With all that has been going on this week, here is something Harry Reid was trying to pull that went under my radar. Maybe all of you were aware. I learned a lot from this article.
Reid Thwarted
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Foxx Fan Responds
FoxxFann has left a new comment on your post "No Ear Mark Champion Rep. Virginia Foxx!!":
Some of the posters here seem to be of the opinion that their is a vast supply of "free money" in Washington DC and that it is the job of the congressperson to bring some of it home to her district.
News Flash: There's NO free money in Washington. Washington doesn't have ANY money. The system the liberals seem to want is one where Washington collects tax dollars from those that earn it, and then redistribute those dollars to those that "deserve" it.
They can't "give" you any money unless they first take it from someone else!
Another news flash. Apparently some of you don't know that Virginia Foxx did carry Watauga county last election....and that she ALWAYS carries 16 of the 20 voting precincts in the county...losing only in those districts that are heavily populated by ASU students and faculty.
Some of the posters here seem to be of the opinion that their is a vast supply of "free money" in Washington DC and that it is the job of the congressperson to bring some of it home to her district.
News Flash: There's NO free money in Washington. Washington doesn't have ANY money. The system the liberals seem to want is one where Washington collects tax dollars from those that earn it, and then redistribute those dollars to those that "deserve" it.
They can't "give" you any money unless they first take it from someone else!
Another news flash. Apparently some of you don't know that Virginia Foxx did carry Watauga county last election....and that she ALWAYS carries 16 of the 20 voting precincts in the county...losing only in those districts that are heavily populated by ASU students and faculty.
Friday, January 28, 2011
2010 Porker of the Year
VOTE FOR PORKER OF THE YEAR
You probably will be asked to join the cause, but you don't have to. In the interest of disclosure, I am a member. It is a significant organization.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Incivility, the New PC
Regarding the discussion of the Tucson shooter’s motivation–politics or mental illness, I hope you readers noted how quickly I tried to get out in front of the debate. Within a matter of hours after the shooting, I was saying this was a brain disorder. For me, there was an urgency to get the story correct. First, those muddling would drown the real issue of untreated brain disorders. Second, from the get-go, I saw where this story was going. Truth or falsity, the Left was setting it up to cow their opposition.
And Lib, I did not get this from Rush. He was slow getting out of the gate. To his credit however, (again though I was ahead of him) Rush realized the whole hand-holding kumbaya thingy was all about neutering Republican leadership. When he finally realized the Left had turned the Repubs into eunuchs, in his inimitable way on the air he asked “Was there an election last night and no one told me? I woke up this morning and the Dems were back running things.”
Now, besides “racists” the Left have a new PC term with which to intimidate--“incivility,” or maybe they will invent a new one–incivilitist.”
REPRESENTATIVE JONATHAN JORDAN NC House District 93 Deputy Majority Whip
Jonathan Jordan was sworn in as our new NC Representative on Sunday, January 23, 2011. Welcoming remarks were made by NC Representative Dale Folwell, Speaker pro tempore (Forsyth). Rep. Folwell announced that Jonathan's peers had elected him Deputy Majority Whip; quite an honor for a first-term representative! The Oath of Office was administered by 23rd District Court Judge David V. Byrd. Rep. Jordan pledged that citizens "from Blowing Rock to Lansing" would be represented well. He stressed the importance of placing "necessities over niceties" as the General Assembly deals with the state's indebtedness. Jonathan read from Matthew 20:25-28, the passage in which Christ stated he did not come to be served but to serve. Rep. Jordan pledged to be that type of public servant, and asked for his constituents' prayers, support, and input. (From WCRP-E-news.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
President Finally Gets Something Right
After creating so much trauma by lurching us violently to the left, it is arduous to have to say that this president finally did something right. They do say we should “give the devil his due.” So here it is: In the president’s Tucson speech he said “let us remember it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy–it did not–.” Actually the words “it did not”–was not in his prepared text but apparently added on the fly as he spoke. So we thank him. Still, it would have been even better had he said that publicly early on as did this blogger. Had he done so, it could have headed off a lot of pain inflicted by the wing nuts on the left as they proceeded to lose their marbles.
Being a Book of Acts Christian
Liberal POV is an irritant. He only really provokes me though, when he pits his version of Christianity against mine. This time he wrote: “Could you name historic political, religious leaders or literature characters you consider heros beyond Dirty Harry?”
Lib as I have said before, for me the main thing is to make the main thing the main thing. My models and my heroes are those who did exactly what Jesus told His followers to do (the same things He did). As a psychologist, I know that if you want to learn what a person really means, then pay attention to what he does. As my sainted grandmother taught me: “Actions speak louder than words.”
Lib, here are my heroes I aspire to be like:
Peter (Acts 5:15) They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by Peter's shadow when he walked by.(Acts 5:16) They came from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, throngs of them, bringing the sick and bedeviled. And they all were healed.
Phillip: (Acts 8:6) When the people heard what he had to say and saw the miracles, the clear signs of God's action, they hung on his every word. (Acts 8:7) Many who could neither stand nor walk were healed that day. The evil spirits protested loudly as they were sent on their way.
Paul (Acts 19:11) God did powerful things through Paul, things quite out of the ordinary. (Acts 19:12) The word got around and people started taking pieces of clothing--handkerchiefs and scarves and the like--that had touched Paul's skin and then touching the sick with them. The touch did it--they were healed and whole.
If these who were with Jesus thought they were suppose to be doing something else, they would have been doing it. By the way, yes, God has used me to do some of the above(except for the shadow or handkerchief thing. Also I have not raised the dead yet), But, nothing like I wish would happen.
Being like a Book of Acts Christian is the only way I know that I have the real thing, Lib, so my heroes are those I know had the real thing.
Lib as I have said before, for me the main thing is to make the main thing the main thing. My models and my heroes are those who did exactly what Jesus told His followers to do (the same things He did). As a psychologist, I know that if you want to learn what a person really means, then pay attention to what he does. As my sainted grandmother taught me: “Actions speak louder than words.”
Lib, here are my heroes I aspire to be like:
Peter (Acts 5:15) They even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on stretchers and bedrolls, hoping they would be touched by Peter's shadow when he walked by.(Acts 5:16) They came from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, throngs of them, bringing the sick and bedeviled. And they all were healed.
Phillip: (Acts 8:6) When the people heard what he had to say and saw the miracles, the clear signs of God's action, they hung on his every word. (Acts 8:7) Many who could neither stand nor walk were healed that day. The evil spirits protested loudly as they were sent on their way.
Paul (Acts 19:11) God did powerful things through Paul, things quite out of the ordinary. (Acts 19:12) The word got around and people started taking pieces of clothing--handkerchiefs and scarves and the like--that had touched Paul's skin and then touching the sick with them. The touch did it--they were healed and whole.
If these who were with Jesus thought they were suppose to be doing something else, they would have been doing it. By the way, yes, God has used me to do some of the above(except for the shadow or handkerchief thing. Also I have not raised the dead yet), But, nothing like I wish would happen.
Being like a Book of Acts Christian is the only way I know that I have the real thing, Lib, so my heroes are those I know had the real thing.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Guy Faulkes on Gun Control Laws
Posted at the request of Anonymous Guy Faulkes. The contents are out of my expertise.
The following issues have all been brought up before, but they have never made it out of committee when the legislature was controlled by Democrats.
The first and most important is changing the law that prohibits you from using your Second Amendment rights during a declared state of emergency. As it now stands, every time it snows three inches in the flat lands, a state of emergency is declared that automatically prohibits you from being able to take a gun outside of your home. Protection should also be given that would prohibit the government form confiscating your guns during a state of emergency such as happened in the Hurricane Katrina incidents.
The second and almost as important, to my mind, is amending the laws on concealed carry to allow one to carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol or a venue that charges admission. It makes little sense that I am denied the most efficient means of self-defense when I go to a restaurant that serves alcohol, but a drunk can consume as much as he wants with his meal and then go out and drive away under the influence. I would be in favor of the law requiring that those that carry concealed be prohibited from drinking at all. As for the other issue, it also makes little sense for me to be able to carry in a grocery store, but not a movie theater.
The next change needs to be the passage of a Castle Doctrine law that protects a person from a frivolous law suit if he has to use a gun to protect him. This law should also remove any requirement to retreat from a place from which a person has a right to be located.
The fourth item is the banning of carrying guns on public property. This property belongs to everyone. There is no reason to prohibit a person that has been through the extensive training and background check that is required for a concealed carry permit to be prohibited from being able to exercise his Second Amendment rights on property that he owns as much as does anyone else. Some examples are state, county, and municipal parks, college campuses, etc. There needs to be a preemption clause that would prohibit counties and towns from denying citizens their Second Amendment rights on public property under their jurisdiction. For example, the Town of Blowing Rock has an ordinance that prohibits carrying any “dangerous weapon” on any property owned by the town. As people have been killed with pencils, I am at a loss as to the manner in which this is subjectively enforced. Also, the town does not own anything. The taxpayers own the property, not the bureaucrats.
Please contact your legislators concerning these matters. The contact information for the legislators serving Watauga County is as follows:
Johnathan Jordan
NC House
919-733-7727
Jonathan.Jordan@ncleg.net
NC House of Representatives
16 W. Jones Street, Room 2217
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
Dan Soucek
(919) 733-5742
Dan.Soucek@ncleg.net
NC Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 310
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
The following issues have all been brought up before, but they have never made it out of committee when the legislature was controlled by Democrats.
The first and most important is changing the law that prohibits you from using your Second Amendment rights during a declared state of emergency. As it now stands, every time it snows three inches in the flat lands, a state of emergency is declared that automatically prohibits you from being able to take a gun outside of your home. Protection should also be given that would prohibit the government form confiscating your guns during a state of emergency such as happened in the Hurricane Katrina incidents.
The second and almost as important, to my mind, is amending the laws on concealed carry to allow one to carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol or a venue that charges admission. It makes little sense that I am denied the most efficient means of self-defense when I go to a restaurant that serves alcohol, but a drunk can consume as much as he wants with his meal and then go out and drive away under the influence. I would be in favor of the law requiring that those that carry concealed be prohibited from drinking at all. As for the other issue, it also makes little sense for me to be able to carry in a grocery store, but not a movie theater.
The next change needs to be the passage of a Castle Doctrine law that protects a person from a frivolous law suit if he has to use a gun to protect him. This law should also remove any requirement to retreat from a place from which a person has a right to be located.
The fourth item is the banning of carrying guns on public property. This property belongs to everyone. There is no reason to prohibit a person that has been through the extensive training and background check that is required for a concealed carry permit to be prohibited from being able to exercise his Second Amendment rights on property that he owns as much as does anyone else. Some examples are state, county, and municipal parks, college campuses, etc. There needs to be a preemption clause that would prohibit counties and towns from denying citizens their Second Amendment rights on public property under their jurisdiction. For example, the Town of Blowing Rock has an ordinance that prohibits carrying any “dangerous weapon” on any property owned by the town. As people have been killed with pencils, I am at a loss as to the manner in which this is subjectively enforced. Also, the town does not own anything. The taxpayers own the property, not the bureaucrats.
Please contact your legislators concerning these matters. The contact information for the legislators serving Watauga County is as follows:
Johnathan Jordan
NC House
919-733-7727
Jonathan.Jordan@ncleg.net
NC House of Representatives
16 W. Jones Street, Room 2217
Raleigh, NC 27601-1096
Dan Soucek
(919) 733-5742
Dan.Soucek@ncleg.net
NC Senate
300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 310
Raleigh, NC 27603-5925
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Will Our Commissioners Attend the NC Association?
New Guy asked for this thread: COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Monday, January 17, 2011
Left Misuses Tragedy
Yet, turn on your TV, and you still hear the lesson is “Shush you on the Right.” Realizing there is no connection between the tragedy and incivility, our early warning systems are triggered. Experience teaches us to be forever vigilant, knowing the Left uses any pretext to gain control over our lives (think first and second Amendments.) Controlling is in their DNA.
The Rasmussen poll did find that only 19% of voters think the shooting incident will have a lasting positive impact on the nation’s political dialogue, while nearly as many (17%) predict it will have a lasting negative impact. Again, why should anyone think it will last as people realize the false connecting? Moreover, most voters (54%) say the incident will be forgotten and nothing will change.
Republicans and voters not affiliated with either of the major parties feel more strongly than Democrats that the shootings will be forgotten and nothing will change. (Is that because they spotted the snake in the grass?)
Members of the president’s party are much more optimistic than GOP voters and unaffiliated that the incident will have a lasting positive impact on the nation’s political dialogue. (Is that wishful thinking?) (Awake, “civility” is code phrase for “On the Right, stifle it!”)
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Letter to Charles Krauthammer
guy faulkes has left a new comment on your post "Jared Loughner’s friend says suspect ‘Did not watch TV...": Guy wrote:
"Blogger, please do start another thread. I feel the need to do another dissertation on this topic and want to avoid curtailing the topic of this thread." Guy I could not think of a way to start new. However, I just e-mailed Charles Krauthammer. Maybe you can play off this letter:
Dear Dr. Krauthammer, In the aftermath of the Tucson tragedy, on Fox did the opportunity for you to lead rather than follow ever occur? Within hours you had to suspect we were dealing with a brain disorder. I did. (I even blogged to my readers’ gratitude.) Not too long afterwards, the members of the media knew and shortly after that, they knew political rhetoric was not involved.
If we are not to let a crisis go to waste, why was this crisis allowed to go off into the weeds? All the bloviating about officials’ safety, about civil discourse, about coming together, was all misdirection, most of it for political gain.
Forced treatment of the brain disordered is the topic.
There should have been panels with professionals like the staff from the Treatment Advocacy Center, people with Schizophrenia such as Frederick Freese PhD of NAMI, as well as antagonists from the ACLU. The crisis should have been used to educate Americans to their state laws and which states need to update. People should know the symptoms. They should understand how to help without endangering themselves. Funding for treatment would have to be addressed.
As the psychiatrist on the only network we can count on (until this incident), did you drop the ball, or do you not have that much clout?
Noon the next day after the shooting, I told my readers this was not political. It was Schizophrenia. By the next day, I had posted on the issue of forced treatment. http://wataugarepubs.blogspot.com/2011/01/real-issue-at-tucson-is-forced.html I actually expected everyone else would soon be doing that. Now I am just hoarse from screaming at all the deviousness on TV--a tragedy in a tragedy.
"Blogger, please do start another thread. I feel the need to do another dissertation on this topic and want to avoid curtailing the topic of this thread." Guy I could not think of a way to start new. However, I just e-mailed Charles Krauthammer. Maybe you can play off this letter:
Dear Dr. Krauthammer, In the aftermath of the Tucson tragedy, on Fox did the opportunity for you to lead rather than follow ever occur? Within hours you had to suspect we were dealing with a brain disorder. I did. (I even blogged to my readers’ gratitude.) Not too long afterwards, the members of the media knew and shortly after that, they knew political rhetoric was not involved.
If we are not to let a crisis go to waste, why was this crisis allowed to go off into the weeds? All the bloviating about officials’ safety, about civil discourse, about coming together, was all misdirection, most of it for political gain.
Forced treatment of the brain disordered is the topic.
There should have been panels with professionals like the staff from the Treatment Advocacy Center, people with Schizophrenia such as Frederick Freese PhD of NAMI, as well as antagonists from the ACLU. The crisis should have been used to educate Americans to their state laws and which states need to update. People should know the symptoms. They should understand how to help without endangering themselves. Funding for treatment would have to be addressed.
As the psychiatrist on the only network we can count on (until this incident), did you drop the ball, or do you not have that much clout?
Noon the next day after the shooting, I told my readers this was not political. It was Schizophrenia. By the next day, I had posted on the issue of forced treatment. http://wataugarepubs.blogspot.com/2011/01/real-issue-at-tucson-is-forced.html I actually expected everyone else would soon be doing that. Now I am just hoarse from screaming at all the deviousness on TV--a tragedy in a tragedy.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
This Is a Liberal's Brain Handling Dissonance
On this blog, JR keeps asking the liberals why they don’t just man up and admit how brainless they all were in blaming the right wing for the Tucson tragedy. Instead of public confession of guilt on their part however, the following is what she received: “Now I have no idea what part the assholes and sleaze profiteers of hate had to do with the young man in Tucson but sooner or later they will, and likely already have lead to acts of violence.”
Everyone listening to the full bored volleys from the left in the media, on TV, on the blogs, by now will have realized the above response is the mantra decided upon by the left. “It didn’t happen the way we thought (and hoped?). O.K. but it could have been the way we said.”
Besides the obvious depraved use of this Tucson tragedy for political gain, there are also psychological explanations for their wrong headiness. Psychologically there are problems of perception when people are faced with cognitive dissonance. Psychologists have carried out many perceptual experiments which reveal that a person can lock into an expectation which then causes them to have to distort all incoming stimuli to fit their expectation. (Just visit our local Mystery Hill and similar tourist attractions which are created from the findings of these experiments, actually using replicas of the original building used.)
Once a belief system is strongly constructed, it is very difficult to break. (Again, go in the room of perceptual illusion at places like Mystery Hill and try to break the distorted perception. You can’t unless you go outside and see it from another perspective.)
You would think Liberals, who like to believe they are super intelligent, realizing they were wrong about Tucson, would have stepped back and deliberated a little more. There is a ton of evidence that challenged their first assumptions. They just could not break their distortions.
If Liberals were able to, they would have created their expectation from historical data. The Unabomber, George Wallace shooter Arthur Bremmer, Reagan shooter John Hinckley, the Virginia Tech shooter-all were all mentally disturbed loners. Based on those statistics, why was the Left not even able to pause and entertain alternate possibilities? They were victims of their own inability to handle cognitive dissonance.
If they need villains, they need look no further than Pogo who says "We have met the enemy and it is us." Read:
Forced Treatment
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
ADD and ADHD
A number of you are thinking about ADHD and looking for more information. “ADHD may be seen as one or more continuous traits found normally throughout the general population. It is a developmental disorder in which certain traits such as impulse control lag in development. Using magnetic resonance imaging of the prefrontal cortex, this developmental lag has been estimated to range from 3 to 5 years.” 
Wikepedia
Stimulant medications are the medical treatment of choice. Though obviously there will be wrong diagnoses resulting in inappropriate medication, at the same time, the early childhood school years are the most important for learning. If the child is climbing the walls and on top of that, robbing themselves and their fellow students of this window of opportunity to learn, you can understand why teachers and parents want to use a medication whose main effect is to focus the child. Caffeine works too but is not powerful enough.
Because the medications are “speed”, naturally they work differently on adults as well as on the non-ADHD adolescents who are using them for the speed effect.
The Wikepedia article is a good start for those who are interested. ADD is a focusing problem. ADHD is the focusing problem with hyperactivity of a very distracted child. The problem of ADD is that it is hard to distinguish from early on-set Schizophrenia, as the symptoms are similar.
Wikepedia
Stimulant medications are the medical treatment of choice. Though obviously there will be wrong diagnoses resulting in inappropriate medication, at the same time, the early childhood school years are the most important for learning. If the child is climbing the walls and on top of that, robbing themselves and their fellow students of this window of opportunity to learn, you can understand why teachers and parents want to use a medication whose main effect is to focus the child. Caffeine works too but is not powerful enough.
Because the medications are “speed”, naturally they work differently on adults as well as on the non-ADHD adolescents who are using them for the speed effect.
The Wikepedia article is a good start for those who are interested. ADD is a focusing problem. ADHD is the focusing problem with hyperactivity of a very distracted child. The problem of ADD is that it is hard to distinguish from early on-set Schizophrenia, as the symptoms are similar.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Michelle Starts Students First
Guy Faulkes, faithful and astute commenter requested the following:
Michelle RheeMichelle Rhee has been working for the last 18 years to give children the skills and knowledge they will need to compete in a changing world. From adding instructional time after school and visiting students' homes as a third grade teacher in Baltimore, to hosting hundreds of community meetings and creating a Youth Cabinet to bring students' voices into reforming the DC Public Schools, she has always been guided by one core principle: put students first. (Quoted from her webpage.)
Michelle RheeMichelle Rhee has been working for the last 18 years to give children the skills and knowledge they will need to compete in a changing world. From adding instructional time after school and visiting students' homes as a third grade teacher in Baltimore, to hosting hundreds of community meetings and creating a Youth Cabinet to bring students' voices into reforming the DC Public Schools, she has always been guided by one core principle: put students first. (Quoted from her webpage.)
Response to Reader Regarding Schizophrenia
A commenter on this blog under the pseudonym, Reader asked regarding Schizophrenia: “So Blogger, what symptoms do we look for?” Not easy to answer. It is hoped the Treatment Advocacy link The Treatment Advocacy Centerhelps. But look at this present case. A high school girl trying to be his friend, quickly realized he was weird and distanced herself. A community college classmate was so aware that he was weird and maybe potentially dangerous, that she texted people during the class, describing her fears. She then placed herself close to the door, saying she wanted to be ready to escape when the shooting broke out. The teacher got him out of class as quickly as he was allowed to. The neighbor across the street described him as crazy. I am sure we will hear more.
My point is that a lot of people just knew. They needed no professional training.
I hope we will hear more from the parents. If they are typical, they either kept themselves in denial, or perhaps even purposely uninformed (there is so much information today available.) Or, they are still locked in the old stereotypes of the stigma that their son’s problem was something of which to be ashamed and thus hidden.
My point is that a lot of people just knew. They needed no professional training.
I hope we will hear more from the parents. If they are typical, they either kept themselves in denial, or perhaps even purposely uninformed (there is so much information today available.) Or, they are still locked in the old stereotypes of the stigma that their son’s problem was something of which to be ashamed and thus hidden.
More Lessons from Tucson About Liberals
Have you noticed the typical ploys used by the liberals who comment on our blog? Unable to accept evidence that contradicts their theories, they become like the parent who spanks his child. Later, realizing his child was innocent, rather then manning up and apologizing, the parent says “Well, knowing you, you could have been guilty.”
One TV commenter today noted another characteristic of Liberals. They are so convinced of their superior ideas that when someone engages them in debate, they accuse the debater of engaging in hate speech.
One TV commenter today noted another characteristic of Liberals. They are so convinced of their superior ideas that when someone engages them in debate, they accuse the debater of engaging in hate speech.
Alter, Another Wrong Smug Liberal
How about this arrogant well-known Liberal (Jonathan Alter) who piously wrote on today’s Daily Beast regarding the Tucson tragedy:
“Conservatives like to argue that these are isolated incidents carried out by lunatics and therefore carry no big lessons (unless the perpetrator is Muslim, in which case it’s terrorism); liberals view them as opportunities to address various social ills.”
Oh really? What Liberal bloggers have you read whom he is describing? All the Liberals I heard tried to shamelessly use this horror to score political points. We did not. This conservative blog addressed an important issue.
Alter is even suggesting that the president take advantage of the crises and in his State of the Union speech to address “the tone of public debate.” Alter still can’t bring himself to say this incident had nothing to do with elevated public discourse. Last night on Fox, Charles Krauthammer, himself a psychiatrist, observed that Laughner wrote that the government was using grammar to control people. He quipped, maybe we should move to banning grammar books.
In fairness to Alter though, he did say that the president might want to address untreated mental illness. Obviously, I agree. However, the typical cheap shot (but expected) at conservatives is unacceptable.
“Conservatives like to argue that these are isolated incidents carried out by lunatics and therefore carry no big lessons (unless the perpetrator is Muslim, in which case it’s terrorism); liberals view them as opportunities to address various social ills.”
Oh really? What Liberal bloggers have you read whom he is describing? All the Liberals I heard tried to shamelessly use this horror to score political points. We did not. This conservative blog addressed an important issue.
Alter is even suggesting that the president take advantage of the crises and in his State of the Union speech to address “the tone of public debate.” Alter still can’t bring himself to say this incident had nothing to do with elevated public discourse. Last night on Fox, Charles Krauthammer, himself a psychiatrist, observed that Laughner wrote that the government was using grammar to control people. He quipped, maybe we should move to banning grammar books.
In fairness to Alter though, he did say that the president might want to address untreated mental illness. Obviously, I agree. However, the typical cheap shot (but expected) at conservatives is unacceptable.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Treating the Resistant Mentally Ill
Guy Faulkes asked: "Blogger, do you have an opinion on how to treat those that do not think they need it while maintaining protection of their civil rights? This is a complex issue, indeed."
The most common sense approach to the problem is advocated by the The Treatment Advocacy Center
Adding a little to that, one of the most important changes in helping the brain disordered has been an enlightened shift in the way treatment services are paid for by Medicaid. Just in the past few years, they have begun shifting funds from visits to the mental health offices and instead they are paying the professionals to go out where the people are. Now, rather than hoping the disturbed people would come to them, the mental health personnel get paid for going to the clients. The workers can visit them in their homes, group living centers, under bridges, or wherever they find them. They can check if they are taking their medications and provide support. This movement has been a great leap forward, that is, if it is done well.
Thanks for asking and I hope you are interested enough as a citizen to learn all you can.
The most common sense approach to the problem is advocated by the The Treatment Advocacy Center
Adding a little to that, one of the most important changes in helping the brain disordered has been an enlightened shift in the way treatment services are paid for by Medicaid. Just in the past few years, they have begun shifting funds from visits to the mental health offices and instead they are paying the professionals to go out where the people are. Now, rather than hoping the disturbed people would come to them, the mental health personnel get paid for going to the clients. The workers can visit them in their homes, group living centers, under bridges, or wherever they find them. They can check if they are taking their medications and provide support. This movement has been a great leap forward, that is, if it is done well.
Thanks for asking and I hope you are interested enough as a citizen to learn all you can.
The Real Issue at Tucson is Forced Treatment
As pointed out by members of this blog, the attempt to use the Tucson tragedy for their own political purposes is bogus. As Rahm Emmanuel taught us “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” In this post I am following his advice.
Now that we know this calamity was not political but as is typical in these cases i.e. a delusional mind, it is the time to take advantage and get the issue of forced treatment for the mentally ill back on the front pages. Every one interviewed who came in contact with Jared used similar phraseology–“he scared me”. (What we hear about nearly all these assassins of recent years.)
So, why did not anyone do something about it? This is the debate around forced treatment and it is a problem that the present situation forces us to address. It is a discussion of which you should all be aware. It is the real discussion that should be going on.
Rather than write the articles myself, for those who want to get up to speed on this issue, I am including three of the main principals in the debate. Dr. Jaffe is the number one proponent of humane forced hospitalization. The Schizophrenia group is the Schizophrenia interest group. And, the Civil Libertarians article reveals the hangup.
As many of you are saying, the other blogs are not bringing anything rational to the table. Take the time to look over these articles. You will find them to be the most rational approaches to the real problem you can find anywhere.
Now that we know this calamity was not political but as is typical in these cases i.e. a delusional mind, it is the time to take advantage and get the issue of forced treatment for the mentally ill back on the front pages. Every one interviewed who came in contact with Jared used similar phraseology–“he scared me”. (What we hear about nearly all these assassins of recent years.)
So, why did not anyone do something about it? This is the debate around forced treatment and it is a problem that the present situation forces us to address. It is a discussion of which you should all be aware. It is the real discussion that should be going on.
Rather than write the articles myself, for those who want to get up to speed on this issue, I am including three of the main principals in the debate. Dr. Jaffe is the number one proponent of humane forced hospitalization. The Schizophrenia group is the Schizophrenia interest group. And, the Civil Libertarians article reveals the hangup.
As many of you are saying, the other blogs are not bringing anything rational to the table. Take the time to look over these articles. You will find them to be the most rational approaches to the real problem you can find anywhere.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Schizophrenia in the News
Reading the ramblings of the shooter Jared Laugner as well as his history and interviews with those who know him, he has all the earmarks of the obvious diagnosis of the brain disorder Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a terrible disorder for the person as well as for those who care about him and sometimes for society itself. There are two elements that make it so insidious and different from other disorders. One is that the damaged brain is distorting and amplifying the input from the environment. The second problem is that the area of the brain that is damaged is that of judgement. Thus, the person cannot know that he is ill.
Once it was recognized as a brain disorder like Alzheimers is for example, treatments for Schizophrenia have advanced rapidly in the last few years Two effective treatments are, one, the new anti-psychotic medications which create lucidity. The second then is, while the patient is lucid, to convince him and get him to accept that he has a disordered brain.
Successful treatment was exemplified to me by a director of a large mental health unit who himself suffered from Schizophrenia. Once he became lucid and accepted that he was ill, he carried around a little card that said “I suffer from Schizophrenia so sometimes I will give an inappropriate response. I would be grateful if you would reframe what you just said to me so as not to trigger my disorder.”
A second incident which helped me understand the disorder was a lecture I attended. The speaker turned to the director of the sponsoring organization and said “Mr. Smith, we all know that you believe you are the director of this group and that you are a medical doctor. However, you are not. You just think you are. Actually you are suffering from Schizophrenia and your parents and the police are waiting outside the door to take you to the hospital.” I never got over that lecture.
Among all the tragedies that are going on with the shooting of this congresswomen is the tragedy of politicizing this. Deranged people kill people. They kill high school principals, teachers, college professors, parents, movie stars, pop singers, and even TV commentators. Politics be damned.
It is not difficult to grasp that when a person is receiving faulty feedback from the environment as in the case of Schizophrenia, they quickly can become paranoid. They then latch onto someone who might be the explanation for the threat they feel. In my career, knowing so many people suffering from this disorder, I was always watchful for any student who became agitated. One plus about retirement for me, was the feeling I was less likely to be shot by a disturbed student.
It is maddening to hear the commentators try to make this a political anti-government thing. There are people all over this country walking around believing the CIA is watching them, or that a hearing device has been planted in their tooth. For these people, the government is the most suspect and any government official from mayor to president could get on their radar.
Bottom line, is that if people were better informed, they could more quickly spot a person like Lougner and get him to treatment. Had that happened, a lot of people would be alive today.
At the same time, remember that most people with Schizophrenia are among the sweetest, gentlest people in the world. In ways their personalities can resemble those with another brain disorder–people with Down’s Syndrome. Many are quite successful in life, as portrayed in the movie “A Beautiful Mind.”
Why a small minority of those with Schizophrenia become dangerous is so far not known. We do know that alcohol and some drugs create more paranoia, as many of you have experienced around “mean drunks” for example.
Finally, for those who read this blog. Please do me a favor and not say the shooter is a schizophrenic. The correct statement is that he is a young man suffering from the brain disorder we call Schizophrenia. Remember, you don’t call your demented grandmother with Alzheimers an Alzheimeric. She is still your grandmother but with a crippling brain problem.
Schizophrenia is a terrible disorder for the person as well as for those who care about him and sometimes for society itself. There are two elements that make it so insidious and different from other disorders. One is that the damaged brain is distorting and amplifying the input from the environment. The second problem is that the area of the brain that is damaged is that of judgement. Thus, the person cannot know that he is ill.
Once it was recognized as a brain disorder like Alzheimers is for example, treatments for Schizophrenia have advanced rapidly in the last few years Two effective treatments are, one, the new anti-psychotic medications which create lucidity. The second then is, while the patient is lucid, to convince him and get him to accept that he has a disordered brain.
Successful treatment was exemplified to me by a director of a large mental health unit who himself suffered from Schizophrenia. Once he became lucid and accepted that he was ill, he carried around a little card that said “I suffer from Schizophrenia so sometimes I will give an inappropriate response. I would be grateful if you would reframe what you just said to me so as not to trigger my disorder.”
A second incident which helped me understand the disorder was a lecture I attended. The speaker turned to the director of the sponsoring organization and said “Mr. Smith, we all know that you believe you are the director of this group and that you are a medical doctor. However, you are not. You just think you are. Actually you are suffering from Schizophrenia and your parents and the police are waiting outside the door to take you to the hospital.” I never got over that lecture.
Among all the tragedies that are going on with the shooting of this congresswomen is the tragedy of politicizing this. Deranged people kill people. They kill high school principals, teachers, college professors, parents, movie stars, pop singers, and even TV commentators. Politics be damned.
It is not difficult to grasp that when a person is receiving faulty feedback from the environment as in the case of Schizophrenia, they quickly can become paranoid. They then latch onto someone who might be the explanation for the threat they feel. In my career, knowing so many people suffering from this disorder, I was always watchful for any student who became agitated. One plus about retirement for me, was the feeling I was less likely to be shot by a disturbed student.
It is maddening to hear the commentators try to make this a political anti-government thing. There are people all over this country walking around believing the CIA is watching them, or that a hearing device has been planted in their tooth. For these people, the government is the most suspect and any government official from mayor to president could get on their radar.
Bottom line, is that if people were better informed, they could more quickly spot a person like Lougner and get him to treatment. Had that happened, a lot of people would be alive today.
At the same time, remember that most people with Schizophrenia are among the sweetest, gentlest people in the world. In ways their personalities can resemble those with another brain disorder–people with Down’s Syndrome. Many are quite successful in life, as portrayed in the movie “A Beautiful Mind.”
Why a small minority of those with Schizophrenia become dangerous is so far not known. We do know that alcohol and some drugs create more paranoia, as many of you have experienced around “mean drunks” for example.
Finally, for those who read this blog. Please do me a favor and not say the shooter is a schizophrenic. The correct statement is that he is a young man suffering from the brain disorder we call Schizophrenia. Remember, you don’t call your demented grandmother with Alzheimers an Alzheimeric. She is still your grandmother but with a crippling brain problem.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
The Ding-bat Shooter Read Books From Liberal 60's
Oatz posted:
Just watched a you tube video by the shooter. Here are his favorite books....Books:
"I had favorite books: Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Wizard Of OZ, Aesop Fables, The Odyssey, Alice Adventures Into Wonderland, Fahrenheit 451, Peter Pan, To Kill A Mockingbird, We The Living, Phantom Toll Booth, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Pulp,Through The Looking Glass, The Communist Manifesto, Siddhartha, The Old Man And The Sea, Gulliver's Travels, Mein Kampf, The Republic, and Meno."
I noticed Rush, Beck, and Palin failed to make the list, wonder why?
Just watched a you tube video by the shooter. Here are his favorite books....Books:
"I had favorite books: Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Wizard Of OZ, Aesop Fables, The Odyssey, Alice Adventures Into Wonderland, Fahrenheit 451, Peter Pan, To Kill A Mockingbird, We The Living, Phantom Toll Booth, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Pulp,Through The Looking Glass, The Communist Manifesto, Siddhartha, The Old Man And The Sea, Gulliver's Travels, Mein Kampf, The Republic, and Meno."
I noticed Rush, Beck, and Palin failed to make the list, wonder why?
Arizona Shooting Bringing Out the Idiots
Just heard State Sen. Linda Lopez of Arizona insinuating that inflammatory Tea Party statements could motivate violence. I was so incensed that I e-mailed her the following:
Sen Lopez, Heard you implying Tea Party statements could motivate shooting. Then does it logically follow that Linda Lopez just incited a person to shoot a Tea Party member? Pretty stupid don’t you think?
Sen Lopez, Heard you implying Tea Party statements could motivate shooting. Then does it logically follow that Linda Lopez just incited a person to shoot a Tea Party member? Pretty stupid don’t you think?
Friday, January 7, 2011
Young Turks in Old Bolsheviks Out
Commenter Liberal POV has gotten off over the years proclaiming that GOP party stands for the Grumpy Old People’s party. Chuckle, Chuckle.
Fasten your seat belt Lib. At the local level: Dan Soucek 41 replaces Steve Goss 61. Jonathan Jordan 42 replaces Cullie Tarleton 71.
At the national level: Speaker John Boehner 61, replaces Nancy Pelosi 70. The new house Republican leader, Eric Cantor 47, replaces outgoing Steny Hoyer 71. The majority whip is Kevin McCarthy, 45 replacing outgoing James Clyburn 70. Chairman of the Budget Committee Paul Ryan 40, replaces outgoing John Spratt 68. Among the new wave of Republicans is Michigan’s Justin Amish 30, Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger 32, Alabama’s Martha Roby 34. And so on.
The average age in the House is now Republicans 54.9, Democrats 60.2, rising from their present 58.
Of course age isn’t always everything. The greatest president we ever had, Ronald Reagan was elected at 69 (the oldest) and the worst president we ever had is Barack Obama 47 (fifth youngest).
However, besides picking at Lib, I am also writing this for the anti-Dan Anonymous whose pique at Dan overlooked the important message in my Dan post–REPUBLICANS ARE THE FUTURE! The old Bolsheviks are leaving.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Today In Congress
I listened to the reading of the Constitution this morning. Words cannot describe the thrill. What an incredible document! Now I am listening to the House members explaining why they are voting first to cut their own budget. It is a beginning.
The Dems and the Media are mocking these acts as merely theater. Obviously mocking the Constitution reading is distasteful and bad politics. And, saying “$45,000,000 saving is just peanuts, is one of our problems. Members of Congress have become too accustomed to just blowing off a million here and a million there in savings. But, it was a Democrat Everett Dirkson who said: “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money.” I wish they could all get back to that way of thinking.
The Dems and the Media are mocking these acts as merely theater. Obviously mocking the Constitution reading is distasteful and bad politics. And, saying “$45,000,000 saving is just peanuts, is one of our problems. Members of Congress have become too accustomed to just blowing off a million here and a million there in savings. But, it was a Democrat Everett Dirkson who said: “A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money.” I wish they could all get back to that way of thinking.
To the Anonymous Commenters
Will all you people posting as Anonymous please take the extra few seconds it takes to create your pseudonym. We seem to have one Anonymous who is freaked out about Dan’s win (and possibly all the conservative wins). We have another who makes substantive comments directed at the post itself. There is another who sounds like Liberal POV, but his spelling and grammar are too good. There may be others, but it definitely is confusing. I don’t need to point out to you that when we want to address an anonymous comment, we can’t make it clear to which anonymous we are directing our comments. Also,the spam blocker blocks a lot of anonymous comments which really are spam, and you might get blocked if there is anything in your comment that triggers the blocker such as links.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Foxx and Soucek Both to Education
NewGuy has just left a new comment on the post "Dan Soucek--The Future":
"Soucek, Preston, Tillman selected to chair education committee
See article in Today's Democrat"
I had just that moment written the following e-mail to Representative Foxx which I then copied to Dan.
Dan, Congratulations on your appointment. As one who attended 10 years of higher education and taught in the system for over 40 years, I think a lot about the subject.
I had just e-mailed the following to Rep. Virginia Foxx when the announcement of your appointment came over the wire:
Virginia, Congratulations on your appointment as chair of the U.S. House subcommittee on higher education. Obviously, you are well prepared for the role, and your conservative credentials cap it off. There are two problems I see in higher education. One is the attempt by community colleges to become universities and to depart from their original purpose. The second is the serious entropy in the universities as professors are forced into activities not directly involved in teaching.
Lately, I have been hearing leaders saying that a purpose of government is to empower the people. When people ask me what institutions a conservative might believe in, I always point to the community college system as it existed in the beginning and before many decided to be third rate copies of universities.
Another subject I have heard is that our higher education system is the best thing America has going for it as we compete in a global economy. My experience taught me that the universities are far more expensive than they need to be. Parents, taxpayers, are not getting what they think they are paying for.
I look forward to reading your reports.
Dan, Again congratulations, and I will look forward to your reports as well. If I can help in anyway, let me know.
"Soucek, Preston, Tillman selected to chair education committee
See article in Today's Democrat"
I had just that moment written the following e-mail to Representative Foxx which I then copied to Dan.
Dan, Congratulations on your appointment. As one who attended 10 years of higher education and taught in the system for over 40 years, I think a lot about the subject.
I had just e-mailed the following to Rep. Virginia Foxx when the announcement of your appointment came over the wire:
Virginia, Congratulations on your appointment as chair of the U.S. House subcommittee on higher education. Obviously, you are well prepared for the role, and your conservative credentials cap it off. There are two problems I see in higher education. One is the attempt by community colleges to become universities and to depart from their original purpose. The second is the serious entropy in the universities as professors are forced into activities not directly involved in teaching.
Lately, I have been hearing leaders saying that a purpose of government is to empower the people. When people ask me what institutions a conservative might believe in, I always point to the community college system as it existed in the beginning and before many decided to be third rate copies of universities.
Another subject I have heard is that our higher education system is the best thing America has going for it as we compete in a global economy. My experience taught me that the universities are far more expensive than they need to be. Parents, taxpayers, are not getting what they think they are paying for.
I look forward to reading your reports.
Dan, Again congratulations, and I will look forward to your reports as well. If I can help in anyway, let me know.
Watauga County Commissioners Begin
The county commission today turned down a proposal to let the FOR PROFIT farmers market have free rent on county property. I guess they didn't think it was right for them to compete with other businesses who sell produce etc from local farmers and are paying rent and that they are occupying real estate that PAYS county taxes. Posted by an Anonymous (Wish they would take nicknames.)
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Dan Soucek--The Future
I was bursting with pride when I watched Senator Dan Soucek be sworn in Sunday. We had a packed audience giving him a standing ovation. In Dan, I was seeing our future.
Republicans took control of at least 19 Democratic-controlled state legislatures Tuesday and gained more than 650 seats, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In my imagination I could see bright young people like Dan being sworn in all over the country.
People are noticing, that the Republican party is now a party of young leaders, from Watauga County to all parts of the nation.
The Lawyer Obama, What a Joke
Posted by reader Screaming MeMe:
When you are a phony it's hard to keep facts straight!'
Believe me, as a lawyer and you can ask any lawyer, you would never give up your license after having to go through hell to get it! Here is one more example of he and his wife being complete phonies! I also went to the Illinois Bar website and this is correct about B.O. and his wife. Mark
THE LAWYER OBAMA, WHAT A JOKE
[Ed. note on the Ed. note: this is from a former Chicago lawyer now practicing law in Tyler , TX ]
[Ed. note: This is legit. I checked it out myself at SourceStands for Illinois Attorney Registration And Disciplinary Committee. It's the official arm of lawyer discipline in Illinois ; and they are very strict and mean as hell. (Talk about irony!) Even I, at the advanced age of almost 65, maintain (at the cost of approximately $600/year) my law license that I worked so hard and long to earn.]
Big surprise !!!
Former Constitutional Law Lecturer and US President Makes Up Constitutional Quotes During his 'State Of The Union ' Address.
Consider this:
1. President Barack Obama, former editor of the Harvard Law Review, is no longer a "lawyer". He surrendered his license back in 2008 in order to escape charges he lied on his bar application.
A "Voluntary Surrender" is not something where you decide "Gee, a license is not really something I need anymore, is it?" and forget to renew your license. No, a "Voluntary Surrender" is something you do when you've been accused of something, and you 'voluntarily surrender" your license five seconds before the state suspends you.
2. Michelle Obama "voluntarily surrendered" her law license in 1993.
3. So, we have the first black President and First Lady - who don't actually have licenses to practice law. Facts.
Source: Source
4. A senior lecturer is one thing. A fully ranked law professor is another. Barack Obama was NOT a Constitutional Law professor at the University of Chicago .
5. The University of Chicago released a statement in March, 2008 saying Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) "served as a professor" in the law school-but that is a title Obama, who taught courses there part-time, never held, a spokesman for the school confirmed in 2008.
6. "He did not hold the title of professor of law," said Marsha Ferziger Nagorsky, an Assistant Dean for Communications and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago School of Law.
Source: Source
7. The former Constitutional senior lecturer cited the US Constitution the other night during his State of the Union Address. Unfortunately, the quote he cited was from the Declaration of Independence . not the Constitution.
8. The B-Cast posted the video: Source
9. Free Republic: In the State of the Union Address, President Obama said: "We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that 'we are all created equal'..
10. Um, wrong citing, wrong founding document there Champ, I mean Mr. President. By the way, the promises are not a notion, our founders named them unalienable rights. The document is our Declaration of Independence and it reads:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
11. And this is the same guy who lectured the Supreme Court moments later in the same speech???
When you are a phony it's hard to keep facts straight. The only ones that haven't seen through this clown and the band of idiots that surrounds him are those that are fleecing this Country for all it's worth. I hope and pray that common sense will prevail in the next election or this great Nation is finished!
When you are a phony it's hard to keep facts straight!'
Believe me, as a lawyer and you can ask any lawyer, you would never give up your license after having to go through hell to get it! Here is one more example of he and his wife being complete phonies! I also went to the Illinois Bar website and this is correct about B.O. and his wife. Mark
THE LAWYER OBAMA, WHAT A JOKE
[Ed. note on the Ed. note: this is from a former Chicago lawyer now practicing law in Tyler , TX ]
[Ed. note: This is legit. I checked it out myself at SourceStands for Illinois Attorney Registration And Disciplinary Committee. It's the official arm of lawyer discipline in Illinois ; and they are very strict and mean as hell. (Talk about irony!) Even I, at the advanced age of almost 65, maintain (at the cost of approximately $600/year) my law license that I worked so hard and long to earn.]
Big surprise !!!
Former Constitutional Law Lecturer and US President Makes Up Constitutional Quotes During his 'State Of The Union ' Address.
Consider this:
1. President Barack Obama, former editor of the Harvard Law Review, is no longer a "lawyer". He surrendered his license back in 2008 in order to escape charges he lied on his bar application.
A "Voluntary Surrender" is not something where you decide "Gee, a license is not really something I need anymore, is it?" and forget to renew your license. No, a "Voluntary Surrender" is something you do when you've been accused of something, and you 'voluntarily surrender" your license five seconds before the state suspends you.
2. Michelle Obama "voluntarily surrendered" her law license in 1993.
3. So, we have the first black President and First Lady - who don't actually have licenses to practice law. Facts.
Source: Source
4. A senior lecturer is one thing. A fully ranked law professor is another. Barack Obama was NOT a Constitutional Law professor at the University of Chicago .
5. The University of Chicago released a statement in March, 2008 saying Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) "served as a professor" in the law school-but that is a title Obama, who taught courses there part-time, never held, a spokesman for the school confirmed in 2008.
6. "He did not hold the title of professor of law," said Marsha Ferziger Nagorsky, an Assistant Dean for Communications and Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago School of Law.
Source: Source
7. The former Constitutional senior lecturer cited the US Constitution the other night during his State of the Union Address. Unfortunately, the quote he cited was from the Declaration of Independence . not the Constitution.
8. The B-Cast posted the video: Source
9. Free Republic: In the State of the Union Address, President Obama said: "We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that 'we are all created equal'..
10. Um, wrong citing, wrong founding document there Champ, I mean Mr. President. By the way, the promises are not a notion, our founders named them unalienable rights. The document is our Declaration of Independence and it reads:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
11. And this is the same guy who lectured the Supreme Court moments later in the same speech???
When you are a phony it's hard to keep facts straight. The only ones that haven't seen through this clown and the band of idiots that surrounds him are those that are fleecing this Country for all it's worth. I hope and pray that common sense will prevail in the next election or this great Nation is finished!
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