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CPAC lashes out at Hyatt after hotel chain says stage resembling a Nazi rune is 'abhorrent'
March 01, 2021
Organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Monday lashed out at Hyatt Hotels after the company released a statement criticizing the design of their stage.
Social media users claimed the stage design at CPAC was in the shape of Odal rune -- an obscure symbol used by the Nazis.
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="68f3ffe21963a9469ae74d6b021da18d" id="88d0b"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1365696825680949251"><div style="margin:1em 0">This is the CPAC stage design below. It is a rune which was used by the SS.
This is the stage from which @tedcruz… https://t.co/o13dKSbVLV</div> — Ben Jackson (@Ben Jackson)<a href="https://twitter.com/BJacksonWrites/statuses/1365696825680949251">1614442471.0</a></blockquote></div><p>On Sunday, Hyatt issued a <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/hyatt-calls-hate-symbols-abhorrent-after-cpac-stage-compared-to-sign-used-by-nazis/" target="_blank">statement</a> distancing the company from the conference.</p><p>"We take the concern raised about the prospect of symbols of hate being included in the stage design at CPAC 2021 very seriously as all such symbols are abhorrent and unequivocally counter to our values as a company," Hyatt said.</p><p>In response, the American Conservative Union (ACU) -- the organization that puts on CPAC -- lashed out at the company's criticism.</p><p>"Contrary to Hyatt's own mission statement of inclusivity, your company just attacked its own customer by caving into the pressures of the politically motivated social media agitators who seek to destroy CPAC, our attendees and speakers from across the country, and the millions of Americans who support our work. Hyatt made a decision to issue additional statements late last night after the conference ended that disparaged and defamed us. These statements appear to validate demonstrably false and malicious claims," ACU argued.</p><p>The organization, which let Trump push lies about election fraud, argued criticisms of their state design are "irresponsible, untrue, and contribute to a climate of division and hatred."</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b2e029a264450e70c654883b3d3df9b5" id="d4a6a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1366470303048728587"><div style="margin:1em 0">This letter to Hyatt Hotels is our declaration that we will not let them cancel us with these lies. @Hyatt… https://t.co/kSWHFvW1V1</div> — CPAC 2021 (@CPAC 2021)<a href="https://twitter.com/CPAC/statuses/1366470303048728587">1614626882.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Shocking photo emerges of Indiana official in blackface – he says it was inspired by Dave Chapelle
March 01, 2021
A councilman from Merrillville, Indiana, has apologized publicly after past social media posts surfaced showing him in blackface, The Times of Northeast Indiana reports.
"I blame no one else for what happened, it was my decision and a poor one at that. The thing that bothers me the most is, that this is not who I am," Councilman Jeff Minchuk wrote on Facebook. "I never have been or ever will be involved in any type of racism."
<p>The photos, reportedly taken at a 2003 Halloween party, show Minchuk wearing blackface, a wig of black curly hair, and a sweatshirt that says, "Kill Whitey," while he stands next to someone dressed in a KKK outfit. Another photo shows a man dressed as a police officer holding a baton in the air while Minchuk poses with his hands behind his back.</p><p>According to Minchuk, the man in the KKK outfit is actually a Black friend who coordinated the costumes with him. He adds that they were reenacting a popular skit from comedian Dave Chappelle's show, which portrays a Black man who is a member of the KKK. </p><p>"We were all in our mid-twenties to early thirties at the time," he wrote on Facebook. "After having a conversation with one of my good friends about the show, we had the idea to attend a Halloween party and dress up as characters based on the show. My good friend, who is African American, went as the Black white supremacist and I went as the opposite. We thought that switching races for the party would be comedic, just like the show's skit. We were hoping to show people that, even though this is comedy, that we can all get along no matter what."</p><p>"As I got older, I realized that this idea was a poor decision, and I can see how the pictures might be viewed and questioned today," Minchuk continued. "It has come to my attention that these pictures have been circulating with obvious questions. I have no concern as to how they surfaced or who have brought them to light. I am releasing this statement to inform anyone who may have questions about these pictures, of the intent of the party costume, as well as who I am as a person."</p><p>Minchuk assured those reading his post that there were "no bad intentions." </p><p><span></span>"You have my deepest apologies for any confusion this may have caused, and I have certainly learned and grown due to this experience. ... I have to admit, this situation has really been weighing on my mind for a long time, simply because it is not who I am," he wrote. </p><p>Merrillville Town Council President Rick Bella said that a meeting will be held next week to decide what action should be taken. </p>
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Trump secretly got a COVID vaccine shot before leaving White House in January – didn’t tell his anti-vaxx supporters
March 01, 2021
Before leaving the White House as president, Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump chose to be inoculated from the deadly coronavirus, but opted to keep it a secret. Republicans represent the largest group of Americans who say they will not or are unsure if they will get vaccinated.
As head of a very loyal group of supporters, Trump could have gone on national television, as President-elect Joe Biden did, to receive the vaccine, which would have helped convert many opposed to the life-saving shot.
<p>On Monday The New York Time' Maggie Haberman <a href="https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1366461056164507648" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reported</a> the news that Trump was vaccinated, citing an advisor to the former president.</p><p>Some may have noticed that during his Sunday speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Trump in a rare move gave lip service to getting the vaccine, although couching it in an attack against President Biden. He told supporters to "<a href="https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-cpac-speech-transcript-full-gop-biden-facebook-1572719" rel="noopener" target="_blank">go get your shot</a>."</p><p>"Remember, we took care of a lot of people, including, I guess on December 21st, we took care of Joe Biden, because he got his shot," Trump told the CPAC crowd in Orlando at <a href="https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2021/02/internet-mocks-trumps-extremely-boring-and-low-energy-speech-that-bombs-at-cpac/">his speech that was widely panned</a>. "He got his vaccine. He forgot. It shows you how unpainful that vaccine shot is. So everybody go get your shot. He forgot. So it wasn't very traumatic, obviously. But he got his shot. And it's good that he got his shot."</p><p><a href="https://www.axios.com/republicans-coronavirus-vaccine-hesitancy-023bf32f-3d68-4206-b906-4f701b87c39f.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Axios</a> reported last week that 41 percent of Republicans say they will not get the coronavirus vaccine. That number jumps to 56 percent when including Republicans who say they are unsure. Just one-third of Republicans (33%) say they will get vaccinated. Compare that with 70 percent of Democrats who say they will get vaccinated.</p><p>"White Americans are now less likely than Black and Latino Americans to say they plan to get the vaccine," Axios notes.</p>
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