Posts Tagged ‘The Donald’
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 17, 2015
Red Dot. Alana Hauptman. Jerimiah Rusconi. James Ivory. “A Room with a View” “Howard’s End” “Maurice” Putin The Donald Martin Shkreli Enrique Marquez Farook Malik US and Cuba flights Star Wars May the Force be with you!
Early this morning I came down to the city and will return on the 7:15. There is a Holiday Party I should attend but will not. I want to return to the cottage and continue cleaning up from the dinner party I had last night.
Alana, who owns the Red Dot, and her partner, Patrick, were there as well as Jeremiah Rusconi, the premiere consultant for restoring homes in the Hudson Valley, and James Ivory, the directing partner of the Merchant Ivory team that brought us such films as “A Room With a View,” “Maurice” and “Howard’s End.” He lives at the end of my street and has become by way of a friend.
It was a lovely evening. Roast duck, scalloped potatoes, creamed pearl onions and peas, carrots and a salted caramel chocolate ganache for dessert.
We talked of movies and politics and local events in the warmth and coziness of the cottage. Floodlights lit up the creek and holiday lights festooned the front of the house.
Jim and I started the evening with martinis and went on to a chill white Cotes du Rhone. It was a softly warm evening of good chatter and comradeship, all united by the place where we live. I treasure nights like that at the cottage.
While we dined and sipped wine, the world was moving on…
Putin has said that The Donald is the absolute leader in the race for the Presidency. They have formed a mutual admiration society. Trump wants to get closer to Putin and Putin sees nothing wrong with that.
While I was waking up this morning to make my way into the city, Federal agents were preparing to arrest Martin Shkreli, the bad boy of pharmaceuticals. He is famous, or infamous, for upping the price of drug that had sold for $13.50 a pill to $750.00 a pill. Used to treat people with toxoplasmosis, including those with AIDS, it was a critical component of many folks drug regimen.
Apparently, according to the Feds, he was not a very good boy before that and is charged with fraud and wire transfer conspiracy. He’d been doing, according to the Feds, a number of naughty things with companies he’s been involved with and lying consistently about the financials of those companies.
I hope it’s all true.
Enrique Marquez, a friend of the San Bernardino shooters, Farook and Malik, was arrested. He legally obtained the assault weapons used and gave them to the shooters, without going, apparently, through he legal process to transfer firearms.
He converted some years ago to Islam but quite going to his mosque because some members found him “goofy.” Depending on what charges are filed, he faces some years in prison up to life imprisonment.
The US and Cuba are working out an agreement to allow up to thirty flights a day between the country. Hello, tourism!
And hello “Star Wars,” which is released tomorrow. Generally the reviews are really good and say the film harkens back to the first films, which were actually Episodes 4, 5 and 6.
1, 2 and 3 came out much later and while box office successful, were not critically acclaimed and didn’t capture the love of the audience the way the others did. The magic seems to have returned with this episode, number 7.
I am sure I will see it but not for a bit. I don’t like crowds and the crowds this weekend with be formidable. May the Force be with you!
Tags:A Room with a View, Alana Hauptman, Claverack, Enrique Marquez, Farook, Howard's End, James Ivory, Jeremiah Rusconi, Malik, Martin Shkreli, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Maurice, Putin, Red Dot, Star Wars, The Donald, US and Cuba Flights
Posted in 2016 Election, Claverack, Columbia County, Hudson New York, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Media, Russia, Social Commentary, 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 »
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 »
September 20, 2015
Today begins three weeks of travel for me. I am heading down to the city this noon to attend a party for my friends, Kris and Eric, who now live in California. They are stopping by New York on their way to Martha’s Vineyard for a week.
Monday and Tuesday I am in the city, Wednesday I leave for Provincetown to visit friends, back to the city, down to Baltimore for Lionel’s birthday, off to Indianapolis for a conference and then on to Minneapolis to visit family and friends, circling back to the city before heading home.
I am squeezing in all of this, fulfilling promises to visit, before winter hits. I do my best not to go to Minneapolis when it’s freezing.
It’s a gentle morning here, temperature in the sixties with no rain forecast either in the Hudson Valley or down in the city. It has warmed enough that I am now on the deck with my coffee and my increasingly cranky laptop. It is now three years old and beginning to feel its age. Oh well, aren’t we all?
There is a touch of fall in the morning’s air, cool with no humidity, a desire to go put on a sweater. Yesterday young Nick and I discussed the need to fill the racks near the house with seasoned firewood from the piles out by the shed. I am settling in to a comfortable fall.
Not so in Europe where refugees and migrants find themselves trapped at borders, struggling to get around them. The nights are already cool and I doubt any of them are prepared for a chill walk across Europe. The seas will be getting rougher and therefore more dangerous.
Pope Francis has arrived in Cuba and is asking for more freedom for the church. If anyone can convince the Castros to loosen their grip, it’s this man. Tuesday he arrives in New York, one of the reasons I am choosing to be gone. It will be a little bit of chaos; no it will likely be a lot of chaos. Pundits think it will be worse than when the President is in town. But the town is revving up for him.
On the west coast, Seattle is getting ready for a two day visit starting also on Tuesday by Xi Jinping, President of China, in which he will immerse himself in all things tech before heading on to visit Obama in Washington on Thursday.
Ben Carson has declared a Muslim should not be President and The Donald has had to respond, which he has done in typical The Donald style, to not having corrected a man in an audience who said the country had a problem: Muslims and the President was not an American and was a Muslim.
Staggeringly, near thirty percent of Americans still believe Obama is a Muslim. It causes me to roll my eyes and despair of the electorate.
The Greek electorate is deciding today whether to return to office Alexis Tsipras, who was elected to defy the country’s European creditors and ended capitulating to them. The Greeks are weary; this is their fifth national election in six years. Ridiculous, says one man. It will be a very tight election.
The Conservatives are running neck and neck with Tsipras and his Syriza Party. We will know by the morning, at least, who wins.
Tonight are the Emmy Awards. Since I no longer have cable, I’ll not be able to watch them. I don’t have over-the-air service either. I’m interested in seeing if Jon Hamm will FINALLY get an Award for his iconic performance as Don Draper in “Mad Men.” A couple of others interest me too, but not terribly.
Increasingly, I feel removed from media except as a distant observer. I’ve had my fun.
Now I seem to be looking for other fun, closer to home, some still media related but on the very local level. It brings a smile to my lips.
Now I must go and get ready to go to that party…
Tags:Ben Carson, Castro, Cuba, Donald Trump, Emmy Awards 2015, European Refugee Crisis, Greek Elections, Jon Hamm, Mad Men, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Obama, Pope Francis, Syriza, The Donald, Tsipras, Xi Jinping
Posted in European Refugee Crisis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Politics, Social Commentary, Syrian Refugee Crisis | 2 Comments »
September 10, 2015
It is a grey and almost cool day as I ride the train south to the city; tomorrow I am making a day trip with a client to Washington, DC. The Hudson River is almost bronze in color, with small waves rocking the boats at anchor. It is a day that feels depressing; I have worked hard to be cheery and not cranky.
Mostly I have succeeded.
Bernie Sanders is “stunned” by the fact he is pulling close to Hillary Clinton in polls in key states like Iowa. Hollywood Democrats are re-thinking their support for her; wondering if Joe Biden will cease biding his time and jump into the race. One headline today from the Washington Post suggested it might be time for Hillary to go into panic mode.
On the Republican side, Trump and Ben Carson, both outsiders, are now doing a bit of infighting, while dominating the field. Carson questioned The Donald’s faith and Trump, of course, shot back. He also took a slam at Carly Fiorina, saying something that sounded like he thought she was ugly. He responded, nah, not her face, just her persona.
It certainly is keeping things amusing if not just a little frightening.
Scientists stunned the world with the announcement of a new human ancestor, Homo Naledi, found in a dark cave in South Africa by a team that was supported, in part, by the National Geographic Society.
That estimable group has now sold the majority interest in all its media properties to 21st Century Fox, including the venerable magazine, raising nearly three quarters of a billion dollars for the society. For the first time in its history, National Geographic Magazine will be a for profit operation.
I was stunned when I heard the news. Somehow it feels wrong.
Today there was a procedural vote to disapprove the Iranian Nuclear Deal. It was blocked by a vote of 58 to 42. Obama will not have to use his veto. It was a significant win for Democrats. We will all see how it plays out over the next decade.
A mist is now hovering over the river, obscuring the west bank of the Hudson. It is barely visible and slight streaks of rain are splashed against the window next to me. It is oddly comforting to be here, sitting on the train and watching the eerie landscape slide by.
We just slipped by Bannerman’s Castle, a structure built in the 19th century as a munitions depot that has fallen into ruins. It looks like a haunted castle, sitting on a small island that hugs close to the east bank of the Hudson. Dark and threatening clouds hover over the river.
IS is offering a Norwegian citizen and a Chinese citizen “for sale” in their online magazine. The Chinese government has not responded and the Norwegians have said they won’t pay ransom. A wealthy individual could rescue them, I suppose. The amount requested is, according the Norwegians, substantial.
To assist President Assad of Syria cling to power, the Russians have sent military advisers and troops to that country, bolstering Assad and his forces at a time when they seem to be losing on all fronts. Syria has been close to Moscow since 1955 and Putin is determined not to let it slip from his side. It complicates the equation for everyone.
In a story that brought me a smile, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, is now the longest reigning British monarch, having now reigned longer than her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria. She has now been Queen since 1952 and Britain today is much different from Britain then, wildly more diverse with great gaps in wealth between the cities and the countryside. Through it all, the slow devolution of a great Empire, Elizabeth has been there, a calming presence.
How it will go with Charles on the throne is yet to be seen. But in the meantime, good on you, Ma’am…
The rain has increased. It looks like a scene from a thriller out my window. Soon I will be arriving in New York.
Have a good evening.
Tags:21st Century Fox, Amtrak, Assad, Bannerman's Castle, Ben Carson, Bernie Sanders, Chinese for sale, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Homo Naledi, Iowa, Iranian Nuclear Deal, IS, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, National Geographic Society, Norwegian for sale, Obama, Putin, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Victoria, Syria, The Donald, Washington Post
Posted in Iran, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Social Commentary | Leave a Comment »
September 8, 2015
It has been a hot and humid day in Columbia County. Waking early, I went out onto the deck to read the Times and drink my coffee before the heat of the day descended upon me.
The Pope is loosening the parameters for an annulment in the church and there was much in the paper about the refugee crisis in Europe. The markets were trending upwards before the open and succeeded in closing up.
Today was all about me. After playing host to my brother and family I felt like I needed a day to myself. After reading the paper, I went to town to collect a week’s worth of mail and to do some shopping for staples.
It is apparent we are in an election season in Columbia County. Everywhere there are signs for candidates. They have increased exponentially since I went to New York City to spend time with my brother. Lawns are littered with them.
Bill Hallenbeck, a Republican and the incumbent Mayor of Hudson, is running for reelection against Democrat Tiffany Martin Hamilton. He probably will win; the town is still deeply Republican though the drift has been slowly toward the Democrats.
I’ve never met Hallenbeck though have always thought, based on what I have read in the papers, that he seems a bit out of his depth as Mayor. Still, he has served two terms…
My friend Larry and I met for lunch at Ca’Mea and then I went with him to collect things he had bought for the new loft above the renovated barn on his property.
While we were there, eating at the bar, surrounded by folks, there was animated conversation about the refugee crisis in Europe and, of course, about The Donald. The fellows to Larry’s right were astonished that Trump is the Republican frontrunner.
As am I…
The refugee crisis is astonishing. The situation is desperate. And there is no unified response even now from the EU. They are making it up as they go.
For a moment today, I thought I should go and volunteer to help out on the island of Kos or in Hungary but I don’t think there is a mechanism for such offers for help.
The day is fading. I am on my deck, a soft wind blowing from the west, cooling me a little. Across the creek, I realize the first leaves are changing. Yellow mixes with green and I grieve for what is going and am open to what is coming.
The seasons are beginning to turn.
As they turn all over the world, the refugees in Hungary are enduring cold nights now while my air conditioning keeps me comfortable.
It will be awhile before the leaves all turn and there will be more nights when I will be able to sit at my circular picnic table, viewing the creek and enjoying the moments.
Then will come real fall and after fall will come winter and then spring and then summer and I will be observing it all from my deck.
Tags:Bill Hallenbeck, Catholic Annulments, Claverack, Columbia County, European Refugee Crisis, Hungary, Larry Divney, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Pope Francis, The Donald, Tiffany Martin Hamilton
Posted in European Refugee Crisis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Social Commentary | Leave a Comment »
August 25, 2015
It was a hot, muggy day in New York. About four this afternoon, as I was strolling back to the office after a meeting on Park Avenue South, a walk of about fifteen minutes, I determined that I would go home even though I have a meeting tomorrow in the afternoon.
It’s a gorgeous day and I want to be home, sleep in my own bed and listen to the insects buzz outside while I sit on the deck and watch the creek, lit up by floodlights beneath the deck.
The markets bounced upwards most of the day before closing another 205 points down. The China rout continues; one Chinese billionaire by the name of Wang has lost thirteen billion dollars so far. That’s a big bucket of dollars.
The outrage of the world about the destruction of the temple to Baalshamin continues. Much has been destroyed by Islamic militants in the last year, including the temple to Baalshamin as well as the two statues of Buddha destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan some years ago and treasures in Timbuktu.
Barbarians. Barbarous in the way they treat treasures and barbarous in the way they treat people.
Refugees are swarming across the world. The island of Kos in Greece is overrun and the Mediterranean is filled with boats of every size carrying souls from Africa. From Kos, thousands have made their way by hook or crook through the Balkans to the border of countries like Hungary, which is scrambling to build a fence to hold them back. The refugee problem is the worst it has been since the end of WWII.
Germany alone will be taking in 800,000 refugees this year, four times last year’s total. I don’t think we take in that many immigrants in a year and Germany is a fraction of our size. If I am remembering correctly, Germany has some eighty million people living there. They will be adding one percent to their population this year. That is a lot of assimilation.
The Baltic countries are balking about taking in even a couple of hundred refugees and anti-immigrant rallies are all over in Germany. The immigrant problem has overwhelmed Merkel’s agenda as thoroughly as Greece did.
Putin’s Russia has just sentenced Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian film director, to twenty years in a Labor Camp for plotting terrorist attacks against Russians after their annexation of the Crimea. The Russians say the bruises on his body after his arrest were from S&M sex he had before his arrest.
The chief prosecution witness against Sentsov withdrew his testimony halfway through the trial, announcing he had been tortured to get it.
Ah, the joys of Putin’s democracy…
Think of Sentsov in the months to come. He will haunt my thoughts for a while.
Megyn Kelly is flourishing despite The Donald’s tirades against her on Twitter. She has been gone on an eleven-day vacation, which may or may not have been scheduled. Her return resulted in her best ratings of the year, even though she didn’t mention Trump.
Her boss, Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of Fox News, has demanded that Trump apologize. What is an ice cube’s chance in hell?
Sex sites have taken a beating recently. Ashleymadison.com was hacked. 15,000 of their email accounts were linked to .gov or .edu addresses, causing some wonder about our government officials and our educators. Josh Duggar was a member, furthering the nation’s perception of him as the sleaziest man alive. Lawsuits are landing on their doorstep.
Today rentboy.com was raided and six present and past employees were arrested. It is alleged it was actually a site for prostitution and not for companionship. I think the allegation may prove true.
Stephen Hawking, the legendary physicist, speaking is Stockholm has said that if you fall into a black hole, don’t worry. There is a way out. You might pop out in an alternative universe. Do I find that comforting? I’m not much worried about black holes, not having encountered one in my life but, if I do, I will remember this as I am sucked in.
Tags:Ashley Madison, Baalshamin, China rout, Claverack Creek, Donald Trump, Germany, Greece, Hungarian fence, Josh Duggar, Kos, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Megyn Kelly, Merkel, Oleg Sentsov, Putin, Refugee problem, Refugees, rentboy.com, Roger Ailes, Stephen Hawking, Taliban Buddha, The Donald, Timbuktu, Wang, Way out of black holes
Posted in China stock market rout, Greek Debt Crisis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, Social Commentary | 2 Comments »
August 25, 2015
The day started peacefully, coffee on the deck, a reading of the New York Times which presaged the market fall today, with a good article about hanging on, breathing deep and not panicking. It was that kind of day. I was getting ready to go into a meeting when I had an alert from the AP that the market plunged 1000 points at the open.
With that in my mind, I walked into my meeting and did my best to push that out of my consciousness and center myself in the moment. I’m not sure anything will come of it but the local community college, Columbia Greene, is interested in me as a potential adjunct professor. Their enrollment is down but they won’t really know until the end of next week when open registration ends. They seem to be considering me for two potential positions, Public Communications and/or Intro to Journalism.
There isn’t much pay involved but I would love to go back to the classroom. We’ll see but it has been a fun thought with which to play.
So the big news of the day in the conversations around me is the Dow’s Dive, which follows a dive of similar proportions on Friday.
But that’s not the only news of the day. The Dow will go up; the Dow will go down. But the fluctuations, which do affect us, don’t last for millennia. What has lasted for millennia are the ruins of a temple of Baalshamin, until now. IS planted it with explosives and destroyed it. It may have been yesterday or a month ago but it is gone, destroyed. It was part of the ruins of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It has seen empires rise and fall, markets rise and crash and it endured. Until now.
Once I walked amongst the ruins of Ephesus and marveled at what they were and Palmyra was so much more. This week, IS beheaded the man in charge of Palmyra’s antiquities and destroyed one of its major temples.
Barbarians walk the earth again.
As I write this, I am in one of my favorite restaurants, Thai Market. It is at 107 and Amsterdam. My friend Lionel, whose New York apartment was not far from here, introduced me to it. I come, about once a week. Some of the staff knows me and it is a good place to come, eat, and write sometimes, as I am doing now.
It is the Chinese slowdown that is so roiling the markets; I thought it would be the Greeks but the market seemed to have, over the years, factored that crisis into its workings. China was not expected.
The Greeks are going through their own drama. Tsipras has resigned, triggering snap elections. Right now an anti-Euro, pro-drachma party is attempting to form a government but without much success. It will be interesting to see what happens in Greece. Tsipras, defiled by some for his U-turn on anti-austerity, is incredibly popular because he represents something “different.”
Also representing something “different” is our Donald Trump.
Howard Bloom, my writer friend, author of “The Lucifer Principle” and three other books, is doing a podcast. The second one taped tonight. I am fresh from that. At the end, we all talked about Trump and Howard posited that he is sending out all kinds of male dominance signals, which are resonating with those who need to have their male dominance plucked up.
It makes some sense.
He holds a resounding lead in the Republican polls and that makes me think Howard may be onto something. The Donald is primal if he is anything.
Three Americans and a Brit have been honored by France with the Legion of Honor for their participation in overwhelming a potential terrorist on a fast train between Amsterdam and Paris. They took him on and subdued him. It prevented a potential tragedy. No one died and no one was critically injured. Bravo!
Ukraine is unsettled even as it celebrates its independence. More trouble will come from there before the year is out.
South Korea and North Korea have reached an agreement to ratchet down their escalating crisis. North Korea has, sort of, apologized for the landmines they placed across the border, which cost two South Koreans soldiers their legs. The South Koreans have agreed to quit their loudspeaker broadcasts across the border. The countries have gone off war footing, a good thing.
And a good thing is that my friend Robert will be coming shortly to join me and we will get some food because I am now very hungry.
Tags:Baalshamin, Chinese Crash, Claverack Creek, Columbia Greene Community College, Donald Trump, Dow Jones plunge, Dow's Dive, Greek Debt Crisis, Howard Bloom, IS, Legion of Honor, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers, North Korea, Palmyra, Robert Murray, South Korea, The Donald, The Lucifer Principle, Tsipras, Ukraine, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Posted in Claverack, Columbia County, Greek Debt Crisis, Mat Tombers, Mathew Tombers | 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 »