Guest Blog Post by Grant Bosse: Energy

Congress Needs New Energy and a New Energy Policy by Grant Bosse As oil prices reach record highs, gasoline and diesel prices make every fill-up painful, and New Hampshire continues to pay the highest electricity prices in the nation, we have to ask ourselves; why does Congress keep making energy more expensive? Last year’s Energy … Read more

Defending the New Hampshire Advantage Pledge unveiled Tuesday

. Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta and GOP gubernatorial hopeful Senator Joe Kenney at yesterday’s New Hampshire Advantage Coalition’s official rollout of their "Defending the New Hampshire Advantage Pledge" (photos by GraniteGrok) The pushback begins… Yesterday morning in Concord at the Legislative Office Building, putting the proverbial money where his mouth is, Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta, along with … Read more

Lieberman: Lone voice in the Democratic wilderness…

Alone in the wilderness? (GG file photo) What more can be said about Joe Lieberman and his recent speech that hasn’t been already said by our friends over at the Contentions blog? Writes frequent MTNP radio guest Jennifer Rubin, Senator Joseph Lieberman spoke last night at the annual Commentary Fund dinner at New York’s University … Read more

Video: Jeb Bradley talks gun rights…

At the monthly meeting of the Belknap County Republicans, Jeb Bradley, seeking the nomination to run for NH’s 1st Congressional District seat, answered a question about the Second Amendment. There’s no doubt where Jeb stands on this issue… I’d like to hear the incumbent, Democrat Carol Shea Porter, answer the same question. My guess is that … Read more

Video: Clegg on Guns

Running for the GOP nomination in NH’s Second Congressional District, Senator Bob Clegg visited with members of the Belknap County Republicans last Wednesday evening. He was asked where he stands on the Second Amendment. Check it out… I wonder how the incumbent, liberal Democrat Paul Hodes,  stands on the issue?  

Video: Bosse on Guns– The Second Amendment “is a civil right”

Since we’re on a roll here, we thought we should include 2nd CD candidate Grant Bosse’s take on the Second Amendment too. His is a message Americans cannot hear enough: The Second Amendment is one of our important civil rights in that it helps protect the others… You just know that as long as Paul Hodes is … Read more

And you thought childhood was for having fun and stuff…

MassResistance photo of youths marching in Boston parade As reported by MassResistance, last Saturday was homosexual "Youth Pride Day" in Boston, run by the tax-funded Massachusetts Commission on Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Youth. It included a "celebration" on the Boston Common followed by a parade past the State House and a "transgender prom" that … Read more

Good points worth maintaining…

.  Sen. McCain in Wolfeboro; President Bush in Stratham. (GG file photos) When it comes to the mantra of John McCain being the third term of President Bush, beyond the obvious lack of proof that McCain and Bush march lockstep in all matters, there are some positive points about the president that are worth emulating … Read more

Belknap County takes a pass on latest budget try… again.

AT 7:00 pm, the chairman of the Belknap County Convention gavelled the meeting to order. He then announced that due to ongoing factors involving the NH Department of Revenue Administration and Health and Human Services, the meeting scheduled to pass a so-called "supplemental budget" was cancelled. He gavelled the meeting adjourned. It lasted a total of about 30 seconds.

foiled again

"Curses! Foiled again…"

As noted in this prior post from a letter sent to NH Attorney General Ayotte, the NH DRA, the bond attorney, County Treasurer and to the local and state-wide media,

Given the facts as they are, and given the requirements of the law and the probability of legal action should this matter continue its present course, the most expedient action the Belknap County Convention can take is to do nothing and post a notice to cancel the intended meeting for Tuesday March 13, 2008.

While we’re unsure whether our letters and media attention were the reason, or the fact that the chairman of the Winnisquam School District Budget Committee re-raised the same alarms we sounded last week at the public hearing regarding totals that didn’t add up, or the news today that Laconia City Manager Cabanel discovered that promised state monies might not materialize, the fact remains that the Belknap County Convention was once again thwarted before they embarked on yet another scheme that promised nothing but legal troubles as a result. Tonight’s action of cancelling the meeting was one of the smartest decisions made by the Belknap County Convention in quite a long time.

Here is a letter we dispatched this afternoon to the County Attorney that seeks to further explain the points raised yesterday in our pleas to the various regulatory agencies:

 

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For those who care whether or not government follows the law…

government money grab

As promised, here is more on the ongoing mess the Belknap County finds itself in regarding their faulty budget practices.

“Unlawful conduct by elected officials erodes the important trust that citizens expect and deserve from all public officials” ~ NH AG Kelly A. Ayotte March 11, 2008, NH Union Leader regarding $5000 town treasurer theft charges. 

The following letter was sent to the NH Attorney General, the NH Dept. of Revenue Administration, Belknap County Treasurer and the county’s bond counsel:

May 12, 2008
Ms. Kelly A. Ayotte, Attorney General
Department of Justice
33 Capitol Street
Concord, NH 03301-6397

Subject:  Belknap County Appropriations and Supplemental Appropriation
Notice per RSA 24:14-(a)

Dear Attorney General Ayotte:

Belknap County’s Convention is once again attempting to appropriate money– this time a Supplemental Appropriation.  And once again, the Commissioners are the masterminds of yet another procedural grievance.  The Commissioners have requested a supplemental increase of their original Dec 1, 2007 Proposed Appropriations for 2008, now the Default budget.

As of 25 April 2008, the Conventions caused a “Public Hearing Notice” for the commissioners to present their request for a supplemental appropriation, amounting to $965,294.00 over the FY 2007 budget, an increase to $26,620,211.  However, the actual Appropriation increase can only be $447,974.00 because the default budget is $26,172,237.00

The Law does not require a “Public Hearing” in order for the Commissioners to present a request for a Supplemental Budget.  However, it does require the Convention to have a public hearing before it can appropriate for new purposes, citing the source of the money required per RSA 24:14-(a).

However, the Convention’s unnecessary notice of a public hearing for the Commissioners’ presentation indicates intent to have a second general meeting on May 13, 2008 at which it will entertain public input and then will vote on said request. Therefore, the public hearing was simply an information presentation of a desired supplemental appropriation.

Once again, the normal course of action then for this coming Tuesday was not and will not be in compliance with state laws.  Accordingly, your individual or collective review is once again being requested.  Please allow us to explain:

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Spending Cap Pledge Debuts in Lakes Region

tax bill

In what is most likely the first public action involving the recently unveiled spending cap pledge promoted by the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition, members of the Gilford Municipal Budget Committee found themselves voting on a motion to adopt such a cap at its initial meeting of the 2009 FY budget season. As reported by the Citizen (Laconia) newspaper,

Budget committee member Doug Lambert has challenged the elected officials in Gilford with imposing a voluntary tax cap on governmental spending.

The idea for a voluntary tax cap came out of an initiative started by the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition. The reason the coalition began the challenge is two-fold: first to lower the burden on New Hampshire families and secondly to encourage government to maximize the value of every dollar.

Lambert took the pledge and modified it slightly, though the principle is the same.

The Gilford Pledge to Defend the New Hampshire Advantage reads, "I believe that low taxes are the result of low spending. I believe that a government can only be fair to its taxpayers when it is actively looking for ways to run more efficiently. I hereby pledge: Not to vote for — or lend my support to — any budget raising government spending that causes taxes to be raised more than the rate of inflation, as it is defined by the Consumer Price Index-Urban, plus new construction growth."

[snip]

"I printed it; I signed it; I will adhere to it. That will be my actions on the committee," promised Lambert.

Skip Murphy, a budget committee member and chair of the Gilford Republican Town Committee, also signed and promised to follow the voluntary tax cap pledge.

Recognize those two guys? While it turned out we weren’t able to convince a majority of the Budcom to adopt the voluntary cap, besides myself and Skip, two other members agreed to conduct all of our actions in line with the "cap." We will be working on a spreadsheet program in order to keep a running account of the budget process, identifying exactly how much the school, town, and (hopefully) county portions can increase under such a cap.

Please read the whole Citizen article, as reporter Cutter Mitchell does an excellent job in his reporting of what went down last night. It’s my belief that this is but the first salvo in what will be a rising movement here in the Granite State as we seek to preserve and protect our special "New Hampshire Advantage".

Below is the pledge as I submitted, signed, to the chair of our committee. I shared a copy with every member, and will be presenting them to the school board and selectmen for them to sign as well.

 

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Amendment to CACR 34: Language only a budding despot could love.

Government Approved Edukashun Former State Representative Paul Mirski sends the following warning: RE: Proposed [Public Education] Amendment to CACR 34 There is a reason why there is no language in New Hampshire’s original 1784 constitution concerning the teaching of curriculum in schools.  It is because the writers of the constitution and their constituents were the … Read more

Gore assaults reason… again.

You just knew this was coming… The BMI reports Using tragedy to advance an agenda has been a strategy for many global warming activists, and it was just a matter of time before someone found a way to tie the recent Myanmar cyclone to global warming. Former Vice President Al Gore in an interview on … Read more

Pledge to Defend the NH Advantage

From the NHAC: Because Low Spending Equals Low Taxes and the fact that each and every household is disciplining the family budget we believe our elected officials should promise to do the same.  It is in this light that the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition offers a pledge for every candidate running for office to further … Read more

[UPDATED] “Defending the New Hampshire Advantage Pledge”

TODAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO A SUDDEN FAMILY MATTER WITH CHAIRMAN MIKE BIUNDO.   Manchester – With the introduction of our spending cap efforts in communities across the state, the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition has officially begun its proactive campaign to return commonsense spending to all levels of government. Tomorrow afternoon, at a … Read more

Notable Quote: Machiavelli

Saturday was Machiavelli’s birthday (May 3rd, 1469). While much reviled by some as a ruthless political animal, there are many that believe him to be the master of political observation and strategy– based on the realities of human nature as it exists, not fanciful utopian wishes. His best known work, The Prince, is a book about the attainment and preservation … Read more

President Bush makes a few good points…

President Bush
Pres Bush (GG file photo by Doug)

In his radio address this week, President Bush raised several good points about the economy and what we should be doing about rising enegy costs. While I’m not all that "stimulated" by the so-called rebate checks coming our way, I do know many people that DO need that money, and it will help, no doubt. If the government is going to spend money to buy our way out from a recession, at least by giving it directly to the people, it lets US decide how and what to spend it on. (This is how I’m viewing it, anyway, because then it makes me less uptight when I think about the thing…)

The radio spot hit on several items near and dear to where I’m at: Drilling in Alaska, build refineries, and restart the nuclear power industry. Additionally, he rightfully bags on the farm bill, and, yes, he once again calls on Congress to make his tax cuts permanent…

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, the Commerce Department reported that GDP grew at an annual rate of six-tenths of a percent in the first quarter. This rate of growth is not nearly as high as we would like. And after a record 52 months of uninterrupted job growth, April was the fourth month in a row in which our economy lost jobs, although the unemployment rate dropped to five percent.

My Administration has been clear and candid on the state of the economy. We saw the economic slowdown coming, we were up front about these concerns with the American people, and we’ve been taking decisive action.

In February, I signed an economic growth package to put more than $150 billion back into the hands of millions of American families, workers, and businesses. This week, the main piece of that package began being implemented, as nearly 7.7 million Americans received their tax rebates electronically. Next week, the Treasury Department will begin mailing checks to millions more across the country. And by this summer, it expects to have sent rebates to more than 130 million American households. These rebates will deliver up to $600 per person, $1,200 per couple, and $300 per child.

 

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