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The purpose of this Blog is to pick up where the Atkinson Reporter has left off. "The King is dead, Long live the King!" This Blog is a forum for the discussion of predominantly Atkinson; Officials, People, Ideas, and Events. You may give opinion, fact, or evaluation, but ad hominem personal attacks will not be tolerated, or published. The conversation begun on the Atkinson Reporter MUST be continued!

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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Garrity elected with more votes than there are voters in Atkinson!

From the Eagle- Tribune;

DeSimone, Garrity elected in House District 6

Atkinson's House District 6 race for two seats was uncontested, but a ballot machine error gave the incumbent more votes than there were voters in town.

Deborah DeSimone: 2,269

James Garrity*: 6,713

* = incumbent

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why didn't they hand count the ballots?

What does this say about past elections in town?

What is being done about it?

Anonymous said...

Oh Come on, it's a glitch!

It's not like ACORN was here!

Anonymous said...

I'm proud of Atkinson. All my national office candidates carried the town: McCain, Sununu and Horn. Pretty impressive.

Anonymous said...

I have to find the humor in this because you know our town moderater will soon blame someone else for this glitch. Or was it a hiccup. Big difference ya know.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Atkinson voted the right way. but you all know we are all doomed. Our country is the laughing stock of the world. I will start working on my bunker now.

Anonymous said...

Oh come on, if it has a glitch once, it can have another glitch.

I wonder if they can trigger the glitch on demand?

Anonymous said...

Our Country is not the laughing stock of the world...

We are the envy of the world that we can be led by a messiah!

It has only happened once before you know, and it HAs been over 2000 years

Anonymous said...

Uh huh....and the bible says that the end of the world will be when the Anti crist leads the people....Messiah? Far from that. My bunker will be very very deep.

Anonymous said...

Wow, it's awesome to see the paranoid racist crank side of this board. It's amazing how people that voted for the worst president in the last century twice can be so open in sharing your opinion. If you had any sense of shame you'd skip voting for a while for the sake of the country.

Republicans have been a curse on the country. Take your richly earned election beating like adults for heaven's sake. Financial crisis, wars, just shut the hell up. You should move to Alabama where the electoral map says you belong.

Anonymous said...

My ballot said "vote for not more than 2" and it had Garrity on it twice, once in the Dem. column and once in the Rep. column along with DD. How many voters chose him in both columns?

Anonymous said...

Racist? far from that my friend. Alabama? Nope, to warm and besides, how do you know who i voted for last time? I love it when people don't like what they hear, and they are so quick to play the race card. Sad.

Anonymous said...

I'm proud of Atkinson. All my national office candidates carried the town: McCain, Sununu and Horn. Pretty impressive.

Actually, I wouldn't be so proud. Although our town carried the republican candidates, there were a significant portion of democratic votes. So when you consider that the urban areas with larger population centers will most likely vote democrat; a rise in the democrat vote in suburban and rural areas of the state does not bode well for republicans and the results are exactly what you see here...Blue Hampshire. So the democrats do not need to win in these towns to win the election...just be competitive and let the Manchesters, Keanes, Portsmouths, etc take care of the rest. And as more and more democrats move into New Hampshire and further dilute the rural and suburban towns of New Hampshire, well, I think you get the picture...

Anonymous said...

to anon @ 8:47

I will have you know I DID NOT VOTE for the WORST President in the last Century!

And for your information Jimmy Carter was only elected ONCE!

Anonymous said...

I have not read anything racist in this post, please show the evidence, if you can.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:47
Who is racist? What, would you rather everyone be jumping for joy over who won? Sorry to spoil your fun, alot of us are horrified with who is going to take over. And because i feel this way , i am racist?

Anonymous said...

Atkinson is a snob enclave of undereducated middle-class people that vote based mostly on their tax rate, poor children and the working class be damned. Not too much to be proud of there.

This country did itself proud; the Republicans have nearly ruined the country, and it's time for someone to lead this country based on more than the fact that it would be "fun to have a beer with them".

Bye-bye Sununu and Bradley; your rich Daddys helped you get your seats, but the people said time to go home! Thank you NH! It's a beautiful day! Morning in America!

Anonymous said...

That is just a wonderfull thing to say. I can see you are a know-it-all too!

Anonymous said...

November 6, 2008 7:05 AM writes:

Atkinson is a snob enclave of undereducated middle-class people that vote based mostly on their tax rate, poor children and the working class be damned. Not too much to be proud of there.

I live in Atkinson (do you?) and vote democrat and, to be honest with you, am disgusted by your comment.

Your remarks are mind-numbingly ignorant and arrogant. I've read some very insightful remarks by republican contributors to this blog and others. I've also read some comments -- like yours -- that prove the writer to be immersed so deeply in class warfare and partisanship that they cannot see the forest for the trees. Both sides are guilty of this.

Stop gloating! It's unbecoming at a time such as this.

Anonymous said...

You voted for the Administration to come. I did not. That is liberating in a way. So if anything gets screwed – up it will be yours and their fault. The honeymoon ended Tuesday at Midnight. Oh, by the way, my 401-K has grown since the mid September –October Crash. At a decreased annualized rate of 2.5 – 3 percent , but, growth is growth, And tax policy is not likely to affect me. In fact a recession will likely be to my advantage as it put downward pressure on prices. I prefer to put “Country first” but since that failed I will just be a little selfish for a while. Have a good day

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Mike Huckabee said it best when he said during the RNC "I'm not a republican because I was born rich; I'm a republican because I didn't want to stay poor and wait for the government to save me".

To all those democrats that have moved here seeking asylum from Massachusetts, why did you move here only to pervert our way of life? If the Commonwealth was so great, why did you leave? Maybe NH needs a sales tax, that'll keep some of the problems right where they belong...and an income tax...maybe that'll send some of the transplants back where they came from. I'll pay more taxes if it will at least reclaim the NH way of life.

Now that I've got that off my chest, I think I'll go buy a $1,000,000 home and then blame the new administration when I can't make the payments.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6:45
"Actually, I wouldn't be so proud"

I completely understand what you mean; I just find it refreshing that Atkinson bucked the statewide trend. I looked over the New Hampshire town by town results, and was surprised at the extent of the Democratic voting trend. But, if you look at most of the southern Rockingham County towns, they went Republican. I would have thought that these towns had more Massachusetts transplants than our neighbors to the north. Anyone have any thoughts on why Southern Rockingham County has held Republican?

Anonymous said...

You people are so far off the title of this article its not even funny.

Anonymous said...

To all who blog here , May be I should not say ant thing because I'm from not of your town but I couldn't resist the temptation. You seem to forget that we put people in office that we ask that they do what we ask of them. There is a check and balance system we all have with them . It is called the right of expression and the majority speaking out to them. We have a choice to put them out of office and not just at the ballot box. It doesn't matter if any governing official or the president is black ,white , yellow or red skinned , it just doesn't matter. Be more aware you have the right to express your opinions to those we elect and be damned sure you do that if you disagree with their decisions and voting for of your concern[s]. The congress and senate are the voters of ,what is supposed to be, what we want ,not the big business and certainly not the lobbyists. This goes for the New Hampshire pols as well.

Anonymous said...

I would like to hear some comments on this thought;

We have all seen Representative Garrity sitting with a smirk when some of the controversial issues in town have come up, and he has always seemed to side with the local establishment.

Can anyone remember if he has ever lent his support to any of our requests for reform, or if he is willing to stand with us in support of protecting our water supply

I think it's about time he stops getting a free ride on this; where does he stand? If it's not for reforms, then let's consider getting another moderate candidate who will have the guts to speak up!

Anonymous said...

To anon @4:37 pm:

I invited Jim Garrity to our conservation commission meeting last Monday. We asked him to introduce some changes to state law to better support our prime wetlands warrant article.

I also asked him to check with the state people to find out what happened to our scenic byway application. I'm hoping it's not in a box in Russ McAllister's attic...

Anonymous said...

I dont agree that we now have a system of checks and balances. We have a democratic House, Senate and presidency. Where is the checks and balances? Whatever the democrats want, the democrats will get. Watch your wallets fellow hard working citizens, the government will now take your hardworking dollars through new taxes, and will decide to whom and to what programs they will give your hardworking money to.

Anonymous said...

To 6:08 , We have had an election of great out pouring because of total disgust with the way the country has gone under the Bush adminstration. It is no longer a democrat or republican cause we all sought . It was a common cause to stop the crazy way things are going on in our economic ,business ,employment opportunities and I could go on. I think your getting the idea of what I mean now by whats written here. I've heard in past years the pols saying we have to reach across the isle to one another but nothing came to be. Now that they know for sure what we feel you can bet they will have to do that or face dire results. They are now afraid to do the lobbyist bidding for who ever they represent. The people have spoken and whether it were Obama or McCain in office both candidates had said they intended to reach across the isle in the best interest of the country and its people. To be a one only party line thinking person at this time is not the way to go if we are going to recover. I wouldn't say the republicans are to blame any more than the democrats - they both are. The only thing I do say and its factual is there were more republicans that crossed the party lines than ever before in any election. What does that tell you? To me it says both sides of the isle want the same thing-- recovery-- before we go bottom up entirely. Even the most greedy in business and the Wall Streeters know with out recovery after pillaging the economics there money is no good here and if it is of no value it wont be any where else. Think of working together rather than the party line system is what will make the recovery come along sooner. Both parties have to work on economic law changes and make it hard to outsource jobs to make us strong again . We have to do for our selves before we do for others except in times of disasters and inhumane treatment of others world wide. We have the United Nations and they really do nothing and should be held accountable to its concepts or disband. I'm on a roll so I best stop here before I really go on and on.

Anonymous said...

Tim,

Thanks for the info, and for all your work in town.

What was Garrity's response to you? If you can, please keep us updated. I really think it's time for him to either stand up for us, or stand aside.

As far as I'm concerned he's been too quiet and he hasn't been a strong voice for us. Is he siding with HAWC?

Anonymous said...

November 6, 2008 6:45 PM

Bush bashing..come on..Granted Bush may be one of the worst presidents in history, but lets give credit to that other poor excuse of a president Clinton for allowing trade status to China. Where we get toys that are toxic and food that makes our citizens sick just to name a few examples. Are you blaming Bush for the Oil situation..come on, you give him too much credit. Lets give the credit for that mess where its due..OPEC. Nothing like cutting off supply and throwing things in a tailspin, hmm, how ironic this happens just as we are about to elect our new president. Yes, we went to war..It was a decision backed 100% by congress. Everyone knows war is an ugly thing. How easy is it to be armchair critics now.

Anonymous said...

I enquired about the NH Scenic and Cultural By-Way. The Planning Board had the minutes of the Public Hearings.

One was July 9,2007 at 7:30PM from the Selectmen and the other was July 19,2007 at 8:00PM from the planning board.

At the Selecmens office the file was empty. Where oh where did the files go? Is this project dead in the water? And if so-------why?

Anonymous said...

6:45,

You're blaming Clinton, who left government running a surplus for anything?

Toys from China? Please tell me you realize that it's because Bush slashed the amount of product inspectors...I just don't want to believe someone is naive enough to drink that much Kool-Aid...

And the war? Exactly which reason were you foolish enough to believe? WMD? Democracy for foreigners, or to save them from a brutal dictator (when do we start on all the other brutal dictators)?

The reason Congress gave him approval was after Bush ASSURED them that he would only use force as a last measure i

f the US was threatened. LIE! He planned to go in from his first cabinet meeting in January of 2001. Go watch the interview with his first treasury secretary Paul O'Neil from 60 minutes and see if you can keep down your Kool-Aid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky2t_tDsZrk

Anonymous said...

To tim dziechowski November 6, 2008 5:11 PM

The Atkinson Taxpayers For Fair Evaluations Committee also asked Jim Garrity to present information about Property Tax Assessments to the State Legislature and get back to them with guidence.

Results: Nothing.

The last anyone saw of him was standing, holding signs for re-election.

Hope you have better results. Please don't hold you breath.

Anonymous said...

To Anon Nov 6@ 7:05

Please tell me Specifically what the Democrat party did in the last 8 years for the poor and working class?

Anonymous said...

I submit to you that Obama won for three reasons;

1.) Over $2,000,000,000 worth of free advertising from an adoring media that refused to print anything negative about him. The biggest losers in this election should be the main stream media, who placed their obvious bias on display proudly for all to see. When the slant of the stories in the main stream media is Obama 87% positive, and McCain only 14% positive, that is telling, as is the NYT and the Boston Globe selling Obama tote bags in their online store.

2.) President Bush is almost universally hated. This is largely his own fault for not doing a Clinton(No, Not Monica, but Triangulation) and getting the spin out ahead of the news. Instead, He allowed a hostile media to frame the message, and relentlessly pound it home! Hence, we have had a never ending barrage of negative stories about Bush, Iraq, Afghanistan, Economy, Energy, etc. And we wonder why people are sick of President Bush?In the first 1000 days of his presidency, Lexis- Nexis stated that there were 1192 negative stories about the president, and only 29 positive ones. Similarly Accuracy in Media did a survey three years into the War, there were an overwhelming 2261 negative stories about the war and our troops, and 84 positive stories, does anyone wonder why public opinion is where it is?

3.) The economic fall, and again, here, we allowed the media, and that toad, Barney Frank, to frame the message. Even though there are videos up all over YouTube, with House hearings on FannieMae and FreddieMac, from 2004, most people believe it was republican deregulation that caused this mess, not the Dems firewalls, and refusals to investigate when Republicans raised alarms.

The Lessons here are manifest. The Media CAN NOT be allowed to run amok, as they have for the last 4 years! Faulty news MUST BE challenged immediately!

Economics and the role of Government MUST BE TAUGHT! John Stossel interviewed some college kids who thought that Karl Marx was the father of Capitalism! Dems last week debated SEIZING 401k's, and rolling them into social insecurity! They actually held hearing on this! They are also debating eliminating the secret ballot and the organizing invitation in union organization, "to encourage the unionization of small business"

As Long as we allow our enemies to frame the debate, we will continue to lose!

And Lastly, WE need to make certain that Locally, and Nationally as much as possible our candidates run on CONSERVATIVISM! Not Socialism light!

Anonymous said...

Garrity also lists himself as both Republican and Democrat on the ballot (maybe because he ends up getting double the votes he is supposed to, which was revealed in the article here), but on his NH House website he is listed as a Republican and seems to vote Republican.

That's more than a little deceptive; the least you can do is give your constituents an accuratet description of your beliefs.

Seems ol' Jimmy boy has been getting a bit of a free ride in town here, and hasn't had to earn his keep with the people in town that are asking for transparent government and political reform. A nice smile just doesn't do it anymore Jim. Time to step up, or step down. Atkinson is no longer willing to be your political stepping stone to better things, especially since you aren't standing up for the townspeoples' interests.

You can't protect our water, or our rights? Are you afraid of Harold and family?

You couldn't stand up to the selectmen or the chief when they refused to implement simple court orders to honor our veterans as the voters desired, or open up government?

I've typically though you were a decent enough guy, and then it dawned on me that all you ever did in town meetings was grin and stay under the radar. Free lunch is over. We're watching, and if you're not willing to stand up for the voters that put you in office, I have a feeling you may have a strong challenger in the next election.

Possibly you could stop by here and let us know where you stand on the issues of importance to the people here? And maybe we can start checking in on your votes and the NH General Court website (google it) and see if you are performing all the duties that you have on official and other state committees as appointed? It shouldn't take much time on the Internet to check that out...

Anonymous said...

Amen!

Anonymous said...

To Anon. Nov. 7th @7:04 To answer your question I feel you should ask why the republicans , although out numbered, didn't do any thing as well -Specifically In The Last Eight Years . If you read the blogs of Nov. 6th@11:47 A.M. and Nov. 6th @645 P.M. you just may get the answer you seek , that is if you have an open mind enough to do it. We can't keep going back to the old hurts if we are to recover . It takes all of us to pitch in and make the pols cross the isles to do it. I suggest you and others who think the same way take this opportunity to look forward and not backwards and forget the two party crap in order to work this problem out that we mutually have . Basically the Dems are spenders and the Repubs are conservative but that doesn't mean each party member is definitely as described here. We are all Americans and do not want to see this craziness continue and that is why I ask you read all of the above in the best interest of the country. Its that time now to work together and not against each other. Its time to think "WE" instead of "I" as the old union slogan goes.

Anonymous said...

Mark,

Interesting points. If, what you say about the heavily weighted negative articles in Lexis Nexis is true, what is the data telling you? Do you honestly think that there is a "liberal media" conspiracy afoot or is it simply a data point showing you a problem with the subject?

I think even is you subtract the background (i.e. the partisan reporting,) you will find there is significant enough "signal" that points to a desire for a new direction.

So the question is: is the media manipulating the message (in some cases, yes - MSNBC and Fox News come to mind) or is the media reporting on the attitude of the country?

I do, however, agree with you that the spending on this election was out of control and, although I am a democrat, I have serious concerns about the ramifications of Sen. Obama's decision to bypass federal funds and privately finance the election. I would suspect that both parties will now do this in future elections and we truly will have the wealthy simply buying the office. I think there is a real story there.

Anonymous said...

Why doesn't someone check with the moderator as to why J. Garrity's name appeared on both sides of the ballot. I was told that a number of people (Democrat) wrote in his name at the Primary voting which entitled him to run in both spots. Don't know if this is accurate info, jut passing it along.

Anonymous said...

To Anon @ 1:39pm

First of all Thank you for the calm and reasonable response, rather than the typical screed.

Next, The problem is not the attitude for change, but the blatent pushing of an agenda from those whose job it is to dig into BOTH candidates, and their positions, and give the people the truth. Save the analysis for the editorial page.

Also, I have spoken with many Marines both in Iraq, and back from Iraq, and the stories they tell me, and the pictures they show, are 180 degrees out of phase with what the press reports.

The press does not tell of the weapons caches STILL being found on an almost daily basis.

They do not tell that entire battalions are coming back having never made contact with any Al-Queda.

They do not tell of the 651 schools and clinics opened by American troops.

They do not tell of the security, allowing the flourishing of business exceeding prewar levels.

They do not report the stores of Sarin, Smallpox, and biological precursors found.

They report stories that never hapened such as the Supposed Marine Massacre at Haditha! Eagerly cheered on by traitors in Congress including Jim Moran, Jack Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, who called United States Marines Murderers with no evidence, and refused to apologize when the Marines were cleared.

This is the type of improper reporting I was alluding to.

Anonymous said...

Mark,

You are very welcome.

Recently on this blog there was a post about an Atkinson, NH girl who got a role in a PBS movie and the responses were negative until someone had to step in and point out that, although it is a feel-good story, it is still Atkinson news.

I happen to think the stories the marines you speak to are important to tell. But in a free market society, do the media outlets need to "supply" the coverage, if the "demand" isn't there? Especially when they have an obligation to their shareholders to sell as many newspapers as they can or grab the highest ratings? Surely you can see the problem. I think it says more about our society than it does about them.

Although I am vehemently opposed to the Fair Doctrine act (I consider is censorship,) I do attribute a big part of this problem to the rise of conservative talk radio programs that are very inflammatory and do not offer too much in the way of actual discourse. It just breeds anger and contempt. Your OP/ED pages on steroids, if you will. Of course you can counter that it is a reflection of our society and I would agree, except that in my opinion the hosts "fan the flames" and make the situation worse.

Fishgutz said...

Why is it that so many BO supporters think anyone who did not vote for him is a racist? To believe that one must believe that the only reason to vote for his is his skin color.
As for change? Mao brought change to China (50 million Chinese slaughtered) Stalin brought change to Russia. (>20 million dead) Hitler promised change too.
BO is not the "change" we need. But clearly enough people have failed to learn what the constitutional role of government is.
Bushes biggest mistakes were when he tried to "cooperate" with democrats. Republicans failed to stick to principals of smaller government and lower taxes.
And to Anon 11/6 @ 7:05 The US is not a socialist country. Envy seems to be the prime motivator among liberals. And BO has done everything he can to feed class warfare and hatred. BO even said he would create a federal tax on homes over 2000 square feet.
BO lives in a fantasy world where he dreams that one day someone sitting at home not working will receive the same paycheck as I do after 24 years in engineering. After all it is not "fair" that some of us are more productive than others. So tax them into submission.

Anonymous said...

Mark,

What was that you were saying about typical screed?

On second thought, and after reading Fishgutz, maybe the Fair Doctrine Act isn't such a bad idea.

Anonymous said...

James Garrity........what a EMPTY SUIT.

Most my wife and I have seen him do is set up chairs at a public meeting. We don't need a custodian; we need an effective Rep. to do the will of the people. He is in bed with the Atkinson Mafia. Hopefully, our new Rep will be there for us.

James Garrity is only working for the political MACHINE in Atkinson. Time to send him PACKING.

Anonymous said...

How can Garrity get more votes than registered voters in Atkinson? Polito (part of the Atkinson Mafia...must have not been paying attention as to how he set up the voting machines.

Anonymous said...

Hey Fishgutz, you still manage to crawl out from under your rock occassionally, eh? Anything we can do to facilitate your move to Alabama or somewhere South where your ignorance will fit in a little better?

Harass any handicapped kids lately? Mock them or taunt them with any good quips? Turd...