Sunday, June 28, 2009

The Alzheimer's Action Plan

“Most of us will either get Alzheimer’s or care for a loved one who has"

"This book is the most comprehensive and up-to-date guide for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease. Whether you are a health care professional or have Alzheimer's in your family or are simply interested to living to an old age, this book is a must read."
--Deepak Chopra, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of Perfect Health: The Complete Mind/Body Guide


Insight and Advice about Alzheimer's Disease
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"Memory does matter. Adults across the life cycle are asking questions, many questions! The authors answer these questions for the educated public, family members who encounter memory loss in a loved one, and even adults who believe they are experiencing early memory loss. The answers are comprehensive and understandable, no small accomplishment given the plethora of new information available—information that at times is not only confusing but also conflicting."
--Dan G. Blazer, M.D., Ph.D., former Dean of Medical Education, Duke University School of Medicine; past President of the American Geriatrics Society
"Dr. Doraiswamy has done a masterful job of communicating what the layman should know on the treatment, the care giving and, most important, the prevention of Alzheimer's. It was gratifying to learn about the mountain of evidence that what is good for your heart is also good for your brain."
--Arthur Agatston, M.D., cardiologist and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The South Beach Diet
"I love this book! A powerful and vital resource for people who need it the most. Dr. Doraiswamy is that unique blend of medical expertise mixed in with warmth and compassion topped off with humility that makes him rare and wonderful."
--Leeza Gibbons, Emmy award-winning TV host and founder of Leeza's Place and the Memory Foundation
"Lisa Gwyther is a national treasure. She has been a pioneer in providing innovative care and education for Alzheimer’s patients and their families for many years. Lisa’s long experience helping families cope with the challenges of memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease makes her uniquely qualified to co-author this book. Families experiencing the new world of memory loss and Alzheimer’s couldn’t ask for a better companion for the journey. Her warmth, compassion, and wisdom shine through, and will help light the way."
--Pat Lynch, Director of Communications, Alzheimer’s Center Program, National Institute on Aging
"Most of us will either get Alzheimer's or care for a loved one who has. This action plan can empower you to make a difference."
--Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, You: The Owner’s Manual
"Five million Americans have Alzheimer disease, and an even larger number with mild to moderate memory loss are at high risk of developing this illness. Murali Doraiswamy, a leading clinical researcher in Alzheimer disease, and Lisa Gwyther, a founder of the Alzheimer Association, have co-authored this timely, state-of-the-art book directed at patients with Alzheimer disease, their informants, and their primary care physicians....I fully predict that this exceptionally well-written, reader-friendly book will become the standard resource for patients with Alzheimer disease and their loved ones. Its up-to-date information, patient-centered approach, and focus on prevention and treatment directed at patients with incipient Alzheimer disease distinguish it from The 36 Hour Day by Nancy Mace and Peter Rabins, which is directed at caregivers of patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer disease."
--JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)

Bob DeMarco is an Alzheimer's caregiver and editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room. The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for advice and insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob taught at the University of Georgia, was an executive at Bear Stearns, the CEO of IP Group, and is a mentor. He has written more than 700 articles with more than 18,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Treasury Announces Additional Tax Deductions for New Auto Purchases

The Department of Treasury today announced that a tax deduction for the purchase of new motor vehicles is available in states that do not have a state sales tax.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, taxpayers who buy a new motor vehicle this year are entitled to deduct state or local sales or excise taxes paid on the purchase.

The Treasury Department has determined that purchases made in states without a sales tax–such as Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon–can also qualify for the deduction.

"Building on the Recovery Act, the Treasury Department is taking steps to make sure every American, in every state qualifies for a tax deduction when purchasing a new car," said Deputy Secretary Neal Wolin. "This tax deduction not only increases support for the auto industry as it seeks to rebuild, but also puts money back into the pockets of hardworking Americans."

Taxpayers who purchase a new motor vehicle in states that do not impose state sales or excise taxes are entitled to deduct other fees or taxes imposed by the state or local government that are based on the vehicle's sales price or as a per unit fee. According to the IRS and Treasury, the intent of the provision is that these other fees or taxes could qualify for purposes of the special tax deduction.

To qualify for the deduction, the vehicle must be purchased after Feb. 16, 2009, and before Jan. 1, 2010. The special deduction is available regardless of whether taxpayers itemize deductions on their returns. Taxpayers can claim this special deduction only on their 2009 tax returns next year.

The deduction is limited to the fees or taxes paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price of a qualified new car, light truck, motor home, or motorcycle.

The amount of the deduction is phased out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is between $125,000 and $135,000 for individual filers and between $250,000 and $260,000 for joint filers.
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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The Housing and Credit Crisis Explained

This presentation on the Housing and Credit crisis is the best I have seen. It explains everything from soup to nuts.

Each slide contains a graph that is well explained.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Once you get through this, you will understanding the current credit crisis in housing, and what to expect in the years ahead.

If you take the time to view and read this you will be fully informed.

Hit the full screen button in the upper right hand corner of the panel below.

T2 Partners Presentation on the Mortgage Crisis

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Bob DeMarco is a citizen journalist and twenty year Wall Street veteran. Bob has written more than 500 articles with more than 11,000 links to his work on the Internet. Content from All American Investor has been syndicated on Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Pluck, Blog Critics, and a growing list of newspaper websites. Bob is actively seeking syndication and writing assignments.


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The Housing and Credit Crisis Explained

This presentation on the Housing and Credit crisis is the best I have seen. It explains everything from soup to nuts.

Each slide contains a graph that is well explained.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Once you get through this, you will understanding the current credit crisis in housing, and what to expect in the years ahead.

If you take the time to view and read this you will be fully informed.

Hit the full screen button in the upper right hand corner of the panel below.

T2 Partners Presentation on the Mortgage Crisis

Subscribe to All American Investor via Email



Bob DeMarco is a citizen journalist and twenty year Wall Street veteran. Bob has written more than 500 articles with more than 11,000 links to his work on the Internet. Content from All American Investor has been syndicated on Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Pluck, Blog Critics, and a growing list of newspaper websites. Bob is actively seeking syndication and writing assignments.


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Thursday, June 4, 2009

Satchel Paige | The Life and Times of an American Legend

Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend
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Reviews

“Having known Satchel when I was a young ballplayer, I’m reminded of the man who took over the game with both his superior pitching and his dynamic personality. This book is a must-read that captures the essence of one of the greatest legends in baseball history, Satchel Paige.”—Dusty Baker, Manager, Cincinnati Reds

"Knowing Satchel Paige is knowing nobody like him. This is a superb book about an outstanding man."—Yogi Berra

“First, make a list of, say, the five athletes of all time you'd want to invite to the house for a night of beer and nonsense. Second, if you haven't picked Leroy (Satchel) Paige, one of the others has to go. (Good-bye Wilt, Arnie, Whomever.) Third, get up the cash for this book and Satchel's there. Larry Tye delivers him in fine, robust prose, living and breathing, riding the buses and breaking off outrageous curve balls and figuring out the complexities of segregated America. Great stuff.”—Leigh Montville, author of The Big Bam, The Life and Times of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Biography of An American Hero, and The Mysterious Montague, A True Tale of Hollywood, Gold and Armed Robbery

“Satchel is a wonderful book. Larry Tye, with his deep research and clear writing, does not just baseball fans but all of America a great service by showing us the real Leroy Paige and why he deserves his legendary status on and off the mound.—David Maraniss, author of Clemente and When Pride Still Mattered

"It takes nothing away from Jackie Robinson to note, as Larry Tye does in this important new book, that Satchel Paige—he of a fastball of historic proportions--is an overlooked pioneer in the integration of baseball, and of America itself. This engaging biography sheds light not only on Paige but on the game and the country he helped change forever."—Jon Meacham

Interview with the Author

Larry Tye’s research into the Hall of Fame pitcher and Negro Leagues icon, resulted in Satchel, The Live and Times of an American Legend.

You seem to have great passion for this subject. Is that accurate?

One of the most exciting things to me about doing books is you get a chance to talk to people who have never told their story before, other than in oral form. These are all great story tellers. The Pullman Porters and the Negro Leaguers. The other thing, is that, for better or worse, if I didn’t tell their story, nobody would. It would die without it being told. (Book jacket cover courtesy of Random House)

Much of that history is gone.

So many of the people, probably of the 200 Major Leaguers and Negro Leaguers I talked to in the last two or three years, a quarter of them are already gone. There is sense of getting to people who have never told their story before and who are old enough, that unless it is told that day, there is a chance that they will not be there tomorrow.

Were you surprised that Jackie Robinson was not well-respected?

It was surprising how many Negro Leaguers that I read about or talked to who had resentment toward Jackie. They all thought they should have been first. The other was that Jackie was not especially good to them. He didn’t go out there saying “I’m one of what could have been 100 Negro Leaguers.” He thought he deserved it. He also disparaged the Negro Leagues generally. He thought it was beneath him. They thought he was too young and unproven. They didn’t think he was a good fielder.

Of course Paige thought he should have been the one.

He would have loved to have had the natural legacy of having been the first. He thought he had earned the right. He thought that was the way it would go down. It would have been a completely different way of how history would have gone down. Jackie was young and had many great years. Satchel was on the way down. It is an interesting dilemma to think about what it would have been like for Satchel to have been first. But there is no question in my mind that he would have traded in everything to be the guy that Branch Rickey picked.

How did you separate fact from fiction?

I found that the Liberty Valance quote was true about Satchel Paige over the years. People printed the legend and they printed the legend partly because that is what Satchel told them and they had neither the time nor the inclination to sort it out because the legends were good. And they printed the legend because it had been printed enough that it had become fact. One of the fun things for me in this project was trying to sort out fact from legend. Satchel did in factor embellish and it got me to wonder why he did.

And why was that?

One was that he was a great story teller, it was natural to him to tell a hundred stories that he had told 100 times to reporters who he knew were not going to catch up on it. At times he would play with people. But he also exaggerated for a reason that I thought was kind of sad. Babe Ruth and Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio had reporters with them everyday chronicling their legend. Satchel Paige knew to get attention he had to go a step beyond and create a bit of mystery.The idea that he to be his own legend builder is a reflection of the Jim Crow era he grew up in and played in his early years.

Would he have been a good pick?

In many ways he would have been a brilliant pick. He would have been entertaining to fans. At the age of 42 he would have had people wondering what they had missed in terms of all the younger years of this guy who was still sensational. Much more than Jackie he would have been a symbol of all those years of segregation.

But you can understand how frustrating he might have been to authority?

Yes. I would rather have had him as my grandfather or uncle than my father. As a father you want someone who is dependable. And that isn’t someone Satchel was. He was somebody who you want to have a grandfather who was a great story teller. And you didn’t care if they were true or not. I would have also rather had him as a friend and as a competitor than as a teammate. Dependability was something he had a hard time with.

How good of a pitcher was he really?

Bob Feller said Satchel was close to in equivalency to him in terms of speed and finesse. I think that Satchel may have been the best combination of speed, finesse and intelligence in spurts like Sandy Koufax at their greatest. And did it so much longer than anybody could have ever dreamed of doing it. He did it so well for so long he will go down as accomplishing something no one ever did.

Source: USA Today

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Should Women Be Worried about Alzheimer's ?

Current statistical studies indicate that at age 80, there is a one in five chance of suffering from Alzheimer's disease (20 out of 100).

At age 85, the odds rise to one out of every two (50 out of 100). I call this the Alzheimer's danger zone.

It is well known that women live longer than men. But, I don't think it is well known that healthy women live much longer than healthy men, and live into the Alzheimer's danger zone.
Women who reach the age of fifty without suffering from cancer or heart disease can expect to live nearly ninety-two years (92).**
Men who live to age sixty-five without suffering from cancer or heart disease, can expect to live to eighty-one (81).

I believe most men and woman would find these aging statistics startling. Especially women marrying older men.

I doubt that 50 year old women are thinking or worrying about Alzheimer's if they have not seen it in their family. It seems to me that they should be very worried. Without a treatment or a cure, 50 percent of the woman in the group described above can expect to suffer from dementia or Alzheimer's.

Here are some things that women can be doing to stay healthy, protect their brain, and decrease the chances of suffering from Alzheimer's.

The list.
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Bob DeMarco is an Alzheimer's caregiver and editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room. The Alzheimer's Reading Room is the number one website on the Internet for insight into Alzheimer's disease. Bob taught at the University of Georgia, was an executive at Bear Stearns, the CEO of IP Group, and is a mentor. He has written more than 600 articles with more than 11,000 links on the Internet. Bob resides in Delray Beach, FL.


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**Davidhizar, R. (1999). Caregiving from a distance. Hospital Topics: Research and Perspectives on Healthcare

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