Cheesesteaks In English Legal In The City Of Brotherly Love
03/20/2008
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Here's an item about a case that's been dragging on for a while—Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia posted a sign saying "This is America" and the Philadelphia City Government has finally decided that, yes, this is America, First Amendment and all:

Ruling: English-only sign at cheesesteak shop not discriminatory - Examiner.com
PHILADELPHIA (Map, News) - A Philadelphia agency has ruled that English-only signs at a famous cheesesteak shop are not discriminatory.

The Commission on Human Relations ruled Wednesday that the sign at Geno's Steaks does not violate the city's Fair Practices Ordinance.

Joe Vento posted the signs at his shop in October 2005. They read "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.'"

Critics alleged that the policy discourages customers of certain backgrounds from eating there. They say the signs discourage non-English speakers from going to the shop.[More]

However, not only does every wide spot in the road have some kind of "Commission On Human Relations" to harass business-owners, but there's a federal civil rights bureaucracy that does the same thing. And this case has been around since 2006.

I'd like to add that Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (birthplace of the Reverend Jeremiah WrightWalter Williams, and Bill Cosby) never had Jim Crow laws in the first place. The first black police officer to be appointed to the Philadelphia PD was appointed in 1881, so I don't see why the city needs a civil rights bureaucracy in the first place.

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