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By JONI STAIGERS HALEY

Joni Staigers Haley lives in New Boston. 

The NH Supreme Court has reaffirmed that the state must increase education adequacy payments (Monitor, July 1), but in so doing has provided no specific dollar amount or strict timetable for the legislature to act. It feels like back to the future — a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs (again) but a ruling with no teeth (again). This is not Groundhog Day. It is Groundhog Decade.

Regarding James Mayotte’s letter “Peaceful Protests,” (July 1), I do wish that all peaceful protest remained peaceful. However, If I were being grabbed off the street by armed masked people who would not identify themselves, say where they were taking me, or letting me contact family, I might be grateful if passerbys intervened.

Pew Research Center estimates that 85% of white evangelical Protestants vote Republican and 75 % Latter-day Saints vote Republican. Christian Nationalism is a political ideology that advocates for national policies that are based on Christianity and Christian values. There appears to be a connection with white nationalism. Both the evangelical and Mormon denominations are predominately white.

President Trump is reported to have told Congress to ignore the national debt and conclude the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” The spending bill would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. Currently the national debt stands at $36 trillion and costs us $1 trillion a year just to service that debt. That is 16% of total budget. Any increase in the debt means more even higher debt cost.

According to the Forbes 2025 Global Billionaire list, 902 billionaires live in the United States. Elon Musk tops the list, with Jeff Bezos third with an estimated net worth of $215 billion. For context it would take 75 years of spending over 13 million dollars annually to disburse one billion dollars.

“This bill is a farce” – Senator Angus King (I - ME). “Imagine a bunch of guys sitting around a table saying, ‘I’ve got a great idea. Let’s give $32,000 worth of tax breaks to a millionaire and we’ll pay for it by taking health insurance away from lower-income and middle-income people. And to top it off, how about we cut food stamps, we cut SNAP, we cut food aid to people?’... I’ve been in this business of public policy now for 20 years, eight years as governor, 12 years in the United States Senate. I have never seen a bill this bad. I have never seen a bill that is this irresponsible, regressive, and downright cruel.”

This morning I read the article by Fisto Ndayishimiye (6/20/25) and was very moved. I grew up in Concord’s south end in a neighborhood with one (of only two at the time, I believe) Black family. DeeDee, as we called her, was one of my best buddies growing up, and the whole family was always welcoming to me as was ours to them.

When Gov. Ayotte was running for office she met with the Clergy Caucus of the Granite State Organizing Project to discuss important budget issues, such as housing and food shortage in support of the most vulnerable Granite Staters. She pledged to keep up these important conversations if elected. Unfortunately, she has not kept her word.

Please explain to me why the Republican Party:

As someone who has a disability and relies on state and federal services to live independently, I try to vote in my local elections whenever possible. Thanks to the pilot program started this year, I can finally vote independently and privately in my local municipal elections.

The Pew Research Center estimates that there are between 10.5 and 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. A very small percentage of this total are actually criminals. Research shows that immigrants are in fact 60% less likely to commit crimes than documented U.S. citizens.

In response to ‘In protests, Republicans see midterm opportunity’ (June 18): ,So the right believes that the visuals of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles responding to a “crisis” completely fabricated by Donald Trump and his manipulators will benefit them in the midterm elections 17 months from now.

President Trump is trying to destroy our democratic form of government. Democratic state attorneys-general are fighting to prevent this. They have a good record suing the Trump regime and DOGE and restoring large cuts in Congressional approved funds meant for the states, scientific and medical research and local non-profit organizations. In 20 weeks they have won 23 lawsuits restoring these funds to their states.

A huge thank you to Concord’s Capital Center for the Arts for bringing Taj Majal and Keb Mo here for a wonderful concert on June 3. There was delightful music and some songs with a great message. From their newest recording spring the lyrics, “Come on up, there’s room on the porch for everyone.”

Since Trump’s much-ballyhooed DOGE has been fully revealed as catastrophically inept and ineffective, I offer my services to root out real fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer money. With absolutely no impact on any citizen or group, we can eliminate $600-700 million of clear, unequivocal waste and abuse in three easy steps.

Today, we heard that, after three months, the U.S. government finally obeyed the court order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. Immediately, the Trump administration came up with new allegations of his involvement in human trafficking. Charges that were never mentioned before, and he has not had the opportunity to challenge the allegations in court.

Tucked into HB2, the state budget trailer bill, is Section 426, a provision that threatens both our public schools and our state constitution. Section 426 is a “Legislative Declaration of Authority” that challenges decades of New Hampshire Supreme Court rulings, including Claremont I and II, which affirmed that the state — and not local property taxpayers — is responsible for funding an adequate education. These rulings are essential for towns like Newport, Claremont and so many others, where low property values lead to high tax rates and under-resourced schools.

My relationship to the talented home of Bethlehem began in 1985, when my wife and I purchased a small piece of land, less than two acres. We are about a mile from the NCES landfill, and there have been many discussions between the citizens and taxpayers of Bethlehem over the next forty years. I currently work overseas for a NATO member country’s Department of Defense. Our only home in the USA is in Bethlehem, about a mile from the NCES landfill.

My husband and I are parents of two adult children who graduated from the Kearsarge Regional School District. Each of them had different learning styles. Each of them learned to work cooperatively with groups of people other than their friends or like-minded individuals. I cannot think of a more valuable skill needed in today’s world.

My name is Michelle Lambert, and I live in the small town of Andover. I love our close-knit community — but I’m deeply worried about its future.