Free Republic

A quintessentially American lunch item is the peanut butter & jelly sandwich.  Yet, one principal has a unique perspective on this lunch staple. Did you know that eating or even talking about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could be considered racist?That’s right.Apparently, it’s because people in some cultures don’t eat sandwich bread. Verenice Gutierrez, principal of Harvey Scott K-8 School in Portland explained in an interview with the Portland Tribune: “Take the peanut butter sandwich, a seemingly innocent example a teacher used in a lesson last school year,” the Tribune said.“What about Somali or Hispanic students, who might not...

A young entrepreneur was baffled when a Portland security guard thwarted her attempt to help her father pay for her braces by selling mistletoe - but told her she could beg, instead. Madison Root, 11, arrived bright and early at Portland Saturday Market, setting up a sign and basket next to the Skidmore Fountain in the downtown area to sell her wares to the crowds. ... Madison Root knew her upcoming orthodontic work would be expensive, and wanted to contribute. She spent Friday cutting mistletoe at her uncle's farm in Newberg, then wrapped it in clear cellophane and tied it...

Cameras on Portland police cars are starting to collect information on local vehicle license plates, and can track up to 128,000 vehicle license plates per day. That means that if authorities are investigating a murder and want to check on the whereabouts of a suspect's car three years ago, they can tap into a computer and perhaps find out where it was on a particular day. The system is already solving dozens of crimes. But some civil liberties advocates have reservations.

"Representative Earl Blumenauer, whose congressional district includes most of Portland, Ore., told National Review Online today that a TV show skewering his city seemed pretty realistic to him. The third season of Portlandia, a sketch comedy that pokes fun at hipsters, progressives, and other West Coast denizens, is now on Netflix if you need something to binge-watch. And if you’re like Blumenauer, who often sports a bow tie and a bright-green bicycle lapel pin, you might forget it’s satire. I asked him today before the Upton vote if he watches the show. He simply said, “Those are my people.” “It was the first three episodes...

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Authorities say an employee at an Oregon animal sanctuary has been attacked and killed by a wildcat. Sgt. Robert Wurpes of the Clackamas County Sheriff's office says the attack was reported Saturday night at WildCat Haven in the suburban Portland community of Sherwood.

PORTLAND, Ore., - An Oregon radio station said it will change a billboard in Portland's Chinatown criticized as insensitive for its message: "We love you long time." A statement issued by KXL-FM, Portland, said the billboard was not meant to be disrespectful and will be changed following complaints, KPTV, Portland, reported Tuesday. "It's a famous quote from an old rap song, we thought it would get attention but in no way meant disrespect to anyone," the station said. "This was a decision from the marketing and programming department. However, after our news department came to us and said they believed...

The Slants, a six-member band from Portland, Ore., calls their sound "Chinatown Dance Rock" — a little bit New Order, a little bit Depeche Mode. They describe themselves as one of the first Asian-American rock bands. Their music caters to an Asian-American crowd, they've spoken at various Asian-American events, and they're proud of all of it. But the Slants have been duking it out with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) over the past four years because of their name. The PTO refused the band's two trademark applications, saying that "slants" is a disparaging term for people of...

**SNIP** But who in their right mind would pay $2000 for a single, 12.7 oz. bottle of beer? Quite a lot of people, it turns out, judging by the frenzy unleashed Wednesday over the release of “Dave,” an English Barley wine from Hair of the Dog Brewing in Portland, Oregon that sold out less than five hours after it went on sale. Admittedly, it was just a tiny batch of 12 bottles, but still. **SNIP** What’s so special about Dave? First brewed in 1994 — that’s right, it’s 19 years old! — it achieves the absurdly-high alcohol level through a...

In a recent citizen’s view, Steve Holgate proposes that even if climate scientists are wrong, good will come from their point of view. Indeed, “climate” scientists are wrong. The last 17 years shows no statistically significant trend in the global temperature. Here in the Pacific Northwest, NOAA records show our winter temperatures have cooled at a rate of 1.2 degrees F per decade during the last 20 winters. Of 75 climate models predicting a hotter future climate, not a single one has been correct to date. Steve’s anecdotes of alarm can be factually dismissed. However, let’s look at the bigger...

Portland is in the middle of a nasty bout of black mob violence. This time directed at bicyclists. But Tim Oberlander does not want us to know. Oberlander says he wants to be able to live in a city that does good things for good people. So what’s wrong with that? Everything.

Portland is in the middle of a nasty bout of black mob violence. This time directed at bicyclists. But Tim Oberlander does not want us to know. Oberlander says he wants to be able to live in a city that does good things for good people. So what’s wrong with that? Everything. Oberlander is a news editor at KGW TV in Portland. His city is under attack from black mob violence centered around Martin Luther King Boulevard. This mob has been attacking bike riders, housewives, students, seniors, you name it. These attacks are part of a long — but quiet...

In between bowls of chicken poodle soup and deciding to provide air cover for al-Qaeda in Syria, our Dear Leader, Barack Hussein Obama, found time to meet with mayors from our crumbling major cities. From Justin Sink of The Hill: *** "President Obama told a collection of big-city mayors Tuesday at the White House that he would continue to use executive actions to combat gun violence plaguing major cities. In the meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder and the mayors of 18 cities from across the nation, Obama discussed commonly applicable strategies to reduce youth violence. 'He also vowed to...

PORTLAND, Ore. – A bar owner has been ordered to pay $400,000 to a group of cross-dresser he banned from his club last year. The Oregonian reports the Bureau of Labor and Industries civil rights division imposed the penalty against Chris Penner, owner of the Twilight Room Annex. Penner had told members of the Rose City T-Girls they could not return to his bar.

A cyclist who had his front teeth shattered after an attack by teenagers while riding through Portland, Oregon will soon be speaking clearly again thanks to a generous dentist. Andy Sweeney, 20, was intentionally struck with a traffic cone last weekend and a photo of his cracked-tooth grin quickly went viral. Instead of being an embarrassment, the photo became the key to fixing his smile after a fundraising effort and a kindly dentist came to his aid. ‘Some kids threw a traffic cone at me while I was riding my bike down MLK,’ Sweeney wrote next to the aftermath photo...

In March, Portland’s City Council unanimously voted to enact mandatory paid sick leave for Portland businesses. While the law sounds well intentioned, it is poised to hurt the very employees it’s meant to help and may damage the businesses that employ them. A recent survey by the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) reveals that Seattle’s 2012 paid sick leave ordinance is increasing the cost of doing business there. Our law could have similar results in Oregon when it takes effect in January.

Fifty thousand bumblebees will be honored at a memorial Sunday in the same shopping center parking lot southwest of the Portland, Oregon, where most of the insects died earlier this month. Rozzell Medina, of Portland, said on a Facebook page that the event will "memorialize these fallen lifeforms and talk about the plight of the bees and their importance to life on Earth," The Oregonian reported.

Parishioners from St. Andrew Catholic Church, which has a longstanding commitment to social justice issues, will march in Sunday's Portland Pride Parade with a banner proclaiming their parish identity, despite the wishes of Archbishop Alexander K. Sample. At least four Catholic parishes are expected to participate in the parade, . . . . .

Portland State University College Republicans screened the film “Obsession” this week at a campus event. The film focuses radical Islam’s fascination and war with western civilization. During the screening a large contingent of socialists and Muslims stormed into the room and interrupted the show. The Islamo-leftists intimidate and shout down the College Republicans, effectively bullying them out of their own campus event. Then the videographer was escorted out of the public event.

Hearty congratulations to the NCAA for penalizing a student-athlete from a West Coast Conference school for the unspeakable crime of washing her car with the university's water and hose. A WCC school (University of Portland) self-reported an extra benefits violation when university officials caught one of their women's golfers washing her car on campus, according to the source. A secondary violation was ruled to have occurred because the water and hose were not available to regular students and requested the golfer pay back $20, which was deemed to be the value of the water and use of the hose. A...

A Portland woman found naked and dead Monday in a Honolulu park was a traveling escort whose ads appeared in online publications across the country. Ivanice "Ivy" Harris, 28, was in Hawaii last Thursday with friends Jillian Gibides and Mark Miles when she disappeared. Gibides, 31, told the local Star Advertiser newspaper reporter that Harris was a prostitute who was talking to a man outside a Waikiki bar early Thursday morning when she last saw her. The friends exchanged text messages about meeting up around 3:45 a.m., shortly after last call at Kelley O'Neil's bar, Gibides told a television reporter...