July 17, 2012 at 9:00 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
The Afghani Massacre and the Secret Service Scandal: the Common Thread is Alcoholism
Stories of out-of-control American soldiers in Viet Nam drinking and drugging are legion. Soldiers engaging in Viet Nam massacres such as those at My Lai did not, as often inferred, use drugs to “deal with” the nightmare in which they lived. Those who commit murder and especially those leading others in committing atrocities, including wartime massacres, are nearly if not always alcohol or other-drug addicts first. They do not use addictively because they engage in carnage (“anyone who saw such horrors would drink!”); they commit atrocities and cajole others into engaging in them because their addiction requires the capricious wielding of power over others. Murder is one way ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:59 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Runners-up for top story of the month:
Those who have cried, “Guilty until proven innocent!” and would like to form a lynch mob (including Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton) in the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, who seemingly support Napoleonic “justice” when it suits their ends. BothTrayvon and Zimmerman exhibited behavioral signs of alcohol or other-drug addiction (Trayvon recently in spades—he was described as a “troubled teen,” which is usually a euphemism for “he’s into drugs”—see the article here; Zimmerman in a case of domestic violence, years ago), so this could easily be a case of addict v. addict. However, sober-minded people are much more likely to admit that because we weren’t there, it’s impossible to know what actually ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:57 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Under watch:
In an early 2009 piece on white collar crime, The Economist magazine mentioned something those who have read my books would predict: “Many [Club Fed and other white collar] prisoners suddenly discover, post-conviction, that they had a drinking problem….” I would add that those who don’t figure this out might benefit from greater introspection. In the spirit of The Economist’s discovery, several recent stories follow for which the evidence of alcoholism is in the alleged crime itself.
Tax preparation service Mo’ Money co-founder and CEO Markey Granberry, who said that customers not receiving completed copies of tax returns or tax refunds was “not his fault” and, further, not a “Mo’ Money, Money Co USA Taxes Problem, this is a systemic ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:55 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Alcoholic victims of the month:
The tens of thousands of motorists and millions of Los Angeles taxpayers who paid for 19-year-old Abdul Arian’s run from police in both time in a traffic-snarled nightmare and cost of police services, as his shooting death was investigated, during a recent rush hour. You can read more on Arian and his enablers in TAR Lite, issues # 4 and # 5.
Quotes of the month:
“Mayor Ed Lee did not have authority to suspend him for an action that occurred before Mirkarimi was sworn in as sheriff in January.”
So wrote a journalist, reporting Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi’s assertion that because he falsely imprisoned his wife before he was sworn in as San Francisco Sheriff, he shouldn’t be held ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:52 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Chutzpah of the month:
Former New York Mets star and would-be financial guru Lenny Dykstra, sentenced to three years in California state prison after a judge rejected the unrepentant Dykstra’s last-ditch effort to change his no contest plea and fight charges of grand theft auto and filing false financial statements by essentially stealing someone else’s identity. “Did I do something I’m not proud of? Yes,” Dykstra said. “Am I a criminal? No,” he told the court while asking for leniency in a rambling and repetitive speech in which he apologized to his family but not his victims. Prosecutors said Dykstra had no remorse. He had been arrested at his Encino, CA home, where authorities, serving a search warrant, also found cocaine ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:51 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Enabler of the month:
Thomas Kinkade’s estranged wife, Nanette, telling reporters, “Thom provided a wonderful life for his family. We are shocked and saddened by his death.” Wonderful in terms of the trappings of wealth, sure. Saddened, of course. Emotionally wonderful? He was an alcoholic, Nanette. Shocked? He was an alcoholic, Nanette. How about: “When Thom was sober, he was a wonderful man, husband and father. Unfortunately, money enables and increases the odds that even the most endearing alcoholic in seeming solid recovery will relapse. We are incredibly saddened, but since his relapse occurred, we were ready for anything. Unfortunately, the worst happened before we could inspire in him a need to get sober again and despite all our attempts to ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:50 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Jocky Wilson, darts player, dead at 62 from complications of COPD. Jocky, a chain-smoker for 40 years, became the first Scot to win the World Darts Championship in 1982, repeating the feat in 1989 during what The Economist called the golden age of darts, when the sport became a “gladiatorial televised spectacle second only to soccer.” He started playing as a way to get shillings to buy pints; as good as he was, a cigarette in one hand and dart in the other, he often threw games, once so drunk he could barely walk and another time falling from the stage. The Economist reported he often fueled “himself with seven pints of lager…topped with vodka.” He invested some of his ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:48 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Model, Singer, Actress and Producer Whitney Houston, dead from drowning in her own bathtub at age 48, toxicology reports showing cocaine, Xanax and marijuana in her system after what was reportedly several nights of hard partying. It was likely the Xanax that didn’t allow her brain to wake her up as her head slipped under the water. She was the most awarded female artist of all time, with an incomparable voice. The list of firsts and records is breathtaking, from the first album by a new female artist to yield three No. 1 singles, to winning more American Music Awards, 22, than any other woman. The list of female artists she influenced is a who’s who of greats, including Mariah ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:46 am ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Political activist Andrew Breitbart, dead of heart failure at age 43. Breitbart, who often appeared as a speaker at Tea Party rallies, founded www.BigGovernment.com, among other conservative-libertarian websites. Using hidden cameras, Breitbart contributed to the fall of Acorn, and caused the fall of Congressman Anthony Weiner after hacking into his Twitter account and releasing sexually explicit photos he had sent to a number of women who were NOT his wife. Breitbart reportedly “liked” to drink and was seen drinking in public on a number of occasions; more importantly, he may have been drunk in public and on television interviews. He was uninhibited in style and exhibited, as a good friend of mine put it, “fearlessness,” which is more often rooted ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:44 am ·
Filed under Thorburn Addiction Report
Law enforcers, including members of the Armed Forces and Secret Service agents, should be screened and treated for alcoholism. Those who fail treatment should be fired.
“It's against bureau policy for an agent to consume alcohol, even off duty...because an FBI agent is never off duty." --Robert Hanssen, via Chris Cooper, “Breach” (reviewed in “Review of the Month” in the July 2007 issue of TAR).
The assertion was a lie, designed to make his young protégé believe he didn’t drink. However, Robert Hanssen, the alcoholic double-agent who is believed to have leaked more secrets to the Soviets than any traitor, ever, likely knew at some level why FBI agents shouldn’t be allowed to drink or, if one drinks addictively, why he shouldn’t ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:40 am ·
Filed under 3 - Dear Doug...
Flight boors
Dear Doug:
Passengers across the aisle from us on a recent seven-hour transatlantic flight talked and laughed raucously and blocked my view of the overhead video while standing in the aisle for nearly five hours. My earphones were no match for their loud and inane chatter, making reading impossible. I’m already anxious about a 15-hour flight I will be taking soon and wonder if there’s a method of approaching such people in a way that gets them to pipe down.
Signed,
Quiet deprived
Dear Codependent,
Other columnists would say you acted like a doormat for tolerating such rude behavior without even attempting to do something. They would suggest that next time you make a direct, clear statement to such boors and politely appeal to ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:39 am ·
Filed under 3 - Dear Doug...
Neighbor boors
Dear Doug:
My neighbor rocks loudly throughout the wee hours. We need our sleep. Is there a kind way to ask that they turn it down without offending?
Signed,
Sleep deprived
Dear Codependent,
Other columnists would suggest you initiate this conversation in the middle of the night, when it’s happening.
Are you kidding? You really don’t think these inconsiderate neighbors don’t know they are being rude?
You have no idea what these people are capable of. Such behaviors are usually (nearly always) rooted in alcohol and other-drug addiction.
You have no idea what they are on. Approaching and questioning their perceived “right” to blow their speakers at 2am could subject you to serious harm. It’s time to call local authorities and do everything in your power to ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:38 am ·
Filed under 4 - Alcoholic Myth of the Month
“You can’t reach an addict when he’s not ready.”
So said Harold Owens, senior vice president of MusiCares/Musicians Assistance Program (MAP) Fund, in commenting on Whitney Houston’s untimely and tragic death. Owens, who has been counseling other addicts since he became sober 23 years ago, added, “Nobody can tell you you’re an alcoholic until you tell yourself.” Although true—you can’t reach an addict when he’s not ready—it’s a half-truth. The implicit suggestion is the addict must simply find his own way, which is incredibly misleading to the non-addict. While MusiCare performs a wonderful service in providing “safe harbor” rooms at special events where recovering musicians can go to avoid relapsing, it must be emphasized that close people should do everything possible ...
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July 17, 2012 at 8:36 am ·
Filed under 5 - Amazing Alcoholic Antics
Story from “This is True” by Randy Cassingham, with his “tagline:”
“A QUIET DRIVE: Rebbecca Fowler, 21, was at a friend's house in Wichita, Kan., and when she got home she found her 2-year-old boy was not in the back seat of her car. He was definitely there when she left her friend's, so she retraced her path. He had unfastened his seat belt, opened the car door, and fallen out about a mile and a half from home -- and she hadn't noticed. Samantha Garcia, 22, found him running down the street, bleeding and crying. When Fowler pulled up, ‘We wouldn't let her have him until we knew what happened,’ Garcia said. ‘The police were on their way.’ Officers said ...
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July 10, 2012 at 9:30 am ·
Filed under TAR Lite: What Would You Do?
Would you:
1. Stumble next door and ask a neighbor for some cat food?
2. Give your cat a bit of human food while your neighbor drives you to the store to purchase some cat food?
3. Let your cat go out hunting for some tasty birds or mice?
4. Try to drive your disabled car to the store yourself because, well, your cat needs food, it needs it now and the fact that you didn’t plan appropriately for your cat’s needs takes precedence over everyone else’s rights (drivers and pedestrians alike)?
Congratulations if you selected #4, which is what Amelia Poisson, 42, did in her badly damaged car—which got that way because of a hit and run committed two days earlier, also while she ...
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