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The NH GOP should go “X Contests” a la the Ansari X Prize that was offered by the X Foundation

Frank Guinta was on WMUR’s (just like the logo says) “Close Up” – no big surprise as like all shows, we are now in the “wrap up for the year” time slot for all the news and talking head shows.  This week was one of “quick bites” from politicians from both sides of the aisle and Frank basically got one quick shot at it – but brings up an interesting concept:

Be respectful of different views and perspectives in our party because there are a lot of great ideas. Whether you identify yourself as an ideologically in the middle or on the Right, there are a lot of ideas that come from different people.

Indeed!  I have often said that the only people who have a monopoly on good ideas are those that, well, have good ideas.  And yes, they can come from a bunch of people and sometimes, from people you have never heard of before but has taken quite a different slant than the Conventional Wisdom would dictate.  However, this does beg a question: HOW do you decide what is a great idea – or not?

I have a suggestion (yeah, no surprise there, eh?).  Usually, great ideas fall into a few categories: 

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Advantage Guinta in the “Answer the Question” category.  Host of WMUR’s Closeup, Josh McElveen, asked what I thought was a simple straight-forward to US Senator Kelly Ayotte:  Is there a collective unity or is it still as fractured as it was Nov 7?

Well, you know, just like any place, there are divergent views within a Party.

C’mon! It’s not like it’s a secret or anything – I’ve been blogging about this topic for a while. Not only that, but the NH Media is oft covering the same (after all, many are Democrat operatives with bylines, as Glen Reynolds is oft to say) and like to turn that shiv a little at a time.  Or, just read / watch / listen to the media that seemingly delights in reporting that Karl Rove and the US Chamber of Commerce are raising 10s if not 100s of millions of bucks to “fight” the Liberty and Freedom wing of the Republican Party (e.g., loudmouth US Representative Peter King is a great example, if you need one).

 But I think what we need to do is make sure to focus on, really, the core principles of the Republican Party: fiscal responsibility, making sure that we have economic growth and jobs by creating the best climate in the world for you to grow your business, thrive and grow here in NH and across the country, and strongly defending our nation. That’s been my focus in the Senate and I have found many like-minded individuals that want to work on those issue not only the Republican Party but looking for opportunities across the aisle to solve problems for America – that’s what’s needs to happen and I hope to be a strong voice within our Party that we need to be problem-solvers and that we need that we show the American people why our principles make sense and why they are going to provide a better future for America.

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I haven’t written as much as I should have about this – that’s what this weekend will be set for as the underlying issues are what are important and not just that a TV network suspending one of the stars of its best show.  That said, I am betting that this info had quite a bit to do with their white flag surrender:

According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, in the days after the Duck Dynasty patriarch was benched for his anti-gay remarks to GQ writer Drew Magary, A&E experienced a significant downturn in its deliveries. In the week of Dec. 16-22, A&E averaged 1.51 million viewers in prime time, down 13 percent from 1.73 million in the year-ago period.

The target demos took a bigger hit, as adults 25-54 dropped 22 percent to 678,000, while members of the 18-49 set fell 18 percent to 646,000.

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At least my Senator Kelly Ayotte did – real quick, too.  The DC Republicans deserve all the opprobrium that has come their way for the cutting of the Armed Service members retirement monies after either serving their 20 plus years or getting medical’d out.  There is no doubt that most of the real Lefty Democrats hate the military – they’d fire them all in a heartbeat.  But, I imagine they were plenty happy to make it less palatable to serve.  But for political reasons, NOW there is this rush to ‘fix it”:

Several bills have been introduced in the House this week that would restore cuts made to military retirees’ benefits.

Lawmakers have complained that a provision in the Bipartisan Budget Agreement, H.J. Res. 59 — which was passed into law last week — reduces the cost of living adjustment (COLA) by 1 percent for military retirees under the age of 62.

The reduction was made to replace $6 billion in sequester cuts to the Department of Defense’s budget.

Do I have this straight?  The Lawmakers, who wrote this, who voted on it, are now complaining about it?  Really?  Did they not learn ANYTHING from the passage of Obamacare when Madam Pelosi gloriously stated “We have to pass it to find out what’s in it”?  Especially the US House Republicans – did not a single one of them read that provision and poke the others in the ribs and go “Oops – we just aimed political claymores at ourselves!“?   Demonstrably not.

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“A people that has a government” – methinks that this guy has that relationship backwards.  From the Nashua Telegraph:

Assistant Safety Commissioner Earl Sweeney hopes drivers will take into account that the North Country experiences some of the worst winter driving conditions in the state.

“The difference it would make for someone traveling a distance of 100 miles at 70 miles per hour versus 65 miles per hour is they would complete their trip about six minutes sooner and consume more fuel while doing it,” Sweeney said in an email. “Is it worth it just to save those six minutes?”

To some folks, yes it is. And whether or not they “consume” more fuel is none of your business – that is a decision between adults and their wallets.   On a personal note, Mr. Sweeney has the perfect right to his opinion – pontificate away!  As a government employee, however, his purpose is to carry out what the public (his employer) have decided to do with those roads via their elected officials.  In this case, the public has decided they want to go a bit faster on the roads that their tax monies built and maintain – you’re job is to make it happen as safely as possible knowing a priori that 100% safety is impossible to attain. 

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Low taxes are the result of low spending

– former NH Gov Meldrim Thomson.

Well, as it seems to be their wont, our Legislators in DC just keep forgetting about that sage advice and instead, keep their own New Year’s tradition alive – “gifting” us with new taxes.  Some big, some small. CNN / Money as a short list of those that you may need to hurry up on before they go away:

1. Tuition and fees: A deduction for tuition and fees of up to $4,000 is currently available to parents and students paying for college.
2. Teachers’ expenses: The Educator Expense Deduction aims to help teachers cover the cost of classroom supplies like notebooks, pens and paper that their school doesn’t reimburse them for. Elementary and secondary school teachers can qualify for deductions of up to $250 per year, even if they don’t itemize.
3. Mortgage insurance premiums: Currently, homeowners are able to deduct their mortgage insurance premiums as residence interest.
4. State and local sales tax: In states without an income tax, like Florida and Alaska, taxpayers have been able to deduct state and local general sales taxes instead of taking the income tax deduction — but that won’t be an option next year unless Congress intervenes.
5. Donations through your IRA: Retirees older than 70-and-a-half have traditionally been able to make non-taxable charitable donations of up to $100,000 directly from their IRA disbursements. But once this tax break expires, they will need to take the disbursement first, meaning it will be considered part of their taxable income.
6. Energy-efficiency: It’s your last chance to get a credit of up to $500 if you made energy-efficient home improvements this year — including new windows and doors. To see if you qualify, visit EnergyStar.com or ask the company where you bought the items.
7. Commuter costs: Currently, commuters who take mass transit like trains or buses to work are able to receive $245 a month (or $2,940 per year) in tax-free money toward those expenses. But this perk is scheduled to expire January 1, at which point commuters will only be able to write off just $130 per month — $1,560 a year.
8. Mortgage debt forgiveness: A tax break that has been in effect since 2007 allows struggling homeowners to exclude any debt forgiveness they were granted from a bank when calculating their taxable income.

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Of COURSE, once the news that UPS and Fedex missed some deliveries, I knew it was only a little bit of time before some Self-important CongressTwit and SenaBoob was going to insert themselves into this situation, given that it was Christmas and Capitalism.  From the various news reports, it seems that some retailers and the shippers overpromised in the world of online purchases – and underdelivered.  Of COURSE people were angry to the point of outraged.  I can certainly understand – it’s a pain in the neck when I’ve ordered something and it doesn’t appear on time – but stuff happens:

These factors pushed online retail sales to jump 63% on Dec. 23 when compared to the same day last year, according to Mercent data. Even though forecasts expected a jump in online sales this year, the industry has not experienced this peak two days before Christmas in the past, Best said. “They may have seen late signs that more people were buying online, but you can’t ramp up equipment that fast,” Stock said.

So, right on cue, US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) steps in and demands rebates from the retailers and the shippers.  All of the reports I saw in the blogosphere reguritated this – except for CBS New York who recorded a bit more than what is on his website: 

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