New Hampshire

When governments fail, individuals step in

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The federal government has proved to be a single point of failure for many people. They rely, mostly for reasons that aren’t their fault, on federal assistance for daily needs. With the federal shutdown, it may be shut off. Was this properly the job of the federal government in the first place? No, helping people is best done locally and voluntarily. With the Democrats and Republicans fighting it out, it has to come back to that. Thanks to the effort of many people, it is.

There are many local assistance programs which help out people who need it, and they’ve just become a lot more important. Check who’s doing it in your neighborhood, and decide what level of help you can reasonably give. I favor the New Hampshire Food Bank. It’s affiliated with Catholic Charities but keeps religion separate from its mission (unlike the Salvation Army, which I don’t recommend). Many organizations are running food drives, collecting nonperishable donations. Giving money is better, since it lets them buy in bulk, but many people like the feeling of giving stuff that someone else can eat.

Libertarians and classical liberals should be especially ready to do this. We know that the initiative of individuals is the best defense against suffocating and unreliable governmental direction of everything. By providing assistance where it’s really needed, by your own choice, you support freedom.

The cowardice of Portsmouth’s Music Hall

This entry was posted in Commentary News and tagged censorship liberty New Hampshire on by

Last weekend I attended a concert by the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra in the Music Hall, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The audience seemed smaller than usual. There could be several reasons, but one possible explanation is a recent act of cowardice by the Music Hall’s management.

Update, November 6, 2025: The Music Hall’s board has removed president Tina Sawtelle in an effort to repair the damage. This is very encouraging.

Earlier in October, the Music Hall unilaterally cancelled a scheduled event by the Lovering Center of Greenland, NH. The stated reason was security concerns. What terrified Music Hall president Tina Sawtelle was news that a peaceful protest was planned outside the venue. There was no suggestion that violence or disruptive activity would happen, but the Music Hall management thought that a simple protest placed the theater in too much danger. I wonder if they barricaded their doors and windows during the October 18 “No Kings” protest in Portsmouth, which was vastly bigger. The description of the planned Music Hall protest said it was “to hold signs, pray, fill the sidewalks with chalk messages of hope and truth, and enjoy each other’s fellowship.” You don’t have to agree with their cause to recognize that it’s legitimate activity under the First Amendment.
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Plaistow, October 28

This entry was posted in Movies and tagged music New Hampshire silent movies on by

It’s time for another classic silent movie! On Tuesday, October 28, at 6 PM, I’ll accompany the 1923 film The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Plaistow, NH Library. Nearly half the available spaces have already been reserved, so be sure to sign up in advance. The film, based on Victor Hugo’s novel Notre-Dame de Paris, highlights Lon Chaney’s makeup skills and his ability to win empathy for a deformed-looking character.

Hugo’s novel has been adapted many times for film. There were at least four before the Lon Chaney film. Charles Laughton, Anthony Quinn, and Anthony Hopkins are among the actors who have played Quasimodo. Disney turned it into a cartoon and compounded the blasphemy with a sequel where Quasimodo and Esmeralda are still alive. The 1923 version is widely considered one of the best adaptations.

Just by the way, I’ve noticed that the emailed version of these posts delivers the text only to the “More” marker and gives no clue that it’s incomplete. From now on, I’ll add an indicator that there’s more to the post, like this:

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Steven Goddu’s falsehoods

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged Goddu ICE liberty New Hampshire Rockingham on by

It’s unusual for me to write on this blog about a local politician, but I want this on the record so that people doing searches for information on Rockingham County Commissioner Steven Goddu will find this and know why they should never vote for him for anything.

Rockingham County, New Hampshire, has been negotiating with ICE to hold abductees and get money for it. County government in New Hampshire (which handles only a few functions) is headed by commissioners. Rockingham has three of them: Kathryn Coyle, Steven Goddu, and Thomas Tombarello. I was able to find contact information only for Goddu, so I wrote an email to him urging that the county not collaborate with ICE. His reply shows he is a dishonest person and should not be elected to any public office.
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An abolitionism tour?

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After my enjoyable tour of the libraries of Rockingham county, I started thinking about doing something similar to follow it. My first thought was sites relating to American independence; there are plenty of them in my area. Then an idea that’s more off the beaten track came to me: a tour of abolitionist sites. William Lloyd Garrison was born in Newburyport and conducted much of his activity in Boston. John Greenleaf Whittier was from Haverhill, just across the border from me. Frederick Douglass moved to New Bedford after escaping slavery, and today I’ve learned how much other anti-slavery activity was based in New Bedford. (Sign up with Captain Ahab, and you’ll be out of the slave-catchers’ reach!) Also today (that is, Sept. 11, when I’m writing this), I found out the MBTA has renamed a ferry after Frederick Douglass. It isn’t obvious how to tell where the boat will be at any time, but it’s at least worth knowing.
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