Silver, Sovereigns, and Propaganda

Like so many things these days, the annual look at bills coming up isn’t much fun. There are 938 bills that will be heard by the legislature. Over one hundred have been withdrawn. Some were withdrawn because the sponsors weren’t re-elected. Some were withdrawn because they duplicated others, and some of the authors may have had a sudden attack of common sense. House Minority Leader Dick Hinch withdrew his school voucher bill, which was wise, considering that it didn’t pass under a Republican controlled House, and was even less likely to pass under Democratic control. A bill to amend the Constitution to enshrine vouchers was also withdrawn. Also withdrawn was a bill relative to carrying a pistol or revolver while hunting with a muzzleloader. Can there really be such a thing as carrying too many guns at once in New Hampshire? 

HB 190 would allow gold and silver as lawful mediums of exchange. Would we all be expected to carry around our own scales and testing chemicals, or would those be provided at businesses, banks, and other agencies? The bill doesn’t specify. The lead sponsor of this bill is Representative Dick Marple from Hooksett. He also sponsored HB 525, which requires legislators be paid in silver dollar coins. No word on where those coins would be stored. Representative Marple is deeply concerned with matters of currency, as he what is known as a sovereign citizen, a band of miscreants who fancy themselves Constitutional scholars and experts on British common law, as well as US law. They do not recognize US currency and have found convoluted “loopholes” to try to avoid obeying the law. If you’d like a little fun with sovereign citizens, go to YouTube and search, “I’m not driving, I’m traveling,” and immerse yourself in videos of sovereign citizens getting pulled over for traffic violations. Fun for the whole family. 

Sovereign citizens are no joke. They don’t believe that the US government is legitimate; they believe the county sheriff is the most powerful law enforcement officer in the country, and some places they are actual terrorists, tied to white nationalist groups and militias. Representative Marple is serving his fifth term for the town of Hooksett. These bills are the kind of fringe nutter stuff that the minority party knows won’t go anywhere, but they encourage the fringe to file these bills as part of their mission to obstruct and delay. 

Marple is also a sponsor of HB 198, which would repeal the prohibition against texting while driving. That’s supported by a number of Free Staters and libertea types, because their perceived freedom is more important than your safety. Another Marple is HB 215, which would require the legislature to approve the appointment of town managers. Think about that Conway – the next time you appoint a town manager; hundreds of representatives from other counties would make your decision for you. 

In HB 124, ideologues would repeal the buffer zone bill around women’s health clinics that was passed a few years ago. These folks think that women should be shouted at, harassed, photographed, and abused while going in to a medical facility. To take that right away from the harassers (who may also be terrorists, given the level of clinic violence that occurs in this country) is cause for loud bleating about the first amendment, an amendment conveniently ignored by this crowd the rest of the time. 

HB 177 would limit education stabilization grants, which is bad timing, given that we learned this week that Berlin is being forced to close their last elementary school, because of our bizarre education funding system. We fund education through property taxes. New Hampshire has the 2^ndhighest property taxes in the nation. What towns do you think have the highest taxes? Rye, Newcastle, Wolfeboro, maybe Bedford? The places where the wealthy reside? Not even close.  The highest property taxes in the state are in Claremont, and Berlin is a close second. This says a few things – that our education funding system is deeply flawed, that Berlin (and the rest of Coos) should stop electing Republicans, and that The Pledge is a bumper sticker, not a tool for good government.

There are a couple of bills to enshrine our tax structure in the Constitution, one concerning a broad based tax and one an income tax. The property tax IS an income tax. The difference is that if your income goes down, so does an income tax. The property tax, on the other hand, continues to increase. The Pledge is a remarkable lesson in the power of propaganda. It prevents discussion and discourages learning. 

Here’s a thought; in addition to teaching civics, we should be teaching high school kids how to understand the NH tax structure. It would be great preparation for future voters. Who wants to write that bill? 

published as an op-ed in the January 25, 2019  edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper

Propagandist Complains about "Fractured Media Landscape"

When the Democrats took back control of the NH House and the Governor's seat, the Concord Monitor decided to add Grant Bosse to their roster of columnists, with the intent of making the paper more fair and balanced. Or something like that. Given the dearth of right wing voices in NH media, one can certainly understand the Monitor's desire to create such an opportunity. 

Grant Bosse works for the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a far right wing think tank. (They've stopped calling themselves non-partisan, at least.) He's the editor of their propaganda blog, NH Watchdog. He's also a frequent guest columnist at the Union Leader, the newspaper that serves as the stenographer for the NHGOP. Neither the UL nor the NH Watchdog feel compelled to match the Monitor's desire for fairness and balance. 

This is how we come to see Grant Bosse each week in the Sunday Monitor.  This week's offering was a combination of political predictions and media critique, with a side order of self congratulation. 

Our fractured media landscape makes it very easy for conservatives and liberals alike to seek out news and commentary from sources that share their beliefs. It’s hard to argue that one side has a monopoly on the echo chamber when Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow are both on the air. It’s important for voters to occasionally venture outside the bubble of political conformity, a service which I hope this column performs for Monitor readers.

Our fractured media landscape? This coming from a paid propagandist for the right? He's part of the cabal that broke the media! Then there's the attempt at creating a sort of equivalence between Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity. 

Sean Hannity barely finished high school and dropped out of college twice. His first weekly radio call in show was cancelled because of anti-gay comments he made. Like the time he told a lesbian caller, "I feel sorry for your child." Amusingly, the ACLU got his job back for him, but he chose not to return. In 2005, Jerry Falwell awarded Hannity an honorary degree from Liberty University. 

Rachel Maddow was a Rhodes Scholar.  She has a PhD from Oxford in politics. In 2010, Dr. Maddow was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Smith College. 

The most striking difference between them? Maddow's consistent use of provable facts. And - unlike Hannity,  Dr. Maddow has never been chased down Elm St. in Manchester by angry Ron Paul supporters. 

Back to Bosse:

Yet those who talk about politics for a living have little incentive to ever change their tune. We’ve seen from the Obamacare debacle how hard it is for elected officials to even acknowledge obvious mistakes, and they have to answer to voters. Why should cable news guests ever admit they were wrong? The good news is that Tuesday’s election results were mixed enough to reinforce almost any narrative.

I guess I missed Bosse taking Bush to task for lying to start a war that has nearly bankrupted the nation. I must have missed Bosse ever changing his own tune or admitting that he was wrong. Finally, I must have missed Bosse taking his own party to task...ever. 

Hubris. 

What is Wrong With the NH Media: An Illustration

Big press conference today at the LOB, on the subject of medicaid expansion. Good speakers, good experts who gave  good answers to questions. Lots of media.

And what did the reporters from our major papers do the minute the press conference ended?

They raced over to Greg Moore of Americans for Prosperity. As you can see in the picture above, Moore is surrounded by Kevin Landrigan of the Nashua Telegraph, Garry Rayno of the Union Leader, and Norma Love of the AP.

Greg Moore is not an expert on health care or Medicaid. Greg Moore is a shill for a far rightwing group that claims tax free status so they don't have to disclose their donors. (Don't whinge about the IRS, APF. You slithered through - and the last thing you are is charitable. To anyone.)

Some of those donors are undoubtedly paying for Greg Moore's health insurance. During the last biennium his insurance was paid by NH taxpayers, while he worked for disgraced former speaker Bill O'Brien.

This is what is wrong with the NH media. A roomful of experts to talk to, but  they'll break their legs to interview a wingnut who has nothing but propaganda to offer.