What Happened to Candidates for the People, not Political Hacks? The Second Congressional District of West Virginia - a hypothetical case study!

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As we prepare to enter the "silly season" of politics and brace ourselves for the onslaught of up to $5 billion in political spending, mostly political ads, did you ever wonder how people are selected to run for office.

There are a variety of ways one used to be a candidate for office, particularly federal office, but the collapse of federal campaign finance laws and the failure of any candidate for president to propose new laws will insure the path to election is lined with cash.

What a pity.  Once upon a time, the two political parties reached out to people who were not career politicians to bring new life to political office and new ideas for people to consider.

Once upon a time, when people were running for office, whether Democrats or Republicans, once elected they actually worked to serve all the people in their state or district.  In fact, they even worked with members of the opposite party to help all people.

Unfortunately, that practice seems dead.  It is the political parties and the professional politicians they support who have fostered the bitter partisanship, the character assassination, and the smear campaigns to keep people out of office.

The result, many good people, and many deserving people who really care about all people get denied the chance to hold public office.  When this happens, people get cheated out of the caring, compassionate, and understanding leaders we deserve and need.

Where are the people's politicians who put the needs of the people first and who never lose sight of the sacred trust between an elected official and all the people they serve?

Let me give you a hypothetical example so you can see what I mean.  Let us take the Second Congressional District of West Virginia.  The Second District is one of the strangest in the nation as it extends from the Washington suburbs in the Northeast part of the state all the way through Charleston almost to Kentucky.

During the most recent election in 2014, the party candidates for Congress included the former chairman of the West Virginia Democrat Party running against the former chairman of the Maryland Republican party.  Democrat Nick Casey and Republican Alex Mooney squared off.

 

As whacky as it sounds that is what happened.  Professional politicians from both political parties squared off to represent the Mountaineers.  Mooney, who did not even live in West Virginia when he started his campaign, was running for public office in his third different state: New Hampshire, Maryland, and West Virginia.^[

Casey, the prohibitive favorite as former state Democrat party chairman, president of the ABA, prominent Catholic, Charleston resident, person with exceptional charitable credentials, and candidate with by far the highest public recognition, got just 60% of the vote in the primary and 43.9% in the general election.

Mooney pulled off a major upset.

As we approach the 2016 election cycle, what do you suppose is happening in the now GOP Second District.  Mooney is preparing for the re-election campaign although there is some speculation that if a Republican became president Mooney would be in line for a major position in the new administration.

On the Democrat side the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, DCCC, is encouraging Nick Casey to run again for the Second District WV Congressional seat.  The fact such action is being reported in the news media suggests the DCCC has decided to push Casey and discourage any other candidates from running, much like is being done with Hillary Clinton at the presidential level.

As for Casey vulnerability, I believe Casey could lose the race by even more votes than the last election.  Several issues could cause serious damage to his efforts. Casey is vulnerable for two reasons, his time as Democratic State party leader in West Virginia, and his statements in the last campaign.

While I have only completed a cursory review of the actual voting breakdown, certain things are quite clear.  First, in 2016, there will be massive GOP spending for president and the message will be targeted at two potential Achilles heels for Casey, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Like it or not Casey is linked to Obama, to DNC leader Debbie Wasserman Schultz, to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and to key elements of the Obama program.  As a result, the GOP will portray him as just another party hack doing the bidding of the professional politicians.

His super-delegate and party spokesperson role put him on record supporting what Obama, Pelosi, and Schultz told people to say.  The fact he had to say he was going to vote against Pelosi in the last campaign, if elected, showed his party vulnerability.

His strong support for Obama on Obamacare and energy policy both became campaign issues used against him, and will be larger issues in the next campaign because of the spending in the presidential election.

That same party loyalty over what is good for the people of West Virginia will include his relationship to Hillary who already has her highest negatives recorded and the campaign has barely begun.

Since Casey was on record saying he wanted the Clintons help in his campaign, and he supported her during her State department days, it links him to her and her standing in the polls.

However, from a hypothetical standpoint there may be a far better candidate than either Mooney or Casey.  One who will never get to serve the people of West Virginia because the professional politicians want to keep the seat in the control of professional politicians.

     

My hypothetical candidate is a real person, Clarence E. Martin, III of Martinsburg.  "CEM" Martin possesses about every quality known to elevate politicians to friends and advocates for all the people.

Since this is a key swing district in a key swing state, it would seem one grounded in serving people like Martin rather than parties, is an ideal candidate.  He is homegrown from West Virginia with three generations of prominent family in public service serving the citizens of West Virginia.

Why CEM Martin should be the Congressman, hypothetically speaking that is.

He is homegrown with a statewide network of friends and long go demonstrated a commitment to family, faith, and loyalty.  CEM Martin was a past president of the State Bar Association.  His grandfather was past president of the American Bar Association.  CEM would garner support from a variety of local networks like lawyers, the Chamber of Commerce, religious groups, non-profits, and the business community.

Throughout his career he demonstrated how to serve people and put their interests first.  With Congressional committee staff experience, international experience through think tanks, and his standing as one of the highest-ranking members of the Papal backed Knights of Malta in the USA, he is free of partisan political association.  When you add his family legacy and a charming wife and daughters, he could make a formidable candidate.

Most important is the legacy issue.  West Virginians seem to like authentic, homegrown candidates and if ever there was a race when it should have been evident, it was last year.

Clarence E. "CEM" Martin, III is a Shareholder at Martin & Seibert, L.C. and is the third generation of his family to be a member of the firm. His Grandfather, Clarence E. Martin, President of the American Bar Association in 1932-1933 founded the firm over 100 years ago, in 1908, in Martinsburg.

CEM's parents

CEM is a former Assistant Counsel to the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives (now Energy and Commerce) and Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. He was a Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1976 – 1982 and held various leadership positions.

In May of 2012, Martin was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia to chair a select committee to review and revise the Constitution, Bylaws, Rules, and Regulations of the West Virginia State Bar. Mr. Martin has taken leadership roles in a number of professional and business organizations in West Virginia and beyond. He recently served as Chair for the West Virginia State Chamber of Commerce.

He has also served his communities in the following practices:

President of the West Virginia Bar Association in 1991-92

Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Agricultural Workers from 1988-92

National Board of the American Board of Trial Advocates from 1986-94

Fellow, West Virginia Bar Foundation

Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America

Fellow of the American Bar Foundation

Board of Directors of the Defense Trial

Board of Directors of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chair 2007-2008

Board of Advisors for Shepherd University serving as its Chair from 1990-92 and 1995-97

Board of Advisors for the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law

Board of Directors of Catholic Charities of West Virginia

Board of Directors for Vision Shared

Board of Directors for the West Virginia Education Alliance

Board of Directors for the International Partnership for Human Development

Board of Directors for West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development

Board of Directors for the Holy Family Hospital Foundation

Board of Directors for the Federal Association of the Order of Malta

Member of the West Virginia Law Institute

Member of the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel

Who's Who in America

Who's Who in American Law

Honorary Doctorate degree by Shepherd University

Honors

He was named a Super Lawyer in West Virginia in 2008 through 2011,which recognizes the top five percent of lawyers in the state, and named a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America in 2007, which recognizes the top two percent of litigators in the U.S.  In 2011, he was named to Best Lawyers in America, which is a peer rated listing recognizing the top lawyers in the U.S.

Also in 2011 he was elected to the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. The Alliance is a nonpartisan group made up of insurance companies, corporations, law firms, and service providers committed to furthering the highest standards of litigation management.  In 2012 he graduated from the Alliance's first certification program in litigation management held at the Columbia Law School and is a Certified Litigation Management Professional.

In 1992 he was appointed to serve on the West Virginia Council for Community and Economic Development, which developed and directed the State's economic development programs and he  elected its Secretary and served until 1995. CEM also chaired the West Virginia Economic Development Foundation and the West Virginia Economic Development Corporation, which are authorized by the Council as private funding corporations for the State's economic development programs.

He now serves on the board of Vision Shared which works with the State's development office on economic development. He served as President of the Discover the REAL West Virginia Foundation from its founding in 1993 through 2004, focusing on economic development and international trade issues with U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller, IV.

He is also Chairman of the Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority, which is restoring a historic railroad property. In 2003, Mr. Martin was elected a Fellow in the West Virginia Bar Foundation.

CEM is a member of the Board of Directors for the Holy Family Hospital Foundation which supports the Holy Family Hospital. The Hospital is the only hospital that provides critical, neo-natal care in Bethlehem, in the Palestinian Territories. He is also president of the Washington-Baltimore Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums.

In 2000, Mr. Martin was invested in the Order of Malta as a Knight of Magisterial Grace. In 2003, he was elected to the Federal Association's Board of Directors. In 2004 he was invested as a member of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Constantinian Order of St. George. In 2007 he was awarded the Cross of Merit by the Order for service to the Order and Church. In 2009 he was advanced in rank in the Order of Malta to the second class in Obedience.

In 2013 when he was named to the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Benedict XVI, an honor that was personally presented by the Pope.  It represents the highest award bestowed on a Catholic layperson.  More recently, he has had several private audiences with Pope Francis.

CEM is qualified to practice law before the following courts.  The U.S. Supreme Court, the West Virginia Supreme Court, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the Third and Fourth Circuits, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia, District of Columbia and Eastern District of Virginia, The Court of Appeals for Maryland, and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Whew...

Can you imagine that hypothetical candidates like CEM Martin will never get a chance to represent the people of West Virginia when they are exactly what the people of West Virginia need and deserve.

[Note - In the interest of transparency I was a classmate with CEM at the University of Arizona and he has consistently told me he is not a candidate for Congress in West Virginia, though he should be.]

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Postscript to Charleston, SC Murders - A Lasting Legacy

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In a fitting postscript to the Charleston murders June 17, the people of South Carolina continued to demonstrate to our leaders in Washington, D.C., the people of the USA, and the rest of the world how to handle a tragedy with compassion and grace.

In a matter of less than a month one of the most divisive and controversial issues was resolved, perhaps bringing to an end, at last, our Civil War.

As mentioned earlier, the shooter in Charleston posted Facebook images of his fascination with the Battle flag of the Virginia Brigade who fought in the Civil War.

Most people and news media mistakenly called it the Confederate Flag although my earlier article about the Confederate flag proved that was false.

In fact, after the Civil War it pretty much disappeared with all the other state militia flags from the South until it was revived in the 1940's through 1960's and was hijacked from being a symbol of patriotic pride for the South to being the face of racial hatred and prejudice.

From 1962 on this flag flew over the statehouse or on statehouse grounds in Charleston.  One of the positive offshoots of the tragic shooting was the actions by Governor Nikki Haley, and the South Carolina legislature ended decades of bitter debate and removed the flag from the grounds of government to the museum where it belonged.

It will forever be a fitting tribute to the Charleston Nine and their legacy.

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Trapped in Alice's Wonderland - the new Reality in America - or is it? Are the Charleston SC Murders a Turning Point in American Race Relations?

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In case you did not notice, I did little writing the past couple of weeks.  Fact is, I was so in awe of the developments in the world I began wondering if I had left reality and was stuck in Alice's Wonderland, where I prefer to be.

At least in Alice's world she admits nothing is as it seems.  Thus, my dilemma occurred when a whole bunch of good things started happening just as most prognosticators were predicting bad things.  Because of our negative conditioning to hearing bad or tragic news, we now put on a frown before turning in the evening newscast.

Can you believe it was not even a month ago that a young man joined a Bible Study group at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. He was White and they were all African American.

An hour later the visitor stood up, pulled a gun, and executed nine members of the Parish including their beloved Senior Pastor and State Senator, Clementa C. Pickney.  When they caught the shooter the next day, they found a Confederate Battle flag license plate holder on his car, and a Facebook photo of him with a full size Confederate Battle flag spewing messages of hate.

Like most of the recent cases of mass killings, the shooter was also on prescription drugs for depression and the usual suspects.  Simply put, he was out of his mind, which is a known side effect from these same prescription drugs.  Makes you wonder why the drug prescriptions are not part of the investigation.

As recent as 2012 we set a record for the most mass killings in one year, but this year was different.  Several cities including St. Louis and Baltimore experienced serious rioting not seen since the late 1960's caused by police shooting African Americans.

Those psychics, channelers, and prophets who predicted we were entering a period of chaos, sort of a last warning that the Earth was ready to shift to a higher dimension or energy frequency, well they seemed to be on the mark.

Everyone from politicians to preachers, pastors to predators seemed to be going crazy simultaneously and it was a bit disconcerting if you were inclined to be open to the psychic hot lines.  A proliferation of propaganda flooded the Internet and overwhelmed the minds of those seeking truth or perfection.

Competition grew into hatred and madness erupted into murder.  People stopped respecting the right of others to disagree.  If I had been a journalist back in the Dark Ages, it would have been great preparation for what we just experienced, which came to a climax that dreaded evening of June 17.

At the same time, politicians were already spewing their own brand of hatred at each other.  Every night I would just shake my head hearing how the stated goal of most politicians was to destroy the credibility of opposing politicians.  President Obama, who often was more of a lightning rod than a healer, did not set a particularly healthy brand of leadership.

At that time when the lid was about to blow off the volcano of evil poisoning the Earth, something quite extraordinary, some described it as miraculous, overwhelmed our battle hardened media and shook the foundations of humanity.

The families of the nine victims faced the killer of their family members, and demonstrated that humanity is not all lost, as they delivered their human acts of kindness forgiving the very man who killed their loved ones barely 48 hours earlier.

Standing face-to-face through video networking with the killer, their compassion shocked the world with its message of forgiveness, of enlightenment, and a degree of grace seldom seen in the modern world.

For once in recent news media reporting the news focus was on the demonstration of grace, not the hatred and violence that motivated the murders.  Once again I say when we listen to the people, really hear them out, they demonstrate far greater wisdom than those we empower to represent them.

A band of South Carolina families brought together through grief gave us a glimpse of what a world of compassion, respect, equality, and opportunity should be.

Such an irony that the first state to secede from the Union and bring about the Civil War, and the state where the first fighting of the Civil War took place, would now be the first state to demonstrate what is missing from society and government today, GRACE.

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Tragedy again strikes in America - Gunman kills nine in Charleston, SC Church

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Once again, there was another mass killing and once again, the racial activists, social activists, and the news media labeled it another "Hate Crime."

We have now had 70 such killings since 1982.  Here was the news bulletin. 

A devastating attack took place on Wednesday night at a historic black church in Charleston.

From the New York Times:

A white gunman opened fire Wednesday evening at a historic black church in downtown Charleston, S.C., before fleeing, the police said, and nine people were killed. The Charleston Police Department said the shooting occurred at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church about 9 p.m.

Officials did not release information about possible victims. The police described the gunman as a clean-shaven white man about 21 years-old who was wearing a gray sweatshirt, bluejeans and Timberland boots.

According to the Post and Courier, Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen said at a press conference late Wednesday night, "I do believe it's a hate crime."

Most mass shooters in the United States have been white males, as our investigation of three decades worth of data shows. In most cases, the killers obtained their guns legally.

At least one other mass shooting was carried out in recent years at a house of worship, in August 2012 at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. And in April 2014 in Kansas City, a white supremacist opened fire in a Jewish retirement community, killing three.

As of early Thursday morning, the suspect in Charleston remained at large, and none of the victims had yet been publicly identified.

Before they even caught the killer the news media, law enforcement, and social activists already called it a hate crime and raised the issue of gun control.

Well I beg to differ with all of them.  The mass killing sprees plaguing America are far more likely to be the result of the horrendous over-prescription of legal drugs by our medical community.

There is no way to judge the actions of a mass murderer to a hate crime because in this nation nothing, not even prejudice, can justify murder.  There will always be the occasional nut case who gets carried away but mass murder is a real distraction from the truth.

The truth is nearly two-thirds of Americans are taking legal prescriptions of anti-psychotic and anti-depressive drugs, or other dangerous drugs, to get off their addiction to legal drugs.          

One of the key side effects of these prescription drugs is to amplify paranoia, delusion, or suicide tendencies.  Our failure to address mental health as a key cause of mass killings, a state of mental health intensified in the dark side by legally prescribed drugs, ignores the realities of the mass killings.

Today I want to expose all the scientific evidence that our prescription happy society is triggering mass murders at an ever-increasing rate.  A follow up article will address how this destabilization of the brain by prescription drugs opens the mind to an invasion from the dark or evil side of life.

Here are excerpts from a series of articles about mass killings and prescription drugs in America.  If you pay attention, you will note the connections between the side effects of drugs and the hideous acts of violence from legal drug users. 

Mother Jones

A Guide to Mass Shootings in America

There have been at least 69 in the last three decades—and most of the killers got their guns legally.

By Mark Follman, Gavin Aronsen, and Deanna Pan

Updated: Sat May 24, 2014, 10:45 PM EDT

It is perhaps too easy to forget how many times this has happened. The horrific mass murder at a movie theater in Colorado in July 2012, another at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin that August, another at a manufacturer in Minneapolis that September—and then the unthinkable nightmare at a Connecticut elementary school that December—were some of the latest in an epidemic of such gun violence over the last three decades.

Since 1982, there have been at least 69 mass shootings across the country, with the killings unfolding in 30 states from Massachusetts to Hawaii. Thirty-two of these mass shootings have occurred since 2006. Seven of them took place in 2012, and another five occurred in 2013, including in Santa Monica, California, and at the Washington Navy Yard. The first five months of 2014 brought major gun rampages at Fort Hood and in northern and southern California.

We've gathered detailed data on more than three decades of cases and mapped them below, including information on the shooters' profiles, the types of weapons they used, and the number of victims they injured and killed. The below analysis covers the cases from 1982 through 2012, and the map and database have been updated with cases through 2013.*

Weapons: Of the 143 guns possessed by the killers, more than three quarters were obtained legally. The arsenal included dozens of assault weapons and semi-automatic handguns with high-capacity magazines. (See charts below.) Just as Jeffrey Weise used a .40-caliber Glock to slaughter students in Red Lake, Minnesota, in 2005, so too did James Holmes, along with an AR-15 assault rifle, when blasting away at his victims in a darkened movie theater. In Newtown, Connecticut, Adam Lanza wielded a .223 Bushmaster semi-automatic assault rifle as he massacred 20 school children and six adults.

The killers: More than half of the cases involved school or workplace shootings (12 and 20, respectively); the other 30 cases took place in locations including shopping malls, restaurants, and religious and government buildings. Forty four of the killers were white males. Only one of them was a woman. (See Goleta, Calif., in 2006.) The average age of the killers was 35, though the youngest among them was a mere 11 years old. (See Jonesboro, Ark., in 1998.) A majority were mentally troubled—and many displayed signs of it before setting out to kill. Explore the map for further details—we do not consider it to be all-inclusive, but based on the criteria we used we believe that we've produced the most comprehensive rundown available on this particular type of violence. (Mass shootings represent only a sliver of America's overall gun violence.)

Our focus is on public mass shootings in which the motive appeared to be indiscriminate killing. We used the following criteria to identify cases:

The shooter took the lives of at least four people. An FBI crime classification report identifies an individual as a mass murderer—versus a spree killer or a serial killer—if he kills four or more people in a single incident (not including himself), typically in a single location.

The killings were carried out by a lone shooter. (Except in the case of the Columbine massacre and the Westside Middle School killings, which involved two shooters.)

The shootings occurred in a public place. (Except in the case of a party on private property in Crandon, Wisconsin, and another in Seattle, where crowds of strangers had gathered.) Crimes primarily related to gang activity, armed robbery, or domestic violence in homes are not included.

If the shooter died or was hurt from injuries sustained during the incident, he is included in the total victim count. (But we have excluded many cases in which there were three fatalities and the shooter also died, per the above FBI criterion.)

We included a handful of so-called "spree killings"—cases in which the killings occurred in more than one location over a short period of time, that fit the above criteria.

For more on the thinking behind our criteria, see our mass shootings explainer. Plus: more on the crucial mental illness factor, and on the recent barrage of state laws rolling back gun restrictions across the US. And: Explore the full data set behind our investigation.

Here are two charts detailing the killers' weapons:

Antipsychotic Drug Definition

Antipsychotics are drugs used in the treatment of brain disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression. According to the New York Times, antipsychotics are one of the largest types of prescribed drugs in the United States with over 3.1 million Americans accounting for a market worth USD 18 billion in 2011 itself. Global estimates suggest that over 1.25% of the global population suffers from psychosis and related disorders. This brings a market of about 7.5 million people suffering from combined disorders of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, dementia, depression among other rare conditions. Several recent studies have suggested instances of drug abuse and over prescription of these drugs in the market, particularly in North America. Clinical studies have shown severe drawbacks and addiction to antipsychotic drugs. A serious side effect observed is tardive dyskinesia which is a potentially irreversible movement disorder. These drugs are prescribed for mild symptoms as well, increasing the market for the drugs tremendously.

WND EXCLUSIVE

70 million Americans taking mind-altering drugs

Exclusive: David Kupelian tells untold story of nation's rapidly escalating drug dependence

Published: 02/09/2014 at 4:25 PM

The heroin-overdose death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has caused the media to focus, however fleetingly, on America’s drug problem.

News accounts of the Oscar-winner’s tragic demise typically reference the startling increase in heroin-related deaths in the last four to five years. The problem, reporters explain, is the vast number of Americans addicted to prescription pain meds like OxyContin, many of whom discover heroin to be both cheaper and easier to obtain than the prescription opioid drugs to which they initially became addicted.

That’s accurate as far as it goes. But by following the trail further, we arrive at a place far more shocking and consequential. We discover that not only has the traditional distinction between illegal “street drugs” and legal “therapeutic prescription drugs” become so blurred as to be almost nonexistent, but between America’s twin drug epidemics – one illegal, the other legal – well over 70 million Americans are using mind-altering drugs. And that number doesn’t include abusers of alcohol, which adds an additional 60 million Americans. So we’re really talking about 130 million strung-out Americans. How is this possible?

Examples of opioids are: Painkillers such as; morphine, methadone, Buprenorphine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Heroin is also an opioid and is illegal. Opioid drugs sold under brand names include: OxyContin®, Percocet®, Palladone®(taken off the market 7/2005), Vicodin®, Percodan®, Tylox® and Demerol® among others.

Opioids are medications that relieve pain. They reduce the intensity of pain signals reaching the brain and affect those brain areas controlling emotion, which diminishes the effects of a painful stimulus. Medications that fall within this class include hydrocodone (e.g., Vicodin), oxycodone (e.g., OxyContin, Percocet), morphine (e.g., Kadian, Avinza), codeine, and related drugs. Hydrocodone products are the most commonly prescribed for a variety of painful conditions, including dental and injury-related pain. Morphine is often used before and after surgical procedures to alleviate severe pain. Codeine, on the other hand, is often prescribed for mild pain. In addition to their painrelieving properties, some of these drugs—codeine and diphenoxylate (Lomotil) for example—can be used to relieve coughs and severe diarrhea.

The abuse of and addiction to opioids such as heroin, morphine, and prescription pain relievers is a serious global problem that affects the health, social, and economic welfare of all societies.  It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated 2.1 million people in the United States suffering from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers in 2012 and an estimated 467,000 addicted to heroin.  The consequences of this abuse have been devastating and are on the rise.  For example, the number of unintentional overdose deaths from prescription pain relievers has soared in the United States, more than quadrupling since 1999.  There is also growing evidence to suggest a relationship between increased non-medical use of opioid analgesics and heroin abuse in the United States.

CERTAIN MEDICATIONS TAKEN ROUTINELY BY A HUNDRED MILLION AMERICANS FOUND T0 CAUSE USERS TO COMMIT MURDER AT HIGHER RATES

06-01-2015 7:45 pm - Mike Adams - Natural News

Just as Natural News has warned for over a decade, mind-altering medications such as tranquilizers and psychiatric drugs (SSRIs) have now been confirmed to increase the risk of a person committing murder.

A new study published in the journal World Psychiatry (June 1 edition, not yet found on the web) found that several classes of prescription medications -- including antidepressant drugs, tranquilizers and anti-inflammatory painkillers -- markedly increased the chances of someone murdering another human being.

This link has long been suspect in antidepressants, which have been repeatedly linked to mass school shootings in the United States.

"I think that these chemical substances affect the impulse control of the person," Dr. Jari Tiihonen, lead author and a professor, told Medical Daily. "The only surprising result was that painkillers also increase the risk."

According to the study's findings:

• Antidepressant drugs increased the risk of committing homicide by 31%.

• Tranquilizers increased the risk of committing homicide by 45%.

• Opioid pain relievers increased the risk of committing homicide by 92%.

• Anti-inflammatory painkillers increased the risk of committing homicide by 200%.

We were right all along: These mind-altering medications turn some people into cold-blooded killers

For years, the New Media / Independent Media has been warning about the dangers of psychiatric drugs causing violence. The mainstream media, which now receives as much as 70% of its advertising revenue from drug companies, has all but censored this story, largely ignoring the mass deaths taking place right in our local communities.

Years ago in 2009, I wrote the rap song, "S.S.R.Lies" which exposed this link between psych meds and school violence. Since then, Natural News and other media sources have continued to cover the link between psychiatric drugs and violence, including this story: Prescription drugs are connected to school shootings and other violence, yet more drugs are touted as the solution.

(Also since 2009, I've published fourteen songs and music videos, each of them covering key issues of social justice, liberty and food freedom. Click here to hear the fan-favorite song "Be Divergent" or one of my personal favorites Revolution of the Heart.)

Is Big Pharma contributing to the wave of homicidal violence sweeping America?

America is presently experiencing a massive crime wave, with gangs running loose in the streets of cities like Baltimore and Chicago. The number of shootings that took place in Baltimore over just the Memorial Day weekend -- 32 -- is larger than the total number of shootings that take place in an entire year in many other countries.

In the month of May alone, there were 300 shootings in Chicago, with 35 deaths.

Here's the question of the day: How many people in Baltimore and Chicago are on antidepressant drugs? How many are taking anti-inflammatory painkillers? How many people who participated in the recent riots were operating with medicated brains? What role does medication play in the escalating violence now spiraling out of control across many of America's cities? (A medicated population is not a rational population... where will this lead next?)

Gun control advocates point to firearms as the cause of such violence, but the logic doesn't pan out. Guns don't shoot by themselves. (I tried it with a magic wand over and over, and I could never get my rifle to fire unless I deliberately pulled the trigger.)

Firearms require a person to make a decision in order to unleash a high-velocity bullet in the direction of an intended target. That decision-making process is precisely what's compromised by mind-altering medications. SSRIs can push some people over the edge, causing them to illegally use a firearm in a way its manufacturer never intended. In much the same way, someone can drink a lot of alcohol and use a vehicle to commit mass homicide, too. Both of these are chemically induced homicides using mechanical tools (cars or guns) which were never meant to kill innocent people.

What they both have in common is inhibited cognitive function caused by chemicals. "Medicated driving" is just as dangerous as "drunk driving..." and possibly even more so.

Pharma-funded media tries to downplay link between SSRIs and homicide.

The mainstream media is predictably trying to downplay the increased risk homicidal behavior among people medicated with antidepressants, claiming a 31% increased risk is only a "slight" risk. Of course, this is the same media that, if presented with a press release from the CDC claiming unvaccinated children had a 31% increased risk of contracting measles in Disneyland, would be screaming bloody murder and causing a nationwide infectious disease panic. "Thirty-one percent increased risk!! Get your damn kids vaccinated!"

Example of the total dismissal of the risk factors documented in the study: "When asked about the practical implications of these findings, Tiihonen said that people should not be worried about the risk of violence associated with antidepressant use," reports LiveScience.com, which also downplays any link between antidepressant drugs and violence.

Why, exactly, should we not be worried about medicated people committing mass murder? Maybe because that worry would call into question all the lies we've been told about drug safety by the FDA and Big Pharma.

Even if the increased risk seems small on an individual basis, you have tens of millions of Americans taking these drugs. A small risk multiplied by tens of millions of people results in the inevitability of a drug-induced homicide or mass murder... much like what we saw in Columbine, Colorado, and other school shootings. According to CDC statistics, almost 30 million Americans aged 12 and over are now taking antidepressant medications. That's 30 million would-be killers... ticking time bombs of violence if the drugs trigger homicidal violence in their brains.

There are almost a hundred million more people who take anti-inflammatory painkillers, too, according to this Consumer Reports document. On top of that, there are presently about 60 million prescriptions written each year for tranquilizer-class medications. Clearly, we're talking about more than one-third of Americans taking these risky medications that can cause homicidal behavior. That's not a small deal by any measure.

Furthermore, both the government and mainstream media have loudly raised the alarm on many other issues that pose a far smaller risk of public harm than psychiatric drugs. For example:

• There is virtually zero risk of being harmed or attacked by a terrorist anywhere in the United States. Yet the entire Patriot Act surveillance state / TSA / police state / militarized police infrastructure that has been put into place since 2001 was based on the heavily marketed fear that terrorists were hiding around every corner, waiting to kill us all. In truth, almost no one in America has even seen a terrorist, much less been killed by one.

• There is almost ZERO risk that a healthy, unvaccinated child exposed to measles will be killed by measles. Even in the heavily propagandized Disneyland outbreak, not a single child died. Some got the measles, built their own immune system antibodies, and recovered naturally.

• Almost no one dies from raw milk consumption in America, yet the FDA and state "food Nazi" thugs wage surveillance wars and arrest people like James Stewart at gunpoint (SWAT style) for distributing raw milk to health-conscious parents who desire the wholesome beverage.

Get off the mind-altering meds.

The most important take away message from all this is to get off the mind-altering meds. If you're taking psychiatric drugs or tranquilizers, you run the risk of "snapping" and turning into a homicidal maniac who kills other people. That's precisely what this study documented.

It also calls into question the escalating violence in a country that's the most medicated nation in the world: America. When you combine the scourge of mind-altering medications with the cognitive-harming effects of fluoride, glyphosate, pesticides and urban air pollution, is it any wonder things keep getting worse among the voters?

Sources for this article include:

Study: Tiihonen J, Lehti M, Aaltonen M, Kivivuori J, Kautiainen H, Virta L, Hoti F, Tanskanen A, Korhonen P. Psychotropic drugs and homicide: a prospective cohort study from Finland. World Psychiatry. 2015.
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