WTF Is Wrong With You People?

Seriously. Are you incapable of advocating for yourself? Do you have an overwhelming desire to lay your career/financial destiny in the hands of another - where you will have less control than you think you have now?

About 3 years ago, there was a union organization effort at the hospital for which I work. Being unafraid to advocate for myself and what I want out of my job, let alone no desire to pay someone else to do what I can do for free (and needing every single penny of my paycheck anyhow), and the frightful possibility of being bound by generalized "conditions" for the entire unit (which may have been good for the other however-many employees of the unit but not at all for the mere TEN of my specific department), I admit that I voted NO.

Some weeks back I got a letter in the mail from that same union (wondering how the fuck they had my address and wondering if that was a violation of my privacy, soliciting me in such a manner), reminding me that we voted that union down 3 years ago and kind of a taunting "see what you've done" attitude about how conditions have "worsened" in the intervening period.

Well, no shit, Sherlock - the whole fucking state is madly swirling around the center of the toilet bowl, Guvnir Granwhore madly cackling and flushing repeatedly. Of course, though, some people just cannot be satisfied with the fact that they still HAVE a fucking job with a statewide unemployment rate of 12%.... so let's provoke the employer and try to push that union again.

Now I have in my hands ANOTHER letter from that fucking union.... again, addressed to me at my home, and the top of my head is about to explode.

I am not a nurse, and they have their own union. I am "service" staff - lumped in with maintenance, housekeeping, cafeteria staff, (I believe) clerical, and others in our organization. My specific job concerns, duties, and working conditions have NOTHING to do with what some of those other folks' positions have to do with - being a transcriptionist who WORKS FROM HOME.

This is the letter I received, along with my own comments on the issues.

FORMING A UNION MEANS HAVING A VOICE IN HOSPITAL POLICIES

We, the members of AFSCME here in YYYYY County, want you to have what we have: dignity in our work, respect on the job, a voice in our wages, hours and working conditions. {I already have those - I have had them all along, and I needed to pay no one to "appropriate" them for me - I earned them all on my own.}

We have obtained this improved quality in our working lives and careers through AFSCME representation. Our AFSCME contracts provide us better wages, better benefits, and greater security and protection on the job than nonunion workers can expect. {Again, I already have these things, gained on my own merits.}

By forming a union, health care employees gain a voice in hospital policies and procedures. Rather than having decisions made arbitrarily without their input, they negotiate over the policies that affect their jobs, their patients, and their future. {We have regular hospital-wide "Pulse Check" meetings - where policies, procedures, etc. are laid out neatly and questions are answered - again, regularly.}

1. Scheduling systems. Around the country, hospital employees are negotiating scheduling policies and options that guarantee both flexibility and security. {Those in our department already have flexible scheduling policies, and our bosses are extremely receptive to suggestions, ideas, or concerns.}
   
2. Floating guidelines. Hospitals often use floating as a regular way to solve staffing problems, and too many healthcare employees are floated to unfamiliar areas. To protect patient care and professional standards, most healthcare union contracts include specific guidelines for when and how floating is done. {This affects me not at all, and those I know in the hospital who DO float are not located into "unfamiliar areas." Additionally, there are strict policies about an employee performing in certain positions and their qualifications to do so. So, a housekeeper will not be doing unit clerk duties - unless they are trained and qualified to do so.}
   
3. Overtime policies. (XXXXX does not have any overtime policy now.) Many hospitals are responding to the growing shortage of healthcare staff by requiring employees to work excessive amounts of mandatory overtime. Hospital employees are negotiating alternatives that will preserve the quality of patient care and recruit and retain more staff. {Someone obviously did not bother to read the policies and procedures manual, because there IS, in fact, an overtime policy - last revised 11/01/03 - which states "Although overtime is discouraged, there will be occasions when it is necessary." Discouraged. In my 8 years of working at this hospital, ONE time has our department been required to use mandatory overtime. ONE.}
   
4. Career enhancement. (XXXXX lacks career enhancement policies.) By working together as a union, hospital employees have a say in the policies that affect their job satisfaction and opportunities for advancement. {Again, someone did not bother to read the handbook, because there are not one but TWO policies on the books about evaluations of progress and advancement/transfer within the organization.}
   
5. How the hospital works. Through their unions, more and more hospital employees are working in partnership with their employers and participating in decisions about how their hospitals operate. Studies show that shared decision-making in union hospitals increases productivity by up to 16 percent, raises quality standards, lowers turnover rates, and improves efficiency. One study found that union-management cooperation increase staffing levels and hospital revenues. {Again, we have regular meetings where this kind of stuff is discussed - openly and to death, IMO. There is also an entire policy on the books about "Employee Suggestions."}
   
6. Privatization. What happens to you if XXXXX contracts out your job? Have you seen jobs contracted out or privatized? Food Service? Maintenance? Housekeeping? Did you have a chance to vote on privatization of jobs? Did management share equally in the job losses? (A company called ZZZZZ is now running the Housekeeping, Environmental Services, and Food Service. With ZZZZZ employees as your bosses, whose rules apply to you? XXXXX or ZZZZZ? How long before your job is privatized, too?) {Know what? It happens - anywhere and everywhere - and this is something someone in my field has come to expect at any time - since girls in India can transcribe documents for about 2 cents per line versus the 10, 12, 15 or more cents per line we get paid here or equivalent hourly wage. However, considering our hospital just invested in a brand-new dictation system, I don't think the demise of our jobs is imminent anytime soon.}
   

We're still AFSCME. We still care about you and want to help you with your workplace challenges and issues. If you want to form a union, or if you want more information on AFSCME and Unionism, Sign the enclosed green show-of-interest card and mail it back to us.

Having addressed my PERSONAL job concerns above, I will now address the issue I have with the "show-of-interest" card enclosed with this letter.

AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRESENTATION BY THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY & MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES/AFL-CIO

I hereby desire to be represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, and/or its appropriate affiliates as my exclusive bargaining agent in all matters affecting my wages, hours, and conditions of employment.

This card indicates a desire for the employee to turn over representation to another party ONLY - nowhere on the card does it allow you to mark "I just want information." You fill it out and sign it, you have agreed to relinquish your right to self-negotiate in any way on your own behalf should enough of your coworkers wish to do the same.

Lies and subterfuge. How much more blatant can you get? And these unions do NOT guarantee better pay and benefits in any way. My sister works at a union hospital, as "service" staff much like myself, and they lost all their paid holidays and other benefits. Sorry, but I have no desire whatsoever to have someone toying with the benefits I have and making things worse, compromising my position (what is to stop the hospital from outsourcing or privatizing MORE positions if deemed economically necessary?) - and have to PAY someone to screw me over?

NO THANK YOU.

Yes, Michigan!

I remember an old theme song from my youth, "Yes, Michigan! The feeling's forever." God's Country, I call it, for the riveting beauty that is (in particular) Michigan's upper and northern lower peninsulas. Mountains, waterfalls, rock formations, vast tracts of forests and picturesque lakes and rivers, each sight and scene is breathtakingly beautiful. I have lived here my entire life, and here I shall remain until I pass from this existence. If someone wants me out of here, they will have to drag my cold, dead carcass out with a John Deere tractor.

Unfortunately, lately it seems a lot has been sucked out of the place.

Continuing the trend of the past several years, Michigan leads the nation in one statistic that carries no pride of ownership: The highest unemployment rate in the nation. As of December 2008, Michigan has toppled the scale at an astounding 10.6% statewide, 11.1% in the Detroit/Livonia area. You know Detroit - home of The Big Three. Just over a year ago in November 2007, our statewide unemployment rate was 7.7% - a 2.9% increase in 13 months' time. Our "governor" projects that the February data will be worse. Historically, the state's highest unemployment rate in November 1982 at 16.9% comes in second only to West Virginia's March 1983 18.2% (table does not indicate date range of data collected). I was but 10 years old and really do not remember much from back then, other than my dad being laid off for a really long time.

Of late, we have been blazing trails through the history books. Being the laughingstock of the nation during the Presidential primary elections was not enough humiliation for this state's residents to endure. Shortly after that spectacle arising out of gross stupidity, we were treated to Congressman John Dingell pushing for an additional 50-cent tax hike per gallon of gas - at a time when most of us already could not afford to fill up our vehicles. Last summer, I asked what was next, after an expanded state sales tax and a retroactive increase in state income tax. I did not have to wait long to find out the answer to a question I knew better than to ask.

Now, our governor wants to change the state gas tax. In addition to the 6% state sales tax, she wishes to implement a (likely) 16% tax per gallon instead of the flat 19-cents-per-gallon tax we pay currently. However, Governor Granholm "insists that the plan is not a tax hike." Looking at the comments left on the article, I found this and was rather stunned:

Today = .19 per gallon flat At the 16%, $2 per gallon = .32 per gallon added on... Last year, $4.50 per gallon = .72 per gallon. so if gas prices rise back to 4.50, like they did in the fall of 2008, we will actually pay $5.22 per gallon when we actually did pay $4.69 per gallon. On an average 18 gallon tank, that difference would be $9.54 more per fill-up. How is that not a tax hike. The only time her plan makes sense and is in our favor is when the price drops below $1.20 per gallon. When is the last time that has happened? This will KILL the already smothered Michigan economy. Jenny, YOU are the weakest link...

Late last September, we took an overnight camping trip down to southwest lower Michigan to take the kids trick-or-treating at one of the state parks. We stopped for gas on the way home, and this was what the pump read when the guy who filled up before us pulled out - and this was even before gas hit almost $5 a gallon:


Using this example, this man's 24.685 gallons of gas cost him $92.85 (yeah, I know the numbers are blurry - sorry): $3.76 per gallon. Had the tax been 16% rather than the flat $0.19 per gallon, his tank of gas would have cost $102.20 - a difference of $9.35.

Surely there is no tax hike there, right Jenny?

On top of that, despite President Obama's recent "challenge" with regards to higher education, Granholm "proposes to cut need-based funding," which helps students pay college tuition - while asking colleges and universities to freeze tuition rates. Along with a 5.8% funding cut ($18.8 million), more students would be able to participate in these programs - more students competing for fewer funds. I fail to see the logic in that move; as more students become unable to pay their tuition bills with fewer dollars available, does it not seem likely more would end up dropping out due to inability to pay - especially when considered in conjunction with the unemployment rate and those students, therefore, unable to work their way through school?

Barack Obama has it right - while Granholm truly is proving herself to be "the weakest link": (emphasis mine)

"Right now, three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma," Obama said. "And yet, just over half of our citizens have that level of education. We have one of the highest high school dropout rates of any industrialized nation. And half of the students who begin college never finish."

"This is a prescription for economic decline, because we know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. That is why it will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education—from the day they are born to the day they begin a career."

Perhaps even scarier is the realization that our education system's decline has worsened since 2003 - the year she entered office: (emphasis mine)

University officials lay much of the blame for higher prices on the penny-wise, pound-foolish attitude in Lansing — with good reason. Michigan has the dubious distinction of being the only state in the country to spend less on higher education in 2008 than it did in 2003, a per-student cut of $2,852, according to state universities. That says a lot to us about the priorities and the foresight of Michigan’s political leaders.

The cherry on top is Obama C&T, which will have the effect of "sinking" Michigan. I fear it will not be long before we suffer what I had expressed concern about previously:

The future of Michigan is a large question mark. With few jobs, sky-high unemployment rate, increases in state income and sales tax this past year, and state leaders pointing fingers at the Bush administration while taking no responsibility for ANYTHING, she has entered dark times. An Obama Presidency would surely push us into crisis, our economy beyond salvage. What happens to an unsalvageable limb compromising the overall health of the body? It is amputated, sacrificed to save the life. Sit here in my seat for a moment, and imagine the terror felt at the image of a financial or political "amputation" of the Great Lakes State.

I am afraid. Very afraid.

Upper Tahquamenon Falls - Michigan's upper peninsula

Necrosis of The Mind

*Cross-posted at Right in a Left World*

Psychology and its sister "science" of psychiatry have been reduced to deserving little more than ridicule. It is a means for a select few (weak of mind, faint of heart, utterly bankrupt of all morality) self-serving morons to feel entitled to pat themselves on the back for helping those in need, changing lives for the better, and "improving" society.... by bringing us all one step closer to the twisted Barney The Dinosaur reality that underlies the worst nightmares of anyone NOT suffering concomitant craniorectal inversion disorder and malignant stupidity: The one where everyone is ALWAYS happy and smiling, we are all best friends, and there is nary a problem in the world that cannot be solved within the confines of a 30-minute time slot.

* * * * *

For the most part, it boils down to some schmuck whose "mommy didn't pay enough attention" needing to elevate himself above another he will invariably consider "inferior," so he can feel better about himself. Having worked on the periphery of the field for years (as a medical transcriptionist), I continue to be amazed by the sheer number of psychiatric patients (usually involuntarily admitted with a mandatory 72-hour hold prior to deferment hearing) who are students in the psychology program at the local University. There, they gain the tools needed to maneuver and manipulate the system to ensure a never-ending supply of mind-altering psychotropic medications and all the "attention" they crave. It is rather sickening, actually.

Anyhow. All is well and good in Barney Land.... until some poor slob, having inadvertently missed some random dose of court-ordered, physician-prescribed psychotropic medication (and do NOT think this is impossible - you would be grossly mistaken; they will come directly to your home with a court order, likely accompanied by police, and you will be injected if you refuse to comply), comes to the realization that the only time he feels "good" is when he gets his "fix." He is high - on LEGAL prescription medications - similar in chemical composition to and producing virtually identical neurochemical effects as those elicited by ILLEGAL drugs. The difference? (The REAL difference?) The manner in which these drugs are manufactured, packaged, and distributed - and whose pockets are being lined in the process. After all, we cannot have some lowly drug dealer raking in the enormous sums of money Big Pharma is entitled to (and has lobbied Congress furiously for, for years).

This dog-and-pony show has been standard fare of pharmaceutical companies for years, now "recycled" with a new look and logo to accommodate the burgeoning psychiatric industry.

Morphine {(5α,6α)-7,8-didehydro-4,5-epoxy-17-methylmorphinan-3,6-diol} is legal; a Class II controlled substance. It can be found in commonly prescribed medications including (but not limited to) MS-Contin, MSIR, and Kadian; then consider codeine, manufactured FROM morphine, and other synthesized opioid derivatives, and the list grows longer - while the profits reaped by the pharmaceutical industry reach mind-boggling proportions. Meanwhile, the physiologic effects of morphine are very similar to? Heroin. The addicts' drug of choice when heroin is not available? Morphine.

Heroin {(5α,6α)-7,8-didehydro- 4,5-epoxy- 17-methylmorphinan- 3,6-diol diacetate} is illegal; a Class I controlled substance. There is no medically accepted use for this drug. You got some, you got some trouble. You can have all the morphine you want (as long as you hop around to enough doctors to get prescriptions - and your luck holds out until they run a MAPS report on you). BUT.NO.HEROIN.

Then come along the "really smart guys" at the drug company. "Our chemists have been working to develop a thrombolytic agent that would significantly reduce the incidence of intracranial bleed post therapy. Unfortunately, it did not produce the desired results during clinical trials. In fact, it performed poorly in that respect, having no effect in dissolving thrombi whatsoever. However, a fascinating side effect was observed in that it induced euphoria in test subjects. We believe this compound should be pursued further, as it has significant potential as a psychotropic medication." ("Test subjects," not "people." Millions of dollars spent to produce a drug that does not do what was intended yet does something completely unexpected.... something to be exploited.... something to enable the company to recoup R&D investments AND generate profits for years to come - patent pending. Potential for abuse and potential for virtually unlimited profits, but who gives a rip??? WE'RE MAKING MONEY!)

Dextroamphetamine {(2S)-1-phenylpropan-2-amine} is legal; a Class II controlled substance. It just so happens to be the active ingredient in Adderall - a psychostimulant (see the "amphetamine" there?) prescribed to children across the country for ADHD, generating billions of dollars per year in sales and promoting the mind-rot of the next tender generation. Interestingly, the physiological effects of THIS drug are remarkably similar to: Meth. (I wonder why?)

Methamphetamines {(2S)-N-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-amine} are illegal. In fact, most state's child protection laws order the immediate removal of children (and facilitate TPR in a curiously expeditious manner) upon finding evidence that the home doubles as a meth lab. Busted cooking meth? Your ass is in jail: Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Now, the rest of us cannot even buy cold medicine without the DEA sniffing out every orifice.

Psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychotherapists: Together, the anus of society. They serve a degrading and embarrassing function, cause hemorrhoids and occasional itching, oftentimes spew forth foul-smelling gases and diarrhea, and every once in a while you just know it is time to clean out the works with an enema.

* * * * *

To Steve: Oh, my. I guess having a "Masters" degree gives you license to psychoanalyze at will. How much for sessions? I assume this first "consultation" is free, as we've not yet established a fee schedule. I am immensely grateful that one as benevolent, kind, and caring as yourself would try so hard to help me, show me the error of my ways. (In case you CANNOT tell, this is sarcasm - of the dripping variety; I feel the need to explain as you obviously do not understand concepts such as HUMOR, SATIRE, and PARODY and it is likely you do not understand sarcasm, either.)

Do I detect grandiose delusions, thinking oneself capable of guiding a "lost sheep" such as myself "back to the flock?" Verily, I say unto thee... "I am the way, the truth, and the light. No man cometh unto the Father but by me." People: We have a true hero in our midst, attempting to bring me to The Father Barack....

You are most certainly NOT Jesus Christ, so I will guess:
Axis I: Schizophrenic disorder, paranoid type, chronic with acute exacerbation. {Based upon the sum total of your previous comments}.
Axis II: Cluster B disorder including borderline, narcissistic, and antisocial personality disorder.

Yes, I am bitter. You could even say I am downright mean. I cling to my Bible; and months before Barry finalized his purchase of the Presidency (after 3-1/2 decades of swearing I would never own one), I purchased not one but TWO shotguns - with the intention of returning for at least two more. I am appalled - no, MORTIFIED - at the disease that has rotted this nation from its very center. Sadly, I feel a twinge of pleasure at the thought that, after this group of morons in Washington, DC, gives the final shove and our economy plunges into the abyss, my children and I will eat - thanks to my knowledge of agriculture and hunting - while you starve, waiting for the government to take care of you. I never would have believed myself capable of having such a horrid thought toward another human being, but I am strongly considering the possibility you might actually deserve it.

What is coming is population control, plain and simple. It is fortunate we have this remarkable mechanism by which to clean up the gene pool after generations of people like you defecating in it, rather than wading thigh-deep in excrement with a smile and proclaiming "All's well here!" but you (and others like you) deliberately, voluntarily, and willingly brought this upon yourself (and the rest of us) yet fail to realize that you have brought yourselves (and the rest of us) to the slaughter rather than being driven there. Some itty -bitty bit of genetic code is barking at you like a mad dog, a self-preservation instinct, which invades the euphoria of your drug-induced stupor. You need someone to blame for your distress, because personal responsibility and accountability are not part of your repertoire, so you lash out at people like me.

Well, I have broad shoulders.... and an even broader mind. I can take it, I can dish it right back, and eventually I can just choose to ignore your existence. I will not be harmed in any way, shape, or form.

The Assassination of Johnny Bravo

When I was a kid, Saturday mornings were AWESOME. Hour after hour of gratuitous violence as Tom and Jerry beat the shit out of each other and the Coyote sat on one too many Acme rockets, lessons in wit and sarcasm courtesy of Bugs and Daffy, and in between it all, doses of School House Rock and "Conjunction Junction" (30 years later, I still remember that song) in an altogether well-rounded childhood enabling me to think for myself as an adult. I learned from Charlie Brown that it was okay to be a little bit different, and the Smurfs taught me to accept everyone for who they were, that each person had value and something different to offer, and that the community as a whole survives only with the contribution of each individual.

Some years later, as a young parent, I saw those days already receding into the distance. Saturdays filled with Tom and Jerry were replaced by Power Rangers and mutant turtles but still sprinkled with the antics of Cow and Chicken, Weasel and Baboon, and the love of my life, Johnny Bravo. Now, as a (slightly) older parent (chronologically, not at heart), my children are reduced to watching "educational" cartoons; the ones that teach not only tolerance but compliance and conformity. The only time Tom and Jerry appear on my screen now is when I pay extra for it with satellite TV; and my 3-, 4-, 6-, and 7-year-old children have never even heard of Johnny or Smurfette.

When I was a kid, there were TOYS in my cereal box. Nowadays, all you find inside the box is some mystery sugar that may or may not be an edible food product and may or may not cause cancer 20 years down the road.

When I was a kid, a trip to McDonald's was a special treat. Counting the number of chins on some of the kids I've seen at the schools lately, home-cooked meals are now a special treat.

When I was a kid, a penny saved was a penny earned; and even if you wanted to splurge, you could still buy penny candies. Spirograph and Scrabble were fun, and Atari 2600 was THE SHIT. It was a family event to watch The Wizard of Oz once a year on TV. Holidays were a time for family gatherings and appreciating the premise behind that particular celebration. You earned not only those things you wanted but those privileges you were afforded.

The loss to my children is incalculable.

Oh My God

I am a motherfucking genius.

A couple weeks back, I'd posted this brain-bomb after Dazd dangled an exceptionally tempting-looking carrot in front of my face:

At September 23, 2008 4:39 PM, allee

Doooooood. You chose some of my favoritest subjects today: The economy and the Depression.

Since I feel the Federal Reserve Act was a crime perpetrated against the American people, I cannot help but feel this "bailout" is little more than saying the first crime was no big deal and allowing a second to justify the first. Like we decided it was okay to knock an old lady down to steal her purse then letting the thief came back to kick her and rob her again because he forgot her wedding band. And laughing about it.

The central bank creates an environment leading us where we seem all too willing to follow - false manipulation of the markets to tweak a penny until it screams for the benefit of the banking elite followed by, unfortunately, the inevitable fast and hard blow in the form of recession that (of course) strikes the little guy below the belt just because he bought food and shelter instead of a nut cup.

The more manipulation, the harder the retaliation by the economy; much like in physics, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Factor in the natural ebb and flow of the economy and you've got a disaster waiting to happen. LIKE THE ENVIRONMENT, the economy has mechanisms of self-correction. We don't like how those make us feel, though; they don't leave us feeling all warm and gooey inside, so we try to avoid them by manipulating the system. But like water behind a dam, stuffing bubble gum in one hole doesn't keep the water from flowing, it only forces the water to find another outlet. Eventually, (and I love this analogy, so I use and over-abuse it) we experience the financial equivalent of Teton... The Great Depression.

Unfortunately, we didn't learn the lessons taught to us by history, so we are doomed to repeat it. We've allowed much more sophisticated manipulation and on much grander scale since the time of the Great Depression. Those self-corrections will be much harsher than those of the past and [sic] in turn, the results far worse. I know I've ranted my doom and gloom before, last time you dangled this subject in front of me, but I say it again. The next Depression will be far more devastating than the last - economically and socially.

This is interesting reading, if you're interested:

http://www.kwaves.com/kond_overview.htm

Okay, I know some of you think I am just a lunatic, that I drank a little too much Kool-Aid or maybe was dropped on my head too many times as an infant. You may be right, except for the Kool-Aid Part, since the only sugar in liquid form I drink is Mountain Dew. But aren't all geniuses a little weird around the edges?

Once again, I was right. Once again, I was ignored by pretty much everyone. But instead of saying "I told you so," I'll just let you in on a little secret: It's time to prepare for the final meltdown - NOW.

Have you ever watched footage of the Teton collapse? Fascinated by this event, never having learned about it in school but on (I believe) the History Channel some months back, I began reading about it, interested and wanting to know more. That was when I had my "epiphany." Our economic system and the markets of its operation are man-made constructs, subject to the same faults of engineers but also subject to falling victim to human greed. The economic version of the Teton breached and ruptured once already. Instead of taking instruction from the mistakes of our past, moving forward yet leaving the ghastly remains of our failure in plain sight so as not to repeat it, we just started shovelling even more dirt in the hole, rebuilding that same damn dam on the site of the first, burying that failure and hoping it will be soon forgotten.

Time passes, memories fade, and eventually those of the generation that survived the first rampaging flood pass away, future generations not learning from the experiences of their fathers and their father's fathers. Except someday, the water will once again leak through.

(This may seem like diverging off topic, but now you will see my true genius)

The environment, nature, Planet Earth, has series of natural cycles, rhythms, waves. Whatever terminology you prefer, the premise behind all is that there are upswings and downswings. There is a rich geological and archaeological record documenting the planet's - as in GLOBAL - warming and cooling periods dating back millennia. What causes this? Is it Man, plundering natural resources and polluting the ecosystem and creating global warming? Absolutely not. In fact, Man has little to do with it. Global warming (and cooling) results from the combination of planetary tilt and rotation, orbital deviations, gravitational pulls by other celestial bodies, and even the movement of our solar system within the Milky Way and the galaxy's course across the universe. Nothing will EVER occupy the same "place" twice in an infinite universe in which all components are in continuous motion right down to the atomic level. (Is that profound, or what?) Astrophysics on steroids.

Lesson #1: Man is but an insignificant speck when considered in context of an infinite universe. All things being equal, the entire population of planet Earth, all 6.6 billion of us - including me - is but an insignificant speck when considered in context of an infinite universe.
Lesson #2: Man is only a marginally more significant speck when considered in context of the finite proportions of Planet Earth. However, all things being equal, the entire population of planet Earth, all 6.6 billion of us, is just a really fucking annoying parasite.

We (humans) glorify ourselves, thinking we are so important that we have the ability to effect some truly horrific, radical destruction of the Earth. In reality, the worst we could ever do would be to effect some truly horrific, radical destruction of ourselves as a species. Asteroids and comets have pummelled the face of the Earth, but the Earth has endured, nature has responded and adapted, improved upon itself, strengthened and grown, incorporating and enveloping that foreign space rock into itself. Even if we nuked the shit out of each other, the Earth would endure, nature would respond and adapt, improve upon itself, strengthening and growing, incorporating and enveloping each of us back into itself. So are we really as powerful as we lead ourselves to believe?

Upswings and downswings. Any attempt we make to change the natural course of the environment will be met by an inherent self-correction. The more manipulation we exert, the harsher the correction: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Eventually, diddling around with it too much gives you the kind of situation you can watch in high-definition in movies like The Day After Tomorrow. (Yes, I know this is a movie, a work of fiction, but all creative works have some basis in reality.) We - as in humans, specifically ALL humans - got carried away and exacerbated and/or accelerated the natural cycles of the environment; and nature responded, mitigating the effects of our abuses with what was best for the planet, even if it was not what was best for it's inhabitants.

The economy is a dynamic, almost "living" entity, created by man but in many ways similar to the environment. Its very nature has endowed it with the ability to grow and adapt, giving it the same self-correction capabilities found in nature. The more we manipulate it, the harsher the correction. The meddling within the system is causing it to self-correct. Instead of allowing it to do so, further manipulation is attempted.

Eventually, just like the cracks the formed in the face of the Teton, the cracks begin to form within the economic structure; and eventually the breach will rupture and carry us all downstream. This is the ultimate in self-correction, the Body's capacity to maintain equilibrium, what is best for the economy, even if it is not what is best for the manipulators.

I saw a video clip a while back, Nancy Pelosi asking what was so great about the Great Depression? I'll tell her what was so great about it. It was a Great Opportunity for us to learn and grow and fill in the holes and gaps and cracks in that dam we insisted on rebuilding; but instead of learning, we shrugged it off - our Great Folly - and now we will pay a Great Price.

If There's a Way to Screw You

Some overpaid and otherwise completely useless dickwad in The Michigan Government is gonna find and exploit it, and probably thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Want a job? Too bad, move to another state (or the country to which your last job was outsourced). I've already ranted about the atrocious unemployment rate here in Michigan (highest in the nation and far above the national average since like 2001, I believe), and companies continue to flee. We hear "It's okay, we don't need industry/manufacturing. We have TOURISM." (Support 10 million people on tourism? In someone's overworked imagination that might work, if tourists are only non-residents willing to throw money at us, but there's a bit of a problem when the tourists are RESIDENTS [think trickle-down here]. Does that mean you have no business enjoying your own state since it won't generate external revenues, so FUCK OFF and stay home?) Dandy. Then the other day someone was telling me about new "tourism taxes" going to go into effect (surcharges on motel rooms, etc.). Now that we've driven off industry with the Mighty Upraised Middle Finger, it's time to turn it on tourism, too.

But I digress. Besides taxing us more here on things like gasoline and cigarettes, etc., than our surrounding states' residents pay, the bullshit has now extended to our CELL PHONE SERVICE. Forever, my Alltel bill was about $56 a month. This month it's over $58.

??????????

On the last page of the bill (in itty-bitty letters, of course): ATTENTION MICHIGAN RESIDENTS. A surcharge for E-911 (which I could have sworn I was already paying for, so now I gotta root through a stack of papers dating back to 2004 when I got the stupid thing) is being assessed on our monthly bill, varying by county. Of course, MY county happens to charge the second-highest rate: $2.12 per month.

I don't use my cell phone for 911. I use my REGULAR PHONE, on which I also pay for E-911, so now I get double-poked and for something I don't even use?

They raised our state income taxes, expanded the sales tax, and done other shit I'm not even gonna touch on cuz it would probably give me a brain aneurysm, so I have to ask, WHAT'S NEXT?

On the high side, I did happen to exploit that "tourism" factor a bit last week, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and in the Lower Peninsula's northern wonderlands. I have TONS of great pictures, as soon as I get off my ass and get them downloaded from my camera. . .

It's Called "Population Control," People

People with serious diseases are finding themselves getting handed the shitty end of the stick when it comes to insurance copays on their medications. The medication costs can be enormous, and the insurer wants the insured to foot a bigger portion of the bill than their previous traditional copays of $10, $20, whatever, to 20% to 33%. The list of diseases in this article just happens to include multiple sclerosis, which you all know is my newfound "friend." These people with severe and chronic illnesses are the ones least likely to be working and earning an income in the first place, so let's sockittoem.

In terms of cold hard cash: The Copaxone injections I use for my MS cost $1740.13 for a 30-day supply, of which I pay a $40 copay. Under this "tiered" system, I would pay anywhere between $348.03 and $574.24 a month for my medication. This is an 870% to 1435% increase in my out-of-pocket cost just for the medication. This does not include the cost my employer and I fork over to the insurer in the first place just to have coverage, said cost having increased many-fold since I started working at the company a mere 7 years ago. Also keep in mind: This is not a medication to CURE my disease, merely to "try" to prevent acute exacerbations. This makes just so much sense, really. They'll NOT pay for medication to try to PREVENT an exacerbation, but they'll cover the much larger bills associated with hospitalization and testing and inpatient medications administered, etc., for an acute exacerbation. Yeah. Kind of like not paying for birth control or abortion but paying for prenatal care, labor and delivery, and then yet another child that will be covered on the policy.

So my choices are:
1. Fork over the cash (which is almost a whole week's pay) to get the medication to try to keep from getting worse and ending up on permanent disability, foregoing those pesky incidental expenses like rent, groceries, and electricity. I'll be living in a box on the street, but at least I'll have my medication!
2. Use my cash to pay for those pesky incidental expenses (above) and stop taking the medication, progressing in my disease process until I "expire." (That means "DIE" for those of you who don't know that medical term that bothers me for some reason, like we have a fucking date stamped on our butt cheek like a gallon of milk.)

I'm not wealthy. I can't afford to buy these medications. So I will just have to suck it up, accept the fact that I am poor and destined to die quicker than a wealthy individual who has the money to buy them to prolong not just their life, but their QUALITY of life.

That's why it's called population control. I've seen it for years, known it was happening and tried spreading the word but just being called a fruitcake or conspiracy theorist for my efforts. I've seen a young woman die of a completely treatable cancer just because of her insurance carrier's "policies." I've seen another woman beg and plead for money to abort a deformed fetus that would not survive delivery and likely would have killed the mother during said delivery, because Medicaid, her only healthcare coverage, would not pay for it: Two birds with one stone?

And We're Surprised . . . WHY?

Breaking news! (Wonder how long it's been kept under wraps before the media finally got hold of it, and how the media managed to get hold of it in the first place).

WHAT'S IN YOUR WATER?

Why, drugs of course. Yet people act surprised! The public education system in this country has somehow managed to fail to instill basic biologic processes about the human body and the fact that WHAT YOU CONSUME COMES BACK OUT OF YOU IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER, AND THEN WHERE DOES IT GO? Lesson 1: You take prescription medications for psychotic disorder (neuroleptics - powerful mind-altering drugs), or any drug for that matter, including antibiotics and hormones. Your body does not metabolize the entire dose and the remainder is eliminated from your body (#1 is always cited, but I have to believe #2 is also responsible). These remnants are not 100% cleaned from the end product, your drinking water, as noted in this article.

Naturally, the first thing that came to MY mind when catching this and seeing that antibiotics are being found in the drinking water was: Drug-resistant bacteria. Seriously, think about it. More and more people are taking more and more shit for more and more ailments (or filling prescriptions and not finishing them, which also contributes to the problem, and flushing them down the toilet to be released into the environment). Am I the only one who's noticed the aggressiveness and increase in incidence of, oh, let's say MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)???

It's claimed that there are not enough data to make a determination about the long-term effects of traces of pharmaceuticals in our drinking water, but this isn't exactly rocket science. If "you are what you eat," then every time you chug down a glass of H2O full of sedatives, analgesics, anti-convulsant medications, anti-anxiety medications, antibiotics, and artificially produced hormones - the whole gamut of artificial, man-manufactured drugs - you're putting this shit into your body and even at low concentrations it has to have some effect, even on a cellular level.

This goes along with what I've tinkered with in my mind for ages: We're destroying ourselves as a species, in more ways than the obvious. We've implemented vaccines that, while they've saved lives, have allowed populations to explode where nature would have "culled the herd." We've introduced foreign substances into our bodies (drugs), leading to our loss of resistance to naturally occurring viral and bacterial species, which we then treat with MORE drugs. There are increases in disorders such as autism and autoimmune diseases and cancers. Maybe if we'd stop messing with Mother Nature, we wouldn't be in this boat.

Yes, it sounds cruel and heartless and I know I'm talking about human lives, but history has shown us that SHIT HAPPENS. As one example, think about the plague and it's long history in human society, the causes and effects - both positive and negative. Now we have modern plagues: Bird flu, AIDS, meningitis, MRSA, West Nile virus, and many others. It's only a matter of time before we vaccinate/medicate ourselves right out of existence.

Get a Life, Grow a Brain

This makes me sick:
Nevada couple neglects their children to the point that they were starving and have serious health problems, blaming it on the internet/video games. Again the “experts” come back to gaming addiction as a mental illness - of course. It is pathetic attempt to shift responsibility from an individual, where it should lie, to society at large. These are the kind of people that need to not only have their children removed and never returned, but permanently sterilized and branded with a great big “CA” on the middle of their foreheads, for Child Abuser. Until we make people take responsibility for their actions, things like this are going to not only continue but escalate in frequency and severity.

Second Civil War

Oh, this is a good flick. If you've not seen it, I highly recommend it. Besides a stellar cast including James Earl Jones (who is, like, the AWESOMEST actor in the history of the universe), it has a story line that just does not quit - making you think about the future of America and whether we are headed for a Second Civil War. (FYI: If you've never heard of it, this is an HBO original movie.)

I fear that is exactly where we are heading, with a number of political and social avenues merging to a central core and ultimately bringing the citizens of this country to insurrection. While I believe our form of government as envisioned by our Founding Fathers is superior, it has become bastardized and bears no semblance whatsoever to that vision.

I read this article earlier today and it brought me full circle in my thinking. Although this article, on the surface, targets healthcare reform and the FDA, it also takes a deeper poke at the corruption and abuse of power on multiple levels of government: (Emphasis mine)

“FDA reform legislation is not about Democrats vs. Republicans. It’s about the wealthy elite vs. the People. Not surprisingly, the People have once again been screwed by the representatives they foolishly voted into office. If anything, this event proves that U.S. lawmakers have no interest in protecting America’s future. They are only interested in the next election, the next career move or the next power play. In a nation devastated by degenerative disease and intoxicated by the chemicals being pushed to manage those diseases, there is no longer anyone left in power with enough sanity to reason with. The President is clinically insane, the FDA is criminally insane, and the Congress is for sale, cheap! The country has become an absurdity, where lawmakers actually bicker about how much bribery and corruption should be allowed in the FDA drug approval decision process rather than simply agreeing to ban all bribery and conflicts of interest, which is what sane lawmakers would do.

Stand back and watch the bonfire

Over the last few months, I have come to the conclusion that it is no longer worth attempting to stop American’s self-destruction at the hands of Big Pharma, corrupt politicians and greedy fractional reserve bankers. America is destroying itself, and there is no one left who’s willing to stand up and try to stop it (except, perhaps, for a few individuals like Rep. Ron Paul, but he’s effectively censored by the powers that be).

My advice to readers is to start thinking very seriously about getting out of America. What’s coming over the next 5 - 25 years will not be pretty, and I now believe the collapse of America as we know it today is inevitable. The 2008 elections will change nothing, as either party will only deliver a different form of tyranny in the end. America has devolved into a modern mirror image of the Roman Empire in its last dying days — steeped in corruption, abandoning its citizens, arrogant beyond all reason, oblivious to the world around it and wholly committed to destroying itself from within.

Congress has become a circus, and the U.S. government, through agencies like the FDA, has become the leading threat to its own people. The nation is steeped in irreversible debt, diseased, terrified, bankrupt and addicted to oil that’s running out. On top of that, thanks to Bush-contrived military imperialism, it has alienated every other nation in the world and has now become the most-hated nation on the planet. (If you don’t believe me, just travel outside the U.S. and ask practically anybody you meet. Everybody hates the U.S.) It is now only a question of how long the current crippled facade of political power will last.

The passage of this FDA reform law is merely one more sign of how thoroughly committed the U.S. Congress is to creating a future of death, disease and bankruptcy for the American people. You gotta give ‘em kudos on consistency, however. At least the lawmakers are predictable.

Welcome to the United States of Big Pharma.”

To this I would add, United States of Big Pharma, Big Banking, Big Industry, and Big Pork-Barrel Spending Without Accountability. Just imagine our tots learning to spell THAT one in school.

The embers are being stirred and it’s only a matter of time before the fires begin to rage. No matter what term you prefer, whether it be uprising, revolt, insurrection, or revolution, we can see the smoke and we all know that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

This Just Makes My Blood Boil

Whatever happened to compassion? And it isn't even in New York but Wichita, Kansas:
People step over a stabbing victim in a store, and one even stops long enough to take her picture with a cell phone, but no one helps her. Of course, the woman died. What is wrong with people? It's not bad enough that you just walk over top of her and leave her there to die, you need to TAKE A FUCKING PICTURE?

New Drug Deletes Bad Memories:
Get the fuck out of people's heads, already. Our memories are a part of who we ARE, and if you take them away, painful or wonderful, good or bad or traumatic or whatever label you want to use, you are removing a part of US. Psychiatrists are barbaric mother-fuckers, first frying people's brains with electroshock therapy; this is just a more "humane" attempt at achieving the same result. Stop paying these witch doctors to fuck people up more than they already are, for pity's sake!

Leave Fireworks to the Pros:
I have two words for you - EAT ME. You bitch and moan about children being harmed by fireworks but fail to address the fact that this issue is entirely related to personal responsibility. Yes, accidents can happen to even the most careful, responsible adults and it's heartbreaking and traumatic to everyone involved when a child is hurt, but don't feed us some happy horse shit that we need to leave it to the "pros." How many times have people been hurt and even killed at these "professional" shows, and not just a single child but LARGE NUMBERS OF THE CROWD? I know this after watching the news reporting on the horrors of a "professional" fireworks accident in Bay City, Michigan, in 1990.

OK, I'm done being pissed for a little while.

How Could You NOT Be Intrigued?

Disease Mongering

This spoof takes a poke at disease mongering in this country, and it is actually really funny; on the other hand, one cannot help but stop and consider the serious side to what is going on in the medical profession. You can check out this, this, and this, among others, if you want to know more.

I am afraid that someday we will see Big Pharma sitting back, laughing and pointing at us, for some of the fast ones pulled on us over the years, especially on little ones who cannot defend themselves like Rebecca Riley.

Case In Point

Some more medicalizing of human behavior, be it considered normal or abnormal by some, in an attempt to justify shoving more drugs down people's throats, imprisoning them against their will through use of involuntary commitment laws, and possibly even giving them ECT therapy (I highly recommend this site, as it explains the origins, nature, and effects of electroshock therapy, IMO putting modern psychiatry on par with Nazi Germany):

Video Game Addiction: A New Diagnosis?

"The telltale signs are ominous: teens holing up in their rooms, ignoring friends, family, even food and a shower, while grades plummet and belligerence soars. The culprit isn't alcohol or drugs. It's video games, which for certain kids can be as powerfully addictive as heroin, some doctors contend. A leading council of the nation's largest doctors' group wants to have this behavior officially classified as a psychiatric disorder, to raise awareness and enable sufferers to get insurance coverage for treatment."

This just goes to prove my point that every human behavior, feeling, emotion, and action is a target for being classified as a "mental illness." Read between the lines: "Enable sufferers to get insurance coverage for treatment." Let us talk about money and psychiatry, folks, when we have more time.

It is amazing to see the evolution of the "Bible" of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-IV, and some things that are considered to be mental illnesses, including:

• Alcohol and substance use, dependence, and withdrawal (to multiple drugs including amphetamines, forms of which are prescribed routinely by psychiatrists)
• Hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (flashbacks)
• Body dysmorphic disorder
• Pedophilia
• Transvestic fetishism
• Gender identity disorder
• Sexual dysfunction, hypoactive sexual desire disorder, female sexual arousal disorder, male erectile disorder, female orgasmic disorder, male orgasmic disorder, premature ejaculation, sexual aversion disorder, fetishism
• Alcohol intoxication
• Nicotine dependence
• Stuttering
• Rumination disorder
• Impulse-control disorder including pathologic gambling, kleptomania, pyromania, and intermittent explosive disorder
• Conduct disorder
• Selective mutism
• Reading disorder
• Mathematics disorder
• Disorder of written expression
• Neglect, physical abuse, or sexual abuse of a child or adult
• Partner relational problems
• Noncompliance with treatment
• Parent-child relational problem
• Sibling relational problem
• Bereavement
• Phase of life problem
• Academic problem
• Religious or spiritual problem
• Malingering
• Disruptive behavior disorder

At one time, homosexuality was also listed as a mental illness in the DSM before finally being removed. Every choice you make in life, every emotion you feel, every thought you create, can be pigeon-holed into a particular complex, syndrome, or set of symptoms signifying you have a mental illness. In seeing some of the above, how could anyone think anything other than every single person on the planet is mentally ill?

I am not a Scientologist, but I think these people are on to something here. They have a very interesting site regarding fraud in health care by the psychiatric "industry," (quite a bit of this information can be verified with outside sources). Quite an eye-opener: Up to $40 Billion per Year in Psychiatric Fraud

So-Called Psychiatric "Medicine"

I am continually amazed that there are so many people in this country suffering from mental illness. How in the world can we function with more than 25% of the population deemed "sick in the head"?

"Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people." --National Institute of Mental Health (updated 1/22/07).

I have a problem with this. Does this mean that the burden of the cost of mental illness falls upon the other less than 75% of the population that does NOT claim a mental illness? Of course it does. What does that cost equate to?

"The costs of mental illness are exceedingly high. Although the question of cost is discussed more fully in Chapter 6, a few of the central findings are presented here. The direct costs of mental health services in the United States in 1996 totaled $69.0 billion. This figure represents 7.3 percent of total health spending. An additional $17.7 billion was spent on Alzheimer’s disease and $12.6 billion on substance abuse treatment. Direct costs correspond to spending for treatment and rehabilitation nationwide.

"When economists calculate the costs of an illness, they also strive to identify indirect costs. Indirect costs can be defined in different ways, but here they refer to lost productivity at the workplace, school, and home due to premature death or disability. The indirect costs of mental illness were estimated in 1990 at $78.6 billion (Rice & Miller, 1996). More than 80 percent of these costs stemmed from disability rather than death because mortality from mental disorders is relatively low." --Mental Health: A Report from the Surgeon General.

The classifications of mental illness in the "Bible" of psychiatric diagnoses (DSM-IV) include everything from addictive disorders to emotional disturbances to organic disorders such as Alzheimer's. The DSM-IV is considered the Bible because it is the means by which to get paid; and mental illness is BIG BUSINESS. It behooves psychiatrists, psychologists, and especially Big Pharma to ensure as many people as possible are diagnosed with some type of disturbance.

My thoughts on the issue: If it is not organic in nature (i.e., Alzheimer's, chemical disturbance, structural CNS insult or trauma, etc.), then it is a matter of individuals either unwilling or unable to accept personal responsibility for their own actions and to learn methods of coping with the everyday stress every single one of us encounters in life. There are also individuals who claim "mental illness" as a means of escaping punishment for a crime they have committed or as a means to avoid having to work to earn a living (malingering), to collect a Social Security check on the backs of others who choose to be personally and socially responsible.

My interest in this topic is forever piqued, and I cannot help it. I am sickened continually by cases where someone has destroyed another person's life, either by:

1. Claiming their own mental illness and willfully harming another (the "disturbance" cited as a cause and later justification for escaping punishment); or
   
2. Claiming the mental illness of a child (MSBP, collecting monetary benefits, or just so as not to need to deal with kids being kids), as in the case of Rebecca Riley, who died as a result of her parents seeking out then administering a dangerous cocktail of powerful psychotropic medications that were never meant to be given to a child.

Psychiatric medicine has failed not just the 26.2% of American adults currently labeled "mentally ill," but the children of those adults, the children not included in that percentage who are receiving treatment, and the remainder of 100% of the population of the United States who suffer personally, socially, and financially for the shortcomings of this money-generating venture.

In the words of Loren Mosher, MD, in a letter of resignation from the American Psychiatric Association: "Biologically based brain diseases are certainly convenient for families and practitioners alike. It is no-fault insurance against personal responsibility. We are all just helplessly caught up in a swirl of brain pathology for which no one, except DNA, is responsible."

If it is the case that psychiatric illnesses are truly biological (as psychiatrists purport), then it follows that these patients should be treated by NEUROLOGISTS, not PSYCHIATRISTS. (Psychiatrists are, in fact, trained physicians but primarily direct treatment by administration of pharmaceuticals, rather than biologically based treatments). Anything less has the appearance of social and medical malpractice.

Psychiatry and the other "specialties" under that umbrella (psychology, therapy, etc.) are turning into a joke, a means to generate profits for Big Pharma, seemingly a more sinister means by which to medicate the citizenry into docile sheep, incapable of free thinking and generating sparks to give society the dynamic flow it needs in order to evolve.

Sick to Death of Those "Sick in the Head"

One of the things that irritates me the most, one that never fails to shock me and get me even more pissed off about the walking, talking piles of feces on this planet sucking up good oxygen the rest of us could put to better use, are dirt bags who commit a crime and, after being caught, have the famous "mental illness" claim to justify their actions in an attempt to escape punishment for what they have done. I am amazed this country can even function, considering the fact that so much of the population is "sick in the head" and, therefore, should not be held accountable for their actions.

There is a process to follow if you have committed a crime and do not want to be punished for it:

1. Immediately concoct a cover story blaming someone else, preferably a BHS (bushy haired stranger). If no BHS is available, blame the next readily available person (it does not matter, stranger or otherwise - your spouse will work in a pinch) then sue that person for irreparable harm to your character.
2. When the BHS cover is blown, immediately give a confession then change the story a minimum of 7 times to distort the facts. This will support your actions when you proceed to step 3.
3. When steps #1 and #2 fail or in any case you failed to implement them in a timely manner, immediately claim you suffer from mental illness and/or substance abuse, have been receiving treatment, and you DO NOT remember the incident. Most charges will be dismissed or lowered on completion of this step.
4. If steps #1 through #3 fail and you are convicted, sue agencies such as DHS or any others that may have been providing services to you because they did not provide you with appropriate or sufficient services. You may want to concurrently implement step #5 through #7.
5. Sue your physicians for not properly diagnosing and/or treating your mental illness and/or substance abuse.
6. Sue any companies that manufactured equipment/materials used in the commission of said crime because they were faulty (or you would not have been caught).
7. Have 18 family members ready to crow from the rooftops about your innocence even if you did commit said crime, because society failed you and you should not be punished for the failings of society. After all, you are entitled to your rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (while your victim has none).

Follow these simple steps and you will get away with committing any crime. Heck, if you are really good at it, you will reap benefits in addition to not being punished for committing the crime: You will not be held liable for any damages you caused, you will collect Social Security/Disability benefits because of your "mental illness," and someone might even throw money at you for your story, if it is juicy enough to draw TV or book ratings. There is even a bright side to being convicted: You will get 3 hots and a cot (at taxpayer expense), a book or movie deal to make money from your story, and a multitude of followers thinking you have done nothing wrong and rallying for your release, creating a legacy in which your name will be remembered for years to come.

All these people are doing is making a mockery of those who truly do suffer from mental illness, making their lives that much more miserable, making them appear as the butt of a really bad joke, and making treating them effectively nearly impossible.