DON'T EVEN *START* with the psychotropics/painkillers...Psychiatry's "surge" and simple things like diabetes
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kathleen
Jan 12, 2008, 3:58:37 PM1/12/08
to corrupticourts
DON'T *EVER* START with these drugs.
It's a diabolical sicko seductive culture in and of itself.
Watch the video:
http://www.actionlyme.org/Psychiatric_MumboJumbo.wmv
This is the big news of the weekend.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/01/12/ST2008011201184.html?hpid=topnews
At ALL COSTS, stay away from psychiatry and all drugs.
To: Spin...@yahoogroups.com, kshe...@calea.org, fit...@gmail.com,
patrick.f...@usdoj.gov, model...@sbcglobal.net,
jdr...@nejm.org, let...@courant.com, Jgerb...@cdc.gov,
len...@courant.com, michae...@po.state.ct.us,
con...@po.state.ct.us, executiv...@nytimes.com, managing-
edi...@nytimes.com, news...@nytimes.com, the-...@nytimes.com,
biz...@nytimes.com, for...@nytimes.com, me...@nytimes.com,
nati...@nytimes.com, dv...@cdc.gov, brigidc...@optonline.net,
tr...@hotmail.com, ubi...@courant.com, ma...@concentric.net,
camp...@courant.com, jhorn...@fff.org, thomas...@usdoj.gov,
thoma...@po.state.ct.us, kur...@washpost.com,
georg...@washpost.com, hor...@courant.com,
commissi...@po.state.ct.us, cohen...@aol.com,
FalN...@aol.com, brans...@comcast.net, vts...@comcast.net,
o...@po.state.ct.us, da...@davila-dilzer.com,
scott....@po.state.ct.us, govern...@po.state.ct.us,
attorney...@po.state.ct.us, randall...@usdoj.gov
Cc: fra...@ucia.gov, dr-ahma...@president.ir,
eugener...@washpost.com, hor...@courant.com,
bmi...@newstimes.com, tr...@hotmail.com, rast...@aol.com,
billc...@gmail.com, thomas...@usdoj.gov, amcg...@rms-law.com,
rjmu...@aol.com, paulcrai...@yahoo.com,
sidney_b...@yahoo.com, criminal...@usdoj.gov,
karla.d...@usdoj.gov, christophe...@usdoj.gov
Subject: [SpinLyme] Psychiatry's "surge" and simple things like
diabetes
Date: Jan 12, 2008 3:28 PM
About 30 years ago my crabass / hilarious otherwise bipolar brother
(Jekyl-Hyde
syndrome) was having a crabass mood. My "mother" told him to go eat
because
he was being crabby. Now this whole family knows about "crabby," very
well, since they're all violent, drunkards, and insane, i.e., add
extreme, unpredictable
violence against children to the background.
Now this crazy witch who invented for me that I beat her up and
"threatened
to slit my own throat" (proving how off-the-charts insane she is,
since no
one's ever heard of such a thing), knew the boy was having a mood
because his
blood sugar was low. Her sister died of diabetes and alcoholism (as
did her brother).
We *know* about diabetes.
My brother, Paul, needed to eat but he did not know it, because he is
also *stupid,*
like the entire rest of the family. Nevertheless, having seen enough
of Jekyl-Hydism
moods, spontaneous violence, diabetic comas, bloody-faced, drunken
fights where
the uncles are rolling down our front lawn, pounding the hell out of
each other,
and the like...
Here, below, we have a character who should *know* about crab-ass
moods and low-sugar.
*I* knew about the relationship as a kid, just *watching* this hellish
nightmare
of violence and insanity that was supposed to pass for a "good Irish
Catholic
family."
=================================================
http://www.teenscreentruth.com/teenscreen_key_players.html
The People Behind the TeenScreen Program
This page will provide background information on the various people
behind Columbia
University's TeenScreen program, whose goal is to screen every school-
age child
in the U.S. for mental health -- which means hundreds of thousands of
kids popping
antidepressants and related drugs daily.
For information on the creator of TeenScreen, TeenScreen's Directors,
and the
Chairman of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, see below.
Click here for TeenScreen's Advisory Board Members and their
connections to
pharmaceutical companies.
David Shaffer is a Professor of Child Psychiatry and Professor of
Psychiatry and
Pediatrics. He is the Director ofColumbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons,
Division of Child Psychiatry, at the New York State Psychiatric
Institute. His strong
ties to the pharmaceutical industry and major drug companies span
decades.
David Shaffer
Psychiatrist, Creator of TeenScreen
David Shaffer was the head and driving force behind the development of
the computerized
screening tool that TeenScreen employs, the "Diagnostic Interview
Schedule
for Children" (also known as DISC). Following this he helped to devise
a shorter
computerized version that is easier to use in schools, the "Diagnostic
Predictive
Scales" (DPS), and a paper and pencil version of the screening tool,
the "Columbia
Health Screen" (CHS). For more information on the development of the
screening
tools and how they are used to label children with normal childhood
reactions as
"mentally ill" and funnel them into the psychiatric / pharmaceutical
system,
click here.
Shaffer's Ties to the Pharmaceutical Industry
Shaffer has known connections to the pharmaceutical industry. He has
been a consultant
to Hoffman la Roche, Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. His resume
(see page 21
of this report) includes serving as an expert witness to several drug
companies
and as a paid consultant on psychotropic drugs.
Shaffer is the past president of The American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention
(AFSP) and currently on their board of directors. AFSP is an
organization with known
pharmaceutical ties. For example, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Inc., Solvay
Pharmaceuticals
Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, all have members on AFSP's board. Solvay
Pharmaceuticals
Inc. has provided at least $1,250,000 in the AFSP's effort to build up
a $5 million
research fund and Pfizer Inc. has contributed funding for surveys.
The following corporations have provided funding for different
conferences held
by Shaffer's AFSP:
* Forest Laboratories, Inc.
* GlaxoSmithKline
* Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc.
* Pfizer Inc.
* Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
* Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories
Shaffer is also on the Executive Board of the "Center for the
Advancement of Children's
Mental Health at Columbia University" (CACMH). This organization has
partnered with
the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) and has received
funding from the
following corporations:
* AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
* Bristol-Myers Squibb
* Celltech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
* Eli Lilly and Company
* Forest Labs
* Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc.
* Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
* McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals
* Pfizer, Inc.
Shaffer's Statements on TeenScreen
In an interview that Shaffer did in 2003 on TeenScreen, he states: "We
did
studies to look at the accuracy of the TeenScreen. [...] it does
identify a whole
bunch of kids who aren't really suicidal, so you get a lot of false-
positives. And
that means if you're running a large program at a school, you're going
to cripple
the program because you're going to have too many kids you have to do
something
about."
When Shaffer was asked how he addresses people who question the
dangers of prescribing
to the false-positives, he stated: "I think that standing by itself,
that criticism
is meaningless because we don't know what harm the antidepressants do,
if any, and
we don't know who they do harm to". He is either unaware of the
hundreds of
suicides and murders caused by children and adults on antidepressants,
or he is
telling a bald-faced PR lie.
In the same interview, Shaffer confirmed his stance on pro-drugging
when he was
asked: "Finally, what are your thoughts about non-pharmacological
approaches to
suicide prevention?" Shaffer says: "... psychotherapy is not terribly
effective
[...] So if there really is evidence that certain or all
antidepressants can cut
this cycle of depression, plus stress, plus this rapid response, then
that seems
to be where the big hope is." You'll note that he does not mention any
statistics
of suicide rates dropping due to people being on these drugs--nor does
he mention
that the FDA has determined that teens are more susceptible to
suicidal thoughts
while on antidepressants, and that these drugs have been shown in
hundreds of cases
to cause normal teens to commit suicide and murder out of the blue.
Also note that
Shaffer does not entertain any alternative solutions such as
nutritional methods--
and in many cases it has been discovered that depression has been due
to improper
nutrition and bad diet. For example, a lack of the B vitamins alone in
a person's
diet can reduce energy and cause mental lethargy, including
depression. Shaffer
seems to consider that only artificial drugs can combat suicides.
Whatever happened
to "Say No to Drugs"?
Shaffer Attempted to Block Negative British Findings
In December of 2003 British drug regulators recommended against the
use of antidepressants
in the treatment of depressed children under 18. They concluded that
"their benefits
[the drugs] did not outweigh their potential risks", risks that
included suicidal
thoughts and self-harm.
According to a December 11, 2003, New York Times article, Shaffer sent
a letter,
at Pfizer's request, to block the findings of the British drug agency,
saying
he had concluded that there was insufficient data to restrict the use
of the drugs
in adolescents. Naturally if these findings were to be widely known to
be true,
Pfizer, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth-Ayerst and other large
pharmaceutical
companies would stand to lose BILLIONS of dollars in revenue.
Flynn, well connected to pharmaceutical companies through NAMI, now
works diligently
through the media and her connections in Washington, DC, to expand
TeenScreen using
every possible avenue. One of the tactics, which was contrived by one
of TeenScreen's
PR firms, is to keep track of teen suicides all over the country and
then write
letters to the editors of those local newspapers to market TeenScreen
and take advantage
of vulnerable communities in mourning. Flynn has "authored" most of
those letters
and comes across as very professional and caring in these letters.
However, this
is how she really talks with fellow marketing allies.
In an e-mail from Flynn to Jim McDonough, Director of the Florida
Office of Drug
Control, obtained by Ken Kramer, Flynn wrote:
"I'm looking for a horse to ride in here! ... I need to get some kids
screened--if
the schools are a road block we are interested in community
organizations. Next
week we are talking with the Boys and Girls Club in Pinellas. ...I
also think we
should see if local agencies or businesses could be engaged in
'community screenings.'
Issue here is assuring the link to follow-up..."
--Laurie Flynn, from an email to Jim McDonough
Laurie Flynn
TeenScreen Director
On January 1, 2001, Laurie Flynn joined the Columbia University
Department of Psychiatry,
hired to serve as the Director of the Center for Child Mental Health
Policy, co-direct
its Carmel Hill Center and eventually to direct the TeenScreen
Program. Prior to
this, Flynn was the Executive Director of the National Alliance on
Mental Illness
(NAMI) for 16 years, but left in December of 2000 after a no-
confidence vote from
the board.
Well Funded by Pharmaceuitical Companies
The pharmaceutical industry has long funneled money to groups like
NAMI which become
conduits for spreading industry-friendly information and funding
marketing schemes.
NAMI, in particular, was well funded by the industry during Flynn's
tenure. According
to internal documents obtained by Mother Jones, 18 drug firms gave
NAMI a total
of $11.72 million between 1996 and mid-1999. These include Janssen
($2.08 million),
Novartis ($1.87 million), Pfizer ($1.3 million), Abbott Laboratories
($1.24 million),
Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals ($658,000), and Bristol-Myers Squibb
($613,505). Click
the links above to see actual letters and cancelled checks from the
drug companies
to NAMI with some of their contributions.
Remember, it's these pharmaceutical companies who are currently making
billions
in drug sales from the people who NAMI purports to support (and their
insurance
companies).
A Critic Speaks Out
Following a PR campaign devised by one of TeenScreen's PR firms, Flynn
monitors
areas of teen suicides, then authors letters to local newspapers to
take advantage
of the grief of the community, offering condolences and TeenScreen as
a solution.
Flynn's emails to her associates are a bit more crass (see the
sidebar).
Evelyn Pringle, investigative journalist and columnist for Independent
Media TV,
describes Flynn's conduct this way:
"In my book, trying to capitalize off the pain and guilt of parents
and communities
who have just suffered the loss of a child to suicide makes Flynn a
despicable human
being. I propose that local school boards tell her to take her
TeenScreen survey
and ride out of town on the same horse she rode in on."
Flynn Lies to a Senate Committee
Flynn has also perjured herself in front of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor
and Pensions Committee on Bill H.R. 3063, in a Capitol Hill Hearing on
March 2,
2004, when she testified: "In partnership with the University of South
Florida
we are piloting district wide mental health screening of 9th graders
in Hillsborough
and Pinellas counties."
The truth? There was no piloting of any TeenScreen program in either
of these school
districts. In fact, the day before Flynn's testimony, the Hillsborough
County
School District said they were not partnering with TeenScreen, did not
feel comfortable
with the information provided by TeenScreen and had serious concerns
about the program,
including liability and risk issues. In Pinellas County, TeenScreen is
prohibited
from doing their suicide survey because Board policy protects the
identity of students
when surveys are done. In addition, the Pinellas County School Board
Superintendent,
Dr. Clayton Wilcox, has serious reservations about partnering with
such an organization.
Leslie McGuire
TeenScreen Director
Leslie M. Mcguire began her career at Columbia in 1998 and is now one
of the Directors
of the Columbia University TeenScreen Program and Co-Deputy Director
of the Carmel
Hill Center for Early Diagnosis and Treatment, both housed in the
Department of
Child Psychiatry at Columbia University in New York.
McGuire is a seasoned presenter and speaks for TeenScreen at numerous
national conferences
annually. At these conferences, McGuire presents TeenScreen's
intentions clearly.
She states that TeenScreen has a big goal:
* "We -- our goal, we have a big one. We want every child in
America to get a
mental health checkup."
* "...we believe this is something that every child in America
deserves."
* "This is also something we believe should be an annual
requirement ..."
* "Our one group isn't going to be able to ensure that every child
in America
gets a mental health checkup so we're creating partnerships with
advocates,
state departments of mental health, with school districts, education
associations,
service agencies and other places so that they can help us create this
new initiative.
There are a number of organizations that have signed on and agree with
our goal
that every child in America should get a mental health checkup".
During McGuire's presentation at the national NAMI convention June
2005:
* "Getting the kids to buy in is such an essential thing because
for the
most part, you're distributing the consent forms to the kids to bring
home to
their parents and bring them back. So you have to get their buy in,
you have to
get them interested in it." When asked about "incentives", McGuire
replied: "Hollywood Video coupons, you get that regardless. Even if
the form
says no, you still get the reward."
One incentive for taking the test, some students admit, is a
chance to miss
class.
* "I've been talking a bit about this campaign of mis-information
that's
going on. And we do need your help, so what I'm going to do is I'm
going
to pass around a blank notebook here. And if anyone in this room would
be willing
to be contacted if umm there if, if there was a sort of a uprising
against screening
in your community we have lots of people throughout the country who,
ya' know,
there might already be screening going on in your community, we may
ask you to write
a letter to the editor in support of screening. We could possibly ask
you to go
to a school board meeting, umm, something like that. Obviously this
would be your
choice, but, we are starting to create really a response network and
an e-mail list
sorta' kinda thing, to keep people in the loop on this, ummm, so I'll
pass
it around and if you're interested please sign up."
In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Michael F. Hogan to chair
his New Freedom
Commission on Mental Health (NFC). Hogan is also the Director of the
Ohio Department
of Mental Health and a strong supporter of drugging of teens and
children with psychiatric
medications.
Michael F. Hogan, PhD
Chairman of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health,
Director of Ohio Department of Mental Health, TeenScreen Advisory
Board Member
Hogan's close ties to TeenScreen and various pharmaceutical companies
Michael Hogan is a member of TeenScreen's Advisory Council and a
member-at-large
of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
(NASMHPD).
He is the past president of both NASMHPD and the NASMHPD Research
Institute (NRI),
and is currently on the NRI Board of Directors. Both entities are
heavily supported
by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly through "educational grants".
Hogan is also an Advisory Board member of Janssen Pharmaceutica's,
"Mental Health
Issues Today" (MHIT). This journal is published by Parexel Medical
Marketing, which
receives funds from the drug companies to run "advisory panels" on
their
behalf. Janssen contracts with Parexel International Corporation to
produce MHIT.
Janssen funds the project, but Parexel writes the checks.
With Hogan at the helm in Ohio, it is no wonder that TeenScreen has
more locations
than any other state in the nation with 68 sites, more than double of
any other
state. The Ohio state budget proposal for fiscal years 2006 and 2007
includes a
total of $140,000 for TeenScreen, $70,000 for each of those years.
(page 61)
Universal Mental Health Screening for Everyone
What is Hogan's personal stance on mental health screening? He would
have preferred
universal mental health screenings for the population, but he has
stated that "science
and public opinion" have not advanced to the point where universal
mental health
screening is acceptable. Hogan has expressed his frustration that
implementations
of the NFC recommendations have not proceeded faster. He "conceded
that 'we
in the field' would have an easier time convincing the public of the
need for
at least broader, if not universal, screening if the CMHS (Center for
Mental Health
Services) had published the NFC Action Plan that has been delayed."
CMHS is
the federal agency within the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration
(SAMHSA) that is charged with the efforts to implement the
recommendations of the
NFC.
The following indicates what has happened in Ohio under Hogan's watch
and what might
happen in other states if Hogan, Laurie Flynn, NAMI and the drug
companies achieve
their aims.
Drugging Babies in Ohio--$65.5 million for kids' mental health drugs
In a Columbus Dispatch article dated April 25, 2005, the headlines
read, "EVEN BABIES
GETTING TREATED AS MENTALLY ILL; Prescriptions on the rise even though
they haven't
been tested on children".
The Dispatch reported, "Nearly 40,000 Ohio children on Medicaid were
taking drugs
for anxiety, depression, delusions, hyperactivity and violent behavior
as of July
[2004]. For the entire year, the Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services paid
out about $65.5 million for kids' mental-health drugs." They also
reported that
696 Ohio children, ages newborn to 3 years old, received sedatives and
powerful,
mood-altering, mental-health drugs through Medicaid in July of 2004.
Valid research shows that ages 0-3 are the most critical years for the
development
of children. Combine that data with the recent FDA black box warnings
on these drugs
that list the physical side effects ranging from headaches, nausea and
weight gain
to heart attacks, liver damage, suicidal ideations and sudden death.
Hogan's views on all this?
"The biggest public-health crisis facing the state and nation is the
number
of children with mental illness who fail to receive any care or
treatment,"
said Michael Hogan, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health.
"It's
true children are more likely to get medication than counseling or
other behavioral
therapy if they go to their pediatrician or family doctor. But at the
end of the
day, meds are quite safe and effective."
--Columbus Dispatch, April 25, 2005
Mr. Hogan doesn't seem to have been following the newspapers and major
news
stories for the last 10 years or so. It's been repeatedly discovered
that every
one of the school shooters and hundreds of murders and suicides have
been the result
of children and adults taking these same antidepressant "medications"
that are manufactured by his pharmaceutical connections.
In 2003, Medicaid in Ohio paid out over 39% of their pharmacy budget
for psychotropic
drugs (see page 119 of this report). Medicaid spending in Ohio
currently accounts
for 37 percent of the state's $49-billion budget. Ohio spent $2
billion last
year alone on prescription drugs -- a 94-percent increase since 2001.
In 2002, psychotropic
drugs were 23 percent of their Medicaid pharmacy budget.
In the U.S., Medicaid is the primary funding source for mental health
services with
public funds currently accounting for 63% of all national mental
health spending.
The October 23, 2005 San Francisco Chronicle reported that,
"Nationwide, Medicaid
programs purchase an estimated 60 to 75 percent of antipsychotic
drugs."
The cost to Medicaid of reimbursement for prescription drugs has grown
faster than
any other area of the program. More specifically, according to a
report issued by
the United States Surgeon General, expenditures for psychiatric drugs
are among
the fastest-rising costs, currently representing an estimated 20
percent of Medicaid's
total payment for pharmaceuticals. Typically, the costs for
psychiatric drugs out-strip
the costs for heart, asthma, antibiotics and blood pressure
medications combined.
According to the National Pharmaceutical Council, Ohio has been rated
one of the
top 10 states in terms of the highest amount of Medicaid reimbursement
for prescription
drugs. Those 10 states alone, account for 58 percent of the total
Medicaid drug
payment amount ($7.9 billion out of $13.7 billion), with two
antipsychotics, Zyprexa
and Risperdal, representing almost 20 percent of all of the
prescriptions. The Drug
Enforcement Administration's (DEA) website indicates that over the
past few
years there is a large advancement of psychostimulant drug use in
children in the
state of Ohio. They now rank #2 per capita (only behind New Hampshire)
in methylphenidate
(Ritalin) purchases, per the DEA.
"Medicaid eventually will bankrupt every state in the nation"
The Washington Post, on June 16, 2005, reported a statement by House
Energy and
Commerce Committee Chair Joe Barton (R-Texas) about the current
conditions of Medicaid
throughout the nation. He said, "We have reached a point where there
just are not
enough taxes or taxpayer money to keep Medicaid going," adding,
"Medicaid eventually
will bankrupt every state in the nation."
With the rising Medicaid expenses to state budgets, states are
scrambling to rein
in costs and meet budgetary constraints. Ohio Representative,
Catherine Barrett,
expressed concerns for these issues and states: "Ohio's Medicaid
spending on
drugs for mental health, needs a Task Force and an Oversight
Commission to investigate
the spike in Medicaid spending on antipsychotic drugs."
An expensive lesson in Ohio: Hogan admits OMAP a failure
In 1999, under Hogan's direction, Ohio's version of the costly Texas
Medication
Algorithm Program (TMAP) was implemented in the state (OMAP), which
was put into
place in conjunction with Janssen Pharmaceutica, Eli Lilly, and
AstraZeneca. The
Ohio Department of Mental Health and Ohio-NAMI, were two of the
primary movers of
this program.
In an interview with WIMA-AM Radio in November 2005, Hogan had this to
say on OMAP
in Ohio: "...frankly it didn't work very well for us and we've
discontinued it.....Increasingly
it's clear that the scientists don't have pretty good information to
give the doctors
about which works best......So we thought, and frankly I thought at one
point in time
that this kind of algorithm where you'd give the docs [doctors], "try
this first,
try this second", would be a good idea but it just hasn't worked that
well." That
must have been a pretty expensive lesson in Ohio.
Next: TeenScreen Exposed
It's a diabolical sicko seductive culture in and of itself.
Watch the video:
http://www.actionlyme.org/Psychiatric_MumboJumbo.wmv
This is the big news of the weekend.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/01/12/ST2008011201184.html?hpid=topnews
At ALL COSTS, stay away from psychiatry and all drugs.
To: Spin...@yahoogroups.com, kshe...@calea.org, fit...@gmail.com,
patrick.f...@usdoj.gov, model...@sbcglobal.net,
jdr...@nejm.org, let...@courant.com, Jgerb...@cdc.gov,
len...@courant.com, michae...@po.state.ct.us,
con...@po.state.ct.us, executiv...@nytimes.com, managing-
edi...@nytimes.com, news...@nytimes.com, the-...@nytimes.com,
biz...@nytimes.com, for...@nytimes.com, me...@nytimes.com,
nati...@nytimes.com, dv...@cdc.gov, brigidc...@optonline.net,
tr...@hotmail.com, ubi...@courant.com, ma...@concentric.net,
camp...@courant.com, jhorn...@fff.org, thomas...@usdoj.gov,
thoma...@po.state.ct.us, kur...@washpost.com,
georg...@washpost.com, hor...@courant.com,
commissi...@po.state.ct.us, cohen...@aol.com,
FalN...@aol.com, brans...@comcast.net, vts...@comcast.net,
o...@po.state.ct.us, da...@davila-dilzer.com,
scott....@po.state.ct.us, govern...@po.state.ct.us,
attorney...@po.state.ct.us, randall...@usdoj.gov
Cc: fra...@ucia.gov, dr-ahma...@president.ir,
eugener...@washpost.com, hor...@courant.com,
bmi...@newstimes.com, tr...@hotmail.com, rast...@aol.com,
billc...@gmail.com, thomas...@usdoj.gov, amcg...@rms-law.com,
rjmu...@aol.com, paulcrai...@yahoo.com,
sidney_b...@yahoo.com, criminal...@usdoj.gov,
karla.d...@usdoj.gov, christophe...@usdoj.gov
Subject: [SpinLyme] Psychiatry's "surge" and simple things like
diabetes
Date: Jan 12, 2008 3:28 PM
About 30 years ago my crabass / hilarious otherwise bipolar brother
(Jekyl-Hyde
syndrome) was having a crabass mood. My "mother" told him to go eat
because
he was being crabby. Now this whole family knows about "crabby," very
well, since they're all violent, drunkards, and insane, i.e., add
extreme, unpredictable
violence against children to the background.
Now this crazy witch who invented for me that I beat her up and
"threatened
to slit my own throat" (proving how off-the-charts insane she is,
since no
one's ever heard of such a thing), knew the boy was having a mood
because his
blood sugar was low. Her sister died of diabetes and alcoholism (as
did her brother).
We *know* about diabetes.
My brother, Paul, needed to eat but he did not know it, because he is
also *stupid,*
like the entire rest of the family. Nevertheless, having seen enough
of Jekyl-Hydism
moods, spontaneous violence, diabetic comas, bloody-faced, drunken
fights where
the uncles are rolling down our front lawn, pounding the hell out of
each other,
and the like...
Here, below, we have a character who should *know* about crab-ass
moods and low-sugar.
*I* knew about the relationship as a kid, just *watching* this hellish
nightmare
of violence and insanity that was supposed to pass for a "good Irish
Catholic
family."
=================================================
http://www.teenscreentruth.com/teenscreen_key_players.html
The People Behind the TeenScreen Program
This page will provide background information on the various people
behind Columbia
University's TeenScreen program, whose goal is to screen every school-
age child
in the U.S. for mental health -- which means hundreds of thousands of
kids popping
antidepressants and related drugs daily.
For information on the creator of TeenScreen, TeenScreen's Directors,
and the
Chairman of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, see below.
Click here for TeenScreen's Advisory Board Members and their
connections to
pharmaceutical companies.
David Shaffer is a Professor of Child Psychiatry and Professor of
Psychiatry and
Pediatrics. He is the Director ofColumbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons,
Division of Child Psychiatry, at the New York State Psychiatric
Institute. His strong
ties to the pharmaceutical industry and major drug companies span
decades.
David Shaffer
Psychiatrist, Creator of TeenScreen
David Shaffer was the head and driving force behind the development of
the computerized
screening tool that TeenScreen employs, the "Diagnostic Interview
Schedule
for Children" (also known as DISC). Following this he helped to devise
a shorter
computerized version that is easier to use in schools, the "Diagnostic
Predictive
Scales" (DPS), and a paper and pencil version of the screening tool,
the "Columbia
Health Screen" (CHS). For more information on the development of the
screening
tools and how they are used to label children with normal childhood
reactions as
"mentally ill" and funnel them into the psychiatric / pharmaceutical
system,
click here.
Shaffer's Ties to the Pharmaceutical Industry
Shaffer has known connections to the pharmaceutical industry. He has
been a consultant
to Hoffman la Roche, Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. His resume
(see page 21
of this report) includes serving as an expert witness to several drug
companies
and as a paid consultant on psychotropic drugs.
Shaffer is the past president of The American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention
(AFSP) and currently on their board of directors. AFSP is an
organization with known
pharmaceutical ties. For example, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Inc., Solvay
Pharmaceuticals
Inc. and Johnson & Johnson, all have members on AFSP's board. Solvay
Pharmaceuticals
Inc. has provided at least $1,250,000 in the AFSP's effort to build up
a $5 million
research fund and Pfizer Inc. has contributed funding for surveys.
The following corporations have provided funding for different
conferences held
by Shaffer's AFSP:
* Forest Laboratories, Inc.
* GlaxoSmithKline
* Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc.
* Pfizer Inc.
* Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
* Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories
Shaffer is also on the Executive Board of the "Center for the
Advancement of Children's
Mental Health at Columbia University" (CACMH). This organization has
partnered with
the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) and has received
funding from the
following corporations:
* AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP
* Bristol-Myers Squibb
* Celltech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
* Eli Lilly and Company
* Forest Labs
* Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc.
* Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
* McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals
* Pfizer, Inc.
Shaffer's Statements on TeenScreen
In an interview that Shaffer did in 2003 on TeenScreen, he states: "We
did
studies to look at the accuracy of the TeenScreen. [...] it does
identify a whole
bunch of kids who aren't really suicidal, so you get a lot of false-
positives. And
that means if you're running a large program at a school, you're going
to cripple
the program because you're going to have too many kids you have to do
something
about."
When Shaffer was asked how he addresses people who question the
dangers of prescribing
to the false-positives, he stated: "I think that standing by itself,
that criticism
is meaningless because we don't know what harm the antidepressants do,
if any, and
we don't know who they do harm to". He is either unaware of the
hundreds of
suicides and murders caused by children and adults on antidepressants,
or he is
telling a bald-faced PR lie.
In the same interview, Shaffer confirmed his stance on pro-drugging
when he was
asked: "Finally, what are your thoughts about non-pharmacological
approaches to
suicide prevention?" Shaffer says: "... psychotherapy is not terribly
effective
[...] So if there really is evidence that certain or all
antidepressants can cut
this cycle of depression, plus stress, plus this rapid response, then
that seems
to be where the big hope is." You'll note that he does not mention any
statistics
of suicide rates dropping due to people being on these drugs--nor does
he mention
that the FDA has determined that teens are more susceptible to
suicidal thoughts
while on antidepressants, and that these drugs have been shown in
hundreds of cases
to cause normal teens to commit suicide and murder out of the blue.
Also note that
Shaffer does not entertain any alternative solutions such as
nutritional methods--
and in many cases it has been discovered that depression has been due
to improper
nutrition and bad diet. For example, a lack of the B vitamins alone in
a person's
diet can reduce energy and cause mental lethargy, including
depression. Shaffer
seems to consider that only artificial drugs can combat suicides.
Whatever happened
to "Say No to Drugs"?
Shaffer Attempted to Block Negative British Findings
In December of 2003 British drug regulators recommended against the
use of antidepressants
in the treatment of depressed children under 18. They concluded that
"their benefits
[the drugs] did not outweigh their potential risks", risks that
included suicidal
thoughts and self-harm.
According to a December 11, 2003, New York Times article, Shaffer sent
a letter,
at Pfizer's request, to block the findings of the British drug agency,
saying
he had concluded that there was insufficient data to restrict the use
of the drugs
in adolescents. Naturally if these findings were to be widely known to
be true,
Pfizer, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth-Ayerst and other large
pharmaceutical
companies would stand to lose BILLIONS of dollars in revenue.
Flynn, well connected to pharmaceutical companies through NAMI, now
works diligently
through the media and her connections in Washington, DC, to expand
TeenScreen using
every possible avenue. One of the tactics, which was contrived by one
of TeenScreen's
PR firms, is to keep track of teen suicides all over the country and
then write
letters to the editors of those local newspapers to market TeenScreen
and take advantage
of vulnerable communities in mourning. Flynn has "authored" most of
those letters
and comes across as very professional and caring in these letters.
However, this
is how she really talks with fellow marketing allies.
In an e-mail from Flynn to Jim McDonough, Director of the Florida
Office of Drug
Control, obtained by Ken Kramer, Flynn wrote:
"I'm looking for a horse to ride in here! ... I need to get some kids
screened--if
the schools are a road block we are interested in community
organizations. Next
week we are talking with the Boys and Girls Club in Pinellas. ...I
also think we
should see if local agencies or businesses could be engaged in
'community screenings.'
Issue here is assuring the link to follow-up..."
--Laurie Flynn, from an email to Jim McDonough
Laurie Flynn
TeenScreen Director
On January 1, 2001, Laurie Flynn joined the Columbia University
Department of Psychiatry,
hired to serve as the Director of the Center for Child Mental Health
Policy, co-direct
its Carmel Hill Center and eventually to direct the TeenScreen
Program. Prior to
this, Flynn was the Executive Director of the National Alliance on
Mental Illness
(NAMI) for 16 years, but left in December of 2000 after a no-
confidence vote from
the board.
Well Funded by Pharmaceuitical Companies
The pharmaceutical industry has long funneled money to groups like
NAMI which become
conduits for spreading industry-friendly information and funding
marketing schemes.
NAMI, in particular, was well funded by the industry during Flynn's
tenure. According
to internal documents obtained by Mother Jones, 18 drug firms gave
NAMI a total
of $11.72 million between 1996 and mid-1999. These include Janssen
($2.08 million),
Novartis ($1.87 million), Pfizer ($1.3 million), Abbott Laboratories
($1.24 million),
Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals ($658,000), and Bristol-Myers Squibb
($613,505). Click
the links above to see actual letters and cancelled checks from the
drug companies
to NAMI with some of their contributions.
Remember, it's these pharmaceutical companies who are currently making
billions
in drug sales from the people who NAMI purports to support (and their
insurance
companies).
A Critic Speaks Out
Following a PR campaign devised by one of TeenScreen's PR firms, Flynn
monitors
areas of teen suicides, then authors letters to local newspapers to
take advantage
of the grief of the community, offering condolences and TeenScreen as
a solution.
Flynn's emails to her associates are a bit more crass (see the
sidebar).
Evelyn Pringle, investigative journalist and columnist for Independent
Media TV,
describes Flynn's conduct this way:
"In my book, trying to capitalize off the pain and guilt of parents
and communities
who have just suffered the loss of a child to suicide makes Flynn a
despicable human
being. I propose that local school boards tell her to take her
TeenScreen survey
and ride out of town on the same horse she rode in on."
Flynn Lies to a Senate Committee
Flynn has also perjured herself in front of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor
and Pensions Committee on Bill H.R. 3063, in a Capitol Hill Hearing on
March 2,
2004, when she testified: "In partnership with the University of South
Florida
we are piloting district wide mental health screening of 9th graders
in Hillsborough
and Pinellas counties."
The truth? There was no piloting of any TeenScreen program in either
of these school
districts. In fact, the day before Flynn's testimony, the Hillsborough
County
School District said they were not partnering with TeenScreen, did not
feel comfortable
with the information provided by TeenScreen and had serious concerns
about the program,
including liability and risk issues. In Pinellas County, TeenScreen is
prohibited
from doing their suicide survey because Board policy protects the
identity of students
when surveys are done. In addition, the Pinellas County School Board
Superintendent,
Dr. Clayton Wilcox, has serious reservations about partnering with
such an organization.
Leslie McGuire
TeenScreen Director
Leslie M. Mcguire began her career at Columbia in 1998 and is now one
of the Directors
of the Columbia University TeenScreen Program and Co-Deputy Director
of the Carmel
Hill Center for Early Diagnosis and Treatment, both housed in the
Department of
Child Psychiatry at Columbia University in New York.
McGuire is a seasoned presenter and speaks for TeenScreen at numerous
national conferences
annually. At these conferences, McGuire presents TeenScreen's
intentions clearly.
She states that TeenScreen has a big goal:
* "We -- our goal, we have a big one. We want every child in
America to get a
mental health checkup."
* "...we believe this is something that every child in America
deserves."
* "This is also something we believe should be an annual
requirement ..."
* "Our one group isn't going to be able to ensure that every child
in America
gets a mental health checkup so we're creating partnerships with
advocates,
state departments of mental health, with school districts, education
associations,
service agencies and other places so that they can help us create this
new initiative.
There are a number of organizations that have signed on and agree with
our goal
that every child in America should get a mental health checkup".
During McGuire's presentation at the national NAMI convention June
2005:
* "Getting the kids to buy in is such an essential thing because
for the
most part, you're distributing the consent forms to the kids to bring
home to
their parents and bring them back. So you have to get their buy in,
you have to
get them interested in it." When asked about "incentives", McGuire
replied: "Hollywood Video coupons, you get that regardless. Even if
the form
says no, you still get the reward."
One incentive for taking the test, some students admit, is a
chance to miss
class.
* "I've been talking a bit about this campaign of mis-information
that's
going on. And we do need your help, so what I'm going to do is I'm
going
to pass around a blank notebook here. And if anyone in this room would
be willing
to be contacted if umm there if, if there was a sort of a uprising
against screening
in your community we have lots of people throughout the country who,
ya' know,
there might already be screening going on in your community, we may
ask you to write
a letter to the editor in support of screening. We could possibly ask
you to go
to a school board meeting, umm, something like that. Obviously this
would be your
choice, but, we are starting to create really a response network and
an e-mail list
sorta' kinda thing, to keep people in the loop on this, ummm, so I'll
pass
it around and if you're interested please sign up."
In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed Michael F. Hogan to chair
his New Freedom
Commission on Mental Health (NFC). Hogan is also the Director of the
Ohio Department
of Mental Health and a strong supporter of drugging of teens and
children with psychiatric
medications.
Michael F. Hogan, PhD
Chairman of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health,
Director of Ohio Department of Mental Health, TeenScreen Advisory
Board Member
Hogan's close ties to TeenScreen and various pharmaceutical companies
Michael Hogan is a member of TeenScreen's Advisory Council and a
member-at-large
of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
(NASMHPD).
He is the past president of both NASMHPD and the NASMHPD Research
Institute (NRI),
and is currently on the NRI Board of Directors. Both entities are
heavily supported
by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly through "educational grants".
Hogan is also an Advisory Board member of Janssen Pharmaceutica's,
"Mental Health
Issues Today" (MHIT). This journal is published by Parexel Medical
Marketing, which
receives funds from the drug companies to run "advisory panels" on
their
behalf. Janssen contracts with Parexel International Corporation to
produce MHIT.
Janssen funds the project, but Parexel writes the checks.
With Hogan at the helm in Ohio, it is no wonder that TeenScreen has
more locations
than any other state in the nation with 68 sites, more than double of
any other
state. The Ohio state budget proposal for fiscal years 2006 and 2007
includes a
total of $140,000 for TeenScreen, $70,000 for each of those years.
(page 61)
Universal Mental Health Screening for Everyone
What is Hogan's personal stance on mental health screening? He would
have preferred
universal mental health screenings for the population, but he has
stated that "science
and public opinion" have not advanced to the point where universal
mental health
screening is acceptable. Hogan has expressed his frustration that
implementations
of the NFC recommendations have not proceeded faster. He "conceded
that 'we
in the field' would have an easier time convincing the public of the
need for
at least broader, if not universal, screening if the CMHS (Center for
Mental Health
Services) had published the NFC Action Plan that has been delayed."
CMHS is
the federal agency within the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration
(SAMHSA) that is charged with the efforts to implement the
recommendations of the
NFC.
The following indicates what has happened in Ohio under Hogan's watch
and what might
happen in other states if Hogan, Laurie Flynn, NAMI and the drug
companies achieve
their aims.
Drugging Babies in Ohio--$65.5 million for kids' mental health drugs
In a Columbus Dispatch article dated April 25, 2005, the headlines
read, "EVEN BABIES
GETTING TREATED AS MENTALLY ILL; Prescriptions on the rise even though
they haven't
been tested on children".
The Dispatch reported, "Nearly 40,000 Ohio children on Medicaid were
taking drugs
for anxiety, depression, delusions, hyperactivity and violent behavior
as of July
[2004]. For the entire year, the Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services paid
out about $65.5 million for kids' mental-health drugs." They also
reported that
696 Ohio children, ages newborn to 3 years old, received sedatives and
powerful,
mood-altering, mental-health drugs through Medicaid in July of 2004.
Valid research shows that ages 0-3 are the most critical years for the
development
of children. Combine that data with the recent FDA black box warnings
on these drugs
that list the physical side effects ranging from headaches, nausea and
weight gain
to heart attacks, liver damage, suicidal ideations and sudden death.
Hogan's views on all this?
"The biggest public-health crisis facing the state and nation is the
number
of children with mental illness who fail to receive any care or
treatment,"
said Michael Hogan, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health.
"It's
true children are more likely to get medication than counseling or
other behavioral
therapy if they go to their pediatrician or family doctor. But at the
end of the
day, meds are quite safe and effective."
--Columbus Dispatch, April 25, 2005
Mr. Hogan doesn't seem to have been following the newspapers and major
news
stories for the last 10 years or so. It's been repeatedly discovered
that every
one of the school shooters and hundreds of murders and suicides have
been the result
of children and adults taking these same antidepressant "medications"
that are manufactured by his pharmaceutical connections.
In 2003, Medicaid in Ohio paid out over 39% of their pharmacy budget
for psychotropic
drugs (see page 119 of this report). Medicaid spending in Ohio
currently accounts
for 37 percent of the state's $49-billion budget. Ohio spent $2
billion last
year alone on prescription drugs -- a 94-percent increase since 2001.
In 2002, psychotropic
drugs were 23 percent of their Medicaid pharmacy budget.
In the U.S., Medicaid is the primary funding source for mental health
services with
public funds currently accounting for 63% of all national mental
health spending.
The October 23, 2005 San Francisco Chronicle reported that,
"Nationwide, Medicaid
programs purchase an estimated 60 to 75 percent of antipsychotic
drugs."
The cost to Medicaid of reimbursement for prescription drugs has grown
faster than
any other area of the program. More specifically, according to a
report issued by
the United States Surgeon General, expenditures for psychiatric drugs
are among
the fastest-rising costs, currently representing an estimated 20
percent of Medicaid's
total payment for pharmaceuticals. Typically, the costs for
psychiatric drugs out-strip
the costs for heart, asthma, antibiotics and blood pressure
medications combined.
According to the National Pharmaceutical Council, Ohio has been rated
one of the
top 10 states in terms of the highest amount of Medicaid reimbursement
for prescription
drugs. Those 10 states alone, account for 58 percent of the total
Medicaid drug
payment amount ($7.9 billion out of $13.7 billion), with two
antipsychotics, Zyprexa
and Risperdal, representing almost 20 percent of all of the
prescriptions. The Drug
Enforcement Administration's (DEA) website indicates that over the
past few
years there is a large advancement of psychostimulant drug use in
children in the
state of Ohio. They now rank #2 per capita (only behind New Hampshire)
in methylphenidate
(Ritalin) purchases, per the DEA.
"Medicaid eventually will bankrupt every state in the nation"
The Washington Post, on June 16, 2005, reported a statement by House
Energy and
Commerce Committee Chair Joe Barton (R-Texas) about the current
conditions of Medicaid
throughout the nation. He said, "We have reached a point where there
just are not
enough taxes or taxpayer money to keep Medicaid going," adding,
"Medicaid eventually
will bankrupt every state in the nation."
With the rising Medicaid expenses to state budgets, states are
scrambling to rein
in costs and meet budgetary constraints. Ohio Representative,
Catherine Barrett,
expressed concerns for these issues and states: "Ohio's Medicaid
spending on
drugs for mental health, needs a Task Force and an Oversight
Commission to investigate
the spike in Medicaid spending on antipsychotic drugs."
An expensive lesson in Ohio: Hogan admits OMAP a failure
In 1999, under Hogan's direction, Ohio's version of the costly Texas
Medication
Algorithm Program (TMAP) was implemented in the state (OMAP), which
was put into
place in conjunction with Janssen Pharmaceutica, Eli Lilly, and
AstraZeneca. The
Ohio Department of Mental Health and Ohio-NAMI, were two of the
primary movers of
this program.
In an interview with WIMA-AM Radio in November 2005, Hogan had this to
say on OMAP
in Ohio: "...frankly it didn't work very well for us and we've
discontinued it.....Increasingly
it's clear that the scientists don't have pretty good information to
give the doctors
about which works best......So we thought, and frankly I thought at one
point in time
that this kind of algorithm where you'd give the docs [doctors], "try
this first,
try this second", would be a good idea but it just hasn't worked that
well." That
must have been a pretty expensive lesson in Ohio.
Next: TeenScreen Exposed
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