Gov. John Lynch today vetoed NH House Bill 345, which would require a photo ID to obtain an election ballot.  From his statement, which you can read in full at: http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/...

The right to vote is a fundamental right and is the bedrock of our democracy. Our responsibility as elected officials is to protect every citizen's constitutional right to vote and to ensure that any proposed changes to our voting system do not create unnecessary barriers to voting. We should be encouraging people to vote, not discouraging them.

I'm proud to be a resident of New Hampshire, and to have a Governor who will stand up on issues of national importance.

Kossack physicians, we are in a unique spot to help shelters housing people affected by Katrina.  Most of us can't leave our practices, and with the general fuck-up in the area by FEMA there would be no guarantee we could put our skills to use if we did head down there.

We can get medical supplies to shelters, however.

There are lists of shelters on Red Cross websites, and Democracy for New Hampshire (www.democracyfornewhampshire.com) has a number of them listed also.

We can work with suppliers such as Lomedco, Moore Medical, etc. and have them direct mail medications and supplies.  

I spoke with one gentleman who is doing procurement for 4 shelters yesterday.  They need everything at this point, but please find a contact person to work with to make sure that what is needed most gets to them most quickly.

As a family practice physician, I work with people from the beginning to the end of life.  I talk to people about death and dying, and try to help them determine what they do and don't want with end of life care.

Not surprisingly, most people feel as Terri Schiavo did: if there is no or minimal hope of return to a functional, interactive life, let me die.  Pull the plug, remove the feeding tube, no sustenance, please.

Also not surprisingly, when this decision is left up to family there are more agonizing decisions.  The members closest to the dying person tell me to let the dying person go.  The ones flying in from far away tell me to do everything medically possible to keep their mother/father/uncle Bob alive.  The less connected the relative, or the more tumultuous relationship with the dying person, the more ardently they try to keep death at bay.

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I just received a call from a friend, the mother of an 11th grade boy.  Today, at school, without notification to the parents, the entire 11th grade was administered a 3 hour aptitude test by military personnel.

As of this afternoon, shortly after her son arrived home and informed my friend, that exam is already in Boston.  She has been "promised" that the exam will be shredded, as she is a committed pacifist.  Her son, raised to be wary of circumstances where military recruitment might be undertaken, is a quiet, respectful young man.  He was told to sit and take the exam.  He did as he was told.  My friend's blood ran cold when her son told her of today's events.

During October, I had a movie series in my small NH town that showed free political movies every Friday, and included Fahrenheit 9/11, Uncovered, Unprecedented and similar films.  These were well received and attended by die-hard democrats, but did nothing to bring in others.  They served a useful purpose of energizing the base.

Now, with the blessings of my town democratic committee, I want to have a monthly movie night and show movies that appeal to a wider audience and advance democratic ideals.  I'm toying with the idea of having a local "expert" come to the showings to discuss whatever theme the movie covers (e.g., nuclear proliferation, civil rights, etc.)  I'm trying to make these a pleasurable, versus strictly didactic, experience.  I've come up with movies such as the original Manchurian Candidate, Kandahar, Grapes of Wrath, Dr. Strangelove etc.  

What other movies might be fun and informative?

My (previously) Republican town here in NH went for Kerry 59:41.  Then today I got this email from another member of my town democratic committee:

Elizabeth:

    The Democratic Party considers itself to be the party of the people.  Yet, clearly, this belief/message did not get transmitted to "the people" in the recent election.  Also, many people didn't believe or didn't want what many Dem candidates were saying/selling.  So it seems to me that if we Dems in our town/our district want to improve our position, whether that means our current Representatives holding onto their seats or gaining more seats (as in beating Rep.X), we need to do grass-roots stuff that will serve "the people", thereby demonstrating that we do care for them.  We cannot wait for the state party to give us help.  The national party won't be of much or any help because it has bigger boils to lance.

    As I thought about what our Town Dem Committee can do, I concluded that we must do something of material value, not something for show,

The Free State Project is a libertarian organization that is looking to move 20,000 libertarians to NH, and to impact (i.e., take over) our local government.  They have already chosen the small town they intend to occupy first. Our wonderful governor, Craig Benson, loves the libertarians and is assisting them by appointing them to state committees.  From the Concord Monitor:

A panel authorized by the governor to find inefficiencies in the state health and transportation departments is composed almost entirely of members of the Free State Project and includes a longtime antagonist of the Division of Children, Youth and Families. Gov. Craig Benson [also] chose John Babiarz, head of the state Libertarian Party, to chair the committee and select its members last month.

We have a new group, DFNH, (the state version of DFA), and are planning to protest an upcoming event the Libertarians are sponsoring at which Benson is the keynote speaker.  They got wind of our plans and are beginning to attack us.  I feel like I've put my arm in a viper's nest.