News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Julie Smith 
I’m not going to pester Attorney Lehmann and the acting Senate clerk with an RTK request for all people with admin access to the FB page known as “NH Senate Republicans,” nor will I discourage anyone else from doing so if they so desire. For the sake of this article, when I say “NH Senate … Read more
Not everyone had time to watch hours of Veto Day livestreaming or archived videos of our legislature, so it’s important for NH dot gov’s webmaster(s) to make records available to the public in a timely, user-friendly way. Good job, House staff members! Once the whole body steamrolled Her Excellency with a 314-7 roll call in … Read more
I fired up (no pun intended) the computer this morning to be met with horrible WMUR headlines. Beanie’s is on fire. Think of when you (and everyone you know) learned that Notre Dame was on fire. Not only is Beanie’s a Loudon community pillar, but they deserve everyone’s support, whether we’re Loudon locals or not. … Read more
Are you familiar with Thorstein Veblen? I guess some background is in order because a family member made a casual reference to him several years ago, and I had never heard of him. He said Veblen was known for his 1899 book titled The Theory of the Leisure Class. The genesis of the conversation was … Read more
I will start by saying some kind words about a former FB friend, Comrade Ellen McDowell Ruggles. She’s a friendly older woman that I’ve crossed paths with in social circles of mutual interest, particularly hiking and paddling. Sadly, I found it in my best interest to cut ties with most of my fellow paddlers and … Read more
In 2023, while I was Alderman Dowd’s opponent, I received an invitation from the League of Women Voters (LWV) to attend a Wards 1, 2, and 6 candidate forum at the library, which is in trashy Ward 4 and not even near Ward 2. Despite their name, one should ask them whether they even know what … Read more
August 19 is a busy day on the calendar. It’s Veto Day, and both chambers convene at 10 am. Also at 10 am, the executive council meets at Cranmore for Kenney’s turn to host in their roadshow series. Later that day (5-6pm) is the 23rd anniversary Nashua Goes Back to School event at Holman Stadium. … Read more
According to a quick look at the most recent calendars from each chamber, Kelly Ayotte has vetoed 30 bills this year. Let’s suppose for a moment that nobody goes rogue or plays hooky in the Senate. The votes are there to stick it to her with a 16-8 roll call. Unfortunately, the House is another … Read more
A few days ago, Di Lothrop emailed me the manuscript to what would later become her article. In it, she mentions lies told by John E Sununu. I quickly replied, praising what she said and asking, “What about MORE LIES told into the mic on June 24?” The lies I’m about to mention have been … Read more
Perhaps Rep Varney should be called a “Republican Rep David Cote” as he seemingly aspires to be like him, but I chose the word “placeholder” for now. We’d like to think that Team Red has higher standards for conduct, especially seeing that we’re quick to criticize the Dems who receive unflattering attention from WMUR and … Read more
While most sound-minded bill watchers were concentrating on the last of the women’s sports & safe spaces bills being vetoed yesterday, I took a look at the 20 bills that were signed and spotted HB1727 (This bill creates a system for automatic enrollment of eligible students into the Summer EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) program, unless … Read more
Are there any readers who remember a House Election Law hearing in the early winter of 2022 when the late Rep Mark Alliegro introduced a bill about hand counting? I’ve been unable to track down the HB number despite a search on bills that Mark sponsored and a quick look at the YouTube playlist. I … Read more
My first encounter with Marc Nozell, aka Mr. Wendy EN Thomas, was at the archives during a 2022 Merrimack rep race recount, for which I had been recruited by Ms. Ginger and Melissa Blasek to participate in an effort to expose some shady campaign practices by Tim McGough and his accomplices. Not much materialized from … Read more
When the Live Free Press’s July 7 article titled New Hampshire’s Municipal Lobby Trains Its Fire on Republican Bills came to my attention, my blood boiled at first sight. I thought of that old Janet Jackson song, What Have You Done For Me Lately? I also remember Kevin Avard complaining about them a few years ago when I … Read more
Most readers are aware by now that there isn’t much ‘Grok readership in Ward 2, Nashua. Just look at the serial absence of representation in City Hall and the House, election after election, going back several cycles. Having “marked myself safe” from Alderman Dowd before last fall’s election, I can share good news: all of … Read more
Kelly Ayotte is all about Kelly Ayotte, anything outside her personal wish list be damned. We’ve seen it with her serial vetoing of women’s bills, and don’t forget school “library lewdness,” because she vetoed SB434 today. Like any other governor, she has signed many bills that may or may not be relevant to most ordinary … Read more
While putting in a few hours at the Concord GOP tent at Concord Market Days at the request of a fellow Team Lily member, I got to talk to several known people, like Reps Alvin See and Matthew Pitaro, and County Commissioner Lovlien. I also got to meet 2 of the 3 candidates for county … Read more
Some people know me as a “numbers person,” and I might irritate many with my “today in history” posts, but let’s get the following item out of the way. June 27 is Kelly Ayotte’s birthday. There will be tweets, posts, and comments by her operatives and members of her fan club claiming how great she … Read more
Bad actors sadly exist everywhere, even in institutions we want to think are exempt. Government is not one of those institutions, but we’d like to think that there’s a higher standard for Team Red in all government bodies, and we’re repeatedly disappointed. Let’s focus on our state legislature and note that the Senate is much … Read more
There has been plenty of discussion at multiple levels of government and among ordinary commoners about the subject of energy. Also, there’s an abundance of subject material on the internet, but amid all that chatter, I ran into this WMUR short video discussing Community Power(CP), something I’ve written about before. After watching it, I noticed … Read more