Dianetics is the self-help program created in the 1960s by that former sci fi author, self-admitted "satanist" and occasional psychiatric patient L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard was earning so much from his anti-psychiatry self-help program by the 1960s that he decided to start a religious cult, Scientology, in order to avoid having to pay taxes on the program's earnings.

Dianetics and Scientology, and a Scientology-sponsored program called Citizen's Human Rights Watch, are opposed to psychiatric treatment and the use of prescription psychiatric medicines. They believe that mental illness is the result of alien souls attaching to humans and that exercise, sauna treatments and strange dietary rules will eliminate mental illnesses. Remember Tom Cruise trying to explain all of this to Matt Lauer?

Anyhow, I am appalled and horrified that Salon has sold advertising space to Dianetics. Especially in the context of an article as inflammatory as this one, dealing with the Army's overmedication and failure to treat a mentally ill soldier.

That cult, Scientology, is nothing more than an evil pyramid scheme designed to make money for its leaders, while harming and profiteering from vulnerable people who are in need of quality psychiatric treatment.

I would probably never encounter the same situation but Selma acted with proper moral instinct.

This is reminiscent of the Chinese police officer who impulsively breastfed eleven babies whose mothers were injured or killed following the earthquake and collapse of a hospital building in China last year.

Pretty people can have low self esteem, get abused physically and emotionally, and get rejected for reasons beyond their control.

Heartbreak happens. I am glad the LW has moved from stabbing pain to dull ache, it is progress.

What doesn't kill us makes us stronger and hopefully, more compassionate to ourselves and others.

Hugs to you. Now you know you are ready to love again. Make some space in your closet, in your bedroom, in your medicine cabinet, in your dresser. Be ready.

I have to listen to exactly three seconds of conservative talk radio every morning when I walk across my office lobby because our building security lady is addicted to it.

Today the talking point by the local bloviator was "Make no doubt about it, folks, this is class warfare of the worst kind." I had no idea what he was talking about until I read this blog entry, though.

What is crazy to me is our security guard is a kindly older African American grandmother. Why she listens to that tripe every day is beyond me.

Remember how after 9/11 everyone was bastardizing Nostradamus to make the argument that he predicted 9/11?

This is almost as clever as that. I love prophecies that no one hears about until after an event actually happens.

I am just speechless.

What is it about Traditional Catholics being Holocaust deniers, anyhow? I mean, this is how Mel Gibson is too.

At the core, it is driven by Anti-Semitism. It has to be. I don't know a single Jewish person who denies that the holocaust made victims of groups aside from the Jews. But that doesn't negate the terrible pain suffered by those who survived the camps, and those who lost loved ones in the camps.

This is the first time I have ever seen someone allege that the Nazi's use of Zyclon was a "life saving measure."

May God Have Mercy on Your Soul.

I think it was straight to DVD. Vanessa Redgrave portrays an old woman on her death bed, drifting in and out of a dream state. She reminisces of a particular period in her youth when she had a romantic encounter with a really handsome young man that was quite popular and adored.

Clare Danes portrays the woman in her youth.

It is a lovely simple movie in many ways, but is a romantic fantasy of "the one that got away." I found it unbelievable that this one encounter in her would be the source of so much regret and angst in this woman's dying days, after she had clearly lived a life that looked by all accounts to be rich and complex.

But I guess you just never know what long-suppressed feelings amd memories will bubble up to the surface in our twilight days.

I think for anyone who has ever embarrassed themselves making far too much romance out of a single encounter (or more crudely, a "one night stand")-- this is a good film to watch as by the very end, things are truly put into perspective.

Our military uses young men and women up and spits them out, then provides them with substandard medical care for the rest of their lives.

Why does anyone expect anything to be different? This young man's father was a veteran, he should have known better than to encourage the sort of naive "patriotism" that would turn a happy-go-lucky surfer dude into a mentally and physically shattered killing machine.

His father should have known better than to try to twist the VA into providing his son with proper medical care. They don't have the resources and they don't give a shit.

He should have discouraged his son from enlisting and after his son was injured, he should have paid for his son's care out of pocket.