Boycott Hilton Hotels

Fran O'Brien's, a well-known Washington, DC steakhouse is being kicked out of the Hilton Hotel there because of its tradition of offering free steak dinners to Iraq war veterans who are recouperating at Walter Reed Hospital. The veterans expose, among other things, that the Hilton is not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Jim Mayer, a veteran who works at the Department of Veterans Affairs and who helped start the steak dinner tradition, is concerned that the hotel wants to eliminate the spectacle of hundreds of severely disabled soldiers coming in and out of its building or that the restaurant's repeated requests for a new elevator or escalator to accommodate them was too much.

Meanwhile, our allies the Italians are better Americans the Hilton Hotel chain.

O'Brien's intends to hold two more Friday night dinners. In the meantime, the Italian Embassy has called O'Brien, offering its digs for the dinners until he comes up with another plan.