Republicanism Is Morphing Into Fascism

To the Editor; The election of Joe Biden engendered optimism among some Progressives that Trump’s control over Republican legislators would diminish, facilitating a return to a more rational politics based on a respect for Constitutional principles and democratic processes. The hope was based on the assumption that most if not all Republicans continued to honor traditional Republican values such as a belief in small government, fiscal conservancy and a reverence for individual initiative. Recent events, however, have called this assumption into question. The invasion of the Capitol revealed the extent of Trump’s control over his base who demonstrated their willingness to resort to violent insurrection …

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Why No Mention Of Plutonium In Media Coverage Of Mars Rover?

To the Editor: I am disheartened that the media shows little inclination to mention the words “plutonium” or “probabilities of accidental release” in their so-called reporting of the Mars rover arrival. You have to question who they work for. A “1 in 960 chance of a deadly plutonium release” is a real concern—gamblers in Las Vegas would be happy with those odds. We daily hear the excited anticipation of the nuclear industry as stories reveal the growing plans for hosts of launches of nuclear devices—more rovers on Mars, mining colonies on the moon, even nuclear reactors to power rockets bound for Mars. The nuclear industry …

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Keep the Help Homeless

To the Editor, The legislature is coming at New Hampshire with numerous Republican-sponsored bills that would “urbanize” the state faster than Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can revive Obama’s AFFH. These bills should be opposed because they reward developers with your tax money and promote the building of apartments everywhere. Single-family homeowners beware. Your taxes will go up, and your property values will go down. HB 586, HB 132, HB 189, HB 154, SB 86. HB 288 is a bill that was submitted to repeal the Housing Appeals Board and should be supported. No 3-person state board should allow predatory developers to override your votes …

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Flotsam & Jetsam

“One of my fave Wall Street expressions: ‘putting your money to work.’ No, you’re putting someone else to work to magnify your money!” – Doug Henwood  

PEN Condemns Anti-Semitism

To the Editor: The N.H. Palestine Education Network (PEN) condemns anti-Semitism. We are shocked that some State Representatives have used social media to spread this prejudice. Representatives Spillane (R-Deerfield) and Dawn Johnson (R-Laconia) have utilized social platforms that promote harm and discord. Another State Representative, Terry Roy (R-Deerfield) has used “Gab,” which has been described as “the social media home for Neo-Nazis and white supremacists.” Roy, according to a tweet we have seen, is seeking “to implore Gab users around the country to flood the New Hampshire House remote sign-in sheets,” either opposing or supporting bills to their liking! Representative Roy on another tweet wrote: …

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Is This the Beginning or the End?

I strive for idleness. My best ideas come to me not from hard work but from being unfocused, just lolling around. My creative life, such as it is, coincides with what Mark Taylor tells us in “Idleness Waiting Grace:” “Many of the most important thoughts are unintentional—they can be neither solicited nor cajoled but have a rhythm of their own, creeping up, arriving, and leaving when we least expect them.”⁠1 Certain seemingly inconsequential events stick in our minds. For me, one such thing is a TV commercial, from fifty years ago, about margarine: In the ad, Mother Nature, dressed in a gown of white and …

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