Construction is a complex and demanding industry that requires a wide array of tools, equipment, and safety measures to ensure projects are completed efficiently and without compromise. From the heavy machinery that moves the earth to the handheld devices that add the finishing touches, there are numerous must-haves in the construction world. This article will explore some key essentials construction professionals need in their arsenal.

Protective Gear

Safety should be the top priority in construction work. Hard hats, steel-toed boots, reflective vests, safety glasses, and ear protection are some of the essential personal protective equipment (PPE) that every construction worker should wear. These items protect individuals from falling objects, hazardous materials, loud noises, and other workplace dangers.

Construction Vehicles

Construction sites require various vehicles, from bulldozers and excavators to dump trucks and concrete mixers. These heavy-duty machines are indispensable for tasks like excavation, transportation of materials, and concrete pouring. Forklifts, a critical subset of construction vehicles, are invaluable for handling heavy loads and moving them efficiently within the construction site.

Forklifts

Forklifts, often called lift trucks, are vital tools in construction work. They are used for lifting and transporting heavy materials, equipment, and palletized goods. Forklifts come in various sizes and configurations, including counterbalance, rough terrain, and telehandlers, each suited for specific tasks.

One of the primary advantages of forklifts is their ability to improve productivity by streamlining material handling processes. They are particularly crucial in moving heavy loads to elevated positions, such as during the construction of multi-story buildings. Moreover, forklifts are versatile machines with different attachments, like buckets, clamps, and forks, to adapt to various construction needs. Finding a reputable Komatsu forklift dealer can ensure the smooth operation of your material handling needs on the construction site.

Hand Tools

A wide range of hand tools is essential for construction work. These include hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, saws, tape measures, and levels. They are used for various tasks, such as framing, fastening, and precise measurement. Electric power tools like drills, saws, and grinders are also used in construction for added efficiency.

Materials

Construction requires many materials, including cement, steel, lumber, bricks, insulation, etc. The quality and availability of these materials are crucial for ensuring the structural integrity and longevity of the final product. Efficient storage and management of these materials are essential to prevent delays and costly errors.

Safety Barriers and Signage

Construction sites must be well-marked and secured to protect workers and the public. This includes barriers, cones, signs, and caution tape to prevent accidents and ensure unauthorized individuals stay out of potentially dangerous areas.

Power Sources

Construction sites often require power sources for tools and equipment. This may involve generators, extension cords, and electrical panels to provide the necessary electricity for various tasks. Power sources should be managed carefully to avoid accidents and disruptions.

Communication Tools

Effective communication is essential on construction sites to coordinate tasks and ensure safety. Walkie-talkies, mobile phones, and two-way radios are commonly used to facilitate communication between workers, supervisors, and other team members.

Safety Plans and First Aid

Every construction site should have a comprehensive safety plan. This includes emergency procedures, evacuation plans, and easy access to first-aid kits. First-aid supplies are essential for addressing minor injuries and preventing them from becoming more severe.

In conclusion, construction is a multifaceted industry that relies on many tools, equipment, and safety measures to function effectively and safely. Each item plays a critical role in the construction process, from the heavy machinery that reshapes the landscape to the small handheld tools that add the finishing touches. Among these, forklifts stand out as indispensable machines for the efficient movement of heavy materials, and their safe operation is paramount to ensure the success of any construction project.

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It’s not like we needed another reason NOT to vote for Nikki Haley. Shrieking “finish them” (who knew Miss Nikki was into Mortal Kombat) as advice to Israel and announcing that she is going to turn the Department of Defense into the Department of Offense were sufficient to conclude that she is a lightweight who needs to be kept as far from power as possible. But there is more.

Judd let-them-eat-cake Gregg … globalist, corporatist, warmonger and a RINO’s RINO … has endorsed little Miss Nikki:

 

ENDORSEMENT: Judd Gregg: “The nation needs @NikkiHaley: A strong leader who can win” #FITN #Haley2024 #NHforNH https://t.co/PHNNpzyYzM

— Mak Kehoe (@MakKehoe) October 25, 2023

The post And Yet Another Reason NOT To Vote For Nikki Haley appeared first on Granite Grok.

Two days ago, my lovely bride and I took a short drive to hang out with a packed backroom at Murphy’s in Manchester. Americans for Prosperity NH was hosting a Pints and Policy event, and the subject was housing and New Hampshire’s “Housing Crisis.”

It was good to see Victoria Sullivan, Len Turcotte, Jon DiPietro, Chris Maidment, Dan McGuire, and a slew of other folks. The please was packed. And it wasn’t just the free food, drink ticket, and APF swag. As we were reminded, housing is a priority concern for New Hampshire residents. That’s what all the polling says. Everyone is concerned about housing.

More demand than supply. Prices are too high. Young people can’t afford to move out or move here. The solution is simple. We need more housing. But how do you do that?

The Panel included Greg Moore and Drew Cline, and my apologies for forgetting the names of the other two guys (one not local), the other part of a special standing committee in the NH House on housing. I was eating and not taking notes. They each spoke for a bit, and the consensus was this. We need more housing. Local government is the most significant barrier. If you don’t want the state to command and control the Zoning and other issues from Concord, you must find ways to make changes in your town.

 

The Panel

The response to this and the general conversation about addressing the issue was predictable, and it is likely what drew the crowd. Getting elected to a zoning or planning board won’t make a damn bit of difference, say people who’ve done that. The citizens vote on the master plan, and while housing may concern them, they don’t want it, whatever it is, in their backyard.

 

Concerned about city apartment complexes with no green space for kids

The “it” could be apartment complexes, duplexes, smaller lot sizes, workforce housing, or mixed Zoning to allow any of the above.

The Panel brought up great ideas and explained the issue, and there are solutions somewhere in there, but I don’t see that happening if the goal is to avoid a top-down statewide solution. People don’t want closer neighbors or increased traffic or – as I like to joke in my town – thousands of new families using up the water we haven’t had enough of (odd/even watering bans) for what seemed like decades.

 

Rep. Walsh waiting to have a say.

One thing that came up that made sense was to address barriers to construction in general. There are always excessive regulations, not just from the Department of Environmental Services. Most towns have plenty of buildable residential land to suit one-acre lots and more affordable housing if permitted. There are Mixed-use industrial areas where apartments would make sense.

 

Jack talks about Zoning…

Merrimack has been adding apartment buildings like mad, almost exclusively in industrial/mixed-use areas, and at least one near Route Three with easy access to the highway. I’m still miffed about the alleged water-use problem being ignored while we add thousands more water users, and I don’t think we were short on water, but now? Thanks, planning Department. Maybe we will.

Another issue not broached, and one I have discussed with landlords is that while developers want to build apartment buildings, they are never affordable. Rents are high. Apartments are in demand. You build to take advantage of that. No one is going to develop themselves into lower rents. So? None of these new buildings will be” affordable” unless it’s government subsidized – and do we want to go there? I don’t think we do, at least not in any local master plan. This brings us back to what the Panel agreed we didn’t want—top-down state mandates. But I doubt there is another way.

And guess whose fault that will be?

The Republicans, some of them, will argue for less government interference, but you’ll have to stomp on local control to get them out of the way, which will piss off their base. Democrats love top-down interference and would gladly stomp on local control (as long as they leave gentrification loopholes for places like Hanover, Portsmouth, Durham, Keene, and Plymouth). Still, those kooks will vote Democrat anyway for the grooming and abortion, so that’s not a risk for the Left.

If Republicans protect local control, the Dems will crush them as uncaring bastards unwill to address the housing crisis, but if they do, their voters might revolt – party divisions, civil war.

We never said Liberty wasn’t messy.

In other words, everyone thinks this is a problem, but the problem has problems.

It was a good idea for AFP to get it out there. But in the end (IMO), Republicans could end up paying for it.

 

 

The post Pints & Policy – AFP Takes a Whack at The Housing Crisis in New Hampshire appeared first on Granite Grok.

War is no longer a battle between two foes while the world watches for the outcome, especially when the struggle involves countries in the Middle East. With Joe Biden putting the American petroleum industry in chains, the Middle East has regained prominence as the region supplying the majority of oil to much of the world.

We have seen a general slowdown in the U.S. Economy in the last few weeks, and many are making a case for an impending recession. America is officially at about a 3% inflation rate, but that is a cumulative number, and the actual year-over-year inflation is reported to be around 19%. We need a correction as reality is even worse than the reported stats, as those stats are manipulated by which categories of the economy are included. 

Donald Trump made comments from outside the courtroom in New York City, where he is in the middle of a civil trial. He is being sued for fraudulent business practices by the City of New York. He laid it out perfectly how, even with the Pandemic, he handed over a strong, growing economy, gas prices under $2.00, and a country that was energy independent and an exporter of petroleum products to the world.

With horrendous and swift policy decisions, Joe Biden made us energy-dependent on evil countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. We are at their mercy for high prices for gas at the pump and questionable supply lines. Biden has erased all of the economic gains we made under Trump, where the middle class had seen the most significant income gains in history, and the trickle-down economy was working. Biden, who claims to be the champion of the middle class, has crushed it. Savings are at an all-time low, and credit card balances are at an all-time high.

With economic numbers in the tank, along with Biden’s approval numbers, there is no shift in policy in Biden’s mind. Even the liberal President Bill Clinton made considerable adjustments to his economic plans after his first two years in office. A wise man sees the need to change and does. A foolish man cannot see the need for change and digs his heels in when he should shift. Clinton made the change, and Biden will never. One was wise. The other was feeble.

As the scope of the war becomes more apparent, we will know who is involved, which side they are supporting, and what their impact on the global economy will be. We understand that the international and American economies are in for a shock. We are all dependent on oil, and the production will slow, and the cost per barrel will skyrocket. What most people do not understand is oil cost doesn’t just impact gas and heating costs.

Petroleum products are in nearly every consumer product. This scenario is not good news for the middle class, especially going into the holiday season and winter. One crucial fact the middle class must remember is we are in this predicament, the war and economy, because of the Champion of the Middle Class, Joe Biden. Maybe he is the champ, as the middle class is on the mat, taken the count, and said, “uncle.”

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One of the tried and true euphemisms of politics is when someone in elected or appointed office steps aside to spend more time with family. It likely means they are in trouble and need to step out of the spotlight before it finds a microphone and ruins them.

Does Jon Stewart have a similar situation?

Apple TV has been paying him to do something for the past two years that was supposed to pass for entertainment and they have abruptly stopped. No more Jon Stewart Show on Apple TV.

 

Jon Stewart’s show on Apple’s streaming service is abruptly coming to an end, according to several people with knowledge of the decision, the result of creative differences between the tech giant and the former “Daily Show” host…

Mr. Stewart and Apple executives had disagreements over some of the topics and guests on “The Problem,” two of the people said. Mr. Stewart told members of his staff on Thursday that potential show topics related to China and artificial intelligence were causing concern among Apple executives, a person with knowledge of the meeting said. As the 2024 presidential campaign begins to heat up, there was potential for further creative disagreements, one of the people said.

 

Stewart’s ratings were alleged to be lousy, and the irreconcilable creative difference might be where Stewart wasn’t creating any value for Apple. And that still plays if the problem was Jon wanting to poke China in the eye. Like like most Yuge business models, Apple relies on China to make things cheaply so that when US consumers overpay for their products, they make a lot more money.

Apple axing Stewart over his wanting to make fun of China would be, as John Sexton writes at Hot Air, “pretty repulsive.” But if Stewart was dragging audience eyeballs to the platform in meaningful numbers (droves!), does Apple look the other way, even just a little bit? And how arrogant is Stewart to think that he’s Jon Stewart and he can get another show someplace else if Apple kicks him to the curb over creative differences?

Maybe he can. I’ve never been a fan and never watched his show past sharing the odd clip, so I may not be the best person to answer that question, but I bet he could get a job on MSNBC tomorrow. But The Problem with Jon Stewart (or for Jon Stewart) is they won’t be able to make fun of China there, either, if that was true the issue. He would need to wade into different waters for that. Daily Wire. Daily Caller. EPOCH Times. Which is why I think he’s done over lousy ratings and not creative differences, and I won’t even notice he’s gone.

 

HT | Hot Air

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The new iPhone just dropped just a few weeks ago, and it is already trending for multiple reasons.

From the view, reviews, and features list, you will find so many contradictory opinions on the new iPhone. While most people will tell you, it is the most sophisticated gadget on the market right now, others will tell you the iPhone had a fall from grace. No matter what you believe, the reality is that you will be tempted to buy the new iPhone, but considering the price, you need to first assess whether it’s bang for the buck or not from a utility standpoint.

In most parts of the world, the iPhone is considered a status symbol, a visible indication of this theme can be noticed in the daring industry where people look down on Android phones. This trend is common in the United States while other countries have mixed reviews about Apple as a brand.

With the iPhone, you can do anything, from working on the go to turning anywhere into a photo studio. To unleash the full power of your iPhone, you need to use a good internet connection like Optimum Internet. With the use of the internet, you cannot just stay entrained but you can also complete your official work.

Apple A Luxury or Necessity?

Apple is the only brand that puts people on the waiting list and launches just one phone per year. On the contrary, you will see hundreds of Android phones trying to compete with the iPhone. The brand revolves around perfecting the design and offering the most sophisticated technology.

iPhone is so far one of the most talked about and most sought-after phones, which says a lot about Apple as a brand. However, tech experts believe that it is not an upgrade considering it has pretty much similar features with no prominent upgrade.

From its camera to its software, the new iPhone 15 does not meet the expectations of the customers. Before you start believing these tech experts, you need to look at the iPhone 15 from a monetary point of view as well as from a tech point of view.

The New Updates in iPhone 15

The new iPhone 15 has a very sleek design, and it is making rounds because of the titanium body. More people are buying the latest iPhone to jump on the status bandwagon, but it is just a flex and nothing more. The new iPhone was openly criticized for its fragile body and bad cooling system. From heating up to a cracked screen and no mention worthy improvement, the new iPhone has disappointed even loyal customers.

For people who already own the iPhone 14, the latest version is not worth it. However, if you own anything less than an iPhone 13, maybe it is a much better time for you to update your phone. Still, if you want to compare it to an Android or put a value on the latest version based on the amount you will be spending a simple answer is – do not do it.

In the coming months, Apple might come up with a basic solution that addresses the heating or add some other improvements to the phone, which would be a great window to upgrade your phone.

What to Choose – Android Vs Apple?

This is the oldest question in the tech world. People who cannot afford an iPhone or have used an iPhone will still be interested in addressing the elephant in the room. From articles to reviews and even blogs, you will see almost everyone comparing Android with Apple.

A simple way to address this issue is to pick the best value-for-money proposition. There is no doubt that Android offers innovation, and you can get much better features within your budget, but Android is not reliable. Amount of data, time of use, and the brand you pick, almost everything dictates the user experience.

Moreover, within one year, your pricy phone will start to slow down. Most Android users keep mentioning the camera quality because no matter how many cameras or how much resolution an Android offers, it will never beat an iPhone.

On the contrary, Android is user-friendly, offers much more control, and has a long list of features that the iPhone cannot offer. The best thing about Android is that almost all the brands offer Android, so you have a much bigger pool of choices. From $100 to $1000, you can get to choose the phone of your dream. Moreover, android offers full control and has a vast connectivity option as well.

Bottom Line

To sum it all up, there is no doubt having the latest iPhone 15 seems like a dream come true, but you need to figure out if it is just societal pressure or if it is a necessity. From a technology point of view, the new iPhone is not worth it unless you are still using iPhone 12.

 

The post Is the New iPhone Worth Your Money? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a staunch conservative figure in American politics, was elected as the 56th Speaker of the House on October 25, 2023, following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy from the speakership.

He is the first speaker to have been elected from Louisiana and the shortest-tenured representative to be elected Speaker since John G. Carlisle in 1883. He has demonstrated his conservatism through his voting record, earning a lifetime rating of 92% from the American Conservative Union and 90% from Heritage Action.

Johnson is an ally of the House Freedom Caucus, known for its conservative views. Representative Andy Biggs proposed Johnson as a possible compromise candidate for Speaker of the House after members of the House Freedom Caucus opposed McCarthy’s bid for the speakership. He is also closely associated with Jim Jordan, a prominent figure in the Freedom Caucus.

Rep. Mike Johnson’s support for former President Donald Trump was unwavering, particularly during the impeachment trials. During both impeachment trials, Johnson served on Trump’s legal defense team, faithfully defending the actions of the former president. This move demonstrated Johnson’s alignment with Trump’s policies and America First and Make America Great Again (MAGA) ideologies, further cementing his standing as a Trump ally.

Trump lent support to Johnson in the speaker’s race, highlighting Johnson’s strong ties to the former president.

Regarding funding, Johnson’s campaign contributions predominantly come from grassroots supporters in his district. This is markedly different from many other politicians who rely on large donations from K Street, the hub of lobbying in Washington, D.C. Johnson’s grassroots funding is a testament to his connection with his constituents and his commitment to representing their interests.

Johnson’s election as Speaker of the House has caused quite a stir in Washington D.C., notably among lobbyists on K Street. His conservative solid stance and alignment with Trump’s policies have created a sense of unease among those who oppose these ideologies. This reaction clearly indicates the significant impact Johnson’s election is expected to have on the political landscape.

Johnson has a notable voting record against all Ukraine spending after the initial bill. He supports ending American military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia. This stance has earned him an F rating from ‘Republicans for Ukraine.’

In terms of the 2020 election, Johnson was among 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the election results, a clear objection to certifying them and declaring it as an election fraud.

Johnson has also shown his willingness to challenge the political establishment. For instance, he called for the arrest of Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House at the time, after she tore up the State of the Union.

Rep. Mike Johnson’s unyielding support for Trump, his grassroots funding, and the ripple effects of his election as Speaker of the House underscores his significant role in current American politics. His actions and policies have shown that he is a firm conservative, committed to upholding the principles he believes in.

Indeed, Representative Mike Johnson is a figure who embodies the values of America First. His conservative voting record, legal defense of Trump, objection to Ukraine spending, and willingness to challenge the political establishment make him a prominent figure in the push to “take back OUR HOUSE.”

The post WE HAVE A SPEAKER: Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana appeared first on Granite Grok.

Stephen Colbert is popular with COVID. COVID loves him. He’s had it at least three times, the most recent of which has cost him another week on the air—no shows while he recovers, which makes me wonder. Perhaps COVID loves Colbert becasue it hates his program, and it is doing us a solid.

 

A message from Stephen:
Sorry to say, per doctor’s orders, I’m going to be out for the rest of the week. Resting up so that I can deliver the hand crafted, artisanal talk show that we so enjoy serving you. In the meantime, a heady blend of Paxlovid and onions in my socks (thank… pic.twitter.com/7ZHyK7fNit

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) October 18, 2023

 

It would be a lot safer if he put the Paxlovid in his socks. It is the Pfizer Drug to treat COVID because the Pfizer drug you got made you more susceptible to it. The Pfeds bought millions of doses, and you could get them without a prescription at almost any pharmacy, which is so backward. We tried to pass a law in NH allowing that for Ivermectin, but it got vetoed by the governor. Safe, affordable Ivermectin is a no, but not so safe Paxlovid flies off the pharmacy shelf without a sound from the same guy.

And Paxlovid doesn’t even work, nor was it officially approved as a COVID treatment until May of 2023, long after Pfizer had cashed the checks. And only if you meant “treat” the way COVID loves Stephen Colbert. Paxlovid COVID rebound. Colbert COVID Rebound. And the Colbert post-COVID show Rebound. They all keep coming back.

Here’s COVID Colbert’s embarrassing vaccine propaganda.

 



 

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Israel has been the epicenter of the conflict between her and Hamas since October 7. Hamas started this battle with an insurgence through the usual steadfast boundary around Israel, and these animals butchered, burned, killed, and abducted anyone in their path.

Over 200 innocent Israelis and Americans were taken back into Gaza and hidden deep in the tunnel system below Gaza. These captive hostages were now human shields for Hamas. Over 7,000 rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israel in the seventeen days since the initial attack.

The fighting was first on the southern border of Israel but has spread to the north as Hezbollah has joined the attack on Israel, launching additional missiles into Israel and testing the limits of the Iron Dome. Hezbollah operates out of Lebanon, but evidence is abundant they are funded and supported by Iran. There is no doubt that Iran is pulling the strings on both of these terrorist groups and will probably enter the battle when Israel launches its ground attack on Gaza.

The United States Navy has three powerful groups of ships in three seas in the region where they can prevent attacks on Israel and launch attacks against any country that joins the fray. Though thousands are in ready mode, U.S. ground troops are not in the area as yet. It seems inevitable that the U.S. military will join forces with Israel, but against which country is still unanswered. Plans are in the works to evacuate thousands of Americans, which gives credence to a more significant battle in the immediate future.

With the House of Representatives still in a quagmire with no Speaker, no aid package can be approved to assist Israel, but the Pentagon can still put assets in place and transfer equipment and munitions to Israel. Especially needed are missiles for the Iron Dome, which has effectively intercepted thousands of incoming missiles. Rumblings are heard across the entire Middle East, but there is no certainty which countries will actively join either side. Fringe groups are confronting U.S. military personnel in many surrounding countries. When the ground fighting pairs with the air strikes, we may see this battle spread widely in the region.

Hamas has released two hostages each of the last two days, but with still over 200 captives, the release pace is far too slow. Those released have indicated they were held underground, and the tunnel system is extensive. Any battle in Gaza will be three-pronged: ground, air, and subterranean. On Tuesday, a heated exchange between the U.N. Secretary-General and Israel’s Ambassador prompted a demand for the secretary-general’s resignation when he justified the attack by Hamas on Israel. This tone from the Secretary symbolized the anti-Israel feelings prevalent in the United Nations. Instead of doing its job to try and de-escalate the conflict, the feckless body threw gas on the fire. There is no timetable, but more apparent daily that this powder keg will blow at any moment.

The post Israel In The Bullseye, Conflict Circle To Grow appeared first on Granite Grok.

There’s something magical about sipping a cup of herbal tea brewed from fresh, homegrown herbs. Not only do you get to enjoy a cup of delicious and aromatic tea, but you also reap the therapeutic benefits of these herbs. With our partner MyGlobalFlowers, you can brighten a friend’s day by sending a thoughtful gift.

MyGlobalFlowers offers an online flower delivery app worldwide, and you can surprise your friends with a selection of plants for their garden.

Creating your own herbal tea garden is a rewarding and flavorful journey that allows you to cultivate a variety of herbs for teas while connecting with nature. In this article, we’ll explore the pleasures and advantages of growing your own herbal tea garden.

The Joy of Gardening

The process of cultivating herbs for tea is a therapeutic and fulfilling endeavor. It connects you with the natural world and allows you to witness the miraculous growth of plants from tiny seeds or seedlings into lush, aromatic herbs. Gardening provides an opportunity for relaxation, stress relief, and the simple pleasure of nurturing life.

Herbal Diversity

One of the joys of growing your herbal tea garden is the incredible diversity of herbs you can cultivate. From soothing chamomile to invigorating peppermint, there is an herb for every mood and occasion. You can experiment with different combinations of herbs to create your unique tea blends, tailored to your taste and wellness goals. This diversity also ensures a year-round supply of fresh tea ingredients.

Health Benefits

Herbal teas are renowned for their health benefits. Growing your herbs allows you to harvest them at their peak freshness, ensuring that you get the maximum nutritional and therapeutic value from your teas. Herbs like lavender, lemon balm, and echinacea have calming and immune-boosting properties. The act of growing, harvesting, and brewing your own herbal teas promotes a holistic approach to wellness.

Environmental Benefits

Cultivating your herbal tea garden can have positive environmental impacts. By growing your own herbs, you reduce the need for store-bought tea products that often come in non-recyclable packaging. Additionally, you can avoid the chemicals and pesticides that may be present in commercially grown herbs, opting for organic and sustainable gardening practices.

Culinary Adventures

Growing herbs for tea can also enhance your culinary adventures. Many herbs used for tea, such as mint, lemon verbena, and basil, can be incorporated into your cooking. They can add unique flavors and aromatic elements to dishes, transforming your home-cooked meals into culinary delights. This dual-purpose aspect of herbal gardening adds extra value to your garden.

Educational Opportunity

Creating a herbal tea garden is an educational journey. You get to learn about the specific needs and growing conditions of various herbs. You’ll gain knowledge about the history and traditional uses of these herbs, as well as modern scientific research on their health benefits. Sharing this knowledge with others, especially children, can be a valuable educational experience.

Aesthetic Appeal

Herbal tea gardens are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing. The vibrant colors and fragrant scents of herbs can turn your garden into a visual and sensory delight. Herbs like lavender, rosemary, and chamomile often have ornamental value, making them beautiful additions to your outdoor space.

In conclusion, embarking on the journey of growing your herbal tea garden is a flavorful adventure filled with joy, health benefits, and environmental advantages. It allows you to connect with nature, nurture your well-being, and explore the diverse world of herbal teas. Whether you have a sprawling backyard or a small balcony, you can create a thriving herbal tea garden and savor the delights it brings to your life, one cup at a time. So, why not start your own herbal tea garden today and enjoy the rewards of this flavorful journey?

 

The post Growing Your Own Herbal Tea Garden: A Flavorful Journey appeared first on Granite Grok.

Bud Light took a pounding all summer long after picking a man to represent women. But things had quieted down. People who’d dropped the brand had moved on, and everything appeared settled. Except it’s not.

Bud paid the UFC $100 million in sponsorship fees, and fans are dragging both of them into the octagon.

 

The UFC and Anheuser-Busch announced that Bud Light would be the official beer of the mixed martial arts promotion, this a part of a “nine-figure deal” that also happens to be Dana White & Co’s biggest sponsorship ever. In other words, it wasn’t hard for Dana and UFC to accept a bag from the anti-American beer giant.

 

The Twitterverse took to the interwebs of X and expressed its disdain for the deal, but what happens on Twitter doesn’t always translate into the real world. The test – and this is a true test of how damaged Bud Light is as a brand – is whether the UFC pays any meaningful price for the venture.

 

The response was outright anger from Americans, with several blasting UFC and calling for a boycott against the company, and not just that, but renewed calls for Bud Light also got sparked up. Needless to say, the United States hasn’t gotten over the Dylan Mulvaney nonsense, and who the hell wants to drink Bill Gates juice?

 

If you forgot, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation dropped a chunk of money on Bud Stock. Couch cushion cash, really. But real money to the rest of us.

 

The Gates move could inspire other investors to drop a dime or two on the stock, which might bring it back a bit, but absent rising real-world sales (and value), it would be an empty gesture and a bad investment. Not that Bill (sorry, his Foundation) couldn’t dump the shares in another gesture called profit-taking if the price bumps a bit.

 

At the time of the buy, there was some debate about who should be more leery of the move, Bud Light or Bill Gates. The latter is not exactly popular with beer drinkers either.

In the end, or at least so far, the Gates Foundation investment has lost about 6 million in value, so Bill didn’t help Bud. And I could wish the UFC and Bud Light luck, but I think, in the end, they will beat each other up, and neither side will win.

 

HT | Daily Caller

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It’s a well-known fact at this point that in the United States and most of the so-called free countries that there is a robust surveillance state in place, collecting data on the entire populace.

This has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt by people like Edward Snowden, a National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower who exposed that the NSA was conducting mass surveillance on US citizens and the world as a whole.

The NSA used applications like those from Prism Systems to piggyback on corporations and the data collection their users had agreed to in the terms of service. Google would scan all emails sent to a Gmail address to use for personalized advertising. The government then went to these companies and demanded the data, and this is what makes the surveillance state so interesting. Neo-Marxists like Shoshana Zuboff have dubbed this “surveillance capitalism.”

In China, the mass surveillance is conducted at a loss. Setting up closed-circuit television cameras and hiring government workers to be a mandatory editorial staff for blogs and social media can get quite expensive. But if you parasitically leech off a profitable business practice, it means that the surveillance state will turn a profit, which is a great asset and an even greater weakness for the system.

You see when that is what your surveillance state is predicated on, you’ve effectively given your subjects an opt-out button. They stop using services that spy on them. There are software and online services that are called “open source,” which refers to software whose code is publicly available and can be viewed by anyone so that you can see exactly what that software does. The opposite of this, and what you’re likely already familiar with, is proprietary software. Open-source software generally markets itself as privacy-respecting and doesn’t participate in data collection. Services like that can really undo the tricky situation we’ve found ourselves in.

It’s a simple fact of life that when the government is given a power—whether that be to regulate, surveil, tax, or plunder—it is nigh impossible to wrestle it away from the state outside, somehow disposing of the state entirely. This is why the issue of undoing mass surveillance is of the utmost importance. If the government has the power to spy on its populace, it will.

There are people, like the creators of The Social Dilemma, who think that the solution to these privacy invasions isn’t less government but more government, arguing that data collection should be taxed to dissuade the practice or that regulation needs to be put into place to actively prevent abuses. This is silly to anyone who understands the effect regulations have and how the internet really works. You see, data collection is necessary. You can’t have email without some elements of data collection because it’s simply how the protocol functions. The issue is how that data is stored and used.

A tax on data collection itself will simply become another cost of doing business. A large company like Google can afford to pay a tax. But a company like Proton Mail, a smaller, more privacy-respecting business, likely couldn’t. Proton Mail’s business model is based on paid subscriptions. If there were additional taxes imposed on them, it’s possible that they would not be able to afford the cost and would be forced out of the market.

To reiterate, if one really cares about the destruction of the surveillance state, the first step is to personally make changes to how you interact with online services and to whom you choose to give your data.

Joseph Lawrence is an Australian student with a passion for economics, computers, and history.

Joseph Lawrence | Mises Wire

Mises Wire We heartily encourage reprints and shares of Mises Wire articles. If you wish to reproduce an article in your blog, magazine, radio show, newspaper column, classroom material, textbook, discussion group, website, or any other venue, please do so. The original publication source must be included in an appropriate place.

The post Fighting the Surveillance State Begins with the Individual appeared first on Granite Grok.

This is in response to a post titled Our Open Border Gives Us Terrorists And Fentanyl, Not A Problem For Dems. It’s also not a problem for the majority of Republicans serving in Congress. Flashback to 2017 … Republicans in total control of the federal government. But the Republican Congress refuses to fund Trump’s wall. Why? Because Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan and their ilk … which unfortunately were and remain a majority of Republicans in Congress … support open-borders.

The author of the post writes:

You can turn on the TV at any time of the day and hear Republicans speaking out about the lousy Biden policies that are making us less safe and prosperous than we were three years ago.

BUT that is all they do … and then the vast majority of them turn around and fund the “lousy Biden policies.” But some … maybe most … Republican voters so desperately want to believe that their votes matter, that the Republicans they elect are on their side, that it’s Rs vs. Ds, that they ignore the FACT that the Republicans criticizing the “lousy Biden policies” then turn around and fund those “lousy policies.”

Where are the impeachments? Why haven’t Mayorkas, Wray and Garland been impeached? Why haven’t the House GOP defunded catch-and-release? Why haven’t the House-GOP defunded Garland and Wray?

They may have different motivations than the Democrats, but the majority of Republicans in Congress are … WHEN IT COUNTS … just as open-border as the Democrats. STOP PRETENDING.

 

The post Republicans Support Open Borders Just As Much As Democrats … Stop Pretending It’s Rs vs Ds appeared first on Granite Grok.

The Climate Cult is more than willing to change whatever it must to keep its confidence scam alive. That’s what they mean when they say climate change. They don’t mean temperature; they mean the Climate data and the Climate narrative.

They’ll change anything but the solution and do whatever is required to keep the wealth redistribution/tyranny accelerator laundromat open.

When research peeks over the consensus wall to challenge approved dogma, the Pharisees are quick to discredit it—shills for oil, anti-science, climate deniers. Destroying careers is well within the realm of acceptable behavior as is blocking credential research or pressing experts to alter results. But what if the research comes from an official government agency?

If you control the agency, then its job has been to reinforce the confidence scam. They issue grants that produce the results needed and then base official policy on their rigged research. But not everyone appears to be in on the scam. Norway, not exactly a conservative bastion of political or cultural practice, uses the National Statistical Institute of Norway to generate official statistics. Things upon which the country relies to inform politicians and people. It published a paper titled “To what extent are temperature levels changing due to greenhouse gas emissions?”

I’m sure they went in thinking, well, we’ve got data and records, and everyone’s been on about CO2 and temperature change. Let’s crunch this stuff and then impress everyone with the evidence. The conclusion at which they arrived contradicts the Climate Cult’s approved narrative. Those temperature models used to justify CO2 reduction policy don’t actually justify it

 

In this paper we have reviewed data on climate and temperatures in the past and ascertained that there have been large (non-stationary) temperature fluctuations resulting from natural causes.

Subsequently, we have summarized recent work on statistical analyses on the ability of the [Global Climate Models] GCMs to track historical temperature data. These studies have demonstrated that the time series of the difference between the global temperature and the corresponding hindcast from the GCMs is non-stationary. Thus, these studies raise serious doubts about whether the GCMs are able to distinguish natural variations in temperatures from variations caused by man-made emissions of CO2.

…[T]he results imply that the effect of man-made CO2 emissions does not appear to be sufficiently strong to cause systematic changes in the pattern of the temperature fluctuations.

Remember, this is the government of Norway.

 

• All four previous interglacial periods are seen to be warmer than the present.”
• warmer temperatures were the norm in the earlier part of the past 4,000 years, including century-long intervals nearly 1°C warmer than the decade (2001-2010).”
• The results imply that the effect of man-made CO2 emissions does not appear to be sufficiently strong to cause systematic changes in the pattern of the temperature fluctuations.

 

Norway just wrecked the consensus. It has warmed more without man, and while man contributes to CO2 in the atmosphere, “it seems impossible to determine how much of the temperature increase is due to emissions of CO2.” Your models are crap and so is your conclusion.

Are they taking this news seriously? Norway was already ramping up Oil and Gas production. I’d go with yes.

As for everyone else, they’ll ignore it, but this isn’t the only “paper” to reach the surface gasping for air, to challenge the approved orthodoxy. There is a sense of movement that could lift us out of the elite-imposed dark ages of climate science and propel us into a fossil-fueled renaissance.

That’s a stretch, but in any of the many fronts in the war against global Leftism, you have to get your optimism where you can.

 

Climate Discussion Nexus | Legal Insurrection

The post Norway: There’s No Conclusive Evidence that CO2 is Driving Temperature Change appeared first on Granite Grok.

Recent revelations at a premier lab-grown meat startup suggest techno-mystical visions of cheap, plentiful, vat-cultured meats are a fantastical pipe dream. Venture capitalists and a climate-anxious public have been lured into believing synthetic animal meat substitutes will solve environmental problems while liberating farm animals.

The chief hurdles for this nascent, aspirational industry are cost and scale: The alleged misrepresentations by billion-dollar Upside Foods in Emeryville, California, reflect an industry-wide cover-up of the impossibility of achieving cost savings, large-scale production or environmental utility with vat-flesh.

The Downside of Upside

Upside Foods has repeatedly touted its technology to “cultivate” flavorful, whole cuts of synthetic chicken in its laboratory. Employee whistleblowers claim the company misled the public to believe it had developed the capacity to efficiently produce chicken breasts in bioreactors, when in fact, the much-touted cutlets were laboriously manufactured by human hands tending hundreds of non-reusable plastic bottles coated in “porcine gelatin” and seeded with chicken cells in a “growth media” of “hormones, sugars, and other nutrients.” These were then hand-harvested using spatulas and manually layered or processed into pretend chicken fillets. The bioreactors installed to produce whole cuts of fake meat – and their attendant tubes, pipes, and electronic gadgetry – have stood idle (except for corporate promotion photo-ops).

Rampant Techno-Mystical Fraud?

Several startup companies seek to stake ground in the world of synthetic steak. Climate alarmists who insist cow flatulence is the death knell for humanity, allied with animal “rights” groups who wish to extinguish livestock in the name of protecting them, envision a meatless utopia in which large-scale factories fabricate fake flesh.

Upside Foods has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in investment capital on promises of technologies it will likely never create. Wired published an ex-Upside employee’s rationalization of the deliberate misinformation:

“This isn’t about lying. This isn’t about trying to trick people,” says a former senior Upside employee who left in 2022. “It’s a very specific PR dance where we need people to continue to believe in this industry and its potential, and to do that we need to share some of these milestones.” The former employee adds that the drive by senior leadership to constantly be the first to win industry races might jeopardize Upside’s success in the long term. “The biggest fear was more that we are constantly building the airplane while we fly it,” they say. “That could work out well, but would it be more prudent for us to pause flying and just continue building it and make sure it works as intended?”

Building airplanes while they are being flown high above the ground is an Icarian moral hazard blithely embraced by far too many techno-mystical, profit-driven ventures. The prophets of climate doom are too often also corporate profiteers: EVs face monumental challenges, including lithium battery production shortfalls, externalized pollution costs in manufacturing, and insufficient grid power or charging stations to serve the public; solar panels involve the mining and burning of coal and other substantial pollution costs in production and disposal.

Of Cows and Synthetic Meat Bioreactors

When critics point out the problems of lithium battery production for EVs or coal mining for solar, the techno-mystical response is, “We’re working on it.” As with completing planes prior to flying them, might it be prudent to retain cows until such time as this dubious lab-meat technology produces the promised bounty?

Consider the costs of Upside’s meat-gunk creations: hundreds of hours of labor to manufacture just a few portions of consumable food along with wasted factory space that has to be heated, cooled, electrified, and plumbed to house rows of stainless steel 500-liter “bioreactors” that cannot successfully create a single whole cut of chicken. The “roller bottles” used to create the meat for public show are made from single-use plastic, and so the company likely produces plastic waste much faster than it makes meat.

A cow on pasture bypasses bioreactors, heated labs with lab-coated techies in masks, roller bottles, and the mountains of plastic. Then there are all those otherwise content cows that won’t have to be slaughtered for nothing. Erasing good farming where animals are well cared for to fuel venture capital science fiction laboratories that pollute while pretending to save the world is much like flying a plane while the engine is unbolted to the fuselage and the propeller is six inches too short.

Cows produce manure that replaces synthetic fertilizers (made from methane), and seeds exponentially more methane sequestration by nourishing soils than bovines burp up or otherwise expel. Cows produce meat, milk, and leather by anaerobically digesting grass – nature’s solar panels powered renewably by photosynthesis – without coal or lithium, and without a costly, profit-driven, stainless steel anaerobic digester.

Synthetic Meats are DOA

Man’s meager mimicry of God’s creation ever falls short. Echoing the Fall, humans idolize the things they make with their own hands (Isaiah 2:8) above the natural provision of the earth and ecosystem. The war on cows is not an effort to preserve the planet but to amplify growing food hegemony by chemical-pushing oligopolies. Those who claim they have created an economically viable and ecologically friendly synthetic meat product are squeezing phony baloney into (plastic) snake oil bottles.

Synthetic meats were marketed as profitable to investors, framed as cost-saving when soy and other plants were vat-cultivated into filet mignon – and the planet would be saved from agricultural pollution! It’s the ancient promise of lead-into-gold chicanery, and it won’t work: Soy and other plant matter must be harvested using fossil fuels and GMO technologies dependent on massive chemical applications.

Even if Upside Foods and other meat-dreamers could manufacture steaks and burgers better than God has done in cows, their factory technology would still require chemicals and fossil fuels that degrade the soil and water – in lieu of cows, which do the opposite. And if asked, wouldn’t cows on pasture prefer a contented life on the land over no life at all? The synthetic-sounding answer to these common-sense questions hangs ready on pursed technocratic lips: “We’re working on it.”

 

John Klar is an Attorney, farmer, and author. Mostly farmer… And Regular Contributor to GraniteGrok and VermontGrok.

 

The post Synthetic Chicken Will Never Fly appeared first on Granite Grok.

It started to feel like the political class was going to do anything to drag this out until the spending resolution that cost McCarthy his gavel became a Republican problem. No Speaker. No control. Disorganized. Country in danger. Blah Blah Blah.

I could hear it in my head. See the headlines. Between the RINOs and their Progressive masters, they would take an otherwise meaningless transfer of authority – a new guy or gal to herd the cats – into a political win for the bad guys.

So yes, I’m surprised.

Mike Johnson got nominated yesterday and elevated today. They frikkin got it done.

 

HE WON! Congrats Speaker Mike Johnson!

Make no mistake, this is a *HUGE* victory

After Matt Gaetz ousted Kevin McCarthy, the DC Establishment fought back, but America 1st Patriots stood strong & won

For the 1st time in decades, We the People have a true voice in Congress pic.twitter.com/a5sqvd92s5

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) October 25, 2023

The next question? Will Johnson do his job and block Biden’s awful agenda? Force the US House to debate and vote on each of the (is it 12?) appropriations bills clean and individually, forcing Democrats to explain why they are holding up the budget instead of the other way around.

Will investigations mean something more than the appearance of interest absent action?

Time will tell, but at the moment, this feels like a huge win, especially given the direction things were headed.

 

BREAKING: Rep. Mike Johnson has received the GOP nomination for Speaker of the House. I had no idea who Mike Johnson was, so I looked him up and found this video. This is Mike Johnson. What are your thoughts? pic.twitter.com/XBuZoR5FDQ

— DEL (@delinthecity_) October 25, 2023

The post Breaking: Mike Johnson Elected Speaker of the US House appeared first on Granite Grok.

We expect the lights to come on when we flip a switch, unconcerned with how the electricity is produced or how it reaches our homes. We are aware of telephone poles, wires overhead, and transmission towers, solar panels, and windmills across the countryside. But as long as we pay our electric bills, we trust electric utilities to provide our power somehow.

Who produces the electricity we use? Where does it come from? How does it reach us when we flip that light switch? And is electricity as “green” as we are often told it is?

Residential and business electric customers across the country are served by three different types of energy providers: the traditional monopoly known as an investor-owned utility (IOU), the public power utility owned by a municipality, and the community choice aggregator (CCA). This last is a relatively new type of nonprofit purveyor allowed in nine states—Massachusetts, Ohio, California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, and New Hampshire—that have passed legislation allowing them.

These entities form what is collectively referred to as the grid, an interconnected network for delivering electricity from producers to consumers.

Community Choice Aggregators

CCAs are the newest type of electricity provider. They buy electricity from private generating firms, many of which are small start-ups, and deliver it to end users over wires owned by traditional IOUs. Thus, CCAs function as middlemen between energy suppliers and consumers. They also compete with investor-owned IOUs to sign up entire cities or counties.

Electricity can be generated by coal, natural gas, diesel, nuclear fission, biomass, hydropower, solar panels, and windmills. Of these, the last five may be considered renewable sources, but green energy purists view only solar and wind energy as renewable.

California contains over 11 percent of the American population, its energy markets are deregulated, and it hosts twenty-five CCAs, which serve fourteen million customers throughout the state in over two hundred municipalities with over eleven thousand clean energy power purchase agreements.

In addition to these twenty-five CCAs, California has three large IOUs: Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas and Electric. Together, they own a significant share of the state’s energy distribution infrastructure (poles and wires). California also has one large municipality-owned utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, as well as several smaller public utilities throughout the state.

In 2002, the state legislature passed a bill (Assembly Bill 117) admitting CCAs, which began forming shortly afterward. CCAs promise to provide “green” energy (i.e., generated by solar or wind) to reduce carbon emissions and counteract climate change.

When a CCA is established in their geographical area, California energy consumers, unless they opt out in advance, are transitioned by default from their traditional IOU utility to the CCA. Most California customers in areas where there is a CCA have not opted out, either because they were unaware of the transition process or because they proactively embraced renewable energy.

The IOU utilities still own the energy infrastructure that serves these areas and are entitled to a regulated rate of return on it. Customers, therefore, continue to receive their electricity bills from the IOUs, but these now show separate charges for energy consumption and use of the infrastructure. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulates this rate of return as well as the energy rates. The IOUs collect the revenue and forward to the CCA the portion that pays for energy consumption.

California CCAs market different proportions of renewable energy: 100 percent (“green power”), 40 percent (“lean power”), and 50 percent (“clean power”). The customer rates per kilowatt-hour may be higher or lower than those charged by IOU utilities serving the same geographical areas. So far, CCAs have tended to match the rates charged by IOUs, but this practice may or may not continue.

How do CCAs guarantee that the electricity they deliver meets the promised proportions of renewable energy? In reality, it’s impossible to identify where electricity comes from once it’s been produced and released into the grid. CCAs typically buy some of the energy they deliver from “nongreen” sources like natural gas turbines and some from renewable generators.

Renewable Energy Certificates to the Rescue

In addition to buying renewable energy from producers, CCAs can also supplement their supplies with renewable energy certificates (RECs) issued by private firms that generate solar or wind energy. An REC is a piece of paper representing one megawatt-hour of renewable power generated and delivered to the grid. The Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS) tracks renewable energy generation, creates the RECs, and oversees a marketplace for trading them.

The existence of RECs and the WREGIS marketplace allows CCAs to boast that they supply as much as 100 percent green energy. Under this paradigm, CCAs subsidize small, private firms that generate renewable solar and wind energy by buying their RECs, then count these toward their own supply so that they can report the promised percentages.

Even firms that don’t supply energy can use RECs to enhance their green bona fides. Some have pejoratively referred to this business practice as “greenwashing.” Microsoft, for example, has announced plans to reduce its carbon footprint by buying RECs from a start-up firm that has developed a method of taking CO2 from the air and storing it underground.

The owner of an REC can either hold or sell it, but it can only be sold once. When a CCA or firm purchases an REC, it is purchasing proof of having “used” that renewable energy, even if the actual energy went elsewhere on the grid.

If you think this all sounds like a contrivance to virtue signal environmental responsibility, you would be right. Whether electric utility customers are receiving renewable energy isn’t clear, but that’s what they signed up for (by default, in most cases). CCAs, in any case, can claim they provide their customers with the responsible kind of electrical energy and thereby help them save the planet.

 

Jane Johnson is a retired college economics instructor who currently teaches economics at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in southern California. She is a graduate of Vassar College, and has graduate degrees from UC-Berkeley, and the University of Washington.

Jane L. Johnson | Mises Wire

Mises Wire We heartily encourage reprints and shares of Mises Wire articles. If you wish to reproduce an article in your blog, magazine, radio show, newspaper column, classroom material, textbook, discussion group, website, or any other venue, please do so. The original publication source must be included in an appropriate place.

The post Can Electricity Providers Promise 100 Percent Green Energy? Probably Not. appeared first on Granite Grok.

As promised in Monday Memes, I have an overflow. My meme cup runneth over.  And yes there will be a Friday edition too.

Let the mayhem, mockery, and ridicule resume:

 

*** Warning, a few possibly off-color ones, in case tender eyes are about ***

 

 

And please do check out my last two Israel-related posts if this is a topic of interest:

Israel: Even More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

 

 

 

I remember a coworker in 2016 panicked about Trump.  “He’ll start WWIII”!  So, how’s that 2020 result working out for you?

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not familiar with UK television, but has a live “fact checking” ever occurred to any politician over there before?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In theory, I think the idea of a hybrid is a good idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This would be an excellent graph.  On a time-chart, show the # pediatric vaccinations overlaid with the # of SIDS deaths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One caution: Do not underestimate your enemy.

 

 

 

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

A lot of really good ones, but this strikes a chord with me.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Palate cleansers:

 

 

I can relate to this one.  Boy can I relate to it!

—

—

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Come back on Friday for more memes.  Same meme time.  Same meme channel.

 

 

 

The post Meme Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.

Liberal states and cities with education monopolies have failed kids for decades, but more recently, the problem of illiteracy has gotten more attention than they’d like. Kids can’t read.

Their backward, overly religious ancestors were far more proficient without the benefit or burden of a public education system. A system that once focused first on literacy, numeracy, history, and argument or debate. Rob Roper just published a piece on some of the particulars of this systemic failure with a focus on Vermont, another Dem-run state in many facets of decline. It is a problem decades in the making, which our own Dr. Jody Underwood delved into, sharing a series of articles based on her research.

The Education Industrial Complex and its apologists took a shine to the notion that COVID remote learning was to blame for observable ignorance. Dr. Underwood undercut their presumption with data.

Oddly enough, had children been taught to read, the pandemic would likely have had less, if any, impact. A student who can read is capable of self-learning. It’s one of the few things upon which any education system needs to focus. A competent reader can teach themselves almost anything with some direction or encouragement from an adult who can answer questions or help them manage the proper order of study.

In many cases, it is for very little money or even for free online. It is not an insurmountable problem unless kids can’t read.

Homeschoolers and private or charter school kids tend to do a lot better on shoestring budgets with limited or no staff or teachers. Just an adult or a handful managing groups of kids across several residences in shared learning environments. This schooling ignores fads or trends or frivolous ideological nonsense and focuses on reading becasue it is the foundation of learning.

Vermont might be struggling, but Oregon, a place it likes to emulate, is in dire straights. Their education system is so bad they have to waive proficiency testing altogether to get kids to graduation.

 

Oregon’s high school students will not have to prove basic proficiency in reading, writing, or math to graduate until 2029, the state board of education decided Thursday.

The Oregon Board of Education’s unanimous decision extends the pandemic era pause on the graduation requirement, which was paused in 2021 through the end of the current school year by former Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat.

 

You would be correct to ask from what, precisely, have they graduated from or to? The educrats are pretending it is still something with value.

 

“We haven’t suspended any sort of assessments,” state board member Vicky López Sánchez, who is also a dean at Portland Community College, said Thursday. “The only thing we are suspending is the inappropriate use of how those assessments were being used. I think that really is in the best interest of Oregon students.”

 

So, you still have the assessments in a file cabinet somewhere; you’re just not going to use them. I get it. And why would you? “Advocates for pausing the graduation requirement previously argued that the test puts certain children, including minority and low-income children, at a disadvantage.”

So, are the minority students placed in your care for one purpose, incapable of the skills you are meant to teach, or did you fail or refuse to teach them because the only disadvantage I can see is their inability to escape the bloated, failing school system in which you’ve trapped them. A complex problem whose roots all lead back to Democrat policy.

Make all the excuses you want, but at the end of the day, two things are true. Minorities are more than capable of learning to read and thus learning anything else (and thriving), and the city public school system (in particular) has proven incapable or unwilling to let that happen.

Are you incompetent or evil?

A little of both?

 

HT | Daily Wire

The post Oregon Can’t Teach Kids to Read – Solution: Skip the Proficiency Requirement to Graduate appeared first on Granite Grok.

Conflicts within the Republican party with internal divisions and power struggles have hindered their ability to present a united front, weakening them when facing their Democrat counterparts. Thus, this source of distraction has rendered them less effective in providing a compelling alternative to Democrat policies and initiatives.

This discord has led to a misalignment of priorities, a lack of consensus on fundamental issues, and decreased public trust.

However, it is crucial to remember that these divisions are not insurmountable. The Republican party’s motto, “Go along to get along,” while historically influential, is no longer applicable in the current political climate. The party’s leaders and grassroots movements advocate for a more assertive and uncompromising stance on critical issues such as crimes, immigration, border security, economic policy, healthcare, and social issues.
The Republican Party has been traditionally blocked by the establishment components of the party, which has hindered its ability to present a unified front. This has resulted in a lack of coherent alternatives to the Democrat agenda, weakening their opposition.

However, the time for unity is now. The Republican Party must find a way to mend the fractures and present a united front to mount a more formidable challenge against their Democrat opponents. This unity will strengthen their ability to oppose Democrats effectively and also inspire confidence and harmony among their supporters. Progressives have taken America to the edge of a cliff, and it is time for adult Republicans to rise and stop America from fading away. The expectation is that these leaders will put forth reasoned and sustainable policy alternatives that address the nation’s challenges.

The idea is that as the political pendulum swings, there is a need for Republicans, often considered the party of fiscal conservatism and limited government, to step forward and provide an alternative vision that safeguards the nation’s future. Republican voters have shown increasing support for leaders who take a bold and unapologetic approach to policy, influencing the party’s direction.

Republican primary election day is fast approaching. Just to remind you, elections have consequences. The vote you cast will not simply replace one politician with another. At this point, every vote has significant existential implications. Whether we like it or not, we are indeed in a war of survival. Make sure you do the right thing and vote for the best candidate.

To undecided voters: Don’t be fooled by the accusations that the incurably sick Leftists at home and America’s ill-wishers abroad level at this country. America is not perfect. Yet, it is the best hope for humanity struggling to find its humanity. America is worth defending. Vote for the candidate who is not appeasing the Islamists or lobbyists for some extra votes. Vote for the candidate willing to fight for our values and not afraid to call a spade a spade.
Let us end the reign of the ossified old Republican establishment by supporting a new generation of principled conservatives. A conservative wave of Republicans determined to breathe new life into the party and champion the hopes and aspirations of all Americans.

The post Whether We Like It or Not, We Are Indeed in a War of Survival appeared first on Granite Grok.