Flat Earth Mode

Every year, business network CNBC releases a report called “America’s Top States for Business.” CNBC examines a number of factors (cost of doing business, quality of life, cost of living, etc) and ranks states accordingly. The results of these studies over time (I went back as far as 2006) offer some insight into what NH is doing right, as well as deficiencies that the state continues to ignore.

Texas was rated number one, despite their quality of life being rated as 35th in the nation. They ranked #1 in infrastructure and #2 in technology and innovation, which was enough to offset the rather dismal quality of life. The overall Texas economy was rated 5th in the nation.

NH’s overall rating is 19th in the nation. NH’s quality of life is rated first in the nation. NH ranks 46th in transportation and infrastructure, which is fairly consistent over the years. The rankings for technology and infrastructure put NH in 26th place. More startling was the category of workforce, where NH ranked #44. The workforce rating is based on the education level of the workforce, availability of worker training programs, and union membership. Before those right knees start jerking, it’s important to point out that fewer than 10% of NH workers belong to a labor union. In 2011, NH ranked 40th in workforce, but in 2009 we were in 30th place.

NH ranked 35th in the cost of doing business. That’s a fairly consistent number over the years. CNBC looks at income, property and business taxes, utility costs and the cost of rental space. As we know, NH has some of the highest property taxes and utility costs in the nation. NH ranked 40th in cost of living. That’s been the same since 2006. The numbers are based on housing, food, and energy costs.

There were two surprising categories. We’ve heard a great deal of wailing from the Freebaglicans about how regulations are strangling development in our state. That turns out not to be true. NH ranks SECOND in the nation for being business friendly. Since 2006, we’ve ranked in the single digits in that category. CNBC looks at legal and regulatory frameworks. NH has never ranked lower than in 6th place in this category. The other surprise was the rating of NH’s economy, which came in 34th place. After truly dismal numbers (40th) in 2008, during the big economic collapse, NH rebounded quickly, to #14 in 2009, #12 in 2010, and NH was ranked 10th in the nation in 2011. Falling to 34th place in a year is truly remarkable, especially given that laser like focus on jobs and the economy that was promised us by the GOP majority.

In 2011, the US Chamber of Commerce (not exactly a bunch of raving pinkos) released a report called “Enterprising States; Recovery and Renewal for the 21st Century.” The report found that states investing in infrastructure, as well as education and training for the workforce were the states most successful at bringing in good paying jobs.

This is the exact opposite of what NH has done.

Recent letters from Representatives McCarthy and Tregenza boasted of the many revenue streams and spending cuts the majority made over the last two years. That’s all either of them had to be proud of - cutting state revenue streams. As the US Chamber report points out, “A state, however, can neither cut or tax itself into prosperity.”

NH is trying to cut itself into prosperity. The state funding to our state university systems was cut in half by the Freebaglican majority. The DOT budget was cut so much that we’re no longer lighting up our bridges. Folks will remember that Rep. Gene Chandler had to do some fancy pageant walking after the budget he shilled for resulted in cutbacks to DOT spending on snow plowing. It is now estimated that NH’s 10 year transportation plan will take 30 years to complete, based on current spending.

The US Chamber report cited Vermont and Maine as being the top two states currently investing in telecommunications infrastructure. NH is the 19th century filling in that northern New England sandwich of progress.

NH already ranks in last place for state spending on our state university system. We can continue to strive to be last in infrastructure, too. Of course, it’s entirely possible that we’ll choose to elect a legislature that isn’t stuck in flat earth mode next time around.

From the US Chamber report: “The evidence regarding job creation among the states shows that fiscal probity is an essential ingredient, but states can deal with the fundamental problems they face only by spurring growth and upward mobility.”

Be sure to ask incumbents how they expect to move NH into the future by doing the exact opposite of what is working for other states. Be sure to ask all candidates how they intend to help bring NH into the 21st century.

“In our seeking for economic and political progress, we all go up - or else we all go down.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt



Links:
CNBC Report
US Chamber of Commerce Report


This was published as an op-ed in the July 20 edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper.
© sbruce 2012

Putting a Price Tag on Public Health

The July 16 edition of the Boston Globe had a story about Eastern Equine Encephalitis, by writer Martine Powers.

Triple E is a mosquito borne illness, and it's early this year:

Catherine Brown, the state public health veterinarian, explained that two types of mosquitoes carry the virus. The species that bites birds is often discovered carrying the virus early in the summer, she said. But the kind that targets mammals, including humans, is not typically found with the virus until about July 25.

The discovery of mammal-biting insects carrying the virus in the second week of July, she said, is a cause for concern.

Mosquito samples in Easton and Carver have come back positive for carrying the virus. Easton, Raynham, and Taunton have all been declared at high risk for the virus.

Last year Martin Newfields of Raynham died after contracting the virus.

Towns in southeastern MA are rescheduling evening activities, stocking up on bug spray, and trying to get their towns, counties, or the state to do mosquito spraying.
Meanwhile in Raynham:

Last year, after Newfield’s death, municipalities pointed fingers at the state government for failing to conduct aerial sprays early in the season. At that time, Alfred DeMaria, an epidemiologist at the Department of Public Health, said there is no evidence that aerial spraying is more effective than ground spraying, and each aerial spraying costs the state about $1 million.

Given that the mosquitos are early, the municipalities are struggling with how to stretch their spraying dollars, since the mosquito threat lasts until the first heavy frost. That was the point made by Joe Pacheco, the chairman of Raynham's Board of Selectmen.

“It’s a matter of public health,” Pacheco said. “The governor should not be putting a price tag on public health. That’s just not acceptable."

Perhaps in Massachusetts folks don't like the idea of putting a price tag on public health. The New Hampshire legislature had no such difficulty:

From NH DHHS:

Effective July 1, 2006, RSA 141-C:25 established a mosquito control fund in the NH DHHS to assist cities, towns, and mosquito control districts by providing funding to offset mosquito control activities. During passage of the State Fiscal Year 2012-2013 budget, this program was unfunded. As such no reimbursement funds will be awarded in calendar years 2011 and 2012. Funding for the program beyond State Fiscal Year 2013 will be contingent upon decision making during the next budget cycle.

The mosquito control program was de-funded by the current legislature, who apparently feel that any investment in public health is too high a price to pay.

In 2005, seven human cases of EEE were found in NH, and two people died as a result. A number of horses, alpacas, and other mammals have also contracted the disease over the years and died. The virus has come early to our neighbors to the south this year, which can only mean that southern NH will be at risk earlier than usual.

According to this 2009 report from the UNH County Extension program, Rockingham County is the part of our state that is at the highest risk for Triple E.

Rockingham County is also a the strongest bastion of GOP support in the state.


"Irony is just honesty with the volume cranked up." ~ George Saunders

NH Goes National (again, to our shame)

Once again, NH's shame goes national. Time Magazine has picked up the story of Rep. Robert Kingsbury's claim that kindergarten leads to crime:

Kingsbury (R-Laconia), 86, recently claimed that analyses he’s been carrying out since 1996 show that communities in his state that have kindergarten programs have up to 400% more crime than localities whose classrooms are free of finger-painting 5-year-olds. Pointing to his hometown of Laconia, the largest of 10 communities in Belknap County, the legislator noted that it has the only kindergarten program in the county and the most crime, including most or all of the county’s rapes, robberies, assaults and murders.

Time's conclusion?

The fact that correlation does not equal cause — and that powerful correlations may be linked with unmeasured factors that are truly causal — is the reason that genuine scientific research often involves complex statistical analysis. Determining causality is extremely difficult in science, and it typically requires experiments that are designed to allow investigators to manipulate the conditions carefully and to rule out any other factors that might be at play.

I'm going to go ahead and unscientifically state that Robert Kingsbury's election to the NH House proves that most voters in 2010 didn't have a clue about who they were voting for.

Save America

Election season is here, and the signs are springing up everywhere. One new sign proclaims: Save America, Vote Republican. I’ve reflected on those signs on a number of occasions during the last two weeks.

After the Supreme Court’s decision that the ACA is Constitutional, Merrimack, NH Tea Party founder Mike Malzone told the Merrimack Patch that he hoped the majority justices all got colon cancer. He posted a lot of ugly and obscene commentary on his Facebook page. The next day he stood by his remarks. A few days later, however, after the story went national, Malzone issued a retraction, saying he’s not a hateful person. Boy – he sure fooled me!

Undoubtedly, the makers of the signs were thinking about Republicans like Mike Malzone when they urge us to Save America and vote GOP.

I reflected upon those signs again, when I read about a study done by State Rep. Robert Kingsbury of Laconia. It seems that Rep. Kingsbury has been gathering data since 1996 that shows a link between kindergarten and an increase in crime in Belknap County. Laconia has a lot more crime than other area towns that don’t have kindergarten, according to Rep. Kingsbury. One wonders if perhaps population density was a consideration during the course of this study, but then one decides that examining the methodology too closely could be damaging to one’s mental health. Representative Kingsbury states that other causes for the increase in crime include declining gun ownership and the fact that boxing is no longer taught in schools.

Sadly for us all, that wasn’t the end of it. Rep. Kingsbury felt compelled to elaborate on his statements. He believes that children are taken away from their mothers too soon. He was quoted in the Huffington Post as saying, “Children go to kindergarten at the point of a gun, children go to day care and it's not the same; there is no point of a gun.” Given that he seems to like guns, this is a little confusing. What if we assigned the kindergartners firearms and boxing gloves?

Kingsbury blames the fact that teachers can’t discipline the way they used to because of pesky lawyers. This all translates as: women should be home with the kids, and teachers should be able to smack the little brats around. You may recall Rep. Kingsbury was one of the sponsors of the 2012 bill that called for the insertion of a relevant quote from the Magna Carta in each new piece of NH legislation. At age 85, Kingsbury has just finished his freshman term in the NH House and is running for reelection. Save America, folks. Vote Republican.

Speaker of the NH House, William O’Brien is also running for reelection. To give credit where it is due, he certainly has done his best to turn NH into a running joke for late night TV comedians. The man who has bullied, browbeaten, and punished members of his own party thinks he deserves to be reelected to the House, and reelected speaker. O’Brien spends a lot of time cozying up to special interests in DC (where do you think that terrific cigarette tax gambit came from?) and on a recent junket to the place he clearly intends to go next, he did an interview with right wing blog Politico. In this astounding interview, O’Brien claims that Governor Lynch isn’t running for reelection because he’s too intimidated by the Freebaglican majority.

Governor Lynch is finishing his fourth term, and has chosen not to run for reelection. He’s the longest serving governor in the state for about 200 years. The last was John Taylor Gilman, who served 14 one-year terms from 1794 – 1816. Lynch has served longer than even the sainted Mel Thomson, for crying out loud. Is O’Brien ignorant or arrogant? You decide. And remember, voting for this ethically challenged, ill-tempered braggart is not just a vote to ensure your property taxes will continue to rise; it’s a vote to save America!

Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh recently disparaged his opponent in the upcoming election. He told voters that Tammy Duckworth is not a “true hero”, and talks about her military service too much. Duckworth, a helicopter pilot, lost both legs in Iraq when an RPG hit her helicopter. Walsh, on the other hand, has been sued by his ex for being a deadbeat dad, to the tune of over $100,000, and never served in the military. A vote for him will surely Save America.


The Supreme Court’s health care ruling brought all manner of unpleasant commentary forth. Matthew Davis, a former GOP spokesman in Michigan sent out an email after the announcement with the heading, “Is Armed Rebellion Now Justified?” On the Conway Daily Sun’s Facebook page teletalk question about the health care ruling, Josh Keys wrote: “Liberals are Mentally Ill, My question is when men like me do not comply with mandates and refuse to allow themselves to be arrested for it. What actions will other Patriots take in response? It is a thin line you Progressive Commie loving Liberals are walking right now, I recommend you brace yourselves.” That’s a direct quote, with faithful recording of the author’s spelling and punctuation.

It’s almost amusing to think that these guys weren’t threatening armed rebellion when shrink-wrapped pallets of cash were being sent to Iraq by the Bush administration. They weren’t and still aren’t upset about warrantless wiretapping, secret prisons, or rendition. None of that stuff is worth a moment of concern. Spending trillions on the invasion of a country that wasn’t a threat to us? So what. Health care for everyone? Now, them’s fightin’ words.

The United States is often called a Christian Nation. The day of the Supreme Court decision I received emails from groups like the Family Research Council, bemoaning this decision. These doughty Christians want to force women to serve as involuntary incubators, but don’t care if they have access to health care. They don’t care if women die in the process. They weren’t the only ones. Convicted terrorist Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue sent out a similar missive. Apparently nothing says “I’m a follower of Jesus Christ,” like denying insurance coverage to babies born with pre-existing conditions. But hey, these are the folks who intend to save America.


“Never kick a fresh turd on a hot day.” Harry S. Truman


© sbruce 2012


This was published as an op-ed in the July 6, 2012 edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper.

Kindergarten = Crime

NH State Rep. Robert Kingsbury has a theory. From the Laconia Daily Sun:

Not to be outdone, Representative Bob Kingsbury said he's been working on a theory since 1996, when he analyzed local crime rates and compared them to a list of communities that offered public kindergarten. Then, he told his colleagues, Laconia offered kindergarten and had the highest rates of crime. Meanwhile, surrounding towns, some of which didn't offer kindergarten, had less crime.
"We're taking children away from their mothers too soon," Kingsbury concluded.
Kingsbury wrote to all of his then state representatives, informing them of his research.

AND

In addition to kindergarten, Kingsbury also linked the rise of crime to the decline of gun ownership and to fact that boxing is no longer taught in school or offered as a sport.

So, increasing crime is the fault of kindergarten. One wonders if Rep. Kingsbury spent even a moment pondering the potential impacts of increasing population density. One might begin to wonder how this area of "study" even occurred to him, but one quickly realizes that that way lies madness.

As for boxing being taught in schools or offered as a sport - there's a direct corollary between the kind of education funding/budgets that Rep. Kingsbury supports and the decreased funding for EVERY sport.

Rep. Kingsbury hails from Illinois, where, by the way - they have kindergarten. Perhaps he was driven out of his home state by gangs of pre-school thugs, who terrorized him every day with their counting, singing, and finger painting. Oh - the horror!


At least now I know exactly where it was in life that my moral compass broke down. It was when I attended kindergarten at the Manasseh Cutler Elementary School. You see, not only did I attend kindergarten - I attended kindergarten in Massachusetts. No wonder I've been arrested a dozen times. I could hardly be other than a career criminal with that background, right Rep. Kingsbury??


Songwriting genius Beverly Woods was inspired to write a song about this horrifying information. Here she is, accompanied by her equally brilliant partner Seth Austin, playing the mandolin.



You can read the lyrics here.


There's one comment at YouTube but it's a beaut. I applaud anyone who uses the term "lumpen proletariat."

Mitt and Ann Rmoney Star in New Ad

Rabid Ideologues Will Destry Us

The state of NH is looking into privatizing its entire prison system. Four companies have submitted bids. If Governor Lynch and the Executive Council accept one of those bids, NH would become the first state in the nation to hand over the entire prison system to a private company. The four venders are:
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), Management & Training Corporation (MTC), The Geo Group Inc. and the Hunt Companies.

None of these companies are altruists, who want to ensure that prisoners are rehabilitated and leave prison prepared to tackle the challenge of turning their lives around. These are private companies with only one interest: turning a profit. That means cutting corners in every way possible, while working to ensure that the prisons remain full.

A recent story in USA Today focuses on a deal being offered by one company in some 48 states. CCA is offering to buy prisons from cash strapped states, in exchange for a guarantee that the governments guarantee a 90% occupancy rate for at least 20 years.

If NH’s prison system becomes privatized, the corporation will be leaning on legislators to pass the kind of laws that guarantee harsher sentences, and fuller prisons. Other states will send their prisoners here. The corporation will build more even more prison facilities in the state, and I think you all can guess where those prisons will be. The north country seems to serve as the dumping ground for the rest of the state.

A study in Arizona revealed that the privatized prisons were actually costing the state more. The Arizona legislature responded to this by inserting a provision into the budget that eliminates the need for a cost and quality review. In other words, they didn’t like the report, so the solution is not to take action – the solution is to ensure there will be no further reports.
If you don’t think that could/would happen here, you haven’t been paying attention to the sorts of things the NH legislature has done in the last biennium.

CCA has eliminated about 240 jobs in their Colorado prisons. Remember, this is a business. Profit means cutting costs, and that doesn’t leave a lot of choice in a prison. It means hiring people who aren’t well educated or trained, and as few of them as possible. It means cutting back on programs for sex offenders and addicts. It means a lot of solitary confinement. No need to have a big staff if everyone is locked in a cell 23 hours a day.

There is a reason other states don’t do this. It’s a really bad idea.

Apparently studies and numbers really are a bad idea. A story just now making the rounds in northern New England reports that the ski business in the US as a whole experienced its worst winter since the early 1990’s. In 2011, visits to alpine areas in NH were down by 20% from the year before. The ski industry continues to try to make the case that if folks don’t see snow in their back yards, they don’t come to the mountains to go skiing, but in these days of easily accessible information, that’s just lame.

A story in the Laconia Sun about bike week revealed that no one wants to come up with any numbers about attendance. If it had been huge, they’d be falling all over themselves to speculate. It wasn’t huge, as was quite obvious to anyone who has lived in this area for six or seven years. There were bikes, but not nearly as many as there have been in the past.

No one likes to tell these stories or recount these facts. The US is the only country that is in denial of climate change. Those changes are affecting our winters. Only the most devout anti-science ostriches can deny that our snowfall is diminishing. Another factor here that no one wants to get into is the economy. Since the 2008 collapse of the economy, the news media and many economists have fallen all over themselves to present this as a recession, even calling it “the great recession.”

Earlier this month, Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman spoke at the 2012 Netroots Nation gathering in Providence, RI. Krugman calls our current economic situation a depression. At NN he said, “When things are going down, it’s a recession. When things are down for a long time, it’s a depression.” Of course we can’t call it what it really is, because that would look bad, and it might call into question our obscene level of military spending. Krugman also said, “This is not an economic problem, this is a political problem.” He’s right. The US has rebounded from a depression before. We know how to do it.

We have a Congress that isn’t interested in solving problems; they’re interested in preventing solutions. They would prefer to ensure greater destruction rather than let the black guy appear to succeed. These aren’t public servants; these are rabid ideologues that will destroy us, if we let them.

We have rabid ideologues in NH, too. On Facebook the other day, the Conway Sun asked what questions readers would ask 2012 candidates. I would ask all of our local candidates for the NH House and Senate how they intend to solve NH’s infrastructure problems. Our roads, bridges, and dams are in trouble, and our telecommunications infrastructure is no better. The bad economy is hurting tourism, as is the change in our climate. Tourism is NH’s second largest industry. We don’t fund our state parks adequately. We have rows of outhouses at our information centers, something that should be a source of great shame to us all, here in the wealthiest state in the union.

If they tell you we can privatize, cigarette tax and/or casino our way out of this mess, they’re lying. Casino revenues are down at Foxwoods, in Atlantic City, and in Nevada. NH needs to have some serious discussions. I wish I thought that would happen. In a state where the media functions as the propaganda wing of the NH GOP, it seems unlikely.


“He who is afraid of asking is ashamed of learning.” Danish proverb



This was published as an op-ed in the June 22, 2012 edition of the Conway Daily Sun Newspaper
© sbruce 2012


Chris Shane did the great cartoon.

Governor Lynch Vetoes HB 1679

Governor Lynch has vetoed HB 1679, a bill that would outlaw "partial birth abortion." This is a rather transparent attempt to gin up the forced incubation advocates, given that federal law already outlaws this non-existent medical procedure. Governor Lynch's statement here.

I say non-existent, because if you were to look in a medical book (one that contains actual SCIENCE), you would not ever find mention of such a procedure. The term was created by the fetus fetishizing terrorists to use to gin up their followers. The proper term for a termination in the last trimester is late-term abortion.

As you can see in the comment section at the Union Leader the crowd is swilling down the gin already. These are the same (male) commenters who are also in favor of eliminating food stamps and TANF - who see no hypocrisy in their position of wanting to force women to incubate. They'd also rather the woman die than have a late term abortion to save her life.

No woman has a late term abortion for any reason other than medical necessity. The mostly male, anti-abortion crowd refuses to recognize that, preferring to portray women who go through hell making this decision as being inconvenienced by pregnancy.

The bottom line is - a woman doesn't get to the third trimester by accident, or negligence. A woman who reaches her third trimester wants to have a baby.

After Dr. George Tiller was murdered terrorist Scott Roeder, a number of his patients shared their stories about the agonizing decision they made to have a late term abortion. They're deeply personal and deeply sad.

So, thank you, Governor Lynch. This was an entirely unnecessary bill, put forth by Freebaglicans who are so unfit to run our legislature that they chose to abdicate their promised focus on jobs and the economy in order to focus on throwing red meat to their witless constituents.


cross-posted at Blue Hampshire

The Wheels are Coming Off the Clown Car

Over this past Memorial Day weekend, NH House Majority Leader DJ Bettencourt announced he would be resigning from the House, effective June 6. Bettencourt said he was going to be getting married, had a new job, and wasn’t planning to run for re-election, so he was stepping down. This created something of a stir, and not only because he’s been practicing the same kind of pre-marital abstinence that the Palin family has made famous.

A few days later, we learned more about what was really behind the resignation. Bettencourt was supposed to be graduating from the UNH Law School, and had realized earlier in the semester that he didn’t have enough credits. He asked fellow GOP lawmaker and attorney Brandon Guida for an internship. Guida agreed. DJ apparently showed up once, for about an hour. He did, however, submit detailed, falsified reports to the college, about the work he’d done during his internship. Somehow, (we aren’t clear on this) Guida, Speaker O’Brien, and Bettencourt would up discussing this matter. They all agreed that Bettencourt would tell the school that he’d cheated, and announce that he was leaving the legislature for personal reasons. Instead, he announced the new job, and posted a picture of himself on Facebook, at the UNH graduation, wearing a cap and gown, and standing with Senator Olympia Snowe. Guida wasn’t pleased, and he publicly outed Bettencourt for his dishonesty. Or at least some of it. Bettencourt resigned immediately, and the new job – at a right wing non-profit headed up by O’Brien, seems to have gone away.

There are many questions that are still unanswered. It seems that if Bettencourt had done what O’Brien and Guida wanted, we the people would know nothing of Bettencourt’s lack of ethical behavior. It sounds suspiciously like a conspiracy to keep the truth behind that resignation a secret. Furthermore – Bettencourt submitted detailed, bogus reports about his internship to the college. Who wrote those reports? Didn’t they have to be signed off on? Did Bettencourt forge Brandon Guida’s signature? Some are calling for an independent investigation into this matter, and I agree with that. This legislative body certainly can’t be trusted to investigate themselves. The Speaker is certainly not credible – he appears to have been all too willing to cover for his pal Bettencourt.

The Speaker sent out an email to the GOP caucus that stated: "Now we are left with the consequences of this event. There will be those that say that D.J.'s failure and his resignation characterize our current majority. Others will say it characterizes the leadership of our caucus. Neither is true."

Au contraire. Both are true. This legislature has been a source of ongoing national shame to our state, from the moment they were sworn in. In one of their first acts, the O’Brien junta tried to force Rep. Mike Brunelle to resign for ethics violations. Rep. Brunelle was the Executive Director of the NH Democratic Party, and in fact, earned a salary for doing so. This was not acceptable to the newly minted Speaker, so he tried to make the case that this was unethical. They howled that Brunelle would write legislation that benefitted Democrats! (Because party affiliation never influences the legislation representatives introduce.) This was flat out stupidity.

Sadly for the Speaker, there were many, many instances of Republican representatives that worked for influence groups or other candidates – notably the new Speaker’s own Speaker pro Tempore; Gene Chandler. Chandler had been on Charlie Bass’s payroll, as well as working as a “consultant” for Steward of Prosperity, a group bankrolled by the odious far right activist Fred Tausch. Then it turned out that former Speaker of the NH House, Republican Donna Sytek had also been the Executive Director of the NH GOP while she was serving as a representative. Suddenly the howls turned to harrumphs, and then it just sort of went away, amidst a lot of IOKIYAR: “It’s okay if you’re a Republican.”

A month later, Rep. Martin Harty, the 91 year old freshman legislator had to resign after telling a constituent that it was too bad we couldn’t send people with disabilities off to Siberia to freeze. Harty was the ultimate lesson in what happens when you just vote for anyone who has an “R” next to their name. On the heels of that ugly incident, the ethically challenged DJ Bettencourt distinguished himself by referring to Bishop John McCormack of the Manchester Diocese as a “Pedophile Pimp.”

All of these incidents took place within the first three months of these folks taking office in January 2011. The level of shame has increased, the longer they hold office. The bill to place warning signs at the NH border, the bill to add quotes from the Magna Carta to all new legislation, the bill to teach creationism in the public schools – the list goes on and on. Meanwhile, the Speaker has bullied legislators, retaliated against those who refused to march in lockstep by removing them from their committee assignments, or in the case of disabled GOP Rep. Timothy Copeland, (a police officer, wounded in the line of duty) moving him from an accessible aisle seat to an inaccessible inside row seat, a seat other representatives describe as the most inaccessible seat in the House chambers. O’Brien has run the House as one might expect a petty, vindictive tyrant would. The early promises of transparency never materialized, any more than the promised laser-like focus on jobs.

Instead, this legislature has engaged in all manner of social engineering (need a job? Repeal marriage equality! Property taxes too high? You need to wait 24 hours for an abortion.) They claim to love our state constitution, even as they filed some 33 amendments to it. Apparently they’ll REALLY love it when they rewrite it. Their aim is clear. They know that most of them will have their hind ends handed to them by the voters in November, so they want to enshrine as much evil into our state Constitution as they can, to ensure that the hands of future legislators are tied by their brand of far right ideology.

The wheels are coming off the clown car, and the clowns are spilling out. Unfortunately, they can do a great deal of damage before we’re finally rid of them, and it will take decades to undo what they’ve done to our state.




This was published as an op-ed in the June 8, 2012 edition of the Conway Daily Sun Newspaper.
© sbruce 2012

I Remember Dr. Tiller

On May 31, 2009, Dr. George Tiller was murdered, in his church, by a terrorist. These are the three pieces I wrote following his murder. One was written as an op-ed piece for the Conway Daily Sun newspaper.

US Physician Killed by Terrorist
This Murder was Allowed to Happen
The Tearful Troy Newman

Today I am remembering Dr. Tiller, and feeling the anger all over again. I still have the same questions I had 3 years ago:

At what point will terrorists stop having more rights than women and doctors?

At what point will we take domestic terrorism at abortion clinics seriously?

The House of Cards in Free Fall

By now you know that NH House Majority Leader DJ Bettencourt has resigned twice. The first time he announced he was getting married and starting a new job, so he'd be stepping down June 8, and wouldn't be running for reelection. The second time he resigned effective immediately, because it turns out he'd been falsifying intern work toward his law degree.

This editorial from seacoastonline.com really brings home the lies told by various members of the O'Brien junta. It's a good read. Here's part of it:

For those of you who might have been camping and unplugged from the news over Memorial Day weekend, Bettencourt announced Sunday that he will resign from the House immediately, after falsifying academic records submitted to the UNH School of Law.

Bettencourt had approached a fellow Republican lawmaker, Brandon Giuda, and told him he didn't have enough credits to graduate and needed an internship. Giuda gave him that internship but Betterncourt proved a no show, then lied about it to UNH. "I will never cover for a dishonest person," Giuda said.

The Concord Monitor reminds us that there are many questions still to be answered:

• It appears that O'Brien heard Giuda explain Bettencourt's fraud and was nonetheless willing to go along with the ruse that Bettencourt was leaving to take a job with the foundation. Was this an attempt to shield legislators and voters from the truth?

• Why didn't O'Brien demand an immediate resignation from Bettencourt?

• And when O'Brien heard Bettencourt's initial public explanation, was he troubled? If Giuda hadn't blown the whistle, would Bettencourt have avoided public scrutiny?

It seems to me, that if Bettencourt had done as Guida asked, Guida and O'Brien would have covered for him. That smacks of conspiracy. The voters of NH have a right to know the truth here.

In local news, James Pindell tweeted earlier today that Rep. Norman Tregenza of Madison has resigned, because he's moving out of the district. I hear he's been living out of the district for a while now. It must have been about to become public knowledge somehow - probably via real estate transactions in the newspaper.
There will be no special election - not with only about 10 days left in the legislative session.

Madison hasn't been represented for the last year and a half, so it won't make any difference. Tregenza spent his time in the House representing Ron Paul and the John Birch Society.

Frank Pageantry

On Tuesday (May 22, 2012), NH CD-1 Congressman Frank Guinta hosted a job fair in Conway, at Granite State College. A mere 4 days earlier, on May 18, NH Employment Security and Granite State College partnered on a job fair, at the same location. One might be tempted to think that two job fairs in a 4 day span must mean that there is a an abundance of available jobs. One would, of course, be wrong. The Guinta job fair was just another chapter in his re-election pageant. A failed chapter.

In the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t get to the NHES job fair on the 18th, but I did attend the Guintapalooza. I spoke to folks who attended both events. By all accounts, there were 3 times as many vendors at the first job fair, many offering local jobs. There were more attendees, too. I’ll be generous in saying that about 50 people came through the Guinta job fair during the 3-hour period I was there. There were 14 vendors. Of the 14, two were branches of the Granite State college system; one was NHES, nhjobs.com, the Small Business Administration, NH Works, and SCSEP (Senior Community Service Employment Network) a non-profit that helps low-income folks over the age of 55 find jobs. The businesses represented were: US Cellular, Avon, Bankers Life and Casualty Company, efi, Dove Chocolate Home Parties, Personal-Touch Home Health Services, and Aeroflex.

Aeroflex manufactures microelectronic components. They’re located in Londonderry and in Lawrence, Ma. EFI is located in Meredith. They print big stuff, like banners and billboards. Both of these workplaces involve a rather lengthy commute. US Cellular did have jobs available, though mostly in Maine. Banker’s Life was looking for unspecified numbers of people to sell their investment/retirement products. Personal-Touch Home Health Services is a national corporation that provides home health care personnel and services to individuals in their homes. They’re located in Berlin, and trying to gain a foothold in the Conway area. Avon and Dove Chocolate home parties are also available for locals. I watched a number of men walk around the room and leave without speaking to anyone.

The most glaring omission here wasn’t the dearth of actual companies hiring folks. It was far worse than that. There wasn’t a reporter or photographer from any mainstream media outlet there to capture the Congressman as he did a walk-through, and glad-handed the vendors. This was a pageant failure. No bouquet of roses, no sash, no tiara, and worst of all, no photographers.

When I went in, I did tell Guinta’s aide that I write for the Conway Sun, and do some blogging. This was a true statement. I didn’t feel compelled to explain in what capacity my writing manifests itself. The Guinta aides interpreted this as me being a reporter. As Guinta briefly worked the room, another aide approached me and asked if I’d like to speak with the Congressman. Naturally I said I’d be delighted to. The aide asked me a few more questions. When he heard my name, his face froze and he said, “I’ve heard of you.” So much for the opportunity to speak with the Congressman. The aide said Guinta had a meeting with the college president, but he’d be back. Guinta never returned. I only saw him speak with one actual attendee of the job fair.

In March, the Congressman had an event at St. Anselm’s College in Manchester that was billed as the first “Empower, Educate, and Engage Women’s Conference. I was there, with approximately 50 other women. There were a number of photographers and someone doing video recording. Guinta gave a short speech, encouraged us all to reach out to him personally, because he is here to serve the people of NH. Lots of pictures were taken. When the photographers left, so did the Congressman.

The Women’s Conference began with a panel about leadership, and included a rather lengthy discussion amongst the 3 panelists on the “psychology of dressing.” We learned that, as women, we are all leaders. The next panel was comprised of women from the non-profit sector. They were more interesting. The last presenter was a young woman who is the HR director at a corporation. She offered up a lot of information about resumes, interviews, and what to do about gaps in one’s employment history. That was especially important to the attendees. There were some young women there; some obviously students from St. A’s, but the majority of attendees were over 50. I spoke with many of them. Mostly they’re older women re-entering the workplace out of financial necessity. They have sick husbands or family members, they lost their savings when the economy crashed, there were many wrenching stories.

These were women who didn’t need anyone blowing smoke up their skirts about leadership. They’re just trying to stay afloat – and they’re scared. They know that as unemployed people over the age of 50, they have a better chance of getting struck by lightening than finding a good paying job. This conference did little to help the women in that room. It did, however, provide excellent photo coverage for the re-election pageant, which is the sole reason for all of the job fairs.

Congressman Guinta puts out a series of memos called “Frankly Speaking.” In spite of his alleged frankness, he still has yet to adequately explain the magic bank account that funded his 2010 campaign. Frankly Speaking Frank was terribly concerned with Congressional franking privileges during the 2010 campaign. One of his centerpieces was getting his teanut supporters all wound up about Carol Shea-Porter’s alleged abuses of the Congressional franking system. The franking system was created in 1775, and allows Congresscritters to send out mail under their signature, with no stamp or postage. Congress reimburses the Post Office for the franked mail that it handles. Candidate Guinta bemoaned the mailings of our former Congresswoman, and asked, “How is this supposed to help our deficit?”

Given all the caterwauling over the franking, I was shocked to learn that Congressman Guinta spent more than any other member of the House on franked mail. Let’s be frank about Frank’s franking. He sends out big multicolored mailers all the time. He does this, because he doesn’t actually want to meet with constituents. Guinta has chosen to conduct his “town hall” meetings with constituents via conference call. I’m sure you all remember the contentious town hall meetings held in 2010, where teanuts were shrieking at Congresswoman Shea-Porter. It seems likely that the GOP is smart enough to realize that their tactics could easily be turned on them. Guinta’s chosen to eschew events that might provide that sort of potential.

If Guinta had chosen to speak to me, it wouldn’t have changed my mind about how he has served this district. It would, however, have caused me to give him credit for being willing to speak with a member of the alternative/opposition media.



A last minute addition that didn't make the newspaper: Webster's defines a pageant as "a mere show."

© sbruce 2012 Published as an op-ed in the May 25, 2012 edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper.

Maynard Thomson, Again

Imagine you were a GOP County Chairman - and you were so arrogant that you didn't think that properly filling out expenditure forms (the ones all political committees and candidates are expected to file) applied to you. You - a lawyer, unable to properly fill out simple forms. Too busy writing your next romance novel perhaps?

Imagine that you resigned your County Chairmanship on the very same day that the NH Attorney General sent you a cease and desist letter, warning you that you were in violation of RSA 664:6. Then imagine that you went to work for Rick Perry's campaign. You remember Rick Perry?



If you were so thoroughly, publicly disgraced would you be writing letters to the editor that criticized ANYONE?

You would, apparently, if you were utterly lacking in common sense, conscience, or propriety. You would if you were Maynard Thomson.

Now, some history. Maynard Thomson has something of an obsession with me. He's been writing letters to the editor about me for over a decade. Those letters failed to get him any response, so he's also tried sending me personal letters. I didn't ask to receive mail from Mr. Thomson. This was all done on his own. And it was done as an attempt to intimidate me into shutting up.

I'm not the only woman he's sent these little billet-doux to. He's tried to intimidate at least 2 other women of my acquaintance by sending them letters. He's never sent a personal letter to a male columnist or letter writer - so it's clear that his creepy intent is to shut women up.

Maynard's last attempt at shutting me up came in the spring of 2009. I mentioned him in a column, and the brilliant barrister read it - but lacked sufficient comprehension skills, apparently, because he sent a letter threatening to sue me. At the same time, he attempted blackmail. If I would only publicly apologize for what I wrote about him, in my column, than he'd call off the lawyers, but other than that, he was going to sue me. At the end of this creepy missive, he suggested I meet him for coffee or a drink.

Instead, I took a shower. Ugh.

Then I wrote back. You can read my response here.

Thomson is the kind of snide, privileged white man who overestimates his own intelligence, and is pompous and arrogant as a result.

His latest missive to the Conway Daily Sun attempts to chide me (as usual) for being an idiot, while using highly selective "facts" in order to do so. This is, by the way, a change. Usually he doesn't bother with citing any kind of facts, he just makes pronouncements.

"It's a shame that columnist Susan Bruce's passion to demonize Republicans leads her into credibility-shattering errors, since her May 11 column, "Reverse Migration," contains some valid points.
The most blatant error is her bald assertion that "the state's unemployment rate has increased since the O'Brien junta took control." That rates a "Huh?"
The Republicans, with Bill O'Brien as Speaker, took control of the House in December 2011. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Hampshire's unemployment rate on November 31, 2010, the last full month of Democratic control, was 5.8 percent. According to the BLS, on March 31, 2012 (the latest data available), our unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, an over 10 percent decline."

You'll notice he goes for the last month of "Democratic control" so that he doesn't have to cite the actual TRUTH. Thomson is a fan of selective use of "facts."

According to the very same BLS that Thomson is playing fast and loose with, for the month of June 2011, the NH unemployment rate was 4.9%. That was the last month of the budget from the former biennium - the DEMOCRAT'S budget.

The following month, according to the very same BLS the NH unemployment numbers jumped to 5.2%.

That's one month into the O'Brien Freebaglican budget.

In other words, Maynard Thomson is generating a great deal of florid prose that boils down to one thing: bullshit.

"I've asked Ms. Bruce in the past to sit down with me and see if we can't find common ground on some of these matters."

I can't think of a single reason why I'd sit down with a disgraced former County chair, serial liar, and utterly creepy guy.

Reverse Migration

A new report from the Carsey Institute at UNH shows that more people are leaving the state than moving in. In 2001, there were more people moving to NH than leaving, but by 2010, the trend was reversed and some 2,200 left the state. This report confirms the findings of demographers Peter Francese and Lorraine Stuart Merrill who published “Communities and Consequences: The Unbalancing of New Hampshire’s Human Ecology, and What We Can Do About It” in 2008. The book pointed out that NH’s population is aging, and essentially unfriendly to young families. The reverse migration is proof.

NH begrudges every dime it spends on education. Why would anyone move here (or stay here) with a young family, knowing that education is hated here because of our regressive tax structure? Then there’s higher education. NH spends less on our public colleges than any other state in the union. We’re so far in last place that if we tripled what we spend, we’d still be in last place. Last year a lot of states made cuts to their university systems. NH may be in 50th place for investing in our colleges, but we’re number one in spending cuts! NH cut 41% of the state funding to our colleges. The closest other state was Arizona, who cut a measly 25%.

Our students leave here with the highest burden of college debt in the country. It’s why the best and brightest students of NH don’t stay here when they graduate. There aren’t enough jobs for them, and the potential for opening their own businesses in a state that doesn’t invest in infrastructure is very, very limited.
Our state’s 27,000+ millionaires seem to be failing in their role as “job creators.”

Speaker of the NH House, William O’Brien, announced this week that he wants to eliminate a further $400 million from the state budget next year, if voters are foolish enough to send him back. The last budget shaved some $30 million off the DOT budget, in a state that has the 11th worst infrastructure in the nation. Folks will recall that the DOT planned to deal with these cuts by cutting back on plowing snow on some secondary roads. Rep. Gene Chandler, ever mindful of covering his own political heinie, charged in and “fixed” the situation, just as he’s doing now with the East Conway Road. Lucky for the Speaker Pro Tempore, we had a light winter, and some of those unspent DOT funds are being used to patch up East Conway Road. There’s certainly not enough money to actually fix it – nor will there ever be as long as we vote for the new, even more offensive breed of Republicans who are currently running our state. Don’t forget for a moment that Chandler is part of the O’Brien junta’s leadership team. He’s defended O’Brien, shilled for the dreadful budget passed in 2011, and will do the same, if voted in for another term. In past years, Chandler made sure a whole lot of money went to straighten and “fix” roads in Bartlett that really didn’t need fixing, while doing nothing for roads in other towns. If Conway voters send Gene back to Concord, they’ll continue to get exactly what they deserve. In the meantime, be sure to ask him for a look at the Speaker’s plan to cut $400 million more from the state budget.

It’s difficult to imagine why young families don’t want to move to a state that hates education and infrastructure, isn’t it?

In other legislative news, once again the clown car that is the NH GOP is providing us with more entertainment. NH state legislators have an email system. They can send and receive emails from constituents, and they can send out group emails to their fellow legislators through this system. State Rep. Jerry Bergevin of Manchester has been sending out some questionable commentary recently to all of his fellow legislators. Bergevin, you may recall, is the same fellow who filed a bill to create a “Terry Schiavo Day” in NH, and an anti-evolution bill. Bergevin wanted to teach evolution as a theory, but also to ensure that children were taught that the people who came up with the theory were atheists. He told the Concord Monitor that the Columbine school massacre was the result of teaching evolution. Another of Bergevin’s bills would have provided a “religious” exemption for those who wanted to refuse to provide services to gay folks. In other words, legalizing his own brand of bigotry, with a side order of piety.


Bergevin’s latest hobbyhorse is medical marijuana, and he’s been sending emails out to his colleagues calling them “Potheads” for exploiting the sick and trying to legalize “dope.” He mentions that he’s experienced pain from health problems, but only taken prescription medications. Bergevin predictably found a way to insert some ugly anti-gay commentary into his email. Best of all, however, were his comments on the upcoming elections. Here’s a direct (unedited) quote:

“RHINO republicans Hunting season is about to begin and I Love hunting 
for 
these its going to be a Great Kill this year !”
Given the quality of his prose and his level of punctuation, those prescriptions he touted haven’t yet expired. The Speaker of the House and his Charlie McCarthy (aka Majority Leader DJ Bettencourt) have so far made no comment on Bergevin’s offensive, and vaguely threatening commentary, so one is left to assume that Bergevin’s comments are supported by his colleagues and the House leadership.

Once again, the Freebaglican legislature proves to be nothing but an embarrassment to our state. Despite their claims to be focusing on job creation, instead, they’re creating a climate that virtually ensures that businesses will be fleeing the state. The state’s unemployment rate has increased since the O’Brien junta took control.
Decent roads, bridges, and communications infrastructure are vital to the economic future of our state. Will we vote for the future in November, or will we continue to cling to the failed policies of the past?

Fun Fact: William Loeb – the dead Republican who still dictates NH policy from the grave, lived in a mansion in Pride’s Crossing, a wealthy enclave in “Taxachusetts.”



© sbruce 2012

This appeared as an op-ed in the May 11, 2012 edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper.

NH Gets a Yeast Infection

A few days ago, Emily's List announced that they were endorsing Maggie Hassan in the NH gubernatorial race. This is noteworthy because EL supports pro-choice women candidates. There are two of them running for governor in NH. Candidate Jackie Cilley is also pro-choice, with a similarly distinguished pedigree. The filing period hasn't opened yet, and the primary is not until September, yet here we have Emily's List choosing sides.

Or, if you prefer: out-of-state special interest groups choosing sides.

Emily's List would not endorse Carol Shea-Porter for Congress until the other pro-choice woman in the race for NH CD-1, Joanne Dowdell, dropped out. Yet here they are, choosing a candidate before the filing period even opens.

One wonders what this is all about. It's true that one of Hassan's staffers is a former Emily's List employee. But, what is the most defining difference between the two candidates?

The Pledge.

The NH "no income tax/no sales tax" pledge, as given to us by the late Union Leader publisher William Loeb and the late Governor Meldrim Thomson. The pledge is a Republican tool to ensure that there's never enough money in the coffers of our state to actually do anything that needs doing. The timid conservadems who run the NH Democratic Party are in favor of the pledge, because it ensures that they continue to consolidate NHDP power in Manchester, which is hardly representative of Democrats throughout the rest of the state. It's unlikely that Emily's List made this decision without input from the NHDP leadership.

This kind of thing is one of the reasons I'm not a registered Democrat anymore. Remember 2006, when Jim Craig was the anointed candidate (by the DCCC and the NHDP) to run against Congressman Jeb Bradley in CD-1? He may be a very nice man, but he was an unimpressive candidate. I heard him speak at a candidate's forum in Sandwich, where he told the assembled throng how happy he was to be there in "podunk." There were audible sighs from the people standing near me. Sandwich is a small town, it's true. It's a small town where a number of well-to-do college graduates live. Politically savvy and active folks. The kind of people you want on your side. He blew it with the opening line - and went on to cement his fate by having to ask his staffer for answers to questions. This was the guy that the party chose to go up against a multimillionaire Congressman.

Emily's List is deja vu all over again. Emily's List has just joined the Susan G. Komen Foundation in terms of relevance and status in my mental filing cabinet.

This action by Emily's List serves to rip open a wound inflicted during the NH presidential primary in 2008. A group of prominent NH supporters of Hillary Clinton sent out a letter that lied about Obama's votes on choice in Illinois - just before the primary. Those of you who know me will recall that I didn't have a dog in that fight; I was neither a supporter of Clinton or Obama. It was just dirty business, two days before the primary. It created a divide between women in this state, a divide and hard feelings that continue to this very day. I know a couple of women who carry around the email, and a list of all of the signers - in their wallets. To this day. There are still a lot of hard feelings about that letter.

My point? Maggie Hassan signed that letter, and remains unrepentant about having done so.

From the Washington Post:

The other two Clinton supporters who signed both the critical e-mail and the conciliatory one stood more strongly by the initial one. Sen. Hassan said she, too, was unaware of the Illinois Planned Parenthood defense of Obama at the time she signed the critical letter, that she had only been told by the Clinton campaign that the Illinois chapter of NOW had cited concerns about Obama's present votes. She said it was wrong for anyone to suggest that Obama was not pro-choice, and that she was sorry about the upset that the letter had caused.

But Hassan stood by what she said was the main point of the initial e-mail, that Clinton was the most staunchly pro-choice Democrat. "All of the leading Democratic candidates are strongly pro-choice but I think Hillary's record is unparalleled. I stand by what I signed before the election and don't think it's inconsistent with" the new e-mail stating that Obama is strongly pro-choice, Hassan said. "Everybody's going to interpret these letters and e-mails as they want to."

Some of the other signers have apologized for getting hoodwinked into signing the letter.

Deja vu.


Even Foster's Daily Democrat - generally a mouthpiece for the GOP, chimed in with an editorial on this subject.

As Cilley pointed out in a press release following the EMILY'S List announcement: "Whatever the reasons, Emily's List made its choice now, even before formal electoral filing dates and without a discussion with their members in the State."

But if what Cilley also noted is true, it casts a cloud over the endorsement that may cause Hassan more trouble than it is worth.

Cilley: "Only a few weeks ago EMILY'S List advised me that New Hampshire voters would have the chance to choose their preferred candidate at the Primary before any decision being taken regarding endorsement. At no time did we ever sit down and discuss my experience and commitment to women's issues, my campaign plan and the qualifications of my team."

Read the whole piece. Coming from Foster's it is especially remarkable.

I've heard that some women who have been very generous donors to Emily's List in the past have called them to express their ire, and taken the money they might have given EL and donated it to Jackie Cilley.

I do have a dog in the fight this time. I'm supporting Jackie Cilley. Some will choose to dismiss this as sour grapes - but it's all about ethics and interference. I'm sick to death of outside groups coming in to manipulate our elections - ANY groups. They think we're an insignificant state full of hicks who don't know anything.

We're pretty smart hicks, in my opinion. This was a bad decision, and one that may well backfire on Maggie Hassan.

The Daddy State

This is a transcript of my remarks, given today at the Unite Against the War on Women in NH rally on April 28, at the State House in Concord:



Conservatives, especially in NH, love to throw around the term “nanny state.” Generally speaking, anything that involves legislation that protects people (food labeling, professional licensing, seat belt wearing, non-smoking in restaurants/bars, drunk driving laws -(you get the idea) is labeled as “nanny stateism.” “Nanny state” must be said with a Randian sneer. The implication is that pesky liberals want to micromanage your life, force political correctness upon you, and prevent you from allowing your kids to play dodge ball and feeding them deep-fried Twinkies for breakfast.

It’s been my experience that whenever the far right tosses terms like this around, what they’re REALLY doing is projecting their own behavior on to others. Sure they love to bleat about FREEDOM and LIBERTY, but as soon as anything even remotely related to the freedoms of any group NOT comprised of white male, heterosexuals comes up, we see how invested in freedom they really are.

Over the last decade or so, we’ve seen an increase in authoritarian laws. Protestors can now be sequestered in so-called “free speech zones.” Security personnel can feel you and your children up at the airport, all the while telling us this is necessary for our safety and security. We can be wiretapped without our knowledge. We’ve seen NH become the only state in the union to actually decide to USE the death penalty, as opposed to ending the death penalty, which many states are doing.

In the last 2 years, we’ve seen the NH legislature eager to regulate women’s bodily autonomy, by attempting to limit access to both abortion and affordable birth control. We’ve seen that same legislature attempt to strike down NH’s marriage equality law. Apparently the silly women and homosexuals of NH need Big Daddy to make our decisions for us. That’s why I mentioned projection. They complain about the nanny state, while initiating something far more sinister: The Daddy State.


Daddy is an authoritarian, a stern patriarch who wants to set the rules, and punish the girls when they’re bad. 

It's Daddy who must make the rules for our reproductive decisions. After all, left to our own devices we might continue to use birth control and choose not to have children so that we can have careers - and even run for political office! Women might actually choose to continue to compete with men!

The Daddy Staters don't like that. Daddy Staters know what's right for silly girlies.

Last year, Executive Councilor Ray Wieczorek voted against funding for Planned Parenthood in NH. At the time, he said: "I am opposed to providing condoms to someone. If you want to have a party, have a party but don't ask me to pay for it." Councilor Wieczorek stated that he was opposed to abortion. Planned Parenthood provides mammograms and pap tests. Apparently the health of the incubator is of no concern to Wieczorek - who, by the way, wisely chose not to run for re-election.

Rush Limbaugh, one of the Stern Patriarchs of the Daddy State gave voice to what many didn't dare to say, when he called college student Sandra Fluke a slut for testifying before Congress about the importance of birth control. Somehow, in Rush's drug addled brain, Fluke's testimony on how birth control is used as a treatment for some serious medical conditions, turned into a demand that the gubmint give her excessive amounts of free birth control. The Daddy State Patriarchs know that only bad girls have sex, and bad girls must be punished. They think forced incubation is an appropriate punishment.

That the Daddy Staters want to cut every safety net program that would help women and children tells you all you really need to know about how deep their concern for the unborn really is. Once that little nipper hits the chute, it’s pick yourself up by your bootie straps time.


We saw the Daddy State go wild when CNN pundit Hilary Rosen commented that Mitt Romney’s advisor on how to speak to women…his wife had never worked a day in her life. What Ms. Rosen meant was that Mrs. Romney had never worked outside the home. In the ensuing backlash and round of apologies, the most important part of the discussion failed to occur.

Certainly anyone who has been a mother knows how hard it is. Mrs. Romney had 5 boys. I know how hard I struggled with only one girl. Feminism has always been about giving women choices: reproductive choice certainly, but also the choice to go to school, join the military, work outside the home, or be a stay at home mom. Ann Romney was lucky that being a stay at home mom was a choice for her. Unfortunately she’s completely tone deaf when it comes to that.

Ann Romney never had to worry about how she was going to pay the electric bill or the rent. She didn’t have to agonize over how to stretch the groceries till payday, health insurance, or how on earth she was going to get new shoes for the kids. Most moms have to worry about money. Ann Romney never did. She is married to an incredibly wealthy man. Her failure to acknowledge that is – for me anyway – the most irritating thing about her. Wealth is the best insulation there is. Not only will you never be cold, you’ll also never have to even consider what life is like for those who lack insulation of any sort.

And Mitt is a Daddy. He wants to regulate women’s reproduction for them. He wants to cut the kind of safety net programs that help low-income women and their children stay afloat.

In fact, Mitt, while Governor of Massachusetts proposed raising the required number of work hours for people on welfare so that they could have “the dignity of work.” In NH, Mitt had this to say:

"I wanted to increase the work requirement," … " even if you have a child 2 years of age, you need to go to work. And people said, 'Well that's heartless.' And I said, 'No, no, I'm willing to spend more giving day care to allow those parents to go back to work. It'll cost the state more providing that daycare, but I want the individuals to have the dignity of work.'"

Apparently wealthy white women are born with an innate sense of dignity. When they stay home with the kids its hard work – but doing the right thing for the children. When low-income women stay home with the kids, it’s because they’re lazy.

The Daddy State has no real concern for women or children. They just want to govern them.

Birth control has been the big game changer for women. It ensured that anatomy was no longer destiny, and allowed women to pursue careers, including political ambitions. We hear the representatives of the Daddy State frequently express a desire to “take our country back.” I bet I’m not the only one who shivers a little when I hear that phrase. Perhaps I’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale too many times.

The lesson for all of us is this: Constant vigilance is the price of women’s equality. Somewhere along the way we may have thought we’d won, that we didn’t have to fight these battles any more. We were wrong about that.

No matter how much the right wing media smirks and denounces the very idea of a war on women – women know it’s true. And we must fight back, harder than ever. One of the easiest ways to fight back is at the ballot box. Women fought and died to give us the right to vote – and we have a responsibility to honor them by VOTING!
We need to encourage women to run for office, and support them when do. We must also support the men who believe in equality - because as the old bumper sticker says: Men of Quality Support Women's Equality!


We must also speak out against injustice, even when it makes us uncomfortable.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of my favorite suffragists. She said a lot of smart things, but this is one of my favorites, and the thought I leave you with, today:

“The best protection any woman can have... is courage. “

Live Free and Porta-Potty

New Hampshire’s old tourist slogan: “You’re Going to Love it Here,” has been retired. We now have a new slogan, designed to lure tourists to NH where they can spend lots and lots of money. The new slogan: “Live Free and ____.” The advertiser can fill in that blank with the activity of their choice, “Live Free and Ski,” or “Live Free and Hike” – you get the idea.

This exciting new slogan was recently unveiled by the NH Dept. of Resources and Economic Development (DRED) and discussed last week on the NHPR call in program The Exchange. DRED is an appropriate acronym for this department, given the level of esteem our state has for our natural resources. Commissioner George Bald did a fine job of making this slogan seem like a great idea. Not everyone agrees. A commenter known as “elwood” at the blog Blue Hampshire quipped, “Live Free and… Sorry - No Budget to Complete Slogan.”

Tourism is the second largest industry in NH. Given that fact, one might think that the state would do all that it could to welcome visitors and provide amenities to ensure those tourists enjoyed their stay, and returned at every opportunity. One would be wrong.

Along the NH highways and byways lurk 16 rest areas /welcome stops. At this moment in time, 3 of them are closed, with no plans to reopen. Sorry visitors – if you expect a welcome in Rumney, Antrim, or Epsom, better make other plans. Four rest area/welcome stops are seasonal: open from May through October. Colebrook and Shelburne are seasonal rest areas. Lebanon and Littleton are seasonal rest areas and welcome stops. Apparently our winter visitors do not require welcoming. Best of all are the new hours at the Sanbornton rest area on I-93 south. It is now open Friday through Sunday, with the exception of 3 holidays: Independence Day, Labor Day, and Columbus Day. Since it’s a southbound stop, apparently the state assumes that we’ve wrung all of your tourist dollars out of you by that point, and you should just go home. For those who absolutely positively must empty their tourist bladders, porta-potties are provided at all of these sites. Nothing says “Welcome to NH, we value you” like a bank of porta potties at a closed rest area. Or, to use our sexy new slogan: “Live Free and Porta Potty!”

I learned a little about this first hand last week, as I drove to Concord, listening to the Exchange, hearing about closed rest areas. Being a female of middle age, drinking copious amounts of coffee, I elected to stop in Sanbornton as is my custom. I was surprised to discover the new hours, and the bank of porta potties lined up off to the side of the building. The building is in need of a new paint job, some of the shutters are broken, and the grounds are covered with dead leaves and litter. This is the NH idea of providing “services” to visitors and residents alike.

Tourism is our second largest industry. Hippo Press (a weekly NH paper) did a story called “Where NH Goes to Play” about our state parks. They interviewed interim Parks and Recreation Dept. director Gail Wolek. According to Ms. Wolek, outdoor recreation annually contributes $45 million directly to our state, and another $450 million indirectly – via restaurants, hotels, liquor stores, etc. That’s a big chunk of change for a small state.

NH is the only state in the union that funds its state park system solely by user fees. There’s a reason we’re the only one. It doesn’t work. The decision to fund the parks this way was enacted by the legislature in 1991. This means that for 20 years, our state parks have been consistently under funded. Generally the parks are about $400,000 a year over budget, and that is without fixing most of what needs to be repaired. A 10-year plan for the parks was written up in 2009. Doing everything that needs doing in that 10 year plan (which is available online) would cost about $75 million, or approximately 2 years worth of the direct monies brought in by outdoor recreation. Like everything else requiring maintenance, NH has been kicking that can down the road for decades. Now the road is covered with potholes, the bridge is out, and the parks are in disrepair.

People who visit our state never speak eloquently of the natural beauty that drew them to visit Salem. Some 31% of visitor traffic (the lion’s share) to state parks is to the White Mountains. Cannon Mountain (which our legislature is dying to get rid of) is one of the most visited attractions in the state. NH legislature eliminated about $1 billion in revenue streams to our government, thereby ensuring that education, infrastructure, and maintenance of all kinds goes undone.

As of July 1, NH is losing its Poison Control Hotline, which for some years now has been funded by the Dept. of Homeland Security. The hotline costs about $600,000 a year to run. NH’s Department of Health and Human Services doesn’t have the money. Mothers, school nurses, babysitters, and all who rely on that service to be there, should it ever be necessary, are out of luck.

Worst of all, at least for me, is that we aren’t embarrassed by any of this. NH has never been a state that provided any sort of responsible level of services, but we’re living in the land of ridiculous now. Some money is needed to run this state. Despite the fact that tourism is our second biggest industry, we don’t bother with our state parks, we provide smelly porta potties to the folks who come here to spend money, and we expect them to be grateful and return with even more cash.

A reminder: NH is the wealthiest state in the union. Chew on that for a minute, as you consider the fact that we have the 11th worst infrastructure in the nation, and we rank 50th in the nation for state spending on post secondary education. We don’t pay our legislators. NH is home to over 27,000 millionaires. We have no excuse for our lack of concern for our natural resources (and 2nd biggest industry). We have no excuse for our bad roads, failing bridges, and completely inadequate telecommunications infrastructure.

There are no excuses, but there is one simple reason for all of it:

“NH isn’t a poor state. NH is a cheap state.” Gubernatorial candidate Jackie Cilley


© sbruce 2012
Published as an op-ed in the April 27, 2012 edition of the Conway Daily Sun

Ann Romney Visits the Let Them Eat Cake Bakery Again

Ann Romney, advisor-in-chief to her husband Willard on women's issues, steps in it again.From newstimes.com:

Romney, 63, still stinging from recent comments by Democratic pundit Hilary Rosen that she's never worked a day in her life, received a multiple standing ovations from a crowd of 800 Republicans at the party's annual Prescott Bush Awards Dinner.

Certainly one problem Mrs. Rmoney has is that she was speaking at a dinner celebrating Nazi collaborator Prescott Bush.

"I know what it's like to finish the laundry and to look in the basket five minutes later and it's full again," Romney said. "I know what it's like to pull all the groceries in and see the teenagers run through and then all of sudden all of the groceries you just bought a few hours ago are gone. I know what it's like to get up early in the morning and get them off to school. I know what it's like get up in the middle of the night when they're sick And I know what it's like to struggle and to have those concerns that all mothers have."

Mrs. Rmoney still doesn't get it. She may have been awfully busy and concerned raising five sons, but she did NOT have to deal with the concerns MOST mothers have. Concerns like how to pay the electric bill, how to stretch the contents of the refrigerator till payday, and how to pay for health insurance. This is the most irksome thing about Ann Rmoney - she absolutely refuses to acknowledge how much money has insulated her from the "same concerns" other mothers have. Then there's this:

"I love the fact that there are also women out there that don't have a choice, that they must go to work and they still have to raise the kids," Romney said. "Sometimes life isn't easy for any of us."

Mrs. Rmoney loves the fact that so many of us are struggling. Mr. Rmoney might be better off sending Marie Antoinette home to the palace.


The misspelling of Romney/Rmoney is intentional.

Let's Be Frank About Frank's Franking

Remember the Great Franking Outrage of 2010? Suddenly Guinta and the rest of the teanuts were everywhere, barking about Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter's abuse of the so-called franking system. This is the system (enacted in 1775) which allows members of Congress to send out mail under their signature, with no stamp or postage. Congress reimburses the Post Office for the franked mail that it handles.

In any case, the GFO of 2010 looked like this post from Guinta:

There must be a more efficient, and most importantly, less costly way to distribute these papers. Many of her points in the pamphlet include keeping taxpayers from "paying the price" for acts such as bailouts. In this case, because of her elaborate, expensive design and excessive distribution, the taxpayers did pay the price. How is this supposed to help our deficit?

One would expect, that given Frank's frank commentary about CSP's franking, he'd be mighty careful of his own.
I'm sure many of you got this recent mailer. A gaudy, multicolored mailing comes every week from Frank, the concerned franker:


The Bakersfield Californian had a story in their Sunday edition about how much members of Congress spend on franking privileges:

* Also among individual House members, Rep. Frank C. Guinta, R-N.H., spent the most on franked mail in 2011: $164,650.

After all that noise about franking during 2010, Frank goes on to distinguish himself by being the biggest franker. Does he think he gets a deal because the system is named after him??

No wonder our Frank earned a spot in CREW's list of most corrupt members of Congress.

Luckily, we have Carol Shea-Porter running against franking Frank - and we have the Credo Super Pac working to take down the
Tea Party Ten.

One of the 10 is our own Frank Guinta. So, that means 4 organizers in state, working on nothing but calling attention to what a lousy job Frank Guinta has done of representing our state and our country.

Check out their website, and friend 'em on Facebook
and find out what they're up to - and how you can help.


cross posted at Blue Hampshire

The Daddy State

From the Christian Science Monitor. What Hilary Rosen said:

“What you have is Mitt Romney running around the country, saying, 'Well, you know, my wife tells me that what women really care about are economic issues, and when I listen to my wife, that’s what I’m hearing.' Guess what? His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She’s never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing, in terms of how do we feed our kids, how do we send them to school, and why do we worry about their future.”

The Romney campaign pounced, with Ann Romney putting out her first-ever tweet: “I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys. Believe me, it was hard work.”

Feminism is all about honoring choices. Ann Romney chose to be a stay at home(s) mother, and as any parent knows, it IS hard work taking care of a bunch of kids.

Ann Romney had the option of making that choice, which is something that most women do not have. Most women have to work outside the home, in order to help support the family. Very few women are married to men as wealthy or wealthier than Ann Romney's husband.

Ann Romney never had to worry about the electricity being shut off, how to stretch the food budget till payday, or how to juggle kids, work schedule, and day care. She never had to worry about being able to afford health insurance, or losing her job if she took a day or two off with a sick child. Ann Romney's wealth insulated her - then and now - from the kinds of harsh realities faced by working women every single day. If Ann Romney were given the same stipend a woman on TANF gets, would she be able to live within her means? She does have 2 Cadillacs, after all. We all know that welfare queens only get one.

Then there's the ironic aspect of the Romneys nattering on about choice - when he supports economic policies that would make life even harder for working women, especially the ones at the bottom of the wage scale. Not to mention that he wants to be in charge of women's reproductive choices.

Of course this whole tempest is really about income and class divisions. No one wants to admit that - including the ever spineless Democrats, who began apologizing for Hilary Rosen as soon as the opportunity provided itself. None of them were brave enough to admit that Rosen may not have said it well, but there are some kernels of truth in what she said.

At least now we know that the outraged Republicans value stay at home moms.
Except when they don't.

TPM

In January, Romney touted his proposal as governor of Massachusetts to raise the amount of work required of parents on welfare so that they could “have the dignity of work.”

and

“I wanted to increase the work requirement,” said Romney in New Hampshire. “I said, for instance, that even if you have a child 2 years of age, you need to go to work. And people said, ‘Well that’s heartless.’ And I said, ‘No, no, I’m willing to spend more giving day care to allow those parents to go back to work. It’ll cost the state more providing that daycare, but I want the individuals to have the dignity of work.’”

Because when rich white women stay home with the kids, that's hard work. When poor women stay home with the kids, they're lazy, and need to learn dignity.

Wealthy women aren't required to learn dignity - it comes with the silver spoon they're born with.

This is condescending, paternalistic, and elitist. Never mind the nanny state. Mitt wants to give us all the Daddy State.

Attacking Ann Romney isn't a good idea - but pointing out Mitt's hypocrisy is a very good idea. The Romney's level of wealth is a great insulator. The only way these two could be further removed from real people's lives would be if they lived on another planet. And for all practical purposes, they do.