The Writer's Life 12/1 - Winners & Losers

While clownish world leaders gather in Paris to try to redistribute wealth while pretending to combat climate change, which they laughably link to terrorism, there is great news on the political front in NYC. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, 71, has been found guilty on all counts in his trial on charges of corruption. The Manhattan Democrat has been in office 40 years, the last 21 as Speaker. Term Limits, anyone? May he spend the rest of his life in prison. Next up -- Republican Dean Skelos and his son. And let's hope the net extends to the proverbial "third man in the room," Governor Cuomo. Kudos to Preet Bharara, the U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY. Will he run for NYC mayor, as Rudy Giuliani did on the strength of his success in the same position?

One of the reasons the U.S. is not bombing ISIS's oil fields is the fear of environmental damage. Somehow leaders view the massive revenue the terrorist organization is taking in as the lesser of two evils.

Here are a couple of surprising facts: 41% of Cyber Monday sales were done via Iphones. Amazon averaged an astonishing 500 sales per second. Everyone should be thankful the internet was transferred from clueless government hacks to savvy entrepreneurs.

NFL: I’m pleased Bill Belichick will not get an undefeated season. Although the Patriots are still clearly the favorite in the AFC, they are facing every team’s most daunting opponent -- injuries… The Redskins are improving in large part due to the stabilization at QB Kirk Cousins has given them. The controversy over whether he instead of RGIII should start has been silenced, at least for now. Although they are by no means a good team, they managed to beat the Giants when the Bad Eli showed up in D.C…I’m surprised Chip Kelly of the Eagles and Jeff Fisher of the Rams haven’t been fired. Those teams were supposed to be contenders and are instead going in reverse… The Colts are 4-0 with Matt Hasselbeck, 41, at QB. Are teammates hoping Andrew Luck doesn’t recover?… It’s official -- the Packers are over-rated… Atlanta QB Matt Ryan’s star has fallen. His play has been mediocre at best... Great win for the Jets at home vs. the putrid Dolphins. Anyone care to hazard a guess as to how they will fare vs. the Giants? The only outcome that would surprise me is a Giants blow-out win. Then again, the good Eli may show up.

The floating book shop was rained-out today. I filled time by redeeming recyclables, writing out the Christmas cards, which I won't mail until the 15th; and doing the extremely hard crossword from Saturday's NY Post. I had to consult the internet to complete more than half of it. It has become harder even that the Time's Friday crossword.

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/