Bill to Screen, Medicate Kids May Hit Senate This Week

The New Standard ^ | 11/15/04 | Christopher Getzan

[VIDADDICT]

Nov 15 - Funding for a controversial Bush administration plan to submit the nation's school children to mental health testing and drug treatment may end up reaching the Senate floor this week, as GOP congressional leaders look to clear the legislative slate in order to set the table for George W. Bush's second term.

The plan, called the New Freedom Initiative (NFI), is the keystone of a package of initiatives by the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, a group of doctors and mental health care professionals established by the Bush Administration in 2002.

[VIDADDICT]

Call to action. Senate to vote on funding for this hair brained sceme this week. See other links below as well. http://capwiz.com/liberty/issues/alert/?alertid=6664601&type=CO

http://www.drlaura.com/action/index.html?mode=view&tile=1&id=8317

This is the first time I've posted a new thread, I hope I din't screw something up.. Thanks Freepers

[c-b 1]

Looks good to me, thanks for the info.

[kingu]

Gee, my senators will be voting against this, or so the office hacks claimed. Then again, I live in California, which means I've got big D's... The local schools have already tried these programs; they don't work for most schools. Might work in the inner cities, until some court decides it's racist. More fodder to push up the national debt.

Mr. President: JUST SAY NO!

[DoughtyOne]

You know, I'm about to the place where I think our elected offials are the ones who need to be screened. If they show any inclination to support bills like this, medicate the f'n hell out of them. Do it for four years if that's what it takes. Good Lord, the lunatics are running the asylum.

[nunya bidness]

Good Lord, the lunatics are running the asylum.

Nothing a little soma won't cure.

[Brad's Gramma]

Dr. Laura's been talking about (AGAINST!) this for a couple of days now.

Thanks for the thread!

[ETERNAL WARMING]

"I'm about to the place where I think our elected offials are the ones who need to be screened."

And start with this administration...it's their brainchild.

[DoughtyOne]

I don't know anymore. I'm fairly well convinced there isn't a cure.

[nunya bidness]

I don't know anymore. I'm fairly well convinced there isn't a cure.

Sure there is. And you get the added choice of a blue or red pill.

[DoughtyOne]

Imagine every six to nine year old child in the nation being queried as to their mental health. The kid, having a bad day says a few not so proper things, and voyola, he's medicated. His parents may or may not be told. If they are and they object, they will be public enemy number one.

Someone has fed someone a pile of 'sh-t' two miles high, and they not only ate it, they're recommending it to everyone.

This is just assinine to the max.

[ETERNAL WARMING]

"It doesn't have the Orwellian goal of drugging the populace for a political purpose; it's the Orwellian goal of drugging the populace for an economic purpose." --

Yes..more of Bush's payoffs to the Drug Cartel in American politics curtesy of taxpayer pockets, just like that supposed "benefit" to Senior citizens that costs them more than the expensive drugs they were paying for.

[ETERNAL WARMING]

The kid, having a bad day says a few not so proper things, and voyola, he's medicated.

I'm concerned about the Leftist maniacs doing the testing. Teachers today, with rare exception are certifiable. Thank God I no longer have school age children.

Parents...you need to make the sacrifice and homeschool your children, even if it means living in a trailer to do it.

[DoughtyOne]

Yeah, but are they going to carry my body off on some beastly looking thing while the oracale waxes rhapsodic about the nature of bliss? Heh heh heh...

Perhaps the best way to win the game is not to play.

[DoughtyOne]

As well you should be. IMO, home schooling is the ONLY way to go. If I had young children again, there isn't one chance out of 7 billion, I'd let them participate in public schooling.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

I just emailed my senator. I can't believe they thought this was a good idea ... amongst other issues, the kid gets a label of "mentally unfit" which will follow him/her for the rest of his/her life -- making it hard to get insurance, get into some lines of work, etc. Good grief. Just a stupid idea all around.

[HiTech RedNeck]

"New FREEDOM Initiative"? Someone please tell me this was from the Onion.

[RedQuill]

Now I'm suspiscious of gov't powergrabs even when "my guys" are in the majority (like now). But I'd like to get some more info on this bill from a source other than a university "journalist in Boulder writing for a civil liberty fishwrapper before I dig a fallout shelter to defend myself from Pfizer. That said, I wouldn't feel comfortable sending a child into most public schools.

[garandgal]

This is just assinine to the max.

Having participated in a rather lengthy thread about this very issue months ago, I can tell you that the "usual suspects" will be along shortly to defend it.

It's horrifying; and if it was such a fantastic idea, why wasn't it featured in the campaign??

I think we all know that answer to that. I tend to be the type of person to look for the nefarious underlying reason behind ideas, proposals, etc. What is up with this?

[DoughtyOne]

You would have to go and ask 'the question' of the thread wouldn't you.

What is up with this?

In a world where academics must continually convince themselves that they are relevent, there must always be new breaking ground where others have not tread before.  Unfortunately, children have become the focus of the left.  Some think they are simply trying to endear women to their camp with these efforts.  I believe it goes beyond this.  The left wants to control children.  They've not been very secretive how important this is for them.

You can't get much more leftist than Rob Reiner.  Meathead has been convinced by the shrink-wrapped devotees, that children need to be in a regimented government program from two years of age, possible as young as six months.  When hawking a cigarette tax to raise five million dollars to start his new program about five years ago, Reiner made it clear that he wants to prevent parents from screwing up young children's minds before they are handed off to the government schools at the ripe old age of five.

The childcare industry has been swamped by devotees of Dr. Spock.  This should scare the hell out of everyone.  Even Dr. Spock said, "I have raised a generation of idiots.", but the socialists that train and license daycare employees, continue to sell Spock's acknowledged flawded logic.  I mention this, because this wave of protecting the children, perfecting their training and taking the responsibility out of the hands of parents, runs rampant through the infant, primary and secondary education system today.

99% of all books on child rearing discard any form of discipline whatsoever.  As long as Ackmed feels good about himself, all is blissful on the moral relativist front.  You should never say no to your child.  You should never tell your children that there is good and bad in the world.  Good and bad are relative terms.  There is no such thing in the moral relativist's world.  In this culture, just imagine if you should teach your child that homosexuality is even slightly morally negative.  Morality?  That does not compute with these folks.  Sensory overload.  Into this climate emerges fertile ground for complete mind control.  From the earliest stages of self-awareness, these children will subjected to leftist propaganda the levels of which this world has never seen before.

As a parent, not you I or anyone is fit to raise children according to these people.  Only the people who have spent between four and eight years being indoctrinated into the mind-meld of the leftist socialist universities, are capable of seeing what we are not.  Six thousand years of parenting aside, these people are convinced that you are a threat to this nation's future, if you think you are going to influence your chilld's upbringing.

Into this vast moral void, comes the liberal activist in search of a plan to ensure 'progressive' (note, we mustn't acknowledge these are socialist) policies.  What better way to lock in their positioin, than to create a program that society cannot live without?  And what better program, than a program that evaluates each child, so that they are each individually adjusted to the exact degree necessary?

Remember the old days when you'd take your car into a repair shop, and they'd give you a list of things you 'must do' or your car wouldn't be safe.  This is sortof a twisted version of the same thing.  We've got your child up on the rack, and look here.  See the rust.  If you don't fix that it will lead to major problems.  You can either pay a little now, or pay us big time later.  In truth, your kid is just fine.  You know it.  I know it.  Just about everyone knows it.  These folks must make sure the numbers they are helping look big and impressive.

These folks envision a time five to ten years from now when they'll be medicating and continually evaluating tens of millions of children across the United States.  In that envirionment, who could extricate them from education?  That's exactly what they are shooting for.

Someone has gotten to the President and in a well meaning effort, he is evidently intent on signing on to this tripe.  I've been very reticent to play the 'not playing with a full deck card' when referencing Bush, but if he is going to support stuff like this, my avoiding that isn't going to do him a lick of good.  He's his own worst enemy when he supports things like this.  There simply isn't any defense for it if your at all rational.

That's my take.

[HiTech RedNeck]

You can't get much more leftist than Rob Reiner. Meathead has been convinced by the shrink-wrapped devotees, that children need to be in a regimented government program from two years of age, possible as young as six months. When hawking a cigarette tax to raise five million dollars to start his new program about five years ago, Reiner made it clear that he wants to prevent parents from screwing up young children's minds before they are handed off to the government schools at the ripe old age of five.

Meathead should just emigrate to Cuba. He'd be so happy with Fidel's system.

[DoughtyOne]

Yes I'd agree, but as you can see, Meathead isn't the only problem. When our side wins elections, they implement, or at least try to, this kind of stuff. It's extremely frustrating to say the least.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

Not only is it racist, but it's sexist.

These sedation programs are primarily aimed at young boys.

Congress, keep your hands off our children.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

LOL. Sedate Congress!

Works for me.

[freepatriot32]

one more for your homeschool list

[carenot]

It pointed to a program begun during George Bush's governorship of Texas called the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP), which set a standard operating procedure within a flow chart allowing psychiatrists to identify and medicate possible conditions.

One of the reasons I didn't vote for President Bush.

[LuLuLuLu]

This is a very, very bad idea. Good parents will get caught up in the CPS system and will be treated like criminals.

Eight years ago my now 21 year old daughter was suffering from teenaged angst. Since her older sister had been diagnosed with clinical depression, I did what I thought was the responsible thing, and had her see a doctor.

We had great insurance at the time, so the doc decided that my daughter needed to not only be medicated, but also hospitalized.

My daughter told a hospital doc that she didn't "like" being at home, so CPS got involved. It was a nightmare of epic proportions. I was sujected to home visits by a 21 year old "advocate" who knew as much about parenting as I do about brain surgery.

[montag813]

the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health

This Ministry of Health.

[Condor51]

This nonsense is getting tiresome. In the last regular session of the IL General Assembly there was a similar bill proposed. When I found out about it I started writing, phoning and faxing like crazy. The Bill was subsequently defeated, and naturally there was more to it than met the eye. The Bill was originally written and sponsored by my Sate Rep and when I talked to her she was 100% embarrassed and as she explained 'her bill' was hijacked by 'do-gooders' and turned it into an abomination.

• Her intent was to weed out "troubled children" from the public school system who had "obvious mental problems" and presented a potential for possible danger. (like Columbine)
  
• The Teacher would ID these kids and send a note home to the parent/guardian suggesting the child needed help.
  
• It was then up to the patent/guardian to have the kid 'tested' - and if need be, medicated.

  BUT - The 'do-gooders' took over from there and rewrote her bill..

  
  
  1. ALL children and PARENTS would be tested for mental 'illness'. ALL mothers would be tested shortly after giving birth.
     
  2. Teachers would have the power to order ANY child medicated, not withstanding any previous 'test'. Right then and there the school nurse would medicate the child.
     
  3. If parent/guardian refused or was deemed uncooperative, the IL DCFS could take custody of the child and force medication.
     
  4. If the parent 'failed' the mental test, THEY could be forced to take medication too.
     
  5. Naturally a mentally "ill" parent/guardian could not have custody of children so again the IL DCFS could/would take custody of the children.

Well upon seeing 'her final bill' my State Rep NOW worked like crazy to DEFEAT the Bill she wrote, which she did.

And when I talked to her, I asked if she didn't foresee the potential for danger and abuse of having 'the state' being able to classify almost anyone 'mentally ill'. And that by being classified 'mentally ill' didn't she understand that said mom and or child could then never legally own a firearm as one is never 'cured' of a mental illness. Not to mention that 'the state' could also then order removal of ALL firearms from the household, even if the father/husband wasn't 'mentally ill'.

She said, "Oh, I never thought of that. But you're right, that would affect these peoples 2nd Amendment rights."

So this is more than a mental health issue, this is a Gun Rights issue. It's an attempted end run around the 2nd Amendment - period. Mentally 'ill' people cannot legally own guns (Not in IL anyway). So if 'they' can't outlaw guns, they'll just 'outlaw' the people!

[tutstar]

Wise words! I don't regret homeschooling a bit. If I'd thought ahead to know I'd have to teach algebra I might have had second thoughts.LOL

[msjhall]

I like your idea. Let's screen them all!

[truthkeeper]

Scary stuff. Dr. Laura's on a mission with this one, she's been on it all week. BTTT

[Republic If You Can Keep It]

These socialists understand very well what both Hitler & Mao understood.......give us your youth & we will prevail.

Why doesn't Bush understand this?

What in God's name is wrong with Dennis Hastert, Tom Delay, & the rest?

What am I missing here?

[Rebelbase]

"one more for your homeschool list"

Oooh. I Didn't even think about the implications for forcing this testing upon homeschoolers.

[RockinRight]

What is this crap? Do we have a tally of what Senators support this and which ones don't?

[Cinnamon Girl]

This is the first I've heard of this. What is this about? A group of nuts will screen public school children to see it they need to be medicated and then, if the parents don't comply, what happens? My personal experience with meeting some boys who have been medicated (because they are BOYS) is that they are virtually lobotomized. It's horrible.

[momf]

Thanks for posting this. I just heard on our small local radio station the vote in the House is today. We little towns tend to call and tell our Representatives what we think. Local talk regarding what this Bill could/would lead to is scary. Why do Legislators fell they Have to go create legislation? Any legislation. It doesn't matter what legislation. This entire country is drowning in legislation.

[visualops]

Those lefties wanted to take my kid and put him on ritalin.
Instead I held him back a grade and he is now in HS getting straight A's.

[tacticalogic]

Someone has gotten to the President and in a well meaning effort, he is evidently intent on signing on to this tripe.

They got to him before he was president. Google TMAP (Texas Medication Algorithm Project). This is another brainchild of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

[Ancesthntr]

Hey gunnies, take a look at Post #28. We need to get on the stick (or, more accurately, the telephone) about this one. There's no better way to take away someone's guns than to have them adjudicated as mentally incompetent or labeled as "dangerous to society."

Aside from the fact that this is a backdoor means of instituting gun control/confiscation, taking this bill down is critical if we are ever going to preserve our parental rights. Insidiously, this bill also sets the stage for the mental testing (and potential drugging) of every single person in the nation.

[AuntB]

"I'm about to the place where I think our elected offials are the ones who need to be screened."

Bump that!

[A Navy Vet]

I am completely flabbergasted. I never heard of this initiate and the House just pasted their version of it.

I thought Bush's 15billion for AIDS to the sinkhole Africa, and his absurd idea to grant down payments so low income people could buy real property was bad enough...but this!!

I swear I should have voted for Kerry just to expedite the momentum towards socialism and get on with the revolution. This is absolutely unexcusable.

Conservatism is Dead

[A Navy Vet]

initiate = initiative

[TaxRelief]

If this is past, it will be used to determine children's "gender identities". Watch.

[A Navy Vet]

" I never heard of this Initiative and the House just pasted their version of it."

I misunderstood. To clarify after looking at the New Freedom Initiative, this is just an extension of the Disabilities Act. However, Title VI, part B, creates the National Commission on Mental Health. It is from their misguided recommendations the House has already passed legislation and it's heading to the Senate floor. Anyone know the name of this Bill?

[DBrow]

Geez, this is such a GREAT idea! Why not test and medicate everyone? Or just dump it in the water?

[A Navy Vet]

I believe this article from The Standard News has jumped the gun. I can't find any direct funding in the House or Senate "Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005" for any mandated mental health screening. I believe they are talking about funding for Bush's extension of ADA called, the New Freedom Initiative above, which includes a number of commissions, including the Commission on Mental Health.

Of course, the above Commission has already suggested such screening, but I can find no legislation mandating it or appropriations for it.

See: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html

[A Navy Vet]

There was HR 3063 submitted in 2003 which would authorize 10 test facilities for screening, but with parental approval. It doesn't seem to have made it out of the last sub-committe.

See:http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query

[TKDietz]

This is wrong on a couple of counts. It is a bad idea for government to do this sort of thing, but moreover it's especially bad that the federal government is doing this sort of thing.

It is not a bad idea though for government to try to do something about addiction and mental health problems. I represent juveniles and adults on criminal charges. Alcohol and drugs and mental health problems are behind a lot of the crime we see in this country. Our response for too long has been to just lock people up and ignore the underlying problems. That approach doesn't really work and what it has done is give us the highest incarceration rate in the world, costing us billions and billions and billions every year, yet our crime rate is still high compared to other industrialized nations who in most cases have far lower per capita incarceration rates.

I deal with a lot of crazy people who end up being frequent flyers through the criminal justice system. A lot are just crazy or just drug addicts, but there is a significant overlap between the two problems. So often, there isn't anything built into our system to effectively deal with the underlying problems that cause these people to be back over and over again. For instance, there is no way us to get these people to mental health specialists and get them on medication that in many cases could keep people leading fairly law abiding lives. We'll get these nut-jobs in and the prosecutor and judge and I will sit back in chambers talking about the case pulling our hair out trying to figure out what to do with them. We can get them evaluated to see if they were too insane to be guilty of a crime or to assist in their own defense, but that doesn't get them any help for the long run. We can do mental incompetency hearings and get these people sent off for up to 45 days for evaluation, but most are let go in 3 or 4 days and there is no follow up care. In many cases the court just ends up letting them go, because jail isn't appropriate for them and for that matter the jail is always full. But these people will be back, over and over again, and someday someone may very well get hurt or killed during one of their psychotic episodes.

We don't need to go testing and drugging every kid. What we need to do is do a better job and taking care of these underlying issues when juveniles and adults get in trouble with the law. I'm not asking for some sort of liberal love fest with criminals, I'm saying that if we could get better at taking care of underlying drug and mental health issues we could cut down on crime and save a whole lot of money we now spend locking up more people than any other country in the world. Think about it, we lock up something like 715 per 100,000 people compared under a 100 per 100,000 in the European Union and less than 200 per 100,000 in almost every other industrialized country in the world. We have something like 2.1 million locked up right now. If we cut that in half we'd still have a higher incarceration rate than most industrialized nations but we could save billions on building new prisons and warehousing prisoners and the states could use some of that money they save to pay for programs that might, unlike prison, actually keep a lot of these people from re-offending. Ninety-five percent of these people are released in a few months or a few years and 70% of those released from prison are rearrested on new felony charges within three years. Our system is broken.

[firebrand]

Paging R. D. Laing . . .

[TaxRelief]

If this is passed, it will be used to determine children's "gender identities". Watch.