JABbering Stooge

William “2000 years ago, someone died on a cross” Buckingham — one of the key players in Kitzmiller v. Dover — apparently shared a dark secret with a certain right-wing radio shock jock:

Buckingham never fully recovered from his injuries or the seemingly endless series of surgeries, and they left him essentially unemployable, and at risk for reinjury with little provocation. Insurance companies did not want him in the workplaces they covered, he says. He went back to school and earned a paralegal degree, in the hope that this and his law enforcement experience would make him a valuable asset to the legal community, but work proved all but impossible to find. So he began to seek opportunities to volunteer — coaching for Little League, fundraising for the church, anything to keep from sitting in the house, vegetating, and popping painkillers. He was getting by on ever-increasing doses of the painkiller OxyContin, a powerful opioid time-release prescription drug known for both its addictive qualities and its ability to generate a heroin-like high. Oftentimes it left Buckingham unable to drive, and his wife would have to take the wheel. He began to suspect that he might be addicted, and he tried to wean himself from a drug — sometimes referred to as “hillbilly heroin,” because its abuse has been particularly high in rural America. But he did not succeed; the withdrawal symptoms would become too much for him.

Monkey Girl — page 38

His addiction even apparently affected the timeline in the Kitzmiller case:

The practice in Dover, as in many small school districts, is that all textbook purchases must be voted on by the full school board, and the books themselves, after recommendations from the faculty, are to be reviewed by the curriculum committee before the board votes. The new chairman of the committee appointed himself to review Biology. Once he was through, he most decidedly did not want the authors’ autographs. What he wanted was a different book.

He was forced to hold off, however, owing to his increasing addiction to OxyContin. It was ruining his life, causing wild mood swings between euphoria and depression. A few months earlier, national headlines has exposed the radio commentator Rush Limbaugh’s addiction to painkillers, and Buckingham decided it was time to take action. He made a public announcement at the school board meeting on February 2, 2004; asked for support and forgiveness; then took a leave of absence and headed off to treatment and detoxification. “Pray for me,” he asked. One of the local newspapers, the York Daily Record, lauded his courage in an editorial and wished him well. He returned a month later, outwardly cured. Only much later would he reveal that he was still addicted (though no longer using the drug) and suffering from symptoms of withdrawal that left him moody, short-tempered, and, he said, afflicted with periodic memory loss. His memory problems would loom large in the months and years to come. One thing he did not forget, however, was his distaste for the Dragonfly Book.

Monkey Girl — page 40

Now I know that my sample size of two is absurdly small; nonetheless, I’m beginning to see a pattern here…