Alzheimer's Association ends brief partnership with pro-assisted-suicide group: 'We deeply regret our mistake'



The partnership between the Alzheimer's Association and a pro-assisted-suicide group called Compassion & Choices is coming to an end, just two months after it was first announced.

Though Compassion & Choices has claimed it aims only to educate people about their end-of-life "options" and to ensure that individuals receive "the care they want — nothing more and nothing less," the organization has one clear goal: to expand the availability of assisted suicide. The group openly states on its website that it hopes that, within five years, "half the U.S. population will live in a location where medical aid in dying is an open and accessible medical practice." The phrase "medical aid in dying," made infamous by recent laws in Canada, is a euphemism for physician-assisted suicide.

In fact, the name Compassion & Choices is itself a euphemism. Decades ago, the group was called the Hemlock Society, but that name fell out of favor after one high-profile member, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, aka "Dr. Death," who reportedly assisted in more than 100 suicides, was convicted of second-degree murder. The Hemlock Society soon afterward rebranded as "Compassion & Choices," but continued the same mission to expand access to assisted suicide. In just three years, from 2017 to 2020, Compassion & Choices spent more than $2 million to lobby for that goal.

In late November, Compassion & Choices issued a press release to announce that it had joined forces with the Alzheimer's Association — an organization that has long denounced suicide as a tool to end the suffering of Alzheimer's and other dementia patients. Together, the two groups would work to "improve end-of-life care for those with dementia," especially those considered "historically marginalized," such as black people, Hispanics, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and those who identify as "LGBTQ."

Compassion & Choices issued a similar press release about a month later, though this second press release also contained a statement from Carl V. Hill, the Alzheimer's Association's chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer. As has become standard with those involved in "diversity, equity, and inclusion," Hill asserted that such marginalized communities "are disproportionately impacted" by Alzheimer's and other dementia conditions. He added that his organization was "excited to collaborate with Compassion & Choices" to reach a shared goal of "greater health equity."

That excitement was short-lived. Thanks to Alexander Raikin of the Washington Free Beacon, who drew national attention to the partnership in an exposé published on Friday, the Alzheimer's Association has decided to cut ties with Compassion & Choices after admitting that it did not conduct "due diligence" on the group.

"In an effort to provide information and resources about Alzheimer’s disease, the Alzheimer’s Association entered into an agreement to provide education and awareness information to Compassion & Choices, but failed to do appropriate due diligence," a statement from the Alzheimer's Association released on Sunday said.

"Their values are inconsistent with those of the Association," the statement continued. "We deeply regret our mistake, have begun the termination of the relationship, and apologize to all of the families we support who were hurt or disappointed. Additionally, we are reviewing our process for all agreements including those that are focused on the sharing of educational information."

\u201cUPDATE: The Alzheimer's Association has issued a press release today severing its relationship with Compassion & Choices and apologizing for its failure "to do appropriate due diligence". \n\nRead their full press release today: https://t.co/uxAFXHMp5F\u201d
— Alexander Raikin (@Alexander Raikin) 1675011584

The Alzheimer's Association also insisted in the statement that it "stands behind people living with Alzheimer’s, their care partners and their health care providers as they navigate treatment and care choices throughout the continuum of the disease." It reaffirmed that "a palliative care approach" remains a dementia patient's best option while research to eradicate the condition continues.

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Wisconsin anti-abortion headquarters reportedly attacked with Molotov cocktail, vandals spray graffiti: 'If abortions aren't safe then you aren't either'



Vandals reportedly used a Molotov cocktail to attack the headquarters of an anti-abortion organization in Wisconsin this weekend. The criminals also spray-painted a threat to the pro-life group that read, "If abortions aren't safe then you aren't either."

The pro-life Wisconsin Family Action organization has a mission "to advance Judeo-Christian principles and values in Wisconsin by strengthening, preserving, and promoting marriage, family, life, and liberty." The group is staunchly anti-abortion and "pro-family."

Late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, the Wisconsin Family Action headquarters in Madison was vandalized and allegedly set on fire.

Alexander Shur – a state government reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal – posted photos on Twitter of the damage caused by the alleged Molotov cocktail attack.

Shur wrote on Twitter, "Somebody vandalized and allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into Wisconsin Family Action's — an anti-abortion rights group — Madison office, writing w/ graffiti, 'If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.'"

BREAKING: Somebody vandalized and allegedly threw Molotov cocktails into Wisconsin Family Action\u2019s \u2014 an anti-abortion rights group \u2014 Madison office, writing w/ graffiti, \u201cIf abortions aren\u2019t safe, then you aren\u2019t either.\u201d\n\nStory TKpic.twitter.com/6Wfnyeh9hQ
— Alexander Shur (@Alexander Shur) 1652022787

There was a symbol for anarchists spray-painted outside the pro-life building. There was also graffiti that read: "1312" – a numeric code that stands for "ACAB" or "All Cops Are Bastards," often used by Antifa.

Molotov attack on anti-abortion group last night in #Madison Wisconsin.\n\nBuilding was spray painted with Antifa/Anarchist symbols and threats.\n\narticle- https://madison.com/news/local/madison-anti-abortion-headquarters-hit-by-molotov-cocktail-vandalism-graffiti/article_526660ea-776d-50ca-9baa-4b4a9337dca7.html\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/FnevgwALU7
— AntifaWatch (@AntifaWatch) 1652026493

Madison Police Department spokesperson Stephanie Fryer told the Wisconsin State Journal, "Due to the suspicious nature of this fire, our arson investigators responded. They are actively working this case at this time."

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes issued a statement, and officially ruled the fire as arson.

The Madison Police Department understands members of our community are feeling deep emotions due to the recent news involving the United States Supreme Court. Early Sunday morning, our team began investigating a suspicious fire inside an office building on the city’s north side. It appears a specific non-profit that supports anti-abortion measures was targeted. Our department has and continues to support people being able to speak freely and openly about their beliefs. But we feel that any acts of violence, including the destruction of property, do not aid in any cause. We have made our federal partners aware of this incident and are working with them and the Madison Fire Department as we investigate this arson.We will provide an update on this case Monday at 2 p.m. Specific details regarding the logistics of this update will be sent at a later time.

Julaine Appling – president of the Wisconsin Family Action – said someone saw smoke rising from the building and called the police.

An incident report from the Madison Police Department reads, "Flames were seen coming from the facility shortly after 6 a.m."

Appling told WISC-TV that someone had thrown Molotov cocktails into her office and burned her books.

Appling told Madison.com, "What you're going to see here is a direct threat against us. Imagine if somebody had been in the office when this happened. They would have been hurt."

"This is the local manifestation of the anger and the lack of tolerance from the pro-abortion people toward those of us who are pro-life," Appling said – referring to the reaction by leftists becoming enraged over the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned.

"I understand that people are afraid and angry, but violence is not an acceptable response," Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway (D) said in a statement. "Madison believes strongly in the right to free speech, but it must be exercised nonviolently by all sides in this increasingly contentious debate."

On Saturday night, angry pro-abortion activists staged demonstrations outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh.

On Friday, CNN warned that the leaked draft decision that indicates that the U.S. Supreme Court could potentially overturn the controversial Roe v. Wade decision could spark protests by the "far-right."

"CNN has learned that the U.S. Capitol police are bracing for large demonstrations that are being organized by far-right groups to protest abortion rights," said CNN guest host Alex Marquardt.

Arson attack on Wisconsin Family Action headquarters in Madison www.youtube.com

Experts question lack of clinical data to support FDA decision on monoclonal antibody treatments



The U.S. Food and Drug Administration used the results of laboratory experiments in its sudden and unexpected decision to revoke the emergency use authorizations for certain monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19, stating that data showed the treatments were ineffective against the Omicron variant.

On Monday, the FDA announced that the Eli Lilly and the REGEN-COV treatments would no longer be made available to health care providers in areas where Omicron is the dominant COVID-19 variant, including states like Florida, where the treatments have been accessible for months. The decision was slammed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has encouraged the use of monoclonal antibodies as an effective early treatment for those infected with coronavirus. In a statement responding to the announcement, DeSantis criticized the Biden administration for taking away the treatment option "without a shred of clinical data to support this action."

In Monday's announcement, FDA press officer Chanapa Tantibanchachai wrote that "the most recent information and data available today" supported its determination to de-authorize the monoclonal antibody treatments.

“Because data show these treatments are highly unlikely to be active against the omicron variant, which is circulating at a very high frequency throughout the United States, these treatments are not authorized for use in any U.S. states, territories, and jurisdictions at this time,” the FDA stated. “In the future, if patients in certain geographic regions are likely to be infected or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to these treatments, then use of these treatments may be authorized in these regions.”

TheBlaze reached out to Tantibanchachai requesting a copy of the data cited in the press release. The FDA provided two fact sheets given to health care providers that reported the results of in vitro lab experiments with bamlanivimab-etesevimab and REGEN-COV.

Experts confirmed the reports appear to show that in a lab setting, the monoclonal antibody treatments appear to less effective against the Omicron variant.

"Regarding the sheets you sent, it appears to report the results of an in vitro lab experiment, which found that when Casirivimab and Imdevimab are used together versus a 'pseudotyped virus-like particle' (I assume the spike protein), they are substantially less likely to neutralize the simulated Omicron particles than they were versus simulated versions of particles from the previous variants," said Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine at Stanford University. Casirivimab and imdevimab are the names of the drugs used in Regeneron's REGEN-COV treatment.

"These results suggest that mABs are less likely to work when given to patients with an Omicron infection than they did versus earlier variants, but the sheets do not provide any clinical evidence from real world use of these medications on patients to verify the findings," he added.

The lack of clinical data for mAb treatments against Omicron — the results of real-world studies with COVID-19 patients — is a criticism the DeSantis administration has leveled against the FDA's decision. The governor and his spokesmen have also observed that mAb treatments have saved lives and questioned why the Biden administration would remove that treatment option.

Kyle Lamb, a researcher with the communications office for DeSantis, told TheBlaze that before the Omicron variant appeared, the mAb treatment manufactured by Regeneron "demonstrated a 70-80 percent reduction in hospitalization and death from COVID-19."

"In Florida, we saw over a 90 percent reduction in total hospitalizations within a few months of implementing monoclonal antibody treatment, due in part both to the peak of our seasonal summer wave and also the success of over 4,000 new mAbs patients a day in our statewide treatment locations," Lamb said.

After reviewing the data from the FDA, Lamb observed that the agency admits on page 45 of its fact-sheet for REGEN-COV "it is not known" how the results of these lab experiments "correlate with clinical outcomes.

"All the evidence given thus far relates to these mAbs being significantly less effective in providing neutralizing antibodies against omicron, but their own literature acknowledges they don't know how well the treatment will hold up against clinical illness," Lamb said.

"Here in Florida, we are still receiving feedback from practitioners and hospitals statewide that they are observing what they believe to be some level of effectiveness against clinical disease, even with Omicron cases," he added.

"That is why we are adamant that the FDA and HHS should be using clinical data to support this decision, and should be transparent with the data they are basing these actions."

DeSantis' critics point out that U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention models indicate the Omicron variant is responsible for 99% of COVID infections in the state, which if true means the Eli Lilly and REGEN-COV treatments may not actually help coronavirus patients.

At a press conference today, DeSantis attempted to make it seem as if there were enough Delta cases in Florida to justify the use of Regeneron, which is totally ineffective against Omicron.\n\nAccording to the CDC, however, Omicron accounts for more than 99% of cases there.pic.twitter.com/Ok37fOUCz9
— Alexander Nazaryan (@Alexander Nazaryan) 1643252159

But Lamb reiterated that the DeSantis administration disagrees with the FDA decision because its data is "not based on real world results against clinical disease."

"More importantly, the decision was also partially based on models by the CDC as to the degree in which Delta has been crowded out by Omicron. If these models even slightly overstate the prevalence of Omicron, hundreds of thousands of Americans could be susceptible to manifestation of more severe disease seen in Delta without access to the most proven treatment option we have," Lamb said.

Bhattacharya agreed with that assessment.

"I do not understand why the FDA pulled mABs since they are still useful versus the Delta strain. Though it is no longer common, there are still patients who are infected with it and mABs have been shown to substantially reduce hospitalization and mortality risk if given early. Pulling the EUA denies those patients an effective early treatment," he said.

Lamb also accused the FDA of being inconsistent regarding the authorizations of COVID-19 treatments that have been shown to have varying effectiveness against Omicron.

"The decision to authorize emergency use for Merck's antiviral pill was in spite of clinical data that demonstrated disappointing results. Another treatment option, Remdesivir, has been conditionally recommended against use by the World Health Organization since November 2020 due to a lack of efficacy against disease in COVID-19 yet it remains authorized by the FDA due to a complete lack of evidence that it is effective," he said.

"Even vaccines are far less efficacious in preventing transmission against Omicron, including boosters. We are puzzled by the inconsistent logic pushed forward by this administration when it comes to treatment options for Floridians and Americans nationwide."

The CDC maintains that evidence supports the effectiveness of FDA authorized or approved vaccines and booster shots against infection, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.

BREAKING: BLM mob violently attacks Trump supporters in Dallas

A “Walk Away Rescue America” rally was violently disrupted on Saturday after leftist counter-protestors attacked event security and attendees, prompting Dallas to police to detain a security guard who grappled with a Black Lives Matter activist.

Biden accused of plagiarism in DNC acceptance speech



Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has been accused of plagiarizing a part of his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Similar allegations arose during his failed 1988 campaign for the White House.

What are the details?

Several Canadians took to Twitter calling foul during the broadcast of Biden's speech Thursday night, accusing Biden of lifting the words of departed liberal Canadian politician Jack Layton, who passed away in 2011.

CBS News Washington correspondent Alexander Panetta noted, "A number of Canadians are struck by the similar parting words of Biden's speech to the final words of Jack Layton's farewell letter before his death."

The reporter provided a side-by-side of the excerpts.

In Biden's speech, he said, "For love is more powerful than hate. Hope is more powerful than fear. Light is more powerful than dark. This is our moment. This is our mission."

Layton's quote read, "My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we'll change the world."

A number of Canadians are struck by the similar parting words of Biden's speech to the final words of Jack Layton's… https://t.co/ixgSzNoOGF
— Alexander Panetta (@Alexander Panetta)1597982539.0

Canadian media picked up on it, too. Left-leaning outlet HuffPost Canada declared, "Joe Biden's DNC speech sounded a lot like a Jack Layton quote," while conservative publication The Post Millennial noted that "left-wing Canadian activists" were making the plagiarism accusation. Both outlets compiled examples of tweets from users claiming Biden stole Layton's words.

HuffPost did not receive a response from the Biden campaign on "whether Layton was a reference for the speech," but the outlet noted:

Even Layton wasn't the first Canadian politician to mobilize 'love is better than hate' phrasing. That honour goes to prime minister Wilfrid Laurier, who said something similar in 1916.

'I shall remind you that already many problems rise before you: problems of race division, problems of creed difference, problems of economic con­flict, problems of national duty and national aspiration,' Laurier said during a speech in London, Ont.

'Let me tell you that for the solution of these problems you have a safe guide, an unfailing light if you remember that faith is better than doubt and love is better than hate.'

Accusations of plagiarism have dogged Biden in the past. Last year, Business Insider wrote an entire piece spelling out how "Joe Biden's first presidential run in 1988 cratered amid multiple instances of plagiarism."

The outlet pointed to two New York Times reports from 1987, exposing instances where Biden was accused of plagiarism. In one, "Biden acknowledged plagiarizing a law review journal for a paper during law school, and asked school administrators not to be expelled."

The second report from The Times was published within weeks of Biden dropping out of the race.

As Business Insider described:

During his failed 1988 run, Biden lifted portions of a speech by United Kingdom Labour MP and Margaret Thatcher challenger Neil Kinnock.

During an event at the Iowa State Fair, Biden mimicked entire portions of Kinnock's speech from earlier in the year. At one moment, Biden repeated the line that he was the first 'in a thousand generations' to graduate from college, gesturing to his wife in the exact same way Kinnock did, while also saying the same line about her education and lineage.

Biden would later acknowledge that he in fact did have relatives who attended college, directly contrasting the Kinnock lines.