The United States of the Medicated

Have you heard about this?

"President Bush plans to unveil next month a sweeping mental health initiative that recommends screening for every citizen and promotes the use of expensive antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs favored by supporters of the administration."

Words almost fail me, except for “I’ll self medicate, thank you very much.” And screen this (obscene gesture not viewable at this time).

“Bush to screen population for mental illness."

Thanks to Steve Brown for the heads up.

Posted by on 06/21 at 05:43 PM

  1. I absolutely fucking *hate* “lying headlines” like this.

    “Bush to screen populations...”? It conjurs up the image of new initiatives from the Office of Homeland Security or some such, instead of, as the linked article clearly details, testing school kids for retardation.

    Posted by  on  06/21  at  10:03 PM

  2. I didn’t take the headline as being associated with Homeland Security. On the contrary I took it as a warning of further depletion of individual rights by the Federal Government. A link within the summary points to the full report and within that report you’ll find this:

    link

    It begins with this blurb:

    “Understanding the Goal”
    Early Assessment and Treatment Are Critical Across the Life Span

    For consumers of all ages, early detection, assessment, and linkage with treatment and supports can prevent mental health problems from compounding and poor life outcomes from accumulating. Early intervention can have a significant impact on the lives of children and adults who experience mental health problems.

    Emerging research indicates that intervening early can interrupt the negative course of some mental illnesses and may, in some cases, lessen long-term disability. New understanding of the brain indicates that early identification and intervention can sharply improve outcomes and that longer periods of abnormal thoughts and behavior have cumulative effects and can limit capacity for recovery.

    This headline, admittedly sensational, is not that far off the mark especially when you consider the tendencies of government programs to expand and acquire regulatory force.

    Posted by  on  06/22  at  08:04 AM

  3. Steve, the willowy mush could just as easily be describing a polio-vaccination campaign, something we would agree is hardly a harbinger of incipient Nazism.

    Posted by  on  06/22  at  09:06 AM

  4. I was thinking more along the lines of Soviet methodology, Mike. Elsewhere in the progress report there are terms used like “enforcement”, “require”, and “educate” in the context of implementation. Such as:

    “The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are advancing the President’s commitment to full enforcement of the ADA. For example, the Solicitor General intervened in the Supreme Court case of Tennessee v. Lane to defend the constitutionality of ADA provisions that require state and local governments to make their programs and activities accessible to people with disabilities. DOJ, EEOC, and other agencies have also engaged in creative outreach efforts – to educate businesses about the advantages of seeing people with disabilities as potential employees and customers, and to inform people with disabilities about their rights and responsibilities under the ADA.”

    Personally, I don’t think the federal government has any business at all involving itself in such matters, but that’s just me.

    Posted by  on  06/22  at  11:50 AM

  5. Since when does this run-of-the-mill bureaucratic boilerplate equate to “Bush testing...every citizen”?

    “...accessible to people with disabilities”?  That’s just loot-mongering. (Hey: It’s a *government*...whaddya expect?)

    The (Demo-commie) EEOC is “advancing the President’s commitment”? Uh, right. Sure they are. Anybody can name-drop. I sincerely doubt that Bush has even heard of this.

    Honestly, when you CRY WOLF! like this, by the time it actually *shows up for real*, nobody will be paying attention to you.

    Posted by  on  06/22  at  12:05 PM

  6. In my opinion, it *showed up* for real a long time ago this is just another bite out of the carcass.

    As far as anybody paying attention to me goes, I don’t really care. It’s not something I‘m concerned with.

    Posted by  on  06/22  at  12:24 PM

  7. “It showed up for real a long time ago...”

    Exactly. Like, nearly one-hundred years ago, when compulsory education was made into law—if not straight away in 1776 when a small roomful of men *lied* when they labeled themselves “We The People” and proceeded to write a document authorizing the bossing of everyone else around.

    Posted by  on  06/22  at  12:34 PM

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