Archive for the ‘Civil Rights’ Category
May 20, 2016
It is a bit hazy as I rumble south, down the river, toward the city. I am having dinner tonight with my good friends Annette and David Fox. About once a quarter, we get together, order Indian from Indus Valley near their West End Avenue apartment and visit, over wine and an Indian dinner.
All day my mind has wandered back to the Egypt Air flight that crashed on its way from Paris to Cairo, in the Mediterranean off Crete. My phone screen was clustered with updates when I awoke this morning.
It is appearing that the plane’s crash is likely the result of terrorism though nothing can be known until the plane’s debris is studied. Why did it make wild turns just before it disappeared? What must have the passengers been experiencing? I shudder to think. It’s one thing to be there one moment and another not but what must have been in their minds as the plane made a 360 degree rotation?
Chaos erupted on the floor of the House today over a bill that would have denied contracts to Federal contractors if they discriminated against LGBT individuals. It was lost by one vote and reporters heard jeers and shouts from the House floor. Championed by Representative Sean Maloney, Democrat of New York in a district just south of me. Moments before the vote, the measure had 217 votes and House Leader McCarthy twisted Republican arms to change their vote as the presiding officer kept the vote open longer than is normal.
Ah, politics… All the remaining candidates, Trump, Sanders and Clinton hurled invectives and innuendoes today, as they do every day.
To put it kindly, Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump have been “at odds.” They had a sit down at Trump Tower and then another on Megyn Kelly’s premiere of her new interview show as she pursues becoming the next Barbara Walters. It was roundly panned and accusations flew that she played easy with her former adversary.
A week ago the legendary CBS reporter, Morley Safer, retired. A long planned special tribute to him aired on “Sixty Minutes” this past Sunday. Today, he died. He covered the world, from war to art, with panache and precision, exuding a style that is hard to find, particularly now.
The wonderful Hubble Telescope, hovering in space for twenty-five years now, has sent home spectacular views of Mars which is swinging in and will be as close as it gets to earth on Sunday, May 22nd. From these photos we have learned there were mega-tsunamis on Mars in the long ago. With luck, it will continue working at least until 2020 or, perhaps, a little longer.
This week, a Chibok girl, kidnapped two years ago by Boko Haram in Nigeria was freed. Today, another girl has been rescued, two out of two hundred. The first one has met with the Nigerian President but it may be hard for any rescued girls to be reintegrated. The first girl has a Boko Haram “husband” apparently.
In Venezuela, Maduro is cracking down as his regime seems to be cracking up. Tear gas was fired on a crowd of thousands who were demanding his recall. Chants of “food, food, food” are being heard in the streets of many cities. Hospitals are often without power or medicine. Patients are reported to lie in pools of blood.
Even his fellow leftists are beginning to think him crazy. One called Maduro “crazy like a goat.” But maybe that’s a compliment?
The train arrived in New York and then I was off to dinner and sleep. Now it is a beautiful Friday morning in the city, sunlight streaming through the blinds and shortly I’m off to Baltimore to visit friends.
Yesterday’s drumbeat continues today. Debris has been found from the Egypt Air flight. Accepting the inevitable, the Republicans are rallying behind Trump and it will make an interesting fall campaign as Trump and Clinton seemed to be disliked in comparable numbers, meaning no one likes either of them much.
Oklahoma has passed a bill making it a felony to perform an abortion thereby making it virtually impossible to get an abortion in the state.
Israel’s Defense Minister has resigned, accusing Netanyahu of “extremism.” And if he continues on the current path, Netanyahu’s government will become the most right wing in Israel’s history.
Now, as it is nearing noon, I need to prepare to leave, with another coffee in my future and some work for WGXC.
Tags:Annette and David Fox, Bernie Sanders, Boko Haram, Claverack, Donald Trump, Egypt Air Crash, Hillary Clinton, Hubble Telescope, Hudson, Maduro, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Megyn Kelly, Morley Safer, Netanyahu, Oklahoma Felony for abortion, Sean Maloney, The Donald, Venezuela
Posted in 2016 Election, Boko Haram, Civil Rights, Claverack, Columbia County, Gay, Gay Liberation, Hillary Clinton, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
May 16, 2016
This is one of the most enjoyable moments I have in a week, sitting at the dining room table, jazz playing in the background, the sun setting, looking across the deck to the wild woods across the creek, pulling together my thoughts as the sun slowly sets.
This morning I re-read my last online post [www.mathewtombers.com]. In the last part I wrote about Islam and the West having to come to terms with each other and as I read it I thought: whoa, Islam must come to peace with itself. IS is mostly killing other Muslims. Those numbers dwarf the numbers they have killed in Paris and Brussels and New York and London. They die by the hundreds and thousands in Iraq and Syria alone. Not to mention Yemen, which seems to be to Sunni and Shia what Spain was to Fascists and Republicans in the 1930’s.
We note with great care and deep exegesis the murders in the West and the daily drumbeat of death in Baghdad, Aleppo and Yemen is a footnote. Muslims are mostly slaughtering other Muslims.
Not unlike the way Christians slaughtered other Christians in the 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries. We had the Thirty Year War, which started as a religious war and became so much more. The Muslims seem to be having their Thirty Year War and it is much scarier because technology is so much more advanced.
And while they fight amongst themselves, some of them rage against the West, those who are Fundamentalist Muslims. They see us as abominations.
One late night here at the cottage I wondered if I was living a bit like a Roman in the 2nd or 3rd Century CE, knowing the darkness was coming and unable to prevent it so enjoying the present as much as possible.
That’s a bit melodramatic I suppose. Events are still playing out. Outcomes can be changed.
The forces at work in our lives are terrifying. We have a saber rattling Putin, who denies everything negative, and a major religion that is going through an existential crisis, manyßåå of them thinking nothing of killing as a policy.
In college, I took an Honors course on Medieval Islamic Civilization and they were civilized. Something has gone very wrong there and, hopefully, for all of us, they will sort it out.
In the meantime, the rest of the world keeps moving.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
Not being mentally healthy is a debilitating stigma many carry. As someone who has been in therapy since he was sixteen, I empathize. It is not, in many places, åstill, now, acceptable to talk about.
And it saved my life. And in the years between then and now, many members of my family have taken me aside to thank me for having broken the dam. I was the first and I was pretty loud about it too. Everyone knew. Everyone rolled their eyes at me, then they began quietly to look for their own therapists.
We are still dealing with racial issues and we are still dealing with mental stigmas. So good there is a Mental Health Awareness Month. We need all the mental health we can get.
Our politics continue to look like a sideshow. Friends who live in Japan, Australia, Europe ask me what is going on? I don’t know. Does anyone? There has been nothing like this in my lifetime and it is a bit scary.
I have been reading articles about the raucous Nevada Democratic Convention and I haven’t parsed the events quite but there was a showdown between the Bernie supporters and the Hillary supporters. Hillary won but her supporters are worried about a similar scene playing out at the national convention.
It has grown dark now. The sun has set. While it is mid-May, the temperature is going down to 34 tonight so we are not actually in real Spring yet. I had to turn up the heat tonight. I might yet light a fire.
The jazz lures me to a quiet place of introspection.
Tags:Bernie Sanders, Claverack, Donald Trump, Fundamentalist Muslims, Hillary Clinton, Hudson, IS, Isis, Jazz, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mental Health Awareness Month, New York, Obama, Putin, Red Dot, Russia, Syria, The Donald, Thirty Years War
Posted in 2016 Election, Brussels terror attack, Civil Rights, Claverack, Columbia County, Daesh, Elections, Entertainment, Greene County New York, Hillary Clinton, Hudson New York, Iran, IS, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Nazis, Paris Attacks, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Taliban, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
April 13, 2016
It has been a long day; I was up early because I am getting new appliances and the Columbia County Habitat for Humanity was coming early for my old stove. They came and went and I waited for the new appliances to arrive.
It all started with my dishwasher finally starting to give up the ghost which proceeded to all new appliances — a new stove, refrigerator, over the stove microwave and, of course, a new dishwasher.
When they arrived, the dishwasher, which started all of this, was the wrong one and so it had to go and the right one finally arrived. In the meantime, I spent the day preparing for tomorrow’s lecture on magazines for “Media & Society,” the class I teach at Columbia Greene Community College.
Term papers were due last week and I graded them over the weekend, sending three back for revisions as I was working to help them achieve their goals for “good” grades. One of the students got very upset with me for trying to help her get a better grade. She had too many other things to do.
Such is the life of a teacher. It was this way when I taught high school and it is now when I am teaching at a community college.
The good news story of the day is that a 72 year old woman, who was lost in the Arizona wilderness for nine days, was found alive after drinking pond water and eating plants. She spelled help in twigs, stones and bones and was seen. Suffering from exposure, she’s in the hospital in fair condition which is pretty good for an elderly lady who had been lost in the wilderness.
Paul Ryan has told the world to count him out. He is not, repeat NOT, going to be the Republican candidate for President if it comes to a brokered convention.
That is what Kasich is counting on; a brokered convention that will take him to heart as the only sane person in the party who could conceivably win.
The Governor of North Carolina is back pedaling on the anti-gay law he signed into law as he is, rightfully so, rocked by the backlash he has received. Hell hath no fury like corporate CEO’s who don’t agree with what you have done.
And that includes the very important banking community that has moved into North Carolina in recent years. Deutsche Bank, who was going to build a presence there, has said: no, not now, not because of this.
It was a year ago that Freddie Gray died in police custody in Baltimore and there is a feeling there that the mindset has changed. I hope so. It was one of those shocking moments in American life that leave you gasping.
What I have also learned in the last year is the passionate way people who live in that city have love for that city. My friends, Lionel and Pierre, moved there the week before the riots and are now huge boosters of the city, passionately engaged there and loving it.
David Gest died in London today. A successful producer, he married Liza Minnelli and that may be the thing for which he will be forever remembered. It was a huge affair with Elizabeth Taylor as a Maid of Honor and Michael Jackson as Best Man and in a year they were divorced with all kinds of ugly rumors abounding. He had been living in York in England for the last few years, far from the madding crowd, regretful for the cosmetic surgery he had, which did not turn out well.
Tonight, I am focussing on lighter things. It’s the mood I’m in — who wants to process that Boko Haram is manipulating children into being suicide bombers?
Yuri Milner, a Russian businessman, has joined forces with Stephen Hawking, wanting to send probes about the size of iPhones to Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to us. They need to raise ten billion dollars but it sounds interesting.
I have always been a great proponent of space exploration. “Ah, but man’s reach should exceed his grasp. Or what’s a heaven for?” Robert Browning…
Tags:Baltimore, Boko Haram, Claverack, Columbia Greene Community College, Donald Trump, Freddie Gray, IS, Kasich, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media & Society, Paul Ryan, Robert Browning, Stephen Hawking
Posted in 2016 Election, Boko Haram, Civil Rights, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Gay, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Life, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
April 6, 2016
Dusk is descending on the creek; I am watching the light fade from my dining room table while classical music plays.
And I am thinking over the day, one of seemingly endless frustrations with an email problem Apple could not seem to fix and a group of errands squeezed into a short period because of all the time Apple had consumed.
When they couldn’t fix the issue, I turned to the local computer guru, Jonathan Simon, who does not work on Macs but who solved my problem in about twenty minutes. My Apple Faith is shaken.
There was a meeting this afternoon in which one of the participants became so upset they walked out; unnerving for all. The rest of us retreated to a local restaurant, had drinks and food and attempted to continue.
In other words, a day that did not run smoothly.
Last time I wrote, the predicted snow had not fallen. The next morning it was all there and more; instead of three inches we had close to seven. Only five intrepid students made it to class. We called it early and went home.
Last night, I fell asleep reading a mystery and woke lazily into a sunny but chill day. Predictions are that tonight and tomorrow are to be two of the coldest of the season. What climate change?
“The Panama Papers” have exploded onto the world stage and the President of Iceland is no longer President, having resigned today after he was named in them. As were several of Putin’s closest friends including one who was once close but had a rift with Putin and is now dead after blunt force trauma in a DC hotel.
It seems the President of Ukraine, a chocolatier billionaire did not, as he said he would, divest himself of his holdings but transferred them to offshore companies. Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan is distraught that relatives are named with having accounts. China has tightened censorship; one can only wonder what will happen there?
These leaks create messy, messy situations while one cannot help occasionally having a moment of schadenfreude, relishing the misfortunes of others; thinking these others deserve their misfortune.
While I am typing exit polls are being held in Wisconsin. Cruz and Sanders are both hoping to take a little wind out of the frontrunners’ sails there. Hillary has not had a good history in Wisconsin, having lost it in 2008 and Trump is facing a coalition of conservative talk show hosts who are determined to bring him down, exploiting all his wonderful gaffes to the fullest.
Governor Phil Bryant of Mississippi signed into law a bill that allowed for anti-gay discrimination. As in North Carolina, he is facing a barrage of blowback. Long lamenting the lack of a Fortune 500 company in his state, he is less likely to get one now. Mississippi’s largest employers are not happy, including Toyota and Nissan and MGM Resorts.
Is the Civil War being fought again over gay rights?
As a gay man, I am astounded at the progress made in my lifetime. Gay marriage was something I thought would never happen and yet, here I am, not yet dead and it has happened. That states like Mississippi and North Carolina would attempt to turn back the clock is disheartening, if not surprising. They are setbacks, not defeats and they are not on the right side of history.
What is amazing is that the Governors of those two states are ignoring the businesses in their states; pandering instead to bigoted voters. Well, they do have to re-elected!
The soft classical music is mellow, comforting and encasing the living and dining rooms with a gentle feel. I’ve turned on the floodlights over the creek and am thinking it is close to time to curl up with my mystery and slip out of the night into the land of Nod.
Tags:Apple, Bernie Sanders, Claverack, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Jonathan Simon, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mississippi Gay Law, New York, Panama Papers, Phil Bryant, President of Iceland, President of Ukraine, Primaries, Primary in Wisconsin, Putin, schadenfreude, Ted Cruz
Posted in 2016 Election, Civil Rights, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Gay, Gay Liberation, Greene County New York, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Life, Literature, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political, Political Commentary, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
March 6, 2016
Winston Churchill used to say he was chased by the “black dog,” depression. It chased him his whole life and he ran, mostly successfully, from it his whole life. Sometimes, when the “black dog” felt particularly close, Winston would sometimes go off to Morocco and paint, drink and think and probably write. He wrote more than Dickens and Shakespeare combined.
He may well have been a manic-depressive. During the war he was followed around by his personal physician, Lord Moran, who prescribed upper and downers to manage the moods of the great man.
He was black dogged by depression and I was thinking about that last night as I rode home on the train, black dogged myself. I had gone down to the city yesterday, had a full day of appointments and when I stepped on the train last night I was exhausted and felt the old black dog nipping at my heels.
When I got home, I went to bed almost immediately and fell asleep early watching an episode of “Doc Martin,” about an English doctor only marginally more cranky than I was last night.
When the morning broke, I was my usual sunny self and, while sipping tea, worked on next week’s lectures. The day was spent on that and the Saturday chores. Young Nick was here and we did things that needed to be done, mounting a light fixture, cleaning, sorting, rearranging, bringing in wood and dealing with the trash. The things we do on Saturday.
Going down to the Dot, I welcomed Alana back from three weeks in Costa Rica and then, after an omelet and a Bloody Mary, came home to write my letter, which often is one of the most pleasurable times in the day.
Turning on the floodlights so the creek is illuminated, I sorted through the last couple of days.
The rise of Trump has been a constant cause for conversation though as I returned home, I discovered Ted Cruz had won the Kansas caucuses and he is at least as frightening to me as Trump. Both of them seem to me to be wack-a-doodles from some other dimension. This earns me no points with my conservative friends but it’s true; it’s how I feel.
Caitlin Jenner wants to be Ted Cruz’s “trans ambassador.” I am not sure he’s interested in having one.
Popular comedian Louis CK has implored his fans not to vote for Trump, likening him to Hitler. Trump, not necessarily looking to support Louis CK’s view of him, announced he would increase the use of torture if he were President.
“Downtown Abbey” ends tomorrow night. I have already seen the last episode as I subscribed to the feed through iTunes. Let’s tip a hat to Alistair Bruce, who was in charge of making sure it was historically accurate. He did a magnificent job.
A fire is burning in the stove; I’ve rearranged some lights in the house. I like the effect as I sit here at the dining room table, the creek lit in front of me, jazz playing and my thoughts running.
Four nuns and twelve others were killed in Yemen during an attack. Gunmen entered the building, handcuffed the victims and then shot them. It’s not yet clear who carried out the attack. The Pope has decried it; the nuns were members of the order founded by Mother Theresa.
Boko Haram, the scourge of Nigeria, is suffering from a food crisis. With all the people who have fled them, no is left to grow crops or herd animals and they are beginning to starve. Hungry and desperate, they are ruthlessly raiding which, I suspect, will only increase the cycle they have created.
And in my cycle, I am going to sign off for tonight. I need to be up in the morning, work on my lectures and then to church. I signed up to do coffee hour on Easter Sunday, not quite realizing that it was a major, major thing and I am now expected to come up with something quite spectacular. Cookbooks are out. Recipes are being reconnoitered.
I have a meeting about this tomorrow at 12:30. I think I may have over stretched and I will rise to the challenge.
Tags:Alistair Bruce, Boko Haram, Claverack, Cruz, depression, Dickens, Donald Trump, Downton Abbey, Easter, Hudson, Lord Moran, Louis CK, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Pope Francis, Red Dot, Shakespeare, The Black Dog, Winston Churchill
Posted in 2016 Election, Boko Haram, Civil Rights, Claverack, Columbia County, depression, Elections, Entertainment, Hudson New York, Life, Literature, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Nazis, Political Commentary, Pope Francis, Social Commentary, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
January 22, 2016
Winter Storm Jonas DC Claverack James Green Magnetic Media Jerry May Stock Markets European Refugee Crisis Alexander Litvinenko Putin Film Academy Diversity Crisis X Files
I slipped out of the city today on the 11:20 and headed north. It was chill in the city, feeling colder than the temperature. Once I reached the cottage I decided to remain in for the rest of the day. A fire is burning and jazz is playing on Pandora. I will probably turn in early, watch some video, read a book, have a rest…
The eyes of the East coast are all turned on Winter Storm Jonas, which threatens havoc to the coastal cities. Washington, DC might get as much as two feet of snow and the Mayor there is calling it potentially life threatening. And it well could be; DC is not particularly adept at dealing with severe winter weather.
Just now I looked at the weather forecast for Claverack and it looks like the storm might miss us. Precipitation forecast is only 10%. The storm will batter the coastal areas and leave us relatively unscathed. But that could, of course, change. I’ll let you know tomorrow.
Thursday I had lunch with an old boss, James Green, who is now CEO of Magnetic Media and they are doing very well, thank you. It was good and comforting to spend a couple of hours with him. He is a warm and generous soul.
Dinner was with my long time friend, Jerry May, a chance to catch up, hear about the heart valve replacement he had had last year and to cherish each other’s friendship. I am hoping his plane gets out of JFK tonight for Seattle, where he lives.
All the major financial indices were up today after a brutal week that challenged anyone faint of heart.
My well seasoned wood is burning wonderfully. The music is lovely and I am glad to be home, snuggled in the warmth of the cottage. There feels no reason to stir from here tonight.
It has been a week to recover from…
Paul’s Memorial Service took more from me than I thought it would though being there gave back to me and I am so glad to have been part of it.
The world remains a brutal place.
Dozens have drowned in attempting to flee Syria, continuing the flow toward Europe even though the seas are dangerous this time of year. In ancient days, no ships sailed during this part of the year. The dozens included more than a dozen children.
It has been ten years since Alexander Litvinenko died as a result of drinking polonium laced tea in London. Once a Russian operative he became a fierce critic of Putin. One of the things he accused Putin was that Tsar Vladimir was a pedophile.
And there are creepy, creepy photos of Putin on a stroll in 2006 calling a five year old boy over to him, pulling up his shirt and kissing his stomach. Seems really inappropriate. Litvinenko said that Putin had the films of him and underage boys destroyed when he gained power.
And it is those accusations think some that made Litvinenko a marked man. A British judge said today that “probably” Putin ordered the removal of Litvinenko. And polonium poisoning is not a pretty way to go. The poor man lingered in horrific pain for three weeks.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is embroiled in a controversy about the lack of diversity in its nominations. It’s the second year there have been no people of color in them.
The Academy says that it is going to work to broaden its membership. As it should. It is primarily male, white and the average age is 63. Less than 2% are African American and less than 2% are Latino. There are about 6,000 members.
Charlotte Rampling, an actress that was very big in the 1960s and is nominated this year decried the protests as “anti-white racism” during an interview in Paris, where she now lives. I used to really like her.
The “X Files” are returning in a six part mini-series. Looking forward to that. Hopefully better than the films.
It’s dark but not late. No snow yet. Looking forward to the morning. I’m going to believe we’ll miss the hit and I will be just fine.
Hope you are just fine too!
Tags:Alexander Litvinenko, Claverack, European Refugee Crisis, Film Academy Diversity Crisis, James Green, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Putin, Stock Markets, Winter Storm Jonas, X Files
Posted in Civil Rights, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Gay, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Syria, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
January 6, 2016
There is a pinkish tint to the sky as I head north on the train, heading home after thirteen days of being away. The sun is beginning to set and the Hudson River flows south on my left. We have just passed Bannerman’s Castle, a munitions depot that blew up long ago on a small island in the river. Its wracked remains still stands and, sometimes, in the summers it is used to create a light show.
Bruce Thiesen, who reads my letters from time to time, commented that 2016 might test my optimism and it already has.
Yesterday, the market had a nose bleed after the Chinese market plummeted. On its way to closing, it is up modestly today but hardly enough to get anyone breaking out champagne glasses.
Donald Trump has found himself used in a recruiting tape for terrorists. He shrugs his shoulders about it, indicating there is nothing he can do about it. While he is doing nothing about it, the British Parliament is getting ready to debate whether or not they will ban The Donald from Britain.
That would be interesting. I don’t think that’s ever happened before.
The Sunni Saudi Arabian kingdom executed a leading Shia cleric and government critic. The Shia of Iran rioted and burned the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran, further inflaming the Mideast.
The Iranians have announced this will not cover the crime committed by Saudi Arabia but today one of Iran’s generals condemned the attack on the Embassy.
Meanwhile, the Iranians are showing off another underground missile, likely to give conniptions to the US and some others who hoped the nuclear treaty would lessen Iranian obsessions with things military.
The US has remained silent about the executions as it needs Saudi Arabia in its fight against IS, which is mostly Sunni as are the Saudi Arabians. The Iraqi and Syrian Shia get huge abuse from IS as do any others who don’t believe as the Shia do, including Christians and others.
In Washington, President Obama has issued Executive Orders regarding gun sales while surrounded by victims of shootings, including some of the parents of children killed in Newtown.
The proposals are modest but Rand Paul has already denounced them and the NRA has called them theatrics to deflect from his failed presidency.
Anti gun advocates are gathering some big donors like former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and are working state by state to tighten gun laws.
One result of his actions will be that the gun issue is now politicized and will be sure to be a topic of debate in the 2016 elections.
Not too surprising if disheartening is that gun sales have soared since news of Obama’s actions leaked out. It is a good time to own Smith & Wesson stock I guess.
The journal Science is calling for more human computational effort in solving the world’s problems. It took only ten days for humans using a computational game to solve a protein problem associated with HIV. Let’s do more of that, say scientists. So do I.
I am now back in the cozy clutches of the cottage. Returning home, I discovered my kitchen pipes have frozen and I am working to thaw them out. Nothing, thank God, burst.
It was also forgotten by me that I left behind the detritus of my last night here. I emptied the dishwasher and reloaded it but can’t run it until the pipes thaw.
Before I left, I checked the 14 day forecast and it was all in the 40’s. That changed as it hit 4 degrees last night, the point at which the kitchen pipes freeze.
Having missed the season premiere of the last season of “Downton Abbey” I am off to catch up. It’s good to be home, more than I can tell you. Here, I feel cosseted by the comforts of my cottage and the joy it brings me.
The world outside is dangerous and it is tempting to retreat here and ignore it, I can’t.
The world exists and I must live in it. As must we all…
Tags:Amtrak, Bannerman's Castle, Bruce Theisen, Chinese Market Plunge, Donald Trump, Iran missile underground, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, NRA, Obama, Obama Executive Orders on guns, Rand Paul, Saudi Arabian Executions, Saudi Iranian tensions, Shia, Sunni, The Donald
Posted in 2016 Election, Civil Rights, Columbia County, Entertainment, Gun Violence, Hollywood, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mideast, Obama, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
August 28, 2015
It is a bucolic day here in Claverack. The temperature is in the mid-70’s and it is mostly sunny. I have spent a good part of the day on the deck. Yesterday I did my Emmy judging and today was CINE judging. I have more of that to do tomorrow because some of the links weren’t present and had to be restored.
As part of my continuing transition to life in Hudson, I went down and met with the Executive Director of the Columbia County Council for the Arts about volunteering, also meeting Dan, a member of their Board.
I’ll do something with them. I know I will need structure if I am going to be up here most of the time.
Then I meandered down to Relish, a little café across the street from the train station and had their legendary chicken salad on gluten free bread. As I returned, I needed to slow for a fawn crossing Patroon Street.
It’s been lovely to have had these two days. Down the creek, my neighbor’s dogs are playing in the creek. I can hear them splashing. It is so placid; insects are chirping and birds are trilling, the sun getting slowly lower in the sky, luscious green all around me.
I’ll go into Hudson in a while. The new hotel, Rivertown Lodge, is having a party for citizens of the city to see the renovation they did on what was a movie theater turned into a motel, now converted to a small boutique hotel. From there to the Red Dot and then home. A pleasant evening seems to be before me.
Ten years ago, Katrina was destroying New Orleans. I was watching it on CNN in New Delhi, in the Oberoi Hotel, sitting on the edge of my bed in front of the television screen and thinking this can’t really be happening. But it was.
Ten years later, New Orleans has, according to some reports, bounced back. Some parts have returned to their violent roots and parts of the black middle class has been lost, having moved to other cities and set down roots.
But that it came back at all is a miracle of sorts. There were fears in those early days that New Orleans would never recover its spirit, its verve, and all the things that had made it such a special place. I haven’t been there since Katrina but am thinking of taking the train “The City of New Orleans” or “The Crescent” down there one day and revisit a city of which I have many fond memories.
Today is also the anniversary of the death of a 14-year-old black child, Emmett Tull, allegedly killed for the brutal crime of a wolf whistle at an attractive white lady. It took a jury an hour and three minutes to acquit the two men accused of murdering him. The boy’s death did much to stir up calls for racial equality and provided an impetus for the Civil Rights movement.
Seventy years after the end of World War II, the Poles think they have found a Nazi treasure train. Rumors of its existence have persisted through the decades and now it may have been found. Wonder what it contains if it is a Nazi “treasure” train?
Politically, it has appeared to be a calm day. In the top stories, none of them were about Donald Trump! That’s a good way to end the week.
Tags:CINE, Claverack, Columbia County Council for the Arts, Donald Trump, Emmett Tull, Emmy Awards judging, Hudson, Katrina, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Nazi Treasure Train, New Orleans, Relish, Rivertown Lodge, The City of New Orleans, The Crescent
Posted in Civil Rights, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Politics, Social Commentary | Leave a Comment »
Letter from the Vineyard 
Letter From New York 05 20 2016 Thoughts from yesterday and today…
May 20, 2016It is a bit hazy as I rumble south, down the river, toward the city. I am having dinner tonight with my good friends Annette and David Fox. About once a quarter, we get together, order Indian from Indus Valley near their West End Avenue apartment and visit, over wine and an Indian dinner.
All day my mind has wandered back to the Egypt Air flight that crashed on its way from Paris to Cairo, in the Mediterranean off Crete. My phone screen was clustered with updates when I awoke this morning.
It is appearing that the plane’s crash is likely the result of terrorism though nothing can be known until the plane’s debris is studied. Why did it make wild turns just before it disappeared? What must have the passengers been experiencing? I shudder to think. It’s one thing to be there one moment and another not but what must have been in their minds as the plane made a 360 degree rotation?
Chaos erupted on the floor of the House today over a bill that would have denied contracts to Federal contractors if they discriminated against LGBT individuals. It was lost by one vote and reporters heard jeers and shouts from the House floor. Championed by Representative Sean Maloney, Democrat of New York in a district just south of me. Moments before the vote, the measure had 217 votes and House Leader McCarthy twisted Republican arms to change their vote as the presiding officer kept the vote open longer than is normal.
Ah, politics… All the remaining candidates, Trump, Sanders and Clinton hurled invectives and innuendoes today, as they do every day.
To put it kindly, Megyn Kelly and Donald Trump have been “at odds.” They had a sit down at Trump Tower and then another on Megyn Kelly’s premiere of her new interview show as she pursues becoming the next Barbara Walters. It was roundly panned and accusations flew that she played easy with her former adversary.
A week ago the legendary CBS reporter, Morley Safer, retired. A long planned special tribute to him aired on “Sixty Minutes” this past Sunday. Today, he died. He covered the world, from war to art, with panache and precision, exuding a style that is hard to find, particularly now.
The wonderful Hubble Telescope, hovering in space for twenty-five years now, has sent home spectacular views of Mars which is swinging in and will be as close as it gets to earth on Sunday, May 22nd. From these photos we have learned there were mega-tsunamis on Mars in the long ago. With luck, it will continue working at least until 2020 or, perhaps, a little longer.
This week, a Chibok girl, kidnapped two years ago by Boko Haram in Nigeria was freed. Today, another girl has been rescued, two out of two hundred. The first one has met with the Nigerian President but it may be hard for any rescued girls to be reintegrated. The first girl has a Boko Haram “husband” apparently.
In Venezuela, Maduro is cracking down as his regime seems to be cracking up. Tear gas was fired on a crowd of thousands who were demanding his recall. Chants of “food, food, food” are being heard in the streets of many cities. Hospitals are often without power or medicine. Patients are reported to lie in pools of blood.
Even his fellow leftists are beginning to think him crazy. One called Maduro “crazy like a goat.” But maybe that’s a compliment?
The train arrived in New York and then I was off to dinner and sleep. Now it is a beautiful Friday morning in the city, sunlight streaming through the blinds and shortly I’m off to Baltimore to visit friends.
Yesterday’s drumbeat continues today. Debris has been found from the Egypt Air flight. Accepting the inevitable, the Republicans are rallying behind Trump and it will make an interesting fall campaign as Trump and Clinton seemed to be disliked in comparable numbers, meaning no one likes either of them much.
Oklahoma has passed a bill making it a felony to perform an abortion thereby making it virtually impossible to get an abortion in the state.
Israel’s Defense Minister has resigned, accusing Netanyahu of “extremism.” And if he continues on the current path, Netanyahu’s government will become the most right wing in Israel’s history.
Now, as it is nearing noon, I need to prepare to leave, with another coffee in my future and some work for WGXC.
Tags:Annette and David Fox, Bernie Sanders, Boko Haram, Claverack, Donald Trump, Egypt Air Crash, Hillary Clinton, Hubble Telescope, Hudson, Maduro, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Megyn Kelly, Morley Safer, Netanyahu, Oklahoma Felony for abortion, Sean Maloney, The Donald, Venezuela
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