rickdamico's Blog

While watching the Cardinals game Sunday, I got a kick out of Tony Siragusa talking about what he was having for Thanksgiving dinner.  Lasagna and Italian soup with tiny meatballs. 

 I guess we all have our holiday traditions either tied to traditional American history or our own ethnic backgrounds or perhaps a combination of both.

 We always have turkey, mashed potatoes, peas and gravy. Sweet potatoes with brown sugar and stuffing.  But it’s in the stuffing that we throw in a little family/Italian tradition.  We make my Uncle Chick Tomberello’s Italian Sausage Stuffing.

What are you having for Thanksgiving?

Do you remember the luxury tax the Congress enacted some time ago?  The sales of luxury cars and boats were taxed a lot, either to make more money for the government or just to penalize those people with money.  Well the bottom line is people stopped buying luxury cars and boats, and the people that made them lost their jobs!  So Congress discontinued the luxury tax.

What about the radar cameras?  I noticed driving to work, everybody slows down approaching them, and the lights hardly ever go off, no one seems to be speeding! 

So what happens if no one speeds?  What happens to all that projected revenue the government was going to make?  Then who pays for the installation and operation of the radar cameras?

Bottom line?  The government never seems to take into account the behavior of people when trying to squeeze more money out of them.

Lets say I open up a donut shop, and my main product is a garlic encrusted glazed donut.  I hire three employees who are in the donut union and demand 50 cents for every donut sold.

 After a couple months in the business, I notice no one wants to buy my donuts, and I can’t afford the pay my employees.  Do I go to the government and ask for hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep me in business?  Or should I go out of business?

 I read today that GM may have to shut down by December, no money to keep going.  Why?  Well no one is buying their cars.  Should the government give them money to keep going or – should they just shut down – go out of business?

 A USA Today/Gallup poll says 47% of adults believe "providing loans and other help" to auto companies is "not very important."

 It’s not really an easy answer.  Hundreds of thousands of people put out of work.  People without jobs can’t buy things.  The economy slips another notch – a big notch.

 What do you think?

I got my flu shot today.  It was easy.  I walked into my doctor's office after work.  The nurse put the needle in my arm, and bingo I was out of there in about 5 minutes.

Get a flu shot, it easy and painless, and then we can lord it over all those who don't get a flu shot and get the flu this winter.

And really, come on, how simple is it to take a few small steps to prevent illness and maintain good health.

Are going to get a flu shot this year?

Daylight savings time is over this weekend.  Most of the country goes back to standard time, except us, of course.

 I just read an article that says when the country goes back to standard time, there are actually less heart attacks!  The theory is when we get an extra hour of sleep, it’s healthier for our health and our hearts.

 With my new schedule, I’m getting about 8 hours now.  Before it was always about 6 or 7.  I was always tired. 

 How are you doing with sleep?  Do you normally get 8 hours?  7 hours?  Or less?  Or even more than 8?

Rick

I did something very special on Friday.  I was honored to be the M.C. for the annual induction ceremony of the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame.

 The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame recognizes Arizona military veterans for significant contributions locally and nationally after serving their country during their military service.

 20 “heroes” were honored.  Over 500 people attended the luncheon ceremony. 

 Someone once told me, “You’re either here to serve people or you’re not.”  It’s as simple as that. 

 These and other veterans served their country, many of them putting their life on the line for what they believed, and continued to serve  after leaving the military to help people in their communities.

 Military people and especially veterans are special.  They do what they do, not to seek wealth or power, but just to serve.  To serve a cause.  A cause greater then themselves.

 Thank God for them, and God bless them all.

Rick

What bothers me about the financial problems on Wall Street is not the stock market.  I got out of that about a year ago, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done financially. 

What bothers me is these huge financial firms, behemoths on Wall Street, are collapsing. It’s every couple of weeks we’re hearing of another investment bank or brokerage house about to go under.  All attributed to the mortgage credit crisis.  Where financial companies were giving mortgages to people who couldn’t really qualify for them in the first place.

One has to wonder:  How greedy were these companies?  How much criminal activity was involved.  How good companies were brought down just because the financial system is so intertwined?  How much deeper does this crisis go?  And will we, the average consumer, ultimately get the shaft?

It’s after the Noon News on Labor Day, and we’re all sitting in the newsroom working on the next shows.

And I’m thinking, that as far back as I can remember, I almost always worked on every Labor Day.  Many years it was for Jerry Lewis and his kids, most of the time it was normal to work on a Monday, whatever the holiday, because as Broadcasters and Journalists we are always expected to be there.

Working on Labor Day for me always puts the day into perspective.  I’ve always been very thankful that I have a job in the career field that I dreamed about when I was a kid.  And even though this year there has been some major downsizing in many companies and industries, we here at Fox are continuing to thrive.  And I’m thankful for that and thankful that you guys are there.

Rick

WOW!   Labor day weekend is here already, where did the summer go?  Of course, our summer heat will continue until the middle or end of September, but how did Labor Day get here so quickly?

Is this really, as they say, the last blast of the summer vacation?  Or because of our goofey school schedule where all the kids are back in the classroom by now, is this just another weekend.

What are your plans?   I'm working.

We're now heading into the end of our first week of our new hour at 9 am.  It's been a whole lot of fun for me and the schedule has been wonderful!  I'm getting up at 4:30 am about 15 minutes before my alarm goes off.  (2 hours later than when I used to get up!!) And I actually watch a little bit of our morning show before I come in at about 6:15 am.

But when I get here, I feel a little bit behind the curve because, Ron, Alexis, Andrea and Cory have been on the air since 5 am, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.  So when I hit the air at 6:45 am, I talk with Beth and Bill and that gets me awake really quickly!

The new hour at 9am has been, in my opinion, really wonderful.  We have been keeping in touch with what’s going on, and doing segments that are informative, entertaining and helpful.  And apparently you like it!

Thank you for your suggestions, and for thanks for watching.  Let us know how you feel about the new hour and what you like.

Rick

I got another summons for Jury Duty and then I read E. J. Montini's column about a guy who was outraged that the jury summons asked for his nationality.  And it got me thinking, what difference does it make if I'm white or black or Italian or Russian.  What impact does that have on being a good juror? 

Anyone know what they ask such outrageous questions?

Rick

Do you enjoy your birthdays?  Or is it a real bummer to get older? 

 In our brand new 9 am hour later this week, I’m doing a segment on those decade or milestone birthdays.  You know the ones that end in 0.  Like 30 or 40 or 50 or yikes 60!

 Some people dread them.  Other’s look forward to them.  And a psychologist tells us how to handle them.

 This was fun for me to do…seeing I’ve had my share of milestone birthdays.

 How do you feel about them?

We're getting ready to begin our new hour a 9 am.  It starts Monday.   Andrea and I and Ron and Alexis and Cory have been preparing.  Going through segment ideas - getting creative etc.

Do you have any suggestions?  What would you like to see in the new hour of Fox-10 Arizona Morning 9 - 10 am?

Rick

We're doing a story this morning about how people feel living near a nuclear power plant.

 A survey by Rasmussen shows it's pretty favorable. How do you feel about living downwind of the nation’s largest nuclear power plant?

Let me know.

Rick

While I was driving home from the gym yesterday I was thinking about a news report that just came out that said: “You can look great in a swimsuit and still be a heart attack waiting to happen. And you can also be overweight and otherwise healthy.”  It was a new study that said a surprising number of overweight people — about half — have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while an equally startling number of trim people suffer from some of the ills associated with obesity.

Is it all worth it?