> I can tell that you have no idea what you're talking about because the vast majority of public K-12 school funding is through local taxes, not federal funding.

About 13% of public schools are funded federally. You say "the vast majority" as if to handwave 13% of their funding as unsubstantial. Most importantly, this funding goes to schools that do not have the local tax revenue to fully support them.

> The federal government has almost no control over it so they can't cut funding

The federal Dept. of Education plays a key role in ensuring equitable access to education. You know how they exert control over local schools? By creating and enforcing (or NOT enforcing) policies, because their job is ultimately to implement and enforce laws created by Congress that apply to public education.

> There are also many states that have charter schools that perform better for less money than the public schools, so it's not a money problem.

Charter schools have an abysmal reputation; approximately 1 in 4 charter schools end up out of business within 5 years, leaving their students in the lurch and those who paid for it with empty wallets.

It's just a scam to funnel public money into private hands and push indoctrination. Look at all the enshittification that's happened and is currently happening in the name of chasing profits - we cannot afford that in education, financially or culturally.
=Smidge=

Says the loser who likes to stalk people as an AC when he's not sucking McCarthy's rotting cock.

This is the spec sheet for the Pixel 10. Please point where it says it has Thunderbolt.

This is the spec sheet for the Samsung Galaxy S25. Please point where it says it has Thunderbolt.

Remember - the Federation reserved the Death Penalty for making AI Androids.

Noonian Soong had to exile himself to a remote planet outside Federation control to work on Data and Lore (and his sexbot...).

They needed people to be able to have jobs *that* badly.

Which ... stop sending redshirts outside the ship with magnetic boots in a radiation storm, OK? They could have at least had some astromech droids. Sheesh!

I recently got a "plastic" target that changes color and the holes mostly self-heal if you don't use a hollow-point.

Good for plinking but they do wear out eventually.

I didn't even know this material existed before a buddy told me they were on Amazon. Amazing times, for sure.

Heck, I picked up some 100-lb test fishing line the other day that is some sort of braided heavy-chain polyethylene that is 11 times stronger than steel wire at the same size. The company made mechanical spinnerets to mimic spiders' to get it to work.

Again, I had no idea until a buddy told me it was $20 on Amazon.

Wild.

Back in the day we'd install wild boards that would upgrade the Mac CPU's by a generation or two, add FPU's, etc.

All of this depended on the systems being too expensive to replace or buy new except once in a blue moon.

At $600 which is probably $200 in 1986 money, it's a bit harder to be mad.

Those systems were probably $10K in 2025 dollars. Heck, a few were $10K in 1986 dollars.

Please name one. There is a difference between a USB-C connection and a Thunderbolt connection.

How about the hardware does not support it? To use a Thunderbolt connection, the motherboard must have a Thunderbolt controller chip. I do not know of any phone that has one currently. Due to cost and space limitations, phone manufacturers do not include them. Laptops and desktops can have them.

is not all my brain & body needs

a lot of careers & companies started as hobbies

call it what you will but China only managed to lift itself above 3rd world status by copying the West, massive amounts of IP theft and repeating every environmental mistake ever made at an order of magnitude in a quarter of the time.
"whatabout" that, hmm?

"hole that lack of knowledge leaves filled up with prejudice and dumb, unwarranted national pride"
America and its people have many shortcomings but given China's history throughout most of the 20th century, Americans have nothing to learn about "dumb, unwarranted national pride" from the PRC

"early 1900s in the US...There were over 200 different car companies"
probably a lot closer to 2 THOUSAND than to 200
Dearly Departed American Automakers

"there's not much reason to work anymore"
people will find ways to pass the time and many will likely do or learn things that are novel, exciting or perhaps even useful.
most of us need or crave stimulation.

Your Nazi pals are collapsing on all fronts, and yes that's a copy and paste as your McCarthyite cocksucking trash was destroyed the first time. NATO admits Russia produces arms in three months what takes all of NATO a year to produce. Suck on that sucker. of. Satan's. cock.