The ServeNext Presidential Straw Poll is now ready for your vote! Designed celebrate the season of service, create some friendly competition between campaigns, and address the unprecedented critical food shortage faced by residents in need this winter, the contest will benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank and its local agencies across the state.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE NOW!

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) commemorated Veteran's Day in Waterloo, IA by announcing new policy proposals to ensure that America fulfills its obligations to those who have served and sacrificed for the nation including giving military veterans additional opportunities to serve their country through AmeriCorps.

Hillary will make vouchers worth up to $10,000 available to returning veterans who want to serve in AmeriCorps and select not-for-profit organizations. These organizations would provide at least $5,000 to supplement the voucher. This system will help veterans create normal routines and reenter their communities while doing meaningful work serving their country. Hillary will make this subsidy available to as many as 20,000 veterans a year.

Last month, Senator Clinton announced her plans to expand AmeriCorps by 100,000 members by the end of her first term as President and increase the Segal Education Award from $4,725 to $10,000 for each year of service.

U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) are asking their supporters to take action - and they don't (just) mean phonebanking or canvassing. They're asking for folks to give back directly to their communities.

Through Thanksgiving, the Clinton campaign will collect food for those in need this holiday season.

During Thanksgiving week and through the end of November, the campaign will deliver food and other items collected to shelters and pantries throughout the state. “Serving the ‘least of these’ in our communities is the ultimate contribution to the common good. We are all blessed when we join together to offer a helping hand,” said Senator Clinton. “I am heartened that my campaign is joining with the people of New Hampshire in lifting up our fellow Americans in need as we enter the holiday season.”

At series of events today at colleges and universities throughout the Northeast including the University of New Hampshire in Durham, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (NY-D) highlighted how eager young Americans are to give back to their country through National Service programs since 9/11.

During her remarks at each event, Clinton honored the activism and public service of students and recent graduates. In particular, she noted that between 2000 and 2006, applications to Teach for America nearly tripled and that between 2004 and 2006, applications to the AmeriCorps VISTA program jumped 50%.

Yesterday, over a hundred people crowded before Nashua’s City Hall to kick off the March to Re-Energize New Hampshire, a walk from Nashua to Concord calling for national leadership on real global warming solutions and a clean energy economy. After today, only 3 days to go until masses of Granite Staters converge on the State House lawn to send this message.

After walking from Nashua to Litchfield yesterday, the marchers will finish today’s (Thursday’s) journey at Bronstein Park in Manchester at 7pm, to music by the Powerkegs and speeches by business and community leaders.

Join us at Bronstein Park tonight (Thursday) at 7pm! Directions are at:

http://www.climatesummer.org/nhschedule

For info on the the march or the culminating rally on Sunday, Aug. 5 at noon at the State House in Concord, click here:

http://www.climatesummer.org/march

All of us, organizers and volunteers, are in the campaign office. Laptops, phone lists, signups on the walls, folded chairs, empty juice bottles strewn everywhere. There’s a nervous excitement in the air.

This evening – Tuesday, July 31 at 6:30pm – the March to Re-Energize New Hampshire is celebrating its kickoff in Greeley Park, at 105 Concord St. in Nashua. Granny D, no stranger to long journeys for a cause, will talk to us about the power of walking, and give her blessings as we prepare to go.

Join us for the March to Re-Energize NH! July 31, 6:30pm: kickoff celebration in Greeley Park; August 1-5: Nashua 6:30pm; Aug. 1-5, or the rally on Sunday, Aug. 5:

http://www.climatesummer.org/march

6 days, thousands of Granite Staters from all walks of life will
gather on the State House lawn, calling for national action on global warming.

You can sign up at:
http://www.climatesummer.org/march

You should see our office: coffee donations stacked high, green flags and green shirts, maps and laptops, the lavender walls barely showing beneath lists of our endorsers and newspaper clippings. It's not that we're messy (well, that could be true); people just keep showing at our door, asking to help – friends, neighbors, and the guy from the bagel shop downstairs.

And it's not just the office that's swelling with activity – it's the whole Granite State. Now we have a bus coming from Portsmouth and carpools from Hanover. Newspapers are publishing letters from natives of Hooksett, Amherst, and Nashua daily. A woman we met at the Canterbury Fair yesterday remarked, "You guys are everywhere."

It certainly feels like it – one second I'm on the phone with the Governor's secretary, and the next I'm wondering if I bought enough pancake batter for Saturday night's celebration of New Hampshire maple syrup. Amidst the hype and excitement growing all across the state, it's easy to forget why exactly Granite Staters are set on walking five full days in the first place.

Summer is here and that means baseball games, farmers markets, and afternoons in the local park. For 25 students here in New Hampshire it also means canvassing neighborhoods, meetings with groups of all types from churches to local energy councils to Rotary Clubs and high schoolers. It means having as many conversations as we can with as many people as we can, all to build up to a five day march from Nashua to Concord where we will have the largest demonstration calling for action to halt global warming yet- over 3,000 people on the statehouse lawn.

Earlier, Nancy Tobi briefly mentioned this effort, which we call the March to ReEnergize New Hampshire. The March is a five day walk on August 1st through 5th to demand action to build a clean energy economy- 80% reductions in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 and 2 million new job in a clean energy sector. That is the goal and the demand but the March to ReEnegize New Hampshire is so much more. It is thousands of conversations between the 25 of us working and citizens. It is the thousands more conversations between those citizens and their neighbors. It is 3,000+ people in Concord on August 5th, but also the hundreds (thousands?) in Nashua at Greeley Park on July 31st to kickoff the March that will happen the next day. It is the community events that will happen in Hooksett, Pembroke, Suncook, Litchfield along the way. The house parties, the presentations and discussions and community events that will lead up to the March.

John Robinson of Londonderry is running for an open seat in the NH House of Representatives in a January 24 special election in Londonderry and Auburn, Hillsborough County's 10th District.

John is the lead Londonderry reporter for Nutfield Publishers (publishers of the Londonderry Times) as well as a freelance writer. He is also the founder and operations manager of WLLO-LPFM, the Londonderry School District's FM Radio Station. John is extremely active within the Londonderry community and as a volunteer in the Londonderry school system, for which he has been recognized by Governor Lynch.

Volunteers -- for phone calls, visibility, etc. -- to help John with his campaign to bring a strong new Londonderry voice to the State House can contact his campaign through the state Democratic party headquarters at 225-6899, or drop in at 2 1/2 Beacon St., Concord anytime between now and Tuesday evening.

Dear DFNH Members & Friends:

Democracy for New Hampshire continues to be the leading grassroots political action committee in New Hampshire. To further our growth, we need your help to help fill several critical roles in our organization.

We're looking for several committed, high-energy people to fulfill key volunteer roles in our organization. Ideal candidates will be individuals who think both strategically and tactically about their role in the organization. We also want people who are interested in advancing and improving the good work that has already occurred in each of these positions. You must be able to assume responsibility without being bossy, and you should be able to produce results that meaningfully impact the work we do.

Each position requires 5-10 hours of volunteer effort each week. Each position requires the person have a consistent (and ideally, high-speed) connection to the Internet, facility with standard computing software and skills (e.g., word processing, spreadsheets, Internet searching), and a passion for advancing the DFNH mission.

A final word: while experience helps (and sometimes is essential in our technical positions), it is not an absolute requirement. If you're a fast learner and a responsible person, we can provide training and guidance to help you become effective in what might be a new role for you.

We're looking to fill the following positions at DFNH. To learn more, please click on one of the links below to see a complete job description for each position.

1. Editor, Granite Roots
2. Web Site Content Coordinator
3. Development Associate, Research
4. Development Associate, Stewardship
5. Web Site Technical Associate

To apply, please send a current resume to staffing@democracyfornewhampshire.com along with a cover note explaining your interest in the position, relevant background, and why this volunteer position would be a good fit for you and DFNH.

We hope you will join us!

Peter Glenshaw
Chair, Democracy for New Hampshire
pglenshaw@democracyfornewhampshire.com

"I am running for Alderman because I believe we need to keep Manchester on the right track," says Armand Forrest, running for re-election as Ward 12 Alderman. "Over the past 4 years I have led the effort to revitalize the city and I want to serve a third term to continue the progress we have made."

"My platform consists of fighting for better schools, spending tax dollars wisely, attracting new business to the city, cleaning up our streets, and helping to make the city ADA compliant," says Steve Freeman, who is running for Alderman in Ward 9. "I work as a general contractor and I am required to stay within a budget. I will take those skills to City Hall and ensure that responsible budgets are passed and strictly followed."

"I am running for Alderman because I care about my city and I am committed to the people of my Ward," says Betsy DeVries, who is running for re-election as Ward 8 Alderman. "I fought to ensure that every school in Ward 8 was renovated, kept clean, and prepared for the responsibility of educating the future generation of Manchester."

Keene, NH -- Tracy Thompson believes the right to vote is the foundation our democracy lies upon. "It's vital to a healthy democracy that everyone entitled to vote be enabled to vote while at the same time guarding against voter fraud and abuse," says Tracy. Democracy for New Hampshire is pleased to announce the endorsement of Tracy's upcoming election for Keene Ward 3 Supervisor of the Checklist, which will take place November 8th.

Hi all, I have some bad news.

Corporate juggernaut Chelsea Development has managed to delay the petition of abutters that would make a 2/3rd vote necessary for their outlet proposition to pass.

Chelsea has done everything in the book to be underhanded in passing this bill, from bribing private citizens under the table to vague threats of lawsuits if any deliberation occured at the town deliberative session.

As of right now, the machine count has only been completed, and The Warrant Article on the Outlets is winning 56% to 44%, enough to win if the petition is found to be invalid, but not enough to win if the petition is valid.

That's where we need your help. If you're a professional surveyor or lawyer in NH, please contact me at youngmanonthemountain@yahoo.com. Our time is limited, and we are outgunned.