birdog1960

hey pete, who did your nose job?

don't know why anyone listens to bill bennett. aren't casinos open on sunday? seriously, i liked bloomberg's analogy when it was pointed out that regulation wouldn't stop all incidents. he said that speed limits don't stop all accidents but nobody is seriously talking about removing them.

bloomberg was great on the subject on meet the press.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BodyfJ8M6Oc

i appreciate the support but yall may be sorry you've emboldened me (even more). hopefully, without get preachy, i'll mention another living inspirational figure. with news like this from connecticut, i find stories like these http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Father-Joe-Revolutions-Revelations/dp/0470258632/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=135 a comfort. i've met the author of this book and he credits this man with changing his life. ok, i'll shut up now....

it's about money just like universal health care is. more precisely, it's about allocation of resources. the laws are on the books to detain people deemed a risk to themselves or others they are being relatively infrequently used.. it's the funding that's not there. this has resulted in many worrisome cases being ignored, sometimes with terrible results. yet we pay billions for futile care at end of life because more powerful, influential people demand it. even if the will to adequately fund and prioritize mental heath resources was somehow summoned it would be many years before a truly effective system could be built.

i don't think anyone would argue against the fact that atrocities have been committed in the name of God or of a specific religion. but there have been many great things done by religions and their followers and continue to be. many examples are ordinary, everyday acts that the rank and file do daily throughout their lives. those lives are an important part of the moral fabric of many successful societies. a few at the powerful stations have poisoned the well with devastating results but that doesn't implicate the philosophical foundations of christianity or of any of the other major belief systems in the world. as far as i know, they all believe in the presence of evil and the people who are empowered are particularly susceptible to it. regarding your statement that religion enables absolutism, i would reply that this is a gross generalization and oversimplification. Some of the spiritual figures that i most admire (eg mother theresa) have questioned the very existence of God at times in their lives yet continued their good works. critical thinking is an important part of a great many peoples spirituality. it's taught successfully and continually at many fine religion based universities.

the opposite isn't required. it isn't black and white and that's part of the problem: we are largely a nation of absolutists. an earlier poster was ridiculed for his religiosity. divine or not, (and, yes, i'm a believer) jesus' doctrines would go a long way to making people treat each other better. so would the teachings of many of the other historic spiritual leaders. yes, people will try to fashion them for their own ends but overall it's a win for everyone. kindness isn't limited to a particular political philosophy or system. .

we need to look at what it is that produces people like this. i submit that it has much to do with our fiercely darwinian, materialistic, narcissistic, self absorbed society. if we care so little about others, it's only a couple of slippery steps down to hating them or even killing them. it's time to accept that our value system needs changing...it will take several generations but it's possible.

i vote for "constant sorrow". i'm thinking i need to watch that movie sunday while i wait for the bills game to tivo.

great thread and great responses. i think just about any prison song fits. here's one of my favorites: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Ts4M3irWM

up the creek without a paddle, without a lifeboat (lifevest), posh (port out starboard home), prevailing winds...

we always get dogs in pairs. gordons were our last pair and they were beautiful dogs (not so bright but gorgeous - isn't that always the way?) and then, of course it goes with my screen name or is it that the name goes back to the dogs?... and when i get i chance i like to bird hunt.

i'm really tired of nautical references: rough seas, everyone on board, smooth sailing, set a course... and some jerk just used some in the jim kelly thread...

there was a class war long before this. were just gonna see more of the working class fighting back.

believe me, it's not something i cherish. unfortunately, psychiatrists are so far down the medical food chain that only a rare few altruists consider it. we do it out of necessity.

wow, really?...x i linked to v and he said he had one on his desk.

wow! you got an advance copy?http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx. perhaps, you'll want to present a comment before it's released in may.

because anecdote is so much more powerful than actual data.... and i have just a bit of personal experience and anecdotal evidence as well.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dsm5-in-distress/201003/normal-grief-vs-depression-in-dsm5you might want to check dsm V. it deals directly with the diagnosis of depression in the presence of grief. i was thinking of linking to some left wing blog, citing some unknown md who has the facts wrong but this will have to do http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2925161/.

really? we know the guy killed two teenagers and waited all night to tell anyone. we know that he injured the burglars before killing them and in a sworn statement said he wanted one of them dead and the other he finished with a clean, kill shot through the chin into the cranium. we know he lives by himself in a relatively isolated spot and apparently had few contacts other than his brother. we know neighborhood animals have gone missing and he doesn't like dogs cuz they leave a mess. we know he had cctv set up in his house and recorded a break in and killings. we know he had an interest in firearms and was sitting in his basement on thanksgiving day armed to the teeth. and from all this knowledge, you find it a leap of faith to think it likely that this man has serious psychiatric pathology?

the vast majority of psychiatry in this country is done by primary care docs. You do a lot of psych on anesthetized patients, do you? sorta like hypnotism?

yes, you gotta know the tapes aren't likely to exonerate smith...he would have divulged their existence from the start. i'm guessing psychiatry isn't one of docs stronger areas.

some new details http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2246080/Byron-David-Smith-CCTV-footage-teen-cousins-breaking-Minnesota-home-Thanksgiving-shot-dead.html. cctv recordings will undoubtedly be important.