Where my mind is

[hummingwolf]

Last week my therapist suggested I think about the things that I'm angry about.

Yesterday my psychiatrist gave me free samples of the newest antidepressant doctors are being urged to prescribe to chronic pain patients, particularly those with fibromyalgia and diabetic neuropathy. In the study of fibromyalgia patients, out of those who completed the study, a statistically significant, but not very impressive, difference was found between treatment and placebo groups. Nearly forty percent of study participants dropped out before the study was over. This is our newest best hope.

According to the Drug Policy Alliance, "In early October, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 3015) to fund databases to track what prescription drugs Americans are taking. This information would then be shared among states, as well as with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies -- all without your knowledge or consent." This does not appear to be a major news story.

"One of the nation's leading medical groups, the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (AAPS), decried a move by the U.S. Senate to join with the House in funding a federal program AAPS says will lead to mandatory psychological testing of every child in America – without the consent of parents." This also does not appear to be a major news story.

The Supreme Court gets to weigh in on the medical marijuana debate.

In the past couple of days, daisydumont has linked to videos for Joseph Arthur's "All of Our Hands" and Bruce Cockburn's "If I Had a Rocket Launcher."

Today's syndicated feeds have brought me this, on judgment and repentance as well as this.

Two of the library books I am reading are Kimberly Winston, Faith Beyond Faith Healng, about people who had sought faith healing and not been healed; and Alex Heard, Apocalypse Pretty Soon: Travels in End-Time America.

If you can feel the connections between all these things, I suggest you get out of my brain.

Comments

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

not sure i can connect those dots, but i'm shocked (shocked, i tell you) that they'll be doing mandatory psych testing of our kids, without our knowing. no wait, they probably already have been doing that for a long time. are we screwed up, or what?

[hummingwolf.livejournal.com]

I don't know what's being done without people's consent now, but whatever it is, I wish it would stop. (I'm dreaming, I know.)

[darth-spacey.livejournal.com]

That marijuana link is wordy, but a very interesting read. Thanks. Of course, I'm a hard-line Libertarian extremist, who believes the entire FDA to be an illegal power-grab[*], so it did very little to sway me one way or the other, but it was enlightening to hear about the relevant case law, and the specifics of the argumentation.

[*]Along with the FCC, for that matter.

[hummingwolf.livejournal.com]

Glad you were interested, Darth! Slate has some good articles once in a while.

[hai-kah-uhk.livejournal.com]

Ooh. I perform faith healing on myself! It's pretty good, if your expectations aren't too high, and it's very long-term. (And it's better than surgery.) I'm not into the kind that supposedly only takes a moment. It's a big job and it requires more effort than just falling down in front of a religious leader for a minute or two.

So what does your book say?

[skygypsy.livejournal.com]

"it requires more effort than just falling down in front of a religious leader for a minute or two.
"

BWAAAA!!!
LMAO

[hummingwolf.livejournal.com]

Haven't gotten all that far into the book yet. The author seemed surprised that people who aren't obviously healed manage to keep their faith anyway.

[hai-kah-uhk.livejournal.com]

Oh. That's kind of disappointing. I hope it gets better further in.

[skygypsy.livejournal.com]

"If you can feel the connections between all these things, I suggest you get out of my brain"


*giggle*
/peers in

[hummingwolf.livejournal.com]

Hey, looking is okay. But jumping in and playing around with the wiring is verboten, you understand me?

[pnksaph.livejournal.com]

In the study of fibromyalgia patients,

Fibromyalgia was, for so long, not diagnosed, mis-diagnosed or dismissed as "all in your head". It's good that it's acknowledged and being studied.

I think performing any tests or medical procedures on children without the consent of the parents or guardians is wrong. It just frightens me.

[hummingwolf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, fibro is still often dismissed or ignored, though word is trickling out that there's something real going on here. Very frustrating to live with, though.

I think performing any tests or medical procedures on children without the consent of the parents or guardians is wrong

I'd have to agree with you here. The ways this program can be misused are pretty frightening.