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Sacramento, CA (AP) -- The Schwarzenegger administration and a federal court appointee have agreed to the framework of a legal settlement to overhaul the way medical care is delivered to prison inmates. The outline of the proposal was given Thursday to The Associated Press and would be the first step toward ending a long-running legal drama that appeared headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The proposed agreement, if accepted by the federal courts and the Legislature, would call for a sharply scaled-down and far less expensive plan to improve poor inmate medical care than the one the federal receiver previously...

There is none more deserving of stress testing than the proposed MOTHERS Act. On the surface, the MOTHERS Act reflects its sponsors overwhelming compassion and empathy for women suffering from alleged mental health disorders resulting from childbirth – often referred to as Postpartum Depression. But when one conducts a brief stress test on important sections of the legislation, taxpayers may find that this costly and sweeping mental health legislation actually fails women of America, but goes a long way in inflating the balance sheets of one of the most lucrative industries in the nation – big Pharma. For instance, the...

Any parent would be appaled to learn their child was taken out of the classroom for a mandatory mental health evaluation without their knowledge or consent. But such is the case in Florida where more than 3 out or every 1000 children, on average will be involuntarily committed for psychiatric examination. 3,365 separate involuntary commitments were performed, in 2007 directly from school grounds. Over 3000 separate incidences of children being escorted, mandatory, from school to a psychiatric receiving facility and held in a secured ward, separate from their parents, and without their parents consent in one year.

BAQOUBA, Iraq | The U.S. commander of the Multi-National Force -- Iraq on Tuesday ordered a top-to-bottom review of mental health services for U.S. troops in the country after the worst act of U.S. soldier-on-soldier violence in the Iraq war. Army Lt. Col. Brian Tribus, media relations chief for Multi-National Force - Iraq, told The Washington Times that Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby ordered procedures "to look into [mental health] services available and delivery of those services." Gen. Jacoby also requested that the Army inspector general review all mental health services available to troops in Iraq, Col. Tribus said. Five U.S....

On several forums and blogs such a freerepublic, there have been debates about civil commitment and expanding laws and state hospitals and hospital psyche wards. What is disturbing is that many, even Conservatives and libertarians are more than willing to sacrifice civil liberties and safeguards against government tyranny to clear the streets of the homeless mentally ill and other similar individuals. But the truth is that there is on the books in nearly every state, provisions that allow the involuntary commitment of those who are unable to care for themselves due to so called mental illnesses that they suffer from...

Alien Hand Syndrome. Fans of "Dr. Strangelove" will recall the title character's inability to control his right hand, which kept trying to give a Nazi salute. Real-life sufferers of AHS (only a few dozen to date) lose conscious control of a limb, probably due to a lost connection between brain hemispheres. The "alien" hand may thwart what the other hand is doing, such as unbuttoning a shirt the other hand is buttoning, or tamping out a cigarette the other hand has just lit. Symptoms can be managed by keeping the rogue hand preoccupied by giving it an object to hold...

Former Vice President Al Gore brought a stark message to the Senate on Wednesday: A new climate change treaty is critical to continuing human life on Earth. The Nobel Peace Prize winner urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to push for a U.S.-brokered treaty in December in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the United Nations will host a climate change conference. Only the United States can lead such an effort, he said. “This is the one challenge that could completely end human civilization, and it is rushing at us with such speed and force,” said Gore, who won an Oscar for the...

Gore: Earth in 'grave danger' Tom LoBianco (Contact) UPDATED: Former Vice President Al Gore told lawmakers Wednesday morning that the earth is in "grave danger" and that the nation must break its dependence on oil. Mr. Gore said Congress must pass a cap and trade bill and increase tax breaks for renewable energy sources before going before the U.N. climate change conference this December to negotiate new carbon-reduction benchmarks. "Climate change will be increasingly central to our foreign policy and national security, and it will be a focal point of this committee's efforts as well," said Sen. John Kerry, the...

In 2005, an Army captain in Iraq asked for a mental health evaluation for one of his soldiers, a private first class from North Carolina who was known to put the muzzle of his weapon in his mouth. The case was assigned to a psychologist who was unlicensed — a common practice in the early years of the war, when the Army rushed mental health counselors to the combat zone even if some weren't certified or fully qualified. The psychologist reported that a screening indicated the 20-year-old private, Jason Scheuerman, was "capable of claiming mental illness" to manipulate his superiors...

Pity the poor global warming alarmists such as Al Gore, James Hansen of NASA, and the Weather Channel's Heidi Cullen. They went way out on the limb in promoting the absolute certainity of global warming and now Mother Nature is sawing it off behind them with the coldest weather in decades. To spare themselves complete embarrassment, you might have noticed that many media outlets and global warming promoters are backing off from that term and are now using "climate change" more frequently. Last Friday, one of the big global warming promoters on the Huffington Post, Kevin Grandia, publicly struggled over...

Jim Hansen is the 'grandfather of climate change' and one of the world's leading climatologists. In this rare interview in New York, he explains why President Obama's administration is the last chance to avoid flooded cities, species extinction and climate catastropheRobin McKie, science editor The Observer, Sunday 18 January 2009 Article historyAlong one wall of Jim Hansen's wood-panelled office in upper Manhattan, the distinguished climatologist has pinned 10 A4-sized photographs of his three grandchildren: Sophie, Connor and Jake. They are the only personal items on display in an office otherwise dominated by stacks of manila folders, bundles of papers and...

Caution: The following contains a report on activities many will find objectionable. Peter LaBarbera at Americans for Truth about Homosexuality announced today that a Washington, D.C., inaugural week event that originally was described in an e-mail as a "pig sex" orgy has been cancelled after concerned citizens complained to the Doubletree Hotel hosting the event. "A big 'Thanks' to each of you who called the Doubletree and its parent company, Hilton Hotels," said LaBarbera in a statement, "urging them to not allow this unbelievably depraved and unhealthy homosexual event to occur in public conference rooms." LaBarbera continued, "We learned that...

California Rep. Henry Waxman said Thursday the environment and U.S. economy depend on congressional action to confront the threat of climate change. Waxman, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, spoke as he opened Congress' first hearing on climate legislation. A group of 14 corporate

Monday January 5, 2009 Doctors Urge Puberty Blockers for Children Considering Sex Change By Kathleen GilbertCHEVY CHASE, Maryland, January 5, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An international medical organization has recommended that children as young as 12 who question their sexual identity should be given drugs to block the physical changes of puberty.The New Scientist reports that the injunction comes as part of a set of guidelines, the first of its kind, published last month by the Endocrine Society.  The “Guidelines For Health Organisations Commissioning Treatment Services For Trans People” call for healthcare administrators around the globe to provide full coverage...

oleman found himself in Iraq three times after he enlisted in 2002. After what he called increasingly violent deployments, Coleman was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder when he left the Marines. The disorder develops in some war veterans and survivors of other traumatic experiences and can trigger violent episodes and flashbacks. Coleman is one of three war veterans featured tonight in a new episode of MTV's documentary series "True Life."

Washington, DC -- One of the foremost experts on the mental health aftereffects of abortion on women says a new paper from researchers at Johns Hopkins University is both deceptive and biased. Dr. Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University says the authors engage in the same tactics as the APA.

CHICAGO — Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind. The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment. ... Experts praised the study's scope — face-to-face interviews about numerous disorders with more than 5,000 young people ages 19 to 25 — and said it spotlights a...

Wellington, New Zealand -- A second new study points to the link between abortion and subsequent mental health problems for the women who have them. This new study, conducted by a New Zealand professor, comes after American researchers released their own study connecting abortion with numerous negative aftereffects. Researchers at Otago University reported their findings in the British Journal of Psychiatry and found that women who have abortions have an increased risk of developing mental health problems. The study found that women who had abortions had rates of mental health problems about 30% higher than other women. The conditions most...

A pioneering Swiss program to give addicts government-authorized heroin was overwhelmingly approved Sunday by voters who simultaneously rejected the decriminalization of marijuana. Sixty-eight percent of voters approved making the heroin program permanent. It has been credited with reducing crime and improving the health and daily lives of addicts since it began 14 years ago. Olivier Borer, 35, a musician from the northern town of Solothurn, said he welcomed the outcome in part because state action was required to help heroin addicts but legalizing marijuana was a bad idea. "I think it's very important to help these people, but not to...

Women who have an abortion are three times more likely to develop a drug or alcohol addiction and 30 per cent more likely to have mental disorders compared with other women, research has revealed. The evidence from two studies comes as the number of women having an abortion in England and Wales exceeded 200,000 for the first time last year.More abortions – 57,000 – were carried out on women aged 20 to 24 than any other age group. However, there were 4,400 on the under-16s.Anxiety and drug abuse are the most common mental problems after an abortion, according to...