Gangster Government

Minnesota’s 6th District Republican Congressman Michele Bachmann on the recent political interference in automobile dealerships by the government and the unprecedented use of "czars" by the Obama Administration: "We now have an imperial presidency"     If only we had representatives such as this from NH. Sadly, we ain’t got squat… [H/T Alex P. story; … Read more

American Heart: “I’m American made. I got American parts. Got American faith In America’s heart…”

This is a rather interesting story about a new song making the rounds on the Internet. From Andrew Breitbart on the Big Hollywood blog: Jon David, our anonymous Hollywood player known for trolling for liberal starlets and reporting back to his conservative compatriots at Big Hollywood, was inspired to write, perform, finance and record “American … Read more

NH Budget Snapshot: Little Hope at this Point for True Fiscal Responsibility

taxes

[New Hampshire State Representative DJ Bettencourt (R-Salem) provides the following snapshot of where the state’s budget stands today…]

Guest Post by DJ Bettencourt

It was the hope of many Granite State conservatives that the State Senate would rectify issues with the House version of the budget for fiscal year (FY) 2010-2011. Among the most notable problems with the proposed budget were excessive spending, implementation of a capital gains tax, re-implementation of the “death tax,” and the raising of several other taxes (rooms and meals tax, tobacco tax, and numerous fines and fees). Alas, no such rescue came.

Last week the Senate passed its version of the budget that ensured the debate over New Hampshire’s financial plan would not be a division of fiscal philosophy of higher taxes and extravagant spending versus lower taxes and responsible spending. Instead, the debate would revolve around disagreements about which taxes to raise and which areas would receive the dividends of irresponsible spending. That lack of budget debate is not only regrettable but utterly dangerous for the financial well-being of our state.

Here are a few of the highlights (or lowlights, as the case may be) of the Senate’s proposed budget:

 

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The Movement Continues: Gaspee Tea Party in Rhode Island

The Westerly-Pawcatuck Tea Party website states In June of 1772, Rhode Island Patriots took a stand against an oppressive, unresponsive government and high taxation when they burned the British revenue ship the HMS Gaspee. In that same spirit, tomorrow on June 10th, folks from all over the state of RI, many riding on a number of "Freedom … Read more

LGBT Americans: “great and lasting contributions”

Just when we thought that we might put the gay agenda in the back of ours minds as we head into summer before regrouping to decide what to do next here in the Granite State, along comes Barack Obama to smack us back into reality… a reality that demonstrates the gay movement never stops. It never rests, and will … Read more

Sunday Reading

From the “every cloud has a silver lining” department, via WSJ.com: Brígido de Jesús González lived in Queens, N.Y., for the past 20 years, working as a landscaper to support his wife and kids back in El Salvador. But with the recession clobbering his business, the illegal immigrant decided to pack up and return to … Read more

Welcome to “North Massachusetts”

North Massachusetts

In today’s economic environment, helping small businesses create new jobs needs to be our leading priority. Yes, we must take care of the displaced, but we must do it through job creation. The Democrats in Concord can’t seem to understand this.  They keep adding more and more weight onto the state’s business community, expecting them to continue to fly. They have just done it again this week by adding more social safety net legislation at the expense of job creation. While they will now crow about “helping people” their policies will have the exact opposite impact.

America’s economic safety net undoubtedly plays an important role in stabilizing the economy when events or economic situations take a turn for the worse. Markets have always had an unfortunate tendency to over-react in the short run. Therefore, such measures as unemployment insurance serve as a good short term shock absorber to slow the descent while economic policies and normal market forces bring the economy back into balance. Other social safety net policies can also be helpful to an economy and the quality of life.

But as the saying goes, “Taken to an extreme, any virtue can be turned into a vice.” Just as a wrong sized shock absorber on a car can be counter productive, so it is in economics. The Europeans have been seeing this in spades over the last few decades. Several countries like France and Germany have adopted such inflated unemployment and other social benefits that businesses are now very reluctant to hire new people. As a result, unemployment is the overriding problem because existing businesses can’t bear the load. This also means that new businesses are hard to start and job creating innovation is much slower than in the faster paced economies. There is clearly a balance to be struck.

America’s business community is now struggling to survive in the worst economic downturn in the past seventy years. Even the largest and once most successful of businesses are holding on by their fingernails. In the past year we have seen the bankruptcy of some of America’s business icons such as Chrysler and General Motors, Merrill Lynch, Circuit City, and many others. At the same time businesses have been scaling back and closing stores at an alarming pace. As a result, the country’s jobless rate jumped to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in twenty-five years. This figure is already higher than the “worse case scenario” of the government’s just completed stress tests. And there is more to come as unemployment will surely pass into the double digits.

 

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NH Senate Update by Jeb Bradley: Time to Pay Taxes

 

tax man

Guest post by State Senator Jeb Bradley

Last week I titled my blog: Time to Talk Taxes. This week’s title is unfortunately: Time to Pay Taxes.

Just as easily it could be:  New Spending  = New Taxes = Job Losses.

The budget approved by the majority of the New Hampshire Senate proposes to increase total spending by $1.2 billion! That’s on top of a similar spending increase from the prior budget to the current budget of $1 billion. It’s noteworthy these precipitous spending increases coincide with one party political rule in Concord.

Efforts were made to trim this spending on the Senate Floor by Republicans.  We proposed four separate amendments to make across the board cuts totaling 8.4%. These amendments, which I supported, would’ve eliminated the need to increase business taxes, hospitality taxes, and tobacco taxes. The fourth amendment would’ve cut state spending so that New Hampshire’s historic commitment to assist towns with Revenue Sharing is maintained.  Revenue Sharing means $50 million to cities and towns which helps lower property taxes. Not surprisingly, all four of these amendments failed —  largely on partisan votes —  which means property taxes, business, hospitality, and tobacco taxes will all go up!

The proposed increase in business taxes is particularly disturbing. Not one Senator could defend it as either good or fair tax policy. Rather, those that voted to increase business taxes were of a mind that taxes had to be raised to enable new spending; even though those who voted for higher business taxes would likely acknowledge this tax hike will cost New Hampshire jobs.

These were not the only discouraging votes for those who want to see New Hampshire jumpstart its economy, keep the cost of government low, and ensure government accountability and educational opportunity for New Hampshire students.

Two amendments which I supported were presented to ensure that local voters could continue to adopt property tax caps in their cities and towns.  A number of communities have, by a popular vote of their citizens, successfully implemented property tax caps. They are now threatened by lawsuits in court. These amendments to protect the local option to pursue a tax cap were defeated on straight partisan votes. Now property taxpayers are confronted by the grim reality that the courts in New Hampshire may be determining property taxes instead of local voters.

The Senate Finance Committee recommended capping the number of students that could enroll in charter schools. Charter schools, which receive public funding and which are part of our public school system, have proven to be very successful. They are allowed by their charter to be more creative and innovative than traditional public schools.

 

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New GM introduces the 2010 Obama

Incredibly "green," this car runs on hot air and broken promises. It has three wheels that speed the vehicle through tight left turns. It comes complete with two Teleprompters programmed to help the occupants talk their way out of any violations.  Built by union labor  with full benefits, it’s base price is only $83,000, but low … Read more

Jesus, Ronald Reagan, and Atlas Shrugged: A winning combo for young conservatives?

This is a very cool video from a pair of talented young (gasp!) conservatives: From the Young Cons’ website: Here’s what Stiltz & Serious C think: Stirring up much debate is the verse in the Young Con Anthem: “Three thing taught me conservative love,Jesus, Ronald Reagan plus Atlas Shrugged” This comment is similar to other responses we’ve … Read more

Signs ‘o the times?

    Well, perhaps, but only if the Republicans put up some REAL, electable candidates for the next election, if it’s not too late. Ones with the brass it will take to do the necessary work of undoing all the garbage that has been strewn across our once great state. Democrat-lite, as offered by the … Read more

Not government-approved news, I guess

From the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy… (CONCORD)  Senate President Sylvia Larsen this morning revoked the press credentials of Josiah Bartlett Center Lead Investigator Grant Bosse, and barred Bosse from filming today’s Senate session from the floor, just as the Chamber was preparing to take up the state’s two-year $11.5 billion budget. Bosse had … Read more

Deliberate act of jihad? Move along everybody. Nothing to see here. All is well.

Guest post by Karen Testerman Is one life more worthy than another? Google can tell us a lot about what our media considers important and their take on the worthiness of life for ALL beings.  Consider the following: Today I found 60,200 Google hits on the murder of abortionist, George Tiller vs. 1,040 hits covering … Read more

NH Senate Update by Jeb Bradley: Slots & Tax Hikes

slot machine

Time to Talk Taxes

Guest post by Senator Jeb Bradley

The Senate Finance Committee last week reported its version of the state operating budget.  It increases overall spending by about a billion dollars or approximately 10% after similar increases in the last budget enacted two years ago.  This budget depends upon $185 million of direct revenue from slot machines as well as hefty tax hikes on businesses in the middle of a deep recession.

Slot machines at race tracks in Salem, Seabrook, and Belmont is a proposal that has been around a long time. The Finance Committee approved up to 13,000 slot machines and two north-country facilities that are estimated to produce $185 million in revenue.  Gambling is not a partisan issue and has determined support because of the added revenue, and determined opposition because of social implications and the change in the fabric of our state it could create. I continue to have concerns about gambling.

While bettors may be laying long odds that gambling will ultimately pass, it is almost certain that taxes are going up.  These looming and precipitous tax hikes are due to the majority party in control of both the House and Senate which has shown no willingness to cut spending as families and businesses are doing to survive the harsh economy.

Here are the major tax proposals being bandied about in Concord:

 

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Commander-in-Chief reminds the General who’s in charge…

Why would anyone really think the government can run the auto industry? Why can’t I help but to think about this when I think of the car they might bring to market:

Edsel

1959 Edsel

Or perhaps this?

Hitler VW

Have you ever heard the story of the "people’s car?" Now that Team Obama is running General Government Motors, I thought I’d repost this bit of information gleaned from my library archives of a story of a similar (in some ways) happening some sixty-odd years ago. From William L Shirer’s "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich":

One particular swindle perpetrated by Hitler on the German workers deserves passing mention. This had to do with the Volkswagen (the "People’s Car")– a brainstorm of the Fuehrer himself. Every German, or at least every German workman, he said, should own an automobile, just as in the United States. Heretofore in this country where there was only one motorcar for every fifty persons (compared to one for every five in America) the workman had used a bicycle or public transportation to get about. Now Hitler decreed that a car should be built for him to sell for only 990 marks– $396 at the official rate of exchange. He himself, it was said, took a hand in the actual designing of the car, which was done under the supervision of the Austrian automobile engineer Dr. Ferdinand Porshe.

Followed by this:

 

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Death of only TRUE First Amendment rally in America? Is “Live Free or Die” DOA?

LFOD Rally

Got an email from Jean Coutu, organizer of the Live Free or Die Rally:

The Town’s demands for a site plan review subject to all boards and abutters’ approvals drove in the death nail on the LFOD Rally.

Today the ACLU refused to intervene due to firearms being at the rally.

appleseed shoot

We have contacted hundreds of people for help and unless someone is brave enough to come forward soon, it maybe the first case of a true first amendment event squashed in America. What’s next? Porc Fest? The Tea Parties? The Million Man Marijuana March? The article from the Canada Free Press reprinted below is being sent far and wide in order to try and recruit help as a last ditch effort. The event isn’t canceled, but, could be soon.

End of Live Free or Die Rally end of free assembly for America?

By Judi McLeod and Jean Coutu
Saturday, May 30, 2009

Putting it in the vernacular of little people everywhere: “The worst has happened”.

The 4th Annual New Hampshire Live Free or Die Rally is quickly sinking into a quagmire of bureaucratic red tape, and with no 11th hour reprieve on the horizon, chief organizer Jean Coutu may have to cancel.

Billed as the All Free, Only TRUE First Amendment Rally in the U.S., this years Live Free or Die Rally is scheduled for August 21, 22 and 23.

“It looks like it’s finally over.  Not just for us, but for the right to assemble, Coutu wrote Canada Free Press (CFP) in an email today.  “Though I don’t agree with the ACLU on everything, almost every year the ACLU has gone after city hall bureaucrats to get our permits.”

The landscape has changed, dissent is being suppressed in America and now the ACLU is refusing to back the LFDR, in part because of the rally’s Appleseed Project Instructional Shoot Feature–even though it meets all state ordinances.

This is not a good sign for the scores of Tea Parties planned for July 4th. Politically correct and compromised by stimulus money, the bureaucrats of town and city halls decide whether Tea Parties and rallies can be held in their jurisdictions.

Coutu sees it as the death of the right to assemble in President Barack Obama’s USA.

Jean also included the message he is trying to get out to supporters and liberty-loving people everywhere:
 

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It always tastes good going down…

Here’s the answer to your problems… Dr. Utopia’s sensational new discovery: "ISM." "ISM" will cure any ailment of the body politic… This short film, though made in 1948, is quite relevent given the present times:     [H/T Bob McCarty]

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