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MARCH 1-2,  2023

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

GREAT MOMENTS IN AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY:  From the New York Post:   Ford is attempting to patent car “repossession” technology that would allow the automaker to remotely lock down vehicles or shut off key features like air conditioning if the owner misses payments, according to newly surfaced filings.  Ford’s patent for “Systems and Methods to Repossess a Vehicle” was filed in August 2021 and published in late February as part of the standard application process. The application has yet to receive final approval for patent protection.  According to the patent application, the technology would be used in the event that drivers ignore “notice(s) of delinquency of a vehicle-related payment” that are sent to their phones or their vehicle computer systems.
Cruise control, automated window and seat controls, air conditioning systems, remote key fobs and automated door locking systems are among the features that could be disabled through the technology, according to Ford’s filing.  “Disabling such components may cause an additional level of discomfort to a driver and occupants of the vehicle,” the filing says.  Very awkward for a teenager trying to impress his date.  An obvious attack on courtship.

March 2,  2023     Permalink

WOULD YOU LOOK AT THIS:  Are we committing national suicide?  From Fox: 

A Fairfax, Virginia, school board member recommended curriculum materials for teachers to use for their lesson plans which opposed using terms such as "radical Islamic terror," "Islamic terrorists" and "jihadists" when discussing the history of the Sept. 11 attacks. 

Abrar Omeish is a school board member and Georgetown law student who has become marred in controversy over a series of controversial statements. In one instance, she refused to vote on a motion to commemorate 9/11 victims. 

Fox News Digital found that in 2021 Omeish recommended public school teachers use a "culturally responsive" curriculum guide for their lesson plans about 9/11 history. 

It said, "Do not frame the lessons as a chance to explore the definition of terrorism or a clash of two different societies/cultures." 

"There is much disagreement about what terrorism means, and it’s often used in a biased manner," the guide continued. 

Teachers should screen themselves for biases against Arab-Muslims using an online test before educating students on 9/11, it recommended. To create a "safe space" teachers should "wear cultural items from Muslim countries as a show of support (e.g., scarf)."

In order to be "culturally responsive," teachers should focus "on the impact of 9/11 on communities of color, including Muslim Americans," the guide said. 

Teachers should bring up "Islamophobia at the structural level (policies that were enacted at national, state, and local levels) and individual level (policies at the individual level, outside of government)."

"Muslim communities… responses of resilience but also depression and anxiety" should also be raised about the topic. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Omeish for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Omeish was accused of attacking 9/11 victims after she refused to vote on a resolution to honor the lives of 2,977 Americans killed by al-Qaida terrorists on 9/11. 

The resolution was not "anti-racist" enough and failed to address "state-sponsored traumas" experienced by Muslims, she appeared to suggest. A local Fairfax County editorial board called the rhetoric "callous."

The local GOP called for Omeish's ouster, stating, "Her cruel attacks on the memory of 9/11’s victims and heroes should be the last straw. They were not just incredibly tone deaf — they were vicious and, frankly, anti-American."

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  This woman is on a school board in Fairfax, Virginia, which is just outside Washington D.C. and contains many government workers.  There have been other examples of sick school politics in Fairfax.  It is also, fortunately, one of the centers of the parents revolt movement.

If you think the above story is outrageous, remember that it would be considered perfectly normal and correct on many college campuses.  We are in danger of losing this country to the left-wing crazies.  We're seeing some important pushback in many areas of the country, but we the people must reinforce that pushback when we go to the polls, or to local school-board meetings.

March 2, 2023       Permalink

MORE ON CHICAGO:  The Chicago mayoral race was all the rage among analysts this week, but some caution is required.  It is true that Lori Lightfoot, the worst mayor since Biblical times, is out as a result of Tuesday's vote, but the process isn't finished.  The Chicago mayor's contest is done this way:  A bunch of people who aren't in jail, or have finished their terms, run for mayor.  Whoever gets 50 percent wins.  If  no one gets 50 percent, a runoff is held between the top two finishers. 

No one got 50 percent Tuesday, something that never used to happen when they allowed the residents of the cemeteries to vote.  But those were the good old days.  So there will be a runoff in April between two very different candidates.  We aren't out of the woods yet.  The bad guy can win, and the whole process can get Chicago-ugly, which is very ugly indeed. 

Leading the field Tuesday was Paul Vallas, with 34 percent of the vote.  In second place was Brandon Johnson, at 20 percent.  Please note that Vallas is white, and Johnson black.  In Chicago, perhaps the most racialized big city in America, home to the Nation of Islam and the Jesse Jackson forces, that could mean an incendiary contest. 

Both men are Democrats, but Vallas is something of a centrist.  He promises to be a crime fighter and has the backing of the police union.  Johnson, incredibly, is to the left of Lori Lightfoot.  I'm not kidding.  He has favored defunding the police, and is owned, absolutely owned, by the teachers union.  Vallas believes in school choice, Johnson believes what he's told to believe. 

Together, the finalists had 54 percent of the vote.  Where the other 46 percent will go in the April 4th runoff cannot yet be predicted.  One fear is that the pro-Johnson faction will pull the usual Democratic stunt of scaring the daylights out of the black population, suggesting that blacks would be back in chains if Johnson loses.  Then it gets ugly.

Chicago has had similar crises before.  Crime became so bad in the 1960s that the University of Chicago seriously considered leaving the city, with some suggesting that it buy the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.  The university stayed, and launched an "urban renewal" project to improve its neighborhood.

During this current crime wave Chicago has already lost some major companies.  It cannot afford to lose more and still remain a leading city.

March 1, 2023       Permalink

FEBRUARY 28,  2023

MY KIND OF TOWN...AGAIN:  Lori Lightfoot has been voted out of the Chicago mayor's office.  The main issue that brought her down was the city's ghastly crime problem.  From Fox: 

Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has lost her bid for re-election as the race heads to runoff without her after no candidate reached the required 50% vote threshold to be elected.

Lightfoot faced challenges from eight other candidates in the race, including Chicago Public Schools CEO and city budget director Paul Vallas, who held a significant double-digit lead in the polls ahead of Election Day.

Leading up to the election, Lightfoot also narrowly trailed Brandon Johnson, a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, by two points, and was in a dead heat with Democratic Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia who represents Illinois's 4th Congressional District. 

Vallas received enough votes to head to the runoff and will face Brandon Johnson on April 4.

Lightfoot conceded her bid Tuesday stating: "I will be rooting and praying for the next mayor of Chicago."

Crime was seen as the central theme of the race and the city's soaring crime rate served as the backdrop to Lightfoot's dismal approval rating, according to one poll. 

She also faced sharp criticism for her less than cordial relationship with law enforcement throughout her tenure, which saw a drastic reduction in police officer headcount to coincide with the rise in crime.

Homicides in Chicago rose to their highest number in 25 years in 2021, according to police department records, outpacing New York City and Los Angeles.

Lightfoot frequently touted Chicago as a "safe" city and defended her record handling the issue, including touting a "multitiered strategy" to curb gang and gun crimes last August.

Vallas portrayed himself as the law and order candidate, and received support from Chicago's police unions. He was also a sharp critic of Lightfoot's handling of crime.

COMMENT:  Those of us who've lived in Chicago know what a beautiful city it can be.  The new mayor will inherit an urban train wreck, choked by homicide and by an endless obsession with racial politics.  Fiorello LaGuardia, the great mayor of the once-great city of New York, said that there's no Democratic or Republican way to pick up the garbage.  There should be no Democratic or Republican way to fight crime.  There should only be a right way.  And Chicago had better find it fast, or fade away.

February 28, 2023       Permalink