Aug
30
2026

I Sympathize, Hubert

I can't say that I haven't walked into a room like this:

The new season of Futurama is in full swing. It's about average for the series. Which makes it better than just about anything else on the tube these days.

And, in a stunning show of unwarranted optimism, I've already received my 2027 Futurama Calendar from Amazon. Fingers crossed!

Don't even get me started on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds!

Oh, wait, you did. Well the first episode of the new season was good, everything else has been a horrible embarrassment.

Also of note:

  • When are they going to stop calling it the New Republic? Virginia Heffernan takes to its virtual pages to take a look at our oddball state: New Hampshire’s Senate Race Leans Dem, but the State Is—Well, You Know.

    Of all the American political traditions we’ve lost in Trump times, one of them never got its moment of silence: “As New Hampshire goes, so goes the nation.”

    That chestnut rested on New Hampshire’s status as host of the first presidential primary election. When I was growing up there, we earnestly believed our parents were a solid-gold prediction market. Whoever they picked would land on the national ticket. New Hampshire was the belle of the primary season ball then, and many rural kids got their first taste of politics when they spotted George W. Bush or Barack Obama campaigning in a local Grange hall.

    Heck, I shook Ronald Reagan's hand at UNH's Snively Arena in 1976! And Jack Kemp's at the Dover Shop 'n Save (now Hannaford) in 1988! Things are different now.

    Anyway, Virginia does a decent job of analyzing this year's Senate race. And waits for her final paragaph for …

    That impulse might point to Pappas, who defends trans rights, for example, because “I’m from a state that cherishes liberty and freedom, [and I] want to make sure that the government is not interfering with how you live your life.” Those words, more than any other, are music to the ears of the Granite State. New Hampshire may give up its first primary but never, ever its awesomely incendiary slogan, “Live free or die.”

    … the inevitable LFOD reference.

  • We're also known for our loons. I've been shamefully lax in looking at the candidates on my ballot for the upcoming primary. My excuse: even for the contested races, there are candidates who are considered prohibitive favorites (Ayotte, Sununu, DiLorenzo).

    But New Hampshire's ballot-access rules for candidates are very light. If you have $100, or 200 signatures on a petition, you too can run for US Senate!

    So we have eight candidates to choose from. Among them are some perennials. For example, Tom Alciere. The Laconia Daily Sun wrote him up a few days ago: Alciere makes bid for Senate with non-traditional platform. The opening sounds promising…

    LACONIA — Tom Alciere has run as a Republican, Democrat, and an independent in previous races. This time, he's running as the “anti-Trump” Republican, vying for the open U.S. Senate seat.

    Alciere is running on a number of non-traditional views, with ideas to open borders entirely, legalize all drugs, abolish public school, abolish zoning, and repeal “all other unjust laws.” He also voiced opposition to rights for the LGBTQ+ community.

    Well, except for that LGBTQ+ thing. From further in the article:

    He was elected to the Statehouse in 2000, representing Hillsborough’s 29th district. He resigned after only about a month, after publicly supporting violence, including murder, against police.

    […]

    Alciere has run for office unsuccessfully on numerous occasions, including U.S. Senate Republican Primary in 2004; the 2006 state Senate Republican Primary; the 2008 U.S. Senate Republican Primary; the 2010 U.S. Senate Republican Primary; the 2016 U.S. Senate Republican Primary; the 2018 Libertarian Primary for Congressional District 2; the U.S. Senate Democratic Primary in 2020; and the 2022 Republican Primary for Congressional District 1.

    His campaign website has more.

    Back in 2018 , I linked to Brian Doherty's Reason article about Alciere's troubles with NH's Libertarian Party: Candidate Kicked Out of New Hampshire Libertarian Party Nonetheless on House Primary Ballot as a Libertarian.

  • Tom's not alone on Loon Lake. Also on the ballot is Mary Maxwell. According to her website, she's "run in several elections". She was on my Presidential Primary ballot back in 2020 and also in 2024.

    Mary also has a substack, where she seems reasonably active.

    I think it's fair to say that Mary's never met a conspiracy theory that she didn't embrace. The devastating 2003 fires on Maui? Caused by directed energy weapons!

    And I still have fond memories of our back-and-forth in the comment section of her Granite Grok article about the Boston Marathon bombers: It Is Completely Impossible To NOT Acquit Tsarnaev.

    Reader, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was not acquitted; he's currently on death row at the SuperMax prison in Colorado.


Last Modified 2026-08-31 5:12 AM EDT