The Granite View

Fear That Has Said Its Prayers

Austin Anderson's example is one we all should strive to live up to.

Last Friday, a man named Austin Anderson did something so extraordinary that it sounds like a major motion picture, but was in fact heartbreakingly real. After surviving a fiery plane crash in Kansas in which three of the five passengers died instantly, Anderson, a 27-year-old Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, crawled into the burning fuselage to drag 22-year-old Hannah Luce to safety. Anderson guided Luce to a nearby road, where a passerby called for help. Marine, Christian, son and friend Austin Anderson later died from burns sustained while rescuing Luce. We live in a world where we toss around the word “hero” with ease, assigning the title to everyone from spoiled protesters to rich celebrities who fly in private jets to put…

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ForThePeople

1:54 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012

At this point, you're being disingenuous. She clearly mentions spoiled protesters, rich persons participating with charities, and climate activism as being somehow at the bottom of her esteem in comparison with some unrelated hero. These are political points. If you don't want a reply from me, why did you address me? In short, a reading comprehension issue as well as the usual disingenuous …   more ›

The Granite View

Voters Can Hold Vaillancourt Accountable

Columnist says the Manchester lawmaker's comments were "reprehensible."

While sitting at my desk writing tomorrow’s column about an extraordinary man who is a true American hero, a breaking news alert came up on my screen titled: “Chaos At NH Statehouse.” According to Patch, “Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, R-Manchester, was removed from the House chamber after he reportedly yelled "Sieg Heil" during debate on the Voter ID bill” (which subsequently passed the House and will now be sent on to the governor). Of course, all hell broke loose. Which is exactly what Vaillancourt intended. The Speaker of the House appropriately called for Rep. Vaillancourt’s removal from the House Chamber. Vaillancourt refused to leave. Apologies refused, news cameras rolling, state police officers called in, twitterverse all aflutter…  …

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Ruth O

1:09 pm on Wednesday, May 16, 2012

He (Vallincourt) feels that Speaker O' Brian is a dictator or the reincarnation of good ol Adolph. :) I can understand why.   more ›

The Granite View

No Evolution Here

Columnist Jennifer Horn looks at President Obama's support of same-sex marriage.

Two days ago, President Obama “announced” his support of marriage between two individuals of the same sex in a network television interview. Now that some of the hysteria has passed, let’s see if we can take an honest look at what happened here. This is not, in my opinion, about whether or not you support gay marriage. We will assume for the purpose of this column that some of you do and some you don’t. Fine. In 2008, when the majority of Americans were polling against gay marriage, Barack Obama was against gay marriage. In 2012, when Barack Obama is in desperate need of a larger voter base, he has suddenly “evolved” on gay marriage. There are certainly heroes in the movement to protect the rights and dignity of gay Americans, but they are…

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JIM

1:11 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012

THE FIVE LETTER WORD AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM WITH , OBAMA   more ›

What's The Point?

Columnist Jennifer Horn comes to the defense of Speaker O'Brien.

Editor's note: This is the first installment in a weekly column that former Congressional candidate and radio talk show host Jennifer Horn will be contributing to Patch, touching on everything from local politics to national issues. If the constant barrage of attacks against Speaker of the House Bill O’Brien are to be believed, he is a miserly man who has set out to destroy services to the disabled, our schools and everything in between. Bill has been characterized by the New Hampshire Democratic Party and some media outlets as a bully, a radical and evil. If former NHDP Chair Kathy Sullivan’s newspaper columns are any measure, unseating Bill O’Brien has become the Democratic Party’s number one priority. For the most part, after about five…

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Democratic Field for Governor to Expand

Exeter's Maggie Hassan will have another challenger.

The race for the Democratic nomination for governor will become a three-way one, according to multiple reports. WMUR's James Pindell and the Concord Monitor's Annmarie Timmins tonight reported Bill Kennedy, of Danbury, will enter the race. Pindell reported on his "Political Scoop" blog that Kennedy will announce his candidacy Thursday. Kennedy is a firefighter, EMT, and veteran, according to Pindell. Kennedy will go up against Exeter's Maggie Hassan and Barrington's Jackie Cilley in the September Primary. The filing period for the race closes in June. Timmins reported Kennedy – like Cilley – will not take "The Pledge" against a sales/income tax. Cilley said she will not play "pledge politics." Hassan has previously indicated she is taking …

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Op/Ed: Return to Discrimination is All Wrong

Opponents of marriage equality are switching tactics, want to tie repeal to November referendum.

The New Hampshire Legislature is considering a bill to repeal marriage equality. I urge our citizens to look within themselves to oppose returning to the discrimination of the past. In our world, there is nothing more important than the way we treat one another, and repealing equality is not something our state has ever done. Every week since civil marriage for same-gender couples became effective on Jan. 1, 2010, there have been more and more ceremonies. As of this week, they number 1,899. Nearly 3,800 of our fellow citizens from every part of our state -- our friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members -- have made the important commitment to share their love and caring for the special person in their lives. That's something to …

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Op/Ed: An Unseen Success Story

The NHDES commissioner continues his "25 for 25" series.

By Thomas S. Burack, NHDES Commissioner In recognition of the 25th Anniversary of the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, over the course of the year, I will highlight 25 agency activities, programs, projects and accomplishments of the past 25 years. This article, the second in the series, relates to the DES Underground Storage Tank Program. Twenty-five years ago, when the Department of Environmental Services (DES) was first formed, we couldn’t see them, but there were over 12,000 underground storage tanks (USTs) in the ground in New Hampshire.  Virtually all of them were bare steel, single-walled tanks, with no corrosion protection. Some of them had been in the ground since the 1950s, or even earlier.  Not surprisingly, …

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Op/Ed: The Case for Targeted Education Aid

NH Business and Industry Association supports a constitutional amendment to give more aid to communities that need it most.

For more than 10 years, New Hampshire has been paying for an “adequate” education for primary and secondary public school students across the state. State spending on public education is in addition to what local communities raise and spend. Adequate education funding did not come without pain. The Legislature raised business taxes—the Business Enterprise Tax (BET) and the Business Profits Tax (BPT)— in 1999 and again in 2001 to help pay for increased education funding. According to the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit educational foundation advocating for sound tax policies, New Hampshire businesses are now among the most highly taxed in the country (46th worst corporate tax rank as reported in the Tax Foundation’s recently released 2012 …

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Let Buddy Debate

NH Primary law author says Roemer, Karger should get invite to final debates.

By Jim Splaine This year, Iowa’s caucus means hardly a thing in the selection of the Republican nominee for 2012. Beside the fact that it isn't a real election – it’s just a series of meetings of party activists throughout the state, compared with people actually going to the polls and voting in private for the candidate of their choice – Iowa isn't where it counts.  With a mash of candidates splitting up the Iowa caucus votes, the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation presidential primary is again shaping up to be the major early decision-maker in the nation’s presidential nominating process. The results from Iowa are a one-day story that will be forgotten by the end of the week, and the political focus of the nation will be on our state …

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Jeff Hatch

8:53 pm on Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Noted   more ›

In NH, Newark Mayor Says It's Time for Dems to Fight Back

Cory Booker takes jabs at Romney, Christie at UNH stop.

In New Hampshire campaigning for President Obama on Friday, Newark Mayor Cory Booker fired a few jabs at Mitt Romney and his campaign surrogate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Asked if he thinks now is the time to fight, as Obama recently stated, Booker replied that yes, sometimes that's the only way to get the message across. "I like to punish people with facts," Booker said. "They are irrefutable about what happened. I look at Mitt Romney's first ads – blatant lies. We can't let people get away with that." He also took issue with Christie. He joked with the crowd, saying, "There's a very shy governor of my state – you probably haven't heard of him because he's very soft spoken. He's up here, he's a very pugilistic man, he's punching at …

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