Budget Committee hearings

House and Senate Finance Ad Hoc Committee on the Budget met at 10 AM in Concord.  I went down mostly to lend morale support to the Republican side.  We heard testimony from representatives of Claremont, Senate Ed and Workforce Development committee, New Hampshire Judicial Council, Office of Chip Advocacy, Nursing Home Family Council, NH Legal Affairs, DES, American Cancer Society, NH Dept of Safety, and the NH Dept of Revenue.  Everyone complained about spending plans put on hold by the Governor’s veto of the budget.  None of the complaints sounded all that desperate to me.  The committee chairperson repeatedly stated that the purpose of the hearing was to chastise Governor Sununu for vetoing the budget. 

   Nearly everyone mumbled and spoke too softly.  We need to have a public speaking requirement in New Hampshire high schools.  At my old high school, public speaking was required of all seniors, and was taught by the school headmaster.  Class was in the school theater, we had to speak from the stage.  The headmaster sat in the last row of seats.  Occasionally some unlucky senior would hear “I can’t hear you!” shouted from the back row.   I repressed the urge to do the same today.  We learned quickly under that threat.  Debate and testimony in Concord would be vastly improved if New Hampshire required public speaking in the public schools.

   I left the house at 8:45 AM and didn’t get home until 3 PM.  Cat was pleased to see me when I got home.

Is "white supremacy" real? or just a Democrat slam on Republicans?

Democrats have been talking up "white supremacy" lately.  I wonder what it is, and how you tell who is one?  For an ideology to be dangerous, it needs an organization, with a name, pushing it.  Last two names I remember were the KKK and the American Nazi party.  That was years ago.  I suppose there might be a few of 'em still around, but there cannot be all that many.  And neither name has been mentioned in this latest  burst of "white supremacy" talk on the MSM.  And to be dangerous, an ideology needs a book, like The Communist Manifesto, Rules for Radicals, Mein Kampf.  I never heard of such a book from the KKK.
   Back in the 1950's you could tell the Communists by their party cards.  Do "white supremacists" carry cards?  Is there a modern Joe McCarthy to call them out?
   In short, I think the latest burst of "white supremacy" slams in the MSM is just another way of calling Republicans racists. 

Why does NH education cost $16-$18 K per kid per year?

Assume we put 25 kids in each classroom, and assume we pay the teacher $50K per year.  That's $2K per kid to pay the teacher.  Double that to pay janitors and principals and what ever.  Double it again to pay for building maintenance, heat, light, etc.  We are still only up to $8K per kid.  Yet all the NH town officials I talk to say they need double that to put a kid thru public school.  I never hear just where all that money goes.   I hear the charter schools actually do get by on $8K per kid and everyone agrees the charter schools do a fine job.  They have waiting lists of kids who want in to them. 
   I am all in favor of educating our children.  I am not in favor of paying useless mouths.  Used to be, back when I was going to school,  teachers and janitors were the only people on the payroll.  Headmaster at my old high school taught public speaking to seniors every week all year long.  Miss Blinstrube ran St Mary's parochial school in Melrose with nobody on the payroll except teachers.  How many administrators do we have on NH school payrolls today?  What do the "SAU"s do for a living, other than drawing their pay?  How many bureaucrats do we pay in the Department of Education down in Concord?  

Words of the Weasel Part 50

"gun violence".  The proper word is murder, an old English word, understood by all.  People use "gun violence" to stir up political support to outlaw private ownership of firearms.  Calling the hateful act murder stirs up support for punishing the murderer. 

The British are Coming Rick Atkinson 2019

It's new.  I had the Village Bookstore order it for me.  Only took a couple of days to come in.  Atkinson is writing military history,  little to no discussion of politics, diplomacy, homefront morale, and all the other things that happen in a country at war.  He opens his history with Lexington and Concord, and takes the story up to Trenton and Princeton.  Two more volumes are planned to finish up the Revolutionary War.  He writes about the American army, its maneuvers, its battles, victories and defeats, morale, leadership, Washington and his generals.  Atkinson quotes extensively from soldier's letters, giving his work a fine authenticity.   He writes of the high points (victories) and the low points (defeats, prison camps, looting of civilians, casualties).  The British came close to winning in 1776 at New York.  Washington started with 30,000 troops defending New York from a British force of roughly the same size, backed up by total naval supremacy, important in a well watered place like New York, where everything is close to the water.   Sailing ships could move faster than troops could march, allowing the British to land forces anywhere they chose.  By the end of the battle Washington's forces had been whittled down to 5000 men, close to annihilation.  Had those survivors given up hope and gone home, the British could have won.  They didn't, they stuck around long enough to fight Trenton and Princeton that winter.  Washington managed to  throw superior forces across the Delaware River against unwary British detachments and wipe them out.  As you might expect, these victories did great things for American army morale.    
   A good read.   

Jericho Lake ATV Festival

I attended the annual Jericho ATV festival today.  It is held in the Jericho Lake state park, a bit north of Berlin.  State route 110 from Berlin took me right there.  It’s big.  Roads were crowded with ATV’s for miles around Berlin.  At Jericho Lake they had tents selling ATV’s, ATV parts and accessories, NH Fish and Game, and food and drink.  They were holding mud races between ATVs and an ATV jumping contest.  The jumpers could soar 30 feet in the air, do some acrobatics, and land safely.  Quite a show.  I didn’t get an attendance count, but I figure there must have been at least a thousand ATVs, and four or five times that number of people.  Weather was perfect, sunny and nice.  Everyone looked happy and enjoying the show.  They had big ATVs that could seat 4 (driver and three passengers) and medium (two seaters) and small ones (single seaters), plus off road motorcycles. 

Justice delayed is justice denied; and lawyers bill more hours

The Garner story, from New York, an over weight and out of shape black man, arrested by NYC cops  for selling loosies, (single cigarettes) who died during the arrest, crying " I can't breath" as cops put him in a choke hold.  The case has been enraging NY citizens and paying  lawyers billable hours for FIVE YEARS.  That  is outrageous.  The NYC law against selling loosies which gave to cops the excuse to hassle and then kill Garner is outrageous.  They are just cigarettes, it isn't like Garner was selling heroin or even pot.  The law against selling loosies was pushed by the brick and mortar merchants who did not want street vendors competing with them.
  As of right now, the NY courts have FINALLY rendered a verdict against the cop.  The NY police commissioner has a chance to confirm or overturn the court's verdict.  This is outrageous too.  The cop should have been charged with murder, and the verdict of the court should be final.  Allowing an employee of the city government to overrule a court verdict is ridiculous.
   Note to NH.  We don't want to do anything the way New York does it.