text:
School Directors Must Make Conscious Decisions
Steven Singer: School directors need to make reopening decisions that are in the best interests of everyone because we're all in this together. We have to care about our fellow human beings.
Steven Singer
Parental Choice Won't Save Us From Unsafe School Reopening Plans
I am the parent of a public school student. And I have a choice. I get to decide whether my daughter will go back to school in-person or online. That's the only thing that should matter to me.
At least, that's what the superintendent of my home district told me when I went before school directors last week asking them to reconsider administration's unsafe reopening plan. At McKeesport Area School District (MASD), Dr. Mark Holtzman and administration propose unlocking the doors for half day in-person classes Mondays through Fridays. Kids would be split into two groups – one attending in the mornings, the other in the afternoons. That way, with buildings at half capacity, there would be enough physical space for social distancing. The remainder of the time, kids would be learning online.
However, if you don't approve, you can opt out.
School directors need to make reopening decisions that are in the best interests of everyone because we're all in this together. We have to care about our fellow human beings.
Any parent who is uncomfortable with this plan could keep his or her children home and have them participate in the district's existent cyber program. The board hasn't voted on the proposal yet. It won't do so until Wednesday.
But as I stood up there at the podium last week outlining all the ways this scheme was unsafe and asking my duly-elected representatives to instead consider distance learning for all children, Holtzman told me to be happy I could choose whatever I wanted for my own child and sit back down.
Which brings up the question – is parental choice enough? Is the fact that I can choose for my daughter the only concern I should have?
Thankfully, no one is forcing me to subject my child to in-person classes. If I don't think they're safe, I can keep her away and still have access to an education for her through the Internet.
What else do I want?
Plenty.
First of all, the quality of education offered by the district cyber program is not the same as the district could provide if all students were enrolled in virtual classes. Dr. Holtzman has outlined what that would look like if school buildings were shut down by the governor or the district were overcome with sick students, teachers and/or family. Teachers would provide synchronous classes online through video platforms like Zoom. Students would get to interact virtually with each other and their teachers.
By contrast, the existent cyber program is asychronous. Students watch videos and do assignments at their own pace, but human contact and social interaction – even via the Internet – is much harder to come by.
Let's be honest – both options pale in comparison to face-to-face instruction. But the kind of instruction students will receive in-person during this global pandemic will not be face-to-face. Students will interact behind masks and plexiglass barriers under an ever present shadow of fear and menace. Under the proposed MASD plan, teachers would have a mere 20 minutes a period to try to get something done other than just taking role, attempting to get students to comply with safety precautions and calming their fears. Both cyber options are preferable because they avoid these problems. But one of them – the synchronous option with a dedicated class and a teacher behind the curriculum – is superior to the one being offered.
Is it selfish to want the better plan for my daughter? Should I just be glad I have a choice at all? Should I put the individual good of my child aside for the good of others?
No. Because the administration's plan is not in the best interests of other children, either.
If we reopen schools to in-person classes, chances are good that kids will get sick. A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found more than 97,000 children tested positive for Covid-19 just in the last two weeks of July. To put that in context, out of more than 5 million people diagnosed with the virus in the US, approximately 338,00 are children.
And nearly a third of those cases have come as we've reopened schools and summer camps, as we've increasingly exposed kids to the virus.
Children typically had low infection rates because schools were closed in March and kids were quarantined before the virus had spread through most of the country. Since June, there have been numerous outbreaks at summer schools in Massachusetts, Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan, and Hawaii, among others. And with some schools just now starting their academic year, outbreaks have been even more numerous.
By Lenore Daniels Jan 26, 2023
I live in Allegheny County – the western Pennsylvania region around Pittsburgh – where Covid cases have spiked. Many local school districts like East Allegheny, Woodland Hills and Wilkinsburg have passed plans to start the year with classes being conducted 100% online. South Allegheny and Duquesne City Schools just passed such plans in the last few days. And the biggest district in this part of the state – Pittsburgh Public Schools – has done the same.
If the virus is present in the community – as county health department data shows – opening the schools to students also opens them to Coronavirus. With the schools open, the virus will no longer be confined to just a few homes. It will come with kids to class and spread among students and staff before it's brought to their homes as well.
That's how epidemics work. Opening the schools will spread the virus throughout the entire community. And that will affect me, too, regardless of whether I choose a cyber option for my daughter or not. When I go to the local grocery store, gas up my car, even go for a walk – I will be more likely to come into contact with someone infected with the virus and get sick.
I can make the safe decision for my family but still suffer the consequences of the irresponsible decisions of others – especially school directors. In fact, it doesn't even have to be my own local school board. The decisions of school directors in neighboring districts affects me, too.
After all, in my part of the state, school districts are pretty small geographically – not nearly as large as most counties. There are 42 public districts in Allegheny County, alone. So it should be no surprise that I routinely travel through several different districts just running day-to-day errands. MASD school directors can decide to keep buildings closed (and I hope they will) but if a district just one township or borough over decides differently, we will suffer the consequences in McKeesport, too.
This is why issues of public safety are usually decided at the county, state or federal level. These decisions affect all of us, but these days no one wants to take the responsibility. It doesn't even make sense democratically.
Since I don't live in more than one district, I don't get a say in what school directors at neighboring districts decide. I just have a say in what happens in my tiny portion of the world. But the consequences are not nearly as respectful of our man-made borders.
For instance, I work as a teacher at a neighboring district. But since I do not live there, I am barred from speaking at the board meetings unless I am invited to speak as an employee of the district. I can give a report as part of the safety commission if invited by administrators, but I can't otherwise sign up to speak as an employee concerned about how district policies affects me, my students or their families.
I'm a believer in local control, but sometimes control can be too localized.
This is why you haven't heard much from many educators. If they're allowed to speak, they're often afraid of how doing so will make them a target for reprisals. If they can get their union to back them, they can speak collectively that way, but otherwise, they have no pathway to being heard at all.
As a parent, I get a choice for my child in my district. But what choice do teachers have – especially if they don't live where they teach?
If school directors decide to reopen in-person classes, they're forcing educators to decide between their employment and their own families. If teachers return to the classroom with their students in a physical setting, they risk not only their own lives but that of their friends and families. That concerns me even with my choices as a parent. I've had some outstanding teachers. My daughter loves her teachers. Is it okay if I don't want to see them get sick and their lives cut short? If I worry about my own chances of surviving the pandemic and the demands of my employer?
Finally, what about people of color? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says African Americans and other minorities are hospitalized from the virus four to five times more often than white people. I think their lives matter. But as minorities and people subjected to systemic inequalities, they get less of a say in policy. Should decisions that disproportionately impact their health really be up to a committee? Doesn't their right to life surpass the decision making abilities of a handful of elected officials or even middle and upper class parents?
Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful I have choices as a parent for how my daughter is educated.
But that doesn't overcome my concerns about a bad school reopening strategy.
School directors need to make reopening decisions that are in the best interests of everyone because we're all in this together. That's what so many folks seem to be forgetting. Yes, even from a completely selfish point of view, unsafe school reopening will affect each of us. But epidemics spread through communities. Only communities can effectively combat them. Dividing ourselves into smaller and smaller fiefdoms only empowers the virus. If we all try to fight Covid-19 individually, we will lose.
We have to understand that what's good for our friends and neighbors is in our individual interest, too. We have to care about our fellow human beings. That's why I will continue to fight these unsafe plans and ask school directors to reopen schools virtually. That's the path I've chosen.
Gadfly on the Wall
online learningPublic School SystemCOVID-19 PandemicPublic HealthBoard Of Education
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text:
Cops Release Broken iPhone 911 Calls
Illinois man called five times over faulty Apple product
iPhone 911 Calls
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/iphone-911-calls
NOVEMBER 15--Police this morning released the five 911 calls placed by the Illinois man who dialed emergency dispatch operators to report that his iPhone was not working, calls that resulted in his arrest.
Michael Alan Skopec, 48, was busted last Wednesday after placing the calls to police operators in Kendall County. Pictured in the mug shot at right, Skopec explained that 911 was the only number his phone could dial.
[Audio of Skopec's calls can be found interspersed below. Please note that some of his language is NSFW.]
"Why is my iPhone not working?" Skopec asked when an operator answered his first call. "This has something to do with Apple, I don't know," he added. Cops reported that Skopec appeared intoxicated when they arrived at his home to investigate the calls.
During his second call to 911, a patient police operator asked Skopec if he had an emergency. "Yes, I do. My emergency is my fucking phone don't work." When the operator asked him for his address, Skopec replied, "One oh blah blah blah blah blah blah. Okay, you understand that?"
"How 'bout I smash this phone on the floor," Skopec asks an operator during his third call. "Why can't I dial the numbers I used to be able to dial?" He later wondered, "Why can't you direct me to the AT&T people?" The emergency operator replied, "Unfortunately, we are a 911 dispatch center."
"I'm trying to get my iPhone enabled," Skopec reported at the outset of his fourth call. After an operator asked him for his address so that a cop could respond to help him, Skopec said, "He can't help me." When the operator asked, "How do you know?" Skopec replied, "'Cause he'll shoot me with a gun."
The operator then asked, "Have you been drinking tonight?" "No," Skopec said. "I'm just not very smart."
When an emergency operator answered his final call, Skopec said, "Hello. What's wrong with my iPhone?" The operator noted that she was sending a cop to Skopec's home since she could not help him with his malfunctioning iPhone. "That's pretty dumb," Skopec remarked. "On whose part?" the operator replied.
Skopec was arrested after he refused to comply with sheriff's deputies who responded to his residence. Charged with obstructing or resisting a peace officer, a misdemeanor, he is due in court on Friday. (1 page)
iphone, misuse of 911, Illinois
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Home/Cleaning/Major oil company wooing U.S. clean energy startups to accelerate green transition
Major oil company wooing U.S. clean energy startups to accelerate green transition
Ren Valdez October 5, 2021 Cleaning Leave a comment 9 Views
HOUSTON (Reuters) – America's clean energy startups are booming as oil companies give them more attention and money in a bid to accelerate their own green transitions.
Carrie Criado and Federico Marques, co-founders of PowellWell, which renovates abandoned oil wells to store electricity, pose for a photo, in Houston, Texas, United States, September 16, 2021. REUTERS / Gary McWilliams
Investors want oil producers to accelerate their shift away from fossil fuels by selling cleaner energy and developing technologies to eliminate greenhouse gases.
Entrepreneurs proposing to harness offshore wind and wave energy, generate hydrogen from waste gas and build fuel storage networks from old wells are attracting the attention of Big Oil.
Oil companies often partner up and invest in new businesses that have started in clean energy incubators. Some oil companies have set up their own incubators and venture capital teams to find and finance green technologies.
US oil services company Halliburton is working with eight cleantech newbies and recruiting more for an in-house startup accelerator that each provides $ 100,000 in seed capital.
Baker Hughes collaborates with incubator Greentown Labs to open a window on emerging technologies and provide advice to startups. Oil majors Eni SpA and Repsol SA have approached US cleantech companies through their investment arms.
There are approximately 20 US cleantech incubators monitored by the Electric Power Research Institute. But that number likely underestimates the total because of their rapid growth, said Julia Travaglini, vice president of marketing for Greentown Labs.
"We are seeing a widespread increase in clean energy incubators," added Lindsay Schuenke, director of content at the International Business Innovation Association, which works with business development groups.
Crunchbase, which measures venture capital investments, says clean energy startups have so far earned $ 11 billion this year, compared to $ 5.6 billion for all of 2020. still in business after five years is a key measure of success, said Chris Ilsley, managing director of North Shore InnoVentures, a cleantech incubator established 12 years ago outside of Boston.
She and Greentown Labs say 80-85% of their startups are still in business after this time, compared to just 20% of startups overall.
Another measure is the interest of companies in companies.
One of the companies that spent a year at North Shore InnoVentures developing a fast-charging battery, SES Holdings, subsequently won deals with automakers General Motors and Hyundai Motors. Another low-power semiconductor designer, Arctic Sand Technologies, was bought by Japanese chipmaker Murata Manufacturing for $ 68 million.
POWER OF OLD WELLS
Moonflower Technologies subsidiary PowerWell, a startup that offers to convert abandoned oil wells into gravity-fed energy storage systems, hopes to turn its concept into a commercial product, by securing support from the Halliburton incubator.
The Houston-based company has also attracted interest from energy technology provider Baker Hughes, who has suggested helping with materials sourcing efforts, said co-founder Carrie Criado. The incubators have allowed her "to learn a lot and learn it faster with the resources they offer," she said.
Thiozen Inc, a Massachusetts startup developing a way to turn waste gas into clean-burning fuel, spoke to three incubators before choosing North Shore InnoVentures, President Ryan Gillis said.
Oil giant ENI recently agreed to help fund a pilot test of Thiozen's technology to generate hydrogen from acid gases that need to be heavily processed.
Another startup, NanoTech Inc, aims to reduce energy waste in the petroleum, chemical and construction industries with a unique flame retardant and insulating coating. He got start-up funding from Halliburton Labs.
DIFFICULT TRANSITIONS
Established companies benefit from incubators because the relationship "diversifies and spreads the risk" of new technologies, said Thomas McNulty, managing director of Business Consultants ValueScope Inc. This allows internal R&D teams "to focus on commercialization and development. 'scale as the Scouts discover the technologies in the incubators, "McNulty added. But the risk for big oil companies looking to create new sources of revenue is that these companies won't grow fast enough or generate enough profits to replace declines in traditional activities. "If history is a guide, they won't be successful," said Chris Duncan, research analyst at investment firm Brandes Investment Partners.
HOOKING ON INCUBATORS This hasn't stopped energy companies like BHP, Chevron, Engie or investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. from partnering with Greentown Labs operations in Houston. Baker Hughes sends staff to listen to technology presentations, see the work of researchers and provide marketing advice, said Nigel Jenvey, Baker Hughes senior executive for strategy and growth initiatives. Roy Robinson, CEO of Excipio Energy, which designs floating platforms that convert wind, ocean waves and tides into energy, said the relationships formed are mutually beneficial. "Energy companies see that there is a transition and that there is money to be made," said Robinson, a former director of Repsol. The gain may include an interest in a promising new business. Halliburton gets a 5% share of startups that join its accelerator, said a startup founder who has met with his executives.
Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver, additional reporting by Gary McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Cynthia Osterman
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Licensed manufacturers and importers are required to mark firearms manufactured or imported with specific identifying information. This information is set forth in 18 U.S.C. §923(i); 26 U.S.C. §5842; 27 CFR §478.92 and §479.102. However, ATF may authorize other means of identification ("marking variance") upon receipt of a letter application from a licensed manufacturer or importer showing that such other identification is reasonable and will not hinder the effective administration of the law.
The ATF Firearms Technology Industry Services Branch (FTISB) has recently assumed responsibility for analyzing and providing responses to marking variance requests. FTISB is providing licensed manufacturers and importers with updated guidance on the requirements for submitting requests for marking variances. By following this guide, licensed manufacturers and importers will experience fewer delays in providing responses. In lieu of sending a letter request, FTISB recommends that you submit marking variances via ATF Form 3311.4 Application for Alternate Means of Identification of Firearm(s) (Marking Variance) to marking_variances@atf.gov.
Applicable serial numbers must not duplicate serial numbers appearing on any other firearms produced by or for the manufacturer or importer marked on the firearm (at any location).
Subsequent manufacturing processes performed beyond the initial manufacture or importation and marking of a firearm are subject to the notification requirements contained in ATF Ruling 2009-5, which, in pertinent part, requires that each licensed manufacturer desiring not to mark firearms ("non-marking variance") submit to ATF the information required by the Ruling. See ATF Ruling 2009-5 for additional information. In addition, certain manufacturing processes performed by licensed dealer-gunsmiths may fall under the purview of ATF Ruling 2010-10. See ATF Ruling 2010-10 for additional information.


Mayor: Anthony Williams (D) elected in 1998, re-elected Nov. 2002.
Note: Also 1,883 under votes and 624 over votes.
Kerry-Edwards' 89.18 percent showing in the District of Columbia was the highest in the past four elections.
Dec. 15, 2003 - Deadline to register to vote in the 2004 Democratic Presidential Preference Primary.
Dec. 29, 2003 (15 days before the primary) - Commencement of absentee voting in person.
Feb. 14, 2004 - Ward caucuses--one in each of the city's eight wards. Candidates must obtain 15 percent of the vote districtwide to qualify for delegates.
Caucus on Feb. 10, 2004. Winner-Take-All. 19 total delegates and 19 alternates.


text:
Криста́л (, ) — тверде тіло з упорядкованою внутрішньою будовою, що має вигляд багатогранника з природними плоскими гранями: впорядкованість будови полягає у певній повторюваності у просторі елементів кристала (атомів, молекул, йонів), що зумовлює виникнення т. зв. кристалічної ґратки.

Завдяки подібній будові кристалічні речовини мають характерні властивості, як:
 стала температура плавлення
 спайність
 анізотропія
 пружність

З кристалів складаються сніг і лід, гірські породи, цукор тощо.

Форми кристалів поділяють на сингонії.

Речовини, що не мають кристалічної ґратки, називають аморфними речовинами.

Загальна характеристика

Поверхня кристала обмежена площинами — гранями, лінії перетину яких є ребрами, а точки перетину ребер — вершинами. Кристал є обмежений гранями однієї або декількох простих форм (всього 47 простих форм). Проста форма — сукупність кристалографічно однакових граней. Форма реальних кристалів звичайно відрізняється від ідеальної форми (габітусу). Серед 31 точкових груп виділяють 7 сингоній кристалів: триклінну, моноклінну, ромбічну, тетрагональну, гексагональну, тригональну, кубічну.

Фізичні властивості кристалів визначаються їх складом, геометрією кристалічної структури і типом хімічного зв'язку в них. Основні властивості кристалів — однорідність, анізотропія і здатність до самоограновування. Зв'язок симетрії кристалів, симетрії їх фізичних властивостей і залежність останніх від симетрії зовнішніх впливів визначається принципами Кюрі і Неймана. Властивості кристалів описуються відповідними тензорами. На основі елементів симетрії можна передбачити наявність або відсутність тих або інших властивостей кристала. Багато їхніх властивостей (забарвлення, люмінесцентні властивості, міцність, пластичність та ін.) істотно залежать від типів і кількості дефектів.

За типом головного хімічного зв'язку виділяють йонні, ковалентні, молекулярні і металічні кристали.

Форма й чистота кристалу залежать від складу речовин, з яких вони утворюються (див. високочистий кристал), та умов кристалізації. Природні і синтетичні кристали застосовують в оптиці, різних галузях електроніки, радіотехніки, обчислювальної техніки, а також як надтверді абразивні матеріали і опорні елементи надточних приладів. Вивчає кристали кристалографія.

Кристал справжній () — природний кристал, форма якого залежить не тільки від внутрішньої будови, але і від зовнішніх умов росту.

Зональна будова — внутрішня будова кристалів, зумовлена чергуванням у них шарів різного складу, або різних властивостей. Залежить від зовнішньої форми кристалів та умов росту.

Класифікація кристалів

У фізиці твердого тіла за переважним типом хімічного зв'язку
прийнята така класифікація кристалів :

– металічні (Na, Al, Cu, Ag, Zn, Fe та ін.);

– йонні (NaCl, MgO, LiF та ін.);

– ковалентні (C, Si та ін.);

– молекулярні (кристали багатьох органічних речовин).

Металічні кристали характеризуються специфічною електронною структурою, високою електро- і теплопровідністю.

Йонні кристали в структурному відношенні являють собою позитивні й негативні йони, що правильно чергуються. Сили притягання
і відштовхування між йонами визначають стан рівноваги і характерні
для кожного кристалу міжйонні відстані. Йонні кристали у більшості
випадків є діелектриками, незначна електропровідність яких обумовлена дифузним переміщенням йонів. Йонний зв'язок утворюється завдяки переходу електронів від однієї хімічної складової кристала до
іншої. У хімічних сполуках деякі атоми прагнуть захопити електрони
та утворити негативні йони, тоді як інші атоми втрачають електрони і
стають позитивними йонами. У наведеному ряду елементи розташовані таким чином, що в хімічних сполуках атоми, що стоять зліва,
віддають електрони атомам, що стоять справа:
Li, Rb, K, Ca, Na, Al, Zn, Cd, Sn, H, Cu, Hg, Br, Cl, F.

Ковалентні кристали представлені сполуками, хімічні зв'язки у
яких обумовлюють спарені електрони. Такі кристали можна знайти
серед органічних сполук, напівпровідників і діелектриків, у результаті
чого електропровідність ковалентних кристалів змінюється в широкому діапазоні.

Молекулярні кристали утворюються у тих елементах або сполуках, для яких електронні переходи між атомами допустимі у малому
ступені. Молекулярний зв'язок характерний для благородних газів, водню, кисню, метану та інших насичених молекул вуглеводнів у твердому
стані. Молекулярним кристалам притаманні властивості ізоляторів.

Відмінності типів кристалів обумовлені різними зв'язками між
елементами кристалу. Електростатичний (йонний) тип зв'язку в йонних кристалах (хлористий натрій), ковалентний зв'язок у великої групи кристалів, який здійснюється спареними електронами вуглецевих
атомів (алмаз), сили Ван-дер-Ваальса, характерні для кристалів благородних газів й органічних сполук (напр., кристалічний аргон), і металічний зв'язок, що здійснюється електронним газом (кристали металів).

Монокристали і полікристали

Чимало речовин мають кристалічну структуру, хоча зазвичай не мають характерної для кристалів форми. До таких речовин належать, наприклад, метали. Дослідження показують, що такі речовини складаються із великої кількості дуже маленьких кристаликів — кристалічних зерен. Ці речовини також називають полікристалічними.

Якщо єдина кристалічна структура розповсюджується на все тіло, то таке тіло називають монокристалом.

Рідкі кристали

Рідкі кристали (, , ) — специфічний стан речовини, якому властиві риси як рідини (текучість), так і кристалу (анізотропія властивостей).

Атомний кристал
Кристал, в якого головними є ковалентні зв'язки між атомами,
що стоять у вузлах ґраток (напр., алмаз). Характеризується
високою твердістю, малими електро- та теплопровідністями.

Елементи кристалу

Елементи кристалу (, ) — кути між кристалографічними осями й відношення відрізків, які відтинає на цих осях одиночна грань a0: b0: c0: = a0/b0: b0/b0: c0/b0 = a:1:c.

Елементи обмеження кристалу (, ) — грані, ребра і вершини, якими замикається простір кристала.

Симетрія кристалу
Симетрія, що зумовлена ґратчатою будовою кристалу — це
регулярність у положенні та розташуванні граней та ребер
кристала, а також розташування атомів у ньому. Елементами
симетрії є площина симетрії, вісь симетрії та центр симетрії.
Різні види симетрії кристалів описуються точковими й просторовими групами симетрії.

Проростання кристалів

Проростання кристалів (, , ) — двійникові утворення, в яких індивіди взаємно перетинаються і пророщують один одного. Зовні пізнаються за наявністю вхідних кутів. Синонім — проростання мінералів.

Розрізняють проростання графічне (взаємне проростання двох мінералів; мінерал включений в інший мінерал у вигляді окремих вростків, які за своєю формою нагадують клиноподібні знаки; обидва мінерали мають однакове оптичне орієнтування). Синонім — проростання письмове.

Гігантський молекулярний кристал

Кристал з гігантською за розмірами структурою, який складається з атомів, зв'язаних ковалентними зв'язками. Такі кристали відзначаються міцністю і високою температурою плавлення (напр., оксид алюмінію, алмаз).

Ковалентний кристал
Кристал, в якому в вузлах ґратки стоять атоми, ковалентно зв'язані з іншими атомами в сусідніх вузлах ґратки.

Аксіаліт

У полімерних кристалах — багатошаровий агрегат, що складається з ламелярних кристалів, вивернутих зі спільного
краю.

Кришталина

Стара українська назва кристалу.

Див. також
 Ламелярний кристал
 Елементарна комірка кристала
 Кристалічна ґратка
 Високочистий кристал
 Гігантський кристал
 Мікрокристали
 Монокристал
 Полікристал
 Кристал атомний (валентний)
 Кристал йонний
 Кристал металічний (метал)
 Кристал молекулярний
 Кристалізація
 Секторіальність (мінералогія)
 Антискелетні форми кристалів
 Форми кристалів
 Металічний кристал
 Молекулярний кристал
 Структура кристалів
 Хадакристали
 Відбитки кристалів
 Блок мозаїчної структури

Джерело
 УСЕ. Універсальний словник-енциклопедія / Гол. ред. ради чл.-кор. НАНУ М. Попович. — Київ, «Ірина», 1999. -VII +1551с., іл.

Література

 Вступ до теорії термодинамічних та кінетичних властивостей кристалів: Навч. посіб. для студ. / Я. С. Буджак, О. А. Бурий; Нац. ун-т «Львів. політехніка». — Л., 2000. — 150 c. — Бібліогр.: 15 назв.

Фізичні властивості
Кристалографія
Фізика твердого тіла

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Why Do Animals Migrate?
Each species has its own migration story, from the smallest butterfly to giant marine mammals. Why do animals migrate hundreds or even thousands of miles?
Every year millions of animals across thousands of species travel enormous distances searching for breeding grounds, a plentiful supply of food, or warmer weather. However, forced migrations due to drought, flooding, volcanic activity, earthquake, and hurricanes also occur.
To find out more about the reasons for migration and how it helps the animals, please read on.
Have you ever wondered why animals don't stay where they migrate to? Find out why here
What Is Migration?
When referring to animals, migration is defined as:
The process of animals traveling to a different place, usually when the season changes.
Thousands of animal species migrate every year, either from a breeding area to a wintering area or between foraging ranges. Migration occurs when the seasons change, with most animals migrating to warmer climates during winter and returning to their native ranges at the beginning of spring.
Migration is a behavioral adaptation to changes in an animal's habitat and is necessary for survival, not just of the individual animal but also for the species. Animals that do not migrate will either slow down or hibernate during winter.
Some species will migrate a small distance between bordering states, while others will travel hundreds of miles along migratory routes, many returning to the same place each year. There is much debate about how migratory animals find their way, with some experts believing that landmarks are key. In contrast, others suggest animals may use the magnetic fields around the Earth to navigate.
Many mammals hibernate during winter. Find out more in this article I wrote
How Is Migration Beneficial?
Animals migrate for several reasons, each in a way that ensures the species' success. The benefits of migration outweigh the enormous physical toll it takes on the animals during migratory journeys.
Of all the reasons an animal may need to migrate, food is one of the most important. During winter months, if their native territory experiences cold, snowy weather, animals may see a sudden decrease in their regular food sources' availability.
To survive, animals will begin to move to warmer weather areas where food is plentiful. They tend to stay here for several months before making the journey home to arrive at the beginning of springtime.
Although ruby-throated hummingbirds are tiny birds that drink nectar, they are insectivores. They require nectar as an energy source for their incredible flying abilities, but their diet consists entirely of flying insects.
Insect numbers fall during the winter months, so the hummingbirds migrate south into Central America's tropics. This astonishing journey is a non-stop 500-mile flight across the Gulf of Mexico, taking roughly 20 hours to complete.
In Mexico and Panama's warm and humid climate, insects are found in abundance, so hummingbirds will remain there until late February when they fly home to North America. Without migration, the hummingbirds would likely starve.
Canada geese migrate for a similar reason. These giant birds require open areas of unfrozen water to dive for food and evade land predators. During Canada's cold winter months, most bodies of water freeze over, leaving the geese with no viable food sources.
Migrating geese are a common sighting, with the recognizable V formation seen every year in September and October. Most Canada geese migrate from Canada to mid and southern states such as California and Florida, where the winters are mild. Some geese that live near urban areas never migrate, as they have access to man-made water bodies that may be heated, such as golf courses or ponds. As long as the food is available and a body of unfrozen water, they may not feel the need to leave.
There are three main reasons why animals become extinct. Do you know what they are?
While food is a vital aspect of life, so is breeding, and conditions need to be perfect for the young to survive. Many species do not live in environments suitable for rearing offspring, so adults will migrate to a breeding range to breed and give birth.
The humpback whale is a prime example of this. Their native ranges are Alaska and Newfoundland's cooler waters, but these are not great conditions for whale calves. Adults will migrate in large pods along the warm waters of North America's gulf coast to their breeding grounds around Hawai'i and Mexico.
These waters are much warmer, and there are plentiful food sources for both the mothers and calves. The females need to feed to produce enough milk for their young, but as they mature, the calves will need a food source to wean to before they begin their journey back north to Canada.
Want to know more about whales migrating? Find out more in this article I wrote
The pronghorn may appear to be ordinary antelope, but they are, in fact, the second-fastest land mammal on Earth. Only cheetahs are faster. Pronghorns travel from Wyoming and nearby areas before the snowfalls at the end of October. Their migration takes them to their breeding grounds in the warmer Southern states like California.
There is plentiful food here for pregnant females to gain weight to support their pregnancy and prepare for their calves' birth. The herd will then begin the migration back north, timing their arrival with the start of spring, which is the perfect time for the mothers to give birth.
Not all Pronghorn herds migrate as the weather in their environment remains mild during winter. Some packs do not make it to their breeding ranges due to obstructions such as busy roads or fencing around farmland.
Sandhill cranes migrate from Texas and New Mexico on their long journey to reach breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska. Some fly as far as Siberia. As many as 650,000 cranes will pass along the Central Flyway en route to Canada.
Sandhills will stop in Nebraska's Platte River valley, where many roosting sites, food resources, and courting ranges. The first cranes arrive at the river in late February, and the last will pass through in April.
The cranes feed on leftover grain from nearby crop fields and find other food sources around the wetland meadows. During their time along the Platte River, sandhill cranes will gain almost 10% of their body weight.
They also use these wetland areas for courting displays. They perform elaborate dances to attract their mates, and some sandhill crane populations remain in this area to raise their young.
Do you know why animals hibernate? Find out here
While most animals migrate every year to greener pastures in search of food or their annual breeding grounds, a small number of species are forced to migrate when they usually would not. Others have no choice but to find new migration routes or new areas to migrate to.
The main reasons for forced migration are:
Mother nature can be unpredictable and extreme weather is often the leading cause of forced migration for North America's native species. Long periods of drought can cause temporary migration due to food and water shortages, but animals tend to return to their home range within a year or two.
Flooding is another cause, but this can have longer-term impacts, and in the last few decades, flooding has become a yearly occurrence in many states. This means animals that never used to migrate now have no choice.
Volcanic activity and earthquakes may be less frequent than flooding and droughts, but they cause far worse damage, and the effects remain for many years. There has not been any volcanic eruption or earthquakes severe enough to alter species migration for the last few hundred years. Still, there have been instances where eruptions have forced birds to change their migration routes.
Some species had to find new areas to forage after volcanic eruptions destroyed their migration ranges and left the environment a barren wasteland. Volcanic activity from centuries ago encourages migration. Yellowstone park elk herds migrate up to the higher ground in search of more abundant vegetation, but a 2019 study found that migration did not have a fixed time.
The elk herds began their migration one year in early May, but most females did not leave the following year until mid-July. This was due to plenty of vegetation available for grazing, so they did not need to go. Volcanic ash is high in nutrients, and after a large eruption, the ash can fertilize large areas of grassland, providing food for thousands of animals.
A small number of species may find that their forced migration is beneficial, and after a few generations, this becomes an adapted behavior. On the other hand, most animals forced to migrate will eventually return to their original lifestyles and home ranges once available.
Want to find out if bears can climb trees? Find out here.
Dictionary, C. (2020). The Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hobson, K. A., Barnett-Johnson, R., & Cerling, T. (2009). Using Isoscapes To Track Animal Migration. Isoscapes, 273-298.
Milner-Gulland, E., Fryxell, J. M., & Sinclair, A. R. (2011). Animal Migration: A Synthesis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
US Harbors. (2018, October 3). Top 5 North American Migratory Animals . Retrieved from US Harbors Coastal News: https://www.usharbors.com/2018/10/top-5-north-american-migratory-animals/
Wesley, D. (2020, February 17). Animal Migration: Why Do Animals Migrate? Retrieved from Woodland Trust: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2020/02/animal-migration/
Wilcove, D. S., & Wikelski, M. (2008, July 29). Going, Going, Gone: Is Animal Migration Disappearing. Retrieved from PLoS Biology: https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.0060188
Young People's Trust For The Environment. (2014, September 12). Migration: Why Do Animals Migrate? Retrieved from YPTE: https://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/migration/why-do-animals-migrate?hide_donation_prompt=1
Do you know how mammals use whiskers? Find out here
28 Red Birds You Can Find In North America
Why Do Animals Become Extinct?


text:
When Marnie Was There (Blu-Ray + DVD) Ghibli Studios - REGION B
NEW! When Marnie Was There (Blu-Ray + DVD) Ghibli Studios - REGION B! FACTORY SEALED
Hiromasa Yonebayashi directs this Japanese anime from Studio Ghibli. When her asthma takes a turn for the worse, 12-year-old tomboy Anna (voice of Hailee Steinfeld) is sent by her foster mum to stay with relatives in a seaside town in the hope that the clear air will help Anna's condition. While there Anna sees an old, abandoned mansion across a salt marsh, but on repeated visits finds the building to be in pristine condition and learns that Marnie (Kiernan Shipka), a young blonde girl, lives there.
The two girls become friends but the lines between Anna's reality and her dream world become blurred, leaving her confused about who Marnie really is. As she attempts to discover the truth about her new friend, Anna also makes some discoveries about herself...
Scene Access
** 1 x When Marnie Was There (Blu-Ray + DVD) Ghibli Studios - REGION B - Brand New - In original packaging, wrapped and factory sealed
** Region B (You will need a Region Free player OR to be located in that region: Africa, Southwest Asia, Europe (except Russia and Kazakhstan), Oceania (including Australia and New Zealand) to play these titles.
Disc Format: Blu-Ray & DVD (Dual Edition)
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1
Main Language: English, Japanese
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Here are links to a set of galleries I've built on Flickr. They serve to me as reminders about my views of how to live. I look through them and rededicate myself to my goals of low-impact, healthy, beautiful living.
We can because we can!
Right foreground, your basic green bean. We forget the variety, they were planted from last year's crop. Kind of a Blue Lake thingy. Center, farther away, are the runner beans, which shot up ten foot poles and doubled back, coming after us like triffids. But we stood our ground and ate a lot of them. Last year there were two kinds: Scarlet, and Hungarian. We knew what they had done, behind our backs, but we were kind of curious to see how it would turn out. So we planted the two kinds again this year, knowing they had become more or less one kind that would yield multiple characteristics.
Here's what we have saved for seed. Sure enough, the runners had melded. In the three jars at left, the dark blue came out like Scarlets, and the cream with brown spots look like Hungarians. But the violet ones are trying to look like both. Over on the right you have the Blue Lake thingies. They don't cross with the runners.
We'll plant these next year and see what comes of all this. These new runners are not as pretty as either the Scarlets or the Hungarians, but they taste about the same. Over time maybe we'll come up with our own variety. Mendelian mix & match.
Okay, you're out beyond the city limits, the garden is put to bed, the bean pot's simmering, the cat's asleep on your chair, you don't feel like prepping next year's spud bed in this much wind, and you know you're not quite ready to pull everything out of the bedroom so you can paint.
And maybe you're not prepared to envision yourself running a fruit stand or CSA and spending time with agricultural regulators of one kind or another. Yet, anyway.
Well, you can get to know your local organic wholesaler and see if they do food clubs.
Our wholesaler requires your club to buy a minimum of $150 a month. That's really all. You murmur among yourselves as to who wants what when where and how, then a call is placed or email sent, and the next day your representative appears at the dock with a check and heads home to the scales (you'll need scales) to do any splitting of orders (most things are in 25 or 50 pound bags). Then typically either everyone comes over for a distribution party or you head out with the prepped load and meet folks at a prearranged location.
We've tended to do this the latter way as I am out in the sticks and my friends all still work in town. Benefits include: I get to see them once in a while, I get kudos, my friends and I get wholesale prices on bulk items that are organically grown, wholesome and nutritious, we get to educate ourselves on where our eats come from and what it takes to move food around, and we get to support a burgeoning local bean-and-grain farming and supply chain.
The food club can be about as informal as you want. With a full-blown co-op, you can do more, and for more people, but it's more complex and there are more opportunities for some of those involved to burn out on the inevitable stress. You need not invest so much of yourself in the food club that when it starts to go down, and they can do so for many reasons, just like a co-op or business, your heart and soul need not go down with it.
And should the need arise, you can always start it up again. Assuming there are still farmers, wholesalers and trucks when that time comes.
About this time every year, we open up the potager (kitchen garden) for a month-long bill and beak treatment. This helps some with slugs and insect pests as well as weeds, weed seeds, and out-of-season volunteer plants. It also stirs the sheet-composted layer throughout and adds manure.
To do this, we run a section of used welded-wire fence around from one corner to the other, near the house, in such a way that the birds invest the garden with mucking up our walkways. We still have access through a gate we have by the driveway, the usual use of which is to import bales of straw and wheelbarrow loads of grass clippings and straw.
We also set up a five-gallon bucket of water, as ducks can die of asphyxiation from mud-encrusted beaks if they can't snortle in water from time to time, and it's a long way back to the barn from here.
When everything is ready, the gate from the garden to the far end of the "chicken moat" is thrown open. The waterfowl and the "wild bunch" chickens (Australorps) can be counted on to find this expansive opportunity first thing in the morning. The more sedate Araucanas and the rooster, however, must be driven at least once or they'll miss the whole show.
Here is a crude drawing of the sort of thing we're trying to do, though it does not represent our actual layout. The homestead (or least the part of it on the house's side of the creek) is surrounded at the perimeter by a tall deer fence, on which we are encouraging blackberries, grapes and such. Ten to twenty feet in is the poultry fence, forming in effect a moat -- the birds' pasture is the outer ring of the property. This keeps them active, as they have a large enough territory but it's long and narrow. Our home, yard, and garden have the "interior lines" -- thus we don't have to spend all our time thinking about chicken poop underfoot or tracking into the house.
The round things inside the chicken moat are the majority of the orchard trees. Apples and such that drop and are not retrieved by us are the traditional transition zone for some fruit pests -- but the birds get them, as well as the fruit. The birds also interdict slugs and snails that are migrating toward the garden. Those that get past -- well, we hope the birds can find them in November and December, when they are our guests in the inner sanctum.
Snow on the hills again, a little lower.
I've been processing squash for the poultry -- about one fruit every two to three days. There's plenty of winter squash as well as pumpkins this year, unlike last year -- our worst garden summer ever here -- but also we have a lot of zuke-kins.
These are crossbred seeds saved from 2010 or 2011 that resulted in large green or yellow blimps a la zucchini, on zucchini-type vines, but yellow fleshed and hard like pumpkin. Some weigh over twenty pounds. They don't store very well, so we are using them up first.
Here you can see the zuke-kins peeping out from under the winter collection.
There is a stock pot dedicated to life atop our wood heat stove, which resides in the dining area. Sometimes it's heating dishwashing water; sometimes it's processing squash or pumpkin. I cut up a squash and put the pieces in the hot water overnight, and the next day I drain the rich water into the "wet" compost, cool the squash, and toss it over the poultry fence.
Yes, it makes a mess, but that's why we live a little ways out past the suburbs. In this picture a piece of new squash is at center, the peeling left over from the last one is at lower left, and the stripped greens are the remnants of whole kale and chard tossed over last month.
The birds appreciate this menu. The chickens quickly clean up the seeds and the ducks and goose go for the softened flesh. Then the chickens entertain themselves with the rind until it's cleaned to the "bone."
Sometimes the squash is so big the pieces don't all fit in the pot. I could wait and do half now and half later, but sometimes you want to make a pie or a squash soup. Around here, one doesn't try to do that too often, especially the pies. This family maxes out on "pumpkin" quickly, even if you throw a lot of nutmeg and sugar at them. The soup seems a little more sophisticated, and I for one can eat it quite often.
When I'm doing this I like to set aside some seed from our share of the squash for salting and roasting. We have a veggie processing sink in the laundry room with a short bit of hose and a brass nozzle, and the seeds can sit in a colander and have their pulp blasted away. Drain, bring into the kitchen, add some grapeseed oil and salt (I also add veggie seasoning [dehydrated leaf vegs, crumbled] as I do to everything), move the seeds to a small iron skillet, and set that on the stove along with everything else. Below, at left, you see the soup sections of the squash simmering, the stockpot of poultry feed is simmering in the middle, and a light lunch of salted "pumpkin" seeds is roasting at right.
Yes, the stovetop is a bit stained. If you're going to do this kind of thing, it's going to get that "lived-in" (in this case, "lived-on") look. But the heat's radiating to the house anyway -- so why not use it?
The hills around us are white today, but we've only gotten the one flurry so far -- bit of a "snow job." But because we expect a relatively severe freeze, I'm moving smallish fall-garden plants to the greenhouse. There's room to do this because while I was away, the greenhouse was necessarily unattended, a heat spell came through, and the place exploded with cabbage worms, who wiped out the kale, leaving behind some bedraggled chard, beets, onions, peas, and surprisingly enough, cabbage.
They've died down now. I've covered the path with burlap and shored up the plastic where it was pooling rain, and we're back in business. Outside temperature is 38F, greenhouse is a balmy 54.
Indoors, I'm making some pre-mixed cereal for quick hot meals.
Contains wheat, rye, barley, oats, quinoa, TVP, veggie crumble, powdered milk, salt, stevia. If you're gluten-sensitive maybe leave out the wheat or substitute what you like. One cup to 1 1/2 cup water in a bowl, or as you like it. Being incredibly lazy and not fond of cleaning wheat-glued pots, I zap for 99 seconds at 1K watts, with some dried apple slices or apple butter, and it's ready to eat. YMMV, we just don't hang out too close to the zapper.
When I have more patience, I use the wood stove. There's a bit of a trick to this. We have a couple of nice large trivets and a small one. Pots of water move from stove top to trivet as needed, which is the usual use for these; but you can pop the little one into a flat-bottomed Dutch oven and set your cereal bowl on top of that. No trivets? Canning jar rings work well.
Cover with the iron lid and fuggeddabout it while you're transplanting in the potting shed. Come back a couple of hours later and you have cereal or soup or whatever. You can even bake bread in the bowl, if you like. Takes a long time on a heating stove, though. This is another reason, if there are two or more of you, to at least try to find a way to have someone at home full time. This kind of work adds value and isn't taxed to death.
Pour yourself some tea water from the teakettle while you're about it; if your tea is homegrown like much of ours, I can't think of much cheaper eats. If you can move out past the suburbs a bit, and grow your own fuel, all the better. Now, have your hearty lunch and look out the window.
There. Isn't this better than TV?
Planted two camellia sinensis (tea). These are a Russian cultivar, supposed to be able to handle our winters, should be delivering green tea within two to five years.
The mulberry trees are transplanted, the pickled beets are canned and spuds lifted. The tea (camellia sinensis) bushes, raspberry canes, replacement kiwis, and red grape vines haven't arrived. What's a girl to do?
Winter storms have begun passing over Stony Run, and Risa finds herself sitting in her corner with a lap blanket more, and digging in the mud less, as the days diminish and the nights lengthen. She knows it's the other way round in, say, New Zealand at the moment, but for her, November is a time for appreciating the things that have been gathered in -- apple juice, pickled beets, tomato sauce -- and reading and thinking, as well as making lists and planning. One hopes for another spring, and the resources with which to honor its potential.
Pictured here is the reference section in the dining room, across from the wood stove. It's a rotating collection -- John Seymour is on the beside table, for instance -- but you can generally count on certain things staying put until wanted, such as the Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening (here's why we like our older edition).
It's worth noting that most of the books shown were found, over time, in the free box at a local used book store. They've discontinued that service, Risa mourns its demise.
John Michael Greer is the current exponent, in blogland, of things Seventies, and, looking over her collection, Risa must admit she's cut from the same cloth. Yes, there were things we didn't know then, but the rough-and-ready experimentalism of the time -- how much heat can you trap in a used hot-water heater if you peel its insulation back, paint it black, and park it in its own "cold" frame? -- was useful then, is useful now, and does not wait for the attention of venture capitalists and the mercy of the 1%. The answer to the above question, for example, is "quite a lot" -- you can lower your electric bill by making such a thing out of scraps -- though you might not want to discuss it with your county code enforcers in some areas, if it's hooked up to the house for that purpose.
Right next to the reference collection are the white boards, with the homestead map and the year's planned activities, with assigned beds -- mismatched gardening styles dictate this. There's a dance among the reference section, the boards, the seed catalogs, the teapot on the wood stove, and the gathered-in things.
When you want to serve pickled beets for dinner and there are beets in the garden, one thing can lead to another.
Risa went out and picked about half the year's beets, a mixed lot of Chioggia and Detroit Dark Red, and "strangled" them, i.e. wrung off the leaves, which she tossed over the fence to the chickens, and brought the roots in to wash.
She's finally got a saucepan, a really big one that kind of resembles a wok, which she knows will make seven pints of canning contents if filled to within an inch or so of the top.
So she cut up the beets, along with an onion, and threw in some honey and some homemade vinegar and spices, right up to the rim of the pot almost, and set it all to simmer while lifting more potatoes and weeding in the greenhouse. Later, she got out the smaller of the two water-bath canners and swapped it onto the burner that was cooking the beets, then filled seven jars from the pot, lidded, ringed and labeled them (she just writes on the lid -- "BEETS 11/11" in this case), set them in the water bath, and there in the bottom of the pot were the pickled beets she wanted to serve with dinner.
She'll rinse the pan, pour out the rinse into the compost bucket, and set it aside to wash, then take the jars off the boil, set them out to cool, and use the hot water from the canner to wash some dishes. Oh, and stop to take a portrait of the jars: pickled beets have a particularly sunny smile, she finds.
... but there are things to do.
These are Yukon, German Butterball, and Red. Reds are down in production this year, but yellows -- both kinds -- are up. You never know. Risa's maintaining three patches in rotation, so as to get away with using her own potatoes for seed ... what with the price of seed potatoes these days.
She doesn't neglect the smaller spuds, down to about marble size, as they can be planted as seed spuds and the results seem to be just fine.
She'll sort these into two categories: 1) large, without solanine (green patches) for eating this winter, and 2) everything else, for planting. Five wheelbarrow loads should just about do it, y'think? Imagine how well this would go if she'd hill them up and water and weed them like she's supposed to! Spuds,well, for the lazy or absentee farmer, they have a lot to offer, it seems.
So, it is time to get caught up a bit.
-- and stores the squash and pumpkins indoors. She'll make tomato sauce later, after harvesting a few onions.
At the rate we're going, it will be next week or even later before the potatoes are lifted. But who can be everywhere at once?
Four thousand mile Amtrak trips. Coach.
How to get there is, you have your laptop, a batch of favorite DVDs, a book you're writing, tons of food, and a water bottle (not that kind) to refill at every opportunity. And a blanket. (unless you want to rent one). You people with the iPads and smart phones won't need the DVDs and don't have to wait to get to Washington DC to do your Internet time. The rest of us ... well, at least there's 110 at every seat now. Headset or earbud required, or as Risa often does it, just captions.
It helps to go during slack season when you have a good chance to get a pair of seats to yourself. Pull up the leg lifts, or whatever they are called, and spread out horizontally with your blanket. It's not the sleeping car, but it works.
In the daytime, which, on transcontinental trips, for some reason, is hard to come by, take pictures. There's plenty of good stuff. Here's the Octsnowber event getting underway in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.
Plenty of things to think about when you look at the cities. Here are some Sunday drivers in Chicago.
Spend time with other people. The Lounge car is good for this. But downstairs there are six dollar sandwiches and seven dollar beers, which is why you brought your own stuff.
And eventually, Home Sweet Home will appear in your viewfinder.


text:
Tag: school board
National Groups Backing Local School Board Candidates Against Radical Gender, Race Teachings
The American Principles Project (APP), a national pro-parents rights organization that directly engages in campaigns and elections, has entered the Polk County, Florida school board election by providing four local candidates with $40,000 for ad campaigns.
National, News2022 elections, American Principles Project, app, election, Polk County, school boardLeave a comment
Attorneys General Sue Biden Administration over Justice Department's Call to Investigate Protesting Parents
March 12, 2022 March 12, 2022 The Center Square
Fourteen Republican attorneys general, led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, have sued the Biden administration for not responding to a Freedom of Information request related to the Department of Justice calling for surveillance of parents expressing opinions at school board meetings and other forums.
The lawsuit follows a chain of events that began last October.
National, NewsBiden Administration, Department of Justice, school board, Todd Rokita, U.S. District CourtLeave a comment
Commentary: Even with 'Defund the Police' Discredited, Some Schools May Still Shun the Police
March 10, 2022 March 9, 2022 RealClearWire
Des Moines this week suffered its first fatal school shooting – reigniting a controversy in the city after the district removed police officers from its schools last year.
Police say a group of teenagers in vehicles outside Des Moines' East High School fired multiple rounds onto school property on Monday, killing a 15-year-old boy and critically wounding two female students who were bystanders. Six teenagers, some of them current Des Moines students, have been charged with first-degree murder.
The deadly drive-by shooting now hovers over the decision by Des Moines officials, along with about 30 districts across the country, to exile cops from schools. These moves were part of the "defund the police" movement that erupted after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. It's a movement now reeling in the face of violent crime surging nationwide, punctuated by President Biden's State of the Union vow last week to "fund the police."
Commentary, NewsDes Moines, diversity, education, government, La Grange, Policy, School, school board, SRO, violenceLeave a comment
Commentary: Shutting Down Parents Does Not Help Public Education
February 22, 2022 February 21, 2022 Virginia Star Staff
As school districts start dropping the mask mandates, removing pornographic books from their libraries, and explicitly prohibiting critical race theory, it's clear that the parent protests are working. School boards, even in progressive bastions like San Francisco, are currently being cleaned out and replaced by more pro-parent members. Moreover, politicians like the governor of Oklahoma are openly instituting a school choice model that would allow for different schooling models and have education dollars follow the student, not automatically go to the school.
Naturally, these developments invite more pushback (sometimes literally so) from those who believe they're supporting public education. It was fine in the past to let various kooky parents carry on about the evils of teaching Harry Potter or sex ed; school boards and district leaders could simply yawn and carry on as before. However, now that it actually threatens their authority and influence, they can no longer ignore parents' concerns..
In general, opponents of protesting parents make the same points over and over. They deny that public schools have problems, play semantic games with critical race theory ("it's just an abstract legal theory taught in law school," etc.), and accuse angry parents of being misguided racists. In their view, parents who demand a more wholesome and academic experience for their children are actually demanding an exclusively white and privileged experience. And for good measure, they will add an anecdote about a heroic public school teacher changing lives, proving beyond any doubt that public schools are still doing noble work and are essential for a healthy, diverse society.
Commentary, NewsAdministration, critical race theory, CRT, diversity, education, Mask Mandates, parent, Public Schools, school board, school choice, students, teachersLeave a comment
San Francisco Parents Lead Recall of Three School Board Members
February 17, 2022 February 16, 2022 Cooper Moran
Parents and residents of San Francisco overwhelmingly voted to recall three school board members in the city's first recall election since 1983.
Alison Collins, Faauuga Moliga and Gabriella Lopez all lost their positions on the governing body, as the "Yes" option to the recall question gained more than 70 percent in all three cases.
National, NewsCoronavirus Pandemic, Mayor London Breed, recall, San Francisco, school boardLeave a comment
Majority of School Board Associations Have Distanced Themselves from National Organization
December 7, 2021 December 6, 2021 Virginia Star Staff
Since the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to the White House equating the acts of concerned parents at local school board meetings to "domestic terrorism and hate crimes" and requesting federal intervention, the majority of state chapters of the organization have either left or distanced themselves from the NSBA.
There are 49 state chapters that paid dues to the NSBA before the Sept. 29 letter, which sparked backlash from parents, lawmakers and education leaders. Since then, 27 state school board associations have distanced themselves from the NSBA, while 17 state associations have taken further action, according to data compiled by Parents Defending Education (PDE).
The NSBA apologized for the letter and removed it from its website.
National, Newseducation, learning, NSBA, Parents, School, school board, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, White House1 Comment
Commentary: Parent and School Board Tensions Could Be Eased by School Choice
November 20, 2021 November 19, 2021 Virginia Star Staff
Public education has been under the microscope lately, especially since many states shut down in-person learning last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. With children learning from home via technology, many parents had the chance to hear what their children's teachers were saying—and they didn't always like it. In fact, many were downright disturbed by what public schools were teaching their children.
Parents should not be forced to sit by and watch as their children get indoctrinated with progressive ideas they don't agree with. Assuming it is legitimate for the government—that is, the taxpayers—to fund education, the government should distribute those funds directly to parents in the form of vouchers and allow them to choose where to educate their children. Not only would this allow for more choice in schools, but it would also reduce much of the conflict we are seeing today between parents and school boards across the country.
A common response to voucher proposals is that they would allow parents to use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private religious schools, thus violating separation of church and state. In other words, atheists and progressives argue that they should not have to financially support schools that teach students religious worldviews.
Commentary, NewsAdministration, Board of Education, Conservative, COVID-19, education, K-12, learning, Parents, public school, school board, school choice, students, Taxpayers, Virtual LearningLeave a comment
26 State School Board Associations Distance Themselves from National Group
November 12, 2021 November 11, 2021 The Center Square
More than half of state school board associations have distanced themselves from the national association after it sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for federal intervention to investigate parents who protest at local meetings.
Of the 26 that have repudiated the letter, 11 have discontinued their membership with the National School Boards Association (NSBA) after Kentucky did so Wednesday.
National, Newsdomestic terrorist parents, National School Boards Association, school boardLeave a comment
Opponents of CRT, COVID Closures Win School Board Races Nationwide
November 3, 2021 November 3, 2021 Virginia Star Staff
Early returns Tuesday night showed that critics of COVID-19 reopening policies and critical race theory made headway in school board elections nationwide.
Conservatives now have a majority of the Carroll Independent School District in the wealthy Dallas suburb of Southlake, where parents previously led an electoral revolt against a proposed racial equity curriculum this spring.
National, NewsCOVID-19, critical race theory, CRT, school board, school mask mandatesLeave a comment
Loudoun County Sheriff Rejected School Superintendent's 'Extraordinary' Security Requests for School Board Meetings
October 30, 2021 October 29, 2021 Virginia Star Staff
Recently-unearthed documents revealed a disagreement between the superintendent of Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) and the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), after the former requested increased security measures from the latter in order to combat protesting parents at school board meetings, the Daily Caller reports.
The correspondence was revealed by a public records request from the Fight for School PAC. Documents show that superintendent Scott Ziegler's requests included an increased presence of officers, a K-9 sweep of the meeting venue, and undercover officers in the crowd, among other measures, all of which were rejected by LCSO as excessive.
The LCSO even went so far as to disagree with Ziegler changing the rules for the school board meeting, including the decision to shut down the public comment section of a meeting that took place on June 22nd; LCSO told Ziegler that measures such as this amounted to silencing political opposition.
Battleground States, News, The South, VirginiaAdministration, education, LCPS, learning, Loudoun County, Loudoun County Public Schools, Loudoun County Schools, Parents, politics, public records, Public Schools, school board, sexual assault, students, teachersLeave a comment
In Fallout over National School Board Group's Letter to Biden About Parents, Ohio, Missouri Depart
The backlash from the incendiary language in a recent letter from the National School Board Association to President Biden asking for federal law enforcement to intervene on outspoken parents at school board meetings escalated this week when the group's Ohio and Missouri chapters withdrew their respective memberships.
The Missouri School Boards Association in announcing its departure said the national group "demonstrated it does not currently align with MSBA's guiding principles of local governance."
The Ohio chapter was more direct, saying in its letter Monday that its departure was a "direct result" of the Sept. 29 letter to Biden.
National, NewsBiden Admin, board members, education, government, Joe Biden, legislation, Missouri, Ohio, Parents, politics, public school, Regulations, School, school administration, school boardLeave a comment
'Just Unconscionable': Parents Protest Outside the Justice Department Against 'Domestic Terrorist' Label
Frustration at school boards boiled over for some parents and activists who protested outside of the Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C. Sunday.
A small crowd gathered for the "Parents Are Not 'Domestic Terrorists' Rally," a reference to Merrick Garland's Oct. 4 memorandum that called on the FBI to "use its authority" in response to the "disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff."
Garland's statement followed a letter from the National School Board Association (NSBA) that asked the federal government to get involved in the alleged "immediate threat" of violence from parents against American public schools and education officials. The letter encouraged President Joe Biden's administration to use statutes such as the USA PATRIOT Act to address actions that could be "equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes."
National, NewsBiden Admin, crime, Department of Justice, domestic terrorist rally, education, Fairfax County, Harassment, Joe Biden, Justice Department, learning, Rally, school administration, school board, terrorism, violenceLeave a comment
Parents Announce 'Not Domestic Terrorists' Rally in Front of the Justice Department
Northern Virginia parents plan to protest in front of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Sunday, according to a flyer posted online.
A flyer reveals plans for a "Parents Are Not 'Domestic Terrorists' Rally Oct. 17. "Stand up, speak up, fight back!" the memo reads. "Bring friends, be heard … you can make a difference!"
News broke Wednesday that a Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) student was allegedly raped in a school bathroom in May by a male student who wore a skirt. The victim's father, Scott Smith, was arrested at a LCPS school board meeting weeks later for resisting arrest, and the perpetrator – who was charged with two counts of forcible sodomy – allegedly assaulted another girl at the school he transferred to following the initial incident, Daily Wire reported.
National, NewsDepartment of Justice, education, LCPS, learning, Loudon County, Parents, Rally, school board, school board meetings, students, Virginia parentsLeave a comment
Commentary: Parents Aren't Domestic Terrorists
It is probably an understatement to say that when one group designates another as a terrorist organization, diplomatic relations between the two become strained.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights."
Truths. Equal. Creator. Rights. Concerned parents want schools to teach truths, not ideologies; operate under equality, not equity; and respect faith in our Creator and our parental rights. These are the fundamental principles from our Declaration that are at stake in American education today.
Commentary, Newsboard members, COVID, Declaration of Independence, education, educators, learning, mask mandate, Parents, public school, school board, students, systemic racism, teachers, transportationLeave a comment
Commentary: Biden Seeks to Override States Prohibiting School Mask Mandates, Citing Civil Rights Act
August 21, 2021 August 20, 2021 Virginia Star Staff
The back-to-school mask wars have been heating up for weeks, but the Biden administration just took them to a whole new level. On Wednesday, the president ordered the US Department of Education to use all available measures to prohibit states from banning school mask mandates.
In his remarks, Biden decried the contentious school board meetings that have occurred in districts across the country as parents argue for and against school mask mandates. He indicated that the "intimidation and the threats we're seeing across the country," from concerned citizens who oppose mask mandates "are wrong. They're unacceptable."
Commentary, NewsBack to School, Biden Administration, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Department of Education, federalism, James Madison, Mask Mandates, Rehabilitation Act, school board, Secretary Miguel Cardona, states rightsLeave a comment
School Board Recall Attempts Spike Amid Concerns About COVID Closures, Critical Race Theory
August 18, 2021 Virginia Star Staff
School board recall efforts are sweeping the country, with many driven by parents claiming Critical Race Theory (CRT) is infecting schools, demanding schools reopen in person, and arguing that boards are consumed by virtue signaling.
According to Ballotpedia, 58 such efforts against 144 board members have taken place in 2021. Those are both all-time highs since it started tracking school board recall efforts in 2006, and far above the next highest year, 2010.
Only one school board member has been removed in 2021, however, while three resigned and seven were retained in elections. One is scheduled for a November recall vote in Kansas for upholding a mask mandate.
National, News, portCOVID closures, COVID spikes, COVID-19, CRT, education, learning, mask mandate, Parents, petitions, school board, school choiceLeave a comment
Commentary: School Board Elections and the Impact on Critical Race Theory in America
August 7, 2021 August 6, 2021 RealClearWire
Over the last few months, the U.S. has engaged in intense discussion over "critical race theory." As Americans have debated the impact of CRT, several states have banned CRT from the public school curriculum, while other states are using it as part of that curriculum. The debate over CRT's merits or dangers has prompted ideological battles in school board elections. This article looks at the increased activism around school board elections and its broader ramifications.
Past politicization of school board elections
Though school board elections may not seem as exciting as a presidential or even congressional race, they have taken on greater importance in recent years. In 2005, the city of Dover, Pennsylvania faced a contentious court case known as Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, which ruled that the school district's teaching of intelligent design violated the separation of church and state. Shortly after the trial concluded, the district held its school board elections, and all the school board members who favored the teaching of intelligent design lost their reelection bids, at least in part due to their position on the issue. The election generated much discussion.
In the early 2010s, school board races saw partisan involvement through the Tea Party movement. Generally, candidates affiliated with the Tea Party ran on platforms of greater political accountability and lower property taxes. Carl Paladino, a former Republican nominee for governor in New York, won a race for the Buffalo school board on a Tea Party-type platform. The school board later ousted Paladino for making offensive comments about former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Commentary, NewsAdministration, AMericA, Board of Education, Commentary, critical race theory, CRT, education, learning, Parents, politics, School, school board, School Board Elections, students, teachersLeave a comment
Commentary: Attend a School Board Meeting
July 23, 2021 July 22, 2021 Virginia Star Staff
If you want to know, up close and personal, the banality of evil, attend a school board meeting. With critical race theory and forced vaccination and masking all the rage, I did just that last night.
This board meeting wasn't my first. When I was a kid, my dad ran for school board and won after a terrible teacher (a feel-good hippie) allowed one of my classmates to steal my work all year and put his name on it. Said teacher taught us second-graders macramé and little else. My family had moved from a high-performing school district to this less-than-stellar place. For about three years, I learned nothing new. My parents were incensed. So my dad ran for board treasurer, got elected, and promptly pissed everyone off.
Commentary, Newscritical race theory, LGBTQ curriculum, Mask Mandates, Racism, school board, VaccinesLeave a comment


2. The U.S. is also a big obstacle to progress. At the same time that Obama exhorts his counterparts with lofty rhetoric, his own government stands in the way of what many say is essential to a strong enough deal: that it be binding. A number of leaders on Monday, including some from world powers, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, listed "binding" as a core feature of any good agreement. The U.S., however, cannot sign a deal with binding emissions targets because it would require the consent of two-thirds of the U.S. Senate. Given that around half the Senate is made up of Republicans who don't recognize the need for climate action, if they even accept climate science, there isn't a climate deal of any sort that could meet that threshold. The technicalities here become complex: The White House may be able to sign an accord that binds it to make pledges but does not bind it to the pledges themselves, and that may be the way this is settled. But there is no doubt that countries that are serious about addressing climate change would prefer an agreement with legal obligations the U.S. cannot commit to. So you can thank the Republican-controlled Senate for making us look like hypocrites on the world stage.
3. Poorer, smaller developing nations want a much stronger agreement. The Alliance of Small Island States — in other words, the countries with the most to lose from rising sea levels — has previously called for keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, tighter than the more widely accepted target of 2 C. On Monday, 30 countries organized under the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) issued the same demand. This group includes countries that face particularly stark threats from climate change due to their geography and poverty, including more populous developing nations like Bangladesh and the Philippines. During Monday's speeches by heads of state, the big emitters all talked about 2 C, but emissaries from many developing countries — such as Kenyan President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, whose nation is a member of the CVF — called for a goal of 1.5 C.
It's no wonder: While the high-level conversation about developing countries tends to focus on just a few big, fast-growing ones such as India, China, and Brazil, which anticipate emitting a lot more in the near future, most developing nations have miniscule emissions and will continue to for the foreseeable future. And their poverty and poor infrastructure make them especially vulnerable to extreme weather. This isn't just true for island states. Ghanaian President John D. Mahama, for example, noted Monday that irregular rain patterns for the last few years have damaged his country's agricultural yield and its ability to create hydropower. For smaller developing countries, there's almost no downside to a stronger agreement, only upside.
4. Poorer countries want more money for climate change adaptation. Some speakers from smaller developing countries, such as Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, complained that of the money pledged so far for international climate finance, the vast bulk is for renewable energy development and less than 20 percent is for adaptation to climate change. But climate change is already wreaking havoc on impoverished nations and it will only get worse. Even if a deal in Paris succeeds in making it less worse, money for adaptation is needed.
"In 2013 and 2014 each, there was only $20 billion in total committed from rich countries to poor countries for climate change either directly or through organizations like the World Bank or UN," Oxfam International's executive director Winnie Byanyima told Grist. "And out of that, only $5 billion was for adaptation. We'd like to see half of the funds for adaptation and the other half for mitigation." That would mean adaptation programs would get half of the $100 billion per year in climate finance by 2020 that rich countries promised in Copenhagen in 2009. But given how far short funding has been so far, Oxfam says it would consider $70 billion per year, $35 billion of it for adaptation, to be an acceptable compromise coming out of Paris.
Some developing nations and groups like Oxfam are also demanding a "loss and damage" insurance fund that would compensate poor countries when climate-related catastrophes hit. Given how difficult it's been to get rich nations to even pony up what they've already promised, these will become sticky points in the days ahead.
5. Canada is on board for a meaningful deal. At a press conference in Paris on Sunday, Catherine McKenna, Canada's new minister of environment and climate change, kept repeating "Canada is back," like a mantra. While the new Liberal government in Canada took office too recently to offer a more substantial action pledge than its fossil fuel–boosting Conservative predecessors, McKenna emphasized that Canada is planning to play a constructive role in the negotiations. On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau drove that message home. "Canada can do more to address climate change and we will do that," he said. "Our government is making climate change a priority." On Friday, in a sign of that commitment, the Canadian government pledged $2 billion over five years in climate finance for poorer countries. That's more than the Conservative government had offered, but less than some environmentalists think Canada should contribute.
Other past problem countries that have already shifted to being constructive partners, most notably China, reaffirmed their commitments. India, which has been an ongoing concern for climate hawks, pleased them by announcing plans for a new 120-country alliance to provide solar energy access to the poor.
6. Russia is not helping. Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of the world's most intransigent heads of state on climate change, made what sounded like a reasonable speech on Monday. He noted that his country has cut emissions dramatically since Kyoto in 1997 and has promised further cuts in its action pledge made ahead of the Paris meeting. The problem: this isn't the result of policy shifts, but the byproduct of a major economic collapse and the replacement of old, super-dirty Soviet-era power plants and factories. Russia has yet to meaningfully pivot toward a cleaner economy.
Also, according to The Guardian, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's promises were in part a hollow gesture aimed at getting credit for prior actions on land use and forestry. Turnbull is not promising more ambitious emissions cuts from his country or joining calls for reform of fossil fuel subsidies.
Still, no one is as backward as the Republican Party. Even Putin said, "Climate change has become one of the gravest challenges that humanity is facing." This puts him well to the left of the GOP, which broadly denies that climate change is happening, that it is caused by greenhouse gas emissions, and that it's a bad thing. At least there is no equivalent to the Republican Party in Paris right now.
Overall, there is reason to be optimistic. No previous COP meeting has brought together so many countries and heads of state: 183 nations have submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, or climate action plans. The political and economic moment is more conducive than in years past too.
The forecast is not exactly sunny — there's no way a Paris deal will put us on course for staying below 2 C, let alone 1.5 — but it's a lot brighter than it was a few years ago. Paris could get the international community moving in the right direction, even if there's still a very long way to go.


I think most people would agree with me that domestic violence in any situation is absolutely appalling and wrong, and it should not be tolerated in any instance. So I was quite concerned reading that one in seven female students has suffered from violent abuse from their fellow male peers, and quite often this is a result of being in a intimate relationship with the individual. This however is not just unique to student life because domestic violence is rife across all the populace, whereby on average two women are killed a week as a result of domestic violence, and roughly around 31% of all females in the UK have experienced domestic violence since the age of 16. As a male living in a rich Western liberal country, I find this revolting. Actually, I would find this revolting anywhere on earth, and it is something that must be stamped out.
There are so many consequences to domestic violence that neither the victim or the abuser can actually perceive the true effect it is having, and it is these latent impacts which can shape a persons individuality and autonomy. From personal experience, I watched someone very close to myself suffer from domestic violence for nine straight years, whereby she has regularly 'relapsed' to date similar partners in desperate insecurity. This is obviously not the case of all victims, but it is easy to forget the long term effects it can have on a individual; it is not the physical bruises and black eyes that endure, it is the mental scarring that it leaves which can make domestic violence quite life defining.
So why do we (women and men) put up with being abused for sustained amounts of time? It is ever so easy for me to sit here and simply say 'why don't you just leave him?' The simple answer to this is that it is not that easy. Firstly there is that paradox called love. Love causes us to have irrational beliefs – we believe that we can fundamentally change a person; that the person only acts out from their frustration and it won't happen again, and that 'it isn't really in their nature'. Whenever you hear yourself justifying a abusers actions by either blaming yourself, or thinking that it is a one off event – you are probably wrong. If it wasn't in their nature, then they would not do it in the first place.
So it is this 'love' for someone that can make us believe that our abuser does in fact love us, and this can consequentially causes us to tolerate their abuses. And yes, it may even be true that he does in fact love you, but no amount of love can ever justify striking your partner, or tolerating being hit by your partner. Also, abusers are usually quite manipulative in making you feel loved during the periods you are not being abused, thus creating a smokescreen for their actions. They make you believe that it is not their fault; that you angered them thus causing them to lash out; that they will never do it again.
There are also reasons for why domestic violence also happens behind closed doors, whereby neither party are keen to disclose what is really going on. The abuser wants to keep it hidden for quite obvious reasons: guilt, self-preservation, embarrassment, shame, and the knowledge that they are ultimately a coward. The victim can also keep it hidden for similar reasons: embarrassment, shame, and I hate to say it, but protection to their partner. This protection can also manifest into a twisted sense of dependency, whereby their complete and utter devotion and love to their partner makes the violence seem less serious then it truly is.
My friend who has suffered from domestic violence (and is still suffering from it) explains to me that 'it is partly my fault – I made him angry' and 'he is usually extremely caring and wonderful to be around'. When asking her 'what do you have in common with him?', she fails to give me a answer; she struggles to literally indicate what it is she fundamentally loves about the guy, and what is the root of her love. But this is the point – love is irrational, and it does not necessarily require a justification or a clear cut definition. And it is this love which is so dangerous. It is like a heroin addiction: at first heroin is extremely warm, comforting, and makes you love yourself. After a while, we get dependent on heroin, whereby we need to consume it to make us normal. Once fully drawn in to the addiction, we lose sight of why we loved it in the first place, but yet we carry on abusing ourselves with this substance because we are so utterly dependent on it that it is near to impossible to leave because the pain of trying to leave it is unbearable.
Domestic violence is extremely similar to a addiction, because it can make the victim lose sight of themselves through the feelings of fear, loneliness, embarrassment, and even protection to their abuser: it is these factors which prevents the victim from being able to leave and move on. So I plead to everyone, if you are being abused, if you know of someone being abused, or you are a abuser, then step up and seek help. Because if you pretend to ignore the seriousness of it then it is likely to fester and to get worse. Furthermore, if it is happening in our early years as students, then this should not be shrugged off as 'simply rowdy students'. The student culture of drinking, promiscuity, late nights and general hedonism is all good fun, but it is no excuse to act in a way which undermine someone's self-esteem and self-worth.
It is also good to remember that as a abuser, you are damaging your own self worth and self respect, because every time you raise your hand to your partner you are ultimately carving a huge hole into your already damaged pathetic manhood. You are diminishing the self-worth of another person for your own gratification, and to be quite frank – you need help. So be a man, take the initiative to leave your partner, and go and seek anonymous help from a professional so you no longer spray this darkness to the life of others.
Gove's throwback O-Level plans are as destructive as they are rash.


text:
Hillary Clinton Says No to Abortion Limits 'At Any Stage of Pregnancy'
By Katie Yoder | September 21, 2015 1:16 PM EDT
The liberal media are only too happy to call pro-life presidential candidates "extreme." But they'll never dare apply the same label to pro-choice candidates.
In a Sept. 20 interview with CBS' Face the Nation moderator John Dickerson, Hillary Clinton revealed that she wouldn't support a federal limit on abortion "at any state of pregnancy" in the name of a "woman's right to choose." While the 2016 presidential candidate once called the content of the recent videos exposing Planned Parenthood "disturbing," she dismissed them as "misleadingly edited" to Dickerson.
Referencing the Senate's upcoming vote on a late-term abortion federal ban, Dickerson asked Clinton in the interview, "Do you support a federal limit on abortion at any stage of pregnancy?"
She did not.
"This is one of those really painful questions that people raise and obviously it's really emotional," she began. "I think that the kind of late term abortions that take place are because of medical necessity."
She concluded, "Therefore, I would hate to see the government interfering with that decision."
According to Clinton, women should have the say in any circumstance.
"[T]his gets back to whether you respect a woman's right to choose or not," she said. "And I think that's what this whole argument once again is about."
But most Americans would disagree with her. Dickerson asked about late-term abortions, which the majority consistently oppose, according to polls by Gallup (2012), Quinnipiac (2014), Marist (2015) and even The Huffington Post (2013).
Earlier in the interview, Dickerson probed Clinton about the Planned Parenthood videos.
While Clinton admitted she had seen "excerpts" and "certainly read" about the videos, she no longer seemed to find their content "disturbing" as she did in July.
Instead, she found the "attack on Planned Parenthood" by Republicans disturbing.
"[W]hat I am troubled by are the misleading, inaccurate allegations about them that we heard from Republicans at their debate," she bashed. "This is really an attack on Planned Parenthood, which provides a lot of health services, from cancer screenings, to contraceptive services, to so many other of the needs women have."
To shut down the government over funding for Planned Parenthood would be the "height of irresponsibility," she argued.
In stark contrast to her previous statements, Clinton condemned what she saw as "misleadingly edited" videos that were "intentionally taken out of context." She went on to defend Planned Parenthood:
"The fact is that if we want to have debate in this country about whether we should continue using -- doing fetal research, then it's not only Planned Parenthood that should be involved in that debate. All of the experts, all of the scientists, all of the research institutions, everybody who is looking for cures to Parkinson's, for example, should be asked, should we continue this. But so far as I am aware, what they did, despite the way it was portrayed, is within the laws that were set up for this."
Katie Yoder
Katie Yoder was Associate Culture Editor, the Joe and Betty Anderlik Fellow at Media Research Center