A Child’s Waking Nightmare; life

I’ve chosen perhaps one of the most emotionally draining pursuits you can choose- to provide psychiatric treatment for troubled youth. Some of them are just snotty rich kids who never learned no. But others never learned love; this is where I want to focus.

There are few things that can make me cry, perhaps even things that should. But this week I’ve been thinking about the dire circumstances in which some children live and it’s overwhelming. To think that there are children in this world who are treated as animals. That are locked in a room for years on end. Children used for sex by parents, neighbors, and siblings. Children becoming teenagers who have never heard an adult say “I love you” and so they loathe themselves, hurt themselves, or try and kill themselves because “it hurts too much to be alive”. This made me cry. Or they ask, “what does love mean?”

I think of the hymns I sing in church. Songs that praise the goodness of life; songs of endless mercy, justice, and universal love and brotherly kindness. It’s no surprise that many of these children do not believe in God, or see God as a cruel puppet master that likes to punish us. I also wonder how responsible they are for the person they become? If the child grows up with social problems, hygine deficiencies,  promiscuity, and trouble with the law, how much of that weight will fall on the parents shoulders?

In my darkest nightmare, I couldn’t have come up with some of the things that these children lived everyday.

MSW: University of Utah

First of all, I graduated this past December. I was pretty busy with school and work and all, so I ended up applying to only one Master of Social Work (MSW) program- the University of Utah. My thought was that if denied I would take the GRE before fall, apply to a myriad of programs (mostly in California, maybe one or two in Texas) and start school the following year (Fall 2010). Recently I’ve been doing research on schools to find out which ones I should apply to, when the other day I received a letter from the University of Utah:

“Dear George: I am pleased to inform you that the MSW Admissions committee of the College of Social Work has approved your application for admission for the full time study in the 2-year MSW Program beginning Fall semester 2009.” So there ya go! Accepted.

They gave me two weeks to send them a greased letter of intent. Either I accept and start school in August to graduate in the spring of 2011, or turn it down, study for the GRE, and apply to a bunch of other schools in the fall to start a year later in the fall of 2010. Yesh. That’s a lot of extra work, why would I even consider that? Well, different schools have different emphasi (the plural of emphasis)- I plan on going into the ‘clinical’ side of social work- meaning therapy and mental health. Well, the rub is that the University of Utah isn’t considered a clinical school. It’ll do the job, but another school may be more focused.

So what to do? Do I turn it down and apply to more clinically focused schools in the fall? The conclusion I’ve come to is no. For the following reasons: 1) The biggest reason is that I know this education will indeed get me where I want to go; I will be able to become an L.C.S.W. I do not plan on ending my education after my MSW. I want to specialize and continue my training. So I don’t feel like I will be limiting myself as I will be able to accomplish all that I wish using this degree from this school. 2)The formula is very simple: I’m still single + SLC is a target rich environment= makes sense. 3)In the same vein, I’ll only be 50 minutes away from my siblings while they are still in school. Kinda cool. 4) Going back to the specializing idea- I want to work mainly providing therapy for the LDS community- and boy is there demand. Having degrees from BYU and the University of Utah screams street cred within the LDS community, so that’ll be cool. I’d love to move to a city, open up shop, and meet with bishops and stake presidents in the city to get referrals. I know that back in Houston (read big city) there was a shortage of LDS therapists, so members would be referred to non-member clinicians. 5) I don’t have to move far, just get a trailer hooked up to my sisters truck. 6)I don’t want to wait another full year for not much of an advantage- not worth it.

7) I think about what makes a good therapist. Training is a big part of it. I take this career path very seriously. I have read numerous books on philosophy, psychological modalities, therapeutic methods, mental illness, and will read countless more. I have a real passion for being a counselor and (if I may say so myself) I think I’ll make a darn fine one. I think I have the personality and temperament to handle very stressful clientele without internalizing their problems. I already spend 40+ hours a week living among those with bipolar, tourette’s, major depressive disorder, psychosis, and suicidal ideation. No sweat, I can take the heat. I bring this up because I’ve met students getting their Ph.Ds in clinical psychology and perhaps I’m biased, but after talking to him/her for 5 minutes thought to myself, “maybe this person will be a great researcher, or even a decent teacher, but will suck as a therapist!”

A while back when I was feeling out my options I hit up forums to find out the real work differences between psychologists, clinical social workers, and professional counselors. Psychologists are able to do testing that LCSWs do not do (which I don’t care about) and are heading towards being the ivory tower dwellers of the mental health field. From people who had been patients themselves, almost all of them said that the biggest single factor was just the human connection- find a clinician that you get along with. And I’d agree. I think there are great psychiatrists and there are quacks, same as MFTs, LPCs, and LCSWs. Plus being LDS, I have a nice little niche already carved out for me.

Anyway, I’m going to bed because tomorrow I want to drive up to the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City and give myself a tour.

Happy Valentines Day/Singles Awareness Day

25 random things about Me.

A note-chain is sweeping through Facebook. I read what a few of my friends wrote about themselves and learned a lot. I was tagged to do one, so here it is:

1. The valves in my veins do not close properly- I’ve had over 40 incisions made in my legs to remove and seal my most problematic veins. My cardiologist tells me I should never run as a hobby again.

2. I think I’m the only person on the planet who can’t stand raspberries; they ruin chocolate cake and ice cream.

3. I enjoy blogging (Periginatioanimae.wordpress.com) and would love to write a book and write to help people in distress.

4. I got my first cavity a few months ago. Boo hoo. Apparently Utah water lacks the fluoride we had in Texas.

5. I buy tubes of Nestle cookie dough and eat it like a banana.

6. I have over 400 books in my bedroom located in three bookshelves, on my desk, my nightstand, and more generally scattered about. Common topics include psychology, philosophy, classic literature, and LDS books.

7. I take my sleep very seriously. I have a tempurpedic mattress pad, modal/cotton sheets, micro suede comforter, a tempurpedic sleep mask, the constant hum of a fan, and a rain sound machine. Very seriously.

8. I like buying “toys”: flat screen TV, home theater system, GPS, radar detector, internet tablet, piano keyboard, new laptop… I’m an addict.

9. If I could choose my death, I would be calmly walking down the road when in an instant a ten ton boulder would crush me.

10. In high school I was the president of my district’s medical society: HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America). I wanted to be a thoracic surgeon.

11. I have a pair of Doc Martins that I bought 10 years ago; they’re in great condition and I still wear them regularly.

12. I spend my days with teenagers diagnosed with mood disorders like depression and bipolar, behavioral disorders like ADHD, conduct disorder or oppositional definite disorder, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders, anxiety disorders, PTSD, substance abuse, personality disorders, learning disorders and more. I love my work and find the human mind the most fascinating thing you could study.

13. I could eat sushi and seafood everyday and be happy.

14. I cannot read music to save my life, but I can hear notes and struggle to play them on the piano. I cannot play in front of other people. My first song was Fur Elise when I was 18; I’m currently working on Clocks by Coldplay and my favorite- Moonlight Sonata.

15. I am so bad at math it borders a learning disorder. I took the entry level math class at BYU (110- Algebra) 5 times and never took another math class.

16. In 9th grade I was witness to a murder with two of my childhood best friends-Jon Criddle and Matt Brinker. I slept like a baby that night.

17. I was staying in the London hotel in NYC and shared an elevator with Newman (Wayne Knight) from Seinfeld. I hate that show.

20. I love love love to talk to people about their problems, general psychology, or mental and emotional problems. It’s my favorite pastime.

21. While walking down the highway, a man tried to lasso my head from the bed of a speeding truck. He busted my lip.

22. My grandparents were Jewish; as a child I was taught to recite the Hebrew Hanukah prayers with my grandfather while lighting the Shamash on the Menorah.

23. I’m the first person on either side of my family to attend primary, young mens (or YW), boy scouts, go on a mission at 19, or graduate BYU.

24. I love the works of Shakespeare and Dust in the Wind by Kansas.

25. While I myself may be a work in progress, I have never doubted the veracity of the Book of Mormon, the First Vision, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and I never will.

Girls are like Apples

Girls are like

apples on trees. The best

ones are at the top of the tree. The

boys don’t want to reach for the good ones

because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt.

Instead, they just get the rotten apples from the ground that

aren’t as good, but easy. So the apples at the top think

something is wrong with them, when in reality, they’re

amazing. They just have to wait for the

right boy to come along,

the one who’s

brave enough

to climb

all the way

to the top

of the tree.

Work at a Residential Treatment Center

I was again invited to write a post for TroubledTeensBlog, a community blog for the families facing the difficulties of placing their teenager in a residential treatment center. Working at one of the best rtcs in the nation, I felt happy to offer a few lines to explain a bit about what we do (I would put the rest in italics but that would be annoying):

As a full-time counselor at Heritage Schools Residential Treatment Center in Provo Utah, I feel I am in a unique position to ease the worrying of parents with children here and perhaps more broadly at other RTCs as well. Recently I’ve been brainstorming about what I could say or write about that may provide some comfort. While in a meeting one day, I felt I had a few thoughts to share. I felt I could share a bit of where I am coming from as a residential staff, I could explain with pride our Treatment Team meetings as I consider them a powerful demonstration of the care and concern that our staff has for each individual teen, and lastly I will lay out a typical timeline for a teens stay and transformation in an RTC (disclaimer: of course each child is different and my example does not apply in all cases, however I’ve seen it over and over again enough times to feel comfortable offering it as a relatively universal norm).

Insight into my life as a Heritage RTC Counselor

There are only 2 other staff members that spend as much time as I do with my boys; I spend 40 hours a week in direct contact with my group of 10 teens. I am with them as they get ready for school everyday, when they come back from school, when we set aside time for homework and other productive activities, when we play in the snow or in the gymnasium. I’m with them during group therapy twice a week, recreational therapy, when they go ride the horses and when they sit around playing game boys. I dial home so they can talk to their parents or grandparents. Sometimes they end their calls content, other times the phone calls are very emotional and draining. I encourage them to write in their journals, to write home to their loved ones; I encourage them to develop a relationship of trust with their therapist, I try my hardest to have a sincere, honest, and trust-worthy relationship with each one so they can open up to me about their emotions day to day. I also encourage them to develop healthy relationships with their peers- other teens who have also been through similar troubled times and in some ways may be able to connect and offer support in ways that I cannot.

I have come to care deeply about the welfare of each of ‘my kids’, both their day to day mood as well as contemplating their long term trajectory long after they leave our community. I personally work in coordination with 6 other counselors. Each one is unique in the way they build relationships with the boys. I find this variety appealing as another counselor may be able reach a child in a way that I cannot and visa versa. In fact, just two nights ago I was talking one on one with one of my boys that has been with us for 4 months. He told me that the new counselor, one that has only been on our team for 2 weeks, has already reached out to spend time with him in a way that has significantly impacted him. The newbie had been working for 2 weeks and already he is reaching one of these boys in ways that I have not. I wonder if he’s even fully aware of his impact on this boy. I wonder if I’m full aware… Needless to say, I am very pleased with the Heritage conception that healthy loving relationships is the foundation for therapeutic progress.

I am also impressed to find that I share in this vision with other staff members that I work with. It is with pride that I would like to expound a bit on my experience with Treatment Team. Treatment Team is a weekly meeting in which the staff working with each ‘unit’, or group of boys, comes together to discuss each child individually. Imagine a conference room in which around the table you find your child’s therapist, his or her psychiatrist (if applicable), recreational therapist, academic advisor, a reprehensive of the nursing medical staff, your child’s program supervisor (who oversees the direct care staff in day to day affairs) and full-time counselors (direct care staff). Other administrators may be present depending on the issues to be discussed. I’ve seen upwards of twenty administrators and other staff show up to the meeting to discuss one boy. We take each child’s care very seriously. My point is that the attention focused on each child is, in my view, very impressive. We meet together having reflected on each child ourselves and sometimes as a group- last week the other two counselors, the program supervisor, and I came in early because we wanted to brainstorm ideas of how we can alter particular boys treatment plan in order to help motivate him and then be able to take our collective thoughts to the greater group at Treatment Team. While the overarching structure of the Heritage treatment plan is similar across the board, each child’s treatment is tailor-fitted over time through back and forth discussions in these Treatment Team meetings.

The therapist will open up a boy (or girl) for discussion and we will each give our input. How is he doing in his peer relationships? How is he expressing himself and communicating his emotions and thoughts to his counselors and therapist? How is his new medication helping him? How well is he participating in recreation therapy? What were his strengths this week? What were his struggles? Why? Is there anything we should consider that may help him? Is there anything going on this week that his therapist should know about? We discuss what privileges he earned this week, or maybe what privileges he gave up as a natural consequence of his poor choices. Confidentially is a strict standard in these meetings. Information is on a need-to-know basis and are not discussed with the other staff around campus, or anyone else. After reaching a consensus, we put our heads together to annotate what feedback we should give him “from Treatment Team” that will help him know what he has done well and what he should continue to focus on. As I sit in this meeting I look around and appreciate that each member sees the child in a different setting and that collectively we are able to see a bigger picture of how each child is progressing. Each idea is carefully considered to maximize it’s effectiveness. Usually some members will offer the strengths of the proposed change in treatment while others naturally play the devil’s advocate to tease out the eventualities of the alteration. I usually play the devil’s advocate,haha. I’ve learned the value of giving some teens prompt praise for even the slightest progress, and I’ve learned the value of tough love and solid structure; sometimes we have to communicate with the child in firm terms to help him see the gravity of his situation- we do it because we love him. Each child requires a different strength of guidance in order to find his way. We spend our days evaluating where that line is for your child.

You are there the day your child goes into treatment– I am there that day and the weeks and months that follow. I assure you that even though the vast majority are initially angry at being placed in an RTC, as time goes on an extraordinary thing happens, I watch your child transform. At first they deny risky behaviors and minimize any problems they faced back at home claiming their placement was a mistake. (How often have I heard that! If you are at all familiar with the stages of grief and loss, you know that denial is a very normal first reaction). With time and patience I see the ice melt. The child begins to become more honest with himself and others about his past and begins to see reasons to change– former resistance to the program melts and a willingness and desire to progress takes hold. This desire to change is rewarded as his attitude improves; he gets along better with his peers, he forges better relationships with the staff and his therapist, and most importantly, he is able to communicate his thoughts and feelings to his parents in a healthy way and learn sound methods to cope with life’s stressors without resorting to former trappings. One of my greatest joys as a counselor is when my boys come back from visiting with their families and I hear that their family life has improved. This is a great relief to the parents, and this newfound appreciation for his family gives the child a great motivation to redouble efforts to complete his treatment program so he can go home. That is exactly the validation that sustains me in this sometimes stressful line of work. This is our mission here at Heritage and I’m sure at other RTCs.

I wish to express my heart-felt sympathy for all families that are passing through this dark stage in your family life. I hope that my words may offer you some comfort in your heart-breaking decision to give over your child to the professional help that he or she desperately needs.

New Year 2009: Half-hearted resolutions, etc.

I graduated from BYU. Alumni, that’s me.

I hold a Bachelor of Science degree

(capitalization = looks more impressive)

in

Clinical and Developmental Psychology

w/ a minor in Business Management.

I sold back my books, and old textbooks I had been hoarding away, and all that’s left is to order my cap and gown and walk in April. Under my master business plan I call “Life” I have two immediate sub-projects: “Set up a productive day to day schedule” and “Plan on how to accomplish my longer-term goals.

Productive Day to Day Schedule:
First I work full-time at Heritage Schools as a counselor. Love my job. I am currently a morning counselor. This means that my work schedule looks pretty crazy if you didn’t know how my job works. I’ll try and draw a calendar for you to see. My goals at work? My next promotion, should I choose to accept, would be as a Team Lead. This would mean I’m overseeing the day to day goings-ons of the treatment programs of 10-16 boys or girls. Pro: much appreciated pay raise. Con: No more 3 day weekends. In fact I would work every Saturday and Sunday again (like I have been for 2 years). For now I’ll enjoy my weekends off and will be able to go to church each Sunday. That will be a refreshing change.

Next, what do I do when not at work?
Goal number 2: Exercise.
Back in the glory days of high school, I ran. I loved it. I would run for miles and want more. That was how I kept healthy. I did this until I left for my mission to Brazil. When I got back I haven’t had any sort of exercise program. In fact, my faulty genes finally caught up with me, and the valves in my veins gave out on me and I had to have two surgeries to close off some major veins. I’ve recovered, but 1) am advised by my cardiologist to avoid chronic high impact sports (like running or basketball) and 2) while my legs look and feel 100% better than before, I have chronic stiffness in my quads now. I was told that swimming and biking were good ideas. So… my plan is this. After I get off of work at 9, some days I will go swim laps in the indoor heated company pool. Other days, I will work out in the weight room here in my apartment complex clubhouse. Once the weather get better (May) I’ll pump up my bikes tires and go for rides. While I was never destined to have a baseball player physique, I can extol the correlation between exercise and being healthy and happy.

Goal c (and these are in no particular order): Being a more informed Stock Trader.
2008 was a tough year in the market. I made some good moves and a few bone head errors, the biggest of which was when I tried to sell off 100 shares of Washington Mutual THREE hours after the Feds seized it (read: 3 hours too late) and lost hundreds of dollars in a heartbeat. The market giveth and the market taketh away. I now have 3 different investment accounts:

Roth IRA (Charles Schwab): strictly defensive mutual funds to go long. This is the majority of my $$$
Roth IRA (Scottrade): this was so I could get my feet wet in the investing world and take greater risks.
Individual Account (Scottrade): I opened this account on Monday with short term goals- since it’s not a ROTH I can sell shares when I need help to pay for big things: engagement ring, down payment on a car, emergency cash, or whatever. I’m deciding what to do with it. Right now It’s still cash. On one hand it would be nice to put it to use and earn some ROI for me in the next few months before I’d have to use it. On the other hand, I really don’t want to lose any of it, so maybe I should go with safe non-volatile blue-chips. Right now I’m brainstorming a few: Pfizer, Macy’s, Caterpillar, Boeing, US Steel, Google, Wal-Mart… I’ll narrow it down to my “fav 5″ and buy incrementally. Financials are too risky for my portfolio this year, and I want to wait 2 or 3 quarters to see what the Obama administration is going to actually do in the energy sector (again, too risky at the moment).

Which brings me to Goal 4: Budget.

I am now cut off from the Parent Scholarship and am without a golden egg. Now it’s by the sweat of my brow. I’m not making bank, so I need to live frugally. This should be rather easy as I am a single guy living in a very cheap area without many financial obligations or other mouths to feed. I can life on beef jerky, Wendy’s dollar menu, and Hershey kisses, so that takes care of groceries. Health insurance is taken out of my paycheck (pre-taxes thankfully), I have rent, utilities, car insurance, cell phone bill, tithing & fast offerings, gasoline, plus I need to be saving. I want to put away at least 10% of my net to longer-term savings (to be used before my Scottrade individual account) and the rest save for shorter term big expenses.

I’m learning that life is expensive. Here are the major purchases in the foreseeable future:

New tires: $(few hundred)

A new computer: $750-900 or much less. My laptops is 4 years old and is showing her age in the worst of ways. I am debating whether to build one myself or just buy a laptop. A huge + is portability. Then again, this one doesn’t leave my desk. Considering I already have an awesome monitor, keyboard, mouse, it would only cost a few hundred to build a great desktop myself. That way, I could upgrade it whenever without having to buy a whole new computer. I think I’ll build one.

Dental work: $No idea. My molar is becoming sensitive, I may be getting a cavity. I think my insurance may cover the deductible but I’ll have to double check. If not then $ (whatever a cavity filling costs).
Car maintenance: $hundreds. My car is a sneeze away from 80k miles. I just had the transmission flushed and my car appreciated it. At any time, something could break or give out. I plan on running her into the ground, but am kinda keeping an eye out for what cars cost now a days. Obviously I don’t have much disposable income to spend on monthly payments but could look around. By the way, I’m a big fan of buying used cars for this simple reason: You buy a new car at a premium. The second you drive off the lot it loses thousands in value. Looking around you can find great deals on cars with minimal mileage for thousands less than a new car. Speaking of transportation, my mom will be relieved to hear that I can’t responsibly afford to buy the kind of motorcycle that I would want. It would cost between 4-6k for the bike, 250 for the course, and a few hundred on riding gear (not to look cool, but so I wont die), etc. Someday maybe it would be cool, but while I’m saving I can’t afford it.

Grad School. This is the big mama. No doubt I’ll need loans but you still need some money. I still don’t know where I’ll go or what program to go into. There are many ways to become a therapist. I could go to the University of Utah for their master of social work program, I could go to San Diego for marriage and family therapy, or I can stay in Provo sign up for the tuition assistant plan at work, attend the University of Phoenix master of marriage and family therapy program while working and become a therapist at Heritage when I finish. This list is by no means extensive, but they all have pros and cons. This is a big one for my “How to accomplish longer-term goals” project.

Heaven forbid I should meet a girl and get married. That would throw off my budget entirely! Maybe this should also be added to my longer-term goals group.

Past-times:

All work an no play makes Jonny a dull boy. In my free time, I have a few more goals.

Read good books: I have 3 six-foot bookshelves with books just itching to be read. Right now I am 200 pages into Bill Clinton’s 1000 page autobiography My Life. Despite what you or I may think of him personally, he is a gifted writer and story teller. It’s a fascinating read and I am enjoying it thoroughly. I also have Obama’s second autobiography. Again, it should be interesting. I am an independent conservative, but believe the words attributed to Aristotle, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” How true that is.

There is a website called Troubled Teen Blog that is for parents facing the placement of their teenagers in a psychiatric treatment center. I have guest blogged over there a time or two on behalf of Heritage Residential Treatment Center, but have been very busy the past 3 months and unable to lend them my attention. I want to write more posts for the website and answer parents questions about treatment centers and especially Heritage. It’s the least I can do.

Lastly, I would like to write more. This blog is about my only outlet for writing at present. However, I church out a post in half an hour, and without proofreading it, publish it. I want to make it a goal to dedicate more time to thoughtful, insightful posts. Probably mostly about Mental Illnesses. A whimsical goal would be to someday write a book. I’m not exactly sure what it would be about, but I’m brainstorming on writing a few quality entries.

Ok well, I have to run to the store, it’s getting late. Tune in next time.

Psychoanalysis of The Joker

Dark Knight was a smash hit for it’s fame, explosions, and chase scenes, but what really had me on the edge of my seat was perhaps the most riveting villain I had ever met—The Joker. The Joker is a mob-backed terrorist with suicidal tendencies and a textbook sociopath. He is not reasonable, he’s not afraid of anything, and the last thing he cares about in the world is himself. As Alfred explained to Bruce, “Some men just want to watch the world burn”. Given the tortured nature of our subject, I felt it fitting to call upon Dr. Sigmund Freud to be our Virgil on the journey into downward spiral that is the personality of this criminal mastermind.

Freud is the father of the psychoanalytic theory. He suggests that childhood experiences shape our personalities. To explore his theory, a wise man once told me that there are Four Questions that every good student of psychology will ask about a personality theory. The first question regards the structure of the theory. Freud developed a topographical model to explain personality with three separate parts that interact with one another; the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is carnal in nature and embodies our natural drives. They are like our instincts in that we do not consciously think about them. The superego is like our conscious; we internalize social norms and values and our superego is the partially conscious part of our mind that monitors our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The ego is our mostly conscious awareness that is in the middle of a tug of war between the id and the superego.

The second question asks for the motivation in his theory. Freud introduces the pleasure principle; a hedonistic notion that we are motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain. At the root of the id is a primitive energy to seek pleasure (usually of a sexual nature) called the libido. However, lest we become animals, we also have a counterweight in the superego. The superego, according to Freud, has a paternal authority that brings up feelings of guilt and a sensitivity toward consequences. The motivation to fulfill our wishes and biological drives is in a constant struggle with our nagging superego. A healthy person is able to navigate through this intrapsychic conflict with a healthy personality.

This brings us to the third question we ask of Freud; can the structure of one’s personality change over time? As stated above, Freud believed that childhood experiences with these conflicts mold the personality. Personality development is to be seen as psychosexual stages. Each stage presents the crossroads of a biological drive (id) and the learning of opposing social norms (superego). To successfully continue on to the next level one must learn to problem solve and cope with these frustrations in a healthy manner. This begins with the child’s first psychosexual conflict in the oral stage. Being the most primitive part of our personality, the id leads the child to live by the pleasure principle and demands to be fed whenever hungry. The next stage considers the child’s intrapsychic conflict with potty training in the anal stage. A child must then overcome his or her desire to sexually connect with the parent of the opposite sex in the phallic stage. The latent stage is a time of ‘latent’, or non-presenting, sexuality followed by the adult genital phase and accompanying obsession with the genitals. Our personality develops as we discover coping skills at each frustrating level. Along the way one may be frustrated and develop a fixation and neurosis while a healthy person will successfully negotiate between the pull of the id and superego.

The last question asks for an explanation of the differences between individuals according to the theory. Freud would argue that different people develop in differing environments and had different childhood experiences. An adult that was not breastfed as an infant may very well develop an oral fixation due to the unsatisfied desire. When a girl discovers that she is missing a penis, Freud states that she may become neurotic, develop a masculinity complex, or develop normally. This implies that Freud acknowledged that different people have different levels of resiliency given their circumstances.

I can only imagine if the Joker were to lie on Dr. Freud’s couch. The Joker is a pathological liar, with reactive attachment issues, scars he credits to either childhood abuse or self-mutilation (he contradicts himself in the movie) and presents with suicidal ideation. Let’s interpret the Joker’s personality under Freud’s psychoanalytic microscope. First we look at the structure of the Joker’s id, ego, and superego. Being a sociopath, he presents with a surgically precise id. He can masterfully calculate how he can steal the most money, kill the most people, and as he explains to the bed-ridden Harvey Dent, how he can “introduce [the most] chaos”. He is able to temporarily delay fulfilling the desire to kill in order to cause more anxiety in others and achieve an almost orgasmic thrill in seeing innocent people kill each other. However, I take a step backward to point out that his id is actually damaged. Thanatos is the “death instinct” that pulls us toward death while our Eros motivates us to preserve our lives. The Joker, I submit, has a very dimly lit Eros. As Batman’s motorcycle comes screaming towards him, the Joker actually walks towards him muttering things like “hit me!!” and “Do it! I want you to do it!”. Clearly self-preservation is one biological need the Joker lacks. But why? We may gain some insight by looking at the absence of his superego. Through out the movie he openly mocks society as phony and hypocritical. Sure, they’re all civilized when things go “according to plan”, says the Joker, but as soon as things go wrong, everyone panics and shows who they really are. Rules are arbitrary false values and principles and therefore have no hold on the Joker. Twice in the movie the Joker explains how he got his scars. In one account he growls that his father was an abusive drunk that asked his son “why so serious?” and proceeded to cut the Joker’s face. He said that he hated his father. When Freud says that the superego is based on the authority of the father, the Joker’s reactive attachment to his father would explain why he did not internalize societal norms. It seems as though from an early age the Joker let his id control his personality and with a broken ego he experiences a certain detachment from reality.

The second question is of motivation. What would motivate someone to kill innocent people without thinking twice? As Alfred explained to a confused Bruce Wayne, “some men just like to watch the world burn”. After some reflection, I submit that the Joker is out to prove a point. Throughout the movie he has an unquenchable contempt for social structure and norms as was mentioned above. After Batman leaves the Joker in an interrogation room with a police officer, the Joker enrages the guard by saying that when you push people to the brink and they face death, then you see who they really are. At that point, according to the Joker, they drop their phony façade and behave like the chaotic, selfish animals that we all are. I submit that his motivation is to conduct social experiments to prove himself correct- that at the core people are controlled by their Eros (while he is only controlled by his own delusion of grandiosity). He has two men fight to the death with one sharp stick between them. He gives two boatloads of people the detonator to bombs on the other ship. He tells Batman that if he [Batman] wants to catch him [the Joker], that he’s going to have to break his One Rule that was brought up at the end of the first movie—to not kill. In addition, Freud may also venture to explore other defense mechanisms such as possible projection of the Joker’s bubbling chaotic selfishness onto all men and women. He may also explore possible displacement of the Joker’s hatred of his own father onto all forms of authority.

The third question is about how the personality changes over time. Little is known about the Joker’s past. If Freud were to watch Dark Knight, I could see him pointing out the Joker’s constant twitching and licking of his lips as possible evidence of an oral fixation and would want to ask the Joker about his relationship with his mother. If we go ahead and believe that the Joker really did have and hate his abusive alcoholic father, then we would explore the intrapsychic conflict between the Joker and his father and as a result, the underdevelopment of a superego. In the second narration of the origins of his scars, the Joker tells Rachel that he once had a wife that was cut up by mobsters and that in an effort to make her feel better, he carves his own face and was devastated when she leaves him. If we believe this version of the story, then his anger from his father (who in this case was not the one who cut up his face, but perhaps still an abusive drunk) is compounded when he is rejected by his wife. Perhaps this was a cathartic experience that releases previously repressed hatred and it comes spilling out as he seeks revenge on mankind. With the death of Ledger, we’ll never know.

The fourth question asks why there are differences between the Joker and the rest of us. As was just discussed, the Joker had traumatic conflicts that he was unable to resolve in a health manner. Thus he developed neurosis and did not develop a superego… He became the psychopathic, mass murdering monster we have all come to love.

Homosexuality according to Dr. Robinson

Transcript of Homosexuality

If any of you are seasoned LDS psychology buffs, chances are you’ve heard of or seen this lecture. Dr. Robinson is an LDS psychotherapist here in Orem who specializes helping LDS men (and women) whom struggle with same-gender attraction. It’s a variation on the theme Nature v Nurture. In counseling with self-identified homosexual clients I find that very seldom does someone straight up ‘choose’ to be gay. When individuals embrace that lifestyle there were already tendencies present. Dr. Robinson states that he sees patterns within the population; a pattern that suggests a combination of stressors. Among these are 1) attachment issues with the same gender during childhood 2) the child’s particular personality traits and 3) adolescent development (including hormones). His model smacks of classical conditioning: a child reacts poorly to homo-psychosocial situations during a time of normal hormonal changes and thus subconsciously develops problematic cognitive distortions, thought processes, and emotional distortions that become ingrained habits. By the time the child gains insight into these feelings he/she says, “Holy smokes! I’m gay! …I sure didn’t choose to feel this way, so I must have been born this way.” Dr. Robinson submits that while you don’t necessarily have to be born with these feelings, you also did not necessarily choose them.

Keep in mind that I already said I think homosexuality can come about in different ways for different reasons, of which this is just one explanation. I find his socioemotional construct interesting and wondered what others think.

Life Update

Undergrad

So I’m sitting at my desk with my Gmail Calendar open with House episodes in the background. Best show ever. Anydangway, I’m making sure that I have all the assignments from my classes on my schedule. Business Management? Check. Organizational Behavior? Check. Psychology of Personality? Check. Introduction to Sociology? Check. Introduction to Social Work? Check. Where things will start getting busy are in the areas of org b and social work. I have 4 weeks until I graduate. Oh I hope I graduate.

Graduate School

Aside from school, I also have another grad school application deadline coming up fast: Brigham Young University Master’s of Social Work. That’s something I’ll pick up speed on in early Dec.

Job

Also I (hope) I’ll have a change in work. Right now I am working part-time as a weekend counselor on the boys youth unit at Heritage Schools Residential Treatment Center. My boss and fellow staff members know that I will be graduating shortly and over the holidays would be looking to transfer to a full-time counselor position. I was going to just cross my fingers and hope that a position opened that I would like. There are several different places I could work: boys /girls youth unit, boys/girls low stimulus unit, boys aggressive unit, Intensive Support Unit, or a regular (15-17 yr old) boys/girls unit. Well, since I already work with youth boys (12-15 yr olds), and I get along with them, that would be a natural place to want to stay. As fate would have it, the morning counselor position opened up on Monday!!!! Hoorah! I would work Monday, Tuesday, and Thursdays 7-8:30am and 2:45-10:30pm, and Wednesdays 10-12:30pm and 2:45-5pm, and Friday 7-8:30 am. A weird schedule but it makes sense where I work. Good thing is that I’ll get 3 day weekends that start Friday at 8:30am. Almost like 4 days on 3 days off. I’ll have the interview sometime this week for the job. Hope I get it, otherwise I just wasted a lot of time writing this paragraph.

Investing

I don’t want to talk about it. The market is garbage. I’m just going to stay out of it for a while. If I were to invest it would be controlled doses of JNJ or PG. That’s it.  All other money will be tucked away in an ING Direct savings account.

Motorcycle

Mom, you are not allowed to read this part. So the other day I was thinking about Christmas present ideas. I really don’t need anything. I have a 4 year old car that’s working well (mmm… maybe I’ll need new tires in a while), I have a computer (when it breaks I’m thinking of building my own computer- can you say better for cheaper?), plenty of clothes, etc. etc. And I have all the toys I want: ipod, nice surround sound for my LCD flatscreen. Even a 22″ computer monitor for my laptop (sooo much better than a laptop screen). When I say I have all the toys I want, there’s the gray area. SO as I said, before I interrupted myself… I was thinking about things I would want (besides cash, dang it! Don’t interrupt me!) when I saw it. I had seen it a million times before, but I think it was the first time I actually saw it. A motorcycle. No particular one, a Plato’s forms one. I have ridden a scooter many times and like it a lot. Very fun. But a motorcycle… think same fun, only on a bigger scale. Now, I did not grow up around motorcycles. My grandmother worked in an operating room. Know what they call motorcycle drivers in operating rooms? Organ donors. My dad didn’t ride them, my mom was the same way. So having a motorcycle crossed my mind right after the thought of buying an airplane– never. But when I saw one go by, I thought “how fun would that be?” Now, first, know that I have no money to buy one so it’s a mute point. But I hear there are 55 year old men who have been dreaming of a Hemi Charger for decades at a time. I allow for others to have a selfish indulgences that I won’t judge them on even if it weren’t realistic.

I take it there are 3 basic types of motorcycles:

Bullet bikes

Cruiser bikes

Touring bikes

While I would try to be careful, I don’t think I want a bullet bike. See,s like it’s a ton of power that I’d never use. Plus the temptation would be unwise. Touring bikes are ugly and I’m not 70 years old. But that one in the middle? mmmm…  Don’t lie, wouldn’t it be fun to go for a ride? A boy could always wish.

This is what’s new. So for like 4 weeks I have a lot to get done. Wish me luck.

DSM IV: Mental Disorders

I am fascinated by the human mind. I have always built my psychological constructs on the belief that in the absence of genetic complications, and maladaptations to environmental stressors people tend to grow and develop normally. When we introduce problematic genetics and stressors the equilibrium could change depending on the individual’s reaction to the stressor. I believe that life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you react. Lots of people have beef with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). This book is the psychological bible; it’s a catalog of all the mental disorders currently recognized by the American Psychological Association. They list the symptoms and criteria to diagnose someone with Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive, Eating disorders, and the list goes on and on and on. The problem is that all it really does is help a diagnostician to look at an individual’s symptoms and try to make the person fit into either a round hole, a circle hole, etc.

It’s a funny thing, but you could line up 10 clients I see at work, each one diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (for a child it is what it sounds like- reason it out) and each one of the 10 would be very different.

“a redistribution of wealth through the federal tax system. That, by definition, is socialism!”

The chief weapon used by the federal government to achieve this “equality” is the system of transfer payments. This means that the federal governments collects from one income group and transfer payments to another by the tax system.

- Ezra Taft Benson 1977

Here’s the Youtube video of his talk along with the transcript. Enjoy

Sound familiar at all????

Excerpts:

He indicated that government spending in the United States at all levels amounts to over forty percent of today’s total national income. If we continue to follow the trend in which we are heading today, two things will inevitably result: first, a loss of our personal freedom, and second, financial bankruptcy.

Many are now advocating that which has become a general practice since the early 1930s: a redistribution of wealth through the federal tax system. That, by definition, is socialism!

Americans have always been committed to taking care of the poor, aged, and unemployed. We have done this on the basis of Judaic-Christian beliefs and humanitarian principles. It has been fundamental to our way of life that charity must be voluntary if it is to be charity. Compulsory benevolence is not charity. Today’s socialists–who call themselves egalitarians–are using the federal government to redistribute wealth in our society, not as a matter of voluntary charity, but as a so-called matter of right. One HEW official said recently, “In this country, welfare is no longer charity, it is a right. More and more Americans feel that their government owes them something” (U.S. News and World Report, April 21, 1975, p. 49). President Grover Cleveland said–and we believe as a people–that though the people support the government the government should not support the people.

The chief weapon used by the federal government to achieve this “equality” is the system of transfer payments. This means that the federal governments collects from one income group and transfer payments to another by the tax system. These payments are made in the form of social security benefits, Medicare and Medicaid, and food stamps, to name a few. Today the cost of such programs has been going in the hole at the rate of 12 billion dollars a year; and, with increased benefits and greater numbers of recipients, even though the tax base has been increased we will have larger deficits in the future.

Today the party now in power is advocating and has support, apparently in both major parties, for a comprehensive national health insurance program–a euphemism for socialized medicine.

Can you say Prophet?!

Obama Administration: liberal with a capital L

On the heels of my last post where I was as optimistic about Obama as I could muster, today I’m already starting to worry about his judgment.

Obama said he would govern from the center. My response: Yeah right.

It was announced that Rahm Israel Emanuel will be Obama’s Chief of Staff. This isn’t good for B. Hussein Obama. He says he wants to have a bipartisan administration and bring Republicans and Democrats together. Emanuel is a very very very liberal guy. He was a Clinton staffer and has a history of going AFTER republicans, not working with Republicans. Can he be a part of bipartisan coalitions? I doubt it. He’s a liberal political hitman. Strike one for Barack.

I’ve heard murmurings that Caroline Kennedy could be offered the Secretary of Education seat. I don’t know much about her yet so I can’t comment.

But the cream of the crop so far is the idea that Robert F. Kennedy could be the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)!!!!! A HUGE step by Obama toward the liberal side. Holy Shnikes! This guy is a wild-eyed environmentalist. He would be kicking trash and taking names. Big business should shake in their boots.

I guess this is what Obama had in mind when in January he said he would charge Coal production right out of business.

…So if somebody wants to build a coal power plant, they can, it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re gonna be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s going to be emitted.

He goes on to suggest that with all the fines we collect from bankrupting coal plants, we can invest that money into alternative fuels like wind, solar, blah, blah… I’m very interested to see what happens. Certainly B. Hussein, if his policies are carried out (by way of Kennedy) is a big win for environmentalists. You can read more at Rush Limbaugh’s site.

Says he’ll have Republicans in his administration- I bet it will turn out to be a lowly token position where liberals don’t have a big agenda. As Obama appoints cabinet members and the like, research that person’s stances on issues and political background and affiliations in the past- I bet most will be staunch liberals. I’m almost getting goosebumps. Yuck.

Oh! And get this! In a townhall meeting Biden was asked by an old man if they would pursue an criminal behavior by the Bush administration. Biden said yes. He said that judicial committees are RIGHT NOW subpoena-ing documents and so forth to find criminal behavior and build cases to pursue those people. Can you imagine that? I actually think it would be fascinating to see the Architect up there on the stand sweating. At the end of the comments he says they would do it out of the necessity to show that no one, “no Attorney General, no president , no one is above the law”.

Here’s the video

Wow! Could this book come true???

Lastly: Foreign Policy.

To those who tear the world down, we will defeat you. Does the man who said he wants “Israel wiped off the map” and Iranian President come to mind? Ahmadinejad congratulated Obama for the win!!! This is the guy who 1) says the Holocaust never happened and 2) wants Israel wiped off the map 3) and countless bad things about America. Oh man. Its Obama saying ‘Bullies! Were gonna defeat you!” while the bullies are smiling and patting him on the back.

Iran’s Prosecutor-General Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dori- Najafabadi called on Obama on Thursday to show goodwill and remove sanctions against the Islamic Republic, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

“Through the lifting of the past government’s cruel sanctions against Iran, Barack Obama can demonstrate his goodwill to the Iranian people,” he said.

“Calling for forgiveness and remorse for the past U.S. government’s deeds by the new government can bring about the great Iranian nation’s forgiveness.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4A57YH20081106

Oh, and Jesse Jackson said Israel is “screwed” under Obama

HA! Let’s see how squishy Obama handles this one! I haven’t even mentioned that Russia announced they’re going to put arms outside of Poland! Or that Hugo Chavez is excited that Obama won. Now as I said, I support my president and I hope he makes the right moves. I think it’s downright stupid when conservatives say they can’t wait to see Obama fail. I just want to say “Dude! You LIVE here too!” That’s like fighting over who drives the car, and the other guy wins and is driving you home and you’re in the backseat hoping he’ll crash to prove you right. Morons. So I’m not exactly pleased with the uncomfortable situation this puts our nation in, but I think Obama’s lack of foreign policy front and center. Through out the campaign he has touted that Judgment is more important than past experience. I hope he’s right….

I had a popular post several months ago titled Romney’s Gone. Now who? Obama v. McCain. In it I compared the two candidates on their platforms (as they existed at the time). I’ll write another one about Obama as I currently understand it soon.

Why I will support President Obama

I go off on the economics for a long time, even if you don’t read that, I hope you read the section titled Historic Victory as I feel it’s the main emotion I’m feeling now and I’d love for you to  add your own thoughts or tell me where I’m wrong. I wrote this all in one sitting and never read through it again, I thought about proof reading it, but I have to go to work and it’s super long and I just want to post it now. Maybe I’ll add more to it tonight after I gather my thoughts more at work.

I knew Obama would win. Anyone who has been following politics knows that up until a short while ago it was a relatively close race. I didn’t want Obama to win. Then again, I wasn’t jumping up and down for McCain either- it was a lose-lose even to a capital r Republican. First of all I would like to mention my belief in the rule of law. The people have spoken and I think it’s pretty clear that they want this guy. Up until the financial crisis I would have thought it a pretty close race. However, during the financial crisis I knew that the trickle-down economic policies of the Republican Party took a serious blow. I intended on writing a post specific to this topic but am feelings lazy. I’m going to be a bit harsh on where republican politics has been recently, but see what you think.

President Barack Obama

Congratulations to Obama. The people have spoken. I believe in the rule of law and support our president-elect. Barack, if you’re reading this, congratulations, don’t impliment your tax plan and you’ll be ok in my book. I’m still waiting to see 1) how Prop 8 turns out and 2) if Stevens can be reelected as a convicted felon.
P.s. Looks like wordpress.com added a Poll option. Sweet. I’ve wanted to do polls for a while now. Blogspot has had them for a while now.

Update

I haven’t been blogging religiously recently- I’ve been very busy and tired. But rest assured that soon more blogs will be coming. I had surgery and will write about that. I’m now running Vista, I might mention that.  Obama will win on Election Day, and I want to write about his economic policy, and etc. etc.

Locus of Control

The psychological locus of control has always been a pet interest of mine. I’ve written a few papers about it and so forth and so on, including one I just whipped up for my Personality Theory class. Obviously being a paper for school it was written to adhere to a critera that hinders interesting ‘blog post’ quality of writing, and a criteria that I normally would not impose on myself. But just in case you’re interested: 

In the chapter dedicated to Erickson, a discussion of identity development mentions Dr. Julian Rotter’s concept of ‘locus of control’ as a measure of individualism (Cloniger 142). The locus of control can be defined as “a person’s belief about what causes the good or bad results in their life, either in general or in a specific area such as health or academics. It can either be internal (meaning the person believes that they control themself and their life) or external (meaning they believe that their environment, some higher power, or other people control their decisions and their life)” (The Almighty Wikipedia Locus of Control). In psychotherapy, clients may present symptoms of great anxiety due to this common cognitive distortion: an incorrect internal locus of control (believing they can control something when they cannot) or an incorrect external locus of control (believing they cannot control something when they can).  I chose this topic because I feel that it is a learning theory that is both critical to the development of an individual’s personality, and one that has universal psychological implications and as such can benefit many anxiety-prone clients if explored with insight in psychotherapy.

 The implications and benefits of this understanding were well stated by an expert in the human condition, Elder Richard G. Scott. He wrote an article for the 2004 Liahona titled Peace of Conscience and Peace of Mind explaining the application of these loci of control for the layman to understand. The internal locus of control he calls the “[p]eace of conscience [that] relates to your inner self and is controlled by what you personally do” (Scott Liahona 2004). A proper distinction between what is in and what is out of your control can aid in putting anxiety into perspective. The mere insight that we can control the object of our anxiety can provide a firm foundation to begin progress. Elder Scott calls the external locus of control peace of mind. The “peace of mind is most often affected by external forces such as… economic pressures, …deteriorating world conditions, …or more to do than sufficient time to do it” (Scott). Again, the insight that we cannot control many forces external to us can benefit a client and be a step toward reducing anxiety. The correct understanding of an internal and external locus of control has important cognitive and emotional implications and benefits.

One assumption of this theory that is strongly countered by Skinner’s radical behaviorism is that human beings have the agency to choose at will and to affect outcome. This alternative theory focuses on the efficient cause, that A causes B, instead of the final cause of the end goal. For Skinner, all action is determined by predisposing stimuli, not free action, and certainly not determined by volition. Dr. Rotter worked to develop a social learning theory that focused on the final cause and motivation. Rotter suggested that the expected effect or outcome of the behavior has an impact on motivation of people to engage in that behavior. “If one expects a positive outcome from a behavior, or thinks there is a high probability of a positive outcome, then they will be more likely to engage in the behavior… This social learning theory suggests that behavior is influenced by social context or environmental factors, and not psychological factors alone” (Rotter Social Learning and Clinical Psychology 1954).

While alternative theories exist to negate the power of choice, I submit that Rotter’s theory of an internal and external locus of control has many important implications for anxious clients struggling to gain insight into their control problems and distorted cognition.

 

Yes to California Proposition 8

Watch the Video

The LDS Church NewsRoom support of Prop 8

Now, being from Texas, I haven’t bothered looking into what’s been going on over there in California very much. Within our church proposition 8 is a huge deal as it deals with redefining marriage. Now homosexuality is something I’ve tried to study in depth both in and out of my psychology courses. Many of my clients have been gay or lesbian and I’ve heard their stories. When it comes to gay unions or gay marriage, I personally don’t care. If gay marriage were legal, I wouldn’t mind– if I live in a neighborhood where a gay marriage couple moves in next door, I wouldn’t care. I’m not a homophob and would have no problem being friends with a gay guy. However, the Church is very much in support of Proposition 8 and is asking it’s members to support it too. Many in the Church incorrectly think that the Church has no political stances. I actually spent a whole post on this topic. Anyway, while I personally don’t care if gays get married or not, the Prophet and Apostles do care if the California Constitution redefines marriage. I worte a post a while ago on whether it’s ok to legislate morality. This is where I agree with the Church (a position I would recommend). If gays got married and it was called a ‘gay union’ I wouldn’t care, but MARRIAGE is between a man and a woman. Period. It is our doctrine that gay unions are not an acceptable substitute for marriage, nor is a ‘gay marriage’ itself a Marriage. I could go on and on- basically I can see two sides of the issue– I don’t mind if gay people have partners to be able to share a life with. A life without the opportunity to love? That would be awful. But on the other hand, I strongly am opposed to redefining the dictionary definition of marriage. I also wrote another post on Disagreeing with the Church. Anyway, my friend Hillary Jensen posted this interesting facebook note. What do you think? :

This November election could change California forever. We need to protect marriage! This isn’t a civil rights issue, it’s an attack on marriage.

Six Consequences If Proposition 8 Fails

1.Children in public schools will be taught that both traditional marriage and same-sex marriage are okay.

The California Education Code already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890)

Therefore, if the definition of marriage is changed, children will be taught that marriage is a relation between any two adults. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.

2.Churches will be sued if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings that are open to the public. Ask whether your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, or rabbi is ready to perform such marriages in your chapels and sanctuaries.

3.Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston has already closed its doors because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

4.Religions that sponsor private schools and which provide housing for married students will be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if it runs counter to church doctrine, or lose tax exemptions and benefits.

5.Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages will be sued for hate speech and could be fined by the government. It has already happened in Canada, one of six countries that have legalized gay marriage.

6.It will cost you money. A change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits. Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today’s activist judges), think of the money – your money, your church contributions – that will have to be spent on legal fees.

And think of all the unintended consequences that we cannot even foresee at this time. Where will it end?

It’s your children, your grandchildren, your money, and your liberties.

Lets work together to protect them.

Biden: village idiot

So how about them debates? Dumb huh? All they do is point fingers at the other podium and call names. No one gives straight answers. Drives me nuts. The rest of the post is straight off the Ann Coulter website:

If Sarah Palin had made just one of the wildly inaccurate statements smugly uttered by Sen. Joe Biden in last week’s vice presidential debate, there would have been 3-inch headlines in newspapers across America. (I can almost hear Katie Couric asking me, “Which newspapers?”)

These weren’t insignificant errors, such as when Biden said, “Look, all you have to do is go down Union Street with me in Wilmington or go to Katie’s restaurant or walk into Home Depot with me where I spend a lot of time, and you ask anybody in there whether or not the economic and foreign policy of this administration has made them better off in the last eight years.”

It turns out that Katie’s restaurant, where Biden gets his feel for the average American, closed 20 years ago. The only evidence that he spends any time in Home Depot is that it appears that a pipe wrench fell on his head one too many times.

Troubledteenblog.com

I found this website. It’s a community for families of troubled teens and I found they were asking questions about Heritage Schools where I work. One individual asked about how we deal with difficult children at Heritage and so I wrote a long response that you may find interesting. Maybe not, but if you know me and have ever wondered what I do at work, here’s a small inkling:

If I were a parent considering placing my child in  treatment center I would be worried about things like that too. You would imagine that working with difficult children (by children I mean teens and by difficult I mean ‘act out’ a lot) the work would be very difficult, but it isn’t because of the brilliant therapeutic system that is set up: it’s been very successful at Heritage and I’ll try and go over it in a nutshell. It’s called the intervention model. So let’s just use an example…

Uncertain times call for diversification and going Long

Well I managed to be rather risky in the storm of the past 3 weeks and came out ahead. On the downside I tried to sell my 100 shares of Washington Mutual mere hours after the Feds seized it (thus ceasing trading and I’m stuck with 100 shares of nothing and my money magically ceased to exist. Boo hoo), and despite $105 dollars in friction costs so far (means I’m ‘actively’ trading), I’ve been doing swell while I’d wager that the vast majority of Americans lost money. Luckily the majority of my holdings are in SWPIX, SWEGX, and BGRFX- very diversified funds. As Cramer says, “Being diversified won’t get you money, it’s save you from losing money, which is what we need in today’s market”. We need to be on the defense. I learned a lot from day trading AIG (slight loss), Lehman Brothers (big win), Freddie Mac (big win), Merrill Lynch (a win for the trophy case), and Washington Mutual (a loss for the ages). I actually wanted to get a stock certificate for WM and hang it on my wall.. Maybe tape a caption “The Market Giveth, and the Market Taketh Away” heehee. But when I called to get some info they said it was 95 bucks to order one. That’s worth 95 dollars more than 100 million shares in the company!!! If it were like 15 bucks I’d so do it, but 95.. Naw.