Opinion

The biggest domestic story that occurred during my vacation was Trump having a meeting with anti-Semites Kayne West and Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago. Trump is amoral, so the meeting did not come as a shock. He will do what he believes is best for him politically. What is more upsetting is that Trump, who has shown an ability to read the mood of the Republican base, thought that meeting with two well-known anti-Semites would help his standing with the base. In other words, antisemitism has become mainstream in the Republican Party.

This past Sunday, I decided to take full advantage of the warm weather by riding by the beach. My favorite beach to ride is by Jones Beach, which has an 18.5-mile bike path. The night before, I looked at the weather and saw that there was a chance of rain, so I chose plan B: Rockaway Beach. For the first time, I decided to ride my bike there instead of putting the bike in the SUV and driving to Howard Beach. In the morning, I saw that Jones Beach cleared up but decided to proceed to Rockway Beach since it would take time to get the car ready.

The cryptocurrency exchange FTX was valued in January 2022 at $32 billion. The investors in FTX include well-respected corporations SoftBank and BlackRock. On Monday, November 5, Sam Bankman-Fried, the chief executive of FTX, the world’s third largest exchange, took to Twitter to reassure his customers that FTX is fine and the “assets are fine.”

One good thing about bicycling is that I can pass by places I infrequently see. New York City is a great place to ride. Every time I ride, I see additional bike lanes or improved bike routes. On Sunday, I rode, among other places, along the Hudson piers and Brooklyn waterfront. It is amazing to see the improvements and construction. Since the last time I was there a few months ago, there is now a new park, a playground, and a sand volleyball court with real sand. So many people were riding Citibikes. For those who grew up in New York during the lean years of the 1970s, no one in their wildest dreams could have imagined such a turnaround. Of course, there were reminders that more work must be done. I saw three dead rats on the bike path. I’d never seen that before. Nevertheless, it is important to remember the tough times of the past before we are so negative about the present.

In a prior column, I had referred to Trump as Trumpty-Dumpty and had my own version of the nursery rhyme. Not surprisingly, the Trumpians were not amused and said so in their Letters to the Editor. This past week, the New York Post, not exactly known as a supporter of Democrats or liberal causes, on the front page, referred to Trumpty-Dumpty and had their own rhyme which was similar to mine.

I read an article titled “West Hempstead Petitions For Woodfield Road Lights.” I thought I was reading one of the Jewish Nassau County papers. Instead, it was the Queens Jewish Link. In another article, Moshe Hill admitted that he is a member of the West Hempstead Republican Club. There is a third writer who also moved to West Hempstead. If this trend continues, we may have to change the name of the paper to the West Hempstead Jewish Link. There has been a lot of discussion involving Goldy Krantz concerning whether to stay in Kew Garden Hills. It would be interesting for the three writers to address the issue of why they left the community. Maybe we can learn from their circumstances how to try to keep others from leaving Kew Gardens Hills.