Letter from the Vineyard

December 1st, 2025

A Sea Change Coming?

November has come and gone.

My birthday, November 18^th, was sun washed, wind less harsh, a perfect day to march into another new year in my life, spent acknowledging the myriad of birthday good wishes, a feast of goodwill kept me smiling the whole day long.

And now Thanksgiving 2025 is in our collective rear view mirror. May yours have been as grand as mine.  I returned to Columbia County in New York for a gathering of the old Thanksgiving gang. Lionel outdid himself.

When I throw my feet to the ground in the morning, defying gravity one more time, there is always wonder, this old, Martha’s Vineyard, a bookstore. During the winter when the crowds are gone, I sometimes feel like that old man sitting on the porch of the general store, a century ago, next to the barrel of apples, people stopping to chat. But my apples are books and I am behind the counter.

My oldest friend, Sarah, fast friends by five when we marched off to kindergarten together, still intwined in each other’s lives, about to Christmas together, phones me regularly.

While neither of our lives are perfect, they are blessed, filled with good things, love, the safety of a home, food on the table, books to read, video to watch, health challenges met.

Neither of us watch the news anymore; it’s just too painful.

In the morning, I scan the papers, read “The Morning” from the NY Times, now helmed by Sam Sifton, his elegant turn of phrase applied to the news of the day.  While missing his food columns, I appreciate his intelligence applied to global events.

What is inescapable is there is so much anguish in this world. Gaza, Sudan, Venezuela, perhaps soon to be invaded by us, the food crisis in this country, highlighted by the government shutdown, Ukraine, Jamaica, the U.S. health care crisis, ICE raids, the list goes on and on…

Where do I turn my attention?

On this island, fixed in the minds of many for wealth and privilege, one in four rely on SNAP to make ends meet. There is a homeless crisis here, a housing crisis. What’s a middle income family to do when the entry price for a home is a million dollars? Doctors cannot afford to live here.

During the government shutdown Trump went to the Supreme Court to prevent reserves from funding SNAP. At the same time, he gave a Gatsby themed party at Mar-a-Lago.

Rather like a fete at Versailles before the Bastille was stormed?

After my last letter, one of the responses I received told me to let it go: Trump won by a landslide.

No, I will not let it go. An electoral victory does not justify bad governance nor condone cruelty.  Masked ICE officers?  My mind boggles.  Citizens and legal residents abused. Appalling. 

Trump’s adventures against “cartels” make some Republicans uncomfortable about his path to justifying them, not to mention the military buildup in the region, the possibility he will order boots on the ground in Venezuela.

Secretary of War Hegseth allegedly told those conducting the first “cartel” raid to kill them all. There was a circling back; the survivors did not survive.

Jeffrey Epstein, he of heinous acts and suspicious death, obsesses us.

Trump could not rally his troops to stop the release of the files, so did a turnabout, encouraged the vote to release.  He could have done it at any time.

With so many investigations in progress around Epstein, the heart of the papers will probably not see the light of day in our lifetime.

Trump could not force an end to the filibuster; even this Republican Senate was not that stupid.

While courts are fighting over the Texas redistricting, some states are not buckling to his redistricting demands.

The president’s chummy Oval Office meeting with New York’s Mayor Elect Mamdani has the MAGA world’s head spinning. Mine, too.

There is a peace proposal floating for Ukraine which seemed to read like Putin’s wish list, may have been identified as such by Secretary of State Rubio. Since then, the Administration’s media spin on Ukraine has been mind-boggling. Who’s on first? Europe scrambles to keep up.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has resigned [after a series of moves which made her seem, what? almost centrist? sane?]. The death threats may have been too much.

The death threats come quickly for anyone challenging the MAGA way.

Her resignation, via viral video, was an indictment of Trump.

Judge Currie ruled Lindsey Halligan unlawfully appointed to prosecute James Comey and Letitia James; therefore, her indictments are invalid.  Judge Currie joins other federal judges who have questioned the Administration’s appointment of loyalists.

Is Trump’s apparent invulnerability cracking? I hope so.

Photo courtesy of Paul Doherty, Martha’s Vineyard