From the usual source. And from James Taranto in yesterday's WSJ, this:
The Ego Has Landed
Here's one of our favorite bits from the New York Times WikiLeaks story:
Bargaining to empty the Guantánamo Bay prison: When American diplomats pressed other countries to resettle detainees, they became reluctant players in a State Department version of "Let's Make a Deal." Slovenia was told to take a prisoner if it wanted to meet with President Obama.And if the Slovenians didn't want to meet with President Obama, they'd have to take two prisoners!
Today's Times, meanwhile, reports that "the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (due out in 2013, and known as DSM-5) has eliminated five of the 10 personality disorders that are listed in the current edition":The first bullet point describes more than a few politicos and one or two people I actually know. But, Hey! Self-absorption is no longer a problem! The lunatics HAVE taken over the asylum.
Narcissistic personality disorder is the most well-known of the five. . . .
The central requirement for N.P.D. is a special kind of self-absorption: a grandiose sense of self, a serious miscalculation of one's abilities and potential that is often accompanied by fantasies of greatness. . . .The second requirement for N.P.D.: since the narcissist is so convinced of his high station (most are men), he automatically expects that others will recognize his superior qualities and will tell him so. . . .Finally, the narcissist, who longs for the approval and admiration of others, is often clueless about how things look from someone else's perspective. Narcissists are very sensitive to being overlooked or slighted in the smallest fashion, but they often fail to recognize when they are doing it to others.Most of us would agree that this is an easily recognizable profile, and it is a puzzle why the manual's committee on personality disorders has decided to throw N.P.D. off the bus.Can the timing be coincidental? And don't they mean "under the bus"?
And if the Slovenians didn't want to meet with President Obama, they'd have to take two prisoners!
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I haven't laughed that hard in quite some time.
Great tie in with the "Ego Has Landed" and "Today's Times".
ReplyDelete"Can the timing be coincidental?" I think not! Great read Buck! I loved the cartoon to start things off as well!
Excellent post! You should hear what we're hearing in NOLA about the "don't ask, don't tell survey" sent out to the Marines. It was pretty much designed to solicit the desired outcome. There's a shocker.
ReplyDeleteAnd, under the bus it is!
Have you noticed that he's not up front on the air as much since his close encounter with an elbow?
That was actually a pretty good article about the NPD, although I notice the meaty stuff was stacked on the bottom.
ReplyDeleteI hope this is an attack on the "dolphin logic" that permeates the mental health field (fish live in water, dolphins live in water so that must mean dolphins is fish). The comments toward the end about a "schism," imply that some kind of cleansing might be in order. If so, it's overdue.
Not sure I'd go so far as to remove NPD from the list. Once a person's exaggerated sense of self becomes such a problem that he has trouble perceiving and responding to reality, certain occupations can no longer be serviced competently by the patient. Yes, I'm thinking of one occupation in particular...address begins with "1600." Yup. Went there.
While npot nearly as amusing as thinking that the O administration deleted the classification, Younger Daughter (studying for MSW) explains it this way: "From what I understand about the changes that are coming there will be a way to better classify people by traits, instead of labeling them simply "NPD", "APD", or any other personality disorder. The APA has a website that explains the new classifications, and what I have seen makes sense. Some people have traits of the various clusters (A, B, C) and they also carry traits of each. The new system will work towards taking away the labeling issues, while still describing the disorder the person has. Also they have been working on the new edition for years, long before Obama was even on the radar. I do think he is narcissistic, as almost all high-level politicians are:)
ReplyDelete-V"
Heh.
In the "great minds think alike" department...
ReplyDeletehttp://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2010/12/obama-the-narcissist.html
Whoops. Did I just qualify myself for NPD with that intro?
I may have LHD - lable hater disorder.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, can I take y'all's pulse regarding Don't Ask, Don't Tell? What do you think of its possible repeal?
ReplyDeleteI've heard arguments from both sides, Lori. Also cross-examined my retired Army husband. On balance, it seems that DADT has worked fairly well, in a maintenance of discipline context. But, I just don't know -- there don't seem to be any other closets left anywhere else, so I'm not sure this door shold remain sealed.
ReplyDeleteAnon: That "take two" thing is a good use of an old punch line, innit?
ReplyDeleteDale: Thank ya, Sir!
You should hear what we're hearing in NOLA about the "don't ask, don't tell survey" sent out to the Marines. It was pretty much designed to solicit the desired outcome.
Are you sayin' the media are sayin' that, Moogie? I thought everyone got the same survey... it was just the Marines and Army combat arms folks who had the loudest reservations.
As for your daughter's observations... interesting! The Times article would lead one to believe a significant number of clinicians disagree with the classification board's decision. Hunh!
Morgan: Taranto went there, too, which was why I posted the piece in its entirety.
Lou: LOL! (which is NOT a label)
Lori: I'm of mixed mind about DADT. On the one hand, the policy has worked... more or less... ever since Clinton put it in place. OTOH, you KNOW I don't give a big rat's ass about who sleeps with whom. That said, I read a comment to a blog post someplace that asked the rhetorical question... "What do you do when two young male lieutenants show up at the O-club Christmas dance?" My reaction, sad to say, was immediate and visceral. And it was NOT good.
This appeared in this morning's Calgary Herald.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/Hackers+without+scruples/3921860/story.html
Lori: regarding queers and dykes in uniform. I don't think anyone has ever cared, as long as they do their job.
ReplyDeleteHere's the problem though, the military is well known for having special minority days. I remember I was the only white guy in our shop once, and had to suffer through a Black History day. Then there's Hispanic day, etc, etc.
There will never be a white heterosexual day, but I bet there will be a Queer/Dyke day if the Marine Corps ever goes oral/anal.