King, preaching to the choir, got loud applause for castigating the president for being soft on terrorism. Nobody seemed to care he was speaking of the man who rolled the dice in ordering the Navy Seals’ hit on Bin Laden in May. King allegedly “reversed” himself in praising the chief executive for the strike that took out big-time terrorists in Yemen last week.
No reversal here. King, a leading Republican spokesman, disagrees with the Democratic president on some homeland security issues. Praising him for carrying out part of that policy — hunting down terrorists before they can hit us (again) — is hardly self-contradictory.
And finally, belated condolences to the family of Woodstock’s Tobie Geertsema. An outstanding local journalist of unique talent and imagination and a role model, Tobie died on Sept. 20.
Tobie was one of those reporters who could cover anything, and do it well. Woodstockers may recall the time Tobie wrote an April fool’s spoof on the annual “Artists and Construction Workers’ Ball” at (then) Deanie’s in Woodstock. So compelling were her colorful characterizations of local figures — drawn from real life — that Deanie’s owner Deanie Elwyn called the next day to ask why nobody had told him there had been a party at his popular waterhole the night before. Tobie’s infectious laugh could be heard throughout the building.
