Free Republic

At 8 Limbs Yoga, founder Anne Phyfe Palmer sees too many classes filled with mostly white people of privilege. She's setting out to change that, starting with cultural training for instructors...

I purchased an Amazon Echo for my wife for Christmas, so she's been researching the various quirky things the echo can do. One of the things she discovered is that Alexa (one of the two naming options for the Echo) will tell republican and democrat jokes. I decided to check it out. ME: Alexa, tell me a republican joke. ALEXA: How many Republicans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?One. But millions will volunteer to get rid of anything dark. Alexa is a leftist whore.

My husband I just ended our debate about having children. To breed or not to breed, this was the question — and it had been ticking like an egg timer in the back of my head for 15 years. We talked about it for five months. In the car on the way to work. During dinner. For five minutes, for 30 minutes. After seeing nephews and nieces. I wanted it to be a decision we made, not one made for us by chance or time. I turned to friends with kids for advice. “Feel free to convince me to your...

A lot of guns showed up at the city of Seattle’s gun buyback event today, but it’s not likely anyone was prepared for the Russian-made anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher that someone turned in...

In 2008, Barack Obama was The Seattle Times’ choice for president. Four years later, we endorse him again, with less enthusiasm. But he is a better choice than Mitt Romney, and could still go down in history as a good president...

As the Romney-Ryan ticket inches ahead in the polls, one of the little noticed implications just may be the avoidance, at least for a time, of World War III. World War III? How does that work? According to high-level U.S. intelligence sources, Israel will likely unilaterally launch a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities and is basing the timing of that strike, in part, on the U.S. presidential election. Sources say Israel is more likely to consider delaying the strike until spring if they are optimistic that there will be a leadership change in Washington. An article in the...

The latest Rasmussen polls suggest that Obama's extensive record of accomplishment might not be enough to earn him another 4 years in the White House. Unfortunately, a defeat in November would still leave him with 2 1/2 months to do as much damage as possible before he leaves officeI'd like to throw a question out to my fellow FReepers:What is Obama likely to do with his remaining power in order to "fundamentally transform" the United States? Will he be held back in any way by concerns over how the country views him afterward? Whereas Bill Clinton was obsessed with his...

Nobody likes to be wrong, especially when it comes to gun laws.In a recent column lamenting the accidental shootings of three children — two of them fatal — I noted that one of the guns was owned by someone with a state-issued permit to carry a concealed weapon. Surely, I said, he had received some safety training before being issued a permit to carry — right?Wrong.Getting a permit to carry a concealed weapon in Washington state is as easy as buying a new set of tires. There's a bit of paperwork, and you may have to sit for a spell...

After watching just one episode of Showtime's 'Homeland', I was hooked. It was intelligently written and didn't appear to be riddled with the anti-American bias that is so often evident in mainstream entertainment these days. By all appearances it was a show that was going to portray America as basically good and Al Qaeda as, well, not good. I was so naive.My first warning that something was rotten in Denmark came in the next two episodes when MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell made a couple of cameo appearances, playing himself. He was interviewing Sgt. Brody, the American war hero who had just...

Every few weeks, Aidan Key might get a call: a little boy in school is dressing as a girl — in frilly tops or pink skirts. A girl in first-grade will be returning from a holiday break as a boy.Public- and private-school administrators and the parents of these kids want guidance navigating such sensitive terrain; they want to help children become comfortable calling a classmate by a new name, or know how and when to refer to another student as he or she.There was a time when these calls were almost exclusively about middle- and high-school kids. But increasingly they...

My last blog post listed some reasons why I love North Seattle – most of them having to do with the "small town" feel I've encountered. The people are so nice … we are just barely experiencing the townhome craze other neighborhoods are grappling with … neighbors invite you into their home for social events. Many of those who commented on the post pointed out that North Seattle is, well, pretty white...

They may worship a savior who was crucified by the Romans, but 62 percent of white evangelical Protestants believe torture of suspected terrorists is justified...

...The icy streets are the result of Seattle's refusal to use salt, an effective ice-buster used by the state Department of Transportation and cities accustomed to dealing with heavy winter snows."If we were using salt, you'd see patches of bare road because salt is very effective," Wiggins said. "We decided not to utilize salt because it's not a healthy addition to Puget Sound."...

ANCHORAGE — As she introduced herself to the nation Friday as the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin touted her record as a reformer who worked to end the "abuses of earmark spending in Congress."But earmarks have never been a dirty word in Alaska, a huge state dotted with small communities that have enormous dollar needs for sewers, roads and other projects.Instead, earmarks — pet projects that members of Congress fund but that no federal agency has requested — have become a mainstay of political life here, and one that Palin embraced from early on in her career as...

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe's bank chief plans new currency reforms - removing "more zeros" from the plummeting Zimbabwe dollar and raising the limit on cash withdrawals - to tackle the country's runaway inflation and cash shortages, state media reported Sunday.

Even with the skies overcast and threatening rain, Khang Nguyen, 18, and Joel Juan, 19, kicked back after school at Alki Beach."It's just a relaxing way to hang out with friends," Nguyen said of the bonfire crackling in front of them one evening earlier this week.But Seattle Parks and Recreation might do what even this week's chilly weather couldn't -- douse the long tradition of beach bonfires at Alki and at Golden Gardens.Park department staff is recommending reducing bonfires at the two beaches this summer and possibly banning them altogether next year.The park board will hear the recommendation Thursday, and...

...The word on the street is that the Obama campaign and New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg have already met and devised an incredible plan if Clinton wins the nominee. Mayor Bloomberg would give nearly $1 billion to Obama's campaign after which Obama would bolt from the Democratic Party and run as an Independent candidate with king-maker Bloomberg as his running mate...

(RTTNews) - CNBC Reports - Glitch around 2 PM caused Dow Jones to drop 200 points in short time...

Don't blame the rave scene for the Seattle's worst mass murder in more than two decades.Blame the guns -- and a culture that celebrates firepower...

I am trying to save up money for my first hunting rifle and I'm hoping to tap into the vast reserves of Freeper knowledge for some advice on what to go for. I am going to get my hunter's certification this year and am looking forward to my first deer hunt, as well as hours upon hours of shooting at the range. I currently own a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and a 9mm Glock, but am absolutely clueless about which rifles offer the best accuracy and value (or whatever qualities it is in a rifle that I should be looking for)....