Posts Tagged ‘Hillary Clinton’
January 30, 2016
Hudson Valley Lionel White Pierre Font Downton Abbey iTunes Hillary Email Crisis Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Iowa Caucuses Zika Virus Putin Russian Economy Ammon Bundy
It is a beautiful day in the Hudson Valley, the sun generously warming us into the mid-forties with a high of fifty promised for tomorrow. The light glints off the creek and the wind is shaking the branches of the trees just outside the dining room window.
When I found myself cognizant this morning, I realized I was happy — for no particular reason, just caught up in a pleasant kind of joy that has remained with me during the day.
Tonight I am cooking for Lionel and Pierre and we’ll watch a movie from my collection. Having subscribed to iTunes in order to watch the program, I now am in possession of the rest of the season of “Downton Abbey” and can binge if I so choose.
Not one of my students had heard of “Downton Abbey” when I asked them.
A LOT, I suspect, is going to be heard in the next few days about the twenty-two “top secret” emails found on Hillary’s server. The question remains whether they were “top secret” when she received or sent them; there has been much classification after the fact with her emails. One of the “top secret” ones seems, according to sources, to have been a publicly published article.
Whatever the truth, it will be made much of in the days to come and it is especially inconvenient as it is only three days to the Iowa caucuses and Hillary has been losing ground to Bernie.
Suddenly, the Zika virus has become a major health threat, spreading rapidly through the Americas but nowhere more prevalent than in Recife, Brazil. An impoverished city is being made more miserable by the mosquito born virus which results in some infected mothers to give birth to children with microcephaly, with heads and brains smaller than normal.
At least five countries have advised women not to get pregnant until more is known. Some are saying Zika could be more of threat than Ebola.
A Russian plane violated Turkish airspace again. Turkey did not shoot it down but did warn of consequences.
One wonders if Putin is playing with fire because he needs diversions from the rapidly declining Russian economy? His budget has been slashed again because of the declining price of oil. The Russian budget has been built on the basis of oil at $50.00 a barrel, which it’s not.
There are reports that the average Russian citizen is beginning to get restless and are beginning to protest, particularly in towns away from Moscow. Retirees are having their pensions cut. And, after a taste of a better life, Russians may not want to suffer silently for Mother Russia.
While I sit watching the placid Claverack Creek, the European Refugee Crisis continues; 37 drowned yesterday while attempting to reach Greece.
Three dangerous inmates escaped from an Orange County, California jail and all three have been returned to custody. One turned himself in and the other two were captured in a stolen van in a Whole Foods parking lot in San Francisco after an alert woman notified police of the presence there of a van matching the description of one being used by the escapees.
While Ammon Bundy is in custody, the Oregon stand-off continues with some of his followers still at the refuge even though Bundy has told them to stand down.
The sun is beginning to set, a golden light is falling on the barren trees across the creek. It is time for me to sign off and begin to cook, distracting myself from the world’s woes.
Tags:Ammon Bundy, Bernie Sanders, Claverack, Hillary Clinton, Hudson Valley, IS, Lionel White, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Pierre Font, Putin, Russian economy, Zika
Posted in 2016 Election, Columbia County, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Social Commentarhy, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
January 12, 2016
It’s late afternoon, Tuesday the 16th, and I am in the Acela Lounge waiting for my train north. I could grab an earlier one but it is probable if I wait for the 5:47, I will see one or two friends I haven’t seen for a while.
Before opening the laptop and letting my fingers tap the keyboard, I was reading about the death of David Bowie at 69. He did not much share the news of his health and the announcement of his death did not reveal the kind of cancer which felled him nor the place where he died.
I was told not long ago that he had a place up in the Hudson Valley. The now ex-wife of my friend Paul Krich, Lorraine, was a good friend of Iman, now Bowie’s widow and she was visiting them one night when I was there for dinner. She was quiet and shy and was with their daughter. She and her daughter retired early, smilingly and charmingly.
Bowie has been prolific in the last months of his life, co-writing a play titled “Lazarus” along with a music video of the same name. Now he is dead, they can be seen as his communicating to the world his time was short.
Time is short for all of us. It’s a blip of time we inhabit this planet, no matter how old we get.
Making the most of his blip of time, media mogul Rupert Murdoch has announced his engagement to the ex-wife of Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, the former supermodel. This is her second marriage, his fourth. She is 59; he is 84. Between them they have ten children.
In Istanbul, not far from the Hagia Sofia, a sixth century Orthodox church now a museum, a young Syrian blew himself up, killing at least ten, mostly Germans, and wounding more. The Turks believe it is IS and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has decried the event.
Putin has hinted today that if Assad ever feels the need to leave Damascus, he might well find welcome in Moscow. If he made that choice, it would lessen the complications for a Syrian peace.
Humanitarian workers who have reached the town of Madaya have found “barely moving skeletons.” It is the worst they have seen in the five year Syrian wars and the image causes me to think of the photos taken of Jews as the camps were liberated from the Germans.
The political circus continues. ANOTHER Republican debate is upon us with Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina now relegated to the “undercard” debate. Rand Paul says no way and he is off to do more campaigning in person than appearing in the second tier debate. Paul could be smart or desperate. Remains to be seen…
Bernie Sanders has a lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire and has just moved slightly ahead of her in Iowa. Chelsea has been sent out to campaign.
Though it will probably offend my conservative friends, the NY Times today did a scathing piece on Ted Cruz accusing him of exploiting evangelicals and actually espousing actions that are cruel, painful, and harmful — ones that certainly aren’t very Christian.
As Solicitor General of Texas, he went to the Supreme Court to keep a man in jail who had stolen a calculator from Walmart. Because of a judicial mistake, the man got sixteen years instead of two. When the mistake was discovered, Cruz went into overdrive to keep him in jail the full sixteen. Eventually the poor man was freed after six. All over a calculator? Cruz seems petty and mean and mean spirited all the way round.
Not feeling specially mean spirited and with suspicions friends would be on the train, I went down to Penn Spirits and purchased a bottle of a nice Sauvignon Blanc and a small bottle of sake. And I got several cups.
Now the train is moving. My friends are here. Soon we will open the bottle and enjoy good spirited company. Here’s NOT to you, Mr. Cruz!
Tags:Angela Merkel, Assad, Bernie Sanders, Carly Fiorina, David Bowie, Hagia Sofia, Hillary Clinton, Hudson Valley, Jerry Hall, Lazurus, Lorraine Krich, Madaya Syria, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Music Video Lazarus, NY Times, Paul Krich, Penn Spirits, Penn Station, Putin, Rand Paul, Rupert Murdoch, Syrian War, Ted Cruz
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, Elections, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Political, Political Commentary, Social Commentary, Television | 2 Comments »
January 8, 2016
Stock market rout Jamison Teale Christ Church Hudson Roy Moore Alabama Gay Controversy Tiffany Martin Hamilton Tommy Ragland Charlie Hebdo Anniversary Oklahoma earthquakes Netflix Bill Clinton Hillary Clinton John Kerry Syrian Peace Process Iran Saudi Arabia California storms Ted Cruz Burns, Oregon
Well, I was smart enough today to not look at the market as it was another BAD day as China’s market shudders riled every other market in the world. While they were plunging, I had a pleasant day.
Answered emails, ran errands and wrote out the first draft of my syllabus for my class that starts on the 20th. It was actually kind of fun, if headache inducing.
Now it is evening and I have turned on the lights outside, classic jazz is playing and I think I will light a fire as it is going to be chill again tonight.
My Christmas tree is still up and I am not taking it down until Sunday. Having been gone for two weeks, I feel I deserve a little more time with it. It is a white artificial tree and I think this is its last year. But it has been a beautiful, for me, tree.
Jamison Teale, the Senior Warden at Christ Church [where I attend services] and his longtime companion, James, were married on New Year’s Day by Hudson’s first woman mayor in her first official function. They are coming for dinner on Saturday with the church’s Musical Director, Tom Martin, father to Mayor Tiffany Martin Hamilton of Hudson.
One of my errands today was to find them a small wedding present.
While James and Jamison married easily here in New York, the Chief Justice of Alabama’s Supreme Court, Roy Moore, has ordered that state’s probate judges not issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Federal authorities immediately ordered them to do so. Some have thrown up their arms and aren’t giving marriage licenses to anyone.
Ah, Justice Moore, this has been decided. No back pedaling allowed I think.
One probate judge, Tommy Ragland, summed it up best, saying, “We have a Chief Justice who is confused.”
One of the other errands I did today was to look for a clock radio to replace my ancient one that no longer works. You know, they are rather hard to find. Not nonexistent but hard to find. I am going online to see what I can find there.
My toaster also broke and I looked at those too and thought they all looked shoddy. More investigation needed.
It is the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Let there be a moment of silence.
The French police killed a man brandishing a meat cleaver today, who was screaming “Allahu Akbar [God is Greatest].” He was wearing a fake suicide vest. That confuses me. Why bother?
Oklahoma had a swarm of 70 earthquakes yesterday. In 2013 they had a couple of hundred. In 2014 they had over 5,000. That is an exponential increase. 2015 statistics are currently being gathered. There is a suspect: fracking.
Earlier this week Netflix was available in 60 countries. Today it is in 190 countries. 130 countries “turned on” Netflix while its President and CEO was giving a speech at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
I’ve attended a couple and they are always mind boggling. This year is not quite so much according to pundits but still generating lots of wow.
Politics continues. Bill Clinton is stumping for Hillary in Iowa. Lots of people I know would like him back but since he can’t….
Cruz is cruising in Iowa which frightens the bejesus out of me.
California is pummeled by storms and that worries me about friends there though I hope it is helping the drought.
In Burns, Oregon the unlawful occupation of a wildlife center continues. On social media people have been asking what would be happening if the occupiers were black or Muslim instead of gun totting white guys who are outraged over Federal land policy?
There are no easy answers to anything. Kerry says that the Saudi Arabia/Iran feud will not slow down the Syrian peace process but how can it not? I mean, how can it not?
I am taking solace in the cottage and in my hope that our better angels will prevail.
Tags:Alabama gay controversy, Bill Clinton, Charlie Hebdo, Christ Church, Claverack, Fracking, Hillary Clinton, Jamison Teale, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Netflix, Obama, Oklahoma earthquakes, Reed Hastings, Roy Moore, Stock market rout, Tiffany Martin Hamilton, Tom Martin, Tommy Ragland
Posted in 2016 Election, China stock market rout, Claverack, Columbia County, Earthquakes, Entertainment, Gay, Gay Liberation, Great Recession, Gun Violence, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Mideast, Obama, Paris Attacks, Paris Killings, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Television, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
December 26, 2015
Boxing Day. Shepherdstown, WV, Olde Hudson Cheese. Dena Moran. Sarah Malone. Kevin Malone. Michelle Melton. Jim Malone. Syria. Mosque fire in Texas. Corsican fire. Australian fires. NY Times Virtual Reality. World Food Program. Hope, AK. Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton.
Outside it is as grey, as it has been for the last few days. It is warm, too, near 50 degrees in Shepherdstown, WV. It will be grey all day with rain probable in the evening.
It is the 26th of December, Boxing Day in those countries once affiliated with the British Empire. Boxing Day derived its name from two traditions. One is that for servants it was the day they had off to celebrate Christmas after devoting the actual day to waiting on their “betters.” The other reason was that on the 26th of December, children would roam the streets of England collecting alms for the poor in boxes.
Often in the past I’ve had a “Boxing Day” party. When Dena Moran, proprietor of Olde Hudson Cheese in Hudson heard I was gone between Christmas and New Year’s, she frowned and said, “What, no Boxing Day party?”
But I am gone, sitting at the dining room table of my friends’ home in Shepherdstown, sipping coffee the morning after a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
My oldest friend, Sarah McCormick Malone, her husband Jim, their son Kevin and his wife Michelle, and I gathered around the dining table and have feasted. We have sipped wine and consumed appetizers and desserts and wonderful mains, crab cakes and duck.
We spent two hours opening presents around a small tree we purchased on Christmas Eve to ensure that there was Christmas spirit in the house.
Now, on Boxing Day morning we are all gathered in the kitchen, preparing for French toast and more feasting and a concert tonight.
While I’ve been coddled in the warmth of my friends and the coziness of this home, the world has been relatively quiet as I looked at the news this morning.
In Corsica and in Texas, mosques were burned on Christmas Day as antipathy against Islam grows in the West. In Hope, AK the childhood home of Bill Clinton burned in a case of suspected arson. Was he the target of the anger or his spouse, Hillary, who is leading the Democratic field for the Presidential nomination?
Disastrous fires burned over a hundred homes outside of Melbourne, Australia while tornadoes and flooding ravaged northern Alabama.
While we feasted, celebrated, opened presents, and enjoyed the coziness of this house, the war waged on in Syria with a rebel leader killed on Saturday. He was anti-Assad and his death will have ramifications in the confusing cauldron of that country.
As we were prepping our Christmas duck last night, Kevin shared a VR NY Times video about refugees, taking us as visually close as we could to the lives of three young refugees, one from Ukraine, one from Syria and one from South Sudan, two boys and one girl. It was stunning and affecting and each of us experienced it felt closer to their experiences than we would have simply by reading articles.
The Ukrainian boy fled with his family as rebels advanced. When they returned, his grandfather’s body had been in the garden all winter, the school destroyed and most homes damaged. The Syrian girl lives in a refugee camp and gets up at 4 AM to work in the fields. In Syria they had toys, now they only have each other. The Sudanese boy fled with his grandmother into the swamps. His father was killed, his mother has disappeared. They fend as best they can.
VR Video made this painfully real.
When I begin teaching in January and someone asks me what to look at in media, I would suggest looking at Virtual Reality as a career opportunity. It is changing our media experiences.
We spent time after opening presents to discuss what charity we might want to support this year. High of the list was World Food Program which supports the feeding of refugees. I tended toward that organization after seeing the plight of the three children.
We have more refugees since any time since the end of World War II.
It is a great deal to think about as I wander through another day, in a warm house, surrounded by warm friends, knowing that my friends and family are safe but from all but the most normal of hazards, living without, for the most part, any fear of suicide bombers, starvation and having to live with idea of fleeing at a moment’s notice from their homes and towns.
Not like so much of the rest of the world.
Tags:Alabama tornadoes and flooding, Australian fires, Bill Clinton, Boxing Day, Dena Moran, Hillary Clinton, Hope AK, Jim Malone, Kevin Malone, Michelle Melton, Mosque fire in Texas, Olde Hudson Cheese, Sarah Malone, Shepherdstown, Syria
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Politics, Social Commentary, Syrian Refugee Crisis, Television, Uncategorized | 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 21, 2015
New York City. Starbucks. Producer’s Guild of America. Lionel White. Justin Trudeau. Joe Biden. Hillary Clinton. White House Rose Garden. Paul Ryan. Freedom Caucus. Assad. Syria. Putin. Netanyahu. Holocaust denier. Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Al-Husseini. Angela Merkel. John Kerry. Pope Francis. Wikileaks. CIA Director Brennan. Back to the Future II. XNow.
It is a brilliant day in New York City; the sky is pale blue and the temperature is 74 degrees. Sitting in a Starbucks at 93rd and Broadway, sipping tea, a posse of young students has come in, most dressed in shorts.
Tomorrow morning, I am headed back to the country, an event I am looking forward to as I am sure it would be much more pleasant to be sitting on my deck writing than it is in Starbucks.
But this is where I am, reasonably happy and enjoying my tea. Tonight there is a meeting of the Doc Committee for the Producer’s Guild and I’m going to that, then coming home, catching some sleep.
My friend Lionel is coming up to direct some winterizing tasks at his house across the street and we’ll share dinners together tomorrow and Friday, before he returns to Baltimore on Saturday.
Since I last wrote, Justin Trudeau is the Prime Minister elect of Canada, sweeping into office more seats in Parliament than anyone expected.
Joe Biden announced from the White House Rose Garden he was NOT running for President. Hillary must be doing the “happy dance” wherever she is.
Paul Ryan is considering running for Speaker of the House but only on his terms, pretty much telling the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus he will be Speaker on his terms or he won’t be Speaker at all.
Unbelievably, the Freedom Caucus thinks Paul Ryan is too liberal.
President Assad of Syria snuck into Russia for a quick set of meetings with Putin and his colleagues. The visit likely gives confidence to Assad and bolsters Russia’s play to be a power broker in the future of Syria.
“Bibi” Netanyahu has drawn broad criticism from most quarters for his declaration that it was a Palestinian, al-Husseini, the then Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who convinced Adolf Hitler to exterminate the Jews. Before that, according to “Bibi,” Hitler only intended to ship them out.
Most historians agree that Netanyahu’s remarks were historically inaccurate.
Some have been calling him a “holocaust denier.” Mr. Netanyahu has a habit; it seems, of unfortunate remarks. This one is a doozy.
As he left to meet Angela Merkel and John Kerry in Berlin, Netanyahu’s office was issuing clarifications.
Speaking of clarifications, the Vatican was stoutly denying that Pope Francis has a brain tumor. The rumor was called “seriously irresponsible.”
In not good news for CIA Director Brennan, Wikileaks has begun to release his private emails. Shades of Edward Snowden.
Today, if you haven’t noticed somewhere else, is the 30th Anniversary of “Back to the Future II.” No we don’t have hoverboards but we do have contraptions that electrically scoot down the street on wheels, the XNow. My friend Winn arrived on one for lunch.
It glows blue when it is powered. Several fascinated people came over to chat with him about it. He offered me a chance to ride it but I declined. My sense of balance is not that good.
Some critics think “Future II” is the best blockbuster ever. I remember it as very, very good but am not sure it is the best ever.
But it’s pretty darn good. Darn good too is the afternoon and before it thoroughly evaporates, I am headed out of Starbucks for a walk in the waning afternoon.
Tags:Assad, Back to the Future II, CIA Director Brennan, Freedom Caucus, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Lionel White, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Netanyahu, New York City, Paul Ryan, Pope Francis, Producer's Guild of America, Putin, Starbucks, Syria, Wilileaks, XNow
Posted in Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Politics, Pope Francis, Social Commentary, Television | 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 15, 2015
Columbia County. P.D. James. Obama. Afghanistan. Alexander the Great. Pluto. Tom Swift. Tom Swift and His Atomic Blaster. Hardy Boys. Lamar Odom. Khloe Kardashian. The Kardashians. Love Ranch. Star Trek. Hillary Clinton. Democratic debate. UN Security Council.
The sun setting in the west is crowning the trees on the far bank of the creek with a golden glow; the mirror still creek is golden, too, with the same light. It was a brilliant fall day in Columbia County, the air crisp and bright with a sky of soft blue across which scudded a few billowy clouds.
While observing this sun kissed fall chill day, I struggled with faulty Internet access, a recalcitrant printer and a scrum of personal paperwork that worked my nerves. In frustration, I left and went for lunch at Relish, running into Jeremiah Rusconi, between house restoration errands as he labors on a huge project across the river, in Athens.
Returning home, my stomach went tetchy and I decided it best to stay close to home, spending the afternoon continuing with the paper scrum.
Now as the day ends, I began to feel reflective, attempting to light a fire [not going well] in the Franklin stove while listening to music from the 1940’s and early ‘50’s.
In the future, I see a continuation of my reading of a P.D. James mystery while eschewing food for the rest of the evening.
Evenings like these are pleasing to me, giving me time to think, sort the world, at least in my own mind, and to enjoy the particular solitary life I lead.
While I was driving into town for lunch, I heard the confirmation of what was expected this morning – Obama will keep troops in Afghanistan for at least another year. Alexander the Great, the British, the Russians, all came to a nasty place in Afghanistan and I hope we don’t either.
While things on this planet are fairly grim, scientists are excited by the unexpected variety Pluto has to offer. It has an atmosphere. It has mountains. It is not what we expected. Information from the planetary flyby continues to come in and each new drip of information is a bit stunning. That excites me.
I was always a science fiction fan. Instead of the Hardy Boys, I read Tom Swift. One of my favorites was “Tom Swift and His Atomic Blaster.” A devotee of “Star Trek,” I hope we will continue our exploration of space. It does feel like the next frontier.
Also, while I was driving there was a radio report on Lamar Odom’s condition. The basketball and reality television star, not quite divorced from Khloe Kardashian, apparently ingested alcohol, cocaine and herbal sexual stimulants during a stay at a legal brothel, Love Ranch, in Nevada. He paid $75,000 for his stay and may also pay with his life.
Khloe is with him. He has been intubated. Not a good sign…
I have never understood the titanic appeal of the Kardashians. Boggles my mind.
While I didn’t watch the Democratic Debate on CNN, Hillary apparently, according to the pundits, is the winner while Bernie Sanders scored some points.
The United Nations has five new members on the Security Council, its most important body. They include Japan, Uruguay, Ukraine, Egypt and Senegal. It will be very interesting to watch. Ukraine is not exactly friendly with Russia, a permanent member of the Council and Egypt, usually a U.S. ally, has been playing footsie with the Russians.
We all thought this was going to be simpler when the Iron Curtain fell. Wrong.
For me, the sun has set and the golden light on the trees outside my window is from the spotlights I have installed. The mournful sound of jazz comes out of Pandora and my fire has almost come to fruition.
Tomorrow, I will continue the scrum with paperwork. But that is tomorrow.
Enjoy tonight.
Tags:Afghanistan, Columbia County, Hardy Boys, Hillary Clinton, Kardashians, Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom, Love Ranch, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Obama, P.D. James, Pluto, Star Trek, Tikrit, Tom Swift, UN Security Council
Posted in Columbia County, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Social Commentary | Leave a Comment »
October 4, 2015
Flooding in Cannes. MIPCOM. SNL. Doctors Without Borders. Indianapolis. Making Christianity relevant. Lilly Endowment.
Not much more than an hour ago, I arrived in Indianapolis for the Lilly Website Consultation. It is designed to help various Lilly Grantees to be more aware of trends happening out there on the wild internet, in an effort them to help him use technology to spread the Christian word.
My client, Odyssey, is one of the grant recipients and so they have asked me to be here along with their CEO, Nick Stuart, who over the last seven years has become a best friend.
There is not much time in the schedule to do much so I am working to get out a brief letter before I need to go to the first of the conference events.
There has been massive flooding in south of France; two months worth of rain fell in a single night. Sixteen people perished and the beautiful city on the sea is a mess. It is also the opening of MIPCOM, the huge fall television market. Opening ceremonies have been cancelled, not out of respect for the dead but because it is logistically impossible.
Saturday Night Live had its 41st season opener last night with Miley Cyrus and Hillary Clinton. Didn’t see it but the reviews were pretty good.
It was damp and chill when I left New York City this morning. Here in Indianapolis, the sun is bright and cheery and the war in Syria seems a long way away, which it is physically but it shouldn’t be emotionally distant. I stop, quickly, and say a prayer for everyone in Syria.
Russian airstrikes are increasing in intensity and in the amount of chaos they are sowing in that ravaged country.
In Kunduz, Afghanistan, Doctors Without Borders, are removing themselves after 19 people were killed in an airstrike at their hospital in the town.
And so it goes…
I’m off to the first conference event, this has been fast and short.
Have good Sunday afternoons and evenings.
Tags:Christianity, Doctors Without Borders, Flooding in Cannes, Hillary Clinton, Kunduz, Lilly Endowment, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Miley Cyrus, MIPCOM, Odyssey, SNL
Posted in Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Russia, Social Commentary, Syria | Leave a 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 30 16 Uncommonly happy…
January 30, 2016Hudson Valley Lionel White Pierre Font Downton Abbey iTunes Hillary Email Crisis Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Iowa Caucuses Zika Virus Putin Russian Economy Ammon Bundy
It is a beautiful day in the Hudson Valley, the sun generously warming us into the mid-forties with a high of fifty promised for tomorrow. The light glints off the creek and the wind is shaking the branches of the trees just outside the dining room window.
When I found myself cognizant this morning, I realized I was happy — for no particular reason, just caught up in a pleasant kind of joy that has remained with me during the day.
Tonight I am cooking for Lionel and Pierre and we’ll watch a movie from my collection. Having subscribed to iTunes in order to watch the program, I now am in possession of the rest of the season of “Downton Abbey” and can binge if I so choose.
Not one of my students had heard of “Downton Abbey” when I asked them.
A LOT, I suspect, is going to be heard in the next few days about the twenty-two “top secret” emails found on Hillary’s server. The question remains whether they were “top secret” when she received or sent them; there has been much classification after the fact with her emails. One of the “top secret” ones seems, according to sources, to have been a publicly published article.
Whatever the truth, it will be made much of in the days to come and it is especially inconvenient as it is only three days to the Iowa caucuses and Hillary has been losing ground to Bernie.
Suddenly, the Zika virus has become a major health threat, spreading rapidly through the Americas but nowhere more prevalent than in Recife, Brazil. An impoverished city is being made more miserable by the mosquito born virus which results in some infected mothers to give birth to children with microcephaly, with heads and brains smaller than normal.
At least five countries have advised women not to get pregnant until more is known. Some are saying Zika could be more of threat than Ebola.
A Russian plane violated Turkish airspace again. Turkey did not shoot it down but did warn of consequences.
One wonders if Putin is playing with fire because he needs diversions from the rapidly declining Russian economy? His budget has been slashed again because of the declining price of oil. The Russian budget has been built on the basis of oil at $50.00 a barrel, which it’s not.
There are reports that the average Russian citizen is beginning to get restless and are beginning to protest, particularly in towns away from Moscow. Retirees are having their pensions cut. And, after a taste of a better life, Russians may not want to suffer silently for Mother Russia.
While I sit watching the placid Claverack Creek, the European Refugee Crisis continues; 37 drowned yesterday while attempting to reach Greece.
Three dangerous inmates escaped from an Orange County, California jail and all three have been returned to custody. One turned himself in and the other two were captured in a stolen van in a Whole Foods parking lot in San Francisco after an alert woman notified police of the presence there of a van matching the description of one being used by the escapees.
While Ammon Bundy is in custody, the Oregon stand-off continues with some of his followers still at the refuge even though Bundy has told them to stand down.
The sun is beginning to set, a golden light is falling on the barren trees across the creek. It is time for me to sign off and begin to cook, distracting myself from the world’s woes.
Tags:Ammon Bundy, Bernie Sanders, Claverack, Hillary Clinton, Hudson Valley, IS, Lionel White, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Pierre Font, Putin, Russian economy, Zika
Posted in 2016 Election, Columbia County, Entertainment, European Refugee Crisis, Hollywood, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Political Commentary, Social Commentarhy, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »