Busy Time

I'm not in a parallel universe, just really busy, y'know, it's a busy time of year. Not to mention that the finance department at my job just went from a three-man department to two, and the other one besides me doesn't do that much. He doesn't read this blog. And we're busy getting ready for the Head Chef's annual Xmas feast, with a total of 25 guests, mostly from her side of the family, descending upon our humble home in Queens. None of them read this blog either, so I could dish the dirt on them, but they're all pretty nice I guess, and it's the holiday season, after all.

So I haven't had time to blog - other than to post the triumphant Jets photo to the right (and believe me, I was tempted to post a photo of DeSean Jackson instead.) (And OK, I can't help myself.)






Oh man!










Anyway, as El Angelo mentioned, not too much going on in the racing world this time of year anyway. There were a couple of local stories that didn't inspire me to find the time. Gary Pretlow had his hearing on consolidating the OTB's, but as far I'm concerned, that's totally beside the point. Joe Faraldo testified that there should be a third entity....created made up of a consortium of track people, horsemen, and breeders; in fact, there should be just two entities - or one, if you will - with the current OTB system put out to pasture for good, and the show run by, and to the benefit of, those who provide the content.

With NYC OTB gone (for now), NYRA and Yonkers should of course be able to create their own off track betting facilities which would supplement their business instead of cannibalizing it. It's so obvious that it becomes unthinkable in the bizarro world of Albany. Both tracks could, perhaps in partnership, open appealing facilities and install smart people like me to run them. Mine would be the coolest in the world; racing, Stella on tap, hip indie rock, and political lectures spanning the entire ideological spectrum, from progressives, to left-leaning moderates, all the way to open-minded gay and lesbian Republicans who voted for Obama.

Then there was the little flap about NYRA executives getting raises. Another so what story in my view. These guys brought the association back from the stone-cold dead, playing its hand flawlessly in executing its unlikely rally against the odds to retain the franchise. In the difficult period since then, NYRA nursed their meager cash flow, withstood repeated and unfair and ignorant attacks by politicians and the press alike, and made exactly the right threats at exactly the right times, successfully placing the onus on a clueless and ultimately acquiescent legislature which was never willing to allow it to go beyond the brink. Damn fucking straight they deserve raises.

Actually, most of us will have a little extra money in our pockets to piss away at the track come January 1. That's when the tax package that the president agreed to with the Republicans takes effect. And that 2% reduction in the social security rate means that percentage of your gross salary added to your paycheck. That's stimulus for sure, and one which I think will be more apparent to many folks than the modest one-time tax rebates we've seen in the recent past. The GOP may have accommodated their financial base by maintaining their tax cuts (while at the same time hypocritically decrying the deficit). But let's see them defend those rates for the richest 2% two years hence with the White House on the line, when the economy will be on a better track but with the deficit barely dented. I think it will prove to be a popular initiative which will reflect better on the president than on the Republicans; and a brilliant political move which will give him a potent campaign weapon in 2012.

Having subsequently repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and the Start treaty apparently headed towards ratification, the president is on a roll, and could bring a bit of a swagger into the more difficult political environment he'll face when the Republicans come to town in January.

Yeah, as I said, not too much going on in racing. Don't know if I'll be back before Xmas. Maybe I'll do my top ten albums of the year - I know you're really holding your breath for that. If not, then here's wishing you a safe, healthy, and joyously content holiday season. Peace.