Life of Wry

Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were brutally murdered yesterday, stabbed by their son, who clearly suffers from mental health issues. They were found in their Brentwood home by their daughter. It’s a truly horrific and sad story. Rob Reiner was a beloved Hollywood legend, brilliant in his breadth of work and an icon in the film industry. He was also a deeply respected voice on the progressive left, someone who worked endlessly for human rights causes, and, unsurprisingly, was an outspoken critic the Oval Office occupant.

This story has dominated the news today… though has shared headlines with the shooting at Brown University in Providence, RI (2 dead, 9 injured) and the massacre of Jews gathered to celebrate Chanukah on a popular beach in Sydney, Australia (15 killed, dozens injured) .. which both happened on Saturday.

The dark days continue. The Reiner stabbings yesterday were a shocking pile-on to Saturday’s tragedies, and just another assault in an endless stream of foul news. Our nation, our planet are in a world of hurt.

Where do we look to for solace, guidance during dark times..

Here’s the statement that Barack Obama released this morning about the Reiners:

Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen. But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people—and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action. Together, he and his wife lived lives defined by purpose. They will be remembered for the values they championed and the countless people they inspired. We send our deepest condolences to all who loved them.

It’s a kind statement and we can read that and collectively share in grief for the loss.

Our absolute psychopath of a president, however, said this:

I’ll tell you what, that is one asshole right there. Not a shred of decency, not a nanoparticle of kindness. Our nation (and world) does not deserve this POS who insults the office of the presidency daily and has NEVER offered a unifying word. I cannot bear to hear the scum that comes out of his mouth every time it moves. I could not loathe a person more and cannot wait for the day is he out of our lives.

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This post brought to mind that Dionne Warwick song (Burt Bacharach, actually).. What the world needs now, is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing, that there’s just too little of.