What!?!?

I am absolutely beside myself! Today, two of my long term heroes, Bill O'Reilly and Newt Gingrich, devastated their respective reputations in my eyes. 

They agreed that drug addicts are addicts NOT BY CHOICE, because no one would ever get up in the morning and decide to be like that. Well gentlemen, few people get up in the morning and DECIDE to kill someone either. But they often do. So according to your logic, they are sick and need treatment because it's not their fault. That is insane!

Newt's idea is to put addicts on lighter drugs to get them off of hard drugs. When specifically asked how to then get them off of the "lighter drugs", he had absolutely no response. Not a clue! 

When asked how to pay for it, they admitted that the government would...AKA, you and me. NO THANKS SPEAKER GINGRICH! You have spent enough of our money over the years.  I admit that some have psycho-analitical issues and certain chemical levels and personality types are more susceptible to addiction but for the sake of what is left of sanity, don't paint with such a broad brush. 

If you are going to take my hard earned dollars (I worked 14 hours TODAY) to convince drug addicts that they are sick and their addiction is NOT THEIR FAULT, you have either lost your mind or you are just trying to stay in the news and you let some white collar knuckleheads in the "educated class" do your research for you. 

I'm not just Joe blow spouting off here. I was an addict, I have counseled and treated addicts for 2 decades and I have written addiction awareness programs and booklets for schools, police departments and church groups. 

Your comments today were way out of touch and very dangerous. Both of you have had much greater thought processes and fact finding as well as solution finding abilities over the years than you are having on drugs. 

I appreciate your service, your books, your fight for truth and America and your moral longevity, but it is horrifying that men with such huge platforms would offer this type of thing as PURE FACT. 

I have made a life's work out of trying to find, help and reach these hurting people and in one 10 minute segment, you made an absolute mockery of the process.

Lastly, I have worked with thousands of addicts, and if you put the average meth or heroine addict in a room and give them your "drugs vs. obesity equivalency argument" THEY will laugh in your face. That should tell you something right there. Please, please, look deeper and reconsider. 

Sincere and extremely concerned,
Rev. D. Todd Sloggett