Everyone knows the New Hampshire “paper” that sells itself as a business tabloid is overwhelmingly left-wing. It has a snotty, condescending, political comment section on the next to the last page that invents, if need be, several stories each month about how Republicans are losers and progressives are the smart set.

The tabloid shows up at our Coalition of NH Taxpayers office in Concord, so I see it now and then. Mostly, people email me about some article that bothered them.

This month was a doozy.

Someone at the NH-ACLU came up with an article about student voters in NH that sets the standard for stupid.

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America doesn’t care what the UN thinks but that doesn’t mean what they think comes without consequence. Nikki Haley makes a few points in advance of a vote whose outcome I’m sure she already knew. (This is–after all–the Israel hating UN we’re talking about.)

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Christians and peace-loving people around the world are struggling today – struggling to find hope in a world filled with violence and hatred.

They see men, women, and children indiscriminately killed by despots and zealots who care nothing about peace. They see soldiers dying in conflicts around the world. At home, we see random killings and senseless violence in the streets of our cities. We see a fractured nation, deeply divided with no common ground in sight, a nation in which rational, civil discourse is gone – replaced by rigid ideology and hateful words.

But our country has gone through much worse.

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The 2017 ‘Humane Legislator of the Year’ entered a guilty plea to avoid jail time for assaulting Conservative activist Susan Olsen.

CONCORD, NH — A local Democrat and state representative pleaded guilty this morning to assaulting a political opponent during a state Senate ballot recount in November 2016. State Rep. Katherine Rogers, D-Concord, 61, pleaded guilty to the assault charge as part of a plea deal that would help her avoid jail time as well as a fine so long as she stays out of trouble during the next year and attends anger management classes during the next 90-days.

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The end is near?  Gosh, I’m still able to post this up so that other thingy that had the Democrats’ panties in a collective wedgie hasn’t come to pass – the Internet is still here.

The new Tax Bill – YAYAYA! The Obamacare “get taxed if you decide to do nothing” is GONE! Every tax bracket is getting tax cuts with middle class getting the highest percentage cuts (will post the chart later). Of course the Left and MSM are only using the amounts that are derived from percentages instead of the percentages themselves (e.g., at 2%, and $10,000 / worker will get a $200 tax refund while a $1,000,000/year worker will get $20,000) – use it in a classic Marxist way to provoke class warfare.  At this point, though, they don’t care as they can’t tell us the difference between themselves and Socialists.  They WANT a Socialist society – why else behave and report they way they do and why else behave and legislate and pontificate the way they do?

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The income tax now set up by the Republican Tax Reform SHOULD have Democrats jumping for joy – it makes it even MORE Progressive than before (which I don’t think is a good thing). Emphasis mine:

The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) has released its distributional analysis of the final Republican tax bill. The bill provides even larger percentage cuts for middle earners than previous versions of the legislation. If the legislation is enacted, higher earners will pay an even larger share of the overall income tax burden than they do now. Our highly “progressive” income tax will be even more progressive. That approach is counter to sound fiscal governance and undermines the growth potential of tax reform, but that is what Republicans are delivering…

…Looking at JCT’s table for 2019, second column, the percentage cuts are roughly similar across income groups from $20,000 to $1,000,000. But the JCT table slants the results by including payroll and excise taxes. The table under-measures the percentage cuts to the middle compared to the top. The table below takes estimated payroll and excise taxes out of the JCT data. It shows individual and corporate income tax cuts as a percentage of estimated individual and corporate income taxes paid under current law. Middle-income households will receive by far the largest percentage income tax cuts in 2019.

Look at the right hand column – THAT 

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In case you missed it, Donald Trump has fulfilled another campaign promise.

“…Iraq’s prime minister declared victory in the war against ISIS. Iraq — with indispensable American help — has regained control of its cities and its border with Syria. ISIS has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. The victory isn’t confined to Iraq. American-allied forces control ISIS’s former capital in Syria, and the world’s largest jihadist army is gone. 

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Oh, it sounds SO nice and fuzzy – it’s for the Children, it’s for the Adults, it’s for the Seniors. How could ANYONE be against – yet another government program.  Republican Committeeman Steve Duprey seems to be in favor of this:

…Steve Duprey, president of Foxfire Property Management and the Duprey Companies; Brad Sawler, owner of Oxland Builders; and Dee Fitzgerald, a brand manager for W.S. Badger Co….House Bill 628 would establish a fund to be used for paid family and medical leave. Funding would come from either employees or employers in New Hampshire, and funded through premiums that would be about 0.5 percent of an employee’s weekly wage.

Hey, it’s just a cuppa coffee, right?  Just one more after the other “just a cuppa”….as I’ve said before, I feel like I’m pulling a tank truck of joe behind me. Just another government program that, well, the private sector can do for itself – right Steve Duprey, you rent-seeker you!

Costs could be lowered as well for both the employers and the employees, which Duprey said he favors. Duprey said that he already has a similar program in place at his company, but the state program could cut premium costs by more than half. “I think this would not be successful if it had an employer burden,” he said.

Ah, I get it!  He’s 

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Democrats: live by the tax!  Republicans (today): OK, die by your tax, too

And no, may it never live again.  As I said at the time of enactment of Obamacare (without a single Republican vote), the Founders would be spinning like mad to hearing that the Federal Government, supposedly limited in scope and power, would require citizens to purchase something that they otherwise not.  Not a whit, whisper, or wisp of such a power was enumerated in the Constitution.  Then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Roberts said that the Constitution allowed Congress to levy taxes – even a tax on “doing nothing” (e.g., refusing to participate in an commercial activity demand would result in a tax).

Who knew that he knew better than many at the time – that he set a trap that could be tripped if only the right people knew how (and had the gumption to do so)?

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The distinction between use and mention is too often ignored and worth a detailed look. Language Log has an excellent article on the topic that begins with this.

Professor Donald Hindley was recently found guilty of racial harassment by Brandeis University for statements that he made in his Fall 2007 Latin American Studies course. The case is discussed in this report by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and in a number of blog posts, including this one by Margaret Soltan and this one by Eugene Volokh. Criticism of Brandeis is based in part on what appears to have been an egregiously unfair process, and in part on the nature of the charges against him.

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By Sam Costanzo

The labor shortage in general construction and such skilled trades as plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work has been well-documented throughout the country, with older generations of skilled tradesmen entering retirement much faster than they can be replaced.

According to a survey by the Associated General Contractors of America, some 70 percent of U.S. construction firms report difficulty finding qualified workers. And the US. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the nation’s need for workers in the skilled trades is increasing much faster than the growth of employment overall.  This can be surprising to the average American that may consistently require the efforts of skilled laborers for their home or car. Common sense would tell you there’d be a lot of demand to become a welder or painter or even offer residential estimating services.

Among those sounding the alarm is television personality Mike Rowe, former host of “Dirty Jobs,” who has appeared before a Congressional panel to call attention to the “skills gap.”

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Tampering with the temperature record is one of many ways the rent-seekers in the Climate Cult keep the gravy flowing, but there are a lot of records. Here’s one, compiled at infoplease.com sourced from the National Climate Data Center in Ashville, NC, showing the hottest recorded day in every U.S. state by year.

If the doomsayers are correct, we should see a frightening number of states with their hottest days ever recorded in recent decades. But we don’t.

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