Fight Rages Over Ballot Box Selfies

If these people are taking selfies, they might get in trouble.  

If you're like many Americans, you're proud of voting.

Some of us are so proud that we take selfies of ourselves in the voting booth,  making our selections between candidates. Then we post these photos to social media, natch.

Turns out, such selfies can get you in trouble. They're illegal in a lot of states.

However, maybe not for long, if New Hampshire of all places becomes a trendsetter.

It was illegal to take voting booth selfies in the Granite State. According to Consumerist, the New Hampshire law states:

"No voter shall allow his or her ballot to be seen by any person with the intention of letting it be known how he or she is about to vote or how he or she has voted.

The law was amended in 2014 to include "taking a digital image or photograph of his or her marked ballot and distributing or sharing the image via social media or by any other means.

The New Hampshire attorney general wanted to enforce this law because he figured it could turn into a form of voter intimidation.

But when three New Hampshire voters got in trouble to taking selfies, they sued, and won.

Last year, Consumerist reports, " a U.S. District Court judge said the ban on selfies was an unconstitutional content-based restriction on speech that does not further a compelling government interest."

In other words, there was no evidence that people were using ballot booth selfies to force other people to vote a certain way.

The state appealed, saying, in part, that the selfies were tantamount to campaigning in a voting place, which is a no-no.

But a federal court ruled this week that a voter's First Amendment rights to free speech outweighed any concerns over campaigning.

Restrictions on showing other people your ballot harken back to the old days of corrupt union bosses making sure workers voted the way the bosses wanted them to. They had to show the bosses their ballots, until states passed laws banning the practice.

Where I live in Vermont, voting booth selfies are not explicitly banned, Vermont Public Radio said two years ago. But the law here does ban showing other people your ballot with info on how you voted or intend to vote. That would probably include photographs.

However, VPR says there are no known recent cases of anybody in Vermont  getting in trouble for voting booth selfies.

Laws vary from state to state, so you'd better check your law before you take that selfie just in case.

Heroic Rescue Of Baby From Hot Car, But......

"Ainsley" an incredibly lifelike
doll. A police officer broke a
car window to rescue an infant from
a hot car only to discover it was Ainsley the doll. 

Everybody did the right thing.

A woman in a Walmart parking lot in Keene, New Hampshire recently saw what looked like a baby locked inside a hot car on a scorching summer day.

Keene police arrived on the scene, and Lt. Jason Short saw the kid in a child car seat, says television station WMUR. 

"It was draped with a light blanket, and I could see little feet with the no-sole shoes and a bottle of milk," Short sakd.

So Short broke out a car window to rescue the baby. The kid appeared to be lifeless, so the officer tried to revive the kid. He began CPR.

That's when he realized what was going on. It was a doll. An incredibly life-like doll.

Says WMUR:

"The doll was a 'reborn doll,' manufacture to look exactly like a baby. Most reborn dolls cost a few hundred dollars, but this doll was valued at over $2,000."

The back story is almost as sad as a baby being left in a hot car to die.

The doll belongs to a Brattleboro, Vermont woman who collects these life-like dolls to cope with the death o her son years ago.

In a statement to the TV station, the woman said, "I've been laughed at and embarrassed by all the fuss. You can't know bow people choose to deal with their losses in life."

Very true. This was one of those cases where everybody did the right thing, but it still turned out weird.

The woman who called the cops, the cop who broke the window, and the woman trying to cope with her grief all did what we would expect and want people to do.

Still, it's an odd and sad story.

For the record, Keene Police said they would pay to repair the woman's car window.

If you do see a baby in a hot car, even if you don't know whether it's fake, call the cops anyway. Better safe than sorry.

Company Says It Will Bring New England Fall Foliage To You

Fallen autumn leaves last October in Burlington, Vermont.
If you don't want to pay $19.99 for three preserved
leaves come up to Vermont and scoop 'em up yourself.  

We've just about gotten into the peak foliage season here where I live in Vermont, and as always, it is just gorgeous.

Busloads of tourists are now gawking at the leaves, hotels and full, restaurants are packed and thousands of digital cameras are now jam packed with images of red and yellow and orange leaves.

The foliage season will end soon enough. Wouldn't it be nice if you could keep a bit of it forever?

According to the Boston Globe, you can! For the low, low price of $19.99 you can have three colorful autumn leaves from Vermont or New Hampshire.

Says the Boston Globe: "It's the latest gambit by serial entrepreneur Kyle Waring, who launched a new website Tuesday where people can purchase colorful leaves without trekking to the Green or White Mountains."

The Globe continues:

"The leaves are collected from trails and other spots around New England and then carefully cleaned and preserved with ammonia and glycerin to ensure they stay alive and colorful for years to come, Waring said. Each bundle of leaves is then sent to custmers along with a handwritten card."

Waring, 27, of Somerville, Mass said the leaves are worth every penny of that $19.99 because he "filters through tons fo find Grade A leaes and then carefully preserves them."

If you want to buy these three gorgeous leaves for $19.99, go to shipfoliage.com  and waste your money there.

Or you can come to my house in Vermont and collect all the fallen autumn leaves you want for free. If enough people come, maybe I won't have to rake the lawn this fall.

Jerk Of The Week Slams 4th Graders' Bird Legislation Because Abortion

Fourth graders in New Hampshire wanted to
make the red tailed hawk the state raptor....

As part of a civics lesson, a group of fourth graders in New Hampshire asked the state's legislature to make the red-tailed hawk the state raptor.

Lawmakers shot down the idea, and complained that the legislation was a waste of time when they had more pressing matters with which to contend.

You can debate whether the lawmakers were right in saying the fourth graders were wasting their time, or whether they were shutting down a civics lesson, and turning the kids off from democracy

But, then, enter Republican Warren Groen who just had to make things worse by somehow tying the hawk to abortion:

"The (red-tailed hawk) mostly likes field mice and small rodents. It grasps them with its talons and then uses its razor sharp beak to rip its victims to shreds and then basically tear it apart, limb from limb. And I guess the shame about making this the state bird is it would make a much better mascot for Planned Parenthood."

Way go go Warren! Tying everything to abortion. You must be a real hit at cocktail parties.

Not surprisingly, parents whose kids were in the New Hampshire Statehouse listening to this jerk were not pleased.

According to the Huffington Post, Jodi Linnehan Kriner, the mother of one of the students, wrote a letter to lawmakers saying she was ashamed they are state representatives.

"If any rep can tell me how I should answer a question that was asked to me last nigth by my 10 year old son, Andrew, please let me know. He asked, 'Mom, what does Planned Parenthood have to do with red-tailed hawk tearing apart is prey, and why should it be the mascot,' she wrote.

Instead, the fourth grades got this
moron prattling on about abortion instead.  

Well, Andrew, good question! One I surely don't have an answer to. Neither does Groen, apparently, but he did double down on his comment in a phone interview with the Huffington Post. 

"The selective outrage about this I find quite curious....Every week in Manchester, the fourth grade class from 2025 is killed out.  Babies that would be 10 years old and in fourth grade 10 years from now are aborted in Manchester, and there's no outrage."

Even fellow Republicans are pretty fed up with Groen and his abortion stuff. He's kind of like a weird, sick version of Jan on the Brady Bunch always complaining about Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.   

Lawmakers say they are going to ask Groen during the next legislative session this week to apologize. He probably won't, because maybe he thinks anyone who believes he was out of line is an abortionist?

Except For The Land Mines and Booby Traps, This Property Is Spectacular

This, and 100 acres could be yours for as little
as $250,000, if you don't mind the land mines in the woods. 

There's a beautiful piece of property up for auction in Plainfield, N.H, that includes about 100 scenic acres.

It also has a nice large house that maybe could use a little renovation but has TONS of potential.

The minimum bidding price is $250,000 so this place is a steal.

Yet, at the first auction, nobody submitted a bid.

It could be because the property might be laced with land mines or booby traps. 

Yeah, that isn't the best selling point for real estate is it?

The property in question is the infamous compound of Ed and Elaine Brown, who in 2007 said federal income taxes were illegal and they wouldn't pay them. Ed Brown was trying to demonstrate his belief there was no obligation to pay federal income tax.

That didn't get him very far.

They were put on trial for tax evasion, but stopped showing up for the trial and holed up in their compound for nine months.

They, and some like minded people there, who did not recognize the authority of the U.S. government, stashed homemade bombs, weapons and ammunition.

The standoff was quite a sensation during the summer of 2007. Adding to the drama, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and his wife Joanna had property across the street from the Browns that they stayed at every summer.

The Breyers weren't there that summer, for sure.

The Browns were arrested in October of 2007 without incident and are now serving long prison sentences.

According to TechTimes, federal authorities aren't even letting prospective buyers tour the property:

"Federal officials are banning potential buyers from touring the property over concerns the woods on the property could contain high explosives. During the standoff, Ed Brown told a radio interviewer that police forces raiding the property would die, describing the conflict as "war." However, during his trial, he testified the booby traps in the woodland areas would meant to scare, not harm intruders."

So if you don't mind your wonderful walks through the woods interrupted by land mines blowing off your legs, so you can't walk in the woods anymore, have I got the property for you!






           

N.H. Man Thinks Candidate Will Lose Because She Is "Ugly As Sin"

Steve Vaillancourt thinks Marlinda Garcia is hot. Sigh.
 

Call me naive, but I think most of us vote for candidates for office based on how closely their views match ours.

But New Hampshire State Rep. Steve Vaillancourt has other ideas. He really believes it's a beauty contest. A literal one.

Two women are vying for a seat in New Hampshire's Second Congressional District: Republican Marlinda Garcia and Democrat Annie Kuster.

In his NH Insider Blog, Vaillancourt chose the creepiest way possible to describe why he thinks Garcia will win and Kuster will lose.

Here's what he says:

"In New Hampshire's second congressional district, if I may be so bold as to speak the truth, Republican Marilinda Garcia is one of the mot (sic) attractive women on the political scene anywhere, not so attractive as to be intimindating, (sic) but truly attractive." 

He goes on to talk about Garcia's Democratic opponent.

"Let's be honest. Does anyone not believe that Congressman Annie Kuster is as ugly as sin? And I hope I haven't offended sin."

Alrighty, then. I guess this election is settled. At least if this were the Miss America pageant and Vaillancourt was the judge.

I don't think Vaillancourt has the hots for Garcia, because he's openly gay. He just seems to be creepy, mysogynist and catty.

As I understand it, here's Vaillancourt's rules for women considering a career in politics:

Be attractive, but not so attractive as to scare away horny men.

If you're not attractive, immediately give up politics and live out the rest of your life in a cave in the remotest areas of New Hampshire's White Mountains. 

To determine whether you are attractive or not, submit your photo to Vaillancourt, since he's apparently the ultimate judge in these matters.

The Huffington Post reports that to her credit, Garcia said she doesn't exactly take kindly to Vaillancourt's analysis, as it's sexist and all. Says Garcia:

"State Rep. Vaillancourt's recent comments about Rep. Ann Kuster are sexist and have absolutely no place in political discourse. Both Rep. Kuster and I have experienced this unfortunate reality of being a woman in politics. I hope that as time moves forward and more female candidates run for political office around the country, people will focus on the content of our ideas rather than what we wear and how we look."

Good luck with that, Marilinda.  With the large numbers of women in politics these days, I'm still stunned by how many people praise or criticize these politicians' looks, rather than praise or criticize their viewpoints.

For instance, there's lots to praise or criticize Hillary Clinton about, but to this day I keep hearing about her supposedly unattractive pantsuits, as if that matters when she's discussing Middle Eastern diplomacy.

And I recall talking to a few guys back in 2008 who said they were voting for McCain/Palin over Obama because Sarah Palin was quote, unquote, "hot."

By contrast, too bad Palin's brain is so cold, due to it's lack of intellectual firepower.

For what it's worth, Manchester, New Hampshire television station WMUR says latest polls give a slight edge to Garcia over Kuster. But the race is close between Garcia, a Tea Party favorite, and incumbent Democrat Kuster.

My guess is New Hampshire voters will decide based on the two candidates' politics, despite the um, helpful, guidance from Vaillancourt.

  

Don't Brag To Police If You Were Doing 185 MPH On Your Motorcycle

Now that he's been arrest, this guy might not
be as proud of what police said was his
bragging about doing 185 mph on his
motorcycle. He faces various charges.  

Here's a pro tip for all you speed demons out on the highways.

If the cops stop you for doing 127 mph down the Interstate on your motorcycle, don't brag to the nice police officer that you were actually doing 185 mph before the police noticed.

This did happen recently in New Hampshire, says Gawker and the Associated Press. 

The admission by David J. Fries, 31, about his speed, after one New Hampshire State Trooper clocked him going 127 mph, another saw him crash into a guardrail and run away, and after several officers spend an hour chasing him through the woods and such near the Interstate.

Fries didn't have a good night. He was also injured in the crash, and by the police dog that also caught up with him.

Police also said they found a hyperdermic needle, smoking pipe and crack cocaine on Fries, which might help explain why he was screwing around on his motorcycle like that.

The drug revelation prompted one commenter on Gawker to note:

"With all that drug paraphernalia, he was probably going 185 mph before he got on his motorcycle."

According to the AP, a trooper spotted 31-year-old David J. Fries going 127 mph on Interstate 93 at about 2:45 a.m. on Saturday. Another trooper saw Fries crash into a guardrail after he exited the interstate, at which point he led officers on an hourlong foot chase.

Fries was caught with the aid of a police dog, and treated for injuries both from the crash and the dog.

Police said Fries, who had in his possession a hypodermic needle, smoking pipe, and crack cocaine, allegedly told them he got up to 185 mph before exiting the interstate.

He is being held on a $30,000 bail.

If You Steal A Laptop, Don't Call Customer Service For Help

Recently, Mike Witonis of New Hampshire was puzzled. He'd gotten an e-mail from Apple, thanking him for contacting customer service for a question about his laptop.

If you steal a MacBook like this from someone,
don't call Apple support to ask for help using it.  

Witonis hadn't called Apple customer service. But then he realized why Apple thanked him for his non-existent call.

Witonis had his laptop stolen from his home about a year earlier. He'd given up on it as lost forever.

But then he realized the thief must have called customer service. Apple still had Wintonis' e-mail associated with the laptop, so Apple sent the message to him.

According to WMUR-TV in Manchester, N.H. the whole thing led police to Casey Wentworth, 24, who is accused of burglary. Police said they are puzzled as to why Wentworth held on to the laptop for so long, then tried to call Apple to figure out how to unlock it, apparently so he could use it.

Moral of the story: Sometimes its good that companies keep some data on us, like our email addresses. And some criminals are too stupid to realize this.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Children's Hospital Offers An Inspiring "Roar"

Hat tip to my sister Lynn for reminding about this video that's gone majorly viral with more than 1.3 million hits.

This little boy roars as he sings Children's Hospital
at Dartmouth Hitchcock's version of Katy Perry's "Roar"  

Patients, family and staff decided at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in  New Hampshire to do one of those inspiration videos by lip syncing to Katy Perry's song "Roar"

I especially like the geeky staffers trying, and charmingly failling to dance, and of course the patients.

Special kudos to the little boy in blue who roars, the girl in the glasses and purple tie-dye, the boy in the red doing the muscle pose and the determined young lady in the tan knit hat and green shirt who is promising to do a lot of roaring in the future.

This video is a rare moment in which scenes from a children's hospital can make you happy and optimistic. So thanks, Dartmouth-Hitchcock!

Here's the cool video: