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Ellen Kolb 
The U.S. Senate voted today on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, a bill which (according to its text) would “prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion.” Sixty “yes” votes would have been required to … Read more
“New Hampshire must send representation to Washington, D.C. that knows life is a fact, not an opinion. If we can’t do that, then God save us.”
That was from the Honorable Dan Itse, speaking at the NHGOP’s February 19 “Stop the Democrat Silence” press conference. His words are worth recalling as Senators Shaheen and Hassan prepare to vote Monday, February 25 on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.
From School Choice NH: the hearing on HB 632, repeal of the Education Tax Credit (ETC) program, will resume on Tuesday, March 5 at 10 a.m. in room 202 of the Legislative Office Building.
Just when I was all done with the hype for the upcoming Patriots game, here come the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, engaging in first-class trash talking. Get thee to Twitter and search for #MuseumBowl. The tweets there have made my day. Five rings are better than … Read more
The New Hampshire House voted “inexpedient to legislate” this morning on a bill to repeal the buffer zone law giving abortion providers authority to determine access to public property around their facilities. The tally was 228-141 for the ITL motion. See the roll call at this link, noting that since the motion was “inexpedient to … Read more
Who knew that New York would look to New Hampshire for inspiration on its abortion laws? A vote in Albany by the New York Senate does just that, 46 years to the day after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down with a thud the twin decisions Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. Next stop: the abortion-friendly state Assembly. Governor Andrew Cuomo is ready to sign the measure when it reaches his desk.
Two and a half weeks into the six-year Senate term with which her constituents entrusted her, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has announced that she’s setting her sights on a different field of play. Bring on the 2020 presidential campaign. Granite Grok’s Steve MacDonald has already outlined Sen. Harris’s distaste for the First Amendment and her … Read more
Update, 3:25 p.m.: Secretary of State Bill Gardner has been re-elected to another term by the New Hampshire House and Senate. Gardner prevailed over Colin Van Ostern 209-205, with one “scatter” vote. With 415 legislators present and voting (House and Senate combined), 208 votes were needed for victory. Vote was by secret ballot.
(Update: second ballot resulted in a Gardner victory.) In the first ballot by House and Senate members for New Hampshire Secretary of State this afternoon, with 209 votes needed to win, Sec. of State Bill Gardner got 208 votes to Colin Van Ostern’s 207. One vote was “scattered,” and with a secret ballot, there’s no … Read more
The final recount from the state election concluded late this afternoon, confirming a victory for Democrat Jon Morgan in State Senate district 23 over Sen. Bill Gannon.
Happy Tuesday! Congratulations to the Red Sox, again. Never gets old. I love it that Steve Pearce was named MVP, although I’d have had no reason to complain if David Price had gotten the nod. That brings me to the best headline from Game 5, and I shall brook no dispute. Well, maybe a little, but not much.
[Update, 10/30/18: a reader has expressed concern that my phrasing below – “to unseat so-and-so” – implied a done deal. Not my intention! All these races are very much up in the air. But make no mistake: the challengers listed below are not just running for office. They’re running to throw other people OUT of office. – EGK]
EMILY’s List – a national PAC boasting “we ignite change by getting pro-choice Democratic women elected to office” – is open and aboveboard about who they’d like to see in office. Here’s the New Hampshire list, for your consideration. I’ve added a note or two.
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced today that she is stepping back from public life altogether, now that she has been diagnosed with dementia, “probably Alzheimer’s disease.” She used the announcement to make a plea that we do something in particular for our kids and each other: teach civics. “I’ve seen first-hand how vital it is for all citizens to understand our Constitution…”
A handful of times each year, something comes along that makes it worth my while to get to a movie theater. Right now, Gosnell is that something. Why am I eager to watch once more a film that I saw in a special screening only a few weeks ago? Read my full review below – especially if the name Kermit Gosnell means nothing to you or if the name is a bit hazy. This is a story to remember and share. As this is posted, the film is scheduled for showings beginning October 12 at the Regal in Newington and Cinematic in Hooksett.
As I write this, Sen. Susan Collins has just announced her support of Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. As I listened to her thoughtful and lengthy statement, I couldn’t quite forget the quote (possibly apocryphal) attributed to Dwight Eisenhower: “I made two mistakes and both of them are sitting on the Supreme Court.” Translation: … Read more
A quick follow-up to the Grok’s post-primary New Hampshire House election summary: this morning’s recount of Derry votes confirms that incumbent Rep. Brenda Willis will not be moving on to the general election. She was edged out by Stephen Pearson by ten votes for the final spot on the Republican slate of candidates for House … Read more
Cornerstone has issued its legislative scorecard for the 2017-18 session, bringing forth this reaction from the chairman of New Hampshire’s Democratic Party (which may account for an increase in the scorecard’s circulation):
As someone who has worked with Cornerstone (currently as a consultant), I think it’s worth looking at what Mr. Chairman considers “anathema to NH values.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), arbiter of “extremism,” recently had one of its targets bite back. Defamation can be expensive.
In today’s NIFLA v. Becerra decision, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that pro-life pregnancy care centers may not be compelled by a state to advertise for abortion. The margin: one vote.
Apparently, abortion providers in California are so hard up for business that they thought they ought be able to drag pro-lifers into helping out with marketing. Four Supreme Court Justices were OK with that. Fortunately, five were not.
The Colorado baker who chose not to be involved in providing services for a ceremony that violated his religious beliefs prevailed in the recent Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission decision at the Supreme Court. The vote was 7-2, and the result was much closer than the score indicates.
How can a 7-2 Supreme Court decision be narrow? If I had a nickel for every social media post along those lines in the past few days, I could cover this blog’s expenses for a good long while. I’m even hearing the question from people who should know better.
It wasn’t the vote that was narrow. It was the decision. The point on which the seven Justices agreed was that the baker hadn’t gotten a fair shake from the Civil Rights Commission. That’s it. That’s enough for now, to be sure, but the narrowness of the decision is fair warning that this was not a First Amendment landmark.