HOW DO SELF DRIVING CARS KNOW WHERE TO GO? They use radar of course and I've got a guest today who knows all about it. Driverless Technology Expert, Dr. Matt Markel, Author of Radar for Fully Autonomous Driving and CEO of Spartan Radar is coming on at 1 to discuss how the technology that allows self driving cars to drive works and why we should feel confident in this new technology. We'll see if he can convince me. Find out more about Spartan Radar here and Matt Markel here.
HOOBOY THOSE IVY LEAGUE PRESIDENTS KNOW THEY REALLY MESSED UP If you missed the audio of the disastrous testimony of three Ivy League Presidents who could not answer the question if calling for the genocide of Jews violated their campuses harassment policies it's a doozy, check it out here. Well they must have gotten an earful from donors because both the President of Harvard and the President of Penn tried to walk back their idiocy yesterday. After smirking her way through her non-answer Penn's President put out what looks like a hostage video. Is she blinking in Morse code?
President Claudine Gay, who said calls for genocide are fine depending on the "context" issued this weak sauce statement via X:
The President of MIT faired a tiny bit better, and I went and found her opening statement which took a stronger stance than either of her colleagues. Read it here. I'm not sure the Presidents of Harvard and Penn survive this and if they don't, it's their own stupid fault. Heather MacDonald wrote a ripper of a column here about how DEI has allowed anti Semitism to flourish. From the column:
The real issue on campuses isn’t antisemitism but the anti-Western ethos that has colonized large swaths of the curriculum. Elite schools once disdained Jews because they were seen as outsiders to Western civilization. Now they are reviled as that civilization’s very embodiment. Students explain that their hatreds come from what they learn in class—that the West is built on white supremacism and oppression. Israel is cast as the Western settler-colonialist oppressor par excellence.
The Columbia University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine explained that “our classes regularly discuss the inevitability of resistance as part of the struggle for decolonization. We study under renowned scholars who denounce the fact that the media requires oppressed peoples to be ‘perfect victims’ ”—that is, not to commit acts of terrorism—“in order to deserve sympathy.” During a sit-in, a law student at Penn announced: “It was here where I read texts about the history of colonial regimes and the importance of decolonization. . . . I just want the university to try to do part of what it tries to teach us in the classrooms.”
A Harvard student posted on social media: “how have i read frantz fanon in no less than four classes here (writing on the violent algerian decolonial movement!!!) and yet you all side with the colonizer?” Another Harvard student: “what is WRONG with EVERYONE! This is literally a decolonization struggle before our eyes. like all of those places we learn about and have historicized and sympathize with now—algeria, south africa, haiti, more.”
I highly recommend the rest, though it is paywalled.
HAPPY HANUKKAH TO MY JEWISH FRIENDS And I hope you have a lovely candle lighting this evening. Find out more about Hanukkah here.
LAST NIGHT'S DEBATE WAS A WIN FOR TRUMP It was an awful waste of time and I turned it off last night to shut up Vivek Ramaswamy who literally gave Trump a you-know-what all night. Haley made a strategic error by denying she said what she said about social media, but she held her own against relentless attacks. I actually liked Chris Christie last night for a minute. The big winner was Trump. No one attacked him, no one went after him and they all appeared to running hard for second place. Total waste of time. This column has more.
KNIVES ARE OUT FOR THE PRO-HAMAS ELISABETH EPPS And she's picking up primary opponents in her district. I am concerned that TOO MANY primary opponents will split the anti-Epps vote and she will squeak through, which in theory would give a Republican a chance but we all know they are too incompetent to capitalize on this horrible woman's views. Find out about her two opponents here.
NO, ELEPHANTS AREN'T PEOPLE And the judge in a case filed by a group seeking human status and rights for five elephants at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was right to call out this attempt to fundamentally change the legal system with this case. He denied the request to treat the elephants like humans while recognizing that times are changing when it comes to the treatment of highly intelligent animals and how they are cared for. Read it here.
LOOKING FOR A SANTA THEMED TRAIN RIDE? We've got a bunch in Colorado, check them all out here. I'm mad we never did these with Q when she was little.
THE MAYOR'S HOMELESS PLANS ARE FAILING HOMELESS PEOPLE And in this story by CBS4 talked to a woman who has been housed for two months at a hotel and she says she's actually thinking of heading BACK OUT INTO HOMELESSNESS because she feels like she's just "vegetating" at the hotel. She says she's had four case managers in the two months she's been there. This is not going to end well. The Mayor is either delusional or lying. Either way this failure is going to be on him and his political future.
A HIGH SCHOOLER GIVES OUT ADVICE ON HOW TO DODGE FENTANYL SMOKERS ARE RTD This story is ridiculous and our overlords who want to force us all onto mass transit (I'm looking at you, Jared Polis) need to fix this problem before they tell anyone to hop on a train. A woman and her daughter encountered fentanyl smokers on the RTD train they took home from the Parade of Lights and the teenager says it's a common occurrence she and her friends deal with all the time.
TAYLOR SWIFT IS THE PERSON OF THE YEAR And I love this. First off, her tour brought her a BILLION dollars, making her easily the most successful female performer of all time, something that deserves recognition. Plus, her concert and music were celebrations that brought people together. I'm all in for Taylor and the mom of a Super Swiftie so congrats to her. Read the story here.
LYIN' JOE BIDEN KEEPS ON LYING And at this point it's absurd and he has to know it. He keeps saying he knew NOTHING about his son Hunter's business dealings as more and more evidence that he is lying piles up. If we had a real press they would be all over this story but they are too invested in protecting this old lying codger than going after the truth. Miranda Devine writes about it here.
YES, BIG TECH KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU And John Stossel wants you to know.
HAMAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HOSTAGES And this is no surprise since we know that they raped women both before and after they murdered them on October 7th. Now doctors who have examined released hostages say they have confirmed at least 10 cases of sexual assault and released hostages testified to seeing sexual assault on both men and women in captivity. Read more here.
UNINFORMED IDIOTS CHANGE THEIR MINDS ON SUPPORTING HAMAS WHEN INFORMED
MCDONALDS IS BEEFING THINGS UP And they are starting with their burgers. They are bringing out a bigger burger as they try to improve their non-breakfast market share. Read it here.
THE SAUNA MAY BE THE SECRET TO HAPPINESS At least that's what this article on Finland says, but I think they may be on to something here. It's not so much about the steam as the community. We don't have anything like this that doesn't involve booze, though booze can be a part of your sauna experience as well. We need things like this.
EXERCISING TOO HARD OR NOT ENOUGH IS AGING YOU Proving the old adage "moderation in all things" once again a new study shows that not exercising at all ages you prematurely, while working out too hard does too. Excess exercise jacks up your cortisol and hurts your body almost as much as NOT exercising at all.
THERE MAY BE A BLOOD TEST THAT CAN PREDICT DISEASE SOON And it has to do with organ aging using blood protein markers in otherwise healthy people. The first study of such a test showed good results, though they need to replicate with thousands more people to see if it is truly accurate. Read about it here.
ARE YOU BEING ESPECIALLY PRICE SENSITIVE RIGHT NOW? The big cheeses at Walmart and Amazon say that consumers are spending in an "anomalous" way and are seeking out deals far more than they have previously. The good news for consumers is that some price deflation is starting to occur after years of stupid inflation, but the big companies are concerned that consumers at all levels are looking for deals.
TRAVELLING THIS CHRISTMAS? Here are some awesome travel items to make your travel easier and better. They also make great gifts for the travel hound in your life.
IT'S TIME TO WORRY ABOUT THE BOYS TOO We've spent a whole bunch of time worrying about the mental health of girls, but this column by a guy who's been doing just that sounds the alarm about the mental health of boys too. From the article:
Just as video games became more finely tuned to boys’ greater propensity for coalitional competition, the real world, and especially school, got more frustrating for many boys: shorter recess, bans on rough and tumble play, and ever more emphasis on sitting still and listening.
To understand what has happened to the mental health of boys and young men, we must begin our analysis long before the early 2010s, and then we must use a “push-pull” analysis. In other words, what were the factors pushing them away from investing in real-world pursuits? And what were the factors pulling them into the virtual world?
Boys are in trouble. Many have withdrawn from the real world, where they could develop the skills needed to become competent, successful, and loving men. Instead, many have been lured into an ever more appealing virtual world in which desires for adventure and for sex can be satisfied, at least superficially, without doing anything that would prepare them for later success in work, love, and marriage.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH IS THE NEW SPLC Both Human Rights Watch and the Southern Poverty Law Center started with the best of intentions. Unfortunately they've now both been hopelessly corrupted and have rendered themselves utterly without merit. Human Rights Watch as been quick to put Israel on full blast, but this column calls into question their naked bias funded by partners like Qatar. They are in the same philosophical trashbin for me now, but "journalists" still quote them like they are Mother Teresa. You will know better after reading this.
WATCH WAR COME TO AN ANDERSON COOPER LIVE SHOT And I'm glad he got the full Israel experience courtesy of Hamas.
THESE YOUNG MEN HAVE TOO MUCH FREE TIME
FIND A COMMUNITY MENORAH LIGHTING TONIGHT! And support our Jewish friends and neighbors as they begin the Chanukah Celebration!