People keep bickering about the methodology of teaching instead of asking the most important question: how come it’s the school’s job to teach kids to read? When was the last time the kids who are failing to learn saw their parents with a book? Or, even more importantly, without being glued to a phone?

My kid drags heavy volumes with her everywhere and reads past bedtime because that’s what I do. Let’s all collectively leave the kids be and modify our behaviors. We keep formatting the kids instead of editing ourselves. And then we ask why their mental health is for shit.

Instead of asking what’s better, sounding out or sight words, let’s ask, how much do I read? How much do I enjoy reading? What’s the last book I finished? That’s a much more productive venue for exploration.

This is the same president of Mexico who, as Tucker Carlson recently claimed, was conspiring with Biden and Trudeau to dissolve the national borders of Mexico and make it into the same country with the US. Does it mean that he wants Trump to be elected because he believes Trump is more likely to assist in that plan? Or what? Even utter insanity needs to possess some internal logic.

Given that food-related posts are my most popular ones, here’s proof for my contention that KFC is the best-tasting fast food out there:

This isn’t real KFC, though, so I feel for Xi. This is a Russian brand that bought KFC’s facilities and still illegally uses its logo.

Today I’ll have to spend 45 minutes talking to “a specialist in pedagogy” and pretending to appreciate her insight that every college course should encourage students to use Google because that’s a crucial job skill. I’ll get a sum of money for this exercise in fake passivity.

My compassion for prostitutes has never been higher.

“When we came to Spain,” says the Ukrainian refugee, “we wondered how we’d get along with the Catholics. After 10 months here, though, we haven’t met a single Catholic, so now we realize we should have wondered how we’d do among all the atheists.”

I just talked with a family of Ukrainian refugees that I met in Spain. Wonderful people, a couple with 4 kids, very religious. They are disturbed by the same things in the Spanish public education system that we are here. There’s only one break, rarely any outside time. Everybody respects an 8-year-old’s “gender identity” but not his right to use the bathroom or have a drink of water during class time.

The mom caught the 10-year-old son making detailed drawings of a vulva and started having conversations with him about the evils of pornography. Turns out, the boy is doing it as a school assignment. Nobody mentioned Cervantes so far but who cares as long as no opportunity is missed to discuss sex?

Also, they are stunned by how pathetic the healthcare system is compared to what they are used to in Ukraine. This is interesting because the Ukraine I left 25 years ago had a horrid healthcare system.

Of course, their dream is to go back home. They are doing everything so that the kids can continue to take classes in their Ukrainian school, even though it has to be online.

We had a great time mocking COVIDiocy and masks. In short, good times. My spoken Ukrainian is getting better by leaps and bounds because I almost didn’t struggle during today’s conversation.

It’s creepy but this quiz guessed my exact age. Will it work for anybody else here?

Now it’s become clear what was behind the Russian manifestations of joy over the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria:

Russians are going all out to promote the idea that Trump is a Russian spy. Yesterday, former president of Russia Medvedev published a statement encouraging Americans to take to the streets in an uprising. Medvedev concluded the statement saying that it was published by request from “Colonel Trump “.

It’s now very clear where the Steele dossier had come from. Yesterday’s lie is as clumsy and ridiculous as the one from 2016, which didn’t prevent half of Americans from eagerly swallowing it.

The “impending Trump arrest” storyline is complete ridiculousness on both sides. People who will invest any emotion or interest into the story from either side (e.g. “Finally!” or “We need to protest!”) have learned absolutely nothing and clearly enjoy being manipulated.

I have absolutely no idea why, instead of emoting about Trump for the better half of a decade, people can’t find the strength to ask themselves what is it in their relationship with their father that hurts so much. And I mean both people who love him and hate him. Because of their laziness, we are condemned to have a public space that is permanently poisoned by this inane drama. Nobody is even talking about the border wall anymore because all attention has been sucked up by manufactured scandals around the guy who promised to build it and never did.

Also, please note how the same people who have been arguing that helping Ukraine detracts from the efforts to solve the opioid crisis and control the border will now happily forget all about fentanyl and cartels and plunge into the Trump drama.

These people – again, on both sides – are sucking your life energy because that’s how they feed themselves. I’m not say don’t follow the news. News are great. But, for God’s sake, don’t get emotionally invested. The moment you feel an emotion starting to wriggle inside you, know that you’ve been had and start stepping away.