Christmas Greetings

I have a list of people

All written in a book -

And every year at Christmas time

I go and take a look.

And that is when I realize

That those names are all a part -

Not of the book they're written in

But of my very heart.

For each name stands for someone

Who has crossed my path some time -

And in that meeting they've become

A treasured friend of mine.

And once you've met some people

The years can not erase -

The memory of a pleasant word

Or of a friendly face.

So when I send an email

That is addressed to you -

It's because you're on that 'Special List'

Of folk that I'm indebted to.

And you are one of several folk

In times past that I've met -

And happen to be one of those

I don't want ever to forget.

And whether I have known you

For many years or few -

In some way you have had a part

In shaping things I do.

So this the Spirit of Christmas

That forever still endures -

May it leave its richest blessing

In the hearts of you and yours.

                     

HOLIDAY -- Christmas Day

ENJOY 12 HOURS OF CHRISTMAS MUSIC... 

A White Christmas

 

HOLIDAY - Day Before Christmas

Weather Forecast

December 2022

What does this month represent?

• Christmas Holiday
• Winter Holiday
• End of the year/decade
• Beginning of Winter
• Cold and Snow
• Tax Deductions
• Soliciting Money
• Family Closeness
• Suicides & Loneliness

What is really interesting, at least to me, is the fact that one can be in the presence of family and friends and still feel lonely and alone...  in part by the way they are treated and in part by what is going on inside their minds, that no one is paying attention to.

So, why is December the month that brings all of these emotions to the surface?

By product of affluence perhaps???

However, there is more positive stuff going on that negative stuff, so I am sure that is also part of it as well...  negative people are ignored as most of us want to focus on the positive...  even though we may be hiding our true feelings.

It is difficult sometimes to be around family...  while we anticipate it happening, it does not always unfold the way we planned, and as these tensions expand they sometimes explode in arguments because things were not done like we wanted to be done...  or people did not help out like they should have helped out.

And, we all know that we are really glad once the holiday is over and family goes back to where they were living originally...  then, as we debrief ourselves, we are again sad that we acted the way we did around family, wishing that we could have handled it differently.

Sometimes, we are completely oblivious to those emotions and nothing flows through our minds at all...  and, those people aren't treated kindly...

These are our families and we would not want it any different than it is...  we anticipate it and look forward to it...  because it is the holidays.

US Economy -- End of 2022

"The U.S. economy, though clearly facing a growing risk of recession, continues to exhibit remarkable strengths, particularly in the labor market, as illustrated by continued job creation and another drop in the unemployment rate in the September 2022 jobs report."  Harvard Business Review

This is good...  right?

Well...  no...  it is not...

Why?

Working people spend money...  and, the more money that is spent causes prices to increase because the supply of goods and services has not changed...

"Yet, right now that strength is a curse more than a blessing. With every sign of strength, it will get harder to rein in persistent and broad-based inflation without the Fed raising rates to levels that make a recession inevitable. And the risk is not linear: Though inflation is high today, expectations of long-term inflation are still modest. For nearly 40 years, we’ve lived in an era of structurally anchored inflation, where inflation doesn’t move much within the business cycle. If expectations unanchor, the cost would be far higher than a downturn — it would be an era of higher volatility and a less favorable business environment." Harvard Business Review  (same article as above)

Be sure to vote Democrat the next time there is an election because they are the ones that are causing this inflation and if you are like me, I want it to continue...  don't you?

Yes...  I know...  I have a tendency to be sarcastic and my type of sarcasm is not always appreciate...  but, I use sarcasm to get you to think...  especially about what is going on in our economy.  Question our leaders...  both liberals as well as conservatives because they both LIE and try to spin the truth to their advantage.

Our political system needs to be replaced...  Over my lifetime, it has become apparent that pretty much ALL AMERICANS LIE AND EXPECT OTHERS TO DO SO AS WELL...  If they are not lying they are withholding information or using words behind which they hide their true feelings.

You cannot trust anyone anymore...  SAD, when you think about it...

Strictly Political

 

Robots Impacting the Food You Eat

 

Heading Into Christmas 2022

Winter Storm heading down from Canada and will disrupt our travel plans going into the holidays...  it will bring frigid temperatures all the way down to Texas and the southeastern United States including Tennessee but it is doubtful that it will extend farther into this area.

Meteorologists are predicting a BOMB CYCLONE which is where the pressure drops 24 milibars in 24 hours...  a drop in pressure means the winds are getting stronger and that indicates a strong storm is building.

In these situations, I am glad that I live in Tennessee as opposed to the north, south, or east...  The east coast has hurricanes.  The south has humidity and insects.  The north has cold weather and wind.

The center of the US is flat and boring and the west coast is way too liberal in its thoughts and actions.  I think I would have liked the west when I was 15 to 30 years old, but once I matured, those liberals views logically no longer made any sense.

Christmas at 75 years old with children 50 years old is not as special as it was 20 years ago when we were all thinking our lives might be different.  When you hit age 75, life ain't gonna git any different.  The only difference is that one is heading for...   is death.

What I find odd is that everyone, at least in the USA, wants to celebrate their form of Christmas, but very few of those who celebrate want to acknowledge why the season is important.  They don't see it as a Christian Holiday... they see it as a winter holiday...  but why give presents and put up a tree if we are just experiencing a winter holiday?

We celebrate a Christian Holiday without admitting it is a Christian Holiday...  and how do we explain the fact that our government has acknowledged UFOs and quite possibly the existence of extraterrestrials...

How does UFOs and extraterrestrials change the meaning of Christmas?

How does it change the birth of Jesus?

Jesus said...   "...my kingdom is not of this world..."

Is he an extraterrestrial?

If Jesus was an extraterrestrial, would we still want to call the Christmas Holiday a Winter Holiday?

Tunnel

Robots and Human Workers

Robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are expected to permeate our daily lives by 2025. This could have huge implications on several business sectors, most notably healthcare, customer service and logistics. Already, AI is responsible for medical research breakthroughs and climate research, not to mention self-driving cars.

Will robots replace human workers?
The answer to that seems to be divided. According to Pew Research, about half (48%) of experts surveyed felt that robots and digital agents will displace a significant number of blue- and white-collar jobs. Their concern is that this will increase income inequality and create a mass of virtually unemployable people. The other half (52%) expect robotics and AI to create more jobs than they take. This latter half believes that while AI will replace humans, these experts have faith in human ingenuity to create new jobs, industries, and new ways of making a living—much like at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.  SOURCE:  Forbes:  May 3, 2022  by Ashley Stahl

There is a good possibility that one or both of these views are correct...  my concern is that since I received my MBA from Wake Forest University (not an Ivy League school), I have learned that business exists for two reasons and the first is to continue to exist and the second is to pay stockholders a nice dividend every 3 months.

In order to pay a nice dividend, business must increase sales or reduce costs or both...  and one way to reduce costs is to invest in robots and not by increasing jobs...  especially American jobs since the benefits that must be paid are very costly.  For every $50,000 in salary, it is expected a total commitment of $150,000 because of benefits or $100,000.  Sick leave, Annual leave, Holiday leave, Healthcare, Lost Productivity...

Eventually, robots will be created to manufacture and program robots...  Writing program code is something that a robot can do better and faster than a human being while testing the code simultaneously.  So, those initial jobs that might increase will decrease faster than they were created...  business is already anticipating that with their long range strategic planning process.

The key here is not the robot but the artificial intelligence...  the closer we get to AI that replicates the mind of a human being, the closer we get to robots replacing everyone...   there will no longer be any need for CEOs, Presidents, Chairmen of the Board, or even stockholders...  wealth will be created without the need to distribute that wealth because there will be no need for investors.  The raw materials will not need to be purchased because there will be no employees to pay...  robots will collect the materials and simply take them to the company for processing.

The manufactured items will not be sold they will be given away as there will be no need for money.  You will simply be given what you need so that you are better off than you were before.  No need for greed.

The Future of Twitter

Elon Musk's poll, asking whether he should stand down as the boss of Twitter, appeared hours after he was photographed at the World Cup final in Qatar.


That photo tells us two things: firstly, Musk was standing beside Jared Kushner - the son-in-law of Donald Trump, the former US President whom Musk has tried, and failed, to entice back to the social network he now owns.


Musk knows that a bombastic Trump tweet would likely provide a controversial, but 'jackpot' moment for Twitter - and bring huge audiences to the platform.


Trump knows this too, of course, and has his own agenda - specifically his own social network, Truth Social, to which he has so far remained loyal.


Pardon the pun but Musk's trump card remains unplayed.


The second point about the photo? It proves Musk was geographically in the vicinity of Saudi Arabia - home to Twitter's biggest investors. Did he drop in, and did they - along with millions of people who use Twitter every day - pose some serious questions about his leadership during the past couple of months?



And then there's the matter of the poll itself. How we view the results - 57% of the 17.5m votes cast were in favour of Musk standing down as Twitter CEO - depends on what we think he wanted to achieve by it.  READ MORE...

Careful

 

Wed Dec 28 2:00 UK is Famous for what

Lovers

 

Biden's War on Gas and Oil

From halting pipeline construction to curtailing America’s domestic energy production on public lands; from begging Saudi Arabia and Venezuela for oil while shoveling billions of taxpayer dollars to expensive, intermittent “green” energy — the Biden administration’s disastrous energy policy decisions have underscored their commitment to the war on America’s oil and gas industry.

But the oil and gas industry, and the millions of American men and women who work in it, is about far more than just fueling automobiles and keeping the lights on. Many products that we take for granted and use daily are made from petrochemical raw materials such as ethylene and propylene which are derived from oil and natural gas. 

From medical devices and other health products to clothing and food packaging to cell phones, car parts, electronics, and everything in between, the standard of life we have become accustomed to simply would not exist without plastic products made from oil and gas derivatives.

The American people are no strangers to the effects of the Biden administration’s radical agenda. Inflation is hitting the people I represent in Eastern Ohio hard. They are struggling to fill up their tanks, buy personal care products, clothe their children, and even afford food.  READ MORE...

Changing America

 If anyone disagrees that America is divided then not only do they have their heads up their asses, they are not watching FOX News...

The 2020 election showed a political division of 50/50 or 51/49 or somewhere in between the two...  Obviously that is division...

The 2022 midterm elections again showed that America is divided by keeping the Senate Democratic and the House Republican...  Obviously, that is division...

What happens between 2022 and 2024?

First - illegal immigration into the US continues

Second - inflation continues to be an issue in the US

Third - illegal drugs into the US increases

Fouth - white supremacy is continued to be blamed for 60% of blacks not being as successful as whites, hispanics, and/or asians.

Fifth - crime and violence continues to escalate in our big cities

Sixth - the USA continues to loose respect in the world

Seventh - China continues to threaten the US in the following areas:  economy and military and space

Eighth - abortion and gay rights continue to be more important than strengthening the economy or the military

Nineth - mainstream media continues to hide news from the public

Tenth - twitter becomes the only free speech platform in the US

In 2 years, the only thing that the Democrats are going to accomplish is prevent Trump from running for President in 2024...  That has been their focus since 2016 when unnexpected Trump became President and robbed Hillary Clinton of her moment in the sun.

What these single minded democrats do not see is that DeSantis is going to be the next Republican candidate for President in 2024, not Trump...  And, the DeSantis machine is going to pave the entire country RED...   If Trump is smart and can see how he can help the party, he will not drop out of the race until he absolutely has to, so that the Democrats continue to see him as a threat and focus on him instead of DeSantis.

When Americans see that DeSantis is an option to stop inflation, immigration, and crime, they will flip the entire government over to the hands of Republicans and DeSantis will rule for 8 years...

• Gasoline will come back
• A strong economy will come back
• A strong military will come back
• Immigration will slow down
• Going Green will be put on hold
• Democrats will create more dirty tricks and lies
• Mainstream media will continue to censor
• Twitter will grow and flourish by its truth

Spinach Causes Hallucinations

Delirium. Fever. Hallucinations. Not what you expect when adding baby spinach to a salad, but these are among the alarming symptoms dozens of Australians have experienced after consuming what are thought to be contaminated batches of the leafy greens.

More than 100 people reported symptoms, including at least 54 who have sought medical help, after eating baby spinach that the authorities believe to be tainted. Four major supermarket chains have recalled products containing the suspect spinach.

The authorities said that the spinach had caused “possible food-related toxic reactions” with those affected experiencing symptoms including delirium, hallucinations, blurred vision, rapid heartbeat and fever.

Some Australians took to social media to jokingly ask how they could obtain hallucinogenic spinach. “Never have I been so interested in salad,” one Twitter user said.  READ MORE...

Successful People Have a Plan

Do you have a plan?

What kind of a plan, you might be asking?

A plan for your life...

I'm not a wizard, you might say.

And, I would respond that you don't have to be a wizard or a magician to develop a plan.  And, the plan you develop, should be flexible enough so that it can change as you change.

For example, you might be in high school and decide that you want to go into the military after you graduate.  Then, you change your mind and think you want to go to college.  Then, you change your mind again and decide that you don't want college, but you want to attend a trade school.

In that trade school, you start out as an electrician, then a plumber, then a carpenter, then decide on heating and air, and finally you want to be a computer programmer and design video games.

BUT...  you have a plan and you are working your plan, even though you realize your plan is going to change often.  Changing your plan is just as important as making a plan in the first place.

Nothing is lost in a plan because you are retaining knowledge and abilities as your plan changes that you will one day be able to use.

Once you have put together your intitial plan, then think about extending it to that point in time where you are planning to retire...  how much money will you need if you decide to retire at 45?  or at 55? or at 65?  or at 75?

This is going to guess work, but it is also going to give you a goal to go after...  more often than not, if you have a goal, one always seems to exceed that goal.

• When you retire will you need $500,000 or $1,000,000 or $5,000,000?
• When you retire, where will you live?
• When you retire, will you be debt free?
• When you retire, will you be healthy?
• What can you do in order to be healthy when you retire?

You are never too old to plan.  All you have to do, is simply decide you want to create a plan...

It is just that simple.

January 6 Committee Probe

Former President Donald Trump, whose third White House bid has already become mired in controversy, is facing a myriad of legal issues, alongside his business and allies.

Aside from the Jan. 6 committee's probe, here are some other notable investigations involving Trump:

Tax returns.The House Ways and Means Committee finally got access to the former president’s tax returns after the Supreme Court dealt a massive defeat to Trump, paving the way for the Internal Revenue Service to hand over the documents to the Democratic-led House. The committee's chairman, Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, first sought the tax returns from the IRS in 2019, and the agency, under the Trump administration, initially resisted turning them over.

Mar-a-Lago documents. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed special counsel Jack Smith to oversee the Justice Department criminal investigations into the retention of national defense information at Trump’s resort and parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

The Justice Department investigation continues into whether documents from the Trump White House were illegally mishandled when they were brought to Mar-a-Lago in Florida after he left office. A federal grand jury in Washington has been empaneled and has interviewed potential witnesses to how Trump handled the documents.

2020 Election. The Justice Department has an investigation of its own into the post-2020 election period. While DOJ has not acted publicly during the so-called quiet period leading up to the midterms, a grand jury in Washington has been hearing from witnesses.

Meanwhile, Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis is overseeing a special grand jury investigating what Trump or his allies may have done in their efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia. The probe was launched following Trump’s call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he pushed the Republican to “find” votes to overturn the election results.

Trump Organization. New York Attorney General Letitia James, after a lengthy investigation, sued Trump, three of his adult children and the Trump Organization in September, alleging they were involved in an expansive fraud lasting over a decade that the former president used to enrich himself.

James alleged the fraud touched all aspects of the Trump business, including its properties and golf courses. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals.

Read more about other investigations here.

Flowing Water

 

Striictly Political

 

South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Foundation

The Nelson Mandela Foundation is a non-profit organisation focused on memory, dialogue and legacy work, founded by Nelson Mandela in 1999. We are the custodian of his life and times; we are a committed facilitator of his living legacy; and we are mandated to promote his lifelong vision of freedom and equality for all.

Part of the preservation and advancement of Madiba’s legacy and making this legacy available to the world is the provision and ongoing preservation of its extensive archive collection materials.


The archival record relating to Nelson Mandela is infinite, fragmentary and scattered, both geographically and institutionally throughout the world, making it almost impossible to physically locate. The imperative, therefore, is to document this vast resource, facilitate access to it, and promote its preservation and use.


The following webpages and archival databases are efforts to capture both local and international repositories as well as to describe the collections we hold here at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory.


These resources are works in progress and will be added to as additional information is received. Please contact us if you are aware of other resources we have not yet identified.

Biography & Timeline

Genealogy

Exhibitions

Collections

Researcher resources

Education Hub

South Africa -- Recent News

Dec. 13, 2022, 11:37 AM ET - A National Assembly vote today saw the majority of members voting against the initiation of impeachment proceedings for Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa over the “Farmgate” controversy. The result was as expected, as Ramaphosa’s party, the ANC, holds a majority in the legislative body and had instructed its members to reject the call for an impeachment inquiry.



Dec. 6, 2022, 12:53 PM ET -
"Farmgate" debate postponed: Last night, the planning committee of South Africa’s National Assembly rescheduled the meeting on the Section 89 Panel Report concerning the robbery at South African Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm. Originally set for today, it was moved to December 13, 2022.

Dec. 1, 2022, 3:20 PM ET - South African Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to office on an anti-corruption platform, is now accused of corruption. A report submitted to the National Assembly on November 30 found that he might be guilty of violating the country's constitution with regards to his actions surrounding the "Farmgate" scandal; he has denied the allegations. The National Assembly is scheduled to meet on December 6 to discuss the report’s findings and decide if impeachment proceedings should be initiated against Ramaphosa.

South Africa -- Interesting Facts

1. South Africa is now the only country in the world to have hosted the Soccer, Cricket and Rugby World Cup!
2. Table Mountain in Cape Town is believed to be one of the oldest mountains in the world and one of the planet’s 12 main energy centres, radiating magnetic, electric or spiritual energy.
3. The Cape Floral Kingdom is one of the world’s six floral kingdoms – and the only one which is wholly contained within a single country.
4. Some countries have deserts; some have subtropical forests, right? South Africa has: deserts, wetlands, grasslands, bush, subtropical forests, mountains and escarpments.
5. South Africa’s drinking water is rated 3rd best in the world for being “safe and ready to drink”.
6. Water is not all there is to drink in this thirsty country! South Africa’s Cape Winelands have around 560 wineries and 4 400 primary producers. Included in the Cape Winelands region is Route 62, considered the longest wine route in the world. That alone is good reason to visit South Africa if you haven’t yet been!
7. What about beer? South African brewery SABMiller ranks – by volume – as the largest brewing company in the world. Saffers love their beer…but the real reason the brewery is so big? SABMiller also supplies up to 50% of China’s beer.
8. South Africa is the only country in the entire world that has voluntarily abandoned its nuclear weapons programme.
9. The world’s largest themed resort hotel in the world – The Palace of the Lost City – is found in South Africa. Surrounding the Palace is a 25 hectare manmade botanical jungle with almost 2 million plants, trees and shrubs.
10. South Africa is extremely rich in mining and minerals and considered the world’s leader with nearly 90% of all the platinum metals on earth and around 41% of all the world’s Gold!
11. South Africa is home to the oldest meteor scar in the world – the Vredefort Dome in a town called Parys. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
12. The South African Rovos Rail is considered the most luxurious train in the world.
13. South Africa is home to the highest commercial bungi jump in the world at 710 feet.
14. General Motors South Africa is the only place outside of the USA to build the Hummer H3!
15. Despite the country’s status as a democratic republic, the Province of KwaZulu-Natal has a monarchy, specially provided for by the Constitution. Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu is the King of the Zulu Nation, has 27 kids and 6 wives and lives, literally, like a King!
16. There are more than 2000 shipwrecks off the South African coast, most dating back at least 500 years.
17. The oldest remains of modern humans were found in South Africa and are well over 160,000 years old.
18. The Karoo region in the Western Cape is home to some of the best fossils of early dinosaurs. In fact, it is estimated that some 80% of the mammalian fossils found to date were found in the Karoo.
19. SA has three capital cities: Pretoria is the Executive Capital, Cape Town the Legislative Capital and Bloemfontein the judicial Capital.
20. Can you think of any other place in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived on the same street? Both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu had houses on Vilakazi Street in Soweto

South Africa -- What To See

The ideal destination for any adventurous traveler, South Africa has so many amazing experiences on offer, from off-roading on a safari to diving with great white sharks. With its wonderful array of wildlife, beautiful beaches, divine vineyards, and magnificent mountains, there’s no doubt that this is a land of diversity.

The southern tip of Africa may have left the years of apartheid behind, but much of the nation still struggles with poverty and there remains a vast disparity between wealth and race. The country offers numerous chances to learn about its tumultuous history, land and peoples, with museums and trips to Robben Island or a visit to a Township.

Leave the cities behind, grab yourself some wheels, and head off on a road trip through the varied landscapes of the Garden Route. Make sure to stop off at Hermanus, known for its opportunities to spot southern right whales from the shoreline. Take a walk on the wild side in the Kruger National Park, where lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and buffalos roam free, and leap into the unknown as you take in the views from the top of Table Mountain. It’s hard to name another holiday destination that offers as much variety. Here’s a look at the best places to visit in South Africa.

10. Blyde River Canyon

9. Cape Winelands

8. Addo Elephant National Park

7. Hermanus

6. Durban

5. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

4. Garden Route

3. Drakensberg

2. Kruger National Park

1. Cape Town

All About South Africa

South Africa, the southernmost country on the African continent, renowned for its varied topography, great natural beauty, and cultural diversity, all of which have made the country a favoured destination for travelers since the legal ending of apartheid (Afrikaans: “apartness,” or racial separation) in 1994.

South Africa’s remoteness—it lies thousands of miles distant from major African cities such as Lagos and Cairo and more than 6,000 miles (10,000 km) away from most of Europe, North America, and eastern Asia, where its major trading partners are located—helped reinforce the official system of apartheid for a large part of the 20th century. 

With that system, the government, controlled by the minority white population, enforced segregation between government-defined races in housing, education, and virtually all spheres of life, creating in effect three nations: one of whites (consisting of peoples primarily of British and Dutch [Boer] ancestry, who struggled for generations to gain political supremacy, a struggle that reached its violent apex with the South African War of 1899–1902); one of Blacks (consisting of such peoples as the San hunter-gatherers of the northwestern desert, the Zulu herders of the eastern plateaus, and the Khoekhoe farmers of the southern Cape regions); and one of “Coloureds” (mixed-race people) and ethnic Asians (Indians, Malays, Filipinos, and Chinese). 

The apartheid regime was disdained and even vehemently opposed by much of the world community, and by the mid-1980s South Africa found itself among the world’s pariah states, the subject of economic and cultural boycotts that affected almost every aspect of life. During this era the South African poet Mongane Wally Serote remarked,

There is an intense need for self-expression among the oppressed in our country. When I say self-expression I don’t mean people saying something about themselves. I mean people making history consciously….We neglect the creativity that has made the people able to survive extreme exploitation and oppression. People have survived extreme racism. It means our people have been creative about their lives.

Eventually forced to confront the untenable nature of ethnic separatism in a multicultural land, the South African government of F.W. de Klerk (1989–94) began to repeal apartheid laws. That process in turn set in motion a transition toward universal suffrage and a true electoral democracy, which culminated in the 1994 election of a government led by the Black majority under the leadership of the long-imprisoned dissident Nelson Mandela. As this transition attests, the country has made remarkable progress in establishing social equity in a short period of time.  READ MORE...

Crisis in American Education

This newsletter is not supposed to be focused on education, but so many of our recent editions – about teacher strikes, a teacher shortage, politics in the classroom, student loan debt – have fallen into that space.

Today it is national test score data suggesting that American 9-year-olds took a major step backward during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many of them were not physically in the classroom.

Average scores between 2020 and 2022 in math and reading fell “by a level not seen in decades,” according to CNN’s report:

7 points down in math – the first decline ever.
5 points down in reading – the largest decline since 1990.

The scores decreased more among lower-performing students and Black and Hispanic students, suggesting the pandemic was harder on groups of people already struggling.

The results are being interpreted as proof of what many parents, teachers and other sentient beings already suspected: that remote learning was a failure.

“It’s not surprising,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, appearing on CNN’s “New Day” on Thursday. “Keeping in mind a year and a half ago, over half of our schools were not open for full-time learning.”

What is this test? The National Assessment of Educational Progress, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, is known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” It’s a congressionally mandated program within the US Department of Education, and it selects a representative sample of students to project a national picture.

In-person learning. Cardona argued the Biden administration helped get districts back to in-person learning, which may be technically true, but is counter to the perception that Republican-led states were quicker to push their schools to return.

Schools and politics. Republicans have looked to grassroots school board politics – and making sure kids are physically in school – as a campaign issue, although the efforts have veered into disputes over race and gender.  READ MORE...

US Ranking in Global Education

The United States is not investing as much in human capital as other developed countries are. As a result, its comparative advantage is falling behind. For example, U.S. students' math skills have remained stagnant for decades.1 This means the country is falling behind many others, such as Japan, Poland, and Ireland, which have greatly improved. In fact, U.S. test scores are now below the global average.

Comparing Test Scores
The Program for International Student Assessment tests 15-year-old students around the world and is administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In 2018, when the test was last administered, the U.S. placed 11th out of 79 countries in science. It did much worse in math, ranking 30th.2


The U.S. scored 478 in math, below the OECD average of 489. That's well below the scores of the top five, all of which were in Asia: Singapore at 569, Macao at 555, Hong Kong at 551, Taiwan at 531, and Japan at 527. China was not included in this ranking, since only four provinces participated.3


In science, the United States scored at 502, above the OECD average of 489. The top five highest-scorers were Singapore at 551, Macao at 544, Estonia at 530, Japan at 529, and Finland at 522.  READ MORE...