We’ve Moved!

Please visit us at: Stinkin’ Thinkin’

That’s http://stinkin-thinkin.com

We let the re-direct run out, so update your favorites!

Seeya at our new address…

 

Belladonna Boost, Anyone?

Here is an interesting article from the New York Times about about belladonna and its use in treating alcohol addiction. Bill Wilson used it when he had his famous “white light experience”. For any AAs out there who are working those steps with rigorous honesty, and have still not had their spiritual awakening, you might consider tossing a bit of belladonna into the mix. That picture of Jesus or chia pet or pine tree or whatever you happen to be using as your higher power, is sure to come to life:

On the second or third day of his treatment, Mr. Wilson had his now famous spiritual awakening. Earlier that evening, Mr. Thacher had visited and tried to persuade Mr. Wilson to turn himself over to the care of a Christian deity who would liberate him from the ravages of alcohol. Hours later, depressed and delirious, Mr. Wilson cried out: “I’ll do anything! Anything at all! If there be a God, let him show himself!” He then witnessed a blinding light and felt an ecstatic sense of freedom and peace. When Mr. Wilson told Dr. Silkworth about the event, the physician responded: “Something has happened to you I don’t understand. But you had better hang on to it.”

 

Check it out…

Well, it’s a start. Go see the new blog:

http://www.stinkin-thinkin.com

All suggestions welcome!

 

Help!

I’ve been trying to figure out how to make the comments section of this blog suck less, but I’m at a complete loss. The options seem to be limited with a free account — but I could be missing something. I think that will require and upgrade, or our own domain, which will require $, which might then require advertising of some sort.

Before I do anything like that, I’m wondering if you all think that the comment threading sucks as much as I do. Does it suck enough to do something about it? Those skinny tiered comments, the lack of formatting… It’s hard to follow a debate. Do you think it needs to be fixed, or am I just being to fussy? Do you have any suggestions?

One thing I had in mind was to attach a message board to the blog. Any thoughts on that? My thoughts on that are that having to navigate to another page to discuss posts might just be too unwieldy, but then again, members could start their own threads…

What do you think? Upgrade? Message Board? Leave it alone? Any other ideas?

 

The Case for Malpractice

Go read this article by Paul A. Toth at The Nervous Breakdown:

Alcoholism, AA and the Medical Industry: Nationwide Malpractice

Toward the end of the comments section, the author poses a topic for discussion:

Question:If alcohol really is a disease, shouldn’t it primarily be treated by physicians?

No one seems to have engaged him on this question yet.

 

You Never Win

LUNATICS ANONYMOUS: I have been sober for two years today. You’re not sober, you’re just abstinent. OK, I’m just abstinent, not sober and I haven’t had a drink for two years. You might be abstinent but, you’re not sober. You’re just a dry drunk. OK, I’m just a sober dry drunk. No, you’re not sober. OK, I’m just an abstinent dry drunk. You might be dry but, you don’t have sobriety. I thought I was sober. You might be sober but, you don’t have good sobriety. Is there a difference? Yes, there is. There is abstinent sobriety but, you have bad sobriety. What, I have bad sobriety? Yes, because you are not in recovery. I thought I was in recovery whereas I haven’t had a drink in two years. You’re not in recovery, you are only around recovery. You never recover. I thought that because I’m in recovery that I was sober. No, you never recover, you’re just abstinent. But, I attend A.A. every day. That doesn’t matter because, you are only around A.A., and you’re not in A.A. But, I’m in the program. Yes, you’re in the program but, you’re not working a good program. OK, I’m only around A.A., working a bad program and not sober. But, I am working the 12 steps. No, you only think you are working the steps. I thought if I was abstinent and attending A.A. that I was in recovery. No, that’s your problem, you only thought you were sober. I thought that I had good sobriety as I was attending A.A. That’s another problem you have. You’re thinking, when you were told to sit down, take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth. But, I can’t talk with the cotton in my mouth. That’s good, because you don’t know what you are talking about, just sit there for 90 days and don’t talk or think. But, I think I am sober. No, you’re just not drinking, you don’t have quality sobriety. What, there is good sobriety and bad sobriety and now quality sobriety? Yes there is and you don’t have either or. You’re just a dry drunk. How can I be drunk if I’m sober? I told you that you’re not sober, you’re just not drinking. OK. F**K this bullshit, I think I’ll go the bar and have a few drinks.

Re-posted with permission from Lunatics Anonymous

 

Another AA Sexual Assault

Here is a story out of Winnipeg about an AA whose character flaws include raping and beating women. His first victim was his ex-wife, who he met at an AA meeting. Naturally, AA welcomed him back with open arms. The second victim was another woman he had 13th stepped in AA and started dating, and though they had stopped dating, she remained his friend, and drove to his home to help him when he phoned her in a drunker stupor. She was met with this:

The man put duct tape over her face, bound her hands and legs together and then sodomized her. He also demanded she call her 18-year-old daughter to come over so he could sexually assault her while she watched. She was repeatedly beaten when she refused. The man also threatened to hit her with a lead pipe.

I wonder why this woman’s higher power™, an all-knowing AA god who was kind  enough to take away her shortcomings and keep her sober, would not keep her out of harms way by advising her not to show up at this guy’s home to help him in the first place.

Ask a true AA believer, and you will be told this guy was obviously not working the program correctly, or he would not have been drunk in the first place. Or, maybe he was not a real alcoholic, as the steps only work for real alcoholics. What I wonder is why his higher power™, who was standing idly by, waiting for him to really start working those steps properly, would not step in and intervene in this situation. It seems like if He (the higher power) were going to allow this guy to victimize a person, He would have forced this AA to grab a bat or a baton and sodomize himself. Now that would be a higher power™ I could believe in.

 

AA Members Working with the Courts

Sherburne County Probation Department is making some changes…

Alcoholics Anonymous orientation meetings
One month ago the department started an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) orientation program.

This program is designed for those offenders who are court ordered to attend AA meetings, Hancuch said.

In the past anonymity was a problem, as it put the AA facilitators in a tough spot having to verify who was coming to the meetings, Hancuch said, adding that many AA attendees outside of the court system do not want their identity known to everyone, and like that the program is anonymous.

In addition, it could sometimes be disruptive to the meetings when people who are court ordered to be there were just thrown into the mix of people choosing to be there, he said.

To help combat these difficulties, now the courts can order someone to take the eight-week orientation program.

This program is run by AA volunteers and goes through an overview and run down of the 12 steps.

This way, if a person continues on into regular AA meetings, he or she has already been briefed and has a better idea of what to expect.

From here offenders will also know how to get a sponsor and which meetings might work best for them if they wish to continue on.

 

Benign Anarchy – Alcoholics Anonymous in Ireland

New book:

AN ABILITY to avoid the politics surrounding alcohol consumption and a leadership structure described as “benign anarchy” are two of the reasons why Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has thrived since it arrived here over 70 years ago, according to the author of a new book on the group.

Trinity College Dublin academic Shane Butler said the AA’s “inverted pyramid” style of governance has helped it to avoid many of the pitfalls that political and religious institutions have encountered since it was established here in 1946.

“They don’t get distracted by institutions,” he said. “What they have done is kept their eye on the ball from a point of view of following its only purpose – to help people who are absolutely flattened by alcohol consumption.

I’m curious, but I’ll have to wait till it shows up in the library. If anyone’s planning to read it, send in a review.