Columnists

For Chaos heard his voice: him all his Traine

Follow’d in the bright procession to behold

Creation, and the wonders of his might.

-Paradise Lost, John Milton

It was fitting that writer and critic Alexander Cockburn’s funeral should include a passage from Milton. For more than 50 years, Cockburn combined polished, erudite writing with fierce political insight in the tradition of the great 17^th century English polemicist. Cockburn died July 20 in Germany at age 71, following a two-year struggle with cancer. He was buried July 28 in his beloved Petrolia, Ca. -more-

As an adult I’ve intervened to help family members come to grips with a serious addiction, such as alcoholism. In the face of irrefutable evidence that Global Climate Change is causing irreparable damage to the environment, when are you and I going to do an intervention to wean humanity from its addiction to fossil-fuel? -more-

For over thirty years, the American media have repeatedly pronounced the death of the women’s movement and blamed feminism for women’s failure to “have it all.“ But none of this is true. The movement has spread around the globe and early radical feminists wanted to change the world, not just seek individual self-fulfillment.

The latest media-generated debate exploded when Anne-Marie Slaughter revealed in the July 2012 edition of the /Atlantic Magazine /why she had left her fast-track, high-pressured job for Hilary Clinton at the State Department. Families, she admitted, could not withstand the strain. Even a superwoman like herself— blessed with a helpful husband, enough wealth to buy domestic help and child care, could not do it all. Although she described the insane work policies that made her neglect her family, she implicitly blamed feminism for promising a false dream. It was too hard, the hours too long, the persistent sense of guilt too pervasive. -more-

On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake followed by a number of tsunamis devastated Haiti. Estimated cost of the damage is between $8 billion and $14 billion. The death toll was between 200,000 to 250,000. About 634,000 live in displacement camps. Reconstruction has barely begun. In late 2010, a cholera epidemic killed more than 7,000 and sickened more than 531,000, or 5 percent of the population. Unfortunately, too many have forgotten Haiti. -more-

Candidates for election are invited to email pen136@dslextreme.com news of their accomplishments and plans vis a vis senior citizens, elders, and boomers. Share a statement of your platform regarding senior citizens’ housing, health, transportation. If you are running for re-election, please describe the highlights of your record on issues important to seniors.

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Senior citizens’ lives are potential hot spots for bullying. Bullying here refers to treatment of seniors in an overbearing or intimidating manner that is aggressive. Browbeating and bulldozing to frighten a human being into submission, compliance, or acquiescence. It is elder abuse by aides, assisted living staff, caregivers, companions, family members, homemakers, nursing home personnel, personal care attendants, even seniors themselves… -more-

Dr. Drew is a television psychiatrist who deals mainly with the issue of addiction, but he also comments on other aspects of psychiatry. On one of his programs, he tried to point out warning signs (of impending trouble) that people should look out for when dealing with persons with mental illness. -more-