On Thursday, May 18, the “Parental Bill of Rights” was closely defeated by five votes, 195-190. Only two Republican representatives voted to defeat the bill. A separate vote was then taken to indefinitely postpone this bill, which means SB 272 is dead, this year and next year. The subject will not even be discussed.
As a reminder, this particular legislation would have required school staff to give information, upon parental request, about their child’s gender identity, preferred pronoun use, even which clubs they showed interest in. However, only if the staff could show “clear and convincing evidence” that abuse or neglect to the child would take place, then privacy for the child would be honored. Just one more thing educators should not have to keep tabs on.
On to the school vouchers: Voucher Expansion Bill HB 464 was also defeated. The legislation would have opened the voucher program to more students but without an income eligibility limit. This expansion program would have eventually drained the education trust fund in addition to breaking the budget. The Senate Education Committee unanimously recommended defeat for this bill.
What did get passed was HB 367. This bill now raises the income eligibility of the federal poverty level from 300% (where it is now) to 350%. For a family of four, the threshold will now increase nearly $20,000. Currently, 85-90% of students in the voucher program are already in private schools or are home schooled, which means they are not costing the state any tax expense, but receive aid at the expense of property owners.
Should this voucher program continue to grow, it will be competing with public schools for those very tax dollars intended for public schools. As it stands now, the state is still failing to meet its constitutional duty to “adequately” fund the public schools.
By contacting our elected officials, New Hampshire was able to defeat the two above mentioned bills. Let’s do this again with HB 367 which will be coming before the Senate Finance Committee. We need to contact members of the Senate Finance Committee and ask them to vote NO on HB 367.
We have seen the results of taking a moment to let our voice be heard to our elected representatives. Let’s keep the momentum going!
“AAPI” stands for Asian American and Pacific Islander.
Beginning in 2000, the U.S. Census had made the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) a specific category from the Asian American category. There are more than fifty distinguishable ethnicities of the Asian American and NHPI population in the United States. With more than 20 million people identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, these are the fastest-growing groups in the country, and the 2020 census reflected that.
But a little history first; On May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrant arrived in America. On May 10,1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed. This railroad was worked on by approximately 20,000 Chinese immigrants. For these two significant dates in May, an AAPI Heritage Week proclamation was signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979. Thirteen years later, Congress passed an amendment which declared the entire month of May as AAPI Heritage Month. It was to celebrate achievements and culture with “appropriate ceremonies, programs and activities.”
Here in New Hampshire the largest Asian American ethnic groups are as follows:
Indian – 10,904
Chinese (except Taiwanese) – 9,514
Filipino – 6,304
Korean – 4,447
Vietnamese – 3,897
Nepali – 2,549
The largest NHPI ethnic groups are as follows:
Native Hawaiian – 579
Guamanian or Chamorro – 268
Samoan – 199
The number of AAPI adults eligible to vote in NH grew by 80% between 2010 and 2020. We have also seen their addition to the Congressional legislature in Concord. Rep. Latha Mangipudi is from Nashua and is serving her fifth term; Rep. Ben Ming is from Hollis and is serving his first term; Rep. Luz Ray is from Dover and she too, is serving her first term.
But they are not alone in their contributions to our state democracy. Nikhil Vootkur, Susmik Lama, and Mahendra Bakshi are AAPI Caucus Officers At-Large; Maitri Chittdi is the NHDP Secretary; Shanika Amarakoon is the Portsmouth City Chair and Mohammad Saleh is the Cheshire County Chair to name but a few!
On May 12, during the McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner, the above-mentioned and many more were given a tremendous shout-out by the NHDP for “their countless contributions to the Party.” We were also fortunate enough to have as keynote speaker Congressman Ro Khanna from California.
May we all continue, together, to move New Hampshire and the country forward!
MULTILINGUAL VOTER HOTLINE If you, or anyone you know, has difficulty with language access or needs any other type of voting assistance (including questions about polling locations or voting procedures), please call the National Asian American Voter Hotline at 1-888-API-VOTE (1-888-274-8683)
Governor Chris Sununu’s classic style of leading from way, way, way behind was in fine form last week with his recent flip flop on marijuana legalization.
The guy who, a few weeks ago was on the Bill Maher show asking, “who calls it ‘pot’ anymore?” has looked at the polling and recognized that young people are never going to vote for a guy who is the prime reason the “Live Free or Die” state has yet to legalize the weed.
So, rather than lifting a finger over the past few months to engage in the ongoing legislative process surrounding legalization that passed with a strong majority in the House, he finally chimed in with his two cents just a couple days after the bill was killed by Republicans in the Senate.
This is the well-practiced Sununu tactic of trying to have it both ways, like the way he claims to be pro-choice and pro-life, depending on the audience, or the way he can’t decide if he supports or opposes Donald Trump on any given day.
In this case, Sununu is acting like he’s joined the substantial majority that favors legalization, while kicking the can on doing anything about it another legislative year down the road – after the Republican primary is over, when he’ll be free to walk back his position.
And its worth noting his position is stupid. For a guy who was opposed to cannabis yesterday, today he seems very concerned that taxes are low enough on it so the state-owned monopoly can undercut Massachusetts and sell as much dope as possible along the I-95 corridor.
Yes, he’s another one of those who doesn’t see marijuana legalization as a social justice issue so much as a business opportunity. Big growers will get all the state's business, while no provision is made for people who just want to have a couple plants in their garden.
One thing that irked me about the interview when he announced his flip-flop, is that he also repeated that unfounded myth about marijuana being laced with fentanyl, which is about as credible as the stories about bad guys who put razor blades in apples during Halloween. The fact that Sununu doesn’t seem to know this suggests that perhaps he’s not the best choice of people to design our state’s marijuana policy.
I’m glad that Sununu has finally joined the circle on legalization, but don’t pass him the blunt just yet.
According to Gun Violence Archive there have been more than 200 mass shootings in 2023. A mass shooting is defined as having four or more people killed or injured. An average of fifty people a day are killed in the United States by a gun, surpassing Australia, Canada, England and many other countries. There have been more than 600 mass shootings per year in the last three years, averaging nearly two a day.
How many guns are there in America? A Swiss-based research project called Small Arms Survey, estimates in 2018 there were approximately 390 MILLION guns in circulation! That was five years ago! How many more are in households now? And how many more are military grade assault weapons?
Recently, there were two more mass shootings in Texas, five people were killed at a private home, eight more at a shopping mall near Dallas. Here in the “Live free or Die” state, four people were shot on Saturday, May 13 around 4:50 pm. They were attending a college graduation party in Manchester. There were about thirty people in attendance, which included babies and young children. Most of the people were outdoors when a vehicle drove up to the house. Out jumped two people, masked and wearing hoodies, who began to shoot at the attendees. Luckily, all four victims are expected to recover.
Yes, we might be THISCLOSE to becoming another Texas, or Ohio, or Kentucky, or Louisiana, or Florida, or . . . the list goes on. But it doesn’t have to, at least not here in New Hampshire. We need to show a lot of these NH House members and Senators the door in ’24 for not voting in gun violence prevention laws that would keep us safe not only in schools, but at the grocery store, a shopping mall, a church, a party, any neighborhood in any city or town.
Three years ago, Gov. Sununu vetoed the red-flag bill, which would have permitted concerned relatives or police to petition a court to TEMPORARILY remove guns from a person threatening to harm him/herself or others. The suicide rate in NH is rising faster than anywhere else, this red-flag law could have been utilized in cases of extreme risk. To justify the veto, Sununu claimed he would continue to work on mental health issues and suicide prevention, but not at the expense of a gun owner’s constitutional rights. Your right to life clearly means nothing.
This past April at the NRA Leadership Forum in Indianapolis, Indiana, Sununu gleefully claimed to the audience, “Yeah, well they gave me a red-flag law and I gave them a red veto pen”, which elicited applause. Sununu needs to be shown the door in ’24.
A point to remember, “Shooters do not act alone. They are assisted by fifty Senators, 210 House members and the NRA.”
Lately, I’ve been hearing from people in Keene about how frustrated they are by the ugly new small cell towers being put up in the middle of residential neighborhoods. I’m frustrated too!
I actually raised the alarm about this policy four years ago, when, as a candidate for City Council, I wrote a letter to the Sentinel which ultimately prompted Keene to establish perhaps the first local ordinance in New Hampshire on the issue of small cell installations.
Unfortunately, the ordinance was mostly only able to lay out some aesthetic guidelines and notification procedures, with some very weak location guidelines.
The problem is that Federal Communications Commission (FCC), several years ago, decided to bless the telecommunications industry by opening the doors to allow them to place there equipment in the public right of way with very few restrictions, at very little cost, and with almost nothing that a local government can to restrain them.
If that sounds corrupt, that's because it was. It was the Trump Administration. Although, make no mistake, a Romney Administration or Sununu Administration would have been just as corrupt in this respect. There is nothing Republicans like more than handing public property over to rich companies.
As a result of this policy - which, again, is a classic, orthodox Republican idea, that Republicans have voted for and supported for years - what has happened is that it has become a whole lot more convenient for telecom companies to put up cheap towers in the public right of way, without having to pay any market-based rent for it.
As a Democrat, I believe in the free market, and so I don't understand why these companies are getting this huge and obvious subsidy. They said they needed to do it as part of the "5G rollout", which I guess was so important back in the late 2010s that it justified steamrolling local control, stiffing local taxpayers, and adding tech-blight to our residential neighborhoods.
At the time, telecommunications companies were pushing the idea that these small towers are necessary to support high speed features related to the 5G rollout. I beginning to think that's a snow job.
Because its funny, I don't actually see any 5G rollout around here. It sure looks like all these new small cells are actually being used to support last-generation 4G services.
Sure, with additional equipment, these towers could be used to support 5G but... will they?
When exactly are we going to get the befits this technology promised to deliver? Do we only get the costs?
And if all we were ever really going to get was 4G, was it really necessary to let telecommunications companies build out these new small cells all over people's neighborhoods to get it?
Republic, Washington is a town of about 1,000 people, located about an hour’s drive from Canada. In Dec. 2018, Rinaldo Nazzaro bought 30 acres of land there, intending to turn it into a training ground for a white supremacy group called “The Base.”
The Base is part of a white supremacist movement referring to itself as accelerationist. They see today’s society as impossible to “fix”, believing it should be made to fall apart so a fascist movement can take over. What makes these white supremacist accelerationists stand out is their belief that violence and terrorism is the only way to achieve these goals. This is not new, violence and terrorism has always been the basis of the white supremacist movement. They believe a genocide is occurring against White people, thus justifying their use of violence. Sound familiar?
The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) annual report has New Hampshire experiencing a whopping 383% year-over-year increase in white supremacist activity. And according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), there are five active hate groups here in New Hampshire:
Act for America, anti-Muslim, Hollis
American Nazi Party, neo-Nazi, statewide
Jihad Watch, anti-Muslim, Manchester
Nationalist Social Club (NSC-131), neo-Nazi, statewide
Proud Boys, general hate, statewide
Neo-Nazi groups have a love for Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. In addition to hating Jews, they also hate gays, lesbians, and some Christians. This article will focus on the Nationalist Social Club (NSC-131).
This group is organized in all the New England states with Massachusetts as their headquarters. According to the ADL, members of the Nationalist Social Club, whose activities have increased in the Seacoast since 2021, “see themselves as soldiers at war with a hostile, Jewish-controlled system that is deliberately plotting the extinction of the white race.” On April 20, they introduced the “People’s Initiative of New England” (PINE) which has a five point program:
Formally recognizing New England as “a White Homeland and a sovereign state.”
Breaking up and excluding “media conglomerates and corporate monopolies from operating in New England to ensure all business is conducted in the best interests of the people.”
No longer recognizing institutions of the federal government; and establishing “a new National party” as the government of New England. That government “will not participate in any Federations, Coalitions or Alliances which erode its sovereignty or are otherwise contrary to the interests of its people.”
Pursuing policies “that are Pro-Family both economically and socially,” with regulations centering on “achieving a living family wage, affordable housing, and healthy birth rates, as well as a pro-social cultural environment conducive to the formation of strong families.”
Ending all non-White migration to New England “for the purpose of maintaining our ethnic identity,” and designating English as the sole official language. “Cultural assimilation will be a prerequisite for the consideration of any European diaspora.”
Last July, some members of NSC-131 hung a banner that stated “Keep New England White” from a highway overpass in Portsmouth. In response, the state Dept. of Justice filed charges against the group and 2 members citing a violation of the NH Civil Rights Act. One of the members was a Christopher Hood, leader of NSC-131.
Now we focus on “Task Force Butler,” a nonprofit organization founded by Army veteran Kristopher Goldsmith. The name came from a WWII group who targeted Nazi defenses. This group of veterans investigates and exposes hate groups along with their activities. They refer to themselves as American veterans who hunt neo-Nazis, and have recently been actively investigating NSC-131.
According to Task Force Butler, NSC-131 is a “violent terrorist gang that primarily functions to plan, train, and obtain weapons for the explicit purpose of engaging in acts of violence and harassment against religious, racial, and ethnic minorities, the LGBTQIA+ community, and others deemed ‘enemies’...” They are also part of a global white supremacist terrorist network.
According to Goldsmith, veterans who signed up to serve their country did so to protect Americans and our way of life. Now, with the formation of Task Force Butler, veterans are STILL protecting democracy and ALL Americans from terrorism, violence and oppression.
We must remain cognizant of those who run for office, whether it is locally, state or federal. Who are they? What is their background? Any one of the above mentioned hate groups could run one of their members for public office.
There have been four – count ‘em, FOUR – Republican Supreme Court Justices implicated in various scandals over the past few weeks.
Clarence Thomas has been accepting lavish and undisclosed vacations from a GOP megadonor who collects Hitler memorabilia, and who also purchased Thomas’ boyhood home for his collection, while letting Thomas’ mom stay there for free.
Neil Gorsuch kept it a secret that the buyer of a 40-acre property he co-owned was the CEO of a law firm with business before the Court.
John Roberts hid the fact that his wife made well over $10 million for their family in a head-hunting business that she built to take advantage of the connections available to her as the wife of the Chief Justice of the United States.
Brett Kavanaugh’s cover story for a sexual assault that he almost certainly committed while at Yale fell apart a little more, as it was revealed that the person who Republicans falsely accused of that incident was not even in college at the time. This is a fact that Donald Trump’s FBI didn’t even bother to find out prior to Kavanaugh’s Senate confirmation vote.
These are four of the most powerful people in America, and they sit at the head of a broader American judicial system that ishighlycorrupt, and not currently worthy of the respect it once commanded.
Judicial reform is desperately needed, but not actually an option given the Republican stranglehold over checks and balances in this country. The only tool available to the rest of us is scorn.
Did you know that New Hampshire is the only New England state that does not have a comprehensive, updated climate action plan? Or that NH is the only New England state that does not have a mandated requirement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
According to the NH Dept. of Environmental Services (DES), NH will most likely continue to emit the same amount of greenhouse gases for the next decade under its current policies, (if we even have any). The NHDES found in 2019 that cars and trucks were responsible for nearly half (47%) of emissions.
As far as renewables go, well, NH is behind our neighbor states in generating electricity from renewables. This inaction towards climate change only continues to endanger the health and well-being of NH residents and people nationwide.
Last week, 7 states, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont came together and submitted a proposal to the federal government of $3.62 billion hoping to secure a position as a regional clean hydrogen hub. Notice who was missing? This is a part of Pres. Biden’s “Investment and Jobs Act” looking to bring about 6 to 10 similar hubs nationwide, in an attempt to address clean energy.
While some of the participating governors of the aforementioned states commented on and praised this opportunity for economic growth and promotion of their climate goals, it leads one to wonder if NH has any climate goals or even any interest in addressing the issues of clean energy, climate and extreme weather. Not to mention, it was an opportunity to secure federal money. Sadly, NH joins Florida, Idaho and South Dakota by not participating in, at the very least, one hub proposal.
However, NH does have a hydrogen project in Coos County. A former paper mill in Groveton is being used by Q Hydrogen. The plan is to redevelop the mill into “the world’s first power plant completely fueled by clean, affordable clear hydrogen” according to the company which is based out of Utah.
A little bit about hydrogen: it can be obtained from renewable energy or fossil fuels. It can be burned to provide power, stored or transported. Electrolysis and thermal processes are the most common way of producing hydrogen fuel. On the flip side, there are critics who claim hydrogen is not the perfect solution, citing it can cause pollution in other ways. Leaks can release methane (greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere and when burned, it can emit nitrogen oxide, another form of air pollution. However, if used safely and properly, hydrogen can go a long way in helping combat what is a global concern.
In early April, Sen. David Watters (D-Barrington, Dover, Rollinsford, and Somersworth.) testified to the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee on behalf of a bill he introduced to support the development of green hydrogen in NH. “I don’t want New Hampshire to be the black hole where industry says don’t go there because you can’t getanything built,” Watters said. “… I want that investment to come here, both federal money and private dollars to come in, and I think we have huge potential here.”
There’s an organization in New Hampshire dedicated to educating and mobilizing voters about climate change along with getting voters to elect candidates who themselves are serious about the topic. That organization is called “350 NH Action” and was launched here in NH in 2012.
This group focuses on getting rid of fossil fuel money in politics, putting an end to fossil fuel dependence and holding our elected officials to account for their votes and actions on this issue.
350 NH Action fully supports candidates who themselves are in favor of progressive climate policies which includes investing in renewable energy. Additionally, 350 NH Action supports candidates who work for economic, gender, immigrant and racial justice.
As an example, they ran a campaign fighting to stop the proposed Granite Bridge gas pipeline. How? They scheduled information sessions in order to educate the public, got volunteers trained and out canvassing. They organized climate strikes, got local ordinances passed and swayed elected officials to oppose the pipeline. In July 2020, the Liberty Utilities Granite Bridge pipeline project was defeated!
Another example is the Green New Deal, a plan that has been championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). These are the five goals:
Reach net-zero in greenhouse gas emissions through a just transition for all workers and communities
Create millions of good, livable-wage jobs and ensure economic security for all people in the United States
Invest in infrastructure and industry in the US to sustainably meet future challenges
Secure clean air and water, climate and community resilience, access to nature, food security, and a sustainable environment for all
Promote justice and equity by stopping, preventing, and/or repairing the historic oppression of frontline and vulnerable communities
350 NH Action keeps the pressure on our elected officials, Reps. Annie Kuster, Chris Pappas, Sens. Jeannne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan. Unfortunately, Sen. Hassan has taken money from the fossil fuel industry in the past which makes any support from her questionable and possibly less likely to be in favor of climate policy. Pressure needs to be kept up on her! They made sure every major Democrat candidate for president pledged to support the Green New Deal in 2020 and intend to keep that pressure on, going forward into 2024. This would include the NH elected officials.
350 NH Action is working in conjunction with a new campaign called “NH Renews”. This campaign is addressing not only climate change but also racial injustice and unemployment, by establishing grassroots networks and electing those dedicated to positive climate policies. They are also working with environmental advocates, racial justice groups and labor unions.
To learn more about this organization: 350NH Action
After years of litigation, settlements have finally been reached in the multitude of lawsuits that were filed by states and municipalities against the companies involved with creating and exacerbating the opioid overdose crisis.
The state of New Hampshire should be receiving about $310 million over the next 20 years, which it is doling out through various grants to municipalities and organizations working to reduce the damage caused by substance use disorder (SUD). As a party to the lawsuits, City of Keene has itself received $113,000 so far, with a bit more to come in subsequent years.
Keene’s City Manager and Police Chief have proposed spending the money on a social worker position within the Police Department, to focus on issues related to substance use and mental health. While having a social worker on city staff is an idea that certainly has a lot of merit, many are concerned that having that position be a part of the Police Department will limit the effectiveness of the role.
This is because, as I explained in my recent letter to the editor of the Keene Sentinel, many substance users have a deep-rooted distrust of police, and will be unlikely to engage positively with any public official who they perceive to be a cop. Instead of creating this barrier that will prevent people from getting the help they need, I would prefer to see the social worker position be a part of the city’s Emergency Medical Services. Make it a healthcare role, not a criminal justice role.
My friend and ally, State Representative Jodi Newell, has been raising broader concerns about the process through which decisions are being made about how this money is to be spent. She feels strongly – and I agree with her – that more voices need to be part of the conversation.
As Jodi wrote in a 2020 research paper entitled “Substance Use Disorder in New Hampshire”:
An impacted community should have a significant role in designing solutions to the issues they’ve experienced…. Unfortunately, in regard to SUD treatment and recovery, there are few seats at the table held for leaders in that community, most of whom have struggled with SUD themselves and spent decades in recovery helping others. Instead, there seems to be a preference given to members of law enforcement and well-liked legislators, who tend to err on the side of abstinence under threat of punitive action. Nowhere in my research or in my conversations have I found any evidence that this approach is helpful.
Jodi herself is a leader in that community, having lost the father of her two children to an overdose 14 years ago. The pain of that loss has been compounded by the stigma that she and her children have had to face as family members of an overdose victim. While it would be easy for Jodi to cave to the stigma and not speak publicly about her experience, she has instead devoted herself to advocacy for people, like her, who have had their lives shattered by the opioid epidemic.
State Rep. Jodi Newell
Jodi has been quite effective in this endeavor. During the last Congressional session, she was a major force in lobbying federal legislators to pass the MAT Act – creating options to enable broader Medically Assisted Treatment for opioid use. And when she’s not at her job working in a homeless shelter, or at her job working on the floor of the State House in Concord, she’s at her job working for Rights and Democracy as a statewide organizer focused on the overdose crisis.
All of this is to say that Jodi knows what she is talking about when it comes to the topic of substance use disorder, and that her views are well-founded, deeply researched, and built on a foundation of lived experience. When she speaks about harm reduction and overdose prevention, the rest of us really ought to listen.
Our challenge now is to use this money to stem the tide of overdose deaths. We must address the humanitarian disaster that big pharma and its network so callously created, which was exacerbated by policies that focus on criminalizing addiction at the expense of harm reduction… with that in mind, I am asking our city leaders to facilitate public listening session where the vast knowledge and experiences of those directly impacted by the overdose crisis may be heard and incorporated into the broader plan concerning the use of opioid settlement resources.
Wise thoughts. As a member of the Keene City Council, I’m certainly paying attention, and I’m ready to do whatever is needed to make sure that conversation happens.
