NH Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley
Using what could be best described as an "ugly" term for someone in the chairman's position in one of the mainstream political parties here in New Hampshire, Democrat leader Ray Buckley shows signs of becoming completely unhinged in the face of the groundswell of anti-socialized health [...]
These are the mensa members fighting against health care choices - and bellowing lies. This is what the GOP is evolving into.
[...]Here's a video aired on CNN yesterday about the most conservative Democrat in Congress - my Congressman, Walt Minnick. The town featured in the piece, St. Maries, is about an hour and a half south of my house. (Although the reporter, John King, refers to the region as west Idaho, [...]
In part:
This week we have the opportunity to make history by confirming the first Hispanic and only the third woman to the United States Supreme Court. I come to the floor today to speak in support of Sonia Sotomayor's nomination, however, not because of the historic nature of that [...]
NH Leadership, Democrat style:
[...]SOURCE: Truthout.org Opinion
Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder - Tuesday 04 August 2009
by: Jeremy Scahill | Visit article original @ The Nation
Founder and CEO of Blackwater Worldwide Erik Prince stands in the company's offices in North Carolina. (Photo: AP)
A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a [...]
But like the song says, you must try.
I cop to the fact that I'm passionate about grassroots politics. I'm excited by the idea that when people of good will come together and work hard and smart, we can change the course of history. I know this sounds sick, but I [...]
Just got an e-mail from Mark Fernald announcing he has decided to withdraw from the Democratic primary field for US Rep from CD-02.
I am writing to let you know that I am withdrawing from the race for Congress in the 2nd NH District. I did not arrive at this [...]
A VERY important election is being held this Tuesday, June 2nd -- that's like "tomorrow" -- in Lebanon. It's for a seat in the New Hampshire State Legislature.
We lost House Bill 73 by one vote two weeks ago. This could be THE vote that will get it passed on [...]
I repeat: Is democracy the killer of liberty? The dictionary defines democracy as the rule of the people. Even at its best, “democracy is the worst form of government except for all the rest,” according to Winston Churchill.
Is democracy a very bad form of government? Does it hold the threat [...]
Parents are probably hearing how schools are committed to a "student-centered" approach to teaching. But what does that mean? In Constructivism it means that your child will be participating in "discovery learning."
In this setting the students work in groups or with other students, and the teacher takes on [...]
Statement by Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue:
"George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God. I am more concerned that the Obama Administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most" [...]
If you do, you might be interested in this. From the inbox:
PARTICIPANTS SOUGHT FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE HUNTING ADVENTURES
CONCORD – Hunt of a Lifetime, in conjunction with the New Hampshire Chapter of Safari Club International and the New Hampshire Guides Association, is looking for two young people to take part [...]
One of the more unfortunate by-products of the circuitous route marriage equality has taken through the sausage-making machine is that in an effort to fill the gaps on days in between key events, we get more and more of these kinds of articles.
The basic iteration of which goes something [...]
First, I hope to have the last entry in my Psychedelic Furs tribute done soon. I'm still piecing together memories and data from the live shows. After that, I'll put together the "ultimate" set list for readers to consider before next Monday.
Here are some links that I have been meaning [...]
The Concord Monitor editorialized today in favor of taxing more money out of the pockets of Concord residents during what virtually everyone is now calling the “worst recession since the Great Depression.” The Monitor believes it’s a good idea to raise taxes to save two police officer jobs, keep the [...]
My hope last night was that marriage equality could still be saved if the Governor and others stick to the intent of their statements and not get too literalist.
This is a very good sign in that direction, imo. Dorgan:
"Gov. Lynch articulated strong principles that he would need in" [...]
Here's the thing.
The civil right of marriage equality isn't about the NH House, or the NH Senate, or Governor Lynch.
Ten years from now almost no one will know or care to know about the actors who made this freedom possible in the Live Free or Die state. And that's a' [...]
Comparing to the May 6th vote in which the House approved the Senate's tweaks, the votes changed or did not change as shown:
From-ToDemRep
nv-NV42
nv-N1015
nv-Y211
n-NV15
n-N15145
n-Y01
y-NV120
y-N13
y-Y1584
(NV is 'not voting': excused, not excused, or chairing the session.)
So, reading the chart, [...]
Anything worth fighting for is worth keeping fighting for until you win.
A lot of people worked long and hard to get to this point, and to almost win final approval of our cause today. So, let's not lose it because of lack of patience, or due to frustration. We can [...]
Adam Krauss of Foster's Daily Democrat explores how much seacoast school districts stand to lose should the Senate adopt the New Hampshire budget, and the cut in Building Aid, as approved by the House:
Twelve local school districts stand to lose more than $4.3 million combined if [...]
According to Take Back Orford the saga of the out-of-state treasurer continues.
As the Valley News continues doing their “fluff” stories I would like to say that all hell is breaking loose at the Grafton County Government level. Between the Commissioners meeting dated 05-05-2009 and the Executive Committee meeting dated [...]
The Take back Orford Blog has an update on county business in Grafton, and treasurer Sievers is making news as a result. The local student and Montana native's unconventional style has clearly made some folks unhappy with the way she does business. To the point that the elected county leaders [...]
President Obama on the depravity of man (without using that specific phrase), h/t Politico:
A GREAT PASSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT'S NOTRE DAME SPEECH THAT YOU DIDN'T SEE ON TV: 'Unfortunately, finding that common ground -- recognizing that our fates are tied up, as Dr. King said, in a 'single garment of [...]
Guest Post by former State Senator George Lovejoy...
New Hampshire Senators sent to Washington have long been respected for their traditional common sense. It is a long cherished value of the Granite State and on many issues New Hampshire Senators have taken the lead in getting colleagues from both parties to [...]
State Senator Jeb Bradley provides a nice rundown of what's happening in our Senate in this guest post...
This past week the New Hampshire Senate considered numerous pieces of legislation that while not nearly as important as the looming debate on the budget, nevertheless affects citizens' lives from personal liberties to' [...]
Community Bridges, a non-profit organization providing services to people in Central NH who experience disabilities associated with developmental delays, acquired brain injury, chronic health conditions, and aging, recently hired Jack Gibson as the new Career Development Specialist. He will be responsible for networking with area businesses and assisting in placing [...]
The news business. I learned about it in a newspaper that wasn't on newspaper.
It's an old Roman curse to wish you "to live in interesting times," and today's times are certainly "interesting" - and that's a big understatement - for newspapers.
But recall a relatively few years ago when' [...]
During the past three days, I haven't been blogging much -- I've been focusing on communicating with House and Senate members about House Bill 436, and what needs to be done during the next three days. I'm hopeful that by Wednesday we will have approved the additional statutory language that' [...]
On speaking about Obama offering security in lieu of freedom:
Our would-be soft despots are offering Americans money and the promise of security against economic distress. The vastly increased cost of government will nonetheless nearly leave half of households free from the burden of paying federal income tax and eligible [...]
OK, I have officially had it with the sentiment that there is some flaw in society because professional athletes earn more than teachers. It is meritless nonsense.
It takes a special kind of simple-mindedness to believe that the amount of compensation received for one’s labor is a proxy for one’s [...]
SOURCE: washington note
The Truth About Richard Bruce Cheney
Wednesday, May 13 2009, 5:32PM
This is a guest post exclusive to The Washington Note by Col. Lawrence B. Wilkerson, who is former chief of staff of the Department of State during the term of Secretary of State Colin Powell. Lawrence Wilkerson [...]
Yesterday State Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley called on NHGOP Chairman John H. Sununu and Republican Legislators to support an amendment to the marriage equality bill which would protect religious freedom. But today John H. Sununu took to the airwaves and told WGIR AM listeners that the amendment to provide [...]
For months, Sen. Judd Gregg has been using the word “unsustainable” to refer to the massive federal debt piled up by President Obama’s spending. In his town hall meeting in New Mexico yesterday, Obama stole Gregg’s lines. He said:
During a recession of this severity it is important, as I [...]
Yeah, I haven't been posting much lately - when one combines the time "suck" of a biz trip, doing some behind the scenes work for the Tea Party Coalition here in NH, and starting the prep work on a technical revamp of GraniteGrok, there's been little time for posting. And' [...]
Our friends at Cornerstone Policy Research write:
Late yesterday, Governor Lynch announced that he will SIGN the same-sex marriage bill if the House and Senate agree to make some changes, despite having told the New Hampshire public time and time again, that he opposes gay marriage.
Governor Lynch has proposed [...]
SOURCE: WaPo
Prosecutors to Question Rove on U.S. Attorney Firings
By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:09 PM
Former top White House official Karl Rove will be interviewed tomorrow as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the firing of U.S. attorneys during the Bush administration, according [...]
SOURCE: wtic.com
Election Audit: Some Cards Faulty; Devices Used Were Correctly Programmed
Matt Dwyer Reporting
Click here to read the full Post-Election Audit of Memory Cards for the November 2008 Elections
Click here to read the full Statistical Analysis of the Post Election Audit Data 2008 November Elections
A UConn Voting Technology [...]
From the inbox, pretty shocking stuff:
Real Federal Debt Passes $200,000 Per Capita For The First Time
For the first time in a generation, Americans have looked at their personal balance sheets and what they see has convinced them to start saving again. They are putting off purchases, paying down their credit [...]
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."
-President Barack Obama, 1/20/09
Already, we see billions of our bucks being" [...]
Yesterday we had the opportunity to interview Terry from CheckPointUSA while at our Tucson meetup. I first learned of Terry and his work when I was at Bureaucrash, which I blogged about here.
Terry is a true freedom fighter, willing to stand up to the oppressive, and very-real police state [...]
Now that the Equality Bill is temporarily behind us, I want to get back to a poll that Republicans were touting in trying to establish Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta as the Great Hope of the NHGOP. Well, Great Hope in Waiting, as he and others file their nails waiting for [...]
...would anybody hear it? NH Representatives Paul Ingbretson and Dan Itse lead an ad hoc House Committee addressing formulation of procedural recommendations for the House Rules Committee (breath) regarding the further adventures of last session's HB1543 and the non-optional -- as in Constitutionally mandated -- restoration of [...]
Isn't it time to get Government OUT of the healthcare field altogether?? Hey, with examples like this, Obama's question:
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care' [...]
President Obama announces the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Chrysler Corporation..HUH?
What is wrong with that statement? WHY is the President of the US doing that? What role SHOULD the Government be doing in this matter? The only time the President should be announcing a bankruptcy will be that of the Federal [...]
Good 'ole Justice Souter. He's just sticking it to liberty and the Constitution right to the bitter end. He couldn't retire, say, 200 days ago. Oh no-- he does it right at the start of the reign of Obama.
"What's so bad about that, Doug? Obama won. He SHOULD get" [...]
Three Blondes were all applying for the last available position on the Texas Highway Patrol.
The detective conducting the interview looked at the three of them and said, "So y'all want to be cops, huh?"
The blondes all nodded.
The detective got up, opened a file drawer and pulled out a folder.
Sitting back' [...]
SOURCE: Fox44.com
Former NH town treasurer due back in court
Public Hearing Thursday for Vermont Yankee
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - The former treasurer for Litchfield, N.H., who
resigned after being accused of embezzling money from the town, is
expected back in court for arraignment on two new theft counts.
The Telegraph [...]
SOURCE: BlackBoxVoting.ORG
Posted by Bev Harris on Thursday, April 30, 2009 - 11:18 am:
Right to know is THE crucial core concept for democratic election
systems. New Hampshire legislators are now working on their second attempt to erect barriers to the public right to know.
HB 349 is trying to exempt [...]
The denouement of the career arc can sometimes be melancholic:Senator Judd Gregg, alluding to the recent encounter between President Obama and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, accused the White House and Congressional Democrats of abusing their power. "I can understand shaking Hugo Chavez's hand, but I can't understand embracing his'" [...]
Shhhh.... Can you hear it? If you listen hard enough you can hear the sound of the most open and participatory communication medium yet invented crashing headlong into one of the smallest Legislative bodies in the world.
Yesterday we were live blogging proceedings from the NH Senate. Go back and read [...]
So DFA is having a scholarship contest to provide funding for some to attend Netroots Nation this year.
So go vote for BH's own Jennifer Daler!
[...]NPR got the scoop:
NPR has learned that Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire at the end of the court's current term.
NH's contribution to SCOTUS was appointed almost 19 years ago.
Thoughts?
Adding (Dean): Click here for a recent, rare public appearance from Justice Souter.
[...]Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter has just introduced a bill to protect families.
WASHINGTON, DC. - Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter demonstrated her unwavering commitment to workers and families by introducing the Family and Medical Leave Restoration Act. This bill repeals certain restrictive rules regarding the use of Family and Medical Leave that [...]
From the Op-Ed pages of boston.com, comes an essay by Renee Loth. She opens by asking "What's the matter with New Hampshire?"
First, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to raise the state's gasoline tax by 15 cents over three years. Then the House approved a bill allowing [...]
SOURCE: NYT
Editorial
A Challenge to Voting Rights
The United States has changed a great deal since the Voting Rights Act was first passed in 1965, but minorities still face significant obstacles in registering to vote and casting ballots. It would be outrageous overreaching — the sort of thing Republicans deride [...]
Pretty huge, imo:
CONCORD - Chronically and terminally ill patients would be able to use marijuana to ease their pain under a bill the Senate passed yesterday.
By a 14-10 vote, the Senate approved House Bill 648, which allows patients with approval from both their doctors and the state to [...]
Satire:
Steelers to loose Super Bowl Trophies
Pittsburgh, PA. The Super Bowl XLIII Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, the only team to win six titles, will soon be losing half of those trophies. After a meeting between NFL Commissioner Rodger Gadel and President Barack Hussein Obama, Obama decided to redistribute half of their [...]
Democratic State Senate candidate "Bathroom Bud" Martin tries to campaign his way out of toilet after reporter blows lid off series of stinky decisions while sitting on the Bench
Rather than answering for several questionable rulings while serving on the Bench, District 3 State Senate candidate Bud Martin's team has instead stooped [...]
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy investigates whether the tax incentives that Michigan provides to film movies and televisions shows in state deliver on the amount of jobs created:
When movies are filmed in Michigan, the studios have to pay Michigan business taxes. Under this program though, state government [...]
I've been hair-on-fire pleading for some prominent Democrat - any prominent Democrat - with parallel media power to fight back against Judd Gregg's 24/7 media assault on Obama's budget and the health care, environment, and education priorities contained within it.
And this is what we got.
Congratulations Senator Gregg. You' [...]
It must be really odd to be Charlie Bass these days. He (wisely, imho) sits out a cycle, only to return and discover his party has marched hard to the right, and increasingly out of reach from a district such as the one he used to serve.
I mean, can you [...]
Yesterday I put up a post about the Feds, as part of their Stimulus / Green technology push, picking one company (Solyndra) over others (OptiSolar, DayStar). At the time, I wrote this:
The element of risk, vis-a-vis the typical Venture Capital model, is put aside. No financial arrangements were mentioned [...]
Have you given your time or your money to Bud Martin's campaign for State Senate yet?
Because doing so will help accomplish two things - a) getting a great Democrat, and all around nice guy, into the State Senate who came within a hair of doing so last cycle, and [...]
The New Hampshire House will be voting on HB436 (marriage equality) and HB415 (anti-discrimination act for gender identity and expression) on Thursday March 26. The vote will be extremely close and we need your help. The opposition is flooding Representatives will calls and e-mails and it is having an impact. [...]
Taxpayer money to bankers: good.
Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, predicted Congress's efforts to rescind the bonuses through higher taxes would be thrown out in court. He said the legislation violates the Constitutional ban on bills of attainder, which restricts lawmakers' ability to punish individual Americans.
"It's basically'" [...]
The National Organization for Marriage, an out-of-state 501(c)(4) nonprofit based in Princeton, NJ*, has intruded on our legislative process with a new anti-marriage radio spot a Hamster recently passed along to me.
Apparently, this "urgent marriage alert" is playing on radio stations in the Granite State right now. A [...]
Remember the Sarah Palin robopolls from a few days ago?
Well, neither does SarahPAC:A spokesman for Palin's new political action committee, SarahPAC, e-mailed us yesterday that "this is news to us" and the PAC "is not doing any polling."
Pam Pryor called it "curious" and said she would check into [...]
Poppy Sununu spent an hour with the editorial board of the Conway Daily Sun on March 6. The write up is in today's paper:
http://www.laconiadailysun.com...
This story is a gold mine. At this juncture, John H's strategy for the GOP is to move forward into the past. We'll all be' [...]
Look who shows up for some of these 100 seconds:This is an Open Thread.
[...]Remember when Jennifer S. Palin-Horn told the Franklin GOP that they need to get on Twitter if they want to win elections again?
Tweet, tweet:That's in reference to the Governor of Texas' breathtakingly unconscionable decision to reject money that would go to assist the unemployed in his state,' [...]
I caught part of Laura Knoy's show on NHPR today, discussing merit pay in the public schools. Obama has endorsed the idea.
There have been a few public school teachers in my family. They all worked here in New Hampshire; Obama's experience in Chicago was undoubtedly different.
I come to a different [...]
Just to be clear since the chatter is growing: I couldn't care less that Jeanne Shaheen is a member of Evan Bayh's dopey little club.
Jeanne Shaheen is a moderate Democrat. There is nothing at all surprising about this, even for someone like me who didn't get invested in New [...]
U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter's latest fundraising appeal:
Friend,
The 2010 campaign should not be starting already, but it is. The Washington Republicans have said NO to President Obama, NO to the American agenda and NO to my re-election in 2010.
Several Republican opponents are now lined up at the gate to try to [...]
Our friends at Cornerstone Policy Research have released a new web ad urging viewers to contact at Gov. Lynch at 271-2121 and ask him to say "no" to HB 436, the the so-called "genderless marriage" bill...
Don't you just love the "new" New Hampshire, brought to us by the' [...]
From the New Hampshire House:
A House committee today recommended that the full House agree to let certain patients grow their own marijuana if their doctor recommends they use it to relieve certain medical conditions.
The so-called medical marijuana bill, House Bill 648, passed the House Health, Human Services [...]
Remember the old saying " are you better off today than you were last year".Well in the town's economic development arena, I will have to say that the answer is a big NO. The town has for the last two fiscal years supported an in house economic development director after [...]
The good news is, we in NH don't really need to worry about this latest disclosure of the fraud-friendly designs in the Diebold voting machines counting almost 90% of NH votes. The bad news is, we don't have to worry about it because the State of NH conducts virtually no [...]
President Obama explains his NCAA tourney picks. I gotta agree with his national champion.
[...]Manchester aldermen get to set taxi fares even though the aldermen know nothing about running a taxi business. They don’t have a clue how much a driver needs to make to earn a decent living, what a “fair” rate is, etc. But nonetheless they have empowered themselves to dictate what [...]
It's funny but I haven't seen word one about this on the news in our neck of the woods ...
' [...]Jim Splaine asked me to call my representatives about the marriage equality bill. This led me to think about what I actually support marriage equality, and what I would say to someone who needed to be convinced. So, here is a shot:
1. Americans are supposed to have equal rights under [...]
A blogger on Blue Hampshire is reporting that a friend received a robosurvey about Gov. Sarah Palin.
I haven’t heard anyone else receiving the same phone call but read the entire diary yourself at: Sarah Palin for President: It begins…with robopolling?
[...]As a mental exercise for the '10 cycle, I was trying to think of what John E. Sununu would be like at a Congressional hearing with AIG execs, considering the latter's fondness for credit default swaps and the former's fondness for deregulation.
This exercise is more helpful when you note' [...]
A 10 to 10 vote. House Bill 436 took a step toward approval by surviving on a tie vote during a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee. What it means now is that the bill will go to the House floor next Tuesday "without recommendation." It's a position from which [...]
Game. On. (email release):
Washington, DC--- Congressman Paul Hodes will attend the hearing of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises tomorrow that will focus on the American Insurance Group (AIG). Congressman Hodes will have the opportunity to question top AIG executives.
When: Wednesday March [...]
March 13, 2009
Hampton votes
The ‘yellow sheet’ predicts outcome
“I don’t think there is any question that there is credibility with the yellow sheet voter guide right now,” Selectman Richard Nichols said. “If you look at the sheet and look how people voted, there isn’t much of a difference.”
From the NHGOP:
CONCORD - Today, former New Hampshire Governor and Republican State Committee Chairman John H. Sununu released the following statement on the Merrimack Station Power Plant:
“No matter how hard the Democrats try to sound like they have a constructive energy policy, their actions prove they are anti-energy, anti-growth [...]
Many Liberals are fans of centralized power - at least politicians that I can readily identify as Liberals seem to pontificate that only Government can solve the problem. Often, that means we, the people, have to give something up of our money, our freedom, our choices. And when we complain, [...]
Many of today's inventions are the results of years of research, oodles of capital spent, and lots of sweat and tears.
On the other side of the ledger, sometimes, stuff just happens! Accidents sometimes have given us the most bang for the buck (think "I was looking for one thing, and [...]
Today the New Hampshire State Senate heard testimony on a bill that would require PSNH to study the cost of installing a scrubber at the Merrimack State Power Plant.
PSNH is attempting to build a scrubber that would reduce the mercury levels it emits into the atmosphere, but critics say the [...]
Here's an email we sent out earlier today to New Hampshire ratepayers about SB-152, the Mercury Reduction and Ratepayer Protection Act, which is being debated in the State Senate today:
Did you know that 20% of New Hampshire's carbon footprint comes from one place?
It does -- the Merrimack Station coal fired [...]
I was curious to read the article in today's The Conway Daily Sun which I was given a preview to last night, the headline read:
"Former governor says Jeb spurred Lynch to try to restore rooms and meals revenue"
The full text article can be found on Page 15 at:
SOURCE:The Nation
Healthcare Enemy No. 1
100 Days
By Christopher Hayes
This article appeared in the March 30, 2009 edition of The Nation.
March 11, 2009
Rush Limbaugh offers Democrats an irresistible target as the de facto leader of the Republican Party, but for my money, Rick Scott is the man who best embodies the [...]
Transportation Commissioner George Campbell makes the case for more money for his department in this morning's Union Leader, and takes a shot at Bartlett Center President Charles Arlinghaus's column from earlier this week:
Taking care of New Hampshire's highways and bridges is a serious matter. The safety of the traveling [...]
WALKING THE DOG
A WOMAN was flying from Seattle to San Francisco. Unexpectedly, the plane was diverted to Sacramento along the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft the plane would re-board in 50 minutes.
Everybody got off [...]
