It was New Year’s Eve in 2009 when my helmet saved my life.

Training for the Winter Olympics in Utah, I was at the top of competitive snowboarding when I suffered a life-threatening traumatic brain injury that I’m still recovering from to this day. And while I can never snowboard competitively again, I hope to be a voice for the millions of Americans who grapple with diseases of the brain.

Until my injury, I didn’t spend too much time thinking about my brain, but in the last few years, I’ve learned a lot about the engine that drives our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

I’ve learned that in my battle to recover from this devastating injury, I am not alone. Researchers estimate that around 100 million Americans suffer from brain disorders at some point in their lives. From Alzheimer’s to autism and ALS all the way to traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic depression, diseases of the brain are not only catastrophic, they are common.

That’s why the President’s BRAIN Initiative — an all-hands-on-deck effort to understand the human brain and enable the tools, techniques, and technologies that can improve scientists’ ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent neurological diseases — is personal for me.

Learn more about the initiative here — and if you or someone you know stands to benefit from this sort of research, tell that story here.

Since my injury, I’ve learned that the human brain remains one of the greatest mysteries in science. Decades of neuroscience have revealed much about how the brain works, but the great majority of the brain’s activity, involving about 100 trillion neural connections, remains uncharted.

That’s changing quickly. Since the President announced the BRAIN Initiative last year, the research community, federal agencies, foundations, patient advocacy groups, private research institutes, companies, scientific societies, and individual scientists have committed more than $300 million to this bold effort to capture a dynamic image of the human brain, similar to the one that mapped the human genome.

The goals of the BRAIN Initiative are ambitious, but they’re achievable.

Imagine if no family had to grapple with the helplessness and heartache of a loved one with Parkinson’s, or TBI, or PTSD. Imagine if Alzheimer’s, or ALS, or chronic depression were eradicated in our lifetime. Imagine if we played a role in those breakthroughs.

That’s why I’ve worked so hard on connecting, educating, and empowering around brain health, and to tell the story about how much the brain can improve, adapt, heal, and grow. And that’s why I’m so excited to lend my voice to these efforts to help catalyze the next generation of treatments for brain diseases. Though my voice may be more public than most, I know that so many Americans have loved ones that have battled brain disorders just as I have.

If you want to make your voice heard, share your story at WhiteHouse.gov/BRAIN.

I may never get to stand on the Olympic podium, but I’m thrilled to stand with the scientists and students, researchers and citizens on the edge of the next great frontier — unlocking and understanding the three pounds of matter that sit between our ears.

Sincerely,

Kevin Pearce
Carlsbad, California

This could be a game changer.

 
This may be Ernst and McConnell’s “47% moment.” Their comments, caught on tape, could risk their election—just as Mitt Romney sparked voter backlash and outrage after he called 47% of Americans freeloading victims in 2012—but only if we make this moment one that voters will remember when they go to the polls.

Can you take a moment to watch MoveOn’s ad targeting Senator Mitch McConnell and share it with everyone you know?

If further proof was needed that Ernst and McConnell have been hand-picked by the Koch brothers to advance their extreme policy agenda, this is it.

With your help, we’ll be able to turn these leaked recordings into a political liability for Ernst, McConnell, and others beholden to the ultra right-wing, ultra-wealthy Koch network.

Thanks for all you do.

–Victoria, Kristin, Aiyi’nah, Justin, and the rest of the team

Source:

1. “At Koch Retreat, Top GOP Senate Candidates Credited Koch Network For Their Rise,” Huffington Post, August 27, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=300494&id=100556-17809870-dv%3DlPax&t=5

2. “Caught on Tape: What Mitch McConnell Complained About to a Roomful of Billionaires (Exclusive),” The Nation, August 26, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=300499&id=100556-17809870-dv%3DlPax&t=6

3. “New TV ad hits Ernst on Koch Brothers conference,” The Des Moines Register, August 28, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=300532&id=100556-17809870-dv%3DlPax&t=7

4. “Happy Hour Roundup,” The Washington Post, August 28, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=300533&id=100556-17809870-dv%3DlPax&t=8

par-a-dox: A statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory — Oxford Dictionaries

edmarkey.com

I’ve come to learn firsthand that at a fundamental level, Republicans don’t like government. But they have to run for office so that they can take control and stop the government from working.

It’s what I call the “Republican paradox.” You can see the effects of it at work in the House. And if this year goes the wrong way, the Senate could end up just as bad.

If we’re going to keep fighting for progress, we need to keep hitting our goals. And this month, we’ve got the FEC Pre-General filing deadline coming up early — on October 15th. We need to hit $8O,OOO by then. Can you help us get there?

Republicans these days are working for their special interest friends — people like the billionaire Koch brothers who deny climate change and pollute to their hearts’ content.

The GOP isn’t working for middle class families. You know how I can tell? Because they’d rather shut down the government than end subsidies for big oil companies. They’d rather block legislation than make any kind of progress on gun safety, or equal pay, or raising the federal minimum wage.

Republicans don’t want government to work. One of the reasons I ran for Senate was because they had turned the House into a dysfunctional mess.

And right now, all of the pundits are giving the GOP the edge when it comes to taking charge of the Senate, too.

I don’t want to imagine what will happen if Republicans win this year. If we’re going to stop it, we need to reach $8O,OOO by the FEC Pre-General filing deadline. Help us keep up the fight with a $5 contribution.

This November, let’s make sure the Senate stays in the hands of the party dedicated to progress.

Thank you for your help today.

Ed