Miley Cyrus Makes A Father Proud?

Childhood stars... do they ever fail to disappoint us as adults? Miley Cyrus recently reinforced the stereo type of childhood actors and actresses gone bad. At the recent MTV Video Music Awards performance Sunday night, Miley shocked and disappointed most of her audience.Cyrus performed  "We Can't Stop."   Miley then remained on stage to perform "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke. Miley employed giant teddy bears, wild twerking, latex underwear and lots of tongue to the disgust of many. At times, Miley grinded on Thicke (who is a 36-year-old husband and father) and pretended to lick his chest.   While the camera panned to the crowd, both stars and lay folks appeared to be disgusted with Miley's transition from childhood star to promiscuous adult.

     Speaking of young adults with bad judgment, consider this Oberlin College student who posted anti-Islam fliers and racist cards around the campus.  The student said he meant them as a "joke" to provoke a reaction. Well it worked, the reaction is that it was not funny! The same student may also have displayed a large Nazi flag, which he also meant as a "joke."  Again, not funny.  He may also have transposed the face of the current Oberlin College president onto a picture of Adolf Hitler. 

The student, who shall remain unnamed, denied being racist and thinks people have overreacted to the fliers and posters. Apparently the young man was just looking for attention.  While his methods are disgustingly disappointing, as are Miley's, there is at least a silver lining.  Both attention seeking narcists apparently used nonviolent means to satisfy their need for attention.

Blade Runner (Oscar Pistorius) Indicted for Murder

Oscar Pistorius was indicted on charges of murder and illegal possession of ammunition in connection with the death of the double-amputee Olympian's girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.  A bench trial will determine the former hero on March 3, 2014.   Pistorius claims he shot Reeva Steenkamp by mistake.  But the prosecution does not apparently accept Pistorius' claim that he thought she was an intruder. Prosecutors, theorize that Reeva was murdered after an argument.

Pistorius, 26, will be tried in the High Court in Pretoria, the South African capital.  South Africa does not have trial by jury so his fate will be in the hands of a judge. The mandatory sentence for premeditated murder is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison.  There is no death penalty in South Africa.

The strongest evidence in the case may be contained in cellphone records found at Pistorius' home. It is also anticipated that ballistic evidence will confirm that Pistorius shot four bullets through the toilet door. Steenkamp was apparently hit three times by bullets.  The trajectory of the bullets may show if Pistorius was standing on his stumps or if he was on his prosthetics, as the prosecution maintains.

No matter what the result of the trial, a beautiful person, Reeva Steenkamp, is dead.  Reeva's life was taken and it appears that no amount of evidence will ever satisfactorily explain why.

Filner Begins Therapy To Control His Nasty Behavior?

San Diego Mayor, Bob Filner, a first-term mayor and former congressman starts two weeks of intensive therapy Monday while facing a sexual harassment lawsuit.  Therapy appears to be a response to the calls for his resignation.  It is a different defense than denying the allegations that he groped several women over the last few years. Therapy, however; will not prevent lawyers deposing him this week in the lawsuit brought by his former communications director who claims he asked her to work without panties, told her he wanted to see her naked and dragged her around in a headlock while whispering in her ear.

One might express skepticism that any two-week program is going to remedy years of inappropriate behavior toward women. However, success may depend on how far the 70-year-old Filner goes in acknowledging his problems. Filner announced his plans for behavioral counseling on July 26  to "begin the process of addressing my behavior. I must become a better person ... I must demonstrate that my behavior has changed," Filner said. 

Ten women, including a university dean and a retired Navy rear admiral, have publicly accused Filner of making unwanted passes. Some contend that he made sexual advances that included groping and unwanted kisses. At least five have demanded that he resign. Former Filner communications director Irene McCormack Jackson, has filed a harassment lawsuit against him.

The lawsuit is about money. Therapy is about finding out what triggers the behavior so Filner can develop a coping mechanism, build a support network and find other ways to control it. Therapy
requires hard work over a lifetime. Two weeks may only be Filner's political life time and thus not enough time to effectuate change. Only time will tell.
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