Walkable City Awards

Walkable City Awards

[This was sent to Prevention Magazine and to the American Podiatric Medical Association.]

Cambridge MA City Government boasts that your magazine designated
Cambridge as the most walkable city in the country. I am perplexed at
what your standards are? Did any of your awards committee visit
Cambridge? Is the award based upon forms filled out by city officials?
They have a habit of getting awards which make me wonder about the
givers. Can these awards be purchased?
Do you have any idea how many miles of sidewalk are of red brick,
with missing bricks and hills and valleys all over the city? Parking
control officers and postmen tell me to speak against bricks because
they often fall and almost break their ankles.
I see women walking with their strollers in the streets due to the
broken sidewalks. I see people with disabilities who use wheelchairs
riding in the streets The Executive Dircetor of the Cambridge
Handicapped Commission does it too. I often walk in the street for
the same reasons and I have no physical disability.
Recently the MA Architectural Access Board a division of the
State office of Public Safety recognized that the city is not in
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding their
sidewalks. A woman spends a lot of time measuring the sidewalks. The
city fights her and the state on this issue. The newest Mayor prevents
the woman from speaking about this at City Council meetings. I am
suspicious of how many awards Cambridge gets while they violate laws
that mandate that sidewalks be accessible to all not only those who
drive their cars.
Last year the city was designated the most accessible city in the
country by the National Organization on Disability. They had no
explanation for that award either. The City Manager boasts of having a
triple A bond rating while the three rating agencies are being
investigated by the NY State AG for fraud. The city cable access
station was designated best cable access station in the country for
three years while they abused their members. The management took
credit for work of others. It is a very strange situation in this
lawless city. Your reputation contributes to this abomination.

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

[This letter was sent by Marilyn Wellons. Published with permission.]

Just yesterday afternoon as I drove toward Central
Square I passed yet another old woman bent over her
walker, in the roadway. She was walking there because
the brick sidewalks on either side of Franklin Street
(between Pleasant and Soden) are heaving and
irregular, and ADA-non-compliant.

The American Podiatric Medical Association should
check out Kathy Podgers's blog,
http://fromtheport.blogspot.com, for her December,
2007 entries about the city's snow removal. She also
has a photo essay, "Why are these people walking in
the street" that shows the limits of walkability in
the city.

The March, 2008 issue of The Bridge, not yet posted on
the web (www.bridgenews.org) but out in hard copy, has
Kathy's article on p. 1 above the fold: "State board
rules against City, for seniors, disabled." It
reports on the Massachusetts Architectural Access
Board (MAAB) January 7 ruling that Kathy's complaints
about three intersections had merit and "ordered the
City to present a plan for compliance or request
variances."

This would all not be so disturbing if the city were
actually working to comply with the ADA, rather than
systematically avoiding compliance. For example,
rather than stipulating they would correct work at the
three intersections cited before the MAAB, the city
first challenged MAAB jurisdiction and, when it was
affirmed, assigned an attorney to fight compliance.

I assume the APMA does its due diligence, so wonder
what representations the city made to qualify for this
award.

Marilyn Wellons



[City of Cambridge Press Release]

Mar 4, 2008

Cambridge Named Best Walking City in U.S.

Cambridge is the best walking city in America, with more residents walking to work and more parks per square mile than any other city evaluated, according to a just-released study by Prevention magazine in its April issue and the American Podiatric Medical Association. Walking kudos also goes to New York, ranked No. 2, and Ann Arbor, No. 3. The worst walking cities: Oklahoma City, North Las Vegas, and Gadsden, AL. Prevention and the APMA annually team up to measure the walkability of America’s cities as interest in walking for fitness remains strong. Walking is the most popular form of exercise with 87.5 percent of Americans walking for fitness.

New in this year’s survey, more than 500 U.S. cities, including D.C., were evaluated and ranked on 14 walking criteria, including the percentage of adults who walk to work, number of parks per square mile, use of mass transit, and percentage of adults who walk for fitness. Also new this year, a best walking city was named in each of the 50 states from an evaluation of its 10 most populated cities. For more on this topic, visit: http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/homepage/x2052204094

10 Best U.S. Walking Cities of 2008

1. Cambridge
2. New York, N.Y.
3. Ann Arbor, Mich.
4. Chicago, Ill.
5. Washington, D.C.
6. San Francisco
7. Honolulu
8. Trenton, N.J.
9. Boston
10. Cincinnati

4 Red Sox Fans Hospitalize Yankee Fan in Cambridge, MA

4 Red Sox Fans Hospitalize Yankee Fan in Cambridge, MA

[This letter published in the Cambridge Chronicle online March 11, 2008]

Mayor Simmons is a success. (Erin Smith, "Red Sox mob beats up Yankees
fan in Cambridge," Cambridge Chronicle, Mar 03, 2008) Red Sox fans hospitalize a Yankee fan. Republicans are banned from Cambridge housing. Persons of color
get preferences over persons of no color in hiring and housing.
Persons with disabilities who don't use wheel chairs are ignored by
the City Government. Love is in the air. Cambridge is truly a World
Class City as Mayor Reeves declared it last year. This year Reeves and
Simmons want the City to focus on "the homophobic acts of vicious
brutality in Jamaica." (City Council Order # 6, March 3, 2008) Reeves
wants the City to "go on record declaring that violent incidents and
hate crimes against people anywhere in this country or across the
world must not escape our attention." (City Council Order # 29 March
3, 2008) This is how the spineless Cambridge politicians direct
attention to other countries while local thugs demonize civilians.
This atmosphere was created by identity politics which dominate this
depraved city. Thank you Harvard and MIT for your spiritual guidance.

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Red Sox mob beats up Yankees fan in Cambridge
By Erin Smith
Cambridge Chronicle Staff
Mon Mar 03, 2008, 07:52 PM EST

Blog Comments Cambridge Chronicle

http://blogs.townonline.com/cambridge/?p=13901

Ignoring Persons with Disabilities

Ignoring Persons with Disabilities

[Published in print and online editions February 14, 2008]

Letter: Journal ignores those with disabilities
Somerville Journal
By Roy Bercaw
Mon Feb 11, 2008, 01:43 PM EST

[Published in print and online editions February 21, 2008]
Letter: Disabled people ignored in civic sphere
Cambridge Chronicle
Mon Feb. 18, 2008


Somerville - Somerville School Superintendent Tony "Pierantozzi said
that schools must reflect society in order to lead society. [. . .] My
wish for you and for all of us… Good relationships with people who are
very dissimilar." (Auditi Guha, "Cambridge schools affirmative action
chief talks about race," Cambridge Chronicle, Somerville Journal,
February 8, 2008) Under current state, city, and US laws the
affirmative action laws apply equally to persons with disabilities.
Both Cambridge affirmative action officers and both Cambridge and
Somerville governments omit persons with disabilities in their
affirmative action efforts.
The comments by Somerville's superintendent apply to persons with
disabilities as well as to persons of color. But as usual local
governments in Massachusetts ignore the laws they don't like. My
repeated complaints to city government officials and to local
journalists are, as usual, ignored.
Journalists join politicians excluding persons with disabilities from
equal participation in civic affairs and jobs. Good work. If persons
with disabilities are not mentioned perhaps they will go away?
Roy Bercaw
Cambridge

5 Year-old on 5 Psychiatric Drugs Dies

5 Year-old on 5 Psychiatric Drugs Dies

This psychiatrist said he was treating symptoms of a
five-year-old. But he was unable to attribute these to an illness with
a pathology. Mental illnesses can only be seen by psychiatrists. Why
should we trust their visions? Journalists regularly criticize and
question the President, governors and mayors. But they never question
psychiatrists. Are psychiatrists better deceivers than politicians?
Journalists hold the President accountable for the deaths of
soldiers in Iraq. Why aren't psychiatrists held accountable for the
deaths caused by their patients and their drugs?

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

You may recall the extremely high profile case of Rebecca Riley, a 4
year old in Massachusetts, who died while on various psychiatric drugs
including the antipsychotic drug Seroquel. The Boston Globe, NY
Times, CNN and USA Today reported that story widely.

Now , a responsible psychologist from Tennessee contacted us this
morning to report the below tragedy. The mother of a 6 year old
girl named Cheyenne is on trial in Tennessee for her daughter's
murder.

Psychiatrist Saran Mudumbi should also be on trial. He prescribed a
combination of drugs for this little girl that included the
antipsychotics Risperdal and Seroquel. (More on antipsychotic drugs
here: http://tmap.wordpress.com/

You can write a letter to the editor here: editor@southernstandard.com
If you have any connectons to major national media, please forward
this to them.

http://www.southernstandard.net/news.php?viewStory=46251

Cheyenne was heavily medicated-Psychiatrist testifies he prescribed
three drugs at first session
Psychiatrist Dr. Saran Mudumbi testified that he put Cheyenne Delp,
then 5, on three
different types of medication to fight depression, anxiety and
paranoia after one office
visit with the child. That initial visit took place April 3, 2003

Southern Standard
Cheyenne was heavily medicated - Psychiatrist testifies he
prescribed three drugs at first session
By James Clark
Feb 27, 2008

[From article]
Prescriptions drugs Cheyenne was taking
Here's a list of the prescription medication Cheyenne Delp was taking
at the time of her death, according to her psychiatrist Dr. Saran
Mudumbi:
Imipramine
Risperdal
Guanfacine
Benadryl
Seroquel

Cambridge MA Triple A Bond Rating

Cambridge MA Triple A Bond Rating

The Cambridge City Manager takes full credit for a Triple A Bond rating for the City. (Victoria Cheng, "All's A-OK with finances, as city saves big on bonds," Boston Globe, City Weekly, February 17, 2008) The rating agencies state it is the ability of the taxpayers to pay their taxes that is the biggest factor. Is this Manager the only one who could merit this rating with these taxpayers?
It is possible to employ bond insurers in order to get a Triple A rating. But these insurers squandered their trust by insuring the "shaky" sub prime mortgage debt. (NICOLE GELINAS, "THE BOND MESS: ELIOT'S BAD FIX," New York Post, February 21, 2008)
As a result of the sub-prime mortgage scandal the Rating agencies (Moody's, Fitch, and Standard & Poors) themselves are being questioned by the New York State Attorney General. They gave "high ratings to sub prime debt that later plummeted." (Bloomberg, "RATING AGENCIES NOT OFF HOOK: AG," New York Post, February 8, 2008) Were these ratings more reliable than Cambridge's Triple A Bond Rating?
Of what real value are these ratings? As long as the bond investors believe in the quality of the taxpayer the cost of borrowing will remain low. But it is still borrowing. Future taxpayers will have to repay these loans. Why is the Manager being praised for increasing the debt burden of the city's taxpayers?
Is this one more example of fooling the people and bewildering the herd as Noam Chomsky calls it?

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

CAMBRIDGE
All's A-OK with finances, as city saves big on bonds
By Victoria Cheng,
Boston Globe Correspondent
February 17, 2008

* * *

THE BOND MESS: ELIOT'S BAD FIX
By NICOLE GELINAS
New York Post
February 21, 2008 --
[From article]
THE Port Authority and other public borrowers are paying steeply higher interest on some debt because Wall Street screwed up. And Gov. Spitzer and state regulators can make the mess worse.

* * *

RATING AGENCIES NOT OFF HOOK: AG
Bloomberg
New York Post
February 8, 2008 --
[From article]
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said "supposed reforms" by Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service, which gave high ratings to subprime debt that later plummeted, won't stop his investigation of the companies.

Harvard University Promotes Drug Treatment Ignoring Danger

Harvard University Promotes Drug Treatment Ignoring Danger

Harvard administrators promote psychiatric treatment for students. (ADITI BALAKRISHNA and RACHEL A. STARK, "Mental Health Week Kicks Off, Harvard Crimson, February 25, 2008) They do not address the pervasive animosity toward persons with "a history of mental illness." Nor do they address the repeated reports of persons who stop taking psychiatric drugs who are charged with violent crime. If taking the drugs causes a person who stops taking them to become violent why begin taking them? Psychiatry treats imaginary illnesses that only psychiatrists can see.
Fund raising for the Bazelon Center helps promote more drug treatment. They see treatment as a civil right. What other form of treatment employs the police powers to force treatment? Bazelon promotes the notion of parity between medical illness and psychiatric illness. But only psychiatric illness is blamed for violence. Only psychiatric medical records are deemed unworthy of privacy laws. Parity increases the client base.
Drug companies have all positions covered. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is a lobbyist for and funded by the drug companies promoting drug treatment masquerading as a patient advocate. They advocate for drug treatment not for patients.They call this fighting stigma.
Psychiatry is a means of social control without due process. They do harm in the name of good. Cleverly the co-chair of Harvard's Human Rights Committee is a former psychiatric researcher, who conducted experiments on mental patients. This is how convoluted the notion of civil rights is at Harvard.

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=522113

Mental Health Week Kicks Off
Published On 2/25/2008 2:30:17 AM
By ADITI BALAKRISHNA and RACHEL A. STARK
Harvard Crimson Staff Writers

Beatrice Klemm Obituary

Beatrice Klemm Obituary

http://www.scanlanfuneralhome.com/?p=obituary_view&id=48190

Beatrice Klemm

Home:Pompton Plains, NJ
Date of Death:January 12, 2008
Age:78
Birthdate:August 25, 1929
Place of Birth:Queens, NY
Service Information:Thursday, January 17, 2008 11:00 AM
M. John Scanlan Funeral Home, Pompton Plains, NJ
Visitation:Wednesday, January 16, 2008 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at M. John Scanlan Funeral Home, Pompton Plains, NJ
Interment:Mt. Rest Cemetery, Butler, NJ

Beatrice Klemm, 78, of Pompton Plains, formerly of Bloomingdale, died Saturday, January 12, 2008 at Care One Nursing Home in Morristown.

Born in Queens, New York, Beatrice was the daughter of the late Samuel and the late Faye (nee Schwitzer) Bercaw, and lived her childhood years in Passaic.

Marrying Gustav Klemm on March 10, 1952 in Wallington, the couple settled in Bloomingdale, raising four sons.

In 1972, Beatrice earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from The William Paterson College of New Jersey. A lifelong learner, Mrs. Klemm also attended numerous continuing education courses until shortly before her death. She taught in the Bloomingdale Public School system for more than 20 years.

Beatrice was also an avid reader and served as a volunteer for many years at the Bloomingdale and Kinnelon Public Libraries.

She is survived by her sons, Dennis and his wife Lisa of Jefferson, Robert and his wife Louise of Butler, Richard of West Milford, and Kenneth and his wife Leslie of Metairie, Louisiana; her grandchildren, Allyson, Timothy and Olivia Klemm of Jefferson and Nicholas and Lauren Klemm of Metairie, Louisiana; her sister, Maxine Musick of Colfax, California; and her brother, Roy Bercaw of Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gustav.

A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, followed by interment at Mount Rest Cemetery in Butler. Visiting hours will be Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Judes Children Research Hospital, Memorial and Honor Program, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105 (http://www.stjude.org) would be greatly appreciated by the Klemm family.

EISENSTARK, RAYMOND Obituary

EISENSTARK, RAYMOND Obituary

December 22, 1999
The New York Times

EISENSTARK-Raymond Gerald, 53, on December 20, 1999, of acute leukemia. Beloved husband of Sarita Nemerow Eisenstark, brother of Keith and Sandra, stepfather of Raphael, Jordan, Libby and Lisa Copeland. Innovator in the computer software field since 1966, he worked on virtually every type of equipment, programming language and operating system in use during the last three decades, and provided training in software engineering and UNIX here and abroad. An expert in communications & middleware, he set up one of the first Internet service providers in New York City. A wise, bold thinker with an indomitable will, generous heart and irreverent sense of humor. A man with a rare talent for friendship and a great enthusiasm for life. Respected, loved and admired by family and colleagues everywhere. Services today, December 22, 11:45AM, at ''The Riverside'', 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. Charitable contributions may be made in his honor toward the relief of human suffering.

Walter Bowart Obituary

Walter Bowart Obituary

http://tinyurl.com/yvbmc6

FBI Can't Find Its Tail

FBI Can't Find Its Tail

The lack of prosecutions of organized crime in Massachusetts is
due more to the priorities of the FBI, than the lack of organized
crime operations . (Kevin Cullen, "Wiseguys, wannabes," Boston Globe,
February 11, 2008) Major crime operations moved into offices run by
corporations and public officials. As the Corleones said you can steal
more money with a law degree than with a gun. US Judge Mark Wolf
questioned why US Attorney Michael Sullivan does not focus on white
collar crime.
Taxpayers cover multi-billion-dollar thefts using government
agencies. See the Savings and Loan scandal, the subprime mortgage
scandal, HUD, etc. Best Buy employees discovered a terror plot not the
FBI. The corruption of the Boston FBI office was revealed by defense
attiorney Anthony Cardinale. US Attorney Donald Stern took credit when
credit was not due.
The Gambino arrests resulted from an informants who was arrested, in order to save his own behind, not from FBI diligence. The New York arrests excluded public officials, police and corporation executives that worked with the Gambino crew members. They will cooperate with any family. Business is business. In Boston after
Weeks (in print) and Bulger boasted of having local police and state
police on their payroll there has yet to be any investigation of any
police agencies including the FBI. It appears that crime families
moved out of the streets and now comfortably operate in public and
private offices. It is possible to fool most of the people most of the
time.

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Wiseguys, wannabes
By Kevin Cullen,
Boston Globe Columnist
February 11, 2008

Reading through that 170-page indictment aimed primarily at the
Gambino crime family in New York the other day, it was hard not to
feel a twinge of nostalgia.

Among the 62 wiseguys and wannabes named were such luminaries as John
"Johnny Red Rose" Pisano, Thomas "Tommy Sneakers" Cacciopoli, John
"Jackie the Nose" D'Amico, and the deliciously named Anthony
"Buckwheat" Giammarino.

Now, perhaps there is some loanshark in Cleveland called "Stymie," but
I'm guessing Giammarino is the only made guy in America named after a
black kid on "The Little Rascals."

Despite this talk of the Red Sox having exorcised the demon of
inferiority complex when it comes to all things New York, my first
reaction to the indictment was: Why we no have?

There hasn't been a roundup of mafiosi by the feds around here in
years - and don't hold your breath waiting for one.

The difference between New York and Boston is not simply one of scale:
that New York, as home to the five biggest crime families, is a
major-league wiseguy town while Boston is not. There are still more
than a few made guys around here extorting bookies, running drugs,
whatever. Still, federal prosecutors are loath to bring another
era-spanning racketeering case against the remnants of Boston's mob
not merely because there are so few wiseguys left but because doing so
would inevitably mean revisiting the legacy of corruption within law
enforcement, especially Boston's FBI office.

To suggest, as the Department of Justice does, that it began and ended
with a few rogue agents involved in the mishandling of James "Whitey"
Bulger is simplistic. So, while the good guys in New York are still
chasing real live wiseguys, we're chasing ghosts, namely Bulger, who
may or may not be alive and is most definitely not where the FBI has
been or has not been looking for him.

Taking advantage of the federal racketeering act, prosecutors were
able to charge the New York wiseguys with crimes that stretch to 1976.
Detailing in court the way people around here were getting framed,
used, and excused going back to 1986, let alone 1976, would be a
defense attorney's dream.

"As the FBI approaches its 100-year anniversary, we remember that our
very beginnings were rooted in fighting gangsterism," FBI Deputy
Director John Pistole said in New York. "We face other daunting
challenges today, but our commitment to battling organized crime has
never wavered."

Could Pistole come here and make that same speech? Actually, let me
rephrase the question: Could Pistole come here, make that same speech,
and be believed?

If federal prosecutors here were to prepare an indictment similar in
scope and historic reach to the one in New York, some of those
indicted would have been working for the FBI or enlisted as government
witnesses over the last decade to clean up the mess created by corrupt
agents. Some of them will be in Miami in June, ready to testify for
the government when Bulger's old FBI handler, John Connolly, goes on
trial for allegedly helping Bulger's guys murder people.

The greatest single act of government aggression against the Mafia
around here was the creation of the Massachusetts Lottery. It muscled
out the mob's bread and butter, the daily number, essentially leaving
the gangsters with sports betting. The federal prosecutions of the
1980s took out some big shots, but the chances of seeing another big
Mafia trial here are, unlike Carmen DiNunzio, the alleged local Mafia
leader, slim.

DiNunzio faces state charges for extortion and sports bookmaking,
which might land him maybe five years, instead of a federal rap that
would be effectively a life sentence. As for DiNunzio's supposed
nickname, "The Big Cheese," he insists nobody calls him that, that
it's an invention of the cops and the newspapers because he runs a
cheese shop in the North End.

We have been reduced to bookmaking cases and made-up wiseguy nicknames.

What would Buckwheat say?

Kevin Cullen is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at cullen@globe.com.

Bias for Thee but Not for Me?

Bias for Thee but Not for Me?

After many years white and Asian people are finally addressing
unlawful discrimination in the public schools. (CHUCK BENNETT,"IN 'WRONG'
MINORITY,"
New York Post, November 19, 2007) But why are there still no questions why
persons with disabilities are excluded from such programs? Discrimination based
upon disability is as illegal as racial discrimination. But journalists, lawyers
and public schools continue this activity. Let me guess, it never entered their
minds.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

IN 'WRONG' MINORITY
New York Post
By CHUCK BENNETT

November 19, 2007 -- Three Chinese parents in Brooklyn are expected to file a
federal lawsuit today challenging a popular city-run tutoring program on the
grounds it discriminates against Asians, The Post has learned.

The Specialized High School Institute preps gifted but "underrepresented"
minorities to ace the competitive exam to get into top city high schools like
Stuyvesant or Brooklyn Tech.

But the parents say it is unfair - and illegal - for the Department of Education
to limit eligibility to blacks and Latinos.

"The program only selects certain kinds of minorities and unfortunately my
daughter didn't fall into that category," said Peggy Foo-Ching, 47, a mom from
Bensonhurst who said her 12-year-old daughter's application last year was
ignored.

The Specialized High School Institute was created to expand the population of
black and Latino students at the elite high schools, but the Department of
Education has always insisted anyone who qualifies for a free lunch could apply.

Foo-Ching's eldest daughter qualified for the institute in 2003 and is now a
student at Brooklyn Tech, but the mother believes guidelines were changed
barring her younger daughter from participating last March.

A Department of Education internal memo obtained by lawyers trying the case
indicated that eligibility criteria excludes whites and Asians.

"What this memo reveals is blatant and categorical discrimination by race. If
you are white or Asian, you're not supposed to get an application," said
Christopher Hajec, an attorney with the Center for Individual Rights, a
conservative advocacy group.

"It's not the business of the government of New York City to be counting up the
Asians or whites in, say, Stuyvesant High School and concluding there are too
many of them."

Andrew Jacob, a Department of Education spokesman, said the racial criteria has
been under review since summer, when a US Supreme Court ruling said ethnicity
could not be a factor in deciding which public schools students attend.

He could not comment on the suit, but said no policy will be changed before
March, when the next group of sixth-graders will be invited to apply to the
program.

The father who initiated the suit, Stanley Ng, said he understood how
controversial his challenge may be viewed.

"It's not something that I take lightly," he said. "There are many Asian and
white kids in this district who can't pay for tutoring. What is their recourse?"

cbennett@nypost.com

Promoting Fake Illnesses

Promoting Fake Illnesses

No evidence supports the statement, "Schizophrenia is a
biological illness caused by excessive stimulation in one part of the brain,
dismally balanced by deficits in another." (Elissa Ely, "Undefinable madness,"
Boston Globe, November 25, 2007)
What motivates this unsubstantiated claim? What financial ties does Ely
have with the drug industry? Two-thirds of medical school professors have such
ties.
The false notion of psychiatry as a biologically based illness is a fantasy
created by PR flacks for the drug companies. When a group of citizens challenged
the American Psychiatric Association to provide evidence they were unable to do
so. A well-funded continuing campaign promotes this boondoggle.
H.L. Mencken observed, "No one ever went broke underestimating the
intelligence of the American people. Abraham Lincoln noted "You can fool some of
the people all
of the time." If enough people believe this nonsense, the drug companies can
continue making profits selling bunkum.
Boston Globe headlines irrationally imply that mental illness causes crime.
Science proved that withdrawal from psychiatric drugs does cause crime. The
Globe
ignores that fact and promotes more drug treatment. The Globe omits any
references to the rights of persons with disabilities. Is there any connection?

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Undefinable madness
By Elissa Ely
Boston Globe
November 25, 2007

"SO, WHAT is schizophrenia?" a 10-year-old I know asked on the way into the art
store to buy an easel for her clubhouse.

I took inventory. Schizophrenia is a biological illness caused by excessive
stimulation in one part of the brain, dismally balanced by deficits in another.
It is not due to angry mothering. A virus may or may not be involved. Being born
in certain months of the year seems to increase the risk. It is genetic and
ruinous. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, that Blue Book of
psychiatry, a number of specific symptoms must be met - delusions and/or
hallucinations, and/or disorganized thought forms, and functional deterioration.
Over half of all patients also have substance abuse, and many die prematurely.
Most require numerous hospitalizations. Symptoms are fine-tuned by medications
that cause their own problems. There is little to like about the illness and
less about the treatment. Schizophrenia is a five-syllable diagnosis stamped on
a patient's chart for life.

None of that seemed like the right answer.

So, I told her some stories - stories to those who hear them, lives to those who
lead them. I told her about a man who ate only white foods, another man who
doused his face with a plant sprayer to ward off the devil, a third man who
spoke to visitors only in his language, which seemed to involve rhyming words
that began with "ch," and a fourth who thought his eyeglasses were watching him.
I told her about a woman who believed she was royalty from a different planet
and another woman who thought her parents were impersonators trying to replace
her true family.

Windows cracked, doors split open, and eyes peered out. I was remembering other
faces now. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual describes hallucinations and
delusions, but it doesn't begin to describe how personal and particular they
are. This is told best by those in their grip.

"There are people dead in the grave holding onto people still walking around," a
patient said to me. "I have a different style of life view," said another. He
was on his way from Pennsylvania to Colorado; over the years he had taken buses
through 42 states trying to stay one step ahead of his voices. "Sometimes I go
to a new place and they don't show up until the next day," he said. "But I know
one thing. They never show up at 2 a.m." Why's that? I asked. "Because," he
said, irritably, "they're sleeping."

But what is schizophrenia? The 10-year-old still wanted to know. She wasn't
satisfied.

From the halls of a state hospital that closed 15 years ago, a face like Father
Christmas looked out with an answer. He had lived there for a decade. He
believed he was powered by a race-car quality engine (how many of us believe we
are what we are not, only with lesser consequences?). He was undergoing an
examination by the chief psychiatrist on the unit, who was teaching us
youngsters how to diagnose.

"How are you?" the chief asked Father Christmas. (Open-ended inviting question.)

"Mediocre," he said.

"Tell me about yourself." (More of the same.)

"I'm 68 years old. I have 56 brothers in the Boer War."

"How old does that make you?" (Gently trying to point out absurdity.)

"I'm 200 years old."

"Is that crazy?" the doctor asked. (Humor.)

"No. I'm the Oracle at Delphi. "

"OK," said the doctor. (Never question delusion.) "OK, can you tell us who the
president is? "

"Absolutely not."

Father Christmas stood up and started walking. This was the question too
insulting to tolerate. He turned at the door.

"I'm not neurotic, you know," he said.

That is schizophrenia; someone living with psychotic symptoms, enduring assured
but unhelpful questions of experts who do not. It is easy to depersonalize on
the one hand and romanticize on the other. It is pain, sly humor, dignity, and a
world of insight on the head of a pin with no ability to control it.

This was conversation to have with the young artist at a future time, though,
because for now her arms were filled with clubhouse supplies and she had
probably heard about as much as she wanted to know.

Elissa Ely is a psychiatrist.

No Snitching for Me but Not for Thee?

No Snitching for Me but not for Thee?

Two factors never heard regarding the snitching issues is the role modeling
of public officials and professionals. (Maria Cramer, "Judge targets
no-snitching culture," Boston Globe, November 23, 2007) Why are youths expected
to snitch on their colleagues? How many police snitch on other police officers?
How many lawyers? How many doctors? How many politicians? This suggests that
young people will experience no retaliation.
It is very difficult to fool young people these days with easy access to
the internet and TV. They know how the world works at a much younger age. If you
want to change the way the courts work you need to begin with the folks who run
the courts and then the folks who write the laws.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Judge targets no-snitching culture
Invites city teens to court for video and straight talk
By Maria Cramer
Boston Globe Staff
November 23, 2007

The 12 middle school students had just finished watching an instructional video
produced to help break down the "no snitching" culture in Boston when a court
volunteer asked them a series of questions.
more stories like this

How many have heard shootings at night?

Every hand went up.

How many knew someone who had been shot?

At least seven raised their hands.

Finally, how many have ever reported gunfire to police?

This time, no one raised an arm.

The children's response is why court officials have been showing the video "You
Be the Judge" to hundreds of fifth- and sixth-graders since January. The video,
filmed by the Huntington Theatre Company, tells the fictional story of a Boston
teenager named Bobby Wilson who is left holding a gun his friend used to shoot
another teenager after a drug deal gone wrong. Bobby is arrested when his
girlfriend, who had urged him to go to the police, refuses to hide the gun for
him. His fear of "snitching" leads to a first-degree murder charge and he is
left sitting morosely in a courtroom, filled with regret, as a jury decides his
fate.

On Monday, the 12 students - sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from the
McCormack Middle School in Dorchester - gathered in West Roxbury District Court
for a viewing.

The children were older than most of the students who have watched the video,
and some had already had brushes with the law. Court officials were worried they
would react cynically to the video.

As it played, the children did snicker occasionally, mocking the sometimes stiff
acting and melodramatic courtroom scenes. But they paid attention and stayed
quiet for most of the film.

"It was good," said Shawn Rowe, a serious, hazel-eyed 15-year-old, afterward.
"It seemed like something that could happen."

For others, the video lacked credibility.

"That video wasn't real. It was made by adults," said one 14-year-old
eighth-grader who declined to give his name. "If it had been done by kids, it
would have been way different."

Asked what he meant, he said that for one thing, most girls he knows would have
hidden their boyfriend's gun.

"My girl would take that hammy," he said, referring to the slang word for gun.

"I wouldn't," retorted Myiesha, a 14-year-old girl who asked that her last name
be withheld.

The video unleashed a torrent of discussion inside the judges lobby, where
Kathleen Coffey, the first justice of the West Roxbury court, had invited them
to view the film with probation and police officers.

The children debated whether Wilson should be found guilty and if his girlfriend
did the right thing - most of them believed she did. They then peppered Coffey
and the officers with questions about mandatory gun sentences, why juveniles are
sometimes charged as adults, and why police shoot to kill. In turn, the
officials asked the children why they do not turn to authority figures when they
witness an assault or are the victims of one.

"If you go to the principal, that's going to make things worse," Rowe said.
"Because they're going to come after you even more."

The video, which features police officers, court officials, and teenagers from
across the city, is part of Reinventing Justice, a volunteer program of police
officers, lawyers, and others run by Coffey and designed to make the courts more
accessible to the community.

Coffey said they decided to show the film to middle school students because they
are more likely influenced by its message than high school students, who have
formed firmer opinions about cooperating with police.

Middle school students are at "the turning point," she said. "You still have
their attention."

As the students prepared to leave her conference room for a tour of the
courthouse, Coffey told them she hoped they would reflect on what they discussed
that morning. They would be heading into her courtroom to watch defendants plead
their cases. Many of them, Coffey told them, are good people who made "bad
decisions."

"What we're talking about is serious," she said. "I pray every night and I'm
sure your parents pray every night that you will make good decisions."

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

Privacy Laws, Discrimination

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone blamed her mental illness
for what she did. (Fox 25 10 O'Clock News January 18, 2008) It is
convenient but there is no causal connection. Leone's misguided notion
of what psychiatry is, is not unique. It is pervasive among lawyers,
police and prosecutors.
Revealing medical conditions is a violation of state and US
privacy laws. Law enforcement officials are not exempt. This too is
pervasive among lawyers, prosecutors and police.
The brief treatment referred to if it involved drugs may have
caused her behavior, not an illness made up by consensus.

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

FOX25 News:

http://tinyurl.com/2mf444

Woman Killed Self, 2 Children on I-495
Last Edited: Friday, 18 Jan 2008, 11:51 PM EST
Created: Friday, 18 Jan 2008, 2:21 PM EST
Thirty-nine-year-old Marcelle Thibault of Bellingham, her 5-year-old
niece Kaleigh Lambert and her 4-year-old nephew, Shane Lambert, were
killed on January 11th when they were hit by oncoming traffic.

Woman, Two Children Struck and Killed on Interstate 495

A woman who had picked up her niece and nephew for a sleep-over party
instead drove them onto a busy highway, took them into her arms and
walked into the road to be killed by oncoming traffic in what
authorities said Friday was a double-murder suicide.

Marcelle Thibault and the children of her twin sister, 5-year-old
Kaleigh Lambert and 4-year-old Shane Lambert, both of Brentwood, N.H.,
were killed on Jan. 11 when they were struck by two cars.

Thibault, 39, of Bellingham, was driving her 2003 Lincoln sedan south
on the interstate that night when she turned the car sharply, crossed
the median and northbound lanes and then began driving against traffic
in the breakdown lane, authorities said.

She then stopped on the right side of the road, got out of the car and
removed her clothes and undressed the children. She picked them up and
walked onto the highway.

"There are not many other scenarios I can think of that are as tragic
as this one," District Attorney Gerry Leone said. "It is beyond
belief, it is unimaginable, it is unspeakable, and it was a horrible
tragedy."

Leone said the Lamberts, whom he described as loving parents, would
not have allowed their children to go with their aunt if they were not
certain they would be safe.

Leone said Thibault had received treatment for mental illness. Paul
Young, a spokesman for the Lambert family and friend from St.
Michael's Parish in Exeter, N.H., did not know the details, but said
it was a "brief, isolated incident in her life" within the past year.

"She appeared to be fully recovered from that, and there was no
indication of a relapse," he said.

Leone said no drugs or alcohol were involved. He blamed her mental
illness for what she did and said it was impossible to determine any
motive.

"It is far too complicated, too complex a dynamic and illness for us
to be able to make any real determinations about what exactly the
cause was or what exactly was in her mind," he said.

Leone said Thibault had picked up her niece and nephew to go to her
house for a "pirate and princess weekend." Young said the woman, who
had two teenage children, often took her sister's kids for special
weekends.

"They have a fairly close family as a whole," Young said. "They were
twin sisters, so obviously that bond."

Young said Kaleigh and Shane, the only children of Ken and Danielle
Lambert, were typical youngsters, full of energy and well behaved.

"They're a great family," Young said.

The family pleaded for prayers and privacy in a statement released
through the district attorney's office.

"This is a time of terrible tragedy for our families. We love Marci,
Kaleigh, and Shane and we miss them very much," the statement said.
"We ask everyone to join us in prayer for their souls, and to help us
get through this most difficult period of our lives. We ask that the
media respect our privacy and allow us the time to grieve and heal as
we mourn our great loss."

Disability Rights Abuses

Disability Rights Abuses

Cover headline (Britney's Mental Illness) for "Britney in Crisis" (Michelle Tauber, Michelle Tan, People, January 21, 2008, page 62-68) is misguided. The story presents no evidence of any illness. Quoting psychiatrists who never treated Spears shows how arbitrary psychiatry is. This article is not unique quoting "sources" with no training making medical diagnosis. Irresponsible nonexistent standards reporting about psychiatry is pervasive.
Saying "she has been prescribed at least one antidepressant/antianxiety drug," shows that the drugs may be the cause of her eccentric behavior not the made-up illnesses.
Mark Goulston says "manic behavior is when you don't have any sense of rules. [. . .] 'I play by my own rules.'" That applies to psychiatrists who do not know state and US laws regarding psychiatry and disclosing medical records. Publishing the medical condition of this young lady is a violation of state and US privacy laws for many individuals. Putting allegations of mental illness on the cover of People, January 21, 2008 shows exploitation of persons with disabilities. Would a responsible publication report about politicians or journalists? Why a troubled young woman?

Veterans are Mental Patients?

Veterans are Mental Patients?

Ralph Peters reveals how prominent journalists demonize American veterans saying "they can't be trusted amid uninfected Americans." (RALPH PETERS, "THE NEW 'LEPERS,'" New York Post, January 18, 2008) They join ordinary citizens who journalists accuse of mental illness.
Police, prosecutors and psychiatrists utter "hate-speech disguised as public service" when referring to the need for "treatment." Persons with disabilities accused of mental illness are also portrayed as "hopelessly damaged, victimized, infected human beings who've become outcasts from civilized society [. . .] freaks form a flasher flick."
Peters says journalists and Hollywood writers present the image of vets as "nuts. Violently nuts. They kill their neighbors. They kill their own kind. And they're just waiting for the right moment of madness to kill you." Vets are mentally ill?
Many demonized vets will become patients of the psychiatric industry to curb their "violent tendencies." Often the treatment, psychiatric drugs, will make some of these vets as violent as they are portrayed to be.

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

THE NEW 'LEPERS'
New York Post
By RALPH PETERS

January 18, 2008 -- I'VE had a huge response to Tuesday's column about The New York Times' obscene bid to smear veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan as mad killers. Countless readers seem to be wondering: Why did the paper do it?

Well, in the Middle Ages, lepers had to carry bells on pain of death to warn the uninfected they were coming. One suspects that the Times would like our military veterans to do the same.

The purpose of Sunday's instantly notorious feature "alerting" the American people that our Iraq and Afghanistan vets are all potential murderers when they move in next door was to mark those defenders of freedom as "unclean" - as the new lepers who can't be trusted amid uninfected Americans.

In the more than six years since 9/11, the Times has never run a feature story half as long on any of the hundreds of heroes who've served our country - those who've won medals of honor, distinguished service crosses, Navy crosses, silver stars or bronze stars with a V device (for valor).

But the Times put a major investigative effort into the "sensational" story that 121 returning vets had committed capital offenses (of course, 20 percent of the cases cited involved manslaughter charges stemming from drunken driving, not first- or second-degree murder . . . ).

Well, a quick statistics check let the air out of the Times' bid to make us dread the veteran down the block - who the Times implies has a machine gun under his bathrobe when he steps out front to fetch the morning paper. In fact, the capital-crimes rate ballyhooed by the Gray Lady demonstrates that our returning troops are far less likely to commit such an offense.

Again, the Times' smear certainly wasn't an accident. The paper's staff is highly paid and highly experienced. Its editors know that a serious news story has to put numbers into context. But their sole attempt at context was to note that offenses by former soldiers have ticked up since we went to war.

The Times is trying to make you fear our veterans (Good Lord, if your daughter marries one, she's bound to be beaten to death!). And to convince you that our military would be a dreadful place for your sons and daughters, a death-machine that would turn them into incurable psychopaths.

To a darkly humorous degree, all this reflects the Freudian terrors leftists feel when confronted with men who don't have concave chests. But it goes far beyond that.

Pretending to pity tormented veterans (vets don't want our pity - they want our respect), the Times' feature was an artful example of hate-speech disguised as a public service.

The image we all were supposed to take away from that story was of hopelessly damaged, victimized, infected human beings who've become outcasts from civilized society. The Times cast our vets as freaks from a slasher flick.

The hard left's hatred of our military has deteriorated from a political stance into a pathology: The only good soldier is a dead soldier who can be wielded as a statistic (out of context again). Or a deserter who complains bitterly that he didn't join the Army to fight . . .

At the risk of turning to anecdotal evidence - a technique much-abused by the left - I have to declare that I personally know hundreds of veterans. (Can anyone at the Times head office make that claim?) Not a single one of them has committed a crime worse than exceeding the speed limit on the Interstate.

Not one vet I know is in prison for a crime he or she committed after taking off the uniform. And in nearly 22 years of active service, I encountered only two soldiers who committed violent crimes (no murders).

Contrary to the Times, veterans are consistently among the most upstanding members of their communities. They volunteer. They vote. They take pride in being good neighbors. And those I know have raised their children more successfully than the average liberal household.

But what's the image that the left, whether the Times or the silly people in Hollywood, presents to us? Vets are nuts. Violently nuts. They kill their neighbors. They kill their own kind. And they're just waiting for the right moment of madness to kill you.

A longstanding goal of the left, recently invigorated, has been to drive a wedge between our military and our society. The real vet is the neighbor who fixes your kid's bike (or your computer). But the left's archetypal vet is the Marine colonel in "American Beauty" who, frustrated in his suppressed gay passions, murders poor Kevin Spacey.

Yes, war is a terrible crucible. Some vets, past and present, do need help. And they deserve the best help our country can give them. But the left-wing fantasy of hordes of psychotics driven mad by drill sergeants and Army chow is just that: a fantasy.

Of course, if the Times responds at all to the storm of protests their insult to our veterans aroused, the editors will try to fudge the numbers in their favor. You just can't argue with ideologues. They lie and they cheat. And they justify it as being for the greater good of ignorant fools like us.

So let me suggest the best-possible revenge on the veteran-trashing jerks at The New York Times: Instead of fleeing in terror the next time you see a veteran you know, just thank him or her for their service.

And let's save the leper's bells for dishonest journalists.

Ralph Peters is a retired Army officer who has yet to kill any of his neighbors (although they'd better keep their grass cut).

Rotenberg Shock Tapes Destroyed

Rotenberg Shock Tapes Destroyed

The spokesman for the Rotenberg School said "There is no
obligation to hold on to these tapes for any length of time."
(Patricia Wen, "Report says shock tapes destroyed against order,"
Boston Globe, January 18, 2008) Oh?
Would that be a psychological obligation, a public relations
obligation or a legal obligation? Few psychiatrists or psychologists
(or PR flacks) know the laws that protect vulnerable persons. They
violate the laws with no curbs from law enforcement due to
institutionalized discrimination among police agencies. Psychologists
operate in a world without the US Constitution and without state laws.
They believe they are superior beings with superior knowledge of right
and wrong conduct, thoughts and speech. They determine what is proper
behavior. They ignore laws because they believe they are above the
laws.
Here is an opportunity for the state to teach these arrogant
professionals who abuse vulnerable students because of their unchecked
power. It is long over due for the state authorities to exercise their
lawful authority to curb these institutionalized abuses. Obstruction
of justice is a crime.

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Report says shock tapes destroyed against order
By Patricia Wen
Boston Globe Staff
January 18, 2008

Top officials at the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center destroyed
videotapes at the focus of an investigation into alleged abuse at one
of its group homes after being ordered by state investigators to
preserve the tapes, according to a report obtained by the Globe.

The tapes, a compilation of footage from video cameras inside the
group home in Stoughton, recorded an August 2007 incident in which
staff wrongfully administered dozens of shocks to two emotionally
disturbed teenagers, after a caller posing as a supervisor professed
to be delivering orders from the school's director and a chief aide.
One student received 77 shocks, the other 29.

An investigator with the Disabled Persons Protection Commission, which
examines abuse allegations and can refer cases for criminal
prosecution, viewed the tapes as part of her inquiry and asked
Rotenberg officials if she could have a copy of them, according to the
commission's report on the incident. School officials declined, saying
that the school "did not want any possibility of the images getting
into the media," according to the report, which was obtained by the
Globe.

The investigator then directed the school to preserve a copy of the
tapes for use by State Police conducting a criminal investigation. She
was later told by a trooper, who apparently attempted to view them
that "the images were not preserved by JRC."

Matthew Israel, founder and director of the school, did not return a
phone call yesterday to discuss the tapes, but a school spokesman,
Ernest Corrigan, said that school officials did not want to keep the
tapes out of fear they would end up in the hands of the media or on
the Internet, further upsetting the lives of the two victims in the
Aug. 26 incident. He said investigators from the commission held an
"exit interview" on Sept. 30 with school staff, leading them to
believe there was no more need to keep the tapes.

In an interview with the Globe earlier this week, Israel said the
tapes had been reviewed by several investigators soon after the August
incident and were not preserved because the investigation "seemed to
be finished."

He said the school normally keeps its recordings for about 30 days and
then reuses the tapes.

Israel gave a similar explanation at the State House on Wednesday when
asked about the tapes at a public hearing on a bill to restrict shock
treatments at the school.

However, he did not mention being asked by state investigators to
preserve the tapes.

The destruction of the tapes has led some critics of the school, the
only one in the nation that uses shock treatments for special
education students, to call for an investigation into whether Israel
or his staff engaged in obstruction of justice.

"I believe the tape was intentionally destroyed because it was
incriminating," said Senator Brian A. Joyce, a Democrat from Milton,
who has long sought to ban shock therapy at the school. "I intend to
ask the attorney general to investigate."

Lawyers with experience in state and federal prosecutions say that
obstruction-of-justice investigations can be complex, but that they
center largely on why a piece of evidence was destroyed.

"Any investigation would want to look into intent very closely," said
Michael Ricciuti, a former prosecutor now in private practice in
Boston.

The disclosure about the tapes occurs as the Disabled Persons
Protection Commission is preparing for a public release of its
findings Tuesday.

Its report concludes that one of the teenage students was severely
physically and emotionally abused by the incident. The commission has
referred the case to the Norfolk district attorney's office.

The Rotenberg school has more than 200 students, most of whom are
mentally retarded, autistic, or emotionally disturbed. It has about
900 staff members.

Started by Israel in 1971, the residential school has attracted
nationwide controversy for its unorthodox behavioral-modification
techniques, which include the administration of two-second skin shocks
as a way to deter violent or disruptive behavior.

Critics say that such shocks are often given for relatively minor
infractions, such as swearing or leaving a seat without permission.

After failing twice in the past two decades to close the school,
opponents have embraced a bill pending in the Legislature that would
allow shocks only to stop students from hurting themselves or others.

Leo Sarkissian - executive director of The Arc of Massachusetts, a
grass-roots organization representing people with intellectual
disabilities - said he was outraged to learn that investigators no
longer have the tapes, saying the destruction of the recordings shows
"a lack of integrity" by Israel and his staff.

But Corrigan, spokesman for the school, said such assertions are
unfair, adding that school officials voluntarily set up video cameras
to monitor the staff and student performance.

"There is no obligation to hold on to these tapes for any length of
time," he said.

Patricia Wen can be reached at wen@globe.com.

Able Persons of No Color

Able Persons of No Color

Persons with disabilities are about 20 percent of the population.
No person with a disability is on the City Council. No person with a
disability is on the School Committee. For Sarah Jones that is zero
percent. (Sarah Jones, "Councilors should elect Simmons," Letter,
Cambridge Chronicle, Jan 08, 2008) The Minister of Information for the
Conformist Party of Cambridge ridicules persons with disabilities who
run for office. In December 2007 Councilor Simmons agreed with two
persons of no color to exclude persons with disabilities from
participating in city programs and affairs.
The Human Rights Commission excludes persons with disabilities
from city programs. Persons with disabilities are only good for being
clients of human services corporations. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
's dream was for persons of color to be judged by the character not by
their skin color. In Cambridge people are judged by their skin color
and by their sexual preference and by their gender. Let's celebrate
stomping on MLK, Jr.'s dream. Simmons for Mayor. Keep persons with
disabilities in their place. It is not yet the time for them to
participate in civic affairs. Let Robert Winters speak for them. They
are unable to speak for themselves. Vote Simmons for Mayor!

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Councilors should elect Simmons
Sarah Jones
Letter
Cambridge Chronicle
Tue Jan 08, 2008, 03:12 PM EST

Cambridge - I am sending you this letter in support of electing
Councilor Denise Simmons as the mayor of Cambridge. There are many
reasons for my support, but the crux is the vital importance to have a
diverse School Committee. There are two considerations on the subject
of diversity that are greatly affecting my point of view, both racial
and gender diversity.

If Councilor Simmons is not elected mayor by the City Council, the
School Committee will no longer have an African-American
representative and will be composed of only Caucasian, non-Hispanic
members.

According to the 2000 and 2006 population data, above, the city of
Cambridge's racial populations are rich with diversity, with more than
35 percent representing non-Caucasian races. If Councilor Simmons is
appointed mayor of Cambridge, the School Committee would be 14 percent
non-Caucasian and 86 percent Caucasian/non-Hispanic. If she is not
elected by the City Council, the School Committee will only represent
64 percent of the city's racial population. If the School Committee
does not have at least one representative of its non-Caucasian
population, the situation will be extremely worrisome to many
Cambridge citizens, including about 36,000 unrepresented Cantabrigians
of color, including myself.

Another important consideration for the mayoral candidate, also due to
serving as chairman to the School Committee, is gender. According to
the same population data used above, the Cambridge population (101,355
in 2000, 101,365 estimated in 2006) is 49 percent male and 51 percent
female. The School Committee-elect for 2008 is currently composed of
two women and four men. If a man is appointed as mayor of Cambridge,
the gender ratio in the School Committee will be 28.6 percent female
and 71.4 percent male. Conversely, with a female as mayor, the School
Committee's gender ratio would be 42.9 percent female and 57.1 percent
male, which is obviously much more in line with the city and school
system being served.

Other reasons for my support of Councilor Simmons are the facts that
she currently has children in the Cambridge Public Schools and she has
previous experience as an elected member of the Cambridge School
Committee. Neither Mayor Reeves nor Councilman Toomey is a parent, so
neither of these men has the personal nor familial interest in
Cambridge schools as does Councilor Simmons. And Mayor Reeves has
never been an elected member of the School Committee beyond his
city-appointed role as chairman. Neither Councilor Decker nor
Councilor Murphy has been elected to the School Committee. Councilor
Davis' children are all in their twenties, no longer students of
Cambridge Public Schools. Councilors Seidel and Kelley support
Councilor Simmons, as evidenced today during the City Council
inauguration and the mayoral voting at City Hall.

Pervasive corruption

Pervasive corruption


It is not just the BPD which has bad officers. (O'Ryan Johnson, "Cops
nab officer in armed holdup," Boston Herald, January 12, 2008) Since
James Bulger allegedly became a fugitive, there's been no scrutiny or
cleansing of any of the many police agencies in Massachusetts. Bulger,
Kevin Weeks and others boasted of how they paid off many officers and
agents.
A one party government breeds corruption. US Judge Mark Wolf
criticized the US Attorney who holds two jobs for not prosecuting
malfeasance.
In Cambridge three city employees were arrested selling cocaine
from City Trucks. After five meetings the City Council remains silent
about this criminal activity.
On the Cambridge weekly newspaper blog only one comment from
citizens regarding this activity. No city, state or US elected
officials speak about corruption.
The Universities, corporations and lawyers exploit the relaxed
rectitude of officials. The corruption is so thorough that the few
citizens who watch the government fear speaking out due to the severe
retaliatory abuse from police and politicians.
Politicians cite silence as approval of their good work. Talk
about living in a fantasy world. Massachusetts politicians all live
there.
The Harvard-Corporate-Lawyer Governor treats laws as
inconveniences. He openly ignores laws and encourages other officials
to join him. Massachusetts is a lawless state and the citizens approve
of it.

Roy Bercaw - Editor ENOUGH ROOM



Cops nab officer in armed holdup
Robbery rocks BPD
By O'Ryan Johnson
Boston Herald
Saturday, January 12, 2008

Dr. Phil Not Unique

Dr. Phil Not Unique

Dr. Phil is not unique abusing the privacy rights of persons accused of
mental illness. (DAVID K. LI, "BETRAYAL," New York Post, January 10, 2008, page
9) In some states and under US law it is unlawful to reveal the medical records
of a person without consent.
Dr. Phil is among the many unlicensed persons who make diagnosis that
journalists publish in their rush to demonize vulnerable people. Police,
prosecutors, relatives, neighbors and lovers regularly become psychiatric
experts for journalists who want an explanation for a person's behavior.
Journalists share the misguided notion that mental illness causes
violent behavior. They refuse to scrutinize the abuses of the psychiatric
industry, the academic research industry and the psychiatric drug cartels.
More and more research shows that the psychiatric drugs are the cause of
violence and death. Yet the economic power of the drug companies overrules the
duty of journalists to reveal this evil to the public.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

BETRAYAL
New York Post
By DAVID K. LI

January 10, 2008 -- Britney Spears' fuming family turned to the wrong person
when they tapped blabbermouth Dr. Phil to counsel their daughter - he's not even
a licensed psychologist.

TV host Phil McGraw allowed his license to lapse in Texas and never had one in
California, where he tapes his syndicated show, officials in Austin and
Sacramento said yesterday.

When "Dr. Phil" first aired in 2002, California regulators - concerned about
McGraw's folksy, off-the-cuff commentary - convened a panel to rule if he was
acting as a clinical psychologist and in need of a license.

"It was determined what he was doing was more entertainment than psychology,"
said Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the California Board of Psychology,
explaining why state officials passed on regulating "Dr. Phil."

So even though Dr. Phil had been classified as a showman and not a shrink,
Spears' parents still sent McGraw into Britney's Los Angeles hospital room in
hopes he could treat their daughter.

Instead, McGraw tried to turn Spears' problems into a ratings blockbuster, the
livid parents' spokeswoman said yesterday.

"Well, what's wrong with Dr. Phil's statement is that he made a statement [to
the press]," said Lou Taylor, business manager for parents Jamie and Lynne
Spears.

"The family basically extended an invitation of trust for him to come in as a
resource to support them, not to go out and make public statements," she told
the "Today" show.

Taylor said McGraw violated family trust, and made it harder for Britney to seek
help.

"Any statement publicly that he made, because he was brought in under the cloak
of trust, are just inappropriate . . . we feel like, to set the record straight,
we need to say that," she said.

"I mean, here you have Britney, that needs to have some security somewhere, that
every single thing she does and every single person she has a relationship with
doesn't become an opportunity to be exploited. I mean, when do you ever rest in
that if you're constantly in fear of being exploited?"

McGraw, through his LA spokesman, yesterday declined to defend himself against
the Spears' accusations.

After briefly chatting with Spears this past weekend, McGraw said she needs
help.

"My meeting with Britney and some family members this morning in her room at
Cedars leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both
medical and psychological intervention," Dr. Phil said in a statement,
publicizing his meeting with Spears.

"She was released moments before my arrival and was packing when I entered the
room," the doctor adds. "We visited for about an hour before I walked with her
to her car. I am very concerned for her."

Earlier this week, McGraw said he pulled the plug on a "Dr. Phil" show about
Britney out of concern for her family.

"Because the Spears situation is too intense at this time, and out of
consideration to the family, I have made the decision not to move forward with
the taping at this particular time," McGraw said.

Jamie and Lynne Spears also dispute reports they agreed to go on "Dr. Phil" this
week. Taylor said McGraw asked them to appear, but they didn't accept his
invite.

"I felt that, too, it was inappropriate for him to even be self-serving in
bringing something like that up," Taylor said. "Because that would not be a
vector to get Britney help."

david.li@nypost.com

Bias OK For Thee But Not For Me?

Bias For Thee But Not For Me?

After many years white and Asian people are finally addressing
unlawful discrimination in the public schools. (CHUCK BENNETT,"IN 'WRONG'
MINORITY,"
New York Post, November 19, 2007) But why are there still no questions why
persons with disabilities are excluded from such programs? Discrimination based
upon disability is as illegal as racial discrimination. But journalists, lawyers
and public schools continue this activity. Let me guess, it never entered their
minds.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

IN 'WRONG' MINORITY
New York Post
By CHUCK BENNETT

November 19, 2007 -- Three Chinese parents in Brooklyn are expected to file a
federal lawsuit today challenging a popular city-run tutoring program on the
grounds it discriminates against Asians, The Post has learned.

The Specialized High School Institute preps gifted but "underrepresented"
minorities to ace the competitive exam to get into top city high schools like
Stuyvesant or Brooklyn Tech.

But the parents say it is unfair - and illegal - for the Department of Education
to limit eligibility to blacks and Latinos.

"The program only selects certain kinds of minorities and unfortunately my
daughter didn't fall into that category," said Peggy Foo-Ching, 47, a mom from
Bensonhurst who said her 12-year-old daughter's application last year was
ignored.

The Specialized High School Institute was created to expand the population of
black and Latino students at the elite high schools, but the Department of
Education has always insisted anyone who qualifies for a free lunch could apply.

Foo-Ching's eldest daughter qualified for the institute in 2003 and is now a
student at Brooklyn Tech, but the mother believes guidelines were changed
barring her younger daughter from participating last March.

A Department of Education internal memo obtained by lawyers trying the case
indicated that eligibility criteria excludes whites and Asians.

"What this memo reveals is blatant and categorical discrimination by race. If
you are white or Asian, you're not supposed to get an application," said
Christopher Hajec, an attorney with the Center for Individual Rights, a
conservative advocacy group.

"It's not the business of the government of New York City to be counting up the
Asians or whites in, say, Stuyvesant High School and concluding there are too
many of them."

Andrew Jacob, a Department of Education spokesman, said the racial criteria has
been under review since summer, when a US Supreme Court ruling said ethnicity
could not be a factor in deciding which public schools students attend.

He could not comment on the suit, but said no policy will be changed before
March, when the next group of sixth-graders will be invited to apply to the
program.

The father who initiated the suit, Stanley Ng, said he understood how
controversial his challenge may be viewed.

"It's not something that I take lightly," he said. "There are many Asian and
white kids in this district who can't pay for tutoring. What is their recourse?"

cbennett@nypost.com

Judge Flip Wilson

Judge Flip Wilson

The Commission on Judicial Conduct "found that the misconduct [of Judge
Ernest Murphy] wasn’t willful." (Jessica Van Sack, "Report urges public
reprimand for judge," Boston Herald, November 22, 2007) Does that mean that the
devil made him do it?

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Report urges public reprimand for judge
By Jessica Van Sack
Boston Herald
Thursday, November 22, 2007 - Updated 3d 3h ago

A hearing officer yesterday released a report recommending that Superior Court
Judge Ernest B. Murphy be publicly reprimanded for “conduct prejudicial to the
administration of justice and unbecoming of a judicial officer” in sending two
bizarre and “threatening” letters to the publisher of the Boston Herald.

Retired Judge Peter W. Kilborn - tapped to preside over Murphy’s hearing on
charges of willful misconduct filed by the Commission on Judicial Conduct -
found that the misconduct wasn’t willful but that Murphy was “imprudent” in
sending the letters to the publisher of a major metropolitan newspaper. Kilborn
also found that dispatching the letters constituted an attempt to use the
“prestige” of his bench to advance his own interests.

The charges stem from handwritten missives Murphy sent on court stationery after
winning a 2005 libel verdict against the Boston Herald following a series of
critical stories.

In one letter, Murphy demands that Herald Publisher Patrick J. Purcell come to a
lunch meeting with a check for $3.26 million, roughly $500,000 greater than the
sum of his judgment plus interest at the time.

Purcell released a statement yesterday saying, “We are pleased with the hearing
officer’s report and will await the further proceedings before the Commission on
Judicial Conduct and ultimately the Supreme Judicial Court.”

Kilborn’s 27-page finding is hardly the final say. The Commission on Judicial
Conduct is slated to consider Kilborn’s recommendation before it submits its
final report to the Supreme Judicial Court, which will then render the decision
as to what penalties, if any, Murphy will face. The process is expected to take
several months.

In Murphy’s first letter to Purcell, dated Feb. 20, 2005, the judge wrote, “You
will bring to that meeting a cashier’s check, payable to me, in the sum of
$3,260,000. No check, no meeting.”

In a second letter, dated March 18, 2005, Murphy told Purcell he had “ZERO
chance” of reversing the jury’s verdict on appeal.

“‘Do what I say or you’ll be sorry’ is the message,” Kilborn writes of Murphy’s
letters. “The recipient of such communications can reasonably apprehend that a
judge can find ways to make good on threats.”

In his recommendation, Kilborn also writes:“A reasonable person, on reading the
letters, reacts by asking, ‘what could the judge have been thinking when he sent
those?”’

Bipartisan Politics

Bipartisan politics is in the eyes of the beholder. (Cara Bayles, "Super
Tuesday brings politiking closer to home," Weekly Dig, December 5, 2007, page 7)
GOP Director says "Both parties are interested in getting more attention."
A spokesman for the Democrats agreed saying, "this one shot through the
Legislature with bipartisan support. [. . .] If the governor and the speaker and
the senate president and the secretary are all in agreement about this, it must
be a good idea," he said. All of those elected officials are Democrats.
If the Republicans opposed the idea what are the chances of them stopping
it?

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

Super Tuesday brings politicking closer to home
By Cara Bayles
Weekly Dig
December 5, 2007

Last week, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill to bump the Massachusetts primary up
a month, from March to February. Unlike so many bills that have sunk into a mire
of negotiation, this one shot through the Legislature with bipartisan support.

Alex Goldstein, spokesman for the Massachusetts Democratic Party, said the
united support wasn't terribly surprising. "If the governor and the speaker and
the senate president and the secretary are all in agreement about this, it must
be a good idea," he said. "Both parties would like their state's primary to be
as relevant as possible."

Robert Willington, Executive Director of the Massachusetts GOP, agreed and
anticipated a step-up in campaigning. "I think that was the point," he said.
"Both parties are interested in getting more attention just like Iowa and New
Hampshire."

And there's been a flutter of campaigning in Massachusetts already. Barack Obama
came here Sunday to bask in Gov. Patrick's endorsement and host "Boston's
Countdown to Change." And First Sir hopeful Bill Clinton was in town Monday,
hosting an expensive fundraiser on his wife's behalf.

Secretary of State William Galvin drew names Tuesday to determine the order
candidates would appear on the state's ballot (picking pieces of paper from a
barrel rather than listing names alphabetically is true democracy). Galvin was
an outspoken supporter of pushing up the primary date.
Both Parties?

"The way the calendar was becoming front-loaded, it was a very real possibility
that our primary wouldn't matter much," said Galvin spokesman Brian McNiff.
"Super Tuesday, Super Duper Tuesday, call it what you will."

So-called "Super Tuesday," when the largest number of states simultaneously hold
primaries, has been in early March since 1988. But this year, states scrambled
to get ahead of the pack, which has simply resulted in pushing that Tuesday up a
month. In all, 23 states will hold their primary on February 5th.

McNiff doubts this will have an effect on voter turnout in Massachusetts. "But I
think voter turnout would have been negatively impacted if we hadn't pushed the
date up," he said. "People would have seen projections saying the primary was
already decided and not bothered to go out and vote."

The state party committees will have an earlier deadline to select delegates for
the national convention. And the deadline to register to vote and to switch
parties, has changed with the primary date. It is now Wednesday, January 15th.

Drugs Caused Britney Spears Meltdown?

Drugs Caused Britney Spears Meltdown?

"That source told the paper Spears 'had been drinking, which wasn't a good
idea, since she was on [prescription] medications . . . '" (JAMES FANELLI in
Kentwood, La. and JENNIFER FERMINO in New York, "BREAKDOWN BRITNEY IS OUT OF
'CUSTODY,'" New York Post, January 6, 2008, Page 3) The article does not say if
they are psychiatric drugs.
When will journalists and law enforcement officials recognize the criminal
negligence of medical professionals who give prescription drugs to vulnerable
persons with known weaknesses? The drug companies have taken control of rational
medicine and put profits above common sense.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM

BREAKDOWN BRITNEY IS OUT OF 'CUSTODY'
New York Post
By JAMES FANELLI in Kentwood, La. and JENNIFER FERMINO in New York
Page 3

January 6, 2008 -- Mad mama Britney Spears was secretly smuggled out of a
hospital yesterday past hundreds of clueless paparazzi, only a day after cops
strapped her to a gurney and forced her to get mental help following a
harrowing, three-hour custody standoff.

READ: Live Britney Coverage On Pagesix.com

Spears was quietly carried out of LA's Cedars-Sinai Medical Center via an
underground tunnel, according to the Web site of the TV show "Entertainment
Tonight."

But right before she left the hospital, the fallen pop star received a visit
from boob-tube shrink Dr. Phil McGraw.

"My meeting with Britney and some family members this morning . . . convinced
[me] more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological
intervention," the talk show host told "Entertainment Tonight" and "The
Insider."

One relative who missed the Dr. Phil meeting was her mother.

Lynne Spears was home in Louisiana seeking solace at the graves of her parents
and sister, Sandra Covington, who died a year ago from cancer.

It appears that her ex-husband, Jamie, who has publicly criticized some of Lynne
Spears' decisions in the past, is taking charge in LA.

He was spotted at the hospital following his daughter's massive meltdown.

It all began on Thursday, when Britney barricaded herself in a bedroom, and
ended when she was hauled away to the hospital psychiatric ward early Friday.

Later that day, she lost custody of her two kids to her ex-husband, Kevin
Federline.

READ THE COURT DOCUMENTS (PDF)

The latest revelations include:

* Britney Spears will check herself into a private loony bin to deal with her
mental problems, according to PageSix.com.

* Before she was released, the troubled "Toxic" singer was freaking out in her
hospital room, demanding to be sent home, screaming at the staff and even
pulling out her IV, according to TMZ.com.

* Lynne Spears reportedly believes her troubled spawn deserved to lose custody
of her two sons.

* The pop tart did nothing to soothe her panic-stricken, sobbing toddler while
she kept him locked in her bedroom during Thursday's three-hour standoff with
cops.

The drama began when a member of K-Fed's camp showed up at Spears' home to pick
up the kids.

VIDEO: Britney Wheeled into Hospital on Stretcher

Almost immediately, the unstable superstar went into "total meltdown," a source
who was inside Spears' home at the time told the Chicago Sun-Times.

That source told the paper Spears "had been drinking, which wasn't a good idea,
since she was on [prescription] medications . . . As soon as Kevin's guy got to
the House, she started screaming, then ran to her bedroom and locked and bolted
the door."

Most disturbing, she took her "screaming" son, Jayden James, 1, with her.

London's News of the World reported that K-Fed was fearful that his ex was going
to use a firearm on the frightened baby. Kevin had purchased Spears a 9 mm
Beretta for her birthday, which was kept in the bedroom, and a Glock, the paper
reported.

Cops were called, and the chaos inside the house escalated.

At one point, the desperate ex-wife freaked so bad that she tried to bite one of
K-Fed's bodyguards in an effort to keep him from taking Jayden James, News of
the World reported.

Finally, a restrained Spears was carried out of her Studio City, Calif., house
on a stretcher.

jennifer.fermino (at) nypost.com