Scott

WEST OLIVE, Mich. — The agenda for the Ottawa County governing board’s most recent meeting here last week listed, among other issues, a roof repair and resurfacing contract, a budget calendar that needed setting and, from IT, a request to hire one more employee. They were terrestrial concerns. But over the course of a meeting that ran more than four hours, public speaker after speaker in three-minute increments were debating something else entirely, something far more spiritual — to what extent their government should, or should not, pursue Judeo-Christian values. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/02/21/michigan-christian-nationalists-00083251

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The Biden administration has restored the legal justification for regulating releases of toxic mercury from coal- and oil-fired power plants after the Trump administration made the rule easier to challenge in court. In 2020 the Trump administration undercut the legal basis for limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic substances like arsenic from the plants. The Trump administration did not change the substance of the rule itself, but made it more open to court challenges from industry. https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3863431-epa-restores-legal-basis-for-coal-plant-pollution-regulations-undercut-by-trump/

It was an audacious trip almost unheard of for a US president. Appearing in a war zone under regular attack, White House officials describe Joe Biden's unexpected visit to Ukraine's capital Kyiv as "unprecedented in modern times". They say previous presidential trips to wartime Iraq and Afghanistan had the back up of a heavy US military presence. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64710479

Biden’s Ukraine visit upstages Putin and leaves Moscow’s military pundits raging President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Ukraine sparked anger and embarrassment among many of Russia’s hawkish military pundits on Monday, increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin as the Russian leader prepares to justify his stuttering invasion in a national address. Biden’s historic visit came days before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, providing a symbolic boost to Kyiv at a crucial juncture in the conflict. But the visit caused fury in Russian pro-military and ultranationalist circles, as it upstages Putin on the eve of a major address in which the Russian president is expected to tout the supposed achievements of what he euphemistically calls a “special military operation.” https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/europe/russia-reaction-biden-ukraine-visit-intl/index.html

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Actually, that is not correct. It is the International Criminal Court that has the mandate to investigate and prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.

Ukraine will receive long-range missiles capable of striking targets at a distance of 150-200 km (about 90-125 miles), but those may be not ATACMS missiles, Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov said in an interview with Ukrainian news outlet Babel on Feb. 20. "Not that it actually will be ATACMS,” he explained. “There are other long-range missiles. Yes, the orcs (Russian invaders) are now hiding 120-150 km away, and we need something to reach them, and we will get it.” https://english.nv.ua/nation/long-range-missiles-to-be-delivered-in-first-half-of-2023-says-defense-minister-ukraine-war-50305442.html

Veronica Licon and her pediatrician were stumped in 2011 when her son’s blood showed high levels of lead. Her home did not contain the usual culprits for childhood lead poisoning: lead paint or lead pipes. Paint can be removed. Pipes can be replaced. But Licon lives directly under the flight path to Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose, Calif. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/20/aviation-lead-fuel-00081641

Covid was not 'unleashed'. Continue with such unproven conspiracy theories and it will result in a suspension.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t announced a bid for the White House to challenge former President Donald Trump in 2024. But that hasn’t stopped Trump and his most loyal online supporters from tossing just about anything against the wall to see what sticks. A year and a half out from the election, Trumpworld’s newest line of attack: Painting DeSantis as a “globalist” who is “endorsed” by liberal philanthropist George Soros. The origin of the freshly minted Trumpworld attack began to percolate late last week after Soros spoke Thursday at the international Munich Security Conference. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpworld-launches-bonkers-new-attack-on-desantis

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he does not want to see Russia crushed by a defeat in Ukraine. Speaking to French media, Mr Macron urged Western nations to increase military support for Kyiv and said he was prepared for a protracted war. "I want Russia to be defeated in Ukraine, and I want Ukraine to be able to defend its position," he said. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64693691

China is considering giving Russia weapons and ammunition for the Ukraine war, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. Mr Blinken told CBS News that Chinese companies were already providing "non-lethal support" to Russia - and new information suggested Beijing could provide "lethal support". This escalation would mean "serious consequences" for China, he warned. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64695042

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//CLOSED// Topic running here:

Your statement was: Children's sexual orientation is no business of teachers or anyone that is not the child or the parent. Just stay out of it. It's not always possible to 'just stay out of it'. Good teachers don't stay out of things that affect the ability to teach or of students' ability to learn. It's used as a teachable moment and that's what was done.

Teachers aren't interested in children's sexual orientation and it isn't something that would be discussed in class. Teachers are interested in teaching and anything that affects the classroom negatively is of concern. In my experience teaching that happens when students are actively bullying others -- that maybe about perceived sexual orientation, race, disability, economic status or any of a number of other things. Those issues may need to be addressed in order to effectively teach. We had a student who was HIV+. He was infected at birth and on medication that made his viral load undetectable. When word got out he was ostracized, bullied, teased and physically assaulted. Do you think that should have been overlooked in a classroom?

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The Justice Department probes into Donald Trump’s conduct appear to be ramping up, as special counsel Jack Smith approaches key allies of the former president with knowledge of his activities surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and classified documents discovered at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. In recent weeks, Smith has subpoenaed both former Vice President Mike Pence and then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, two figures with strong visibility into Trump’s actions leading up to and on the day of the deadly riot. The Justice Department has also sought to pierce the attorney-client privilege connected to Trump’s lawyer in the Mar-a-Lago probe, Evan Corcoran, alleging he may have given legal advice in furtherance of a crime. https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3864012-special-counsel-shows-signs-of-ramping-up-trump-investigation/

A long-serving Catholic bishop known as a "peacemaker" was shot and killed in Los Angeles on Saturday, officials said. Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell, who had been a priest and then a bishop during his 45 years with the church, died "unexpectedly," José H. Gomez, the archbishop of Los Angeles, said in a statement. He'd been known as a "man of deep prayer," Gomez said. https://abcnews.go.com/US/peacemaker-bishop-shot-killed-los-angeles/story?id=97317213