Venezuela, Rob Reiner, Renée Nicole Good, and Other Horrors

by Errington C. Thompson, MD –

We have bombed and invaded Venezuela. We kidnapped Nicolás Maduro and his wife. We have brought Maduro back to the US to “face justice.”

If all of this sounds familiar, it should. In 1989, we invaded Panama and captured President Manuel Noriega, a former CIA asset. We brought him to Miami to face drug trafficking charges. Bush did NOT get Congressional approval.

Police Action, or War?

Congress passed the War Powers Resolution of 1973 to prevent the president from acting unilaterally without Congressional approval. The Act was in response to the Vietnam War and our invasion of Cambodia. It has never been argued before the Supreme Court.

Trump supporters are labeling this a “police action.” Vietnam and Korea were both labelled police actions. The bottom line for me is that we used the military in a foreign country to neutralize a target (Maduro).

On Saturday, January 3, 2026, Trump held a lengthy press conference, which did nothing to help the American people understand why we invaded Venezuela and why we took Nicolás Maduro captive. Trump stated that we would “run Venezuela” until it is safe to turn the country back over to someone else. If this sounds like Iraq, it should. We took out Saddam Hussein. We tried to run that country and failed. Trump, of course, has no interest in the details of running a country. It is difficult to see how this attempt to run a country will go any better than Bush’s.

Justice for All?

Yes, Maduro is an awful man. He deserves prison time. Maduro was indicted in a New York court on drug trafficking and narco-terrorism in 2020. It is hard to understand how Maduro is so bad that we had to kidnap him. Yet Juan Orlando Hernandez, former president of Honduras, who was convicted in an American court of narco-terrorism and shoveling over 400 tons of cocaine into the US, received a pardon from Trump. This convicted man, with lots of money and a connection to Trump’s friend Roger Stone, was pardoned. And the oil-rich country’s president was kidnapped.

The crazy thing is, Trump has done a bunch of lawless stuff over the past 12 months. This may be the least offensive.

Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner was the son of Carl Reiner, who was one of the most famous and successful actors/comedians in US history. Carl Reiner both acted in and wrote The Dick Van Dyke Show, one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. It must be hard living in the shadow of a great comedian like Carl Reiner, especially in the same profession. Maybe it would be different if Rob Reiner were a plumber, a surgeon, or an astronaut, but Rob, the son, also chose to be an actor/comedian. Yet, somehow, Rob came out of his father’s shadow and created his own path.

I loved Rob Reiner when he played “Meathead” on All in the Family. He created an intelligent, thoughtful, and sensitive character. He was the perfect counterweight to Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker. Archie was a working-class, older conservative. Their banter was legendary.

In 1984, he took on the role of director and produced This Is Spinal Tap, a Rockumentary. This movie became an instant cult classic. Two years later, he directed the coming-of-age film Stand by Me, adapted from Stephen King’s short story “The Body.” Stand by Me is a story about four pre-teens, friends, coming of age. It is about relationships: boys bonding with boys and boys relating to their fathers. Reiner held a special screening for Stephen King and was so nervous that he couldn’t sit in the same room as King while he was watching the film. He had to leave. King had nothing but praise for Reiner after the screening.

The Princess Bride is the Reiner movie that I love. This was a movie about “true love.” What? Something as corny as true love? Yep. As in his previous films, the lead actors were relatively unknown. Cary Elwes and Robin Wright played the main characters, Wesley and Buttercup, but all the actors delivered strong performances, including Andre the Giant.

This movie is so good that it is hard to describe. There is the Fire Swamp, which no one could cross. There are the ROUS’s (rodents of unusual size). There is the evil six-fingered man. There is the Pit of Despair, where our hero would be tortured. It is a great, fantastical tale.

In one scene, Carol Kane and Billy Crystal play an elderly couple. Crystal plays “Miracle Max,” who must revive Wesley, who has died. Crystal asks Wesley, who is actually only mostly dead, what is so important that he needs to live. He places a bellows into Wesley’s mouth, gives him a couple of puffs of air, and then presses on his chest. Wesley answers, “True love.”

Miracle Max completely mishears the breathy response. From out of nowhere, his wife comes from around the corner and yells, “Liar! Lair! He said true love.” It is surprising and funny. Miracle Max revives Wesley (because he was only mostly dead). And, of course, Wesley and his friends go and rescue his true love.

Reiner does a fabulous job of telling a wide-ranging story. The story is funny. It has several memorable, quotable lines (“Inconceivable.” “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”). It has several tear-jerking, heart-warming moments. I could discuss this film for hours. The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies. This movie may be the best romantic comedy of all time.

Rob Reiner wasn’t just a good director; he was a great director. His name should be mentioned alongside Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and other great filmmakers. His films explored relationships, the concept of honesty, and truth. He directed films with no major stars and films packed with stars (A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally, The American President). He co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, which produced films such as The Shawshank Redemption and the hit TV sitcom Seinfeld.

As all progressives know, Reiner was also an activist. He was a liberal; he believed in looking out for the less fortunate. He argued for higher taxes on the wealthy. He said that he should pay more in taxes. He supported early childhood development. He fought for marriage equality when he cofounded the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

On December 14th, Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were brutally murdered in their Los Angeles home. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been arrested and charged with their murders. Nick Reiner has fought drug addiction and mental health issues all his adult life. It seems like Rob and Michele were good people. They could have easily kicked Nick out of their lives, but they seemed to have embraced him with love. They tried to make the world a better place.

Nigeria

For reasons that only Donald Trump could answer, we, the United States, have bombed an ISIS camp in Nigeria. Trump has told us that it is because ISIS has been killing Christians. How many targets were bombed? We don’t know. How many people were killed? We don’t know. ISIS are more active in Afghanistan and Somalia. Are we going to target them? Heck, we really don’t have a lot of good evidence that ISIS in Nigeria has been targeting Christians. Maybe this is just a distraction from the Epstein files.

Epstein

As expected, the Department of Justice was ordered to release all of the Epstein files by December 19, 2025, but—also as expected—it released only a small fraction of them. Many pages were redacted, some in their entirety.

Victims are frustrated. Lawmakers are discussing holding the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, in contempt. Yet, this was all very predictable. For reasons known only to Trump and possibly Bondi, the Trump administration has been reluctant to release these files.

The New York Times has written a lengthy article on how Jeffrey Epstein went from a fired prep-school math teacher to being worth over $600 million at the time of his death. Basically, Epstein was personable. When he was caught in a lie, which happened often, he was always able to wiggle his way out of the problem and actually propel his career forward.

He got his first break when he got a job at Bear Stearns. He was hired by Ace Greenberg and Michael Tennebaum, who were top executives at Bear Stearns. Epstein was still learning the ropes when HR found out he had never graduated from any of the colleges listed on his résumé. Epstein was called into Tennebaum’s office and, somehow, talked himself out of being fired. As a matter of fact, Tennebaum thought Epstein was “scrappy” for lying. So Epstein learned all about high finance while using women and connections to meet more and more powerful people. He “operated on the edge of criminality,” according to The New York Times.

There were tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry and clothing charged to the company’s credit card as “expenses.” He was caught, but again—no consequences. There was some insider trading—an SEC investigation. IPO shares. Wrongdoing. Again. No consequences. Epstein smiles, shakes hands, scams, and steals his way into meeting the “right” people and lining his pockets.

There was an elaborate $500 million Ponzi scheme for which his “partner” (Steven Hoffenberg) got sentenced to jail, but Epstein was able to claim that he wasn’t involved. Eventually, Epstein met Les Wexner. Wexner, the billionaire behind Victoria’s Secret and The Limited, was Epstein’s gold mine. Epstein would help Wexner with “tax strategies,” and Epstein would be richly rewarded.

Bottom line: Epstein was a sleazeball who constantly broke the law. He was caught time and time again but never, ever faced real punishment until he was jailed in 2019.

Without working too hard, it is easy to see why Epstein and Trump were friends. They both broke the law by cutting corners and lining their own pockets. Both seemed to have a knack for never being truly punished for their crimes. Neither really had any close friends. They both believed that relationships were not based on love or friendship but were transactional. Trump and Epstein hung out together for over a decade.

DOGE

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was like a wrecking ball through the federal government. They fired workers. They closed departments. They cancelled government contracts. Yet, we aren’t seeing any efficiency or savings. We were told that there would be $1 trillion in savings. Where is it?

First, according to The New York Times, many of DOGE’s claims were false. The $7.9 billion in savings from cutting two Defense Department contracts was simply a lie. Those contracts are still operational.

But the whole purpose of DOGE was to shock the American public. It was Trump and Musk saying that they could do anything they wanted. The “savings” were a bonus. It was also about Musk being about to control or eliminate his competition.

The closure of USAID (the United States Agency for International Development) was devastating. This cancelled several programs that were actually helping people worldwide. The HIV/AIDS (PEPFAR) program and the President’s Malaria Initiative were US efforts that made a difference. Closing these programs will lead to 1.6 million people dying. Not getting sick, but dying.

I know that we aren’t perfect, but USAID at least proved that we were trying to be better. We were trying to share our abundance with others. When we look at the Trump administration, this cruelty is par for the course. We have cut FEMA disaster aid. Not because there are fewer disasters or that Americans can pay for any disaster that comes their way. No. Trump cut FEMA funding to pay for his big, budget-busting bill. To quote Trump, “DOGE was a Hoax!”

Step Up—Now

When should you stand up for progressivism? The time is now. We have to step up for ourselves and our neighbors. We must confront hate and lies. We have to dominate the airwaves and social media.

We need to lean into religion and not back away as if we are scared. We must be able to talk religion with religious folks and talk morality with nonbelievers. We must call out their nonsense when they completely misrepresent Jesus and his teachings. If you are going to follow Christ, you embrace love. Jesus didn’t talk about abortion or hating transgender people. He spoke of love. Are you ready to fight for the soul of America?

Renée Nicole Good

We still don’t have all the details. On January 7, ICE officers approached her vehicle, which appeared to be stalled in the middle of the street or blocking traffic. The driver of the car was Renée Nicole Good. Remember her name.

One of the officers tried to grab her door handle. Another officer yelled expletives and told her to get her car out of the middle of the street. Yet, somebody else yelled for her to get out of the car. As she moved her car away from the officers, one of the officers drew his weapon and fired into it at close range, three shots. Ms. Good, 37 years old, was killed. A physician who was a bystander offered to render aid but was denied the request by ICE officers.

The absolute worst part of this tragedy is that the ICE officer who shot Ms. Good did not wait for police, but instead got in his car and drove away. As far as I can tell, from watching the video, there is no justification for shooting this woman. None.

My heart aches for Renée Nicole Good and her family. My heart aches for Minneapolis where George Floyd was brutally murdered several years ago. My heart aches for the United States of America because we are better than this. Where are our better angels? We need them now.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed here, as well as assertions of facts, are those of the author. They do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of The Urban News.