Shrinks And Spooks

IBD Editorials ^ | November 26, 2008

[Kaslin]

War On Terror: Who let a group of psychologists harpoon Barack Obama's choice for CIA director? Of all the pleasant surprises in the president-elect's appointments, John Brennan might have been the best.

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Some 200 "psychologists and allies" on Monday sent an open letter to President-elect Obama calling on him to reject his likely appointment of quarter-century CIA veteran Brennan to head the spy agency, citing Brennan's support for what they repeatedly called "dark side" policies — specifically harsh interrogation of terrorist detainees. Brennan was ex-CIA Director George Tenet's chief of staff from 1999 to 2001, deputy executive director from 2001 to 2003, and was with the agency during its implementation of the "black sites" program.

If America starts letting shrinks and guidance counselors determine our intelligence practices, we will never be any match for the bloodthirsty fanatics who will stop at nothing to destroy the Western world's freedoms.

As the letter noted, members of the psychological profession recently concluded "a successful several-year struggle to remove psychologists from their roles in aiding or abetting" the use of tough interrogation methods on captured terrorists. Unfortunately, Brennan gave this group another victory, when, seeing the impending hullabaloo, he promptly withdrew his name from consideration for the job.

[BuffaloJack]

There is no group of people who I trust LESS than the psych people.

[Jeff Chandler]

It is quite common for individuals to seek out professional paths based upon their own personal experiences.

Now I wonder what kind of personal experience might lead one to pursue a career in psychiatry? Hmmm...

[Viking2002]

I majored in psych my freshman year of college. Those people are all nucking futs. It's literally a case of the inmates running the asylum.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Yeah, have to agree with you on that one. Related to two. One a psychiatrist, one a counselor.

‘Physician, heal thyself’. ;)

[PapaBear3625]

I’ve heard more than once that crazies major in psych in order to try to understand why they’re so crazy.

[lilylangtree]

After listening and observing my friend’s son who is a psychologist by education and training and is now teaching at one of the east coast universities, I’m of the firm belief that I wouldn’t trust any psychologist to save our country from its enemies.

[Viking2002]

I'm telling you, these people are bizarre. I was required to take Sociology 101. The prof would take one bullet point out of a chapter's summary, then go on a seventy-minute, tweed-jacket, Marxist rant for the rest of the class, and we all just sat there and stared at each other. I aced the course and still don't have a gaddamned idea what was between the covers of the textbook. He finally got drummed off campus for knocking up a student thirty years his junior. LOL

[Viking2002]

'Physician, heal thyself', indeed. LOL

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

LOL! Wouldn’t doubt that in the least!

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

LOL! Yup!

[Viking2002]

My hand to God, it's true. I got an A for the semester, and I don't have the slightest idea what it was that I passed. LMAO Three credit hours for basically sitting there, nodding, and saying, "Yeah, riiiight...."

[Intolerant in NJ]

As the letter noted, members of the psychological profession recently concluded "a successful several-year struggle to remove psychologists from their roles in aiding or abetting" the use of tough interrogation methods on captured terrorists...strange - Ted Strickland, Governor of Ohio, is a member in good standing of the psychological profession - their fair-haired boy, in fact as a psyhcologist who managed to get himself elected to public office where he gets to practice what they all envy, lots of power over others - yet when Joe the Plumber, an Ohio resident, asked an embarrassing question of Obama, he was subjected to illegal and unethical searches of his personal background and status by governmental agencies, the range of which searches was so wide that it suggested a coordination by someone very high up Ohio government, like the governor, let's say. And when one government official was finally reprimanded for her part in the outrageous abuse of power, she got all of a one month suspension from her job without pay. Apparently for psychologists abuse of those fighting to destroy this country is wrong, abuse of US citizens is quite okay.....

[Guenevere]

bttt

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Sociologists. Crazier than psychologists but they don’t know it.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

"If America starts letting shrinks and guidance counselors determine our intelligence practices..."

They got their guy in as president.

[singfreedom]

Yup, most of them majored in psychology in an attempt to “heal” themselves. That’s a fact.

[BuffaloJack]

A buddy of mine has a psych degree. He’s in advertising. He told me that after getting his degree he realized that all the other psychs were just socialists he didn’t want to associate with. He told me that if someone visited a shrink that they are dooming themselves. The only way for a clinical shrink to make a living is to take care of crazies. If they don’t have enough patients for a profitable living then they have to manufacture them.

[BuffaloJack]

A buddy of mine has a psych degree. He’s in advertising. He told me that after getting his degree he realized that all the other psychs were just socialists he didn’t want to associate with. He told me that if someone visited a shrink that they are dooming themselves. The only way for a clinical shrink to make a living is to take care of crazies. If they don’t have enough patients for a profitable living then they have to manufacture them.