Howling Latina

Howling Latina never liked Glenn Beck, equal to Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly; and certainly less than George Will, Pat Buchanan or Charles Krauthammer.

Now, perhaps she knows partially why.

Flipping through the channels, she came across Beck's smug mug. He was interviewing someone about sexual addiction and shared with the audience that he was an alcoholic. At least three or four times. Just in case the viewer had been too busy running back and forth from the refrigerator to get a beer or make a bathroom run and missed his confession the first couple of times.

Now, was Beck bragging or complaining, like that old refrain HL heard someone ask more than once?

To give full disclosure, HL was once married to a charming, raging alcoholic who never recovered; and yes, she participated in co-dependent 12-step program groups, almost equal to Al Frankin in "Stuart Little Saves his Family."

Faithfully, she went to Al-Anon on Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Open Speakers' Meeting on Thursdays. Her entire world for nearly 10 years revolved around Alcoholic Anonymous, Al-Anon and her husband's elusive recovery.

And after watching nearly every movie about an alkie or druggie from "Days of Wine and Roses" to "Blow," reading "Charming Billie," "Love is a Choice," and other spiritual guides with the hope of gaining insight, she and four of her Al-Anon buddies who'd entered recovery around the same time pronounced themselves cured of their co-dependency, ditched their druggie or alkie hubbies and embarked on a new life.

"Friends of Bill," as members of the fraternity call themselves in honor of AA's founding father, Dr. Bill Wilson, admit their personality malady consists of grandiosity mixed with an inferiority complex; charming schemers overflowing with unfulfilled potential of "if onlys" and "give us one more shot." The lure that snares do-gooders like HL who want to save the world and play God.

Alcoholics are natural born leaders; and quite naturally, they usually end up in positions of power and/or public display. They have an ego the size of Andromeda with an insatiable appetite for emotional stroking and positive feedback.

Don't believe? Just go to any AA Open Speaker's Meeting and listen to their "drunkalogues." Cheers, way to go; here's a chip, keep coming back. The only problem is that a majority of alcoholics who go to AA never stop drinking for good. It's a tale of slips and recovery, with the hope that recovery increases over time for those few honest enough to confront their well-deserved humiliation of yet one more one-day chip to add to their endless stack.

Glenn Beck, like George Bush, fit the perfect stereotypical profile of the dry or wet drunk. Mean bastards with a streak of the Divine to confuse and confound.

Here are a few of their characteristics; remember, if the profile fits, you shouldn't acquit; it's all about accountability.

(a) excessive dependency; (b) emotional immaturity; (c) low frustration tolerance; (d) inability to express emotions; (e) high level of anxiety in interpersonal relationships; (f) low self-esteem; (g) grandiosity; (h) feelings of isolation; (i) perfectionism; (j)ambivalence toward authority; and (k)guilt.

HL would add absolutism. No shades of gray, just black and white. And yes, anecdotically, she can vouch that most alcoholics are Republicans. This is how they purify their souls. Interestingly, the ones who need the most grace for past sins are the least willing to grant it.