Weak Leader

This is another (0.00 / 0)

issue that is coming from outside NH.  They are weak leaders indeed who cannot even resist pressure from rich outside interests and listen to their constituents.  We are seeing this over and over again.  Our state has been sold to the highest bidder.  Shame.

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by: Lucy Edwards @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 11:27:37 AM UTC

No, I think the issue is home-grown. It just happens to grow in (0.00 / 0)

many climes.
Keep in mind that when there is paternal child abuse, there has to be maternal consent or inattention.  And when the abusers are found out, guilt makes the inattentive clam up.

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by: hannah @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 16:59:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

DJ Tone (4.00 / 1)

DJB sounds more like a "shock jock" than a legislator.

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by: Chaz Proulx @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 14:48:06 PM UTC

MC Tone Less n/t (0.00 / 0)

note to close readers: this might be sarcastic so think twice before reading to candidates for use in their attacks on each other

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by: JonnyBBad @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 16:43:54 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Check the perspective (4.00 / 1)

Santa wears a red suit...he's a communist. -- Arlo Guthrie

Lynch as a "radical"?

IDIOT. If you want the governor's input, ASK HIM. But then, he's probably home asleep while your cabal is working in the middle of the night to avoid any form of compromise.

Keep it up, DJ. Every time you open your mouth, you dig the spider hole a little deeper. Please, keep on bragging about your inability to work with your fellow public servants. Your constituents are listening.

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by: DianeR @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 15:36:58 PM UTC

Childish (4.00 / 5)

DJ has convinced himself that he will governor or US senator some day but the tone and style of his speeches and writings show a significant lack of maturity. DJ's style is more suited for a Frat House website.

Have you told a stranger today about Bill O'Brien and his Tea Party agenda? The people of NH deserve to hear about O'Brien  and his majority committed to destroying New Hampshire and remaking it into a armed survivalist preserve.  

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by: Ray Buckley @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 15:59:28 PM UTC

It seems that the people on Fratboy's (4.00 / 4)

staff are even worse than he is.  It's like a fraternity is running our state.

He is a mouthpiece and puppet of O'Brien anyway.  He's a little turd who amounts to nothing.

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by: unhhockey @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 18:40:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Paternal control over children is a burning issue. (4.00 / 1)

Although Thomas James Ball's statement that he sent to the Sentinel before immolating himself in front of the court house in Keene is obviously the work of a deranged person, some of the issues he addresses are shared by many people all around the country. Who owns the children is central to many a contemporary marriage which doesn't conform to traditional norms -- i.e. where the male is the undisputed head of the household and is free to use or abuse the other members at will.
Why do we still have hundreds of thousands of children running away from home? Why do most prostitutes report having been abused as children? Why has the United States, alone along with Somalia, refused to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child?  Could it be because children are the last remnant of humans being considered as property? Of course, even where it has been ratified (e.g. India, China, Bangladesh) children are being sold into slavery, so ratification is no guarantee that human rights are honored.
Why are social services being targeted for elimination?  Because there are many men out there who are somewhat less deranged than Thomas Ball, but every bit as angry, and more. For many men, the feminization of America represents a threat to them doing what they want. And gays who are eager to be nurturing parents and get married don't help. They're seen to be siding with women, the opponents of traditional marriage, traitors to the cause of male dominance.

There is method in their madness.  It does not behoove us to dismiss the issues, even if they are not honestly addressed.

The state protecting the children implies that the parents are a threat.  That they are is not likely to be admitted, but it is a fact.  When a child is impregnated by a relative, it's prima facie evidence that parental care was lax.  When children are infected with the same STD as a parent or guardian, there's only one explanation, regardless of the denials, which are as certain as rain.

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by: hannah @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 16:55:44 PM UTC

Nobody owns a child (4.00 / 1)

My husband and I recently attended a 'Getting to Know You" workshop at a private adoption agency. Within the first 15 minutes, it was made plainly clear: Nobody owns a child. This argument was made in defense of birth mothers taking back a child placed for adoption within their 'right of recission' period (about one month). This line of thinking is meant to disperse anger at the situation, to better understand there is a human being in the mix that cannot be considered chattel.

Aaron / Deering. Kuster 2012: http://www.kusterforcongress.com/

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by: nhveedub @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 19:15:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

It wouldn't be necessary to make the point, if it were (0.00 / 0)

universally understood and accepted that human being belong only to themselves.

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by: hannah @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 20:45:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Understood (4.00 / 1)

I agree with you. My reply unfortunately came across as a rebuttal, which was not my intent.  

Aaron / Deering. Kuster 2012: http://www.kusterforcongress.com/

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by: nhveedub @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 13:50:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Very disappointed. (4.00 / 3)

I thought, just maybe, having a mid-20s House Majority Leader would give the leadership--or at least the one person--some respect for the rights of young people. Boy was I wrong.

They want to stop college students from voting (either directly or indirectly), they want to gut public education at all levels K-12-University, and they want to stop teenage girls from controlling their own bodies and lives.

Mr. O'Brien's House never misses an opportunity to go after Bettencourt's generation, and Bettencourt never fails to stand by those attacks.

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 17:29:30 PM UTC

The only thing worse than a Republican (4.00 / 1)

is a Young Republican.

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by: unhhockey @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 18:41:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Disagree. (0.00 / 0)

I disagree with most Republicans on most issues, but there are a decent portion of young Republicans who are more reasonable than their party at large.

The Dartmouth College Republicans stood up for themselves and their constituents against HB176, which would have restricted students' voting rights even more than SB129 still might.

And many young Republicans have more rational positions on social issues than older Republicans, especially marriage equality.

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 18:54:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What exactly did these College (4.00 / 1)

Republicans expect?  Either they're hypocritical or just incredibly naive.

It's like the Log Cabin Republicans.  They seem to oppose the radical anti-gay agenda of the Republican Party but they keep helping to elect people who support that platform.

D.J. seems like any Young Republican I've ever met.  A spoiled brat who has no sense of the real workings of the world around him.  He obviously is a narcissist, just like O'Brien, who's more concerned with getting attention than representing anyone's best interests.

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by: unhhockey @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 18:59:33 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Very strongly disagree. (4.00 / 3)

I'd never vote for Bettencourt, but I think it's extremely disrespectful to call him "a spoiled brat who has no sense of the real workings of the world around him." That's exactly what O'Brien thinks of young, liberal voters like me. As a young person, and especially as a politically active young person, I take offense at that stereotype, and at the idea that the stereotype is a legitimate reason not to take someone seriously in politics.

For what it's worth, I went to a private high school; I'm 22 years old, I sit on the NH Democratic State Committee, I ran for public office when I was 19, and I expect to be taken seriously.  As Vice President of the New Hampshire Young Democrats, Treasurer of the Northeast Region Young Democrats, and a member of the Young Democrats of America Budget Committee, I demand that my constituents be taken seriously.

As for Log Cabin Republicans, we both dislike the way they vote, but at least they're a good influence on their party. Someone on the inside has to pull the GOP back from the brink.

The Republican Party has turned their back on many groups: ethnic and religious minorities, the LGBT community, the poor, environmentalists, feminists, and among many others, young people.  And so all of those groups have become pillars of the Democratic Party.  They--we--deserve the party's respect.

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 20:20:17 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I appreciate your points. (4.00 / 1)

I am only a few years older than you.  I am not impugning all young people in politics.  I am, however, pointing the finger at young people like D.J. Bettencourt.  You said it yourself when you stated you were disappointed that he wouldn't be sensitive to issues that affect young people, such as with parental notification.

My point is that, if as you say, a majority of Young Republicans are far more sensible than their older counterparts such as in the realm of social issues, I don't see them doing anything about it.  You may have examples that refute (or "refudiate") that point, and I would be happy to consider them.  I would be willing to bet that the Dartmouth College Republicans from NH probably voted for people who support O'Brien's agenda.

That being said, thank you for everything you do on behalf of the Democratic Party.

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by: unhhockey @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 20:30:08 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ah, I see the miscommunication now. (0.00 / 0)

I wouldn't say a majority of young Republicans are sensible...

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 20:33:53 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Agree (4.00 / 1)

I think they're a shrinking minority and an increasingly quieted voice, but I would hope to see young Republicans and moderate Republicans in general make some sort of a comeback.  That said, I'm very skeptical of something like that happening anytime soon, especially since I was recently optimistic about a turn toward moderation on the right after their defeats in 2006 and 2008, and the promotion of ideas such as those in "Grand New Party".  Still, I think it needs to happen for the good of all of us.

Our government and politics are set up to function within a two-party system and at the present we really have only one serious party, and I think the 2010 elections show that that is to no one's benefit, including the Democratic Party.  There should be and will always be differences between parties, but I long for a day when both major parties will propose serious, respectable alternatives, and leave the fringes on the outside.  (Of course, I think the Democratic Party is already doing that).

Usually, I am excited to vote for the Democratic candidate, but occasionally the vote I cast is more out of fear of what a Republican candidate proposes than excitement over what the Democrat stands for.  Just as the nation and state would be stronger without the pandering, childish rhetoric and proposals of the Republican Party, I believe the Democratic Party would be stronger if it had an opponent making reasonable, but very different proposals.

While some of those moderate, young Republicans could and may switch over to the Democratic Party in the face of a GOP that continues to go off the deep-end, I don't think any of us would be served well if they were to leave en masse.  Their views, which may be moderate among Republicans, would be conservative among Democrats, moving the one reasonable party to the right.  The true-believers in the remaining GOP would be left without much opposition, promoting even farther-right ideas and candidates, invigorating their base.  Meanwhile Democrats would end up promoting more centrist and conservative candidates and positions, and those of us in the progressive community would be motivated more out of fear of the alternative than out of excitement for our own ideas.  (It sounds familiar, of course, because that's what has been happening, and after 2010 our worst fears are being borne out).

That's why just as I hope that progressives stay in and work to shape the Democratic Party, I also hope young moderate-conservatives stay in and try to steer the Republican Party back from the right-wing brink.  It may not work and the odds may be against them at the moment, but in a two-party system it's the only way I see for any of us to have a functioning democracy in the future.

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by: FrankLloydMike @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 20:59:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

note to Doug (0.00 / 0)

they want to stop teenage girls from controlling their own bodies and lives.

Doug this is only true in that teenage girls are a subset of all women, whose bodies and lives they want to control in general.

Small minded men, beneath contempt.

note to close readers: this might be sarcastic so think twice before reading to candidates for use in their attacks on each other

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by: JonnyBBad @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 13:47:15 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well they're anti-choice, so of course that affects all women. (0.00 / 0)

But parental notification in particular isn't going after adult women.

The same could be said about trying to stop college students from voting, which they are. Sure, the specific thing is about college students, but that's only a piece of the larger goal: they want to stop Democrats from voting.

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 16:38:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Adding: (0.00 / 0)

In the post you're replying too, I wasn't listing right-wing ambitions; I was listing specific things that NH House GOP leaders have tried to do over the past six months.

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 16:40:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

its all of a piece (0.00 / 0)

voter suppression is suppression of voters...young people like older people have been under attack. We all have.

note to close readers: this might be sarcastic so think twice before reading to candidates for use in their attacks on each other

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by: JonnyBBad @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 20:09:22 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Agree. (0.00 / 0)

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 03:30:09 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hey D.J., (4.00 / 1)

if you want to know the definition of a "radical", stand in front of a mirror.

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by: unhhockey @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 19:07:24 PM UTC

if your daughter's uterus (4.00 / 2)

becomes the property of the state, do you still have to pay property taxes?  Doesn't one cancel out the other?  

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by: susanthe @ Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 23:52:25 PM UTC

No, because taxes are stealing your money, and that's wrong. (4.00 / 1)

HB 329 is just Family Values.

[/sarcasm]

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 01:28:22 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Karmic justice: (4.00 / 2)

The man whom D.J. Bettencourt slandered as a "pedophile pimp" is taking up D.J. Bettencourt's call for a veto override:

http://www.boston.com/news/loc...

Weak leadership is awkward!

birch paper; on Twitter @deanbarker

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by: Dean Barker @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 00:51:38 AM UTC

Seth, What of Forced Abortion? (4.00 / 1)

If parents need to consent to an abortion by a minor child, can parents force an abortion upon a minor child?

You say they can't decide for themselves.

We didn't ask our daughter if she wanted her ears pierced. We talked her into it and BAM, pretty earrings! Age 3, I think.

My wife and I couldn't agree on the tattoo or breast implants.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 16:39:58 PM UTC

and how about male circumcisions? (0.00 / 0)

Oh wait, now Susan will think I'm defending only men's rights.

again, HB329 is NOT about 'consent', it is ONLY notification.

I would oppose a 'consent' bill, as going too far, IMHO.

BH's token Republican / Libertarian / TeaPartier / Free Stater, courtesy of a Federal Affirmative Action grant, despite many of his comments being marked down and hidden.

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by: SethCohn @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 17:01:43 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

You don't think... (4.00 / 1)

... parental notification effectively means consent?

Aaron / Deering. Kuster 2012: http://www.kusterforcongress.com/

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by: nhveedub @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 17:05:02 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

No, I don't. (n/t) (0.00 / 0)

BH's token Republican / Libertarian / TeaPartier / Free Stater, courtesy of a Federal Affirmative Action grant, despite many of his comments being marked down and hidden.

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by: SethCohn @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 17:07:37 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Therein lies the problem (4.00 / 2)

It's like how requiring ID to vote isn't effectively voter suppression.

Aaron / Deering. Kuster 2012: http://www.kusterforcongress.com/

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by: nhveedub @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 17:40:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

"Repeat after me: _minors_ aren't legally able to make decisions" (4.00 / 4)

"If you would like to change the age of consent, please say so." - SethCohn

You talk nonsense. I realize you are gravely outnumbered, but come on!

Let's imagine this reality:

Girl: Mom, the NH law requires I "notificate" you that I am pregant and am leaning toward having an abortion.

Mom: Your father and I forbid you to have an abortion!

Girl: Tough noogies, Mom. You are duly "notificated."

Mom: Then pack you bags, big girl. You can't live here.

Other realities may vary.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 17:45:23 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

wrong (4.00 / 1)

Susan thinks (correctly) that you are tossing out red herrings in an attempt to obfuscate the real agenda of the GOP - controlling women.  

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by: susanthe @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 17:13:10 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Seth's Perfect World (4.00 / 11)

On Seth's Fantasy Island, a 13 year old girl impregnated by her father will go to one of the courts decimated by budget cuts, and hope to find a judge on duty who may or may not give her  permission to have an abortion.  And then the father will file a petition with Ingbretson's committee and ask for an investigation of the judge who granted permission, with the girl's name made public. The girl won't be able to receive counseling after the rape, the abortion or the public humiliation due to cuts in mental health services.

This is why I don't engage with him anymore - it is a waste of time, like talking to a wall, except walls are more receptive to opposing ideas and are not convinced of their brilliance despite all evidence to the contrary.

 



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Tue Jun 21, 2011 at 17:29:53 PM UTC

And she will get to that court... (4.00 / 1)

By walking however many miles it is to the county seat, potentially in winter, because she is not old enough to drive or to afford a car, and Mr. Cohn's caucus is actively against public transportation.

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 04:05:06 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Read the bill (0.00 / 1)

It provides for guardians, it provides for 24/7 access, and more.

Sadly, most of the opponents of this bill haven't bothered to read it first.

BH's token Republican / Libertarian / TeaPartier / Free Stater, courtesy of a Federal Affirmative Action grant, despite many of his comments being marked down and hidden.

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by: SethCohn @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 04:15:42 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

And to avail oneself of those provisions one must... (0.00 / 0)

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 07:04:49 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

To those who mark my post as trolls (4.00 / 1)

If my comments (and the responses of others) are hidden, I'm not going to continue the discussion.  If your goal is to shut down communication and discussion, you're doing a great job.

BH's token Republican / Libertarian / TeaPartier / Free Stater, courtesy of a Federal Affirmative Action grant, despite many of his comments being marked down and hidden.

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by: SethCohn @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 01:43:36 AM UTC

Bye, Seth (4.00 / 2)

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by: Lenore Patton @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 02:12:46 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I'd love to have a discussion (4.00 / 6)

on what services the girls that, due to this law, have to bring a child into the world will need and how the state will support them. I'm hard pressed to figure out how this will take place, given the massive cuts your GOP is attempting to inflict on Medicaid services across the country. So my best guess is that, once the child is born, the new-mother and her child will be told to pull themselves up by their bootstraps or be dubbed moochers/looters weighing down our wealth creators.  

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by: nhdemocrat @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 03:17:31 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Conservative Values (4.00 / 3)

Abstinence only education, then no contraception, then no morning after pill, then no abortion, then no public preschool or kindergarten, then no free lunch, then no SCHIP or Medicaid, no education funding, no minimum wage, no jobs...

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 04:12:02 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

In other words... (4.00 / 2)

No America.

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by: Timmy J @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 10:35:45 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Not as any of us know it. (4.00 / 1)

--
Hope > Anarch-tea
Twitter: @DougLindner

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by: Douglas E. Lindner @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 12:36:44 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And a lot less reproductive health care (0.00 / 0)

with the Executive Council's refusal to fund Planned parenthood.

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. --Marcus Aurelius, courtesy of Paul Berch

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by: Lucy Weber @ Thu Jun 23, 2011 at 17:40:13 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Women: the disposable gender (0.00 / 0)

Or: when one incubator dies, another takes it's place!  

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by: susanthe @ Thu Jun 23, 2011 at 18:43:34 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Or, from a less self-absorbed mindset... (4.00 / 2)

Marking down Republican lies, misleading bumper-sticker citations, and insults as trollish will help reduce the number of such incidents. 'Progressive online community' =/= 'neutral debate territory.' If you come in spouting right-wing bullshit like 'a 13 year old girl will have easy and confidential access to the court system,' expect to see it marked as trolling if you don't actually provide some evidence to back it up. Lay out a case study, step through the process, show how it's easy, don't just make 'surely'-style weasel assertions and expect to see them go unchallenged. You're not in friendly territory, so make an argument that would at least be acceptable to a high-school debate club. And responses like 'Dean, Dean, Dean' and 'Ray, Ray, Ray' and 'repeat after me' and 'Susan, you are the racist and sexist' are all quite well designed to cast you as the provocateur.

If you want to argue that somehow there's a way that some Republican-sponsored bill should be considered progressive and forward-looking, then that would be in some way an attempt to engage. Offering up insults and right-wing apologia and unsupported rhetoric is not contributing to the conversation.

Only the left protects anyone's rights.

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by: RealNRH @ Wed Jun 22, 2011 at 13:46:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Even though Dr. Salk and others (4.00 / 1)

eradicated polio, infantile paralysis persists.

They. Don't. Care.
We do.
Rinse, repeat.

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by: GreyMike @ Thu Jun 23, 2011 at 21:27:07 PM UTC

[ Parent ]