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New Hampshire again ranks No. 1 nationally in an annual survey on children's well-being.
...In composite rankings for all indicators, New Hampshire ranked highest, as it has in eight of the last nine years. This year, it was followed by Minnesota and Vermont. Mississippi ranked last.
"That's an incredible record, and it says a lot about how well kids fare in this state," said Ellen Fineberg, president of the Children's Alliance of New Hampshire, a nonprofit group that does research on children in the state.
Whatever your policy or political disagreements are with Governor Lynch (I sure have some), there is no question he has been a far superior steward of this state than the days of Craig Benson.
On Wednesday, Rep. Baldasaro (R-Londonderry), while testifying before the House Judiciary Committee stated "The state of New Hampshire is selling children to homosexuals for $10,000 each". Rep. Baldasaro is the primary sponsor of HB 1590 which would repeal the marriage equality law. He was testifying during the hearing on CACR28, the Constitutional Amendment which would bar gays and lesbians from marriage.
I've been attending hearings on LGBT issues for about 14 years now. I've heard some very disgusting, derogatory statements directed at gays and lesbians from various citizens during these hearings, but I don't know that a legislator has said something this reprehensible since the 1980's.
OK, here's another Andrew reflections:
We're in the garage, I'm painting a wardrobe for Elise's room (that my MIL picked up at Goodwill)... Andrew's riding around on his bike when the following conversation starts:
Why are things getting more expensive?
Well because we get so many of our products from far away, that as gas prices continue to go up, the price that it costs to deliver things goes up, and everythingis affected. That's why things are getting more expensive.
Nope, that's wrong.
No it's not, that's basically why things are getting more expensive.
No. It's because of George Bush. Things are more expensive because of George Bush.
Well, I guess, he is responsible.
And, when he's gone, things will stop being so expensive.
We were minding our business, enjoying the sunshine at Red River Beach in Harwich, Cape Cod this afternoon, when what pulls up in the parking lot, but the "Beatty Mobile Headquarters."
Jeff Beatty is apparently challenging John Kerry for his senate seat, with a tag line, "It's time to replace John Kerry with one of us."
As my husband reads that aloud, my 5 3/4 (going on 15) year old son Andrew (from here forward in italics) asks, Who's John Kerry?
A Senator from Massachussetts.
What's a Senator?
A senator is someone who works for us in Washington to help make laws. Each state has two senators that go to Washington.
If each state has 2 senators and there are 50 states, how many senators are there? (Have to try and get some summer math in there with our civics lesson) 900?
Okay, what's 50 +50? 100.
Right so there are 100 Senators.
Is being a senator a hard job?
Yes, it's a very hard job because you have to get most of the people in the whole state to vote for you and when you get to Washington you have to make very difficult decisions.
Remember, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are Senators? Oh, like John McCain?
Right.
If I were president, I would make very good laws, like: no littering, be good to mother earth, no smoking, use both sides of a piece of paper...
Those would be very good laws. I think if you were president you would be a very good president.
Who is our worst President ever? Wait a minute, let me think... no, don't say it... George Bush.
Why is that? Because he is mean to people. If he's so bad, how did he get to be president anyway?
That's a good question! When he was running for president he told people he would do all kinds of good things and that he would be compassionate.
What does compassionate mean?
It means he would care for people.
Well, then he's a fibber.
Right, and he has put this country in debt. What does "in debt" mean?
It means that he has spent money that he didn't have and that your generation will have to pay for it. Instead of spending money on education and health care, he has spent money on war.
Why did he go to war?
Because he wanted to get control over a lot of oil.
Isn't that stealing?
In a way, ,I guess you could call it stealing, because he went in to another country, took control, and will now let his friends who own big oil companies make lots of money off of the oil there.
Where is this war?
Iraq.
Iraq. Where's that?
In the middle east... very far away.
I don't think John McCain should be president.
Why not? Because I think he will be just like George Bush.
So do I.
I think Barack Obama will make a good president.
So do I.
I hope you'll indulge this one last photo post. Putting this together I'm surprised at how much my children have grown since this all started, especially Elise.
Canvassing in New Hampshire inspired me to post this diary here, my first every "blog" posted on MyBarackObama.com/KellyPNP. I thought it fitting to post it here, so you can see my evolution with this campaign since May.
Also a couple of "shout outs" which come with experience on Blue Hampshire: I now know from elwood that I should have 9 points, and not 7--- had I known that in May I would have thought up 2 additional points; and, that Kathy Sullivan is another GREAT example of the leadership qualities and passionate activism that is born from a Holy Cross education.
With that being said, I offer the following for your perusal...
Let me take a minute to share why I decided to become a member of Barack Obama's Child Advocacy Task Force.
I spent years working in politics and policy, on issues ranging from public education to civil liberties to juvenile justice. I've seen a lot of politicians and political candidates come and go. When it comes to kids, of course, all candidates are "for the children." But the devil is in the details, because when you start to examine their policies and their records, it turns out that a lot of them aren't working to implement measures that would really help kids at all.
After all those years working on ideas, children's issues are now very concrete and personal for me. Now I am a parent of two young children, and every time one of the presidential candidates utters a sentence, I filter that candidate's words through the prism of my children's futures. When I listen to Barack Obama talk about kids, I like what I hear.
My first concern as the mother of a five-year-old and a two-year-old is education. Without a quality education, there is little promise for a bright future for any child. Senator Obama is dedicated to ensuring that America's public schools are not just paid lip service, but are endowed with the resources they need to enable all children to reap the fruits of a good education. Senator Obama understands, too, that it's critical to begin education early; this is why, for example, he advocates full funding of Head Start and Early Head Start, programs designed to help low-income children and families get the assistance they need to catch up educationally with their better-off peers. Senator Obama understands that it's not sufficient to just name a law "No Child Left Behind"; it's critical to make sure that the laws we pass actually live up to the promise of their titles.
I also admire Senator Obama for grasping that good public schools are not enough to ensure access to opportunity for children. All children need health care, adequate nutrition, housing and a safe, loving environment in which to thrive. Without these things, children are cut off from opportunity before they even have a chance to learn. Senator Obama has worked to ensure these essentials for kids throughout his career, and his proposals for what he would accomplish as president mirror this commitment.
Finally, Senator Obama truly supports families. Children always benefit where families as a whole receive support: where working parents can find access to affordable, quality childcare; where abuse is not present in the home; where literacy is the goal for every member of the family; where families feel economically secure; and where they have resources to turn to for education about nutrition and other essentials. These are real family values, and Senator Obama as president will work to ensure that our country reflects them.
There are plenty of other reasons I support Senator Obama to be our next president, but there's really no need to go into all of them here. The truth is, they all boil down to the same basic point: Barack Obama is the best candidate to ensure that my kids-and everyone else's-will grow up in an America that will truly offer opportunity and promise for all.
Like Hillary, I am a strong believer that every child has the right to fulfill his or her potential. As an advocate, First Lady, and United States Senator, Hillary Clinton has worked to improve healthcare, security, and the quality of life for America's children and families for 35 years. She builds coalitions when she can and fights when she must.
Her record speaks for itself: from helping to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act so new parents can take time off without losing their jobs, to supporting legislation that doubled adoptions out of foster care, to proposing an Early Head Start program to increase access to high-quality early education.
As a mother, healthcare advocate and state legislator, I know that when Hillary Clinton takes office in January 2009, she will continue to create a world where children are nurtured and encouraged. That's why I am pleased to join her historic campaign as a member of the NH for Hillary Granite State Health Corps, and I look forward to talking with families throughout the state about why she will be the champion we all need.
P.S. Yesterday, Hillary announced her American Health Choices Plan to cover every American. Today, NH for Hillary announced that a new television ad on Senator Clinton's record of fighting for healthcare throughout her life began airing today. Check it out:
Today Hillary Clinton celebrated Mother's Day by calling for health care for every child in America, urging Congress to pass the Children's Health First Act and give mothers and fathers the gift of peace of mind. The $40 billion Children's Health Insurance Program is up for reauthorization after 10 years and 6 million additional children covered.
Hillary, the only mother in the group of potential presidential candidates, highlighted the benefits of the program in a visit to New Hampshire last week.
"Insuring kids is cheap," Hillary said in an interview in Portsmouth. "It is penny-wise and pound-wise."
There are still approximately 17,000 children in New Hampshire who remain uninsured. In New Hampshire, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is administered through New Hampshire Healthy Kids (NHHK), which is a non-profit organization providing access to low-cost and free health coverage options for New Hampshire's uninsured children and teens. Over the past decade, NHHK has helped more than 70,000 children in accessing health coverage.
President Bush has proposed to limit the enhanced SCHIP
