Also on today’s menu:
Homicides In Gorham
Redistricting Challenge
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Louise Erdrich (whom I knew as Karen Erdrich during our time together at Dartmouth and University College London) appeared on Dartmouth Next last night to discuss the importance of indigenous stories which reflect the traditions of the 574 recognized tribes in the United States. One question she was asked was about banning or suppressing books.
She disputed the notion that banning books could make people “safe from these frightening topics.” She said, “You know, they can be from transgender people and children to climate change to the idea that there was such a thing as dispossession, there was such a thing as enslavement in our country, and the idea that we can blinder ourselves and be safe, it’s just the opposite. We need to expand and understand in order to be safe.”
Banning books and movies works against itself, she said, noting that parts of her books had been banned. “Those parts, and other books that were banned at that time, became the books that you wanted to read. It’s like banning a movie: Everyone wants to get in.”
Earlier that day, the White House had announced both its “Declaration for the Future of the Internet” that aims to ensure that technology is used “to promote pluralism and freedom of expression, sustainability, inclusive economic growth, and the fight against global climate change” while also revealing that the Department of Homeland Security is setting up a new Disinformation Governance Board “to coordinate countering misinformation.” Conservatives immediately compared the Disinformation Governance Board to George Orwell’s fictional Ministry of Truth in which Big Brother decides what truth is and bans information that contradicts the official story.
Nina Jankowicz, who will serve as executive director of the board, tweeted that “a HUGE focus of our work, and indeed, one of the key reasons the Board was established, is to maintain the Dept’s committment [sic] to protecting free speech, privacy, civil rights, & civil liberties.”
The National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin said that calls for violence have been targeting “U.S. critical infrastructure; soft targets and mass gatherings; faith-based institutions, such as churches, synagogues, and mosques; institutions of higher education; racial and religious minorities; government facilities and personnel, including law enforcement and the military; the media; and perceived ideological opponents.” It said violence could stem from anti-government extremism, racially or religiously motivated extremism, and conspiracy theories. “For example, ‘COVID-19 mitigation measures … have been used by domestic violent extremists to justify violence since 2020 and could continue to inspire these extremists to target government, healthcare, and academic institutions that they associate with those measures,’”according to Homeland Security Today.
Homicides In Gorham
Autopsies have determined that Holly Banks, 28, and Keith Labelle, 42, who were found dead in Gorham on April 27, had been murdered.
Dr. Jennie V. Duval, the state’s chief medical examiner completed the autopsies on the 28th, finding that both victims had died from gunshot wounds.
The two had been found at Banks’ residence at 625 North Main Street, Gorham. Although the investigation is continuing, police said they do not believe the public is in danger.
Redistricting Challenge
DOVER — The Dover City Council has voted, 7-1, to challenge the redistricting plan that placed Ward 4 in a floterial district with the towns of Madbury, Lee, and Durham, depriving Dover of its own representative for that ward.
The motion by City Councilor Debra Hackett directs the city manager “to pursue legal action regarding the constitutionality of the New Hampshire House redistricting” plan.
During a workshop session prior to the public meeting on April 27, councilors had discussed their dissatisfaction with the newly established House districts outlined in House Bill 50. Later, after a nonpublic session in which they consulted with their attorney, Hackett made the motion, which everyone except Councilor Fergus Cullen supported.
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THE MINISTRY OF TRUTH!! WHAT A JOKE THAT IS.