"Ladies, it looks like the party's over," reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. Those Ladies' Night bar promotions where you get free or reduced drinks are against the law.
The Inquirer says:
A senior New Jersey civil-rights official yesterday issued a ruling concluding that "ladies' nights" are unlawfully discriminatory.
The paper says J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo, the Director of the New Jersey Civil Rights Commission, "cited a portion of a 1959 state appellate court opinion: 'Once a proprietor extends his invitation to the public, he must treat all members of the public alike.'"
Absent an "important public interest," sex discrimination is illegal, Vespa-Papaleo wrote.
"It's the same as if you tried to say Christians can have free drinks but Jews can't," he said in the interview.
The ruling followed similar decisions in other states. Pennsylvania's highest court, for example, has said strip bars cannot offer women free admission if men have to pay. Iowa's Supreme Court (PDF) concluded that a ladies' day at a racetrack was illegal. Hawaii recently upheld its ban on Ladies Night. (A similar ban is emerging in the U.K.)
The Inquirer says:
Appellate courts in Illinois and Washington, however, have said ladies' nights are permitted because, rather than discriminate, they merely encourage women to attend.
All of this makes me wonder whether senior citizen discounts are legal. Isn't that age discrimination? Don't tell my mother I raised the question, I will be cut out of the will.
The Cross Controversy
Los Angeles county supervisors will remove the tiny gold cross on the county seal rather than defend it against a threatened ACLU lawsuit.
I wonder if anybody has a problem with L.A. being called the "City of Angels."
According to the L.A. county website:
The cross represents the influence of the church and the missions of California.
The L.A. Times said:
The American Civil Liberties Union argued that the official insignia, which appears on everything from county vehicles and meeting rooms to employee badges and telephone books, was unconstitutional because it reflects "an impermissible endorsement of Christianity by the county government" and is a violation of the First Amendment.
The Plant Poachers
My Poynter colleague Larry Larsen found this excellent story on the Houston Chronicle website. It is about the theft of high-value plants, especially tropicals from nurseries.
Army Prevents Retirements with a "Stop Loss" Order
If you are in the Army, you are staying in for a while. The newly issued "stop loss" order means that thousands of soldiers stationed or heading to Iraq or Afghanistan "who had expected to retire or otherwise leave the military will have to stay on for the duration of their deployment to those combat zones," the AP reports. The order also affects units that are 90 or fewer days away from deploying. "Without the program," the AP says, "an average division would have to replace 4,000 soldiers — perhaps one-quarter to one-fifth of its strength — before or during a deployment, according an Army press release."
Reuters reports:
The U.S. Army has issued an order preventing thousands of soldiers designated for duty in Iraq or Afghanistan from leaving the military even when their volunteer service commitment expires, officials said on Wednesday.
The move to extend the service of some soldiers involuntarily was the latest sign of increasing stress on the Army as the Pentagon strives to maintain adequate troop levels in the two conflicts.
Lt. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck, the Army's personnel chief, denied that the move was a sign of desperation for the Army, although he did acknowledge that the Army was "stretched."
The Army issued so-called "stop loss" and "stop movement" orders for soldiers in all units that will deploy outside the United States to take part in future missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army has previously issued such orders covering some troops in the two conflicts, but not as broadly as the latest move. Since the attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, some 45,000 soldiers have been affected by similar orders, Hagenbeck said.
The "stop loss" order means that soldiers, who otherwise could leave the service when their volunteer commitments expire, starting 90 days before being sent, will be compelled to remain to the end of their overseas deployment and up to another 90 days after they come home.
A "stop movement" order blocks soldiers from shifting to new assignments during the restricted period.
FOX News says:
Previously, the Army had prevented soldiers from leaving certain units scheduled for deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq. But Wednesday's move is the first time since Sept. 11, 2001, that the stop-loss program has been ordered so widely.
"Some criticize the stop-loss program as contrary to the concept of an all-volunteer military force," says the AP. "Soldiers planning to retire and get on with their lives now face months away from their families and homes."
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Editor's Note:
Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, story excerpts, and other materials from a variety of websites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed, and a link will be provided, whenever possible. In my opinion, forcing the soldiers to continue in the...
