Neanderthal's revisited

I have been watching on Natgeotv their series on the Neanderthals. I am amused how now that since 1998 the idea of interbreeding with modern humans is gaining ground. The Foxp2 gene for language was found in neanderthal dna that is the *same* as ours. So either we got it from them or they got it from "us".

There have long been reports of neanderthals in the middle east to asia. In fact, A case was even made for them surviving to the present day.

The neanderthal theory has more solid science behind it than vaccines. I wonder why it is so horrible to think autism is from mommy and daddy. Anyway they have reconstructed this face above from dna. They dubbed her - wilma. I think she looks autistic. For the sake of completeness and fairness here is an opposing view.

Cognitive Disability: A Challenge to Moral Philosophy

There was a conference this month entitled Cognitive Disability: A Challenge to Moral Philosophy . It featured among other Peter Singer.

As I reviewed the agenda , It struck me that there wasn't in any shape or form a Neurodiversity viewpoint represented. But I saw this titles

James C. Harris, M.D., Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. A Developmental Perspective on the Emergence of Moral Personhood (abstract)

David Shoemaker, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Bowling Green State University. Responsibility, Agency, and Cognitive Disability (abstract)

As I try to point out many times linking all aspects or forms of autism to disability is a bad idea. By doing that we limit ourselves and how society views us. Do you honestly think people will hire doctors,lawyers,programmers with Cognitive disabilities?? Even in love the movie pumpkin notwith standing, do youthink people will go to their families and friends and say "I fell in love with a great person that is cognitively disabled".

No Abortion => No PreNatal Test=> No Genocide

We are watching the clock tick down. Every day we are a little closer to a prenatal test for autism. The not so funny fact is it wont be 100% accurate. It will be anywhere from 75% to 95% accurate. Just like down syndrome once it is there there will be no more walks for a cure.

Often in this world we are faced with decisions that are hard. No easy alternatives. damned f you do, damned if you dont. I try to choose as best I can the choices that at least make things a little better.

We are faced with evil in our time. The specter of eugenics is raising its ugly head once more. The call is now for "Normalcy" a normal race. We all want normailty ?? right? It is the latest ploy to rid the world of its so called undesirables deemed by a few.

When we compare that with denying a woman's right to choose, there is no comparison. Genocide is the greater evil. A whole group of people with the devalued genetic signatures will go into the night of history , if we allow this.

Even when we have NT allies , say parents, they're often more concerned about services and care for *their* kids. The question of future generations of autistics is unimportant or even undesirable to them.

The truth be told is that our efforts to halt the coming prenatal test is simply insufficent as this point in time. I see no reason why that would change. It requires money. Yet when I want to extol capitalism as a way for us to have more of a say I am excoriated by our own advocates. This self defeating belief system will do us in. It will keep us down and powerless.

Our last stop gap measure until we as a community are more in a position to better advocate for ourselves is to support the lesser of two evils.We need to align and ally ourselves with the prolifers. They have a real shot at making abortion illegal thereby resulting in any and all prenatal test useless. So please join with me and support Mcain/Palin to stop a prenatal test by stopping abortion.

It is our only viable alternative at this point.