Free Republic

Jeb Bush made a series of astonishing remarks about immigration Wednesday. Actually, his comments were not so much about immigration as they were about illegal aliens. First he said he wanted to repopulate Detroit with illegal aliens. It just seems to me that maybe if you open up our doors in a fair way and unleashed the spirit of peoples' hard work, Detroit could become in really short order, one of the great American cities again," Bush said then. "Now it would look different, it wouldn't be Polish...But it would be just as powerful, just as exciting, just as dynamic....

The longtime king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, passed away on Friday. But the death of the 90-year-old monarch didn’t seem to come as much of a shock to the Saudi establishment. When royal officials acknowledged Abdullah’s death, it was also revealed that Crown Prince Salman would succeed his brother. For the time being, the succession process seemed to have preserved stability in the Saudi Kingdom. Within hours, traders who speculated that the new king may take a critical look at Saudi policies, which have allowed crude prices to collapse in recent months, created a rally in the oil...

The longtime king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, passed away on Friday. But the death of the 90-year-old monarch didnÂ’t seem to come as much of a shock to the Saudi establishment. When royal officials acknowledged AbdullahÂ’s death, it was also revealed that Crown Prince Salman would succeed his brother. For the time being, the succession process seemed to have preserved stability in the Saudi Kingdom. Within hours, traders who speculated that the new king may take a critical look at Saudi policies, which have allowed crude prices to collapse in recent months, created a rally in the...

Immoral bioethical policies and practices advance toward implementation through discourse–first in professional journals, and then in elite popular media columns.That process is now gearing up regarding what I call “VSED-by-Proxy.”VSED stands for “voluntary stopping eating and drinking”–suicide by self-starvation–pushed for the elderly and others by those compaaaaa–ssssss–ionate death zealots at the Hemlock Society Compassion and Choices.But what about mentally incompetent residents of nursing homes who willingly eat, but who years previously stated in an advance medical directive that they wanted to be made dead by starvation under such circumstances?We see increasing advocacy in bioethics that nursing homes be required to...

One of the most promising new treatments for Alzheimer's disease may already be in your kitchen. Curcumin, a natural product found in the spice turmeric, has been used by many Asian cultures for centuries, and a new study indicates a close chemical analog of curcumin has properties that may make it useful as a treatment for the brain disease. "Curcumin has demonstrated ability to enter the brain, bind and destroy the beta-amyloid plaques present in Alzheimer's with reduced toxicity," said Wellington Pham, Ph.D., assistant professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt and senior author of the...

When an assisted living home in California shut down last fall, many of its residents were left behind, with nowhere to go. The staff at the Valley Springs Manor left when they stopped getting paid — except for cook Maurice Rowland and Miguel Alvarez, the janitor. "There was about 16 residents left behind, and we had a conversation in the kitchen, 'What are we going to do?' " Rowland says. "If we left, they wouldn't have nobody," the 34-year-old Alvarez says. Their roles quickly transformed for the elderly residents, who needed round-the-clock care. "I would only go home for one...

Sarasota scientists have made a discovery that may pave the way for more effective drug therapies to treat Alzheimer’s patients in the future. In a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Roskamp Institute’s scientists say they have isolated a single enzyme connected to all three key factors in Alzheimer’s disease – accumulation of amyloid protein, inflammation and modulation of the “tau” protein. All three damage nerve cells in the brain. “These studies suggest there is a single drug target to inhibit all three key pathologies of Alzheimer’s disease,” stated the study’s lead researcher, neurobiologist Daniel Paris, in...

Increasingly even many Democrats are recognizing that the American ship of state is foundering. It's Captain seems out of touch with reality. The Captain may be stressed out or the problem may be more serious. The American people are losing confidence in President Barack Obama's leadership. Movie Director Michael Moore says Obama has only one accomplishment. "100 years from now: 'He was the first black American that got elected president.' And that's it." Republican voters are increasingly vocal in their calls for impeachment. There is a less divisive way of dealing with a situation in which a president is out...

A fire station was quarantined and a police station evacuated Friday evening after a man claiming to be from Africa showed up at the Baton Rouge Police precinct on Highland Road ill. Police said, given the current situation with Ebola across the globe and the events in Texas, they decided to take precautionary measures. The measures included calling medical responders, HAZMAT and evacuating the police station between downtown and LSU. Officers said they were concerned because the man was obviously ill, a spokesperson said. The fire station near the North Gates of LSU was closed Friday night and fire fighters...

Vice president Joe Biden declared China a North American country in a speech at Boston's John F. Kennedy Forum at the Harvard Kennedy School on Thursday. Biden claimed that North America - "meaning Mexico, China and Canada" - will contribute two-thirds of the world's energy growth over the next two decades:

The NFL believes that nearly three in 10 former players will develop debilitating brain conditions, and that they will be stricken earlier and twice as often as the general population. The disclosure Friday comes in data the league prepared for its proposed $765 million settlement of thousands of concussion lawsuits. Both the league and players' lawyers estimate that 28 percent of the retirees will develop Alzheimer's disease, moderate dementia or more serious neurological problems. That would represent nearly 6,000 of the 19,000 living former players. Dozens of them could develop Lou Gehrig's or Parkinson's disease.

Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) is back with his colleagues in Washington, D.C., after winning his hard-fought primary runoff — but he had a bit of trouble finding Senate Republicans' weekly luncheon on Tuesday. Cochran, while talking with The Hill, made a few wrong turns before accidentally ending up at Senate Democrats' luncheon. After exiting a Senate elevator on the wrong floor, Cochran and The Hill reboarded. He then found the right floor but turned away from the Senate GOP luncheon, a few yards from the elevator, to stroll in the opposite direction, arriving at the Democrats' weekly gathering a few...

Many Baby Boomers already dread “the talk” –- suggesting their aging parents surrender car keys –- but now two geriatric experts say another thorny, family question must be asked of some elderly folks. Is it time to give up your gun? In a recently published paper, the two physicians offer a five-point checklist meant to help caregivers assess whether firearms remain safe in the hands and homes of older Americans, particularly if the gun owners are exhibiting unclear thinking or depression. “Just like with some (older) people, it’s not if you should stop driving, but when,” said Dr. Ellen M....

At this stage, 84-year-old U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., understands that he can pretty much get away with saying or doing anything. If the lawmaker cheated on his taxes with little consequence, what harm can possibly come from comparing the tea party to the terrorist group Hamas. Which is precisely what Rangel did in an interview taped on Thursday, as he discussed the three Israeli teenagers recently kidnapped. “We know that these victims, these kids are being held by people that have no moral standards… the question is how do we handle these types of people who don’t mind dying,”...

INTERVIEWER: What happened in Virginia the other day, does that concern you for your chances here in this run-off? COCHRAN: I don't know what you're talking about. What happened in Virginia? INTERVIEWER: With Eric Cantor losing his seat. COCHRAN: Well, I haven't followed that campaign very closely at all. INTERVIEWER: Really? Later, the interviewer says, "Well, Eric Cantor lost his seat as the Majority Leader." To which Cochran replies, "Well, it happens. Some win, some lose."

And this week, on the same day, Cochran seemed confused by two questions about the race. At a stop in Hattiesburg, Dan Balz asked Cochran about the Affordable Care Act. "I think we need to monitor any federal programs that provide services and assistance to people who need help, and this is an example of an important effort by the federal government to help make health care available, accessible and affordable," said the senator. Afterwards, as Balz reported, the Cochran campaign called him to say the senator thought the question was about the VA. When I talked to Cochran, I...

So they said on TV today that Donald Sterling is suffering from dementia and had diminished cognitive abilities. Doesn't this mean that he is a sick and cannot comprehend what is currently happening with his situation. So lets break it down: a mentally handicapped person is secretly taped making statements that he may or may not understand and goes on TV and does the same. Shouldn't the concern be with his health and mental well-being. If he was a drug addict or alcoholic (ok, lets face it, and not white), that's what the media would be focusing on. I feel...

Cynics are three times more likely to develop dementia than those who have faith in humanity, a study has shown. Believing that others are motivated by selfishness, or that they lie to get what they want, appears to radically increase the risk of cognitive decline in later life.It could mean that grumpy old men and women should be screened more closely for diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Cynicism has previously been linked to health problems such as heart disease, but this is the first time it has been associated with dementia.“These results add to the evidence that people’s view on life...

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney may take another run at the White House, "Face the Nation" host Bob Schieffer said. "I have a source that told me that if Jeb Bush decides not to run, that Mitt Romney may actually try it again," Schieffer said during a panel discussion on the CBS Sunday morning news show.

Surprise benefits of humble coconut oil - Reversing Dementia.