Democracy for New Hampshire - Growing the grassroots in New Hampshire's political landscape

We hold these truths to be self-evident

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:17:39 -0400

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Single payer plan already in place in USA for Congress and the military

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:48:41 -0400

SOURCE: SouthernStudies.org

Single-payer TRICARE military health plan most popular in South

In this year's health reform debate, Congressional Democrats quickly took proposals for a single-payer system off the table, claiming it was "unrealistic."

But more than 9 million people in the U.S. have already signed on to a single-payer system that's proved both workable and popular: TRICARE, the Department of Defense's program for active-duty military and retirees.

Even more interesting: According to a Facing South analysis, nearly half of TRICARE beneficiaries live in the South -- states where Congressional leadership has been most vocal in opposing public involvement in health care.

Last week, a top-rated diary at DailyKos by a person claiming to be "an active duty obstetrician/gynecologist in a major medical facility on the East Coast" noted that:

9.2 Million active duty and retired uniformed service member and their families receive their healthcare from the federal government. My family and I receive free healthcare from the federal government ... I am struck however that nobody has brought up the simple fact that the government already provides free healthcare in a single payer model to over 9 million of its population.

I decided to look into where TRICARE beneficiaries were located. According to my analysis of TRICARE data, 47% -- nearly half -- of the 9.2 million using TRICARE are based in 13 Southern states:

Overall, six of the 10 states with highest number of TRICARE beneficiaries are in the South. This makes sense given the high number of military bases in Southern states, as well as the concentration of active-duty and retired military in states like Virginia.

The high Southern enrollment in government-run TRICARE, where the military pays private doctors in a single-payer system, seems at odds with the vocal opposition of Southern lawmakers to anything smacking of public involvement in health care.

Take South Carolina: The Palmetto State has the 8th-highest TRICARE enrollment in the nation, nearly a quarter-million people. But South Carolina's overall population ranks only 24th nationally -- meaning that the share of South Carolinians using TRICARE's single-payer, government option is one of the largest in the country.

Contrast TRICARE's popularity in South Carolina with these words from Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) last week, who has led the Republican party's attempts to torpedo health proposals that involve the government:

"Democrats think we're stupid," said DeMint. "They think that you don't know that government does not work well, that the same people who cleaned up after Hurricane Katrina are the ones who can really run our health care system with that personal touch that we all want ... They're talking about a government plan that can do things that no government plan has ever done."

The 233,725 people who chose to use TRICARE in DeMint's home state likely disagree.

WaPo Salons--A New Wrinkle?

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:08:40 -0400

Source: Politico.com

Washington Post sells access, $25,000+

By MIKE ALLEN | 7/2/09 8:04 AM EDT

For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper’s own reporters and editors.

The astonishing offer is detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he feels it’s a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff."

Souter: Traumatized by Bush v. Gore SCOTUS ruling

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:28:44 -0400

Supreme Court gets ready to turn on the corporate fundraising spigot

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:36:42 -0400

SOURCE: Slate.com

The Supreme Court Gets Ready To Turn on the Corporate Fundraising Spigot....The case about the anti-Hillary ad got pushed back till September—and got bigger.

By Richard L. Hasen Posted Monday, June 29, 2009, at 3:02 PM ET

If Republicans were wondering how their 2012 presidential candidate is going to compete against President Obama's $600 million fundraising juggernaut, the Supreme Court seems poised to provide an answer: unlimited corporate spending supporting the Republican candidate, or attacking Obama.

In a Supreme Court term that has had its share of surprises, the court saved one of the biggest for last. Rather than publish an opinion at the end of the term as expected in an obscure campaign finance case, Citizens United v. FEC, the court issued a rare order for reargument of the case in September (before the usual start of the term). At that point, the court will consider whether to overrule its two previous decisions that in 1990 and 2003 upheld limits on corporate spending in federal elections.

Rock and Rally for Health Care!

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:35:44 -0400

Rock and Rally for Health Care!
"Featuring local musician Josh Logan"
What: Rally
Host: New Hampshire Change That Works
Start Time: Thursday, July 2 at 12:00pm
End Time: Thursday, July 2 at 2:00pm
Where: Manchester City Hall

Contact us at 603-227-0883

www.seiu.org/changethatworks/

Shine a little light on it: open government and accountability

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:45:25 -0400

SOURCE: sunlightfoundation.com

Times like these are too important for us not to hold government to the highest possible standards.

The House of Representatives is poised to take up debate on a health care bill in the coming weeks that will have a huge impact on each of our lives and our economy. The bad news is that if the last week is any example, it's not clear that we will even know what's in that bill. Indeed, it's not clear if even our representatives will have a chance to read the bill before they vote.

Whatever you think about the "Cap and Trade" bill that was passed by the House last week, or however you feel about health care reform, the process for considering legislation is not as transparent as we need it to be.

I'd bet you'd agree with us: Congress MUST read the bill and ensure that we, the public, have at least 72 hours to do the same.

http://readthebill.org

The seven deadly signing statements

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:33:17 -0400

The Emperor's Seven Signing Statements By David Swanson

SOURCE: http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/43996

Lawless detention is the least of it. State secrets and warrantless spying scrape the surface. Drone attacks and ongoing torture begin to touch it. But central to the power of an emperor, and the catastrophes that come from the existence of an emperor, is the elimination of any other force within the government. Signing statements eliminate congress. Not that congress objects. Asking congress to reclaim its power produces nervous giggles.

Look at how the latest war supplemental funding bill was passed. The Emperor's people wrote most of the bill. The Emperor combined it with the IMF banker bailout. The Emperor threatened and bribed his way to deals with enough congress members to pass it. The Emperor preemptively told other nations the bill would pass and then badgered congress with the claim that this nation (He, the nation) would be damaged if he turned out to have lied. The Emperor lied to congress members and the public that this would be the last war supplemental bill. Congress members claimed to back it because it was the last one (not that this made the slightest sense), and others openly, proudly, and obliviously declared that they were switching their votes to yes in order to please the Emperor.

When the bill came to Emperor Barack he signed it and released his sixth and only legal signing statement announcing that he'd signed it. Two days later (Fridays being the favored day for signing statements) Obama released his seventh signing statement, claiming to have signed the same bill on that day as well, but perhaps beginning to establish the precedent that "signing statements," like "executive orders," can be issued at any time. The seventh signing statement did what the first five had done: it illegally and unconstitutionally altered the law in favor of bestowing illegal powers on the Emperor. The seven statements are posted here. Here's the heart of the seventh statement:

"Provisions of this bill within sections 1110 to 1112 of title XI, and sections 1403 and 1404 of title XIV, would interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations by directing the Executive to take certain positions in negotiations or discussions with international organizations and foreign governments, or by requiring consultation with the congress prior to such negotiations or discussions. I will not treat these provisions as limiting my ability to engage in foreign diplomacy or negotiations."

Obama contemplates Executive Order for detention without charges

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:25:29 -0400

Bush declared "I'm the decider" and he meant it. This administration obviously believes it has that right as well --- it just pretends otherwise. I suspect they understand that keeping the folks from losing that freedom loving, patriotic illusion of American exceptionalism is an important part of exercising American political power. And they're probably right. Bush and Cheney's biggest mistakes were in being honest about something nobody wants to know.

SOURCE: Salon.com

Obama contemplates Executive Order for detention without charges, TPM calls it "the latest installment in the Obama administration's tendency to mimic the Bushies" in War on Terror.

BY Glenn Greenwald

Jun. 27, 2009 |

(updated below - Update II)

Gore: Support responsible energy legislation

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:06:33 -0400

THE AMERICAN CLEAN ENERGY AND SECURITY ACT OF 2009

Call 877-9-REPOWER (877-9-737-6937) and we'll connect you to your Representative right after providing you with talking points. (We're expecting high call volume, and if you are unable to be connected please use our secondary line, 866-590-0971.)
When connected to your Representative's office, just remember to tell them your name, that you're a voter, and that you live in their district. Then ask them to "vote 'yes' on comprehensive clean energy legislation."
Then, report the call below so we can coordinate the campaign.

SOURCE: Repower America

In the next day or so, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the boldest effort in our history to rethink how we produce and use energy in this country.

I recorded a video message to describe what's at stake and how we need your help urgently. Take a moment and please watch it.

Voting groups oppose the Holt Bill

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:55:04 -0400

SOURCE: Black Box Voting Below are the editorials from Black Box Voting, Open Voting Consortium, VotersUnite.org, and Nancy Tobi of Election Defense Alliance and Democracy for New Hampshire opposing and rebutting the latest incarnation of Holt's perpetually flawed proposal for election reform, currently known as "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2009 (HR 2894)"

STATEMENT OF BLACK BOX VOTING AGAINST HOLT BILL

We are in agreement that DRE voting machines need to be eliminated, but not at the expense of human rights. We don't need a "Holt Bill." What we do need:

PROTECT AND DEFEND PUBLIC ELECTION PRINCIPLES

(1) Protect and enforce right to know for every essential component of our public elections -- eliminate practices which allow government insiders to conduct key parts of elections in secret;

(2) Protect and enforce required checks and balances -- strengthen compliance, remedies and enforcement.

(3) Restore necessary mechanics for public elections: Require voter-marked paper ballots unless assistive device is required.

StudentLoanJustice.Org is Now in NH

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:07:26 -0400

StudentLoanJustice.Org is a national grass roots organization dedicated to convincing congress to restore standard consumer protections to student loans.

My name is Ed McKinley. I am a social worker and a resident of NH. In 1996 I graduated Salem State College with a masters degree in social work, a desire to help underserved and disenfranchised populations and @ $40, 000 in student loan debt.

What I did not have when I left college was knowledge of some of the early struggles I would have managing this debt or any awareness of the punishing consequences that would have.

Due to some family illness and tragedy and with the help of a lender, my loans went into default. It took a couple of years, but I was able to regain my footing and proceeded to go about clearing up the financial wreckage.

Most creditors welcomed the opportunity to work with me and for the first time in a few years I began to feel hopeful.

NYT called out for dishonest endorsement of Holt's e-voting bill

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:58:19 -0400

NOTE:

Time for us all to call out the Times AND Congress on their support of illegal, fraud-friendly, privatized e-voting systems.

Write to the NYT: editorial@nytimes.com
letters@nytimes.com

Tell Paul Hodes to NOT repeat his past mistake of endorsing this legislation!

SOURCE: BradBlog

Editorial endorsing Rep. Holt's Election Bill Misleads, Gets Facts Wrong...

Posted By Brad Friedman On 23rd June 2009 @ 15:28 In

The New York Times just doesn't get it. You'd think, by now, they would. But they don't. And they should print a correction immediately.

In a brief, unbylined editorial yesterday, headlined "How to Trust Electronic Voting," 1 the paper endorses this year's version of Rep. Rush Holt's election reform bill. The editorial is misleading and, even worse, blatantly (and inexcusably) inaccurate on at least one important point...

The first graf begins thusly:

Electronic voting machines that do not produce a paper record of every vote cast cannot be trusted. In 2008, more than one-third of the states, including New Jersey and Texas, still did not require all votes to be recorded on paper. Representative Rush Holt has introduced a good bill that would ban paperless electronic voting in all federal elections.

No need to read the piece much further, frankly. The reference to "paperless electronic voting," aside from being so very 2005, is also incredibly misleading. The idea that "electronic voting machines that...produce a paper record" are somehow more trustworthy than those that don't, has long ago been discredited by computer scientists and security experts. For just one such example, see this video 2 produced by the UC Santa Barbara's Computer Security Group for CA SoS Debra Bowen's landmark "Top-to-Bottom Review" of electronic voting systems. The scientists demonstrate how to hack a Sequoia touch-screen voting machine --- one that produces "a paper record" --- in seconds. The same technique can be applied to virtually any other Direct Recording Electronic (DRE, usually touch-screen) voting system.

Open Voting Consortium: Oppose Holt's e-voting extravaganza legislation

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:49:32 -0400

SOURCE: Open Voting Consortium
The main offending part for me is where they say the machine for individuals with disabilities must allow the voter to "independently verify and cast the permanent paper ballot without requiring the voter to manually handle the paper ballot;" This is ridiculous. This the proverbial $900 hammer approach. No machine has this capability currently, and such a machine would be many times more expensive than necessary. Potential solutions would solve one almost non-existent problem and create several others -- besides the expense.

********
Dear Friends of Open Voting:

I need your help today. As you may recall, US Representative Rush Holt has introduced several badly flawed voting reform bills in the past few years. We have opposed them for a variety of reasons.

Last week, Holt introduced his new one: The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2009 (HR 2894)
http://holt.house.gov/voting.shtml

Progressive Newsletter

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:58:29 -0400

Greetings:

This is the seventeenth edition of the New Hampshire Progressive Newsletter for 2009.

In this issue:

Item 1: House and Senate negotiators have reached a budget deal. There will be no slot machines, no estate tax, no capital gains tax, no gas tax increase. The meals and rooms tax will go from 8% to 9%, the cigarette tax will increase another 45 cents a pack, and the auto registration fee will increase $30. $25 million will be cut from the state payroll, but how to do that will be left to the Governor.

Item 2: As Congress looks for ways to pay for universal health insurance, the President is pressured to tax health benefits, despite his campaign promise not to.

Item 3: Paul Krugman finds the financial regulation plan of the Obama administration to be lacking. He argues for limits on executive compensation, which has been structured in a way that encourages executives to take big risks with other people’s money. He also argues the plan is short on measures to reform the rating agencies, which routinely rated subprime mortgage securities as low risk.

Item 4: The US Supreme Court says there is no constitutional right to a DNA test to prove your innocence, if you’ve already been found guilty.