Snow-covered tree under a winter sky off the Magalloway River Trail in Wentworth's Location. (Tom Caldwell Photo)
Among the articles to appear on the Bristol Town Warrant is one asking voters to discontinue maintenance on certain town roads. The roads in question serve very few residents, and selectmen are asking for a breakdown of the costs associated with plowing, grading, and maintaining those roads.
Meanwhile, residents of the private Prestige Drive are hoping the town will take over maintenance of that road. Selectmen have not yet made a decision on whether to place that request on the warrant.
Roads have a been a continuing issue for the town. Residents of Hall Road had approached Police Chief Jim McIntire about their concerns about the intersection with Danforth Brook Road, and the chief proposed making a section of the latter road one-way only to accommodate Hall Road drivers who failed to yield to oncoming traffic. Residents at a public hearing opposed the change, and the selectmen decided to settle for a yield sign to slow down traffic at the intersection.
Beware of coronavirus scams
While there have been no reported scams on the subject in New Hampshire, Attorney General Gordon McDonald has warned Granite Staters that other parts of the country have seen fraudulent calls purporting to offer early doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The calls ask for personal information or money to reserve doses of the vaccine.
New Hampshire is distributing free doses of the vaccine to health care workers, first responders, and residents of long-term care facilities before offering it to other residents, but McDonald emphasized that officials will never ask for payments to reserve a vaccine or to schedule an appointment, and will not ask for personal information.
An Enigma Beneath the Sea
A marine microbiologist exploring an area of the Baltic Sea found a device tangled in his fishing line that resembled an old typewriter. Snagged in about 30 feet of water, the device turned out to be Nazi Enigma machine, used to send encrypted messages during the Second World War.
It was one of hundreds of machines used to send confidential messages that baffled Allied forces until Alan Turing’s team developed the Bombe codebreaking machine and secretly intercepted messages that gave the Allies an advantage of the Axis forces to help end the war.
The marine exploration that discovered the Enigma machine in November 2020 was a joint operation between Submaris, a diving company, and the World Wildlife Fund to scan the seabed for thin-filament sea nets that ensnare marine life and microplastics.
Opinion: Exercising Rights Carries a Duty
By Robert E. McDaniel
Despite 38 years in the practice of law there are still some things that surprise me about my fellow humans. Last week, in the run-up to the holiday season, my office received two telephone calls from people interested in commencing legal actions against both the state and federal governments.
We always listen patiently and with an open mind to everyone who approaches us, and we are not timid about potential adversaries who might be formidable. We have represented people and institutions from all over the country and throughout the world. So, we listened.
These potential clients reported that their Constitutional rights had been repeatedly violated. They said that they had been hounded from public places, that the police had been called when they did nothing wrong. They wanted to enforce their “right” not to wear a mask when in public places and asserted that, “As Americans we are free. We have the right to be free. It says that in the U.S. Constitution.”
But the Constitution does not say that people are “free.” It says nothing of the kind. One of the reasons for this is that “free” is too vague a term to have any precise meaning. Another is that my right to be “free” might conflict with what you think your right to be “free” entitles you to do.
In fact, the Constitution only uses the word “free” in three places. Article I, Section 2 mentions the number of “free persons” in connection with the composition of Congress. The First Amendment guarantees the “free exercise” of religion, and the Second Amendment says that a “well-regulated militia” is “necessary to the security of a free state.”
Nowhere does the Constitution, or any other of the foundational documents of our country guarantee your right to not wear a mask when you enter a grocery store. There is no Constitutional or common law entitlement to put your fellow human beings at risk. While you enjoy many freedoms, endangering others is not among them.
The legal principle behind this is clear: every right which you enjoy in our legal system carries with it a corresponding duty. The right to free speech demands that what you say not be defamatory, it may not incite to riot. Free press carries the responsibility of truthfulness. While you are free to own a firearm, you may not fire it at school children. You are free to drink beer, but you are not free to drive a car while drunk. You are free to practice your religion, but if it calls for you to cause the death of those who do not believe as you do, your freedom is curtailed.
Exercising your rights also carries the duty to know what they are. Thinking that you have the right to be completely “free” and do whatever you want shows a fundamental ignorance more dangerous to the country than the pandemic.
People who undertake public office swear to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” I took that oath when I became a military cadet, again when I was commissioned as an officer, again when I was admitted to the bar, and again when I entered the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington. It is a serious promise to a precious document and to the country built upon it. Defending the Constitution is a duty owed by every person who is protected by it. Protecting the Constitution is a duty owed by every person defended by it.
So, I declined to represent these people in a lawsuit to enforce their imaginary rights. They do not know their rights or the limitations on their rights. They are dangerously ignorant and we should have taught them better. After all, if you do not care enough about your country to understand your rights, and to know what they are, then you have no rights. You have voluntarily given them up. You have ignored the Constitution and the rights it protects by failing to protect it and others. When you refuse to weak a mask in these horrible times when thousands die each day, you are not entitled to bring a lawsuit against those trying to protect you and us all.
However, you do still have the right to do the right thing, the human thing, the American thing. Wear the mask, respect your country, your rights and the rights of others.
And if you succeed in finding a lawyer who is willing bring such a suit, shame on both of you.
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Meredith attorney Robert E. McDaniel began his career as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. During his career he has represented clients from 21 states and more than a dozen countries.
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