Sometimes I Hate To Be Right | Mark Federman
http://tinyurl.com/3nm5b
“Last fall, I gave an interview to Voices Without Votes 2004 in which I speculated about the possibility of the Bush Administration delaying the election. […] A frightening prospect indeed, especially when CNN and Reuters are reporting today that the Bush Administration is investigating ways to ‘obtain the authority to delay the November presidential election in case of an attack by al Qaeda.'”

Let Them Eat Wedding Cake | Barbara Ehrenreich
http://tinyurl.com/3j3ng
“[The Bush administration has] been avidly promoting marriage among poor women – the straight ones anyway. […] It is equally unclear how marriage will cure poor women’s No. 1 problem, which is poverty – unless, of course, the plan is to draft C.E.O.’s to marry recipients of T.A.N.F. (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families). Left to themselves, most women end up marrying men of the same social class as their own, meaning – in the case of poverty-stricken women – blue-collar men. But that demographic group has seen a tragic decline in earnings in the last couple of decades.”

Bush plans to screen whole US population for mental illness | Jeanne Lenzer
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7454/1458
“While some praise the plan’s goals, others say it protects the profits of drug companies at the expense of the public. Bush established the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in April 2002 to conduct a ‘comprehensive study of the United States mental health service delivery system.’ […] Bush instructed more than 25 federal agencies to develop an implementation plan based on those recommendations. The president’s commission found that ‘despite their prevalence, mental disorders often go undiagnosed’ and recommended comprehensive mental health screening for ‘consumers of all ages,’ including preschool children. According to the commission, ‘Each year, young children are expelled from preschools and childcare facilities for severely disruptive behaviours and emotional disorders.’ Schools, wrote the commission, are in a ‘key position’ to screen the 52 million students and 6 million adults who work at the schools. The commission also recommended ‘Linkage [of screening] with treatment and supports’ including ‘state-of-the-art treatments’ using ‘specific medications for specific conditions.’ The commission commended the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP) as a ‘model’ medication treatment plan that ‘illustrates an evidence-based practice that results in better consumer outcomes.”