Free Republic

For a little humorous break from the world of hard news, we have the embarrassing story of the Valley News that serves Vermont and New Hampshire misspelling its own name on the front page of the July 21 issue. The big oopsie was followed on July 22 with an egg-on-the-face, editor's note apologizing to the readers for this ridiculous mistake. Editor's Note - Readers may have noticed that the Valley News misspelled its own name on yesterday's front page. Given that we routinely call on other institutions to hold them accountable for their mistakes, let us say for the record:...

Squeezing his thumb and forefinger together in the back of a Manchester bar last night, Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr told a crowd of 80 that when it counts, there's that much difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Americans, he argued, are looking for something new. "The definition of throwing your vote away is to go into that voting booth and vote for one of two parties that will not change the direction this country's going in," Barr told a crowd of about 80 at Murphy's Taproom. "And that's the Republicans or Democrats."

The gay bishop of New Hampshire should resign in order to save the Anglican Communion, a senior African archbishop said today. The call came from the Rt Rev Dr Daniel Deng, the archbishop of Sudan, and followed a strongly worded statement that accused the US Episcopal church of exposing Anglicans to ridicule and damaging their credibility in a multi-religious environment. African bishops who signed the statement rejecting homosexual practice said they could not accept it as part of their church. They reiterated their opposition to developments in the US and Canada, where gay clergy are ordained and where same-sex relationships...

Only Half Of Voters Have Definitely Decided On Choice DURHAM, N.H. -- A new University of New Hampshire poll shows that presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are neck-and-neck in the state. The poll, with Obama at 46 percent and McCain at 43 percent, also shows that only half of likely voters say they have definitely decided on their choice for president. The rest were leaning or still trying to decide. Each candidate dominated his party's registered voters, but they divided independent voters fairly evenly. McCain also did well among conservatives, older voters and those living near Massachusetts. Obama...

Thousands of shorefront property owners and builders across the state are on a crash course to understand a new permit system that goes into effect tomorrow. Effective July 1, a state shoreland permit is required for excavation, filling and construction within 250 feet of shore if minimum standards for maintaining the lot's natural state are not met. Those standards are outlined in the new Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act (RSA 483-B). ...... "It is impossible to figure out unless you are an engineer or a scientist," he said. "My basic thing is that the restrictions are so strict. In my mind...

Sure, it's OK when it's somebody ELSE'S money! I have put this under Culture rather than Plain Politics, because this story from Blue Hampshire shows that there IS a culture chasm between Liberals and Conservatives.  Once in a while, I go and take a look at the "the other side" - in this case, our "opposite number in the blogosphere here in NH - Blue Hampshire.  They had this story and comments - very illustrative of the difference between Liberals and ConservativesConservative believe that adults make decisions for themselves generally knowing what is in store for them - and that...

What: Illegal puppet show When: Wednesday, April 23, 2008. Starting between 12:00 and 12:30 p.m. Where: Outside New Hampshire State House, 107 N. Main, Concord, NH (Near Main but out of pedestrians' way). How: "Outlaw Puppeteer" will perform "The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail," As an act of civil disobedience against the state's prohibition On unlicensed puppeteering for profit. Who: Dave Ridley, 41, of NHfree.com. Ridley is a Manchester videographer. Projected turnout is 20, mostly NHFree.com folks Why: Protest legislature's refusal to repeal unnecessary laws. Latest details: http://nhunderground.com/forum/index.php?topic=13709.0 Ways you Can help: http://nhunderground.com/forum/index.php?topic=13727.0 Dear folks at Concord P.D., Concord City...

In the 16 months since he was sworn in, state Rep. Michael R. DesRoches did not cast a single vote. Colleagues in the House say they have not seen him in Concord this session. They won't be seeing him in the future, either. DesRoches announced his resignation yesterday, explaining he was recently evicted from his apartment in downtown Manchester and no longer lives in the district he was elected to represent. DesRoches, a Democrat, said he did not expect to win when he agreed to put his name on the ballot in 2006. Once elected, he said, he was sidetracked...

What happens in a town when the privileged move in Town Meeting and elections have been held here in NH over the last couple of weeks (with more voting in some towns still to come).  I've been helping one group of people, the Moultonboro Citizens Alliance, with their site as they advocate for implementing SB2 style of voting and for keeping taxes lower.Well, while they did not achieve their goal of getting SB2 implemented, they came REAL CLOSE!  And they did defeat a contentious issue of a new edifice in town.During that time, lots of Letters to the Editors were...

A recent study conducted by the University of New Hampshire confirms what curmudgeons in these parts have been complaining about for a long time: The Granite State may be turning into a suburb of Boston. more stories like thisThe report, "The Changing Faces of New Hampshire: Recent Demographic Trends in the Granite State," released last month by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, indicates that nearly 25 percent of New Hampshire residents were born in Massachusetts, and Internal Revenue Service data indicate that the largest source of new migrants to New Hampshire is Greater Boston. According to...

A Pembroke man was playing with Google Earth - an online digital map of the planet - when he came across something that seemed out of this world: an apparent meteorite crater in Pawtuckaway State Park in Nottingham. "I was just searching around on Google, looking at lakes, because I'm a sailor," said Stephen Dupuis, 52. "As I was panning down through the landscape, it kind of caught my eye." Dupuis, a multimedia artist, has been fascinated with astronomy and outer space since his father, a former engineer, built the heat shields used for the Apollo spacecraft in the 1960s....

For the fourth consecutive year, New Hampshire was named the nation’s Most Livable State by Morgan Quitno Press, which determined its 17th annual award from its just released reference book "State Rankings 2007." At the other end of the spectrum, statistics returned Mississippi at the bottom of the scale for the ninth time in the past 10 years. Louisiana, which ranked No. 50 last year, is No. 49. “ New Hampshire does an outstanding job in a number of quality of life areas,” said Scott Morgan, president of Morgan Quitno Press. “The state has the lowest crime and poverty rates...

I would say this animal was "spotted" in New Hampshire but that would be a blatant misrepesentation.

MANCHESTER – A Boston-based federal judge wore a black cocktail dress, fish-net stockings and high heels when police arrested him for drunk driving after he rear-ended a pickup truck last week, sources said U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Somma, 63, struck a plea deal with the city Wednesday in which he pleaded no contest to a first-offense misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge in Manchester District Court. In exchange, the judge agreed to pay $600 in fines and penalties and a 12-month license suspension, which can be reduced to six months if he proves he successfully completed a driver education and...

Guinta's latest backers Republican Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta continues to pick up support as he considers a run for governor. Signing on this week as supporters of his Granite State Leadership PAC are former state Republican Chair Wayne Semprini, veteran campaign operative David Tille, who was most recently Rudy Giuliani's state political director, Neil Levesque, former staffer for U.S. Rep. Charlie Bass, and Manchester school board member Doug Kruse. Guinta supporters are pleased with what they consider a cross-section of moderate and conservative Republicans. Chief advisor Mike Biundo says Guinta is a proven coalition-builder.

Sponsor: http://NHLiberty.org - Guns are allowed in New Hampshire's state house and most of our government buildings. When State Rep Eleanor Kjellman tries to change that...the local citizen gun lobby overflows her hearing. http://youtube.com/watch?v=GZOQN3HwRC8

PORTSMOUTH — Rochester physician Terry Bennett said he rented a city building to people who worked for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign — and skipped town without paying the bill. Making matters worse, Bennett said, the 3,000-square-foot building at 236 Union St. was left trashed. Campaign signs were left lying all over the place, he said. "It's a very nice little building, with an 1,800-foot warehouse and the rest can be offices," Bennett said. "There's a full kitchen and bath. They used it as a campaign center and dormitory. I expected them to hand the Realtor a check as they...

Manchester (New Hampshire) Mayor Frank Guinta says he is considering a run for governor. The Republican says he is forming a political action committee which will allow him to raise money and explore the possibilities. Guinta says he has been approached by several people about taking his city tax cutting plans to the Statehouse. He says before making a commitment, he'll gauge his support and consider his ability to raise money and how a run would affect his family. Guinta says he'll file the paperwork to form the PAC on Monday. He's not planning a final decision for several months.

If House Bill 404 becomes law, any local law enforcement officer in Mew Hampshire who finds what he suspects to be an illegal alien would be forbidden by law from investigating the suspect based on immigration status. Rep. Lily Mesa, (D-Manchester), sponsored HB 404 because, she says, there have been "many instances" of "police harassing people." She means illegal immigrants. But her bill does not prohibit harassment. It prohibits local law enforcement officers from "investigating or enforcing any violation of federal immigration laws." Mesa's bill, among other things, hands illegal immigrants a "Get Out Of The Traffic Stop Free" card,...

Drudge had this linked so I want to give him credit but the link is directly to the site with the clip. Must See TV!

Poll: What turned around Hillary Clinton's campaign in New Hampshire? Turning on the tears It's all about 'Bubba' (Bill) Women just got tired of the Hillary bashing She's actually got some good ideas View Results Poll: What turned around Hillary Clinton's campaign in New Hampshire? Turning on the tears (82 Votes, 44%) It's all about 'Bubba' (Bill) (25 Votes, 13%) Women just got tired of the Hillary bashing (20 Votes, 11%) She's actually got some good ideas (60 Votes, 32%)

Whether you describe it with the sophistication of “karma” or the down-home quality of “chickens coming home to roost,” it’s a fact that Irony has finally decided to turn his attention to the Clintons. And let’s be clear: Only The Ancient One (he was born the moment Adam and Eve ruined the perfection of the Garden) could have created Barack Obama as the perfect headache for Hillary and Bill. Following are some details in support of that assertion. However, before they are listed, we should remind ourselves that Irony rarely causes anything to happen simply to be ironic but almost...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- John McCain's victory in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary appears to be paying off. The senator from Arizona is the front-runner in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination, according to the first national poll taken after the New Hampshire primary. McCain has the support of 34 percent of registered Republicans in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey out Friday. That's a 21-point jump from the last CNN/Opinion Research poll, taken in December, well before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary earlier this month.

It was no surprise to Hillary watchers like me that the New York senator managed to squeak by her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. With a behemoth machine behind her – and who knows how many dead people casting votes – the most astounding thing was that the junior senator from Illinois did so creditably, not only winning the Iowa caucus a few days earlier but also nearly eclipsing Ms. Self-Proclaimed Experience in the Granite State – two of the most lily-white states in the union – and only losing to her by...

We learned two things from Tuesday's Democratic primary in New Hampshire: First, the Hillary Clinton campaign is very much alive; second, the pre-election polls were virtually useless. According to the numbers, Barack Obama was on pace to win by a margin of five to 13 percentage points; instead, he lost by three. But opinion polling might be much worse than inaccurate. It's easy to imagine that the polls themselves affect the outcome of the elections they're supposed to predict. Voters may be inclined to jump on the bandwagon of a candidate who appears to be cruising to victory. Or they...

Westech writes "Multiple indications of vote fraud are beginning to pop up regarding the New Hampshire primary elections. Roughly 80% of New Hampshire precincts use Diebold machines, while the remaining 20% are hand counted. A Black Box Voting contributor has compiled a chart of results from hand counted precincts vs. results from machine counted precincts. In machine counted precincts, Clinton beat Obama by almost 5%. In hand counted precincts, Obama beat Clinton by over 4%, which closely matches the scientific polls that were conducted leading up to the election. Another issue is the Republican results from Sutton precinct. The final...

Whenever an election result doesn't go your way, BLAME DIEBOLD! Or in the case of New Hampshire, BLAME DEIBOLD as the DUmmie asserted in this misspelled THREAD titled, "Deibold wins again!" Blame Diebold when the EVIL Republicans win elections and also blame Diebold (or Deibold) when a Democrat you don't like wins an election. The bottom line here is to blame Diebold for ANY election result you don't like. So let us now watch the DUmmies blame Diebold for their New Hampshire electile dysfunction in Bolshevik Red while the commentary of your humble correspondent, blaming Diebold for an ingrown...

Why McCain Won Digging for fools gold. That’s what the typical McCain voter was doing on election day in New Hampshire. McCain salted the mine with his typical deception and the dam fools went digging. He is a master of half truths. Illegal immigration “first we need to secure the border”. That’s as far as he will go because he knows dam well he would hand out amnesty after the border was secured. Water Boarding “if we torture our enemies then they will torture our soldiers”. He couldn’t be more wrong, our soldiers won’t feel a thing after they have...

Clinton y McCain apoyan la legalización N. Hampshire dio un respiro a la reforma AFP John McCain, precandidato republicano, y Hillary Clinton, precandidata demócrata a la presidencia de Estados Unidos. Jorge Cancino, Univision Online* 9 de Enero de 2008 La batalla continúa Los ganadores de las elecciones primarias en el estado de New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton (demócrata) y John McCain (republicano), apoyan una reforma migratoria que incluya una vía de legalización para la mayoría de los indocumentados que vivan en Estados Unidos. Pero han advertido que para ello, quienes califiquen deberán cumplir requisitos, entre ellos hablar inglés, pagar multas...

We were thinking of moving to New Hampshire for the Libertarian Free state project, but given the fact that New Hampshire is now SOOO liberal forget about it! We’d be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire! New Hampshire appears to pride itself for its “independent” thought, but these totals are not about independent thought. These voters are as liberal as the voters of Massachusets, Maine, and Vermont. If NH is so independent then why didn’t they support candidates such as Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, or Fred Thompson? Independent, my conservative butt! They supported the Beltway Boys and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton's victory in New Hampshire's Democratic presidential nominating contest confounded pollsters, who found themselves trying to explain how opinion polls got it so wrong. Chastened experts said on Wednesday they would have to closely analyze their forecasts against the results of the New Hampshire primaries to learn why they were so right about resurgent John McCain's win on the Republican side but so wrong about Clinton's win among the Democrats. Ahead of Tuesday's vote in New Hampshire, an early battleground in the state-by-state process to choose candidates for November's election, pollsters had widely predicted Illinois Sen....

Mitt Romney's messages on taxes, foreign policy, and social issues are perfectly attuned to mainstream Republicans. His campaign events attract upscale Republican crowds filled with professionals (both men and women), businessmen, and middle-class strivers. They're precisely the people pollsters refer to as "likely voters." The Romney crowds resemble those of George Bush senior in 1988, and Bush went on to win the Republican nomination and the presidency. To update the Bush analogy, Romney as a presidential candidate makes one think of what George W. Bush, the son, might have been like if he'd studied harder at Harvard Business School and...

This is popping up ALL over the Leftist Blogosphere right now, showing a large discrepency between DIEBOLD vote counts, and those counted by hand in New Hampshire. "I used the Comma delimited database: NH municipalities hand count vs use Diebold machines from BlackBoxVoting.org to see if there was a deviation between the results from precincts which used hand counts and those which relied on Diebold machines. The results were astonishing. : Updated: 5:05 AM (EST) - Results tallied for 209 out of 236 of the municipalities. By Percentage Method Hillary Clinton Barack Obama Diebold Machines 53.23% 46.77% Hand Count 47.47%...

There will be a serious, critical look at the final pre-election polls in the Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire; that is essential. It is simply unprecedented for so many polls to have been so wrong. We need to know why. But we need to know it through careful, empirically based analysis. There will be a lot of claims about what happened - about respondents who reputedly lied, about alleged difficulties polling in biracial contests. That may be so. It also may be a smokescreen - a convenient foil for pollsters who'd rather fault their respondents than own up to...

Well first, congratulations to Hillary and McCain for snookering the MSM Pollsters and exceeding expectations in winning the New Hampshire Party Primaries. Looks as though we are in for a real race this year...in both parties. There are a couple of caveats to be considered here. First, the unique rules under which the New Hampshire Primary system works: You can move to the state one day and vote in the primaries the next. So-called independents don't have to decide to which party they are going to throw their vote until they enter the voting booth. I believe both of these...

Lines formed early, remained solid throughout the warm, sunny day, and late arrivals had to be turned away. It was an historic presidential primary vote in New Hampshire, as a record number of residents - nearly 500,000 - cast ballots. "The turnout reports throughout the state have been very, very heavy," said Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlon. Sixty-four percent of registered voters in Manchester came out, with the unofficial citywide count at 36,241. "I know we have to have hit a record turnout for a primary," said City Clerk Carol Johnson. Turnout was heaviest in Ward 3 at 78...

 Jan. 9, 2008... based on the New Hampshire primary results:Clinton wins pulls off upset victory over Obama     This cartoon/graphic is free for noncommercial use in emails, blogs, and forums.  iowapresidentialwatch.com

Hillary Clinton won last night by putting together the voting coalition that has held Democratic frontrunners in good stead for 75 years. Take a look at these numbers - all of which come from CNN's cross-tabulated exit polls. Hillary won many elements of the traditional FDR coalition. -Self-identified Democrats made up 54% of the electorate. She won them, 45% to 34%. -She won voters without a college degree, 43% to 35%. -She won voters with incomes less than $50,000, 47% to 32%. -She won voters over the age of 65, 48% to 32%. She also won voters in their 40s...

NASHUA, N.H. - John McCain rode the Straight Talk Express straight into first place in New Hampshire, and back into the thick of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. "I hate to use the word kid, but I think we showed the people of this country what a real comeback looks like," the Arizona senator told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday, savoring victory in the state he won eight years ago during his first White House bid. "I'm grateful to the people of New Hampshire. I'm committed to keeping this country safe, and we're going to move...

Game's ON... My prediction... Obama in a blowout, McCain by 5.

Vermin ‘Love’ Supreme does not sound like a conventional name, especially a name that would be running for President of the United States of America, but one man, with that exact name wearing strikingly original costumes, is challenging citizens and politicians on the streets of the free world through a bullhorn. Vermin Supreme drops his legal middle name ‘love’ around election time but he still expresses the same message he has been for his 20 years of campaigning throughout the United States...

Turnout will be 240,000 in the GOP primary. Of these voters, 60,000 will be unafilliated.(via the Union Leader)

On the Democratic side a win by Obama is sure to leave the Clinton campaign in a tailspin that might be impossible to pull out of. Can Edwards generate a showing in New Hampshire that will allow him to see another day? If Clinton can pull off a victory, which now seems unlikely, how does that impact the race heading into Super Tuesday? On the Republican side a loss by either McCain or Romney leaves a lot of questions as to the viability of their campaigns in the days and weeks to come. A win probably catapults them into the...

CONCORD, N.H. - Hillary Clinton may have lost to Barack Obama in the race for Iowa, but she exacted her revenge in the race out of Iowa. In the wee hours of Friday morning, Clinton's police-escorted motorcade, zipping along the dark roads between downtown Des Moines and the airport, arrived mere seconds before Obama's police-escorted motorcade at the Signature Aviation terminal. The cars in Clinton's motorcade then fanned out on the tarmac as she boarded her plane, making it impossible for Obama's motorcade to get to his airplane.

What do Air Force Brigadier General Chuck Yeager and Ann Coulter have in common with the Missouri Republican Assembly? Their endorsement of what the Missouri Republican assembly called a “true Republican”! MRA state president Chris Brown stated, “Congressman Hunter is a true social conservative and honestly represents the Republican Wing of the Republican Party, when you add together Duncan Hunter’s commitment to the military, American jobs, and fighting for family and life issues, there is no better choice for President. America needs Hunter’s integrity, courage and proven leadership.” Duncan Hunter is a fourteen term Congressman and Vietnam War Veteran. Duncan...

This is a clip from a Clinton speech

At my polling place this morning, a Ron Paul supporter tried to hand me a Constitution. I told him I was insulted. He asked why.

But on this New Hampshire primary day, I write to plead the case of an often overlooked special interest group - a group of Americans more dependent on government than an unemployed ethanol farmer on Medicaid. I’m talking, of course, about comedy writers. Columnists, cartoonists and comics are all asking - no, begging - the voters of New Hampshire: Don’t take Bill’s wife - please! Matt Drudge quoted a “top campaign insider” saying Hillary “doesn’t want the Clinton brand damaged with back-to-back defeats. If she gets too badly embarrassed, it will really harm her.” Setting aside the question of whether...

First primary votes cast in Dixville Notch Posted January 8, 2008 12 :09 AM MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Midnight votes in Dixville Notch, the tiny New Hampshire town that is within a stone's throw of Canada, put John McCain and Barack Obama in the winners' seats. Results had one vote for Rudy Giuliani, four votes for John McCain and two votes for Mitt Romney. For the Democrats, John Edwards got two votes, Bill Richardson had one and Barack Obama got seven votes. Hillary Clinton was shut out.