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Sunday, October 30, 2005
Alright, I had to read the press release twice. I thought I was seeing things.
Yes, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, James Gandolfini, and Donald Trump are all going to be at the awards. I am giving the CMA the benefit of the doubt on Reese Witherspoon and
Joaquin Phoenix due to they are in the upcoming Johnny Cash film.
Huh? Yep! Give me a break. This is about the craziest thing I have ever heard. Please let me know if I'm wrong, but the CMA awards are given out by the Country Music Association, and that I am proud to be a member.
Last night, a good friend and I discussed this topic in some detail and then an excellent article in The Tennessean by Brad Schmitt appeared this morning. I am so glad their some people out there that agrees with my reaction.
Lee Ann Womack is quoted in the article, and she deserves many kudos for what she had to say. It should feel like a slap in the face to her. Here is an extremely talented artist that has put out one of her best works ever with a traditional country music album, and she could be presented the award by someone that may have never even heard of her before that night.
The mostdisturbingg thing in what I read in the article is this:
"But I'm a record executive. If it'll make more people watch the show, I'm all for that." Luke Lewis of Universal Music Group in Nashville and a member of the CMA's TV committee said.
Ok, that shows a major issue here. Its all about the ratings to the people that make these crazy decisions. Not the dignity,heritagee, tradition, and honor of country music and the CMA. The show should be targeted to one audience. The country music fans. The chance of someone that isn't a country music fan sitting down and watching the CMA's are slim, I don't care who you pick to be on the show. Plus, even if they did, the chances of a non-country music listener to jump up and go pick up a country album because Bon Jovi was on the show is just as slim.
The CMA's is my favorite night of the year. It should be about country music's night to recognize the incredible work of the previous year, honor theachievementss, and display some of the year's best music. I'm afraid this year that is exactly what we aren't going to get.
More about this later... I have second thoughts on this whole New York thing too.


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Martin Bell
Martin joined the Company in 2003 and retired in June 2012 and now is a professional photographer in Hampshire.
Born: London, England.
Trained: Central School of Ballet.
Previous Companies:Ballet Central.
Favourite Roles: 'I Got Rhythm', I Got Rhythm; Porthos and King Louis, The Three Musketeers; Korak, A Sleeping Beauty Tale; Oberon, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Mercutio, Romeo & Juliet; Claudius, Hamlet; Cavalier, The Nutcracker; Scrooge and Bob Cratchit, A Christmas Carol; The Husband, On Such A Night; Seward, Dracula; Hindley, Wuthering Heights; Hook, Peter Pan; Valmont, Dangerous Liaisons.
Career Highlights: Dancing as The Prince in the 'Fireside' pas de deux. Being voted one of two best up and coming male dancers by Dance Europe Magazine in 2003. Having 'The Husband' in Gillian Lynne's On Such A Night choreographed on me for Northern Ballet's 40th Anniversary Gala.
Personal: Martin has just started a diploma in photography and hopes one day he will take up his hobby professionally.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dustin Marshall
Dustin was an Audio Engineer for Earwolf and has since founded the podcast collective Feral Audio.
Guest Appearances
Earwolf Thanksgiving
Since we're so thankful for all you wonderful listeners, we decided to put together a last minute The Wolf Den with everyone in the office. You'll hear both our wonderful engineers, Cyrus and Dustin, our tech wizard Shahruz, our financial guru Dave,…Listen
What's It Like At Earwolf?
The week Jeff once again breaks the mold of what The Wolf Den is by podcasting all by himself (and with a little help from our brilliant engineer Dustin and our financial miracle worker Dave). We'd like to give you a once…Listen
Who Are Our Superfans?
We love all our Earwolf listeners and are impressed by their contributions to the network as fans. This episode celebrates those listeners by speaking to three of our biggest superfans: Dustin Martian, Julia Hays, and Mike McCawley. They all started listening at…Listen


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Today, in the wee hours of the morning, American shoppers queued up outside their favorite stores, waiting anxiously to get the holiday season's best deals. As Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season in the USA, and is one of the most highly-trafficked days of the year for U.S. malls….I also found myself at the mall this Friday…though this mall was in the Philippines.
At Robinsons Mall in Bacolod City, today was the opening day of the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation's (NWTF) temporary store. The store is one of the many initiatives of NWTF's Client Services department, which seeks to serve the needs of its clients beyond microfinance. For five days this coming week, the organization has rented a space in the mall to display and sell the products of its clients, as well as its eco-friendly products. The store is well-stocked with products including woven bags, brooms, tumeric, peanuts, pomello fruit, local delicacies, eco-friendly stoves, and solar lamps.
Since opening its first temporary store last year, in conjunction with the celebration of its 25th birthday, NWTF has held several more pop-up stores, bringing the products of at least 30 clients to an expanded public. Next month, NWTF plans to open another pop-up store selling its clients' organic products, ahead of the Christmas season. While the stores raise awareness for NWTF, most importantly, they allow NWTF clients to reach new markets with their products, and earn a significant profit — helping them improve their businesses, and improve their lives.
Joanne Gan is currently serving as a Kiva Fellow at the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation in Bacolod City, Philippines. She is excited to be in the Philippines during the holidays, as it boasts the world's longest Christmas season. If you need ideas for holiday shopping this year, consider giving a Kiva gift card.


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Psychology in Society
On-line version ISSN 2309-8708
Print version ISSN 1015-6046
Psychol. Soc. n.42 Durban Jan. 2011
Social class and psychotherapy: a critical reading of Thomas Szasz's The ethics of psychoanalysis
Rory du Plessis
Division of Philosophy and Ethics of Mental Health University of Pretoria, Pretoria
This paper aims to offer a critical reading of Thomas S. Szasz's The ethics of psychoanalysis: The theory and method of autonomous psychotherapy (1965 / 1988a). In particular, the critical reading is focused on revealing and investigating the presence of attitudinal biases and beliefs pertaining to the social class of psychotherapy. It will be argued that in Szasz forwarding his thesis, a number of statements regarding social class are raised. In particular, and for the purposes of this paper, the key focus will be an investigation of Szasz's proclamation that the poor and uneducated do not need psychoanalysis but require freedom, knowledge and skills. The paper will argue that this statement may not necessarily be presenting an attitudinal bias or belief against the poor and uneducated. Rather, Szasz is professing the nature and limitations of psychotherapy. Nonetheless, Szasz's text still reflects attitudinal biases through the disapproval of the efforts made by Sigmund Freud to make psychotherapy available to all people.
Keywords: Psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, social class, Thomas Szasz, Sigmund Freud.
This paper aims to offer a critical reading of Thomas S. Szasz's The ethics of psychoanalysis: the theory and method of autonomous psychotherapy (1965 / 1988a). In particular, the critical reading is focused on revealing and investigating the presence of attitudinal biases and beliefs pertaining to the social class of psychotherapy. In order to do so, the paper first proceeds to provide a background regarding psychotherapy's exclusion of the poor. Subsequently, a delineation of Szasz's text is provided. The text is defined as offering an approach to psychotherapy that is in contrast to the reigning norms of therapy that are based on coercion, control and influence. As such, he delineates a theory and method of psychotherapy that is based on autonomy and an analytic contract. However, in forwarding his thesis, a number of statements regarding social class are raised. In particular, and for the purposes of this paper, the key focus will be an investigation of Szasz's proclamation that the poor and uneducated do not need psychoanalysis but require freedom, knowledge and skills. Yet, it will be argued that this statement may not be presenting an attitudinal bias or belief against the poor and uneducated. Rather, Szasz is professing the nature and limitations of psychotherapy. For Szasz, psychotherapy holds the possibility of enlarging a patient's freedom but not in generating the freedom. Szasz's idea that psychoanalysis only offers personal freedom is neither validated nor invalidated within the epistemology of psychotherapy. Instead, this paper offers a discursive investigation of Szasz's aforementioned idea within The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a). In doing so, the paper argues that Szasz's text still reflects attitudinal biases but through the disapproval of the efforts made by Freud to make psychotherapy available to all people.
Psychotherapy for the poor has been a topic of discussion in psychology for the past 40 years (Springer-Kremser, Eder, Jandl-Jager and Hager, 2002; Smith, 2005). The need for such a discussion is largely in response to the fact that psychotherapy has largely excluded the poor from treatment (Springer-Kremser et al, 2002). Yet, this act of exclusion is not an idiosyncrasy from the past few decades. Rather, it can be defined as a 'classical problem' of psychotherapy. Originating from the pioneers of psychotherapy to the later ego psychological versions of psychoanalysis there has been an exclusion of patients of lower socio-economic status (Altman, 2010). The following section outlines further the exclusionary discourse that operated within the pioneers of psychotherapy.
The pioneers of psychotherapy.
The social class basis of Sigmund Freud's psychotherapy is evident in him being described as the first to elaborate a therapy that would appeal to middle-class sensibilities (Shorter, 1997). This was of such an appeal that the middle-class enthusiasm for psychoanalysis is credited as supporting its uptake in Europe (Shorter, 1997). Beyond the uptake by the middle-class, psychoanalysis also became fashionable and highly regarded by the wealthy. By the 1910s, many patients journeyed to Vienna specifically for treatment by Freud (Appignanesi and Forrester, 2000). In addition, Freud's patient records highlight that his patients were often distinguished, well-connected and intelligent (Appignanesi and Forrester, 2000). These are not just secondary accounts but were even acknowledged by Freud (1955: 166) himself when he stated that psychoanalysis had become a treatment for the "well-to-do classes".
This social class basis is not just limited to Freud, but is also apparent in Carl Gustav Jung. From the onset, it is important to recognise that Jung's ideas were only applicable for a specific class of people (Fordham, 1978). Jung (2010: 62-63) knowingly admits to this in describing that:
"My contribution to psychotherapy is confined to those cases in which rational treatment yields no satisfactory results. ... About a third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis, but from the senselessness and emptiness of their lives. ... Fully two-thirds of my patients have passed middle age. It is difficult to treat patients of this particular kind by rational methods, because they are in the main socially well-adapted individuals of considerable ability, to whom normalization means nothing".
To explore further, the class of person that sought Jung's help were often well adapted, successful, intelligent, middle-aged or elderly and for whom life had lost its meaning (Fordham, 1978; Howard, 2000). This grouping of people did not need to prove their social usefulness - they had already "made it" in society by all the usual criteria of social success - rather they could no longer find significance in their value to society, and had started questioning the meaning of their individual lives (Jung, 2010). Their plight was described by Jung (2010: 48) as follows:
"To be 'normal' is a splendid ideal for the unsuccessful, for all those who have not yet found an adaptation. But for people who have far more ability than the average, for whom it was never hard to gain successes and to accomplish their share of the world's work - for them restriction to the normal signifies the bed of Procrustes, unbearable boredom, infernal sterility and hopelessness. As a consequence there are many people who become neurotic because they are only normal, as there are people who are neurotic because they cannot become normal".
This quote clearly reflects that the individuals that sought Jung's help were bored by their position and identity, they had achieved success, but that this success brought with it only barrenness and bleakness. Yet, this grouping of individuals is but one of a number that seek psychotherapy - a fact that Jung is explicitly conscious of. Jung is deliberately transparent about the limitations regarding his theory and methods of therapy (cf Jung, 2010: 205; 236).1 This aspect can be discerned in Jung (2010: 236) describing that, "In so far as this enquiry was restricted to educated persons, it is only a straw in the wind. ... But I am inclined to accept the results as a more or less valid indication of the views of educated people ...".
In sum, Freud and Jung established a clientele that primarily consisted of the middle-class and up who were educated, intelligent, successful and powerful. Of consequence, Freud and Jung were not interested in unsophisticated, unsuccessful people suffering from basic social dysfunction (Howard, 2000). In other words, psychotherapy was practiced within a framework of social class that embraced patients from the middle class and higher. However, while these social groups found acceptance, the poor and disadvantaged were largely excluded from the practice of psychotherapy. This act of exclusion continued into classical versions of psychotherapy which have mostly excluded people of a lower socio-economic status (Altman, 2010).
The theory and practice of psychotherapy.
From the above discussion, it is clear that psychotherapy developed as an exclusionary discourse (Altman, 2010). Altman (2010) argues that this development has become embedded in the theory and practice of psychotherapy - from its conception to contemporary manifestations. In terms of exploring the exclusionary discourse embedded in the theory of psychotherapy, a recent article by Kumar (2012) proves invaluable. Kumar analyses the themes of poverty and deprivation within psychoanalytic scholarship available on the Psychoanalytic Electronic Publications from 1933 to 2003. The findings of the analysis indicate that psychoanalytic research has only marginally addressed issues of poverty and the poor. Kumar (2012) attests this neglect to the attitudinal biases and beliefs held by the psychoanalytic authors who act to withhold any acknowledgement that the poor and deprived are worthy of attention.
One of the attitudinal biases and beliefs that Kumar (2012) outlines is namely that the poor are considered to have deficits in their psychic life (lacking desires, thoughts and intellectual capacities) and thus are un-analysable. Such a belief, which becomes embedded in the theory of psychoanalysis, justifies the medical treatment of the poor and is used to account for their apparent absence from therapy (Altman, 2010; Kumar 2012). Yet, the truth of the matter is that the poor find it difficult to enter psychotherapy (Botticelli, 1997; Springer-Kremser et al, 2002)2 owing to an attitudinal tendency amongst therapists to dismiss them as suitable candidates for psychotherapy (Altman, 2010; Smith, 2005). This dismissal is directly at odds with a growing body of research that concludes that the poor are neither less interested in nor less able to benefit from the psychotherapeutic process than other demographic groups (Smith, 2005).
The previous section indicated how attitudinal biases and beliefs act to maintain the exclusion of the poor from psychotherapy. Thus in order to address the exclusion of the poor, these attitudinal biases and beliefs need to be identified and countered. This approach is supported by Altman who calls for research in order to expose, grapple with, and counter the exclusionism of psychotherapy (Altman, 2010). However, it is crucial that such research engages with the details of the text - through a process of careful documenting and analysis - in order to provide justification and support for the claims of exclusionism forwarded. In cognisance of the above points, this paper aims to offer a critical reading of Thomas Szasz's The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a) in order to reveal and investigate the presence of attitudinal biases and beliefs regarding the poor.
Szasz is not only acknowledged as a key philosopher of psychiatry (Fulford, Thornton and Graham, 2006), but his ideas are now used liberally by psychiatrists and physicians in their conversations with the lay public. In this sense Szasz has an influence on the mental health community and larger society (Buchanan-Barker and Barker, 2009). However, he is also frequently misrepresented (Leifer 2000; Cresswell, 2008) and of consequence, the secondary literature pertaining to Szasz's proclamations are primarily limited to debates and arguments in which the interlocutors - Szasz and his critics - are positioned on opposing sides while expediting their key points of disagreement, their individual points of view and their specific judgments. One recent text in this trajectory is the 2004 publication edited by Jeffrey A Schaler titled Szasz under fire: The psychiatric abolitionist faces his critics. In this text, leading experts justify their opposition to Szasz's notions which are then met by replies from him. Although such a publication affords an opportunity to reconsider Szasz's thesis in light of both sustained and recent critiques (Cresswell, 2008), what is still omitted is a critical reading of Szasz's specific texts: an examination of the claims forwarded in his text; the soundness of arguments; the framing and / or selection of information presented; and the presence of ideology in the text. Such an approach holds the potential of examining and analysing Szasz's claims by the means of an overt acknowledgment of the implicit ideological framings and selection of information presented within his texts, yet without lapsing into personal bias and arguments hinged on misperceptions.
A number of studies have adopted a critical reading of Szasz's texts but have limited their analyses to his better known works (cf Wynne, 2006; Cresswell, 2008). Consequently, a significant portion of Szasz's texts still require a critical reading. One such work is The Ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a) in which Szasz explores his approach to psychotherapy. Although his views on therapy have been overlooked in favour of his postulates on mental illness (Wyatt, 2000, 2004), his interest in psychotherapy was actually the precursor and motivating factor for him to pursue a career in psychiatry. Szasz (as cited by Wyatt, 2004: 80) states that "I was never interested in becoming a psychiatrist and never considered myself a psychiatrist. Psychiatry was a category I had to operate in, given the society in which we live. I was interested in psychotherapy...". In particular, his interest in psychotherapy is in its potential to increase a person's autonomy. In this regard, The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a), is an outline how Szasz works with his patients to increase individual autonomy.
However, in forwarding his thesis, a number of statements regarding social class are raised. In order to reveal and investigate such statements, the paper examines The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a) through the following methods. First, through an intertextual reading of Szasz's seminal text The myth of mental illness (1961). One of the pillars of Szasz's theoretical edifice is defined as The myth of mental illness (cf Sedgwick, 1982: 149). As such, in order to interpret and understand Szasz's theories, reference to the aforementioned text needs to be made. To substantiate further, both texts deal with similar themes and a number of his notions forwarded in The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a) are based on the reasoning and evidence presented in The myth of mental illness (cf Szasz, 1988a: 3; 47). Nonetheless, The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a) displays a number of developments and transformations from Szasz's seminal text. It will be argued that these changes forefront the delimiters of social class in psychotherapy. Second, a discursive analysis of The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a) is offered in order to explore the attitudes, beliefs and tendencies that become evident in Szasz forwarding his central thesis.
An intertextual reading.
Szasz (1988a: xv) defines psychotherapy as the name of a particular kind of personal influence "... by means of communications, one person, identified as 'the psychotherapist', exerts an ostensibly therapeutic influence on another, identified as 'the patient' ". This definition allows for Szasz (cf 1988a: xv) to view psychotherapy in the same class as virtually all human interactions - from advertising, education, friendship and marriage - in which people try to influence one another. For Szasz, (1988a: xv) people try to influence each other constantly, so much so that he deems that "[t]o control and be controlled are the warp and woof of the fabric of human relations". Yet, in psychotherapy, the personal influence and interaction is premised to be therapeutic for the patient (cf Szasz, 1988a: xv). Rather than following in the same act of prejudging, Szasz (cf 1988a: xv) urges one to reconsider whether such interactions are really helpful or whether they are actually harmful. In the most part, the dominant markers of psychiatry and psychotherapy are based on control, coercion and influence (Szasz, 1988b).
To overcome such dominant markers of psychiatry and psychotherapy, Szasz (1988a) advocates a form of psychotherapy that he terms "Autonomous psychotherapy".3 The concept of autonomy and contract are crucial for autonomous psychotherapy (cf Szasz, 1988a: 190). The underlying motivation for these aspects rests on the principle that both the patient and psychiatrist must retain autonomy. As such, the psychotherapist must not have any direct control, or power over, the patient's life outside the consulting room, and neither must the patient over the psychotherapist (cf Szasz, 1988a: x). Furthermore, it is a fundamental tenet his approach that the patient is not sick in the medical sense of the term, and that the psychotherapist is not treating the patient in medical terms (cf Szasz, 1988a: x). Instead, the aim of psychotherapy is "... to increase the patient's knowledge of himself and others ..." (Szasz, 1988a: xvi-xvii). This aim also informs the psychotherapist's attitude toward the patient - the therapist must help the patient to make an informed choice for the specific problems in living (cf Szasz, 1988a: 89). The therapist can do this by keeping in mind that the task is, "... first, not to diagnose the patient, but to engage him in a meaningful dialogue and, second, not to try and collect data from the patient, but to relay appropriate information to him" (Szasz, 1988a: 89).
In autonomous psychotherapy, the materialisation of autonomy is hinged upon an analytic contract which is defined as "... an explicit and mutually accepted set of promises and expectations" (Szasz 1988a: 130).4 The analytic contract acts to reduce the inequality of the client while simultaneously protecting the client from the analyst's influence (cf Szasz, 1988a: 130). Such potentials are however not inherent in the analytic contract but actively constructed by delimiting the psychotherapist-patient relationship to individuals of the same socio-economic profile and social class. This point is evident in him stating that contracts require two almost equal participants.5 Two reasons for this requirement are forwarded. First, if either party feels much weaker or much stronger than the other, the contracting may fail (cf Szasz, 1988a: 199). This is most clearly evident in poor or helpless patients who run the risk of being exploited by their psychotherapist. According to Szasz (1988a), the lowly status of the patient calls for the psychotherapist to adopt a superior position and command the patient's full submission.6 Second, they must be approximately equal in their willingness and ability to assume responsibility for themselves and toward each other (cf Szasz, 1988a: 200). For Szasz, this means that the patient needs and wants psychotherapeutic help and, in return, offers the therapist money and responsible cooperation. In regard to the therapist, this entails the need for money and opportunity to work and, in return, the therapist offers the patient analytic knowledge and skill. On this foundation, meaningful negotiation and contracting can occur in the psychotherapist-patient coupling (cf Szasz, 1988a: 200). Yet, of the therapist's two needs, money and the opportunity to do work, Szasz (1988a) states that it is the patient's payment of a fee that above all enables the patient to be a responsible, negotiating party to a contract with the therapist. Additionally, if the therapist did not need the patient's money it would complicate what the patient could give the therapist in order to maintain the contracting relationship (cf Szasz, 1988a: 200).
From the abovementioned points, it is clear that the positive therapeutic ideals of autonomous psychotherapy can be only attained through contracting. Owing to the fact that the poor are unable to meet the requirements of contracting, namely the payment of a fee, they are excluded as candidates for autonomous psychotherapy. In this regard, Szasz may be critiqued for excluding the poor. However, Szasz (1988a: 200201) does not deny that it is impossible for a therapist to "treat" a non-paying patient "... but such therapy would be neither contractual nor, in our terms, analytic". In this statement, he excludes the poor from autonomous psychotherapy but not from other psychotherapeutic methods. Szasz, much like Jung, can be argued in this sense to be forefronting the limitations of his approach to psychotherapy.
Even though Szasz may be argued to be conceding to the delimiters of his therapy, he is still not clear from critique. For Sedgwick (cf 1982: 138) a notable absence in Szasz's argument is that he does not provide any indication of the kind of therapy suitable for the poor that he excluded. One reason for this absence is that Szasz believes that the poor may not necessarily need the treatment offered by psychoanalysis. This opinion is evident in Szasz's response to Freud calling for the development of a psychotherapy that could be suitable for treating the poor and the uneducated (cf Szasz, 1988a: 27). Szasz (1988a: 28) is resolutely opposed to such an envisaging:
"But what kind of help, or therapy, does a 'considerable mass of the population' need? The poor need jobs and money, not psychoanalysis. The uneducated need knowledge and skills, not psychoanalysis. Furthermore, the poor and the uneducated are also often politically disfranchised and socially oppressed; if this is the case, they need freedom from oppression. The kind of personal freedom that psychoanalysis promises can have meaning only for persons who enjoy a large measure of economic, political, and social freedom".
This statement is the most severely critiqued by reviewers of Szasz's text (Cioffi, 1969; Goldstein, 1980; Stillman, 1983; Clarke, 2007). In particular, Cioffi (cf 1969: 189) characterises Szasz in terms of the "YAVIS syndrome": a preference among therapists for patients who are Youthful, Attractive, Vocal, Intelligent and Successful. Beyond such critiques, Szasz's statement also shows a link to identified classist attitudes, assumptions and biases in psychotherapy. One such classist bias is the widespread assumption that the poor's need for the material necessities of life need to be met before any psychotherapeutic assistance can be offered (Smith, 2005; Kumar, 2012). In this line of reasoning, the poor do not require a psychotherapist but need economic opportunity and social justice (Smith, 2005). Yet, this reasoning is a dismissal of the fact that life for the poor exposes them to a greater burden of stress, loss, trauma, and of consequence, mental suffering (Silver, 2009; Altman, 2010). Apart from treating such ensuing mental suffering, the psychotherapist can also offer the poor the opportunity, like the other social groups frequenting the therapist, to: visualise and reach their goals; and to become more fully conscious of feelings and actions (Smith, 2005).
For the purposes of this paper, the statement in question will be investigated through an intertextual reading of The myth of mental illness (1961). It will be argued that the development of ideas in the two books is not a mere continuation of similar themes. Rather, the ideas presented in The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a) become focused on the exclusions and limitations of psychotherapy based on social class.
In The myth of mental illness, Szasz (1961: 61) does not reject patients based on social class but acknowledges that a "better education and economic security favor the conditions necessary for a two-person therapeutic contract". In this regard, Szasz (1961: 59) cautions psychotherapists "... not be influenced by socially distracting considerations concerning [the] ... patient. This condition can be met best if the relationship is rigidly restricted to the two people involved in it". By this, he means that psychotherapists should not function as "attorneys for the poor" - to be their representatives and protect them against social injustice (cf Szasz, 1961: 70). Conceptualised as such, psychotherapists are to be the patient's agent and not an agent for society (cf Szasz, 1961: 72).7 Thus, Szasz places emphasis on the importance of the psychotherapist to be mindful of assuring a two-person therapeutic contract - restricting the relationship solely in terms of the psychotherapist-patient. The purpose of which is neither to protect nor to medically 'treat' the patient but to foster "... certain values and types of learning" (Szasz, 1961: 297).
From the above outline, The myth of mental illness (1961) defines the conditions of contracting less in terms of social class than in the role of the psychiatrist to: assure a two-person relationship; and to act as the patient's agent. Besides for which, the only other reference to contracting is that it is based on confidentiality - an aspect that for Szasz is indispensable in protecting both parties of the psychotherapist-patient relationship (cf Szasz, 1961: 66-67). However, in The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a) the aspects of contracting are conditioned by parameters and delimiters of social class.
One reason for Szasz's transformation of the themes - originally identified in The myth of mental illness (1961) but modified in The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a) to be focused on delimiters of social class - is found in the significance that he accords to psychoanalysis. For Szasz (1988a: 17-18), the importance of the psychoanalytic situation is that it "... is a model of the human encounter regulated by the ethics of individualism and personal autonomy". However, individualism for Szasz is only possible if one has attained and is secure in their collectivist freedom - which includes freedom from political oppression, economic exploitation, slavery, colonisation, and persecution based on religion, race and culture (cf Szasz, 1988a: 20). As such, he believes that psychotherapy holds the possibility of enlarging a patient's freedom (individualism and personal autonomy) but not in generating the freedom (collectivist) (cf Szasz, 1988a: 116). In cognisance of this, his argument that the poor do not require psychoanalysis is qualified by indicating that psychoanalysis only offers personal freedom. In doing so, the critique against Szasz for presenting an attitudinal bias or belief against the poor and uneducated proves to be unfounded. Although such critique may be unsubstantiated, the subsequent section of the paper argues that Szasz's text still reflects attitudinal biases. This is evident in his disapproval of the collectivist values promoted in the psychotherapy of Freud.
A discursive reading.
In this section of the paper, Szasz's idea that psychoanalysis only offers personal freedom is neither validated nor invalidated within the epistemology of psychotherapy.8 Instead, this paper offers a discursive investigation of Szasz's aforementioned idea within The ethics of psychoanalysis (1988a). The main reason for conducting a discourse analysis is not to uncover the truth of a statement but rather to discover how its 'claim to the truth' is constructed and produced. This process includes the denial and disregard of statements that counter the dominant discourse. In other words, one statement through a wide range of strategies is legitimated and produced as the dominant discourse, whereas the other is treated with suspicion and either marginalised or denied. As such, it will be argued that Szasz constructs the individualism of psychoanalysis as valid and justifiable through the process of disapproving of Freud's expressions of collectivist values in psychotherapy.
Szasz argues that Freud's greatest contributions include: providing the foundations for a therapy that seeks to enlarge the patient's freedom and responsibility (cf Szasz, 1988a: 16); and establishing the role of the psychiatrist as the agent for the patient (cf Szasz 1988a: 21). Additionally, he allots an elevated importance to Freud for stating that the aim of psychoanalysis is to help patients achieve personal autonomy (cf Szasz, 1988a: x-xi). However, on reflecting on which position Freud had concerning the two kinds of freedom - individualism and collectivist - he finds that Freud did not recognise the necessity of making the psychiatrist's position on these matter explicit (cf Szasz, 1988a: 20-22). For Szasz this is one of the imperfections of Freud's approach to therapy and the basis for its improvement (cf Szasz, 1988a: 95).9 In this process, Szasz (1988a: 113) does not just present autonomous psychotherapy as "... a fully contractual type of psychotherapy" but refutes and devalues the instances that Freud expresses collectivist values in psychotherapy. For example, and most important for this paper, is Szasz's dismissal of Freud in his postulation for a therapy to treat the poor and uneducated.
In cognisance of the above, the process by which Szasz constructs autonomous psychotherapy as a reasonable development from Freud (cf Szasz, 1988a: 6) is not a neutral process of advancement but is hinged upon a number of attitudes and beliefs towards Freud. In particular, such tendencies include: the recognition of Freud for providing a therapy based on enlarging a patient's freedom and autonomy; but also a disapproval of Freud's expression of collectivist values in psychotherapy. In doing so, it appears as if Szasz constructs a rigid binary of individualist versus collectivist values in psychotherapy. In this binary any expression of collectivism is deemed as negative. As a result, Freud's move towards offering the poor and uneducated access to psychoanalysis becomes regarded as unhelpful. Furthermore, any further investigation into Freud's development of a psychotherapy for the masses is deemed to be unwarranted. To offer a counterpoise to Szasz's negative descriptions and the absence of any ensuing investigation, the following paragraphs aim to indicate the tacit attempts and recorded practices offered by Freud to incorporate a more representative socioeconomic profile of patients for psychotherapy.
As already indicated, in 1919, Freud (1955: 166) acknowledged that psychoanalysis has become a treatment for the "well-to-do classes". However, Freud (1955: 167) had a vision of a day when:
"it is possible to foresee that at some time or other the conscience of society will awake and remind it that the poor man should have just as much right to assistance for his mind as he now has to the life-saving help offered by surgery; and that the neurosis threaten public health no less than tuberculosis, and can be left as little as the latter to the impotent care of individual members of the community. When this happens, institutions or out-patient clinics will be started, to which analytically-trained physicians will be appointed ..."
Freud looked forward to the day when clinics would be built for psychoanalysts to offer free treatment (cf Freud, 1955: 167). Freud was also not overwhelmed by the prospect of working with people from different socio-economic or cultural backgrounds, for he wrote, "I have been able to help people with whom I had nothing in common, neither race, education, social position, nor outlook upon life in general" (Freud, as cited by Altman, 2010: 33). From the above evidence, Freud has been revealed to express a social conscience (Danto, 2005), a democratic sensibility and a discomfort regarding psychoanalytic treatment restricted to well-to-do patients (Altman, 2010).
Yet, Freud's 1919 statement was not an intangible momentary postulation that was never taken seriously by the community of psychoanalysts. Rather, as Elizabeth Danto (2005) has recently documented, Freud's comment were taken as a direct instruction by the analysts of Europe between 1920 and 1938. Analysts responded to Freud's call by establishing free clinics throughout Europe in which analysts took on at least one free case or dedicated a part of their income from private practice to the maintenance of the clinic. Even the most senior analysts saw one-fifth of their patients free. Freud was no different as he saw some of his own patients without charge (Altman, 2010). As such, the psychoanalysts of this period resolutely believed that they had a social obligation to donate a portion of their time to people who could not otherwise afford psychoanalysis. Moreover, the majority of the psychoanalysts did not even consider weighing the effectiveness of treatment against the financial burden imposed by the patient (Danto, 2005). Therefore, the classical analysts of Europe, under the direction of Freud attempted to make psychoanalytic therapy available to as many people as possible through the establishment of free clinics (Danto, 2005).10
From the above discussion, the paper has identified certain attitudes and prejudices adopted by Szasz in his references to Freud. In particular these attitudes are informed by Szasz's position regarding individualism in psychotherapy. Szasz commends and even builds upon the expressions of individualism in Freud's therapy. However, Szasz's focus on individualism becomes a rigid framework for framing the goal of psychotherapy. Consequently, Freud's expressions of collectivist values are deemed unnecessary and devalued. In this process, the contributions and influence of Freud towards the establishment of a psychotherapy for the poor and uneducated are not only denied but deemed an unnecessary exploration. To substantiate further, his response to Freud calling for a psychotherapy for the people is met only with pronouncements concerning how it is at odds with the goals of individualism. What is missing is an evaluation of the tacit attempts and recorded practices offered by Freud to incorporate a more representative socio-economic profile of patients for psychotherapy. Thus, as a counterpoise to the exclusion of such historical details, the paper has indicated Freud's influence in developing a social-conscience in psychotherapy.
Szasz's The ethics of psychoanalysis can be regarded less in terms of professing a social bias in psychotherapy and more in terms of expressing the nature of psychotherapy (to enlarge a patient's individualism and personal autonomy) and its limitations (a patient needs to be have already achieved collectivist freedom). In this reasoning, the majority of the critiques of classism in Szasz can be argued to be tenuous - their claims are based on a generalised reading of Szasz that fails to account for the limitations and qualifiers of personal freedom evident in his pronouncements. Yet, the paper has argued that Szasz's text still reflects attitudinal biases through the disapproval of the collectivist values promoted in the psychotherapy of Freud.
Even though Szasz (1988a: xi) states that Freud would reject "... the 'therapeutic' ends and means I have made my own. Thus, the qualification I mention ... place my approach outside the bounds of psychoanalysis and other recognized methods of psychotherapy", a number of attitudes, beliefs and tendencies in Szasz's references to Freud can still be deduced. These include affirmations of Freud in terms of personal autonomy but also the denial and disregard of Freud's collectivist values in psychotherapy. Evident in this process is that he forwards his thesis by repudiating Freud for his lapses and breaches of individualism. Thus, the collectivist values in Freud are regarded as negative. Subsequently this leads to Szasz disregarding the place of these collectivist values in Freud's approach or theoretical development.
In sum, one can argue that Szasz forwards individualism in psychotherapy by casting collectivism in the negative. However, this statement is not an argument for collectivism in favour of individualism. Instead it serves only to reveal the process in which Szasz disregards collectivist values. One consequence of which is that Freud's recorded history of engaging with social class is excluded from discussion. Therefore, the paper has revealed that Szasz might not be guilty of presenting a class basis in psychotherapy but does regard collectivist values in psychotherapy as negative. This in turn leads to Szasz neglecting an exploration and investigation into the efforts made by Freud to make psychotherapy available to all people.
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1 This is not necessarily a critique but a limitation of Jung's approach. The method used in Jung's cases cannot be applied to all patients, nor did Jung think that it could (Fordham, 1978). To elucidate further, Jung advocated a particular psychological theory for a designated type of person. Additionally, Jung (2010) believes that psychological theories and approaches to psychotherapy should be based on the context and position of the patient. Thus, according to Jung (2010: 60): "... it is a blunder in technique to treat from the Freudian standpoint a patient of the type to whom the Adlerian psychology applies, that is, an unsuccessful person with an infantile need for self-assertion. Conversely, it would be a gross error to force the Adlerian viewpoint upon a successful man whose motives can be understood in terms of the pleasure principle".
2 This fact is confirmed by older literature such as Hollingshead and Redlich (1958) which has been described as a classic study focusing on social class (Busfield, 2011). Hollingshead and Redlich's study details the inequalities of treatment accorded to the psychiatrically ill of different classes. The unskilled and semi-skilled workers of poor education were much more likely than the members of superior social rankings to receive organic treatments (ECT, insulin coma, brain surgery, drugs). If they were given any psychotherapy it was brief or of a directive kind.
3 Szasz (cf 1988a: 6-7) also hesitates to term his approach to psychotherapy as Autonomous psychotherapy. In particular, this is because Szasz (cf 1988a: 6) deems his approach as inherently indicative of psychoanalysis. To support his claim, Szasz (1988a: 6) outlines a number of shared similarities: firstly, the aim is the same, in psychoanalysis the aim is to "... extend the control of the ego over certain areas of the id" or in Szasz's approach "... to augment the client's capacity for self-determination and making choices" (Szasz, 1988a: 6). Secondly, in terms of common methods, "... in classical psychoanalysis as well as in autonomous psychotherapy, the therapist's sole task is to 'analyze' " (Szasz, 1988a: 6). In this regard, Szasz is cautious to name his approach by a new term, as he would risk being criticised for using a new term to describe psychoanalysis as defined and intended by Freud (cf Szasz, 1988a: 6).
4 For a critique of Szasz's construction of the positive potentials in contracting, please see Stillman (1983). In particular, Stillman (1983) indicates that free contracting is not necessarily a sufficient condition for individual autonomy.
5 In addition to equal participants, another essential ingredient of contracts is freedom. For Szasz (1988a: 116), "in proportion as either therapist or patient is not free - in particular, not free with respect to the conduct of their relationship with each other - there is an external, situational limit on psychoanalysis. This limit is insurmountable regardless of the professional qualifications of the therapist and the psychological make-up of the patient". According to Szasz (cf 1988a: 115-116), patients that lack freedom include the poor who cannot pay for the services of the analyst.
6 To explain further, when the patient is defined as dependent, helpless and sick, the analyst assumes the role of the patient's "protector" - and of consequence its association with exploitation and oppression. Alternatively, when the analyst considers the patient autonomous and self-responsible, protection is not legitimate. Therefore, by relinquishing the "duty" to protect the patient, psychiatrists abandon their control of the patient (cf Szasz, 1988a: 184).
7 The role of the psychotherapist as the patient's agent continues in The ethics of psychoanalysis. Primarily this is evident in Szasz (cf 1988a: 21) accounting for the contribution of Freud who established the role of the psychiatrist as the patient's agent. Szasz (cf 1988a: 21) describes that when Freud became a physician, two roles had been established for the psychiatrist. One was the role of society's agent evident in the state-hospital psychiatrist. Although attempting to serve and support the patient, the psychiatrist in this role actually protects society from the patient. The other role was being an arbiter of the conflicts between patient and family, patient and employer, and so forth. In this role, the psychiatrist's allegiance is to whoever pays him or her. In contrast, Freud refused to take part in either of these roles. Instead he forged a new one - the role of agent of the patient. In this way, Freud assisted the individual patient while declining any obligation to the patient's family and society (cf Szasz, 1988a: 21).
8 Further information on liberation from oppression as the minimum requirement for the practice of psychoanalysis is discussed by Kumar (2012).
9 According to Szasz, the other inadequacies in Freud's approach include amongst others that it retains too many of the status aspects of the medical game and it is not sufficiently contractual (cf Szasz, 1988a: 113).
10 However, in the United States (US), the idea of psychoanalysis for all people did not take hold to the extent that it did in Europe (Altman, 2010). In the US, psychoanalysis became more and more a treatment reserved for the highest social classes. Poor people, working-class people and people seen in the public sector came to be viewed as unsuitable candidates for psychoanalysis. One reason for this was the prominence of the capitalism in American life. Thus, rather than being unsuitable candidates for psychoanalysis, the poor and uneducated were not aligned with the business aspect of the private practices of psychoanalysis (Altman, 2010).


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Chances are you pay little attention to the big business side of any online dating sites you are a member of and instead just focus your time on what they mean for you...as in what value you get from the site and who maybe your next date. Sound about right? I can't blame you and … [Read more...]
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Weather Blog: 22 years since Hurricane Bob
A New England hurricane
Thank you for stopping by the Weather Watch 12 blog! I have now been at WISN 12 for three weeks. Professionally, I have been a meteorologist for 8 years, but I have loved the weather for 22 years. Today marks a very significant anniversary for me and for most of the northeast. Hurricane Bob made landfall, going right over Block Island, RI.
Winds gusted to 100 mph on eastern Long Island and there were two confirmed tornadoes. You might be wondering, what is so special about a land-falling category-2 storm? Well, where it made landfall is where it gets interesting. Tropical systems are usually kicked out to sea by cold fronts or the west to east flow known as the westerlies. Hurricanes typically graze the northeastern part of the United States, but a direct landfall is rare.
I was amazed by the damage, even at such a young age - trees were down, homes were damages and sailboats were washed up on Main Street.
For the latest weather information watch WISN 12 News, and for updates throughout the day follow me on Twitter @chrisgloninger


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In which our hero learns that one problem with smugness is that too much of it can lead to some serious come-uppance.
If you read bike blogs, or talk with avid cyclists much you'll know that there are three topics that never fail to bring out people's opinions. I'm not talking boring technical roadie stuff like steel vs. carbon vs. titanium or Campy vs. SRAM vs. Shimano. The topics I'm talking about are Critical Mass, Bike lanes (and other infrastructure), and the advisability of everyone wearing a helmet. Here are (briefly) my takes on the first two. I'm rather grumpy today, so I'm prone to extreme positions. Also, I'm now incapable of shrugging my shoulders, which means I can't really equivocate. I'll explain my grumpiness when I get to helmets.
Critical Mass: (wikipedia if you need a definition). I participated in two CM rides in Edmonton. At first, it was kind of fun, riding in a big group, letting most of the traffic go by. Later, it seemed like the mass was just there to block traffic and piss people off. The most often expressed point of CM is that it is a "celebration of cycling." I suppose that's true in the same way a loud, drunken tailgate party is a "celebration of school spirit" in that it makes everyone who's not on your side hate you even more, and embarrasses the people who are ostensibly rooting for the same team. If you go with the "spontaneous protest" justification and the point of CM is to convince people that "bikes are traffic" it's a stupid fucking way to do it. Instead of CM, ride your bike everyday, everywhere you need to go. Encourage other people to do the same. CM is for bullshit wannabe revolutionaries.
Bike Lanes: Some bike lanes are good, some bike lanes are bad . I don't need bike lanes in order to feel comfortable riding in the street, but it's kind of nice to have them. I've biked in cities that have more lanes than Providence and it was pretty sweet. I've biked in cities with hardly any bike lanes and while it was certainly manageable, the worst part was the 45 MPH speed limit on some streets. A grid street pattern allowed me to stay off of those streets for the most part. Bike lanes (when constructed properly and kept clear of debris), can encourage more people to ride. When built incorrectly, they are a hazard. And the Park Slopers suing to get rid of the lanes on Prospect Park West are full of shit because those things make everyone safer.
Helmets: If you read about biking much, you're bound to come across the "great helmet war." The anti-helmet crowd says stuff like, "The Dutch don't wear helmets, and they have some of the best cycling safety statistics." Good for them, they also have the best cycling infrastructure and culture in the world. "That one guy in England found that when he wore a helmet, cars passed closer to him" Nice sample size there. "Bike helmets aren't designed for the common types of accidents" Well then, let's make them better. "Requiring helmets convinces people that cycling is unsafe." Some people are stupid, what are you going to do? I'd keep going, but I think that this post does a better job of breaking down the arguments for wearing a helmet.
In the last year, I've sort of skirted around the edges of the "helmet wars" as I've read various bike blogs. I'm a bit conflict-averse, so I've avoided reading much of it. But I'd heard some of the intriguing counter-intuitive arguments and I'll admit that they appealed to my scientific curiosity. Earlier this week, I found the video below on a bike blog called DFW Point-to-Point, and I thought, "well, maybe I'll take a look at this anti-helmet stuff."
I'd proceed with my usual frame-by-frame mocking of the video (a skill I picked up by spending too much time watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 in my youth), but I'm typing with one hand and don't quite feel up to it today.
On Friday, I wiped out while riding my road bike on the East Bay Bike Path. It was a beautiful day, with a high predicted to be in the upper 60's. I had a comp day coming to me, so it seemed like the perfect time to take the day off and enjoy a casual ride with Spouse. I even wore shorts. We were on a flat, straight section of the EBBP, completely devoid of any gravel, twigs or debris. I had just mentioned to Spouse that we could ride side by side since there was so little traffic. I took a swig from my water bottle, and as I replaced it, I lost my balance. My bike got sideways, and I hit the ground hard, mostly on my left shoulder, but also on my left hip. My head also hit the ground, but I'm not certain of the sequence. I heard a snap, at the time I thought it was my helmet, but it was most likely my collarbone. I didn't black out, but the pain took a few minutes to catch up with me. Spouse kept a level head and helped me get to the side of the path. She called our friend (and faithful commenter) Vanessa to help with the bikes, then we decided it was best to call an ambulance.
X-rays confirmed that my collarbone was broken on my left side. I won't bother you with the details of the ER right now (I have 4-6 weeks of no riding ahead of me, so i'll need to stretch out the stories). I'll just say that I'm glad I always carry with me: my ID, credit card, and insurance card. I didn't have anything with emergency contact info on it, but I'll be adding that to my kit for my next ride. Something else I always have with me: my helmet. Did it save my life yesterday? No, that would be an exaggeration. But it probably saved me from a concussion.
Fortunately, you can't see the crack in my clavicle, but I can assure you that it is protruding much more than the other side. I'm not sure why I'm smiling, maybe it was the percocet.
I'll be wearing this for the next several weeks, thus the one-handed typing. And one-handed eating. And one-handed just about everything else.
At the end of my recovery, i'll get to buy a new helmet. They're not perfect, but they're the best thing we have for protecting our brains (along with not riding like an idiot). I can't blame this accident on anyone but myself, really. I suppose I could try to blame it on the extraordinarily strong pull of the lunar perigee on the water in my bottle.
The so-called "Supermoon" woke me up around 3 AM this morning just to mock me as it passed across my window.
I'll try to keep up with the blogging in the next few weeks, concentrating more on walking and transit. Until then, ride safe!


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ETI's colleague and friend, Bun Lai, is named a White House Champion of Change. His restaurant, Miya's Sushi, in New Haven, offers the world's only invasive species menu, featuring dishes made of foraged ingredients that are threatening to the region's indigenous species. Read more about Bun and the rest of the sustainable seafood champions here.
Bun Lai, Champion of Change
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Turning the Tables on Invasive Species
Python bowls and lionfish filets. There are many ways to battle invasive species, but the real goal is to stop any new invaders from getting in–we don't need more exotic ingredients. Read more about efforts to prevent invasive species in Florida here
If You Can't Beat Them, Eat Them
Can appealing to our stomachs–and our sense of fun–help preserve an ecosystem? Off the Florida coast, the lionfish, an aquarium pet gone destructive, is promoted as food and in spearfishing contests. Check out the story in The Christian Science Monitor here.
Invasive Species Turned Into Sustainable Delicacies
"It is certainly a great idea to cook with invasive species, but a challenging one," Andrew Esterson, a restoration ecologist, explains. "Education would go a long way. Perhaps if there was a demand for nutria it would start showing up at farmers markets or on the shelves at grocery stores." Esterson's first time cooking with [...]
"What is being lost? The answer is easy. A precious and irreplaceable part of Florida's, and the nation's, heritage is disappearing. Plants, animals, and entire ecosystems that took tens of thousands to millions of years to evolve are at risk. What is being gained in their place? A hodgepodge of species found in other parts of the world. . . . Florida is being homogenized, and everyone, for all time to come, will be the poorer for it."
—E. O. Wilson, in his foreword to Strangers in Paradise: Impact and Management of Nonindigenous Species in Florida
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That's one of the actions announced recently by Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman aimed at speeding signup for the Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program of the 2002 farm bill. USDA estimates that about one-third of eligible farmers had signed up for the program at the end of January.
The secretary also said USDA would begin making a second advance counter-cyclical payment for upland cotton, rice and peanuts in early February as authorized by the 2002 farm bill. Farm organizations have been urging her to make the second round of payments to help producers cash flow their operations for new farm loans.
Under the new farm bill, producers have until April 1 to update their acreage bases and yields for the new Counter-cyclical Payment Program and until June 2 to complete signup for the remaining farm programs.
Veneman said allowing county FSA committees to establish a yield, based on similar farms in the local farming community or the LDP records for the specific farm, should help more producers complete signup, which she said had increased by 20 percent in the last 30 days.
Speeding up
"We have seen considerable progress during the past month on farm bill signup," said Veneman. "The steps we are taking today should help those producers who have had difficulties obtaining some of their records due to circumstances beyond their control."
She said that today's actions should assist those landowners who are unable to obtain production evidence to prove yields for their program payments. "The inability to obtain this information may be because the landowner has recently purchased a farm or part of a farm and historical production evidence cannot be obtained from the previous producer."
This change is effective immediately and will be applicable to counter-cyclical yields for those producers electing to update their bases for eligible commodities, and for direct payment yields for oilseeds, the secretary noted.
"Prior to these revisions, producers applying for these programs would have had to accept 75 percent of the county average yield," she said. "Those farmers who have already accepted the 75 percent county average may take advantage of this new procedure by contacting their local USDA Service Center."
Veneman said the sign-up average for the major grain and southern states, which represents more than half of the total number of eligible farms nationwide, is 41 percent. At the current rate of sign-up, USDA would reach more than 60 percent of eligible farmers signing up nationwide and more than 80 percent of the major grain/southern state farmers) by the April 1 deadline.
USDA expectations
USDA expects that about 30 percent of landowners will choose to retain their existing yields and roll their historical program flexibility contract base and yield numbers forward.
"Approximately one-third of eligible farmers have signed up, and we expect another large segment, perhaps close to a third, will choose to retain their existing Production Flexibility Contract yields and simply roll them forward, which accounts for about two-thirds," said J.B. Penn, undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Services.
"We now are focusing on getting the remaining one-third of producers enrolled in the next two months. Today's announcement should help in that regard."
Both Veneman and Penn noted that with the April 1 deadline fast approaching producers who have yet to begin the sign-up process should contact their local USDA Service Center or FSA office as soon as possible to review program details and options.
Farm organizations applauded Veneman's announcement of the second advance counter-cyclical payment for cotton, rice and peanuts.
"We estimate this (the second advance CC payment) will total about $610 million for our farmers," she said. "This action meets the schedule of the 2002 Farm Bill and provides timely benefits to farmers."
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 provides for two advance payments, in October and February, under the farm bill's Direct and Counter-cyclical Program and a final payment after close of the marketing year.
First 35 percent
The first partial counter-cyclical payment was 35 percent of the entire projected rate and began on Oct. 1, 2002. The first partial counter-cyclical payment rate for upland cotton was $0.0480 per pound; for rice, $0.58 per hundredweight; and for peanuts, $36.40 per short ton.
The second partial counter-cyclical payment rate for upland cotton is $0.096 per pound; for rice, $1.16 per hundredweight; and for peanuts, $72.80 per short ton. These payments are 70 percent of the total projected counter-cyclical payment, less any counter-cyclical payments already received in the first partial payment.
Final counter-cyclical payments will be determined at the end of the respective marketing year for each crop. Producers who receive total partial payments exceeding the actual counter-cyclical payment for each respective crop must repay any excess amounts.
For each commodity, the counter-cyclical payment equals the counter-cyclical payment rate times 85 percent of the farm's base acreage times the farm's counter-cyclical payment yield for each crop. The counter-cyclical payment rate is the amount by which the target price of each covered commodity exceeds its effective price.
The effective price equals the direct payment rate plus the higher of: (1) the national average market price received by producers during the marketing year, or (2) the national loan rate for the commodity.
Producers can also request 2002 direct payments at their local USDA Service Center anytime during the sign-up period. For each commodity, the direct payment equals the direct payment rate times 85 percent of the farm's base acreage times the farm's direct payment yield.
The National Cotton Council and both rice producer groups, the U.S. Rice Producers Association and the U.S. Rice Producers Group had both asked the secretary to make the payment available.
A letter written by Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Zell Miller, D-Ga., and signed by 10 other senators cited data that indicates the CCP rate for cotton, rice and peanuts is expected to be the maximum under the law. Thus, making a partial (advance) available will assist producers experiencing cash flow difficulties due to disastrous losses and chronically low prices, the senators said.
For more information on DCP, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit the USDA Farm Service Agency's Web site at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
e-mail: email@example.com


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Pie of the Week: Pear and Frangipane Pie
Get the Recipe
My first month as a student in pastry school was spent getting acquainted with classic French tarts. I have very fond memories of those days; breaking in my first stiff chef's whites, practicing, over and over again, how to make pate brisée and sucrée, and working up a sweat whisking vats of pastry cream over a hot range. Of all the tarts that we made and tasted during this happy time, one, with its lightly spiced poached pears and fragrant almond filling, made a deep and lasting impression. These were flavors I've carried with me since.
Fast forward to last Thanksgiving, when I was baking so many apple pies to fulfill orders at the restaurant, I couldn't bear to look at another one for my family's own holiday table. Instead, I decided to combine my favorite French tart with America's favorite dessert: pie. The result was pear and frangipane on steroids, complete with a flaky, golden brown crust, and layers of pear baked into the almond filling. My relatives became just as smitten with my Americanized version of the French classic.
Pears are in season right now in the Northeast, and they're bright, juicy, and all-around amazing this year. You can make this recipe work with almost any type of pear, with the exception of Asian pears that contain too much water for poaching. My favorite varieties are Bosc, Bartlett, and Comice. When choosing pears, always pick fruit with smooth skin and firm flesh that gives only slightly with pressure. Avoid fruit that is bruised or cut. For poaching, pears that are overripe can lose their shape and dent, so try to find ones that are a bit under ripened.
To poach the pears, simply simmer them in a poaching liquid until until they are fork-tender and somewhat translucent. The pears will absorb flavor from the liquid, which gives you the opportunity to infuse them with your favorite spices and flavoring. Most poaching liquids are simply solutions of water, sugar, and spices, herbs, or zest. I prefer to add dry white wine to poaching liquid for pears, which lends some nice acidity. The poaching liquid fills the kitchen with wonderfully sweet and spicy aromas.


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Coronavirus (COVID-19) - how it is affecting our services
Pay by phone permits
Conditions of use
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Phone01246 345345
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In personOur offices are currently closed to the public due to the coronavirus outbreak. Find out more here.
By postChesterfield Borough CouncilTown HallRose HillChesterfieldS40 1LP
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Out of hours and emergency information


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"Both Steve and Rae Brown were raised in upland country in Montana. They left Montana for a 20 year adventure to live in the urban community of Seattle-Tacoma. In 2005 they returned for a holiday visit with family and Steve went upland hunting with his brother and his brother's pointing lab. After watching a bird dog work and recognizing the need for a well bred dog, Steve decided he needed a gun dog. Steve and Rae returned to Seattle to research the various breeds. Through a recommendation from a relative it was suggested he consider purchasing a German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP).
Steve researched GSP breeders extensively in Washington State. He decided to purchase a GSP from Leo Mittag, from No-Mars Kennel who has 36 years of breeding, testing, and competition experience.
After purchasing their first GSP they decided that it was time to return to MT and to the activities they grew up with. Rae, who had never hunted, started venturing out with the gang for hunting trips and became hooked on the hunt and the dogs. That first hunting season they hunted with their dogs nearly every weekend .


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Total Sign-ups For Obama Health Plans Estimated at 2 Million
HONOLULU (AP) — The Obama administration says a December surge has propelled health insurance sign-ups through the federal government's website past the 1 million mark.
Independent experts say when numbers for state-run markets are reported, the combined enrollment should total at about 2 million people. That would be about two-thirds of the administration's original goal of signing up 3.3 million by Dec. 31.
The numbers represent a significant improvement given the technical problems that crippled the federal market during much of the fall. The overall goal remains to enroll 7 million people by March 31.
That's prompted Congressman Darrell Issa to concede: "Obamacare is a reality." The California Republican has been a prominent opponent of the president's signature health care law. Appearing on NBC's "Meet The Press," Issa predicted that the program's subsidies would lead middle class people to look at health care in "a Third World way" and pile on costs.


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Lest you think I'm totally deaf, blind, and mute...
Today is World AIDS Day. We've lost a great many wonderful, beautiful, talented people to AIDS. May we remember to be compassionate in honor of their memory. May we all stop to consider how best to minister to those afflicted today and how best to prevent its spread in the future.
(Ultimately, may we remember to be humble and compassionate in deference to our sweet, sweet Lord Jesus.)
NOTE: I do not support/endorse artificial birth control and stand by the Catholic Church's stance on the issue.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Lest you think I'm totally deaf, blind, and mute...
Posted by seeking_something at 5:50 PM
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Quality ebook cover art is hard to come by for less than $150-$400. But it can be done, consistently, if you do what I do. I hire freelance artists/graphic-designers, at the price I'm willing to pay, to make a cover based on my own design concepts. See the first post on adventures in cover artistry: http://thenightlifeseries.blogspot.com/2012/08/adventures-in-ebook-cover-artistry.html
Initially, I found a buttload of talented artists working in illustration and graphics design when I posted my ebook cover art job. Fifty different artists applied for the job. It was difficult to choose just one. After going through this process several times, hiring artists and working through multiple mockups-proofs, I settled on the "prove you're the one" method.
The problem with artists is they usually have a day job. They do this graphic design stuff on the side. Finding time to do what I want at the price I'm willing to pay is an issue.
Sure, if I wished to throw hundreds of dollars at an artist, they'd drop everything and have my work done in two days. But I'm kinda cheap. That's what my wife says.
I sorted through many an artist who took a week or more getting back to me by email in order to find those who respond immediately and get the work done in days rather than weeks. Its no surprise that the artists who run full a time graphic design business are the most prompt and professional. Its their bread and butter to do this stuff.
Lisa Strong is the latest graphic designer I hired. She's awesome on timeliness, professionalism, and she does as many modifications and proofs as necessary to reach a finished product you're happy with:
Here's the cover for "The Nightlife Las Vegas" she finished in five days. Two of those days I wasted in not getting back to her on my opinion of the initial proof work.
The trick to a good cover is the K.I.S.S. principle, Keep It Simple Stupid. Everything on your cover must be recognizable from a thumbnail image. Most ebook shoppers will never see more than a thumbnail image of your ebook until they click on it. Your ebook better be one cool-ass lookin' thumbnail, especially if you're an unknown Indie author. Us Indies are always judged by our covers, initially.
This cover by Lisa Strong, has a wonderful thumbnail appeal. Everyone can see the elegant bright white fonts and the blood splattered Las Vegas sign. Simple. Colorful. Grabs the eye. The concepts embodied in this cover are effectively communicated at both thumbnail and full size.
Give Lisa a shot. If you're not getting what you want on an ebook cover design, perhaps you need to provide better tools and references for what you want. I scoured the web for imagery and tools to give to Lisa. I provided her with a set of Photoshop blood splatter tools for use on my covers, along with the sign image.
Make your cover artist's job easy, and you will get what you want.
Stay tuned for my next blog post detailing the various stages of development working through several artists on "The Nightlife Las Vegas" cover.


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BC student attacked, punched in jaw at Fenway Domino's
WBZ reports the student was jumped by a bunch of men at the 1260 Boylston St. Domino's around 2 a.m. on Friday.
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Streets getting as violent as the ice?
What is the world coming to when life imitates hockey?
I'd say nothing good happens at Domino's at 2am, but
the fact is that nothing good happens there at any time of day.
I actually broke down and tried one of its "completely reformulated, new pizzas" last year. Blech: still as dire as ever.
I guess it's ok to victim blame here? Playing hockey and eating shitty pizza doesn't mean he's fair game to be mocked.
I made a lot of poor culinary choices in my early and mid-20's at 2:00 AM (I'm looking at you scary Chinese restaurant that used to be near where Capo is in South Boston).
Man is attacked by larger group of men while just waiting for food and you think that is ok?
Are you really Donald Rumsfeld just creeping on this board trying to continue support for the Doctrine of Pre-Emption in saying that the larger hockey player would have beaten up these smaller individuals at some point owing to his size and the threat he posed to them?
Stay away from working at rape crisis hotlines for a while, would ya?
Yes, we can blame the victim.
Yes, we can blame the victim. The reporter says "unprovoked" but when you watch what happens you see him provoking, or at least escalating.
It's not like he was standing there looking at his phone and got sucker punched.
Baseball Tavern (where I
Baseball Tavern (where I believe someone was assaulted and is in a coma?) is nearby.
So is Fenway Park, where
So is Fenway Park, where someone got attacked by a hawk. Wait, what?
Was this related to ...
... all the commotion and police presence near Boylston and Tremont about an hour earlier?
bc hockey player punched
if you watch the video it looks like this was a little bit more than an "unprovoked assault". looks like hockey boy was doing a bit of chirping while all the drunk people waited in line for their drunk food. ive seen quite a few of these fights. sometimes its best to just shut up and wait for your shitty food. anybody remember rileys roast beef? redbones? that place was like WWE every friday and saturday night when i was running around. onion rings and black eyes.
bc hockey player punched
if you watch the video it looks like this was a little bit more than an "unprovoked assault". looks like hockey boy was doing a bit of chirping while all the drunk people waited in line for their drunk food. ive seen quite a few of these fights. sometimes its best to just shut up and wait for your shitty food. anybody remember rileys roast beef? redbones? that place was like WWE every friday and saturday night when i was running around. onion rings and black eyes.
That was the thing that got me
I don't think that violence is the answer to any dispute, but it did get me when the assault was called "unprovoked" when an argument clearly was underway before punches were thrown.
But no, I don't blame this poor kid. He was outnumbered, which is poor fighting form. And of course, there was no reason for violence. Drunk college kids are annoying, but they don't need to get all punchy.
Unfortunately, however,
drunk college kids, and people who are drunk..period, are more likely to get into fights, which is another reason to curb the amount of alcohol served at these venues, especially to underaged college students.
The barbecue place in Davis Square? What bad thing ever happened there?
Probably thinking of the old Redneck's Roast Beef
in Allston, a late-night spot with a lot of drunks, as most late-night spots in Boston tend to have.
yes rednecks
my bad.
they used to cage off the sit down section of the restaurant and there would always be a cop in there but it never really stopped all hell from breaking loose out on the corner.
Out of towners?
A seemingly inordinate number of very obnoxious Philly fans came up for the Sixers/Celtics game on Thursday, and I couldn't help but notice the guy in the Embiid shirt. I'm a fan of a few non Boston teams myself so who knows, but pretty coincidental.
Either way, they're morons and I hope this kid comes out alright.
Why is this news?
Fights like this (and much worse) happen literally every weekend in neighborhoods throughout Boston. People are drunk, words are exchanged, fights break out. Usually, someone gets punched. Sad that this kid's jaw is broken - but the news makes it sound like he was blindsided out of nowhere. There was lots of "talking" going on there - per the video. If you are in a situation like that (2:00 AM, drunk, mouthing off, shoving, etc.) and not ready/prepared should something kick-off, then you must live in a very sheltered world.
People are being killed on the streets of Boston on a weekly basis - and the news is out interviewing BC students about a small drunken fight at a Dominos at 2:00 AM that involved a BC hockey player. Sad.
Non-story. Mother-of-gawd, move along.
It's news because the victim
It's news because the victim was an athlete which seems to be the equivalent of a Greek God to news outlets. If the victim was attending BC on an academic scholarship then the news media would probably never have reported it.
Obviously, however, if the kid got his jaw broken,
it wasn't such a small thing, really.
again - it happens every day.
with all of the bars we have in Boston - probably multiple times a day. With most fights, someone generally gets knocked out, broken jaw, etc.
Sorry, this just doesn't seem newsworthy.
start a news outlet, cover what you believe to be "real" news.
Problem solved.
If the perps bought anything
If the perps bought anything with a card in there the police could find them by their credit/ debit card.
Ways to appear like a small parochial city...
step 1: Give actual airtime and resources to cover (and interview people) about a drunken fistfight at dominos pizza regarding a college hockey player.
this just in....
Rozzie teens were spotted drinking in the Arboretum last night,...and some Newton kids were playing mailbox baseball. Call in the FBI
Sorry, they're too busy
FBI can't help. They're too busy doing. You know.


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This week we are joined in the studio by real life art critic for the Chicago Tribune and senior lecturer at the School of the Art Institute, Lori Waxman, to discuss her latest book Keep Walking Intently: The Ambulatory Art of the Surrealists, the Situationist International, and Fluxus Walking. We learn some art history, discuss the implications of walking-while-female, and Waxman connects her work to some favorite contemporary practitioners like Janet Cardiff and Chicago's own Hui-min Tsen.
Listen to this and more on this episode of Bad at Sports Center.


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Levomethadone; Methadone/Nelfinavir; Ritonavir; Telaprevir Interactions
This information is generalized and not intended as specific medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional before taking or discontinuing any drug or commencing any course of treatment.
Medical warning:
Moderate. These medicines may cause some risk when taken together. Contact your healthcare professional (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) for more information.
How the interaction occurs:
Nelfinavir, ritonavir, and telaprevir may speed up how quickly your body processes methadone.
What might happen:
The amount of methadone in your blood may decrease and it may not work as well.
What you should do about this interaction:
Let your healthcare professionals (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) know that you are taking these medicines together. If you experience nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, irritability, sleep disturbances, other withdrawal symptoms, or if your methadone is not controlling your pain, contact your healthcare professionals (e.g. doctor or pharmacist). Your doctor may want to adjust the dose of your medicine.Your healthcare professionals may already be aware of this interaction and may be monitoring you for it. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine before checking with them first.
- 1.Beauverie P, Taburet AM, Dessalles MC, Furlan V, Touzeau D. Therapeutic drug monitoring of methadone in HIV-infected patients receiving protease inhibitors. AIDS 1998 Dec 24;12(18):2510-1.
- 2.Kharasch ED, Walker A, Whittington D, Hoffer C, Bedynek PS. Methadone metabolism and clearance are induced by nelfinavir despite inhibition of cytochrome P4503A (CYP3A) activity. Drug Alcohol Depend 2009 May 1; 101(3):158-68.
- 3.Marco A, Deig E, Cadafalch J, Fuster M, Valls I, Pedrol E. Clinical and pharmacokinetic interactions between methadone and nelfinavir (Nemesia study). Med Clin (Barc) 2006 Jun 10;127(2):47-50.
- 4.Hsyu PH, Lillibridge J, Daniels E, Kerr BM. Pharmacokinetic interaction of nelfinavir and methadone in intravenous drug users. Biopharm Drug Dispos 2006 Mar;27(2):61-8.
- 5.Kharasch ED, Bedynek PS, Park S, Whittington D, Walker A, Hoffer C. Mechanism of ritonavir changes in methadone pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics: I. Evidence against CYP3A mediation of methadone clearance. Clin Pharmacol Ther 2008 Oct;84(4):497-505.
- 6.Jimenez-Lerma JM, Iraurgi I. Potential opiate withdrawal syndrome after ritonavir administration in a patient treated with methadone. Rev Clin Esp 1999 Mar;199(3):188-9.
- 7.Incivek (telaprevir) US prescribing information. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated October, 2013.
- 8.Levopidon (levomethadone) Swedish Summary of Product Characteristics. DNE Pharma AS November 30, 2018.
- 9.Younis IR, Lakota EA, Volpe DA, Patel V, Xu Y, Sahajwalla CG. Drug-Drug Interaction Studies of Methadone and Antiviral Drugs: Lessons Learned. J Clin Pharmacol 2019 Aug;59(8):1035-1043.
Selected from data included with permission and copyrighted by First Databank, Inc. This copyrighted material has been downloaded from a licensed data provider and is not for distribution, except as may be authorized by the applicable terms of use.
CONDITIONS OF USE: The information in this database is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the expertise and judgment of healthcare professionals. The information is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, drug interactions or adverse effects, nor should it be construed to indicate that use of a particular drug is safe, appropriate or effective for you or anyone else. A healthcare professional should be consulted before taking any drug, changing any diet or commencing or discontinuing any course of treatment.


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Snow stops Monday's action
Monday's game between the Buffalo Bisons and the Rochester Red Wings at Coca-Cola Field has been postponed due to snow and freezing temperatures. The teams will make up the game as part of a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 19 at Coca-Cola Field (Game 1: 12:05 p.m.)
On Tuesday, April 19, the Bisons and Red Wings will play two, seven-inning games.
Fans holding tickets to Monday's game can exchange them for a comparable ticket to any future 2011 Bisons games (excluding special events). All ticket exchanges must be made at the Coca-Cola Field box office. Please note that these exchanges do not have to be made on Monday, April 18. Fans with tickets can exchange them throughout the remainder of the 2011 season.
For more information regarding the exchange policy, fans can contact the Bisons at THE-HERD (843-4373).