Conservative Crybaby vs. First Amendment

This is Alexandria Knox. She recently ran for Alderman in Manchester, NH. She didn't do too well. 

As you can see, she was ousted in the September 15 primary. Forty-four people chose to leave the space blank rather than vote for her. And they didn't even know that in another age she would have been throwing books on a fire. 

Now she's running for state representative in District 10. 

Miss Knox claims to be a person of strong conservative values, who champions the Live Free or Die ethic of our state. Yet twice she's had me banned from Facebook for challenging her. One assumes she, like others of the libertea persuasion, worships at the altar of the US Constitution. 

Except for that pesky first amendment. 

One wonders how this magnolia blossom will handle the world of politics if she should ever get elected to public office. I've seen the things that go out over the all reps listserv. Miss Knox would spend the entire session on her fainting couch with the vapors. Live free or die, unless you make poor little Alexandria uncomfortable. 

Here's the comment that Miss Knox complained about today. 

This was a chance for her to explain to me why she had me banned the first time. Like a big girl might do. She could have said, "I don't like your tone, I don't like it when you respond to me, I don't have to explain myself to you" - or just about anything, really. Instead, she behaved like a frightened child. This frightened child thinks she has the strength and integrity to represent a district in the NH House? 

Here's the thing - I don't think anyone should get banned unless they harass or threaten a person. My daughter, for example, is seriously being harassed by a subhuman from Rockland, Maine, but to lodge a complaint on FB one has to make it from a computer, not a tablet or a phone. 

I've never threatened Miss Knox. I've challenged her twice. Rather than respond (like an adult might do)  she tattles.  It's clear that telling Daddy gives her a sense of power, and she's undoubtedly getting high fives from her fellow Constitution worshipping compatriots for showing "that commie bitch" who is boss. Knox's tattletaling is emblematic of her character.  She's someone who will rather run away than face a challenge. She's a coward. 

The screengrabs will make great campaign lit to hand out as I help campaign against her in Ward 10 next year. 

UPDATE: Less than an hour ago, Knox tweeted this out: 

Sadly, she thinks she's achieved some sort of stardom. If her goal was to reveal that she lacks the courage and strength to represent a NH House district, than she has succeeded. 

She came by my blog not long ago to leave a comment - full of sanctimonious blather.

And what did she do when questioned?

She deleted and ran. Unable to stand by her comments, unable to handle a question. 

A regular pillar of jello, our Miss Knox. 

Substandard Housing in Manchester, NH

The peeling lead paint from the railing falls on the steps, where it travels into apartments where children live. 


Union Leader reporter Mark Hayward  has a story in today's paper about a building in Manchester that was declared unfit for human habitation:

Nearly a month after Manchester building officials deemed an apartment building unfit for human habitation, several residents remained stranded there Thursday, including some parents with children.

They expressed anger and said they’ve received no direction from the city, which placed a notice on the front door of 405 Manchester St. on Aug. 27.

The water was shut off on September 11. The city can't find Paul Schaefer, the owner of the building. In the story we learn that there was someone living in the building who collected the rent. They left when the notice went up.

The most disturbing part of this story is the way the city is pretending they knew nothing:

Planning and Community Development Director Leon LaFreniere said he only found out about the situation that afternoon. His signature is stamped on the Aug. 27 notice, which declares the building “unsafe” and warns it is unlawful for anyone to enter.

Mayor Ted Gatsas said no one told him about the situation. He said Sept. 11 seems a long time to live without access to running water.

“That’s a good question. I don’t know why they’re still there,” said Gatsas, who spoke to a reporter Wednesday evening.

No one should be living in these conditions. 

The building at 405 Manchester St. had a certificate of compliance on file at City Hall that expired in May of 2014. If the standards for compliance had been stringently enforced, could a building deteriorate so much in a 3 year period that it was declared uninhabitable? Is three years too long a period to go between inspections? 

For some landlords, it most certainly is. 

The Granite State Organizing Project published a report on substandard housing in Manchester, earlier this year. I was hired as a consultant to the project, and I'm the primary author of the report. We found that "repairs" often consisted of replacing stained ceiling tiles in bathrooms, as opposed to actually fixing leaky pipes. One landlord, Mohammad Mobeen, is on the State of NH's list of lead abatement contractors, yet owns a building where there have been child lead poisonings, and other buildings where the peeling lead paint on the outside of the building is visible. 

Families with children live in these buildings. No one should be living in these conditions. 

It's my view that the City  has ignored the housing issue for decades. This situation at 405 Manchester St. will happen again and again until the City makes the decision to take the problem seriously. 

Same Tactic, Different Religion

It seems that Manchester state Senator Lou D'Allessandro is having a forum tonight, (August 14)  to discuss the ACA, aka "Obamacare." This discussion is deeply offensive to the proponents of freedumb and libertea in our state.

There's a group of these folks in Nashua who cleverly call themselves Nashua Liberty.
Nashua Liberty Facebook Page

The discussion of an actual US law is so upsetting to those who worship at the altar of the Free Market, that this is what they decided to do:

If you show up in opposition to the ACA, the NH chapter of America for the Prosperous will feed you a free meal. 

It's just like going to the Salvation Army for a freebie. They make you pray before you get to eat. 

Same tactic - different religion.