Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Kuster for Congress!
To the best of my knowledge, Ann McLane Kuster is the only candidate running for congress in the 2010 NH Primaries, who outwardly supports gay marriage and women’s right to choose. I need look no further than the representation of civil rights to place my vote this September 14th.
kusterforcongress.com
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Thing in the Spring 2010, a fulfilling journey!
Hi Five to everyone who made it out to the three day long music and art festival this last weekend, The Thing in the Spring, what a huge success! Thanks to all the musicians who traveled to Peterborough, NH to play, I cannot think of a single performance that did not fill the room with sonic splendor. Speaking of the performance space, a very special thank you to Willard Williams, who made that room available for us this year. Logistically, the use of such an efficient space in a convenient location downtown, was an enormous help. And the room sounded good too! Thanks also to the many family and friends who helped and dedicated their time in a multitude of ways.
Last Thursday, just before The Thing, the local paper here ran a bit about the upcoming event. It was a rather intriguing edition of the Ledger-Transcript, filled with notes of nearby happenings. There was an interesting write up on a new wind turbine invented by Howard Fuller in Greenville. According to the article, the turbine is a modification of Nikola Tesla’s steam and coal turbine designs. It is fairly compact, can be maintained from the ground AND has no external blades, wow! On the front page was a story on the rapid growth of the Contoocook Valley Transportation Company and their qualification for federal grant funding. I remember, just a couple of years ago, meeting a volunteer from the CVTC. She told me about what they were trying to get started and gave me a card with volunteering information. Since then they’ve grown exponentially, with over 50 volunteers providing over 100 rides each month.
Looking back to the first time around for The Thing in the Spring, we were really winging it, now we are watching it grow each year. I am grateful to be in an area where this kind of creative growth can flourish. Without trying to sound cliché, great things start on a small scale, but can eventually extend beyond a single community. Well, perhaps more quickly for Howard, the paper stated he’s already had a couple of international inquiries regarding his turbine prototype, way to go!
Last Thursday, just before The Thing, the local paper here ran a bit about the upcoming event. It was a rather intriguing edition of the Ledger-Transcript, filled with notes of nearby happenings. There was an interesting write up on a new wind turbine invented by Howard Fuller in Greenville. According to the article, the turbine is a modification of Nikola Tesla’s steam and coal turbine designs. It is fairly compact, can be maintained from the ground AND has no external blades, wow! On the front page was a story on the rapid growth of the Contoocook Valley Transportation Company and their qualification for federal grant funding. I remember, just a couple of years ago, meeting a volunteer from the CVTC. She told me about what they were trying to get started and gave me a card with volunteering information. Since then they’ve grown exponentially, with over 50 volunteers providing over 100 rides each month.
Looking back to the first time around for The Thing in the Spring, we were really winging it, now we are watching it grow each year. I am grateful to be in an area where this kind of creative growth can flourish. Without trying to sound cliché, great things start on a small scale, but can eventually extend beyond a single community. Well, perhaps more quickly for Howard, the paper stated he’s already had a couple of international inquiries regarding his turbine prototype, way to go!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Letter to NH Papers 2-10
The Bush/Cheney administration controlled Washington for eight years, during which time they were able to strategically move people into positions of power, allowing their hand to remain in place for years beyond the end of their term in 2008. We saw undeniable evidence of this with last week’s Supreme Court reversal of century-old law in the ruling of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Committee. In a 5-4 majority, the Court decided that there would no longer be regulation of financial contribution from corporations and special interests to support (or defeat) a political campaign by use of media.
Though this story went largely unnoticed, make no mistake, this ruling marks the biggest change to campaign financing in the history of this country and it also strikes at the core of our democracy. We’ve already seen millions of corporate dollars poured into negative advertising to protect business income (health care industry), and we know well, the path of big business corruption around the world. Now we will provide Constitutional cover?!
Some would have us believe that this ruling fights censorship, that corporate influence in politics represents groups of citizens who might otherwise have little impact. This opinion is unbelievably twisted. It is because money has such power in our political system that our voices can go unheard. It is our own first amendment rights that are at stake! Not that of Exxon/Mobil or of such prejudice and proselytizing conglomerations as the Family Research Center.
This is a wake up call for citizens of this country. Put very well by David Kairys writing for Slate Magazine, ‘Corporations aren’t people and money isn’t speech.’ We cannot let this message go unheard. We should restrict corporate spending and lobbying in the political world. Contact your legislators by visiting www.gencourt.state.(your state initials).us and demand their support!
Though this story went largely unnoticed, make no mistake, this ruling marks the biggest change to campaign financing in the history of this country and it also strikes at the core of our democracy. We’ve already seen millions of corporate dollars poured into negative advertising to protect business income (health care industry), and we know well, the path of big business corruption around the world. Now we will provide Constitutional cover?!
Some would have us believe that this ruling fights censorship, that corporate influence in politics represents groups of citizens who might otherwise have little impact. This opinion is unbelievably twisted. It is because money has such power in our political system that our voices can go unheard. It is our own first amendment rights that are at stake! Not that of Exxon/Mobil or of such prejudice and proselytizing conglomerations as the Family Research Center.
This is a wake up call for citizens of this country. Put very well by David Kairys writing for Slate Magazine, ‘Corporations aren’t people and money isn’t speech.’ We cannot let this message go unheard. We should restrict corporate spending and lobbying in the political world. Contact your legislators by visiting www.gencourt.state.(your state initials).us and demand their support!
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