In my headline, I was going to suggest that what you are about to read was the first phase equivalent of New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s Hitler Youth program, but that ship sailed long ago. Schools have been cauldrons of partisan indoctrination for years. So what’s this then?

The next level? An escalation? Taking it out a whole new door? I’ll let you decide, but it is a bit Hitlerian to task a Statewide “Homeland Security” agency “to develop media literacy tools for K -12 in our public schools.”

 

“This will teach students and even teachers to help understand how to spot conspiracy theories and misinformation, disinformation and online hate,” she added.

“Start talking about what we’re seeing out there. Give the teachers the tools they need to help these conversations in school. And by teaching younger New Yorkers about how to discern between digital fact and digital fiction, we can better inoculate them from hatred and the spread of it.”

 

So, no instruction on how to teach or understand “how to spot conspiracy theories and misinformation, disinformation, and online hate from the … government?

 

 

BREAKING: Governor Hochul announces a Ministry Of Truth for students in NY pic.twitter.com/hrXOjS5OV2

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 21, 2023

 

This Hochul Youth Program will go nicely alongside the rewriting of history. The past is filled with all sorts of hate speech and hateful hating hate-ness (perpetrated by colonialist white folks if I recall the new history).

 

“…We’re very focused on the data we’re collecting from surveillance efforts, what’s being said on social media platforms, and we have launched an effort to be able to counter some of the negativity and reach out to people,” Hochul said.

“When we see hate speech being spoken about on online platforms, our media analysis, our social media analysis unit has ramped up its monitoring of sites to catch incitement to violence, direct threats to others.

 

And they’ve been spying on you and intend to teach your children to spy on you, and won’t be allowing any more of this hateful free speech business that has prevented Democrats from complete and total control of what you see and hear. If they had their way, everyone would have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine and every booster or been tossed into reeducation camps quarantine for the good of the Reich State.

Nice Despotism you’re building. Be a shame if anyone sued you for it.

Exit Question: Who blinks that much?

 

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While many parents around the country are fighting for quality public schools, some teachers and administrators continue to let their students down. I call it Gutter Education now. That’s why it’s obvious the goal is not quality or excellence, but instead, trash and dumbed-down academics.

There is no better example than what students were given in Londonderry High School. Sure, many kids can access gutter trash outside the school and through social media. But we pay a lot of money to educate children in our public schools. Shouldn’t we expect them to provide that to the children who attend?

Here is what one parent posted about this latest GUTTER stunt:

This was a cartoon shown to students at the Londonderry High School. The assignment was to use context clues to draw a conclusion. This is the meme that was used. The image is edited – so they could figure out the meaning themselves. The kids were supposed to solve it themselves. The second picture is the full picture that I found with a quick internet search. I’m positive that kids did the internet search as well. I believe the teacher knew what the full picture was. So explain to me WHY parents don’t have a right to know about what’s shown in classrooms…

Explain to me WHY the district supports NDAs, making it impossible to know WHY someone was let go…

 

How much are you paying per student in Londonderry? Shouldn’t you expect a high-quality education for the high school students?

Is it any wonder enrollment in public schools is declining while alternative schools and home-schooling enrollments are increasing.

The post Londonderry High School and the Gutter Education Kids Receive appeared first on Granite Grok.

Not everyone can be an influence on the internet, nor are we all as equally gifted in the things we pursue as we’d like unless you happen to be a mediocre male athlete. Being just okay is your ticket to record-breaking, award-winning glory. Just say you are female.

Boys who say they are girls are immediately praised for their bravery. They get attention, affirmation, and those catty bitches aren’t allowed to complain about any of it. Not even sharing a locker room.

And you can still be sexually attracted to girls. In fact, it is increasingly common, from pathetic mediocrity to sharing shower space with fit young women and maybe even setting the odd new school records in your chosen sport. And they must praise you!

 

A transgender swimmer at Ramapo College of New Jersey broke a women’s school record over the weekend after competing for the men’s team for three years.

Meghan Cortez-Fields won first place and broke a school record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.22 at the Cougar Splash Invitational, a two-day meet between six schools in Dallas, Pennsylvania. She also came in first place in the 200-yard individual medley and earned second place in the 200-yard butterfly.

 

The Swim team posted its congratulations on Instagram and then thought better of it after Riley Gaines weighed in.

 

The Ramapo College Instagram account that posted the photo of the male swimmer has now deleted the post

They always hate the public attention after being called out for their discrimination and mistreatment of women https://t.co/nqQNDAuCUP

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) November 19, 2023

 

Fox reports that Cortez-Fields was on the male swim team for three years and switched to the female team for his senior year. Interestingly enough, he’s still not that good but his mere presence in competition is denying the honor of victory in women’s sports to actual women. And what is truly amazing is that the gender-spectrum crowd and at least some of the LGBQ folks are still applauding and defending it.

Women and blacks used to be the victim classes Democrats missed most. Then Gay men. And not all that many years later, Gay men and straight women (or any woman who disagrees with the trans thing) might as well be crap on the shoe of the party. If you are a minority and you like the wrong candidates, you are getting scraped off the other shoe.

It’s a common problem for anyone fooled into thinking Democrats as a party care about anyone or anything but who can pave them a path to political power. They don’t have a big tent. You follow their path wherever it takes you, or you are dead to them.  Today’s darling is tomorrow’s bricks and mortar and it doesn’t take much to end up underfoot.

The Constitutional Republic is imperfect and messy but not nearly as rotten and bloody as the alternative they have planned. And you are not going to have a seat at that table.

 

 

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The handwriting was on the wall. An Op-Ed in the New York Times entitled “I’m a Ukrainian, and I Refuse to Compete for Your Attention” summed things up nicely: a media junket the author’s friend had been organizing to Ukraine was canceled. The TV crew instead left for the Middle East.

The United States controls how the war in Ukraine proceeds and always has. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said it was the American side that scuttled any chance of peace in Ukraine as early as March 2022, soon after the war began. “The only people who could resolve the war over Ukraine are the Americans. During the peace talks in March 2022 in Istanbul, Ukrainians did not agree to peace because they were not allowed to. They had to coordinate everything they talked about with the Americans first. However, nothing eventually happened. My impression is that nothing could happen because everything was decided in Washington.”

Fast-forward to 2023, and the story is different. Earlier this month, NBC News quietly released a report that said U.S. and European officials broached the topic of peace negotiations with Ukraine, including “very broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a deal with Russia.” NBC said, “the discussions are an acknowledgment of the dynamics militarily on the ground in Ukraine and politically in the U.S. and Europe.” They began amid concerns the war has reached a stalemate and about the ability to continue providing open-ended aid to Ukraine. Biden administration officials are also worried Ukraine is running out of men in this war of attrition, while Russia has a seemingly endless supply. Ukraine is also struggling with recruiting and recently saw public protests (not shown on American TV) about President Volodymyr Zelensky’s open-ended conscription requirements. Kiev is today sending 40 and 50-year-olds to the front.

This comes as Time reported Zelensky’s top advisers admitted the war is currently unwinnable for Ukraine. Things look a bit better from the point of view of Ukraine commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhny, who believes the war is only at a stalemate. “It’s now a battle of inches,” say American sources quietly.

Americans will be forgiven if they never hear this bad news, never mind be surprised by it if they did. The narrative that drove sports teams to wear blue and yellow patches and E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt to paint his guitar the Ukrainian colors were simple. Amid a flood of propaganda, the story was always the same: Ukraine was pushing back the Russians with weapons provided by a broad range of agreeable NATO benefactors.

Between Ukrainian jet fighter aces with improbable kill ratios to patriotic female sniper teams with improbable hair and makeup, Russia was losing. It would be a difficult but noble slog for “as long as it takes” to drive the Russians out. Any talk about peace was insulting to Kyiv, fighting for its survival and all. Meanwhile mediagenic President Zelensky at first flew around the world like the anti-Christ Bono, procuring weapons while showing off his man-to-man relationships with celebrities. Now desperate, Zelensky is inflight claiming Russia, Iran, and North Korea sponsored Hamas’ attack on Israel, trying to rattle up some support.

It was as compelling as it was untrue. Any thoughtful analysis of the war showed it to be, from its early days, a war of attrition at best for the Ukrainian side, and while the U.S. could supply nearly bottomless cargo planes full of weapons and munitions, right up to the promised F-16 fighter-bombers and M1A tanks due on line soon, it could not fill the manpower gap. Any appetite for American troop involvement was hushed up early in the fight. Russia could do what she had always done at war: hunker down in the field and reach deep into its vast territory to find ever more conscripts to wait out the enemy. It didn’t hurt that Russia’s capability versus NATO equipment was surprisingly good, or perhaps the Ukrainians’ handling of sophisticated Western arms was surprisingly bad.

But the most predictable factor leading to quiet U.S. moves toward some sort of “solution” in Ukraine is as predictable as the battlefield results. There is unease in the U.S. government over how much less public attention (despite the propaganda) the war in Ukraine has garnered since the Israeli-Hamas conflict began more than a month ago. Combined with what looks like a feisty new Speaker of the House seeking to decouple aid to Israel from aid to Ukraine, officials fear that shift could make securing additional funds for Kyiv difficult.

Americans, the people, and their government, assisted by their media wielding the greatest propaganda tools ever imagined, seem capable of focusing on only one bright shiny object at a time. Over 41 percent of Americans now say the U.S. is doing too much to help Kyiv. That’s a significant change from just three months ago, when only 24 percent of Americans said they felt that way.

In the case of wars, a new bright shiny object must include two clear sides, one good and one pure evil, with one preferably an underdog, daily combat footage that can be obtained without too much danger, and a football game-like progression across a map that is easy to follow. It should not be boring. Ukraine was such a conflict and enjoyed almost a full two-year run. But the fickle attention of America shifted to the Middle East just as things started to look more and more like static WWI trench warfare in Ukraine. It was a hard act to follow, but something always follows nonetheless (the same calculus works for natural disasters and mass shootings, which are only as mediagenic-good as the next one coming.)

Ukraine, like Israel, owes most of its continued existence to American weaponry. However, despite the blue and yellow splattered on social media at present, Ukraine does not have anywhere near the base of support Israel does among the American public and especially within the American Congress. The terms for resolving the war will be dictated to Kyiv as much by Washington as they will be by Moscow, as with Crimea a few years ago. The end will be quite sad; Russia will very likely solidify its hold on Donbas and Crimea and achieve new territory to the west approaching Kyiv, roughly 20 percent of Ukraine. Ukraine will be forced to set aside its goal of joining NATO even as the U.S. takes a new stand on its western border with Poland.

It is all something of a set piece. America’s habit of wandering into a conflict and then losing interest is long (Iraq) enough to count as an addition to history (Afghanistan.) “We have your back” and “we will not abandon you” join “the check is in the mail” and “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help” among joking faux reassurances. Our proxies seem to end up abandoned and hung out to die. As in Iraq and Afghanistan, never mind Vietnam before that, what was realized at the end could have most likely been achievable at pretty much any time after the initial hurrahs passed away. It is sad that so many had to die to likely see it happen in 2023.

 

Peter van Buren | Ron Paul Institute

Copyright © 2023 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

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COVID-19 Booster uptake has been weak. By mid-October, it had barely scratched 2%, and six weeks later – despite all the advertising, cajoling – advertising, and (begging?), it has stalled at 7%. Over 90% of Americans are taking a hard pass.

 

A month after federal officials recommended new versions of COVID-19 vaccines, 7% of U.S. adults and 2% of children have gotten a shot.

One expert called the rates “abysmal.”

The numbers, presented Thursday at a meeting held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, come from a national survey of thousands of Americans, conducted two weeks ago.

The data also indicated that nearly 40% of adults said they probably or definitely will not get the shot. A similar percentage of parents said they did not plan to vaccinate their children.

 

After roughly 70% lined up for one or more shots, this precipitous decline seems unprecedented. What happened? Not to the decision by most Americans to no longer be booster buddies, I’d like to know when the media stopped calling this behavior vaccine hesitancy and those who rejected government information on these “vaccines” as anti-vaxxers.

If memory serves, COVID is still a grandma killer (to which we can add RSV – there’s a lousy shot for that if you want one), and anyone who rejects the approved medical science and public health recommendations is (or was) a domestic terror threat. We get none of that from the Public Booster Shills at PBS. This is about as rough and tumble as they get.

 

One expert at the meeting, Dr. Camille Kotton of Harvard Medical School, called the numbers “abysmal” and said part of the problem may be patient confusion. She urged stepped-up public education efforts.

Dr. David Kimberlin, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, also expressed dismay.

“The recommendations are not being heard,” he said.

 

Patient confusion. Not being heard.

What if the problem is how badly you’ve all burned your credibility?

Nothing from PBS on that possibility either.

The post PBS Reports on Abysmal COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Uptake Without Calling it ‘Vaccine Hesitancy’ appeared first on Granite Grok.

Texas needs more good leaders, and Suzanne Harp, a sixth-generation Texan on her mother’s side, emerges as a compelling figure, vying for a seat in the United States Congress for Texas’s 3rd District, which is encompasses suburbs north and northeast of Dallas, including the cities of McKinney and Allen.

Her father, an immigrant from Athens, Greece, taught her to appreciate her country and yet be mindful of government overreach.  Thus, Harp’s unique perspective, strong Christian values, and commitment to challenging the status quo position her as a Washington outsider with the potential to bring about positive change.

Today, she is a vice president with a leading mergers and acquisitions investment bank, building win-win relationships and alliances within the professional communities of CPAs, wealth advisors, attorneys, financial services people, and consultants.

However, Harp says her most significant accomplishment is raising and home-schooling her four children in Judeo-Christian values with her husband, Bill. They cultivated a relationship with the Lord by studying God’s Word alongside the great philosophers to develop a Biblical worldview, a deep understanding of the Constitution, and the blessings of being an American.

It is good that she has decided to run for Congress. She could be the one that’s going to provide Texas’ 3rd Congressional district with the missing leadership and give it the much-needed voice to fight for religious liberties, election integrity, and border security, as well as counter human trafficking, runaway spending, and unconstitutional mandates.

In an interesting turn of events, Harp played a significant role in exposing a scandal involving another Republican candidate, Van Taylor, who had been caught in 2022 having an affair with an American-born widow of an Islamic State recruiter and dropped out of his race. She had been accused of using her position to reveal her rival’s affair though it certainly seemed to be in the public interest to know.

Harp’s policy priorities reflect her values and commitment to the American people. She is for preserving religious liberties, thus ensuring that individuals can practice their faith without government interference. Her various campaign speeches can be observed to emphasize the importance of election integrity in that she supports measures such as cleaning up voter rolls, implementing voter ID, and conducting audits to maintain public trust in the electoral process.

On the issue of border security, Harp proposes common-sense reforms to restore peace and security at the border, addressing illegal immigration. She is also keen on upholding the Second Amendment, underlying the fact that she stands firm in defending the right of Texans to keep and bear arms, resisting any attempts to infringe upon these rights.

In the realm of social issues, Harp advocates for pro-life policies, emphasizing the protection of the unborn and opposing laws that infringe upon these rights, including late-term abortion laws.

In an issue that’s popular in energy powerhouse Texas, she calls for renegotiating the Keystone XL pipeline, highlighting the need to bring back jobs and money and rebuild America.

While Harp’s campaign materials don’t explicitly outline strategies to combat runaway spending and unconstitutional mandates, her general stance as a candidate suggests supporting spending cuts in non-essential areas, advocating for constitutional limits on government power, promoting transparency and accountability, and encouraging public participation.

Suzanne Harp’s candidacy represents a fresh voice that blends business acumen with a commitment to constitutional principles.

As Texas contemplates its representation in Congress, Harp offers a unique perspective and a promise of unwavering dedication to the values that have defined her journey from a sixth-generation Texan to a candidate for national office.

The post Suzanne Harp May Be Just the Congresswoman Texas Needs appeared first on Granite Grok.

To be clear, I use the word ‘maybe’ in the headline with a smirk. The political left would happily fundraise over your corpse if it would advance their agenda. Your death as a result of progressive policy is a win for them, even if you were a Democrat voter. They may not need you anymore, which should be of some concern.

Elections being the way they are these days, why care about a body you can replace with a bit of code in a place where there are so many losing a few hardly matters? And of what danger do we speak?

The winter of 2022. Deliberate energy policy decisions at the state and federal level nearly cost tens of thousands of New Yorkers (perhaps more) their lives.

 

In bone-dry language, the report “Inquiry into Bulk-Power System Operations During December 2022 Winter Storm Elliott,” explains how the gas pipeline network in New York nearly failed last Christmas when temperatures plummeted during the bomb cyclone. Freeze-related production declines, combined with soaring demand from power plants, homes, and businesses, led to shortages of gas throughout the Northeast. The lack of gas, as well as mechanical and electrical issues, resulted in an “unprecedented” loss of electric generation capacity totaling some 90,000 megawatts. While the lack of electricity was dangerous, the possibility of a loss of pressure in the natural gas network should send a bone-chilling shiver through the sacroiliac of every politician and bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., New York and the Northeast.

The report explains that if the gas pipeline system had failed, the recovery process in New York City would have taken “months.” In addition, the property damage due to damaged water pipes in homes and buildings would likely have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

Left unsaid in the report is that the collapse of the gas grid during the period in which temperatures in New York City stayed below freezing would have caused a calamity unlike any other in U.S. history. The cold that lasted from December 23 to December 28 could have resulted in thousands, or even tens of thousands, of deaths. The damage from burst water pipes would have rendered untold numbers of residential and office buildings in New York City unusable.

 

This was not the first such close call, and the current trajectory suggests they will get closer and likely become a reality, and that appears to be the point.

First, they scare you by suggesting catastrophic climate catastrophes. New York City Underwater from Sea Level Rise. They insist on a program of changes – despite never getting a single prediction correct – that will create climate disaster. Anyone who pushes back gets labeled a denier, called names, pilloried out of their profession, or canceled online (a scheme used for every other lousy idea advanced by the political left).

2022 was just last year. Energy policy continues its Marist March. Shut down coal, end fossil fuels, no nuclear, on the path to an all-electric future lacking production and capacity to meet even essential needs.

 

A friend who works for the federal government in Washington, D.C., and is familiar with the FERC/NERC report told me last week that the loss of gas in New York City would have required evacuating most of the people in the city. Let that soak in for a minute. New York City has roughly 8.5 million residents. Evacuating even 25% of Gotham’s residents during extreme cold would have required a herculean effort. But even assuming such an evacuation could be accomplished, imagine how the country would handle 2 million displaced New Yorkers who could not return to their homes for months. And while you’re at it, imagine if those 2 million New Yorkers had their homes soaked by broken water pipes.

In short, the U.S. narrowly averted both a humanitarian and economic crisis that could have put the country’s economy into a tailspin. Imagine America’s financial capital in such disarray that money center banks and Wall Street could not function because their office buildings didn’t have heat.

 

New York City may have survived the Winter of 2022, but can it survive any of them before the mystical benchmark of 2030? And that’s just one city. Add everyone around it up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

It sounds like a joke, but it’s not. You are the carbon they are trying to reduce.

 

 

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