Newspaper cartoonists are not up to task of conveying the horrors of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and killing of civilians

HOW IS THIS FUNNY? Showing a clownish Vladimir Putin in a Russian tank stopped by a parking-enforcement boot is far from funny, especially when the backdrop looks like a destroyed apartment building in Ukraine.

 Portraying Putin as clownish

dishonors the men, women,

 and children who are dying

BY VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Cartoonist Daryl Cagle has been distributing the cartoons of 60 editorial cartoonists and 14 columnists to about 850 subscribing newspapers for more than 20 years.

I'm appealing to them to stop commenting on the criminal Russian invasion of Ukraine, if they are going to make fools of themselves by minimizing the brutality, loss of innocent life and assault on democracy.

I've included only 4 of the many cartoons out there. They are just awful.

REALLY? In this cartoon, a box marked "PUTIN" is on the left of the dictator's desk and another marked "PUTOUT" is on the right.

KILLING OF INNOCENTS: At least this cartoon seems to condemn the killing of civilians in Ukraine, but instead of showing graphic images of corpses torn apart by Russian missiles, the cartoonist appears to mimic the 1937 Spanish Civil War painting by Pablo Picasso of the bombing of the city of Guernica.

PUTIN'S BOY TOY: The Kremlin believes right-wing wacko and Fox News' chief liar Tucker Carlson is vital to its propaganda effort, but I'm far from sure the play on words -- "Russian Dressing" -- conveys that message.

If Consumer Reports' auto editors cared about our environment, every car on their annual Top 10 list would be a hybrid or EV

COVER STORY OR COVER UP? Consumer Reports' annual Auto Issue lists only 4 gas-electric hybrids or electric cars among its Top 10 vehicles for 2022.

 

Gas hits average of $4.32 a gallon

as tailpipe emissions are killing

53,000 Americans every year

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Consumer Reports boasts about a full-time auto testing staff of "about 30" who "work to deliver exclusive insights to our members," but none of them claim to be environmentalists.

And for yet another year, the non-profit's Top 10 list in its annual Auto Issue ignores the premature deaths of 53,000 people every year from tailpipe emissions, as measured by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

That compares to 34,000 a year who die in traffic accidents (based on a 2013 MIT study).

Two Toyota gas-electric hybrids, a Lexus hybrid, a Honda Accord hybrid and Ford's Mustang Mach-E -- an electric vehicle -- are the only low or zero emissions entries on CR's Top 10 list for 2022.

It's a Top 10 list, but a total of 13 vehicles are listed for some reason in the April 2022 issue of the magazine.

Safety first

"Our ratings now reward automakers that install driver monitoring systems in their cars," Marta L. Tellado, president and CEO of Consumer Reports, says in her monthly column.

Tellado makes no mention of auto tailpipe emissions and their role in global warming or impact on life expectancy.

'Green Choice'

Just last year, Consumer Reports started designating some vehicles as "our Green Choice" -- the top 20 percent of vehicles on the market with the cleanest emissions.

Unfortunately, the "Green Choice" designation came more than 20 years after the first gas-electric hybrid or green cars went on sale in the United States.

And being "clean" or "cleaner" doesn't come close to earning a vehicle a spot on the annual Top 10 list.

NO TESLAS IN SIGHT: Even though Tesla has been the best selling electric car in the United States since 2012, none are listed on Consumer Reports' Top 10 list for 2022.

Top 10 Picks

The Top 10 list in the annual Auto Issue includes a midsize SUV, Kia's Telluride, that gets 21 mpg; and a compact pickup truck, the Honda Ridgeline, which is rated at 20 mpg -- less than half the mileage of most gas-electric hybrids. 

But instead of the Honda, the so-called auto experts at the magazine should have chosen the 2022 Ford F-150 hybrid pickup truck, which is rated at 25 mpg city/highway.

And is the Kia Telluride so special that it eclipses all of the midsize SUVs with hybrid power and lower emissions sold by competitors?

Gas hits $4.32 a gallon

This year, the Top 10 list includes a total of 13 vehicles: 

Both the Toyota Prius, a gas-electric hybrid, and the Prius Prime, a plug-in hybrid with an electric range of 25 miles, are listed.

Consumer Reports also lists the Honda Accord and Accord Hybrid as well as the Lexus RX and Lexus RX Hybrid.

The Top 10 list could have done without the gasoline versions of the Honda and Lexus. 

In fact, a Top 10 list of only gas-electric hybrids and EVs makes even more sense as the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States hit $4.32 this week.

Deadly air pollution

All in all, Consumer Reports' annual Auto Issue continues to disappoint, and ignore the elephant in the room:

Premature deaths from air pollution caused by vehicle tailpipe emissions.

READ: First EV on Top 10 list

 didn't appear until 2018

Bergen prosecutor is stumped on identity of driver who killed Hackensack woman, 81, as she crossed the street one year ago

After Lillian J. Holmes of Hackensack was killed by a hit-run driver on March 4, 2021, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office issued this stock image of a 2013 or 2014 black BMW X5 SUV with tinted windows, and said the driver is believed to have been involved in the hit-run death of the 81-year-old woman.

 

'Matter remains an open

criminal investigation,'

is the only comment

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- An 81-year-old Hackensack woman died one year ago today after she was cut down by a hit-run driver as she crossed the street to pick up a prescription, and then run over by a second vehicle.

This week, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office declined to answer any questions concerning the investigation into the death of the woman, Lillian J. Holmes, except to say:

"The matter remains an open criminal investigation at this time."

The second driver stayed on the scene on Polifly Road, between Sutton and Marvin avenues, where a CVS Pharmacy is located, and wasn't charged with any wrongdoing.

But there is no crosswalk or warning signs about pedestrians, even though there is an apartment building on the other side of the 4-lane street. 

Poorly lit at night

In fact, there are no crosswalks or traffic lights for 6 blocks of Polifly Road, from Essex to Lodi streets, and street lighting is poor at night, when the hit-run fatality occurred.

Despite repeated requests from the city, Bergen County hasn't made any improvements in the lighting along Polifly, a county road. 

Nor has the county added crosswalks and warning signs to help pedestrians cross Polifly Road, which is lined with apartment buildings.

OPRA request

I filed a request under the Open Public Records Act for details from members of the prosecutor's Fatal Accident Investigation Unit, but all but one of my questions went unanswered.

The Prosecutor's Office issued a stock image of the BMW SUV, but also supplied a video "of the subject vehicle" to the news media.

Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella declined to supply the video to me, but cited a NorthJersey.com story, "which posted a video of the subject vehicle" on March 10, 2021.

But I can't access the video because I do not have a subscription to NorthJersey.com.

Unanswered questions

Before I filed the OPRA request, I tried to obtain information about the investigation from Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Rebein, the public information officer for the Prosecutor's Office.

All of my requests were turned down and none of my questions were answered. 

"Our press releases are posted on our website ... for one year," she said in an email. "No one at the BCPO [Bergen County Prosecutor's Office] can speak to you openly or anonymously about how investigations are conducted, including the amount of time spent."

I had asked whether the BMW X5 was registered in New Jersey or New York and whether a man or woman was driving, among other questions.

I also asked for the names of other hit-run victims after Rebein said the Holmes fatality wasn't the only open case. 

READ: Lillian J. Holmes lived a full live

 before hit-run driver killed her