New Hampshire House Votes to Raise Tobacco Taxes

The ten cent resolution, that one thin (not so thin) dime New Hampshire Republicans cut off the tobacco tax two years ago, expires shortly.   At the time it photos-of-extinguished-cigarette - Tobacco taxes in danger thanks to Obamacarewas proposed and passed the left was so insane with outrage that you’d have thought Republicans were selling guns to foreign drug lords across the border who were killing agents of the federal government and innocent civilians as well.  But some Democrat president was the one who’d done that so there was no moral call to war; New Hampshire Democrats were as quiet as church mice.  (Regular Church mice, the social justice Church mice are noisy sums-o-beeches–and likely protected by a stimulus grant through the EPA.) But that ten cent tax?  That was a crime against humanity.

But it was probably doomed from the start.

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Tobacco Tax Increase: The Progressives Racism And Class Warfare?

“Every man who repeats the dogma of Mill that one country is not fit to rule another country must admit that one class is not fit to rule another class.” ? B.R. Ambedkar

photos-of-extinguished-cigarette - Tobacco taxes in danger thanks to ObamacareI read Steve’s entry this morning on the tobacco tax increase the house progressives just passed. HB 659-FN-A   passed 193 to 167 largely right along party lines, bringing along the usual recognizable (and some Freshman) RINO’s. I think anybody that follows house voting behavior is not at all surprised or intrigued because those RINO’s sipping the progressive Kool-Aid ascribe to the notion that somehow fewer kids will smoke as the price of a pack increases. But the fact is, kids do pay taxes. When a 13-year-old

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All Things being Equal…

Any minute now the left will begin to caterwaul about how unfair it is to not only reward teachers who have more prestigious degrees, but to demand that they have degrees at all.  After all, this kind of wage inequality…

…it could be ‘devastating’ to the (those) who worked hard, but fell short….

OK.  That’s never going to happen, but–all things being equal– it should because those are actually the words (slightly edited for effect) of a professional educator.  A member of the ‘everyone gets a trophy’ club,  David Fabrizio, the principal of Ipswich Middle School in Massachusetts.  Mr. Fabrizio let parents know that the long standing custom of celebrating academic excellence–Honor’s Night–was being cancelled, because “… it could be ‘devastating’ to the students who worked hard, but fell short of the grades.”

Well thanks for that benchmark Mr. Fabrizio. (Though it is hardly the first time we’ve heard this sort of nonsense.)

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Troopers are not the only rent-seekers – so is Pike Industries

Grokster Steve’s post (“Troopers Admit – They Just Want the Money“) is a great one that demonstrates rent-seeking –  enriches the few at the expense of the many by advocating for an action by Government.  In the case of the State Troopers, they’re absolutely good with having Government approve a casino simply because it will mean more money for Troopers.  Yes, this is also a great demonstration of Government being the Biggest Special Interest group of….wait for it….Government (want another example?  Watch the Public Sector Unions drive the State of California -> and drive it into bankruptcy).

PikeRentSeeking-2

Here we have a snippet from a letter that was published by Pike Industries (you know, the road pavers) to its independent contractors – doing the same thing.  They WANT this gas tax, HB617, to go through.  Not so much for “civic duty” no matter what the elegant words are that come out of their PR flacks – it is because they know they will get a large, if not lion’s share of that money.  Do the right thing and demand of legislators to fill the leaky bucket that is the Highway Fund?

Heck no!  New tax – more money for Pike.  To heck with the drivers that aren’t their employees that will have to ante up more at the pump – not Pike’s concern as they’ll play the margins:  not enough contracters means a few more seasonal employee (and keep them under 30 hours a week to avoid the Obamacare nightmare of paperwork.  Contractors or employees – Pike will still profit and that’s the bottom line.  And you know they mean business – after all, they’ve got money tied up in paying for the Government Relations man – and businesses don’t spend money unless they are expecting to profit from it.

Complete letter after the jump – along with some well targeted and deserved snark:

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They will not take YOUR call

Your tax dollars at work against you
Your tax dollars at work against you

Hey, Steve, the very well-heeled lobbyists at the NH Municipal Association all also big supporters of raising the gas tax….their municipal members, whose dues are paid with our tax dollars, are happy to have NHMA hold out their hand for more of your money.  But if you dial their 224-7447 and ask for Judy Silva – the head lobbyist honcho – and wish to register your displeasure, if you are part of the great unwashed paying her salary, benefits and retirement (and gas reimbursement driving back and force to the State House), she won’t pick up.

More taxpayer money being used to lobby against taxpayers….

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Democrat O’Neil Takes Special Election in Manchester

Someone will blame the snow. Bill O’Neil won the special election yesterday 297 – 260.  He lost by thirty-seven votes.  What was it I said yesterday? Turn out is all the Republicans need to win in Manchester Ward 2 (Hills-9).  It is a special election.  GOP voters just need to show up in adequate numbers. … Read more

“Fighting Hate – Teaching Tolerance”

I offer nothing but the opening paragraph; read the whole thing by clicking the link The Year in Hate and Extremism By Mark Potok, Senior Fellow Capping four years of explosive growth sparked by the election of America’s first black president and anger over the economy, the number of conspiracy-minded antigovernment “Patriot” groups reached an all-time … Read more

Why The Town Of Durham Is Arbitrary To Landlords

“Even in Hell the peasant will have to serve the landlord, for, while the landlord is boiling in a cauldron the peasant will have to put wood under it” —Russian Proverb

Dude_Puking

The Union Leader featured a story on Monday night, “Durham to landlords: Safety standards stand.” Landlords (or to use the contemporary term) Property Owners, get a bad rap. When one reads the aforementioned story, it paints a very glib picture…allows the reader to “fill in the blanks.” 

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Uncomfortable truths and America’s coming “bad luck”

"The concept of ‘welfare’ has become an open, bottomless vessel into which every desire can be poured."
The welfare state: Meeting every desire.

I’m seeing evidence of a dawning realization accompanied by increasing discussion—sometimes coupled with resignation—about some very uncomfortable truths about welfare state socialism. It used to be you couldn’t talk directly and openly about the problem. Now people are.

A couple of examples:

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For Rental Property Owners

Never ignore a gut feeling, but never believe that it’s enough.” —Author Unknown

landlordconnectionSo reads the quote at the top of the Landlord Connection, Inc.‘s website. I very rarely outright endorse a service in any of my writings. But today, if there is a service never more worthy of such, it is Landlord Connection. I have used Landlord Connection for over 12 years to screen prospective tenants seeking to rent from me.

Any person who owns rental property and does not have

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So How is The NH Democrats ‘New Civility’ Working Out?

So how is the New Hampshire  Democrats ‘New Civility’ Working Out?  Just ask Democrat Peter Sullivan… So the Democrat governor’s lackeys are writing down the names of reps who oppose her agenda.  Was that supposed to be part of that whole “New Civility” thing you lefties said you’d pile up on your donkeys and bring … Read more

Free State lawyer in NH saves family and enforces U.S. Constitution in New Jersey

CORRECTION Boy Gun Photo
11-year-old Josh Moore and his new .22 rifle (AP photo)

Democrats and other regressives (not “progressives”; these people have nothing to do with “progress”) love to call names and tell lies about the Free State Project and its participants. That’s because Freestaters tend to revere the U.S Constitution and the Bill of Rights (which are inconveniences to regressives, who are statists to the core).

A demonstration of why the regressives hate Freestaters so much was just given when Evan Nappen, a lawyer, author, and 2nd Amendment expert—as well as Free State Project participant who moved to New Hampshire with his family several years ago—was called on an emergency basis Saturday night from New Jersey as a family was subjected to a late-night home invasion conducted by…

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When “Government Does Not Work”….to Eliminate “Government” That Does not Work.

The non-partisan US Inspectors General have recommended spending reforms to Executive branch agencies that would reduce waste, fraud, and abuse.  The House Oversight committee has jurisdiction over the IG’s and on March 5, released a report relating to the issue, going back to 2001. There are now close to 17,000 unimplemented recommendations, over 6000 of them added since 2009. … Read more

Magpul Will Be Leaving Colorado… Immediately. [Updated]

Today, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed a number of gun control bills into law.Magpul will be leaving Colorado as fast as they can

Magazine manufacturer Magpul warned the politicians that if they passed these laws they would have to leave and take their jobs and commerce (and taxes oh-my!) with them.  Magpul will be leaving pronto.

We have said all along that based on the legal problems and uncertainties in the bill, as well as general principle, we will have no choice but to leave if the Governor signs this into law. We will start our transition out of the state almost immediately, and we will prioritize moving magazine manufacturing operations first. We expect the first PMAGs to be made outside CO within 30 days of the signing, with the rest to follow in phases. We will likely become a multi-state operation as a result of this move, and not all locations have been selected. We have made some initial contacts and evaluated a list of new potential locations for additional manufacturing and the new company headquarters, and we will begin talks with various state representatives in earnest if the Governor indeed signs this legislation. Although we are agile for a company of our size, it is still a significant footprint, and we will perform this move in a manner that is best for the company and our employees.

The Colorado Democrats stood up for what they believed.  Magpul has done the same.

Hot Air

[Updated]

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GovernmentOversite: NHListens / Granite State Future – another viewpoint

Both the ‘Grok and GovernmentOversite went to the same event last week: a “listening” session conducted by NHListens (an offsoot of the Carsey Institute at UNH, where “Carsey” is the uber-Progressive TV producer, Marsey Carsey).  Here is the video that ‘Grok friend Ed over at put together over at GovernmentOversite (a mashup of some of the activity at the meeting with micro-interviews with Tim Carter of the Lakes Region TEA Party included (emphasis mine):

Read this before viewing: There are Nine Regional Planning Commissions within the State of New Hampshire. The Commissions were created by the Legislature and are given the task to create a regional master plan, a housing needs assessment and to assist towns in land use planning. They also derive most of their funding from the Federal Government. A smaller percentage comes from monies that are paid to it in the form of membership dues. The Nashua Regional planning commission applied for a planning grant offered by HUD, Housing and Urban Development, EPA Environmental Protection Agency and the DOT Department of Transportation. The planning grant is under the Federal Sustainable Communities Initiative. The initiatives primary goal is to support international agreements that incorporate “Sustainable Development” into local land use planning.The most commonly accepted formal definition of sustainable development is taken from Our Common Future, the landmark 1987 report of The World Commission on Environment and Development. Chaired by former Norwegian Prime Minister, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland and is the base document promoting the agreement known as Agenda 21, an action to be taken by member states of the United Nations to control all aspects where humans have an effect on the environment.

In New Hampshire the Sustainable Communities Initiative has been given the name, The Granite State Future…

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Guest post by Andrew Hemingway

Following Departure of Partisan Attorney General Delaney, Hemingway Calls on Governor Hassan to Appoint Independent-Minded Successor

Contact:  Andrew Hemingway
(603)203-4063
firstinthenation@gmail.com

Today, Attorney General Michael Delaney announced he will not be seeking re-nomination as the head of New Hampshire’s Justice Department. This comes after a term when he used the job to push a liberal political agenda and spent too much time fighting the people’s elected representatives. Andrew Hemingway issued the following statement on Attorney General Delaney’s departure “ From his attempts to go behind the backs of the legislature to spend money to his refusal to stand up against the government takeover of healthcare, Michael Delaney has done well by the liberal base in our state.”

“As Attorney General, Michael Delaney engaged in partisan politics on numerous occasions and was repeatedly criticized for it by legislative leaders. Instead of working with the legislature to ensure bills were constitutional, Delaney went behind their backs and tried to spend money on speculative partisan lawsuits and ignored the wished of New Hampshire’s elected legislators [1]. He refused to join 28 other states in the lawsuit against Obamacare, even after multiple bills passing the legislature asking him to do so.”

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The Ugly Face Of Tyranny

“We just can’t trust the American people to make those types of choices…. Government has to make those choices for people.” — Hilary Rodham Clinton  

Troopers Admit – They Just Want the Money

The New Hampshire Troopers Association and the New Hampshire Police Association agree.

Legalizing casino gambling wouldn’t endanger public safety but would in fact be a boon to law enforcement budgets, New Hampshire state police and police officers argued Monday.

No more crime than adding a large mall.  Troopers are stretched thinn.  There are even plea’s for concern over your loved ones waiting for help at the scene of an accident.  All because Maggie Hassan’s budget relies on 80 million dollars from a revenue source that does not yet exist?

So you people in New Hampshire, you better forget about any other problem gambling might bring with it because there is no other way to pay for more troopers.  Got it.

One more thing.

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