The Red Sox beat the Yankees. I know, I know... the majority of my readership is saying, "Who Cares?" But it's big news in the rest of the world.

Maureen Dowd writes about That Man's faith, and how it leads to bad governance. Quote: "J.F.K. had to fight the anti-papist expectation that his Oval Office would take orders from heaven. For W., it's a selling point."

William Safire, A.K.A. The Dumbest Man in Journalism Today, claims that the Kerry campaign is trying to scare Americans into voting Kerry. Jesus, where was Safire when Vice President Dr. Evil said that America is likely to be attacked by terrorists if Kerry is elected? Hats off to you, Mr. Safire--You officially win the Lois Lane Prize for Failure to Notice the Obvious in Journalism.

This article describes a little of what it is like for shrinks to lose a client to suicide. The article is written by an MD, so of course it completely ignores other providers of mental health (psychologists, psychotherapists, counselors...), but you get the picture.

Personality Tests: Fun on a Saturday night, or a pile of crap? I think this article fails to capture the nuisances of a personality test--in other words, what are they testing for? Some tests are more useful as a conversation piece (Myers-Briggs) and others are useful as far as a diagnostic tool for certain personality disorders (for example: Rorschach fairly accuratly diagnoses Obcessive-Compulsives and Narcissists; the PAI can usually diagnose Borderlines and Dependents, etc.) No test is a substitute for a clinical interview and a detailed history, done by a trained therapist. In general, though, we worry too much about labels. As a behaviorist, I tend to focus more on adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, instead of diagnoses. I find I get better results when I stop worrying about what to call people and start working to help them make life changes.