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lvasconcellos Donating Member (121 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:05 PM
Original message
Psychiatrist Carol Wolman compares US public to an abused spouse
OpEdNews

Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_carol_wo_061230_psychiatrist_says_bu.htm


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 30, 2006

Psychiatrist says Bush needs to be impeached for the good of "we the people".

By Carol Wolman

"We the people" have been and are being badly abused by the Bush administration. We've been disenfranchised by Diebold, a major Bush donor. Our Congress, our elected Representatives, have been corrupted, intimidated into going along with shredding of the Constitution. The incoming Democrats, whom we elected in protest, plan to play ball with Bush.

We've been lied into Iraq and our taxes are being used to support all kinds of atrocities there. Our reputation as an honorable nation has been destroyed, and hatred has been stirred up against us all over the world.

Our treasury is being drained, the public sector, on which we rely for essential services and infrastructure, is being starved. Rampant cronyism and ripoffs go unchecked.

Our land is being defiled with pollutants, clearcutting, exploitation of pristine areas. Standards of cleanliness and safety have been lowered or ignored. Public utilities are being "privatized", including the health care system, the prison system, the energy system, so that the public welfare is subordinated to profit. The commons is being destroyed.

We are being systematically stripped of our freedoms. Freedom of the press has all but vanished, and the TV networks and major newspapers have become propaganda organs. Freedom of assembly and speech are being threatened. Individual privacy has disappeared. Habeas corpus is no more.

Our future is being mortgaged. We are leaving our kids an overheating planet, since the Bushies won't acknowledge global warming, let alone do anything about it. We are leaving them an enormous debt, and a set of laws that allows m to be imposed at will.

Our emotions are being manipulated by the constant fake terror alerts. Meanwhile we are being terrorized into submission to Bush, with reports of concentration camps under construction by Halliburton, warrantless tapping of our phone calls and emails, scary legislation like the Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act, and the Military Commissions Act.

I could go on and on- you, reader, can add your own outrages to the list. The point is, "we the people" are being abused by the members of the Executive Branch, whose job it is to carry out OUR will, the will of "we the people".

As a people, we are now depressed. We feel helpless to stop the depredations. Our massive repudiation of the Iraq occupation and the Bush administration at the polls seems to have been pointless. The Iraq occupation is escalating again- more troops, more money for Halliburton and Carlyle. The Democrats has said that "impeachment is not on the table". A feeling of hopelessness and dread of what the future will bring is hanging over us.

We are like a wife trapped in an abusive marriage, who feels that duty and economics prevent her from leaving. Perhaps she still feels some love and loyalty to the husband who mistreats her. Perhaps she feels she deserves ill treatment, or that she's too weak and pitiful to do anything about it. She becomes depressed and resigned to a dismal life.

When a woman is being abused by her husband, it is commonly accepted that he is committing criminal acts, and needs to be brought to justice. First of all, she is separated from him, and he is served with a restraining order to prevent further abuses. Safety first. The case is then investigated by the District Attorney, and if enough evidence is found, he is indicted and brought to trial. If convicted, he may serve some time, depending on how bad the abuse has been.

All this helps the victim to realize that it is wrong to be mistreated, and that justice is on her side. She regains a sense of power and self-esteem, and is able to manage her life. She sees some hope and happiness ahead.

We the people need to separate from Bush and Cheney. The mechanism for this is impeachment. Pelosi's plan to "work with" Bush is co-dependence, allowing the perpetrator to continue his abuse. In this case, enabling the criminals to continue their ripoff of the public amounts to co-conspiracy, opening the Congresspeople who go along to criminal charges.

A statement by House leaders of intention to investigate for impeachment, and a REFUSAL to cooperate with Bush plans to escalate in Iraq, etc, etc, would amount to a restraining order, preventing further harm to "we the people". Safety first.

This should be followed by a thorough investigation and impeachment by the House, which acts as the "district attorney"- the attorney for "we the people". Impeachment = indictment. The evidence will surely be strong enough to warrant conviction by the Senate, even if the Democrats do lack a 2/3 majority there. Public airing of Bush and Cheney's high crimes through the House investigation will force the Senate to convict, and eject them from office. They can then be tried as ordinary citizens in a regular criminal court.

We the people will become empowered, as we are supposed to be under our Constitution. We will be able to restore paper ballots and ensure fair elections. We will be able to address the pressing problems of global warming, budgetary crisis, nuclear pollution, and all the other ills which we will inherit from 6 years of Bush's plundering. Our self-esteem as a nation, and our reputation among nations, will be restored.

Impeachment is the only way this can happen. Impeachment is peaceful, legal and democratic.

Power to the people!

In the name of the Prince of Peace, who taught us to speak truth to power.

Carol Wolman, MD
Board Certified in Psychiatry
Co-chair, Impeach Bush-Cheney
Member, The Longhouse Coalition



Authors Website: http://voteCarolWolmanforCongress.com

Authors Bio: Carol S. Wolman, MD is a psychiatrist in Northern California. A lifelong peace activist, she has written extensively on the psychology of our times. She is actively working to impeach Bush and Cheney, and suggests you join or form a local group at http://impeachbush.meetup.com/ She is running for Congress as a nonpartisan write-in candidate in CA district 1, and is a coordinator of The Longhouse Coalition.

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H2O Man Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:11 PM
Response to Original message
1. Very impressive!
Thank you for posting this. I certainly "nominated" it, and encourage others to do so, too.
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WiseButAngrySara Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:14 PM
Response to Original message
2. Very good. She now needs to psychoanalyze B*bot. KNR! ....n/t
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Skidmore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:18 PM
Response to Original message
3. Freaking send this to Pelosi.
I've been saying this for sometime. * is abusive to everyone--the citizenry included.

We need a divorce and the sooner the better. He can have custody of the dog, Cheney, too.

Better yet, impeach Cheney along with him. Get them gone!!! Charge them with a crime, if you don't want to impeach them. Just get their sorry asses out of our house!!
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lvasconcellos Donating Member (121 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:30 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. Right on! Nancy
is sucking up to the Bush-crowd when she says impeachment is off the table. ??? Since when? Maybe she needs a copy of the constitution along with this. Good idea, since I live in CA I will send it to her!
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Skidmore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:34 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. Thanks, and tell her that you have
a good friend in Iowa who wholeheartedly joins you in this.
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Maraya1969 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 04:17 PM
Response to Reply #4
28. Welcome to DU Ivasoncellos!
Nice to have you here. :hi:
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CrispyQ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:31 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. My thoughts exactly.
Send it to Pelosi.
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Senator Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:36 PM
Response to Original message
7. Only Impeachment ... can serve as An Intervention
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The Backlash Cometh Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:39 PM
Response to Original message
8. Someone dig up my threads.
I made that comparison years ago.
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lvasconcellos Donating Member (121 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:53 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. I thought I read this before...
Time to stop taking the beating folks!!!
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H2O Man Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 01:26 PM
Response to Reply #8
14. It sounds familiar.
I believe that I responded to you when you made the comparison.
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The Backlash Cometh Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 02:15 PM
Response to Reply #14
22. In all fairness...
The writer did a better job of developing the idea and presenting it in a way that might make it into the mainstream media. That's what DU is all about. A think tank where ideas can develop.
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AikidoSoul Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 08:49 PM
Response to Reply #8
31. You and me both... only I wasn't a member of DU at the time
And actually.... I said we were like abused children, which is an even less powerful position than an abused spouse. The point is we are powerless and need help from those who do have power. Dear God... give them the courage to stand up to these criminals!
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bleever Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:48 PM
Response to Original message
9. Typo in last sentence of sixth paragraph; should read:
"We are leaving them an enormous debt, and a set of laws that allows fascism to be imposed at will."

Just to make the record complete.

K&R.
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opihimoimoi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:50 PM
Response to Original message
10. I agree, and...we been saying these things for YEARs...Bush is a Bully,
an arrogant Abuser, a narcissant, a nutcase pyscho....

and should be removed asap....
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Tierra_y_Libertad Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 12:55 PM
Response to Original message
12. The American people have been convinced they need "strong" leaders.
And, like some abused women, are convinced that they can't act for themselves. They neglect the responsibility inherent in a "representative" democracy and rely on bosses rather than representatives.

Which of course leads to Lord Acton's axiom.
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mnhtnbb Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 01:11 PM
Response to Original message
13. YES!!! YES!!!!! YES!!!!!!
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cassiepriam Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 01:27 PM
Response to Original message
15. Bingo. America has been the dysfunctional family from Hell.
And the Dems have been victimized as well with continual character assassination.

Time for the abusers to stand up and say "no more".
And insist upon jail time for the offenders.
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H2O Man Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 01:29 PM
Response to Reply #15
16. Perhaps some of us
are "The Breakfast Club"? I always thought that movie did a wonderful job of showing the roles that kids in a dysfunctional family are prone to play.
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TahitiNut Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 01:41 PM
Response to Reply #16
17. Yep. And Mr. Vernon plays a stereotypical neoconservative, too.
"Might Makes Right" .... the beatings will continue until morale is improved. The interlocking codependencies are legion in that movie ... and Carl (the janitor) is the liberal who's out of the mainstream. The reality is that they become adults and repeat the ONLY roles they're accustomed to.
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H2O Man Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 01:43 PM
Response to Reply #17
18. Yep.
It was a perfect role .... and actually a very good movie disguised as a "teen flick."
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cassiepriam Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 02:15 PM
Response to Reply #16
23. I didn't see the movie, but usually there is one person in the family who
tries to warn the others about the reality of the danger and craziness. This family member is disbelieved, ignored and even vilified.

And in the end this person is the one who cleans up the mess. And takes little satisfaction in the fact he or she was correct. Because the consequence have been so devastating and destructive to all.
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Arkansas Granny Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 01:44 PM
Response to Original message
19. There was a post on DU a few months ago where this aspect
was explored. If you've known an abused spouse, and most of us have, you can see that this is a very apt analogy.
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tblue37 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 01:52 PM
Response to Original message
20. OK--I know this is petty, and I usually let such things slide since I don't consider it
Edited on Sun Dec-31-06 02:00 PM by tblue37
my business to correct the grammar of people who have not asked for my help. (Since I am a pretty well-known Internet "grammar guru" I actually get asked for that sort of help quite frequently.)

Nevertheless, the misuse of "we the people" really bothers me because it is so wrong and yet I see it so often. I understand that people use "we the people" because it references the first phrase of the Preamble to the Constitution, but to use it with no concern at all for the grammatical context it occurs in is just illiterate:
Psychiatrist says Bush needs to be impeached for the good of "we the people."

"Of" is a preposition. Its object must be in the objective case:
Psychiatrist says Bush needs to be impeached for the good of "us, the people."

Sure, that sounds pretty bad. A better phrasing would be:
Psychiatrist says Bush needs to be impeached for the good of the people of the United States.

I teach college English. Every year students seem more grammatically incompetent, and one of the reasons is that they are surrounded by such flawed usage. Young people have innumerable models of bad usage, but very few models for literate usage. I wish this misuse of "we the people" could be stamped out. If using the proper form doesn't carry the same flavor, then perhaps the headline writer could expend a little effort to come up with a different way to make the point.

By the way, notice that the actual author does use "we the people" correctly and effectively throughout the essay. It was a newspaper editor who stuck the ugly headline on it.



Flame away.
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seabeyond Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 02:13 PM
Response to Reply #20
21. that is exactly what makes it fun. i am sorry it goes against your
Edited on Sun Dec-31-06 02:14 PM by seabeyond
need for rule in language.... but i feel part of the fun with language is the play. i would not want that changed at all. it gives me a giggle and sense of freedom from the grammer dictators, lol. i use we the people in all kinds of places making language more sound and song, than structure and rule. some people like the loose of language, i being one. there is a freedom that you will not be able to appreciate.
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CoffeeCat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 02:19 PM
Response to Original message
24. This is INTENTIONAL...
Edited on Sun Dec-31-06 02:22 PM by TwoSparkles
BushCo is intentionally inflicting PTSD on our nation.

He's using fear, manipulation and oppressive tactics--to traumatize
everyone into a numbed-out state.

How else can you explain the lack of people protesting in the streets?
This is much worse than Vietnam. The war is a lie-based farce, and
every day brings new reminders that our civil rights are eroding to dust.
We're constantly reminded that these goons torture people, and that
they are never held accountable for their crimes.

The Plame incident was parallel to an abusive child's experience.
When someone finally calls CPS, the child believes that finally the
pain will end. We all hung onto hope for so long, and resolution
never happened. We're all in the same position. We've been thrown
back into the dungeon with an abuser who remains unaccountable.

Bush is an abuser. He hails from a long line of abusive, deranged
psychopaths. He's a former alcoholic. He gets off on control and
powering up on people. He's got the ultimate platform for abusing
as many people as possible. What a high he must be on.

Furthermore, he's angry at his little codependents for rejecting him
in the last election. He's enraged at his daddy--who dared to orchestrate
foreign policy for him.

We all know what abusers do when they are angry. They work overtime
to put the minions back into the fetal position.

2007 is going to be really awful. I'm sorry to be gloomy and depressing,
but the author of this article is right. We've got an angry, dejected
abuser--backed into a corner. Nothing positive is possible from him.

We just have to pray that the Dems have spines. It's our only hope.
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nolabels Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 03:45 PM
Response to Reply #24
26. His punk AWOL ass just needs a little comeuppance
Don't fret there too much, reality has a way pushing back things that magnetize to the negative :-)
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mzmolly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 03:02 PM
Response to Original message
25. Many of us have said this for a while. It's an apt comparison.
Go Carol!
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ananda Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 04:07 PM
Response to Original message
27. Bush is a dry drunk..
.. and America's co-dependency is just pathetic.

How far down is bottom.. before the people rise up and do something about it.
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bobbolink Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 04:26 PM
Response to Original message
29. "Pelosi's plan to 'work with' Bush is codependence"
EXACTLY! Which is why I was so depressed when I saw/heard her speech on TV.

Yet, how many times have those of us who see this been vilified for calling Pelosi on this?

It's why I don't, honestly, see much hope.

It will continue.
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2Design Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 06:01 PM
Response to Original message
30. PTSD funny - I was reading a book about battered and abused people
at the library while looking for something else - and realized PTSD is what I what I am feeling during these years under BFEE and it started a long time before with Nixon, Ford, Reagan, BFEE I, and it continues - it is like watching them abuse others and not knowing how to stop it - this is what is described in the battering and abuse families - It is very numbing - just the blahs - not wanting to be out in public places for fear of others actions since * murdered sadaam and so many others - and so many so blind -

realize I need a break from the news - it is abusive behavior and no one is willing to call him on it because they either lose their job or their life - jump off buildings for no aparent reason - have plane crashes - just disappear -

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sakabatou Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 08:51 PM
Response to Original message
32. Intriging (sp.)
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Kurovski Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-31-06 11:38 PM
Response to Original message
33. This idea has been discussed on the internet for years.
K&R.
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DemReadingDU Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 09:32 AM
Response to Original message
34. morning kick
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lebkuchen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 10:36 AM
Response to Original message
35. Can't we declare him a Constitutional Monarch and take his powers away
that way?
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MsLeopard Donating Member (717 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-01-07 11:45 AM
Response to Original message
36. We don't have to accept the unacceptable!
Hear that, Speaker Pelosi? We don't have to accept the unacceptable. Internalize that thought and then save our nation from this abusive, fascist regime.
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