Concord’s Unconstitutional Budget Provision

 Gov Lynch 

Guest Post by State Senator Jeb Bradley 

New Hampshire residents weary of dreary summer rain received a frightening jolt of lightening when a Judge blocked Governor John Lynch’s attempt to transfer $110 million dollars of private funds to State coffers.  Belknap County Superior Court Justice Kathleen McGuire ruled that an extremely controversial provision in the recently enacted New Hampshire Budget, which transferred $110 million from a fund controlled by the Joint Underwriting Association (JUA) to the State’s General Fund to balance the budget, is unconstitutional.  Justice McGuire’s well researched, clearly written and completely unambiguous ruling, held that Governor Lynch and members of the Legislature who supported this proposed $110 million transfer, are in violation of both the ‘takings’ and ‘contracts’ clauses of the New Hampshire Constitution and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Governor Lynch has already indicated the State will appeal the decision but it is hard to imagine, given McGuire’s opinion, that the Supreme Court will overrule her.

The JUA was formed in 1975 to provide medical liability insurance to physicians and currently provides over 20% of the medical liability coverage in New Hampshire. The Judge ruled the JUA is independent from the State. More importantly, physicians, not the State, contribute to its funding and when the JUA faced a deficit in 1985 a surcharge on doctor’s policies was assessed to cover the gap–not State funding. Twice in the past, the JUA distributed surplus funds to policy holders–not the State. Given these facts, it’s political hubris and arrogance seldom seen in our State, for the Democratic supporters of this budget to simply expropriate $110 million. These unseemly political shenanigans, now defy both our state and federal constitutions.

The sanctity of contracts is one of the underpinnings of our society, as is the prohibition of the government taking a person’s property without just compensation.  Good for Justice McGuire for upholding constitutional principles and shame on politicians who believe the State can simply break contracts and take property it doesn’t own, to enable the gravy train of a 10.5% state spending increase.

 

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Take the Citizen Pledge

    One of the results of the various activist groups working together in the Tea Party movement has been the development of a new pledge here in New Hampshire. No- this isn’t something to replace the venerable anti-broadbased tax pledge long taken by Granite State politicians seeking election. In fact, it isn’t a pledge … Read more

And they said Bush and Rudy couldn’t refer to their own experiences about the events of September 11 because to do so would be for “political gain”…

  What about those who use the actual events of September 11, 2001 for FINANCIAL gain? Or Katrina? And I’m not talking about retelling a story in book or movie fashion, per se, which is still the act of creating, when you come down to brass tacks. Anyway… So I’m reading this interesting article in WSJ.com … Read more

Who does Hodes think he’s kidding?

 HEALTH CARE PLANS WOULD COST TAXPAYERS, DRIVE UP DEFICIT

Guest post by Sean Mahoney 

During a tele-town hall meeting this week, Rep. Paul Hodes discussed his support for a trillion-plus dollar health care reform package with his constituents. “We’ve got to lower costs for everybody,” he said. Who does he think he’s kidding? If we “lower costs for everyone,” where exactly is the trillion dollars going to come from?

As the massive stimulus act has shown, a trillion dollars doesn’t suddenly appear because Congress appropriates it.  It comes in the form of higher taxes on small businesses, families and, in order to cover the crippling debt, our grandchildren.

There is no doubt the existing U.S. health care system is in financial trouble and in need of significant reform. Each year, America spends over $2.4 trillion on health care, significantly more than any other nation.  At the same time, more than 47 million citizens are uninsured and, as a nation, we forgo over a trillion dollars a year in productivity due to illness.  This is unsustainable.

Unfortunately, the measures offered by President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in Washington increase taxes and the federal budget deficit, diminish our control over our health care choices, fail to improve the quality of our health care and will force many Americans who are presently satisfied with their health coverage out of their private plans and into a government plan.

President Obama has said he will not sign a bill that increases the deficit. Therefore, every new cent of spending in the health reform bill must be paid for with new taxes. Good luck. We are in the worst economic conditions since the 1930s. American small businesses can little afford the 8% payroll tax penalty the Democrats would levy against them if they can’t afford to provide insurance to their employees. Nor can the so-called rich be squeezed for any more than the Obama administration has already appropriated from them to finance his failed stimulus act.  Many of the “wealthy” individuals on whose wallets the Democrats set their sights are actually small business owners and entrepreneurs; the very same job creators who need to succeed financially if we are to climb out of the recession. The last thing our struggling economy needs now is an additional trillion dollars in new taxes.

 

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Lynch’s Waterloo?

  Has Gov Do-Nuthin Lynch finally met his Waterloo? This presser from the NHGOP reports on the rock and a hard place in which the NH Governor presently finds himself… CONCORD – One day after a Superior Court ruling blocked his attempt to steal $110 million from the New Hampshire Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association … Read more

Drip. Drip. Drip. Slow but steady goes the decline…

 

 

Guest post by Karen Testerman

What Happened?

I have been pondering a question recently posed to me asking what happened to my state?  What is happening to our nation?  I was reminded – "My people perish for a lack of knowledge."   Hosea 4:6 But what knowledge?

Do you wonder why the polls of our youth today show a leaning in favor of homosexuality?   Perhaps we can find a glimpse of an answer here.  Just recently the National Education Association (NEA) passed an action item that amounts to an endorsement of same-sex marriage – as well as a call to oppose national laws protecting one man, one woman marriage.

The NEA is described as the largest professional organization and largest labor union in the United States,[1][2] representing public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become teachers.   And they the people who teach at our public schools, have just passed an action item to endorse same-sex marriage.

Jeralee Smith is the founder of the NEA Conservative Educators Caucus.  Jeralee declared that the resolution will not stop at just endorsing gay unions. 

The NEA, financially supported the attempt to defeat Proposition 8 in California last year. Voters passed Prop. 8, which defines marriage as between one man, one woman.

The teachers have two alternatives. . . Teachers who do not want their money being used to support the organization’s liberal agenda can attempt to become a religious objector – someone who can show that their faith puts them in conflict with what the union is doing. They can file to have at least some of their dues redirected to causes that do not conflict with their faith.  Oh really?  What about the recent legal cases challenging the teachers for religious expression?

A better alternative for these teachers is to join an alternative union that does not support causes that conflict with their deeply held beliefs and values. Tracey Bailey, director of education policy with Association of American Educators, said he wants teachers to know his group can also help with any legal issues.

But what can we as parents do?  How do we combat the "tolerance" mantra when we ask as did David Parker and Rob Wirthlin to opt our children out of these instructions?  Is it really legal to displace parents?

 

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Local Democrats hold a picnic and a Tea Party breaks out…

shabby outfit 

 Shabby sign seems so fitting… 

On Sunday, July 26, the Belknap County Democrats held their summer picnic. With a sparse turnout and little visible enthusiasm save a few mournful violinists, from the outside looking in it was a pretty lame affair. Hard to believe this is a cog in the vaunted Democratic machine that so handily beat the Republicans just a short while back.

gathered enemies of liberty

Local faithful gather around grill with the featured speaker, Peggo Hodes (white top, black skirt), wife of Rep Paul Hodes (NH-2), the presumptive Democratic nominee for the US Senate race in 2010. He can hang out with fat-cat lobbyists, but can’t picnic with Laconians, apparently.

The affair was, however, not lacking in excitement for very long, because suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a Tea Party broke out…

Tea Party.Tea Party

Thus raining on the Democrats’ proverbial parade..

Tea Party signs

 Forces of freedom and liberty on the march, taking it right to the root of the threat.

The group grew, prompting a man passing by in his truck with his 2-year old to stop and ask to join in the march, so moved was he by the sentiment the Tea Partiers expressed, and the message being delivered to the majority Dems:

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July 17 NH Rallies Protesting Nationalized Healthcare: The Movie

As reported in this prior posting, July 17th featured protests outside local offices of US congressional representatives here in the Granite State and elsewhere throughout the country. This is a video in which those who showed up at the Manchester offices of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Carol Shea Porter to express their displeasure with the proposed … Read more

Blogger mops floor with Peter Hoe Burling

Our friend Patrick Hynes made a rare public appearance, surfacing on Newsnine’s "Closeup NH" over the weekend in a "lightning" roundtable debate of the issues. Has Burling been hanging with the medical marijuana folks a little too much these days? Says Peter on the subject of tax caps: "Tax caps tend to fail pretty quickly because … Read more

Speaking truth to power.

Mr. Alford is a free speech hero. If only more people had the same temerity, soundness of mind, and purpose when confronting our so-called "public servants" like Barbara Boxer…     [H/T AllahPundit via Conservative Grapevine]  

The pushback continues…

Along with Tea Party rallies and demonstrations popping up all around the country, including those at the doorsteps of congressional offices, we are witnessing yet another vehicle folks are taking advantage of in expressing anger and frustration with what their so-called "leaders" have been doing on their behalf down in Washington: speaking out at various … Read more

My name is Barry. Let me be clear…

Guest post by Ken St. Cyr My name is Barry. Here is my story… Since the Constitution was written 20 centuries ago, we have had many Supreme Court justices. We have also had 10,000 people killed by one tornado in Kansas. Since I have been president, I’ve now been in 57 states. I think one … Read more

If only someone in media with access had the guts to ask this…

Our friend Sue Peterson sends the following which is worthy of note: Heard this on Fox…a reader emailed this question… President Obama – you took 6 months to find the right dog for your children, but you want Congress to make a decision on health care in less than 2 weeks???  

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