October 5, 2004 at 3:02 pm ·
Filed under 4 - Alcoholic Myth of the Month, Thorburn Addiction Report
OCTOBER 2004
Alcoholic Myth-of-the-Month: "Women who choose to end their first accidental pregnancy with abortion...are much more likely to end up abusing drugs and alcohol."
This finding was the result of research recently published in the "American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse." The implication is yet another example of confusion between cause and effect. If life's troubles caused alcoholism, we'd all be alcoholics. Such troubles, including the psychological damage wrought by terminating an unwanted pregnancy, no more cause alcoholism than does being physically abused during childhood. Alcoholism is rooted in a biochemistry that causes misbehaviors and poor judgment, not the other way around.
Instead, the link between abortion and addiction supports the idea that addicts (or children of same) are ...
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October 5, 2004 at 3:00 pm ·
Filed under 3 - Dear Doug..., Thorburn Addiction Report
OCTOBER 2005
Dear Doug: Family Day promotes healthier kids
Dear Doug,
Joseph A. Callifano, Chairman and President of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, writes:
"Eating dinner together as a family is a simple event, but it can make a world of difference for children and teens. [We have found] that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs.
"Created in 2001...'Family Day -- A Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children' is...a simple, effective tool to help reduce substance abuse among children and teens and raise healthier children....
"As difficult as it sometimes may be, making time for family dinners is worth ...
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October 5, 2004 at 2:59 pm ·
Filed under 2 - Movie & Book Reviews, Thorburn Addiction Report
OCTOBER 2004
North Korea Through the Looking Glass, by Kongdan Oh and Ralph C. Hassig
The title suggests an "Alice in Wonderland" fantasyland, but a huge dose of Edgar Allen Poe must be added to the cauldron to get a feel for the horrors of this most bizarre of lands.
The combination of Confucian kingdom and totalitarian socialist state allows the rulers, Kim Il Sung from its founding at the end of WW2 to his death in 1994 and his successor-son, Kim Jong Il, to wield inconceivable power not only over peoples' actions, but also over their minds. North Koreans almost uniformly believe their rulers are the equivalent of Gods. In the Korean tradition of Confucianism, they willingly subject themselves to ...
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October 5, 2004 at 2:58 pm ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories, Thorburn Addiction Report
OCTOBER 2004
Can Kim Jong Il be trusted to not sell or use nukes?
There were a number of competing stories from which to choose this month: the continuing antics of Britney Spears, the death of singer Rick James and the arraignment on murder charges of music producer Phil Spector. However, due to the inclusion of North Korea as a topic of the first Presidential debate, the mystery of a massive explosion and mushroom-shaped cloud of debris over the country's far north and threats against Japan should the U.S. ever intervene, Kim Jong Il and the possibility of alcoholic megalomania wins top honors.
Kim Jong Il (as in "ill" or the post office abbreviation for Illinois, IL) runs what appears to ...
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October 5, 2004 at 2:56 pm ·
Filed under General
Can Kim Jong Il be trusted to not sell or use nukes?
Top Story: Kim Jong Il, North Korea and Nuclear Weapons
There were a number of competing stories from which to choose this month: the continuing antics of Britney Spears, the death of singer Rick James and the arraignment on murder charges of music producer Phil Spector. However, due to the inclusion of North Korea as a topic of the first Presidential debate, the mystery of a massive explosion and mushroom-shaped cloud of debris over the country's far north and threats against Japan should the U.S. ever intervene, Kim Jong Il and the possibility of alcoholic megalomania wins top honors.
Kim Jong Il (as in "ill" or the ...
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September 9, 2004 at 2:53 pm ·
Filed under 5 - Amazing Alcoholic Antics, Thorburn Addiction Report
SEPTEMBER 2004
Amazing Antics: Stories of Alcoholism-Driven Behaviors
Story from This is True by Randy Cassingham, with "tagline:"
"ROLE MODEL: Sherry Bartlett, 45, was stopped by police in Louisville, Ky., at 7:50 a.m. The officer was giving her a field sobriety test, but stopped it because she was "too unbalanced" to safely continue. A breath test found her blood alcohol level was .20 per cent, well above the legal limit, and she was arrested. And where was Bartlett going at that hour? She was on her way to school: she teaches fifth grade at Slaughter elementary School. After being released from jail, school officials let her return to the classroom. "It's too early to speculate on disciplinary action," said a district spokeswoman, who ...
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September 9, 2004 at 2:53 pm ·
Filed under General
Does Scott Peterson Have Alcoholism?
Top Story: His behaviors suggest alcoholism, and the disease would explain his behaviors.
Verifying early-stage alcoholism is often a daunting task. Hardly anyone, including journalists, understands that alcoholism is the most important tool available in explaining and predicting monstrous behaviors. Even if suspected, confirmations of alcoholism may be ignored because of the stigma or fear of being sued for defamation. Yet, by assuming alcoholism, we give the benefit of the doubt: the person under scrutiny is either fundamentally rotten, or an alcoholic. Surely "alcoholism" would be preferred.
Many of Scott Peterson's behaviors are indicative of alcohol and other drug addiction. He not only committed adultery, which is far more common among alcoholics than non-alcoholics, but ...
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September 9, 2004 at 2:49 pm ·
Filed under 4 - Alcoholic Myth of the Month, Thorburn Addiction Report
SEPTEMBER 2004
Alcoholic Myth-of-the-Month: "He was a young guy with a lot of testosterone. He just seemed to be angry."
This was the explanation ascribed by a sheriff' deputy, Frank Sherwood, to the behaviors of a man arrested at an airport terminal while arguing with officials (St. Petersburg Times, August 6, 2004).
Joseph G. Ernst, 24, agreed to leave a plane which was still boarding after being confronted over disrupting flight attendants and making other passengers uncomfortable. Amazingly, an airline representative tried to schedule him for another flight while Sherwood, who had escorted him off the plane, tried to calm him down. Ernst began yelling and swearing at the employee and subsequently tore off his shirt in what was described as "Hulk ...
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September 9, 2004 at 2:48 pm ·
Filed under 3 - Dear Doug..., Thorburn Addiction Report
SEPTEMBER 2004
Dear Doug,
My husband shot and killed my pet poodle in front of my daughter and me. He flew into a rage because I had burnt some food and took his anger out on a helpless animal. While he was always in a foul mood and sometimes hateful and mean, I never dreamt he would do something this perverse or I'd have left him long ago. I had him arrested for animal cruelty and have filed for divorce after 15 years of marriage.
Unfortunately, he is in jail and I have only $30 to my name. I am wondering how I can access his money and some of the several pension checks he receives every month.
-- Abused and ...
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September 9, 2004 at 2:45 pm ·
Filed under 2 - Movie & Book Reviews, Thorburn Addiction Report
SEPTEMBER 2004
The Sam Sheppard Story
If I'd been able to land a copy of "The Sam Sheppard Story" in time for this issue, I would have reviewed it. Unfortunately, it was a movie made for television and cannot be rented. While the top story is long enough to forego a review, the Sheppard story, which also inspired the movie and television series "The Fugitive," is worthy of a brief discussion.
Sheppard was accused of murdering his wife in 1954. The U.S. Supreme Court subsequently freed him due to the prejudicial atmosphere surrounding his trial. A second jury trial in 1966 resulted in acquittal.
The "Sam Sheppard Story" was, apparently, written by his son in an attempt to offer an alternative ...
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September 9, 2004 at 2:42 pm ·
Filed under 1 - Top Stories, Thorburn Addiction Report
SEPTEMBER, 2004
Does Scott Peterson Have Alcoholism?
His behaviors suggest alcoholism, and the disease would explain his behaviors.
Verifying early-stage alcoholism is often a daunting task. Hardly anyone, including journalists, understands that alcoholism is the most important tool available in explaining and predicting monstrous behaviors. Even if suspected, confirmations of alcoholism may be ignored because of the stigma or fear of being sued for defamation. Yet, by assuming alcoholism, we give the benefit of the doubt: the person under scrutiny is either fundamentally rotten, or an alcoholic. Surely "alcoholism" would be preferred.
Many of Scott Peterson's behaviors are indicative of alcohol and other drug addiction. He not only committed adultery, which is far more common among alcoholics than non-alcoholics, but also ...
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August 30, 2004 at 10:56 pm ·
Filed under General
Jeanne Wright, in a column published August 25 '04 in the L.A. Times ("When the fun stops in summer," in the Highway 1 section), writes that a spokesman from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration explains that highway fatalities from DUIs are increasing because "a new generation...hasn't heard the message or just doesn't care" on the dangers of drinking and driving. My response:
Since efforts began 25 years ago to educate and tighten the laws on DUIs, the number of fatalities initially went down because the educating taught non-alcoholics that drinking and driving is dangerous. When non-addicts stopped engaging in this misbehavior, only alcoholics (and other-drug addicts) were left. Alcoholics do not respond to educational campaigns because, as recovering addicts tell ...
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August 26, 2004 at 7:44 am ·
Filed under General
Oprah Magazine carries an excellent column by financial guru Suze Orman. It's rare that I agree with financial advice offered by other experts, but Suze is an exception. While I have a tough time watching her on TV (she's a bit animated for my tastes), her suggestions are generally sound.
Her column in the September issue of Oprah is no exception, except for what could be a fatal omission. The inquiry involves a daughter who racked up $10,000 in credit card debt, student loans for college courses that go unfinished and recently unemployed ("lost her job"), now behind on all her obligations. Here's my comment:
Dear Editor,
Suze Orman is right-on in advising that the parents of the 18-year-old daughter who racked ...
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August 26, 2004 at 2:07 am ·
Filed under General
The current (September 2004) issue of Oprah includes a column by Radio's Satellite Sisters, who are asked whether they should squeal on a friend's 15-year-old daughter caught drinking beer in a Quikstop parking lot with her buddies. My response:
While the sisters offered correct advice in suggesting that the 15-year-old drinking beer in the parking lot with her buddies be busted, your advice squad omitted one crucial consideration: that she may have already triggered early-stage alcoholism.
This is an essential point because if she is a budding young alcoholic, no amount of threats, cajoling or arguments will change her behavior without uncompromising tough love and coerced abstinence.
Anyone who doubts that she may be an alcoholic at such a tender age ...
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August 25, 2004 at 12:50 am ·
Filed under General
Catherine writes:
I was distressed to read yourdiscussion of the Kobe Bryant trial. You are trying to make others aware of how alcohol or other drugs may affect the judgement of others but in doing so you made some huge assumptions.
I am not assuming that he is guilty, but neither do I assume she was not assaulted. Many women are raped when under the influence. Being drunk or loaded does not give another person the right to sexually abuse you. And, her lack of sexual discretion is neither a predictor nor an exclusionary factor for assault.
Being irresponsible, lax or loaded does not give anyone the right to use you sexually.
Additionally, California law says the victim of a sexual assault is ...
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