Drug warlord Mel Sembler drops Pumpgate charges
The former head of a chain of abusive drug treatment centers has dropped key civil charges against the man who tried to auction off Sembler's discarded penis pump on eBay.
Maia Szalavitz has the full story.
Maia is the author of Help At Any Cost, an outstanding book on the burgeoning "bootcamp" industry for troubled teens--a brutal and largely unregulated industry that Mel Sembler helped to pioneer with his "Straight, Inc." network of drug treatment programs.
I'd be interested in hearing some of your father's personal views on that piece of shit Mel Sembler. I'm already aware of his professional opinion of STRAIGHT. I'd just like to know what first thoughts come to his mind if asked about STRAIGHT's ignoble founder. As your dad is a professional I would understand if he recused himself from sharing his frank opinion with the general public. Still, I am a little curious.
Posted by: John Lucid | December 30, 2006 at 12:40 AM
I guess its a good thing Mel has such an awareness about the therapeutic effects of public humiliation.
Posted by: Cass | December 30, 2006 at 01:25 AM
Dad never met Sembler, and I'm sure he wouldn't care to.
Posted by: Lindsay Beyerstein | December 30, 2006 at 01:28 AM
I didn't think he had met that contemptible motherfucker, but I'm sure that doesn't prevent your pappy from forming an opinion about the man. But as I said earlier, because your dad is a professional I'm not expecting him to publicly deliver a scathing indictment of Sembler's character. However, if he doesn't see an ethical and/or legal problem with that then I'd hope you share his thoughts (with his consent, bien sûr).
Posted by: John Lucid | December 30, 2006 at 01:44 AM
There's a certain consistency in believing that one can beat kids into giving up drugs and believing that a penis pump will help.
Posted by: Arthur D. Hlavaty | December 30, 2006 at 08:06 AM
Mel Sembler is financing Mitt Romney campaign...
spread the word....
Posted by: Rick | January 17, 2008 at 08:12 PM