There are 834 items for the legislature to deal with in 2010,including bills, 13
13 constitutional amendments, and approximately 20 resolutions. At least 4 of the proposed constitutional amendments deal with taxation, including amendments for and against a broad based tax. There are two amendments that deal with
marriage equality in our state. One calls for an amendment to definite marriage as between a man and a woman, and CACR 25 would amend the constitution of our state to provide that the voters can veto laws by referendum. We saw how the referendum process worked last year in Maine, when out of state hate groups spent millions to ensure that gay Mainers would continue to be treated as lesser citizens. The referendum process has pretty much destroyed the economy of the state of California. This is what
Representatives Boyce, Howard, Rodeschin,
Elliot, Hickel, and State Senator Jeb Bradley would like to unleash upon NH. This is, of course, a response to the marriage equality bill that went into law on January first. The far right Republicans would love to have all of that out of state money come in from hate groups, to fund their own version of the nanny state,
and undoubtedly fund their own campaigns as well.
Among the resolutions, a number of gems stand out. HCR 22 calls upon Congress to audit ACORN funding. ACORN is a community organization that
helps low income folks with issues like housing, and voter registration. They've been demonized by the far right and their media mouthpieces - and apparently Representatives Ulery, Haefner,Renzulo,
Hogan,and Villeneuve aren't aware that ACORN has been absolved of any wrong doing.
HCR 26 affirms the state's religious heritage and the constitutional right to practice religion and free speech. Since none of this is under assault, this resolution is redundant - other than to
affirm the views of the religious right, as deemed
necessary by Representatives Hinckle, Bates, Palmer, Groen, and Ulery.
Now we move on to some of the highlights (or lowlights, if you prefer) amongst the bills. HB 1683 is "An act requiring random drug testing of public assistance recipients." This bill would require anyone receiving TANF benefits, or food
stamps to undergo random urine tests. If a recipient failed a test, there would be a
mandatory second test. If that test were failed, the recipient would be denied further benefits, and would not be able to reapply for 2 years. This bill was written by the same people who abhor abortion, yet think robbing children of
food or shelter because their parent might smoke a joint now and then is a good idea. I think we should be drug testing all members of the NH legislature. This obscenity is brought to us by Representatives Baldasaro, Itse, Hinkle, Hogan, and Swinford.
HB1666 calls for the licensing of outpatient abortion facilities. This is a long and odious
bill, that seems intended, not only to make abortions harder to get, but to get access to womens health records. In this bill, any woman having 3 or more abortions would have to be reported to law enforcement for "human trafficking." The language of the bill is couched in a lot of faux wording regarding how very
much the State of NH is concerned with "protecting the health of women."Clearly, we need men to do this for us, since we're such silly little ninnies on our own. This bill is sponsored by Representatives Baldasaro, Hogan, Dumaine, and
Roberge. The same Baldasaro and Hogan who want to randomly drug test food stamp recipients. No hypocrisy there. It's also unnecessary, stir-up-the-far-right nutjob contingent, Big Brother legislation.
And speaking of Big Brother, the minority party also wants to get involved in your divorce. HB 510 permits no fault divorce, only if there are no minor children involved. Representatives Hopper, Boyce, Groen, Bates, and O'Brien would like to make it even more difficult and painful for you to get a divorce, which by all accounts, would seem to be difficult and painful enough.
By now, you've seen a number of the same names repeated, over and over. Youm can count on a bill being far right nannyism if it's sponsored by Itse, Baldasaro,Groen, Ulery, or O'Brien. These are the same kind of Republicans who were
positively enraged by a proposed seat-belt law a couple of years ago, loudly decrying the "nanny state." They love to make stentorian speeches about how the GOP is against gummint interference in people's lives. That is, as long as the
people are wealthy, white, heterosexual men. If you're a woman, your uterus is public property.
There is a law against adultery in NH - it's been on the books for 200 years. Some legislators are trying to repeal it. I'd like to suggest that in the spirit of the GOP nanny state, we keep that bill, AND we add a new one. I propose a panel that
would oversee all Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis prescriptions in our state. The men who are prescribed this type of drug would have to go before the panel, to make a case as to why they need this prescription, and to prove that they aren't going to be use for adulterous purposes. Itse? Ulery? Baldasaro? Which one of the nannies
wants to write this up and sponsor it?
"Although, he feels pretty confident that New Hampshire will return Republicans
back to state government now that New Hampshire is becoming a nanny state." Howie Carr, right wing talk radio host, speaking about former Senator John Sununu in 2008.
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