Although it's dropped off the front pages fairly quickly, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy was released by the NCES (National Center for Educational Statistics) today.
http://nces.ed.gov/...
I was reading and half-listening to Wolf Bluster on CNN earlier when Jack Cafferty came on in high dudgeon exclaiming that eleven million Americans cannot read a prescription bottle! But, though I can't locate the specific number quickly, I recall the number of Americans who could barely read a newspaper was much higher. These are the functionally illiterate. The two groups constitute about 1/2 of American adults. Only 13% of American adults are considered "highly literate."
Then I started wondering who is actually supporting BushCo.?
There is a seemingly endless stream of new revelations on Dkos every morning on BushCo. malfeasance, venality, crime and/or gross cupidity. Many commentators want to know why the American public can't seem to 'wake up.' Some are optimistic that as soon as they do wake up, acts such as DoD spying on the citizenry will shortly be put to right. People here talk about sheeple, or else plead the case of the working stiff holding 3 jobs with no time for politics.
But, what if it's perfectly o.k. with the ruling elite that half the American public can't read? What if the chest-thumping about the 'horrible education system' is really just noise? In who's interest is it that most Americans can't understand a damn thing about genetically modified foods, drilling in the ANWR, why their natural gas is going through the roof, or a HOST of other issues that are complex, complicated and require actual study? What if the functionally illiterate are 'values voters'? And, what if they CAN'T be turned around because they don't have the educational foundation to actually comprehend?
Just askin' ...