Columnists

ON MENTAL ILLNESS: The Shredded Safety Net

By Jack Bragen
Friday April 11, 2014 - 09:48:00 AM

The mental health treatment system is a part of the safety net for persons with mental illness. However, this safety net has holes in it--gaping holes. If someone is completely disabled and can't take care of himself or herself, services do exist for such a person to be maintained. It is not a good life, but it is a life. -more-


THE PUBLIC EYE: The War on Democracy: SCOTUS Weighs In

By Bob Burnett
Friday April 11, 2014 - 09:55:00 AM

Americans are worried about the economy and economic inequality. Most of us feel the government should do something to reduce inequality. Now the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has weighed in with its April 2nd decision in McCutcheon v. FEC making it more difficult for the 99 percent to influence government to remedy inequality. -more-


DISPACTCHES FROM THE EDGE: Continental Drift: Europe’s Breakaways

By Conn Hallinan
Friday April 11, 2014 - 09:42:00 AM

“Happy families are all alike: every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” -more-


ECLECTIC RANT: Results of Research Concerning Assisted Outpatient Treatment in the U.S.

By Ralph E. Stone
Friday April 11, 2014 - 11:03:00 AM

In "Mental Health Commitment Laws: A Survey of the States” (Survey), the Treatment Advocacy Center comprehensively examined the laws each state uses to determine who within its population might qualify to receive involuntary or assisted outpatient treatment (AOT), for what duration, and graded each state on two measures of their response to the treatment needs of this small but high-impact population. -more-