A certain far-right commentator, whose name I will not write in my blog because I really don't want it to show up in my banner ads, is wedged into an appropriately tight spot right now. (Okay, I'll call him "Binky.") I'm not referring specifically to the fellow's insensitive remarks about an African-American athlete; they were indeed insensitive, but probably at only a mere level of 2 out of 10 on the scale of the volcanic race-baiting in which Binky has engaged in the past.

I find Binky's other legal problems more interesting. His former housekeeper claims that she helped him obtain addictive pain medications illegally, an accusation that has left Binky the subject of an investigation. Now, there are a couple of possibilities here. One is that Binky is being smeared. It happens; celebrities do attract that sort of attention. The other is that Binky really does (or at least did) have a drug problem that led him to score controlled substances on the sly.

Let's see. Either someone is spreading virulent, defamatory whoppers about Binky, or else he, like a lot of other people, rich and poor, has struggled with a disease that usually garners its victims more abuse than sympathy. Does this sound familiar?

Binky, have you learned anything from this experience?