Step inside the Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown‚ Pennsylvania‚ located almost 70 miles east of Pittsburgh‚ and there are palpable examples of how faith figures into the educational experience of highly motivated students with ambitions for college.  There’s the chapel located right in the center of campus‚ which serves as the site for masses‚ prayer services‚ and alumni reunions. Crucifixes are also prominently displayed in classrooms and administrative offices. Then there is the curriculum‚ which includes a strong emphasis on theological instruction. But more than anything‚ it’s the Catholic community itself that includes not just the student body‚ but parents‚ teachers‚ athletic coaches‚ alumni‚ scholarship organizations‚ and average citizens who recognize they all have a stake in creating compelling alternatives to failed public schools. (READ MORE from Kevin Mooney: Is Educational Freedom Poised to Transcend Union Power?) Bishop McCort draws from 20 school districts with some students doing an hour commute to and from each day. Unlike its government-run counterparts‚ Bishop McCort remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic and attracted 150 transfer students from districts that were closed. There are currently 248 students in grades 7-12‚ but the school’s full capacity is 1‚000.  Escaping the Violence and Finding a Career Path Geographically‚ two of the students who transferred in this current school year did not have far to travel. The two 16-year-olds‚ one in the 11th grade and the other in 10th‚ previously attended the Greater Johnstown High School within easy walking distance of Bishop McCort. But to hear them tell it‚ they now occupy a radically different universe from the one they left. “The public school was just a very violent school‚” the 11th grader said. “There were always fights‚ and it just wasn’t safe. There were fights everywhere‚ in the hallways‚ in the bathroom‚ in the classroom. I would say we have ten times better education here than at Johnstown.” The 10th grader had many of the same experiences at Johnstown and now finds he is on a more compelling path that could lead to college and a career. But ultimately‚ it falls on lawmakers … to provide parents with more autonomy over their own tax dollars. “It just seemed like the teachers at Johnstown just didn’t care‚” he said. “Every period there were always students in the hallway and it’s so loud.” Both students expressed a strong interest in the sports medicine curriculum at Bishop McCort‚ which is open to 11th and 12th graders. The advancement in medical techniques has helped to open up new career opportunities‚ they explained. The transfer students are also fans of the 4-day school week Bishop McCort implemented last year with an optional “Friday Enrichment Day.” “I think it works well‚” the 11th-grader said. “I have extra time to study‚ and the enrichment classes are very worthwhile.” The enrichment period includes SAT prep‚ tutoring services‚ science fairs‚ and college visits.  The graduation requirements and expectations are rigorous. Each student must take at least seven periods of classes each semester‚ including the five core classes in mathematics‚ science‚ English‚ social studies‚ and theology. The Benefits and Limits of Scholarships Like other private schools across the state‚ Bishop McCort benefits from a tax credit scholarship program dating back to 2001. While the scholarships continue to have a transformative impact on students and their families‚ there is a significant gap between supply and demand‚ Tom Smith‚ the Bishop McCort principal‚ laments.  “We could fill this school if we didn’t have these arbitrary caps on the scholarship programs‚” Smith says. “And I think you would see the Johnstown High School‚ and others empty out.” Formally known as the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC)‚ these programs put private school tuition within reach of families that could not otherwise afford to attend a school like Bishop McCort. In the 2021-2022 school year‚ scholarship organizations drawing from both programs delivered 77‚640 awards to K-12 students‚ according to the Commonwealth Foundation‚ a free market think tank based in Harrisburg that supports school choice. (READ MORE: Pennsylvania: School Choice Proponents Poised to Extend Lifeline Scholarships to Students) On average‚ the scholarship amount for EITC was $2‚583‚ and $1‚853 for OSTC. Pennsylvania students submitted about 139‚000 scholarship applications‚ but 63‚000 student applicants were turned away because of the caps the state legislature has placed on the program. Bishop McCort has awarded financial aid in the form of EITC‚ endowment money‚ and names scholarships to 292 students. Scholarship applicants must be below the household income limit of $108‚444‚ plus $19‚088 for each dependent. That’s not exactly a problem in Johnstown since it’s been listed as the poorest city in the entire state.  But time is a factor for families that stand to benefit from new avenues for education since they have a limited window to alter the trajectory of students trapped in Pennsylvania’s “low achieving schools.”  School choice initiatives have made significant‚ albeit incremental progress‚ recently.   This past December‚ for instance‚ Gov. Josh Shapiro‚ a Democrat‚ signed off on legislation providing  a $150 million increase in the scholarship caps. While the increase makes it possible to provide about 35‚000 additional scholarships‚ it is hardly enough to end the student waiting list or keep up with willing donors. Individuals and businesses that can donate have more than 200 scholarship organizations to choose from. In exchange for their donations‚ they receive a 75 percent (1-year commitment) or 90 percent (2-year commitment) credit against their state income tax. Bishop McCort has a list of individuals and businesses who have supported their students with scholarships.  Tuition at Bishop McCort costs $13‚000 per student‚ but the school charges $7‚000‚ and the average scholarship is about $3‚000. Smith estimates that about 80 percent of the students receive scholarships.  Scholarship Parents Talk Up Benefits  Without the EITC program‚ the affordability of a Catholic education‚ “would definitely be a struggle‚” says Jen Preuss‚ a scholarship parent with three children attending Bishop McCort. “I have twin boys who are seniors‚ and my daughter is a sophomore so obviously this is a huge commitment financially‚” she says. “But we made the decision that we wanted more out of the education our children were receiving in the public schools and I’m happy we took this leap of faith. I would say to businesses now is the time to donate since the money will be well spent.” Preuss also has a message for elected officials who are in a position to continue expanding the tax credit scholarship programs.  The four-day week is just one small part of a larger plan the principal is considering. “We need to make sure we are investing in our kids in every way possible‚ because they are our future‚” she continued. “There is academic rigor‚ but also faith-based education that enables students to make good decisions and to be surrounded by other students who are thinking positively about the decisions they make each day. So‚ it’s not just the academic piece‚ it’s about the person as a whole and this is what they are getting at Bishop McCort.” Without a Catholic education‚ Kaitlin Magro doubts very much that her son would be on his way to Brown University and that her other children would advance as much as they have academically. As one of several Bishop McCort alumni who are sending their own children to the school‚ Magro knows full well what distinguishes Catholic schools from conventional public schools. Her son‚ currently a junior‚ and wrestler‚ has been accepted into Brown based on his grades. She also has a daughter who is a sophomore now interested in pursuing advanced studies. Her other daughter is in the seventh grade and also attends a Catholic school. (READ MORE: Gov. Shapiro‚ Choose School Choice Over Union Power Grabs) “Without the scholarships we would be looking at very high prices‚” she said. “I had my kids in public schools‚ but I wanted them in Catholic schools because of the smaller classes and the hands-on instruction. Teachers Celebrate Four-Day Week  The teachers themselves have also found that their experiences have been professionally rewarding thanks in part to the environment‚ but also because of some recent innovations. Lorie Regan is one of those teachers. She’s an English instructor who has been with the school for 33 years.  “The four-day week is one of the best moves we have made‚ and it’s been a fantastic morale booster for students and teachers‚” Regan said. “I think in the beginning people were a bit hesitant. But what we took away day wise‚ we have made up minute wise. In fact‚ we have extra minutes with the students.” Molly Largent‚ another English instructor‚ who is also certified in ESL agrees. Having Fridays open enables her to catch up on grading and get ahead on lesson plans. As a working mother with three children in elementary school‚ the four-day weeks gives her added flexibility. “I can already see from my lesson plans that I’m already ahead of where I would have been this year thanks to the four-day week‚” Largent said. “I also see students taking full advantage the extra day by taking SAT prep classes they would otherwise have to pay for‚ and tutoring services in any areas that they need.” Largent also has no problem calling out political figures who claim to support students while voting down proposals for increased scholarships.  “You can’t say you are in the business of helping kids or looking out for kids if you are keeping them in an environment where they are not able to thrive‚” she said. The four-day week is just one small part of a larger plan the principal is considering. Smith‚ who also serves as the head football coach‚ has been the school principal for five years‚ and has just signed another five-year contract. He’s eyeballing a nearby bank building as a potential internet café for online students where the tuition could be less than $2‚000 a year.  The ace in the hole for prospective students may exist in the form of the proposed “Lifeline Scholarships” offering Education Opportunity Accounts to any student assigned to a district school in the bottom 15 percent of performance based on state testing. The latest version of the lifeline proposal calls for $2‚500 for a student in half-day kindergarten‚ $5‚000 for a student in full-day kindergarten through eighth grade‚ $10‚000 for students in grades nine through 12‚ and $15‚000 for special-needs students regardless of their grade. For many students‚ this would be more than sufficient to cover the cost of Bishop McCort. But ultimately‚ it falls on lawmakers‚ including some who have attended Catholic schools such as Bishop McCort‚ to provide parents with more autonomy over their own tax dollars as they search for alternatives to unsatisfactory public schools. Kevin Mooney is an investigative reporter with The Heritage Foundation. The post Scholarships Succeed in Pennsylvania Catholic School appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

I’m tired of hearing political pundits divide our Commonwealth into east and west‚ urban and rural. We are one Pennsylvania — united — and we will come together to tackle our greatest challenges. — Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro A brief look at a county-by-county political map of the United States reveals an odd duality: The overwhelming amount of land in the country resides in Republican districts‚ and yet Democrats control much of the government because most of the largest cities are liberal. For a long time now‚ and yet increasingly‚ the hyper-urban parts of the country are dictating liberal policies to country  folk that inhabit most of the geographical spaces the country owns. Look at examples like the city of Chicago‚ for instance‚ and its overwhelming influence on the remainder of the largely rural state of Illinois‚ or Detroit’s dominance of the massive state that is Michigan‚ or any number of other examples. Perhaps at least part of the problem with the rural/urban divide is that big city liberals state false facts about rural Americans. In my state of Pennsylvania‚ Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro urges us to believe that this rural/urban divide isn’t as important as our shared identity. And certainly some research does suggest that the divide looms larger psychologically than in reality; often rural and urban persons share more in common than rumor has it. But while the shared values sentiment is nice‚ it is nonetheless clearly true that rural voters feel increasingly disconnected from their urban counterparts. No matter how much we talk about unity‚ it isn’t a mirage that 11 rural Oregon counties voted to join Idaho because they don’t like liberals in Portland telling them what to do. (READ MORE from Lucian G. Conway: The Curious Case of Conservative Happiness)  The depth of the problem is illustrated by simply imagining a hypothetical in my state of Pennsylvania: What if Philadelphia was no longer a part of the state? President Donald Trump lost Pennsylvania in 2020 by over one percentage point. Consider that without only one county — Philadelphia County — in 2020‚ Trump would have won the state by over six points (52 percent Trump to 46 percent Biden). That’s a larger margin than Trump won in conservative Texas. If one removes the three greater Philadelphia counties as well‚ Trump wins Pennsylvania by over 13 percent‚ and if you throw out Pittsburgh‚ too‚ Trump wins by almost 19 percent‚ which is a larger margin than he won in Mississippi. This brief analysis reveals that the increasing divide between rural and urban America is quite real. But why does it exist? Many on the left claim it is because rural voters have lost touch with true American values and are a threat to the American way of life. For example‚ Tom Schaller‚ author of White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy‚ recently said: First of all‚ [white rural voters] are the most racist‚ xenophobic‚ anti-immigrant‚ anti-gay demographic in the country. Second‚ they’re the most conspiracist group: QAnon support and subscribers‚ election denialism‚ Covid denialism and scientific skepticism‚ Obama birtherism. Third: anti-democratic sentiments. They don’t believe in an independent press‚ free speech … And fourth: they’re most likely to excuse or justify violence as an acceptable alternative to peaceful public discourse. Research does show that rural voters increasingly resent big-city liberals telling them what to do. But is it because rural voters have become racist‚ violent‚ rage-filled authoritarians? That certainly doesn’t describe the people in the rural area where I live. None of those people seem filled with rage; most of them are calm‚ happy‚ people who love their neighbors and love democracy. Indeed‚ a recently published book by Colby College professors tells a different tale than Schaller‚ one much more in line with the experience of every day rural Americans such as myself. Containing one of the largest studies of rural America to date‚ the Colby book suggests not that rural voters are rage-filled authoritarians bent on overthrowing democracy‚ but rather that they have real concerns rooted in reality. In the words of the authors of the study: “One of the reasons it may be hard for Democrats to go into rural areas is that they’ve come to believe these are bastions of crazy Trumpers.… But what we show in this book is that there are genuine concerns that pre-date Donald Trump by decades.” In fact‚ it is worth considering the division problem the other way around. Tom Schaller’s quote provides a stark contrast to Governor Josh Shapiro’s earlier statement about unity across rural and urban lines. And that highlights part of the problem: It is hard for rural voters to feel much unity when an ever-growing barrage of liberal criticism like White Rural Rage suggests rural folk are threats to democracy on par with terrorist groups. One can’t just declare unity by fiat. Perhaps at least part of the problem with the rural/urban divide is that big city liberals state false facts about rural Americans and then use rural folks’ subsequent dislike of being slandered as evidence that they are “rage-filled.” (READ MORE: Republicans Are Missing the Point of Trump — Again) This suggests part of the solution‚ too. No‚ I’m not sure we should give Philadelphia to New Jersey. But I am sure that liberals shouldn’t describe rural voters who want to do so as hate-filled racist xenophobes. The post Can We Please Give Philadelphia to New Jersey? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

A Summary of the Left’s Belief System

The Intellectual Wasteland of Our American College Campuses

Trump Pays His Respect While Biden Displays Disrespect

Some Basic Law Stuff for Conservatives Watching This Legal Chaos

Bad Eggs: The Biden Administration’s Politicization of Easter

Time to Remove Joe Biden

When is the last time that there was so much buzz about one month?  As we enter April‚ there is so much anticipation in the air‚ and it isn’t just because of the Great American Eclipse on April 8th.  In recent days‚ I have heard from so many people that feel like something really big is about to happen.  I can feel it too.  It is almost as if we are all holding our breath as we wait for the next shoe to drop.  Chaos is threatening to erupt all over the globe‚ and meanwhile signs in the heavens are literally screaming at us to pay attention.  The following are 8 extremely unusual events that will happen during the month of April… #1 As we enter the month of April‚ the “Devil Comet” has become visible to the naked eye in the northern hemisphere… Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks – also known as the “devil comet” and the “Mother of Dragons” comet – is currently visible in the night skies of the northern hemisphere‚ providing a unique spectacle for both amateur stargazers and professional astronomers. This Halley-type comet‚ which orbits the Sun every 71 years and has a nucleus about 30 kilometers in diameter‚ is known for its impressive outbursts of gas and dust during its voyages through the inner solar system. This is the very first time that we have been able to see this comet with the naked eye in 71 years‚ and it will continue to be visible for those of us living in the northern hemisphere during the weeks ahead. #2 On April 4th‚ that will be an extraordinary alignment of 4 planets just 4 days before the Great American Eclipse of 2024… The next planetary alignment takes place on April 4‚ 2024. It will feature four planets – Venus‚ Neptune‚ Saturn‚ and Mars. The planets will align in the morning sky. Venus‚ Saturn‚ and Mars will be visible to the naked eye‚ but you’ll need a telescope or high-powered binoculars to see Neptune. #3 On April 8th‚ the seven other planets in our solar system along with the sun and the moon will appear to form a straight line in the sky when looking from Jerusalem toward the east.  This was discovered by a friend of mine named Rachel Baxter‚ and the following is a graphic of that “line in the sky” that she sent to me… Rachel asked ChatGPT to tell her how rare it is to have a straight line like this‚ and she was told that it would only happen once every 32 million years. #4 Also on April 8th‚ CERN is planning to fire up the Large Hadron Collider… The world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator is set smash protons together on April 8 to search for invisible particles secretly powering our universe. Theories have suggested there are 17 different particle groups and the European Organization for Nuclear Research‚ better known as CERN‚ confirmed the existence of one using its Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2012. Now‚ the team has restarted the LHC with hopes of unraveling more mysteries of the universe – specifically dark matter. Why in the world would CERN choose to do this on April 8th? We are being told that they plan to shoot particles “down a 17-mile-long tunnel at nearly the speed of light to recreate conditions a second after the Big Bang”. That doesn’t exactly sound like it is a good idea. Let us just hope that nothing goes wrong. #5 The most anticipated event of April is the Great American Eclipse of 2024.  USA Today is calling it “the astronomical event of the decade”… We’re less than two weeks away from the astronomical event of the decade: A total eclipse of the sun‚ which will grace the nation’s skies from Texas to Maine on the afternoon of Monday‚ April 8. Millions of people are expected to travel to see the spectacle‚ which will also attract scientists from across the country to study its unique effects on the Earth and its atmosphere. #6 As the eclipse passes over America on April 8th‚ NASA will be firing three rockets “into the moon’s shadow”… NASA has announced it will fire three scientific sounding rockets into the moon’s shadow on Monday‚ April 8 during a partial solar eclipse across North America. In what will be a total solar eclipse for a 115 miles-wide path through parts of Mexico‚ 15 U.S. states and Canada and a partial solar eclipse for the entire Americas‚ the event will see a sudden drop in sunlight. For some strange reason‚ NASA has chosen to name this project after a serpent deity that was popular in ancient Egypt… The space agency’s project‚ Atmospheric Perturbations Around The Eclipse Path‚ will investigate how that drop in sunlight and temperature affects Earth’s upper atmosphere. APEP is named after the serpent deity from ancient Egyptian mythology‚ nemesis of the sun deity Ra‚ according to NASA. #7 Ominously‚ on April 8th the Great American Eclipse of 2024 will complete the giant “X” over the New Madrid fault zone that the Great American Eclipse of 2017 began.  I feel so strongly that this is a very important warning to America that I put it on the cover of my latest book. #8 During the month of April‚ the “cicadapocalypse” is coming.  As I discussed earlier this year‚ for the first time since Thomas Jefferson was president billions of 13-year cicadas and billions of 17-year cicadas will emerge from the ground simultaneously… “Billions‚ even trillions‚ of cicadas are going to emerge at the same time across 17 states‚” Chris Simon‚ a professor in UConn’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology‚ told Live Science. Brood XIII and XIX have been living underground for 17 and 13 years respectively. They will soon emerge at the same time for the first time in 221 years. Shockingly‚ the emergence of these two groups will overlap in central Illinois… What’s more‚ this year’s cicada groups‚ known as Brood XIII and Brood XIX‚ happened to make their homes adjacent to one another‚ with a narrow overlap in central Illinois. By now‚ most of you already know that the path of the Great American Eclipse of 2024 overlaps with the path of the Great American Eclipse of 2017 in Illinois. Is someone trying to tell us something? In addition to everything that I have already covered‚ many on social media are speculating that a red heifer sacrifice could take place at some point during the month of April. But so far I have not been able to find any solid evidence that such a sacrifice is imminent. As I discussed last week‚ the red heifers that were transported to Israel from the state of Texas in 2022 need to be used before they are too old to qualify‚ and the priests that will conduct the sacrifice are ready to go. However‚ if a red heifer sacrifice was imminent an altar for that purpose would be put up on the Mount of Olives‚ and so far that has not happened. CBS News previously reported that a “massive while altar” for a red heifer sacrifice had been constructed… A massive white altar awaits‚ where they are to be burned on a plot of land overlooking the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Mamo said the ceremony must be performed looking directly into where the ancient Second Temple stood‚ until it was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70. Unfortunately‚ that CBS News story was not accurate. According to Israel365News‚ the altar that CBS News showed to the world is simply a model that is used for “Temple service reenactments and educational purposes”… The structure in the video is a model of the altar as it stood in the Temple. The real altar must be made of stone. The model‚ located in Mitzpe Yericho‚ is used for Temple service reenactments and educational purposes. It is not made of stone and cannot be used for the Temple service. So CBS News was wrong about the altar‚ and a lot of us were fooled by their report. Before I end this article‚ I want to discuss something that happened at the end of March. Joe Biden officially declared March 31st to be “Transgender Day of Visibility”.  Of course many people pointed out that this was the same day that many Christians were celebrating Easter.  The following comes from Joe Biden’s official pronouncement… On Transgender Day of Visibility‚ we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect Union — where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives. I am proud that my Administration has stood for justice from the start‚ working to ensure that the LGBTQI+ community can live openly‚ in safety‚ with dignity and respect. I am proud to have appointed transgender leaders to my Administration and to have ended the ban on transgender Americans serving openly in our military. I am proud to have signed historic Executive Orders that strengthen civil rights protections in housing‚ employment‚ health care‚ education‚ the justice system‚ and more. I am proud to have signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law‚ ensuring that every American can marry the person they love. If you can believe it‚ America now has more than 50 different holidays that celebrate alternative lifestyles… The Biden administration’s decision to honor “Transgender Awareness Day” on Easter Sunday has caused widespread controversy. However‚ many Americans may be unaware that there are more than 50 LGBTQIA2S+-themed holidays. When you add them all up‚ all of those holidays cover a grand total of 145 calendar days. America has been fundamentally transformed‚ and our nation is racing in the direction that it has chosen as fast as it can. This month‚ we will witness the most ominous signs in the heavens that our country has ever seen. Will those signs be a wake up call‚ or will most of the population continue to remain asleep? Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com‚ and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here. About the Author: Michael Snyder’s extremely controversial new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written seven other books that are available on Amazon.com including “End Times”‚ “7 Year Apocalypse”‚ “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”‚ “The Beginning Of The End”‚ and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned)  When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog‚ End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News‚ and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  You can connect with Michael on YouTube‚ Facebook and Twitter‚ and sharing his articles on your own social media accounts is definitely a great help.  These are such troubled times‚ and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world‚ that he gave his only begotten Son‚ that whosoever believeth in him should not perish‚ but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so‚ we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today. The post 8 Extremely Unusual Events That Will Happen During The Month Of April appeared first on End Of The American Dream.

by Matt Agorist‚ The Free Thought Project: A bill has passed the Tennessee state legislature which aims to target the controversial subject of chemtrails‚ or more specifically the concept of geoengineering. Chemtrails is a loosely defined theory which postulates the deliberate dispersal of potentially toxic chemicals into the atmosphere by governments or corporations with nefarious […]