Fair, Balanced, and Outraged

Frequently I’ve been told I’m too passionate about my opinions, think too much, and sometimes I go over the top. Upon starting this gig I was advised that I needed to rein it in a bit so I didn’t offend anyone.

That was then. This is now!

Because Rob and Michele Reiner were murdered in their own home, probably by their son who has spent decades struggling with drug and mental health issues. Two things quickly struck me, the first of which was Donald Trump’s reaction:

“Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”

Trump – the man who threatened anyone who said anything bad after the September assassination of racist Charlie Kirk – apparently couldn’t wait to be gleefully cruel. When asked in the Oval Office about the above social media post, he told a reporter “He was a deranged person. I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.”

I’M CALLING BULLSHIT! Noted LA Times columnist Anita Chabria, “In a town – and a time – of selfishness and self-serving, Reiner was one of the good guys, always fighting, both through his films and his politics, to make the world kinder and closer. And yes, that meant fighting against Trump and his increasingly erratic and authoritarian rule.”

In other words, Trump couldn’t resist taking a dig at someone who was loved more than him, held more respect than him, and was in a position to challenge and question a man who whines at the slightest provocation. And Trump knew this was a dig that couldn’t be responded to, which made it all the more tempting.

The other thing that struck me was that Nick Reiner’s issues with drugs and mental health were the real problems here. Only Trump and his minions, who say guns aren’t a problem and we should tackle the mental health issues of troubled people, have slashed over $1 billion in direct federal funding to programs overseen by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the federal agency primarily responsible for mental health and addiction services. Add to that approximately $350 million cut from overdose prevention efforts; termination of $1.7 billion in block grants for state mental health and addiction services; and large workforce reductions at key federal agencies that support behavioral health, and the Republican lie becomes instantly transparent.

Maybe Trump is right and Reiner and his legions of followers have Trump Derangement Syndrome. But I, for one, am proud of that badge, and don’t "suffer" from it at all. Unlike Mr. Trump and his lackeys, we offer arguments that are evidence-based, rather than emotional reflexes. Merely because we disagree with “The Donald” (as we used to call him back in New York City) doesn’t mean we’re wrong, though it helps (me) knowing that my disagreeing with him makes him nuts.

But labeling our concern as “derangement” is a way to avoid engaging with substance, and at the end of the day he and his minions have none.

So in honor of Rob and Michele Reiner, I will be doubling my efforts to get the word out and fight the good fight. Because just like in the movies, the good guys need to win this one. 

See you at the ballot box!

Rob