In a speech about the current state of affairs, President Bush blames Congress, especially the Democrats. In fact, in a recent speech, he uses the word blame twenty one times in less than three minutes. According to Federal Reserve Chairman Bem Bernanke it's matter for psychology. I agree. Scapegoating will not solve our current economic debacle. Psychologists know that personal accountability and cooperation between all concerned will help get us out of this crisis.

There's something about Sarah Palin (seen here with some Barbarian friends) that's been bothering me. I realized she's an Injustice Collector. Her resentment at her ex-brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, loomed so large in her mind that it took precedence over governing the state of Alaska. Firing Walt Monegan, Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner, because he refused to fire Wooten, meted out the revenge she sought. In her capacity as Mayor Of Wasilla Alaska she also fired a top law enforcement official. Their crimes seem to be disloyalty and having a mind of their own.

In an article in the London Times this week, journalist Catherine Bruton writes about what she calls 9/11 Fatigue. "The story is about the more than 3000 children who lost their parents in the 9/11 attacks." writes Bruton. "It’s just one small item in the media blitz that occurs around September 11th each year."  In a web search done randomly for the last few days, I’ve discovered that one article about 9/11 is being produced every minute on the days preceding the anniversary.

When people talk about how they've changed while in therapy, greater tolerance is often cited among the benefits of treatment.  Given America's current choices for nomination to the highest offices in the nation, it's evident that our nation has gone through a psychological evolution.   Its as if we as a country have gone through a psychotherapeutic process and emotionally matured.  Our tolerance and embracement of diversity has led us to become more virtuous as a group.

Despite the popularity of books about men loving and marrying "bitches", it's really powerful and strong women that men love. We get turned on and not only want to bed powerful women, we want to spend the rest of our lives with them.

These days when people come to my office, I'm not interested solely in rooting out their painful personal and familial issues. Building on their strengths, positives, and moral, ethical, and spiritual beliefs is much more helpful, I've found, in overcoming psychological and interpersonal problems.

Batman star Christian Bale was arrested this week in London. He was charged with assault by his mother Louise and sister Sharon who told reporters "It's a family matter," and refused further comment. The family feud allegedly went from verbal assault to physical abuse on the eve of the film premiere of the new Batman film, Dark Knight. There’s now a plethora of controversy and commentary on the Internet about the veracity of these allegations, with frequent references to disputes over Bale’s fathers’ estate and money in general.

Music is often overlooked as a therapeutic intervention: singing, listening, and creating music of any kind will provide an immediate biological and psychological benefit for everyone. In fact, music can be a salvation and antidote to most psychological challenges: that’s why people sing in the shower and while driving the car, or simply listen to music that’s inspiring and distracting from emotional upset.

Last week the New York Post featured an announcement of the publication of “Life with My Sister, Madonna”
by the Material Girl’s brother, Christopher Ciccone. “Brutal, graphic, and devastating are among the descriptives of this tale of family estrangement. The buzz spread quickly in the media and given the public’s obsession with celebrity, the book is already on its way to being a best seller.

We can always count on Hollywood to spark our attention and this week's attention grabber is the very public feud between Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood. The two stars engaged in a very public feud over Lee's criticism that Eastwood ignored black soldiers in his World War II film Flags of Our Fathers. Eastwood eloquently and maturely responded to Lee's criticism, stating that the director should "shut his face," to which Lee reminded Eastwood that "we are not on a plantation." What would have happened if a therapist had intervened?