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Today's Concord Monitor has a story about a woman named Karen Morgan who has just lost her unemployment benefits, because of the expiration of the federally funded extension program. She's 55 years old and has had several operations for breast cancer.
Tara Reardon, commissioner of the state's Department of Employment Security, said 4,700 people in New Hampshire have already exhausted all eligibility for unemployment compensation. Now that the program has expired, by the end of the year an additional 3,000 will be left without unemployment benefits and 9,000 more will lose benefits by April if the program is not reinstated by then, Reardon said.
The fastest growing segment of the homeless population is women over 50. A long term (over 6 months) unemployed person over the age of 50 may never find another job.
Here's what a NH Republican has to say:
Grant Bosse, a lead investigator with the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a New Hampshire free-market think tank, said the government should find places to cut spending if it's going to extend unemployment benefits.
I'd sure like to hear him explain that to Karen Morgan. These are real lives being hurt by the Party of No. Every newspaper in the country should be telling these stories, every single day.
House Republicans have temporarily blocked legislation to feed school meals to thousands more hungry children. Republicans used a procedural maneuver Wednesday to try to amend the $4.5 billion bill, which would give more needy children the opportunity to eat free lunches at school and make those lunches healthier. First lady Michelle Obama has lobbied for the bill as part of her "Let's Move" campaign to combat childhood obesity.
Republicans say the nutrition bill is too costly and an example of government overreach.
That is because there would be higher nutritional standards for the food served to school children, many of whom are low income.
The bill would provide money to serve more than 20 million additional after-school meals annually to children in all 50 states. Many of those children now only receive after-school snacks. It would also increase the number of children eligible for school meals programs by at least 115,000, using Medicaid and census data to identify them.
The legislation would have also increased reimbursement to schools for feeding needy kids.
Tom Fahey's latest column in the UL provides a number of tasty nuggets to chew on. The most obvious is that Gene Chandler has been handed the rather peculiar sash and tiara designating him "Speaker Pro Tem" from newly minted Speaker O'Brien. As I stated in last week's op-ed:
It's an interesting day in NH, when far right Chandler is considered too liberal by his colleagues. O'Brien is a rabid nutcase, who spent the summer sucking up to the new Teabaglicans who now comprise most of the freshman class in the NH House.
It seems someone higher up in the GOP food chain had similar thoughts, and perhaps fretted a bit about the possibility of the state house turning into a lunatic asylum as we head into the next first in the nation primary, complete with national press coverage. Sununu, perhaps?
According to an article by Tom Fahey in today's Union Leader, (print only) Not Yet Speaker O'Brien's newly appointed transition team estimates 1800 bills will be introduced in the first legislative session.
Many of O'Brien's supporters ran as advocates of smaller government and lower spending. Right now, their fervor to change things has them on track to propose what could be a historic volume of changes to New Hampshire law. Even if members drop their idea for 300 bills, the total will still surpass anything seen before.
Transition team member Will Smith (R-New Castle), told Fahey 400 Legislative Service Requests, which become bills, have been filed so far.
Bills already being drafted range from the annual run at a constitutional amendment on school funding, to retirement reform, gun owner rights, tax repeals, medical marijuana, impeaching judges and undoing Supreme Court rulings that date as far back as 1819.
A press release came over the transom this evening outlining Bill O'Brien's Transition Team. See the list below the fold. O'Brien also plans to hold an election for Majority Leader rather than appointing one. So far Paul Mirski and Al Baldassaro are announced candidates.
Fahey reports on the new majority in his column this morning. He mentions that O'Brien won the nomination for Speaker by the thinnest of margins. But the fissure is still there.
Apparently, the campaign for Speaker was not without the typical Republican attack motif. Gene Chandler:
"I came under attack for how I'd run the House from people who hadn't been here. I had to defend myself against people who hadn't seen me," he said. He was also labeled as anti-gun by some O'Brien supporters.
Chandler, Weare conservative Neal Kurk and O'Brien all agree the budget must be cut. They think they have been given a mandate to shrink government and services.
That will cause a lot of pain for a lot of people, Kurk said.
It seems as though he is looking forward to others' pain.
But the best is last. O'Brien thinks that because of their large majority, the Republicans will not only have no problem pushing their social agenda through, but it will be done quickly and quietly, with nary a peep from the opposition.
Using death penalty expansion and parental notification as examples, he said, "While in prior Legislatures (they) might have been controversial, time-consuming pieces of legislation, with the majority we have now, they're going to be much easier to move through and give people of New Hampshire what they want. They're not going to distract us."
We cannot allow this to happen. We have to take the time to write to our legislators and document their responses. We have to write letters to the editor. We have to attend hearings and session days when these socially regressive bills come up. We have to light the fire their feet must be held to now, and not let it go out for the next two years.
We know that Bill O'Brien (R-Mont Vernon)is the GOP nominee for Speaker of the House. He won on the second ballot. But the first ballot vote count is interesting. It was 140 for O'Brien, 129 for Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett), 7 for John Reagan (R-Deerfield) and 4 for Susan Emerson(R-Rindge). That is basically a tie, because when you add up the not-O'Brien votes, they equal the number of votes for him. The Republican caucus put a good front on it, making it unanimous by acclimation, but I doubt that all are happy with the result.
Rep. O'Brien is only just beginning his third term in the House, so he does not have much experience with the institution. The number of freshman Republicans is large, and they tend to be more ideological than their multi-term colleagues. The question is how the more experienced, less ideological Republicans will handle this, and what O'Brien, who is all but certain to become Speaker, does.
(I tried hard not to, but at the end of the day I had to promote this. It's the least I can do after Stephen refused to denounce Cornerstone's disgusting mailer. - promoted by Dean Barker)
On a night when just about any Republican, regardless of qualifications, legal history, IQ, or mental health was elected, John Stephen still lost.
The third time was definitely not a charm for Mr. Stephen, who has to be one of the most unpopular candidates in NH GOP history. Will he finally take his little pen and go home?
Kelly Ayotte has chosen sides in the civil war for the soul of the Republican party. She's going with the Tea Party.
Ayotte, Judd Gregg's hand-picked successor, has been eyed by the Senate GOP leadership as a "political asset," a moderate who could broaden Republicans' appeal to women and independents. Apparently, it's a suit that doesn't fit.
Monday, Ayotte won an endorsement from FreedomWorks, the Wall Street front group led by Dick Armey that helped launch the Tea Party movement. It was an endorsement she aggressively pursued.
"We only get into races when we are asked,” said FreedomWorks spokesman Adam Brandon, indicating that Ayotte sought out the group's support. Brandon said FreedomWorks made the endorsement only after gaining "consensus from our guys on the ground -- we can’t endorse if our activists’ membership is spilt."
So now we know. But before she remakes the Republican party, there's that small matter of an election next Tuesday. New Hampshire voters have a habit of rebelling when our vote is taken for granted.
The Motion for Recusal/Reconsideration overnighted yesterday prompting the immediate hearing instead of a 17 Nov date.
http://www.wepapers.com/Papers...
The video with Judge Lynn prompting the Motion to Recuse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Republican Nashua City Chair Dennis Hogan, who just got reprimanded the same time Judge Lynn was reprimanded this year, actually told the Telegraph that I "left voluntarily."
The pictures from other journalists present prove otherwise:
http://christopher-king.blogsp...
What planet are the GOP inhabiting?
Nashua Republican City Chair Dennis Hogan actually stated:
"He left voluntarily. I know that from his own video," Hogan said.
Here's today's story by Patrick Meighan.
Let's start with Kelly Ayotte media man Jeff Grappone and my response:
This is baseless and we will file a motion to dismiss," said Jeff Grappone, spokesman for the Ayotte campaign.
.....Yeah Jeff, the same way that you said the ALT+CONTROL+ DELETE email production lawsuit was an "election year stunt."
You guys just hate the First Amendment, that much is clear. And of course with Judge Lynn on the bench who thinks my activities are "nonsense" you have a fighting chance of winning, I'm just here to convey all of the relevant facts to the public.
That's what journalists do, whether you like it or not, my friend.
[So Jeff, let's see just how far you and a reprimanded Judge who thinks KingCast is "nonsense" will go to set back the First Amendment, and to show the World just what's it's like to practice journalism in the "Live Free or Die" State..... I'm just here to expose each and every step of our journey to the World Public. See you in Court.]
*************
And I almost always win First Amendment cases and I push it hard against Dems and Repblicans, watch Democratic County Commish Mary Jo Kilroy get an earful from Columbus School Board member Loretta Heard back in 1998, and watch Judge Lynn's nasty attitude toward me in 2006 all in one video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
*********
Now, then, on to the substance, Dennis Hogan, you are crazy. Have you forgotten that I have the audio of our conversation that day?
You say I was not forcibly removed, have you seen the pictures taken by other media with three police officers running me out the door, and on video you can hear them stating that I am going to be arrested both at Arpaio and at VFW. And at VFW the cop clearly says I will be arrested if I try to go in, THAT is what is on the video Man, what planet are you on?
http://i54.tinypic.com/33njh55...
And of course they threatened to call the police
Mexican Standoff video with all 3 violations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Ayotte public Facebook rally.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Arpaio public rally:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Wow Counselor, if that is the best you can do it's no small surprise that you didn't know you can't represent both husband and wife in a divorce proceeding.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com...
You really should have kept your mouth shut like the other GOP mook because a Jury will find you entirely disingenuous, but thanks for the public statements Counselor.
Very Truly Yours,
KingCast.net -- Reel News for Real People
posted by Christopher King at 5:47 AM | 0 comments
http://kellyayottesenate.blogs...
http://seminal.firedoglake.com... Ayotte claims to be a protector of Women's interests but her tenure as a New Hampshire Attorney General tells quite a different story. She and her crew allowed for bad LE to run amok, assaulting and threatening men, women and children throughout the State of New Hampshire, and that's a FACT.
Some say Rove and and his bad seeds left the GOP but I am here to tell you do not accept the GOP lies-He and his friends never left!
http://beforeitsnews.com/story...
Text removed for copyright violation. Please restrict use of copyrighted pieces to short excerpts. - Laura
My latest op-ed for the Conway Daily Sun. Remember that I have limited space, so I couldn't shoehorn every awful Guinta fact into it.
History is being rewritten at warp speed. Teabaglicans would have us believe that Obama destroyed the entire US economy in less than 2 years. They've conveniently forgotten everything that happened in the preceding 8 years of the Bush administration, including the trillion or so we borrowed so that Dubya could work out his Oedipal issues in Iraq. It's unfortunate that there can't be rational dialogue about the mess we're in, but the right is incapable of rational discussion. Last week, a columnist referred to Senators Snowe and Collins of Maine as RINOS. These women lean more toward being moderate than the new crazies like Palin, Bachman, Rand Paul, and O'Donnell - which is why the new, even more insane GOP wants to eliminate them. My father, the lifelong Republican, would recognize Snowe and Collins as members of the party he supported. He would be horrified to learn that a woman who claims scientists have created mice with human brains was walking around without a minder, never mind an actual candidate for the US Senate.
OK, it should be stated: I'm from a suburban Long Island, NY family that was traditionally GOP (with my siblings split on party registration today). And in my youth, I was a ticket-splitter since (a) the New York State GOP still had moderates then and (b) the New York State Democratic leadership often gave us lackluster, machine candidates - which, come to think of it: they still do (though less often).
So it's not that I am someone who boasts of 'never having voted Republican' before. And truth be told: I wouldn't mind a return to a day when I could switch to being a registered Independent and being able to have a choice in a general election. But until then: since probably the mid-1980's (when I relocated to the Granite State) I had not voted for a Republican.
But I did so in 2008 ... and I was afraid I would have to once more (more after the jump)
This is an op-ed, published in the Sept. 17, 2010 edition of the Conway Daily Sun.
The votes have been counted, the winners declared, and the primary officially over. Now we move into the concentrated madness of election season; the season we love to hate. Robo-calls, lawn sign wars, letters to the editor, ugly accusations, and underhanded deeds will be part of our lives for the next month and a half. It's better than any reality show.
State Representative Robert Mead, of Hillsborough 4 recently had a letter to the editor published in The Cabinet.
Like our country, New Hampshire is under siege and in a fight for its very survival. We are the last New England state that respects its citizens' right to choose whether to wear a seat belt or a helmet, and the last one to resist a sales or income tax.
We have always believed that low taxes were the result of low spending; low spending promoted small government; and small government guaranteed our personal freedoms.
Looks like Guinta isn't the only Republican candidate with some financial irregularities that need explaining. This looks quite a lot like John Stephen's struggling gubernatorial primary campaign has questions to answer. Funny how a pair of struggling but establishment-backed Republican front-runners in their respective races have suddenly developed mysterious windfalls, now that they've started losing support.
If seventeen LLCs donate to a campaign and all seventeen are owned and controlled by one person, how in the world is that not a form of laundering donations? If this is legal, then New Hampshire has no functional campaign finance restrictions; unlimited donations would be implicitly allowed by creating out-of-state LLCs and sending five thousand bucks a pop from them.
The collection of clowns the Republicans have put up to challenge John Lynch and Carol Shea-Porter makes it exceedingly clear how bare their bench is these days - and how incompetent New Hampshire's Republicans are at campaigning in a state that doesn't reflexively fill in the 'R' dot on the ballot like it used to.
Mr. Sununu's petulant comments are partisan politics at its worst. Instead of engaging in a thoughtful conversation or offering any ideas for putting New Hampshire back to work, Mr. Sununu resorted to petty political attacks and childish name-calling. He showed disrespect to the Office of the Presidency.
