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Monday, July 1, 2013

Wounded Minds: Understanding and Solving the Growing Menace of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Posted on 6:22 PM by Unknown

English: Major Nidal Malik Hasan, Fort Hood shooter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by John Liebert (Author) , William J. Birnes (Author)

Recognizing and solving the PTSD epidemic, for our soldiers and our society.

Suicide rates among Army soldiers increased 80 percent between 2004 and 2008, according to a recent report published in Injury Prevention. In the last several years, the number of soldiers returning from the Middle East with mental and physical wounds has continued to climb. According to Dr. Simon Rego, a supervising psychologist at Montefiore Medical Center, “Unlike any other time in history, U.S. military suicide rates now appear to have surpassed those among comparable civilian populations. It is therefore critical that we address this emerging public-health problem.”

In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Liebert, a psychiatrist who has examined hundreds of violent offenders with combat experience, and bestselling author Dr. William Birnes uncover the disturbing truths of why post-traumatic stress injury is on the rise, how it’s threatening society, and how the military is failing to properly address this serious issue. In addition, they describe the most recent research and methods that have been developed to help soldiers heal their mental and emotional wounds.

Wounded Minds dissects several high profile cases of suicide and massacre, including Staff Sergeant Robert Bales’s murder of sixteen Afghan citizens and Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who opened fire on a room full of defenseless American troops. Through these stories the authors paint a clear picture of the very real threat PTSD poses to individuals and society. They then go on to explain how to diagnose and understand the brain abnormalities associated with PTSD, the diagnostic problems confronting military medicine today, and both immediate and ongoing medical solutions.

Buy From Amazon

Posted in Amazon, Criminology Amp Justice, John Liebert, Mental health, Middle East, Montefiore Medical Center, Nidal Malik Hasan, Posttraumatic stress disorder, Soldier, William J. Birnes | No comments

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Community Based Corrections

Posted on 6:02 AM by Unknown

English: National Probation Service - St John's Road (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tabetha Cooper

Many wonder why so many criminal offenders are walking away with what seems to be a slap on the wrist. Community based corrections is the answer. But we must remember that initial perceptions can be misleading. What seems to be a slap on the wrist may in fact be a way to protect the safety of the community while attempting to teach criminals how to live in society. Community based corrections helps offenders to learn how to obey the rules and regulations set forth by society and to be upstanding members of the community. In order to accomplish this, a person must understand what sanctions fall under community based corrections, what those sanctions actually mean, and know the goals that community based corrections are trying to reach.

There are many community based sanctions: restitution, fines, probation, intensive probation, parole, day reporting, deferred sentences, diversionary programs, split sentencing, work release, community service, house arrest, electronic monitory, and boot camp. These are just a few of the sanctions that fall under the category of community based corrections. Restitution is a monetary payment ordered by the court to be paid by the offender directly to the victim or to a public fund set aside for victims of crimes (Bartollas, 2002). Fines are similar to restitution, they are monetary payments ordered by the court to be paid by the offender. Unlike restitution, fines are payments that go to the court.

Probation is probably the most popular and widely used form of community based sanctions (Alarid & del Carmen, 2010). Probation is defined as punishment that allows an offender to stay in the community after his/her conviction with the stipulation that they remain under the supervision of a probation officer and abide by the conditions of probation set forth by the court (Bartollas, 2002). Intensive probation is like regular probation with stricter supervision of the offenders (Bartollas, 2002), such as more frequent meetings, home visits, job training, and more drug tests. Parole is much like probation as far as community supervision goes but parole is a continuation of a sentence, given at the discretion of a parole board, which gives conditions of early release to offenders serving indeterminate sentences (Alarid & del Carmen, 2010). Parolees must report to their parole officers, find and maintain jobs, and find stable places to reside. Day reporting is when an offender on probation must report daily to a special facility. The facility offers counseling, social skill training and other activities that aid toward rehabilitation (Bartollas, 2002).

A deferred sentencing is handed down by a judge. It is generally given to first time offenders or offenders of nonviolent crimes. Bartollas (2002) defines it as “a sentence that delays conviction on a guilty plea until the sentenced offender has successfully served his/her probation term.” Diversionary programs are alternative to imprisonment (Bartollas, 2002). Split sentencing a when a judge feels that an offender needs to see what it is like to be in jail in an attempt to “scare them straight” followed by a set time of probation within the offenders community (Bartollas, 2002). Work release is given to some offenders who have jobs within the community that they will be able to keep even after their sentence is complete. Bartollas (2002) defines it as the release of an offender from jail during the day so they can maintain employment. Some jurisdictions allow the offender to complete their sentences on the weekends while others require them to return to the jail every evening.

The intermediate sanctions under community based corrections are just extensions of probation. Community service is sentence that requires an offender to spend a set number of hours working in the community either for a private nonprofit organization or for a government funded agency (Bartollas, 2002). Bartollas (2002) states that house arrest is a sentence that requires an offender to remain in the confinement of his/her own home for the entire or remainder of the sentence. Electronic monitoring is court ordered monitoring using electronic equipment that shows that an offender is where he or she is suppose to be, like their home or a community correctional center (Bartollas, 2002). Boot camp is a more extreme form of probation. It is a facility that operates in a military style and is used as an alternative to prison. It is mainly used to cut down on prison overcrowding while meeting the demands of severe punishment by the community (Bartollas, 2002).

Community based corrections have the goal of punishing offenders and protecting the public. Community based corrections aims to address the needs of victims as well as do what it can to reduce recidivism rates (Bartollas, 2002). This is done through rehabilitation, reintegration into the community, and restoring justice (Alarid & del Carmen, 2010). Offenders are rehabilitated through drug programs, skill training programs, or life management programs. They are then placed back into the community. Some offenders are put straight back into general population while some offenders first live in group residences, such as halfway houses and privately owned houses set up for offender reintegration. Through this process the goal is to restore justice. Restorative justice is victim oriented and strives for offenders to take responsibility for their actions and to repair the injustices that they have caused (Alarid & del Carmen, 2010).

The composer of this paper feels that community based corrections is a wonderful thing. She feels that the initial idea of community based corrections shared the goals of the current community based corrections. With the modifications over time and the aid of states that have passed the Community Correction Acts, community based corrections has become increasingly successful. She believes that over time and with the right training, many would-be career criminals may have the opportunity to avoid the inside of a prison cell and to be introduced to influences that can change their lives around. She would love to see community based corrections continue to evolve into a form of corrections that has a very low recidivism rate.

An explanation of community based sanctions and an understanding of the goals of community based corrections can put many ‘slap-on-the-wrist’ sentences into a new light. This reveals them as a creative means to make the community a safer place while reserving the prisons for the most violent criminals. Over time, community based corrections have started to play a role in the decision-making processes of bail, sentencing, and reintegration into the community (Alarid & del Carmen, 2010). What parts of the judicial process will community based corrections touch in the years to come?

References

Alarid, L.F. & del Carmen, R.V. (2010). Community-Based Corrections, 8^th Ed. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning retrieved 9/5/2010 from www.peru.edu/professionalstudies/.../powerpointCJUS308Chapter1.ppt

Bartollas, C. (2002). Invitation to Corrections. A Pearson Education Company. Boston, MA. Retrieved 9/4/2010 from Ch. 5, Ch. 6, and Glossary

Posted in community based corrections, correctional systems, corrections, Criminology Amp Justice, Tabetha Cooper | No comments

Monday, June 10, 2013

American Awareness: Monsanto – The Company that kills (but helps farmers)

Posted on 9:00 PM by Unknown

Article by: Scott Hall (scotthall.cnj@gmail.com)

For several years the global citizenry has had to deal with famine, natural disasters and the slow erosion of resources, which causes us to research and look for new technology to offset their use and now we may have to deal with health issues from a company that continues to dispute and protect their “miracle” crops. These crops are inundated with DNA splicing to prevent things like pests, insecticides and weeds from depleting the yields of those items that consumers use just about every day. Since their inception, many critics, scientists and press persons have attempted to warn the public about the growing dangers of use within those same items and remind us of the unknown long term effects, and this author is also no stranger to reporting the truth and trying my best to help the public. One of the duties of the press and authors like me is to help clear up the muck, although some agencies use sensationalism to do so, this article will not. In this article, I will reveal some items that are very important to public health and safety, a basis for most of the articles I produce. The Monsanto Company has been known so far to sue farmers, apply pressure to anyone who opposes their view, do seemingly underhanded things, and even attempt to influence judicial thoughts that in reality are a MAJOR infraction of public health, all while having specific wording inserted into legislation that they pretty much know won’t be read or will have the influence of former executives of that company, simply because they now hold an office in Washington. I strongly urge anyone who reads this article to press your own representative or health care provider into taking steps to prevent any further harm to the public from this growing problem and the deadly products in our world.

In a magazine entitled Health and Wellness, an article appeared on page 22 of the June 2013 edition, entitled: “Monsanto Roundup Weed Killer & GMO BT Crops: List of Linked Health Problems Grows”. Upon reading this briefing, two studies that were conducted revealed some staggering items about the potential health problems, the studies were conducted by scientists who get my applause for reporting and revealing health conditions that have effects worse than tobacco products. According to this article, chronic inflammation is at the root of nearly every medical condition, the study looked at the weed killer and the GMO crops being produced by Monsanto. Both of those items showed to cause inflammation in addition to other health problems. Glyphosate residue, the main ingredient in the weed killer does (not may) enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins that interfere with our normal body functions which lead to other conditions such as: Parkinson’s disease, Infertility and Cancer (Entropy Journal, April 2013). The negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as the damage to our cellular systems take hold throughout our body. At one of the websites mentioned in the article (www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416) a listing of “other” health problems can be found which include: Inflammatory Bowel disease, obesity, depression, attention hyperactivity disorder, Autism, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer, cachexia or wasting syndrome, infertility, developmental malformations. In another series of experiments to see what else this “miracle” can cause, items like mammalian blood, specifically red blood cell damage does exist. Cry1AB proteins produced in common BT crops like corn and soy raises white blood cell counts, is cytotoxic to bone marrow cells, can cause hemolysis (death of red blood cells) in vitro and induced microcytic hypochromic anemia in mice at extremely low levels. These items in addition to the ability to break through the blood-brain barrier is only the beginning of the woes associated with their consumption and use, my own thoughts of how many persons have consumed these items or even used these items over the past decades is nearly overwhelming, the level of “unexplained” health problems that now includes commercials that are trying to raise awareness of 1 in 5 persons suffering from Autism, is it possible that some of those epidemics are being sparked from consumables, that is yet known and I believe only because we haven’t slowed down enough to force this company to reveal all their own studies or look even more closely ourselves.

While these items or information may be fairly new, other studies and reports of this company’s out of control bullying are dominant. In an online article from Vanity Fair (May 2008 “A Harvest of Fear”) a scenario of how bad it is exists plainly. Enter one Gary Rinehart who in 2002 had a strange encounter that ended with threats toward his humble small business known as “Square Deal”. On one summer day a representative from the Monsanto company entered into his store and began accusing him of planting seeds that belonged to Monsanto and that he himself was in violation of certain patented rights, words were exchanged including the man telling Rinehart, “Better come clean and settle or face the consequences” and “Monsanto is big, you can’t win, we will get you, you will pay.” Scenes such as these, according to several reports are unfolding across the nation, stemming from a secret society of persons who have been known to claim they are “surveying” as well as fanning out across America’s farmlands with cameras in hand to photograph the violators and being directly associated with Monsanto. Farmers who grow crops have always saved seeds from the harvest, it reduces cost for the next season and gives them relative assurance that life may go on, however, according to Monsanto, quite a few of our hard working folks are in violation of patents. A concept of patent in the United States isn’t new, however, for many years to get a patent on seeds was not allowed, that is until 1980 when in a 5 to 4 decision, the Supreme Court turned seeds into widgets which laid the ground work for a handful of companies to control the world’s food supply (scary isn’t it, knowing what you eat is CONTROLLED by corporations, not the farmers and agriculturists or even nutritionists). The decision wasn’t really about seeds, it was about a microorganism that was produced by GE to help clean up oil spills, none the less, the law spread and eventually included seed development. 674, this is the number of patents Monsanto has had since 1980, this is more than any other company, and this is the same company who helped spark the “roundup” revolution by creating a weed killer.

Among the items farmers are required to do when using Monsanto Seeds is to sign an agreement to NOT reuse the seeds from the previous year’s crops, essentially insuring that each year the farmer must buy the same seeds from the same company EVERY year and saving any seeds to reuse is a direct violation of their policy, keep in mind that for many years, Monsanto was considered a chemical company, not one of agricultural science and in fact the majority of those chemicals have contributed to some of the most polluted places on Earth, keep this in mind next Earth Day, who really is killing our planet? So far this company has produced its seed wonders in Soy, Corn, Cotton, and Canola and is experimenting with growth hormones that will cause cows to produce milk at a larger rate while taking steps to almost force those who do not want to do it into their laps with no other alternatives (“Monsanto Protection Act”), does this sound like a company who is trying to help? This company’s thirst for control knows no limits, including buying up company’s like Seminis (2005) who at one time controlled 40 percent of the world’s supply of lettuce, tomatoes, vegetables and fruit seeds and just two short years later, buying Emergent Genetics and totaling around 90 percent control over all seeds produced, not just soy. If these actions seem similar to the items Microsoft went through, you would be spot on in your assessment, the difference is Microsoft eventually folded under patent pressures, while this company remains untouched, and monopoly laws apparently have no effect.

Mr. Rinehart being forced into court had no choice but to hire an attorney and according to the article in Vanity Fair, eventually the Monsanto company dropped the suit as they deemed they had the “wrong man”, however, Rinehart learned during the process that Monsanto’s goons had been in the area scouting all the farms for violators, the sad part, they never sent a letter of apology or even made a public announcement that they were in the wrong, instead they ramped up pressures and due to that, most farmers feel (and felt) they have no say so as to where they purchase their seeds. Fact: From 1980 to 2007, GMO crops were virtually non-existent, today more than 200 million acres are said to grow WORLD WIDE. Monsanto continued to aggressively pursue law suits, to the tune of 112 of them scattered over 27 states in 2007, this according to the center for food safety, talk about wasting a court room’s time. The common tactic of Monsanto is to show up at the farmer or person’s location of violation with a photograph of them “violating” patent rights and using intimidation tactics to get the person to comply, a common tactic used is the statement heard most often by the farmer, “Monsanto has proof and if you do not settle, we will take your farm, your seeds and leave you out in the cold” most settle out of court as they do not have the funding to fight this so called giant of seed production. I recommend watching Food Nation and Food Inc to get an idea of how bad the growth hormones and items really are in video documentation.

Dateline 2006: Pilot Grove, Missouri a town with one item of importance, a grain elevator system that helps in distribution of soybean and corn, they buy it in the fall and ship it out over the winter months, this town has a population of only 750 persons, the company that ships these grains has a total of 7 employees and 4 computers. Monsanto targeted this company in 2006, why they started investigating them is relatively unknown but here is the gist of what happened: Monsanto goons videotaped (secretly) workers in fields; around 17 videos were made and done by an outsourcing company known as McDowell and Associates. The legal battles started and still continue to dominate the legal system in that area, not long after their investigation, 800 pages of documents of seed cleaning facilities and farmers were produced, resulting in 27 farmers to found in violation of Monsanto patents and policies, 2 were sued the other 25 settled out of court, including Mr. Rinehart’s case mentioned earlier. To date, the legal battles continue, including Pilot Grove allowing 5 more years of records to be introduced, but this wasn’t good enough, Monsanto wanted a hand’s on look at the computers being used, the attorney for Pilot Grove likened the actions to a “scorched earth” regime, where the legal heat would drive these souls off the map, shameful practices in this author’s eyes and because of pilot grove’s resistance, Monsanto expanded their requests to the co-op’s and farmers associated with the region to include the previous 5 year’s receipts, purchases and paper trails, to which the attorney for Pilot Grove responded, “this company (Monsanto) is trying to expand the case so large that the expense of it will undoubtedly affect the person’s ability to defend who are involved.” Fact: Monsanto was named after the founder’s wife’s maiden name in 1901, their first adventure was a product called “saccharin” and its number one company using it, Coca-Cola, from there more products like vanilla, caffeine and drugs used for sedatives as well as laxatives were included in their initial scope. Other items such as plastics, rubber goods, fuel additives, artificial caffeine, industrial fluids, antifreeze, vinyl siding, dishwasher detergent, artificial turf as well as herbicides and pesticides soon began to roll out of this company.

Charleston West Virginia, Monsanto company operated a chemical plant from 1929 to 1945 that made a product known as “2,4,5-T” known as “weed bug” by its workers, the byproduct of this process became known as dioxin, if this sounds familiar it is because the name itself refers to a group of products or chemicals that cause: heart disease, liver disease, reproductive disorders as well as developmental problems, so harmful was this product that the World Health Organization classified it as a “human carcinogen” or cancerous causing product. This same plant in the 1960’s produced Agent Orange, a warfare chemical popularly associated with the war in Vietnam. The article in Vanity Fair goes on to describe the effects of a plant explosion, the harmful side effects of the chemicals exposed during that explosion and the subsequent law suits against Monsanto, some of which were settled. Take a long look at the list of items mentioned to this point and is becomes very clear that this company interested in alleviating the worlds food problems has also been divulging in an un-necessary population control tactic, judicial and congressional influence or so it seems (which also includes PCB’s invented by Monsanto which are now outlawed by the EPA). The list of health hazards both known and not known are extensive and we as consumers for the most part have been placed in the dark about the underhanded and shady practices of this once pioneering chemical company. Thinking in relation to some of the items that Monsanto now controls, such as Corn, Soy, Cotton and Canola, items that are produced from some of these natural items are:

CORN – Paper Products, Adhesive for stamps, Packaging Tape, the porcelain on spark plugs, corn starch, corn syrup, sorbitol, toothpaste, aspirin, dye, resin and lacquer in paint, instant coffee, instant tea, instant soups, pesticides, fertilizers, cosmetics, vitamins, hand soaps and kitty litter, some beers in processing, dextrose (common in IV solutions), gypsum (drywall), cereal and over 4200 (forty two hundred) separate items that are derived from corn.

SOYBEAN – Cookies, Crackers and snack foods, cooking oil, coffee creamers, liquid shortening, margarine, mayonnaise, some pharmaceuticals, salad dressings, salad oils, sandwich spreads, infant soy formula, baby foods (Enfamil is a large user), candy, diet food products, grits, sausage casings, noodles, antibiotics, plastics, plywood, leather substitutes, dairy feeds, fungicides and inks just to name a few.

COTTON – Sheets, towels, jeans, shirts, linseed oil, socks, soft furnishings, pillow cases and is found in over 90% of all Levi’s Strauss products (besides denim), knitting yarn, currency fibers, Band-Aids, swabs (Q-tips) and a host of “first aid” items. It is super absorbent and light weight and nearly all persons who wear underwear are wearing some form of it. Keep in mind sheep that “accidentally” ingested the plants provided by GMO seeds, died as a result of their consumption, not that anyone eats cotton, but we certainly wear it and the skin is a transfer point for sweat and dirt as well as other absorbed items.

CANOLA – “Rapeseed” oil or Canola oil and is found in a variety of food products as well as used for cooking some of those products.

As we can see in conclusion, the top four items in question cover a vast majority of what we wear, use or consume in our everyday lives. With Monsanto buying up companies left and right, suing or controlling farmers and the lands they have worked for generations, we are on a fast track to self destruction should the harmful side effects of these items continue to go on unabridged and uncontrolled or even investigated by our own government, although Monsanto says that the effects of them are “negligible” or “acceptable”. Stop a moment, go back up to the introductory paragraph below the opening of this article and look at the known effects and then if you still decide these risks are acceptable all the better for the blind consumer, however, by now I am betting a vast majority of you are in total shock of how liberal a bath (reference to the article “a growing problem”) we are all taking in these same products that are using the GMO crops and not just for consumption. Just in case you need a brief review, they include: Birth Defects, ALS, Parkinson’s, Cancer, Autism, Red Blood Cell Damage, Elevated White Blood Cell Counts, Reproductive problems in Humans AND animals, Toxins that reduce our natural ability to fight common illnesses and a host of others, to the point that doctors across this nation are advising against eating them, such as Dr. Jennifer Armstrong of the AAEM, (American Academy of Environmental Medicine) who advises to “just avoid eating them”, sounds easy enough but with the list of items produced from these products, we may never truly get away from total dependence, applause for those who grow non GMO foods and steer clear of grains fed to livestock that cause them to be sterile, can’t milk a dead cow, right? I wonder if enough doctors pulled their concerns together would it be enough to force Monsanto to reveal the whole truth and not just the “benefits to society and the food supply”. Until they do, this author pledges that every new bit of information in association with the deadly effects of these foods and the fleecing of our hard working families in agriculture, will be reported, revealed and reminded and for you goons at Monsanto, rest assured some of us are watching you, except we are not in violation of privacy laws such as yourselves who video tape from afar, intimidate and then settle, persons such as myself and others will use this in accordance to the wording of the laws of this land and diligently defend our rights to food safety, including safe handling practices, now off to my own organic garden where the food I am growing is GMO free and very safe to eat. Good day readers, eat, drink and live well.

www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

http://gmoevidence.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/JHTD-1-104

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805

http://www.globalresearch.ca/monsantos-gmo-killer-seeds-profits-above-human-health/5336399

http://www.gmwatch.org/gm-firms/10595-monsanto-a-history

http://www.naturalnews.com/023254_Monsanto_PCB_toxic.html

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_25744.cfm

http://www.kycorn.org/documents/cornuses.pdf

http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/soybean/uses_soyproducts.html

http://www.cotton.org/econ/world/

http://www.chiro.org/nutrition/FULL/Avoid_GMOs.shtml

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers/health-risks/articles-about-risks-by-jeffrey-smith/Doctors-Warn-Avoid-Genetically-Modified-Food-May-2009

Posted in American Awareness, Criminology Amp Justice, farmers, GMO, government, Monsanto, pesticides, roundup, Scott Hall, unhealthy foods, unsafe practices, well being | No comments

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Global Awareness: A Growing Problem

Posted on 7:12 PM by Unknown

English: Logo of the . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Article by: Scott Hall (scotthall.cnj@gmail.com)

In the last few months, our nation and the global citizenry have seen several infractions of human rights, questionable behaviors and serious law and political goof ups; in the muck and mutter of it all, had bills pass through our elected officials hands that are going unread, campaigns of hope and prosperity about how to change things and “stop Obama-care”, debates over economy and hearing rumors of “sequesters” and of things where it’s the left vs. the right or the reds vs. the blues and even the have’s vs. the have not’s - including how best to deal with our food problems, who are the experts, such as what is really going on with genetically modified foods and why suddenly this push for “organic” grown items, I personally have yet to eat anything not seemingly organic and definitely not anything plastic or at least not noticeable to the naked eyes. Debates of proper punishment for heinous crimes, television personalities with more influence than a court of law and hosts of other items that have this author shaking his head and wondering if anyone is using critical thought when approached with problematic systems or items of interest, are we ignoring our growing problems or are we seriously trying to deal with this whole hot mess? Time for our truth glasses to look at a few of the things going on in our society, it is not this author’s intention within the confines of this article, to say that this way of thinking is the most accurate nor the only opinion that should be voiced, it is my intention to open Pandora’s box of critical thinking and apply it to those items that should (or do) have us all shaking our heads.

The Wounds

First up, a look at “Obama Care”, which is the single most important part of our history ever, regardless of likes or dislikes, the legislation in the world of health care has never had a precedent of the same proportion and several years after its initial introduction our televisions are filled with commercials of how to discover the loopholes within its context, if you are smart and order the book online, you can save about 15 dollars, otherwise it’s a twenty dollar book. Before I get into some of the realms in question, I want to point out one item of interest, any book that sells for as low as 5 dollars just because it is “online” should clue us in as to its worth in the words that created it, it is my bet that some persons who got outraged decided to point out the items that were stricken or not included and applied simple tax codes to help the disadvantaged, that is great, but I have to question the sources or the accuracy, good chance it isn’t a worthy read or has little input to help. Okay, back to our focus of health care (PPACA) that was put into motion, lots of persons are upset that a nearing deadline is approaching for us all to have some sort of health coverage, I myself did an complete overview of the final draft once it was made available a few months back and taking from a portion of the report that was filed for Criminology & Justice Digital Media, the following was discovered:

1) – PPACA was signed into law on March 23 of 2010.

2) -- These items became effective immediately: The FDA is now authorized to approve generic versions of biologic drugs and grant those manufacturers 12 years of use before generics can be developed (A Biologic drug is naturally synthesized and not chemically compounded such as vaccine’s, blood or therapeutic medicines and the like), Medicaid drug rebate is increased to 23%, The Indian Health Care and Improvement act is reauthorized, The FDA must come up with a standard that causes Chain style restaurants to display caloric, fat and nutrition content on packages, walls, vending machines and their associated places across the USA to name a short list of immediate implementations (in full effect by 2014).

High lights and time line of what is: Effective July 2010 a 10% tax on indoor tanning facilities and a council set up for preventative health and promotion where the Surgeon General will oversee or chair the Board and if you were denied coverage based on preexisting conditions, insurers can no longer consider those parameters. Effective September 2010 enhanced methods of fraud detection are implemented, Medicare is expanded to include small or rural hospital facilities, companies who have employees in the 55-64 range of age can have those early retirees enroll in a temporary program to reduce premium costs, The Medicare part D coverage gap is set to be eliminated by 2020 and starts its reduction as of September. Effective January 2011, Flexible Spending or Health Savings accounts no longer can be used to pay for non prescription items excluding insulin. Effective January 2012, Employers must now list on the W-2 Tax forms the benefits they provided to their employees (this was postponed by the IRS by one year).

The future provisions (highlights): August 2012, all new plans must cover certain preventative

Ritalin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

services (mammography, colonoscopy) without a deductible, co-payment or co-insurance. Women’s Preventative Services such as wellness visits will also be covered without cost sharing. January of 2014 discrimination of benefits based on preexisting conditions where rate increases may be acceptable become are prohibited, Insurers are prohibited from establishing annual spending caps, children under 19 who have preexisting conditions no longer restricted to coverage. January 2015 doctor’s payments are adjusted according to quality of care and not volume of patients. 2017 states are encouraged to rewrite a health mandate that allows them to receive the benefits of savings in federal money and assistance.

Just from this stand point alone, seems as though the benefits are spot on for an economic upturn and benefits citizens of all types and income levels, so why are we seeing “find the loopholes” ads? Because free enterprise and a bit of tom-foolery can lead us to believe just about anything, especially if we don’t already understand its basics, thank heavens Congress actually read that proposal and did something unique – they hammered out a compromise and bingo, even if debatable, it passed and is a part of our United States history. This leads me to another point (or counter point if you will) about a few recent items making it through our elected leaders that are being reported as “not fully read” or “hasn’t been read”. This type of infraction against the people should never go unpunished, if a big business was say involved in insider trading, you can bet congressional hearings may take place, so why not put the shoe on the other foot, so far I have yet to see one congress person say, “a group of us missed that one, we should step down” or “congressional hearings will take place to find out why congress persons didn’t read legislation before it passed”, instead we are seeing pictures of empty chairs while congressmen enjoy a beer at the president’s expense; critical and expanded thinking about these things makes me question why we are paying salaries with hard earned tax money to people who are obviously too inundated to do their jobs correctly.

Touring through the headlines of our world, whether or not you use “Google” or “Bing” will likely yield a few news stories (some included in reference links below) about congress failing to actually read the items that get voted on, I will pause while you calm down a bit and then move on to a couple of examples of highly paid elected leaders who are making a mockery of our Constitutional system. In an article posted online by Fox News in December of 2004, an admittance of one Representative Brian Baird, Democrat Washington, revealed two things: Congressional persons often rely on a summary of what the paperwork holds and that the vast majority of them do not read the summary nor the legislation at all, in part because they are only given about 48 hours to investigate them prior to voting, only two days, which according to their work schedule isn’t really a lot of time, so these same elected officials rely on trusted “agencies” to summarize them to give them a good understanding of what the paperwork contains – this was stated in 2004 when nearly a trillion dollars was spent through 2900 pages of legislation and the issue was a provision inserted into a spending bill that allowed a Republican finance committee to look at ANY AMERICAN’S TAX RETURNS. Think about this Bush Fans, your beloved and embattled party leader as well as the party itself, didn’t even glance at it, not the Majority Leader Bill Frist nor the finance committee chairperson had any idea those words which did get signed into law even existed until the civil outcry that followed.

These past few years, our elected representatives and officials have been dubbed the worst congress ever, that being the 112^thcongress to be precise. Fast forward from our 2004 example to 2012, when a list of items was revealed by the Washington post in another online article bringing light to our Capitalist society, according to the first graphic table listed within the article, the number of public laws passed from 1947-2011 swelled way over the range of a “busy” congress in the 112^th Congress (2012). To be more correct, this congress was ¾ through their year when this statistic was released. I am in awe of how much they haven’t done just in the news stories of their vacations before a budget passing and other questionable things, but until this article shed some light on my own truth glasses, I was truly as in the dark as a few of our readers as to how much “do nothing” is really going on. It shows in their popularity ratings as well, a whopping 9% favorability rating and yet anyone who speaks of our president at a rating of say 54% as bad should actually be proud, that is 600 times greater than the congress who is supposed to be working FOR the people instead of burning up tax payer money and slowing the people down on items that surely need attention, such as our own countries credit rating and continuing job crisis, let us not forget the showdown that congress had over our debt ceiling. We can say that at least they are die-hard at their job, I mean they did manage to attempt to repeal the PPACA by voting on it a record 33 times, I will say it again, 33 congress wide votes where NO ONE could muster enough steam or majority interest to even punch a hole in it, thinking back to the advantages lots of citizens will receive and are receiving, this example looks as though congress wants us to fail and struggle. Pardon me while I wipe the water from my own truth glasses, the steam from the crazy wasteful spending and mockery of helping the people has fogged the lenses; I am hoping our citizens will ask of your leaders, just what did my tax money really go toward, the likely answer will be, “making our fat pockets fatter without using lobbyists” or “remember that pay raise we passed”.

Lobbyists make me laugh inside as these are the persons who, try hard to have things inserted into legislation or to influence what legislation comes and goes through, some call this pork belly spending, this author calls it a pathetic attempt to deceive the American citizens and to keep us guessing and stirring over items while the real secret and upsetting stuff gets slipped in unnoticed. Verbiage like “sequester” sounds good, but until we learn that the Sequester doesn’t affect Government Officials such as Congress in total as they are exempt from it, we can be mislead to thinking things are business as usual. Take for example the one thing besides money that makes the world go round, food and a well known name, Monsanto. Then think about the “Monsanto Protection Act” that was “overlooked” in a recent legislative push. Genetically Modified Foods are just one of the many facets to avoiding global hunger, or so we are to think; question: if we produced the same number of seeds that they have without all the hype and modifications, we would have to deal with weeds and insects and similarly the same number of crops would grow as expected and who knows, maybe even the industry of agriculture could create some much needed jobs or we could find “green” ways to eradicate insect problems or combating drought conditions without DNA splicing in plants, my mind is open to any new horizon, just not those whose side effects could be costly or deadly and if we are not careful will offset the healthcare system to include what to do when a food breaks the blood brain barrier because its DNA didn’t like human consumption either, never mind the insects.

If I were to tell you that Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was made with Yellow Dye #5 and #6, most of us would think, no big deal, it’s just food coloring. What if I told you that those two items are derived from coal tar and that coal tar is found in lice shampoo, would you still be likely to eat that brand of macaroni and cheese or possibly wonder what else contains the same ingredients or maybe we could be looking at a popular soft drink like 7up who a few years ago had as one of its ingredients - lithium, yet now it isn’t included in the formula due to its adverse health effects in some persons. Let those items not surprise you much, however, let these items open your eyes somewhat: Cows, Pigs, Geese, Squirrels, Elk, Deer, Raccoons, Mice and Rats all refused to consume any GMO food or by product. Those that consumed them during testing of the products effects ended in these results: Rats that were fed Potatoes that were resistant to pests through GMO, received digestive cancer as a reward for its consumption, though I am sure many of you right now are thinking good, rats need to die anyway - you are missing a critical point - that these same animals are what we are using as a measuring stick for the very products we’re using daily, so if it hurts a Rat, it will likely hurt us, is our food chain an acceptable risk for this type of danger?

Next up, Corn - this American favorite is used in cookouts and gatherings, popular in restaurants and can even be used to produce alcohol or fuel, they are the result of many beautiful corn field photographs and 35% of the world’s supply comes from right here on US Soil. In 2003 after inhaling corn pollen from MON 863 corn plants, several persons had a serious respiratory attack as well as suffered skin or intestinal reactions. Sheep who wandered into genetically modified cotton fields died after eating some of the plants, pigs and cows being fed grain from these plants became sterile and the list goes on and on. I applaud free enterprise and the success stories it has produced, I applaud our innovative thinking into new ways to deal with growing and agricultural issues, I cannot and will not condone our government (or our people) allowing any type of wording in favor of a company (which also has former Monsanto company persons in elected or appointed office) that produces a product that we can “eat at our own risk”. Keep in mind corn alone is used in many things, such as corn starch, many medicines and a host of cosmetic materials; we are not just eating this stuff but practically taking a liberal bath in it as well. Genetically Modified crops have also shown a reduced amount of common cancer and disease fighting nutrients within the plants being grown, the verbiage is called, transposons, or a process that happens when genetic mutations exist as a result of modifying the gene of the plant, note: This process also releases toxins as well as other allergens that can affect the consumer, facts that have been court battled by Monsanto in dispute, which brings us to the Monsanto Protection Act.

The disputed section in the “hidden agenda” is section 735 of HR 933, to which the following is written:

Sec. 735. In the event that a determination of non-regulated status made pursuant to section 411 of the Plant Protection Act is or has been invalidated or vacated, the Secretary of Agriculture shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon request by a farmer, grower, farm operator, or producer, immediately grant temporary permit(s) or temporary deregulation in part, subject to necessary and appropriate conditions consistent with section 411(a) or 412(c) of the Plant Protection Act, which interim conditions shall authorize the movement, introduction, continued cultivation, commercialization and other specifically enumerated activities and requirements, including measures designed to mitigate or minimize potential adverse environmental effects, if any, relevant to the Secretary’s evaluation of the petition for non-regulated status, while ensuring that growers or other users are able to move, plant, cultivate, introduce into commerce and carry out other authorized activities in a timely manner: Provided, That all such conditions shall be applicable only for the interim period necessary for the Secretary to complete any required analyses or consultations related to the petition for non-regulated status: Provided further, That nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the Secretary’s authority under section 411, 412 and 414 of the Plant Protection Act.

Key item to point out, nowhere in this section do the words Monsanto protection act prevail, what is prevailing in this section are two things, first the Plant Protection Act and the wording specific to the cultivation or growth of agricultural items and the secretary’s role. Taking a look inside this section, in relation to the crops in question, it does state that the Secretary can grant temporary deregulation status, to allow growers to continue cultivation of biotech crops that had previously been approved by the Department of Agriculture and while legal challenges continue, it prevents the courts from interceding in the review process, from this whole basis is an outcry that this is unfair as the courts cannot intervene on food safety issues, never mind it is the agriculture and food safety divisions to insure this anyway. The provision in essence insures that growers of these crops may continue to grow them; it basically gives the growers peace of mind knowing that a judicial order cannot disrupt their livelihoods, even if we do not agree on their safe consumption or practices in achieving the desired output from the seeds.

Make no mistake, this provision has very little to do with the growers, it is a protection of sorts for those who develop those crops preventing the USDA from saying anything more than yay or nay in the realm of potentially dangerous foods. Here is the kicker: To date, no farmer has had to have their crops destroyed, the USDA already has provisions in place similar to this that the agricultural department uses, making this particular section totally unnecessary and over used to protect us from potentially dangerous foods, however, since no long term data has been accepted as actual proof, based in part on the law suit answers companies like Dow, Monsanto and Bayer have made, who knows what the long term effects will be on our ecosystem or on ourselves, especially with provisions that prevent the public from doing anything from ill gotten health items, this makes me wonder if these big businesses are trying to avoid what happened in tobacco, where years ago it was somewhat accepted, then Cancer lawsuits and proof in a court of harmful effects cost that industry billions in settlements, just some food for thought.

So far in our journey through the muck, we have seen our Congress asleep, corporations with their hands in the bottom of a cookie jar and the stench of collaboration as well as misguided thinking. These are only a small fraction of our growing problems within the communities of our land and it’s not just the adults and leaders who are reeling from society, our children (now out of school) have also got their own pressures to deal with. Caution, what follows will contain strong language, not for purposes of being crude or overbearing but to bring to light some of what is going on in our society. I am a proud parent of two very talented children who participate in school activities and belong to band and chorus respectively. The final concert of the year for this fine group of students was done on cue, with professionalism and accuracy, along with the performance certain awards were given out to those who improved greatly, took on extra and etcetera and as the parents were assisting in clean up, suddenly the band director was called away, as I went to see where the crowd of people were heading, I heard that one of those student performers was attacked, to the point that he went into seizures. The assailant - one of his classmates who left the scene as the fire department and ambulance pulled into the school lot to assist the child who was assaulted. This appalled me to great ends, such a wonderful night of music to be disrupted by a needless and senseless act and I have no further information as to this child as I am not their parent and privacy laws prevail, however, quite a few other band students witnessed this event happen, and only one ran to get help. I learned about 3 weeks after school that this student recovered fully. The time for this type of behavior to not be tolerated on any level is beyond now; it was yesterday quite a long time ago, and in this section, I will attempt to hit hard on some areas that yes, America, you need to be aware of for more than our future, but for ourselves as a whole.

I could speak at great lengths about the many articles I have written on bullying and how it affects the psychological growth of both adult and children and it is not the intent of this author to “beat a dead horse” as I am sure the readers of my articles have a good idea about the rebellion, depression and suicide rates that are associated with it, however, in light of this past school year and the letters sent home from the school my own children attended over the past 270 plus days; this is what has entered into the school: weapons, marijuana, alcohol, bullying and assaults and on more than one occasion as well as threats against other students; note: I am glad the school was able to intervene on a few of these occasions, however I still have to question where are the kids getting the items in the first place? Stopping to ponder this and having the experience of being a parent of a bullied child, my mind opened up to several possibilities, most of which point back to the same erratic and extreme behavior going on across our very nation and in truth that equals a whole lot of ugly and tons of unnecessary influences. I want to present a short list of words that I have heard in this “middle” school being used by other children while waiting for their rides (over heard while my window was down): Bitch, Slut, whore, Mother F**k, swag fag, fat ass and shit head, this doesn’t include the things shared with me by my own children who tell their parents exactly what names or items they themselves were called throughout their day. Words, only words are what I have heard a few others say, “Words cannot hurt you”. Okay, if this is true, using a combination of words that come out of these kids mouths, how about this one, “Fuck you fat ass whore, you aint about shit.” That was said to my oldest child, to the point she heard this almost daily and the girl saying it to her also threatened to “Beat her ass” almost daily as well, even while filing “reports” on the child and others who bullied my daughter daily, the attitude and behavior still went on seemingly unopposed, so, if words don’t hurt then why does my daughter complain about being called such items? Words that carry a threat of violence, provocation and personally taken would that do it, absolutely! Thinking in context to the young man who was assaulted and went into seizures, wonder what words were said before that occurred, more importantly what will be the true cost of those actions and words, who is ultimately responsible?

We live in a society now that has actually contemplated placing an armed guard in every single one of our schools to help “prevent” or deter some of the extreme items taking place where shootings are taking teachers, administration and children’s lives. In this author’s opinion, yes our schools needs securing, but not just from outside intruders, they need securing from ourselves as well, look around you especially if you are a parent with a child enrolled in school, think how many letters are sent home, what items do you see in your own neighborhoods and how much of this is now making it into the news you watch or hear? Are you worry free or do you wonder about them while they are away, not to mention what things go on while riding the bus. Children don’t just sit around and think, “hey maybe today is a good day to try some alcohol” or “I got lunch money I can use to buy a joint” or even “I am bringing this gun to school” they must have influences of environment and persons in their lives to show them how, where, what and who. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, a total of 33 school associated violent deaths occurred, among students 12-18 there were 828,000 non-fatal victimizations at school, 470,000 victims of theft and 359,000 victims of violence, keep in mind this is over just ONE year. Look at our own United States and examine your own regions, do the numbers parallel in smaller amounts, if so then use your eyes and look around you, the root of the problem is likely right down the road from you and if no one speaks up, then the problems will continue to grow, the violence will become worse, the death tolls of innocent children will spike and society as a whole will be spiraling out of control trying to figure out where to start looking for answers….oh wait, we are at that point now. Staggering statistics of hate, violence and unnecessary pressures keeping our most brilliant students out of the lime light because the problem was ignored is and should be unacceptable.

During that 2009-2010 school year, 85 percent of all schools recorded that one or more crime incidents happened at school that year. 850 out of 1000 schools and us as a society are struggling with making laws against this behavior or investing in those students with home issues while continuously being shocked over mass shootings, education struggles in poorer neighborhoods and growing concerns over our children’s safety, bullying and all the crime associated with it, this author says it starts at home and ends with headline news. It’s about time we stopped tolerating this in total and it’s not just the kids being affected either, also during that same school year of 2009-2010, 3% of those teachers said they were verbally abused or physically threatened, 39 percent of secondary schools and 33 percent of primary schools reported that student misbehavior and class cutting interfered with their ability to teach, food for thought: Middle school students are around 11-14 years old…and if they are cutting class, threatening teachers and staff and the parents are not intervening then yes America it is those same concerned (or not) parents who are causing this acceptable basis, however, if the discipline is there and even working with the schools are not able to change things, that is when you step up the pace with outside help from professionals and institutions who can and do help change lives and yes, I realize that means money but isn’t our children’s futures worth the investment, if not what about grand or great grandchildren who may never know what it means to write in cursive writing and might think calligraphy is some sort of ancient alien print, who really is at the core of this paradox of grime and grit, is it society, is it the parents or their financial health or maybe it’s “uncle jimbobarine” who happens to drink a lot, is it video games or iPod’s…I think if we seriously reviewed ourselves, lots of truths would be uncovered.

Sandy Hook, how many of our readers instantly upon seeing those two words thought, “terrible tragedy due to a psycho with a gun” or maybe even, “so many kids suffered terribly due to this unnecessary violence”, but how many persons actually thought, “we need to stop this by finding a way to control guns” or even “that person should have gotten help way earlier”. That answer, may never truly be known but one thing is for certain, lots of tragedies like this could have been avoided, but not by controlling the guns that were used to accomplish what the entire world has witnessed (yes, I am wondering about the statements from the NRA as well as a few pertinent others). I myself was in awe of the total destruction caused in this one, small area of our planet that will no doubt be the catalyst for large change; no child should go to school in fear for their lives. Changes that should and will include controlling the weapons (called guns) and the ammunition that goes ‘hand in hand’ with those same guns, but will this change help those who may have mental health issues? This author has witnessed, through the vast media outlets the tragedy, the outpouring of support, the debates and a chance; a solid avenue for actually intercepting or even preventing things from possibly happening in larger or more impactful areas which now includes paying attention to those who are suffering (or confused) in silence. I am not a therapist nor will I attempt to take away from those persons who go to work every day to help heal the Mentally Ill, I am however in total support of their work, it is needed, necessary and now more than ever, warranted and not just for the ever important children of our world, but for everyone, the key to success in these endeavors is not just persistence alone, it will take years of study, years of diligent progress (even if in small steps) and more importantly, a union of professionals.

From foul politics to pressures on children, we have covered a variety of items that are growing like a bad cancer upon our society. Faults of judgment, finance, economy and a host of others are being hammered out daily in our society. One of the infractions, though it is a part of society, is the debate of life or death in the Jodi Arias trial, where she stabbed, shot and outright violently murdered her husband, at the end of the trial, found guilty of Murder but upon sentencing a hung jury as to life or death. Any professional, in the fields of criminology who has inkling into procedure felt their heart drop when that verdict came around. The evidence though long and boring proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that she was guilty of the things she was charged with, solidly convicted and yet we could not decide whether or not she should live or die. I love this country, I love the debates and people who fight for the rights of the innocent or of the guilty, but in this case, boy howdy did someone seriously drop the ball of justice that is unless something else gives or prevails on the retrial in the sentencing phase beginning July 18^thof this year. This is truly sad as the victim’s families will have to relive once again the largest part of that trial only to see if she lives or dies, will either sentence satisfy the victim’s families or bring out some hidden items, doubtful, but it will produce several made for television movies, and once again, free enterprise and the gullible will meet on the fields of truth and justice. In partial conclusion, our growing problems need more critical thought, they need more input and less Hollywood or media sensationalized hype, we need deeper understanding and less cartoon rhetoric, we need real doctors and less “Dr. Phil” shows where the good doctor has had weeks to analyze how to get ratings and focus’s not so much on truth, we need to look at ourselves, our government and their elected officials as well as all the items that plague our society. As a last thought, let us look at the time of Noah, biblically speaking. The world was so corrupt, so much evil and malpractice going on that our world was flooded, sparing only a select few, I shudder to think how much worse it will get before the Lord comes back and says, “okay, enough is enough, time to clear the pool” so to speak. With our eyes open and truth glasses in hand, let us hope that critical thinking coupled with slowing our lives down enough will prevent any type of disaster. All of this while we sit back and believe whatever is put in the spotlight in front of us, while we do that and close on this note, consider the last paragraph, then decide are we slipping or are we thinking critically (an excerpt from a report filed in California):,

The complaint against Dr. Phil was filed with the California Board of Psychology. It is a felony to practice without a license in California. Dr. Phil previously gave up his license in 2006. Notably, when they go on his show, participants sign a contract that includes a provision that he is not medically treating them. Notably, when his show began in 2002, the Board investigated whether he was practicing without a license. In what would be an insult to most true doctors, the Board found that Dr. Phil was not in violation because he was acting as an entertainer, not as a psychiatrist, however I have heard on many occasions where the general public believes that he is the resident expert on everything.

References, links and news

http://shine.yahoo.com/dailyshot/gross-mystery-ingredients-in-popular-foods-141700944.html?vp=1

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,140204,00.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/07/13/13-reasons-why-this-is-the-worst-congress-ever/

http://shine.yahoo.com/dailyshot/gross-mystery-ingredients-in-popular-foods-141700944.html?vp=1

http://responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers/65-health-risks/1notes

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr933/text

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/mpa.asp

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ224/html/PLAW-106publ224.htm

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/pdf/PlantProtAct2000.pdf

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/sandy-hook-timeline/index.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/sandy-hook