Former Barcelona mayor and Catalan premier Pasqual Maragall of the Catalan Socialist Party announced this morning that he has Alzheimer's disease. This might explain a few things that have happened in recent years.

I've never had a positive opinion of Maragall as a politician, and I think he was a lousy premier. However, he seems to be a decent person, and I'm sorry this happened to him. Let's hope modern medical treatment can do its best for him and other Alzheimer's sufferers--and yes, that includes stem cell research.