Several people have asked me why I am not running for office this year. I appreciate the fact that you want me to represent you in Concord. Unfortunately, I cannot get the time off from work that I would need to serve in Concord. I accepted a new position at work recently and the days that I need to work are much less flexible than when I ran for office two years ago. Thank you for your interest and for contacting me about this.

I have looked over the list of candidates and think the Republicans candidates appear to be a very good group. Most of them have held office so we can get the benefit of their experience. We can look at their voting records and see that they are fiscally responsible and business friendly. Just what New Hampshire needs! The ones that are new candidates all express the same view – New Hampshire has to grow businesses so that we get better employment, and we need to keep our spending in line with our state income.

More of DID YOU KNOW…

I’m sure that everyone has heard about NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg proposed ban of sweetened drinks larger than 16ounces. He hand-picked the board that will decide if his ban becomes law. Not only does Bloomberg think he knows what is better for the people than the people themselves, but he believes he has the authority to control their behavior, to force them to change their “bad” habits. Under his leadership NYC expanded the ban on smoking. Smoking was already banned indoors years but was expanded to include no smoking at parks, beaches, sidewalks, Times Square and parking lots. He has previously issued dietary controls such as banning transfats and having mandatory calorie counts on menus in the city and now sodas larger than 16 ounces will be banned. 

I hear members of Bloomberg’s board have also mentioned controlling popcorn and some high calorie milk drinks. I feel sorry for NYC residents to have to live under such tyranny, but the nanny state doesn’t stop there. 

DID YOU KNOW a high school in Utah has been fined $15,000 for selling soda during lunchtime! It seems there is a Federal law which says that schools can sell carbonated beverages before lunch is served but not after.

Most of us know that for years the Federal government has been pushing the automobile manufacturers to produce vehicles that get better gas mileage. 

DID YOU KNOW that the Volkswagen Passat in Europe gets 44mpg and their SportsWagen gets 54mpg in the city and 72mpg on the highway. In fact, Ford makes a diesel that gets about 70mpg. It is built in America then shipped overseas. The Federal government won’t let them sell those vehicles here in America “for economic reasons.”

We have watched as the administration has prevented or delayed permits for oil drilling. We have watched as the EPA has forced regulations that are killing the coal industry. Coal supplies a large percentage of the electricity in this country but the industry is being regulated out of existence. The administration’s policies are actively destroying jobs, bankrupting companies and causing higher energy prices. 

DID YOU KNOW that America has more oil reserves than the rest of the world? We do. The Green River Formation, a largely vacant area of mostly federal land, contains about as much recoverable oil as all the rest of the world’s proven oil reserves combined. That isn’t even all of America’s oil reserves. 

DID YOU KNOW that we also have huge coal reserves? We do. 

A government that assumes the power to protect us from ourselves – as opposed to protecting us from others’ criminal behavior – will inevitably limit our freedoms by removing options disliked by those who happen to hold power at the moment. There is no justification for government limitations on individual choices. Governing by the guideline of what the rulers think the people "should" or "should not" do leads to tyranny. It is only a matter of time for this deterioration to happen. 

Once again, we should listen to the wisdom and knowledge of our Founding Fathers. 

“Of those men who have overturned the liberties of republics, the greatest number have begun their career by paying an obsequious court to the people, commencing demagogues and ending tyrants.” 
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 1, 1787

Years ago the economist Ludwig von Mises said, “The common man is the sovereign consumer whose buying or abstention from buying ultimately determines what should be produced and in what quantity and quality.” 

Liberals need to stop making rules and regulations controlling what is made, how it is made and what is sold! The free market is more responsive to needs and wants of the populace than any bureaucratic policies could ever be. A free market encourages creativity and innovative solutions to problems. The risks are great but the rewards to the successful are also great. 

It is unfortunate that the Progressive mindset dominating our government for so many years has infringed on the free market that used to exist here. It would also be a huge improvement if the Federal government would stop exercising powers it has no legal right to use!