that almost half the voting public in America tends to be psychotic! The CDC needs to run an epidemiological study to see why so many of us are bonkers. Maybe it's the water.

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what about American religionists (over 90% of us) who believe that a man walked on water, raised the dead, and turned water into wine 2,000 years ago? When does credulousness become mental illness? When you start believing you are The Man?

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They certainly were easily led. Nobody questioned anything just did what they were told to do by their leader the Great Decider. It's a miracle that we saved ourselves. It almost worked. Now it's time to deal seriously with Iraq. Our newly elected people I expect will collectively have a conscience. That's a start. I'm not convinced that there's anything to 'win'. It's a matter of how to put a stop to it. These people are entitled to their country. All the aspirations about the oil didn't workout either. All in all a catastrophe. The crazies still don't get it. Thanks, ANNA

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There are plenty of people with mental illness who are liberals too. I'm not saying this to disparage liberals, I'm hoping to remind the wannabe comedians at Alternet that these people don't deserve to be the butt of jokes. It's about as funny as Michael Richards.

The research project, if any valid conclusion can be drawn from a sampling of only 69 people, applies to psychotic people. Stretching that idea to include anyone with mental illness is just a way of insulting people you disagree with.

Look at four or five people around you right now. If you never suffer from mental illness in your life, chances are one of those people will. Or one of them might have a mental illness right now and might be functioning fine with treatment. Do they deserve this kind of crap from you? Do you really want to maintain an atmosphere in which people feel like they shouldn't seek treatment for mental illness because it will give them a stigma?

Sorry to be PC, but people need to treat jokes and insults about mental illness like they treat racist jokes and insults. There's a good reason why that crap is judged inexcusably impolite.

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btw this study is a joke. The thesis draws on a survey of 69 psychiatric outpatients in three Connecticut locations during the 2004 presidential election.

typical leftist rubbish.

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Typical conservative hyperbole and lies. The Washington state article by Ken Vogel involving a lawsuit, referred to by gpac, was commissioned by the GOP and provided only hypothetical results. At no time were the "felons" described as "rapists, pedophiles, and murderers." These labels appear to have been invented by the addled brain of give_peace-a-chance. In fact, as usual, give_peace_a_chance, in his/her typical bungling fashion failed to mention the following as regards this study:

"Nick Handy, elections chief for the secretary of state’s office, the primary defendant in the case, said the national study shouldn’t be admissible.

'It strikes me that generalized testimony about how felons probably would have voted is getting pretty remote,” he said.

Todd Donovan, a political science professor at Western Washington University who’s not involved in the case, said the national study is based too narrowly on race and is not applicable in Washington, where racial minorities make up a lower percentage of the felon population than in other states.

The study’s “hypothetical felon doesn’t really exist in most places in Washington. We just don’t fit that,...” Donovan said.'

Hey, give_pac, go post on the Repug sites. They will believe all your lies!

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The quote I posted in refutation of your slur came from the first link YOU posted. Your own evidence condemns you as a twisted, biased propagandist. If I had the time to read the rest of your links, I'm sure I would find them equally biased, inaccurate, and misrepresented by YOU. Frankly, you are no longer worth wasting time or words on. I only play with trolls long enough to show their ignorance and deceptions. You can go now. Or hang around and make ten more contiguous posts trying to support the insupportable. And raising your bloodpressure in the process. Poor thing!

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Oops! sorry! see above

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Quod erat demonstrandum.

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Oh yeah... I guess you forgot.... there are a number of Republican felons as well.

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This arrogant clown hs done everything possible to start WWIII. His entire presidency, his stealing of elections, and his continuing insistence that we stay in Iraq will be the death of us all. It's time this madman was impeached, along with his vampire of a vice president and his Supreme Court parrots, Scalia and Thomas.

It's time for this administration to pay the price for the godawful mess they have caused!

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Social psychologist Robert Altmeyer, of the University of Manitoba, studies authoritarian personalities and has written several books on the subject including: "The Authoritarian Personality"; "Right-Wing Authoritarianism"; "Enemies of Freedom" and "The Authoritarian Spector" He set up a authoritarian scale. To underscore that his scale does not address the left, he specifically calls it a survey of right-wing authoritarianism. "I have tried to discover the left-wing authoritarian, whom I suspect exists, but apparently only in very small numbers." He was not looking for political conservatism, however. Still, he found that those who scored high on the right-wing authoritarian (RWA) scale are by and large people who consider themselves conservatives.

"It turns out that in North America persons who score highly on my right-wing authoritarian (RWA) test tend to favor right wing political parties and have "conservative" economic philosophies and religious sentiments. This is an empirical finding, not something that conceptually has to be,that was conceptually assumed or preordained. So my statements about authoritarians being political conservatives is a statement of what turns out to be true according to the studies that have been done."

Now what makes up an authoritarian personality?

Dr. Altmeyer's data provides information about the dispositions of RWA type personalities. Here are a few examples from his work, that have not been set aside as negative traits. In fact, they are traits that an authoritarian would find positive.:



1)They travel in tight circles of like-minded people.



2) Their thinking is more likely based on what authority figures have told them rather than on their own critical judgement, which results in their beliefs being filled with inconsistencies.



3)They harbor numerous double standards and hypocrisies.



4)They are hostile towards so many minorities that they seem to be equal opportunity bigots, yet they are generally unaware of their prejudices.



5)They see the world as a dangerous place, with society teetering on the brink of self-destruction from evil and violence, and when their fear conflates with their self-rightousness,they appoint themselves guardians of public morality. or God's Designated Hitters.



6)They think of themselves as far more moral and upstanding than others--a self-deception aided by their religiosity (evidenced by the many "born agains") and their ability to evaporate guilt (such as by confessing to God).



Some of these traits fit right in with psychotic personalities. It doesn't seem too far of a stretch to go from authoritarian to crazy to me, especially when the rigid social structure that the authoritatian is relying on starts to fall apart. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an upsurge in mental illness among conservatives over the next few years, especially if a Democratic candidate is elected president in 2008.

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I think this is normal, look what Hitler did... (BTW i'm NOT equating Bush with Hitler!!)

We are ALL manipulated ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, and we ALL MANIPULATE OTHERS!!!

Only thing you need to do is to act on their well being i.e. their money... i.e. standard of living ...

Look only what Somali did or Nazis, or why were Indians almost exterminated!!! Why do you think they killed ???? For money, possession, land ...... not for God ... God is the last thing someone who's killing is thinking about (Crusade Wars..)

Do you think it's hard to cause lunacy?? Just take a job from the man/woman, hell be pushed to the edge -- and in no time you have pretty crazy person you can manipulate PRETTY EASILY...

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democrats are at it again, callously and crueling labeling and grouping Americans.

What's next from democrats?

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This was so funny, I have to post it twice.

1)They travel in tight circles of like-minded people.

"Thank you, JoshuaLudd, for putting this troll in his place."--plexius

2) They are hostile towards so many minorities that they seem to be equal opportunity bigots, yet they are generally unaware of their prejudices.

"If comedians start censoring every comment to make sure nobody is offended, there won't be any comedy. Just off the top of my head, you will have to eliminate jokes about not only the mentally handicapped, but the physically handicapped, the fat, the thin, short, tall, black, white, yellow, brown and red people, all nationalities, all regions, all cultures, blonds, redheads and dark hairs, all sports, ugly and pretty people, all occupations, especially government employees, moms, dads, sons, daughters (expecially farmers' daughters), drunks, the homeless and unemployed, political and social pundits like you and me, all religions, creeds and philosophies, and all governmental leaders and their sycophants. Did I leave anyone out?""-plexius


3)They harbor numerous double standards and hypocrisies.

"Please note that YOU, gpac, are the one who chose to sling insults (e.g. "...typical leftist rubbish...") and sarcasm in your earlier post. So don't be surprised, shitface, when progressives hit you back with similar ad hominem attacks."--plexius

4)They think of themselves as far more moral and upstanding than others

"I am perfectly willing to mock myself (and frequently do)."--plexius

"A dear friend of mine (we shared an office in grad school) was very conservative, and I'm very liberal. Yet, our ability to joke about our own foibles and philosophies never ended. "--plexius

5)They see the world as a dangerous place, with society teetering on the brink of self-destruction from evil and violence, and when their fear conflates with their self-rightousness,they appoint themselves guardians of public morality.

"Watching Bushco and the Repugs dismantle the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and violate international law has been horrendous. Then, King George's re-election was the last straw. I felt the same way I would feel being helplessly restrained while watching one of my children being molested and beaten by a gang of thugs. The despair was so overwhelming. But it goaded me into political and economic action unlike any I had ever taken before. I sure hope the demos we voted in don't betray our trust and have a fire in their bellies to rectify all the wrongs of the past six years. "--plexius

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A philosopher I recently read describes the plight of liberals and conservatives:

"Both camps hold the same premise--the mind-body dichotomy--but choose opposite sides of this lethal fallacy.

The conservatives want freedom to act in the material realm; they tend to oppose government control of production, of industry, of trade, of business, of physical goods, of material wealth. But they advocate government control of man's spirit; i.e., man's consciousness; they advocate the State's right to impose censorship, to determine values to create and enforce a governmental establishment of morality, to rule the intellect.

The liberals want freedom to act in the spiritual realm; they oppose government control of ideas, of the arts, of the press, of education (note their concern with "academic freedom"). But they advocate government control of material production, of business, of employment, of wages, of profits, of all physical property--they advocate it all the way down to total expropriation....

This is merely a paradox, not a contradiction: each camp wants to control the realm it regards as metaphysically important; each grants freedom only to the activities it despises" (Philosophy: Who Needs It, pp.186-7).

Ouch! Who's crazier? The Conservatives will probably classify as psychotic; the liberals, depressive. Good luck.

Who then fights for real freedom? Both in their own way=none for real.

All you who seek to relieve the pain of the mind also seek to fetter the body. You who would not stop the slaughter seek instead to terrorize the mind.

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