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As the Sacramento City Unified School District pushed its deadline back for students to either get vaccinated against COVID-19 or consent to weekly testing, a correlation was found between schools with low vaccination rates and low state standardized testing scores.

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

News media has faced heightened criticism from right-leaning politicians as a trucker convoy rolls into Ottawa, but one former conservative strategist says it’s an example of a long-standing tactic. Tim Powers, the chair of Summa Strategies, told Global News that criticizing the media is “part of normal strategic practice” for conservative politicians, particularly when they feel like they’re in trouble. Powers said the practice in Canada dates back to the Brian Mulroney era and was a successful tool for Stephen Harper.

At a critical point in the 1980 campaign, Ronald Reagan had enough and cleaned house of his senior political advisors including campaign manager John Sears. One staffer would later recall, “Ronald Reagan would not have come so close in 1976 had he not hired John Sears; and Ronald Reagan would not have won the GOP nomination had he not fired John Sears in 1980.” As it does on so many occasions, history repeats itself. Like Reagan before him, Donald Trump now must clean house if he hopes to make a serious political comeback. Trump’s 2016 win was mostly of his...

The Bible In Paintings 2 Engravings•Facades•Frescoes•Illuminations•Miniatures•Mosaics•Photographs•Reliefs•Sculptures•Tapestries•WindowsG E N E S I SCHAPTER 15:1-6 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless? You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Then the word of the LORD came to him: “A son coming from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at...

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Among Governor Glenn Youngkin’s first actions was Executive Order #9 initiating Virginia’s withdrawal from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the Northeastern U.S. “carbon market” that sets and enforces emission limits for coal and gas power plants. RGGI also lets utilities buy “carbon credits” when emissions exceed those limits, passing costs on to families, businesses, hospitals and schools. Special interests will contest withdrawal, but the EO sets the proper tone for reforming Virginia’s energy system. Meanwhile, though, the 2020 “Virginia Clean Economy Act” still requires that utility companies close all fossil fuel generating plants – and replace them with wind and...

"All life is worthy of dignity and respect." Inside St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Sisters of Life, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and others prayed for the protection of all human life. It was the 49th anniversary of the Supreme Court's grave Roe v. Wade decision, which ushered in a regime of "unfettered access to abortion," Cardinal Dolan said. Dolan also talked about two police officers who were shot the night before in New York City. The man who shot them was in the same hospital as the officers (both of whom would later die), being treated by a team of doctors. Because...

A Washington State Patrol officer who defied a statewide vaccine mandate and signed off for the last time by telling Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee to “kiss my a–” is dead from COVID-19. Former Trooper Robert LaMay, 51, who served 22 years with the State Patrol and retired last October, died on Friday. LaMay garnered attention from Americans across the country after he signed off for the last time as an officer and told Washington Gov. Jay Inslee he “can kiss my a–” over forced vaccine mandates. Following LaMay’s death, Washington State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste released a statement praising...

...More than a foot of snow had fallen in New Jersey by early Saturday morning. ...Rhode Island issued a travel ban for all non-emergency vehicles on Saturday... ....A snow emergency was declared in Boston.. ....Maryland activated National Guard troops. ....Coastal residents in one Massachusetts town were told to consider leavin

From the time COVID first appeared, I kept hoping I was wrong as I watched federal, state, and local governments respond. From the time COVID started, I’ve been a bit of a maverick. I didn’t stay home. I never have worn a mask that wasn’t easy to breathe through—one, thin layer, and only where I’m forced to wear it. I always believed that science would find drugs that could keep us out of the hospital—and those were, indeed, found early on. I was never scared of COVID itself. I figured if I was making healthy food and other lifestyle choices...

As this column pointed out in 2014, “the struggle for Ukraine” is a chapter in a series of US orchestrated provocations, which began with the expansion of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) eastward to abut Russia’s borders—an expansion begun by President Clinton and pursued by Bush and Obama alike. It gathered momentum with the US-backed attempts to incorporate Georgia and Ukraine into the North Atlantic alliance, forgetting that the Ukrainian people, not unlike the “American People,” are not one people. The country is riven—divided into Western and Eastern regions, respectively. The West has been seduced by potential EU membership; the...

Kamala's corporate plot to encourage illegals is matched by Joe's dubiously legal plot to sneak illegals into the States with the television cameras off. It's doubtful that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris like one another, but there seems to be a coordinated effort between the two to bring in more illegal immigrants to the states, something they are succeeding at rather spectacularly. How else do we explain Kamala Harris's trip to Honduras, to attend the presidential inauguration of radical left-wing presidenta, Xiomara Castro, while Joe Biden's minions are sneaking in illegals by the thousands away from the cameras and flying...

The leader of Canada is saying over a million citizens are a fringe minority. Benjamin Franklin had this to say about the American Constitution: This is likely to be well administered for a number of years and can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other. What did he mean when he said, “need despotic government, being incapable of any other?” Dependence on government and all its “free stuff” has superseded the ability of people to take care of themselves....

The good news is I’m feeling a lot better than I did on Sunday. The bad news is that despite being vaxxed a year ago and boosted about ten days ago, I’ve come down with COVID. I, my wife Colleen and my son, his wife and one of their young kids have just caught the omicron variant – or it’s caught us. I guess you could say we’re on the COVID family plan. To say the least, it’s been a real kick in the butt. For almost two years my wife and I listened to the “science” and the people...

A major gap exists in the contemporary defense of individual rights. Fortunately, a recent article by Joseph Loconte (“A Brief History of Individual Rights”) enables us to reconsider on how best to defend the “inherent dignity” and “equal and inalienable rights” of individuals in the 21st Century. In order to follow development of individual rights across “the long road from Athens to America” with Loconte, it first behooves us to pause and test a critical link in the logical chain proposed between Athens and Rome. Mr. Loconte traces the idea of individual agency back to the ancient Greeks. Beginning with...

One pervasive talking point that Republicans have used in the past few months as a way to define the Democratic Party as way out of the mainstream of American thought is to point out Democratic support for defunding the police, Critical Race Theory in public schools, a trillion dollar Build Back Better Plan, packing the Supreme Court with left wingers, and expanding the House and Senate with new Democratic Party members from newly created states. All of these talking points are effective, yet the issue of statehood is far more complex than a talking point. The issue of statehood for...

The red revenge... Pelosi's retirement vote... Water main breaks won't stop this... Time to kick some commie butts...

"In office less than two weeks and Governor Glenn Youngkin has already set up an email tip line for parents to report teachers for teaching divisive subjects,” said CNN's Jim Acosta. “I seem to remember Glenn Youngkin campaigning in a fleece vest in Virginia. He was running as a different kind of Republican. I was told there was going to be a vest, not a Soviet-style police state across the Potomac from Washington." Virginia’s Attorney General Jason Miyares responded, noting that Acosta should open a history book. “I think what Jim Acosta said — listen, my family fled Communist Cuba....

Something big is happening in Canada and it’s happening in a typically Canadian way. After two years of draconian lockdowns and mandates, truckers are pushing back with a 70 km long convoy that pulled into Ottawa yesterday. It’s exciting and inspiring. It’s also drawing the elites out from cover, as they abandon any pretense of supporting the people they applauded so vigorously almost two years ago when they hid in their offices while “the little people” kept the world working. The Canadians have been renowned for being an obedient, peaceable people. But perhaps we’ve forgotten that there’s a warrior strain...