Archive for July, 2006
The World Cup, Alcoholism, Violence and Racism
Those whose biological processing of alcohol causes a self-favoring view of self think they are better than others. This distorted perception, dubbed euphoric recall, teams up with acetaldehyde (or is perhaps part of the same process) and damages the neo-cortex, the seat of reason and logic. The resulting behaviors take wide-ranging form, from belittling others to robbery, rape, murder and hatred.
The idea that alcoholism-driven hatred can take form in racism was briefly explored in Drunks, Drugs & Debits and How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics. Former Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver became sober and recalcitrant long after he threatened a holocaust against whites. Benjamin Smith, who went on a shooting rampage against Jews, Blacks and ...
Runners-up: multiple tragedies, including Kim Jong Il (again)
Runners-up for top story of the month:
North Korea's Kim Jong Il, inflating his ego by snubbing his nose at a far more powerful adversary, shooting off a Taepodong-2 along with several lesser missiles on the 4th of July and within minutes of the launch of the Space Shuttle. For more on Kim, see our occasional new feature below entitled, "Co-Dependents of the Month."
Pit bull owner Pam McKee, 52, arrested in San Bernardino, Ca. on suspicion of being under the influence of methamphetamine, after 27-year-old Shaun McCafferty, of Anaheim, Ca. was mauled to death by a pack of her pit bulls. It's not clear why McCafferty was staying at the desert compound, which was littered with 50 junked cars and other ...
Under Watch: a CEO, a despot, a prison guard, a law enforcer and a politician–all exhibiting behaviors indicative of alcoholism
Under watch:
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, backing out of his $115 million pledge to the Harvard University School of Public Health over a year after it was first promised. According to Christopher Murray, director of Harvard's Global Health Initiative, Ellison reiterated his commitment in November but Harvard had been unable to communicate directly with him since then. Mr. Ellison claimed "the deal was never signed because Larry Summers [president of Harvard] abruptly announced that he was leaving the University."He resigned in February, not abruptly, but after months of contention amid differences with faculty members. Summers had offered to stay involved with what was to become the Ellison Institute for World Health. Based on the pledge Ellison was named the seventh most ...
Witting and unwitting codependents
Co-Dependents of the Month:
The six nations attempting to control Kim Jong Il's North Korea qualify for codependents of the month, and perhaps the decade. Like any other addict, Kim makes numerous promises he never keeps. Like other codependents, those dealing with him try negotiation, logic and reason. As pointed out in Alcoholism Myths and Realities: Removing the Stigma of Society's Most Destructive Disease, "Attempting to negotiate with a brain affected by alcoholism is like trying to be rational with a reptile….The brain of the practicing alcoholic, soaked in acetaldehyde, is not a rational one. The addict cannot see that his troubles extend any further than your toes, which he will crush if given the opportunity."
Aside from the countless behavioral indications ...
The Law as enabler
Enabler of the Month:
The Law, which offers only limited choices for the California State Commission on Judicial Performance in meting out consequences for errant Officers of the Court. The commission decided that Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Schwartz can continue to preside over criminal hearings even though he was arrested for driving under the influence with a Blood Alcohol Level of .18 per cent and repeatedly tried to get preferential treatment and avoid being arrested because he was a judge. The Commission censured Schwartz, which is reportedly the most serious punishment short of being removed from the bench. Perhaps, a compromise in the law is in order: a judge can return after a year (or two, after his ...
“Broken Trail,” “Men of Honor,” and “The Great Santini”
Review: "Broken Trailâ€
AMC's first full-length original motion picture, "Broken Trail,"which originally aired in two parts on June 27 and 28, was deservedly the most-watched program in the network's history. Print Ritter (Robert Duvall) and Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church), Print's nephew, were two horse wranglers driving a herd of 400 mustangs across wild country with gorgeous backdrops from Oregon to Wyoming in 1898. The movie received well-deserved rave reviews from critics and viewers alike.
The obstacle the two cowboys unexpectedly faced was in having to free and protect five Chinese women from their kidnapper, who was selling them into prostitution. The kidnapper was an obvious and vile alcoholic. Yet not one reviewer, professional or otherwise, thought the motive force behind ...
Everyone’s enabling–subjecting the child to great risk
Dear Doug: Closet Abuser
Dear Doug:
My wife, with whom I am going through a divorce and battling over custody of our 7-year-old, would love take my child away. If I asked for proof of paternity, she might succeed, because she continuously cheated on me and the child might not be mine. She wants alimony and child support, which she would lose if our son is proven to be someone else's, and I don't bring it up.
The trouble is my wife provides no supervision for our child when he is with her. He goes for days without bathing or even changing clothes, he's lucky to get macaroni for dinner and he has been seen by neighbors in her front yard ...
It’s usually “alcoholism,” not “intermittent explosive disorder”
"To you, that angry, horn-blasting tailgater is suffering from road rage. But doctors have another name for it " intermittent explosive disorder " and a new study suggests it is far more common than they realized, affecting up to 16 million Americans"
So wrote Lindsay Tanner, AP medical writer, reporting on a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The study was based on a national face-to-face study of 9,282 adults who answered diagnostic questionnaires. Dr. Emil Coccaro, chairman of psychiatry at the University of Chicago's medical school and one of the study's authors, said that treatment with antidepressants and behavior therapy is helpful in treating the disorder.
This is junk science at its finest.
National Highway Transportation Safety ...
They remembered the beer, but not the safety jackets
Amazing Antics: Stories of Alcoholism-Driven Behaviorsâ„¢
Story from "This is True"by Randy Cassingham, with his "tagline:â€
"THE DUH BOAT: Thomas Williams, 20, and two roommates decided to go rafting on the Colorado River near Vail, Colorado. Instead of hiring an experienced guide, they bought a blow-up raft from Wal-Mart. Instead of life jackets, they brought along a couple of 12-packs of beer. The river in the area they chose includes "Class III" rapids. An experienced guide saw their raft overturn and rescued them -- barely. "I was under for so long I just blacked out," Williams said, vowing he won't go back on the river unless he's properly prepared. On the other hand, he says, he seeks out thrilling sports such ...