Here’s a funny press release from the state Democrats portraying Sen. Sylvia Larsen as a woman of the people willing to stand up for New Hampshire families against the uncaring, evil Republicans in Congress.
It’s funny because, of course, it strongly suggests that gas prices are high because oil companies are manipulating prices and Republican members of Congress are taking campaign contributions to look the other way. Don’t the Democrats have a better message on this issue? Aren’t they getting tired of peddling this tripe? Evidently not.
As usual, the Democrats blame Congress for high gas prices while not explaining how Congress could lower gas prices or detailing how their party would do it. The press release does end with a short paragraph stating a few Democratic ideas, including making cars more fuel efficient, but none that would actually lower gas prices.
Google the name “Abed Tavancheh” and you will come up with zero hits. Technorati contains only 18. He is an Iranian blogger who has been missing since Friday. Reporters Without Borders fears he has been arrested. He has been an outspoken opponent of Iran’s government. Reporters Without Borders just announced today that he’s gone missing, but considering the speed at which the blogging world operates it’s still a little odd that his story hasn’t spread very far yet.
So, I took my three-year-old son down to Arms Park on Sunday because he wanted to see the rubber duck race, which was supposed to start at 6 p.m. I knew the Rock 101 Sky Show was a rock concert, but it also had been billed as a family event, which was tremendously misleading. I wasn’t the only parent who wound up steering a young child through a sea of drunken idiots to see a promised even that didn’t happen, at least not when advertised.
We waited by the river for 45 minutes, no duck race, no announcement, nothing. A father who had brought his toddler daughter left in disgust around 6:30, and we decided to get something to eat. I saw other parents in the same situation: trying to shield kids from stumbling concert-goers, flying cigarettes and unleashed dogs. One parent I talked to was so mad he said he’d never go to another Rock 101 event.
Now, I’ve enjoyed my share of rock concerts, some much rowdier than the Sky Show. Most of the event that I saw was relatively tame aside from the drunks. The point is that there were a lot of parents who brought their kids down there thinking they were in for a family event featuring some good rock cover bands. Instead they found themselves at an adult rock concert where the environment was totally inappropriate, even dangerous, for children.
I had hoped to come back with some good photos, and there was a lot to shoot. But I couldn’t lift the camera without endangering my son. After an hour we went home and came out later to watch the fireworks from Derryfield Park. Never saw the duck race.
If they have the event next year, I’d love to get down there with my camera. It was a great freak show, and some of the bands were pretty good. But a family event it was not.
Took the Nikon and 300 mm macro lens out over the Memorial Day weekend intending to get some Memorial Day shots but wound up with mostly nature pics. Went to the Sky Show at Arms Park but wasn’t able to shoot anything (more on that disaster later) and didn’t make it to the Memorial Day parade as planned. Did make it to Derryfield Park and the trails around Lake Massabesic, though. Got some pretty nice shots, which lost some of their sharpness in the shrinking. Unfortunately I can’t post bigger pics on this blog.
The New York Times covers the Suncook River’s self-rerouting in Epsom.
Two University of Ulster professors have created a Web site about immigration from County Londonderry, Ireland, to Londonderry, NH. If you have Irish ancestors who moved to Londonderry, this site explains, among other things, how to track down their wills. Usually this kind of thing falls to amateur geneaologists. Having it done by academics is nice because they give a great deal more context, not just dates and places and ships’ passenger lists.
Sean Carberry, Paul Hodes‘ 2004 campaign manager, was the first to correctly answer the last trivia question. He knew that Article I, Section 6 of the U.S. Constitution is where to find the provision protecting members of Congress from arrest under certain circumstances. He walks away with a copy of Fight Club Politics: How Partisanship is Poisoning the U.S. House of Representatives, by Washington Post reporter Juliet Eilperin. Good job, Sean.
Incidentally, you can read the Union Leader’s editorial on the whole non-issue involving the FBI’s search of Rep. William Jefferson’s office here.
Next question: This past week The Da Vinci Code had the 13th best opening day in cinematic history. Sticking with New Hampshire connections, what is the only Adam Sandler movie in the top 65?
BusinessNH Magazine this month named PSNH President Gary Long its Business Leader of the Year (pdf). What the magazine’s profile of Long does not say is that he is an avid science fiction fan. His recent reading list is as follows:
The Loch, by Steve Alten. “An adventure/history story that, yes, does include a Loch Ness type monster. Lot’s of Scottish history in the book,” Long says.
Raising Atlantis, by Thomas Greanias. “Another sci-fi adventure book. A good book to escape reality and enjoy the adventure.”
The Killer Angels, By Michael Shaara. “I read this upon a recommendation. I too would recommend it. A leadership/Civil War story based on fact. Interesting and educational in a very meaningful way. A book for any aspiring leader to read.”
“My favorite books of all time are the Isaac Asimov Foundation trilogy and related books. I’ve read them all twice. I favor science fiction and Asimov is the best sci-fi story teller and writer, in my opinion. However, I think it is the broad humanitarian aspect of the trilogy that draws me to the books.
“I’ve also read three of Dan Brown’s books: Deception Point, Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code (twice). Of the three, I actually enjoyed “Deception Point” the most — another sci-fi adventure book.
“Next on the reading-for-pleasure list is London Bridges by James Patterson. Another adventure book but not sci-fi!”
No one liked the flood trivia question, so let’s try another. (By the way, the answer was 2.)
The FBI’s search of Rep. William Jefferson’s office has House leadership claiming that the Justice Department has violated the Constitution. I think the assertion is spurious. But in any case, what part of the Constitution protects members of Congress from arrest (except for treason, felonies and breach of the peace) during their attendance at sessions of Congress?
I realize I might get no answers to this question, but for those who are like me, and therfore have at least three copies of the Constitution just lying around nearby, it should be an cinch.
By the way, what is it with guys named William Jefferson?
State House Minority Leader Jim Craig’s spokesman told me today that Rep. Craig will take no money from oil and gas company PACs during his campaign for Congress. How he got to that position is a funny story.
Craig’s campaign office sent a press release this morning attacking U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley for taking $18,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas companies. The press release then listed what it portrayed as Bradley’s votes to keep oil prices high, clearly implying that Bradley was doing the bidding of oil companies in exchange for cash.
I asked Craig’s new campaign spokesperson, Jean Weinburg, if Craig was saying that Bradley was exchanging his votes for cash and was trying to keep oil prices high. She wouldn’t say.
“Bradley can respond to that,” she said. “We’re not going to put out an official statement. We’re just saying that he took $18 million over the past several years from the oil and energy political action committees.”
Well, OK, so is Jim Craig saying that he won’t accept campaign contributions from oil and gas companies? She did not have an answer.
“I can get a response for you on that. He has not said that thus far.”
I asked her to call me back. A little while later she did.
“He won’t take corporate oil or gas pac money,” she said.
Talk about backing into a policy position.
Craig rather casually linked high gas prices to Bradley’s voting record, saying Bradley had a “cozy relationship” with oil and gas companies, and repeatedly referred to price gouging. In our original conversation, I asked if Craig was saying that gas prices were high because of market manipulation or price gouging. She wouldn’t say. Craig has no official position on why gas prices are high. But for a guy who won’t say why prices are high, he sure seems certain that, whatever the reason, Bradley and Republicans in Congress are to blame.
I pressed again. Is Craig really saying that oil companies are acting illegally and high profits are causing the high prices?
“Exxon reported $10.7 billion in 2005 and oil prices continue to go up. I think that the two are linked,” she said.
Does Jim Craig have a position on Monday’s Federal Trade Commission report that found no illegal price manipulation after Hurricane Katrina?
“No, we don’t have anything to say about that.”
Nope, nothing to say about what might really be causing gas prices to rise, but a whole lot to imply about Jeb Bradley and oil company profits.
Later, when Weinberg called back, she did question the FTC’s conclusion, noting that Barbara Boxer and Charles Schumer have spoken out against the report. She also noted that the report did not reach any conclusions about gas prices in New Hampshire. But then, neither has Jim Craig.
Jeb Bradley did have something to say about gas prices and gouging, however. I asked Rep. Bradley if he had any thoughts about why gas prices have risen so high.
“Obviously supply and demand is having a significant impact,” he said. “We lost quite a bit of refinery capacity in the gulf last year. Worldwide demand is high because of economic growth, particularly growth in China and India. Supply has exceeded demand.”
The most glaring ommission in Craig’s press release was this: Craig offered no solution for lowering gas prices. Nothing. It’s not as if Democrats are totally silent on the issue. Hillary Clinton recently made some very detailed proposals. Jim Craig has none. Weinberg confirmed to me that Craig has no proposal and no comment on how to lower gas prices.
Bradley, however, does.
“There are a number of things we can do on a short term basis. I’ve filed a bill to remove the tariffs on imported ethanol. We have had a problem getting enough ethanol in the Northeast. Removing the 54 cents a gallon tariff on ethanol plus the duty on ethanol is something we can do immediately.
“Another thing we could do that would help immediately is simplify about 18 blends of reformulated gasoline that are sold in the summer months. If we reduce the number of blends, then refinery capacity could be freed up, and that would help supply. Roy Bount, the majority whip in the House, is introducing legislation to do that.”
What about Craig’s claim that he’s received all this oil money.
“The $18,000 he cites is combined contributions of natural gas and oil companies. If you just go to oil companies, over three cycles I have accepted from Exxon Mobil’s pac $10,000 and $1,000 from Valero. The second thing is that the votes he’s cited are procedural votes that are motions to recommit, generally speaking, as opposed to actual votes on legislation. They might be votes on motions to instruct committees of conferees, they are not what I’d consider votes for or against passage.
“I voted against the energy bill when it was on the floor. The high level of subsidies for ethanol. The significant subsidies for oil companies. High levels of protections for MtBE makers.”
What about price gouging?
“I think it’s appropriate for the attorney general to look at price gouging laws. I signed a letter supporting having the FTC look at that. Those investigations to date haven’t shown that there’s been price gouging. In my view it’s not inappropriate to look to see whether there’s been price gouging.”
You can believe Jim Craig’s attempt to tie Jeb Bradley to oil company profits if you want, but who would you rather have in office: a guy who accepts some oil PAC money but understands basic economics and has some reasonable plans for cutting gas prices in the short term, or one who seems to believe in economic conspiracy theories and offers no solution to the problem?
Make a list of Manchester’s most highly anticipated events of the year and you might come up with the following:
* Fisher Cats, Monarchs, and Wolves home openers or playoff games
* Your favorite Verizon Wireless Arena concert
* The opening of the city pools
* Your favorite Elm Street parade
* The first day the temperature hits 70
* Christmas, Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving
* Glendi
You almost certainly would not come up with the Manchester City Democrats’ Annual Flag Day Dinner. But according to the City Democrats, it’s “one of the most highly anticipated events of the year.”
I think they need to get out more.
