have been making progress in the opposite direction area just 40 years ago, 1972, the american psychiatric association, finally removed from this list of mental illnesses, homosexuality. that was an enormous game changer. once that was done, leaders like willie brown could reverse state law, which at that time, would have been a felony for a consensual adult of the same gender to have relations. willie loves telling the story. it is very dramatic. the vote was locked at 20-20. he air lifted in the lieutenant governor to cast the deciding vote. when he comes home on weekends, goes to church with his wife and children, the church elders would take him aside and say, is there something we should note? [laughter] it was not a self-serving act. this was leadership in fighting for civil rights. that is why willie brown is getting a lifetime achievement award. [applause] as i do every year, i bring a proclamation writ this effort starts on friday morning. when patrick takes a u-haul truck to a storage locker, blows up the truck, brings the volunteers, comes back, feeds everybody. saturday morning filling out

have been making progress in the opposite direction area just 40 years ago, 1972, the american psychiatric association, finally removed from this list of mental illnesses, homosexuality. that was an enormous game changer. once that was done, leaders like willie brown could reverse state law, which at that time, would have been a felony for a consensual adult of the same gender to have relations.

. >> reporter: the american psychiatric association wants to add internet addiction to the next version of this diagnosis manual for mental health professionals. >> these are culturally constructed diagnoses and it is not a static thing. >> reporter: along with addiction to gambling, sex and drugs, advocates say lives are being ruined by too much internet. >> you don't have to spend all your free time on the internet. otherwise, you going to lose your family. >> reporter: hogwash says psychiatrist laura davies. >> as far as i'm aware, nobody has lost their house or family because of time spent on the internet. >> interesting conversation to be had right there about use of the internet. >> i know. we are on it all the time. you sit down and it is just there and you get on. >> the next thing you know, a couple of hours go by and you're still on the internet. >> let's a talk about another thrilling night with the nats. >> that ball was jacked to right field. see you later. upper deck. >> the long ball and some solid pitching. the formula for another nats win. we've got sports breakfast com

the american psychiatric association wants to add internet addiction to the next version of the diagnosisental health handbook. >> these are culturally constructed diagnoses and that it's not a static thing. >> some surfaces available over the internet have unique psychological properties that induce instant gratification. those oppose though say excessive use of the internet is actually a symptom of other mental health problems. >>> alameda county is planning to hand off the cost of unwanted prescription drugs to the companies that make them. the county board of supervisors today approved a first of its kind ordnance. officials say the move will save the county $300,000 a year. the pharmaceutical companies have until next year to come up with a plan. >>> this friday the jenny lynn foundation is scheduled to hold a concert. lin was a straight a student who played the viola and was a member of the castro valley chamber orchestra. she was killed in her home. >>> another round of pleasant weather in the forecast for your wednesday. as we continue the cooling trend we've seen in recent days.

the american psychiatric association wants to add internet addiction to the next version of the diagnosis. >> these are culturally constructed diagnoses and that it's not a static thing. >> some surfaces available over the internet have unique psychological properties that induce instant gratification. those oppose though say excessive use of the internet is actually a symptom of other mental health problems. >>> alameda county is planning to hand off the cost of unwanted prescription drugs to the companies that make them. the county board of supervisors today approved a first of its kind ordnance. officials say the move will save the county $300,000 a year. the pharmaceutical companies have until next year to come up with a plan. >>> this friday the jenny lynn foundation is scheduled to hold a concert. lin was a straight a student who played the viola and was a member of the castro valley chamber orchestra. she was killed in her home. >>> another round of pleasant weather in the forecast for your wednesday. as we continue the cooling trend we've seen in recent days. the winds generally l

father in his 40's and one on to lead a pivotal effort to stop his profession and the american psychiatric associationreating homosexuality as a disease. those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin today's show with a look at the extreme weather effecting large areas of the united states. as a forest fires, heat waves and droughts are devastating much of the country. this comes as a week after tropical storm debby flooded florida. and it's the news coverage of the extreme weather, we rarely hear two other words -- global warming. this is just a sampling of recent news reports. >> the heat wave is making the rockies and great plans, now spreading east. 130 million americans are in the excessive heat advisories down, or than one-third of the entire u.s. population. >> the high today in indianapolis, a sizzling 103 degrees, that broke a 78-year old record. >> nashville broke its all-time record, hitting 109 degre

the american psychiatric association wants to add internet addiction to their next diagnosis manual likees can be ruined by too much internet. i'm going to go log off and toss this to steve. >> steve: it is addictive. thank you very much. the obama administration making major policy changes ahead of the 2012 election. some say will help him, the president, win over voters. two weeks ago the administration granted states waivers for the work requirement for welfare. you really don't have to work anymore. that move came months after he used an executive order to grant amnesty to the children of illegal immigrants. so will these policy changes translate into votes in the barak obama column in november? professor larry sabato joins us right now from the university of virginia. larry, good morning to you. >> good morning, steve. >> steve: we've heard so much about how this president, he's got these different demographics and he's just checking them offment i've got women, check. i've got this, i've got that. is that what is what's behind these changes to welfare and immigration? >> i can't ge

spread it around to almost every kind of psychiatric institution american psychiatric association all kinds of consumer groups and so the profit motive has really distorted what most americans hear about depression and ways to deal with it whereas the reality is there are a lot of different ways depending on your temperament depending on your personality psychotherapy works fine for some people but not for everybody for some people activism is the way political activism if you take a look at history that's transformed people's the preston. physical exercise is a lots of different ways but we only hear one thing because the pharmaceutical companies. and so i mean we are seeing a staggering number as i mentioned before about ten percent of the population here in the last on antidepressants i mean can we only expect that number to dial up well i would guess i although there's got to be a limit so we were you think i mean like a so we already got twenty three percent of women between the ages of forty and fifty nine we've got increasing what they're doing now is that people are not just on one drug ok and they're on multipl