Vinny Testa-calli is Back And More Sports Outrages

I had two very strong Kevin sports moments this morning The first was when I heard that the Jets had re-signed Vinny Testaverde after Chad Pennington, who took the job from him in the first place, recieved a season-ending injury in Sunday's game. Kevin always called him Vinny Testi-calli - which he thought it very funny for some reason.

It reminded me of other sports nicknames he had for players - Darryl Strawberry was always Darryl Dingleberry (he HATED the Mets and just chose to ignore Strawberry's years as a Yankee); Lindsey Davenport was simply The Beast - even after she blossomed.

That thought process was interrupted abruptly by the news of the Yankee pitching debacle that was last night's game. With the follow up that the division winner would be decided after the three-game series between the Yanks and the BoSox this weekend.

I pictured Kevin so clearly - he would have been upset at last night's game. He would be more upset about the prospect of the season being decided this weekend. He'd hold each Yankee personally responsible for torturing him. He would have been impossible to live with this weekend and there'd be no talking to him during the games. For the first time, I actually had the thought -- for a nanosecond - that it was good he wasn't here to witness it. And of course I felt immediately guilty but I have this very strange feeling he'd be the first to agree with me. Miss you Kevbo.

Sometimes I Forget to Breathe

An amazing article in today's NYT Magazine. And believe me, I know what I'm talking about here. I think Didion is a great writer.

Women in Charge

Coming across this article - one I'm sure I wouldn't have seen otherwise - is only one of the reasons I love my new job.

Who Will Listen?

Please note that I started taking about taxes and Katrina WAY before anyone else was (see Sept. 11 post). I don't usually pat myself on the back this way (okay, that may not be true) but I feel this so strongly I can't help myself. Lo and behold, there is a politician - albiet one who's no longer in office - that has the courage to tell the truth. Bill Clinton - impeached for lying about a blow job - who da thunk it?

My family would call it my 'doom & gloom' outlook - and I have been know to hyperbolize - but anti-tax fever will ruin this country if we don't get it in check. The failure of Katrina response lies almost entirely in the fact that paying taxes is viewed as government theft, the rich continue to get tax cuts and corporations receive billion in tax breaks while services for those most in need are cut to the bone or eliminated outright. And it trickles down from the top levels of government to every local municipality in this country.

While the leadership vacuum is a close second, it pales in comparison to our collective view of paying taxes. Imagine a country where the amount of taxes you pay measured your patriotism - we could finally get rid of all those annoying ribbon decals on the backs of gaz-guzzling SUVs.

And to hear the politicians talk about paying for Katrina by cutting spending makes me laugh. Their pet projects won't be cut - road construction, levee maintenance, hospital power generators -- those are the projects that won't get funded. Don't take my word for at - just ask the people of New Orleans.

Kevin's Birthday

Last week was sort of a lost week - Kevin should have turned 46 last Wednesday. For some reason that reality hit me harder than the one-year anniversary marker. I'm in almost a perpetual bewilderment that this has happened - no more Kevin, no more Kevin and Ellen, no more life as I knew it. It's overwhelming at times, specially on weekends. But doing the best I can.

Too Much Time on His Hands I Guess

As if there wasn't enough wrong in the world, one German inventor thinks dead cats are the answer to the rising cost of fuel. Another to add to the "what in gawd's name will they think of next?" file.

As always it makes me wonder what possessed him to add dead cats to the mix in the first place. And if he could figure this out, why not instead find a cure for cancer? or at the very least the common cold.

Who's To Blame? Get in Line.

In today's papers, I finally got to read what I've been saying to anyone who will listen since the Gulf Coast disaster became apparent. While many should be held accountable, one thing is primarily to blame: our citizen's aversion to paying taxes. (The whole leadership void is a close second but more on that another time.) And while we should be angy at what happened down South, I hope some of that anger is directed inward. Because we have seen the enemy, and it is us.

Just so I have this straight: levees that have been in need of repair for years failed; a region's poorest and oldest suffer the brunt of the storm and levee flooding. Hmmm - why must we always be surprised by things that a few have been warning us about for years?

The fact is that for decades, government spending on infrastructure and other services has steadily and markedly declined.

Now don't get me wrong. I curse the IRS and hate April 15 as much as the next person. But what I also do is reconcile the fact that my taxes are collected to enable services that are desperately needed and the government SHOULD provide. But when it comes to government, our culture - and our entire political system - is geared toward cutting not growing; reducing not expanding; saving not investing. For decades, the label of "tax and spend" usually means the death knell of a candidacy.
But the fact is taxes are essential for democracy to work. And too few candidates are willing to be honest with voters - likely because the few who vote don't want honesty. (Walter Mondale's expirement in 1984 proved that conclusively.)

Most people only hear what they want to hear. And now we have the president we have as a consequence of that. In almost every community across the United States, local journalists could point out dozens of services that no longer exist, roadway projects that languish, bond referendums that fail or infrastructure projects that are shelved year after year. Due almost always to a fear and loathing of raising taxes to pay for them. But the shamefulness is there is no escape - someone always pays the price. We should be focusing our energies on making sure those who can most afford to pay start paying -- and ease the burden on those who can least afford it.

But the anti-tax advocates are already at it. Scores of articles show that no one is willing to admit this basic fact: government can't provide services if it's not funded properly.

So I guess, in a way, we're all to blame for what happened in the Gulf Coast since we all in some way loath paying taxes. Nevertheless, let the finger pointing begin. That way we don't have to deal with reality. Or better yet, make sure that Bush II's federal tax refund doesn't become codified. And if it does, send it back. Who knows -- the life you save may be your own one day.

Bush Appoints Head Cheerleader

We are about to enter a spin cycle of epic proportions. I'm talking "mass hysteria, cats and dogs living together"-type proportion from the Bush II regime, led by head cheerleader Karen Hughes. And no, that's not sexist. It's what her new job is - honest to god.

Read the transcript of today's press conference. It makes me sick to think of the number of references he makes to terrorism (please read: you should be thanking me for protecting you from THAT) as dead bodies remain on streets and in buildings throughout the Gulf Coast of America. Will people wake up to the manipulation? Remains to be seen.

Update: One man's myth is another man's reality

What if?

I think Colin Powell should run for president.
How refreshing it would be to actually have someone intelligent occupy the White House.

Summer Endings

Having spent last week on the beach in North Carolina, I realized yesterday that I hadn't blogged since I left New York. Much has happened but I didn't feel compelled to blog about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Watching the events unfold was enough. And without a doubt there was enough outrage to go around.

So I've been waiting for the next outrage and lo and behold I find this article about angioplasty and clot busting drugs. I've been avoiding getting all the information I can about Kevin's death - this has spurred me to stop lollygagging, as Kevin would say.