The mental illness "franchise" has been very good to Pharma. While it could not "grow" the number of people with actual schizophrenia, it has successfully grown those diagnosed with amorphous "schizoaffective" and bipolar disorders and, of course, depression.

Thanks to Pharma’s everyone-is-mentally-ill ploy, buoyed by the Pharma-funded writers of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, an estimated one quarter of the population now takes psych drugs. Gone are the days when bad moods were attributed to problems with finance, romance, jobs, housing, family, marriages and health.

In starting an organization, the first thought for many is, “Where do we get the money?” The answer doesn’t have to be that hard. Why not create a dues system? Seems obvious, doesn’t it? Why not have the people who are participating in the organization, many of whom will benefit from the work of the organization, “pay to play,” and have membership dues?

There is actual only one big obstacle: asking!

Many who desperately want to create an organization that would make change and build power are stymied by the cultural restraint that has been built around the simple problem that people are not comfortable talking about money. To be more specific, many are not as uncomfortable asking churches, unions, and of course charitable foundations for money as they are asking each other for money.

In building ACORN, we found that ironic. Most people don’t mind being asked for money, as much as others resist actually doing the asking.

Monday, November 26, 7-9pm
Columbus Mennonite Church, 35 Oakland Park Ave.
Black Indians: An American Story” brings to light a forgotten part of Americans past – the cultural and racial fusion of Native and African Americans. Narrated by James Earl Jones, the film explores what brought the two groups together, what drove them apart and the challenges they face today. A society that wants to build the future must know its past, its real past, as it was.” But what if that past had been lost, forgotten, hidden, or denied? "Black Indians: An American Story,” explores the issue of racial identity among Native and African Americans and examines the coalescence of these two groups in American history. Discounted, and often ignored by mainstream America, these minority peoples have often shared a past. However, with their heritage ignored and their contributions denied they are all but invisible at the dawn of the new millennium.