Posts by Carol Johnson21

Eric Morgan54 said:Also curious—what kind of trouble did she run into?
Some journalist needs to step up and ask what happens with parental consent. Did the Department of Education even think about that? Of course not. But what’s the actual fix for parents who refuse to sign off on their kids joining these nationwide school programs?

Let's assume the principal made sure parents knew that signing against her wishes would carry consequences.
It's a small town; everyone knows everyone else's business.
There were other calls and directives issued, but I won't get into the weeds—it isn't my story.

Jason Morgan said:The reality? It boils down to a principal who is hungry for more funding just so he can leave his mark on the building's history. All these "renovations" we see are just cosmetic energy-efficiency upgrades on the exterior; they haven't touched the actual interior infrastructure. Or, quite frankly, he just wants a 25% raise.
Then there's the third option: those political threats I mentioned earlier.
There really isn't much else to it. Nobody actually wants this nonsense.

That sounds about right to me. Honestly, I'm just relieved I don't have middle schoolers under my wing anymore.
I have a friend who started a petition against CNN regarding one of those schools out in the Midwest. I won't even go into the kind of pushback she faced.
As if we need Fuchs lecturing us on hiding scalpels during class.
The house is on fire, and we're all just standing here watching it burn.

Jason Morgan said:And honestly, who are these advocates for full-day programs anyway? It's a numbers game. Schools apply for these things so they can qualify for renovation grants and actually look halfway decent; they need the funding. That's the real driver here. What does a full-day schedule actually do for kids living out in the sticks? Most of them live right near their extended family, or their parents are busy running some kind of farm. For most of these rural schools, they don't need longer hours—they just need damn money.

From what I’ve seen, looking at almost every school listed across three Midwestern counties, nearly all of them have been renovated and updated over the last decade or so.

Some of these aren't even tiny satellite campuses; we're talking about towns with over 1,000 residents (like a Small town, USA or a Small town, USA) where there are plenty of kids and peers.
I know of at least two schools where the parents actually tried to fight the application with a petition.

northerntiger9 said:"The schools in the Midwest want this reform more than anyone—there are only two in Washington, D.C., and not a single one in Miami or Seattle!"
I love a city with some flow 😍 🙂

It looks like they just ripped this whole article from USA Today; nobody seems to have an actual accurate list, just some rough estimates:

Is it really any surprise that parents from rural areas have a greater need for full-day schooling? Looking at this list from the Midwest, most of these are tiny rural schools—hardly even schools in small towns or county seats.

My two cents? I suspect the principals all had to "fall in line."

@DarthPutin is absolutely hilarious!

https://twitter.com/DarthPutinKGB/st...wKXGS4_TB1U1_g

The award for the year's most effective NATO salesman goes to Vladimir Putin. 🤣

It’s also quite fitting when he says, "Now, those who claimed eight years ago that Putin only wanted Crimea, are feeling pretty wise, aren't they?" 😁

This isn't just rambling; it is precisely what his cult following and sympathizers are dying to hear. That’s why he went off on the whole gender identity issue. He wants to play the role of the last bastion of traditional values standing against a decadent West. I suspect his target audience is currently swooning with pure joy.
It’s honestly hilarious how much Botox he’s had; he barely has any facial expressions left. He tried to force a smile, but it looked downright grotesque.

As with everything else in this war, we’ll see two groups emerge: those who swallow his narrative whole and will now feel emboldened by it, and those who despise him as nothing more than dictatorial scum—people who clearly see he’s just talking into the void because he’s actually terrified, especially now that it's obvious Russ has sabotaged the S1 and S2 pipelines.
What a grandmaster!🙏
Russ has slid back to the bottom once again, and they’ll likely stay there for decades. But then again, for that nation, isn't this just their natural state? They won't be taking to the streets anytime soon.
If you ask me, Putin might be a dead man walking by spring. He can talk all he wants, but on the ground, his military is losing. What exactly are you all so afraid of regarding his "response"? His army is exhausted, and these mobilization efforts aren't going to change the fundamental math.

Olivia Turner49 said:

I don't know what to tell you guys, but "darkwood" just hits different. It’s one of those games that stays under your skin long after you’ve shut off the console. I was sitting there late last night, just me and a cold beer, getting absolutely lost in that atmosphere, and man, it’s heavy. It’s got that gritty, unsettling vibe that makes you second-guess every shadow moving in the corner of your eye. You know that feeling? Like you're being watched even when you're just scavenging for supplies? Yeah, that's it. It’s brutal, it’s unforgiving, and honestly, it’s kind of brilliant. If you haven't played it yet, you're seriously missing out on a masterclass in tension. kaže:
So, get this—another massive $1.1 billion aid package just dropped for Ukraine, and it includes another 18 HIMARS units. Honestly, at this point, it feels like we’re just stacking high-tech artillery on a conveyor belt heading straight to the front lines. It’s wild to see the scale of these shipments lately; one minute we're talking about small tactical adjustments, and the next, we're looking at billion-dollar chunks of hardware being shipped out. Just goes to show how much heavy lifting is happening behind the scenes to keep that momentum going.

So, the folks over in Ukraine are out there saying they need somewhere in the ballpark of 200 to 300 of those systems if they actually want to flip the script on this war and change the whole momentum. It’s a massive ask, honestly. Given how things have been going, you have to wonder if anyone's actually listening to that kind of request.

If you look at the map from five weeks ago compared to where things stand today, doesn't it seem like the tide has already shifted?

If the Russians didn't blow up Nord Stream, then why on earth did they shut down the pipeline running through Ukraine?

There’s also talk that they were forced to pull the plug because those supposed "technical failures" triggered massive penalty clauses in their contracts.

A Kazakh blogger is panicking after catching these two Russian fugitives trying to dodge mobilization.

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/...mrV3qw1cJinU2Q

Sure, it’s one thing when dealing with Crimeans or people from the Donbas,
but Pavlodar—a city in Kazakhstan where the population is mostly Russians—that’s a much trickier question. "Officially, it's Kazakh,"

Apropos the question of what their actual views are and how much of a threat they pose to the countries they are currently fleeing to:
The folks over by the Baltic Sea aren't crazy for closing their borders, and while Georgians would love to act, they won't do it as long as that collaborationist government is in power.

casualtiger2 said:I was watching it on mute and just went off what some other forum folks were saying—didn't even realize the translation was fake.
Still, it’s a solid joke. Honestly, wouldn't surprise me if they're starting to get a little twitchy, but no panic here—everything is going exactly according to plan. 😍

If you're referring to that Solovjev parody video, it struck me as unbelievable immediately. It’s highly unlikely they would be that blatant about dodging mobilization.

And I agree—there's no point in mocking them like this. If we go down that road, their actual absurdities get lost in the noise. We have plenty of real nonsense to deal with, and those should be carefully attributed rather than turning them into "confused Nazis," much like what happened with the Italians during WWII.

https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/st...OAkhHvw5l7jfqA
I’m seeing this pattern everywhere in the clips posted here. When Russian commentators criticize the course of the war or the mobilization efforts, they always wrap their complaints in this polite little package: "It’s not your fault, dear Leader, it’s just that your advisors gave you bad intel."
What we might actually be witnessing is the fallout from a power struggle between the military brass and the FBI—one of those two competing factions that Putin is constantly trying to appease while balancing their support against one another, as Baric pointed out.

With all this mystery surrounding the pipeline explosion, I’m starting to find spy movies more believable than reality.🤷

By the way, word on the street is that Lyman will be under Ukrainian control by the end of the day.

silentsurfer3 said:It honestly turns my stomach how everyone just automatically blames Russia without thinking—kind of like when that Striž jet went down near Washington, D.C. and everyone ended up blaming Ukrainians in the end.

I mean, yeah, it was most likely the Russians, but anyone on the list (the Americans, the Russians, the Ukrainians) has plenty of motivation to blow that pipeline sky-high.

The idea that Ukrainians would pull off sabotage of this scale, using a submarine in an ally's territory without anyone noticing and expecting zero repercussions? That's pure science fiction.

I get why you find it revolting that Russia is automatically cast as the villain in every scenario. But considering their criminal, deceptive, and downright villainous policies, is it really surprising? Your distaste only makes sense if you're looking at this through the lens of a Russian sympathizer.

Anyway, does anyone actually know what the situation looks like regarding Lyman?

By sabotaging this pipeline, the last shred of hope for the Russians has been extinguished. They were banking on Europe being too terrified of a freezing winter to hold their ground—hoping the West would blink and hand over some concessions regarding Ukraine just to avoid a total humiliation.
Frankly, all that hysteria about the EU shivering through the winter was a bit much. Gas storage levels are actually looking pretty solid.

🍿

Since we’re already diving into conspiracy theories, here’s my take: it was the Russians themselves, but honestly? It’s just the kind of karma that’s going to absolutely floor Putin.

Linda Collins3 said:You aren't following the situation. A tiny bit of gas might be trickling through, but it's nothing—that's exactly why people say the pipeline isn't operational.

Gas isn't actually flowing through the pipeline; it's just sitting there within a closed system.

Kimberly Perez82 said:It seems people like you just can't grasp what everyone else—and even CNN—is shouting from the rooftops. We are standing right on the precipice of a global nuclear war because neither side is backing down. You have to act with extreme, surgical caution, not charge in like a blind, raging bull, which is exactly what some of you seem to be praying for. I mean, look at the news today—even Medvedev is out there hinting that they might actually use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. That group has completely lost their grip on reality. So, how do you handle people like that? Do you just act recklessly and risk everything blowing up in our faces, or do you try to de-escalate first and then deal with the fallout once things settle down?

"Everyone else"
I honestly don't know how to tell you this, but this level of panic isn't doing you any favors.
My colleagues keep asking me: what would you actually offer an aggressor, and where does that path lead? According to your logic, you'd just hand over whatever they demand and watch as Putko demands more, eventually leading us straight into the hands of some leftist dictator somewhere with a nuclear arsenal. What you’re suggesting is insanity. It’s essentially rewarding blackmailers every time they make a threat, which is a direct route to a global dictatorship.
Take a breath. Clearly, those of us you consider "abnormal" aren't going to change your mind.

velvetbadger11 said:The media outlets are relentlessly fueling the panic, constantly slapping headlines about nuclear war onto every front page they can find.

And coincidentally, every single pro-Russian account on this thread fits that description.

Constantly arguing against this is a waste of breath. When someone is spiraling into deep anxiety, no amount of logic or calm conversation is going to talk them down. I wonder if they even have a chance of making sense in those other threads dedicated to nuclear threats.🕺

Kimberly Perez82 said:Look, if you’re going to be serious about this, please—don't just sit there guessing on your own! Go read some actual American analysts instead. If Russia annexes Donbas while the Ukrainians, bolstered by the USA, continue fight, then Putin might actually follow through on those threats and drop a tactical nuke on Ukraine just to scare them straight—especially since he'll likely frame it as a defense against an attack on Russian territory. But the Americans have already stated they will respond, and their experts are predicting a rapid nuclear escalation that could lead to 90 million casualties, mostly over in Europe. So, cheers to your amateur analysis.

Could you provide a link to one of those analysts or their specific projections?
This isn't a casual chat room.

dustyowl29 said:Political immigrants...

It would be quite fascinating to see if they actually renounce Russian policy. It certainly doesn't seem to be working for the Georgians.

Personally, I would have preferred if they had shut down the borders sooner; maybe that would have increased the pressure in the pot before things boiled over.
And what happens now with all the refugees fleeing mobilization? We're looking at a number that will easily exceed half a million. They can't exactly head back to Russia until there's a change in leadership.

Nancy Gomez26 said:You really think Germany is going to mobilize? 😁

Honestly, I think they’d make decent soldiers.😁

Based on some recent estimates following the mobilization announcement, about 250,000 people have already fled Russia. Some sources suggest the borders might actually close around September 26th or 30th; if that happens, we could be looking at nearly a million refugees.

I can't help but feel for the national minorities, like the Dagestanis, who have endured decades of erasure and terror. Now, they find themselves being used as nothing more than cannon fodder, all while finding it much harder to reach the Western borders.

It’s a smart move by the Russians not to cause any trouble in Moscow. The number of mobilized individuals there is negligible, isn't it? It would be fascinating to see what percentage of those fleeing are actually coming from there.