Gleaned Advice

   If you are ever accused of any type of criminal behavior, make sure everyone knows that you were sexually abused as a child.  If you could get on a show such as Dr. Phil, you are almost certainly home free.  All kinds of crimes and sins are justified as long as you say you're sorry, but you were so damaged by abuse that you had no choice but to act out in some fashion.    Even if you are  a sensation-seeker and a psychopathic liar, any assertion that you were molested when you were an innocent little kid will help to expiate your guilt.  If only Lance Armstrong had thrown that into the mix on the Oprah interview, he might have avoided the hounding for not rendering a total confession.  Didn't he have any adult relative or anonymous friend of the family who could have corrupted the innocence of his childhood?
    I'm sure almost every person ever born has suffered some blow to his childhood psyche, not restricted just to sexual abuse, but definitely disruptive to an idyllic childhood.  The prisons are filled with those whose less than ideal lives led to their downfalls, but that doesn't excuse them from responsibility for their actions.  Not to say that we can't understand and try to find pathways to rehabilitation and, more critically, try to repair the damage to the societal and family structures, but we can't allow the childhood molestation claim to explain criminal behavior.  Dr. Phil ought to be able to recognize when a person accused of manipulating another's life is also manipulating the  system, and he should recognize the irony when someone who lies in order to gain attention receives still greater attention for additional lying.  Just look at his face, Dr. Phil, instead of at the ratings.