Memory gone. Unable to recognize relatives. Couldn't remember that he was once President. Or Govenor. Or an actor. Couldn't change his clothes or feed himself. An infant in a man's body.
Nancy Reagan, and Reagan's late daughter, Maureen, campaigned tirelessly over the last ten years to increase funding for Alzheimer's research. They have also campaigned for stem cell research money to cure diseases like Alzheimer's.
What is really too bad about it all is that they failed to recognize the importance of such funding when they were actually in a position to do something about it: when they were in the white house for eight years. THAT would have been the time to make medical research grant money a priority. But, you see, none of the Reagans had Alzheimer's at that time. So at that time, tax cuts for the rich were more important than medical research to them, you see. Those tax cuts caused massive deficits and public debt, crippling our ability to fund medical research. And to fund social security or medicare for the elderly, as well.
No, it was only after the Reagans left the white house, when Mr. Reagan himself was diagnosed, that it became a priority for them. By then it was too late, the damage was done. Clinton did everything he could to put us back in good fiscal shape during HIS eight years in the white house. He created a surplus and began the collosal task of paying down Reagan and Bush 1's debts.
But a rigged election in 2000 put Bush 2 in power, returning us to the bad old days of tax cuts for the rich and huge public deficits and debts. The result? Still not enough money for medical research grants, social security, medicare or stem cell research.
ANOTHER irony of the Reagan legacy was the the policy of environmental deregulation. These were policies Reagan implemented during the 1980's which removed environmental protections and pollution restrictions, so corporations could pollute at will. They did that throughout the 80's and 90's. (Clinton tried to reverse that as well, but congress blocked all of his environmental initiatives.) As a consequence, the ozone layer was destroyed. Millions have come down with and died from melanoma as a consequence. My first paragraph mentioned the "late" daughter of Ronald Reagan, Maureen. She is now the "late" because she was one of those millions. She died of melanoma a few years ago.
Bush 2 has duly built upon the disasterous environmental policies that Reagan implemented, following in the "conservative tradition".
An ironic chapter closed (at least symbolically) this date with Mr. Reagan's death. I just wish he didn't take the rest of us along for the ride.