Alzheimer's or Afghanistan?

The government has undertaken a commitment to find a prevention for Alzheimer's by 2025.
And we are staying in Afghanistan until 2024.

The money and focus needed to cure Alzheimer's should take priority.

Another assassination anniversary: Nov. 22, 2011

I taught JFK's administration and assassination two weeks ago in my Modern American History class. It brought back not only the "standard" memories--where I was when I heard that he had been shot, watching Walter Cronkhite on TV, then watching the funeral followed by Jack Ruby shooting Oswald--but how different classes over the decades have viewed JFK. In the 1990s, at Denison University there was a bit of laughter and smirking over Kennedy as a womanizer. That is what they had learned about him. But in the last ten years, in New York, at different colleges, the students have been far more interested in the man, his presidency, and the fatal day of his death. The most poignant reflection by a student was on a final exam at FIT. A young woman wrote a compelling essay on JFK and then stated that until she had see me tear up she had not completely understood the significance of JFK's death on my generation. She equated it with her own reaction to the 9/11 tragedy. In teaching JFK, I have used Sean Wilentz's piece in the New York Times, "What if Kennedy Had Lived." I highly recommend it as a teaching tool. And I am on a waiting list to read Chris Mathews new book on JFK. His words tonight as he closed out his MSNBC "Hardball" were moving.

Dead in the Street

Alzaeera is carrying photos of Qaddafi in the street, dead. Another dictator goes down. What a turning point for Libya. And Hillary Clinton was just there a day ago. As the President said, these tyrants must wake up and smell the coffee--they must be on the "right side of history." Despite factions and splits, and a chaotic atmosphere, Libya now has its "Spring." Congrats to all the rebels and to NATO who helped speed along this day.

THE JOBS GENIUS

Steve Jobs created a passion for Apple Products; in the process he produced product loyalty. The head of Fed Ex expressed his thanks to Jobs on CNBC today. All those Apple I Phones, etc. shipped to China created a lot of jobs at Fed Ex. The layers of Steve Job's vision and pragmatism will remain for a long time. Just as my students learn about Henry Ford and recognize their connection to him, Jobs will be admired and studied in the years ahead. The fact that Jobs came out of a California culture of the 1970's, traveled and became a Buddhist is essential to our understanding of him. He had a counter-culture streak. Hard to put one's finger on. Certainly through his illness he kept on the path. And we went with him. We have a moment in American history when jobs are/is on our mind. May he RIP.

The Paralyzed President

Many pundits have analyzed Obama's lack of emotional connection. His recent multiple appearances only underscore that he is in neutral while the rest of us are in high or low gear. He seems hamstrung. The word that is being bandied about is feckless. Unless he shows more juice, more intensity, more leadership he is going back to Chicago in 2012. I think the markets have tumbled in part because of European Debt Crisis, our debt ceiling muddle, and the stalled economy. But most of all there is a lack of confidence in the President. He let the tea party run right over him. The middle is not working. Maybe he should try to show some spine. In my mind, he'll be worse than Jimmy Carter if this continues.

Spiraling Down

To all but a small band of very wealthy Americans, the country is in a state of stagnation. Any stall or downward spiral of the economy could cause a very bad double dip recession. The President is reduced to talking about 100,000 jobs for veterans if he gets business support. This is a drop in the bucket. He spent far too much time on his health reform plan and its passage, and far too little energy, political capital or money on a jobs program. We've got the worst structural unemployment problem (millions out for over 40 weeks)since 1952. We can all abandon hope because that train has left the station. Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride to November 2012.

The Presidency is not too big to fail

The jobs report for today is dismal. But more distressing is that the President had few good ideas to share with the American public when he spoke about l hour ago. If you put his list of items that might help us together with Bernacke's grave comments on housing foreclosures and the unemployment rate you see that we are stuck. Atlantis launched but that is about the only upward trend for today. Will the President sell out his liberal base in the debt ceiling talks on Sunday? He was supposed to be transformational. But the only thing that has transformed is the candidate of 2008 to the man we now see before us. It's not only that he has more gray hairs. He spent all his political capital on the Obama health reform which admittedly is historic. However, it may have been a tremendous miscalculation. We need a 3rd party Independent candidate who can take on the Right Wing and rally the country and who can foster better ideas for ending this economic disaster. Time to move on.