Hearing voices: Social context influences psychosis

Reblogged from NeuWriteSD.org:

“People are always selling the idea that people with mental illness are suffering. I think madness can be an escape. If things are not so good, you maybe want to imagine something better.”

These are the words of John Nash, Jr., the Nobel Laureate who inspired the book and the movie A Beautiful Mind and who suffered from schizophrenia, including paranoid delusions of grandeur during which he felt he could intercept secret messages with important content instructing him on how to rescue the planet.

How individuals experiencing psychotic symptoms come to interpret such messages is a fascinating question. In a recent academic talk, Stanford psychological anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann addressed this question by arguing persuasively for the influence of culture on the symptomatology of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia (for a great recap of a similar talk by Luhrmann, see this blog post from PLoS). Strikingly, she claims, positive psychotic symptoms, in particular hearing voices, manifest differently in different cultures. 

Continuing reading here...

Lithium: Wonder Drug? Part I

Reblogged from my post on NeuWriteSD.org:

I’m so happy ’cause today
I’ve found my friends
They’re in my head

What comes to mind when you hear the word lithium? A drug used to manage life-threatening mood disorders? A potentially deadly toxin? A chemical found in trace amounts in many compounds in nature? (Or maybe just the Nirvana song?)

Any of these answers would be felicitous. A recent New York Times Sunday Review piece by psychiatrist Dr. Anna Fels touted the potential benefits of the naturally-occurring element, atomic number 3 on the periodic table. Dr. Fels’ primary argument was that lithium, widely known for its use as a mood stabilizer for individuals with severe mood disorders, also has a positive effect on mood and cognition in non-clinical populations in trace amounts.

Continue reading here...

Creativity and mood: the ups and downs of bipolar disorder

Reblogged from my post on NeuWriteSD.org:

They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.
–Edgar Allen Poe [1]

If the emotions are sometimes so strong that one works without knowing one works, when sometimes the strokes come with a continuity and a coherence like words in a speech or a letter, then one must remember that it has not always been so, and that in time to come there will again be hard days, empty of inspiration.

So one must strike while the iron is hot, and put the forged bars on one side.

–Vincent Van Gogh

 “We of the craft are all crazy. Some are affected by gaiety, others by melancholy, but all are more or less touched.” These are the words of the poet Lord Byron, whom Kay Redfield Jamison quotes in her book Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. In this book, Jamison explores the link between so-called creative “genius” and a predisposition toward mood disorders, such as depression and, in particular, bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depressive disorder).

Continue reading here...

Demilitarize the police

This summer, I wrote for a website called ForceChange.org. There, I've written about topics ranging from social-economic issues (salary caps for highly-paid CEOs) to medicine (e.g., the importance of changing patient-doctor relationships and the need for better care for patients with disabilities) to the environment (urging policymakers to increase taxes on gas and encouraging people to stop eating meat). But to my own surprise, the issue I was most compelled to write about this summer was a very basic human right: the right to exist freely in this country without regard to skin color.

Police militarization is on the rise in the United States, with a person of color (typically male) dying at the hands and guns of police officers at a rate of once a day, on average. Brutal treatment in and out of jail (as in the case of Nubia Bowe) and inconceivable treatment of individuals during arrests (as in the case of an elderly woman doing nothing wrong other than standing at the side of a highway) are also more likely to target people of color. Of course, some of these incidents make national news, while others don't (such as the death of 16-year-old Victor Villalpando earlier this summer).

What is equally striking is the incarceration rate of men of color compared to white men. In her book, The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander writes about the new system of slavery that abides in this country: incarceration. The mire of the U.S. law system makes it nearly impossible to argue that an arrest took place based on race, leaving victims of racism very few avenues to escape the maze of the jails and courts that await them. The so called "war on drugs" has been a huge player in this racist frenzy--since the 80s, law enforcement agencies have been incentivized to make drug arrests and have been given access to (guess what?) paramilitary equipment as their arrests for drug charges increased.

Some the issues are described in more depth in my most recent petition on Force Change. Check it out if you like (and please sign, if you agree!). I close that post with a snippet of a poem from Langston Hughes--I include it in its entirety here. I find the poem to hit deeply but to find a place of hope that may be difficult. The system is broken. We must take steps to change that.

Let America be America Again
Langston Hughes

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? 
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again! 

Support Legislation to Demilitarize Police

Support Legislation to Demilitarize Police

Excerpt: The U.S. government has been providing military-style weapons and vehicles to local police precincts under the guise of the propagating the wars on terrorism and drugs. The spending on this equipment is egregious and the use of these forces against citizens is leading American cities to resemble police states. Join in supporting new legislation to stop providing such equipment to police precincts and to demilitarize law enforcement across the country.

Target: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner

Goal: Support legislation to demilitarize law enforcement in the United States.

As comedian-turned-serious-news-reporter John Oliver recently put it, singing along with muppets, "It's a fact that needs to spoken: America's prisons are broken." Incarceration rates in the U.S. are egregiously high, nearing 1% of the population, according to a policy think tank called the Prison Policy Initiative, What's more, people (especially men) of color are vastly overrepresented in the pool of those incarcerated: according to a recent Pew Research study, black men were six times as likely to be incarcerated as white men, with a recent University of Michigan Law School study reporting that black men receive harsher sentences on average.

Perhaps worse, increasingly violent militarization of police forces in the U.S. is broken, too. The U.S. government has been outfitting local police precincts with military-grade weaponry as part of the 1033 program, orchestrated by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency. Under this program, surplus military equipment, including tanks and military weaponry, may be supplied to local U.S. police precincts, with the Washington Post reporting nearly half a billion dollars of equipment given away in 2013 alone. The 1033 program has its roots in the so-called "War on Drugs" and "War on Terrorism" in the U.S.. It arose from the National Defense Authorization Act of 1997, which states, "In considering applications for the transfer of personal property under this section, the Secretary shall give a preference to those applications indicating that the transferred property will be used in the counter-drug or counter-terrorism activities of the recipient agency."

In her recent book, _The New Jim Crow_, Michelle Alexander notes that Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams emerged in the 1960s and were originally used in emergencies (taking prisoners hostage, prison escapes, and the like). Alexander notes that in the early 1980s, there were 3,000 swat deployments but by 2001 the number had increased to 40,000. Alexander goes on to note how in 1981, President Reagan passed the Military Cooperation with Law Enforcement Act, which would serve to allow local, state, and federal police to have access to military intelligence and material resources like weapons. Over the years, police precincts which prioritized drug arrests were given these resources as incentives.

Now, SWAT raids regularly occur for minor drug offenses, and nearly daily (every 28 hours), a black man is killed extrajudicially by law enforcement, according to statistics provided by the Malcolm X Grassroots movement. In an horrific recent event in Ferguson, Missouri, police violence led to the death of yet another unarmed young black male and was followed by protests in the town, during which law enforcement shot at and threw teargas at peaceful protesters, also arresting journalists as they rolled through neighborhood streets in military vehicles. The local newspaper the Riverfront Times reported that individuals were also attacked while standing in their own back yards. This included one man who shouted "This my property!", which the _Times_ said "…prompt[ed] police to fire a tear gas canister directly at his face."

This type of militarization leads to a culture in law enforcement where officers are no longer protecting their citizens--they are walking the streets of a battlefield. Join in writing to our Speaker of the House to use his voice to bring back an America where citizens can walk the streets freely, without constant threat of a militarized police.


PETITION LETTER:

Dear Speaker of the House Boehner,

U.S. prisons are broken, and the U.S. law enforcement system is broken. As Senator Rand Paul recently put it, "Washington has incentivized the militarization of local police precincts by using federal dollars to help municipal governments build what are essentially small armies—where police departments compete to acquire military gear that goes far beyond what most of Americans think of as law enforcement."

House representative Hank Johnson, from Georgia, has written proposed legislation to demilitarize local police precincts and to limit the 1033 program which currently allows such precincts to receive military-style weaponry. This legislation would help to ensure that some violence is curbed--for instance, we would prevent the use of over-the-top military tanks roaming town streets and coercing innocent, peaceful protesters into submission with tear gas and rubber bullets. An additional consequence of limiting this type of equipment would be a re-framing of what the relationship of law enforcement officers and citizens should be. Police forces are in police first and foremost to protect the rights of citizens, but in many recent cases, U.S. law enforcement officers have done the precise opposite, endangering individuals without cause and/or with extremity.

As Langston Hughes wrote beautifully in his poem, "Let America be America Again":

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!

Yours Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit:

Deplore Environmentalists for Ignoring the Impact of Big Agriculture

Deplore Environmentalists for Ignoring the Impact of Big Agriculture

Excerpt: Environmental organizations like Greenpeace attempt to fight against global warming by focusing on the use of fossil fuels as the culprit and on the prospect of renewable energy as a possible savior. However, they ignore the single most dangerous cause of increased greenhouse gas emissions: big agriculture. Insist that organizations like Greenpeace encourage people to reduce meat and other animal product consumption in order to lower the amount of emissions produced and the amount of resources consumed.

Target: Greenpeace Executive Director Annie Leonard

Goal: Insist that environmental organizations recognize the devastating impact of big agriculture on global warming

Scientists agree that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity contribute to global warming. However, the large source of these emissions is rarely mentioned when it comes to conversations about the environment. Livestock production is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimating that the global livestock sector leads to 14.5% of human-induced emissions, a modest estimate compared to other sources. Livestock production contributes to emissions through enteric fermentation, i.e., cow farts, as well as by cutting into forests (emitting CO2), and it (literally) eats up valuable resources, including both food crops and water. To put this in perspective: according to a study published in the journal _Global Change Biology_, 86% of the land used globally for crops is devoted to feeding cows (compared to 8% of crops which are used directly as foods to be eaten by humans). That's an order of magnitude which could be eliminated if humans were to switch to a plant-based diet.

Despite these egregious numbers, environmental organizations like Greenpeace do not recognize livestock production as a significant contributor to global warming, as pointed out in a recent documentary produced by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn. The documentary suggests that environmental organizations, as well as some members of the sustainable food industry, are supported by donations from big agriculture, meaning that they have a vested interested in keeping mum when it comes to the amount of damage producing and consuming meat has on the planet. What's more, special political groups may have vested interests in keeping livestock production around, given the amount of money the U.S. government alone pours into the system: According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the U.S. Department of Agriculture shelled out nearly $250 _billion_ in subsidies for "commodity crops," a large part of which goes towards animal feed, not to mention the $5 billion that goes to dairy and $3.5 billion that goes to livestock.

Join in affirming that the current system of agriculture is broken and is killing our planet (not to mention our planet's animals, who are often treated and slaughtered inhumanely). Encourage environmentalist groups to recognize that the system of food in this country (and on this planet) is broken.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Ms. Leonard,

I write to you to thank you for your service at Greenpeace. It is imperative that such an organization continue to address the threats that humans pose to the planet, including carbon emissions from factories, cars, and other artifacts.

However, I urge you to consider another, even more harmful threat to the planet that humans pose: we are killing our planet by eating meat. Livestock, especially cows, are the top contributor to human-based greenhouse gases. Eating meat is an extraordinarily inefficient way for humans to stay nourished. Only a tiny fraction of the land currently used for crops is for human consumption; the vast majority (approximately 86%) is used for crops that will be come animal feed for cows alone--and their grazing pastures take up three times that amount of space.

Despite the devastating impact that livestock production has on the environment, many environmental organizations have neglected to support the cause. I urge you to use your influence at Greenpeace to right this wrong. Address the impact of big agriculture on the environment and urge your members to fight back by reducing meat and animal product consumption.

Yours Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: Martin Leng via Wikimedia Commons

Demand Justice for Innocent Victim Murdered by Police Officers

Demand Justice for Innocent Victim Murdered by Police Officers

Excerpt: A teenaged boy was recently gunned down by policemen in the state of New Mexico, leaving the boy dead but no officers hurt. There is no evidence that the boy was dangerous, and police will not release video surveillance. Take action to press charges against the officers who committed this lethal crime and to end terroristic violence by law enforcers.

Target: Santa Fe Police Chief Eric Garcia

Goal: Press charges against police officers who shot and killed an innocent teenage boy.

Multiple news sources report that law enforcement officers in Española, New Mexico recently gunned down a sixteen-year-old youth after they perceived him to have a weapon. The boy was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital shortly thereafter.

Family and friends of the boy claim that he was a very serious dancer who was going to attend the New Mexico School of the Arts the following school year, reports the news site for KRQE 13 based out of Albuquerque, NM. Some sources report that the young by may have been carrying a stick, which was to be used during dance routines. Meanwhile, police will not release video surveillance of the scene, claiming only that the boy pointed "a weapon" at them.

News of unrestrained police violence against innocent civilians has become far too common an occurrence. The presence of law enforcement officials is becoming synonymous with danger, and not because they are protecting anyone from it. That a sixteen-year-old child, wielding a weapon or not, should be shot in cold blood with no apparent struggle is appalling. Accepting such violence form law enforcement is unacceptable for Americans who wish to live in peace and out from under the thumb of oppression.

Call on Santa Fe Police Chief Eric Garcia, who was the head of the public safety department of Enseñada at the time of the shooting, to press charges against the police officers who murdered the teenaged boy. These individuals are guilty of murder, and it cannot be tolerated.

PETITION LETTER

Dear Mr. Garcia,

Law enforcers carry a power over civilians, and they also carry guns. That is a great responsibility. Recently, this power and these guns were abused by members of the Enspaõla police force when they shot and murdered a sixteen-year-old boy. There is no evidence this boy was a threat, and the police are unwilling to release video footage of the event.

It is the responsibility of law enforcers to keep the peace, not to create brutal and fatal violence. Too often, news stories report that U.S. law enforcement has gotten out of control--it is nearly daily that one reads that the young, the elderly, the sick, and those who are unable to protect themselves (including animals) are maimed or killed by law enforcement strategies gone awry. This is unacceptable. These are heinous crimes.

I write today to ask you to use your power to press charges against the police officers who murdered the Española boy, and to join in the fight against abuse of power by law enforcers across the country. It is imperative that police officers receive the education and training needed to handle situations without violence.

Yours Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: Chase Carter via Flickr

Applaud State for Reducing Teen Birthrates by Offering Free Birth Control

Applaud State for Reducing Teen Birthrates by Offering Free Birth Control

Excerpt: The state of Colorado recently employed an initiative to offer free birth control to women from low-income backgrounds. Join in applauding state officials from Colorado for the program's success in lowering teen birthrates and abortion rates.

Target: Governor John Hickenlooper

Goal: Applaud officials from the state of Colorado for offering free birth control and reducing teen birthrates and abortion rates statewide

In the past month, the United States has series of depressing events with regard to women's rights and women's health. With the Supreme Court of the United States ruling 5-4 that the religious beliefs of the executives of private companies can determine the health care benefits provided to women, bipartisan issues of whether and when the government should be involved in providing health care have caused flare-ups often based on opinions rather than facts.

The fact of the matter is: providing birth control to women is a matter of public health. And the facts clearly show that providing birth control access to women, especially women who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds, benefits everyone. Over the last five years, a program known as the Colorado Family Planning Initiative was put in place to provide birth control to low-income women across the state of Colorado.

_Vox.com_ reports that over this time period, the rate of teen abortions fell by 35%, and the teen birthrate fell by 40%. These numbers are certainly influenced by a variety of factors, including an overall drop in the rate of teen pregnancies in the United States. However, the timing the Colorado initiative and the decrease in unplanned pregnancies suggests the program is working. Not only has the program resulted in a better life for many Colorado women, it has also resulted in saving a lot of money. State officials report that programs like Women Infants, and Children (WIC), which provided education and support to low-income families, has seen nearly a quarter fewer cases, and the state suggests a savings of over $40 million in expenditures associated with teenage births.

Join in praising Governor John Hickenlooper for the success of this initiative and ask that other lawmakers take heed of this success story when considering their own position on laws regarding women's health.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Governor Hickenlooper,

The past month has seen backward progress when it comes to the fate of women's health in the United States. With the Supreme Court allowing employer's to choose whether they will allow their insurance providers to cover certain forms of birth control, we have regressed to a state where religion is not free, but rather controlling of women.

I thank you very much for your efforts in Colorado to ensure that women's health care needs are being met. I applaud you for the success of the Colorado Family Planning Initiative in the state of Colorado. When young women from low-income backgrounds can receive education about sex and measures to prevent unwanted pregnancies, they have a better chance of a healthy and fulfilling life. I urge you to continue to uphold such stellar policies in the state of Colorado and truly hope that they may serve as a model for other legislators in the United States.

Yours Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit:

Demand Justice for Victim of Police Brutality

Demand Justice for Victim of Police Brutality

Excerpt: A woman walking along a highway was accosted and brutalized by a police officer in California. Demand that action be taken against the officer in question and that the police force be required to take responsibility for this action. Police officers wielding violence against non-violent citizens is a despicable crime that cannot be tolerated.

Target: California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joseph A. Farrow

Goal: Demand that charges be pressed against a police officer who brutalized a non-violent woman for walking along a highway.

Multiple news sources report that early in July, 2014, a woman was walking on interstate I-10 near Los Angeles when a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer accosted her. According to CHP officials, the officer had responded to information that a woman was wandering the highway, endangering both herself also many other people driving on the highway.

However, a bystander with a camera was also present and caught nearly the entire incident, which shows the police officer brutally, repeatedly punching the woman, who was elderly. The Associated Press reports that the man who caught the incident on film, David Diaz, says that the officer "…just pounded her. If you look at the video, there are 15 hits. To the head, and not just simple jabs… He agitated the situation more than helped it."

_Business Insider_ reports that, according to the Center for Research on Globalization, about 500 innocent Americans are murdered by uniformed officers each year. Further, more Americans have been killed by police officers in the United States in the last ten years than were killed in total in the war in Iraq.

The officer in the Los Angeles incident has been put on leave while an investigation takes place. Join others in demanding that criminal charges be filed against the officer and that the CHP be required to take responsibility for their actions.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Farrow,

Reports of police brutality against unarmed, innocent civilians continue to plague the news. Recently, a member of the California High Patrol accosted and repeatedly punched, up to fifteen times, a woman whose only crime was walking next to a highway. Non-violent incidents like this should never result in an unarmed civilian being brutalized.

I ask you to take action to ensure that this type of incident never happens again in the California Highway Patrol. Press charges against the officer in question, taking a firm stance that his behavior cannot and will not be tolerated. Further, provide training to other officers to make sure that turning to violence is not a choice against unarmed, non-violent civilians. Research puts estimates of civilian deaths by police hands at about five hundred per year for the past decade--a sum that, when totaled, equals more than the number of American deaths suffered during the war in Iraq.

Please help to end this madness and restore peace to American citizens. Press charges against the officers who was implicated in the Los Angeles highway incident and take measures to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Fibonacci Blue via Flickr

Success: National Store Chain Blocks the Open Carrying of Firearms

Success: National Store Chain Blocks the Open Carrying of Firearms

Excerpt: The executive of a large corporation has requested that individuals leave their guns behind when shopping at their stores. Applaud the decision not to allow the threat of violence and to create a safe environment in these stores.

Target: John J. Mulligan, Target Interim President and CEO/CFO

Goal: Thank CEO of Target for enforcing a "no open carry" policy for firearms in Target stores

The national corporation Target has come under criticism for permitting open carry of guns in their stores. As a result, many demonstrations by groups condoning open-carry policies were carried out, particularly in states where gun laws are most lax. A recent ForceChange petition [link to: http://forcechange.com/127284/ban-the-open-carrying-of-firearms-in-store-chain/] called on the chief executive officer (CEO) of Target, John J. Mulligan, to enforce a policy against openly carrying firearms in Target.

The _Minneapolis Star Tribune_ reports that the executives at Target corporation have heard the voice of people who asked for a safer environment where families feel welcome. According to the _Tribune_, Mulligan has stated, "[S]tarting today we will… respectfully request that guests not bring firearms to Target, even in communities where it is permitted by law." To implement this request, Target will place signs at its stores asking that people not bring guns inside.

Please join us in thanking the CEO of Target for this acknowledgment that these gun demonstrations are disruptive and this request that individuals no longer openly carry firearms in the store.

PETITION LETTER:

Thank you for listening to the voice of Americans who reject the open carry of guns in public stores like Target. Target stores have historically been environments where families gather to shop, and the presence of lethal weapons in such an arena is unacceptable. I sincerely appreciate your commitment to maintaining Target stores as safe environments for families.

In the future, I urge you to continue to stand firm on this issue and to request that individuals openly carrying guns not enter the store. This request sends an important message that the threat of violence will not be tolerated at Target stores.

Thank you again for your judgment in this matter.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Applaud Indiana Lawmakers for Allowing One Same-Sex Marriage; Now, Make it Legal for All

Applaud Indiana Lawmakers for Allowing One Same-Sex Marriage; Now, Make it Legal for All

Target: Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals (Seventh Circuit) Diane Wood

Goal: Commend lawmakers for ruling that the marriage of one same-sex couple  and urge them to rule that same-sex marriage should be upheld across the board

Excerpt: The state of Indiana has recently seen turmoil with regards to laws banning same-sex marriages. In the face of a stay ordering a freeze on new marriages, a federal appeals court has ordered for the recognition of the marriage of one same-sex couple.  Commend lawmakers for this ruling and urge them to rule that same-sex marriage should be upheld across the board.

The state of Indiana has recently seen turmoil with regards to laws banning same-sex marriages. As of June 26, 2014, a federal judged ruled that the recent ban on same-sex marriages in the state of Indiana was unconstitutional. Many couples in Indiana immediately raced to the Marion County Clerk's office in Indianapolis to tie the knot.

However, a federal appeals court promptly called for an emergency stay, meaning that the enforcement of the prior court judgment to ban same-sex marriages is temporarily nullified. This means that couples who had previously been married prior to the stay may not be entitled to their newly-found (and somewhat limited) rights while the courts battle out the appeal.

Even if the appeal is upheld and the ban on same-sex marriage is overturned, gay couples in Indiana enjoy may not equal rights. _USA Today_ reports on several arenas where discrimination against same-sex couples exists. Health insurance providers, for example, may choose to cover spouses, but they have the right to refuse to provide coverage for same-sex couples. Tax rules and civil/social liberties related to hospital visitation rights, death certificates, and adoptions are also subject to interpretation of state and/or local rulings and may not ensure equal rights for same-sex couples.

Three is one beacon of hope in this tumultuous story, which is the recognition of one particular same-sex marriage of Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney, who has is in a life-threatening battle with ovarian cancer. On July 1, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state must recognize the marriage of this couple, irrespective of the stay.

Join the fight for equal rights for all Americans and applaud Chief Judge Wood for the recognition of this marriage. Further urge Indiana lawmakers to fight to keep the ban on same-sex marriage overturned.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Judge Wood,

The state of Indiana is in a state of turmoil with respective to same-sex marriage and equal rights for all people who reside there. With the recent overturning of the ban on same-sex marriage followed by the stay limiting new couples from getting married, many individuals in Indiana are hurting. What's more, even if the overturning of the ban is upheld, gay couples in Indiana may not enjoy the same rights as others, including limitations on tax laws benefiting couples and limitations on other civil and social liberties.

I applaud your judgment in the case brought to the courts by Amy Sandler and Niki Quasney, who were able to protect their right to remain married. I urge you to use your influence and character to explain to others why it is so important that equal rights in marriage and civil liberties be extended to all individuals in Indiana, without discrimination.

Yours Sincerely,

[Your name here]

Photo credit: Tom Morris via Wikimedia Commons

Overturn the Supreme Court's Discriminatory Ruling Against Women's Health Target: US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Robert, Jr. Goal: Overturn the Supreme Court ruling that religious leanings of employers enable them to restrict women's access to insurance coverage for medical care In her beautiful autobiography, _I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings_, Maya Angelou writes, of being a black woman going through adolescence in the 1930s and '40s, "The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power." The Supreme Court of the United State (SCOTUS) recently gave in to the perpetuation of masculine prejudice, illogical hate, and lack of power when they ruled that corporations have the ability to selectively discriminate against women by refusing that health insurance policies cover contraceptives. In the case Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of Hobby Lobby, an American company owned by an evangelical Christian family from Oklahoma. This ruling means that a family-owned company may be exempt from guidelines set in place by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the fact that insurance providers must cover contraceptives, which some conservative Christians are incorrectly convinced is the same thing as abortion (science, on the other hand, correctly informs us that it is not). Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg stated in her dissent, "The court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield." These words reflect the apparent breadth of the ruling which essentially boils down to companies being able to exercise their "sincerely held religious beliefs" (even when these are NOT backed by science) and to "opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible [with those beliefs]." The current coverage provided by the ACA "…helps safeguard the health of women for whom pregnancy may be hazardous, even life threatening. And the mandate secures benefits wholly unrelated to pregnancy, preventing certain cancers, menstrual disorders, and pelvic pain." Now, companies have the right to decide for women whether or not they would be insured in such ways. Denounce the decision of SCOTUS and call on US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Robert, Jr. to recognize how these actions impact women. Let SCOTUS know that U.S. citizens do NOT approve of systematic discrimination towards women and that it is unconstitutional to allow the personal opinions of employers influence the rights to fair health care of their employees. PETITION LETTER: Dear Mr. Robert, The recent Supreme Court ruling in Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby that companies can use their personal morals under the guise of religious freedom to control the lives of others is nothing less than absurd. This ruling opens the floodgates for health coverage decisions which "sincerely held religious beliefs" could influence regardless of state of the art medicine or scientific studies. Not only is restricting coverage for women's health a heinous act of sexism, it is yet another example of corporations getting special privileges based on the nature of their existence as corporations. In this case, when the company won't shell out, the check bounces back to the government (i.e., to taxpayers) if the corporation refuses to pay. The problem with this is that corporations are NOT people. The problem with this is that women ARE. The problem with this is that religious freedoms apply to PERSONAL decisions and cannot--and must not--be used by corporations to control the health outcomes of people. I urge you to hear the people of American who are speaking. There are approximately 318 million people currently living in America. Approximately 164 million of them (that's over half, by the way) just witnessed a collapse of their health rights. Please overturn this discriminatory ruling which hurts American women and helps no one. Sincerely, [Your Name Here]

Overturn the Supreme Court's Discriminatory Ruling Against Women's Health

Target: US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Robert, Jr.

Goal: Overturn the Supreme Court ruling that religious leanings of employers enable them to restrict women's access to insurance coverage for medical care

In her beautiful autobiography, _I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings_, Maya Angelou writes, of being a black woman going through adolescence in the 1930s and '40s, "The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power."

The Supreme Court of the United State (SCOTUS) recently gave in to the perpetuation of masculine prejudice, illogical hate, and lack of power when they ruled that corporations have the ability to selectively discriminate against women by refusing that health insurance policies cover contraceptives.

In the case Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 in favor of Hobby Lobby, an American company owned by an evangelical Christian family from Oklahoma. This ruling means that a family-owned company may be exempt from guidelines set in place by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the fact that insurance providers must cover contraceptives, which some conservative Christians are incorrectly convinced is the same thing as abortion (science, on the other hand, correctly informs us that it is not).

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg stated in her dissent, "The court, I fear, has ventured into a minefield." These words reflect the apparent breadth of the ruling which essentially boils down to companies being able to exercise their "sincerely held religious beliefs" (even when these are NOT backed by science) and to "opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible [with those beliefs]." The current coverage provided by the ACA "…helps safeguard the health of women for whom pregnancy may be hazardous, even life threatening. And the mandate secures benefits wholly unrelated to pregnancy, preventing certain cancers, menstrual disorders, and pelvic pain." Now, companies have the right to decide for women whether or not they would be insured in such ways.

Denounce the decision of SCOTUS and call on US Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Robert, Jr. to recognize how these actions impact women. Let SCOTUS know that U.S. citizens do NOT approve of systematic discrimination towards women and that it is unconstitutional to allow the personal opinions of employers influence the rights to fair health care of their employees.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Robert,

The recent Supreme Court ruling in Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby that companies can use their personal morals under the guise of religious freedom to control the lives of others is nothing less than absurd. This ruling opens the floodgates for health coverage decisions which "sincerely held religious beliefs" could influence regardless of state of the art medicine or scientific studies.

Not only is restricting coverage for women's health a heinous act of sexism, it is yet another example of corporations getting special privileges based on the nature of their existence as corporations. In this case, when the company won't shell out, the check bounces back to the government (i.e., to taxpayers) if the corporation refuses to pay.

The problem with this is that corporations are NOT people. The problem with this is that women ARE. The problem with this is that religious freedoms apply to PERSONAL decisions and cannot--and must not--be used by corporations to control the health outcomes of people.

I urge you to hear the people of American who are speaking. There are approximately 318 million people currently living in America. Approximately 164 million of them (that's over half, by the way) just witnessed a collapse of their health rights. Please overturn this discriminatory ruling which hurts American women and helps no one.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Demand that doctors learn to listen to patients

Demand that doctors learn to listen to patients

Excerpt: Limited time for doctor-patient visits may damage not only the doctor-patient relationship but also decrease effectiveness of treatment. Urge policymakers to require training in empathic communication practices for doctors.

Target: American Medical Association President Ardis Dee Hoven, MD

Goal: Increase patient visit time with physicians

Kaiser Health News recently reported that increasingly short doctor visits, often limited to only 15 to 20 minutes, are taking a toll on relationships between patients and doctors. For instance, shorter visits may lead to the increased prescribing of medication, rather than first attempting behavioral remedies, like diet and exercise change.

Long wait times to see doctors and long lists of patients to see per day certainly contribute to the limited time; but another issue may be that doctors don't engage in effective communication when they do see patients. For instance, doctors interrupting patients is a key concern. One study from the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that in a study of 29 family physicians, patients received only 23.1 seconds, on average, to voice their medical concerns before being interrupted by the physician.

An article published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine in 1999 stresses the importance of improving physicians' communication abilities. They point to several concrete ways that doctors can engage in patient-centered communication in order to increase the quality of visits. For instance, at the onset of a visit, patients might list an agenda so that the physician has prior knowledge of items to be discussed. Importantly, the group also encouraged physicians to use empathic statements to show understanding and to encourage the patient to suggest what she or he thinks might be going on.

A recent article published in the journal Medical Decision Making
used statistical models to investigate factors that predicted total length of patient-doctor visits. The authors suggest that the quality of visits could be improved if patients' needs and backgrounds were made available to physicians ahead of time and they encourage individual offices to build similar statistical models to better account for their particular needs.

Join us in affirming that Americans deserve more from their physicians, and that physicians deserve to give more to their patients. Encourage the American Medical Association to spend more time training future physicians to communicate effectively with their patients.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Dr. Hoven,

Patients frequently leave the doctor's office feeling frustrated, having spent few minutes with physicians whom they have often been waiting to see for months. While time is always a precious commodity, there are many steps that can be taken to improve the quality of visits with physicians.

I write to ask that you encourage medical care providers to change the current conception of medical visits. Doctors must ensure that their attention is focused on the patient and that they are listening to the patient's concerns. Frequent interrupting not only means that doctor's don't hear all that patients have to say, but it may mean that patients feel marginalized and frustrated that their concerns are not being attended to.

Furthermore, if patients are seen by multiple providers within a single visit (such as a nurse practitioner followed by a physician), not only may patients lose time spent with the physician, but they may also lose time in voicing their concerns. It is therefore paramount that communication be effective within the staff of the doctor's office, as well as between patient and physician.

I urge you to use your influence to work with medical schools and other medical education programs to teach doctors how to listen to patients and how to effectively communicate within the doctor's office.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Abolish the Use of Paramilitary Weapons on Innocent Victims During Drug Raids

Abolish the Use of Paramilitary Weapons on Innocent Victims During Drug Raids

Target: Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner

Goal: End the use of paramilitary weapons on innocent people by special weapons and tactics units during drug raids

Excerpt: The use of paramilitary weapons on innocent bystanders during raids of people's homes for drugs has recently escalated. Urge Congress to abolish such practices by ending incentives for local police forces and by stopping SWAT raids when police have only a search warrant for drugs.

Slate and other news sources report that in a recent drug-raid-gone-bad, members of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team nightmarishly interrupted the slumber of a family with a flashbang grenade, which landed in the crib of a sleeping baby. The SWAT team was conducting a raid for drugs ostensibly belonging to the nephew of the couple sleeping inside. Note that this nephew did not actually reside at the home.

After hours of being neglected the privilege of holding and caring for her wounded son, the baby's mother was finally able to take him to the hospital, where the child was taken to the intensive burn unit and placed in a medically induced coma.

In another case in January 2008, the ACLU reports that SWAT members raided a young woman's home due to suspecting her boyfriend (who was not home) of possessing drugs. Ms. Tarika Wilson was holding her 14-month-old son when she opened the door, which is when the fire opened and she was mortally wounded.

These stories are perhaps some of the most gruesome and stomach-churning examples of what a police force with too much power can bring about, but they are not isolated incidents. Studies conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) estimate that up to 80% of SWAT raids in the United States are conducted to serve search warrants, typically for drugs. What's more, the ACLU reports that, mirroring the "War on Drugs" itself, such searches disproportionately affect minorities and individuals of low socio-economic status.

Join Americans who are disgusted by this brutalization of innocent citizens. Urge Congress members to create laws to ban SWAT teams from entering civilians' homes on search warrants for minor drug offenses with weapons that were created for battlefields.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Boehner,

The use of paramilitary force against civilians sounds like a sad story we might read in the newspaper about people in a poor, developing country. But the truth is, it's a story that is playing out on American ground, right now. SWAT teams have the power to conduct raids at night in citizens' homes to serve search warrants, often for minor drug offenses. Many times, the individuals who are being served no longer reside at the residence, or there are innocent people present, often children and the elderly.

Too often, local police force officials are presented with incentives, in the form of weapons, vehicles, and other equipment, in exchange for more arrests--often for minor drug offenses.  In a recent report entitled, "The Excessive Militarization of American Policing," the ACLUe describes the mindset of SWAT officers as having been militarized and encouraged to "…adopt a 'warrior' mentality and think of the people they are supposed to serve as enemies."

I urge you to use your power to put an end to this militarization of U.S. police force members and to the brutalization of citizens. Stop incentivizing local police forces with weapons, vehicles, and other equipment that leads to the brutalization of American citizens; and stop equating the putative presence of drugs with the possible threat of violence from innocent people.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit:

Demand Free Flow of Information on the Internet

Demand Free Flow of Information on the Internet 

Target: Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner

Goal: Ensure that the Internet retains free flow of information for all

Summary: Large Internet service provides are fighting for paid prioritization for limited content on the Internet. This causes potential for a two-tiered system which would discriminate against small companies and limit freedom of speech on the Internet. Join us in urging Congress to fight for net neutrality in principles to ensure that the Internet retains free flow of information for all.

The advent of the Internet marked the beginning of an era where anyone, regardless of socio-economic status, skin color, age, or any other demographic variable, could in theory have access to an infinite supply of information. Of course, access to the Internet is still prone to barriers tied up in some of these factors (for instance, the World Bank reports that you are up to 10 times less likely to have access to a computer in a developing country like Eritrea compared to the United States). However, the potential for free access to information and therefore education has never been so promising.

Now large companies which act as Internet service providers are fighting for an end free access to information by offering faster access to content for large companies who will pay for it. Congress is currently sitting on a bill that would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ban such "fast lane" practices. Such a change in how we construe access to information on the Internet would overhaul principles of net neutrality--but what's all the fuss about?

Proponents of net neutrality support the notion that content on the Internet deserves equal treatment--that is, Internet service providers should not be allowed to selectively promote some content but not other content. According to a poll conducted on Consumerist.com, a majority of the U.S. population supports principles of net neutrality. Along with them, tech companies ranging from giants like Google to tiny start-up companies recognize the perils of neglecting principles of net neutrality. As the tech website SFGate reports, "The tech world says that abolishing net neutrality would make it more difficult for disruptive companies to challenge entrenched competitors… (and) the change would create a two-tiered Internet with a fast lane for those who can pay more and a slow lane for everyone else."

Join concerned Americans in their plea for net neutrality and thereby an assurance of free content, and free speech, on the Internet. Urge Congressman members to keep the Internet a fair and free place where information can be exchanged without obscene privilege.

PETITION LETTER:

In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, members of the Consumers Union write, "With the Internet becoming ever-more central to American life, it is essential that we not devolve into a two-tiered society where some get special preference over others." They also note that net neutrality may not always be protected by a class of "antitrust laws" which are put in place to protect consumers and ban or restrict certain business practices (for instance, they may ban monopolies in some situations, so that one company doesn't have all the power over a certain type of commerce). That is, additional measures are necessary to ensure that net neutrality, and freedom of information flow, is upheld.

The Internet is currently a place for opportunity. Start-up companies may receive funding by crowd-sourcing, a technique which has never been so accessible to individuals as now. An end to net neutrality could mean an end to this venue for young companies to fundraise and spread the word, leading to an increase in power for already-powerful large companies.

I urge you to consider how such "fast lane" access to content for large companies would affect Americans. Please use your power to encourage others to uphold bills put in place to ban such "fast lane" paid prioritization agreements.

Sincerely,

[Your name here]

Image source: M3Li55@ via Flickr

Support an increase in federal taxes on gas

Support an increase in federal taxes on gas

Excerpt: Scientific studies show that the emissions released from traffic can be deadly to humans on the planet and also contribute to global warming. Urge members of Congress to support proposals to increase federal taxes on gas in order to decrease gas consumption.

Goal: Raise taxes on gas in order to improve roads and simultaneously encourage individuals to seek environmentally-friendly alternatives for transportation.

Target: Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner

Forbes Magazine reports that Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has proposed a federal gas tax increase of 12 cents over 2015-16. Forbes goes on to list many good reasons for this increase. First, there hasn't been a federal gas tax increase in over two decades. Raising taxes on gas by 12% would roughly bring these taxes up to date in terms of inflation over the past 20 years. Second, there are, of course, many areas of the U.S. where roads could use a makeover, and the increase in the tax could help improve the transportation system.

Interestingly, the Forbes article neglected to mention the single most compelling reason to raise taxes on fuel: raising taxes on gas raises prices on gas, which means that people will consume less gas. In fact, a review paper published by the Economic and Social Research Council suggests that at 10% increase in prices on gas would result in (1) a 1% reduction in traffic congestion within a year and up to 3% over approximately five years and (2) a 2.5% decrease in fuel consumption within a year and a 6% reduction over a longer period.

The second-highest cause of accidental deaths in the United States by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is traffic accidents (second only to poisoning). Recently, a report from MIT scientists published in the journal Atmospheric Environment used an air quality model to predict how many individuals die due to road pollution (approximately 53,000 for the year 2005, according to the article). This number is close to double the number of people dying from traffic-related accidents (approximately 34,000 in 2010, according to the CDC).

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (a group of concerned citizens and scientist which was formed at MIT in 1969), a single gallon of gas leads to the release of 24 pounds of carbon dioxide (and other gases that are dangerous for the environment) into the air. This means that in one year, the average U.S. personal vehicle sends 6 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (to put this into perspective, the average car weighs about 2 tons, or 4,000 pounds).

Raising taxes on gasoline is a first step toward reducing fuel consumption in the U.S. It would also serve to raise awareness of the crucial need to reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions. Join in applauding Senator Chris Murphy and asking Congress to stand behind the proposal to raise taxes on gas.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Boehner,

Scientific studies show that the emissions released from traffic can be deadly to humans on the planet and also contribute to global warming. We have the knowledge and technology to make a huge change in the future of our planet, but to do that, we must reduce the number of cars on the roads.

In addition to the devastatingly negative impacts that scientists now know that carbon dioxide and other emissions have on climate, there are also severe immediate consequences for personal heath. Scientists estimate that there are more deaths per year based on traffic pollution alone compared to accidental deaths caused by traffic collisions.

Although inflation has skyrocketed in recent years, taxes on gas have not been raised since 1993, nearly two decades ago (currently, the federal tax is only 18 cents per gallon, which is only about 5% if you're paying around $3.50 for a gallon of gas). Senator Chris Murphy has proposed a federal tax increase on gas of 6 cents for 2015 and an additional 6 cents for 2016, which would help bring gas taxes up to date with inflation.

Furthermore, an increase in gas prices would likely decrease consumption. Economists' models suggest that if gas prices were increased by 10% (a somewhat larger increase than Senator Murphy's proposal), fuel consumption would decrease by 6% over a five-year period. The takeaway message is: raising taxes reduces consumption, which reduces emissions.

I urge you to consider the positive influence such a change could have on both personal health and on our planet. Please use your influence to support proposals that federal tax be increased on gasoline and encourage party members to vote for such proposals.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Enforce a maximum salary for CEOs

Enforce a maximum salary for CEOs

Excerpt: Disparities in wages paid to CEOs and to average workers in large companies are an atrocious example of the wealth gap in the United States. Urge members of U.S. Congress to enforce a cap on salaries for CEOs as one step in fighting the battle against poverty.

Target: Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner

Goal: Create policies to set a maximum salary for CEOs of large companies.

According to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization (AFL-CIO), Fortune 500 CEOs made $12 million on average in 2012, approximately 350 times the overall workers' average of $34,645. This difference in income is one of the most devastating examples of injustice in the United States, and it's not getting better: recent research from Berkeley published in Pathways Magazine suggests that from 2009 to 2011, the wealthiest 1% of Americans had incomes growing by 11.2%. In contrast, income for all other Americans decreased by .4%.

Placing a cap on the amount of money made by CEOs of large corporations is an essential step toward reducing income disparity. One set of proposals for how to cap top earning salaries is to set the ceiling at a certain multiple of the lowest earners' wages of that company. For instance, Switzerland recently voted (in the negative) on a referendum to impose a "maximum wage" which would cap earnings at 12x the amount of the lowest earners.

Some opponents argue that a maximum waged based on the earnings of workers on a company-by-company basis would create unfair disadvantages for companies who have a larger range of employee income levels. As one writer for Marketplace.org notes, the average worker at a software company will make a great deal more than the average worker at another type of company, such as a hotel chain, where bottom-rung workers are likely to be paid much less, leading to the possibility that Company A, paying some employees less than Company B but generating more revenue than Company B, might end up paying its CEO less (or that some of Company A's employees might end up making more money than CEOs, if the cap is restricted to them). These are paltry complaints and worries bout discrepancies in millionaires' salaries pale in comparison to economic hardships experienced by average-salary workers (not to mention those in the bottom rungs).

Of course, capping CEO salaries represents one step in a series of events that is needed to reduce the gap in income disparity. According to AFL-CIO, CEOs make the majority of their money from sources other than salary, including bonuses (average: $200k), stocks and options (over $6.5 million, on average), pensions (over $1.5 million), non-equity incentive plans (about $2.3 million), and more. Taken together, the average total hourly earnings of a CEO is near $6,000. Meanwhile, minimum wage in some states remains as low as $5.15 per hour. The system is broken.

Urge members of Congress to help reverse this disparity in income. Ask Speaker John Boehner for help in creating a law that restricts outrageous wages for CEOs.

PETITION:

Dear Mr. Boehner,

Differences in wealth plague our country. The American Dream of equal opportunity for all citizens has been displaced by an extreme un-equalizer: a huge disparity in pay for the poorest and wealthiest.

In order to begin to reduce the gap in wealth, I urge you to consider laws that cap the earnings of CEOs of large corporations. Whether the cap be a set number or a sliding ceiling based on a percentage of the average or minimum worker earnings, either option is a better alternative than allowing some individuals to make order of magnitude more money than their employees.

Placing a cap on CEOs' salaries is just one step in a large battle toward reducing large disparity in incomes. CEOs currently make a large amount of their income not from salary but from other sources, such as stocks, options, and pension plans. In total CEOs on average make about $6,000 an hour, which is more than one thousand times the minimum wage in place in states like Wyoming and Georgia.

I urge you to use your power to help to reverse these disparities. Consider setting a maximum wage cap in order to make the United States a place where justice can prevail and individuals may pursue their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Pattern separation gone awry: the dentate gyrus and schizophrenia

 Reblogged from NeuWriteSD.org:

Since the discovery of patient H.M. in the 1950s (see this post from October 2013), scientists have known that the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped structure located in the medial temporal lobe, is crucial for the successful formation of new memories. The mammalian hippocampus is characterized by several distinct regions, each with a different function, including areas called the cornu ammonis fields (CA1, CA2, CA3) and the dentate gyrus...

Read more on NeuWriteSD.org.

Ban Open Carry of Firearms from Target

Ban Open Carry of Firearms from Target

Excerpt: Open-carry demonstrations in nationwide Target stores are unnecessarily threatening. Urge Target executives to ban open carry of firearms in stores to keep citizens safe.

Target: John J. Mulligan, Target Interim President and CEO/CFO

Goal: Enforce a "no open carry" policy for firearms in Target stores

USA Today reports that Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a national mothers' group, has called for Target stores to change their policies on the open carrying of guns. Advocates for stricter laws on guns claim that Target chain stores in many states have recently been used as the site of demonstrations by groups condoning open-carry policies. In particular, the state of Texas has lax guns laws which permits individuals to carry rifles openly and has been the site of may such open-carry demonstrations in Target stores.

Members of the mothers' advocacy group have argued that Target is a place where many families shop and where many teens work. The group heartily condemns the demonstrations of individuals who flaunt open-carry laws. The Wall Street Journal reports that the National Rifle Association has put forth conflicting responses to the demonstrations. Initially, a spokesperson called the Target demonstration "…downright weird… and downright scary," but the group has since rescinded this perspective. Rather, they continue to support open-carry laws. As executive director Chris W. Cox put it, "…our job isn't to criticize the lawful behavior of fellow gun owners."

Demonstrations using guns in public arenas _is_ "downright scary". Intimidation tactics using guns in public areas where children are often present is despicable. That lawful protections of the right to carry a deadly weapon should supersede an individual's right to feel secure in a public place is a travesty.

The Moms Demand Action coalition has already effected change in several national chain stores, including Chipotle, Starbucks, Chili's, Sonic Drive-In, and Jack in the Box. Join us in urging Target to change their policies to enforce a no-open-carry policy.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Mulligan,

American citizens have the right to feel safe in public environments. Recently, demonstrations by individuals openly carrying large firearms, such as rifles, have taken away part of that securities. The rise of such demonstration in Target stores has unfortunately been a part of the movement to showcase open-carry freedoms.

In part, the demonstrations at Target show what we already know: gun laws are lax in many areas of the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of unintentional deaths due to firearms from 2000 to 2010 was 7515 (an incidence rate of .23%). However, the demonstrations at Target also intimate that there is an implicit acceptance of violence in our culture.

Banning open carry of guns in Target stores is an important step toward making this national chain a safer environment where families can shop and employees can work. It also sends an important message: we cannot back down to intimidation using firearms.

I join others in affirming that no one should feel threatened during daily activities in this country. I urge you to immediately ban the open carry of fire arms in Target stores and to use your influence to encourage other prominent business officials to do the same. Let us promote an atmosphere of safety and peace where we can.


Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: Gobonobo via Wikipedia

Medicine and disabilities

From June to August, 2014, I wrote a series of articles on a website called forcechange.com. Since then, to the extent I can tell, that website persists, but these articles do not. I therefore post them here, as on the date they were penned.

Demand that medical professionals receive education in the treatment of patients with disabilities

Excerpt: Studies report discrimination against patients with obvious physical disabilities, including those confined to a wheelchair and those who are obese. Urge policymakers to create laws and guidelines for medical educators to ensure equal treatment of patients with disabilities.

Target: American Medical Association President Ardis Dee Hoven, MD
Goal: Ensure that disabled patients are provided with equal treatment in medical environments by requiring training for medical providers.

Patients with disabilities are discriminated against in medical environments. They are often made to wait longer for treatment or may simply be denied access to treatment outright. One study reports that when researchers contacted hospitals across four cities to ask for treatment for fictional patients who were obese and who used a wheelchair, over a fifth of the facilities responded that accommodating the patient would be impossible.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was put in place in 1990 to eliminate discrimination against individuals due to physical or mental disabilities in activities and situations ranging from housing to public transportation to medical treatment. The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice clearly states that this includes providing accessible examination rooms, necessary equipment for assisting patients when they require physical aid in moving to examination tables, and staff who are provided with the educational training required to treat patients with disabilities.

Studies show that deans at a majority of U.S. medical schools report that including a curriculum for patients with disabilities is not a priority, and many medical students never see any inclusion of treating patients with mental disabilities on the curriculum at all.

Join those who believe in equal treatment for all and urge members of the AMA to suggest policy changes aimed toward equal treatment for patients with disabilities by requiring that students in medical fields receiving training in responding to the needs of individuals with physical and mental impairments.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear AMA President Ardis Dee Hoven,

Individuals with physical and mental disabilities deserve the right to the same access to medical care as all other individuals. However, the current state of medicine often leaves disabled individuals waiting longer for care or denies access to these individuals outright.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was put in place to ensure that individuals with disabilities do not undergo discrimination. I write to ask that you encourage policymakers and medical care providers to ensure that the aims of this act are upheld. Medical facilities should be properly equipped to accommodate all individuals, and medical staff should be provided with the training that is required to treat persons who may suffer from disabilities.

Critically, staff training should go beyond knowledge of appropriate regulations for accessible rooms and knowledge of relevant equipment. It should also be designed to inform medical professionals about the implicit discrimination that often goes along with treating patients with disabilities. This training should start early in the medical educational system. Currently, only a minority of medical schools place focus on this critical topic for aspiring physicians and medical professionals.

A recent study showed that by showing an educational video only 90 minutes in length to medical students had a significantly positive impact on medical students' attitudes and beliefs toward individuals with medical disabilities. Education is crucial to providing the context and understanding for medical care providers to do their jobs: caring for patients, regardless of background.

I join others in affirming that we cannot accept discrimination from health care providers. I ask that you use your influence to encourage policymakers to ensure that the Americans with Disabilities Act is upheld and that medical educators provide students with information on how to eliminate such discrimination.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: openclipart.org

Suona la chitarra

Three comments on the guitar.

1. My friend Boyan of the instrumental trio B11 sure does play it well. They recently released a self-titled 15-track album including both original songs (one including a mega-finale which wraps up the album with some B11 soul) and some seriously groovy covers (personal favorite: Peter Gunn Theme). Guitar-bass-drums makes for some good tune-age in the car when you are beating your head on the steering wheel in mind-numbing traffic (or maybe that’s just me). But driving in the car has always been my favorite time to listen to music (apart from perhaps doing the dishes, cooking dinner, at parties… ok, I rescind previous statement). In any case! If you are interested in the album, you can find out all the info here. Or just ping me.

2. Next month, my chorus (LJSC) is singing “Ode to Everyday Things,” the beautiful poems of Pablo Neruda put to music by Cary Ratcliff. One of my favorites is the poem “Oda a la Guitarra” – the chorus is made to sound like the rhythmic strumming of a guitar:

 
Delgada
línea pura
de corazón sonoro.
Eres la claridad cortada al vuelo:
cantando sobrevives,
todo se irá menos tu forma.

Another plug: an additional concert is this weekend, tomorrow (Saturday, May 3) and Sunday, May 4. The orchestra is playing two pieces (Villa-Lobos and Prokofiev—what’s not to love?) and we are singing Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with them. I believe it promises not to disappoint.

3. The guitar is a beautiful instrument. I took a few group lessons at the extension school at UCSD last quarter, but it wasn’t what I was looking for (I’ve got the music theory down, for these intents and purposes; I want to be able to walk into a party and play some tunes). However, I recently learned the rec program at UCSD (which has classes for yoga, dance, etc., several of which I’ve taken before) also offers some arts and music courses—including guitar. Capitalizing on my position as a graduate student, I jumped in halfway through the term and found an incredible instructor. This quarter, things are heating up at school, and it is certainly a welcome release. So far I’ve just got two-note power chords only a fraction  of the way under my belt, but things are looking up. Here’s to the guitar. And remember: I don’t always play the guitar, but when I do, I use a B11 pick! (See photograph above.)