Steve MacDonald

Steve is a long-time New Hampshire resident, blogger, and a member of the Board of directors of The 603 Alliance. He is the owner of Grok Media LLC and the Managing Editor of GraniteGrok.com, a former board member of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, and a past contributor to the Franklin Center for Public Policy.

Who knew? Maine Senator Susan Collins on “card check”

by Steve MacDonald

card check

For some time now, we have been closely following the progress of the deceptively named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) or, as it is more commonly known– "card check"– as it wends its way through Congress. Noted in several prior posts and discussed on our Saturday radio program, this legislation eliminates the secret ballot presently available to workers when it comes to the question of unionization. As you might suspect, Democrats are mostly in favor of its passage, given their long-time relationship with labor unions in general, and it has been up to the Republicans to stand in the way of passage of this onerous legislation. While certainly overshadowed by the present fiscal chaos dominating the news cycle, this issue has turned out to be one of the major topics of discussion in some of this year’s most closely contested Senate races.

Certainly the subject has found its way into the Sununu/Shaheen race, with our friends at Granite Staters for Employee Freedom pushing the issue every chance they get at various campaign events and meetings throughout the state.

What you might not have known (like me) is that, in addition to Senator Sununu being on the right side of this important issue, another New England Republican in a close re-election race is right there too: Susan Collins. That’s right– while you’re probably like me in thinking that the Maine Republican Senator is not nearly conservative enough when it comes to certain matters, it turns out she is absolutely right when it comes to her position regarding EFCA. In fact, during a recent debate against her Democratic challenger she literally knocked it out of the park when questioned on "card check". Said Senator Collins, in response to a question as to where she stands:

I am strongly opposed to taking away the guarantee of a secret ballot when workers are deciding whether or not to organize.

She then provided some details that clearly demonstrates her grasp of what is at stake:

 

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“That’s the point. Jeanne Shaheen has been a consistent opponent of nuclear power and oil drilling, where there is oil, for 25 years before her latest poll led to her switch of positions.”

by Steve MacDonald

Seabrook.oil platform

         Seabrook Station, no thanks to Jeanne…              Offshore drilling? No way!

Jeanne Shaheen

I’ll git you my little pretties… hehehe!

refinery. Seabrook protest

                      Refineries? Nope!                              Assault on Seabrook. May 1, 1977

Back in the 80’s, former NH House Speaker Marshall Cobleigh spent many a Sunday morning debating future Governor Jeanne Shaheen on a number of issues. At the time, the battle over the Seabrook Station nuclear power raged on, with the sides plainly split along partisan lines. Republicans favored the facility and Democrats opposed it. As reported in this post earlier this week, The NHGOP has released several YouTube videos showing Shaheen and Cobleigh going at it over the issue. At the time of the original airing, according to GOP state party chair Fergus Cullen,

she was organizing the radical anti-nuclear community in support of former Portsmouth Mayor Paul McEachern’s 1988 gubernatorial campaign. Shaheen served as the campaign manager and senior advisor to Paul McEachern, an extreme nuclear opponent, in both his 1986 and 1988 bids for the corner office.

[Mr. Cobleigh appeared on our radio program this past Saturday. Click here to download the podcast.]

Today he held a press conference to discuss the matter in response to what the Shaheen camp has had to say about the 1987 video:

STATEMENT OF FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER MARSHALL COBLEIGH
 AND NEW HAMPSHIRE ENERGY CHIEF 1973 – 1978
DELIVERED AT PRESS CONFERENCE
 MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22 AT THE LOB, CONCORD NH

I called this press conference because I was appalled at my long-time television adversary Jeanne Shaheen’s blatent attempt to rewrite and completely distort her record regarding the use of nuclear power and to point out Shaheen’s factual record as a long-time opponent of nuclear power, as well as her failed record as a big-taxing, big-spending governor who left office with a huge budget deficit of $300 million.  Just exactly the type of person we don’t need representing NH in the US Senate.

First of all, I want to address her campaign’s claim that the tapes now on U-tube that I lent to the Republican party “were taken out of context, and these clips are over 20 years old.”

The facts are that the tapes are from 1987 …. 21 years ago.

That’s the point.  Jeanne Shaheen has been a consistent opponent of nuclear power and oil drilling, where there is oil, for 25 years before her latest poll led to her switch of positions.

It is also a fact that nothing is taken out of context.  That is exactly what she said on the show and exactly what I said.  I challenge Jeanne Shaheen to demonstrate clearly what she claims is taken out of context.  We were on the weekly show for about 10 years.  The facts are that Jeanne Shaheen constantly harped about her distaste for nuclear power.  I know it.  And she knows it. 

I just don’t have the rest of the tapes to prove it.

I also challenge Jeanne Shaheen to put up or shut up.  I am willing to let any member of the press examine these tapes and verify that nothing is taken out of context.

The Shaheen spokesman also claims “what Jeanne Shaheen has CONSISTENTLY SAID …. that nuclear power is a part of our energy mix…. but we should not subsidize it, and WE SHOULD NOT EXPAND IT  until we have a safe way to deal with the waste.”

That is typical Jeanne Shaheen, trying to have it both ways.  She gives the appearance of changing her life-long position and at the same time appeasing her clamshall friends with the qualifier
about nuclear waste. 

I also challenge Jeanne Shaheen to provide to the press any documentation showing that she has “CONSISTENTLY SAID over the years that nuclear power should be a part of our energy mix.”

Most of you know that in the past 3 or 4 months Jeanne Shaheen has outlined a 6-point energy plan and 3 NH op-ed pieces THAT DO NOT MENTION her sudden feigned support for nuclear power.

The Shaheens are famous for political dirty tricks.  You will remember that Jeanne Shaheen’s husband Bill Shaheen was fired from Hillary Clinton’s campaign for his anything-goes campaign dirty tricks of raising the issue of Barack Obama’s drug use.

The facts are that Secretary of Energy James Schlessinger told the nation’s Energy Chiefs  20 years ago, “There are at least 20 ways to solve the nuclear waste for 20,000 years but the politicians won’t make the choice of which way to use.”  France, which gets 80% of its electricity from nuclear power, chose to recycle and reuse nuclear waste but the Democrat-controlled congress put a ban on that technique just as they also banned off-shore oil drilling beyond the Gulf of Mexico.  Today we store nuclear waste at Seabrook Station because the Democrat-controlled congress lacks the courage to choose which of the 20 safe ways to use.

The most astounding statement Jeanne Shaheen made on the few tapes I have, came after I said,

“…. and if we don’t have nuclear power in this country we are going to become more and more vulnerable to the Arabs in the mid east, and that’s why WE ARE IN DANGER OF WAR, because we are not taking care of our energy dependence.” 

To which Shaheen responded,

“that argument just doesn’t wash.” 

Jeanne Shaheen was dead wrong.

The facts are that my 1987 comments were prescient.  We did end up in a mid-east war caused by Jeanne Shaheen, and her fellow NIMBY (not in my back yard) and NOPE (no
t on planet earth) fellow travelers, along with their Democrat allies in congress.  To have the unmitigated gall to blame the war entirely on President Bush and try to tie all Republican candidates to President Bush’s unpopularity caused by the war is the height of chutzpah.

 I believe that Jeanne Shaheen is making these blatently-false statements to hide from her atrocious record on energy, spending, and taxation.

 I enclose a documentation of Jeanne Shaheen’s sorry record on energy, taxes, and spending, which I shall not read so that we have time for any questions from you folks

These attachments [below] of Jeanne Shaheen’s record clearly show that Shaheen shifts positions more often than a windmill in a hurricane:

 

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Watch out…It’s time for Meet the New Press radio!

by Steve MacDonald

Starting Saturday morning at 9 am! . ….              .Pat Hynes                                  Skip Murphy                                  Doug Lambert As usual, this week’s broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration– ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip, if you are … Read more

Let the people vote!

by Steve MacDonald

What are the elected politicians afraid of? When it comes to letting the voters decide whether they wish to live under a tax cap, you know their greatest fear is that it WILL pass, and the big spenders, powerful BECAUSE of their ongoing largesse, will then be discovered to have nothing else to offer the … Read more

A reminder… Hopefully you don’t really need one, as we should all contemplate the events of September 11, 2001 DAILY

by Steve MacDonald

.     … Today is the anniversary of the worst terror assault on American soil- the third major attack on the homeland by enemy forces since the end of the Revolutionary War. September 11, 2001 is a day that everything changed. Throughout history there have been few events that, in the big scheme of things, impacted … Read more

Amil Imani: Skillfully Playing the Blame Game

by Steve MacDonald

Iranian Shabib Missile

The following is a guest post by Mr. Amil Imani. It contains some rather informative historical information that must be understood in order to get the full context of events happening today. Once again, we thank Mr. Imani for sharing his inciteful thoughts with ‘Grok readers…

It is a fundamental human trait to locate the source of anything bad happening and try to neutralize it. There are, however, times that the source of the harm cannot be pinpointed or when successfully recognized it cannot be eliminated. Failure to recognize the source or neutralize it is frustrating. And frustration triggers a variety of emotions and reactions. The feeling of victimization is one possible reaction that frequently goes hand-in-hand with displaced aggression on a convenient safe target. The aggression can be verbal, physical, or a combination of the two.

The Mullahs presently ruling Iran are faced with monumental threats. Internally, the great majority of the populace is against their misrule. Labor unions, teachers associations, student groups, religious and ethnic minorities, journalists and many others have suffered and continue to suffer inordinate hardship under the heavy-handed Mullahs and their front-men. Externally, they are engaged in brinksmanship with the United States and Israel, while trying to wrestle the mantle of Islamic leadership from the Sunni Saudis and their Wahhabi cabal.

The Mullahs deflect responsibility for the mess they have made of Iran by skillfully playing the blame game. Blaming others for our problems seems to have become part of our national character, dating some 1400 years to the time when an army of bloodthirsty savages lofting the banner of Islam invaded our country. These barbarians hailed out of the Arabian Peninsula, heartlessly slaughtered innocent people, burned libraries, and took whatever they wanted, including women and children, as booty of war.

My country, the present Iran, a cradle of civilization, the land of Cyrus the Great—the first author of the Human Rights Charter—was ravaged by the Muslim killers. The upstanding Iranian people who lived by the Great Zoroaster’s triad of Goodly Thoughts, Goodly Speech, and Goodly Deeds stood no chance against the Muslim beasts who had been promised by Muhammad: if you kill, or you get killed, either way you will be admitted to Allah’s gloriously lush paradise for eternity in compensation. This pie-in-the-sky paradise of Allah, Muhammad intimated, includes among other things, rivers of milk and honey as well as 72 virgins for every male.

 

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Grant Bosse on the Second Amendment

by Steve MacDonald

By Grant Bosse By upholding an individual right to keep and bear arms, overturning the oppressive handgun ban in Washington D.C., but leaving room for local and state regulations, the court has put Congress and state legislatures front and center. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is already pushing for strict gun control restrictions "near schools," without saying how wide such a zone … Read more

Meet the New Press Podcast featuring John Stephen, facts about the oil industry, and the last word on the Wolfeboro flag flap…

by Steve MacDonald

The MTNP Podcast page is brought to you by: .                                                                               Meet The New Press Radio at the speed of the Blogosphere! WEMJ 1490 Saturdays 9am-11am (EDT) Streaming Live! To play (or "stream") a clip now, just click on it.  To download it to your PC, right click on it and tell the process where to … Read more

Bloggers Conference Call: Oil & Gas– Developing our domestic sources.

by Steve MacDonald

 

refinery.oil rig
oil derrick….money fist…oil

 

In addition to politics, I am very interested in energy and things related. I deal with energy-producers in my "real" job on a daily basis, I am a member of my town’s Energy Committee, and of course, like most Americans these days, above all, I am mostly interested in energy at the moment due to its escalating cost. When you think about it, energy affects pretty much everything. Along with food and water, plentiful energy is among the necessities of life. After all, it takes energy to GET the food and water…

Thursday afternoon, I participated in a Bloggers’ Conference Call hosted by our friends at the American Petroleum Institute. The biggest point I came away with is that there is much more to the topic of energy, its supply, and the exploration of, than you could imagine. While some politicians rail against "big oil" day in and day out, the fact is, "big oil" is an extremely complex industry made up of great numbers of skilled Americans, held together in a logistical system that is undoubtedly as intricate and complicated as anything one would find in almost any other human endeavor on the planet.

If you believe that "big oil" is nothing more than wealthy fatcats that work for a single handful of well-known corporate symbols like Exxon or Mobil, etcetera, hanging out all day in large, air conditioned buildings scheming ways of taking our money, you need to think about these matters for more than a nanosecond. And consider the whole concept of energy and its impact on our individual lives. It is my belief that without affordable, portable sources of energy, we would all but lose the freedoms we hold dear. The freedom to travel about when YOU want to, and go almost anywhere you want in short order, is nothing to take lightly. The freedom to live in your own home and rely on yourself to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer is about as American as it gets. Are we ready to live in Soviet-style housing to stay warm? I think not. When the refrigerator replaced the icebox  and became widely available and affordable to ordinary people, it was hailed as an advance directly responsible for the improvement of peoples’ health through better, safer diets. Without energy, there would be no such thing.

Anyway, during the call, there was much discussion about the lengthy, expensive, and risky process involved with the successful discovery and delivery of oil and gas to the marketplace. We also learned about how some areas presently off-limits contain already existing wells constructed before banning new offshore exploration and drilling came into vogue. These can be quickly brought into production.

One of the people participating was David Mica, the executive director of the Florida Petroleum Council. I was particularly intrigued by recent news of the attitude change in Florida on the part of Governor Crist and wondered if it reflected a shift shared by many Floridians. Here is the transcript of our exchange at the beginning of the call:

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GraniteGrok Q & A Series: Jeb Bradley

by Steve MacDonald

Jeb Bradley.Jeb Bradley

Former Congressman Jeb Bradley is featured in today’s GraniteGok Congressional Candidate Q & A Series. He is one of the two Republicans seeking the nomination for NH’s 1st Congressional District.  As with the others that have participated, we thank Jeb for taking time to answer these questions and further continue to appreciate his acknowledgment of the growing importance of the readers here in the blogosphere. Jebb Joined us on MTNP radio this past Saturday. Click here to visit the podcast page and listen.

Jeb’s responses are below and as always, feel free to leave a comment…

===============================================================
QUESTIONS

1. If you could ask General Petraeus any question, but only one question, what would it be?

Jeb: General Petraeus: Thank you for your exemplary service to our nation.  Would you describe please the progress that is being made in Iraq stabilizing that nation and leading to political reconciliation and do you have the resources necessary to complete that mission? 

2. Do you favor Oil recovery in the newly found fields in Montana & the Dakotas?  Jeb: Yes

• Drilling in ANWR?  Jeb: YES

• Drilling in the deep waters off Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico?   Jeb: Yes

• Creating a fast track process to license and build new nuclear plants?  Jeb: YES

Jeb adds: Our nation needs to reduce our dependence of foreign imports by exploring in areas that have previously been off limits which includes ANWR. We also need to permit additional refineries, develop clean coal technology, and license new nuclear plants. Additionally our nation needs to develop renewable energy which should be done by creating incentives in the marketplace rather than direct government subsidies.

3. In the area of healthcare, are you in favor of:

• Giving tax credits for policies to individuals / families as well as businesses? 

Jeb: YES

• Allow policies to be purchased across state lines?  Jeb: YES

• Allow individuals to buy lower cost policies by "unhooking" legal mandates  

Jeb: YES

Jeb adds: In order to lower the cost of health care we must reduce frivolous lawsuits that force doctors to practice defensive medicine. Small businesses should be able to pool together across state lines to get large discounts from insurers. Health savings accounts should be expanded. These are all provisions I have voted for. Additionally health care costs should be transparent and fully deductable. Individuals ought to be allowed to purchase health care policies outside their home states if they so choose. All of these provisions will lower the cost of health care. I do not support a Canadian style government run health care system.

4. British Prime Minister Brown said that the US must give up the idea of absolute sovereignty in order to better cooperate in the global community.  Agree or disagree, and why?

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Guest Blog Post: Simple desires are the key to happiness. Except when gov’t. has something to say about it…

by Steve MacDonald

Dashed dreams? Doug, I thought you may find this piece interesting as it relates to the growth of NH’s  regulation and inspection of the vehicle.  It also relates the simple desire of owning an old truck. All the best. Jeff Desiring an old truck By Jeff Woodburn Simple desires are the key to happiness.  I’ve … Read more

Defending the New Hampshire Advantage Pledge unveiled Tuesday

by Steve MacDonald

. 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

What a ride! It’s Meet the New Press radio.

by Steve MacDonald

Starting Saturday morning at 9 am! . ….              .Pat Hynes                                  Skip Murphy                                  Doug Lambert . As usual, this week’s broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration– ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip, if you … Read more

Spending Cap Pledge Debuts in Lakes Region

by Steve MacDonald

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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Meet the New Press radio. Come and get your fill. We’re 100% domestic, always a good value, and totally tax-free!

by Steve MacDonald

MTNP: A real gas! Starting Saturday morning at 9 am! . ….              .Pat Hynes                                  Skip Murphy                                  Doug Lambert . As usual, this week’s broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration– ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills … Read more

McCain to VFW: “What they [Democrats] are really proposing, if they mean what they say, is a policy of withdraw and re-invade.”

by Steve MacDonald

John McCain

John McCain (GG file photo)

JOHN MCCAIN ADDRESSES MEMBERS OF THE VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS (VFW)

 

Today, John McCain will make remarks in Kansas City, Missouri about the mission in Iraq. Ahead of this week’s testimony by General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, he will outline the progress being made in Iraq, the work left to be done and the consequences of withdrawal. Here is the text of the speech as prepared for delivery:

Thank you. It is an honor to be here today. I’m always grateful to be in the company of Americans who have had the burden of serving our country in distant lands, and the honor of having proved your patriotism in difficult circumstances. Your example is a constant reminder to Americans that we have obligations to our country that are greater than our personal ambitions, and that our self-respect will owe more to how faithfully we keep those obligations than any other success we achieve in life. Among those obligations is to debate honestly issues that involve America’s future security because so many Americans have sacrificed everything to keep us secure. All that is asked of the rest of us is that we do not dishonor their sacrifice by treating the cause they served so bravely as an opportunity to argue without wisdom; to divide us without care for the consequences; to advance our individual or partisan interests at the expense of America’s security .

At the beginning of last year, we were engaged in a great debate about what to do in Iraq. Four years of a badly-conceived military strategy had brought us almost to the point of no return. Sectarian violence in Iraq was spiraling out of control, life had become a struggle for survival, and a full-scale civil war seemed almost unavoidable. Al Qaeda in Iraq was on the offensive. Entire Iraqi provinces were under the control of extremists and were deemed all but lost. Faced with the prospect of defeat, we had two fundamental choices. We could retreat from Iraq and accept the horrible consequences of our defeat. Or we could change strategies and try to turn things around. It was, I believe, a critical moment in our nation’s history, and a time of testing for our nation’s political leadership.

In the year that has passed, our nation showed its strength, and its deep sense of global responsibility. Instead of abandoning Iraq to civil war, genocide, and terror, and the Middle East to the destabilizing effects of these consequences, we changed strategies. We sent to Iraq additional troops, many of them on their third or fourth tour, and a great, seasoned general to lead them, with a battle plan that, at long last, actually addressed the challenges we faced in Iraq.

Within six months, the men and women who have made such enormous sacrifices for the rest of us dramatically turned around the situation in Iraq. From June 2007 through my most recent trip last month, sectarian and ethnic violence in Iraq has been reduced by 90 percent. Civilian deaths and deaths of coalition forces fell by 70 percent. The dramatic reduction in violence has opened the way for a return to something approaching normal political and economic life for the average Iraqi. Political reconciliation is occurring across Iraq at the local and provincial grassroots level. Sunni and Shi’a chased from their homes by terrorist and sectarian violence are returning. The "Sons of Iraq" and Awakening movements, where former Sunni insurgents have now joined in the fight against Al Qaeda, continue to grow.

 

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“Complete Disregard”

by Steve MacDonald

WASHINGTON – Today the RNC released a new Web video, titled “Politics vs. Petraeus.”  The video highlights Senators Clinton and Obama’s politicization of the War on Terror and complete disregard for the facts and the warnings made by General David Petraeus during his last congressional hearing on September 11, 2007.   After consistently promising to “always … Read more

Mr. Dean, have you no shame?

by Steve MacDonald

Earlier today I participated in a Bloggers’ Conference Call with senior members of Senator McCain’s campaign team in which they outlined his upcoming "Service to America" tour, or as our friend Pat Hynes called it, McCain’s "bio tour." As reported by Hugh Hewitt,   McCain Senior Advisor Steve Schmidt outlined next week’s "Service to America" tour.  … Read more

Catholics for McCain

by Steve MacDonald

Catholic Church

Anybody that watches TV and follows politics at all knows that the Democratic candidates seemingly spend inordinate amounts of time campaigning in churches and would have to admit we don’t see the same on the Republican side. While we generally associate faith and Christian values with conservatism, we just don’t find Republicans as publicly mixing it with politics– at least within houses of worship with cameras rolling.

As Catholics, we just don’t do politics in Church. It’s God’s house, and of course, the purpose of Mass is to worship Him– period. But that doesn’t mean that people who are Catholics cannot still have an opinion when it comes to politics. In fact, we are encouraged to be active and involved– we just don’t bring it into our Churches. Instead, we are asked to seek out politicians who will best reflect our beliefs and values in line with the teachings of our faith.

Yesterday, the McCain campaign released the following report announcing he has won the support of many Catholics from across America. And why not? When you look at the core teachings of the Church regarding life, forgiveness, and respect for our fellow man, Senator McCain stands head and shoulders above the Democrats candidates who are, after all, representing "the Party of Death." I am glad that our religion is more low key when it comes to politics within the confines of our Church walls. I am glad that my pastor won’t stand in front of the Church and tell us who to vote for– that way there, it is up to US to venture forth into the world and make our own decisions using our best judgement. I am proud to call myself a Catholic, and I am proud that many of my fellow brothers and sisters have joined with me in publicly announcing support for John McCain.

ARLINGTON, VA — Today over 100 prominent Catholics nationwide have come together to support John McCain for president. The National Catholics for McCain Committee, led by U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Former Governor Frank Keating (R-OK), is growing rapidly. The group is represented by elected officials, businessmen and women, grassroots organizers, students, and Catholic leaders from over two dozen states.

"John McCain has a common sense vision for America based on faith, freedom, and families," said Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), National Co-Chair of the National Catholics for McCain Committee. "Committed to the protection of innocent human life, he is a leader Catholics will be proud to support. John McCain knows from experience what it means when a society tramples on the truth of the value of the human person. He is committed to defending the dignity and value of every person, regardless of their status."

John McCain expressed his deep appreciation and stated, "I want to thank Catholic voters today, who have played a vital role in electing me as the Republican nominee for the presidency. I am humbled by the support of such a diverse group of Catholic leaders who are dedicated to the defense of traditional marriage, advocate for the protection of innocent human life, and share my vision for a stronger, safer and more prosperous America. I stand firmly with those Catholics who believe that human rights are natural rights for all people, in all places, and in all stages of life."

The National Catholics for McCain Committee is actively recruiting Catholics at the national, regional, state, local, and parish levels to help share John McCain’s vision and pro-Catholic message. 

Here is the list of those officially signed on: 

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Bizarro Republicans

by Steve MacDonald

Bizarro World

Republicans ‘destroying’ Belknap County… (and themselves, in the process)

Fans of the various Superman incarnations might recall the minor character, Bizarro, failed clone of Superman. After being hit by a meteor, Bizarro’s “powers” were the reverse of Superman’s. Leaving Earth, the evil clone moved to a world known as “Htrae” with “Bizarro-Lois,” creating “Bizarro World.” According to the Wikipedia

In the Bizarro world, a cube-shaped planet known as ‘Htrae’ (Earth spelled backward), society is ruled by the Bizarro Code, which states that it is a crime to do anything well or to make anything perfect or beautiful. In one episode, for example, a salesman is doing a brisk trade selling ‘Bizarro bonds. Guaranteed to lose money for you.’

Simply put- it is a world where up is down and in is out and good is bad. Come with me as I pay a visit to “Bizarro World…”

Writing in a post at our local blog, GilfordGrok, I noted that here in the Granite State, it is the job of the County Convention– comprised of the county’s delegation of NH house representatives– to review and approve the county budget that is proposed to them by the members of the County Commission. The Convention has much the same power and function as a municipal budget committee, with one difference: Unlike a municipal budget committee’s decisions, which are subjected to one final layer of checks and balances– the voters, who get the last word, the Convention’s vote is the ultimate and final authority. As our elected representatives, the Convention members form a purely republican (small “r”) form of government, in that we completely rely on them to act on our behalf. They are the eyes and ears of the taxpayers of the county. Let me repeat what I wrote last week at GilfordGrok: “Based upon my recent observations, they have failed us miserably.” After what I witnessed this past Tuesday night, I stand pat by that observation.

It is no secret that fiscal matters at all levels of government are facing extra scrutiny lately. With a slowing economy, and rising costs of energy and other necessary items of life, taxpayers are getting pinched, and are looking for relief wherever possible. In Laconia, the citizens have enacted a tax cap, vowing to live within their means. The practical result is that the city is now choosing how it spends its resources carefully, in some cases going without—much like any average family. Dittoes for neighboring Gilford, where the Selectmen, the School Board, and the Budget Committee have all worked to lighten the load on the taxpayers. Not so for the County. Over there, it’s “taxpayers be damned, business as usual.”

 

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