short notes:
will brady's ruminations
will brady's ruminations
2004-04-02
2004-03-31
wither "recovery"? | The mental illness industry has once again glommed onto its treatment flavor of the month from those who are in the system | The clients argued during the 1990s that people can and do recover from prolonged bouts of psychic/spiritual/emotional disabiling experiences (short verson "mental illness") and, eventually, the service providers got the words of the message | Some may have even gotten the message, going so far as to self-disclose during therapy sessions with "their" patients | But many just mouth the words without having any idea what they are talking about |
As a concept, it first drew attention as far back as 1985 when researcher Courtney Harding and John Strauss conducted a long term follow-up study with people in Vermont to see what success they had (if any) at recovering from their travails | the findings of their work showed that as many as 66% of the people once believed to be "forever ill" had gone on and left the mental health treatment system | A number of those interviewed said they recovered "in spite of" what the system proffered as care or services |
Now, some 20 years later, the career bureaucrats have latched on to this and suddenly embrace the concept like a fuzzy toy, and further try to shoehorn the idea in with their own career objectives | Show "success" and maybe they will go on and get accolades at a national conference |
But what they are still doing is riding the evident success of some who were once severaly disabled without ever having done much more than fill out some grant applications from SAMHSA |
Alright, maybe that sound too cynical | They are still slow on the uptake | And, by trying to make the process of recovery ~itself a very personal journey~ into some facet of the rehabilitation treatment model for mental health, they show how far they miss the point |
What point, you ask? Point being that rather than create a new set of complex treatment plan curriculae and models and workshops to force non-comprehending staff to encourage or cajole "their clients" into following in hopes they get better (so as to allow the system to meet "measurable goals" and satisfy funding sources) how about providing people with:
- • Affordable Housing
• Supportive, non-judgemental helpers
• An atmosphere of safety
• Chances to be treated as equals
• Combat the prejudices of a society that devalues people who don't appear to be "doing anything"
• Ask people what seems to work for them when in crisis ~and then make sure its available
• Make certain that basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, ability to get around are ensured
• LISTEN to people who suffer and/or experience disturbing discontinuties of thought
• Help provide people ways OUT OF the treatment system
...to name but a few things to do | Finally, do things to help a person integrate back into the larger society at their pace and preference, rather than create subordiante "clubhouses," programs and services that already duplicate what may exists out away from the mental health system funding and employment machine |
Just wondering |
¶ 09:23 0 comments
2004-03-30
farmland preservation | This is about saving individually or family owned farms | Corporate agribusiness does quite nicely on it's own | Around the USA and the world farming conducted on a livable scale has been assailed most of the 20th century, but with pronounced vigor since WWII | Legislation and grants programs have been created ostensibly to assist smaller farms, but they've not been the beneficiaries of such supports |
How family farmland gets saved, and how economies of a scale friendly to keeping such endeavors viable, can vary | The 'mechanics' of such are less critical than sustaining the values to keep them going |
In the USA, whose leadership is picked mainly from the corporate communities, this means a real tough cultural battle must be waged simultaneous with the efforts made to keep small, community based farming extant and healthy |
Also to be challenged is the ethic of urban convenience to goods, together with a citizenry largely ignorant of and/or indifferent to, the realities of Nature | Simply put, so many people don't understand that things don't come in a box, nor does chicken grow so it ends up being exactly by the pound (or kilo, depending) |
This is yet another part of the puzzle this site indends on grappling with | Stay in touch | ¶ 09:10 0 comments
2004-03-28
how the west was won
what's going on in iraq? | Don't take the official view of the occupying forces | see what Raed has to say | He's in Baghdad seeing it from a native's point of view |
and what of palestine? | House Demolitions | Go figure | I suppose the lesson came from committing genocide on American Indians? | Maybe they could giev the survivors smallpox infected blankets? Just wondering | ¶ 17:49 0 comments
"the West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."
what's going on in iraq? | Don't take the official view of the occupying forces | see what Raed has to say | He's in Baghdad seeing it from a native's point of view |
and what of palestine? | House Demolitions | Go figure | I suppose the lesson came from committing genocide on American Indians? | Maybe they could giev the survivors smallpox infected blankets? Just wondering | ¶ 17:49 0 comments
corporate largesse | While the Federal Election Commission does what it can to further weaken non-profits, friends of the powerful continue to rake funds that might legitimately belong to shareholders into the piles going to executives and corporate board members | When it is that these two streams of fiscal sewage will officially cojoin (they are certainly already there unofficially) is a matter of conjecture, but surely somebody, somewhere, somehow, shall recognize that what's goiong on here is a form of treason | Think about it |
May need to pay heed one of the warnings stated by People for the American Way on how this crap adveresely impacts on real free speech:
May need to pay heed one of the warnings stated by People for the American Way on how this crap adveresely impacts on real free speech:
- The chilling effect of the proposed rules on free speech cannot be overstated. Merely expressing an opinion about an officeholder's policies could turn a nonprofit group overnight into a federally regulated political committee with crippling fund-raising restrictions.
pollyticks | I'll start this with a very brief conversation I had a couple of years ago with my friend David's Uncle Joe | At a Thanksgiving dinner he was gloating about the strides that those he favored were making in changing the direction of rule in the United States | I neither wanted to argue with him, nor get baited into a worthless conversation so all I said was, "Bask in it now. It won't last forever. A few years from now, everyone thrilled with what is going on will be asking ~terrified and unsure~ "What's the f**k happened?" and "How do we get out of this mess?"
Nuff said. ¶ 11:11 0 comments
Nuff said. ¶ 11:11 0 comments
who's to blame for 9/11? | a flow chart based on the Congressinal hearings may give us a clue:
Thanks to the following bloggers for revealing this document
Kikuchiyo News, Wonkette and Defective Yeti all of whom warrant separate review for content, incidentally |
Actually, these days it's more like pollyticks is what the machine of governance might more reasonably be called | Ambition, greed, publicity lust, Cuban cigars, some misguided notion of putting one's self if the history books (no matter how one ends up being cast in the long run) ...corporate fiefdom meddling ...all seem more the motivators for getting into public office than the values and virtues needed from the planet's (fealty to the nation just a part of it) leadership elite class |
It is as though the individuals in power positions have altogether ceded leadership for being able to be in the seat | While evidencing some of what are generally recognized as "qualities of leadership," the overall balance is lost without others | What am I talking about? The list below (alphabetical) may suggest :
* Approachability [lacking]
* Charisma [depends on who you are]
* Clarity [lacking]
* Competence [lacking]
* Conviction [lacking] (as contrasted with ought to have been convicted)
* Daring [gotta give them this]
* Decisiveness [I'll give them that]
* Demonstrates strong moral values [lacking] ~don't confuse this with hiding behind religiosity and self-righteousness
* Direction [I'll give them that- just not certain which direction]
* Discipline [lacking] (as contrastied with being disciplinarian)
* Knowledge [lacking]
* Knowledge (warrants being asked again) [once the facts are in ~ lacking]
* Humility [lacking]
* Inclusive in attitude [lacking]
* Listens to others [lacking]
* Looks to the good of the community [lacking]
* Open-minded [lacking]
* Partnership [lacking]
* Personal qualities (passion, humor, and empathy strength of character, general maturity, patience, wisdom, common sense, trustworthiness, reliability, creativity, sensitivity) [ALL lacking]
* Positive [lacking] can-do attitude [l'll give them that]
* Savvy and persistence [and these, tho' disingeneous]
* Strong-willed [I'll give them that]
* Take responsibility for actions [lacking]
* Thinks clearly and critically [lacking - time shall show this true]
* Vision [present, but...] and values [lacking]
* Voice [talking loud and fast to drown out other viewpoints isn't the same]
* Will sacrifice for others [lacking]
That's enough for now | go vote or go to a town meeting and speak your piece | Demand accountability from those in power | Stop grousing and speak out | Offer support ~ and by this I don't mean taking apage out of the checkbook | Provide real alternatives | Get acquainted personally with your local legislators | Spend more time and effort on your own involvement...and be better thought about it than the effort it takes to be a dittohead | ¶ 09:41 0 comments
Thanks to the following bloggers for revealing this document
Kikuchiyo News, Wonkette and Defective Yeti all of whom warrant separate review for content, incidentally |
Actually, these days it's more like pollyticks is what the machine of governance might more reasonably be called | Ambition, greed, publicity lust, Cuban cigars, some misguided notion of putting one's self if the history books (no matter how one ends up being cast in the long run) ...corporate fiefdom meddling ...all seem more the motivators for getting into public office than the values and virtues needed from the planet's (fealty to the nation just a part of it) leadership elite class |
It is as though the individuals in power positions have altogether ceded leadership for being able to be in the seat | While evidencing some of what are generally recognized as "qualities of leadership," the overall balance is lost without others | What am I talking about? The list below (alphabetical) may suggest :
* Approachability [lacking]
* Charisma [depends on who you are]
* Clarity [lacking]
* Competence [lacking]
* Conviction [lacking] (as contrasted with ought to have been convicted)
* Daring [gotta give them this]
* Decisiveness [I'll give them that]
* Demonstrates strong moral values [lacking] ~don't confuse this with hiding behind religiosity and self-righteousness
* Direction [I'll give them that- just not certain which direction]
* Discipline [lacking] (as contrastied with being disciplinarian)
* Knowledge [lacking]
* Knowledge (warrants being asked again) [once the facts are in ~ lacking]
* Humility [lacking]
* Inclusive in attitude [lacking]
* Listens to others [lacking]
* Looks to the good of the community [lacking]
* Open-minded [lacking]
* Partnership [lacking]
* Personal qualities (passion, humor, and empathy strength of character, general maturity, patience, wisdom, common sense, trustworthiness, reliability, creativity, sensitivity) [ALL lacking]
* Positive [lacking] can-do attitude [l'll give them that]
* Savvy and persistence [and these, tho' disingeneous]
* Strong-willed [I'll give them that]
* Take responsibility for actions [lacking]
* Thinks clearly and critically [lacking - time shall show this true]
* Vision [present, but...] and values [lacking]
* Voice [talking loud and fast to drown out other viewpoints isn't the same]
* Will sacrifice for others [lacking]
That's enough for now | go vote or go to a town meeting and speak your piece | Demand accountability from those in power | Stop grousing and speak out | Offer support ~ and by this I don't mean taking apage out of the checkbook | Provide real alternatives | Get acquainted personally with your local legislators | Spend more time and effort on your own involvement...and be better thought about it than the effort it takes to be a dittohead | ¶ 09:41 0 comments
