• “MEMORY CAN NEVER BE PERFECT. Memory is fallible and malleable, regardless of age, since the brain processes incalculable amounts of info at any given time, with limited room to be stored. So ‘forgetting’ and memory ‘lapse’ is normal at every stage of life, while the brain must prioritize ‘important’ matters – the concepts and generalized principles we want to remember in our everyday lives, versus non-important things like times & details. Much gets consolidated and recombined during sleep, getting changed over time such that ‘facts’ get confused, so Memory does become selective… Its raw power tends to peak in early 20s, then mental acuity begins a long slow slide. However, an older brain is a wiser brain, more adept at filtering irrelevant info or making connections between experiences. According to researchers, our imperfect recollections are the price we pay for a Memory system that is adapted to things we want to remember.”  [WASHINGTON POST – 2/10/24]
  •  AMERICA’S LUXURY OF ‘PRINTING MONEY’ TO FUND DEFICITS EXCEEDING $2 TRILLION ANNUALLY, with cumulative national debt now exceeding $32 trillion, incurring annual interest exceeding the amount of funding for our Defense Department, has been enabled by the U.S. Dollar being accepted as the world’s Reserve Currency based on its stability. However, U.S. price inflation which has occurred in the last several years (up to 18% by some measures), and likelihood for continuing deficits which appear unsustainable have generated a “looming threat to stability of the Dollar, and potential of it being overthrown as global Reserve Currency by the BRICS bloc” – a coalition of ten next wealthiest nations: Brazil / Russia/ India/ China/ South Africa/ Egypt/ Ethiopia/ Iran/ United Arab Emirates/ and Saudi Arabia (pending). That his reality is not even mentioned in our political discourse these days is bizarre. [RED STATE – 2/14/24]
  •  “TODAY’S SURGE OF ANTISEMITISM IN SCHOOLS stems from a decade-long politicization of the education system, infiltrating every aspect from educational philosophy to curriculum and classroom discussions. Its driving force is the new leftist dogma. At its core is ‘critical pedagogy,’ an educational philosophy that fuels resentment, victimhood, and collectivism, while promoting hatred towards certain groups, indoctrinating students to view the world through a lens of power dynamics and oppression. Cloaked in euphemisms such as ‘inclusivity’ and ‘social justice,’ this ideology – like all aspects of woke education – contains a destructive mind virus. One way this infiltrates K-12 classrooms is through Ethnic Studies, which appears harmless but insidiously teaches students to perceive oppression and racism everywhere in society, while radicals holding antisemitic views have risen to positions of influence and control.” https://townhall.com/columnists/rhyen-staley/2024/02/16/antisemitism-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-of-k-12-education-n2635333?utm_source=thdailyvip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&bcid=e528c871aa145108beedd5861042dd0900c705fb9f3fce9716a80a3b43775e9b&recip=28965474
  •  THE INTEGRITY OF AMERICA’S 2024 ELECTION IN JUST OVER 8 MONTHS IS LIKELY TO BE EVEN MORE DISPUTED than the last two election results, because of the unnecessary continuation of mass mail-in voting – which most other developed countries have banned, since it is neither safe nor secure. Solutions are neither high-tech nor complicated. What power-hungry legislators & bureaucrats should and could do is: (1) Require in-person voting with photo identity and signature verification; (2) Set a consistent ‘election day’ timeline; (3) Limit pre-issued ballots to qualified disabled or those overseas; (4) Mandate State (versus Local) responsibility for annually-cleaned voting rolls, and removal of persons deceased or whose residences changed from the registered district; (5) Outlaw ballot ‘harvesting’ and unattended ballot drop boxes; (6) Preclude non-citizens from voting; (7) Penalize cheaters. The ‘integrity’ of U.S. Voting is becoming a joke.
  •  THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

“Virtual Reality (VR) is like wearing a digital blindfold – it blots out the real world and immerses the user in an alternative, computer-generated reality.  Augmented Reality (AR), by contrast, superimposes computer-generated elements onto your view of the real world. Soon coming is Mixed reality (XR or MR) which goes a step further by allowing real and virtual items to interact.” [ECONOMIST]

According to CDC, in the last three years percentage of U.S. adults over age 20 with obesity has increased from 30.5% to 42%, and diabetes increased from 10.3% to 15%.  A $190 million study of 10,000 participants is now underway by Nat’l Institutes of Health to “collect algorithms that, they hope, can predict what a particular diet will do for people with varying ages, ethnicities, backgrounds & health conditions.”  [WALL ST. JOURNAL]