At this time‚ it's unclear how many people attended their wedding‚ or who made it to the guest list

Dem Governors Warn Biden To Avoid Talking About One Key Issue

'Is it gonna be fact-checked‚ or?'

The episode also highlights the crisis in American parenting

The Biden administration's emotionally charged appeals cannot slip the bonds of economic reality.

'I think the moment of truth has arrived'

'Playing politics with investments'

A long-time reader forwarded this response to a prior post on Phantoms &; Monsters about the Devil's Tramping Ground and another eyewitness' bizarre experience.The following events took place in Appalachia Ohio. The reader wishes to remain anonymous."My Dad and his mother sold their souls to save the lives of their family members during the worst days of The Great Depression. Their neighbor across the road in that coal town was outside watching his younger siblings. He saw Dad's mother in her garden hoeing around seedlings. That bit of information will be important later. The neighbor was then a young man old enough to take an adult job. There was one job opportunity and many men were applying for it. Dad put in a good word for this man‚ they being about the same age and even gave him the newly ironed shirt off his back to wear to the interview where he got that job. That happened that morning. In the evening everyone was feeling good in that town because this man's pay would keep many of them alive. Everyone shared and Dad's family was known for sharing even though it hurt them.Then‚ different people in the town‚ along with Dad's neighbor‚ witnessed a huge fireball coming across the sky. It made a maneuvered turn to head towards Dad's house. This man and his siblings looked at each other and started to run to help though it looked like no one could survive what was headed for them over there. They found that their legs would not move and even using all their strength and their upper body strength they could not free their legs to make them move. They woke up the next morning not knowing how they got into the right beds or even in the right bedclothes. Not only were their parents unresponsive to their talking about this incident to get their help to go help dad's family‚ but their parents froze in place‚ not breathing or speaking. Seeing as that particular topic always caused them to do that they stopped doing it‚ making up their minds to go over there themselves. Across the road‚ they went and onto the property‚ down a lane a bit‚ and in full view were all members of the family aside from Dad and his mother‚ all lined up looking scared to death but nonetheless undamaged.A short distance from the house was a circular area that was smoking heavily. The law in coal country was that everyone pitched in to put out any fire because all the houses were sitting on top of coal that lay on the surface. If it got into a coal field to any depth it might not stop burning‚ ever. So‚ loss of homes‚ loss of jobs‚ loss of all they held dear. Dad came walking towards them with a shotgun in his hands. His mother wasn't far behind and was also carrying a shotgun. Dad told them to leave the property and never come back. He didn't seem himself and those two families had been like kin to each other for a very long time. Dad showed them that his gun was loaded as did his mother and they walked them off the property at gunpoint.From that day on he and his mother were never the same people again. I saw her just days before her death and saw something come out of her eyes. She became a very kind cheerful person which was everything I knew she had never been to me. Her eyes were different. She asked if she was in heaven and I said no so she asked who we were. Dad and I were the only people there. I told her I was her granddaughter and he was her son. She stammered and said that couldn't be. Then‚ she wanted to know how she got there since she was just in her garden hoeing around seedlings! Remember that before the fireball came down the neighbor had seen her in her garden hoeing around seedings. She looked at her hands and began shrieking really loudly. She asked how her hands could be so old and wrinkled and was sobbing. Dad got a mean look on his face and told her to remember that she'd agreed to a deal and she must stand by it or else. She died when she was 92.It was after her death that the family along with my aunt‚ uncle‚ and cousin went down to the old home place they'd grown up on‚ to get some of grandma's flowers from her rock garden. The house was long gone and trees and plants were growing all over the place. The forest was reclaiming the property. That's why we found it very odd that a perfectly circular area‚ that Dad stood sobbing over was quite peculiar. Nothing was growing there at all. No birds flew over it‚ no bugs were seen there or any other living thing. In fact that entire area was devoid of birds‚ they were making wide berths around it. The rock garden some distance away was blooming and growing just fine. As well there were woods‚ plants‚ and flowers nearby that were also doing quite well. No other area was devoid of life except that circular area.My brother dragged me over there so I could help him figure out why Dad was sobbing while looking at that spot and why nothing was living there. Standing there on the rim of that circular area I said under my breath in great frustration‚ "What In God's name is he looking at?" That's when something very strange happened. The ground over that circle eased off of it back to the edge of the circle like the reverse of water pooling on a floor. I saw this saucer-shaped craft and then it opened up like those medical books with the transparent pages showing the nervous system on the top‚ the circulatory one on the one beneath that‚ and the organs on the one at the bottom. I was looking into this craft and saw a living being working what looked like controls. It was seated at first moving its hands over these lighted different color lights with the palms of its hands. I thought that person was awfully skinny and bald. Then it got up from the seat and turned around so much that I could see its face. It didn't see me but I could clearly see it! I gasped and at the same time felt like I was falling down into that thing which was a distance down there and fearing that I grabbed my brother's legs on the way down and held on for dear life.He asked what was going on and if I was okay. I said‚ "Did you not see that?" He asked‚ "See what?" Then he whispered loudly that Dad was watching us and to get up. He helped me up and said to play it cool. I looked up to see Dad's face and thought he would kill me if I told him what I'd seen. He'd kill me before I could get it out and I knew it. He came over to us so fast it shocked us both. Then‚ he demanded to know what I'd seen in a tone of voice that meant that he knew what I'd seen. I asked what he meant to give myself more time to come up with something. He said‚ "You know what!" I stammered a bit and said I thought I saw a spider or snake move down there. Of course‚ he knew why nothing was growing there already so it wasn't a good thing for me to say‚ in hindsight. When he ordered us to get down there and find that thing I told him I'd rather not because it could be poisonous. He said my brother would dig while I showed him what place to look. So‚ we both got down and my brother whispered close to me to know what we were looking for seeing as there was nothing alive in that area. I got his meaning and said well‚ I thought I saw something move. He said‚ "Nooo! What did you really see?" I told him to shut up and just help me look if he wanted to survive. He said I was going to tell him later though I told him the same story I'd told Dad. Better that no one else knew what I knew because they'd probably not believe it.Not finding what Dad ordered us to find he wanted an explanation and so I said it must've been dead leaves moving that made it look like a snake's skin as they are colored just like dead leaves many times. He asked if I was sure that's what I saw and I said it had to have been because I had nothing else. He glared at me right in the eyes and said that had better be all I saw. He held that glare and finally told us to leave the area completely and go over by the path. We weren't allowed to talk to each other which was fine by me. My brother was digging around something that looked like stainless steel over by that tree and Dad asked him what he was doing. He said it could be something good but Dad covered it back up with an old piece of tin and ordered him to leave it alone or else.We watched Dad for some time until someone got his attention on them and I went over to see what my brother wanted. He said we had to get that thing he'd been digging at because it looked like one of those new stainless steel bowls that had been on the TV commercial and they were expensive. He said if Dad caught me digging at it I could talk my way out of it. I was good at that. I went over and saw that it looked like one of those things so I dug the woods dirt away from it quickly and pulled. It was stuck fast and solidly. Dad spotted me and asked what I was doing. So‚ I gave him the story of the expensive bowl just on the market and how this one was just lying around in the woods looking like nothing was wrong with it. Anytime we could appeal to his sense of greed he took it hook‚ line‚ and sinker. He told me to pull it out and I said it wouldn't budge. So‚ he told me to stick my hands underneath it to see what was holding it down. I felt the air being sucked into some tubes at the bottom of this bowl! I asked why it would be doing that and he said it could be a still but I didn't know what that meant. He uncovered a great length of pipe leading from it and it made a turn back towards that circular area where nothing was growing. My brother said so openly and loudly. Dad jumped up and started thinking out loud that we'd know what he was‚ what was he thinking and if we knew what he was we'd hurt him. We all did an about-face and acted like we hadn't been hearing what he was saying. He was always a violent person who said there were no live witnesses. He yelled at all of us to forget what we just saw. My brother laughed and asked if that meant to forget what we'd just heard him say too. I could've hit him for asking that but still‚ I couldn't blame him since what he'd said was very telling in some ways. Dad told us all to forget what they'd heard too and if they didn't he could make us forget. So‚ that was that. It happened in the early 1970s.So‚ that's the explanation for an area where life should be no different than anything else near it‚ but for some reason‚ nothing was alive in that circle. I remember the old UFO reports of them sitting down in farmer's fields and where they touched the ground nothing would grow even when the soil was dug up and replaced. They usually left triangular marks where the feet of the craft touched the ground. I have seen another place in another wood where there was a non-working craft and there were living things where it was. Nearby that area is a long stretch of ground‚ also in the same woods where nothing grows. Nothing has ever grown there and it's been decades. Dad used to do some strange things back there too.I know that farmers in our area planted their fields as usual and they discovered that even though they planted the field the same way they always had that particular area where the craft sat down‚ did not grow anything. Even weeds didn't grow in those places. I'd read where they dug down a good six feet‚ took that soil away‚ and replaced it with good healthy dirt‚ and still‚ nothing would grow there."True UFO Accounts: From the Vaults of FATE MagazineEminent Discovery: Eminent Discovery‚ A Lifetime Of UFO ExperiencesSkinwalker Ranch: No TrespassingFor Nobody's Eyes Only: Missing Government Files and Hidden Archives That Document the Truth Behind the Most Enduring Conspiracy TheoriesWeird Winged Wonders: The Twilight World Of Cryptid CreaturesToward the Light: Rescuing Spirits‚ Trapped Souls‚ and Earthbound GhostsPowwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch: A Traditional Medical Practice in the Modern World (Pennsylvania German History and Culture)Energy Essentials for Witches and SpellcastersALIEN DISCLOSURE: EXPERIENCERS EXPOSE REALITY - AudiobookRegister a SNAP EBT CardTHE MEME HUMANOIDS: MODERN MYTHS OR REAL MONSTERS - AudiobookTry Audible PlusPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTFeel Free to Post PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS DIRECT LINKS ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA &; WEBSITE. Thanks For Your Support!Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact me by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAccess Phantoms &; Monsters Posts on Twitter 'X'-----YOUR SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED! THANKS-----CHICAGO/LAKE MICHIGAN MOTHMAN UPDATE W/ TOBIAS WAYLAND - LIVE Chat - JOIN US! Lon Strickler (Host)Welcome to Phantoms &; Monsters Radio. In this episode‚ I welcome my friend &; colleague Tobias Wayland to the show. We will be discussing the newly reported Chicago/Lake Michigan Mothman &; winged humanoid sightings as well as any updates to previous reports.Tobias Wayland is a Fortean investigator who has been investigating the unusual for over a decade. The first several years of his investigative career were spent as a MUFON field investigator and following that he investigated independently before becoming the head writer and editor for The Singular Fortean Society. Tobias is a frequent guest on various podcasts and radio shows‚ has written several books and contributed articles to periodicals on the paranormal‚ has appeared on television and in documentaries‚ and is often invited to speak at paranormal conferences and events. Tobias &; Emily Wayland are members of Phantoms &; Monsters Fortean Research. He was featured in the series premiere of Expedition X‚ and the Small Town Monsters documentaries Terror in the Skies and On the Trail of the Lake Michigan Mothman for his work investigating Mothman sightings around Lake Michigan. He and his wife Emily have been involved with the Lake Michigan Mothman investigation since its advent in the spring of 2017‚ and published a book chronicling the experience‚ The Lake Michigan Mothman: High Strangeness in the Midwest. His second and third books about unusual phenomena‚ Strange Tales of the Impossible and The Singular Fortean Society’s Yuletide Guide to High Strangeness‚ continue their work in investigating a variety of seemingly impossible events.In the Singular Fortean Society’s Yuletide Guide to High Strangeness. Tobias and Emily Wayland take you on a journey into the darkest part of the year. Winter has always been a time of magic‚ monsters‚ and legendary figures; their stories are told and retold across generations. But what if there was something more? Some authentic human experiences that inspired these stories‚ so often told around fires built as much to drive back the shadows as to provide warmth. In this book‚ the Waylands compare Christmas legends to modern anomalous phenomena to see what similarities exist. From Sheepsquatch to Santa Claus‚ The Singular Fortean Society's Yuletide Guide to High Strangeness covers a wide variety of reported sightings that might represent a startling truth behind our stories.-----ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONORDER THE AUDIOBOOK VERSIONProject Threshold: Team Riker: Division A-----TODAY'S TOP LINKSI Went Alien Hunting on Chile's Mountainous 'UFO Route'Ghost hunters despair as notoriously haunted UK prison set to closeALIEN HEALERS: SINGULAR‚ OTHERWORLDLY MEDICINE - LIVE Chat - Q &; A - JOIN US! Lon Strickler (Host)LISTEN TO NARRATIONS OF PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS REPORTS &; CASES - PLEASE SUBSCRIBE‚ LIKE &; SHAREMummy in a Belgian museum is similar to the mummies of Mexican aliensThe brain can exhibit signs of consciousness long after the heart stops‚ study findsPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS READING LISTCONSIDER ADVERTISING ON PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIOLET'S DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONSClick the link for our Media KitCHICAGO MOTHMAN / O'HARE BATMAN YouTube PlaylistPHANTOMS &; MONSTERS RADIO Podcasts on Spotify**********Your financial support of Phantoms &; Monsters and our other pursuits is much appreciated. Please click the banner above. Thanks.Have you had a sighting or encounter?Contact us by email or call the hotline at 410-241-5974Thanks. LonAlso available with audiobooknarration by Terry Springs‚CBS-TV Las Vegas affiliate.The Dark Arts of MISTER SAM SHEARON - Original Prints &; MerchandiseThis blog and newsletter are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Work 3.0 United States License.Registered trademark PHANTOMS AND MONSTERS ® / PHANTOMS &; MONSTERS ® - USPTO #90902480 - Lon D. Strickler© 2005-2023 Phantoms &; Monsters - All Rights Reserved

As people grow older‚ it’s natural for them to look back fondly on the things they enjoyed as children. But they may also find that the details of their nostalgic romps inspire surprisingly horrified reactions from younger generations. For instance‚ the idea of a car where someone’s most beloved childhood memories took place not having seat belts would be unthinkable to most people born after the... Source

Pop quiz time. “Teacher shortages have gotten worse.” True or false? False. And yet‚ that sentence was part of a recent Washington Post headline. And it’s far from uncommon. In fact‚ public schools have been on a hiring spree for decades. It began with President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society and has continued to the present day‚ aided partly by a temporary federal COVID-19 bonus payment of $190 billion. In some school districts—mainly in the South and rural areas—and in some subjects (math‚ special education‚ and foreign languages‚ chief among them)‚ schools have trouble filling teaching positions. But this problem is not acute. Nationwide‚ there were 5% more teachers in America’s public schools during the 2020-21 school year than during the 2017-18 school year. Taking a longer view‚ in 1965‚ when Johnson launched his War on Poverty—a third of which‚ he said‚ “would be fought in the classrooms of America”—there were 1.7 million public school teachers for about 42 million students‚ equating to a student-teacher ratio of 25-to-1. By 2021‚ that figure had climbed to 3.2 million public school teachers educating about 55.5 million students‚ shrinking the student-teacher ratio nationally to just 15-to-1. And teachers aren’t the only employees in public school districts. Indeed‚ today‚ teachers make up just half of all education jobs‚ a trend documented by professor Ben Scafidi at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Since 1950‚ public schools have added personnel at a rate nearly four times that of the rate of growth in student enrollment. That increase in school personnel has been disproportionately nonteaching staff. The increase in new teacher hires was nearly two and a half times the increase in students‚ but incredibly‚ the number of non-teachers (that is‚ administrative and other staff) increased more than seven times that of student enrollment. From 1950 to 2019‚ while the number of students increased 100%‚ the number of teachers increased 243% and the number of administrators and all other staff increased 709% . This staffing surge has been a deliberate decision made by the education establishment. And it’s had repercussions. One has been relatively stagnant teacher salaries. This choice made by teachers unions—to prioritize hiring more staff (teaching and nonteaching staff) over higher salaries—equates to more dues-paying union members‚ which is‚ of course‚ good for the unions’ bottom line. Here again‚ Scafidi points out that while inflation-adjusted‚ per-pupil spending increased by 27% from 1992 to 2014‚ teacher salaries fell by 2%. Public schools chose to fund a nonteaching staffing surge rather than direct ever-increasing taxpayer-funded spending to higher teacher salaries. Although teacher salaries have increased somewhat in real terms since that time (inflation-adjusted teacher salaries have risen from about $54‚000 on average in 2002 to about $59‚500 today)‚ this relative stagnation isn’t due to a lack of spending. It is a function of poor management choices made by public school districts for decades. Per-pupil spending in public schools has more than tripled in real terms since 1965. Inflation-adjusted spending grew from $4‚412 per pupil during the 1965-66 school year to $14‚789 per pupil by the 2019-20 school year. And that’s all before factoring in the $190 billion that schools received for “COVID-19 relief‚” courtesy of federal taxpayers. Public schools‚ to borrow from President Ronald Reagan‚ don’t have a revenue problem—they have a spending problem. And‚ by extension‚ public schools don’t have a teacher-shortage problem. They have a problem with the misallocation of abundant resources. What can be done in those areas where schools have difficulty attracting and retaining teachers? States should make it easier for schools to hire teachers by eliminating useless teacher certification requirements—which has the added bonus of weakening the grip of colleges of education on the teacher pipeline—and instead insisting on subject-matter expertise.  There is no correlation between teacher certification and teacher quality. It is far better for school districts to hire based on subject-matter competency than on empirically useless paper credentials. Making it easier for prospective teachers to enter the classroom and then more rigorously evaluating them once hired also paves the way for differentiating pay. Rather than paying teachers based on time in the classroom‚ schools should reward those excellent teachers who are successful at increasing student learning. Finally‚ schools must end the habit of continuously increasing the number of nonteaching staff. Public education isn’t a jobs program‚ and teachers unions shouldn’t view classrooms as an extension of their political activities. Reorient the focus to hiring and rewarding excellent teachers who can be assured they—and their students—spend their days in safe and orderly schools. And public education can begin a long-overdue process of academic improvement and renewal. This commentary originally was published by the Duluth News Tribune Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.  The post Teacher Shortage? For Decades‚ Public Schools Have Enjoyed Hiring Sprees appeared first on The Daily Signal.