Tag Archives: New Hampshire

Business, Cryptocurrency, Featured, Technology, US

Portsmouth: New Hampshire’s Digital Currency Hotspot

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New Hampshire has become home to an impressive number of cryptocurrency-accepting businesses, with several businesses embracing the decentralized benefits of cryptocurrency by offering common payment options such as Dash, Bitcoin, and Bitcoin Cash.

You can find the hub of this movement in the town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which is described as “Bitcoin Village.” A significant feature of this village is the Free State Bitcoin Shoppe, a store attracting customers from high-traffic tourist areas nearby with their unique crypto-related and liberty-centric goods. However, tourists quickly learn that they can’t purchase anything in the store with cash, which provides an opportunity for the proprietors of the Free State Bitcoin Shoppe to step in and educate newcomers.

The shop founders, Derrick J. Freeman and Steven Zeiler, have a mission to “change the money that people use.” In a Q&A with the Free State Project, Freeman said that “if customers come in, set up a free wallet on their phone, and leave, I’m happy that they took a step toward greater financial freedom. Success is people using cryptocurrency at stores other than our shop.”

Zeiler has also developed a system for local businesses to accept various cryptocurrencies as payment. AnyPay.global is a new POS system spreading quickly and flourishing in the Portsmouth area.

“Like most people who use cryptocurrency, Steven and I have long dreamt of a physical retail shop that accepts cryptocurrency exclusively,” Freeman noted in the Q&A. “So, in a sense, this idea has been brewing for almost a decade. After years of waiting, we decided that if no one was going to do it, then it would have to be us. After deciding to open a crypto-only shop, the implementation was almost immediate.”

Freeman also discussed in the Q&A how the shop helps introduce new users and facilitate sustained use of crypto:

“In under five minutes, we help them (customers) download a digital wallet on their phone, turn their cash into crypto, and take payment. Everyone leaves feeling good. Most people have long been waiting to try bitcoin, but they’ve never had someone hold their hand while they do it. Those who don’t want to either don’t have the time or the interest. That’s to be expected. Not everyone wants bitcoin. Some people are perfectly happy with a money that funds wars and loses purchasing power every year.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzqi7g1e9I4

Freeman and Zeiler have had nearby businesses inquiring how to accept cryptocurrency. The Free State Bitcoin Shoppe provides a directory that lists a number of merchants accepting cryptocurrencies in the city, even specifying which forms of cryptocurrencies are accepted.

New Hampshire’s vibrant cryptocurrency community can be thanked in large part to the Free State Project, a liberty-minded movement of individuals looking to explore and work toward a free society. The movement has led to one of the most cryptocurrency-friendly places in the world, with a high acceptance and use of cryptocurrency among the Free State community of 4,352.

The New Hampshire cryptocurrency community played a critical role in the passing of a state law that exempts digital currency from the state’s money transmission licensing. Even though state regulators showed opposition, the bill passed due to strong grassroots support. The crypto supportive policy has attracted startup companies such as LBRY as well as Anypay.

A popular cryptocurrency to highlight within Portsmouth is Dash, which bears support from local businesses. According to DiscoverDash, there are 22 locations in the town accepting Dash. The entire state of New Hampshire has roughly 1.3 million inhabitants and features 54 Dash-accepting businesses, supporting a strong and active Dash-friendly micro-economy.

Joël Valenzuela, editor of Dash Force News, was recently featured on CNN illustrating living a cash-free life. Valenzuela is paid in Dash and is able to make nearly all his purchases with Dash, including primary living expenses like bills and rent.

However, CNN appeared unaware that Portsmouth is only the beginning of cryptocurrency adoption and more experiences like Valenzuela’s are likely to come about. Unlike local currencies like “Berkshares” and “Equal Dollars” which only hold value within their communities, cryptocurrencies like Dash hold value across the globe.

Editor’s note: Dash Digital Cash is the exclusive sponsor of Reality Check and the Truth in Media project.

Featured, Government Accountability, Politics, States Rights, US

New Hampshire House Passes Bill to Prohibit Police Sobriety Checkpoints

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On February 22nd, New Hampshire’s House of Representatives passed HB 1283, a Republican-led bill that would prohibit police from conducting sobriety checkpoints in the state. The bill’s text consists simply of the following: “Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no law enforcement officer or agency shall establish or conduct sobriety checkpoints.”

The bill was prefiled back in November 2017 ahead of the 2018 legislative session. The House vote follows the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee’s 12-8 recommendation to go forward with the legislation; the next step for HB 1283 is a vote in the state Senate.

According to the House Record of February 16th, the committee’s majority provided the following statement:

Presently, sobriety checkpoints are already limited and require a court order.
While no one wants to see an increase in DWI, sobriety checkpoints are not a solution to decrease DWI arrests. The committee heard testimony on how ineffective sobriety checkpoints are. The testimony by a state trooper showed that less than 1% of drivers who are stopped at a checkpoint were charged with DWI. Some places even discounted sobriety checkpoints due to the rate being even lower. The testimony revealed this number is lower than the amount of arrests police would have made if they were out on patrol looking
for people suspected of DWI. The trooper testified checkpoints have gone down in recent years and the state would still be able to use grants to increase patrols. There was further concern that DWI checkpoints invade a driver’s right to be free from unlawful seizures. The majority feels checkpoints can lead to a worsening of public/police relations as many people will be upset after being stopped and detained without any evidence of
them doing anything wrong. Additionally the officers involved are paid overtime which makes a flawed practice even more expensive. In order to increase DWI arrests while increasing our liberty, sobriety checkpoints should be abolished.

The committee’s minority provided a statement as well:

The minority of the committee believes that sobriety checkpoints are one of the many tools that police departments have at their disposal. The circumstances under which a sobriety checkpoint can be conducted are highly regulated. While the number of sobriety checkpoints being held has gone down in recent years, the minority of the committee believes that the decision to conduct them should remain with the police departments. If the police believe that the test is another way to keep drunk drivers off the road, the elected representatives of the people should not prohibit the police from using that tool to protect us on the road from drunk drivers.

State Police Captain John Marasco opposed the bill, saying that “the main function behind the sobriety check point is to make sure that we prevent tragedy on the roadways,” according to a report from NECN.

Brian Stone, a prime sponsor of HB 1283, wrote last year regarding police sobriety checkpoints:

I’m of the opinion that they infringe on our rights, are costly, worsen police public relations, are too broad with minimal effect, and that there are better options to address DUI that law enforcement may use that are proven to be more effective and less costly.

The Concord Monitor examined the constitutionality of sobriety checkpoints in New Hampshire in a 2017 article, and noted that according to their review of two years’ worth of police report data, “on average, sobriety checkpoints result in just as many arrests for crimes unrelated to drivers’ blood-alcohol content,” and the revelation of this data “could expose the law to a challenge.”

The Monitor reported that about 85,000 drivers have been stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in New Hampshire over the last decade, and the percentage of drivers accused of drunk driving has not been more than 1 percent since 2006. According to Staff Sgt. Charles Johnston, “the number of fatal car crashes statewide— and the proportion related to alcohol consumption— have ‘remained relatively constant each year’ despite efforts to educate drivers and prosecute offenders.”

Election, Featured, Politics

NH Primary: Sanders Beats Clinton in Nearly Every Demographic

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The results from the New Hampshire primary Tuesday showed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders beating former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton in nearly every demographic.

Sanders received 60% of the vote with over 142,000 votes comprising 13 delegates, while Clinton received 38.3% of the vote with over 90,500 votes comprising nine delegates.

[RELATED: After Crushing Defeat, DNC Quirk Still Gives Hillary More New Hampshire Delegates Than Sanders]

The New York Times noted that Sanders carried support in the majority of nearly every demographic, including men and women, moderates and liberals, voters with and without college degrees, seasoned and first-time primary voters, and gun owners and non-gun owners.

Clinton received the majority of the support from voters aged 65 and older, and those with an income of over $200,000. She also carried support from voters who aren’t worried about the economy, and who want to see a continuation of President Obama’s policies.

Sanders was projected to win early on after the polls closed in New Hampshire Tuesday night, along with his counterpart in the Republican party, Donald Trump.

In his victory speech, Sanders praised the “huge” voter turnout, and said that his win sends a message “from Wall Street to Washington” that the U.S. government “belongs to all of the people and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors, and their Super PACs.”

[pull_quote_center]What happened here in New Hampshire in terms of an enthusiastic, and aroused electorate, people who came out in large numbers. That is what will happen all over this country. Let us never forget, Democrats and progressives win when voter turnout is high. Republicans win when people are demoralized, and voter turnout is low.[/pull_quote_center]

In her concession speech, Clinton said she will continue to fight to win “every vote in every state,” and she promised that when she says “no bank could be too big to fail and no executive too powerful to jail, you can count on it.”

[pull_quote_center]In this campaign, you’ve heard a lot about Washington and about Wall Street. Now, Senator Sanders and I both want to get secret, unaccountable money out of politics, and let’s remember, let’s remember, Citizens United, one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in our country’s history, was actually a case about a right-wing attack on me and my campaign.[/pull_quote_center]

For more election coverage, click here.

Election, Featured, Politics

Bernie Sanders Beating Clinton in N.H., Tied In Iowa

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The 2016 Democratic presidential race seems to be tightening in the final weeks leading up to the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses and the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary. According to recent polls, Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders, widely seen as an underdog in the race, appears to be surging in early-state support and threatening to upset frontrunner and former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll taken Jan. 2 through Jan. 7 found Clinton clinging to a 48 percent to 45 percent lead over Sanders in Iowa, which lies within the survey’s margin of error. The New Hampshire version of the survey found Sanders leading with 50 percent support to Clinton’s 46 percent, also within the margin of error.

The Hill notes that a Monmouth University poll released Tuesday found Sanders beating Clinton 53 percent to 39 percent in New Hampshire. Last November, Clinton led Sanders in Monmouth University’s New Hampshire polling by 3 points, demonstrating that Sanders has gained significant ground in the Granite State.

A RealClearPolitics average of New Hampshire polls dated Jan. 2 through Jan. 10 finds Sanders leading by 6.2 percent, one of his strongest leads so far in the race. RealClearPolitics also found that Sanders has battled back from what was at one time a significant lead by Clinton in Iowa, as the company’s polling average over the same period of time found Clinton is now only up by a negligible 0.2 percent.

[RELATED: Pollsters Criticize Use of Polling Minimums to Exclude Candidates from Debates]

Polling experts say that telephone polls are not as accurate as they once were back before the rise of mobile technology, particularly due to the theory that such methodologies might underestimate millennial support. However, given Sanders’ strong level of support among millennials, for his candidacy to be registering a dead heat against Clinton in traditional early-state polling suggests the possibility that his insurgent campaign has transformed what was an uphill battle against an establishment favorite into a competitive head-to-head race, at least in the early states.

Clinton still maintains a strong lead in national polling. A RealClearPolitics average of national polls dated Dec. 17 through Jan. 8 found Clinton leading by 12.8 percent. However, a Jan. 4 through Jan. 8 nationwide poll taken by Investor’s Business Daily and TechnoMetrica Institute of Policy and Politics found Clinton leading by only 4 points.

For more election coverage, click here.

Featured, Government Corruption, Police Accountability

Residents of New Hampshire Town Submit Petition to Disband Police Department

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Following Police Chief John LaRoche’s August arrest on sexual assault charges, residents of Canterbury, New Hampshire have submitted a petition to disband the town’s police department and replace it with coverage by state or county law enforcement agencies.

The above-embedded WMUR-TV video notes that Chief LaRoche has been indicted on 10 felony counts in connection to allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl over fifteen years ago while working as a police officer in Boscawen, N.H. The alleged victim was reportedly a participant in that department’s Explorer program aimed at showing youths what it would be like to be a law enforcement officer.

LaRoche pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been placed on unpaid administrative leave.

[RELATED: Under Federal Investigation, Chicago PD Releases Controversial Videos of Officer Conduct]

On Monday, locals submitted a petition at the meeting of the Canterbury Board of Selectmen calling for the town’s police department to be disbanded. According to The Concord Monitor, 106 residents signed the petition, well above the 25 mark required to force a vote on the issue.

“It’s probably not within the authority of the selectmen to dissolve the police department – that would be a town meeting thing,” said Board of Selectmen Chairman Bob Steenson, suggesting that the petition tactic may fail in its ultimate goal.

In addition to the allegations against Chief LaRoche, the approximately 70 residents at the meeting offered a variety of complaints about the town’s police force.

Petition organizer Joe Halla told WMUR-TV, “It’s apparent to me there is no supervision in the department. They are not responsible for their behavior. If there’s an SOP, they don’t follow it.”

[RELATED: Police Union Calls Officer Drug, Alcohol Testing ‘Illegal Search and Seizure’]

Describing some of the complaints that were brought up at the meeting, the Concord Monitor’s Elodie Reed wrote, “Police suggesting the victim of a theft ask the suspected thief to meet with an officer; police telling a woman she had been ‘watching too much CSI’ when she asked whether fingerprints could be taken from a rock that was thrown through her windshield; police asking a person whether she really wanted them to look for her stolen car, which was an ‘older model.'”

Dozens of meeting attendees went on to share additional complaints about the four officers that make up the town’s police department.

Town officials say that until Chief LaRoche resigns, they are powerless to reform the police department.

Chairman Bob Steenson, who noted that the board is working to push LaRoche out of his position, said, “We’re making a renewed effort to see if we can move on and resolve the issue. John LaRoche needs to do the right thing and resign for this community.“

Featured, Health, Marijuana Prohibition, Politics

Judge Orders State of NH to Issue Medical Marijuana Card to Dying Cancer Patient

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Concord, New Hampshire- While the state of New Hampshire continues to deal with delays in its implementation of a medical marijuana program approved in 2013, a Merrimack County Superior judge has ruled in favor of a woman suffering from late-stage lung cancer seeking access to a medical marijuana card.

Linda Horan, an Alstead resident suffering from stage 4 lung cancer, is seeking to obtain marijuana in the neighboring state of Maine because New Hampshire has yet to open any marijuana dispensaries despite approving a medical marijuana program. The Maine Medical Marijuana Act was passed in 1999 and the program was further expanded by voters in 2009.

New Hampshire, a state governed by Democrats for over a decade, appears to be experiencing much more difficulty approving and implementing medical marijuana than its neighboring states. While Democrat Governor Maggie Hassan signed a limited medical marijuana program into law in 2013, the program becoming a reality for patients in New Hampshire has been a lengthy process. Patients are continuing to wait for access as the state’s Department of Health and Human Services has just begun accepting applications for cards. No cards will be issued until dispensaries are opened, which is not expected to happen until early next year.

The Marijuana Policy Project provided an overview pointing to certain actions taken by the state which have led to delays, including the attorney general’s office “postponing its implementation of the patient registry process” in 2014.

In addition, rather than appointing “a member of the public” and “a qualifying patient” to an advisory council tasked with overseeing the law’s implementation, MPP noted that Gov. Hassan appointed Tuftonboro Police Chief Andrew Shagoury, as well as a patient described by MPP as “completely unknown to the patients who had supported the bill” who has not attended any meetings. On the council, Chief Shagoury represents the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, an organization which has been a longtime and vocal opponent of medical marijuana legalization.

Before filing the lawsuit, Horan addressed Gov. Hassan during a NH AFL-CIO lifetime achievement award speech, asking the governor in an emotional plea to open dispensaries “not just for me, but for all the other sick people in this state.”

Shortly after Horan filed her lawsuit, MPP’s New England Political Director Matt Simon told Truth In Media that “the fact that a terminal cancer patient like Linda Horan still can’t be protected from arrest in New Hampshire is appalling and downright insane.”

Simon noted that “Governor Hassan signed the law creating this program on July 23, 2013, but somehow, patients today are still criminals if they choose to use marijuana as a substitute for prescription painkillers. This lawsuit shouldn’t even be necessary, but patients all over New Hampshire will be watching closely and hoping for a successful result.“

Horan showed frustration over the fact that New Hampshire has had multiple delays in providing patients with access to medical marijuana. “The state simply needs to issue me an ID card so that I can access the medicine that I need,” said Horan, according to the Union Leader. “It’s hard to imagine why it would take more than two years for that. There are seriously ill people throughout New Hampshire who are suffering every day they go without it.” 

“I want the state to stop dragging your feet over a technicality when you’re dealing with sick people,” she was also quoted as saying. “We don’t have the time to fool around.” 

Although Horan had expressed urgency in seeking medical marijuana and has been given a few months to live, state officials argued against the lawsuit.

Earlier this month, Gov. Hassan argued in a statement that “the law that we have put in place- as approved by the legislature- requires ID cards to contain the ‘registry identification number corresponding with the alternative treatment center (dispensary) the qualifying patient designated,’ which prevents the issuance of these cards until the ATCs are open.”

The Concord Monitor reported that “state officials, including Gov. Maggie Hassan, have maintained patients could not get ID cards until dispensaries, or Alternative Treatment Centers, in the state are open, which is expected to happen early next year.”

Judge Richard McNamara disagreed with the state’s argument. “Nowhere does the statute say that a qualifying patient can only obtain cannabis from a New Hampshire ATC,” wrote McNamara.

Hassan did not provide comments after McNamara’s ruling. Horan is expected to receive a card on Wednesday.

Ben Swann released a Truth In Media episode in 2014 which exposed the government’s hypocrisy in publicly treating marijuana as a health hazard while it holds two patents on cannabis for medical use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuX9y0hiqWE&feature=youtu.be

Featured, Politics, US

N.H. Legislator Sounds Alarm Over Need for Audit of Untested Rape Kit Backlog

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New Hampshire state Representative Renny Cushing (D-Hampton) says that his state’s government is unable to track the number of untested rape kits piling up in evidence lockers at police stations across the state and that rapists may be avoiding prosecution as a result.

“We don’t know how many rape kits in the state of New Hampshire have gone untested. There may be rapists at large,” Rep. Renny Cushing told The Associated Press.

Tim Pifer, director of the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory, said that the lab only has 7 untested rape kits in its backlog, which he characterized as a “very low” number, but admitted that he is not sure whether local police have been sending all of their untested kits to the lab.

[RELATED: N.H. Governor Signs Bill Granting Immunity for Victims, Witnesses Reporting Drug Overdoses]

The National Institute for Justice gives New Hampshire’s Department of Safety a $250,000 grant each year to help the state meet the costs involved in testing evidence associated with alleged incidents of rape.

The New Hampshire Department of Safety’s website notes that the State Police Forensic Laboratory is “the sole provider of traditional forensic laboratory services in New Hampshire” and that it “receives and analyzes evidence from over 220 city and town police departments, nine state law enforcement agencies including the State Police, ten county sheriffs departments, numerous city and town fire departments, and, on occasion, federal law enforcement agencies conducting criminal investigations in the state.”

[RELATED: New Hampshire Library Victorious In Internet Privacy Debate]

Rep. Cushing, who serves on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, has proposed tasking the Department of Public Safety’s commissioner with keeping an inventory of the untested rape kits, a process that would include contacting each local police department and making sure that they have submitted all of them.

A May 2011 National Institute for Justice report on untested rape kits asserts, “Delays in evidence being sent to a lab — as well as delays in analyzing evidence — result in delays in justice. In worst-case scenarios, this can lead to additional victimization by serial offenders or the incarceration of people wrongly convicted of a crime.“

Activism, Editor’s Pick, Privacy, Technology

New Hampshire Library Victorious In Internet Privacy Debate

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Lebanon, New Hampshire- The Lebanon Library Board of Trustees upheld their decision to continue running a Tor node at the Kilton Library at its meeting Tuesday night, and the node was turned back on shortly after the meeting. Controversy surrounding the node and the library’s support of Tor, stemming from an email sent by the Department of Homeland Security to local law enforcement, led to a temporary shutdown of the node.

The board’s decision to ultimately keep the node turned on was made after several area residents expressed their views on the importance of Tor and internet privacy and vocalized praise for the library’s Tor support.

During the board meeting, ACLU of New Hampshire executive director Devon Chaffee explained how Tor is used. The Tor browser “is a piece of software, free and open source, that helps people protect their privacy and anonymity online by obscuring personally identifiable information,” she said. Tor accomplishes this by bouncing traffic off of a network of relay nodes, which was what Kilton was asked to run.

In June, the trustees voted to allow Kilton Library to run one of these nodes. The nodes serve as an important function to allow Tor users to preserve their anonymity. The Kilton Library, with the help of the Library Freedom Project (LFP), became the first public library in the United States to offer a relay node.

Kilton’s running of the node was part of a larger initiative to encourage libraries nationwide to support Tor and relay nodes as a “powerful symbolic gesture demonstrating our commitment to a free internet, but also a practical way to help the Tor network, and an excellent opportunity to help educate our patrons, staff, boards of trustees, and other stakeholders about the importance of Tor.”

Kilton Library was chosen partly because of steps that the library had already made to protect patron privacy. According to LFP, Kilton IT librarian Chuck McAndrew runs the library computers on GNU/Linux distributions. “Most library environments run Microsoft Windows, and we know that Microsoft participated in the NSA’s PRISM surveillance program. By choosing GNU/Linux operating systems and installing some privacy-protecting browser extensions too, Chuck’s helping his staff and patrons opt-out of pervasive government and corporate surveillance.”

Just over a month passed before an agent at the Department of Homeland Security in Boston discovered Kilton Library’s support of Tor. DHS notified the Lebanon Police Department of the project, and a meeting between city officials, the board of library trustees and law enforcement was held to discuss the risks of running a node.

[RELATED: NH Library Suspends Tor Support Following Email From DHS]

Law enforcement and Lebanon Deputy City Manager Paula Maville made comments regarding the possibility of criminal exploitation of Tor. The library decided to pause the pilot project and hold another meeting to decide whether or not to turn it back on or keep it off.

Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, a rally was held outside of Lebanon Public Library where activists held signs cheering Kilton’s support of Tor while rebuking DHS’s involvement. Lynette Johnson, a former librarian, told Truth In Media’s Annabelle Bamforth at the rally that “librarians really think about [protecting patron privacy] almost like a doctor-patient confidentiality.”

Public comment consisted almost entirely of support for Kilton Library’s relay node. The first person to speak, an elderly man named Lloyd, said that he worked for the government in the past and urged that DHS be kept as far away from Tor as possible.

Another man, a resident of Orange, New Hampshire who identified himself as an employee in the information technology field for several years, pointed out that U.S. intelligence agencies have more tools than ever before to gather information and opined that the debate should not be around whether or not the government has a harder time catching criminals, but around whether or not a relay node is a proper library function.

A woman born in Colombia spoke up passionately in support of privacy and freedom of speech, describing her previous job as a social worker in Colombia amidst violent conflict and explaining that she had seen many atrocities. “Freedom of speech isn’t part of their democracy there,” she said.

One after another, area residents shared their thoughts on the importance of internet privacy and why tools such as Tor should be embraced and not subjected to blind fear.

Following public comment, the board acknowledged that Tor could be exploited by criminal operations, but not any more than other online tools. The board made a decision to turn the node back on and maintain their original vote to support Tor by hosting the node.

Following the decision, Bamforth interviewed LFP’s Alison Macrina and Tor Project’s Nima Fatemi- who helped introduce the node to Kilton Library and have provided education about online privacy tools- about the library’s decision.

“We’re absolutely thrilled,” Macrina said following the meeting. “This is a public referendum about privacy and free speech, and I couldn’t think of a better place to have it happen. There was a reason why we chose Kilton as our pilot project. We knew that New Hampshire, the Live Free Or Die state, was the right place for this. This is the best thing that could have happened. The whole world came out in favor of Kilton doing the right thing, which they’ve just done, and it’s no better demonstrated than by the response of the community which was just overwhelming- I was crying, especially when the woman from Colombia spoke.”

“We actually made a joke, Libe Free or Die,” added Fatemi, a Tor Project member and partner in the LFP’s relay node project. “We’re definitely overwhelmed by the support of the community. It’s unbelievable, I was basically speechless.”

Fatemi noted that “what happened with the police department and DHS was a huge case of miseducation. Part of the reason we picked libraries because libraries are central to the communities. If we help give them enough resources, then they can teach, educate the communities around them- including law enforcement.”

This article has been updated to properly identify that a relay node is running at Kilton, not an exit relay.

Election, Polls

Bush Poll Numbers Plummet to Single Digits in Iowa, N.H.

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Two new NBC News/Marist Republican presidential preference polls spell bad news for former Florida Governor Jeb Bush — in just two months, support for his 2016 presidential campaign has plummeted from 12 to 6 percent in Iowa, and from 14 to 8 percent in New Hampshire.

According to a summary of July and September Marist College polls of potential Republican voters in the two earliest contests of the 2016 presidential primary season, Bush and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker are rapidly losing support. Walker has plunged from 19 to 5 percent in Iowa and from 12 to 4 percent in New Hampshire.


Marist College’s poll summary noted, “Trump has improved his standing among potential Republican voters in both crucial GOP contests. In Iowa, Trump, 29%, leads the crowded GOP field, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, 22%, assumes second place. Dr. Carson is the favorite ‘second choice’ among potential GOP voters. Trump, 28%, also takes the top spot in New Hampshire where he outpaces Ohio Governor John Kasich, 12%, and Dr. Carson, 11%, by double digits among the state’s potential Republican electorate. Carson is also the preferred ‘second choice’ in New Hampshire.”

NH-Potential-Republican-Electorate_PrimaryAccording to the most recent NBC News/Marist Iowa poll, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is now tied for fourth place in the state with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

The September NBC News/Marist polls in both states were conducted over a period of time from August 26 to September 2.

[RELATED: Latest Poll: Sanders Gains Strongest Lead Yet On Clinton In New Hampshire]

Marist College Institute for Public Opinion director Dr. Lee M. Miringoff said, speaking on the results of the organization’s polling on both sides of the aisle, “There’s been a massive shakeup in both parties, in both states. It’s been a summer of surprises with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders sitting in the front car of the rollercoaster.”

For more election coverage, click here.

Election, Politics, Polls

Latest Poll: Sanders Gains Strongest Lead Yet On Clinton In New Hampshire

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NEW HAMPSHIRE, September 6, 2015– Democratic Socialist and United States Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has jumped to his strongest lead yet over Hillary Clinton in the key early state of New Hampshire for the 2016 Democratic nominee.

In an NBC/Marist poll published on September 5, 2015, Sanders jumped to a 9 point lead over Clinton, which is well outside of the poll’s 5.2 percent margin of error. While Sanders received 41 percent, Clinton took 32 percent and Biden, who has been exploring a run, took 16 percent. No other candidate registered more than 1 percent support.

Sanders first topped Clinton in New Hampshire during the first week of August.

When pollsters first began polling the 2016 race in New Hampshire, Clinton enjoyed support from about 64 percent of those polled. Since then, she has lost approximately half of her support.

For more election coverage, click here.

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Featured, States Rights

New Hampshire Executive Council Votes To Defund Planned Parenthood

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New Hampshire Executive Councilors Chris Sununu, David Wheeler and Joe Kenney voted to end the state’s contract with Planned Parenthood, essentially ending the state’s funding of the Planned Parenthood of Northern New England facilities.

In a statement, New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Jennifer Horn said:

“The appalling videos showing Planned Parenthood executives discussing the sale of human body parts have raised serious and legitimate concerns. Instead of calling for an investigation of Planned Parenthood’s potentially criminal activity, Governor Hassan has turned a blind eye to this controversy and tried to give more taxpayer dollars to this scandal-plagued organization.

“This isn’t a matter of being pro-choice or pro-life. It’s about ensuring that public dollars are not being given to a company that may be engaged in criminal activity. We applaud Councilors Sununu, Wheeler and Kenney for standing up for taxpayers by refusing to fund Planned Parenthood and calling for an official investigation of its practices. It’s time for Governor Hassan to put politics aside and work with the Commissioner of Health and Human Services and the Executive Council to identify alternative health care providers to cover the services that were included in this contract.”

Gov. Maggie Hassan issued her own statement in response to the vote:

“Planned Parenthood provides critical primary and preventive health care services to thousands of New Hampshire women, including cancer screenings, birth control and STD testing. Access to these services is essential to the economic security and vitality of our families, and I am incredibly disappointed in the outcome of today’s vote.

“Two years ago, we came together across party lines to restore funding for Planned Parenthood and support the critical health care services that their health centers provide to women, men and families across the state. It is clear that today’s vote is the result of an ideological and political attack against Planned Parenthood and a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions, as there have been no allegations or evidence that Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has done anything but follow New Hampshire law and help thousands of women and families access health care.

“The council’s vote to defund Planned Parenthood will hurt the health and economic well-being of thousands of Granite Staters. Moving forward, I will continue to fight to ensure that women and families have access to the important health services that are essential to the economic security and vitality of our families.”

[RELATED: Second Planned Parenthood Exec Caught on Film Apparently Negotiating Fetal Tissue Prices]

The vote from the executive council follows the controversial publication of several undercover videos containing footage of discussions regarding the procurement of aborted fetal tissue and methods of obtaining such tissue. Hassan had previously rejected a request from one of the executive councilors calling for a review of Planned Parenthood operations in New Hampshire.

Drug War, Featured, States Rights

NH Governor Signs Bill Granting Immunity for Victims, Witnesses Reporting Drug Overdoses

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On Monday, New Hampshire Democratic Governor Maggie Hassan signed House Bill 270 into law, a bill designed to “encourage a witness or victim of a drug overdose to request medical assistance in order to save the life of an overdose victim by establishing a state policy of protecting the witness or victim from arrest, prosecution, and conviction for the crime of possession of the controlled drug that is the agent of the overdose.”

Under the law, individuals “who in good faith and in a timely manner [request] medical assistance” for themselves or others “shall not be arrested, prosecuted, or convicted for possessing, or having under his or her control, a controlled drug… if the evidence for the charge was gained as a proximate result of the request for medical assistance.”

In a statement on the bill, Governor Hassan said, “The rising rate of heroin and opioid overdoses is one of the most pressing public health and safety challenges facing our state.” She continued, “House Bill 270 will… help us save lives by encouraging people to seek emergency medical assistance for themselves or others without fearing prosecution for possession. And through our efforts with legislators from both parties, we developed a narrower bill to address some of the concerns of the Attorney General’s Office and the law enforcement community. I thank Representative Bouldin and the bipartisan group of legislators who worked this session to help us save more lives in the midst of this opioid epidemic.”

Seabrook Police Department’s Acting Lieutenant Brett Walker told The Daily News of Newburyport, “This is an age old problem. People in the presence of an overdose victim sometimes won’t call us right away. They’ll wait and clean up the place before they call. Then, when we get there, we find the place clean and it can take a lot of coaxing to get them to tell us the person used heroin or other drugs.” Lieutenant Walker said that he hopes that the new law will help clarify that police and first responders in drug overdose situations “are trying to save lives and not trick anyone” into self-incrimination.

The Associated Press notes that the bill, which is set to take effect in 60 days, is designed to sunset on September 1, 2018.

House Bill 270 prevailed in bipartisan fashion, passing first in New Hampshire’s GOP-led House of Representatives and Senate before being signed by the state’s Democratic governor.

“This law, referred to as the ‘good Samaritan law,’ is important because it encourages individuals present during an opioid or heroin overdose to call for life-saving medical assistance for overdose victims, granting them immunity from arrest in these instances. The intent of this law is to save the lives of overdose victims and this legislation takes another step towards addressing the heroin and opioid crisis that has affected communities across the state… I hope the legislature will continue to bring forward long-term solutions to end this critical drug epidemic in our state,” said State Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) in comments to the Londonderry Patch.

Election, Government Accountability, Politics

Hillary Clinton Hides From Reporters During New Hampshire Parade

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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is facing a new wave of criticism after it was reported that journalists were “roped off” from Clinton during a July Fourth parade in New Hampshire.

While walking and talking to potential voters, Clinton’s campaign aides set up a rope between the journalists and the candidate. New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Jennifer Horn said that Clinton “continues to demonstrate her obvious contempt and disdain for the Granite State’s style of grassroots campaigning.” Horn went on to call the use of a rope “a sad joke and insults the traditions of our first-in-the-nation primary.”

 This is the second time within several weeks that the Clinton campaign has been accused of denying a reporter access to at least one campaign event.

Maggie Haberman, Presidential campaign correspondent for the NY Times, tweeted “Spectacle of Clinton as candidate – press being pulled along with a rope, Benghazi protester screams “carpetbagger”

Fox News and The New York Times also reported that the event was marked by a handful of protesters heckling Clinton.  The protesters were holding signs and shouting questions to Mrs. Clinton about her involvement with the 2012 terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americans were killed.

Regarding the rope fiasco, the Clinton Campaign told CNN: “While the GOP might want to spin a good yarn on this, let’s not get tied up in knots. We wanted to accommodate the press, allow (Clinton) greet voters (sic.) And allow the press to be right there in the parade with her, as opposed to preset locations.”

Editor’s Pick, Featured, Opinion, US

1,500 Liberty Lovers Gather At 12th Annual PorcFest

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kh-uqV5GJM

The Free State Project’s 12th annual week-long Porcupine Freedom Festival, also known as PorcFest, concluded last Sunday. Truth In Media’s Annabelle Bamforth visited PorcFest to catch a glimpse of some of the activities at the festival, which takes place at Roger’s Campground in Lancaster, New Hampshire.

PorcFest is the Free State Project’s premier summer event that showcases the movement’s purpose, which is to inspire 20,000 individuals to move to New Hampshire in pursuit of personal liberty. A large number of attendees bring their camping gear to spend the week enjoying the festivities and ample space offered at Roger’s Campground, surrounded by one of the state’s most scenic mountain regions.

Personal freedom encompasses the atmosphere of the FSP and PorcFest, and attendees had plenty of avenues to explore. The following is a mere sampling of events that PorcFest had to offer:

  • Tours of New Hampshire’s scenic North Country
  • Appearances by Lenore Skenazy discussing the “free-range kids” movement
  • A kombucha-brewing tutorial
  • Discussion from residents in different regions of NH offering their perspective on ideal locations in which to settle
  • A Q&A session with Ross Ulbricht’s mother, Lyn Ulbricht, following the screening of the Silk Road documentary Deep Web
  • A “Jury Rights Jeopardy” game testing its attendees about juror’s rights
  • Daily activities for families and children
  • A lecture from Muslims 4 Liberty about spreading the voluntaryist message globally
  • Yoga and various dance classes
  • Screening of 101 Reasons: Liberty Lives In New Hampshire
  • Annual cook-off hosted by The Liberty Ladies of NH
  • A panel examining different forms of activism
  • A Crony Awards ceremony to award various crony capitalist “winners”
  • A speech from Julie Borowski about spreading the liberty message to a broader audience
  • Discussion from recent FSP “new movers” sharing their moving stories
  • Multiple discussions to assist people interested in running for elected positions locally and statewide

Many of the discussions and events illustrated New Hampshire as a state boasting a low tax burden, a diverse and thriving economy, a high quality of life, and a state legislature striving to limit government authority.

Beyond PorcFest’s pavilion area stood Agora Valley, the vendors’ section of Porcfest. Attendees visiting Agora Valley had access to over 60 vendors near the campsites offering freshly prepared meals, handmade products, Bulletproof coffee, endless varieties of homemade canned goods, locally caught trout, a vending machine refurbished to accept bitcoin, a great deal of pro-liberty literature, and plenty in between. Amanda Bouldin, whose homemade ice cream stand is a PorcFest favorite, enjoyed her sixth year at the event serving up flavors like Surveillance State Strawberry, WaterMolon Labe, Orwellian Oreo, and Constitutional Carry Chocolate Cherry.

Two agents from New Hampshire’s Department of Revenue made an appearance at this year’s PorcFest in an attempt to ensure that the food vendors at Agora Valley had “proper licensing” and were collecting the state’s meal tax at the festival. The agents warned that some vendors could be considered non-compliant. The incident, caught on video, showed a confrontation between the agents and Free Keene’s Ian Freeman. The agents were quickly notified that they were on private property and were asked to leave. After speaking with the campground’s owner, the agents exited without gaining access to any vendor paperwork.

Matt Philips, a FSP participant, spoke with Bamforth about his experience organizing this year’s PorcFest with his girlfriend, Kristin Weitzel. Philips estimated that at least 1,500 attendees were to be expected over the week and said that as the FSP grows, PorcFest grows steadily as well.

“We’re longtime Burning Man people,” said Philips of himself and Weitzel, “so we bring a little bit of that perspective.” He said that his time volunteering as a Black Rock Ranger at Burning Man inspired him to organize a new set of volunteers, called Porc Rangers, to assist at PorcFest. “They can summon medical, they can summon community support, they can help people help themselves,” said Philips.

Philips also spoke of the “principles of Porcfest,” something that he and others have been working on to “identify the parts of the culture that we really want to emphasize, get more of.”

“We’re trying to get people who think they might be interested to come, meet everyone, see what it’s about,” said Philips. “To see the experimentation that’s going on here with the vendors and the people here around each other. The little microcosm of the free society that we could have if we all came to this one place and magnified, amplified, each other’s efforts.”

There are innumerable tenets that draw such a large crowd to PorcFest. Some attendees had specific advice to share or to seek. Some attended to hear speeches relevant to their principles. Some attendees have described the event as a week-long experimentation showing what a truly free society could look like. Some simply wanted to go camping with like-minded friends. No matter what brings them to Lancaster year after year, PorcFest is an ideal setting for liberty-loving guests to unite in celebration of the Free State Project’s motto: “Liberty In Our Lifetime.”

 

Election

Dem. Strategist: Bernie Could BEAT Hillary In Iowa, New Hampshire [VIDEO]

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By Christian Datoc

Maria Cardona — a democratic strategist and self-described Hillary supporter — said on “This Week” Sunday there is a very real possibility Bernie Sanders will win the Democratic primaries in both Iowa and New Hampshire.

Cardona told host Jonathan Karl that, “Bernie is from a neighboring state. We should not be surprised that there is so much enthusiasm for him,” reports the Free Beacon.

Still, Cardona remained nonplussed by the prospect of Sanders’ primary victories. “Ultimately — as a Hillary supporter — I think she will be the nominee, and I think, ” the experience gained in beating the 73-year-old socialist Independent will make her “that much better of a nominee and that much better of a candidate.”

WATCH:

[h/t: Free Beacon]

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Election

Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential Bid Soars, Polling Second In New Hampshire

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Billionaire Donald Trump kicked off his 2016 presidential bid just over one week ago and is already polling in the top tier of Republican candidates.

According to a poll of New Hampshire Republicans, the real estate mogul with just under $9 billion dollars in assets is only trailing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

The poll, conducted by Suffolk University, surveyed 500 likely GOP presidential primary voters and found that 14 percent back Bush. Trump is right behind at 11 percent. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio come next with 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson came in at 6 percent, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 5 percent. No other candidates earned more than 5 percent.

On Monday, Trump officially filed his paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission. Early on, Trump announced that he would need to make enough of a splash in order to qualify for the top-tier Republican debates.

Fox News announced its plan to only include the top 10 Republican presidential candidates in its televised GOP debate. Since that first announcement, Fox News decided to host a candidate forum before the first debate (essentially a junior-varsity debate) at 1 p.m. Eastern time on August 6 at Quicken Loans Arena. Bill Hemmer and Martha MacCallum are slated to host the event. The network’s top-tier, prime time debate is happening on the same day, in the same location, at 9 p.m. EDT, hosted by anchors Bret Baier, Chris Wallace and Megyn Kelly.

Trump’s quick splash into the Republican field doesn’t come without its own controversy. While Trump is polling second behind Jeb Bush, he also has the highest unfavorable ratings of any Republican candidate. In the Suffolk Poll, 49 percent of respondents say they have an unfavorable opinion of him and only 37 percent viewed him positively.

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Election

Poll Shows Bernie Sanders Surging In New Hampshire

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By Kerry Picket

MANCHESTER, N.H.–Although Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is leading her primary opponents by wide margins in early key states, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders seems to be catching up with her in the Granite State.

According to a poll released by The Morning Consult, the Vermont Senator is now trailing Clinton in nearby New Hampshire.

“But in the state that provided Clinton her biggest boost in 2008, the margin is much closer: Among voters who say they will participate in New Hampshire’s Democratic primary, 44 percent choose Clinton, while 32 percent pick Sanders, who hails from neighboring Vermont,” the poll says.

Vice President Joe Biden is shown with 11 percent of Democratic voter support in New Hampshire after Sanders.

Additionally, the poll shows that just 43 percent of New Hampshire voters say they approve of the job President Obama is doing. Fifty-six percent say otherwise.  Similar to New Hampshire’s swing state status, Iowa is shows Obama’s job approval rating as low as well.

The poll cautions that “any Democrat who captures the party’s presidential title could be saddled with an albatross named Barack Obama.”

 

Truth In Media Poll:

Activism, Election, Politics

Bizarre: Rand Paul Staffer Licks Camera, Overshadows Paul’s Surge in Endorsements

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On Monday, Rand Paul’s presidential campaign made explosive gains in New Hampshire, home of the 2016 presidential election’s first primary contest. WMUR-TV notes that Senator Paul picked up endorsements from 20 Republican members of New Hampshire’s House of Representatives, and, according to Newsweek, he had just surged past Hillary Clinton in the state in a new poll by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

However, the mainstream media all but ignored news of his advances in the trendsetting state, largely because of a bizarre incident, seen in the above-embedded video, involving a controversial member of Rand Paul’s New Hampshire campaign staff. At a Monday Rand Paul rally in Londonderry, NH, a staffer, identified by The Washington Post as Paul’s New Hampshire political director David Chesley, licked the camera of a tracker assigned by liberal opposition research super PAC American Bridge 21st Century to follow Republican candidates and film them in an effort to catch them in gaffes. Video of the incident subsequently spread through the media like wildfire, refocusing the nation’s attention on David Chesley’s behavior, rather than Rand Paul’s impressive surge in endorsements.

Aaron Day, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire and the liberty-focused Stark360 PAC, spoke exclusively to Truth in Media and said that Chesley “has typically been an establishment Republican in the past” and that he is “shocked and dismayed to see him [as political director for Paul’s campaign].” When asked whether he thought that Chesley’s now-famous lick was an intentional attempt to upstage the Paul campaign’s New Hampshire surge, Day said, “I don’t think it was intentional, but David Chesley is manifestly unqualified to head New Hampshire for Rand Paul’s campaign.”

Describing Chesley’s background and associations in New Hampshire politics, Day said, “[Chesley] worked directly for the New Hampshire GOP prior to the campaign and was recently involved in trying to engineer the New Hampshire Young Republican leadership election on behalf of [Senator] Kelly Ayotte.” The New Hampshire GOP’s website lists Chesley as a Senior Advisor and Political Director. Day said that he believes that Chesley was at one time a paid consultant for New Hampshire’s Republican Party.

Rand Paul campaign officials declined Truth In Media‘s request for a comment on the incident.

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Featured, US

NH Democrat Asks Republicans “Have you looked at euthanasia?” to Balance the Budget

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By Patrick Howley 

A Democratic state representative in New Hampshire compared Republican resistance toward raising spending to euthanasia.

“Since we are refusing to raise revenues to fund needed programs, to fund services for disabled for example, have you looked at euthanasia?” Democratic Rep. Michael Cahill said Wednesday on the state House floor during New Hampshire’s budget battle.

Cahill asked the snarky rhetorical question to Republican Rep. Dan McGuire.

“The member is out of order,” replied Republican House speaker Shawn Jasper.

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Civil Liberties, Election, Featured, Politics, US

Rand Sounds Off On Indefinite Detention- Next POTUS Must Support the Entire Bill of Rights

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Kentucky Senator and possible presidential candidate Rand Paul met potential voters at Fulchino Vineyard in Hollis, New Hampshire on Saturday, March 21st. Republican New Hampshire State Senator Kevin Avard, a Paul supporter, emceed the event that attracted over 100 “First in the Nation” primary voters.

The potential GOP field seeking the party’s nomination is expected to be wide. With Chris Christie, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham making recent visits to the state, Paul presented his case with what he says sets his campaign apart from others: a strict adherence to the entire Bill of Rights. Paul stated that, as a group, elected GOP lawmakers support the 2nd amendment but that wasn’t enough.

“But you want to defend the whole Bill of Rights. You can’t defend the 2nd amendment if you don’t support the 1st amendment. You can’t defend the 2nd amendment if you don’t defend the 4th amendment,” Paul said.

Regarding the 4th amendment, Paul turned to the National Defense Authorization Act’s “Indefinite Detention” clause found in section 1021 which reads:

c) …. The disposition of a person under the law of war… may include the following:
(1) Detention under the law of war without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force…

Paul said: “We now have a law on our books called ‘Indefinite Detention.’ An American citizen can be detained without a trial… You want to know what the President said? He said ‘I’m signing this, I’m troubled by this, but I’m signing this but look at me, I’m a good man and will never use this.’ We won’t get into the discussion of whether that is true or not but the thing is laws are not about one individual, but who comes after them.”

When asked for comment, PANDA (People Against National Defense Authorization Act) Jason Casella  had this to say about Paul’s remarks: “Though it’s excellent to see the Indefinite detention provisions and laws of war now contained in the NDAA are finally a topic of discussion for presidential hopefuls, the rest of the country has been taking action for years. It remains to be seen if the discussion moves to action in the 2016 races, but time and again it has been proven that if the people of America want their rights protected, it will be the people themselves to do it.”

Some of Senator Paul’s potential primary opponents have also weighed in on the NDAA:

Ted Cruz (S-TX), also a vocal opponent of the provision, stated this in his reasoning for voting against the 2014 NDAA:

“I voted against the National Defense Authorization Act. I am deeply concerned that Congress still has not prohibited President Obama’s ability to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens arrested on American soil without trial or due process.”

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on U.S. citizens suspected of having ties with Al Qaeda under NDAA section 1021 guidelines: “And when they say, ‘I want my lawyer,’ you tell them: ‘Shut up. You don’t get a lawyer.” (Source)

NH State Senator Kevin Avard had this to say about Senator Paul’s presentation:

“We need to be the party that defends not only the 2nd amendment but the 1st and 4th and 5th, meaning all the Bill of Rights and reach out to all groups in our society. National defense is the highest priority but so also is our national debt which is as much a part of our security.”

The most recent poll (NBC News/Marist) taken in New Hampshire has Senator Paul in 3rd place at 14% behind current Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at 15% and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at 18%.

While the Senator has libertarian leaning roots, some in the Libertarian Party are split on Paul’s GOP candidacy. According to The Daily Beast, Nevada LP Chair Brett H. Pojunis stated that “‘Libertarian’ is now just a buzzword for Republicans like the Kentucky Senator. If Senator Paul was a libertarian: Well, OK then—join the Libertarian Party!”

With many undecided voters lingering in the Granite State, Paul’s presentation made this impression on NH resident Keith DeSantis:

“Senator Rand Paul emphasized not only the importance of the Bill of Rights, but why the Bill of Rights are important. His platform is focused on defending the entire Bill of Rights, instead of a single right or issue. It’s the message I think that appeals to a lot of people on both sides of the political spectrum.”