In regard to your statement about the Baltimore schools’ students demonstrating exceedingly low math proficiency levels, I don’t know, Dazed and Coinfused, if I can go you one better but I think I can at least come close. When college sophomores at some highly regarded American universities were tested for the proficiency of their literary skills many of them demonstrated no more than a tenth grade (high school) reading and writing ability. I suppose this is what happens when high schools just keep moving their pupils up through grades regardless of performance and colleges are more interested in tuition money and attendant student population numbers than the authentic quality of their students’ learning experience.

I completely agree, Dazed and Coinfused, and that is why what bothers, worries and scares me the most regarding the apparent absence of any basic level of learning and understanding among far too large a part of the American population is not that simple lack of knowledge but how they ended up in this predicament by having no inclination to want to learn anything in the first place.

I understand. When I want high level intellectual conversation I find it best to engage myself versus myself. 23 or 27 schools in Baltimore stated not a single student in those schools could pass math proficiency. It melts my heart that they are such tik tock aficionados and experts that they weren’t subjected to wasting their time learning life’s fundamentals. Who needs math and science and English when a bot can do everything for them. Shamefully, not all can be those high end influencers that fall off cliffs, or lay on hibernating bears, or back off of 50 story buildings. Those are the heroes. They break barriers and bring ceilings to ground level for so many. I mean that cinnamon challenges and those ice bucket challenges are so iconic they are still being done to this day. Wait. They aren’t. Well that’s a huge game changer. Such a waste of talent. Now we’ll never have the cure for cancer. Maybe Gen AA will pick up the torch. That’s too confusing. what is the generation after Z gonna be.

Likely the right country, possibly the wrong use. After all, this is India…

I can’t ever stop finding this whole process so humorously ironic. First we go to all the expense and effort of digging each of these precious metals out of the ground. Then we put more expense and effort into refining, shaping, minting, selling and delivering them. So what does the ultimate customer do with the finished product once it comes into his legal possession? He puts it back into the ground in vaults or caves.

Just to be absolutely clear, Dazed and Confused, my comment had zero to do with in any way criticizing or much less maligning your posting numbers – in fact, I’m fine if you let ten in a row go here – and everything to do with my propensity to find myself a perfectly satisfactory self-conversationalist, if there indeed is such an animal.

I could probably edit posts and make them 1, but I write as inspiration hits. I literally hit enter, hit back to finish going down news feed and next article was about Russia. Somwtimes things are engraved, burned, etched in my mind, others slipped long ago. Shortest paragraph in Bible is, Jesus wept. Or He wept. Something like that. But probably Jesus wept. On forbidden history, over 300 messiah were executed by Pontius pilot in 33 A.D. the David Blaine of his time.

Anywho, the thoughts remain the same. Those events kicked off the sales. I bet February or March goes up again with the Chinese balloon debacle.

I heard Biden was getting really tough. Said he thinks big guy deserves 20%, but also shot down 75 more balloons today totally turning around his poll numbers. Turns out they were all gender reveal balloons, but they were stamped made in China, so still a win.

China is upset and claiming US is sending balloons over and threatening retaliation. If I were biden I’d have told the press to let Xi know the red phone works, and to call me if you want me to send US fighter to shoot it down for him.

Ukraine may have hit you, Dazed and Coinfused, but what struck me is that your personalized three comment thread reminded me of how I talk to myself all day long. However, I take it a step further because I tend to get into arguments.

Just hit me. Ukraine.