Freedom "Irrelevant and Destructive"
I almost don't know where to begin with such an ignorant, reality-starved piece of work as this.
Scrap NH's irrelevant and destructive state motto already
Like I said, where to begin?
Sounds to me like Mr. Polidoro is suggesting that we, the residents of New Hampshire, are to hereby surrender all of our personal freedoms and individual rights to the almighty government, and accept the Nanny State into our lives with open arms, for our own good. based solely on the geographical perspective of General Stark's immortal words.
Let's read on, it gets, um "better"?
No shit.
Wow, that's clever. Did you come up with that one all by yourself?
Yes, by all means, let's scrap this subversive mentality at once.
From whom? Ourselves?
Here's what Mr. Polidoro's friends in the ding-dong wing of the New Hampshire Democratic Party have proposed in just the first few months of their new-found majority, as ways for the government to "protect" us from ourselves:
- banning the use of trans fats in restaurants
- imposing a tax on the sale of candy products, including the use of tax stamps and licenses to sell candy
- enacting statewide sales and income taxes
- banning the use of cell phones while driving
- banning the use of tobacco on privately owned property
- a primary enforcement seat belt law for all adults
- allowing the police to arbitrarily deny a law-abiding citizen the right to carry a concealed firearm
Did I miss any?
What part of "state motto" was unclear to you, asshole?
I was wondering how many paragraphs he was going to make it through before playing the "It's For the ChildrenTM" Card.
Tell me, where does it end, Mr. Polidoro?
A statewide 20 MPH speed limit?
Mandatory helmets and foam suits for all pedestrians?
Banning the sales of all ladders over 6' in height?
Confiscation and destruction of all privately owned swimming pools?
Banning all high school athletic programs?
Surely, any one of these measures would lower the risk of injury and death for our citizens and our children. What is it about people being free that scares you so? And, if you, Mr. Polidoro, are to be the arbiter of what is to be considered "absurd", we're all in deeper shit than I had originally thought.
Because nothing says "We honor your memory!" better than giving state and municipal employees more paid time off from their non-essential jobs.
Yeah, "other states", like New Jersey. I'll let this column from the Union Leader do the talking for me.
Anyway, back to Mr. Polidoro's whiny little ramblings...
Oh, for the love of Christ! How many times must we explain this to these simple-minded folk, masquerading as educated intellectuals?
Those muzzle-loaded guns were, at the time, state-of-the-art military hardware. Much in the same way the fixed block printing press was the state-of-the-art technology for publishing newspapers and printing books, for the time period in question. I'll go way out the old limb here and state that Mr. Polidoro didn't reach for a quill pen to scribble down this nonsense.
There's simply no way the founders of our country could have foreseen the use of word processors, computers, and the internet. Yet the use of these items to express one's thoughts in a public forum is very much protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Again, no shit, huh?
I think it's Mr. Polidoro who is in need of a history lesson here. Does he even remember from his high school history class why we fought for our independence from England? When the citizens of the colonies took up arms against the crown, it was to free themselves of the chains placed upon them by an over-bearing, tyrannical government, which sought to restrict their rights and liberties.
Now, we in New Hampshire, who cherish such things as freedom and liberty, find ourselves face to face with Mr. Polidoro and his allies in the state legislature, people who are actively trying to brush the dirt of those chains and slap them, once again, upon our backs after all these years.
Anyone who finds the words "Live Free or Die", and the state of mind they represent, to be irrelevant is not only an affront to human dignity, but is insulting beyond measure the valiant memory of all those who gave their lives protecting the precious rights and freedoms of ALL Americans, not just those of us with those four words on our license plates.
The "worst of evils" that General Stark was talking about was being forced to live under a tyrannical regime, in which the rights of the individual are doled out by the chosen few, to those they deem worthy.
In other words, Massachusetts.
Live free or move south.
Scrap NH's irrelevant and destructive state motto already
We in New Hampshire often show our ignorance of state history by citing the "Live free or die" motto. We have used it to protest taxes, anti-smoking ordinances for restaurants, the right to bear arms (including assault weapons) and now the proposed seatbelt law. It would do us well to change the slogan on the state license plate back to "The Granite State" and educate our adults and children as to the motto's real origin: Gen. John Stark's reunion greeting in abstentia for a 1777 battle that occurred in Vermont, not New Hampshire.
Like I said, where to begin?
Sounds to me like Mr. Polidoro is suggesting that we, the residents of New Hampshire, are to hereby surrender all of our personal freedoms and individual rights to the almighty government, and accept the Nanny State into our lives with open arms, for our own good. based solely on the geographical perspective of General Stark's immortal words.
Let's read on, it gets, um "better"?
The motto was adopted by New Hampshire in 1945, not in the 1700s, and Stark would not know he would be embossed on a license plate.
No shit.
"Live, freeze or die" would have been more relevant.
Wow, that's clever. Did you come up with that one all by yourself?
Residents have screamed this motto in editorials and letters to the editor as if we seceded from the union and are free to do what we want, anytime we want, when we want and for any reason, in fear of our local state government absconding our rights to "freedom."
Yes, by all means, let's scrap this subversive mentality at once.
The state's job is to protect the citizens...
From whom? Ourselves?
Here's what Mr. Polidoro's friends in the ding-dong wing of the New Hampshire Democratic Party have proposed in just the first few months of their new-found majority, as ways for the government to "protect" us from ourselves:
- banning the use of trans fats in restaurants
- imposing a tax on the sale of candy products, including the use of tax stamps and licenses to sell candy
- enacting statewide sales and income taxes
- banning the use of cell phones while driving
- banning the use of tobacco on privately owned property
- a primary enforcement seat belt law for all adults
- allowing the police to arbitrarily deny a law-abiding citizen the right to carry a concealed firearm
Did I miss any?
...and the motto is not in the U.S. Constitution.
What part of "state motto" was unclear to you, asshole?
The absurd notion has led us to be last or close to last to pass logical legislation for proven health and safety measures that would save the lives of our citizens and our children.
I was wondering how many paragraphs he was going to make it through before playing the "It's For the ChildrenTM" Card.
Tell me, where does it end, Mr. Polidoro?
A statewide 20 MPH speed limit?
Mandatory helmets and foam suits for all pedestrians?
Banning the sales of all ladders over 6' in height?
Confiscation and destruction of all privately owned swimming pools?
Banning all high school athletic programs?
Surely, any one of these measures would lower the risk of injury and death for our citizens and our children. What is it about people being free that scares you so? And, if you, Mr. Polidoro, are to be the arbiter of what is to be considered "absurd", we're all in deeper shit than I had originally thought.
It has also embarrassed us nationwide by delaying our recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day...
Because nothing says "We honor your memory!" better than giving state and municipal employees more paid time off from their non-essential jobs.
...and now for stalling automobile safety regulations as if we arrogantly know better than all the other states of the union that mandate the protection of our fellow citizens in this modern day.
Yeah, "other states", like New Jersey. I'll let this column from the Union Leader do the talking for me.
Gov. Corzine was seated in the front passenger seat of his official Chevy Tahoe when the accident happened. New Jersey law mandates seatbelt use for anyone in the front seat of a vehicle. Disobeying the law carries a small fine. Gov. Corzine has a reputation for not wearing his seatbelt, but what are the odds that he's ever paid a fine for that violation, or that the state trooper driving him has ever written him a ticket?
We are pretty sure that Gov. John Lynch wears his seatbelt all the time -- in a state where the law does not force him to. Like most Granite State drivers and passengers, he chooses to wear it.
Gov. Corzine often chose to disobey a law designed to protect him from his own decisions. He recognized, in his private life, at least, that having the right to choose a risky behavior was a valuable personal freedom -- even if the behavior chosen was foolish.
Anyway, back to Mr. Polidoro's whiny little ramblings...
Gen. Stark did not need a seatbelt on his horse, so its irrelevant. Few rapid-fire guns existed back then, most guns having been made in England and muzzle-loaded in a slow fashion.
Oh, for the love of Christ! How many times must we explain this to these simple-minded folk, masquerading as educated intellectuals?
Those muzzle-loaded guns were, at the time, state-of-the-art military hardware. Much in the same way the fixed block printing press was the state-of-the-art technology for publishing newspapers and printing books, for the time period in question. I'll go way out the old limb here and state that Mr. Polidoro didn't reach for a quill pen to scribble down this nonsense.
There's simply no way the founders of our country could have foreseen the use of word processors, computers, and the internet. Yet the use of these items to express one's thoughts in a public forum is very much protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Again, no shit, huh?
Below is the origin of the motto by Gen. Stark. New Hampshire legislators who vote for our citizens' protection would best be educated as to its origin and the lack of its application to most of the recent editorials in every New Hampshire newspaper.
[snip]
The motto was part of a volunteer toast which Gen. Stark sent to his wartime comrades, in which he declined an invitation to head up a 32nd anniversary reunion of the 1777 Battle of Bennington in Vermont, because of poor health. The toast said in full: "Live free or die; death is not the worst of evils."
I think it's Mr. Polidoro who is in need of a history lesson here. Does he even remember from his high school history class why we fought for our independence from England? When the citizens of the colonies took up arms against the crown, it was to free themselves of the chains placed upon them by an over-bearing, tyrannical government, which sought to restrict their rights and liberties.
Now, we in New Hampshire, who cherish such things as freedom and liberty, find ourselves face to face with Mr. Polidoro and his allies in the state legislature, people who are actively trying to brush the dirt of those chains and slap them, once again, upon our backs after all these years.
Anyone who finds the words "Live Free or Die", and the state of mind they represent, to be irrelevant is not only an affront to human dignity, but is insulting beyond measure the valiant memory of all those who gave their lives protecting the precious rights and freedoms of ALL Americans, not just those of us with those four words on our license plates.
The "worst of evils" that General Stark was talking about was being forced to live under a tyrannical regime, in which the rights of the individual are doled out by the chosen few, to those they deem worthy.
In other words, Massachusetts.
Live free or move south.
