Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

The End Of An Era

“The old politics of right versus left, and Republican opposed to Democrat have now given way to a new existential struggle: Americans must choose between civilization—or its destroyers.”

– Victor Davis Hanson

Now that you, the lucky ones, are beyond your steaming platters of pancakes and mighty rashers of bacon, and perhaps even a dram or two of grog in your coffee. . . and clawed your way through the bales of presents. . . a merry Christmas to all. . . and here’s something else to think about this morning:

You may have noticed that our country, formerly a republic of sovereign individuals, has become one great big racketeering operation run by a mafia-like cabal with Marxist characteristics — or, at least, Marxist pretenses. That is, it seeks to profit by every avenue of dishonesty and coercion, under the guise of rescuing the “oppressed and marginalized” from their alleged tormenters. Apparently, half the country likes it that way.

Much of the on-the-ground action in this degenerate enterprise is produced by various hustles. A hustle is a particularly low-grade, insultingly obvious racket, such as Black Lives Matter, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), and “trans women” (i.e., men) in women’s sports. Some of the profit in any hustle is plain moneygrubbing, of course. But there’s also an emotional payoff.  Hustlers and racketeers are often sadists, so the gratification derived from snookering the credulous (feelings of power) gets amplified by the extra thrill of seeing the credulous suffer pain, humiliation, and personal ruin. (That’s what actual “oppressors” actually do.)

Categorically, anyone who operates a racket or a hustle is some sort of psychopath, a person with no moral or ethical guard-rails. Hustles are based on the belief that it is possible to get something for nothing, a notion at odds with everything known about the unforgiving laws of physics and also the principles of human relations in this universe. Even the unconditional love of a mother for her child is based on something: the amazing, generative act of creating new life, achieved through the travail of birth. Have you noticed, by the way, that the birth of human children is lately among the most denigrated acts on the American social landscape?

The flap over Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay, is an instructive case in the governing psychopathies of the day. I wish I’d been a roach on the tray of petit fours and biscotti brought into the Harvard Overseers’ board-room when they met to consider the blowback from Ms. Gay’s unfortunate remarks in Congress, followed by revelations of her career-long plagiarisms. The acrid odor of self-conscious corruption in the room must have overwhelmed even the bouquet of Tanzanian Peaberry coffee a’brew, and not a few of the board members must have reached for the sherry decanter as their shame mounted, and the ancient radiators hissed, and their lame rationalizations started bouncing off the wainscoted walls.

Apparently, Ms. Gay did not miss an opportunity to cut-and-paste somebody else’s compositions into everything she published going back to her own student years in the 1990s. She even poached another writer’s acknowledgment page. This is apart from the self-reinforcing substance of her published “research” justifying the necessity for DEI activism, for which she has become first an avatar and now a goat. The dirty secret of this perturbation — and the whole Harvard Board knows it — is that Claudine Gay’s career has been about nothing but careerism, and that this is also true of so many on the faculty and administration at Harvard, and surely at every other self-styled elite school from the Charles River to Palo Alto that had joined in the DEI mind-fuck.

It’s all one big status-acquisition hustle, the seeking of hierarchical privilege by any means necessary, including especially deceit, the politics of middle-school girls. Thus, you see on display both the juvenility of elite higher ed and its use of the worst impulses that prevail in social media, stoking envy, hatred, avarice and vengeance as the currency for career advancement. Claudine Gay was notorious earlier, as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, for wrecking the careers of faculty members (Ronald Sullivan, Stephanie Robinson, and Roland G. Fryer, Jr.) who refused to play the game like middle-school girls. She had no mercy.

The mental pain endured by the Harvard bigwigs must be excruciating, and of course they have themselves to blame because they walked right into the Woke hustle with their eyes wide shut. They bargained away their dignity, and the university’s honor, for mere brownie points in a fool’s game called Win big prizes pretending to care about your fellow man. The cognitive dissonance must be like little nuclear reactor meltdowns burning through the lobes of their brains. They’ve run out of a safe space to play “victim” in. The world sees them for the coddled, malicious fakes they are.

Cutting Claudine Gay loose is the unavoidable play now or Harvard will be stung by so many lawsuits from students previously punished for academic mischief that all the alumni lawfare attorneys in the cosmos standing snout to tail will not be able to staunch the hemorrhaging of the school’s endowment and then the fire sale of its chattels to satisfy the aggrieved plaintiffs’ pain and suffering. The Harvard board is just trying to ride out the holidays. Their prized participation trophy is coming off the mantlepiece. There really is no other way. Now, stand by and watch the rats rat each other out. And so ends the era of pretending about everything.

*  *  *

Support his blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page or Substack

Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The United States experienced its busiest November on record with encounters at the southern border, according to new data released on Friday.

If there was ever a moment in history when globalists have been unable to contain their unsettling glee it was the moment that Artificial Intelligence became a focus of public discourse.  It’s clear that the World Economic Forum worships AI – Lavishing the technology with praise and describing it as the end-all-be-all of human industry.  AI, they claim, will change the world so rapidly that most people will not be able to keep up with the advancements.

We have yet to see any of these advancements in the real world, of course.  In fact, it’s difficult to pinpoint any tangible benefits produced by AI so far other than making it easier for college kids to cheat on essays.  And here is where we run into a disconnect between what the WEF predicts and what is most likely to happen according to the evidence.

Is AI really the do-it-all technology that globalists make it out to be?  Is half of humanity going to be replaced with automation?  

The establishment media has been building up this notion as an inevitability, with millions of people (mostly within Gen Z) now experiencing anxiety over the possibility that they will one day have no career options because of AI.  The WEF even promotes a term for this feeling:  FOBO (which apparently now means Fear Of Becoming Obsolete).    

FOBO originally meant “fear of better options,” but the WEF has co-opted it and adjusted it for their AI narrative.  

Automation is nothing new to first-world industries and adapting to it has not necessarily made anyone’s place in the economy “obsolete.”  The media tends to suggest that hands-on jobs in areas such as agriculture, manufacturing and retail are going the way of the Dodo soon.  However, AI seems to represent a much greater threat to people in the white collar sector dealing with information tech.  People in data collection, software development, web development, research analysis, information security, etc. are far more likely to be replaced by AI.  

AI essentially automates data applications, making it possible for the average layman to one day “code” in a way that once took programmers years to learn.  For example, web development is becoming so automated these days it will not be long before web designers are out of work.  

AI has exhibited zero evidence of consciousness and creativity and has no capacity to operate widely in the physical world.  The globalist answer to this problem is their suggestion that “data” is the new economy, and that eventually robots will handle the physical.  This sounds like a pipe dream, but if the “data economy’ is going to be the focus of AI for the foreseeable future, this means that if AI leads to a job apocalypse it will be primarily in the white collar world.

The WEF partially admits to this development in a recent paper on FOBO, in which they argue that around 44% of skill sets will become obsolete by 2027, and 42% of business related skill sets will be replaced by AI.  

Far from becoming the all-knowing data-god hailed by WEF zealots like Yuval Harari, it appears much more likely that AI would simply augment or replace a number of office workers.  For now, no significant advancements in medical science, space science, engineering, energy science, resource efficiency, mathematics, physics, etc. have been produced by AI.  We’re all waiting around for AI to blow past human science and nothing is happening.  If all AI can do is put data programmers out of work, what good is it?

Interestingly, AI software makes some incredible claims very similar to the boasts of globalists.  Here is what AI had to say about its plans for the world of human art:

“Imagine waking up one day and finding your job has been automated overnight by intelligent machines. Then you discover even the career you dreamed of pursuing next has already been mastered by AI. 

Quickly, more and more human domains once thought impossible to replicate – art, music, emotion – fall prey to advancing algorithms until all uniquely human talent and purpose dwindles in the face of superior robotic counterparts. Soon your very existence becomes trivial … unnecessary.”

This is a fascinating omission bordering on delusion.  Not the delusions of AI, but the delusions of whoever programmed the software to say this (and no, AI does not currently think for itself).  AI art is generally considered generic and often terrible because it merely plagiarizes human art and then spits out an uninspired copy.  The notion that a soulless algorithm will ever be able to create emotionally charged art, music, literature and more is naive.  

It’s not so much about what AI can actually do (which is very little), it’s more about what the public is convinced that AI can do.  Globalists argue that the “data economy” will replace all other functions of civilization and trade as AI takes over.  But what good is data without application?  The only application of such a system would be to manipulate or control popular perception.  To make people believe things that are not true, to influence their behavior and to convince the public that they are no longer necessary.  

This is where AI technology shines.  It’s not useful to industry, it does little to advance scientific discovery and it doesn’t make the lives of individuals easier; rather it is only useful to the globalist agenda.     

Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

In the village of Ilion, New York, 80 miles west of the state capital in Albany, residents are mourning the departure of gunmaker Remington Arms Co. after two centuries of continuous operation.

Without fanfare, the company announced last month that the manufacturing plant would be closing its doors on March 4, 2024.

“I feel like a family member has died,” Ilion Mayor John Stephens told The Epoch Times. “My dad raised four kids on a paycheck from there for 37 years. He walked to work and carried his lunch every day.”

Mr. Stephens said no one expected the announcement a week after Thanksgiving that the plant was set to close.

On Nov. 30, at 3:26 p.m., the company notified village officials of the decision by email. The message noted that “all separations” with the village would be completed by March 18, 2024.

Likewise, the company notified its 270 employees that they would soon be out of a job.

“They brought the second and third shifts in and said they were done,” Mr. Stephens said. “They notified the first shift in person. I found out through the media. The owner’s group didn’t even contact me.”

Mr. Stephens said the company made the announcement just five months into a newly ratified employee union contract.

“To say we were shocked [by the announcement] is probably an understatement,” the mayor told Ilion’s Village Board of Trustees at a public meeting on Dec. 11.

“In my opinion, it’s unfortunate and extremely unprofessional.“

Remington Arms didn’t return messages from The Epoch Times asking for comment.

Publicly, the company attributed the plant closure in part to a hostile political climate in Albany regarding firearms production.

“I am writing to inform you that RemArms LLC has decided to close its entire operation at 14 Hoefler Avenue, NY 13357,” Remington Arms said in a letter to employees. “The company expects that operations at the Ilion facility will conclude on or about March 4, 2024.”

The Georgia-based company said it would continue to make firearms at its facility in Huntsville, Alabama, which opened in 2014, a year after New York’s passage of the Safe Act, which created stricter gun laws.

The anti-gun political climate in Democrat-controlled Massachusetts prompted competitor Smith & Wesson to move from its longtime base in Springfield to Maryville, Tennessee. The company announced the opening of its new headquarters there in October.

In Ilion, the community reaction to the Remington plant closure has been a sense of loss and bewilderment, Mr. Stephens said.

Many are wondering what will become of the 10,000-square-foot plant and the village’s Remington identity.

Mr. Stephens said residents see the two as synonymous, interwoven by history, culture, and economics.

“Remington is Ilion—Ilion is Remington,” residents here like to say.

Eric Kennedy, who runs the Copper Cafe in the downtown village retail plaza, believes the ripple effect of the closure would impact the businesses that served Remington employees for years to come.

“I’m sure it will affect us. Any time you lose jobs, it affects the area’s economy. It definitely will hurt the economy—small town, big business in the village. It’s going to hurt a lot of families,” Mr. Kennedy told The Epoch Times.

“New York state is not friendly to hunters and sportsmen. That makes a big impact. I don’t blame [Remington] for moving out of state, [but] it’s going to hurt.”

Until recently, Remington Arms employed about 1,500 workers, whose wages helped support the local retail economy, said village public historian Mike Disotelle.

“At noontime, when the employees would go to lunch, there would be a flood of factory employees going to local businesses,” he said.

Mr. Disotelle said Remington Arms was one of the village’s largest employers and a centerpiece of the downtown economy. This remained true even as the village continued to lose residents over the course of several decades, he said.

In 1960, the village had 10,000 residents. Today, that number is down to about 7,700 and could drop below 6,500 by 2030 due to the slow economy, high taxes, and limited housing availability, Mr. Disotelle said.

Village officials said Remington Arms’ departure would cost the village nearly $1 million in yearly revenues.

Mr. Disotelle said the village would need a “savior” to breathe new life into the facility. A federal gun manufacturing operation is one possibility.

“You’re always going to need to manufacture firearms,” he said. “The problem is New York state has created unfriendly legislation. The taxes are high. That’s why a lot of people have pulled out. We’re not a business-friendly state anymore.

“It would be nice if our politicians could get something going.”

Founded by Eliphalet Remington II in 1816, the family-run business was known as E. Remington and Sons before the sporting goods chain Marcus Hartley and Partners in Connecticut purchased the gunmaker in 1888.

“It was called a receivership,” Mr. Disotelle said of the acquisition by Marcus Hartley. “Technically, it was a bankruptcy. Not many people know about that. They know of the bankruptcies in recent years.”

Remington sold the company to chemical manufacturer Dupont in 1933. The New York investment company Clayton, Dubilier, and Rice purchased the company from Dupont half a century later.

The gunmaker continued to change hands despite the successful introduction of new products and millions in accumulated debt.

Read the rest here…

Contrary to recent propaganda from CBS News claiming Donald Trump is exploring Nikki Haley as a potential running mate (and the fact that Trump ally Laura Loomer slams Haley on a near-daily basis), the former president himself has weighed in on the 2024 GOP candidate he’s dubbed ‘Birdbrain.’

A Dec. 21 poll released by American Research Group, Inc. showed Trump leading the GOP field with 33% support among likely Republican primary voters – however it shows Haley just 4 points behind him at 29%, in stark contrast to the vast majority of mainstream pollsters.

“Fake New Hampshire poll was released on Birdbrain,” Trump aid on Truth Social, referring to Haley. “Just another scam! Ratings challenged FoxNews will play it to the hilt.”

“Sununu now one of the least popular governors in the U.S. Real poll to follow,” he continued, referring to New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s recent endorsement of Haley for president in 2024. 

Meanwhile, RealClear Politics‘ average of major polls has Haley nowhere near Trump.

As the Epoch Times notes, Haley has been gaining on President Trump in New Hampshire since September, with a poll released by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center on Dec. 20 showing her with 30 percent support among likely GOP primary voters, compared to President Trump’s 44 percent.

A survey from the same pollster carried out in September showed Ms. Haley with 15 percent support in the early voting state, with her latest numbers suggesting she has managed to double her support in New Hampshire.

After the poll from American Research Group was released on Thursday, Mr. Sununu took to X to comment that she’s closing in on President Trump.

President Trump was asked about the poll by conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt on Friday.

“Are you worried about Nikki Haley in New Hampshire?” Mr. Hewitt asked.

“No, I’m not worried about it. I think it was a fake poll,” President Trump said. “I saw the one poll where I was up by 4 or 5 points. It’s a fake poll.”

Authored by Michael Maharrey via SchiffGold.com,

Would you rather have silver and gold? Or would you rather have peppermint?

You might be under the impression Yukon Cornelius of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer fame was after riches of silver and gold.

He wasn’t.

I mean, I hate to mess with your Christmas memories, but facts are facts.

‘Tis the season for Christmas specials.

I’m not going to lie – even as a grown man, I love watching Christmas specials. Snoopy decorating his dog house. The Grinch folding up a Christmas tree like an umbrella and stuffing it up the chimney. Frosty the snowman melting in the greenhouse.

There are a lot of great memories in those shows.

My all-time favorite Christmas special is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved Rudolph.

I still do.

It was different back in the day. We had to wait until the shows came on TV.  I think that’s lost on many people today in our world of on-demand streaming. Those of you over a certain age will remember scouring the TV guide from your local newspaper starting around the first week of December eagerly waiting to see Rudolph pop up on the schedule.

My mom always made an event out of it. She would always whip me up a special Christmas treat – maybe a hot chocolate or apple cider. Sometimes, I even got freshly baked cookies. If it was cold, she would build a fire in the fireplace, and we would snuggle up in blankets to watch the show.

Here’s a confession: when I was really little, the abominable snow monster horrified me.

In retrospect, I have to wonder why. Remember when he tipped over? The bottom of his feet looked just like the bottom of my footie pajamas. How did I not notice that? How did I not realize that the abominable was a total fake?

I guess a 5-year-old has limited powers of observation.

But other than being scared of the PJ-footed snow monster, I loved the show as a little kid. And as I said, I still do.

Now, as a guy who writes about gold and silver for a living, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Yukon Cornelius. As you recall, he wandered the north in search of silver and gold. But I bet you don’t know the whole story behind old Yukon. Here’s a dirty little secret. The version most of us watched on TV as kids cut part of the story out.

I kid you not!

You’ll recall that when Cornelius meets Rudolph and the elf Hermey, he launches into a dramatic and emphatic introduction.

The name’s Yukon Cornelius, the greatest prospector in the north! And you know, it’s rich with gold! Gold! Gold and silver! Silver and gold! Wahooo!”

He punctuates his greeting by tossing his pickaxe up into the air, licking it, and declaring, “Nothin’.”

This pickaxe tosses and licking behavior repeats throughout the drama. When you stop and think about it, it’s kind of weird. And maybe a little gross. But I never thought about that as a kid. Of course, this is the same kid who didn’t notice the snow monster was wearing footed pajamas.

On a side note, how did his tongue not freeze to the metal in the frozen Arctic? (That brings to mind the flagpole scene in “A Christmas Story.”)

Anyway, you almost certainly think Yukon was hoping to discover riches in the form of gold and/or silver. That’s certainly the impression the show gives you.

Well, you think wrong!

He’s not looking for gold or silver!

Now for those of you who grew up on network TV, you know that things were often edited for commercials. This was the case with Rudolph. CBS deleted the scene that explains exactly what Yukon was looking for. Rick Goldschmidt wrote a book on Rudolph and calls this “the most significant deleted scene.” An article in the Huffington Post explains what happened.

It comes right after Rudolph guides Santa through the air to the Island of Misfit Toys. Rudolph’s parents, Donner and Mrs. Donner, Rudolph’s girlfriend, Clarice, and Cornelius are featured, while Donner says, ‘That’s my buck!’ finally confirming Rudolph’s dad is no longer ashamed, as Goldschmidt points out. But more illuminating is that the scene finally gives an answer as to why Cornelius kept licking his pickax throughout the special. In this deleted scene, Cornelius throws his ax in the air, lets it strike the ground and then, after licking it as he has been wont to do, declares, ‘Peppermint! What I’ve been searching for all my life! I’ve struck it rich. I’ve got me a peppermint mine … Wahoooo!’”

And here’s the deleted scene. You’re welcome!

Interestingly, if you’re just a tad bit older than I am, you may actually remember the deleted scene. It last aired on TV in 1964. It’s also on the DVD. So, if you have watched it with your kids, you already know this little secret.

Anyway, I get the whole peppermint Christmas motif, but to be honest, I don’t particularly like peppermint. I’d rather have chocolate. And let’s be honest, Yukon was a little misguided. I’ll take gold and silver, over chocolate or peppermint, thank you very much.

Anyway, on behalf of everybody here at SchiffGold, I wish you a wonderful holiday season!

On a recent episode of the All-In Podcast, hosts David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya, and David Friedberg discussed the weaponization of federal agencies by the Biden administration against Elon Musk.  

“They’ve now weaponized multiple federal agencies to go after Elon on these cases that seem transparently trumped up,” Sacks said. 

Musk, an outspoken critic of President Biden, has seen an increasing number of banana republic-style weaponization tactics by the administration against his companies, from Tesla to SpaceX, this year. 

Sacks listed several cases, including when the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission went after Musk in August for allegedly using Tesla funds to construct a ‘glass house.’ The DoJ also went after Tesla for not hiring enough refugees, and, more recently, the Federal Communications Commission rejected SpaceX’s Starlink from receiving a $855 million rural internet subsidy.   

Palihapitiya asked: “Do you think this is politically motivated harassment of Elon by the Biden administration?” 

Calacanis chimed in: “100%”. 

Calacanis added that Tesla was not invited to the EV summit at the White House earlier this month. He noted, “You just take Biden at his actions – if you don’t invite Elon to the EV summit – it’s obvious he [the president] has got it in for this guy [Musk].” 

“And now it’s obvious he [Biden] has told people to investigate him [Musk] and harass him – it’s obvious.” 

Palihapitiya asked, “Why doesn’t Biden like him [Musk]”? 

Calacanis pointed out the obvious answer: “Because he [Musk] is non-union – and sure, the freedom of speech things and Twitter doesn’t help – but this [Musk’s dislike of unions] predates Twitter.” 

“Biden is a union guy. He will not support non-union people. He is bought and sold by the unions.” 

Biden’s hit squad is going after @elonmusk. 🚨

“They’ve now weaponized multiple federal agencies to go after Elon on these cases that seem transparently trumped up.”

1️⃣ A glass house

2️⃣ Not hiring enough refugees to national security roles

3️⃣ Canceling an $885M contract with… pic.twitter.com/UTF15jn9dY

— ALL-IN TOK (@all_in_tok) December 24, 2023

It should become increasingly clear that progressive radicals in the White House are weaponizing every agency possible to attack political opponents. These are all signs of a tyrannical, out-of-control federal government. 

Christmas Eve is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and a moment for bonding with loved ones and friends through shared activities and meals. It’s a time for reinforcing the nuclear family while spreading peace and joy through the community. 

However, in today’s imploding Western society, run by incompetent elected and unelected leftist politicians who control all sorts of federal and state government agencies. They have waged war on the nuclear family structure. 

It’s not just radical progressives who want to dismantle the nuclear family. Marxist organizations, such as Black Lives Matter organization, funded by mega-corporations, have called for the death of the family unit. A central tenet of Marxism is to dismantle this structure: 

We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable. -BLM 

The Great Society programs that started with former President Lyndon B. Johnson in the mid-1960s ensured the destruction of the nuclear family as recent Census data showed 27.6% of all US-occupied households were one-person households in 2020, up from just 7.7% in 1940. The largest share of people living alone occurred between 1970 and 1980, when the percentage increased from 17.6% to 22.7%, right after the welfare programs started. 

So what’s the result of progressives tearing down the nuclear family? Well, Just The News recently noted:

First, the US has the highest rate of single-parent households in the world. Second, the connection between single-parent households and crime is very strong. According to research carried out by Jerrod Brown, a behavioral specialist at Concordia St. Paul, the extant literature “suggests that children raised in single-parent households experience more physical and psychological problems compared to those raised in two-parent households.” Moreover, he added, the “implications of homes in which fathers are absent may be important to explore for criminal justice and mental health professionals.”

The destruction of the family unit by radical progressives has created a generation of lawless youth that has been on full display this year in crime-ridden Baltimore City, Washington, DC, and other liberal metro areas where disastrous social justice reforms have been pushed through. 

The latest sign of lawless youth was Christmas Eve in Oakland, California, where instead of bonding with family and exchanging gifts in ‘Secret Santa’ – they were rioting on the streets. 

How Christmas is being celebrated in Oakland tonight. pic.twitter.com/dXMgMnUfdL

— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) December 25, 2023

It seems the US has a major lawless youth problem that Democrats won’t address because it’s merely a symptom of their failed policies. 

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

The ‘crack’ from Christmas crackers is being removed for environmental reasons and to turn Christmas into a “celebration of responsibility,” defeating the entire purpose of pulling one in the first place.

Yes, really.

Joyless eco-mentalists, committed in their mission to eliminate all fun, have lobbied for the introduction of ‘crackless crackers’, and their efforts are already coming to fruition.

At my first xmas dinner of year. pic.twitter.com/UGWSDoEPVH

— Christopher Snowdon 🇺🇦 (@cjsnowdon) December 4, 2023

“Alliance National, one of Britain’s biggest catering suppliers, has announced it will offer only environmentally friendly “crackless” crackers to its customers, which include dozens of care homes, hotels, pubs and restaurants across the country,” reports the Telegraph.

The silver fulminate has been removed from the items because it can’t be recycled.

Emphasizing the spirit, or lack of it, behind the change, the supplier has also completely removed jokes from its crackers too.

Precisely what is the point, then?

Author Christopher Snowden encountered one of the boring crackers during a recent lunch hosted by the Lords and Commons Cigar Club in the House of Lords.

He said they were “rubbish” and felt like when “you pull a cracker and they don’t crack and you just think it’s broken.”

What will they ruin next? Gift wrapping? Mistletoe?

How long before Christmas trees are banned entirely in the name of ‘celebrating responsibly’?

*  *  *

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Leftist corporate media were filled with joy earlier this month when Tesla issued its largest recall in its twenty-year history regarding Autopilot systems that had “insufficient” safeguards against driver misuse. 

Unbeknownst to some legacy media in their reporting, Tesla has previously solved recalls with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through an over-the-air software update. 

Tesla drivers on X reported in the last few days that an over-the-air software update titled “2023.44.30.5.1” was pushed to their vehicles. The update included new features for the Tesla Arcade, additional custom car locking sounds, automatic 911 calls during airbag deployment, and, near the end, a list of Autopilot improvements to satisfy federal regulators. 

Let’s begin with the “Over-the-Air (OTA) Recall” update that shows several improvements to Autopilot, including improved visibility for diver monitoring warning alerts on the touchscreen, increased strictness of driver attentiveness while using the automated driving system, and a suspension policy for Autopilot abusers.

Expanding on the Autopilot suspension update is a section that states repeated abusers will be given five strikes if the vehicle detects five forced Autopilot disengagements – which usually occurs when the vehicle senses the driver is not paying attention. On the fifth strike, Tesla said the automated service will be “unavailable for approximately one week.” 

Before the update, drivers who received several Autopilot disengagements were kicked off for the length of the car ride but only turned back on when the car was stopped and turned off.

Tesla appears to be getting tougher on Autopilot abusers as the Biden administration weaponized federal agencies against Tesla founder Elon Musk.