Archive for November, 2007
"America's Sheriff" Michael S. Carona: Is He Merely Corrupt, or is He Alcoholic?
Orange County, CA Sheriff Michael S. Carona, 52, was once dubbed "America's Sheriff" by Larry King, courted by former White House aide Karl Rove and groomed as a prospective Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of CA. He gained nationwide recognition after leading the search for the kidnapper of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion in 2002. Carona, who is a self-styled "conservative Christian," now faces federal charges on 10 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and tampering with a grand jury witness. His wife, Deborah Carona, 56, has been indicted on one count of conspiracy. His alleged long-time former mistress, attorney Debra V. Hoffman, 41, has been charged on eight counts of ...
Runners-Up: Actors Marston and Collins, politician Robert Levy, and writer Jose Luis Calva cooking up a storm
TV host and actor Gary Collins, 69, arrested for DUI after slamming his Ford Explorer into a Toyota driven by an 80-year-old man. Collins, who hosts Comcast Cable's Retirement Living TV featuring experts in senior lifestyles, was reportedly traveling at least 60 mph on a residential surface street in Van Nuys, CA (very near where I grew up). The 80-year-old was rendered unconscious and Collins told bystanders he needed to leave. They managed to make him wait, explaining that if he left he could be charged with hit and run. After he failed a field sobriety test, cops tried to get Collins to breathe into a Breathalyzer, but he claimed he was hard of hearing and unable to understand the ...
Runners-Up: Michael Vick and Eddie Griffin, redeaux
Atlanta Falcon's former star quarterback Michael Vick, who made the "under watch" section in the August 2007 issue of TAR due to being indicted for allegedly participating in a dog fighting ring. I wrote, "Vick is linked to the ring because he owns the property at which the dogs were sometimes housed. While there is otherwise no public information on Vick to suggest alcoholism, animal cruelty is almost always rooted in the disease. Of the 65 dog fighting arrests he's made in the last five years, Sgt. David Hunt of the Franklin County (Ohio) Sheriff's Office says, 'There's only been one where we didn't find drugs.'" Hey Michael, here's a way to get upgraded from "under watch" to "runner-up": get ...
Under Watch: Cmdr. Portland of the U.S. Navy
Under watch:
Commanding officer of the nuclear-powered submarine, the Hampton, Cmdr. Michael B. Portland, relieved of duty because of a failure to conduct daily safety checks on the sub's nuclear reactor for a month and falsifying records to cover it up. We'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Cmdr. Portland: like your brother, Joseph Hazelwood, former captain of the Exxon Valdez, you have a disease that causes distortion of perception leading to impaired judgment, which is displayed in exceedingly dangerous fashion when commanding a nuclear submarine.
Co-Dependent of the Month: The U.S. Navy
Co-Dependents of the Month:
The U.S. Navy, for failing to intervene in Cmdr. Portland's likely alcoholism long before relieving him from duty. It's reminiscent of another story: the Exxon Valdez oil spill. According to Wikipedia, by 1988 Captain Joseph Hazelwood's "driver's license had been suspended or revoked three times...for alcohol violations....At the time of the Exxon Valdez incident, his...driving privileges were suspended as a result of [an arrest for DUI] on September 13, 1988." The oil spill on his watch occurred on March 23, 1989.
Can children be effective disenablers? “Dog” the Bounty Hunter, two unknown kids–oh, and Nicole Richie too
Disenablers of the Month:
Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden, who gaveNicole Richie a "get-help-or-we're-through" ultimatum after learning she was pregnant. According to a close person, "His tough love saved her life." Of course, we'll only know in the fullness of time, but she seems to have a good start for someone who was drinking addictively by age 13, using cocaine at 14, and ingesting an estimated 25 Vicodin and 25 Soma daily over a period of four years beginning at age 20 (an incredible 73,000 pills). Sometimes, one-on-one intervention--especially if timed right--does the job.
Tucker Chapman, who released a private conversation with his father, television bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, in which the reality star repeatedly used racial slurs in referring to ...
“Samantha Who?” and “Life”–great new TV shows with good portrayals of alcoholism
"Samantha Who?" and "Life"
The Fall TV season offers two terrific new shows featuring alcoholism as primary and secondary themes. "Samantha Who?" stars Christina Applegate, who has become an excellent actress (who would have known after her role as the daughter in "Married with Children"?). She plays Sam, who after spending eight days in a coma remembers nothing of her life. She is aghast to discover that she was not a "nice" person, but was instead an alcoholic slut who regularly cheated on her non-addicted boyfriend, was a spendthrift and was excellent in her job working for a disreputable company. The question is, can people change--or not? Those of us who understand the difference between a practicing alcoholic and one in ...
I’m an abused woman. What should I do?
Possessive, jealous, angry, controlling--
oh, and violent when drunk
Dear Doug:
My husband Pete is possessive, jealous and angry. We fight constantly and argue over everything. When I go to a store, he demands to know which store and when I'm going to be home. Sometimes, he checks my undergarments to see that I've returned home in the same pair I left with. Once, he turned violent when he was really drunk. I forgave, but will never forget.
I don't want a divorce because he can be a really great guy, but I'm beginning to wonder. What should I do?
Signed,
Unhappily married
. . . . .
Dear Codependent,
While other columnists might simply explain that "Pete is showing signs of an abuser...and he is willing to hurt ...
Do bad relationships increase the risk of heart disease, or is the root of both problems alcoholism?
"Adverse close relationships may increase the risk of heart disease."
So found researchers in a study of 9,011 British civil servants, most of whom were married. Those judged to have the worst relationships were 34% more likely to have serious heart trouble during 12 years of follow-up than those having good relationships with partners, close relatives and friends. The study, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, concluded that "the quality of the relationship matters." The study follows several others linking health problems with being single and having few close relationships.
Correlation, however, is not causation. There may be a reason that explains both poor health and a high degree of conflict: levels of alcoholism are higher among unhappily married and divorced ...
Mrs. Dunn tries to run down a cop
Alcoholic Antic-of-the-Month
Story from "This is True" by Randy Cassingham, with his "tagline:"
"JUST PASSING THROUGH: When a car crashed into the front of police headquarters in East Windsor, Conn., an officer ran to investigate. The driver, a 68-year-old woman, was fine, but when she saw the officer, police say, she backed up her car and tried to run him down, crashing into the building again. She then flipped the cop off and drove away. Officers pursued the car and arrested Lillian Dunn about a mile away. During a court hearing Dunn repeatedly interrupted the judge, who warned her that she would be gagged if she didn't be quiet. 'Go ahead,' Dunn urged. 'Shove it!' She has been charged with criminal attempt ...