How do you define “double-dipping?”

My friend former Laconia Mayor Tom Tardif has long been concerned about the treatment of so-called "detail work" here in NH. You know- you see it all the time at construction sites, church parking lots, and concert events. While in any other circumstance, such work arrangements would be properly considered "subcontracted" labor, it’s not so when it comes to police details. And let’s not forget the use of the cruisers. While we wouldn’t dream of allowing someone in the highway department (at least knowingly) the use of the town backhoe for side jobs, cruiser usage in much the same fashion goes mostly unquestioned.
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Statewide in NH, the concept of such detail work has implications beyond the aforementioned. The public employee pension system, often in the news these days as it careens towards insolvency, is heaviliy impacted as well. Detail work feeds into the calculation of retirement dollars paid out by the ailing taxpayer-funded agency.
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Interestingly, the recent firings of police officers in Alton has provided  some insight into the otherwise closely-guarded matter of "detail work." Tom wrote the following piece based on what he’s learned:
Watching the Alton Selectman’s Correia hearing should be a wakeup call to every city, town and state official. How do you define "double-dipping"?  Is it the taking pay for outside details while receiving pay for hours not worked for regular duty? The answer is obvious YES.  What is problematic was lack of documentation on that point.
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The common off-duty traffic control job is privately paid for work.  When an “Off-Duty” police officer act in the capacity as a traffic control person, the work performed is nothing other than a part-time job.  “Privately paid” work is first offered to off-duty police officers in the city or town the work is to be performed.  Then, as described during the Correia hearings, the part-time job is offered to surrounding off-duty law enforcement communities’ employees.  If no off-duty police officers, “salaried” or hourly, opt to work the traffic details then it is offered to the off-duty county sheriffs.  Ultimately, a private employer may be allowed to provide a certified flag person.

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SOME INCONVENIENT TRUTHS ABOUT EDUCATION FUNDING

It’s about time that some of the myths being ventilated about education funding get cleared up.  So let’s start with three that are particularly relevant to the current legislative effort to define an adequate education by the Court’s July 1, 2007 deadline:

Myth #1:  “If the Legislature doesn’t define an adequate education, the Supreme Court will do it for them.”  The truth is that for as long as the Legislature and the Governor continue doing the Claremont kowtow, the Court, not the Legislature, will be the branch of government that ultimately sets education policy.  This should come as no surprise because the Court said just that in Claremont I.  Specifically, it said that it is the Legislature’s task “in the first instance” to define adequacy.  In plain English, the Court gave itself the power to rewrite some or all of the definition. 

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Easter Bunnies need not apply…

Every so often, a story comes along that really makes you wonder if it can possibly be true at all. You know, a tidbit so deliciously obvious in proving some point that it must be made up. Most of these stories tend to be related to either political correctness or culture. So it is with … Read more

AN OPEN LETTER TO FERGUS CULLEN

You’re not “taking a position for or against the Lynch proposal at this time”?  You have got to be kidding!  If the New Hampshire GOP would actually consider supporting a constitutional amendment that writes the misbegotten Claremont decisions into the state constitution, that destroys local control of schools, and that greases the skids for an … Read more

A DOG, AND A DOG WITH DIFFERENT FLEAS

              Governor Lynch’s proposed constitutional amendment is, to quote Gordon Gekko, a dog.  What it doesn’t do is bad enough; what it does do is even worse.             The Lynch amendment does nothing to get the courts out of education policy and funding. Unless the Governor is planning on handing out blank checks to … Read more

HERE IS THE RAY BUCKLEY YOUTUBE VIDEO

that caused Paul Hodes to drop his support for Buckley’s bid to become Chairman of the New Hampshire Democrat Party. WARNING: THE VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT. [update] ***COMMENT BY DOUG: I don’t see what all the fuss is about. After watching the video and considering the Democrat agenda, I think Buckley’s the PERFECT guy to … Read more

It’s about parental rights, not abortion.

In the Sunday Union Leader, Tom Fahey, writing in the "Under the Dome" column reports that the bill to repeal NH’s parental notification law will come up for reconsideration.

The parental notification issue isn’t going away soon. Just one day after the House passed a repeal of the law requiring a parent to be notified before a child has an abortion, Rep. Edmond Gionet asked for the bill to be reconsidered. That means more debate in the House, more roll call votes and more spotlight on everyone.

"They’re gonna feel the heat," said Rep. Fran Wendelboe.

As I’ve said before, this is not about abortion– it’s about a medical surgical procedure on a minor child. Several months back, I dropped my son at the dentist to get a cavity filled without going in. As he is only 15, when I got back to my nearby office, I got a call indicating I needed to go back in to the dentist’s or fax a note giving them permission to fill a cavity. If it were my daughter murdering my unborn grandchild… no problem. No permission needed.

Oh, and in case you’re inclined, as I first was, to blame this on the new Democratic rule, think again. Consider the record of the votes right here in Belknap County, where I live. Here’s the roll call:

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THE SECOND AMENDMENT LIVES

Check out this opinion by Judge Laurence Silberman.  Reasoning from the text of the Second Amendment and the contemporary understanding, he concludes that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms.  Then compare it to the dissent.  Who’s right?  At the risk of simplifying matters, it depends on whether the Supreme Court precedent … Read more

HOYAS RULE

Georgetown crushed Pitt yesterday to win the Big East title for the first time since 1989. 

GO MIKE GO

Mike Biundo continues to hammer away at Governor Empty-Suit:  "But as the legislature scrambles to acquiesce to an improper Court ruling and its arrogant imposition of a deadline to define ‘adequacy’, Lynch is embracing an education spending plan that he, himself, agreed was ‘unconstitutional’ based on the court’s ruling. ‘One can’t blame Governor Lynch if … Read more

FIREFIGHTERS GONE WILD

"For $20 a ticket, attendees were treated to all the food they could eat, plus cup after cup of Miller Lite, Sam Adams and Guinness. "We’re going to go through probably 10 kegs in three hours," said state Rep. Jeff Goley, who worked the beer station. The crowd included a number of political figures, including … Read more

HOLD ON TO YOUR WALLETS — LYNCH CAVES IN TO EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENT

Although Lynch’s initial budget proposed an unconscionable 14.1% increase in spending, at least he exercised comparative restraint when it came to runaway education spending, which he proposed to increase by 5%, rather than the much higher increase called for by the Gatsas funding scheme.  Well it didn’t take long for Governor Empty-Suit to cave to the … Read more

ONE REPUBLICAN WHO GETS IT

Kudos to Manchester’s Mike Biundo who understands that the so-called education funding issue has nothing to do with improving the quality of public education and everything to do with self-aggrandizement by a panel of five unelected lawyers in black robes.  Click here for Biundo’s recent op-ed.  Unfortunately, the NH GOP’s "leaders," i.e. Ted Gatsas and Mike Whalley, … Read more

NAME THE NAMES, FERGUS

"Cullen said Buckley accuser Rep. Steve Vaillancourt ‘is about as much a Republican as Anna Nicole Smith was a natural blond. The fact is, Ray Buckley was wronged.’" Kudos to Fergus for calling out a RINO; something his predecessors never would do. NOW SHOW SOME REAL POLITICAL COURAGE, Fergus.  What you said about Vaillancourt’s Republican … Read more

Children of the state.

I started this post with the assumption, based on the absence of any news articles, that the NH Catholic Diocese, of which I am a member, had given up on any attempts at stopping the repeal of NH’s parental notification law. Further investigation revealed I was wrong, the Diocese has, in fact taken a stand and issued a letter stating its position. Good for them. A letter from the Bishop in this past Sunday’s bulletin might have been helpful, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
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As a believer in parental rights when it comes to children, the passage of NH HB 184, the repeal of the right of parental notification prior to a minor girl receiving an abortion, is something that must not happen. Call or email your state senators and representatives today. The clock is ticking.
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This is the letter from the Diocese:
Hon. David E. Cote, Chairman
Judiciary Committee
New Hampshire House of Representatives
Room 208—Legislative Office Building
Concord, New Hampshire 03301
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Dear Representative Cote and Members of the Committee:
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As Chancellor of the Diocese of Manchester and on behalf of Bishop John B. McCormack, I am writing to express our opposition to HB 184.  The Parental Notification Prior to Abortion Act recognizes the fundamental and constitutionally-protected role of parents in caring for their children and should not be repealed.
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The Catholic Church vigorously promotes the dignity and sanctity of both human life and the family as essential elements of human society.  The Diocese of Manchester strongly supported enactment of the Parental Notification Prior to Abortion Act.  Indeed, when its constitutionality was questioned before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States Supreme Court, the Diocese of Manchester, along with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, urged the Courts to uphold the law.
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Diocesan support is rooted firmly in the natural law that when any significant issue confronts a family member, the family should come together to resolve it.  A pregnant minor will benefit from parental involvement as she faces a life-altering decision that involves not only her unborn child, but also her own physical health and emotional well-being.  Parents have an equally fundamental interest in the welfare of their children as well as a right and a responsibility to care for them.

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MORE STINKY POLICY FROM TED GATSAS

Ted Gatsas is proposing to combat higher property taxes by having the State issue credits to homeowners over the age of 65.  Click here.  Gatsas’ proposal treats the symptom, not the disease, which is out-of-control spending.  Repeat after me, Ted: low taxes are the result of low spending. Gatsas’ proposal will have at least two bad … Read more

Parental notification. Legs versus babies.

The following was written by Jenny Watson of Laconia, NH, who has graciously allowed me to post it here for GraniteGrok readers:
What if you read the following in your local paper?

Fifteen year old skier’s leg amputated without parents’ knowledge or consent

Skier Jason Borden’s left leg was amputated Saturday after he shattered it in a skiing accident. The surgery, which was not considered an emergency, was performed at Thomson’s General Hospital without his parents’ knowledge or consent. Physicians are currently debating whether such surgery was even necessary, citing experts who believe the boy’s leg could have been saved. Jason’s parents, Phil and Cindy Borden are outraged and are currently filing papers to sue Thomson’s.
After reading such an account, wouldn’t you be outraged? Wouldn’t you hope the Bordens would succeed in suing Thomson’s General Hospital out of existence? What if you also heard that the state legislature was considering a measure to allow all such operations to be conducted on minors without even the knowledge of their parents? Wouldn’t you be angry that the rights of parents who love their children and who will be the ones picking up the pieces after the surgery had been so cavalierly tossed aside? Wouldn’t you believe that the same state which requires permission from a parent before a child is allowed to take ibuprofen at school had gone insane?
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Fortunately, the above story is fictitious. Yet something analogous is happening in New Hampshire with regard to the surgical procedure of abortion, and our lack of outrage only shows that we can come to accept shocking events merely because they are commonplace.
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