Sitting at the kitchen table at my friends’ home on Martha’s Vineyard, I have a stunning view of the harbor in Edgartown. The sky is a muted blue, I am facing Chappaquiddick, sailboats bob at anchor. I came in on the ferry from Woods Hole and Jeffrey picked me up in his motorboat, the “Mata Hari.”
It seemed fitting, as today is the anniversary of her birth, back in 1876. The French executed her as a German spy in October 1917.
The easiest way to get to Martha’s Vineyard from the cottage was for me to drive to Woods Hole and take the ferry from there, which I did. The drive was about 4.5 hours, longer than it needed to be because I made a few stops.
Listening to “The Roundtable,” a morning panel discussion of the news on Albany’s NPR station, WAMC, I heard an exegesis of last night’s Republican debate, dominated, as all supposed it would be, by The Donald. One of the panelists, when asked what he thought, stuttered for a moment and said, “It was good television.” Not necessarily a good debate, but good television.
Telling for what was to have been a serious policy conversation. My friend, Jan Hummel, wrote to me once that she did think Trump was saying what was on his mind and she wished all politicians would do that and stop their political correctness. Trump declared the Presidency of George W. Bush “a catastrophe.”
Apparently Ohio’s Kasich presented himself well. It was 50/50 on Jeb Bush. Good marks for Fox’s format and a fair amount of commenting on the amount that Roger Ailes, President of Fox News, involved himself but that’s not unusual for Ailes, who is more “hands on” than most Presidents.
The talk then turned to our state’s Senator, Chuck Schumer, who came out against the Iran Nuclear Deal. The panel felt it came down to the fact he is running for re-election and needs, politically, to be against it. Schumer, who is Jewish, is very close to Netanyahu and strong armed Democrats to go to the speech Netanyahu made to Congress. Most of the emails coming in during the broadcast castigated Schumer though some were supportive.
It is a problem for Obama [who arrives today on the Vineyard for his two week vacation]. It gives cover for other Democrats to say no to it.
Jon Stewart said good-bye last night and the reviews of the show were very good. As suspected, even if I had been able to watch, I wouldn’t have been awake for it. I dozed off about 9:30; book tumbled to my side and woke up at 4:30 with the light still on.
IS captured a town in Syria and, as they do, rounded up a number of citizens, including dozens of Christians, and herded them up a mountaintop. There is no word as to their fate.
A typhoon is bearing down on Taiwan, thousands are fleeing and two are dead already.
North Korea is creating its own time zone, moving the clock back half an hour. It doesn’t want to be in the same time zone as South Korea and Japan. It wants to break free from Imperialism. When the Japanese occupied Korea they brought the peninsula into coordination with their time zone. So there!
Some reports are saying that the piece of 777 debris washed up on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean is from MH 370. Some are saying that it probably is. The conflicting statements are causing anguish for the survivors of those onboard. Some feel there is a great cover-up occurring and that their relatives and friends may be alive somewhere but hidden.
What is not hidden from me is that Jeffrey has finished his shower and is now ready to get a drink in town. So I need to get myself ready to join him.
Good evenings, all!
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Tags: Albany, Edgartown, Iran Deal, IS, Jon Stewart, Kasich, Martha's Vineyard, Mat Tombers, Mata Hari, Mathew Tombers, MH 370, North Korean Time Zone, Oak Bluff, Reunion Island, Schumer, Syria, The Roundtable, WAMC, Woods Hole
This entry was posted on August 7, 2015 at 10:12 pm and is filed under Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Social Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Letter from the Vineyard 
Letter From Martha’s Vineyard 08 07 15 The day after the night before…
Sitting at the kitchen table at my friends’ home on Martha’s Vineyard, I have a stunning view of the harbor in Edgartown. The sky is a muted blue, I am facing Chappaquiddick, sailboats bob at anchor. I came in on the ferry from Woods Hole and Jeffrey picked me up in his motorboat, the “Mata Hari.”
It seemed fitting, as today is the anniversary of her birth, back in 1876. The French executed her as a German spy in October 1917.
The easiest way to get to Martha’s Vineyard from the cottage was for me to drive to Woods Hole and take the ferry from there, which I did. The drive was about 4.5 hours, longer than it needed to be because I made a few stops.
Listening to “The Roundtable,” a morning panel discussion of the news on Albany’s NPR station, WAMC, I heard an exegesis of last night’s Republican debate, dominated, as all supposed it would be, by The Donald. One of the panelists, when asked what he thought, stuttered for a moment and said, “It was good television.” Not necessarily a good debate, but good television.
Telling for what was to have been a serious policy conversation. My friend, Jan Hummel, wrote to me once that she did think Trump was saying what was on his mind and she wished all politicians would do that and stop their political correctness. Trump declared the Presidency of George W. Bush “a catastrophe.”
Apparently Ohio’s Kasich presented himself well. It was 50/50 on Jeb Bush. Good marks for Fox’s format and a fair amount of commenting on the amount that Roger Ailes, President of Fox News, involved himself but that’s not unusual for Ailes, who is more “hands on” than most Presidents.
The talk then turned to our state’s Senator, Chuck Schumer, who came out against the Iran Nuclear Deal. The panel felt it came down to the fact he is running for re-election and needs, politically, to be against it. Schumer, who is Jewish, is very close to Netanyahu and strong armed Democrats to go to the speech Netanyahu made to Congress. Most of the emails coming in during the broadcast castigated Schumer though some were supportive.
It is a problem for Obama [who arrives today on the Vineyard for his two week vacation]. It gives cover for other Democrats to say no to it.
Jon Stewart said good-bye last night and the reviews of the show were very good. As suspected, even if I had been able to watch, I wouldn’t have been awake for it. I dozed off about 9:30; book tumbled to my side and woke up at 4:30 with the light still on.
IS captured a town in Syria and, as they do, rounded up a number of citizens, including dozens of Christians, and herded them up a mountaintop. There is no word as to their fate.
A typhoon is bearing down on Taiwan, thousands are fleeing and two are dead already.
North Korea is creating its own time zone, moving the clock back half an hour. It doesn’t want to be in the same time zone as South Korea and Japan. It wants to break free from Imperialism. When the Japanese occupied Korea they brought the peninsula into coordination with their time zone. So there!
Some reports are saying that the piece of 777 debris washed up on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean is from MH 370. Some are saying that it probably is. The conflicting statements are causing anguish for the survivors of those onboard. Some feel there is a great cover-up occurring and that their relatives and friends may be alive somewhere but hidden.
What is not hidden from me is that Jeffrey has finished his shower and is now ready to get a drink in town. So I need to get myself ready to join him.
Good evenings, all!
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Tags: Albany, Edgartown, Iran Deal, IS, Jon Stewart, Kasich, Martha's Vineyard, Mat Tombers, Mata Hari, Mathew Tombers, MH 370, North Korean Time Zone, Oak Bluff, Reunion Island, Schumer, Syria, The Roundtable, WAMC, Woods Hole
This entry was posted on August 7, 2015 at 10:12 pm and is filed under Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Social Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.