National Attention on Indiana Law - Your thoughts?

[Guest guest]

http://tinyurl.com/r48xg

" It sailed through the Indiana General Assembly with only one dissent in 2005,

but in the past few weeks Senate Enrolled Act 529 and portions of it have

received national attention.

.... the section that is drawing the ire of conservatives, civil rights

proponents and even some of the legislators who passed the law, is the section

directing the DOE (Department of Education) to ...develop and coordinate a

children's social, emotional and behavioral health plan " . [mental illness

screening]

Some legislators are now talking about repealing the law.

fwdailynews.com (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Below are comments from FWDailyNews.com readers regarding this series. Feel free

to add your own thoughts about SEA 529:

http://www.kpcnews.com/online_features/sea529/comments/comments.txt

R Speiser, VMD wrote on September 21, 2006 10:46 AM: " I am a doctor and a

parent. I am appalled at the idea of lawmakers instituting a " screen " for mental

illness in children. This is the most outrageous idea possible. It is assured

that the Psychs will be able to justify a diagnosis from the DSM, all of which

are fabricated diseases in the 1st place. This law MUST BE REPEALED before the

entire future of the planet (children) are drugged into a state of robotic

calm....that apparently is considered a " normal " state of being. Let children be

children and get the psychs out of the schools. "

Chantal Valtin wrote on September 21, 2006 7:45 AM: " Thank you for the article

entitled " Children's Mental Health Discussion Must Begin " of Sunday Sept 17. We

need to let people know how dangerous it is to let all kids (and they even talk

about infants & toddlers now!!) be screened for " potential " mental disorder or

suicidal thoughts. This is just another way of being able to sell more drugs and

make people more docile, killing all creativity these kids have. I invite you to

have a look at www.resultsproject.net and see how you can shift your point of

view on this ADD problem. I want also to point out that Indiana Gov. Mitch

sm who signed the Indiana law was the former president of Eli Lilly... any

link here? Thank you for the controversy... and keep fighting for our rights! "

Ernest wrote on September 20, 2006 10:13 PM: " Here is an example of what

Indiana families can expect to see happen if they do not take immediate action

to repeal SEA 529. This bill mandates universal mental health testing for

Indiana children. As a result of this, all school children will take some form

of invasive mental health survey such as the TeenScreen survey that was recently

run on a pilot group of 71 Mansfield, Ohio area ninth-graders. Based on the

results of that screening " 39 students required a follow-up interview with a

clinician. " That's 55% of what would otherwise be considered normal students now

needing to see a mental health clinician based on answers they gave to the

TeenScreen survey. That's quite a few kids that might end up spending years

taking drugs like Prozac, Strattera, Cymbalta or Zyprexa. These are all

expensive and often violence and suicide-inducing psychiatric drugs made by Eli

Lilly. The fact that Gov. Mitch s was the former President of Eli Lilly is

one big reason SEA 529 got signed into law. I wonder how much the Indiana

Commission on Mental Health had to do with designing this ground-breaking mental

health plan for Indiana school children. Just when the light of public outrage

started shining on mandated mental health screening in Indiana,

Postlethwait, a member of that commission, quietly resigned. He was also a

30-year employee of Eli Lilly and an advisor to TeenScreen which figures

prominently in surveying children for mental illness in many American schools

and funneling them to psychiatrists who put them on psychiatric medications in

almost every case. It seems to me that Postlethwait should become a

person of interest. With Eli Lilly being centered in Indianapolis, is it any

wonder why Indiana school children are being set up to be prescribed the

profitable psychiatric drugs that they make? With the help of TeenScreen, the

Madison Center in South Bend, Indiana, is now treating over 500 kids per day for

trumped up mental illnesses and they recently broke ground on an expansion

building so they can treat many more kids. This was all reported in the South

Bend Tribune in September, 2005. People need to question how SEA 529 came about

and investigate the connections and backgrounds of everyone connected to

bringing that law into existence. Then repeal SEA 529 and prosecute those found

promoting the interests of Eli Lilly and other drug companies at the expense of

Indiana's children and families. This whole issue is not about the welfare of

children at all. It is about ruthless greed, money and hooking kids on

profitable psychiatric drugs and nothing else. "

Rugg, CARE representative (Citizen Awareness of the Restructuring of

Education), St. Cloud, MN wrote on September 20, 2006 1:55 PM: " Thank you for

your work on and interest in the mental health debacle surfacing country wide.

This is indeed an invasion of personal rights as well as a further removal of

parental responsibility in the control of their children. All the federal

government has to do is promote some issue, tag millions of dollars to it to get

it going, and representatives in state legislatures fall all over themselves to

get in on the monies. If you haven't noticed already, there has been an effort

in K-12 schools to enhance the psychiatric industries position in student

issues. In MN, some screening was done before legislation was even introduced.

It was kept on the quiet and justified by some obscure older rule. I refer you

to the work of Dr. Effrem who has done extensive study and reporting on

the subject of mental health screening. Her work can be found at www.EdWatch.org

.. Keep on this. It is critical. "

Garrison e, Altadena, CA wrote on September 20, 2006 8:48 AM: " Physical and

mental are different. One deals with the body and the other with the mind. The

mind is not a physical thing. You can't touch the mind or hold it in your hand.

The brain is not a mind. Each person has his own mind and it is uniquely his.

When a government wants to manipulate a mind you have something other than a

government. When a Board of Education wants to manipulate a mind you have

something other than an educational body. It is one thing to have an opinion

about how a person is. It is another thing to try to mold them into what you

want them to be. Each person is an individual. That is the way it is. Lab rats

are never going to provide insight into the mind of a human being. Where there

is no understanding there will be no improvement. This is simple common sense.

Repeal SEA 529 Psychiatrists are pseudo scientists who position themselves as

being like medical practitioners. They hope to gain credibility. Their marketing

apparatus will give a list of physical problems the schools " screen " for. Among

physical problems are sandwiched psychiatrists invented names. The list sounds

like, " cancer, tumor, math disorder, broken bones, etc " . The only " treatment "

for a psychiatrists " illness " is a pharmaceutical poison. The pseudo scientist

can't cure a thing and he will tell he can't if you ask him. Repeal SEA 529 The

Indiana state government is headed up by Eli Lilly's former president. The

people involved here have pharmaceutical ties form top to bottom. There is not

one shred of evidence that a pharmaceutical/psychiatric approach to child care

has done anything but harm children. Repeal SEA 529 TeenScreen is a fraud. They

tell us teen suicide is the third leading cause of death among kids 15-19 years

old. They say 1,700 kids kill themselves each year. It is impossible to find

these in a population of over 34,000,000 kids. That is a .00005 percentage of

suicidal kids you�d have to locate each year. At least half of the kids who

kill themselves are taking the psychotropic drugs the FDA warns cause suicidal

behavior. If you really want to prevent suicide get these kids off of the drugs.

Repeal SEA 529 "

Tony , Fresno, Ca. wrote on September 20, 2006 8:37 AM: " If ever there was

a time for a hard hitting investigative reporter...now is that time. When I was

14 my dad killed himself. My mother developed mental problems trying to deal

with it. I was left 'man of the house' in my dad's suicide note. In other words,

I was left to handle all the problems. I did everything I could to fulfill that

assignment. I just want you to know my sincerity and motivation for writing. I

am now 60 and have lived a wonderful life as have my children and grandchildren.

Few have studied as long and hard as I have to understand suicide and mental

stress. I have reached some objective conclusions. Psychiatry is NOT the

solution but the biggest problem. When I was 21 I took my mother to a

psychiatrist. That is when her real problems began. They put her on psychotropic

drugs. She went downhill fast and became violent and suicidal. Finally, a real

physician came to the rescue and put her on a plan to eliminate the psych drugs

and put her on a strict diet and demanded family members take her for walks and

get her out of the house. He pulled me aside and said " I wouldn't take a dog to

a psychiatrist. I have seen this my entire career but looked the other way for

fear of being blackballed. I am ashamed of my cowardess.I retire this year so I

no longer care about what they can do. " I started feverishly studying to prove

that real doctor wrong and justify my decision to seek psychiatric 'help' for my

mom. I studied a LOT. I finally came to the honest realization that I had fell

for the very sophisticated manipulation techniques developed by Sigmund Freud's

nephew, Bernays. Nothing has permeated our society more than these

'public relations and propaganda techniques'. They started with the tobacco

industry and now psychiatry and the pharmaceutical industry have joined forces

in the most lucrative financial endeavor ever dreamed of. The only problem is

that more people will die and more lives will be ruined than any scenario

envisioned by anti-tobacco lobby. I beseech you once again...please do thorough

research and ask hard hitting questions of the psychiatrists as though

children's lives may depend on it, because they do. I have a lot of

investigative material by the worlds top objective authorities stored on my

computer if you need it I will send it. "

Tom Beattie, Enola, Pa. wrote on September 20, 2006 8:26 AM: " I applaud

FWdailynews.com for being concerned about the out of control " mental health "

community and its reach into our kids lives. I am sure many of your readers are

aware that Senate Enrolled Act 529 is all about treatment, and that treatment is

with " drugs " . I am also sure your readers are aware that Gov Mitch s is

also a past president of Eli Lilly Co. Do I hear conflict of interest? How many

commission members who are implementing this program are employed by Lilly or

are psychologists and would stand to monetarily benefit from it's

implementation? SEA 529 sounds like it passed like the Patriot Act did with a

" just vote yes for it as it is groundbreaking legislation for our children's

mental health and their bright futures " . Who would argue if today's so called

mental health professionals could actually cure the bogus bipolar disorder, but

all the psychiatrists do is prescribe Lilly's prozac or Kline's Paxil which

are not cures, only expensive highs and big big letdowns with toxic and deadly

side effects. For the sake of Indiana's future, Repeal the SEA! Our kids do not

need the state or the feds deciding our kids mental health. Kick Big Brother

OUT! "

Pearl Lantz wrote on September 19, 2006 4:30 PM: " Thank you for your excellent

article regarding SEA 529. As is obvious, this has opened up a can of worms

which the government has no business in. This smacks of Big Brother, deciding

which of our children needs conforming to the " norm. " Who decides on what is

normal? The psychiatrist? The person with vested interests in drugging everyone

and making tons of profit from it? I think not! This bill needs to be repealed

to send a message to all of the states that the government and the drug

companies have no business in running our lives and that of our children. As a

further note, the money ties are so very obvious. Were you aware that Indiana

Gov. Mitch s, who signed the Indiana law, was the former President of Eli

Lilly? Indianapolis is the home office for Eli Lilly. Are any of the Commission

members employed by pharmaceutical companies? I smell a rat. Please use your

investigative reporting skills and weed this one out. "

Doris Bentz wrote on September 19, 2006 4:19 PM: " We must not let pharmaceutical

companies nor the psychs get away with drugging our children and enslave our

future generations. We must stop them. WE must enforce our human rights and let

the people of this wonderful country know what they're up against. NO to Teen

Screen! No to legislators that have ties to the pharmaceutical companies! This

is serious business, it is the future of our country. Let's preserve our

freedom!! "

Ole Thiemer, Copenhagen wrote on September 19, 2006 4:19 PM: " I saw your article

in the newspaper and even I'm not a US citizens I am worried. Because if the

state first are allowed to take away parents rights I see the future as some of

the worse movies I have seen about the future, where man are slaves of the few.

The point is that I have seen a lot of evidence that many, many of the mental

illnesses isn't illnesses but a mocked up thing to provide money for the few

(The drug companies). This I even have on a CD-ROM where several psychiatrists

admit that there isn't any evidence and there isn't any cure. If you are

interested I will be happy to send you a link so you can see for your self. "

Marty, Kendallville wrote on September 19, 2006 3:05 PM: " I wanted to let

you know I think you did a whale of a job on the article you had in the Sunday

Sept 17, 2006 News Sun on the Mental Health Bill SEA 529. Even though I have

never been married and not a father of any kids (I don't expect either of these

things to happen for me before my days are done here on earth) I support

parents' rights to raise their children the way the parents see fit not the way

government per se tells parents what they can and cannot do. I would like to

know and would please find out how the following Indiana legislators voted on

this Bill: State Senators Bob Meeks and Dennis Kruse. House representives Marlin

Stutzman, Matt Bell and Dick Dodge. If you can find out who all the legislators

were that voted for this bill. I want this bill SEA 529 totallly repealed just

like I want the " Daylight Savings Time " Bill totally repealed. Government per se

has gotten entirely too big for its britches and now this country is becoming a

" Dictatorship. " We citizens are no longer free to make our own decisions on

almost everything. I did not like the Toll Road Bill either and I feel anyone in

the Indiana legislature who voted for that Toll Road Bill as well as the

Daylight Savings Time bill should be removed from Office Immediately and never

allowed to run even for the office of " Fly Catcher " if there were such an

office. This includes our current Governor Mr Yo-Yo s. Please try and find

out and let me and others know who voted for the bill SEA 529. Good job you did

on the legislation bill SEA 529. "

Hilton, Pinellas County, FL wrote on September 19, 2006 2:40 PM: " Parents

and citizens of Indiana and Ohio need to fully inform themselves on the bed of

worms which is " mental health " screening, when they do this, they will refuse to

consent to such idiocy. Parents and citizens need to promote that schools do

their job, and only their job, which is teaching, get it, T E A C H I N G!

Students do well when they are competently taught, so that they are learning.

When information is presented in an interesting and relavent way, students learn

and when they are learning worthwhile data their morale is in good shape.

Parents and citizens need to know that there is real help for students, and

everyone for that matter who are suffering life's stresses and traumas. Real

help is available from dieticians, nutritionists, PE teachers and coaches, music

teachers, chiropractors, ministers, medical doctors for diagnosing medical

conditions for which there is scientific, verifiable proof and other non

psychiatric experts. My county's school board voted not to use TeenScreen when

they fully informed themselves. "

and Lorraine wrote on September 19, 2006 2:39 PM: " Thank you for

your investigation into the mental health screening of our children in our

public schools. As parents we are outraged at the very idea of this program and

we feel that instead of helping our children, it will actually cause great harm

to them. There are so many flaws and so much vested interest in this undertaking

that we are disgusted at our officials and their inept handling of this most

vital decision. Again, we thank you. "

++

If you would rather not receive the latest news via this e-mail line, please

send a message to

records@... with " UNSUBSCRIBE ME " in the subject line.

(posted as a requirement under legal and contractual requirements.)

[Guest guest]

Wow! Those are some great letters from the people of Inidana. It

just goes to show that the work you are doing is making a

difference. People seem amazingly aware of the issue and were very

vocal in their opposition to the bill.

The real shame is that such a law wound be proposed, much less sail

through a vote, that includes such language. It just goes to show

that our politicians are voting on things they know nothing about.

We are supposed to be a " representative republic. " Inherent in that

premise is the idea that our elected officials will represent our

interests, and yet obviously this legislative body doesn't have a

clue how its constinuency feels about this issue.

Let's all remember that as we gear up for the national elections

this fall. Dig into the positions of those running for congress and

your state legislature. Ask them is they are on boards of any

pharmaceutical companies or if they are significant stockholders. I

withdrew my support from a candidate for state office that I overall

agreed with on many other issues because he has ties to several

pharmaceutical companies. And I let him know why I withdrew, too. I

had offered to volunteer with his campaign, put up a yard sign, etc.

etc. Then I became curious and read his full bio. It listed his

pharmaceutical interests and I told him I could not support him

because of that issue. He was surprised that I would drop my support

because we had worked together for several years on a

methamphetamine planning task force and he had been a presenter at

one of our conferences. Dropped him like a hot potato. He lost his

primary, too, so he won't be in the fall election. Now, I am

checking out everybody who's running for office and will let them

know that being on the wrong side in the pharmaceutical game will

cost them support from me and my family.

Terry