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PERSISTENT LOSS OF SMELL DUE TO COVID-19 CLOSELY CONNECTED TO LONG-LASTING COGNITIVE PROBLEMS

PERSISTENT LOSS OF SMELL DUE TO COVID-19 CLOSELY CONNECTED TO LONG-LASTING COGNITIVE PROBLEMS
Canada NewsWire
SAN DIEGO, July 31, 2022

FROM THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2022
Also, ICU Stay May Double Risk of Dementia in Olde…

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PERSISTENT LOSS OF SMELL DUE TO COVID-19 CLOSELY CONNECTED TO LONG-LASTING COGNITIVE PROBLEMS

Canada NewsWire

FROM THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2022

Also, ICU Stay May Double Risk of Dementia in Older Adults 

SAN DIEGO, July 31, 2022 /CNW/ -- New insights into factors that may predict, increase or protect against the impact of COVID-19 and the pandemic on memory and thinking skills were revealed by multiple studies reported today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference® (AAIC®) 2022 in San Diego and virtually.

Among the key findings reported at AAIC 2022:

  • A group from Argentina found that persistent loss of the sense of smell may be a better predictor of long-term cognitive and functional impairment than severity of the initial COVID-19 disease.
  • Hospitalization in the intensive care unit was associated with double the risk of dementia in older adults, according to a study by Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago.
  • During the pandemic, female gender, not working and lower socioeconomic status were associated with more cognitive symptoms in a large study population drawn from nine Latin American countries.
  • In that same Latin American population, experiencing a positive life change during the pandemic (such as more quality time with friends and family or spending more time in nature) reduced the negative impact of the pandemic on memory and thinking skills.

"COVID-19 has sickened and killed millions of people around the world, and for some, the emerging research suggests there are long-term impacts on memory and thinking as well," said Heather M. Snyder, Ph.D., vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association. "As this virus will likely be with us for a long time, identifying the risk and protective factors for cognitive symptoms can assist with the treatment and prevention of 'long COVID' moving forward."

Persistent loss of smell better predicts cognitive impairment than severity of COVID-19

Researchers in Argentina working with the Alzheimer's Association Consortium on Chronic Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection followed 766 adults age 55-95 exposed to COVID-19 for one year, and conducted a series of regular physical, cognitive and neuropsychiatric tests. Of the study group, 88.4% were infected and 11.6% were controls.

Clinical assessment showed functional memory impairment in two-thirds of the infected participants, which was severe in half of them. Another group of cognitive tests identified three groups with decreased performance:

  • 11.7% showed memory-only impairment.
  • 8.3% had impairment in attention and executive function.
  • 11.6% displayed multidomain (including memory, learning, attention and executive function) impairment.

Statistical analysis revealed that persistent loss of smell was a significant predictor of cognitive impairment, but severity of the initial COVID-19 disease was not.

"The more insight we have into what causes or at least predicts who will experience the significant long-term cognitive impact of COVID-19 infection, the better we can track it and begin to develop methods to prevent it," said Gabriela Gonzalez-Aleman, LCP, Ph.D., professor at Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina, Buenos Aires.

A stay in the intensive care unit may signal higher dementia risk 

Researchers from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center (RADC), part of Chicago's Rush University System for Health, used data from five diverse studies of older adults without known dementia (n=3,822) to observe intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalizations. ICU hospitalizations were previously linked to cognitive impairment in older patients, but few studies have examined whether they increase risk for dementia. 

They reviewed Medicare claims records from 1991 to 2018 (pre-pandemic), and checked annually for development of Alzheimer's and all type dementia using a standardized cognitive assessment. During an average 7.8 years follow up, 1,991 (52%) participants experienced at least one ICU hospitalization; 1,031 (27%) had an ICU stay before study enrollment; and 961 (25%) had an ICU stay during the study period.

The researchers found that, in analyses adjusted for age, sex, education and race, experiencing ICU hospitalization was associated with 63% higher risk of Alzheimer's dementia and 71% higher risk of all type dementia. In models further adjusted for other health factors such as vascular risk factors and disease, other chronic medical conditions, and functional disabilities, the association was even stronger: ICU hospitalization was associated with 110% greater risk of Alzheimer's and 120% greater risk of all type dementia.

"We found that ICU hospitalization was associated with double the risk of dementia in community-based older adults," said Bryan D. James, Ph.D., epidemiologist at RADC. "These findings could be significant given the high rate of ICU hospitalization in older persons, and especially due to the tremendous upsurge in ICU hospitalizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the link between ICU hospitalization and the development of dementia is of utmost importance now more than ever."

"More research is necessary to replicate these findings and elucidate the factors that may increase dementia risk. For example, is it the critical illness that sends someone to the hospital or potentially modifiable procedures during the hospitalization that drives dementia risk?" James added.

One positive life change during the pandemic may buffer against cognitive symptoms

Investigators from countries across Central and South America and the United States examined whether sociodemographic factors and changes in life associated with the pandemic were related to experiencing cognitive symptoms, including problems with memory, attention and other thinking skills, during the early phases of the pandemic.

In the study reported at AAIC, 2,382 Spanish-speaking adults age 55-95 (average 65.3 years, 62.3% female) from nine countries in Latin America completed an online or telephone survey, had electronic cognitive testing, and filled out an inventory assessing the positive and negative impacts of the pandemic between May and December 2020. Of the total study population, 145 (6.09%) experienced COVID-19 symptoms.

Participants were from: Uruguay (1,423, 59.7%), Mexico (311, 13.1%), Peru (153, 6.4%), Chile (152, 6.4%), Dominican Republic (117, 4.9%), Argentina (106, 4.5%), Colombia (50, 2.1%), Ecuador (39, 1.6%), Puerto Rico (19, 0.8%) and Other (12, 0.5%)

Key findings:

  • Female gender, not currently working and lower socioeconomic status were all independently associated with more cognitive symptoms during the early part of the pandemic.
  • Negative life changes during the pandemic, such as economic difficulties and limited social activities, were significantly associated with more cognitive symptoms. However, this association was weaker among study participants who reported at least one positive life change during the pandemic, including spending more time with friends and family or more time outside in nature.

"Identifying risk and protective factors for cognitive symptoms during the pandemic is an important step towards the development of prevention efforts," said María Marquine, Ph.D., associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry, and director of disparities research in the Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care at the University of California, San Diego. "The experience of positive life changes during the pandemic might buffer the detrimental impact of negative life changes on cognitive symptoms."

"This study is an example of how investigators from diverse countries in Latin America and the United States, many of whom had never worked together before and had limited resources, came together under difficult circumstances but with a shared goal to advance scientific understanding about Alzheimer's, and the important contributions that such multicultural partnerships can yield," Marquine added.

About the Alzheimer's Association International Conference® (AAIC®)
The Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) is the world's largest gathering of researchers from around the world focused on Alzheimer's and other dementias. As a part of the Alzheimer's Association's research program, AAIC serves as a catalyst for generating new knowledge about dementia and fostering a vital, collegial research community.
AAIC 2022 home page: www.alz.org/aaic/
AAIC 2022 newsroom: www.alz.org/aaic/pressroom.asp
AAIC 2022 hashtag: #AAIC22

About the Alzheimer's Association®
The Alzheimer's Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer's care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia®. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.

  • Gabriela Gonzalez-Aleman, LCP, Ph.D., et al.Olfactory dysfunction but not COVID-19 severity predicts severity of cognitive sequelae following SARS-CoV-2 infection in Amerindian older adults. (Funders: Fundación de Lucha contra los Trastornos Neurológicos y Psiquiátricos en Minorías (FULTRA); Alzheimer's Association)
  • Bryan James, Ph.D., et al. ICU hospitalization and incident dementia in community-based cohorts of older adults. (Funder: National Institute on Aging)
  • María Marquine, Ph.D., et al. Cognitive symptoms among middle- and older-age adults in Latin America during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: Risk and protective factors. (Funders: Massachusetts General Hospital Executive Committee on Research, Philanthropic Gift to the University of California, San Diego Division of Geriatrics, Plan Ibirapitá Uruguay (Inclusión Digital de Personas Mayores)).

*** AAIC 2022 news releases may contain updated data that does not match what is reported in the following abstracts. 

Proposal ID: 66868
Title: Olfactory dysfunction but not COVID-19 severity predicts severity of cognitive sequelae following SARS-CoV-2 infection in Amerindian older adults
Background:
COVID-19 has affected more than 380 million people. Infections may result in long term sequelae, including neuropsychiatric symptoms. In older adults COVID-19 sequelae resemble early Alzheimer's disease, and may share risk factors and blood biomarkers with it. The Alzheimer's Association Consortium on Chronic Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (CNS SC2) established harmonized definitions, ascertainment and assessment methodologies to evaluate and longitudinally follow up cohorts of older adults with exposure to COVID-19. We present one year data in a prospective cohort from Argentina.
Method: Participants (n=766) are older adults (≥60 years) recruited from the provincial health registry containing all SARS-CoV-2 testing data. We randomly invite older adults stratified by PCR COVID-19 testing status regardless of symptom severity, between 3 and 6 months after recovery. Assessment includes interview with the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) and Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR); neurocognitive assessment; emotional reactivity scale; and neurological assessment including semiquantitative olfactory function test, motor function, coordination and gait.
Result: We assessed 88.4% infected participants and 11.6 % controls. Education is 10.36 ± 5.6 years and age is 66.9 ± 6.14 years. Level of care during COVID-19 is described in Figure 1. Normalized cognitive Z-scores categorize the cohort in 3 groups with decreased performance compared to normal cognition: memory only impairment (Single-domain,11.7%); impairment in attention+executive function without memory impairment (Two-domain, 8.3%); and multiple domain impairment (Multiple domain,11.6%). Logistic regression showed that severity of anosmia, but not clinical status, significantly predicts cognitive impairment. No controls had olfactory dysfunction. Cognitive impairment is defined as Z-scores below (- 2) (Table 1). Clinical assessment with SCAN revealed functional memory impairment in two thirds of infected patients (CDR ≥ 1), which was severe in half of them. Phone-based follow up at 1 year revealed high adherence (4 participants declined). Five were deceased at follow up. Rates of re-infection (between 10 and 23%) were not affected by the vaccination schedule (Table 2).
Conclusion: The longitudinal cohort had very high adherence. Persistent cognitive and functional impairment after SARS-CoV-2 infection is predicted by persistent anosmia but not by the severity of the initial COVID-19 disease.

Presenting Author
Gabriela Gonzalez-Aleman, LCP, Ph.D. (gabigoa@gmail.com)
Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina, Buenos Aires

Proposal ID: 61678
Title: Cognitive symptoms among middle- and older-age adults in Latin America during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: Risk and protective factors
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted daily life worldwide, with possible negative consequences for cognitive health. Self-reported cognitive symptoms are linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs). Identifying risk and protective factors for cognitive symptoms during the pandemic is an important step towards the development of ADRD prevention efforts. We aimed to examine correlates of cognitive symptoms among middle- and older-age adults in Latin America before the availability of vaccines to prevent COVID-19, including sociodemographic factors and changes in life.
Method: Spanish-speaking adults ages 55-95 (N=2,382, Table 1) living in Latin America completed an online survey between May and December 2020. Cognitive symptoms were assessed via the 12-item Everyday Cognition (ECog) questionnaire. Negative (e.g., economic difficulties, limited social activities) and positive (e.g., more quality time with close others, increased time in nature/outside) life changes associated with the pandemic were measured via a subset of items from the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory. Sociodemographic factors included age, years of education, gender, occupation and socioeconomic status (SES). Covariates included time since March 2020 (estimated onset of the pandemic in Latin America), country of survey completion, and having experienced COVID-19 symptoms. Multivariable linear regression models were ran on ECog total scores including covariates and sociodemographic factors (Model 1), and then adding terms for negative and positive life changes and their interaction (Model 2).
Results: Model 1 showed female gender (p=.04), not currently working (p=.02) and lower SES (p<.001) were independently associated with more cognitive symptoms. Model 2 showed a significant interaction between negative and positive life changes (p<.001), indicating that negative life changes were significantly associated with more cognitive symptoms, but this association was weaker among participants who reported at least one positive life change during the pandemic (Figure 1).
Conclusion: Cognitive symptoms might be more common among certain segments of the Latin American population, including women, and those who are not working and have low SES. The experience of positive life changes during the pandemic might buffer the detrimental impact of negative life changes on cognitive symptoms. These risk and protective factors might be considered in ADRD prevention efforts.

Presenting Author
Maria Marquine, PhD mmarquine@health.ucsd.edu
University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California

Proposal ID: 67719
Title: ICU hospitalization and incident dementia in community-based cohorts of older adults
Background: Critical illness and intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization in older patients have been shown to increase risk of long-term cognitive impairment. However, most data come from patients recruited from the ICU without controls or information on pre-ICU cognition. We are not aware of a community-based sample that allows examination of how ICU hospitalization changes risk for dementia.
Method: We used data from 5 diverse epidemiologic cohorts at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center (RADC) linked to Medicare claims data from 1991 to 2018 to observe ICU hospitalizations (both prior to RADC enrollment and during RADC follow-up) in older adults enrolled without known dementia. Incident Alzheimer's and all type dementia was assessed using standardized annual cognitive assessment. The association of ICU hospitalization with incident dementia was tested in a time-varying Cox model allowing hazard rate to change at time of ICU hospitalization during follow-up. All models were adjusted for age, sex, education, and race. Fully adjusted models also included terms for baseline measures of hypertension, diabetes, BMI, vascular risk factors, vascular disease burden, other chronic medical conditions, functional disabilities, depression, and physical activity.
Result: Participants (n=3,822; mean age=77.3, SD=7.5) were followed for an average of 7.8 years (SD=5.5) from study enrollment. ICU hospitalization was experienced by 1,992 (52.1%) of participants; 1031 (27.0%) before RADC enrollment, and 961 (25.1%) during follow-up. In models adjusted for demographics, ICU hospitalization was associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's (HR=1.63, 95% CI = 1.41, 1.88) and all type dementia (HR=1.71, 95% CI = 1.48, 1.97). In fully adjusted models, the association was stronger with ICU associated with double the risk of Alzheimer's (HR=2.10, 95% CI = 1.66, 2.65) and all type dementia (HR=2.20, 95% CI = 1.75, 2.77).
Conclusion: We found that ICU hospitalization was associated with double the risk of dementia in community-based older adults compared to those who did not experience ICU hospitalization using standardized annual cognitive assessment. These findings could be significant given the high rate of ICU hospitalization in older persons, and rising ICU hospitalizations more recently during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presenting Author
Bryan James, PhD Bryan_James@rush.edu
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Chicago, Illinois

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/persistent-loss-of-smell-due-to-covid-19-closely-connected-to-long-lasting-cognitive-problems-301596516.html

SOURCE Alzheimer’s Association

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International

Beloved mall retailer files Chapter 7 bankruptcy, will liquidate

The struggling chain has given up the fight and will close hundreds of stores around the world.

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It has been a brutal period for several popular retailers. The fallout from the covid pandemic and a challenging economic environment have pushed numerous chains into bankruptcy with Tuesday Morning, Christmas Tree Shops, and Bed Bath & Beyond all moving from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

In all three of those cases, the companies faced clear financial pressures that led to inventory problems and vendors demanding faster, or even upfront payment. That creates a sort of inevitability.

Related: Beloved retailer finds life after bankruptcy, new famous owner

When a retailer faces financial pressure it sets off a cycle where vendors become wary of selling them items. That leads to barren shelves and no ability for the chain to sell its way out of its financial problems. 

Once that happens bankruptcy generally becomes the only option. Sometimes that means a Chapter 11 filing which gives the company a chance to negotiate with its creditors. In some cases, deals can be worked out where vendors extend longer terms or even forgive some debts, and banks offer an extension of loan terms.

In other cases, new funding can be secured which assuages vendor concerns or the company might be taken over by its vendors. Sometimes, as was the case with David's Bridal, a new owner steps in, adds new money, and makes deals with creditors in order to give the company a new lease on life.

It's rare that a retailer moves directly into Chapter 7 bankruptcy and decides to liquidate without trying to find a new source of funding.

Mall traffic has varied depending upon the type of mall.

Image source&colon; Getty Images

The Body Shop has bad news for customers  

The Body Shop has been in a very public fight for survival. Fears began when the company closed half of its locations in the United Kingdom. That was followed by a bankruptcy-style filing in Canada and an abrupt closure of its U.S. stores on March 4.

"The Canadian subsidiary of the global beauty and cosmetics brand announced it has started restructuring proceedings by filing a Notice of Intention (NOI) to Make a Proposal pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada). In the same release, the company said that, as of March 1, 2024, The Body Shop US Limited has ceased operations," Chain Store Age reported.

A message on the company's U.S. website shared a simple message that does not appear to be the entire story.

"We're currently undergoing planned maintenance, but don't worry we're due to be back online soon."

That same message is still on the company's website, but a new filing makes it clear that the site is not down for maintenance, it's down for good.

The Body Shop files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy

While the future appeared bleak for The Body Shop, fans of the brand held out hope that a savior would step in. That's not going to be the case. 

The Body Shop filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States.

"The US arm of the ethical cosmetics group has ceased trading at its 50 outlets. On Saturday (March 9), it filed for Chapter 7 insolvency, under which assets are sold off to clear debts, putting about 400 jobs at risk including those in a distribution center that still holds millions of dollars worth of stock," The Guardian reported.

After its closure in the United States, the survival of the brand remains very much in doubt. About half of the chain's stores in the United Kingdom remain open along with its Australian stores. 

The future of those stores remains very much in doubt and the chain has shared that it needs new funding in order for them to continue operating.

The Body Shop did not respond to a request for comment from TheStreet.   

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Government

Veterans Affairs Kept COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate In Place Without Evidence

Veterans Affairs Kept COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate In Place Without Evidence

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The…

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Veterans Affairs Kept COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate In Place Without Evidence

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reviewed no data when deciding in 2023 to keep its COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place.

Doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in Washington in a file image. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

VA Secretary Denis McDonough said on May 1, 2023, that the end of many other federal mandates “will not impact current policies at the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

He said the mandate was remaining for VA health care personnel “to ensure the safety of veterans and our colleagues.”

Mr. McDonough did not cite any studies or other data. A VA spokesperson declined to provide any data that was reviewed when deciding not to rescind the mandate. The Epoch Times submitted a Freedom of Information Act for “all documents outlining which data was relied upon when establishing the mandate when deciding to keep the mandate in place.”

The agency searched for such data and did not find any.

The VA does not even attempt to justify its policies with science, because it can’t,” Leslie Manookian, president and founder of the Health Freedom Defense Fund, told The Epoch Times.

“The VA just trusts that the process and cost of challenging its unfounded policies is so onerous, most people are dissuaded from even trying,” she added.

The VA’s mandate remains in place to this day.

The VA’s website claims that vaccines “help protect you from getting severe illness” and “offer good protection against most COVID-19 variants,” pointing in part to observational data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that estimate the vaccines provide poor protection against symptomatic infection and transient shielding against hospitalization.

There have also been increasing concerns among outside scientists about confirmed side effects like heart inflammation—the VA hid a safety signal it detected for the inflammation—and possible side effects such as tinnitus, which shift the benefit-risk calculus.

President Joe Biden imposed a slate of COVID-19 vaccine mandates in 2021. The VA was the first federal agency to implement a mandate.

President Biden rescinded the mandates in May 2023, citing a drop in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. His administration maintains the choice to require vaccines was the right one and saved lives.

“Our administration’s vaccination requirements helped ensure the safety of workers in critical workforces including those in the healthcare and education sectors, protecting themselves and the populations they serve, and strengthening their ability to provide services without disruptions to operations,” the White House said.

Some experts said requiring vaccination meant many younger people were forced to get a vaccine despite the risks potentially outweighing the benefits, leaving fewer doses for older adults.

By mandating the vaccines to younger people and those with natural immunity from having had COVID, older people in the U.S. and other countries did not have access to them, and many people might have died because of that,” Martin Kulldorff, a professor of medicine on leave from Harvard Medical School, told The Epoch Times previously.

The VA was one of just a handful of agencies to keep its mandate in place following the removal of many federal mandates.

“At this time, the vaccine requirement will remain in effect for VA health care personnel, including VA psychologists, pharmacists, social workers, nursing assistants, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, peer specialists, medical support assistants, engineers, housekeepers, and other clinical, administrative, and infrastructure support employees,” Mr. McDonough wrote to VA employees at the time.

This also includes VA volunteers and contractors. Effectively, this means that any Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employee, volunteer, or contractor who works in VHA facilities, visits VHA facilities, or provides direct care to those we serve will still be subject to the vaccine requirement at this time,” he said. “We continue to monitor and discuss this requirement, and we will provide more information about the vaccination requirements for VA health care employees soon. As always, we will process requests for vaccination exceptions in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies.”

The version of the shots cleared in the fall of 2022, and available through the fall of 2023, did not have any clinical trial data supporting them.

A new version was approved in the fall of 2023 because there were indications that the shots not only offered temporary protection but also that the level of protection was lower than what was observed during earlier stages of the pandemic.

Ms. Manookian, whose group has challenged several of the federal mandates, said that the mandate “illustrates the dangers of the administrative state and how these federal agencies have become a law unto themselves.”

Tyler Durden Sat, 03/09/2024 - 22:10

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Government

Are Voters Recoiling Against Disorder?

Are Voters Recoiling Against Disorder?

Authored by Michael Barone via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The headlines coming out of the Super…

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Are Voters Recoiling Against Disorder?

Authored by Michael Barone via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The headlines coming out of the Super Tuesday primaries have got it right. Barring cataclysmic changes, Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be the Republican and Democratic nominees for president in 2024.

(Left) President Joe Biden delivers remarks on canceling student debt at Culver City Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, Calif., on Feb. 21, 2024. (Right) Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump stands on stage during a campaign event at Big League Dreams Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nev., on Jan. 27, 2024. (Mario Tama/Getty Images; David Becker/Getty Images)

With Nikki Haley’s withdrawal, there will be no more significantly contested primaries or caucuses—the earliest both parties’ races have been over since something like the current primary-dominated system was put in place in 1972.

The primary results have spotlighted some of both nominees’ weaknesses.

Donald Trump lost high-income, high-educated constituencies, including the entire metro area—aka the Swamp. Many but by no means all Haley votes there were cast by Biden Democrats. Mr. Trump can’t afford to lose too many of the others in target states like Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Majorities and large minorities of voters in overwhelmingly Latino counties in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley and some in Houston voted against Joe Biden, and even more against Senate nominee Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas).

Returns from Hispanic precincts in New Hampshire and Massachusetts show the same thing. Mr. Biden can’t afford to lose too many Latino votes in target states like Arizona and Georgia.

When Mr. Trump rode down that escalator in 2015, commentators assumed he’d repel Latinos. Instead, Latino voters nationally, and especially the closest eyewitnesses of Biden’s open-border policy, have been trending heavily Republican.

High-income liberal Democrats may sport lawn signs proclaiming, “In this house, we believe ... no human is illegal.” The logical consequence of that belief is an open border. But modest-income folks in border counties know that flows of illegal immigrants result in disorder, disease, and crime.

There is plenty of impatience with increased disorder in election returns below the presidential level. Consider Los Angeles County, America’s largest county, with nearly 10 million people, more people than 40 of the 50 states. It voted 71 percent for Mr. Biden in 2020.

Current returns show county District Attorney George Gascon winning only 21 percent of the vote in the nonpartisan primary. He’ll apparently face Republican Nathan Hochman, a critic of his liberal policies, in November.

Gascon, elected after the May 2020 death of counterfeit-passing suspect George Floyd in Minneapolis, is one of many county prosecutors supported by billionaire George Soros. His policies include not charging juveniles as adults, not seeking higher penalties for gang membership or use of firearms, and bringing fewer misdemeanor cases.

The predictable result has been increased car thefts, burglaries, and personal robberies. Some 120 assistant district attorneys have left the office, and there’s a backlog of 10,000 unprosecuted cases.

More than a dozen other Soros-backed and similarly liberal prosecutors have faced strong opposition or have left office.

St. Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner resigned last May amid lawsuits seeking her removal, Milwaukee’s John Chisholm retired in January, and Baltimore’s Marilyn Mosby was defeated in July 2022 and convicted of perjury in September 2023. Last November, Loudoun County, Virginia, voters (62 percent Biden) ousted liberal Buta Biberaj, who declined to prosecute a transgender student for assault, and in June 2022 voters in San Francisco (85 percent Biden) recalled famed radical Chesa Boudin.

Similarly, this Tuesday, voters in San Francisco passed ballot measures strengthening police powers and requiring treatment of drug-addicted welfare recipients.

In retrospect, it appears the Floyd video, appearing after three months of COVID-19 confinement, sparked a frenzied, even crazed reaction, especially among the highly educated and articulate. One fatal incident was seen as proof that America’s “systemic racism” was worse than ever and that police forces should be defunded and perhaps abolished.

2020 was “the year America went crazy,” I wrote in January 2021, a year in which police funding was actually cut by Democrats in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Denver. A year in which young New York Times (NYT) staffers claimed they were endangered by the publication of Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) opinion article advocating calling in military forces if necessary to stop rioting, as had been done in Detroit in 1967 and Los Angeles in 1992. A craven NYT publisher even fired the editorial page editor for running the article.

Evidence of visible and tangible discontent with increasing violence and its consequences—barren and locked shelves in Manhattan chain drugstores, skyrocketing carjackings in Washington, D.C.—is as unmistakable in polls and election results as it is in daily life in large metropolitan areas. Maybe 2024 will turn out to be the year even liberal America stopped acting crazy.

Chaos and disorder work against incumbents, as they did in 1968 when Democrats saw their party’s popular vote fall from 61 percent to 43 percent.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Tyler Durden Sat, 03/09/2024 - 23:20

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