Dream of the Sun:
From often very quotable and ever erudite Tim Smith, Democratic state rep, Manchester Ward 10: “The world’s first solar-power photovoltaic cell was invented in 1839, by Edmond Becquerel in France. The first coal-powered electric power station (in fact, THE first power station) was built 43 years later (1882) on Pearl Street in NYC.
There’s simply no excuse why our global electrical grids are based off fossil fuels. The amount of R&D time we’ve squandered has been costly, indeed ….”
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The firefighter spouts off:
Mark MacKenzie, AFL-CIO President who won a recent re-election by a very narrow vote (24 votes) is facing a charge of corruption by his opponent, Glenn Brackett. Brackett claims that 691 ballots were thrown out due to a technical error. The Union Leader gets some insider information on the election and does their duty to report.
Although we can understand that MacKenzie might have some sweat around the collar right now but geez Mark, really?
When questioned about the dispute by a Union Leader reporter, MacKenzie responded (as the reporter then of course reported): “This is none of your business, this is being handled internally by our members. This is not in any way a matter of public record. For you to have that letter is inappropriate.” [MacKenzie referring to a letter Brackett wrote in his appeal to the union for an investigation].
But he doesn’t stop there:
The reporter then reported (as reporters must do): “MacKenzie told a Union Leader reporter that, if the newspaper ran a story about the letter, he would seek whatever legal remedy he could. ‘You do what you want to do,’ he said. ‘This is none of your business. If you run this, I will do what I can to come after the Union Leader.’
While MacKenzie then backed off a little and the UL reporter did also quote that, the fact remains that McKenzie gave the union hating Union Leader an appetizer, then an entree and a final desert of some good old fashioned union thug verbiage. You’d think after thirty years as president McKenzie would know better than to feed the vultures.
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Dude, I was so drunk…
Carl Gibson, a volunteer charged with running a Twitter account for Maureen Mann attempted to screw up Maureen Mann’s campaign in Rockingham District 32 after being fired after a week on the job. How does Mr. Gibson, the aspiring journalist/aspiring political operator respond? By making up a fake email purporting to be from Mann’s opponent that said she was dropping out of the race.
Gibson is quite over it, glibly responding to a Concord Monitor’s inquiry by passing off his behavior as “having too many beers” and claiming that, as apparently a self appointed great champion of the left, he was “trying to lead her [Mann] left“. Unsuccessful, he decided he didn’t like her or her opponent and thought he’d just play a little joke on her while drunk, “I thought it was funny. I didn’t really think it would be taken seriously,” said Gibson.
As a result the opponent understandably called the election commission and understandably as well, Mann said she welcomed any investigation into the matter. “Rat-fucking” an election is taken pretty seriously and you’d think the self-styled journalist, wannabe political operative might know this. Mann has handled this whole episode with grace and openness and moved on.
Gibson hasn’t been quite so tactful about the mess he made, preferring to use the tactic common among twelve year olds of dissing your opponent when your back is up against the wall, “We left on kind of bad terms. I haven’t talked to her in about a month and a half or so,” he said, adding he doesn’t like either candidate in the special election for Rockingham County’s 32nd district and “if they could both lose that’d be great.”
While many speculate on the motives of Gibson, no doubt the voters of Rockingham District 32 would rather their electoral process play out in the more traditional, democratic way.
And of course Jennifer Horn (NH RNC Chair) has to horn in on the whole thing, being her usual mean-girl self attempting to smear Mann stating, “The fact that Maureen Mann trusted a radical extremist who engages in illegal campaign activity to work on her race speaks volumes about her and her candidacy. Mr. Gibson’s deplorable attempt to spread misinformation was clearly designed to help Maureen Mann and disenfranchise Yvonne Dean-Bailey’s supporters,”
Let us say that Gibson never presented to anyone as an “extremist”, heck we’ve published a couple of his written pieces on this blog. Mann had him handle a Twitter account and for only a week. Twitter, a social media tool and he screwed the pooch on that so Mann had enough, fired him and changed his password. Also, the stunt had Mann on the defensive, not her opponent. Draw in your claws Cruella and let the election carry on.
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Frankie Goes Nowhere
Finally, now that baby-face Republican US Congressman, (NH DIstrict 1), Frank Guinta has finally been charged by the FEC with accepting campaign contributions from his parents that far exceeded the legal amount (to the tune of $355,000). The Boston Globe has a good story about the whole affair and how he’s now become the dead man walking with the NH GOP. But what we find notable is Frank’s continued efforts to deny that ma and pa just got a little too over zealous in helping their baby-boy. He has insisted all along that the funds were his. The Globe quotes him from a prepared statement to the press, “… I have always maintained the money I lent myself was, in fact, money I had generated since the early 1970s.”
That’s a lot of paper delivery money Frankie.
Guinta partying with his Tea Party friends. Where are your buddies now Frankie?
From the Washington Post, an indepth look at the way in which the electric energy giants have begun to team up with the fossil fuels industry to block renewable energy. In particular, they have started attacking home-installed solar energy systems. The article is from March of this year, but relevant still today.
Many legislators in the state of New Hampshire have been fed lies by the energy industry, in particular PSNH and now Eversource lobbyists about the supposed negative effects of individual, off-grid power systems. Reader take note: once agin its clear that industry has no concern about the effects of green house gases, no concern about the effects of grid dependence, especially the effects of dependence on an ever aging grid. No, industry’s only concern, as always is profit generation and if they have to punish citizens and block sensible, progressive policy, they will do it.
Also, what most people, in particular libertarians fail to understand is that most government agencies have become portals through which industry uses government to ensure their profit streams do not get interrupted. Rubber-stamp agencies like New Hampshire’s PUC are filled with political appointees often poorly qualified for their job and industry hacks — former employees, lobbyists, subcontractors or executives of industry.
The article is telling in its exposure of how completely co-opted our regulatory system has become and how as common sense dictates, but seemingly cannot be repeated enough, capitalist enterprise works for the good of profit not for the good of people. Any benefit to the public good that arises out of the pursuit of profit, especially when conducted by huge authoritarian corporations, comes purely as a byproduct or an accident of their operations. Twisting government to serve themselves at the expense of the public good has become the modus operandi since even before the 19th century.
Three years ago, the nation’s top utility executives gathered at a Colorado resort to hear warnings about a grave new threat to operators of America’s electric grid: not superstorms or cyberattacks, but rooftop solar panels.
SolarCraft workers install solar panels on the roof of a home in San Rafael, Calif. According to a report by the Solar Foundation, the solar industry employs more workers than the coal-mining industry. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
If demand for residential solar continued to soar, traditional utilities could soon face serious problems, from “declining retail sales” and a “loss of customers” to “potential obsolescence,” according to a presentation prepared for the group. “Industry must prepare an action plan to address the challenges,” it said.
The warning, delivered to a private meeting of the utility industry’s main trade association, became a call to arms for electricity providers in nearly every corner of the nation. Three years later, the industry and its fossil-fuel supporters are waging a determined campaign to stop a home-solar insurgency that is rattling the boardrooms of the country’s government-regulated electric monopolies.
The campaign’s first phase—an industry push for state laws raising prices for solar customers—failed spectacularly in legislatures around the country, due in part to surprisingly strong support for solar energy from conservatives and evangelicals in traditionally “red states.” But more recently, the battle has shifted to public utility commissions, where industry backers have mounted a more successful push for fee hikes that could put solar panels out of reach for many potential customers.
[Solar energy’s new best friend is . . . the Christian Coalition]
In a closely watched case last month, an Arizona utility voted to impose a monthly surcharge of about $50 for “net metering,” a common practice that allows solar customers to earn credit for the surplus electricity they provide to the electric grid. Net metering makes home solar affordable by sharply lowering electric bills to offset the $10,000 to $30,000 cost of rooftop panels.
A Wisconsin utilities commission approved a similar surcharge for solar users last year, and a New Mexico regulator also is considering raising fees. In some states, industry officials have enlisted the help of minority groups in arguing that solar panels hurt the poor by driving up electricity rates for everyone else.
Utility companies take on solar power View Graphic
“The utilities are fighting tooth and nail,” said Scott Peterson, director of the Checks and Balances Project, a Virginia nonprofit that investigates lobbyists’ ties to regulatory agencies. Peterson, who has tracked the industry’s two-year legislative fight, said the pivot to public utility commissions moves the battle to friendlier terrain for utilities. The commissions, usually made up of political appointees, “have enormous power, and no one really watches them,” Peterson said.
Industry officials say they support their customers’ right to generate electricity on their own property, but they say rooftop solar’s new popularity is creating a serious cost imbalance. While homeowners with solar panels usually see dramatic reductions in their electric bills, they still rely on the grid for electricity at night and on cloudy days. The utility collects less revenue, even though the infrastructure costs — from expensive power plants to transmission lines and maintenance crews — remain the same.
Ultimately, someone pays those costs, said David K. Owens, an executive vice president for Edison Electric Institute, the trade association that represents the nation’s investor-owned utilities.
“It’s not about profits; it’s about protecting customers,” said Owens, said. “There are unreasonable cost shifts that do occur [with solar]. There is a grid that everyone relies on, and you have to pay for that grid and pay for that infrastructure.”
Nearly 174,000 people work in the solar industry compared with close to 80,000 in the coal industry. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Whether home-solar systems add significant costs to electric grids is the subject of intense debate. A Louisiana study last month concluded that solar roofs had resulted in cost shifts of more than $2 million that must be borne by Louisiana customers who lack solar panels. That study was immediately disputed by clean energy groups that pointed to extensive ties between the report’s authors and the fossil-fuel lobby.
Other studies commissioned by state regulators in Nevada and Mississippi found that any costs are generally outweighed by benefits. For one thing, researchers found, the excess energy generated by solar panels helps reduce the strain on electric grids on summer days when demand soars and utilities are forced to buy additional power at high rates. Other experts note that the shift to solar energy is helping states meet new federal requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also producing thousands of new jobs. The residential solar industry currently employs about 174,000 people nationwide, or twice as many as the number of coal miners.
“Independent studies show that distributed solar benefits all ratepayers by preventing the need to build new, expensive power plants or transmission lines,” said Matthew Kasper, a fellow at the Energy & Policy Institute, a pro-solar think tank. “Utilities make their money by building big, new infrastructure projects and then sending ratepayers the bill, which is exactly why utilities want to eliminate solar.”
Solar-panel costs plunge
Residential solar panels have been widely available since the 1970s, but advances in the past decade have transformed home solar energy in many areas from an expensive novelty to a cost-competitive alternative to traditional power.
The average price of photovoltaic cells has plummeted 60 percent since 2010, thanks to lower production costs and more-efficient designs. Solar’s share of global energy production is climbing steadily, and a study last week by researchers from Cambridge University concluded that photovoltaics will soon be able to out-compete fossil fuels, even if oil prices drop to as low as $10 a barrel.
When employers refuse to recognize their union, members of the Minneapolis General Drivers and Helpers Union Local 574 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters go on strike, bringing trucking operations in the city to a halt. Despite a concerted and violent effort by employers, the police, and military, the strike ended successfully and was a turning point in Minneapolis labor history.
A general strike called by the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council brings out 30,000 workers – half of whom were not even union members – in support of the city’s building and metal trade workers, on strike over wages and working conditions. For six weeks, the city came to a halt.
Activists with the group Governing Under the Influence met with long-time South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham who was doing a “walk and talk” in Manchester. Graham is making his presence known in Manchester as he has hung out his shingle as a presidential contender for the 2016 election.
The GUI group posted some pictures of their efforts to talk to Graham and also follow him with signs to put Graham on the spot about his cozy relationship with corporate power. As quoted from activist, Kat Pheanis:
Went for a stroll down Elm St. with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham [Kat linked to his Facebook campaign page, we’d prefer people see the wiki for a more complete history — also see our links at the bottom of this article for more about Graham] this morning. He seems like a charming fellow…. if you don’t take into account the millions he accepts from energy companies, law firms, and military industrial companies like Boeing, not to mention his political stance against gays and women, and his legislation for the XL pipeline (paid for by energy lobbyists), modifying of mortgage bankruptcy laws (paid for by real estate lobbyists), continuing tax subsidies for corporations (especially oil) while cutting funding for social programs and public schools, harsher sentencing for juveniles who break the law (paid for by law firms and private prisons), his constant push for a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and making abortion a federal crime, et cetera…
Jeb Bush should be coming to Concord next Thursday, perhaps we should all pay him a visit as well…
Kat Pheanis in Manchester follows Senator Lindsey Graham with a sign to make folks aware of the influence of corporate money in our political system.
Will Thomas, retired history teacher, Vietnam Vet and member of Veterans for Peace caught Senator Graham’s ear and this is what he said he told him:
I asked if he knew of the Brandeis quote- “You can either have a democracy or rule by the wealthy but you can’t have both.” So, I said I was concerned about the corrupting influence of money in our political system and asked would he support overturning Citizens United! Yes, he knew the quote, and he said, re: Citizens United – “we’re working on it.” I followed him into the restaurant but he went on his “meet and greet” and that was it!
Will Thomas catches Senator Graham for a moment.
More pictures:
Want to get involved and meet politicians? Find out how you can become a bird-dogger or just help out, clickGoverning Under the Influence.
For some objective information about Lindsey Graham (we did the work of sifting through the political posturing and postulating) here’s some links:
We write out of grave concern about a document we have not been able to
see. Although it has not been made available publicly, we understand that
the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement currently being
negotiated includes Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions.
ISDS allows foreign investors—and only foreign investors—to avoid the
courts and instead to argue to a special, private tribunal that they
believe certain government actions diminish the value of their investments.
Courts are central institutions in the rule of law. Americans have much to
be proud of in the evolution of our court system, which has evolved over
the centuries and now provides equal access for all persons. Courts enable
the public to observe the processes of development of law and to watch
impartial and accountable decision-makers render judgments.
We write because of our concern that what we know about ISDS does not match
what courts can provide. Those advocating using this alternative in lieu of
our court system bear the burden of demonstrating why such an exit is
necessary, and how the alternate system will safeguard the ideals enshrined
in our courts. Thus far, the proponents of ISDS have failed to meet that
burden. Therefore, before any ISDS provisions are included in the TPP or
any future agreements, including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP), their content should be disclosed and their purposes
vetted in public so that debate can be had about whether and if such
provisions should be part of proposed treaties. Below, we detail the ways
in which ISDS departs from the justice opportunities that U.S. courts
provide.
Our legal system rests on the conviction that every individual, regardless
of wealth or power, has an equal right to bring a case to court. To protect
and uphold the rule of law, our ideals of fairness and justice must apply
in all situations and equally to everyone. ISDS, in contrast, is a system
built on differential access. ISDS provides a separate legal system
available only to certain investors who are authorized to exit the American
legal system. Only foreign investors may bring claims under ISDS
provisions. This option is not offered to nations, domestic investors, or
civil society groups alleging violations of treaty obligations. Under ISDS
regimes, foreign investors alone are granted legal rights unavailable to
others – freed from the rulings and procedures of domestic courts.
ISDS also risks undermining democratic norms because laws and regulations
enacted by democratically-elected officials are put at risk in a process
insulated from democratic input.
Equal application of the law is another critically important hallmark of
our legal system—one that is secured through the orderly development of
law. Court decisions are subject to appeal, ensuring that conflicting lower
court decisions are resolved by a higher authority. Judges also must follow
legal precedent. The goal is uniform application of the law regardless of
which judge or court hears a case. This law development allows people,
entities, and nations alike to order their behavior according to
well-established legal principles.
In contrast, ISDS does not build in the development of the law. An ISDS
arbitral panel’s decision cannot be appealed to a court. The ISDS
provisions of which we are aware provide only limited— private—review
through a process called annulment that does not permit decisions to be set
aside based even on a “manifest error of law.”1 Moreover, ISDS
arbitrators, like other arbitrators, do not make law because their
decisions have no precedential value, and ISDS arbitrators in turn are not
obliged to follow precedent in reaching their own decisions.
None of the hallmarks of our court system would be possible without a fair
and independent judiciary. Federal judges take an oath to uphold the
Constitution and are nominated and confirmed by our democratically elected
representatives. State judges likewise commit themselves to upholding the
constitutional order. In contrast, ISDS arbitrators are not public servants
but private arbitrators. In many cases, there is a revolving door between
serving on ISDS arbitration panels and representing corporations bringing
ISDS claims. Yet, although such a situation would seem to call for
more—not less—oversight and accountability, ISDS arbitrators’ decisions
are functionally unreviewable.
As noted at the outset, we have not been able to read the terms of the
proposed ISDS chapters for the upcoming TPP and TTIP treaties. But what we
know from the past gives us many grounds for concern. During the past few
years, foreign investors have used ISDS to challenge a broad range of
policies aimed at protecting the environment, improving public health and
safety, and regulating industry. These challenges have been around the
world, including under trade agreements to which the United States is a
party. The publicly available information about these challenges raises
serious questions as to whether the United States should be entering into
more ISDS agreements with a broad array of nations.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly’s pending ISDS proceedings against Canada
provide an example of how corporations have used ISDS to challenge a
nation’s laws outside the courtroom. After a Canadian court invalidated one
of Lilly’s patents, the company initiated ISDS proceedings against Canada
under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).2 In
seeking $500 million (Canadian), Lilly has challenged as violative of NAFTA
the standard the nation uses for granting patents.
Although ISDS tribunals are not empowered to order injunctive relief, the
threat and expense of ISDS proceedings have forced nations to abandon
important public policies. In the third ISDS proceeding brought under
NAFTA, Ethyl Corporation brought an ISDS proceeding against Canada for $251
million for implementing a ban on a toxic gasoline additive. The proceeding
took place not in a court, but before an arbitration panel of the
International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
After the arbitration panel rejected Canada’s argument that Ethyl lacked
standing to bring the challenge, Canada settled the suit for $13 million.
Moreover, Canada lifted the ban on the toxic additive as part of the
settlement.3
It is particularly noteworthy that the three NAFTA countries are each in
the top 11 most-challenged countries under the ISDS system. This high rate
of challenge in our view has little to do with a rule of law deficit in the
U.S. and Canada. Instead, it represents investors taking advantage of easy
access to a special legal right available only to them in an alternate
legal system.
ISDS weakens the rule of law by removing the procedural protections of the
legal system and using a system of adjudication with limited accountability
and review. It is antithetical to the fair, public, and effective legal
system that all Americans expect and deserve.
Proponents of ISDS have failed to explain why our legal system is
inadequate to the task. For the reasons cited above, we urge you to uphold
the best ideals of our legal system and ensure ISDS is excluded from
upcoming trade agreements.
Sincerely,
Judith Resnik Arthur Liman Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Cruz Reynoso Professor of Law Emeritus, University of California, Davis
School of Law Former Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
Honorable H. Lee Sarokin Former United States Circuit Judge of the United
States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Joseph E. Stiglitz University Professor, Columbia University
Laurence H. Tribe Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard Law School
cc: Ambassador Froman and Chairs & Ranking Members of Finance & Ways &
Means Committees
Please note: Organizational affiliation for all signatories is included for
identification purposes only; individuals represent only themselves, not
the institutions where they are teaching or other organizations in which
they are active.
As the primary season warms up candidates from all over the country will visit New Hampshire to do their requisite glad-handing and baby kissing. Wouldn’t it be great to get a chance to ask the burning questions on your mind and everyone else’s this season? Don’t you think you have that right?
Well of course you do! What’s best is that right in Concord there exists folks ready to help you get connected with those who can lead on your way to holding politicians accountable to the people. The importance of what many like to call “bird-dogging” after the practice of sending the dog out to snuff out the hunter’s prey cannot be over-stated. Like the bird-dog, your job as a citizen would be to snuff out the truth behind all the fluff-talk and happy-jabber that politicians love to dole out. Nothing better than making a politician dance around those difficult and uncomfortable questions! For an example, we give you the here a video and write-up from experienced bird-dogger, Elizabeth Ropp as she puts Rick Perry on the hot-seat:
Rick Perry WMUR Town Hall
Elizabeth on April 16, 2015
I asked Rick Perry what he would do to prevent crony capitalism from corrupting our economy and our government. He dodged the question. I continued to push the issue from my seat in the audience.
He got so hung up on the first part of my question which was “I work for a small business and small business is the engine of New Hampshire’s economy.” But he ignored the second statement: “But they cannot afford to spend millions of dollars in campaign contributions to fund election campaigns and to hire lobbyistys. What will you do to prevent crony capitalism from corrupting our economy and our governement.”
He dodged the question and focused on Dodd Frank and the small business economy of Texas. At his conclusssion, I looked to Josh from WMUR and said “he did not answer my question.” Josh followed up with a follow up question on large campaign contributions from corporations. Perry continued to dodge. I was in my seat at this point and Rick Perry was looking and speaking directly at me. I responded back to him off mic.
“I am talking about large corporations funding election campaigns.”
Rick Perry continued to dodge and say he is not for sale.
I responded again, “You and every politician who comes here is relying on large sums of money from their corporations.”
Josh tried to step in and Rick Perry continued to address me.
I said one last thing: “This is the system.”
So you’re excited right? You wanna try this right? Well, don’t just sit there! Get up and get registered! Make a call, drive to Concord if you are in New Hampshire or close by. Then let’s go!
Get Involved
The American Friends Service Committee wants you to get involved with the Governing Under the Influence project, now underway in New Hampshire and Iowa. Here’s how:
Be a Bird Dog
Sign up to learn how you can use your voice to shape the unfolding political debate in direct dialogue with presidential candidates. We’ll provide training, let you know where the candidates will be, and help you decide what to ask/tell them. You can use our blog to file reports and share your experience with others.
Help us Educate the Public
Join our GUI Banner Team to bring our educational displays to public places, like fairs, festivals, and locations where candidates will be speaking. Help AFSC organize workshops, film showings, and other educational programs in your community.
Use your Social Media
Spread the word through Facebook, Twitter, your own blog, and other social media. Tweet and re-tweet using #GUI2016.
Volunteer in the Office
Our offices in Des Moines and Concord can use your help updating data bases, researching candidate plans for our calendar, and calling other volunteers.
State House Watch May 8
2015 Issue 16The Budget and Beyond
The big news this week was the budget hearing held by the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. Representatives Hall, which holds 400 people, was full. The House Gallery, which holds 200 people, was full. People were standing in line outside both chambers waiting for people to leave so they could get seats. Meanwhile, the hearing was being live streamed to more people in the State House cafeteria.
Testimony was almost entirely about the failures of the House-approved budget to meet the needs of the most vulnerable residents of our state. Senators heard dozens of moving statements about services for people with developmental disabilities, mental health care, domestic violence and homeless shelters. They also heard numerous statements about the importance of extending the NH Health Protection Program and the folly of cutting business taxes.
NH Voices of Faith held a “prayer rally” by the State House steps prior to the hearing, and members vigiled in the hallways as the hearing got underway. Several members testified, too.
Rev. Gail Kinney’s statement included a call to “’just say ‘no’ to any effort to privatize juvenile offender services in the state of New Hampshire. New Hampshire’s troubled young people should never, ever, ever be turned over to be profit centers for a private corporation.”
“We are the fifth highest state in the country in per capita income,” Rev. John Gregory-Davis pointed out. “We have the resources; we simply choose not to use them,” he said, with a challenge to Senators to make a different choice.
The Finance Committee will meet twice next week – Tuesday at 1 pm and Wednesday at 9 am – to begin writing its budget proposal. If you were not able to be at the hearing on Tuesday, it is not too late to contact committee members with your views. You can also join members of NH Voices of Faith in vigils outside State House Room 103, where the committee meets. Contact Maggie to sign up for a shift.
Click here for a Concord Monitor article on the budget hearing with some great photos from the NH Voices of Faith rally. See the NH Voices of Faith Facebook page for more photos, video links, and news.
We expect the Finance Committee to approve a new budget proposal during the week of May 25 and for it to come before the full Senate on June 4. Following approval of a budget, the House and Senate will appoint members to a Committee of Conference to resolve differences by June 18. Watch this space for more about committees of conference and about budget advocacy.
Some Good News!
On Thursday Governor Hassan signed SB 47 into law, making NH the first state in the nation to prohibit the paying of subminimum wages to persons with disabilities. Read her signing statement here. Congratulations to everyone who worked on this!
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony from victims of violent crimes during a hearing on HB 225, a bill requiring defendants to personally appear in the courtroom during a victim impact statement. Rep. Renny Cushing, the sponsor of the bill, was quoted in the Union Leader saying, “It is important the victim is heard by the judge. It is important the victim is heard by the community, and it is important to be heard by the person who victimized me.” Cushing emphasized that those who have committed offenses against others can only move forward if they hear directly from those whom they have harmed.
Special Election in Rockingham 32
There has been a vacancy in the House since January, when Representative Brian Dobson went to work for Congressman Frank Guinta. The vacancy will be filled with a special election on May 19. Rockingham District 32 covers the towns of Candia, Deerfield, Northwood, and Nottingham. We hope you’ll take the time to research the candidates and be sure to vote.
More News from Last Week…
… in the House
SB 135, relative to lead poisoning in children, was adopted by the House with an amendment that strengthened the bill. Due to the amendment it will have to return to the Senate for reconsideration.
SB 62, relative to drivers’ licenses for persons without a permanent address, was adopted by the House with an amendment to stipulate that these licenses shall expire in one year and cost $10. Again, due to the amendment it will have to return to the Senate for reconsideration.
SB 105, relative to child-resistant packaging for tobacco products and establishing a committee to study revising the indoor smoking act, was killed by a House roll call vote of 210-143. Live free and/or die!
… in the Senate
HB 304, establishing a committee to study public access to political campaign information, passed on a voice vote. It is now headed to the Governor’s desk.
Next Week in the Senate
The Senate will be in session on Thursday, May 14 starting at 10 AM
Regular Calendar
HB 219 , relative to the use of EBT cards. This bill originally sought to prevent people receiving benefits via electronic benefit transfer cards (EBT) from using them in businesses that engage in body piercing, branding, or tattooing; also cigar stores and marijuana dispensaries (even though NH has no marijuana dispensaries at this time and that when we do the product will be available by prescription.) The Senate Health and Human Services Committee has added an amendment banning the use of cash obtained from EBT cards for use in the restricted businesses. The bill now more closely resembles the Senate’s version of this bill, SB 169. The Senate amendment is both demeaning and unenforceable. The Health & Human Services Committee recommended OTP/A 3-2. We recommend you call your Senator and suggest that she/he vote this down. Meanwhile, SB 169 is still in the custody of the House HHS Committee.
HB 681, increasing the marriage license fee. This bill increases the fee from $45 to $50. From this increase, $43 would go to fund the state’s domestic violence program. OTP vote 3-2.
Coming Up in the House
The next House session will be “at the call of the chair,” which is likely to resound throughout the land on June 3. (We love the phrase, “call of the chair.” It conjures up images of pages with trumpets in the King’s court or Town Criers in the days of the American revolution against the King.)
Coming up in House Committees
Tuesday, May 12
Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Room 302, LOB SB 52, establishing a commission to study the issue of residential tenancies in foreclosed properties.
Executive Departments and Administration, Room 306, LOB
10:00 AM Full committee work session on retained bills including HB 488, relative to an abusive work environment and the health and safety of public employees; and HB 602, relative to the use of drones.
Coming up in Senate Committees
Tuesday, May 12
Finance, Room 103, SH
1:00 PM Executive session. We presume this session is about the budget. NH Voices of Faith will conduct a vigil outside the hearing room.
Judiciary, Room 100, SH
9:50 AM HB 309, permitting landlords to remove tenant’s property in certain circumstances.
10:05 AM HB 315, relative to termination of tenancy. This bill provides additional grounds for termination of tenancy within 7 days. This includes having a person staying at the premises for more than 14 consecutive days, or 30 days in a 12-month period. This would mean that a family could be given a 7 day eviction notice because grandparents came to visit one weekend a month for a year. Other grounds include having pets in violation of the lease or failing to pay utility bills. We oppose this legislation because under current statute landlords already have the ability to initiate 7-day evictions. We fear this bill would give unscrupulous landlords too much power and would also increase the risk of homelessness.
Wednesday, May 13
Finance, Room 103, SH
9:00 AM Executive session. Once again, we presume this is related to the budget. NH Voices of Faith plans to conduct a vigil outside the hearing room.
We note that many committees in the Senate calendar are scheduled to meet for executive committee sessions on “pending legislation.” We prefer the House’s approach, in which committees disclose which bills they are going to consider.
Events Coming Up
Saturday, May 9
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, conducted by US Postal Service Letter Carriers. To donate, just place a box or bag with your cans and non-perishable items next to your mailbox, before your letter carrier delivers mail on May 9th. The drive is the largest one-day food drive in the nation. Last year, more than 70 million pounds of food were collected, making this the eleventh consecutive year that collections reached over the 70-million-pound mark. Since the drive began in 1993, nearly 1.4 billion pounds have been collected.
Sunday, May 10
Mothers Day Peace Vigil from noon to 1 PM in Market Square, Portsmouth. Participants are invited to bring appropriate signs calling for peace, appropriate poetry to read, and to join in reading Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation for Peace, which introduced Mother’s Day in 1870. Her words were a passionate demand for disarmament and peace after the Civil War. Find more information or sign up on Facebook.
Tuesday, May 12
NHCA Community Conversation on NH Budget, Franklin Public Library, 5:30 to 7:30 pm. NH Citizens Alliance has been holding public discussions with Jeff McLynch of the NH Fiscal Policy Institute as a resource person to help us understand the state budget debate. Sign up here.
Thursday, May 14
Rally to Save Our Postal Service – National Day of Action, 4:30 to 6 PM, Manchester Post Office, at 955 Goffs Falls Road. The U.S. Postal Service is under attack by forces in Congress and on Wall Street who have this vision: cut service, privatize operations, and convert living-wage, union jobs into low-wage, non-union jobs – then dismantle the Postal Service so they can turn over the profitable pieces to their cronies in private industry. You can find more information and sign up here.
May 12 and 13
When Opportunity Stops Knocking – New Hampshire’s Kids and the American Dream
Join a statewide conversation to share ideas with neighbors, hear the latest research, and inform the presidential primary campaigns about the increasing barriers our state’s children face in achieving their dreams. NH Listens, a project of the Carsey School of Public Policy at UNH, is hosting 12 local conversations around the state. Find more information and registration here.
Tuesday May 12 – Keene, Lancaster, Portsmouth
Wednesday May 13 – Concord, West Lebanon, Rochester
Friday, May 22 – Saturday, May 23
Ancestral Reburial – The Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail invites you to honor the dead who were found buried beneath a Portsmouth street as they are reinterred in sacred ground. Friday night, beginning at 7:00 pm, with an overnight vigil at the New Hope Baptist Church, 263 Peverly Hill Road, ending with a sunrise service at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning. A motorcade will transfer the caskets to the State Street entrance of the African Burying Ground Memorial Park on Chestnut Street. At 8:30 AM there will be an unveiling of commissioned artwork, and at 9:00 am the reburial ceremonies will begin. Wearing white or traditional African attire is encouraged. More information is here and on Facebook.
Friday, May 22
“Who Am I Going To Be: African Youth Building Lives in NH,” a documentary by Lynn Clowes, will be shown at 7:00 pm at the Concord Quaker Meeting Meetinghouse in Canterbury. Lynn Clowes will be on hand to lead a discussion and answer questions about the constellation of challenges that African youth face as they build new lives in NH. Click here for directions.
Next week on “State House Watch/White House Watch” Radio
Next week’s show will focus on the state budget, with excerpts from the budget hearing and commentary from Arnie and Maggie. You can hear us live on Monday from 5 to 6 pm and re-broadcast on Tuesday from 8 to 9 am at 94.7 FM in the Concord area and at wnhnfm.org anywhere you can get an internet signal. You can also download podcasts of past shows, including last week’s with Keith Kuenning of Child and Family Services and a recording of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka describing the labor federation’s plans to make wages a central issue in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Governing Under the Influence
Last week Hillary Clinton voiced criticism of a policy that requires the government to lock up immigrants in for-profit prsions. If you think that sounds a lot like something we’ve been discussing, you’ll be interested to know that Clinton first heard about the issue from students at a Quaker high school in Iowa who “bird dogged” her last October. Last week we had productive encounters with Governors John Kasich and Chris Christie. You can find out what happened at our GUI web site, and also find out where you can meet Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Rick Perry, and Ben Carson, all of whom will be campaigning in New Hampshire next week.
-Arnie Alpert and Maggie Fogarty
PS – Don’t forget to “like” us on Facebook. Search for “American Friends Service Committee-NH” to “like” us. After all, we are your Friends.
AFSC’s New Hampshire “State House Watch” newsletter is published to bring you information about matters being discussed in Concord including housing, the death penalty, immigration, and labor rights. We also follow the state budget and tax system, voting rights, corrections policy, and more. Click here for back issues.
The AFSC is a Quaker organization supported by people of many faiths who care about peace, social justice, humanitarian service, and nonviolent change. Arnie Alpert and Maggie Fogarty direct the New Hampshire Program, publish the newsletter, and co-host the “State House Watch” radio show on WNHN-FM. Susan Bruce helps with research and writing.
“State House Watch” is made possible in part by a grant from the Anne Slade Frey Charitable Trust.
Your donations make our work possible. Click the “DONATE NOW” button on our web page to send a secure donation to support the work of the AFSC’s New Hampshire Program. Thanks!
American Friends Service Committee
4 Park Street
Concord, NH 03301 http://afsc.org
NARAL has an excellent video out that highlights the hypocrisy of the gun-nut/liberty contingent. The point is clear; when they say “protect our liberty”, when they say “government encroachment on our rights” they aren’t referring to women.
They aren’t referring to the right of a woman to have any liberty to choose what she does with her body. They aren’t referring to the right of a woman to choose whether she’ll be a mother. Despite the fact that science has long since put that right into women’s hands and within reach of women’s daily lives, there’s an entire faction of people that work tirelessly to take that freedom of choice; what they like to call “liberty” out of her hands. They work tirelessly to make the ability of a woman to determine the direction of her life and her future solely her own decision an impossibility.
While they bleat on and on about government interference in their lives, they work to increase government interference in women’s lives and in the most demeaning and invasive ways they can.
Again, remember, when they shout about liberty, they don’t mean liberty for you.
[Note also the comments from the gun-lobby’s flying monkeys, the gun comparison really hits a chord. Unfortunately they are painfully tin-eared.]
New Democrats? Didn’t they die out after George W. rode in on the wave of “New Democrat” fervor that elected Clinton who then shoved the country further right? Wasn’t “New Democrat” a fad of the 90’s wherein the late Georgia Senator Sam Nunn and others came together figuring that the old liberal Democratic party had to go and make way for a newer, shinier, more conservative version. A version that wouldn’t let such matters as labor and social policy stand in the way of getting elected? Remember them? NAFTA? Welfare Reform? the Telecommunications Act which while historically did destroy Ma Bell’s monopoly on phone service, opened up a brave new world on technology law that still confounds many.
Yes the New Democrats have apparently risen their ugly heads again and it seems that we can with confidence, this time around call them what they have always been: Republican Lite. Content to enjoy the traditional support of middle Americans, shameless in their promotion of corporate power and hawkish in their support of imperialist intervention worldwide, the New Democrat comprises a creature that at the very least deserves healthy skepticism and a watchful eye.
Case in point: their coming out in support of the Fast Track process to pass the TPP without debate; in short, without democratic process. For more look no further than Politico to proudly that some Democrats have pulled that old mothballed sweater out of the closet and are wearing it with pride, despite the holes we can all see clearly from here:
The bill would allow Obama to submit trade deals to Congress for straight up-or-down votes without any amendments. | Getty
New Democrats expect growing support for fast-track
By Doug Palmer
4/30/15 9:03 PM EDT
A small group of House Democrats who back President Barack Obama’s effort to win “fast-track” trade legislation said Thursday they expect more party members to step forward in favor of the bill, but indicated Republicans would still have to provide the bulk of the votes to win its approval.
“I think members realize it’s coming closer [to the time] to ultimately to make a decision, and that’s what they’re trying to do,” Wisconsin Rep. Ron Kind, chairman of the New Democrat Coalition, told reporters after more than a 90-minute meeting with Obama. “I think to the credit of the majority of the New Dems in the coalition, they’ve kept their powder dry to give the administration and the president the chance to make the case.”
Obama invited all 46 members of the moderate, business-friendly group to the White House to urge their support for the bill, which many Democrats have already made up their mind to oppose. About 27 piled into a bus for the trip, including some who have already endorsed the bill and many others who are undecided.
Just 13 House Democrats — most of them from the New Democrat Coalition — are on record in support of the legislation, which would allow Obama to submit trade deals like the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership pact to Congress for straight up-or-down votes without any amendments.
The next House session will be “at the call of the chair,” which is likely to resound throughout the land on June 3. (We love the phrase, “call of the chair.” It conjures up images of pages with trumpets in the King’s court or Town Criers in the days of the American revolution against the King.)
Maggie. You can hear us live on Monday from 5 to 6 pm and re-broadcast on Tuesday from 8 to 9 am at 94.7 FM in the Concord area and at 
Progressive Action New Hampshire 