Opinion: Back to the dark ages five years later

By MILLIE LAFONTAINE

Millie LaFontaine is a retired physician who lives in Concord.

Opinion: The double standard of Trump’s TPS revocation

By JUDITH KUMIN

Judith Kumin lives in Contoocook. She is a retired official of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Opinion: Trusting the unknown

By JEAN STIMMELL

Jean Stimmell is a retired stone mason and psychotherapist living in Northwood. He blogs at jeanstimmell.blogspot.com and jstim.substack.com.

Opinion: The U.S. and Israel should be recognized as terrorist states

By WILL THOMAS

Will Thomas is a retired high school history teacher and a member of New Hampshire Veterans for Peace living in Manchester.

Opinion: Diversity saves us and our planet

By MICHAEL J. COHEN

Michael J. Cohen is a principal consultant at MJC Health Solutions, LLC, and a mental health advocate. He lives in Amherst.

Opinion: Gov. Ayotte’s leadership will help solve our housing crisis

By PERIKLIS KAROUTAS

Periklis Karoutas is the managing partner of Legislative Solutions, LLC, and represents the New Hampshire Home Builders Association.

Opinion: Courage and care count

By JARED RARDIN

Rev. Jared Rardin is a retired UCC pastor and a resident of Concord.

Opinion: The imperial presidency

By MICHAEL PELCHAT

Michael Pelchat is a retired pharmacist and current history student. He lives in Webster.

Opinion: A new reality for our nation’s future

By RICHARD BIRCHER

Richard Bircher lives in Lebanon.

Opinion: What we should do about Trump

By JESSE GILLIS

Jesse Gillis is a resident of Pembroke and a member of Veterans For Peace. 

Opinion: Cutting taxes, Republican style

By MARK FERNALD

Mark Fernald is a former state senator, and a former Democratic candidate for governor. He can be reached at mark@markfernald.com.

Opinion: HB293 will protect young people from porn addiction

By JAMES THIBAULT

James Thibault represents Merrimack County District 25, which includes Franklin and Northfield, in the New Hampshire House. He is the youngest state legislator in the United States.

Letter: Democrats are organizing better than ever

Ever since Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, Democrats have been organizing, mobilizing and working hard to tell the American people the truth. Just this weekend in Concord, hundreds of Democrats and even some independents lined Main Street in front of the State House holding signs and showing which issues matter most, like saving Medicaid, basic freedoms, taking climate action, gun reforms and holding extremists accountable. They were on the streets from morning until evening, waving to voters, protesting peacefully and understanding everyone’s opinions. The Democratic party will continue to organize in New Hampshire to ensure that every voter gets the correct information.

Letter: A DOGE by any other name

On March 7, for the second time in a row and the second time since President Trump was elected, the redesigned SpaceX starship exploded — or, as SpaceX put it in a sublime example of Orwellian Newspeak, the starship had a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” Plus, according to the New York Times, it is probable that the same problem that caused the first explosion caused the second one. Yet, the U.S. pays SpaceX billions of dollars for government contracts. I don’t know whether any taxpayer dollars were used to fund the rocket. Even if not, given the latest failure, how about putting SpaceX contracts under DOGE’s axe? Only that, for Elon Musk’s personal use and benefit, “DOGE” means Department of Government Extravagance.

Letter: A Ponzi scheme?

Elon Musk, who gets more money from the government than anyone else, called social security a Ponzi scheme on a recent podcast. Nothing could be further from the truth. A Ponzi scheme assumes there are limited investors that will reap the majority of the fraudulent scheme. Social security is a benefit that every taxpayer will at some point in their life be able to use. On the other hand, what is going on is a Pyramid scheme, primarily benefiting the top 10 percent of wealthy individuals and corporations. It started with Reagan’s trickle down theory. The idea is: Let’s give tax breaks to billionaires and corporations, and they will automatically reinvest. What a crock. Tax cuts to the wealthy have been the primary driver of our national debt. Recently, I had to find myself in agreement with Steve Bannon. He is against tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. In his view, the 2017 tax cuts did not provide any economic boost. These individuals and corporations used the money to fill their own pockets, through stock buybacks and high dividends payments. So now, President Trump wants to continue this Pyramid scheme to the tune of 4 trillion dollars. No strings attached, just collect your money. And what do we get for it all? Absolutely nothing, except for cuts to Medicaid and education because we have to pay for this free handout to billionaires somehow.

Letter: Rundlett alternatives

It now appears there is no expectation of any building aid from the state to partially offset the cost of a new Rundlett Middle School, which would cost approximately $164 million. Previously, School Board deliberations included some level of aid to reduce the total expenditure. With this financial setback, I suggest that the Board pause any further expenditures for the architects until they provide Concord taxpayers with a cheaper alternative for review. It appears the contract with HMFH architects says that “If the District does not receive state funding in the next bi-annual funding cycle (2025-26, 2026-2027), the contract may be paused until such funding is made available for the project.” A pause would allow time for the Board and the people of Concord to explore all possibilities.

Letter: In defense of the Social Security Administration

As an estate planning/administration attorney for more decades than I want to admit, I write to provide support for the Social Security Administration. Without a doubt, SSA is the most efficient government agency with which I work. When a person dies, the SSA immediately upon notice of death from a funeral home withdraws that month’s payment. In a timely manner, the SSA notifies the surviving spouse of the benefits they will receive, which is the higher of the husband’s or wife’s monthly benefit. If you have a question, the SSA office actually answers the phone and provides answers to questions. You are treated with respect.

Letter: A lesson for our times

The world lost one of its few remaining Holocaust survivors last month when Martin Turski died at age 98. As a teenager, Turski was shipped from Poland’s Lodz ghetto to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. His father and brother were killed there. Altogether 39 of his family members were murdered by the Nazis, but Turski miraculously survived, and he dedicated his adult life to warning the world about the danger of indifference to injustice. In 1965, just 20 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, he joined the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Why? In a 2020 interview, he warned: “The 11th Commandment is important: Don’t be indifferent… Do not be indifferent when you see historical lies. Do not be indifferent when any minority is discriminated against. Do not be indifferent when power violates a social contract.”

Letter: No Other Land

At the Oscars, delighted cheers went up for the film “No Other Land,” a documentary about an Israeli and a Palestinian sharing friendship and resistance in the West Bank. The Israeli director, Yuvla Abraham, told the crowd, “When I look at Basel, I see my brother. But we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law and Basel is under military laws, that destroy lives.” Co-director Basel Adra has not been free his entire life. The entire population of Gaza, the majority of whom were forced out of their homes generations ago, is not free — not even to flee 2,000 pound bombs. Gazans are not free to go back to their homes. They are not free to go for hospital care. They are not free to sell and buy goods from the rest of the world. Director Abraham continued, “Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe only if Basel’s people are truly free and safe?” It is not possible for Israel to enjoy peace while actively denying freedom to occupied Palestine. Abraham knows that Israel has the power and could choose the path to peace for all. As we approach a vote in our senate to send billions more in bombs to blow the people in Gaza and the West Bank to pieces, we can call our senators. Use your voice to show Basel and Yuval that you support safety and peace.