Monthly Archives: July 2021

Pence: Republicans ‘still have the winning agenda’ | News | carrollspaper.com – Carroll Daily Times Herald

Posted: July 21, 2021 at 12:41 am

DES MOINES: Three potential Republican presidential candidates collectively lambasted many Democrats views on race relations and spotlighted state-level anti-abortion successes and other bedrock GOP positions in headlining one of the states premier conservative gatherings Friday in Des Moines.

More than 1,200 people, including 200 pastors, attended the Family Leadership Summit at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center.

Democrats have moved so fast to move their liberal agenda, sometimes I feel the left hand doesnt know what the far-left hand is doing, former Vice President Mike Pence said.

The event overall served as a one-two punch, and something of a conservative strategy preview of the next two elections cycles: hit Democrats on national issues, notably critical race theory on which speaker after speaker made rhetorical hay, while hailing the actions of conservative governors like Iowas Kim Reynolds and South Dakotas Kristi Noem, who favored more openness during the COVID-19 pandemic than other governors and aggressively pushed their anti-abortion agendas in statehouses.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was one of the first speakers of the day at the Family Leadership Summit.

She gave the church the keys to the state. Holy cow! Greg Baker, vice president for church engagement with The Family Leader, said of Reynolds, who is expected to seek re-election in 2022.

Several conservative leaders, including Chuck Hurley, vice president of the Family Leader and one of its long-time lobbyists, say they view last session of the Iowa Legislature as best in history for their agenda.

There hasnt been a more exciting time to fight in decades, Reynolds said of her anti-abortion position.

We still have the winning agenda, Pence said.

For his part, Pence elicited some of the most sustained applause during the day-long summit with a rebuke of critical race theory an approach to teaching and culture many see as balanced for pointing out historical and systemic racism, but others view as political correctness, a revisionist overreach aimed at making white students feel guilty.

Under the Biden administration, patriotic education has been replaced by political indoctrination, Pence said.

He said patriotic education is essential to the survival of the nation.

Instead of teaching all our children to be proud of their country, critical race theory teaches children as young as kindergarten to be ashamed of their skin color, Pence said. Critical race theory is state-sanctioned racism, pure and simple, and it should be opposed by every American everyday.

Noem said South Dakota did one week of advertising in the wake of civil unrest in 2020 in Minneapolis to make the case South Dakota was a more hospitable place for police officers to serve. As a result, the state had inquiries from 900 police officers interested in moving there from 41 states, she said.

Gov. of South Dakota Kristi Noem attended the Family Leadership Summit and championed the states' economic bounce-back from the pandemic.

I dont recognize the country I had the opportunity to grow up in. I just dont, Noem said. When I grew up, people were proud to have a job. They werent confused on the difference between boys and girls. We prayed in schools.

Noem said the United States does not suffer from systemic racism.

We do not have hatred and racism in our DNA, she said.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Family Leader is wise to stress family and church solutions over government involvement in Americans lives.

As we stare at the problem sets that we all are aware of today, we see in our homes, on television, that the breakdown of the American family is at the core of most it, Pompeo said. Its why the left attacks it. Its why the left wants to undermine the family unit upon which this nation was built.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during the Family Leadership Summit that he opposes the teaching of Critical Race Theory, referring to it as "garbage."

Pompeo, a Republican who served in the Trump administration, urged conservatives to remember the former presidents anti-abortion advocacy in policy and court appointments.

We were in fact the most pro-life administration in the history of the United States of America, Pompeo said.

Tim Ried of Newell attended the summit to further his inspiration to stand up for biblical principles.

I dont think there is any hope for our country if we dont, Ried said. We are done.

Of the speakers from the event, Ried said Pompeo is the figure he would like to see run for president in 2024.

The Family Leader has it right; they have their priorities right, and its principle over politics, Ried said. My hope is not in politics. No matter what happens in this nation, my hope is in eternal things. It is not in this country.

Hannah Shady, 37, is the executive director at a pregnancy medical clinic in Preston, Iowa, and has attended the summit for multiple years now after speaking with legislators and members of Family Leader in Des Moines. She has also attended the Family Leader pro-life collation meetings.

For potential runs in 2024, Shady said Pence is a very godly man and she had never heard Pompeo prior and was impressed but doesnt have her heart set on anyone yet.

I really dont know what this country needs other than a leader who will follow the word of God and who will be unashamed and bold to share the gospel and to stand for what they believe in, Shady said. I think thats really hard for candidates to do, especially in the public eye, but I pray for all those in authority, because I just worry about what is in their hearts and the state of their health, being under such pressure all of the time.

Jeff and Sandy Rekers, 63 and 67 respectively, from Winthrop, said this was the fifth summit they have been to for Family Leaders. Jeff said he would love to see Pence, Pompeo and former President Donald Trump run for president in 2024.

A lot of people are saying Kristi Noem and that, but she is doing such a good job in South Dakota you hate to have to lose her, the same thing with Ron DeSantis (the Republican governor of Florida), Jeff said.

Both Sandy and Jeff Rekers agreed that whoever the candidate is, they have to be opposed to abortion.

We are totally against anything that has to do with critical race theory or any of that, Sandy said. What they teach in the school should be what parents want, not what the government wants.

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The State of Our Nation: Still Divided, Enslaved And Locked Down OpEd – Eurasia Review

Posted: at 12:41 am

Brush up on your history, and youll find that weve been stuck on repeat for some time now.

By John W. Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead

History has a funny way of circling back on itself.

The facts, figures, faces and technology may change from era to era, but the dangers remain the same.

This year is no different, whatever the politicians and talking heads may say to the contrary.

Sure, theres a new guy in charge, but for the most part, were still recycling the same news stories that have kept us with one eye warily glued to the news for the past 100-odd years: War. Corruption. Brutality. Economic instability. Partisan politics. Militarism. Disease. Hunger. Greed. Violence. Poverty. Ignorance. Hatred.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Brush up on your history, and youll find that weve been stuck on repeat for some time now.

Take the United States of America in the year 2021, which is not so far different from the United States of America during theCivil Rights era, or theCold War era, or eventhe Depression era.

Go far enough afield, and youll find aspects of our troubled history mirrored in the totalitarianism of Nazi Germany, in the fascism of Mussolinis Italy, and further back in themilitarism of the Roman Empire.

Were like TV weatherman Phil Connors in Harold Ramis classic 1993 comedyGroundhog Day, forced to live the same day over and over again.

Here in the American police state, however, we continue to wake up, hoping each new day, new president and new year will somehow be different from what has come before.

Unfortunately, no matter how we change the narrative, change the characters, change the plot lines, we seem to keep ending up in the same place that we started: enslaved, divided and repeating the mistakes of the past.

You want to know about the true State of our Nation? Listen up.

The State of the Union:The state of our nation is politically polarized, controlled by forces beyond the purview of the average American, and rapidly moving the nation away from its freedom foundation. Over the past year, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans have found themselves repeatedly subjected to egregious civil liberties violations, invasive surveillance, martial law, lockdowns, political correctness, erosions of free speech, strip searches, police shootings of unarmed citizens, government spying, the criminalization of lawful activities, warmongering, etc.

The predators of the police state have wreaked havoc on our freedoms, our communities, and our lives. The government does not listen to the citizenry, refuses to abide by the Constitution, and treats taxpayers as a source of funding and little else. Police officers shoot unarmed citizens and their household pets. Government agentsincluding local policeremain armed to the teeth and act like soldiers on a battlefield. Bloated government agencies continue to fleece taxpayers. Government technicians spy on our emails and phone calls. And government contractors make a killing by waging endless wars abroad.

Consequently, the state of our nation remains bureaucratic, debt-ridden, violent, militarized, fascist, lawless, invasive, corrupt, untrustworthy, mired in war, and unresponsive to the wishes and needs of the electorate.

Thepolicies of the American police state continueunabated.

The Executive Branch:All of theimperial powers amassed by Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bushto kill American citizens without due process, to detain suspects indefinitely, to strip Americans of their citizenship rights, to carry out mass surveillance on Americans without probable cause, to suspend laws during wartime, to disregard laws with which he might disagree, to conduct secret wars and convene secret courts, to sanction torture, to sidestep the legislatures and courts with executive orders and signing statements, to direct the military to operate beyond the reach of the law, to act as a dictator and a tyrant, above the law and beyond any real accountabilitywere inherited by Joe Biden.

Biden has these powers because every successive occupant of the Oval Office has been allowed toexpand the reach and power of the presidencythrough the use ofexecutive orders, decrees, memorandums, proclamations, national security directives and legislative signing statementsthat can be activated by any sitting president. Those of us who saw this eventuality coming have beenwarning for yearsabout the growing danger of the Executive Branch with its presidential toolbox of terror that could be usedand abusedby future presidents. The groundwork, wewarned, was being laid for a new kind of government where it wont matter if youre innocent or guilty, whether youre a threat to the nation or even if youre a citizen. What will matter is what the presidentor whoever happens to be occupying the Oval Office at the timethinks. And if he or she thinks youre a threat to the nation and should be locked up, then youll be locked up with no access to the protections our Constitution provides. In effect, you will disappear.

Our warnings continue to go unheeded.

The Legislative Branch:Congress may well be the mostself-serving, semi-corrupt institutionin America. Abuses of office runs the gamut from elected representatives neglecting their constituencies to engaging in self-serving practices, including the misuse of eminent domain, earmarking hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracting in return for personal gain and campaign contributions, having inappropriate ties to lobbyist groups and incorrectly or incompletely disclosing financial information. Pork barrel spending, hastily passed legislation, partisan bickering, a skewed work ethic, graft and moral turpitude have all contributed to the publics increasing dissatisfaction with congressional leadership. No wonder only31 percent of Americans approveof the job Congress is doing.

The Judicial Branch:The Supreme Court was intended to be an institution established to intervene and protect the people against the government and its agents when they overstep their bounds. Yet through their deference to police power, preference for security over freedom, and evisceration of our most basic rights for the sake of order and expediency, the justices of the United States Supreme Court have become theguardians of the American police statein which we now live. As a result, sound judgment and justice have largely taken a back seat to legalism, statism and elitism, while preserving the rights of the people has been deprioritized and made to play second fiddle to both governmental and corporate interests. The courts have empowered the government to wreak havoc on our liberties. Protections for private property continue to be undermined. And Americans can no longer rely on the courts to mete out justice.

Shadow Government: Joe Biden inherited more than a bitterly divided nation teetering on the brink of financial catastrophe when he assumed office. He also inherited ashadow government, one that is fully operational and staffed by unelected officialswho are, in essence, running the country. Referred to as the Deep State, thisshadow government is comprised of unelected government bureaucrats, corporations, contractors, paper-pushers, and button-pushers who are actually calling the shots behind the scenes right now.

Law Enforcement:By and large the term law enforcement encompasses all agents within a militarized police state, including the military, local police, and the various agencies such as the Secret Service, FBI, CIA, NSA, etc. Having been given the green light to probe, poke, pinch, taser, search, seize, strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance, all with the general blessing of the courts, Americas law enforcement officials, no longer mere servants of the people entrusted with keeping the peace but now extensions of the military, are part of an elite ruling class dependent on keeping the masses corralled, under control, and treated like suspects and enemies rather than citizens. As a result, police are becoming even more militarized and weaponized, and police shootings of unarmed individuals continue to increase.

A Suspect Surveillance Society:Every dystopian sci-fi film weve ever seen is suddenly converging into this present moment in a dangerous trifecta between science, technology and a government that wants to be all-seeing, all-knowing and all-powerful. By tapping into your phone lines and cell phone communications, thegovernment knows what you say. By uploading all of your emails, opening your mail, and reading your Facebook posts andtext messages, thegovernment knows what you write. By monitoring your movements with the use of license plate readers, surveillance cameras and other tracking devices, thegovernment knows where you go. By churning through all of the detritus of your lifewhat you read, where you go, what you saythegovernment can predict what you will do. By mapping the synapses in your brain, scientistsand in turn, the governmentwill soon know what you remember. And by accessing your DNA, thegovernment will soon know everything else about you that they dont already know: your family chart, your ancestry, what you look like, your health history, your inclination to follow orders or chart your own course, etc. Consequently, in the face ofDNA evidence that places us at the scene of a crime,behavior sensing technologythat interprets our body temperature and facial tics as suspicious, and government surveillance devices that cross-check ourbiometrics,license platesand DNA against a growing database of unsolved crimes and potential criminals, we are no longer innocent until proven guilty.

Military Empire:Americas endless global wars and burgeoning military empirefunded by taxpayer dollarshave depleted our resources, over-extended our military and increased our similarities to the Roman Empire and its eventual demise. Black budget spending has completely undermined any hope of fiscal transparency, with government contractors padding their pockets at the expense of taxpayers and the nations infrastructurerailroads, water pipelines, ports, dams, bridges, airports and roadstaking the hit. The U.S.now operates approximately 800 military bases in foreign countriesaround the globe at an annual cost of at least $156 billion. The consequences of financing a global military presence are dire. In fact, David Walker, former comptroller general of the U.S., believes there arestriking similarities between Americas current situation and the factors that contributed to the fall of Rome, including declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government.

I havent even touched on the corporate state, the military industrial complex, SWAT team raids, invasive surveillance technology, zero tolerance policies in the schools, overcriminalization, or privatized prisons, to name just a few. However, what I have touched on should be enough to show that the landscape of our freedoms has already changed dramatically from what it once was and will no doubt continue to deteriorate unless Americans can find a way to wrest back control of their government and reclaim their freedoms.

So how do we go about reclaiming our freedoms and reining in our runaway government?

Essentially, there are four camps of thought among the citizenry when it comes to holding the government accountable. Which camp you fall into says a lot about your view of governmentor, at least, your view of whichever administration happens to be in power at the time.

In thefirst campare those who trust the government to do the right thing, despite the governments repeated failures in this department.

In thesecond campare those who not only dont trust the government but think the government is out to get them.

In thethird campare those who see government neither as an angel nor a devil, but merely as an entity that needs to be controlled, or as Thomas Jefferson phrased it, bound down from mischief with the chains of the Constitution.

Then theres thefourth camp, comprised of individuals who pay little to no attention to the workings of government. Easily entertained, easily distracted, easily led, these are the ones who make the governments job far easier than it should be.

It is easy to be diverted, distracted and amused by the antics of politicians, the pomp and circumstance of awards shows, athletic events, and entertainment news, and the feel-good evangelism that passes for religion today.

What is far more difficult to face up to is the reality of life in America, where unemployment, poverty, inequality, injustice and violence by government agents are increasingly norms.

The powers-that-be want us to remain divided, alienated from each other based on our politics, our bank accounts, our religion, our race and our value systems. Yet as George Orwell observed, The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but between authoritarians and libertarians.

The only distinction that matters anymore is where you stand in the American police state.

In other words, youre either part of the problem or part of the solution.

America is at a crossroads.

History may show that from this point forward, we will have left behind any semblance of constitutional government and entered into a militaristic state where all citizens are suspects and security trumps freedom.

Certainly, we have moved beyond the era of representative government and entered a new age: the age of authoritarianism. Even with its constantly shifting terrain, this topsy-turvy travesty of law and government has become Americas new normal.

As long as we continue to put our politics ahead of our principlesmoral, legal and constitutionalwe the people will lose.

And you know who will keep winning by playing on our prejudices, capitalizing on our fears, deepening our distrust of our fellow citizens, and dividing us into polarized, warring camps incapable of finding consensus on the one true menace that is an immediate threat to all of our freedoms? The government.

As I make clear in my bookBattlefield America: The War on the American Peopleand its fictional counterpartThe Erik Blair Diaries, when we lose sight of the true purpose of governmentto protect our rightsand fail to keep the government in its place as our servant, we allow the government to overstep its bounds and become a tyrant that rules by brute force.

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‘Cynical Theories’ examines the dangers of critical race theory – Manhattan Mercury

Posted: at 12:41 am

During modern times, reasonable people would agree that for many of the earths inhabitants, things are better than they were hundreds of years ago.

People are freer, healthier, wealthier and less hungry. Life spans have increased, and fewer people are being killed in wars. A combination of liberalism, conservatism and capitalism are to thank for this. But in 2020, the spectacle of cities besieged by rioters with businesses aflame and looted, black-clad anarchists declaring downtown sovereign zones, police departments besieged by angry demonstrators, and the scourge of wokeness and cancel culture running rampant, one cannot help wonder how modern civilization has degenerated to such a state.

Into the breach comes a new book to explain just how all this has happened. Authored by James Lindsay and Helen Pluckrose, Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender and Identity And Why This Harms Everybody is a book that should be read by anyone with a serious interest in the origins of todays social justice movement and particularly critical race theory (CRT). Present and potential USD 383 school board members, educators and parents should read this book to gain an understanding of exactly what CRT is and what it aims to do.

CRT is an integral component of postmodernism ideology, a form of neo-Marxist thinking that emerged in the 1960s at the Frankfurt School, and particularly with the postmodern critical analysis of Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida. The first post-modernists were reacting largely to the failure of Marxism, the longstanding analytic framework of the academic left. Communism had lost all its credibility by 1956 except with Stalins useful idiots in academia, who were suffering from major disillusionment as their theoretical construct was falling apart.

Cynical Theories provides a detailed overview and coherent critique of postmodern critical theory its roots and its objectives and the authors rationally explain how critical theory has become the philosophical framework that underwrites such various subjects as womens studies, queer studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies, fat studies, disability studies and critical race theory.

Lindsay and Pluckrose identify the philosophys two core principles: the postmodern knowledge principle radical skepticism about whether objective knowledge or truth is obtainable and a commitment to cultural constructivism; and the postmodern political principle a belief that society is formed of systems of power and hierarchies, which decide what can be known and how. Postmodernism is characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, relativism, a general suspicion of reason, and at its core is the belief in the oppressive nature of American society and the advocacy of identity politics, thus making it imperative for those oppressed to dismantle the entire system in the name of social justice.

The authors reveal that some of postmodernisms core beliefs include: All white people are racist, all men are sexist, sex is not biological, language can be literal violence, denial of gender identity is killing people, the wish to remedy disability and obesity is hateful, and everything needs to be decolonized. Such beliefs, they say, congealed into a sort of gospel of social justice, reified into a dogma that cannot ever be challenged without the critic instantly indicting himself as an oppressive white supremacist. Moreover, the traditional liberal critical resources of logic, reason, evidence and science are absolutely disdained by todays social critics, under the supposition that such values are themselves infected or colonized by ideas such as patriarchy and white supremacy.

Unless one is a masochist and wants to attempt to read the seminal works of critical theory, Pluckrose and Lindsay are adept at translating the linguistic mash up of critical theorys incomprehensible academic jargon, steeped in words such as unessentializable, presencing, decoloniality, dialectic enigmatic theory, and neodeconstructive rationalism, and its bewildering sentences, dense opacity, and insufferable pompousness. Consider the following sentence: In consonance with my emphasis on the performance relations of double and conflicted definition, the theorized prescription for a practical politics implicit in these readings is for a multi-pronged movement whose idealist and materialistic impulse, whose minority-model and universalist-model strategies, and for that matter whose gender-separatist and gender-integrative analyses would likewise proceed in parallel without any high premium placed on rationalization between them.

CRT then emerges from the linguistic gobbleygook of social science departments, where the thinking is fuzzy headed, the scholarship is second-rate and the writing is third-rate. Few intellectual currents are less coherent and are more divorced from reality and clarity than postmodernism. In this book, Lindsay and Pluckrose illuminate how academia fell to such a low-level of critical self-awareness, and how some of the institutions of American society and many in the public have followed it into the postmodern follies.

So what exactly is critical race theory? CRTs core tenet is that racism is ubiquitous in America; it is the every day, every waking minute experience of people who are not white. White supremacy is systemic and benefits white people. The authors maintain that CRT unambiguously asserts that racism is present everywhere and always, and persistently works against non-white people who are aware of this, and for the benefit of white people, who tend not to be aware of it, as is their privilege. No matter what goodness resides in their heart, every single white person is a racist and no matter their station in life, every single non-white person is oppressed both assumptions based merely on skin color. The authors believe that seeing racism everywhere and believing every white person is a privileged racist will do nothing more than increase hostility and a reluctance to cooperate with worthwhile initiatives to improve social harmony in America.

The authors maintain that CRT has a paranoid mindset, which assumes racism is everywhere, always just waiting to rear its ugly head. They believe it will prove to be extremely unhelpful and unhealthy to those who adopt it, especially young children. If young people are indoctrinated to read insult, hostility and prejudice into every interaction, they may increasingly see the world as hostile to them and fail to thrive in it.

The authors, both committed liberals, wrote this book as a warning and a plea. They warn that if the divisive postmodern critical theory is not challenged and exposed to the people for what it really is, the social fabric of America and other Western liberal democracies will be ripped apart by its hateful divisiveness, suffocating political correctness and destructive identity politics. The authors lament that a billions of dollars a year industry of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is thriving on college campuses, corporations and other institutions, extending postmodern theorys tentacles into the fabric of western liberal democracies. Once confined to college campuses, the authors now demonstrate how emotional activism instead of thoughtful discourse is affecting the lives of ordinary Americans by requiring them to cope with the least tolerant and most authoritarian ideology that the world has had to deal with since the fall of communism.

They plead for a return to liberal values that have proven incrementally successful in the march of human progress and in advancing the causes of social justice over time. Social justice goals are noble the improvement of mankind and the world we live in. But postmodern theory provides the absolute worst means to accomplish those goals because it trades on fear, ignorance, suspicion and stereotypes. Our community may eventually face the pressure to teach CRT because the social justice movement is relentless in its totalitarian attitudes and methods. Cynical Theories provides the general reader an excellent summation of the postmodern movement and should be read by those concerned about our community and its schools, and whether we want a united community or a divided community.

Bob Funk is a retired U.S. Marine and a retired high school principal.

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A disturbingly prophetic look at the future of America and our era of stupidity –

Posted: at 12:41 am

Mike Judge critiques the nonsense of the modern world in this dystopian 2006 comedy, which, today, feels more like a documentary

By Luke Buckmaster / The Guardian

Are we living in the age of stupid? The era of the idiot? The answer of course is yes, with examples of monstrous moronicism everywhere from climate deniers to the plandemic crowd who believe COVID-19 was cooked up in Bill Gates basement. On the other hand, human beings have always been illogical creatures. A better question is whether we are, as a species, becoming dumberer. If this is already the era of the idiot, what comes next?

An Idiocracy, according to film-maker Mike Judge. The Beavis and Butt-head, King of the Hill and Silicon Valley creators dystopian 2006 comedy (which he directed and co-wrote with Ethan Cohen) arrived with its own terminology to help us prepare for the upcoming reality TV special that we may call The Collapse of Reality Itself.

Suggesting that morons rather than nerds will inherit the earth, and that the results will be catastrophic, the film begins with a context-setting intro so real it hurts. Judge cuts between an intelligent adult couple discussing why they wont be having children right now (not with the market the way it is) and a ... less intelligent couple breeding like rabbits (I thought youse was on the pill or some shit?).

Observing that evolution does not necessarily reward intelligence, the narrator explains that with no natural predators to thin the herd, it began to simply reward those who reproduced the most and left the intelligent to become an endangered species.

In the current era I couldnt help but think of the BirthStrikers, taking a reasoned response to the climate crisis while hordes of the hoi polloi refuse to accept there is even a problem. Also that famous quote from Charles Bukowski: The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.

The story follows mellow everyman Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson), who is selected by the US army to participate in an experiment to test cryogenic hibernation. Hes chosen because hes average in every way: average IQ; averagely inoffensive personality; even an average heart rate. Placed inside a machine and expected to wake up one year later, the experiment goes awry and instead Joe and his fellow participant a sex worker named Rita (Maya Rudolph) emerge 500 years later. Its the year 2505 and Joe is now the smartest person on earth by a very wide margin.

The environment has crumbled and garbage is stacked in huge mounds, like the mountains of rubbish in WALL-E. A blunt-smoking doctor at the hospital (Justin Long) is shocked that Joe doesnt have a barcode on his arm, like everybody else, and asks, Why come you no have a tattoo? Hes one of the more eloquent people; most speak a butchered dialect combining groans, grunts, insults and slang words.

In a 2017 interview discussing the end of political correctness, Terry Crews who plays President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho described Idiocracy as so prophetic in so many ways it actually scares people.

When Camacho lets off rounds of an automatic rifle to get peoples attention in the House of Representatives (now called the House of Representin), its hard not to think of the carnival US politics became under Trump.

Many visual and verbal gags highlight a capitalist hellscape, in which language has basically become a function of advertising. We see a billboard, for instance, with the spiel: If you dont smoke Tarrlytons ... Fuck you! Every time customers enter Costco, an employee at the door greets them with: Welcome to Costco, I love you.

The restaurant chain Fuddruckers has changed its name to Buttfuckers. The most popular show on TV is called Ow, My Balls! and the current Oscar winner is a single unbroken shot of a naked butt. A Gatorade-like sports drink called Brawndo (the thirst mutilator) has replaced water; people even water crops with it (which of course no longer grow). Fox News is the only news source. Starbucks offers handjobs.

The films savage critique of American corporatization may be why 20th Century Fox, its distributor, got cold feet and effectively buried it, releasing Idiocracy in just enough cinemas (without so much as a theatrical trailer) to satisfy contractual requirements. The film got bigger with time and became a cult hit, roughly mirroring the trajectory of Judges previous feature Office Space (which also achieved popularity only on home release).

The jokes flow thick and fast and the premise, while a little one-note, never gets old. The underlying message of course is that humans ought to take such things as science, research and knowledge seriously, lest we create our own Idiocracy.

Will we heed the warning? In the cacophony of modern existence, with so much stupidity flying at us from so many directions, its difficult to be optimistic. One day future humans may very well ask provided they are still capable of forming a sentence why come we no listen?

Idiocracy is available to stream via Google Play, Amazon and iTunes.

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PATH’s ‘DNA’ Retires After 36 Years With 211 Hotline Her Legacy – WGLT

Posted: at 12:41 am

Few people have provided more access to help in McLean County over the last four decades than Karen Zangerle.

Friday is Zangerle's last day at PATH (Providing Access To Help), the Bloomington-based crisis agency where she is retiring as executive director after working 36 of its 50 years of operation.

I certainly made my mark on this agency, Zangerle said in an interview on WGLT's Sound Ideas. Im fond of saying my DNA is embedded in the walls, but the DNA want to go home. They are tired of the walls.

Zangerle said she believes the 211 social service hotline will be her legacy.

McLean County started a pilot program in 2009 after she heard about a similar program in Atlanta, Ga. and worked with the Illinois legislature for more than a decade to adopt a similar program. PATH volunteers now take 211 calls from 49 Illinois counties. Zangerle said 211 became a vital and easy-to-remember resource, especially for people who don't access social services often.

If you are a middle manager at State Farm and your 13-year-old son runs away at 1 a.m., the family sits there and (says) What do we do? What is the next step? Zangerle asked.

Zangerle thinks 211 will eventually be available statewide, but she said PATH hasnt looked to expand north of Interstate 80, where she said social service resources are generally more widely available.

Zangerle said Illinois plans to fund a 988 suicide hotline starting next year as part of a nationwide initiative.

Zangerle said PATH also has helped get people out of homelessness by working with area shelters and the faith community, but she said mental health and substance abuse remain the biggest barriers to getting people the help they need.

We continuously struggle as we tackle different types of people and how they are experiencing homelessness, she said. I really dont think we will solve homelessness until we have rock solid treatment for mental illness and substance abuse.

She said McLean Countys mental health initiatives, including a triage center and expanded treatments at the jail have helped.

Zangerle estimates the homeless population in Bloomington-Normal is about 200. That includes those who regularly stay at shelters. She said the population varies based on the time of year as winter weather prompts some to move further south.

Zangerle said the tent encampment of about 20 people that has formed in west Bloomington where a Panda Express restaurant has been approved will eventually have to move. She said PATH has outreach workers who will talk to the residents and help them find other housing options.

"Some of them may agree to work with the program to get some things done. What eventually happens is theres going to be a group of them that finds a new place and theyll move on, she said.

Zangerle noted the coronavirus made is especially difficult for the homeless population, as shelters had to limit capacity and some were left out in the cold during the harshest days of winter, until McLean County and some religious organizations provided funding to pay for hotel stays when PATH had exhausted its shelter funding.

When we got through this winter, I said thats it, Ive made it. I have never had to experience the horror of someone dying of cold on the streets of Bloomington-Normal, she said.

Zangerle said she has seen a lot of heartache and suffering, noting her faith has helped her endure sot she can continue to find help for those who need it most.

That for me has always been the stabilizing force in dealing with tragedy and horrible situations Ive been exposed to that no human being should even have to see, she said.

PATH has named Chris Workman its new executive director. The Normal native has 30 years of experience in human services, academic and business consulting experience in Illinois and Kentucky.

Zangerle said her advice for Workman was brief: put peoples needs first.

We may (have) someone who is a pedophile who is an alcoholic who is eating up resources. If that person calls and says they dont have anywhere to go tonight, we have to ignore all of those other things, Zangerle said.

Zangerle volunteered for PATH before she worked for the non-profit. She plans to volunteer again, helping to answer off-hours calls that PATH takes about elder abuse complaints for the Illinois Department on Aging.

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Car’s location tracking, DNA tests led to arrest in Glastonbury theft – Journal Inquirer

Posted: at 12:39 am

A stolen BMWs onboard tracking device led police to where the car was parked on a Hartford street in November, and swabbings taken from the cars steering wheel produced DNA evidence that enabled them to arrest a Hartford man in the theft last week.

Thats according to an affidavit by Glastonbury police Officer John Barrett that was the basis for the arrest Thursday of Felix Flores, 21, of Hartford.

Flores is charged with second-degree larceny and second-degree criminal trover in the Nov. 17 theft of the car from the parking lot of the Somerset Square shopping center.

Criminal trover is defined as using property without the owners permission and damaging it or reducing its value.

The cars owner told police that she paid a $250 deductible and her insurance company paid more than $4,100 for a safety check of the car after it was returned, repairs to the wheel rims, and replacing its keys, Barrett reported. She said she also paid more than $150 for new keys to her house, had to replace the cars tires earlier than she had wanted to and found that the car smelled of smoke, possibly affecting its resale value.

Flores, who was in jail on other charges when Glastonbury police charged him in the car theft last week, is being held in lieu of $201,000 bond only $1,000 of it stemming from the Glastonbury case, online state records show.

In his other cases, he is facing two felony counts of possessing narcotics with intent to sell and a probation violation charge in an old narcotics sale case. Another of his cases is largely sealed from public view, online court records show.

No lawyer representing him could be located for comment Monday.

At a time when vehicle theft and associated violence are topics of intense public discussion in Glastonbury and other towns, a close look at a case like this one gives some idea of what it takes for police to make an arrest in such a case.

Barretts affidavit recounts the following:

The theft victim, who works in a Somerset Square office, noticed something amiss after grabbing her coat from a utility closet on Nov. 17. As she took a walk around the shopping complex, she realized that her car keys werent in her pocket.

When she returned her coat to the closet, she realized for the first time that it was in disarray, with opened letters and garbage strewn around. After failing to find her keys in her purse, she looked out the window and saw that her 2015 BMW wasnt in the parking lot.

Two days later Barrett contacted her to see if BMW was tracking the car, and she said she it was. A short time later, Hartford police found the car, unoccupied and parked on Elliot Street, off Wethersfield Avenue across from Bulkeley High School.

The car was towed to the Glastonbury police station, where it was processed, including taking swabs for DNA. DNA swabs had also been taken from the door handle of the utility closet in Somerset Square.

The state Forensic Science Laboratory tested the samples and uploaded the results to a database, which produced an offender hit for Flores.

With a search warrant, Barrett took a DNA sample from Flores at the jail where he was an inmate.

The forensic lab reported that Flores was eliminated as a contributor to the DNA on the closet door but was included as a possible contributor to the steering wheel DNA, which was a mixture from at least three people, including one male. If there were three contributors, the lab concluded, it was at least 100 billion times more likely that Flores was one of them than that the sample came from three unknown people.

For updates on Glastonbury, and recent crime and courts coverage in North-Central Connecticut, follow Alex Wood on Twitter: @AlexWoodJI1,Facebook: Alex Wood, and Instagram: @AlexWoodJI.

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Its not going to change your DNA: Texarkana health experts urge the unvaccinated to attend free clinic – ArkLaTexHomepage

Posted: at 12:39 am

TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) The Texarkana-Bowie County Health Department is partnering with the state of Texas to provide free COVID-19 vaccines this Thursday, July 22.

Health experts urge anyone who has not previously had the vaccine to stop by.Three different vaccines will be available. Those 12 years and older are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine. Those 18 and older are eligible for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Texarkana-Bowie County Health Department Administrative Manager Kelly Brush urges people not to believe the myths circulating about the vaccine.I think the biggest one we get is, its going to change my DNA. And, no its not going to change your DNA, they dont have anything to do with your DNA. Another one is, people thinking its putting a tracker in their body. Its not putting a tracker in your body,Brush said.

Local health experts said they want everyone to understand how important the vaccinations are, especially amid the surge in cases due to the Delta variant.

All the vaccines basically teach your body how to create antibodies but the mRNA (Messenger RNA) vaccines is what we hear a lot about, Oh, thats so new. Its not. The technology and science behind them have been studied for decades, and they actually have used them in previous vaccines before. So, its really not new, its just a new virus. Andthere has been a lot of research with cancer where theyve used with mRNAs to trigger the immune system to fight against specific cancer cells, Brush said.

The clinic is set to be held from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the health department, which is located at 902 W. 12th Street in Texarkana, Texas. There are no residency requirements.

For help with transportation,you can call the Ark-Tex Council of Governments at 1-866-575-9014.

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Help! Im Afraid of What Will Happen When My Daughter Gets a DNA Test. – Slate

Posted: at 12:39 am

Jene Desmond-Harris is online weekly to chat live with readers. Heres an edited transcript of this weeks chat.

Q. Modern problems: The letter from the IVF parents recently triggered a question I have had for a long time and have been putting off deciding on because I wont have to answer it for years. But here it is:

My youngest daughter was conceived with my sperm and a donated egg. When my daughter was 2 years old, my wife died. I have been raising her as if her biological mother died when she was 2she has no memory of her mom and is happy, healthy, and well-adjusted. She has no idea that her biological mother is probably still alive with at least one probably living daughter, who would be her half-sister. Then there are the 14 embryos we donated after she was born, who would be her full siblings if they were successful.

If there wasnt a 23 and Me business out there, the decision would be easy: Just keep it a secret and let it die with me. The issue is she may decide in the future to have her ancestry checked, and then she would be in for a big surpriseand may be angry that I didnt tell her and give her the option to meet her biological mother and siblings. And then what if I do tell her and then her biological mother doesnt want to meet her? Or doesnt get along with her? Or her biological siblings reject her?

My current plan is to talk to a therapist when she is 17 and make a plan for when she is 18 for what to do. She is currently 11 so I dont feel a need to make a decision for a while. What are your thoughts?

A: This does have a lot in common with that question and Ill suggest a similar approach: Consider letting a family therapist give you some advice or even facilitate the conversation. And dont delay and make it a big, scary secret that feels life-changing when it is revealed. If you think shes old enough to understand the basic science of human reproduction, I can imagine you saying something as simple as: When your mom and I wanted to have a baby, we needed some help and a nice woman let us use one of her eggs. Then we helped out other families by donating the embryos we had left after we had you. This doesnt change anything about our familyMom carried you and gave birth to you and loved you a lot. But in the future, if youre interested in trying to find the woman whose egg we used and any other children who came from those donated embryos (who would be biologically related to you), we can do that. Its also OK to do nothing. By framing it as not a big deal rather than You have a mother and siblings out there!, youll be making the news easier to handle and also preparing her to keep things in perspective if she does one day get in touch with these people and finds there isnt a strong connection.

Send questions for publication here. (Questions may be edited.)

Join the live chat Mondays at noon. Submit your questions and comments here before or during the discussion.

Q. Trying to support sibling sobriety: My older brother who, as far as I know, has been sober for more than a decade, has recently started drinking again. Twice this week, Ive seen him drink a beer, in full view of myself and other family members, like it was no big deal.

Ive heard him credit AAs Big Book with inspiring an epiphany in his life and every time Ive seen him offered a drink previously, he has refused. I feel strange commenting on a behavior that, were it anyone else in my life, I wouldnt think twice about. At the same time, and I know this isnt fair, I feel a little like a core thing that I know to be true about the worldthat my brother is an alcoholic who has been sober for as long as I can rememberhas shifted beneath my feet and Im pretty shaken.

Whats the protocol? Do I ask him if hed like company to go to a meeting? When he asks my partner if he can grab a beer from the fridge, do I interrupt to say, No, I dont think thats a good idea? Do I call my other sibling, with whom he has a closer relationship, and snitch? I know my brother has been really struggling of late, and hes planning to move closer to home soon to work on getting back on his feet, so do I just wait until then and hope he gets the help he needs?

A: When it comes to contemplating things like snitching and cutting off his refrigerator access, youre about 10 steps ahead. Yes, your brother has a problem with alcohol, but that doesnt mean you cant speak to him directly like you would anyone else. How about something like: I noticed youve been drinking again. I didnt want to make it weird in the moment but Im kind of worried. Do you mind talking about it? Whats going on? If hes been open about being in AA for all these years, this topic shouldnt be too touchy to discuss. And the purpose of your asking him is to understand whats happening with someone you love, not to shame him or become the sobriety police.

Its possible hes decided that he can drink moderately and be OK. But its also possible that hes relapsed (which is very common) and is out of control or moving in that direction. The people who know most about how this works and how to help him are his AA sponsor and friends. If you push him to do anything, it should be to contact these people. They speak the language of the Big Book and have possibly even been in his position before.

And the people whove been where you are before are in Al-Anon, a group for people who are worried about loved ones with drinking problems. Whatever he says about why hes drinking and how much, it feels like theres a decent chance that hes heading toward a crisis that will be hard to watch. You should attend a meeting, where I imagine youll be reminded that his relationship with alcohol is his alone, and theres very little you can do or say that will change what happens next.

Q. Too old for love? I am 86 and I may be bisexual. I would like to be gay but am I too old for anybody who would take me on? Is my age too late for friendship or other?

A: Congratulations on having this revelation about yourself and exploring the idea of living a life that would make you happier. You can be definitely (not may be) bisexual and definitely gay even if you dont find a partner. But I think maybe you can find one! Older people get into relationships all the time. In my experience, they actually seem to move pretty quicklymaybe because of a sense of having limited time left, or maybe because once you get to a certain age, you just know what you want. Why dont you start poking around on Our Time, the dating website for older adults? There are, of course, no guarantees for anyone of any age or sexual orientation when it comes to meeting someone whos a good fit, but I think youll regret it if you dont try.

Q. Tired of listening to it: I call my mom on my way to work and on my way home from work every day. We get in a good 45 minutes or so of talking each day. The problem is, she complains nonstop, mostly about my dad. Im tired of listening to it and frankly I dont think its right. While I dont disagree that he can be a total jerk, its not fair to me to have to listen to it. I dont know what to do.

A: Mom, I know Dad can be a jerk and I hate how he treats you, but I dont want to let that take away from our relationship. Can we complain about Dad for five minutes at the end of every call? It kind of brings me down and I want to hear more about how youre doing and other fun stuff, and tell you how Im doing. Hold up your end of the bargain by having plenty of other topics to discuss and steering the conversation in another direction.

Q. Just break up already: One of my friends, Anna, has been in a relationship with a man, Dave, for nearly two years now. Im sad to say that Anna and Dave are that couple who dont mind having an audience when they get into a verbal fight. It started out small, if not annoying, in the beginning, where theyd whisper-fight and drop the subject. A lot of their issues stem from feelings of jealousy, infidelity (physical and otherwise), conflicting views on life such as kids, and general incompatibility. Over time, it escalated that they not only would have shouting matches in front of strangers, theyd do it wherever they were and despite whatever would be going ongrocery stores, restaurants, streets, and even birthday parties.

Just a couple months ago, they went to the house of Annas cousin for a family reunion of sorts. They ended up having such a loud, disruptive fight that neighbors called the police. Annas cousin kicked them both out, and the two are still at odds over the embarrassing event. A lot of our friends have stopped hanging out with them because of this, and they know it, which adds to the tension to the relationship. Recently, Anna had confided in me that shes heavily tempted to be with a new man, but is hesitant to end a nearly two-year relationship over what might amount to a fling. Shes asked me my opinion, and so far Ive avoided a response. Truthfully, I think her relationship with Dave is a dead end regardless of if she gets with this new guy, but I normally make a point of not giving relationship advice. If I told her what I think but she stays with Dave, I feel like Ill become the bad guy. What do you think I should do?

A: This reminds me of a tweet I saw: My friend got dumped yesterday and we immediately had a Group video call where everybody shared how much we hated him and it was two hours of going through what garbage this man is. At one point I said NASA is still looking for his hairline. And now theyre back together.

Awkward! Dont get yourself into a situation like that. Encourage her to pursue the new guy, without ever mentioning Daves name, such as: You like him! You should listen to yourself, You never know, this could be your soulmate! and I think he sounds great! I can really see you with someone who you can have a peaceful relationship with.

Q. Re: Modern problems: I would HIGHLY encourage the letter writer to tell their daughter sooner rather than later. Eleven is not too young at alland Im sure many therapists you speak to would agree. By keeping it a secret for longer, you make it into something huge (and potentially shameful) instead of a purely logistical fact of her conception. I believe the best practice now is to tell children from birth that they are adopted/from donor sperm/eggs, whatever.

Thats not to say youve irrevocably messed up your daughter by not telling her until nowtheres no point in beating yourself up about itbut I think telling her sooner rather than later is going to make her less likely to feel betrayed or hurt that you kept it from her. And if she does show interest in meeting her biological mother and siblings, please encourage it! She knows who her mother and father are; it isnt a reflection on the life youve given her for her to show interest in her biological siblings/mother. And while the outcome could prove hurtful for many reasons, shell be better equipped to face those things knowing she has your unconditional support.

A: Yep, I wish he would have told her earlier.

Q. Re: Modern problems: The daughter mentioned in the letter does not have a mother just floating about in the universe. Theres an egg donor who helped her parents conceive her. A mother is someone who stays up all night with a sick infant; a mother soothes a crying toddler when they fall; a mother holds the hand of a child when crossing the street. The egg donor (while kind and self-less) is not her mother.

A: I agree that this is the best way to think about it. The egg donor is a woman who offered (actually, probably sold) an egg to help another woman become a mother, and thats a much better way to frame it than you have a real biological mother out there somewhere.

Q. Re: Trying to support sibling sobriety: Be careful of the line between supporting your brothers sobriety and policing it. It is a fair ball if you decide not to serve your brother alcohol in your home (and you should discuss this with your partner). It is also fair to tell him you have noticed he is drinking again. If he starts an argument or tries to justify it, dont engage, but just tell him you have noticed it so he had information. But dont push him to go to meetings if he doesnt want to, and dont push him on his drinking unless he puts himself or others in danger.

Managing his sobriety and recovery is his job, not yours. As hard as it is, your first priority is to protect yourself and your own mental health.

A: I agree with this. I think if anyone is going to know how to push (or nudge, or just support), it will be the people in his AA community. And again, Al-Anon will be the place to figure out what to do, what not to do, and how to manage the reality of not being able to control how this turns out for him.

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Q. Re: Tired of listening to it: Or.stop calling your mom twice a day, every day, and talking for 45 minutes. Obviously your mom has run out of things to talk to you about twice a day, every day, for 45 minutes. Im really not kidding.

A: Ha. I talk to my mom for about this much time every day so it didnt seem strange to me but yes, the letter writer can cut back. I do think they should try making the conversations better before making them shorter though, since the length wasnt one of their complaints.

Jene Desmond-Harris: Thanks, everyone. Well wrap it up here and get together again next week to discuss our problems and how other people should livesame time, same place. See you then!

If you missed Part 1 of this weeks chat,click hereto read it.

Discuss this column on our Facebook page!

Im a single mom to a 7-year old son and a 1-year old daughter. I want to be able to have conversations with my son about his body, girls, sex, and everything in between, but I recently grossed him out just by sayingpenis. How can I begin to approach these topics so that we can have open and honest conversations? I dont think Ill have the same issues with my daughter, who Ive already started to talk to about body autonomyhopefully,vaginawont be as gross later on.

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Mixed-ancestry genetic research shows a bit of Native American DNA could reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease – The Conversation US

Posted: at 12:39 am

Since the human genome was first mapped, scientists have discovered hundreds of genes influencing illnesses like breast cancer, heart disease and Alzheimers disease. Unfortunately, Black people, Indigenous people and other people of color are underrepresented in most genetic studies. This has resulted in a skewed and incomplete understanding of the genetics of many diseases.

We are two researchers who have been working to find genes that affect peoples risk for various diseases. Our team recently found a genetic region that appears to be protective against Alzheimers disease. To do this, we used a method called admixture mapping that uses data from people with mixed ancestry to find genetic causes of disease.

In 2005, researchers first used a groundbreaking method called a genomewide association study. Such studies comb through huge datasets of genomes and medical histories to see if people with certain diseases tend to share the same version of DNA called a genetic marker at specific spots.

Using this approach, researchers have identified many genes involved in Alzheimers disease. But this method can find genetic markers only for diseases that are common in the genomes of the study participants. If, for example, 90% of participants in an Alzheimers disease study have European ancestry and 10% have Asian ancestry, a genome-wide association study isnt likely to detect genetic risks for Alzheimers disease that are present only in individuals with Asian ancestry.

All peoples genetics reflect where their ancestors came from. But ancestry manifests as both genetic variation and social and cultural experiences. All of these factors can influence risk for certain diseases, and this can create problems. When socially caused disparities in disease prevalence appear across racial groups, the genetic markers of ancestry can be mistaken for genetic markers of disease.

African Americans, for example, are up to twice as likely as white Americans to develop Alzheimers disease. Research shows that much of this disparity is likely due to structural racism causing differences in nutrition, socioeconomic status and other social risk factors. A genome-wide association study looking for genes associated with Alzheimers might mistake genetic variations associated with African descent for genetic causes of the disease.

While researchers can use a number of statistical methods to avoid such mistakes, these methods can miss important findings because they are often unable to overcome the overall lack of diversity in genetic datasets.

Disentangling race, ancestry and health disparities can be a challenge in genome-wide association studies. Admixture mapping, on the other hand, is able to make better use of even relatively small datasets of underrepresented people. This method specifically gets its power from studying people who have mixed ancestry.

Admixture mapping relies on a quirk of human genetics you inherit DNA in chunks, not in a smooth blend. So if you have ancestors from different parts of the world, your genome is made of chunks of DNA from different ancestries. This process of chunked inheritance is called admixture.

Imagine color-coding a genome by ancestry. A person who has mixed European, Native American and African ancestry might have striped chromosomes that alternate among green, blue and red, with each color representing a certain region. A different person with similar ancestry would also have a genome of green, blue and red chunks, but the order and size of the stripes would be different.

Even two biological siblings will have locations in their genomes where their DNA comes from different ancestries. These ancestry stripes are how companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe generate ancestry reports.

Because genome-wide association studies have to compare huge numbers of tiny individual genetic markers, it is much harder to find rare genetic markers for a disease. In contrast, admixture mapping tests whether the color of a certain ancestry chunk is associated with disease risk.

The statistics are fairly complicated, but essentially, because there are a smaller number of much larger ancestral chunks, it is easier to separate the signal from the noise. Admixture mapping is more sensitive, but it does sacrifice specificity, as it cant point to the individual genetic marker associated with disease risk.

Another important aspect of admixture mapping is that it looks at individuals with mixed ancestry. Since two people who have similar socioeconomic experiences can have different ancestry at certain parts of their genomes, admixture mapping can look at the association between this ancestry chunk and disease without mistaking social causes of disease for genetic causes.

Researchers estimate that 58% to 79% of Alzheimers disease risk is caused by genetic difference, but only about a third of these genetic differences have been discovered. Few studies have looked for genetic links to Alzheimers risk among people with mixed ancestry.

Our team applied admixture mapping to a genetic dataset of Caribbean Hispanic people who have a mix of European, Native American and African ancestry. We found a part of the genome where Native American ancestry made people less likely to have Alzheimers disease. Essentially, we found that if you have the color blue in this certain part of your genome, you are less likely to develop Alzheimers disease. We believe that with further research we can find the specific gene responsible within the blue chunk and have already identified possible candidates.

One important note is that the genetic diversity that plays a role in disease risk is not visible to the naked eye. Anyone with Native American ancestry at this particular spot in the genome not just a person who identifies as or looks Native American may have some protection against Alzheimers disease.

Our paper illustrates that gaining a more complete understanding of Alzheimers disease risk requires using methods that can make better use of the limited datasets that exist for people of non-European ancestry. There is still a lot to learn about Alzheimers disease, but every new gene linked to this disease is a step toward better understanding its causes and finding potential treatments.

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Chance That COVID-19 Vaccines Are Gene Therapy? ‘Zero’ – WebMD

Posted: at 12:39 am

July 19, 2021 -- There are lots of unfounded fears about the COVID-19 vaccines floating around, and one of the most pervasive is the idea that these new shots aren't really vaccines, but that they will somehow change your genes or insert themselves into the DNA of your cells.

You may see people posting on social media about the vaccines being a kind of gene therapy, and they're partly right, but in the end this idea often misses some important details about how the vaccines work. They can't change your genes, and they don't stay in your body for more than a few days.

But plenty of people have distorted the way the vaccines work into something that could sound sinister. For example, in January, the Weston A. Price Foundation, a group that discourages vaccination, hosted a podcast where David Martin, PhD, described by FactCheck.org as a "financial analyst and self-help entrepreneur," called the vaccines gene therapy.

"a vaccine is supposed to trigger immunity. It's not supposed to trigger you to make a toxin," Martin said. "It's not a vaccination."

Except that these shots are vaccines, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and they don't cause you to make a toxin.

So where did this idea get started?

"Like many rumors, there's sort of an element of truth," says Beth Thielen, MD, PhD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

But the truth is that the vaccines involve sound science that sounds complicated to most people not educated in the field.

The vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna use tiny oily envelopes called lipid nanoparticles to slip a single strand of genetic material called messenger RNA (mRNA) into our cells.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is slightly different. It uses double-stranded DNA inserted into a common, but inert virus called an adenovirus. This DNA also contains the instructions for building the spike protein. Once inside the cell, these instructions are read and translated into mRNA.

These bits of mRNA go into the jellied liquid called cytoplasm that makes up the body of our cells.

"Where they join about 200,000 other pieces of messenger RNA that are also sitting in every cell's cytoplasm, because our cells make proteins and enzymes all the time," says Paul Offit, MD, director of the vaccine education center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The mRNA chains are basically work orders that spell out the instructions for making the spike proteins that stud the outside of the coronavirus that cases COVID-19. The virus uses its spikes to dock onto our cells and infect them.

It's one of the viruses' most recognizable features. Our cells read this mRNA and use them to assemble the spikes. The spikes migrate to the outside of our cells where they are recognized and remembered by our immune system.

These spikes, by themselves, are not dangerous. They can't make anyone sick. They are essentially mug shots that help the body recognize and fight off the real perpetrator when it comes along.

The mRNA chains from the vaccines only last for a couple of days before they break down and the pieces are swept away by the body's normal waste disposal system.

Messenger RNA is genetic material, so in that sense, the vaccines are genetically based therapy.

But the FDA classifies them as vaccines, not gene therapy.

"I think people hear that and they think 'Oh my God, You're going to alter my DNA," Offit says. "That's not possible."

For the vaccines to alter a person's genes, Offit explains, the mRNA instructions would have to enter the cell's control center, the nucleus. The nucleus is walled off from the rest of the cell by its own membrane. To get past that membrane, the mRNA would have to have an enzyme called a nuclear access signal, Offit says, "which it doesn't have."

Even if it could get into the nucleus, the single strand of mRNA would have to be translated back into a double stranded DNA.

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, can do this. It uses an enzyme like reverse transcriptase to insert itself into our chromosomes. The mRNA in the vaccines lacks this enzyme, so it can't turn back into DNA.

The DNA adenovirus used in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine does enter the nucleus of our cells, but it never integrates into our chromosomes.

Even after those two steps, there's a third firewall between the vaccines and our genes: Another enzyme, called an integrase, would be needed to stitch the new DNA into the DNA of our cells. That's also not in the vaccines.

"So the chances are zero that that can happen," Offit says.

One way to think about mRNA is to imagine if a friend wanted to make a delicious salad that you have the recipe for, Thielen says.

"You'd go to your cookbook, you'd copy the recipe on a note card and give it to them," she says. They can make the salad, but they don't have the cookbook, the original cookbook. You didn't change the cookbook, you just gave them a Post-it note or something that's temporary and that's meant to be," she says.

It's true that these are some of the first vaccines to work this way, but the technology was years in the making. The science was given a final push by billions in funding that was made available through Operation Warp Speed.

The vaccines have now been given to millions of people. They are some of the most effective in the world at preventing severe outcomes from COVID infections. So far, they are holding up well against all the viral variants.

While very rare side effects have been linked to the vaccines, so far, the FDA has determined that the benefit from taking one far outweighs these rare risks for most people.

"I've been astonished, actually,at how well it seems to be working. And so, I think it is very exciting from a vaccine development standpoint that we have new tools in our armamentarium to make new vaccines," Thielen says.

But there's still more to learn.

"I think we need to do dedicated studies of this platform to really understand how long the protection lasts and how well does it adapt to other vaccine targets like RSV. I think that remains to be seen," Thielen says.

Medscape Medical News

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