Dianne Reidy, House Stenographer, Latest Victim of DC-related Mental Illness?
After years of covering the news beat in DC, the press corps has now become experts at (wait for it…) diagnosing mental illness.
Wednesday night during the Congressional vote that ended the government shutdown, 8-year veteran staffer, Dianne Reidy, climbed up the House podium steps and went on a conspiratorial tirade:
He will not be mocked, He will not be mocked, (don’t touch me) He will not be mocked. The greatest deception here, is that this is not one nation under God. It never was. Had it been… it would not have been… No. it would not have been… the Constitution would not have been written by Freemasons… and go against God. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve two masters. Praise be to God, Lord Jesus Christ.
Reidy was seized and removed bodily from the speaker’s platform. From there Reidy was taken down to the Congressional basement, interviewed by Capitol police then sent straight away to a DC hospital for mental health evaluation.
Headlines of, “Dianne Reidy’s Bible: House Stenographer Preaches About Freemasons, God, And Jesus” and “House stenographer meltdown: Bizarre rant not at all like this ‘gentle soul’ ” were summarily disseminated.
What caused this veteran Congressional stenographer to act in such a manner? Prior to Reidy’s 8-year stint as House Stenographer she had a successful 8-year career as a court reporter in the DC Superior Court. Both positions required security clearance. For Reidy to have been allowed security clearance she would have had to undergone an arduous background check including having her allegiance to the United States appraised; her personal conduct; finances; alcohol consumption and drug evaluated; psychological condition; criminal background, and all outside activities would have been thoroughly scrutinized.
With Ms. Reidy being swiftly diagnosed as mentally ill by media sources, it is likely that they will attempt to drum up a psychological profile that is fit for public consumption by the next news cycle. Before the media dismisses Ms. Reidy’s episode as a case of pre-menopausal crazies or another incident of female problems run amok, let us attempt to draw our own conclusions based upon available, NSA-approved sources: Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest.
Ms. Reidy’s education and work history, as chronicled on Linkedin: graduate of City University of New York – John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Court Reporter – DC Superior Court (February 1997– January 2005) and Court Reporter – Congress (February 2005–Wednesday).
According to her Facebook page, Dianne Reidy seems to be an avid recipe hunter and casserole queen. She ‘likes’ angel hair pasta and angel food cake recipes and Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk obviously making her a religious zealot. Her Facebook timeline indicates that she posted links supporting the American Cancer Society Summit in Dallas, Texas, A Dying Navy Vet’s Final Wish and most damning, a CBS news link about Glenn Beck.
What is most revealing about her mental status are the hobbies of her friends. Among her 259 Facebook friends, they ‘like’ Folgers coffee, Words with Friends, The Price Is Right, Elvis and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
(Pinterest reaffirms her penchant for chicken piccata recipes.)
Chances are slim that Ms. Reidy will ever publicly surface again. But what would cause this ostensibly harmless woman to breach security and risk imprisonment? This is a woman who many in Congress knew by name and reputation and who stunned members on the House floor and the press corps alike.
What is more fascinating is the media’s reticence to ask the obvious questions. What in Dianne Reidy’s background would cause her to do this? Was Reidy acting alone? Was Dianne Reidy involved in something sinister? Is she a plant?
Who in the media has the journalistic chops to go further than frame her character and actually investigate the matter? Is the reprisal of DOJ action too risky to stick their journalistic necks out? Or is it just plain easier to report the incident as another case of the DC crazies, placate to the echo chamber and dismiss the episode (and Reidy) as mental?
