House of Eratosthenes

Ah, well. I saw this over at Andy’s place before coming by (“D” before “M,” ya know). So I’ll not repeat what I said over at his place. I think you may have already heard the “story, war, one ea.” anyway.

Great vid and seemingly true, eh?
- Buck | 11/16/2008 @ 16:48
I have to object to the idea that the FDA is responsible for making sure that all drugs are safe. The government is the entity to which I would put the least amount of faith in making decisions about what is best for me. People should be allowed to decide for themselves as free-thinking individuals if they want to assume the risk of trying a drug. It does not take a “rocket surgeon” to realize that the newer a drug is, the more risky it is. The assumption that the government is there to be our nanny is one of the most dangerous ideas that are commonly held.

Other than trying to make the case that a business offering us choices is more dangerous than a government making our decisions for us, it wasn’t bad.
- JohnJ | 11/16/2008 @ 18:29
Stunning, in every sense.

I’ve had lots of opportunity to learn about psychology in this lifetime, although I certainly would never have chosen to. An early enquiry into the ethics of this situation, BTW, is made by the psychiatrist Peter Kramer in his book Listening to Prozac, which is what finally convinced me to try SSRIs in my early 50s. Other important reading is Alice Miller, notably Prisoners of Childhood and For Your Own Good, which pretty fairly describe my situation. Miller makes the point that prolonged and severe abuse can result in physical damage to the brain; Kramer holds out the hope that the damage can be repaired. The decision took me over 20 years to make, and I think it was a good one. I’m glad I’ve stopped, after a 10-year course.

My skepticism of the unholy alliance among the AMA, the drug industry, and the insurance industry is virtually lifelong. To hear my every argument reinforced and supported by the Church of Scientology as it is here is disorienting, to say the least. Certainly the advent of Disease Marketing to the hoi polloi is a horrifying development; obviously the distinction between Depression and poor self-image is being eradicated, as Kramer feared it would.

It’s almost too painful to think about the Scientologists’ larger point here about the implications to society at large; I can only say here is my argument, made for me by someone I certainly would never have looked to. And of course the connections to be drawn in re the Mommy Generations and their recent choice of Socialism can probably go without saying.

Thanks to you, Morgan, and to Shannon in AZ.
- rob | 11/17/2008 @ 13:54
I don’t trust the FDA. On the one hand they approve dangerous substances such as aspartame and various drugs which often must be pulled off the market when studies show they do serious damage. On the other hand, they ban manufacturers of food products from using an innocuous herb such as stevia (a natural sweetener) as an additive, even though you can buy stevia off the shelf on another aisle of the store. Can you say, “beholden to the sugar lobby and Big Pharma”?
- Grizzly | 11/19/2008 @ 01:32

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Psychotropic DrugsSunday, November 16th, 2008

Psychotropic Drugs
Sunday, November 16th, 2008