Free Republic

Administrators at The Evergreen State College have disciplined about 80 students who were involved in a continuous stream of high-profile protests that shut down the taxpayer-funded campus in the spring of 2017. *snip* “They received sanctions ranging from formal warnings, community service and probation, to suspension.”

Sen. Murray: “I will be pushing every Republican who claims to care about women’s health and economic security to join me in fighting back” Today’s sweeping move by President Trump to target women’s access to birth control confirms concerns first brought up by Sen. Murray to OMB Director Mulvaney in May – VIDEO LINK (Washington, D.C.) –  Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate health committee, today released the following statement on the Trump Administration’s interim final rules that will make it much easier for companies to interfere in their employees’ health care choices and force women to pay more...

Legislation would ban, among other devices, the bump stocks used in the Las Vegas mass shootingWASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and a number of their Senate colleagues introduced the Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act, a bill to close a deadly loophole that allows semi-automatic weapons to be easily modified to fire at the rate of automatic weapons, which have been illegal for more than 30 years.In addition to Senators Murray and Cantwell, cosponsors include Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chris Van...

Bump-fire or slide-fire stocks use the rifle’s recoil to help simulate full-auto fire. (Photo: Slide Fire Solutions) In the wake of Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, Washington’s chief executive wants action to prevent what he termed “machine gun massacres” by banning a specific type of firearm accessory. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, in a statement released Tuesday, argued the time to act to prevent gun violence is now and gave lawmakers marching orders for directed legislation. “This session the legislature needs to ban bump-stocks and other devices that turn legal semi-automatic firearms into lethal fully-automatic machine guns,” said Inslee....

(Washington, D.C.) –  Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement after one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S history: “Yet again, Americans awoke today to news of a horrific, senseless shooting that left so many innocent people dead and forced our first responders to risk their lives and run head first into chaos. As a mother and grandmother myself, my heart hurts for the many parents who just got the call that their child is among the victims. These calls are far too familiar to families in every corner of our country, including my home state of...

Many Seattle Seahawks fans bombarded the KING 5 Facebook page Sunday, declaring they were not watching Sunday's Seahawks-Titans game because the team chose to stay in the locker room for the national anthem. During a halftime analysis on Facebook Live, KING 5 Sports anchor Chris Egan and sports producer Joel Knip were asking for fans' reaction to the game, which Tennessee was leading 9-7. But what they got was a slew of comments from upset fans. It comes after players across the league took a knee during the anthem or stayed in the locker room in response to President Donald...

The murder of Sam Strahan at Freeman High School in Washington State, appears to be another result of the American media's obsession with school shootings. Guns have been around for hundreds of years. Semi-automatic pistols have been common for over a hundred. But the rash of school shootings only escalated in the middle 1990's, after the federal bans on guns in schools. The most likely explanation is the copycat effect.The copycat effect is well known and understood. When an event is highly publicized, people who are emotional misfits, contemplating suicide, see a way to put meaning in their lives.They see...

Biology professor Bret Weinstein has settled his lawsuit against Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. Mr. Weinstein became a pariah last spring when he criticized an officially sanctioned “Day of Absence” during which white people were asked to stay away from campus. He and his wife, anthropology professor Heather Heying, alleged that Evergreen “has permitted, cultivated, and perpetuated a racially hostile and retaliatory work environment.” They claimed administrators failed to protect them from “repeated provocative and corrosive verbal and written hostility based on race, as well as threats of physical violence.” Last week the university announced it would pay $500,000...

Mount Rainier is seen from a helicopter flying south of the mountain and west of Yakima in this 2013 photo. Scientists recorded a recent quake swarm under the mountain. (Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press) ====================================================================== More than 20 small quakes have struck under the volcano in the past week, a rate that’s higher than usual but not unprecedented. Nearly two dozen small earthquakes have rattled Mount Rainier over the past week, but seismologists say there’s no cause for worry. “In the past, these swarms last a couple of days to a week or so and then die out,” said...

A federal appeals court in Seattle ruled Tuesday that police can only use force “proportional” to the threat they face, seriously damaging the Seattle Police Department’s ability to use firearms. The ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the use of force reforms put in place by federal mandates under the Obama administration that required police to use only “objectively reasonable force, proportional to the threat or urgency of the situation,” the Associated Press reports. The unanimous ruling strikes down a lawsuit filed by a group of more than 120 Seattle officers in 2014 who claimed that the...

State lawmakers are calling on Washington State University to defund its College Republicans chapter after its former president was exposed for attending the violent Unite the Right rally. In a letter to University President Kirk Schulz, 12 Democratic state lawmakers demand that the university “respond to hate speech and actions by revoking WSU College Republicans’ recognition, and receipt of state benefits as a Registered Student Organization (RSO).”

The NFL would prefer the players’ now-ubiquitous protests take a back seat to the action this season, but it looks like the league won’t get its wish. If anything, the players seem ready to take their social critique beyond sitting during the national anthem. Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, who is among the ranks of NFL players to sit during the anthem, celebrated a sack Sunday afternoon with a single raised fist. Bennett was the first Seattle player announced during pregame introductions before the home opener against the 49ers and ****received one of the loudest ovations.**** (NFL fans are becoming...

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray resigned from his position Wednesday afternoon after a fifth accusation of child abuse came to light, this time from his own family. "While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our city government to conduct the public's business. ... It is best for the city if I step aside. To the people of this special city and to my dedicated staff, I am sorry for this painful situation," Murray said in a statement. The Seattle Times reported on Tuesday that the latest accusations...

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich blamed a breakdown of society, the media and problems with the mental health system for Wednesday’s tragic shooting at Freeman High School. Knezovich opened a news conference Thursday afternoon by offering his condolences to the Freeman community. He quickly shifted gears, however, pointing to a host of catalysts that he said were responsible for the violence. “Where did we go sideways in raising our kids?” he said. “All of this violence they consume perhaps has caused a major crisis.” Knezovich accused people dressed in black who “commit all types of violence in the name of...

ROCKFORD, Wash. (AP) -- One is dead and others have been injured in a shooting at a high school south of Spokane, Washington. Updates from the Spokane Fire Department confirmed one died and three children were injured in the shooting. The three injured were taken to Sacred Heart and are reportedly in stable condition.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray resigned Tuesday, just hours after new allegations that he had sexually abused a younger cousin decades ago in New York. Murray, a former Democratic state legislator elected mayor in 2013, said in a statement he is resigning effective 5 p.m. Wednesday. “While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my personal issues do not affect the ability of our City government to conduct the public’s business,” Murray said in a statement, adding he was proud of his accomplishments while in office. The mayor stayed in his office Tuesday and didn’t address his...

Washington State must prepare for a nuclear attack because of the growing threat from North Korea, according to local politician. Mark Miloscia said the danger to Washington, which is the closest part of the lower 48 states to North Korea, was 'starting to become imminent'. And he warned that the threat was growing with each weapons test, urging lawmakers to back the bid for an emergency response plan when they meet tomorrow. The senator – who flew nuclear-ready B52 bombers during the Cold War – also said that America could not rely on the safeguards that once prevented hostilities with...

SEATTLE - Mayor Ed Murray abruptly announced his resignation from his post Tuesday, about two hours after The Seattle Times reported that his cousin said Murray had repeatedly molested him in the 1970s when he was a teenager. Murray's cousin became the fifth man to accuse the mayor of sexual abuse. Earlier allegations of sexual abuse prompted Murray to drop out of his campaign for re-election but he had steadfastly refused to resign until now. He said his resignation would be effective Wednesday at 5 p.m. “While the allegations against me are not true, it is important that my...

A group of bikini baristas filed a lawsuit Monday against the city of Everett, alleging that two recently passed ordinances banning bikinis and bare skin — including bare shoulders, bare midriffs and bare buttocks — on restaurant employees, violate their constitutional rights to free expression and the right to privacy. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, claims that the ordinances, which were passed unanimously by the City Council last month, deny bikini-stand employees the ability to communicate and express themselves through their choice of swimwear, infringe on their right to privacy and deny...

Senators: “Please do not forget about wildfires – the natural disaster currently raging through the West” (Washington, D.C.) –  With large fires blazing across Washington state and throughout the West, Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and a bipartisan group of senators urged Senate Leaders Mitch McConnell and Charles E. Schumer this week to include a wildfire funding fix in any future disaster aid legislation that passes through Congress.Led by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), the letter’s signers also include Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kamala Harris (D-CA),...