Regarding encouraging people to write to the chairs of the disability committees of USA Presidential candidates to support human rights in mental health may I suggest that people remember that Ron Paul is still a candidate and should be included in their letter writing campaigns.
Best wishes,
Joanne Switserloot
Australia

Hello,
On Fri, Mar 28, 2008 at 4:00 AM, wrote:
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Today’s Topics:
1. ACT: Email President Campaigns re: Psychiatric Rights
(News and alerts from http://www.MindFreedom.org)
———————————————————————-
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:49:28 -0700
From: “News and alerts from http://www.MindFreedom.org”

Subject: ACT: Email President Campaigns re: Psychiatric Rights
To: “News: Human Rights in Mental Health”

Message-ID:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
MindFreedom International News – 26 March 2008
United Independent Activism for Human Rights in Mental Health
http://www.mindfreedom.org/events_listing – please forward
Call For Action from MindFreedom International
USA Presidential Election Opens Big Opportunities for Movement to
Change Mental Health System
How You Can E-mail to Issue Committees for the Three Presidential
Candidates
When the social change movement led by psychiatric survivors and
allies began in the 1970s, it was hard to imagine when, or if, we
would become part of mainstream politics. We were pretty invisible on
the political radar.
But psychiatric survivors do not give up. Activists such as Ted
Chabasinski — who spent almost his entire childhood in a state
hospital in New York — devoted decades to courageous advocacy and
community organizing. Since 1971 Ted, who is now an attorney and
board member of MindFreedom International, has continued to speak
truth to power, as you will see from his powerful call for action,
below.
Nearly four decades later, we’ve come a long way. The public has come
to see more and more how everyone is affected by abuse in the mental
health system.
*** Today, drug giant Eli Lilly just made another settlement about
their psychiatric drug Zyprexa with another outraged State, Alaska.
*** Major newspapers run stories about false advertising, suppressed
studies, and the corruption and undue influence of drug companies.
*** Outraged parents organize against mental health screening.
*** A poll by the American Psychiatric Association even found at
least one third of Americans surveyed thought psychiatric drugs do
more harm than good.
And when we bring our cause into the political arena, we have had
victories. In 1982, voters in Berkeley, California, often among the
first to support new causes that later become mainstream, voted
overwhelmingly to ban shock treatment there in a ballot campaign led
by psych survivors.
More recently, the California Network of Mental Health Clients fought
an outpatient commitment bill to require citizens to take psychiatric
drugs while living in their own homes. In a campaign lasting several
years, and using tactics ranging from lobbying legislators to showing
up at hearings wearing the black triangles that Hitler forced “mental
defectives” to wear, the Network succeeded in gutting the bill so
that it was essentially unenforceable.
Our movement has grown tremendously. MindFreedom International alone
now has thousands of members and over 100 groups from countries all
over the world in its coalition. And MFI is just one group among many.
PLEASE ACT ON THE PASSIONATE WORDS BELOW from Ted Chabasinski.
Whether you live in the USA or not, please speak out now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A CALL FOR PASSION, A CALL FOR ACTION!
E-MAIL TO USA PRESIDENT CAMPAIGNS TO SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS IN
MENTAL HEALTH
BY TED CHABASINSKI
It is time we realize we now have the strength as a movement to be
taken much more seriously. We should take advantage of this window of
opportunity, where voters are paying more attention to political
issues than they have in decades.
The major-party candidates for President have committees that are
working on their positions about disability rights issues. The
movement of people with disabilities, has been very supportive of the
issues of psychiatric consumer/survivors, and we should be contacting
the campaign staff of the candidates and letting them know what is
important to us.
Although the campaign organizations are huge, the “issue committees”
working on platforms are relatively small. A few hundred letters
would be noticed and make a big difference. Let’s show these
candidates that there is a real movement out there, and push them to
take our issues seriously.
*** We can educate the campaigns about the emergency of human rights
violations in the mental health system, like forced drugging and
forced electroshock.
*** We can oppose the moves to replace the current legal safeguards
for involuntary commitment with a standard of “need for treatment.”
*** We should talk about replacing a system that offers nothing but
drugs, drugs, and more drugs, with programs controlled by their users
that offer real help.
*** We should demand that the practice of drugging small children
even to the point of death, as in the Rebecca Riley case in Boston,
be stopped.
There are many other things we can and should tell these politicians.
And it’s time we came forward and did just that.
Because it is important that the campaigns know that there is a real
movement, if you represent or are active in an organization, say so.
Mention MindFreedom, too. Or just talk about your own concerns.
Tell these officials that our issues count.
*** That we are citizens whose rights must be respected.
*** That forced electroshock, forced drugging, and forced restraint
are unacceptable practices that cannot continue and must be stopped.
*** That we all need alternatives to a drug-based, one-size-fits-all
mental health system.
We have reason to think that at least some of the people you will
write to are already somewhat sympathetic to our cause, and will
listen. But we need to make them see that there is a real movement
out there, and that the excesses and abuses of the current mental
health system threaten everyone.
So, yes, write with PASSION! Let’s get these politicians to take us
seriously.
Now is the time for our movement to make itself heard. Let’s take
OURSELVES seriously and do this!
“Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are
people who want crops without plowing up the ground…Power concedes
nothing without a struggle. It never has and it never will.” –
Frederick Douglass
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* * * ACTION * * * ACTION * * * ACTION * * *
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
E-MAIL a civil but passionate note to the chairs of the disability
committees of these USA Presidential candidates:
BARACK OBAMA CAMPAIGN:
Stan Klein — stan@disabilitiesbooks.com; Seth Harris —
sethdharris@comcast.net
HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN:
Catherine Brown — cbrown@hillaryclinton.com
JOHN McCAIN CAMPAIGN:
Donna Jones — djones@mccain08hq.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please FORWARD this call for action to all appropriate places on and
off the Internet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Build united strength in numbers!
JOIN MINDFREEDOM INTERNATIONAL!
http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate
* Win human rights campaigns in mental health.
* End abuse by the psychiatric drug industry.
* Support self-determination of psychiatric survivors.
* Promote safe, humane, effective options in mental health.
* Show your MAD PRIDE!
MindFreedom is a nonprofit human rights group that unites 100 sponsor
and affiliate groups with individual members.
MindFreedom is one of the very few totally independent activist
groups in the mental health field with no funding from governments,
drug companies, religions, corporations, or the mental health system.
All human rights supporters are invited to join MFI by donating here:
http://www.mindfreedom.org/join-donate
For hard-to-find books and gear, including a normality screening kit,
go to MFI’s Mad Market here:
http://www.madmarket.org
MindFreedom International Office:
454 Willamette, Suite 216 – POB 11284; Eugene, OR 97440-3484 USA
web site: http://www.mindfreedom.org
e-mail: office(at)mindfreedom(dot)org
MFI office phone: (541) 345-9106
MFI member services toll free: 1-877-MAD-PRIDe or 1-877-623-7743
fax: (541) 345-3737
Please forward.