So Bush has Presenile Dementia? Great find by liberalpragmatist

[trumad]

liberalpragmatist posted this in one of my threads and I thought I'd seperate this out by itself.... This is important shit my friends....

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/091804Mazz...

Physician sees 'presenile dementia' in Bush's faltering speech

September 18, 2004 — In a letter to the editor of Atlantic Monthly, October 2004, Joseph M. Price, M.D. of Carsonville, Michigan, comments that James Fallows' July/August Atlantic article on John Kerry's debating skills ("When George Meets John"), "was interesting, but most remarkable was Fallows's documentation of President Bush's mostly overlooked changes over the past decade—specifically 'the striking decline in his sentence-by-sentence speaking skills.'" Dr. Price understands Fallows' initial "speculations that there must be some organic basis for the President's peculiar mode of speech, a learning disability, a reading problem, dyslexia or some other disorder."

Quoting Fallows, Dr. Carson also agrees with him that "The main problem with these theories is that through his forties Bush was perfectly articulate." Yet, Dr. Carson stated he felt "that something organic was wrong with President Bush, most probably dyslexia, but . . . was unaware of what Fallows pointed out so clearly: that Bush's problems have been developing slowly, and that just a decade ago he was an articulate debater." He was as Fallows said, "artful indeed in steering questions and challenges to his desired subjects . . . who did not pause before forcing out big words, as he so often does now, or invent mangled new ones." As Dr. Carson suggests, "Consider, in contrast, the present: 'the informal Q&A he has tried to avoid,' 'Bush's recent faltering performances,' 'his stalling, defensive pose when put on the spot,' 'speaking more slowly and less gracefully.'"

Dr. Price suggests that "not being a professional medical researcher and clinician, Fallows cannot be faulted for not putting two and two together. But he was 100 percent correct in suggesting that Bush's problem cannot be 'a learning disability, a reading problem, dyslexia,' because patients with those problems have always had them." The doctor goes on to say, "Slowly developing cognitive deficits, as demonstrated so clearly by the President , can represent only one diagnosis, and that is 'presenile dementia'! Presenile dementia is best described to nonmedical persons as a fairly typical Alzheimer's situation that develops significantly earlier in life, well before what is usually considered old age."

Dr. Carson adds, "It runs about the same course as typical senile dementias, such as classical Alzheimer's—to incapacitation and, eventually, death, as with President Ronald Reagan, but at a relatively earlier age." Dr. Carson adds, " President Bush's 'mangled' words are a demonstration of what physicians call 'confabulation,' and are almost specific to diagnosis of a true dementia." His advice: "Bush should immediately be given the advantage of a considered professional diagnosis, and started on drugs that offer the possibility of retarding the slow but inexorable course of the disease."

The Fallow piece:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200407/fallows

[liberalpragmatist]

1. Well, thanks for acknowledging me

:) (I'd earlier read this in some blog about a month back, so I knew what keywords to search for)

[trumad]

2. And they talk about Kerry's tan!

crazy world!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

3. I'm sorry but the words

"retarding the course of the disease" said in relation to bush just made me laugh a really nasty laugh.

[Mr_Spock]

14. LOL - I laughed at that part too!

n/m

[npincus]

4. and I thought it was syphillis

that rotted his brain

[Spinzonner]

5. No, that's Chimpy has prehensile dementia

thereby hangs a tail

[Stew225]

6. Shrub might want to reconsider his

stance on stem cell research. Then again, maybe he has meant to but forgot.

[goclark]

11. It would be ironic

if stem cell research could help him.

One thing that stuck out for me was that he was not demonstrating severe learning disabilities as a child.

Now, all of a sudden, up they pop.

I have a friend that is about 59. He told me today that he is in the early stages of the disease. My heart was broken. He could remember names,dates,places beautifully. Now he tells me that he can't predict when he'll have a problem. The other day he got lost getting home from the grocery store in his neighborhood.

I recall 3/4 times when I have noticed that Bush just totally blanks out. He does not have a clue where the next word will come from until his "Ear Voice" tells him.

[AirAmFan]

22. !

[ItsMyParty]

7. So spit on me but Bush deserves to go the way of Ronnie only

at a much earlier age and faster. It seems a fitting disease for these puppets put up the the republicans who hurt so many citizens of these United States. With Bush I think the cause is alcohol and drug abuse. Your money can't buy you out of it, pig. Maybe this is why he doesn't want to take his physical until after the elections.

[cheshire]

16. I think Ronnie had it in his last years in office.

[kokomo]

19. what is it with the neoCons putting demented puppets out there ...

I guess they want somebody who can read their script, but not question the words they are coached to speak. At least Reagan could read.

[LiberalFighter]

23. Easier to control

[olddem43]

8. I thought he started on drugs a long time ago -

were they not the right kind?

[Lex]

12. :snicker:

[Mortos]

9. Cocaine

I can't remember if it was the previous thread or the article on which this is based but someone (maybe the doctor) theorized that heavy alcoholism and drug abuse could be the cause for his presenile dementia early onset. I believe it was the late great Rick James who said, "Cocaine is a hell of a drug."

[Jane Austin]

13. My mother has Altzheimers

She's 87, so no surprise except that everyone in her family lives that long, and she's the first with such severe senelity.

She was also a very heavy wine drinker. So heavy, that I don't think she ever knew how much she was drinking.

I really do suspect that heavy drinking has a big effect on brain disease.

[girl gone mad]

18. On the other hand..

moderate alcohol intake can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by 75%.

Too much of anything is never good.

[Jane Austin]

26. Yes, but my parents lived in a small, dry Texas town

and there was little socially for them to do there.

I don't think they knew how much they drank, because after 5 pm, they didn't go anywhere and could just fall into bed when they had too much.

Nobody knew, unless we called them on the phone in the evening.

[GreenArrow]

10. self delete

.

[Strawman]

15. Perhaps he's just really goddamed stupid. n/t

[NewYorkerfromMass]

17. or depressed

there are many reasons for disorganized thought and speech. Sleep deprivation is yet another. I put my money on good ol' depression here.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

20. is this a better link?

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/091804Mazza/

--or--

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/091804Mazza/09-18-04_Mazza.pdf

By the way, where's the funny part? Assuming the diagnosis to be correct, we're now laughing at people with illnesses? Especially if they can send kids off to die, or to start wars?

I don't see the humor in this at all.

[Jade Fox]

21. The guy who wrote "Bush On the Couch" thinks he may have Tourette's...

syndrome, and pretty sure he is dyslexic and has Attention Deficit Disorder.

All can agree: There is something wrong with this man.

[progdonkey]

25. I read that book, too

While Dr. Frank understandably draws his explanation for Bush's problems from a psychological standpoint and the physician in the article looks for physiological signs, the two together are pretty damning.

I don't think it would be too far off the truth to say that the psychological explanation has been true all of Bush's life (the cause of his dyslexia, "clang" association, Manichaean worldview, rage issues, etc.), but his long slavery to the bottle (though he's never admitted to being an alcoholic--hell, he can't even admit to being dyslexic!)--and now to religion as a dry-drunk--have caused major brain damage.

So, not only do we have a president whose brain is rotting from alcohol abuse, but the few healthy neurons left are put to use fueling Bush's warped psychosis. Great....

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

24. Pravda also spoke with doctors who thought...

http://english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/399/14257_Bushism.html

<snip>

Couple this with Bush's growing and widening paranoia adds up to something is very wrong with Bush"s mental capacity and his ability to think in a rational and cognitive manner.

It also seems that Bush might be falling victim to voices echoing in the inner trappings of his own fabrications of the truth - the weapons of mass destruction are one example. Despite the findings of the inspectors, Bush wanted so desperately to believe the Iraq had stock piles of WMDs and fabricated an entire spin around it. Manipulating the facts to fit the supposition.

Bush is also getting incredibly more hostile towards his critics, calling them enemies of the state. Hitler and Stalin shared this same type of rabid hatred towards people who did not agree with them.

One senior GOP person, who asked not to be named, has stated "We might have to face the very real possibility our president is loonie-tunes".

This is building to a point where we should be very concerned - Bush has his finger on the triggers of America"s nuclear missiles

[VOX]

27. Clearly, something is not right with *, beyond his normal stupidity...

He's taken weird speech to a higher plane. He's out there.

I'm nearly certain that there's an organic cause behind this.