Free Republic

PITTSBURGH — Gov. John Kasich often speaks about mental health in his campaign for president. He has defended his decision to expand Medicaid in Ohio by highlighting its benefits for mentally ill residents. He is probably the only Republican candidate this year to ask a crowd, “Do you know what it’s like for somebody to live with depression?” The question, posed at a rally in upstate New York recently, threw a hush over a room of 1,000 people. Mr. Kasich went on: “There are people here who know exactly what I’m talking about.” Mr. Kasich is one who knows. His...

....Wilton Manors city leaders are in talks of expanding their insurance...Currently, gender confirmation surgery is excluded from the city's health plan, causing a financial strain that can often hinder the completion of the process.

Donald Trump said Wednesday that reporter Michelle Fields would likely have pressed battery charges even if Corey Lewandowski had apologized for grabbing her “because I think she likes it,” implying she wanted the attention. On NBC’s Today, hosts Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie asked Trump to explain his stalwart defense of his campaign manager. Lauer at one point resignedly asked if this whole thing would be moot if Lewandowski had apologized in the first place. “I actually don’t think so,” Trump said. “I think she would have pressed charges anyway because I think she likes it. That’s my opinion. Maybe...

I agents on Saturday raided a Riverside home belonging to a friend of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook as they try to determine whether the man purchased two of the semiautomatic rifles used in the massacre, according to a law enforcement source. The source, who asked to remain anonymous because the case is ongoing, said officials have been trying to talk to man to see what he knows about the attack. It's far from clear whether the man had anything to do with the violence or even knew what Farook did with the guns, the source added. A second...

Michael Sam will step away from professional football, he announced via Twitter on Friday night. Sam, the 25-year-old who began the season with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes, cited a tumultuous past year for leaving football at this time. The Alouettes confirmed in a release that Sam has left the club for "personal reasons" and that he has been added to the team's suspended list. Sam made the announcement in a series of three tweets.

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Kahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Kahoots with someone. I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there. I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my children, friends, family and work. I've been in Consistent, but not on a regular basis.      I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on...

In the 14 years since 9/11, you can count about six real terrorist attacks in the United States. These include the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, as well as failed attacks, such as the time when a man named Faisal Shahzad tried to deliver a car bomb to Times Square. In those same 14 years, the Bureau, however, has bragged about how it's foiled dozens of terrorism plots. In all, the FBI has arrested more than 175 people in aggressive, undercover counterterrorism stings. These operations, which are usually led by an informant, provide the means and opportunity, and sometimes even...

....The network's statement on Wednesday went into further detail on how the network chooses its recipients.... ....we are proud to honor Caitlyn Jenner embracing her identity and doing so in a public way to help move forward a constructive dialogue about progress and acceptance," ESPN said.

The former psychiatrist in chief for Johns Hopkins Hospital is pouring rain on the Bruce Jenner “Call Me Caitlyn” parade that’s sure to have the former Olympic athlete’s cheerleaders steaming. Not only does Dr. Paul R. McHugh consider changing sexes “biologically impossible,” he thinks being what is popularly called “transgender” these days is actually a “mental disorder.” McHugh, who has authored six books and at least 125 peer-reviewed medical journal articles, made the statements in a piece he penned for the Wall Street Journal that argued surgery is not the solution for patients who want to live life as the...

Robert Chardon, mayor of the French town of Venelles, has allegedly been forced into a mental institution for tweeting, “We must ban the Muslim faith in France.” This revelation came to us via the Agence France-Presse, a highly regarded news entity that claimed Chardon was involuntarily hospitalized last Friday. Chardon also tweeted that France should revoke a centuries-old secularism law and instead “promote the practice of the Christian faith.” All this rhetoric reportedly angered Nicolas Sarkozy, leader of the Union for a Popular Movement, the same party to which Chardon belongs. “I condemn this proposal even if secularism also means...

Pope Francis has admitted that he has "some nerve problems" which require treatment as well as various neuroses. See here. A neuroses is defined as, "A relatively mild mental illness that is not caused by organic disease, involving symptoms of stress such as depression, anxiety, obsessive behavior and hypochondria." Now, I would never make light of another person's mental illness or disorder. There but for the grace of God go I as Saint Philip Neri once said. I have been through exhaustive psychological exams and screenings both for the United States Air Force (to obtain a security clearance above top...

MailOnline US Friday, Mar 27th 2015 BREAKING NEWS: Germanwings co-pilot nicknamed 'Tomato Andy' tore up sick note on the day he crashed jet and hid secret illness from the company, prosecutor reveals Pilot Andreas Lubitz might have been suffering a 'personal crisis' after failed relationship, it was claimed last night He had suffered from depression and 'burnout' and was once deemed 'unfliable' but was later passed as fit to fly Head of Lufthansa admitted the 28-year-old had slipped through the 'safety net' - with devastating consequences Friends said he was teased and called 'Tomato Andy' because he worked as a...

Are smartphones making our children mentally ill?Leading child psychotherapist Julie Lynn Evans believes easy and constant access to the internet is harming youngsterstelegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11486167/Are-smartphones-making-our-children-mentally-ill.html

Share2.3K Tweet91 Share2.6K 145 Email8 Michelle Obama has come out swinging in support of her husband's views on seeking treatment for mental health issues. The woman, who has decimated our children's school lunches, reducing them to unattractive mush in the name of "promoting healthy eating habits," relayed to Newseum on Wednesday that Barack Obama strongly believed that receiving treatment for mental health disorders was a "sign of strength," not weakness. Of course, it was just another way to promote Obamacare and its benefits in light of the upcoming Supreme Court challenge. According to CNSnews.com: "It's time to tell everyone who's...

A lesbian couple tied the knot in Russia in a quiet ceremony seen as the first such marriage in the country where gay unions are illegal, activists told AFP Sunday. The marriage on Friday went through because one of the women was born male but is now transgender and undergoing hormone therapy...

Before he checked into rehab in September, Michael Phelps was having a steamy affair with much older blonde, Taylor Lianne Chandler. But the most shocking aspect of their relationship wasn’t the 12-year age difference. RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal that Chandler, 41, was actually born a man! Chandler, born David Roy Fitch, tells Radar in an exclusive interview that she was an intersex baby.

In response to Obama As ISIS Adviser?: If that quote from Obama is accurate, the man needs to be in a mental hospital somewhere, not the Oval Office. Granted this is all second-hand info from journalists interviewing each other about yet another off-the-record media meet-and-greet from the Most Transparent Administration In History, but if Obama really is holding bull sessions in which he pretends he's an ISIS adviser with a great plan to release the hostages with notes pinned to their chests... As is so often the case with this hollow shell of a media-supported presidency, just imagine George Bush...

Cynicism linked to dementia in new study Thursday 29 May 2014 - 12am PST Alzheimer's / Dementia Psychology / Psychiatry Seniors / Aging Featured ArticleAcademic Journal Cynical distrust is characterized by the belief that others are motivated by selfish interests. Though it may appear to be merely a "glass is half empty" point of view, researchers say having this viewpoint increases chances of developing dementia. The researchers, led by Anna-Malia Tolppanen, PhD, of the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, publish their findings in the journal Neurology. They say that cynicism has been previously linked with other health problems, including...

US judge rejects Vegas 'patient dumping' lawsuit Feb 13, 8:57 PM (ET) By KEN RITTER LAS VEGAS (AP) - A federal judge in Nevada rejected a lawsuit Thursday that accuses Nevada officials and the state psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas of violating a patient's civil rights by giving him a bus ticket and sending him to California. But an American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada lawyer representing patient James Flavey Coy Brown characterized the ruling as a setback, not a fatal blow to the case. It seeks class-action status for Brown and as many as 1,500 unnamed people his lawyers...

Here are some excerpts from a compelling piece written just this year. Madness, Deinstitutionalization & Murder (hat tip I Own the World.) For those of us who came of age in the 1970s, one of the most shocking aspects of the last three decades was the rise of mass public shootings: people who went into public places and murdered complete strangers. Such crimes had taken place before, such as the Texas Tower murders by Charles Whitman in 1966,1 but their rarity meant that they were shocking. Something changed in the 1980s: these senseless mass murders started to happen with...