On the other is this headline from the Nashua Telegraph (emphasis mine, reformatted) says “Oh no you can’t!”:

Brown only candidate not to confirm attendance at Merrimack forum

MERRIMACK – Former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown is the only major candidate who hasn’t accepted an invitation to a forum for candidates in the 2014 Republican primary for U.S. Senate hosted by the Merrimack Business Association.  The debate, which is scheduled for June 18, has already confirmed former state Sen. Jim Rubens, former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith and former gubernatorial candidate Karen Testerman.

Dave McCray, of the Merrimack Business Association, said he heard from Brown’s staff as recently as Wednesday afternoon, but said Brown has yet to confirm the date.  “All I kept hearing was how busy he was,” McCray said.  McCray said Brown’s staff told him they needed to “check their calendars,” and said a campaign representative would contact the association. Candidates were given five days to reply to the invitation, which, according to the Merrimack Business Association, was sent to Brown on April 23.

Right.  Check their calendars – got it.  That is political speak for “oh crap

Read more

I became aware of why William Baer (“Billy”) ended up getting arrested last night – the book “Nineteen Minutes” and its depiction of two teens having rough sex as well as violence acts came to my attention this past Thursday – am late blogging this mostly because of the NH GOP Annual Meeting and all the video from it (just keep scrolling down and to previous page as well; I have taken some notes on what was said and will have more to say on it later).  Yes, the people that were letting me know were outraged on two accounts:

• the book itself
• the reckless attitude shown towards parents by the School Board, the Superintendent, and the school staff

So I quickly dashed off an email to the

• The Chair and Vice-Chair of our Budget Committee (yeah, my taxes are paying for this smut)
• The Selectment (not that they can do much as the School Board is a separate entity, legally and tax-wise)
• The Superintendent – Kent Hemingway

I would have emailed each of the School Board, but the cowards no longer post their email addresses on their own website (ever conscious of their constituents, I guess).  BTW, the teacher behind this can be reached here: Gail Hutchison

PLEASE NOTE!!!!: I am breaking my own Rule #1 after the jump, but without the evidence, why bother?  NSFW if someone comes reading over your shoulder

From: Skip
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 10:55 PM
To:<BudComm>, <Selectmen>, khemingway@sau73.org
Subject: So this is what is taught in our High School and bought with my taxes?? 

Read more

Well, after I sent my outraged missive to the School Board and the Superindent, Kent Hemingway, I did get a response back from him. Can you say “limp” response? This is indicative of an attitude of “here’s a bone; I’ll just out wait you all and this will just blow over” (Barbara is a friend of mine – I did not know at the time that she had unloaded on them as well:

From: Kent Hemingway
To: Skip; Barbara
Sent: 5/2/2014 1:43:15 PM
Subject: RE: So this is what is taught in our High School and bought with my taxes??

Skip and Barbara,

Please find the attached statement from the Gilford School District regarding these concerns.

Kent

Kent Hemingway
Superintendent of Schools
Gilford School District, NH SAU 73
2 Belknap Mtn. Rd.
Gilford, NH 03249
603 527 9215
mailto:khemingway@sau73.org
http://www.sau73.org/
“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.” ? Madeleine L’Engle

Image of the PDF (picoult letter may 2) he sent after the jump:

Read more

The letter below is posted on behalf of State Representative JR Hoell, Bow/Dunbarton

May 6, 2014

Dear New Hampshire Charter School parents,

Yesterday, we learned that our Governor nominated William “Bill” Duncan to the New Hampshire Board of Education (NHBOE).  This nomination could be confirmed by the Executive Council as soon as this Thursday, May 8th.  This particular nomination should concern anyone who values the Charter Schools as well as all forms of Education choice in New Hampshire.

The Governors nomination of the activist Mr. Duncan comes as quite a surprise to those following NH politics.  Never in recent memory has one who has initiated and assumed the role of lead plaintiff in a court case filed AGAINST the State of New Hampshire ever been simultaneously nominated for a seat on a prestigious board.  Even more surprising is that the Board would be the Board of Education where Mr. Duncan has lead the fight against the first program for educational opportunity for the children of low and middle income.

(STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SUPREME COURT

CASE No. 2013-0455

BILL DUNCAN, et al. v.  STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, et al.)

Furthermore, Mr. Duncan is on record for trying to shut down the Charter School programs by publicly advocating against the additional funding bill for Charter schools (HB435) as well as making outrageous public statements, such as:

Read more

This arrived in my email box just a few minutes ago…

“Dear Susan –

Thank you for your note about Governor Hassan’s nomination of Bill Duncan to the state Board of Education.

I have a unique appreciation for the critical importance of BOTH supporting our traditional public school system and simultaneously looking for opportunities to make positive educational innovation available to all children who need it. My own success in life is deeply depending on the public schools I attended (including both traditional schools and a nontraditional public magnet high school); my younger brother was home schooled through middle school, and in addition to my work on the Executive Council, I work professionally at a private, nonprofit University which is extending the bounds of high-quality educational innovation through competency-based education designed to make a college degree radically more accessible and affordable for nontraditional students.  Supporting and strengthening our public schools is a top priority for me; I believe our public school teachers are among the very most important leaders and role models our children have as they develop, and I will always look for every opportunity to support the work they do in helping our kids.

Read more

The Brookline Democrats made local news at the end of April when they tweeted a meme and suggested that because of a shooting at a Fed Ex facility in Kennesaw, Georgia, another NRA/GOP talking point had been busted.

Kennesaw requires all adults to own a firearm, but the shooting occurred at the FedEx facility, one of the few places in town designated as a gun free zone.  The Brookline Democrats tried to save face for a while on Twitter, but at the end of the day, it was their talking point that got busted.

Guns don’t kill people, Gun Free Zones kill people, which means Democrats who insist on gun free zones kill people.

Read more

“Behold, the power of Obamanomics. More businesses are failing now than are being created, a first for the American economy since the Carter era, according to a new study by the Brookings Institution. That has become even more true during the Obama “recovery” than during the Great Recession:”

…While the reasons explaining this decline are still unknown, if it persists, it implies a continuation of slow growth for the indefinite future, unless for equally unknown reasons or by virtue of entrepreneurship enhancing policies (such as liberalized entry of high-skilled immigrants), these trends are reversed.

“The reasons can’t be that unknown.

Read more

Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.

In the NH Constitution, Part I, Article 22;  Free speech and liberty of the press are essential to the security of freedom in a state: They ought, therefore, to be inviolably preserved.

Inviolable: Impregnable to assault or trespass.  Invincible.

Essential to the security of freedom in a state...from?

The proponents of campaign finance reform (Including NH’s SB120) continue to argue that money is not speech, but that is a message none of you would know anything about if someone hadn’t spent the money necessary to ensure you had heard it.

Talk about irony.

Read more

 North Carolina arrests one Antonio Terez Harris for Election Law Violations

Looks like the County Sheriff arrested Mr. Harris of:

707 Lake Dr. Herculaneum , MO 63048 Phone Number: (636) 479-6314

Also of 115 Meadowfield Circle , Aberdeen , N.C.

Think Mr. Harris has a DOMICILE problem?

There is so little information about this arrest in the news readers are left to speculate what got Mr. Harris in trouble. But now might be a good time to look at the difference in North Carolina law and our statutes here in New Hampshire.

Read more