Posts Tagged ‘Donald Trump’
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 »
December 23, 2015
It is relatively early in the morning and I am on the train, heading to New York City, where I will board a train to DC where I will board a train to Martinsburg, WV where I will be picked up by my friends Sarah and Jim Malone for the Holidays in Shepherdstown.
As I move south, rushing now between Rhinecliff and Poughkeepsie, the fog is so dense, it is impossible to see the Hudson River to my right. It provides an eerie atmosphere to the morning, so warm that a light jacket is all one needs. It is supposed to be seventy in Claverack on Christmas Eve.
Yesterday, I celebrated Christmas twice. Once with young Nick, his partner Beth, and their three year old daughter, Alicia. It gave me great smiles and bright eyes to see a three year old devour Christmas. Earlier I gave her a “communicator” that allows her to talk with Santa Claus each day from December 1 to Christmas. Nick and Beth tell me she is having a blast.
Then I cooked “Christmas” dinner for Lionel, Pierre and myself, mushroom soup, salad, a roast pork loin, mashed sweet potatoes and asparagus with a butter garlic sauce. We had no room for dessert.
All day yesterday, I pretty much ignored the world, living in the solitude of the cottage, listening to Christmas carols and prepping for dinner. The exception was at the gym, on the treadmill where I listened to the sad story of the young woman accused in the car rampage in Las Vegas. A troubled youth who turned her life around and then…Las Vegas. People are attempting to understand.
Then there was a long exegesis of the Middle East with Wolf Blitzer, the CNN perennial, and a Congressman and retired General, that left me feeling depressed.
The Congressman predicted that we will be engaged there for decades and the retired General opined our efforts are inadequate. The Congressman wants more bombing, forget the civilians. They are the necessary sacrifices to move the needle. It underscored for me that “W” let the genie out of the bottle and he’s never going back in.
The Afghans have the best army they have had in years but corruption in Kabul is keeping them from getting bullets.
The Iraqis are fighting to retake Ramadi and have sent more troops in to help in the effort to hand IS its biggest defeat in two years.
The Donald keeps marching forward in the polls, up to 39% at this point, twice Ted Cruz’s standing and, according to recent polls, the Republicans are beginning to accept that Trump will be their standard bearer. What? Is this really happening? Can’t I change the channel?
I lightened my mood a bit by reading the wild adventures of Madame Claude, arguably the most famous brothel owner in Paris’ history. Her clients included most of the great names of the ’60’s and ’70’s. She died in France at the venerable age of 92.
The fog is still thick as we begin the last leg into New York, having just pulled out of Croton Harmon. There are forty minutes left before we hit the city. At noon I will board an Acela for the next leg.
Behind me there is a woman who has been on the phone now, non-stop, for well over an hour. Occasionally when she needs to do something, she puts her caller on speakerphone. I didn’t realize anyone talks on the phone that way anymore just like I can’t believe the Republican Party is thinking Trump is the hope for 2016.
Tags:Afghanistan, Christmas, CNN, Donald Trump, Irag, IS, Kabul, Las Vegas Car Rampage, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Polls, Ramadi, The Donald, Wolf Blitzer
Posted in 2016 Election, Afghanistan, Claverack, Columbia County, Elections, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
December 21, 2015
It is Monday morning and Christmas is four days away. It is noon and I am sitting at the dining room table looking out at a grey world. Across the creek, barren trees are swaying in the gusting wind.
My friends, Lionel and Pierre, arrived at their home across the street late last night and we had breakfast together this morning, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast while carols played in the background.
While we breakfasted news came flashing across our devices that some dozens had been injured and one killed in Las Vegas when a woman plowed her car into a crowd on the sidewalk outside the Paris Hotel and Casino. With a toddler at her side the woman repeatedly plowed into the crowd.
The police said it appeared intentional but not an act of terrorism. The three year old with her was not harmed and the woman was taken into custody after doing her damage and then leaving the scene, parking some blocks away.
The 1996 Oldsmobile had Oregon plates and the woman had reportedly recently moved to Nevada.
How? Why?
Lindsey Graham has suspended his presidential campaign. Not so long ago he complained that he couldn’t believe that Trump had so outdistanced him in the polls. Obama has stated that Trump is “exploiting” anger and fear among working class men to propel his candidacy. Yes, I think that’s true.
Also true is that Blatter and Platini, the two most powerful men in world soccer, have been banned from the sport for eight years for ethics violations.
Near Bagram, Afghanistan, six NATO soldiers including some Americans, have been killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who plowed his motorcycle into a NATO/Afghan foot patrol.
Donald Trump sold the Miss Universe Pageant. It was held in Las Vegas last night not far from where the car rampage occurred. In a ghastly gaffe, Steve Harvey, the host, announced Miss Columbia was the winner when it was actually Miss Philippines. Miss Columbia was first runner-up.
You can imagine what the Twitterverse was like! Lots of jokes about where was Trump when you needed him?
In other entertainment news, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has broken all box office records for a weekend opening, topping “Jurassic World.” 538 million dollars worldwide. The Force has opened our pocketbooks.
Space X, Elon Musk’s space company, is launching from Cape Canaveral a payload of 11 satellites for Orbcomm, a communications company. All eyes will be on what happens after the launch, to see if the rocket can land safely on land. It would be the first time a rocket carrying an orbital payload will have done that.
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, successfully launched and landed a test rocket last month.
Space is becoming the last frontier for billionaires, out to make even greater fortunes by making space more accessible.
It reminds me a bit of the 19th century’s railroad millionaires, battling it out to conquer the continent with their rail lines.
Shortly, Lionel and I are going grocery shopping for dinner, having our friend Matthew Morse over. I have a few more packages to bag and need to start packing for my Christmas trip. It is a funny sort of day for a funny sort of beginning to winter. It will be in the 50’s this week in the Hudson Valley.
It will be a white Christmas only in our minds.
Tags:Afghanistan, Bagram, Christmas, Donald Trump, Las Vegas Car Rampage, Lindsey Graham, Lionel White, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Miss Columbia, MIss Phillippines, Miss Universe, Paris Hotel, Pierre Font, Steve Harvey
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Television, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
December 8, 2015
Big Daddy’s Diner. Manhattan. White Wine Problems. Tibor Rubin. Medal of Honor. George W Bush. Jan Hummel. Donald Trump. The Donald. Michelle Fiore. Nevada Assemblywoman. Venezuela. Maduro. Chavez. U2. Angels of Death. Paris. Bataclan. Stephen Ambrose. New History of World War II. Kindle.
As I am sitting down to write tonight, I am in a booth at Big Daddy’s Diner on 91st and Broadway in Manhattan. Why? Remy, who cleans the apartment in New York, is cleaning and I made an escape. I went to Starbucks where, not surprisingly, there wasn’t a single seat so I came to Big Daddy’s thinking I could use their WiFi. It’s not working so I am perusing the Internet with my phone connection and I am running out of juice on that.
Ah well, these are very much first world problems. One of my friends calls them “white wine problems.”
It’s been a funny day, here in the city. It was grey this morning and while chill, it was above normal in temperature. As it has been for the last six weeks or something.
It seems the human race is experiencing a new neurosis: fear of climate change. There was something about it in the New York Times. If there is something to worry about the human race will turn it into a neurosis.
It is something to be concerned about but I’m not sure that being neurotic is going to help.
In the LA Times there was a heart warming story of Tibor Rubin, who passed away recently. A Hungarian Jewish survivor of the Holocaust he swore that he would join the US Army if he ever made it to America. In 1948, he did. He joined the Army and was sent to Korea where he served with distinction, no, more than distinction. He held off the Chinese for 24 hours by himself and did more.
Three times his fellow soldiers pushed for him to receive the Medal of Honor. Three times an anti-Semitic officer prevented it from moving forward. His fellow soldiers testified that their commanding officer sent Tibor on the most dangerous assignments because he wanted to kill the Jewish soldier.
He finally received the Medal of Honor in 2005, from President George W. Bush. He never spoke badly of the Army or of that officer who tried to get him killed. He remained grateful until the day he died.
My favorite Conservative, Jan Hummel, wrote an email to me that said: He’s an idiot. If there was more it didn’t get through so I emailed back: who’s the idiot?
Donald Trump. Yes, The Donald IS an idiot but he is a popular idiot and that’s frightening.
He has proposed banning the entry of ALL Muslims to the US. Everyone is outraged. Except, perhaps, Nevada Assemblywoman Michele Fiore, who takes an even more aggressive stance. She announced she was about to get on a plane to Paris and shoot them herself.
Then she qualified. She would only get on a plane to shoot Syrian terrorists. I’m not sure how she would tell which was which.
Yes, she is Republican.
In Venezuela, President Maduro has been roundly defeated in legislative elections. The opposition has swept to power in the legislature though it is still stuck with Maduro as President, which might limit their effectiveness BUT it is a huge sea change in that country. It is a repudiation of Chavez and his socialist movement.
Interestingly, Maduro has had the television stations playing old Chavez speeches and sports events rather than covering the elections but the people know and have been celebrating in the streets.
Paris, battered on many levels since the November 13th attacks, has seen Angels of Death return with U2 for a concert. Angels of Death were performing at the Bataclan Theater where most of the deaths occurred. U2 had a concert scheduled for the following night, which it postponed.
It is dark here in New York and soon I will return to the apartment and read a book. Last night I finished Stephen Ambrose’s “New History of World War II.” I have many books on my Kindle. I will choose from one of them.
Tags:Angels of Death, Bataclan, Big Daddy's Diner, Donald Trump, George W. Bush, Jan Hummel, Manhattan, Medal of Honor, Michelle Fiore, Stephen Ambrose, The Donald, Tibor Rubin, U2
Posted in 2016 Election, Entertainment, Hollywood, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Social Commentary, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
November 23, 2015
Anniversary of Kennedy’s death. Lionel White. Pierre Font. Brussels. Paris. National Registry for Muslims. Donald Trump. Marco Rubio. Jeff Cole. George Stephanopoulos. Jeb Bush. Ebola. Liberia. Earthquake in Afghanistan.
It is the 22nd of November and for some reason I remembered that today is the 52nd anniversary of the death of John F. Kennedy. When I was reading the Times this morning with my first cup of coffee, it struck me.
I was in middle school and the principal came in and whispered to the teacher, who told us and we were all sent home from our Catholic School and began a mourning that I am not sure we are over.
It was a grayish day today and on the chill side but tonight there was the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen in my time here. The sky was a lush red that filled the horizon. I attempted a photo but it didn’t do the colors justice.
Also, the deer have returned. There was a family of them scattered on the road, on my property and across the street at Lionel and Pierre’s home. Standing proudly in Lionel’s yard was a young buck, watching as his family crossed the road in front of my very slowly moving car.
While I listen to jazz and wait for Lionel to arrive for Thanksgiving week festivities, the world itself goes on its crazy way.
Brussels seems to be in a virtual lockdown and a series of raids have been held during the course of the evening. The city is on the highest level of alert, the Metro will not run tomorrow and schools are closed. People are being advised to stay home and inside.
In Paris, they are searching for a third suspect and some are saying many “red flags” for the attacks were missed.
The world has changed, again, since the Paris attacks. Trump is talking a “national registry” for Muslims. He also claims that on 9/11 “thousands” of Muslims in New Jersey cheered as the Towers fell. He claims to have seen it himself, on television. Really? George Stephanopoulos reminded him that the police say it didn’t happen. But it did, George, but it did.
The Washington Post did an evaluation of the top Republican candidates and estimated that the nominee is likely going to be Marco Rubio, which my friend Jeff Cole suggested when we had lunch six weeks ago.
Jeb Bush comes in at number 5. Number two is Donald Trump. Is this really happening? I have stopped laughing because The Donald might just pull it off and that is a really scary thought.
The Paris attacks have changed the tone of our electoral campaign and will continue to influence it as we progress toward this, to me, most bizarre of electoral cycles.
Sadly, Ebola has re-emerged in Liberia and 153 people are being watched to see how it develops in them.
There has been a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in Northeast Afghanistan, bringing even more misery to that land of misery.
Thankfully, the jazz is soothing and the fire cheery. So I end the day, curled up in the comforts of the cottage, Tempting as it might be, I am not yet retreating into blocking out the news of the day.
When I was younger, globe trotting, I felt like a citizen of the world. I still feel that way.
Tags:Brussels, Donald Trump, Earthquake in Afghanistan, Ebola, George Stephanopoulos, Jeb Bush, Jeff Cole, Kennedy Assasination, Liberia, Lionel White, Marco Rubio, National Registry for Muslims, Paris, Pierre Font
Posted in 2016 Election, 9/11, Columbia County, Earthquakes, Elections, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
October 30, 2015
Autumn. Hudson River Valley. Obama. Syria. John Kerry. Saudi Arabia. Douma. European Refugee Crisis. Halloween. Marco Rubio. GOP Debate. Donald Trump. Jeb Bush. Ben Carson. The Donald. One child policy. China. Alexander the Great. Gordian knot.
The autumn colors on the trees may have just past their peak but they are still wonderful as I ride north on Amtrak. The west bank of the Hudson is awash with shades of orange, red and some green. I am heading home for the weekend, having been in the city a bit longer this week than I had planned.
As I waited for the train to exit the tunnels so that I might have Internet again, my phone buzzed twice. First it was AP and then it was the BBC, letting me know that President Obama is sending fifty special operations troops to Syria to assist the rebels we support.
While he was announcing this, Secretary of State Kerry is in Vienna, dealing with the countries that have a stake in Syria, though Syria is not, apparently, there itself. The eyes of the world are on how Saudi Arabia and Iran will react to being the same room together. They are positioned so that they don’t have to look into each other’s eyes.
Meanwhile, on the ground in Syria, at least 40 have died in Douma, a town ten miles north of Damascus, with another hundred wounded. So far a quarter of a million people have died and ten million have fled their homes.
The resulting refugee crisis means that millions of Syrians are living in camps or attempting to go west, sometimes dying in the effort. 570,000 individuals have transited through Greece this year, making the crossing from Turkey in small boats or rubber dinghies. Yesterday 22 more died and 144 were rescued.
It is all far from here as I move north, along the Hudson River, absorbing fall colors and contemplating a quiet weekend at the cottage.
It is Halloween this weekend and I’m not sure I am going to do anything. Generally, I have gone down to the Red Dot for their annual party. Last year I dressed as a Roman Emperor. This year, I am not feeling quite so festive. I was thinking more of a martini and a movie at home.
Since last I wrote, there has been another Republican Debate. Not well wired in the city, where I was, I have had to get a feel from it from written articles. General consensus, Marco Rubio won and CNBC, the platform for the debate, lost. The debaters turned the table on the moderators, putting them in their place. Trump wasn’t as Trumpish and Jeb Bush was still Jeb Bush.
Trump is genuinely surprised to find himself trailing Ben Carson in Iowa. Perhaps the Donald will learn a bit of humility.
China has revoked the “one child” only policy though most are indicating they won’t have more than one child. It’s too expensive in time and money now. More and more couples are choosing to remain childless. China will begin to look like Japan, with an aging population. Hard to fathom…
As I finish writing my letters, I find myself pondering the state of the world, working to grasp it. I don’t always get it, usually not at all. The complexity of the politics in the Middle East are so knotted that it is probable that they may never get undone. It will take an Alexander the Great to undo this Gordian knot. He didn’t undo it; he cut through it with his sword.
Tags:Alexander the Great, Ben Carson, China, Donald Trump, European Refugee Crisis, GOP Debate, Gordian Knot, Halloween, Hudson River Valley, Jeb Bush, John Kerry, Marco Rubio, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Obama, One child policy, Saudi Arabia, Syria, The Donald
Posted in European Refugee Crisis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Social Commentary | 1 Comment »
October 26, 2015
Amtrak. James Linkin. Relish. Bacon is cancer causing. Earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Taliban. Captagon. Saudi Royal arrested. Donald Trump. Matt Lauer. A small loan. Space junk. John Boehner. Budget Deal. Paul Ryan.
I’m heading back to the city, going south on the train. My friend, James Linkin, is sitting across from me, eating his lunch from Relish, the little café across from the Hudson Train Station, where I had breakfast. Today may be the last time I will have bacon; it is now categorized as cancerous as cigarettes, which I have long since quit. And so are hot dogs! Alas and alack…
The leaves are at their peak, fabulous in their colors. The train is temporarily stopped for unknown reasons, as happens now and again.
Last week, I had a week of doing some very stupid things. I left to go to the city and realized after I had shut the door, my keys were still on the table. I had the car fob so I went on my way. Getting off the train, I left one bag on it as it pulled out of Hudson when I was returning.
Gina, the conductor, realized it and called the Hudson Station, alerting them. She sent it back on the next south bound train and I picked it up after I finished my luncheon meeting in Hudson.
Nick brought me his keys so I could let myself in. It was that kind of week. Mistakes made better by helpful people.
Last night more than two hundred died in an earthquake that rocked Afghanistan and Pakistan. Measuring 7.5, it has destroyed hundreds of homes as winter sets in. In Afghanistan, rescue will be complicated by the escalating Taliban insurgency.
A so far unnamed Saudi Royal is being held in Beirut with four of his associates, charged with attempting to smuggle two tons of Captagon out of the country on a private jet. I have never heard of Captagon. It’s a stimulant. Two tons is a LOT of stimulation.
Back in Saudi Arabia, a bomb went of at a mosque, killing three, injuring more. No one has claimed responsibility. The Saudi Royal in Lebanon has an alibi.
Donald Trump told Matt Lauer that life has not been easy for him. His dad loaned him a small amount, a million dollars, when he was starting out and he had to repay it, with interest. I mean, he said, a million dollars isn’t so much when you consider what’s he built when challenged by Matt Lauer on a million being small.
It’s the perspective, you see.
WT1190F is the title given to a piece of space junk that is going to crash into the Indian Ocean in three weeks. Scientists are very excited because they don’t know what it is. It might even be a piece of the original Apollo missions to the moon. They just don’t know but they’re going to do their best to find out before it enters the atmosphere, where most of it will burn up and the rest will rust in the Indian Ocean.
Before departing Congress, John Boehner, still Speaker of the House, is attempting to close a budget deal with the White House. Parts of it, disturbingly, include cuts to Social Security and Medicare. It does include increases for military and domestic spending. Boehner is attempting to get fractious Republicans to go along so that waters will be smoother when Paul Ryan, as it is assumed, becomes Speaker.
I am in New York now and the day is still beautiful. Hope yours is too…
Tags:A small loan, Amtrak, Bacon causing cancer, Budget Deal, Captagon, Donald Trump, Earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan, James Linkin, John Boehner, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Matt Lauer, Paul Ryan, Taliban
Posted in Earthquakes, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Politics, Social Commentary | Leave a Comment »
October 23, 2015
Shakespeare. Relish. Benghazi. Hillary Clinton. Rep. Jim Jordan. Trey Gowdy. Fox News. Jeb Bush. Donald Trump. Ben Carson. Iowa. Politics. Paul Ryan. Tea Party Republicans. Obamacare. Assault with a carrot. AIDS. Turing Pharmaceuticals. Imprimis Pharmaceuticals. China rate cut. Pakistan bombing. Kurd hostages. Nigerian mosque killings. Hurricane Patricia. The Red Dot. Lionel White.
Outside it is a brilliant, perfect fall day, demanding a warm jacket but not necessarily needing to be zipped, a clear blue sky filled with sunlight that ricochets off the golden leaves. Turning a corner this morning near a pond, my breath was taken away by beauty; sun glinting off water and multi-colored leaves, all ablaze.
My friend Lionel is up from Baltimore, tending to his house across the street from mine. We had lunch together at Relish before doing errands after having lazy coffee moments this morning while he helped get my printer back online.
I have been having a time with my electronics this past week. Ah well, everything now seems back in working shape. As Shakespeare said: alls well that ends well.
Not perhaps ending well for the Republicans, probably much to their chagrin, was the eleven-hour grilling of Hillary Clinton on Benghazi. Today’s reports have been mostly favorable to the former Secretary of State and not very kind to the Republicans on the Committee.
It never looks very good when angry white men spend eleven hours yelling at a woman, and one who maintains composure when they do not. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio looked particularly bad, followed close behind by the Chairman, Trey Gowdy. One source said all that happened was that for eleven hours Hillary Clinton managed to look presidential while the Republicans didn’t even look Congressional.
And even Fox News had to acknowledge she did a pretty good job, which must mean she must have been spectacular.
In other political news, Jeb Bush is cutting his campaign spending and concentrating on early voting states. In Iowa, Ben Carson is leading Donald Trump, partly because he is evangelical and Trump is not.
With two more Republican groups signaling their support, Paul Ryan has agreed to run to serve as the next Speaker of the House but that doesn’t mean he is making Tea Party Republicans happy. He isn’t meeting their demands. One of which, according to The NY Times, translates, once stripped of arcane language, to: shut down the government.
Ah, Washington! That’s the place where Congress just voted to gut Obamacare, a move that will likely stall in the Senate.
A 14-year-old Virginia schoolgirl is facing assault and battery charges for throwing and hitting in the forehead her teacher, with a carrot. It is the center of much back and forth on the Internet.
AIDS is a devastating disease. Many of us lost friends and relatives to it in the 1980’s and 90’s. Then came drugs that did not cure but did extend lives and allowed people to live productive lives. It has become a disease that is not curable but is treatable.
Turing Pharmaceuticals sells one of those drugs, Daraprim. Recently, it jacked the price from less than $14.00 a pill to $750.00 a pill. A San Diego firm is going to offer an alternative to Daraprim for $1.00 a pill. You go, Imprimis!
The stock market soared today as China unexpectedly cut interest rates again, the sixth time in less than a year. The European Central Bank is thinking about another cut and The Fed probably won’t raise interest rates until early 2016.
Lest we forget, fighting continues all over the Mideast. An American soldier died in a raid to rescue Kurdish hostages in Iraq. Syria is still fighting. 22 Shiites died in Pakistan in a bombing while over in Nigeria, 42 were killed at mosques by suicide bombers.
The biggest hurricane ever, Hurricane Patricia, is about to hit western Mexico, right around the resort city of Puerto Vallarta. Tens of thousands are being evacuated. Its effects will be felt all the way into Texas, where flooding is expected.
The sun is setting and I am shortly off to The Red Dot for dinner with Lionel, where we expect to meet some friends. There is a pink tinge to the sky so that harbors well for tomorrow’s weather. “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight…”
Tags:AIDS, Assault with a Carrot, Ben Carson, Benghazi, China rate cut, Donald Trump, Fox News, Hillary Clinton, Hurricane Patricia, Imprimis, Iowa caucuses, Jeb Bush, Kurdish hostages, Lionel White, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Nigerian mosque bombings, Pakistan bombing, Paul Ryan, Politics, Relish, Rep. Jim Jordan, Shakespeare, Tea Party Republicans. Obamacare., The Red Dot, Trey Gowdy, Turing Pharmaceuticals
Posted in Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Mideast, Politics, Social Commentary | Leave a Comment »
October 19, 2015
Canadian voting. Stephen Harper. Justin Trudeau. Liberal Democrat. Pierre Elliot Trudeau. George W. Bush. Jeb Bush. Donald Trump. Benghazi Committee. Trey Gowdy. Kevin McCarthy. Hillary Clinton. Howard Bloom Saves the Universe. Domestic abuse. Joe Biden.
The drive at the cottage is scattered with leaves, even though it was thoroughly cleaned forty-eight hours ago. THE BATTLE OF THE LEAVES has begun. Sweeping out the drive today, I left them all behind and road the rails down to the city.
It was the first really chill day of the season; it was only 21 degrees when I checked the weather app this morning. I came into the city not sure whether I would stay in the city tonight or not but now think I will.
I have to be back tomorrow evening and am not feeling like a round trip.
Stupidly, I locked myself out of my own home today. In changing jackets, I took the keys out of the one I decided not to wear and failed to put them in the pocket of the jacket I decided to wear and left them on the table by the door.
While I am typing this, Canadians are voting for Members of Parliament and the results will determine whether Stephen Harper will continue to lead Canada or whether the baton will pass to Justin Trudeau, son of the late Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, who headed Canada for a very long time.
Harper is a Conservative and Trudeau is a Liberal Democrat. The collapse of oil prices have stressed the Canadian economy and recent polls have the two running neck and neck.
I’m very fond of Canada after having spent a fair amount of time there in my college years and have watched Canadian politics with some interest. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?
The Canadian election season has gone on for an enormously long time, for Canadians. It began on August 4th.
Tomorrow will see many refugees continue their struggle to reach Western Europe. Cold weather is setting in and many of them were walking through cold rain today.
While the refugees strive to get across Europe, and Canadians decide their future, Jeb and the Donald are sniping about each other. Donald is declaring Bush was responsible for 9/11; Jeb is denying it, saying his brother kept us safe.
Some journalists are asking Jeb exactly what he means by safe? While there were no more 9/11 attacks, W. did invade Iraq and ignored Afghanistan. We have a broken Iraq and Afghanistan lingers. IS rose from the ashes of Iraq. Syria broke apart. Thousands of American soldiers have died and thousands more have been badly scarred.
I have no confidence that Trump can do the job of President but his lack of self- control has asked questions that might need to be asked of a Bush who has indicated he would bring back much of his brother’s team as advisers.
Hillary did well in the debate, according to almost everyone. But her numbers remain flat.
Republican Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina runs the Committee that is investigating Benghazi and is having trouble keeping his colleagues in line.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who has dropped out of the race to be Speaker of the House, opened his mouth and inserted his foot, giving the impression that the Committee was politically motivated.
As has Representative Richard Hanna of New York also indicated on a talk show recently.
Oh my!
Some key Democrats are suggesting it is not a good idea for Biden to enter the race; he keeps us guessing. Though rumors are swirling tonight he will run and soon.
While writing this I have been at a taping of the podcast, “Howard Bloom Saves the Universe,” where there has been a fascinating conversation about the nature of domestic abuse. Powerful.
Get it next week on iTunes.
Tags:Benghazi Committee, Canadian voting, Domestic Abuse, Donald Trump, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Howard Bloom Saves the Universe, Jeb Bush, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Kevin McCarthy, Liberal Democrats, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Stephen Harper, Trey Gowdy
Posted in 2016 Election, European Refugee Crisis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Social Commentary | 1 Comment »
October 1, 2015
Russia. Putin. Kerry. Lavrov. IS. Syria. Joaquin. Nefertiti. Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton. Joe Biden. Abraham Lincoln’s ghost.
There are so many things to think about today as the Acela glides south toward Washington, D.C. I am headed down there for a couple of “get togethers,” not really meetings.
My former partner and I are having lunch; he recently found something emotionally important to me in a drawer and is returning it to me and then I am having drinks with my dear, good friend, Rita Mullin, who recently left Discovery and is contemplating her future.
While I am contemplating a pleasant day, the world stage is filled with players doing unpleasant things.
Russia has built up its military presence in Syria and launched airstrikes. Surprising to some but not to me, they didn’t bomb IS but anti-Assad troops, some of them trained by the U.S. As early as today, Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Lavrov, will meet to discuss ways of avoiding unanticipated “encounters.”
In other words, the whole Syrian situation has become more chaotic. Putin has one military base outside of Russia. It’s in Syria and he is not going to let it go while he works to ensure he is perceived as a player on the stage of world events.
I’m afraid many more may die to help him perceive himself in that role.
Hurricane Joaquin is battering the Bahamas and is headed north, skipping Florida and probably coming ashore in the Carolinas, then working its way north. New York City is in, as the Times said, “the cone of uncertainty.” I will say a prayer Joaquin does not disrupt my Sunday flight to Indianapolis.
As I have mentioned before, I dreamed in my childhood of being an Egyptologist. That world is all atwitter, as I have also mentioned before, that there is a room behind the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen, which may well be the burial place of Nefertiti. If it is true, the place may no longer be known at King Tut’s but as Queen Nefertiti’s.
She was a more important figure than Tutankhamen, who died at 17. She co-ruled with her husband and then, suddenly, disappeared from the historical scene. Her bust sits in a room of its own in a museum in Berlin, regal and enchanting, alluring and mystifying.
While Nefertiti has enchanted across the millennia, in the moment we seem to be enchanted with “outsiders” in our political process. On the Republican side, the frontrunners are Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, none of whom have held political office.
Bernie Sanders is beginning to clip at the heels of Hillary Clinton. In the last fund raising period Sanders raised $24 million to Hillary’s $28 million. Complicating Hillary’s situation is the specter that Biden will throw his hat in the ring. Her camp is suddenly taking the possibility seriously and is working to outflank him.
Recent polls indicate he would be the most popular candidate of either the Democrats or Republicans.
Speaking of specters, my friend Joshua Warren, has released a photo that was shot during the renovation of the White House under President Truman, which shows a figure that cannot be explained. He is sure that it is the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. You can find out more, here: http://freecharm.com/WhiteHouseGhostPhoto.html
We are soon arriving in Baltimore, my ultimate destination today. Tomorrow evening we will be celebrating my Australian “brother’s” birthday at his favorite restaurant in Baltimore, where he now lives. Streaks of rain have begun to touch the windows of the train; all around me the early morning travelers seem to be largely napping, catching a few winks before arriving in DC.
The day is grey but I’m not in a grey mood. I hope you’re not either.
Tags:Abraham Lincoln's Ghost, Ben Carson, Bernie Sanders, Carly Fiorina, Donald Trump, Harry Truman, Hillary Clinton, IS, Joaquin, Kerry, Lavrov, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Nefertiti, Putin, Russia, Syria
Posted in Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Putin, Russia, Social Commentary, Syria | Leave a Comment »
Letter from the Vineyard 
Letter From New York 01 05 16 Musings as heading and reaching home….
January 6, 2016There 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 »