Your Kids Are in Danger
Wes Vernon
Saturday, Feb 19, 2005

Americans need to pay attention to what is happening to their children in school.
While you go about your business, trusting the school authorities not to invade your prerogative as to how your kids are raised and not to turn your offspring against values you are teaching them at home, plans are afoot that can result in manipulating them in the interest of what social engineers place under the ever-widening umbrella of "mental health."

Congressman Ron Paul, a Republican from Texas, says this is reminiscent of the Cold War days, when the Soviet Union and its satellite nations decreed that anyone who protested against Communist rule was "mentally ill."

He might have added that in those days, elements of the Left in this country suggested that those Americans who distrusted the United Nations, were concerned about world government, feared Communist advances around the world, or were alert to Communist infiltration here at home were "mentally ill."

A capsule summary of the background of the early 21st century version of this story shows once again how good intentions, often by well-meaning but misguided people, can go off the track and end up being misused by forces with an agenda that is not necessarily in your children's best interests.

The president's New Freedom Commission (NFC) on Mental Health was established in April 2002 to serve the purpose of identifying "policies that could be implemented by Federal, State, and local governments and services, and promote successful community integration for adults with serious illness and children with a serious emotional disturbance."

The list of the commission membership contains no household names, but is top-heavy with Ph.D.s and M.D.s who presumably are competent in their fields of work. Again, intentions are not the issue here. Some of the most brilliant people in the world with benign motivations can be completely oblivious to unintended consequences of what they advocate or promote.

But it is the end result that counts, and in this case, that picture presents opportunities for all kinds of busybodies around the nation intent on molding the minds of young people in the interest of the perfect society, something attainable in the next world, but not this one.

Dr. Karen Effram, a pediatrician from Plymouth, Minn., was in Washington earlier this month to enlist support from lawmakers for HR-181, sponsored by Rep. Paul (also a physician, by the way). This writer talked with Dr. Effram when she was here and followed up with requests for details, which she provided.

Rep. Paul's measure would forbid the funding of NFC recommendations that include universal mental health care screening and "treatment with ineffective, dangerous medications," as was explained to NewsMax.

Aside from Dr. Effram's EdWatch, where she serves on the board of directors, the highly respected Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has taken an interest in this matter. That organization's executive director, Dr. Jane Orient, writes:
"Teams of [mental health] experts are awaiting an infusion of cash. They'll be ensconced in your child's school before you even know it. A bonus is that your little darlings will probably give them quite a bit of information about you also, and then you can receive therapy you didn't know you needed.

"Do you sometimes raise your voice? Ever spank them? Have politically incorrect attitudes? Use forbidden words? Own a gun? Smoke cigarettes, especially indoors? Read extremist literature? Refuse to recycle? Prepare for a knock at the door."

That home visit could lead to highly subjective judgments about allegations such as "poor parenting skills, inadequate housekeeping, harmful literature, or a baby who is crying. ..."
Dr. Orient goes on to say there are many tools at the disposal of "the mental health squad." Such as:
"Counseling sessions. Drugs (Ritalin, antidepressants, tranquilizers, maybe some new ones that need to be tested on some experimental subjects of your child's age). Group therapy. Removing the child from the home." That latter possibility is listed as "a last resort," but just the threat of it "can accomplish wonders," observes Dr. Orient.

Think this is paranoia? Dr. Effram has done some tracking and has found instances where this kind of intrusiveness is going on already. In fact, the president's New Freedom Commission reports aggressive promotion of mental health screening in various stages in almost three-quarters of the states, plus D.C. and Guam. (See below)

For example:
The Maple River School District in Mapleton, Minn., surveyed all students in the district (K-12), with no notification to parents regarding the surveys, the questions being asked, what use would be made of the information (for example, whether the results would follow the student throughout his or her life, with possible adverse effects on future careers or other pursuits).
The privacy rights of the students apparently played no part in this. The survey was done by two college interns whose training and qualifications were not revealed.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's student health center is telling patients that if government officials ask for their medical records, they'll get to see them and the patients will never know, adding, "By law we cannot reveal when we have disclosed such information to the government."

Late last year, Rep. Paul introduced legislation requiring parental consent for mental health screening or drugging of children. Partly because of the rush toward adjournment of the lame duck post-election session, his amendment died in the legislative logjam.

Despite thousands of calls and e-mails to Capitol Hill and the support of House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the measure failed on the House floor. Language to protect the basic right of parental consent was dropped in the Senate, despite the best efforts of Senators James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Sam Brownback, R-Kans.

Rep. Paul is back again in this new 109th Congress with HR 181, which would "prohibit the use of Federal funds for any universal or mandatory mental health screening program." It would also protect parental rights in the matter.

In a separate report, we will respond to claims made by defenders of the NFC recommendations. Meanwhile, you can help turn the tide by contacting your congressman or congresswoman and your U.S. senators.

There is also work to be done right in your own backyard. Aside from D.C. and Guam, the following are the states where the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health recommendations are being aggressively promoted, according to the NFC itself.
Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Indiana; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Montana; Nebraska; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Virginia; Washington; West Virginia; Wisconsin; Wyoming.

If your state is not mentioned, don't assume that it will not be involved in this program at some point.

The late Indiana Senator William Jenner once told his colleagues of an innocent-appearing program in Nazi Germany, where baby buggies were supposedly being built. The individual parts were manufactured in different places, and those involved assumed they were building nothing more threatening than baby buggies. By the time the parts were separately assembled, however, they had the makings of dangerous weapons.

The bottom line on the unintended consequences of the NFC mental health screening recommendations can be summed up in a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson: "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."