Something like host over half of all Americans cannot read above a 5th grade level. Almost a third are functionally illiterate.

It’s not that they don’t have critical thinking skills. It’s that the entire lower-90% have been so badly nerfed that it is increasingly difficult for anyone in that cohort to get to a point where they can educate themselves without copious assistance.

And that’s exactly how Republicans prefer the population - uneducated, illiterate, ignorant and gullible. The better with which to scam them for their votes.

Not after the first snowfall, they won’t.

Find a deserted corner in the Pacific Northwest temperate rainforest, likely up near Haida Gawaii, and just… vanish.

I like civilization in general for the benefits it brings. I even like a few people. But humanity in general…

I truly enjoy solitude.

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
• Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
• Time Bandits (1981)
• The Dark Crystal (1982)
• Krull (1983)
• Brazil (1985)
• Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
• The Princess Bride (1987)

Any one of these are both campy and thought provoking.

Haiku OS stumbles into the room, gags at the PearsonVue stench, beats a hasty retreat

Sounds a lot like Canada, where most people’s exposure to “Mexican food” is Taco Bell. Welcome to the club.

My distaste for Tacos comes down to the fact I don’t like crunchy foods that shatter, and especially so when they run the risk of being messy. I mean, I can handle a gooey messy burger just fine, but that’s because it doesn’t shatter when I bite into it. Tacos hit both those pain points. Give me Arroz con Pollo any day, I absolutely love it. And yes, the only place I can get this is from Rancho Chico south of the border in Washington state.

Which means it’s a no-go until America overthrows the current authoritarian ChristoFascist administration. Because they won’t allow themselves to be legitimately voted out of power. Soooo… possibly a decade or more until I can eat there again, assuming America doesn’t invade Canada in the meantime.

Europe as a whole is swinging too far too the right. Y’all all are descending back into Fascism. The recent popularity of the AfD in Germany being a prime example. My own parents - who immigrated from Germany - are deeply disappointed in the direction the country is taking.