Whitman College’s student senate refused to recognize the campus Republican club in March — and club chairman David Dunbabin says senators had essentially decided the outcome three minutes before his presentation even began.

That didn’t stop them from subjecting him to what he described as a 60-minute “interrogation” about Donald Trump, ICE, Title IX and the supposed “harm” caused by conservative views. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is now demanding Whitman reverse the decision, arguing the denial violated the college’s free-expression commitments.

Meanwhile, liberal activist groups including Planned Parenthood Generation Action and the Climate Justice Coalition enjoy official recognition, funding and campus resources.

Dunbabin also says he’s been called a Nazi and fascist, had his room doxxed and his window spit on — yet he plans to reapply this fall.

Apparently at Whitman, diversity of thought is wonderful — provided everyone thinks the same way. Read more at Seattle Red.

Democrat State Rep. Tarra Simmons’ ethics problems just got considerably more expensive. The Legislative Ethics Board ordered the Bremerton Democrat to pay roughly $52,000 after finding she violated state ethics laws by using her legislative position to benefit a nonprofit that employed her and attempting to retaliate against the person who filed the ethics complaint.

The board previously hit Simmons with the maximum $15,000 fine — $5,000 for each of three violations involving conflicts of interest and special privileges. Now another $37,457.98 in state legal and staff costs has been added to the tab. Simmons has 90 days to pay.

Among the findings: Simmons helped secure a $1 million state grant that ultimately benefited the Equity in Education Coalition, where she was earning a $120,000 annual salary. The board also concluded she improperly intervened in a dispute to preserve funding for the organization and later tried to pressure the leader of another nonprofit after one of its employees filed the ethics complaint against her.

Naturally, Simmons insists she did nothing wrong and plans to appeal. Because in Olympia’s one-party Democratic culture, apparently even a $52,000 ethics penalty can be treated as somebody else’s problem. Read more at KUOW.

Former Republican Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler is backing I-645, the initiative to repeal Washington Democrats’ new 9.9% income tax on income above $1 million.

Herrera Beutler warned that Olympia doesn’t have a revenue problem — it has a spending problem — pointing to similar concerns from former Democratic Governors Gary Locke and Chris Gregoire.

More telling, she noted Democrats rejected amendments that would have protected Washingtonians earning under $1 million from future expansion of the tax.

“If you’re not going to tax everybody else…put that language into the bill,” Herrera Beutler said. Democrats didn’t.

Funny how quickly “tax the millionaires” loses its charm when Olympia is asked to promise you’re not next. Read more at The Center Square.

President Donald Trump wants to make it easier for farmers and ranchers to process and sell their own meat, taking aim at federal regulations and a processing industry dominated by four major companies. Washington farmers welcome the effort — but say their biggest problems are much closer to home.

Save Family Farming President Markus Rollinger said Washington’s dead-last national ranking in farm profitability is being driven by Olympia’s soaring labor costs, expensive environmental regulations, agency crackdowns and lawsuit exposure.

Democrats adjourned this year without advancing HB 2616, legislation aimed at providing relief to struggling farms after producers lost nearly $400 million in 2024. They did, however, find time to pass another mandate requiring farms to post public notices for routine seasonal staffing changes, complete with potential fines and lawsuits.

And with Tyson putting its massive Pasco beef-processing plant up for sale, farmers are questioning who will invest in new processing capacity when state policies make operating here increasingly expensive.

Trump may be cutting federal red tape. Unfortunately, Olympia Democrats seem determined to replace every piece he cuts with two more of their own. Read more at Seattle Red.

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