Dick NH Comments PDF

DickNH
User information Your hometown Gilmanton History Member for 3 years 35 weeks Most recent comments by DickNH
Special Interest? By DickNH - 03/06/2012 - 10:21 am How about protecting the "special interest" of the American people to not have their elections bought and paid for by corporate interests? You might want to include in your warrant article a ban on special interest groups like ALEC, funded by the Koch Brothers, writing legislation for NH Tea Party lawmakers that they blindly submit without even thinking through the long-term ramifications? Or would your warrant Log in to vote article only target those "special interests" with whom you disagree? 0
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Nonsense By DickNH - 03/06/2012 - 10:17 am No, Van, it was NOT a great letter. Rather, it was filled with the same nonsense and plain misstatement of fact that we so often see here by opponents of the President. Log in to vote Mr. Obama has no more influence over the price of a commodity in international trade than any other world leader does. The fact is that domestic production is UP. 12 Drilling is UP. But, because oil is traded on a world market, and there is NO mechanism to keep domestically produced oil from being sold on the international market, those facts do not matter to the price of oil. The same is true of the XL pipeline. That crude would be piped to Texas, where it would be sold on the
international market to the highest bidder. Accessing that oil would not affect prices of American gasoline one iota, and anyone who understands the international nature of the oil industry knows that. Sorry, folks, but our oil has been underpriced for decades, due to the $4 billion in subsidies that the US gives to big oil each year. $4 BILLION. Do you know how loudly you would complain about wasteful government spending if that same subsidy was given to alternative fuels? Van, sail, and Mr. Ewing would be calling for Mr. Obama's impeachment!
Agreed!!! By DickNH - 03/06/2012 - 9:40 am SB2 is a solution in search of a problem. The statistics are quite clear that participation in SB2 deliberative sessions is no better than at town meeting. And, you have to wait a couple of weeks between the deliberative session and the voting. Key points tend to be forgotten, and then voting falls off. This is just a way for a small group of voters to hijack the process to get their own way when they can't get it at town meeting. I urge all Gilmanton residents to preserve our town meeting and school district meetings. They are very well attended, and the discussions are intelligent, respectful and sometimes animated and amusing, but always informative. We don't need SB2 in Gilmanton!
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I agree, Michael By DickNH - 03/06/2012 - 9:34 am I would add to the list of stupidity and childishness a large dose of churlishness. It's sadly amusing to see O'Brien actually defending the appallingly stupid and violent actions of his Republican representatives, especially on such a completely idiotic issue. But, go ahead, Republicans, wage your culture wars all you want. Then the vast majority of NH citizens will see you for what you really are, and happily send you packing in November. Pathetic doesn't even begin to describe supposed adults in positions of authority who act this way. Rush Limbaugh has a lot of company in NH.
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Just remember.... By DickNH - 03/02/2012 - 2:23 pm The old, but true statement: First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
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Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me. Just because a few fools who happened to be Muslim participated in a terrorist attack does not give any branch of government the right to spy on anyone else just because they are of the same religion or nationality. That is prohibited by the Constitution's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures and due process protections. Also remember Ben Franklin's statement: "Those who would give up liberty for security deserve neither." You obviously fit nicely into both these statements. Most of the rest of us want our constitutional rights protected against this sort of government interference.
Proof? By DickNH - 03/02/2012 - 9:33 am Since Senator Obama could not accept such a huge donation from an individual, and since there are no other records of any sort proving such a contribution, other than the word of a "business partner" of a convicted felon, perhaps you'd like to provide a WHOLE lot more solid proof of that accusation? And, oh, by the way, that figure pales in comparison to the sums being contributed to the Republican corporate super pacs trying to buy the White House for the spinning top named Willard Romney or the corporate Super Christian known as Rick Santorum.
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Leftists? By DickNH - 03/02/2012 - 9:17 am So, the 99% of American women, and 98% of Catholic women who have used birth control in the past 50 years, and who have been very used to having their health insurer pay a part of the cost of that care (which, by the way, SIGNIFICANTLY reduces the need for abortions) are all leftists? If that's the case, then we're doing way better than I thought we were. I hope this issue remains in the public eye, because it will cause devastating migrations of female voters away from the Republican party in 2012.
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Not This Year
By DickNH - 03/01/2012 - 3:21 pm Sorry, Josh, but the poll numbers resulting from the constant stream of nonsense coming from the circus clowns that are the Republican candidates are all quickly heading in President Obama's favor. He now holds a 10 point lead over Romney, and a 15 point lead over Santorum. That does not appear likely to change anytime soon.
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Usual Misstatements By DickNH - 03/01/2012 - 1:57 pm More of the usual about the fantasy "war on religion". The only war on religion is being waged by supposed "terrorism experts" against innocent Muslims in this country and abroad. How fascinating that those who supposedly support the Constitution have stayed completely silent on the recent, well-documented NYPD spying on Muslim mosques and Muslim student groups at colleges and universities in and around NYC. Can you imagine the conservative uproar that these same silent folks would raise if, instead of Muslim mosques and student groups, the NYPD had targeted Christian groups? As for this article, thankfully cooler heads prevailed in the Senate and this assault on women's health has been sent to the dustbin of history. I hope women voters will remember every single Senator who voted to deny them legitimate health care coverage at the whim of their employers.
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Liar,liar By DickNH - 03/01/2012 - 9:57 am Talk about a guy who can't even get his own opinions straight....."I'm against this, but my pollster says that the far right wing of the party that I'm trying to get to vote for me is for it, so I have to be for it". Way to show a real jellyfish spine there, Willard!
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Vacations By DickNH - 02/29/2012 - 2:14 pm Not nearly as many as George W. Bush took every year during his "tenure". You can pick on this all you want, Van, but Obama has taken far fewer vacations than any recent president going back to Richard Nixon. The point here is that, despite some of the posts here, the President's approval ratings soar each time these clowns in the Republican primaries open their collective mouths. His percentages against each of them are now at least 10 points, and his percentage is over 50% when compared to each and every Republican candidate. Those numbers have been rising steadily for months as the economy has steadily improved under the President's leadership, and the Republican candidates have shown themselves completely incapable of
putting together anything even vaguely resembling an economic recovery plan that would do more than the President's to improve the economy. So, go ahead, pick on an issue other than the 9 economy and Santorum's rantings about his proposed theocracy and Mitt's collective amnesia about his past and his rich friends. It's all making for hilarious theater!
Soon! By DickNH - 02/24/2012 - 9:46 am I can't believe what I read in this post. I saw the same interview, and found Santorum to be the same fundamentalist Christian theocrat that he's always been. Just what we need: someone like him injecting his far right-wing religious philosophy into the everyday decisions made in the White House. Let's see, how soon would he begin trying to take out one "Islamofascist" nation after another that didn't accept his religious beliefs? How soon would he assure that women were sent back into the kitchen and the bedroom where he believes they belong? How soon would our national debt explode beyond anything we've ever seen when he convinced Congress to outlaw all forms of birth control and abortion and our population exploded? Yes, we're all just waiting for the Sanctorum regime.....
2 Wrongs By DickNH - 02/24/2012 - 9:05 am If Speaker Pelosi said that, she was just as wrong as the Republicans are now. To see how mind-numbingly foolish this talk of impacting gas prices is, see this article: http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/24/news/economy/gingrich_gas_prices/index.h... Mr. Gingrich's desperate attempt to become relevant again is as full of hot air as the rest of his positions. Go home to Calista, Newt, you're so yesterday...
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As usual, Dan By DickNH - 02/23/2012 - 9:26 am Nothing new, here. Just the same old misinformation and bombast from our favorite State House bullies. Let's make sure we keep those women firmly in their Log in places, boys! to vote 12
Typical By DickNH - 02/22/2012 - 8:49 am A typical O'Brien, Manuse move. Don't worry about public notification about what you're doing, don't worry about (horror of horrors!) an actual public hearing on the matter to see what your CONSTITUENTS actually think of what you are proposing to do, and the shabby cover you're using to mask what you're trying to do, just go ahead and do it because, well, you're the Speaker and you obviously know what's best, now, don't you? It's going to be such a pleasure to see O'Brien, Log in to vote Bettencourt, Manuse and the rest of them heading out of Concord with their tails 13 between their legs come November.
Very Thoughtful By DickNH - 02/21/2012 - 4:19 pm Excellent post, Rabbit. Part of the problem here in NH is that our legislature is much too large, and we pay them nothing. That excludes most "average" people from running, leaving only the retired or the very wealthy, neither of which have much in common with everyday people in the workforce. On the national level, money in politics is a huge issue. The Citizens United decision opened the floodgates for the SuperPacs, as President Obama predicted in his 2011 State of the Union address. Most money goes from the wealthy to those SuperPacs because they do not have to disclose who contributes, nor how much. That's a problem no Log in to vote matter which "side" you come to the issue from. It leaves out really legitimate 3 debate over the issues that affect most of us, and leaves a battleground comprised of the very wealthy arguing over how much wealth and power they should wield. Keep up the concern and the good posts!
Mixing Religion and Science By DickNH - 02/21/2012 - 9:58 am That's exactly what I would expect from someone, very like Mr. Santorum, who tries to mix religious beliefs with sound science. They don't mix, and only confuse the issue. Go ahead and read Mr. Stroble's work, and then compare it to the volumes and volumes of solid, scientific research that clearly proves that evolution Log in is real and continuing. That should clear it up for anyone who takes the time. to vote 0 view in original post
Love it By DickNH - 02/21/2012 - 9:54 am I always enjoy reading Van's rants against the Monitor. Sorry, Van, but the story about the aspirin pill was exactly accurate, and Mr. Friess wasn't kidding when he said it. The larger issue is taking women's health programs back about 60 or 70 years, all at the behest of a group of completely out of touch old white guys. If you don't believe that, just look at the "panel of experts" put together by Rep. Issa on the issue of women's reproductive health. A bunch of conservative religious white guys, and not ONE WOMAN on a panel to discuss what's important in women's Log in reproductive health policies. As another contributor here stated, I, too, love to vote watching the right wing over-reach, and reach back into the bedroom. That's the 11 surest way for them to drive themselves back into irrelevancy. Enjoy the ride, the tea party is nearing its logical demise.
Wrong again By DickNH - 02/16/2012 - 3:18 pm Without sound government investment, and yes, stimulus, private business is not nearly as successful, as they do not have the courage or assets necessary to invest in research, development and infrastructure that the government has. That is using everyone's money to assure that all business has access to as much opportunity as Log in possible. to vote 3 view in original post So? By DickNH - 02/16/2012 - 3:16 pm I'd rather have a short discussion on the need to wear an easily visible swim cap in NH lakes (the rationale: so that boaters can actually SEE and AVOID swimmers) than spend any time on a bill that requires that introduced bills be based on the Magna Carta (a document which the sponsor of said bill was completely unfamiliar with), or bills taking away legitimate collective bargaining rights simply because the leadership has no idea of the value that state employees add to this state's beauty, safety and economy, or bills allowing citizens to be armed to the Log in teeth without any permits anywhere they choose to take their weapons. All this, to vote and not a single bill that would positively affect economic well-being and job 5 growth. These folks can enjoy their 15 minutes of fame now, because they will be former reps very shortly, and good riddance to the lot of them.
Can you say "Joe McCarthy"? By DickNH - 02/15/2012 - 2:26 pm This is the same sort of clap-trap that Joe McCarthy visited on the nation back in the bad old days of the Red-baiting witch hunts. Sad to see that some of our legislators haven't learned a single thing about conflating their viewpoints and atheism and communism. At long last, sir, have you no decency?
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Good Stuff! By DickNH - 02/15/2012 - 2:19 pm I expect to hear about the brutal demise of Speaker O'Brien's once impregnable marriage at any moment!!!
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President Doesn't Have the Power.... By DickNH - 02/15/2012 - 10:48 am
GWTW: this is an administrative rule, adopted by an administrative agency. The president did not write it, nor propose it. But yes, the administrative rule authority granted to federal i executive agencies by Congress would allow for the situation you describe. So what? That n may happen someday, and some will approve, and some will complain. If Congress thinks the administrative agency overstepped its authority, it can amend the law. Simple, eh? t
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6 Typical By DickNH - 02/14/2012 - 9:43 am How typical of you to change the subject and narrow your discussion to one little piece of Boss O'Brien's homophobic rant. And, yes, as a matter of fact, he IS wrong about it taking a mother and father to raise a child. It takes two caring, committed adults of whatever sex. I have seen so many happy, well-adjusted children in my CHURCH who are being raised by gay couples. They are as intelligent, happy, loved and well-cared for as any child of a heterosexual couple. So, yes, that IS part of the ugly rhetoric, as it posits that only heterosexual couples are capable of raising a child correctly. That is nonsense, and O'Brien knows it, or should know it. The
evidence is all around him, if he'd take off his bigoted blinders. What the Monitor should really be careful of is responders like you who act as apologists for the racist and homophobic bigots who currently people our legislature, focusing on their narrow, bigoted social agendas rather than the economy that they were supposedly going to focus on with that laser vision that has been so blinded by their hatred of those different from them. Shame on them all.
Proof By DickNH - 02/10/2012 - 2:23 pm These are each proof that the bible is not "God's" word. Any deity worth even thinking about would not put over half the human population in such a subservient position, and allow the other half free rein to abuse them if they somehow "displeased" the other half. Do you really, in your heart, believe that Jesus of Nazareth would subscribe to such obscenely evil, hate-filled passages? Log in Oh, by the way, I was taught by a number of nuns, women all, and have had a to vote number of excellent female professors. Why didn't your God smite them all down 2 before they could "teach or have authority over" me?
Congrats on "the Internet thingy" By DickNH - 02/10/2012 - 2:16 pm Of course, what you failed to mention is that the surplus is largely due to unexpectedly improving revenues from companies that were flat on their backs and are now up and running and producing a profit because of........wait for it.....the stimulus! The largest revenues are coming from the auto manufacturers and associated industries, that would have been dead and gone if the Republicans had had their way, because they were willing to let them drown. The other issue that Gov. Snyder has to overcome is his completely unconstitutional program of appointing "administrators" for municipalities HE thinks aren't being run properly. These people come in and replace the duly elected government, with Log in NO SAY FROM THE VOTERS! I wouldn't think that would sit well with people to vote like you who say they so believe in liberty and democracy. "Your other points are 6 bogus, too"....oh, really??? I just happened to find them on the Internet thingy. When confronted with facts, we deal with them. RTW for less has been repeatedly shown to be nothing more than another example of corporate hubris at taking hard earned salaries and benefits from workers in the name of profit. Thankfully, this legislature doesn't have the votes to override the Governor's veto again, so the NH way is safe for another year.
Sigh...Wrong again By DickNH - 02/10/2012 - 10:09 am Let's see....the actual figures are that Wisconsin (not Michigan, sail, you've got the wrong state) will run a $143 million deficit, as Wisconsin continues to bleed jobs under Walker's brilliant "recovery" strategy. The Michigan deficit: 1.85 billion. Only reason it's not worse? The bailout of the auto industry has been a resounding success! No, "right to work" laws are NOT working well, they have led to lower wages for workers in almost all sectors. Oklahoma is a prime example. All the other surrounding states that are not "right to work" are adding jobs, while Oklahoma bleeds them. You are wrong about "dues". Fair share payments are not "dues". They are payments made to reflect the benefits that non-union workers Log in receive under contracts negotiated and enforced by union representatives. They to vote pay approximately 60% of the rate of normal union dues. Without that benefit, 5 these workers would not be covered by the contract, and the state would be free to simply dictate to these workers what their benefits and working conditions would be, without ANY SAY whatever by the workers, as the state does not have time to negotiate with these workers individually. That's the reality of "right to work for less".
Sky Falling By DickNH - 02/09/2012 - 1:29 pm For the most part, only in the House, where most of the truly fringe representatives currently hold court. As usual, cooler heads prevailed in the Senate, and, based on a good deal of recent polling data, these fringe representatives are in their last session in the House. The end of their pathetic legacy can't come too soon!
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Bible - Another book, that's all By DickNH - 02/09/2012 - 9:13 am revsmalloy: You have a right to believe that the bible is "God's word". Others of us have the right to believe that it is this: a book, written by human beings, not deities. These human beings and others to follow, for their own reasons, have loudly proclaimed it to be "the word of God". It is not. It is the words of humans Log in to vote who have tried to determine what the word of the "god" that they have created in 2 their own minds would be if he/she/it actually wrote down what he/she/it was thinking. Nothing more, nothing less. It does not have ANY place in a discussion
of civil marriage, which is created by civil law. If a right is created by civil law, then that right must be equally applied to ALL citizens, without regard to sexual preference, in this case. That is the essence of equal protection of the law. If your church doesn't like it, then don't allow those ceremonies in your church. But, if you speak of civil ceremonies, then the right to marriage MUST apply equally to homosexual and heterosexual citizens. Remember, this is a SECULAR nation, not a Christian nation. We follow the secular constitution, not the bible.
One More Thought By DickNH - 02/07/2012 - 3:07 pm WE ARE BROKE....because George Bush slashed the already low corporate and high income tax rates and then proceeded to start two illegal wars which were not paid for and create a massive Department of Homeland Security that seems only good at getting in its own way and taking away more and more of our rights. Yes, before Bush, even with all those horrid social programs you abhor, with tax rates Log in still relatively low compared to the Reagan years, the US was running large to vote SURPLUSES and PAYING DOWN the national debt that you so decry. No 1 Republican in recent memory has done that.
Really? By DickNH - 02/07/2012 - 3:03 pm You complain that I cry "the DEM Mantra". What do you think sail was doing, other than regurgitating the tired old Republican lines about the Democrats? Enough of the nonsense about "class warfare". That is a figment of the Republican imagination, as they feebly try to protect ridiculous tax cuts for the wealthy that even the wealthy acknowledge are unfair and unnecessary. See several articles in Monday's Wall Street Journal on that score. Sail's comments don't rattle me, they intensely amuse me. He blames unions for everything, simply because they tend to support Democratic candidates. They do that because it tends Log in to be Democrats who are willing to stand up for longstanding collective to vote bargaining rights that made the moderately wealthy (no middle class warfare 3 here) in this nation what they are today, and what they had before they started giving away those rights in the face of "free trade" agreements and increasing transfer of well-paying jobs overseas. It's time to bring back collective bargaining and level the playing field among workers in all countries so they are all making a real living wage and have real benefits that reflect the great value of the work they produce each and every day. And, by the way, try spell check sometime. The term you misused, "character assassination" has a few more letters. You might tell me
how I "assassinated" anyone's character?
Post-mortem By DickNH - 02/07/2012 - 2:55 pm I hope all those who would try to "lay blame" for the results of the game have relieved their collective systems of the needless bile that has been spewed the past several days. Both teams made enough good plays to win the game, and both made enough poor plays that could have cost them the game. Exciting, it was. Well-played? No, it wasn't. But one team won as a team, and the other team lost as a team. Enjoy the fact that the Pats went 13-3, won two playoff games, and went to the game that 30 other teams desperately wished they were playing in. Log in The Pats need to address their weaknesses, certainly. But, so do the Giants. Do to vote they remember that they couldn't come within 2 touchdowns of the lowly 0 Redskins? Or that they lost to Seattle at home, and barely beat a weak Dallas team? There's plenty of work ahead for both teams, despite the fact that they ended the season as the two best teams in the league.
As Opposed to.... By DickNH - 02/07/2012 - 10:19 am a party of Republican super-wealthy, greedy folks who take their profits at the expense of their workers and the environment, cheat their government out of their fair share of taxes, and then complain about their taxation level and that their profit margins, the highest in history BY FAR, are not high enough to make it worth their while to reinvest in THEIR OWN COUNTRY!!!! Please, spare us your pithy comments, sail. We know which party is taking us over that cliff, and Log in to vote has been for the last dozen years...it has that big elephant in the room for a 1 symbol.
Watch what they do, not what they say! By DickNH - 02/03/2012 - 10:28 am Headline: GOP: Jobs, Economy Main Focus. 2/3/12 Concord Monitor. They even held a press conference yesterday to state the same lie. What part of "separation of church and state" do these people not understand? People are keeping track of the Log in lies, and the obvious concentration on getting their distinctly minority views to vote encoded before the larger majority of people wake up and realize that these 12 people need to be sent back home where they belong. They've shown nothing but
contempt for the state and federal constitutions, living in their own little righ-wing fundamentalist world.
Right!!!! By DickNH - 02/02/2012 - 8:59 am You're right, again, Hunter Dan. As for Mr. Judd's statement: Anything else, like gay marriage, or polygamy, for that matter, are unacceptable substitutes. Perhaps that is "unacceptable" to you, Mr. Judd. However, as for civil marriage, to deny loving gay couples the same right to marry as loving heterosexual couples violates the state and federal Constitutions' provisions on equal protection of the law. If churches choose to continue to recognize only heterosexual marriages, that is their right. But the sectarian civil government may not discriminate against gay couples who wish to take advantage of the same rights granted by that civil government to heterosexual couples. It's a basic right that the state cannot legally deny. If you are married, or wish to be married as a heterosexual, congratulations. Someone else's gay marriage does no violence to your chosen relationship. Leave it alone and get on with your life, and may you be happy and loved in all your relationships!
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Yes, they did By DickNH - 02/01/2012 - 3:50 pm Sorry, GWTW, but they DID run on a platform of improving the economy and creating jobs, and they have yet to introduce one single piece of legislation that would do either. And please, don't continue this "socialism" thing about President Obama. If you had the slightest understanding of what socialism really is, you would be embarrassed to use that word. And, oh, by the way, we're now onto 23 straight months of positive job growth under Mr. Obama. But I seriously doubt you'd give him credit for that, any more than you blamed Mr. Bush for the 8 million jobs lost in his last year in office alone.
More Nonsense By DickNH - 02/01/2012 - 3:44 pm ....from one of O'Brien's most faithful servants. Anyone who has seen O'Brien in action knows the charge of bullying is absolutely accurate, and that the notion of Guida, of all people, standing up to O'Brien on the floor of the House is beyond Log in absurd. Mr. Guida is cut from the same cloth as O'Brien, and reflects his abusive to vote demeanor as consistently as does his mentor. 6
Jobs???? By DickNH - 01/31/2012 - 10:07 am Yet again, we ask, what has this bill got to do with the prime mission you were sent to Concord with: creating jobs? Oh, that's right, you were only kidding, because you wouldn't know how to create meaningful, well-paying jobs, or the conditions to create those jobs in, if you had the primer open on your desk!
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Agreed, Bob By DickNH - 01/26/2012 - 1:34 pm It's so easy for people who truly believe in the things they read in the Bible to convince themselves that somehow this collection of books and essays was written at the direction of "God". We all need to remember that it was written by fallible human beings and that large portions of it are demonstrably stories only, and not actually true. The plan is that each of us live our own lives to the best of our ability, treat one another as we wish to be treated, do no harm to others, and Log in spend as much time as you can on developing your spiritual health. Take those to vote lessons you learn in this life into your spirit's next life, and that's how you grow 2 spiritually.
Brown By DickNH - 01/25/2012 - 1:18 pm Brown could neither take Obama on the court, nor can he even take Elizabeth Warren at the polls. He may have to start posing again after November....
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Fairness, Dan By DickNH - 01/25/2012 - 1:16 pm Good work, Dan.....you said what needed to be said. In addition, in response to RabbitNH, Mr. Obama did NOT say that businesses that ship their jobs overseas would pay higher taxes. He asked Congress to remove any incentives they Log in receive to send those jobs overseas, and to instead give those incentives to to vote businesses who bring jobs back from overseas and create them here in this 2 country. That's a huge difference, Rabbit, one that I would have thought you
might understand, but I guess it was too subtle for you.
Don't Bother with Facts, Bruce By DickNH - 01/25/2012 - 9:20 am This has been such a long-standing process of Presidents of both parties, and Bush was a past master at it, as he had a contempt of Congress that few Presidents have ever had. One of the writers stated that it was the Democrats who started the "pro forma" sessions. If so, it's fascinating that not one of these writers complained EVER about him making those recess appointments when the Democrats were in "pro forma" session. It's just the same old hypocrisy from these folks, and they long ago lost all credibility on issues like this, since they never complained about Bush's many abuses of power. They just don't want to Log in see a real advocate for consumers against the big banks and insurance companies to vote being successful, because that would then reflect favorably on Mr. Obama, and 6 that's the last thing these folks could tolerate. Despite that, the consumer advocate will be successful, because he will be working on behalf of the American people, and people will be grateful for the assistance.
Back-pedaling By DickNH - 01/25/2012 - 9:09 am Rep. Kingsbury can try to backpedal all he wants, but he really DID intend to have a direct link from NH legislation to the Magna Carta. As for his statement about the bill drafting: "Idiosyncracies of the writing process," Kingsbury replied. That is nonsense. HE told the people at legislative services what to put in the bill, and he approved the final draft of the bill, so whatever's in the bill is HIS Log in to vote responsibility alone. To try to foist it off on someone else is simple cowardice. 1
More Garbage By DickNH - 01/24/2012 - 2:32 pm ....from Itsa and GWTW. No, Itsa, you are very, very, very wrong. There are many, many state employees who put in much longer hours than "they signed up for when they took the job" and many of them don't put in for overtime for that Log in additional work. What an inane, completely unsupported and unsupportable to vote statement you make: "For the most part the Hazen Drive folks are underworked, 2 some are lazy and many are overpaid." There isn't the slightest basis for that
statement, other than your inherent antipathy to goverment in general. As for GWTW, guess what? Salt and sand prices increase, equipment costs increase. What hasn't increased? The salaries of those people actually out there doing the work that the original writer praised. So, if you're so upset about the high cost of road safety, write a letter to the private concerns who provide the salt, sand and equipment. That's where the responsibility for the higher costs rests, not with the state employees who work their behinds off to keep YOUR roads safe for YOU.
Hogwash By DickNH - 01/24/2012 - 2:23 pm The idea that the Senate was not in session was an even bigger hoax than the supposed "criminal" act of President Obama in using the time-honored, bipartisan move of a recess appointment. And, Van, why don't you knock off the nonsense about using the President's middle name as some sort of indictment or code word that he is somehow the "other", "Islamist" or whatever other pejorative you intend to imply by that. He is the President of the US, duly elected Log in by a very wide margin, and requires the same respect your side demanded for to vote George W. Bush, who was the most obvious war criminal this nation has 3 produced in a very long time.
Cheaper? By DickNH - 01/24/2012 - 2:16 pm A) It's no cheaper than any other source at the moment. B) We're not getting ANY of it. It's a pass through to Southern New England. The net benefit to NH is a big, fat ZERO.
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Similar to XL Pipeline By DickNH - 01/24/2012 - 11:27 am This is the same trick that the advocates for the XL pipeline are trying to pull, and the same thing that the advocates for drilling in ANWR tried years ago. They vastly inflate the number of "good paying" jobs that a project will create, trying to sell it as a major answer to economic development. The XL pipeline folks were touting up to 20,000 full-time jobs. The actual figure is closer to 6,000 part-time jobs. People tend to forget that, just because the pipeline will end in Texas does NOT mean that the oil will stay in the US. It goes on the
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open market, as all energy resources do. What the advocates refuse to discuss, just as with Northern Pass, is the incredible environmental damage to be done in obtaining that energy. With Northern Pass, it's the alteration of Canadian rivers and destruction of native lands. With the XL pipeline, it's the enormous energy that is needed to obtain the oil, and the massive amounts of carbon that will be released into an atmosphere already overloaded with excess carbon emissions. Another example of cutting our own throats, when alternatives clearly exist, if we had the will to commit to alternative energy sources.
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Manuse, as in Screw Loose By DickNH - 01/20/2012 - 2:12 pm Mr. Manuse is a pluperfect example of the level of intelligence and common sense that is presently holding sway at the State House. Public employees are not taxpayers because we are paid through business taxes (not property taxes), and federal funds, which ultimately come from taxpayers. So, by that logic, no employee of any military contractor is a taxpayer, either, because they are paid almost exclusively out of taxpayer funds. Really, Rep. Manuse? You and Mr. Gingrich have the same problem of opening mouth and inserting foot before bothering to engage brain.
Predictable By DickNH - 01/20/2012 - 11:05 am for the Bully-in-Chief. As for those who say "well, the Dems do it, too"; as my sainted grandmother used to say, "Two wrongs don't make a right!" O'Brien doesn't have the intellectual integrity to lead by example or persuasion, so he does it by bullying. Gives a whole new meaning to the term "bully pulpit" now, Log in doesn't it? to vote 11 view in original post Currently By DickNH - 01/19/2012 - 3:05 pm Get this straight, GWTW: only union members pay dues. Others pay "fair share", or a percentage of union dues that pays for the negotiation and enforcement of employee rights and benefits that the union negotiated on their behalf. I would think that conservatives would applaud preventing someone gettting "something for nothing" or "a free ride". That is how it works now, that's how it always works. Also, union dues are NOT used for political purposes. There are very strict laws separating members' contributions to a
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501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4) organization. The IRS audits and monitors the separation very closely, so please stop writing these misstatements. You do no good for your position by repeating false statements that you have been repeatedly informed are false, and whose falsity is easily verifiable.
Wrong, again, Sail By DickNH - 01/19/2012 - 3:00 pm I don't know where you come up with this stuff, sail, but, once again, you're wrong. Those signatures have been thoroughly vetted, and even the governor's people don't believe that many of them will be thrown out. Not only are you incorrect about the number of signatures, but Walker's opponents got MORE signatures than either Walker or Tom Barrett received individually in the last election. On top of that, they got enough signatures to recall the lieutenant governor and 4 more of the far right-wing reactionary senators who have attempted to ram through the anti-union legislation. The people of Wisconsin have made it very clear that they never voted for any of the nonsense Walker Log in and his cronies have foisted on them, and they will prove it again when he is to vote overwhelmingly defeated in the special election, despite all that Koch Brothers 9 money that will inevitably pour in to Wisconsin. By the way, since Walker took office, Wisconsin has only gained 16,000 jobs, and has LOST jobs for 5 straight months, in contrast with the improving national economy and jobs numbers. Still think Walker is doing such a great job? If so, let's just hope he stays far away from NH. That kind of "progress" we don't need.
Ignorance By DickNH - 01/18/2012 - 4:27 pm What Rep. Cady fails to understand is that protecting certain pieces of property in a town in no way interferes with our children's ability to own and develop property in the future. There is more than enough land for both uses, and supporters of this bill know it. They are simply kowtowing to development interests, oddly at a time when very little development is occurring or even Log in proposed. What's more, conserving that land actually saves taxpayers money. to vote That land is not developed, so new roads, new schools that result from 1 development, more fire and police protection that everybody pays for is avoided. That is the piece of land protection that so many people like Rep. Cohn vails to understand, or chooses to ignore. In fact, land protection has worked extremely well for the people of Canterbury. Rep. Cohn is obviously ignorant of
the benefits land conservation has paid to his own town.
Foolish Statement By DickNH - 01/10/2012 - 11:23 am Yes, GWTW, the Administration saved American car companies. But they are selling more cars at the expense of foreign competitors. And, they are selling more fuel efficient vehicles, even though they are not as efficient as they could or should be. The move to alternatively fueled vehicles should have happened 30 years ago; that's not Obama's fault, it's Reagan's. He put the brakes on a number of conservation and fuel efficiency programs that could have put us on a path where we would have attained much higher efficiency rates, and had FAR Log in less dependence on foreign oil than we have now, but his "shining city on the to vote hill" needed all that extra power for all that extra light. He even removed the 3 solar panels on the White House. How dumb was that? Even if he didn't really believe in them, why thumb his nose at energy efficiency?
Redux By DickNH - 01/10/2012 - 10:47 am My previous comments about Sununu and his pathetic attempts to protect his candidate stand. As for "principled" governors, Itsa, why don't you do a little homework and find out the real reason that Steve Merrill didn't run for a second term. I doubt you'll still consider him "principled" then. As for Chris Matthews, he's no better or worse a windbag than any of the Republican shills on Faux News, I think we're all aware of where they stand politically. However, he was right this time; the so-called "firewall" between candidates and the SuperPacs is Log in to vote less than paper-thin, and that goes for candidates of BOTH parties. That's why 2 the Citizens United decision should be so abhorrent to anyone who believes in real democracy.
Schooled? By DickNH - 01/09/2012 - 10:43 am It was the same old Sununu, arrogant as always. As if Romney doesn't know EXACTLY what was in that ad, and knew it before it aired. Come on, John, Log in everybody knows that's the way it really works, despite what the law says. And to vote Romney proved himself a liar yet again when he first said he didn't see the ad, 3
didn't know the content, then proceeded to go down the points of the ad one at a time, reciting every single point. Willard, no one is fooled by your pious pretenses.
Red Herring By DickNH - 01/06/2012 - 10:23 am Sorry, sail, but the Republicans' trick about not going out of session is so transparent as to be almost comical. So, let's see about this terrible Constitutional issue. Mr. Obama has made exactly 32 recess appointments. By contrast, George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments, and President Clinton made 139. The Republicans in the Senate filibustered Mr. Cordray based on their opposition to the agency he is nominated to head, not to him. If the Republicans in the Senate feel that strongly about the agency, then their proper course of action is to introduce legislation to attempt to remove the agency. Of course, then it will be crystal clear to anybody who hasn't figured it out that the Republicans will do everything they can to protect their corporate owners and prevent any real consumer protections that might level the playing field. As for Log in to vote the president being a constitutional scholar, he taught constitutional law at the 2 University of Chicago as a senior law lecturer for 8 years, a law lecturer for 4 years. The UC considered him a professor, and just by his lecturing on constitutional law for that period of time, he is clearly a constitutional scholar and is recognized as such by his peers. Given the disdain shown to the Constitution by the Bush-Cheney administration, the Republicans have NO room to argue this point!
Losers By DickNH - 01/06/2012 - 10:02 am Yup, politics as usual. One pathetic loser endorsing another one. Oh, by the way, Willard, on the National Labor Relations Board: there are presently two members. One is a respected labor lawyer, Mr. Pearce, the chairman. The other, Brian Hayes is a well-respected past Republican Labor Policy Director for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. So much for the Log in "union goons" you publicly stated make up the NLRB. No wonder no one to vote outside the Republican party takes you seriously. You have absolutely no clue 3 what you're talking about. If someone was to refer to Mr. Hayes as a "corporate goon", you'd be apoplectic in your defense of Mr. Hayes. Stop trying to be the right wing blowhard that you think the Republican electorate wants you to be. If you have an issue with a particular decision of the NLRB, then make your case
based on the decision, and stop attacking the people involved. Just as with your foolish attempts to make yourself look like "one of us" with your phony flannel shirts and overly baggy jeans, this sort of statement only makes you look ridiculous in the eyes of independent voters.
Amazing By DickNH - 01/05/2012 - 11:18 am That this complete Constitutional nonsense engendered this much sucking of the common oxygen. Even if these misguided souls happen to "win" in the Georgia state courts, it will have absolutely no bearing on the issue. The issue is settled, the birth certificate has been produced AND VERIFIED by Hawaii state officials numerous times. These people are simply blatant racists who can't bear the fact that an African-American was elected president. Not one of these Log in people EVER challenged the citizenship of ANY previous president. Their basis to vote is obvious and indefensible. They will go away once the President is re-elected 4 to his second term in November.
Jobs? By DickNH - 01/05/2012 - 11:12 am Even though Bain Capital invested in some of these companies, which produced jobs, they destroyed many more companies in the name of profits for their investors (how do you think Mitt got to be a multimillionaire?), thus destroying or sending overseas hundreds of thousands of good-paying middle class American jobs. If you want to know how Mitt will "revive" the American economy, take a very close look at what Bain Capital did to the American worker. If you're not in the top 1%, a win by Mitt is a loss for your job security.
2 Math Quiz By DickNH - 01/05/2012 - 11:05 am Gov. LePage's approval rating is 31% and dropping. President Obama's latest approval rating is almost 49% and rising. I think you need to brush up on your math, big time.
Maineiac By DickNH - 01/04/2012 - 4:16 pm Yeah, you can have Governor Page....if you can stomach him. By the way, no state is losing jobs faster than his conservative nirvana in Maine. His approval ratings are down there with Rick Scott of Florida and Scott Walker of Wisconsin. All three of them should shortly end up on the disgraced trash bin of history, all miserable failures. Many of the members of the current NH legislature will end up there, too, it just can't happen soon enough. Just Log in remember, these folks represent approximately 9% of the voting population of to vote this state, so it's up to the rest of us to get out and vote them out next 3 November.
Really? By DickNH - 01/04/2012 - 2:41 pm Here's "strength of conviction" taken to its most illogical, unscientific extreme by this supposedly principled candidate, in regard to Mr. Santorum's mindless opposition to the recent EPA regulation on mercury from power plants: But the EPA's cost-benefit analysis cites peer-reviewed studies extensively in its 510-page "Regulatory Impact Analysis of the Final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards," which has been two decades in the making. Santorum did not address the health dangers of mercury and other hazardous pollutants that could be limited by the new regulations. His campaign did not respond to questions by CNN. Of course, they didn't. They have absolutely no Log in to vote understanding of, nor care about, the very specific science and cost/benefit 1 analysis that has gone into the development and implementation of this rule. He has just blindly struck out against the EPA because all the other Republican candidates are doing it. He will be exposed very shortly as a candidate who has no more real knowledge and understanding of these important issues than three other recent candidates who were victims of their own lack of knowledge: Michelle, Rick and Herman.
Really, Rick? By DickNH - 01/04/2012 - 2:33 pm Once again, a Republican presidential candidate goes after the EPA for a regulation that's been 20 years in the making, to be sure the science and the
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attendant health and safety benefits behind it were worth the cost. Now. Mr. Santorum, suddenly energized by his near-miss in Iowa, decides it's fine to question something he does not understand and has no good stance on: But the EPA's cost-benefit analysis cites peer-reviewed studies extensively in its 510-page "Regulatory Impact Analysis of the Final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards," which has been two decades in the making. Santorum did not address the health dangers of mercury and other hazardous pollutants that could be limited by the new regulations. His campaign did not respond to questions by CNN. Of course, he didn't. He doesn't understand them. All he understands is that this will cost wealthy plant owners some money so that their product doesn't kill and injure thousands of their fellow citizens. This is why Rick Santorum is not a serious contender for the nomination. There is no depth to his positions on key issues that affect all of us. That will become crystal clear very soon as others begin to more closely scrutinize what this man really stands for. What that is is not good for the rest of us.
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Not Dogma By DickNH - 12/29/2011 - 3:21 pm Evolution is sound science. It's been definitively proven over and over again. If someone wants to believe that some all-powerful deity "out there somewhere" created the Earth in 6 days, that's their right. But it cannot be scientifically proven, and therefore belongs in a religious education class, or being taught at Sunday school by whatever church wants to believe it. Of course, then you have to believe that this "creator" didn't bother with the billions of other stars Log in and planets that populate a universe (at least this one) so vast that we can't to vote really comprehend it. This same process of evolution is probably taking place 8 in varying stages on thousands, if not millions, of other planets. It's how life works.
Fascinating, but Wrong By DickNH - 12/28/2011 - 1:56 pm The fact that the unemployment rate went from dropping by 0.1% from Sept 08 to Oct 08 then increased by .4% from Oct 08 to Nov 08 has nothing AT ALL Log in to do with President Obama' s election. That number is the indicator for what to vote happened in Oct 08, not November. And are you seriously telling me that 7
thousands of businesses just laid off workers by the thousands just because one person was elected President? If so, then the capitalist system is already dead, because apparently there are all kinds of businesspeople out there who make business decisions based on their political leanings, not on business information. By the way, we've had 20 straight months of positive job growth under President Obama, as opposed to the last year of the Bush administration, where we shed 5 MILLION jobs. Put the blame where it belongs. Despite what you think, the stimulus actually did work, putting many people back to work and preventing others from losing their jobs. It's not great yet, no one would argue otherwise, but the numbers and trends do not lie. So, go ahead and bash the President if it makes you feel better. Just remember that not one of these Republican candidates will come within 5 points of him in the next election, not one. Enjoy the nonsense in Iowa this week, it's gonna be a blast to watch them destroy each other!
Nope, This Distinction By DickNH - 12/27/2011 - 10:03 am President Obama complained about one case, which everyone should be alarmed at, Citizens United, that allows unlimited money into the political system. Newt, on the other hand, wants to haul judges up before Congress ANYTIME they disagree with ANY decisions that judge makes. There is a difference between complaining about a decision, which any citizen has every right to do, and suggesting direct interference by Congress into the workings of Log in to vote the independent judiciary set up by the Constitution. I'm amazed that you can't 4 see the distinction!
Circus By DickNH - 12/27/2011 - 9:59 am You're right, Blackdruid, the "big top" at the circus is just the place for these 7 dwarfs to meet and discuss their complete incompetence and inability to craft any sort of plan for sane governance. It will be interesting to watch them Log in implode one by one by one.....
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This one? By DickNH - 12/23/2011 - 9:37 am Oh, you must mean the racist, homophobic bigot from Texas.....that Ron Paul? Great character and integrity shown there.
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Interesting By DickNH - 12/23/2011 - 9:35 am It's interesting that the Senator has decided that the military supports Gov. Romney all by himself. The fact is that numerous polls of military personnel show strong support for President Obama among the military for his leadership in eliminating Osama bin Laden and carrying through a safe and orderly withdrawal from Iraq. The same will be true when we exit Afghanistan, and Log in President Obama will still be in the White House at that time, too, given the to vote stark incompetence and lack of stability of the current crop of Republican 0 candidates.
Really? By DickNH - 12/22/2011 - 3:07 pm You'd better check the latest polls, Rabbit. President Obama beats every one of these "candidates" by at least 5 percentage points, and the gap is growing steadily. It will continue to do so as long as these people keep pandering to the extreme right wing of the party, as the primaries force them to do. That leaves Log in the with a ton of 'splainin' to do in the general election. to vote 3 view in original post Wrong Again, sail By DickNH - 12/22/2011 - 3:04 pm Actually, sail, I DO follow both politics and the polls very closely. The polls have shifted dramatically in the past month (or ever since most of the 8 dwarfs running for the Republican nomination began opening their mouths), and now President Obama leads every Republican, and that margin has been increasing for two weeks. In other words, the more moderates and independents see and hear these people speak, the more they like the President. Because he is a moderate, Mr. Huntsman would have the best chance against the President, but even he trails Mr. (yes, that is a title of respect, too, although you apparently don't understand that) Obama by large double digits. And the tea partiers in
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Congress have even the conservative Wall Street Journal questioning their sanity. At this point, it's all good for the President, so I hope the 7 dwarfs (minus Cain) keep on rolling toward that collective cliff.
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All Cute By DickNH - 12/22/2011 - 11:29 am This is all very cute and interesting. The bottom line is: NONE of the Republicans currently running could beat Obama, and the electorate realizes that every time one of them opens his/her mouth and the latest ludicrous idea shows up in the media. Thankfully, people are coming to their senses and realizing that Mr. Obama is actually doing a fairly decent job with a very difficult Congress that is only bent on denying him re-election. As the country realizes that, they will see that the Republicans do not have the interests of the country at heart, but only that of their corporate benefactors.
Priceless By DickNH - 12/21/2011 - 1:49 pm Nhdriver, based on your idea, methinks that the Newtster has been listening to that old Beatles tune "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" a bit too much, and it gave him yet another incredibly stupid idea! Log in
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Courts By DickNH - 12/21/2011 - 1:39 pm This is very simple. Newt Gingrich wants to be a law unto himself, the Constitution be hanged. There is a process for removing judges for high crimes and misdemeanors (NOT rulings with which some people disagree). It's called impeachment, and it's rare, as it should be. If you don't like a ruling, APPEAL it! You don't care for some of the rulings of the 9th Circuit. I don't care for many of the rulings coming out of the 4th and 5th circuits. That's the Log in nature of a democracy with an INDEPENDENT judiciary. As for the 2000 to vote ruling, the most shocking thing about it was that 3 justices had direct conflicts 6 of interest, and not one of them had the courage or ethics to recuse themselves from the decision. To further show how embarrassed the Court was with the decision, it was one of the very few unsigned decisions the Court has ever rendered. None of them wanted their name on that piece of garbage. You say Gore lost, fine. I say he won, and there are statistics to prove that, too. But it's
water over the dam. The point here is that Newt Gingrich wants to destroy our tripartite, co-equal system of government, and some of you who so piously trot out the Constitution whenever it suits you have no problem with his idea. Amazing.
So Wrong By DickNH - 12/21/2011 - 1:15 pm The misdirected pessimism here is laughable. This plan was rammed through with ONE DAY'S NOTICE before the public hearing, sail. I can only imagine your comments if the Democrats had pulled a stunt like this. Yes, it will be litigated, and it will lose, because the process was blatantly unconstitutional, but that's been true of so much of what O'Brien and his cronies have tried to Log in ram through this session. Oh, by the way, how many jobs will this create to vote again? Thought so. 4
Wealth for Some By DickNH - 12/20/2011 - 2:03 pm He's only created wealth for himself and his wealthy friends. He's destroyed many, many more jobs than he ever "created". I love how he thinks he can just "send in the Marines" to go after that drone that a sub-contractor lost. His lack Log in of understanding of international relations is breathtaking.
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Compromise By DickNH - 12/20/2011 - 2:00 pm Unfortunately, the Senate Republicans wanted more for a one year extension, including a total end around on the XL pipeline. The Senate Dems weren't willing to do that, especially since the Senate Republicans were unwilling to put a tax on those making more than a million/year ("the job creators"). The House Republicans also want a total "yes" on XL, and no tax increase on Log in millionaires. Don't lay this one on the Democrats: they wanted the one year to vote with a clean bill and an appropriate way to pay for it! 3
Right By DickNH - 12/20/2011 - 10:54 am Just like he got Texas working again, with part-time, low-paying, no benefits jobs and relying heavily on Federal assistance and troop transfers to Ft. Hood. That's the Perry strategy. Log in
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Actually, He's Right By DickNH - 12/20/2011 - 10:51 am Although I differ with him on other issues, on this one he is completely correct. Our unnecessary foreign military adventures and entanglements are one of the key drags on our economy and deficit. There is no need to provide Israel, or any other nation, for that matter, with over $3 billion a year in military assistance. Let the Israelis build their own society, and defend it themselves. The same with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and India and all the Log in rest of the 100+ nations we either supply with troops or with military arms. to vote We are constantly hiding behind the "weapons of mass destruction" fear, and 1 yet who makes, sells and actually uses more WMD than the US? Answer: NOBODY.
Apologize? By DickNH - 12/20/2011 - 9:56 am I keep hearing how President Obama is "always apologizing to the world". I'd be interested to know exactly what you are talking about. There are, in fact, instances where we SHOULD be apologizing to the world. Iraq, for instance. Under any definition, that was a war crime committed by the US. We should have already apologized to the Iraqi people for that, and be paying reparations for the incredible damage we've done to their country. Will we? Of course not, because we so believe in American "exceptionalism" read: arrogance. I admire Log in to vote a leader who is willing to acknowledge that his/her nation has made mistakes 4 and is willing to admit that and work to correct them. That is not weakness, but a strength rarely seen in the leadership of ANY nation.
Liberal Press? By DickNH - 12/19/2011 - 3:45 pm If it's so liberal, why do you insist on worrying your pretty little heads reading it? The fact is that those 20 bills sent over from the House do not create ANY jobs, unless massive tax cuts for the wealthy are preserved and expanded. To call them bipartisan is a cruel joke. A couple of very conservative Democrats sign onto the bill, and suddenly it's broadly bipartisan. Nonsense. The Senate Log in is holding those bills because they would blow even larger holes in the deficit to vote than already exist, to please the Republicans' wealthy donors. 1
No, Mr. Jean By DickNH - 12/19/2011 - 3:24 pm He's one of you! As for the rest of us, we don't appreciate liars who tell us how they created so many jobs without federal assistance, only to find (with little research needed) that most of those jobs were created with Federal stimulus money or the transfer of 6,000 soldiers to Ft. Hood. which Perry took credit for. At the height of the Federal stimulus program, he was writing the Feds 4 times a WEEK begging for a piece of that pie. Want to work in Perry's administration? Pony up, and he'll appoint you to some board or panel of nice, cushy state administrator's job. His administration is wracked with cronyism and special interest payoffs. As for the drone, when you learn what REALLY happened, you won't be quite so interested in going after Mr. Obama. Let's Log in just leave it at this: can you spell o-u-t-s-o-u-r-c-i-n-g? Mr. Bush's to vote administration outsourced huge pieces of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 7 resulting in billions of lost dollars. Keeping that program going has resulted in still more losses. I wouldn't be so hasty in criticizing not launching some air strike to destroy that drone. Iran's missile defense system is vastly superior to anyone else's in the region, with the exception of Israel. The folks on here who wanted "something" done either fail to realize that such action would be considered an act of war, or they hope it would be.
Fine, except.... By DickNH - 12/16/2011 - 4:06 pm Many of these were floods not on the scale of the recent floods. Look back in the records and many of these were written about as though they were worse than they actually were. L The data is there for all to see, no matter how you slice it. Floods do happen with varying o g frequencies and intensities; no one doubts that. However, the evidence is clear that the
frequency of very intense floods is increasing rapidly, whether certain folks here want to i n admit it or not. Again, whether you deny reality or not does not change that reality.
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2 Sympathy By DickNH - 12/16/2011 - 3:58 pm We all grieve for their loss, and no amount of financial compensation can bring this husband and father back to them. I'm only surprised, given the number of foolish passing attempts that I see on the road almost daily, that this doesn't happen more often. Nothing, not a meeting, not being late to work, not a date, NOTHING is worth taking a risk like this with someone else's life, and your own.
Misguided By DickNH - 12/16/2011 - 10:05 am Sail and GWTW clearly demonstrate their complete lack of understanding of the concepts of climate change or 100 year floods. A 100 year flood means that there is a 1 in 100 chance in any given year that a flood of a certain magnitude will happen in NH (or wherever you are speaking about the 100 year flood). Now that we have had 3 such floods in a 7 year period, yes, the predicted frequency of such floods will be readjusted. Get ready for more, as those will become much closer to the norm than was previously thought. As for models being proven "wrong", sail, it's just the opposite of what you assert. Many of the models have been proven not wrong, but too optimistic. The more extreme weather events that accompany global climate change are Log in happening at a speed, frequency and intensity that the models failed to to vote predict. So, rather than showing that global climate change is not occurring, 6 the models are showing that it is happening much sooner than any of the climatologists thought possible. As I've said before, your denial of that truth does not change that truth. It is happening, and will continue to happen, despite the most strident arguments of the deniers. You cannot change reality.
Puzzled By DickNH - 12/16/2011 - 9:59 am First of all, regulation did NOT cause the big banks to fail. De-regulation, and the subsequent manipulation of mortgages and all sorts of financial instruments for the benefit of the banks and the individuals running them, did. Anyone doing a sober analysis of the banking crisis completely understands that. As for Mr. Paquette's statements having the first thing to do with the service of anyone in Afghanistan, or the military anywhere for that matter, I don't see it, Nhdriver. He was talking about the money that went to Sen. Gregg that then bought his influence to assure bank deregulation and the Log in to vote ability of banks to further injure the American people through their 2 unregulated machinations. That has nothing at all to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are another illegal and immoral subject for another board.
Where are the Trials? By DickNH - 12/15/2011 - 9:50 am Over 4,500 American troops dead. Over 35,000 wounded, and countless others suffering from traumatic brain injury and PTSD. Families torn apart, lives ruined. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis dead and maimed. Their government and society remain in turmoil. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein had no ability nor desire to attack the US. We knew all that before we invaded that nation. We did so illegally and under false pretenses. We owe that nation billions in restitution and reconstruction. The leaders who provoked this war should be brought to trial before the Log in world. Will they? Of course not, because no nation has the economic or to vote political might or will to bring those US leaders to justice, and the people of 0 this nation do not have the moral courage to do so. What a very pathetic chapter in US history, and one that will, of course, be whitewashed by "official" historians so that it looks like we did something noble and righteous.
Marriage is a Civil Right By DickNH - 12/09/2011 - 9:49 am No, Josie, you are mistaken. Marriage as you define it is a religious concept. If you want to keep it that way in your church, you are free to do so. But, as Log in long as heterosexuals have the right to marry in a civil ceremony, to vote
homosexual citizens MUST have the same right. It's a little constitutional 6 thing called "equal protection of the law". Re-read the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. It mandates that the laws of a state must treat all persons in similar circumstances and conditions equally. So, if a homosexual couple is in love, and wishes to avail themselves of the right to civil marriage, the state MAY NOT deny that right to them. Our law in NH now accepts that reality, and repealing it will rightfully yield a flood of lawsuits against that form of discrimination. I'm not even sure what to say about RUOne's statement that love has no intrinsic value to society. I, for one, would not want to live in a society where love does not exist, and is not encouraged to flourish. What a sad, lonely place that would be.
No Truth By DickNH - 12/09/2011 - 9:39 am So, since you're merely parroting the Romney line (funny you forgot to use the word "appeasement"), what exactly has Mr. Obama done to cause the international community to "lose respect for this country"? To the contrary, if you leave the boundaries of the US, Mr. Obama is actually held in very high esteem by most other countries (except possibly Pakistan, over the drone issue, and Iran, but they don't like anybody, anyway). If you're going to make these statements, back them up. Willard Romney is the same old, tired Romney. He is not a job creator, he was a job destroyer. He has no real plan Log in to vote on the foreign policy front, except that he wants MORE military spending 3 and MORE troops to engage in more needless military adventures a la George Bush. That kind of "leadership" we've had quite enough of, thanks all the same.
Good Point By DickNH - 12/08/2011 - 10:37 am Let 'em have at the nonsense, then!
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0 More Newt than Newt By DickNH - 12/08/2011 - 9:10 am Van, you are obviously as clueless as Mr. Gingrich (and it's actually
Log in pronounced "Gingrick") about what actually happens in "Democrat controlled cities". The reality is that, with a small minority exception, those to vote people get up even earlier than you do to go off to work the two or three jobs 2 that they need to hold their families together for another month. In case you've forgotten, welfare reforms that took effect 15 years ago severely limit the time people can be on assistance (welfare) programs. This is nothing more than a continuation of the old lie about "welfare queens". It is no more true today than it was when Mr. Reagan propagated the Big Lie in the first place. I so sincerely hope that Newt is the nominee. Mr. Obama will verbally cut him up in little pieces and take apart all the nonsense he's currently propagating as fact and then he will be exposed for the arrogant fraud that he is.
New Jobs Plan? By DickNH - 12/07/2011 - 3:44 pm You mean like the awesome job plan he implemented while at Bain Capital that cost tens of thousands of good, honest, hard-working Americans their jobs so that those jobs could be shipped overseas so that the shareholders and the company could increase their profits? Yeah, pretty much the same thing would happen here. How will those billionaires keep making money when the middle class collapses and there's no one to buy their cheaply produced Log in to vote products anymore? I know, you hadn't thought it through that thoroughly, 1 Mr. Bettencourt, just as the Mittster hasn't.
Not to Worry, Dan By DickNH - 12/07/2011 - 3:37 pm Don't fret over Itsa's musings, Dan. He/she always comes up with something inane like that when the argument is lost. The basic point is that none of the people running on the Republican side has a clue as to what it's like to have to decide whether to pay the regular bills or the doctor bills, or to eat properly or pay the bills, or where to turn when you run out of unemployment and you have to decide whether you can pay ANY of the bills, and not even consider Log in to vote going to the doctor. Oh, wait.....that's right....there are plenty of well-paying 7 jobs out there......the unemployed are just lazy......NOT!
Rick the Yugo By DickNH - 12/07/2011 - 8:42 am Mr. Santorum can say things like this as he is independently wealthy (who knows what he actually does for work?) and can afford those $1000+ expenses. Another one of the 8 dwarfs who has no clue what middle class people face each day. This is similar to George H.W. Bush's lack of understanding of what a bar code was in 1992! Bye, Rick!
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What a Waste of Time By DickNH - 12/06/2011 - 9:42 am I'm fascinated by this continuing waste of time. Mr. Obama produced his long-form birth certificate in April. Even an idiotic birther like Donald Trump was satisfied, not that it matters what that incredible loser does. Yet, people in our legislature continue to waste the state's and the taxpayers' time and money on this idiocy. Glad to see some folks have so much time to waste, while the rest of us concentrate on more serious matters like cleaning up the mess the last administration left.
1 5 Switch By DickNH - 12/02/2011 - 12:54 pm So, to your way of thinking, if Iran or Iraq had discovered that Israel was building nuclear weapons, they would have been perfectly justified in attacking the Israeli nuclear weapons site, to prevent an aggressive neighbor from threatening them with nuclear weapons? "we failed to support an Iranian revolution" - how so? We provided all the non-military assistance we could; it wasn't enough, and there's no way we could justify military intervention in this situation. As usual, you hold Mr. Obama to an impossible, and foolish, standard. Thankfully, far steadier heads than yours are at the helm of our government, at least for now.
Not subject to any foreign power By DickNH - 12/02/2011 - 12:26 pm Mr. Obama was born in Hawaii. As such, he was not subject to any foreign power. His father may have been a Kenyan citizen. So what? That subjects HIM, not his SON, to that foreign power. How plain can that be??? Log in
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Really??? By DickNH - 12/02/2011 - 12:23 pm Union bullies....hogwash. Mr. O'Brien cleared the gallery without any legal right, nor any good reason. Funny how you conveniently ignore the issue at hand: despite your letter, and the other one complaining about how much money Mr. Obama has allegedly spent to cover his past, this is all nonsense. The State of Hawaii got so tired of producing Mr. Obama's birth certificate to every nutcase birther who asked for it that they finally had to start charging for it. Mr. Obama produced his ACTUAL birth certificate two years ago. Where were you? The only reason OWS protesters have been arrested is because the police provoked them, sprayed them with tear gas, and then arrested them when they dared stand up for themselves. You call Log in to vote this a "recent dustup"? These people literally assaulted two state officials, 11 forced them to seek shelter, all because they rightly ruled that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to waste a dime of the TAXPAYERS' money on this ludicrous witch hunt. Enough, already. These people need to be voted back to their civilian lives where they can make fools of themselves in private.
Working Conditions By DickNH - 12/02/2011 - 9:53 am Bruce T. appears to be someone who was totally unaware that the conditions (hours, safety, etc.) that he worked under were negotiated by, and enforced by, union representatives, not him. His story about having arrived so early and allowing ALL the other drivers to sit on their hands all day is so Log in obviously false that it's laughable. What, you worked in a factory with only to vote one truck, or were you so fast that you did ALL the work and everybody 2 else watched? Way to go, Superman. What a crock.
Kowtowing to Terrorism, Redux By DickNH - 12/02/2011 - 9:49 am Wouldn't you think we'd have learned something from the incredible abuses of our civil rights that were perpetrated by the USA PATRIOT Act. But, no, we still have to show how "tough" we are, by once again blithely ignoring the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Way to show some real backbone, Senators. Both of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Neither one of Log in you shows any greater understanding of the Constitution than Michelle to vote Bachmann! 1
So Are We By DickNH - 12/02/2011 - 9:38 am Iran is developing nukes and threatening to use them? Really? Well, then welcome then to our little club. Besides being the only nation that has ever actually used a nuclear weapon, we have threatened to do so several times since (Vietnam, N. Korea, Afghanistan). Only we couched it in such delicate, sanitized terms such as "small, tactical" weapons. You do realize, of course, that those small, tactical nukes of today carry a much larger punch than the ones dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima? Why is it OK when we continue to build more and more horrible weapons of mass destruction (yes, we are the world leader in that department) and threaten to use them with Log in alacrity, but the rest of the world must agree with us on some sort of military to vote actions when one of our "adversaries" threatens to build itself a nuclear 1 weapon in self-defense? And, oh, by the way, where's the outrage that Israel and Pakistan and India all HAVE built nuclear weapons, often with our tacit approval and sometimes with our assistance? Do you wonder why so much of the world sees us as massive hypocrites?
One Correction By DickNH - 12/01/2011 - 10:28 am Dan, while I heartily agree with the premise of your letter, I need to point out that at no point did the Soviets have anything like 30,000 nukes in Cuba. Log in There were probably 10 or so (of course, more than enough to annihilate the to vote major cities on the East Coast), but the bulk of the Soviet nukes were on 1
Soviet soil. It is likely that they had on the order of 15-20,000 at the height of the Cold War. We both still have far, far too many of them (zero would be the better number in all cases!)
Agreed! By DickNH - 12/01/2011 - 10:25 am Funded, of course, by Osama bin Koch Brothers!!!
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5 Moot, Indeed By DickNH - 11/30/2011 - 4:02 pm ProudYankee is right, this is moot. Rick Perry has about as much chance of being president as Elmer Fudd (or Herman Cain, for that matter). All of these 8 dwarfs reinforce, every time they speak, that they are not ready for prime time, have no idea what the office of the president actually does, and have no idea how the world outside the US really works. The only two who Log in seem to have any idea about these matters are Romney and Gingrich, and to vote both of them have problems with consistency of position. 2
Lower Wages Equals Lower CofL By DickNH - 11/30/2011 - 2:48 pm Significantly lower wages and benefits in RTW states would lead to lower cost of living, but also far lower standard of living. If NH is so hurt by not being RTW, why are we one of the wealthiest states in the nation? Why are our wages and benefits so much better than in RTW states? Sorry, Mr. Greer, but we don't want to be Tennessee or Texas. As the saying goes: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. For the most part, it ain't broke in NH, and thankfully, the NH legislature voted the right way on RTW. Mr. O'Brien's Log in to vote threats are meaningless. We already know RTW doesn't increase 3 employment. Texas unemployment rate, October 2011: 8.4%. NH unemployment rate, Oct. 2011: 5.3%. Any questions?
Nuts to O'Brien and Perry By DickNH - 11/30/2011 - 2:11 pm "O'Brien said Lynch had stood in the way of an attempt to bring "worker freedom" to New Hampshire." That's as big a lie as Perry told, and as Americans for Prosperity told in their false advertising. Workers have all the freedom in the world in NH. But, if they take advantage of wages and benefits that are secured through the efforts of a union, whose members paid for the negotiation and enforcement of those wages and benefits, then non- Log in union members should have to pay something for those wages and benefits, to vote too. There is no such thing as a free ride, folks; that's what conservatives are 13 constantly telling us, and, in this case, they're right!
Publish the List! By DickNH - 11/30/2011 - 11:17 am I challenge the Monitor to publish the list of LSR's already filed for the upcoming session. If you do, citizens would be absolutely appalled at the nonsense that this legislature intends to focus on in the second session of the biennium. Oh, by the way, once again there isn't one single bill that will do ANYTHING to create jobs or promote job creation in NH. Just so you know.
2 Truth By DickNH - 11/30/2011 - 10:44 am The problems with the Post Office come down to one simple fact: the Republican Congress is trying to destroy the PO by forcing it to set aside $5 BILLION every single year to fund its pension obligations. The PO doesn't NEED anywhere near that amount to stay ahead of its pension obligations, but Congress mandated that it set aside that amount. That is the ONLY reason the PO is in the red. Congress created the problem, and Congress can fix the problem anytime it wants to. But Congress kowtows to FedEx and UPS and other private carriers and they pressed for this requirement. If you want to save these post offices, then call your Representative and demand that they end the $5 billion annual pension requirement.
Right To Work States By DickNH - 11/30/2011 - 10:39 am What Mr. Greer failed to tell you is that, in RTW states, the average salary and benefits are significantly below the national average, and even further below that in non-RTW states. This is NOT forced union membership. Fair share simply means that, where non-union workers receive the benefits of contracts negotiated and enforced by a union, whose members have already paid for the negotiation and enforcement of those benefits, those non-union workers should not get a free ride, and should pay a (small) portion of the costs of negotiation and enforcement done on their behalf by the union. They are NOT forced to join the union, and never have been. That is Log in "closed shop", and that exists in very few industries, and no state to vote governments to my knowledge. The myth that RTW equals job growth is 6 just that, a myth, in terms of employment with something approaching a livable wage and benefits. If you want Rick Perry's Texas, where the low employment rate also reflects the miserable salaries and lack of benefits of workers in Texas, then you should by all means vote for RTW. You get what you pay for!
So Onerous! By DickNH - 11/22/2011 - 3:21 pm Yup, rules to simplify health and safety regulations and ease compliance. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that'll snarl business, those darn simplifying rules. Once again, you fail to understand that small business itself, when asked what is supposedly its biggest obstacles to growth, did not list regulatory restrictions in the top 10 reasons. So, your argument falls apart by the words of the very people you state are so overwhelmed by onerous regulation. I have no agenda, but I do know that George Bush's massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and two incredibly expensive wars that were never Log in paid for have added up to trillions of dollars in debt, and his to vote administration's failure to exercise any oversight over Wall Street led to the 3 collapse of the financial markets. The financial regulations are designed to assure that never happens again, and they are NECESSARY because Wall Street bankers and financiers have proved time and time again that they can't be trusted with our money (and Newt wants to scrap SS in favor of private accounts!). Mr. Obama's policies, on the other hand, have produced 11 straight quarters of job growth, as opposed to the previous administration which managed to lose 5 million jobs. Thanks, but I'll stick
with the slow but steady recovery as oppposed to the sudden, but predictable, collapse of the Bush years.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 10 By DickNH - 11/22/2011 - 2:26 pm 10: To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations. THIS is what you are basing your claim on? Really??? In addition, as already noted by several posters here, there are apparently several past presidents who were born with dual citizenship. There is NOTHING in the US Constitution that makes someone born under dual citizenship any less a citizen than anyone else. Log in You folks really need to get a real life, because this is as dead-end a road as to vote exists. This nonsense is beyond laughable, it clearly demonstrates that not 0 enough good psychotherapy is being practiced in the US.
WhackJobSupreme... By DickNH - 11/22/2011 - 2:11 pm would be a much better screen name than KenyanBornObama.....more solid, valid evidence has been produced to prove beyond any sane shadow of a doubt that Mr. Obama was indeed born in Hawaii than has been produced to prove that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in Dallas in 1963. Yes, I fully understand the interconnection of this date to that comment. "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof".....guess what? Mr. Obama was born in the US, in the state of Hawaii, and was subject to the jurisdiction thereof, as was his mother. His father, while Kenyan born, was living in the US at the time with his wife, and therefore was subject to the jurisdiction of the US while Log in in this country. It's a very simple concept, I know, but some folks have an to vote amazing ability to attempt to slander the first black president with this utter 8 nonsense. Funny how these same people never, EVER, demanded to see the birth certificate of any WHITE presidential candidate, including John McCain, who was born in Panama, on a US naval base, of US citizen parents. So, he, too, qualifies as a US citizen, but Ms. Taitz and others of her ilk readily accepted the information presented, even though the McCain campaign declined to produce his birth certificate, something Mr. Obama has done repeatedly!
Ignore Him By DickNH - 11/22/2011 - 12:55 pm We just need to ignore people like Itsa. He has his head firmly in the sand of denial, just like many do who don't want to understand that we've had a very free ride all these years, with all the waste and pollution that we've spewed into the atmosphere, and now the bill is coming due. Those who can see past the end of their noses will work together to make this as Log in livable a world as possible. The others will simply continue to deny reality to vote and make our efforts that much more difficult. That's just the way it is. 2
Sad By DickNH - 11/22/2011 - 11:16 am It's always sad to me to see people quote some right-wing "researcher" with a pre-ordained outcome who cavalierly asserts that children can only be raised in a household with a mother and a father. The world is full of adults who were raised by single parents, or by same sex couples, who are healthy, happy and successful. The world is also full of adults raised by same sex, single parent, or male/female couples who have not turned out so well. The outcomes have much more to do with the relative parenting skills Log in to vote of the parents involved rather than the gender of those couples. That is 3 what all of us have seen in our own lives, and we didn't need some researcher to try to prove otherwise.
Other Way Around By DickNH - 11/22/2011 - 10:52 am Actually, it's the Republicans who think we're all sheep. Mr. Macdonald, not ONE bill passed last session did one, single thing to produce jobs in NH. Not one. And you know it. Those 22 bills you cite were meaningless, and will do more harm than good until a new, more intelligent legislature Log in repeals them. Small businesspeople polled do not list "excessive to vote regulation" in their top 10 list of reasons for their difficulties. Why? 5 Because there is no excessive regulation. The regulatory structure has remained essentially unchanged nationally in the past 3 years, so blaming the Obama administration for over-regulation is ludicrous on its face. This
NH legislature has yet to produce one single piece of legislation that has made it any easier to create new jobs in this state, and all but the most ardent Tea Partiers realize that. All they've done is go after gay marriage and workers' collective bargaining rights and newly relaxed gun laws. Way to create jobs with your right-wing social agenda, Mr. Macdonald. You and Mr. Gingrich should meet; you both think the public is peopled with dolts. We know who the dolts are, Mr. Macdonald: those who take credit for things they have not done!
Gingrich the Dumb By DickNH - 11/22/2011 - 10:41 am It's Gingrich who suggests putting the payroll taxes into the stock market on the day the market drops 250 points. How's that working out for the younger workers there, Newt? This from a guy who calls people dumb, and hopes that they are, hopes that they forget that he is the ONLY Speaker in history to have been censured while in office, who is the ONLY Speaker to have ever paid a $300,000 fine for ethics violations, who gave his second wife divorce papers while she was recovering from breast cancer surgery, who was for the health care mandate before he was against it, and who Log in thinks we're all dumb enough to believe that he took $1.8 million from to vote Freddy/Fanny for "historical advice". Seriously, Newt, you may ride the 6 wave for a while in the Republican primaries, but the rest of us can only hope you win so that we can see what a buffoon Mr. Obama would make of you in a debate.
Hmmm By DickNH - 11/18/2011 - 4:07 pm Let's see....let's do away with the BEP and put an even larger hole in the budget. Let's do away with all those pesky regulations, despite the fact that small business owners don't even list them as a major impediment to doing business in the state or nationally. And yeah, let's load up for bear on all Log in those social issues that really don't matter to voters that the current to vote legislature and Mr. Smith have been focused on, rather than creating jobs, 2 for the entire legislative session. Yeah, pretty sure that'll work to put the state back to work.
Fairness By DickNH - 11/18/2011 - 9:51 am You mean the fairness where Mr. Cain is asked a simple question about the US policy on Libya, and he doesn't have a clue as to what it was, or what his position was or should be on it? This man should be a focus of Primary Circus, as should Newt Gingrich, who has gone so far as to state that anyone who quoted a piece of tape that had him saying one thing before he completely changed his mind on the subject was "lying". These people have more than earned being called a circus. Minutiae seems to be what these Republican candidates' "policy" positions are largely composed of. There is nothing of substance, nothing that really addresses our economic or foreign policy issues with any of them. At least Mr. Obama actually put a plan to cut $4 trillion over ten years on the table, only to have the Log in Republicans reject it out of hand because it contained revenue to vote enhancements, which they are completely unwilling to accept, the advice of 6 almost every noted economist of either stripe being ignored in the process. Mr. Obama has also showed 10 quarters of steady, if unspectacular job growth, after the last 8 quarters of the Bush years showed steady declines in job numbers, not just declines in job growth. None of the Republican candidates has proposed a plan to produce job growth that can withstand economic analysis. Once they do, someone will begin to take them seriously.
The Google By DickNH - 11/17/2011 - 3:38 pm Itsa, if you "researched" that name, and came up with nothing, then you are as good at o Internet research as John McCain, who referred to it as "the Google". I inserted this g name into just Google, and came up with 329,000 hits. I'd say your research skills need i some serious updating. Oh, by the way, those hits verified AmericanVoter's statements n t on Ms. McCord-Skousen's problems with the Romney family.
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A hoot By DickNH - 11/17/2011 - 8:56 am Right, Mitt Romney is going to "get tough" with the Chinese. Do you realize that ALL the so-called "free trade" agreements are nothing more than licenses to corporations to ship well-paying middle class jobs overseas where the products will be made more cheaply by workers who are paid next to nothing, have no benefits and have no proper working conditions or means to obtain them. This not only happens in China, it's happening everywhere. It's a race to the bottom, and only corporate CEO's win. If that's what you want, you can have him. Remember, though, that it's your job that Mitt and his ilk could ship overseas next!
Keep It Intact By DickNH - 11/17/2011 - 8:51 am She should have been convicted of DUI homicide. The toxicologist's argument was a farce. Keep her off the lake as long as possible, because, once she's back on it, she WILL drive drunk again....and again.....and she will kill someone else.
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Keep Him By DickNH - 11/16/2011 - 2:40 pm To paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield: "Take Rick Perry.....PLEASE!!!" This guy is as inarticulate, ignorant and arrogant as they come. He has no idea what he's talking about on foreign policy, he can't even name the 3 agencies he'd do away with, much less WHY he'd eliminate them. He claims credit for creating jobs when what he actually did was write as many as 4 letters a week to the Federal government begging for the same Federal dollars he decried on the stump. Most of those jobs were either "created" by the transfer of huge numbers of military personnel to Ft. Log in Hood after several other base closings in other states, or they were paid for to vote with (OMG!) stimulus money, or they are poor paying, no benefits jobs 2 that don't help anyone to make a good life for themselves. If that's what you are looking for in a President, then go ahead and take him.....to some island safely away from the rest of us. You deserve him.
Odd Comment By DickNH - 11/16/2011 - 2:23 pm Actually, Mr. Obama has been very successful at slowly but surely pulling this economy out of the recession caused by the past administration. His stimulus package and other efforts have created job growth in something like 9 or 10 consecutive quarters since he took office. Is it enough to overcome the massive job losses caused by the last administration's foolish spending and deregulatory policies? Not yet, but at least he's creating jobs, rather than losing them, as Mr. Bush did on a titanic scale. Do you really think that those candidates are not using teleprompters? Hate to tell you, but Obama is better than any of the 8 dwarfs at speaking without notes and actually knowing what he's talking about. So, Mr. Romney knows foreign policy? Rather than continuing sanctions and Log in isolating Iran, and learning from the mistakes of engaging in two wars in to vote Southwest Asia, Mr. Romney has indicated he would use more military 0 action to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon. He truly is a fool, if he really believes that attacking another nation that has not attacked us, and that has not given any indication whatsoever that it intends to do so, is somehow good foreign policy. The other nations of the world look at these Republican candidates and don't know whether to laugh or cry after listening to their dearth of knowledge about how to approach the world.
Foolish By DickNH - 11/16/2011 - 2:10 pm Sail, you never cease to amaze me. You DO realize that when you print ANYTHING on these blogs, it is fair game for commentary from ANYBODY else who posts, right? You are just embarrassed (as a conservative) that you were caught lying by indicating that someone here (whom you assumed to be a liberal because he/she happens to disagree with you) had lied about something Mr. Romney had said. When another person pointed out your error, and then backed up his/her assertions with direct references from multiple sources (both liberal and conservative), the Log in to vote best you could do was to try to belittle him/her by telling him/her to "mind 0 your own business" and calling him/her a "liberal"? That was really pathetic of you, Sail, but typical of you when you have no answer to a post.
Improving, Not Polluting By DickNH - 11/16/2011 - 2:03 pm Lyn is correct, and said it beautifully. Our GLBT neighbors are helping to make this a richer, healthier, more diverse and loving community and state. There is nothing polluting this state except some of the sad hatred that is being spewed by a few very extreme fundamentalists. Unfortunately, some of those same people happen to control some of the levers of power in the state (for now) and seek to impose their hate-filled Log in to vote agenda on the rest of us. Rest assured, Ms. May, we will NOT let that 4 happen.
True By DickNH - 11/16/2011 - 1:54 pm Yeah, Gingrich tried to slough off the lobbyist gig by saying that Freddy/Fanny paid him some $330,000 for his "historical advice". He really does think we're all idiots. As for Ron Paul, my problem with him is that he basically wants to take this country back to its rural agrarian roots. With a population of over 300 million, I'd say it's more than a bit late for Log in to vote that. 3
Save Your Honor, Stay Away from Gingrich By DickNH - 11/16/2011 - 10:17 am Jim, the problem with Gingrich and his writings is that they are historically inaccurate. Time and again historians of all stripes have reviewed his work and demonstrated that he has a large problem with facts. His opinions are his own, and he is entitled to them. However, he is just the latest of the 8 dwarfs vying for the Republican presidential nominations to be "the flavor of the month". Once people re-examine his Log in record of extreme ethical and moral lapses, his inability to actually to vote accomplish anything other than being the only sitting Speaker to pay a fine 4 of $300,000 for ethics violations Representatives and his wonderful sensitivity in serving his 2d wife with divorce papers while she was recovering from breast cancer surgery, his time in the limelight will fade as quickly as Michelle Bachmann's or Herman Cain's or Donald Trump's. Save your honor for someone who has actually displayed a record of
honor and service equal to your own.
Right Here By DickNH - 11/16/2011 - 10:04 am Bruce: see the Preamble to the US Constitution, and Article 8. Both give the purpose of the Constitution, and the authority to Congress, "to promote the General Welfare". While that does not, of course, have specific language about food or public health, the courts have consistently found authority for the Federal Government to regulate the quality of foods, chemicals and other products so as to protect the public health. Nobody Log in tells us what to eat, Bruce. They merely produce guidelines and to vote suggestions, except when products have been found to be directly 2 injurious to the public health and safety.
Money By DickNH - 11/15/2011 - 3:28 pm The Citizens United decision cemented the inequity in campaign contributions between labor and corporations. While I agree that neither should be allowed to cpntribute those vast sums to political campaigns, corporate money absolutely dwarfs union money and it's not hard to find those statistics.
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Job Creator??? By DickNH - 11/15/2011 - 11:30 am Ms. Godbout: Mitt Romney is all about creating profits for companies by downsizing and outsourcing jobs. Far from creating jobs, he has been directly responsible for destroying tens of thousands of good paying jobs by directing companies to downsize and outsource their jobs overseas. He worked as a venture capitalist, a position that may make more money for Log in stockholders, but is death on job creation. So, as with so many other things to vote that come out of the Mittster's mouth, this claim of his that he "knows how 0 to create jobs" is patently false. If he's the nominee, I can't wait to see President Obama send him into a twisting spiral with all the fllp flops on positions that he's made over the years. He will have no answer when
Obama challenges him to show where he's created one, single job. He can't.
Big business v. consumer, again By DickNH - 11/10/2011 - 10:06 am Way to go, Exec Council. This person has a stellar record of standing up for consumers without being political, and everyone knows it, but business interests and Americans for Prosperity (an oxymoron for that group if there ever was one) told Sununu, Wieczorek and one other councilor to jump, and, of course, they asked "How high?" Nice work, Council. Once again, the peoples' interests are subsumed to those of PSNH and other large companies, and the consumer and the environment take the hit. Sununu, of all people, thinks Ms. Hatfield was overly political, despite Claire Monier's insistence otherwise? At least now we know who those councilors represent, and the voters can see that they are not being well-represented.
Wonderful letter By DickNH - 11/03/2011 - 9:24 am Thank you, Mr. Marzullo. That was REALLY from the heart. Your son, and every son and daughter who are gay are wonderful people, with all the virtues and weaknesses that any heterosexual person has. They are no threat to any of us, or to marriage as an institution. Who is? How about the Kim Kardashians of the world? They, and their callous disregard for the seriousness of the marriage commitment, are the real threat to marriage. And Itsa, I can see that you were trying to compliment Mr. Marzullo and the others here who spoke out in support of their gay children. Your error was in comparing having a gay child to having a child who committed a crime and went to prison or was physically challenged. The only "disability" that gay persons face is the disability of the disdain in which they are held by some of the "righteous" heterosexual community and the discrimination visited upon them by these same supposedly righteous people. If this legislature reverses the law granting gay citizens the same civil marriage rights as other citizens, the people of New Hampshire will reward those members with a seat on the political sidelines, which they will so richly deserves. The legislature needs to actually show that they understand that it is the economy they should be focusing on, not these side pet social issues.
More nonsense By DickNH - 10/31/2011 - 10:23 am "15 jobs bills". That's what Boehner and Cantor call them. However, every single one of them is composed of nothing but steep spending cuts and deregulation. Almost every economist of any stripe has already stated that this mix will not produce one, single job. That's why they are bottled up. They are meaningless. The Senate hasn't done a budget because the Democrats understand that the economy needs additional stimulus in order to actually create enough jobs to more than make up for the new workers coming into the labor force. Every time they even raise that issue, the Republicans simply promise a filibuster, and that's where it Log in ends. Time to wake up to the Republicans' plan for you: lower taxes for to vote the wealthy, higher taxes for the middle and lower class (yes, that what a 5 flat tax means), major cuts in programs keeping people afloat in hard economic times, and vast deregulation of programs to protect public health, worker safety and the environment. That is a prescription for disaster.
From Where Do You Get These? By DickNH - 10/28/2011 - 10:20 am RabbitNH wrote: Most statistics state that a Mom and a Dad are the ideal environment because of what each brings to child rearing. Really? Where did the statistics that you failed to specifically point to come from? Was it an anti-gay website? Was it a fundamentalist study? Who did the study? It's really foolish to say that it's too early to judge the impact of same sex marriages on kids. If the parents are good parents, Log in and foster their children's emotional, physical and spiritual development, to vote then they're good parents and the kids will mature well. If the parents 4 don't do these things, it won't matter if they're straight or gay. The kids will develop problems that we'll all have to deal with later on.
Prevention v. Survival By DickNH - 10/28/2011 - 10:13 am While the US may be #1 in breast cancer survival rates, it is dead last of the 19 major countries in the world in prevention of all cancers. That is
because so many Americans have poor or no access to health care (you know, those 44+ million who have no health insurance). Read: http://www.medicareforall.org/pages/Real_People. Remember the old saw, people: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In this case, a few dollars worth of prevention is worth billions in avoided costs of cure.
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Repeal? By DickNH - 10/27/2011 - 9:30 am Just in case you had forgotten Civics 101, the President doesn't repeal anything. That is for Congress to do. Since it is unlikely that any of the 7 dwarfs currently running for the Republican nomination are actually up to the task of defeating Mr. Obama, much less actually governing the Log in country, we needn't worry about a repeal of the health care overhaul law. to vote 0 view in original post Do That By DickNH - 10/27/2011 - 9:08 am Just don't worry about all of Romney's flip-flopping on every issue that comes along. The guy has the spine of a jellyfish. Witness: he's in Ohio, he won't take a stand on Gov. Kasich's effort to deny state employees collective bargaining rights, lest he offend anyone in Ohio. Then, two days later in Virginia, safely away from Ohio voters, he's all 110% behind Kasich's efforts. Yes, he was a "businessman", if you call a Log in venture capitalist who destroyed thousands of good-paying American to vote jobs in the name of "efficiency" a business. You can nominate any one of 0 the 7 dwarfs and the President will shred them like so much cheese, that's how many holes they all have.
The Whole Story By DickNH - 10/26/2011 - 12:57 pm As Paul Harvey would have said: "Now, here's the rest of the story".
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Prior to the death of the CLASS Act, the CBO said the Patient Protection to vote and Affordable Care Act would mean savings for the federal government 4 in the first decade and substantial savings in the decades thereafter. Without CLASS, the CBO said the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will offer slightly less savings in the first 10 years and slightly larger savings subsequently. The difference, of course, is the very thing that made CLASS unsustainable: It was voluntary. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is not. Mandatory participation spreads the risk over a much larger group of people, enabling everyone to pay relatively small premiums rather than a few people paying much larger ones. As you can see, this one section of the law was always problematic, but the end of this section does not mean the end of the full health care law; far from it. If everyone commenting here would read the FULL CBO report, you would see that this law will actually save the Federal government billions in the future, and assure that we no longer have almost 50% of the population without health insurance, and thus covered by the rest of us.
Forbes By DickNH - 10/26/2011 - 11:17 am So, Rick, how did that incredible tax break for the wealthy, known as the "flat tax", work out for Stevie Forbes, from whom you stole it? Keep smiling, Rick, you're polling at a whopping 6%. They're onto you, lightweight.
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Citation By DickNH - 10/26/2011 - 11:12 am Here you go: http://www.allgov.com/Where_is_the_Money_Going/ViewNews/Half_of_ American.... Median household income is at $43,000. Tell me how you pay your mortgage, buy food, clothing, educate your kids on $43,000. This is in Log in to vote large part a direct result of all the so-called "Free Trade" agreements that 0 have accelerated the race to the bottom for wages for working people, while accelerating the increasing wealth of the 1% who make tremendous
profits by outsourcing jobs overseas where they can pay a pittance for the same amount of work and pay no benefits. Simple, really.
Hardly Confused By DickNH - 10/26/2011 - 11:00 am No, Bruce, I'm not confused at all. Bush's administration significantly deregulated Wall Street (as did Clinton, certainly) and that led to the massive fraud perpetrated on the American people that resulted in the collapse of the house of cards known as derivative swaps and other "investment instruments" that had little to no real value. Even now, the Obama administration has done precious little to significantly regulate Wall Street and break down the banks that are "too big to fail". That is what people are protesting. Yes, there are some people in the demonstrations who want unrealistic relief from some of their debts. However, most of the people want the debt restructured, or in some cases forgiven when the loans were the result of actions taken by Wall Street Log in that made these loans far more onerous than they were upon issuance. "The OIRA also established strict guidelines for agencies' cost-benefit analyses of their rules and most recently proposed guidelines for peer review of those analyses. Bush also issued an executive order strengthening the role of the Small Business Administration in regulatory review." All of this would have led to LESS regulation, which it did, since the agencies supposedly had to take cost more into account than the reasons for the regulations.
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Obama, Ayotte both wrong By DickNH - 10/26/2011 - 9:43 am Unfortunately, both Mr. Obama and Ms. Ayotte have bowed to the pressure of the neo-cons in agreeing to military trials for SUSPECTED terrorists. Suspected is the key word. When these people are tried in military courts, those courts rarely even bother with the niceties of whether these folks were captured according to US or international law, Log in to vote whether they were subject to torture (routine until Obama was elected). A 1 civilian court looks into these preliminary issues first, before deciding whether to proceed with prosecution. It's past discussion that many of the people at Gitmo should not even be there. Why don't we release them?
Because we believe that, by our actions in illegally arresting them, kidnapping them from their own countries and often torturing them, we have turned them into "potential" terrorists. If another country was doing this, we'd be hauling them before the United Nations in a heartbeat. How very Christian of you, GWTW. Perhaps you'd like to have a conversation with the families of all the innocents we've "mistakenly" killed with our predator drones. Collateral damage is very, very real to them.
Reality By DickNH - 10/25/2011 - 9:18 am I'm sure we're all happy that Grant Bosse is doing so well for himself that he totally misses the point of the Occupy movement. It has many facets, but the two that seem the most essential are these: 1. Wall Street executives, operating under the wonderful deregulation of the Bush years, manipulated numerous types of funds and swaps and derivatives to make billions of dollars for themselves, but then caused the collapse of the stock market and the housing markets, thus leading to the current economic morass. 2. A recent report shows that more than 50% of WORKING Americans earn less than $27,000! Now tell me how someone is expected to pay for housing, food, transportation, clothing, etc., for even a family of 4 on that salary, even if the family has 2 working adults earning that $27,000. Mr. Bosse, that is why people are so upset and have taken to the streets. They work very hard, but they get a pittance in earnings, and the earnings of the 99% have been completely flat for 30 years, while the "earnings" of the 1% have increased by over 300% in that same time period. That inequity is the cause of this movement. Tax breaks for the wealthy and deregulation won't create new jobs that pay a decent, livable wage any more than they will help to increase the salaries that people are presently making.
Numbers By DickNH - 10/18/2011 - 10:29 am Actually, from March 2001-December 2007, the non-farm economy produced the 4th fewest jobs of any similar period since WWII. As opposed to a long-winded discussion of the errors in Mr. Trevellini's ($15 trillion in wealth created.....really? Where are the jobs from that?) analysis, or Dad that "it's way past the Blame Bush years, just read this analysis that describes how the Bush tax cuts produced NO economic benefit and in fact continued the contraction of the middle
class' earnings: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/blog/maximumutility/the-bush-t.... That way, you can't say these are my statistics; they're not. But they are the analysis of a number of respected economists gathered in one place that prove that the Bush tax cuts significantly hurt, not helped, economic performance.
We Already Do By DickNH - 10/18/2011 - 9:54 am We already have the strongest military in the world, by far. We built it to this level because too many in Congress drank the Kool-Aid of the military contractors that building such a military (it is most certainly not "defense", it is offense) establishment would assure that no one would attack us. That notion is absurd on its face (if David had believed that, Goliath would still be there!). We spend more on military weaponry and troops than the next 30 countries COMBINED, and that still isn't enough for you? It's far past time we stop trying to be the biggest, baddest military in the world. All that does is create a bigger target, and we use our miilitary for too many of the wrong reasons and in the wrong places. No one in this administration has ever reached out to "try to make peace Log in at any price". But I also agree that Mr. Obama's, Mr. Petraeus' and Mr. to vote Casey's decisions to significantly ramp up in both Iraq and Afghanistan 2 (the so-called surges) have been terrible mistakes. Even the recent proposals to cut military spending by $450 billion are spread over 10 years. $45 billion a year is a drop in the bucket when you consider that the overall military spending (including weapons that are actually part of the Energy Department budget) is over $700 billion annually. That isn't serious cutting
No Distortion By DickNH - 10/14/2011 - 2:48 pm Every economist, of whatever stripe, who has looked at this plan in depth has come to the same conclusion: the plan is deeply regressive, and not only hurts the poor and middle class, it actually hurts business, Log in as well. By taking away their deductions for things like purchases of to vote parts from outside the US and for salaries and benefits, you're cutting so 3 deeply into their income that you will literally bankrupt many companies. Some fairer tax plan is needed, surely, but this is most
certainly not it.
Oops! By DickNH - 10/14/2011 - 2:37 pm That last subject should have read: Suppositions. My bad!
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0 Suppostions By DickNH - 10/14/2011 - 2:36 pm RU, we've had gay marriage in several states for awhile now, and no one, especially heterosexual married couples, has been harmed by its existence. In our church, we have several wonderful gay married couples, who are raising happy, healthy children. Some were adopted, some conceived by artificial insemination (there, Mr. Perkins, feel better now?) but all are very loved and supported. None of those marriages hurt any other marriage or any other person, and only deeply enhanced Log in our community through their love. So, you can do whatever research to vote suits you, but you won't find a scintilla of evidence, other than that 5 manufactured by hate groups like the badly misnamed "Family Research Council", that will support the idea that gay marriage hurts anything or anyone.
Proud of them By DickNH - 10/14/2011 - 1:15 pm These are my kind of patriots! For Panetta to say that cutting $450 billion over THE NEXT TEN YEARS would devastate the armed forces by making it "difficult to keep troops in critical areas around the globe" is mind-boggling! First of all, those troops shouldn't be there in the first place. What are our troops doing in all these countries? Why don't we Log in make those countries stand up and provide their own troops if they think to vote troops are necessary? The DoD budget for 2011 is nearly $550 billion. 5 So, $45 billion is a whopping 8% of this year's budget. And he has the unmitigated gall to tell Congress that an 8% reduction in military spending will be devastating? That, to me, makes the Brennans' point as
much as anything else. That doesn't even take into account the terrible toll on American troops and their families, and the toll of destruction on the families of so many other nations where we are "engaged". Time to bring them home and worry about our own problems and let others deal with theirs.
Right On, David By DickNH - 10/14/2011 - 9:54 am If you look at some of the most vocal opponents of gay marriage, you tend to find people who have been married multiple times, but who see nothing in those multiple marital failures that "endangers" traditional marriage as much as the right of homosexuals to marry the person they love. It is rather amazing that these folks can't see the hypocrisy of their positions. But then, that's why Newt is polling where he is ( most people Log in to vote understand his hypocrisy) and that Rush is losing increasing audience 4 share as people tire of his hate-filled rants.
Already Rejected By DickNH - 10/14/2011 - 9:37 am Mr. Santorum has already been soundly rejected by the people in his home state. As for his "morals", when he learned of Sen. Ensign's amazing display of immorality in which he had an affair with a staff member, then tried to pay off the staffer and her husband, instead of admonishing the Senator and beginning proceedings in the Senate to remove Sen. Ensign from office, he instead tipped off Sen. Ensign that things were about to get very uncomfortable for him and that he should Log in to vote seek "guidance" from another Senator as to how to keep the entire 0 incident quiet. That is not leadership, and is one of the many reasons that Rick Santorum remains completely irrelevant in this campaign.
Excellent, Gaia By DickNH - 10/14/2011 - 9:29 am Thanks, Gaia, for your perspective. There are several people on these
Log in blogs, and unfortunately Itsa is one, who try to paint anyone who disagrees with them with that broad brush of "liberal", "progressive" that to vote 1 always somehow leads to "socialist". If everyone on here treated each other with that respect of which you speak, this would be much more pleasant place to visit. Thanks for being here.
Wrong Again, Itsa By DickNH - 10/14/2011 - 9:14 am "but I am sure that they (Planned Parenthood) are responsible for 66% of the abortions in this country." As with so much of what you write, Itsa, this is also demonstrably false. The actual figure is 27.5%. That figure is from a so-called "pro-life" website: http://www.lifenews.com/2011/02/23/new-planned-parenthoodreport-record-.... I also find it fascinating that somehow you can deduce exactly what "traditional New Hampshire Yankees believe", and how that differs from what you think my beliefs are. The native New Log in Englanders that I speak with, and there are many, actually have many to vote differing viewpoints about this issue. That education of which I speak is 0 actually successful, as the rate of unwanted or unplanned pregnancies has dropped signficantly over the past 20 years, in large part due to education programs like those provided by Planned Parenthood.
Hogwash By DickNH - 10/13/2011 - 9:03 am Actually, your comment about supporting gay people but opposing gay marriage as two separate issues is what is hogwash. If you support a gay person's right to equal treatment under the law, then they MUST have the right to marry in the same way that heterosexual people do. That is a civil, as opposed to a religious, right. As I said previously, if you don't Log in believe in gay marriage, then don't allow it in your church, and gay to vote people will find a home in a church like mine, where ALL are welcome. 6 But don't interfere with their civil right to marry, in a civil ceremony, as heterosexuals have the right to do. If you do, then you have violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution. That is why the issues of supporting gay people and supporting their right to marry are inexticably
linked.
Tenets By DickNH - 10/13/2011 - 8:57 am How about the first one? Cut taxes, fees, and regulations. We are the least taxed of any of the major Western nations, but we are by far the biggest whiners. His promise on that issue would do away with Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and unemployment benefits. If you can afford to be without those programs, good for you. The majority of Americans, particularly now, need those programs. Fees pay for services, and those services, like roads, bridges, other infrastructure, and a host of other programs keep the country moving and amount to a tremendous assist for business and industry. Regulations? Give me a break. Those rules are in place for a reason. He would slash environmental rules and let the free market handle pollution. Let's be clear about it: the free market has NEVER handled pollution or injury to persons or property caused by industry. That's why statutes and rules governing these areas were adopted in the first place. Promote energy independence? He would simply open up more and more sensitive areas to drilling, just like Perry and the others in both parties. Guess what? That would NOT lead to energy independence. It's a free world market, remember? That energy, no matter where found, goes onto the world market. Nothing keeps energy found in the US in the US market. The Constitution according to whom?
Representing Who? By DickNH - 10/12/2011 - 2:26 pm And here we thought Ron Paul was running to be president to represent the people of this country. Instead, he is apparently running to kowtow to the late reactionary governor of NH. Any of these candidates who signs a pledge of any kind like this, whether from Grover Nordquist or Meldrim Thomson or anyone else, fo whatever stripe, should be automatically disqualified from further candidacy. Candidates, you are running to represent all of us, not be beholden to some narrow faction that threatens to cause you adverse publicity if you don't sign their particular "pledge".
First in the Nation? By DickNH - 10/12/2011 - 2:16 pm Three dozen, you say. That's a lot more than I saw there, but it does prove 2 points. There is no groundswell for repealing NH's gay marriage law, and Rick Santorum defines irrelevance. The man has nothing important to say, other than to these same religious bigots. Rick, you need to remember why the people of your home state so soundly repudiated you: you are a bigot, and your brand of fundamentalism has no place in the political square that is ruled by the Log in Constitution, which mandates separation of church and state. If you to vote don't believe in gay marriage, then work to assure that your church 9 doesn't permit it. But keep you bigotry out of the public square in NH, where we actually value and accept our gay brothers and sisters.
Old, Sail By DickNH - 10/11/2011 - 10:02 am I'm glad you continue to bow before the altar of Herb Denenberg, sail, but many of the rest of us know that his bile against Mr. Obama is totally misplaced. He might better amend his statement now to include Log in the likes of Perry, Cain, Bachmann and Gingrich.
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My Mistake By DickNH - 10/11/2011 - 9:58 am You are correct, I did say "veto" when I meant "filibuster". But, I will repeat that the Senate never had a filibuster'proof majority. Two of those senators were independents who could not always be counted on to vote to end a filibuster, and there were conservative Dems who would not vote to end the endless filibusters maintained or threatened Log in to vote by the Republican minority. 0
No "win" in Afghanistan By DickNH - 10/11/2011 - 9:52 am No, GWTW, I don't believe we are "in it to win it". We wouldn't "win" there if we stayed for another 100 years. I disagree vehemently with Mr. Obama's Afghanistan policy, just as I did Mr. Bush's. We need to leave there and let the people who live there determine their future. I heard someone arguing that we have to "secure the borders" between Afghanistan and Pakistan. My answer is the same. We couldn't secure Log in that border if we stay another 100 years. We have no business being to vote there, wasting the lives and futures of our troops, $2 billion+ a month, 0 and all the innocents killed and maimed by our presence. That was my point.
Your Opinion By DickNH - 10/11/2011 - 9:46 am Ms. May, you might want to learn this lesson. What is right for you, and what you believe is "God's" will, will be different from what someone else believes. The education of which you speak is vital to both men and women, especially since many people take a different view from yours about the role of sex in and out of marriage. That being the case, instruction in proper contraceptive methods, including condoms, is essential to good birth control or birth planning. Planned Parenthood also provides counselling on abstinence, so that subject is part of their overall education process.
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Clueless By DickNH - 10/11/2011 - 9:26 am You're right, curly, there isn't anything available. There "might" be something from a university if you just happen to have the very dental problem that they have a government (horrors, a government grant!) to study, and if you can somehow quallify. Charitable organizations, Log in really??? Which ones, Ms. Bachmann? A church? Please don't insult to vote our intelligence...oh, wait, you already have, which is why you are 3 polling at 2%. People here can spot a fraud a mile away, and you have it written all over your fundamentalist Christian platform. You're
wasting your time, and ours, by being here.
It's called "Ethics" By DickNH - 10/10/2011 - 2:17 pm This has nothing to do with which editor wrote the piece. This is the second major Supreme Court decision that Clarence Thomas should have recused himself from. The first was Bush v. Gore. Thomas' wife, as well as relatives of Anton Scalia (a son, I believe) and Chief Justice Rehnquist all had key positions in the Bush campaign, thus all 3 had a legal obligation to recuse themselves from the decision. In this case, Thomas' wife is a lobbyist for groups advocating against the bill and a Tea Party activist who has publicly challenged the law. Those actions alone are obvious indications that Mr. Thomas has discussed the case Log in with his wife, likely on numerous occasions, and cannot be fair and to vote impartial in hearing the case. However, since Mr. Thomas has so often 5 clearly shown that he has no idea what the concept of judicial ethics means, I have no doubt that he will not recuse himself and will vote to overturn the law. Mr. Thomas' tenure on the Court should be a case study for future legal ethics instructors in how NOT to comport one's self on the high court.
Not necessarily, Mom By DickNH - 10/01/2011 - 8:57 pm Abortion is a rare decision, a very painful one, but one that the mother must make on her own. The state has no more right to force her to have a baby, when it becomes a baby, than it does to execute a person, no matter how "heinous" the crime. Christians say they believe in the 10 Commandments from the Bible? The Sixth Commandment is very specific; Thou Shalt Not Kill. It doesn't provide for exceptions. No death penalty, no killing in war. My belief is that a fetus is not a living Log in to vote person until it is born, and I know others disagree. Thus my belief is 0 that there is no killing here until a baby is actually born. You obviously have not done much research on war. The majority of those killed in war have ALWAYS been innocents. We just conveniently call them "collateral damage" as we wage war after illegal war. As for what others said about progressives being "selective", I have no idea what
you are referring to. I've never heard progressives bashing non-union workers, other than scab labor. I simply want to assure the continued right to unionize and collectively bargain.
Not the Way, Dan By DickNH - 09/30/2011 - 10:25 am Dan: we can disagree strongly with these people, but the finger isn't the answer. Rather, I would ask them when the last time was that they protested at the Legislature against the constant expansion of the death penalty, or showed up at one of the weekly vigils against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These folks are VERY selective about which Log in lives they are for, and which they couldn't care less about. It's that to vote hypocrisy that concerns me the most. 6
Then Listen!!! By DickNH - 09/29/2011 - 12:53 pm GWTW, listen to the tape. At least 3 times, after the moderator asked Mr. Paul (who did NOT say let him die, he just intimated as much) if we should just let him die, at least 3 people distinctly yelled out "yes!". The question was not asked about a man who could well afford insurance, since, these days, that's almost impossible to find. People keep saying that Obama is "not cutting it". Yet, when he offered a deal to Speaker Boehner that would have cut $4 trillion over 10 years, (and yes, those figures have been confirmed), the Speaker walked away. He and the Republicans have said no to every single plan that includes any Log in sort of Federal spending designed to help prime the economic recovery. to vote They insist that can be accomplished only through tax cuts and 11 spending reductions. There is not a single reputable economist in this country who agrees with them. So, given that resistance, how could Mr. Obama "cut it"? He can't just completely capitulate to Boehner, because he knows full well that Boehner's solution is ludicrous.
Ignorance By DickNH - 09/27/2011 - 10:39 am Mr. Bercaw, your ignorance is clearly showing. This type of graffiti is often just the beginning of an escalation of violence against people who are perceived by some as "different" and thus inferior to others. I, personally, am glad to see this reaction so that the perpetrators are caught and stopped before this escalates into L something much more violent. For your information, the state and local police are o handling the case in North Stratford just fine, along with this one, thanks. This type g i of hate speech has no place here or anywhere else. I would suggest that the n response would be the same if this happened in Cambridge, as well. Jirdex7, do try t o to understand how truly threatening this speech is, it has nothing whatever to do with "political correctness". If the perpetrators of this incident had merely thought v o their speech was politically incorrect, they would not have slunk around in the t middle of the night to announce their hatred. e 3 view in original post If defeated..... By DickNH - 09/27/2011 - 10:29 am Then we all breathe a sigh of relief that just enough sensible people still exist in this legislature to thwart the ambitions of Speaker O'Brien, Majority Leader Bettencourt and the rest of the right wing extremists. While I don't believe every Republican elected last time will vote for some of these things, enough will that will reveal their true right wing social agenda.
Truth By DickNH - 09/23/2011 - 11:31 am Here's the truth of what actually happened to the economy: http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/23/politics/truth-squadbachmann-economy/inde.... I will repeat what I said before, the prescription Economist gives above of reducing the "regulatory burden", reducing the "tax burden" and reducing the "footprint of government" has NEVER led to economic development or rejuvenation. EVER. So let the Republicans repeat that mantra. It's a sure loser, and all economists know it.
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Approval Ratings By DickNH - 09/23/2011 - 11:23 am As far as the President's approval ratings, that's OK. It's still 13 months until the election, and much can and will happen. What Republicans should be worried about is the approval ratings of the incredible lightweights they have running for their nomination. SNL may be run out of the late night comedy ratings if these people keep having the Log in inane debates they've been producing thus far. Low comedy at its to vote finest. 5
Thanks, Bruce By DickNH - 09/23/2011 - 9:12 am At least Mr. Currie brings accurate figures to the table. He is correct, even most conservative economists have stated that lowering taxes and "easing" this horrible regulatory burden that business supposedly endures will NOT produce more jobs or more economic activity. It never has, and all you have to do is look back to the Bush years, when he tried all that, to see that it doesn't work. That path led us to where Log in we are now. Why on earth would we choose to go down that path to vote again, unless we all met the definition of mental illness: do the same 6 thing repeatedly and expect a different outcome!
Shhhhhh By DickNH - 09/22/2011 - 4:11 pm Jim: you wouldn't want all those people who think our unemployment rate is SOLELY our doing through "Yankee frugality" to wake up ,would you? That would mean that NH is like.....like......like Rick Perry's Texas. Low-paid, no or low benefits jobs that no one can live Log in on, that's what Perry offers the nation. Oh, and relying heavily on the to vote Federal government even as you trash it in public. Based on recent 1 polling, NH Republicans seem to have already figured Perry out.
Job Creators By DickNH - 09/22/2011 - 3:56 pm If these wealthy people are the "job creators", one question comes to mind, one that their greatest defender, John Boehner, frequently asks: "Where are the jobs?" So, where are they, rich job creators. You at the top are making more money than ever before, but creating fewer jobs than ever before, while your net wealth increases at rates unseen in history. So, we know you're squirreling it away in foreign bank accounts or finding other ways of "protecting" it. What you are most Log in to vote certainly NOT doing with it is creating jobs, so please stop acting like 9 you are "job creators". You are job killers, and that's where you're making your money.
Rain, rain....more rain! By DickNH - 09/22/2011 - 9:58 am On behalf of many of us whose lives are put on complete hold 3 times a year by these idiotic wastes of fuel and resources, I hope the skies open up all weekend and postpone the races indefinitely. Perhaps then Bruton Smith will decide that he should move his track to the drier Log in climes of Texas. Can't happen soon enough! to vote 2 view in original post Really? False, you say? By DickNH - 09/22/2011 - 9:55 am Then I guess Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are both complete liars. This figure is what they both reported they pay in income tax. Others in that group have reported the same thing. The actual tax rate is higher than that, but these folks have lawyers and accountants who find them every deduction (read: loophole) that there is in the massive Log in to vote tax code, and that gets them down to 15%. Yes, being President is 6 hard, but it was GW Bush who put the slang "bein'" in there, not the better spoken, more intelligent current President.
Surprised? Hardly By DickNH - 09/21/2011 - 10:35 am "It's the law because I say it is". The law according to his pomposity, Speaker O'Brien. He just misunderstands the concept of transparency, that's all. Nothing personal, it's just the way he conducts the business of the people without bothering with the nicety of letting the people know when their business is actually being conducted. I'm just Log in surprised Mr. O'Brien ever bothered to go to court on a case. He to vote probably just sent the court a note saying "This is the way it's going to 0 be". Please send me my ruling to that effect at once!
Featherweight By DickNH - 09/20/2011 - 3:38 pm If the rest of the Republican candidates are as lightweight as Ovide (who is ALWAYS running, but never winning), the Democrats don't have much to worry about. If he can't even figure out that Right to Work has led to FEWER well-paid jobs in states that have adopted it, and higher poverty rates (see Rick Perry's Texas, e.g.) then he needs to Log in just go back to practicing whatever type of law it is that he ostensibly to vote does when he's not running for something. 1
Love It! By DickNH - 09/16/2011 - 1:35 pm I hope he has VERY large arms and a VERY large canoe. It's not like he can stop off on an iceberg somewhere to rest, or hit the local 7/11 for provisions. Cute post, GWTW! Log in
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Denenberg By DickNH - 09/16/2011 - 9:38 am Every time I see that, I'll be happy to agree with Herb, except that he has the wrong danger labeled. It wasn't Obama who did all that damage, it was Bush. Deny it all you want, but these huge deficits were predicted at the time Bush instituted these massive tax cuts and then started 2 wars and didn't pay for them. That damage to the debt is still increasing exponentially. Obama's fault was that, instead of ending these wars, he dragged out the Iraq portion, and then greatly increased the troop levels in Afghanistan. That only compounded the problem.
4 Veto Proof? By DickNH - 09/16/2011 - 9:26 am Where have you been, sail? The president NEVER had a veto proof majority. He had, at best, 58 Democrats (unlike the Republicans, they don't march in lockstep) and 2 independents, Lieberman and Sanders. Neither one of those was ever an "automatic" vote, so there never was a veto-proof majority. Interesting and sad that the Republicans have chosen to filibuster or threaten to filibuster so often. The Democrats never did that to Bush, despite the fact that they disagreed with many of his policies.
Satisfying By DickNH - 09/15/2011 - 4:01 pm It's so satisfying to see folks like sail and GWTW quoting things that have been so long discredited as their basis for denying what most of us understand is already occurring. That actually helps more people to understand that the scientists who have science on their side, led by Dr. Hansen, are simply relaying the facts to us, who are supposed to be the stewards of the planet. As Dr. Hansen has stated on more than Log in to vote one occasion, what we do with the science that he produces is entirely 0 up to us. He has informed and warned us. His credentials are impeccable. The fact that he won that prestigious award for a lifetime of work is not the same thing as those others (whom I refer to as "biostitutes") who are simply on the payroll of corporations who
benefit from raising doubts about the true results of their processes. And by the way, Dr. Hansen is hardly making "millions of dollars" off his research. He is a government scientist, doing public work. Despite the attempts of the Bush Administration to silence him, Dr. Hansen continued to speak the truth about what research has repeatedly demonstrated. Al Gore's presentations may be more dramatic, but the science behind them comes from Dr. Hansen and thousands of other scientists like him, and it's sound science, the kind Republicans keep insisting they want policy to be based on.
Me, too! By DickNH - 09/15/2011 - 3:27 pm I hope O'Brien runs for governor, too. Then the whole state can see what craziness comes out of this man's mouth, and we can peacefully send him back home to do whatever it is that he did before he set out Log in to destroy this state.
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Logic, Earthling By DickNH - 09/15/2011 - 2:49 pm I wouldn't use too much of that here, Earthling. These same supporters of the Keystone pipeline, the project that would do so much damage to the Canadian environment and global air quality, also believe that every drop of oil that might be drilled for in ANWR or off the coast of northern Alaska in the now open (due to global climate change) Arctic Ocean, will go to the US. They do not understand that these companies can make far greater profits by Log in drilling this oil and shipping it to Japan and China, which is much to vote cheaper than piping it to the US. This is the same foolish argument 2 for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, as people also assume that ALL of that oil, since it's produced in the US, will stay in the US. You are right, it will go onto the world market, and likely very little would end up here. That's the reality of the big lies of drilling in ANWR, Keystone, and Drill,Baby,Drill in the Gulf.
Sidewalk Invasion, Road Rage By DickNH - 09/13/2011 - 2:08 pm This bill is NOT about home invasion. Homeowners already had the right to defend their homes with deadly force. This bill extends that situation to the sidewalk, the sub shop, the theater, the park, and the road. Wherever someone feels "reasonably" threatened (try to define that concept!), they are now allowed to use deadly force to avert the "threat". That can mean that, if I come up to you on the street and am wearing black clothing that one would associate with the teenager's "Goth" lifestyle, and you feel threatened by that lifestyle and my approach, you could pull your weapon and fire at me, citing your "reasonable" feeling of threat. The same is true of road rage. Feel Log in threatened by someone cutting you off? No problem. Pull up behind to vote or beside them, step out and open fire! Problem solved. Are these 2 extreme examples? Perhaps, but they have happened in states where this kind of law is in effect. The fact that the courts might ultimately find your feeling of threat not reasonable does not help the person you killed or maimed. You'd better hope that someone doesn't find you that threatening, no matter your real intent.
Cheering? By DickNH - 09/13/2011 - 11:51 am I'll sign that petition, but don't look for any of the right wing Republicans or Tea Party members, who CHEERED when mention was made at the previous debate that Gov. Perry had presided over 234+ impositions of the death penalty, to sign. They probably think that Mr. Davis, since he was arrested, MUST be guilty of something, so we may as well execute him and spare the cost of another trial on Log in to vote some other trumped up charge. We're in a really sad state in this 1 nation.
Funny By DickNH - 09/13/2011 - 11:46 am Some here seem to be trying to get a laugh. The article is about a totally frivolous lawsuit that will be seen as such (in about 4 or 5 years when the resource-short courts get to it), and yet some here decide to ignore Speaker O'Brien's abuse of the court system and instead go after the party that already paid its fine and had the matter closed. Because Speaker O'Brien didn't file this as a class action (the court would have laughed that out of court in a heartbeat), the MOST he could sue for is $1,000. Even then, he'd have to prove damages. Where are they? He WON the election. He suffered no harm. He says Log in to vote he's an attorney? I'd never call an attorney who would file such a 5 ridiculous suit to represent me on a dog bite case, much less something that really mattered. If an attorney took this on a contingency basis, I hope he/she has other well-paying clients, because O'Brien won't get a dime for this hoot.
Thanks, Rob By DickNH - 09/12/2011 - 1:19 pm Thanks, Rob, for telling the truth that some people just can't stand to hear. Anyone who has studied this issue thoroughly knows there are a couple of hundred detainees at Guantanamo that never should have been arrested, much less sent to a place like that. Most of these people landed there due to some jealous relative or neighbor, or someone eager to earn a few quick bucks from Americans who were more interested in numbers and less interested in the truth. I hope your firm Log in and others like you continue to seek real justice for these people. to vote Perhaps we'll learn the lessons of these mistakes some day, but we'll 0 forget it the next time someone or something fuels our underlying hatreds and fears, and we'll repeat these mistakes again. Sad commentary.
Joke's on You, Sail, GWTW By DickNH - 09/09/2011 - 3:53 pm Sorry, sail, the joke's on you. James Hansen is one of THE most respected climate scientists in the world. He has been right far more than he has been wrong, which certainly can't be said for the biostitutes working for the oil companies who are pushing this idiotic pipeline. There is no "ethical case" for the Keystone pipeline. It's a biological and climatological disaster just waiting to happen. Obviously, you believe those foolish TV ads Exxon-Mobil's been putting out, telling us in such soothing tones how they can extract the oil from the tar sands in such an environmentally sensitive manner, just as they can extract natural gas through fracking in an environmentally safe manner. We already know that's a bald-faced lie, and so is the idea that you can safely extract and transport this stuff. This is as dirty a fuel as oil shale extraction is. All in the name Log in of cheap oil. Keep in mind that sending this substance through this to vote pipeline at the tremendous pressure required to move the material 3 threatens the integrity of the pipeline. Where will the pipeline run? Right through the Ogallala Aquifer, the most important water source for a huge section of the Midwest and Western US. A breach of that pipeline into the aquifer would result in "game over" for agriculture in vast sections of the American West. Think you pay a lot for food and vegetables now? Wait until the first major oil spill into that aquifer. You'd better have a whole lot bigger checkbook than you have now in that case.
About What??? By DickNH - 09/09/2011 - 3:36 pm Rick Perry wants a balanced budget......really??? You do realize Rick Perry's Texas is running a $28 billion deficit? He doesn't want to put a dime into Social Security. He wants to end the program. He also blasts the stimulus program, but had his Texas hand out for hundreds of millions in stimulus money which is what balanced his budget two Log in years ago, and provided most of those jobs he so gratuitously takes to vote credit for. Did he tell anyone that most of those jobs are federal jobs, 2 largely due to the expansion of Fort Hood? Those jobs didn't go to Texans who were out of work, they went to soldiers transferred to Texas. This guy is as big a fraud as Michelle Bachman, and it ought
to only take a couple of more debates for him to prove that, even to Mr. Jean, who seems to be Mr. Perry's self-proclaimed mouthpiece in NH. Oh, and he says he hates government mandates? If so, ask him why he MANDATED that all girls in Texas under a certain age be vaccinated against the HPV virus? As the saying goes, Mr. Perry has a lot of 'splainin' to do!
You Mean Rick Perry? By DickNH - 09/08/2011 - 1:01 pm Not nice to speak of the Guvnah of Texas that way, Rabbit. He proved it again last evening. I never supported him, so you must be speaking of someone else with my name.
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Not Enough Room By DickNH - 09/08/2011 - 12:59 pm All you have to do is look at Justice Department and INS records concerning who they are going after hardest on this issue, and it becomes clear that they are targeting the corporations and businesses that are hiring these folks at less than minimum wage and with no benefits in order to cut costs. Wonder where these corporations got some of the trillions in excess profits stashed away that should be used to help grow this economy? Look no further. I don't have to provide the "evidence". Look it up yourself, the news services (including Faux News) are full of stories of these supposed good corporate citizens being busted for hiring illegal workers at the same time they're trying to destroy unions and the middle class. BTW, it wasn't me who raised the race card. It was Mr. Caldwell, and I quoted his words exactly. Almost every one of his letters is filled with racial hatred, it oozes out of him like sweat, and all on these blogs see it consistently, whether you two deny it or not.
Job Creation By DickNH - 09/08/2011 - 12:42 pm Yes, sir, podna, we're now, at last, in the job creation business here in NH! Yup,
y'all go see Sturm Ruger, Smith & Wesson and Colt about a job. They should be adding extra shifts now that Manchester and Concord can become modern Dodge City and Tombstone. Thanks, legislators, you've finally, at long, long last, figure out a way to create a couple of jobs, which is what you were sent to Concord to do in the first place. Finally, one of your inane pieces of social legislation has the teensiest bit of potential to create a couple of jobs. That, and perhaps some new positions in the emergency health care and funeral home industries. Nice work, y'all. Rick Perry would be so proud of ya!
Racism at Its Fines By DickNH - 09/07/2011 - 9:34 am You don't suppose all those multinational corporations that are sitting on several trillions of dollars that they "earned" by hiring all those millions of "non-white, non-English-speaking illegal aliens" at slave wages and no benefits have anything to do with them being here, now, do you? Oh, of course not. They're just those fine, upstanding corporate persons who'd never do anything to hurt this country or its people...unless, of course, it meant more profit for Log in them. Don't look to the people desperate to escape their nations' to vote brutal, often US-financed dictators for a better life for blame, Mr. 2 Caldwell. Look to those who are actually responsible, and their underlying motives. You don't have to scratch the surface far to find the answer.
Not Quite Accurate By DickNH - 09/06/2011 - 8:26 pm Here is what Davis-Bacon REALLY requires: Davis-Bacon Act and Related Act contractors and subcontractors must pay their laborers and mechanics employed under the contract no less than the locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for corresponding work on similar projects in the area. Also, For prime Log in to vote contracts in excess of $100,000, contractors and subcontractors must 2 also, under the provisions of the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, as amended, pay laborers and mechanics, including guards and watchmen, at least one and one-half times their regular
rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a workweek. So, what DB actually assures is that workers on Federally funded road projects must pay at least "the prevailing wage", not more, as Ms. Cady alleges. It also assures time and a half for workers working over 40 hours per week, which is standard around the country. So, let's stop acting like this is some horrendous overpayment law. It assures a fair wage, and was passed when Federal funds were going to states where road workers were being paid far less than the prevailing wage for these projects. We could build more road miles if Republicans in Washington and Concord would actually free up the needed funds to do the road repair and reconstruction this country so desperately needs. Some, however, would only do this if they could pay substandard wages to workers desperate for jobs. Nice case of holding that desperation over workers' heads, there.
Empty Sister Sarah By DickNH - 09/06/2011 - 1:04 pm Give her credit for one thing: she knows how to play people and the media. There is no way in the world this woman is running for President. Just like Michelle Bachman, she is all style and no substance, just as she's always been. She'll just lead everybody on, make a little more money from speaking engagements, and then let Log in everyone know what anyone who follows politics already knows: to vote with Sarah, it's all about the money, and she'll follow the money 2 wherever it leads her, except into the race for president.
Plenty? By DickNH - 08/31/2011 - 10:43 am Those would likely be economists who have absolutely no clue what it really costs to live, to raise a family, to pay for medical coverage, etc. They only study the bottom line of corporations and see that Log in labor costs rise when the minimum wage rises, even though that to vote minimum wage is never anywhere close to an actual living wage. 2 Funny that I worked as a teenager each and every year, always earning at or above the minimum wage, and no employer then ever
complained about that level of compensation. This is such a red herring.
"Now Go Home" By DickNH - 08/30/2011 - 10:47 am That's exactly what the original letter said. We don't need these people coming into this state and bringing their personal brand of anarchy with them. If they had their way, there would be no state or local assistance available for people adversely affected by the effects of Irene. I'm glad some folks seem to think that they have the financial wherewithal to withstand any hardship or disaster, but most Log in people don't. That's what a civilized society's government is for. It's to vote not "nanny" state, it's neighbors helping neighbors through state and 5 local government.
Facts?? By DickNH - 08/26/2011 - 11:01 am Itsa, you make all these wide statements without a shred of evidence to back them up. To wit: a majority of your fellow citizens do not support the notion that man is causing it. In fact, reports of late show that much of the science is being debunked and some of the data manipulated. First of all, a majority of our fellow citizens DO in fact support the notion that man is causing global climate change. Even if they don't, the facts are there to disprove their viewpoint. "Much" of the science debunked? Hardly. There are a select group of what some of us call biostitutes, funded or employed by big oil, gas and Log in energy companies, who are in fact raising baseless questions about to vote the science of global climate change. It is their studies that are being 0 easily debunked by the vast majority of scientists who know that manmade global climate change is a reality. But, rather than arguing the point, look around you. Storms are much larger and more frequent than ever before, vast areas of the planet are now subject to withering drought, the polar ice caps at both ends are melting far more rapidly than was predicted even 10 year ago, spring is coming earlier and autumn later in many northern climates. If you can look
at that and say it's just an aberration, when it's been occurring with increased frequency for the past 50 years, then I guess the answer to the question "How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see" is: A LOT!
Poor Memory By DickNH - 08/26/2011 - 10:47 am GWTW, your memory is quite poor. As of August 21, 2001, according to Bush budget director Mitch Daniels, now governor of Missouri, the federal budget SURPLUS stood at $160 billion. Then, with the first year of the Bush tax cuts kicking in, $74 billion of that was lost. That still left about $86 billion surplus. After that, Mr. Bush's tax cuts and the illegal wars he started and conveniently forgot to fund have led us down the path we're still trying to dig our way out of. You can argue that all yu want, but those are the facts of Log in the situation, despite how people have tried to blame President to vote Obama for all this. Earthling's and Jim's figures are dead on. Yes, 5 you did live in a different 2001, just not the one that the rest of us lived in. Blaming Clinton for 9/11....really! That clearly demonstrates you were living in some alternate reality.
Backstroke By DickNH - 08/25/2011 - 3:55 pm The first thing his "staff" in NH will have to do is help him with his backstroke, as he backs away from his ridiculous positions of the past like seceding from the US and explaining how Texas has among the lowest wages in the country, and how Perry "created" all those jobs largely with Federal stimulus money that he was simultaneously Log in condemning. Oh, yes, and tell us again how this extreme to vote fundamentalist completely believes in the separation of church and 1 state. Marsh should have stayed at Spectrum Marketing.
Jobs??? By DickNH - 08/25/2011 - 9:38 am Google this: Romney headed a "company" that specialized in downsizing and outsourcing well-paying American jobs. He was personally responsible for the loss of tens of thousands of those jobs, and now he comes to us piously professing that he "knows how" to create jobs? He knows how to make money for corporate CEO's like himself. And isn't it a shame that a 3,000 square foot home isn't big enough for him? He needs to bulldoze it and build an 11,000 square foot mansion in its place. Yup, he's one of us, all right. He'll be sure Log in to vote to create all those middle class jobs. He is the essence of an "empty 4 suit", and his casual look is such a farce that I'm surprised the late night comics haven't had a field day with it yet. By the way, Mitt, corporations are most certainly NOT PEOPLE!
Kool-Aid By DickNH - 08/23/2011 - 10:47 am Sen. Shaheen: wake up and smell the coffee. There is no "progress" in any meaningful sense. The sooner we leave, the better off that area will be. The people there will have to determine who they want to side with, Karzai and his corrupt gang of thugs, or the Taliban and their corrupt gang of thugs. We are wasting lives and money on a Log in road to nowhere. The end result will be the same, whether we leave to vote tomorrow or 20 years from now. 2
Rights, Responsibilities By DickNH - 08/23/2011 - 10:21 am The one thing that the "Tea Party" and certain bloggers fail to understand or take into account, just like Mr. Dunn, is that, with rights come responsibilities. L This guy is one of the more notorious destroyers of streams and wetlands in the o g state. Don't waste your breath on him, he's not worth it.
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0 Only Architect? By DickNH - 08/22/2011 - 1:40 pm Once again, sail, your information is only partially correct. Ted Kennedy was one of the architects and lead sponsor in the Senate, but the provisions of the Act were every bit the responsibility of George Bush and his education advisors, who pushed HARD for this so-called "liberal" law. He pushed even harder for standardized testing that fails to account for how different children learn at different rates. As for the home made brown bag lunch ban, that was an effort to IMPROVE the nutritional health of students who were bringing largely junk food to school in those brown bags. Kids can't learn unless they are healthy and alert, and junk food does just the opposite.
Laughable By DickNH - 08/22/2011 - 11:04 am Cal Dunn planted those "Christmas trees" probably a dozen years ago. What he failed to understand is that you can't grow Christmas trees in sand and gravel. Those trees are the same size they were when they were planted.
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Current Population By DickNH - 08/22/2011 - 10:45 am You're several years late, Josh. The current US population is 311 million. While immigrants certainly add significantly to that number, as they always have, it is apparent that so-called majority families are suddenly increasing their numbers of children as well. Log in Whatever the source, that increase in population is devastating news to vote for a planet already struggling with the current population and that 5 population's impact on the natural world.
Shaking? By DickNH - 08/19/2011 - 11:42 am Actually, he has us all shaking from peals of laughter with every idiotic statement that ushers forth from that golden tongue of his. The writers are actually very correct in their assessments of Perry. He is bought and paid for by corporate donors who contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns and are rewarded with appointments to boards and commissions and agencies where they get to make policy that is friendly to their interests, to the detriment of the people of Texas. Unless the Citizens United Log in decision is overturned by Congress, or the people demanding it, that to vote is what our future will look like, too, as a nation. Limitless funds 8 buy limitless access buys unlimited power. That's how it works in Texas, I only hope we come to our senses before it does the same thing to all of us.
Twist and Shout By DickNH - 08/18/2011 - 4:06 pm I see. Because I list the obstructionism of the right, and don't agree with your "facts", I twist the facts. That's OK, you call it what you want. The health care initiative, far from bankrupting us, will save up to $2 trillion over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That is FACT. I don't have enough space to name all the filibusters the Republicans either effected or threatened. The ones that come to mind first are every single Obama nomination to any of the Federal courts. They've all been Log in either filibustered, or withdrawn because McConnell promised a to vote fillibuster. You say 4 trillion in accounting gimmicks, but don't 0 point to a single example. There are not $4 trillion worth of "accounting gimmicks" available to the President. But his proposal did include closing countless corporate loopholes and ending the Bush era tax cuts for the rich (you know, those tax cuts for the job creators that somehow they never got around to using for job creation!), and John Boehner just couldn't say yes to $4 trillion in cuts. If you cut $1 trillion immediately, even the most conservative
economists have flatly stated that you would plunge this nation into full depression. That cut would cost around 2 million jobs right off the bat. Nice work in negative job creation, that. The programs you listed are nickel and dime stuff that don't add up to even $1 billion, and many of them actually provide important data that belies their apparent wastefulness (no, not all of them, of course many could and should be cut). 'Nuff said for now.
Responsibility By DickNH - 08/18/2011 - 3:55 pm And we need to hold all of you self-righteous "right to lifers" responsible for the fact that, once that baby is born, you don't give a hoot what sort of llife they live if they are poor, whether they are properly clothed and fed or properly educated. You don't care if they grow up and are trained to kill others, or that they might be executed by the state even though they might be innocent of the Log in crime of which they stand accused. So, please, spare us that seflto vote righteousness about life. You only care about birth; after that, as far 0 as most of you are concerned, that little life is completely on its own.
Perfect.....ly ridiculous By DickNH - 08/18/2011 - 3:49 pm Since all of the above are nonsense, but, if it makes you feel better, vent on. I love the one about EPA. Unlimited powers, you say? That makes it painfully obvious that you have absolutely no idea of what you speak. EPA's powers have been steadily weakened since the Reagan administration, and our environment, and thus our economy, are the poorer for it. But, since you also obviously have Log in no concept of how a healthy environment engenders a healthy to vote economy, I wouldn't expect anything different from you. Hope you 4 feel better soon.
Beautifully Said! By DickNH - 08/18/2011 - 3:45 pm Gaia, you've definitely got a very gentle, but firm, way with words. The fundamentalists on here might rail against your definition, but it is the right one, and encompases many of the major religious Log in tenets already.
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Do It By DickNH - 08/18/2011 - 3:26 pm Go ahead, then, vote for Michelle Bachmann. She won't win, and your votes won't matter. All the better. This is a woman who proves, every time she opens her mouth, that she doesn't understand the Constitution, doesn't understand economics and doesn't even understand how the Congress, of which she is a member, works. If that's what you want in a president, then vote for her. Fortunately, Log in the rest of the country is a great deal more intelligent than that, and to vote she will end up alongside Sister Sarah on the dustbin of history of 6 extremist candidates.
Thanks, John4444 By DickNH - 08/18/2011 - 3:05 pm If enough of you who have suffered the Perry experience in Texas write to these northern papers about the real Rick Perry, you might save us from the Tea Party extremists yet. The news sites are increasingly focusing on the fact that the vast number of jobs that Perry "created" in Texas are actually government jobs, as a number of the military bases there, especially Fort Hood, have significantly expanded and large numbers of troops have been transferred there. Log in to vote The current budget deficit in Texas is up to $28 billion, and Perry 8 can't balance it because he doesn't have any more stimulus money to rely on. Texas is also deep in the bottom half of the nation in high school and college degreed residents. How cutting $4 billion from the Texas education budget will help remedy those numbers only Rick Perry can explain. If Perry was nominated, the only way
he'd win a debate on substantive issues with the President is if he was allowed to "pack" at the debate, and he can be assured that he won't be allowed to waive his cute little six shooter on that stage.
How It Works By DickNH - 08/18/2011 - 12:47 pm "The democrat controlled Senate has not even proposed a budget for 2012. That is because money bills, including the budget, originate in the House of Representatives, not the Senate. The Senate does not propose a budget, ever. The Senate hasn't passed the budget in 2.5 years because the budgets coming out of the Republican-controlled House are a joke and indefensible. When something moderate does happen to pass, the Senate Republicans filibuster it.
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You Betcha By DickNH - 08/18/2011 - 11:29 am Actually, all they have to do is look at his sorry record as governor of Texas over the last 10 years, and then his associations won't mean anything. One thing I guarantee they WON'T question is his birth certificate. His Southern drawl and white face will be all that's necessary to confirm that he's a "real Amurcan". His "executive" experience includes "balancing" the state's budget by cutting $4 billion from K-12 education programs (way to prepare that next generation of Texans, guv) and then accepting hundreds of millions in federal stimulus money (oh, that's right, the very same stimulus he is still so roundly condemning). Texas has the lowest average wages in the nation, and the highest percentage of minimum wage jobs, jobs without benefits, and the highest number of children without health insurance. The unemployment rate is now up over 8% (higher, by the way, than Massachusetts, which has mandatory health insurance and much higher wages). If that is the America you want, then I suggest you move to Texas and feel the pain he has sown there. I don't care about his former associations. I care about the fact that he is running on a massive lie, and that he didn't hesitate to seriously suggest that Texas secede from the US. Just keep talking, guv, you'll be done in by your own words and actions before Thanksgiving. You and the Donald can compare
hair back on your ranch in Texas.
Hmmmm By DickNH - 08/17/2011 - 12:44 pm Let's see...Reagan and Bush, two paragons of virtue....Reagan pulled a Gingrich on his first wife before he married Nancy.....Reagan nearly spent us into oblivion to "win the Cold War", and was directly responsible for Iran/Contra and invading Grenada, of all places.....Bush was an alcoholic philanderer and pathological liar who is directly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries that should never have happened. Yep, two fine, upstanding examples of.....moral turpitude. Clinton and Kennedy were both very wrong in what they did, but neither was responsible for the economic and human carnage of the scale that Reagan and Bush were.
Typical By DickNH - 08/17/2011 - 11:22 am Such a typical response from a right wing extremist. Government has no role, let's "freeze" "all" government regulations for 6 months. Fine, and then where do you get the money to clean up all the water pollution, oil spills, worker injuries, etc. that will occur because no one is guarding the henhouse, Governor? Oh, you didn't think of the consequences of your careless comments? Just like the comment about "treason" that showed you know absolutely nothing about the separation of the Fed from the White Log in House? You're off to a flying good start there, Governor. Keep it to vote up. You'll be back on your Texas ranch by Labor Day, at this rate. 8 No one can take you seriously with statements like these. You almost make Michelle Bachman look reasonable, and that's quite a trick.
Still Waiting By DickNH - 08/17/2011 - 10:11 am I'm still waiting for someone here to come up with a list of all those "Draconian" laws, rules and regulations that the Legislature supposedly did away with that will then magically make this an economic Mecca for the rest of the country?
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Details By DickNH - 08/16/2011 - 3:53 pm Ryan budget is a good start? Really? You do know that the Ryan budget would not cut spending or the deficit, that it will RAISE the deficit by $7 trillion over the next 10 years, right? The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office ran the numbers. As expected, this plan does not do what Ryan said it would do; that's why almost nobody in Congress supports it. It's voodoo economics at its worst.
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I love it: "there are no tax breaks for the rich." Try reading the IRS to vote code and then come back and make such a misguided statement. 7 And by the way, it is the middle class, not the rich, whose spending habits truly drive the economy.
What??? By DickNH - 08/16/2011 - 3:03 pm Semblance of morality? Who are you kidding? Gov. Sanford, Sen. Ensign, Newt Gingrich? Yes, the Dems have just as many examples of moral failure, but don't give me this nonsense that Republicans as a whole have one whit more morality or ethics than Democrats. That is patent nonsense. Saying that "most" progressives support Islam but hold Christianity in disdain is just Log in to vote as indefensible. I happen to hold extremists of any sect in disdain, 8 be they Christian, Muslim or any other denomination. War is not the moral issue. Really? Our two illegal wars have killed and maimed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, but there's nothing immoral about that? You just blew up your entire
argument in one partial sentence. Good luck on YOUR moral relativism. It's relatively immoral in my view.
Plenty of Blame By DickNH - 08/16/2011 - 9:38 am President Obama was already saddled with an economic debacle coming into office. Did he increase the debt? Of course, he did. The only way any nation has ever come out of a recession or depression like that is to infuse new capital into all areas of potential employment, then recoup that investment when the economy improved, adding significant new tax revenues from new business, new jobs and new spending. As for the schools, Texas is ranked 51st in the nation in educational attainment. It is 22nd in adults having some college education. Mr. Perry will have plenty of time to defend his "record". It is a very undistinguished record of creating mostly minimum wage, no benefit jobs with no future and no way to support a family unless you hold 3 or 4 of those jobs at once. His extreme religious views Log in to vote almost guarantee another attack on a Muslim nation since he 0 believes in the utter righteousness of Israel and the existence of all sorts of increased threats from China, Russia, Iran, et al. As I said, we don't need another religious cowboy from Texas leading us down that path again. As for LBJ, it would take too long to list the issues I had with him when he was president. Suffice it to say I was ecstatic when he announced that he would not run again in March, 1968. We had had enough of his war, too.
Overreach By DickNH - 08/16/2011 - 9:19 am While I agree that something needs to be done about a clearly foolish lawsuit here, Rep. Chandler's suggestion is based on a gross misunderstanding of the law. Just because someone loses
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(i.e., does not get the judgment he/she sought) a lawsuit does not 0 mean that the lawsuit was completely without merit. There are a number of situations in which a lawsuit result is based on a very narrow area of law, and the judgment simply reflects that the judge believed that more of that law rested on the defendant's side than the plaintiff's. That should not be the basis for assessing all costs and fees to the plaintiff. All that would do is discourage the legitimate exercise of one's rights to access to the courts for proper redress. There are also cases where one party has such an overwhelming economic advantage over the other party that the first party simply outlasts the other, and so "wins". In that case, costs should be paid by both parties for their respective attorneys, as there is no evidence that the case was "frivolous" to begin with.
Frivolous??? By DickNH - 08/15/2011 - 1:43 pm First of all, sail, use Spell Check. It is a great substitute if you can't spell basic words. Secondly, the only thing frivolous here is Mr. O'Brien's incredibly unconstitutional abuse of power, and Attorney Mosca's ridiculous notion that somehow the gallery isn't really the gallery. Are you kidding me? This attorney ought to be brought up on charges of either contempt of court or incompetence, or both. If that is really his only argument, then he should just admit that his client is wrong and end the legal case. I don't remember the last time I saw a weaker legal theory than that one: the constitution Log in requires holding open sessions, but not to "maintain balcony-like to vote structures for its proceedings". The balcony/gallery IS THERE. It's 4 where the public observes the "open sessions". There is no other place to observe them, unless Attorney Mosca would argue that it would still be "open" if people were forced to stand outside and press their noses against the windows of the hall!!!
Fear By DickNH - 08/12/2011 - 10:02 am Fear of fiscal responsibility? From Perry, you want fiscal responsibility? He has run up one of the nation's largest deficits at over $8 billion! Fear of Christianity? As a plank in a political platform for national office, you bet! Remember separation of church and state? He's all about church, so let him become a televangelist, not a presidential candidate. Perry put us back on a Log in "steady course"? You mean like Texas, where he has destroyed to vote education, destroyed meaningful employment, and continues to 5 delight in executing people? Sorry, not interested in that course. The truth hurts, but it's still the truth.
No Shame Here By DickNH - 08/12/2011 - 9:58 am Since Mr. Obama has faced nothing but strict obstructionism from the Republican House and the Republican filibusterers in the Senate (who freely admit that their main goal in life is to assure Mr. Obama's defeat in 2012), it's not surprising that he hasn't been able to accomplish more, try as he might. He is the one who put a $4 trillion savings plan on the table, not the $2.5 trillion plan that is totally insufficient. And yet, Mr. Boehner couldn't find his way to "yes". So, don't give me this nonsense that Mr. Obama is unqualified, or that somehow Mr. Perry is. I'm not "bashing" Mr. Log in Perry. I stated the facts about his predecessor from Texas, and the to vote reality of Perry's own record in Texas. Neither is, or was, worthy 4 of serious consideration for the presidency. We need to assure that we don't make the same mistake twice. That's constructive criticism, not bashing, Itsa. Learn the difference and elevate your debate.
Challenge By DickNH - 08/11/2011 - 1:15 pm OK, Mr. O'Brien, show us one single bill your reactionaries passed that produced one single job in NH? You can't, because you haven't, and you won't. You'll give your corporate donors everything they want in terms of tax breaks and lax regulation, and then they'll leave you high and dry because, rather than create new jobs, they'll pocket the profits they realize from externalizing their business costs on the rest of us. They have always done that, and they always will. That awesome job growth you cited didn't even Log in keep up with the emerging workforce population, and happened to vote before your legislative session was even over, so there is no 2 possible way anything you did this session had any impact at all on the unemployment rate or job growth. Sorry, Mr. O'Brien, but we are not as dumb as you apparently think we are!
Real Deal? Not So Much By DickNH - 08/11/2011 - 1:10 pm Perryites: read and be educated. Here is the real story about Rick Perry's L Texas. As the rest of you might imagine, it's a whole lot about smoke and mirrors, minimum wage jobs, among the lowest median incomes in the nation. o On top of that, he has one of the absolute worst environmental records in the g i nation, and his state is suffering for it. Trust me, "hard-working independents" n will run for the hills when they read the reality of this man's record. t http://swampland.time.com/2011/06/27/the-cracks-in-rick-perrys-job-growt...
o v o t e
6 Examples? By DickNH - 08/11/2011 - 10:48 am "I commend you on the removal of Draconian laws, rules and regulations which will help us grow this economy here at home." Really? Exactly which laws and rules are you referring to? And which ones do you think this Legislature "freed"
us from?
Difference By DickNH - 08/11/2011 - 9:20 am The difference is that the Obamas paid for every last penny of expense, including the Secret Service, for that vacation, as they have for their annual vacation to MA. You'd know that if you'd open your eyes and read. As for the huge lie in this self-serving little nugget from little king O'Brien, just look at the recent layoffs at all the hospitals in the state due to the O'Brien budget cuts to the programs that help the most needy, and you'll see the impact on unemployment. His programs are RAISING the unemployment rate, as hundreds and hundreds of hospital employees who provide vital services to the people of NH are being laid off. We're all going to have great fun paying for the Log in increased unemployment costs for those people. And don't say, to vote oh, they'll find other work. They work in hospitals, the hospitals 2 are losing millions of dollars of necessary funding, all of them. There are no other jobs for these folks to go to, unless you think it's a great idea to have highly trained nurses and administrators flipping burgers or pancakes at minimum wage with no benefits. This state is going to suffer the results of O'Brien's slash and burn policies for at least the next decade.
Agreed, Veritas! By DickNH - 08/11/2011 - 9:09 am Nothing of what Bob Jean says here about Rick Perry is true, except that he may be the longest serving governor. His so-called jobs development success, to the extent that it even exists, was in fact built on the very stimulus programs he so publicly bashed. He is the same type of hypocrite that Michelle Bachman is. She also Log in to vote bashed the stimulus, and EPA, and yet she has consistently 9 BEGGED for funds from both sources for job creation in her district. The fact is that the stimulus, to the extent that it was funded, has in fact created new jobs and kept the unemployment
situation from being even worse. As for Perry, I do not want to see another far right wing "Christian" extremist from Texas in the White House. We're still recovering from the last such "experienced leader". Just as with Bush, don't confuse experience with ability.
Interesting scenario By DickNH - 08/10/2011 - 9:45 am Let's see, the high unemployment started at the latter part of the Bush administration, as that brilliant former Texas governor (oh, no you don't, Rick Perry!) turned a multibillion dollar surplus into a multitrillion dollar deficit, deregulation of the banking and finance industry allowed the spectacular collapse of the economy that we are still trying to recover from. Stonewalling Democrat Senate, you say? And the Republicans refuse to compromise and filibuster at even the simplest federal appointments? The White House "refusing to uphold the oath of office (how, exactly is that being done? You gave not one example)? How about the last president who launched two wars without bothering to go to Congress until well after the fact? This president has sent many more law enforcement officials and National Guard troops to the Log in southern border than the last president ever thought of sending, to vote but you blame him for the problem? The election of 2010 was a 1 fluke, a "throw the bums out" election. In case you hadn't noticed, this Congress, largely Republican and Tea Party, has the lowest approval rating in HISTORY! So, what could go wrong for the far right next year? Oh, pretty much everything. People see that just cutting programs without addressing revenues, much less addressing JOBS, is not working, and the blame will land squarely at the feet of those in Congress who refused to compromise. The American people aren't as dumb as the right wing believes them to be.
Truth? By DickNH - 08/09/2011 - 4:11 pm Really. Overwhelming numbers, you say. Actually, not so much. A whopping 18% of registered voters showed up last November. So, assuming that these Tea Party reactionaries like O'Brien got around 55% of that vote, to be generous, they actually represent approximately 9% of the voting public as a whole. Wait until the effects of the latest downshifting by these people hits town meeting next March in the form of yet another property tax Log in increase. Then the voters will remember next November when to vote they actually show up in normal numbers, and that small band of 4 reactionaries can be sent back to their distinct minority status (at both the state and national levels) and the business of sane government can resume.
Reasonable?? By DickNH - 08/09/2011 - 4:07 pm Itsa, you're just taken in by the nonsense that ALEC put up on it website. It is the furthest thing from non-partisan you can imagine. Everything they do is on orders from their corporate donors (and the Koch Brothers ever lurking in the background). They put out cookie cutter legislation that is designed to destroy unions, minimize state employee respect, and the destruction of state and local government regulation. They have been a far right wing mouthpiece for decades. Go ahead, look at the funding for ACORN (which, by the way, was completely exonerated of all the trumped up charges against it. It was an organization designed to Log in to vote help sign people up to vote, period), Think Progress, CELDF, etc. 8 Most of their funds come from individual contributions. Those people are not socialists nor communists. You just like to paint them as such. They actuall honor the words of the Great Teacher: "Whatever you do for these, the least of my brethren, you do unto me". Remember?
Wrong, As Usual By DickNH - 08/09/2011 - 9:48 am Actually, sail, right to work states have about the same unemployment rates as non-right to work states, their taxes are also about the same, but their wages and benefits are SHARPLY lower than in the non-right to work states. In other words, workers get screwed in those states, have almost no rights to do anything about it, working conditions are poorer, more people are employed as part-time workers with no benefits. So, that's great for the corporations and business owners, but continues the Log in destruction of the middle class, the backbone of the American to vote economy. Romney? Don't make me laugh. He's a venture 12 capitalist who specializes in buying up businesses, destroying jobs and then shipping those jobs overseas to cheap labor sites. That's how he made his money. Not once did he ever own or run a company that created jobs. THAT's fact!
Dreaming? By DickNH - 07/21/2011 - 1:25 pm You are the one who is dreaming, Gambler. Just look at the poll numbers and you'll see that people are already onto you and your tea party "I've got mine, to heck with you" mantra. You have NOT put the state on sound footing; your cuts will hurt the poorest and most destitute citizens, and all of us will not forget who you picked on. As for the so-called out of state union protesters, they were a myth that you and yours conjured up because you couldn't foresee the depth of anger you would tap when you went after hard working state employees. With very, Log in very few exceptions, all of us who showed up at the State House to vote work here in NH and we will remember how you repaid our hard 11 work on behalf of the people of this state. We do NOT believe that all who work for the state must join a union, and we never have. We do, however, believe that those people who are not members should pay for the services we provide to them in the form of negotiating and enforcing the contract that so benefits THEM. You are the ones who say no one should get a free ride, aren't you? How hypocritical of you. As for the Governor, the
Republican party has no one of any stature that could mount a challenge to Lynch if he runs, and you know it. Economic expansion? Job growth? You haven't passed one single piece of legislation that would in any way affect either of those things. You have simply gone after state and municipal employees and attempted to enact your reactionary social agenda. None of what you have done will produce one single job or improve economic expansion.
Corporate Masters By DickNH - 07/21/2011 - 11:05 am Actually, Rep. Soltani's actions pale in comparison to Speaker O'Brien's ham-handed theatrics and complete ignorance of the rules of the House in slavish service to his CORPORATE masters. See, for example, his tantrum demanding the ten cent reduction in the tobacco tax that almost scuttled the budget bill, and increased the state's deficit, after his obedient trip to meet with his tobacco lobbyist masters in Washington. Speaker O'Brien Log in and his henchmen are slavishly doing the bidding of corporate to vote interests representing national and international, seldom NH, 9 interests. You can stop the nonsense about "union masters" anytime. We all know who is really directing the puppets in the Legislature.
Why "wow"? By DickNH - 07/21/2011 - 10:54 am Rep. Soltani is only repeating accounts of the brutish, authoritarian and completely unprofessional manner in which Speaker O'Brien runs the House. Mr. O'Brien knows that his extreme reactionary rule is short-lived, representing a sub-set of Log in the 18% of eligible voters who bothered to vote in the last to vote election. Next November, many more rational voters will again 10 appear at the polls (despite Mr. O'Brien's party's efforts to restrict voting rights) and he and his henchmen will be sent back under
the cold, wet rocks from which they crawled last November. That time can't come soon enough for rationality, civility and democracy in NH.
Don't Ask By DickNH - 07/19/2011 - 1:59 pm BeanCounter, don't waste your time asking what Itsa means by anything he says. He needs to vent some feeling of loss or another and progressives and Barack Obama seem to be his main objects of angst. He never even tries to substantiate the nonsensical statements he makes, and everybody here pretty much giggles at his empty phrases and baseless rantings, has a little fun with him, Log in to vote and then moves on to a serious discussion of the issue of the 1 moment. You could save a lot of energy by doing the same.
Can't take you seriously By DickNH - 07/19/2011 - 1:54 pm Itsa, this is why no one here takes you seriously: "Yes, I know that progressives loathe man and that they wish we had never evolved a single cell." I have met very few people of ANY stripe that believe what you just wrote as "fact" about progressives. You do that constantly, without any substantiation at all. That is why people mess with your head or simply can't take you seriously. You want a serious debate on issues, but you throw out garbage like that as though it was fact, and then wonder why people talk right past you. Try to think about, and support, your statements. You would add a great deal more to the discussion if you tried that.
Myths By DickNH - 07/19/2011 - 10:04 am
You, my friend, have been watching way too many John Wayne movies. This country certainly has benefitted from individual effort and hard work. Economic freedom? How do you define that? Government has always had a hand in economic development in this country, through massive land grants, tax subsidies, massive r&d grants, corporate tax loopholes and favorable regulatory structures developed by business lobbyists. If you were as willing to do away with all of that corporate socialism, then maybe we could go back to that pastoral agrarian that you apparently pine for. Because that is what your rugged individualism produced. It did not produce big business, agribusiness or corporate control of the country. Those all came from government largesse to the private corporate sector that continues to this day. That same government also produced worker safety and health protections, enviromental protections that business NEVER considered prior to government intervention, child labor laws, 40 hour work weeks and weekends off. Those same protections were initiated by union efforts that you and like minded folks so abhor today. Oh, by the way, there most certainly IS a Social Security Trust Fund, and it is solvent through 2036, despite right wing protestations to the contrary. You paid into the system for others to benefit, there is no account in your name. If the system is severely cut back as you would want it, you will not receive anything near the benefit that's been calculated.
Interesting By DickNH - 07/14/2011 - 9:13 am The problem I see with CareNet is that it only provides information, very limited services, and I wonder how it could provide any real information on birth control when the Catholic Church continues to ban all forms of birth control use other than abstinence or "rhythm". As a member of a large Catholic family, Log in to vote I saw first hand how that last form of "birth control" works....not! 4
Definition? By DickNH - 07/14/2011 - 9:06 am Colmes is not a true liberal, he is a weakling that Faux News
uses to attempt to show how "strong" the far right wing ideology Log in is. Please don't use socialist simply to win an argument. The term to vote 1 is susceptible to so many interpretations as to be meaningless except as a throwaway term, as you use it here.
Substance, Effectiveness By DickNH - 07/14/2011 - 9:04 am I disagree with him on most of his positions, as all he does is sneak around the margins of liberalism. He has absolutely no ability to stand up to anyone who disagrees with him, and that's why Faux News lets him stay. They set him up, then browbeat him into submission, then gleefully act as though they have won Log in to vote the argument because they silenced the token. 1
Thank You! By DickNH - 07/14/2011 - 8:49 am Thank you, Governor, for injecting some common sense back into this state. Sen. Bradley demonstrates yet again how he left his common sense behind when he went to Congress and rejected all he had previously stood for in order to jump aboard the Bush "bandwagon". O'Brien and Bettencourt demonstrate once again that they never had any common sense to begin with. No one even attempted to demonstrate that there was a problem that this bill was intended to solve! If the legislators want to carry and Log in brandish firearms in the House chamber, well, let's just lock the to vote doors and peek in when it's over. Otherwise, please leave us out 3 of your gun happy madness, please! There is already enough violence in our world without turning New Hampshire into Dodge City, KS circa 1870.
Nonsense By DickNH - 07/13/2011 - 3:04 pm Our country's economy is not now, nor ever was, founded on your concept of "free" enterprise, Fearless. Government has always been involved, whether through regulation to protect workers, the environment and investors, or to provide huge amounts of seed funds for the development and expansion of business. That is the system that made this economy what it is today. Without that, we had a system of robber barons who formed monopolies that made huge profits for the owners, while the people they employed and the resources they wasted and polluted suffered the consequences. I've had the same argument with people for 40 years, people who told me how much better the economy worked without "all that government interference". Only, once you look at the actual numbers, you see that the Log in economy has fared FAR better with government involvement to vote than without. As for taxes, look no further than the Clinton 0 administration, where they both cut spending and raised taxes, and everyone made money hand over fist (except employees, whose salaries continued to be essentially flat). And that was with RAISING the tax rate for the corporations and wealthier folks. After that, they made even more money. So, how is it now that mixing budget cuts and revenue increases (yes, taxes) is bad for this economy when it never has been bad economic policy before?
Seriously? By DickNH - 07/13/2011 - 2:37 pm Itsa, where on earth did you ever get the idea that Faux News ever presented a "balanced" panel with anyone who even slightly espoused a center-left viewpoint??? I check them out every so often just to see it happen. Every time Log in some member of the Faux News team even breathes something to vote "liberal" he/she gets shown the door! Colmes is a pathetic excuse 3 for a liberal that they keep around as a fig leaf for their "fair and balanced" mantra. If you need further proof, see the fiasco going
on with News Corp. in Britain. Do you really think they aren't doing the same thing here? It will come to light eventually, and the whole Murdoch house of crime will mercifully implode on itself. It can't come too soon.
Sure They Can! By DickNH - 07/08/2011 - 8:41 am Come on , Chuck, of course they can do this...they think they can do anything they please, the courts and the Constitution be damned! Sick 'em, dude! Log in
to vote
GREED By DickNH - 07/05/2011 - 9:25 am Agreed, Bean. Just look at executive compensation. Wages are flat for 30 years, but executive comp is up 23% over last year, average 10.8 million. 'Nuff said.
Log in to vote
As Opposed to.... By DickNH - 07/05/2011 - 8:34 am As opposed to, oh, say, GW Bush, who ran every business he was ever involved in right into the ground, only having his sorry butt saved by his daddy's Saudi financiers. Oh, yeah, that failure thing included 8 year where he sent this country from a healthy surplus to a devastating deficit, all so he could be that heroic Log in "war president", "decider" thingy. Nice work, and thanks, I'll to vote take Barack Obama and his honest efforts to undo all that 4 damage any day. And the current crowd of Republican wannabes? I can't write enough laughter on here to show how little they bring to the table...
Silliness By DickNH - 06/28/2011 - 10:08 pm Once again, the reactionaries in the legislature have adopted a solution in search of a problem. The Secretary of State was asked recently about voter fraud, and he couldn't remember the last time anyone brought a verifiable complaint about voter fraud forward in NH. In other words, there is no problem, but these people are slavishly following the road map established by "Americans for Progress", the right-wing group founded and funded by the fascist billionaire Koch brothers. Offended by that word? Tough. The Koch brothers are feverishly working to limit voting rights, workers' rights and any sort of interference in corporate dominance of the American political process. That is Log in demonstrably provable in any number of states including to vote Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and New Hampshire, to name a few. 4 No, sail, it's not Bush derangement syndrome. It's nothing less than a very real threat to our democracy. Those of us in NH who know there is no voter fraud problem refuse to sit idly by while these reactionaries do the bidding of these outside interests who have only their own power-grabbing interests at heart. They couldn't care less about NH or what this state is and always has been about.
True, snowbunny By DickNH - 06/23/2011 - 4:05 pm Very true, snowbunny, as I've pointed out before. Less than 20% of voters voted these yahoos into office, but the rest are to blame because they stayed L home. Now, it will take at least two years, once sanity is restored to the o State House, to undo all this damage and start to reinstate people's rights and g the government's legitimate obligations. People like sail forget that, with all i the cuts to the court system, getting a hearing before a judge for a minor to n t have an abortion could take months, a potentially devastating delay for that o minor. But, he doesn't care, because it doesn't affect his narrow little world. v
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2 Enjoy Your Property Tax Hike! By DickNH - 06/23/2011 - 3:41 pm Sail, all those little commissions are largely unstaffed, or one or two staff handle many of them. They are peopled with VOLUNTEERS. In case you don't ;quite understand that concept, it means people donate their time, free of charge, to a cause they care about. It's the NH way. As far as agencies, we are far down the list in terms of agencies and employees. We have the 5th smallest government in the nation, not the 4th largest, as your post would intimate. But, hey, enjoy the steep rise in your local property taxes that is coming soon. Since the state won't pay for these necessary programs anymore, the municipalities will have to, and that means your property taxes are going up. So, in the end, sail, you lose! Your taxes will go up, but services will be severely curtailed. Enjoy the new reality.
Wrong By DickNH - 06/22/2011 - 11:28 am Nice try,Mr. Ewing. The fact is that the Administration was only considering allowing the tax cuts for those with income over a certain amount ($100,000 to $250,000, depending on who you spoke to) to expire. There would have been NO tax increase on the middle class, so the tax burden would not have shifted to middle and lower income earners. Also, both your "C" and "D" are incorrect. The US Treasury lost vast amounts of tax receipts from higher income earners at the very time when he Log in was instituting two very expensive and illegal wars. The proof is to vote in the numbers. The tax receipts received during the Bush years 4 fell steeply at the same time that spending, especially on the military (no, it's not defense because these were not defensive wars).
Tort Reform By DickNH - 06/22/2011 - 10:17 am This is another red herring. Despite the sensationalism of a few lawsuits, even the AMA statistics show that the cost of medical malpractice resulting from lawsuits adds less than 1% to the cost of health care. Go ahead and try to institute "tort reform". All that will do is shield large corporations and inept medical Log in practitioners from the true cost of their mistakes. It will not to vote affect health care costs at all. 5
Really? By DickNH - 06/22/2011 - 10:14 am GWTW, you insist that the last election was an overwhelming repudiation of the last legislature ("the people spoke"). You do realize, don't you, that a whopping 18% of residents voted in the last election? So, whatever percentage any of these yahoos in the present legislature received, it was that percentage of 18%. That hardly represents the sweeping mandate O'Brien and his crew think they have. Hopefully, in 2012, those who sat on their Log in hands in the last election will fully realize the damage their to vote inaction has wrought, and will get up and send O'Brien, 4 Bettencourt and the rest of the radicals packing and restore some sanity in Concord.
Bloated???? By DickNH - 06/18/2011 - 6:39 pm Once again, sail, your rhetoric utterly fails to match reality. Our state government, in terms of number of employees and in dollars spent, is in the bottom 5% of the 50 states. Only the Log in Dakotas, Vermont and Wyoming have fewer employees than to vote NH. So, when you start waxing poetic about our "bloated big 3 govt", you might want to check your facts first. Oh, I forgot.
You never let facts get in the way of your right wing fable!
Nonsense By DickNH - 06/17/2011 - 11:37 am No, sail, we are not "broke". We have debts to pay, and, if this bill and the compromise being developed on the budget is agreed to (yes, it includes ending all kinds of corporate welfare, significant military spending reductions and makes the top 1% pay their fair share of taxes), the money saved will pay down the debt and be reinvested in the American economy so that Log in sector can regain its footing and that will help to pay for the to vote necessary goverment programs that are now hurting. That's how 2 we can afford this.
Misleading, as usual By DickNH - 06/15/2011 - 11:18 am As usual, a supporter of Right-to-Work (for less) legislation has filled several paragraphs with complete misinformation. You say to look where the jobs are. The jobs are here, where we do NOT have this legislation. Our unemployment rate is 4.7%, or very significantly lower than in ANY state that has right-towork. We have more jobs, faster income growth, and better job security here than in any of those states. In those states, income has DECLINED since the legislation went into effect, not the other way around. We have better job security here because we Log in have a stronger union base. In a right to work state, you're an to vote employee at will, and can be fired for any reason, or no reason 3 at all. Freedom of association? We have that here, too. Agency fee merely pays for the cost of bargaining for and enforcing of a contract that benefits both union and non-union workers. No one is forced to join a union, and no one gets anywhere near the job benefits of union employees without a union. All you have to do is look at the shrinking salaries and benefits of American workers over the past 20 years, when "right to work" reared its
ugly head, to see what the real impact of that legislation is. NH lawmakers would do well to uphold the governor's veto of this needless legislation. If not, explain to your constituents why their salaries and benefits are declining. What answer will you give them?
True By DickNH - 06/10/2011 - 10:25 am You're right, earthling. The only spending cuts people like sail want are those that hurt the poor and middle class. They want ever increasing, ever bloated military budgets (don't call them defense, because they are offensive, not defensive) to protect the American empire. If the tax cuts for the wealthy actually created jobs, then we wouldn't be in the deep recession we're in now. Reagonomics was all about tax cuts for the wealthy (trickle down economics, remember?) and that didn't produce a single Log in to vote job. The same is true of the Bush tax cuts. More money for the 5 wealthy to squirrel away in foreign bank accounts, not to spend investing in an expanding economy. Thse folks know that, they just keep trying to sell the Big Lie.
Nonsense By DickNH - 06/09/2011 - 9:36 am Since I have, in fact, seen DES emergency clean-up personnel in action a number of times, I now know that you have no idea of what you're talking about, Fearless. No one ever said that DES personnel were all-knowing. The same is true of Clean Harbors. They are good, certainly, but so are DES personnel, Log in and they do FAR more at a clean-up site than your pathetic to vote insinuation. What did you do, transpose the old myth about road 4 workers onto emergency clean up personnel? Come back, along with sail, when you get yourself educated. Please stop making these baseless attacks on state employees as a way to convince the public that somehow privatization is in their best interest. It
is not, and is always more expensive to the state in the long run.
Ignorance By DickNH - 06/08/2011 - 10:27 am Sail, yet again you demonstrate your incredible ignorance of reality. The emergency response team at DES is NOT in the business of "sitting around waiting for a call to respond". When not out on an emergency response, and they are ready and able to respond to these crises 24/7, these employees perform a number of other duties that the citizens of NH benefit from. "Clean Harbors" may be a good outfit, but they can't hold a candle to the DES personnel who staff the emergency response team. It would be most helpful if you would stick to something, Log in anything, that you actually know about and understand. You to vote sound way too much like Sarah Palin, shooting from the hip, 4 facts mattering little, and then letting the statements percolate out in the public sector as if they had some grain of truth to them. We now know what you envision, and it has no relation whatsoever to reality.
Deep Pockets By DickNH - 06/06/2011 - 12:56 pm We're all so glad that you can afford to pay ever more in property taxes, sail. Because that's exactly what we'll ALL be doing after the downshifting that will result from this budget occurs. That Reps. Bettencourt and Chandler actually believe that any sane person can't look at this budget and see the massive downshifting that will occur is mind-boggling. In truth, Log in the know full well they're downshifting those costs. They're just to vote hoping the communities will turn the same deaf ear to the 3 legitimate needs of NH citizens as they have.
Heap of Misinformation By DickNH - 06/06/2011 - 9:00 am Mr. Bosse certainly is entitled to his opinion, but not to spread statements that are simply not true. First, non-union members DO NOT pay union dues, and they never have. They pay a fee, known as Fair Share. That fee covers the costs of bargaining for, and enforcing the contract that covers ALL state employees, and from which they benefit. Union representatives negotiate the contract and union representatives enforce the contract on behalf of both union and non-union employees. It's only fair that these folks pay for that benefit. As for the second statement about right-to-work (for less), Mr. Bosse intentionally misrepresents reality. There is no "monopoly" at the bargaining table. There are at least 8 union groups currently bargaining with the State of New Hampshire. Workers who are not union members really have no leverage in negotiations with the State, and their bargaining power is severely limited without an organized body to negotiate with extensive research ability at its command on their behalf. Conveniently, Mr. Bosse neglected to note that in every state that has adopted right-to-work laws, workers' pay and benefits have been reduced. Good bye, middle class.
As for evergreen, that is actually a tool that brings the State and municipal 4 governments to the bargaining table and gives employees leverage with which to bargain, not the other way around. This is NOT a conflict between unions and taxpayers. If the State and municipalities had contributed their agreed share to the retirement system all along, we wouldn't be in this situation.
Courage By DickNH - 06/03/2011 - 9:31 am All of the comments here are very accurate. You all should know that this person is a person of great integrity, courage, grace and dedication to her state and to her country. Would that the person in the pickup truck had even a trace of these qualities, or that he might someday find them within.
Sarcasm? By DickNH - 05/31/2011 - 9:24 am Let's agree that the Representative was speaking with tongue firmly in cheek. That being said, the reason Reps are showing up is that Mr. O'Brien and his henchmen, despite their protestations to the contrary, have been telling members who won't vote to overturn the Governor's veto of the job-killing Right to Work for less bill to take a powder when the vote comes up. These folks are showing the Speaker that they are, if nothing else, responsible members who intend to vote as their Log in to vote constituents want them to. They were not sent to Concord to 7 take a walk on key votes. Take your medicine, Mr. Speaker. Call the vote, lose, and move on. Outside interests will lose again.
Nonsense By DickNH - 05/23/2011 - 1:03 pm Sorry, Mr. Currie, but you're simply mouthing the same falsehoods that others who are trying desperately to minimize minority voting rights have mouthed in the past. There is almost NO documentation of anything but very scattered voting problems, and most of those are mistakes made by either the voter or the registrars. Organized voter fraud is almost unheard of in this country. It IS unheard of in New Hampshire. This is another solution in search of a problem, and the solution, if passed, will go to court, and will be found Log in unconstitutional, as will the feeble attempts already adopted in to vote other states. The ONLY reason for these bills is to dilute 1 minority voting. You cite ACORN, and yet there was not a single instance of ACORN being found guilty of fostering any kind of voter fraud. They were simply "guilty" of registering minority citizens who happen to vote more frequently for Democrats. Funny how the Republicans are the only ones who see a voter fraud problem in this country. It's because their policies favor rich white people, at the expense of the middle
and lower class.
No More Excuses By DickNH - 05/02/2011 - 3:40 pm I am not one for violence, even concerning this vile human being. However, given that he is dead, and that was the stated goal of the illegal invasion of Afghanistan, it is long past time for the Administration to begin the orderly withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. We owe absolutely nothing to that corrupt puppet Karzai. There is zero chance that there will EVER be anything approaching Western style democracy in that nation. Not because the people are not intelligent enough for it, but because it clashes with the very tribal culture that the Afghan society is based upon. Whatever strides the people intend to make, they must make on their own. We cannot, and should not, spend another 20 or 30 years there, wasting lives, Log in to vote treasure and political capital, while Karzai and his friends and 11 successors continue to rape the country of whatever resources it has. That is their issue, not ours. The same is true of Iraq, only more so. We have absolutely no business being there, never have, and it's time to remove the remaining U.S. troops from that country NOW. Anything less is a travesty, and clearly indicates that our presence in these countries is much more economic than social or political.
Reality By DickNH - 04/29/2011 - 10:40 am Mr. Bettencourt: everything the other posters here have said is absolutely true. You think you've protected the ill and disabled because you have no grasp of the reality of their lives or situations. You and Mr. O'Brien congratulate yourselves on not Log in to vote using gimmicks, yet you proudly tout the inane short-term 11 reduction on the gas tax, believing that pittance will somehow give somebody some relief and actually attract people across
the border. You fail the reality test, and you fail the basic test of any representative: humanity. You and Mr. O'Brien are pathetic. How you rectify your actions here with your Catholicism has to rank as one of the great mind games in recent history. How do you look at yourself in the mirror each morning, knowing you've lied to your constituents on a regular basis?
Idiocy By DickNH - 04/28/2011 - 10:14 am O'Brien is as arrogant as Trump, and thinks we are just as stupid as Trump thinks we are. The operative word here, Bill, is help. This is no help, it's a cheap political stunt. As to the price of gas, big deal! The people in Western Europe pay $8 and up, because their governments refuse to subsidize big oil. Get used to it, slow down, buy more sensible vehicles and take Log in to vote some responsibility for the massive waste of resources you've 5 been responsible for all these years.
Nice By DickNH - 04/22/2011 - 3:43 pm Nice turn of the phrase, C. dog, but you missed your mark by several miles. The Sewalls Falls bridge project is a necessary project supported by both parties. It may have to wait awhile, but it's not the stupid, grandstanding stunt that the 5 cents a gallon gas tax reduction is. It will make not one iota of difference, except that it will cost the already starved Highway Log in fund $6 millon! Or didn't you notice that the Redington Street to vote bridge fell into the Ammonoosuc River the other day? There 10 ARE things that government does that are necessary, and road and bridge maintenance is one of them. Except that O'Brien and Bettencourt haven't figured even that basic information out yet. Hopefully, they can't do too much damage in the 2 years
they'll have.
Recall? By DickNH - 04/22/2011 - 11:25 am It really is a shame we don't have a recall provision in this state. These two geniuses throw out a ridiculous proposal like this, and then piously tell us they're protecting the consumer, and that people will just RUSH across the border to save that nickel a gallon. I'm not sure what planet Mr. O'Brien or Mr. Bettencourt are on, but it's painfully obvious it's not this one.
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Nothing Personal By DickNH - 04/20/2011 - 11:56 am This is not personal to Mr. Verbronck. The simple answer to your question, total9 is, yes, that much additional speed DOES cause a big problem to the rest of the people who want to use the lake. It also causes a problem because those large speedboats seldom limit their highspeed racing to just the Broads, as any user of Winnipesaukee well knows. Since the Marine Patrol is already incapable of adequately enforcing the speed limit now, and since the legislature, in its infinite wisdom, is set to reduce the Marine Patrol further, the only way to assure that there is something approaching speed sanity on Winnipesaukee and the other lakes is to keep speed limits at Log in to vote their current levels. The only ones that "hurts" are people like 13 Mr. Verbronck who just can't seem to hold their big cigarette boats to that speed. For them, the answer is simple: take your high speed boat to the ocean where it belongs! If you took a complete poll of lakefront property owners, you'd get the same response: those high speed boats increase the impact of waves on their shorefronts and disturb those trying to use the lake for quieter forms of recreation. There is absolutely no difference in enjoyment between 45 mph and 55 mph on one of those boats. If they can't bear to stay at 45, then take the
boat to the open ocean where it's safer and more appropriate.
Agreed By DickNH - 04/20/2011 - 9:42 am Both the post about abuse of the EBT cards and the "waste, fraud and abuse are rife in DHHS" simply use tired, very old phrases to justify balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and disabled. The EBT cards don't carry enough funding in them to do what Mr. St. Lawrence alleges; it's that simple. And yes, Stewie, if you can give SPECIFICS about the MILLIONS in waste, fraud and abuse, then contact the Attorney General's Log in to vote office and provide chapter and verse. Otherwise, you're just 3 drinking the Tea Party nonsense and lack any sort of credibility.
Your dream???? By DickNH - 04/20/2011 - 9:16 am Sorry, little boy, but, if you were a client coming to you for life insurance, your actuaries would look at you and your "dream" and increase your rates by at least a factor of 2. If you really can't enjoy yourself on the lake at under 45 mph, Mr. Frypp's suggestion of taking your boat to the ocean is the obvious (except, apparently, to the childish little Republican) answer. The rest of us who don't own speedboats don't care for your Log in "dream", as it shatters ours of a lake where many types of to vote recreation can safely occur. You and Ms. Blizzard need to go 12 to the ocean together, where you can safely hurt only each other.
Really? By DickNH - 04/15/2011 - 11:40 am SM: here's what the Employee Free Choice Act would have done, as opposed to what you say it would: The bill would have removed the present right of the employer to demand an additional, separate ballot where over half of employees have already L given their signature supporting the union.[4] So, in other words, if more than half those employees signed those cards, there is no reason to have a secret ballot election. If less than half signed, then the employer would still have a right to have a secret ballot. Nothing nefarious here, just a faster way to do it. No coercion, just either sign the card or not. As for "Right to Work", your fellow workers in NH will be so happy to know that you want their paychecks reduced even further, and their benefits reduced even further. Solid research clearly demonstrates that that is the result of passage of these types of laws. It's a race to the 3 bottom, and the employer always wins those.
o g i n t o v o t e
Two Wrongs By DickNH - 04/06/2011 - 2:11 pm Don't those of you slamming the bishop remember your mom telling you that two wrongs don't make a right? The bishop's actions in the child abuse scandal were very wrong, no question about it. He should have rightly paid a higher price than he has. However, Rep. Bettencourt was every bit as wrong in his choice of words. He called the bishop a "pedophile pimp". He immediately either showed that he is ignorant of the meaning of the word "pimp", (as he is ignorant of SO MANY things) or he made an extremely defamatory statement. To my knowledge, the bishop never brought any child to any priest for molestation purposes; that would have made him a "pimp". Mr. Bettencourt thinks he's done something noble by helping to ram through a budget that is "balanced" on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens and that attacks public employees who give so freely of their time and efforts to help so many of their fellow citizens. All Mr. Bettencourt has done is try to shelter his very wealthy friends and benefactors from bearing their fair share of the costs of this society, and then tried to cast himself as
somehow "noble". Based on the potential effects of his efforts on vulnerable children and the disabled, Mr. Bettencourt's actions are every bit as reprehensible as anything the bishop has done.
Interesting By DickNH - 04/04/2011 - 9:10 am Gee, C.dog, I don't recall you being all in a lather when your boy Bush illegally invaded Iraq and Afghanistan and ran up a debt of billions and billions that this administration is still trying to pay off. And I don't remember you protesting while that administration allowed the hedge traders to engage in their double and triple-dealing that led to the almost complete destruction of the retirement accounts of millions of your fellow citizens. And supporting the indefensible statements of Log in that noble Rep. Bettencourt? Just another demonstration of to vote your deep feeling for your fellow human beings. Nice touches, 11 all. I happen to agree with you about the action in Libya. We have no business there, anymore than we did in Iraq or Afghanistan. Your silence on those wars continues to be deafening, and most hypocritical.
Ignorance is Bliss, Apparently By DickNH - 04/01/2011 - 11:25 am I'm amazed to read all of this nonsense about "out-of-staters" being bussed in for this rally. There were NO out of staters bused in. Those folks were bused down from the state office park on Hazen Drive, and from around the other state offices in the state. Those are people with legitimate concerns that Log in they brought to their legislators, completely deaf and to vote unfeeling though those "representatives" are. Interesting to 5 read that all those people with mental illnesses or physical challenges or various diseases all somehow brought those on themselves. But I'm sure all the posters here who want programs for our neediest citizens slashed or eliminated
consider themselves good Christians. Your remember Jesus of Nazareth, the one who said "Whatever you do to these, the least of my brethren, you do unto me"? Those who are participating in this crushing of those most vulnerable had better hope and pray that there isn't a Judgment Day, because, if there is, they will have a great deal of explaining to do to the one they say they follow.
Absurd By DickNH - 03/28/2011 - 2:42 pm The problem with having an intelligent conversation about this issue is that so many posters here throw out absurd nonsense as fact, and many others treat it as such. NH state employees have gotten raises of 3.5% and 5% in the last contract, and 2% and 2% in the one before that. These raises did not even keep up with the private sector salary increases, and they are obviously nowhere near the intentionally fraudulent figure of 37.6%. The only people who have gotten that kind of raise are.....wait for it.....CEO's! And their wages have absolutely skyrocketed while the middle class wages (and yes, I include private sector workers as middle class, too) have remained essentially flat for the past 30 years. That's right, factoring in the cost of living and inflation, middle class Log in salaries have been flat since sometime in the 1970's. to vote See: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/strangling-middle-class6 america/story?id=... http://www.businessinsider.com/15charts-about-wealth-and-inequality-in-.... Those aren't rash assertions, they are facts, supportable facts. Remember this, too: nearly everybody in the middle and lower class works their behinds off to get the job done. This nonsense about "layabouts" is just that. I don't see it in my workplace, and I doubt you see it much in yours. So let's get past this Tea Party nonsense, manufactured by the corporate elites to further depress wages and benefits. They've got theirs. All workers are asking for is a fair share.
Agreed By DickNH - 03/25/2011 - 10:39 am Upon further review, I think you're right, NHNetzin. Consider me recalibrated! Thanks for pointing that out!
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Surprised? By DickNH - 03/25/2011 - 10:35 am Why are you folks surprised at Sen. Forsythe's vote? He is bought and paid for by the same people who bought and paid for this new, radical legislature that intends to do away with as much public protection as possible in the name of "economic development". They are busily dismantling the public safety net that has been built by consensus over the years, all at the behest of their wealthy benefactors. Perhaps if someone is seriously hurt on the lake in the near future, and they will be, Log in to vote those folks should show up at the doors of Sen. Forsythe and 2 his friends and show them what the lack of public safety rules produces. Drag them out of their insulated little world to see what the results of their radical agenda really are.
Hidden Effects By DickNH - 03/25/2011 - 9:24 am Besides the hum from the lines that would be noticeable far beyond a 300 foot buffer, Ms. Heath, do you care about the abuse of the native peoples of Canada whose land was stolen from them for HydroQuebec's projects? This project is another Log in in a series of massive hydropower projects that is tearing up to vote the landscape of northern Quebec and destroying the heritage 4 and lands of the people who have lived there for centuries longer than European descendants. Interesting that this project
is OK with you as long as you wouldn't hear a hum. How about those who live in the North country and cherish their landscape and heritage?
Comment blocked by moderator Please avoid personal insults. Wrong Point By DickNH - 03/23/2011 - 11:32 am Smenard, that is the point that neither you nor Mr. Kurk understand. If there is an evergreen clause in an existing contract, and that contract expires, that evergreen clause keeps the last version of the contract in place until a new contract is negotiated. Mr. Kurk cannot usurp that contract's evergreen Log in clause with this language. Perhaps a class on basic contract to vote law would help both of you understand this concept better! 8
Ignorant Kurk By DickNH - 03/23/2011 - 9:03 am All this amendment demonstrates is how very ignorant of the collective bargaining and contracts process Neil Kurk is. Unless a union is foolish enough to have not included an evergreen clause in an existing contract, that contract remains in effect until a new one is negotiated, Mr. Kurk's meanspirited and foolish amendment notwithstanding. One would think that, after all the years Mr. Kurk has been in the Log in legislature, he would have learned at least a wee bit more to vote about how state government works. One would think that his 11 continued obvious ignorance of the process would become a source of great embarrassment to the current leadership, along with all the other embarrassments they produce on an almost daily basis.
Wrong Again, Sailmaker By DickNH - 03/09/2011 - 9:48 am Actually, sailmaker, Mr. Boehner may not have "proposed" the engine, that was done by someone in the Pentagon initially, but he did fight long and hard for it, despite Secretary Gates' insistence that the Pentagon no longer wanted nor needed it. Why did Boehner fight so hard for the "pork", which is what it is? Because GE's plant that would build the engine is located in Ohio (no, not in his district) and many of the workers at the plant, and many ancillary businesses that Log in ARE located in his district would benefit from spending those to vote billions. No slime, no liberal bilge, those are all verifiable 5 facts. Mr. Boehner fights just as hard for these pork projects in his district as any other member from either party, so saying he has never, ever proposed pork is simply inaccurate.
Revisionist History By DickNH - 03/08/2011 - 11:26 am Sorry, bartjoebarb, you're seriously mistaken. Those pension and contract promises were made to state employees by BOTH Democrats and Republicans. These were bipartisan agreements. They were not made by L "union bosses", since there are none in our unions. This is not Chicago or o New York. The people who work in our union offices are not our g i "bosses", and they have certainly not feathered their nests, as your statements would infer. Those promises would be sustainable if the state n and local municipalities had made the contributions they promised, when t o they were promised. If these had been made annually, as promised, there v would NOT have been a huge impact on taxpayers. It is also inaccurate to o t blame state employees for that conscious failure on the part of those e entities not to fulfill those contracts. I would agree that certain investments were made that shouldn't have been made, and that needs to 6 be investigated. However, millions of other people got on that joyride,
too, and no one cared as long as "money" was being made.
Speaking of Pinheads.... By DickNH - 03/07/2011 - 10:30 am Here we have Mitt Romney, a man who not only didn't create any jobs, he made a killing by transferring jobs overseas. And Obama's predecessor, that legendary businessman George W. Bush, made a career out of killing business with his brilliant economic acumen. He was just misunderestimated, that's all.
Numbers By DickNH - 03/03/2011 - 8:41 am On top of accurate budget and revenue estimates, how about one single number that shows that ANY of the bills that Mr. O'Brien heralded yesterday does anything but cost the state more money? They claim they have already cut the deficit in half, but they haven't introduced one piece of legislation, or produced their promised budget bill, that would do anything Log in at all to address the state deficit. Rather, they are on their to vote merry witch hunt to address the narrow interests of their 16 social conservative base. Nice work for them, not so much for the rest of us.
What?? By DickNH - 03/02/2011 - 9:25 am Obviously, you have no experience in the public sector, RealNHGOPer. Public sector employees have a decent benefits package, in exchange for lower wages relative to the Log in to vote private sector, because of collective bargaining. It works well 7 for both sides. This repeal is a Pyrrhic victory, at best, as
almost all public employee contracts already have the evergreen clause in them, and this repeal doesn't change that. These supposedly awful step increases rarely even match cost of living increases, so to say that they are somehow bankrupting towns and cities is a huge stretch, at best.
Credence By DickNH - 02/28/2011 - 9:54 am You lost all credibility, armyvet, when you went down the Stalin/Hitler road. There is nothing at all in anything that President Obama has done in his two years in office that could in any way be compared to the horrors perpetrated by either of those two dictators. To say otherwise is to deny history. As for Palin, there is simply no "there" there. She is a quitter, a vapid gold-digger out for her own aggrandizement. She has no depth of knowledge about the world, much less the country's issues. As for Gingrich, he is just another hypocritical womanizer who screwed up his chance at Log in leadership nearly 20 years ago. His words since then show a to vote very narrow, unrealistic, ideological view of the world that is 13 based almost solely on expansive American power. That is no longer the case (see the words of Secretary Gates about committing land forces to SW Asia or North Africa). Newt's time is long gone, and that will become clear as he continues to speak.
Differ By DickNH - 02/18/2011 - 2:14 pm ArmyVet_72, I beg to differ with you. Union workers, and union efforts in general, are why we have, or at least had, a middle class to begin with. Because we are losing those good Log in to vote union jobs to cheap overseas labor, the middle class is rapidly 7 disappearing. And remember something: union members pay
taxes, too. It is NOT just private sector employees who pay for the public services provided by public sector employees that keep your roads and bridges repaired, your schools functioning, your homes safe and secure from fire and crime, your water drinkable and your sewers operating smoothly. However, keep on attacking public employees, and lowering taxes, and those services will disappear. If that happens, and the private sector is called upon to pick them up, it won't happen. There is no profit in providing those services. Then, the rest of the middle class will collapse and the US will look just like so many third world countries, with the very rich and the very poor, and no middle class.
No kidding By DickNH - 02/18/2011 - 12:58 pm And they get billions upon billions of subsidies from both US and EU governments, so I'm not shedding a tear for them. I understand giving and taking at the bargaining table, niceplacetolive, but I also understand the value and right to collective bargaining . Tell me how that helps a state and its people when the legislature unilaterally takes that right away, and we go back to the 19th Century where corporations told workers what they would earn, how long they would work, Log in under what conditions they would work, and the workers had to vote no say in that? Are you saying we should turn the clock back 5 to that? If so, the US education system is in much worse trouble than I thought, because now we can't even think and stand up for ourselves.
Really, Ranger? By DickNH - 02/18/2011 - 11:01 am So, it's illegal to pay $0 taxes, Ranger? If so, you chould immediately contact the US Justice Department and notify
Log in
them of that fact. Because, among others, Exxon-Mobil, the to vote 7 world's largest corporation (and an American-based corporation), has paid $0 in taxes for years, despite the fact that they posted earnings of $45 billion last year. Still think it's illegal? None of the corporations granted those tax breaks needed them to stay in business, or to survive. Look it up, that's a fact. The tax breaks were, purely and simply, political payback for the campaign donations of those corporations to the governor's election campaign. The governor and his supporters would like you to believe otherwise, but that information is public, and it's out there. He's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and now he blames public employees and unions for his misbehavior in office. Instead of being hailed, he should be impeached.
Understand? By DickNH - 02/18/2011 - 10:33 am jWhat is it that you don't understand about the fact that this problem is the governor's doing, alone? The size of the projected deficit in WI exactly equals the size of the earlier projected surplus plus the amount the governor gave away to his corporate donors in big tax breaks. To the penny! If the governor hadn't given that money away to those corporate interests, the state could still afford to keep its contractual promises to state workers, and still operate a budget surplus. It's very simple. This is a case of government bribery, pure Log in and simple. Corporations funded his campaign, and he gave to vote that money back to them in the form of huge tax breaks. 8 None of those corporations was hurting, they were all profitable, so it isn't like the tax breaks were necessary for them to stay in business. They were a quid pro quo for campaign contributions, pure and simple.
Good Thing By DickNH - 02/18/2011 - 10:13 am It's a good thing that the union membership CAN turn out in peaceful protest ( no, Wayne, it's NOT a mob) when their legitimate rights are threatened. All the corporations have to do is write a check to a bought and paid for politician like the governor in WI and they get huge tax breaks and legislation to bust unions (except, of course, the 3 unions that supported Log in to vote the governor's election campaign. Isn't that odd?). It[s 5 numbers v. checkbook, Wayne, as it's always been.
Get It? By DickNH - 02/18/2011 - 9:20 am No, kenstcyr, the real issues are these 2: 1) There is no budget deficit in Wisconsin. The governor's own budget office has demonstrated that, even if nothing changes with state employee pay and benefits, the state will end the fiscal year with a SURPLUS! That's his own people, his own numbers. 2) The only reason the state has any sort of fiscal problem at all is that, as soon as the governor took office, he enacted huge tax breaks for many in-state and out-of-state corporations. That lost revenue is the source of the "problem", to the extent that there is a problem. As for those in the private sector who have had their benefits and salaries Log in cut and who just bend over and take it, perhaps if you were to vote strong enough to organize and collectively bargain for fair 6 wages and benefits, you wouldn't be in this situation. Don't blame unionized workers for your failure to stand up for yourselves. The businesses, especially the larger ones, are making money hand over fist, particularly upper management. Why aren't you then receiving your fair share of those profits? That is your fault, not unions.
No Vote for Discrimination By DickNH - 02/16/2011 - 2:17 pm This nation did not vote to end slavery, and it didn't vote to end racial discrimination, nor discrimination against women or other minorities. Those discriminatory practices were ended by legislation, as was the deeply discriminatory ban on same sex marriage. No, rightfield, it shouldn't be put to a vote where people's petty biases can sometimes overrule what is promised by our state and federal constitutions: equal protection of the laws. Watching, if you don't understand that Log in to vote ours is a secular government, not a religious one, then 3 perhaps you need to move to one of the countries where one religion rules. I guarantee you won't like in the least what you see.
Facts By DickNH - 02/15/2011 - 2:16 pm You need to get your facts straight, Peanut. People who retire and then return to work may be a problem, but they do NOT collect any benefits as part-time employees!
4 Wrong Information By DickNH - 02/15/2011 - 2:12 pm I'm sorry, Army_vet72, but your information is completely wrong. Studies have consistently shown that outsourcing actually costs the state more over the long run than having state employees perform these functions,
with MUCH higher accountability.
Common Sense Prevails By DickNH - 02/11/2011 - 9:35 am Thanks to the Chichester planning board for showing a large grain of common sense. There is already enough clutter and distraction at that intersection, along with some very poor driving choices made every day. There are more than enough other, safe ways to bring this man's religious views Log in before the public without screaming them at us at a very to vote busy intersection. 13
Forgot a Few Things? By DickNH - 02/10/2011 - 2:50 pm Like, that the bill includes significant funds to assist with purchasing health care, or sets up buying cooperatives that also lower costs with high volume purchase. Or, how about the fact that so many of you want the deficit reduced, and the GAO proved that this bill reduces the debt by almost $300 billion over 10 years? Why haven't you discussed that? Other writers are correct, if people don't have insurance, Medicare or Medicaid pays for their care, and that's more expensive emergency room care. Many of the provisions of Log in to vote this bill were originally Republican ideas, now they're 8 running from them because they've been co-opted. This is NOT government-run health care. If there had been a public option, this bill would have been much better, with more competition created.
Agreed By DickNH - 02/09/2011 - 9:57 am For a change, I completely agree with both other commenters. This legislation ALWAYS went too far. We already had the tools at our disposal to address these threats, and the "new" tools haven't noticeably changed that ability, despite some overblown announcements about avoided threats to the contrary. I would hope that both Senators would closely examine the entire statute with an eye toward Log in to vote repealing most of it, and returning to more constitutional 1 government, as the last round of elections indicates the American people want.
Teachers v. CEO's??? By DickNH - 02/06/2011 - 7:32 pm Mr. St. Cyr is showing his ignorance if he believes that in any way, shape or form even the highest paid teacher receives a salary that is even one-tenth of what most CEO's in this country get. Most of them are making high 7 figures. Do they earn it? Of course not; no one is worth that much. Log in But teachers earn their pay each and every day, and our kids to vote are the winners when they do. 6
Really, Newt??? By DickNH - 01/26/2011 - 3:38 pm This shows why Mr. Gingrich should have stayed out of politics after he was shamed out of office in the 1990's. He has a very poor grasp of reality, but loves to play to the far Log in right wing of the party. It is painfully obvious that Mr. to vote Gingrich has absolutely no clue how vaiuable the EPA is to 0 ordinary people and to the business community as a whole. He needs to keep quiet and study. Perhaps in a couple of
decades he might find himself an educated man.
Well said, Dan By DickNH - 01/26/2011 - 12:40 pm Hunter Dan, there are more than enough folks like us who understand that a well-rounded education is essential for our children to compete in today's and tomorrow's world that this bill will be seen as inane even by the neanderthals/troglodytes supporting it that it will die on the Log in House floor, since all bills that aren't sent to interim study to vote get a vote. 7
The Deal is... By DickNH - 01/26/2011 - 11:01 am The big deal is that, if this bill goes through, in fact payments to towns would be decreased, and property taxes would have to be increased to cover these subjects. There isn't a decent college in the country that would accept students who didn't receive the well-rounded education that includes these subjects. No arts, no music, no foreign languages, no health or technology classes? Just how much less prepared to deal with the world shall we make our Log in children before this new neanderthal movement is satisfied? to vote Just because the constitution doesn't specifically name a 8 subject doesn't mean that the demands of a modern, critical education should be shunted back to the norms of the 18th Century.
Who Do You Think? By DickNH - 01/21/2011 - 12:09 pm The same people who voted for the rest of the new extreme right wing representatives who are all bringing their own little personal slights to the Legislature for "redress". They sure are focusing like a laser beam on the economy, aren't Log in they? This is going to be a very long, ridiculous two years. to vote 10 view in original post Yours? By DickNH - 01/14/2011 - 2:22 pm Mr. Haas: the more urgent question is: where did you get YOUR education? The pledge of allegiance, which actually has nothing at all to do with the AG's office and responsibilities in the NH system of government, says: and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands. Mr. Delaney is correct, the legislature can suggest or urge that his office join a particular lawsuit, but they cannot order him to do so. Would you think that the former Democratically controlled legislature could have ordered former AG Ayotte to file a brief in support of a lawsuit filed to support the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade? Of course not, and that power does not depend on the issue or the political makeup Log in of the legislature or the governor's office. As for to vote impeachment, somebody tell me what high crimes and 8 misdemeanors Mr. Delaney would be guilty of, other than being appointed by a Democratic governor? There are none, so talk of impeachment is specious. However, if the legislature pursues that, it would be one more clear indication that this legislature has no clue as to how the process works, nor what the limits of its power or the real intent of the people (improving the economy) are.
Facts By DickNH - 01/10/2011 - 10:13 am Clarkcoryd, you are incorrect in your next to last sentence. The laws against carrying guns in courts, school areas, and even in legislative halls in the various states ARE constitutional, and have repeatedly been upheld at all levels of courts. Funny how the State House has been a safe place for years without every legislator and every visitor the State House being allowed to "carry". That place is the place of the people's business, where the people can go to peacefully discuss and debate the issues that matter to them. No one needs a gun to do that, and no one in anyone's memory has ever disturbed that right by carrying a gun into the State Log in House and threatening anyone with it. But no, this new to vote legislature, instead of focusing on economic issues as the 4 people want, decided that they want everyone armed and ready, a veritable armed camp at the State House. They also don't want little things like public notice of hearings and executive sessions. Thankfully, the people are watching, and the tenure of people like Speaker O'Brien will be a very, very short one. The ballot, not the bullet, will assure that.
Your Point? By DickNH - 01/05/2011 - 4:10 pm Stuff like this happens, on VERY rare occasions. The fact that others were not armed did not affect what happened there. A very good friend of mine, a retired police officer and NRA instructor, calls people who keep guns in their homes for "protection" fools. The statistics are very clear that that firearm is much more likely to be used by an intruder on the family than by the family on the intruder, despite some of the sensational stories in the Union MisLeader. Even if you are carrying, the great likelihood is that you will be shot or killed long before you can get your weapon out to use it. The point is that it is totally unnecessary to have people armed in the State House, despite Stretch
Kennedy's longstanding crusade to the contrary.
WRONG!!!! By DickNH - 01/05/2011 - 12:08 pm States are going broke because banks are screwing around with money designed for loans to business, and businesses are taking their jobs overseas where they can pay cheaply for labor and not give benefits. That erodes the tax base and interferes with municipal and state ability to provide services. The union benefits are merely what's left to go after when all those "good neighbor" businesses took their business overseas so they can get cheap labor and pay almost nothing in taxes to the nation that made it possible for them to succeed in the first place. Look to the big business community and the banks as the culprit here. Compared to what employee wages and benefits cost communities, they are a pittance when compared with what big business cost when it left and screwed the middle class.
Can You? By DickNH - 01/05/2011 - 11:54 am Can you name the last time anybody even created a violent scene in the State House that would have in any way necessitated the use of a firearm? Of course you can't, because there hasn't been one in at least 25 years! And that includes the time when firearms were thankfully banned from the State House. Don't worry, though, some guntoting fool will eventually open fire from the gallery at Log in some legislator saying something he doesn't agree with. to vote Then, the old armed fools in the House will turn and open 6 fire and miss the intended target and take out a few innocent bystanders, and then you'll all be happy, won't you? Security is NOT bought at the business end of a gun; it never has been, it never will be.
All Too Funny By DickNH - 12/16/2010 - 9:20 am The fact is that, whenever you give tax cuts to the wealthy, they simply hoard it. They DO NOT create more jobs, and never have. Those tax cuts have been in effect for 8 long years, and all that time our economy has done nothing but bleed jobs as the wealthy take that money and invest it overseas in their free trade sweatshops that take goodpaying American jobs away from the middle class, while further enriching the super rich. I'm not sure where Mr. Trevellini gets his numbers from, but the fact is that middle Log in and lower class wages have remained stagnant for at least to vote 20 years, while the wealthiest Americans have only gotten 5 ever wealthier relative to everyone else. Let Mr. Denenberg blather on; he was also one of George W. Bush's biggest fans, so his credibility on presidential competence is somewhere south of zero, anyway.
Your Bible? By DickNH - 12/09/2010 - 11:16 am Funny, but as I recall, the Sixth Commandment found in the Bible that so many on here say they believe in and follow, states: "Thou Shalt Not Kill". It's quite clear, actually. It doesn't have any exceptions, not for war, not for crime, not for any other excuse one person can think up for taking the life of another. Yes, I've read all the theologians who try to make a case for "just war" and "just killing". It's Log in to vote all meaningless, and groundless. The simple fact is that, if 3 you would follow the Bible, then capital punishment would be eliminated, as would war. But since we humans are amazingly selective in when and how we choose to put those beliefs into effect, we will continue state-sponsored murder in the guise of capital punishment and war. That
doesn't change the simple fact that both are wrong.
Oxes Gored By DickNH - 11/19/2010 - 10:14 am Don't worry, Jane. As soon as one of these writers' ox is gored, meaning they don't get the services "they" feel are "necessary" because they were chain-sawed, they'll change their tune. And watch how your property taxes are going to soar when the legislature cuts all these necessary programs (the ones mentioned by Fearlessldr won't amount to a hill of beans in the overall spending numbers) and they devolve once again onto the local communities. As for the prescription drug program, that costs almost nothing, and prevents larger sums being spent when ground and surface waters and drinking supplies become contaminated and Log in people start getting sick because they are taking someone to vote else's medications unknowingly. Cutting preventive 2 programs like that will increase the state budget significantly. But, people like Jim Forsythe can't see past the bottom line on his checkbook, so they'll have to learn the hard way. I wonder how he'll react when one of his kids gets sick or his well is contaminated and he needs state assistance that isn't there anymore.
No Soap, Mr. Smith By DickNH - 11/19/2010 - 8:53 am Bruton Smith is obviously used to getting his way. Well, not this time. The state shouldn't spend a dime of taxpayer money on this study. The answer is already clear: it's Log in completely unnecessary. Three times a year those of us to vote who live off 106 have our lives disrupted by the traffic 7 from the track. The rest of the year, the road is more than
adequate to handle the traffic. There is plenty of land along 106 that is already zoned commercial, and it has sat vacant for at least 10 years. There is no rush to develop commercial property on 106, and widening the road won't change that. If people want to come here to watch a bunch of gas guzzling cars whizz round and round the oval, with the hope that some of them will be involved in spectacular wrecks, fine, but you'll have to put up with the traffic headaches that you have created. We've already lost far too many valuable wetlands in this area, and the state shouldn't sanction the loss of any more simply to please another arrogant Texan.
Ironic By DickNH - 11/10/2010 - 2:26 pm Even though it was councilor-elect Chris Sununu who urged Gov. Lynch to wait on the nominations, I find it ironic that those commenting here thought it was his old man. Chris sounds just like John, Sr. It's as likely that many of his votes for Executive Council came just because his last name happens to be Sununu as it was anything that he Log in said leading up to the election. Sorry, Chris, but if naming to vote these people before the new council takes office was good 4 enough for the old man, it's good enough now. Deal with it.
Old Spirit By DickNH - 11/08/2010 - 12:35 pm Yes, she was only 20 when she made her transition. But, read the story carefully. Any person who is less than 20 yet Log in knows that "sometimes you just have to let go" is, in to vote reality, a very old and wise spirit. She was here to learn a 2 few lessons, sure, but I believe she lived to teach others
very important lessons, and that was the true meaning of her life. It's a shame that certain contributors here couldn't overlook a minor error to see the deeper meaning of the story of Abby's life.
Hmmm By DickNH - 11/05/2010 - 12:41 pm The same citizenry capable of entrusting the presidency to a mindless mediocrity like George W. Bush, or a dementialaden former actor like Ronald Raygun. Log in
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Look, then! By DickNH - 11/05/2010 - 12:37 pm The last time you knew, 151,000 additional jobs hadn't been created, in part due to the increasing success of the President's policies. The last time you knew, you hadn't noticed that the bailout funds program is in the process of becoming a net GAIN for the American people, because the money is being paid back WITH INTEREST, resulting in a net gain of about $10 billion. I agree with you about the USA PATRIOT Act, but the last time you knew, that was rammed through by a Republican Log in to vote president who had managed to botch national security, 3 resulting in a much worse 9/11, and then scared the bejeesus out of everyone with the help of his vice president, and stated that anyone who voted against that act was a traitor. If Mr. Obama even hinted at trying to repeal that Act, the Republicans would line up to file articles of impeachment against him for "endangering the security of the nation", and you know it.
The last time I knew, Mr. Obama was finally winding down the illegal war in Iraq. Not so the illegal war in Afghanistan, and I agree we shouldn't go near starting anything in Pakistan, but then, we shouldn't be showering them with foreign and military aid, either. I can only hope that he is very serious about beginning serious withdrawal from the morass in Afghanistan next July.
Not To Worry By DickNH - 11/05/2010 - 12:20 pm Ms. Ayotte and her quivering little voice will remain exactly that in the US Senate. She ran by simply mouthing the mantra of the national Republicans, without a single original idea of her own. She'll learn soon enough that, if she can't develop those independent ideas, she'll be a short term senator. We have already learned today that the President's stimulus policies are working, as another 151,000 new jobs were created in the private sector in October, and the August numbers were revised significantly upward. Just thought I'd throw that out there Log in to vote in case the Republicans attempt to take credit for it. If they 6 implement the policies they have stated, they will screw things up royally, again, and the voters will turn on them just as surely as they just did the Democrats. Mr. Obama now has a great deal more leverage for his meeting with Messrs. Boehner and McConnell on the 18th.
Where, then? By DickNH - 11/03/2010 - 4:04 pm So you would not touch the military budget, that sacred cow of the defense lobbyists. OK, so 49% of the federal budget is now off limits. L o Even if you cut out the Department of Education, that's something
g
under 2% of the budget. Where else? And if, as you say, education truly belongs at the state level, and you already know that the state legislature is not about to absorb the mammoth increased costs of education that will result from the elimination of the DOE, are you prepared to pay the incredible increases in your local property taxes that will result when the state devolves those costs back to the cities and towns? Of course you will, we'd all be happy to do that, now, wouldn't we? Please get a grip and think this all the way through before you come up with simplistic solutions like this. As for the health care bill, it does not increase ANY taxes on the middle class. That lie worked during the campaign, but it's time to 'fess up and realize that the truth is that the health care bill will actually lower the federal deficit by lowering federal health care spending significantly (Medicare and especially Medicaid) in the next 10 years.
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Likely, yes By DickNH - 11/03/2010 - 3:59 pm It probably was. Would you then not extend unemployment benefits for the millions of people who are unemployed, and for whom THERE ARE NO JOBS? Would millions more homeless in the streets satisfy your conservative thirst for vengeance against those who are unemployed through no fault of their own? If so, rest assured that your bad dream will not become reality in a country that still has a heart despite folks like you.
Wrong Again By DickNH - 11/03/2010 - 3:56 pm In case your head is still in the sand, Gov. Shaheen vetoed tax increases, including the income tax, when she was in Log in office. Look it up. to vote 2
ID'd the Problem By DickNH - 11/03/2010 - 12:53 pm You identified the problem right there, Stewie. According to many who think like you, only Republicans who think like you are "patriots", leaving the rest of us as "traitors". If that's the way the new majority governs, it will quickly find itself once again outside looking in. We are ALL Log in Americans, and all citizens of New Hampshire, and the to vote majority forgets that at their peril. 6
Responsibility By DickNH - 11/03/2010 - 9:38 am No, armyvet, the next thing is for Frank Guinta to understand that he represents every one of us in the First District, not just the radical Tea Party, and that he and others now need to be specific as to what they're going to do that isn't being done. If he is for extending all the Bush era tax cuts, he needs to tell you and me where he is going to cut the Federal budget by $700 billion to balance the loss of those funds. I understand that Mr. Guinta and other newly elected members have already said they won't touch the military budget and related budgets, that account for Log in to vote 49% of the Federal budget. If they are unwilling to address 3 that part of the budget, what will they cut? Forget about doing away with the Department of Education and other agencies. They all serve a vital function, and there is not the support, even in the new Congress, to eliminate those agencies. So, what else would you cut, Mr. Guinta? And by the way, there are no tax increases that Sen. Shaheen has voted for, because there haven't been any enacted since she took office, so let's not continue on with the lies
now that the election is over.
Party of "No" By DickNH - 11/01/2010 - 10:10 am Yes, NYB, Pelosi did say that in 2006, and the Democrats tried mightily to work with the Republicans, including many of their ideas in the health care bill and other legislation. What did they get for their attempt at bipartisanship? The Party of NO, that's what. No matter how many changes the Dems made in the bill to satisfy Republican concerns, the votes were always the same: NO.....NO.....NO....NO. If this supposed massive defeat Log in does happen, Mr. Boehner has already said HE will not to vote compromise on ANYTHING.....do you really think that's 3 what voters want your party to do? If that happens, get ready for an even larger tidal wave the other way in 2012. You'll make Barack Obama's re-election even easier if you do.
And then what? By DickNH - 10/31/2010 - 7:39 pm So, sure, let's do away with unemployment insurance and food stamps. Let's let the people who have lost their jobs due to the greedy outsourcing of their jobs overseas starve and live on the streets. Is that what the Tea Party stands for, Van? If so, you are in a mean-spirited, unChristian Log in distinct minority and you'll be shown up for what you are: to vote heartless and uncaring. Thanks for your honesty. 5
Other Cheek, Dennis? By DickNH - 10/29/2010 - 2:54 pm So, Dennis, you've got your drawers all in a bunch over the horrible "uber-Marxist" flyers mailed out against Andy Sanborn. What about the exact same type of raunchy, liefilled flyers that the Republicans mailed out attacking Ms. Tremblay? What shall you call the members of the Republican central committee who approved and mailed those out? And why didn't you issue the same call to Andy Log in to vote Sanborn to disown and reject those? Oh, I forgot...he's not 4 a "uber-Marxist", so dirty politics is OK for him. Hypocrite.
Already Happening By DickNH - 10/29/2010 - 1:44 pm He's already under investigation for failing to disclose the source of those funds, among other things. If he's elected, what a great way to start out representing the 1st District, Log in under a large ethical cloud.
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Local v. state By DickNH - 10/29/2010 - 11:17 am I am a co-chair of my LOCAL conservation commission, that has nothing to do with the state conservation committee. But then, you wouldn't understand that, would Log in you?
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Puzzled By DickNH - 10/29/2010 - 11:15 am Mr. Co-chair of what, millennia? The state conservation commission? I've never been on it, much less being cochair, so, once again, you're making this stuff up as you go Log in along because you have no cogent answer to my post.
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Vote Derek! By DickNH - 10/29/2010 - 9:04 am Despite NYB's nonsensical attack, Derek has always placed the interests and needs of his constituents and the citizens of NH first. I have no doubt that the people of his district understand that and will return him for another Log in term. to vote 2 view in original post Not Paying Attention By DickNH - 10/29/2010 - 9:00 am If you paid attention to Ms. Tremblay's statements in public appearances and interviews, NYB, you'd know what her positions are. That she is not so doctrinaire as Mr. Sanborn in seeing only HIS way or the highway, but is willing to look at more options, is the sign of an open, inquiring mind willing to look at all sides of an issue, seek input, and then make an informed decision. That, NYB, is the sign of an intelligent Senator, the kind we need in Concord. We've had more than enough "purity of doctrine" on both sides to last us a lifetime. Michelle is the intelligent choice.
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Yes, Really! By DickNH - 10/28/2010 - 3:58 pm
Do you live on another planet, SM? You've really never heard of successful one person consulting businesses? Then you need to get out more. She wasn't "sucking off the taxpayer". She provided services, and still does, to a number of non-profits, and to the state government. What's wrong with that? If Andy Sanborn had sold bicycles to state agencies to take for short trips downtown, to save on gas and air pollution, would he have been "sucking off the taxpayers"? You have nothing to support your senseless, foolish attacks on Ms. Tremblay other than that? She was laid off from the state conservation commission when funds to that commission were reduced. It happens all the time. She was not fired, and I'm curious as to why the statements from those who were actually THERE, and who know what happened, just don't seem to be good enough for you. Oh, I forgot, they don't fit your hate-filled rant about a progressive businesswoman. Too bad for you. You should have paid more attention to the newspapers at the time that Sanborn went under. The stories were filled with quotes from his creditors as to how he treated them, and similar stories from his customers when they had a problem. That's a great deal more accurate than your baseless attacks on Ms. Tremblay's very legitimate business. Funny how, just because she has been highly successful at it, you assume it's because she did business with the state. I guess all businesses in the state should stop doing business with the state, because somehow that doesn't fit your definition of pure capitalism?
Really, SM? By DickNH - 10/28/2010 - 9:04 am So, if I understand what you're saying, SM, Sanborn believes "fiscal sanity and common sense" are antithetical to environmental health. It's too bad you don't read well, or you would know that you are lying about Ms. Log in Tremblay's extensive experience in the private sector to vote with small business, including environmental businesses 6 that are among the vanguard of the next generation of small businesses nationwide. But, don't let a few facts get in the way of your trashing a very decent, competent
human being. What fun would that be?
Thanks By DickNH - 10/27/2010 - 11:37 am Thanks, Kemibe, for trying to hold these haters' feet to the fire. I have heard just about every presidential speech since Mr. Obama took office and don't remember him calling those who oppose his policies "the enemy", nor telling them they would have to "sit in the back of the bus". As for the trip to Spain, yes, the taxpayers paid for the Secret Service portion of the trip, as they do with any First Family travel, no matter who is in office. And Log in please, stop with the golf nonsense. Someone (and no, I to vote don't have the cite right at hand) determined that Bush 4 spent a full 1/4 of his entire presidency on vacation. Mr. Obama isn't anywhere near that in his first two years in office.
Afford? By DickNH - 10/26/2010 - 11:39 am We can't afford the Republicans who were in office for the better part of the last 8 years. You forget that those "Democratic congresses" kowtowed to Bush's radical agenda, and gave him everything he asked for. So much for what you get from bi-partisanship. You're so worried about government intrusion in our lives, and yet you and Log in your merry band gladly went along with the fearto vote mongering that produced the monstrously intrusive and 10 unconstitutional USA PATRIOT Act. Funny how I don't remember seeing you raise one finger in protest about that. You folks keep saying how we're still so threatened by terrorists, and yet that Act was supposed to stop all
that. Great work, Republicans. It's all yours.
Follow Up By DickNH - 10/26/2010 - 11:33 am The reason the FEC investigation against the SEIU was closed is the same as the reason they close any investigation: there was no evidence to support going forward, despite what your National Right to Work website says to the contrary, Wayne.
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See above By DickNH - 10/26/2010 - 11:30 am DZ, the paper and other products used for political campaigning, to some extent, may be paid for with member dues. That is the 501(c)(3) portion of the SEA. That portion allows up to 20% of funds, I believe, to go toward political activity. The lion's share of the funds for political activity comes from the SEA/PAC, or 501(c)(4) Log in to vote funds. That is all perfectly legal under those sections of 0 the IRS code.
Reply By DickNH - 10/26/2010 - 11:23 am DZ., I responded on another thread, but I'll reiterate it here. SEA collects dues from members and fair share payers. On a separate card, SEA/PAC requests donations, Log in and makes it very clear that those donations will be used to vote for political activities. The funds must remain separate, 2 and an independent auditor and the IRS audit the union
funds every year. Penalties for commingling funds are harsh. To date, SEA has never been accused, or found to be guilty of, commingling membership dues with PAC contributions and activities. Is that clear enough? Your membership dues CANNOT be used to fund political activities, and they are not used for that purpose. They are used for negotiating and enforcing the contract between the SEA and the state.
Your Question Was Answered By DickNH - 10/26/2010 - 11:16 am You apparently didn't read my post, or didn't understand it. SEA uses the system I described. In order to use ANY funds for political activity. that money must come from a separate, dedicated fund, SEA/PAC. Members are asked for contributions on a separate card from the membership card. SEA is forbidden to use any member dues, including fair share payments, for political activities. Those funds are audited every year by an independent Log in auditing firm, and the IRS. To date, neither of these to vote entitities has alleged any misuse of member dues for 2 political activities. So, if you're alleging that, you'll have to come up with some solid evidence that was overlooked by both of these auditing entities.
Interesting By DickNH - 10/26/2010 - 10:27 am Paying $150 $350 per month for health care. I can only imagine what your deductibles are. As for pay, Bruce, the reason pay hasn't gone up is that companies are shipping Log in to vote the jobs overseas, where labor is ridiculously cheap and 2 the worker is told take it or leave it, don't ask for any
benefits, and they take it because that's all there is. Companies are attempting to do the same thing here, to race to the bottom on wages and cut out benefits. Where companies have eliminated or restricted benefits, guess what, they HAVEN'T raised wages to compensate. They just say, take it or we'll ship your job overseas. "Free trade" sure is great for the middle class.
A hoot By DickNH - 10/26/2010 - 10:21 am Imagine, a Glenn Beck fan calling ANYONE mean, nasty and elitist. That whack job tries to come off as for the little guy, yet he's a multimillionaire who's hawking gold for a company with multiple ethical complaints filed against it. Yes, sir, Glenn Beck, All-American huckster. Without having memorized the national Republican Log in mantra, Guinta wouldn't know how to answer any of the to vote questions posed to him. A nice Republican robot to 5 replace the last Republican robot, Jeb Bradley!
Fairly Amazing By DickNH - 10/26/2010 - 10:18 am Some of these folks have to be from the Guinta campaign. Anyone who watched that debate saw Rep. Shea-Porter answer the questions clearly and concisely. You may not have agreed with her answer, but a complete answer she gave. Guinta, on the other hand, Log in side-stepped real solutions on everything. Just the same to vote old tired mantra, lower taxes, lower taxes, less regulation, 4 less regulation. He fails to understand that middle class taxes were already lowered by the Administration, with Carol's full support. Yes, people, you got a middle class
tax cut. It just wasn't in one check like Bush did. So, that one doesn't work. The upper 2% have had their tax cut in place for 8 years, and yet it hasn't produced job #1. So, where are all these new jobs coming from if that tax cut is maintained? As for finances, at least Carol's missteps are minor, as opposed to the over $500,000 that Guinta failed to disclose, and on which he still refuses to come clean as to where it came from. It's not in his financial statements from past earnings. Yet, he has "loaned" his campaign over $355,000! Real grassroots effort there, Frank. Most of the ads on the Republican side are coming from these undisclosed donor 527's that have continuously misrepresented the health care bill and the really positive impact of the stimulus, that even former Bush economists say was crucial to avoiding a complete depression.
So Funny By DickNH - 10/25/2010 - 8:08 pm Way to go, SM. Quote that well-known "bipartisan" message framer, Frank Luntz. Oh, darn, isn't he the chief Republican message framer and pollster? Why, yes he is. That's as bad as the letter earlier citing stories from the National Right to Life website on union misdeeds. Come on, at least two could find some non-partisan source for this laughable nonsense. Panels reviewed 3400 ads, and surprise, found the Chamber ads having good supportive messages? Where are they? We haven't seen one single positive ad in NH from the Chamber. Not one, and you know it.
Hilarious By DickNH - 10/25/2010 - 8:03 pm Of course your source, the National Right To Work site, that completely anti-union outfit that will tell any lie it can to destroy
unions on behalf of its corporate funders, is an impeccable source for this story, right? Way too funny!
No By DickNH - 10/25/2010 - 4:20 pm Just the opposite, MoodySara, you have to "opt in" to contribute to the special fund for the union PAC. So, you have told the union that you agree affirmatively with having that money spent for political purposes by the union. And, no, the do NOT apply after the money has been divvied up. Just look at any mailing from any nonprofit that has both a 501(c)(3) and a 501(c)(4) Log in component. They have to be very, very clear about what to vote they are asking for WHEN THEY ASK FOR IT, not 4 later. The same is true, as I have just explained to you twice now, for union dues v. union PAC funds.
Classy By DickNH - 10/25/2010 - 4:14 pm Classy, NYB, you have no response at all to my facts, so you resort to calling it an emotional rant and class warfare "mythology". So, tell me, what is the "emotional rant" part, and what is the "class warfare mythology"? Is the part about the effects on the planet and the health and safety of workers a myth? It's easily proven, as it's happened repeatedly all over the world, including here, Log in to vote when there are few or no rules on worker health and 6 safety and environmental protection (see any of the recent mine disasters if you don't believe that, but focus on the ones that ended with dozens of miners trapped and dead, as opposed to one example of saving them, and even that one was originally caused by the mining
company cutting safety corners). Or is it that somehow you really think that it's OK to pay workers in desperate straits next to nothing, and make them think they're doing "better", as opposed to paying workers a decent, living wage for the skilled work that they do that produces the product that produces the enormous profits for the owners? After all, that's only what built the middle class in this country and made it the industrial envy of every other country. Then, came "free trade" and the corporations got their wish: being able to bring all workers down to the lowest common denominator, busting unions, and assuring low pay, lousy working conditions and no benefits for about 70% of the world's working people. That's no rant, NYB, that's cold fact.
Facts, please! By DickNH - 10/25/2010 - 1:24 pm Sorry, Sara, but you are incorrect. Unions do not spend members' dues on political campaigns. They have separate PAC funds that members can voluntarily contribute to. The IRS is a stickler for separation of 501(c)(3) non-political and 501(c)(4) funds, and there had better be a tight firewall between the two. That's why the Chamber and business groups can outspend unions on the order of 10-1 in political advertising. I agree with you that all this political spending is ruining the political process, but let's be clear where the lion's share is coming from, and where it goes: big business straight to Republican coffers.
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Incorrect By DickNH - 10/25/2010 - 1:21 pm No, NYB, my "assumptions" are actually fundamentally correct, largely because they are facts, not assumptions. Yes, jobs move to places where labor is cheapest, where the employer need not pay a living wage, but from where he/she will reap enormous profits on the backs of that cheap labor. And you are right, the employer doesn't have to worry about piddling things like employee safety or environmental protection. Why worry about those things? The employer thinks he/she is safe from the blowback from the results of that negligence, but again, it means huge profits. So, if you define "competitive" to Log in mean a race to the bottom when it comes to the worth to vote and dignity of workers and the planet, then, right you 8 are. We can all live with an endless series of Gulf oil spills and Bhopal chemical disasters and Chernobyl meltdowns, can't we? After all, the earth will cure herself of the worst we can shell out, and human labor is replaceable, is it not? Just remember: that includes YOU!
Wrong, Wayne By DickNH - 10/25/2010 - 11:15 am Wayne, union members are NOT forced to support anybody. Contributions to the union PAC are completely voluntary. So, if the member contributes to that PAC, it is assumed they agree with their union's political positions. If they don't, they have the option of ceasing Log in their contributions to the PAC. Please get your facts to vote straight, for a refreshing change. 10
Truth or $ By DickNH - 10/25/2010 - 11:11 am Nah, the Chamber wouldn't lie, so that it's candidate could be elected and then vote to repeal tighter regulations on its members, so they can ship more jobs overseas, and have less oversight of their financial shenanigans, would it? Yah think???
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Pot and kettle By DickNH - 10/22/2010 - 4:05 pm I can't tell you how many push poll calls I've received from Republican campaigns, so let's not get our drawers in a bunch over this. Sadly, it's a fairly common practice Log in that intelligent voters see right through.
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Sigh By DickNH - 10/22/2010 - 2:54 pm Millennia, do you ALWAYS assume a person is some kind of socialist because he/she has a "D" after their name? Mr. Hosmer, in fact, is quite the conservative Democrat. I'm not all that fond of some of his positions, but I know Jim Forsythe, and he is, in fact, an admitted Log in Libertarian who would do away with just about all to vote regulation, no matter how good the results have been for 0 the people of NH.
Nope By DickNH - 10/22/2010 - 2:50 pm No, JTF, it's not at ALL like that. Where do you come up with some of these incomprehensible comparisons? It is what GAIA said it was. It would have been much better with a public OPTION, where the government piece actually competed with private insurers. That would have been the best way to assure real competition and drive prices down, but the "conservatives" in Congress screamed the same foolish lie that some folks on here are screaming: "government run health care", when it's anything but. Are there problems with it? Of course there are. The reason the bill was so long was that the problem is so big, and it's crushing individuals and the deficit at the federal level. This is a start, and I would hope that people in both parties would finally sit down and work together to eliminate the less workable parts of Log in to vote the bill, and retain the others that provide meaningful 3 reform. But not the Republican leadership, Fearlessldr, because they want to scrap the whole thing and "start over". However, since they've never shown an inclination to bring ANY sort of health care reform bill up for discussion, much less a vote, we all know that, if they are successful in getting rid of the present bill, they will assure that the subject is NEVER brought up again. No thanks, I'll stick with the present bill and hope that Congress finally agrees to work in a real bipartisan way to fix it.
Agreed, Jonstah By DickNH - 10/22/2010 - 11:36 am He, Bass and Ayotte share this ideology in common. I have looked at all their ads and websites and mailings, Log in and the thing that stands out is that none of the 3 has one to vote
original idea as to why they are running, other than the 3 exact talking points put out by the Republican National Campaign Committee. They could at least TRY to come up with something original, but no, it's all the cookie cutter stuff from the national Republicans, and then let all the outside 527's pour money into attack ads against Carol Shea-Porter and Ann Kuster with all these scary lies. Amazing and pathetic at once.
More Nonsense By DickNH - 10/22/2010 - 9:39 am More nonsense from you, SM. Michelle actually has very few signs anywhere, as she is running a very low-budget, grassroots campaign, as opposed to the bankrupt (in every sense of the word) Mr. Sanborn, who is being funded massively for a state senate seat by out of state interests, albeit ones who do business in NH. Do you think that money comes with no strings attached? Hardly. I, for one, would never trust our already tenous budget to someone who could drive a thriving business right into the ground.
2 Interesting By DickNH - 10/22/2010 - 9:23 am Interesting question, Dave, but problematic. I assume that you are assuming a choice between Nancy Pelosi or John Boehner. But, what if others decide to challenge them? How are either Ann or Charlie supposed to answer this question when they are not really sure who the choices are? Both of them have weaknesses and strengths. There may be others from either party willing to challenge the assumed candidates for speaker, but that will remain unknown until after the election and the seating of the new Congress in January. If you want a choice from the two candidates now, you can be sure that Ann would likely vote for Nancy Pelosi, and Charlie would vote for his old
buddy John Boehner.
Ideologue By DickNH - 10/22/2010 - 9:13 am Guinta has no good ideas, except to cut and slash everything, and the consequences be damned. Just like so many of the other Tea Partiers, he has not thought any of this through. Sure, let's do away with the Department of Energy, and let the private sector do it. Problem, Frank: the private sector NEVER took the initiative, until the DOE began to provide funding for R&D for alternative energy, and funded many of the very start-up small businesses that you say you so ardently support. As for the Dept. of Ed., what happens when those responsibilities are devolved back to the individual states, and many states, probably southern states, go back to the old separate but unequal days and fund white schools, to the exclusion of black schools. Log in You say you'd then what, have the US Dept. of Justice to vote sue the state? Oh, but that would violate your precious 5 notion of the 10th Amendment, so that wouldn't work. So, you're OK with relegating those minority students to permanent second class status, and allowing the states to fund education as a lower priority, if they choose, thus leaving the US even further behind other industrialized or industrializing countries in the race for educational excellence, thus relegating this nation to second or third rate status. Nice work, Frank. You've got yours, and the heck with the rest of them.
Good letter, Leslie By DickNH - 10/21/2010 - 4:07 pm You're right, of course, but the right wing sound machine here just tries to shout you down. NYB, you forget that, even though those were Republican congresses, they were passing Clinton's budget bills. The budgets from both Bush I and each Reagan budget were deeply in debt until Clinton's budgets straightened out the mess. Then, along came Bush II with his illegal Log in to vote cowboy wars, and massive deregulation or plain lack of 5 enforcement, and right back into the tank we went. Let's get our history straight, shall we?
Out-FOXed By DickNH - 10/21/2010 - 3:47 pm OESLady, you really should stop talking about Fox News and Glenn Beck that way. They say they're "fair and balanced", so it must be true, right? I grant you that they are doing their level best to dumb down America and they are about as radically reactionary as you can Log in get, but we're doing our best to counteract them with to vote real news organizations across the rest of the medial 1 dials.
How Appropriate! By DickNH - 10/21/2010 - 3:45 pm I love it, Zaphod; the Caucasian Wingnut tree, perfect for the Tea Partiers. It's amazing to me how these people repeat the same old tired talking points of the radical right against the health care legislation. They
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conveniently forget that it prevents insurers from denying insurance due to pre-existing conditions, or that the insurer can't kick you off the policy because you become ill. This is in no way a "government takeover of health care". Nor does it in any way affect access to your doctor, or hurt seniors, or any of the other nonsense that I read here. The only way that bill gets repealed is if the Republicans take total control of Congress and the White House. Who would they put up? Sister Sarah, Newt the Lewd (who makes Clinton look like a piker when it comes to infidelity), Mitt the Rich, who is whatever you want him to be, Tim Pawplenty, the emptiest suit you ever saw? Or perhaps Haley the Barber, who would bring back all the best of the old, segregated South to the rest of us? Nice grouping you've got there, folks. Lots of luck with that crowd to pick from!
Good for Carol By DickNH - 10/21/2010 - 9:52 am The reason so many of us support Carol is that she is direct and honest about what she does and why she does it. The fact is that the health care bill is a big plus, in the long run. The stimulus package and TARP are both producing positive numbers in terms of jobs, even though the percentage is not where anyone would like it to be. The CBO recently reported that the TARP bill Log in will, in the end, actually pay the Treasury $8 billion to vote more than was spent, due to the interest payments made 5 by the banks and other entities repaying that money. Guinta and others are promising to go to Washington and return us to the free-wheeling, deregulatory, tax breaks for the rich and bomb-bomb-bomb, bomb-bomb Iran. If that's what you really want from your representative, then perhaps you might want to
withdraw your money from your local bank before it fails due to the deregulatory nightmare that would shortly return with the Republicans in charge. Our choice.
More Nonsense By DickNH - 10/20/2010 - 3:43 pm We would vote for her, and will vote for her, because we know what you said in your post is complete nonsense. The health care legislation contains no tax increases on the middle class, in fact it will end up saving the middle class billions of dollars, and Carol has never voted for a bill that eliminated tax deductions that the middle class benefits from. She is a strong supporter of maintaining the tax cuts for 98% of Americans, but eliminating the unnecessary and budget-busting tax cuts for the very wealthy. Those cuts have not resulted in any new jobs being created by the Log in to vote rich, and there is no reason to believe they would create 1 any more new jobs if those tax cuts are extended. In fact, the wealthy are using these tax cuts to help pay for shipping good-paying middle class jobs overseas, to the great benefit of the very wealthy, but to the destruction of the middle class. Don't kid yourself, Frank Guinta couldn't care less about the middle class.
Nope, It Didn't By DickNH - 10/20/2010 - 1:07 pm But what slipped past YOU is that this is a contract that began in 2005 (seems to me that was the Bush-Cheney Log in era, no?), including the section in Jerusalem, and has to vote
been renewed each year since. I don't approve of that 2 anymore than any of the other private contractors, but Halliburton was paid BILLIONS, and much of it was never accounted for. Naturally, the Bush administration never bothered to ask for that accounting, or for an accounting of the approximately $10 BILLION that the American-run Iraqi interim government managed to lose during the same period.
Fiscal Sanity; Conservatives??? By DickNH - 10/20/2010 - 9:57 am SM, you slay me. The conservatives are the ones who went on the spending spree, borrowing from every source they could find to fund their illegal wars of choice, and deregulated the financial institutions to the point where no one was guarding the henhouse, and now this administration is left to try to clean up the mess. A huge part of the present debt is the bills coming due for those wars and no-bid contracts to contractors that cost billions more than they should, but lined the pockets of Halliburton, et al, Cheney's clientele. So don't go lecturing about fiscally responsible conservatives. That's the biggest oxymoron ever Log in fabricated! GOPer, you're showing your ignorance. The to vote power to develop things like the Department of 3 Education start with the Preamble, where We The People ordained the Constitution to, among other things, promote the general welfare. Congress, both Democrat and Republican, have legislated things like the DOE, the EPA and other agencies to promote the general welfare and, frankly, provide for the common defense (in this case, from terminal illiteracy).
Golf By DickNH - 10/19/2010 - 3:53 pm Oh, yeah, we all remember Bush's promise, JTF. And we all also remember how he broke it within a week of making it! He played golf more than any other president except perhaps Eisenhower. Great job, Bushy! Log in
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Don't Hold Your Breath, 4Liberty By DickNH - 10/19/2010 - 1:42 pm Thankfully, most people in NH know how much of a liar Stephen is on his record, and aren't buying all this fiscal conservatism he's spewing. By the way, Stewie, what happens if the kid is forced to tell her abusive father she's pregnant, and he beats the hell out of her, and her boyfriend? Or what if he, and perhaps her mother, want to force her to carry the baby to term, but Log in then want nothing to do with raising it? Who do you to vote think is on the hook then? And, of course, we couldn't 1 possibly teach effective sex education in the 8th grade or provide condoms if persuasion against underage sex fails, could we?
Demonization By DickNH - 10/19/2010 - 1:16 pm So, tumbleweed, how much more can you and yours demonize the President? "Comrade"???? Really? Do you even have a slight inkling as to what communism really is, and how far away from what the President is trying to do to put this country back on sound economic footing that failed system really is? No, I know you don't, or you wouldn't say something so obviously and pathetically
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5 Ridiculous By DickNH - 10/19/2010 - 9:21 am How soon people like SM and armyvet forget how often Bush, Cheney, Rummy, et al traveled around the country, ON OUR DIME, trying to buck up Republican candidates in '02, '04 and '06. So please stop trying to demonize this President for what every single President in modern times, be they Democrat or Republican, has done. And, oh, by the way, the only thing flawed here are the nonsensical arguments you folks keep raising about how "failed" this Presidency is only 2 years in. At this point in Bush's presidency, he had already started 2 illegal wars, and was well on his way to turning a large surplus into a huge deficit so that he could be a heroic, "wartime" president. Now THAT'S a failed presidency!
Flawed History By DickNH - 10/19/2010 - 9:12 am As usual, the pro-Israel supporters conveniently forget that the land that is now Israel was taken by force from the Palestinian people in 1948-49. The Israeli terrorists, and they were terrorists, completely annihilated 500 Palestinian villages, killing and maiming tens of thousands of men, women and Log in children, aided and abetted by the US and Western to vote European allies. Ever since, they have assured that the 2 Palestinians could not have a viable nation, splitting the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and increasingly encroaching on areas that were supposedly agreed upon as Palestinian by past treaties. The Israelis have time and again blithely ignored those treaties and
continue to push further and further into Palestinian land. When the Israelis deign to, they invade these areas and indiscriminately kill more men, women and children, and destroy the homes of people they SUSPECT of being Hamas sympathizers. No trial, no formal accusation needed. The firing of rockets into Israel is wrong, no question. But the Israeli settlements violate international law, and yet the international community refuses to raise a finger against Israel. That's what's wrong with the process.
Much Ado About Not Much By DickNH - 10/15/2010 - 10:08 am You know, on this one, I'm thinking Charlie should be given a pass. That legislation applied to a wide variety of green energy industries, not just wood pellets. The stock certificates indicate that Charlie bought the stock in January of 2007, after he was out of Congress. The meeting, if it happened, is something that happens all the time in Washington, and most, if not all, Log in representatives have facilitated such meetings to assist to vote businesses in their districts. There is enough other stuff 2 out there to hammer Charlie on without going after such small potatoes.
Sad to See the Hate By DickNH - 10/14/2010 - 2:20 pm How sad to see the hate and ignorance in Pewitt and Murdough. Their ignorance of the incredible contributions to this nation is a testament to why no one should listen to either of them. On top of Hunter
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Dan's latest list, you could add lists of great AsianAmericans and Latin Americans, not to mention the original native Americans who taught us so much, once we actually opened our minds and hearts to their ideas. Gentlemen, your idea was tried twice in history that I can think of off-hand, in Nazi Germany and in South Africa. Both nations, supposedly built on Aryan superiority, were miserable failures, and their only legacy is death, destruction and hate. The rest of us in America, and the world, thankfully are choosing another path, even though some of your brethren are making enough noise that we ought to take their threat to humanity seriously. Please take your "whites only" mantra and find some desert island far from any civilization, and live out your hate-filled lives without bothering the rest of us who are striving, however haltingly, to build that multi-cultural society that every great spiritual teacher who ever lived has counseled us to build.
Really??? By DickNH - 10/12/2010 - 3:28 pm CONSERVATIVES BELIEVE IN PROVIDING THOSE UNEMPOLYED WITH A PAYCHECK! Really, Bruce? If that's the case, and if the continuation of tax reductions for the wealthiest 2% is Mr. Boehner's way of producing more jobs, and if those same tax reductions have been in place for the Log in past 8 years, and if we've been bleeding jobs for most to vote of that period (which we have!), then where is that 6 money those wealthy job-creators have been saving going? It sure isn't for jobs, is it? The idea that retaining that tax rate will produce more jobs, when just the opposite has been true since early in the Bush
administration, is laughable.
Not So Big By DickNH - 10/12/2010 - 3:19 pm You're counting your chickens way too early, wss1. Somehow, you think that you're going to win all these races all over the country, and yet the local polls show that the Dems won't lose nearly as many seats as the "generic" polls suggest. It's the old thing about hating the party in power, but liking your own representative. Funny how Bass and Guinta are having access to millions of dollars of undisclosed donor cash, now that the Supremes have opened the door to unlimited campaign contributions. Even given that, all these Log in elections are competitive and becoming more so, to vote especially considering that in this district people 1 already know who Charlie is, and know that he's lying through his teeth when he says he's going to go down to "change" Washington. Next thing you know, he'll show up with a Boehner tan and autographed golf clubs and think he's good to go.
Nope By DickNH - 10/12/2010 - 3:09 pm No, I don't. Just passing along some good advice to my friends in the 2d district. We already have a first-rate representative in the First District, also facing a run-ofthe-mill, say what the national Republican party tells Log in to vote me to say, candidate, who can't even keep his own 1 finances straight, and wants us to trust him with ours.
Truth is Coming Out By DickNH - 10/12/2010 - 9:03 am As the truth comes out about the politicization of the Addison case, and Ayotte's incompetence with the FRM ponzi scheme, people are waking up to the fact that Ayotte is not qualified to hold such high office. Her ads simply mouth the standard pap of the Republican Senatorial Committee, nothing original, she brings nothing to the table. The recent polls show that people know that. Two weeks ago, she was ahead Log in to vote by 15 points. The latest poll, released today, shows her 17 ahead by a mere 7 points. At that rate, she'll lose the election by about 15 points, and get to back to whatever it is she can do for a living.
What a Hoot! By DickNH - 10/12/2010 - 8:56 am So Charlie's going to get in, then get out. What a laugh! He's going to be "different". Another laugh. He voted in lockstep with every deregulation measure the Bush administration put in place that got us into this economic mess, and now he wants us to believe that he wants to undo all that he did? He also voted in Log in lockstep for all the war spending that was off the to vote books and remains unpaid for, also a huge part of the 10 economic morass this Administration inherited. If people would actually listen to what Ann Kuster has said, as opposed to what all these 501(c)(6) organizations' lies, people might realize that she actually is a very viable alternative to the same old,
same old of Charlie Bass.
Don't Let Facts Get in the way By DickNH - 10/05/2010 - 3:31 pm nhveedub, don't worry about presenting facts to some of these posters. All they can come up with is "Obamacare, socialism, bad bailouts, increased taxes". The fact that the health care bill does NONE of the things they allege (raise costs, longer lines at the doctor's office, you'll lose your right to choose your doctor, the bailouts didn't work, Obama increased taxes) is true never stood in the way of their intense hatred of the man. The fact is that the health care bill will actually save billions of dollars, it is not government-run, except in the most indirect sense, the bailouts actually did work and are being repaid WITH INTEREST, and the Obama administration has not increased taxes at all since coming to power mean that Log in this administration has actually been working to vote diligently on behalf of working people to try to get 3 these institutions to relax credit and get money back into the hands of small businesses so as to create jobs. One question for them: if these tax reductions for the top 2% of earners are so vitally important to job creation, why have so many jobs been lost and shipped overseas by these same wealthy corporate interests? Could it be their blind greed? The fact is that the economy was in the best shape it's been in in 40 years during the Clinton administration, when the tax rates for the upper 2% were even higher than what they were in the early Bush years, and those people were STILL making money hand over fist.
Skewed Data By DickNH - 09/22/2010 - 1:23 pm That polling data is skewed by the fact that it basically asked people how they felt about "government-run" health care. When the question was asked in a different way, giving people actual pieces of the health care reform bill, they went the other way, and were overwhelmingly positive. As people realize what this will mean for them long-term, they will realize the benefits they will get from it. If the public Log in to vote option had been included, larger savings would have 1 resulted, since there would have been actual competition in the health insurance field for the first time.
.01% Difference By DickNH - 09/22/2010 - 11:21 am Just so you don't get your drawers in too much of a bunch, jury awards in medical injury/malpractice cases add exactly .01% to the cost of health care. Very few awards are actually very large, and doctors usually win their cases. So, let's toss that red herring out of the debate and focus on the other real issues.
1 Not Funny By DickNH - 09/22/2010 - 10:14 am
As your hero, Bozo Reagan used to say: "There you go again!" I don't mind debating the merits of the health care legislation, especially when so many inaccuracies (government takeover of health care, e.g.) surface, but please let's stop the absolute nonsense of comparing President Obama to Hitler. Really, you are showing your ignorance and your bigotry in doing so. There is absolutely nothing that this administration has done that is even remotely comparable to what Hitler and the Reichstag did in 1930-1945 Germany. So, please, if you are to retain any credibility at all, stop this insane and immoral comparison.
Sexist? By DickNH - 09/21/2010 - 3:52 pm I played no "card" against either of them. I said that it didn't matter what role either woman plays now, whether at home or back on the radio (Ms. Horn) or whatever it is that Ms. Testerman actually does. Ms. Testerman ran a terrible campaign and never got across exactly what she stood for. Her finish in the primary reflects that failure. That isn't racist, it's simply true. If Ms. Testerman is of a different race, it Log in is of no consequence to me. I judge her as a candidate to vote based on what she stood for, or didn't stand for, not 1 her ethnic background. It's too bad that the same can't be said for all the vitriol currently being directed at the President.
Actually, It is Pretty By DickNH - 09/21/2010 - 3:47 pm Actually, JtF, both performances have far surpassed
their predecessors, Bass and Bradley. Both of those Log in to vote were nothing more than Bush sheeples, moderates 6 who went to Washington and immediately became hard right-wingers because they thought their futures were with Bush policies. No matter that those policies were never popular with their constituents, and that is what cost both of them their seats. Now, Bass wants to "reinvent" himself as somehow different yet again. I'll take Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter (whose performance in actually representing her constituents has been outstanding!) any day over either Kelley (I know nothing, I see nothing, I hear nothing) Ayotte or Frank Guinta (I saved Manchester, only I didn't).
Different Roles By DickNH - 09/21/2010 - 1:59 pm Whatever roles Ms. Horn and Ms. Testerman assume, I hope that we have, in fact, seen the last of their right-wing dogmatic campaigns. Ms. Horn has now been soundly rebuked twice by the voters of the Second District. She needs to get the hint that she is not in tune with the majority of people in that district. Karen Testerman has always resided on the right Log in wing fringe, which again is not where the majority of to vote people in NH reside. They certainly have a point of 3 view to espouse. Thankfully, it will never be the majority view.
Ignorance By DickNH - 09/21/2010 - 1:36 pm Sailmaker, your ignorance is showing yet again. It is
Log in not at all uncommon for the head of an agency to receive, or take, a call from a member of the public. to vote That, in reality, IS one of their functions. They may 5 then have another staff member get together material for a response, but to suggest firing a staff member because a citizen was intelligent enough to look up the commissioner's phone number (public information, in case you forgot) shows how little you understand how state government works.
Yes, it's war By DickNH - 09/21/2010 - 9:10 am Dave: it may be war, but that should never, ever be an excuse for cold-blooded murder. I, too, have read of the atrocities committed by US troops against the Japanese on Okinawa. Those murders were just as wrong as are these, and as were the slaughters that our troops committed not once, but twice, in Fallujah, Iraq. The sad part is that most of these murders will Log in go unpunished, and just as you would do, will be to vote chalked up to "the horrors of war". But not to judge 1 them? That would be even worse than the crime itself!
True By DickNH - 09/17/2010 - 1:57 pm And my follow up would be: so what? Given that there were mosques in BOTH the North and South towers at "Ground Zero", and there are strip clubs and Log in to vote other fairly low-life operations within that same two 5 block, supposedly "sacred" ground that nobody is
complaining about, why is this proposed mosque/cultural center even an issue? The fact remains that it WILL include other faith prayer space,even if the central faith building the center is Muslim. The attempt to conflate this proposal with the very obviously hateful burning of the Koran in Florida just doesn't pass the smell test.
Not the Same By DickNH - 09/17/2010 - 10:16 am ArmyVet_72, I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. The cultural center and mosque proposed in Manhattan is 13 floors of cultural center, a culinary institute, a prayer section for Christians, a prayer section for Jews, and 2 floors of prayer section for Muslims. It is not built with any disrespect at all intended. Rather, its intent is to bring people of all faiths together in common activities and to build community. The imam is NOT an extreme religious leader. To the contrary, he has done a great deal to attempt to bridge the gap between the Muslim world Log in and the western world. On the other hand, the to vote proposed Koran burning in Florida, while it was 6 protected by the First Amendment, was a blatant act to incite hatred, fear and likely, violence. That minister knew exactly what the result of his actions would be, and they were what he intended. These two incidents are completely different, incomparable in any rational way.
Good idea, DZ By DickNH - 09/16/2010 - 9:13 am DZ, you did the right thing. If you don't know who the candidate is, don't vote for him/her just because they have a certain D or R behind their name. Mr. Murdough will get his press, and the more people understand about his hate-filled positions, the more they will clearly identify themselves as either understanding of this nation's history of embracing racial diversity (painfully slow though the process has been), or they will clearly identify themselves as the same racist bigots as Mr. Murdough is. I wonder how Log in he can try to teach his kids love, honesty, charity and to vote all the other values taught by all the major religions of 4 the world, and then indoctrinate them in his white power bigotry. Amazing dexterity, Mr. Murdough....or is it just rank hypocrisy? Hopefully, the kids will see right through you and reject your views.
Both Right By DickNH - 09/16/2010 - 9:06 am Abe and Ranger, you're both right. Bass, who once was a moderate Republican, decided, just as Jeb Bradley did, to hitch his star to George Bush's militarist war wagon and voted for every war that Bush got us into, and for every increasingly expensive Log in bill to finance those wars. He voted for the tax cuts to vote for the rich that we couldn't afford (and that, by the 6 way, haven't resulted in the job creation the right wing insists will happen if they are extended). So, Charlie, as Ricky Ricardo used to say "You've got
some 'splainin' to do!"
More Nonsense By DickNH - 09/15/2010 - 4:06 pm Since there is no "deliberate and continuing drive to force socialism in Federal government legislation, policies and programs, your post is meaningliess. The works of Karl Marx, Saul Alinsky, etc. just shows that you are simply mouthing the words of Faux News and that suddenly reactionary lunatic Newt Gingrich. All of this came out of those mouths in the past week, and it's just a lot of mindless right wing blather designed to scare people. As for Obama being president on 9/11, maybe his reaction would have been far more appropriate, say, a well-directed Special Forces action that would have found and Log in captured or killed Osama bin Laden without starting to vote two needless wars that have already cost close to $4 4 trillion dollars (Iraq alone has cost $3 trillion, mostly unpaid for to date) and counting. That's what an intelligent president would have done to counter the terrorist criminal act committed not by any nation, but by a small, determined band of radicals. That's much more likely this President's reaction than the massive overkill that Bush ignited.
Evil By DickNH - 09/15/2010 - 10:06 am I knew it would be great fun to read millennia's posting this morning. Yup, the Democratic party is all about purposely destroying this country. For what purpose, he/she has no idea,
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g but has the "certainty" that it's an evil plot. I'm afraid you've been reading way too many Marvel comics, millennia. The evil in to was two illegal, unpaid for wars, and the USA PATRIOT Act v that attempted to steal our freedom and our privacy, all for some ot ephemeral notion of national security. Intelligent voters know e where the Republican party took us for the 8 years it was in 8 power, and that we're still trying to dig our way out of it. There' s no going back there now, no matter how much you miss the bad old days. That is the evil that knowledgeable voters will vote against in November.
Right By DickNH - 09/14/2010 - 2:00 pm And, if you were able to "keep" your own SS, it would be worth next to nothing now, and a whole generation would be staring retirement and abject poverty and homelessness right in the face! The whole housing bubble was based on these derivatives which were actually incredibly high risk balls of nothing, oh, by the way, created by Free Market high rollers, and ended up costing homeowners billions that would otherwise have been saved and invested. Talk about getting your facts straight, what a hoot! GWB didn't raid SS for his wars, they are part of this massive debt. Only the portion that has happened in Obama's 2 years in office have actually been paid for!
Ken, Thanks By DickNH - 09/14/2010 - 11:40 am Thanks for the good words, Ken. As is their wont, the right wing extremists are coming back with nonsense about how somehow burning the flag in protest against the illegal and immoral war in
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Vietnam equates to the virulent bigotry against Muslims that is now rearing its hideously ugly head. No one agrees with everything they hear in church, so just because you attend a given church does not mean that you agree with everything the preacher says. As for the Black Panther thing, please. Not one person, not one, was intimidated from voting because of those two wayward knuckleheads. Most people just laughed at them and went into the voting booths. That's why the Justice Department didn't go after them. They couldn't find anybody who had been intimidated into not voting!
Nonsense By DickNH - 09/14/2010 - 11:25 am First, earthling is right, except that there were mosques in BOTH the North and South towers. If it was good enough for mosques then, it's still good enough for them now. And as for the "reckless, dangerous path" we're supposedly on, it's actually an overdue course correction from the truly reckless, Log in dangerous path of illegal and unpaid for wars and to vote deregulation run amuck under the last administration 3 that led us to the necessary corrective measures this Administration has undertaken.
Tolerance and Diversity, NH style By DickNH - 09/13/2010 - 4:09 pm At least those who live nearest this area understand the true meaning of tolerance, diversity and healing. Log in Those people, whose community this is, after all, and to vote
not ours, will determine how that community grows 0 and develops in the coming years, and I daresay it will evolve in a way that many who have commented here above me will vehemently disagree with. Tough. If you don't like the fact that the community center (which, by the way, will have prayer areas not only for Muslims but also for Christians and Jews) is going to be constructed there, then stay away from it. But stop all the anti-Muslim speech. Even if there are Muslims in other parts of the world shouting those epithets, that doesn't mean we should return hate for hate. If you need to know why they hate us, look no further than today's article about the huge new arms deal we are about to consummate with the Saudi royal family. That government is as oppressive as it comes against anyone who dares speak out against it. It is as far from democracy as anything the Taliban ever concocted. Yet we are happy to sell them billions in advanced weaponry to supposedly protect them from Iran. What they will actually use it for is to continue to oppress their own people, and our government knows it. That's why they feel the way they do about us, among other reasons. Hate from any quarter is wrong, so why not let's start changing that hate into love here? Or don't you truly believe in the path that Jesus the Teacher laid out for us?
No Angst v. Bush? By DickNH - 09/10/2010 - 9:13 am Odd how Faux News didn't mention that this man has been detained at Guantanamo Bay for over 8 Log in years, and for 6 of those years Mr. Bush's DOJ didn't to vote go forward with his prosecution, either. Part of the 2
problem is that, since he was waterboarded, and since waterboarding is torture, anything revealed by the suspect after waterboarding is probably not admissible, and so they now have to independently confirm whatever evidence they obtained from him. That's not giving someone a pass. It's called "going by the book", the book being the Constitution and body of law that says you may not torture a confession out of someone and then use it in a court of law.
Revisionist History? By DickNH - 09/10/2010 - 9:07 am How soon you forget, kenstcyr. Although WWII had a lot to do with recovery at the time, many of FDR's programs helped put the nation back to work. The WPA and the CCC put people back to work and produced major improvements in our national infrastructure. An infrastructure, by the way, that badly needs rebuilding today. I'm proud of Carol's support for the small business package, but curious Log in to vote about why the Republicans in Congress, they who 3 proclaim themselves champions of small business, oppose this package and maintain they will block it in the Senate.
Yes, I do By DickNH - 09/09/2010 - 10:10 am I fully agree with Carol's votes on the programs you listed. Oh, by the way, did you see your other boy, Log in one John Boehner, he who hopes to be Speaker, to vote
tearfully begging members on both sides of the aisle 0 to vote for....wait for it...the bailout bill? Sept. 8, 2008. So don't go painting the Democrats with that one, because all the Republican leadership voted for it, too. Again, that money is being repaid, with interest. I'm fine, too, with her bashing that idiot AZ law. Yes, millennia, I do go all the way back to bashing Reagan, too. Your hero raised taxes, steeply increased military spending during a time when it wasn't needed, and left the country with huge deficits, or don't you remember your history, either? Funny how you and millennia insist on resorting to childish namecalling when the facts get in your way. The 14 million number I was responding to was the number of folks you said the insurance companies would drop because of HC. If you're stating that 14 million are unemployed, or will be unemployed because of HC, you're simply making up numbers. That number of people is unemployed due to the policies of the Bush administration, recklessly getting us into two wars that were unpaid for, and deregulating Wall Street to the point where risks were taken that resulted in thousands of companies nearly going bankrupt, or going bankrupt, and laying off all those workers. It's been less than 2 years that this administration (and no, he's not my emperor, or anybody's emperor, but your namecalling extends to the President as well, nice touch again) has been trying to reverse that economic slide, and yet you're more than willing to go back to the failed policies that got us here in the first place. I don't worry about a Republican landslide, because people will catch on to the fact that that is all these Republican candidates will promise: more of the same failed Bush policies. Hope that works out for ya!
Facts???? By DickNH - 09/08/2010 - 7:37 pm I never said the AZ law had been declared unconstitutional, but it will be. Jeb Bradley is the last genius you Republicans had in office, said he was "independent" and he was a sheep, marching in lockstep with the policies that produced this recession. Them's the facts. The problem with the AZ law is what does an illegal "look like"? It's open season on Hispanics, as attempts to enforce the law already show. Hundreds of AZ citizens stopped because they "look" illegal. Where do you get this nonsense about 3-4 million? The "yuppies"??? Your bias is showing. 30 million American citizens will be covered, that's who. No illegals, the bill bans Log in coverage of them, so stop lying on that score. 14 to vote million uninsured by companies? REally??? They'll 0 cut their own throats for that? They can't afford to lose those numbers and you know it. The costs to employers was going up 10% even without HC; again, fact that you forgot. The money for infrastructure is a gift to all workers presently unemployed, including union workers. Problem with that? His tax cut retraction is right on, no matter what that former official says. It hasn't produced any jobs!
Freedom to Burn? By DickNH - 09/08/2010 - 4:27 pm I'd love to know where in the Constitution it's stated that there is a "right" to burn the sacred scripts of
another religion? Freedom of religion doesn't include Log in to vote the right burn the sacred text of another religion, 4 especially where it is completely likely that such action will result in the injuries and deaths of not only U.S. troops and civilians in Afghanistan and other places, but in the loss of innocent life of Muslim civilians in those countries who may be too near to the attacks on Americans. Is that what you REALLY think freedom of religion means, Hunter Dan? You are correct, I can't "get my head around" that. It's completely un-Christian, and inhumane. And the church in Florida calls itself the "Dove Outreach" church? Another total whack job passing himself off as a Christian. Nice touch, reverend. I wonder how you will reconcile the deaths you will cause to Christian and non-Christian alike?
No Shame Here By DickNH - 09/08/2010 - 3:27 pm I'm not ashamed to state that I fully support Carol Shea-Porter. She's been light years better as a representative than Bush sheep Jeb Bradley was. I get a kick out of the angst you try to stir up over the unconstitutional AZ immigration law. It is highly discriminatory and even the large majority of AZ police say they have no idea how to enforce it. But, Log in boy, it sure works to stir up hatred. Your angst to vote would be better directed at all the companies who 3 make it clear to those immigrants that they will hire them at miserable wages (still better than what they can make at home) if they will just cross our borders. Then, we turn around and buy the cheap products made by those laborers and count ourselves fortunate that we can buy so much "stuff" for so little. HC
farce? You mean the bill that covers 30 million more people, people whose insurance bills will no longer be reflected in YOUR insurance premiums because they are now paying their own way? Those insurance cost increases have nothing to do with the recent health care bill, but all to do with the greed of insurers. They are the ones you should be upset with, as they would have increased those costs by exactly that amount, at least, whether or not the health care bill was adopted. The energy bill is a necessary first step to finally wean this nation off of foreign oil (and domestic oil, for that matter) so that we move to a sustainable future. Painful at first? Isn't anything new? As for the bailout, guess whose idea that was? Nope, wrong again. It was proposed and pushed through by none other than your conservatvie hero, George Bush, after his miserably failed policies of wars not paid for and expansive deregulation of Wall Street pushed us to the brink of depression. Yes, they are costly, but they are also going to be repaid, with interest.
Guinta Din By DickNH - 09/08/2010 - 12:06 pm Sure, we'd be in good hands with a guy like Guinta, who can't even keep track of his own bank accounts that hold anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000? I'm pretty sure we'd rather have someone who demonstrates that she can keep track of her own Log in accounts, the better to be sure that she can keep track to vote of national accounts! 3
Boys Will be Boys By DickNH - 09/08/2010 - 11:15 am Keep it up, guys. You look like the little children that your positions show you to be. At least Bestani is intelligent and right about Afghanistan. Of course Ashooh wants to stay in Afghanistan for a long time. Just as in Iraq, his company, BAE Systems, is making a fortune off that war, along with all the other weapons manufacturers and "security" firms. These wars are music to their ears, and their cash registers.
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Name One By DickNH - 09/02/2010 - 3:32 pm OK, Dave: name JUST ONE European country where Sharia law has been instituted. It is really tiring to read some of this. "A large group of them want to kill us". Really? How large? How many Muslims do you really think, deep down, want to kill all Americans and convert America to Sharia law? A tiny fraction of Muslims, that's who. This is, by and large, a peaceful religion. Yes, it has its extremists, just as Christianity does. And please stop the foolishness about progressives not caring about the stonings of women and gays. We object to violence against people and nature from whatever source. You know that, too, but it gets in the way of your message of hate.
Rights? By DickNH - 09/02/2010 - 1:49 pm I wonder where you got the idea that there is a "right" to include the word "god" in the pledge? Log in Before 1954, those words weren't there. So, whose to vote "god" is the nation under, exactly? Yours, Allah, 0
Jehovah, another? That's the problem. This was another attempt to make this a Christian nation, which it is not, and never was meant to be. As for the religious displays on public ground, you misunderstand. That property is for ALL the public, not just those who might celebrate a particular holiday. Funny how I never see the Star of David displayed prominently on public grounds during Rosh Hoshanah, or any Muslim symbols on public property during Ramadan. You see how that tilts the idea of an "official" religion toward Christianity, and makes those of the Jewish or Muslim or other faiths feel like second-class citizens, Stewie?
Correction By DickNH - 09/02/2010 - 1:26 pm One correction: at least President Obama has been honest about war spending. All of the spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan under his administration have been included in his budgets, and that has added significantly to the deficits in Log in those budgets. That is also why Bush's deficits to vote aren't worse; he put the numbers somewhere else so 2 that people wouldn't see them.
Agreed, Aaron By DickNH - 09/02/2010 - 1:23 pm You're quite right, Aaron....how soon they forget. And, Bruce, spending on defense, veterans affairs Log in (you know, the broken bodies and lives we have to to vote
put back together after each of the illegal wars 1 we've fought) and weapons development and production actually accounts for 47 cents out of each dollar. As for your figures on the wars, those were all "off budget" conveniently, and so largely remain unaccounted for, although the accounting down the line will be fearsome, as we're still spending seemingly endless billions in both Iraq and Afghanistan, completely unpaid for, and the bill for replacing all the damaged and destroyed weapons and vehicles will be huge, as well. And we can't even account for endless billions of dollars sent by the Bush administration to Iraq and various contractors. They did a fine job, Brownie!
Prejudice???? By DickNH - 09/02/2010 - 11:43 am Are you kidding me, sailmaker? It's the right-wing sound machine that has issued the sound same talking points against this community center. The so-called "liberal" press and progressives in general are speaking up for the right of Muslims to build a community center on property they own, in the name of religious TOLERANCE, and you call it "prejudice"? Are you the living emodiment of "1984"? The prejudice is on the side of those who Log in to vote have decided that Islam is a religion of hate, and 5 that all Muslims believe that all non-believers should be converted or killed. Tell me, how is that not "prejudice" in the extreme? And, please, spare me the notion that that is what the Q'uran says, because the Q'uran has just as many passages teaching peace and tolerance as it has extremist views like that one....just exactly the same as the
Bible does. It was written by human beings with wide-ranging beliefs, and none of it should be considered "gospel" in the same way that the Bible was written by human beings, and contains the same breadth of fallible human viewpoints. The only thing that really, really smells about all this is the nonsense about the "real estate deal" and the "background of the players" that people like Newt Gingrich and Glenn Beck continue to dispense,and folks like you happily pick up on.
Health care, taxes By DickNH - 09/02/2010 - 9:03 am I wonder what Mr. Guinta would say about all those states that have sued to have the health care reform law declared unconstitutional, yet have their hands extended for the assistance that the law provides to help uninsured persons in their states? Funny how that works. Same thing for the stimulus. With all the hand-wringing by states and companies, they are lining up to get as much as they can of the stimulus and health care dollars they are screaming about. Log in The hypocrisy is mind-boggling! I'm sure Mr. to vote Guinta is all for keeping the Bush tax cuts for the 4 wealthy in place because they were so very good for the economy....NOT! They just started the steep spiral from surplus to deficit that we are still trying to dig our way out of.
Specifically? By DickNH - 09/01/2010 - 4:11 pm Stewie wrote: As for freedom of religion everywhere else in America, why are so many Democrats defending the freedom of religion now when they have been taking it away from their brothers and sisters for so long? Stewie, I have no idea what you are referring to. If you mean prayer in schools, and religious displays on public grounds, those are certainly subjects of debate, but no one has taken any one's religious liberties away, that I know of, Democrats or Republicans.
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More nonsense By DickNH - 09/01/2010 - 1:18 pm The Muslims in Manhattan understand full well the pain that the perpetrators of the horror at the Twin Towers perpetrated. They have suffered for it in innumerable ways for 9 years. There is already an extensive memorial being built to the victims (Christian, Muslim, Jew, other) of that day. Why must the people who own that property, and who have stated time and time again that this building Log in will be about welcoming and healing, even entertain to vote the thought of building it elsewhere. They don't own 3 land elsewhere, they own the land at 51 Park. Would any of you support someone in Oklahoma City who insisted that no Christian church could be built within some indeterminate distance from the Murrah Federal Building because Timothy McVeigh described himself as a Christian? He was
no more a practicing Christian, and no more reflected the tenets of the Christian faith, than any of the 19 men aboard those planes was a practicing Muslim whose actions reflected the true Muslim faith. Enough of this nonsense already. If Orrin Hatch, a principled conservative, fully understands Constitutional freedoms enough to fully support the building of this community center, then the rest of us should take a cue from his courageous public stand.
Globul warming By DickNH - 09/01/2010 - 1:08 pm Sailmaker, you never cease to amaze. The sad part is that we won't be able to "prove" global climate change until it's already happened. Factually, it's happening now; much of the recent changing weather patterns globally exactly fit the predictions of myriad climate change models. The science is long since settled, except in the minds of scientists paid by major corporations who have a vested interest in challenging that science for their own Log in narrow economic gain. It really doesn't matter if to vote some people fail to accept it. Nature will do what it 6 will, based on our unfortunate misuse of it, and we will be left to deal with the consequences, as we are too dumb as a species to take precautionary measures to reverse or at least minimize the impacts now.
Right You Are! By DickNH - 09/01/2010 - 12:04 pm ArmyVet_72, you're right on with your comments. I also get great results from chiropractic, and from many other alternative remedies and supplements that Big Pharma has spent millions to debunk. More and more Americans and people from other nations are realizing the benefits of many alternative therapies and medicines that are actually hundreds Log in of years old, and are at least as effective, if not more to vote so, than all the myriad of medications advertised on 4 TV, radio, etc. every day. And these don't come with all those side effects!
Why High Prices? By DickNH - 09/01/2010 - 11:58 am Lindsey: the reason materials are priced higher when made in this country is simple: we have a system that, until fairly recently, valued workers and paid them a good, living wage and provided good benefits to assure their health and assure that they continued to produce high-quality materials. Yes, now you get your goods from China, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico and Pakistan, where wages are a pittance of what they are here, in most Log in to vote cases not even a living wage in those countries. The 3 working conditions are often abysmal, as there is no such thing as OSHA or EPA protection in those countries, and proper health care is a pipe dream. Mr. Binnie and thousands of other businesses are making a profit on the backs of the working poor in those countries.
Back at Ya! By DickNH - 08/31/2010 - 1:55 pm Agreed, ArmyVet_72, I'll always respect your opinions, and those of anyone who will maintain a civil disposition in discussing an issue. There is a great deal of constructive dialogue here; it's fairly rare when one of the bloggers goes off the deep end, and then it's usually because they find something at some website that they haven't verified and they run with it as though it's gospel. We'll keep the civility level up here, you and I.
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Your answer? By DickNH - 08/31/2010 - 1:50 pm You state that women and children will always come first. Well, again, Mr. Cohn, research further. The only way women and children have come first is in being the first ones to be hurt by cutbacks and delays in state services. I will be interested in your answer to jhobserve's question about which programs you would cut?
In charge? By DickNH - 08/31/2010 - 9:51 am Mr. Hamel, who left you in charge of deciding how many mosques, or for that matter, how many Log in Christian churches, can or should be in a given to vote neighborhood in Manhattan? Just like any other 0 church, the Muslim community can build as many
mosques as they see fit, just as the Catholic church can build as many churches as it cares to, wherever either of them own property. I can't believe some of the stuff I see on here coming from people who consider themselves Christian and American. Way to do the Taliban's and Al-Qaeda's work for them. You've given them even more reason to recruit Muslims who see how many Americans would treat them in a land that claims to be all about religious tolerance and freedom.
Mix-up By DickNH - 08/31/2010 - 9:47 am ArmyVet_72, it appears there's been a mix-up. I agree, you have never posted anything that is even remotely "hate-filled". While we don't always agree, you are always civil and rational in your discussions. One of my last posts was directed at Dennis Hamel and another poster with a similar screen name to yours, I believe it's army_vet, with Log in no number. Please accept my apology if you to vote believed my words were directed toward you. They 1 were not. I always appreciate the thoughtfulness in your posts, agreement nothwithstanding.
Spending By DickNH - 08/31/2010 - 9:00 am Mr. Cohn: before you run too much further, perhaps you'd better take a closer look at accountable government and spending. The
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spending increases in the past few years simply 3 reflect increasing population, and increased aging within that population, that require state services that had been too long neglected, resulting in endless waiting lists and services denied in a wide range of areas. All of us value fiscal responsibility, personal freedoms and accountable government. In New Hampshire, you have among the smallest, least expensive state governments in the nation. Services have already been slashed, often past "the bone". Tell us, sir, what other vital services will you cut in your mad dash to "fiscal responsibility", and whose ox will you gore along the way?
Same in Christian Bible By DickNH - 08/30/2010 - 4:39 pm Sadly, there are similar passages in parts of the Bible, but I notice you don't dwell on those. Similarly with treatment of women. The Bible is loaded with ministrations about the second class, deferential status of women. And, if you read one Glenn Beck's websites carefully enough, you'll find all sorts of suggestions about who is to be saved, and who is not. Where does he get off with any of Log in that? Yet we have managed, most of us, to get to vote beyond those passages. Most Muslims have, too. 8 Yes, we must pray for our nation, and for all nations. This increasing inclination toward violence, and the demonizing of the other, has got to stop, or we will surely annihilate each other. As for the families of 9/11 victims, they are evenly split about the Islamic community center. There is a great memorial being developed on the site of the
Twin Towers; isn't that enough tribute to the fallen of all faiths and all nationalities? And, please, check out the Newsweek magazine article where Taliban members are gleefully using our persecution of Muslims, especially over this issue, to recruit new members. Folks taking the line you take are doing their work for them!
Comment blocked by moderator Policy Violation The post violates the Discussion Guidelines. personal attack Mindless By DickNH - 08/27/2010 - 3:28 pm My problem with Liz Cheney is that she is so incredibly uninformed. She's almost like a wind-up doll that simply spouts her old man's positions Log in without giving the ramifications any thought.
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Keep It Up, NYB, We Love It! By DickNH - 08/27/2010 - 1:41 pm This is fun watching. The Republicans only have extreme right wing policies to put forward, such as the extension of the tax cuts for the very wealthy Log in that we could never afford, and endless war to vote spending. So very nice to see you folks at each 1 other's throats, because you have so very little to
offer anyone.
Not.... By DickNH - 08/27/2010 - 1:31 pm DZ, I object to these violent games on any grounds, no matter who is being "killed"....they all glorify violence as the way to settle disputes. Great Log in learning experience for kids of all ages.
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More Intentional Misinformation By DickNH - 08/27/2010 - 11:41 am Here is the REAL meaning of "taqqiya": Within the Islamic theological framework, the concept of taqiyya (( )pronounced as tagiyeh by speakers of Iranian Persian; alternate spelling taqiya) is derived from the Arabic triliteral root waw-qaf-ya, denoting "piety, devotion, uprightness, and godliness",[1] and refers to the practice of precautionary dissimulation whereby Log in believers may conceal their faith when under to vote threat, persecution or compulsion. 7 It means that a Muslim may hide his/her faith in order to avoid threat, persecution, or compulsion. The Act for America site is another right-wing site that intentionally mischaracterizes the tenets of Islam to further their hate mongering agenda. Shame on you for spreading such misinformation,
OESLady!
Memorials By DickNH - 08/27/2010 - 11:35 am There are already a number of memorials being constructed to honor the dead of all faiths and all nations from that day. The building of this community center with a prayer section does not dishonor those victims; rather, it reinforces our notions of freedom of religion and respect and tolerance for all. This has EVERYTHING to do with tolerance, and everything to do with the Constitution. If those guarantees of religious liberty are not scrupulously upheld in times of high Log in to vote tension, then they mean nothing. The only 6 incitement going on here is by so-called Christians trying to demonize all Muslims over the action of 19 criminals who alleged that they were acting according to the tenets of Islam, when they were clearly not.
Well-said, Candace By DickNH - 08/27/2010 - 10:00 am Your thoughts are well-stated and well-placed. Denying this building, be it a community center with a prayer section on the upper two floors (which it is proposed to be), or a mosque, it should be built wherever this group owns land. They own that land partially, and they will own the rest shortly. The city cannot deny the building permits just because the building might be tax-exempt; there are plenty of
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other similar structures of other faiths that are tax-exempt. If e 9 we fail to assure this group's First Amendment rights, then Al-Qaida can point to us and rightly say "hypocrites". We have to be better than they are, and better than the Saudis are, because we claim to be so, and our Constitution says we are.
Naivete By DickNH - 08/27/2010 - 9:26 am You do realize that every single candidate who ever ran for Senate from anywhere made exactly the same promise? And you do realize that they then get to Washington and find the workload so overwhelming that they have their staffs read the bill and summarize the key points for them? If Ms. Ayotte or any other member of the Congress read every page of every bill that came before them, they would not be able to eat or sleep, much less find time to get back to their districts to hear what's on voters' minds. I am more concerned with Ms. Ayotte's simplistic answers to serious questions, simply mouthing the Republican National Committee's talking points, with no real ideas as to how to address the nation's problems. Sadly, that seems largely true of all the candidates at this point in the campaign season.
Just a Note By DickNH - 08/27/2010 - 9:02 am ArmyVet_72, you need to go back and re-read the Clean Air Act, and especially the amendments of 1990. That Act is EXACTLY meant to regulate Log in to vote greenhouse gases and to address climate change. 3 All you have to do is read the purpose clause to
understand that. Also, the US Supreme Court has ruled categorically that the CAA does give the EPA authority to regulate both greenhouse gases and address climate change. As for forcing schools, churches, warehouses and commercial kitchens to get "costly and time-consuming" permits, and "grind the economy to a halt", that's just the normal false scare talk that the right wing (fully funded by the Koch brothers and others of their ilk) like to spread to assure that they can continue their polluting activities unabated.
Sick By DickNH - 08/27/2010 - 8:50 am All of these video games of violence reflect a very warped view of human interaction, glorifying war, violence and guns. This is merely the latest horrific example of what our children are learning through these games. Way to go, EA, you're a Log in shining example of what's so very wrong with our to vote culture today. 2
Hope: Better than international war crimes By DickNH - 08/26/2010 - 2:22 pm The hope thing is actually working out very well, despite your protestations to the contrary. This country is in an economic mess because the Log in Republicans were not only asleep at the regulatory to vote switch when we needed them most, but they 6 turned too many of those switches off. As a result,
people's lifelong investments were lost, and two criminal wars were started, further bleeding this country of resources needed here at home. I'd much rather be where we are now than back when George W. Bush was instigating, in his own words, a crusade against selected repressive regimes in Southwest Asia. We all know THAT didn't work out too well.
No Double Standard By DickNH - 08/26/2010 - 2:18 pm Mr. Hamel's method of discourse is to belittle the President and anyone else who disagrees with him at every turn with as vile language as he can get away with. Too often, he crosses the line, and the Monitor is well within its rights to delete those comments. It's just too bad they can't delete them Log in to vote for the complete dishonesty of content that they 4 always contain.
Really? By DickNH - 08/25/2010 - 4:13 pm I'm not sure where you get your certitude that the community center will never get built. All legal factors point toward it getting built on that site, Log in even if it takes a bit longer than the proponents to vote would wish. There is absolutely no legal basis for 1 preventing its construction.
Vapid By DickNH - 08/25/2010 - 3:51 pm Ah, sailmaker, your useless, vapid comments are always so full of....nothingness. Thanks for your lack of input. Anyone running today is going to have some part of their backgrounds questioned. Both of these candidates are going to need to explain how they believe they can best serve the citizens of the 2d District, given their diverse Log in backgrounds. The victor should then hope that to vote one of the more right-wing Republicans, like 1 Jennifer Horn, wins the primary, making it much easier to keep this seat in Democratic hands, much to sailmaker's undying chagrin.
Some Never Learn By DickNH - 08/25/2010 - 3:40 pm Mr. Brown, thank you for your very intelligent comments on what should be a non-issue. Mr. Hamel, once again, continues with his completely false comments about the Imam Rauf and the misplaced emphasis on the originally proposed name of the community center. It is not a victory Log in mosque, was never meant to be that, and Mr. to vote Hamel's complete mischaracterization of the 5 Q'uran by using only very selective pieces of it is needlessly inflammatory, not to mention completely wrong. There are many, many passages that any Muslim or non-Christian could take from the Bible that could be read to make
Christians out to be just as supposedly bent on conquest and bloodletting as anything Mr. Hamel pulls from the Q'uran. I expect no less from a man who labels two very fine state representatives from Hopkinton and Henniker as Marxists and socialists. The truth and Mr. Hamel remain very, very distant strangers.
Yes, you are entitled By DickNH - 08/25/2010 - 9:17 am Yes, birtchfeld, you are entitled to your very rambling opinions. And yes, your "assumtive" limb wasn't very bright. The author is, in fact, only concerned with religious freedom. If folks are still having trouble "getting a grip" on 9/11, then they need to seek professional assistance. Are you as concerned about the psychological well-being of the families of the hundreds of thousands of Muslim families who lost loved ones due to our illegal violence visited upon them in Iraq, under the guise of protecting against future Log in 9/11s? I doubt it. There already are several to vote Christian churches in that neighborhood, as well 4 as a small Islamic center that has existed peacefully since before the advent of the Twin Towers. There are also three strip clubs in the immediate area, but none of the so-called "Christians" here seem to be even slightly offended by the proximity of those to the "sacred" site.
Because....? By DickNH - 08/25/2010 - 9:10 am Mr. Mouch: everything stated in this piece is solid scientific and economic fact, produced either by the non-partisan Congressional Accountability Office (old Congressional Budget Office) or the equally non-partisan National Academy of Sciences. This as opposed to the "information" provided in the anti-Hodes ad, that comes from oil, coal and gas interests who are the lead funders Log in to vote of the deniers of global climate change. If you 3 disagree, come forward with solid, peer-reviewed science from other than the biostitutes hired by Koch Industries and Exxon-Mobil.
Days off, Bruce? By DickNH - 08/24/2010 - 3:47 pm It's very funny to see this in print. Considering that even conservative estimates show that Mr. Bush was "on vacation" for no less than a full 1/3 of his time in office, you have the amusing gall to question Mr. Obama taking some vacation time? The guy has taken far less vacation time in his Log in first two years in office than any of the last to vote several presidents, so look elsewhere for your 1 criticism. It's misplaced here.
Much Ado about Nothing By DickNH - 08/24/2010 - 2:11 pm Sorry, sailmaker, nobody lied. Everybody is entirely aware that ConEd owns a portion of that property. However, the current tenants have an option to purchase the rest of the property, and are exercising that option. Funny how that simple legal language slipped through your hatred. As for Mr. Hamel, his blind hate about a "Victory Mosque" is pretty pathetic, given that there are several strip clubs well within the same radius, yet Mr. Hamel can't seem to find any more bile to spew at how those wonderful establishments of L light and truth don't bebase the memory of those citizens of og in the world who lost their lives in 2001. Remember, Mr. to Hamel, Christianity has also built cathedrals on its "sites of vo conquest", and I notice that you never raised your voice te against any of that activity. The same with Oklahoma City. 2 Would you forbid any Christian houses of worship within several blocks of the Murrah Federal Building there, that was blown up by an allegedly devout Christian, one Timothy McVeigh? I thought not. Hypocrite
Cordoba By DickNH - 08/24/2010 - 1:35 pm Mr. Hamel: here is what Cordoba meant to that part of Spain for nearly 600 years. A far cry from bloodthirsty murderers, apparently: After their forays into France were blunted by Charles Martel, the Muslims in Spain had begun to focus their whole attention on what they called al-Andalus, southern Spain (Andalusia), and to build there a civilization far superior to anything Spain had ever known. Reigning with wisdom and justice, they
treated Christians and Jews with tolerance, with the result that many embraced Islam. They also improved trade and agriculture, patronized the arts, made valuable contributions to science, and established Cordoba as the most sophisticated city in Europe. In the 11th Century, the ruthless "Christian" kings slaughtered the Muslims of Cordoba, and re-established their cathedral on the ruins of the Muslim mosque. Just another day in the allaround slaughter of which all sides were guilty during that period.
Keep the Faith, Christy By DickNH - 08/24/2010 - 1:02 pm Don't worry about some of these folks, Christy, they're just adept at venting their spleens, facts be hanged. Justice and the rule of law will prevail in this matter, and the Islamic community center will be built where it has been proposed. People of goodwill, people who actually understand the constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion, and protection of private property rights, will ultimately assist in assuring that this structure is Log in built where it has been proposed. The Newt to vote Gingrichs, Sean Hannitys, Pamela Gellers and 14 Rick Fazios of the world will find that their blind hatred will only hurt themselves in the long run. Cooler, more rational, more loving heads will prevail here.
Because We Understand the Mission By DickNH - 08/24/2010 - 12:23 pm Pat: on this one, I completely disagree with you. We are simply the latest in a long line of empires who have attempted to mold Afghanistan to our way of thinking. It is not going to happen. Our invasion of that nation was illegal under international law, as was our invasion of Iraq. We are now engaged in trying to build that fractious compilation of warlords into a functioning democracy in an area that has absolutely no history of such, and that plainly does not want to be a democracy. We have no right to force that on them. If they wish to Log in prevent the Taliban from once again ruling their to vote country, we can assist them with training and 4 weapons. That's all. We have no business putting 150,000 troops in harm's way for a "mission" that can only end in ultimate failure. It was time to leave there a long time ago, unless your thought is that we should stay there for the next 50 years+, ala Korea, but with many more troops and many, many more losses.
More Efficiently? Really? By DickNH - 08/23/2010 - 2:42 pm OK, Mr. Sanborn and supporters: how? Would you further cut state employees, thus increasing the unemployment rolls and increasing the Log in amount of time it takes to deliver needed services to vote to NH citizens? What programs would you cut 3 that haven't already been slashed to the bone?
Saying you "have a plan" is nice, but if it's the same old yarn about somehow lowering taxes that are already among the lowest in the nation and further cutting an already very small government, that's already been done, and it hasn't worked. Any other brilliant ideas, Andy? How will a man who managed to run a very going business right into the ground somehow rebound and solve all the state's fiscal problems? The track record is poor, to say the least.
Amazing By DickNH - 08/23/2010 - 2:03 pm What do you know. The American military is big enough, and intelligent enough in this instance, to extend the hand of friendship and understanding to people of the Muslim faith. They were aware that these Americans hurt just as much as any others, maybe more so since the perpetrators claimed to be acting on behalf of Muslims, and that they needed a place to pray and grieve. Odd, though, isn't it, that the haters who are screaming about the Muslim community Log in center two blocks away from the former Twin to vote Towers site haven't raised a peep about how 2 much more maturely and humanely the military has treated our Muslim brethren than they obviously would wish to see. Hatred is a very blinding thing, and it's good to see that it was overcome rather easily in this instance. Would that the same maturity would be shown over the non-issue in Manhattan.
Speak For Yourself By DickNH - 08/23/2010 - 1:25 pm By the way, 4Liberty, speak for yourself. There are many of us who are VERY happy with the intelligent, thoughtful way Carol Shea-Porter has represented us in Congress. She is SO much more capable of thinking for herself than was her predecessor, one Jeb Bradley, who marched in complete lockstep with the policies of George W. Bush. She does not ignore us, she meets with us often at town hall meetings, patiently taking questions and graciously listening to even the most radical criticisms from the Tea partiers. Log in Please tell me when she has ever "belittled" even to vote one of her constituents? To the contrary, she goes 4 out of her way to respond to her constituents, especially the veterans, and assure they get the assistance they need. She is a much more respected and effective representative than Jeb Bradley ever was,and I daresay better than this lobbyist for the weapons industry could ever be.
Hypocrite, for sure By DickNH - 08/23/2010 - 1:20 pm Mr. Ashooh, if you want a 25% cut in government spending, then I'm sure you'll happily agree to slashing all that government Log in largesse that goes for developing and building to vote our own weapons of mass destruction, courtesy 5 of your former employer, BAE Systems. This is
not defense spending, it's offensive weapons spending and we do far more of it than all the rest of the world combined. It's what gave you enough money to run for Congress, but hasn't made this country or this world one iota more safe. It was companies like yours that cheered on George Bush as he illegally invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, and those companies will reap even more largesse as now Congress is being told we have to spend billions more to replenish the "lost material" from those wars. And I'm sure you'll be leading the Congressional cheerleaders for that spending, won't you, Mr. BAE Systems?
No Sweat By DickNH - 08/20/2010 - 10:00 am Sorry, Van and armyvet, but no sweating here. The real sweating is being done by these nonentities running for the Republican nomination, who need to show that they can come up with more creative ideas than running backward to the Bush era policies of tax breaks for the wealthy as the one and only recipe for the economic downturn. Sorry, folks, but those people DO Log in NOT spend that money on consumer goods, nor to vote do they spend it to increase employment. If they 7 did, then the Bush years would have been golden for both economic development and employment. Instead, the economy went steadily into the ground, as did employment numbers and workers' salaries. Thanks, but there are better ways, and we'll be happy to keep on our present
path to get there.
I'm Naive??? By DickNH - 08/19/2010 - 3:07 pm I'd actually be fine with that, "dirty" harry. It might show that they had overcome their violent inclinations and perhaps had found a way to become constructive. The "Muslim radicals" will celebrate and demean our country, because a community center open to all New Yorkers, meant to bring the community closer together and foster greater understanding among people of all faiths, will be built? Really, Harry??? It IS about the Constitution, that's exactly what it's about,and about respect for Americans of the Muslim faith. Remember, American Muslims were among the victims of the attacks on 9/11 as were Muslims from other nations who worked in Log in to vote the Towers. We have no total corner on the 4 market for grieving over this event. I get what respect for America is: it's about respecting her principals and her Constitution, and protecting every American's right to its protection and freedom, no matter what their religious beliefs may be. What is obvious is that Dirty Harry never even read the Constitution, as his character (and yours) painfully exhibit their ignorance of its meaning at every opportunity.
Thank You for Reason and Sanity! By DickNH - 08/19/2010 - 2:53 pm 1oldviking, I commend you. Your post is precisely correct. The people proposing this community center are AMERICAN CITIZENS, in large part. They abhor what happened on 9/11 as much as any other American, probably more so because the perpetrators claimed to be Muslim ( a quick check of their activities clearly demonstrates that they did not follow the teachings of the Koran in any aspect of their lives). It's time to get over this obsession with Log in that attack. As many, many people in other to vote nations said: 9/11 in the US is every other day in 4 our country. Support the freedom of religion that is a bedrock of this nation's being and let these people alone to build on their property as they please (as long as they obey local ordinances, which doesn't seem to be an issue here), and stop letting mindless, unreasoning fear run your lives!
P.S. By DickNH - 08/19/2010 - 2:46 pm Ranger: please get educated. The proposed Islamic community center will be 4 blocks from the former site of the Twin Towers. It is NOT proposed at ground zero. Furthermore, there is already an Islamic center in a building within one Log in to vote block of that area already, and it's been there 9 since before the Twin Towers even existed. Funny how no one has complained about that, or about the Christian churches that are within 2
and 3 blocks of the site. This faux outrage makes people look so silly and so very ignorant of the basics of the Constitution and private property rights that conservatives are always crowing about, until those same basics allow something they disagree with. Get over it, the center will and should be built right where it's proposed, and it's not an insult or a disgrace, but another center of community development
Ludicrous By DickNH - 08/19/2010 - 2:06 pm I wonder what all the supporters will say the first time there is a major wreck at this intersection because someone wants to subject the rest of us to his religious views. And it will happen, it's only a matter of time. There are already people confused about what the traffic lights mean there, and all the other signage for the gas stations and RV L og outlets. And no, I wouldn't support it if it was for any in religious or commercial message, for that matter. These to lighted signs at intersections are just one more thing to take vo a driver's mind off what he/she is doing, and they don't te belong there. "God's" message, or any other message can 3 be communicated in much safer ways than this.
More and More Nonsense By DickNH - 08/18/2010 - 2:50 pm Army_vet72, you are right. These folks have every right to build on land that is barely even within site of "ground zero", and it is not, in fact, a mosque. And, oh, by the way, folks,
when was the last time any of you screamed for information on where the money came from to build a Christian church or community center? A YMCA? If this building is forced out of there, then the terrorists who actually did their dirty work there have won. Our rule of law, our constitutional protections, our protestations that this is a free and open society where members of any religious faith are free to practice how and WHERE they will, will have become a lie, and the terrorists would be proven right. So keep on with this fear-mongering nonsense; it is you who are their patsies, folks.
Cordoba: More nonsense By DickNH - 08/18/2010 - 2:40 pm This thread is also nonsense. It's only true in the sense that all conquering armies, of whatever faith, built churches or mosques in areas that they conquered. It didn't last long. The muslims were beset by various other tribes, almost from the outset, and also engaged in extensive internecine warfare in that area. The Christians reclaimed the area in 1300, 700+ years ago, people, and rebuilt their own church there. As Log in for supporting repressive regimes in the area, to vote the shoe does fit, and continues to fit. We 1 support Saudi Arabia, Israel, supported Iraq for the longest time, propped up the Shah of Iran for decades, and now we prop up the corrupt and ruthless regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. For what? Security? How's that working out for us over the decades?
Such Nonsense By DickNH - 08/18/2010 - 1:27 pm This is ever more nonsense. The building proposed to be constructed in NY ISNOT A MOSQUE!!! It is a community center, with a gym on the ground floor, a culinary (cooking) school on the middle floors, and a prayer section on the upper two floors. Even if it was a mosque, this is PRIVATE PROPERTY. You remember that, right? You have a right to build what you want on your own property if it meets local codes, which this proposal does? This imam has worked closely with the FBI and others to ferret out potential terrorists in the muslim community in NY. He has spoken of Log in working together in peace. That isn't enough for to vote some here. They will simply move on to 1 something else he hasn't done, as a pathetic excuse for not building the community center on 45th St. By that logic, no Christian church should be built within 10 blocks of the Murra Federal Building in Oklahoma City, because Timothy McVeigh was a Christian. Move on to something else, folks, this is a mindless nonissue.
Sigh By DickNH - 08/18/2010 - 10:19 am I love reading from these folks who have no
Log in clue whatsoever as to how to interpret, and to vote interpolate, climate change data. What Mr. 5 Mayotte says is true, technically. However, when you add in more information, about how this decade is the warmest on record, with each year eclipsing the one before, and solid evidence of the growing power of storms that was predicted decades ago, and with all but the most paid-off biostitutes agreeing that the climate is changing and that man is causing the majority of those changes, arguments like Mr. Mayotte's fall apart at their weak seams.
Regressives By DickNH - 08/18/2010 - 8:48 am So, let's go with the regressive party, is that what you want, millennia? Andy Sanborn has a history of making similar statements, giving a clear indication that he doesn't have a clue as to what many of these laws actually mean. So, by all means, support those who would take us backward to the bad old days of Craig Benson Log in and those of his ilk. The rest of us would prefer to vote to move forward with an agenda that actually 5 improves people's lives and makes NH a better place to live and work.
Free Market? By DickNH - 08/12/2010 - 10:48 am The free market was in free fall before that government you detest so much rescued it from its own excesses. That's the fundamental flaw in all free market arguments: the market is run by people, and people get greedy with other people's money. Without government, there is no hand to stay that dishonesty and greed, and nothing to stop the sort of swindling that goes on whenever deregulation advocates get their Log in way. If those grants weren't available, in this to vote case, thousands of people would not have access 1 to high speed internet and other staples of the modern economy, and thus would be left out in the cold. I know, I know. Your answer to them: move! Nice touch.
Wrong Number, Indeed By DickNH - 08/12/2010 - 8:50 am Yes, someone did check this out, but it apparently wasn't Ms. Rich. Those entities were in fact "taken over" by TDS Telecom, but they continue to do business under their old names. They are subsidiaries of TDS Telecom, and thus Log in the article is correct, that the grants are going to to vote those subsidiaries of TDS Telecom. 2
Curious statement By DickNH - 08/11/2010 - 10:00 am So, Joshtiffany, help me out here. I read this article very closely. Where in it do you find any indication at all that this earnest, giving individual is a "trust fund baby"? Or is it that you just can't understand that any individual could actually give that much of themselves to others they had never met, simply for the satisfaction of doing the right thing? You need Log in to vote to look deep inside to determine what personal 8 weakness led you to attack an individual giving so much back in so many ways, and learning important lessons along the way.
Yes, I did By DickNH - 08/10/2010 - 1:08 pm While I don't recall the ad you speak of, if Lynch did the same thing, then that should be investigated as well. The AG's office should not play favorites on that issue, anymore than on Log in any other issue. to vote 0 view in original post Right On, Invictus By DickNH - 08/10/2010 - 9:31 am This is why I refuse to fly any longer. We have become a nation of scared sheep, willing to put Log in up with almost any abuse of our liberties in the to vote
name of "security". It's so funny, so many 1 people say they won't give up their guns ("from my cold, dead hands"), but tell them they have to have everything scanned, and their bodies xrayed (and then the images kept for the little peepers at Homeland Security), and they become these meek, docile lambs who will do anything the scanners demand. Land of the brave? Hardly.
Don't Worry, Just Act By DickNH - 08/06/2010 - 2:26 pm Abe, et al: no point in arguing reality with these deniers. They fail to understand that climate science is, in fact, based on the study of ice cores and other information that is hundreds of thousands of years old. They fail to understand that those studies show that this period of warming has happened in less than a century, as opposed to other warming periods that occurred over tens of thousands of years. But no need to worry, just get out those flip flops and shorts Log in and watch as the maples move further and to vote further north, and our fall foliage disappears, 0 and then the snows leave and our ski industry can't even make snow. What's going to bring tourists to NH then, palm trees? The science is real and immediate, as will be the consequences. Just do all that you can in your own life to reduce your carbon footprint, and hope enough of us do the right thing that the continued excesses of the deniers can't overwhelm your
best efforts.
Not Revisionist; Reality By DickNH - 08/06/2010 - 1:31 pm The reality of the situation is not as you state. Even the military knew it was defeated, and the Japanese WERE ready to surrender. So what if they surrendered to the Russians first? Was that worth murdering several hundred thousand Japanese? The Russians were as exhausted from war as other nations; they had secured their advantage in Eastern Europe, they did not have the wherewithal to further attack Western Europe. And where are you getting this nonsense that the Chinese are such a huge threat to us? Economically, yes, they are a major competitor. That is no reason to keep tens of thousands of nuclear weapons. Do you really think that they would attack us because of economic competition? Do you really think they would attack Japan for the same reason? And, even if they decided to attack Taiwan, that is not a sufficient concern to us to use weapons that are today hundreds of times more powerful and more terrifying than those used in 1945.
Lo g in to vo te
You're Right, Ray By DickNH - 08/06/2010 - 9:08 am You are correct, of course, Ray. The Japanese had only asked for one condition, and that was the safety and sovereignty of the emperor. We gave that to them, but only AFTER we used that "awful thing" not once, but twice, unnecessarily. I'm not
sure where SomeWeare is coming from, but from reality, not so much. Nuclear weapons have never been a deterrent, and, the longer they exist, the greater the threat that someone will use them. For years, I believed the lie that we needed to use them to avoid a bloodbath for our invading troops. The truth is that there never was a really serious need to invade the islands; the Japanese were beaten, and everybody knew it. The use of the weapons was more to demonstrate to the Russians that we would not acquiesce in their expansion in Europe or Asia. We didn't need to slaughter over half a million innocent souls to do that.
Uniformed Officers in Ads By DickNH - 08/06/2010 - 8:59 am While I think it was in poor taste for Ms. Ayotte to use this situation for her political campaign, it's in the same vein as the old Willie Horton ads that George H.W. Bush used against Michael Dukakis. My bigger issue is with her ads that include uniformed police officers, clearly indicating that these officers and their departments endorse Ms. Ayotte. My Log in to vote understanding is that it is illegal to use 9 uniformed police in political campaign ads. I wonder when the present AG will look into that abuse.
100 Million People Wrong By DickNH - 08/05/2010 - 1:45 pm Whether it's one hundred million, or one hundred billion matters little. That many people have been wrong about the efficacy of war since the beginning of human existence, yet it still occurs. The fact is, civil marriage is a civil right. If two heterosexual people can avail themselves of that right, and all its attendant benefits and privileges under CIVIL law, then the denial of that same right and privilege to homosexuals violates the equal protection clause of the constitution. That is why not only this law, but the DOM is unconstitutional. It should not be an issue to be voted on. If that was the case, women would never have had the right to vote, nor would blacks have had the right to vote or be full citizens, nor would whites and blacks have the right to intermarry. Log in to vote Rights are just that: rights, that already exist 13 and are protected by the constitution. Since civil authorities established marriage apart from religious ceremonies, the 6th Amendment requires that that right be extended to homosexuals in equal measure at it is extended to heterosexuals. To rule otherwise would have been to void the vital protection of that section of the constitution. It doesn't matter what other civilizations in the past thought, or what any religion thinks. Our governments, federal, state and local have, at one time or another, established the right to civil marriage. That right, under the equal protection clause, must apply to all equally. Very simple legal principle for all you "strict constructionists". Thank you,
ArmyVet, your analysis was spot on.
Amazing, Van By DickNH - 08/05/2010 - 11:22 am Van, why would you make a discussion about a very threatened, very beautiful bird into a discussion of politicians with whom you disagree? The threat to a real symbol of the beauty of the wild parts of New Hampshire that make this place special should be enough to Log in discuss and stay on point. If you want to to vote discuss the other subjects, then write a letter to 1 the editor on that point.
Odd Post By DickNH - 08/05/2010 - 11:16 am Sailmaker, you make an odd, and incorrect post. The Democrats never came close to filibustering any of Bush's nominees, for the same reasons that others here have listed above. Even though the Republicans didn't filibuster this nomination, they went to Log in extraordinary lengths to make Ms. Kagan's to vote writings from as far back as graduate school, 1 for heaven's sake, look "socialist", the apparent horror de jure of the right wing.
Alciere a liberal?! By DickNH - 08/03/2010 - 9:24 am Armyvet, your paranoia seems to increase with everyday. Mr. Alciere has been spouting this sort of nonsense for years. Funny, though, how he sounds so much like some national Republican figures like Sister Sarah and Log in Michelle Bachman and Newt Gingrich.....just a to vote coincidence? 2
Misinformation By DickNH - 08/02/2010 - 4:00 pm Start with the nonsense that the Iraq invasion by Bush was somehow merely a continuation of the earlier Desert Storm. First off, that "war" needn't have happened, as Saddam Hussein had already issued orders to begin withdrawal from Kuwait. Since he wasn't moving fast enough to suit us, we decided to hurry it along and win an easy little war. Turns out that it wasn't so easy, and some 400,000 American service personnel became permanently disabled due to exposure Log in to vote to toxic chemicals from that little engagement. 3 We theoretically went into Afghanistan after Osama bin Laden. Fine, but we had no right to invade the country and topple the government. We also let bin Laden escape several times, and he is no longer in Afghanistan. Guess what? No matter how many troops we lose there, once we leave, that "country" will revert back to its historical basis of warlord fiefdoms.
Will the Taliban gain a measure of control? Yes, and there's absolutely nothing we can do about that, no matter how many troops we send in, and no matter for how long, unless you'd like to stay there for a hundred years or so. That isn't defeatist, it's the reality of the situation. By the way, you CAN support the troops and not support their mission.
Not To Worry, Abe By DickNH - 08/02/2010 - 1:28 pm Millennia, KenStCyr and others are in their own little FauxNews world. Let them play in their fantasy sandbox, and the rest of us can deal with the reality of the world as adults. They can watch Sister Sarah and Michelle Bachman (let's investigate each member of Congress on their "Americanism") and the Log in racists of the Tea Party if they wish, but it is to vote worth noting that those people are a tiny slice 2 of the American electorate; they just make more noise, along with the seriously delusional Glenn Beck, than the rest of us.
Wrong, 4Liberty By DickNH - 07/30/2010 - 3:03 pm You are badly mistaken about this "tax on prosthetics" that "our wounded veterans supposedly would have to pay. They pay
Log in to vote
NOTHING for their prosthetics. Those are 2 provided by the Veterans Administration, and Carol Shea-Porter has been a strong supporter of expanding those veterans benefits and health care. Please stop passing along this misinformation, it is easily disproved. As for health savings accounts, nothing changes with those. They are still as useless as they ever were, unless you're filthy rich. Have you ever heard of someone being able to pay for a surgical procedure like arthroscopy out of a health savings account? Assuming they did, they just drained that account, and now have to start again. Not a great way to pay for health care. I'm not sure where you get the idea that you can't use your health savings account for OTC drugs?
DZ: really??? By DickNH - 07/30/2010 - 10:48 am I love good give and take, but when we take leave of reality, then it's too much. DZ, there were NO U.S. troops in Iraq before George Bush launched his invasion of that nation, based on demonstrably false premises. He, and he alone, is responsible for the deaths of over Log in 5,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of to vote innocent Iraqis. And, oh, by the way, all of you 4 conservatives who are so tight with a dollar: another 8.7 billion in Iraq reconstruction funds has gone missing. That goes along with the 9+ billion that the the American interim
government established in 2003 managed to lose. So there's almost 18 billion squandered in Iraq, and that doesn't even count the hundreds of billions the Bush administration poured into that illegal war in military material and payouts to Halliburton, KBR and Blackwater, among others. Has there been any call by conservatives to hold investigative hearings into where all that money went? The silence is deafening. Blaming the Iraq war on Clinton is ludicrous on its face.
What???? By DickNH - 07/29/2010 - 4:06 pm Bruce: did you read the same transcripts as everyone else about the Blago trial? They specifically and clearly demonstrate that President Obama did no negotiations whatever over the Senate seat, despite Blago's attempts to the contrary. What his lawyer said was more smoke and mirrors to try to get his very guilty client off. And what are you talking about with this nonsense about " a coked up, druged out Log in studier of Marxist theory "??? There is nothing to vote about that in any of President Obama's books, 5 except one short reference to a trial of drugs as a teenager, that is no different than millions of other teens. To turn that into a coked up, drugged out studier of Marxist theory is a stretch that even rubber compounds have a hard time reaching. And apparently you missed the news report that Kerry will pay the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts the full tax on the yacht, no matter where it is moored? Or didn't FauxNews bother to report that? As for all the money in Congress, I couldn't agree more. The only way to counter that is to get really serious about campaign finance reform, and severely limit the amount that a candidate can contribute to his/her campaign. Otherwise, get used to only extremely wealthy people on both sides of the aisle who have increasingly little in common with the rest of us running this country.
Nonsense, again By DickNH - 07/28/2010 - 2:05 pm Sorry, Mr. Turner, but if such onerous regulation had actually existed in the past 10 years, the incredible meltdown of the financial sector, directly caused by the deregulation policies of the Bush administration, would not have occurred. As for the tax issue, get onboard with repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% (that probably includes you) and then we might take your argument more seriously. As for Mr. Lamontagne, his type of right-wing conservatism is what sent us down this road in the first place, and we don't anymore of that hands off, deregulation, free market nonsense that only enriches the few to the detriment of the many in the middle class.
Lo g in to vo te
The Point, kenstcyr
By DickNH - 07/28/2010 - 11:00 am You failed to address the point, Ken. The point is that that court decision was probably the lowest point in the Supreme Court's history. The decision was so blatantly political and biased that not one, NOT ONE, of the justices could disgrace him or herself by signing it. There has NEVER in our history been another decision that wasn't signed by the justices. So, even in their blind political allegiance to the right, those justices couldn't bring themselves to take responsibility for that document. Not even Scalia. Now, answer that, please. The fact is that Bush was anointed, if not appointed, by the SCOTUS.
Nonsense By DickNH - 07/28/2010 - 10:56 am This is an odd statement, especially coming less than 2 years into a presidential term. Yes, Mr. Obama faces many challenges. Some were made by the previous administration, and some are the result of failure to learn the lessons of history (i.e., experience) by both the last administration and this one. Until we learn that we cannot invade any nation and remake Log in it in our image, to do our bidding (this applies to vote to both Iraq and Afghanistan), we will 5 continue to pour billions of dollars down each rat hole. There was no "success" in Iraq, only the installation of a very corrupt government that is still teetering, only held up by our continued presence. The same is true in Afghanistan, where central government has
never succeeded, and corruption is how business gets done. Until we extricate ourselves from both illegal conflicts, we will continue heading in the wrong direction, no matter who is in charge. The Republicans have no ideas except the failed ideas of the Bush years, and the Democrats are too scared of the right-wing noise machine to do what's necessary to break away from the rampant militarism of our recent past and focus on what's important here. It's costly to maintain two unwinnable wars and to maintain over 700 military bases in well over 100 countries.
Forgot? By DickNH - 07/27/2010 - 3:02 pm To refresh your short memory, Stewie, your hero sent massive amounts of weapons and cash to the Salvadoran contras, who then turned around and sent most of that to the nation of Iran. You thought the Iranians gave back our embassy people just because Ronnie said so? He bribed them and he and Ollie North got caught red-handed. You are also Log in totally incorrect about "trickle down". It did to vote not help "those who actually want to work". 6 Employment numbers remained stagnant, and middle class wages actually decreased during Reagan's time, with only the top 2% realizing huge gains in their income levels, as they kept that money and invested it in stocks and bonds, not economic development, as Ronnie
and his minions swore they would. Funds for basic programs for those least able to work, including disabled and elderly, shrank precipitously under RayGun. He poured billions into the ill-fated Star Wars missile defense program that never worked from Day 1. Some hero.
Another Myth By DickNH - 07/27/2010 - 10:32 am Reagan repeatedly raised taxes throughout his terms in office. Because of his unbelievable and unnecessary increases in military spending (another part of the myth: he broke the Soviet Union by outspending them), he left the country with massive deficits that were not erased until, ahem, a certain Bill Clinton took office. Yes, he was a jocular and pleasant Log in man. No, he didn't do anywhere near the to vote things later conservatives have credited him 7 with. His myth has grown right along with that of John F. Kennedy, and neither lived up to the myths created around them.
Your Point? By DickNH - 07/20/2010 - 1:18 pm I kniew you couldn't quote a simple saying, millennia. Much of what Berwick says here is Log in simply that we need to make some hard to vote
decisions about how much advanced 9 technology is applied in what situations. In many cases now, all sorts of procedures are performed on people who are terminally ill, and everyone associated with that person knows it. Palliative care, simpler, less expensive and more humane, makes eminently more good sense than all these high tech procedures that at most extend a painful life a few months. The fact that too many high-tech centers have been constructed in metropolitan areas, to the exclusion of more basic, personalized health care, is not a new concept, in case you thought otherwise. Single payer has already shown itself to be more equitable, efficient, and cost-effective than the morass we live under now. And no, no progressives I know have made any statement that somehow Cuba is a better place to live. They just have a better way of health care delivery to more people than we do. There's a vast difference between that statement and some of the things you stated above. I do not disagree with most of what Dr. Berwick says above. Most of the Western nations have much better health care, and far, far better outcomes than we do, at much lower cost. Of course, they can better afford it because they'r enot running all over the globe establishing hundreds of military bases and engaging in two reckless wars that cost hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives each year.
Why the Name-Calling? By DickNH - 07/20/2010 - 10:11 am Millennia, it becomes apparent that you have run out of things to say when you resort to your usual pathetic tactic of disparaging name-calling. Just repeat after me: Sticks and stones may break my bones...you should know the rest. Yes, those are the very lies that Carol Shea-Porter dispelled, since they are all completely untrue. There is none of that in the health care legislation, but those things do, in fact, exist under your present private health Log in to vote insurance carrier, along with discrimination 16 based on pre-existing conditions and other limitations. So, go ahead and engage in your churlish name-calling; the rest of us will attempt to be adults and stick to the issues, unlike yourself and Sister Sarah.
Simple, yes By DickNH - 07/20/2010 - 9:31 am Actually, Carol Shea-Porter has demonstrated a greater intellect than any of the other candidates running this year, from either party. I, too, have been to her town hall meetings. She has handled tough questions Log in with grace, dignity and intelligence, especially to vote when she was parlaying the nonsensical lies 14 thrown at her about the new health care plan. She has stood up to even the President about our misadventure in Afghanistan, all the
while assuring greater access to medical and psychological care for our returning veterans. Yes, she was a social worker prior to running for Congress, and that work gave her an intimate knowledge of the difficulties facing so many families in New Hampshire and the US. That made her uniquely qualified for her seat, as she very clearly demonstrated in her debates with Jeb Bradley, who was the real ideologue running in lockstep with the Bush Administration. He tried the same thing the last time around, and lost by an even greater margin. NH voters know how intelligent Carol is, and how hard she works for them, and they will reward her with a return to Congress this November. As for Ms. Palin, she won the governor's race in Alaska in the midst of widespread scandal. That's fine, and I applaud her for that. But, once she stepped onto the national stage, she made it crystal clear that she does not understand the real world, nor the intricacies of either foreign or domestic policy. That is why she remains on the outside, looking in, and still failing to see what she doesn't understand.
Amazing By DickNH - 07/20/2010 - 9:04 am No, millennia, it's not that progressives target female candidates if we don't agree with Log in them. We simply point out what a poor to vote example of a candidate or a governor Ms. 12
Palin was. She repeatedly demonstrated her ignorance of issues that were common knowledge for anyone who paid even a modicum of attention to current affairs, and then tried to finesse her way to legitimacy with a wink and what she considered cute oneliners. Her latest "mama grizzly" is simply the latest in a long line of attempts to call attention to herself with what she considers to be phrases that will somehow catch the imagination of "common folk". Well, the common folk know that she is an illiterate, incompetent quitter who resigned half-way through her term as governor, not so that she could demonstrate some unknown "principle", but because she just wanted to go out and make money. If Kelly Ayotte thinks Sister Sarah's endorsement is worth something, that lets me know all I need to know about Ms. Ayotte's fitness to hold office. By the way, each and every one of those women you listed have far, far longer lists of distinguished accomplishment in public life than either Ms. Palin or Ms. Ayotte. Interesting that you consider Carol Shea-Porter a "dummy". You should take the time to speak with her sometime, and you'd discover how deeply she understands the issues that affect the working people of NH and the veterans coming home wounded in body and spirit. Thanks, but I'll stick with the very accomplished women on your list over either Sister Sarah or Kelly "grizzly mama" Ayotte.
Truth? By DickNH - 07/14/2010 - 10:30 am OK, millennia, you brush this off as "left wing talking points". Wrong, Millennia, I actually heard Rush Limbaugh say those very words. No talking points, except his. So, if you're going to disagree, go back and listen to his show from YESTERDAY, during which he did, in fact, spew those words of racial hatred and bigotry. Listen to the whole tape, Log in or watch it online. I challenge you to then to vote come back here and state unequivocally that 0 he never said those words about George Steinbrenner. Let's have some real "truth" here. In this case, Veritas was dead on with what he/she wrote.
Limbaugh not a Racist? Really??? By DickNH - 07/14/2010 - 8:45 am Scoop11, you need to pay more attention to Mr. Limbaugh. It was only yesterday that he went on another mean-spirited, and VERY racist, rant against none other than George Steinbrenner. Limbaugh was upset with Log in Steinbrenner for the following: he made many to vote African-American players millionaires, while 0 firing a bunch of white guys. His words, not mine. If you don't find those words, and so many others he's spouted over the years racist,
then you need to have a serious discussion with yourself as to the meaning of that word. He is blatantly racist, and it would take far too long to describe all the obviously racist remarks that have spewed forth in the venom that is Glenn Beck.
Delusional By DickNH - 07/13/2010 - 12:44 pm Mr. Stephen remains as blithely delusional as he was as DHHS commissioner. He wanted to cut and slash all these programs to the most needy among us. Thankfully, the legislature refused to go along with him. Sure, John, and just cut the budget 10% across the board? Nope, you have to show something called "leadership". That means YOU have to decide which programs helping which citizens you will cut, and then devolve those costs onto the towns and cities, and onto the.....wait for it....property tax payers! State government has Log in to vote already been cut to the bone, and sometimes 4 into the bone, despite what army vet and Bruce Trevillini and millenia maintain (their combined lack of knowledge of how much state workers "multi-task" is breathtaking!). Simplistic solutions don't get it, John. Your cuts in business taxes, without some other revenue source, will leave this state in a far worse situation than it is in now. You spouted the same nonsense when you ran for Congress, and the Republican
voters soundly defeated your baseless ideas. You won't debate your ideas with anyone, as you have clearly demonstrated in multiple public forums. It has to be "my way, or the highway". Well, John, we've already had one Craig Benson, and that was one too many!
Sno Bowl II By DickNH - 05/21/2010 - 3:02 pm Since so very few people attended this year's event, they Lo can't have made much money on it. I wonder why g they're bothering. in
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0 Real Facts By DickNH - 05/20/2010 - 10:45 am jseaver, you are quite correct. This is an excellent agreement that provides real and verifiable savings and benefits for both workers and the state. As for factfinder4u, his name is one of the great misnomers on any of these blogs. The state workforce is way down in numbers and people are working harder and putting in many more hours to pick up the work that really should be done by a full workforce. That is leaving needed services unprovided, and putting greater stress on people in the workforce, particularly those in the health delivery and corrections whose jobs are stressful enough as it is. For him to say that
those already overworked, dedicated people should work even harder is simply a statement of gross ignorance on his/her part. Understand that the state workforce is dedicated to providing quality services to all citizens, and we will continue to do our very best under very trying circumstances.
Seriously, though By DickNH - 04/14/2010 - 1:39 pm While Katrina Swett has been a great contributor to local community organizations, I'm not all that enthralled with her as a candidate for Congress. Not because of some of the unfortunately hateful comments here, including from Armyvet, who seems to have nothing better to do than vent his spleen with hateful speech. I, for one, am thankful that Carol Shea-Porter represents me in the First District. She's light years better than Jeb Bradley, who ran as an "independent" Log in Republican, but then became a slavish to vote robotic vote for all things Bush, and bears 0 enormous responsibility for the illegal war in Iraq, and all the reduced or eliminated regulation that led to the enormous economic crisis we have found ourselves in since 2007. Thanks, Carol, for showing us what a real leader is, and how short Jeb came up in that area!
Echo Chamber By DickNH - 03/26/2010 - 1:00 pm All you have to do is take note of the misinformation and outright lies that those who write here in opposition to the health plan continue to spew forth, and you'll know why their minority continues to shrink, and why the President's poll numbers are rising again. As for Ayotte, her numbers will begin to tank as soon as she deigns to open her mouth and actually take a position on something, anything. Until then, she's Log in whatever you want her to be. Paul Hodes to vote knows that, and has nothing to worry about 0 from the likes of Take No Position on Anything Kelly. All that violence and hate coming from the right is also having a boomerang effect, in that the Tea Party is quickly losing steam and credibility.
More Nonsense By DickNH - 03/25/2010 - 2:48 pm LIAMD2, it's painfully obvious that you have not paid attention to simple news stories. You are obviously a "birther", having referred to the President as "non-American". How many Log in times does the state of Hawaii have to to vote produce Barack Obama's original birth 0 certificate before you will finally understand that he was, in fact, born in Hawaii, and is a U.S. citizen? Just what "experience", other
than war, does Mr. Petraeus have that President Obama does not? Mr. Obama has won wide praise for his calm and measured diplomacy on any number of fronts, something that his predecessor was unwilling and incapable of accomplishing. I'm not worried about "staying quiet", as the Constitution grants me the freedom of speech you would deny me. I daresay that Gen. Petraeus understands that concept much better than you obviously do, as well.
President? By DickNH - 03/25/2010 - 8:51 am Just because he's fairly well-spoken and he wears a bunch of fruit salad on his lapel, somehow he's presidential material? It's too bad no one in the crowd had the courage to ask him what he thought should happen to the political leaders who ordered him and our troops into the illegal invasion of Iraq. AlQaeda weakened in Iraq? They never existed in Iraq until our illegal invasion of that Log in nation. General Patraeus and the other senior to vote military leaders and the Bush administration 0 leader who ordered the invasion have a great deal to answer to the people of Iraq and the people of the world for because of this war crime.
Excuse Me? By DickNH - 02/23/2010 - 1:15 pm Greendog, you need to bone up on your understanding of environmental law. As the article states, it is the law that these entities install and properly operate this equipment. It's also the law in other states, at least to a given level. So, saying that these companies or entities will pack up and move their entire infrastructure to some other state is absurd. Those states have the same or similar requirements, and most of them don't have Log in the same tax exemptions that NH does. I to vote completely agree with the statement that 0 granting these exemptions to these entities to follow the law is like paying a man $100 not to commit murder. In some cases, where the pollutants are of a certain type, failure to follow the law can produce consequences that amount to just that, murder.
Wrong Again, DZ By DickNH - 02/23/2010 - 8:50 am First of all, we need to be very clear about the results of using torture to extract information. It DOES NOT WORK, and any competent professional in the field will affirm that. Log in There are all sorts of interrogation techniques to vote that do not involve physical pain that do 0 work, however. Sheikh Mohammed, the socalled mastermind of 9/11, was cooperating
with authorities and giving them actionable intelligence until some cowboy under orders from the Bush administration began using waterboarding (a clear example of torture. Remember, we prosecuted Japanese military officers after WWII for using that exact action against U.S. troops, and several were executed for using waterboarding). Once he began to be waterboarded, he shut up like a clam, despite the fact that the CIA waterboarded him 180+ times. Tell me, if that works so well, why did they need to do that twice a day for 3 months? The same is true of the Christmas day bomber. He is willingly giving actionable intelligence, and no one has laid a harsh finger on him. As for military tribunals, all of you who champion these things forget one thing: their conviction rate, compared to civilian courts, is ABYSMAL. That is largely because it turns out that so much of the "evidence" collected from them has been gained by torture, and the evidence proved to be completely unreliable. So, get your facts straight. Civilian trials lead to convictions of terrorists, and gets them put away for life. Sorry that that doesn't square with your supposedly Christian notion that "those people" should only face execution.
Ostrich talk By DickNH - 02/19/2010 - 11:02 am Sadly, people will roll their eyes and shake their heads, since they've been totally propagandized about this issue. It is too bad that people won't take the time to re-visit all the evidence contrary to the official version of events that is out there in plain sight. All of the questions raised by "truthers" have yet to be answered by official Washington, which simply says that there has been a commission that issued findings and that's all there is to it. This even though key witnesses, such as fire fighters and police (you know, all those first responders we all said we so admired and that "We will never forget!") were actually physically barred from testifying before the 9/11 Commission about Log in what they heard and saw in and outside the to vote buildings that day. To a man (and woman) 0 they have testified in other settings that they heard multiple explosions on floor after floor just before the buildings collapsed. That includes explosions in the basement. There was thermite found on some of the metal pieces, at least the few that weren't whisked away from what should have been a crime scene and placed on ships to China within 3 days of the event. You folks who ridicule these questions conveniently avoid the question about Building 7. Come on, then, folks, answer up. How does a huge building like that, that was not hit by an airliner, and that at most received a few burning pieces of
debris from the other buildings, get destroyed in what was so very obviously a controlled demolition? How is it that no planes were ever scrambled to intercept ANY of the 4 planes that left their assigned flight paths, when that has been SOP in this country for over 30 years? How is it that the anti-aircraft missiles located atop the Pentagon, that have also been there for several decades, were never fired to take down whatever the aircraft was that hit the Pentagon? Where was all the wreckage, and the baggage,and the bodies of the passengers on the plane in Pennsylvania? All we were ever shown was a crater in the ground. No plane, no baggage strewn for thousands of yards, and no bodies. And we are satisfied with that? If so, then we are truly the most gullible people on the planet.
Denier Nonsense By DickNH - 02/17/2010 - 9:04 am Those who recognize the signs of global climate change above have it exactly right. The IPCC report, for those who actually take the time to read the whole thing, predicted many of the changes now occurring, along with more intense storms that have occurred Log in to vote across the globe the past 5 years or so. The 0 rest of those here are merely slavishly regurgitating the nonsense being spewed by the incompetent corporate mouthpieces at FoxNews and the biostitutes who sell their
souls to the corporate energy elites. They will learn how very wrong they are very shortl (relatively speaking).
Chinese System? Seriously? By DickNH - 02/12/2010 - 9:05 am So, ArmyVet_72, are you advocating that we adopt that wonderful, fair and thorough Chinese justice system where the accused are already condemned before they are ever tried, and lawyers are just there for show? In that case, I wonder how you'd fare in that system, Log in to vote and how you'd feel at having your life's worth 0 assessed at "50 cents a bullet"?
6th Commandment By DickNH - 02/11/2010 - 12:40 pm I don't necessarily believe that the Bible is the ultimate authority, but many people seem to. That being the case, the 6th Commandment clearly states "Thou Shalt Not Kill". It doesn't have any waivers or Log in exceptions, except of course those that to vote "civilized" society has later carved out for 0 itself and then convinced itself that "God" deemed it so, because some holy person or another pontificated that that is what the commandment really means. Society has no
more right to engage in the murder of a human being than does any other human being. I have read all of the treatises on the "justice" of capital punishment and "just war". They are all simply humanity's attempt to justify its desire to seek revenge against people we deem criminals, or enemies. That does not make capital punishment or war any less criminal.
Bass a Fiscal Conservative? By DickNH - 02/09/2010 - 9:11 am This from a man who slavishly voted for every single multi-billion dollar war funding bill that George Bush requested. Of course, all of them were off budget to hide the real deficit they were building. Sorry, Charlie, you can't hide from your past record.
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Spot On, Michael By DickNH - 02/01/2010 - 9:42 am You are correct, Michael. It was the massive derivatives scam that caused the collapse, just as it was the junk bonds, also created by the big banks, that caused the last big collapse in the early '90's. I have no idea what Joseph is talking about when he says that we need the big banks healthy in order to lend money to get businesses going again. Despite all the bailout money they received, they are NOT LENDING to any but the largest commercial
borrowers! So, then, tell me, Joseph, how is that helping the great middle class on which this country depends? You're right, it isn't. Obscene executive salaries at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac??? Try comparing those to the salaries and bonuses of the top executives at AIG, Goldman-Sachs and Morgan-Stanley. It isn't even close.
Funny By DickNH - 01/21/2010 - 10:06 am This is a really funny post. Polling of voters after the election showed a sizeable number of voters who voted for Brown thought that the health care bill didn't go far enough! So, for those who see this as some kind of referendum on health care, you're whistling past the graveyard. Further, if you can't see that reducing health care costs, and dealing with climate change go hand in hand with economic recovery and development, then you will continue to be lost in the wilderness of failure to understand the interconnections Log in to vote that actual people in the House and Senate at 0 both the national and state levels are dealing with. The right wing sound machine would love to dumb you down and make you believe that these things are not related. They are, but addressing them would hurt the obscene profits of their corporate masters. As for corporate taxation, we aren't anywhere near the highest taxed nation in the world. And the ones that are taxed more than we are are actually doing far better than
we are economically and socially.
Wrong, 4Liberty..... By DickNH - 01/19/2010 - 2:13 pm Sorry, 4Liberty, but you are sadly mistaken when you say the government creates or provides nothing. As a matter of fact, it was the Defense Department that first created early computers and the internet. It is government that built the interstate highway system and much of the rural electrification system that helped build the nation's economy. Government has provided initial stimulus money many times to jump start various parts of the economy. Government also assures that all methods of Log in transportation are open and effective as to vote much as possible to assure the smooth flow 0 of that commerce you so value. I could go on and on, but, if you further reduce goverment and rely on state government, you reach a situation of 50 separate competing fiefdoms with little coordination. That's why early commerce in the US was so fractured and incompetent. Is that really where we want to go?
Thankfully By DickNH - 01/15/2010 - 11:42 am It's about time this nonsense was moved off Main Street! It has done nothing for the merchants downtown, at all! It has been nothing but a huge inconvenience for all those who would use downtown during that time, especially those of us who would be happy to see that white elephant on Route 106 disappear altogether. The races, sadly, Log in to vote draw enough people already. You don't need 0 an event like this anymore to draw more people to an already sold out venue. Good riddance!
Wrong, KraftyPat! By DickNH - 12/15/2009 - 11:00 am Pat: while I have agreed with many of your positions in the past, both you and the President are dead wrong on this one! Army_vet72 is exactly right. There is no way to "win" a guerrilla war, which this exactly is. We CANNOT stay there, we will Log in only lose more of our own troops and to vote destroy more innocent lives in the process. 0 A small strike force that goes after the heads of these organizations is all that should be there. They have to take responsibility NOW for their country, even if that means continuing their traditions of tribal areas and
warlords. We have no business attempting to make their country over in our image and likeness. It won't work!
Agree with KW By DickNH - 12/15/2009 - 10:33 am The road is fine as it is. Accidents have happened when fools using the road decided to pass when it wasn't safe. People go way too fast on that road as it is. If Bruton wants a new road, let him build it himself! The track has been given too many freebies by the state as it is, and now Bruton wants night racing and snowmobile racing. Enough already! Those of us who live near the track are sick and tired of the noise and traffic that Log in to vote the track generates now. If you widen that 0 road, you'll only bring more traffic, and Bruton will want more seats. He's got what he's got. If he doesn't like it, he can leave, and don't let the door hit you in the rump on the way out of town!
No, they didn't!!! By DickNH - 12/07/2009 - 12:37 pm Andy: you need to read the Federalist papers. The founders most certainly did NOT want God, no matter in what form, in
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our government. They made that abundantly 0 clear time and time again. If this person wants to put a license plate frame around their plate espousing their particular religious views, fine. But I don't want my tax dollars going to produce license plates that espouse any particular religious theme. It doesn't belong there, and the founders were most clear about keeping religion and God out of government!
Yes, We Did By DickNH - 12/04/2009 - 10:08 am ArmyVet, if you were at all paying attention, which obviously you are not, you would know that there were protests against Mr. Obama's Afghanistan decision statewide, and nationwide. Contrary to your misguided statements, we in the peace movement do not blindly follow anyone. Mr. Obama is making the same mistakes that George Bush, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Log in Nixon and John Kennedy have made in the to vote past. Escalation of foreign engagement only 0 fuels "insurgents". We will continue to state clearly our opposition to any position that does not focus on leaving both the illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq until such time as our "leaders" finally learn the lessons of history. Sadly, once again those lessons will be learned by the spilling of American and
Afghan blood.
So Wrong By DickNH - 12/03/2009 - 9:17 am This "surge" is so wrong on so many levels, it's hard to know where to start. There is no "victory" in Afghanistan, only death and destruction for all involved. With Al Qaeda safely ensconced in Pakistan, we have no right to then occupy this country for another 5 years or more (forget about that deadline, it's all based on 'conditions on the ground'.) We should rather be focusing on helping the Afghanis to rebuild their country, as they want it to look, not as we want it to look. Once we leave, they will do that, anyway, and all the sacrifices made by all our civilian and military personnel will have been just Log in to vote another giant waste of lives and resources. 0 No freedom, no democracy, no "glory". Just more death and wasted treasure. WTP, those troops in Iraq should never have been there to begin with, so the President is simply reversing our war crime by bringing those troops home. He should not then turn around and re-direct them to the new quagmire in Afghanistan. No other nation has ever succeeded in a military adventure in Afghanistan, and our forces will meet exactly the same fate that every other invading army ever has. Get ready for the
steady increase in military coffins and civilian deaths. It's merely a matter of time.
Good Point By DickNH - 11/30/2009 - 10:26 am Mr. Currie is exactly right on this point, and the original author exactly wrong. Residential development never, ever pays for itself. It always costs towns in terms of new services, police, fire, ambulance, schools, roads, possible water connections, etc. If you are looking to save the town Log in money, purchase this property! The avoided to vote costs of these additional services resulting 0 from developing the land alone will repay the town many times over!
No One is Upset by This? By DickNH - 11/24/2009 - 1:34 pm We The People blithely threatens the President with not finishing his term, and no one else is bothered by this? Is the Right really so morally bankrupt that they won't Log in call out one of their own when he/she to vote threatens violence because you disagree 0 with the Administration? And you folks have the audacity to speak of morals...amazing! Beyond that, I have no
idea what this person is talking about with this "attack" by Col. Osama, unless he is talking about the madman who went off at Fort Hood. That attack is being handled as it should be, by military authorities. What's the matter, WTP, would you rather not let the military justice system run its course, but rather shoot Col. Hasan in his bed, paralyzed as he is? How very noble of you!
Hysteria?? By DickNH - 11/24/2009 - 10:39 am Millennia: because I raised legitimate, verifiable weaknesses in Sarah Palin's history, you accuse me of hysteria? Instead of throwing out foolish, unsubstantiated statements, why don't you try to defend Sarah's irrational decision to walk away from her commitments to the people of Alaska, and a book with 5 measly little chapters that she didn't even write, or her painfully obvious lack of any understanding of international affairs that vitally affect this nation? Legitimate debate with conservatives who have a thorough understanding of their subjects is stimulating. Debate with Sarah Palin is a totally one-sided affair, and she's not on the side that has any credibility.
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Laughable By DickNH - 11/24/2009 - 10:00 am
All of you jump all over Ms. Hunt about her liberalism, and the supposed power of former governor Palin. I, for one, don't understand how any of you conservatives can hold Ms. Palin up as an example of the "American spirit" when she quit as governor half-way through her first term! She was beset by ethical scandals and vindictive treatment of those who disagreed with her. Her book is selling so well because conservative groups have admittedly bought up huge numbers of the book to distribute to their membership at low or no cost. Her book is already selling at less than $5 per copy online because no one would buy it at full price. She left hundreds of her supporters standing in the rain and cold in Indiana after she had promised to sign all their books. And yes, I'll take Joe Biden, with his expansive and in depth knowledge of international affairs and the occasional slip of the tongue over a know-nothing opportunist who can't take the time to actually read anything in depth, much less develop a real understanding of real issues that affect real people and then develop policies to address those issues. We can only hope that Sarah follows her dream and is the Republican nominee for president in 2012. After we stop the riotous laughter and watch her latest embarrassing performance on the national stage, Barack Obama will easily win a second term over the know-nothing former half-term governor, possible talk show host (what will she possibly talk about?).
Problem? By DickNH - 11/24/2009 - 9:47 am So, what's your problem here? Sen. Landrieu gets back $300 million in unfair Medicaid expenses foisted on the state of Louisiana by George Bush's incredible bungling of the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on her state, with the only means at her disposal, after being totally ignored by the Bush administration that was entirely responsible for the debacle. Log in And you're upset with that? It's called to vote "accountability", something the Bush 0 administration constantly denied and was never held to by their brethren in the Republican dominated Congress. So now, the chickens have come home to roost and the losers whine about it. How pathetic.
Pitiful By DickNH - 11/24/2009 - 8:57 am The comments by nightrider and fyione are so pitiful it's hard to know where to begin. George W. Bush spent far more time flitting around the country, especially to his Log in "ranch", than President Obama ever will. to vote At least Mr. Obama is doing the public's 0 business while he's traveling, as opposed to the endless vacation that was the Bush legacy. As for the stimulus funds, they can
and are being used for these purposes, and 3/4 of that money is still available. None of it was given to give illegal aliens anything, and you ought to be ashamed of yourself for your outright lies, nightrider. If you don't agree with the President, fine, but use FACTS and not things you made up to voice your objections. fyione, if you disagree with the President, then say so, but calling him names only alerts the rest of us to your lack of reason and humanity. We can only hope you will engage brain before you insert your foot in your mouth again. Rational discourse, based on facts, would serve us all better.
Why? By DickNH - 11/20/2009 - 9:03 am Jonasmt, did it ever occur to you that Mr. Shute is an American citizen living in Canada? Apparently not. And, even if he is, he obviously knows a great deal more about US history and our constitution than Log in to vote Mr. Ryan does. 0
Proof? By DickNH - 11/19/2009 - 9:41 am The proof is in the bill. This is NOT a
Log in government-run health care program. It to vote HAS a public OPTION. That option will 0 provide legitimate competition to the private insurers that does not now exist. It will prevent insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office that runs the numbers on all these bills, the current bill will REDUCE the deficit by $187 billion in the first 10 years of operation. It will be paid for by several different sources, including $500+ billion in reduced overpayments to Medicare providers, those reductions not resulting in any change in Medicare coverage. It will also be paid for by a surtax on those making over $500,000. There is also discussion of a tax on socalled "cadillac" health care plans. There is nothing at all in the bill that gives ANYONE the right to "run our lifes (sic) from the cradle to grave". The only ones who believe that are the ones who watch FAUX News.
Sarah??? Really??? By DickNH - 11/12/2009 - 12:50 pm Do you mean the Sarah Palin who had great difficulty coming up with a book Log in containing 5 whole chapters??? That to vote Sarah??? Her candidacy for President in 0
2012, beyond being the nation's comic's fondest wish, is also the Democrats' fondest wish. She stands for nothing, and her depth of knowledge and understanding of the real issues of importance to the nation and the world has not increased one iota since her disastrous flirtation with national politics. If you thought her "debate" with Joe Biden was hilarious (it was), wait until you see a debate between her and Barack Obama. Her lunacy will truly be on full display then.
And.... By DickNH - 11/10/2009 - 8:53 am While Elm Brook Park is nice, it isn't nearly as important and valuable ecologically and socially as is the Bohanan piece. We have purchased or been granted easements on a number of similar properties in my community, and it helps to keep New Hampshire special. Ms. Covert is Log in to vote right; just go down to Salem or Nashua or 0 Pelham and see what failure to protect special places brings.
Nonsense By DickNH - 11/09/2009 - 2:35 pm Actually, wss1, life does actually work that way. If it doesn't take multiple years to get material and men into a situation, it doesn't take that long to get them out. Yes, there will be power vacuums in both nations as a result of our invasions, power vacuums that were not there when we illegally invaded both nations. Isn't it odd that it didn't take years and years and years to leave Vietnam, but all these decades later it's that much more difficult? This is just another reason for thinking much harder before we just up and invade a country, and then worry about the consequences later. And please, spare us the nonsense about always listening to Log in "what the generals say". The generals got to vote us as deeply into Vietnam as we got by 0 consistently underestimating what we were into. The generals in Iraq told us we'd be done in 3 months there. And those same generals, once we had ousted the Taliban (but failed miserably in the central mission of finding Osama bin Laden) had no clue as to what to do next, and they still don't. They also have no idea how to handle our "allies" in Pakistan. It's actually time to listen to the civilians and the diplomats, and put the generals back into the Pentagon box until they can bring themselves up to speed with understanding the limits of their
power.
Amazing By DickNH - 11/09/2009 - 11:07 am Army_Vet72, you are right on the mark. In an earlier post, I linked to a great piece by Matthew Hoh, the distinguished Marine, veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, former State Department diplomat. He resigned in protest over the possible "surge" in Afghanistan, and wrote a painfully direct letter to the powers that be, arguing that we are simply (once again, as elicited by Army_Vet72) engaged in a regional civil war. Are there those who would destroy us? Of course, and there always will be. Are they capable of it? No, Log in as long as we don't have an administration to vote in power like the last one that was totally 0 asleep at the wheel and ignored warning after warning. If they had heeded those warnings, and taken normal preparations, 9/11 would have fizzled and their excuse for the "long war" along with it. The other point, about the corruption, was also a point of contention that Mr. Hoh raised. How many drug dealers and corrupt cheats (the Karzais come to mind) are we going to support in the "name of freedom"???
Agreement, Part II By DickNH - 11/06/2009 - 2:49 pm Yes, Army Vet, the Japanese-Americans, or Nisei, were kept in concentration camps because of their race. There has been compensation paid, but it took nearly 60 years. I wonder how long it will take us to compensate those rounded up in 2001, even though we knew from the Nisei experience that it was illegal? And, I also thought about all the troops who have failed to properly disobey their orders to go to Iraq and Afghanistan. Both wars are illegal under both international and American law, and yet only a select few had the courage to Log in refuse their orders to go. For that courage, to vote they have been excoriated as traitors and 0 cowards, though they are neither. They are, rather, the true patriots and heroes. By the way, you are quite right about the USA PATRIOT Act, as unconstitutional and unconscionable an act as was ever passed by Congress. And yet, it is still in force because too few in Congress have the courage to speak out publicly against it.
Predictable By DickNH - 11/06/2009 - 11:31 am Isn't this hateful reaction just so very predictable? How many of the mass murders in this country have been committed by people calling themselves Christian? How many of the recent murder/suicides have been committed by Christians? Yet, none of those now screaming about how violent Islam is wrote any such thing in responding to those other crimes. Yes, this man was a Muslim. Yes, he had some very serious mental or emotional problems, just like so many of the Christians who have engaged in acts of mass murder in this country. So, why don't you concentrate on sympathy for those Log in affected, and trying to understand this to vote man's torment, rather than simplistically 0 ascribing it to Islam? People of all faiths pervert those faiths. That doesn't mean the faith isn't good and true. It means those who perverted the teachings of those faiths failed to live up to the truths of those faiths. I'm more afraid of what these illegal, immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and our blind support of the nation of Israel, are doing to our country, our citizens, our soldiers and the citizens of those nations than I am about one deranged psychiatrist.
Some Agreement By DickNH - 11/06/2009 - 9:36 am ArmyVet_72, I agree with a great deal of what you said, and many of us are glad to see that the military knows the Constitution and what orders are legal. However, you state that active duty military will not obey orders to detain American citizens as enemy combatants or subject them to military trial. The first part of that statement was breached time and time again during the Bush administration. I hope the future holds a brighter promise of upholding your promise not to obey such an order. What about not rounding up thousands of our fellow citizens and keeping them confined without charge and incommunicado, and having their conversations with their lawyers monitored? You know that happened to thousands of our Muslim citizens after 9/11 and the military was fully complicit in that illegal operation. How do we repay those citizens for the illegal orders that the military obeyed then?
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Revisionist History By DickNH - 11/05/2009 - 10:40 am I hope all those so bitterly complaining about President Obama's attempts to stave off financial collapse will clear the fog away and remember that the first rounds of bank and financial bailouts and stimulus spending were implemented by their hero, the late, little lamented George W. And the Republicans in Congress went along with all of it as they sent more and more of our tax
dollars down the twin rat holes of Iraq and Afghanistan, and maintenance of our needless, bloated nuclear weapons cache. Weapons of mass destruction, indeed!
Interesting By DickNH - 11/05/2009 - 10:32 am What do you know, state workers volunteering to take unpaid furlough days to help their fellow employees and the state government in time of need. Just what the SEA proposed to the governor months ago, and he rejected, believing it unlikely that enough state workers would Log in voluntarily take enough furlough days to to vote cover the amount needed to address the 0 deficit. Are you paying attention, Gov. Lynch? It actually works!
Seabrook By DickNH - 11/03/2009 - 3:33 pm The first Seabrook reactor should never have been finished, much less the second one. Prices are high with PSNH because of Seabrook and that power that was Log in supposed to be "too cheap to measure". to vote That's what caused the PSNH bankruptcy. 0 If the second one had been built, who knows what the electric rates in NH would
have been?
Extra Costs? By DickNH - 11/03/2009 - 2:18 pm I don't know where NH Always gets the idea that environmental groups are raising his electric rates. PSNH is doing a fine job of that all by its lonesome, with no help from anybody else. Transition to alternative fuels will be initially expensive, but not nearly as expensive as Log in continuing along our path with dirty coal to vote and ultra-expensive nuclear power. Good 0 on ya for all your efficiency efforts, though!
Hilarious By DickNH - 11/03/2009 - 11:29 am Rather than respond to the substance of this article, the obvious conflict of interest of the chair of the Air Resources Council, a former PSNH employee, nh yankee and NH Always instead choose to attack the Log in character of those raising these issues in to vote public. Both of you should know that the 0 Sierra Club is in fact a very pro-people group (we strive to protect the environment, you know, our life support
system), we actually live in modest, energy efficient homes, and we actually drive very fuel efficient vehicles made by companies like Toyota and Honda, which are light years ahead of American firms in terms of fuel efficiency and reliability. Now that you have the facts, perhaps you could try defending Mr. Donald's painfully obvious conflict of interest?
Trash By DickNH - 11/03/2009 - 10:41 am C. dog, if you mean leaving the wrongheaded mess that George W. left to Mr. Obama, then, yes, we should take out the trash, and leave. There is absolutely nothing we can accomplish in Log in Afghanistan, except to waste even more to vote young lives than have already been wasted 0 there and in Iraq.
Ridiculous By DickNH - 11/03/2009 - 9:20 am First, I agree that this person's picture should be allowed in the yearbook. It's more than a bit inane to be policing these Log in to vote pictures this severely. The other comments 0 here about the "nobility" of the cause is
equally inane. The wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan are illegal and immoral. Iraq never, ever posed the slightest threat to this nation. The ostensible reason for going into Afghanistan was to root out Al Qaeda, such as it is. The fact is that now Al Qaeda is rooted in the mountainous terrain of northwest Pakistan. We have absolutely no business in Afghanistan, propping up Hamid Karzei's totally corrupt regime with our blood and treasure. Where do you get the idea that the "current commitment of troops and material" are strictly Obama's decision, C. dog. He inherited this mess and, to his credit, is taking his time to actually study all the options at his disposal. Matthew Hoh, the highly decorated former marine and recent State Department diplomat in Afghanistan who resigned his post because he knows that the Afghanistan conflict is nothing more than a regional civil war, is a man whose words should resonate strongly in Washington. He is right, it is time to leave Afghanistan and let them sort out their own country. Will we? Of course not, we're too stupid to learn the lessons of the history of Afghanistan. We will lose another 10,000 or more troops there before we finally realize that nothing we do there is going to change the ultimate course of that nation's sorry history.
More Ignorance By DickNH - 11/02/2009 - 10:11 am LIAMD2, the solution to pollution has not been dilution for a couple of centuries now, and it most certainly is not the solution in the case of heavy metals, which do not break down in any meaningful geologic time. In other words, they stay where they are, or they migrate, and they do tremendous damage along the way to Log in all the life they encounter. Please don't try to vote to match wits with a man who so 0 intimately knows his surroundings and the repercussions of human activity on them. It's not even close to a fair match.
Nonsense By DickNH - 10/29/2009 - 9:45 am Commissioner Hodgdon states: "There is much misinformation out there steering us from the heart of the issue.Much of it is intentionally floated to see what can be sensationalized. " Yes, there is Log in Commissioner, and by this piece you have to vote added to it. The numbers used in 0 negotiation to get even more savings are YOUR numbers, Commissioner. So, if they're wrong, then that's a problem that
YOU and the other highly paid nonclassifieds need to address. Several of the union proposals could have worked, and still can, if the Governor will take off his blinders and realize that "there is more than one way to skin this cat"!
Puzzled By DickNH - 10/28/2009 - 9:28 am Can someone enlighten us as to how being a veteran of two wars (both, sadly, illegal and misguided) in any way makes someone qualified to run for public office and tackle issues of health care, pensions and government spending? I'm sure Ms. Blankenbeker served with distinction, but Log in that service in no way makes her any more to vote qualified than anyone else for the post of 0 state representative (see, e.g., McCain, John).
Uninformed, Again By DickNH - 10/23/2009 - 8:59 am It's amazing to read some of the posts here. Where did any of you get the idea that SEA negotiated away bumping rights Log in to vote in a contract? To begin with, the tentative 0 agreement wasn't approved. Secondly, that
tentative agreement included reinstitution of limited bumping rights, not abrogation of them. The legislature suspended bumping rights for 2 years in the budget bill, at the request of the Governor. This was one of the ways he used to attempt to manipulate the SEA into agreeing to a contract it would not otherwise agree to. As you can see, that didn't work. At least try to be informed on the subject before you comment on it.
Question By DickNH - 10/19/2009 - 10:50 am What part of "Thou Shalt Not Kill" doesn't this supposedly Christian nation not understand? Do you really think that killing these 4 men will change anything, deter anyone, or change the difficulties this widower and motherless child will face? Seriously, people, stop with the violence and vengeance. Life imprisonment awaits them, and that's punishment enough!
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Decision By DickNH - 10/19/2009 - 10:21 am All anyone needs to know about this decision is included in Judge Maguire's Superior Court decision. Judge Maguire couldn't have been clearer that this
effort to raid the fund was unconstitutional. I've seldom read a more adamant denunciation of a governor's/legislative decision than this one. All should read it. Based on that decision, there is no question that this was an unconstitutional action, and the funds must be returned. Then, perhaps, the Legislature will actually have to take a hard look at its revenue problem, and stop trying to cut corners in addressing that shortfall.
Czars By DickNH - 10/14/2009 - 9:54 am On top of the other responses to Mr. Trevellin's inane comment, the fact remains that the Obama administration has far fewer "czars" than the Bush Administration did. It's a misnomer to call these people "czars", anyway, since all of them do have official titles, and it's Log in to vote the press (especially, unsurprisingly 0 Feaux News) that labels these folks "czars".
Uninformed By DickNH - 10/14/2009 - 9:36 am Kudos to the Monitor for printing a completely biased, uninformed editorial. Log in How would you like to negotiate an to vote agreement where the other side basically 0
tells you that, if you don't take this to your membership, layoffs will begin immediately? Apparently you would prefer to take your talking points directly from the Governor, and not bother to actually engage in some investigative reporting to determine what actually happened at that bargaining table. You want a "reasonable" team? Is it reasonable for the Governor to be presented with several different, verifiable plans that would actually save the State far more than his "wellstructured furlough" plan, and reject it out of hand? Is it reasonable for the Governor to go to the Legislature and ask them for the $25 million in personnel savings, and then pretend to an obviously oblivious public and newspaper that he was "forced" into it? Is it reasonable for the Governor to agree to a tentative contract and then change a key term of that agreement, and then say to the public that he had changed nothing, and that the SEA were the ones who walked away from the "deal"? Shame on the Monitor for allowing yourselves to be spoon-fed by the Governor's PR machine like some unsophisticated babe in the woods. And isn't it curious that we were told by that same Governor time and time again that, if we didn't accede to his demands for 19 furlough days, a minimum of 750 employees would have to be laid off to
meet the $25 million, yet today that number is down to around 250, or 1/3 his number? Does that mean then, that, if we had agreed to a furlough program of 6 days per employee that we could have erased that deficit? If so, can you see why it was so difficult to work with this Governor when his numbers keep constantly changing? Is that "reasonable"?
Misinformed By DickNH - 10/13/2009 - 9:20 am What so many of you here fail to understand, or just don't want to understand, is that SEA realizes there is an economic crisis here. We get it! We offered the Governor several different ways to handle this situation, each of which would have saved the State MORE money than he would get with furloughs and layoffs. One plan would have saved Log in him twice as much, and that was to vote verifiable. But he would have none of it. 0 He wanted the plan to look like every other state that is facing this situation. So, please, don't say that he tried his best, or tried to blunt the impact. He did neither. Yet, he can increase payments to contractors, parcel out over 1,300 parttime jobs that pay $74 per hour, contract
out even more state work (leaving NO ONE accountable), and try to foist a more expensive health plan on employees, and you think he "tried to blunt the impact", and that we should "take our lumps"? Sorry, but when he is willing to think as creatively as we are, and agree to ways to save money that ALSO saves jobs and minimizes impacts to the public, then come back and tell me he did the right thing.
Thief at Night? By DickNH - 10/12/2009 - 10:21 am So, government is supposed to be there to protect us from those who would do us harm. Just exactly what do you call it when insurance companies are rationing health care, when they raise their premiums at rates that make the cost of living look positively rosy, when 47 million of our brothers and sisters have Log in no health insurance, when 47,000 of to vote those same brothers and sisters die each 0 year because they don't have health insurance? If that isn't a thief, nay, a murderer, in the night, then what exactly is? And why do so many continue to mouth the nonsense about government run and rationed health care? It's an OPTION, people. You can CHOOSE to
enroll in it, or CHOOSE to keep your own plan. And, amazingly, it actually creates something sorely lacking in the US health care system....yes, none other than that most capitalist of notions, COMPETITION!!! If the health insurance companies are giving us such a great deal, then they shouldn't fear competition from a public option. But, they do. Why? Because they know they're gouging us, and that gravy train is now threatened by a public OPTION. I can't for the life of me understand why so many on here, including probably some without health insurance, and some on Medicare, rail against a public OPTION. Especially when the head of United for Health Care, one of the largest health insurers, makes $57,000 every single hour! That's more than most of us make in a year, and yet somehow he's admired while he rakes our pockets clean, and then has his minions decide whether to pay for our needed health care or not. How is that not rationing? How is any of this opposition to a public OPTION rational?
Forced, Controlled? By DickNH - 10/08/2009 - 8:59 am It seems to me that the persons writing in opposition to unions are the ones who are forced and controlled. You are forced and controlled to take what the "massah" wants to give you, not what you are actually worth in terms of what you contribute to the assets of the company you are working for. Is it OK with you that in hundreds of companies, the top executive makes 410 times the salary of the average worker? If it is OK, why? How is what they do so very much more valuable than what you do? That is what labor unions are for, to equalize the bargaining power of two entities, Log in companies and employees, who have to vote something to offer each other for a 0 common gain. Unions are the entities that brought you the middle class that has been the backbone of the US economy for the past 60+ years. That so many now choose to work at a place where you are allegedly treated "decently" doesn't say much good about the educational system. You can be fired on a whim, your benefits can be cut or eliminated at the sole discretion of the employer, and you find that "decent"? Is that the same decency that permits 47,000 of your friends and neighbors to die each year solely because they can't afford "decent"
health care? Thanks, I'll stick with a union where we can all work together to bargain for a fair wage and fair benefits so that we can do the public's work and still feed, clothe and house our families.
Opinion? By DickNH - 10/02/2009 - 3:48 pm No, Normand11, this is not ALL opinion. Some of us were actually party to the negotiations, so we know EXACTLY what happened. There is NO pay raise, there is a pay cut. The employees have always been willing to do furloughs, even though we offered the state solid, verifiable options that would have precluded layoffs and saved the State even more money than they will save if this contract is ratified. For those losing Log in to vote benefits in the private sector, we regret 0 that, as we don't wish to see anyone harmed. But we also need to see that employees in State service at all levels, and in all sections do the same things we're willing to do. Otherwise, the Governor doesn't meet his numbers.
Are You Serious??? By DickNH - 10/02/2009 - 9:31 am ArmyVet: are you serious? You really need proof that George W. Bush was the most absentee president we have ever had? By records from every major news outlet, perhaps excluding Fox Noise, Mr. Bush was officially on vacation for over 900 days of his time in the White House. He spent much more time away, including 4 days at the Beijing Olympics where he was photographed swatting the scantily clad bottoms of the US beach volleyball team. Funny, but I don't recall you making a peep about that misuse of his time and our tax dollars. The guy is trying to produce jobs for Americans, Log in which is more than George Bush ever to vote did. As for Afghanistan, I hope that 0 President Obama is intelligent enough to realize that we have already invested too much in lives, funds and material in that rathole. There is no more chance of "victory" in Afghanistan than there was in Iraq. It's time to leave and let the warlords sort it out as they always do. Why not let our close friends the Pakistanis find Bin Laden? Of course, they're always hot on the trail!
Facts??? By DickNH - 10/01/2009 - 9:15 am Using the word "fact" and Glenn Beck in the same sentence gives a whole new definition to the term "oxymoron". Despite the fact that I can't stand him, I, too, have watched this guy in action. But then, I've gone to factcheck.com and other sites. He makes a very persuasive pitch, connecting all his dots into a neat little package where he leads his viewers by the nose to his pre-determined conclusion. The only problem is: his "facts" are not "facts" at all, for the most part. They are half-truths and intentional distortions of fact designed to look like Log in well-researched information. They are to vote not. Did you see his insane performance 0 in trying to convince people that the etchings and statues on the NBC building in NYC (where he works, by the way) point to it being a Communist front? And we're supposed to take all that nonsense seriously??? If you really, really believe that stuff, then our educational system is in much worse shape than we thought. The same is true of Bill O'Reilly, and he is cruel and abusive to his guests, to boot.
Enough? By DickNH - 10/01/2009 - 9:02 am If someone doesn't like the fact that this crucially important issue is being extensively reported (finally), I have a plan for you. READ SOMETHING ELSE! Meanwhile, understand that SEA negotiators gave the state team a number of different, innovative and workable options that would have saved the state twice as much as this present contract would. But the Governor wants the plan to look just like all the other states' plans, because he apparently has tunnel vision, and can't see the larger problems looming down the road. Suffice it to say that the Log in to vote Governor wouldn't let the State team even 0 consider some very creative measures that would have changed the culture of state service significantly, for the better for everyone, and saved the State twice as much money, and he wouldn't even seriously consider them. Now, given that, who is to blame for the present situation? Right, the guy looking down from atop Gould Hill.
Unbelievable By DickNH - 09/30/2009 - 8:57 am Normand11, you are showing your ignorance of how a union works. When a union makes a tentative agreement on a contract, it is then obligated to send that agreement out to its members for a vote. Of course, they are going to have informational sessions! How else to explain the details of the TA to its membership? But the state's team does not have the right to go around the collective bargaining process to, in essence, bargain directly with union membership. That is an unfair labor practice, and the Governor knows it. But Log in this is in keeping with this whole process, to vote where he has attempted to railroad the 0 SEA into an agreement by making all kinds of things public that were supposed to be confidential to the bargaining process. That is how bargaining stays open and honest between the bargaining parties. By the way, Commissioner Burack participated in the unfair labor practice by sending this "op-ed" to the entire DES staff yesterday afternoon.
Level-headed is Right By DickNH - 09/29/2009 - 2:06 pm Level-headed is right, every study ever done on the death penalty clearly demonstrates that it is no deterrent to the crime involved. And remember that Jesus the teacher urged his followers to turn the other cheek, not seek vengeance, which is all the death penalty really is, not justice.
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Profit Margin By DickNH - 09/25/2009 - 4:27 pm Mr. Trivellini: we don't frankly care how much the private insurance companies invest in the stock market. That's not our concern as premium payers and patients. We care about the escalating costs of the insurance, which is based much more on escalating bureaucracy in these companies, fat contracts to executives, and almost total lack of competition between carriers. Sorry, but Blue Cross and Blue Shield are most definitely FOR PROFIT operations. You can find their profits, and those of each BC/BS of each state online. We dislike companies making obscene profits when it's at the cost of our health!
Seriously, Let's Stick to Facts By DickNH - 09/25/2009 - 11:38 am NHGoper, where did you EVER get the idea that "many of the private insurance companies are in fact nonprofit"??? Can you name ONE MAJOR private insurance company that is non-profit? If you can, good for you, but you are completely off-base in thinking that these companies are non-profits. If they Log in were, their fees would be significantly to vote lower, since they have no stockholders 0 to answer to. This discussion is not elevated by adding such poor information to the discussion.
Dragged Out? By DickNH - 09/22/2009 - 2:01 pm It's more than a little disconcerting to see SEA accused of dragging out the negotiations. It was the state, not SEA, that couldn't make time to meet with SEA time and time again. Nothing was Log in critical until suddenly the legislature to vote (with a huge push from the Governor) 0 demanded $25 million in concessions. SEA gave that, and more, in many creative ways that would have actually saved the State MORE than they asked
for, and would have created far less impact on essential public services. But no, the Governor wanted the package to look a certain way, and he was obviously willing to let the whole process collapse if he didn't get his way. I wonder what he's going to say to all the businesses in NH that will go under when at least 750 are laid off, and their paychecks no longer go into the local economy, and the State has to pay off their leave balances, and their unemployment (which the State hasn't banked) and a portion of their health care, and all the other programs like food stamps that those people and their families will suddenly be eligible for. As far as turning around and hiring back entrylevel workers, there are rules in place that will prevent even this governor from attempting that.
Nonsense By DickNH - 09/21/2009 - 9:50 am Does anybody reading about this issue remember that our so-called "missile defense system" functioned so poorly Log in during Desert Storm? If you recall, those to vote deadly accurate Patriot missiles hit less 0 than 20% of their targets (those dastardly
SCUD missiles), and they haven't improved significantly since then. Given that the Iranian missile technology is not significantly more advanced than the Iraqi systems that so terrified GWB and Dick Cheney that they had to launch a war over them, the notion that these defenses were designed to stop Iranian missile strikes against Eastern Europe was always a cruel joke, anyway. Why would the Iranians attack Eastern Europe, anyway? Oh, I forgot, just like Saddam Hussein, "they" are all flaming Islamist terrorists out to destroy Western civilization. It's really hard to listen to that type of stupidity for any period of time.
Just One Point By DickNH - 09/16/2009 - 8:58 am This is certainly a very sick and perverted man. However, please don't insult animals by calling him an animal. Animals don't do this to their young! Only we supposedly "advanced" humans Log in do. So, put this HUMAN where he to vote belongs, in jail and in treatment. 0
Unbelievable By DickNH - 09/14/2009 - 9:59 am What a great non-event in D.C. I used to live down there, and more people would show up for kite-flying than showed up for Glenn Beck's latest "grassroots" nonevent. I remember GWB was always at his "ranch" when anti-war protesters marched on DC, and he never had the guts to hold a town hall meeting, with or without supporters. As for the Constitution, he had no clue what it was or what it meant, and he still doesn't today. All of the President's supporters on line for emergency room treatment, food stamps, welfare? Funny, I didn't realize that 54% of the American people Log in used those programs. That kind of to vote misstatement is why these few people 0 are so angry. Lies about the health care plan abound, and we get people out to these town hall meetings all in a lather, and then learn that they are either Medicare (wow, a government-fun health care program!) or VA medical care recipients. Their programs won't be affected, but they've been lied to and believe that their free care will be taken away from them. Don't worry, that free care will still be available to you, thanks to liberals who had the foresight to institute these programs decades ago, not conservatives like Reagan, Bush I and
Bush II who all tried to significantly reduce both Medicare and VA programs!
Two Wrongs By DickNH - 09/10/2009 - 11:03 am I also think it was entirely appropriate to show the President's speech to school children, and then actually have a class discussion about it. That's how people learn! I agree with those who castigate the Democrats for going after George H.W. Bush in 1991, too. His speech was Log in to vote just as innocuous, and they, too, went 0 overboard and looked foolish in reacting so strongly to that speech.
Absurd By DickNH - 09/08/2009 - 2:56 pm Once again, the right wing are so scared that the President might actually make a positive impression on school children that they had to manufacture a non-issue Log in to stoke fears. A speech that actually to vote encourages students to work hard and 0 secure their futures themselves. What an incredible "socialist" concept, selfresponsibility! Even if it was a
"problem", what a teachable moment. If the parents don't like what the President says, then DISCUSS it with your children and tell them what you think is wrong with what the President said, and DEFEND your own views. In the final analysis, the kids will make up their own minds on who is right. As for calling the President a "vacationer", please tell me you're kidding. George Bush was vacationing before 9/11, vacationing during Hurricane Katrina, vacationing for a full 1/3 of the days he was in office. Strange that so few complained about his constant absences being manly and cutting brush on a ranch he so quickly sold when he didn't need the cover of a ranch to prove his "rural roots" and toughness.
Uninformed By DickNH - 09/03/2009 - 9:08 am Some of the commenters on this article are completely uninformed. For your information, the Bargaining Senate meets AFTER HOURS, not during Log in worktime, so there is no incentive to join to vote that body to "get off work". The State 0 has been completely disingenous in claiming that it never saw the provision
about moving corrections employees to the X416 payscale. That has been discussed a number of times, and the State seemed OK with it, until Gov. Flynch decided he wasn't. There has been NO change in the agreed position by SEA; it was the State that suddenly decided that it had meant something other than what it said. The leadership shown by SEA in this process has actually been exemplary, given the bad faith bargaining it has had to endure in this round of negotiations. Having this union has made a significant improvement in wages and benefits for all state employees. If you think that the state would, out of the goodness of its collective heart, give great salaries and benefits to workers if the union didn't exist, then just go back to the 1970's before collective bargaining began, and you'll get an idea of the State's beneficence toward its employees minus a union.
Appalling Lack of Understanding By DickNH - 08/20/2009 - 2:26 pm Here it is, in its simplest terms. The proposal on end of life discussions is this: if YOU CHOOSE to have this
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discussion with YOUR doctor, who 0 YOU chose, then this plan will pay for that doctor's time. No government intervention, no government mandate that you do this, no government mandate that you tell anyone in the government what you discussed with YOUR doctor, no mandate to tell anyone in government what you decided with your doctor. That's it. No death panel, no requirement to do it. It's amazing how the insurance companies and their bought and paid for legislators made this into this ogre where government would mandate end of life discussions, and then go off and make the decision for you, no matter what you and your doctor and family decided. There is no logical way anyone who actually read the bill could make this simple idea into this horrific fiction.
Illegal Aliens are NOT included By DickNH - 08/20/2009 - 9:43 am Much of what I read on these blogs sounds so similar to what Rep. Barney Frank so decisively dealt with on Tuesday. There is nothing in any of the Log in to vote health care reform bills moving through 0 Congress that would make illegal aliens eligible for the public option plan. Abe is
right, the problem even with employerprovided coverage is that the measly pay raises handed out over the past 20 years have always been eaten up, or more than eaten up, by the hefty increases in premiums and co-pays. That on top of the fact that those wage increases haven't even kept up with the cost of living increases of the past twenty to thirty years. That's why doing something major to lower the cost of health care and health care coverage is vital.
Same old, same old By DickNH - 08/19/2009 - 12:49 pm Many of the posters here are correct. This is the sort of thing that living wills and durable power of attorney for health care are all about. It assures that the PATIENT makes the critical decisions when the time comes. If you have a living will on file at the hospital, and a medical emergency arises, YOUR decisions MUST be respected, and followed. This is a CHOICE that YOU make. That's all that is provided for in these health care bills. It is simply making it easier to discuss your OPTIONS with your doctor. As I have written on other blogs, the whole tort reform thing is nonsense. They enacted significant tort reforms in Missouri several years ago. The impact on the health care
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costs? Exactly ZERO, nada, zip. It had no impact, because, at worst, costs from medical malpractice lawsuits make up exactly .01% of the total cost of health insurance and health care. This is just a way to help doctors and hospitals who make horrendous mistakes (and they do happen) avoid paying just compensation for those mistakes. The only reason this seems like such a big deal is that the only time you hear about them is when huge awards are given. What isn't often reported is that most of the time the doctors and hospitals win these suits, and more often than not the huge jury awards are either overturned or greatly reduced on appeal.
None By DickNH - 08/19/2009 - 11:35 am No, mlareau, they decided to purchase NONE.
Examples By DickNH - 08/19/2009 - 9:30 am Armyvet, I could fill pages and pages with much more horrid examples of what happens to Americans in similar Log in situations. This type of thing happens to vote far more often here than it does in 0 countries with single payer health plans.
And Van, just keep on misinterpreting those lines out of the bill. Those are the same lines selected by all the rightwing, industry-funded websites who are trying to scare you to death about the health care reform efforts. 95% of what Van put up there is taken completely out of context, and does not say what he alleges it says. The one I love the best is this line: PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration your Healthcare! Van, just what do you think the private insurers are doing right now???? They ALL have these various benefit levels for different plans. But it's OK with you if your private insurer "rations" your healthcare, but not if a government OPTION program does the same thing? No wonder the good people of Bow continue not to elect you. Respectfully, your logic needs a good bit of work.
A bit tardy, are we? By DickNH - 08/19/2009 - 9:19 am Ms. Gebler: I'm not sure if you were away on an extended vacation and
Log in
recently returned and were reading old to vote newspapers, but Congress eliminated 0 the funding for those jets MONTHS ago. This is very old news.
Except By DickNH - 08/18/2009 - 4:33 pm Except that, in today's world, most of those "high deductible" policies have deductibles of $5,000, 10,000 and up. The people who have them can't afford anything better, so there's no realistic way they're going to be able to save enough to make your "solution" in any way practical. It's easy to blame the legislature, but they respond to what they see out in the real world. People getting sick or injured, health insurers finding ways not to cover them, so they Log in to vote legislate what should be common 0 practice among insurance carriers. As for tort reform, the reason I'm discounting it is because it is NOT, and never has been the cause of any increase in health care costs. There are studies after studies that clearly demonstrate that this is a beautiful red herring that would simply interfere with people's rights to seek compensation when they are injured. The vast
majority of these cases are actually settled in favor of the medical profession, so they are really crying wolf when they raise this issue. Beyond all that, single payer coverage works in the rest of the Western democracies, and hasn't bankrupted any of them. This is yet another red herring raised by the private insurance companies who fear honest competition. If you think the insurance companies are regulated, go back and check the record and see when was the last time the insurance department denied a rate increase request. You'll find it was about the same time the PUC last denied PSNH a rate increase. As for the statement about auto insurance, yes, I'm painfully aware that it isn't required in this state. My spouse was nearly killed by a NH driver, and they walked away without paying one thin dime, and we were left to foot the bill ourselves (yes, thankfully, we DID have adequate health insurance to cover most of those costs) But that' s the Live Free and Die state for you, right?
Steps? By DickNH - 08/18/2009 - 1:50 pm So, which steps are those, fedup, that will work so beautifully? Have you ever tried to save enough money to make a health savings account actually mean anything? Say you are actually able to save $10,000, but then you need a major operation that costs $20,000. Where are you then? Bankrupt, that's where! The same with these high deductible policies. They ARE out there, so I have no idea why your friend would say they are not available. But even those are over-priced. I love the one about tort reform. Do you understand that the total impact of Log in malpractice lawsuits on health care to vote costs is exactly .01%? So tell me again 0 how your tort reform is going to help? They enacted tort reform in Missouri several years ago. It's impact on health care costs was exactly.....zero! While a noble idea, there are nowhere near enough good-hearted volunteers to contribute to some sort of "health care pot". Using the example of Hurricane Katrina is illustrative. Yes, many volunteered and did yeoman's work to help those affected by the destruction. Have you seen that whole are lately? Even with all that volunteer time,
treasure and talent, there are still huge unfilled needs left to be addressed. Yes, that is where government must step in. That was George Bush's second worst atrocity, after Iraq, and he still has not been held to account for it today. Medicare reform? Every time the Republicans attempt it, their idea is simply to cut hundreds of thousands of elderly citizens from the rolls, or severely limit their coverages. Talk about death panels and euthanasia!
Wrong, Jim By DickNH - 08/18/2009 - 9:07 am It is you who are incorrect, Jim. Not only can these companies get away with that, they do it all the time. Just because you haven't been affected doesn't mean it doesn't happen. And by the way, that Log in would be sci fi, as in science fiction, to vote which Mike's statements most clearly 0 are not.
Tyranny? Please! By DickNH - 08/18/2009 - 8:56 am So, tell us, Van, how is a public OPTION tyranny? This is merely an alternative to the health insurance industry that continues to feast on the American people, to the tune of $236 BILLION in profits every year, for what is actually one of the WORST health care systems in the world. As a friend of mine said, the people of most third world countries have better access to health care than we do. You know perfectly well that this is no government takeover of health care. No rationing, no death panels. You know that. None of that is in any of these Log in bills. The public option is merely a to vote competition for the existing health 0 insurance companies who have been colluding over prices and coverage for decades. Despite their fancy commercials, there isn't a dime's worth of difference among them. They are the ones who have health care advisory boards who decide who gets what care, and who decide what is the "reasonable and customary" charge for that health care. Look at their numbers sometime. Those reasonable and customary charges bear no resemblance to what is actually charged by your personal
physician or medical institution. The insurance companies' overhead is so grossly inflated as to be ludicrous, but none of you screaming about government-run health care has raised that issue, even if it's you getting taken for that ride. I wonder why?
As Opposed To? By DickNH - 08/17/2009 - 9:26 am So, David, this was a "campaign rally", carefully orchestrated for maximum support, that should be paid for by the DNC? Who then to pay for all the equally carefully orchestrated town hall meetings around the country where very carefully coached, but incredibly ignorant, angry white people all turned out to shout out the exact same Log in carefully scripted, but completely to vote false,questions, and then made sure to 0 shout down anyone who had the audacity to ask a question that was based on what was in the bill? If the DNC should pay for the President's visit to NH, then the RNC should pay for all the others where they bussed people in from away to be sure that there was no honest democratic debate over the
actual provisions in the various bills.
Agreed! By DickNH - 08/14/2009 - 10:41 am On this issue, I completely agree with Hunter Dan. However, we live on a very small lake, with not a lot of shoreland development, and we still have idiots in oversized speed boats and jet skis who have no clue about the rules of the water nor even common courtesy to non-motorized craft or swimmers. Personally, I'm glad to see the Marine Patrol when they do show up there. Mr. Riley likely got nailed Log in speeding too close to shore or too near to vote another craft, and it upset him and his 0 overly wealthy buddies. Please realize that even those of us who do not choose to blow our money on oversized power boats have rights, and we're tired of literally being knocked over by your wakes!
Wrong Again By DickNH - 08/14/2009 - 10:26 am An opinion recently expressed here stated that the real reason for the skyrocketing cost of health care was frivolous lawsuits and rising malpractice insurance premiums. Wrong again! Sen. MacCaskill of Missouri directly responded to just such an errant statement during her excellent town hall meeting. She discussed the recent significant tort reform legislation passed by Congress, making it far more difficult to file a malpractice lawsuit, Log in and significantly limiting damages. to vote Then she asked the audience how many 0 of them had seen their health insurance premiums go down. Of course, no one has. So-called frivolous lawsuits were never a significant part of the steep increases in health care premiums; just another red herring thrown out there to distract from the insurance companies' rip-off of the American public.
Good Work By DickNH - 08/13/2009 - 10:04 am WSS1, you do have a life. You read the bills for a client. It may be long and Log in
to vote tedious work, but I'm sure the client 0 greatly appreciates it. The problem is that you are totally misinterpreting the bill. The so-called "end of life" section talks about living wills and health care directives. While these should be done at any time, it can be more important later in life, if they don't exist, to have that discussion with your doctor. You don't HAVE to. I didn't, and I believe mine are complete and thorough discussions of what I do and do not want done in an emergency health situation. All the bill says is that the government-option plan will pay for your doctor's time to discuss your options with you. What a great idea! And I don't at all read HB 3200 as having anywhere near the dictatorial powers you read into it. It does establish a health benefits ADVISORY committee. Look around you. Every private health insurer has one, and I haven't heard any of the faux outrage spewed forth about those committees. An advisory committee makes RECOMMENDATIONS. It does not mandate coverage. You are correct that the VA system needs a good bit of overhaul. Medicare, however, is considered by most assessments, both public and private, to be the most efficient provider of health care
services in the country. It is run by the government. It is not perfect; no plan ever will be. But it is a good model on which to build a public OPTION system.
More of the Same By DickNH - 08/13/2009 - 9:53 am Drop funding for illegal aliens and the chronically lazy? Beyond the fact that you haven't defined what you mean here, what in the world does this have to do with health care reform? There is nothing in any of the proposed legislation that would extend these reforms to illegal aliens, and the comment about the "chronically lazy" is just another old saw about people who need assistance at times during their lives. That program is now very time-limited, and most (but not all) of the people on it were hard-working folks who lost jobs or had jobs but still couldn't make ends meet.
Log in to vote
Right On, Abe By DickNH - 08/12/2009 - 9:06 am Abe hit it right on the head. There are at least 3 separate bills being considered. The one thing they
have in common is that NONE of them has any "death panel" in it, nor do any of them include government-MANDATED health care. The government portion is an "option". The last time I checked,optional meant that you have a choice to take it or not. As for the end of life discussion, this is also OPTIONAL. The bills simply provide for having the government-option plan pay for your physician's time in helping YOU to decide what YOU want when and if a severe health crisis occurs during which you are not conscious enough to make a reasoned decision as to what level of care you wish to receive. Do you want heroic measures, partial measures, leave me to die in peace? That is what a living will or durable power of attorney for health care are there for: to memorialize YOUR wishes or put those tough health care decisions in the hands of someone YOU trust to carry out your wishes. The fact that those options morphed into a "death panel" or forced euthanasia shows either the ignorance of those reading (or not reading) the bills, or the desperation of private insurers who fear real competition in the health care marketplace, which does not presently exist. And, oh, by the way, Jim, the two most efficient health care systems existing in this country today: yours, through the VA, and Medicare. Oh, my goodness, and they're run by...........the government!
Read the History By DickNH - 08/11/2009 - 1:02 pm Skip: all I can say is read the full history of those final months. If you do, you will learn that the Japanese were ready and willing to surrender, as long as the safety and position of the Emperor were assured. We agreed to that term, but only AFTER we dropped the bombs. If we agreed to it then, why didn't we agree to it 3 months before, and save the world the horror of those twin massacres? If you read that history, you will see that what I've said here is accurate. The Japanese, through intermediaries, agreed to the terms we finally agreed to several months before Log in the final surrender. There was to vote absolutely no need to drop those 0 bombs, as almost every senior military leader of the time has stated. The Japanese were beaten, and only 4 cities were left standing. Why? Because we wanted targets for the atomic bombs. Neither city was a military target of any worth, and because they were not, the bombings constituted intentional slaughter of civilian populations, which was then, and remains, a war crime. Just because others, including the Japanese, committed similar horrific acts does not make our actions
any less criminal.
Diplomacy By DickNH - 08/11/2009 - 9:19 am Once again, we get a very slanted view of history here. Yes, there are certain people that you can't get very far with through negotiation. Please don't include Saddam Hussein in that list. While he was a less than savory character, we supported him militarily for years, arming him to the teeth, including with the very chemical weapons we condemned him for in later years. The Iranians, while intractable in certain areas, are not madmen. Remember, that's what we Log in called Saddam, and while uncouth, he to vote was very certainly not mad. In 0 addition, he had already destroyed the weapons we so adamantly insisted he had. So, there went over 4,000 American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives wasted because of miserable intelligence and belligerence on our part. I will repeat what I said before: if we can't be just as adamant that Israel give up its nuclear weapons, as well as our other client states of Pakistan and India, then
the Iranians are very unlikely to listen to us. They are also no more or less likely to actually use them than any of those other nations, and hopefully not as carelessly and needlessly as we used them in 1945.
DIME Paradigm By DickNH - 08/10/2009 - 3:55 pm A very key piece is left out of this "paradigm". What about nuclear disarmament, or vastly sigificant reductions, of both the US and Israeli nuclear stockpiles? If we can't be an honest broker in that region and put every bit as much pressure on Israel to rid itself of nuclear weapons, then we have absolutely no credibility in attempting to force Iran not to build those weapons at least partially in Log in response to the Israeli threat. Please don't to vote bother denying the Israeli arsenal; it's well0 documented and proven. Nobody should have nuclear weapons, not us, not the Russians, not the Chinese, not the Indians, not the Pakistanis, not the Israelis, and not the Iranians. But, as long as we play favorites, and provide additional nuclear technology to India, and look the other way when it comes to Pakistan, and when we insist on holding onto our own arsenal of
tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, how can we possibly think the Iranians will actually respond to anything we have to say in that regard?
Of Course You Would By DickNH - 08/10/2009 - 3:09 pm Of course you would, ArmyVet, because they so strongly disagree with so many here who somehow paint the immoral use of atomic weapons against a defenseless population as somehow ethical and lifesaving, when in fact those actions were the exact opposite. The commission no longer exists, but here is a link to the work. As you will note, the members of the commission reflected very mainstream Christian thinking Log in in the mid-20th Century, at a time much to vote closer to the actual events than we are in 0 now. http://books.google.com/books?id=754EsoTj omUC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=Commis. ..
History and the Church By DickNH - 08/10/2009 - 2:26 pm First, in response to Hunter Dan, I agree that we should and must teach our children the history of this nation so that they do not forget. However, I would diverge from your view of history and state that we should teach them the ACTUAL history, not the revisionist history that has so thoroughly blinded them to the reality of what this nation did in that awful week in August, 1945. As for Mr. Luti's "thank God", here is the response of the Christian churches in the US after they reviewed the ACTUAL facts surrounding the use of Log in the abomination against defenseless to vote Japanese cities: 0 "The surprise bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are morally indefensible. Both bombings must be judged to have been unnecessary for winning the war. As the power that first used the atomic bomb under these circumstances, we have sinned grievously against the laws of God and against the people of Japan."
History By DickNH - 08/10/2009 - 1:29 pm There are pros and cons on both sides of this issue. My view is that, in reading the whole history of this time, the use of these weapons was completely unnecessary. Mr. Luti, you state that you "thanked God" for the use of the atom bomb. I wonder why Generals Eisenhower, MacArthur and even the far right-wing Curtis LeMay abhorred the decision to use the bomb as completely unnecessary and barbaric on a soon to be defeated foe? Truman's own Chief of Staff had this to say about the decision to use this abomination: "The lethal possibilities Log in of atomic warfare in the future are to vote frightening. My own feeling was that 0 in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children." Those numbers cited by Pat Kraft are erroneous, too, having been manufactured by Henry Stimson AFTER the war, when many Americans were beginning to question the ethics of the use of the bomb after all. The actual numbers developed by the War Department at the time, prior
to any possible invasion, were 45,000 casualties. That is way too many, but the fact is that the Japanese were already in the process of surrendering, especially with the Russians speeding up their invasion plans. The use of the atomic bomb had much more to do with showing the Russians what we had than of speeding up the end of the war.
Snake Oil By DickNH - 07/20/2009 - 8:38 am After reading the article on Mr. Tausch, it seems all he has really accomplished is a colossal collapse of a major dot.com company. People this secretive usually end up being snake oil salesmen. Beware of someone you Log in know so little about, and who is so to vote unwilling to be transparent with the 0 public.
Yeah, right By DickNH - 07/17/2009 - 11:43 am As with everything else you post here, C. dog e. doGy, you have once again
Log in clearly demonstrated that you know absolutely nothing about the subject at to vote 0 hand.
No Promises By DickNH - 07/13/2009 - 10:36 am Ms. Copson, please get your facts straight. President Obama never "promised" that unemployment would not rise above 8 percent. They estimated that, based on the numbers available at the time. Obviously (at least, to those of us who have actually been paying attention) the economic situation had not yet hit bottom when those figures were released. It is only 6 months into the man's first term. It would be helpful if all of us stopped Log in wanting instant gratification. Realize to vote that it took the Bush Administration 8 0 years to get us into this mess, and it will take Mr. Obama a couple of years at least to get us out of it. As for your other statements, since they have absolutely no basis in fact, there is no point in wasting time responding to them.
No Joke By DickNH - 07/09/2009 - 3:23 pm No, Bess. It isn't a joke. That's because, while those in the private sector were getting large pay raises and bonuses during the "boom" times, public sector employees were not. Our pay levels have always been lower than the private sector for the same work, and we did agree to that in exchange for a satisfactory benefits plan. Even the past raise, the so-called "whopping" 5.5%, didn't begin to close the gap from the years of flat pay scales that state employees have contended with. We didn't get big Log in raises even when the state had to vote substantial revenues available, so there 0 is no reason for us to feel "ashamed" to accept a properly negotiated raise last January. The state now wants much more than that in concessions, with little or no guarantees of job security in return. They are hitting retirees hard, including many who worked all their lives for the lower wages and who now live off very small pensions. Public employees' existence is due exclusively to "DPS largesse"? Really? And I thought Sarah Palin the only one capable of telling wild stories. Most
interesting statement.
More Nonsense By DickNH - 07/06/2009 - 2:56 pm "There are hundreds of highly paid layabout state employees who add no value to their agencies who need to weened off the publics trough and soon." It is so tiring to read the same old nonsense from people who have absolutely nothing better to do than throw out the same old false canards about state employees. The fact is that state employees give countless free hours to serve the public, especially Log in the poor and disabled who need help to vote the most. They come in early and stay 0 late to make sure that you get your permits, licenses, etc., and that your complaints and problems are promptly addressed. The vast majority of state employees work tirelessly in less than ideal conditions to assure that the people of this state are well-served, despite the low pay and constant lack of respect from people like factfinder4u, who is also Jay on the Union Leader blog. Don't worry,
factfinder, we'll continue to do our jobs each and every day in spite of the bile that spews forth from folks like you.
Issues By DickNH - 07/01/2009 - 9:29 am There are many issues to be addressed in this contract. Hopefully, the state will show a great deal more flexibility, and really does want to save the $25 million, not just make an "example" of state employees. Onrhodes, in answer to your questions: 1. No one has ever defined "essential" or "nonessential", despite SEA's efforts to pin that down for years. 2. No one can afford those kind of losses, especially lower grade workers. That's why we are seeking voluntary furloughs, so that those who can afford it will support our brothers and sisters who cannot. 3. We have been told that unclassified and nonclassified workers would be included in the furloughs, but we have grave doubts that that will actually occur. 4. You totally misunderstand the state health plan. Since it is self-insured, the state does not pay
premiums, only claims. 5. We are told that, if we reach the $25 million, we could avoid layoffs. Our proposals do that in total, but the State seems to feel that it has to have a program that looks and feels a certain way in order to satisfy the Legislature. We are willing to do our part, but we know we have far better ways to achieve those savings and begin to address the structural defects in the funding and spending system. 5. No, people furloughed will NOT be able to claim unemployment compensation for those days. 6.
Unreasonable and Unfair By DickNH - 06/24/2009 - 9:28 am Governor: your budget is an appalling mix of cuts to necessary services and fees on those who can least afford them, and who also have the least political power in this state. State Log in employees and retirees take the to vote biggest hit (what else is new??), but 0 none of the people who can most afford to help us through this economic crisis will "share the pain" in any way. This is a promise: those
who helped to put you in office will now work even harder to assure that you are retired to those lush pastures in Hopkinton WAAY sooner than you ever anticipated. Your lack of courage in the face of this crisis is truly remarkable.
Sympathy By DickNH - 06/17/2009 - 11:35 am My sympathies to the family. How sad that another young life, full of such hope, is wasted in an illegal, immoral occupation. As the song goes, "when will they ever learn"?
Log in to vote
Truth By DickNH - 06/15/2009 - 9:22 am Mr. Nichols' statements on the Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan wars are both timely and accurate. The statements by Dave Tardif and Merrill Log in Vaughan are the sort of revisionist to vote history that people like Dick Cheney 0 are engaged in now. We engaged in illegal and immoral action in
Vietnam, killed millions of Vietnamese, and ended up leaving with our tails between our legs, as befits an aggressor who lost an unjust war. The same will occur in both Iraq and Afghanistan, where we once again invaded and occupied nations whose governments had not attacked us based on false stories of real or perceived threats. All we have done is murdered many more innocents than were slain on 9/11, and accomplished nothing more than to install puppet, corrupt regimes in both nations that are willing to do our bidding as long as the money pipeline continues. This is worth the lives of over 4,500 of our men and women, and millions of the lives of the Iraqis and Afghanis?
Same Old Thing By DickNH - 11/03/2008 - 9:44 am This is simply more of the same from a man who is filled with disdain for anyone who doesn't ascribe to his fire Log in and brimstone version of to vote "Christianity". I daresay that Jesus of 0 Nazareth would not recognize what
comes out of this gentleman's mouth as anything that he ever taught anyone, anywhere, at any time.
You Know Who By DickNH - 10/31/2008 - 9:22 am Ah, here it is, yet again. Mr. McCain's legions are so bereft of any ideas to address the real issues of the country, the economy, health care, jobs, infrastructure revitalization, that all they have to fall back on is the old bogey man, Osama bin Laden. Sorry, Mr. Thompson, but I do not fear him. I fear much more this government that has engaged in torture, wars of choice, robbing us of our constitutional rights in the name of "security" and who have ruined our economy with their trickle down nonsense. Even Colin Powell understands that Barack Obama is much more able to both protect this nation with sound, rationale policies while at the same time addressing our domestic needs. The reason there hasn't been another terrorist attack is that the first one, you know, the one that Bush completely ignored the warnings of, has had its intended purpose. It made too many people so afraid that they willingly gave up the very freedoms they hold so dear. Not again, Mr. Thompson, not again.

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DickNH

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Not This Year

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President Doesn't Have the Power.... By DickNH - 02/15/2012 - 10:48 am

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5 view in original post

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how I "assassinated" anyone's character?

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might understand, but I guess it was too subtle for you.

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the benefits land conservation has paid to his own town.

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