Protests in the PNW
They are planned, organized, and not always peaceful.
The PNW Post is covering the following stories.
IRS Data on taxes. Who really pays the most taxes and who pays none at all.
Protests on college campuses and small cities in the Pacific Northwest.
The MAHA movement comes to an Eastern Washington school district.
A new pope is introduced and he is an American!
Off and Running!
Political campaign season is officially underway in Washington state. Candidate filing for 2025 was closed on Friday, May 15th.
In Benton County, several incumbents are being challenged by newcomers. In some cases, politicians who have served for many years are facing opponents.
Richland City Council races feature a father/son team both running for seats on the council.
For a list of offices and candidates filed for each office, go to the VoteWA site.
One of Many Hypocrisies…
An often-heard complaint from the Democrats is that “the wealthy” are not paying enough taxes. Many will recall the dress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wore to the Met Gala in 2021.
The white dress had “tax the rich” painted in red. Her message was as clear as it was hypocritical. Tickets to attend the Met Gala cost $35,000. Ocasio-Cortez is a sitting Congresswoman with all the power and privilege that the role entails.
Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), an avowed socialist, has proposed raising the top marginal income-tax rate as high as 90 percent.
Recently, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez toured the country on private jets as part of a campaign to attack the wealthy. Completely missing the hypocrisy once again, the two dubbed it the, “fighting oligarchy” tour.
When questioned about the expense of the private jets, Sanders was unapologetic, the New York Post reported.
“You think I’m gonna be sitting on a waiting line at United…while 30,000 people are waiting,” Sanders told Bret Baier in a Fox interview.
Federal Election Commission filings indicate that Sanders spent more than $221,000 on private jet travel January through March of 2025.
In 2024, a group of progressive Democrats made another push to establish a new tax exclusively applied to wealthy households, USA Today reported. Led by Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass) in the Senate, and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA) in the House, the group insisted that the wealthy should pay more taxes.
The IRS data documents the actual taxes paid using real numbers, not a dress slogan.
The IRS tracking shows that the top 1 percent of earners paid 40.4 percent of all federal income taxes in 2022, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation reports. In 2021, the top 1 percent paid 46 percent of all income taxes.
The top ten percent of tax paying Americans covered 76 percent of all income taxes paid in 2022, carrying the lion’s share of the burden.
In 2022, the bottom 50 percent, in other words, half of American taxpayers, paid 3 percent of federal income taxes.
Over 56 million tax returns in 2021 reported no income tax liability at all. Either the income was too low, or the tax credits were enough to eliminate any income tax payment. In other words, 56 million Americans paid nothing.
The “progressive” income tax is one of the ten key planks of The Communist Manifesto, Unleash Prosperity reported. It is used as a method to provoke class warfare.
“Capitalism, to which the ‘progressive’ income tax is antithetical, demonstrably has brought much of the world out of abject poverty and continues to unleash prosperity wherever applied,” economist Stephen Moore wrote.
“What is it about politicians in Washington that they just can’t stand progress or the thought of anyone getting rich?”
Turning Point USA Event Disrupted at Portland State
Antifa and other far-left militants turned up to protest a Turning Point USA event at Portland State featuring Riley Gaines, The Post Millennial reports.
As Gaines was speaking to the crowd, the protesters attempted to break into the building. Most of the protesters were dressed in black clothing and masks, with some wearing a keffiyeh.
Protesters stated that the presence of Riley Gaines is offensive, KATU reported. Gaines is an outspoken critic of biological men playing sports against biological women. Flyers distributed about the event called on PSU to “stop promoting transphobia.” They demanded that Gaines not be allowed on campus.
Activists demonstrated their support for the transgender community with pride flags, shirts, and signs on display.
The activists fought police and kicked the doors in an attempt to disrupt the speech. Five people were arrested by the police, but all were released.
University of Washington Besieged by Anti-Israel Protesters
Last week a group of protesters took over an engineering building on campus at the University of Washington in Seattle, Fox News reported. The demonstrators demanded that the school break ties with Boeing, a Seattle-based aerospace company and benefactor of the school.
The engineering building was funded with $10 million provided by Boeing. Another $50 million of funding came from the Washington state legislature.
Over $1 million in damage was caused by the criminals trespassing inside the new building, KOMO reports. Machine manufacturing tools were broken, and lab equipment was smashed.
Protesters locked themselves inside the building, refusing to allow others to enter. Outside of the building, they also blocked access to two streets and blocked entrances and exits to the building. Rioters started fires around the area and destroyed property.
The protest was organized by a student group called The Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return.
“Antisemitism has been going on for a long time, and it came to a really bad head last year, and we’re not seeing a lot that’s happening,” Ann Sarna, one of the founding members of the US Jewish Alumni Association told KOMO.
More than 30 protesters were arrested on site, The Daily UW reported. Those arrested have been charged with criminal trespassing, property destruction, and disorderly conduct. Bail has been set at $1,000.
Comedian Bill Maher criticized the Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israel activities raging on campuses around the country.
“Here is the dilemma for Democrats – their young people, their key constituency, not only don’t like their own civilization; they like the wrong one,” Maher said.
Maher noticed the lack of knowledge students exhibit when they support terrorists and countries who would actually deny them the rights and freedoms that they claim they are denied in the United States.
“They actually think Hamas is a liberations movement, they chant for the Houthis, they’re chanting ‘We will honor our martyrs’ at Yale,” Maher said. “They’re looking for love in all the wrong countries.”
Maher said these young people don’t seem to understand that America is not the country where women are denied rights, or are treated like property.
“Liberals need to push back on the dumb ideas that come from their children,” Maher said.
Another Week, Another Protest in Richland, WA
On Wednesday, May 14, a protest is planned in Richland, WA to demonstrate against cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, NBC Right Now reports. The group organizing the event is Indivisible Tri-Cities.
Participants are being asked to show up and bring signs to let Rep. Dan Newhouse (R ) know that they are against any cuts to these programs.
A few weeks ago, on May 1, the same organization, Indivisible Tri-Cities, planned a May Day protest, the Tri-City Herald reported. Hundreds of activists obstructed George Washington Way as commuters drove down the street on their way to work.
Ironically, the May Day protest was in support of workers and workers’ rights. Apparently, the right to get to work through an unobstructed route is not one they are concerned about.
On April 19, a group of protesters demonstrated against the Trump administration along George Washington Way and at John Dam Plaza, KEPR reported. Again, this event was organized by Indivisible Tri-Cities.
“We're just a group of people, like minded, that want to fight together, and I think that's made a big difference because right now the spectrum is all over," Indivisible Tri-Cities founder, Loren Malone, told KEPR.
On February 1st, George Washington Way was the site of another protest, NBCRight Now reported. This one was a demonstration against ICE and in support of illegal immigration. A second protest was held on February 2 at a location in Pasco.
To many residents protests have become a regular occurrence. The group behind them plans events with different issues as the headline, but with one overall theme.
Indivisible is a national organization whose mission is to resist the Trump agenda.
To read the complete article, click here.
Kennewick School District Embraces the MAHA Movement
The Kennewick School District is planning to pilot a new menu for school children over the summer. The pilot program will include whole foods, fresh produce and items with extremely low sugar content.
Living in the heart of Washington agriculture, it would seem like a simple task to procure fresh fruits and vegetables while surrounded by amazing farms and farming families. That is not the case, says Kennewick School Board Vice President, Micah Valentine.
“You would not believe the amount of bureaucratic hurdles we have to overcome just to get kids a great meal,” Valentine says. “Our school staff is the best in the business, and they want to give the kids healthy meals, but our state laws make that very difficult.”
To read the full article, click HERE.
History is Made as the First American Pope is Introduced
Chicagoans cheered the selection of Pope Leo XIV as the first American and the first Chicagoan Pope, USA Today reports.
Pope Leo XIV grew up in a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, about three miles south of the Loop.
Chicagoans are celebrating and enjoying the pride of knowing that “one of their own” is now the new pope. Churches were decorated all over Pope Leo’s home city and church services were more crowded than usual after Leo’s election.
Pope Leo XIV’s home church on the south side of Chicago now has “bragging rights” as his de facto home parish, the Chicago Tribune reports. They expect they will see Leo visiting Chicago.
Chicago residents quickly tried to determine whether the new Pope was a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan. One Cubs fan interviewed by USA Today said he didn’t mind if the pope turned out to be a White Sox fan.
“They’re pretty bad,” the Cubs fan told the outlet. “But maybe he can help turn things around.”
Portillo’s, a Chicago-based restaurant chain, loved by many Chicagoans have announced the creation of a new sandwich named after the new pope. They call it, “The Leo” and it includes their signature Italian beef topped with what Portillo’s calls, “the holy trinity of peppers.”
One parting thought on protesters…
“It is a general popular error to regard the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare.” Edmund Burke, 1769