The Manchester Free Press

Wednesday • April 22 • 2026

Vol.XVIII • No.XVII

Manchester, N.H.

Syndicate content Granite Grok
News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Updated: 58 sec ago

Food For Thought on Schooling

Tue, 2024-04-23 18:00 +0000

I just thought of something: how about testing when starting school? Then Some kids may start in 1st grade and some may start in 2nd grade or even third. Then every year they take their “Proficiency Test” as long as they test to the next grade off they go, if not they get held back. If they test ahead of their class again, they could skip a grade again if the parents agree.

And to be honest, the grade levels do not have to be too difficult, just a wide field for each grade as a general test of that average grade level. I believe a lot of children would end up skipping grades, saving funding for everyone.

We want to thank Ken Goodall for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page.

If a student starts getting held back, then the school would work with the parents for tutoring, or if the student has medical or mental issues, then they could be set to “Special Needs,” and each county could have one school set as “Special Needs.”

I see a lot of issues with this for sure, but I believe it could work. With the battle going on with public, charter, Religious, and private schools, this could be a viable option.

Every Change Starts With The First Step, and we need to take the first step before it is too late.

The post Food For Thought on Schooling appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Does Hate Really Have No Home in Goffstown?

Tue, 2024-04-23 16:00 +0000

If you’ve driven through any part of Goffstown or Pinardville, you may have seen the “Hate has no home in Goffstown” signs. At first glance, they seem well-intentioned and a wonderful idea. But upon further investigation, they are actually breeding much hate and division within the community.

The signs were originally designed after a neo-Nazi group from outside the community placed literature in a few residents’ driveways. It appeared to be completely random and an act that every member of the Goffstown community condemned.

The extreme leftists in our town, who never let a virtue-signaling opportunity pass them by, designed these signs immediately and sold them to whoever wanted to jump into the narrative that our town now has a hate problem because of this random act.

If hate truly has no home in Goffstown, then why was a complaint made to the zoning board after a fiscally conservative resident spoke up and presented a tax cap at the town’s deliberative session? Immediately following that meeting, an extreme leftist filed a complaint to the zoning board about the conservative resident’s chickens and coop (that have been in place for five years with no issues) and that resident is now having to go through the arduous and tedious process of fighting with the town for a variance.

We want to thank Shanun Carey for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page.

Some of the folks with a “no hate sign” in their yard were the first to announce that any parent or resident who stood up at a School Board meeting against inappropriate sexual materials on a Middle School library whiteboard should be put on a ‘public town wall of shame.’

Recently a parent spoke up at another School Board meeting about the fact that her son was not drinking water all day to avoid using the boys’ bathroom. He was doing this because he felt uncomfortable that a young girl, who now identifies as a boy, was now using the same boys’ school bathroom. Immediately following the meeting a complaint was made to that boy’s parent’s place of employment.

44 people in our town signed a petition for a tax cap warrant article. Once the extreme leftists got a hold of that information, all 44 of those names and their addresses were released on a Facebook group with the intent to get people to harass and shame those specific residents.

Two conservatives recently ran for Library Board of Trustees in our local election. This really bothered and triggered another extreme leftist, who happens to be our Select Board Vice Chair’s wife, and she requested the candidates’ actual library cards from the library. After receiving them from the Library Director, she proceeded to display them (including their patron codes) publicly online in order to intimidate and call them out.

Doesn’t seem very kind, caring or inclusive to me. It sounds more like when you don’t fall in line, you will publicly pay the price.

The most recent incident of the ‘no hate’ movement in Goffstown happened when a local veteran-owned business received a visit from a member of the local LGBTQ+ group. This person entered the business during working hours to demand (in front of customers) that the business owner hang an LGBTQ+ flag and stickers in his shop window during the month of June (Pride month). When the business owner politely declined (not wanting to be political and cause any discomfort to the many different views and beliefs of his wide range of customers), he was then called hostile and berated as being part of the problem in our town. She said that thanks to him, she and her wife are unable to walk the streets of Goffstown safely. Oh, those vicious Goffstown streets. It’s a tough town to grow up in. With our beautiful town square, the resident-only Glen Lake, beautiful rock water features, friendly waves from local shop owners, drivers stopping so you can cross the street, even when you’re not on the crosswalk… it’s a wonder any of us survive here.

Hate has no home in Goffstown unless you disagree with the vocal minority. Then hate is acceptable and even encouraged.

Someone make it make sense.

The post Does Hate Really Have No Home in Goffstown? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain!

Tue, 2024-04-23 14:00 +0000

As the 2024 election season gets underway in earnest (although it has actually been going on for quite some time already), it is probably useful to look behind the curtain of (a) political “consultants” and (b) political contributions through organized groups.

It seems to have become fairly standard and expected for political candidates in our state to hire a so-called political consultant, supposedly to assist in their campaigns. Some holding themselves out as political consultants are based in our state, while others may be based in Washington as if being based in Washington is some type of badge of honor when clearly it is not.

The usual arrangement with a political consultant typically takes the form of a written contract that is supposed to spell out the duties of the consultant as well as how the consultant is to be paid. The typical payment arrangement is for a monthly payment during the campaign, often with bonuses available if the candidate prevails in the primary and another in the general election.

Further, many consultant arrangements provide for the consultant to handle the candidate’s appearances, advertising, and handouts such as brochures, palm cards, signs, and the like. But there is often an insidious factor involved in which the consultant is able to mark up the charges from outside vendors and/or receive commissions from those vendors, all of which ends up coming out of the campaign coffers.

Does it really make sense to agree to such arrangements when there are vendors, some based in NH, such as Spectrum from Manchester, who can provide all printed materials, mailings, and signs without payment of commissions or markups? Many of those services come with sound political advice without extra charge.

Finally, it is amusing to read campaign news releases announcing that a particular political consultant has been hired for a campaign, especially when examining the history of campaigns in which the consultant has been previously engaged. Some of them have a long and well-known history of being the consultant for campaign after campaign in which the candidate lost, as if to say, in effect, that my history of handling many losing campaigns in the past makes me especially qualified to handle another losing campaign now.

The most successful campaigns seem to be ones in which the candidate is very hands-on without regard, resorting to so-called consultants who seem to exist simply to extract money from campaign coffers without producing wins.

That being said, because of the size of our state and with very limited conservative media outlets, the more successful larger races (i.e. other than for state rep) that are inherently expensive often end up relying on larger campaign contributions from out-of-state donors and groups, and if a so-called consultant can actually produce such contributions in a meaningful way, perhaps they might actually be worth something.

And so now, we turn to campaign contributions.

A famous Dem politician once reportedly said that money is the mother’s milk of politics. Unfortunately, how true!

Although state representative campaigns can be run effectively without huge expenditures, once the political stage moves into larger districts or statewide, whether for the state senate, the exec council, the governor, and our federal senators and reps, the required campaign expenses increase dramatically.

Anyone reading this has probably been solicited for campaign contributions by a variety of sources: some directly by the candidate campaigns and others by groups that seek to “bundle” the contributions and allocate them to who-knows-whom.

If you make a contribution directly to the campaign of a candidate you favor, you will have a pretty good idea of where your money is going. But if you contribute to a group, although the group may claim to be supportive of candidates you support, you lose effective control of where your money ends up.

And to further the problem, many of the groups soliciting contributions incur significant administrative expenses for staff, as well as, in some cases, payment of “commissions” to officials of the group who purportedly bring in contributions. It is not unusual to see at least 10% of a contribution go to payment of such a commission.

But some groups, including some political action committees, are run entirely by volunteers without any paid administrative staff.

So, if you are considering making a political contribution, keep in mind that your contribution will be most effective if you contribute directly to the campaign of your chosen candidate. However, if you choose to contribute to a group, before you make that contribution, inquire as to whether the group pays commissions to anyone and whether it manages to keep its administrative expenses very low.

The post Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain! appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

G.E.T. R.E.A.L! T: Transportation Infrastructure (AKA Fix the Roads!)

Tue, 2024-04-23 12:00 +0000

G.E.T. R.E.A.L. is a solemn promise and a positive path forward for our state by Vermont Republicans focused on improving the quality of life of our people. It is a prescription of policy proposals, and this is the fourth in a series of essays explaining the program.

Editors Note: While focused on Vermont, the G.E.T. R.E.A.L. agenda sets a standard I think could/should be duplicated in New Hampshire and – well, everywhere—a public Republican Party promise/platform itemizing its priorities ‘Contract with America’ Style. 

Given the normal weather patterns in Vermont with all the freezing and thawing and the need for plenty of plowing, maintaining safe and comfortable roads and bridges is always going to be a challenge. Even more so if the trends of warmer, wetter winters and springs continue to bring us multiple mud seasons and more frequent floods. So, we really need to focus all of our transportation fund dollars on fixing and maintaining our transportation infrastructure.

While in years past, legislatures had done a good job of ending policies that robbed the Transportation Fund to pay for other projects, recently, we have seen a return to bad habits in this arena, particularly where taking out taxpayer money to subsidize electric vehicle purchases is concerned. For example, the current version of the Transportation Bill under debate right now contains $12 million in subsidies for EV incentives and in-home charging equipment.

First of all, that’s $12 million that’s not going to pave roads, fill potholes, expand culverts, or renovate bridges – all things we need to be doing more of, not less. In fact, the average age of Vermont’s bridges is 59 years, compared to the national average of 44 years. 75 of our bridges are classified as “structurally deficient,” up from 68 as recently as 2019, and, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, nearly a quarter of a million vehicles pass over just the twenty-five most traveled of those structurally deficient bridges every day. This should be a priority for transportation funds.

However, this sense of urgency is not shared by the supermajority controlling the purse strings in Montpelier today. In 2023, Governor Scott earmarked in his budget $9 million in general fund surplus money that could have been used to draw down triple that amount in federal matching funds for road repair. Democrats chose to spend that money elsewhere.

But even without these critical maintenance needs, it is highly questionable that it is the proper role of government to force some Vermonters to pay for the vehicle choices of other Vermonters, especially when those subsidies tend to flow regressively up the income ladder from lower-earning workers to upper-income car buyers. These “wealthfare” programs need to end.

Additionally, the state using tax dollars to subsidize more Vermonters’ choice to drive electric vehicles has an additional negative impact on fuel tax and, therefore, Transportation Fund revenues. Under the current system, if you’re not buying gas to use the roads, you’re not paying to help maintain them. One solution is to charge EV owners with a “road use surcharge” when they register, which is an idea under consideration. However, the Democrat leadership, under the influence of environmental lobbyists is insisting that money go not to road maintenance but to, you guessed it, more taxpayer-funded EV subsidies.

Think about this for a minute. The supermajority wants to pay people a subsidy to buy an electric vehicle, then hit those same people with a surcharge on that same electric vehicle in order to fund somebody else’s electric vehicle subsidy, which will also be penalized with a surcharge. That’s just ridiculous. More ridiculous is that they’re doing this while not sufficiently funding the maintenance of the roads that all of our vehicles need to drive on!

It’s yet another example of policy being driven by blind ideology and special interest politics at the expense of common sense and providing basic public services. This is exactly the kind of mindset we need to GET REAL about replacing in Montpelier!

Also slipped into this year’s Transportation Bill is a provision to move toward implementing a Clean Transportation Standard. This is the motor fuel companion to the home heating Clean Heat Standard, which is estimated to add 70 cents or more to every gallon of oil, propane, natural gas, and kerosene. Yes, the supermajority wants this same scale of carbon tax applied to gasoline and diesel. An additional dollar tax on a gallon of gas? We say, Get Real!

If this gas and diesel carbon tax ultimately passes (the only way to stop it is to Vote Republican in November) and is a crucial component of the supermajorities Global Warming Solutions Act law passed in 2020, again, the revenue would not be used for road maintenance but rather pet global warming projects. This would decrease fuel tax capacity for transportation infrastructure maintenance, likely requiring tax increases elsewhere to fill the gap.

The government is supposed to provide some basic, universal services, and maintaining the state’s roads, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure is one of them. Elect Republicans this November, and we’ll GET REAL about fixing our roads and bridges.

Bill Huff is the Orange County GOP Chair – on behalf of all GOP County Chairs

 

G: Global Warming Solutions Act Reform
E: Education Reform 

The post G.E.T. R.E.A.L! T: Transportation Infrastructure (AKA Fix the Roads!) appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Congress Is A Disgrace

Tue, 2024-04-23 10:00 +0000

Here is a sure way to know when you have yet again been screwed by Congress. The corporate-media “covers” the screwing as “bipartisan” and UniParty-Republicans are “courageous” for ignoring the voters who put them there and instead “doing the right thing,” a lovely euphemism for what enriches the elites/globalists/corporatists/etc..

And yet, I am sure, that New Hampshire’s bitter-clingers will nonetheless “vote Republican” “up-and-down-the-ballot” to reelect the same grifters intent on outlawing single-family zoning in order stop the state income tax that isn’t coming from coming.

SIXTY BILLION MORE for that corruptocracy called Ukraine to stop the looming Russian takeover of Europe that all the grifters in DC know is total fiction. And as an added bonus … the TikTok “sale” gives the “intelligence community” yet another means to spy on Americans. Slava Ukraine! Vote Republican! Slava Ukraine!

The post Congress Is A Disgrace appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

5 Incredible Retirement Gift Ideas for Long Term Employees

Tue, 2024-04-23 09:00 +0000

After decades of hard work and dedication, long term employees deserve special recognition and gifts upon their retirement. Coming up with retirement gift ideas for loyal, longtime workers can be challenging. Here are five incredible ideas to make your retiring employee feel valued and appreciated.

1. Personalised Photo Album

A personalised photo album stuffed with pictures from company events, work friendships, and special memories made over the years is a thoughtful and meaningful gift. Make it a collaborative effort by asking coworkers to contribute their favourite photos and include handwritten messages to the retiree. This shows how much they’ll be missed by everyone. For an extra special touch, track down pictures of the retiree from when they first started at the company. This trip down memory lane is sure to spark joy and appreciation.

2. Custom Plaque

A personalised plaque serves as a meaningful memento for any long-term employee. Include the years they worked at the company and any major accomplishments. Consider making the plaque in the shape of the retiree’s home country for a unique gift. If they’re retiring from a management role, include a special message from their team about how much their leadership was valued. Local trophy shops can often customise plaques with engraving and special shapes.

3. Relaxing Holiday

What better retirement gift could there be than a relaxing getaway to enjoy their newfound freedom? For retirees in the UK, consider gifting a holiday at a large holiday home Yorkshire with hot tub at Yellow Rush Lodge. Yorkshire is beloved for its dramatic landscapes and the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The lodge features five bedrooms to accommodate the whole family. With walking trails, fishing spots and cosy country pubs nearby, it’s a perfect homebase for exploring the quintessential English countryside. The outdoor hot tub overlooking the sweeping scenery provides the ultimate place to unwind. After so many years of work, a holiday focused on rest and relaxation is sure to delight.

4. Restaurant Vouchers

Treat the retiree to delicious dining experiences with restaurant vouchers. Focus on restaurants they’ve always wanted to try but never had the time or budget for before retirement. Splurging on a Michelin-starred restaurant or high tea at a 5-star hotel shows you want to help make long-held wishes come true. For retirees with a sweet tooth, gift cards for local bakeries, ice cream parlours and chocolate shops are tasty as well. Food is such a huge part of life and retirement is the perfect time to embark on gastronomic adventures. Restaurant vouchers open the door to culinary delight.

5. Luxury Item from Their Wish List

Nothing says “thank you for your many years of service” like gifting a luxury item the retiree has always fantasised about. Maybe they’ve eyed a designer handbag, top-of-the-line golf clubs, or a fancy Montblanc pen. Ask the retiree’s spouse, family or closest work friend about that special luxury item they’ve dreamed of owning. Even better, get their wish list ahead of time. Fulfilling a long-held material desire is a blissful retirement gift. For devoted, hardworking long term employees, these luxuries are the perfect crowning achievement to celebrate their next chapter.

Retirement is a major life transition and frequently comes with complicated emotions. Unique, personalised gifts demonstrate your gratitude and well wishes for the next phase of life. These five incredible retirement gift ideas for loyal, longtime employees help express just how much you appreciate their years of dedication and service. With such thoughtful farewell gifts, you’re sure to see happy tears and create great memories.

The post 5 Incredible Retirement Gift Ideas for Long Term Employees appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Night Cap: Assisted Suicide Will Start Out Well-Meaning, Then Gradually Revert To its Eugenic Roots

Tue, 2024-04-23 02:00 +0000

There is ample evidence throughout history, much of it recent, that claiming compassion to justify government-sanctioned suicide is a trap. Yes, chronic pain is terrible, but not nearly so much as the power of a State that inevitably sees it as a way to solve problems it created or just “problems.”

I’ve been over this more times than I can count, but HB1283 is on the verge of becoming law in New Hampshire, and just like socialism, we will not “get it right this time.” Vermont, Hawaii, Canada, and The Netherlands are all proof that the system fails to protect people who are not likely to die in six months. Once passed, ideological descendants of the original Progressive Eugenicists who inspired Hitler will, in successive legislative sessions, remove safeguards, lower barriers, and soften restrictions.

The future of HB1283 is laid bare before us. Compassion will shift from those “near death” to those with chronic but tolerable illness, to the autistic, the homeless, the economically advantaged, and inevitably, people who ask. (but never imprisoned murderers; that would be inhumane).

You can agree or disagree on religious grounds, human rights grounds, equity, or whatever motivation moves you – but what you need to fear is State power to manage the general terms of human demise.

If you can come up with an example where it worked out well, I’d be interested in hearing about it, but even more recent adventures in Western Politics succumb to the impulse to use assisted suicide to relieve cultural, social, and economic burdens.

Assisted suicide legislation expands state power and its influence over therpaists and doctors and will inevitably be abused. If you doubt me, look at so-called conversion therapy restrictions in NH or what happened during COVID. We will not do it better. The safest course of action is to assist in the suicide of HB1283.

Besides, we don’t need it. Vermont has Vacation Suicide, as does Oregon. If you need to die that badly, they will be happy to help you.

The NH Senate is voting on it This week. Please reach out and politely ask them to vote no.

Blogified version of an email sent the entire NH State Senate

The post Night Cap: Assisted Suicide Will Start Out Well-Meaning, Then Gradually Revert To its Eugenic Roots appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Carson, Gannon & Abbas Need to be Primaried. Here’s Why.

Tue, 2024-04-23 00:00 +0000

Let me start by saying something nice about all three Senate Judiciary Republicans. They’re all nice people and presumably decent people in their personal lives. I’ve had pleasant encounters with them, some leading to pleasant talk, sometimes more than once.

One of them promptly and cheerfully returned my emails, though they were less about NH senate matters and more about an up-ballot endorsed candidate.  The other two are even cat people, but so are Melanie and the Damn Emperor!  I don’t want to start a pattern of referencing my ex, having already made a comment about him in a previous article, but he did make a professional comment as an electrical engineer when we were together.  He said, “You are only as good as your most recent project,” and he also added that the worst thing an engineer can do is design a product that doesn’t work.

I’ll add a little sidenote that Senator Gray is an electrical engineer. What makes that little tidbit relevant is that the whole Senate has yet to vote on the RTK Tax (HB 1002).

Rochester people might consider what my ex said in convincing him to reject HB 1002 in the senate chamber, but let’s get back to the Naughty 3 in the Judiciary.

Short of possessing the gavel, Sharon Carson is the most powerful in the Senate.  She did not get where she is by being stupid and she knows how influential her multifold power is.  One of her power positions is Judiciary Chair.  At 3:27:15 in the video from 4/18’s executive session, she moved OTP on HB 1002 with minimal lip service to Laurie Ortolano’s personal testimony, and the two men just obediently gave her the “yes, ma’am” without any thought.  Extremely disappointing, considering that I’ve been emailing them for the past few months in addition to testifying myself at the hearing on 4/9.  I’ll get to them in a moment, but I’m not the only Sharon critic.  In addition to looking at her union sympathizing record, I suggest talking to JR or anyone else about how much Pfizer money she’s taken or Beth Scaer about her Cornerstone-related complaints.

I’m sure that Beth would be thrilled to death to go into further detail upon request, but let’s move on to the men of the Naughty three, now that I’ve followed with the “Ladies First” mantra.

Moving on to Senator Gannon, though he did sponsor SB 319, don’t let that distract you from his 2022 antics in Judiciary and in the senate chamber.  A favorite constituent archetype is his “immunocompromised business owner,” which I observed him referencing in person, both at a hearing and from the senate gallery on 5/5/22,
which can be watched at 9:59:45 in the video of the HB 1210 debate.  Jeb wanted his beloved CMS money and my senator is the only one of the 5 dissenters still in office today.  He wasn’t taking any crap from Gannon, who you can see resorting to gaslighting at 10:13:40 in the same video right after another dissenter asked the whole body “at what price are you willing to sell your liberty?”

Senator Gannon is an establishment sheeple who did Jeb’s bidding that day and now Sharon’s on 4/18/24, when he voted to obstruct your Right to Know by levying a tax on it and creating a can of worms waiting to be opened.

Saving the younger lawyer for last, Daryl Abbas, who happens to be a Chuck Morse apologist occupying his old senate seat, walked out of the hearing while Laurie Ortolano was at the mic with several minutes left.  One of his constituent apologists surmised that he had to use the restroom, but I rebutted with noting that he folded up his laptop and took it with him.  While men often do have a thing for taking reading material into the bathroom, I reject the supposition.  See for yourself at 1:08:40 in this video and that he does not reappear, even though there were two more speakers (also against HB 1002) after Laurie.

I’ll also note that Sharon let the NH Municipal Association lobbyist and his peers speak first once all the reps had their turn, even though I signed up first on the clipboard and Laurie Ortolano after myself, but that’s on Sharon, not Daryl Abbas.  I ran into him earlier and we talked at length in the dining room.  He KNEW why I was at the state house that day and that Laurie was going to speak.  He KNEW about Laurie’s local RTK plight, and that hearing was his opportunity to ask questions.  If he had a plausible reason for leaving early, which certainly could be a possibility, he could have asked Sharon to call Laurie to the mic first, but he was clearly uninterested and I’m calling him out on it.  Every member of the legislature knows how much power, leeway, and discretion committee chairs have, and don’t let Daryl Abbas, being a freshman, fool you!  He was promoted to the Senate from the House.

Inspired by words from the late Rep Mark Alliegro at the My Pillow Frankspeech Symposium almost three years ago, I am now getting down from the rant soapbox and offering a message of hope.  The Senate is in recess this week, and that gives everyone more time to email their senators instructions to reject HB 1002.  Remember that they work for YOU, not lobbyists or other government officials.  Did you see any ordinary members of the public speaking at the hearing in favor of HB 1002?  I didn’t.

The post Carson, Gannon & Abbas Need to be Primaried. Here’s Why. appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Elections Have Consequences: “Really, at this point in the game, they should all just say it out loud”

Mon, 2024-04-22 23:00 +0000

From the Editor: The phrase “elections have consequences” is not new, but Nashua resident Allison Dyer has made it her tagline, ending her Rumble videos with the words after sharing what can only be called evidence supporting the truth of those words.

So, I’ve decided to give her content on our podcast page the title of ‘”Elections Have Consequences.” I hope she likes it because I didn’t ask. But we have an open invitation to share it and we have shared some of her content in the past, but let’s consider this an introduction to sharing it as part of our expanded local podcast-sharing project.

Allison posts about local and national topics (the volume is a bit low on this one, so turn it up!).

Really, at this point in the game, they should all just say it out loud … “We support open borders for everyone, from anywhere, at any time, regardless of background, and we will use the American taxpayer dollars to fund all of it, forever.” #BidensAmerica

!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u359331"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");

Rumble("play", {"video":"v4nkwli","div":"rumble_v4nkwli"});

..

The post Elections Have Consequences: “Really, at this point in the game, they should all just say it out loud” appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

HB1002 – Are We Punishing Everyone for The Behavior of a Few or Limiting Access to the Wealthy and Well-Connected? (Both!)

Mon, 2024-04-22 22:00 +0000

The Republican majority of the New Hampshire Legislature is on the verge of doing what Democrats do. Punish everyone for the alleged bad behavior of a few. Assuming the few are truly being cantankerous in their pursuit of public records. It is reminiscent of most, if not all, Left-Wing gun-grabbing legislation.

Those misbehaving few—assuming they were not driven to some extreme by the culture of government itself (as is increasingly common these days)—are leveraged as an excuse to impose a punishment on everyone. Red Fag Laws, waiting periods, magazine size limitations, location restrictions, special licensing requirements, ad the rest do not prevent gun violence. They create burdens meant to make exercising a right less appealing while the same government does less to protect them in the void it created.

If you have money and means, none of that concerns you. You can afford to jump through the hoops or buy your way around them.

HB1002 is no different. Adding a fee (tax, fine, levy) to access some documents will have several immediate effects. The folks who control access to the documents will inevitably find it increasingly difficult to fill even the most basic request below the fee threshold (probably at the behest of their superiors). People who cannot afford a fee will not ask for public documents. Local government will become less transparent and, over time, more brazen, unanswerable, and corrupt. (Nashua has done this despite the lack of a fee; guess how much worse that gets with one).

It also creates (or at least risks creating) a two-class system of accountability—a government that only ever answers to people who can afford to hold it to account—a class of individuals or groups who often stand to profit from this relationship and might want barriers to access to those details.

None of what I lay out may be what you intend—lord, I hope it is not—but it is that for which you may be remembered every time someone writes about how inaccessible local government has become. How people with means can open a door closed to them by bills like HB1002.

And if you think I am exaggerating, that this would never happen, or is unlikely, you have gotten too comfortable being in part of the government when you are elected to protect your constituents and their rights and interests from it.

Please vote no to HB1002. It is not your job to punish everyone for what may be the abuses of a few.

Blogified version of an email sent to the entire NH State Senate.

The post HB1002 – Are We Punishing Everyone for The Behavior of a Few or Limiting Access to the Wealthy and Well-Connected? (Both!) appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

The Manchester Free Press aims to bring together in one place everything that you need to know about what’s happening in the Free State of New Hampshire.

As of August 2021, we are currently in the process of removing dead links and feeds, and updating the site with newer ones.

Articles

Media

Blogs

Our friends & allies

New Hampshire

United States