GraniteGrok

Meet the New Press

2 - 4 PM EST

NewsTalk 1490AM

Laconia, NH

• Starting next week, April 7th, we will broadcast from 11AM to 1PM-- through lunch, which we hope makes it more convenient for the live listener, thus leaving a whole afternoon to savor life...
• And-- within 2 or 3 weeks, we will be streaming the program LIVE ON THE INTERNET! That way there, no matter where you are in the world, you can hear us live beyond the current central New Hampshire broadcast area, instead of waiting for the podcasts. That will allow those who currently listen to the podcasts an opportunity to phone in during the program.

• In studio guests Susan Peterson, Judy Paris, and Karen Thurston. These would be some of those awesome "Moms" who conducted the "Gathering of Mothers" event in support of the troops and victory. They are the same ones outraged at last week's "peace rally" in Concord put on by students from local public schools. As the saying goes, there is "no fury like a woman scorned." We'll talk about the rally, an exchange with NH Peace Action leader Ann Miller, supporting the troops, and patriotism.
• Jonathan Martin--On Friday Jonathan Martin, Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei had a piece in the Politico titled “Republicans Fear 2008 Meltdown.” In it they write: "Republicans across the country are warning that increasing public discontent toward President Bush, the Iraq war and the GOP brand in general threatens to send the party's 2008 campaign planning into a tailspin." Also, A new American Research Group poll shows that former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen would wallop Sen. John Sununu in a rematch of the 2002 race.  44% to 34%. Liz Mair at GOP Progress asks Granite Staters to chain Shaheen to her desk at Harvard, where she’s a professor now.  Pat will aski if Republicans are going to lose this seat

• R. Emmett Tyrrell will come on to discuss his new book The Clinton Crack-Up.

• Crystal Deuker of ThinkCondi.net called me the other day, quite irate at Mitt Romney for something he recently did… or didn’t do. She'll tell us why. She'll talk about whether or not Secretary of State Rice should run for president. In fact, you can call in and answer our

Question of the day, which is: “Should Condi Rice run for president?”

Call in at 603-527-1490 and let us know what you think (even if you’re not in the listening area, we’d love to hear from you.) Crystal will be on at 3:30 EST.

As you can see, there's always a great lineup here on MTNP. We are as anxious to get the livestreaming up and running as those of you beyond the broadcast area are to listen and participate live. Remember--- It all starts at 11AM EST starting next Saturday, April 7th.

Posted by Doug at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here are some questions for the Governor about his constitutional amendment that he would rather not answer.

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Steve Forbes Joins Team Rudy as National Co-Chair and Senior Policy Advisor

New York City – The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee today announced that Steve Forbes, President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine, has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President of the United States.  Mr. Forbes will serve as a National Campaign Co-Chair and Senior Policy Advisor. 

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“I am honored to support Rudy Giuliani for President,” Steve Forbes said. “As Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani showed how exercising fiscal discipline – including tax cuts – lowers deficits, spurs economic growth, and increases revenue.  It is time the rest of the country benefit from a true fiscal conservative leader who gets real results.”

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“Steve and I share an economic vision that embraces supply-side economics, tax relief, and spending restraint,” said Mayor Giuliani.  “I look forward to working with Steve and am proud to have him as a member of our team.”

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About Steve Forbes:

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Mr. Forbes is a distinguished leader in the business community.  He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine, and is also a frequent business commentator for Fox News Channel’s “Forbes on Fox”.  

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In 1985, President Reagan appointed Mr. Forbes as Chairman of the bi-partisan Board for International Broadcasting (BIB), where he directed the programming for Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty.  He was reappointed by President George H.W. Bush and served until 1993. 

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In 1996 and 2000, Mr. Forbes ran as a Republican candidate for president on a platform that advocated a flat income tax. 

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He is currently on the boards of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the Heritage Foundation and The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and is the author of two books on political and economic policy issues.

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Note: Rudy’s Economic Record-At-A-Glance is attached and available at www.joinrudy2008.com

Posted by Doug at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 

Sign reads "Not one more death. Not one more dollar."

They are barely old enough to fight or vote, but local high-school students showed yesterday that they are old enough to make their voices heard in loud opposition against the war in Iraq. Between 100 and 200 students, peace activists and passers-by demonstrated in front of the State House yesterday afternoon, in a rally organized by the peace clubs of Concord High School and Hopkinton High School, with the help of New Hampshire Peace Action and the American Friends Service Committee.

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"I think the war's wrong, and we all do as much as we can do," said Hopkinton High School senior Will Merrow, who co-founded his school's peace club. Merrow rallied the crowd, telling them if anyone could give him a reason why the country is in Iraq, he would get off the stage. "If not, I'll stay up here until the death toll stops. We cannot and we will not take it any longer," he said.

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"The concern for Iraqi deaths is a testament to the humanity of the students involved in peace," said Anne Miller, director of New Hampshire Peace Action.
Many students said this was their first peace rally. They heard about it through flyers at school and through friends. Nat Nelson, a Concord High School senior, said he came because a friend invited him over Facebook.

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"This rally may have minimal impact, but compounding on each other, it's one of the few easy steps we can take," he said. "It's important to amass public opinion."

Late in the rally, 11-year-old Alicia Sanders-Zakre, a sixth grader at Rundlett Middle School, took the microphone and read songwriter John Denver's "Peace Poem." Sanders-Zakre said she decided to speak because she believes everyone's voice counts.

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"If you think I'm only one person and can't make a difference, nothing happens," she said. "But if everyone works together and thinks they can make a difference, we can."

 

TEENS DISHONOR OUR BELOVED SOLDIERS

Although previously told how disrespectful and dishonoring it would be to use empty shoes to signify Iraqi civilian deaths from the Iraq war, I see the various high school “peace” groups completely disregarded the advice given to them and used them anyway on Sunday. (Interestingly, a friend of mine asked one of the marchers if the empty shoes signified all of the Iraqis murdered by Sadam, and she replied that she didn’t know). So much for knowing what you’re participating in….

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The HS Peace groups literally “stole” a sacred military tradition of empty combat boots used to honor our fallen soldiers and probably (based on advice given to them), added one pair of combat boots supposedly showing respect to the NH soldiers who have lost their lives in Iraq. All the while, they’re committing psychological warfare against our American troops with little concern or sympathy for their feelings.

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How ridiculous the statement made by Will Merrow; i.e., “if anyone could give him a reason why the country is in Iraq, he would get off the stage.” (Obviously, a safe-statement while surrounded by like-minded people). “If not, I’ll stay up here until the death toll stops.”

Somehow I doubt that Mr. Merrow is still standing at the State House, but apparently he has been somewhat brainwashed by Ms. Miller’s la, la land “peace” agenda and her unrealistic viewpoint that “terrorists” should find “common ground” and use “diplomacy” with us even though they have little respect for any life (including their own) and are more than willing to blow themselves up and take innocents with them.

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Too bad Ann Miller doesn’t care as much about her own country and the American soldiers protecting her as she does about the Iraqis. Perhaps she should consider permanently moving to Iraq since she has much more compassion for them.

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And, yes, Ms. Schoenberg your quote from Mr. Merrow; i.e., “it’s one of the few EASY (emp. mine) steps we can take” speaks volumes since their original march was re-scheduled from the same, snowy day that many veterans and pro-support our troops people did show up at the Concord State House since we’re not so easily deterred by a little weather and so focused on our own comforts.

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Thank goodness our soldiers are braver and willing to make personal sacrifices even for these youth who haven’t lived (nor experienced life) long enough to really understand the disgrace of their actions against their own countrymen.

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Judy Paris

I contacted the Monitor today and was told they didn't cover the Gathering of Mothers because they were too busy.

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I asked if they thought that this article was appropriate to print. After all my son spent a year patrolling streets in Mosul to make neighborhoods safe for children to play and the mothers to travel to get food. I was very disturbed that they would allow an article with such detail to be printed, especially the " Several adults walked around dressed as larger-than-life Iraqi mothers, draped in black fabric holding "bloodied" white cloth representing an Iraqi baby".

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Being quiet about this is not an option, I will not sit quietly be and accept this portrayal that even hints that my son or any of his fellow soldiers are baby killers! One of our Gold Star Mothers is very upset that her son's name was on a pair of boots.

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They explained that they are just reporting the news and are not bias on anyone issue ~ Yeah right! We are asking for support in writing letters to the editor that this type of press is not appreciated.

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I am also concerned that this type of media is supported by local public schools using our tax dollars to support this type of gathering.

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In closing I did suggest that perhaps they could have collected up the shoes and sent them to the Iraqi people, I got very little response.

I always thought that Monitor tended to be a more liberal media source and after reading the coverage given to the Peace Rally held this past weekend I would say that they fall squarely into the category of printing what sells. The Monitor neglected to cover another side of the story. On March 17th the Blue and Gold Star Mothers held a Support Our Eagles - Past, Present and Future vigil. The NH Peace Coalition was to hold a rally that same day, however due to the snowstorm they decided to postpone their rally until the following week.  The Blue and Gold Star Mothers along with several members from veteran groups braved the weather to support our sons and daughters who are serving all over the world.  Some have even made the ultimate sacrifice for us, including those who would use them from public display. A press release was sent out almost 2 weeks prior to this vigil, yet nothing appeared in the Monitor. 

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Instead I sit here tonight crushed that the high school that my child (who’s serving) just graduated from in 2005, would support and promote such a one-sided agenda to take place in their hallways. I can’t believe that flyers were handed out to invite students to the Peace Rally. If the schools felt that it is okay to use my tax dollar for this, are they going to afford an opportunity for my Sailor to come in a talk and meet freely with the students, as well as hand out information about the military?

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I’m most saddened that my son serving is all but forgotten in the halls of Concord High. Do the school officials feel that the student body should forget that he and other’s of that alma mater are there because they know in their hearts that they are making a difference. The Monitor’s covering of the rally held on March 25th accomplished what it set out to do…It sold papers, it clearly showed one side of the story. It showed little regard for those whose families are serving.  

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There is one thing I am sure of, my son would have written home and asked for shoes for the children to wear instead using them to gain pity from those around him. He also understands respect for a fallen comrade and never would have lowered himself to using the disrespectful display that adorned the State House grounds. 

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America is Home of the Free, Because of the Brave!  Support Your Troops!

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Fondly,

Holly Haas

Dear Editors of the Concord Monitor,

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Shame on you for the article you printed in the Concord Monitor, March 26th edition, "We cannot and will not take it any longer".  According to the Concord Monitor, when contacted by the president of the NH Blue Star Mothers, you stated that you are not bias on any one issue.  Let me ask you then, why was the "Gathering of Mothers" not covered by your paper the weekend before on the Capital grounds?  Oh Yeah....the question was asked, I know the answer. The Concord Monitor response was that you were all "too busy" to cover that story!!

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In my opinion, The actions by the NH Peace Action, The American Friends Service Committee and the Peace Clubs of Concord High School and Hopkinton High School along with the Concord Monitor committed nothing less than an act of Treason.  Gasp!!!.....Before anyone starts accusing me of deformation of Character, know the definition of Treason.

"TREASON - This word imports a betraying, treachery, or breach of allegiance. The Constitution of the United States, Art. III, defines treason against the United States to consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid or comfort. "

Now, you tell me that this event sponsored by the above supporters and reported by your paper does not give aid and comfort to the enemies of the United States of America !

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Like it or not we are at war.  My son, right now, is serving and risking his life as a member of the United States Army so that you can sleep each night in peace, safe from the harm our enemies would love to break through if it were not for my son and every son and daughter serving in the armed forces of our precious and wonderful country.

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I am sure that this letter will find its way to the trash can instead of being considered for printing in your paper, but know this isn't the only place you will find this letter.  With the help of true Americans everywhere, this letter will find itself read around the world before your next edition makes it to press.

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Was this event considered news?  Yes, it was....as was the event of the "Gathering of Mothers" in support of our troops.  Until you can cover both sides of an issue such as this, you cannot  claim that your paper is not bias on any one issue.

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Carol Patey

Posted by Doug at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (1)

A bit late, but better that then never.  Sorry for the timing, but there's been lots going on.  Effectively, a group of us went to Senator's McCain's Town Hall over at the Franklin Opera House.  For those of you who will never experience the retail politics of NH and why I believe it is special, here is a brief glimpse.  Will you "get it" from this single rendition?  Probably not, but there is an invitation embedded in the retelling.

Also, as with Doug, I have no idea of who I will be supporting...yet.  I know a few that I won't, but not who THE guy will be yet..... 

3/23/07
Franklin Opera House

Senator John McCain

The event was supposed to start at 7pm....we got here at about 20 of in order to get a decent seat. Said the obligatory hellos to those that we knew (e.g., Ken Merrifield, Franklin City Councillor).

The "house" is packed. Built in 1892, it is known as the Franklin Opera House. Originally it started out as the Veterans Memorial Hall (Civil War) and was operationally combined with the function of an opera house. This is an old building, recently restored as a community gathering place. It is in the shape of the old style opera palaces....it sits about 100 or so on the main floor with a wrap around balcony with 3 courses of seats, 3 sets, with about 13-15 people per section.. Main floor is 7 rows in 2 sections of 4 people per row/section, and then 2 sets of outer alcoves with 3 rows of 5 each.

Doug is on the "press" riser, setting up his camera where there were a few others from the press. I am sitting with TMEW, Doug's wife, and another political activist from our town. Up on the stage, I recognize Tom Guinta (former Franklin Mayor) and Ken Merrifield. There are a bunch of others up there, other local pols of note and / or supporting Senator McCain.

The sound system looks like it will overwhelm the crowd....but full of static (got better as the event progressed, but what looked fairly beefy turned out to be rather tinny). Somebody ought to tell the sound folks it sounds terrible (no one ever did). I wonder if the is the house system or McCain's.

More after the jump...and it does "pick up".  He also took questions from the crowd - no, not from que cards but allowed to just ordinary folks to stand up and put him on the spot....

Men are dressed in all ranges - business casual to suits....but there are the NH obligatory flannel shirts too. It is obvious who the dignitaries are, the staffers, and then the rest of us from the haberdashery.

Just before 7pm, a half hearted attempt was made by one older gentleman on stage to get people going...stamping his feet in time with the music and clapping his hands....everyone ignored him.

The Master of Ceremonies finally got up to get things started. He should have done a sound check - his wireless mike is not working (good work by the sound tech...he had to come forward to look at it....finally got it working). The announcement was finally made that the Senator has landed and is on route.....preliminary remarks and introductions were given. One of the nice touches was that the M.C. asked for all of the veterans to stand and received a rousing hand of applause. Then he surprised me in asking that all family members of veterans, active or not, please stand as well.

Reason? Senator McCain has explicitly asked that the request be given, as he knows full well that those that serve(d) had to have the support of their families in order to do what they do (and yes, TMEW and I stood to honor our son the Marine (recently discharged). Doug Voy (former Marine) then led the pledge of allegiance, followed by the MC attempting to fill some time.

The local folks had 36 people working for McCain in 2000 in central NH. Now, 9/11 has changed things. Lots of people want to prevent it from happening again. It is very important to select the right Commander in Chief in this election - "this may be crucial". He then switched back to talking about the families of the those serving. His son served in Iraq for a year and is going back for another tour. Our next president has to be able to make hard choices...the M.C. believes that more shared sacrifice must be needed. We need straight talk. Someone that will not break the trust of our Commander in Chief to the public and the military. We need someone who is uniquely qualified to be president and Commander in Chief. He believes it HAS to be McCain, and then attempts to introduce McCain.

Guess he is faking people out, or he got faked out - no McCain. Everyone stopped clapping (however, still standing) but no McCain. Since Doug is not on the press riser, his wife thought he was filming in order to YouTube McCain outside! Two minutes go by and people are still standing. Those up on stage have the "silly looking faces" on - can't stop smiling, but unclear what else to do either. The M.C. walks down off stage to see what is going on off, most of the crowd is still standing (I decided to sit down much earlier with the laptop). Still don' t see Doug....knowing Doug, I wonder if he collared McCain to ask him to appear on the radio show! Or interviewed for the GG1 (no such luck on either count)?

Music just restarted....people clapping in time to the music by the Travelling Willburrys - "Won't Back Down".

By looking at the stage folks, it is easy to tell the real McCain supporters versus those that are just present. All of a sudden, general applause breaks out instead of the rhythmic clapping and cheers break out. Typical political rally entrance as Senator McCain comes up on stage in a black suit and shakes everyone's hands. Reaches down and puts on the "protect the primary " sticker and announces that he is glad to be back in Franklin. A few jokes and publicly thanks to the people on the stage.

Brief story about when he succeeded Barry Goldwater and mentions a lady by the name of Marcel Peterson (a VIP). After being in the Senate for a few months, McCain got a call from her about her garbage pickup at 2am. He told her to call the Mayor. The response (which got laughter) was "No, I would not want to bother such an important man like him!".

He loves being back in the town hall meetings.....loves being in the essence of democracy. He Comments on the move up dates of the other states in the primary and caucuses. He will do everything he can to keep NH first. He challenges those from other states to come along to NH with him to see the NH difference in retail politics - up close and personal. Not everyone agrees with him, but they come. Illustrated this difference with a story about Mo Udall and the guy that didn't like him as he had only met him twice - and that was true.....only in NH.

Tonight, Senator McCain only wants to discuss only 3 issues: Iraq and Congress, climate change, and illegal immigration.

On the first, he announced that the House had just passed $125 billion supplemental spending bill but had to buy votes with $25 billion spent on pork. It was supposed to be emergency funding for Iraq, and then starts to list all of the pork. Senate added more hundreds of millions of more for lots of stuff not about the war. "Shameful and disgraceful when this kind of thing goes on" - I believe him as he says this, and his record can prove it out.

A Washington Post article talks that is it all about the money, yet the Democrats say it is their mandate from the election. The WaPo notes that while the Dems think they have a mandate to stop the war, some haven't gotten message as they could only get the votes by using tactics normally reserved for highway bills. Even the WaPo nails them for an unconditional retreat that the majority of Americans disagree with.

McCain: we are torn over this....and mistakes were made. However, we now have a new general, a new strategy, and a new direction. If the Dems feel that the war is wrong, they ought to cut it off now, not in 2008. He really starts to rag on them to that if the war is truely a failure, they ought to kill the funding. It is not courageous to do things this way - no honor. McCain says that there is now good news that is being ignored. In Anbar province, the sheiks are fighting Al Queda now and assisting the Coalition. Our military are now doing walkabouts in the neighborhoods, living in those neighborhoods, and it is having an effect!

If we fail, the Islamists will follow us home (unlike Viet Nam). Just read Osama, et al, own writings - they are after us and not just Iraq. They use the Internet and propaganda and turn decent people into suicide bombers. He relates a story about having just met the head of British MI5. What concerns her the most are the latest crop of bombers in the UK were home grown - the problem in not necessarily from foreign lands. She says "It is a great challenge".

The good news - our best and most patriotic are in the military. He says that pundits say that his support for the war will kill his chances at the Presidency. He talks about a visit to Brookhaven in San Antonio - after being there, political ambitions fade when you see the wounded. During a trip to Exeter, a man stood up and said that he had just lost his son and wants to make sure that it was not in vain (Senator McCain was visibly moved over the memory of that guy).

Then Senator McCain switched to illegal Immigration and stated that the immigration process was broken. 30% of illegals are here on expired visas. He said that in 1986 that we would fix that but it didn't. We have to secure the borders. Most illegals simply want a job. If people think that they can get a job, they will come. He wants employers to hire Americans first and if they cannot, then they could hire guest workers. They would then get a biometric visa, work, and then goes home. Any employer not using this method should be prosecuted. Let the word spread.

What should we do? No one should reward illegal behavior. There are a variety of proposals....a comprehensive proposal will be out in a week or so. He believes that the new President of Mexico is a good man and wants to help. Senator McCain believes that he wants to fix the corruption...let's see if he can do it (but not sure if he can).

Then he switched once again - to climate change.

Admits that he didn't know anything in 2000. Joe Lieberman and he thinks that mankind is causing global warming and cites a National Academy of Science report. He thinks we should reduce green house emissions. He uses the precautionary principle (my words, not his) - What if he is right but we do nothing...what do we leave our children? He thinks it can be done with little economic costs. Industry can make money from green and cites GE as a primary example. He is not getting much applause on this stuff, and no applause when he mentions that we should have higher milage cars to reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Believes in ethanol.

Nuclear power is a big YES for him...he believes in it. Mentions that the French produce 80% of their electricity with nukes. After all, it is for the children.

We live in a very dangerous world. Iraq, Iran want nukes..North Korea wants them...the Chinese and their economic and military power is rising....Chavez insults the US and President Bush. The 1970s were bad too. However, President Reagan didn't believe that America's best days were behind us. McCain says the best days are still ahead of us. All you have to do is look at the the kids, the military, silicon valley. He believes that he is qualified to lead the US.

He then gets a standing "O" from most of the audience. He graciously accepts the applause but stops the crowd after a couple of moments and announces that he will take questions from the audience

- After 9/11, the President told us to go shopping. There is still disagreement over the 9/11 memorial (in NYC). We wait in long lines at airport to take off our shoes. What are you going to do to make us stop being afraid in the world? Our only major decision was to create a bureaucracy (i.e., Homeland Security. Repeats - what are you going to do to make us not afraid?

I really wanted to go up, slap and shake that guy, and tell him that only HE can make him not afraid - no one else. What a loser.

That said, McCain said that we thought, at the time, that we were going to be attacked again. If he is President, he will ask the country to sacrifice. Americans have to do this.....look at the Greatest Generation...we can invoke that spirit again.

- Follow up - Everyone at home during WWII sacrificed...why are we not doing it here....why are we not paying higher gas prices?

McCain's response was that he would not going to ask for unnecessary sacrifice just for the sake of sacrifice - it has to be needed.

- Two questions....you say that we should stay until we win in Iraq - what is winning? And if you are President, what would you do in making the White House and the Country run green? Making it more efficient?

Success is a stable capital, political and economic development with people living a normal life with security. We have problems here in the US, too, in big cities. Not quite the same, but kinda is. Iraq military has to become viable, we withdraw, and the Iraq government gets good, we withdraw to enclaves until needed. Notes that we still have 30K troops in S. Korea (and I add, in Germany, Britain, Japan, and lots of other places).

Wants a test for gov't. Is the bureaucracies succeeding in their missions? There are 8 just for displaced workers; are they working? Are the managers efficient? Are they saving money like every small business? Have to reform it to do with less and be more efficient. McCain is embarrassed that Republicans have expanded government faster than anytime since Great Society. That's why we lost.

- Someone held up his book - what did he learn from his parents and how it got him through... Courts are separating dads from kids.....

Fundamental problem of single parents....kids cannot grow in normal families. Need to focus on education...encourages two parent families. He would be famous if he had an answer to the problem. Faith has a role. he's stumbling a bit...not really answering the question. Wants to talk about faith based initiatives instead. Talked about Katrina and the most effective program was not a government one but was the Celebration Baptist church and its focal point as others came in to help.

- Cost of insurance. what will you do about health costs ($100K for a hysterectomy)?

Believes that this is a major problem. One of the major reasons is that many believe they cannot keep their health insurance if they lose their job. He wants tort reform, insurance portability and to be affordable. Those who lose their jobs and the related insurance should have access to to cheaper insurance to cover catastrophic problems. Small businesses should be able to pool together to get better rates and coverages. Need to do more with information technology. Double digit increases every year is unacceptable.

- Part of the national budget is welfare, it continues to grow more and more.....what is it going to do to my bottom line?

Have to sit down and fix Medicare and SS. He wants bipartisan agreement to fix it. Congress has only a 15% approval rating. He really is not answering the question well.

- Majority of NH towns are poor. The questioner sees a lobbyist from big Pharm - how can government reduce the cost?

We should allow imported drugs. We should encourage more competition for prices. Talked about patents expiring on drugs and allow more generics.

- A question stemming from 1975 dealing with SS fraud...when they clean up their act?

"I don't know". There is no lock box, there is no account in SS with your name on it.

Note: I was REALLY shocked when the Senator actually came out and said the phrase "Ponzi scheme"! Excellent exercise in telling the truth.

- Second wacko question of the night - given the dollar is worth 4.5% of a 1913 dollar, what will you do to terminate the Fed reserve system and is the sole source of inflation on this continent?

This economy has the lowest rate of inflation in a long time. Not comparable to 1913. McCain said that he had liked Greenspan's job. I noticed that the questioner didn't agreed with McCain's answer.

- From a twenty-something - what will you do to encourage my generation to do great things like Kennedy did?

"Not just Kennedy but also Reagan". Proud of our folks. We have to give people examples of great causes and leadership. We should revere and praise those examples. We have to ask them to do it, and tell them why it is needed.

- Does not like development of new nukes....will he commit to no new nukes and save the money?

He answered yes, no new nukes.

- Is the VA going to be fully funded any time soon? And is there a way to prevent the Dems from dividing the country again like Viet Nam as it hurts us and helps the enemy?

Americans will have to demand this. Nations lose wars, and then the Nations suffer.

We have to fix the VA or people will not want to serve (based on what they see - quoted George Washington)

- A very bashful young girl had kept her hand up a long time but refused to talk at the right time (her Mom asked for her) - does he recycle?

Yes he does.

- A girl from Bishop Brady (FIRST robotics team captain) - Invited the Senator to attend LA competition. Then turned it over to a teammate - How will McCain promote math and science?

He will provide scholarships in science and math.

Called on Judy Tilton to come up on the stage.  During the Viet Nam war, bracelets were given / sold that had names of P.O.W.s.  She ended up with Senator McCain's name and wears his bracelet.

Posted by Skip at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"The consequences of failure in Iraq will be catastrophic. When we ended VietNam, they didn't follow us home. Any casual observer of what they are saying in speeches and on their web sites knows that won't be the case this time."

"Reveals exactly how radical and dangerous they really are."

Posted by Doug at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Democrat spin coming out of Concord is that either you’re in favor of the Lynch amendment or you’re in favor of an income tax.  In the words of State Senator Martha Fuller Clark, “If the Legislature and the citizens defeat this amendment, they are saying the state should fund the full cost of education.” She went on to say, “That's a lot of money. No other state except Hawaii pays for all of it. If the Republicans block this, they're voting for a broad-based tax. That's what they accuse the Democrats of supporting.” 

"I'm not alone in the want of someone else added to the list of people to choose from to be president."

What else would explain the somewhat sudden appearance of AlGore in the number three slot for the Dems and Fred Thompson in third for the Republicans, according to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll?

Despite previous posts expressing my agreement with Duncan Hunter on almost all of the issues and liking Giuliani for his apparent leadership skills combined with cross-party appeal, I still remain desirous of something more. And while I sometimes see the logic of a McCain nomination as perhaps the only hope for a Republican victory in 2008, the voice in my head says, "Not yet." Up until this point, my ideal candidate if the world were perfect is Newt, and yet, the world isn't perfect, and neither is Newt, as many people often remind me. And he's NOT in the race, officially, either.

On the liberal/ Democrat side of life, there must undoubtedly be someone like me, wistful for something more that what's offered. Hillary? You either like her, or you get the fingernail on the chalkboard feeling. Obama? Not for a majority of Americans on election day. Edwards? Depending on his wife's prognosis, he might not stay around. And the taste of the losing Kerry/Edwards ticket still lingers. Certainly I can empathize with my left wing counterparts feeling unsatisfied at the moment.

What else can this poll tell us? Political junkies and those who pay attention to such stuff are restless. Those newcomers to this election cycle aren't all that excited yet over what they see. And people unengaged at all yet remain uninterested. On top of all that, with the current jockeying of states for new primary positions, the days of real voting get closer, accelerating events faster than we've ever seen. At the same time, long-time top-tiered candidates appear to have worn out their welcome.

Might the time be right for Fred Thompson and AlGore to ride in on white horses, side by side to save their respective parties? Things are gonna heat up real soon, I think.

Posted by Doug at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

And who says our present system is NOT progressive.  From NRO:

The Tax Foundation folks grouped together all federal, state, and local government spending and revenues. Then they looked at the net effect on income quintiles. The results confirmed the extent to which American government has become a redistribution scheme. The bottom 20 percent of households in income received about $8.21 in government spending for every dollar contributed in taxes (they don't pay income taxes, of course, but they do pay a variety of other taxes, such as on sales and property). In the middle quintile, households got $1.30 in government stuff for every tax dollar. You mathematically inclined know where I'm going with this — someone has to pay the bills. It's basically the top quintile, who consumed 41 cents in government benefits for every dollar surrendered. In 2004, the amount of income redistributed in this manner was between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion.

This is just a staggering amount of money.  Yet, the liberals seem to think that we just HAVE to roll back the tax cuts in order to feed the governmental machine.  

Often, the "taxers" in town talk about 7 cents per thousand evaluation, 15 cents/thousand, or what it happens to be.  In our town of Gilford, NH, with approx. 7,400 residents, the total budget is about $32 million -> about $4,300 / person.

With about 300 million people in the US, let's use the lower number of $1 trillion -> a yield of  $33,334 / person.  As the commentary ended:

And, of course, it's just not enough

Ever. 

Posted by Skip at 8:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Our friend Liz gave us a heads up on the troop supplimental pork up.  Now she gives break down on the pork itself:

What the hell all of this is doing in a defense bill, I have no idea:

$24 million for funding for sugar beets

$3 million for funding for sugar cane (goes to one Hawaiian co-op).

$20 million for insect infestation damage reimbursements in Nevada, Idaho, and Utah.

[snip]

• $22.8 million for geothermal research and development.

• $500 million for wildland fire management.

• $13 million for mine safety technology research.

• $31 million for one month extension of Milk Income Loss Contract program (MILC)

• $50 million for fisheries disaster mitigation fund.

• $100 million for security at the Presidential Candidate Nominating Conventions

• $2 million for the University of Vermont 

Take a link over.....see how our elected officials used our money to sell out our troops....

Posted by Skip at 8:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Myth #1:  “If the Legislature doesn’t define an adequate education, the Supreme Court will do it for them.”  The truth is that for as long as the Legislature and the Governor continue doing the Claremont kowtow, the Court, not the Legislature, will be the branch of government that ultimately sets education policy.  This should come as no surprise because the Court said just that in Claremont I.  Specifically, it said that it is the Legislature’s task “in the first instance” to define adequacy.  In plain English, the Court gave itself the power to rewrite some or all of the definition. 

The Court’s jurisprudence makes it clear that it considers any legislative definition of an adequate education merely a rough draft for the Court to edit as it sees fit.  

Myth #2:  “Defining an adequate education will allow us to finally determine the cost, which will allow us to adequately fund the schools.”  What a crock.  One cannot look at the components of whatever we decide an adequate education is, and determine their respective costs.  It is not like pricing a cheeseburger.  With the cheeseburger, one can accurately figure the cost of the patty, the cheese, the bun, the lettuce, the ketchup and mustard, and what you’d need to pay someone to put it together.  Try doing that with “proficient in calculus,” “fluent in French” and “knows American history.”  It’s impossible.

What’s more, numerous other variables, besides funding, affect education performance.  These include the competence of administrators, the quality of teachers, the talents and motivations of student and the involvement of parents.  Because of these variables, the cost of an adequate education necessarily varies not just by school district and not just by school, but by student.  As a result, even if one could somehow figure a generic cost of, for example, “proficient in calculus,” one would still need to account for, on a student-by-student basis, the effect of non-financial variables to reliably figure the actual cost. 

If adequate funding is the real goal, then give parents vouchers that can be used at any school, private or public.  That will get the dollars where they should go. 

While the founding generation was high on public education, it wasn’t to prepare students to compete in a global economy against the English and the French.  Rather, public education was seen as the best means to preserve the republican governments they had established.  The founders believed that a virtuous and enlightened citizenry would be the best check against the tendencies of governments to become corrupt and tyrannical.  The irony of the Claremont decisions, then, is that the Court, in the name of effectuating the constitution’s education clause, has engaged in the very sort of governmental overreaching that the State’s founders hoped that public education would thwart. 

Posted by Ed Mosca at 7:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm glad the NH Democratic Party has chosen Buckley as their standardbearer. It may help NHerites better understand what they bargain for when they elect Dems to vital positions in the state government. He may cause the thinking voter to think twice before casting a ballot for a member of "Buckley's Party".

[NH Congressman Paul] Hodes addressed the controversy early in the meeting, during a time set aside for Congressional briefings, and before the vote on the amendment to allow write-in votes.

.

Hodes first said he "probably was uncharacteristically unartful or undiplomatic" in his initial response to the Buckley videos. He said he was in part concerned about "the process" being undertaken to elect Buckley. "I simply felt that a process of changing the rules midstream was not the way to do things at this point, that it is a bad precedent," he said.

But Hodes said he also was concerned the party "could be exposed to distractions over these next two years."

"For me it was an issue and is an issue of what's in the best long-term interest of the party," he said.

"My concern is that as we Democrats move forward in a period of time when we've just had a historic election and are moving into elections in 2008, that we as a party not be distracted by the politics of personal destruction, and my concern was that Republicans or others would use this distracting stuff to divert us from what we need to do as Democrats."

When it came time to deliver her candidate speech, Betty Hall also made an impassioned plea for committee members to consider the good of the party. "What we do today is going to have ramifications during the entire primary season and during the national elections," she said. "At this time, our country needs us badly."

"Here is the pill we have to swallow," Hall said. "Republicans have attacked us. But we gave them the ammunition."

"We do not know the whole truth of these matters at this time. We do know the consequences of failure: Two years of attacks, two years of ridicule from opponents, distraction from our candidates and our message, irreparable harm to our first-in-the-nation primary."

Hall also called the campaign for state chairman "a travesty" and said, "We have not served our party well by playing insider politics."

I saw Betty Hall at a Dem event here in Laconia. If I were a Democrat, I would have taken my chances with her. But I'm not. I'm glad they chose Buckley...

Posted by Doug at 1:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)