If you LIKE Dr.Laura, come on in!

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Feanaro_s_Wife

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I just finished my daily fix of Dr.Laura’s radio show. We only get two hours instead of three, but that’s ok. Normally my hubby and I will talk about the issues raised on the program and the advice given…but he is out of town right now so here I am!

Please, I have enough people in my real life who give me grief over listening to (and agreeing with) her…if you do not like her don’t post here.

I want this to be a place where we can discuss why we listen to her, what we learned, and any other positive things.

I’ll go first.

I first started listening to her at my hubby’s request about 5 or 6 years ago. I found her harsh and “judgmental”, but I listened anyway.

Over time I realized that the things that I found the most “offensive” were things that I needed to change in my own life. She was talking to me!

Long story short, her radio program and her books became my “moral compass”. That compass led to my conversion to the Catholic Church. Thank you Dr.laura!

Malia
 
She is no longer carried on a station locally, so the only time I’m able to listen is when I’m on the road traveling to visit relatives, or in another town.

It’s true, many people think she is too judgmental, and criticize her for making everything black and white with no gray areas and having no compassion.

A week or so ago, I was listening on the road, and in one call she was in effect chewing some poor woman out about her lifestyle, and ended with telling her to get the boyfriend out of the house and quit shacking up, so she could properly care for her kids.

Yet this caller, while reduced to tears, was actually grateful for the advice. “No one,” she said, “has ever told me this before.” She simply didn’t realize that blandly following society’s messages about sex and relationships was making her–and her children–miserable.

And it dawned on me that really–no one had told her this before! She just didn’t know. She was as truly deprived as if someone had routinely stolen her money every week. And I imagine that she is just one of many who are so deprived.

So, while I don’t listen often, I think she does perform a service by acting as a counterweight to the persistent wrong messages we get from our culture.
 
I used to listen to her in Iowa but they took her off the air. I don’t hear her here in NC.

One of her issues that I really appreciate is her stand on divorced parents dating. For the most part she is against this. I grew up with a mother who was desperate to fall in love and ended up married six different times! This doesn’t include the number of serious boyfriends that she brought home and introduced us too. We were encouraged to become attached to these men and then when she grew tired of them-she always did-she dumped them and left us kids confused. I am not saying that all divorced parents who date go to the extreme that my mom did but it is still painful to a child to get attached to someone and then have that person simply disappear from their lives. Dr. Laura is the only person that I know of that seems to understand how impossible dating and having children is.
 
Started listening to her when I was in college for my Bachelor of Social Work degree. (Oh my goodness…that’s about 15 years ago now! :eek: How can that be?!)

I was a left-leaning, pro-choice, self-absorbed whiny undergrad. On the days I was too lazy to get my butt to class, I’d tune into her show for a distraction.

Then I began to realize that she was providing the honesty & logic that was missing from every single one of my social work classes, where I was learning how never to never blame the victim, how women were victims & men were useless, etc.

I can honestly say that I had never heard a persuasive, logical anti-abortion argument before she presented one on the air.

Realized she had a point when she made a case for going to church on Sunday “if only to go somewhere to spend one hour of the week *not *thinking about yourself!”

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that I partially credit Dr. Laura for making me pro-life & starting me on the road back to the Church. I’ll always be grateful to her for that.

Her books are fun, as well. They’re not literary masterpieces, but she picks a topic & usually proves it well. I think I want to go read “The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands” again. Now that one’s a classic!

She’s not on the air in my area, but I do pop over to her website every now & then.
 
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JimG:
Yet this caller, while reduced to tears, was actually grateful for the advice. “No one,” she said, “has ever told me this before.” She simply didn’t realize that blandly following society’s messages about sex and relationships was making her–and her children–miserable.

I think it’s funny that even though these people are often grateful for the “harsh” advice, that doesn’t seem to make an impression on other listeners. They can’t get past the method to see the message.

So, while I don’t listen often, I think she does perform a service by acting as a counterweight to the persistent wrong messages we get from our culture.

I wholeheartedly agree!

Malia
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deb1:
One of her issues that I really appreciate is her stand on divorced parents dating. Dr. Laura is the only person that I know of that seems to understand how impossible dating and having children is.
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Yes, before I started listening to her I bought into the whole “but the woman (or man) has the right to be happy”(after divorce).

She really points out the impact is has on children when their divorced parents are more interested in a love life than in them. Relationships take a lot of time and energy to build. That is why we do it before we have children, generally.

Malia
 
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StephanieC:
I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that I partially credit Dr. Laura for making me pro-life & starting me on the road back to the Church. I’ll always be grateful to her for that.

That’s great! I love to hear stories from other Dr.Laura “converts”.😃

Her books are fun, as well. They’re not literary masterpieces, but she picks a topic & usually proves it well. I think I want to go read “The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands” again. Now that one’s a classic!

Yeah, that is the one book by her that I actually own.

I also liked the whole “10 stupid things…” series. Really opened my eyes to a lot of things that I didn’t even know I was blind to.

Also, it’s been awhile, but I know that her book on the Ten Commandements really got me pointed in the right direction.

She’s not on the air in my area, but I do pop over to her website every now & then.

Yeah, she’s been on and off the air here…finally on again now on a local Christian station. My favorite part of her website is the letters from listeners. I end up crying more times than not.

Malia
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Some people who haven’t listened for more than 1 or 2 shows have a hard time getting past her “method” because they think that since she’s a psychologist, she’s going to do this warm fuzzy hand-holding therapy session with them. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, if that’s what you want to pay for.)

But there are only 60 minutes in an hour, about 30 of which are probably gone to news, weather, bumper music, station id’s & commercials (I’m guessing). That leaves 30 minutes of her time to get to as many callers as possible. Plus, these people have called her, not vice-versa! They’re getting FREE practical advice to something they are bringing up. If they want a warm hug & a pat on the back, there are plenty of other radio “doctors” who’ll do that eagerly.

I’ve found it interesting to see how Dr. Phil has caught on so well, while Dr. Laura’s tv show crashed & burned, but her radio program has endured. Same approach; maybe it’s that warm Texas d-r-a-w-l…🙂
 
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StephanieC:
I’ve found it interesting to see how Dr. Phil has caught on so well, while Dr. Laura’s tv show crashed & burned, but her radio program has endured. Same approach; maybe it’s that warm Texas d-r-a-w-l…🙂
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Unfortunately I can see why. While Dr.Phil is a “tell it like it is” kind of guy (and very “harsh” compared to what society is used to) he doesn’t go all the way.

The clearest example that pops into mind is a few seasons ago when he was counselling that family whose teenage daughter was pregnant.

Yes, he highlighted all the options (keeping the baby, adoptions etc) but he didn’t give an objective “this is what is best fot the child” that Dr.Laura would have done.

I lost a lot of respect for him after that. He made it more about the family’s wants and desires and what that baby could do for them than what was best for that innocent little life.

Dr.Laura would have laid it out in black and white and done her best to help that child.

Malia
 
I think that people who call in to Dr. Laura actually WANT someone to tell them to clean up their lives. They WANT someone to say, “quit shacking up…, give that baby to parents who can lovingly provide for him…, Don’t get divorced!” Because anyone who has listened to her for more than 20 minutes knows what she’s like… so obviously that’s what they want to hear. They want a kick in the pants!

I really like her. But she’s not on in Chicago anymore. 😦
 
carol marie:
I really like her. But she’s not on in Chicago anymore. 😦
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What’s the deal with all these stations dropping her program? Was it the old naked photo scandal from the 80 year old guy? Or is it the gay lobby. Or do listeners just like warm & fuzzy better? The talk shows I liked–first Dr. Laura, then Michael Medved, have been dropped.
 
Dr. Laura is my heroine!! Before I ever listened to her, I worked for a bank, customer service. One day one of my clients accused me of being the Dr. Laura of the banking world. I wasn’t sure what she meant, but she explained that it was really a “good thing”, I had taught her how to manage her accounts without being flowery or mincing words. (Actually I had given her H–l for bouncing checks.) I made it a point to listen to Dr. Laura when I could after that. I can’t say I agree 100% but I think maybe 95% and that is pretty good. I got my husband to listen and when he doesn’t, I tell him about calls that relate to our lives. I have been helped by her and feel thatshe gave me the strength to continue to hold terra firma on my moral convictions.

There are those who feel that she “judges” and is “unforgiving”. She judges the actions, not the soul and knows what forgiving truly entails. The homily a few weeks ago could have been written by her. We must pray that she continues to speak the truth without fear and that she is not removed from the air-waves because of what she stands for.

Love and peace

Mom of 5
 
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JimG:
What’s the deal with all these stations dropping her program? Was it the old naked photo scandal from the 80 year old guy? Or is it the gay lobby. Or do listeners just like warm & fuzzy better? The talk shows I liked–first Dr. Laura, then Michael Medved, have been dropped.
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Sounds like we all have some calls to make, or letters to write, to some program managers! 😃
 
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JimG:
What’s the deal with all these stations dropping her program? Was it the old naked photo scandal from the 80 year old guy? Or is it the gay lobby. Or do listeners just like warm & fuzzy better? The talk shows I liked–first Dr. Laura, then Michael Medved, have been dropped.
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Now that you mention it… I think it was the gay thing. She was dropped right after that all happened… 😦
 
Dr Laura is a PHYSIOLOGIST not a pyschologist. Did she drop her Judaism?
 
Feanaro's Wife:
Unfortunately I can see why. While Dr.Phil is a “tell it like it is” kind of guy (and very “harsh” compared to what society is used to) he doesn’t go all the way.

The clearest example that pops into mind is a few seasons ago when he was counselling that family whose teenage daughter was pregnant.

Yes, he highlighted all the options (keeping the baby, adoptions etc) but he didn’t give an objective “this is what is best fot the child” that Dr.Laura would have done.

I lost a lot of respect for him after that. He made it more about the family’s wants and desires and what that baby could do for them than what was best for that innocent little life.

Dr.Laura would have laid it out in black and white and done her best to help that child.

Malia
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I enjoy Dr Laura and she gives good advice…I also agree that Dr phil…while good doesn’t go into the morality issue enough…Dr Laura does.
Has she left her Jewish faith? Why would she do that?
 
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deb1:
No, she is still Jewish. Why?
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She announced a year or two ago that she is no longer a practicing Jew, but that she still considers herself Jewish.

I like Dr. Laura. I love her crusade against daycare. She can be abrasive at times. My biggest complaint is that she can make mountains out of molehills with little things caller’s say, but other times she’s able to pick up on something significant that the caller is trying to conceal.
 
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MJE:
Dr Laura is a PHYSIOLOGIST not a pyschologist. Did she drop her Judaism?
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  • BS, Biological Sciences, SUNY Stonybrook, Long Island, NY
  • MS, M Phil, Ph.D. (Physiology), Columbia University (College of Physicians and Surgeons), NY
  • Post-Doctoral Certification in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling, Human Relations Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
  • Licensed Marriage, Family and Child Counselor (MFCC), California, formerly in private practice for 12 years
  • Past member of the Biological Sciences faculty of the University of Southern California (five years) and the graduate Psychology faculty of Pepperdine University (eight years)
  • UCLA and **UC Irvine Extension **course instructor
 
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MJE:
Did she drop her Judaism?
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At this point I would prefer to keep this thread on the topic of why we LIKE her and how she has helped us in our own lives.

Unless she is a Satanist, I don’t see the need to talk about her religion (unless of course we wish to collectively pray for her conversion to Catholicism;) )

Thanks!

Malia
 
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