Also on today’s menu:
NH National Guardsmen Serving On Texas Border
Kennedy Relishes The Role Of Election Spoiler
Anna Sventek, communications director for the Secretary of State’s Office, has confirmed that the Bureau of Securities Regulation is investigating Robynne Alexander, the developer that New Hampshire chose to purchase the former Laconia State School for $21.5 million. Scott Tranchemontagne, speaking for Alexander, would not comment on the investigation, but said, “We are working diligently to secure the necessary funds to close on the Laconia property.”
Alexander’s history of real estate problems, including at least nine lawsuits from investors, three foreclosures, and unpaid taxes in multiple municipalities, did not come to light until Annmarie Timmons of the New Hampshire Bulletin exposed her difficulties in bringing smaller projects to fruition. Nonetheless, the Executive Council, upon the recommendation of Administrative Services Commissioner Charlie Arlinghaus, approved the sale on a 3-2 vote. After months of delay, the state got impatient and demanded that she secure the $21.5 million in cash by April 22.
Alexander and her team have been offering opportunity zone investments, but some of her investors have sued her, saying the money they invested in one project was moved to another without their knowledge. Alexander filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in August, saying she owed more than $1 million to at least one creditor and had less than $1 million in assets. The federal bankruptcy court in New Hampshire dismissed the case in December on the grounds that Alexander had not filed the required documents.
Discussion: The future is looking bleaker and bleaker for the city of Laconia. Even if Alexander is able to come up with the money to purchase the property from the state, she still faces the challenge of raising the necessary money to carry out her development plans.
NH National Guardsmen Serving On Texas Border
Fifteen New Hampshire National Guard soldiers arrived in Texas on April 4 in answer to Governor Greg Abbott’s call for assistance in controlling the border with Mexico. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu secured $850,000 in funding for the mission in February from the state’s Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee, arguing that the influx of drugs and individuals on the federal terrorism watchlist pose a direct threat to New Hampshire residents.
Democrats have criticized Sununu’s request as a political stunt and said, if he was concerned about drugs, the money could be more effectively used for treatment programs. The guardsmen will not be detaining, arresting, or processing people crossing the border, only conducting roving patrols and searching areas where people have been detained by law enforcement.
The National Guard’s public information officer, Lieutenant Colonel Greg Heilshorn, said, “We’re all aware of the political atmosphere but do our best to stay out of that realm and just focus on the mission. The military is supposed to be apolitical, and we try. Governor Sununu is our commander in chief, and we’re a military unit that follows orders and carries out our mission to the best of our abilities.”
Discussion: Governor Sununu is a likable guy who has taken some good positions and some silly ones, and this falls into the latter category, along with spending money on the state’s tiny northern border and appointing Charlie Arlinghaus to head up Administrative Services for the state. Sending our National Guardsmen to walk the border without any real authority to do anything if they should encounter illegal entries is a complete waste of money. It’s not even providing training of any value.
Kennedy Relishes The Role Of Election Spoiler
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has identified himself as a spoiler in the presidential race between Joe Biden Jr. and Donald Trump, and he is seeking support from the Libertarian Party so he can appear on ballots in 48 states. Now his campaign’s New York director, Rita Palma, is telling Republicans in the Empire State that Biden is “our mutual enemy” and “The only way that Trump can even, remote possibility of taking New York is if Bobby is on the ballot. If it’s Trump versus Biden, Biden wins. … With Bobby in the mix, anything can happen.”
A video of her meeting with Republicans, shows Palma saying, “The only way for him, for Bobby, to shake it up and to get rid of Biden is if he’s on the ballot in every state, including New York.” Then, she said, if neither Biden nor Trump attains the required 270 electoral votes to win the 2024 election, the House of Representatives would decide who becomes the next president of the United States. “Who are they going to pick? If it’s a Republican Congress, they’ll pick Trump. So we’re rid of Biden either way,” she said.
Kennedy has been drawing support from both the left and right. Many of those attending his rallies are environmentalists, anti-vaxxers, and new age enthusiasts.
Discussion: Having a third-party candidate is good for the country in normal times, forcing the “duopoly” to look outside its narrow, traditional voter base. The 2024 election is not the time, however, when a Biden loss would turn the country over to a man who wants to trample on the US Constitution and establish an authoritarian regime where only loyalists will have a role in government and hard-fought rights will be systematically stripped from Americans. That is not exaggeration, for Trump has made his intentions clear, and his loyal “patriots” who have already desecrated the American flag by usurping it as a symbol of Trump’s MAGA movement have set out an extreme agenda that imposes their minority views on the rest of us. Kennedy has sullied his family name.