Solutions for the 21st Century

As printed in The Exeter News-Letter on Tuesday, 4/2/2002:

On an Internet news message board a poster named Morpheus stated that "There are no solutions for the major dilemmas confronting humans in the twenty-first century. You clearly disagree with that statement, so prove me wrong" Along with this statement he included a list of problems. In this column I have tried to address those problems.

What are your solutions for poverty? First off I’d suggest that the person get a job. I know that sounds cold hearted but I would be willing to supply State Run daycare to give these people the chance to go to work. We need to reform the Welfare and food stamp programs in this country. Too many people become dependent on these programs and are not encouraged to get out on their own. We need to reform all of the public welfare systems so that they become the temporary assistance programs that they were intended to be in the first place.

What are your solutions for homelessness? Again getting these people to work through better administration of welfare programs and welfare reform. Also society has to work to improve our mental care system and put the many mental patients back into the system where they belong. Many years ago borderline mental patients were released into society and this caused a great influx in the number of homeless. What we need to do is determine which one's are mentally handicapped and need special care. Then we need to help those that have a dependency problem with either drugs or alcohol and try to get them help in one of the reformed programs mentioned above. Of course there is a percentage of homeless that will always stay homeless. We need to give them one chance to try and get a job. After that they are own their own. The end result would be that basic figure that will always be homeless. The only attainable goal is to determine that number and try to keep it at that level.

What are your solutions for war? The obvious answer is to avoid them and another is to follow the theories established by President George Washington in his Farewell Address, for instance, "No entangling alliances". In other words, don't get involved with any country unless they are directly effecting us.

What are your solutions for pollution? I believe that between the environmentalists and the capitalists we are working to create a balance between industrialization and conservation. We have to keep an eye on the greedy capitalists to make sure they don't destroy nature just to make a buck. At the same time we need to keep an eye on the Environmentalists to make sure that they don't hijack federal money just to save some lizard darter that is due to go extinct anyway. Species go extinct all the time. It's called devolution. At the same time new species are discovered all over the world. That is called evolution.

What are your solutions for sadness and loneliness? The doctors and the medical care industry has to stop hitting the drug cabinet every time someone is depressed or lonely. These drugs are usually and I say usually only a temporary fix. They cover the symptoms but don't get to the core of the problem. Some medical corporations want to make a buck on the medications and then call the next patient. There are community service programs and volunteer programs that can help. We should work to improve programs to help the sad and lonely and work to get them into volunteering themselves. Getting involved with helping others often helps to improve one's own self worth. The biggest realization that we need to accept is that we can only help those that want to be helped.

What are your solutions for teenage pregnancy? Society needs to educate children on the responsibilities involved in becoming intimate with someone. We need to emphasize communication between parents and children. Society has been working to lower these numbers, and it has been working somewhat. Also with this problem there is a base number of teen pregnancies that will always occur. A certain percentage of teens are going to make mistakes even with birth control methods. We need programs to teach children about safe sex and yes abstinence. Parents need to be involved with their children. Parental Education and Communication between parent and child must be encouraged in every way possible.

What are your solutions for drug abuse, legal and otherwise? Stop putting those convicted of "Victimless" crimes in jail. Some drugs should be legalized, at the very least decriminalized. What a person does to their own body that doesn't effect anyone but themselves, should be between them and their maker. We need to continue to offer assistance to those that want help. Of course again, the biggest thing is that the person must want the help, otherwise we are wasting our time and money. Also we need to work to reform the programs that we have. The biggest problem with social programs today is the amount of money that actually trickles down to the heart of the problem.

In my next column I will address more dilemmas of the 21st century and offer some more solutions. I will also discuss the possibility of success for these solutions. Of course this is all just going to be My Side of the Story.


More Solutions for the 21st Century

Pat on the Back is Not Deserved (THE UN-EDITED VERSION)

(Sections in Italics were edited out by the Exeter News-Letter)

By Ken Goodall

In the March 22nd Exeter News-Letter editorial titled "It's time to call it quits" the paper claims that "They (the Exeter Region Cooperative School Board) deserve a pat on the back for not resorting to name-calling and lashing out at the plaintiffs in the case." I do not believe that this "pat on the back" is deserved at all. Our constitution and our laws give us the right to question the government and it's policies all the way to the United States Supreme Court if need be and that is all that the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers are doing. This is called exercising their rights under the constitution of the United States of America.

The News-Letter is correct in stating that the school board has not resorted to "Name-calling", but as for "lashing out", yes I believe that the School board has definitely lashed out. The Exeter Region Cooperative School District website at one point had four articles posted on the front page of the site and every one was directed at attacking Rich McGraw and the Exeter Taxpayers Association. Several discussed the fact that the NH courts have already denied the appeal on the bond issue and one article posted was rather ambiguous. The News-Letter article titled "Taxpayer Group Angers Board" stated that Stratham selectmen were considering legal action against the Exeter Taxpayers Association (ETA) for harassing the School District and costing the town money because of the lawsuit.

Posting these articles on the front page of the Exeter Region Cooperative School District (ERSD) website and headlining one that states a possible lawsuit against the ETA when they were not even involved in the lawsuit certainly seems like the school board was lashing out against the plaintiffs. The ERSD website had a link to a Discussion Bulletin Board and on that board an Exeter resident posted a message that asked, "Why do you headline the embarrassing, childish, uninformed rants of the Stratham Selectmen?" School Board member Greg Kann ran the discussion board from his home computer and had set it up on his own time as a service to the school district. He replied to this post by stating "Unlike you, I do not believe the elected officials of Stratham are childish or that they are ranting." Well Mr. Kann, Stratham Selectman David Short stated in the article that "Maybe we should consider a fund for a psychologist for the Exeter Taxpayers Association. It's warped, what they're doing." Mr. Kann, you really don't consider that statement childish? Especially since the ETA was not even named as Plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Originally when Exeter resident, Rich McGraw first filed this case, I really had no opinion on the issue. Whether the vote was won by 60% as the amended NH law requires now or the previous requirement of 67% the fact remained that a majority of residents voted for the Bond to fund the school construction project. As I have stated before, I believe that using this pause created by the lawsuit could give us time to review the process of renovating the Exeter High School. Since this is the same school board that built the Cooperative Middle School which after only two years was four students away from being full to capacity. The School Administrative Unit 16 Business Manager Walter Pierce in this very newspaper stated this fact back in January of 2001.

In an Exeter News-Letter Guest Shot Column submitted by Cooperative School Board member Linda Henderson on March 9th of 2001, she claimed that if the School Board had recommended building a bigger Cooperative school "Mr. Goodall would have been complaining about that too." Not once did I complain about building a new school in Stratham and if they had planned a bigger one, I would not have complained about that either. We needed a new school. I would also like to point out that I am in favor of remodeling and expanding the Exeter High School. The problem that I do have is that we have a new Middle School that is not only near capacity but was also constructed by a company that has come under considerable scrutiny for their building practices.

This school board that the News-Letter wants to pat on the back is the same school board that when they ended up with a $400,000 surplus in school funds, decided to give bonuses to administrators and save the rest to defend themselves in the pending lawsuits - one of which they lost and in the process were found to be in contempt of court. This is also the same school board that just recently voted to change the school's administrative practices, do away with teacher Department Heads, and hire new Vice Principals to take over the duties of the department heads. Thirty teachers walked out of a meeting held recently when these changes were announced. This from a School Board whose website claims ""Openness in the conduct of public business is essential to a democratic society."

I know that I am in the minority as shown by the turn out at the deliberative session where the voters took the teeth out of every amendment not recommended by the school board and then voted for every warrant article recommended by the school board. The voters of the Cooperative School District also continue to allow the school board to designate surplus funds to several different school funds like the Capital Reserve Fund and the Maintenance fund. I understand the need to have available funds on hand for unexpected maintenance, but usually budget planners fix this percentage into the budget and don't take surplus funds at the end of every year and just designate them to these funds. Surplus funds are usually just that, surpluses. Not in the cooperative school district though, around here they are found money to be designated to one of these other funds "For The Children".

It seems the current residents of the cooperative school district have no problem raising the default budget for the school board year after year. The default budget for every year, is the previous years finalized budget. What happens every year though is that every time the voters vote to designate the surplus to one of these funds, those funds become part of the previous year's default budget, which is the minimum budget that can be accepted the following year. If a surplus gets voted to remain in the Undesignated Fund it would actually alleviate the tax burden for the upcoming year. It amazes me that the residents of the cooperative school district continually allow the default budget to go up year after year, but then complain about a few million dollars in increases for a school construction project. If we take our time and maybe put the project out to competitive bidding, we could probably save that same amount of money. Oh, that's right, the school board doesn't use competitive bidding. So much for a pat on the back and that's my side of the story.

Link to the March 22nd Exeter News-Letter editorial titled "It's Time to call it quits": http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/exeter/e3_22_e1.htm


Link to September 21st Exeter News-Letter article "Taxpayer Group Angers Board": http://www.seacoastonline.com/2001news/exeter/e9_21c.htm

Introducing the Great White Hunter

Bowana’s Views (The Last)

As Printed in The Exeter News-Letter on Tuesday 3/12/2002:

They Call Me Bowana. Well at least some people do. Bowana, an Americanized version of Bwana, I believe that it is African for Great White Hunter. It came from an old Bob Hope movie called "Call Me Bwana" where he searched for a space capsule in Africa. As far as I can tell though, it just means "Mister" in Swahili, consider it poetic license. My real name is Ken Goodall and I have been writing this column for over a year. I would like to thank the Exeter News-Letter for allowing me this great honor of having my columns published. Since it’s been over a year I have decided that it was time to formally introduce myself and tell my readers a little about "Bowana".

I was born in Manchester, NH, and adopted by two wonderful parents, Joan and Jim, from Kensington where I grew up. I have one sister Kim, who lives in Milton and she has a beautiful daughter named, Brianna. On the weekends Brianna and her father, Dan, work around the house and on Sunday’s they cook breakfast and lunch together while Kim works as a waitress in a Rochester, NH restaurant. My sister is very active in Animal Welfare and was involved in starting an organization called Voice for Animals.

I have been married to my beautiful wife, Mary, for 4½ years. I have a wonderful stepdaughter named Cristy. Cristy gave us a granddaughter who at the age of 3½ actually wins most of the arguments that I have with her. Her name is Mia and she is quite a character. She doesn’t take any grief at all. Good for her, she’ll do well, just like her Mom. I also have a great stepson, Jeffrey, who lives with his father and his grandparents in California. He wrote a column for his school newspaper and considered going to school for journalism. Now he has changed his mind and is thinking about studying interior design.

Now back to my nickname, when I used to hunt and fish on a regular basis, a good friend of mine, Larry, would hunt and fish with me all over the state. When I had long hair he looked like he could be my taller, older brother. Well one time we were rabbit hunting in Greenland and working our way across a frozen swamp. All of a sudden I hear a crash and look over to see that Larry had fallen through the ice up to his knees. I looked down and said "Come on, Bowana, let’s go". Larry said "Bowana? What the heck is that?" I told him that it meant "Great White Hunter of which you’re not".

From that point on when ever one of us or our buddies fell on the ice, fell into a stream or lake, or just did something stupid, they’d be Bowana for the day. Since I was the first to get onto the Internet, I grabbed "Bowana" as my nickname. I may be Bowana on the web, but Larry will always be the Original Bowana. That guy could find water in the Sahara Desert. I don’t see Larry as much as I used to. I fish a couple times a year and plan one hunting trip a year, while Larry and the others are still going strong. Between work, writing my column, being a Director at my club, publishing two mailing lists on the net, running a couple websites, and trying to keep up on politics and the news, my outdoor sports have taken a backseat.

One of my NH News mailing lists is called "Bowana News", so when the editor of the Exeter News-Letter approached me to write this column, I suggested "Bowana News". He had said that it was kind of a weird name, but I persisted and we agreed on "Bowana’s Views". Several of my friends have felt that the title just doesn’t cut it, so I am considering a change. Most of my columns over the last year have been attacking local policies, education issues, taxes, or government corruption of one sort or another. This year I am going to try and lighten up a bit. I tried to with my first column of the New Year and ended up writing about my Dad. I didn’t know where that column was going to go and I received a lot of good comments on it, but "light" it wasn’t.

I am going to try and write about some positive things local to Exeter and the New Hampshire area. I will still attack those that try to subvert our Constitution and our rights, and to point out injustices when I see them, but I will try to write about some tidbits of goodness when I can. I will try my best. Well, there it is my side of the story. Hey that’s not bad, "My Side of the Story". Not a bad title.

Constitution Change Gives Government More Control
By Ken Goodall

As Printed in The Exeter News-Letter on Tuesday 3/5/2002:

"There will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those, who in any quarter may endeavour to weaken its bands". These are comments on the Constitution of The United States of America by President George Washington in his Farewell Address and something to consider in these times of bending and amending the U.S. Constitution.

"The unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty, which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed, it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion, that it can in any event be abandoned."

After researching another story I became interested again in President George Washington's Farewell Address and realized the importance of his statements. Many people believe that our first President was elected for his military service and making this nation a free country. Though his military career may have brought him notoriety, his understanding of politics and government is greatly under estimated.

President Washington stated that this country is made up of a diversity of people from different geographic locations and that even though we have areas of geographic difference, We should never let this interfere with our country as a whole. In other words, our colonies or states may have differences, but when push comes to shove we must always remain a single, powerful, entity.

"The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal laws of a common government, finds, in the productions of the latter, great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand."

Washington's discussion of the value of the north's manufacturing capabilities, to the prosperity of the south's resources, are inherently tied together and each depends on the others values and benefits. After reading this it just makes you wonder how close He was to talking about a civil war that would not occur for another sixty years.

When it comes to international relations President Washington saw the dangers of getting into agreements with foreign nations as a dangerous step that should be avoided. Washington said "The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connexion (connection) as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop."

If politicians through out history had heeded his words, millions of Americans would not have died in political actions where politicians lacked the courage to declare war. President Washington agreed that at times, war is inevitable, but that we should avoid war at all costs and try to maintain amicable relations with all countries.

Some of Our "Entangling Alliances" have brought the US to the point of being hated by many citizens of different countries, and also the likes of Osama bin Laden, who is suspected of being involved in the suicide bombing of the US Naval Destroyer in Yeaman and now of masterminding the atrocity of September 11th. If we had listened to President Washington and avoided sticking our nose into other countries business, we wouldn't be as hated as we are.

As for maintaining a stable unified government of the United States, Washington believed that we should stand up against opposition to acknowledged authority, but should carefully scrutinize innovations to the principles of the constitution that may sound good, and may really be subverting the Constitution.

"Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts. One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the constitution, alterations, which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments, as of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard, by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country."

The same can be said of Ben Franklin's statement "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." To claim that changing the Constitution is "For the Children", whether it's to lock up guns or provide healthcare to all children, the fact is that it sounds great on the surface, but in truth it is just a way for the government to gain more control over it's citizens. Starting a National Healthcare system for children will just lead to National Healthcare for all. Then the government will decide what operations a person needs and what prescriptions they will allow. Of course it will start out "For the Children". There are new laws requiring firearms to be locked up around children and this is to "Save the Children", but there is already at least one case where children who knew how to shoot firearms have been killed because those firearms were locked. So some children die because others were not taught to respect firearms.

The framers of our constitution knew from the lessons of breaking away from England, that a people should retain the right to stand up against a Government that could start to tyrannically reign over it's people. Little could President Washington have ever dreamed that his words would profoundly transcend time to be as important now as they were then. Every Politician in the United States should be required to read President Washington's Farewell Address before taking office.

Endangered Species Act puts Firefighters At Risk
By Ken Goodall

As printed in The Exeter News-Letter on Tuesday, 2/26/2002:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a statement on Friday February 8th blaming the U.S. Forest Service for willfully disregarding the safety of firefighters in the 30 mile fire that broke out in Washington State's Okanogan National Forest last year. The statement echoed the Forest Services own report that claimed that the fire managers violated 10 of the basic safety rules of fire fighting and ignored 10 out of the 18 basic warning signs for danger. These were all factors that resulted in the deaths of four forest firefighters, but the report seemed to have left out one of the most important factors in the deaths and that is the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Fourteen firefighters and two campers were trapped in the Chewuch River canyon and conflicting reports state that the firefighters requested a water drop somewhere between two and nine hours before the fire took the lives of four of the firefighters. Two hours or nine hours really means nothing in the scheme of things, what matters is that there was a delay in delivering this water drop because the Chewuch River contains endangered species such as steelhead, salmon and bull trout. The problem arose when the fire managers wanted to get authority to withdraw water from the river.

According to spokesmen for the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who are responsible for the endangered fish, neither agency is required to be notified of water removal in such a case. In 1995 the US Fish and Wildlife Service released a memorandum stating that firefighter safety comes first. The hesitation that occurred in getting this water may very well be understandable. The headlines over the last year have brought the ESA under question on other issues, and the power that it has over United States Citizens.

Last year in Klamath Falls Oregon, a drought had caused the levels of the Upper Klamath Lake to become dangerously low. Dangerous for the farms that depended on the water for irrigation and dangerous for the endangered sucker fish that lives there. When it came to governmental policy between sucker fish or farmers, the sucker fish won out. In the early 1900's the government wanted to homestead the area around Klamath Falls and enticed people to settle and farm there with the promise of water for their crops. The promise to supply water came in the form of the Reclamation Act of 1902.  The government kept this promise and continued to keep it even after the introduction of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, but this promise and the new legislation were destined to collide and last year they did.

The Government shut off the water at Klamath Falls to over fourteen hundred farming families in the Klamath basin. This news didn't make big headlines in the mainstream media but the battle for water rights in Klamath Falls was big news to those who care more about Human Rights then Animal Rights. The ESA brought forth by Animal Rights activists to give their cause the force of law is based on good intentions, but many roads are paved with good intentions, and that may be a road that we don't want to go down.

Some of the people in these animal rights groups who pushed for this legislation have some warped opinions on life in general. Take Ingrid Newkirk, the co-founder of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who believes that  "A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy." A Reuter's news reporter recently asked Newkirk her opinion on Europe's Hoof and Mouth Disease and she stated "I openly hope that it comes here. It will bring economic harm only for those who profit from giving people heart attacks and giving animals a concentration camp-like existence. It would be good for animals, good for human health and good for the environment." 

A vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, Michael Fox, wrote in his book, The Inhumane Society, "The life of an ant and the life of my child should be accorded equal respect." Then after the attacks of September 11th, Mr. Fox blames these attacks on Human crimes against nature. In an article last December he wrote "Our collective violence against nature and against human nature, from the plight of endangered cultures, wildlife and the environment, to the sufferings of indigenous peoples and of domestic animals, especially in factory farms and commercial laboratories around the world, needs to be acknowledged. Until we find atonement with nature and all beings, human and nonhuman, how can human nature find peace and not annihilate all that our better natures embrace?"

Another member of PETA, Bruce Friedrick, speaking at the 2001 Animal Rights Conference said that although he doesn't blow things up "I do advocate it, and I think it's a great way to bring about animal liberation." He goes on to say that He "thought it would be a great thing if all these fast food outlets, slaughterhouses, laboratories, and banks that fund them exploded tomorrow". These are the kinds of people that pushed for a law where Human Rights have taken a back seat to Animal Rights. When we allow a law to protect animals to keep a family from running their family farm or telling a United States citizen what they can and can't do with their own land, then where do we draw the line?

These kinds of attacks against Human Rights gave those fire managers reason to pause and question whether they had the authority to take water and save those firefighters. Not remembering a Fish and Wildlife Service memo from six years earlier, these fire managers thought they needed higher authority to get water from a river that supported endangered species. It is lawsuits filed by these Animal Rights groups and statements like the one's quoted above that caused these fire managers to hesitate, making those firefighters the real endangered species. It took the lives of these fallen heroes to bring the power of the Endangered Species Act into question.

Are the other issues of mismanagement, mistakes, and poor training partly to blame for the tragedy? Of course they are and they should be addressed, but with out a doubt, the delay in getting that water drop had a lot to do with the death of those firefighters. One firefighter, Ellreese Daniels, a 24-year veteran, who escaped is quoted as saying that ""If we'd had the water when we'd asked for it, none of this would have happened," When the water did arrive, it was too late to be useful, he said.

For OSHA to completely ignore this aspect of what happened is a shame. One of the Forest Service's findings is to  "Clarify the relationship between the Endangered Species Act and fire suppression actions to establish a coherent process that accounts for ESA requirements with respect to the full range of fire suppression activities." Luckily the Forest Service recognizes this problem and is trying to address it. It seems that OSHA is a government organization that is just looking out for it's own.

SOURCES:

OSHA News Release
http://www.osha.gov/media/oshnews/feb02/reg10-20020208.html

News Release USDA Forest Service
http://www.fs.fed.us/news/2001/09/01sep26-ThirtymileFireReport.html

Forest Service Blamed for Deaths By LINDA ASHTON Associated Press Writer
http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/news/ap/ap_story.html/Washington/AP.V6507.AP-Wildfire-Deaths.html

Terrorism & the American Way by Michael W. Fox, D.V.M.
http://www.acresusa.com/magazines/archives/1201radvet.htm

Not just an endangered species issue Klamath's 100-Year Misunderstanding  By John A. Charles
http://www.perc.org/klamath.htm

Bruce Friedrick at the 2001 Animal Rights Conference
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/activistcash/org_detail.cfm?ORG_ID=21
http://www.guestchoice.com/downloads/peta_quote.wav

Segway to the Sidewalks

By Ken Goodall

As Printed in The Exeter News-Letter on February 5th, 2002:


It is here! This is what it is all about. "It" is the newest development in human transportation and it is called the Segway. Actually it’s called the Segway, Human Transporter, or Segway HT for short. This is a two-wheeled vehicle that allows people to stand upright on it and travel at over 12 miles an hour. This breakthrough in transportation was invented in New Hampshire and it’s coming soon to a sidewalk near you.

Well if the NH Legislature has it’s way it will be. NH State Senator Arthur Klemm has proposed Senate Bill number 385, an act relative to electric personal assistive mobility devices. This bill authorizes the use of these Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Devices or EPAMD’s on the sidewalks and roadways of New Hampshire. The bill does require EPAMD’s to yield the right of way to persons traveling on foot.

NH resident Dean Kamen invented the Segway. Mr. Kamen’s vision began when he saw a person in a wheel chair try to navigate over a curb. He realized then that everyone’s mobility revolved around balance. He and his team created the IBOT mobility system. This invention was a wheel chair that was able to navigate curbs, rocks, and sand, but the most outstanding achievement of this invention was the ability of this chair to raise the person to the upright position. Eye to eye with anyone they encounter. This astounding feat of creating a machine capable of balancing on two wheels brought the handicapped people of the world the chance to rise up to a new level.

The idea of balancing on two wheels made Mr. Kamen wonder what it could do for people who could walk. A machine that would take up no more space than a pedestrian and able to move with the same precision as a person on foot, that could operate on sidewalks along side pedestrians, but could travel at 12 miles an hour for up to seventeen miles on a single charge. The Segway will be an economical and environmentally friendly mode of transportation for many people while shopping, commuting, or working.

NH Governor Jeanne Shaheen in her State of the State address said, "I saw in Segway, as many of you did, a machine - invented and built right here in New Hampshire - that could revolutionize urban transportation. It is in New Hampshire's interest for Segway to succeed. The future is now. Pass Senator Klemm's legislation to allow the use of Segways on the sidewalks of New Hampshire." This sounds like good news for NH and the world, and it is, but allowing these 80 pound machines on our sidewalks is something that should be thought about carefully.

Last year Exeter Selectmen discussed allowing bicycles on some sidewalks outside of the downtown area. George Olson, Exeter’s Town manager said, "It was very controversial. Many residents spoke out on both sides of the issue." The Selectmen made no decision and the existing town ordinance stating that Bicycles are not allowed on any sidewalks remains in effect.

This new legislation allows for towns to maintain local control over the usage of the Segway. With the controversy over bicycles using some sidewalks of Exeter, the idea of the Segway traveling at 12 miles an hour will bring the question of allowing bicycles the same advantage. At slow speeds the Segway may be able to maneuver just like a pedestrian, but when traveling at 12 miles an hour, I don’t believe that it will be able to stop any quicker than a bicycle.

I have never been one for new laws, I believe in enforcing the laws that we already have, but when it comes to a new innovative product like this, some new regulations may be needed. Some police departments and post offices are trying the new machine out to improve their mobility. In many cases this may work out great, but to have a machine traveling 12 miles an hour down a busy sidewalk, could mean disaster for someone coming out of a store. As with anything new there will be issues to iron out. Do we allow it on downtown sidewalks? If we do, do we set speed limits? What about parking? The new Senate bill includes parking and states that it "may be parked on a sidewalk unless prohibited or restricted by an official traffic control device."

When the issue of bicycles on the sidewalk was brought up in Exeter, I was on the fence. I understood both sides of the argument. I knew that I didn’t think they should be allowed on downtown sidewalks, but maybe around town, and maybe if they were forced to have bells that could warn pedestrians when they approached. I understood that some families wanted to ride with out the fear of having their children riding in the street, dodging parked cars and watching out for traffic. At the same time I understood that a lot of people walk around Exeter as well, and deserved to be able to walk with out the fear of a bicycle flying up behind them. Now we have a whole new conundrum to tackle. Whether this new senate bill passes or not, "It" is here, and "It" is here to stay.

Life, The Toughest Choice

As printed in The Exeter News-Letter on Friday January 25, 2002:

Women have the right to choose. What we have now are babies being born to people who are not ready for them financially or mentally. Yes, Adoption is an option, for those lucky enough to be chosen. Some are not so lucky and end up spending their youth in foster care. I was one of the lucky ones. I was adopted and my parents stayed together, but that is the exception not the rule.

My wife, Mary was a teen mother and she struggled to bring up her daughter with the help of her family. Now we are grandparents and we struggle to help our daughter bring up our granddaughter. Am I glad that I wasn't aborted? Yes. Am I glad that my stepdaughter wasn't aborted? Yes. Am I glad that my Granddaughter wasn't aborted? YES. Would I take from a woman, without the support system of a family or the courage it takes to give up a baby for adoption, her right to choose? No.

No matter what choice a woman makes, to keep the baby and struggle through, to give up the baby and never know the kind of life her child will end up with, or abort the baby and live with that decision for the rest of her life, there is no easy choice. With no support system the chance to make a good life for her child on her own is a slim one.

The tough choices are life, the easy choice is death, but the price to be paid for death comes slowly. It haunts women for life. The choice they make at the time is the choice they must live with for a lifetime.

If a woman chooses life, I would be willing to support her with public assistance, but the women that continue to have more kids deserve limited assistance. Continue to have kids and we will support one, the choice is adoption or birth control, I do not want to support multiple children by a single woman or a welfare family. A mistake is a mistake and a woman that struggles to keep her baby deserves respect and all the help that our government and we can give. Turn into a baby machine and it's time for the checks to stop and counseling to begin.

For those women that use abortion as birth control, I would give them one "Mistake" also. One abortion, after that, she would still have her choice but she would be required to seek counseling. Anyone that could go through an abortion and allow herself to be in that situation again needs serious help.

It's easy for the Anti-Abortion crowd to say that they are "Pro-Life" and by saying that they insinuate that people who believe in Pro-Choice are not. People who are Pro-Choice are also Anti-Abortion, and yes it is possible to be both. People who are Pro-Life would like to force their beliefs on women and force them down a path that could lead to them taking their frustration out on the babies, or force them down a path leading to a back alley, or down a path of giving up their baby into a life of possible neglect and abuse. If babies aren't adopted in the first couple years then the chances are slim and it is likely that they will remain in Foster Care. This system is full of problems and this they call "Pro-Life".

We are Pro-Choice, they are not. I am Pro-My Family and not Pro-every baby that some welfare mother pumps out. You "Pro-life" people want every baby to be born and supported no matter what the cost. Well if all the Pro-Lifers agreed to pay for these babies then I would support a ban on abortions, except in the cases of Incest, Rape, and the health of the mother. Just check the box on your tax form, Pro-Life or Pro-Choice and the Pro-Life people can support every baby born to a mother who can't support herself.

I am tired of supporting welfare fraud, welfare cheats, and welfare families pumping out baby after baby. If these families have a problem and can’t or won’t abstain from sex, or use birth control, then in order to continue to receive State Aid they should be offered free hysterectomies or vasectomies. Then and only then would State Aid continue and work to get the family back on their feet so that they can start giving back to the system instead of just taking more from it. State Aid is supposed to be a temporary fix to help people get back on their feet, not a permanent income.

Enrongate or Heaven’s Gate?

As printed in The Exeter News-Letter on Tuesday January 22, 2002:


For those that can remember 1980, that was the year that the epic western Heaven’s Gate was touted to be the biggest hit movie of the year. It wasn’t, it flopped. Well now the Enron investigation is being touted by Democrats to be the downfall of the Bush administration and the Republican Party, but like Heaven’s Gate; it may not turn out to be what they expect.

There are with out a doubt links to the Bush administration in this investigation, but at this point there is no evidence showing any kind of illegalities. Most media outlets are reporting that Enron has basically been supporting Republicans from as far back as Former President George Bush Sr.. Enron is not a political organization, they are a capitalistic business corporation and their actions are directed at increasing their effectiveness at making money. Well, at least making it look like they were making money, to keep their stocks and their rating to borrow more money up.

Enron’s contributions were plainly and simply directed to both parties to cover their bases and always have a link to whichever party ended up in power. According to the Center for Responsive Politics six out of the Top Ten Representatives who received Enron contributions were Democrats. Twenty-nine out of seventy-one Senators who received Enron contributions were Democrats. Included on that list are names like: Charles Schumer a Democrat from New York who placed third on the list, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle a loud voice claiming that it’s the Republicans who overlooked the warning signs of the Enron fiasco. Also on that list would be the recent turn coat who left the Republican Party to become an Independent, James Jeffords of Vermont, the Chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, the scandal laden Senator from New Jersey, Robert G. Torricelli, the illustrious Senator from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy, and taking up the bottom of the list, none other then Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Now there is a list of the Who’s Who in Democratic Politics if I ever saw one. When the mud slinging starts, there is going to be a lot of politicians on both sides of the aisle getting hit with it. This company is a bipartisan company that just wanted to have a connection to whichever party ended up in power. A New York Post editorial stated that during the Clinton years Ken Lay the Chairman of Enron was a frequent golfing partner with then President Bill Clinton. The editorial also states that in 1995 Clinton’s Chief of Staff Mark McLarty pushed for Enron’s bid to win an energy account in India. Four days before it’s approval in 1996, Enron donated $100,000 to the National Democratic Party. It goes on to say that later McLarty became an Enron executive.

I may seem like a dyed in the wool Conservative Republican, but I am not. I have only voted for one of the major political parties twice in my lifetime. Once for Tom Laughlin, who played Billy Jack in the Movies, when he ran for President in the 1992 NH Primary. He ran a common sense half-hour ad here and I liked what he had to say. As usual, the common sense candidate didn’t make it. Then the second time was this past year when for the first time, I voted for one of the major political parties in a Presidential election. It was not a vote for George W. Bush, but a vote against Al Gore, William Jefferson Clinton, his wife, and everything that they stand for.

I have remained Republican, and now that President Bush has done more then I expected of him through out the recent tragedies, I do not regret that one bit. What will I do in three years? I don’t know, that’s a long ways off, but President Bush has done such a great job so far that I believe it would take a lot more then the weak connections shown in this Enron deal to make me change my mind.

Eric, A friend of mine from the state of Washington said that if we are able to freeze the accounts of terrorists, then "All Enron Executives who profited from stock sales should have their accounts frozen, until we can get this mess straightened out". That could also include all the politicians Republicans and Democrats alike, who may have profited from this Enron scandal.

Many Democrats have been truly patriotic in their support of our President and our nation. Yes, they have stood behind our President when it came to the war, but at the first sign of Partisanship, the knives come out. Now if a few Republicans have to take a few lumps to knock down the likes of Chuck Schumer a few pegs, then so be it. When it comes to partisanship in this Enron scandal, leave it to the Democrats to bring a knife to a gunfight.

Intent Not Needed When Crime is Committed

(Guilty But Insane)

As printed in the Exeter News-Letter on Friday January 18, 2002:


(This is from my testimony before the NH House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee hearing on House Bill 1189- relative to the plea of guilty but insane. The hearing was held on Tuesday, January 15, 2002)

The insanity defense or Innocent by reason of insanity has evolved from old English law where it was decided that those people who could not comprehend right from wrong in their actions were innocent because they had no intent to commit the crime. The lack of intent is the basis for declaring someone innocent by reason of insanity. The theory is that there must be intent to commit a crime in order to hold someone responsible for that crime.

I do not believe that intent must be present in order to find someone guilty of a crime. Intent can be a factor in the degree of criminality involved, but not to dismiss the crime altogether. Many people have been stopped for speeding because they missed the sign stating a slower speed. They did not "intend" to speed. I am sure the officer told them that "Ignorance of the law is not an excuse".

NH law states that "A person is not relieved of criminal liability because he acts under a mistaken belief of fact unless: The mistake negatives the culpable mental state required for commission of the offense." That is where the idea of intent falls in NH law. NH law also states that "A person is guilty of murder, a felony, or a misdemeanor only if he acts purposely, knowingly, recklessly or negligently." These four categories are the basis for mental culpability.

I can agree that an insane person would not knowingly, recklessly, or negligently, commit a crime, but whether they understand or comprehend what they are doing, they still do it purposely. Though they may not have intent, they do have a choice, and when they choose to do something, they do it purposely. The fact that an insane individual is sick and has a problem with depression, does not take away the fact that they committed the crime. To be innocent is to be found not to have committed the crime at all. If you are insane and you commit a crime, you did it. You are guilty. What we need is a New Plea and that should be, Guilty, But Insane.

Guilty, but Insane does leave the option of treatment and placement in the Psychiatric Care Unit, but this change also requires that if by chance a person is found to be sane, then that person should serve at least 25% of the time remaining in their sentence in prison. This is simply a way to show a person who now does comprehend what they did, that there is a price to pay for doing such things.

The fact of the matter is that NH has very few successful Insanity defenses, and that is a credit to NH’s justice system, but if just one happened to get released early and commit another crime, that would be one too many. According to an MSNBC report The NH Department of Corrections says it has 22 individuals under its supervision who are not guilty by reason of insanity. Ten of them are being held in the Secure Psychiatric Unit and 11 have been placed in other settings. The prison also has custody of nine patients who were found to be not competent to stand trial. That’s a total of 30 inmates considered to be insane in NH’s Prison system.

I have not found any instance of a person being released early, and that’s another credit to NH’s justice system, but if it ever happened it would be a travesty of justice to the victims of the crime and their families. In June of last year, ABC’s PrimeTime ran an episode called "Predators Among Us". They state that Nathaniel Bar-Jonah, who had a history of sexual crimes against boys, was released from the Massachusetts Treatment Center for the Sexually Dangerous after 12 years because a judge deemed him no longer sexually dangerous. Bar Jonah is now accused of sexually assaulting three Great Falls Montana boys and killing a fourth. According to the Great Falls Tribune His trial for the murder is set for May 13th of this year, but first he will be tried for the sexual assaults on February 12.

The PrimeTime story also states that in 1991, Convicted rapist Michael Kelley was released from the same treatment center as Bar Jonah, after a psychologist concluded he did not need additional treatment. After his discharge, he killed two women. Then during an interview with Paula Erickson, a therapist there until the early '90s, says many such dangerous men were released from the facility. "I tried to warn people, but they wouldn't listen," says Erickson, who was laid off and has since settled a lawsuit she brought against the state. "I couldn't get anyone to investigate,"

So Erickson compiled her own list of 26 men she thought should not have been freed, and 10 years later, PrimeTime Thursday takes a roll call of these sexual predators.

PrimeTime found that None of the 26 men was registered with the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board. Three were discharged from the center to serve in prison; they will be eligible for release soon. Eleven who were released are back in prison or are awaiting trial, mostly for new sex crimes. Seven of the men are unaccounted for.

Now I am not saying that this would happen in NH, but as I said earlier, even one would be too many.

In a recent e-mail from the brother of Cheryl Troy who was murdered in Wakefield Massachusetts, he stated that "My sister Cheryl Troy was killed by Michael McDermott, so I can tell you first hand your proposal is very significant. Like the rest of the victims, Cheryl was an angel and my family will never get over her horrible death.

But now, adding insult to injury, we are forced through the nightmare of listening to McDermott's lawyer as he defends Mucko (McDermott) claiming he was insane and not responsible for his hideous actions. We all know, as does the DA, this is just a lame and unethical excuse. Yet the charade goes on and on as they attempt to circumvent justice in the name of a brutal killer.

In addition to the obvious injustice, there is the unnecessary pain this absurd defense causes the victim's families. First we loose our loved ones, then we are insulted by a system that has apparently lost touch with reality. So hopefully, your bill will have a hidden benefit."

Even though the insanity plea may rarely be used as a way to circumvent justice, again it only takes once. Right now we have two young men accused of killing two college professors in Dartmouth NH. The younger one has cut a deal, but the older one, who could possibly get life, has decided to plead insanity. Instead of life, this kid could get the opportunity to get reviewed every 5 years. Now that’s every 5 years that the victims and the victim’s families have to deal with the tragedies all over again. If nothing else, the plea of Guilty, but Insane would not offer a benefit to abuse this system.

Those Last Few Weeks with Dad
By Ken Goodall

As printed in the Exeter News-Letter on January 4, 2002:

As Christmas passed and the New Year has begun my thoughts turn to the Baby Jesus. No, not that one, My grandmother's Baby Jesus. You see my grandmother's baby Jesus was my Dad. My Dad, James Goodall, was born on Christmas Day 1927. He died of cancer two years ago this month.

He brought me to ball games, taught me to shoot, and brought me on my first hunting trip. On that trip a friend of the family got his deer. It was standing on a hill looking at me. The friend waved and waved but I was in my own little world. I helped him drag it over a couple miles. My Dad loved to tell that story and describe what a great hunter I was. He would take my family camping, starting with a tent, to a pop-up tent trailer, then the fancy hard top pullout trailer. For several years we traveled all over northern New England until my sister and I got to High School and started to have "Better" things to do.

Dad would occasionally bring us down to the little food shack with the half moon on route 108, or to Lou's Dinner for a burger or to Week's for an ice cream. When I got older he'd bring me to the tavern on the corner of routes 108 and 150, or down to the legion or Tula's. The owner of Tula's gave him a couple Deer tapestries that he gave to me. Long since lost in all of my moves. A real shame.

He worked at Phillips Exeter Academy for years. He used to bring me down to play football with my friends, basketball in the gym or hockey down at the rinks. Sometimes he'd bring me down to show me the buildings he worked in or the shop he worked out of. He'd bring me to the garage where I'd sit on the tractors and check out all the equipment.

My Dad went to every event that my sister and I ever had. Always cheering always smiling. When I got the chance to go to a basketball clinic with the Boston Celtics, he was in the stands cheering. The Exeter News-Letter ran a picture of him cheering in the stands with his arms in the air. My mom put a photo album together for me, and that clipping is in it.

One weekend a few years before he died, he and my Mom came by the house with a conversion van. When he said that he was trading in his truck, I jokingly said to check and see what he could get for my Jeep. The following Monday they bought the van and the salesman called me at work. With the ultimate dealmaker at my side, my wife, I ended up buying my Dad's truck back from the dealer and got a color Television in the deal.

A year later my Dad went into the hospital and was diagnosed with cancer. He would need to have an oxygen tank from that point on. I finished my last few packs and quit smoking after eleven years. I told Dad that if he had to quit I would too. A few months later my friend Scott drove by the house and saw my dad out front smoking. I went straight to the house and had a word with my Dad. He spoke a few expletives and said, "Heck, I only get a chance to smoke three or four". Well after smoking two to three packs a day for over fifty years, I figured three or four a day was pretty good. I told him that I wouldn't bring it up again. From that point on I always said, "I Love You" to my Mom and Dad whenever I talked to them.

That truck ran real well for me for a couple years. Basic maintenance and few small problems but nothing major. Now I am not religious, or a believer in God in a religious sense of the word, but I believe in some form of higher power. The laws of nature or the natural order of things, and how some things seem to happen for a reason. Well two years ago right around this time of year, my truck died and needed to go in for service. My Dad being the guy that he was, and retired, offered to take me to work in the mornings, until my truck could get fixed.

Every morning for a couple weeks my Dad would pick me up in the morning and take me to work. Now I went to work at seven and even though my Dad was retired He would still be at Jerry's for coffee every morning at 5:30am. Why he even continued to go down in the afternoons to have break with the guys. He would actually make an extra trip in the morning to pick me up.

Normally my wife would pick me up after work, but one day my Mom came in and said that she'd bring me to the house to pick up the van. My Dad had gone into the hospital. When my wife and I went to see him he said keep the van as long as I need it. I told him that if the truck didn't get done I'd ride with him again. That didn't happen.

One night I went down to visit him, after a while he said that he was a little tired. He asked if I had a meeting at my club that night and I said I did. He told me to go to my meeting since he was going to sleep anyway. I gave him a hug and told him that I loved him and went to my meeting. That was the last conversation that I had with my Dad.

He slipped in and out of consciousness over the next two days, and died on the second day. I have never been so thankful as I was for those last few weeks where I got to spend 10 minutes a day riding with my Dad. His truck died and gave me some precious time with him. I was very lucky to have Him and my Mom. Actually twice as lucky, because you see my sister and I were adopted. Our Parents chose us. Occasionally someone will ask "Don't you want to know your real parents?" and my answer is always the same, "I already do!"

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