Spring brings out Town Meeting and Citizen Government

Spring is in the air. Sure, much of the country is still buried under feet of snow and other parts of the country are still in the grips of colder than normal weather. (Just where is Global Warming anyway?) But the calender says March and in New England, especially here in New Hampshire, that means Town Meeting time.

Yes, Town Meeting is a New England tradition and it marks the near end of winter and ushers in the hope of life renewed in the form of Spring. Town Meeting is one of the purest forms of democracy in this world.

Towns all over New Hampshire will begin having their annual Town Meetings this month. Many towns and villages across New England do not have mayors, or counselors. The towns in New England don't have Aldermen. What we have is a board of Selectmen. (Yes even if you are a woman, you are still called a Selectman. I guess New England forgot that part of political correctness.)

A board of selectmen can be as few as 3 or and many as 12 but most towns have somewhere between 4 and 8. At least that seems to be the case here in New Hampshire, the state in which I currently call home.

These people are responsible for pretty much the day to day operations of the town or village. They help form policy, hire and fire the town personnel such as fire chief, police chief, highway dept chief, etc. They work on and submit the town budget for vote and they oversee many articles that end up on ballots at this time of year.

But with all of that, being a selectman is a very part time job. Most towns boards meet only once per month unless there is some pressing or urgent business before the town. These selectmen, who are elected by the town folk, have full time jobs or own their own businesses. They can be mothers, military reservists, gay, straight, black (although I do not know of a single minority selectman in the state of NH) liberal, conservative or your neighbor.

They are just everyday people who run the towns in which they live for the betterment of the entire community. But their power is limited and they must bend their own will to that of the people. Besides, if you piss off enough of your fellow town folk, they just might show up at your front door. This brings a whole new meaning to the statement “all politics is local.”

At Town Meeting, there are usually a number of articles that the town gets to vote on right then and there. Usually by a simple show of hands and a simple majority. I have seen this form of self government in action numerous times and believe it or not...it works.

Town budgets are usually fat free. Things that need to get done within the town don't get studied to death and usually happen quickly and in a timely manor. The only time things slow down is if there is a state or federal law or mandate that gets in the way.

People are free to voice their opinion at Town Meeting and all who attend get a fair shake at the podium. In fact, it is not unheard of for Town Meetings to last until 1AM or be adjourned and finished on a second day.

If you think the regular folk of a town don't know what they are doing, think again. These people, the ones who take the time to participate, are well informed, articulate and know their stuff. They definitely have an idea of what they think would be best for them, their families and their town.

If you visit New England, look at the small towns you drive through or visit. Notice everything about the town. Then understand that town is a well run machine and overseen by just every day ordinary people.

No this is not mob rule and it is rare that things at Town Meeting get out of hand but people do have their opinions and they can be strong. But for the most part, people are civil and they accept the final vote of the towns folk.

Citizen government at its best. That is what Spring time in New England is all about. That is why I know that the snow will soon be gone and warm weather will soon be at hand. Town Meeting. The way our entire government should be.

Vermont Town Indicts Bush. Will Town Cops Arrest President?

Dateline: Brattleboro, VT 2008. I cannot imagine a bigger waist of time or anything more wasteful of taxpayer funds than what Brattleboro and Marlboro, VT did earlier this week.

First you need to understand they are towns in the Southeast corner of the state. Traditionally liberal. So liberal in fact that women sometimes can be spotted topless walking down Main Street Brattleboro. I kid you not.

This is also a town full of artist and craftspeople. Just take a stroll down Main Street and you will find boutique after boutique after boutique. Art shops, sandwich shops, antique shops dominate this town. This is a town that votes on a very liberal agenda and they are also rather high in their gay population.

The contrast to Brattleboro is that is is home to one of the largest food distribution companies in the country. C&S Wholesale grocers has a its huge and main warehouse in Brattleboro even though the corporate headquarters has been moved to nearby Keene, NH about 20 minutes east of Brattleboro.

Now what did this town do to catch my attention? Well it didn't only catch my attention but it also caught the attention of some major news outlets.

Brattleboro and its neighboring town made up of trees (which means there are so few people in this town that it could probably be classified as an Hamlet or Village) but named Marlboro, went to the polls to vote on a referendum. It is non-binding, of course. But this referendum was passed by both towns.

It was a vote on weather or not to charge President Bush and VP. Cheney with high crimes and have them indicted and arrested should they set foot in either town. Can you imagine the Secret Service letting local town cops arrest the President and the VP? I think it would be a fierce but short gun battle with the town cops on the losing end.

This is nonsense. This is ridiculous. You have to wonder if Bush is the embarrassment of the nation in the eyes of the world or it its our very own citizens doing really stupid stuff like this. Hell, if the people Bush governs are this stupid, then how can you expect to get a “smart” leader? With a pool of stupid people to draw from, I guess you cannot get a smart leader.

This proves it, because there are not many, if any, smart people in either of these two towns in the State of VT. So that would mean those who step up to lead will most likely be stupid as well. And so it shows and so it goes. This resolution actually passed on Tuesday, March 4, 2008

What else is there to say other than, I think Vermonters, at least in these two towns, should stick to topples lesbians and cow tipping on a warm summer night.

Al Gore may be sued over Global Warming film

This is one of those 'why didn't someone think of this before' kind of things. It seems that the founder of the Weather Channel (John Coleman) and a Meteorologist is doing something thinking of doing something that should have been done long ago.

Mr. Coleman thinks that Al Gore should be sued over Global Warming. Citizen Sugar is reporting that the founder of the Weather Channel and a Meteorologist thinks that Al Gore should be be sued over the damage he and his cohorts have caused.

Now I happen to like this approach. It would serve the left and the alarmist well to have to prove their theories and to have them stop making such claims like 'a majority of scientist believe that global warming caused by man exist'. This is a bunch of bunk. A majority of scientist do NOT believe that global warming exist.

In fact, whenever a sound and prominent scientist questions or debunks global warming, they are threatened and the media jumps down their throats. Even the once conservative Weather Channel is now a liberal outpost. In fact the Weather Channel’s Heidi Cullen has called for Meteorologist who disagree with the Global Warming theory to lose their license. How is that keeping things open and true to science?

This is not how science proves it theories, by blasting those who disagree with one point of view. Besides this is not a simple disagreement. These scientist have legitimate scientific data to show that global climate change being caused by man is bunk. They have data to show that global warming is nothing more than junk science.

Even the usually liberal British High Court ruled that Al Gores move 'An Inconvenient Truth' was full of misleading statements and ordered that any public school in England that showed this film must point out the lies, inaccuracies and false science.

This is not something minor that should just be shrugged off. Lets face it, environmental alarmist are causing havoc with economies of the world with their demands and proposed laws. The Kyoto treaty was just such an economic disaster especially since global warming is not a proven theory.

Of course you have those that say we should not wait till it is too late to act. Then again should we spend so much time, money and effort on something that is false and will never happen? Of course not. In fact, this type of thing has been argued to have killed people.

The point is that global warming is not real. The earth has always gone through weather cycles and we also know the sun has a huge impact on our weather and climate as a whole. In fact the sun spot activity right now is the highest it has been in 8000 years. We know for a fact that sun spot activity has a direct and an indirect affect on our climate. So what are we going to do about the sun then?

Besides we also know that the earth has been warmer in the past than it is now and it has also been colder in the past than it is now. Remember, man has only had the ability to affect our climate less than 150 years. Being of sound logic, I find it hard to believe that we could adversely affect or effect or world wide climate in such a short period of time and at such a drastic level.

The earth can and has adapted to lots of things in its history and it will continue to do so. Of course man can not go on just polluting because it will affect us directly but to think that in the next 20, 50 or 100 years we will change the climate of the globe so drastically that we will all die is ludicrous and the liberals know it.

Health Care by Government, Only if You Want Medicare for Everone

There has been a lot of talk about health care. There has been a lot of talk about the 35 to 45 million people in the USA that have no health insurance coverage. The politicians claim that these people all want coverage but can't afford it.

Lets be honest here. First of all, not all those 35 to 45 million Americans want insurance. There are many who do not want to spend the money even if they can afford it. I remember when I was in my teens. I did not want to pay for health care coverage that did not make sense to me. Most people who are healthy in their teens and twenties don't see the need for regular health insurance. They don't visit doctors on a regular basis and they know they would be throwing their money away.

Well now, according to 60 Minutes, we have millions of people who are under insured. These people can't afford the co-payment or they don't have dental or eye care as a part of their current coverage. So that boost the number of people who do not have proper health coverage to nearly 100 million people.

That means that one third of the US population does not access the health care system. I find that hard to believe.

First of all, I do not believe that health care is a basic right. I'm sorry, but it is not. It is a business like any other. If it was not a business where a profit could be made, then you would not have the advancements we have had. Yes, if something goes wrong, I certainly want the best possible medical attention I can afford.

That is key. The word afford. Yes, I am sure I have just pissed off a lot of people but that will not change my view. I have been on both sides of the isle. I have had health care coverage and I have been without it. I have always been healthy and I rarely go to a doctor.

Some people would say I am crazy for not visiting my doctor on a regular basis. Why should I? There is very little in our world that people access when they don't need to.

The point is, there is nothing on this planet other than breathing that is given to anyone free of charge. You even have to work for your food. So why do we think we can take what is essentially a business and start giving it away or dictating the cost and price of it.

Communist and Socialist countries have all tried to make parts or all of their health care a free and open access policy and they have all failed or they are currently failing. Canadians come to the USA for basic health care needs because they cannot get them in Canada or their waiting list is too long for the good of their health.

England, Sweden and other socialistic nations have had to change or overhaul their government health care system because their old systems were not working and/or it was bankrupting the government and the people.

Those of you calling for the Federal Government to take over your health care should take a look at Medicare and Midicaid. They should also look at the VA system. All three are in shambles and are shameful examples of how government can screw up your health care.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has changed their health care system. They say they are doing everyone a great service. The only problem is they are in the back pockets and in the bedroom of every one of their citizens. In Massachusetts if you are 18 years old or older you MUST have health insurance. If you don't, then the state will fine you. Now of course if you fall within certain income guidelines you are eligible for a state plan. Again you are forced to have something you may not want. It is not the same as being forced to have car insurance. You can chose to not own or drive a car. The only choice you have with health insurance is to move out of the state.

And yes, Massachusetts is losing population. The neighboring states of New Hampshire and Rhode Island are gaining a good portion of those fleeing the over taxation and over regulation in Massachusetts

Health care and health insurance is not FREE nor is it cheap. To say you want the government to give it to you is ludicrous. It is the very definition of insanity. I do not want an organization that already has made a mess of health care to be in charge of my health care.

I am one of those very healthy people even though high blood pressure and diabetes runs in my family. I choose not to go to the doctor for a number of reasons. Mainly because I am healthy and I eat right and exercise and just plain take care of myself. It is safe to say that if the majority of Americans lived the way I lived, there would not be nearly as high a need for drugs and doctors as we have now. And yes I do eat sweets and junk food on occasion.

The point is, when the government get hold of your health care, they will be able to tell you how to live if you want to continue getting that care. You don't think other measures will come down the pike? Think again.

There are already people in congress proposing a fat tax on snack foods similar to the taxes on tobacco. Sugar soft drinks are also in their radar sites. Yes you will be hounded and taxed to death if you do not conform to someones ideal way of life. That is the power of government and once you give them that power, it is nearly impossible to take that power away.

Remember, just like driving, you do not have a constitutional right to eat anything you want. At least that is what they will say which will give them the right to tax your eating behavior. Snack foods and other foods not deemed healthy will be viewed as privileges. Hell there may even be age limits imposed on snack foods. Petty soon you will need to be 16 or 18 or 21 years of age to buy potato chips. You think I am going too far?

Just look at tobacco, alcohol and some over the counter drugs. Don't think for an instant that the health police will not come after you or tax you and your favorite snack chip. The point is government has no business being in my or your living room, bed room, bathroom or anywhere else in your private life. But you allow them to take over the health care system and you will give them that right.

Not to mention you will be much poorer for it. You think health care in the USA is expensive now, just wait until the government gets hold of it. When was the last time government was able to bring down the cost of anything while keeping the service the same or improving it? Right, there has not been a time.

Our government is here for public safety, yes. Health care is not a public safety issue. You can take care of yourself. And if the government would get totally out of health care, then maybe, just as with car insurance, it will be more affordable for those who want it.

Just think. Right now you can get a health coverage plan in various forms. It could be an HMO or a PPO or even a major medical policy (which makes the most sense for young people who are healthy) but if the government takes control now you can only get what they say and trust me the more efficient policies out there will not be allowed.

I find it horrifying that the American people would allow the government to make decisions as personal as health care.

You had better be careful because if our health care system tanks, then where are you going to go? Already most of the world comes here for health care because your system is the best in the world. So if you destroy the best, who is left? Canada? England? Sweden? France? They all come here when they can. You, the people of the USA, my fellow Americans, will be shit out of luck.