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September 15, 2008 at 21:19:36
Promoted to Headline (H2) on 9/15/08: by Rob Kall Page 1 of 2 page(s) |
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I'd like to see the complete medical and psychiatric history of Sarah Palin, including medications taken. Could be interesting. 
I'm particularly interested in her psychiatric background. You have to ask, what diagnosis would you give to a student nicknamed, "Sarah Barracuda."
There are at least four or five possiblities. Or, she could be normal, vendettas, aerial hunting, book banning and all-- just another right wingnut. But let's look at some of these and se if they fit. At the end, please vote in the poll I've created to express your opinion of where she fits in.
Borderline personality;
Many psychologists refuse to work with Borderlines. These folks will be sweet and nice to get you to like them and then, they bite your head off and stab you in the back.
Wikipedia offers this profile:
is a psychiatric diagnosis, a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (published by the American Psychiatric Association) that describes a long-term disturbance of personality function characterized by depth and variability of moods.[2] It is one of four related diagnoses classified as cluster B ("dramatic-erratic") personality disorders typified by disturbances in impulse control and emotional dysregulation, the others being narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial personality disorders.
Disturbances suffered by those with borderline personality disorder are wide-ranging. The general profile of the disorder typically includes a pervasive instability in mood; extreme "black and white" thinking, or "splitting"; chaotic and unstable interpersonal relationships, self-image, identity, and behavior; as well as a disturbance in the individual's sense of self. In extreme cases, this disturbance in the sense of self can lead to periods of dissociation.[3] These disturbances have a pervasive negative impact on many or all of the psychosocial facets of life. This includes the inability to maintain relationships in work, home, and social settings.
Numerous studies have shown a strong correlation between child abuse, especially child sexual abuse, and development of BPD.[6][52][dead link][53][54][55] Many individuals with BPD report having had a history of abuse, neglect, or separation as young children.[56] Patients with BPD have been found to be significantly more likely to report having been verbally, emotionally, physically, and sexually abused by caregivers of either gender.
Bi-polar Disorder
Mood swings, highs, grandiosity, and terrible lows. When in the up, manic or hypomanic mode, bipolars can be very engaging, even charismatic.
Wikipedia says:
Bipolar disorder is not a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood, clinically referred to as mania or, if milder, hypomania. Individuals who experience manic episodes also commonly experience depressive episodes or symptoms, or mixed episodes in which features of both mania and depression are present at the same time. These episodes are normally separated by periods of normal mood, but in some patients, depression and mania may rapidly alternate, known as rapid cycling. Extreme manic episodes can sometimes lead to psychotic symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations.
Agitated Depression
This, according to Wikipedia, is one kind of "mixed state" that might fit:
In the context of mental illness, a mixed state (also known as dysphoric mania, agitated depression, or a mixed episode) is a condition during which symptoms of mania and depression occur simultaneously (e.g., agitation, anxiety, fatigue, guilt, impulsiveness, irritability, morbid or suicidal ideation, panic, paranoia, pressured speech and rage). Typical examples include tearfulness during a manic episode or racing thoughts during a depressive episode. One may also feel incredibly frustrated in this state, since one may feel like a failure and at the same time have a flight of ideas. Mixed states can be the most dangerous period of mood disorders, during which substance abuse, panic disorder, suicide attempts, and other complications increase greatly.
Sociopath also known as Psychopath
WIkipedia says:
Lack of a conscience in conjunction with a weak ability to defer gratification in criminal, sexual and aggressive desires, leads to the psychopath to constantly engage in antisocial behaviors. Psychopathy (in its extreme form) does not necessarily lead itself to criminal and violent behavior (although such tendencies are likely). Instead, psychopaths high in social cognition may be able to redirect their antisocial desires in a more positive manner.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Wikipedia says:
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:[1]
1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement
6. is interpersonally exploitative
7. lacks empathy
8. is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
Now, I'm not a psychologist. I do have a masters in counseling psych and spent eight years working in psychiatric settings and later, 15 years running conferences for psychologists and psychiatrists. But I'm not licensed and don't have the formal training.
BUT..... something's going on with Sarah. I lean toward seeing her as borderline personality. She gets close to people then screws them. That's what she did with the mayor who brought her in to the Wasilla City council. That's what she did to the governor who gave her a plum job working for the state, before she ran against him.
And her mean, shrill speeches show the kind of meanness that borderlines lapse into so easily.
But the other diagnoses I've listed are possibilities.
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Rob Kall is executive editor, publisher and site architect of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, more...)
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Here's the deal.
She's definitely got some problems. But I find that almost all Republicans are so narcissistic as to make it a prerequisite for party membership. There are so very few that are without a bad case of that disorder that I had no choice but to vote for "just another wingnut." Your "borderline" theory may have something to it, but I think the lady is just an extra-mean, cutthroat Republican politician who lies as often as most people breathe air, and feels justified in doing so because "she only wants what's right for the country." In short -- she's the worst personification of Republican "values" and she and W could have been twins. by JC Garrett (40 articles, 65 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 604 comments [10 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Sep 15, 2008 at 10:01:40 PM  (0+)
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We know that
right-wing-nut Republicans exhibit at various times all of the psychiatric symptoms described in the poll and are actually required disorders to be a Republican, and we know that in order to become a Republican, you must have a totally blank brain, ready for programming, we can then postulate that they are not victims of imposed conditions, but they have made a conscious decision to depart from being a normal person and instead to fill the blank spaces with these psychiatric disorders, to prevent the need for thinking. Lacking the ability to think and being unable to deal with the reality of the world with the subtlety required of a normal, functioning brain, the Republicans adopt a set of rote, delusional, psychopathic responses that allows them to completely avoid that confrontation with reality. It's absolutely required that you have a pre-programmed set of responses that you have adopted as a means of dealing with reality when you are completely lacking in the thoughtful analysis required to reach logical conclusions. This totally eratic, irrational response just happens to exactly correspond with the descriptions of the psychiatric disorders listed in the poll. They are immune to reason, logic or remedy, since they are self-induced. by Ed Martin (139 articles, 0 quicklinks, 35 diaries, 173 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Sep 15, 2008 at 10:13:54 PM (0+)
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I'd say she's looking for the medicated vote...
...and that's over 50% of the US at this point. I live across the street from a nice old man and I was sorry to see a McCain sign go up on his lawn. People literally take dozens of types of pills that clearly say side effects include dementia. But I'm not sure Palin is on anything at all except old time religion. She attended services with a Kenyan mystical priest so she branches out for sure. Maybe she's even been the subject of one of those theatrical faith healings at her church... by Gustav Wynn (77 articles, 65 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 421 comments [34 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Sep 15, 2008 at 10:22:32 PM (0+)
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Hillary -- help!
Look, we have to tread carefully here. The pugs have set things up that we can't even "interview" the airhead withoug being sexist or "mean". But all the more reason to be creative about this. She's not a "teflon" politician like Ronald Reagan. She has not one, but SEVERAL Achilles' Heels, we just have to find them. Rob's on the right track. It's gotta be something "differrent". We're between a rock in a hard place in that she doesn't have a really substantive voting record to go after. Yes, what she HAS done is vile, e.g., voting AGAINST children, voting AGAINST women, voting AGAINST animials and voting AGAINST the environment. All of that is there, but she's such a newby the evidence is unsubstantial. If only we could set up a "discussion" between her and Hillary Clinton! Tigress Hillary would eat her lunch in five minutes. I wonder, is there any chance of doing something like this. I swear, Hillary would bury here. And for that matter, Bill Clinton could zing the s___ out of her with his brilliant one liners, but Obama and Biden have his intelligence and aggressiveness locked up. These FOOLS still think Obama is going to smile (GOD, I"m sick of that smile!) his way to the presidency. The CLINTONS WOULD KNOW WHAT TO DO. FOR GOD'S SAKE, LET THEM LOOSE!!! ESPECIALLY HILLARY. by W. Christopher Epler (Bill) (291 articles, 59 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 763 comments [44 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Sep 15, 2008 at 10:27:03 PM (0+)
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comminted to failed conservative values.
Rob, She's very committed to her conservative values. In her interview she said, 'Never Blink'. I read it as never blink, never question her conservative values, principles, and ideology. That's one reason I think she is liked so much by conservatives. Here unquestioning, full speed ahead approach. I'm not sure what that makes her, sort of a fanatic perhaps. You might broaden the question to what are those Conservative Values she is holding on to so tightly? In interviews I've done, it's been mentioned the values of a psychopath growing out of fear? Then here is the possibility of fear leading an authoritarianism leading to Narcissism. Psychopaths and Narcissism having lack of empathy as part of their makeup. Would be interesting to learn about her childhood.
by Edwin Rutsch (64 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 155 comments) on Monday, Sep 15, 2008 at 11:25:25 PM (0+)
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It's a Bipolar World
I was recently inspired by David Lindorff to add my own list of 20 reasons why I feel I'm uniquely qualified to be VP or have any other job based on Sarah Barracuda's logic: 1. I've dated beauty queens, therefore I'm an authority on intelligence and natural selection. 2. I have even surfed big waves. I'm sure to qualify as a hydrologist or dam (sic) engineer. 3. I could even be a dictator. At least as good as our current Dick Tator, aka Mr. Potato Head, Richard Cheney. (If it weren't for his pacemaker he'd be a vegetable too.) 4. I can turn on a light switch. I have confidence to be an authority on power plays. 5. I've killed and eaten rattlesnakes. Dealing with Vladimir Putin would be cake. He don't even have fangs. 6. I can brush my teeth and even go to the bathroom by myself. Being a bioweapons expert would be microbial in comparison. 7. I've been very unsuccessful at business. As a top executive I could run the country even further into the ground than our current CEO. It's a no brainer job. Having one is evidently a disqualification. 8. I am very good at reading between the lines. With all that experience in dealing with space, I think I'm more than qualified to be an astronaut. 9. I've shot guns of all calibers. Heck, I can press a button and shoot off a missile just as easily as shooting off my mouth or pulling a nuclear trigger. 10. I'm an authority on money, credit, and cash flow because I have wallet. Managing the economy of a country is just a matter of deception. 11. I have a lot of friends no one else can see or hear. Therefore, I'm more than qualified at foreign correspondence. 12. The glasses I wear help me with vision. I can even see into the future. Not to mention being an expert at surveillance. 13. You can fool me once, you can fool me, uh... with that kinda background I can be a world class fool. 14. I've had square offices and round ones. I can run an oval office just as easy. It's just plane geometry after all. 15. I know how to pop blisters and put on bandaids. Surgical strikes are just bigger blowups and coverups. 16. I can tie my shoes, tie one on, or even find Taiwan on a map. It's over there between Takrete and Thailand. 17. I understand computer technology because I have a chip on my shoulder. I can bite or byte. I'd be good at vp because I can take it either way. I'm good at h(omon)yms because I go to church too. 18. It's true I'm bi-polar. But so is the earth. We've got a lot in common. I understand geography as well as psychology. That's what makes me a great leader. I can catch fish others only dream about. 19. I've studied math and have learned how to measure things. I could even be a great ruler because of my experience. 20. Best of all I'm a darn good liar. That more than qualifies me to be a competent politician. by Cinderfella (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 248 comments [95 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 2:30:47 AM (0+)
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narcissistic sociopath of course
Name one high ranking Republican who is not one? In fact, I have been informed from a very good source that, in order to become a member of the GOP, you must take a "narcissistic sociopath proficiency test'', and if you fail, they don't accept you. by francine (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 385 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 4:10:30 AM (0+)
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Just Mental
I think this is an interesting way of looking at things. Of course everybody demonstrates at least some behavior that could be interpretted as a mental health issue (for many the DSM-IV and DSM-IVR were "cookbooks" of diagnoses). Maybe Governor Palin has such issues, maybe not (sometimes philosophies, beliefs, and practices seem----or are----insane to most "rational-thinking" members of society). I did enjoy this perspective, however, and always enjoy your polls. Cheers! by Jeremy Haumann (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 54 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 6:14:07 AM (0+)
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ROTFLMAO!
This is easily the funniest "article" I have seen on OEN!! Thank you for giving me something to laugh at this morning! Ciao, CZ by steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 829 comments [52 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 7:34:29 AM (0+)
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She's perfectly healthy
you know the rest! How could anyone in their right mind ignore the conference held on the 13th & 14th and instead rant day and night about a fish (or a bird, depending where you live) ? by Tony Forest (7 articles, 18 quicklinks, 166 diaries, 1429 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 8:14:03 AM (0+)
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I think that Dr. Kall raises pertinent questions ...
Comment from Ratings: ... about the supposed "stability," of Sarah Palin, on many different levels, and issues. As a nearly lifelong Bi-Polar manic depressive American-myself, I see far more of an ID-DRIVEN PSYCHOPATH, that Rob spoke about towards the end of his piece, than "merely" a bi-Polar Disorder, though either tendancy, especially toward the PSYCHPATHIC Personality, but really Bi polar disorder as well, should basically, DISQUALIFY someone immediately from being considered for the 2nd highest office in America, i.e., in the ENTIRE WORLD. And on the subjest of FULLY releasing one's own FULL Medical(Including Physical and PSYCHOLOGICAL histories), be one named "Obama," "Biden," or "Palin," or YES, "McCAIN," they[The McCain/Palin campaign]have NOT released any truly current medical history information, about John mcCain's ongoing, CONTINUING Battles with MELANOMA, a highly serious to DEADLY form of skin cancer. Further, some informed, and of course, "unnamed sources" have leaked that McCain's melanoma could well take the man's very LIFE, perhaps even [long-] before his first, "Elected" term has "accrued," for HIS Corporatis$tic, War Profiteers$(etcetera)as masters$, leaving yes, SARAH PALIN as "Our" Pres$ident?! I too, am NOT at all a schooled nor licensed, medical doctor nor Psychiatrist, but still, in Sarah's VINDICTIVE, and INCREDIBLY INTOLERANT Personality, even if nothing hath ever been diagnosed, we have MUCH to worry about! Such cynical RUTHLESSNESS, on the part of Senator McCain, all to try and MAKE a Dumbasses$-backed, BUM RUSH for the Presidential "Election" win, all riding on Sarah Palin's telegenic coattails, has{Sorry, Cynthia, God love YOU!] driven me away from myt Support for a TRULY QUALIFIED, Woman PATRIOT{she and Denny Kucinich, being the only 2 in congress, who have introduced the nEEDED ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, against these 9-11 Attacks$ allowing, profiteers$) for the Presidency, Cynthia mcKinney of The truly, ALL-American, GREEN PARTY, and to back BARACK OBAMA and JOE BIDEN, at all costs! I implore all true, progressive Patriots to do the same, while yes, still Hoping(and yes, Praying to any and "all people's Gods") that Cynthia mcKinney and ralph NADER can somehow MEET with Barack and Joe, and SOMEHOW, enter into a "COALITION" of some kind with Barack, wherein they may well then also bring Barack back a bit, to "the Left," to rhetoric which he HAD espoused during the primaries, ... ie to true SANITY, for the Long-Term true GOOD for this country. ("SANITY," is, a good word to use as metaphor, given Rob's piece on this poor, driven, but yes, cynical and CRUEL, power-maddened woman, named Sarah Palin. All "national," and some local and state Politicians, may well be "megalomaniacal," at least to some degree, but most all of the SANER Leaders, are far more "EGO-Driven," than is the Current "elected," and apparently{according to psychiatrists] ID-DRIVEN, GW BUS$H and Dick CHENEY, and indeed THEIR TWO WILLING S$YCOPHANTS$, for NOW "Change"{?!?!] named MCCAIN and PALIN. These ARE dire days, indeed, but we need not allow them to become the "Great Reckoning," ... that Ms. Palin doth also so love to play up her belief in the biblical book of Revelation, ... with that very book, having been so sorely MIS$US$ED, to put it mildly, by America's "Chris$tian" Rightists$. by Brian O'Moore (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 49 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 9:57:36 AM (0+)
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concerned reader
Comment from Ratings: I cannot stand Palin and think it would be downright scary if she reached VP much less President BUT I think it is irresponsible and dangerous to publish articles such as this. To presume, even in jest, to put a psychiatric diagnosis on a public figure without corresponding medical data is just wrong! and this is from a person who stands stongly to the left! by Judith McAdoo (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 10:18:10 AM (0+)
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Reply: LIke I said,
I've worked in the world of Mental Health for over 20 years of my life and something is off with this gal. Would you suggest that it is unreasonable to ask about the mental health of a person a heartbeat away from the nuclear trigger? I don't think so. I'm just taking the next step, speculating on possibilities. by Rob Kall (953 articles, 4177 quicklinks, 374 diaries, 2087 comments [45 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 11:13:23 AM (0+)
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Reply: How about looking outside the DSM
Look at the behavior of GWB (a dry drunk), Cheney (who clearly suffered oxygen deprivation during his heart attacks), McCain (who is a walking textbook example of PTSD), and, frankly, the majority of those in our society who aspire to power. (Those who are seeking genuine servant-leader status are marginalized for a lot of reasons I won't bore everyone with.) Most of them are behaving dysfunctionally, but more on a developmental scale for human behavior, not on a scale of pathologies like those in the DSM. (Most of which, by the way, are being obsoleted quickly as we learn more about hrain function, and thank god, its time for us to stop marginalizing and stigmatizing mental health/illness, which is just as physiological as cancer, but just happens to include pathological emotional behaviors as symptoms.) These people see the world revolving around them, yet paradoxically feel divorced from controlling it, making them all the more obsessive about exerting control. (Often through hands-off mechanisms like war.) They have no real concern for most of those around them, whom they treat like pawns serving their interests being at the center of the universe, although they probably do have very strong co-dependent relationships with a significant other. They are ignorant of anything that does not fit within their limited worldview. Who else behaves like this? Infants. I am writing a thesis about this phenomenon, which is societal, and affects us all to some degree. I think we do ourselves and our neighbors a disservice if we try to put the behavior of any of these people into a box, when the culture exerts pressure on all of us to behave this way, and so many of us try to rise up above the pressure to act like grownups. (None of whom appeared to be at the GOP convention; if they were there, they would have left those snarky speakers to speak to an empty convention center, rather than cheering them on like a bunch of bozos.) Categorizing is very human, but it is usually very counterproductive. Context is critical, and our society has created a context that makes it possible for people like Sarah Palin and the rest of the current crops of PTB to act like a bunch of babies. by ear (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 49 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 7:15:21 PM (0+)
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The Backstabbing Behavior...
...is definitely a BPD trait, but a real borderline wouldn't crave all the public adoration because it might expose them and reveal their hollowness. They'd rather die than have the world know how broken and vacuous they are. Which really only leaves NPD. And she fits that bill very nicely. Has her head buried so far up her backside that she can't see how in love with the view she really is. Not a bipolar. Not even close. Dysthemic, possibly, but too high functioning to be a bipolar. No artistic sensibilities. Bipolars are almost always inclined towards art and creativity. This heap is all about the green. Total left brain. by Richard Volaar (39 articles, 0 quicklinks, 151 diaries, 478 comments [63 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 10:25:29 AM (0+)
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Is that a clinical diagnosis?
all to try and MAKE a Dumbasses$-backed, BUM RUSH for the Presidential "Election" I am STILL laughing at this thread! "Back stabbing?" who is Palin "backstabbing?" The people who are attacking her?? You guys are flat out amazing! Truly something of amusement on this Tuesday Morning... Ciao, CZ by steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 829 comments [52 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 10:54:15 AM (0+)
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Reply: why backstabbing?
I think this refers to her running against the mayor of Wasilla who helped her get into politics and running against the governor that also helped her politically. And there have been some reports from people (the kilkenny email) that indicate her use of power to attack people who don't support her. She has been lying about important matter since she was selected as VP and spoke at the convention (bridge to nowhere, fighting corruption and pork, the flat out lies about Obama's policies, etc). Now I don't think she is as terrible as some people suggest and there have certainly been ridiculous attempts to smear her with little, if no evidence, but certainly nothing worse than the attacks Obama has gotten over the last year. And the moe ridiculous attacks on her have stopped since real facts have started emerging, unike the continued smears of Obama that he is basically a muslim fundamentalist commie. Now THAT is a funny image by Tony Duncan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 58 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 1:20:45 PM (0+)
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well...
I'd say she has a severe case of Pseudo-Christian Extremist disorder which means she in some ways believes she is on "Gods mission" and that makes her just as dangerous as Osama.... by Ben Marble, M.D. (23 articles, 0 quicklinks, 230 diaries, 349 comments [3 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 11:47:05 AM (0+)
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my vote and a complaint
I voted Narcissistic Personality Disorder and was pleased to see it got the highest vote total even though Rob unfairly scewed the result with his push toward Borderline personality disorder. However it bothers me that so many people write disparaging remarks about republicans. While a great number of republicans are obviously severely disturbed and what I am calling proto- fascist, i find similar , if usually much less serious pathologies among democrats, progressives and independants. I know a few republicans whose values are closer to mine than many democrats or progressives. I have been awestruck at the vast majority progressives who will rail about how horrible Bush is and what he is doing to this country, but are unwilling to spend any time or money to actually do anything constructive to oppose what has been done And there are republican politicians like Hagel in the senate and Flake in the House that seem to have a relatively high degree of integrity. the republican party has been shanghaid by Bush and the neocons in the way that the right wing parties in Germany were by the Nazis. but it was the social democrats and communists, who allowed Hitler to come to power for political reasons of their own by Tony Duncan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 58 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 12:55:25 PM (0+)
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Reply: in agreeance
Republicans, Democrats, Blacks, Whites, Men, Women, etc. Silence that Bell, help us join together as one in our fight against tyranny and evil. My Dad is a Republican and I love him. by Tony Forest (7 articles, 18 quicklinks, 166 diaries, 1429 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 1:20:48 PM (0+)
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Reply: It's Sad, But True
I know exactly what you mean, and there are a few Republicans who are decent and honorable. Flake and Hagel are two of those. Arlen Specter, Ron Paul, and a few others are as well. But the simple fact of the matter is that most who still are willing to call themselves Republicans today, rather than saying they are now "independents" or something else, ascribe to neocon doctrine and policies, and are exactly the kind of Republicans that most of us are disparaging. "Republicanism" has become something very different than "conservatism." They have co-opted and usurped the label of "conservatives" from the actual practitioners of conservatism and have changed the nature of what a "mainstream conservative" is in today's America. The nature of words change over time, and now "conservative" really has come to mean "imperialistic, warmongering, hypocritical, greedy, authoritarian, nationalistic, rule of law-hating, Constitution burning, borrow-and-spend, simpleton fascists who can't do anything right, and don't care if WWIII starts tomorrow." by JC Garrett (40 articles, 65 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 604 comments [10 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 3:42:37 PM (0+)
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Reply: Good points
This article has made me think about what I have found most hateful about my own reactionary behavior during the stress of election season, and how I have behaved badly as a result. It also prompted me to think about elections I've been involved in, and I could think of just as many Democrats and independents as Republicans who have behaved badly, good people doing bad things, and bad people doing horrible things.. I made quite a laundry list (growing up in a Washington political family made that disturbingly easy), but you don't need me to regurgitate it, it's all the same kind of behavior that not only led to the Willie Horton ad and "swift boat veterans for truth," but also to wealthy contributors buying a sleepover in the White House and even in at least one case a pardon, while Mumia abu Jamal languishes on death row and Leonard Peltier remains a political prisoner. I wish we could focus on lifting our chosen candidate UP, rather than letting the stress call the shots, leading us to behave badly toward the other candidate(s). Real debate includes calling the other campaign on its childishly mean and dishonest behavior, but does not allow ad hominem discussions. And this article feels to me like it crossed that line in a way that seems related to the stress of the season. Our limbic system serves a useful purpose, especially when we are in genuine fight-or-flight situations. But when we react from the limbic system to the stress of something like the election season, it can interfere with our ability to reason, and we lose that which makes humans distinct in a good way, our ability to engage in rational and reasoned debate. by ear (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 49 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 9:25:37 PM (0+)
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you have not contextualized ...
... what I said. I was not purporting that anything in my comment was to be anything like a Medical Doctor's "official" diagnosis, of sarah palin, at all. My own life as a manic-depressive, and an agoraphobic, with PTSDisorder, etcetera, only makes me an "expert," on my own life, and my personal health condition. I am also, not nearly anything like a scholar in the areas of either psychology, or psychiatry, though to clarify, Dr. Rob Kall is, clearly so, and even he, Dr. Kall, made it clear that he was not a degreed or licensed Psychiatrist. We still both have the full American CITIZEN'S right, to question whether a candidate is stable enough to hold such an incredibly high office, as Vice President of The United States of America, ... that could well very quickly become "President," should the melanoma condition(s) of Mr. McCain, soon finish him off. And, from her political behaviour alone, excluding any personal life matters in Sarah Palin's lifetime, she has repeatedly, shown clear behavioral signs that are so very erratic, manipulative, ever-more cynical, and she hath repeatedly exhibited, shall we call it "a gross unconcern for, or about the TRUTH," whether in regards to her own political career, or that of other politicians, that any and all fellow citizens should severely question not only Ms. Palin, about her own stability(* and one who so casually opines that Georgia is right now, a member of NATO, etcetera, on matters that could well concern a new Cold War with Russia, perhaps even a nuclear exchange between America and Russia, who may be our next Vice President then President, that kind of flippant disregard for the truth or the facts, re: such dire matters as WAR, is no "Laughing matter," at all!), and then move on to also, yes again, also question the overall honest health condition and stability, of a John McCain, for yes, his pathological seeming attempt, again, to make a final, BUM'S RUSH run for the White House, using Sarah Palin's vivacity and telegenic ways for cover.(*But not to, never to bring up Sarah Palin's HONEST RECORD, as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, nor as Governor of Alaska.) by Brian O'Moore (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 49 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 2:12:06 PM (0+)
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Sarah the Distraction
Even the Main Stream Media has picked up on the fact that Palin has been allowed to become a distraction from important issues. I think progressive causes and the Obama campaign would do well to work as hard as possible to ignore Palin. Deny her the celibrety status and she fades into insignificance. McCain is and should be the target because Sarah "Trojan Moose", Palin can only ride in on his coat tails. McCain's lies are getting media attention...there needs to be a real pust to keep those lies at the top and push Moose killer down to the bottom of the news. by Paul Kruger (39 articles, 1 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 304 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 3:41:57 PM (0+)
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Perhaps from the desk of John S. McCain
Well, my friends, I don’t know about these sexist allegations against my beautiful Sarah. I’m really on the short end of the runway here and I don’t know that I can listen to much more of this ground noise before I let loose with every weapon on my wings. I urge my beautiful Sarah to pay no heed to these detractors as we fly along in close, nearly intimate, formation. There I am, watching out for the triple A and SAMs of harsh criticism, except when my eyes drift back to my lovely young wing woman, lingering on the lovely lines of her DeHavilland Beaver as she navigates into the bush leaning out from time to time to blast the odd wolf or Democrat or ex-mentor or whatever else drifts into her crosshairs. Ahhh, my Sarah, she turns her attention to me as we go into a gentle banking turn, she turns her Winchester to me, wha,…What???? Oh,no, she’s flamed my six, high wide and handsome…I didn’t think a 30.30 could do that much damage to an A-4 Skyhawk…she’s got me going down, Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Oh, no, this can’t happen again! What if they stick me in one of those stinking little cells with young George Bush this time? I can’t spend five and a half years listening to that twit…he couldn’t bring himself to take off in a Starfighter without a face full of coke. Oh, me! What a world! What a world!…… by John Sanchez Jr. (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 25 diaries, 1791 comments [148 recommended, 3 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 3:42:04 PM (0+)
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narcissistic pd
Comment from Ratings: the same diagnosis i give to gw. he may be afflicted with some others...and i have no credentials, just studied up on the personality disorders after having spent a year in a relationship with a man i am convinced is borderline. his behavior was so off the charts that he could never sustain a relationship let alone find himself in the public eye and thrive on it as Palin evidently does. by barbara bales (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 4:03:22 PM (0+)
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BPD
Borderline Personality Disorder with histrionic features. by Michael McCarthy (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 4:10:10 PM (0+)
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Bad omens come in pairs
In a political world where deception is a recognized, viable asset and the larger a politicians collection of faces, the better, Sarah Palin makes me break out in hives. Homogenized, assimilated, indoctrinated, this is a person that could change the entire world, overnight, were the dual dunces to be elected, then the chief dunce keels over. As if 8 years of Bush defies logic, A McCain/Palin victory could be a disaster the likes of which can scarcely be imagined. I tried - and got sick. "...if McCain ascends to the White House, he will make Cheney look like Ghandi..." ~ Pat Buchannan, (R), Fox News political commentator Has the world gone mad, or is it just we Americans? by Michael McCoy (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 487 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 4:23:15 PM (0+)
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The lamest article I have read yet.
Comment from Ratings: The exact same article could be written about the Democrat Party as a whole... Mental-Sociopath-Narcissism These are the tags used. When Barrack Obama was told that his elimination of certain tax breaks would not raise revenue for the government, he said, glibly and with lots of superficial charm, “I don't care about that, I want it to be more fair...” His grandiose sense of self was displayed in Denver with Greek Pillars as he manipulated the crowd with his con. He should have said, simply… "I want to punish people I deem to be rich.” He uses Class envy (classic narcissism) without any shame or guilt... Those are the characteristics of a sociopath… Going after a candidate with no ammunition other than one bogus story after another is probably one of the more ridiculous things I have ever seen here on OEN. If you want to do a Diagnosis of a particular candidate, I would suggest you look directly at your own candidate. Ciao, CZ by steve scheetz (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 829 comments [52 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 4:41:17 PM (0+)
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Hocky, killing, and other aspects of deviation
Comment from Ratings: Hockey is one of the more violent sports devised by man. Professionals will tell you that many animal hunters transform into effective soldiers. It's the basic personality that seeks to kill, main, or simply destroy for one's own pleasure and satisfaction. Some have merged these questionable traits with politics and we wonder about the consciousness? by Octap81 (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 4:48:09 PM (0+)
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Napolean Complex or Oscar Award
I read the headline with orgiastic excitement, Rob. What responsibly heathy individual would actually state in a TV interview, when she was asked-- that NO, she didn't have "even a moment of pause " whether she could do the job? As anthro-sociologists define "normal" behavior that which is culturally within a specific society's range of functionally acceptable, Palin fits right in to our disfunctional winner-take-all democracy=capitalism definition of the USA. She has a socio-path's brilliance in copying roles, that's why everyone sees her in so many movie roles. But ultimately I vote NPD with a focus on napolean-josephine complex by crystal haidl (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 8 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 4:50:21 PM (0+)
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Reply: Nothin' better...
...than "orgiastic excitement!" by JC Garrett (40 articles, 65 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 604 comments [10 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 7:02:48 PM (0+)
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Reply: that's Marie Antoinette (correction)
my typing is only slightly worse than my memory when i don't check for accuracy-- that's Napoleon-Marie Amtoinette complex - though historians are softer on her comment re the cake/bread comment likely meaning a different type of flour that she suggested might be available in the stocks. Perhaps I meant Dubya/Barbara Bush complex might explain Sarah best? by crystal haidl (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 8 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 10:39:50 PM (0+)
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I think I was pretty close.....a few days back.......
.... http://marjorieanndrake.blogspot.com/2008/09/cheerleader-from-hell-sarah-palin.html But now I think she's the anti-christ. by Marjorie Ann Drake (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 5:14:53 PM (0+)
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Reply: Anti-Christ! you made me LOL!
i guess Rob forgot to include this significant choice in his poll categories. by Meryl Ann Butler (70 articles, 82 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 721 comments [29 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 5:35:50 PM (0+)
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Reply: careful what you wish for
Anti Christ will make peace in the world, It would be someone anti war and become a World Leader .. and those who don't believe in him will be put to death... you laugh to easily by don bybee (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 206 comments) on Monday, Sep 22, 2008 at 7:51:01 PM (0+)
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No gain with palin
Palin reminds me of an Indian lady I met at a party last weekend. It was a business dinner/fund raiser for New Zealand's revenue minsiter so didn't expect to meet any high IQ types there, frankly. Once I got her name I knew she was a converted Christian. I mean she or her parents were Hindu and later got converted by the evangelists. Chances are, by pentacostal types! Anyway, she asked me what I write about. I said, mostly business features so I'm kinda out of place at a political event. Also, some motoring articles and a lot on military matters. And once I even wrote on the biggest Indian festival - Diwali. The reason being that I am the only Indian writer in the Auckland office. I said I liked writing that article because I managed to introduce the little known fact that Rama, the Indian king in whose honour Diwali is celebrated, was born on 5183 BC. I said it was easy to put a date on it because the writer of the epic carefully mentions the actual postions of various stars in the sky on the night Rama was born. Today's scientists merely keyed in those facts into a computer and it gave out the results - 5183 BC. Easy! And this lady said, you know there are so many theories, who knows if he really existed! Now I didn't even mention Rama, the god as hundreds of millions of Indians call him. I said, King Rama, the secular person. This lady is the disease this planet carries. They say: my beliefs are sacrosant, yours are conjecture and myth. At best, good story telling. If people like Palin gain power, they will be deeply divisive. I may live physically in New Zealand, and mentally and wishfully in India, but at some level Palin affronts my intelligence. Americans have a duty to the world to elect educated leaders. Not trash like Palin. by Rakesh Krishnan (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 6:28:24 PM (0+)
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Narcisstic Psychopath
She has the same mental and behavioral status as the [political] whore Pelosi: willing to sell her soul for glory and glamor and at the same time ready to inflict pain for the fun of it. Not much gray stuff in the brain. In short, a [political] whore. Or rather a she-Bush ? by ramsheyi (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 793 comments [1 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 6:51:26 PM (0+)
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where's the diagnosis
hey, Rob, as always, insightful, and intriguing piece, but I'm wondering how it is that Dick Cheney has managed to be vice president without anyone raising these kinds of questions about him, or George W. Bush, or John McCain who has members of the Senate, including Tom Daschle, speaking volumes to CNN about his legendary temper? Far be it for me to defend Sarah Palin, I think she's one of the scariest creatures I've ever witnessed, it just seems to me that there's she doesn't have a patent on pathology. And, frankly, it's the pathology of the person who will be in the driver's seat, John McCain, we ought to be talking about, no? by Jayne Lyn Stahl (188 articles, 2 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 72 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 10:05:44 PM (0+)
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Reply: The other side of the coin
I think most people think the same things of Bush and McCain. There is a gender difference here, but it isn't intentional, it's simply natural and inevitable. The reason is because we aren't used to seeing women act like Bush and Cheney (and a lot of other men in power). We're used to women showing more sense and compassion, and less mean-spirited, intransigent, ostrich-like hubris. We've come to expect all that in a large proportion of male politicians. It shocks the senses when we see the same ugly characteristics to the same extent in women. It could in some ways be considered a compliment to the female gender that we expect them to be better than men. by JC Garrett (40 articles, 65 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 604 comments [10 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 11:49:47 PM (0+)
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All publicity is good publicity.
Particularly for a political candidate who enters a race with very little name recognition. But in my opinion the United States isn't a country, it is a very large lunatic asylum. What else would you call a nation that doesn't even have habeus corpus any more and still calls itself the land of the free? What else would you call a nation that has had two stolen presidential elections in a row, and still calls itself a democracy? What else would you call the only developed nation in the world without a national health care plan, with a higher infant mortality rate and a lower life expectancy than many third world countries, that still insists it has the best health care in the world? What else would you call a nation that refers to a nine trillion dollar national debt as "our economy"? As far as I can see, any of Rob's possible diagnoses would qualify a person to lead this country and win them a lot of votes -- provided, of course, that they have sufficient name recognition. *~* by Mark E. Smith (21 articles, 30 quicklinks, 100 diaries, 1325 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 11:31:04 PM (0+)
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Just to see how far off I am, I did a quick google
and got this: You're asking people to diagnose somebody else, when a lot of them couldn't even fill out a ballot themselves unless they took their meds first. by Mark E. Smith (21 articles, 30 quicklinks, 100 diaries, 1325 comments) on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2008 at 11:53:20 PM (0+)
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She's a female 'Terminator'
There's no doubt about it, she's displays psychopathic traits , by her words and actions.... She gives the appearance of 'normality' but is seriously dangerous, why oh why do these psycho's want to rule the world? by Black Francis (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments) on Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008 at 2:17:20 AM (0+)
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OK With All this Brilliance and Lunacy Flowering... I'm IN!
A very old Freudian possibility may cover this well: a deep seated electra complex wherein god's favor and purpose are substituted for the absent father-love. I know it is simplistic but then... have you noticed how really simple this individual is? As beamingly self-unaware, perhaps, as anyone I have ever seen.... Stars in her eyes for a Daddy so far above her that he must be killed... he must be killed... or maybe we can just wait for him to die.... by Jai Daemion (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 30 comments) on Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008 at 3:16:06 AM (0+)
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Well Done
Comment from Ratings: I think she should release her medical records, as should McCain. The health, both physical and mental is relevant to our choice of leaders. As one who also has a masters degree in counseling, I do agree that she may fit Borderline criteria, though I think she also shows a definite narcissistic bent as well. We know she is a liar, which is definitely part of BPD-and a Borderline is some one we do not want in a high office! by Ginger Hastings Chapman (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 76 comments [8 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008 at 3:59:27 AM (0+)
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The Psychosis of Leadership
I fear that attempts to dump on Sarah will be counterproductive in the long run. The South gave us the Steel Magnolia; Alaska has given us the Teflon Magnolia. The more we criticize her, the stronger she becomes in the public eye. The image she protects is that of a blue-collar mom who made good, and there is no doubt she is resonating with America's working class. The attacks on her person and character will hurt Obama in the long run becaue they will be seen as attacks by elitist liberals on a woman of the people. One could also argue that in the twenty-first century, most of our world leaders are mentally unhinged. The classic definition of a sociopath certainly fits Bush, and Cheney could be the inspiration for an entirely new mental disorder. Any leader who would sanction the bombing of a child to implement a policy is not playing with a full deck by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, we should be pointing out that the first presidential decision McCain had to make was picking a running mate. Given his age, it was an especially important decision, and he wasted it on a cheap publicity stunt designed to bring the religiouis right back into the fold. So we have a candidate more concerned with image than with substance. From a public relations point of view, his selection of Palin was a masterstroke. Unfortuantely, the last thing this country needs more of is public relations. by Case Wagenvoord (9 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 13 comments) on Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008 at 6:39:40 AM (0+)
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Better Use of Time in Regards to Politicians
I see no point in spending time in discussing which specific psychiatric jargon labels are appropriate for particular politicians, let alone actually "diagnosing" - though I have been tempted a few times myself to think of certain politicians in one or another such terms. Far better would be for individuals to step back and examine what characterizes politicians as a group, specifically in regard to how politicians view ordinary people. Look critically at the campaign speeches and interviews (in writing so that the words can be reviewed), but definitely don't stop there - ----- read more **Kitty Antonik Wakfer by Kitty Antonik Wakfer (26 articles, 27 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 163 comments [15 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Sep 22, 2008 at 7:39:22 PM (0+)
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Go McCain/Baracuda
If this is how you view Sarah, I would love to know how we view Hillary? No one remembers White water.... What happend to all those files? "I don't remember, I don't recall... Obama still thinks Iran is a small country and promises not to raise taxes, and is against drill for oil..... It seems like your party is Happy paying $5.00 a gallon for gas and wantsd to help support Uncle Sam......... you really belive he won't raise taxes on people making less than 250k a year... how is he going to pay for all those promises? by don bybee (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 206 comments) on Monday, Sep 22, 2008 at 7:56:49 PM (0+)
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