Vol. CCLVI, No. 22 July 27, 2012
The New Hampshire Gazette
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The Fortnightly Rant
Mitt the Mysterious If Mitt Romney had run against a field of old-school Republicans like former Senators Dick Lugar, Arlen Spector, and Bob “Bob Dole” Dole, he wouldn’t have had a chance. The combined weight of his polystyrene personality, his weathervane record on the issues, and his corporate raider career would have pulled him under. Instead, to his great good fortune, he was surrounded by the most spectacularly ludicrous collection of blithering idiots ever to sully a debate stage. And so, here we are: struggling through our fifth year of a fiscal catastrophe wrought by Wall Street desperadoes, and the Republican Party is going to nominate Willard Mitt Romney, a secretive corporate raider with a stratospheric net worth for President. Whoever he is …. Taxes, Schmaxes When George Romney released twelve years worth of tax returns during the 1968 Presidential campaign, news reports said the move was unprecedented. Now his son Mitt seems to be saying it was unwise as well. Romney père said he released so much information because “one year could be a fluke.” Mitt claims he has released two years of returns, for 2010 and 2011, but — shockingly — that’s not quite true. Mitt Romney did release his IRS 1040 for 2010 in January, and it was an eye-opener — or eye-roller or eye-glazer, take your pick. The damned thing is 203 pages long. Romney’s total income was $22,661,344 — about 596 times as much as the average American’s salary of $38,000. Hell, it probably cost him more than $38K to get his taxes done. Whatever he paid
his accountant, though, he got his money’s worth. His effective tax rate was just 15 percent. Romney did not, however, release a Report on Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or “FBAR,” for 2010. Huffington Post has reported that “it is almost certain that Romney did file the form,” since it’s mandatory for those who, like Romney, maintained bank accounts worth as much as $32 million in Switzerland, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands; and the penalties for failing to file it are severe. Until Romney releases his FBAR, we’ll just have to take his word that his once-secret foreign bank accounts were all squeakyclean. The Wimpy Gambit As for his 2011 tax return, it has been released in the sense that Popeye’s friend Wimpy has paid for his hamburger — we’ll get it in October, or so we’re told. Clearly tired of having to deal with the issue, Romney left it to his Queen wife Marie Ann to tell the guttersnipes of the press: “We’ve given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life.” As Memo Cordova [@m3mo] Tweeted, “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what #YouPeople can do for the Romneys.” The Blind Banking For The Blind Shortly after the news broke about Romney’s foreign bank accounts, his campaign held a “town hall” in Portland, ME. Naturally the hand-picked audience was generally friendly. One brave woman, though, stood up to ask, “Do you think it’s patriotic of you to stash money away in the Cay-
man Islands?” The audience booed, but Romney shushed them. Then he passed the buck, explaining that he had nothing to do with setting up the accounts — his assets had been put in a blind trust. In response, The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart resurrected a video clip of Mitt Romney saying in 1994, “The blind trust is an ageold ruse … you can always tell a blind trust what it can and cannot do. You give a blind trust rules.” Tropical Treasure Mitt Romney has somehow managed to create an IRA that is worth about $100 million. As a wag pointed out, the average peasant-grade American, who is only allowed to put about $6,000 a year into his IRA, could do the same — as long as he maxed out his contribution for 16,666 years running. Romney’s campaign claims that
he derives no tax advantage from parking his IRA in the Caymans, but the Wall Street Journal seems skeptical. It quoted tax experts saying the strategy could have helped Romney dodge a 35 percent “unrelated business income tax.” Olympian Transparency Romney likes to tout his tenure as President of the Salt Lake Olympics as evidence of his management ability. It’s difficult to judge his performance, though, since the records are no more available than his FBAR is. When Romney took the reins of the Salt Lake Olympics, he promised the organization would adhere to “the most open documents policy of any enterprise.” But, as ABC News reported July 23rd, the archived records now at the University of Utah are still off limits to the public. Many others, including contracts with vendors,
Romney’s correspondence, emails, and appointment calendars, were probably destroyed, according to Fraser Bullock. Bullock is “a close friend of Romney’s who oversaw the process of winding down the Games,” according to ABC. He “has deep ties to Romney through not only the Olympics,” ABC notes, “but through Bain, and now as a fundraiser for the campaign.” Hard-Driving Governor Romney traded on his Olympics experience when he ran for Governor of Massachusetts — a job he seemed to value most as a springboard to the Presidency. When he left that office his staff bought and removed the hard drives from their computers, leaving nary a trace of emails or memos or other documentation behind. Why, it’s almost as if the man has something to hide ….
Gamble With Sheriff Szabo Four weeks ago we mentioned Frank W. Szabo of Goffstown, who had declared his candidacy for Sheriff of Hillsborough County and was expounding — with a little help from the New Hampshire Republican Party’s official website — on his rather eccentric view of that position’s allegedly expansive powers. Szabo has now informed us that in support of his candidacy he will — what else? — host “two Monte Carlo Night FUNdraisers,” complete with “four hours of faux gambling, including blackjack, craps and roulette. Heavy hors d’oeurves [sic] will be served along with a cash bar.” You know you’re living in the 21st century when a Republicanaffiliated candidate for a law en-
forcement position raises funds for his campaign with faux gambling. Important If True We’ve just received an important last-minute dispatch from Szabo. Headlined “No Such Thing As Constitutional Rights,” it maintains that “the Sheriff is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in the county and has no superior.” Consequently, “[n]o federal or state agency has authority in the county unless the Sheriff permits it.” It follows, therefore, that, “[i]f, in the Sheriff ’s opinion, a proposed action is unconstitutional, the Sheriff is duty-bound, and authorized, to block it.” We hope the U.S. Marshal’s office, the FBI, and U.S. Postal Inspectors have been properly briefed on these fine points of
Constitutional law, because otherwise there might be some misunderstanding. Topped That If Szabo thinks he’s sent us the most impressive message of the fortnight, he underestimates our correspondents. On Sunday, July 15, God Allah* emailed us. “Hi,” God wrote, “This is a personal message from God Allah* to you. It may be the only message you ever receive from Me so please respond. “I, God Allah,* am here in the U.S.A. looking for a church or mosque, etc. to receive Me. If you know of a church or mosque, business, community, etc. avail-
News Briefs
Taxing Our Credulity Judging from the protestations of their friends in the Republican Party, U.S. corporations are being taxed too much. How much is too much? Any, apparently. Susan Ford, Corning, Inc.’s Vice President of Tax, testified before the House Ways and Means Committee last week, saying that “in 2011, Corning’s U.S. effective tax rate, including state taxes, was approximately 36 percent,” while its average foreign effective tax rate was just 17 percent. Based on those facts, she said that a “substantial reduction in the statutory tax rate is critical.” Which all seems just a bit odd since, according to Citizens for Tax Justice [CTJ], “between 2008 and 2010, Corning didn’t pay a dime in federal corporate
income taxes, actually receiving a $4 million refund to add to its $1.9 billion in U.S. profits during this period. And a more recent CTJ report found that, in 2011, Corning earned almost $1 billion in U.S. pretax income and once again didn’t pay a dime in federal income tax.” Your Congress At Work Rep. Darrell Issa [R-CA] was featured prominently in our previous Rant for his ludicrous pursuit of [in]justice in the Fast and Furious farce. He has made the news again for something almost as fatuous. Issa is now proposing legislation that would name U.S. territorial waters, which extend as far as 200 miles offshore, “the Ronald Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone.”
* Blessings and peace be upon Him.
News Briefs to page two
Page 2 - The New Hampshire Gazette - Friday, July 27, 2012
News Briefs from page one able to receive and welcome God Allah* for the purposes previously explained by the religious organizations, please email Me at god @ llah.MOBI (no spaces). “For more information please contact Allah’s* VM/SMS +1707-925-2488.” We might have thought it was all a joke or a hoax, but the message came with an authoritative series of disclaimers, excerpts of which follow: “NOTE: Due to the nature of electronic communications, it is possible you may have difficulty reaching Allah,* therefore, please accept this apology for any communication errors during this interim …. “NOTE: Due to the nature of divinity, it is possible this is the last message from God Allah* to you personally. “NOTE: Due to the nature of this emergency, there could be spiritual ramifications for your failure to comply.” Bill O’Brien, Information Tsar For obvous reasons God Allah’s* communique made us think
of Bill O’Brien. Not content with being merely the Speaker of the New Hampshire House, O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) has crowned himself Information Tsar as well. He barred Concord Monitor reporters Annmarie Timmins and Matt Spolar from a press conference on July 6th. Apparently the Speaker is no longer on speaking terms with the Capitol City’s daily paper. Ryan O’Connor, who writes for Bedford-NH.Patch.com, is still in O’Brien’s good graces, it seems. He caught up with O’Brien at a barbeque in Bedford on July 19th which was hosted by the Koch Brothers’ astroturf organization Americans for Prosperity. O’Brien told O’Connor he won’t deal with the Monitor’s reporters because they’e not “legitimate journalists,” but “propagandists.” Frank Gaffney, Part Duh We used up a considerable amount of space in our previous paper desperately trying to correct the record on Frank Gaffney, the subject of a press release credulously re-printed as news on July 11th by Portsmouth’s AwardWinning Local Daily. * Blessings and peace be upon Him.
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Gaffney, a legend in his own mind, has spent the last few decades turning a careless appointment made by a senescent former President into a steady meal ticket by running his very own Right Wing propaganda mill, which he calls the Center for Security Policy [CSP]. He visited the region to speak to the Seacoast Republican Women and the Rotary. Rather than print what he said about himself, as the AWLD had done, we briefly and factually summarized his career. The contrast was startling and, we hope, entertaining. There have since been two further developments on the Gaffney front. The same day we published, the AWLD printed a second piece on Gaffney’s visit. It matter-of-factly described a hair-on-fire talk about the blood-curdling consequences if “a nation such as Iran” (a) had nuclear weapons, (b) had intercontinental ballistic missiles, and, (c) was suicidal enough to insert weapon (a) into missile (b) and explode it over the fruited plains of our beloved Homeland.
We are disappointed to report that Gaffney seems not to have addressed the Obama Administration’s abject failure to protect us against the equally probable threats posed by zombies and vampires. Also, on July 15th, in Cairo, enraged Egyptians pelted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with shoes and tomatoes and taunted her with chants of “Monica! Monica!” Their hostility stemmed from a convoluted conspiracy theory which holds that the Muslim Brotherhood is the puppet of a covert U.S. campaign to control Egypt. This theory did not originate in some dusty Cairo side street, but in the no-doubt sumptuouslyappointed multi-media studio where Gaffney’s CSP produced a ten-part fearfest/podcast titled, “The Muslim Brotherhood in America: The Enemy Within.” Gaffney professes to fear that (a), the Muslim world will not rest until every red-blooded American is subjected to Sharia law, and (b), there’s a chance in a billion that they could pull it off.
He also professes to believe that the State Department is involved in some sort of hanky-panky with the Muslim Brotherhood that will eventually result in Presidents taking the Oath of Office on a Koran. We doubt that Frank actually believes this stuff. Nobody smart enough to keep a racket this thin going on for so long could really be that dumb. On Radicals “The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.” — H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) How To Vote in NH Thanks to a huge cadre of volunteers administering a sensible set of laws, voting in New Hampshire has traditionally been a simple and satisfying experience. Whether one’s preferred candidates won or lost, simply taking
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part in the process offered a sense of being part of something valuable and good. New Hampshire’s new breed of Republicans have done their best to fix that. Undaunted, the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire has produced two one-page fliers explaining what voters will need to know to overcome the GOP’s voter-suppression schemes and successfully vote in 2012. “We’re concerned that people will believe that they can’t vote if they don’t have a photo ID,” said Liz Tentarelli, co-president of the New Hampshire League, in a press release. “That is not the case, even with the new law. Every New Hampshire citizen, 18 or over, has the right to vote and will be able to vote in the September 11 State Primary and the November 6 General and Presidential Election. “No one has to show a photo ID to get a ballot in September. The Ballot Clerks will ask for one but it’s not required. In November, people will be asked to show a photo ID but many IDs will be acceptable and anyone can sign an affidavit if they don’t have a photo ID. The bottom line is that every New Hampshire citizen over 18
can vote this fall. “The only real change voters will see in the voter registration law is additional wording we believe is targeted at students and meant to scare them away from voting. We will be working closely with other organizations and individuals over the next few months to ensure that every eligible citizen — college students included — is able to vote,” Tentarelli said. The fliers are available on the League’s website at www.lwvnh. org/Elections. Organizations and individuals are invited to copy them for voter education activities. Nuclear Film Series “Nuclear Dangers — Past, Present, and Future” is the theme of a summer film series sponsored by the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League (SAPL) every other Wednesday evening through September in various Seacoast towns. The series includes films on the history of nuclear power development, major accidents including last year’s Fukushima disaster and current and future issues facing this controversial power industry. Each showing will be followed by open discussion led by local leaders on these issues. Next to be shown will be Seabrook 1977, at the Seabrook Pub-
Ninety-nine percent of the Harley-Davidsons that come through Market Square have no soul. This one is different. See “Clemson’s Harley,” at right.
© 2012 by Dan Woodman
lic Library, 25 Liberty Lane, on August 1, at 6:00 p.m. Each film is free and open to the public. A complete listing of film dates, locations and descriptions is available at SAPL’s website www.saplnh.org. Clemson’s Harley Our Wandering Photographer is immune to the alleged charms of most Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The rig shown at left was another matter. Clemson, its owner, who didn’t volunteer a last name, told its story: “After the [Second World] War, a lot of guys just came home and wanted to buy new [motorcycles], even if they had a running bike. So a lot of these old ones were just forgotten in the barn. And of course, back then, just like now, no one ever thinks something’s ever going to be worth something. “Also, during the war, the rubber tires were needed for the war effort. So a lot of bikes were stripped of their rubber. This one was — there was no rubber on it. “So what would happen a lot, I think, is that it would come to be thought of as useless. You know, there’s no tires on it, it’s sitting in the barn — it could have been just
dumped there to get rid of it …. Just throw it in the river.” Which is where Clemson found this bike — on the bottom of Vermont’s Winooski River. A musician and a motorcycle mechanic, Clemson first got wind of this bike about twelve years ago while hanging out in Vermont with a musician friend. “He was telling me about how he found a motorcycle underwater when he was snorkling for lures. There was this place in the river where everybody was losing their lures. “It was probably a year after he told me that story we saw each other again, our bands played together, and I said, ‘I’m going to stay up for the night, I’m not gonna go back with the band, and tomorrow you’re gonna show me where this motorcycle is.’ I brought come-alongs and everything. He thought I was nuts. I am a motorcycle mechanic, and I thought maybe it was something old. And sure enough, it was.” Specifically, it’s a 1933 HarleyDavidson VLE, with a 74 cubic inch flathead engine. “That particular bike is the lowest production model that Harley
ever made,” Clemson said. “They only made 800 of them. It was in the middle of the Depression and they were on the verge of going out of business. So there can’t be too many of those around.” And fewer still resurrected after decades underwater. “Everybody told me I couldn’t do it, because when I pulled it out, of course, it was just a complete rusted mess. But I was able to salvage the frame, the [engine] cases, the flywheels, the connecting rods, the front forks ….” It took Clemson five years to get the bike roadworthy. He doesn’t know how many miles he’s put on it. “I stopped keeping track. A lot. I ride it a lot.” Ever think of selling it? “She’s, uh …. I don’t know …. It’s not like any other machine or something. There’s been a couple of times where I was tempted to sell it because it’s the only thing I have that’s worth any type of money, and a little bit of capital might be able to change my life in some ways. But … I can’t do it. Because I have to separate her from having anything to do with money or worth, because the connection is really special.”
Page 4 - The New Hampshire Gazette - Friday, July 27, 2012
Challenges Gazette To the Editor: As the oldest newspaper in America, and one which represents the core values of American democracy, I challenge your newspaper to reprint this poster in one of your editions. Four more years of MarxistLenin [sic] socialism is not what the Founding Fathers envisioned for America. The U.S. Constitution will never be “out of date.” It is the very background of our heritage and if we abandon it to this current trend of altered interpretation based upon the commune system which failed in the U.S.S.R., then we shall pay a price that will border on a disaster of the first magnitude, similar to that which Winston Churchill faced when he assumed the post of Prime Minister of Great Britain when facing an onslaught facing National Socialist Germany. Craig R. Vance Madison, WI Craig: We’re sorry to disappoint, but printing your home-made poster large enough to do it justice would crowd out our other correspondence. We will, however, describe it for our readers. The 11 by 17-inch poster is bordered with red, white and blue stars and stripes. The top half is dominated by a full-color photo of Gov-
ernor Romney standing in front of an old barn and an American flag, his smile seeming to reflect some deep inner satisfaction. The bottom half contains the slogan, “Romney for President 2012 — Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” in handscissored letters suggestive of a ransom note. We assume you read our paper courtesy of the Historical Society of Wisconsin, which has been a subscriber for many years. If so, please extend to them our best regards. As for your comments on the Constitution and “four more years,” we hardly know what to say. The Editor § Free Trade Costs the U.S. Jobs To the Editor: President Obama’s going to Ohio to challenge candidate Mitt Romney on economy-damaging jobs-exportation makes me remember a May event. In early May the President signed new free trade agreements with Colombia, as well as South Korea and Panama. A Brookings Institute report online (May 17, “Celebrating Colombia’s Free Trade Agreement”) makes me leery: “Colombian agriculture has been protected by a regime of no-taxes, but it will now face large-scale and more efficient U.S. producers. Small manufacturers will need to invest in computer and electronic equipment to develop their budgets, and marketing strategy.” The farmers and small manufacturers in Colombia have been tossed to the corporate wolves. What I really expected from our transformative president was Fair Trade agreements. Fair Trade has been around for years now, with chocolate and coffee products on our store shelves, especially in our health food stores and co-ops.
What is Obama doing, being stuck in the old Clinton-Bush mentalities and signing those agreements that cause jobs to leave the country and make hardships for small people? Now he challenges Romney on his actions causing jobs to leave the country? We really are in corporations’ hands, whoever is U.S. president. We should disband our current political parties and instead vote for Corporations or People, with a -C after our names when we register or a -P. Can you imagine the fresh faces we’d get when candidates are vying to represent the People? What a revolution it’d be! Lynn Rudmin Chong Sanbornton, NH § Duncan for Council To the Editor: As you vote for Governor this fall, your vote for Executive Council is just as critical. Whether you know it or not, it impacts many aspects of your personal and professional life. The power of the State’s Executive Council lies fact that the Governor must get the Council’s in its approval of all appointments and contracts — hundreds of decisions each month. But the current Executive Council has misused its power and made partisan political decisions. For instance, responding to road builders and bus operators, it voted to reject a $4 million federal grant to plan a much needed commuter rail service from Boston up to Manchester and Concord. They also rejected federal funding for a health care insurance exchange that would reflect our real needs in New Hampshire. There are many important decisions coming in the Executive
Mash Notes, Hate Mail,
Council’s next term — in healthcare, transportation, education and many other areas important to all of us. We can’t afford more partisan political decision making. New Hampshire’s proud history of democracy in its state government should not be overturned by a few at the expense of the many, which is why we need Bill Duncan, not the partisan Chris Sununu, as our Councilor for District 3. Bill Duncan, a military veteran, businessman and education advocate, will represent our district with respect and regard to all and restore balance to the Council. Vote for Bill Duncan, Executive Council. Jan Dunn Stratham, NH Jan: We seldom see such a clear-cut choice in an Executive Council race. Duncan could replace Sununu? Bring it on! The Editor § Cut Middle Class Taxes To the Editor: President Obama has a vision for an economy built from the middle out, which reforms our tax code so it rewards work over wealth and ends loopholes and tax breaks for corporations and the wealthiest. Since day one, President Obama has cut middle-class taxes to benefit every working family. A typical family making $50,000 a year has seen its taxes cut by $3,600 under President Obama. His middle-class tax cuts have helped us recover from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression — and they’re helping
restore the middle-class security undermined by the failed policies of the past that Mitt Romney wants to repeat. Mitt Romney’s plan would add $5 trillion in new tax cuts for the wealthiest, which would result in higher deficits, higher taxes on middle-class families, or even more drastic cuts to investments in middle class security, like education, clean energy, and innovation and infrastructure. New Hampshire just can’t afford Romney Economics. Merryl Goldman Alexandria, NH § Hassan for Governor To the Editor: Maggie Hassan is an Exeter business attorney, was a State Senator from 2004 to 2010 and was a Democratic Senate majority leader. She is running for Governor in the 2012 elections. She would like to expand the New Hampshire work force and considers job creation and education as her two top priorities. She points out that education goes hand in hand with jobs and wants the legislature to re-visit the cuts they made recently to community colleges and to UNH. During her years in the Senate she made sure that every child could go to public kindergarten. She changed the high school drop-out age from 16 to 18 (however the new Tea Party Republicans have now changed it back to 16). Maggie supported the creation of the original research-and-development tax credit and she applauds Governor Lynch’s efforts to ask the legislators to double that tax credit. The present legislature raised taxes on
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And Other Correspondence hospitals by $300 million and cut transportation funding. Maggie thinks that agendas like that are harmful to New Hampshire communities. She would like to have Democrats and Republicans work together to solve many issues. Please consider voting for Maggie Hassan for Governor. She is a conscientious, intelligent and forward-thinking person who studies the problems and follows through with workable solutions. Sue Kaplan Exeter, NH § Choosing the Best Candidate To the Editor: For any elected position, look for principles that make America strong. Those encourage a balance between capitalism and socialism; the desire to compete and control with an ideal of public service, as individuals and in business. Expect this from those truly patriotic, but demand it from the rest. We’ve all seen reckless greed and competition take jobs out of the country and ruin our economy. Healthcare benefits are cut to increase corporate profits. Public programs are cut because taxes don’t provide needed funding. We are not in balance. The chosen candidate(s) must use their office to regulate those that won’t do it voluntarily. We are all responsible for our community. The person seeking elective office has a much greater responsibility to the group. They cannot have hidden loyalties or use their position to profit themselves or their friends. We must know who they associate with, their finances and personal views. It is the same when interview-
ing a person for a job opening, or deciding who to date. Trust is earned. Given the candidates running for office of President, I must support Obama. His administration is making progress getting our country back in balance: much more to do. Warren Isleib Nashua, NH § Guinta Misleads on Medicare To the Editor: I received a flyer, paid for by the American Action Network, a conservative Washington group that has launched a $1.2 million campaign to repeal the Obama health care law, supporting Congressman Frank Guinta. It reads in part, “Congressman Frank Guinta is Leading the Fight to Repeal Obamacare. Congressman Guinta voted to restore $500 billion that Obamacare cut from Medicare.” Really? The truth: Under the Obama health care bill, Medicare spending continues to go up year after year. The health care bill tries to identify ways to save money, and the $500 billion figure comes from the difference over 10 years between anticipated Medicare spending and the changes the law makes to reduce spending. The savings are actually wrung from the health-care providers, not Medicare beneficiaries. These spending reductions presumably would be a good thing, since virtually everyone agrees that Medicare spending is out of control. In the House, Republican lawmakers voted to repeal the Obama health care law but but retained these $500 billion in “savings” in
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their Medicare reform bill. It’s rather ironic that the Republicans complain about $500 billion in supposed cuts to Medicare that they themselves would retain, even under the cover of helping Medicare. The Obama health care bill improved some benefits for seniors, such as making preventative care free and closing a gap in prescription drug coverage known as the “doughnut hole” — improvements that the House Republican Medicare Reform bill and Congressman Guinta actually would repeal. Is this how Congressman Guinta is going to help seniors? Sylvia R. Kennedy, M.D. Exeter, NH § “The General Welfare” To the Editor: In corresponding with James Madison about the weakness of the Articles of Confederation, George Washington said: “we are either a united people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of a general concern, act as a nation, which have national objects to promote, and a national character to support” (1785). That’s why when the Militia Act of 1792 was enacted “more effectually to provide for the National Defence,” Madison (as a Congressman) and Washington (as President) supported an individual (and unfunded!) gun mandate — for “each and every free able-bodied white male citizen” to buy “arms, ammunition, and accoutrements.” They understood that the safety of Americans at that time required it, and clearly, the idea of a mandate didn’t bother these pragmatic Founders and framers of the Constitution one little bit. George Washington and James
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Madison had it exactly right. Both agreed that the duty of a united nation was (as our Constitution puts it) to “promote the general welfare.” When over 50 million people (1 in 6!) are uninsured, and millions go without needed medical care, it weakens and threatens us as a nation. Like the 1790s gun mandate, it is for the nation’s good, for the “general welfare,” to ensure Americans are protected in the event of illness or injury. Are we a united people? As Washington said, if we don’t unite in all such “matters of a general concern,” we should “no longer act a farce” by “pretending” to be a nation. Susan Mayer Lee NH § Laugh or Cry? To the Editors: It was originally called the Advanced Tactical Fighter, and there was a competition for the contract. Following a 54-month demonstration/validation (dem/ val) program, completed in December 1990, Lockheed Martin won. A $9.5 billion contract for Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) was awardMore Hate Mail, &c. to page six
Murph’s Fortnightly Quote “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it.” — Helen Keller (1880-1968) author, activist
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Page 6 - The New Hampshire Gazette - Friday, July 27, 2012
Thank You for Your Service By Bill Ehrhart
O
ver the past decade or so, it’s become quite the fashion, when people learn that I once served in the Marines, to say to me, “Thank you for your service.” I’m sure they mean well, but I wish they would take just a moment to reflect on what they are saying. I went halfway around the world to a place called Vietnam, where I killed, maimed, brutalized and made miserable a people who had never done me or my country any harm, nor ever would or could. I served proud, arrogant, and ultimately ignorant politicians and statesmen who thought they could mold the world into whatever shape they believed it should have. But it was hardly service in the interest of my country or the
majority of Americans, let alone in the interest of the majority of the Vietnamese, who wanted little else than for me to stop killing them and go back where I came from. Do those well-meaning folks who thank me for my service really want to thank me for that? I surely hope not. It is not service I am proud of. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the stock genuflection to Vietnam War veterans was “Welcome Home.” But what makes anyone think I’ve ever come home? Because I got out of Vietnam with all ten fingers and all ten toes? Because I vote and pay my taxes? Because I keep my shoe laces tied and don’t drool? It’s hard to feel at home in a country that learned so little from such a destructive and ruinous debacle. And now I see that the Penta-
gon has launched a decade-long Vietnam War Commemoration to “thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War.” There’s even a website that says, “A Grateful Nation Thanks and Honors You.” Hey, I could use some decent affordable healthcare, or even just a free tank of gas for my car. But what am I supposed to do with that website? Eat it? Take it to the bank? Meanwhile, consider the “service” I performed while in uniform. My nation is grateful for that? And now “the other one percent” who fill the ranks of our socalled “volunteer” military today is carrying the entire blood burden of our latest wars, getting sent to Iraq and Afghanistan over and over again, while the rest of us go about our lives as if nothing at all out of the ordinary is going on. What the military seems to
have learned from the Vietnam War is: get rid of the draft and you get rid of domestic opposition to foreign interventions. So far, it’s working. But the cost is steadily mounting. Suicides among active duty military and recent veterans have reached epidemic proportions. The Veterans Administration has a backlog of over 800,000 claims for medical disability. And substantial allegations have been made that the VA and the Department of Defense are falsely diagnosing veterans and soldiers with pre-existing “personality disorders” prior to their military service so that these veterans can be denied benefits for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, though the military was happy enough to sign them up when they first enlisted. Thank you for your service, indeed. Frankly, I suspect that this
whole Vietnam War Commemoration is less about a grateful nation thanking and honoring us Vietnam War veterans than it is about a frightened and nervous government trying to gloss over the follies and consequences of military adventurism so that the next generation of young Americans remains willing to place their trust in the hands of people who clearly believe that those they send to fight our wars are expendable (rhetoric not withstanding; actions speak louder than words). Instead of thanking our servicemen and women for their service, perhaps we ought to be asking less service from them and more service from ourselves. Bill Ehrhart is an honorably discharged former Marine sergeant with a Purple Heart Medal, a Navy Combat Action Ribbon, and two Presidential Unit Citations.
MoreMash Notes, Hate Mail, And Other Correspondence, from Page Five ed in 1991. Contract changes elevated the contract value to $11 billion. This would result in nine flightworthy and two ground-test aircraft. In February 1995, the Air Force customer approved the final design. The Air Force planned to procure 339 F-22’s and productions scheduled to run through 2013. It came into service in 2005. In November 2010, Capt. Jeff Haney, flying at 51,000 feet over Alaska, had his oxygen supply cut off causing him to crash into the tundra. Prior to the fatality, there had been three oxygen-related episodes. Many dificulties occurred with the plane, often oxygenrelated. The Air Force grounded the plane but could find nothing wrong, so put it back in the air, but the episodes continued. Two
experienced pilots went on “60 Minutes” saying they refused to fly the craft. Originally, the Air Force planned for 750 F-22’s with 1,000 subcontractors and 95,000 employees spread across 46 states. However, even these glowing advantages were not enough to balance the enormous cost, so the number of planes was cut to what we now have — 187. After the four-month grounding of the entire fleet in 2011, the Air Force found nothing definite but gave pilots oxygen monitors and pure charcoal filters in the air system. Inside of six months, eleven more unexplained “episodes.” The F-22s were then limited to fly no higher than 44,000 feet, and Defense Secretary Panetta limited the flights to within safe distance of landing strips. The New York Times on July 11,
The New Hampshire Gazette
2012 ran the headline “Air Force Jet’s Oxygen Problems Raise Lawmakers’ Ire.” Two of our 535 lawmakers, Rep. Adam Kinsinger (R-IL) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) (the two pilots on the “60 Minutes” program were his constituents), demanded an explanation for the “episodes.” The lawmakers expected that “an appropriate and timely response will be provided.” Here comes the “laugh or cry” part: Each of the planes, which have had no actual, intended use to date, costs $400 million! (I have read in one source that $412 million was the actual cost — maybe that figure was rounded down to $400 million.) And we own 187 of them! Do the math. Using the lesser number, $400 million, it comes to $74.8 billion! Now you may laugh or cry —
your choice. Lester LeViness Nyack, NY § Israel’s Nukes To the Editor: Last week a Rockland, ME, Free Press column quoted from Foreign Affairs, a magazine whose summer issue cover story explained “Why Iran Should Get the Bomb.” Kenneth Waltz, the article’s author, asserted it’s Israel’s Mideast nuclear monopoly, not Iran’s desire to have nuclear power, that’s fueling future wars. Having read and written about Israel’s nuclear weapons for many years, it’s always surprising when Israelis pretend their nukes don’t exist. In an April 2 Time Magazine interview, the president of Israel, Shimon Peres, had continued the chronic lies by saying, “there’s nothing there,” at Dimona.
When an employee who had photographed the underground stockpile at Dimona took the pictures to London for publication, he was betrayed, kidnapped, flown to Israel, tried and subjected to years of solitary confinement. It sounds like cruel and unusual punishment for exposing weapons Peres is ass enough to try to deny. Marjorie Gallace Camden, ME § How The Country Lost Its Way To the Editor: Soon after birth we institutionalize our children. Those children are told “stories” designed to teach us lessons … or something. Those stories aren’t suppose to be taken literally, they are parables. A child asks, “Where do children come from? ” The parent says, “from storks” ….
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Turning College Students Into Free Market Chattel by Jim Hightower et’s take another trip deep into the “Magic Kingdom of LaissezFairyland” and prostrate ourselves before the infallible and inscrutable force known as: The Free Market. While this awesome deity cannot be seen, the high priests of TFM fundamentalism insist that we mere mortals must simply have faith that its mysterious
workings are always in our best interest. Yeah, sure, your holiness — we saw how well that worked out for us wandering pilgrims after you true believers deregulated Wall Street, which then crashed on our streets. So, crashees, you might want to gird yourselves, because free market purists intend for us to have another ungodly religious encounter with their omnipotent deity. Looking at America’s
trillion-dollar student debt crisis, these spiritualists had a burning bush revelation: The crisis can be healed by letting the magic market (aka Wall Street) lay its hands on the funding of college education. Get the government out of the student loan business, they preach, and let global speculators invest directly in students by covering their tuitions. In other words, turn students into just another Wall Street commodity to
be purchased by the wealthy. But venture capitalists expect fat returns on their investments, so what do they get back for covering some kid’s tuition? A chunk of the kid’s future, that’s what. After graduation, students’ incomes would be attached by the financiers. And, since free market doctrine dictates that investors should always seek to maximize their returns, they would have a direct interest (and maybe even
a legal right) in making their investees pursue careers that make the most money for them. The first thing to know about the free market is that it’s not free, and turning Wall Street loose on college students turns them into chattel, effectively indentured to investors. Copyright 2012 by Jim Hightower & Associates. Contact Laura Ehrlich (laura@jimhightower.com) for more information.
Teachers tell us one side of a story and call it history. We take our tests and parrot the teacher. We go to work, telling the customer, “our corporation cares;” we take the money. We watch reporters ask “softball” questions, watch them fail to challenge the answer; fail to provide the viewers with the facts. A politician lies, another lies, newspapers lie, corporations lie. And still we fight over who is right and what will happen if the other politician wins. Who is lying now? Nick Arancio Derry, NH § Buzzword-Fest To the Editor: Liberty and Freedom. What do these words mean to us? We are so accustomed to hearing them used daily we lose sight of their intent in our lives. The Founders never had the blessings of either when under the rule of the King, aka dictator. Whatever the King said was Gospel. The Founders wanted to ensure the form of government they envisioned would prevent any one individual from ever imposing his/her will on the sovereignty of the people. So what do Liberty and Freedom mean in our modern day world in America? Not much. We
have rules and laws and regulations and lawless politicians who daily strip us of the freedom to live our lives as we choose. They enact laws we are to live by while regularly exempting themselves. Society in America is at the point where all of us are unknowingly breaking some law every day just by getting out of bed in the morning. Income tax filing is so complicated and onerous we need a computer-driven program to fill out our 1040s. We are forced to submit to sheer intimidation and humiliation in order to fly on an airplane. We can’t do certain things within x feet of a schoolyard while kids are regularly misbehaving in that school. If we want to start up a small business, we are subjected to planning and zoning regulations and hearings and licenses and permits till we throw up our hands in frustration. Remember the story of the kids with the lemonade stand? The overarching themes of Liberty and Freedom as provided for in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights have been compromised in a myriad of insidious small ways that dilute the grand design of our Founders. I would not want to live anywhere else, but I just know our children will never experience how it was to grow up in an America of the 1940s and 1950s. Unless we do
something about it right now. Remember in November. John Sangenario Hampton, NH John: Ah, yes, the 1940s and 1950s: the good old days of Jim Crow, poll taxes, Red scares, the Hollywood blacklist … The Editor § Congress and Firearms To the Editor: The head of the NRA once wrote concerning those of us who want more gun control: “They want to emasculate us. They want to take our guns away.” That mentality is at the root of the too-common obsession with guns and violence in this country. We are at war with ourselves. All the while the cowardly Congress refuses to legislate against the purchase and possession of automatic weapons that only the police and military should be allowed to carry. There is no legitimate reason for other citizens to have them — but millions do because Congress prefers to obey the NRA rather than represent the substantial majority of American citizens who see the connection between such tragedies as the recent one in Colorado and the easy availability of murderous firearms. It is time to hold Congress re-
sponsible for their cowardice. Neal W. Ferris Durham, NH Neal: One tiny reason the Right so despises the Left is that the latter either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the difference between automatic and semi-automatic weapons. Back in the good old days — are you reading this, Mr. Sangenario? — citizens could legally purchase fully-automatic weapons such as Thompson sub-machine guns. They fired automatically until the magazine ran out of rounds. Then J. Edgar “Mary” Hoover spoiled everybody’s fun and got Congress to restrict fullauto ownership to law enforcement and the military. Civilian ownership of semi-automatic weapons — Glocks, AK-47s, AR-15s, &c. &c., is still legal in most jurisdictions. The Editor § Our No Show Congress To the Editor: The work ethic of the U.S. House of Representatives leaves much to be desired. The President submitted a budget for the 2013 fiscal year on February 13. The 2013 fiscal year begins on October 1, 2012, which means the bills authorizing money for defense, education and all other departments need to be passed before then, yet no bills have been passed
and signed into law. This July the House is schedule to work six full days, two half days, and three days where members don’t need to be present before 6:30 p.m. if at all. The House is scheduled to work the first two and a half days of August then take off until September 10. In September they are scheduled to work four full days plus four half days then take another vacation. The House of Representatives will have taken off 118 work days by the end of September. If you are an employer do you give your employees 118 days of paid vacation in the first nine months of the year? Do you give them weeks off when they haven’t done the work assigned to them? Would you give them full health and retirement benefits? Congressmen Frank Guinta and Charlie Bass are paid $174,000 a year. They certainly don’t earn it and don’t deserve to keep their jobs in November. They campaigned on eliminating government waste instead they created more with their no show work ethic. Walter Hamilton Portsmouth, NH Walter: First Complaining diner: This food is awful! Second Complaining Diner: Yes — and the portions are so small! The Editor
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Page 8 - The New Hampshire Gazette - Friday, July 27, 2012
Admiral Fowle’s Piscataqua River Tidal Guide (Not for Navigational Purposes) Portsmouth, arguably the first town in this country not founded by religious extremists, is bounded on the north and east by the Piscataqua River, the second, third, or fourth fastest-flowing navigable river in the country, depending on
who you choose to believe. The Piscataqua’s ferocious current is caused by the tide, which, in turn, is caused by the moon. The other player is a vast sunken valley — Great Bay — about ten miles upriver. Twice a day, the moon
drags about seventeen billion gallons of seawater — enough to fill 2,125,000 tanker trucks — up the river and into Great Bay. This creates a roving hydraulic conflict, as incoming sea and the outgoing river collide. The skirmish line
moves from the mouth of the river, up past New Castle, around the bend by the old Naval Prison, under Memorial Bridge, past the tugboats, and on into Great Bay. This can best be seen when the tide is rising.
Twice a day, too, the moon lets all that water go. All the seawater that just fought its way upstream goes back home to the ocean. This is when the Piscataqua earns its title for xth fastest current. Look for the red buoy, at the upstream
end of Badger’s Island, bobbing around in the current. It weighs several tons, and it bobs and bounces in the current like a cork. The river also has its placid moments, around high and low tides. When the river rests, its tugboats
and bridges work their hardest. Ships coming in laden with coal, oil, and salt do so at high tide, for more clearance under their keels. They leave empty, riding high in the water, at low tide, to squeeze under Memorial Bridge.
Sunday, July 29
Monday, July 30
Tuesday, July 31
Wednesday, August 1
Thursday, August 2
Friday, August 3
Saturday, August 4
2002—The “Red Force” Commander of the “Millennium Challenge” war games quits in disgust when the Pentagon “refloats” sunken ships (see 7/24). 1986—Former Chaplain Charlie Liteky, disgusted by U.S. policies in Latin America, renounces the Medal of Honor he won in Vietnam. 1981—Congress passes Ronald Reagan’s tax cut for the rich. 1974—The House Judiciary Committee adopts a second article to impeach Richard M. Nixon, this time for misuse of power and violating his oath of office. 1972—The Supreme Court declares the death penalty unconstitutional. 1967—The U.S.S. Forrestal burns off North Vietnam, killing 134. 1966—Bob Dylan crashes his Triumph, breaking his neck. 1965—The 101st Airborne lands in South Vietnam. 1923—“No more war” demonstrations held in 23 countries. 1921—Disgruntled former corporal Adolf Hitler becomes President of the German Nazi Party. 1920—Disabled German veterans rally for “No more war.” 1839—While looting the Tuileries along with the rest of the mob, Alexandre Dumas père finds a copy of one of his novels in the royal apartments and takes it.
1975—Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa makes his last public appearance in Birmingham, MI. 1974—The House Judiciary Committee adopts a 3rd article of impeachment of Richard M. Nixon, for ignoring subpoenas. 1972—Fifty-three caribou are found dead near an Army chemical and biological warfare lab. The base commander suggests they were hit by lightning. 1956—Congress adopts “In God We Trust” as the national motto. 1945—After delivering the Hiroshima A-bomb, the U.S.S. Indianapolis is torpedoed and sunk. Due to security measures, the sinking isn’t reported for 5 days; sharks and drowning claim 880 out of 1,100 aboard. 1938—A. Hitler bestows Germany’s highest award for non-citizens, the Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle, on his pal Henry Ford. 1916—A German saboteur destroys a thousand tons of munitions stored on a barge at Black Tom Island in New York Harbor. 1864—Union forces breach Confederate defenses at Petersburg by blowing a huge mine. Sadly nearly 4,000 Union soldiers are slaughtered in the resulting crater, because Brig. Gen. James Ledlie, selected to command by the drawing of straws, is drunk.
1999—Astrogeologist Eugene Shoemaker becomes the first Earthling to have his cremated remains interred on the moon. 1996—Ex-Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. [H.] Walker Bush speak for pay before an audience of Moonies. 1974—Dick Nixon’s ex-advisor John Erlichman gets five years in a felons’ country club. 1972—The public is shocked as Thomas Eagleton withdraws his candidacy for Vice President. 1971—A $100,000 “contribution” to the Republican convention persuades the “Justice” Department to let ITT retain its ownership of Hartford Fire Insurance. 1971—Dave Scott becomes first person to drive a motor vehicle on the moon. 1950—The city of Chicago approves a plan to have its citizens tattooed with their blood type. 1944—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry disappears during a flight over southern France. 1938—New York Yankee Jake Powell is suspended after saying, on Chicago radio, that he’d “hit every colored person in Chicago over the head with a club.” 1934—In Scotland, German businessman Gerhard Zucker demonstrates his rocket mail proposal. He is deported after his rocket explodes and incinerates the mail.
1992—A day after winning a “tight jeans” contest at Boise’s Rockin’ Rodeo Inn, Butch Otter, Idaho’s Republican Lieutenant Governor, is arrested for drunk driving. 1983—After a fourteen-year suspension, the U.S. resumes the manufacture of chemical weapons. 1981—MTV is launched; the remnants of civilization crumble. 1977—Former U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, misled by the fuel gauge of his traffic-reporting helicopter, dies after crash landing to avoid children playing. 1976—First occupation of the Seabrook nuclear power plant site. 1972—The Washington Post reports on a “two-bit burglary” at Democratic National HQ. 1972—1st Lieut. George W. Bush is suspended from flying status with the Texas Air Nat’l Guard for failure to take a physical exam (which would have required him to pee in a cup). 1969—A Massachusetts Superior Court judge rejects a DA’s request for an inquest into the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. 1966—Honor student and former Marine Charles Whitman shoots 45 (killing 12) from a tower at the University of Texas. 1917—IWW organizer Frank Little is lynched in Butte, Montana. The authorities never bother to look for the culprits.
2000—The GOP picks George W. Bush to be president, and Dick “Dick” Cheney to run the country. 1993—A short circuit sends a selfdestruct command to a Titan IV rocket over the Pacific. It blows up, destroying three spy satellites. Total cost: $1 billion. 1990—Iraq invades Kuwait. 1965—CBS reporter Morley Safer suggests that the U.S. might not win in Vietnam. 1964—The U.S.S. Maddox, collecting intelligence in support of covert operations in North Vietnam, reports an “unprovoked” attack by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. 1943—Prisoners at Treblinka revolt. Only forty survive, but the camp is shut down. 1943—The nimble American PT boat #109 is rammed and sunk by a ponderous Japanese destroyer. 1939—A. Einstein writes to FDR describing the possibility of constructing a nuclear bomb. 1931—A. Einstein urges all scientists to refuse military work. 1865—After capturing and sinking American whaling vessels all summer, the CSS Shenandoah learns the war’s been over since April. 1832—Hundreds of starving Sauk and Fox Indians try to surrender at Bad Axe, WI, only to be massacred by the Illinois militia. Wisconsin apologizes—in 1990.
1999—A House/Senate committee agrees to cut taxes for the rich by nearly $800 billion. 1981—Federal air traffic controllers go on strike. 1971—Derry, NH’s Alan Shepard becomes the first man to whack a golf ball on the moon. 1966—Lenny Bruce, free on appeal, beats a four-month sentence on an obscenity rap by dying. 1962—Tusko the elephant dies in an Oklahoma City zoo two hours after researchers give him LSD. 1948—Alger Hiss is accused of spying by ex-Red Whittaker Chambers. 1943—Gen. George S. Patton slaps a shell-shocked private in an Army hospital. 1939—After catching five baseballs dropped from a blimp 500 feet above the World’s Fair, Joe Sprinz tries to catch one dropped 1,000 feet. He loses four teeth. 1931—In Chicago, an anti-eviction march by 60,000 turns into a riot; three die. 1923—By the light of a kerosene lantern, at 2:47 a.m. in Plymouth, VT, Calvin Coolidge is sworn in as President by his own father. 1913—Police shoot up an IWW farmworkers’ meeting in Wheatland, CA, killing four. For organizing the meeting, two union leaders are later convicted of murder and sentenced to life.
1995—Congress votes to de-regulate the media, with predictably splendid results. 1992—The Republican National Convention re-nominates the Bush/Quayle ticket. Snicker. 1987—The FCC jettisons the Fairness Doctrine, declaring it “restricts the journalistic freedom of broadcasters.” 1973—Toronto police arrest Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield for accidentally killing a seagull with a thrown ball. 1964—The U.S.S. Maddox and U.S.S. Turner Joy report a second torpedo attack in Gulf of Tonkin. Curiously, there are no casualties or damage. 1961—Barack H. Obama is allegedly born in Hawaii. 1948—HUAC chairman J.P. Thomas’s pocketing of the payroll from his pals’ no-show jobs is exposed in Drew Pearson’s column. 1945—Red Sox vs. Senators in D.C.: Joe Cleary (last Irish native in the Majors, ERA 189.0), is relieved by one-legged Bert Shepard, the Majors’ first amputee. In 5 innings Shepard gives up just 3 hits and 1 run, but the Sox win 15-4. 1925—After 13 years, U.S. Marines leave Nicaragua. 1916—The U.S. agrees to buy the Virgin Islands from Denmark. 1892—In Fall River, Mass., somebody gives Lizzie Borden’s father and stepmother the axe.
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2004—“Our enemies,” confesses George W. Bush, “never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” 1981—Ronald Reagan fires 12,700 air traffic controllers. 1977—The NRC admits it’s lost 4 tons of enriched uranium. 1969—The Army reveals that eight Green Berets have been arrested for “terminating” a suspected South Vietnamese double agent “with extreme prejudice.” 1964—U.S. begins bombing North Vietnam. 1962—South Africa nabs fugitive Nelson Mandela thanks to a tip from the CIA. 1950—Eighteen are killed when a B-29 crashes into a trailer park in California, but at least the nuclear weapon on board fails to explode. 1912—The Progressive Party is formed “to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics.” 1864—As Admiral Farragut damns the torpedoes and takes Mobile Bay, Portsmouth native Samuel Todd mans the conn of the U.S.S. Brooklyn with such distinction he is later awarded the Medal of Honor. 1735—A jury refuses to find John Peter Zenger guilty of seditious libel, because what he printed had been the truth. 1620—The Mayflower sails west.
2001—Given a briefing titled, Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S. George W. Bush, while on vacation, responds, “All right. You’ve covered your ass now.” 1991—Tim Berners-Lee introduces the World to the Web. 1970—Disneyland is invaded by 300 pot-smoking Yippies chanting VC slogans & demanding freedom for Mickey Mouse. 1945—Sayonara, Hiroshima. 1930—New York Supreme Court Justice and Democratic bigwig John Force Crater purges some private files, cashes a large check, and disappears forever. 1926—Gertrude Ederle swims the English Channel, two hours faster than any of the five men who had previously accomplished that feat. 1895—The socialist paper Appeal to Reason begins. By 1902 its circulation is the 4th highest in the U.S. 1890—New York takes 8 minutes to execute William Kemmler, thrashing and smoking, in its new electric chair. 1882—Abel Pifre prints newspapers on a steam-powered press fueled by a solar boiler on an overcast day in Paris. 1855—A Louisville mob armed with a cannon is dissuaded by the mayor from destroying a Catholic church. They settle for burning down houses in the Irish quarter and killing 20.
1979—A nuclear fuel plant leak near Erwin, TN, contaminates 1,000 people with 5 times a year’s normal background radiation. 1974—In New York, Phillipe Petit takes a stroll on a wire between the World Trade Center towers. 1964—Congress falls for Gulf of Tonkin hoax and gives L.B.J. unprecedented (and unconstitutional) power. Sen. Wayne Morse (D-OR) votes no, saying “I believe that within the next century, future generations will look with dismay and great disappointment upon a Congress which is now about to make such a historic mistake.” 1964—Time Magazine says of A Hard Day’s Night, “avoid this film at all costs.” 1942—Marines land on Guadalcanal. 1936—Rep. Marion Zioncheck (D-WA), who once had a load of manure delivered to J. Edgar “Mary” Hoover’s front lawn, defenestrates from the fifth floor of a Seattle office building. 1917—Sqn. Cdr. E.H. Dunning, first man to safely land a plane on a moving ship, dies five days after performing that feat while attempting to repeat it. 1915—Despite a failed artillery barrage and coordinated attack, General A. Godley sends the Australian 3rd Light Horse into Turkish machine guns at Gallipoli. Sixty percent are killed or wounded.
1991—After 17 years as the world’s tallest structure, the 2,120 ft. Warsaw Radio Mast collapses. 1989—Ed “Meese is a Pig” Meese’s pal E. Robert Wallach is convicted of racketeering for accepting $425,000 to influence Meese and others to win defense contracts for Wedtech Corp. 1988—Mehran Karimi Nasseri gets stranded at the airport in Paris, where he spends the next 16 years. 1980—While running for re-election, Rep. Jon Hinson (R-MI) admits he has been accused of committing an obscene act in a “gay haunt” in Virginia and once barely escaped a fire in a gay movie theatre. But he denies he’s gay. 1974—Richard M. Nixon announces he’s a quitter after all. 1973—Veep Spiro “Ted” Agnew calls true allegations that he accepted kickbacks while Governor of Maryland “damned lies.” 1968—R. Nixon chooses S. Agnew for a running mate. 1925—Thirty thousand members of the Ku Klux Klan march in full regalia down Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. 1903—Miners strike in Cripple Creek, CO. 1892—Three McCoys kill a Hatfield during an election day brawl in Pike County, KY. 1879—Birth of Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary.
1997—New York cop Justin Volpe sodomizes Haitian immigrant Abner Louima with a broomstick. 1989—Pres. George Herbert Hoover Walker Bush signs the multi-billion dollar Savings and Loan bailout. Among those bailed out at the expense of the taxpayer: his own sons Neil and Jeb. 1974—Nixon vacates the White House. 1945—Sayonara, Nagasaki. 1936—Death of muckraker Lincoln Steffens. 1892—Reacting to yesterday’s unpleasantness, a group of Hatfields tie three McCoys to a tree and shoot them. 1874—Charles Fort, chronicler of the paranormal, materializes in Albany, NY. 1872—Fire destroys 547 buildings in Boston, killing 14. 1848—The Barnburners and Free Soilers merge into the Scorched Earth party and nominate Martin Van Buren for President. 1842—Herman Melville escapes from the Typee Valley in the Marquesas, where he has been held captive by cannibals for a month. 1842—The Webster-Ashburton Treaty resolves the issues that led to the Aroostook War. 1779—General Henry Clinton & 1,500 American troops breach a dam to flood Iroquois towns and fields in upstate New York.
2005—After playing online games fifty hours straight, Lee Seung Seop, 28, drops dead. 2000—“I want you to know,” George W. Bush tells farmers in Salinas, CA, “that farmers are not going to be secondary thoughts to a Bush administration. They will be in the forethought of our thinking.” 1973—Rabid Free Marketeer Charles Koch writes rabid Free Marketeer Friedrich von Hayek suggesting he move to the U.S. so he can collect Social[ist] Security. 1968—Eight G.I.’s in Vietnam are killed by “friendly fire.” 1950—The first shipload of American military aid to the French in Vietnam arrives. 1945—The Japanese announce their intention to surrender. 1896—“Small sacrifices must be made,” says glider pioneer Otto Lilienthal, as he dies a day after his last crash. 1887—A Toledo, Peoria & Western engineer, seeing a burning bridge ahead, uncouples his locomotive and makes it to safety; 81 passengers die when the bridge collapses under them. 1856—A ball on Last Island, Louisiana is interrupted by huge winddriven waves; 400 drown. 1835—Citizens of Canaan, NH burn Noyes Academy because it enrolled blacks.
1999—The Kansas Board of Education throws evolution over the edge of the earth. 1984—On an open mike, Ronald Reagan announces, “I have signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” 1972—The 3rd Battalion of the 21st Infantry Reg’t, the last U.S. ground combat unit in Vietnam, takes the Freedom Bird home. 1968—Pitcher Satchel Paige signs with the Braves. He’s 62. 1966—Canadian engineer Joseph Papp is fished out of the ocean near Brest, France, claiming his jet-powered, 300 mph submarine had sunk after crossing the ocean in 13 hours. 1965—A white cop pulls over a black motorist in LA triggering five days of riots costing 34 lives, mostly black, and destroying $200 million in property. 1942—Patent No. 2,292,387, using modified piano rolls to protect torpedoes from radio-jamming, goes to actress Hedy Lamarr. 1937—In Maxwell Perkins’ New York office, Ernest Hemingway rips open his shirt to display the hair on his chest and punches Max Eastman in the nose. 1894—Charles “Hobo” Kelley and his 1,200 man “army” of unemployed are driven from Washington D.C. by federal troops.
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“Of all smells bread; of all tastes salt.” — George Herbert (1593-1633)
Therapeutic Massage, Aromatherapy & Bodywork 150 Congress Street Portsmouth, NH 603-766-FISH
Jill Vranicar• Kate Leigh
16 Market Square, Portsmouth, NH
(603) 436-6006
Next to City Hall in Downtown Dover, NH 3 Hale Street j (603) 742-1737
Since 2011
7 Commercial Alley ~ 766-1616 www.portsmouthsaltcellar.com