7 miles off New Hampshire‘s diminutive but welcoming and sparkling shoreline, Lie the isles of shoals, a small grouping of islands, really spits of land exist. Most are uninhabitable, but two of them, AppleDore and Star Island, Have been the homes of fishermen in the past, and now host visitors, Mainly scientists and college students at Appledore, and families and conference gatherings at Star. You can see the sparkling oceanic house from the shoreline, especially at night, as twinkling lights offshore. Those lights were dimmed last summer because of the pandemic. But in a short time, Joe Watts, chief executive officer of the star island corporation nonprofit, will reopen the sprawling structure to the public once again.
Tag: NH
A River runs through it, Franklin New Hampshire that is. The Winnipesaukee river, which attracts many water sports fans, will become the first white water park in New England starting this summer. It’s called the Mill city park at Franklin Falls. It has been six years in the planning, and the man-made built concrete standing waves are expected to attract River surfers and their fans far beyond the Granite State. And that is just the beginning for the Central New Hampshire city which used to be the home of working mills. In this podcast, Roger Wood speaks to the people who have worked for six years to make this coming attraction possible.
From a person for whom I highly admire and respect
MY NAME is Lily Tang Williams and I grew up in Communist China under the reign of Mao Zedong during a painful era called the Cultural Revolution. The origins of the Cultural Revolution preceded my birth, when a Western ideology, Marxism, was injected into China by Mao.
Marxism would later evolve into Maoism. Like all forms of Marxism, Maoism epitomized the worst in humanity: division, hatred, envy, and vengeance. Unlike most revolutions, the Cultural Revolution was not a war against a regime, but a regime-inspired holy war against its own people, society, and culture. Mao’s Cultural Revolution sought to destroy the “Four Olds”: traditional ideas, culture, habits, and customs. Through it, he led a campaign to silence dissident opinions, purge his political enemies, and, in the process, destroy age-old social institutions and gain absolute power.
Identity politics was a hallmark of Maoism, dividing people into five “red classes” and five “black classes.” The “red classes” were identified as poor and lower-middle-class peasants, workers, revolutionary soldiers, cadres, and revolutionary martyrs. The “black classes” were landlords, rich farmers, counter-revolutionaries, bad-influencers, and rightists. Mao shut down the schools and universities, urged the Red Guard (urban youth) to hate and hold “Struggle Sessions” to shame the black classes publicly by forcing them to self-criticize, confess their “crimes” and denounce themselves. The consequences for defiance were assault, torture, or imprisonment at a “re-education” camp. Some children were so brainwashed they would even change their surnames, cut ties with their families, and publicly denounce and betray their families.
Mao’s Cultural Revolution was a top to bottom orchestrated social justice movement like no other. An estimated 20 million Chinese died during the Cultural Revolution due to Mao’s toxic ideas and murderous policies. Today in China, no memorials or museums to those of this forgotten holocaust exist; even the phrase “Cultural Revolution” is banned on the Internet by the Chinese government.
In today’s populist, racially-charged “social justice” movement in America, I see the shadows of the Cultural Revolution in Critical Race Theory (CRT), and in the ideology that inspired this movement. For those unfamiliar with CRT, it is the idea that American law, society, and institutions are inherently racist. Whites are born racist because of the cultural domination by White people in furthering their own economic and political power at the expense of “people of color.”
After I left China for America at the age of 23, arriving in Austin with nothing more than a suitcase, I discovered Texas to be filled with the kindest and most generous people I have ever encountered. There I was, a stranger in a strange land, being invited into American homes and offered help. Now, 33 years later, I am living the American Dream. This is not something one would expect to happen to a non-White, non-English speaking foreigner in a country that is “systemically racist.” My experience is certainly not unique. Many people of color agree with me that America has made huge progress since the Civil Rights Movement.
While CRT and Maoism are not identical ideologies, they share five features in common. The first is the development of a quasi-religious following of zealous youth devoted to unrestrained destruction of what is old to advance that which is new. Whereas Mao called for traditional Chinese culture to be destroyed, CRT calls for “dismantling systems of oppression,” which, like Mao’s definition of “the old,” is subjectively dependent on what they define as oppressive. The second feature is that both ideologies reduce complex problems to the classical Marxist dichotomy: society is constituted of those who “oppress” and those who are oppressed. CRT divides society into oppressor class (White) and oppressed class (people of color). Third, the processes in CRT training are similar to those in Struggle Sessions: writing self-criticizing letters, apologizing for being born White, public shaming, instilling guilt and hatred. Fourth, both ideologies are taught to school-age children without parental consent. The students are made to feel ashamed and guilty about their family history going back generations. Children are taught and trained to be “social justice warriors” by advocating for racial equity, which is about wealth redistribution. Fifth, the chaos, violence, identity politics and social division conjured up by both ideologies open the way for political factions to systematically divide and conquer until usurpation of the existing political system is one check-mate away.
I genuinely believed that the spirit of American individualism would resist the Siren’s song of Marxism that I left behind. I was naïve. It once again returns under a different name — as it always does — and now threatens to poison America, my refuge. This time, however, I have nowhere to run. I plead with you, learn from this immigrant’s story and the lessons of history — fight back.
Lily Tang Williams is co-chair of New Hampshire Asian American Coalition. She lives in Weare.
Should New Hampshire businesses be exempt from employee lawsuits when those working are affected by the covid virus while at the job? The New Hampshire Business and industry Association thinks so. That’s why they are continuing their push for safe harbor legislation. I spoke to David Creer, Director of public policy about the issue.
In the aftermath of insurrection at the nation’s capitol, I speak with the daughter of a senator caught in the riot’s crossfire, and a university professor about the consequences of the insurrection.
I was reading recently an article in the world news that struck me to the core. In North Korea, where peoples’ liberties don’t really exist whatsoever. A sailor out at sea Was listening to a foreign broadcast out of curiosity. Unfortunately for him, a crewmate that heard him turned him into the authorities. The result of that was a firing squad execution in front of other sailors and their officers. It could also result in the death sentence if anyone in the authoritarianism country listens to anything other than state Radio.
And on my favorite network radio channel I heard a German man who was definitely disturbed because of the COVID-19 restrictions placed on him and his fellow Germans. He said that the lockdown is continuing and that people are not allowed to go out without a mask, sing in church or celebrate Christmas at all. No shopping, no gathering and no joy. Furthermore his son was waiting for a bus when a police officer noticed that he wasn’t wearing a mask. That resulted in a €150 fine. He also reflected back on the dictatorship of the 30s and 40s in the country when such liberties were also restricted. He pointed out quite sadly that today’s restrictions somewhat resemble those. In England they have established several zones, with varying degrees of restrictions. The people I have talked to on the radio usually resent those, but have no control over what is required.
Certainly we Americans are facing stricter times. Some states require facemasks on public property, they also limit gatherings, and break up possible super spreader parties. But the holiday shopping season has continued unabated and people are still planning to invite close family members to their gatherings.
While most stores require masks to be worn, many customers disregard that and even threaten or harm the poor employees that ask them to do so. I have not personally heard of any fines being levied against people that disregard the mask rule. They claim it as a right for a person’s choice, but that choice may not only harm themselves but others, keeping the virus alive.
As Americans, we have certain rights passed down by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I don’t believe that people should be locked down in England or fined in Europe for not wearing a mask,
But I do believe it should be our responsibility for protecting our families and the public from COVID-19.
Happy new year!
She is one of Joe Biden‘s most ardent supporters. And for Mary Carrie Foley of Portsmouth, that enthusiasm goes way back to the 80s, the 1980s. She is also an elector for the electoral college. And she will cast her vote in her native state of New Hampshire. This podcast was originally published on IndepthNH.org
Here’s hoping that Mary Carey Foley will be at the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
How do I introduce myself without sounding like an old geezer? Because if I tell you I’ve had 50 years in journalism already, you’ll know the answer. If I may say so myself, I think I’ve done it all in the business. Started out in radio news and stuck with journalism for the rest of my career for the most part. Had some experience with newspapers for a while, wrote hundreds of stories actually. Little bit of television, and now podcasting for InDepthNH.org. I predicted back in 2005 that podcasting would be The medium for the future. Now, it seems like everybody is doing it, large corporations and small businesses. Just about anyone can do it. The reason is for one thing it’s very inexpensive to get on the Internet radio. Bring a computer and a microphone, but also bring some content people will listen to. It’s kind of ironic that even radio stations broadcasting over the airwaves podcast as well. I hope you will join me on this journey in print and podcasts on InDepthNH.org. Cheers for now.