Helping Hands

From his island lair somewhere in the Caribbean, Longtime Friend Knal N. Domp writes (with my response underneath):

I think the preference of the Afghan Muzzies for the AK demonstrates that it’s the choice of insurgents all over the world — mostly because it’s easy to operate, reliable and needs little maintenance.  (Pretty much the same reasons that I like them, incidentally.)

Not that I’m an insurgent, or anything.

Quote Of The Day

Glenn Reynolds:

“Why do the lefty media always have to puff people up into bogus heroes?”

Answer:  because otherwise, their only heroes are murdering bastards like Stalin, Mao, Guevara, Lenin, Trotsky, Castro, Chile’s Allende and Venezuela’s Chavez (just off the top of my head;  there are LOTS more).

Automotive Control

Over the past couple years, I’ve taken a lot of guff from people when I’ve stated my implacable hostility towards the Internet Of Things [spit]  intruding on my private life, and specifically when it comes to my car.

“Oh but Kim,”  the response comes, “think of the convenience of not having to drive!” , etc. etc.  My retort to giving up control of one’s vehicle is usually, “Giving up control to whom, exactly?”

Well, here’s a little example of what I could see was coming down the pike:

The bipartisan infrastructure bill includes a provision that would require auto manufacturers to equip “advanced alcohol monitoring systems” in all new cars.
Buried in the massive proposal—which is already longer than 2,700 pages—is a section titled, “ADVANCED IMPAIRED DRIVING TECHNOLOGY,” which mandates new vehicles include “a system that … passively and accurately detect[s] whether the blood alcohol concentration of a driver of a motor vehicle is equal to or greater than the blood alcohol concentration” of .08, in which case the system would “prevent or limit motor vehicle operation.” Automobile manufacturers would have a three-year grace period to comply with the regulation.

Here’s another prognosis to this already-ghastly invasion of our privacy:  it won’t stop at “prevent or limit motor vehicle operation”.   Given the all-pervasive network of operations from Skynet, what is to stop the government (federal, state, local or a combination thereof) from levying a fine for drunken driving (to be deducted automatically from your bank account), as well as sending your car’s GPS coordinates to Officer Friendly at Hometown P.D.?

Tell me I’m exaggerating or overstating the thing, I dare you.

But it’s all for our own good, isn’t it?  So why would I be so upset about this?  After all, seatbelt mandates have saved countless lives, so why not apply the same rationale for car immobilization and punishment for intoxicated driving?

By all means, let’s all get upset when the government suggests implanting computer chips into guns so that they can be controlled by law enforcement during times of emergency — “That’s like totally beyond the pale, dude.”

This car nonsense is precisely the same thing, being suggested for all the same reasons.

I foresee a rush towards the purchase of older cars which don’t contain computers of any description — until, of course, the government outlaws ownership thereof.

Once again:  tell me I’m exaggerating or overstating the thing, I dare you.

Misdirection

Every magician knows the trick:  to distract the audience’s attention, they do something with one hand while the other performs the manipulations necessary for the trick to work.  And thus it is with the current Democrat Establishment:

Rochelle Walensky, a Democratic Party activist who happens to direct the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, is promoting new COVID-19 measures at the instruction of her boss, Joe Biden. These measures would require masks even for vaccinated Americans entering public buildings and for students and teachers in public schools.
Although such impositions may displease readers of this journal, until now they have made sense politically. They are intended to distract us from the colossally stupid things the Democratic administration has unleashed on us. Focusing public attention on a health crisis caused by the Delta variant provides a diversion from everything that should be laid at Biden’s doorstep, such as the explosion of violent crimes in American cities, rising inflation, uncontrolled borders, and the takeover of the military and education by the intersectional Left. If the Democrats can get Americans to concentrate on their “crises,” such as the putative danger of a right-wing insurrection and a raging COVID pestilence, then voters might be distracted from other things.

Okay, we all know that there’s no danger, putative or otherwise, of a “right-wing insurrection” other than in the sick projections of the people talking about it, e.g. President Braindead and his equally-braindead minions in the Justice Department and its testicle tentacle offices such as the FBI and parts of the DHS.  (A couple hundred people acting like idiots in the hallowed halls [sic]  of Congress do not an insurrection make, as much as the Communists are claiming it as such.)

But as the article rightly puts it, we need to avoid the waving (albeit irritating) hand and concentrate on the really important stuff:  the horrifying mega-budget being pushed on us by the Leftists (and even some asshole Republicans too, for shame);  the flooding of our border defenses by illegal migrants and criminals;  the foul Critical Race Theory which is poisoning our kids and undermining our military, to say nothing of other less-important institutions such as our sports organizations, corporations and other parts of our everyday lives.  And most importantly, our First- and Second Amendment freedoms are being circumscribed and undermined on a daily basis by this same disgusting ruling establishment,

All the above being aided and abetted by the media, academia and politicians, of course.

Sadly, it’s a war of many fronts, but it is nevertheless a war that has to be fought every single day — because the Left is assaulting us with blatant lies and subterfuges every day and at every turn.

I’m not saying we should ignore annoyances such as mask mandates, of course.  But in ignoring, mocking or opposing them, we should not lose sight of the important issues which should take most of our effort and support.