Thank you for your interest in and support of the Valley News. We need to raise $60,000 to host journalists Frances Mize and Alex Driehaus for their one-year placements in the Upper Valley through Report for America, a national service program that boosts local news by harnessing community support.

Please consider donating to this effort.

There are regular contributers to the Valley News forum who try to convince the readers that the Republican Party stands for law and order, that Trump is being picked on for no good reason and never had a chance to lead the nation because of it, and that the Democrats and Joe Biden are responsible for everything that’s bad in your life! These would be the same people who would tell you it wasn’t raining as you were standing in a thunderstorm.

One contributer asked us all to ask ourselves if we were better off than we were (2) years ago. Obviously, we are all better off simply because we no longer have a completely unhinged lunatic as our President. However, this criminal, and any sane person knows very well that he has broken many laws, and his cult followers continue to pose a huge threat to a proper Democratic way of life in the US. These people must be voted out of office in November!

Anyone who believes the 2020 election was stolen and Trump should still be President needs to be gone. If any of these people would ever provide any proof of election fraud, maybe we could be swayed. But all we get are baseless lies from people who should know better, and are only concerned about their own political future in the MAGA party of shameless fools. No Republican should get your vote this November unless he or she publicly denounces the “Big Lie” and pledges to do everything within their power to root this nonsense out of public service. Democracy truly is at stake this fall. Don’t forget that when you head to the polls this fall.

Remember! Vote these phony patriots out of office. They wouldn’t know a true American hero from a Russian strongman! Thanks for reading.

I have never been more happy to live in a state where the motto is “Live Free or Die” than after the recent overturning of Roe v Wade. Everyone in this state who is so fervently against government regulation of our personal freedoms will now fervently support women’s reproductive rights, and fight to protect their liberty!

All I can say is, amen.

I watched Joe Biden’s recent speech with utter disgust. It was the lowest form of cheap politics full, of lies and startling overstatements of what few facts were included, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Biden has a habit of bending and twisting the truth to your use. One only needs to read his speeches as a candidate and then his recent temper tantrum to see the truth of that statement. Biden must think his fellow countrymen and women are pretty stupid if he thinks they will fall for this kind of evil rhetoric.

Perhaps the only positive thing about the speech is what it offers to Biden opponents. The president and his colleagues have a habit of accusing your opponents of exactly what you are planning to do as soon as the campaign roles on. Perhaps I should thank you for that even as I try to get the taste of disgust out of my mouth brought on by your speech last night.

You can’t not be aware of the impact of changing climate. But what can you do? Sustainable Lebanon is seeking Lebanon residents to pilot an innovative mobile app which helps address personal carbon footprint. For 12 weeks starting Sept. 21, participants will interact for a short time each day with the app. After some initial data is entered, the app calculates your current household footprint. It offers a range of actions to reduce it, and shows the cumulative effect of those you take. Even though the time commitment is minimal, I found in trying it out that it focused my attention on my behaviors throughout the day.

5 brief zoom meetings will be held for discussion and to offer feedback. Participants can opt to join a team and enjoy more extended discussions and mutual encouragement. I’m inviting neighbors to join me. Small prizes donated by local businesses will be awarded to the teams with the greatest average reduction and to individual “biggest losers.”

You can be a climate activist already, or you can be thinking for the first time about your part in climate change; there are lots of do-able actions and the app will prove that they add up.

Sustainable Lebanon is piloting this program, called SNAPP, to develop a tool for a future in which everyone reduces their carbon use, just as everyone recycles today. For more information or a link to a YouTube demo, email sustainablelebanon@outlook.com. (SNAPP works only on iPhones or iPads now.)

We encourage voters in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, Sept. 13 to reelect Hanover and Lyme’s strong team of Democratic state representatives: Mary Hakken-Phillips, Russ Muirhead, Jim Murphy and Sharon Nordgren.

New Hampshire is facing unprecedented challenges. This team has the experience and practical know-how to understand and address those challenges.

Hakken-Phillips is an attorney and an active community volunteer; Muirhead is a government professor at Dartmouth and a strong defender of voting rights; Murphy is a physician with experience in hospital administration and a thorough understanding of health care issues; Nordgren is a long-time member of the House Finance Committee and one of the most experienced members of the House

Please vote for the team of Hakken-Phillips, Muirhead, Murphy, and Nordgren on Sept. 13.

Jay C. and Sarah Buckey

My father and grandfather were both over six feet. Before I was born, the family predicted that I too would be six feet tall. They reasoned correctly. But I was not six feet while I was in the womb. Nor was I a person. I did not even have the form of a human being until I had morphed from a zygote to embryo to fetus over a span of six to seven weeks and did not have the capacity to experience pain until about the twenty-fourth. At that time I became a sentient being, and as such, like an animal, had interests. But the development of the brain’s structure that leads to awareness of self and the ability to plan a future (a trait that animals lack) did not begin until the late second/early third trimester. Unlike animals, whose lives are programmed, humans lead, plan the course of their lives and as such are considered persons, i.e., beings with rights. My personhood did not exist even in an incipient stage until the last third of my life in the womb.

There is no question that abortion terminates the existence of a living entity that, left alone, will develop in accordance with its biological program. To abort is to kill. Arguably a late second trimester and third trimester infant should be brought to term — unless the infant has a defect that will critically compromise its viability or the mother’s life or health is at stake. But if a decision is made to terminate a pregnancy at an earlier stage (i.e., in the first or early second trimester) because the mother cannot provide the quality of life that will assure the child’s well-being (a terrible realization), there is no compelling reason not to do so. This intervention is killing, yes; but it is not murder. To murder is to deprive a person of his/her envisioned future, not merely their biological existence.

To kill an animal is not to murder it. To terminate a pregnancy at twenty weeks or so is likewise not murder. The fetus/infant in the womb at that stage does not possess the properties of personhood. Nor does it suffer pain. To discard an acorn is not to fell an oak tree.

Let’s get ourselves represented on the Executive Council.

For the last two years, the western half of our district has been totally ignored by Joe Kenney — and he got the districts gerrymandered. There are two candidates for the Council in our district 2: Mike Cryans has followed in the footsteps of Ray Burton who represented all of us all the time. When you needed help, you called Ray and in 24 hours your problem was solved. Mike follows in his footsteps, lives in Hanover and spends most of his time going around the district talking to people, representing them as he did when he was last on the Council. He has already visited every town in the new district. He, as Burton did, supports women’s reproductive rights to the fullest extent. Cryans‘ opponent lives in Concord. Has anyone seen her here? There are lots of signs. Has anyone spoken with her over here? I strongly encourage everyone to vote for Mike Cryans on Tuesday, September 13 so that once again, the western part of the state will have real representation on the Executive Council.

Our politics and climate are both in shambles, and our ship of state needs all hands on deck. The weather’s taken a turn for the worse: we watch Europe suffering their worst drought since the Middle Ages. Seoul seeks to ban basement apartments after flooding deaths, and monsoon rains overwhelmed Jackson Mississippi’s water treatment plants. Elsewhere, the American West battled wildfires, and recent Australian droughts may be the worst in 800 years (University of Melbourne Climate Energy College). When failed crops cause global famine, what will you plan for dinner?

Our political storms have eased somewhat since we’ve ousted The “Top-Secrets” Thief. 45 not only plead the fifth 440 times during allegations of fraudulent business practices (and tax evasion), he also refused to turn over more than 300 classified documents, including nuclear secrets, in potential violation of the Espionage Act. Such a miscreant, fit for no office, didn’t act in a vacuum; his abettors, conspirators & lackeys must have their treasons judged too.

Until we reform voting (so that each and every vote has the same gravity), our government will remain a repressive, inefficient enterprise, tuned to support the short-sighted wealthy. Money makes the world go round? No, people do that. It’s the Economy’s overarching force that keeps us in bondage. Ever notice earth’s a closed system? Runaway hoarding by the privileged breaks the bank.

Even before the American Revolution, the ruling class was defined as, and remain, those who fare better off than the rest of the populace. Our founders foresaw the constitutional need for amendments, but the mores of the powerful are stealthy. Our embryonic government hadn’t considered that a holistic democracy guarantees its citizen equal opportunities for all, independent of heritage and gender.

Mikhail Gorbachev taught us communism is not an answer, Ronald Reagan demonstrated trickle down economy’s not much better. The senate must introduce laws to tighten the gap between poverty and affluence, we must swap the electoral college for rank choice voting, and stack the criminally biased SCOTUS with humanitarians.

I look forward to casting my ballot for Miles Brown in the New Hampshire state primary on Tuesday. As a college student and loyal New Hampshire resident, Miles has a unique perspective that sets him apart from the other candidates for the State House.

Miles is a strong advocate for important progressive issues, including clean energy, affordable housing, and reproductive rights. As an experienced negotiator and problem solver, Miles would work with representatives across the aisle, ensuring the state enacts substantive legislation to bolster civic education and reduce funding inequities in schools.

If New Hampshire Democrats want to elect a Democratic governor and re-elect Sen. Maggie Hassan, the state needs to turn out young people to vote. As a member of the House, Miles would encourage and inspire young adults to participate in the political process. With more than

4,000 college students in Grafton County’s 12th District, it is imperative to have a voice in Concord that understands the student perspective. Yet it is also important to ensure that all voices — not just students — are represented. Miles will do just that. He will be a tireless advocate for all residents in the state legislature.

While some might be quick to discount Miles for his age, his experience with New Hampshire politics speaks for itself. From January 2021 to April 2022, Miles served on the executive board for the Hanover and Lyme Town Democrats, working with town residents to promote vaccine access and affordable housing. As the current Vice President of the New Hampshire College

Democrats and former president of the Dartmouth Democrats, Miles has been at the heart of advocacy work for New Hampshire’s student population. His ability to fight for issues affecting all residents would be a tremendous asset in the New Hampshire House.

By electing Miles Brown on September 13th, Hanover and Lyme residents will be supporting an important advocate for the future of our district and our state.

As a resident of Hanover for the past 31 years who is very concerned about the future of New Hampshire and our country, I would like to share my picks for the four Democratic State Representatives in the upcoming state primary election, all of whom are endorsed by the NEA-NH.

Sharon Nordgren has experience and clout. She was first elected to the House in 1988 and is now a ranking member of the House Finance Committee and Chair of Health & Human Services, which is responsible for almost half of state budget (her husband is a retired pediatric neurologist, who cared for my daughter).

James M. Murphy is a retired DHMC orthopedic surgeon and former Chief Medical Officer of New London Hospital. He was first elected to the House in 2020, where he serves on the Ways & Means Committee. In his first 2 years, he sponsored 13 bills, 9 of which were passed and signed into law by the Governor despite the partisan environment. As a former DHMC physician, I have had the pleasure of knowing “Murph” for more than 30 years and can vouch for his outstanding combination of proficiency, leadership, communication skills, compassion, sense of fairness, friendliness and productivity.

Russell Muirhead is a Dartmouth Professor of Government and interim Director of Rockefeller Center for Public Policy. He was first elected to the House in 2020, where he serves on the Election Law Committee. Amazingly, he was elected soon after finishing a prescient book about how conspiratorial thinking has assaulted democratic institutions. Given the current threats to our democracy, at both the state and national levels, his expertise, foresight, and community spirit are invaluable.

Mary Hakken-Phillips is a young attorney and former member of the Hanover Finance Committee. She was first elected to the House in 2020, where she currently serves on the Ways & Means Committee. She was nominated by the House Democratic Leader to represent NH in a nonpartisan program at University of Virginia, where she was one of about 50 new state legislators who learned how to build bridges, reach compromise, and lead through partisan deadlocks.

I’m writing to encourage Hanover and Lyme voters to choose Nicolas Macri as one of their four choices for our state house district in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary. I’ve known Nico for several years now, and I cannot think of a better man to represent us in Concord. Nico is incredibly passionate about our local community and heavily involved in finding lasting solutions to the problems that face us. I’m particularly thrilled with his unwavering commitment to sustainable and walkable communities and public transit.

His experience working with local government will be invaluable at the state house, where he will be well-equipped to guide the legislature towards best supporting our state’s towns to not only improve quality of life but also ensure a bright future for all New Hampshire residents as we traverse the green transition. He not only proudly supports bread and butter policies such as tax credits for green energy installation and electric vehicle purchases but also less exciting (but perhaps even more important) policies like financial support for thoughtfully remodeling older buildings to increase energy efficiency.

Here in the Upper Valley, a key part of securing our future will hinge on taking basic steps like helping folks get new insulation put in their homes or replacing aging roofs and inefficient appliances. On their own, these can be really heavy lifts for even middle class families, but when we as a community come together to support them in these goals, they become quite manageable. Nico knows that what’s most essential doesn’t always make for flashy headlines, yet that doesn’t daunt him in the slightest. Our area takes these issues seriously, and Nico will be with us all the way, putting our families and communities first. Please join me in supporting him on September 13th.

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