Do Prisoner's Deserve Free Medical Treatment?

by Diane Dimond

They are charged with breaking laws or victimizing fellow citizens. We respond by making sure they get a lawyer – often on the taxpayer’s dime. If they plead “not guilty” we stage expensive trials for them so they can provide evidence to a judge or jury. If convicted, they are imprisoned.

So, after all that do we have an obligation to provide prisoners with any and all medicines they might need to keep them healthy?

While so many Americans are struggling to meet health insurance and prescription costs – services for prisoners constantly increase. And make no mistake about it, America has so many incarcerated people we are spending boat-loads of money on convicts’ medical care. Their services cannot be cut. But health care programs for the general public have been cut back time and time again.

Let’s take the state of Ohio as a general example of what it means to maintain the health of convicts. The Ohio prison system has about 51,000 prisoners and it spends nearly 223 million dollars a year for their medical care. About 28 million dollars of the Ohio total is spent on inmate’s prescriptions.

In Oregon, the latest annual figures show it took 100 million dollars to take care of some 14,000 prisoners. That’s 7 times more than the state spends on education.

Texas, like every other state, has seen a spike in the number of elderly inmates who often require even more expensive medical treatments. That phenomenon and Texas’ regular medical care costs for prisoners ballooned to a staggering 545 million dollars last fiscal year. This at a time when other crucial state programs are facing mandatory budget cuts.

Every year the price tag of tending to old and dying prisoners skyrockets. Realize these inmates must often be transported to hospitals or nursing homes where they are treated with the latest lifesaving methods and, yes, even though they are incapacitated from their illnesses the law says they must be provided with round-the-clock security guards.

Wrap your head around this set of facts if you can: In California, a state drowning in red ink, the prison system recently identified 21 inmates whose annual health care bill is just under two million dollars – EACH. There are another 1,300 guests of the California penal system who require medical attention costing $100,000.00 apiece. Those cold hard facts caused California to adopt a bill last year to grant medical paroles so the sickest inmates could get out of prison and into federally funded health care facilities. That, of course, only shifted the burden on paper – from the state to the federal level.

So, armed with these staggering statistics ask yourself: Do prisoners deserve all this free health care when so many of us struggle to pay for health insurance or, sadly, go without? The answer in a humane society is yes.

But yes to a point.

Are you sitting down as you read this? If not, please take a seat. In Massachusetts a cross-dressing inmate who murdered his wife in 1990 has been suing the state for health care costs related to his desire to have a sex change operation. Robert Kosilek (who has changed his name to Michelle) has already received hormone injections, electrolysis hair removal and, most recently, a mammogram – all at taxpayer’s expense. Kosilek remains housed in an all-male prison and her standard issue prison wardrobe has been augmented with several bras and “some make-up,” according to corrections officials. Still, after a costly ten year court battle, Kosilek says these steps have not been enough to ease her depression and the fight continues for the state to pay for a full-on sex reassignment surgery. The case is still pending in Massachusetts’ U.S. District Court.

Earlier this year in upstate New York, 55 year old Kenneth Pike, convicted of raping a 12 year old family member and sentenced to up to 40 years in prison, desperately needed a heart transplant. He had already undergone triple heart-bypass surgery and had a pacemaker implanted while incarcerated. After the media reported the public might have to pay for an $800,000.00 transplant surgery for a convicted child predator, the outcry was immediate. The Department of Corrections explained it was, “Constitutionally obligated to provide health-care services to inmates” and Pike’s family argued he should be treated like any other patient in need. In the end, the controversy was so red-hot Kenneth Pike declined the surgery. At last report he is still alive.

In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisoners were entitled to the same medical and dental treatment as everyone else in their communities. Since then countless state courts have upheld that ruling and repeated that prisons that withhold treatment can be held liable for violating the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Well, I know lots of folks in my community who can’t afford to go to doctor when they feel sick and they may go to the dentist only when they have a raging toothache.

Whether our politicians want to admit it or not, health care has become a luxury for millions of Americans. Excluding, of course, those convicted of a crime.

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Will Dr. Phil Play Hard Ball or Soft Ball with the Anthony's?

by Dr. Michelle Golland

As I sit writing this wondering what will be coming out of the mouths of George and Cindy Anthony when they are interviewed by Dr. Phil this week, I can't help but know it will be disappointing. I know that the hard questions will be asked, but the Anthony's will not be pushed to truly explain their own actions. It will be watered down and spun as usual by the Anthony's to prove themselves the victims of everyone-Casey, the media, the prosecutors, and the defense.

With my clients who have experienced sexual abuse and psychological abuse they often see flashes of their own parents in that of George and Cindy. The sociopath father and the narcissistic mother. It is a match made in hell, hell for the children who are under their power and influence. I would predict that if Dr. Phil were to play hard-ball, as we have seen him do with other guests, we would clearly see these aspects of their personalities. Unfortunately, the previews seem to indicate he is playing soft-ball, which is an opportunity lost as far as I am concerned.

As a psychologist, I can feel when people are deflecting and defending, even in subtle ways. I am certain that is what will happen during this interview. The family member I would love to sit across from and hear his whole story about growing up under that roof is Lee Anthony. During the trial he was the only family member that seemed genuine and honest. His actions when Casey and Caylee were missing were appropriate and consistent for how someone would respond in that situation. George's were clearly suspect. Cindy's were vicious and public, for example her myspace message about Casey being jealous of her and her granddaughters relationship. Cindy is pointed and cruel. I can only imagine what was said behind closed doors.

As many of us wait to see the Anthony's on Dr. Phil we should be prepared for nothing much to be said that is of substance. We are dealing with liars who trained their daughter very well to be manipulative herself. I look forward to them being deposed by an attorney regarding the fraud case against Casey. Now that will show us the true colors of these two people-no softballs allowed.

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Scrabble Psychos of the Internet

by Pat Brown

As we always warn children and young adults, the Internet is a world with little law, a Wild Wild West that extends the circumference of the earth and is peopled by every sort of weirdo one can imagine. They are on blogs, Facebooks, Twitter, chat rooms, and, much to my annoyance, my online Scrabble site.

Not that some of us Scrabble players who show up at the local clubs aren't a bit odd (and while nonScrabble players are thinking I am being judgmental, the Scrabble players themselves are nodding their heads and thinking, well, yeah, that's true). But, at the club and the tournaments (that is me in red at a MN tourney in 2005), we have rules–like you have to hold the bag at eye level so you can't peek down into in and look for a blank or an S to make your big play. Although there are still poor losers and those who whine and argue about how things should be done, there is a code and you have to stay within the group comfort zone or you will be ousted.

Online, however, the personality disordered can have a field day! First of all, they can cheat. They can use electronic dictionaries and programs and simply put in the letters on their rack, hit the button and come up with big words. You can always tell these cheaters because while their strategy is terrible, they know words like DROUKED and DAIKER and DUIKER (yes, those really are words in Scrabble). Then there are those who get mad at you if you happen to actually know some weird words because you are a fairly highly rated player and they furiously type in "CHEATER! CHEATER! CHEATER!" even though they should recognize that they are a novice player and you are not.

There are those who lose and immediately whine that the computerized Scrabble game always give them bad letters! If you win, they call you lucky; if they win, they are skilled.

Sore losers and poor players with personality disorders have interesting ways of punishing their opponents which sometimes includes attempting to force you to stop playing so they can get the win. Sometimes they call you names and cuss at you hoping you won't be able to stand it and run away. Other times, they simply don't play for so long that their opponent goes crazy waiting on them (it is a timed game, but they have twenty minutes on their side). I multitask when they do that and I snicker as I watch their time run down; I am not sitting there staring pointlessly at the board, so, haha, it isn't working, buddy. A variation of this is to log off and on and off and on and off and on until the other player feels like a ping-pong ball.

Another interesting childish maneuver is to play gibberish, an entire game of nonsense words that, of course, one must challenge off the board each and every time. Some are not even trying to win; they are just being abusive and getting a kick out of it. Most people will suffer through a whole game of this crap because if they stop playing, they lose and their rating drops. In one of my last games, the player, losing badly, waited until his last play and then he asked me to abort the game....uh-huh. Didn't happen. So sorry. Nyuck, nyuck. The abusers turn me childish in return.

And, yes, the perverts are there as well.

ScrabbleDude: Hi and good luck.

Pat: Hi and good luck to you too.

ScrabbleDude: GOLDEN 22 points

Pat: SINGULAR 70 points

ScrabbleDude: ZEP 53 points

Pat: HAO 18 points

ScrabbleDude: Do you have big tits?

We have antisocial folks on the site who block any communication during the game and there are those who are friendly until they lose and when you type "Good game!" the reply is "Your opponent is not logged on."

At least in the real world where people have to interact face to face, abusive and psychopathic creeps can get cut off or penalized for bad behavior. On the Internet, they can strike over and over, fueling their feeling of power, getting satisfaction every time they get over on another person in the Cyberworld. One has to wonder that this kind of gratification and validation is not a good thing to be so easily obtained by someone with psychological issues. Even worse, teens and grade school children with personality disorders and behavioral problems are finding out that the Internet provides a world without adult supervision and controls; Facebook and chat rooms are filled with teens abusing teens and children getting some very nonhealthy kicks from antisocial behaviors. Probably some of my opponents in Scrabble on the Internet are juveniles and have no adults in their lives paying attention to what they are doing.

The Internet can be a fabulous tool for communication and socialization but if we aren't careful, bullying and predation and harassment will invade our life online and our children may get the brunt of it. We need to be very aware of the dangers of the Internet to our well-being and our children's well-being and make sure we are vigilant about allowing strangers access to our lives and our minds without even leaving our homes.

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Will The Anthony's Lie to Dr. Phil?

by Dr. Lillian Glass

On September 12 we will hear more from Cindy and George Anthony as they appear on the Dr. Phil Show to reveal "the truth” about Casey Anthony and her daughter Caylee’s death. My question is why these two liars didn’t reveal the truth when they were on the stand in a court of law? Yes, I said liars! Cindy’s body language and communication showed she lied repeatedly on the stand. The same is true for George. After seeing them on the stand, one can understand why Casey turned out the way she did. At least Dr. Phil, whom I know and respect, will demand they tell the truth and will not put up with any of their nonsense.

It is despicable to me that these two liars are now making a reported half-a-million dollars be appear on television to be grilled by Dr. Phil. It has been reported that the money will go into the Caylee Anthony Charity Fund for Missing Children. And who are executives in charge of this “charity?” Are they George and Cindy? How are the monies from this charity being spent? So they go into George and Cindy’s pockets? Also, Caylee was not a missing child. She was a murdered or drowned child. Take your pick. We were all duped and lead on a wild goose chase by Casey and then by Cindy and George.

In looking at the body language of the promo, Cindy looks like a deer in the headlights when Dr. Phil appears to put her on the spot. She looks wide-eyed and physically turns to George with her hunched over shoulders, indicating that most likely she has been busted by Dr. Phil. Also in the promo, Dr. Phil point-blank asks, "Do you think Casey was involved in Caylee’s death?" Cindy hunches over and turns to George who purses his lips together as you can see. This indicates that he doesn’t want to answer the question. No doubt this former policeman knows exactly what happened to Caylee and Casey’s involvement.

Dr. Phil appears to be very direct with Cindy, who is beautifully made up complete with fake lashes in an attempt to make her look attractive, her body language is anything but attractive. She has turtle posture, where she hides her neck and hunches her shoulders like a turtle. People who have something to hide usually demonstrate this posture. Then in the promo Dr. Phil asks George, “Why did you sit on this information?” George is in true wimp form where he continues to not man up, turns to Cindy as he looks over at her in hopes she can rescue him from Dr. Phil’s direct line of questioning.

It will be interesting to see if they lie to Dr. Phil or they tell the truth. Look for tell-tale signs such as lip licking, excessive eye blinking, stammering, lip pursing, hemming and hawing, looking away, and scratching, to name a few.

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Junk Science Defined

by Andrea Campbell

I often talk to readers about their frustration over conflicting information which is thrust at them under the guise of being “scientific.” For example, a few years ago there were published studies about eggs as related to a healthy diet—were they a cholesterol risk? and should they should be restricted? Today, we read articles touting eggs as an excellent source of protein and are told the benefits outweigh any supposed cholesterol risk assessment or trial. This same type of controversy has been applied to many foodstuffs, vitamin supplements, drugs and even forensic science. Aspirin in, aspirin out; dairy in, dairy out, evidence in, evidence out. What is a reader to believe?

I remember an article published in Imprimis by Lee Ann Fisher Baron, who was at that time, Savona Professor for Natural Sciences at Hillsdale College. Her writing zeroed in on some of that frustration and provides suggestions. Baron believes there has been much political abuse of scientific research. She says, “From persistent doomsday scenarios like global warming to the latest ergonomic arguments for near-total regulation of the American workplace, this abuse of science represents not only an economic threat, but a threat to freedom as well.” To further define what she means by “threat,” Baron sites Americans inability to distinguish solid science from “junk science.”

Further, Baron argues that science has the ability to change history. As fruit of this, she points to the discovery of antibiotics, polymers, and the importance of the Human Genome Project as key discoveries in both the past and future of our lives. In addition to the benefits though, we must also look at apparent drawbacks: that is, in order to come up with these revolutionary discoveries, science is also prone to error, and publishes findings that are just plain wrong or wrong-headed in their thinking. The proper scientific approach to projects should involve the “scientific method.” This type of methodology is based on a precise set of steps or experiments that can be repeated with the same results by anyone.

One of the best arbiters of testing success then is the use of “the control.” We’ll explain control using a hypothetical—let’s say that there is a vaccine that can lengthen the interval between blood sugar levels for a diabetic, in order to prevent severe highs or lows. Two or more groups should be formed to assure the accuracy of the tests. The larger group should be divided into a group of subjects who take the actual vaccine, and a second group is given a placebo.

To further validate the test, neither group should be told which medication they are taking. And to complete the facilitation of true scientific testing, the researchers who administer the vaccine should not know which group is which, thereby creating a “double-blind.” By working under these secret test arrangements, the researchers can measure the “placebo effect”—a phenomenon whereby patients improve because they falsely believe they are receiving medicine. Also, with the researchers in the dark as to who is getting what, it completes the exam by precluding any prejudice they may unknowingly present in their reports.

In an ideal world, a scientist will publish his results, present his paper, and allow the research community to evaluate his findings, sometimes called “peer review.” Others will review the articles, repeat any relevant tests, and question the various conclusions. Junk science, Baron claims, bypasses this process and is often presented to the public under the aegis of “expert” status and whole cloth truth.

So what is a reader to do to protect themselves against the onslaught of guesstimation? Baron suggests that schools up their curricula and imbue students with a love of research. Teach them to become pit-bulls for accuracy. Stimulate their minds with valuable, educational experiments—not like a Seattle middle school, which taught children the eating habits of birds by trying to pick up Cheerios with tongue depressors, toothpicks, spoons and clothespins between their teeth!

In general, Baron suggests: we should be careful to only accept evidence after it has been subjected to the scientific method; that we read everything with a healthy skepticism, and ask questions instead of blindly believing what we hear or read.

Photos and graphics: Clipart.com

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The Poison Oak Defense

by Deborah Blum

Let’s start this story on the last day of May, on a sunny afternoon when 32-year-old James Robinson was arrested in Ogden, Utah for exposing himself in front of an elementary school classroom.

The police report, claimed that he was standing in front of a window, “with genitalia fulling exposed, performing a sexual act.” As he was apparently standing there unaccompanied, I think we can take a guess at what the, um, act involved.

But according to Mr. Robinson, we would be wrong in that speculation. Instead, he insisted, he was merely suffering from a nasty poison oak rash on his private parts. He thought, perhaps, that he’d brushed into some bushes and then perhaps failed to wash his hands before engaging in the, um, act suggested earlier. In private, of course. In front of the school, his defense was that he was stricken by an uncontrollable poison-oak itching frenzy.

I have to admit that this is my favorite such story of the summer. My second favorite was far better publicized but less, I’d have to say, entertaining: High School Musical actor Zac Efron’s encounter with poison oak while cliff-diving in May. This apparently affected the, um, same region of his body as that claimed by Mr. Robinson. 

In other words, “Zac Efron Reveals Poison Oak on Penis”, according to a headline on The Count. In the story, Efron compares his appearance to a zombie from the movie Dawn of the Dead. The journalist telling the story uses a more everyday description, comparing Efron’s skin to a crust made of swollen cornflakes.

I have to say – ick. And also ick – although in a different way – to Mr. Robinson. But if you’re wondering why I’m following this summer’s bizarre poison oak theatricals it’s mostly because I’ve been rather fascinated by the bigger itchy plant story of the season. It turns out that poison oak – and its evil ilk – poison ivy (photo right) are causing a record number of problems this summer for some very interesting reasons. In the last few weeks alone, I’ve tracked story after story after story to that effect.

Why? Well, the simple answer is that the recent cold winter and wet spring, at least on the east coast, made for an ideal growing season for these tough and invasive members of the Toxicodendron genus. For most of us that would mean T. diversilobum (Poison Oak), T. radicans (Poison Ivy) and T. Vernix (Poison Sumac).

Let’s agree that putting “toxic” at the start of a plant’s name, even in Latin, is pretty much a giveaway that this will be troubling vegetation. But the other more complicated explanation for this summer’s uptick in Toxicodedron rash stories is that new evidence suggests that our changing climate is making these plants more poisonous, stimulating their growth in a way that concentrates their uniquely painful chemistry.

The problem substance in poison oak and ivy is an oily resinous substance called urushiol, which oozes between the plants’ cells. Urushiol (the name comes from a tree in Japan whose resin has long been used in lacquers) has a consistency which causes it to stubbornly cling to skin, clothes, picnic blankets, backpacks, just about anything. People can be exposed to it by merely brushing through a patch of poison ivy or oak but the greater the damage to the plant, obviously, the more urushiol is released.

About 85 percent of people tested have an allergic reaction to urushiol and this set obviously includes Mr. Efron. What’s the reason? This yellowish ooze is packed with catechols – benzene rings that trail woven tails embedded with oxygen and hydrogen atoms – which are neatly designed to induce an immune response. Essentially, they stick to cell proteins in a way that makes them so mishapen, that the body mistakes them for alien substances. The result is such a potent auto-immune response that in most people it creates a havoc of swelling, blisters, and painfully reddened skin. 

It hardly seems possible, but research suggests that scenario is likely to get worse. In recent years, scientists have found that the Toxicodenrons happily adapt to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – a major industrial gases associated with global climate change. And among the adapations appear to be an even more virulent form of urushiol forming in the plant structures. At the same time, these particular species thrive in a carbon dioxide rich atmosphere; scientists say their growth rate has increased by some 50 percent or more.

Is this summer’s boom in plant-induced rashes directly related to the increasingly vigorous Toxicodendrons? Certainly, even researchers are speculating about that. Can we blame Zac Efron’s discomfort on global climate change? Let’s call that a stretch (yes, I know, a spectacular stretch). Could our Utah indecent exposure suspect have based his poison oak defense on the well-publicized Efron case? The actor did, apparently, “air” himself out in front of a journalist, explaining that he had to because of the itching.

Still, another stretch. And if so, it didn’t work for Utah prosecutors, who dismissed the idea as “an unusual way to respond to poison oak. They did offer to reduce the charges from a felony to a misdemeanor if he would plead guilty. But that wasn’t because of the poison oak argument. That was because – as it turned out – school had let out for the day when Robinson positioned himself in front of the window and so no children were there to see.

Which raises another possibility – maybe all of these problems could be avoided if we just paid a little more attention to the world in which we stand.

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MISSING: College Student Lauren Spierer Still Missing As Classmates Begin School

by Michelle Sigona

As summer turns into fall, the search to find missing college student Lauren Spierer continues.  Investigators say Lauren Spierer was last seen at 4:30 a.m. in the Bloomington, Indiana on June 4.   The last place Lauren was seen near the corner of 11^th Street and College Avenue.  Since then, hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement officials have donated their time to help find the missing student. 

LETTER TO THE STUDENTS

Lauren’s parents sent a letter to every student this week urging them to be safe and encouraging them to call ICE if there is an emergency.  They also said that Lauren’s last call was made at 12:16 a.m. from her cell phone on June 3 from her apartment complex.

SEARCHING THE LANDFILL

Along with ground searches in Bloomington, authorities also searched the Sycamore Ridge Landfill.  The site is 55 miles from where Lauren was last seen, but investigators did not find any clues at the site.  According to a press release from authorities, " Several hundred tons of waste per day was removed from the area that was identified as coming from Bloomington in the days surrounding Lauren’s disappearance. That area remained sequestered at the landfill and that action was taken within the first few days of the investigation. The waste removed was examined by officers from the Bloomington Police Department, the Indiana University Police Department and agents from the FBI. Additional support was provided by the operators of the heavy machinery at the Sycamore Ridge Landfill which is owned by Republic Services. The total amount of waste removed and examined for the nine day period was in excess of 4,100 tons according to landfill officials.  The operation was terminated at noon today (Friday, August 26, 2011). Waste from Bloomington, and waste that was specifically identified as being from the area of Lauren’s last reported location near 11^th and College, had previously been removed and examined over the course of several days during the operation. As the operation continued, less waste from Bloomington was being extracted from the designated area. Also, waste that was being extracted was outside of the date range of Lauren’s disappearance and these circumstances factored into the decision to conclude the operation. “The fact that no evidence related to this case was discovered is unfortunate, but we are confident that the proper area at the landfill was identified and thoroughly checked by the officers working there,” said Chief Michael Diekhoff. “We very much appreciate the efforts of everyone involved and the cooperation of those affiliated with Sycamore Ridge Landfill and Republic Services has been outstanding.” 

Peg Mulloy, Republic Services spokesperson , said out of the 200 landfills they oversee, this would not have been the first time they’ve corporate with law enforcement on the recovery of a body or evidence. Republic Services also opened up another site to find a missing child known as Baby Gabrielle.

Mulloy said the landfill is extremely organized and detailed records are kept including how much the trucks weigh when they come to each site, whether the debris is coming from residential or commercial businesses and which area the trash is dumped. Once the debris is released to the landfill, land soil or a covers are placed over top of the trash to contain the odor. Mulloy added that their facilities can determine which routes trucks travel on specific days. It is also standard procedure to provide landfill facilities search warrants if the property may be a target for an investigation.

ABOUT LAUREN SPIERER

Lauren is a fashion student at Indiana University and was scheduled to start an internship this summer at a Manhattan Anthropologie. She is small, only 4 feet 11 inches tall with blond hair and blue eyes. Lauren was last seen wearing a white v-neck shirt, scooped at the bottom in the back and front, the sleeves fell to her elbow and are described as "bell" or "butterfly." The shirt may have a "distressed" look. Lauren had black leggins with possible zippers at the bottom.

If you scan the barcode on Lauren's missing person poster, the code will take you to her website that is updated frequently. If you download a barcode scanning application on your phone, you can scan this poster anywhere and it will lead to the FindLauren.com website.

You can follow updates on this case on Facebook and Twitter, @NewsOnLaurenS and at this website: http://www.iuhillel.org/

photo credit: Marufish

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