Archive for January, 2007
Actor Wesley Snipes, Tax Evasion and Addiction
The idea that white-collar criminals are usually alcoholics had never been seriously considered until I introduced the possibility in Drunks, Drugs & Debits. Yet the abuse of others, whether physical, psychological or financial, indicates alcoholism. The odds of addiction in a person committing fraud are, therefore, no different than those in someone engaging in other criminal acts. When "Survivor"winner Richard Hatch failed to report his $1.01 million in winnings, along with $321,000 from a 2001 radio stint the following year, I ascribed an 80% likelihood of addiction, earning him a spot in the "Under Watch"section of the March 2005 Addiction Report. After publishing that issue, I wondered whether a little digging could provide the ...
Runners-up for top story: a couple of actors, a couple of despots, a beauty queen and a former heavyweight
Runners-up for top story of the month:
Actor Jack Nicholson, 69, reportedly infuriating the producers and co-stars of his latest movie, "The Bucket List,"by staggering into the film's first read-through almost an hour late, acting belligerent, changing his lines and lighting a cigarette indoors (in California). An observer claimed that Nicholson "refused to take off his sunglasses, cursed and babbled over others as they tried to read their lines…â€
"The Simple Life"costar Nicole Richie, 25, arrested for DUI after being reported for driving the wrong way on the 134 freeway in Burbank, California at 3 a.m. When cops responded, they found Richie stopped in the carpool lane on her cell phone. She admitted to officers she'd smoked pot and taken Vicodin. She ...
Under Watch: District Attorney Mike Nifong
Under Watch:
North Carolina District Attorney Mike Nifong, charged with ethics violations by the North Carolina bar for making misleading and inflammatory statements to the media about the Duke lacrosse athletes under suspicion of sexual assault of a stripper (reported in the top story of the Thorburn Addiction Report, April-May 2006). Nifong was behind in his reelection campaign until he brought rape charges against three members of the Duke University lacrosse team. As columnist, social commentator and economist Thomas Sowell writes, "…this case was the salvation of his career, by enabling him to win the black vote with inflammatory charges against white students accused of raping a black woman…."Nifong dropped the rape charges after the head of a DNA lab testified ...
Co-dependent in the case of Princess Diana
Co-Dependent of the Month:
Mohamed Al Fayed, the father of Dodi Fayed, killed in the August 1997 crash that also took the lives of Princess Diana and driver Henri Paul. Al Fayed continues to claim that Paul's blood samples were swapped as part of an elaborate cover-up of a plot to murder Princess Diana to stop her from marrying his son, a Muslim. Paul was a known "heavy drinker,"his BAL was reported at .18 per cent, tranquilizers were found in his system, he didn't look drunk in the hotel video immediately prior to the tragedy and he drove 90 mph in a 30 mph zone in a tunnel with giant pillars, all symptoms of alcoholism. Paul simply did what alcoholics do: ...
Enablers: a Venezuelan tycoon, a District Attorney (Mike Nifong) and journalists (protecting Tank Johnson)
Enablers of the Month:
Venezuelan Shipping tycoon Wilmer Ruperti who, along with other well-connected businessmen known as "Boliburguesesâ€"Bolivarian bourgeoisie, helped Hugo Chavez steal the latest Venezuelan election. Like so many supporters of Josef Stalin, we might predict that Ruperti and others of his ilk will later suffer horribly. Eighteen-year-old whiskeys are reportedly the rage in Caracas, clogged with Hummers and top-of-the-line SUVs, while four out of 10 Venezuelans scrape by on less than $2 a day. According to Gustavo Coronel in a report published by the Cato Institute, in just one small sign of massive corruption 95% of all public contracts are now awarded without competitive bidding. Chavez "won"over 60% of the vote in a country of 26 million people, 60% ...
James Brown: sometimes, it takes an addict.
Sometimes, it takes an addict:
Blues, R & B and gospel singer James Brown, dead of congestive heart failure at age 73. Brown's influence in music was breathtaking. He was variously described as the "Godfather of Disco,"the "Godfather of Rap,"the "Godfather of Funk"and a "firebrand in the black rights movement,"credited by some (including himself) with pushing African-Americans to move from the self-descriptor "Negro"to "Black"as a result of his 1968 anthem, "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)."Some music critics state that without Brown, there could have been no Prince, no Michael Jackson and no Miles Davis. Along with Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and Chuck Berry, he was among the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in ...
Testing may not be enough, as the TV show “House” demonstrates
Public Policy Recommendation:
Rehab may not be enough. Addicts can easily hide their drugs and enablers all-too-often protect their perceived right to use. Random and regular testing should be required for a period of time after an arrest as a condition of freedom or the right to work in fields where an addict poses a danger to others.
The latest episode of "House"is a wonderful and graphic portrayal of the need for addicts to be tested. They are great liars who find willing participants in their perceived right to use. Yet, once someone proves to society his or her inability to use safely without acting badly towards others, society has a right"in fact, an obligation"to proscribe use by whatever means are required.
Rational ...
Likely a highly functional–and unidentified–alcoholic
Dear Doug: Bad Sister
Dear Doug:
My younger sister, who makes a six-figure income, visits twice a year. Every time, I feel violated. After she leaves, I discover that photos, various handicrafts and even my artwork have "mysteriously"disappeared. I confront her, but she accuses me of persecuting her. She's verbally abusive and ridicules me in front of others. I barely scrape by on a meager retirement, yet she steals from and abuses me. What is wrong with her and what can I do?
Signed,
Abused Sister
. . . .
Dear Codependent,
Other columnists would suggest that you stop inviting your sister to your home and tell her to seek therapy. While the advice to stop the invites is appropriate, telling her to seek therapy is probably ...
.12 BAL is a LOT more than just one drink
"Nicole Richie, who blew a .12 per cent BAL, drank only a shot of vodka that day.â€
So said a number of reports, in which Richie's 2002 arrest for DUI was mentioned, that detailed her most recent overt symptom of addiction: driving the wrong way on a Burbank, CA freeway under the influence of Vicodin and dope. Unfortunately, once again journalists woefully misled the public in a major news story.
The calculation for determining BAL seems virtually unknown outside our exclusive circle. To review: one "drink"= one "shot"= 1.5 ounces 80-proof liquor = 5 ounces average (12% alcohol) wine = 12 ounces average (5% alcohol) beer. One drink increases the BAL of a 200 pound person by .02 per cent, a 120 ...
If there’s confusion AND other-destructive behaviors, it’s usually not just dope
Amazing Antics: Stories of Alcoholism-Driven Behaviors
Story from "This is True"by Randy Cassingham, with his "tagline:â€
"CONTEMPT OF COURT: Devin K. Hoerauf, 19, was in court in Rockville, Md., to answer to multiple robbery charges. When he stood up from the defense table, something fell out of his pocket: a bag full of marijuana. His lawyer quickly jumped to his defense: ‘He is brain-damaged, your honor,' she said. ‘I don't mean he's just a defendant who does dumb stuff. This is a boy with an IQ in triple digits. His brain is glued together with Silly Putty. He can't think his way out of a paper bag, but he can do physics.' The lawyer, Gwyn Hoerauf, apparently knows: she's the defendant's mother. ...