Free Republic

Grumpy Cat — the world’s most famous feline, whose frowning face spawned countless memes and an empire that includes plush toys, comics, books, calendars, perfume, sneakers, lottery tickets, and even her own Lifetime TV Christmas special — has died at age 7. “We are unimaginably heartbroken to announce the loss of our beloved Grumpy Cat,” read a statement released early Friday morning by her family and manager. “Despite care from top professionals, as well as from her very loving family, Grumpy encountered complications from a recent urinary tract infection that unfortunately became too tough for her to overcome. She passed...

Aalayah Eastmond, a survivor of the February mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., on Friday offered harrowing testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the final day of the hearing on the nomination of President Trump Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh. She expressed concern about Kavanaugh's views on guns, noting that she thinks he would strike down any assault weapons ban. She urged the committee to appoint a judge who will keep Americans safe from gun violence.She told the committee in grave detail about the day a gunman opened fire in the classroom she was in and...

David Hogg, the 18-year-old school shooting survivor turned gun-control activist, says he’s gearing up to run for Congress when he’s constitutionally eligible. Speaking to New York Magazine, Hogg described his ideal seven-year plan, which culminates with him running for the House of Representatives when he’s 25.

Activist David Hogg talks of his generation of gun controllers in a NYMag cover story, then thinks of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and says, “Move the f**k off the plate and let us take control.” NYMag indicates Hogg is wearied by the “old” Democrats who keep hanging onto their offices. He mentioned Pelosi in particular, and said pointedly, “Nancy Pelosi is old.”

As summer comes to a close and kids start going back to school, there is one school getting more media attention than most others. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of the February 14 shooting, is in the spotlight as teens from the Parkland, Florida, community began a new school year this week. This past Tuesday — August 14 — also marked six months since the shooting, putting that subject at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Several teens from the school spent their summer as teen activists, both locally and nationally. Some students even took their “March For Our...

The NRA mocked gun control activist David Hogg for apparently showing up to a protest at the NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Va., this weekend with "armed security."....in February, didn't deny that he had an armed security detail

The Parkland students who founded the March For Our Lives organization have partnered with other groups, including the National Organization For Change and the Road to Change, to prepare their "National March On The NRA" event, which is scheduled to take place in front of the NRA's headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia on August 4. The group tweeted out the news that they received permission from the city of Fairfax to hold their rally: In addition to the event in front of NRA headquarters in Virginia, the group is also coordinating events in Washington State, California, Colorado, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio,...

To his enemies online and elsewhere, gun-safety advocate and recent high-school graduate David Hogg can be seen as a pesky mosquito that happens to be buzzing into a microphone for the world to hear. In the four months since a mass shooting at Hogg’s high school rekindled the gun debate in the United States, the sharp-tongued Hogg has become a leading voice of the student-led Never Again movement — and a lightning rod for contempt from opponents on the right. That wasn’t an accident, he says. In a new mini-memoir written by Hogg and his 15-year-old sister, Lauren, a rising...

....Now the parents and partners of the victims are making that conversation their own, launching Stand With Parkland, the newest nonprofit group that's lobbying... ....this new endeavor is run by those who were most affected — the parents of 13 of the 14 student victims and family members of all three school staff members... ...Tony Montalto, father of 14-year-old Parkland victim Gina Montalto, told Rolling Stone that Stand With Parkland will be bipartisan. Although Democrats have traditionally been more supportive of gun control... ....the nonprofit’s launch garnered a response from the National Rifle Association. Chris W. Cox, director of the...

Shawn Mendes made a powerful statement in solidarity with gun violence victims at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (May 20). The singer-songwriter performed his new single “Youth” with another rapidly rising star, Khalid — as well as members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School choir from Parkland, Fla. Dressed in a t-shirt that read “Protect our guns” with a slash through the word “guns” and the word “children” replaced, Khalid harmonized with Mendes, who strummed an acoustic guitar as they delivered the song’s affecting lyrics. The song thematically champions keeping one’s spirit although times are difficult and...

One of Parkland, Fla.'s most prominent student activists on stopping gun violence has called for a boycott of Vanguard and BlackRock, two of the world's biggest investors in gunmakers. In a post on Twitter on Tuesday, David Hogg remarked on the firms' ownership of gun maker stocks, adding "if you use them, feel free to let them know." Then he added two tags: BoycottVanguard BoycottBlackrock.

Parkland shooting survivor and #NeverAgain movement co-founder David Hogg quickly moved into national prominence as a gun violence prevention advocate after tragedy struck at his high school. The teenage activist hasn't just stuck to the gun debate, though — he's been pushing for people to just get more engaged in their communities, too. Now, David Hogg is celebrating his 18th birthday on Twitter in a powerful way. "Now that I’m 18 I can vote will you?" Hogg tweeted on Wednesday. While he received a bunch of birthday greetings and messages of support and agreement, mixed in with those were numerous...

One of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's most visible student activists will postpone his first year of college to devote time to political causes. David Hogg has been accepted at the University of California, Irvine, "but he will not be going to college this year because he's decided to take a year off and work on the midterm elections," his mother, Rebecca Boldrick, told CNN Monday. She said her son hopes to register and educate new voters and to "get people to vote."

Thousands have gathered for an emotional interfaith vigil at the National Cathedral ahead of Saturday's 'March For Our Lives' in Washington DC and in other cities. Area residents joined together with students and families affected by the Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 died. Volunteers handed out more than 2,000 candles on the cathedral steps as the attendees entered. 'We come with sadness, as we grieve so much loss of life, so much senseless death, so much needless suffering,' Rev. Randy Hollerith, dean of the Cathedral, told the crowd, WTOP reported.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfr37Xn9IL8

Full Title: Married teacher found partially naked in car with 17-year-old student avoids jail thanks to plea deal (but she can teach again in three years) (Plus bonus 25 past cases with head-shots at end of article) A married teacher, who was caught partially naked with a 17-year-old student, has pleaded guilty to the charges and escaped jail, it emerged today. Carrie Shafer, 39, a former biology teacher at duPont Manual High School, Kentucky, must instead serve three years of supervised probation after agreeing to a plea deal designed to get the case done and dusted quickly. Legally she can...

This is a brilliant video of a 67 year old retired Vietnam Veteran who has had it with being harassed on his commute to his house on the local city bus. Video at link above.

Who ordered the McChicken Head?