Daily Archives: May 17, 2022

Scientists Say Space Is Filled With Invisible Walls – Futurism

Posted: May 17, 2022 at 7:47 pm

Scientists current best theories about the arrangement of the cosmos suggest that small galaxies should be distributed around their host galaxies in seemingly random orbits.

But observations have found that these smaller galaxies arrange themselves in thin disks around their hosts, Vice reports, not unlike Saturns rings. Needless to say, that represents a puzzling gap between knowledge and theory.

Researchers are now trying to reconcile this gap by suggesting smaller galaxies may be conforming to invisible walls created by a new class of particles called symmetrons a fascinating proposal that could rewrite the laws of astrophysics.

The standard theory, known as the Lambda cold dark matter (Lambda-CDM) model suggests that the universe is made up of three key elements: the cosmological constant, which is a coefficient added by Einstein to explain his equations of general relativity, cold dark matter which are slow moving theoretical particles that dont emit radiation, and the conventional matter we interact with every day.

That theory suggests that smaller galaxies should be captured by the gravitational pull of larger host galaxies and forced into chaotic orbits, something that has not been reflected in real world observations.

Now, two researchers from the University of Nottingham may have come up with an explanation, as detailed in a new, yet-to-be-peer-reviewed study.

They suggest a fifth force could be arranging the galaxies into disk shapes, while still considering the existence of dark matter, the mysterious substance that appears to make up the vast majority of the universes mass.

According to their theory, speculative particles known as symmetrons, which researchers have used to explain gaps in our knowledge of the cosmos, could generate this force to form domain walls, or boundaries in space.

We know that we need new particles because we have dark matter and dark energy and so we suspect that were going to need to add new particles to our standard model to account for those things, Aneesh Naik, a research fellow at the University of Nottingham, and lead author of the preprint, told Vice.

Thats the context in which people study theories like symmetron theory its a new particle candidate for dark energy and/or dark matter, he added.

These particles could exist in groups of different polar states, forming invisible walls between them. These walls, in turn, could trigger smaller galaxies to form disks around much bigger host galaxies.

But many questions remain, and Naik and his colleague University of Nottingham physicist Clare Burrage have plenty of work ahead of them to solidify the theory.

READ MORE: Space Has Invisible Walls Created by Mysterious Symmetrons, Scientists Propose [Vice]

More on dark matter: Scientist Says Dark Matter Could Likely Be Incredible Fuel for Spacecraft

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Team Claims to Have Found Chunk of Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs – Futurism

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They also found an impaled turtle and fish full of debris.Die Hard

Scientists say theyve figured out what happened the day an apocalyptic asteroid crashed into Earth and annihilated the dinosaurs.

Naturalist Sir David Attenborough and paleontologist Robert DePalma filmed a documentary about the 66-million-year old rock fragment they found in North Dakota.The film, Dinosaur Apocalypse, debuts on PBSthis week, but yesterdays CNN report on the pair explains where the fragment was located and how its related to the dino wipeout.

According to CNN, tiny pieces of amber that contain vaporized asteroid dust are from the Hell Creek Formation in the Western United States, which they believe preserved part of the deadly day due its proximity to the impact site. Fossils from the area include fish with gills full of toxic debris, a turtle impaled on a stick, and a dino leg that was possibly blown off its owner.

It gives a moment by moment story of what happens right after impact and you end up getting such a rich resource for scientific investigation, DePalma told the news outlet. In that amber weve located a number of spherules that were basically frozen in time. Theyre perfectly preserved.

The site is 2,000 miles away from the purported asteroid crater located off the coast of Mexico, which means its just far enough that the Hell Creek animals may have died on the day the asteroid struck.

Although the findings have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, CNN reported that Michael Benton, a professor of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Bristol, worked as scientific adviser on the film and thinks the conclusions are accurate.

Its grim thought to imagine the last day for the dinos. But as the work holds up to scrutiny, it would help to understand what happened to untold species, forever changing the course of natural history.

More on sudden changes: Watch an Entire House Suddenly Fall Into the Ocean

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Reinventing the Workplace – MarketScale

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A futurologist, not to be confused with a futurist, refers to an artist of the 1900s artist movement Futurism. There are some crossovers. Both adore tech and love speed. Critically, a futurologist writes, speaks, and studies trends to forecast the future. Richard Watson, Futurist-In-Residence at Cambridge Universitys Judge Business School Entrepreneurship Centre, says that proper futurism sits somewhere between 10 to 20 years out. A prediction about three to five years ahead is basically talking about next Wednesday, and more than 20 years gets into sci-fi, said Watson.

A Racounter article explains that futurologists tend to be widely read and study trends to understand where the world is going next. Watson says futurologists are not going to get it 100% right, but you hopefully avoid being 100% wrong.

The last few years and the pandemic have brought tremendous changes in our daily lives. Few business leaders, who I am intimately aware of, seem to do anything other than react. That may have to do with the speed of change, says Mark Landini, Creative Director of Landini Associates. Watson poses that the innovative companies dont worry about what is going to happen. Theyre creating their own future, and everyone else can fall in line with it.

Remote work has become the norm and is widely expected. However, the concept isnt as new as we think. Landini referenced an interview with Arthur C. Clarke, in which he predicted the possibility of remote meetings more than fifty years ago. Thanks to the pandemic, weve adapted to remote opportunities. Weve been forced to be less physical, and within a few months, weve decided that we quite like that, said Landini. The Economist reported that before the pandemic, Americans spent 5% of their working time at home. By spring 2020, the figure was 60%.

Watson pointed out that many trends made mainstream by the pandemic were already happening on a smaller scale. Watson explains, I fail to think of a single thing with the pandemic that wasnt happening already. However, the pandemic acted as a global catalyst and sped up the adoption of trends. Challenges in the workplace as things return to normal, including conflicting needs and desires between managers and workers. Were at a stage where we have to find a sweet spot between generations, said Watson. Recreating symbiosis between different work styles is key to progress and success in a business.

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It’s Surprisingly Likely That You Have a Nasty Parasite in Your Eyeball – Futurism

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They say the eyes are the windows to the soul.

And now, scientists say, it turns out they might also be windows toone of the worlds preeminent parasites.

In an essay for The Conversation, researchers described how they were able to detect infection from the Toxoplasma gondii parasite by studying thousands of retinal photographs, searching for signs of the sometimes eye-attacking disease.

Toxoplasmosis has, in recent years, gained a somewhat memetic reputation because its main carriers are cats and its primary transmission vector is, well, cat poop. Studies conducted over the last few decades have associated toxoplasmosis with everything from changes in sexual proclivities to higher rates of car accidents, and Futurism recently spoke to one of the authors of a study that found a correlation between childhood cat ownership and psychosis in adulthood.

As it turns out, toxoplasmosis is extremely common. The latest research suggests that anywhere between 30 and 50 percent of the global population is infected, and as Justine Smith and Joo Furtado recount in their essay for The Conversation, that percentage may be as high as 66 percent per a recent community-based study.

The parasite which, it should be noted, can also can be spread via undercooked meat often attacks the retina, and ocular toxoplasmosis is one of the most common afflictions associated with Toxoplasma gondii. It can cause floaters that obscure ones vision and result in vision loss, and as Smith and Furtado wrote, it can scar the back of the eyeball, too.

In an analysis of Western Australias Busselton Healthy Ageing Study, which took retinal photographs of more than 5,000 baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964, they found that an alarming one in 150 of the eyeball photos showed signs of scarring from ocular toxoplasmosis.

As they noted, there is currently no drug or vaccine to stop or prevent toxoplasmosis infection, and with its estimated rates of prevalence in the global population, it makesToxoplasma the leader of the parasitic pack.

Toxoplasma gondii is probably the most successful parasite in the world today, the researchers wrote and its hard to argue with that conclusion given the numbers.

Heres hoping the experimental toxoplasmosis vaccines that have been cropping up over recent years gets to pharmacies and veterinarians sooner rather than later, because the last thing we need is a parasite in our eyeballs.

READ MORE: One in three people are infected withToxoplasma parasite and the clue could be in our eyes [The Conversation]

More on toxoplasmosis:Elon Musk Suggests That a Brain Parasite is Forcing Humans to Create Superhuman AI

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Oaklands new push to help victims of the War on Drugs: Ballot measure would divert cannabis tax revenue – San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: at 7:47 pm

Oakland officials are proposing a ballot measure that would divert millions of dollars in cannabis tax revenue to a separate fund to pay for services for victims of the War on Drugs.

The proposal, called the Emerald New Deal, would move about $7 million in annual cannabis tax revenue from the citys general fund to pay for services such as mental health services, housing support, and community and economic development.

The War on Drugs generally refers to the U.S. governments decades-long push to stop the distribution of illegal narcotics and resulted in mass incarceration for decades that disproportionately targeted Black and brown people. Despite that, the Emerald New Deal isnt race specific, said Council Member Loren Taylor, who is one of the sponsors of the proposal.

Bay Area cities, including Oakland, have tried to make up for the harm through cannabis equity programs that prioritized those harmed by the War on Drugs for legal marijuana business permits, with varying success.

If passed, the measure would create a new nine-person commission, appointed by council members and the mayor, that would determine who qualifies for services under the program. People who were incarcerated or had a loved one put behind bars due to the War on Drugs would be helped by the programs and would hold at least five seats on the commission.

The proposal, introduced by Taylor, Treva Reid and Noel Gallo, could be placed on the November ballot if it gets council approval. Taylor and Reid are running for mayor.

This is critical because we talk about equity and addressing the vestiges of institutional racism, the War on Drugs, but we dont put real dollars behind that, Taylor said. When we talk about reparative investment, having that locked in as something thats a commitment from our city with a dedicated revenue stream is important to make the progress we are trying to make.

The plan would also reinvest some money into the citys cannabis equity program, which was created in 2017 to reserve permits for people who were convicted of a marijuana-related offense in the city.

The program also set aside permits for people who earn an income less than 80% of the citys average median income, which was $68,200 for one person in 2017, or had lived for 10 years in an East or West Oakland neighborhood that saw a high number of cannabis arrests.

Some equity businesses have said the program hasnt lived up to its promise.

Taylor said the proposal will come to council committee on May 24 and will include a financial analysis from the citys finance department.

Sarah Ravani (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani

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We need practical justice for victims of the war on drugs – U.S. Catholic magazine

Posted: at 7:47 pm

New York last year joined the squad of U.S. states that have gone from decriminalizing pot possession to outright legalizing marijuana. This year the process moves from the legislature to New York boulevards as the former street drug transitions to legal storefronts. New York lawmakers have crafted a measure to accompany legalization that is meant to address some of the historical injustices related to the outlaw era of marijuana sales and use.

Under the 2021 law that legalized marijuana in New York, half of all cannabis-related licenses issued this year will be reserved for women, minorities, distressed farmers, veterans, and individuals who have lived in communities disproportionally impacted by the drug war, according to a report in the New York Times. The plan also earmarks 40 percent of cannabis tax revenue for use in Black and Latino communities.

For those able to acquire a license, the program, funded with $200 million to help applicants get their businesses running, will mean a leg up in rebuilding lives dislocated by their divergence into the criminal justice system because of minor marijuana possession or sales offenses. The plan has raised hackles among some who charge that the states mitigation rewards people for breaking the law.

But that objection ignores the historical reality that the war on drugs was not waged equitably. For decades in New York, while rates of marijuana use were comparable across all races and ethnicities, the treatment of Black and Latino/a New Yorkers was starkly different from that of white New Yorkers. For years, Black and Latino/a residents represented 87 percent and higher of all arrests made for marijuana possession.

Those disproportionate arrests and resulting incarcerations represented a crushing economic and personal impact on Black and Latino communities. Reparations for past wrongs because of racism and discrimination has been a controversial idea, but even folks who reject that notion on autopilot should be able to appreciate the practical justice embodied by the New York proposal.

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If you want to be furious about a government deal that was too soft on former drug peddlers, you might save your outrage for the deal offered up to the Sackler family. In March, clan Sackler concluded a long-negotiated bankruptcy that will settle most claims against the family and family-owned Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer and distributor of the infamous and entirely legal prescription drug OxyContin. The deal would shield the Sacklers from future lawsuits.

Representatives from the family attended the final hearing without comment as victims impact statements were read out. The Sacklers have declined to accept responsibility for the suffering OxyContin propelled and have barely expressed remorse. Under the terms of the bankruptcy, the Sacklers agreed to surrender $6 billion of the familys OxyContin fortune to compensate for the vast social harm created by the marketing of the painkiller, purported for years to be less potentially addictive than other prescription narcotics. That was unfortunately not true, and internal company memos suggest members of the Sackler family and Purdue executives knew as much for years.

The widespread prescription of OxyContin essentially founded the opioid crisis that still grips the nation. More than 500,000 have died since 1999 as opioid addiction swept the nationand most of its victims began their addiction with prescriptionopioids.

Many balk at the idea of contemporary amends for the inequities of the past, but how should we respond to the inequities of our own times? The bankruptcy deal leaves the Sackler family with only about $7 billion of its OxyContin fortune. Maybe an outraged citizenry could insist that this odious deal be tossed out and the rest of that fortune distributed to those U.S. communities hit hardest by the opioid epidemic. Can you guess which ones those might be?

This article also appears in theMay 2022issueof U.S. Catholic (Vol. 87, No. 5, page 42).Click hereto subscribe to the magazine.

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Sadiq Khan could be leading the way in deserting the foolish war on drugs – City A.M.

Posted: at 7:47 pm

Monday 16 May 2022 6:30 am

By: Eliot Wilson

Eliot Wilson is co-founder of Pivot Point and a former House of Commons official.

Those who like to think they take the long view of history will tell you that the war on drugs started in 1971, when Richard Nixon declared illegal narcotics to be public enemy number one. Yet its lineage extended far further back than that: in the US, Congress banned alcohol for nearly 15 years from 1920 to 1933. But the combative tone, the idea that we are locked in a struggle against drugs or the drug trade persists. It pervades the language we use, from beating addiction to clamping down on drug abuse.

Every so often, a political figure or pressure group will edge forward into the spotlight and suggest that there should be some greater nuance to our approach to drugs. These can be minor suggestions, such as non-custodial sentences for possession, or radical ideas, like wholesale legalisation.

There is always a backlash, because the media, following whats assumed to be the public mood, prefers the chiaroscuro of drugs are bad to the sfumato of well, actually and a more creative and measured approach.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is the latest politician to step into this debate. Last week he was touring the United States as the capitals global ambassador, and during his visit to Los Angeles he included a tour of a cannabis factory, or cannabis dispensary and cultivation facility in Californias language. Policy in the US is moving quickly: the non-medical use of cannabis is now legal in eighteen states, and decriminalised in a further thirteen. The direction of travel is clear, and it seems only a matter of time until cannabis is a legal and recreational substance across America.

Khan won re-election on a pledge to establish a London drugs commission, and has called for an evidence-based approach to legislation and control. Last week he used the opportunity of his visit to Los Angeles to announce his making good of that pledge. Indeed, Khan has asked Lord Falconer of Thoroton, Tony Blairs lord chancellor and a shadow minister, to chair a review of the status of cannabis (which is a class B drug). The review will not extend to class A substances like cocaine and heroin.

It is always sensible to assay Khans public utterances for authenticity. One should note that neither City Hall nor the London Assembly has power over criminal justice, which is reserved to Parliament in England. The mayor, always alive to the chance of publicity, will hope to influence the debate. With due caution, it is fair to agree that a radical and firm proposal from the man with the biggest individual electoral mandate in the country would carry a degree of weight.

He is likely to have noted that regulating the sale and supply of cannabis in Los Angeles has created a new revenue stream for the city government. Here, after all, is a widely used commodity begging to be taxed like alcohol or tobacco. The legalisation has also cut cannabis-related arrests by 56 per cent, no small prize when police budgets and resources are stretched so thinly. The potential gains for a mayor are obvious to see.

Sadiq Khan is not home secretary, so he cannot directly influence public law on drugs, no matter what Charlie Falconer may conclude. The mayor is, however, chair of C40 Cities, a group of mayors of nearly 100 cities organised to tackle climate change. Might it be possible to assemble a similar coalition to address the issue of drugs and drug-related crime on an international urban basis?

Drug policy is an emotive issue. I tend towards liberalisation: it is the criminal context of drugs which has contributed hugely to the harm, and there is no rational basis for banning cannabis while alcohol and tobacco are legal. People should also generally be free to make informed choices for themselves. Whatever your view, it is obvious that the war on drugs is being lost, and lost comprehensively. Something has to change.

Khan is offering a possible way forward to this contentious policy area, and this should be cause for celebration. Not always an easy man to trust, the mayor has the opportunity to lead not just a national but an international debate, the chance to show courage and leadership on a problem which affects society from top to bottom. He can ask for the evidence he wants: will he be brave enough to follow through?

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More than $75000 worth of drugs, gun, cash found at Lower Burrell home; 2 arrested – TribLIVE

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Police arrested two Lower Burrell residents after they raided two Lower Burrell homes where they found more than $75,000 worth of drugs, drug paraphernalia, a loaded shotgun and $38,000.

Police on May 13 arrested Dalton Smith, 25, and Tessa Myers, 23, both of Lower Burrell, after searching their home on Thor Drive and a second site on Lori Drive.

The search warrant was secured as part of an investigation by the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force along with the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office, North Huntingdon police and Lower Burrell police, said Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli.

Items seized at the two locations on Thor and Lori drives included a loaded Kel-Tec shotgun, about 6 pounds of marijuana, 1.7 pounds of THC wax, 53 boxes of psilocybin mushrooms, 74 grams of Gold Coast vape cartridges, more than 400 THC vape cartridges, a vacuum sealer, a scale, various pills and a money counter, said Lower Burrell police Detective Steve Aulerich.

Police charged Smith with felony counts of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver and illegal possession of a firearm as well as counts of drug possession and resisting arrest.

Police charged Myers with manufacture, delivery or possession; possession of controlled substances; and use and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The first raid occurred about 9 a.m. May 13 when a marked Lower Burrell police cruiser parked in front of the house on Thor Drive with its emergency lights turned on, according to a criminal complaint.

Using a loudspeaker, police ordered occupants of the house to surrender.

After nobody responded, police tried to use a battering ram to get through the front door but had difficulty because Smith was pressing against it, the complaint said.

After police broke through the door, Smith fled down a hallway, closing a door behind him, police said. Police broke through that door and found Smith and Myers in a bathroom, according to the complaint.

Agents raided the home on Lori Drive after finding documents Smith had with that address listed.

Smith was charged with illegal possession of a firearm because he pleaded guilty to a felony in 2017 and is not permitted to have a gun.

I thank the members of the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and local officers from North Huntingdon, Lower Burrell and Arnold for their dedication and commitment to fight the war on drugs in our county, Ziccarelli said in a news release. This is of paramount importance to my office and the safety and security of our communities.

Smith and Myers are in the Westmoreland County jail. Smiths bail was set at $20,000, and Myers bail was set at 10% of $20,000.

Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for 10 a.m. May 24 before District Judge Tamara Mahady in Unity.

Staff writer Tony LaRussa contributed.

Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Mary at 724-226-4691, mthomas@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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Recent Tulia Drug Bust: Hope They Did Better This Time – mix941kmxj.com

Posted: at 7:47 pm

I saw the headlines on the local news, and then the national news.

Another drug bust in Tulia, with 10 arrested and charged. You know what that little voice in my head said each time I saw a headline about the latest Tulia bust?

"Boooooooooyyyyy, Isure hope you did it correctly this time around."

Why? Well, if you don't recall....there was a slight incident with Tulia and a drug bust, way back in 1999.

Ever hear about that? Let me tell you a little story about a tiny Texas town and one heck of a conman cop.

Man Who Crashed Car into BSA With Gun Connected to Infamous 1999 Tulia Bust

Man Who Crashed Car into BSA With Gun Connected to Infamous 1999 Tulia Bust

At least, that's what we were supposed to believe. It sounds like the plot from a cheesy '80s cop thriller. Supposedly, an undercover cop in Tulia, TX singlehandedly brought down a massive drug ring. Serpico style.

It's the kind of story I could see Mel Gibson starring in, if he passed up Lethal Weapon.

Believe it or not, this is only where the story begins. From here, it gets completely unbelievable.

Tulia, at the time, only had a population of around 5,000 people.The late 90s were when the War on Drugswas waged without mercy, anditty bitty Tuliawas supposedly the sight of an insanely large drug ring.

Tom Coleman was the man called in to go undercover and clean things up.

60 Minutes via YouTube

He displayed an almost superhero like ability to bring down the bad guys when he brought down 46 people in his investigation.

In one fell swoop, Tom Coleman arrested around 10 percent of Tulia's black population on various drug charges. Crime stood no chance against the mullet-wearing super cop from Texas.

He had a somewhat "checkered past," as 60 Minutes would later call it, but that simply makes him an anti-hero. Right?

60 Minutes via YouTube

Despite his slightly sketchy past, Tom was momentarily hailed as a hero. During this entire spectacle, the Texas Attorney General at the time honored him and his mullet as outstanding officer of the year.

That was until the trials started.

I suppose, and this is purely hypothetical, that if people weren't skeptical at first, they had to start questioning Tom's work when one of the defendants didn't even look like the suspect described by Coleman.

Also, several defendants had rock solid alibis. When they were supposedly selling cocaine to Tom they had actually been at work, a fair, and even another state.

The alleged kingpin was a hog farmer who lived in what 60 Minutes referred to as a "one room shack." He's no Tony Montana or Frank Lucas.

So what the hell was going on?

Many have characterized what happened to the Tulia 46 as a miscarriage of justice. That might be putting it lightly.

There was no corroborating evidence presented against the Tulia 46. No wire had been worn by Tom. No photos had been taken.

During the arrests, there were no drugs. There was no drug paraphernalia. No weapons or stacks of cash.

Not even a pet tiger a la Scarface.

It soon became apparent that it was only the word of this one detective, against the Tulia 46. Tom's word, it has since been pointed out, had some inconsistencies in it.

While many of the Tulia 46 were proven innocent, others spent the next few years in prison fighting for their freedom..

After years of fighting, Governor Rick Perry pardoned the Tulia 46 in 2003.

Presidential Candidate Rick Perry Gives Address At National Press Club In D.C.

Tom Coleman was referred to by one judge as "the most devious, non-responsive law enforcement witness this court has witnessed in 25 years on the bench in Texas."

The FBI began investigating him for a possible hate crime. He was indicted on perjury charges.

While we all can celebrate the fact that the Tulia 46 were pardoned, it doesn't change what happened. It doesn't change the fact that the 46 have to live a life with the shadow of these events looming over them.

Some have called it an indictment on the war on drugs and institutional racism in the justice system.

In an interview with 60 Minutes, Tom says he's definitely not a racist. The case just led him to arresting around 10 percent of a small town's black population.

Of the 46 arrested, almost 40 of them were black.

Whatever the case, one can't help but wonder the impact that the 1999 Tulia Bust had on those people wrongly convicted and what their lives would be like if Tom Coleman had never come to town.

Check to see how crime compares in your city versus elsewhere.

There are families still looking for answers and closure in these twelve Texas cold cases.

We want you to stay legal so here is a list of 20 strange laws you could break in the state of Texas.

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Anti-LGBTQ legislation is grappling to save the nuclear family – Mustang News

Posted: at 7:47 pm

Owen Lavine is a journalism sophomore and Mustang News opinion columnist. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang News.

Republican Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, signed a bill dubbed the Dont Say Gay Bill into law on Feb. 24, which, according to the bill, prohibits discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in grades kindergarten through third grade.

This fascistic and traditionalist piece of legislation has been condemned by LGBTQ+ groups globally. Marie-Christine Mahe, Vice President of Stonewall SLO, a queer democratic club, called the legislation deplorable, in an email to Mustang News.

It really resonated with me because I felt just the same [as I did] nearly 50 years ago and its so sad that young people are still going through the same thing, Mahe said.

Like most pieces of conservative legislation, this one only serves to stop a manufactured fear placed upon a scapegoat demographic who falls outside of the W.A.S.P., or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, hegemony.

The War on Drugs was launched by reactionary conservatives who thought society was degenerating due to drug use, and thus sought to ban drugs, which has been an absolute failure on every metric. The anti-abortion movement has worked thick and thin to make abortion illegal, something they have unfortnately been successful at recently.

People did not stop using drugs or having abortions despite them being criminalized and likewise, people will not stop being queer because we make it illegal to talk about.

These movements in conservative media are rooted in two deeply fundamental post-civil rights era conservative fears:

Candace Owens, a prominent conservative pundit, leveraged those essential fears in her wildly contradictory speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) just a day after the Dont Say Gay Bill went into law.

Owens opens her speech by explaining that sometimes, when female bears give birth, male bears will attack the cubs so the females will go back into heat. She concludes this story by questioning the motives of schools and politicians decrying that they are masking [children], injecting them [and] sexualizing them through the education system.

Owens harps on the conservative distrust of governmental institutions when handling children. This is an ancient concept in conservative thought stemming from the Reagan era which is best understood through Reagans very own words: The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, Im from the government and Im here to help.

Owens goes on to declare women entering the workforce as the start of the United States Government trying to co-parent with mothers and fathers.

She spells it out herself in no uncertain terms, when women began leaving home to be like a man, is when our children were put at risk.

They are at risk of learning about gay people, and at risk of learning that two children, one dog, a stepford wife and a white picket fence may not be the recipe for a happy life. And, of course, they are at risk of developing empathy for the victims of white supremacist capitalism. These are the risks Owens believes exist for American children if mothers leave the home.

If, as conservatives, you want to keep the next generation of children from thinking that being gay is normal, then keeping that information sequestered is very important. A 2011 study found that institutional, familial and peer support was essential when coming out for many queer people. As such, conservatives have decided to attack schools ability to teach children to accept queer people.

Queer people wont disappear as a result of this law or conservative rhetoric, being queer in this country will only become more dubious and dangerous than it already is.

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