oppose bush*? -- don't worry there's a pill for that

[radfringe]

Opposing Bush: A Form of Mental Illness?
January 07, 2005
http://kurtnimmo.com/blog/index.php?p=485

When the 109th Congress convenes in Washington in January, Senator Bill Frist, the first practicing physician elected to the Senate since 1928, plans to file a bill that would define ‘political paranoia' as a mental disorder, paving the way for individuals who suffer from paranoid delusions regarding voter fraud, political persecution and FBI surveillance to receive Medicare reimbursement for any psychiatric treatment they receive," writes Hermione Slatkin, Medical Correspondent for the Swift Report. "Rick Smith, a spokesman for Senator Frist, says that the measure has a good chance of passing -- something that can only help a portion of the population that is suffering significant distress."

"If you're still convinced that President Bush won the election because Republicans figured out a way to hack into electronic voting machines, you've obviously got a problem," says Smith. "If we can figure out a way to ease your suffering by getting you into therapy and onto medication, that's something that we hope the entire 109th Congress will support."

Characterizing political dissent as a form of mental illness is the hallmark of authoritarian government. In China, for instance, forensic psychiatrists label dissent "political lunacy" (see Jacob Sullum, Head Games: What are the rules for defining mental illness?) and in Soviet Russia political dissenters were routinely cosigned to mental hospitals. Nowadays, with modern pharmacology, mental hospitals are no longer required -- the mental hospital is internalized through chemical intervention.

[Warren DeMontague]

1. It'll never happen

as long as it means they have to PAY for the medication.

[radfringe]

2. maybe not -- but

the implication is out there -- if you oppose bush* you must be crazy, therefore anything you say is a result of a mental illness and not to be taken seriously

[Warren DeMontague]

6. Well, we've been told that by the media for quite some time, now.

I mean, what kind of unmitigated kook would even question a paper-trail free electronic voting system... especially one programmed by ex-felons employed by a company whose CEO promised to "deliver" electoral votes to Bush?

[Carolab]

3. A few members of Congress would qualify for this then, I guess.

Are they going to recommend medication for them as well?

[imenja]

4. Oh? a bill means nothing if it's not in the DSM

and it won't be. Talk about nuts. What should we prescribe Frist? I recommend Haldol.

[OneBlueSky]

9. since when did accepted protocol or procedure ever . . .

limit what BushCo can do? . . . if they want to classify paranoid political dissent as a mental illness, they'll just go ahead and do it . . . or homosexuality, or "liberalism," or pro-choice, or whatever the hell they want . . . doing things "by the book" went out the window (along with the book itself) when Bush took office . . .

[Bronco69]

5. I swear

every freakin day I wake up and it's something new. No f**king wonder I'm constantly looking over my shoulder. These people scare the f**k out of me!

[HeeBGBz]

7. Is there a link for this idea other than the blogs?

I'm looking for a specific part where it says anything about "political paranoia" that backs up what these writers are saying. I followed links to two blogs, World Net Daily, and the link to the "New Freedom Initiative" and I can't find anything specific.

Did you all find anything "official" that says this? If you do, please share, because I want to pass it on, but I need more specifics. Are these just suppositions by the author? This whole possibility scares the crap outa me.

[ProfessorPlum]

8. This article is originally from a satire site, like the Onion

Do not be fooled.

Amazingly, it isn't really such a stretch, though.