It will be November in just a few days, which means that many in America will be celebrating one of our most prized holidays: Thanksgiving.

As for me, my wife, and kids – we will be hosting this year at our home in New Hampshire. Many in our family will be coming by and we are excited about having them.

That of course means a big turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and the like. Yes, we will feast and join in fellowship and perhaps even watch my son’s favorite NFL team play – the Detroit Lions.

But Lets not forget about what Thanksgiving is truly about: offering gratitude for what we’ve been blessed with. Even on our dreary days, we have many blessings and we need to reflect on those. So, let’s share.

What are you thankful for?

I’ll go first. I’m thankful to have a relationship with Jesus who gave his life voluntarily and selflessly so that I can one day spend eternity in Heaven. I have an amazing wife, kids, and great family all over America. Our friends are wonderful, and we have great neighbors, too. The fellowships that we have with these people have been terrific.

In my opinion, we have a decent home. My wife and I both have good jobs. Our school system is supportive and positive the vast majority of the time. Our community sticks together and we look out for each other. My wife and I are also so happy to belong to a great church.

While you may be pondering what exactly to be thankful about, make sure you ask yourself some important questions. Are there personal or professional relationships in your life that have made a big difference, and with who? Have you developed a skill or hobby that really brings contentment to you? What about things like trips or fun experiences you may have enjoyed?

We’ve all got something we can share as long as we’re objective and honest about ourselves.

What are you thankful for? Please share!

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Have you ever wondered what it is truly like to be president? What does it take? How can life be navigated through it?

I was born in 1982 and I’ve seen some successful presidents, and some failing presidents, and everything in between. Those of us that have been around the block a few times sometimes wish that we could return to a time when such and such a person was president.

I’d like to dig a little deeper rather than spew anger. So, here’s one of the most important questions we need to ask: what qualities or qualifications should a president establish before being elected to office?

First, I think it’s a good idea to get a person into office who has experience in the business world. A businessman or woman is going to have a much better understanding about the mechanisms that operate an economy better than, say, a trial lawyer. I say respectfully of course that trial lawyers are important, but their knowledge about economics is dwarfed by a person who started with nothing and built a business empire.

I think it is a major plus if the president has served in the military. A person who has carried a rifle and served his/her country (especially during times of war) is someone who shows the great principle about how to protect freedom and peace.

Now, what about someone who has given considerable time and money to those in need? That’s definitely a good thing. While I don’t consider Jimmy Carter to be a successful president, his heart and giving to others has always been unquestionable. He donated a lot of time and effort to Habitat for Humanity well into his elderly years until he no longer had the ability to do that.

I think strong communication skills are critical. One of Ronald Reagan’s nicknames was “The Great Communicator.” A family member of mine quipped and said that Ronald Reagan could “fling horse manure and make it smell like roses.” Ha!

He didn’t need to provide an eight-paragraph answer to a ‘yes or no’ question. He got right to point which was wise. People have an easier time remembering one-liners as opposed to an eight-paragraph answer.

Not to mention, he often injected bits of humor, patriotism, and lessons of wisdom into his speeches and talking points.

I think a president also needs to be strong and have a backbone. Let’s be blunt: there is a lot of evil in the world and we can’t afford to lollygag. America plays a very big role in keeping the world stable. Just imagine how different the world might be if we never, for example, fought in World War 2.

Being the president is not (and has never been) a one-person show. That means the president needs to have wisdom in selecting a cabinet to work with. The cabinet, ideally speaking, should be well-experienced and have a career with great success. It is my view that no president would ever succeed without a strong cabinet.

Finally, I think a president must have exceptional skills in determining what are the top priorities that must be addressed. In sum, having the right priorities. We need to attempt to prevent war, for instance. War must only take place with great reluctance and only after it has been determined that no other option is available. Usually, that means there is an imminent threat or danger that cannot be stopped with anything other than war.

There are many qualities that we should demand from our president, but those are the core ones, I think. The aforementioned qualities are the most critical ones.

What do you think? What qualities and qualifications do we need to see?

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It’s that time of year!

Halloween is right around the corner, and kids, as usual, have a huge appetite for candy. I’ll admit, I love candy even though I can’t have much of it because of my diabetes.

For the record, these are two pictures of my kids and what they dressed up as last year. The first is my son – who chose to dress up as a banana. The second is my daughter who found a creative costume in which she was able to impersonate a Barbie in a box. My son’s name is Henry, and my daughter’s name is Isabella.

I am happy to report that we’re a Christian family. We love Jesus and we love others. Admittedly, it is sometimes harder to love certain folks, but we do try.

A lot of people in the Christian community in particular like to pose the question about whether Halloween is Satan’s holiday. So, is it?

Me and my family participate in a program called ‘Trick or Treat on the Town.’ It’s something a local town does where all businesses and other organizations on a particular street can hand out candy right at their front doorstep. And boy, do we get a lot of people who show up!

Many of the people (especially the kids) from our church wear costumes. The costumes, however, are not bloody or full of gore. They do not emulate things like murder, rage, and genocide. We do not play negative music such as death rock, nor do we engage in cult-like activities such as animal sacrifices.

We have fellowship with the other church members and members of the community. We give out candy. We take pictures of the cool costumes that people are wearing. Sometimes we get to tell folks about our church and answer any questions that may arise. In sum, we make Halloween positive and fun.

So, is Halloween Satan’s holiday? It depends on what you do with it. If you’re chanting death metal, glorifying murder, applauding violence, and entertaining cult-like activity, then Halloween is certainly evil.

If you’re joining together as Christians in clean fellowship and spreading joy and happiness to others, without showing blood and gore, without evil music, and steering clear of cults, then Halloween is not an anchor for evil.

Have a wonderful Halloween this year!

What are your plans?

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There is a lot of shocking news and big issues happening these days. No doubt about it.

I’m sure most of us remember roughly a year ago when a man was captured at a golf course after he had attempted to assassinate Donald Trump.

The article I read had some bizarre facts about the now-convicted felon, Ryan Routh (pictured above). For starters, he made the decision to act as his own attorney and claimed that he didn’t commit a crime because no gunshots were fired. That argument didn’t sit well with the judge, or the jury for that matter.

When he was convicted, he grabbed a pen and began stabbing his neck, in an apparent attempt to commit suicide. It didn’t work and he will now have to face his sentencing – which it is possible will amount to life in prison.

Click on the following link if you would like to read more on the matter: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/suspect-ryan-routh-awaits-verdict-143848135.html

It is truly disheartening to see violence against persons (yes, even political figures) by those who summon hatred of people they disagree with. Nancy Pelosi’s husband was brutally attacked. Donald Trump survived two assassination attempts. The Hortman’s in Minnesota were gunned down. Charlie Kirk was recently assassinated, and the list goes on.

Our culture is very ill right now and we get a lot of things wrong. How is it rational to fight against hate by assassinating someone that is accused of being hateful? How is it not hate itself to murder someone that you disagree with? And when that happens, does it really advance the cause or credibility of the assassin?

Many in our culture are trying to put a band aid to cover a huge gash in the jugular vein, so to speak. For example, we’re told to restrict 2nd Amendment rights.

On September 11, 2001 we lost just under 3,000 people in one day because of terrorist attacks. The weapons used to hijack the airplanes were boxcutters. Many of us remember several years ago that we had people killed and injured in the Boston Marathon. The weapon used? Pressure cookers.

Now lets be 100 honest about this. Would restricting firearms save lives? Yes, it would. Would it reduce hatred and evil in the hearts of those among us? I doubt it. Would it increase the vulnerability of people being victimized by violent criminals and a tyrannical government. It undoubtedly would.

At what point do we sacrifice freedom and liberty for safety, if at all? What, in your opinion, are the solutions for the enormous amount of violence and hatred we see against people we disagree with?

Share your thoughts below.

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I was thinking about tariffs today and what effect they may have on our economy. It’s getting harder and harder to find objective news and facts, but here are the parts we know for certain.

It is beyond dispute that countries like China are running circles around us when it comes to creating manufacturing jobs. Also, they can create and put products on the shelf for way lower prices than businesses selling American-made products.

So that means we have to do something sensible to level the playing field. I know it will be devastating if we sit around for another 20 years and get economically manhandled if we do nothing. The time for action is now.

Are tariffs the answer? Maybe. To be fair, I see some pluses and minuses. Here’s my take on it:

I think tariffs will make American products more competitive on the market. If products made in America can be sold at a competitive price, that means that such products will have a fighting chance on the market.

The bad part is that it will raise the price of products and certain services. If, for example, China pays a tariff of an additional 15 percent on products it imports, that cost will ultimately be passed on somewhere – perhaps in manufacturing, retail, shipping, receiving, etc. But ultimately, it is likely the consumer will foot the bill.

I would expect the pain of the increased cost to last between 5 to 7 years. However, after that much time has lapsed, it will give companies enough time and financial incentive to open and operate manufacturing in America rather than overseas.

The motive for keeping manufacturing domestic is simple – the ability to draw massive profits by having foreign manufacturing would evaporate – because the tariffs would swallow up the profit from foreign manufacturing.

President Trump has put tariffs in place, and the verdict about how well they will work is still out. We will see.

What are your thoughts?

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I took a few days to collect myself and write this post for good reason.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that when we respond to something when our outrage or passions are high, we often say regrettable things. Sometimes, we’re best suited to just let thing cool down.

So, here are my thoughts on the Charlie Kirk assassination.

I’ve watched many of his videos over the past year. I’ve generally found his videos to be likeable and true. I thought that sometimes he got a little heated and condescending with people he debated, which I didn’t like. I do like the fact that he at least attempted to have a dialogue with people though.

Now, here’s the bold truth of the matter: no matter how you feel about Charlie Kirk or those with conservative views, what happened to Kirk was inexcusable. We can’t just assassinate people we disagree with. This should go without explanation, but apparently, there are people who think this killing is justified, so here we go.

First of all, Charlie Kirk was a husband, father, and conservative activist who held strong right-wing views. In contrast, George Soros, for example, is a husband, father, and left-wing activist. They both were polar opposites in terms of political beliefs and philosophies.

As we are well-aware, Charlie Kirk was killed a few days ago after taking a gunshot wound to the neck. In October of 2018, George Soros was sent a mailbomb in attempt to likewise assassinate him, albeit it in an obviously different manner. Let me be clear: both of these acts are fanatical and 100 percent evil.

The best way to change things like people’s principles, behaviors, and beliefs, is not to kill people with similar points of view. To the contrary, it sometimes summons a birth of people who espouse the same beliefs after the murdered victim becomes a martyr. It happened with Jesus. It happened with Abraham Lincoln. It happened with Martin Luther King. Get the point?

Many years ago I was a conservative political columnist for my University newspaper, and I verbally scorched left-wing politics like there was no tomorrow. But, even when I was young and hot-headed, I was at least able to recognize that opposing political positions did not merit a death warrant.

So, can we at least be respectful and send condolences to the Kirk family? His young children are going to now grow up without their father, and his wife is now a widow.

Can we at least humble ourselves and admit that we, as Americans, should not engage in such horrific acts? That we can do better and allow people to live even if we disagree with them?

Let this be a time of mourning and condolences to the Kirk family, and not a time of applause and celebration for what happened.

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Always ask a lot of questions…

The last few days I have been going back and forth with a book ‘broker’ about getting my book published to traditional publishers. I was skeptical from the start, but I gave him a chance.

He said he needed to review my book – which I gave him a chance to do. He then emailed me a summary of the book and said that it would be fit for traditional publishing and sent me a contract.

There were many red flags that surfaced throughout our conversations. Some came after my questioning, and some were just plain obvious. We’ll go down the list:

1. Accent and language. He had a strong middle-eastern accent and it was obvious that English was not his native language. Unfortunately, overseas scams are common because America doesn’t have jurisdiction to try and convict someone operating in, say, Pakistan.
2. Odd Resume. He sent me a resume that didn’t make sense. It claimed he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and got a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature. Now, MIT is a top-notch technology school with incredibly bright students, but I’ve never heard of anyone going to MIT to study English Literature. I asked him if he went to MIT and he said yes. I asked him what he studied, and he said ‘all subjects.’ When I asked him to give me a reminder of what degree he got, he couldn’t tell me. I don’t think he could remember his own lies.
3. Current Employer. I asked him who he currently works for, because his resume didn’t show anything beyond 2024. He gave an eight-paragraph explanation and had a hard time explaining it. I asked if that meant he was self-employed, to which he said he was.
4. LLC License? I asked him if he had a business office I could visit. He said no.
5. DBA Registration? I asked him if he had an LLC for his business. He said no. I asked about a DBA registration. He said no. I told him that in order to run a business he needs to have some sort of licensure or registration. He said he didn’t have anything.

Needless to say, his whole story held water as well as pantyhose does.

The point of this blog post is simple: Ask questions. If you ask someone a simple question and the person gives an eight-paragraph answer, then something is probably wrong.

Ask questions to avoid getting scammed. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself asking questions about why and how you got scammed.

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What is your state famous for?

I live in New Hampshire and I think I have been blessed to live in a great state. I will tell you why.

First, New Hampshire does not have sales taxes. If you’re buying something really expensive – like a car, furniture, or groceries throughout the year, it translates into major savings. Now, we do have other taxes such as lodging and meal taxes, but simply buying anything in New Hampshire does not lead to being taxed.

Secondly, New Hampshire does not have a tax on wages. The state takes zero percent of everything you earn from wages. So, you’ve got an incentive to get out and earn money by getting a job. We have income taxes on other things, such as interest and dividends, but your wages are safe.

We also champion individual freedom. NH does not require you to carry auto insurance. NH is a must-issue state when it comes to carrying a concealed weapon. So, if the police don’t want you to carry a concealed firearm they need to state a compelling reason and the burden is on them to prove it if you contest it. You can put chains on your tires, you don’t need to wear a motorcycle helmet and marijuana is decriminalized. Access to medical marijuana for those with a large variety of medical needs is fairly easy. As of January of 2026, you will no longer have to have annual auto inspections for your car. And the list goes on and on.

Our state motto is pretty cool: Live Free or Die. That’s damn right.

What is your state famous for?

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So…I have Covid.

I guess that’s the bad news, but the good news is that I know I will survive. How do I know? This is the third time I’ve gotten it. Haha.

The frustrating (and perhaps amusing part of it) is that I’ve been fully vaccinated the entire time. At this point, I’ve gotten the vaccine plus three boosters. Given that I’ve had the vaccine plus three boosters (and have still gotten Covid three times) I am skeptical about the quality of the vaccine.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not telling you to completely avoid the vaccine. It will protect against past strains of the virus. I’m just suggesting it is a game of ‘cat and mouse’ where getting the vaccine is not a guarantee of avoiding Covid.

Think of it more as a flu shot. Every year, we see different strains of the flu, so we come out with flu shots to protect us from those strains. Then new strains come out, and we need to make new flu shots to cover our bases. Then new strains, then new flu shots.

Since I am a Type 2 Diabetic (which makes me higher risk), my doctor also recommended to me that I get the flu shot, so I got it last year. Guess what? I still ended up getting diagnosed with the flu. Haha.

I guess what I would say is to be smart about your health. Get checkups from your doctor. Wash your hands frequently. Eat responsibly (full disclosure – I struggle with this one!). Don’t be afraid to get exercise. And lastly, don’t be afraid to get preventative care or screening. It doesn’t make you a wimp to get screened, it makes you wise.

Do any of you have thoughts about getting the Covid vaccine or general health advice?

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This is a car I spotted in Michigan that was parked at a grocery store parking lot. It had license plates and was apparently legal to drive.

Michigan, (and soon-to-be New Hampshire along with many other states) do not require auto inspections to keep vehicles on the road. In such states, vehicles like this are everywhere. Safe? Perhaps not. Legal? Often times, yes.

When I was a kid I owned a few crappy cars and had to get them inspected annually. So, I would take it to what we called a ‘lick and stick’ shop where a guy would ‘inspect’ my vehicle and pass it for me as long as I paid him the inspection fee. He would proverbially ‘lick’ the inspection sticker and put it on my windshield.

I don’t think the guy who used to inspect my car was even sober most of the time. He certainly didn’t test for emissions (he never even started the engine). He didn’t check the exhaust (I could have had illegal straight pipes on it). He didn’t test the horn, look at my brake pads, or check for leaky hoses. You get the point.

I got my car ‘inspected’ this way for years and I never had a problem getting a passing grade.

And I think that’s the point as to why it was repealed in NH. There were many tales of crooked behavior from those willing to undermine the law just to make a few bucks by offering the ‘inspection.’ Our legislators had enough and as of January of 2026, NH will no longer require automobile inspections.

Will we see more automobile accidents (and Heaven forbid fatalities) now that we’re not inspecting cars? Perhaps because of people not getting their brakes serviced, for example?

I’m not sure, and the verdict is still out. I know that in the ten-year period that I lived in Michigan I saw a lot more accidents because of things like drunk driving, distracted driving, and things of that nature.

What are your thoughts? Do you support auto inspections?