April 20: James O’Keefe Luncheon in Concord

JOIN US on April 20th as we welcome journalist James O’Keefe of Project Veritas to New Hampshire.  The 603 Alliance will be hosting a luncheon at the Hotel Concord.  Tickets will go fast, so early registration is recommended.

Each attendee will receive a copy of James’ new book, American MuckrakerAdditional copies of the book will be available for sale at the event.

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR TICKETS TODAY

WHERE: The Hotel Concord (11 S Main St, Concord, NH 03301) MAP

WHEN: Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 11:30 AM.

COST: Tickets are $75 per person, and are non-refundable. Cost includes admission to the event, lunch, and a copy of James’ new book.

Space is limited,  EARLY REGISTRATION IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Tables seat 10 people. Cost is $750. Full tables will receive prominent signage. For further details, please contact Diane Bitter at ddbitter@aol.com.

Program Ads/sponsorships are available. Full page $100, Half page: $60, quarter page $35.  For details, contact Diane Bitter at ddbitter@aol.com.

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR TICKETS TODAY

NH Superior Court: “Governor may suspend or limit constitutional rights”

If that headline comes as a surprise to you, then you’re not alone.  Yes, that’s an exact quote from NH Superior Court judge John Kissinger.

Most people aren’t aware that the Superior Court issued an opinion last year in which Judge Kissinger asserted that “the Governor may suspend or limit constitutional rights during a state of emergency.”  This is a case in which emergency powers are being broadly interpreted, opening the door to abuse of power.  House Bill 440 (HB440), the Civil Liberties Defense Act, would fix this problem by simply clarifying that during a state of emergency “civil liberties shall on no account be suspended, nor shall the United States Constitution or the New Hampshire bill of rights be suspended, set aside, or otherwise infringed.”

WE NEED YOU TO TAKE ACTION TODAY:  Please contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee (or click here if that link doesn’t work for you) and urge them to vote for an “Ought to Pass” motion on HB440, the Civil Liberties Defense Act. 

Imagine that two years ago, someone had told you OSHA’s broadly defined powers would soon be applied in an attempt to force Americans into accepting a novel medical treatment they don’t want, and which many believe they don’t need. Most people would have written that off as a highly unlikely scenario, probably not worthy of much attention. Nevertheless, that very situation is currently in play. Thankfully, federal courts have stepped in to put a temporary halt to OSHA’s planned orders, but the threat still looms for millions of businesses, and for the workers they employ.

Here in New Hampshire, we face a similar situation with respect to civil liberties, broadly speaking. It has the potential to negatively impact freedom of speech, religious liberty, 2nd Amendment rights, and more. Unless we take affirmative steps to clarify state law, a future governor could conceivably invoke our state’s Emergency Powers statute to suspend or limit constitutional rights. This might sound a bit crazy; but the New Hampshire Superior Court has expressed that very position in the 2020 Binford case.

On page 16 of the Court’s decision, Judge John Kissinger asserted that “the Governor may suspend or limit constitutional rights during a state of emergency.” That potentially includes freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, the right of habeas corpus, religious liberty, and the right to keep and bear arms.

When viewed in the broader context of New Hampshire’s Emergency Powers statutes, this constitutes a ticking time-bomb that leaves the citizens of our state vulnerable to abuses of power.

Imagine the following scenario: a New Hampshire governor announces that gun violence is an imminent public health crisis, worthy of an emergency declaration. In fact, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky recently hinted at CDC action with respect to gun violence, calling it a “serious public health threat.” “Something has to be done about this,” she continued. “Now is the time – it’s pedal to the metal time.”

Under our state’s emergency powers act, a governor could conceivably declare a state of emergency with respect to gun violence, and unless that position is overturned by a majority of both houses of our legislature, that state of emergency would have the operative force of law. Given the Superior Court’s decision in the Binford case, a governor could conceivably order the closure of gun stores, prohibit the sale of ammunition, or even seize privately-held firearms. In other words, a governor with the support of a simple majority in either the Senate or the House could trump the rights guaranteed under the US and New Hampshire constitutions.

Fortunately, there’s an easy fix for this problem. HB440, the Civil Liberties Defense Act, would add a remarkably simple clarification to state statute, asserting that “civil liberties shall on no account be suspended, nor shall the United States Constitution or the New Hampshire bill of rights be suspended, set aside, or otherwise infringed.”

This should not be controversial. The framers of the US and NH Constitutions recognized the importance of enshrining certain liberties as unalienable human rights.

Unfortunately, the Senate Judiciary Committee retained HB440 earlier this year, judging that it required further review and discussion. On Tuesday, December 14th, that committee is expected to act upon the bill, making an up-or-down recommendation to the rest of the Senate. If you share my view that fundamental liberties must be safeguarded against government overreach, – regardless of which party is at the helm, – I urge you to contact members of the NH Senate Judiciary Committee and ask them to support an “ought to pass” motion on House Bill 440.

For more information and resources about this bill, check out the following links:

A Note on Endorsements…

You may have seen some recent news about endorsements by 603 Alliance board members in the 2022 race for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District.  We’d like to clarify our organization’s position with respect to endorsements, as we suspect that our conflicting endorsements in this particular race may invite some unwarranted speculation.

The 603 Alliance is guided by our mission of restoring Constitutional principles at all levels of government.  We share a common philosophy about what it means to participate in the process and how we can support each other in being effective in fulfilling that mission.

Having said that, we don’t necessarily share a monolithic worldview.  In the past, the we have on occasion issued endorsements as an organization. When we do so, our Board takes a formal vote, which is generally preceded by careful deliberation and discussion. In those cases, we are very clear that such endorsements come from the 603 Alliance.

For other races, however, we prefer to remain neutral as an organization. In that event, we generally opt to release board members to make their own personal endorsements.  This has been the case for the 2022 CD1 race.

As a result, board members Diane Bitter and Fran Wendelboe have chosen to endorse Matt Mowers; whereas Jim Kofalt has opted to endorse Karoline Leavitt.  Additional endorsements may be forthcoming from other board members.  Although our affiliation with 603 Alliance may be cited when an endorsement is announced, the endorsements we’re making in the CD1 race are personal opinions and should not be interpreted as an endorsement by the 603 Alliance as an organization.

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at info@603alliance.org.

Call for Candidates: Run for your Local School Board!

If you’re concerned about the decline in academic standards, the harm done by shutdowns and mandatory masking, and the politicization of our public schools, please consider running for School Board in your district.  We need to take back control of our schools and renew their focus to academic achievement.

The 603 Alliance is here to help, offering free campaign training and guidance to qualified candidates.  NOW IS THE TIME TO GET STARTED.  Our first training session will take place on Saturday, December 18th.  Please e-mail info@603alliance.org to let us know you’re interested.

If you want to know more about the role of a School Board member, what’s involved, and how you can get started, please check out our recorded webinar from last month.

Webinar Replay: Running for School Board in NH

The replay of Thursday’s webinar is now available.

If you’re concerned about the poor quality of education in your local schools, if you oppose mandatory masking or disagree with “woke” indoctrination, or if you’re simply looking to get spending under control; then you may want to consider running for school board.

On Thursday, November 18th, the 603 Alliance hosted an informational webinar about running for school board in New Hampshire.  In it, we covered:

  • How local school boards function in NH and how you can get involved
  • The duties and time commitment required to be school board member
  • What to do NOW if you think you might want to run for school board
  • How to get training and support if you decide to run

Copy and paste the direct YouTube link: https://youtu.be/7VW2cY2QxGw, or watch the video below:

 

TAKE ACTION: Did the EC Just Commit Us to Vax Mandates???

For anyone concerned with a lack of transparency in government, last week’s Executive Council meeting should have set off some very, very loud alarms. The 603 Alliance is encouraging you to take action, as outlined toward the end of this article. But first, some background information:

On Wednesday November 10th, the Governor added a late-breaking item to the Executive Council agenda, calling for the acceptance of $22.5 million in CDC funds to be used for hiring 13 new DHHS employees to promote COVID vaccines. In fact, the Executive Council had already voted to reject the grant… twice.

The manner in which this was brought for a third vote is deeply concerning, and members of the Executive Council owe the people of New Hampshire an explanation.

In case you’re just coming up to speed on this issue, here’s the synopsis:

This federal grant comes with some major strings attached. Grants are generally issued in the form of a legally binding contract. In this case, the grant contract calls for the State of New Hampshire to “comply with existing and/or future directives and guidance from the Secretary regarding control of the spread of COVID-19.” In other words, the acceptance of this money obligates the state to do whatever the US DHHS tells us to do with respect to COVID 19, now or at any point in the future. It’s a blank check; we don’t even know yet what we are committing to.

The Executive Council has previously voted twice to reject this federal COVID money. After the first failed attempt, NH Attorney General John Formella issued a statement assuring all concerned that the grant in fact “does not bind the State to any broad and sweeping federal mandates.” That opinion is plainly contradicted by the language in the contract itself, as cited above. Nevertheless, the Executive Council voted a second time to reject the funds on October 13th. That meeting was notable for the fact that nine members of the public, all of whom appeared to be sitting quietly in their seats, were arrested for allegedly disrupting the meeting.

On November 10th, the Executive Council took a third vote, this time accepting the grant. That acceptance was paired with a non-binding resolution aimed at assuring the public that if the feds do anything we don’t like, we’ll challenge them in court; and that if we subsequently lose in court, the Governor and Executive Council will simply return the grant money (which will already have been spent) to the CDC.

The public was never notified of the upcoming vote taking place at the November 10th meeting. It did not appear as an agenda item, or even as a “late agenda” item. It was added at the last minute, without notice to the public.

Following these events, we believe it’s important to have some answers. Specifically:

  1. What is the proper legal procedure for adding an agenda item to the Executive Council agenda after the initial agenda has been published?
  2. Was that legal procedure followed?
  3. Has there ever been an instance in the past in which an agenda item was added in this way, without any prior notice to the public?
  4. In the face of contractual language that compels the state to “comply with existing and/or future directives and guidance from the Secretary regarding control of the spread of COVID-19,” how would the resolution passed on November 10th empower the State of NH to do otherwise?

TAKE ACTION: WE CAN STILL STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING.

STEP 1: Contact members of the Executive Council and politely and respectfully ask for clear answers to the four questions above. Their contact information is here. If you get a response, we encourage you to send a copy to us at info@603alliance.org.

STEP 2: This contract still needs to be approved by the Joint Fiscal Committee. Contact them today to voice your opposition to the federal COVID grant. Their next meeting is this Friday, Nov. 19, 2021 at 10:00 AM.

STEP 3: If you can attend Friday’s hearing of the Joint Fiscal Committee, please do so. We would like to see a packed room at the State House for that hearing. Be there if you can. (Tentative location is Room 210-211 of the Legislative Office Building.)

WEBINAR NOV 18th: Running for School Board in NH

We the People have a critical role to play in our children’s education.  If you’re concerned about the poor quality of education in your local schools, if you oppose mandatory masking or disagree with “woke” indoctrination, or if you’re simply looking to get spending under control; then you may want to consider running for school board.

On Thursday, November 18th at 7:00 PM, the 603 Alliance will host a FREE informational webinar about running for school board in New Hampshire. By attending this webinar, you’ll learn:

  • How local school boards function in NH and how you can get involved
  • The duties and time commitment required to be a school board member
  • What to do NOW if you think you might want to run for school board
  • How to get training and support if you decide to run
  • Ways that you can help out (even if you decide not to run)
Please JOIN US for this very important event.
Pre-registration is required.
Please register early: last-minute registrants may not be able to attend.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER