Heads up to voters in Hudson and Litchfield, you’ve got yourself a candidate with all the credentials Free Staters appear to embrace. Meet Mark Edgington, a 2006 transplant from Florida who came to New Hampshire with his buddy Ian Freeman. 

A little background on Edgington: while living in Florida he pleaded “no contest” in 1989 to second-degree murder, claiming to have not participated in the murder of a man. The state of Florida thought otherwise. After serving less than 10 years of his sentence, he met Ian Freeman (Ian Bernard at the time) while at a community college in Florida. Freeman had launched a radio show called “Free Talk Live” with Edgington volunteering as a guest host. Two years later, in 2004, Edgington declared bankruptcy, with debts estimated between $100,000 to $500,000. Also included was nearly $60,000 in credit card debt. 

In 2006, Edgington and Freeman took their radio show to NH where they also joined the “Free State Project,” the organization that distrusts government. In 2012, Freeman formed the Shire Free Church in Keene along with four others, including Edgington.

Edgington and his wife built a house in Westmoreland where they have lived and raised a son. Now he wants to run on a platform of parental rights, gun rights and “fiscal responsibility.” Let’s hope he learned something about fiscal responsibility from his previous bankruptcy.

About two months ago, Edgington had posted a request on a Hudson Facebook group page, “I am looking for a room to rent in Hudson or Litchfield. I am a 53 yo non drinker and non smoker.” He now has a “rental” in Hudson using the address of a UPS store.  And now he’s running for a seat in the NH House to represent Hudson and Litchfield while residing back and forth in Hudson and Westmoreland. 

Fellow Free Stater and Liberty Alliance member, Jason Osborne, House Majority Leader, has stated, “I’m going to do what I can to get him elected. I know there is one (candidate) I can count on for a vote every time. The other two, I’m not sure.” The other two candidates referenced are Kimberly Rice and incumbent Ralph Boehm, both Liberty Alliance members also. 

It all comes back to doing some background research on any candidate who is looking to represent you and your interests in public office. These three will be on the primary ballot for Hudson and Litchfield on Sept. 10th.

As for Edgington’s pal Freeman? The Free State Project kicked him out in 2014 after he publicly championed lowering the age of consent for sexual relations. In Oct. 2023, Freeman was sentenced to eight years in prison for “conspiracy to commit money laundering and other felonies stemming from operating an unlicensed cryptocurrency business.”

Before his sentencing, a caller asked Freeman during one of his  “Free Talk Live,” shows if he would have done anything different if he known he would be indicted. “Is there something I regret? I mean, of course not. This is my mission. I’ve been given this mission from God to get this alternative form of value into people’s hands.”

“Alternative form of value.” Is that like “alternative facts”?

Last week, Gov. Sununu signed into law a bill designed to protect people when they are looking to buy property in New Hampshire. The legislation is House Bill 398 and is meant to alert people about potential contaminants such as arsenic, radon and PFAS in the property they are thinking of purchasing. 

The notice will state that PFAS “have been detected at levels that exceed federal and/or state advisories or standards in wells throughout New Hampshire. Testing of the water by an accredited laboratory can measure PFAS levels and inform a buyer’s decision regarding the need to install water treatment systems.”

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are man-made chemicals frequently used in consumer and industrial products. They have been connected to dangerous health concerns such as decreased fertility, developmental issues in children, high cholesterol, increased blood pressure in pregnant women, kidney, prostate and testicular cancers and weakened immune systems. PFAS contaminants have been found throughout the state but more so in southern NH, where it had been discovered hundreds of private wells were contaminated by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, based in Merrimack. The manufacturer has since closed down. 

The prime sponsors of the bill were Reps. Wendy Thomas, (D-Merrimack) and Nancy Murphy, (D – Merrimack). 

The bill goes into effect next year.

"We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be."

WOW!!

This is a claim made on July 2nd by Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation. Roberts also wrote the introduction to the ultra-conservative manifesto Project 2025, a mandate outlining their plans to dismantle and then restructure the federal government. These plans include eliminating large amounts of nonpartisan federal employees whose jobs are to guarantee the safety of our foods and medicines. Additionally, other federal employees who safeguard our environmental and national security along with our transportation systems will see their jobs eliminated as well. 

A national alarm has finally gone out about what this group of anti-democracy, anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, anti-public schools, anti-marriage equality and restrictions on divorce Christian Nationalists have in mind for our country should our democracy fall in November. 

Enter stopthecoup2025.org. Organized in January 2024, this group’s main goal is to educate as many people as possible before the Nov. election as to the Heritage Foundation and Christian Nationalist plans for America. They too, have broken down the manifesto’s chapters and explain exactly how each government department will be changed, absorbed into other departments or eliminated altogether. 

Stopthecoup2025 lists the seven strategies to divide and conquer. These are all actions American citizens have repeatedly been subjected to whether it’s through social media or the news media itself:

• Creating false conflicts and oppositions
• Gaslighting
• Bias – Demonizing specific groups of people
• Appropriating universal concepts
• The double standard
• Relentless repetition of buzzwords
• Old fashioned hypocrisy

Stopthecoup2025 describes itself as “a public education and mobilization campaign.” They acknowledge that if implemented the manifesto will “affect every sector of our society, including, but not limited to, labor, gender, immigration, racial equality, climate media, religious freedom, education and reproductive health.” We have already seen signs of that happening. 

Stopthecoup has the backing of such groups as “Center for Progressive Reform,” “Chromatic Black,” “Council for Global Equality,” “Freedom from Religion Foundation,” “Reclaim Pride Coalition,” and “Rise and Resist” along with many more. 

Here they list their plans to help preserve our democracy. 

We can do this, we can preserve our democracy in November and beyond!

Let’s begin with a brief history of how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came into being. Established in late 1970 by Pres. Richard Nixon, the goal was to clean up and protect the environment by vigorously attacking pollutants in the air, land and drinking water. Its mission was the protection of the environment and public health. 

Congress passed the “Clean Air Act” of 1970 and the “Federal Water Pollution Control Act” two years later. In 1990, with climate change hastening, amendments to the “Clean Air Act” saw the growth of the EPA’s responsibilities by advancing new regulations. A few examples are, a broader hazardous air pollutant program; technological standards for nitrogen oxide emissions from coal-fired power plants; programs to control sulfur dioxide.

Fast forward to the 21st century where we are now experiencing global catastrophic storms much more frequently, resulting in an immediate need to act quickly and decisively. While the Biden Administration has been doing just that, the manifesto chapter on the EPA paints it as an “assault” on the energy sector, accusing the Administration of making coal, natural gas and oil operations expensive and unreachable. The accusation includes “forcing the economy to build out and rely on unreliable renewables. This approach has also been applied to pesticides and chemicals as the Biden Administration pushes the “greening” of agriculture and manufacturing among other industrial activities.”

The plans call for changing EPA rules using “pause and review teams,” reassess all current settlement suits, ending all grants to advocacy groups and reducing personnel. Coastlines and lands under federal control would be opened up to coal, gas and oil extraction. This would include fracking using accelerated review procedures. Lands that had previously been withdrawn due to endangered species, historical and wilderness protections would now be included. Plans for recreational development on leased federal lands would get faster approval. According to the manifesto, “the United States has an obligation to develop the vast oil and gas and coal resources for which it is responsible.” 

Their plans include repealing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which is bringing money to the states for renewable energy jobs. They plan on abolishing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) whose job it is (among many others) is to measure the damage done to air and water, calling that “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.” They feel there is a need for “Science Policy Reforms” and would allow the EPA to espouse citizen science (what IS that?), deputizing the public to become watchdogs in areas such as data analysis, pointing out scientific flaws and researching negligence or mismanagement. 

Citizen science?

These plans would accelerate extreme weather and negative climate effects. For some states, New Hampshire being one, flooding is of great concern. According to NOAA, the country experienced 23 climate disasters last year, resulting in at least a billion dollars worth of damage. With the average at around nine per year, last year’s was the most ever in one year. But hey, let’s get rid of this department, they’re scaring people with facts. . .

An important question to ask candidates this year are their thoughts about climate change and if enough is being done to address it. If they tell you it’s all a hoax, then it looks like you have your answer. Vote accordingly.

Americans have paid more and more for prescription drugs for too many decades. Meanwhile, Big Pharma's profits have sky-rocketed. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act which was signed into law nearly two years ago, lowering the costs of prescription drugs was one of President Biden’s goals. According to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, over 750,000 people on Medicare will see a price drop starting in July for 64 medications. For example, some of these drugs are prescribed for cancer, specific infections and osteoporosis. Becerra also noted the Biden Administration is not finished with lowering the cost of health care as there is more work to be done. 

These medications will now have a lower Part B co-insurance rate from July 1 - September 30, through the “Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program”, a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act requiring Big Pharma to pay rebates to Medicare when costs rise faster than the rate of inflation.

As part of this legislation, the beginning of the year saw annual out-of-pocket prescription costs capped at about $3,500 for some people who are enrolled in Medicare Part D. This is expected to be annually lowered to $2,000 for all seniors enrolled in Part D beginning in 2025. Additionally, under the Low-Income Subsidy Program, the new law enabled roughly 300,000 people of low income to become part of a benefit expansion. The price of insulin has already been capped at $35 and now the cost of prescription drugs can be negotiated down with manufacturers.

To see a list of these drugs click here: Reduced Coinsurance for Certain Part B Rebatable Drugs under the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program (cms.gov)

To learn more about the Rebate Program click here: Inflation Rebates in Medicare | CMS. This information also includes a fact sheet on the Part B rebatable drug coinsurance reduction. 

The manifesto called “The Mandate for Leadership” naturally has a chapter dealing with those pesky immigrants. Written by Ken Cuccinelli, an attorney who had served from 2019 to 2021 in the Trump administration as the “acting” Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. During his brief stint in the White House, he became “Principal Deputy Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services” (USCIS), an office established by the Trump administration and which has since been abolished. 

Cuccinelli’s appointment to that newly formed position was found to be unlawful by US District Judge Randolph Moss in March, 2020. The judge ruled it was in violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. His appointment as “acting” Deputy Secretary was also found to be illegal by the Government Accountability Office that same year. 

While Ken wasn’t having a good year, he contributed to the manifesto by writing the chapter on Homeland Security. According to Ken, “DHS has also suffered from the Left’s wokeness and weaponization against Americans whom the Left perceives as its political opponents.”

Right off the bat, he recommends “the President pursue legislation to dismantle the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be granted a broader deportation process. Right now, a process that currently applies to people caught within 100 miles of the border would be enlarged to people caught anywhere in the country. People who are in deportation proceedings are sometimes “tracked” rather than be held in detention. This is referred to as the “Alternatives to Detention” program and would be shelved according to the manifesto. 

Legal immigration would face restrictions, such as decreasing or abolishing certain visa categories. For example, T & U visas for victims of crime or trafficking, who would generally assist in police investigations of those crimes might become harder to get or go away completely. “Victimization should not be a basis for an immigration benefit.”

For those looking for asylum here in America, they can expect the likelihood of being rerouted to other countries as the manifesto calls for bringing back “asylum cooperative agreements” with Central American countries. An oldie but goodie from the Trump era. They would also like to see Congress restrict eligibility and get rid of certain categories of eligibility for asylum seekers. 

And if you thought children would have some protections, think again. Lots of cruelty written into this chapter. The manifesto calls for detaining children in terrible conditions, such as having Congress revoke the 1997 court settlement agreement known as The Flores Settlement. This agreement mandated that unaccompanied minors be held in the “least restrictive” settings as possible. If revoked, many children will again be held in ICE detention centers. Remember foil blankets?

For those with temporary protected status and are already in America, that could be revoked. Most are here under a temporary humanitarian parole and are from Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Ukraine and Venezuela. Processing times would become even more lengthy; cost of applications would rise; impose fees for asylum requests; allowing people to pay more to move ahead in the processing line. 

Should our democracy fall in November, more than 12 million people with green cards would face an uncertain future. Let’s do all we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Project 2025 is an immediate threat to our democracy; formed and molded by multiple Christian Nationalist organizations whose goal is to institute a specific version of Christianity as the ruling, authoritative cultural and moral order. Naturally, it would be “exclusionary” and not only a threat to our democracy but to the long-held separation of church and state. 

Focusing this article on public education, their manifesto calls for the elimination of the Dept. of Education, student loans and grants would eventually be returned to the private sector, gender ideology and critical race theory would be rejected and the all time favorite of taxpayer dollars, intended for public schools, rerouted to private, religious or home schools. Their vision for the country, “Ultimately, every parent should have the option to direct his or her child’s share of education funding through an education savings account (ESA), funded overwhelmingly by state and local taxpayers, which would empower parents to choose a set of education options that meet their child's unique needs.” A different form of welfare for those who really don’t need it. 

What are ESA’s? Usually referred to as school vouchers, they are used for a family’s tuition by (and this can’t be said enough) using taxpayer dollars for private schools. Keep in mind a lot of these  private schools do NOT offer special education services as public schools do, because they are not required to do so. According to the National Education Association (NEA), states with this program are now grappling with the cost, lack of accountability and lack of transparency. The continued increase in costs will not only redirect taxpayer dollars from the intended public schools but will also impact other vital public services.

Calling the NEA a “demonstrably radical special interest group that overwhelmingly supports left-of-center policies and policymakers,” the manifesto recommends Congress revoke their congressional charter. They recommend member hearings be held to ascertain how much federal taxpayer dollars the NEA has used for “radical” causes that “favor” one political party. Oh, NOW they’re concerned about the use of taxpayer dollars?

Moving right along with the really important stuff listed in the manifesto:
“No public education employee or contractor shall use a name to address a student other than the name listed on a student’s birth certificate, without the written permission of a student’s parents or guardians. 
No public education employee or contractor shall use a pronoun in addressing a student that is different from that student’s biological sex without the written permission of a student’s parents or guardians. 
No public institution may require an education employee or contractor to use a pronoun that does not match a person’s biological sex if contrary to the employee’s or contractor’s religious or moral convictions.” 

To the surprise of no one, protecting the civil rights of Black and Brown students, LGBTQ students and those with disabilities would make their way to the chopping block. It is currently the responsibility of the Dept. of Education to do so, but if they want to eliminate that department then the above mentioned students would be left out or left to their own devices. Gains that took decades to achieve would be instantly wiped out. 

According to Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Project 2025 is “redefining religious freedom as a license to discriminate.” Let’s make sure they are unsuccessful this Nov.! 

Remember back when the previous administration wanted to do away with the “Affordable Care Act?” People rose up and voiced their anger against that, leaving elected officials no other choice but to leave it in place (not that they had anything to replace it with, anyway.) They did manage to weaken some aspects of it when they bolstered the capability of doctors to hide behind “religious beliefs” when some (not all) physicians did not want to provide certain medical care such as abortions (even in emergencies), vasectomies or care to transgenders, to give a few examples. They shamelessly dubbed it “The Denial of Care Rule.”

The Project 2025 chapter on the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) was written by attorney Roger Severino, a Heritage Foundation employee who had also worked for the Becket Fund. In this chapter, Severino vows to limit access to birth control (that’s already being tried), repeal the FDA’s approval of medication abortion (although I believe the Supreme Court recently threw women a bone), and outlaw mailing such medications by citing the “Comstock Act.”

(Comstock Act of 1873- Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use. Signed into law by Pres. Ulysses S. Grant on March 3, 1873.)

Additionally, the HHS would eliminate programs aimed towards the rights of LGBTQ people. Severino recommends just about all HHS agency or programs such as Administration for Children and Families, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and Office of the Surgeon General be reorganized in order to promote heterosexual marriage and procreation, “to maintain a biblically based, social-science reinforced definition of marriage and family.”

Severino writes that he would like to see HHS go back to being called the “Department of Life” by strongly rejecting the idea “that abortion is healthcare and by restoring its mission statement . . . to include furthering the health and well-being of all Americans from conception to natural death.” (I wonder if getting shot and killed in a parking lot, school or church is considered a “natural death.”) The CDC would be expected to increase “abortion surveillance” especially in blue states that “have now become sanctuaries for abortion tourism.” He wants the Reproductive Healthcare Access Task Force to be eliminated in order to construct a pro-life task force promoting the life and health of women and their unborn child. The FDA would be required to reverse approval of medical abortion drugs; funding from Medicaid to Planned Parenthood would come to a stop; women’s health facilities would stop giving out condoms (sorry guys, you’re targeted too); getting rid of the IUD and some forms of the birth control pill. Severino refers to the CDC as “the most incompetent and arrogant agency of the federal government” and wants to remove its capability of issuing public health advice. Wearing masks and social distancing immediately come to mind . . .

Project 2025, these guys are NOT kidding around!

Last November I wrote a brief article about Project 2025. The next few articles will be diving into the frightening and chilling plans the Heritage Foundation has put together to overthrow our democracy and do away with our separation of church and state, replacing it with a theocracy. Sounds crazy, I know. That something like this could happen here, in America! But, here we are . . .

Project 2025 is a plan that’s been decades in the making. It is a thirty chapter, 900 page manifesto, filled with a blueprint for their plans to restructure the federal government. According to their Policy Agenda – “Our goal is to assemble an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State.” Each chapter is written by a different author, some of whom had ties to the Trump administration. All are religiously conservative. 

But before we check some of these chapters out, let’s explore who supports and is behind the Heritage Foundation.

The president is Kevin D. Roberts, a former president of Wyoming Catholic College from 2013-16. From there he took a position as executive vice president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. In October, 2021, he became president of the Heritage Foundation and two years later became president of Heritage Action, the lobbying group of The Heritage Foundation. In his introduction to Project 2025, Roberts writes of the groups intent in “deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gender, gender equality, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights . . . out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation and piece of legislation that exists.” Translation: LGBTQ and females, we are comin’ for you!

Leonard Leo, a staunch Catholic, an attorney and a leader in the conservative group The Federalist Society, where he has been actively involved for over 25 years. He helped Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. In addition, he supported the nominations of Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts. Working closely with (then) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2016, Pres. Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, was successfully blocked. The Judicial Crisis Network, Leonard Leo’s nonprofit, spent over $7 million blocking the confirmation. This guy has access to vast amounts of money and has shown he is not afraid to tap into it for his vision of an American “utopia.” 

For many years, billionaire Charles Koch, (and his brother before his death in 2019) quietly organized wealthy, like-minded conservatives. Using hundreds of millions of their own money, they successfully created a complex web of academic programs, foundations, “grassroots” movements and think tanks all designed to destroy and reshape the public’s opinion about minimizing the federal government. 

Project 2025 has also been on the receiving end of Koch’s and Leo’s largess, through donations to the Project’s advisory board. Who’s on this advisory board you ask? Mostly Christian Nationalist groups:
Alliance Defending Freedom
American Center for Law and Justice
America First Legal Foundation (founded by Stephen Miller, he of the Trump implemented “caging immigrant kids” idea)
Concerned Women for America
Family Research Council
First Liberty Institute
Hillsdale College and Liberty University
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America

Next time, a few examples of what this Project 2025 means for America should our democracy fall in November. 

Officially called “Juneteenth National Independence Day,” this is a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in America and is celebrated on June 19th. On this day in 1865, Major General Gordon Granger implemented Pres. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in the state of Texas as they were one of the last to have received the news the Civil War had ended and slaves had been freed two years previously. 

Juneteenth has referred to as “America’s Second Independence Day” and is regarded as the longest-running African-American holiday. Texas initially declared it a holiday in 1938 and with approved legislation in 1979 every state and the District of Columbia has recognized the holiday with commemorative events. 

Here are some planned events in New Hampshire:

Keene: (June 16) “Kid Flicks – Celebrating Black Stories.” From 2-3:00 pm at The Showroom on Commercial St. This is a series of short films by the New York International Children’s Film Festival and is recommended for age 9 and older. Come share in the complexity, determination, joy and resilience of being young and Black. Seating is limited with registration required at no cost. https://keeneymca.org/juneteenth 

(June 19) From 5-6:20 pm at The Community Kitchen on Mechanic St. will be a free community dinner. 

From 6-9:00 pm at Central Square will be musical performances.

Lebanon: (June 18) From 5:30-8:00 pm, the documentary "Shadows Fall North" will be shown at the Lebanon Library Damren Room, 9 East Park St. This documentary portrays the efforts of Valerie Cunningham (coauthor of Black Portsmouth: Three Centuries of African American Heritage) and JerriAnne Boggis, who work to uncover the stories of African Americans nearly lost to history. Refreshments will be provided. 

Nashua: (June 19) 1:00 pm in the Soel Sistas restaurant parking lot a celebration will include food, music, local vendors selling items such as plants and T-shirts, artists selling and showcasing their work, and hair braiders. This event is being put on by Nashua residents Kimberly Whittaker and Shewanda Daniels-Williams. Whittaker is looking forward to having not only a day of fun, but to also provide knowledge and understanding on what the day is all about. According to Whittaker, “It’s about freedom. We broke free from the chains of slavery. That was a time when black people … came together to build community amongst each other and for each other, so if people now in this day and age know what it really was and [what] people did, then maybe it will force us to come back together as a people and unite and just be stronger.” 

Portsmouth: (June 19) 10:30 am at the African Burying Ground, an African drumming workshop will be held for children and their parents. They will learn about the role drums play in African culture along with dances, rhythms and songs in African life celebrations. The workshop is free, open to the public and no registration is needed.

At 11:00 am “A Time To Praise, A Time To Honor, A Time To Heal,” is a ceremony led by Rev. Robert Thompson, honoring the ancestors who survived in America during and after slavery. An African drumming and dance group, The Akwaaba Ensemble, will perform to honor Black ancestors who lived in slavery and those who were freed from it. Many other events will be taking place along the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire.