EXCELLENT HEALTH ADVICE: Act Fast to Save Sight if Signs of Danger to the Retina Appear. “Modern treatments can do wonders if they are begun before the damage is irreversible. But a delay in getting to a retinal specialist can diminish the ability of even the best therapy to preserve or restore normal vision.”

DATING MISTAKES: Are you expecting men to act like women?

PARKINSON’S DISEASE and damaged mitochondria.

MICHAEL WALSH: The Obama Administration’s Fast-And-Furious Excuse-Making.

WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Obama Votes “Present” on 20,000 Jobs.

UPDATE: CBS Poll: Obama disapproval rating on economy at record high.

BRUCE MCQUAIN: Support Our Wounded — Support Cooking With The Troops.

HMM: Investigation Continues in Home Fire That Burned Siemens Charger, Chevy Volt. So is this a real problem, or just a Toyota hysteria episode redux?

FIVE WAYS WE RUINED THE OCCUPY WALL STREET GENERATION. Most of ’em aren’t ruined, of course. They’re out working, or looking for jobs, or doing things other than squatting in tents somewhere. That’s how it was in the ’60s, too, actually, despite the media portrayals.

But here’s an excerpt: “We’ve extended the awkward teenage years into the mid to late 20s. Now, I would not be apologizing for this if it was just the result of social and economic factors outside our control. But the problem is that we made a hero of that person. Think Kelso in That ’70s Show, or Joey from Friends. My generation aspired to be that guy, the kid in a grownup body with simple, childish appetites and aspirations. I was that guy for years — a dude can get very popular doing that. But let me tell you from experience, the longer you put off adulthood, the harder the transition is.”

UPDATE: Reader Troy Hinrichs emails:

I agree wholeheartedly that this generation isn’t ruined. I’m a professor at a small liberal arts university and every time I make a snide remark about OWS in class — which is quite often — I get a lot of nodding heads and laughs (when the comments are funny). This generation is willing to work hard often and values authenticity even if they don’t always know what that means.

I also agree with Dr. VDH that this group is worried — and rightly so — about debt and the long term cost. They’re also very skeptical of institutions. I’ve been a professor for 13 years now and I’ve never heard so many students utter the word “retirement” in relation to their own futures — and not in a good way. The Penn State issue (along with any NCAA problems of decidedly lesser evil) also highlights the larger problem with institutions of higher education — insulation and isolation from normal people — including most of the students who attend college.

Indeed.

MICKEY KAUS: Occupy Wall Street to Mainstream Media: Dynamics Of Closed Loop Systems. “Left types at Occupy Wall Street protest income inequality. Left types in the MSM turn out lots of articles on income inequality. Politico notices there are lots of articles on income inequality and concludes that ‘Occupy Wall Street is winning.’ Huh?”

Related: Things you learn by watching the news.

AT AMAZON: Today only, up to 65% off on men’s dress pants.

IF YOU MISSED IT EARLIER, OR DON’T SUBSCRIBE TO PJTV, here’s my Michael Barone interview on YouTube.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Occupy Wall Street and Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Wall Street is insidious in ways that transcend the 401(k) plans of the middle classes. It is deeply embedded within the Washington–New York nexus, the Ivy League, and both the liberal and conservative political apparat. So the protesters never had clear targets, inasmuch as Wall Street money in 2008 went heavily for Obama, an expert in garnering Goldman Sachs and BP cash. Otherwise, its peripheral messages were incoherent or anarchic, and turned off rather than won over most Americans.

Occupy Wall Street did, however, raise one important issue: that of higher education and its role in increasing tuition and little commensurate education. So much of the angst in video clips and op-eds was voiced by a youthful upper middle class who went to the university, majored either in social science or liberal arts, piled up debt, faced almost no employment choices commensurate with their class and their educational brand — and thus were furious at the more profit-minded members of a like class for abandoning them.

Revolutionary movements throughout history are so often sparked by the anger, envy, and disappointments of an upper-middle cohort, highly educated, but ill-suited for material success in the existing traditional landscape.

Read the whole thing. Plus, from Ace, some related thoughts.

#OCCUPY CORZINE.

JAY COST: Can Obama Win By Going Negative?

ABC NEWS: White House Emails Show Foreboding About Solyndra, Harsh Criticism of Steven Chu. “Carol’s four-page proposal to restructure the Energy Department included the blunt recommendation that Chu be fired, and that his leadership team also be replaced, calling it time for ‘serious changes, even if they are uncomfortable to make.’ . . . Carol also predicted the political fallout that would result from what he saw as inevitable failures of the Energy Department’s now-embattled loan guarantee program. He made the dire predictions when advising that Obama replace Chu with someone who was not ‘too associated … with [the] Silicon Valley business elite.'”

#OCCUPYFAIL: OF THE 1%, BY THE 1%, AND FOR THE 1%: Harvard Keeps Occupy Harvard Harvard-Only.

HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Meet The Growing Number Of Americans Who Want To Move Abroad. “The share of Americans planning to relocate increased to 2.5 percent from 0.8 percent in 2009. If this number describes the entire population, that means around 6 million Americans are planning on leaving the country.”

BLU-RAY DEAL OF THE WEEK: Braveheart / Gladiator 2-Pack on Blu-Ray for $20.99.

#OCCUPYFAIL: The Occupy Movement’s Penchant for Inflicting Collateral Damage Isn’t Winning it Any Friends.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Generation Jobless: What Hedge Funds Can Teach College Students.

Historically, investors have assumed 25% to 30% of student loans bundled into their bonds will default. But today they are baking in between 30% and 40% default rates among the current crop of graduates, said Chris Haid, a director in asset backed trading at Barclays Capital. Even those assumptions are a best guess and defaults could ultimately go higher if unemployment rises, Mr. Haid said.

This analysis translates into some surprising insights for students and policy makers. For example, in the current economy, it may make more sense to enter a technical college than to go to law school. . . . Failure to graduate is the single most important predictor of whether a student will default on loans, which stands to reason since the unemployment rate is 8% for Americans between the ages of 20 and 24 with four-year college degrees, compared to 21% for those without.

Just as important is finishing on time. Investors in bonds backed by student loans hate to see perpetual academics in their portfolio, chronically changing majors or stopping and starting school, adding years of tuition to their debt load.

“When you see a guy in a loan made in 2005 that is still in school, you throw that away,” said investor Rubin Bahar, of Eagle Asset Management.

In terms of picking a school, technical colleges may be less prestigious, but their low cost relative to the higher wages they deliver makes them attractive, according to Mr. Ades.

It’s an investment. You need to think carefully about whether it will increase your earnings enough to service the debt and still leave you ahead — especially after adjusting for risk, including the risk that you won’t graduate, or won’t do as well as you hope.

MIKE MOLLENHOUR HAS DROPPED THE PRICE OF HIS LATEST NOVEL on Kindle.