Posted on 02/25/2006 7:41:22 PM PST by raccoonradio
CONCORD, N.H. - New signs on New Hampshire's borders tell visitors, "You're going to love it here." The only problem is the governor and other top officials hate them.
"Right now, every time I go past those things I'm embarrassed," Senate Majority Leader Robert Clegg said Thursday.
Gov. John Lynch (D) acknowledged that he, too, can't wait to get rid of the beige signs that depict a small village along with the "love it" slogan.
"It's true. I want to be there when they take out the first one," he said.
The Senate passed a bill Thursday to require the state motto, "Live Free or Die," on highway welcoming signs. The motto could replace the "love it" slogan on the beige signs, or, more likely, appear on new signs.
Sen. Robert Letourneau, R-Derry, who sponsored the bill, favors the latter.
"I don't think adding the motto to an ugly sign will do any good," he said.
The new signs started going up last year, replacing blue and yellow "welcome" signs. Except for one in Lebanon, the old signs did not have "Live Free or Die" on them.
The estimated cost of replacing the roughly 50 signs is $10,000, according to the bill.
Sen. Peter Burling, D-Cornish, said it will cost much more, and tried unsuccessfully to raise the official estimate to $100,000. He proposed leaving existing signs in place but adding the motto to ones erected in the future.
The bill now goes to the House.
The motto honors the state's most distinguished Revolutionary War hero, Gen. John Stark. According to the state Web site, Stark used it in a toast in 1809 when poor health led him to decline an invitation to a reunion of the 1777 Battle of Bennington in neighboring Vermont. Stark said, "Live free or die; death is not the worst of evils."
Stark is reputed to have encouraged his men by saying of the British just before the Battle of Bennington, "There are the Red Coats, and they are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow", an indication of his willingness to fight to the death.
So the new slogan is "You're Going To Here"?
Bill Morrissey song: "Live Free or Die/Oh, Lord, tell me why/
It can't say "Seatbelt's fastened?" or "Oaklahoma is OK"/
"Vacationland" just might be great/I'd even settle for
"The Garden State", it's enough to make you cry/Live free
or die." (Sung from point of view of a man in prison for
murder--and ironically enough he winds up having to
make license plates reading...you guessed it!
http://hurl.content.loudeye.com/scripts/hurl.exe?clipid=005170501130006910&cid=010026
ha :)
I guess Live Free or Die was too un-PC a slogan so "You're
Going to Love It Here" went up, and "You're Going To Have To
Pay To Replace Those Signs We Spent All That Tax Money On"
I laugh at the "Urban Compact" signs that NH DMV puts in what they deem densely-populated areas - like at the only stop light in town. How much did those cost???
Live Free or Die
Interesting slogan for Souter's home state.
Save 10 grand, leave the signs down and let my GPS figure out if I'm in New Hampshire or not.
Sen. Peter Burling, D-Cornish, said it will cost much more, and tried unsuccessfully to raise the official estimate to $100,000. He proposed leaving existing signs in place but adding the motto to ones erected in the future.
BTW: What's this mean? Don't they know how much it costed to replace the first set of signs? Wouldn't it be essentially the same cost this time around?
I have yet to see one of these signs. I've lived in NH for 23 years. Where are they?
".. a camp chair in New Hampshire - that's for me!..."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.