TD Bank: Greedy Bastards

When I was a wee lass, my father was a banker. It was a far more honorable profession back then, in the early 1960's. 

After we the people bailed out the banks in 2008, to show their gratitude, they refused to give loans to small businesses, and foreclosed on homeowners. Another way they've chosen to say thank you, is by adding numerous fees and charges to our accounts, our credit cards, and our debit cards. 

I recently received a letter from my bank to inform me of a change to one of those fees:

When I opened this checking account, it was at a small locally owned bank: North Conway Bank, in North Conway, NH. It was repeatedly sold up the corporate banking food chain till it went from TD Bank North to plain old TD Bank. 

Now, despite years of customer loyalty, unless I have a daily balance of $250, the bank is going to charge me a monthly "maintenance fee" of $10.  

How much work can it be to "maintain" the bank account of a poor person? Is my account dirtying the  carpets or getting fingerprints on the windows? 

I'm barely employed. I don't have $250 in that bank account as I type this. Is my poverty  INCONVENIENCING them, somehow? It sure as hell is inconvenient for me! 


Banking: Second Most Hated Industry:

The overall negative ratings for this industry has increased significantly from 20% in 2001 to 53% this year. The percentage of positive ratings has also declined by nearly 50% since 2001. The poor image of the banking industry is fairly straightforward, having “been involved in major issues since Lehman brothers in 2008, and it still looks like a problem,” Newport says. In addition, Americans’ perception may be affected by the high fees banks charge consumers.The high volume of scandals both in the U.S. and in Europe exposes flaws in the industry and undermine the public’s confidence in its effectiveness.Bank of America has built an infamous public image with false foreclosures, property seizures, misleading mortgage adjustment programs, and other controversial conduct. Scandals like these could be fueling the perception that the banking industry is only profit-oriented and functioning at the expense of the average American.

It's not a perception. It's reality. They're shameless greedy bastards. 

Fingers in Ears: LALALA

The NH House is currently dealing with the Senate’s casino bill, and the NH Senate is dealing with the House budget. These are the two Big Important things of this year’s legislative session. Last week, as part of the budget process, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing in Representatives Hall so that lobbyists, organizations, and members of the public could make their case to the Committee for increased funding for their needs.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Morse was clear from the beginning that he would impose no time restrictions on those who came to speak. The hearing was supposed to last four hours, but went for an extra two, thanks to the no time limit policy.

People who have disabilities and rely on wheelchairs were there to speak about how much they need and value their personal care attendants, and how little these people are paid for the great work they do. A family with a deaf son was there to speak about his special needs. Other families spoke about their fears for their children with disabilities, and the possibility of being put on the infamous developmental disability wait list. This is all painful stuff, put out there in public, while members of the committee listen for hours with their eyes glazing over. It’s a process that is awful for everyone involved, a process that lacks any sort of kindness or compassion.

All that waiting made the two pieces of performance “art” enacted by members of the Free State Project that much more egregious. The hearing began at 3. At some point before the dinner break at 5 pm, a man calling himself “Adam Sutler” was called to speak, and delivered a theatrical and senseless rant. Adam Sutler was a character in the movie “V for Vendetta.” Much later in the evening, a second man calling himself “Edgar Friendly” was called to speak, and engaged in another theatrical rant, before Chairman Morse told him to get lost. His rant was a mash-up of lines from “Network” and “Demolition Man.” “Demolition Man” is where the character “Edgar Friendly” originated.

Apparently this was supposed to prove something grand and profound to the people of NH. What that was remains unclear. The FSP may have succeeded in pranking the committee (boy howdy, now there’s a triumph!) but it was at the expense of those folks sitting there with developmentally disabled children, folks sitting in wheelchairs, and every member of the public who was sitting there waiting to speak about their own needs or the needs of their family. The point they unwittingly made is that the Free State Project is largely comprised of narcissistic individuals who are incapable of consideration for those who live outside of their cult.

The GOP controlled Senate passed a rule change this year that enables them to avoid hearing any House resolutions that they wish to ignore. No longer do the dignified members of our Senate have to stick their fingers in their ears singing “la-la-la.”

There are 2 kinds of resolutions that can make it as far as the Senate: House Continuing Resolutions (HCRs) and House Joint Resolutions (HJRs). Most resolutions die on the House floor and never make it as far as the Senate – and for good reason.

In 2011, there were 27 HCRs and 4 HJRs. There was a resolution in support of the Arizona immigration law, one urging the UK to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece, and another urging the Park Service to exhume the remains of Meriwether Lewis to determine his cause of death. There was also a resolution that year to urge Congress to begin the process of overturning Citizen’s United, the Supreme Court decision that allows corporations to spend as much as they want to influence our elections.

In 2012, there were 16 HCRs and 4 HJRs. There was yet another resolution in support of the Arizona immigration law, one calling on the US to withdraw from the UN (thank you, Norm Tregenza), one urging the privatization of all aspects of Social Security, and my favorite, a resolution declaring brain power to be a state resource.

Most of those never made it as far as the Senate. This year, there were only 3 HCRs and 2 HJRs, which makes the Senate rule change all the more curious.

There are 2 HCRs and 1 HJR that made it out of the House. HCR 1 is a resolution urging Congress to fund a comprehensive health care delivery system to enhance specialty care for New Hampshire veterans. New Hampshire is the only state in the union that has no full service VA hospital.

HCR 2 is a resolution urging Congress to begin the process of overturning Citizens United. HJR 1 directs the joint legislative committee to acquire and display a portrait of legendary NH suffragist Marilla Marks Ricker.

Apparently these three items are all too coarse for the dainty ears of our NH Senators, since they refuse to hear them.  Not a one of them is a frivolous or ideological concern. Some Senators at least claim to be concerned about money influencing politics. Usually the GOP is the first to bang on the drum of veterans needs.  And given the big problem that today’s Republican Party has with women, you’d think the GOP men of the Senate would be out scouring the state for portraits of Marilla Ricker, or that multimillionaire Jeb Bradley would be paying for a portrait out of pocket, and unveiled at a big public event. (ha!) But, all kidding aside, celebrating a long dead woman who fought hard to secure voting rights for her gender can’t do anything but make these guys look good. And they won’t do it. They won’t even hear the resolution.

It’s a petty subversion of the democratic process. Each of those resolutions cleared the 400 member House to get to the Senate. That the Senate can’t be bothered to take the time to even hear those 3 resolutions is pathetic.

The Senate Finance Committee refused to limit the amount of time anyone could take to testify before them, resulting in a poorly run hearing that took hours longer than it should have, and inconvenienced hundreds of people who didn’t deserve to be treated so badly. That same Senate allowed the Free Staters to make a mockery of their hearing – but they refuse to hear 3 resolutions that reflect the will of the people of our state merely because it might inconvenience them.

  © 2013 sbruce

published in the May 17, 2013 edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper. 

Annie We Didn't Send You to DC to be a Blue Dog, part 2

Proud 2 join bipartisan colleagues in advancing #FarmBill - imp step fwd 4 farmers/consumers/rural communities in #NH 1.usa.gov/107mxw4
— Ann McLane Kuster (@RepAnnieKuster) May 16, 2013

As you can see, Congresswoman Kuster is PROUD of her vote. 

Hey, kids, guess what is in that vote? Some drastic cuts to the food stamp (SNAP) program. From The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

On May 15, the House Agriculture Committee passed its 2013 farm bill, H.R. 1947 (the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, or FARRM).[1]   The bill would cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program) by almost $21 billion over the next decade, eliminating food assistance to nearly 2 million low-income people, mostly working families with children and senior citizens. 

and

The bill’s SNAP cuts would come on top of an across-the-board reduction in benefits that every SNAP recipient will experience starting November 1, 2013.  On that date, the increase in SNAP benefits established by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) will end, resulting in a loss of approximately $25 in monthly SNAP benefits for a family of four.  Placing the SNAP cuts in this farm bill on top of the benefit cuts that will take effect in November is likely to put substantial numbers of poor families at risk of food insecurity.The majority of the bill’s SNAP cuts come from eliminating a state option known as “categorical eligibility.”  Congress created this option in the 1996 welfare law, allowing states to provide food assistance to households — primarily low-income working families and seniors — that have gross incomes or assets modestly above federal SNAP limits but disposable incomes in most cases below the poverty line.

In other words, if you're a low wage working family but you have a CAR - you're gonna have to figure out a way to feed that car to the kids. 

• The bill would terminate SNAP eligibility for several million people.  By eliminating the categorical eligibility state option, which over 40 states have adopted, the bill would cut nearly 2 million low-income people off SNAP. 
• Several hundred thousand low-income children would lose access to free school meals.  According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), 210,000 children in low-income families whose eligibility for free school meals is tied to their receipt of SNAP would lose free school meals when their families lose SNAP benefits.

This is what Congresswoman Kuster is proud to have voted for. 

Some quick NH poverty facts. Living in poverty: 

12% of  children.

9% of seniors.

10% of women. 

26% of single parent families. 

The overal poverty rate is 8.7%. The extreme poverty rate is 4.4%. 

9.6% of NH residents live with food insecurity. 

44, 000 New Hampshire children receive SNAP benefits. 

Ann Kuster voted, proudly, against the poor, the elderly, women, single parent families, and above all the children of our state. 

The excuse for all of this is reining in "out of control program growth." Funny how they never say that about weapons spending. Tell your Congresscritter you want cuts to the Pentagon budget, not cuts that take food away from children. 

The bill goes to the full House next. There's plenty of time to make a bunch of noise about this. If you live in Kuster's district, be sure to express your displeasure. And start thinking seriously an actual progressive candidate to run against her in the primary next year. 

Kuster's offices: 

137 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-5206

18 North Main Street, Fourth Floor

Concord, NH 03301

Phone: (603) 226-1002
Fax: (603) 21010
Hours: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday - Friday

70 East Pearl Street

Nashua, NH 03060

Phone: (603) 595-2006
Fax: (603) 595-2016
Hours: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday - Friday

Subverting Democracy: A Guest Blog for Public Citizen

Public Citizen asked me to write a guest blog for them on the subject of the NH Senate rule change allowing the Senate to avoid dealing with any resolutions they don't wish to hear. See me there at: Citizen Vox. 

New Hampshire has always enjoyed a reputation for being a state filled with thrifty Yankees having libertarian leanings. The 400-member House of Representatives is the third-largest governing body in the English-speaking world. All New Hampshire  legislators serve tw0-year terms, for which they receive an annual gratuity of $100.  They’re citizens. They’re volunteers. They are not professional politicians.

This year, the New Hampshire Senate enacted a new rule that requires a two-thirds majority vote to introduce or hear certain resolutions. This kind of action has never been taken before in the Live Free or Die state, where everything gets a hearing. The senators claimed that too much time is wasted on silly resolutions that serve no purpose.

House resolutions come in three varieties: House Continuing Resolutions (HCRs), House Joint Resolutions (HJRs) and House Resolutions. (HRs)

It is worth noting that this year, the number of resolutions is significantly smaller than it has been in the past few years. There are only three HCRs, two HJRs and eight HRs. Most of the HRs are housekeeping matters, such as adopting rules for the biennium, and never reach the Senate.

In 2012 there were 16 HCRs, four HJRs and 11 HRs. They included a resolution declaring that New Hampshire supports the Arizona immigration law, one calling on the U.S. to withdraw from the United Nations, one urging Congress to privatize all aspects of Social Security and (my favorite), a resolution urging New Hampshire lawmakers to declare brainpower a state resource.

In 2011, there were a whopping 27 HCRs, four HJRs, and 13 HRs. Included were resolutions in support of the Arizona immigration law, urging the UK to return the Elgin marbles to Greece and urging the Park Service to allow the exhumation of Meriwether Lewis to determine his cause of death. There was also a resolution that requested Congress to begin the process of overturning the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which gave corporations the green light to spend unlimited sums to influence elections.

Some of these must sound strange and obscure. They are!

Yet the previous New Hampshire Senate didn’t feel compelled to complain or refuse to hear any of them, no matter how little relevance they had to New Hampshire. That’s why it is so surprising that the New Hampshire Senate decided to refuse to hear them this year.

This year, they do not want to hear HCR 1, a resolution urging Congress to fund a comprehensive health care delivery system to enhance specialty care for Nfew Hampshire veterans. New Hampshire is the only state in the union that has no VA hospital.

The Senate does not want to hear HCR 2, requesting Congress to begin the process of overturningCitizens United.

The Senate also does not want to hear HJR 1, directing the joint legislative historical committee to acquire and display a portrait of suffragist Marilla Marks Ricker. Marilla Ricker was left a wealthy widow before she was 30 and spent the next 50 years trying to ensure that women got the right to vote. She was the first woman who tried to vote, and later ran for governor, because she was so incensed that she had to pay property taxes but was not allowed to vote. Apparently this story is too coarse for the dainty ears of the current New Hampshire Senate, as they are refusing to hear it.

Politics is our life’s blood in New Hampshire, home of the first in the nation presidential primary. Many of us live in small towns and serve in a variety of offices throughout our lives. With a 400-person legislature, many of us run for the New Hampshire House at some point, as I did, in 2002. It’s inexpensive entertainment in a state where many of us can’t get cable television.

That’s why this Senate rule change is so disheartening. We don’t run away from a discussion or a fight in New Hampshire, and that’s exactly what the Senate is doing. Lawmakers passed this rule without making it public, to avoid working on things they don’t like. That’s not the behavior of statesmen. That’s subverting the democratic process. It’s running away, and running away doesn’t bode well for them in the next election.

As the story of Marilla Ricker illustrates, we’ve been blessed with some strong women to lead the way in New Hampshire. Doris Haddock, known to the world as Granny D, walked from California to Washington, D.C., when she was 90, to call attention to the need for campaign finance reform. On April 21, 2000, Granny D was arrested for reading the Declaration of Independence in the Capitol building. In the statement she read in court, she said: “I was reading from the Declaration of Independence to make the point that we must declare our independence from the corrupting bonds of big money in our election campaigns.” If Doris was willing to risk arrest at age 90, surely we can all take some less risky action.

Public Citizen’s New Hampshire page on the Democracy Is For People website has a great picture of Doris wearing her famous hat. There also are helpful resources listed on the site, so that you can take action by reading the fact sheet about Citizens United and then call your state senator.

Free State Cult Puts on a Clown Show

On Friday I wrote about the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the budget.(One of the Worst Hearings Ever.)  I mentioned that Chairman Chuck Morse announced at the beginning that there would be no limits on testimony, that people would be allowed to speak as long as they wished. And they did. Greg Moore from right wing group Americans for Prosperity was allowed to natter on for 10 minutes. He was also the second person to testify- a remarkable bit of luck for him! There was very little restraint shown by some people who really ought to have known better, including some legislators.

And then there were these people. From that Friday piece:

This committee was not bound by any such considerations, and as such, there were all manner of hijinks. There was at least one piece of performance testimony, with a dramatic rant delivered by a fellow calling himself "Adam Sutler." (Adam Sutler was a character in V for Vendetta.) Given the number of Free State Project members in the room for the hearing, it's quite possible that the Sutler character was one of them. Another performance piece apparently took place after I left, with a speech from the movie Demolition Man. 

From the Sunday Concord Monitor:

"The Senate Finance Committee got punk’d Thursday night.The committee’s public hearing on the state budget was already past the four-hour mark (en route to a final running time of six hours) when a man who had put his name down as Edgar Friendly was called to testify.He spoke and then shouted for a couple minutes about democracy being a “dying giant” and wanting to be able to choose his own food at a greasy spoon diner. Eventually, Sen. Chuck Morse told him to get lost.“You’re done, okay? You’ve had your two minutes,” said Morse, a Salem Republican and the panel’s chairman. The man continued to yell for a bit, then stormed out of Representatives Hall.Here’s what we know: Part of the man’s rant came from the 1976 film Network, and another portion was verbatim from the 1993 classic Demolition Man. (Edgar Friendly is the name of Denis Leary’s character in the latter movie.)“Friendly” was being filmed during his testimony by Garret Ean, a former Republican House candidate and blogger at Free Concord. Ean said the man was a performance artist – in fact, the second of two who spoke at the hearing."

Garret Ean is affiliated with the Free State Project, the cult that is moving 20,000 people here to take over our state, dismantle our state government, and threaten to secede. There were other members of the FSP present in the House chambers for this hearing.

It wasn't just the committee that got punk'd. It was every NH resident who took the time to drive to Concord and testify. It was every resident that loaded up a wheelchair, and packed a bag full of supplies and medications they would need to sit there for hours, while they waited to testify. It was every resident that brought a child. It was the family that brought 2 ASL interpreters for their deaf son.

We know the FSP has no respect for NH government. Now we know they also have no respect for the people of this state. 

NH Senate Finance - One of the Worst Hearings Ever

The NH House passed a budget for the state, and it crossed over to the Senate where it's currently being  examined and probably rewritten. The NH Senate seems bent on undoing all of the positive work done in the House this year. As part of the process, the Senate Finance Commitee held what was supposed to be a four hour hearing on the budget on May 9, in Representative's Hall. This was a chance for members of the public, various agencies, and special interest groups to weigh in on the needs of the state. 

The hearing lasted for 6 hours. Committee Chair Chuck Morse announced at the beginning: "We don't limit testimony" and he went on to do just that. At large House hearings, generally the committee chair will give each person a three minute limit for testimony, and often the chairs are quite dogmatic about keeping on topic. 

This committee was not bound by any such considerations, and as such, there were all manner of hijinks. There was at least one piece of performance testimony, with a dramatic rant delivered by a fellow calling himself "Adam Sutler." (Adam Sutler was a character in V for Vendetta.) Given the number of Free State Project members in the room for the hearing, it's quite possible that the Sutler character was one of them. Another performance piece apparently took place after I left, with a speech from the movie Demolition Man. 

 State Representative Barbara French rose to speak on behalf of Family Resource Centers, and presented a bloc of fellow speakers as a fait accompli. The testimony of the combined group lasted for over 30 minutes. A state rep should know better than this, especially given the hundreds of people who were there to testify. The first 2 speakers each testified for 10 minutes apiece. It wasn't the worst run hearing I've ever been to at the NH legislature, but it was in the top 3. 

One of the first two speakers was Greg Moore of the NH outlet of Americans for Prosperity - the right wing group founded by the Koch brothers in 2004. He spoke for 10 minutes, and one certainly wonders why this lobbyist was given such a plum speaking time slot. Moore (who worked for Speaker O'Brien during the last biennium) was there to speak in opposition to the entire budget. He has the sads about business taxes, but then went into a rantlet about fee increases. NH is apparently supposed to run on the prayers of magic unicorns, and require no actual money to be raised or spent. Mr. Moore is also very opposed to the proposed Medicaid expansion. It seems that people who get Medicaid actually use the health care system. This is heady stuff - people who have access to health care actually USE IT. Oh, and that's a BAD THING. 

Folks were present to speak in support of all manner of programs. Two staffers from Granite State Independent Living testified about how the personal care attendant program enables them to be out in the community, working, and having an independent life. 

There were people who urged the committee to increase funding to our state's nursing homes. Some recovering substance abusers from New Futures spoke about the need to fund treatment in NH. 

NH Judge Edward Gordon spoke about the need to properly fund the state's Intervention Fund, created in 2001, and administered by the Governor's Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. It was supposed to be funded with 5% of the gross profits from the State Liquor Commission. Since 2003, the law has been suspended, and the fund has been raided for other uses. The 2012-2013 budget provided for a paltry $3.2 million for two years. If the fund had actually gotten the 5%, it would have received $18.3 million. Judge Gordon said, "If we're going to aggressively market alcohol as a state, we should be prepared to address the consequences." In speaking of his own years in court, he said, "alcohol flowed through my courtroom like a river." 

Maggie Fogarty of the American Friends Service Committee testified about the good work done by NH Legal Assistance, and how they need to be better funded. 

People spoke on behalf of funding domestic violence programs, affordable housing programs, and fully funding the state's Developmental Disability wait list. One of the great shames of our state is that we have a waiting list for DD services. 

Parents brought their children who have developmental disabilities to the hearing. They sobbed as they spoke about their fears for these children. Some of us wept as we listened.

This is a terrible process, that people have to come and share their private business with the public, and  plead for the kinds of help that they need. Surely as a state we can do better than this? 

Still, as shameful as that process is, it is far more shameful that some cult members would have so little respect for members of the public that they would turn it into mockery theater. 

Right Wing Support Ad for Ayotte Filled With NH GOP Operatives

Just a few days ago, Senator Kelly Ayotte was sharply critical of out-of-state special interests running what she called false ads about her position on background checks for gun buyers. 

Those evil out-of-state special interests attacking poor beleaguered Kelly. 

But wait - our friends at Think Progress find that out-of-state special interests SUPPORTING KellyAyotte are also running ads in NH. They seem to have had a tough time with casting. For example:

Jayne Millerick is billed in the ad as a “New Hampshire mom” and says “Those attack commercials are partisan and deliberately misleading.” But Millerick is actually a Republican strategist whoserved as Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, a New Hampshire Republican Delegate in 2008, and was a member of New Hampshire Women for Mitt coalition in 2012. She is now a professional political consultant.

I nearly choked on my coffee this morning when I saw Jayne Millerick, "mom" in that ad this morning.  They couldn't find any civilians for these ads? 








As for who "they" are: They are the American Future Fund who describe themselves thusly:

The American Future Fund operates as a 501(c)(4) and was formed to provide Americans with a conservative and free market viewpoint to have a mechanism to communicate and advocate on the issues that most interest and concern them.

These groups just seem to pop up like mushrooms after a spring rain. Politico provides some background on the money being spent on ads by these groups to shore up Ayotte's dwindling support. 

It seems out-of-state special interests are just ducky when they're trying to help you cover your ass, right Senator? 

NH Senators Conspire To Take Your Water Rights Away!

The latest conspiracy theory has come to town. The NH Tea Party has decided that SB 11, a bill that permits municipalities to establish water and/or sewer utility districts and to enter into intermunicipal agreements for the establishment of such districts.

A bill that would allow municipalities to work together? Oh the horror! What can they be thinking?

Thank heaven those sharp eyed Tea Partiers found the menace in this abhorrent bit of legislation. What kind of people would sponsor such a thing?

Oh dear. The lead sponsors are state Senators Nancy Stiles and Russell Prescott. Well known pinkos, the two of 'em 

A state rep friends tells me his/her phone is ringing steadily and he/she is getting lots of email on this bill, since the tinfoil hat brigade decided to make it their own. How did this happen?

The bill sailed through the Senate. Apparently they're in on the conspiracy. The bill also moved smoothly through the House Municipal and County Government Committee, where it was voted OTP (ought to pass) on a vote of 18-0. This bill was considered so innocuous that it was put on the Consent Calendar. Then JR Hoell rode in on his aluminum steed and removed the bill from the clutches of consent. It will be dealt with at the next House session, where presumably the fight will be long and rancorous and involve numerous roll call votes. 

Where does the Tea Party get this stuff? And why does anyone give them an iota of serious consideration? 

In the meantime, start getting your chapeau ready for next week's House Session.

Stellaaaaaah Takes a Holiday

Landrigan tweets from the State House:

It seems likely that leadership didn't discourage her from taking the day off.

Kelly Ayotte Changes Position on Background Checks AND Special Interest Groups

The Union Leader published an op-ed by Senator Kelly Ayotte yesterday. From the opening paragraph:

Out-of-state special interests are running false ads attacking me and even lying about my efforts to prevent gun-related violence.

Read the whole thing to see how interested Senator Ayotte has suddenly become in appearing to be reasonable about background checks. 

The far right has been trying to create the mythology that it was those pesky out of state special interests who showed up at Ayotte's largely unannounced town hall meetings. (Still waiting for the incurious NH media to wonder why those town hall meetings weren't listed in her weekly newsletter that comes out on Friday.) 

I was at the town hall meeting in Tilton, and I knew most of the people who were supporting gun safety. I also saw Ayotte supporters getting out of cars with out of state plates. The "we heart Kelly" crowd was organized by a right wing group from NH. This wasn't grass roots - and the reason it wasn't, is because folks didn't know about it. If it had been announced and advertised, the local folk might have actually been there. A cynical person could say that  Senator Ayotte may well have been trying to slide in under cover, with only supporters drummed up by Citizens for a Strong NH, thereby creating the illusion that everyone in NH hearts our Kelly. 

Senator Ayotte's disdain for out-of-state special interests running attack ads is mentioned more than once in the UL editorial.

Apparently out-of-state special interests running support ads is another thing entirely: 

Fear: A Stronger Instinct Than Kindness

fear 

/fi(ə)r/

Noun An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Verb Be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening: "farmers fear that they will lose business".

Fear IS an unpleasant emotion. There are what we call healthy fears; the fear that if you touch the hot stove it will burn you. That if you drive drunk you might kill someone. That if you cheat you will get caught. 

There are fears that don't seem rational - like people jumping on to chairs screaming if they see a mouse. Granted, I don't have that fear, so to me it does seem a little irrational. 

Some fears are based on prior experience, or the prior experiences of others. And some fears are manipulated. "If I catch you doing that again, young lady, you'll be in BIG TROUBLE." Big and little fears are with us throughout our lives.

There are plenty of them projected our way if we choose to accept them. "The President Wants To Take All Of Your Guns Away," is a rather popular fear being projected from certain circles these days. 

It's all about what we choose to accept. We can always be susceptible to fear. I've been living with fear for a long time now. I haven't had a full time job for five years. I've been able to skate by with help from friends and part time jobs. The longer one is out of work, the harder it is to find a job. Add getting older to that, as well as vigorous public use of the First Amendment, and one has a recipe for permanent unemployment. The level of poverty I live in means frequently moving. Most of my belongings are in storage. I move from place to place, my car looks like a moving van, and I dream every night that I'm in some weird living situation. I call this "moving PTSD". There is nothing on the horizon that indicates that this will be ending any time soon. I could be living in my car any day now. And what if that car breaks down? What if...what if...? keeps me awake at night. I live with fear every day. 

This was brought home to me in a vivid and unattractive way yesterday. I read this story in the New York Daily Record, about a job fair for the unemployed and for ex-offenders. Except in my fear, they were CRIMINALS and unemployed folks were being stigmatized by being lumped in with them. 

This isn't ordinarily how I think. I know very well how difficult life is for people who are released from any kind of incarceration. They're apt to have lost jobs, housing, families, credit - and no one wants to give them any kind of a break. 

Yet my first thought was not that we're all in this together. My first thought came right from the place of deep, primal fear. 

Fear can make us forget what we know to be true - but only if we let it. I cannot afford to let it. 

"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality." ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

A big tip-o-the-hat to Arnie Alpert. 

The Incurious NH Media Strikes Again

This is a screenshot from NH State Rep. Stella Tremblay's Facebook page:

This is the oath that NH legislators take:

Established October 31, 1783 Effective June 2, 1784 As Subsequently Amended and in Force January 2007

[Art.] 84. [Oath of Civil Officers.] Any person chosen governor, councilor, senator, or representative, military or civil officer, (town officers excepted) accepting the trust, shall, before he proceeds to execute the duties of his office, make and subscribe the following declaration, viz. - I, A.B. do solemnly swear, that I will bear faith and true allegiance to the United States of America and the state of New Hampshire, and will support the constitution thereof. So help me God. I, A.B. do solemnly and sincerely swear and affirm that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all duties incumbent on me as ................................................., according to the best of my abilities, agreeably to the rules and regulations of this constitution and laws of the state of New Hampshire. So help me God.

http://www.nh.gov/constitution/oaths.html

I can't help but notice Rep. Tremblay's use of quotes. Her first set of quotes is around the word "oath." The second set is around the words "innocent victims." Given that Tremblay doesn't believe that there were real victims, that they were some sort of amputee actors, what does that tell us about the regard for which she holds her "oath?"

As a big supporter and practitioner of the First Amendment, I certainly am in favor of Rep. Tremblay saying whatever she wants to. The thing about that freedom to speak though, is that there may be consequences. One should be prepared to take responsibility for what one says.

Did Stella violate her oath by making rather treasonous comments that blame the US government for a "black ops" terrorist plot - based on no evidence whatsoever?

That's not up to me to decide.

I do know this much: Representative Stella Tremblay brought shame upon the state of NH. Serious shame. That kind of a public accusation - based on the ravings of the tinfoil tricorne hat brigade and nothing else - are truly shameful. A great many people were injured that day. My relatives who work in the hospitals of Boston could give Rep. Tremblay an earful about what happened that day, night, and over the following days. What she said is truly reprehensible.

That's why Stella Tremblay should resign. She's made NH not only a joke - but an evil joke, wrapped in the worst sort of conspiracy theories.

Every piece of legislation she was the lead sponsor on this year failed. Tremblay's role is to be a supporting actor in the Teabagger/Bircher/FreeState pageant. It's certainly worth noting that GOP Chair Jennifer Horn has been quite public in denouncing Tremblay's comments. So has House Minority Leader Gene Chandler. What about former Speaker Bill O'Brien? He refused a committee assignment in the House, so he certainly has time to comment. Has anyone in the NH media (who LOVE to give him airtime for any trumped up reason they can find)  bothered to ask him for his opinion about Rep. Tremblay? Does he agree with her? Does he denounce her ugly accusations? Stella Tremblay is in the background at every one of his press conferences. She's one of his supporters. You'd think the NH media would be curious.

It's a shame they so seldom are.