tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199237292024-03-19T04:43:21.285-04:00susan the bruceNH Writer, Blogger, GadflyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-6937892469420381422021-05-05T13:57:00.000-04:002021-05-05T13:57:00.248-04:00My letter to the NH House Labor Committee on SB 137, the bill to freeze the tipped minimum wage <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj496_YpOGJEnKAL71UjKL63m0RseNnRyt8GfhuyT7g_XWAmgKCpqyJaYdeYpLzd-LCQ1tLw1gDKD9ehIX6kUpb47yK_dmEfSj46X2EqPxM_OvUSveeEnpoOWXKMRwdUbHd2ctyAw/s750/howtotips*750xx2714-1527-0-142.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj496_YpOGJEnKAL71UjKL63m0RseNnRyt8GfhuyT7g_XWAmgKCpqyJaYdeYpLzd-LCQ1tLw1gDKD9ehIX6kUpb47yK_dmEfSj46X2EqPxM_OvUSveeEnpoOWXKMRwdUbHd2ctyAw/s320/howtotips*750xx2714-1527-0-142.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "American Typewriter", serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;">May 5, 2021<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "American Typewriter", serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "American Typewriter", serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "American Typewriter", serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "American Typewriter", serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;">To the Members of the House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Committee:<br /><br /><br />I’m writing in opposition to SB 137, the bill that would freeze the tipped minimum wage at $3.27, in the event of an increase in the federal minimum wage. <br /><br />I worked in the food service industry for 20 years. I’ve been a server, a bartender, and a line cook. I suspect that most of the members of the committee have little experience in working for tips. <br /><br />You will hear testimony from restaurant owners who are crying poverty. You will hear testimony from the lobbyists who represent the restaurant industry. You’ll get a picture of posh, candlelit dining rooms, with tuxedo clad servers, deftly presenting gorgeously arranged plates, and serving expensive bottles of wine. <br /><br />You won’t be reminded that there are breakfast servers who work harder than anyone, for tiny tips. You won’t be encouraged to think about the servers in diners – not the trendy diners – but the old school, greasy spoons, where the tips are not at all the same as those given in the posh candlelit dining rooms. <br /><br />You also won’t hear about wait staff being overscheduled on nights that are supposed to be busy, so that one can hang around for a few hours without ever waiting on a table, “just in case it gets busy.” <br /><br />Just imagine for a moment, what your job might be like if you had to rely on tips. The restaurant business is the only industry where owners get to subcontract the wages of a big portion of their staff to the whims of the public. <br /><br />New Hampshire’s tipped minimum wage is already lower than the tipped minimum in our neighboring states. In Maine the tipped minimum wage is $6.00 per hour. In Vermont it is $5.88. In Massachusetts, it is $5.55. <br /><br />This bid to freeze an already terrible wage is coming at a time when restaurants are having a hard time getting help. It’s not because, as some would have us believe, that people are scoring big by collecting unemployment. It’s because a lot workers aren’t willing to risk their lives during a pandemic for substandard wages. <br /><br />I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the fact that this bill is sponsored by multimillionaire State Senator Jeb Bradley who has never worked for tips in his life. Senator Bradley earned his money in the old fashioned way – he inherited it. I don’t begrudge him his status in the lucky sperm club. I do, however, bitterly resent a wealthy man trying to curry favor with the restaurant lobby by shafting the workers. <br /><br />Please vote to ITL SB 137. <br /><br /><br />Sincerely, <br /><br />Susan Bruce <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "American Typewriter", serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "American Typewriter", serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2021&id=1070&txtFormat=html">SB 137</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "American Typewriter", serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "American Typewriter", serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2021&id=1070&txtFormat=html"><br /></a><br /><o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-26858525030066873312021-05-04T11:32:00.001-04:002021-05-04T11:32:49.455-04:00NH, Clinging to the Past <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyd2CKZK4yV9lJJxmxN0VT_66U9ego6jxAUQArdg6EPzmdenadFRno6Vp6wdiIn2lFhnBqp2LfCWXs33_7FpnciK7dCrf_rhTcwxg74gWmVmm9lFnHMUT70h9o8b7cht0gUOCyQ/s1200/Old-man-of-the-mountain-bpl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="767" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyd2CKZK4yV9lJJxmxN0VT_66U9ego6jxAUQArdg6EPzmdenadFRno6Vp6wdiIn2lFhnBqp2LfCWXs33_7FpnciK7dCrf_rhTcwxg74gWmVmm9lFnHMUT70h9o8b7cht0gUOCyQ/w410-h640/Old-man-of-the-mountain-bpl.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">On May 3, 2003, the rock face known as The Old Man of the Mountain succumbed to time, erosion, and gravity - and fell off Cannon Mountain. (Or maybe he jumped, because he was so ashamed of the Benson administration.) His image is still on our license plates, and he's still the symbol of NH - even though he no longer exists. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="caret-color: rgb(5, 5, 5); color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's appropriate. This is a state where we cling to so many things that either don't exist or don't work any more. The New Hampshire Advantage. Live Free or Die. The First in the Nation Primary. No State Income Tax. Funding our State Parks With User Fees. The 400 Seat House of Representatives. The way we cling to the past ensures we won't move into the present, never mind the future.</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-90710596094078671492021-04-06T21:12:00.004-04:002021-04-06T21:33:58.538-04:00 The Dignity of the NH House <p> </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSI4CFNaK_jG8_1h0WsNu2vJoafBAzZdfRrqOXnvvSEHuq1COGxKTgt1-aOVZ7P9i-hni7eFtmwU5HE3nmSy0YkHzhOg27Aj51V2xqUxT4aLU6IriGX6B5vH5_1UpS8RN0tFNTow/s1299/Screen+Shot+2021-04-05+at+2.31.49+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="1299" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSI4CFNaK_jG8_1h0WsNu2vJoafBAzZdfRrqOXnvvSEHuq1COGxKTgt1-aOVZ7P9i-hni7eFtmwU5HE3nmSy0YkHzhOg27Aj51V2xqUxT4aLU6IriGX6B5vH5_1UpS8RN0tFNTow/w640-h230/Screen+Shot+2021-04-05+at+2.31.49+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">The NH House Calendar is published weekly on the NH General Court website. It's a weekly update on what is coming up for the House: voting on legislation, committee meetings, fiscal notes, amendments, and notices. It's a serious publication about the business being conducted in the People's House. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">When a voting session is coming up, the Calendar will list the bills that will be voted on, in the order in which they will be dealt with. In the listing of each bill is a report from the committee that the bill was assigned to, and their recommendation on whether the House should pass the bill or vote it "ITL" which means inexpedient to legislate. The report is a short summary from the majority viewpoint of the committee. There may also be a minority report written by those who disagreed with the majority. These reports are traditionally businesslike summaries of why the majority finds the bill to be worth supporting or worth rejecting. They are not, traditionally, a place for ideological hand wringing and hysteria. This year is not traditional.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">I confess - I'm a nerd. I'm a geek that reads the House calendar. (The Senate, too). I'm a nerd that's been reading the calendar for about a decade, which is how I know that this year is different. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><div class="page" title="Page 7"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">HB 441, </span><span>requiring The Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be placed in all public schools. </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE</span></span></p></div></div></div><div class="page" title="Page 8"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span>Rep. Ralph Boehm for Education. This bill requires the school board or board of trustees of a charter school to place a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in all public schools and in every classroom where civics is taught. This is not needed, as the USA has our own Bill of Rights. If anything, the US Bill of Rights should be in our classrooms and not a declaration made by another governmental agency that includes non-democratic believing countries. In addition, NH public schools currently have the right and authority to make local policy regarding issues such as the United Declaration of Human Rights without the need for another statutory directive from Concord. Lastly the bill is yet another unfunded Part I, Article 28-a constitutional issue. </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">Vote 17-3.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span></span></span></p></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">This is pretty straightforward. You can see what the intent of the bill is. The majority of the committee doesn't support the bill. In a normal year, the summary would consist of what the bill would require, and a sentence or two about why the majority doesn't support it. It would not, in a normal year, consist of a rant about the Bill of Rights and the UN. This is partisan bleating, and has no place in the House Calendar. And as you'll see, this is by no means the worst from the April 2 Calendar. </span></p><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><a name='more'></a></span></span><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><div class="page" title="Page 45"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">"HB 544, </span><span>relative to the propagation of divisive concepts. </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">MAJORITY: OUGHT TO PASS WITH AMEND MENT. MINORITY: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE.<br /></span><span>Rep. Terry Roy for the </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">Majority </span><span>of Executive Departments and Administration. This bill is an anti-racism piece of legislation that would prohibit the teaching racist ideology to students and employees of state schools. </span><span>It would also bar mandatory racist ideology training to employees of state agencies and businesses who contract with the state to provide services to or on behalf of the state. The committee heard testimony that these trainings and teachings do currently occur in New Hampshire and seem to be becoming more of a trend both here and nationwide. The committee also heard testimony that the teaching and training of the concepts prohibited by this bill cause disharmony, resentment and hatred. The majority agrees. The bill does not prohibit teaching about racism and its negative effects throughout history on the people of New Hampshire and the United States. The majority believes teaching about actual history including institutional racism that has existed and the steps we have taken to eradicate it are important aspects of a proper education and a healthy and diverse workplace. The bill, simply put, prohibits teaching that one race is at fault in perpetuity for challenges and disadvantages faced by another race. The majority acknowledges that racism still exists and that we must always be on guard against it to challenge it whenever it rears its ugly head but the majority also believes in the inherent good of each individual Granite State citizen and in the greatness of this state and of the United States of America. Of all the nations on Earth, it is the United States that provides the most opportunity and legal protections to minorities of every race, creed and religion. </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">Vote 10-9."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">A bill that would prevent teaching about racism and sexism is labeled as "anti-racist." There's a big campaign by the liberty/radical right segment of the House to push this bill, which is based on a Trump Executive Order that was cancelled by the Biden administration. In their view, teaching that racism still exists is "racist." I watched the hearing that Rep. Roy describes, but his take on it is very different from mine. Some paid hucksters from out of state were very vocally in favor of the bill, but no one else was. One of the sponsors, Rep. Keith Ammon, introduced the bill, but didn't exactly speak eloquently about it - and didn't stick around for the rest of the hearing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">The representative who wrote this majority report is known to have a Gab account. Gab is a social networking site for extremists and white supremacists. Two of the bill's three sponsors are members of the Free State Project, a group of libertarians who have moved intentionally to NH to take over the state government. Free Staters are supposed to be devoted to the cause of "liberty" but in their case, freedom means the right for white guys to have arsenals of firearms. Free speech is something they like very much for themselves, but they don't want anyone else to have it, especially if they use it to criticize white guys. This is not a calm, fact based summary of the committee's view, it's just an ideological word salad. Representative Roy is the Vice Chair of the Executive Departments and Administration Committee. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">More on HB 544 <a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2021/02/from-libertarianism-to-authoritarianism.html">https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2021/02/from-libertarianism-to-authoritarianism.html</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span></span></span></p><!--more--><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></span><p></p><div class="page" title="Page 48"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">HB 295, </span><span>relative to initiating amendments and corrections to birth records. </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">MAJORITY: OUGHT TO PASS WITH AMENDMENT. MINORITY: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE.<br /></span><span>Rep. Gerri Cannon for the </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">Majority </span><span>of Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs. RSA 5-C:87,V, enacted in 2005 to allow sex changes, didn’t include how changes to birth records would be made. This bill as amended standardizes information required by the NH Vital Records office and city or town clerk’s offices when sex change amendments to birth records are requested for NH born citizens. The bill reduces the time, effort and costs required to process applicant requests by requiring a licensed health care provider’s notarized statement that in their professional opinion the individual’s gender is male or female and can be reasonably expected to continue as such for the foreseeable future. The original birth certificate will be retained by the clerk and vital records offices and a new birth certificate with the gender changed to male or female will be issued to the requestor. </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">Vote 11-10.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span>Rep. Mark Pearson for the </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">Minority </span><span>of Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs. This bill seeks to erase the reality of biological sex from government records. The minority believes that sex is an objective fact of human life. The notion that sex is merely an arbitrary social construct is patently false, and the state of New Hampshire should not endorse that view by passing this bill. While transgender people have a legal right to live according to their identity and conscience, accurately listing a transgender person’s biological sex on his or her birth certificate does not impose upon that right. The minority also notes with concern that a New Hampshire school board recently used a similar 2019 law, relative to driver’s licenses, to justify integrating biological males and females in school athletics. The minority notes that denying the reality of biological </span><span>sex is increasingly leading to cruel impositions by the government on female athletes who do not share the beliefs of extreme gender activists. The minority believes that birth certificates should accurately note what they always have noted: facts, not feelings; real data, not self-perceptions. Prince Harry may have come to love America, his new home, and might even want to become our President one day, but his birth certificate correctly notes he was born in London, and is therefore constitutionally disqualified from being President, whatever his feelings on the matter. A healthy woman may perceive herself to be entitled to healthcare benefits from Medicare, but her birth certificate correctly says she’s 59, not 65. A guy may wish his biological parents were two famous movie stars and would feel better about himself were their names listed on his birth certificate, but they are not his parents. Anyone may craft various instruments to reflect that with which they identify, but the birth certificate is correctly not one of those instruments. Usable data for individuals and groups are gleaned from birth certificates so they must be accurate with changes made only if the original certificate had factual errors. Birth certificates should reflect objective facts.</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span>Rep. Mark Pearson is not just a state representative, he's a clergyman. He's Canon Pearson, the minister at Trinity Church in Kingston, NH, a Charismatic Episcopal Church. </span>This majority report is bonkers. He goes from railing about birth records to transgender athletes, and for reasons that passeth understanding, drags poor Harry Windsor into his bizarre diatribe. This is most assuredly not what a committee report from the NH legislature should look like - especially a report written by the Chair of the prestigious Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span></span></span></p><!--more--><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span><br /></span></span><p></p><div class="page" title="Page 76"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-weight: 700;">HB 434, </span><span>prohibiting the use of public funds for abortions. </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">MAJORITY: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE. MINORITY: OUGHT TO PASS WITH AMENDMENT.<br /></span><span>Rep. Marjorie Smith for the </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">Majority </span><span>of Judiciary. This bill prohibits the use of public funds for the purpose of performing or assisting in an abortion which is not necessary to save the life of the mother. This bill also prohibits school-based health clinics from distributing drugs classified by the FDA as emergency contraception. The reality is that no public funds are being used in New Hampshire to perform abortions. State insurance does not cover abortion care and the Hyde Amendment bans the use of federal insurance for abortion. This bill seeks to prevent something that is not happening. It potentially eliminates the full range of reproductive health care options from being taught to medical students and physicians. It would prevent NH’s public colleges and universities from providing all options to students including information about or referrals for abortion care. </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">Vote 11-10.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span>Rep. Kimberly Rice for the </span><span style="font-weight: 700;">Minority </span><span>of Judiciary. The minority understands that tens of thousands of NH citizens find abortion totally immoral and want no part in it. The use of tax dollars makes every citizen a participant in that use. Since money is fungible, any tax money given to abortion providers pays, at least in part, for abortion itself. Similarly, when our schools or other institutions refer to abortion, our tax dollars support abortion. Since the NH Constitution explicitly says that there is no substitute for, nothing that can compensate for, our conscience rights, we believe any government money for or in support of abortion violates the conscience rights of our citizens and should, therefore, be totally stopped.</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Here, we have the minority report from Rep. Rice who claims she knows what tens of thousands of NH citizens think. Quick reminder: the state's population is only 1.3 million. NH voters have always been mostly pro-choice, except for the radical patriarchy that Rep. Rice represents. Again, this is not calm and reasoned reporting from a committee, this is prissy, finger-wagging, faux-piety. Rep. Rice isn't just a rank-and-file radical, she's in leadership. This report is from the House Judiciary Committee, but she's also the Chair of the House Children and Family Law Committee. </span></p><span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><!--more--></span></span><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">After the insurrection in January, we learned a NH Police Chief had attended the rally that led to the sacking of the Capitol. State Rep. Rosemarie Rung was horrified, and posted about it on social media. The Speaker of the NH House, Rep. Sherman Packard was furious, and removed Rep. Rung from her committee assignment, accusing her of "acting beneath the dignity of the House." <a href="https://manchesterinklink.com/state-rep-stripped-of-assignment-over-social-media-post-critical-of-troy-police-chief/">Story here.</a> Rep. Rung is a Democrat. Speaker Packard is a radical Republican. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Speaker Packard has defended openly anti-Semitic posts from his caucus on social media. He's allowed members of his caucus to behave badly in committee hearings. He appears to be a weak leader who has no control over his people, which is why they feel free to write up committee reports like these. In years past I would have said these reports are beneath the dignity of the House - but regrettably, they are completely in keeping with the dignity of the Packard House. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: NewCenturySchlbk; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: NewCenturySchlbk; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: NewCenturySchlbk;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Check out the April 2 House Calendar <a href="http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/caljourns/calendars/2021/HC_18.pdf">here</a>. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: NewCenturySchlbk; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></span></p></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-39239091452125650272021-03-24T14:13:00.001-04:002021-03-24T14:56:10.274-04:00NH State Budget - Conflicts of Interest? <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWUopXDaHKSMoKe_XPeGVuEawAFpuadUJ4-uUrBV5P98QoWP6ASheEhCcpOTf8t9-OKxzPZMjC-mVqrm1I5sWVsDpCgq4qGUVo0XaXYvH-5THWr43rV2_kdSnaq-PjJBAPcDMUA/s800/budget_graphic.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWUopXDaHKSMoKe_XPeGVuEawAFpuadUJ4-uUrBV5P98QoWP6ASheEhCcpOTf8t9-OKxzPZMjC-mVqrm1I5sWVsDpCgq4qGUVo0XaXYvH-5THWr43rV2_kdSnaq-PjJBAPcDMUA/w400-h200/budget_graphic.png" width="400" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">There is all manner of jiggery pokery going on with the current state-budget-in-progress. Governor Sununu inserted the Hyde Amendment into his governor's budget, despite his attempts to convince us all that he's "pro-choice." </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">That's why this piece caught my eye. Garry Rayno for <a href="http://indepthnh.org/2021/03/22/house-budget-writers-eliminate-student-loan-forgiveness-program/?fbclid=IwAR1lsHW834JwJh36LgzJHffuAmAEx0YqhdBaedUmr-JTx6GLrS9MnzeFpkw">InDepthNH.org</a></span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 17.108px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><i> "Subcommittees of the House Finance Committee have decided to end or drastically reduce two education programs Gov. Chris Sununu touted in his budget address.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 17.108px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><i>One is a student loan forgiveness program for those in high demand professions like health-care that would use revenues generated by the state’s scholarship program, and the other the governor’s School Infrastructure Fund intended to help schools improve internet connectivity and building safety.</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 17.108px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><i>Meeting Monday, the committee’s Division II approved an amendment that removed the loan forgiveness program from House Bill 2, instead allowing New Hampshire College Tuition Savings Plan Advisory Commission to decide how to allocate the funds between the UNIQUE program and the Governor’s Scholarship program."</i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;">NH has the highest percentage of college students that <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/student-loan-debt-surges-new-hampshire-2020-democrats">graduate with debt.</a> NH has the second highest student debt out of 50 <a href="https://lendedu.com/student-loan-debt-by-school-by-state-2020/">states</a> . Only Connecticut is higher. Some student loan forgiveness would be a welcome relief for NH students - the kind that might allow them to stay in NH, rather than taking their talents and moving to states where higher paying jobs are. These student loan forgiveness programs that are being removed were regarded favorably by Governor Sununu. Whoever is wielding the scalpel doesn't care about that, which is interesting in itself. (What faction of the NH GOP doesn't care much for the governor?) </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is the membership of the House Finance Committee:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3znmoSeXOqGE6vkF7bpNWks-e_LSfToGqZ2qdFmTgx9rwBV6xk58aqIsbQOIunCyj4JaCe_hpoS5AbdIoFhn19FbgETpgBXfd8rtLgRm80NfWKT3ZjNirek7tCXQYOQPHco5VQ/s1132/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+9.51.56+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="1132" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3znmoSeXOqGE6vkF7bpNWks-e_LSfToGqZ2qdFmTgx9rwBV6xk58aqIsbQOIunCyj4JaCe_hpoS5AbdIoFhn19FbgETpgBXfd8rtLgRm80NfWKT3ZjNirek7tCXQYOQPHco5VQ/w640-h310/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+9.51.56+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rep. Jess Edwards (R-Free State) is on the Finance Committee. He's also the Chair of Finance Division III. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh0moy1i7ZMwABwKqlAfgJnwEtWepBYPe-TIOGfslfErQ7jszfkX2lQqU68IZrRmRu_LGz5YlOsmNwPqx7g7kSeWgpLEFqR3H5nvMnRsxHQ6M5_vc9zZpSww9bfsre8XcPsluOQ/s310/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+9.55.24+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="134" data-original-width="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh0moy1i7ZMwABwKqlAfgJnwEtWepBYPe-TIOGfslfErQ7jszfkX2lQqU68IZrRmRu_LGz5YlOsmNwPqx7g7kSeWgpLEFqR3H5nvMnRsxHQ6M5_vc9zZpSww9bfsre8XcPsluOQ/s0/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+9.55.24+PM.png" /></a></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 17.108px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><br /></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Like many state representatives, Jess Edwards has a job. The state representative salary of $100 a year isn't exactly a living wage. </span><span>This is from his</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessecedwardsjr/">Linkedin page</a>: </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BijWXddPThQkM8yS3RTMkRIbaGuM6kzrC2CSkObI6OTj32i7NLzDUWD8pLwR2FUOg_2atQkQx-NGB5zcciV2mlt0OZgSyQkZh6LVRNJigtXh7yaruabGtr_j9GMXe08zS7LivQ/s781/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+9.38.05+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="781" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BijWXddPThQkM8yS3RTMkRIbaGuM6kzrC2CSkObI6OTj32i7NLzDUWD8pLwR2FUOg_2atQkQx-NGB5zcciV2mlt0OZgSyQkZh6LVRNJigtXh7yaruabGtr_j9GMXe08zS7LivQ/w640-h404/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+9.38.05+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;">He works for <a href="https://credit-adjustments.com/higher-education-services/">Credit Adjudstments, Inc.</a> What do they do?</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdC70jXBc7Gdmc_OmOIDdexghQw6q8Cp_08N-u63N4dLvJVBCxDv6pIQD4DsVoXOSQsoABDb40mo6E8pQOIlIcVh74lm1JU24eStknAUXttGw80r5NYKzfS5V0xJ87KcgZ5xgcg/s629/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+9.59.55+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="629" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdC70jXBc7Gdmc_OmOIDdexghQw6q8Cp_08N-u63N4dLvJVBCxDv6pIQD4DsVoXOSQsoABDb40mo6E8pQOIlIcVh74lm1JU24eStknAUXttGw80r5NYKzfS5V0xJ87KcgZ5xgcg/w640-h192/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+9.59.55+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Who else works there? Check out their <a href="https://credit-adjustments.com/team/">executive team</a>:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguc0q3JYLN8lmlE0OeIMEwfEO1MCVmdl2yNpm1_TQmgHlOvhtCx-ie2WNFaQ2taV1e1NQuRrHOnPB6SfBledQ45SoFpYEmldtZ69tGKcYasuNk7Z0Wk6PGHx1YUi5hBBb3Ug3OMw/s672/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+10.02.18+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="323" data-original-width="672" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguc0q3JYLN8lmlE0OeIMEwfEO1MCVmdl2yNpm1_TQmgHlOvhtCx-ie2WNFaQ2taV1e1NQuRrHOnPB6SfBledQ45SoFpYEmldtZ69tGKcYasuNk7Z0Wk6PGHx1YUi5hBBb3Ug3OMw/w640-h308/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+10.02.18+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Representative Jason Osborne (R-Free State) is also the House Majority Leader. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkS-EMzQgS3UVE6Y14aZyQU-rDfPdh4QZ3XhLbJl7LirT1PTGObUuaGhgYnEPQccHX63RmOS4xE6qedGOcdLDqR1pAAiIPox8TWh52B1rVvQji-rQ_xTcIew0ubRWDx9Hr55PCew/s673/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+10.12.59+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="673" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkS-EMzQgS3UVE6Y14aZyQU-rDfPdh4QZ3XhLbJl7LirT1PTGObUuaGhgYnEPQccHX63RmOS4xE6qedGOcdLDqR1pAAiIPox8TWh52B1rVvQji-rQ_xTcIew0ubRWDx9Hr55PCew/w400-h363/Screen+Shot+2021-03-22+at+10.12.59+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">In a 400 member House, where there are no real ethics rules, there are bound to be all sorts of conflicts of interest. I don't mean to imply that these Reps are up to anything unseemly - I just believe in transparency - especially in a legislature that has no real ethics rules. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A budgetary provision that eliminates student loan forgiveness means that debt recovery agencies will still be profiting. If one works for a debt recovery agency - does this create a conflict of interest? </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">As for NH House ethics: </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">When legislators are about to vote on a bill that has a conflict of interest, they have to fill out a form. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3Zter5Fbd8_jYVcxnAzOhI0m0bvmtEQG0pvx701tDvaplg0R89jYcDGVEk4BBjziUFWOQacBtimS97aeQ4YS4F8sBRC2iKIvAUO4spKXsfR4LVmaXgPyZ2UX-guy7BnFigmAGQ/s1211/Screen+Shot+2021-03-23+at+6.51.50+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1211" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3Zter5Fbd8_jYVcxnAzOhI0m0bvmtEQG0pvx701tDvaplg0R89jYcDGVEk4BBjziUFWOQacBtimS97aeQ4YS4F8sBRC2iKIvAUO4spKXsfR4LVmaXgPyZ2UX-guy7BnFigmAGQ/w640-h342/Screen+Shot+2021-03-23+at+6.51.50+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This sounds good so, far, right? Then comes part two:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjPy0dc4ROHNk0S5iVDAKvEDYjRAt3YIgPfLHHYxa49ruT7wQ79Ac1a8MzCOmh01Sjfm2-xzxELfomralvf071Wf5CAXgqBUMILZ_C7AJk-G-S2F2VDdTizaAI7INsNBmNrLhMw/s1212/Screen+Shot+2021-03-23+at+6.54.28+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="1212" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCjPy0dc4ROHNk0S5iVDAKvEDYjRAt3YIgPfLHHYxa49ruT7wQ79Ac1a8MzCOmh01Sjfm2-xzxELfomralvf071Wf5CAXgqBUMILZ_C7AJk-G-S2F2VDdTizaAI7INsNBmNrLhMw/w640-h346/Screen+Shot+2021-03-23+at+6.54.28+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Legislators fill out a form that essentially does nothing. If they choose, they can describe their conflict of interest and vote in their own interest anyhow. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://gencourt.state.nh.us/ethics/2020%20Ethics%20Guidelines%20-%20As%20effective%20%20Jan%202020.pdf"><span style="font-size: medium;">House Ethics Guidelines</span></a><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I'm sure we can count on these honorable state representatives to do the right thing, fill out their forms, check off not participate, and recuse themselves from voting on the budget. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-6084142029419884142021-02-24T18:15:00.002-05:002021-02-24T18:15:45.400-05:00NH Free State Project: From Cop Block to Speed Dial <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfigYTBUjZREtuqkdPwozh6zPVsvoP8XJLKuhQMdl2Wd7CPHPTdc1Ni3sp_vo7ydearAHX-mZWKhambpEqBWzTALCEe6xnFvqelOslU5hKfTYtMD3m_s6AkDMtGyqf1pZkb5Zewg/s1280/libertarian+potus+debate+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfigYTBUjZREtuqkdPwozh6zPVsvoP8XJLKuhQMdl2Wd7CPHPTdc1Ni3sp_vo7ydearAHX-mZWKhambpEqBWzTALCEe6xnFvqelOslU5hKfTYtMD3m_s6AkDMtGyqf1pZkb5Zewg/w400-h225/libertarian+potus+debate+.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">See the guy on the far right, with the big badge on his pocket? That's NH State Representative Max Abramson (R-Free State Project), who ran for president on the Libertarian ticket. Needless to say, he was not elected. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Today, when NH House Democrats got up and walked out of the House session, Libertarian Standard Bearer Max Abramson went to the Speaker and urged him to call the state police to bring the Democrats back. He gave the House clerk the phone number. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Gone are those halcyon days of yesteryear when the Free Staters started Cop Block. Now they have cops on speed dial. </span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5uGp1kzRiY8xAFJaz4BLYJbR5WwKM17MNj9kNMwpthVOzXveXkujTuJD2I3wuOvWTr_62fatdLasachVi4qnIFAwlfu2gDyOtD9D-kxOoICfc-97Qj1acVSDvlGizzoSG8dhbIQ/s400/irony-meter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5uGp1kzRiY8xAFJaz4BLYJbR5WwKM17MNj9kNMwpthVOzXveXkujTuJD2I3wuOvWTr_62fatdLasachVi4qnIFAwlfu2gDyOtD9D-kxOoICfc-97Qj1acVSDvlGizzoSG8dhbIQ/s320/irony-meter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-53467918789938399982021-02-17T09:38:00.001-05:002021-02-17T09:38:37.054-05:00From Libertarianism to Authoritarianism - Free Staters in the NH House <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHS9Oc1g1tS5hwRBuTDwOr-5g8FcS7EeE3k_J8IqOqFVgVVGPZ_qbniTa-jsfaevsKhDKP2XfZLLdl3J-fGfF6vNeIA0bR4HfOCZc5zeRDB0t6RmtaCZfM2Ouu4qTA5py6bvhpJw/s522/libertarians-diligently-plotting-to-take-over-the-world-and-leave-4616504.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHS9Oc1g1tS5hwRBuTDwOr-5g8FcS7EeE3k_J8IqOqFVgVVGPZ_qbniTa-jsfaevsKhDKP2XfZLLdl3J-fGfF6vNeIA0bR4HfOCZc5zeRDB0t6RmtaCZfM2Ouu4qTA5py6bvhpJw/w384-h400/libertarians-diligently-plotting-to-take-over-the-world-and-leave-4616504.png" width="384" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Remember this meme? Back in the olden days, when the Free State Project first started colonizing NH, they used to tell us this all the time. They don't bother any more. It wasn't true then, and it sure as hell isn't true now. They claim to be opposed to authoritarianism, but that's only because they want to BE the authoritarians. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Over the years the Free Staters have become increasingly allied with the NH Republican Party. Over the last 4 years, they were happy to join the Trump wing of the NH GOP. There's little difference between the alleged libertarians and the Trumpers at this point, and nowhere has that been more apparent than with this bill, <a href="http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2021&id=714&txtFormat=html">HB 544</a>. It's titled: An Act Relative to the Propagation of Divisive Concepts. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The sponsors are Representatives Keith Ammon, of New Boston, Glenn Cordelli of Tuftonboro, and Jason Osborne, of Auburn. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">What are these divisive concepts that these men are so worried about? It seems these three fellows are offended by any talk of oppression on the base of race, ethnicity, or gender. There is no more racism, no bias, no more sexism in the workplace - or anywhere else, because we've fixed all that! It's time to move on. They want to make sure that these topics won't be brought up in NH schools, state agencies, or any aspect of government in the state, including cities and towns, and labor unions. Any diversity training would have to be pre-approved by the Department of Administrative Services. No contractors could be used by schools or state agencies that did not agree to these terms. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">They are especially concerned about being held accountable for actions committed in the past. The Three <strike>Wise</strike> White Men don't want to be tied to the past. We've fixed all that now. There is no more slavery. Heck, we gave you girls the vote - stop yer whining! We are all equal now. Who would know that better than three white guys living in NH? </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's amusing to see this band of libertarians not only cracking down on free speech, but dictating to every aspect of government in our state what is permissible and what is not. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The bill had a hearing last week that had to be recessed because of time constraints. I've watched the video, and Rep. Ammon claims he filed the bill at the urging of an unnamed NH college professor, who is afraid of a backlash if he were to be identified. I think Ammon created a fictional character to distract us from the fact that <a href="http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2021&id=714&txtFormat=html">HB 544</a> is cribbed, nearly word for word from former president Trump's <a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/what-federal-contractors-need-to-know-about-executive-order-13950?fbclid=IwAR3hEuYkSsvtwassDGnpDcscuJQaGwn4LpF42XhLY13Hri4aGhY9D9YCRNY">Executive Order 13950</a> which was issued in September 2020. President Biden revoked the order on his first day in office. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Last week's hearing was on Thursday, February 11, in the NH House Executive Departments and Administration Committee. They take up HB 544 at about an hour and 31 minutes in.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ycrODcuaLDc" width="320" youtube-src-id="ycrODcuaLDc"></iframe></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The hearing will begin again on Thursday, the 18th, at 1:30 PM. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Free State Project mover and Representative Jason Osborne, who wants to dictate speech in government, is the House Majority Leader. His Twitter account is locked. So much for freedom. Keith Ammon has me blocked, because my free speech annoys him. One could almost get to thinking that these doughty fighters for freedom are really very tender blossoms. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">THIS is what authoritarianism looks like. </span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">*Be sure to read the bill and compare it to Trump's Executive Order</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-21414736201260621262021-01-16T16:11:00.000-05:002021-01-16T16:11:45.141-05:00Speaker Stegosaurus <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCSwJhFxOxoOpdBsasgUStqadUYAj52idcQzqAzdFjVqmEeSiFrD1gDDHRsoWmr2BXPkxsrlJQ18X5WOQx0uBpaEIPZ7UuFNb7JsVjTidd_eKLErNgcZMdNiYWsuFablfNBs8_w/s700/Packard+.jpg.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="700" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxCSwJhFxOxoOpdBsasgUStqadUYAj52idcQzqAzdFjVqmEeSiFrD1gDDHRsoWmr2BXPkxsrlJQ18X5WOQx0uBpaEIPZ7UuFNb7JsVjTidd_eKLErNgcZMdNiYWsuFablfNBs8_w/w640-h384/Packard+.jpg.webp" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sherman Packard in the Hall of Flags at the NH State House. Photo by Oliver Laughland for The Guardian </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">State Rep. Sherman Packard was elected Speaker of the NH House on January 6. The previous speaker was killed by his political party in December, about a week after being sworn in. The Covid denying, freedumb loving, anti-maskers prided themselves on their big, mask free gatherings. Hinch took stupid risks, contracted Covid, and died. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">That meant a new Speaker had to be chosen. Packard was Hinch's second in command, so he served as Acting Speaker after Hinch's death. (A death he initially denied was caused by Covid.) He's been promising to honor Hinch's legacy ever since - and so far he's succeeding. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hinch had a long history of coddling and protecting the very worst in his caucus. He tried to protect Robert "Red Pill" Fisher from <a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2017/05/boys-will-be-boys.html">the consequences</a> of founding an online forum for rape aficionados and other incels. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hinch tried to cover for Rep. Robert Forsythe, after he was arrested for assaulting <a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/08/dick-hinch-nh-house-minority-weasel.html">a pregnant woman.</a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">He covered endlessly for the problem that is known as <a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/09/nh-state-rep-advocates-burning-and.html">Rep. James Spillane.</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">That is the Hinch legacy that Packard is honoring, right out of the starting gate, as we learned in this story by Paula Tracy for <a href="http://indepthnh.org/2021/01/15/state-rep-stripped-of-assignment-over-post-critical-of-troy-police-chief/">InDepthNH.org</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>This week, Packard stripped Democratic State Rep. Rosemary Rung of her committee assignment, because of a tweet she made about David Ellis, the police chief of Troy, NH who attended the insurrectionist activities in Washington, DC that led to the sacking of the Capitol. </span><span>He claims he didn't participate in the violence, BUT, he was there, protesting the results of a legitimate election. This would appear to be in violation of his oath to uphold the Constitution. We know that Chief Ellis was in DC, because he did an interview there with a national publication, </span><span><a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/01/what-the-maga-mob-at-the-capitol-had-to-say-for-itself.html">New York Magazine</a>. Representative Rung's tweet called on NH police to denounce Ellis and call for his resignation. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Packard is attempting to blame Rep. Rung for the fallout in Troy, where the town hall shut down after threats of violence. Ellis outed himself to a national magazine, but Packard is blaming Rung. From the InDepthNH story:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i> "<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;">In a letter to House Minority Leader Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, Packard accused Rung of acting “beneath the dignity of the House” and committing a “dangerous violation” of the tenet for how things get done in the House of Representatives..."</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Speaker didn't contact Rep. Rung. He chose to speak with House Minority Leader Renny Cushing. Packard wanted to solve this woman problem by going man to man. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">As for the "dignity of the House" the man who has protected Rep. Dawn Johnson from the consequences of her anti-Semitic and seditious social media posts - and done the same to protect James Spillane from HIS anti-Semitic posts has a lot of nerve talking about dignity. Packard turns himself into a pretzel to defend Spillane, and shows himself to be either a liar or a fool when it comes to Johnson. She posted racist/anti-Semitic memes from the Daily Stormer on social media. She has apologized endlessly for the source of her content. She has NEVER apologized for the content. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Spillane literally tried to <a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/09/nh-state-rep-advocates-burning-and.html">incite violence</a> last fall with a Facebook post:</span></p><p><i style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif; font-size: x-large;">“Public Service Announcement,” Spillane wrote in the post from earlier this week. “If you see a BLM sign on a lawn, it’s the same as having a porch light on at Halloween. You are free to burn and loot that house.” </span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rep. Rung called for NH police to denounce Chief Ellis for violating his oath of office. Calling for a resignation is miles away from "you are free to burn and loot." </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">But this - <b>this</b> is the real cherry atop the shit sundae served up by Speaker Packard:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Packard has told Rung he would consider her request to resume her committee duties, “If you can demonstrate to me in a sincere manner that you regret the tone and the subject of your social media post, and that you realize how it could have contributed to the very serious situation the town of Troy and its public officials are experiencing…”</span></i></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">If Rep. Rung acknowledges that she's a naughty girl, Big Poppa Patriarch will CONSIDER her request to resume her committee duties. Perhaps he'd like her to write on the blackboard 500 times or give her a spanking, because isn't that what we do with naughty girls? </span><span style="font-size: xx-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">He's treating her like a wayward child, not an adult human. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Packard would never, ever, in ten million years say this to a male representative from either party.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is old-school, deeply ingrained sexism at work. </span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's no wonder he insisted on that ridiculous drive-in House session. We know he's a dinosaur when it comes to technology. Now we know he's a dinosaur when it comes to women, too. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">You'd best be careful, women of the House minority party! Speaker Stegosaurus is ready to apply his misogynistic double standards if you don't behave. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExJ5wYRc2uxprPidELPI8y9z9XQK2sOkLfNVDhHCWkZgdeObo5BU9zMiCC2PAqZ2h35swPobq0WrnzSicyST3_8RXYPT12Q97iu5aKrXlar4e1Je1E0txPvEvjETItFdZNo6sYw/s406/stegosaurus.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="406" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgExJ5wYRc2uxprPidELPI8y9z9XQK2sOkLfNVDhHCWkZgdeObo5BU9zMiCC2PAqZ2h35swPobq0WrnzSicyST3_8RXYPT12Q97iu5aKrXlar4e1Je1E0txPvEvjETItFdZNo6sYw/s320/stegosaurus.png" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-41798154326949522542020-12-30T14:27:00.001-05:002020-12-30T14:27:25.862-05:00A Year of Free Political Advertising for Sununu <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARCkbrtesjK4OtHdwPGJXkVEpkPNz9Fk-Y49hMVr39l23ceM1hLokghwCniAHTcimk7fRsR-Cfyt3_iQgv-yugu7YxPs4YagFhwg-CxeZK1SblwPnl4Vmmj2DDjyRPZCaAIuUrg/s666/Governor+Sununu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="666" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARCkbrtesjK4OtHdwPGJXkVEpkPNz9Fk-Y49hMVr39l23ceM1hLokghwCniAHTcimk7fRsR-Cfyt3_iQgv-yugu7YxPs4YagFhwg-CxeZK1SblwPnl4Vmmj2DDjyRPZCaAIuUrg/w400-h300/Governor+Sununu.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Governor Sununu has been giving weekly press conferences during the pandemic. Not because he's an epidemiologist, a doctor, or a scientist. Not because he's an expert in matters of public health. He's been giving them because he's a politician who seized the moment to advertise himself on the public airwaves (WMUR aka WGOP), for free. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">In our neighboring state of Maine, the weekly Covid updates come from Maine CDC Director, Dr. Nirav Shah. Dr. Shah is so popular that he has a Facebook fan page - and a <a href="https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/features/the-shah-bar-is-just-as-sweet-as-your-favorite-cdc-director/97-b7d025d7-d404-4c13-9b6c-9d2cc460136e">chocolate bar</a> named after him.</span> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTLun2H_QmTOBvYGPBtUCpNFVU-GQNnnKwQBP5TLGTjnFeCamAnrTMZAhGypvnfcZC697QiHmtJEWSun3A1zl5oACeGQj7gJiVZIjwUZG_HNnmVXgAo1Tl8-xhgeo5SHLXHREQg/s1000/shah+bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTLun2H_QmTOBvYGPBtUCpNFVU-GQNnnKwQBP5TLGTjnFeCamAnrTMZAhGypvnfcZC697QiHmtJEWSun3A1zl5oACeGQj7gJiVZIjwUZG_HNnmVXgAo1Tl8-xhgeo5SHLXHREQg/s320/shah+bar.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: large;">The weekly Covid updates are not used as free political advertising for Maine Governor Janet Mills. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Did all this free advertising have an impact on the NH state elections? Absolutely. But don't take my word for it - here's what the (unfortunately) elected Executive Councilor Joe Kenney had to say in the <a href="https://www.unionleader.com/news/health/coronavirus/thanks-to-covid-19-a-nh-state-election-year-like-no-other/article_2a545534-091a-56a8-9358-46853f331cab.html">Union Leader</a>: </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Kenney said he was one of many who benefitted from Gov. Chris Sununu, who became a TV star by virtue of his weekly briefings on COVID-19.</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Even Joe Kenney gets it - and he's no rocket scientist. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Despite lacking any sort of expertise, Sununu got a free platform every week, to stand before fawning journalists who seldom asked any difficult questions, including the most basic one of all, "Isn't this free political advertising, Governor?"</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-48096490245854420572020-12-15T16:38:00.004-05:002020-12-17T18:29:03.850-05:00The Big White Tent of the NH GOP <h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="color: #d52a33; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><br /></h3><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4608303327115290740" itemprop="description articleBody" style="line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 666px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitzACbPB7xUBnMZvIAp0pdeax-UMsElfBPrUtqAv8wpYvEEJBnv8rGdEg43SUaHd4j7Ph9qf9pQ4vCu72z2J_n5rz0oGEzKE0tVAZTkdABkRvlHiwIPkJZDyQmaRIOfZjfQz4VmA/s750/Dawn+Johnson+protest+Laconia.jpg" style="color: #ce5f70; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitzACbPB7xUBnMZvIAp0pdeax-UMsElfBPrUtqAv8wpYvEEJBnv8rGdEg43SUaHd4j7Ph9qf9pQ4vCu72z2J_n5rz0oGEzKE0tVAZTkdABkRvlHiwIPkJZDyQmaRIOfZjfQz4VmA/w640-h400/Dawn+Johnson+protest+Laconia.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; background-color: white; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo from the <a href="https://www.unionleader.com/news/social_issues/protesters-call-for-laconia-lawmaker-to-resign-over-social-media-post/article_33e7de4d-0d2c-539d-9139-2669f2de7657.html" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">Union Leader</a></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Former NH State Rep. Robert Forsythe was arrested for assault and domestic violence. We learned about the arrest <a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-nh-state-wire-1f17065deb7acc4d61f28b4e6ccd8b08" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">two months later</a>, on August 26. The NH House <a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/08/dick-hinch-nh-house-minority-weasel.html" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">Minority Leader</a> had this to say:</span></p><p><i style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">“Domestic violence and assault are unacceptable and wrong and have no place in our society,” Hinch said. “Rep. Fosythe is the only person who can put pen to paper, and sign a resignation letter. The people of Boscawen have the right to ask him to resign if they believe he can no longer represent them. They also have the ability to vote for alternative candidates, including write-ins, if they believe they no longer want Rep. Forsythe to represent them in Concord. </span></i></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">This translates as: domestic violence is bad, but we aren't going to ask him to resign. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Later that same day, the governor released this statement:</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(44, 44, 44); color: #2c2c2c;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">“Sexual and domestic violence will not be tolerated in New Hampshire,” Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement. “Robert Forsythe must resign. Immediately."</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: xx-large;">That didn't even take 24 hours. The very next day, Forsythe resigned. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">On Friday, December 11, we learned that newly sworn in, freshman State Rep. Dawn Johnson was posting material from the neo-nazi website, Daily Stormer, on Facebook and Twitter. It took nearly 4 days for Governor Sununu to rouse himself long enough to make <a href="http://indepthnh.org/2020/12/14/sununu-condemns-rep-johnson-neo-nazi-defends/" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">a statement</a>:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: times;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">“Regardless of political party, we must condemn anti-Semitism and racism in all forms. These comments are repugnant and appalling,” Sununu said.</span></i></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Note - he didn't even bring up resignation. It seems that sexual and domestic violence will not be tolerated in NH, but anti-Semitism and racism will. The second thing I notice is the sad attempt at both siderism. "Regardless of political party," is a big, steaming pantload, considering that the neo-nazi call is coming from inside his House. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white;">Representative Johnson has been <a href="https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/local/demonstrators-protest-johnson-post/article_9751f64a-3e3c-11eb-998c-9752cbe8d58e.html" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">quite clear</a> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">that she has no intention of resigning. She's being represented by newly minted State Rep. Norm Silber, who was just sworn in for his second freshman term in the legislature. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Let's take a brief side trip into the land of Silber. In 2017, during his first freshman term in the legislature, he thought it was very amusing to try to defend Brett "kegstand" Kavanaugh from accusations of sexual assault by comparing his actions to playing <a href="https://www.laconiadailysun.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/i-confess-i-kissed-a-girl-in-a-closet-in-about-1960/article_a8885d3a-ba92-11e8-b389-0f1ab13d15a8.html" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">spin-the-bottle.</a> I wrote about Silber's rudeness to a voter in 2017; <a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2017/06/silber-service-tarnished.html" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">Silber Service, Tarnished</a>. In addition to defending his neo-nazi colleague, he's also questioned Dick Hinch's <a href="https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/covid-19/sununu-calls-out-those-who-refuse-to-wear-face-masks/article_035081ec-3b34-11eb-bc57-4b92aea9c518.html" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">autopsy report.</a> Naturally, Silber and Johnson are both maskholes. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Getting back to Silber's defense of his neo-nazi colleague - in a letter to the <a href="https://www.laconiadailysun.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/norm-silber-johnson-is-not-an-anti-semite-nor-a-racist/article_03ef1bea-3e2c-11eb-8b70-971b78e9a03b.html" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">Laconia Daily Sun</a>, Silber offered up this excuse for Johnson's actions:</span></span></p><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">The internet can be a very dangerous place for adults as well as children. Just as it is easy for children to be lured into illicit sexual encounters or worse through the internet, so can adults inadvertently fall into terrible situations far beyond their intentions through the internet and email.</span></i></p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;">How many times have you mistakenly hit the “reply all” key in an email when you only wanted to respond to a single individual? How many times have you inadvertently clicked on a link, thinking it would lead you to one thing when it turned out to be quite different? How many times have we seen posts of fake photos that have been created or altered electronically solely to embarrass someone?</span></i></p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;">Dawn’s present situation is the second example of someone I know from the Lakes Region </span>who posted or forwarded an internet link<span style="color: #444444;"> to a story that they thought in good faith was legitimate but that turned out to be of an anti-Semitic or racist origin. But I know that neither of those women are anti-Semites, racists, or haters.</span></span></i></p></div><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">That's a big helping of word salad with a side of florid dressing. It's also a bunch of hooey. No one finds themselves at the Daily Stormer by accident. A simple Google search doesn't take you there. As I discovered, you have to know where you're going, or do a deeper search. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Johnson posted a conspiracy theory from a neo-nazi website. That theory came with anti-Semitic and racist cartoons. Silber is focusing on what the media has focused on, the source of the material. Johnson has "apologized" for the source. She has never tried to disavow the content. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/local/anti-semitic-post-brings-calls-for-laconia-state-rep-to-resign/article_c48696ca-3e19-11eb-99ab-db6dd41c42b3.html" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">Roger Carroll</a> of the Laconia Sun is the only reporter in the state who acknowledges this: </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(68, 68, 68); color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><i>Johnson apologized on her Facebook page for the source of the message – the Daily Stormer – but it was not clear that she disavowed the content of the post.</i></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Be sure to read his story - it describes the material that Johnson posted, in great detail. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #333333; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Johnson has deleted her Facebook and Twitter accounts. I'm betting she's still plenty busy on Parler. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">To summarize, Johnson isn't going to resign. The Governor, who had no tolerance for domestic violence, has plenty of tolerance for neo-nazis. He's not going to call for her to resign. And when you come right down to it, how can he? This is what the Republican Party is now. These are his people. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">It's up to the rest of us to make them eat this, every single day for the next 2 years. </span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="color: #ce5f70; font-size: large; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/12/a-tutorial-for-nh-media-on-meaning-of.html" style="color: #ce5f70; text-decoration: none;">A Tutorial for the NH Media on the Meaning of the Word Apology</a></span><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAEXXsMhcVHY7f_UKX-PTK8wx7_b93nnNx60k0PglJdRXOoh6hFtd0uWvuP0Ttxq806Fbr3sM2sWcowIVh5spDo7zYCnTicHO5NeEYwsqYCfIPJ9L7poTCyOefRVarUSu6IqGLw/s842/Screen+Shot+2020-12-14+at+10.11.22+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="842" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAEXXsMhcVHY7f_UKX-PTK8wx7_b93nnNx60k0PglJdRXOoh6hFtd0uWvuP0Ttxq806Fbr3sM2sWcowIVh5spDo7zYCnTicHO5NeEYwsqYCfIPJ9L7poTCyOefRVarUSu6IqGLw/w640-h340/Screen+Shot+2020-12-14+at+10.11.22+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><p>This was October. Apparently a place opened up in the NH legislature. </p></span><p></p><div style="clear: both;"></div></div><p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></p><div class="post-footer" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.6; margin: 1.5em 0px 0px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-48173211476301943972020-12-13T15:54:00.001-05:002020-12-14T10:04:48.734-05:00A Tutorial for the NH Media on the Meaning of the Word Apology <p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> Let us begin with a definition, paying particular attention to #1: </span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbwlp3qhTGSNCM0Vw8aw_yiAPKh5qTok2s776ufaQNjDLw3qWhwjWaAzMha1Vt0EaPi-_g2eMWWBq5SQFfucbQOZTeg90zqj0AK1GXPVfbBWUBmpBMdpGPk4ra8k8kdMyjfBEbQ/s858/Screen+Shot+2020-12-12+at+11.04.06+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="858" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbwlp3qhTGSNCM0Vw8aw_yiAPKh5qTok2s776ufaQNjDLw3qWhwjWaAzMha1Vt0EaPi-_g2eMWWBq5SQFfucbQOZTeg90zqj0AK1GXPVfbBWUBmpBMdpGPk4ra8k8kdMyjfBEbQ/w640-h510/Screen+Shot+2020-12-12+at+11.04.06+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Webster's defines an apology as an admission of error or discourtesy accompanied by an expression of regret. Hold that thought, we'll be coming back to it. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>On December 11, we learned that newly sworn in Republican State Representative Dawn Johnson from Laconia had posted an anti-Semitic theory (complete with pictures) on social media. The material she posted came from the Daily Stormer, a white nationalist/neo-nazi website. Rep. Johnson posted on Twitter, and tried to post on Facebook but her post was blocked, which she complained about on Facebook. </span><span>(</span><span>Johnson has since closed her mainstream social media accounts.) </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">William Tucker, aka <a href="https://twitter.com/miscellanyblue/status/1337391938182459393?s=20">Miscellany Blue</a> saw Johnson posting material from the Daily Stormer, and tweeted about it. NH is a small state, and the story spread quickly on social media. People began calling for her resignation. She's also on the school board in Laconia, which generated even more outrage. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">The story was covered by <a href="http://indepthnh.org/2020/12/11/laconia-state-rep-apologizes-for-neo-nazi-posts/">InDepthNH.org</a>. Their story was picked up by <a href="https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/laconia-state-rep-apologizes-neo-nazi-post">Concord Patch</a> and the <a href="https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news/state/laconia-school-board-member-posts-anti-semitic-meme/article_f1a5e00c-3c11-11eb-957c-8fe835d292d8.html">Laconia Daily Sun</a>. This was the headline:</span></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhffboNcczejHS2ApF9ojCX_QzOjfniJbphHQ2kBKbQGXxBZKCbUH3OZPtyx2SxW0tUcveidV_gYDA1eC2O8rJJPPBoHoluwS7IZeygNTBslfnJc20bQ9JWEGmvAPmR6vMwD7btg/s906/Screen+Shot+2020-12-13+at+2.50.49+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="906" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhffboNcczejHS2ApF9ojCX_QzOjfniJbphHQ2kBKbQGXxBZKCbUH3OZPtyx2SxW0tUcveidV_gYDA1eC2O8rJJPPBoHoluwS7IZeygNTBslfnJc20bQ9JWEGmvAPmR6vMwD7btg/w640-h270/Screen+Shot+2020-12-13+at+2.50.49+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;">From the InDepth story:<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px; text-align: start;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">"In an apology posted to her social media accounts, Johnson apologized for sharing an article from the Neo-Nazi website, saying she was unaware of the source of the article.</span></i></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 24px; text-align: start;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“I have removed the report as it came from a source I do not agree with and thanks to a couple of people who showed me,” Johnson wrote."</span></i></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Union Leader had a few paragraphs about the story in the <a href="https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/statehouse_dome/state-house-dome-hinch-left-quite-the-legacy-massive-hole-to-fill/article_501545ba-4a5d-54c4-b1d8-fb3d5931f057.html">State House Dome</a> column, with the heading "<span face="Roboto, sans-serif">New rep sorry."</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">From the UL story: </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">“I want to apologize for a post I did the other day. I have removed the report as it came from a source I do not agree with and thanks to a couple of people (who) showed me,” Johnson wrote.</span></i></p></div><div class="subscriber-only" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #444444; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px 0px 24px;"><span class="print_trim" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">”I apologize again and will in the future look at the source closer before sharing content. God Bless and Happy Friday!”</span></i></span></p></div></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span>As we learned above, an </span><span>apology is an admission of error or discourtesy accompanied by an expression of regret.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: xx-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Rep. Johnson expresses regret for posting "from a source she does not agree with." She does not, however, express regret for the CONTENT of what she posted. This is not an apology. It's a weasely attempt at ass covering. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Johnson got caught posting anti-semitic garbage from the Daily Stormer. (During Hanukkah!) She didn't accidentally fall on her keyboard, click on the Daily Stormer site and repost their material by accident. She went to that site on purpose, and reposted material that she agrees with. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">There is no way for her to apologize for that. What can she say, "Sorry I'm an anti-Semite, but I'll try to do better?" Instead, she made up a lame excuse, and the NH media was all too eager to accept it as an apology. Why? </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Because reporting it for what it is might upset people. Republican people, especially, and the NH media is always afraid to do that. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">The NHGOP Twitter account has been silent since December 11. So has the Twitter account of Governor Sununu. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">The NH Republicans want this to go away, so that they don't have to ask for her resignation. They'd rather keep a known white supremacist in the legislature than lose the seat, even when they have a 26 seat majority. </span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-38009210072872803282020-12-01T18:17:00.005-05:002020-12-01T18:17:40.905-05:00The Branch Covidians of NH<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTL3I8F6DLks_cIl54aNfN4UCF8Zvydjn_zyUZqDDwHtCugYApbksNynuJwoA-eAQ0CMh3Viri72Nsysc3POTFKg2Nf_8Z161vDuadVpi3PpIJXm3DJc_h8AXiTsNT6RHH6Iwzg/s601/Part+1+reopen+NH+2020-12-01+at+3.32.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="601" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuTL3I8F6DLks_cIl54aNfN4UCF8Zvydjn_zyUZqDDwHtCugYApbksNynuJwoA-eAQ0CMh3Viri72Nsysc3POTFKg2Nf_8Z161vDuadVpi3PpIJXm3DJc_h8AXiTsNT6RHH6Iwzg/w640-h604/Part+1+reopen+NH+2020-12-01+at+3.32.01+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Part Two is so that you can see the date stamp:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnfD4M0B3GaK51cG13IhyphenhyphenHMSQv1p0gZzlUbbsWlmOGJ2n2hMKuBp4M1nXQRIUBkxE42VuTFxbFTQT7-V_CsWk3juBUHm2v17dRBL6ggj8D8_rJy6nfZLdQbg7jSo8NOdaZix6qg/s603/Part+2+2020-12-01+at+3.32.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="603" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNnfD4M0B3GaK51cG13IhyphenhyphenHMSQv1p0gZzlUbbsWlmOGJ2n2hMKuBp4M1nXQRIUBkxE42VuTFxbFTQT7-V_CsWk3juBUHm2v17dRBL6ggj8D8_rJy6nfZLdQbg7jSo8NOdaZix6qg/w640-h456/Part+2+2020-12-01+at+3.32.23+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Then Chris Maidment made sure to let us know who is behind all of this:</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJf0ZrSRiMap930ilAFNJMpF0nerSwY6H_O1RPsH8oFw4d1Qznp_aZ_FooaGje5wJeZ84mNwDQC6tA5t0CWGnmO7Obkr-Gcq5uj0ue8qusZ-9ItY26FPHdy4YmFMc8Vaz5eGoPGg/s602/Respect%253AReopen+2020-12-01+at+3.36.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="602" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJf0ZrSRiMap930ilAFNJMpF0nerSwY6H_O1RPsH8oFw4d1Qznp_aZ_FooaGje5wJeZ84mNwDQC6tA5t0CWGnmO7Obkr-Gcq5uj0ue8qusZ-9ItY26FPHdy4YmFMc8Vaz5eGoPGg/w640-h460/Respect%253AReopen+2020-12-01+at+3.36.43+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">For anyone who has been wondering about these groups, we see now that they're pretty much one in the same. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Former State Rep. Joe Hoell attempted snark:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUQnm8-OvUdAfEvermOrgDZtGvO6xGc5qfgke54ZAjkCJ6ebMZWnCyOcx8D-3i8gmWjM6ITm5PUMPP-oYjLWjzQHShAwZXFa4PPffbjfC4tB5zebG5eRK517Wuvo5Sf-bzK84ag/s599/JR+Hoell+Dr+Chan+2020-12-01+at+3.39.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="599" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbUQnm8-OvUdAfEvermOrgDZtGvO6xGc5qfgke54ZAjkCJ6ebMZWnCyOcx8D-3i8gmWjM6ITm5PUMPP-oYjLWjzQHShAwZXFa4PPffbjfC4tB5zebG5eRK517Wuvo5Sf-bzK84ag/w640-h410/JR+Hoell+Dr+Chan+2020-12-01+at+3.39.41+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">That tweet had a pretty short half life in light of today's revelation:</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxZEkV2LE-NCG9NSLdTHYxQLG3pg7RfWvRb3gDZV9y-DaxF4YIGhpFiEpW_6bs9KPQJ5YACdP51f8XWx8KP6CpxxSqytFOLOBZCvnHIVbO3DET6keW6OR5sPBM7eSioK1E-TshQ/s597/NH+GOP+Covid+Caucus+2020-12-01+at+9.57.21+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="597" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxZEkV2LE-NCG9NSLdTHYxQLG3pg7RfWvRb3gDZV9y-DaxF4YIGhpFiEpW_6bs9KPQJ5YACdP51f8XWx8KP6CpxxSqytFOLOBZCvnHIVbO3DET6keW6OR5sPBM7eSioK1E-TshQ/w640-h390/NH+GOP+Covid+Caucus+2020-12-01+at+9.57.21+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It sure would be sad if some of the infected were at the Covid Policy Summit. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">This would all be more amusing if December 2 weren't Organization Day for NH legislators. The NH GOP had no intention of letting the Democrats know anything about this super spreader event. They found out because the story was in the media. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">House Minority Leader Hinch is quite pissy about having been caught out. <span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"> </span><a href="https://www.nhpr.org/post/gathering-gop-nh-lawmakers-leads-unknown-number-covid-19-cases#stream/0">NHPR</a></span></p><p><i style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><br /></i></p><p><i style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">"In a statement, House Republican Leader Dick Hinch said he would not share details on the cases, including the number of lawmakers who tested positive, because “we’re dealing with private and personal health information.”</i></p><p><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">And</span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><i>"He said Republican House leadership is working with state health officials to notify people who may have been exposed to the virus. As for Wednesday’s scheduled Organization Day, Hinch said, “we have a very small number of people affected and we have no reason to believe that the folks who tested positive will attempt to attend the event.”</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">Then there was this:</span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); color: #3d3d3d; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><i>“We are less than 24 hours from Organization Day and the Republican Leadership in the House purposefully neglected to tell the Speaker’s office or their Democratic colleagues of an outbreak within their caucus,” Shurtleff said in a statement. “We were with Republican Leadership just yesterday for Organization Day and the COVID-19 outbreak was not mentioned to anyone.”</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #3d3d3d;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">That translates as, "NO, we aren't going to tell you how many were infected, or who they are. We don't think they'll show up for Organization Day - but they might.</span></span><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"> And no, we weren't planning to tell anyone about it." </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Shouldn't everyone who was there be self quarantining for 14 days? That would, by the way, include Dick Hinch, who was at the event. An elderly, unmasked man, at a super spreader event. Can I be the one to shove the swab up his nose? </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">One further note from the anus brigade: </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><br /></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLcPyfoeRUtcsyWmQIJiy4fWxlPPx5Ikxt1kfopZWDQym8VnnzClq6Cd2eieIKnMma3-tLROUZB6OygDv2aibamQxTEeSXFpZ_IcUj6qyz1wySGRvjeQzov5DAmbe81DNv4uPUQ/s591/Greg+Moore%252C+Covidian+2020-12-01+at+2.52.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="591" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLcPyfoeRUtcsyWmQIJiy4fWxlPPx5Ikxt1kfopZWDQym8VnnzClq6Cd2eieIKnMma3-tLROUZB6OygDv2aibamQxTEeSXFpZ_IcUj6qyz1wySGRvjeQzov5DAmbe81DNv4uPUQ/w640-h628/Greg+Moore%252C+Covidian+2020-12-01+at+2.52.35+PM.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">AFP-NH Koch mouthpiece Greg Moore would like to encourage all the sick reps to attend Organization Day. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">There are days, and today is definitely one of them, when I ask myself, what the fuck is wrong with these people? </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-6532134909711150702020-10-17T19:29:00.008-04:002020-10-17T20:29:12.855-04:00Governor Sununu Endorsed a Secessionist! <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTveqiU6PVwX_zfDpePtQVwN3y-wmsx7g8TIj-NMyTp30NAacTUPW78zGihoTzRnbYutBJMnlgDgQYW434pOoqw9d-D6WbZvXqEhApWqnAQQHnS2fqCw6CGWKgyHmDqXo0quRgw/s636/Screen+Shot+2020-10-17+at+6.52.30+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="628" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNTveqiU6PVwX_zfDpePtQVwN3y-wmsx7g8TIj-NMyTp30NAacTUPW78zGihoTzRnbYutBJMnlgDgQYW434pOoqw9d-D6WbZvXqEhApWqnAQQHnS2fqCw6CGWKgyHmDqXo0quRgw/s320/Screen+Shot+2020-10-17+at+6.52.30+PM.png" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is Carla Gericke, who is running for the New Hampshire State Senate, with Governor Sununu. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6J2rZEaI8G6Dv_9Bk1_R5Jslbfed4ovKv3j1cZ67cGfF2LOa6ZGk8u5VAZKHhf9dpV4kN_jAxpYDiXVR5I3lAKfjtZ9mInoZxbEgacpuZd8Hcan66C88pu3LzYbw5s0Mj1PfZw/s1171/Screen+Shot+2020-10-17+at+6.34.18+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1171" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq6J2rZEaI8G6Dv_9Bk1_R5Jslbfed4ovKv3j1cZ67cGfF2LOa6ZGk8u5VAZKHhf9dpV4kN_jAxpYDiXVR5I3lAKfjtZ9mInoZxbEgacpuZd8Hcan66C88pu3LzYbw5s0Mj1PfZw/w640-h462/Screen+Shot+2020-10-17+at+6.34.18+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is Carla's job. She's the President of the Foundation for NH Independence, an organization dedicated to secession. Before that, she was the president of the Free State Project, a group whose stated mission is to take over and dismantle the NH state government, then threaten secession. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">You may be seeing a pattern... </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMhespCAbUgn3icSMggH__JgsQb-26v7JfU-1ZknmVofPcgVpNcGcc5To2uUXSKA2iJggKoYH6Abs_Hq_07V5kFzMJme6Y_hFHiws3dTpcmq_lTyuINF3Dw-K2WIxk8tLj0PfAA/s1840/Carla+and+the+Boogaloo+Bois.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1228" data-original-width="1840" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMhespCAbUgn3icSMggH__JgsQb-26v7JfU-1ZknmVofPcgVpNcGcc5To2uUXSKA2iJggKoYH6Abs_Hq_07V5kFzMJme6Y_hFHiws3dTpcmq_lTyuINF3Dw-K2WIxk8tLj0PfAA/w640-h428/Carla+and+the+Boogaloo+Bois.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">This is Carla on April 18 in front of the NH State House, posing with some Boogalooers who are part of the New England Minutemen militia. (Photo by <a href="@granitepolitics">@granitepolitics</a>) </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">On April 18, a group called Reopen NH had a rally to protest Governor Sununu's handling of the pandemic. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnauANSzV6tlXSWiVuk9sbKZkbFOdUnBF0PLr8C22IMQ8UIcRyC3nEw3LHKlxB0S9m3jQbgM05WNNe1vPefh03xo3QFD_TckY1lzhJgNqfsluQu9BOYsmEpQKXuTYwT1pi891Mg/s680/Boogaloo+April+18+copy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="680" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZnauANSzV6tlXSWiVuk9sbKZkbFOdUnBF0PLr8C22IMQ8UIcRyC3nEw3LHKlxB0S9m3jQbgM05WNNe1vPefh03xo3QFD_TckY1lzhJgNqfsluQu9BOYsmEpQKXuTYwT1pi891Mg/w640-h360/Boogaloo+April+18+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">As you can see in this photo, Carla is a part of the "Tyranny Response Team." The tyrant in question? Governor Sununu. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> One would think that the governor endorsing a secessionist would be a big, honking news story, especially a secessionist who has called him a tyrant! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">One would be wrong. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The incurious NH media continues to tenderly protect and cosset our governor. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-33147080450923802342020-10-11T13:31:00.006-04:002020-10-12T07:56:04.297-04:00Why Do You Keep Lying To Us, Bill Gardner? <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXh-9OX0X_xRyNNBmcXmZtA6GthynkXN7AJGpBkDfzLdU5yR4kfuFuHrWBOYpu4rr0Z5DF-Z2mcFRzrOGaLXiGcQgN6_0d-YwjouzqPB3khXV-q9loyTMW9EMU8FuOUbDlSobAA/s645/Screen+Shot+2020-10-11+at+12.47.41+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="605" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXh-9OX0X_xRyNNBmcXmZtA6GthynkXN7AJGpBkDfzLdU5yR4kfuFuHrWBOYpu4rr0Z5DF-Z2mcFRzrOGaLXiGcQgN6_0d-YwjouzqPB3khXV-q9loyTMW9EMU8FuOUbDlSobAA/w600-h640/Screen+Shot+2020-10-11+at+12.47.41+PM.png" width="600" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">This was one of the first tweets I saw this morning when I logged in to Twitter. Once again, our Secretary of State proclaiming that "NH is the easiest state in the country to vote in." </span></div><div><span><a href="https://www.fosters.com/news/20201009/secretary-of-state-bill-gardner-confident-nh-is-ready-for-nov-3-election-rsquounlike-any-otherrsquo">https://www.fosters.com/news/20201009/secretary-of-state-bill-gardner-confident-nh-is-ready-for-nov-3-election-rsquounlike-any-otherrsquo</a><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">He says it all the time. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bill Gardner is the NH Secretary of State. He has access to all kinds of information about voting in NH and the rest of the country. He has access to far more information than a humble blogger like me has. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">Yet, despite my lack of access, I know, by doing a simple Google search, that NH is NOT the easiest state to vote in. It's not even in the top 10 of the easiest states to vote in. </span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKPITKOr8bDzKCrJabaclD0_j4zRaeNLFH1P7frxnw7aDviFq2q6c6A5KoTjSolEW0QRkBjKU2VMJfit5JvjyRYExTCjdA2_vNZsCk89dvMoanMYahLOxG9w6S3aMsgWPx1LPvw/s780/slate+voting+map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="780" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKPITKOr8bDzKCrJabaclD0_j4zRaeNLFH1P7frxnw7aDviFq2q6c6A5KoTjSolEW0QRkBjKU2VMJfit5JvjyRYExTCjdA2_vNZsCk89dvMoanMYahLOxG9w6S3aMsgWPx1LPvw/w640-h426/slate+voting+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">This map is from a comprehensive voter guide put together by Molly Olmstead and Mark Joseph Stern for <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/08/2020-voting-guide.html">Slate</a>. As you can see, NH is considered "moderately difficult," not "easiest state to vote in." </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">A <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/article220534340.html">2018 study</a> done by Northern Illinois University found that the 10 easiest states to vote in were:</span></div><div><ol style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: "Noto Sans", sans-serif; margin: 15px auto; max-width: var(--story-width); outline: none; padding: 0px 15px;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Oregon </span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Colorado </span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">California </span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">North Dakota </span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Iowa </span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Maine</span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Utah </span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Massachusetts </span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Maryland </span></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; font: var(--ts)/1.5em var(--tf); margin-bottom: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; margin: 10px 0px 10px calc(1em + 15px); outline: none;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">New Jersey</span><div style="box-sizing: inherit; color: black; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-stretch: normal; height: 1px; line-height: normal; outline: none; overflow: hidden; width: 1px;"><br style="box-sizing: inherit; outline: none;" />Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/article220534340.html#storylink=cpy</div></li></ol></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">I don't see New Hampshire in there either. I do, however, see Oregon at the top of the list. </span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbGmEPAoOrGBcTihJelcn9GKiNgHL3RTAn6d6wXIosnnvwzBg6dcNBKl-imjgNtHlQPG8N5r6TpSRE-7HQIXgcTQcLpHCwvQ3tLxUc7oLmQFpThV3Bu-S1j5OWXbk2f1dIKPJcA/s686/Screen+Shot+2020-10-11+at+1.13.55+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="686" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijbGmEPAoOrGBcTihJelcn9GKiNgHL3RTAn6d6wXIosnnvwzBg6dcNBKl-imjgNtHlQPG8N5r6TpSRE-7HQIXgcTQcLpHCwvQ3tLxUc7oLmQFpThV3Bu-S1j5OWXbk2f1dIKPJcA/w640-h372/Screen+Shot+2020-10-11+at+1.13.55+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;">If I know this, so does Bill Gardner. That's why I'm asking why he's lying. And I'm asking the incurious NH media, who all operate on a GOP default setting, why they don't ever ask him about this. Why isn't anyone else asking him why he's lying to us? </span></div><div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><p>Links to a few stories where Gardner proclaims NH is the easiest state to vote in. </p><p><a href="http://indepthnh.org/2020/09/09/gardner-looks-to-november-and-future-elections/">http://indepthnh.org/2020/09/09/gardner-looks-to-november-and-future-elections/</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/nh-secretary-of-state-gardner-re-elected-to-22nd-term/">https://www.courthousenews.com/nh-secretary-of-state-gardner-re-elected-to-22nd-term/</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-primary-source-gardner-praises-end-to-eight-year-ordeal-over-nh-voting-requirements/32678478">https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-primary-source-gardner-praises-end-to-eight-year-ordeal-over-nh-voting-requirements/32678478</a><br /></p></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-67105577468862315982020-10-04T09:55:00.007-04:002020-10-04T09:57:48.598-04:00Why is NH AG Gordon MacDonald Working With James O'Keefe? <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHE1gWv-TGdfSm5fQi1dJyEWXPbPNeeVaCS6jAXlWkC7yTUiZViGPq2pNw14e1ldlQ-lmyoLg91YVAIDoOeRjSe53M6ik-It5mksZqE0VjJJgrKSZhfBejVXVpATyMOHZN9HFfFQ/s840/okeefe.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="840" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHE1gWv-TGdfSm5fQi1dJyEWXPbPNeeVaCS6jAXlWkC7yTUiZViGPq2pNw14e1ldlQ-lmyoLg91YVAIDoOeRjSe53M6ik-It5mksZqE0VjJJgrKSZhfBejVXVpATyMOHZN9HFfFQ/w400-h203/okeefe.png" width="400" /></a></div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">This is James O'Keefe dressed up in his nana's fur coat for his very first "sting," when he was pretending to be a pimp - and fooling no one. </span></i><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I don't know why James O'Keefe, the fraudulent fraud "investigator" has a hard on for NH, but he does. He's been trying to prove that there's widespread voter fraud in NH for years now, and has succeeded in stepping on his dick every time. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">In 2012, Jimmy and his Fraudulent Squad tried to prove that folks were rigging elections by voting as <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2012/01/james-okeefe-expos-could-get-him-arrested.html">dead people.</a> They came pretty close to casting those votes themselves, which meant Jimmy had to stay away from NH for a while, because then AG Michael Delaney was investigating him. One of <a href="https://patch.com/new-hampshire/nashua/conservative-activist-shoots-undercover-footage-at-nashua-polls">the names of the dead</a> they tried to use to make their case with was a veteran who had died a mere 10 days before. The man's family were not happy with Jimmy and his Fraudulent Squad. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">He has a lot of support here. The wingnut libertea groups in NH love Jimmy, even though he's always revealed to be peddling doctored videos and other tarted up nonsense - they think he's an "investigative journalist." Jimmy always has his grifter hand out, and they are likely donors. NH libertea groups want to prevent as many people as they can from voting, so Jimmy's their hero, flying in, making noise, and in time the noise turns out to be a nothingburger. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">I first read of O'Keefe's latest NH scheme in this September 8 <a href="https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/new-hampshire-attorney-general-we-will-do-better-voter-fraud?fbclid=IwAR1dbm7pGQe7JxHxSEl8GLx6X376ex-pBy5o8IUJ9zLtB8CliZHAm9NriHE">Patch story</a> :</span></p><p data-children-count="0" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 29px; margin: 20px auto; min-height: 1px; width: 555.71875px;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office is making structural reforms concerning voter fraud cases after the discovery that investigators appear to have been sitting on voter fraud evidence for more than eight months.</span></i></p><p data-children-count="0" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; line-height: 29px; margin: 20px auto; min-height: 1px; width: 555.71875px;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Attorney General Gordon MacDonald made the announcement during an interview with James O'Keefe III of Project Veritas Sept. 4 after the organization questioned staffers from the Election Law Unit in August about the lack of action against a double voting suspect from 2016 — even though investigators had evidence about the case for nearly a year.</span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It seems our very partisan NH AG is taking orders from the Fraudulent Squad at Project Veritas. (The whole story reads as if it was dictated by James O'Keefe.) They found evidence of a man who voted twice, in what is presented as a sinister and deceptive plot where the man dressed up as a woman to defraud the system. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Then read this story at <a href="https://jezebel.com/inside-project-veritass-cynical-transphobic-outing-of-1844978487?fbclid=IwAR16mTv_5YyAbvYjymsPyMAYsfZNET89xYP9_6Ufgy-MVgPOa6xeBRdCHO4">Jezebel.com</a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">This ain't no victory. Project Veritas made a big "sting" off a guy who has obvious mental health problems, and is barely getting by financially, and is likely to lose his job because of them. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: ElizabethSerif, Georgia, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Vincent Marzello is worried he’ll lose his fast-food job. After Veritas showed up at his workplace, the owners asked if they could do a background check; with his arrest and subsequent publicity on television and the front page of the local paper, his boss has implied that if customers start coming in to gawk at the guy who voted twice, Marzello could be out of a job. After his arrest, he said he had 85 cents in his checking account—not even enough to pay the $40 dollars usually required to leave jail.</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">What a triumph - for the bigoted, transphobic Fraudulent Squad - and the NH AG's office. How proud they must be to have rooted out this criminal element! This is a shameful story of harassing a confused man who needs professional help. The AG should have told O'Keefe to fuck right off with this. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Gordon MacDonald is the NH Attorney General. Despite his lack of judicial experience, Governor Chris Sununu wanted to put MacDonald on the NH Supreme Court as the Chief Justice. In a very contentious fight, the Executive Council voted no. The governor has been clear that if he is re-elected, he'll be re-nominating the anti-choice/pro-voter suppression MacDonald. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">We know that MacDonald is essentially working for Veritas at this point. Who else is Veritas tight with? It turns out that O'Keefe is buddies with the Proud Boys - the violent, right wing racist group that the president so kindly mentioned at the debate. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">This piece in <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/159543/cozy-relationship-project-veritas-proud-boys">The New Republic</a> connects all the Veritas dots to the Proud Boys. In 2017, O'Keefe was honored as Proud Boy of the month in their magazine. He's buddies with Proud boy founder Gavin McInnes and white supremacist Stefan Molyneaux, who has been a featured speaker at some Free State Project events here in NH. </span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7sb0twLQsq9aNFP3O2c0gSqYRuuxAAO5eNAzpAsAUK2PfxQ7m1ni7X1-vPy0visBvr1m3Ltwrao8p0HwspgY4jAcoO4TmXWMp12guzR3WAoQtvFq6CoDavY5zoFVPj_hmMxCDA/s600/more+proud+boys.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7sb0twLQsq9aNFP3O2c0gSqYRuuxAAO5eNAzpAsAUK2PfxQ7m1ni7X1-vPy0visBvr1m3Ltwrao8p0HwspgY4jAcoO4TmXWMp12guzR3WAoQtvFq6CoDavY5zoFVPj_hmMxCDA/w400-h265/more+proud+boys.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><span style="font-size: medium;">These are some Proud Boys. I might have gone with a name that didn't suggest a toddler meeting his toilet training goals - but what do I know? </span></i><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">James O'Keefe, friend of white supremacists, is who our NH AG is taking marching orders from, at a time when hate groups are establishing themselves in NH, including the Proud Boys. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">It's more imperative than ever that Chris Sununu is voted out. Gordon MacDonald should not be on the NH Supreme Court - he shouldn't be the NH AG. </span></p><p data-children-count="0" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 29px; margin: 20px auto; min-height: 1px; text-align: left; width: 555.71875px;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-38347586224214947162020-09-30T20:35:00.001-04:002020-09-30T20:35:24.884-04:00Dangerous Freedom! <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_X78n4j-Ojy6d9lSpe42uVWKUkg-7YqMqc5vJXLWTEeBZBYxpwHXED4Y4k1g-AA_UD58P1DWre9ntNR8wvsktrUQFR5ThP6LexLR2K94tSWGpeK5NY6rIz0OGxCfWZqASkiIZhQ/s620/Screen+Shot+2020-09-29+at+9.58.48+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="620" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_X78n4j-Ojy6d9lSpe42uVWKUkg-7YqMqc5vJXLWTEeBZBYxpwHXED4Y4k1g-AA_UD58P1DWre9ntNR8wvsktrUQFR5ThP6LexLR2K94tSWGpeK5NY6rIz0OGxCfWZqASkiIZhQ/w640-h572/Screen+Shot+2020-09-29+at+9.58.48+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Oh dear. I've been blocked on Twitter by the Free State Project - the armed miscreants who want to take over the NH state government, dismantle it, and threaten secession. Regular readers are aware that I've been writing about them for years now. I've also been harassed by them on a regular basis. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Yup. Blocked by the very people who claim they <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">PREFER DANGEROUS FREEDOM</span></span>. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Here's what happened:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfnKeU4Cz09fzXdjCuje2rpg72f-uDigqEwyqaDctZIu8ZkZ-xECaGX5rD5cRLbqMC-YQk3apTeJYvFwCoq837znaeuXLtxEiQwVtlNo94OlXETCgh6sUOyGLQBqTviDRUWw4JQ/s848/FSP+Ban+thread+Part+one+2020-09-30+at+2.35.58+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="848" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfnKeU4Cz09fzXdjCuje2rpg72f-uDigqEwyqaDctZIu8ZkZ-xECaGX5rD5cRLbqMC-YQk3apTeJYvFwCoq837znaeuXLtxEiQwVtlNo94OlXETCgh6sUOyGLQBqTviDRUWw4JQ/w640-h576/FSP+Ban+thread+Part+one+2020-09-30+at+2.35.58+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Followed by:</span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPQRDGruBN5kWTC4WrggnNGnumF0nVljwSSEufd6kN34-DHOEa35hWoBWyrOU7ZsO5gUnf3P2fDsW8qB3WbIOg4_agymDhCWkhNxxhfE8RXW_T5eX5sqrdfc0B3ttU1CH5uxAzQ/s922/FSP+Ban+thread+part+two+2020-09-30+at+2.36.09+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="922" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZPQRDGruBN5kWTC4WrggnNGnumF0nVljwSSEufd6kN34-DHOEa35hWoBWyrOU7ZsO5gUnf3P2fDsW8qB3WbIOg4_agymDhCWkhNxxhfE8RXW_T5eX5sqrdfc0B3ttU1CH5uxAzQ/w640-h270/FSP+Ban+thread+part+two+2020-09-30+at+2.36.09+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">In typical FSP fashion, they declare a victory - then block the person whose voice is apparently just a little too dangerous. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">They don't want to be reminded that Free Stater Muni Savyon murdered his son and then killed himself. They don't want to be reminded that Free Stater Attorney Brandon Ross embezzled $93, 000 from the trust fund of a special needs child. Who can blame them? That's SO sleazy. Free Stater Ian Freeman believes that children can consent to have sex with adults, Eric Schleien got handsy with a minor, Mark Warden once stated in a hearing at the State House that some people like to be in abusive relationships, Michael Sylvia - upon hearing that a sheriff's deputy had raped a prisoner he was transporting - commented that the deputy had too much time on his hands. And of course we all know about Cantwell. It's gotta be hard to hear - even for people who <span style="color: red;">PREFER DANGEROUS FREEDOM! </span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Nothing says winning like blocking! </span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">Thanks, Free State Project - I'm delighted to be such a threat to <span style="color: red;">DANGEROUS FREEDUMB! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-41078695841740282922020-09-18T17:12:00.005-04:002020-09-30T20:26:17.133-04:00NH House Republicans: An Endless Conga Line of Bad Behavior <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPj8WxHm_IlZNf-EAmbwi3_VKaS58j5j0biaULM5juUdPglCFIb0HBY6UxwYhSUXKkGONK5LMWtniuvjyS6rpHM87g7F_IEPoiyrGMlXac5uSIBtHNYLzU_39IKQ2J02FDj1qn7A/s779/GOP+legislators+outside+UNH+.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="338" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_fa9gC2bSPt4KBuntLRtk4LJoDhYLuSK8njlgSQTIRQTMV8d7QQwpaRPy3lkhE1T75tdPonNEmIl4OK-ZEnLzQ8enQg5Jvb5jvXcc8_bPtmD2f0WwLkRdN0cy-YO_griwFw_3g/w400-h400/image.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPj8WxHm_IlZNf-EAmbwi3_VKaS58j5j0biaULM5juUdPglCFIb0HBY6UxwYhSUXKkGONK5LMWtniuvjyS6rpHM87g7F_IEPoiyrGMlXac5uSIBtHNYLzU_39IKQ2J02FDj1qn7A/s779/GOP+legislators+outside+UNH+.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"> Republican legislators outside Whittemore Hall on Veto Day. Masks are required on campus. </div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">The Republicans of the NH state legislature have provided us with a lot of embarrassing behavior in recent weeks. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Late in August, Representative Robert Forsythe of Boscowen was arrested for assaulting a pregnant woman. The first instinct of House leadership? No - it was not to ask him to resign. It was to cover for him and protect him. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/08/dick-hinch-nh-house-minority-weasel.html">https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/08/dick-hinch-nh-house-minority-weasel.html</a><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">The governor wasn't interested in protecting Forsythe, and called for his resignation. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/08/forsythe-resigns-hinch-sings-new-tune.html">https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/08/forsythe-resigns-hinch-sings-new-tune.html</a><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">A week later, another Republican state rep posted on social media that seeing a Black Lives Matter sign on a lawn was permission to burn and loot the house. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/09/nh-state-rep-advocates-burning-and.html">https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/09/nh-state-rep-advocates-burning-and.html</a><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">What happened this time? Nothing. The story was an international embarrassment, but he was not asked to resign. House Minority Leader Dick Hinch protected Spillane. The governor protected Spillane. This man who has a history of offensive and criminal behavior was apparently deemed worthy of the protection of his party. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">This week, the House and Senate were both in session on September 16. Known as Veto Day, it was a chance for both bodies to overturn Governor Sununu's vetoes on 22 bills. Last year he vetoed 57 bills. This isn't governing. This is Sununu attempting to create a partisan wave that he can surf to DC on. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Veto Day was held at the UNH Whittemore Center's hockey arena, a space sufficiently large enough for the 400 member House to meet while also physically distancing. As you can see in the photo above, a coterie of Republican legislators stands outside the Whittemore Center, not wearing masks. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">The House Republicans were rambunctious. They had their marching orders - vote to sustain every veto. And if any of them were potentially swayed by the arguments in favor of humane legislation, GOP floor captain Al Baldasaro was madly waving his red hankie. (The House electronic voting system has 2 buttons, green for yea and red for nay.) Elderly frat boy Rep. Chris True dyed his hair red for the occasion. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7t6ljI3fe0xDw-pszV2WJANSAk8OuULy1dDWTYoLRpDqv7frw_CK_UkAD4_z2WStgEbEpKw0SHDXd3RdC2dapcoOUUWd73KYk98DXxQF-fxGasmUeQEqg-BOSsCzT26dV46emQ/s697/Screen+Shot+2020-09-16+at+2.26.20+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="697" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7t6ljI3fe0xDw-pszV2WJANSAk8OuULy1dDWTYoLRpDqv7frw_CK_UkAD4_z2WStgEbEpKw0SHDXd3RdC2dapcoOUUWd73KYk98DXxQF-fxGasmUeQEqg-BOSsCzT26dV46emQ/w400-h224/Screen+Shot+2020-09-16+at+2.26.20+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I took this screenshot while watching the session online. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">There was cheering, jeering, and booing. The freedumb section, where the Republicans who refuse to wear masks sit was well populated. One media outlet was brave enough to name (though they have no shame) them. The list of all 47 is at <a href="http://indepthnh.org/2020/09/16/47-house-republicans-refuse-masks-at-veto-session/">InDepthNH</a></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Apparently it was also beer guzzlin' party time for the freedumb lovers. UNH security found a bunch of empties in the trash can near the libertea lads and lasses. Speaker Shurtleff was furious when he announced it near the end of the day. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Ethan DeWitt of the <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/Veto-override-day-New-Hampshire-House-36280453">Concord Monitor</a> has a report on the events of the day, including the big old temper tantrum that Rep. Al Baldasaro had before storming out of the stadium. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">The sad truth? Republicans don't care. They know that they aren't going to be held accountable by anyone. They know the media will gloss over it. They know Hinch will cover for them. They know the state party won't say boo about it. They also know that our Trump loving governor won't do a damn thing - after all, they just voted in lockstep to sustain his vetoes. This kind of behavior doesn't just trickle down from the top (Trump) it's a veritable tsunami of repellent, undignified actions - with no fear of the consequences. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Regular readers are weary of hearing me say that the default setting for ALL NH media is GOP. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">What does this look like? </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-house-speaker-apologizes-to-unh-after-some-reps-drink-beer-in-hall/34074274">WMUR</a>: </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(65, 65, 65); color: #414141;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">New Hampshire's House speaker has apologized to University of New Hampshire leadership for the behavior of <b>some</b> legislators after this week's session.</span></i></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(65, 65, 65); color: #414141;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #414141; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(65, 65, 65);"><b>SOME</b> legislators? We have the list. We know they were REPUBLICAN legislators. WMUR (aka WGOP) would never point that out. </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"> <a href="https://www.nhpr.org/post/state-reps-draw-criticism-drinking-beer-not-wearing-masks-unh-campus">NHPR</a></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><i style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">During Wednesday’s legislative session at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore Center, a handful of state representatives drank beer and did not wear masks outside of the center, despite the town of Durham’s mask mandate.</span></i></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></i></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">Again - we know who they are. But their political affiliation and their names are left out of the story. </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">If those had been Democrats, their names and photos would be up on WMUR, who would also have sound trucks parked in front of each of their houses. If those had been Democrats, NHPR would say so. </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">And of course the <a href="https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/granite_status/granite-status-homesick-lawmakers-empty-beer-cans-in-trash-after-session-at-unh/article_230593f5-ad0e-5d48-8f5f-da8cc28af861.html">Union Leader</a> - the NH GOP daily broadsheet also avoided naming names or mentioning party affiliation. </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">NH Republicans are enabled by the media, by House leadership, by NH GOP leadership, and by Trump lovin' Governor Sununu. Don't expect any fallout from any of this. Expect more of the same, in an endless cycle. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK05DJhLmXKsq96wFR1mKoX4Ljo4psJ-ru9YoNrAgF-k4rsjUxulMbWubbD6Uc9d2QvTW09cncjQdaHs2iM418QfMI8ij5DOLFivZW1zZW0Nyc5YY5ptEZG8WB0puukPi0un4U7w/s320/lather+rinse+repeat+.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK05DJhLmXKsq96wFR1mKoX4Ljo4psJ-ru9YoNrAgF-k4rsjUxulMbWubbD6Uc9d2QvTW09cncjQdaHs2iM418QfMI8ij5DOLFivZW1zZW0Nyc5YY5ptEZG8WB0puukPi0un4U7w/s0/lather+rinse+repeat+.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">From the General Court Handbook:</span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibH869mVsJdYKVvN3mZmsTGQkULsdtAfGEoqGvQ-t0Ck32X-I4FYInoFwWe1NmHDWjOEWeOR51tfYPxHjPT_7rZBjihqBV_QPEgpy10wSP6NkgL_9jkwSt2NwqlP_QBWGC8DNFmQ/s531/gencourt+handbook.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="397" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibH869mVsJdYKVvN3mZmsTGQkULsdtAfGEoqGvQ-t0Ck32X-I4FYInoFwWe1NmHDWjOEWeOR51tfYPxHjPT_7rZBjihqBV_QPEgpy10wSP6NkgL_9jkwSt2NwqlP_QBWGC8DNFmQ/w299-h400/gencourt+handbook.jpg" width="299" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">In the absence of ethics rules and enforcement mechanisms, this is meaningless. The honor system has been thoroughly corrupted by the dishonorable. </span></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-72569945046346245492020-09-04T16:20:00.003-04:002020-09-05T09:58:28.217-04:00NH State Rep Advocates Burning and Looting <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIP1y7wObXm9g8FWoX2uAYH18TP58ghxUyj2rKqip7fW3bzVTx8ZUcp7wqkxH7C4M4YkxH0ECw3PJ3ac10lZ04HKalE7KS4m0eF0XfFldZoHFpvnk8EqT6FiGqj233wFOl6F-5Rw/s1600/Spillane+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="666" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIP1y7wObXm9g8FWoX2uAYH18TP58ghxUyj2rKqip7fW3bzVTx8ZUcp7wqkxH7C4M4YkxH0ECw3PJ3ac10lZ04HKalE7KS4m0eF0XfFldZoHFpvnk8EqT6FiGqj233wFOl6F-5Rw/s400/Spillane+.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">State Representative James Spillane after his arrest for DUI in 2017. (Still wearing his giant NH House name badge.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It was only a week ago that a NH House Republican made national news. Last week State Representative Robert Forsyth was charged with felony domestic violence. House Minority Leader Dick Hinch did his best to protect Forsythe, but after the governor called on Forsythe to resign, there was no saving him. Forsythe resigned. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">When NH House Republicans make national news, it's never because they've done something that is a credit to their office or the state. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This week, a different NH House Republican is making national news. Rep. James Spillane seems to generate a newsworthy event every year. This year, it's about Black Lives Matter. From Josh Rogers at <a href="https://www.nhpr.org/post/ag-investigating-nh-reps-facebook-post-about-looting-burning-homes-black-lives-matter-signs#stream/0">NHPR</a>:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The New Hampshire Department of Justice is investigating Rep. James Spillane over a Facebook post in which the Deerfield lawmaker advocated for burning and looting houses displaying Black Lives Matter signs.<br /><br />“Public Service Announcement,” Spillane wrote in the post from earlier this week. “If you see a BLM sign on a lawn, it’s the same as having a porch light on at Halloween. You are free to burn and loot that house.” As of Thursday afternoon, the post appears to have been deleted from Spillane’s page.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Predictably, the House Minority Leader defends his wayward lad:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>House Minority Leader Dick Hinch says the language in Deerfield Rep. James Spillane’s now-deleted post was inexcusable, but Hinch told WMUR he also trusts Spillane ”meant no harm.<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">”</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Last year Spillane made the news for tweeting out a photo of a squirrel he shot with a .50 caliber muzzleloader. As one might expect, the photo was quite gory, and Spillane was quite boastful. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Dave Solomon at the <a href="https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/state/deerfield-state-rep-booted-from-fish-game-committee-after-i-shot-a-squirrel-trolling/article_3358fdad-42ff-51e3-baaf-1833556824e9.html">Union Leader</a>: </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /><i>Twitter immediately exploded with outrage that caught the attention of Fish and Game officers, who paid Spillane a visit last week and issued a warning, as reported in Thursday’s New Hampshire Union Leader.<br /><br />“In light of the warning Rep. Spillane received from the Fish and Game Department due to his recent conduct we felt it was inappropriate for him to remain on the Fish and Game Committee and have removed him from his committee position,” Shurtleff announced in a statement released on Friday afternoon.<br /><br />The move drew immediate criticism from House Republican leader Rep. Dick Hinch, R-Merrimack.<br /><br />“Removing Rep. Spillane from the Fish and Game committee for a minor infraction is heavy-handed and I’m disappointed that the Speaker chose to take this action,” he said.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">As always, Spillane's first instinct is to behave badly. As always, Dick Hinch's first instinct is to cosset Spillane, and protect him. He wasn't upset with Spillane - he was upset with the Speaker for taking away Spillane's committee assignment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In 2017, Spillane was arrested for DUI. Alyssa Dandrea for the <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/NH-representative-faces-DWI-charge-10051258">Concord Monitor</a>:</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">A Deerfield state representative convicted of drunken driving in 2010 is facing new charges in Pembroke.<br /><br />James Spillane, a third-term Republican legislator, was arrested May 4 and charged with two counts of driving while intoxicated. He also faces open container and yellow line violations.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This wasn't Spillane's first rodeo. His first DUI arrest included strangling his wife and the confiscation of 20 guns from his house. <a href="https://miscellanyblue.com/post/151915915302">Miscellany Blue </a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">One wonders why Hinch is so desperate to keep this loose cannon in the House, when he reflects so badly on the legislature and the state. Then one remembers that this kind of thing seldom results in any consequences for House Republicans. Governor Sununu has NOT spoken up to suggest Spillane resign. Domestic violence is bad, but casual racism and violence? No big deal. After all, Hinch trusts that he meant no harm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Spillane's second DUI came after a jolly afternoon of drinking with some of his fellow legislators, including the former rape-resentative Robert "Red Pill" Fisher. </span></div>
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<a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2017/05/take-off-your-nh-house-name-tag-before.html"><span style="font-size: large;">Take Off Your NH House Name Badge Before You Go Drinkin'</span></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-78514864112526979062020-08-27T14:12:00.000-04:002020-08-27T16:10:58.835-04:00Forsythe Resigns, Hinch Sings New Tune <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcMT-9vCEQbzC9RniaU84P1koxaTvTWMc2z7dkrRXNN2iZMAfRMep_rkyh7uM73QzScLYRE0M9tfi4SC8SXFh9DjEn9yc6sgeqRnnnoUIPa-_sZcuaXdK0lg4N3Obq8D1cxQ34g/s1600/Robert+Forsythe+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="505" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcMT-9vCEQbzC9RniaU84P1koxaTvTWMc2z7dkrRXNN2iZMAfRMep_rkyh7uM73QzScLYRE0M9tfi4SC8SXFh9DjEn9yc6sgeqRnnnoUIPa-_sZcuaXdK0lg4N3Obq8D1cxQ34g/s640/Robert+Forsythe+2.jpg" width="336" /></a></div>
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Robert Forsythe in 2014<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">It was only yesterday that the story of NH State Rep. Robert Forsythe broke. He's been charged with felony domestic abuse for choking a pregnant partner. The whole sordid story of his arrest was reported by the <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/NH-state-representative-Robert-Forsythe-domestic-violence-case-Boscawen-35924576">Concord Monitor</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">This was the NH House Minority Leader's reaction to the arrest yesterday:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>House Republican Leader Dick Hinch condemned the alleged behavior, saying “domestic violence and assault are unacceptable and wrong and have no place in our society,” but he stopped short of calling on Forsythe to resign.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>“Rep. Forsythe is the only person who can put pen to paper, and sign a resignation letter,” Hinch said. “The people of Boscawen have the right to ask him to resign if they believe he can no longer represent them. They also have the ability to vote for alternative candidates, including write-ins, if they believe they no longer want Rep. Forsythe to represent them in Concord.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">I noted the difference in Hinch's reaction to the arrest of a fellow Republican and the arrest of a Democrat on domestic violence charges <a href="https://susanthebruce.blogspot.com/2020/08/dick-hinch-nh-house-minority-weasel.html">in a blog post yesterday.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Poor Hinch. After all that waffling, Governor Sununu came right out and called for Forsythe's resignation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Today, the <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/Robert-Forsythe-Boscawen-resign-domestic-violence-charges-35948045">Monitor</a> reports that Forsythe has resigned:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>In a phone call Wednesday, Forsythe, 38, said he had chosen to step down after consulting with fellow representatives and Rep. Dick Hinch, the House Republican Leader...</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Hinch confirmed the resignation in his own statement Wednesday afternoon.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>“I spoke with Rep. Forsythe this morning and encouraged him to resign from the House, which he has now done,” Hinch stated. “He faces very serious charges that he will need to answer to in a court of law. Domestic violence and assault are unacceptable and wrong and have no place in our society.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">What a difference a day makes, eh Hinchy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Forsythe was running unopposed in his district. He told the Monitor that the charges against him won't hold up in court. This isn't his first run-in with the law, in 2019 he was charged with violating a protective order. Forsythe sponsored a bill this year which seems intended to weaken protective orders and protect abusers. It would excuse a defendant for violating an order if it could be proven that the plaintiff requested the contact. The bill was killed by the House. It doesn't take Dick Tracy to see what that was all about. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">We know he has engaged in violence against women and <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/Archive/2014/10/housedistrict8-cm-101914?fbclid=IwAR1Ueug2loN5cXH8i16CuTTSRb217Yjo2Usy0OIEel4GRHhj4L6E9bIdmEs">he loves guns.</a> This is the kind of profile that should be taken with the utmost seriousness. It's the same profile of nearly every domestic terrorist/mass shooter. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">House Minority Leader Dick Hinch's first reaction was to protect him. Just as he attempted to protect Robert "Red Pill" Fisher. Hinch wasn't shy about demanding that State Rep. Sherry Frost should resign because she used the word "fuck" on her personal Facebook page. The difference? Frost is a Democrat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The NH GOP has a man problem. When training on domestic violence and harassment was mandated by leadership (the kind of training any professional has to go through in the workplace) a number of the Republican men (and one of the women) refused to go through the training. GOP legislators Kyle Tasker, Eric Schleien, and James Spillane have all been arrested on charges related to illegal conduct with women. Tasker is in prison, Schleien moved out of state, but Spillane, who was once arrested for trying to strangle his wife, is still a representative. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Forsythe is gone. Dick Hinch should be ousted as well. His idea of leadership is covering for people who aren't fit to hold elected office. Protecting abusers should not be tolerated. It sure is hard to make a strong case for that though, given who is at the very top of the GOP ticket. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-50170623980159480592020-08-26T17:52:00.001-04:002020-08-26T17:52:21.713-04:00Dick Hinch, NH House Minority Weasel <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-l6e-5JKFPAKYzhb86gWrhIUbrBPK5ncjfat78qnI8pB0SQELk7cf3Kf2NW4WngurApEwiFfHZKB07GJPoIM7qkr5XaSObvtl62SOAZB1JBVfD3uVK6futrua5Ij6yMryL6t1Q/s1600/Hinch+2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-l6e-5JKFPAKYzhb86gWrhIUbrBPK5ncjfat78qnI8pB0SQELk7cf3Kf2NW4WngurApEwiFfHZKB07GJPoIM7qkr5XaSObvtl62SOAZB1JBVfD3uVK6futrua5Ij6yMryL6t1Q/s640/Hinch+2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">NH House Minority Leader Dick Hinch</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Today we learned that a NH State Representative was arrested 2 months ago for assaulting his pregnant partner. We learned that today, 2 months after the fact. Robert Forsythe is running for re-election. He's been charged with o<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">ne felony count of second-degree assault and two misdemeanor counts of domestic violence. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The article in today's <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/NH-state-representative-Robert-Forsythe-domestic-violence-case-Boscawen-35924576">Concord Monitor</a> also has photos of Robert Forsythe, campaigning at the dump, while wearing a sidearm. Guns are important to him - but we'll get to that later. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The Monitor spoke with NH House Minority Leader Dick Hinch about this incident, because Rep. Forsythe is a Republican: </span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">House Republican Leader Dick Hinch condemned the alleged behavior but stopped short of calling on Forsythe to resign from office.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">“Domestic violence and assault are unacceptable and wrong and have no place in our society,” Hinch said. “Rep. Fosythe is the only person who can put pen to paper, and sign a resignation letter. The people of Boscawen have the right to ask him to resign if they believe he can no longer represent them. They also have the ability to vote for alternative candidates, including write-ins, if they believe they no longer want Rep. Forsythe to represent them in Concord. "</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Hinch was singing an entirely different song back in 2018, when State Senator Jeff Woodburn was charged with 9 counts of assault against his former partner. <a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/nh-house-democratic-leader-shurtleff-changes-position-on-alleged-domestic-abuser-woodburn/24279314">WMUR</a></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">After WMUR's initial report appeared, New Hampshire House Majority Leader Richard Hinch, R-Merrimack, criticized Shurtleff. His statement said:</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">“There is no middle ground on accusations of domestic abuse. These are very serious and substantiated charges against Sen. Woodburn. Given the nature of the charges and the legal proceedings requiring his full attention, it’s clear that Sen. Woodburn is not fit for public office. The constituents of his district deserve better.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">“Now, we have the leader of the Democratic caucus saying that somehow that we should all give him a free pass until after the election. I’m shocked that Rep. Shurtleff and other Democrat leaders are standing with and enabling an accused abuser and not with the victim in this situation. This is not the time to straddle the fence and shows poor leadership by the minority leader.”</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">The Minority Leader would appear to have become one of those "fence straddlers with poor judgement" he once denounced. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This isn't Robert Forsythe's first rodeo. In April 2019 he was arrested for violating a protective order. <a href="https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/loudon-felon-arrested-14-weapons-charges-concord-police-log?fbclid=IwAR3VdxsXy8C0mob58ZAWbClt6YqbP-sfC8VqDk_1QOq-plOX0YyqJOmSq7c">Tony Schinella for Patch. </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's not his second rodeo, either. In 2014 he was arrested on gun charges. <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/Archive/2014/10/housedistrict8-cm-101914?fbclid=IwAR1Ueug2loN5cXH8i16CuTTSRb217Yjo2Usy0OIEel4GRHhj4L6E9bIdmEs">Concord Monitor</a></span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-9866745661890536012020-08-24T21:34:00.001-04:002020-08-29T20:07:08.327-04:00Colorado Corky - NH's Latest Carpetbagger<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj25ALCVw6B12fZaeL4q76HbKDARqH62diE-hsxEX76PZ11uewUTrarkoDPeYQ7sozFiSAAV_XGdSLYBeXjtLUcFtynT8lH_45odez7o0opp1H5qyrmdv9i2lxkc7UDCrraQyQnA/s1600/corky2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="585" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj25ALCVw6B12fZaeL4q76HbKDARqH62diE-hsxEX76PZ11uewUTrarkoDPeYQ7sozFiSAAV_XGdSLYBeXjtLUcFtynT8lH_45odez7o0opp1H5qyrmdv9i2lxkc7UDCrraQyQnA/s400/corky2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Carpetbaggers are a familiar phenomenon in NH. This year's GOP model is Bryant "Corky" Messner. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Corky lived/lives in Colorado, but decided his summer place in Wolfeboro was home last year when he decided (or was recruited) to run against NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Corky is a businessman and a veteran. He founded a big law firm in Denver, where his firm defended Chipotle in some sexual harassment and discrimination cases. More on that in <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/07/24/nh-gop-candidates-firm-defended-chipotle-in-numerous-sex-harassment-discrimination-cases/">Salon</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">He's also in some legal hot water over a foundation he started that doesn't seem to be doing exactly what it's supposed to do. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/31/gop-senate-candidates-claims-about-his-foundation-inner-city-kids-dont-add-up/">Washington Post</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Corky has been endorsed by Trump, and by former speaker of the NH House, Bill O'Brien. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">It's hard to say how Corky will fare in the primary, but I'm not optimistic about his chances. Also, I can't help but wonder why a man his age uses his kindergarten nickname. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Edited to add that Corky was accused of domestic violence in 2006, by his now ex-wife. <a href="https://patch.com/new-hampshire/concord-nh/nh-senate-candidate-accused-domestic-incident-colorado-doc">Patch</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Step into the wayback machine to remember a few other carpetbaggers: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Walt Havenstein was imported to run for governor in 2014. He was living in Maryland, even got a homesteader tax break, because it was his principle residence. He had a vacation home in Alton, which he suddenly decided was where he really lived when he chose to run for governor. </span><a href="https://www.vnews.com/Archives/2014/06/HavensteinEligible-jd-vn-070114"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Valley News</span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Maryland decided to come after him for tax evasion. <a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/maryland-says-havenstein-owes-state-tax-credits/5192653">WMUR</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Two years later, Havenstein announced he wasn't going to run for governor again, and that he was selling his house and planned to "relocate." <a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/havenstein-says-he-won-t-run-for-governor-in-2016/5199741">WMUR</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Scott Brown moved from Massachusetts to NH in 2013, to run for the <a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/brown-sells-wrentham-home-headed-for-new-hampshire/5186767">US Senate</a> in 2014. In one of my favorite stories from that campaign, a UK reporter tried to ask him a question in a restaurant in N. Conway. Brown refused to answer, and hid in the bathroom until <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/16/scott-brown-republican-senate-campaign-hobby-lobby-women">reporter Paul Lewis of The Guardian</a> left the building. No amount of duct tape applied to the bumper of his pickup could erase the stain of his cowardice.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The NH GOP clown car is always full, even if they have to import the passengers. </span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-63416831003035719562020-08-20T18:26:00.001-04:002020-08-20T21:12:12.654-04:00Shibonunu<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VG7Gn4A1NtrM0rTWLDbqIYmn6nb-XX0-NGwQnob8JYzmh3-drguXe6ogD7xto_8iPjNaoWpy_mIXQnzVifHVb1acwUN-x_CVs_9g6d95r7mzfU3pSbRDA2rb7JtwcDdyXrnfiA/s1600/Republican+Governor+Chris+Sununu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="550" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6VG7Gn4A1NtrM0rTWLDbqIYmn6nb-XX0-NGwQnob8JYzmh3-drguXe6ogD7xto_8iPjNaoWpy_mIXQnzVifHVb1acwUN-x_CVs_9g6d95r7mzfU3pSbRDA2rb7JtwcDdyXrnfiA/s400/Republican+Governor+Chris+Sununu.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">NH Governor Chris Sununu held one of his bi-weekly COVID-19 press conferences on Monday, August 18. You can watch the entire video <a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/full-video-governor-holds-latest-covid-19-briefing-for-new-hampshire-august-18-2020/33637646?fbclid=IwAR2e9zHC1_bTVg22xj9_daAYMpxOzHLMbg3Uh4piRCniV9bP-rj81x1QR18">here,</a> or just look at the highlights I'll be referencing. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">From about 13:33 - 17:07, the governor answers questions from reporters about voting. He's asked if he'll be voting absentee or going to the polls. At about 14:10, you'll hear him tell voters they can take their absentee ballots and "walk them over to a safe drop box." Sununu has just told folks to break the law. Absentee ballots can't be left in drop off boxes, and they're not likely to be counted if they are. David Brooks at the <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/ballot-dropoff-voting-absentee-new-hampshire-election-35719391">Concord Monitor</a> gives the straight dope on drop off boxes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Sununu is also asked if he thinks the issues with USPS will affect absentee voting, at about14:25. He tells reporters that he's not worried, that he has spoken to Regina Bugbee , the District Manager of USPS Northern New England District. For some reason, he refers to Ms. Bugbee as, "a lovely woman." Patronizing? Patriarchal? You decide. He did not, however, make any references to lovely men at any point during the press conference. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">After the post office, he was asked about issuing a mandate that masks should be worn at the polls. He isn't going to. He is asked about towns mandating masks, and says that's fine, "it's on them." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">At 28:48, the topic of nursing home outbreaks is brought up, and the governor deferred to DHHS Commissioner Lori Shibonette. The Commissioner was very unhappy with an <a href="https://www.nhpr.org/post/one-nh-nursing-home-has-been-battling-covid-19-may-it-was-watchdogs-radar-long#stream/0">NHPR</a> story by Casey McDermott on a long term outbreak at a nursing home that is still not under control. NHPR Josh Rogers was at the press conference, and was the target of Shibinette's wrath. She accused them of leaving out information because of a pre-determined narrative. The commissioner tried to make the case that even though the Greenbriar nursing home in Nashua has been cited numerous times for deficiencies over the years, that had nothing to do with the Covid outbreak, because many other nursing homes had outbreaks. Some were facilities that had no reports of deficiencies. That is true. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">BUT, what no one mentioned is that those nursing homes with no deficiencies cleared up their outbreaks quickly. The Covid outbreak at Greenbriar has been raging since May. More than 150 staff and residents have been infected, and 28 residents died. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Shibinette was defensive. She was also strangely <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">blasé</span> about deficient nursing homes. One might expect the Commissioner of DHHS to voice concern over the long term history of deficiencies in those homes, and reassure us that the state was going to turn this situation around. She didn't do that. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> There were questions about the lack of a mask mandate at large events, like Bike Week. The governor is sure that people will be responsible. He spoke of how much better New Hampshire's unemployment numbers than those of Massachusetts. NH has a population of 1.3 million and MA has a population of 7 million. (One of these things is not like the other.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">The last question came at 47:30. The media personality is Michael Graham, from Massachusetts, who writes commentary for the Boston Herald. Graham is also the voice of an online publication called NH Journal. In a state where right wingers regularly make disparaging comments about people from MA and urge anyone they disagree with to "move back to Massachusetts," the irony of the media personality from Massachusetts writing the NH Journal is worth mentioning. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Graham tries to spin the issue of USPS mailboxes disappearing and sorting machines being shut down (and even sold off) as a conspiracy theory by the Democrats. Governor Sununu refused to take the well-timed, baited, softball, and so was able to end the press conference on an upbeat note. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Since the beginning of the pandemic, Sununu has benefitted from flattering, even fawning media coverage. Six months later, hard questions are being asked, and he and his minions don't like this very much. The next press conference is Friday, August 21, at 3 PM. If you vote, you should watch these! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">* Be sure to read Casey McDermott's story about </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.nhpr.org/post/one-nh-nursing-home-has-been-battling-covid-19-may-it-was-watchdogs-radar-long#stream/0">nursing homes. </a> This is good reporting. </span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-17273993994202110522020-08-11T11:24:00.002-04:002020-08-11T11:26:03.118-04:00Governor Affable's Braggadocio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgax0ez-XVCFgXdSfOdFldbJlZm2BENSI6l5Vncvzd2rrMhtGo660IS22c8eefUcmc0ylEAr1xH2NZ3JWkecqXEf5-GXmS-ITZBnnAHKnV_E6iwmqdDZcFbLrKIKzBqtBPkNZKiIw/s1600/braggadocio.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="560" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgax0ez-XVCFgXdSfOdFldbJlZm2BENSI6l5Vncvzd2rrMhtGo660IS22c8eefUcmc0ylEAr1xH2NZ3JWkecqXEf5-GXmS-ITZBnnAHKnV_E6iwmqdDZcFbLrKIKzBqtBPkNZKiIw/s640/braggadocio.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">NH Governor Chris Sununu is back on the campaign trail. How do we know? The braggadocio machine is turned on, and cranked up to high volume. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In a newly published interview with <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/10/new-hampshire-governor-sununu-says-high-taxes-prompting-urban-flight.html">CNBC</a> we see a familiar theme:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>“We’re booming,” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu told CNBC.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>New Hampshire’s real estate is selling quickly, Sununu said, adding that he’s getting frequent calls from companies looking to relocate to the “Live Free or Die” state.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Where have we heard this before?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.nhpr.org/post/gov-sununu-says-hes-met-100-businesses-wont-name-them#stream/0">NHPR April 2017</a>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Governor Chris Sununu says he’s more than made good on a key campaign promise: That he’d personally meet with 100 out-of-state businesses in 100 days.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Sununu says his outreach is symbolic of his administration’s commitment to economic development, but the Governor couldn’t say any companies would relocate here, and wouldn’t share the names of any companies he met with.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.nhpr.org/post/sununu-defends-results-efforts-recruit-out-state-businesses#stream/0">NHPR 2018</a> in an interview asked about businesses moving to NH:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">"Yeah, we've seen businesses come in. I sat with a woman from a small company in Arizona. I sat with a gentleman with a small company just outside of Montreal. He's in Berlin now, she's over in Portsmouth. We have had large companies come in. We talked to businesses in Massachusetts all the time that are trying to, again, create more opportunity and flexibility for themselves and their workers. They're coming up here. We have had businesses that were thinking one time of leaving, expanding elsewhere, like Hitchiner or BAE. They're now here and they're investing millions of dollars right here in New Hampshire. </span><span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">Lonza is a great example of an international company that decided, with the Trump tax cuts, they were going to make a very large investment in one of their facilities around the world. They chose Portsmouth."</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(61, 61, 61); letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;">A closer look at that heaping helping of word salad reveals that he can name ONE company that moved to NH, and vaguely allude to two others. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.nhpr.org/post/media-blitz-sununu-talks-nh-trump-disses-shaheen-other-states#stream/0">NHPR 2019</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Gov. Chris Sununu paid a whirlwind visit to New York City this week. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>There were interviews on CNBC’s Squawk Box, a sit-down on David Webb's SIRUS XM show, and multiple Fox News appearances.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Sununu's remarks were a blend of braggadocio ("I could fix Connecticut in about 20 minutes") and policy talk ("I don't have a sales tax, I don't have an income tax"), laced with a steady supply of #603pride. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"The businesses coming out of New York and Connecticut and up to New Hampshire, it’s phenomenal," he said on Squawk Box. “So, yeah, I come and poach businesses all the time.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Confirming those boasts, however, is difficult.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Citing confidentiality, Sununu's office declined to identify a single business he had "poached" from New York or Connecticut, or any other state."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Confidentiality is code for "it's never happened." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Getting back to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/10/new-hampshire-governor-sununu-says-high-taxes-prompting-urban-flight.html">CNBC </a></span></div>
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<span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>"The Republican governor said New York, Massachusetts and other high-tax states are “pickpocketing” New Hampshire residents by taxing out-of-state employees who are no longer commuting into their states to work."</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">If NH is "booming" and all these companies are moving to the state, why are so many NH residents commuting to other states to work? Why don't reporters ever ask him that question?</span></div>
<span style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0.07999999821186066px; word-spacing: 0.4000000059604645px;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-10089750244773480472019-10-24T11:06:00.000-04:002019-10-24T19:33:54.975-04:00Time for the Ideological Year of the Biennium in the NH Legislature <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqWVwqtyaTe95KFJJRAdZesTT30jXKYSkfny75jnmAlpYlLdWJi1pMTbPl3DR5sbIaW2XhocI13H6JJKHm67ShKwk8WyuvPGQ7yO6XrsmoxYY05LFWCk8W9ic6TIU45SR7nv6YA/s1600/if-you-cut-off-my-reproduction-choice-ill-cut-yours-off-d0012749438.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1000" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqWVwqtyaTe95KFJJRAdZesTT30jXKYSkfny75jnmAlpYlLdWJi1pMTbPl3DR5sbIaW2XhocI13H6JJKHm67ShKwk8WyuvPGQ7yO6XrsmoxYY05LFWCk8W9ic6TIU45SR7nv6YA/s640/if-you-cut-off-my-reproduction-choice-ill-cut-yours-off-d0012749438.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Members of the House have filed their LSRs for 2020. An LSR is the beginning of what will become a bill. LSR stands for Legislative Service Requests. What we see right now is just a one liner, a fledgling request that will be fleshed out and be assigned a bill number. The title we see right now may or may not provide insight into the intent of the bill, but when combined with the list of sponsors, the intent isn't difficult to discern. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The budget is the work of the first year of the biennium. In the second year, some legislators get to work on their ideological projects. There are four bills coming up that are intended to exert control over the bodily autonomy of women and girls. Sponsors may still be added to LSRs, so the sponsors you see in this screenshot may change. It was taken on October 24 at about 10 AM.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">2046 is theatrical nonsense from Rep. Prudhomme-O'Brien. Abortion has long been the way the radical right manipulates part of its voter base. This last year, there's been a lot of phony drama with Trump and the god botherers insisting that doctors are killing babies that are born alive. This is, of course, a lot of bunkum. They've wailed, moaned, and made a big show of filing bills, conveniently forgetting that President George W. Bush signed the <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/107/hr2175">Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002.</a> It's all a lot of sound, fury, and manipulation. That Prudhomme-O'Brien hasn't managed to find anyone to cosponsor the bill is telling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">2054 is three men desperate to control the lives and bodies of girls. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">2483 is obviously the big ideological centerpiece, given the number of cosponsors. The GOP is skilled at finding women to support the patriarchy. Five of the 6 sponsors are women. I don't know what abortions they want to prohibit "in certain cases," though it's not hard to guess. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">2584 is anti-science nonsense, coming from Dave Testerman. The forced incubation crowd is insisting that something the size of a pea at 6 weeks has a heartbeat, despite the fact that it hasn't developed a heart. This is an attempt to cloud science with emotion - and to use that emotion to force women to serve as involuntary incubators. For more on the fetal heartbeat issue this piece from <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2019/05/embryos-dont-have-hearts.html">NY Magazine</a> offers some actual science. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">All of these bill sponsors are people who claim the mantle of being "pro-life." None of them are people who legislate accordingly. Whenever there's a chance to vote on bills that would help children and families, they are almost always on the wrong side. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A quick example is last year's <a href="http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/bill_docket.aspx?lsr=1052&sy=2019&txtsessionyear=2019&txtbillnumber=SB1&sortoption=&q=1">SB 1</a>, relative to family and medical leave. SB 1 would have created a system for paid leave that would enable parents with new babies to take paid time away from work to be with the new addition to their family. It also would have given people with health problems time off, or time to help a family member with a serious illness. It was a bill to help families. The sponsors of the bills all voted against it - with the exception of Prudhomme-O'Brien and Abigail Rooney, who were both absent on the day of the vote. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">These are folks who are pro-birth. Once that little nipper hits the chute, they expect him to pull him/herself up by the bootie straps and fend for him/herself. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-88087569269858177792019-10-18T19:00:00.000-04:002019-10-19T11:52:41.560-04:00Donor Demographics <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4gXEWuQvMobFOuCJXwTezuGj3-QpMQzrK_J4aNNgmZKBo8lR-Vm5d10J6-GcRppWBmUjuo6ieUutmRcamZoWHyhY9QMvqoQDYpk5jf7gfzEJNRx6xctFuqnILK0J5CrSCpkHOg/s1600/money+and+donations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4gXEWuQvMobFOuCJXwTezuGj3-QpMQzrK_J4aNNgmZKBo8lR-Vm5d10J6-GcRppWBmUjuo6ieUutmRcamZoWHyhY9QMvqoQDYpk5jf7gfzEJNRx6xctFuqnILK0J5CrSCpkHOg/s400/money+and+donations.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I was doing a little research the other day, and found myself at <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/2020-presidential-race">Open Secrets</a> looking at donor demographics. Which candidates have more women donors, and what candidates have more male donors is fascinating. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I offer my findings on the Democratic candidates, in the order that Open Secrets has them listed, which is by how much money their candidate committees have raised. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I offer no opinion on what any of this means. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Bernie Sanders: 60% of his donors are men.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Elizabeth Warren: 52% of her donors are women. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Pete Buttigieg: 61% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tom Steyer: No information available. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Joe Biden: 56% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Kamala Harris: 53% of her donors are women. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Cory Booker: 57% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Amy Klobuchar: 51.5% of her donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Beto O'Rourke: 53% of his donors are women. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Andrew Yang: 73% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">John Delaney: 62% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tulsi Gabbard: 75% of her donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Julian Castro: 56.7 of his donors are women. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Michael Bennet: 60% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Steve Bullock: 61% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Joe Sestak: 66% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Marianne Williamson: 71% of her donors are women. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Tim Ryan: 61% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Wayne Messsam: 83% of his donors are men. </span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19923729.post-61132504831115369502019-08-12T10:41:00.004-04:002019-11-12T09:29:01.518-05:00Updates on New Hampshire's Culture of Freedom <br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">On Friday, August 9, NH Governor Chris Sununu vetoed 3 gun safety bills. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">From his veto statement:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><i>New Hampshire is one of the safest states in the nation, and we have a long and proud tradition of responsible firearm stewardship. Our laws are well-crafted and fit our culture of responsible gun ownership and individual freedom. </i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Later that evening, in Derry, a 79 year old man <a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/attorney-generals-office-investigating-homicide/28665855">shot and killed his wife. </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Didn't this guy know about the culture? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">In the wee hours of Monday, August 12, Dover police are investigating gunfire in a <a href="https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20190812/dover-police-investigate-gunfire-in-street-confrontation">street confrontation. </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Just a little individual freedom fire. Nothing to see here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">The wee hours of Monday morning were busy. In Northwood, a man claims he shot at someone trying to break into his car. <a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/northwood-shots-fired-investigation/28676436">Shot 3 times and missed.</a> The police searched the area, but didn't find anyone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Thursday, August 15, a <a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/claremont-new-hampshire-standoff/28707928">responsible firearm steward</a> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">barricaded himself in a house in Claremont for 9 hours. Hundreds of shots fired, but no one was injured. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">Sunday, September 15, a good guy with a gun - a safety officer no less - wounded himself and another safety officer, at a <a href="https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/police-two-men-injured-in-shooting-accident-at-keene-range/article_dbda401c-9e66-5485-a375-bb7af36f5754.html?fbclid=IwAR3wYpdxFNYP6Kp2gGbZN5VkVqQo91uv5C2Sf_mBARXVN3t2nKl8HU2_GqY">shooting range in Keene. </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">On Sept. 20, a responsible gun owner barricaded himself in his house in <a href="https://patch.com/new-hampshire/nashua/nashua-man-shot-police-during-overnight-standoff">Nashua</a> for a few hours, before being shot by a cop and taken into custody.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A proponent of individual freedom shot off his gun in a men's room in a <a href="https://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20190923/gunfire-at-portsmouth-bar-investigated?fbclid=IwAR0FD-H0NJrBpudyupCbELvPRAK9vnFTvS1WRuUljCLLiMMnDelEAIJYOko">bar in Portsmouth</a> on Sept. 20. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">On Sunday, Sept. 22, a traditional firearm steward from Rochester, NH, drove to Massachusetts, where he shot and <a href="https://www.wmur.com/article/new-hampshire-man-arrested-in-connection-with-deadly-massachusetts-shooting/29181492">killed a guy at a bar.</a> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> (Hey, at least he did it out of state). Turns out he wasn't actually a law abiding gun owner, but of course, no one knew that till he pulled the trigger. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A double shooting in Concord, NH on the night of </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/Shots-fired-Steeplegate-Mall-Concord-NH-28822432">September 25</a>. A woman was found laying on the ground in a parking lot, after being shot in the head. A man was dead, slumped against the car. She died at the hospital. There is no official confirmation, yet, but I think we all know how this story unfolds. The responsible gun owner shot her first, then killed himself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Update: That's exactly what happened. <a href="https://www.concordmonitor.com/Concord-NH-mall-shooting-apparent-domestic-violence-28834445">Concord Monitor</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">On October 1, a pastor from a Pentecostal church (in Pelham) was shot and killed at his home in </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.eagletribune.com/news/new_hampshire/update-londonderry-murder-victim-shot-in-neck/article_ac7975cd-3776-5c1f-a785-1cef7b1a7150.html">Londonderry.</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">October 18, a person was reported to have been found dead in a Jaffrey apartment in this very carefully <a href="https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/police-investigate-incident-that-left-dead-in-jaffrey-residence/article_cba778d7-cb3f-5eae-8a6b-07ee804820f9.html">reported story.</a> There were two people, one dead inside, one outside in a car, and possible gunshot wounds. Since then, the story has been <a href="https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/police-person-found-dead-in-jaffrey-apartment-was-conant-high/article_cff2934f-ec76-5799-b08f-3bf583a50413.html">updated.</a> Apparently the person who died was a high school student, as was the person outside in the car. The police believe that it was death by suicide. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">October 12, two people were shot at the same Pentecostal church in Pelham that was home to the pastor murdered two weeks ago. It's being reported that a man and a woman were shot at a wedding, by a <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/two-people-shot-during-wedding-at-new-hampshire-church-police-say/29447755">man with a handgun</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The story has <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pelham-shooting-man-arrested-for-new-hampshire-wedding-shooting-that-injured-bridge-groom-and-bishop/">been updated.</a> The bishop performing the wedding ceremony was shot, as was the bride. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">It is difficult to imagine that this is unrelated to the death of the minister on October 1. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">On October 27, a responsible firearm steward in Nashua killed his wife, and then himself. <a href="https://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Nashua-New-Hampshire-murder-suicide-564006021.html?fbclid=IwAR04Nnif8QJuCMM7-aBsC9i-d_V5yt0TF3e6lJj0vjmlOI5x1GtkBJifnl8">NECN</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">All these guns that are supposed to be making us safer don't seem to be doing much for women. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">A guy in Chesterfield who shot up his neighborhood last year is refusing a competency exam, saying that they're trying to torture a confession out of him. <a href="https://www.unionleader.com/news/crime/man-accused-of-shooting-at-neighbors-refuses-competency-evaluation/article_729bd9ed-98a3-56ef-925c-303912a94f5a.html">Union Leader.</a> I wonder why we don't charge guys like this with terrorism. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">On Saturday, November 9, a responsible NH gun owner displayed his idea of individual freedom by threatening a driver on I-95 in MA <a href="https://whdh.com/news/nh-man-accused-of-waving-loaded-gun-at-another-driver-on-i-95-in-danvers/">with his gun. </a></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0