St. Petersburg, Florida Saddest City in U.S.

Photo Courtesy of the City of St. Petersburg

Ham on Wry sadly reports that a study published in Men's Health November 28, 2001, names St. Petersburg, Florida as the nation's saddest city.  Detroit, Michigan followed St. Pete as second saddest city.  Other Florida cities show marked sadness as well. Tampa placed fourth and Miami eighth, with Jacksonville at thirteenth and Orlando at nineteenth.  Wow!  What's up with that and who saw it coming? St. Petersburg's mayor, Bill Foster, can't count this as one of his most stellar accomplishments.

Men's Health also concluded, "Florida in general seems to be a depressing place to live."  What is causing the malaise in the state of Florida?  Ham on Wry holds Governor Rick Scott and a legislature determined to undermine citizens rights to easy voting access, clean water, fresh air, and an environment conducive to supporting life as culprits that contributed to our gloom.  Add to that the building boom that created a glut of unsold houses, a precipitous drop in home prices, high unemployment, and a rise in food prices and voila, depression set in.

In its research, the magazine studied data from the CDC on suicide rates, Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment rates, and SimplyMap for numbers on households that consume anti-depressants and people who report feeling blue all or most of the time.  With all that St. Petersburg offers in amenities-- fine restaurants, the Dali Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts-- to name a few, I was surprised that the city topped the list.  Mayor Foster has "some s'plainin to do."

It takes more than sunshine and fair weather to create happiness.  Residents must have confidence in elected officials and a sense that the economy is at least stabilizing, if not growing.  It seems that confidence is lacking in five urban areas in Florida.  What to do?  We could recall the governor and vote out short-sighted legislators.  Oh, that's right.  Florida has no provision for a recall.  I guess Floridian will have to wait three more years to handle that part of the problem.

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Windows 8: The Coming Storm

Windows 8 is scheduled for release late next year (2012).  It will not be "just another version of Windows" -- it will be the most dramatic change in personal computing since the very first version of Windows replaced "DOS" 21 years ago.  The most fundamental, functional elements of Windows will be massively changed.  These changes compel me to make a recommendation that I very rarely make...


According to recent studies, over 80% of all Windows computer users are still using Windows XP.  There is a good reason for this:  XP still works fine for the needs of most computer users.  Normally, I'd say stick with XP until your computer breaks down (or you just really want a new one).  However, the extremeness of the changes in Windows 8 will be so great, that I recommend that all users of Windows XP upgrade to Windows 7 before Windows 8 is released....

I won't go into detail about all of the changes, because Microsoft is still "tweaking" them.  ...But a concise and simple description is that Windows 8 will operate like a "Smart Phone" (e.g. iPhone, Windows 7 Phone, Blackberry, etc.)  Your familiar desktop will be replaced with the new "Metro User Interface".  This interface will look -- and work -- exactly the same whether it is installed on a Smart Phone, a Tablet PC, a Laptop, or a Desktop PC.

That's right -- a Windows 8 Desktop PC will look and work just like a "giant Smart Phone."

I have serious hesitations about how well this will be accepted by most Windows users (like you.)  A significant number of professionals (like me) have expressed our serious misgivings to Microsoft -- with what has been noted by Microsoft as among the most "frank" complaints they have ever gotten on a pre-release system.  Their response -- translated to simple terms -- is "We don't care whether you like it or not.  This is what we're doing.  ...Deal with it."


My Strong Recommendations

If you are currently using a system with Windows XP, I very strongly recommend that you upgrade to a Windows 7 system before Windows 8 is released.  My reasons:

• Once Windows 8 is released, Microsoft will quickly abandon security and other updates for Windows XP   In fact, Microsoft is already starting a campaign to force XP users to upgrade to Windows 7.  Their efforts will become increasingly aggressive as the release of Window 8 approaches.
• Windows 7 is a good, solid release.  I use it.  There are some things that work differently than in XP, but whatever inconveniences you may encounter with Windows 7, they will be much worse in Windows 8.
• The changes in Windows 8 are not just functional or cosmetic.  They are making deep changes in how the system works, and requiring all software writers to make deep changes in how they write their programs.  This will likely result in a huge number "bugs" in Windows 8, and the software that runs on it.
• Once Windows 8 is released, you may not be able to buy Windows 7, or a system with Windows 7 already installed.

What's the best way to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7...?

For most of you, buying a new PC with Windows 7 already installed will be the best option.  I'm sorry to tell you this.  I don't sell PC's, so I don't stand to profit from this fact.  The PC hardware that ran Windows XP isn't likely to be powerful enough, and upgrading that hardware would cost as much as (or more than) buying a new PC.

The only exception is if your PC has a sticker on it that says "Windows Vista Compatible".  In this case, you could install an upgrade to Windows 7 with little or no hardware changes.  However, the cost for doing this will still be close to the cost of a low-end PC with Windows 7 already installed.  (NOTE:  If your PC has a sticker that says "Windows Vista Capable", it will not run Windows 7 without hardware upgrades -- if at all.)

For some systems, upgrading to Windows 7 will be an economical solution.  For others, it won't.  It depends on what hardware is in your system.

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Response to Anonymous Comments on Grover Norquist November 27 Blog

Ham on Wry offers apologies to readers for using the blog to reply to one person's comments, but has no other means of doing so, since comments arrive from blogger.com as a no-reply message.  To the person who wrote the comments, thank you for taking the time to send a comprehensive e-mail.  I will reply to those sections that warrant clarification.

Your second, third and fourth points are all related, so I address them as one.  Please note, I was referring to personal income taxes solely in that section.  Your point raises the issue of corporate (and I assume business) taxes, which does not pertain to my conclusion.  Personal taxes do not affect jobs creation, and I have researched that fully.  You asked if I meant to state public and private sectors rather than for-profit and not-for-profit.  No, I didn't.  Other than government jobs, which fall under the public sector, the for-profit businesses create the vast majority of jobs in this country.  Many emanate from entrepreneurial enterprises.  The not-for-profit sector includes some hospitals, charitable organizations, foundations, etc.  As for your use of "people:", I am referring to individuals, not corporations or other business classifications.  While the Supreme Court classifies corporations as people, which defies logic since they don't breathe, eat, marry, or attend school as a single entity, the tax code differentiates between personal, corporate and business taxes.  Consequently, when I wrote that raising taxes on people that have earned income of $1 million or greater, I was referring to personal income taxes.  FYI, Social Security Data show that 50% of Americans earned less that $26,364 in 2010, while 18% earned more than $1 million that year.

My blog was titled "Grover Norquist Still Spouting Nonsense on Meet the Press", so my conclusion about his statement with respect to his comments about Papa Bush having success in the Gulf War do relate to that title.  Norquist used that as proof that the only reason Bush was not re-elected had to do with a tax increase.

I, too, think national defense is important, but, unlike you, I feel no safer because we waged war in Iraq.  Hussein didn't threaten us, nor did he attack us, nor did he have WMD's.  Thus, I think it's outrageous that we spent over $1 trillion in direct costs and billions more in lost equipment and money that somehow disappeared over eight years and nine months.

You questions why I care who funds Americans for Tax Reform.  With a name like that, I want to see a cross representation of Americans in support of it.  The only contributors I find are foundations and corporations.  I'd like to see a list of individual contributors.  If individuals don't contribute, the name of the organization should change.  You also wondered why I have difficulty with Norquist's influence in Congress.  He is not an elected member of Congress, and, therefore, can't be removed from office.  He threatens Republicans with losing a bid for a seat in Congress, if they don't sign the pledge or rescind it later. Norquist stated it wasn't a pledge to him; it was a pledge to the American people.  I know many Americans who asked for no such pledge. Warren Buffett among them.

You said you'd like to be a millionaire some day, and I hope you succeed.  It is different when you want to make life better for your family than it is if you use money to sway political decisions.  Class warfare is a term I find divisive,.  It's employed anytime one suggest something that the uber rich might do, and my comments don't fault people for being rich.  I do take issue with people who have gained wealth by risking other's money and suffering no consequences.  Taxpayers pay dearly for that kind of personal gain.

Again, thank you for your comments.

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Kansas Governor Upset over Teen's Tweet

Kansas Senior Emma Sullivan

Emma Sullivan learned far more about the issue of free speech than she anticipated.last week. The Shawnee Mission East senior, who participated in a Youth in Government program November 21st, tweeted from the back of a crowd of students listening to Brownback's greeting. "Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot." Evidently, Governor Sam Brownback's staff didn't find that acceptable.  Hus office monitors social media for content mentioning the governor's name and contacted Youth in Government when they found Sullivan's tweet.


The next day, Sullivan was summoned to the principal's office, but she had no idea why.  Principal Karl R. Krawitz informed her that she had embarrassed the school and must write a letter of apology to the governor by this morning and even provided her with a few talking points.  Sullivan protested, saying that she had made no such comments and was "joking around." 


Sullivan's nineteen-year-old sister Olivia Olivia Sullivan, a political science major at Wichita State University, said, "I think it is embarrassing to the governor and to the administration of the school and the school district to waste time and taxpayer money on something so petty.  And it’s discouraging to children when they are told they can’t speak their mind."  Ham on Wry agrees.  This kind of exaggerated response typifies the minutiae that dominates many politician's thoughts today.  If I lived in Kansas, I would protest the time, attention, and money spent on such a ridiculous effort.


Okay, perhaps Emma Sullivan made a mistake in tweeting some of the language in that comment, but the whole situation summons up thoughts of Big Brother watching our every move.  Our right to free speech allows hate mongers to express themselves.  Sullivan is a high school student who never got in trouble before this.  Her actions don't come close to the kind of frothing-at-the-mouth comments made by Obama haters.  Should we just arrest the entire population of the United States as a preemptive strike against any kind of possible disagreement? 


Ham on Wry considers this a classic case of "making a mountain out of a mole hill."  Sullivan has received volumes of support for refusing to write a letter of apology, and Ham on Wry suggests that Governor Brownback's office should apologize to her for creating a viral media event over something so small. I wonder if Dorothy would still repeat, "There's no place like home" while clicking the heels of her ruby red shoes together in referring to Kansas, if she witnessed this event.  


Just in, Governor Brownback has apologized has apologized to Emma Sullivan for his staff member's overreaction to her tweet, thus proving my point.  Now, it Krawitz's turn.

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Grover Norquist Still Spouting Nonsense on Meet the Press

Politico Photo

Grover Norquist's interview with David Gregory this morning on Meet the Press left Ham on Wry puzzled.    The fact that Norquist represented the Republican view of the Super Committee's negotiation is disquieting at best.  Prior to Norquist, New York Senator Chuck Schumer discussed the same situation; however, he actually serves in Congress.  Do readers find it strange that a person who does not hold office in Congress explains what happened during the Super Committee's meetings?  Norquist heads Americans for Tax Reform, an organization focused on never raising taxes on anyone.

For a man who proclaims himself "smarter than the average bear", he lacks the ability to follow through with logic.  He told Gregory that the Super Committee didn't fail.  Check the definition of failure, Mr. Norquist. He spouts rhetoric that raising taxes slows the economy and kills jobs.  That makes no sense at all.when referring to personal income taxes  He said government spending doesn't create jobs.  Who creates them?  Businesses in both the profit and not-for-profit sectors do.  Raising taxes on the people earning over $1 million does not affect job creation.  Norquist's message of no focuses on just one issue: taxes, but he never explains how he would maintain the charge of government set forth in the Constitution of the United States.  Our nation has changed drastically since the union formed, and he would hold us to a level of taxes that existed at the turn of the twentieth century.

When Gregory asked him about the tax hikes that occurred under Reagan and Papa Bush, Norquist blamed the Democrats for not following through on a promise to reduce spending.  Did someone hold a gun to their heads?  They signed the acts into law.  In fact, Reagan favored a tax hike.  Norquist praised Bush's success in getting Iraq out of Kuwait without occupying the country. Really?   Perhaps he should review the opinions expressed by some of the leaders of the Gulf War like General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. to determine their view of the campaign.  He would find that many of them, thought that they should have killed Saddam Hussein then.  Norquist attributed Bush's loss to Clinton because he had raised taxes.  I strongly disagree because the election reflected strong sentiment against the outcome of that war.  

Norquist must have also forgotten that a Republican president started the war with Iraq in 2003 without fully understanding the consequences.  The long occupation there occurred because of Bush's son and Obama is bringing them home.  Speaking of government spending, take a look at the cost of that war.  The government approved over $1 trillion for that war, the vast majority of which was spent during the Bush years.  That amount doesn't include the many billions of dollars lost or unaccounted for or the vast amount is lost equipment.  Those figures apply only to the Iraq War and not to Afghanistan.

Ham on Wry wants to know who funds Americans for Tax Reform.  I suspect the list would include many of the wealthiest people in the country, but that information can be kept secret.  Norquist can spout his single-minded mantra like a broken robot, but citizens don't know who supports him.  Why has this person gained so much power over the past 25 years?  Why do Republicans allow him to strong-arm them into signing a pledge that they will never raise taxes?  Does this country need politicians who march to the tune of a  drummer whose motives might well be self-serving?  The lower the taxes, the more money the wealthiest few can keep.  

This post was not written in support of one party over the other.  It emphasizes that one lobbyist wields far too much influence on members of Congress.  Maybe the Occupy movement should occupy Americans for Tax Reform Headquarters.  It could shine a light on a disturbing group and its leader.

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Ham on Wry Award-Natalie Wood's Death Updates

Natalie Wood  (left) with her Sister Lana, Getty Images

The Ham on Wry Award goes to the reopened investigation of Natalie Wood's death November 29, 1981.  New information makes the case more and more curious, although determining the credibility of such evidence  poses great difficulty after thirty years.  To recap, Dennis Davern, the captain of the yacht on which Wood, her husband Robert Wagner, and her co-star Christopher Walken from the movie Brainstorm were cruising off Catalina Island, now claims that Wagner bears responsibility for Wood's death (see November 18 post).

This week, two additional witnesses have come forward with evidence that raises questions about the original investigation in Wood's drowning.  Earlier this week, Entertainment Tonight interviewed Marilyn Wayne, a woman who was cruising with her boyfriend and her son in the area where Woods drowned.  She said that her boyfriend John heard a woman screaming, woke her and her son, and they also heard the screams.  She called the sheriff's department in Avalon, and they said they would send a helicopter to search the waters.  It never came, and she was never interviewed after Wood was found.  She also claims that she received a threatening note telling her to keep quiet about the incident three days after it occurred.  Unless she kept that note, that part will be difficult to prove.

The second witness tells a story based on a first-hand account because he found Natalie Wood and pulled her out of the water.  Captain Roger Smith, a Los Angeles County supervising rescue boat captain, at the time, has had doubts about what happened since that day.  He believes that Wood could have been saved, if the search had started earlier and supported that conclusion by stating, “Based on the condition of her body when we pulled her from the water, I believe she survived for some time in the water and was blown out to sea. She probably cried for help for hours. I’ve always believed she could have been saved. Her fingers were still pliable when she was pulled from the water, suggesting she had not been dead for hours."(quote from an article written by Richard Winton, LA Times)

Han on Wry refrains from drawing specific conclusions yet.  However, it appears that the investigation that occurred in 1981 did not assemble all of the facts, nor did the detectives conduct some relevant interviews that might have brought more clarity to the case.  The coroner did not draw the same conclusions as the man who pulled her from the water, which seems odd.  The public might never learn the full truth of Wood's death, but the original account has some gaping holes.  Ham on Wry hopes that the new investigation can bring closure for those who have had unanswered questions for thirty years.

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A Day of Thanks

Ham on Wry expresses gratitude for all the readers who follow the blog regularly or read it when a specific topic invites their interest.  Many readers reside in other countries, so the American Thanksgiving holiday isn't celebrated where they live.  Ham on Wry sends special thanks to those who live afar and hopes some of the posts have entertained, informed, or enlightened you.

So, on this day, send me your comments about something for which you are thankful, and I'll post some of the  most touching in a future blog, if I receive enough of them.  Ham on Wry wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are in the world.

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