Molly Ivins on Why She Will Not Support Hillary Clinton for President

"Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges."

Using the Web for Advocacy Purposes

This is an example of the ways in which the internet can be used to advocate for a particular policy position. Click on the "Toolkit" tab to see examples of effective talking points, letters to the editor, and op-ed pieces. For my Tuesday class, feel free to post opposing viewpoints on your own blog; your particular position on these issues isn't as important as some demonstration of your ability to use the web as an advocacy tool.

Comparison shopping moves to medicine

"Last summer, the state of Oregon started to post hospital quality comparisons on a Web site. Under pressure from lawmakers, a hospital industry group recently opened a publicly searchable database to compare Oregon hospital charges."

Missouri stem cell scientists wary

"One of the next big battles over stem cell research is shaping up in the nation's heartland, where research supporters want to make a conservative state a haven for controversial cloning experiments."

Democratic Leaders Call Medicare Drug Legislation the Product of a "Corrupt Legislative Process"

Democratic Leaders Call Medicare Drug Legislation the Product of a "Corrupt Legislative Process," Seek Investigation into Role of Scandal-Tainted Lobbying Group

Jails as Dumping Grounds for the Mentally Ill

The nation’s local jails are increasingly becoming the dumping grounds for the mentally ill. Of the 10 million people entering county jails each year, it is estimated that 16 percent are suffering from mental illness. Most of these individuals have committed only minor infractions, more often the manifestation of their illness than the result of criminal intent.

Getting a Letter to the Editor Published in the NY Times

" [R]eaders, new and old, send in questions (and even complaints!) about the letters page almost every day, and so a refresher course may help. This is an attempt to answer some frequently asked questions."

Advice from the Op-Ed Editor for the NY Times

"Here at the Op-Ed page, there are certain questions that are as constant as the seasons. How does one get published? Who chooses the articles? Does The Times have an agenda? And, of course, why was my submission rejected?"

United States: Mentally Ill Mistreated in Prison

"One in six U.S. prisoners is mentally ill. Many of them suffer from serious illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. There are three times as many men and women with mental illness in U.S. prisons as in mental health hospitals."

Medicare Woes Take High Toll on Mentally Ill

"Mix-ups in the first weeks of the Medicare drug benefit have vexed many beneficiaries and pharmacists. Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein, president of the American Psychiatric Association, said the transition from Medicaid to Medicare had had a particularly severe impact on low-income patients with serious, persistent mental illnesses."

The Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures

During the semester, I hope you will follow this debate and make a decision about how you feel about these contentious issues.

PAHO: Mental disorders in Latin America and the Caribbean Forecast to Increase

"Health authorities recognize that mental disorders and substance abuse are important public health problems. Nevertheless, research carried out in recent years on those problems' prevalence, impact, and associated costs demonstrate that their magnitude has been underestimated."

Illinois Program for Victims of Domestic Violence

"While that may seem like common sense, there is now a growing body of evidence indicating that experiencing abuse plays a significant role in the development and exacerbation of mental disorders and substance abuse problems, increases the risk for victimization, and influences the course of recovery from a range of psychiatric illnesses."

Balding, Wrinkled, and Stoned

"There are an estimated 1.7 million Americans over age 50 addicted to drugs, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services."

Was 2005 the year of natural disasters?

"Why do natural disasters seem to be increasingly frequent and increasingly deadly? Poor and vulnerable people are usually the worst hit."

Hospitals Say Meth Cases Are Rising, and Hurt Care

"A sharp increase in the number of people arriving in emergency rooms with methamphetamine-related problems is straining local hospital budgets and treatment facilities across the country, particularly in the Midwest, according to two surveys to be released in Washington today. (Free, but Registration Required. Recommended)"

A Free Course in Psychiatric Epidemiology

"Psychiatric Epidemiology reviews descriptive and analytic epidemiology for major mental disorders of childhood, adulthood, and late adult life. The course will also examine issues of classification and the nosology of psychiatric disorders as well as operational case definitions and the measurement techniques to enhance field surveys and risk factor research."

President Tells Insurers to Aid Ailing Medicare Drug Plan

"With tens of thousands of people unable to get medicines promised by Medicare, the Bush administration has told insurers that they must provide a 30-day supply of any drug that a beneficiary was previously taking, and it said that poor people must not be charged more than $5 for a covered drug."

Assault on the Elderly

"It is hard to reconcile the Bush administration's ''compassionate conservatism' with its very uncompassionate assault on the safety net for our nation's most needy and vulnerable citizens, low-income Americans and the elderly.":

Harm Avoidance in the Treatment of Alcoholism

"The new concept, called harm avoidance, is gaining acceptance because of newer drugs such as acamprosate and naltrexone. Both acamprosate and naltrexone reduce craving for alcohol, and studies show that patients who relapse and fail to be totally abstinent while on these drugs still drink a lot less, which presumably means fewer adverse consequences."

Report Casts Fresh Doubts on Prostate Cancer Testing - New York Times

"Men who have been screened for prostate cancer by the most commonly used tests have no greater chance of surviving the disease than those who have not been screened at all, new research has found. A report on the research, published yesterday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that neither a prostate specific antigen test, known as a P.S.A., nor a rectal examination worked to reduce deaths from prostate cancer."

Abstinence-only sex ed is ethically indefensible

"The report reads like an indictment. Abstinence-only is bad science, bad policy and a blatant violation of medical ethics and basic human rights. Enough is enough. The time has come for Congress to declare an immediate moratorium on federal funding for these programs. It is a national scandal that we have already spent over $1.1 billion of taxpayers' dollars on programs that don't work and that censor vital public health information for young people."

Increased Nurse Staffing Can Save Lives, Reduce Costs

"In the face of preventable deaths, costly inefficiency, and a rapidly aging population, U.S. hospitals are eager to establish a viable business case to improve quality of care and patient safety. New research published in Health Affairs finds that increasing the use of registered nurses (RNs)without increasing total nursing hours could reduce costs and improve patient care by avoiding unnecessary deaths and reducing days of hospital care."

Millions to die without donors' aid

A story based on an interview with Jeffrey Sachs, a senior United Nations adviser

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

I think you'll enjoy reading the text to a speech Steve Jobs gave at Stanford.

U.S. Health Care Spending In An International Context -- Reinhardt et al. 23 (3): 10 -- Health Affairs

U.S. Health Care Spending In An International Context -- Reinhardt et al. 23 (3): 10 -- Health Affairs: "Using the most recent data on health spending published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), we explore reasons why U.S. health spending towers over that of other countries with much older populations. Prominent among the reasons are higher U.S. per capita gross domestic product (GDP) as well as a highly complex and fragmented payment system that weakens the demand side of the health sector and entails high administrative costs. We examine the economic burden that health spending places on the U.S. economy. We comment on attempts by U.S. policy-makers to increase the prices foreign health systems pay for U.S. prescription drugs. "

Health Spending In The United States And The Rest Of The Industrialized World

Health Spending In The United States And The Rest Of The Industrialized World -- Anderson et al. 24 (4): 903 -- Health Affairs: "U.S. citizens spent $5,267 per capita for health care in 2002�53 percent more than any other country. Two possible reasons for the differential are supply constraints that create waiting lists in other countries and the level of malpractice litigation and defensive medicine in the United States. Services that typically have queues in other countries account for only 3 percent of U.S. health spending. The cost of defending U.S. malpractice claims is estimated at $6.5 billion in 2001, only 0.46 percent of total health spending. The two most important reasons for higher U.S. spending appear to be higher incomes and higher medical care prices."

Prescriptions of mind-altering drugs for teens rise

"Drug prescriptions meant to counter depression, anxiety and mood or attention disorders in teens increased by 250 percent between 1994 and 2001 . . . ."

Anatomy and Structure of a TypePad, WordPress, Blogger and Movable Type Blog

This posting may help you decide which program to use when you set up your blog.

McGill Charities

Interesting website with striking photos of poverty. Be sure and visit the "Golden Rule" page. .

Early years study: Reversing the real brain drain

Early years study: reversing the real brain drain: "New evidence from neuroscience shows that the early years of development from conception to age six, particularly for the first three years, set the foundations for competence and coping skills that will affect learning, behaviour and health throughout life."

Women, violence and health - Amnesty International

Women, violence and health - Amnesty International: "The epidemic of violence directed at women and girls constitutes a major human rights scandal and a public health crisis. Around the world women are regularly beaten and sexually abused by intimate partners, family members, neighbours, and by people not known to them. They also suffer gender-based violence during and after conflicts and wars. The impact on women�s health goes far beyond bruises, broken bones or even death. As well as causing physical suffering to women, such violence has a profound impact on women�s psychological well-being, on their sexual and reproductive health and on the well-being and security of their families and communities. "

HIV/AIDS and Mental Health

Why Mental Health Matters in HIV and AIDS Interventions: "This World Bank discussion paper examines the relationship between HIV and AIDS and mental health."

Achieving the millennium development goals: Does mental health play a role?

Can we meet the UN's Millennium Developmental Goals if we ignore mental health?: "Achieving the millennium development goals: does mental health play a role?"

Trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation in the Americas

Trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation in the Americas: "The trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation is a high-profit, low-risk trade that has been identified as a contemporary form of slavery. Although usually associated with Eastern Europe or Asia, there is mounting evidence that these crimes represent a significant problem in the Americas. "

Mental Health in Complex Emergencies

A Mental Health Action Plan for Complex Emergencies: "A review carried out by researchers at the Harvard Programme in Refugee Trauma suggests that psychological needs constitute a very large part of the human damage inflicted by complex emergencies. For example, 33 percent of all casualties in World War II were attributable to psychiatric causes and 15 percent of Vietnam veterans still suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder 10 years after the war."

World Health Organization (Mental Health)

Mental health"450 million people worldwide are affected by mental, neurological or behavioural problems at any one time."

NCVC

National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center"The National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC) is a division of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. Since 1974 the Faculty and staff of the NCVC have been devoted to achieving a better understanding of the impact of criminal victimization on adults, children, and their families."

Welcome | Harvard Initiative for Global Health

Harvard Initiative for Global Health: "The Harvard Initiative for Global Health unites education, research, and global engagement, fueling the inspiration and innovation required to generate dramatic intellectual progress and practical approaches to global health challenges."

World Federation for Mental Health

World Federation for Mental Health: "The World Federation for Mental Health is the only international, multidisciplinary, grassroots advocacy and education organization concerned with all aspects of mental health!"

Corporate Human Rights Violators in 2005

"Most Wanted" Corporate Human Rights Violators of 2005: "This list of 'MOST WANTED' corporate criminals gives you information about the abusive behavior of this year's top fourteen worst corporations, tells you who is responsible, and how to connect with and support people who are doing something about it. "