Emma Rous Outrageously Biased at HB 367 and 368 Hearings.

Jim sent the following to the Union Leader as a result of Emma Rous's behavior during the HB 367 and 368 hearings. Below Jim's letter is a letter from a different homeschooler that appears in the Concord Monitor mentioning the same behavior on the part of Emma Rous.

Cathy
Spelling and grammar errors as well as typos are left as an exercise for our readers.

Approximately 1,000 homeschoolers attended hearings on HB367 and HB368 for an opportunity to voice concerns over these poorly designed bills. Emma Rous chaired the hearings in ways antithetical to representative democracy.

Representative Rous' bias and disdain towards the position of homeschoolers was obvious and unnecessary. She repeatedly admonished speakers whose only missteps consisted of well thought out, articulate presentations in opposition to these bills. This contrasted sharply to her pampered treatment of the bills' supporters, providing them ample time and tremendous latitude during their speeches.

Public hearings work best when the chairperson provides equitable access from all sides of an issue. Emma Rous' stewardship of these hearings fell woefully short of this standard.

Jim Peschke



The following LTE appeared in the Concord Monitor.

Poor treatment at State House hearing
Dawn Lincoln, Westmoreland
For the Monitor
February 18, 2009 - 12:00 am


I was one of the 1,000 home-schoolers who spent many, many hours in Concord on Feb. 11 to attempt to testify on two anti-home-school bills, House Bills 367 and 368. I traveled 1½ hours to the State House, paid for parking and had to arrange a ride for my daughters to get to ballet class. I'm sure my sacrifice pales in comparison to many.

Imagine my disappointment at being told by House Education Committee Chairwoman Emma Rous that I (and countless others) would not be allowed to testify on HB 368, even after the hearing started 20 minutes late.

I was appalled at her discourteous treatment of the people who came to testify against these important bills. She interrupted several of her fellow representatives to complain about their testimony. People testifying in favor of the bill were not given this same treatment.

She scolded the overflowing crowd and threatened that she would shut the hearing down without giving everyone who wished to testify an opportunity to do so.

Behavior such as this is not befitting an elected official in a leadership position. It was an embarrassment to our citizen legislature.