Free Republic

"Consider yourself kicked in the ass," said Pastor Bruce Edwards in the sanctuary of Allison Park Church - right after I went to him for prayer. I needed it, the kick more so than the prayer. I expected him to burst forth with a full-fiery Pentecostal blizzard of petition. But Bruce had other ideas. Bruce wanted to do even more than pray. Fortunately, I trust Bruce. In fact, I trust him so much that I revealed my bipolar diagnosis to him at a time when I was still likely to explode at any moment. I was out of work and...

"Rich-ieee!" the gleaming Caribbean ex-addict sings my name as the worship music soars and pounds to start the service. We embrace and I can feel the crazy coming off of him. We stand back and I look wildly into his wild-eyed grin, yelping, "Yeah! God likes the crazy people!" And he yelps back, "Rich-ieee! Because we'll get crazy for him!"And I let out a cackling bipolar howl as the music blares. This man knows something about "crazy." He decided to get clean only after a drug deal got him thrown into the trunk of a car; driven into a field...

(Reason #)8. A right-wing blogosphere that is almost universally dominated by raging hate speech (see: Hot Air, Free Republic, Ace of Spades, etc.)

A patient at a Massachusetts General Hospital bipolar clinic stabbed his psychiatrist during a treatment session yesterday afternoon, and was then shot dead by an off-duty security guard, in a frantic scene that a colleague later described as “every psychiatrist’s worst nightmare.’’ Dr. Astrid Desrosiers, a 49-year-old instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, the mother of grown children, and a celebrated doctor in the city’s Haitian community, was in stable condition at MGH and recovering from her wounds, relatives, colleagues, and hospital officials said. Police identified the assailant as Jay Carciero, 37, of Reading. Relatives described him as a...

I cracked up – for the first time - on June 4, 1988, three weeks short of completing my Masters degree in Psychology. Some would say I had a nervous breakdown. The psych ward doctors said it was major depression. I say that I saw just how evil my sin is in the eyes of God and it scared the hell out of me. I cracked up, broke down, and de-pressed. I cobbled together some mad reality and blew a fuse. I despaired, decompensated, detached, and derailed. I lost my mind, never to be the same again. Thanks be to...

I know he said he thinks the CIA investigation would be a bad thing, then spends the rest of the interview talking about how our image in the world is damaged because of torture, he John, the world would be speaking fluent German if it wasn't for us...Good Grief, please retire... (Video from Face the Nation)

HAVING BIPOLAR vs. BEING BIPOLAR (excerpt from the book, "Blessed With Bipolar: 36 God-Given Gifts of Manic Depression) I have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder does not have me. Bipolar disorder is not, my identity. It is not who I am. Bipolar disorder impacts my personality, emotions, and behavior. It does not dictate what I think, believe, say, or do. There are blessings that come with “having bipolar disorder.” “Being bipolar,” on the other hand, would be nothing but a burden. If I think of myself as “being bipolar” (or of bipolar as being my being), then I am controlled by...

It’s getting old, isn’t it? Everyone these days is bipolar or has some other chic mental disorder that he feels excuses his self-centered conduct. Like the guy who once walked into my class twenty minutes late. I told him it was his last time to come in late. He said, “But you don’t understand, I’m bipolar.” And he said it in front of the whole class. Having a mental disorder used to be a source of embarrassment. But, now, it’s often a request for special treatment, which, when granted, fuels self-centered conduct. That’s why a pastor friend of mine now...

I cracked up – for the first time - on June 4, 1988, three weeks short of completing my Masters degree in Psychology. Some would say I had a nervous breakdown. The psych ward doctors said it was major depression. I say that I saw just how evil my sin is in the eyes of God and it scared the hell out of me. I cracked up, broke down, and de-pressed. I cobbled together some mad reality and blew a fuse. I despaired, decompensated, detached, and derailed. I lost my mind, never to be the same again. Thanks be to...

Scientists study affect of gluten on mental health Scottish scientists believe that gluten-rich foods could help trigger schizophrenia in people with a genetic predisposition to the condition. Scottish scientists believe that gluten-rich foods could help trigger schizophrenia in people with a genetic predisposition to the condition. The researchers at the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) are looking at the links between schizophrenia and diabetes. The two studies undertaken by geneticist Dr Jun Wei and his team in Inverness are to be funded by £300,000 from the Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain. The first project is to explore...

Well folks Britney Spears, the queen of comebacks has done it again. After the previous years' meltdown which lead to her being hospitalized twice at UCLA as well as her being placed under emergency guardianship, Britney Spears is back again like a boomerang. Already there is talks of a movie deal and perhaps another sleazy album. But the road back up has been long and hard and although she is now seeking treatment for "Bipolar" disorder, psychiatrists in charge of her care may be doing more to undermine her mental health than promote it. Britney Spears was incarcerated in UCLA's...

Bipolar sufferers often have difficulty with normal levels of stress. A politician--especially a Chicago politician--might very well become psychologically debilitated from excessive stress. Politicians do have real enemies, after all, and many occasions of feeling pressured, unappreciated, slighted. All this would be exacerbated with bipolar disorder. The Fitzgerald affadavit indicates that Blagojevich no longer had much interest in being Illinois governor. He was looking for something more interesting with more money. (Bipolar sufferers often have difficulty with money.) This, too, would fit with bipolar. Most people would not find the job of state governor to be boring. A person with...

A world-renowned Harvard child psychiatrist whose work has helped fuel an explosion in the use of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children earned at least $1.6 million in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007 but for years did not report much of this income to university officials, according to information given Congressional investigators. [excerpt - click here to read the whole article]

Britney Spears taken from home in ambulance By Bonnie Malkin Last Updated: 10:53am GMT 31/01/2008 Troubled pop star Britney Spears has been taken to hospital in an ambulance to "get help". The ambulance picked Spears up at her Studio City home shortly after 1:30 am (0930 GMT). It was escorted to the hospital by more than a dozen motorcycle officers, two police cruisers and two police helicopters. Los Angeles police would not immediately confirm the report but one officer, who requested anonymity, said Spears was being taken to "get help". Celebrity gossip website TMZ.com reported Spears was rushed to UCLA...

AP Science Writer Scientists are testing seasickness patches and other surprising options in a challenging search for new ways to treat the crushing depression and uncontrolled mania of bipolar disorder. Also called manic-depression, it's an illness that can rip careers and marriages apart and drive people to suicide. And it's so complex and mysterious that researchers haven't developed a medication specifically for it since lithium, more than half a century ago. Yet bipolar appears in various forms and severity in about 1 in every 25 American adults at some point in their lives, according to a major study published in...

When Christine Drake worked as a Starbucks barista, the Seattle woman with psychiatric disabilities said it was the first time in her life that she "felt a sense of accomplishment." But after two years on the job, a new manager at the Starbucks store at 425 Queen Anne Ave. N. in Seattle allegedly discriminated against Drake, decreased her hours and berated her in front of customers, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Lisa Cox, an EEOC lawyer, said the world's largest coffee retailer ignored Drake's requests for help and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by not accommodating...

BE HERE, OR BE NOWHERE!

A Manitou Springs man who stabbed his 7-year-old daughter to death in 2000 because he thought she was the devil has asked for the third time to be released from a mental institute. Robert Dunn’s request was denied Tuesday by District Court Judge Larry Schwartz, who called the killing barbaric. Dunn, 57, was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the June 2000 killing of his daughter, Aaren, and sent to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo. Dunn also asked in 2003 and 2004 to be “conditionally released,” meaning he would live on his own with daily check-ins...

Mother Says Stepfather Is Responsible; Child Remains In Critical Condition (CBS4) PLANTATION -- A 13-year-old boy is in critical condition after he is beaten with a tire iron and left for dead while sleeping in his bed. Sunrise Police were called to a house on the 2100 block of NW 107th avenue after the mother of the child alerted them and said he was beaten by his step-father. “I’m scared,” said Lucy Housman. “ I'm very depressed. There's no words to express how I feel.” Housman told police her son, 13-year old Orlando Lopez, was beaten with a tire iron...

Lynn Giovanni was able to fatally bludgeon her 14-year-old daughter using a claw hammer and shovel while the girl slept only be cause she could not see her child's face. The 47-year-old Giovanni told her good friend Elise Bernardo that if her only child, Nicole Ashley Gio vanni, had been facing her, she could not have gone through with the killing. In the early morning hours of Feb. 6, 2005, Lynn Giovanni, depressed and paranoid, sought out Nicole in her bedroom and began pummeling her in the back of the head with the hammer. When her daughter still showed signs...

BE HERE, OR BE NOWHERE!

WARNING....PSYCHOLOGICAL NUDITY....ADULT LANGUAGE. The naked TRUTH delivered to INDEPENDENT MINDED, MATURE listeners by the most exciting talkshow host in the country!

I know it isn't popular, particularly in conservative circles, to excuse behavior by citing mental illness. Bipolar disorder, in particular, has been the excuse celeb cited by child-raping school teachers, so I understand why people may have little patience for the argument I am about to make. That said, after observing Mel Gibson's behavior of late, I can't help but think he must have bipolar disorder and we should try to understand his behavior -- even if it can't be excused. Someone close to me has bipolar disorder and, before it was diagnosed and treated, I saw some of the...

Mel Gibson LOS ANGELES - A blitzed Mel Gibson launched into an obscenity-laced tirade when he was busted on suspicion of drunken driving early yesterday, threatening an officer and making anti-Semitic and sexually abusive remarks, according to a police report. The "Passion of the Christ" director repeatedly said, "My life is f----d," according to the report by Los Angeles County Deputy James Mee, which was obtained by TMZ.com. The celebrity news Web site posted excerpts of the handwritten report. Gibson, 50, was pulled over for speeding at 3:10 a.m. on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif., cops said. The...

One thing to start with, I need help, and I am not asking for charity. I have the bipolar disorder which has made it difficult for me to hold down jobs over the years. A couple of years ago, I made a move that I thought was the right move, but today I consider it a mistake, and that was coming to Staten Island, NY, and working for a Pro-Life organization. That was my decision, and I have to live with you. But the problem I face is trying to find a job that pays enough, and yet still be...

BORDERS !!! LANGUAGE !!! CULTURE !!!

Borders!!! Language!!! Culture!!!

Dear Mr. President, Please defend our borders! Ask Congress to make English the solitary official language, and then sign the bill! Help us to maintain the distinctive American culture! Legal immigration: yes! Say "No!" to open borders, illegal aliens, globalism and the America-Mexico-Canada-NannyState!

Defending the borders! Speaking the language! Lifting the culture! It's the SAVAGE NATION!!!

Gettin' ready!!! Just as few more minutes!!!

Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy said yesterday that he is entering treatment for an addiction to prescription medications, an announcement that comes as police continue their investigation into a car crash involving the congressman near the Capitol. Calling his addiction a "chronic disease," Kennedy said he does not even recall the accident, which occurred early Thursday and raised questions about his behavior and how U.S. Capitol Police deal with members of Congress. The congressman's office has said Kennedy (D-R.I.) was disoriented behind the wheel because he had taken prescription medication to calm stomach inflammation and to help him sleep. No one...

Officers Claim Brass Interfered in Investigation of Rep. Kennedy Incident Thursday, May 4; 4:16 pm By John McArdle, Roll Call Staff Police labor union officials asked acting Chief Christopher McGaffin this afternoon to allow a Capitol Police officer to complete his investigation into an early-morning car crash involving Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.).According to a letter sent by Officer Greg Baird, acting chairman of the USCP FOP, the wreck took place at approximately 2:45 a.m. Thursday when Kennedy’s car, operating with its running lights turned off, narrowly missed colliding with a Capitol Police cruiser and smashed into a security barricade...

Let's kick it up!!!

Gettin' ready!!! Potential topics??? (1) Illegal marches? (2) Rush Limbaugh? (3) Joe Biden's Iraq partition plan?

Michael Berg has come to terms with his son's murderer. But to most Americans that man is still enemy No.1, writes Martin Daly in New York. In the darkness, when the pain becomes too great, Michael Berg pulls out a chair for the man who decapitated his son and talks to him about compassion and forgiveness. Michael Berg has cried publicly many times for his dead son but he has forgiven Zarqawi, considered by the Americans to be the premier threat to peace in Iraq, but who remains free despite a $US25 million ($33 million) bounty on his head, and...

He's dissing Schumer for his absence now on the second Dubai deal............

A Dorchester man named Santa gave his conflicted family the yuletide gift of contrition yesterday by ’fessing up to killing his cousin at a Christmas party two years ago. Torn between anguish and fidelity, Benjamin Santa’s tearful mother would speak no evil of her son, even as he was spirited away in chains from a Boston courtroom. “I couldn’t even hug or kiss him,” Luz Caban said of Santa, 24, the oldest of her four children. “There’s no Christmas for us.” Santa, wearing sunglasses, his braided hair pulled back in a ponytail, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to...

MADRID, Spain - Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan led a small protest Saturday outside the U.S. Embassy to denounce the war in Iraq. About 100 protesters carried banners criticizing President Bush. Sheehan, whose soldier son was killed in Iraq, called Bush a war criminal and said, "Iraq is worse than Vietnam." The protest also was called in memory of Jose Couso, a Spanish television cameraman killed on April 8, 2003, in Baghdad when a U.S. tank fired at a hotel where many foreign correspondents were staying. Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk, a Ukrainian, also was killed in that incident.

Suicide haunts Linda Marquez . Three of her loved ones took their own lives - her mother, her husband, her son. No death could be more devastating to the people left behind, Linda said. The people who kill themselves may think the world is better off without them, "but they don't realize that what they're doing is leaving people with a life sentence, especially the people that love them the most," she said. Her son's death finally drove her to speak out. "I thought, this is too much. People need to know," she said. Experts estimate 1 million people attempt...

Russia to help China oust the USA from Eurasia 07/02/2005 21:11 Russia de facto loses the status of the world's center of force, which jeopardizes the global stability The rapidly developing economy of China pushes the country to search for sources of raw materials and sales markets abroad. The USA is China's major obstacle in this respect. China and the USA have been sharing their spheres of influence since 1979, when a semi-secret US-Chinese agreement about the strategic coordination was brought to light after Dang Xiaoping's visit in Washington (the USA prefers to keep the document a secret). The significance...

Howard Dean must be the product of a Karl Rove plot. How else to explain the Democratic National Committee chairman who so often acts as an unpaid agent of the Republican party? Democratic governors and senators run from him when he visits their states; he is badly losing the fundraising race to the Republican National Committee; and he routinely produces new gaffes. Dean’s handlers have carefully kept him off national TV, until they unleashed him on “Meet the Press” this past weekend. Dean was returning to the forum of one of his signature triumphs in his presidential campaign. He appeared...

Runaway Bride's Defense Jennifer Wilbanks (Photo: CBS/AP) "She is very sorry for the pain that she's caused her family, her fiancé, the community at large." Lydia Sartian, attorney for Jennifer Wilbanks John Mason listens as family members speak to reporters in front of his home in Duluth, Ga., after learning his fiancé had been found alive, Saturday, April 30, 2005. (Photo: AP) (CBS/AP) Runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks issued an apology Wednesday for disappearing just before her wedding day, saying, "I had a host of compelling issues that seemed out of control." Wilbanks made her apology in a statement read by...

Jayson Blair, the disgraced New York Times reporter implicated in a plagiarism scandal the paper called a “low point" in its 152-year history, has turned up with a first-person column in the spring issue of bp, a magazine chronicling bipolar disorder. In it, Blair gives his account of being diagnosed as bipolar—a recovery that includes medication and speaking engagements—as well as his take on the May 11, 2003 “7,000-word above-the-fold, front page story (accompanied by a 6,400-word litany of corrections).” Blair writes: “As a team of Times reporters and researchers dug into my background pulling together loose threads for (the...

"Sometimes when talking to people, I'll tell them that I've just had a lot of coffee, even though it's not true, because I know I fire off in all directions, and I can talk to you about anything - literature, string theory, rock guitar - I once worked for Leo Fender - and one thing I say to people is that, of course, I live near the edge; the view is better." Laurence McKinney, 60, who lives near the edge of Boston, is a business consultant, a Harvard graduate and self-described polymath who has had a career that is every...

MIAMI-DADE Family: Police victim bipolar The shooting of Cesar Rada by a Miami-Dade police officer was the department's 17th shooting since 1999 involving a mentally ill person Cesar Rada -- aspiring actor and model, and a psychology student at Florida International University -- had bipolar disorder and was schizophrenic, his family says. Sunday night, he had his hands raised and was unarmed as he walked toward a Miami-Dade police officer who killed him during a tense confrontation in a Kendall yard, police and witnesses said. The officer, Jeffrey Price, 23, was placed on administrative leave Monday while Miami-Dade's internal affairs...

President Bush travels to Europe in February -- stopping first in the old continent's pint-sized capital city. Why Brussels, instead of London or Paris or Warsaw? Not for the chocolate. A small but increasingly prominent cluster of foreign-policy thinkers -- call them bipolarists -- believe they know the answer: Whether Bush likes it or not, there are two superpowers in the world, and the other is Europe. Unlike communism, the E.U. seems to represent not an enemy of liberal capitalism, but a new and possibly improved version of it. In 2002, Charles A. Kupchan, a professor of international relations at...

Let's go! This needs to be on the table. Would at least one Christian minister who has the President's ear ---- give him an earful????

I'm listening to Mike Savage, and earlier on his show he jolted me out of my daydreaming with the statement that he is seriously considering running in '08. heh. I missed whatever he said caused him to go back on his promise that he'd never run for any political office... anyone else listening tonight who can shed some light on this for me? BTW, I am a big fan of his, but I know this is just so much hot air from Mike ;)

By PETER PORCO Anchorage Daily News November 26, 2004 ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sixteen-year-old Rachelle A. Waterman would appear to be any parent's ideal child - an honor student, an athlete, a gifted singer. But for months, she planned her mother's murder with two of her former boyfriends who are eight years her senior, according to Alaska State Troopers. Two weekends ago on Southeast's Prince of Wales Island, their plot ended in the death of 48-year-old Lauri Waterman of Craig, according to court papers. Lauri Waterman, a teacher's aide and community activist, was killed by one of the men using a...

Despite shattering box-office records and dominating headlines for months, "The Passion of the Christ" and "Fahrenheit 9/11" face real obstacles in the race for an Oscar nomination for best picture. As Senior Writer Sean Smith reports in the current issue of Newsweek, many of the high-placed studio executives, producers, Oscar strategists, publicists and Academy members interviewed think that "Fahrenheit's" chances depend on the results of the presidential election, and all say that a "Passion" best-picture nod is almost unthinkable. "A lot of older Academy voters, who are largely Jewish, refuse to even see this movie," says one Oscar-campaign vet. "There's...