Web Letters | The Nation

A Rape a Minute, A Thousand Corpses a Year

Thank you for this incredibly informative article on rape/violence against women and the role that men play. I have always thought that rape should be called what it is, a hate crime. One that is almost always comitted by men and is all about control. I cannot understand why we keep ignoring this epidemic of violent crime simply because of whom it is exercized upon: women. I found the comments about men’s not allowing women into the gaming community particularly disturbing, because men show that they are more likely to show their prejudice if they can do it anonymously. Unless we start addressing the young men in our community, and letting them know that Silent No More is our policy, this worldwide problem is just going to get worse.

America's New Cold War With Russia

The US aims to achieve a disarming first-strike capability, according to missile engineer Bob Aldridge. GPS (NAVSTAR) was made to get an accuracy of less than thirty meters for Minuteman-3 and Trident-2, necessary to destroy missile silos. The US Navy can track and destroy all enemy submarines simultaneousl, says Aldridge. Professor J. Edward Anderson declares, "Deployment of anti-missile missiles in Eastern Europe is part of a first-strike strategy." The missiles will be operational by 2018. This leads to launch on warning by 2017 and nuclear war gets more likely. More info: Claus Eric at antiwar.com, especially the interview with Ray McGovern.

The Message and the Meaning: Is 'Pro-choice' Passé?

Why not note that Norma McCorvey renounced her support for abortion based on her recognition that at no point after conception is the embryo/fetus anything but a human being?

Why Do 'Pro-Life' Pols Like Paul Ryan Protect Weapons of Mass Murder?

I wrote an e-mail to my Senator, Ron Johnson, asking him to do something to prevent the future killing of our kids in our schools. This is the response I got:

Dear James,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding your thoughts on federal gun control measures in light of the recent tragedy in Connecticut.

A terrible and incomprehensible act of violence took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School. We are all deeply impacted by the horror of little children and brave adults being murdered. There are many serious issues that will need to be discussed and considered in the weeks and months to come. But right now, our primary concern should be for the families and the community of Newtown.

At moments like this, America comes together to mourn and support one another. We will do so again in the coming days, and then search for answers on how to prevent such tragedies in the future

As your Senator, I believe it is my primary responsibility to uphold the Constitution and the Second Amendment is no exception. I will continue to strongly support our Second Amendment rights. One of the bills I have chosen to cosponsor regarding the Second Amendment is S. 570 introduced by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) on March 14, 2011. This bill would prohibit the Department of Justice from tracking and cataloguing the purchases of multiple rifles and shotguns.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts . It is important for me to hear the views and concerns of the people I serve. Please feel free to contact me in the future if I can further assist you or your family. It is an honor representing you and the good people of Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate.

Sincerely,

Ron Johnson
United States Senator

As you can see, he is not willing to protect our children, but is willing to protect the gun industry. I sent him another message saying so and felt that the next slaughter of innocent youths to be on his, and the GOP’s, head. I also stated that I found out that the NRA spent $1.2 million to get him elected and I could not afford that kind of money to get him to vote for my position. This is the answer I received:

Dear James,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding your thoughts on federal gun control measures in light of the recent tragedy in Connecticut.

A terrible and incomprehensible act of violence took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School. We are all deeply impacted by the horror of little children and brave adults being murdered. There are many serious issues that will need to be discussed and considered in the weeks and months to come. But right now, our primary concern should be for the families and the community of Newtown.

At moments like this, America comes together to mourn and support one another. We will do so again in the coming days, and then search for answers on how to prevent such tragedies in the future

As your Senator, I believe it is my primary responsibility to uphold the Constitution and the Second Amendment is no exception. I will continue to strongly support our Second Amendment rights.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts. It is important for me to hear the views and c oncerns of the people I serve. Please feel free to contact me in the future if I can further assist you or your family. It is an honor representing you and the good people of Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate.

Sincerely,

Ron Johnson
United States Senator

As you can see, he is no longer claiming to aid in the weakening of gun laws, just waffling until his next NRA donation.

A Good Matron Is Hard to Find

To all who care, first I would like to say I have worked on a school bus for 14 years, as a matron to children with special needs. There is no way our salary is $35,000 as Mayor Bloomberg states, we have no sick day pay, and we are not the cause of his financial dilemma. We all take training and child safety classes periodically, and to hire workers without this training, background check and certification would be a huge mistake. Mayor Bloomberg wants you to believe we are hurting the children and parents by striking, he wants you to believe that he is interested in the welfare of our children. Get this straight, mayor Bloomberg is a businessman, period, end of story. We ride these buses each day with your kids, we wipe their tears and their noses and keep them safe. Let our companies hire anyone for a lot less and see what quality of care your children will have. This is not about our kids, it is about Mayor Bloomberg’s need for control and power. Wake up, New York, and stand up for those of us who take your kids safely to school each day. We want to return to our jobs. We are not asking for more money, we want job security, to ensure that you have experienced drivers and matrons, so when you wave goodbye to your children, you can rest easy.

Why Do Democrats Want More Police in Schools?

“It’s the wrong response to incidents like Newtown.” [Teaser to the article]

This statement has no real basis in fact. We don’t go into any area of conflict without an equal amount of armament. You can go to many places where there are armed guards—football games, and many others. I would like to think that is just another tool that should be used to curb violence.

Someone sitting behind a desk, in some rather obscure location who makes this kind of statement should volunteer to be the next victim and then maybe they would have a different reference. There is no one answer, but there are several answers that would likely slow down the number of killings.

The Triumph of the Far Right in Israel

I grew up in the 1950s when Israel was considered a light unto nations, a tiny nation the size of New Jersey that made flowers bloom in the desert and that today has become a technological marvel, one of the top five countries in the world in technology. Advances in medical technology that are saving millions of people worldwide were designed and developed in Israel, and today Israel is second to America in the number of companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange—not bad for a nation of 7 million people.

Everything changed after the Six-Day War. What was considered a war to end the Egyptian blockade of the Strait of Tiran instead was a war that long after the conquest of Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian lands became the permanent acquisition of these lands by Israeli governments from both the right and the left, who increased settlements in the occupied territories. The left was willing to remove the settlers for peace, but as the settler movement was allowed to grow, and because Israel’s political structure is so fractured it takes cobbling together coalitions from several dfifferent parties to form a government, more and more Israeli governments continued to give in to the settlers’ demands and more money was being spent on the settlements than was spent for the poor, the disabled, the sick and the hungry inside Israel.

Israel today has become a far-right country where loyalty oaths to the state are passed in the Knesset, where left-wing groups are investigated to see where there funds come from, where Israeli commanders who attempt to evict settlers from illegal outposts have not only their lives threatened but also the lives of their families, and where former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was assassinated in 1995 and today, on the pages of many Israeli online media sites is called a traitor.

Israel today is a country where politicans on the left who question the current right-wing government’s policies have their loyalties to Israel questioned on a daily basis. Generals in the Israeli military and former heads of the Israeli intelligence services who have publicly questioned the wisdom of bombing Iran are called traitors, and many people have gone so far as to call for their arrest. Any Israeli politician who publicly calls for a two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is called a self-hater and the enemy.

Since Barack Obama became president in 2008 there has been a daily drumbeat on Israeli media sites, with thousands of comments posted every week accusing him of being a Muslim out to destroy Israel and an anti-Semite. To so accuse a president who has increased aid to Israel and protected Israel at every turn at the United Nations as well as worked with the Israelis on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is shocking, but the vile hatred displayed toward Obama is there every day on Israeli sites for all to see. Jews who voted for him have their Jewishness questioned and are called self-haters and routinely called traitors. The attitude of the current government and the government that will soon come into office is that because Jews lived on the land 3,000 years ago, it does not matter if the Arabs have lived there for the past 300 years. They are not welcome and should leave either by financial incentive or force. When dozens of innocent Palestinian men, women and children are killed in retaliation for rocket attacks from Gaza, the average Israeli citizen feels no remorse whatsoever.

My Jewish friends and I are deeply saddened by what Israel has become. A nation once lauded and idolized as “the light unto nations” is fast becoming a country of darkness where might equals right, where it’s “my way of the highway” and where compromise for peace no longer exist. The Israel so many of us once knew and loved is forever a thing of the past and the light unto nations is flickering and about to go out only to be replaced by ultranationalists and xenophobes. Israel’s founders must be weeping in heaven, and all of us who were once so proud of what Israel once was are deeply saddened by what Israel has become.

Hooray for Hagel

On the pages of most Israeli Internet news sites, thousands of comments are posted every week accusing anyone who does not agree with the Netanyahu government of being an anti-Semite and any Jew who voted for Obama and supports a two-state solution is called a self-hater and enemy of the Jewish people. This right-wing drumbeat has permeated Israel, with former heads of the Shin Bet, Mossad, former generals in the IDF and former and current members of the Knesset called traitors and the enemy because they do not agree with Netanyahu. Former Prime Minister Rabin has been called a traitor to his people, as has former Foreign Minister Zippi Livni, and former Defense Minister Barak, who is the most decorated soldier in Israel’s history. When Moshe Dagan, the former head of the Mossad, publicly stated his opposition to bombing Iran, his loyalty to Israel was questioned and even he was called a traitor by thousands of people. Justices on Israel’s Supreme Court have been called traitors by the far right and religious. This is total madness, and American Jews must not tolerate it. We must speak out against it, because it will wind up destroying Israel in the end.

Israel’s supporters love to claim to the world that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. If that is so, why do these same people engage in character assassination, debasement and demeaning of anyone who dares to criticize the policies of the Netanyahu government? Why is it wrong for former and current generals in Israel’s military and members of Israel’s security agencies to criticize bombing Iran? Why is it wrong for American Jews and many Israeli citizens to support a two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict?

When Bush and Cheney were in office anyone who questioned parts of the Patriot Act because they might not be constitutional was called a traitor and supporter of bin Ladin, which was a disgusting, horrible slur. The same right-wing fanaticism is on display in Israel. Either you agree 100 percent with the current Israeli government or else you are an anti-Semite or, if you are a Jew, a self-hating Jew. No sane person can accept this, but yet it is getting worse by the day. More and more people are being silenced and more and more people are being slurred and have their reputations destroyed with accusations of anti-Semitism.

Any country that tries to silence its critics is not a democracy. What once made Israel so special was the fact that spirited debate and disagreements were a vital part of its democracy. Attacking someone’s Jewishness, their character and trying to destroy them is not what the founders of Israel ever envisioned. Impugning peoples motives, their integrity, and branding them an anti-Semite simply because they oppose policies of the current Israeli government is repulsive and must be resisted by all those who truly love Israel.

How Many Innocent People Have We Sent To Prison?

J.L. Hardee, in his book Justice or Injustice: What Really Happens in the Jury Room, provides shocking insight into the corruption that puts these innocent people behind bars. I was shocked and am still disgusted by what I learned in his book. It’s a must-read. We as a country need to fight to change these proceedures! 

After Newtown, Beware Fear-Driven Policymaking

I agree with Ms. Harry Perry on much of what she said. But not all reactions to tragedies are knee-jerk. We have been working  for over twenty years to improve care for people with serious mental illness, but the only time the public pays attention—and the media want to report—are when there is an incident of violence that affects them. Policies we espouse to help the most seriously ill are ignored. So here they are.

First we need a definitive answer to “Are people with mental illness more violent than others?” The definitive answer is obvious, if you look at all studies, versus cherry-picking one that supports your view: It depends on who is mentally ill.

* Studies of the 40 to 50 percent of Americans whom mental health experts claim have some “diagnosable mental disorder” support the claim that “persons with mental illness are not more violent than others.” But the populations in those studies are disingenuously large.

* Studies of the 5 percent of Americans with the most serious mental illnesses—primarily schizophrenia and treatment-resistant bipolar disorder—who are receiving treatment also support the claim of mental-health experts that “persons with mental illness are not more violent than others.” But these studies prove only that treatment works, not that persons with mental illness are not more prone to violence.

* Studies of the 5 percent of subgroup of the most seriously mentally ill who are not in treatment and are psychotic, delusional or hallucinating, or are off treatment that has previously prevented them from being violent, are in fact more prone to violence than others.

When people ask whether the mentally ill are more violent, they usually mean this group of severely ill individuals and not their friends on Zoloft, Prozac, etc. There is a small group of these individuals who are so ill, they do not know they are ill. When you see someone under layers of lice-infested clothing, screaming at voices only they can hear, “I AM THE MESSIAH!” it is not because they “think” they are the Messiah. They “know” it. For this small group, and the even smaller group with a prior history of violence, we have to allow Assisted Outpatient Treatment (“AOT,” “Kendra’s Law” in New York; “Laura’s Law” in California). These laws are named after victims of persons with mental illness, because that is the only time those of us with loved ones who have mental illness are listened to. AOT allows courts after extensive due process to order this small group into treatment as a condition of staying in the community. It is more humane and less restrictive than the alternative: incarceration or commitment. Independent studies show with AOT:

1. Danger and Violence Reduced
55 percent fewer recipients engaged in suicide attempts or physical harm to self
47 percent fewer physically harmed others
46 percent fewer damaged or destroyed property
43 percent fewer threatened physical harm to others.
Overall, the average decrease in harmful behaviors was 44 percent.

2. Consumer Outcomes Improved
74 percent fewer participants experienced homelessness
77 percent fewer experienced psychiatric hospitalization
On average, AOT recipients’ length of hospitalization was reduced 56 percent from pre-AOT levels.
83 percent fewer experienced arrest
87 percent fewer experienced incarceration.
49 percent fewer abused alcohol 48 percent fewer abused drugs

3. Consumer participation and medication compliance improved
The number of individuals exhibiting good adherence to medication increased by 51 percent.
The number of individuals exhibiting good service engagement increased by 103 percent.

4. Consumer Perceptions Were Positive
75 percent reported that AOT helped them gain control over their lives
81 percent said AOT helped them get and stay well
90 percent said AOT made them more likely to keep appointments and take medication.
87 percent of participants interviewed said they were confident in their case manager’s ability to help them
88 percent said they and their case manager agreed on what is important for them to work on.

5. Effect on mental illness system was positive
• Improved Access to Services. AOT has been instrumental in increasing accountability at all system levels regarding delivery of services to high need individuals. Community awareness of AOT has resulted in increased outreach to individuals who had previously presented engagement challenges to mental health service providers.
• Improved Treatment Plan Development, Discharge Planning, and Coordination of Service Planning. Processes and structures developed for AOT have resulted in improvements to treatment plans that more appropriately match the needs of individuals who have had difficulties using mental health services in the past.
• Improved Collaboration between Mental Health and Court Systems. As AOT processes have matured, professionals from the two systems have improved their working relationships, resulting in greater efficiencies and,ultimately, the conservation of judicial, clinical and administrative resources.

There is now an organized process to prioritize and monitor individuals with the greatest need;
AOT ensures greater access to services for individuals whom providers have previously been reluctant to serve;
Increased collaboration between inpatient and community-based mental health providers.

No one will write on this, absent an act of violence. But next time there is one, perhaps these links will help:
Kendra’s Law Research
List of supporters (NY only)

Thank you. I am the executive director of Mental Illness Policy Org.