Hasta La Gadget!

Still on the fence about buying a Google Pixel handset? The company is dangling a new incentive to help sway your opinion, offering a free Google Home device in exchange for buying a Pixel XL smartphone. The deal is only available for buyers located in the United States, and there are some terms that apply, as expected. The deal is … Continue reading

I’ve seen countless concept or prototype cars at auto shows and press junkets over the years. Rarely does anyone ever get to drive them, because concept cars are, well, only concepts. One of kind and invariably hand-built, they’re obscenely expensive, too. Their primary purpose in life is to showcase new styling and new technology. Think of them as eye candy … Continue reading

Much to the chagrin of leaders in Washington, Tel Aviv and Riyadh, Iran launched ballistic missiles into Syria on Sunday, targeting ISIS in retaliation for its terror attacks in Tehran two weeks ago. These strikes are the first time that Iran has launched missiles since its 1980-1988 war with Iraq, which begs the question: Why has Tehran shifted its three decades-long policy of testing, but not using missiles? The answer should now be clear: It’s a reaction to Trump’s escalation in the Middle East. Three reasons explain why.

First, Trump has needlessly increased America’s military involvement in the Syrian proxy war over the past month: More boots on the ground, three “self-defense” strikes on Iranian-backed militias, and shooting down an Iranian-built drone. All of this while simultaneously killing dialogue with Iran that the Obama administration wisely cultivated. This is a recipe for war. Assertions to the contrary are less than honest. At best, Washington’s policy has become dangerously incoherent, risking a direct military confrontation that both sides have hitherto sought to avoid. At worst, Trump’s team is trying to goad Tehran into war.

If there are vital American interests in Syria beyond combatting terrorists such as ISIS and al-Qaeda, proponents of military escalation have failed to explain them, let alone convince the American public. There is, however, a geopolitical conflict with Washington and Tehran on opposing sides of the chessboard. Arguments about the need to prevent a land bridge from Iran, through Iraq and Syria, into Lebanon are misleading because Tehran possessed long before Syria erupted in 2011. Thus, Trump is risking war not to prevent the expansion of Iranian influence, but rather to eliminate it. Knowing this, Iran’s missile strikes were in part to send a message: “We will not allow Syria to leave our orbit for yours.”

Second, Trump has given America’s traditional partners in the region a blank check on Middle East security, thereby emboldening them to pursue reckless policies vis-à-vis Iran. Less than a month after he blessed their Iran-is-the-source-of-all-evil approach during his visit to Riyadh, the Saudis called for taking the fight inside Iran, and terrorists attacked the parliament and Khomeini’s mausoleum in Tehran – allegedly with Saudi support. A growing number of Iranian decision-makers no longer distinguish between Saudi and American aggression precisely because the latter has blessed the efforts of the former.

Tehran is not foolish enough to lob missiles at Riyadh – and by extension, Washington – in retaliation for allegedly supporting ISIS terror attacks on Iranian soil. Instead, Iran targeted what it considers to be Saudi Arabia’s – and thanks to Trump’s blank check, America’s – proxies operating on Syrian soil. To that end, Iran’s missile strikes were also meant to send the following message: “Regardless of how you attack us, we have a variety of ways – and locations – in which we can respond.” Exposed American troops operating in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen have no doubt taken notice.

Third, Trump’s team has called for regime change in Iran, thereby eliminating the possibility of U.S.-Iran cooperation outside the JCPOA. Trump’s team believes that Iran only responds to pressure, but facts demonstrate the opposite. George W. Bush’s threats of regime change, as well as his abysmal handling of Iran’s nuclear program and two wars in the Muslim world, produced Iranian dominance in Baghdad and Kabul while systematically advancing the technical aspects of Iran’s nuclear program. Conversely, Obama’s diplomacy avoided war, and produced tacit cooperation in the fight against terrorists as well as an agreement that verifiably ensures Iran cannot build a nuclear weapon.

The danger of America’s regime change policy for Iran is highlighted in Syria. The UN and EU have long said there is no viable solution that excludes Iran. Yet Trump’s team is not debating whether to militarily confront Iran in Syria, but rather when. Defense Secretary Mattis is reportedly calling for restraint until ISIS is defeated, but skepticism is warranted given that he almost started a war with Iran in February. Thus, Tehran’s missile strikes in Syria were a clear signal to Washington: “Pursuing regime change won’t be cost-free. We may not be able to win a war, but we can survive one.”

All of this highlights an inconvenient truth: After six months of Trump’s presidency, Iran has used ballistic missiles operationally one time – thus far. During eight years of Obama’s presidency? Zero times. Some will blame Iran for firing the missiles and say it must take responsibility for its own actions. Fair enough. But many of those same voices refuse to acknowledge that Trump’s malpractice in the Middle East has been the primary action. What we are seeing now is Iran’s reaction. It’s not too late for Washington to re-embrace diplomacy – the only means proven to keep Tehran’s missiles at bay.

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This weekend, Juneteenth celebrations happened across the country commemorating the end of slavery ― the day when black men and women were ordered to be released from their chains. The question is, are we truly free?

That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued January 1, 1863, but it wasn’t until the surrender of General Lee in 1865 that the news of freedom began to spread across the country. In Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, without social media or television news, and relying on the will of the slave master, many did not know they were free until a Unionist leader, Gordon Granger, landed in Galveston. Today, in black communities across the country we celebrate Juneteenth, for what is known to many as a day of true independence.

The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and free laborer.

Today, freedom looks like a majority white jury acquitting the police officer who shot a black man, not once or twice, but seven times in just over a minute during a traffic stop for a simple broken taillight. When asked for his identification, Philando Castile disclosed to the officer that he had a gun in the vehicle, intending to allay the officer’s fears as he reached for his identification. Nonetheless, even as Philando Castile tried to comply with the officer’s request, and reached for his identification, he was violently killed. We all witnessed Philando’s life end on Facebook Live, while his girlfriend filmed the incident, and her young child sat helplessly in the back seat. The police officer, claiming that he feared for his life, said the shooting was justified and today, that officer is free, while our community mourns yet another life that does not matter to a system that claims to provide justice for all.

After the acquittal was announced the day before hundreds of Juneteenth celebrations around the country, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton quite appropriately asked, “would this have happened if the driver were white?” We all know the answer to that question.

Our communities remain chained, bound by a criminal justice system that serves not to protect us, but to keep us in our place. African Americans make up the largest percentage of those in jails and prisons and they are overwhelmingly the victims of police shootings. The criminal justice system piles on fees on those that are poor and holds them in jails because they are too poor to post bond. The overwhelming majority of these poor people are people of color. Quite simply, for African Americans, the criminal justice system isn’t just broken, it literally works against us by profiting off our pain, tears, and our lives.

Philando Castile joins the long list of free black men and boys who have been murdered by police. Demoralized in the public square of social media as yet another hashtag, this a reminder that black men, even those who are compliant with the law are viewed as a threat, chained by a system that continues to sees us as three-fifths a person―even property.

It should come as no surprise that our schools fail to educate our black babies. The achievement gap in education between black and white students persists despite the supposed focus on closing this gap. Based on an assessment by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the black and white gaps for 12th graders remain unacceptably large and, significantly, not very different from where the gaps were in 1965 after the Civil Rights Act was signed. Black literacy is a threat to a slave system.

Whereas, the having slaves taught to write, or suffering them to be employed in writing, may be attended with great inconveniences; Be it enacted, that all and every person and persons whatsoever, who shall hereafter teach or cause any slave or slaves to be taught to write, or shall use or employ any slave as a scribe, in any manner of writing whatsoever, hereafter taught to write, every such person or persons shall, for every such offense, forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds, current money. Excerpt from South Carolina Act of 1740 Slave Code

Even when educated, our black boys may be murdered, without cause, for holding a packet of skittles or may be forced to watch their mothers be shot by police after calling the police for help and to report a burglary. The challenges our communities face are steep and seem never ending. Not only does the education system fail to adequately educate our kids, it burdens them with more out of school suspensions than their white counterparts. “Zero tolerance” policies criminalize minor infractions of school rules and police are too often brought in to address behavior that should be handled by school personnel. Students of color are especially vulnerable to push out trends and discriminatory application of discipline. Right here in Denver, the most diverse city in Colorado, our public school system remains the most segregated in the state.

I don’t ever want to ignore the tremendous progress we have made as a community and as a nation. We passed or otherwise enacted the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and affirmative action. We even elected an African American as our president. But we must see through an authentic lens that vestiges of slavery exist to this day and we must collectively, intentionally and affirmatively confront these vestiges. As a policy maker and activist, I ask the question, what would it take to reach that promised land, to break the chains that bind us?

On January 1st, 1863, the slaves were set free. Have you received the good news?

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Addiction is a chronic disease. That’s what the Alcoholics Anonymous book says. It’s common knowledge in the recovery community that nobody is perfect. Relapse doesn’t make someone a saint or a sinner, but rather affirms the vulnerability that is part of addiction. Treatment doesn’t magically turn someone into a better, stronger person just because they put down their substance of choice. But it does teach them how navigate deadly cravings and be vigilant. Good treatment also teaches that there is no finish line: there is no “fine.” The chronic, recurring disease is just as deadly twenty years after the first day in remission.

But there are people who we hold up as incredible examples of what recovery can be. Carrie Fisher was one of them. She fought for her sanity and her recovery. She was leader of the Rebellion in the Star Wars movies, and she was the leader of our collective metaphoric rebellion. Those of us in long term recovery saw her speak for us, speak to us, and finally serve as a terrifying and tragic reminder of the unbelievable power of addiction. Addiction is a real-life Death Star: it kills indiscriminately and without warning or mercy.

When Carrie died unexpectedly last December, following a massive heart attack, the recovery community mourned along with everyone else. Carrie was an outspoken advocate for gay rights, mental health issues, and substance use disorder. She held nothing back, and was quick to fire off brutally witty remarks at people who criticized her. However, she also knew how to laugh at herself. Her humanity, hilarity, and honesty will forever be the gold standard for how to live in a world that’s often callous and cruel.

Her hilarious, touching books Wishful Drinking and Postcards From the Edge were many people’s introduction to Carrie’s salty side. We all knew her from Star Wars, but Carrie let us know that she was so much more than a bronze bikini. Every step of the way, her courage and vulnerability helped other people find their voice. She struggled with bipolar disorder, substance use disorder, and a crazy childhood. She navigated a rough divorce. Her honesty, especially for people like me, was lifesaving.

And her courage and conviction didn’t change over the years. Daisy Ridley, in a recent Vanity Fair interview, said that Carrie told her not to pay attention to what others thought of her: “You do you,” she said. “You should fight for your outfit. Don’t be a slave like I was.” In an industry that thrives on insecurity, Carrie was a light to so many. She banished stigma, fear, and uncertainty.

So, today’s news that the autopsy of her body found cocaine, heroin, and MDMA is more than heartbreaking. It’s a reminder that even our legends, the people we look up to as our heroes, are still vulnerable. Nobody is beyond the reach of substance use disorder, and time in recovery does not translate to immunity from relapse. Carrie’s tragic relapse and death can’t negate the incredible and groundbreaking advocacy she achieved, or the years of happiness, love, and light she brought to others when she was sober and stable.

It deeply saddens me that, as the news of Carrie’s autopsy hits the mainstream, they’ll only focus on the drugs. The substances in her system at the time of death. I’m sad that we’ll be subjected to yet another tired analysis of what may have killed her. They’ll make this about her relapse. No doubt a few “close friends” will come forward, to share the scandalous details of her drug use in those last days. They’ll undermine Carrie’s dedication, and her decades of work, calling everything into question. We cannot let that happen. Our Princess is too precious. She fought too hard.

When actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died of a heroin overdose in 2014 after 20 years of good sobriety and long term recovery. His tragic death was hyped by the media, who said he’d finally “succumbed to his demons.” The ignorance of substance use, and long term recovery, blotted out over two decades of life. It wasn’t Philip’s successes that people talked about: it was his last minute failure.

I won’t let that happen to Carrie. You know why? Because relapse is not the point, and I want to make it abundantly clear that Carrie was so much more than her substance use. Saying that she “lost the battle with addiction” totally overlooks not only the amazing amount of good she brought to the world, but also perpetuates a deadly stereotype about substance use.

Relapse is part of substance use. Being drug and alcohol free for a period of time doesn’t mean that you’re cured, or that you’re not still susceptible to the problems that people face when they’re in early recovery. Time doesn’t eliminate the risk. We’re so quick to forget that, and treat people with long term recovery as though they’re “cured.” There is no cure for this illness. Even the strongest among us are vulnerable to relapse.

In a statement released two days ago, Carrie’s daughter Billie Lourd said, “She talked about the shame that torments people and their families confronted by these diseases. I know my Mom, she’d want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles. Seek help, fight for government funding for mental health programs.” It would be truly tragic if Carrie’s advocacy and progress were eclipsed by the way she died. Instead, it should show us that long term recovery demands eternal vigilance: it doesn’t mean “I’m OK now.” That doesn’t exist for people with our condition.

Carrie taught people to hold their head high. She said that recovery and mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of: we have to move forward. We have to help each other. And we have to be fearless, and show the world who we really are.

The official cause of death on Carrie’s death certificate is sleep apnea―-not substances. It will be listed as “undetermined.” I pray that we remember Carrie’s lifetime of advocacy, love, and outspoken humor and let her rest in peace. May the Force be with you, Princess. Always.

Ryan Hampton is an outreach lead and recovery advocate at Facing Addiction, a leading nonprofit dedicated to ending the addiction crisis in the United States.

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