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This is Insanity

by Alex Foryan

In the past month we have seen some unbelievably ludicrous actions of the radical left. In New York, the city is going to pay the BLM protesters that rioted in 2020, destroying, burning, looting and attacking the police and innocent people. 1300 people are going to be paid 13 million dollars if they were”beaten” (yeah, right) and arrested by the police. What message is that sending? It’s OK to riot and destroy property and hurt people because of the actions of one man? What message does this send to the police officers in NY? That the police are all wrong for using force and arresting these people who physically attack them, others and are destroying property?
Basically NY just gave a green light to any group (that the radical left supports) to do anything they want because there will be no consequences. In fact, they may get rich off of it. Because, in the radicals’ eyes, the rioters are the victims—not the homeowners, store owners, police and innocent bystanders.
In Illinois, the state passed a law ending the cash bail system. The justification was that it was unconstitutional because some don’t have the money to post bail. Well gee, golly, gosh! Maybe they should think of that before they go out and perform criminal acts! So anyone who commits a crime and is “not a threat” will be set free immediately. Businesses and people are leaving Chicago because of the theft, property damage and violence.
Remember what their new progressive Mayor, Brandon Johnson, said when gangs of teenagers ran amok in the city damaging property, fighting police, setting cars on fire and attacking innocent people? He said that he didn’t condone what they did BUT “they should not be demonized because they were starved of opportunities in their communities”. This guy defends these thugs who are destroying his own city? As mayor, shouldn’t he be prosecuting all of these criminals and standing up for the law abiding, tax paying citizens? I wonder if he would feel differently if they destroyed his home and hurt members of his family. He probably lives miles away in a beautiful safely guarded house. As far as the “starving opportunity” narrative goes, I guess if these kids aren’t coddled and handed everything it gives them the right to go on a destructive rampage. The only thing they are starving from are parents who should be teaching them right from wrong and holding them accountable.
In addition, the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, signed a bill that will allow non-citizens to become police officers! Let’s see, they are going to have a no cash bail and non-citizens for police officers. What could possibly go wrong? Also, Chicago, like NY and other Democrat led cities are putting illegals up in hotels. I guess they never thought about our own homeless veterans or other homeless US citizens that they could take care of instead.
In California, the “Snake Burglar ( he crawls on his stomach to avoid the motion sensors) pleaded guilty to 54 felony charges and has been set free. When he was arrested, he had just been sentenced to 16 months for a prior 23 felonies. Due to jail overcrowding, he was only locked up for 10 days. This guy steals hundreds of thousands of dollars of property and is set free.The Riverside Police chief said “that more time was spent investigating this guy by his officers than the amount of time this guy spent in jail”.
Lastly, our DOJ is suing Texas because they are trying to keep illegals from entering by putting floating barriers in the Rio Grande. A country is NOT a country without borders. A country has a right to protect its borders. Basically Texas is doing what the federal government should be doing. It’s obvious that the Biden administration is all about allowing people to run across the border. No problem for them because the American taxpayers will foot the bill. Plus these illegals will be a bloc of support for the elections–it’s naive to think that they will not be voting somehow.
The aforementioned outrageous actions are all on the part of the radical far left Democrats. I’m sure there are many moderate/common sense Democrats that would disagree with these actions but will not speak out against them. (Does anyone think Truman, JFK or Joe Lieberman would support this madness?) If people keep voting for these radical candidates it will only perpetuate this insanity and spread it throughout our country. It can seep into other states including our beloved New Hampshire. The moderate Democrat and independent voters really need to take a hard look at this. They can make a difference by casting their vote for Republican candidates who would never pay violent rioters, end cash bail or hire non citizens to be on our police forces. If our country keeps heading in the direction in which it is going, we will be nothing more than a third world banana republic.
Alex Foryan
Landaff, NH

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Scotus Ruling on Affirmative Action and Tuition Relief

by Alex Foryan

SCOTUS got it right with their ruling on Affirmative Action and Tuition Relief. Affirmative action is so wrong and ridiculous—why should someone get preferential treatment because of their skin color or ethnic heritage? Jon Wang, an Asian-American student had a 1590 SAT score (with a perfect score on math) and a 4.65 grade average. He applied to 6 elite schools and was turned down. His guidance counselors actually warned him that he may have a tough time because he was Asian. How ludicrous is that? Why should a student who worked hard and achieved high test scores and grades be kept out because their ethnicity doesn’t fit into the DEI model? Also, when you utilize affirmative action you are stating that the DEI specific minority groups are not smart or hard working enough to get in on their own merit. THAT IS SO WRONG, DEGRADING AND DISRESPECTFUL! Of course the left responds with their usual “white supremacy” blah blah —-it’s so disgusting. As soon as you disagree with the far left, you are a white supremacist.

Of course, Obama had to chime in. You know he will never miss a chance to play the race card. He stated “But for generations of students who had been systematically excluded from most of America’s key institutions — it gave us the chance to show we more than deserved a seat at the table. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, it’s time to redouble our efforts”

Well if minorities are systematically excluded, then why do we have so many AWESOME minorities in high positions in all professions of our society doing AWESOME things?

And instead of Obama’s idea of redoubling efforts for Affirmative Action in colleges, what about the high school students redoubling their efforts in school? How about parents redoubling their efforts to instill educational values and a work ethic into their children? How about having a mindset of earning something instead of having it handed to you by playing the victim card? There was a black doctor in Illinois who said he had 2 medical degrees—-he stated that he was NEVER held back from any institution in his effort to achieve them. Basically, this man worked hard to get where he is. He also probably had parents who instilled good values such as hard work, the value of an education and choosing to be a decent human being. Gee, what a novel idea! Work hard and earn your success.

As far as college tuition is concerned, why should taxpayers pay for someone else’s tuition? Why should someone who never went to college have to pay somebody’s tuition? I myself, as well as many others, paid our own loans off. I would not expect anyone to pay mine or would want anyone to. It’s called being responsible and accountable. But do you think Biden’s administration really cares about the people with school loans? The Dems who supported this probably realized that this wouldn’t go through, but the optics look good to get votes. They will just blame it on the conservatives in the Supreme Court.

Again, SCOTUS got it right on both issues and I’m willing to bet that the majority of America agrees with them.

Alex Foryan
Landaff, NH

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2023 Franconia Old Home Day

This year the Town of Franconia, NH celebrated their 250th Anniversary. These are some photos taken by NGCRC Member Kathy Lynch.

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NGCRC Meeting An Evening with NH GOP Chairman Chris Ager

The Northern Grafton County Republican Committee (NGCRC) will be holding its monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at the Littleton Senior Center, 77 Riverglen Lane, Littleton, NH 03561 with guest speaker, NH GOP Chairman Chris Ager.

ALSO, NGCRC Gun Raffle …just in time for NH Spring Turkey Hunting Season (Mossberg 500 Turkey/Tactical 12 gauge shotgun) tickets will be available for purchase. Winner has choice between gun or $500.00 CASH.

Come, pick yours up just in time for turkey season!

Address:

Littleton Senior Center
77 Riverglen Lane
Littleton, NH 03561

Contact:

Nick De Mayo
(603) 823 – 9816
nicknicd@roadrunner.com

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NGCRC February Meeting

Northern Grafton County Republican Committee (NGCRC)
Tuesday, February 21, 2023 ~ 6pm

The NGCRC will be holding its monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 at 6:00 pm at the Littleton Senior Center, 77 Riverglen Lane, Littleton, NH 03561. This meeting is open to Registered Republicans and Like-minded Conservatives.

Presentation of 80-minute DVD by Trevor Loudon entitled, “Enemies Within.” Could your US Congressman/woman, US Senator pass an FBI Security Check? “How is it that less than 20,000 US Socialists, Progressives, and Communists can influence the politicians, and even make the laws that control the lives of over 300 million Americans?”

Address:

Littleton Senior Center
77 Riverglen Lane
Littleton, NH 03561

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Support the Family in New Hampshire!


HB 294: Enabling municipalities to adopt a child tax credit.

STATUS: There was a public hearing for HB 294 on January 26, for which individuals could submit opposition or testimony. The bill will now be voted on by the House Municipal and County Government Committee. The committee votes to either recommend the bill to the full House as OTP (Ought to Pass) or ITL (Inexpedient to Legislate). This is the first step in passing or defeating a bill.

WHEN: The House Municipal and County Government Committee will vote on HB 294 on February 15, at 10:30 AM. 

CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone SUPPORTS this bill.

WHY: New Hampshire is experiencing a rapidly growing crisis that has received far less attention than it deserves – our state is becoming catastrophically old. For New Hampshire to remain competitive, we must give our communities more tools to attract and retain young families. 

Simply stated, without young families and workers to replace those who are retiring, the economy, local services, and even the continuity of communities are in serious jeopardy.

HB 294 paves the way for municipalities to consider child tax credits in their planning. This would be an important first step in recognizing the importance of children and families to the future of our state.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

There is still time to voice your support of HB 294 before the Municipal and County Government Committee casts their vote. While you can no longer register your support of the bill or testify in person, you can still make your voice heard by calling the committee.

Please call the committee at 603-271-3125, as calling is the most effective way to make your voice heard. However, if you cannot call the committee, we encourage you to email testimony and support to the members. You can find the Municipal and County Government Committee contact info here or email the full committee at HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us 
CONTACT THE COMMITTEE
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More Attacks on the Fetal Life Protection Act!


HB 271: Repealing the Fetal Life Protection Act.

SUMMARY: HB 271 is a bill that would repeal the Fetal Life Protection Act, or FLPA. In New Hampshire, abortion is heavily restricted after the 24 weeks by the FLPA; this bill would enable unrestricted abortions up to full-term. 

STATUS: There will be a public hearing of HB 271 before the House Judiciary Committee this coming week. Following a hearing, a committee votes to either recommend the bill to the full House as OTP (Ought to Pass) or ITL (Inexpedient to Legislate). This is the first step in passing or defeating a bill. The testimony of citizens submitted at these hearings, especially in person, is influential in determining what recommendation a committee will make on a bill.

WHEN: Wednesday, February 15, at 10:30 AM in the Legislative Office Building, rooms 206-208. 

CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone OPPOSES this bill. 

HB 224: Repealing the Criminal and Civil Penalties of the Fetal Life Protection Act. 

SUMMARY: HB 224 is a bill that would repeal all criminal and civil legal penalties against health care providers for violating the Fetal Life Protection Act. If this bill were to pass, it would no longer be a class B felony for any health care provider to perform or induce an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

STATUS: There will be a public hearing of HB 224 before the House Judiciary Committee this coming week. Following a hearing, a committee votes to either recommend the bill to the full House as OTP (Ought to Pass) or ITL (Inexpedient to Legislate). This is the first step in passing or defeating a bill. The testimony of citizens submitted at these hearings, especially in person, is influential in determining what recommendation a committee will make on a bill.

WHEN: Wednesday, February 15, at 2:30 PM in the Legislative Office Building, rooms 206-208. 

WHY: Both HB 271 and HB 224 threaten the Fetal Life Protection Act, and would return us to a state that has virtually no abortion restrictions. The FLPA is New Hampshire’s only protection for pre-born children. New Hampshire made history by going from a state that allowed abortion for any reason up to birth, to protecting pre-born children who are at least 24 weeks old. 

HB 224 stands as the main threat to pre-born life, as our governor, Chris Sununu, has called to remove the penalties for violating the Fetal Life Protection Act. A pro-choice individual, he is the only Republican governor in America pushing for abortion up to birth, and has pledged to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. Additionally, Chris Sununu personally lobbied for a functionally identical bill, HB 1609, in the House just last year. 

As New Hampshire’s sole restriction on abortion, the FLPA only defends pre-born children who could live outside the womb, were they delivered. HB 271 and HB 224 would eliminate these vital protections for late-term pre-born in New Hampshire. In order to protect these children in their last months, we need support and testimony from our pro-life community to help our lawmakers make the right decision to continue to protect these precious lives. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: 

1. Register your opposition for HB 271 and HB 224 by signing in opposing the bills here. It is important that you sign in two times, opposing both bills. 

You can find step-by-step instructions on how to sign in here.

2. Submit written testimony. You can do this when you sign in. Simply hit “choose file” under step number four to upload a document with your testimony, or type your testimony into the provided box.

3. We urge you to come and testify in person, especially if you fall under one of the following categories:A physicianSomeone who has a child or relative disabled since birthPost-abortive mother or fatherA pro-life woman of any ageWe have step-by-step instructions on how to testify here. You can also reach out to us at cornerstone@nhcornerstone.org if you have any questions about the testifying process.

Important Note: A number of people have had issues with the House remote sign-in page. If you are encountering problems, you can also email the committee directly registering your support for the bill and/or submitting written testimony. You can find their contact info here or email the full committee at 
HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us

4. Additionally, we encourage you to educate yourself on the Fetal Life Protection Act. Cornerstone has produced a 3-minute video, included below, to explain the history, context, and content of the FLPA.  We urge you to take a few minutes to watch the video and share it with your friends and family. 
 
CONTACT THE COMMITTEE

The Fetal Life Protection Act is the only protection for pre-born children in New Hampshire.
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It’s Time To Put Students Over Administrators


SB 219, The Students First Act—introduced by Senator Keith Murphy—will be heard by the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday 2/14/23. This important bill will crack down on sprawling, expensive school administration in New Hampshire and ensure that education spending prioritizes students first.  
 
New Hampshire schools often point to low-paid teachers as an example of why schools need more funding. In reality, while school taxes and spending have increased for decades, almost none of that money has ever gone to teacher salaries.
 
Instead, our public school system has created giant, highly-paid bureaucracies of administrators and full-time diversity professionals—any one of whom can expect to rake in the salaries of three or more low-paid teachers combined.
 
Conservatives have long fought a losing battle on this issue by casting themselves as anti-teacher, arguing that teachers who make less than starting salaries at McDonalds are “actually overpaid.” This unpopular argument misses the point and plays into a trap created by school administrations. Teacher pay is not the reason school taxes are increasing: NH teacher pay has increased by only 1% in 20 years, while our number of non-teaching staff has increased by 80%.
 
To finally stop endlessly-increasing school costs, conservatives must reframe the debate. As NH Board of Education member Ryan Terrell has argued, NH teacher pay is not low because schools are underfunded, but because education spending is being systematically abused across the state.
 
Local school boards, who cannot see the forest through the trees, have failed to perceive and correct this problem. The legislature must step in and ensure that, if a school district wants to hire six-figure diversity professionals and other high-paid administrators, they must pay teachers first.
 
SB 219 will neither mandate increases nor decreases in your local school spending. What it will mandate is a difference in how your school district and SAU prioritizes its spending of your money: unless teachers are paid first, large administrations may no longer be hired. It’s time to put students first.

WHEN: There will be a public hearing on SB 219 before the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, February 14, at 9:30 AM in the Legislative Office Building, Room 101. 

CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone SUPPORTS an amendment to this bill introduced by NH Senator Keith Murphy which corrects various typos and errors contained in the original bill. Cornerstone advocates that the bill be passed with the amendment. 
 
As New Hampshire State Board of Education member Ryan Terrell explains in his recent Union Leader op-ed published January 2nd, over the past two decades, New Hampshire’s cost-per-pupil has increased by 77%, adjusted for inflation, while our teacher salaries have increased by only 1%.
 
New Hampshire’s systemic misuse of education spending is a vicious cycle. Seeing that teachers are often borderline impoverished, communities respond by increasing school taxes and spending. Schools then use that money to pay bureaucrats and the cycle repeats.

SB 219 would break this cycle by playing more value and emphasis on teachers and students, rather than allowing more and more of our educational dollars to be pocketed by bureaucratic administrations. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: 

1. Register your support for SB 219 by signing in in support of the bill here.

You can find step-by-step instructions on how to sign in here.

2. Submit written testimony. You can do this when you sign in. Simply hit “choose file” under step number four to upload a document with your testimony, or type your testimony into the provided box. If you are submitting written testimony, we ask that you specify that you support the amendment introduced by Keith Murphy, not the original bill. The amendment proposed by Senator Murphy simply fixes some typos and errors in the original bill. 

3. We urge you to come testify in person, especially if you have observed and are concerned about specific examples of top-heavy, large school administration in your community. We have step-by-step instructions on how to testify here. You can also reach out to us at cornerstone@nhcornerstone.org if you have any questions about the testifying process.

Important Note: A number of people have had issues with the Senate remote sign-in page. If you are encountering problems, you can also email the committee directly registering your support for the bill and/or submitting written testimony. You can find their contact info here. If you are emailing the committee, we ask that you specify that you support the amendment introduced by Keith Murphy, not the original bill. The amendment proposed by Senator Murphy simply fixes some typos and errors in the original bill. 
CONTACT THE COMMITTEE
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NH Earned the Privilege of Holding “First in the Nation Primary”

ABNER DOUBLEDAY invented baseball, and is “the father of baseball.” Walter Camp created football while James Naismith invented basketball. All are honored for their accomplishments. The Scandinavians introduced skiing to the world while Greece created the original Olympic games. Both are so honored.

Honoring “firsts” seems to be a worldwide custom as well it should be. Why is it that Joe Biden forgot this practice?

We honor George Washington as “the father of our country” because he is the first president of the United States.

So, too, with Neil Armstrong as “the first man on the moon.” The Wright Brothers, history tells us, are the first men to invent, build, and fly the first successful motorized airplane. Henry Ford is forever remembered for inventing the automobile assembly line, and thus creating millions of affordable automobiles. Let’s not forget Thomas Edison who invented early versions of the electric light bulb, phonograph, and motion picture camera. These individuals are forever honored for their unique accomplishments “bettering the world.” Where would we be without Alexander Graham Bell’s important invention of the telephone? The list goes on. We honor Jackie Robinson for the courage he demonstrated in becoming the first African-American to break the baseball color line. Tom Brady is honored as the G.O.A.T. for his accomplishments in football.

What about a group of voters of a particular state who voted in a timely manner to create a constitutional, republican government for the people of the 13 independent states? These voters, by voting when they did, allowed the creation of one, united country, namely, the “United States of America,” from the  13 separate, individual entities, or 13 “independent states” that they had become after the War for Independence from Great Britain on April 15, 1783.

According to those rules of governance (unification/agreement) that our Founders created, nine (2/3) of those independent states had to consent to join together to form one union under a new constitution (agreement) in order to dissolve the old, weak agreement known as “The Articles of Confederation.” So, nine out of 13 were needed to dissolve the old agreement, and create this new agreement of unification (the U.S. Constitution).

The independent state of New Hampshire was that ninth vote, which thus allowed creation of this new country. Due to this vote by the New Hampshire delegation, the idea of the United States of America was born!

The new country adopted the new name the United States of America. This important and timely vote occurred on Sept. 21, 1788. Under Article VII of the 1787 U.S. Constitution stated that once nine states had ratified (voted in favor of), it would become “sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution” between the 13 states so ratifying the same. “Ultimately, New Hampshire achieved the honor on June 21, 1788, putting the U.S .Constitution into effect. A new nation was born!

All Americans and both political parties should honor New Hampshire for this “first,” of ratifying this new constitution, and thus, creating a new country. Granting New Hampshire the privilege of holding the “First-in-the-Nation-Primary’”(FITN) every four years is an honor rightfully deserved!

James McKim, president of the Manchester, NH-NAACP agrees. Speaking on WMUR’s “Close Up” (Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023), he stated “…FITN shouldn’t be on race. Other factors need to be included.”

In a commendable show of bipartisanship, state Democrat leader in Concord, Donna Soucy of Manchester, supports the Granite State’s FITN position.

New Hampshire’s two U.S. Democrat senators, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, slammed President Biden’s proposal to put South Carolina ahead of the Granite State on the Democrat Party’s presidential primary calendar “misguided” and “short-sighted.” Further, Shaheen quipped, “It’s tremendously disappointing that the President failed to understand the unique role that New Hampshire plays in our candidate selection process as the first Primary state.” (New York Post, Dec. 2, 2022).

I think President Biden, due to his discernable, cognitive disabilities, has forgotten U.S. history with this ludicrous presidential proposal to end New Hampshire’s 104-year status as the state to lead off the nation’s electoral process.

In the words of Governor Chris Sununu, “But I have a message for them (DNC Primary Committee) and President Biden – you can try to come and take it – but that is never going to happen. It’s just not in our DNA to take orders from Washington. We will not be blackmailed. We will not be threatened, and we will not give up. You see the New Hampshire Primary has stood the test of time, giving everyone a fair shot.”

—

Nick De Mayo lives in Sugar Hill and is Northern Grafton County Republican Committee chairman.

 

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Letter to the Editor

On January 19 the NH State “Office of Planning and Development”, another of Sununu’s new bureaucracies, will hold a session to “educate” state reps about upcoming housing legislation. The OPD is nothing more than a taxpayer-funded lobbying group which, like the Housing Appeals Board, should be illegal. They are pushing for passage of bills that give more of your tax dollars to favored developers to flood your little towns with ugly, unwanted stack’n’pack housing.

The Housing Appeals Board — which by the way for you libertarians who love to run crying to the state for your “rights” — has heard few, if any, appeals from ordinary homeowners about the free use of their property. Instead, this 3-person group of appointees has sided 95% of the time with developers against voters of towns in which those developers appealed planning and zoning decisions that were not favorable to them. Put plainly, those town meeting votes were nullified.

Governor Sununu pays much lip service to local control but in truth, continues to defy it by pushing state takeover of local zoning and planning decisions. Every time one of his Bolshevik-style bills gets defeated he creates another bureaucracy to effect an end run around the legislature.

Zoning and planning decisions belong to the towns and not some unelected, accountable state agency made up of industry hacks. Every town office should be challenging the HAB and taxpayer funded lobbying in court. Every voter should complain to their legislators and governor.

For more information, please visit bedfordresidents.com

Jane Aitken
cnht.org
bedfordresidents.com