally making me sick. And, in fact, my doctor, believe it or not, actually may be tongue-in-cheek, but wrote me a prescription for lowering my blood pressure. And that is, is that I listen at your program as infrequently as possible because in reality you are the one who believes that you are The Messiah, not Obama, and what's more, you're very sexist, you're...

Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said this about the attacks coming his way from Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY: "You challenge the status quo and suddenly the claws come out," Obama said. The CLAWS come out? Really? Then yesterday Obama told reporters who had asked about Clinton's latest attack ad, "I understand that Senator Clinton, periodically when she's feeling down, launches attacks as a way of trying to boost her appeal." ...over at MSNBC, Andrea Mitchell and Norah O'Donnell seemed to suggest Obama may have been -- if not playing the gender card, then using language women voters might find offensive. Language such...

A high-voltage power line fell over Tuesday during the Gaza funeral for two terrorists killed by the IDF Monday. The line was severed by shooting in the air. One person was killed and eight injured by the live wires.

Enraged Fatah leaders on Saturday accused Hamas militiamen of looting the home of former Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat in Gaza City. "They stole almost everything inside the house, including Arafat's Nobel Peace Prize medal," said Ramallah-based Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdel Rahman. "Hamas militiamen and gangsters blew up the main entrance to the house before storming it. They stole many of Arafat's documents and files, gifts he had received from world leaders and even his military outfits." ...

Everyone in Los Angeles knows that when you are to "shoot a pilot", it involves grips, a gaffer, location managers and other key crew. Apparently this is a fact lost with the TSA bunch at Los Angeles International Airport. Cinematical's Scott Weinberg uncovered a gem regarding director Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) and an allegedly true incident that went down at LAX. Weinberg writes that Figgis was going through security at LAX "when he was asked the reason for his visit." "I'm here to shoot a pilot," was what Weinberg claims Figgis responded. The LAX immigration official took him at...

What will they do about entitlements? Most readers will have heard the standard analysis that "Only Nixon could go to China." Yes, Richard Nixon became the first president to visit Red China -- and meet with the infamous Mao Zedong -- in February 1972. The presidential visit was the first step in normalizing relations between the two giant countries. But why "Only Nixon"? The saying refers to an oddity of America's closely divided partisan politics. Because Democrats at the time were widely branded -- not always without cause -- soft on communism, any Democratic leader who'd tried to cozy up...

Bush: Climate change is 'serious problem' US President George W. Bush said it was time to move past a debate over whether human activity is a significant factor behind global warming and into a discussion of possible remedies. "I have said consistently that global warming is a serious problem. There's a debate over whether it's manmade or naturally caused," Bush told reporters. "We ought to get beyond that debate and start implementing the technologies necessary to enable us to achieve a couple of big objectives: One, be good stewards of the environment; two, become less dependent on foreign sources...

President Bush's job approval rating has jumped six points in the wake of a media barrage of criticism over his administration's telephone records collection program. A Harris Interactive poll published in The Wall Street Journal Online on Friday had Bush’s approval rating at an all time low - with just 29 percent of Americans saying they liked the way he was handling his job. The Harris survey polled 1,003 adults on May 5-8 - before USA Today frontpaged their report on the National Security Agency's telephone records collection program. A Gallup survey released Friday yielded a similar result, with just...