Stung by complaints of discrimination and racism among some of its hosts, Airbnb has hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to help it craft an anti-discrimination policy.
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Friday, July 22, 2016
Donald Trump: I wouldn't accept Ted Cruz's endorsement
Another time he should have kept his mouth shut!
Trump had the upper hand and used it to punch himself in the face.
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Ted Cruz won't endorse Donald Trump, but the Republican nominee said Friday he wouldn't take the support even if the Texas senator offered.
"If he gives it, I will not accept it," Trump said at a news conference in Cleveland at the close of the Republican National Convention.
"I don't want his endorsement," he added. "Just, Ted, stay home, relax, enjoy yourself."
Trump, speaking the end of a week dedicated to unifying the party, once again revived the conspiracy theory published in the National Enquirer that linked Cruz's father to John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald -- an accusation that has no evidence behind it.
"I don't know his father. I met him once," Trump said. "I think he's a lovely guy, a lovely guy. All I did was point out the fact that on the cover of the National Enquirer, there was a picture of him and crazy Lee Harvey Oswald having breakfast. Now Ted never denied that it was his father."
Trump first suggested that Cruz's father was involved in the assassination of Kennedy the morning of the Indiana primary, citing the tabloid story.
Cruz allies have since repeatedly pointed to that low blow from Trump as a reason for refusing to support the Republican nominee. And on Thursday, Cruz referenced the incident, as he drew an angry reaction from members of his state's own GOP delegation.
"I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father," Cruz said.
Trump devoted a significant portion of Friday's event, billed as a thank you to convention staff and organizers, to attacking his former primary rival.
Speaking at the RNC on Wednesday, Cruz had declined to endorse Trump, instead urging delegates to vote their "conscience."
Cruz said that the Trump campaign had seen the speech beforehand, and that he told Trump personally that he would not make an endorsement.
But Trump appeared to dispute that on Friday morning, saying Cruz went off-script at the convention.
"So Ted Cruz took his speech that was done, was on the Teleprompter, said hello, then made a statement that wasn't on the speech, then went back to his speech," Trump said. "See, to me, that's dishonorable."
Trump likewise said it was "dishonorable" of Cruz to abandon his pledge to support the Republican nominee.
But Trump said that Cruz's camp started it with an ad that ran in Utah showing racy photos of his wife, Melania Trump. The ad was put out by a PAC with no official ties to the Cruz campaign, but Trump said Friday that he doesn't buy that.
"Folks, a lot of us are political people," Trump said. "We're not babies. His people are in the PAC."
At one point in his remarks, Trump even suggested forming his own PAC to oppose Cruz if the senator runs again in four years.
"I don't see him winning anyway, frankly. But if he did, it's fine," Trump said. "Although maybe I'll set up a super PAC if he decides to run."
Turning to his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, Trump asked, "Are you allowed to set up a super PAC, Mike, if you are the president to fight somebody?"
Houston cop washes blind homeless man's feet, clips his toenails and vows to find him a home
Evidently someone at the Daily Mail screwed up here.
They were supposed to lead with this:
Black teen reading the Bible shot by white cop
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A picture of a police officer tenderly washing the feet of a homeless man is drawing kudos and reminding people of a gentler and often unheralded side of law enforcement.
Sgt. Steve Wick of Houston works with the city's homeless outreach program, and he spotted Quintus living on the streets a few weeks back.
While Quintus, 75, has always tried to work by selling newspapers on the street, he has lately gone almost blind with glaucoma and was having trouble even getting to the local thrift store to pick up clothes.
The day that 23-year force veteran Wick and fellow officer Colin Mansfield found him and gave him a wash, Quintus had soiled himself, according to KHOU.
A photo snapped of the inspiring moment appears to have been taken July 19.
The HPD shared this photo of Sgt. Steve Wick gently cleaning the feet of a blind, homeless man - the photo has been liked over 1,000 times on Facebook
Sgt. Steve Wick (left) has been with the Houston police department for 23 years, he now works to get the homeless off the streets; right, he appears at the community policing awards ceremony in 2015
The picture was snapped as Wick bent down to wash the elderly man's feet and clip his toenails, which had grown 'really, really long', Wick said.
So Wick and Mansfield soaked his feet to get his nails soft enough to cut.
'To get the toenails cut, it will make walking around so much better,' Wick said. The officers also gave the man new shoes.
Wick then brought Quintus to a local sober clinic where he was able to take a shower for the first time in a long time.
'He was happy to get cleaned up,' Wick told Good Morning America. 'His whole life he's been minimally employed, selling the Sunday paper. He's got glaucoma, so he's about 95 percent blind.'
But the big-hearted Wick wants to do more than wash Quintus' feet and get him spruced up.
Wick's goal is to get Quintus a doctor's appointment to treat his glaucoma and, ultimately, to find him housing.
'Police have gotten a black eye in recent years, or months,' he said. But of the homeless outreach program, he added: 'It makes people feel like police officers are out there to help, rather than to hurt, and we are.'
Hillary’s VP Search Seeks Balance
Via: https://earloftaint.com
I'm still pulling for Pocahontas to be the VP. I can hear it now...
"I never sent or received any classified smoke signals".
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Airbnb hires former US Attorney General Eric Holder
What happened…Sharpton turn them down?
So I got this straight.
Airbnb is going to hire this Contempt of Congress waste of skin to "ease discrimination and racism"? Are you shitting me? This guy did nothing but foment racism his ENTIRE term in office!
My house is on fire...quick someone get me a pail of gas!
Stedman will serve a dual purpose:
Not only is he a master at reducing racial tensions...he still has some half off specials in case you are in need of a firearm during your stay.
Airbnb is drilling holes in the bilge to let the water out. They'll have lawsuits up to their eyeballs! Guess they believe a guy that can instigate racism so well can also prevent it. That's not in his DNA.
The home rental company announced last month that it would review all aspects of its platform with an eye to fighting bias and discrimination.
Critics have said that by creating a digital space that allowed individuals to rent out their homes and apartments, and more importantly pick and choose to whom they rent, Airbnb unwittingly enabled its hosts to act on their biases.
Holder's hiring is part of Airbnb's efforts to deal with the problems that have arisen. He said he was looking forward to working with Airbnb to develop and implement what the company calls "a world-class" anti-discrimination policy.
"Airbnb is committed to building a community where everyone can belong, no matter who they are or what they look like. I'm eager to help them craft policies that will be the model for companies who share Airbnb's commitment to diversity and inclusion," he said in a statement.
Holder was U.S. Attorney General from 2009 to 2015, during which he championed the civil rights of minorities and gays. He left a year ago and rejoined his former law firm, Covington & Burling.
During his tenure he oversaw a parallel civil rights inquiry into the shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. During the inquiry his office issued written guidance to police across the country, identifying best practices to help police maintain public safety while safeguarding constitutional rights.'
In a post on Wednesday, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said Airbnb has "an obligation to be honest about our own shortcomings, and do more to get our house in order."
Chesky said one part of the process has been learning how to fight explicit racism and the implicit biases that can lead to discrimination.
To that end, the company also engaged well-known anti-bias expert Robert Livingston of Harvard University to help it improve its unconscious bias training.
Livingston said that after meeting with senior Airbnb staff "I've concluded that the organization has a sincere and profound interest in eliminating any and all discriminatory bias on its website, and is prepared to fight the problem using multiple tactics."
The company has also created new staff positions that will work full-time to detect and address instances of discrimination, Chesky said.
He acknowledged that Airbnb has been slow to address these issues and that while the company was begun with the best of intentions "but we weren't fully conscious of this issue when we designed the platform."
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