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June 12, 2009
A Prescription for Me Time
That's being a Congressman, for ya. Patrick Kennedy hopes to get back to work from a mental health retreat "in time for the... debate on a national health-care overhaul later in the summer." Presumably, he needn't expend any hope on whether the checks from his $174,000 salary will keep arriving, whether or not he manages to participate in the healthcare debate.
Look, without any information about what inspired Kennedy's decision, one can still say that it was probably the intelligent one to make. A person's health is paramount. The idea that somebody who holds an ostensibly important job can just "step away" like this raises questions about what they do, and who should be doing it.
Frankly, having stood on the incisors of alcohol abuse and stared into a dark psychological gullet, I see far too much permissiveness in this prescription explained by Kennedy friend Ronald Smith:
Smith said medical research has found increasing evidence that in early recovery, which he defined as two to three years, it is essential for addicts to recognize when they face "stressors" such as fatigue or illness or family problems. "You have to go back, take a couple of days off and renew your sobriety," he said.
As a matter of principle, I don't believe a solution calling for the avoidance of problems fosters the necessary change in outlook. Moreover, to the extent that a person is in the precarious position of having to avoid "stressors," his first step should be away from a high-stakes job like U.S. legislator.
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This individual needs to go back to private life and deal with his problems there.He really is not competent to handle his office.
Posted by: joe bernstein at June 12, 2009 8:22 AMI think his family pushed him into politics and he was less than thrilled with the idea from the get go.His father is a shameless power broker who wants to ensure the Kennedy hand stays in the national stewpot in perpetuity.
Better that Patrick take care of himself before another embarassing incident than after.
Posted by: rhody at June 12, 2009 10:55 AMHe should ask his sponsor sometime if Minnesotans were screaming for his head when he was going through it.
I'm suspecting Ted's condition is on the decline, which might be the trigger for this.
Alright already! Enough is enough! The kid is a busted out loser who shouldn't be down in Washington representing this state.
Posted by: Mike Cappelli at June 12, 2009 12:27 PMWill someone please have the decency to tell him to just go away - forever! He is an embarrassment!!
GO AWAY YOU LOSER!
Patrick has an option few of us do.He can go to the "compound" and spend the rest of his life high,drunk,and depressed,or getting help-whatever.He shouldn't be a burden to his constituents.
Posted by: joe bernstein at June 12, 2009 10:07 PMWhat is Sheldon Whithouse's excuse for being a disgrace?He doesn't seem to have aany substance abuse problems nor is he apparently mentally ill.He's just a schmuck with earlaps as we used to say in Brooklyn.
Hmmmmmmm Maybe that's why he wasn't answering my emails, LMAO
Posted by: RiverFox at June 13, 2009 8:06 AMPatches, Get the help that you need,move back to MA and get the hell out of our lives.
PS: he never answers my emails anyway, just gives me a link to his stupid web site.