Transparency

Many politicians like to talk about transparency but really never understand or define it in a meaningful way to you.  I’m going to change that.  It’s simple.  Transparency means that you, the person paying the bills, know what you are getting for your money.  As an example, take the Financial Resource Mortgage Ponzi scheme.  Friends of mine called all the agencies responsible for overseeing companies like FRM before they invested.  The response from these supposed "watch dogs" of the health of companies like FRM: Don’t worry, we have no issues with FRM ... this, despite the fact that there were nearly ten years of reports about the vermin.  Based on this "clean" report of FRM’s health, my friends proceeded to invest and lose several hundred thousand dollars!  I just looked online at the Manchester Health Department’s inspection record of eating establishments and found that on March 11th, one restaurant had “...openings [that] have not been tightly sealed to prevent the entry of vermin.”  Why couldn’t all the financial regulatory and oversight agencies of FRM put what we now know was years of similar findings about “...the entry of vermin” into FRM?  At a bare minimum, we should know that there are "pending investigations" on these institutions.

As your governor, this practice will change.  We will post all findings from agencies, regardless whether they are inspecting restaurants or financial institutions online immediately so you, the person paying the bills, know what you are getting for your money.  This is true transparency.

While we are on the subject of transparency, let’s talk about checkbooks (or more likely today, credit card statements).  Most of you can go online right now and find all your charges or checks for any given period-of-time, in most cases up to yesterday, if not sooner.  Why can’t you do this for all the expenditures by all the departments in the State?  Sure we can find a copy of the budget on line, but that is just how those in Concord plan to spend of our money.  What you really want to know is who receives that money, why and when.  And, I want you to know this because you are the best auditors we have.  That’s how vigilant Windsor citizens found discrepancies in the town’s property tax system.  As your Governor I will put our state’s checkbook online.  Well run companies know this level of detail, and so will you.  Join me in bringing real transparency to New Hampshire.  

See you at the polls on September 14th!

Scouting... Our Next Generation of Real Men

At a time of celebrating the Centennial of the Boy Scouts of America, President Obama just thumbed his nose at the Boy Scouts and decided an interview on “The View” was a more valuable use of his time.  In 1988 my husband and I had the honor to watch our youngest son, Matt, receive his Eagle Scout award at the World Jamboree in Australia as a "Lone Scout."   A few years before that our oldest son, Pat, earned his Eagle award while we were stationed in Ohio.  Today three of our five grandsons are in Boy Scouts and in a few years all of them will follow in the foot steps of their father, grandfather and great-grandfather.   Without a doubt, the Boy Scouts is a beacon of light in a dark sea of political correctness. 

Scouting helps dads mold their sons into men in a society that tries to feminize and degrade them.  When was the last time you watched a sit-com on TV that didn’t portray the husband or father as a doofus who but for the smart females, or children would be a complete failure?  This is what Hollywood believes.  We can do better.  

We need to change this and make organizations like the Boy Scouts an important part of our son’s lives.  When we do this, we raise them to be responsible men.  When we do this we strengthen our families. When we strengthen families we reduce fractured families and the cost to our citizens and our state.  Help me do this.  Become a Scout leader and enroll your sons in Scouting.  As your Governor I will be honored to pin the Eagle Scout award on your son’s chest.

The unborn are not potential persons, but human persons with great potential.

In the coming weeks, you will hear me discuss the topic of the sanctity of life many times.  It is my firm belief that a respect for life is the fundamental principle that is the bedrock of our constitutional republic.

“Respect for life is the belief that human beings have a value that transcends all our human capacity to count or measure, which confers upon them an elevated status that must be honored or revered.” (Gushee)

That is a mouthful, but absolutely critical to understand. Even firm Christians and pro-lifers waver at times to uphold this ethic one hundred percent of the time. To love thy neighbor - this includes “the weak, the enemy, the disabled, the stranger, the unborn, the sinner, the poor, the ex-friend” (Gushee) - is one of the most difficult commandments to keep.

While we must remain cognizant of the entire spectrum of the sanctity of life, let us look at abortion. Since Roe v. Wade, there have been an estimated fifty million aborted children. What is the rational? Simply, the right (convenience) of the woman outweighs the right to life of the unborn child.  This supposition is based on a warped definition of personhood.

From a scientific point of view, there is no doubt life begins at fertilization and ends at natural death. For supporters of abortion, personhood only begins at some defining moment after fertilization. For some, it is when brain waves are first detected at around the forty-day mark. For others, it occurs when the baby gains the ability to feel and sense as a conscious being, which occurs as early as the second week of the second trimester. Some have even taken it to extremes, such as pro-abortion feminist Mary Anne Warren, by defining that moment when life begins as when the child is able to engage in sophisticated communication, has problem solving skills, performs self-motivated activity AND has developed concept of self!

The moment of personhood MUST be established at fertilization.  The unborn are not potential persons, but human persons with great potential. If we deviate from this view, we devalue life and move down that road into that “brave new world” envisioned by Huxley in which future generations become disposable commodities.

According to Republican leaders, it is just fine to endorse a candidate who agrees with the party 80% of the time over a candidate who aligns completely with the principles of the party.  The 20% of the equation that is almost always excluded is LIFE.   No more 80% Republicans!  Just another Republican is not good enough. 

As governor of New Hampshire I will fight to restore a culture of life in this great stat.  I will work with the legislature to reinstate our Parental Notification bill.   I will request my attorney general examine end of life laws and be a voice for personal responsibility and a culture of life.  To become the governor who will work to restore a respect for life, I need your help.  Together we will make a difference.

Works Cited

Gushee, D. P. (n.d.). The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity. Retrieved July 18, 2010, from http://www.cbhd.org/content/sanctity-life-0

Letter in the Union Leader - Linda Twombly

In the July 14th edition of the Union Leader (page C4) you can find this article by Linda Twombly:


"I met Karen Testerman in February when she spoke at the Nashua Republican City Committee meeting. I was impressed by her manner of speaking. She has a gentle spirit and I wanted to know more about her.   She is credible both morally and on issues facing fiscal responsibility. I know that I can trust her to do what she says she will do. Our Governor has not stayed true to the promises he has made to the people of New Hampshire.

Over the last four years New Hampshire has lost its NH advantage due to the out of control spending in Concord. It concerns me as a grandparent that our grandchildren are already in debt from the excess spending.

It is time for New Hampshire’s voters to step up to the plate and support Karen Testerman for Governor, both by your vote and financially. She is a fiscal Conservative and will bring spending back to a reality. She will also work to bring our state back to the type of state the founding fathers would be proud of."

Thank you Linda for your kind words!

Is our motto “Live Free or Die” or “Live Off the State and Wither”?

New Hampshire has been a hotbed  for free thinking, independent minded people since our very foundation – so independent, in early American history we tried to conquer Canada whenever the mood took us and all but allied with Great Britain during the War of 1812.  While most of us do not look back at these moments with pride (especially since our best effort at invading Canada only resulted in one of our own shooting himself in the foot), these examples are indicative of the spirit of New Hampshire which has until recently imparted our state with enormous prosperity often referred to as The New Hampshire Advantage. 

So what happened to us?  Why do we continually cede our will to the government’s will?  Why can we not see that dependence on federal, state and local handouts inevitably leads to a decline in personal responsibility and to a culture of entitlement?  Why can we not see that the more government taxes those that succeed the more it reduces the incentive to succeed?  When government interferes with the engines of industry through overregulation and onerous taxation to the extent that the Lynch administration has the result is general decline.  Entrepreneurship declines.  Successful businesses stop hiring, freeze wages, slow development and research and are often forced to either close doors or leave town.  Our children are forced to leave the state to find rewarding careers.  Ultimately we become financially and morally bankrupt.

The evidence is clear: under just five years with a progressive minded yes-man in the corner office our business friendliness rating has dropped from #14 to #34 in the nation, unemployment is at its highest point in twenty years, the budget deficit is $300 million dollars despite over 100 proposed additional taxes, and the younger generation is leaving the state en masse.  If we are to bring back The New Hampshire Advantage, we must redevelop that uniquely New Hampshire spirit of independence.  This revolution has to start at the home, in the families and in our schools.  As a civil servant who wants to see her grand children inherit the state we once knew, I will fight to let you reclaim your independence.

Service Above Self

A Great Lady Passes

Pamela Murphy, widow of WWII hero and actor, Audie Murphy, died peacefully at her home on April 8, 2010. She was the widow of the most decorated WWII hero and actor, Audie Murphy, and established her own distinctive 35 year career working as a patient liaison at the Sepulveda Veterans Administration hospital, treatingevery veteran who visited the facility as if they were a VIP.

Any soldier or Marine who came into the hospital got the same special treatment from her. She would walk the hallways with her clipboard in hand making sure her boys got to see the specialist they needed.

If they didn't, watch out. Her boys weren't Medal of Honor recipients or movie stars like Audie, but that didn't matter to Pam. They had served their country. That was good enough for her.  She never called a veteran by his first name. It was always "Mister." Respect came with the job.

"Nobody could cut through VA red tape faster than Mrs. Murphy," said veteran Stephen Sherman, speaking for thousands of veterans she befriended over the years. "Many times I watched her march a veteran who had been waiting more than an hour right into the doctor's office.  She was even reprimanded a few times, but it didn't matter to Mrs. Murphy. "Only her boys mattered. She was our angel." 

 Audie Murphy died broke in a plane crash in 1971, squandering millions of dollars on gambling, bad investments, and yes, other women.  "Even with the adultery and desertion at the end, he always remained my hero," Pam told me.  

She went from a comfortable ranch-style home in Van Nuys where she raised two sons to a small apartment - taking a clerk's job at the nearby VA to support herself and start paying off her faded movie star husband's debts.  At first, no one knew who she was. Soon, though, word spread throughthe VA that the nice woman with the clipboard was Audie Murphy's widow. It was like saying General Patton had just walked in the front door. Men with tears in their eyes walked up to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank you," they said, over and over.

The first couple of years, I think the hugs were more for Audie's memory as a war hero. The last 30 years, they were for Pam. 

 One year I asked her to be the focus of a Veteran's Day column for all the work she had done. Pam just shook her head no.

"Honor them, not me," she said, pointing to a group of veterans down the hallway. "They're the ones who deserve it."

The vets disagreed. Mrs. Murphy deserved the accolades, they said.  Incredibly, in 2002, Pam's job was going to be eliminated in budget cuts. She was considered "excess staff."  "I don't think helping cut down on veterans' complaints and showing them the respect they deserve, should be considered excess staff," she told me.  Neither did the veterans. They went ballistic, holding a rally for her outside the VA gates.  Pretty soon, word came down from the top of the VA. Pam Murphy was no longer considered "excess staff." 

 She remained working full time at the VA until 2007 when she was 87.  

"The last time she was here was a couple of years ago for the conference we had for homeless veterans," said Becky James, coordinator of the VA's Veterans History Project.   Pam wanted to see if there was anything she could do to help some more of her boys.  Pam Murphy was 90 when she died last week. What a lady.

 Dennis McCarthy, Los Angeles Times on April 15, 2010 

Strong Family Support Needed

More than forty years ago I watched my husband go off to the Vietnam war.  He spent two of the next four years flying combat missions over Viet Nam.  During that I and our two sons waited anxiously for the letters and infrequent calls, but most importantly we waited for his safe return.  During this time, we and the other military families kept the home fires burning.  We supported each other. We didn’t expect much from the rear echelon staff at the base.  What we did though was work very hard to keep our families together because we knew it was this stability that gave our husbands strength to continue.  In fact, of over 30 B-52 aircrews deployed from our base and in the four year period I do not remember one divorce.  Was this just a fluke?  I don’t think so.  I believe it was because we knew we were responsible for our own decisions and actions.  We knew it was about commitment.  We did this in the face of protestors at the gate and across the nation.  We did this in the face of losses as some of the husbands went down over North Vietnam. We did it because we knew in our hearts that an intact and supportive family was critically necessary.  The same is true today.

Fast forward to almost 30 years later and our two sons were flying combat missions over Kosovo.  There were still SAMs to dodge, but times had changed.  There were no protestors at the gate and our military was being honored and respected.  The internet was alive and well and almost daily contact with home was possible.  What did not changed was the need for strong families. What also did not change: our daughters-in-law and other spouses kept the home fires burning.  These families supported each other, and later, as the wars in the Gulf ensued, they did the same as their husbands and wives went back to war.  They did it because an intact and supportive family is as critically necessary today as much as it was then. 

But what has changed is the uncertainty of divorce.  Commitment to our oath of marriage changed.

But the foundations of our society did not change.  We still need strong stable families.

I am not saying that better pay and care of our troops is not necessary.  I am not saying that we don’t need to honor our troops.  I am not saying that caring for our veterans is not necessary.  What I am saying is that what makes our nation secure are the dedicated troops backed by strong, intact families.  And it is not just the families of our troops that are critical.  It is every family in this country.  

The single most important factor that defines the success of our country is an intact family.  This is true no matter what you use to measure it.  To paraphrase an old adage, intact families are by any measure, healthier, wealthier, and wiser.