Brief Politico-Therapies: A Tour Of The Psych-Bloggers

Once again gentle readers, it is time for a tour of the Psych-bloggers, that intrepid bunch of mental health professionals as we take a look at their take on politics, the human condition and anything else that catches my eye. Our usual bunch of suspects include: Dr. Helen, Dr. Sanity, Shrinkwrapped, neo-neocon, Assistant Village Idiot, One Cosmos (Gagdad Bob), Sigmund, Carl and Alfred and last, but never leastIron Shrink.

Our first stop on our tour is Gagdad Bob at One Cosmos who takes on the task of writing about evil in "Living in the Shadow of the Worst Possible Thing" writing:

I remember when I made the "mistake" of listening the audio of the Muslim savages cutting off Nick Berg's head. I say "mistake," but this is actually something that Americans should have been required to watch, hear, and bear within their psyches. But as far as the Orwellian MSMistry of Truth is concerned, it did not happen. But imagine if the reverse had occurred -- imagine if we had actually tortured someone at Gitmo or Abu Ghraib. They would have never stopped showing it. This is why we can say without flinching that the liberal MSM serves evil and is an enemy of America. Please bear in mind that I am not saying that this or that individual is evil. Rather, I am simply talking about the reality of the institution. It serves evil ends. We'll have to get into their motivations in a later post.

This is a must read. Our second stop along the psych-trail is Dr. Helen. Helen Smith is a Psychologist specializing in forensic psychology. Her documentary "Six" is, or should be, required watching. This selected post is on "Women, Anger and the Web" and discusses a surprising bit of research:

With all of the anonymous insults being thrown around on the internet these days, do you ever wonder about the sex of the poster? Do you think it's mainly men who are the supposed angrier sex so the insults must be coming from them? Think again.

Turning the bend in the trail we bump into ShrinkWrapped. ShrinkWrapped's take on "Lessons From History and Neuroscience." is a thought provoking look at how we change our minds, if and perhaps when we can:

Recent research developments in neuroscience and cognition suggest there are definitive anatomical and neurophysiological substrates to the difficulty we have in changing our minds.
[...]
As I have pointed out, this tendency to filter new data to make it fit pre-existing frameworks is ubiquitous and impacts everything from individual psychology to learning to politics.

If you have difficulty incorporating new ideas, this too is a must read. Learn from ShrinkWrapped, it's the right thing to do.

And now dearly beloved readers, we turn to the Diva of Psych-bloggers, my friend, my heroine and one terrific lady, Dr. Sanity. Dr. Sanity tackles the oh so dreaded left in "Here We Go Again: Displacement²" opening with:

Here we are in the middle of a war with Islamic fundamentalism on multiple fronts; and on the home front, the political left and their shills in our children's educational system seem to think that the U.S. is at risk for a Christian theocracy! They are even having school drills to prepare for that fateful day."

Leaving that neck of the woods and going down the trail a mite further, we find Neo-neocon who takes a look at the thinking of the left and right regarding the recent Iranian penchant for kidnapping in "Negotiations and That Big Stick" stating:

Much of the anger on the right wasn’t just about the negotiations, but rather the fact that the sailors were left unprotected and vulnerable to this sort of abduction in the first place. After all, it’s not as though the possibility hadn’t been rehearsed through a similar (although somewhat less serious) incident in 2004. It’s not as though there weren’t recent warnings that more of the same might be forthcoming. The “impotence” and “weakness” refers at least in part to the fact that these sailors were left defenseless, showing a lack of preparedness on the part of the British government and the Navy."

Up next is my very good friend Assistant Village Idiot who is anything but. AVI takes a look at an imaginative (though troubling) piece regarding if Al Gore had won the presidency.

The thought has crossed my mind that there is a fair bit of unrealistic, comic-book thinking on the left, but I put it aside as unfairly critical on my part."

Let us turn now to the writings of the tripartite Sigmund, Carl and Alfred. Oh that worthy can write. In a new post (and regular entry) his Wednesday Weekly Whacky Award post, he takes on a variety of idjits and you absolutely must read his takes both for his insights and humor. No tidbits as the WWWA's cover so much varried ground. Please, add this to your regular Wednesday reading. I have and I'm sooooo glad.

IronShrink hasn't posted any thing new, but go there anyway and see his archives. You won't be disappointed and of that, I'm positive. (P.S., come on Iron ole buddy, you are holding up the works.)