Edition 21 - Volume 6
9/1/2002 thru 9/7/2002

This week Issues will again run an article from each of our journalists Jerry & Nathan. Jerry will inform and educate us on what it was truly like being a part of the Great World War. This week, his article Dugout Doug tells his tale of the Leyte Operation in the Philippines on October 20, 1944. While Nathan's article takes a look back in time, so to speak, as he delves into the popular 1970's subject of Body Language. This week we take a look at the first of two articles Nathan has written on the subject:

Our Second story from Nathan
JUST ANOTHER MINDREADER…

Have you ever wanted to read other people’s thoughts? Maybe you are a business student looking for that unique edge to help launch yourself into the competitive world of markets, stocks and accounts. Or perhaps you are simply interested in the way we, humans, interact. Continued......

Our Second Story From Jerry
"DUGOUT DOUG"

We hit “Red Beach” at Leyte in the Philippines on October 20, 1944, against limited enemy resistance. Heavier action would follow during ensuing days. As we were digging in to set up our command post and communications center, my CO, Captain George Wiley, and I saw General Douglas (Dugout Doug) MacArthur and his entourage of high ranking brass wade ashore about 150 yards from where we stood.Continued...

Drug Testing Problems Continue

Issues has received several complaints concerning drug testing problems. A reader from Illinois tested positive for THC, although he does not use illegal substances. Our reader has offered a chronology of events leading up to the drug test. After reading the chronology, Issues is convinced that the test and test results may have been deliberately tampered with as a means of by-passing the At-Will Doctrine, which more recently has entered shaky ground. This will be another of the topics that Issues will attempt to resolve. Please check Issues regularly for an update on this topic.

Another reader has indicated that a false-positive drug test has had detrimental affects on his reputation and his future. Issues has requested that this reader share his issue with us, in hopes that together, we can locate a positive ending to his present dilemma.

Another reader took the drug testing topic more seriously. Although he does not use illegal drugs, on the day he was administered a pre-employment drug test he purchased an over-the-counter drug test kit administering his own test as well. While the results of the home drug test came back negative, the results of the pre-employment drug test came back positive for cocaine. Issues, of course, will be investigating further.

Another reader who is into natural and herbal remedies found that the Ma Haung herbal medication she was taking would provide positive tests for amphetamines.

Another reader tested positive after being treated for an injury he received at work. Of course the combination of drugs; LORTAB, XANAX, IBUPROPEN, IBUPROPION, FLEXIRIL, and ULTRAM used to alleviate the pain from the injury should have been taken into consideration. Issues’ would suggest that a complaint made by this reader concerning unsafe working conditions (the same conditions that lead to his injury) may have had something to do with his positive drug tests and ultimate loosing of his job.

There are many other drug related problems that Issues is attempting to bring to the public’s attention. Drug testing and false-positive results are killing this nation. There needs to be something done, but until we can find someone (in fact, a lot of someones) willing to stand up and tell their story, the problem will continue.

Drug use has been a problem in the United States since the early 1800’s. The Buffalo, New York area, has been receiving publicity about the area’s drug problem since the 1830’s, yet the problem still exists. The government wages their “War on Drugs,” employers utilize drug tests, but each of these “so-called solutions” is just another strand in a web of problems that the government has created by not dealing effectively with the problem.

Drug tests can be inaccurate. The inaccurate results can ruin a person’s life. Such results can cause friction within families, make a man (or woman) loose everything they have strived to achieve, but never stop the problem. Issues believes that it is time to take a closer look at the drug problem and viable solutions. Stop wasting tax payer’s money on jailing people for minute drug sales or drug usage, putting these people in with hardened criminals is definitely not going to rehabilitate them. Stop using drug tests unless there is a specific reason to do so, such as inappropriate, and/or harmful patterns of activities by an employee. Things need to change, and Issues’ readers are the people who will bring those changes about!