On 1 Feb 2007 16:56:03 -0800, "ScottW" wrote:
Spending time in schools, not to mention Usenet, I've discovered that
functional illiteracy is an epidemic rivalled perhaps only by
diabeties. And in terms of its effect on one's quality of life, it's
more serious.
Lately I've been getting questions from potential buyers of my Ebay
items that I simple can't fathom.
Pot...meet kettle 
Funny, I can't seem to fathom this either.
George will tell you I'm getting
doddery, but I say people--not all young--are totally losing command
of the language. It's frightening.
I think you're seeing a lot of English as a third or fourth language.
Could be, and I hope that's the case. But I suspect the culprits are
mostly bona fide graduates of our education system.