12/10/2020 by The Weirs Publishing Company

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

VOLUME 29, NO. 50

THE WEIRS, LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE, N.H., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020

COMPLIMENTARY

“Little Town Of Christmas” In Franklin

Outdoor columnist Amy Patenaude (R) and friend Bria Clark on one of Mount Ignall’s fine view ledges. The view is over the Androscoggin River all the way to the snow capped peaks of the Northern Presidential Range.

Shelburne Trails Tramping Mother Nature continues to usher in Winter to the mountains, but so far lower elevations have remained relatively ice and snow free. We took advantage of the Shelburne Trails to enjoy some nice fall hiking.

by Amy Patenaude Outdoor/Ski Columnist

The AMC White Mountain Guidebook refers to Mount Ingalls and Mount Crag as part of the Southern Minor Peaks in the Mahoosuc Range Area Chapter. The trails were originally opened in the 1950’s and due to logging the trails were abandoned and the Shelburne Trails

Club reopened these trails in 2010. The Shelburne Trail Club has produced a wonderful detailed map and it is available at your favorite bookstore or directly from the Club. Thanks to their efforts the trails are well marked and are in excellent See PATENAUDE on 26

The Franklin Opera House presents “The Little Town Of Christmas” a theatrical movie on Friday & Saturday, Dec. 11 & 12 at 7:30pm and Sunday, Dec. 13th at 2pm. Tickets are $10 and $8 under 10. (Includes admission to the Festival of Trees 45 minutes before showtime.) A unique holiday entertainment experience. Recorded performance on the Opera House stage will be shown on “the big screen” as a “theatrical movie.” Everybody in the little town of Christmas is friendly and funny and you’ll meet them all including Skeezix and Sylvester, an elf comedy team that is short in stature and long in laughter; Dancer, the reindeer with a whacky sense of humor; Mrs. Claus, the REAL boss of the outfit; and a hilarious street corner Santa, tested and almost bested by one tough little kid with a sticky sucker. You’re in for an evening of holiday laughter and warmth. An online option and more info available at franklinoperahouse. org

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

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To The Editor: Even the most cursory examination of the report of the so-called “Commission To Study School Funding” indicates that the group has concluded that (a) our public schools should emphasize equality of outcomes rather than of opportunities; and (b) public school funding in our state should follow the maxim of “From each according to its abilities, to each according to its needs.” In other words, pure Marxism. This is certainly not the American way, nor is it the New Hampshire way. I wonder how many tax dollars were spent on the commission to reach this conclusion, with all of their fancy graphs to try to justify their conclusions and recommendations. Norm Silber New Hampshire State Representative Belknap County District 2- Gilford & Meredith Gilford,NH.

A Case Against “Cases”

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To The Editor: The headlines scream: ’More and more positive COVID cases!’, thus increasing fear, driving new lockdowns, and deepening depression. Case counts come from the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test. But can we trust these counts? The PCR test can only find the tiniest bits of any virus. It takes a DNA sample and multiplies it up to millions of times. This

enhancement is measured in “cycles.” The problem is such multiplication can reveal an infinitesimal amount of any of the trillions of viral particles that are circulating in all of us all the time. Dr. Anthony Fauci has stated that the PCR test is useless and misleading when run at “35 cycles or higher.” (This Week in Virology, 7/16/20). A representative PCR study shows that testing above 17 cycles introduces false positives. At 33 cycles, 80% of test results are false positive. At higher cycles, the error rate approaches 100%. Thus many healthy, non-contagious persons are counted as “positive.” And the more tests, the more “cases”! So why do the CDC, FDA, and WHO recommend using 40 to 45 cycles? No wonder we have ever-rising case counts that are not reflected in hospitalizations or mortality counts. It’s not just misleading to use such inflated counts to drive public policy — it’s fraudulent. Recognizing these problems, a Portuguese court just ruled PCR tests to be unlawful “evidence” of COVID-19 infections and thus invalid as a basis for quarantines. It’s clear that the cycle threshold used for testing should be published with every test. And until this happens, our media should flag newly reported cases with a warning note that huge questions overhang the accuracy and reliability of case counts. A petition encompassing such points is posted at www.riseupnh.org/ Please consider signing it. It will be submitted to NH medical professionals, senators, representatives, etc. You will

find this website also to be a rich source of solidly researched information that is being ignored or censored by the mainstream media. Gerhard Bedding Keene, NH.

NH Election Not Constitutional?

To The Editor: Article 11 of the NH Constitution states...The General Court shall provide by law for voting by qualified voters who at the time of the biennial or state elections, or of the primary elections therefor, or of city elections, or of town elections by official ballot, are absent from the city or town of which they are inhabitants, or by reason of physical disability are unable to vote in person, in the choice of any officer or officers to be elected or upon any question submitted at such election. To me this means that the giving of an absentee ballot to persons who claimed they didn’t want to go out because they might catch the coronavirus was not a reason to give an absentee ballot and so the thousands of absentee ballots given for any reason other than the constitution or for which statue provides. So the Attorney General’s opinion aside it changed the elections in the whole United States and therefore I claim the New Hampshire election as held with all the absentee ballots were Not Constitutional. Harriet E. Cady Deerfield, NH.

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This newspaper was first published in 1883 by Mathew H. Calvert as Calvert’s Weirs Times and Tourists’ Gazette and continued until Mr. Calvert’s death in 1902. The new Weirs Times was reestablished in 1992 and strives to maintain the patriotic spirit of its predecessor as well as his devotion to the interests of Lake Winnipesaukee. Our newspaper’s masthead and the map of Lake Winnipesaukee in the center spread are elements in today’s paper which are taken from Calvert’s historic publication. Locally owned for over 20 years, this publication is devoted to printing the stories

of the people and places that make New Hampshire the best place in the world to live. No, none of the daily grind news will be found in these pages, just the good stuff. Published year round on Thursdays, we distribute 30,000 copies of the Weirs Times every week to the Lakes Region/Concord/ Seacoast area and the mountains and have an estimated 66,000 people reading this newspaper. To find out how your business or service can benefit from advertising with us please call 1-888-308-8463.

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Giving A Gift Of Nature by Chris Bosak Contributing Writer

Meadows are a critical habitat for many wildlife species, including the monarch butterfly, and are often protected by land-conservation groups. CHRIS BOSAK PHOTO

trusts, state Audubon societies and national organizations that all need help. You can’t go wrong on any level. I like to support local organizations as I know where the money is going and I can directly benefit from my gift by taking a walk at a local preserve. State organizations, such as the New Hampshire Audubon Society, do great work as well and the impact is felt close to home. National organizations, although maybe not as locally impactful on the surface, have critical missions to fulfill. Organizations such as the National Audu-

bon Society, Sierra Club, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Birding Association, American Bird Conservancy and the Nature Conservancy come to mind. You can even think globally by supporting organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature. The internet has made finding an organization that matches your own personal objectives easy. If you are looking to make an impact locally, simply enter your town and a phrase such as “land trust” or “land conservation” into an internet search. I’m sure a wor-

thy land conservation organization will come up high in the search. I was a member of a local land trust for many years and I can assure you that the vast majority of the money donated goes directly into preserving land. My particular land trust had only one employee who made a very modest salary. That is true of most conservation and nature nonprofit organizations. The employees are not getting rich, but rather doing something they love and believe in strongly. Your donation dollars are not going toward bloated salaries or multi-million dollar marketing campaigns. On the surface, it may not appear as if COVID would have had a large impact on these types of organizations. Birds are not dropping out of the sky and trees are not toppling because of the virus. But these organizations have been impacted — big time — in ways that don’t immediately come to mind. This season of giving, consider giving a gift to nature. Chris Bosak may be reached at chrisbosak26@gmail.com or through his website www.birdsofnewengland.com

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It’s the season of giving and this year nonprofit organizations need your support more than ever. COVID-19 changed everything. Aside from the horrendous physical toll it has taken on so many, businesses have closed and many people are struggling to make ends meet. Nonprofit organizations are not immune to this downturn. Those that specialize in land conservation or nature are just as impacted as the rest of them. Many of these organizations rely on programming, events, summer camps or other activities that require people to be in close proximity to each other to help pay the bills. COVID put a hard stop on that. As a result, these organizations are out the revenue that these events would have brought in. Many have turned to virtual events, but they don’t have the same financial impact. In this time of giving, these organizations need help. Giving Tuesday is behind us, but there is still plenty of time to offer your support before the year ends. There are many organizations from which to choose, obviously. There are local land

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES “Italia” Exhibit At The Franklin Gallery

A Special Holiday Concert From Wolfeboro Friends Of Music The Wolfeboro Friends of Music continues its virtual extravaganza presentations for Wolfeboro and the Lakes Region on Saturday December 12 at 7:30 PM with the Sea Reeds Quartet. The quartet is a gathering of virtuoso regional professionals whom we are sure you have met in a number of other guises. Sea Reeds Quartet uses a variety of woodwind instruments (Flute, Eb Clarinet, Bb Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, and Baritone Saxophone) to present a varied bounty of musical settings accompanied by changing visual backgrounds and verbal explanations of the repertoire. The repertoire will celebrate Christmas, Three Kings Day, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s with works by Tchaikovsky, Britten, Vaughn Williams, Anderson, and others in a variety of styles and settings. We would be honored to present our Christmas Meditations performance for the Wolfeboro Friends of Music this December. Simply email info@wfriendsofmusic.org. to request the link to the special YouTube channel. The link will be released the afternoon prior to concert time and sent to your email address. Access to this WFOM virtual concert is FREE of charge. The concert will be recorded and will be available to all requestors for one week after the performance date.

Northeastern Ballet’s “Nutcracker” So many things are different this holiday season, but one thing that doesn’t have to change is seeing Northeastern Ballet Theatre (NBT)’s The Nutcracker! Enjoy the spectacular 2019 production of this classical ballet favorite from the comfort and security of your own home. Witness incredible local talent from New Hampshire’s Seacoast, Lakes Region and other areas of the state as they dance their hearts out. Using state-ofthe-art technology of projected backdrops, the scenes come alive in a way that was not possible before. Through NBT at Home, not only can you watch The Nutcracker, but also available to watch is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and NBT’s charming The Wizard, a balletic interpretation of the first Harry Potter book. All three ballets will be available to watch through NBT at Home until January 3, 2021. Please visit nbtathome.com to subscribe. For just $20 you can watch all three, and $8 will give you access to The Nutcracker only.

The Franklin Gallery at RiverStones Custom Framing, 33 N. Main Street in Rochester, will host an exhibit during the month of December entitled “Italia.” It features the work of Tom Glover, a local artist and framer/restorer at RiverStones. The inspiration for this exhibit actually came from cancelled travel plans. “I was supposed to be in Italy for my 60th birthday this year,” says Tom, “but of course Covid put an end to that. My son-in-law and my wife were planning a trip for my daughter and me as a double birthday surprise. So to fill the void that came from cancelling that trip, I decided to start working on a series of Italy paintings.” Glover’s work often involves thematic concerns and investigation. His travels have led him to delve into the Italian landscape of Tuscany, Paris, Spain, Denmark, Costa Rica, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Arizona and New Mexico. He has done artist retreats on White Island of the Isle of Shoals; Great Spruce Head Island, where he was able to use Fairfield Porters easel to paint on the island; and Block Island where he continues to visit and work. RiverStones Custom Framing and the Franklin Gallery are open Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. For information about this exhibit and other RiverStones events and services, call (603) 812-1488, or send an e-mail to riverstonescustomframing@gmail.com. You may also visit www.tpgloverart.com or on Facebook at https:// www.facebook.com/tomgloverart.

Advice To The Players Presents Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night or What You Will Advice To The Players, Sandwich’s own Shakespeare company, is proud to close their 2020 season with their annual production of Twelfth Night, December 12th, 18th & 19th at 7:30 on Zoom. The links to the performances will be available on ATTP’s website, advicetotheplayers.org. And as with their summer season, instead of charging admission for online performances, ATTP is encouraging donations through their Bard’s Birthday Campaign, which can also be accessed on their website. Donations through this campaign will benefit the talented artists working to make the show a virtual success. ATTP is excited that this year’s cast of Twelfth Night is taking the show’s gender bent madness to a new level and introducing an all female cast! The six-person show features actors playing multiple roles and exploring new ways to define these characters. This show will not be one to miss. Advice To The Players is a unique company of theater professionals, enthusiastic community members and energetic teens that have been performing Shakespeare and offering workshops in the Lakes and White Mountains Regions of New Hampshire since 1999. Based in Sandwich, ATTP has spent the last 21 years bringing award-winning productions of William Shakespeare’s richly passionate plays to life while introducing new generations to live theatre.

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

F O O L NEW HAMPSHIRE A

in brendan@weirs.com

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The Flatlander Chronicles Live Free or Die.

*A FLATLANDER’S OBSERVATIONS ON LIFE

Back In Action I was going to wait until winter was “officially” here until I wrote this column, but I was inspired to write it now with the arrival of winter by Brendan Smith w e a t h e r t h i s Weirs Times Editor past weekend. The inspiration came from the smattering of phone calls I started to receive, even before the storm, on the “F.A.T.S.O.” hotline which has been fairly inactive lately. F.AT.S.O., for those of you not in the know, stands for Flatlanders Adjusting To Solitary Oblivion, a support group that I started with my friend Vinnie years ago to help newly transplanted Flatlanders adjust to their first few winters here in New Hampshire. The F.A.T.S.O hotline is actually a separate landline in my house that I keep in an old breadbox. (Having no personal butler like Bruce Wayne, I do have to answer it myself.) It is used for desperate communications from F.A.T.S.O. members. As I mentioned, the phone has been rather quiet over the past year. I have thought about disconnecting it to save a little cash. (Membership fees have been off as well.) Also, we could make good use of the breadbox for other purposes, like bread. There hadn’t been a lot of new members to F.A.T.S.O as those moving into the state permanently from other parts of the southern Northeast, had quieted down some over the years. Those who have been here have gotten used to the winters and don’t feel the need for F.A.T.S.O.’s help any longer. But things have really turned around this year as a whole slew of folks from city areas are now moving permanently into New Hampshire, mostly The Lakes Region and North, as they are

escaping the repercussions of the COVID-19 dilemma, as well as the rise in peaceful riots. Many of the folks already have “second” homes here that they enjoy in the summer and leave empty in the winter; others are folks who just want to escape and are fortunate enough to find some real estate to buy. They were figuring that New Hampshire would be a nice place to live year round, and they are right. Still, the relative peace and quiet does come with a price tag. The winters can sometimes be long and hard and, as an old weathered local gentleman once told me at a coffee shop not long after I moved here in 1985, “…if one doesn’t take proper measures, Cabin Fever will take hold and have you crazy by MidFebruary.” Of course, a lot of folks moving up here from the south don’t think twice about surviving winter up here. They’ve experienced a fair amount of nasty weather where they came from and feel that they are totally prepared to face the winter season here. Even with the lockdowns they may have experienced in their own states due to COVID-19, they might get a false sense that they are ready to survive the effects of Cabin Fever here in New Hampshire. They soon find out that is not the case. Maybe that favorite restaurant they enjoy so much in the summer is closed for the season. Spending countless hours on the lake is now replaced by countless hours “not” on the lake. Of course, the sunsets are still beautiful, but you need to catch them from inside and before four o’clock, which isn’t even cocktail hour for goodness sake. Then there is the raking of the roof, and also the proper winter fashions, or lack thereof. There’s the etiquette of panic shopping for an approaching snowstorm

(which no one will follow anyway, but we do our best). Most importantly, there is winter driving. Now tackling those one lane twisty roads which made for such a beautiful and relaxing drive in the summer and fall, are now terrifying obstacle courses of dangerous curves where one does not know what lies around the slippery bend. Possibly an 18-wheeler coming downhill at you from the opposite direction, or that boulder of ice taking aim at your windshield from the car of the inconsiderate idiot ahead. It is true, you will be a bit closer to the ski resorts you used to travel so long to get to in winters past, if that’s your thing, but eventually you must come home. There is no getting around it. Selfishly, I am excited about the influx of transplants coming here to live permanently. They are going to need some support on not just a practical level, but an emotional level as well. It should give F.A.T.S.O. a real boost financially. I am considering raising the membership fees to help make up for the lack of funds over the years. I’d imagine that sales of “The Flatlander Chronicles” should see a new surge as well as folks will want to gather all of my wisdom of adjusting to life here, but I’m not here for personal gain. I’m here to help. So, if you are new to the area as either a longtime summer resident now tackling your first full winter here, or if you are living here for the first time, know that you are not alone. F.A.T.S.O. is here for you and I am available 24/7 for any problems you have. Unless I have something else to do. Brendan is the author of “The Flatlander Chronicles” and “Best Of A F.O.O.L. In New Hampshire” His latest book “I Only Did It For The Socks - Stories and Thoughts On Aging” will be published soon.

Weirs Times F.O.O.L columnist, Brendan Smith’s first book with over 30 of the best of his original Flatlander Columns. From learning to Rake The Roof to Going To The Dump to Buying Firewood for the first time and everything in between, Brendan recounts the humorous tales of his learning to fit into New Hampshire life as a Flatlander from New York.

Order your autographed copy today for $13.99 plus $3 for shipping. (Please include any inscription you would like the author to personalize your copy with.) Make out checks or money orders for $16.99 to Brendan Smith and mail to: The Flatlander Chronicles, c/o The Weirs Times, PO Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247. Order online at www.BrendanTSmith.com (Pickup autographed copies at the Weirs Times)

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

No Election Justice, No Election Peace PHOENIX - A motley throng of patriots amassed Monday at the Hyatt Regency for a raucously peaceful “Stop the Steal” rally. There were Zoomers and Boomers, “America First” leaders and Proud Boys, tea party veterans and indie Donald Trump loyalists. I flew down from Colorado to lend my support to all these anti-establishment by Michelle Malkin activists brave and vigilant enough to take to the streets. Praise for “Christ the King” Syndicated Columnist rang out amid demands that a special legislative session be convened. My message to the rallygoers was the same one I delivered at the “Stop the Steal” rally in Colorado Springs last month: We, the people, must rise up to protect our constitutional republic and prevent it from becoming a full-blown banana republic. “Me First” Republicans such as Cindy McCain, who has been offered an ambassadorship by corruptocrat Joe Biden, are complicit in systematically disenfranchising lawabiding voters. If there is no election justice, then there can be no election peace. With the sterling exception of Arizona GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, the absence of nationally known conservative figures at the protest was as glaring as an Arizona sunrise and as gaping as the Grand Canyon. Inside the hotel, Republican state legislators hosted Trump legal team lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis for a marathon presentation of election fraud evidence that began at 9 a.m. and did not adjourn until nearly 8 p.m. Bright-red flags ranged from electronic voting machine vulnerabilities to shady homeless voter registrations, to longfestering concerns about large-scale illegal immigrant voting, to a dizzying raft of statistical anomalies involving massive numbers of mail-in ballots. Most compelling was a review of public election data in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada by respected number-cruncher Matt Braynard. He crowdfunded the Voting Integrity Project, which conducted vital election research this past month using government data from six battleground states. The team scrutinized voters who had moved out of one state, registered in another and still voted in the state they had left. They contacted voters whose election records showed that they had requested a mail-in ballot and sent it in, but which were not counted as votes. Conversely, they found voters who didn’t request a mail-in ballot and said they never received one, but who See MALKIN on 28

The Left’s Gender Theories Are Anti-Scientific Nonsense, But They’re Gaining Ground

On Nov. 22, 2020, New York Times columnist Charles Blow unleashed one of the most bizarre tweets in recent memory. “Stop doing gender reveals,” he stated. “They’re not cute; they’re violent. All by Ben Shapiro we know before a child Syndicated Columnist is born is their anatomy. They will reveal their gender. It may match your expectations of that anatomy, and it may not. If you love the child you will be patience, attentive and open.” This is patently insane for a variety of reasons. First, the characterization of gender reveal parties -- parties during which parents celebrate finding out whether their unborn children are boys or girls -- as “violent” is, in and of itself, radically nuts. Parents are excited to learn whether their children will be boys or girls. That is absolutely unobjectionable. But for an ardent fan of abortion on demand such as Blow to characterize a gender reveal party celebrating the sex of an unborn baby as “violent” while characterizing the in utero dismemberment of that same unborn baby as “choice” is so morally benighted as to boggle the mind. Blow’s tweet goes further. The implication that parents are doing violence against their own children if they connect sex and gender is utterly anti-evidentiary. Sex and gender are interconnected. For nearly every human being born, biological sex will correspond with genital development in the womb. And gender, contrary to the idiotic, pseudoscientific paganism of the gender theory set, is not some freefloating set of biases we bring to the table. Males and females have different qualities

in a variety of functions, attitudes, desires and capabilities. In every human culture -- indeed, in every mammalian species -- meaningful distinctions between male and female remain. To reduce children to genderless unicorns simply awaiting hormonal guidance from within piles absurdity upon absurdity. And, of course, Blow’s take on “patience” is not limitless. Presumably, should your daughter announce that she is a boy at the tender age of 5, all measures will immediately be taken to ensure that she is treated as a boy by those such as Blow. There will be no call for watchful waiting; to do so would be yet another act of “violence.” Why does any of this matter? Because Blow’s perspective has become mainstream on the left. In October, Healthline, a supposed medical resource, ran an article reviewed by a licensed marriage and family therapist titled “’Do Vulva Owners Like Sex?’ Is the Wrong Question -- Here’s What You Should Ask Instead.” Whether “vulva owners” like sex is indeed the wrong question. The right question, to begin, might be what makes “vulva owners” distinct from women; as a follow-up, we might ask how one would go about leasing or renting a vulva if ownership seems like too much of a burden. But the madness gains ground. CNN reported in July that the American Cancer Society had changed its recommendations on the proper age for cervical cancer screenings for women, only CNN termed women “individuals with a cervix.” Which seems rather degrading to women, come to think of it. Lest we believe that this is merely some lunatic fringe, it is worth noting that Blow, Healthline and CNN are merely saying out loud what those who place gender pronouns in See SHAPIRO on 12

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

Better Than Charity Many of us will give money to charity this month. Americans give more than any other people in the world. Good for us. by John Stossel 56 years ago, Syndicated Columnist because American charities hadn’t ended poverty, politicians said they would end it. They declared a “war on poverty.” That “war,” so far, has cost $27 trillion. Some people were helped. But the handouts also had a bad effect.

My new video shows a moving graph of America’s poverty rate. It reveals that before the War on Poverty began, Americans had been steadily lifting themselves out of poverty. Year by year, the number of families in poverty -- defined as earning less than three times what they need to feed themselves -- decreased. Then welfare began, and for about seven years, progress continued. But then progress largely stopped! That downward trending poverty line now rises and falls with economic conditions. America now has an “underclass,” genera-

tions of people who stay poor. “Welfare taught them they didn’t have to work,” says Yaron Brook, of the Ayn Rand Institute. Handouts perpetuate poverty, he says, “because if you get a job... your checks get smaller.” That’s why charity is better. Charities are free to help people who truly need help while giving a push to people who need “a kick in the butt.” Government’s one-sizefits-all rules discourage that. I donate to a charity called The Doe Fund. It tries to “break the devastating cycle of homelessness” by teaching men to take pride in work. Many are helped.

But not all charity helps. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg gave $100 million to improve Newark’s public schools. The money disappeared into the education bureaucracy. Education consultants and friends of politicians got some. Teachers union contracts grew fatter. “But the public schools didn’t get better,” Brook points out. “The performance of the students didn’t get better.” This year’s booming stock prices increased America’s wealth gap. Billionaires got richer while store See STOSSEL on 15

UN Assembly Tackles COVID Pandemic; “A Moment of Reckoning” “Today marks an overdue and much needed moment of reckoning. None of us could have imagined, this time last year, what by John J. Metzler w a s t o c o m e , ” stated Amb. VolSyndicated Columnist kan Bozkir, the President of the UN General Assembly. He added, “COVID-19 is first and foremost a global health crisis. But it is at the same time an economic crisis, a development crisis, a humanitarian crisis, and a human rights crisis.” Thus beyond the dire health consequences of the Covid pandemic

which has plagued the world, the virus has equally caused devastating social, economic and educational disruptions. Yet the depth of the crisis and its long term consequences are probably beyond our imagination. Addressing a special Assembly session on Covid, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned, “Nearly a year into the pandemic, we face a human tragedy, and a public health, humanitarian and development emergency.” He added, “For the first time since 1945, the entire world is confronted by a common threat, regardless of nationality, ethnicity or faith.” Yet even with a vaccine on the near horizon due to the herculean

efforts of the Trump Administration’s initiative Operation Warp Speed, there’s no magical serum to restore the commercial void of closed businesses, lost dreams or shattered lives. The doldrums of the ongoing global economic downturn, the deep and still not fully understood educational shortfalls, and their impact upon the credibility and standing of our national political systems have yet to be calculated. “But let’s not fool ourselves,” Secretary-General Guterres advised, “a vaccine cannot undo damage that will stretch across years, even decades to come. Extreme poverty is rising; the threat of famine looms. We face the bigger global recession

in eight decades.” While we have yet to assess the profound global shock, there’s little question that we are witnessing a profound transformation which reverberates from the COVID pandemic; a crisis of profound economic, social, educational health and yes political proportions. This becomes clear in advanced economies but equally in the least developed countries where the pandemic’s shock waves have devastated markets, supply chains and the way we do business. Due to the lockdowns and frustrations people remain in a psychological funk, a state of disorganized limbo where time stands still and events See METZLER on 28

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

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The church buildings were described as barnshaped buildings with no heating system in winter and no ventilation in summer. Boys were expected at age twelve to do half of the work a man did, and girls were also expected to work. Sanborn said of his childhood, “Labor and study occupied all my time.” The district school was open See SMITH on 29

by Robert Hanaford Smith, Sr. Contributing Writer

The change observer was Edwin David Sanborn, a native of Gilmanton, New Hampshire and for many years a professor at Dartmouth College. He wrote about changes in social life that took place during his lifetime. Sanborn was born in 1808 and died in December of 1885. I here pass on some of his observations. Sanborn looked back fifty years or so to the time he was a college student at Dartmouth and noted that expenses had tripled since he had spent one hundred and fifty dollars for a year of college. Most of the residents of New Hampshire at that time were farmers who lived in unpainted houses which were “ill-warmed and illventilated structures..” The farm family raised their food and made some of their own clothes. They didn’t have much money so bartering was the common way of exchanging

Sanborn’s History Of New Hampshire. goods. The farm work was done by hand because there were not yet machines for mowing or reaping, nor for helping with housework, like washing or sewing machines. Before the mid-1800s there were no trains and no use of telegraphs for communication. Travel was by horseback or by horse-drawn wagons or sleighs. Sanborn recalled the first stagecoach that ran from Gilmanton to Dover and how the people would come out each day to watch the stage arrive

as he later came out to watch the arrival of the train. “Society,” he wrote, “as it now exists, was unknown. People visited their neighbors once or twice a year, the ladies arriving at the scene of action at two o’clock, the gentlemen, about six.” The church was an important part of the life of many New Hampshire residents in the early 1800s. Ministers were supported by the towns, and, according to Sanborn, “The clergy in that day literally indoctrinated the people.”

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

Consider These Year-end Financial Moves

We’re nearing the end of 2020 – and for many of us, it will be a relief to turn the calendar page on this challenging year. However, we’ve still got a few weeks left, which means you have time to make some year-end financial moves that may work in your favor. Here are a few suggestions: • Add to your IRA. For the 2020 tax year, you can put in up to $6,000 to your traditional or Roth IRA, or $7,000 if you’re 50 or older. If you haven’t reached this limit, consider adding some money. You actually have until April 15, 2021, to contribute to your IRA for 2020, but the sooner you put the money in, the quicker it can go to work for you. Plus, if you have to pay taxes in April, you’ll be less likely to contribute to your IRA then.

and the financial markets plunged, did you find yourself worrying constantly about the losses you were taking, even though they were just on “paper” at that point? Did you even sell investments to “cut your losses” without waiting for a market recovery? If so, you might want to consult with a financial professional to determine if your investment mix is still appropriate for your goals and risk tolerance, or if you need to make some changes.

• Evaluate your need for retirement plan withdrawals. If you are 72 or older, you must start taking withdrawals – technically called required minimum distributions, or RMDs – from your traditional IRA and your 401(k) or similar retirement plan. Typically, you must take these RMDs by December 31 every year. However, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stimulus (CARES) Act suspended, or waived, all RMDs due in 2020. If you’re in • Make an extra 401(k) payment. If it’s allowed this age group, but you don’t need the money, by your employer, put in a little extra to your you can let your retirement accounts continue 401(k) or similar retirement plan. And if your growing on a tax-deferred basis. salary goes up next year, increase your regular • Think about the future. Are you saving contributions. enough for your children’s college education? • See your tax advisor. It’s possible that you Are you still on track toward the retirement could improve your tax situation by making lifestyle you’ve envisioned? Or have your some investment-related moves. For example, retirement plans changed as a result of the if you sold some investments whose value has pandemic? All of these issues can affect your increased, you could incur capital gains taxes. investment strategies, so you’ll want to think To offset these gains, you could sell other carefully about what decisions you may need investments that have lost value, assuming to make. these investments are no longer essential to Looking back – and ahead – can help you your financial strategy. Your tax advisor can make the moves to end 2020 on a positive note evaluate this type of move, along with others, and start 2021 on the right foot.. to determine those that may be appropriate for your situation. This article was written by Edward Jones • Review your investment mix. As you consider for use by your local Edward Jones Financial your portfolio, think about the events of these Advisor. © 2020 Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. past 12 months and how you responded to All rights reserved. Member SIPC. them. When COVID-19 hit early in the year,

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

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Schilling, Socks, And Halls by Mike Moffett Contributing Writer

So does former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling deserve to be in “enshrined” in baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown? YES! Now these enshrinements are notoriously subjective and provide plenty of fodder for those who thrive on arguing. Having served on a college athletics Hall of Fame selection committee, I understand subjectivity. Selectees reflect selectors. Change the selectors and you’ll change the selectees. In baseball’s case the selectors—or electors— are active and honorary members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America who were active writers for at least ten years. The BWAA’s published H of F criteria is as follows: A. A baseball player must have been active as a player in the Major Leagues at some time during a period beginning fifteen (15) years before and ending five (5) years prior to election. B. Player must have played in each of ten (10) Major League championship seasons. C. Player shall have ceased to be an active player in the Major Leagues at least five (5) calendar years preceding the election but may be otherwise con-

Curt Schilling. nected with baseball. D. In case of the death of an active player or a player who has been retired for less than five (5) full years, a candidate who is otherwise eligible shall be eligible in the next regular election held at least six (6) months after the date of death or after the end of the five (5) year period, whichever occurs first. E. Any player on Baseball’s ineligible list shall not be an eligible candidate. As this sport that features more stats than any other, baseball would seemingly be well-positioned to minimize subjective impulses. Just look at the science, er, numbers! (BTW, how does an offensive lineman with NO stats get into football’s H of F?) If a Cooperstown

plaque was based solely on stats, then Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Pete Rose would have been enshrined in Cooperstown long ago. Obviously, character is part of the equation. But let’s look at Schilling’s stats, courtesy of NJ.com’s Joe Giglio. He ranks well among all starters in baseball history (min. 1500 IP) in key categories: Strikeouts: 15th SO/BB ratio: 1st ERA+: 24th WHIP: 27th (Walks and Hits Per Inning Pitched) WAR: 21st (Wins Above Replacement) Without even including Schilling’s most H of F-worthy credential—postseason excellence—we’re talking about one of the 30-orso best starting pitchers ever. Any candidate receiv-

ing votes on seventyfive percent (75%) of the ballots cast shall be elected to membership in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. After getting to the 70 percent mark last year, this could be the year for Schilling. There are, of course intangibles. Did a player win any championships? Schilling, of course, helped the Diamondbacks and the Red Sox to World Series titles. (Remember his Boston “bloody sock” from Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees? His ankle skin was sutured to his torn tendon sheath so he could take the mound in pain. Blood oozed out during the first inning, visibly soaking his sock. Boston won, setting up a Game Seven win which made the Red Sox the first team to overcome a 3-0 series deficit. Schilling later sold the sock for See MOFFETT on 12

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

MOFFETT from 11 $92,613.) An outspoken conservative, Schilling has taken a lot of hits for his actions and perspectives. I happen to admire his politics, but understand that some liberal baseball writers won’t vote for him because of his views. (See above re: “selectors.”) Some sportswriters found ways to not vote for Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb or Cy Young. So it won’t be hard to find ways to not vote for Schilling. We’ll soon see. Alas, I do NOT have a vote. If I did, I would cast it enthusiastically for the man who bloodied red that famous sock on that magical night in 2004. Sports Quiz Who was the only unanimous Baseball Hall of Fame selectee? (Answer follows) Born Today That is to say sports

standouts born on December 10 include NBA forward Mark Aguirre (1959) and 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow (1996). Sports Quote “Buenos Dias.” – Baseball player Jim Gantner when asked the capital of Argentina. Sports Quiz Answer New York Yankee reliever Mariano Rivera. State Representative Mike Moffett was a Professor of Sports Management for Plymouth State University and NHTI-Concord. He co-authored the critically-acclaimed and award-winning “FAHIM SPEAKS: A WarriorActor’s Odyssey from Afghanistan to Hollywood and Back” which is available on Amazon. com. His e-mail address is mimoffett@comcast. net.

SHAPIRO from 6 their Twitter bios, such as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, imply: that gender and sex are completely severable, and that biology has nothing to do with the former. Presidentelect Joe Biden has openly stated that an 8-year-old can decide on his transgenderism; Sen. Elizabeth Warren infamously stated that she would have a 9-year-old transgender child screen her secretary of education nominee. Male and female are arbitrary categories to which anyone can claim membership. Unless, of course, the left wishes to treat sex as an important characteristic. Then the logic changes. Thus, it is historic that Biden has nominated an all-female communications team, and it is deeply moving that Harris is a woman. It’s almost as though

the definitions of words have no meaning, according to the left. All that matters is fealty to whatever narrative the chosen moral caste dictates on a daily basis. And if you cross it, you’re doing violence. Ben Shapiro, 36, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and editor-inchief of DailyWire.com. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers “How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps,” “The Right Side of History” and “Bullies.” To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www. creators.com.

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WHAT’S ON TAP IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD?? A listing of some of the area’s beercentric watering holes where you can find old favorites on tap as well as some cutting edge seasonals.

ACKERLY’S JOHNSON’S GRILL & GALLEY TAPHOUSE 83 Main Street, Alton 603.875.3383 Akerlysgrillandgalleyrestaurant.com Smuttynose - Finest Kind 603- Winni Ale Tuckerman - Pale Ale Great Rhythm - Squeeze Stoneface IPA

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At Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant 233 D.W. Hwy, Meredith 603.279.6212 hartsturkeyfarm.com Bud Light Stoneface IPA Moat Mtn - Blueberry Tuckerman - Pale Ale 603 - Winni Amber Ale ...+6 More On Tap

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At Funspot Family Entertainment Ctr. 579 Endicott St N., Weirs 603.366.4377 funspotnh.com Foundation - Flights of Fancy Victory - Merry Monkey Shipyard - Prelude Litherman’s - Midguided Angel Fore River - Timberhitch Hobbs - Chocorua’s Curse ...+6 More On Tap

At Johnson’s Seafood & Steak 69 Rt 11, New Durham 603.859.7500 eatatjohnsons.com/ newdurham Southern Tier- Salted Caramel Lone Pine- Oh J! Woodstock- Frosty Goggles Foundation- Gobble Gobble UFO- Winter Blonde Muddy Road- Heads Up ...+30 More On Tap

PATRICK’S PUB 18 Weirs Rd., Gilford 603.293.0841 Patrickspub.com Patrick’s Slainte House Ale Sam Adams - Seasonal Guinness Tuckerman - Pale Ale 603 - Winni Amber Ale Shipyard - Pumpkin Ale Woodstock - Autumn Ale ...+8 More On Tap

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At The Craft Beer Xchange 59 Doe Ave., Weirs Beach 603.409.9344 FB @craftbeerxchange Barreled Souls - Double Blackberry Crumble Sour Spencer - Trappist Ale Orono - Tubular IPA Bunker - Machine Czech Pils Two Roads - Holiday Ale Verhaeghe - Choc. Cherry Ale ...+30 More On Tap ** Tap listings subject to change!

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

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Lexington’s BB Peppermint Porter

by Jim MacMillan Contributing Writer

What do you think of when someone says peppermint? Does your mind wander back to candies you might have enjoyed in the past. A Christmas candy cane or York Peppermint Patty might be among those thoughts. It’s not my go-to flavor and I’m not a big mint fan, but around this time of year, it seems to gain popularity. Now when someone mentions bourbon barrel aging to me, they probably have my full attention. I have a deep appreciation for bourbon production that creates a fine liquid that soothes with each sip. The aging process bourbon goes through imparts that same essence into the oak cask. Reusing that same vessel for aging darker beers (porters and stouts), is referred to bourbon barrel aging. The embedded bourbon stored in the oak is ‘given back’ to the aging beer, thus adding bourbon notes to that brew. So as we examine our focus beer of the week, imaging combining peppermint and bourbon together. Let us look at Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Pepper-

mint Porter. Irish entrepreneur Pearse Lyons began Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company in 1999 in Lexington, Kentucky which is part of his Alltech empire. Lexington offers a host of bourbon barrel aged ales, hard tea and whiskey malts. Another Alltech location is called Dueling Barrels in Pikesville, Kentucky and concentrates on unique ales and moonshine (a whiskey-related liquid). The Pearse Lyons Distillery at St. James Church in Dublin, Ireland produces fine Irish whiskey with a rich history dating back

to the 1200’s. With so many delicious offerings of beer and distilled malts, you will begin to appreciate their efforts. The Lexington website also offers a diverse mixed drink and infused food recipes page that you will find quite informative. Discover lexingtonbrewingco.com BB Peppermint Porter is not something you would normally think of as being attractive. First, you need to understand and appreciate the deep malty goodness of the porter style. Some porters can be earthy or spicy while others tend to fin-

ish with a nutty, toffee or espresso note. Next is getting used to the bourbon aging process and its contribution to this beer. As mentioned earlier, barrel aging goes well with darker beers so we can all appreciate this element. It works here. Lastly, throwing peppermint into the mix… why? I can image that a holiday beer needs spices or flavors related to the holiday. Well, candy canes and peppermint fill the need. The complexity and swirling flavors combined with the style, aging and mint certainly make this holiday beverage appropriate. Ruby black in hue, minimal nearkhaki head and Andes Mint aromas gives this beer an interesting beginning even before the first sip. An uppermedium body brew with chocolatey character finishes oddly dry. At 8.2% ABV, this surprisingly good porter makes for a good dessert beer or something to let your friends know about. BeerAdvocate.com has officially rated Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Peppermint Porter with 90 out of 100 and an ‘Outstanding’ badge. You’ll find 12 oz bottle four packs at Case-nKeg in Meredith or other fine beer providers. If your excited to try a unique flavor combination for the upcoming holidays, why not look at Lexington’s Kentucky Bourbon Barrel products.

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

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Tips For Hosting A Virtual Holiday Cookie Exchange It may take a little extra time and creativity, but a holiday cookie exchange can be held virtually and it’s worth the effort according to experts. “There’s a famous quote, ‘If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.’ It’s so true for me as I find great joy in developing easy, flavorful recipes,” says Cindy Gilbert, McCormick Test Kitchen chef. “My friends have come to me for years requesting tips and tricks, and over 20 years ago, they anointed me the annual holiday cookie exchange leader. This past year has been challenging, but I knew I wanted to keep the tradition alive while following social distancing guidelines.” Here are Gilbert’s top seven tips on hosting your own virtual cookie exchange, along with her favorite delicious

McCormick cookie picks. 1. Keep the virtual guest list small and local. Your family and friends’ safety is the most important thing, and no one wants to bake a ton of cookies. Aim for five to 10 people.

Gingerbread Men Cookies – No winter holiday is complete without gingerbread men. They’re cute and can be decorated with raisins, cinnamon red-hot candies or royal icing.

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

OUT on the TOWN Great Food, Libations & Good Times!

STOSSEL from 7 clerks lost jobs. “Progressives” gathered outside Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s home and set up a guillotine. The message: “Behead the rich.” They think that when Bezos makes billions, the rest of us have less. That’s ignorant, says Brook. “All of our lives are dramatically better because of somebody like Jeff Bezos. Things just appear at our doorstep. They hire hundreds of thousands of people. They make it possible for poor people to make a living by selling me something that I want!” I push back. “But he has so much -- when others have so little.” “It’s his money!” Brook responds. “He created it. Once we start deciding what you can or can’t do with your property, what we will get is... extreme poverty for everybody. Only one system has brought people out of poverty, capitalism.” That’s what I finally learned after years of consumer reporting. Consider three ways to help people: government, charity and capitalism. Government is needed for some things, but it’s inefficient, and its handouts encourage dependency. Charity is better because charities can make judgments about who really needs a handout versus who needs a push. But charities can be inef-

ficient, too. Oddly, what helps the most people in the most efficient way is greedy, self-interested capitalism. “Two hundred fifty years ago,” recounts Brook, “almost all of us were earning what the United Nations today defines as extreme poverty, $2 a day or less. That was 94% of all people on planet Earth. Today, only about 8% are that poor. Why? Not because of charity, not because of foreign aid but by employing people. ... Businesses are the most efficient because they have the right incentives. They won’t survive if they’re not efficient. Government has no such incentives. And charities are mixed.”

ks a e St od • sta eafo a P S

So, why do billionaires and entrepreneurs now rush to donate, rather than doing what they’re best at: innovating? “They want to be liked,” replies Brook. “(But) they’re buying into false ideas, both economically and morally. They are acting against their self-interest, and against all of our interests, including the interests of the poor.”

NEW Craft Beer Destination in The Weirs! John Stossel is author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.” For other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www. creators.com.

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

Five Tips for a Safer Digital Experience This Holiday Shopping Season Online holiday shopping is booming this year, as more consumers avoid brick-andmortar stores in an effort to socially distance. According to a national consumer survey by Experian, 62 percent of shoppers will buy from the comfort of their computers. But with many worried about being a victim of identity theft and fraud, it may not be such a jolly experience. In fact, 57 percent of those surveyed feel there’s a greater risk this year of identity theft because of COVID-19, while 18 percent of survey respondents have already been affected by a coronavirus-related scam. However, even though consumers are

cial accounts safe and retailers should be vigilant so that shoppers have a positive customer experience.” For a safer digital experience this holiday shopping season, consumers should consider the following tips:

concerned about identity theft, only 49 percent of those surveyed shop on protected internet connections and only 47 percent check if the websites are secure. “With increased online traffic occurring, the holidays are always a ripe period for cyber-

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criminals. However, this year is even more attractive for hackers,” says Michael Bruemmer, Experian vice president of Consumer Protection. “Consumers need to make sure they’re following good security practices to keep their information and finan-

1. Don’t Use Public Wi-Fi: Public networks make it easier for hackers to intercept data and steal sensitive information. Consumers should only enter credit card information or other sensitive data on their phones or computers from home or on a private network, or use a secure virtual private network (VPN) connection. See DIGITAL on 20

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 — COOKIES from 14 4. Arrange the exchange. About an hour before the virtual gettogether, set up a table outside, in a cul-desac or school parking lot. Everyone can take turns grabbing their cookies quickly and safely. Or, arrange no contact porch drop-offs during a set time. Holiday Meringue Cookies – These deliciously airy, light, and low-fat meringue cookies are the perfect confection for any holiday celebration. Add your favorite food coloring for a festive twist.

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the website has a secured connection, making it much harder to hack. 5. Don’t Use A Debit Card: Credit cards offer much more protection for online purchases than debit cards. If fraud occurs, the money is not gone from an associated checking account and a claim can be filed with their card issuer. Additional survey data can be found by visiting experian.com/blogs. For more tips to protect against identity theft, visit the Ask Experian blog at experian.com/ education. While scams abound this time of year and this holiday season is presenting additional security threats, being proactive can help put a stop to cybercriminals and hackers.

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

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and Best Wishes for a — THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 — 24 Happy New Year!

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— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

Hanging out enjoying the wide mountain vista from Mount Crag’s summit ledges. The summit can be reached in less than a mile and its trails are maintained by the Shelburne Trail Club.

Crossing Mill Brook using the Shelburne Trails Club cable car are yours truly and Bria Clark. We used our strength to pull the rope and move the cable car over the brook to continue on the Yellow Trail. PATENAUDE from 1 condition. These trails are lightly used and are well worth visiting for hiking and snowshoeing. From North Road Charlie and I drove up the gravel Mill Brook

Road about half a mile to the Scudder Trailhead. Bria and Jeremy arrived right behind us. It has been a few years since I last hiked here when I participated in a volunteer work

day on the Scudder Trail. I noted the new trail signs. We grabbed our packs and headed up the well blazed Scudder Trail. The first mile or so the trail is a wide old skidder road. As

the trail narrowed it Ray’s Pond from traveled in a buffer our car was under of trees between not 3 miles. We retraced too long ago logging our footsteps back, operations. once again lingering Above the interseca few more moments tion with the Cabot at every outlook. Connector Trail we There are many continued up more loop options in this steeply in a wonderarea, but we stuck ful hardwood forto our out and back est. Deep dry leaves plan until we were can be slippery but nearly to our cars. luckily the wind had Since the day was so swept much of the lovely we decided to trail clear. turn up the Yellow Up the ridge we Trail to Mount Crag. hiked and the trail Of the four of us only crossed several open Bria had not been to ledgy areas. We took the top of this dea snack break at lightful bump, just the large west facan elevation 1,412 ing ledge. We could feet. Mount Crag see the white capped has one of the bigpeaks of the Presigest bang for your dential Range inbuck hiking efforts cluding Mount around. Its summit Washington above ledge is mighty fine. the sparkling waters Charlie on the Scudder Trail. A f t e r c r o s s i n g of the Androscoggin Mill Brook Road we River below. carefully rock hopped There are a few more covered but there is across the Brook and outlooks, some better a summit sign pro- in a few feet we saw than others but this claiming its elevation the cable car sign. On time of year, when the of 2,242 feet. this side of the brook leaves are off the trees, From the summit we on the Yellow Trail there is plenty to see continued a tenth of a there is a short spur to afar. mile down the path to a cable car that crossJust before arriving Ray’s Pond. The small es the Austin Brook to at the top we crossed m o u n t a i n t r a n w a s Mill Brook Road just a a n o t h e r f i n e v i e w covered with a thin 100 yards uphill of the ledge. The summit of layer of ice. Yellow Trail crossing. Mount Ingalls is tree The distance from See PATENAUDE on 27

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 — PATENAUDE from 26

The sun was bright and it was warmer here than it had been on Mt. Ingalls’ ledges earlier. A couple with a baby were preparing to leave when we arrived, the first people we had met on the trails all day. We sat in the sun and admired the mountain views for a long time. A pair of Corgi dogs arrived and in a few minutes their owner did too. The pups were friendly and we learned they lived nearby. I noticed she was wearing a STC

Of course we had to check it out. Not only was the cable car fun, it is rather handy for crossing the brook. Right before the trail begins to climb steeply there are some impressive large glacial boulders on the south side of the trail. We followed a herd path made by other curious hikers that had tread before us and we circled the big rocks. There was a boulder cave but none of us crawled through it.

Dry leaves can be slippery but they’ll be covered with snow soon. Bria on the Scudder Trail, one of the many trails maintained by the Shelburne Trails Club.

hat. Bria and I continued down the other side to the Gates Brook Trail while Charlie and Jeremy went back to our cars. We passed by a couple other hikers doing the short hike to the summit, from Austin Brook Trailhead to the summit of Mt. Crag is 7/10ths of a mile one way. We beat the boys back down so we walked along North Road past the Austin Brook Trailhead where they scooped us up and took us home.

Conditions change fast in the mountains and snow is in the forecast. I hope everyone is looking forward to winter snowsport fun, I sure am. Have Fun. Amy Patenaude is an avid skier/outdoor enthusiast from Henniker, N.H. Readers are welcome to send comments or suggestions to her at: amy@ weirs.com.

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MALKIN from 6 had discovered a vote had been illicitly cast in their name. In Arizona, Braynard’s team obtained early/absentee voter numbers from the hotly contested Maricopa County. They isolated a universe of voters who had been sent absentee ballots but did not return them. VIP workers reached out by phone to verify if the voters had indeed requested their ballot and whether they returned it. Out of 2,044 people identified who met the criteria, 44% said they never requested a ballot, despite records showing that votes were cast in their name. Another experiment allowed the researchers to identify an estimated 5,700 individuals (not including military voters) who registered in Arizona, also registered in another state and then

illicitly cast early absentee votes in Arizona. “I have a high degree of confidence that the number of ballots that were cast that should not have been -- illegal ballots -- surpasses the margin of victory as it stands right now,” Braynard concluded. “I believe that unless the questions that I raised get answered, you can’t be confident of the vote count actually is and no one can.” How Arizona GOP Gov. Doug Ducey certified the election results in favor of Biden yesterday while all those questions remain unresolved is simply unfathomable. Certifying a false statement in any other legal context would be criminal, as both Braynard and Giuliani noted. The lackadaisical FBI now has possession of all the data and analysis from Braynard’s project. If you’re wondering why the Jus-

tice Department or any other government body didn’t do this work themselves long before 2020, you’re not alone. Braynard recommended an independent audit of all state voter registration files, authenticated absentee ballot requests via fingerprint machine scanning and matching, and fundamental reform of automated voting machines. “It is unconscionable,” Braynard testified, “for a democracy to operate with election equipment that is closed-source software and design.” Another star witness, cybersecurity expert Col. Philip Waldron, summed up the national security and privacy perils of the small, intertwined cabal of election software and hardware companies such as Dominion, Smartmatic, Sequoia and ES&S this way:

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“Your vote is not as secure as your Venmo account.” Citizen investigators at home and abroad are putting the screws on these foreign-owned election tech conglomerates at considerable risk to their lives. They’re monitoring Dominion machines in Georgia and Nevada. Glenn Chong, a top election watchdog and ex-congressman in the Philippines, believes his top aide was tortured and murdered in 2018 in retaliation for Chong’s decadelong crusade to expose Smartmatic’s election manipulation through automatic vote shaving and padding, algorithmic meddling and digital ballot image alterations. “The government can rule over us only as long as it has the consent of the governed. The power to change our destiny lies in our own hands,” he urged. “But if our elections are stolen, manipulated by a few people who want to control us, then we lose our future.” The firsthand victims of election fraud refuse to yield control and dominion over their votes to the thieves, cheats and liars -- and so must we. Michelle Malkin’s email address is MichelleMalkinInvestigates@ protonmail.com. To find out more about Michelle Malkin and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

METZLER from 7 blur. The dignity of work has been destroyed by the confusing edicts from state and local government such as in New York which have encouraged desperation, confusion and seething resentment. State groupthink government in places such as California with large scale lockdowns seems detached but intrusive at the same time. Moreover, the psychological disruptions of the past eight months have cratered small business, devastated dreams, and shattered hopes. COVID infection spikes remain a dangerous “invisible enemy” in the U.S. and equally so in key European countries such as France, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. For poorer countries in Africa or South Asia the effects are devastating. The UN’s humanitarian network predicts that 235 million people worldwide will need assistance in 2021, that’s an increase of forty percent over this already burdened year. But there’s another issue as Washington still remains at loggerheads with the World Health Organization (WHO), and in turn China, concerning the deadly virus which started in Wuhan, but then spread like wildfire from Europe to North America. In remarks to the Assembly via video, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar warned, “The key issue is not where the virus first appeared, it is whether information about the virus was shared in a timely and transparent way.” He added,

“Sadly, the necessary information sharing did not happen, and this dereliction of duty has been absolutely devastating for the entire globe.” Secretary Azar opined, “Unfortunately, we are not much closer today to the transparent information sharing that we need.” But until and unless the major powerhouse economies such as the USA and Western Europe build back their productive capacity and surpluses so that they are able to assist with global development assistance, the poor and needy countries will simply lack the resources. The U.S. economic rebound and dramatic drop in unemployment to 6.7 % posts one good metric, but momentum must be maintained and entrepreneurialism encouraged. Assembly President Bozkir reflected the sentiments of millions of people worldwide, awaiting the time the pandemic is declared defeated, “The day we can take a deep breath of fresh air without fear. The day we can shake the hands of our colleagues, embrace our families, and laugh with our friends.” It’s a seemingly simple sentiment but still likely a long way off. John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of Divided Dynamism The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China.

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 — SMITH from 9 three months of the year using four books for study – an arithmetic book, a reading book, a grammar book, and the New Testament from the Bible. Study for some continued at home. Around fifty years afterwards, as E.D. Sanborn viewed life in the later 1800s he was not happy with all the changes he observed. He acknowledged some positive changes however, like the improved medical procedures and the fact that “the average of human life has been lengthened.” He added though, “But laborers and thinkers do not live so long.” The years that had past since his childhood days found people with better houses, warmer clothes and lighter work. But he lamented some of the changes. “Where is the world in which I was born?” asked Sanborn. “With increased wealth have come its constant attendants, luxury and indolence. Boys in the first families live for play, girls for show, and the parents for pleasure. Farm labor, the most useful, healthful and moral on earth, has been exchanged for the more exciting employments of the shop, the factory and the railroad... Labor in the kitchen has become unfashionable. Spinning and weaving are obsolete ideas. The piano has usurped the place of the wheel, and worsted work has supplanted the loom.” According to Sanborn the farm girls left home and domestic jobs for the factories in places like Manchester and Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts where they made more money. Then there was famine in Ireland and Irish men and girls came to New England. Thousands of men found work on the

Library at Dartmouth College named after Edwin David Sanborn. railroads and the girls took over the jobs in the factories and homes and American girls were left without jobs either in the home or factory. Another situation for Professor Sanborn to lament. He asks what becomes of American girls? “They have ceased to milk the cows and churn the butter; they toil not neither do they spin, as they once did; they are missed, sadly missed, in the kitchen and in the factory. Many of them by the new process of culture, have become delicate ladies, sitting in close rooms heated by airtight stoves, without the natural stimulus of light and air, afflicted with chronic neuralgia or pulmonary weakness.” Sanborn insisted that travelling was better for a person back in the 1830s than in the latter half of the century. “Traveling is no longer a healthy exercise.” His sixty mile trip to college fifty years previous to his article was made in a horse drawn wagon without springs with

the poorest horse on the farm providing the pull-power. The horse was lame in one leg and blind in one eye, and it took him two days to get from Gilmanton to Dartmouth. But it was healthy for the young man, and not like the suffocating rides in the train cars of later days that left one nervous and weary unlike the six-horse stagecoach rides traveling at nine miles an hour that left one refreshed and ready to eat heartily and sleep soundly. Before the Civil War things cost less than after the conflict. A couple could stop at a New Hampshire Inn and get a meal for 25 cents and purchase some oats for their horse for the same price. After the war Mr. Sanborn had to pay a dollar at the Parker House for a “chickenbone.” He lamented the decline of public morality in fifty years, though pointed out that the increased rate of crime in New England was less in New Hampshire than in

her sister states. Even in Massachusetts crime was said by one of their former Senators to have been “...so rare in that

29 State that a violator of God’s earth.” the law was looked upon Social change in fifas a prodigy.” “A murder ty years (1830-1880) in those days was as had led to an overrare as a compopulated State et, and both Prison. were regared W h i l e with horpreaching ror. A bold (he was a blasphempart-time er was preacher) looked the benupon with efits of apprehenlaboring sion, lest with our the judghands ments of and head, Heaven Professhould fall sor Sanupon the born also community declared that which tolerour country ated such a Edward David is the best of wretch.” earth and that Sanborn Criminals New Hampwere sometimes ban- shire is a good state ished from the town in to live in. He wrote, which they committed “Cherish it, commend a crime. A constable it, love it, as your own in one town brought a dear foster mother. Renotorious thief before call the great men and witnesses and said: “I good institutions it has warn you off the town’s produced.” territory; and, moreover, I warn you off the face of

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

Super Crossword

PUZZLE CLUE: PUZZLING-LY

B.C.

by Parker & Hart

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —

Sudoku

Magic Maze THEME THIS WEEK: FOUND BY DIGGING

Caption Contest OUR PICK FOR BEST CAPTION

Runners Up : A prim and proper lady ‘wears a cake’ instead of jumping out of one! Jean Cram, Pittsfield, NH.

CAPTION THIS PHOTO!!

“Lovie, what shall tonight’s safe word be?” - B. Barry, Hebron, NH.

PHOTO #837

PHOTO #835

It’s Official...Mary’s new hairdo takes the cake! - Doug Meagher, Meredith, NH.

After lighting the candles Send your best brief caption to on her birthday new cake us with your name and location hat Lois got a reputation within 2 weeks of publication as a hot head. -Alan Dore, date... Caption Contest, The Rochester, NH.

Weirs Times, P.O. Box 5458, Weirs, NH 03247 email to contest@weirs.com

The Winklman Aeffect

by John Whitlock

— THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, December 10, 2020 —