Also on today’s menu:
Ramaswamy: ‘Drill, Frack, Burn Coal’
New Hampshire And Vermont Border Walk
Littleton Man Charged Following Police Chase
The world has plunged into chaos since Hamas gunmen attacked a music festival on October 7, killing at least 260 festival attendees and taking scores of others hostage before going on to attack surrounding Israeli towns, massacring civilians indiscriminately. There are estimates of as many as 1,000 Israelis killed so far, with reports of rape and other abuses by the Hamas fighters. Eleven Americans were among the victims, as well as citizens of various other countries who had attended or worked at the music festival.
Today, Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with the fiercest air strikes in the 75-year history of its conflict with the Palestinians, vowing “mighty revenge” for the deadly attack. Abu Ubaida, speaking for Hamas, said the terrorist group would broadcast the killing of one Israeli captive for every Israeli bombing of a civilian house.
The horror of the Hamas attack, supposedly orchestrated by Iran, was just what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needed to solidify his hawkish coalition. Netanyahu returned to power with a renewed authoritarian bent that sought to weaken the powers of the court to allow him to carry out his will without opposition. He had met resistance from pro-democracy Israelis, and the United States was brokering an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia that would have normalized relations between the two countries along the lines of the Abraham Accords to ease Middle East tensions. Now Israelis are getting behind the prime minister, and his coalition has approved a proposed expansion of the government to include opposition politicians.
Just as they supported the United States after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, much of the world has expressed support for Israel as a result of the Hamas attack, but some extreme liberals have shown unwavering support for Hamas and the Palestinians, having taken their side against Israel’s policies in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations and human rights groups had denounced Israel’s land, air, and sea blockade of Gaza that has been in place since 2007, which has limited imports and exports, driving Gaza’s economy to near-collapse. Unemployment in the Gaza Strip remain above 40%, with more than 65% of the population living in poverty. To them, Hamas is a freedom-fighting movement.
The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America held a rally in support of the Palestinians on October 8, one of many similar rallies by local DSA chapters around the country, some displaying swastikas. Progressive leaders such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, however, strongly condemned Hamas’ attack while calling for Israel not to take military action in response. Elizabeth Warren broke down in tears at the reports of Hamas’ violence and said, “I'm here today to say unequivocally there is no justification for terrorism, ever.”
Former president Donald Trump, speaking in Wolfeboro on October 9, blamed President Joe Biden for the conflict in Israel, saying it never would have happened if he were in the Oval Office.
Ramaswamy: ‘Drill, Frack, Burn Coal’
Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, 38, of Columbus, Ohio, told a group of about 60 people in Chocorua that the way to “drain the swamp” is to eliminate “government agencies that should not exist, like the FBI or the IRS or the ATF or the CDC or the U.S. Department of Education”.
Saying that he is the right man to lead the fight against the “woke left” and to steer the country away from World War III, Ramaswamy said he also would impose eight-year term limits on federal bureaucrats. He called for a “75% reduction in the federal employee headcount, 50% rescinding federal regulations that are unconstitutional, unlock the American economy, drill, frack, burn coal, embrace nuclear energy, put people back to work instead of ... paying them to stay at home and using our taxpayer money to do it.”
As of October 9, the website 538 was reporting that Ramaswamy had 7% support in New Hampshire, polling behind Donald Trump, with 45%; Nikki Haley, 13%; and Chris Christie, 9%.
New Hampshire And Vermont Border Walk
Vermont and New Hampshire once were involved in 20 years of litigation over where the boundary line between the states should be located. The border dispute arose in 1915 when New Hampshire officials attempted to tax a paper mill partially located in the Connecticut River adjacent to Bellows Falls, Vermont. Vermont claimed that its border extended to the centerline of the river but the United States Supreme Court eventually ruled that the boundary was the low-water mark on the Vermont side of the river.
As a result of that dispute, both states passed laws to ensure that the boundary monuments would remain fixed, and this year marks the 12th time that the states have perambulated the border to see that the markers remained in place. The joint trip along the border allowed Vermont Attorney-General Charity Clark and New Hampshire Attorney-General John Formella to share good-natured boasting about their respective states.
Clark said, “[W]e are fortunate to enjoy what I, of course, consider the best maple syrup, craft beer, fall foliage, hiking, and winter sports destinations,” while Formella said, “[I]t is always fun to remind our neighbors that New Hampshire has everything Vermont has to offer, but more. We have more ski areas, taller mountains, and actual ocean beaches.”
Survey experts with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the Vermont Agency of Transportation accompanied the attorneys-general in perambulating the border.
Littleton Man Charged Following Police Chase
Christopher Meunier, 56, of Littleton is being arraigned today in Belknap County Superior Court on a felony charge of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon as well as disobeying a police officer, reckless driving, resisting arrest, wrongful conduct after an accident, driving with an expired license, criminal mischief, and several other motor vehicle violations following his arrest on October 6.
According to State Police, Trooper Erin Frost of Troop D stopped Meunier’s 2015 Toyota Camry on Interstate 93 in Sanbornton because he was driving with an expired registration and inspection sticker. Meunier refused to provide his license and registration or to provide his name or other form of identification. Trooper Brett Romig arrived to assist in taking the driver into custody for disobeying a police officer, but Meunier physically resisted and then shifted his vehicle into drive and sped away, knocking down one trooper and nearly striking the other with the vehicle.
The troopers chased the vehicle which left the interstate at Exit 20 and turned into the parking lot of the New Hampshire State Liquor Store, striking a cruiser before returning to Route 3 and heading toward Sanbornton. Troopers abandoned the chase when they lost sight of the vehicle, but they determined that the driver was Meunier and, with the assistance of the Major Crime Unit and the Littleton Police Department, they took him into custody that evening.
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