How Sick Is A Sick Party That Pushes Sick Candidates On Sick Voters?

Appearing on Alex Jones’ “InfoWars” program, Kanye West recently said, 

“I see good things about Hitler. Jewish people are not going to tell me: ‘You can’t say out loud that this person ever [sic] did anything good.’ I’m done with that. I like Hitler. The Jewish media has made us feel like Nazis and Hitler, [and] have never offered us anything of value to the world.” 

Kanye is widely known as a mentally disturbed multi-millionaire Black male entertainer whose fortune came in large part from sales of athletic footwear following modest recording successes, and now prefers to be called “Ye,” who continues supporting degenerate racist Republican madman and chronically habitual liar, the chiseler-swindler-thief, former POTUS and election-denier-in-chief, Donald Trump.

Kanye has increasingly and very publicly exhibited bizarrely erratic behavior on full display through various online social media accounts, in other public venues and ways, in 2016 and 2019 was hospitalized because of psychiatric emergency, and in 2016 was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about which he has publicly spoken, though he denied it in a public White House Oval Office meeting with the 45th President in October 2018 claiming that he was merely “sleep deprived,” yet months earlier claimed bipolar disorder was “my superpower” and on his June 2018 album cover of “Ye,” scrawled “I hate being Bi-Polar its awesome.”

His deteriorated mental health condition is painfully obvious to even the most casual of observers, and with the 2010 production of an album named “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” in conjunction with his on-again-off-again denial of the reality of his disease, refusal to treat his disease with medications, in combination with a very public divorce involving four children, his life has become an unsightly public disgrace at best, and a laughingstock and open mockery at worse.

“InfoWars” is a moronic madhouse media show of radicalized right-wing extremist conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who, despite multi-billion dollar civil judgements against him for deliberately promoting lies, continues producing his show, and has most recently filed bankruptcy in Texas following the civil judgments against him.

Alex foists numerous mind-boggling insane rants, including most notably and tragically, that the 2012 mindless mass murder massacre of 20 6-and-7 year old children, 7 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut — and his mother in her home — was a “false flag” staged stunt, a hoax performed by actors perpetrated by the Federal government in an attempt to outlaw assault weapons. Alex Jones’ lies in turn caused his followers to harass the grieving parents & siblings, including an FBI agent who had responded to the scene. The 20-year-old perpetrator Adam Lanza committed suicide on site using the AR-15 style rifle fitted with several 30 round magazines which he used to kill the children, teachers, and his mother.

Alex Jones, Donald Trump, and Kanye West… those 3 men alone are IRREFUTABLE PROOF POSITIVE that America is much, much, much more gravely mentally ill than previously imagined, that the depths of depravity which they represent are but a mere scratch on the surface, the veritable tip of the proverbial iceberg, perhaps much like the one which sank the allegedly “unsinkable” luxury cruise ship “Titanic,” again, which ironically occurred after striking an iceberg on its 1912 maiden voyage.

But we could add a 4th: Herschel Walker, another man with a well-known mentally-disordered psychiatric disorder who is equally well known for his chronically habitual lying, spousal/partner abuse, and wholesale denial that anything is wrong with him.

Having been manipulated into becoming a candidate for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat under the Republican banner by the former 45th President, Hershel Walker appears to have violated Georgia election law by claiming to be a Georgia Resident and voting in the state’s Republican primary and the Georgia November 2022 General Election, while simultaneously taking a homestead tax deduction in Texas, though “the place where he stays” is his wife’s house in Georgia.

Herschel Walker is an equally VERY SICK, SICK man, who is also a known chronic pathological liar, spousal abuser, philanderer, manipulator and all-around psychopath… much like the 45th POTUS.

BUT!

Do you know what MUCH, MUCH — even EXCEEDINGLY — worse?

A people who either cannot see, or refuse to see, the depths of Herschel Walker’s depravity and utter lack of character qualities befitting such an office, which on their face are innately inherent moral disqualifications, or either are so blindly stuck on the GOP that they’d vote for a warm piece of shit, instead of anyone else, just because it’s under the Republican banner.

Yet those sick men’s cult members cannot themselves be blamed for perpetrating and promulgating such mass evil. Their enablers are

Research: Psilocybin Improves Depression

Better living through chemistry.

Because corrupt Republican President Richard Nixon’s 50-year lost cause, failed social experiment of the “War on Drugs” and Nancy Reagan’s “just say no” have never, and will never, work, nor ever benefited anyone who needed help — only those who perpetuated the war.

And, because no one — NO ONE — has ever said “when I grow up, I want to become an addict,” nor waked up one day and said, “gee… I think I want to become an addict.”

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In September 2018, Johns Hopkins researchers suggested that psilocybin should be re-categorized from a schedule I drug — one with no known medical potential — to a schedule IV drug (the lowest classification) such as with prescription sleep aids, but with somewhat tighter control, and summarized their analysis in the October print issue of Neuropharmacology, a peer-review professional journal.

Dr. Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins is one of the world’s leading researchers, and most published scientists on the effects of psychedelics on humans, and has conducted original and innovative research in the behavioral economics of drug use, addiction, and risk behavior. Dr. Johnson earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology at the University of Vermont in 2004.

Dr. Johson spoke with JHU reporters about the research, and said, “We want to initiate the conversation now as to how to classify psilocybin to facilitate its path to the clinic and minimize logistical hurdles in the future. We expect these final clearance trials to take place in the next five years or so. We should be clear that psilocybin is not without risks of harm, which are greater in recreational than medical settings, but relatively speaking, looking at other drugs both legal and illegal, it comes off as being the least harmful in different surveys and across different countries. We believe that the conditions should be tightly controlled and that when taken for a clinical reason, it should be administered in a health care setting, monitored by a person trained for that situation.”

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One Dose Of Psilocybin Improved Neural Connections Lost In Depression, Study Says

By Joseph Guzman, July 6, 2021

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The psychedelic psilocybin mushroom has shown promise in treating depression, and a number of clinical trials into the fungus’s therapeutic effects have been conducted in recent years.

But now, a Yale University study published in the peer reviewed professional journal Neuron July 5, 2021, has shed light on how the compound psilocybin —the active ingredient found in so-called “magic mushrooms” — may produce antidepressant effects.

Researchers administered a single dose of psilocybin to mice and used a laser-scanning microscope to visualize dendritic spines in the rodents’ brains in high resolution. Dendritic spines are small protrusions found on nerve cells that play a key role in transmitting information between neurons. Previous laboratory experiments demonstrated promise that psilocybin, and the anesthetic ketamine, could decrease depression.

Stress and depression degrade and reduce the number of neuronal connections.

Within 24 hours of the single psychedelic dose, researchers observed an immediate and lasting increase in

“God told me to.” A hallmark of mental instability.

I would be very surprised if the judge in his case did not mandate that he receive mental health help. And, s/he certainly should.

The man is clearly delusional.

And with severe psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, that’s often the case, that, not only are the individuals delusional, but they’re also frequently highly religious.

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Man accused of stealing fire service car from Alabama fire station.
Said,“God told me to.”

By Mary Helene Hall
mhall@al.com
2021-06-03, 15:05:32
https://www.al.com/news/2021/06/man-accused-of-stealing-marked-car-from-alabama-fire-station-god-told-me-to.html

A man accused of stealing a marked fire vehicle from a Prichard, Alabama Fire-Rescue station was arrested Wednesday. Prichard is in Mobile County, and adjacent the City of Mobile on its Northern border. The town’s population is under 23,000.

According to FOX10 News – WALA-TV, Virtual Channel 10 (RF Channel 9), Mobile, Alabama – Jeffrey McCants was found a few hours after the crime was committed. The vehicle was stolen from the central station on Turner Road.

Prichard Police tracked the car down and got the suspect out at gun point.

Surveillance video shows Jeffery McCants Jr. walking into central fire station on Turner Road in Prichard.

He had a gas can in his hand and was looking in an area where Prichard Fire and Rescue members say they once stored gasoline. He then walked over to the station’s Ford Crown Victoria, got inside, sat there for a moment and then started it up. He then backed it up, and drove it out of the garage.

“It had the keys in it. I needed some gas so therefore I took the car, I had to. It was the only way to get gas. It said ‘hey man, you’ll get there faster if you take me,’ so I said, ‘ok, car, ima take it,’ so I took it and I washed it. I washed the car,” he said.

The fire department said

Mother’s Day Mass Shootings 2021: It’s Mourning In America

The second Sunday in May in the United States is always Mother’s Day. This year – 2021 – it’s on the 9th of May.

Typically, Mother’s Day is a special day in the nation set aside to honor mothers nationwide.

Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis, remained a childless spinster her entire life, initiated the idea of Mother’s Day in 1908, and in 1914, Mother’s Day became an official U.S. holiday.

By about 1920, however, Anna became disgusted with what she perceived that Mother’s Day had become – an commercialized business opportunity for florists, card companies, and other merchandisers – and denounced the day, and urged others to stop buying Mother’s Day flowers, cards, and candies.

But one thing Anna Javis never saw coming, was mass shootings across the nation around, or on, Mother’s Day.

Doubtless, she would have spoken out about, and condemned that, as well.

While this is being written,

Child Abuse & Neglect Cost Alabama $3.7B in 2018

Direct economic losses attributable to child abuse and neglect cost the State of Alabama $3.7 billion in 2018, according to a study conducted by The University of Alabama College of Human Environmental Sciences and The University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research.

Researchers found that “the tangible cost of child maltreatment (or child abuse and neglect) to the Alabama economy in 2018 is conservatively estimated to be $3.7 billion.”

The report entitled “The Cost of Child Maltreatment to the Alabama Economy” found that figure is the direct cost which the state bears if only the child victims are considered, and does not include associated costs to families (including extended ones) and communities that are known to occur.

The research which was conducted in collaboration with the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and The Children’s Trust Fund, found that cost of lost worker productivity of victims was the single greatest financial cost – $2,629,685,802, while costs to the state child welfare system exceed $281,886,848, and Adult Criminality costs were conservatively found to be $109,469,664.

Child maltreatment causes preventable infant mortality and low birthweight, chronic health and mental health problems, developmental and educational delays, lower work productivity, and higher involvement with the criminal justice system.

The cost to the state is

I’m Thinking About Suicide

Ever thought about suicide?

Many have.

And not all of them are depressed.

Some are epidemiologists – folks whose business it is to think about the source, causes, and prevention of disease. And then, other health professionals such as physicians, Nurses, psychologists, social workers, and others think about suicide – again, not as means to end their own lives, but for the sake of others. And yet Nurses and physicians also personally think about suicide, and often at rates greater than the average population.

I’ve thought about suicide.

I’ve thought about suicide many times.

In fact, I’m thinking about suicide as I write this entry.

But I’m not thinking about suicide as a means to end my own life.

I’m thinking about suicide because…

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s Wife Committed Suicide; NOW is the PERFECT Time To Talk About Mental Health in Alabama

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s wife Bridgette apparently committed suicide Sunday morning, June 24, 2018, and his office issued a statement which in part said, “We are saddened to report that Bridgette Marshall, wife of Attorney General Steve Marshall, passed away this morning after a long struggle with mental illness.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and now-late wife Bridgette at their Albertville, AL home.

In response, as expected, Governess Kay Ivey’s office issued a press release as well, which was thoughtfully worded, but expressed nothing other than a seemingly heartfelt ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’

Former GOP Attorney General, and repeat AG candidate Troy King said in part that, “We offer our deepest sympathies and heartfelt prayers for Attorney General Steve Marshall and his family and pray that God’s grace and peace and hope will enfold and sustain them,” and ordered all his campaign advertising temporarily ceased, adding that his campaign effort has been “paused.”

To be certain, suicide is tragic. We’ve seen far too many. And the recent deaths of Chef Anthony Bourdain, and Designer Kate Spade have once again, brought to the fore of discussion the problem of suicide.

Alabama prisons, like other prisons nationwide, are chock full of those with mental illnesses. We can thank Ronald Reagan and the GOP for that misguided plan.

Alabama’s first Governess, Lurleen B. Wallace, advocated for superiority of mental healthcare in Alabama, and while not without problems, Alabama boasted a mental healthcare system of which it could be, and was, justifiably proud. Partlow, Bryce, LBW in Decatur, and numerous other facilities throughout the state cared for those whom were unable to care for themselves because of the severity of their disability and ill mental health.

Now, in Alabama, and throughout the nation, mental health is a joke. And neither the GOP in Alabama, nor national GOP show any signs of changing.

“Thoughts and prayers…” are all the GOP has to offer. That’s all they had to offer following the mass murders in Las Vegas, and other schools. Their pietistic platitudes are meaningless, and worthless.

Alabama, like the national GOP, has allowed mental health to deteriorate. Their values are valueless, worthless, and meaningless. They do NOT value life, they value birth. For if they TRULY valued life, they’d pay for it, they’d support research upon it, learn how to preserve it, protect it, and prolong it for those whom are living and breathing. They don’t care about the living. They care about those who don’t breathe. The unborn. Once you’re born, you’re on your own. Good luck! That is NOT life affirming, it is NOT life valuing! It is degrading, and dehumanizing! It is the “Law of the Jungle,” where “only the strong survive.” It is as much a gladiatorial match as any. Only this one is played out in Congress upon the American people as victims.

Professionally, and personally, I have seen and cared for more cases of mental illness and mental health than any ten people combined, at least.

Here’s an example of one case of mental illness – you’ll need to see the image in context to understand it, and I’ll not explain it here. You MUST go to the site to read the description (click on the photograph to go to the site) – for I’ll NOT “spoon feed” you, or others whom can feed themselves.

I recall also the case of a young man in Tennessee whom was my patient in a secure facility where he will likely spend the remainder of his life, and die. Like some animal in a zoo on display, he was paraded on the Dr. Phil show, whom mocked and derided him, rather than seeking to understand why the system failed him from childhood, knowing that he very early on showed signs of serious mental illness, and yet continuously FAILED him to the point at which he, as a teen, bludgeoned his mother to death as she slept, and attempted to burn down the house where she, he and his brother lived, as his brother was sleeping.

I recall at least FIVE High School friends, and at least one Professional colleague whom committed suicide. One while in HS. Another after he returned home from the Navy. Another whom did so shortly after graduating. Another who took his life in the back seat of his family’s car. Another who felt she couldn’t live. A Professional Nursing colleague took her life. There are others, but I’ll spare you.

There are medications to treat depression, often the root cause of suicide, one which is showing IMMENSE success which is a novel, off-label use of an anesthetic called ketamine. UAB led the nation in demonstrating efficacy of that medication to practically instantly reverse suicidal ideations in those who showed up in the ED (Emergency Department). Now, it’s being used nation-wide, and is being developed for intranasal administration.

What’s Alabama doing about it?

Not one goddamn thing.

Bupkis.

It’s a GIANT FUCK YOU to everyone concerned.

EVERYONE.

Including those who do NOT suffer from mental illness.

So DO NOT EVER tell me that the GOP in Alabama, or elsewhere, has any sense of care for the living, for THEY DO NOT.

Or else… we could’ve had this problem solved by now.

But Alabama?

Alabama is still stuck in the 18th century.

It’s the PERFECT time for the ALGOP to tell the people how and why they care, and what they plan to do to correct matters of mental health.

But, they have no plan.

They don’t care.

They.

Just.

Don’t.

Care.

They care more for a big mule than a human.

Do NOT vote for Republicans in November.

And for those whom would mindlessly scold me, as if they have some moral superiority, I have this to say:

“My maternal Grandfather committed suicide while my mother was pregnant with me.

“My life has been touched by suicides more times than I care to count – at least a dozen.

“I purposely DO NOT talk about my private life, because it’s MY PRIVATE LIFE.

“But I hardly think anyone in a position to scold me, my friend, especially given the fact that as a RN, EMT & Firefighter, I’ve seen more death and suffering in my life than most people will EVER see in theirs.”

Get Outside Your Self, Focus On The Bigger Picture

If there were ever a patron saint for people who jump to extremes and then find balance in their lives, it would be John of God (1495-1559). First he was a wild-living soldier nearly hanged after being accused of stealing from the army. After a reprieve, he was so grateful that he

Charles Manson And Mental Health

“The murders were probably the most bizarre in the recorded annals of American crime. I’ve often said that if these murders had never happened and someone had written a novel, with the same set of facts and circumstances, you’d probably put it down after a couple of pages. Because to be good fiction, as I understand it — unless it’s science fiction — it’s got to be somewhat believable, and this is just too far out.”

– Vincent Bugliosi (1934-2015), Los Angeles County District Attorney, Chief Prosecutor in the Charles Manson trial, to NPR in 2009

Some years ago, during Mental Health Clinical Rotations, I was impressed with the insidious nature of severe mental health problems, which often masquerade as mere quirks, eccentricities, or peculiarities of character. In that sense, I think Southerners are more adept at denial of mental health problems than others in regions throughout the United States. We often laugh and joke about “Old Spinster Miss So-And-So,” “the Crazy Cat Lady,” or “Old Man Mozz” who for years has lived by himself.

And yet sometimes, we’re shocked at what we do NOT see, which when given opportunities to see “behind the scenes,” observation provides confirmation and undeniable proof-positive of mental health problems.

I recall in particular some time ago in which a friend and his wife had

Cuss…tomer Service, With A Smile!😄

You gotta’ feel for the folks on the other end of the phone in corporate Customer Care / Customer Service for various companies. Sometimes, they catch Hell. Seriously, they do.

Folks may sometimes call up mad as a hornet, irritated – for whatever reason – and then proceed to “take it out” on whoever answers the phone.

It’s a DIFFICULT job, to be certain, but someone’s gotta’ do it.

So… hat’s OFF to those unsung heroes of business enterprise!

Now, let’s get real… real hard, and really real.

Most folks, I would presume, don’t walk around with a chip on their shoulder. They’re not constantly engaging or berating themselves with conflicting internal dialogue, or hearing voices in their head. In other words, not only are they sane, they’re moderately happy, satisfied with life, and things in general. While there are occasions in which they become dissatisfied, angry, or upset, those very same sane people communicate, and collaborate with others to make others aware of problems, so that solutions and corrections to them may be made.

Of course, few would suppose that

Research: For Older Adults To Get Smarter, They Should Have More Sex

Research Shows Sex Is Good For Your Brain, Cognitive Function & Mental Health

So, Are You Fucking Smarter Every Fucking Day?

Maybe. 

Could you be fucking stupid? If you are, then stop. Fuck someone smarter.

But, there’s a catch.

Fucking stupid may be good for your AND your partner’s brain. So fucking stupid might not be so fucking stupid.

Perhaps that may explain why some people in America are so fucking stupid. They’re not fucking. Hence, they’re fucking stupid.

Writing in Forbes, David DiSalvo cited a study of adults aged 50-83 which found that

How can you know if you’re in an Emotionally Abusive Relationship?

Just because there’s no physical violence, does that mean a relationship isn’t abusive?

No.

The adage, “can’t see the forest for the trees” is particularly true in emotionally abusive relationships, and it’s not uncommon for men and women in them to be unable to identify the relationship as being abusive.

Why is that?

It goes back to 1973 and an unsuccessful bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden in which two perpetrators – both repeat offender prisoners – took four hostages, three women and one man. Over the six days they were held, the hostages began to identify and sympathize with their captors.

Hostages in the Norrmalmstorg Kreditbanken bank vault, Stockholm, Sweden. The 1973 robbery gave rise to the term “Stockholm Syndrome” which characterized a scenario in which captives sympathized with their captors.

As the standoff was ending, police called for the hostages to come out first, but the four captives – who protected their abductors to the very end – refused. One female hostage, 23-year old Kristin Enmark, called out, “No, Jan and Clark go first—you’ll gun them down if we do! We want to leave with the robber!”

When police seized the gunmen, two female hostages cried sympathetically, “Don’t hurt them – they didn’t harm us!”

When interviewed by investigators and others following the crisis’ conclusion, the hostages reported fearing Law Enforcement Officers’ rescue effort attempts, and felt their captors were protecting them from harm. The bonds formed during that stand-off had become so strong that there were reports of one female hostage who had been engaged to be married to one of the kidnappers – which was later discovered to be false, though it is true that one hostage developed a Legal Defense Fund to help pay the perpetrators’ criminal defense costs.

Researcher Ian K.Mackenzie wrote
in “Journal For Police Crisis Negotiations”
that Stockholm Syndrome consisted of:
“strong emotional ties that develop between two persons
where one person intermittently harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other.”

Psychological researchers utilizing the FBI’s Hostage Barricade Database System (HOBAS) – the only entity that compiles national statistics on crisis incidents (hostage, barricade, and/or suicide) which are used in research and decision making – found that

Rethinking Addiction

Perhaps you’ve studied the 12-Step program, or perhaps you’ve practiced it. I have done both. Practicing it was not as a matter of addiction, or any such thing for myself, but instead, was a part of my personal spiritual growth and development.

Over the years, I’ve heard commentary, or news features which interviewed people with divergent perspectives on 12-Step programs, most notably which were skeptical of them, and were thoughtfully seeking answers themselves for the “whys and wherefores” of substance abuse, whether it’s long-term or temporary, and whether it is a genetic fault, or if it is a personality or character flaw in response to external or internal stressors. In other words, it’s the classic “Heredity vs Environment” argument.

As I have come to view it, there is validity for both sides, but I think the stronger case is made for a combination of environment and character flaw, instead of genetic defect.

—/—

“In his recent book, The Sober Truth: Debunking the Bad Science Behind 12-Step Programs and the Rehab Industry, Lance Dodes, a retired psychiatry professor from Harvard Medical School, looked at Alcoholics Anonymous’s retention rates along with studies on sobriety and rates of active involvement (attending meetings regularly and working the program) among AA members. Based on these data, he put AA’s actual success rate somewhere between 5 and 8 percent. That is just a rough estimate, but it’s the most precise one I’ve been able to find.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/

The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous
By Gabrielle Glaser, April 2015 Issue
Its faith-based 12-step program dominates treatment in the United States. But researchers have debunked central tenets of AA doctrine and found

#Suicide Surge Has Small Alabama Town And County Talking #ALpolitics

A surge in suicides in a small Alabama town and county has people talking.

With 7 suicides in less than two full months this year (2017), the rate is almost half what it was all last year (2016) – 15.

Unfortunately however, it seems for the greatest part, that’s all they’re doing… talking.

It’s the NIMBY problem in full bloom.

But as Christians, we are called to “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

When we not only pretend that these, or other human problems – including healthcare – don’t exist, or ignore any potential discussion or solution, we also deny Christ, who said

How prevalent is psychiatric disorder following natural disasters?

What implications does this have for survivors of Hurricane Katrina, California Wildfires, Earthquakes, the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center, or any other disaster?

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Psychiatric Disorders And Suicidal Tendencies In Survivors Of Natural Calamities

The Lancet Psychiatry
September 10, 2015

Survivors Of Natural Calamities Require Early Interventions To Alleviate Psychiatric Disorders

Background
Survivors of natural disasters are thought to be at an increased risk of psychiatric disorders, however the extent of this risk, and whether it is linked to pre-existing psychopathology, is not known. We aimed to establish whether Swedish survivors of tsunamis from the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake had increased risks of psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts 5 years after repatriation.

Methods
We identified Swedish survivors repatriated from southeast Asia (8762 adults and 3742 children) and 864 088 unexposed adults and 320 828 unexposed children matched for

A Few Thoughts on #Suicide Following Robin Williams’ Death

The very fact that people care enough to attempt to prevent others’ suicide is evidence enough that 1.) People care, and; 2.) Life is worth saving.

So let’s talk about it.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2011 (the most recent year for which data are available), 39,518 suicides were reported, which makes suicide the 10th leading cause of death for Americans. That year, someone in the United States died by suicide every 13.3 minutes.

Expressed another way, 790 people in each of the 50 states died from suicide in 2011. That’s 2 per day, per state… every day, all year long.

And because of rounding to the closest whole number, 3018 are completely overlooked.

In 2005, there were more deaths by suicide than homicide.

In 2010, there were more deaths by suicide than those involving automobile wrecks.

In 2009, the United States Army identified that deaths from suicide by military veterans of the Iraq War and War in Afghanistan were

Should a “Mental Health Tax” be placed on Marijuana?

Let’s talk about drug abuse.

Abuse of any kind is improper use, or dependency. In some cases, so-called “recreational” use is “abuse,” for there is no other kind of use, since a drug may be already illegal.

For the greatest part, those drugs, which are sometimes mistakenly called ‘narcotics’ (technically, narcotics are derivatives of and synthetic chemical relatives to the opium plant) are already illegal, and include LSD and other hallucinogens, heroin, methamphetamine (as “crystal meth”), etc. And, at the Federal level, like it, or not, agree or disagree, marijuana is included in that list.

Further, alcohol must be included in the list of abused substances, simply because we know that people’s lives can be, and are destroyed by alcohol abuse, directly and indirectly.

There’s a database of information based upon hospital admissions related to drug abuse. It’s called the Treatment Episode Data Set, or TEDS, and the information is collected anonymously by each facility in a state that receives “State alcohol and/or drug agency funds (including Federal Block Grant funds) for the provision of substance abuse treatment.”

It is not an exhaustive data set by any means, and there are limitations upon it, yet it does provide some reliable degree of accuracy to the extent, scope and nature of the problem. Consequently, information in “the tables focus on treatment admissions for substance abusers.”

In other words, someone abuses a substance on the list to the extent that they need some degree of care, including hospitalization, and that anonymous information about their admission gets collected and reported. For the purposes of that report, anonymous information is age, sex, ethnicity/race and drug(s) which led to the need for treatment.

The TEDS list of abused drugs are:

#DontDoubleMyRate: How a Passive Aggressive GOP Congress Damages Our Nation

The Twitter hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate has been trending, off and on, for the past several weeks.

Naturally, the GOP faction, led by Speaker of the House, John Boehner, claims they “appreciate” college students, and “sympathize” with their predicament – which is a crippling blow to our nation, to students, and to universities, public and private, throughout the union.

However, their inaction – more accurately described as passive aggressive behavior – their actions are neither stalwart nor honorable, for they steadfastly refuse to collaborate to do the Good and Right Thing by the people. By claiming they desire to help, and then through their inaction, they actually damage the entire nation.

That type behavior, formerly formally diagnosed by the mental health professionals as “Passive Aggressive Personality Disorder,” is a chronic, long-term condition in which a person seems to actively comply with the desires and needs of others, but actually passively resists them.

People with this disorder resent responsibility and show it through their behaviors, rather than by openly expressing their feelings. They often use procrastination, inefficiency, and forgetfulness to avoid doing what they need to do or have been requested by others to do.

Common characteristics of Passive-Aggressive personality disorder include:

• Acting sullen
• Avoiding responsibility by claiming forgetfulness
• Being inefficient on purpose
• Blaming others
• Complaining
• Feeling resentment
• Having a fear of authority
• Having unexpressed anger or hostility
• Procrastinating
• Resisting other people’s suggestions

A person with this disorder may appear to comply with another’s wishes and may even demonstrate enthusiasm for those wishes. However, they:

• Perform the requested action too late to be helpful
• Perform it in a way that is useless
• Sabotage the action to show anger that they cannot express in words

The nut of the whole ordeal is that people who exhibit such behavior are inherently selfish, non-communicative, manipulative, and greedy.

And there you have it, Passive Aggressive Behavior.

It’s the perfect definition of the Republican Congress.

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Oregon Explores Novel Way to Fund College

By DOUGLAS BELKIN Updated July 3, 2013, 12:25 a.m. ET

As lawmakers in Washington remain at loggerheads over the student-debt crisis, Oregon’s legislature is moving ahead with a plan to enable students to attend state schools with no money down. In return, under one proposal, the students would

Psychiatric Madmen? New manual makes everyone mentally sick.

Perhaps an alternate title for this would be “We’re in it for the money.”

See also another related entry entitled “Mental Health Profession has Mental Health problems.”
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“We’re all mad here”

Medication misuse is out of control in the US and more psychiatric labelling in DSM-5 will not help.

by Allen Frances | Tuesday, 21 May 2013

That’s the message of the new edition of the bible for American psychiatrists, DSM-5. Diagnostic inflation is about to become hyperinflation.

“We are all mad here” explains the Cat to Alice when she wonders about the strangeness of Wonderland. Well, life is starting to follow art. If people make the mistake of following DSM-5, the new diagnostic manual in psychiatry that was published on Saturday, pretty soon all of us may be labelled mad.

When I worked on the taskforce for DSM-4, we were very concerned about taming diagnostic inflation – but we only partly succeeded. Then four years ago, I became aware of the excessive enthusiasm around all the new diagnoses being proposed for DSM-5, including many that were untested. I hate to rain on anyone’s parade, but I knew this would be disastrous for the millions of people who were likely to be mislabelled, stigmatised and given excessive treatment.

In the US, the “sick” are distinguished from the “well” by the diagnostic and statistical manuals developed by the American Psychiatric Association.

The problem is that definitions of mental disorders are already written too loosely and are applied much too carelessly by clinicians, especially by the GPs who do most of the prescribing of psychiatric drugs.

And things are about to get much worse. Under DSM-5 diagnostic inflation looks set to become hyperinflation and will lead to an even greater glut of unnecessary medication. I would qualify for a bunch of the new labels myself – and you might too.

The grief I felt when my wife died would now be called “major depressive disorder”; forgetfulness in older age “mild neurocognitive disorder”; my gluttony now “binge eating disorder”; and my hyperactivity “attention deficit disorder”. As for my twin grandsons’ temper tantrums, this could be misunderstood as “disruptive mood dysregulation disorder”. And if you have cancer and your doctor thinks you are too worried about it, there’s “somatic symptom disorder.” It goes on, but you get the idea.

About half of Americans already qualify for a mental disorder at some point in their lives and the rates keep skyrocketing, especially among kids. In the past 20 years, the prevalence of autism has increased, childhood bipolar has multiplied 40-fold and attention deficit disorder has tripled.

One consolation: the kids are not suddenly getting much sicker – human nature is pretty stable. But the way we label symptoms follows fickle fashions, changing quickly and arbitrarily. And freely giving out inaccurate diagnoses can

Suicide, Libertarianism, and Religion -or- Why “No man is an island.”

FACT:
Las Vegas has the highest metropolitan suicide rate in the U.S.

“I’ll add that there’s one more feature here, of Las Vegas, which I think bears mentioning. And that is what I kinda’ think of as a sort of “frontier culture” mentality among residents, and I think, even among visitors.

“That Las Vegas is this sort of place of place of total license. You know… its the ‘Wild West,’ it’s an open frontier for all kinds of immorality and exploration of vice, and… the entire self-branding of Las Vegas as this place where that is not only tolerated, but actually sanctioned.

“You know, the “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” kind of mentality – produces, I think, a kind of… sort of libertarian ethos of ‘go it alone, do it yourself.’ And help seeking in this sort of framework is perhaps not accepted or valorized the way it is other parts of the country.

“These kind of cultural arguments are always very hard to make. They always sound deeply unscientific. But, in a lot ways, I think that’s exactly where a lot of the explanatory power comes from… is in this understanding the culture and values underlying people’s behavioral sense.”

– Matt Wray, sociologist, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, and co-author of a 2008 paper entitled “Leaving Las Vegas: Exposure to Las Vegas and Risk of Suicide” / excerpted from Freakonomics Radio, episode #92 “Gambling With Your Life,” released April 27, 2011

Of late, attention has been increasingly given to the suicide rate of veterans returning home from the horrors of war in the Middle East, specifically, from their numerous extended tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While in retrospect, many acknowledge that

UK Nurse Punk’d on Royal Family Pregnancy Commits Suicide

While it was meant all in harmless fun, I sincerely doubt that the individual’s response  – to commit suicide – was anything other than an inappropriate response to jesting in good-hearted intent.

It is indeed tragic that the nurse committed suicide.

Perhaps there were other underlying issues, or an inability to cope that predicated her distressing response.

One simply cannot hold others responsible for everything. As tragic as this story is, one must accept responsibility for one’s own actions.

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December 7, 2012

Prank Call Seeking Royal Family Secrets Takes Horrifying Turn

By SARAH LYALL

LONDON — As pranks go, this one appeared outrageous and obnoxious rather than malicious: after convincing a hospital nurse who answered the phone this week that they were Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, two Australian radio hosts then tricked another nurse into disclosing medical information about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, who had been admitted with acute morning sickness.

The call was broadcast on Australia radio; then it went out around the world.

But the stunt took a horrific and unexpected turn on Friday, when the nurse who answered the call, 46-year-old Jacintha Saldanha, was found dead, an apparent suicide.

The Metropolitan Police would not release details of the death, except to say that they had received a call reporting that there was an unconscious woman at Weymouth Street, in central London, and two ambulance crews had arrived to find Mrs. Saldanha already dead. A police spokesman said they were not treating the death as suspicious.

It was unclear what exactly had happened since the prank itself to make Mrs. Saldanha, who was reportedly married and had two children, take her life. King Edward VII’s Hospital, where she worked, said it had not disciplined her, but rather had been “supporting her during this difficult time.” Nor, apparently, had the royal family raised a fuss with the hospital, an exclusive private institution that has long been the hospital of choice for Britain’s royals.

“At no point did the palace complain to the hospital about the incident,” a spokesman for St. James’s Palace said. “On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and the hospital staff at all times.”

The turn of events was seen as so shocking that it provoked a response from even the prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, who called it “a terrible tragedy.”

Whatever the immediate impetus for Mrs. Saldanha’s death, the episode was

UAH Professor Killer Amy Bishop Pleads Guilty

The reader should understand: The cost of trying capital cases – cases in which the penalty is, or may be death – are EXCEEDINGLY more expensive than any other case, simply because of the numerous levels of mandatory appeals. Thus, by pleading guilty, and spending the rest her natural life behind bars – without the possibility of parole, and being given humane healthcare – the District Attorney, Amy Bishop and her defense attorneys have saved Madison County, Huntsville, and the State of Alabama many MILLIONS of tax dollars.

That is true, even given that she may live perhaps another 40 years – though that is highly unlikely, simply because incarceration exacts a physical toll upon a person’s life, shortening it by many years. Estimating a cost of $20,000/year (which includes the total cost of employees to guard & manage the system, cost of operations, etc.), and supposing she lives another 40 years (which is less likely, than not) the total flat-line cost would be $800,000.

A 2004 report entitled “State Prison Expenditures, 2001” by James B. Stephan, Statistician for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, of the Department of Justice, found that the cost of food and medical expenses, food service & utilities cost per prisoner in Alabama was $1776. Alabama’s Average Annual Operating Cost per prisoner was $8128 – THE lowest of 50 states. Other components of cost – employee cost, salaries, wages, benefits, supplies, maintenance, contractual services, and other aspects of facility operation, etc. – account for nearly 96% of all operating costs. According to the report, of all states, Alabama has the HIGHEST per-prisoner cost of utilities as a percentage of operating expenditure, at 5.7%. Perhaps it’s time to rethink solar, wind and other sources of renewable energy?

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Sep 11, 3:15 PM EDT

Ex-prof pleads guilty to killing Ala. colleagues

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An ex-professor pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally shooting three colleagues and wounding three others at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, court officials said.

Amy Bishop, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder involving two or more people and three counts of attempted murder. She had earlier pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Amy Bishop pleads guilty to murder and attempted murder in Madison County.

Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty against the Harvard-educated Bishop and it was not immediately clear if they would drop the penalty as part of the plea deal. Sentencing will be after arguments are heard at a hearing on Sept. 24.

Prosecutors say

Uruguayan government to sell marijuana to registered buyers

The United States has spent billions up on billions in the so-called “Drug War” which was started by Richard Nixon, and over the years, the only thing it’s gotten us, is deeper in debt.

All the while, murdering narcotrafficking international criminal enterprises have arisen and grown by leaps and bounds. With them, hundreds of thousands of lives have been unnecessarily lost in the process, both innocents and those directly involved in trafficking.

Prisons have been overcrowded – worse even than sardines in a can. And that has cost us equally dearly.

Again, there are few signs that use of illicit narcotics have declined, but rather, they have increased.

And that is just in the United States, which is perceived by many – and very well may be – to be the world’s major consumer of illicit narcotics. Further, the sale of illicit narcotics – including marijuana – has funded international terrorism, including alQaeda.

Not good.

We must embark upon a path which will decrease use of illicit narcotics, which ultimately harms everyone. And to embark upon that path, we must engage in honest, and forthright dialogue. The greatest obstruction to that, is the current level of impasse in our Congress – House and Senate.

We must change.

Change, we must.

Or, we shall all perish.

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Uruguay plan to let gov’t sell marijuana

By PABLO FERNANDEZ, Associated Press – 2 hours ago

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay’s national government said Wednesday it hopes to fight a growing crime problem by selling marijuana to citizens registered to buy it, and will send a bill to Congress that would make it the first country in the world to do so.

Under the plan, only the government would be allowed to sell marijuana and only to adults who register on a government database, letting officials keep track of their purchases over time.

Minister of Defense Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro told reporters in Montevideo that

Californians Speak: 50% Oppose Marijuana Legalization for Recreational Use

Proponents of marijuana legalization assert such things as “marijuana never killed anyone,” “no one ever crashed their car while on marijuana,” and other such nonsense.

Numerous records exist that prove otherwise. One such case is the unfortunate & preventable 2004 tragedy involving Lisa Torti, the Los Angelino who pulled her friend Alexandra Van Horn from her wrecked car, which also resulted in Miss Van Horn’s permanent paralysis.  It was colloquially referred to as a test or invalidation of the 1980 Emergency Medical Service Act, sometimes called California‘s Good Samaritan Act.

Court records indicate – such information can also be found in various news reports – that Misses Torti and Van Horn had both smoked marijuana and consumed beverage alcohol before that fateful event.

Concerning other negative health effects of marijuana usage, there are indisputable, verifiable, long-term, scientifically valid medical & health studies that conclusively prove a positive correlation, cause-and-effect for increased risk of schizophrenia with marijuana use.

In other words, smoke dope, and you risk losing your mind. It’s not hype, nor is it the assertion of a poorly made B Hollywood movie.

Yeah.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Marijuana and Schizophrenia – A Clear and Unmistakable Link… ignored in America

posted Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Marijuana Use Increases Psychosis Risk

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

In this nation, we are long overdue for a genuine discussion of behavior and mental health.

In some cases – for one reason or another – people turn to substance abuse (which can be of illegal or legal substances, including food), or irrational behavior to cope or deal with the problems of their lives. Substance abuse only serves to amplify behaviors or problems, and they certainly don’t lessen their severity.

If we were to address such root issues of human behavior, we could genuinely advance this nation, drive down criminality & incarceration associated with the production, sale & consumption of illicit substances, increase individual & national productivity, and so much more.

But only if we move forward… and that does not mean to “take the nation back.”

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USC DORNSIFE / TIMES POLL

Most California voters don’t support legalizing pot, poll finds

Eighty percent support doctor-recommended marijuana use for severe illness, a poll finds. But only 46% support legalization of ‘general or recreational use by adults.’

By Joe Mozingo, Los Angeles Times

May 31, 2012

In California, cradle of the marijuana movement, a new poll has found a majority of voters do not support legalization, even as they overwhelmingly back medicinal use for “patients with terminal and debilitating conditions.”

Hello? Teens! Do NOT drink hand sanitizer. Duh!

Huh?

What IS up with that?

Please, please, please…

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More hand sanitizer drinking cases reported in dangerous trend

April 25, 2012, 10:36 am PST

The California Poison Control System has received 60 reports of teenagers drinking hand sanitizer since 2010, showing the dangerous trend is not unique to Los Angeles.

Hand sanitizer, which has 62% ethyl alcohol, produces a potent drink that can cause alcohol poisoning. Some of the cases involve teenagers who used salt to separate out the alcohol.

There were also 147 cases involving children ages 6 to 12 and 2,180 cases ages 0 to 5, believed to have accidentally ingested the gel, according to poison control service, part of the UC San Francisco‘s Department of Clinical Pharmacy.

The vast majority of all the cases statewide were minor and treated at home, but about 50 of the youths went to a hospital or were referred to a hospital for treatment.

In Los Angeles County since March, there have been 16 cases of teenagers requiring medical attention, according to the California Poison Control System.

Officials began separately tracking hand sanitizer cases in 2010.

“It’s quite a concern,” said Stuart Heard, executive director. “It’s like

Because sometimes, your marriage REALLY DOES suck.

Face it.

Life can have its moments.

And, those moments can try even the best of us.

Sure, there are some really trite sayings about life and relationships.

But unless you’ve been there, done that, and got the ratty, tattered tee-shirt to prove it, it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference.

And because divorce sucks and blows huge gnarly chunks.

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Marriage Tips

But I Don’t Feel Like It

By Pam Farrel

I see it all the time as a counselor. We’ve all felt it: the “Hey, what about me?” syndrome. Sometimes it sneaks up on us when we feel that our emotional needs aren’t being met – and we resent it. Or maybe we have a hard-to-love spouse and we’re tired of trying to make things work. That’s when the “Hey, what about me?” syndrome hits. When does it come? It’s when we’re feeling sorry for ourselves – or just plain tired of trying – what can we do?

Choose.

Choose to make wise decisions.

Don’t rely on feelings or emotions when the going gets tough.

Our feelings don’t carry us to the right decisions; rather right decisions carry us to right emotions – and positive rewards. Here are a few ways you can exercise your will over your emotions:

Decide to take “divorce” out of your dictionary.

My husband, Bill, and I have counseled couples back to happiness from all kinds of crises: loss of a child, loss of a home, all kinds of addictions, affairs, and a whole lot

Report: 20% of all American suicides are new Veterans

UPDATE 19 April 2012:

Major General Dr L. P. Chang, commander of 807th medical command says #army #suicide rate surpassed civilian rate in 2008. #AASConference
— Mayo Clinic (@MayoClinic) April 19, 2012

—
The news you don’t hear…

Just because you don’t hear it doesn’t mean it goes away.

Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, who is the Defense Department’s top enlisted leader, held a press conference in Washington, D.C. December 9, 2011 in response a report to Congress on suicide among America’s military veterans conducted by Center for a New American Security. Testimony was given December 2, 2011 before the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, and may be found here. The findings are that suicide by veterans constitutes a serious threat to the stability of an all-volunteer military force. About 1% of Americans have served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but 20% of suicides in the United States are former service members. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 18 veterans die by suicide each day.

Never before have our military service members been asked to do so much. Never before have our military service members been asked — or required — to attend numerous tour of combat duty consecutively. Those changes occurred under

First, it’s all about the sex. Then, you learn you gotta’ get along. Here’s some help on the getting along part.

It’s been said concerning marriage, that folks are attracted to each other because they make each other horny – if for no other reason.

Then, they get married – ’cause they think 0ne another other “hot.” And, that they are. It’s a case of pure, raging hormones. “Estrogen calling testosterone… come in testosterone. Oh… there you are!”

The sex comes easy. Then, to stay married, they figure out and learn how to live with each other.

And that requires a whole lotta’ work and forgiveness.

How do we treat one another?

How do we want to be treated?

How do we need to be loved?

Marriage Guide for Busy Couples

By Ellen Wachtel, JD, PhD

Marriages start out tender and loving… but demanding careers and the daily job of running a home and raising children turn too many relationships into cold, methodical business arrangements.

As a marital therapist for more than 25 years, I’ve found that most couples have little time or energy for the complicated “relationship exercises” that are frequently suggested by some therapists. So I’ve developed very simple strategies built on basic truths about what makes love last. These strategies can be integrated easily into everyday life to reverse negative relationship patterns and build on positive ones.

They are effective even if just one spouse starts practicing them.

* Make your spouse feel good about himself/herself — and then your spouse will feel good about you. In strong, loving relationships, couples make ego-boosting comments to each other every day.

* Look for admirable qualities in your partner. It becomes too easy to

The Practical Side to Commitment for Husbands & Wives

Periodically, in this blog I have shared tips for spouses – husbands & wives – to improve the quality of their marriage. Typically, those entries have been from other reputable sources, not merely my opinion, nor something from a popular consumer magazine that presents the relationship “flavor of the day.”

Love, it has been said, is a commitment – it is neither exclusively, nor merely a good feeling based upon a mutual attraction, sexual or otherwise. Because love is a commitment, there are certain things that one should do to honor and demonstrate the commitment. Oftentimes as well, those commitments have been unspoken – although they may occupy significant real estate silently in our imaginations. It is precisely those times that the unspoken should be spoken.

With an eye toward speaking the unspoken, I share with you the following.

List of 20 Absolute Face-to-Face Commitments

 By Paul D. Refior

Copyright 1994, 1998 and 2005

You will certainly agree that marriage is infinitely more than a list of do’s and don’ts.

Yet one of the problems these days is that so many couples fail or refuse to acknowledge important do’s and don’ts, and these couples do not make or fulfill important commitments and promises.

Marijuana Use Increases Psychosis Risk

Marijuana Use Increases Psychosis Risk

Well folks, here it is again. Yet more studies that conclusively demonstrate that SMOKING MARIJUANA IS BAD FOR YOU!!

Regular readers of my blog will have already read the other numerous scientific studies about which I have previously written.

Here are two more studies – one involving 20,000 people with psychotic illness, and another involving 1,923 people ages 14-24 over a period of 10 years.

Dutch researchers led by Jim van Os from Maastricht University conducted the decade-long youth study in Germany and ruled out those that presently smoked marijuana and those with pre-existing psychosis. They found that new marijuana use doubled the risk of new psychotic symptoms, even after accounting for age, sex, socio-economic status, other drug use and other psychiatric disorders.

Dr Matthew Large, from Australia’s University of New South Wale’s School of Psychiatry and Prince of Wales Hospital worked in partnership with Melbourne, Australia’s St. Vincent’s Hospital and the U.S.’s George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, pooled patient data from more than 80 studies which had probed the link between psychotic illness and substance abuse. Previous studies had examined the role of marijuana, alcohol and other psychoactive substances, but this new study examined marijuana alone. They found that most of the schizophrenic patients had been marijuana smokers, and of those who had been, the onset of mental illness occurred 2.7 years earlier.

Addendum: 5/5/14 – The reader should note that the majority of all such research upon the long-term, or delayed effects of marijuana usage has been focused upon the immature (and therefore, not-fully-developed) brain. Most researchers have concluded that the human brain reaches full maturity around age 25. The greatest risks for psychoses in later life is experienced when the immature brain is exposed to cannabis.

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Smoking pot may hasten onset of mental illness

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110207/hl_nm/us_smoking_pot
By Nancy Lapid Nancy Lapid – Mon Feb 7, 5:19 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Smoking marijuana has been linked with an increased risk of mental illness, and now researchers say that when pot smokers do become mentally ill, the disease starts earlier than it would if they didn’t smoke pot.

Making A Loving Relationship More Loving

“The true value of recycling”

That’s but one alternative title I considered giving to this entry. There are several, I suppose, that would do equally well, such as “The Taming of the Shrew Tongue,” or something similar.

In large part, relationships are vehicles that transport us and another to a place we’ve never been before. Later, once we’ve “been there,” if we like it, we seek to return. Although at times, we find ourselves returning to a place that brings pain. Sometimes also, developments in those relationships – including our responses to those untoward or unseemly events – create patterns in our lives, ones which we would do well to learn to avoid.

Finding creative solutions to our relationship problems involves being gentle, yet firm, and foremost forgiving and foregoing our perceived “right” to return tit for tat, an eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth. When we give up our own perceived “right” to inflict punishment upon another – that person being the object of our own love – then we genuinely place ourselves as lovers, co-equals, partners in the truest sense – rather than as masters.

Any successful relationship such as friendship – marriage included – requires

Marijuana and Schizophrenia – A Clear and Unmistakable Link… ignored in America

There is a significant and growing scientific body of medical evidence that marijuana use contributes significantly to schizophrenia – a particularly debilitating mental health condition that strikes during the most productive years of one’s life.

Medical marijuana anyone?

Maybe you’d prefer your mental health, instead.

It’s a shame that mental health professionals and other researchers in the United States almost wholly ignore the vast, longitudinal (long-term) and increasing body of evidence that conclusively demonstrates that marijuana DIRECTLY contributes to schizophrenia.

Of course, the elemental breakdown between reality and perception most characteristic of schizophrenia does seem to be present in this latest (and I believe ill-fated) and contradictory decision by the Mexican government to legalize small quantities of all illicit narcotics, including cocaine, heroin and LSD.

While this recent decision allows “small amounts” for “personal use,” apparently it doesn’t allow manufacture, sale or distribution of large amounts. However, “small amounts” always come from “large amounts.”

Complicating matters, the Mexican government has a long-time, well-known and rightfully-deserved reputation for corruption at all levels.

Mexico has continually been a “Third World” nation in the Western hemisphere. For years, in hopes for a better life abroad, their people have

It’s official: No more Big Spring Jam in Huntsville

RIP: BIG SPRING JAM

BIG SPRING JAM is DOA.

Huntsville City officials kill profitable entertainment venue – Can’t Fit 3 Stages –

In a strange twist of irony, Big Spring Jam will not be held this year because