Doug Thorburn, addiction expert, addiction contrarian and author of the recently released Alcoholism: Myths and Realities: Removing the Stigma of Society's Most Destructive Disease, published his August 2010 Thorburn Addiction Report with a series of sub-topics that prove equally or more entertaining than the Top Story of the Month, which was about the City of Bell and the looting of the municipal treasury by Robert Rizzo and his comrades. The Runner's Up includes ex-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and many other interesting public figures.

For fascinating reading it is suggested you look into the archives of Thorburn's Addiction Report at www.preventragedy.com. The litany of stories about people and their behavior is enlightening to say the least; from Michael Jackson to Bill Clinton and beyond. Doug Thorburn's background in finance and contrary views of addiction, when compared with what he calls "the addiction industry," make a romp through his archives a real eye-opener.



This section includes Runner-ups for Top Story of the Month, Under Watch, Alcoholic Victims of the Month, Disenabler of the Month and others

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, the jury for whose corruption trial is sadly still deliberating as of the date of release of this issue of TAR. Blagojevich, whose misbehaviors were first chronicled in the January 2009 TAR Top Story, with brief snippets in the May 2009 and July 2010 editions, is the subject of a story by Jonathan Franzen in the July 26, 2010 The New Yorker titled "What About Me?" Rarely has the alcoholic's theme song "Me, me-me-me, me me me me me me me-me me" (sung to the tune of the well-known traditional Mexican song "Cielito Lindo") rung so true.

Franzen reports that Blago became "increasingly erratic" during his second term as governor and that when there was important legislation to discuss, he often would sneak off or hide in the bathroom. One former state senator who served briefly in his cabinet said Blago was "off his rocker…He was yelling and screaming and being irrational [and his proposals] often didn't make sense." It will be interesting for the addiction-aware to follow Blago's future history.

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who is being held responsible for ruining the re-election chances for his mother, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick. His guilty plea to two felony charges of obstruction of justice after he perjured himself in a police whistle-blower lawsuit was followed by additional jail time for hiding assets that should have gone toward $1 million in restitution to Detroit. He is now awaiting trial on charges of tax evasion and mail and wire fraud in federal prison. Every once in a while, taxpayers get lucky and then act appropriately. A family dynasty of three decades that many thought could last another few decades is over due to the sort of improper spending, abuse of public funds and wild partying that few engage in without benefit of alcoholism.

Under watch:



In an early 2009 piece on white collar crime, The Economist magazine suggests there may be some truth in 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, a recent story follows for which the evidence of alcoholism is in the behaviors.

Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Long Beach, cleared of wrongdoing in her home foreclosure fiasco by the House Ethics Committee. However, keep in mind the members of the Ethics committee are—politicians. Also, you will find in the fine print of the Ethics committee report:

? Richardson called a Washington Mutual lobbyist to help stop her foreclosure.

? Washington Mutual executives went into crisis mode, figuring WaMu would be perceived by the press as a "bumbling company." Shortly after, the company was bankrupt.

? While earning $174,000 yearly she needed a loan modification to stay current.

? She claimed to earn $12,000 per year in rent on her San Pedro property and "didn't know" that her mortgage broker committed fraud by forging rental agreements, even though the property was never rented.

? Her credit score is 575, 582 and 603 from the three major credit rating agencies in a state, California, in which the average credit score is 690.

Now I think that the first, third and fourth items are each enough to be charged with wrongdoing, but that's just me. You can find more on Richardson in the Top Story of the July 2008 issue of TAR here.



Alcoholic victims of the month:

Two people died and four were wounded before a gunman, Robert Reza, turned the weapon on himself at a fiber optics plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Reza's live-in girlfriend, who had told co-workers she feared for her safety, was among those injured in what was obviously an extreme case of domestic violence. The unsurprising aspect to the story is Reza's criminal history included at least two arrests for DUI; the surprising part is this was reported in a newspaper article on the tragedy, albeit in the 15th (and last) paragraph. As I point out in Drunks, Drugs & Debits, stories like this should lead off with "he had the disease of alcoholism, which took form in horrifying misbehaviors leading to death and injury, specifically…."

Disenabler of the month:

Yet another 911 call by a kid, this time from a 12-year-old who reported that her mother, Jamie Hicks, 48, was "not speaking properly" and was weaving into other lanes while she was driving on Interstate 84 in New York, with the kid and a 10-year-old in the vehicle. Hicks was arrested at 6 p.m. and charged with DUI and driving drunk with children in the vehicle— at a BAL in excess of .16 percent. One might suspect she started Happy Hour a tad early, before picking up the kids.



Quote of the month:

Former heavyweight king Mike Tyson, 44, telling Details Magazine, "The first stage of my life was just a whole bunch of selfishness. …I wasn't half the man I thought I was. So if there's a big plan now, it's just to give—it's selflessness, caring for the people who deserve it. Because I think I'm a pig." In a case of self-financial abuse orders of magnitude greater than any non-addict is likely to have ever committed, Tyson burned through roughly $300 million in career earnings before declaring bankruptcy in 2003. He admitted, "I think I was the most medicated boxer in the history of the sport. If I was going to medicate, I'd just smoke a joint….I was on f*ing drugs, thinking I was god." Now, if he'd only realize that a few of his favorite people were also on f*ing drugs and thought they were gods, and get rid of those tattoos of Mao (the barbiturate addict who murdered at least 30 million Chinese) and Che Guevara (the alcoholic who wantonly murdered innocents while helping the likely-amphetamine addicted Castro gain power over his victims in Cuba) he might stay on the right path.

Sometimes, it takes an addict:

Several months ago it dawned on me I had not heard from my dear Internet friend Fr. Jack Shirley for some time....and I was afraid of what I'd find so didn't look. In writing this issue of TAR, I ran across one of his wonderful posts to me (he supplied me with a number of ideas and leads over the years). It was a terrific personal story on enabling by family physicians: "I remember over 40 years ago while I was in Detroit I went to my family physician and complained about my difficulties drinking beer. He told me to switch to Scotch, which I did. I now had my doctor's approval." Such was the recovery humor of someone I consider a true gentleman and friend, who I shall sorely miss. Fr. Jack died long sober. A belated so long, Fr. Jack.

And goodbye, too, to cartoonist John Callahan, who was paralyzed at age 21 from the chest down after a day of drinking in 1972, when he and a man he met at a party went bar-hopping; his new drinking buddy crashed Callahan's VW Beetle into a utility pole at 90 mph. (If it weren't for alcoholism, we'd never know a Beetle could get to 90 mph.)

Adding to the mounds of evidence attesting to the idea that nothing will stand between an addict and his drug, he kept drinking for another six years before getting sober. While he drew caricatures as a kid, he didn't begin selling cartoons until the early '80s, after which he became internationally syndicated in newspapers and magazines. Everything was fair game, including the disabled, the homeless, fat people and feminists. His best known cartoons included a beggar in the street with a sign that reads, "Please help me. I am blind and black, but not musical," and one in which a sanctimonious woman glares at a small man and says, "This is a feminist bookstore! There is no humor section!" The politically incorrect among us especially will miss you, John Callahan.

Note to family, friends and fans of the above: the benefit of the doubt is given by assuming alcoholism (they are either idiots and fundamentally rotten, or they are alcoholic/other drug addicts—which would explain the misbehaviors). If alcoholic, there is zero chance that behaviors, in the long run, will improve without sobriety. An essential prerequisite to sobriety is the cessation of enabling, allowing pain and crises to build. Thus far, many have done everything they can to protect the addict from the requisite pain, making these news events possible. The cure for alcoholism, consequential bad behaviors and, ultimately, tragedy, is simple: stop protecting the addict from the logical consequences of misbehaviors and, where possible, proactively intervene.

Thorburn Addiction Report Archives at www.preventragedy.com

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