vic fortezza

Bill O'Reilly's column appears in the op-ed pages of the NY Post every Friday. Today he focused on a report that detailed the charitable giving of politicians. The Obamas were generous, giving 22% of their earnings. VP Biden, on the other hand, gave only 1.46%. In 2011, Mitt Romney donated 19% of the 21 million he earned. If my math is right, that comes to about four million. The all-time miser is Al Gore, who in 1997 gave $353 on a salary of $200,000 and a trust fund worth gazillions. The Clintons were generous, despite having to pay exorbitant legal fees. One year, the supposedly evil Dick Cheney donated 77% of his earnings, almost seven million dollars. Conservative talk show host Mike Gallagher was scheduled for a colonoscopy today. I've had two. The first was a breeze, the second was not. The worst part is fasting the day before and drinking the yucky concoction that clears out the system. Anyway, the station ran a Best of show. One segment was from 2011. I don't know how I missed the story, as several friends on my email list often send items about threats to second amendment rights. On May 8th at 4:30 AM, two masked gunmen stormed into a Walgreens in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The pharmacist was also armed and fired at the assailants, who fled, leaving a revolver behind. The pharmacist was subsequently fired, a corporate decision. He is suing. There is video available at youtube and other sites. I will...

John Grisham is one of the most successful authors of all time, his books selling more than 250 million copies and translated into numerous languages. Eight of his novels have been adapted to film. I finally got around to sampling his work, reading The Appeal (2008). I didn't like it. The major problem is that one side of the case in question is egregiously guilty of wrongdoing. That robs it of the conflicts that make art interesting. It becomes a David and Goliath story, and the only drama is if the evil corporate forces will get their comeuppance or win out. Of course, there has been and likely always will be much hanky-panky by big business, but, when the wrongdoing is so clear, it's a better fit for journalistic expose`. Whether the reader likes the book or not may come down to his overall opinion of the legal profession. I view lawyers of all stripes as a necessary evil, not heroes. This novel is a cautionary tale, at the end showing the consequences of having a court partial to the interests of business, the little guy at the mercy of corporate malfeasance. Although there is nothing implausible in the plot, I believe the problem at present is that our society has become overly litigious, and I don't see anything that threatens that. Of course, there may be a maneuvering behind the scenes, as occurs in the novel. The political and legal machinations are its strengths. The prose and dialogue are solid....

Congratulations to Jamie Moyer of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who at 49 years, 150 days has become the oldest winning pitcher of a major league baseball game. The previous mark was set in 1932 by Jack Quinn of the Brooklyn Dodgers at 49/70. It was Moyer's 268th victory, which ties him with Orioles' Hall of Famer Jim Palmer for 34th place on the all-time wins list. It's doubtful that Moyer will ever be elected to the HOF, as it has taken him almost 25 seasons to amass his totals, but it is still amazing that he is able to pitch at the highest level at his age, even though MLB has been watered down by expansion. I had trouble playing softball as I approached 40. Also on the sports front: the entire starting five, two sophomores, three freshmen, of Kentucky's national champion basketball team has declared for the NBA draft, more proof of the ridiculousness of college athletics. According to an article at Yahoo, last year a record 1800 Americans living abroad renounced their citizenship. Most cite onerous tax policy. They are forced to report the income and investments of foreign husbands, as well as their own. They pay taxes in two countries. Rapacious politicians seem to forget this country came into existence because of a tax revolt. Kim Kardashian has expressed interest in becoming the mayor of Glendale, California, one-quarter of whose population is of Armenian descent. Maybe there will be a President Kardashian some day. Of course, the comment was...

Writers love irony. I was back in business in my usual nook for the first time since last Wednesday. A lot of people stopped and asked where I'd been. One wondered if there was going to be a turf war, as Svetlana/Vivian has been hawking her fat burner there during my absence. I assured her there was not. I'm not out there to fight. I'll adapt and adjust. S/L arrived about a half hour after I did and set up shop near the bus shelter and did fine. She even bought a Wayne Dyer self-help book from me. I wanted her to have it free, as she donated a bunch of non-fiction business-oriented books to me a few months ago, but she insisted on paying. I feel guilty for not having purchased her product, although I certainly don't need it. There I was, daydreaming, when a car pulled up to the bus stop. "Compatre," the driver called, exiting and opening his trunk. I've been saying hello to him since I first moved to the area in '88, although I've never learned his name. He lives on Sheepshead Bay Road, which leads to the waterfront promenade. He placed a large plastic bag and a medium sized cardboard box at the curb. "You gonna be rich," he quipped in his Latino accent. "I been looking for you for three days." I thanked him and he immediately drove away. He left a wide variety of books, both fiction and non. The first I noticed...

For the first time in a year and a half, I played golf. Cuz, my former softball teammate and playing partner since 1986, summoned me in an email. I couldn't refuse. It was time to test my hip, which gave me so much trouble in late 2010 and has been 95% better lately. The best part was catching up on news. Cuz has a sunny disposition that wins over everyone. In all the years I've known him, I remember only one time when he wasn't upbeat. I assumed he'd had a fight with his now ex-wife. He's put on a few pounds. He learned to cook in the Army and still loves it. He has graduated to full time chauffeur in his company, which means he has full medical coverage as well as a decent salary. He was let go from the Exchange about six months before I was, and really struggled to make ends meet. It's so good to see him ensconced. Lately, he's run into the likes of Debra Winger and Jodie Foster, and said both were nice to him. His son, Willie, has transferred from John Jay to Queens College. At one time it looked like he was going to try to join the FBI. He is now majoring in Physical Therapy, but his real ambition is to make the WWE wrestling organization. He is working out religiously and taking all sorts of supplements he gets a discount on through his job at a GNC. He has a...