Science

Dear Friends,

Tonight I attended an event to cultivate donors for the University of Minnesota Medical Foundation and particularly its neuroscience work.  The speaker was Dr. Karen Ashe.  You can read about her here.  She is an amazing scientist/physician.  I was completely blown away by the work that she has done, her ability to explain it in a way that was understandable, her passion for what she is doing and her willingness to work for years to accomplish a goal.

She is a true scientist whose work will undoubtedly lead to advances in the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's.  Her first major accomplishment was to develop mice that have Alzheimer's so that potential treatments can be tried.  She did this at the University of Minnesota and now because it is scientific research those mice are now available to and used by researchers worldwide. 

When national politicians and their followers deny science and ridicule academic pursuits, I wish they would be forced to spend just a few minutes with Dr. Ashe.  Maybe then they would recognize all the good that scientific research has and will do.  The dumbing down of America is going to ruin this country.  We must work to reverse the trend.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal

Protests

Dear Friends,

Today I spent several hours protesting President Obama's wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Pakistan, etc. when he came to Minneapolis to speak to the American Legion convention.  It was really a protest about priorities.  We spend trillions on war and fail to take care of our veterans, our children, the poor, the infrastructure, the schools, etc.  What kind of a nation have we become when military spending is more important than people?

I do not really think that my protest will change anything, but I can always hope, but I am glad that I exercised my Constitutional right to protest.  I hope that my grandchildren will be able to exercise their Constitutional rights when they are my age, and I hope they do.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal