A1, Artificial One

Andreas Schleicher, the head of education and skills at the O.E.C.D., told The Financial Times, “Thirty percent of Americans read at a level that you would expect from a 10-year-old child.” He continued, “It is actually hard to imagine — that every third person you meet on the street has difficulties reading even simple things.”

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Why? The US Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, who with her husband and business partner Vince McMahon founded the clownish WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment recently pronounced "AI" (as in artificial intelligence) as "A1"--"A One." No kidding. That's the kind of inspiring leadership this country has now. Unfortunately, her job working for Trump is to dismantle [of course] the Department of Education because 30 percent is apparently too low. Trump said when campaigning the Department is filled with "radicals, zealots and Marxists," which are apparently new synonyms for "teacher." 

Actually what the Department mostly does is distribute money and administer the student loan program, which Trump doesn't like either because too many push “critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content” and he wants to (AP) "reward states and schools that end teacher tenure and enact universal school choice programs." In short, they want that money for private schools, religious and otherwise, and to keep the poor poor in subpar public schools. Remember, Trump "likes the poorly educated." Yes, he actually said that while campaigning.

I wish this was just a crazy stupid made-up story, but it's all true. No, it makes no sense for us either. The Trump administration is increasingly looking like clowns running amuck in a shooting gallery. Except the gallery is the entirety of the United States of America.

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Costa Rica, Portugal, Greece, the Philippines, Romania, Mexico. Where to go? 

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Check out this brutal putdown of the US by a Chinese official. "We expect to survive for another 5,000 years." 

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Sign from a recent protest rally: