Free Republic

Less is more, according to New Hampshire lawmakers debating whether to ban the use of scented or fragrant soaps by state employees. Under House Bill 1444, state workers who interact with the public would be prohibited from wearing fragrances or scented products while on the job, MyFoxBoston reported. The reason for the proposed ban -- exposure to scented products can irritate or worsen symptoms for people with asthma or allergies. "The chemicals in some of these products can trigger the nasal congestion, sneezing and the runny nose," Dr. Stanley Fineman, an allergist with Emory University and the Atlanta Allergy and...

More than 200 people rallied Tuesday outside the Statehouse to repeal New Hampshire's gay marriage law and replace it with civil unions for any unmarried adults, including relatives. State Rep. David Bates, a Windham Republican, told the crowd there is no truth more self-evident under the federal Constitution than men and women were created for each other. Supporters said the proposed repeal bill would not apply to gay marriages that have already occurred, but would stop new ones. Democratic Gov. John Lynch has repeatedly said he will veto attempts by the Republican-controlled Legislature to repeal the law, which he signed...

The New Hampshire state Senate rejected several controversial gun bills Wednesday. All of the proposals originally passed the House. The move suggests that the Senate’s patience for 2ndAmendment legislation may be about up. The Senate made brisk work of the so-called gun bills in front of them. “We spent a grand total of 6 minutes on 5 bills because we want to focus on the issues that are important to the New Hampshire people,” Senate President Peter Bragdon said. The bills the Senate down include a measure allowing people to carry loaded weapons – including crossbows – in their vehicles...

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A bill that would require police in New Hampshire to check the immigration status of any people they arrest has drawn the ire of opponents who say it would encourage racial profiling

While attempting to seize guns from a man accused of domestic violence, Chichester and Epsom police officers took away firearms belonging to his family members instead, in violation of their civil rights, according to allegations contained in a lawsuit. Four members of Michael Martel Jr.'s family say he wasn't living in their Chichester home last August when officers stormed in, taking about a dozen guns, including one from his father's holster, according to their attorney, Richard Lehmann. It took the family 10 weeks to retrieve their firearms, according to the suit, during which time the family members suffered "injuries including...

Legislation to allow guns on all public property, including New Hampshire college campuses, is coming up for a vote in the state Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee is recommending that lawmakers study the idea, not put it into effect. The full Senate will vote on that bill and other bills to soften gun regulations on Wednesday.

“Live Free or Die” isn’t just the official motto for a great state. As the 62nd Republican National Committee Chairman, I think it’s a mantra our party should live by. I hope that New Hampshire legislators will remember this slogan and reject proposals to strip citizens of their right to marry. The party of Lincoln and Reagan should stand first and foremost for freedom. It’s part of our heritage and ought to be part of our DNA. Freedom for Americans of all races is why our party was founded. And our greatest moments — from the unbelievable economic recovery unleashed...

I've developed a 3D model of the US Constitution. The linked video is the first attempt to use the model in the defense of Ordered Liberty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMy0Z-RAu6g&feature=share I'm looking for feedback. Thank you, Representative Davenport NH General Court

Two controversial gun bills, including one that would allow guns on campus, could be headed to the "interim study" graveyard. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard four hours of testimony from supporters and critics yesterday then voted 4-0 to recommend the two bills be further studied because members had so many questions. Sen. Jim Forsythe, a Strafford Republican, had to leave the hearing early and did not vote. The second bill would allow people to carry almost-loaded shotguns and rifles in their vehicles. A bullet could be in the gun's magazine but not in the chamber. The full Senate must still...

New Hampshire could soon become one of the most pro-gun states in the country – a sanctuary where the Constitution is paramount and Americans don’t need the government’s permission to exercise their God-given rights. The bill is House Bill 536, sponsored by Representative J. R. Hoell, and it has already passed the House. The issue is “constitutional carry” – a concept which recognizes that Americans have the Second Amendment right to carry firearms without getting the government’s permission. Granite Staters would still be able to get a concealed carry license – for the purpose of thwarting the Brady Law and...

New Hampshire business owners could soon have the legal right to decide who they serve. Lawmakers are debating a bill that would let a business refuse service to any couple, for any reason. As a business owner, Tim Kierstead believes in the right to run his restaurant the way he sees fit. “I think each business has the right to do as they choose,” he told WBZ-TV. But as a gay man, he has a real problem with the new bill being proposed. It would allow businesses to refuse service to a couple if they didn’t agree with their marriage....

Governor makes opposition clear A bill banning public funding of Planned Parenthood and other groups that provide elective abortions passed out of the New Hampshire House yesterday with a 60-vote majority, as Republicans rejected a report by the committee assigned to study the issue but fell short of the support needed to override a potential veto by the governor. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England says abortions make up only 3 percent of the services it provides and none of the public money it receives goes toward the procedure. The organization serves about 16,000 patients annually at six locations in...

Rick Santorum said he would be pleased with a third-place finish in South Carolina Saturday but vowed to stay in the presidential race through the Florida primary no matter what. He also blasted his "desperate" rival Mitt Romney for perpetrating "cheap stuff" as Mr. Romney's position as front runner here melted away the past week... "We finally were given the victory in Iowa," Mr. Santorum said. "If we had had it two weeks ago, it might be a very different situation. It might have been a very different race." Mr. Santorum also said he was disappointed in Mr. Romney after...

(CNN) - Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have flipped spots again in the tally of New Hampshire ballots. The New Hampshire Secretary of State's office released updated vote totals Thursday showing Gingrich jumping back into fourth and Santorum dropping to fifth. Numbers announced Wednesday had Santorum in fourth and Gingrich in fifth. Gingrich had 23,421 votes in the latest count, and Santorum had 23,405. Both stood at 9.4% of the vote total, meaning neither qualifies for any delegates from the Granite State. New Hampshire held its primary January 10. Mitt Romney won the primary with 39.3% of the vote, followed...

Brother testifies in favor of “Terri Schiavo Day” by Matt Lacy – Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schiavo testified on Tuesday in support of a New Hampshire bill proclaiming March 31 of each year as a day to remember Terri Schiavo. Schiavo, who spent 15 years on a feeding tube, became a focal point over the right to die issue and highlighted the need for individuals to have a living will specifying their wishes.. On February 25, 1990 Schiavo collapsed while at home. After being admitted to the hospital, doctors were unable to determine an exact cause of...

NH House Votes to Strip Abortion Providers of Taxpayer Funds FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 18, 2011 Contact: Mallory Quigley, (202) 223-8073 House Votes 207 to 147 to Pass Legislation Developed by Alliance Defense Fund, Susan B. Anthony List Washington, D.C. – This morning, the New Hampshire House of Representatives passed HB 228 by an overwhelming margin of 207 to 147, prioritizing state-controlled family planning dollars away from abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood. The funding is prioritized to public and private entities that provide comprehensive health care to women and do not perform abortions. The bill’s language, inserted as an...

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Video footage provided exclusively to The Daily Caller shows election workers in New Hampshire giving out ballots in the names of dead voters at multiple voting precincts during the state’s primary election on Tuesday. The bombshell video is the work of conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe and his organization, Project Veritas. Voters in the Granite State are not required to present identification to vote. O’Keefe’s investigators were able to obtain ballots under the names of dead voters at polling locations Tuesday by simply asking for them, he said. “Live free or die,” an election worker told one of the...

This tweet from Ed Husain is no doubt tongue-in-cheek, but note its import: clearly it is an attempt to exonerate the jihad terror group Hamas by equating its murderous mission to the American Revolutionary slogan that is the motto of the state of New Hampshire. Simultaneously Husain minimizes the bloodiness of Hamas and advances a sly moral equivalence argument equating American Revolutionaries with genocidal Islamic jihadists who celebrate the murders of civilians. And this from a "normal Muslim." Ed Husain is a prominent non-violent Muslim who recently wrote a piece in the reliably dhimmi Wall Street Journal entitled "Don't Call...

PETERBOROUGH – Cindy Ginn, possibly the most persistent Appleseeder of all time, recently earned her rifleman patch. Overcoming equipment and ammunition problems that have plagued her for no less than nine Appleseed events, Ginn bounced up an amazing 17 points to score 219 on the last Army Qualification Target of the event. When the AQT was scored, the crowd went wild. There were hugs and tears in abundance. The emotion was palpable. The Appleseed Project, a charitable organization, holds events all over the country that teach Revolutionary War history and rifle marksmanship. Participants who score 210 or better earn a...

I am a 19-year-old college student at the University of New Hampshire, and my constitutional rights are not open for debate. Specifically, the Second Amendment mandates that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” HB 334 has opened up a debate over whether college students should be allowed to carry guns on campus. We often hear that college students aren’t responsible enough to be trusted with guns. If college students cannot be trusted with guns, why can we be conscripted in the military? If we cannot be trusted with guns, why can we...

Part of the joy of a presidential campaign is visiting different parts of the country. This past week was New Hampshire week. I've been to New Hampshire about a half-dozen times. It's a beautiful state. Mountains, ocean, beautiful forests and normally snow this time of year. However, we were snowless. Part of the joy of New Hampshire is that the state is relatively small physically, and the people are very interested in the process and the candidates. We held town halls and various "meet and greet," and went to coffees. The town halls were overflowing. Standing room only in the...

Following much thoughtful consternation, I have decided to pull my support and endorsement of Texas Governor Rick Perry for the GOP presidential nomination.  I realize the redstate diary commenters, won’t be kind but this needs to be said.  This decision wasn’t easy but a serious evaluation of the field should inform us that Rick Perry has no realistic path to victory in South Carolina, Florida and beyond. I realize that redstate.com’s Erick Erickson continues to stick by him, that South Carolina is Perry’s state and that he has re-tooled his staff.  But it is too little too late and at...

VIDEO: NH poll workers shown handing out ballots in dead peoples’ names By Alex Pappas - The Daily Caller 1:15 PM 01/11/2012 MANCHESTER, N.H. — Video footage provided exclusively to The Daily Caller shows election workers in New Hampshire giving out ballots in the names of dead voters at multiple voting precincts during the state’s primary election on Tuesday. The bombshell video is the work of conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe and his organization, Project Veritas. Voters in the Granite State are not required to present identification to vote. O’Keefe’s investigators were able to obtain ballots under the names of dead...

Click and get P*ssed

A Manchester woman said today that she has decided to press charges after a scuffle Sunday at a presidential campaign event for Republican candidate Newt Gingrich inside a Mexican restaurant in Manchester, N.H. Rebecca Burton, 43, says she was inside the restaurant when her sign, which said, "Occupy Hartford,'' was pulled away by a security aide for Gingrich. The candidate had not yet entered the room. "Before I knew it, the sign was ripped out of my hands, and I saw a gentleman walking away with it,'' Burton told The Courant. "He pushed me roughly, and he said, 'Get out....

Clint Eastwood made the following observation about Mitt Romney: "You have to admit he looks like a president," a sarcastic Eastwood told the newspaper, adding he ran into Romney when he was filming “Mystic River” in Massachusetts. "I mean, if you were casting a movie where you needed someone to play president, you'd definitely pick him." See: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-11-09/news/30379840_1_herman-cain-mitt-romney-clint-eastwood When I heard that some Tea Party members voted for Romney in New Hampshire, I concluded that some Americans no longer care about the issues, and want a President who looks good on TV. Rick Perry recently decribed Romney as "one handsome...

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire—Rep. Ron Paul's campaign called on the rest of the Republican field to drop out of the race and unite behind him in order to defeat Mitt Romney. “We urge Ron Paul’s opponents who have been unsuccessfully trying to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney to unite by getting out of the race and uniting behind Paul’s candidacy,” campaign chair Jesse Benton said in a statement. Read the full statement below: LAKE JACKSON, Texas – Ron Paul tonight scored an historic second-place victory in the 2012 New Hampshire Primary. Below please find comments from National Campaign Chairman...

MANCHESTER, N.H.--Mitt Romney won the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, the second state in a row he has carried in his campaign for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Romney is the first Republican, not including incumbent presidents, to win both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary since Iowa Republicans began holding their first-in-the-nation caucuses in 1976. Ron Paul came in second; Jon Huntsman in third. It was a start-to-finish victory for Romney in New Hampshire, who led in the polls here throughout the 2012 campaign. Romney owns a summer home in the state, which borders his home state of...

Mitt Romney on Tuesday night came one step closer to winning the Republican presidential nomination, winning in New Hampshire and leaving his record at two and zero. From the beginning of the Republican primary season, Republican voters have been searching for an alternative to Romney, giving each of his rivals a temporary bump in the polls. But as the votes roll in, it becomes increasingly difficult to conceive of who that alternative could be, and the former Massachusetts governor looks more and more like the presumptive nominee. Romney is the first non-incumbent Republican to win both the Iowa caucuses and...

New Hampshire and the NE can go get blanked

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, just released a statement in which she argues that despite Mitt Romney's sizable margin of victory in New Hampshire, the candidate failed to meet expectations. Here's the statement: "Mitt Romney may have won in New Hampshire tonight, but he can't run from the fact that his support was rapidly eroding before any vote was even cast. Over the course of the last few months Romney had the support of as much as 45 percent of the primary electorate -- at one point boasting a nearly 30 percent lead over the rest...

Mitt Romney rolled to an easy victory Tuesday in the New Hampshire primary, taking a broad stride toward capturing the GOP presidential nomination as the contest heads south for a pair of potentially make-or-break contests.

The polls closed in New Hampshire and 12 seconds later, the Associated Press declared Mitt Romney the winner. I could have told you that 4 years ago. He is a past governor of Massachusetts. Looks like a romp, with the Associated Press reporting: “CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has won the New Hampshire Republican primary. Romney is the first Republican to win both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary in a competitive race since Iowa took the lead-off role in 1976.” Who finishes 2nd does not matter. On-Ray Aul-Pay will continue no matter what...

<p>CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the New Hampshire primary Tuesday night, adding to a first-place finish in last week's Iowa caucuses and establishing himself as the man to beat for the Republican presidential nomination.</p> <p>Texas Rep. Ron Paul led former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman for second place, with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum trailing.</p>

Results as of 3:42pm. ROMNEY: 37% PAUL: 26% HUNTSMAN: 21% GINGRICH: 11% PERRY: 9% BACHMAN: 0% SANTORUM: 0%

"...Mitt Romney says he saved Bain & Co. but he didn't tell you the day he took over he had his predecessor fire hundreds of employees or the way the company was rescued was with a federal bailout of $10 million dollars. According to the Globe, Romney's company failed to repay at least $10 million dollars to a failed bank and the rest of us had to absorb the loss. Romney, he and others made $4 million dollars in this deal which cost ordinary people $10 million dollars. Mitt Romney - maybe he's just against government when it helps working...

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Mitt Romney, long expected to glide to a smooth victory in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary, bumped through a rough patch on voting day, trying to deflect his rivals’ portrayal of him as a business vulture who enjoys laying off workers. When Romney reached out for a supporter’s infant daughter at a polling place, someone in the crowd shouted, “Are you going to fire the baby?” Still, Romney was looking for a big win Tuesday night that could contribute to a sense that his campaign for the GOP nomination may be unstoppable, despite some foot-in-mouth moments. His...

Reporting from Manchester, N.H.— For much of Tuesday morning, Manchester's Webster School was ground zero in the New Hampshire primary, with visits from a trio of presidential hopefuls, campaign volunteers, throngs of media and, yes, even some voters. Front-running hopeful Mitt Romney made just a brief stop at a polling place here, where his "fire people" comment continued to dog him. Asked about the previous day's statement by a reporter just after Romney emerged from his campaign bus, he said: "I was talking about, as you know, insurance companies. We'd all like to get rid of our insurance companies." Later,...

Newt cancelles event in NH. Security concerns.

In the Republican presidential candidate debates this weekend, Mitt Romney repeated his claim that he is an effective leader who created a "net net" of 100,000 jobs while he was working in the private sector. But three recent reports, by the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press and by Fact Check.org, the nonprofit nonpartisan project run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania say that the Romney campaign has yet to offer convincing proof to back up the claim. ... It hardly seems plausible to suggest that he created the positions that make up the current...

CONCORD, N.H. — President Obama is on the Democratic ballot for New Hampshire’s primary on Tuesday, despite the efforts of some Republican state legislators who argue the president doesn’t qualify as a “natural-born citizen.” “I don’t know where he was born, and I really don’t care,” said state Rep. Larry Rappaport of Colebrook, N.H., “but I think fraud is being perpetrated on the citizens of New Hampshire.” Mr. Rappaport and several GOP colleagues have been trying to get the New Hampshire secretary of state to remove Mr. Obama from the ballot. Their argument isn’t focused on the old question of...

CONCORD, N.H. | President Obama is on the Democratic ballot for New Hampshire’s primary on Tuesday, despite the efforts of some Republican state legislators who argue the president doesn’t qualify as a “natural-born citizen.” “I don’t know where he was born, and I really don’t care,” said state Rep. Larry Rappaport of Colebrook, N.H., “but I think fraud is being perpetrated on the citizens of New Hampshire.” Mr. Rappaport and several GOP colleagues have been trying to get the New Hampshire secretary of state to remove Mr. Obama from the ballot. Their argument isn’t focused

Associated Press NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — Republican front-runner Mitt Romney stumbled down the homestretch of the New Hampshire primary on Monday, declaring, "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me" as his rivals intensified already fierce criticism. "Gov. Romney enjoys firing people. I enjoy creating jobs," said former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who has staked his candidacy on a strong showing in Tuesday's primary and has shown signs of gaining ground in recent polls. Romney is the odds-on favorite in New Hampshire, and Huntsman as well as other Republicans who are contesting the state have generally...

DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. (AP) — Voters in the tiny New Hampshire village famed for casting the first ballots in the nation’s first presidential primary have found themselves in a tie between Republicans Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman. Nine ballots were cast in New Hampshire’s Dixville Notch just after midnight. Romney and Huntsman received two votes each. Coming in second with one vote apiece were Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul. For the Democrats, President Barack Obama received three votes. The nine residents who cast their ballots include three registered Republicans and two registered Democrats. Four other voters haven’t declared a party.

NASHUA, N.H. -- Is New Hampshire too white, too old and too godless to play a key role in selecting the next president? "The rap on Iowa: It doesn't represent the rest of the country -- too white, too evangelical, too rural," NBC's Andrea Mitchell famously said shortly before the Jan. 3 caucuses. Other critics called Iowa too old. If such concerns about Iowa are legitimate, then so are concerns about New Hampshire. For example, the first-in-the-nation primary state is actually whiter than Iowa. According to the 2010 census, New Hampshire is 93.9 percent white, 2.8 percent Hispanic and 1.1...

<p>If you are looking for a conservative alternative to Romney and had to choose today between Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry or Rick Santorum, which one would you choose?</p>

Maybe Grandpa should stick to sports predictions. The psychic spider monkey at the Staten Island Zoo picked Newt Gingrich as the top banana in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, even though he’s languishing in the polls. And the soothsaying simian completely rejected front-runner Mitt Romney in Monday’s electoral challenge set up by the Daily News. Even the zoo’s curator, Peter Laline, admitted it was unlikely Grandpa’s longshot would pay off in the Granite State. “Perhaps Grandpa has other plans we’re not aware of. Maybe Grandpa started vetting the vice presidential candidates early,” Laline said. The 40-year-old monkey has a good record...

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - Republican front-runner Mitt Romney stumbled down the homestretch of the New Hampshire primary on Monday, declaring, "I like being able to fire people who provide services to me" as his rivals intensified already fierce criticism. "Gov. Romney enjoys firing people. I enjoy creating jobs," said former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, who has staked his candidacy on a strong showing in Tuesday's primary and has shown signs of gaining ground in recent polls. Adding insult to any injury, Texas Gov. Rick Perry posted a ringtone to his campaign website that consisted of Romney saying, "I like being...

Rick Santorum had his final rally tonight before Granite Staters start voting Tuesday morning in the first-in-the-nation primary. Supporters and press mobbed the candidate as he made his way around the packed restaurant and bar here. As he exited his final primary eve event, he was surrounded by a mix of protesters from the Occupy movement and Ron Paul supporters. As he walked out of Jillian’s in downtown Manchester, his staff surrounded him and the protesters tried to form a circle around the former Pennsylvania senator. They chanted, “Bigot, bigot!” and “Shame, shame!” as he made his way to his...

SALEM, N.H. — Former Republican senator Rick Santorum, who squeaked to within eight votes of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in last week’s Iowa caucuses, acknowledged Monday that a second-place finish for him in New Hampshire is unlikely. [Snip] Leaving the frozen event, Santorum also declined to take a shot at Romney over a remark earlier from the front-runner that he “likes to fire” workers who are not doing a good job. “We try to hire good people, we try to keep them employed. If someone if obviously not performing their duty and their mission, obviously a business has a...