This week on Manch Talk, I am joined by Right-to-Know open government activist, Laurie Ortolano from Nashua. Laurie takes us through an in-depth look at her case to make sure Nashua City Hall and the tax assessors office are functioning properly in an open, accessible, accountable and responsive way. (Psst: Guess what? They’re not, and she and other activists have been arrested to prove it!) (Double psst: What do you call it when the Mayor in a town gets special tax treatment?)
Did you know in NH public schools since 1994:
# Teachers has INCREASED by 23%
All other staff has INCREASED by 80%
Spending per pupil has INCREASED 66%
And yet… enrollment is DOWN 9%???
The public school sector is straight-up LYING TO YOU. The pupil to staff ratio is now 10:1. Support school choice… it’s the only way to break the education monopoly to ensure each Granite Stater child gets the education they choose at a price point taxpayers can afford! [SOURCE: Josiah Bartlett Center]
In honor of Sunshine Week, this Sunday, the Union Leader printed the entire redacted Laurie’s List to show Granite Staters the shocking number cops with “sustained findings of misconduct” being hidden from public view. We discuss your Constitutionally-protected Right-to-Know, recent court successes, and suspicious rollbacks being attempted at the State House. Tune in to learn more!
Learn more about this issue:
Open government
Government accountability
This week, we discuss the novel concept of self-ownership, whether the necessary systemic reform of government is possible, the wind down of Covid, and more!
From rocket ships to political gamesmanship, this week on Manch Talk, we discuss the brilliance of Elon Musk, how Democrats’ quorum games in Bedford last week backfired big time, upcoming bills to address election fraud, and more! Support platforms that support freedom of speech, watch on Odysee.
Due to technical difficulties in the studio, I only have the Facebook Live link for this week’s Manch Talk. Tune in while you still can!
Opening line: “My name is Carla Gericke, and when I grow up, I want to be a disco ball!”
Zinger: “New Hampshire may be cold, but it’s still warmer than Mars.” (Free Staters <3 you, Elon Musk! Please come be my bestie! Or, at least, come to PorcFest–fondly referred to as “Burning Man for rational people!”)
Ending: “We don’t have to change the world, we just have to “Keep NH Awesome!”
Reason Magazine’s editor-at-large, Nick Gillespie, called my book, The Ecstatic Pessimist: Stories of Hope (Mostly) “a fantastic package of writings.” Buy your copy from Amazon, download for free on Kindle, or order your personalized paperback directly from me. Please support my efforts by buying my book, thanks!
“Liberty lives in New Hampshire!” Donate to the Free State Project!
This week, we delve into the election recount that took place in Windham, NH, where, strangely, 300 votes for all four the Republican candidates were picked up. An anomaly? A suspicious anomaly? I think so…
Senator Bob Guida has been covering this issue quite closely. This is what he had to say earlier today:
As the Windham Incident gains notoriety, I’ve received hundreds more emails, text messages and phone calls from you – our People – than for any other issue I’ve encountered in my 10+ years in the State House.Do not be discouraged because we’re having to fight this fight. It must be our legacy to our children and future generations. To those of you who are upset, please channel that energy into taking back your towns, your cities, your state, your nation from the special interests that are slowly destroying it, from the liars that antagonize us for their own political gain, from the treachery and retribution that threaten the Republic. Government cannot save it. Only we can. Only you can.Our fight today is right here in New Hampshire, and I will continue the fight to find out what happened in Windham. If it turns out not to be the machines, I am good with that. But we cannot relent because unless we can prove it was NOT the machines, there’s no way to be sure none of the 200 or so towns that use these machines weren’t compromised as well. This is not conspiracy theory. These machines are old and tired, and could well be having software issues. Some of you have shared that you are discouraged and losing faith in our electoral system. To be sure, there are forces in government that are supposed to work for us that are using every tactic at their disposal to make you quit, to make this go away. But I offer the following for your consideration. We need to realize that WE are the political system, unless we cede that right and responsibility to those in “government.” Many have, much to our detriment. Whenever I get discouraged, I hearken to George Washington at Valley Forge. His only encouragement was his faith, as he and his ragtag army had lost every battle they had fought, he was out of money to pay his men, they had no shelter other than tents against the bitter cold, and food, blankets and firewood were in desperately short supply. But he BELIEVED in a free America, and never gave up on it, and never gave up fighting for it until the Revolutionaries prevailed. He fought for me, for us – and we must do the same for every future generation, who won’t know our names but will be free because we took a stand and refused to lose. Washington once said, “Government, like fire, is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” Thanks for staying in the fight.
Here’s the Union Leader’s coverage.
UPDATE 2/18/21: Listen to this insightful take on the Windham situation… which appears to have happened statewide… 6% flip from Republican to Democrat… guess how much I lost my race by? Dundunduuuuuuuun!
Education Freedom Accounts are on the menu! How much adequacy funds are currently being allocated? What’s up with the surprising pushback from homeschoolers? Isn’t it time for change? Let’s put problem solvers in charge, and stop leaning into past failures that have resulted in poor educational outcomes!