Monday, April 24, 2023

EP 93 Judge Richard Daschbach - "A Lucky and Blessed Life"

 Richard J. Daschbach



Judge Richard Daschbach
 "A Lucky and Blessed Life"

I first met "Dick" Daschbach when we served together in the NH House of Representatives (1986-1988). Dick and I formed an immediate bond and along with our colleagues, particularly V. Michael Hutchings and Deborah "Arnie" Arnesen, we formed the backbone of a "peanut gallery" sitting at the back of Reps Hall together and offering a running commentary on the proceedings to one another.




Dick's first job after college but before Law School was as a worker in the US Senate Post Office. He worked a half day and went to Law School the other half.

In 1967 He and his wife vacationed in NH on Lake Spoffard and fell in love with NH. Shortly after that they bought a home in Walpole, NH. He became a legal services lawyer for the area.

New Hampshire would turn out to be Dick and Virginia's "Spot on the Porch" for the balance of their lives (so far!)

On the last day of class in his first year of Georgetown Law School Dick received a call from the office of Senator Russell Long asking him to come and work for Sen. Long. On that same day his first child was born and Dick was appointed as Maritime Counsel to Long's Merchant Marine Committee. US Senate: Office of the legendary Senator Russell Long of Louisianna. Senator Long was the son of Huey Long, also a legendary figure in Louisiana politics.

He was appointed Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. Richard retired from that position upon the election of Ronald Reagan.

Assistant to the President: Seafarer's Union, a Union representing the men and women who work on US flagged ships. Trying to raise the work standards all over the world so US ships, and employees, could be more competitive.

At 74 he was appointed Chief Judge of the Federal Workers Compensation Appeals Board, a position he would hold for 4 years before returning to New Hampshire full time in his retirement.

Note: About a pocket veto, mentioned in the podcast: 



Timing is everything with a pocket veto. Congress has the authority to override a pocket veto. However, the process for overriding a pocket veto is different from the process for overriding a regular veto.
When the President takes no action on a bill and Congress is in session, the bill becomes law after 10 days without the President's signature. However, if Congress adjourns before the 10 days are up, the President can use a pocket veto to effectively kill the bill.

If Congress is still in session after the 10-day period has elapsed and the President has not signed the bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, if Congress has adjourned before the 10-day period has elapsed, there is no opportunity for Congress to override the pocket veto. In this case, the bill dies and must be reintroduced in the next session of Congress.




Saturday, April 22, 2023

EP 92 Edith Tucker - Journalism and Life: Purpose Driven and Down to Earth

 


Edith Tucker


Edith Tucker

Journalism and Life: Purpose Driven and Down to Earth

Described by the great John Harrigan as a first-rate journalist, Edith Tucker had already experienced a full and consequential life before a later life conversion to journalist. She dropped out of college to marry and then, in addition to raising four children, she got involved in local government, first in Pelham, NY and then in Wellesley, MA where she served as Chair of the Finance Committee and on the school board for nine years. She became an activist in the women's movement and fair housing and attended the 1976 Republican National Convention. After meeting the great Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith, Galbraith hired her to work for him,  assisting him in the transcription and writing of his books and speeches and later serving as his appointment secretary.

Edith was not the kind to let any grass grow under her feet so when a later employer moved his business to her hometown, saving her more than an hour commute each way, she decided to fill in those two hours by going back to college. She was accepted at Wellesley College as a Davis Scholar, majoring in Government. As a non-traditional student she was nervous about her ability to jump back into academic life - especially while working full time. She didn't need to worry, because she graduated summa cum laude and won the Erasmus Prize in history, bolstered by a paper that she wrote about the treatment of Chinese laborers in Massachusetts' Shoe Factories, a paper that influenced the State's adoption of the Chinese Inclusion Act.

In 1994 she and her husband moved to New Hampshire and she went to work at the Berlin Reporter and later moved to the Coos County Democrat, owned by John Harrigan.

A three-term state legislator during the last six years Edith has done a lot of thinking about some of the great issues we face in our country. The wisdom of her thoughts will make this podcast very enjoyable for you.


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Sunday, April 16, 2023

Donald Hall & Jane Kenyon - Outlaws in their Time

 An Outlaw's Lament

Remembering Jane Kenyon and Donald Hall


An Outlaw’s Lament

Kenyon and Hall stand

Wordsmiths to a threatened land

Outlaws in their times

~ Wayne King


April is National Poetry Month

There is grave danger to any writer or artist in the act of writing a poem about an internationally renowned poet - to say nothing about two of them. Yet, as usual, I am drawn to the task as a moth to a flame.

Among the great love stories of our time was the love shared between the poets Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon. Theirs was a love for the ages but it wasn’t just a love for one another, it was a love for the land.

I met them in 1989 when we teamed up to save a large swath of land on the side of Mount Kearsarge, introduced by our mutual friends Kenison Smith and Mary Lyn Ray. As a State Senator, my task was to work on efforts to help with the funding of the purchase of conservation easements in the area.

In 1989, the Kearsarge Regional Land Trust was established to protect the land around Mt Kearsarge. The organization works to conserve and protect the natural resources and scenic beauty of the region, as well as to promote public access and education.

Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon, as well as another very prominent Poet, John Hay, were supporters of the Kearsarge Regional Land Trust and played a part in its preservation efforts. They were passionate about the natural beauty of the region and recognized the importance of preserving it for future generations.

In 2001, the Donald Hall-Jane Kenyon Literary Trail was established by the Kearsarge Regional Land Trust as a way to honor the contributions of Hall and Kenyon, to encourage visitors to explore the natural beauty of the area. The trail includes stops at places that were important to them, such as their homes and favorite hiking trails.


Original signed image