Federal law prohibits restaurants and bars from discriminating against customers on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin, but prosecutors say a popular Houston bar actively discouraged non-white customers by, among other practices, demanding cover charges that were not required of white customers. [More]
the unwelcome mat
Do You Have A Constitutional Right To Shop At Home Depot?
By 8.5.16
It’s not uncommon for a retailer to ban shoplifters from ever stepping foot on the premises again. However, a California man convicted of stealing from a Home Depot says that being barred from going back to the store — or any other Depot in the state — is a violation of his rights. [More]
Mississippi Governor Signs Bill Allowing Businesses To Refuse Service To LGBT Customers
By 4.5.16
The same day that PayPal took away potentially hundreds of jobs from North Carolina over a recently passed state bill targeting the rights of gay and transgendered people, the governor of Mississippi has signed off on a piece of legislation that goes even further, allowing a number of businesses to refuse service to customers based on their personal biases. [More]
Renters Claim They Were Evicted For Being An Interracial Couple
By 4.1.16
While federal law explicitly prohibits the consideration of “race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin” in determining who can rent or buy a home, some Americans still face this illegal discrimination for something as simple as finding a place to live. [More]
Another City Wants To Stop Comcast From Taking Over Cable Service
By 10.16.14
Weeks after city leaders in Lexington, KY, made it clear that they are not pleased about the promise of being passed around like a hot potato from Time Warner Cable to Comcast to Charter, the City Council of Worcester, MA, is also laying out the unwelcome mat for Comcast. [More]
Giving Police Backdoor Access To Smartphones Is An Invitation To Be Hacked
By 10.3.14
With both Android and iOS phones making privacy updates that will make it impossible for Google or Apple to unlock a device without a user’s passcode, even with a warrant, authorities from local police to the head of the FBI to the U.S. Attorney General are saying there should be some sort of backdoor way to gain access to these devices. But what they don’t realize is that leaving in that additional point of access just makes phones more vulnerable to other forms of snooping. [More]
Homeowner Pulls Gun To Stop New Electric Meter From Being Installed
By 7.19.12
A woman in Texas says she tried to be polite when she told the man from the power company that she didn’t want to have her old electric meter replaced with a new “smart” meter. But when he refused to listen to her, she grabbed her gun. [More]
