July 10, 2007 at 3:17 pm ·
Filed under General
A journalist asks: "A local program called "Kinship Navigator" is for adults raising children who are not their own. It's mostly made of grandparents raising their grandchildren. A U.S. Census stat said: In Butler County, Ohio, 50 percent of all grandparents are raising their grandchildren. What's behind this phenomenon? Local residents attribute drug abuse. Is that the case nationally? How does this affect the children being raised? What toll will this have on society overall?"
Alcohol and other-drug addiction in the parents is usually the reason grandparents raise grandchildren. This is the case in about a dozen situations of which I am personally aware--no exceptions in my admittedly limited database.
The good news is, the grandparents are clean and sober. The ...
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July 10, 2007 at 3:15 pm ·
Filed under General
"When Gary Hart got caught, his political career was over. Have times changed? Do voters see these things differently now? Is Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's career over? Bill Clinton is actually on the campaign trail with Hillary--have we forgotten Lewinsky?Giuliani may or may not be hurt by his marital scandal with Donna Hanover."
Villaraigosa is a child of an alcoholic (who often appear as narcissists), Clinton is an alcoholic (who may be in recovery for the time being) and I don't know about Hart or Giuliani. However, adultery is far more common in the lives of alcoholics than non-alcoholics and 40% of divorces include an alcoholic on one side or the other. We forgive and forget because alcoholics are often ...
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July 10, 2007 at 3:12 pm ·
Filed under General
"Are prescription drugs replacing street drugs, especially marijuana, among youngsters? Why? What can society do to stop it?"
To an addict--and most of these youngsters have a predisposition to addiction--a drug is a drug is a drug. Yes, they seem to be replacing street drugs because they are so easily obtainable, but keeping the addict from his drug is as difficult as keeping flies off of horse dung. It ain't gonna happen. At least using legal drugs takes the gun battles out of the equation.
The question is what to do about addiction, which I have written on for almost a decade. We'll never stamp it out because almost everyone alive will experiment with at least one drug (alcohol) and those ...
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July 6, 2007 at 4:13 pm ·
Filed under General
A journalist asks: "Are prescription drugs replacing street drugs, especially marijuana, among youngsters? Why? What can society do to stop it?"
To an addict--and most of these youngsters have a predisposition to addiction--a drug is a drug is a drug. Yes, they seem to be replacing street drugs because they are so easily obtainable, but keeping the addict from his drug is as difficult as keeping flies off of horse dung. It ain't gonna happen. At least using legal drugs takes the gun battles out of the equation.
The question is what to do about addiction, which I have written on for almost a decade. We'll never stamp it out because almost everyone alive will experiment with at least one drug ...
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July 6, 2007 at 4:11 pm ·
Filed under General
A person concerned about the possibility of elder abuse writes: "I have good friends, neighbors, who are being taken advantage of by their adult children. I wouldn't be so concerned if grandma was only expected to baby-sit often and for free. Nor would I be concerned if grandpa only ran what is essentially a taxi service to and from kids' sporting events and after-school activities while the parents work. My concern is that my neighbors' children are actually expecting and getting the parents to pay for clothing and activities over and above what they can afford on their fixed income. How can I help these grandparents draw the line?"
At the risk of seeming flippant and all-too-blunt, the grandparents are often ...
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July 2, 2007 at 2:17 pm ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Rocky and Michelle Delgadillo: If they were celebrities, the press would fill us in on any drinking. But he's a city attorney and she's his wife.
I have long bemoaned the fact that the press discloses the drinking and using foibles of celebrities and sports figures while generally failing to report any evidence of use in law enforcers, politicians, CEOs, attorneys and doctors. In my files of likely and confirmed alcoholics, for every one celebrity suspected strictly on behavioral clues four or five are confirmed addicts; of every four or five law enforcers suspected, I have only one in whom I can prove alcoholism. Yet, the behaviors are similar in all those under suspicion, celebrities and non-celebrities alike.
Los Angeles City Attorney ...
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July 2, 2007 at 2:15 pm ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Runners-up for top story of the month:
Chicago Bears defensive lineman Tank Johnson, terminated by the Bears after his fourth arrest in two years, this time for DUI. After his third arrest last December, sports journalists won the "Enabler of the Month" award in the January '07 issue of TAR, where I wrote:
"Journalists have euphemized Johnson's 'problems' with words and phrases such as a 'history of questionable decisions,' 'poor decisions,' 'his latest display of questionable decision-making,' 'latest indiscretion,' 'a pattern of off-the-field mistakes,' the Bears' reputations 'could be sullied by Johnson's actions,' and the Bears request that Johnson 'provide them with a list of lifestyle alterations he needs to make.' How about ...[admitting] that his serial poor judgment is most likely ...
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July 2, 2007 at 2:14 pm ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories
Under watch:
Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), indicted on charges that he used his congressional office to enrich himself and his family through a pervasive pattern of fraud, bribery and corruption. The 94-page indictment follows a two-year investigation following a sting operation in which Jefferson (allegedly) told an investor that he would need a half million dollars to bribe a Nigerian government official to help a digital technology firm, iGate Inc. of Louisville, KY, to gain a foothold in Africa. The investor delivered $100,000 to Jefferson in marked bills, $90,000 of which were found tucked away in Jefferson's freezer, "wrapped in aluminum foil, and concealed inside various food containers." Jefferson could qualify as one of the great functional alcoholics of all ...
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July 2, 2007 at 2:13 pm ·
Filed under 2 - Movie & Book Reviews
The Quiet Egomaniac
The greatest portrayal ever of why we need to identify alcoholism
"Breach," the movie about FBI Agent Robert Hanssen (now out on DVD), who for two decades sold U.S. secrets to the Soviets and, later, Russia, is great storytelling with acting to match. It's also the best explanation ever on the big screen with the poignant answer to the question, why should we bother identifying someone as a likely alcoholic?
Reviewers uniformly praised director and co-writer Billy Ray for avoiding psychobabble to explain Hanssen, played by Chris Cooper in what should be an Oscar-winning role. Yet Ray presents not only behavioral clues of alcoholism in the form of a nasty, haughty, egocentric Hanssen at work who charmed his way into ...
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July 2, 2007 at 2:12 pm ·
Filed under 3 - Dear Doug...
Dear Doug: Mommie Dearest goes to school
Dear Doug:
My 10-year-old daughter, Laurie, is being bullied by one of her classmate's mothers. She elbowed my daughter once and purposely slammed a door in her face. Her daughter does the same sort of things. The school principal reluctantly agreed to separate the girls, despite the fact that school staff thinks this woman is wonderful. I know that she is a lying, manipulative, power abusing woman who seems to know exactly who she needs to charm. Is there anything I can do?
Signed,
Abused
. . . .
Dear Codependent,
Some people know exactly who they need to charm to get what they want, and who they can abuse without fear of repercussions, all with the goal of ...
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July 2, 2007 at 2:11 pm ·
Filed under 4 - Alcoholic Myth of the Month
"Most people say money is the root of troubles for most young celebrities, citing too much of it as the major reason for stars' problems."
So reported a USA Today/Gallup Poll of 1,007 adults, which reported 79% saying too much money was a big problem for stars whose lives are filled with drugs, clubs, DUIs and rehab. The "pressures of fame" was considered a concern by 68%, "negative influences of Hollywood" by 65% and "parents doing a poor job" of raising the young stars by 63%. Alcoholism didn't make the list.
Karen Thomas, in the cover story for USA Today, wrote "Million-dollar paychecks and suites at tony hotels come with pressures--and the means to self-medicate." Addiction counselor Clare Waismann explains that young ...
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July 2, 2007 at 2:10 pm ·
Filed under 5 - Amazing Alcoholic Antics
y from "True Stella Awards" by Randy Cassingham, with his "tagline:"
In the spirit of this month's top story and movie review on possibly alcoholic law enforcers, Randy's 2006 # 3 runner-up for The TRUE Stella Awards (http://www.stellaawards.com/) is fitting. The Awards mock wild, outrageous, ridiculous and abusive lawsuits, from which there are plenty to choose. This particularly abusive suit was brought by FBI agent Robert Clymer.
Unfortunately, even if we'd like to think otherwise, many law enforcers are practicing alcoholics. While working a high profile case in Las Vegas, Clymer crashed his pickup--with a Blood Alcohol Level over .30 per cent, almost four times the .08 per cent limit. He had no doubt consumed the empty 25 ounce bottle of Captain ...
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July 2, 2007 at 11:25 am ·
Filed under General
A reader asks what red flags signal an abusive partner and why people stay in abusive relationships?
The first question can be rephrased as, what red flags signal an abusive partner, or tenant, or employer, or employee or "friend?" All the same clues: abusers often start out charming, because charm is a terrific way by which to control others. It later turns to abuse only after the person has sucked in the victim, or "mark," as it did in the Robert De Niro movie based on the Tobias Wolff story, "This Boys Life" and countless other stories of psychological, physical and financial abuse.
Other red flags include belittling remarks about someone else (including "friends," family or employer--or a class of people), ...
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June 22, 2007 at 2:37 pm ·
Filed under General
A reader asks where patients being treated for substance abuse should have privacy protections.
In a word, no.
Alcohol and other-drug addicts, particularly in the early stages of their disease, often commit great harm to others. They also are likely responsible for at least 25% of society's medical costs, and possibly much more when we include peripheral diseases and disorders. Addicts don't want to stop using (for a variety of reasons involving a sense of power, which I can explain if you'd like) and must always be coerced into abstinence. Violating their purported right to privacy would increase the odds of such coercion being imposed by others.
All too often, close persons haven't a clue that a friend, co-worker or even family ...
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June 22, 2007 at 1:50 pm ·
Filed under General
A reader asks about an epidemic of extreme violence among youth and what might be some of the causes of this kind of violence.
The cause of extreme violence is almost always early-stage alcohol or other-drug addiction.
I discussed this issue in the May edition of my online www.AddictionReport.com. In the top story, on mass murderer Cho, I used columnist Bob Unruh's misplaced blame on anti-depressants as a classic example of failing to identify the source the problem. I wrote: "he misses the boat in omitting the fact that of 20 school shooters listed in his article, at least eight were heavy alcohol users (i.e., alcoholics--and not mentioned by him) or on Xanax or Valium (alcohol in pill form for the alcoholic). ...
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