Itse on ObamaCare

Are federal laws necessarily Constitutional by mere virtue of their passage? Was Congress really intended to be the arbiter of its own authority? Here by special request of the orator, Rep. Dan Itse addresses the NH House of Representatives, in the afternoon session of 5/13/2010, on an amendment to SB455 which would opt NH out of the Constitutionally unauthorized nationalized health care scheme, preceded by an introduction of the amendment by its sponsor, Rep. Gene Chandler. Complete session video can be found here.

The stirring address by "the Representative from Weare," Neal Kurk, regarding REAL ID nullification to which Itse refers may be viewed here. More on NH's nullification and sovereignty efforts, including the legendary HCR6, here.

High Priests' 'New Clothes' Continue to Fade

"House Address" public hearings before the NH General Court's Joint Committee on Address, "for the removal of Philip Cross, marital master in the judicial branch family division in the Derry District Court, from his said office," morning session, 4/26/2010.

This is the first result -- the first officially documented "work product" fallout -- of the (unofficial, of course) "Legislators' Redress of Grievance Caucus'" (not a "committee," dammit!) "listening sessions" that House leadership has so desperately wanted to avoid that it has denied your representatives investigative accommodations within State office space. Find more on this long strange trip here.

Rep. Paul Ingbretson was a guest (again) on 'Capitol Access' (another video project involving your humble chronicler) just last week, discussing this very topic.

But first, the "Curious Timing Award" goes to... The (Merrimack County?) Sheriff's Department, who shows up to serve an arrest warrant on the primary witness, David Johnson -- a long-time, easy to find community member, and rather unlikely flight risk given the potential to further jeopardize contact with his daughter -- before his scheduled testimony in front of the legislative branch against the judicial branch. Hmm...

Cooler heads eventually prevail. Props to the NH State Police on State House duty who allegedly took some issue with the intended process. This is the same State Police detail that didn't overreact at the HCR6 brouhaha, and more recently have left State House 420 celebrants alone twice now...

Guest videographer, my own Rep. Gary Hopper delivers the money shot. Fascinating how law enforcement's attitude of blanket authority changes so quickly with as simple (and so minimally assured) a challenge as, essentially, "what's the law you're citing...?" Straight from "you don't have my permission" (well, you weren't asked for it) to "I'd appreciate it if you didn't" (y'know, you being government functionaries subject to RSA 91-A's exception to RSA 570-A, an' all -- not to mention your utter lack of anything remotely approximating a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in this pubic building WHILE WORKING FOR ME -- I'm infinitely more concerned with David's wishes than your own) just that quick. 'Course, "I'm a state Representative, and I am, too" doesn't hurt, either...

Lastly, I just gotta say, it never fails to make me feel just a little bit more secure in my person, papers and effects when I observe government agencies earnestly occupying themselves with opposing each other rather than cooperating in opposing me...




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Part 2

"Looks like we're taking the steps..."

420 at 4:20 on 4/20/2010, State House, Concord, NH. Short answer: victory.

In excess of 100 celebrants, with signs and bullhorns, guitars and drums. Dancing girls, even. And lots of cameras...

Initially out front, on the Main St. sidewalk, waving to honking traffic. Eventually smoking right on the State House steps (not that that hasn't happened before, of course), and chiding the bureaucrats inside for their infidelity to liberty.

NH Public Radio had been reporting the planned celebration all day, and much of NH's most dominant mainstream media were represented on-site. Yet despite recent coordinated crackdowns and subsequent roundups related to similar -- and similarly peaceful -- celebrations, the cops apparently never got word, somehow: three uniforms meticulously avoiding us across the street was as close an encounter as we experienced.

On the drive home, NHPR was reporting that the NH State Police stationed inside (as usual) were watching, but had no intention of doing anything unless the crowd got agitated. (edit: the word they used was "unruly," actually)

Umm, yeah, uh-huh. The pot smokers were gonna get agitated. So basically, the official position was that as long as the cops didn't escalate the situation, the cops wouldn't escalate the situation.

Boringly uneventful as a result, actually. Which is the point, after all, right...?

And here's an interesting list.

Coverage (as I find it):
Associated Press
Concord (NH) Monitor
Manchester (NH) Union Leader

Fox Boston
Manila Bulletin
Seacoast Online (borrowed from Concord Monitor)
NPR
(Johannesburg) Times LIVE
(Munich) Focus
CBC
Daily Mail

More coverage links

NH's 2nd Amendment March

Scenes from the 2nd Amendment March and Rally in Concord, NH, plus a modest proposal, 4/10/2010.




This. Just... this.

NH Liberty Alliance Campaign Training, Level 2

As a follow-up to former NH state Rep. Don Gorman's session of 2/6, Free Staters, Rep. Joel Winters and Rep. Carol McGuire lead phase 2, on the 'nuts-'n'-bolts' of running a political campaign, on how to get elected, for the NH Liberty Alliance, 4/3/2010.

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Part 2

Weare, NH PD: The Empire Strikes Back

Tyler and friends respond to Weare PD's friendly midnight invitation to chat, 3/28/2010.

Do take note that since the reported official hostility toward NH's "right to know" law, RSA 91-A and Part First, Art. 8 of the NH Constitution at the original incident of 3/24, there hasn't been a single mention of the cameras by the local gendarmes.

See my "Right to Record" tag for background and commentary, including on the precursor event...

Porc411 messages:
1:50pm
2:21pm
2:49pm
3:42pm
3:55pm
4:01pm
4:03pm
4:17pm

Weare, NH, PD Left Speechless

Activists attempt to discover the disposition of private property seized, without the issuance of receipts, by Weare, NH police in the wee hours of 3/24/2010. This event is from the following afternoon, 3/25/2010, a dozen or so in attendance. Here's the most relevant forum thread, and here are links to the Porc411 calls from the original incident, and the afternoon follow-up:
12:08am
12:14am
12:30am
1:05am
2:38am
12:41pm
3:56pm
4:07pm

More of my thoughts on the right to record here. NH attorney, Paula Werme has a page on recording our servants here.

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Part 2

Can 8 Individuals Overrule the Constitution? In Your 'House'?

Let's find out. Herewith, the public hearing for HB1693, "relative to the powers of the joint committee on legislative facilities," a "late-filed" bill to rescind the 8-person majority of the Facilities Committee's self-delegated authority to circumvent the previously demonstrated will of the full legislature and (thus merely unilaterally) overrule the NH Constitution (Part First, Article 2-a), as well as existing state statute, before the NH House Legislative Administration Committee, 3/8/2010. Here was the call to, um, arms...

From: Jenn Coffey
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2010 9:07 AM
Subject: EMERGENCY at the State House!

In an effort to stop the Second Amendment Community from organizing the Legislative Administration Committee has suddenly scheduled a public hearing for HB1693 for Monday March 8th at 2pm in the Legislative Office Building room 208!

HB1693 is a late filed bill by Rep. Chandler to strip the Facilities Committee of the power to control Firearms, knives, and other tools of self-defense within the State House complex, it also repeals the ban put into effect on December 21st of last year.

It is vital that our community come to this hearing and show in numbers how we feel about the unconstitutional actions of the facilities committee last year by supporting Rep. Chandler! I know this is short notice and some may not be able to attend, and they know this as well which is why we believe this hearing was scheduled with little notice, so if you can not be there PLEASE, write a PERSONAL AND POLITE letter to the members of the Legislative Administration Committee and letters to the editor of your local paper TODAY!

Click here to find the text of the bill.

Click here to find the contact information for the members of the committee.

Be sure to spread this message far and wide!

In Liberty,
Rep. Jenn Coffey

Find more on this ongoing battle here and here. Then contact your Reps.


Here, Rep. DJ Bettencourt nails it, even when Chair Lucy Weber attempts to take away his hammer -- "attempts" being the operative word. Also included: statistics from the hearing's "Blue Sheets," which let citizens weigh in on bills without having to testify.



And here, former state Senator Bob Clegg, who, while he doesn't quite grasp the fundamental right to contract or why mounting government mandates on coverage invariably result in increasing health insurance policy costs, he certainly gets the basic human right to self-defense (and is literally half the man he used to be).



Finally, the entire hearing...

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Part 2

Another Stab at Ending Prohibition

Selections from the NH House Criminal Justice Committee's deliberations on their recommendation to the full House -- "exec-ing" the bill -- on HB1653, marijuana "decrim," 2/11/2010. What a difference 2 years can make, huh? In the apt words of Rep. Charron, "Unbelievable..."

Another Stab at NH Sovereignty

The NH House State-Federal Relations Committee hears public testimony on HB1343, "establishing a joint committee on the constitutionality of acts, orders, laws, statutes, regulations, and rules of the government of the United States of America in order to protect state sovereignty," sponsored by the bipartisan team of Reps. Dan Itse, Paul Ingbreton, Tim Comerford, and Kris Roberts. It's popularly known as "Son of HCR6," last year's "NH sovereignty bill," regarding which, much video and commentary can be found elsewhere on this blog.

This is the sort of intended state-level deliberate and binding oversight of federal shenanigans that the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution utterly obliterated. It would be glorious to royally piss off the feds by establishing an end-around. The federal government was never intended to be the judge of the limits of its own authority. That is the domain of the states that created it. Eventually, one way or another, it's gonna be restored. Only a matter of time...

Federalist Paper 41, which Rep. Itse mentions, can be found, among other places, here.

First, of course, the spicy appetizer...



And the full hearing...