The Rod Martin Report: March 26, 2015
You can read about the world anywhere. You read The Rod Martin Report to understand it.
by Rod D. Martin
March 26, 2015
Dear Friend,
It has been a while since I've had a chance to write one of these letters. I am very grateful for all of you who have asked to receive them. Over 7 million of you visited RodMartin.org in January alone. It is humbling, and I consider your support a real honor.
Many of you who came did so in response to my piece (which over 355,000 of you have shared on Facebook alone) regarding Stanford's new research on Alzheimer's. It is most extraordinary. In mice at least, Stanford researchers were able to reverse the effects of the disease; they were also able to genetically engineer some mice in a way that prevented their getting it in the first place.
Alzheimer's is horrifying. Its human cost is incalculable, its financial cost is staggering too. A cure would be the Polio vaccine of the early 21st Century. And there's real hope that it's coming.
In that same vein -- hope -- some of you might have had a chance to see Super Bowl winning quarterback Joe Theismann interview me recently. We talk about the early years at PayPal, technology and freedom, and the century ahead. It was a great interview, we had a great time doing it, and I hope you'll take a look.
Likewise, if you missed my recent Daily Caller op-ed honoring the life and sacrifice of Davy Crockett, I hope you'll check it out. Many people know the story of the Alamo, but few fully appreciate the full geopolitical import of what its defenders achieved. The Texian patriots are well worthy of our honor, but more so, without them, there might not be an America or a free world today.
I've also written recently on our lost opportunity in Afghanistan, specifically, how we could have made almost everyone happy while making our enemies someone else's problem. My dear friend Dr. Jack Wheeler ("architect of the Reagan Doctrine") has advocated for this solution. Other than Jack (and me), I can't think of anyone else who has, which is hopefully more a measure of its creativity than of its foolishness. You be the judge.
Our team at Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ: GALT) was featured in Investor's Business Daily in yesterday's print and online editions. It's a great piece, and I trust you'll forgive my pleasure at having personally been singled out as an example of the company's "bench strength."
The IBD story is a nice valedictory for me. After six years, I am not seeking re-election to Galectin's board of directors or to its vice chairmanship. While I remain managing member of Galectin's largest shareholder (10X Capital), six years is a long time, and the truth is, given today's regulatory climate, being on a public company board is a little bit like wearing a muzzle 24/7.
I'm not very good at being muzzled. And the truth is, there's a lot that needs saying. I doubt many Galectin shareholders would disagree.
More to come....
Many of you are going to ask, so I will tell you now: I am very happy with our Republican presidential field. More on this later too (and you should keep up with me on Facebook, Twitter and RodMartin.org), but suffice it to say, except for Chris Christie, there's not a Bob Dole or John McCain among them, and if we're down to just one, wow.
I know some of you will take issue with that number, and I'll elaborate more later: I'm not saying some aren't (a lot) better than others. But we have a very real chance of fighting over who will advance a positive agenda the best this time, instead of who will advance one at all.
For Republicans, that's a sea change. As President Starkey might put it, "Stuff's gettin' better. Stuff's gettin' better every day."
Which is good, because it's going to be a long hard slog. Hillary Clinton may or may not be inevitable (she has been inevitable before, after all), but she certainly doesn't want to be questioned. This morning we learn that her people are scolding the already-leftist New York Times, dictating what words they may and may not use to describe their candidate.
According to Team Hillary, the following words are now officially sexist (unless Hillary wants to use them to describe someone else): Polarizing. Calculating. Disingenuous. Insincere. Ambitious. Entitled. Inevitable (oops). Secretive. Will do anything to win. Out of touch. Represents the past.
Really?
Gee, I wish I could define a list of words I don't like as sexist or racist against me. In fact, I think I will. "Fat" is now officially sexist against me. You racist.
It's going to be a long election. But there's a lot of reason for hope. There's even more reason for work.
One last thing on that score. A lot of conservatives and Christians are pretty pessimistic about all of this, and about America's future right now. Sometimes you will hear them quote Psalm 11 in this respect, specifically "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
I understand exactly how they feel. But they need to re-read that Psalm. God is not saying what they think. And while I know we will face any number of setbacks, I am convinced that America's, and all mankind's, best days are ahead.
Let's take them there.
*******
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