adventures in the free state: November 2017

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

The One Where the Commission Announces Its Findings Before the Hearing

For the predetermined deliberations of this lopsided simpatico NH Commission to Study the Legalization, Regulation, and Taxation of Marijuana (and here's the Senate hearing on the House bill to establish it) is what the NH House Criminal Justice Committee insists it must wait. But rest assured, citizen, your unauthorized overlords are unbiased. Uh-huh. They "represent" you, too...

Can this really be surprising, though, when the hand-picked membership is overwhelmingly comprised of unrepentant on-the-record -- even vestedly self-interested -- drug warriors? Oh, the prohibitionist/authoritarian echo chamber. Thank you, late-commission-addition attorney Paul "How the hell did he get in here?!?" Twomey, for injecting a shudder of jarring objectivity and honesty into the juggernaut.

The titular revelation barely 4 minutes into this "impartial" commission's only second non-"organizational" meeting, 11/27/2017 -- the announcement that the Chair is already intending to speak in House session against this year's "marijuana legalization" bill, HB656 (the Criminal Justice Committee's equally tediously predictable Executive Session for which can be seen here), and his request for the commission's consent for him to speak on behalf of the whole group at that time -- and then Mr. Twomey's desperately needed subsequent objection to said presumptuous, disingenuous, "really, who needs a horse anyway when we got this here dandy pre-ordained cart?" Committee Chair's request round out the first 6 minutes.

If you'd just prefer to skip over all the essentially "the feds might get mad!" and "we have to protect voluntary commercial partners from themselves!" -- and, of course, the ever-popular catch-all, "REGULATE ALL THE THINGS!" -- bullshit that comes next, Marijuana Policy Project's New England Political Director Matt Simon -- who isn't on this commission, bringing some deficient balance, right next to the devoutly prohibitionist private-sector advocacy group New Futures, because...? -- starts at about 59:00, providing some rational facts regarding the recent history and current regional state of "The War on People Who Use (Some) Drugs"™.

(Some unfortunate audio difficulties in the middle as my mic battery slowly expired without notice, somewhat ameliorated in post, but it clears up with a mic swap just after 1:24:00.)

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Fiat Prohibition and the Defiant Tenacity of the State

The NH House Criminal Justice Committee addresses a pair of prohibition-antagonistic bills in Executive Session, 11/14/2017. HB287 and HB656 -- dealing with what you're "allowed" to do with your body and what you're "allowed" to put in your body, respectively -- thus get their official committee recommendations to the full body, which will likely vote on them next week. Get those cards and letters flowing, people...

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Friday, November 3, 2017

NH House Speaker Candidates Forum

Hey, what are the odds the GOP-majority NH House can elect an actual Republican Speaker this time...?

NH House Freedom Caucus
Contact: info@nhhfc.org
For Immediate Release
October 26, 2017

PRESS RELEASE

New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus Announces Committed Speaker Candidates, Panelists for November 2nd Forum

Concord – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) will host a forum for candidates for Speaker of the House on next Thursday, November 2nd, after the House veto session. Currently, seven candidates for Speaker have confirmed for the event, which will be moderated by Rep. Len Turcotte (R-Barrington), with a panel of policy experts.

The confirmed speaker candidates are (in alphabetical order):

Rep. Al Baldasaro (R-Londonderry)
Rep. John Burt (R-Goffstown)
Deputy Speaker Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett)
Rep. Jim McConnell (R-Swanzey)
Rep. Laurie Sanborn (R-Bedford)
Rep. Steve Shurtleff (D-Concord)
Rep. Steven Smith (R-Charlestown)

The confirmed panelists for the event will be:

Andrew Cline, Interim President, Josiah Barlett Center
Andy Crews, President, AutoFair
Michelle Levell, Director, School Choice for New Hampshire
Ed Naile, Chairman, Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers

"The coming election for Speaker will have a significant impact on the state’s future, so it is critical to hear where the candidates stand on important issues facing the state. We’re thrilled to have such great participation and such a distinguished panel to help both House members and the public understand the vision of each candidate. Every candidate will get their chance to convince their colleagues to support them and the opportunity to earn their vote. This should be a very exciting forum," added Rep. Turcotte.

The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative "Yankee" values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.

Follow @NHFreedomCaucus

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