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MARCH 23, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

ANOTHER EDUCATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH – FROM COLLEGE FIX: An upcoming event at Cornell University will cover “Robo-sexism,” a discipline which explores the intersection of technology, gender and sexuality. The event will be led by University of Michigan anthropology Professor Emerita Jennifer Robertson, a leading scholar in the field. It will delve into the sex-gender stereotypes and operational functions informing the design and embodiment of artificial intelligence and robots. And, in particular, that link in “humanoids and androids,” according to the event’s website. It is titled “Robo-Sexism: Gendering AI and Robots” and is scheduled for April 22.
“Robots have been imagined, designed, and deployed in rhetorical and tangible forms alike to reinforce conservative models of sex/gender roles, ethnic nationalism, and ‘traditional’ family structures,” the event description states, adding Robertson will consider the ramifications of such “retro-tech.” When asked by The College Fix via email to describe robo-sexism, Robertson said the discipline is rooted in an industry practice in which technology designers assign human genders to non-human objects. “I define ‘robo-sexism’ as the practice among roboticists, whether intentional or unintentional (from indifference or ignorance), of designing humanoid robots on the basis of essentialized and reductive stereotypes about human females and males,” Robertson said.   I'm so glad the academic world is confronting this.  What kind of a country would we be if we permitted sexist robots?  Please think about that.  This is the new climate change.

March 23, 2022      Permalink

THEY ARE FIGHTING!  THERE IS BAD BLOOD!  JOEY AND KAMMIE, CAN THEY BECOME LOVERS? OVERNIGHT:  It is obvious that the president and vice president are less than close.   The country is in danger from either one of them.  If there were ever a time for an American coup, it's now.  From Daily Mail:

Kamala Harris wasn't happy with Joe Biden appointing her to address the southern border crisis, wanting a more softball foreign policy assignment, and thinks the president's 'white inner circle' looks down on her, according to claims made in a new book.

During an April meeting with Congressional Black Caucus leaders, Biden praised Harris and said she would do 'a hell of a job' handling immigration.

'The vice president corrected him at once,' New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns wrote in their new upcoming book This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America's Future.

''Excuse me,' she said, 'it's the Northern Triangle — not immigration.''
The book also explains that the first minority and female vice president felt belittled by Biden's white staff.

'Some of Harris's advisers believed the president's almost entirely white inner circle did not show the vice president the respect she deserved,' they wrote.

'Harris worried that Biden's staff looked down on her; she fixated on real and perceived snubs in ways the West Wing found tedious,' they added, according to excerpts published by Politico on Tuesday.

Biden tasked Harris with addressing immigration – and the vice president took her opportunities to share her dissatisfaction with the role.

According to the book, Harris' aides felt that the task of addressing the southern border crisis, in any way, was politically undesirable and wanted the vice president to have a more softball foreign policy assignment – like overseeing relations with Nordic countries.

'Staff floated the possibility of the vice president overseeing relations with the Nordic countries — a low-risk diplomatic assignment that might have helped Harris get adjusted to the international stage in welcoming venues like Oslo and Copenhagen,' the authors wrote.
They added that the prospect of overseeing Nordic countries was 'rejected' by White House aides and even 'privately mocked.'

'More irritating to Biden aides was when they learned the vice president wanted to plan a major speech to outline her view of foreign policy,' they added in the book. 'Biden aides vetoed the idea.'

COMMENT:  Oh, read the rest.  Who doesn't love a good soap opera?  I wanna see the Second Gentleman secretly take up with AOC. Soon to be a major motion picture. 

March 23, 2022     Permalink

MARCH 22, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

ANOTHER GREAT GOVERNOR – FROM PJ MEDIA:  We’ve got quite a post-modernist culture war on our hands over transgender issues. Former Navy SEAL and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just went kinetic with fiery remarks about the NCAA. On Tuesday, DeSantis issued a proclamation announcing that native Sarasota, Fla., athlete Emma Weyant, who swims for the University of Virginia, logged “the fastest time among all women swimmers” at the NCAA championship in the NCAA Division I final over the weekend. He accused the NCAA of “destroying opportunities for women” and perpetrating “a fraud on the public,” and berated them for “putting ideology ahead of opportunity for women athletes.”  The governor issued a statement with the proclamation saying, “due to the NCAA’s policy allowing men to compete in women’s athletics, she was designated the second-place finisher. To recognize the accomplishments of this outstanding athlete and Floridian, Governor DeSantis issued a proclamation today recognizing Weyant as the best female swimmer in the 500-yard freestyle event.”  Good for the governor.  No disrespect meant, but there must be a place in this world for common sense.

March 22, 2022     Permalink  

THE NEW GOVERNOR MAKES HIS MOVE – OVERNIGHT: Virginia's newly elected governor shows that his game is action, not words.  I see him as a future resident of the national ticket. From insidescooppolitics:

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that he will temporarily suspend the state’s gas tax. Youngkin’s move is pending approval by the Virginia legislature.

With gas prices soaring in the United States, it’s about time that we found some relief. The Virginia Governor’s plan would put a 3-month halt on the existing gas taxes in the state. It will save drivers 26 cents per gallon on gasoline and 27 cents per gallon on diesel.

Here’s some of what Glenn Youngkin told CBS:

“This is a break that people need right now, and the whole purpose of suspending the gas tax was to recognize Virginians have real needs to save money and we need to do it now,” Youngkin said.

The governor’s proposal would suspend the gas tax in May, June and July and phase it back in throughout August and September.

“We actually have an expectation we’re going to have $1.1 billion more in the Commonwealth Transportation fund than we thought. And so this will cost a little over $400 million. We’ll still have $700 million more than we thought to fund road projects and fill potholes,” Youngkin said.

A news release also indicated that the legislation would cap changes to the annual gas tax. Even following the three-month suspension, gas taxes wouldn’t be able to change more than 2% annually.

This doesn’t solve the issue of high gas prices alone. It does, however, soften the blow on average Americans who only want to provide for their families.

COMMENT:  Smart move by a governor who won his seat by listening to ordinary citizens. Tax cuts are almost always good.  They give people a break, and the extra personal spending boosts the economy. And they remind citizens that tax revenues belong to the people, not the politicians. I look forward to Youngkin's next move.

March 22, 2022     Permalink