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After a shameful, staged White House spectacle designed to belittle President Zelenskyy, President Trump told Zelenskyy to leave and come back when he was ready for peace. Zelenskyy has been ready for peace since Feb. 25, 2022, the day after Putin invaded Ukraine and destroyed their peace. But, unlike Trump, Ukrainians believe in the New Hampshire motto “Live free or die.” Trump believes in the motto “they were suckers and losers.” Viewing a WWII cemetery in Normandy, he said, “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?”

Elon Musk claimed his job was to eliminate waste and fraud. He and a bunch of 19- to 26-year-olds have ordered mass firings in departments they know nothing about. If someone points out that those fired were really needed, such as people taking care of our nuclear weapons, they say oops then try to cancel their actions. They cut off money for foreign aid which the Secretary of State had to restore.

At a time when federal government is being DOGE’d, the responsibility for ensuring that America continues to be a prosperous land of opportunity is being transferred from the federal government to states. This transition is something that conservatives have been advocating for for decades, and now, for better or worse, it is coming to pass. State government has an awesome responsibility to step in where the federal government has stepped back, and we must ensure that New Hampshire remains an amazing place to work, to raise a family, to go to school and to be part of a healthy and vibrant community. Unfortunately, in many respects this awesome responsibility and new reality is not reflected in the Republican budget bill. Rather than step up where the federal government has stepped back, this budget proposes many of the same kinds of short-term cost cutting measures that will have long term impacts to our state. While New Hampshire remains, for now, one of the wealthiest states in the country, that status cannot long endure unless we truly invest in our public education system (including the University system), health care (including mental health care), workforce housing, childcare, transportation, our environment and energy infrastructure. I urge all members of the House and Senate to consider the totality of our social and economic environment and to recognize that cuts to vital services will have real and immediately deleterious impacts on New Hampshire residents, families, small businesses, towns and cities.

Article 6 of the New Hampshire Bill of Rights states: “No person shall ever be compelled to pay towards the support of the schools of any sect or denomination.” Forcing New Hampshire taxpayers to financially support religious education through voucher programs is a violation of our constitutionally guaranteed liberties. This should be sufficient reason for our New Hampshire lawmakers to reject any voucher program that allows even a dollar of public money to go toward religious education. Sadly, New Hampshire lawmakers are more focused on gutting and privatizing our state’s public education system than on upholding the rights of their constituents. Shame on anyone who supports HB 748 or any other program that funnels public, taxpayer funds to religious schools.

As Donald Trump proceeds down a path to abandon Ukraine, I am reminded of the words of President John F. Kennedy spoken to a very young teenager in his 1961 Inaugural Address. “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

On March 23, the governor and council have an opportunity to save public education and potentially reduce our property tax burden by refusing to reappoint Frank Edelblut as commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of (Public) Education. Here is what I sent to the governor and council members: “Dear Gov. Ayotte and council members, I urge you not to reappoint Commissioner Edelblut as the head of the New Hampshire Department of Education. During his tenure, he has done more to destroy public education than any previous commissioners. He has let his personal religion and disdain for public education beliefs cripple our excellent system of education for New Hampshire’s children. In addition, he has continued to re-write history and frighten hard working and dedicated teachers with his “Freedom” legislation and robbed the Educational Trust Fund to give wealthy households access to vouchers originally earmarked to assist low-income parents to pay for their children desiring to go to a different school. Masses of data show that not only is the original intent a failure but it has also further moved the cost of educational services onto towns. As recent school board meetings throughout the state have shown, the public is both angry and aware of the pain he has caused and correctly point the finger at the state for our huge increases in property taxes. Edelblut’s reappointment would show everyone that our state is anti-public education. Please appoint someone who believes in public education, the foundation of our democracy.”

The U.S. president’s treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 28 was appalling. After three years of courageously leading the Ukrainian people through a brutal war against Putin’s neo-imperial Russia, Zelensky endured an outrageous lecture on the importance of peace from a president who openly favors the Kremlin. The “leader of the free world” raised his voice at Zelensky and chastised him for “hating” Putin after the Russian despot invaded Ukraine in a war that has killed over 100,000 Ukrainians.

Again, in the Monitor, we are reading about a vigilante group who wants to harass a transgender child at a school sports event. They are calling it “freedom of speech” but this demonstration belongs on the State House steps, not on a school playground. Do these people have no compassion for a minority group who just want to be part of what every child deserves in their school experience. To those in power: Be strong in your resistance to bigotry and bullying.

The ‘DOGE king’ stating that if a government worker doesn’t answer his emails that means they’re not working? To me that means just the opposite. I worked for the state of New Hampshire for 25 years, primarily working at a computer. If my bosses had come by my desk and seen me browsing emails I would have been seen as not doing the work I was supposed to be doing.

First, I want to congratulate all of the citizenry who voted Donald Trump into office for a second term (or third and fourth?).

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I couldn’t have said it any better. Commenting on Trump’s tirade during the public meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy, former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) posted: “Generations of American patriots, from our revolution onward, have fought for the principles Zelenskyy is risking his life to defend. But today, Donald Trump and JD Vance attacked Zelenskyy and pressured him to surrender the freedom of his people to the KGB war criminal who invaded Ukraine. History will remember this day — when an American President and Vice President abandoned all we stand for.” Is this what you voted for? And if so, why?

On Saturday, March 15 at 9 a.m., Hopkinton voters head to the annual School District Meeting. The School Board has proposed and the Budget Committee has unanimously recommended an increase to the operating budget of 2.29%. That increase is entirely driven by a significant uptick in special education costs, which are rising across New Hampshire. In fact, with increased special education costs removed, the operating budget would actually shrink! I expect that, once again this year, an amendment will be proposed to level-fund the School District. This is the so-called “flat budget.” Voters should remember that special education costs are mandated by federal and state law and largely out of the District’s control. If the “flat budget” is adopted, the reductions will not come out of special education — nor should they. Instead, we’ll see cuts to classroom positions and/or core programs like athletics and the arts. As you make your decision on the proposed operating budget, keep in mind that a “flat budget” in March means a different school system in August. Please vote yes on the School Board’s proposal, as recommended by the Budget Committee.

House Bill 251 would allow for squirrels and raccoons to be pets. I always have the best interest of animals in mind, so therefore I am opposed to this bill. Wild animals are indeed wild and are unpredictable. Some states do allow squirrels and raccoons as pets, and any search can find several incidents of serious biting, scratching and attacking owners, including children. Wild animals will naturally have wild instincts. Then there is the question of how much space these animals need and how they will tear your house up when you leave them alone. Raccoons hate to be caged. Their instincts are to roam for miles. If a raccoon or squirrel acts out, then they will likely have to pay the price and be euthanized. In reality, all wild animals want is to be left alone. Wildlife rehabilitators take in orphaned or hurt wildlife. They are skilled, trained, certified and licensed. If the animals are determined to be non-releasable, then they have used those animals as ambassador animals. Wildlife rehabilitators know exactly how to handle the animal and understand signs of distress. My suggestion: Let’s take care of the domestic animals we already have languishing in shelters before we add more animals to the mix. That dog or cat will be grateful and give you all the love you need.

A group of Bow parents are asking Judge Steven McAuliffe to allow them to protest transgender athletes at Bow school athletic events. They plan to wear pink wristbands, distribute them in school parking lots and hold protest signs targeting transgender student athletes.

Not for the first time reading a foreign policy news piece in the Monitor from the Washington Post, I was reminded of the Cold War era joke about the Soviet journalist visiting the US to study propaganda. When learning the purpose of his visit, an American asked, “What propaganda?” and the Soviet replied, “Exactly!”