Yesterday’s hearing on proposed changes to New Hampshire’s RSA 570-A, the wiretapping statute, did not take long to become a symposium on Robin Hooding. With the first mention of the practice coming from the bureaucratic spokesperson Ann Rice, representing the Attorney General’s office, two Robin Hooders present (myself and Ian Freeman) also spoke on the bill. The president of the American Federation of Teachers’ New Hampshire chapter, Laura Hainey, denounced Robin Hooders while speaking at the hearing, and even went to so as to fear monger that the Robin Hooders would multiply if negligible codifications to the law were effected.
Essentially, the house bill 1550 is a well intentioned piece of legislation that ultimately changes nothing about the current law. It does attempt to clarify it from its current convoluted and confusing state. For example, the word ‘consent’ appears in the law, yet reading the letter of the law, nothing more than relaying the knowledge that one is being recorded is necessary to make fully legal an audio recording in a setting where one is lawfully permitted to be outside of explicitly public settings. Despite this, even the representative from the attorney general’s office, Ann Rice, continuously referred to the current law as requiring consent from all parties to produce audio recordings. (more…)
Last Friday, January 17, 2014, the state of New Hampshire published a press release regarding the dangers of marijuana (cannabis). In this press release they claim that 9.6% of youth aged 12-17 had reported regular use of cannabis. Joe Harding, the director of the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services (BDAS) is quoted using the words “disturbing” and “alarming” and goes on to say, “This underscores the need for us to collaborate with not only our partners in the field, but also businesses, law enforcement, the medical field, and schools to implement proven strategies to prevent youth use of marijuana.”
I would like to point out that, according to the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services publication, New Hampshire State Epidemiological Profile of Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Health they provide the number of 12-17 year olds who reported having participated in binge drinking within the past month at 11%, more than had tried cannabis in the same time frame. I would like to point out that this 11% is for those that claimed to have participated in binge drinking. Binge drinking is not only use, but abuse, of alcohol.
Taking a closer look at these two substances, I would like to compare their dangers as well. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the mortality rate linked to alcohol consumption was 15,990 related to alcoholic liver disease and another 25,692 related to alcohol induced deaths — excluding alcohol related accidents and homicides in 2010. There were no deaths at all listed as being caused by cannabis. Not a single one.
The BDAS reports that between 2001 and 2006, between 35% and over 45% of motor vehicle crashes were related to alcohol consumption. While, according to Epidemiologic Reviews, published by Oxford University Publications, “Some studies indicate that marijuana use alone has minimal effect on driving performance, while others report an increased crash risk when combined with other drugs”. (more…)
Wednesday’s vote in the New Hampshire state house was historic. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, it was the first time ever that any state legislative body has voted to legalize the plant! It’s an indicator of how much public opinion has changed on this issue – politicians can’t ignore it anymore. Many politicians in NH are listening and many have changed their minds on this issue. It’s not over, however, the bill now goes back to committee for further tweaking, then will be voted on again by the house, then if it passes again, the NH senate, and finally will reach the hypocritical governor Maggie Hassan.
The house discussion and vote was somewhat confusing to newcomers observing the goings-on, but thankfully liberty-loving state rep Mike Sylvia explains the process for us as well as his critical role. This is an excellent introduction to the workings of the state house:
Here is the quick primer on how it works:
A bill is introduced and assigned to a committee (easy so far). The committee has public hearings where interested parties testify and the committee gets a full education on the topic of the bill. The committee may amend the bill if they choose to. Ultimately the committee will vote on the bill, their vote will be a recommendation to the full house when the bill is voted upon on the floor in session. (more…)
With an overwhelming 250-97 vote today the NH house of representatives voted down a piece of legislation that would have brought even more of the police state to New Hampshire – the license plate scanners bill (HB 675). All 49 other states have these invasive, privacy-destroying devices and with today’s vote, New Hampshire’s state reps have refused this attempted advance of the police state. Yep that’s right, NH has no red light cameras AND no license plate scanners. We’re not totally free, but we’re free-er!
Additionally, the reps then voted to “indefinitely postpone” the bill rather than mark it as “inexpedient to legislate” – that means that it can’t be attached to another bill. It’s dead.
Thanks to all the NH native liberty-lovers and Free State Project participants who called their state reps about this issue. Things are only going to get better here as more libertarians make the move as part of the Free State Project! If you care about freedom and actually want to make a difference, there is nowhere better than the Shire!
Several weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal carried news of a couple who tried to live off bitcoin, a digital currency in its infancy, for 101 days across three continents. The duo may have struggled less had they confined their experiment to New Hampshire.
Here, bitcoin will buy you gas in Twin Mountain, lunch at a Newmarket cafe, martial arts lessons in Derry and a night’s stay in Fitzwilliam. (more…)
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