Monthly Archives: May 2022

To the editor:

A libertarian wave is sweeping across Canada.First, it was the Peoples Party of Canada, then the Freedom Convoy, and most recently the Rolling Thunder protest.Whats not to like about freedom?Pierre Poilievre is trying to ride this libertarian wave to become the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and, ultimately, Prime Minister of Canada.

The word freedom is complicated and has many interpretations.

The libertarian concept of freedom promoted by Mr. Poilievre is based on the concept of the self-made man or woman, and the idea that each of us is responsible for our own success in life. They think that if the government would just get off our backs and out of our pockets, we would all be better off. It is a naive understanding of freedom.

Libertarians do not understand that there are no self-made men or women. Hundreds and thousands of people contribute to the success of each individual. A single individual cannot survive, let alone thrive, entirely on their own. We only achieve success within a community that supports us. Even the hardiest of survivalists depend on guns, ammo, canned food, and other supplies made by other people. There are no self-made survivalists.

Consider your own success. Where would you be without the maternity nurse who assisted at your birth, your second-grade school teacher, your volunteer sports coach, the bus driver who drove you to school, the police officers and firefighters who kept you safe, the education you received, the medical care you received, the small business that hired you one summer, and the roads and highways you travel on every day?

Our personal success is built upon the contributions of many people and government programs. Libertarians give themselves all the credit.

Another thing that libertarians do not seem to understand is that all of our laws restrict our personal freedoms. Every law either restricts our right to do something we might want to do, such as drive at high rates of speed or requires us to do something that we would rather not do such as pay taxes. If a law does not interfere with our freedom, there would be no need for the law.

Libertarians often point to some particular law that irritates them such as gun registration laws, motorcycle helmet laws, and most recently vaccine mandate laws. But why stop there? Why not repeal the entireHighway Traffic Act? Personally, I object to having to drive on the right side of the road. It clearly limits my freedom of movement. Why not repeal all of our tax laws, food and drug safety laws, building codes, environmental protection laws, family laws, and consumer protection laws? They all violate our personal freedoms.

We are fortunate to live in a free and democratic society. We need to understand, however, that free and democratic are opposing concepts that must continuously be balanced against each other. Freedom without democracy is anarchy. Democracy without freedom leads to autocracy. In World War I and World War II, Canadian soldiers fought for both freedom and democracy.

In democratic countries, we create laws that limit our freedoms by design. At election time we are able to elect a new government that may decide to change some of those laws. Until such laws are democratically repealed or amended, we have a duty to respect and uphold them.

I suspect that some of the people driving around with Canadian flags festooning their trucks do not fully appreciate the implication of making Canada the freest country in the world. Libertarians would replace public education with private schools, public health care with pay as you go private health care, and would replace social programs with an every man and woman for his or herself approach. Mr. Poilievre talks about his preference for private charity over public welfare.

Many in the freedom movement have benefited either directly or indirectly from government programs like unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, public health care, and public education. Ultimately, libertarianism is about richer Canadians not wanting to pay taxes to help support lower-income Canadians.

Do we really want to live in a survival of the fittest world?

Trevor SchindelerNorth Bay, Ontario

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Letter to the editor: Freedom and Democracy - North Bay News - BayToday.ca

Fewer than 10,000 of Idahos roughly 1 million registered voters switched their affiliation to Republican ahead of next weeks primary election.

BOISE, Idaho Note: The video above is from an April 8 story on Idaho's party affiliation system.

The Idaho Secretary of State's office says fewer than 10,000 of Idahos roughly 1 million registered voters switched their affiliation to Republican ahead of next weeks primary election.

Idaho is a Republican stronghold and the GOP primary is closed. That means only registered Republicans are allowed to vote for GOP candidates.

Nampa television station KIVI reports that between February 25 and March 18, there were nearly 9,600 registered voters who switched to the Republican Party.

Most of them were previously unaffiliated with a political party. About 3,200 were previously registered as Democrats.

Both of Idaho's representatives to the U.S. House, one U.S. Senator, the entire Idaho Legislature and all seven elected statewide offices are up for election this year.

The 2022 Idaho Primary Election, set for May 17, will determine which candidates will represent the Constitution, Democratic, Libertarian and Republican parties in the general election in November. In some districts, only one party is represented, so the primary also will effectively determine who wins that office.

Idaho has a closed-primary system, meaning political parties may limit who's allowed to vote in a particular party's primary.

Idaho residents registering to vote are asked to affiliate with one of the state's four recognized political parties: Constitution, Democratic, Libertarian or Republican.

Voters may choose to remain unaffiliated.

For more information about what will be on the ballot, and how to find your polling place,visit KTVB's voter guide here.

See all of our latest political coverage in ourYouTube playlist:

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Idaho sees small shift in party affiliation ahead of primary - KTVB.com

Morgan County voters are showing up to the polls early in higher numbers than expected ahead of the May 24 Primary Election. According to Morgan County Elections Director Jennifer Doran, a total of 584 ballots have been cast thus far as of press time on Tuesday, May 10.

Doran says there is a significant increase from previous early voting periods during Midterm primaries.

In 2018, a total of 768 ballots were cast in all three weeks of early voting. We are just one week and two days in and we are almost at two-thirds of that number.

Doran attributed the rise in voter participation to the publics ever-growing interests in electoral politics and several key races currently on the ballot, including the statewide primary race for Governor, which pits several Republican candidates against Incumbent Governor Brian Kemp.

The race for Secretary of State (SOS), which also includes several Republican challengers to Incumbent SOS Brad Raffensperger, is also a popular interest among voters. Both Kemp and Raffensperger came under fire from Former President Trump and his supporters after the 2020 Presidential Election when neither would agree to overturn the election results that handed President Joe Biden a narrow victory in the Peach State.

The only local election on the primary ballot is between two Republicans running for the Morgan County Commissioner Seat in District 2. As long-time County Commissioner Andy Ainslie retires from office this year, three candidates have filed to run for his seat in District 2 two Republicans and one Democrat.

Republicans Keith Wilson and Blake McCormack will face off in the upcoming primary election on Tuesday, May 24. The winner will run against Democrat Bob Baldwin in the Nov. 8 General Election for the open seat on the Morgan County Board of Commissioners.

Other key statewide races include Morgan County voters will be able to cast ballots on several high-profile statewide races in 2022, including the race for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, a U.S. House of Representatives seat, and one of Georgias U.S. Senate seats. Local voters will also decide two State Senate seats for District 17 and District 25 along with one State House of Representatives seat for District 114.

Early voting hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with early voting available this Saturday, May 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All early voting is done at the BOER office, which is located at 237 North Second Street in Madison. Your county polling location may have changed since the 2020 elections. You can confirm your election day polling place by going to mvp.sos.ga.gov or calling the BOER at 706-343-6311.

Morgan County voters will be able to cast ballots on several high-profile statewide races in 2022, including the race for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, a U.S. House of Representatives seat, and one of Georgias U.S. Senate seats. Local voters will also decide two State Senate seats for District 17 and District 25 along with one State House of Representatives seat for District 114.

Morgan County voters will have to make choices on several state and federal races, with no shortage of candidates running for the seats.

In the race for Georgia Governor, two Republican titans will face off in the May 24 Primary Incumbent Brian Kemp and former U.S. Senator David Perdue. Other Republicans have also qualified to run, including Catherine Davis, Kandiss Taylor, and Tom Williams.

The winner will take on Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams in the Nov. 8 General Election, as well as Libertarian Shane Hazel and Independent Al Bartell.

One of Georgias U.S. Senate seats is up for grabs, as Democratic Incumbent Raphael Warnock faces Democratic challenger Tamara Johnson-Shealey. Republican challengers have lined up as well for the seat, including Gary Black, Josh Clark, Kelvin King, Jonathan McColumn, Latham Saddler and Herschel Walker. One Libertarian has qualified for the Senate seat, Chase Oliver.

In the race for Georgia Lieutenant Governor, Democrats Erick Allen, Charlie Bailey, Tyrone Brooks Jr., Tony Brown, Kwanza Hall, Jason Hayes, Derrick Jackson, R. Malik, Renitta Shannon have qualified to run. On the Republican side, Burt Jones, Mack McGregor, Butch Miller, and Jeanne Seaver qualified. Libertarian candidate Ryan Graham also qualified.

In the race for Georgia Secretary of State, Republican Incumbent Brad Raffensperger will square off against Republican challengers Jody Hice, a former U.S. Congressman, David Belle Isle, and T.J. Hudson. Democrats running for Georgia SOS include Dee Dawkins-Haigler, John Eaves, Floyd Griffin, Bee Nguyen, and Michael Owens. Libertarian Ted Metz is also running.

Congressman Jody Hice is vacating the U.S. House District 10 to run for Georgia SOS. A crowded field of candidates has emerged to win his seat. Republicans running include Timothy Barr, Paul Broun, Mike Collins, David Curry, Vernon J. Jones, Marc McMain, Alan Sims, and Mitchell Swan. Democrats running include Jessica Allison Fore, Tabitha Johnson-Green, Phyllis Hatcher, Femi Oduwole, and Paul Walton.

In the local state representative races, candidates have lined up to compete for two State Senate seats and one State House of Representatives seat.

For State Senate District 25, currently held by Burt Jones who is vacating office to run for Lt. Governor, candidates running to replace him include Republicans Rick Jeffares, Leland Jake Olinger II, Daniela Sullivan-Marzahl, and Ricky Williams, and Democrat Valerie Rodgers.

For State Senate District 17, Republican Incumbent Brian Strickland is running for reelection, facing Republican challenger Brett Mauldin. The winner will go to run against Democratic challenger Kacy Morgan in the Nov. 8 General Election.

State Rep. Dave Belton will not seek reelection for District 114. Republicans Wendell McNeal and Tim Fleming will face off in the May primary election for their partys nomination. The winner will face Democratic Challenger Malcom Adams in November.

Georgians will vote on the next Attorney General, with Republican incumbent Chris Carr running for reelection, facing challenges from Republican John Gordon, Democrats Jennifer Jordan and Christian Wise Smith, and Libertarian Martin Cowen.

Georgians will also vote for Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Insurance, State School superintendent, and Commissioner of Labor.

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Early voting turnout higher than expected in Morgan County - Morgan County Citizen

A lesson from Croydon, NH: Using and abusing the tools of democracy

May 8 To the Editor:

One of the saddest developments in recent times is the expert use of the tools of democracy by those seeking to destroy the institutions democracy makes possible.

A recent example occurred in March in the tiny town of Croydon, New Hampshire. A combination of bad weather, indifference, and busy lives kept the vast majority of the towns 801 residents from attending the annual school district meeting. The key item? A vote on the local school budget.

Undeterred by bad weather and with a specific mission in mind, a member of a libertarian-leaning group whose mission includes eliminating public education across New Hampshire introduced a motion to cut the school budget in half. A majority of the 34 people present, who included other members of the Free State Project and their allies, voted to support the motion.

All of a sudden, a largely forgotten school board had the full attention of a previously sleepy community. The reaction at first was shock. Then shock turned to anger. How could something like this happen in a town so proud of its K-4 school and so committed to going the extra mile to educate its children?

The answer was obvious. It happened because people skeptical of and even hostile to public education showed up and voted. Meanwhile, the vast majority of residents who value public education and whose children depend on it stayed home.

Fortunately, Croydon residents had one more card to play the possibility of unwinding the vote if more than half the towns voters showed up for a special meeting. In the end, members of a chastened but wiser community voted 377-2 to restore the school budget to its original level.

While Croydons victory is worth celebrating, it also presents a cautionary tale of what can happen when civic engagement lags and distracted voters fail to understand that not all of their fellow residents or elected officials share their values or their commitment to community.

This year in New Hampshire weve seen elected officials use redistricting laws as an opportunity to tighten the grip of a single political party. Weve witnessed other laws passed to make absentee voting harder and to quash the ability of members of the public to fully participate remotely in public meetings. At the local level, weve seen vocal groups crowd into public meetings to make demands that often dont reflect the will of a majority of other members of the community and get the changes they demanded.

While we may not like the results, these outcomes all represent democracy in action. To win, you must show up and play. When you dont, you run the risk of ceding control over the issues that matter to you to a vocal minority adept at using the tools of democracy to unravel things you care deeply about.

Increasingly, many of us wonder if democracy is working or not working. But the truth is democracies dont take action or solve problems people do. For democracies to work, voters need to take interest, show up, make their voices heard, and most importantly vote.

Life rarely gives us the opportunity for a do-over. Our democracy offers multiple chances. But only if were willing to do our part.

Rep. David Meuse

Portsmouth

A recent letter to the editor headlined "Double standard on taxpayer liability"incorrectly characterized Gerald Duffy's campaign contributions in Portsmouth's 2021 city election. Correctly stated, Duffy donated money to Progress Portsmouth, which supported a slate of candidates.

May 9 To the Editor:

On Nov. 8this year, when I have a chance to vote for governor of New Hampshire, I plan to vote for Dr. Tom Sherman, and heres one reason: I know that as a physician, Tom Sherman understands that there are many valid physical and mental health reasons for a woman to not want to continue a pregnancy.

Too many reduce that decision to an innocent baby vs. a sinful woman who shouldnt have been having sex, when the issue is much more complex than that. We need a governor who can understand when a bill has a valid medical reason for limiting human rights, or when it is using medical procedures as a pretense to a conclusion based on religion, not science. We need a governor that understands the damage that happens to her body when a very young woman is forced to carry a pregnancy to term, and that giving up a baby after giving birth is not as simple as handing it over to someone else. I trust that Dr. Sherman will have our whole health interests at the fore when New Hampshire legislation comes before him.

Robin Schnell

Portsmouth

May 8 - To the Editor:

Imagine if conservative male politicians, judges and religious leaders had their lives impacted by their own decisions.

Consider the following scenario.

You have been complaining to your drinking buddies that you would like grandchildren someday. Lucky for you, one of your trusted friends knows an unethical fertility specialist with some extra embryos in their cryogenic freezer. After getting you passed out drunk, they inject some embryos into your prostate and each testicle to see if they can make your dream come true. You wake up with a hangover, but nothing else seems different.

Over the next six weeks, nothing seems to feel different, but what you may not realize is that you have three growths the size of a grain of rice that have found blood supplies and are continuing to grow. Afew weeks later, you notice a couple of small lumps in your testicles and think about going to the doctor if they get larger. They do get larger and now you are finding it even harder to urinate, most likely due to your enlarged prostate, you think. By the time you see your urologist, you are in some serious pain. Maybe it is similar to the pain experienced by a woman with an ectopic pregnancy but just in a different place.

Your urologist schedules an ultrasound, one of which is trans-rectal to examine your prostate. The results show that you are pregnant and will definitely make history as the first pregnant man carrying triplets. That is when you might start pleading with the doctor to remove the fetuses, but the doctor responds that they cant, as it is beyond six weeks, and they would be arrested if they did. They would also have to arrest your wife, who drove you to their office. Yes, you might die if you are not willing to tough it out, and you were raped by needle spiking, but the law is the law. Clearly two children can be delivered with a modified Cesarean section from your full term thirty or forty pound scrotum. The third child may have to be delivered rectally, if you survive having your prostate burst before then and not die from septic shock. But think of it, if you survive you can be the proud grandfather/father of three and go down in the record books. If you die, you died for your beliefs, a clear win-win.

One more thing, since all of your treatments and procedures normally apply to women, your insurance company considers them experimental and denies all of your claims.

Don Cavallaro

Rye

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Letters: A lesson from Croydon, NH: Using and abusing the tools of democracy - Foster's Daily Democrat

May 11SANTA FE Four of the seven candidates running for governor this year have voluntarily released their tax returns for the last two years, though some candidates only provided partial returns or summaries of their taxes.

The Journal asked all candidates who have qualified for the June 7 primary election ballot to release their tax returns, in order to provide information to voters about income sources.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is unopposed in next month's Democratic primary, was joined in releasing her tax returns by Republicans Mark Ronchetti, Jay Block and Rebecca Dow.

The two other GOP candidates in the race Greg Zanetti and Ethel Maharg did not release their returns. Libertarian candidate Karen Bedonie also did not immediately comply with the Journal's request.

New Mexico state law does not require the release of tax returns by gubernatorial candidates, unlike some states like California and Vermont that do mandate such disclosure.

But there is recent precedent for doing so, as both Lujan Grisham and Republican nominee Steve Pearce released their tax returns in the run-up to the 2018 race for governor, though Pearce only released tax return cover sheets.

For this year's race, some candidates who did not release their tax returns indicated they might consider doing so in coming days or weeks.

"I prefer to do that after the primary," said Maharg, the former mayor of Cuba who is one of five Republicans vying for the party's nomination in the June 7 primary race.

Here are synopses of tax returns released by the candidates who complied with the Journal's request:

Michelle Lujan Grisham

The state's Democratic incumbent governor, who is seeking reelection this year, released her entire tax returns for both 2020 and 2021.

Specifically, she reported making $79,629 in 2021 adjusted gross income after deductions, with the bulk of that figure coming from her $110,000 annual salary as governor set in state law. Lujan Grisham also made about $8,200 in investment earnings and interest.

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After paying $11,151 in federal taxes and $3,036 in state taxes, the governor received a $1,134 federal tax refund and a $30 state refund.

Lujan Grisham's income level was similar in 2020, her second full year of governor, when she made $76,144 in total income, according to her tax return provided to the Journal. She also received slightly larger tax refunds that year.

"Governor Lujan Grisham is committed to transparency and that's why she believes it is fundamental to release her tax returns," her campaign spokeswoman Kendall Witmer told the Journal.

While Lujan Grisham filed her taxes as a single individual, her filing status could be set to change. That's because the governor is set to marry her longtime fianc Manny Cordova later this month.

Mark Ronchetti

Ronchetti's campaign released a letter from his accountant that detailed the 2020 returns Ronchetti filed jointly with his wife, Krysty O'Quinn Ronchetti, but did not release the actual tax returns.

The Ronchettis have not yet filed their 2021 tax returns, as they applied for an extension due to a delay in receiving income tax documents, a campaign spokesman said.

In 2020, the Ronchettis reported an adjusted gross income of $78,410, which includes wages from both Ronchetti's job as a KRQE-TV meteorologist and his wife's work with a communications firm, according to their accountant.

Ronchetti only worked for part of 2020, as he stepped down from his meteorologist job that year in order to run for an open U.S. Senate seat. He won a three-way GOP primary, but was defeated in that year's general election by Democrat Ben Ray Lujn.

After the election, Ronchetti returned to KRQE for most of 2021. He stepped down again in October shortly before announcing his campaign for governor.

Meanwhile, the Ronchettis also reported 2020 income from pensions and annuities, investment earnings and from a pass through entity, or a business that passes its income and losses on to the business' owners or investors.

That entity is SJ Communications Inc., an Albuquerque-based company that was founded and is led by Krysty Ronchetti, according to state business records.

The firm has done public relations work for the state Tourism Department's "New Mexico True" marketing campaign, among other clients.

Rebecca Dow

Dow, a three-term state lawmaker from Truth or Consequences, filed taxes jointly with her husband in both 2020 and 2021.

Dow's campaign released only her state and federal tax return cover sheets not the attached tax schedules that showed the couple had an adjusted gross income of $178,851 for 2021 and $98,888 for 2020.

They also reported receiving, selling or exchanging virtual currency in both years, though her campaign manager Josh Siegel did not respond to a Journal question about the transactions.

Dow, who reported loaning $40,000 to her campaign in April, said on a mandatory state financial disclosure form in January that she is self-employed. She previously founded an early childhood learning center in Sierra County.

Her husband, Aaron Dow, is the president of Dow Technology, a software development company, and Rebecca Dow is listed as the company's vice president, according to state records.

He also worked for the state Department of Health, but quit his job due to COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirements, Dow's campaign has previously said.

Meanwhile, the Dows gave $6,150 in charitable contributions in 2020, her campaign manager told the Journal.

Jay Block

Block, who released his entire tax returns for both years, reported making $192,330 in adjusted gross income in 2021, with most of that income stemming from his work as both a defense consultant and as a Sandoval County commissioner.

He also received $43,203 from his military retirement as a U.S. Air Force officer for more than 20 years.

Those income levels represented an increase from 2020, as Block reported making $131,580 in adjusted gross income that year, with $29,336 coming from his military pension benefits.

Block faced a 2021 federal tax bill of $36,122 and a state tax bill of $8,503, which were both higher than his tax payments from a year earlier.

Block, who filed his returns as a single taxpayer, also reported a charitable contribution of $3,715 to Gospel Light Baptist Church in Rio Rancho in 2021.

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NM governor candidates split on releasing tax returns - Yahoo News