Free Republic

President Joe Biden plans Tuesday to propose new rules that will award minority-owned businesses 50 percent more contracts, ignoring a fair bidding process to lessen the “racial wealth gap.” “Under the Biden proposal, the administration would aim to increase the amount of federal contracting dollars given to small disadvantaged business by 50 percent over five years, amounting to an additional $100 billion in funding for those businesses,” the Hill reported.

'I just thought that Philly was different,' said Steve Jamison, owner of Blue Sole Shoes. 'I thought we would respond in a different way.'PHILADELPHIA, P.A. — A men’s shoes and accessories store in Center City, Philadelphia was looted last summer during the Black Lives Matter riots. Owner Steve Jamison, a black man who started Blue Sole Shoes in 2007, did not see it coming. “I just thought that Philly was different,” he told me. “I thought we would respond in a different way.” Jamison was at home when people first broke into his store on May 31. His alarm company...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced new employer tax credits and other steps to encourage people reluctant to be inoculated to get the COVID-19 vaccine as his administration tries to overcome diminishing demand for the shots. The moves came as Biden celebrated reaching his latest goal of administering 200 million coronavirus doses in his first 100 days in office.

The ongoing coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions ordered by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) have shuttered 32 percent of Michigan businesses at least temporarily this year. Michigan was second only to Puerto Rico in the United States for closures, a territory that was hit by a 2017 hurricane and relies heavily on tourism.

Employees of closed businesses have "bills to pay, children to feed, presents to gift and they're going to lose their homes." More than 150 businesses plan to reopen this week in defiance of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s coronavirus shutdown. The businesses have organized as the Reopen Minnesota Coalition. This group has created a Facebook page and GoFundMe to raise awareness and money for business owners who will likely face legal consequences for their actions. Rural businesses involved in the effort plan to open Wednesday, Dec. 16, while metro businesses will open two days later on Friday. Walz’s current shutdown order...

Recently entertainer Seth MacFarlane made a quiet announcement that his sci-fi space satire television show ‘’The Orville’’ was going back into production. This is a somewhat unsettling announcement for a couple of reasons. For one, over the past months Seth had been a loud proponent of shutdowns, quarantines, and basically any limitations done in the name of safety. We can guess that the virus has been scientifically shown to avoid television productions. The other issue is that as Seth’s show ramps back up California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has imposed tougher lockdown standards on citizens and businesses, as well as instilling...

How pandemic policy has benefited the corporate elite.. If one were to consider the upward transfer of wealth and market share to Big Business since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one would think such economic changes were intended. After all, it’s no secret that the interests of politicians and the corporate elite align more often than not. As we near a year of lockdowns and sheltering in place, the long-term effects of pandemic policy on the economy are becoming clearer. Almost every piece of legislation ostensibly designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus and protect workers has wreaked...

Over a quarter of small businesses in New York and New Jersey, areas hit hardest by the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, have not reopened this year, according to a report from a Harvard-run database. The database, TrackTheRecovery.org, revealed that 27.8 percent of small businesses in New York have not reopened following the mass shutdowns that occurred in the state this year, as of November 16. Even more businesses remained closed in New Jersey — 31.2 percent.

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The Winnebago County Health Department has issued closure orders for 13 more locally owned businesses for remaining open or refusing to enforce face covering mandates, in defiance of Gov. JB Pritzker’s latest Region 1 COVID-19 restrictions. The Filling Station in Rockford, Ace Hardware in Roscoe, Spring Garden Restaurant in Loves Park, Opsahl’s Tavern in Rockford, Neli’s Family Restaurant in South Beloit, Casey’s Pub in Loves Park, Potato Shak in Loves Park, Nora’s Place in South Beloit, Firehouse Pub in Roscoe, JJ’s Tavern in South Beloit, Rascal’s Bar and Grill in Loves Park, RBI’s in Rockford, and...

MADISON, Wis. — If Gov. Tony Evers was still entertaining ideas of outing more than 1,000 businesses that have reported two or more COVID-19 cases, a southeast Wisconsin judge has put those plans on hold. Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Lloyd V. Carter late Thursday issued a temporary injunction barring the release of business names with employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

MADISON, Wis. — Downtown Madison didn’t need more bad news. State Street, the heart and soul of the capital city — typically bustling with university students and tourists in the stores, bars, and restaurants up and down its pedestrian mall — now struck down by economic hardship, offers just a glimpse of the countless businesses around the country struggling to stay afloat in 2020. As if the endless suffering of this tumultuous year — COVID-19, lockdowns, shutdowns, riots, and scared customers — weren’t enough, downtown Madison businesses on Tuesday learned the Big 10 is canceling its fall sports season. Now...

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he ordered the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to cut off the water and electricity to any homes, venues, or businesses in violation of COVID-19 safety measures. In April, Garcetti enacted a similar order that applied to any non-essential businesses that defied his “Safer at Home” mandate. The announcement comes just days after Los Angeles police responded to a “gang related” shooting at a large house party in Beverly Crest. According to Garcetti, this order will help limit people’s right to assemble. “We’ve been clear from the beginning that getting together in...

Brace yourself for wave upon wave of … political polls. The latest show President Trump lagging presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, as usual. But stop. Let us do what no one does – look BEHIND these polls, understand the process and bias in polling. Take two recent polls, by NPR/PBS/Marist (NPR) and ABC/Washington Post (ABC). Both report new anti-Trump findings. Take a moment and unpack them. MSN.com – like may non-technical, left-leaning sites – summarizes both. A stinging line punctuates a leading paragraph. Says MSN, NPR’s poll “has Biden beating Trump 60 percent to 35 percent among suburban voters.”...

AUSTIN, Texas — The Black Lives Matter movement continues to be as important as ever, and many Austinites descended upon downtown streets to partake in protests. If you're looking for another way you can make a positive impact in the community, you can take action by supporting Black-owned businesses in your area. We've made it a little easier for you by providing a list of black-owned businesses in the Austin area. SNIP Restaurants/bars/etc. 3 Small Plates Catering 7-Eleven - Round Rock 11 Degrees Daiquiri African Market/Nigerian restaurant Aster's Ethiopian Restaurant Anything's Baked Potato Aura Rainwater Baby Greens B.B. Treats BB's...

PHOENIX — Coronavirus pandemic or not, an investment advisory company is leaving the cultural unrest in Seattle and moving its headquarters to Phoenix’s Camelback Corridor. ” … The unrest that has taken place in the city of Seattle … there is really is not a downtown business community today,” Smead Capital Management, President and CEO Cole Smead told KTAR News 92.3 FM. Smead said that although taxes in Seattle are lower, candidate recruitment is harder and the cost of living within the city is more expensive than Phoenix. “We’re hearing rumors of 40-story buildings that will be only 20-percent occupied...

The media continue to take the knee to Black Lives Matter. USA Today pushed a leftist event calling for people to boycott companies that don’t support the movement.

Enjoy! https://youtu.be/JdoBIO2z_Kk 

**SNIP** The lawsuit challenges Whitmer's executive powers and seeks an immediate injunction. "For the first time in our state's history - indeed, in our nation's history - the state government is mass quarantining healthy people instead of the sick," the lawsuit reads. "As a free people, we have the unalienable right to pursue happiness, which includes the freedom to make our own choices about our safety and welfare without unconstitutional interference. In the face of the coronavirus, it means the freedom to choose whether to stay at home, or to keep calm and carry on with the things that make...

Protests outside the Illinois State Capitol drew several dozen people from around the state. Some were business owners affected by Pritzker’s stay-home order that’s been in effect since March 21. Those orders lead to more than 700,000 Illinoisans filing for unemployment benefits since the beginning of March. Ashley McLemore from Dixon traveled to Springfield to protest the orders and to urge the state’s economy to reopen. She said they had to close their music teaching business. “The day that we closed, we had ten instructors and 85 students and about 90 percent of those students were coming for music therapy,”...

Wisconsinites are signaling they're done playing political games and aren't buying into the idea that they're 'Safer at Home.' MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin stay-at-home orders were supposed to expire Friday. Instead, thousands of disgruntled Wisconsinites descended upon the capitol in protest after the Evers administration extended the Dairy State’s so-called Safer at Home order another month. Endless blaring honks turned to white noise as vehicles backed up East Washington Avenue before circling the capitol, with many waving signs and flags out of windows and sun roofs. One man drove a Yukon decked out with Trump 2020 gear, pulling a trailer...