GOODBYE MICROSOFT

 April 10, 2026

It’s over. I have ended my involvement with Microsoft. No more Windows, Office or any of the bloatware they try to pass for applications.

I have migrated to Chrome OS.  It is far less of a headache than Windows.  

I know Microsoft doesn’t want suggestions from me but I am offering this one anyway.

DUMP WINDOWS 11 and start over.  Take everyone back to Windows 7 and rethink the whole roadmap.

Free of Microsoft

 December 5, 2025

Yesterday, my windows laptop died.  Fortunately, I had my chromebook on the shelf. I migrated my files to my Google Drive 

I am now free from Microsoft.

Here We Are

 Here we are at the end of March 2025. Fuhrer Trump is continuing his rampage and the Democrats are sulking about their loss. I must confess that I am enjoying the show of Lefties losing their minds about everything Trump does. Perhaps if they had not gone so far left the Democrats would not be so far down in the polls. 

The Donald won by telling the voters what they wanted to hear. Illegal immigrants were the cause of all of their problems. Left-wing ideas like DEI, ESG, and CRT are killing the American dream. 

The win by Trump and the GOP was a combination of smart marketing by the GOP and total ineptitude by the Democrats. Anyone paying attention could see back in 2023 that Joe Biden wasn’t going to cut it for another election. The DNC should have been encouraging other candidates to run against him. Instead they wound up with Kamala Harris at the last minute. And frankly, she ran the most inept campaign in decades.

So we are stuck with a thin skinned ego maniac who does not consider his words before he speaks or tweets them.

So everyone should hunker down and prepare for a long four years.

Be Careful What You Wish For

 It’s coming up on 2 months since Donald Trump assumed the Presidency. My question for America is “Are you happy now?” President Trump has rattled more cages in two months than most Presidents did in four years.

I am concerned by his apparent distain for the US Constitution and specifically the Bill of Rights.

I will admit that I did not vote for him or for Kamala Harris. I found both of them unsuited for the job for President.

What remains to be seen is will the Congress grow a pair and tell him NO when he steps out of line.

CHILL OUT

 I have been seeing media doomsayers fretting about what will happen when Donald takes over on Jan 20. Worrying about it is not going to change anything. All it will do is give you indigestion and an ulcer.

Trump and his host of yes men will try to do what they want. They are now facing an opponent far more dangerous that the Democrats. They are now going up against the Federal Bureaucracy. I think DJT will find a far more entrenched opponent than he expects.

So, enjoy the holidays and we will see what happens in January,

And so it Begins

 

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Well, the news is confirming what we all suspected. The GOP has retained control of the House. So, Trump has his trifecta. Now we will see what he does with it. He can do something good. He also can follow his previous path and cause a huge amount of harm.

 

His first announcements for his cabinet are not promising. Some make no sense at all.

 

We shall see how it all plays out.

It's really a shame

It is really a shame that our next President will be either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. Both are terrible choices. Or next president should be a sound fiscal manager with an experienced Foreign Policy team that they listen to.

 

We Need a Plan

 

I have noticed that neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris has put forth a plan for fixing the problems in this country. Both are pre-occupied with throwing mud at each other.

What we need are some serious proposals to solve homelessness, food insecurity, illegal immigration, run-away military spending, and the general lack of ethical behavior in all branches of the Federal Government.

I’m sure that there are other issues, but these would be a good start.

Think Before You Vote

 It’s 2024.  This is an election year. We will be selecting the President of the US, all 435 members of the US House of representatives, a third of the US Senate along with numerous state and local office holders.

Given the performance of all levels of government over the past few years, we need to take great care with deciding who we will vote for. Some considerations:

 

1.    Does the candidate have the skills and backbone to do the job?

2.    Is their vision of Good Government compatible with yours?

3.    Are they honest?

4.    Do trust them with your tax dollars?

 

We as voters need to do better than we have in past years.

Keeping Guns out of the Hands of Nutcases

It has been over a week since the latest mass shooting.  This on happened at a High School in Parkland, Florida.  There is evidence that this individual had long standing psychological problems which had been reported to both the FBI and local authorities.  There must be a way to disarm such individuals.  Maybe we need some laws to allow the authorities to disarm such individuals before they can do harm.  Perhaps, a law that would allow law enforcement to impound their weapons until a court can determine their mental stability for gun ownership.  If they are found to be unstable, their guns would be destroyed and they would be added to the database of individuals that cannot purchase Firearms.  We need to expand the policy of See Something, Say something.

This would also require Law Enforcement to investigate reports of unstable individuals with guns and if they find cause, impound their guns. 

This is a law that I feel everyone could get behind.

More War

President Trump's order to attack Syria is taking us down the road to another war that we cannot win.  When will the DC powers learn that we CANNOT be the world's police force.  Nor, should we try to be.

What is happening in Syria is terrible but it is not our business.  We should stay out of it and let the Syrians decide the outcome.

Have we as Americans overreacted to Terrorism?

Since the attack of 9/11/2001, we have seen a huge upswing in in

Our loss of freedom and privacy. An expensive new government department called Homeland Security, Government monitoring our private communications, Cops who can apparently kill anyone with impunity.

Here are a couple of statistics:

1. 2,996 people (including the 19 hijackers) died in the 9/11 attack according to Wikipedia

2. 37,795 Traffic fatalities in 2001 according to NHTSA.

We killed more than 10 times the number of people as the terrorists in 2001. When it comes to killing Americans, the terrorists are no match for us Americans.

Did we need to take all of these actions in the wake of the attack?

End Daylight Savings Time

Once again we are tasked with resetting all of our clocks. The twice a year drill known as Daylight Savings Time is upon us. The reason for this idiocy has long since faded. The policy should fade as well. There is no logical reason to set our clocks ahead 1 hour in the spring, only to set them back 1 hour in the fall. The entire concept should be abolished. Already, Arizona, Hawaii, and a few other states have discontinued this arcane practice. California should end it as well.

The Futility of Banning Something

Recently a bill banning “Assault Weapons” was introduced in congress.  Setting aside the merits of the proposed bill for a minute, when you ban something you are telling people they cannot have it.  Americans by their nature resent anyone telling them they can’t have anything.  They may not want it, but resent being told they cannot have it.

This was proved in the prohibition failure.  The Government banned alcohol and what happened, a black market in alcohol sprung up almost overnight.  Organized crime appeared to control the market and the level of crime in the country went up.

Look at the Drug War.  A number of drugs are banned and anyone who wants them can get them with little trouble.  Again criminal gangs control the market and the level of crime associated with drugs is up and rising.

As long as there is a demand, someone will step up to supply it.  So here is the question; do you want the criminal element controlling the gun market?  Think about that while you are debating this or any other ban.

Sandy Hook.

There has been much debate both in the media and online about what the response to the Sandy Hook Massacre should be. While I was initially tempted about the possibility of a ban on Assault Weapons, the definition of what is an assault weapon makes this a questionable solution. After reading the details of New York’s new law I believe they have gone too far.

The other part of New York’s law makes much more sense. That is requiring a background check for all sales and transfers of firearms. This can go a long way to keeping guns out of the hands of those that should not have them. You know felons, the mentally unstable, domestic abusers, etc…

I was impressed with an interview I saw of Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, NJ. In that interview he said that of all the gun crimes investigated in his city, only one had been committed by an individual who had passed a background check to get the weapon. The others had all been obtained through what he called the secondary market. This is gun shows and private sales. For most states, background checks are not required for these secondary market sales. That is something that should be corrected.

One thing about the Sandy Hook shooting that has not received much public discussion was the personal responsibility. Now I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but, the mother of the shooter was irresponsible in not securing her guns so that her mentally unstable son could not get access to them. She paid with her life for that mistake.

So, what should be done?

1. Require background checks on ALL sales and transfers of firearms.

2. Make the registered owner responsible for their weapons. If a gun you own is used in a crime, because you did not properly secure it, it’s on you. If it’s stolen, report it immediately.

3. Take the time to learn how to safely use and handle your guns. The lamest excuse I have ever heard is “I was cleaning my gun and it went off” If you don’t know enough to unload the gun before cleaning; you have no business owning a gun.

Off The Cliff

The Fiscal Cliff is approaching. Let it happen.

If Congress does nothing, then Income tax withholding for all Americans will go up starting Jan. 1, Estate Taxes, taxes on capital Gains and FICA taxes all go up. Also, some much needed spending cuts take effect. These are much needed changes that will show Americans the true cost of government.

This also will force a national discussion on how much government we actually want and are willing to pay for.

　

Some Observations

After the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown CT there have been and will continue to be calls for more Gun Control Laws. Here are some observations.


1. Cnnecticut has some of the most severs gun control laws in the country.
2. The two weapons used in the attack were purchased by the shooter’s mother with the requisite background checks and waiting periods.

3. The shooter was at best mentally disturbed.

4. The Gun owner used poor judgment in allowing a mentally disturbed individual access to firearms.

From these observations it is reasonable to assume that the only law that could have prevented this tragedy would be the outright ban on private ownership of firearms or the mandatory incarceration of mentally disturbed individuals.

The first is plainly unconstitutional

The second would be roundly opposed by the disabled right advocates.

There are some things that laws just cannot prevent.

What do we do?

All day I have been seeing the reports on the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 20 children and 6 adults dead. Like most people, my first reaction was why? In the days that come we will hear about the shooters mentality, the availability of Firearms, The security in schools, etc…. The idealist in me says there must be a way to prevent these senseless killings.

I do not know how we are going to do that. One thing is for certain, if we do nothing, it will happen again. Maybe at your home, business, or school.

War on Christmas

Once again we are seeing the reports of a War on Christmas. Most of this stems from the policy in recent years of substituting Holiday for Christmas in public and commercial settings. This is done to avoid offending those who have different beliefs.

I have been on this earth for nearly 56 years now. Only once has someone told me they were offended by my wish of Merry Christmas. I don’t know their reason but apologized for the offense.

Most everyone no matter what their religious beliefs took the greeting in the spirit in which it was offered.

So for all of you who are offended by the words Merry Christmas, Christmas Tree or anything else having to do with Christmas, My wish of a Merry Christmas is my way of wishing you well. If you are offended by that, I am sorry for you.

Off The Fiscal Cliff

On Jan 1, 2013 a host of changes will happen unless the Congress and President get a deal done.
Among those changes:

1. All of the Bush tax cuts expire. This will take tax rates back up to where they were under President Clinton.

2. $100 Billion in automatic spending cuts will be instituted. Half coming from the DoD and the other half from domestic spending.

3. Authorization for extended unemployment benefits (beyond the first 26 weeks) will end.

4. Medicare providers will see a reduction in their payment rates.

5. That 2% point reduction in SS withholding expires.

This is all the result of the debt ceiling/budget deal made last year. The idea was they would do another deal before the end of the year. That hasn’t quite worked out

So here is what to expect if the dum-dums in DC don‘t do a deal.

1. Social Security withholding will go up even if your salary doesn’t.

2. Federal Income tax withholding will go up.

3. If you are on unemployment and have already used your first 26 weeks of benefits, current benefits will stop at the end of your current extension.

4. If you are a school teacher, the annual tax credit for supplies you purchase for your classes will not be available on your 2012 tax return.

5. If you are a Medicare provider, your reimbursement rate will be reduced.

6. If you work in the Defense industry, your job may be at risk.

Have a Happy New Year