The last public action performed by John Adams came on June 30, 1826, just a few days before the founder’s death. Asked by George Whitney for a Fourth of July toast, the former president offered, “Independence forever!” No more, no less. You can’t get more American than that. Yet independence is the very thing being choked out of us at an ever-quickening gait. And Congress just gave that horse another sharp kick in the ribs.
The House of Representatives’ failure to spike a federal “kill switch” mandate means that outside of a political miracle, all new vehicles from 2026 onward will be required to incorporate “advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology.” It will “passively monitor the performance of a driver” and automatically disable the vehicle “if impairment is detected.” In other words: You will no longer have control of your car. Some outside entity — human or program — could, at any time, make it inoperable.
Naturally, the message repeaters have assured us that talk of a kill switch is just more right-wing conspiracy theory hyper-frenzy. After all, this is about safety. Think of the lives it will save! No more hit-and-runs caused by drunk drivers. No more near-sighted old codgers not seeing the 12-year-old girl until it was too late. You breathe a word against this wonderful new thing and you out yourself as a monster who wants children dead.
Of course, the elephant in the corner is: What assurance do we have that “impairment” just means
