By David Palmer Right on schedule, there it was, “The Days of Wine and Roses,” on my TV menu. It was the day before New Year’s Eve, and the 1962 Oscar-nominated best picture of the year had just begun, once again reminding us of the consequences of alcohol abuse as we celebrate the coming new year. Before it became a movie, Days of Wine and Roses, written by J.P. Miller, was a Playhouse Ninety presentation in 1958 starring Cliff Robertson as Joe and Piper Laurie as Kirsten. That’s … [Read more...]

By David Palmer Much of America’s unparalleled success comes from the strength of its communities, and today, perhaps more than ever, they are under attack. The latest assault, resulting in 14 deaths, occurred in San Bernadino, California on December 2. It was carried out by terrorists representing the “radicalized” wing of the Muslim faith. Over the past year, there have been 14 attacks in communities which were associated with racial and political divisions, mental illness and religious … [Read more...]

By David Palmer In a recent video, Republican Presidential candidate, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, gave the nation a pep talk on the urgent need to deal with the nation’s drug problem.  His call to action went viral on Facebook and other social media with six million viewers and counting. In his message, Christie spoke of the impact of the death of a friend who became addicted to the drug, Percocet. "When I sat there at his funeral, and looked across the pew at his three daughters, … [Read more...]

By David Palmer In his new book,  “A Common Struggle. A personal journey though the past and future of mental illness and addiction,” Patrick Kennedy describes his own harrowing struggle with drugs and alcohol and advocates for more aggressive treatment of both mental illness and addictions through the development of local resources in individual communities. It is a welcome and important addition to the national conversation that is slowly building, and it is one that we at One Day at a Time … [Read more...]

By David Palmer Get a grip, America! Enough, already! Let’s stop the political dithering in D.C. and act grown up again. We face what amounts to a World War against terrorism, and our communities, traditionally our strength, are fractured by racial discord, ugly politics and disagreements over guns and psychotic killers. Let’s get back to basics. Our federal government should protect us from our enemies and fight our wars, and our individual communities should organize responses to local … [Read more...]