Letter: Unintended consequences

In the recent kerfuffle regarding HB 148, the so-called "bathroom bill," one point was overlooked. HB 148 would legislate that a trans man (someone born biologically female but identifying as a man) could be required to use a bathroom designated as "women's."

Letter: Great roads ‘and Howe’

Now that winter is probably over, I would like to give a well-deserved thanks to Tyler Howe and his hard-working crew at the Hancock Highway Department for keeping our roads open and safe during a particularly stormy winter.

Letter: Save the State Commission on Aging

As former chair of the State Committee on Aging, which worked for years to raise awareness of aging issues in New Hampshire and established the current State Commission on Aging, I was shocked to see the negative actions of the Finance Committee to abolish this educational resource for our New Hampshire older adults.

Viewpoint: Robert Beck – Autocrats abound

‘Poor man wanna be rich

Letter: Kudos to Jonah Wheeler

In reference to the article in the March 27 edition regarding state Rep. Jonah Wheeler, I would like to say it was a true breath of fresh air to read about a Democra using common sense and good judgment and not out burning Teslas.

Letter: Self-determination is at stake

HB 675, currently before the NH state Legislature, caps all school district budgets at 2026 levels, with inflation-based adjustments only.

Letter: The ventrioquist and his dummy

Many today at risk of losing their Social Security benefits will remember the Charlie McCarthy/Edgar Bergen show and relate to its parallel performance in today’s White House. The only problem is distinguishing who is speaking and who is the dummy.

Letter: Medicaid is a lifeline

For more than 30 years, my husband has lived with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Until five years ago, I didn’t know much about Medicaid. That changed when my husband suffered several significant MS exacerbations that led to hospital and rehab stays.

Letter: Defining ‘discomfort’

M. Scott McGovern wrote (“Discomfort is not risk”) that people competing by gender with which they identified until qualifying for national competitions is fine. I disagree. My daughter won Alpine and snowboard races saying she only won by seconds. How will girls who win by seconds do in competitions with those born as male?

Viewpoint: L. Phillips Runyon III – A better angel of ourselves

We're approaching a day that still lives in infamy 160 years later. This April 14 will be eight score years since the disgruntled younger brother of famed Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth decided to make an infamous name for himself by murdering Abraham Lincoln.  

Letter: Discomfort is not risk

I respectfully disagree with Jonah Wheeler’s position on HR148. First, “safety” is used as an argument for having bathroom use restricted to the gender assigned at birth. I strongly suspect that transgender women forced to use a male bathroom face a far greater risk of physical and emotional violence from anti-trans males than do cis women encountering transgender women in a women’s bathroom. People may feel uncomfortable, yes, but this is not the same as risk.

Letter: Stance on trans women threatens Democrats

From 2015 to 2023, I led a community that welcomes LBTQ people. I helped the Pride movement. I would like to continue discussions on supporting trans women without putting women and girls at risk.

Letter: Dismay and disappointment

I was both dismayed and disappointed to learn that our representatives voted for the so-called "bathroom bill," but I was particularly dismayed with the excerpts of Rep. Jonah Wheeler's speech. A bogus argument like the one in his speech (women, even one, need to "feel safe" in the bathroom) has been used many times to argue for discrimination against minorities. For example, in the name of "feeling safe," Blacks in this country were at one time unfairly excluded from bathrooms, lunch counters and buses. Likewise, Chinese and other minority families were redlined into certain districts in cities and towns, and Irish immigrants were deprived of schooling and job opportunities. Wheeler also ignores the need for a transgender man or woman to "feel safe.”

Viewpoint: Cutting taxes, Republican-style

By MARK FERNALD

New Hampshire Republicans spend a lot of time talking about tax cuts, but they conveniently fail to mention that the tax cuts have overwhelmingly benefitted the wealthiest people and the largest corporations.

Letter: Other issues deserve concern

The League of Women Voters listening session March 25 at Peterborough Library was crowded with much contention, yelling and commotion, instead of listening. Someone hollered "No" to women having rights. Male declaring female or female declaring male was half the audience's emphasis.

Editorial: The right thing takes courage

At a listening session last Tuesday at Peterborough Town Library, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, State Rep. Jonah Wheeler faced a passionate and largely negative response to his vote supporting a bill that “permits classification of individuals based on biological sex in lavatory facilities and locker rooms, sporting competitions, and detention facilities.”

Viewpoint: A defeat for public schools

By JOHN MCCARTHY

In Rindge and Jaffrey, March 11 was a sad day for supporters of public education. Voters approved a $3 million cut to the school district budget and refused a $16 million grant to build a Career and Technical Education (CTE) center at Conant Middle High School.

Viewpoint: Robert Beck – Key drivers of foreign policy

The late-February dustup in the Oval Office between team Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was certainly entertaining political drama.  Strip away the vituperative rancor, however, and the exchange also offered a fascinating exhibition of some of the key elements that influence a nation’s ability to successfully operate in the international arena. 

VIEWPOINT: Julie Zimmer – Cutting off a path to legal immigration

By JULIE ZIMMER

The Trump administration has repeatedly stressed that its focus is to deport violent criminals who entered the United States illegally. According to the president, he wants to deport “the worst first.” Few people would argue with that goal.

Letter: Protect libraries

On Friday, March 14, an executive order was issued calling for the reduction and elimination of key functions of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), an independent federal agency that supports libraries and museums across all 50 states and U.S. territories. This decision will have a significant impact on residents of New Ipswich and communities throughout New Hampshire.