Clausewitz.

This will be my last protestation blog before the Executive Council vote on item #75 on Wednesday.

I'm thinking about making one last phone call to Executive Councilor Ray Burton who has said he "is leaning in favor of voting for this." Some $3.86 million for consultant's fees which leads to over $350 million dollars in new spending which New Hampshire does not have.

But before I make my last argument I was hoping in the realm of politics and the "art of the possible" that Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern being an MBA graduate from Dartmouth might take some time to consider the sheer financial impact of this whole flawed idea and his office then becomes the swing vote and New Hampshire could be (lack of better words) saved for another day.

It isn't to be the case.

Councilor Van Ostern is a cheerleader for this massive spending program I don't believe Lying Lozeau could even better his public relations skills in this area.

Let's move on.

I'm going to try to tell Councilor Burton that Vermont and Maine face the similar situation as does New Hampshire except there're doing it correctly. Building a railroad infastructure around the profitable movement of freight and then advancing passenger rail once this is completed.

Build the freight first and the rest will come.

And here is the interesting point. What Vermont and Maine are doing isn't raking the taxpayers over the coals the way New Hampshire is. Acually it isn't affecting the taxbase at all. These states are working in concert with both the users and potential users of rail and then picking small infastructure improvements: $5-$10 million dollar range and advancing jobs and policy from there.

And it's working.

The New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority, Lying Lozeau and Political Peter don't want to do it the way Vermont and Maine are doing it.

They want to do it their way.

Executive Council Item #75.

Executive Council Item #75.

And here it is.

Scheduled for the Governor and Executive Council meeting for February 6th, 2013 at the NH Statehouse.

#75 Authorize the Bureau of Rail and Transit to enter into an agreement with URS Corporation, Salem, NH, and San Francisco, CA, to undertake a study of the Boston MA to Concord NH rail corridor, to analyze transit options in the corridor including the viability of establishing passenger rail service on this line, for an amount not to exceed $3,655,752. The two-part study will include an Alternatives Analysis for rail and transit in the Lowell-Nashua-Manchester portion of the corridor and a service development plan for intercity passenger rail in the corridor between Boston and Concord. Effective upon G&C approval through December 31, 2014. 88.75% Federal, 11.25% General Funds.

$3.6 million dollars to study some 39 miles of railroad line to see if there is a feasibility of moving passengers on it.

This goes beyond "business as usual" in the political context. This is the wholesale slaughter of the NH taxpayer by the very individuals that are elected as advocates for these same taxpayers.

I've asked you before and I'm asking you again please contact your Executive Councilor and ask them to vote NO on item #75.

Status Update: Rail. Waiting For The Gauntlet.

So I checked the agenda items for the Executive Council today. The last Governor and Council meeting was on January 16^th and nothing has been stated or updated for the two Governor and Council meetings scheduled for February which are the 6^th and the 20^th.

It’s February 1^st. No agenda items listed for a meeting five days away.

I’m now wondering if the Nashua politicians including Lying Lozeau have signed purchase and sales agreement(s) for the real estate they want for this expensive politically connected rail service into Boston.

This whole thing is surrounded by questionable issues and actions and yet it still seems to be as Fergus Cullen puts it: on track to passage.

And it will change New Hampshire forever.

Little Entente Politicians.

Politics and Truth often move in opposite directions. This is true in New Hampshire.I’ve long been fascinated with and a student of World War II history. More specifically, the military and geopolitical action(s) on the eastern front basically from 1941-1945.

This whole field gets more and more interesting as the former Soviet Union is releasing more and more information about what happened from their perspective especially some of the documents related to Hungary, Romania and Slovakia and some of the Balkan and Caucuses regions like Azerbaijan.

Politics and truth often move in opposite directions…

Similar to world history the same is true if not more here in New Hampshire. Recently, I found this UTUBE video with footage that I haven’t ever seen before. So I thought I’d share it:

The first part is straightforward showing the surrender of France and then it moves to what I believe is the signing of the 'Little Entente' agreement showing Ion Antonesceau of Romania. It was in my mind almost as impressive as the Bretton Woods Monetary Conference in Bretton Woods, N.H.

I’ll leave it to you to decide which one of these events featured more lies, deception, manipulation and the outcome of politics.

Politics and truth often move in opposite directions…

I think facts are now showing that after the signing of the Little Entente agreement that a nervous Czechlovakia tried every form of ethical based politics and diplomacy to save its own self centered view of the world especially so with its negotiations (I say ex-parte) with Poland, Soviet Union and ultimately England. All this lead into the later Munich Agreement and politicians like the Neville Chamberlain practice of global based form of diplomacy, don’t get too close but stay far enough away.  This practice continues to this very day.

May history and the truth march on.

The Request. A Precis.

This will be a short blog, likely not the most well organized as I just got off a tough shift in the salt mines.

Let’s get going.

So I got in touch with Executive Councilor Ray Burton and asked that he vote no on the upcoming state contract to study passenger rail from Boston up to Nashua and later Manchester and Concord.

“I’m leaning towards voting for this.” Burton said.

I tried to counter. And I’ll put it with no success. So I asked if this project is either viable or even affordable at some $450 million dollars against a backdrop of deficits and debt ceilings. He responded by talking about the Amtrak Downeaster and the process of how this train came to be including the substantial financial subsidies.

I then tried a different tactic. “How does this benefit District #1?” I asked. He answered that the ski areas might be able to send a bus to meet the train in Concord.

$450 Million Dollar Ski Trains.

I’ll share more of this conversation at a later time when I have more energy.

In the meantime please contact your Executive Councilor about this upcoming state contract vote.