The midweek memeage continues with another round of memes. That’s it: no side dishes, no appetizers, just memes, memes, and more of those damn memes.

As always, these are (need I remind you) just memes. Some are intuitive, others offensive, some are funny, others not, and that’s just how memes are – “memes.” So, ask not what memes can do for you but what you can do for memes. Share them. That’s what you can do! Share the link to these. We appreciate it.

Here we go – and I slipped some Independence Day Memes in there too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trigger Warning!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And since tomorrow is Independence Day…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The End

The post Midweek Memes – Ask Not What Memes Can Do for You, But What You Can do for Memes appeared first on Granite Grok.

There’s no way technological progress has spared you, so you probably know firsthand how much fun can be found in the online realm today. And if your interest lies in games, then an online casino is exactly the place where you can chill and unwind from your daily activities. Gaming rush can be perfectly supplemented with bonuses that help to spend more time in a casino online and a variety of games such as slots, table games, video poker, specialty, live games, and so on. If you cannot imagine your free time without a smartphone in your hand and want to get the most out of online casino services, casino operators have taken into account the wishes of modern punters and are happy to welcome you to their apps or mobile versions of their sites. The doors to the world of online entertainment are wide open for New Zealand online casino players, so get ready to find out more about how things work here.

How the Play at Casino Online Is Different from a Brick-and-Mortar One

Thinking about a casino, images of wealthy people, bright lights, the laughter of noisy companies, slot machines, and tables appear before our eyes. While land-based casinos continue their prosperous activities, many online sites have appeared as an alternative to them, making access to the online casino offerings more convenient and faster. Among the obvious advantages of choosing a casino online are the following factors:

• convenience and speed of access to services
• the possibility to have a trial run
• bonuses and loyalty programs
• mobile gaming
• developments from the best gaming operators

Even if you are an online casino NZ player and a trip to the legendary Las Vegas is not at all in your plans, you can appreciate how far modern casino providers have advanced in creating the atmosphere of a real online gambling site. So what can set players’ mood up to get an online casino experience and make the gameplay all real and enthralling? The answer is simple – the presence of live dealers on the site. Yes, you can choose according to your mood whether you want to spend time one-on-one with the game, as, for example, in casino online pokies, or a pleasant dealer will join your session and keep you in excellent company. But that’s not all the human interaction you may need during your visit; if you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the casino customer support. You should definitely check its availability before playing for real money.

In general, the large assortment and variety of games offered by any good online casino are some of the criteria that make players come back to internet sites again and again. New interactive titles are released by gaming providers on a regular basis and catch the attention of players due to their themes (for example, dedicated to Halloween or a famous movie), sound and 3D effects, etc. Of course, as in offline sites, in online casino you will need to deposit a penny to discover the full range of emotions and offers available.

Choose an Online Casino with Good Reputation and Get Your Payouts Fast

Since network security is a very important concern for users, one must be vigilant to avoid falling into the hands of fraudsters. All actions in any online casino must be governed by clear rules. Players should be sure to read the Terms & Conditions page and check if the site has a valid license. While your winnings will be in your hands on that lucky day in a land-based gambling house, the whole procedure in casino online takes about a week. It consists of the need to verify the player’s identity, and in addition, the transfer of funds itself may take some time, depending on the method chosen. On the positive side, in almost any online casino NZ, you will be offered the most common withdrawal methods and currencies, including New Zealand dollars.

Once you find yourself on a regulated online casino, it can be said that now nothing will prevent you from plunging headlong into all the opportunities that are in store for you. What also makes visiting a casino online different is the need to register an account with an online site. But don’t worry, this is a very quick process that shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes. Take your time – explore the lobby, find the tabs where you can request a bonus, make a deposit, and withdraw money. Also, do not miss the great opportunity to try your hand at available online casino games in demo mode and choose titles to your liking.

Skeptics will say that nothing beats real land-based casinos, but players keeping up with the times will be able to see for themselves that this is no longer the case. While there are some nuances that need to be taken into account, the experience at the proven New Zealand online casino is really worth it. Go for real player reviews and experiences described on review sites to choose only the best online casino and get the most out of the digital era and the wide offer of online sites at onlineplaytechcasinos.com.

The post Play Online Casino with NZ appeared first on Granite Grok.

From Tucker Carlson … Black Jesus wants BidenX to drop out. I would add that virtually everything Black Jesus says is disingenuous. He’s today’s Lenin … he has no connection to the working man he claims to champion and, in fact, despises the working man. He is all about power – HIS power. He sees himself as entitled and, indeed, obliged to rule over us and actually believes this destiny is for our own good. In a word, Black Jesus is EVIL.

The post Obama Wants Biden To Drop Out appeared first on Granite Grok.

Giving birth is a life-changing emotional experience. You get to hold your baby after carrying them in your womb for nine months. The birth of a baby is the most joyous day for parents, but it becomes stressful for some. Not all journeys into parenthood follow the conventional timeline. Some babies arrive in the world before 37 weeks of pregnancy is complete. 

While parents are happy that their little bundle is alive, seeing them at the NICU is heart-wrenching. About 380,548 premature births were reported in the U.S. in 2022. These figures indicate you’re not alone; premature babies are born to over a hundred thousand parents. 

Parents of preemies are the happiest when they take their little ones home. But they are equally overwhelmed and uncertain about how to provide their bundle of joy the best care. You must also experience similar feelings—don’t you? But don’t worry; here, we’ll share a few things that you must know about premature babies. Knowing them will make it easy for you to care for your little one. 

#1 Temperature Regulation is Important

Term babies have fat beneath their skin that insulates them by retaining heat and fluid. But your premature baby doesn’t have this protective fat. Regulating body temperature, therefore, will be difficult for them. Once your baby is at home, it will be your duty to keep them warm and cozy. 

Your preemie might have needed an isolette in the hospital, but they won’t need that at home. An extra layer of clothing will be enough to help them maintain their body temperature. For additional warmth, you can use sleep sacks or lightweight blankets. 

Pay attention to the room temperature, too. It must neither be too hot nor too cold. The best temperature for a baby’s room is between 68°F to 72°F or 20°C to 22°C. Aim for that. 

Avoid overheating your premature baby, however. If the weather is warm, there is no need to use a cap indoors. Likewise, you must use a cellular blanket with lots of little holes in it to prevent overheating your little one. 

#2 Nutritional Needs of Preemies Are Unique

Preemies are smaller than term babies. Their organs are immature and are still developing. Their nutritional needs, thus, are different from that of a term baby. 

Your premature baby will require more protein, calories, and other nutrients than a term baby. Though nutritious, your breast milk won’t deliver all the nutrients your preemie needs to grow into a healthy human being. You will have to add milk fortifiers to your breast milk to meet your baby’s extra nutritional needs. 

Choose any milk fortifier but Enfamil. The brand has been under fire because its baby formula is linked with necrotizing enterocolitis. NEC, or necrotizing enterocolitis, is a gastrointestinal disease that affects premature babies’ intestinal tract. This life-threatening illness is characterized by the inflammation of the intestine, which results in the death of the intestinal tissue. 

More than a hundred Enfamil lawsuits are filed by parents whose children developed NEC after being fed with its milk fortifiers. Some studies, TorHoerman Law comments, suggest that liquid protein-based fortifiers like Enfamil’s human milk fortifier might increase preemies’ risk of NEC. 

Early this year, the Illinois District Court ordered Mead Johnson to pay $60 million in damages to Jasmine Watson, who filed the Enfamil lawsuit. Watson sued Mead Johnson because her premature baby developed NEC after being fed Enfamil’s products. In her lawsuit, she blamed the manufacturer for failing to warn parents about the risks associated with the use of its products in preemies. 

Thus, you should steer clear of Enfamil. There are many alternatives available, but we advise you to consult a pediatrician to be on the safe side. 

#3 Premature Babies Have Sensitive Skin

All babies’ skin is sensitive. But the skin of preemies is thin and tender. It is because their skin doesn’t develop fully at birth. 

Some premature babies’ skin is prone to dryness or peeling. This is mainly because the skin finds it a bit hard to adjust to the dry, cooler temperature of the outside world from the warm and wet womb environment. Keeping this in mind is important, especially when you’re shopping for skincare products. 

Caring for your preemie’s sensitive skin involves using products that are mild. Go for body washes, soap, and shampoos that are made of natural and hypoallergenic ingredients. They should also not contain any fragrance. Products with fragrance can irritate your baby’s sensitive skin and might even cause allergic reactions. 

Even when it comes to wipes, opt for those that are free from scents. Or, you can simply use a washcloth if you want. 

To wrap things up, caring for a premature baby might seem like an uphill battle, but it isn’t. Try understanding your baby’s unique needs—be it nutritional or skin care. It will help you navigate the challenges of caring for them and provide them with the best possible care. In case of any queries, consult your preemie’s pediatrician. They will help you overcome any challenges that come your way.

The post Caring for Your Premature Baby at Home: 3 Things You Need to Know appeared first on Granite Grok.

Harvard Business School (HBS) researchers, yes, THAT Harvard, have found that “Electric vehicle (EV) chargers have a high malfunction rate” and that “EV drivers can expect non-residential charging systems to not work approximately 20% of the time.”

The HBS study used artificial intelligence to examine more than one million customer reviews of charging stations from North America, Europe and Asia over 10 years, finding that EV drivers can expect non-residential charging systems to not work approximately 20% of the time and also that some of America’s more rural regions are effectively “charging deserts.” Its findings are the latest to suggest that the Biden administration’s long-term vision for an EV-dominated future is struggling to make early progress.

“Among other things, the deep dive into tomorrow’s gas station network estimates that drivers can successfully recharge their cars using non-residential EV equipment only 78% of the time, highlighting critical issues with reliability,” reads an article on the study posted to HBS’ website. “The research proves that frustration extends beyond ‘range anxiety,’ the common fear that EV batteries won’t maintain enough charge to reach a destination.”

We’ve shared plenty of reports and research on why you should stay away from EVs. From the cost of ownership, to range, to not being green. High repair costs, battery life, risk of fire, charging wait times, cost to charge, mobility limitations, resale value, and more. A boutique luxury item favored by virtue-signaling elites, wholly impractical to the average American. You can’t use them for freight or even local delivery. They will never replace existing construction or heavy equipment.

And they are not green, which was supposed to be the point (at ease for those pumping them). A point increasingly lost on nearly half the current crop of EV owners.

Approximately 46% of Americans who own an EV want to go back to a standard vehicle for their next purchase, citing issues like inadequate charging infrastructure and affordability, according to McKinsey’s study, which was obtained and reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The study’s findings further suggest that the Biden administration’s EV push is struggling to land with American consumers, after 46% of respondents indicated that they are unlikely or very unlikely to purchase an EV in a June poll conducted by The Associated Press and the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute.

Moreover, 58% of Americans are very likely to keep their current cars for longer, and 44% are likely to postpone a possible switch to EVs, McKinsey’s study found.

The HBS research citing home charger failure rates over 20% won’t help, especially if that is your best or only reliable charging station. Sorry, I can’t come into work today, my EV charger is on the fritz.

I wonder if employers should start asking applicants what they drive before hiring them.

The post Harvard Study Finds EV Charging Infrastructure is Unreliable – Including Home Chargers appeared first on Granite Grok.

Ever felt like your debt was a giant jigsaw puzzle with pieces scattered everywhere? If so, you’re not alone. Tackling debt can indeed feel overwhelming, but just like solving a puzzle, the right strategy can make all the difference. A well-structured debt repayment plan doesn’t just help you pay off what you owe; it turns a mountain of bills into manageable steps that lead you back to financial freedom. And if you’re considering a debt relief program, integrating it into your debt repayment plan can amplify your efforts, helping you see progress faster and more efficiently.

Understanding Your Debt Landscape

Before you can start paying off your debt, you need a clear picture of what you’re up against. This means listing every debt you have, from the smallest credit card balance to the biggest mortgage or student loan.

List It Out: Start by writing down every debt, including the creditor’s name, balance, minimum monthly payment, and interest rate. This will help you see the total amount you owe and which debts are costing you the most in interest.

Assess Your Income and Budget: Next, review your monthly income and budget. How much money is coming in, and where is it going? Understanding your cash flow is crucial for setting up a repayment plan that’s realistic and sustainable.

Prioritizing Your Debts

There are a few different strategies for deciding which debts to pay off first. Each has its benefits, and the right choice for you will depend on your specific circumstances and psychological preferences.

The Snowball Method: This involves paying off your smallest debts first to build momentum. As you pay off each smaller debt, you move on to larger ones, “snowballing” the payments as you go.

The Avalanche Method: With this strategy, you focus on the debts with the highest interest rates first, regardless of balance. This can save you money on interest over time, making it a cost-effective approach.

Setting Up Payment Schedules

Once you’ve prioritized your debts, it’s time to set up a payment schedule that fits your budget. This is where the puzzle pieces start to fit together.

Automate Payments: If possible, set up automatic payments for at least the minimum amounts due on all of your debts. This ensures you never miss a payment and helps protect your credit score.

Allocate Extra Payments: Decide how much extra you can pay on your targeted debts each month. Even small additional amounts can lead to significant savings on interest and faster debt repayment.

Integrating Debt Relief Programs

If your debt feels too overwhelming to tackle alone, or if you’re struggling to keep up with payments, a debt relief program might be a suitable option.

Debt Consolidation: This type of program combines multiple debts into a single loan with a lower interest rate. It simplifies your payments and can reduce the amount of interest you pay.

Debt Settlement: This approach involves negotiating with creditors to pay off a debt for less than you owe. While this can significantly reduce your debt load, it may also impact your credit score.

Staying on Track

Establishing your plan is one thing, but sticking to it can sometimes be challenging. Regular reviews and adjustments can help you stay on course.

Monitor Progress: Regularly check your balances and track your progress. Seeing the numbers go down can be a huge motivator.

Adjust as Needed: If your financial situation changes—for better or worse—adjust your plan accordingly. If you get a raise, consider putting the extra money toward your debt. Conversely, if money gets tighter, look at where you can cut back without derailing your debt payoff efforts.

Conclusion

Creating a debt repayment plan is like mapping a route through a complex maze—it might seem daunting at first, but with each step you take, the path becomes clearer. By understanding your debts, choosing a repayment strategy, setting up a realistic payment schedule, and possibly incorporating a debt relief program, you can transform the overwhelming into the achievable. Remember, every payment you make is another step toward reclaiming your financial freedom.

The post Establishing Debt Repayment Plans appeared first on Granite Grok.

According to a Homeland Security Investigations press release, two men were observed by Customs and Border Protection in Northern NH after illegally crossing into Pittsburg, New Hampshire, from Canada at the beginning of June 2024. One of those people was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for child sexual abuse-related criminal allegations.

Please note that the HSI release clearly states these are allegations, and the defendant is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Please see the official Homeland Security Investigation link Mexican National Arrested by HSI, Border Patrol on Child Sexual Abuse Material Charges | Homeland Security (dhs.gov).

Homeland Security Investigations is the main investigative arm of Homeland Security. It investigates transnational criminals who threaten our global infrastructure through international travel, trade, and finances.

We want to thank Ryan Bennett for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page.

Currently, Homeland Security Investigations is also a front-line leader, on the US level at least (I believe), in investigating heinous sexual crimes against children and young teenagers who have transnational connections. Though HIS and CBP are different entities under Homeland Security, HSI and CBP work together. To my knowledge, CBP focuses on land and maritime borders, while HIS can operate within the USA internally.

As serious as the allegations are, this alarming release is also indicative of another problem Donald Trump repeatedly stated on his campaign trail in New Hampshire. The northern border along Canada is becoming an issue, and likely already is an issue, in many segments of the US/Canada boundary.  Though it is not as bad as the southern border, NH and Vermont residents should not be too complacent and should avoid thinking that it could never happen in their state because, likely, CBP is already facing some challenges that the woke mainstream media and weak, lame New Hampshire Governor will not address. I hope they prove me wrong.

I encourage NH and Vermont residents to visit some spots along the border if they have a half-day to spare. One example is Derby Line, Vermont’s port of entry. Take a drive in the small town, and you can see certain neighborhood roads that seem to bridge parts of Canada and Vermont, where illegal immigrants can walk through to get into the USA.

Also, an opera house and library straddle the Quebec and Derby Libe border. Please link below to a report about a library servicing two countries at once. Though the library has historic value, it makes me wonder how easily illegal immigrants can sneak into the USA from Canada through fissure points in our border.

The U.S.-Canada Border Runs Through This Tiny Library – Atlas Obscura

The post Mexican National Illegally Enters New Hampshire from Canada, Gets Arrested appeared first on Granite Grok.

Transportation links are crucial for a region’s economy, connectivity with other cities, level of development, infrastructure, and other stages of civilization’s progress. Road engineering is also constantly evolving. Engineers are continuously improving construction technologies to enhance the quality and safety of road surfaces while reducing costs. Road construction progresses in stages.

Amid this backdrop, the international industrial holding company Del Mar Energy stands out by introducing its unique road construction system to the world.

The quality of road surfaces depends on adherence to standards, as state requirements for road construction specify norms that ensure the safety and comfort of road users.

Before laying a new road, the contractor must create a temporary surface. Workers will use this surface to move machinery and materials to the site. If the asphalt is being laid on a federal highway or if an existing road is being reconstructed, a temporary detour must be built. Once construction and installation work are completed, the temporary surface is dismantled.

Materials are brought to the site only after the area has been prepared. This stage can take several weeks or months. Work may be complicated by weather conditions, as well as the climate and landscape features of the area.

Forming the foundation is a crucial stage in road construction, affecting its durability and strength. Earthworks begin with the construction of an embankment. Builders sequentially lay the soil and compact it with a roller. Soil from the road construction area is used or imported if the local soil is unsuitable for the future road. Suitable soils include sandy, rocky, or sandy loam, while peat or silt soils are unsuitable. The embankment is thoroughly loosened and then compacted with a roller.

After the foundation is prepared, specialists start forming the sand “cushion.” This consists of several layers of crushed stone-sand mixture, sequentially laid on the future road site. The cushion ensures even load distribution during use and strengthens the surface. The first layer of the cushion is sand. Builders evenly distribute the sand, with a layer thickness of 10-12 cm. To prevent the sand from mixing with the soil, geotextile is laid between them.

The sand is thoroughly compacted, and then a layer of crushed stone is laid. The middle layer of the cushion uses materials of different fractions. The final layer is fine-grained crushed stone. A properly laid foundation guarantees road quality. The cushion is necessary for load cushioning. The number of layers and materials for the cushion depend on the chosen method, the area’s characteristics, and the road’s purpose.
After forming the sand cushion, specialists proceed to lay the final surface. Modern construction uses cement concrete or asphalt concrete.

The quality and durability are also determined by the material used as the top layer, as it is subject to greater wear during daily use. The most common materials are asphalt concrete and cement concrete, as these have proven effective in road construction.
Asphalt concrete involves layered laying. The construction and repair technology includes layered distribution of gravel, sand, rocks, and asphalt mixture with bitumen. The number of layers depends on the expected traffic, the road surface’s purpose, and the landscape and climate features.
Cement concrete or cast asphalt has high wear resistance, withstands mechanical damage during continuous use, and does not deteriorate under the influence of chemical reagents. However, laying cement concrete is more expensive.

To enhance the operational properties of roads, builders use geosynthetics. This is an artificial, environmentally friendly material that is inexpensive and easy to lay.
Using geosynthetic materials results in a durable surface with an anti-slip effect, increasing safety. Innovative technologies and materials allow builders to save on repairs and reduce the time and scope of work.

Therefore, it is not surprising that scientists have created entire tracks for electric cars. These tracks charge the car’s battery, eliminating the need for separate charging stations. Rails embedded in the road surface transmit electrical current to the car while it is in motion. The current is supplied only when the car is moving, posing no danger to other road users.

The use of innovations is justified. Roads become safer, more durable, and require less time for construction. At Del Mar Energy, engineers and builders use innovative road construction technologies, modern materials, and high-tech equipment to reduce road construction costs and achieve a high-quality, safe, durable, and reliable road surface.

The post Del Mar Energy: The Path to Excellence in Road Construction appeared first on Granite Grok.

Approximately 40 million used vehicles are sold each year. The companies tracking those sales provide an invaluable resource—detailed information on what sells and for how much. These are the figures anyone looking to buy or sell a used car needs to know to be sure they are getting a good—or at least fair—deal. Understanding the factors that affect vehicle value is crucial, whether you’re buying, selling, or seeking emergency cash through means such as a vehicle title loan.

Age and Mileage

One of the most significant factors influencing a vehicle’s value is its age and mileage. Generally, the older the car and the more miles it has, the lower its value.

1. Age: Newer cars tend to have higher values because they usually have more advanced features and less wear and tear. However, they also depreciate quickly within the first few years.
2. Mileage: High mileage indicates extensive use, which typically means more wear and tear on the vehicle. Lower mileage cars are often valued higher because they are perceived to have more life left in them.

Condition

The overall condition of the vehicle plays a major role in determining its value. This includes both the exterior and interior condition as well as the mechanical state.

1. Exterior Condition: Dents, scratches, and rust can significantly reduce a vehicle’s value. Regular maintenance and repairs can help maintain the exterior condition.
2. Interior Condition: The state of the seats, dashboard, and other interior features matter. Stains, tears, and odors can negatively impact the value.
3. Mechanical Condition: A vehicle with a well-maintained engine and transmission will retain more value. Regular servicing and keeping records of maintenance can enhance the value.

Make and Model

Certain makes and models hold their value better than others. Factors like brand reputation, reliability, and demand can influence this.

1. Brand Reputation: Brands known for reliability and quality, such as Toyota and Honda, tend to retain value better than others.
2. Demand: Popular models that are in high demand will generally have higher resale values. This can vary by region and current market trends.

Market Conditions

The overall market conditions can also impact vehicle values. This includes factors like the economy, fuel prices, and even seasonal trends.

1. Economic Conditions: During economic downturns, the demand for new and used cars may decrease, leading to lower vehicle values.
2. Fuel Prices: When fuel prices are high, fuel-efficient cars may see an increase in value, while gas guzzlers may see a decrease.
3. Seasonal Trends: Certain types of vehicles, like convertibles, may be worth more in the summer, while 4WD vehicles may be more valuable in the winter.

Vehicle History

A vehicle’s history report can significantly impact its value. This includes accident history, title status, and service records.

1. Accident History: Vehicles that have been in accidents tend to have lower values, especially if the damage was severe or not properly repaired.
2. Title Status: A clean title is preferred. Vehicles with salvage titles or those that have been rebuilt usually have much lower values.
3. Service Records: Regular maintenance records can enhance a vehicle’s value as they demonstrate that the car has been well cared for.

Features and Upgrades

Additional features and upgrades can increase a vehicle’s value. This includes technological features, safety enhancements, and luxury add-ons.

1. Technological Features: Modern features like a navigation system, Bluetooth connectivity, and advanced safety features can boost a vehicle’s value.
2. Safety Enhancements: Vehicles with higher safety ratings and features such as airbags, anti-lock brakes, and stability control are often valued higher.
3. Luxury Add-Ons: Leather seats, premium audio systems, and sunroofs can add to a vehicle’s value, appealing to buyers looking for a more luxurious ride.

Location

Geographical location can also affect vehicle value. The demand for certain types of vehicles can vary greatly depending on where you are.

1. Regional Demand: Trucks and SUVs may be more in demand in rural areas, while compact cars may be more desirable in urban settings.
2. Climate Impact: In areas with harsh winters, all-wheel drive vehicles may be valued higher. Conversely, convertibles may be more sought after in warmer climates.

Conclusion

Understanding the factors that affect vehicle value is essential for anyone looking to buy, sell, or leverage their car for emergency cash. Age, mileage, condition, make and model, market conditions, vehicle history, features, upgrades, and location all play a role in determining a car’s worth. By paying attention to these factors, you can make more informed decisions and ensure you get the best possible deal, whether you’re on the buying or selling end of a used vehicle transaction.

The post Factors Affecting Vehicle Value appeared first on Granite Grok.

From billionaire hedge-fund honcho Bill Ackman. While I may not have known the exact diagnosis, it was obvious to me … and to anyone who gathers data about reality from sources other than the advocacy media and evil tech… that BidenX is and for some time has been seriously impaired.

I have never been a fan of the Trump-is-playing-3D- chess caucus, but in this case … intentionally or not … Trump exposed not only Biden’s incapacity but also that “Dr.” Jill is actually running the country and the advocacy media and evil tech are willing propagandists.

 

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Sunday, Norm held a “Pre-4th of July” party at his home (for a select group of Conservative political activists as well as a few politicians), high over Lake Winnipesaukee, which allows views from Wolfeboro to Alton. Both Chuck Morse and Kelly Ayotte, who are running for the Republican nomination for Governor, were among those invited.

I assumed, knowing Norm, that each politician would get a few minutes to give their “elevator speech” to the crowd and then a quick Q&A after each speech. However, this year he changed it up and stated that in the interest of time, everyone should button-hole each one individually and ask your questions.

So I did.

I had originally planned on asking each two questions: doozies, both. But under the maxim of always being adaptable (or as my former Marine Eldest STILL keeps telling me even after mustering out, “Improvise, adapt, and overcome”), I focused on something that one of them said during their elevator speeches.

SideNote: I was originally going to record the speeches, but while Norm always lets GraniteGrok cover anything going on at his house (and it stated as such on the notices on his front door), he nixed that activity: no Press. So, I’m not being coy here in not mentioning specifically who said what, as I do want to honor the request. However, I DO want to point out a significant difference in the answers. Both are “correct,” but they show a difference in thought processes in approaching their governance styles.

One of them, during their pitch, did state that they would sign a law that would ban Sanctuary Cities in NH in protecting NH.  When it was said, I thought it was odd and showed a lack of basic NH Civics. This topic is notable as it generally means that a city or town police force is then directed NOT to assist Federal immigration officials via their “detainers” (e.g., hold an illegal alien until we can come and get them). Basically, Biden’s “catch and release” program writ small.

To repeat something that I have found to be a constant BECAUSE I find that most adults, even the most politically aware ones, have no idea, I phrase my “button-hole” question to both (trying to be fair here!) thusly:

During [your|your opponent’s] pitch, you said wanted a law to sign banning NH towns and cities from declaring themselves as Sanctuary Cities. However, we are a Dillon’s Rule State which means that subdivisions of a State cannot do anything on their own. ANYTHING they can do can only be done after the Legislature/Governor have passed a Law specifically delegating the Legislature’s Power in that area / issue to a subdivision.

Given that, would you immediately then sic your AG against that town or city for trying to pre-empt the State’s Power that hasn’t been delegated to them?

The other kind of State, a Home Rule State, allows any political subdivision of a State to do whatever it wants as long as they don’t violate State or Federal law. Again, we are not that kind of state.

Now, as far as the answers go (summarized here by me, and I AM trying to get the answers correct):

Candidate 1: No, I would want to wait for a law to be passed as it can take a long time in court and can cost a lot of money to pursue it.

Candidate 2: Yes

So there it is.

I am getting the info for their Press folks and I will send my two “doozy of a question” to them and see if I get responses.

It feels good to return to this role. And I thank ALL the people there who asked me, “How is your family doing now?” It shows that Conservatives often put Family above mere politics.

The post I Had the Chance to Ask Both NH Republican Gubernatorial Candidates This Question … appeared first on Granite Grok.

The barely Republican-majority New Hampshire legislature managed to pass a pair of bills that unequivocally protect children from abuse. One suggests that it is unhealthy and dangerous to give children (hormone) drugs linked to a rise in the incidence of heart attack and stroke (and that neutering them might not be in their best interest). The other acknowledges that men are stronger than women and allowing them to compete athletically side by side is dangerous to women and girls.

Neither of these things is scientifically or biologically inaccurate. Yet, when protesters opposed to these common-sense protections (for children and young women) collected like plaque in the hall leading to the Governor’s office, the local TV outlet declared that they were asking Mr. Sununu to veto these “anti-trans” bills.

“Pro” Tip

There is nothing anti-trans about them. These bills are pro-child, pro-trans, and pro-girls and women. Speaking to the trans issue specifically,

The drugs are poorly regulated, over-prescribed, and can cause cancer and death. The surgery cannot make you a different gender, but advocates pretend that it will align the mental confusion they created with a physical person. This isn’t true either. Even the best surgeons can’t make a boy into a girl. If you’ve got enough money and time and tolerance for pain and pain drugs you can never stop taking, it is possible to come close to the affectation, but no one seems to care about the endless physical and mental suffering that is more likely to end in suicide than if you’d left them the hell alone.

Banning puberty blockers and genital surgery for minors protects “trans youth” from medical-intervention profiteers.

It protects them from overzealous partisan cultural abuses. It allows them to be who they are now, and since gender is a fluid experience (subject to change not just daily but hourly), hormones and surgery prohibit them from being any other gender at any moment between now and the age of majority.

Puberty blockers and irreversible surgery are contraindicated if gender is on a spectrum.

What are the surgical alternatives? Male to female, female to male, in transit from one to the other. I suppose you could opt for the traditional alien look. No visible parts, shave your head (gray spray tan), but that’s not likely to solve the mental health problem, and it certainly won’t lead to fewer suicides. Speaking of which, from the UK Cass Review,

80. The original rationale for use of puberty blockers was that this would buy ‘time to think’ by delaying onset of puberty and also improve the ability to ‘pass’ in later life. Subsequently it was suggested that they may also improve body image and psychological wellbeing.

…

82. However, no changes in gender dysphoria or body satisfaction were demonstrated. There was insufficient/inconsistent evidence about the effects of puberty suppression on psychological or psychosocial wellbeing, cognitive development, cardio-metabolic risk or fertility.

Hey. Teacher! Leave Those Kids Alone

Puberty Blockers, hormone drugs, and surgery make doctors, hospitals, and big Pharma rich, cashing in on rearranging deck chairs on someone else’s Titanic. They are changes that do nothing to address the mental health issues or external influences that created the dysphoria.

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has since banned puberty blockers for minors based on this extensive research. The health risk isn’t worth the lack of any measurable benefit.

The best thing you can do for a child is to

1. stop confusing them about gender. Why are you talking about sex with children? Why are you advocating or defending it? It is a form of mental abuse that causes dysphoria that leads to dangerous drugs and irreversible surgery.

2. If a child is asking questions on their own, be supportive of the curiosity and be a friend, but be honest. It’s normal; most kids outgrow it, and drugs and (especially) surgery don’t really help. The drugs must be taken…forever. The surgery will harm you and cannot be reversed.

Adults interested in children’s health should not convince them to take this journey. They should protect the child until they are an adult, and then that adult can decide for themselves. And the idea is catching on. Western nations are increasingly backing away from the practice.

New Hampshire and America should, too.

| Substack

The post Hey! Teachers! Leave Those Kids Alone! appeared first on Granite Grok.

The day after the debate (yesterday—6/28), BidenX asked, obviously rhetorically, what he did during the debate. The tweet was obviously written for him because, as the debate made obvious, he lacks the capacity to do much more than read from a teleprompter.

Shout at the teleprompter would be more accurate after being shot up with a cocktail of amphetamines and who knows what else.

What I did was watch an incapacitated octogenarian babble incoherently despite being on bed rest and an IV for a full week and being shot up with drug cocktails. What I did was watch that octogenarian stare blankly at who knows what as the rightful President shamed him. And what I did was watch the real “power behind the throne” … the dowager-bitch, Jill Biden … take the incoherent, disoriented octogenarian by the hand and lead his desiccated husk off the stage.

As for morals …, it’s bold talk from someone who refused to acknowledge a granddaughter until publicly shamed into it. From someone who showered with his daughter. From someone who covered for and enabled his cocaine-addicted, criminal son’s life of drugs and crime. From someone who peddled influence, including selling out to the Communists in China. From someone who uses the death of a child as a political shield and political sword.

Needless to say, BidenX not only did not write the tweet … he has no idea what he did last night. All he actually knows and cares about is that to get his pudding and juicy box, he has to yell at the teleprompter for a few minutes.

 

The post Joe Biden’s “Morality” appeared first on Granite Grok.

The most important Event of the past week was NOT the Presidential Debate between Trump and President Zombie (formerly known as Biden). It was important.

Related: Bad Week for the Deep State – Chevron Deference is Dead; Admin Courts on Thin Ice

Biden should resign or be removed by the invocation of the 25th Amendment based on cognitive failure. And someone, IMHO, needs to arrest Jill Biden on the charge(s) of “Failure to protect against Elder Abuse.”

That debate took the oxygen out of our Public Square, but compared to a number of decisions handed by SCOTUS (Supreme Court of The United States), it was just a sideshow. This decision to burn the Chevron Doctrine to the ground is important.

“THE THREE HAPPIEST WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TODAY – “Chevron is overruled.”

I’ve previously posted about this overreach by NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmosphere Agency) NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Services) here and here. Steve did the same here.  NOAA tried to force government human “monitors” on board fishing vessels and to force fishermen to spend lots of money on specific monitoring equipment (and the data services to relay that data). About $700/day/monitor. Not only did it violate the Fourth Amendment, but the courts also found that the agency violated the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA,” 1948) that set up the structure of how mere Executive Branch agencies could promulgate “regulations with the Force of Law.”

If you look at the Constitution, the ability to legislate is strictly a function of the Legislative Branch. But it was drafted and signed into Law when Progressivism was rising fast, and they took advantage of the growth of the Federal Govt and did the PR push that “mere legislators don’t have the expertise to make such laws; let the “experts” do it for you.” Our Elected Representatives bought into that Progressive philosophy regardless of their own Duties in the Separation of Powers as outlined in the Constitution – THEIR Foundational Law.

SideNote: Funny, isn’t it, that when it comes to abortion and other issues of Morality, Progressives get all in a tizzy about the Separation of Church and State as if there was a real firewall there.

SideNote to the SideNote: there is, but it only keeps the Government from establishing a State religion. How’s that working concerning LGBTQRSTUVWXYZ and the Government pushing that secularized sexuality religion down our throats (and into our minds and hearts)?

But when it comes to the Separation of Powers, they either remain silent or allow that philosophy to have lots of leaks by which to have us Ruled by technocrats vs Governed by elected representatives.

So, unelected, unaccountable, and unassailable bureaucrats whose ONLY Constitutional duty is to “faithfully execute the Law” as they report to the President to whom that command is laid. Here’s the background (emphasis mine):

Today, attorneys for a group of New Jersey herring fishermen landed a significant victory at the Supreme Court.  With its ruling in Loper Bright v. Raimondo [and  Relentless v. Department of Commerce -Skip] the Court has overruled the Chevron doctrine and restored the balance of power between Congress and the Administration. The Loper Bright decision was issued alongside Relentless v Department of Commerce.

The fishermen in the Loper Bright case face an unlawful requirement imposed on them by an Executive Branch agency that could force them to surrender 20 percent of their earnings to pay at-sea monitors. Because that fee resulted from unlawful overreach and threatened their ability to make a living, the fishermen decided to challenge the requirement in court four years ago. After a split decision in the D.C. Circuit, the Supreme Court decided to review the Chevron doctrine, which is the legal theory the government cited to justify its controversial monitoring rule. For 40 years, Chevron has required federal courts to abdicate their constitutional role to interpret the law by deferring to agency interpretations of statutes whenever those same agencies deem the law “silent” or “ambiguous.” In practice, such deference permitted agencies to engage in egregious overreach, often at the expense of ordinary citizens. 

Bill Bright, a Cape May-based herring fishermen and eponymous plaintiff in Loper Bright, offered this statement: “We are grateful the Court has overruled Chevron. Today’s restoration of the separation of powers is a victory for small, family-run businesses like ours, whether they’re involved in fishing, farming, or retail. Congress never authorized industry-funded monitoring in the herring fishery…

Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, who argued on behalf of the fishermen before the  Supreme Court, added the following: “

The Court’s decision puts to rest an interpretive methodology that has seriously distorted how the political branches operate for far too long. Courts should ask what the law means, not whether it is ambiguous, and in close cases, the tie should go to the citizen, not the government. We are gratified that the Court restored the constitutionally mandated separation of powers.”

In the Supreme Court’s opinion, Chief Justice Roberts wrote:

“The deference that Chevron requires of courts reviewing agency action cannot be squared with the APA.” He went on to say, “Chevron’s presumption is misguided because agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities.  Courts do.”

IMHO, this headline encapsulates everything I’ve been saying for years: “The Supreme Court Firebombs the Administrative State and Tells Congress to Get Off Its Butt and Work“…”In short order, many of the reasons we gradually, like a frog in a pot of boiling water, transformed from citizens into subjects have been demolished…Today’s decision doesn’t prevent agencies from making rules, but it doesn’t prevent citizens from contesting those rules in court.”

And that is the Executive Branch making up its own laws under the rubric of “Federal Rulemaking”. And as the headline maintains, Legislators should now be made to make their Laws COMPLETELY and stop throwing their half-grown bills over the wall and let others finish the work THEY should be doing. This should:

• Have then creating smaller bills to more fully flesh them out – I’m hoping that these thousands of pages “Omnibus” bills will be now easily litigated by Citizens with much more of a chance of success.
• Result in much BETTER bills because they will have to sweat the details – ALL the details.

And because of that, they won’t have the time to meddle as much in our lives. Uber-Left Law Professor Laurence Tribe concurs:

Is there a 1-900 number where someone will read this to me over the phone in a sultry voice? https://t.co/V4jhvxPLH2

— Marc J. Randazza (@marcorandazza) June 28, 2024

I disagree with one part: unrealistic. Instead, it SHOULD be expected. We all should be demanding more of the folks whose butts we put into those seats.

To bring it back to NH, I’m re-purposing something I emailed to Grokster Ann Marie where the District 17 Superintendent Thomas Ambrose is trying to redefine emails containing student sexuality as a “student record” so as to bypass a valid Right To Know demand:

…An email is NOT a student record which is a record/entry in their IT system. An email is not such a record even as it is a GOVERNMENT record – there is no protection of privacy for a parent sending an email to a government worker. It then becomes Public. So he’s off base on that.

..and we’re a Dillon’s Rule State. Which, if strictly kept, has ALWAYS made us being an “anti-Chevron Doctrine) State as “agencies” can only do what the Legislature specifically delegates. Just as NOAA overreached in spite of the Federal APA, how many of OUR agencies have done so despite JLCAR?

This ban of the Chevron Doctrine, if this was MMA, is a leg sweep takedown to put him onto the legal map.

Before I forget, here’s the salient part of the Law against which SCOTUS viewed NMFS’s strong arm tactics against the fishermen:

In 1972, Congress passed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, “to respond to the threat of overfishing and to promote conservation.” As part of that law, eight regional fisheries councils were created. Each of those councils, which is a business association, is charged with producing a fisheries management plan. Under the plan created for New England herring fisheries, half of all fishing trips had to carry a federal monitor. Originally, all the observers were employed by the federal government. Somehow, the National Marine Fisheries Service managed to lose money from its budget as the rest of the federal government porked up. In 2020, the management plan required the fishing boats to pay for monitors reporting to the federal government. The cost was over $700. Many fisheries complained that this additional expense resulted in zero profit or even a loss for a day’s fishing.

Congress didn’t authorize billing private fishing companies to pay for federal monitors. But the Department of Commerce interpreted the requirement that it may “require that one or more observers be carried on board a vessel of the United States engaged in fishing for species that are subject to the plan, for the purpose of collecting data necessary for the conservation and management of the fishery,” to mean that half the fishing boats had to carry deadweight that they paid for.

…

1. Whether the Court should overrule Chevron or at least clarify that statutory silence concerning controversial powers expressly but narrowly granted elsewhere in the statute does not constitute an ambiguity requiring deference to the agency.
2. Whether the phrase “necessary and appropriate” in the MSA augments agency power to force domestic fishing vessels to contract with and pay the salaries of federal observers they must carry.

Result: Vacated and remanded.

The Administrative Procedure Act requires courts to exercise their independent judgment [instead of deference to the agencies because of the Chevron Doctrine -Skip] in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, and courts may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous;

Chevron is overruled.

And this is part and parcel of the “overreach and self-justification of it” that I’ve been talking about for years. If you want, a more more thorough legal cut-and-paste is here. And it points out the whole issue of arbitrary and capricious:

 …federal agencies can adopt widely different interpretations and enforcement policies depending on who’s in power, and that makes the legal/regulatory environment inherently unstable for Americans.  Also, as Justice Clarence Thomas adds, it’s also flat-out unconstitutional. Chevron makes the judiciary subservient to the other two branches as a matter of structure and not just judgment…

And we’re back to the end goal of Democrats/Progressives/Socialists – being ruled by technocratic “experts” who, in their eyes, only have our best interest in their TOTALLY non-partisan hearts. Or as the post called it “the Rule of Whim” Anyone who has ever reviewed the political donations of government workers knows that a HUGE pile of human excrement.

And yet another reason that I really like this decision – Justice Kagan is against it DEMONSTRATING that she’s for the Administrative State (and you wonder why Democrats view SCOTUS as a Supra-Legislature):

Justice Elena Kagan wrote that Chevron deference “has formed the backdrop against which Congress, courts, and agencies—as well as regulated parties and the public—all have operated for decades. It has been applied in thousands of judicial decisions. It has become part of the warp and woof of modern government, supporting regulatory efforts of all kinds.”

And that’s the problem as it should be LEGISLATIVE, not regulatory. I just can’t say that enough!

The post SCOTUS Starts to Shove the Govt Genie Back Into The Bottle Part 1 appeared first on Granite Grok.

The “Right” in New Hampshire suffers … perhaps incorrigibly … from cognitive dissonance—a couple of examples. New Hampshire spends more on “public education” than almost every other State.

Yet the “Right” keeps reciting the mantra that New Hampshire is “fiscally conservative” and, worse, that the existential threat to the State’s “fiscal conservatism” is subsidizing rail to Boston, despite the cost of that subsidy being essentially a rounding error on what the State spends on “public education.” Totally irrational.

Next example. The “Right” pretends that Ayotte and Morse are conservatives. Ayotte was essentially a mini-me Jeannie Shaheenie during her last year in the Senate (having spent the previous five shilling for the military-industrial complex), while Morse voted to codify Obamacare into State law and supported Sununu’s COVID-tyranny. It is totally irrational to consider either conservative.

Tucker Carlson lost his job at Faux because, in the eyes of the system, he went too far in exposing the cognitive dissonance of GOP voters. Asking an obvious question, like how does it benefit the United States to wage a proxy war against Russia that is destroying Ukraine, is an unforgivable sin. It’s as bad as asking why the “Right” in New Hampshire ignores the runaway spending on “public education” and instead fixates on defining “fiscal conservatism” as not subsidizing rail to Boston.

Tucker, by speaking truth to power, has become a worldwide phenomenon. Of course, simply speaking truth to power is not enough. Tucker is intelligent, articulate, fearless and, above all, funny and happy. Every State, especially New Hampshire, needs a Tucker Carlson.

HERE is Tucker in Australia:

 

The post Every State (And Especially New Hampshire) Needs A Tucker Carlson appeared first on Granite Grok.

For many in America, the Thursday night debate was an eye-opening event. For these folks, this was the first uncensored look at the Leader of the Free World, our Commander and Chief, and the 46th President of the United States, the Kid from Scranton, PA, Joe Biden.

You can almost smell the fear in the air. Panic has set in as these now-enlightened souls wonder if this old man can possibly beat Donald Trump again and save Democracy. These people, who the administration and news media have hoodwinked for three-plus years, are missing the point. The real question after seeing Joe shuffle onto the stage and mumble through every incoherent answer he uttered is who is running the White House, and can Joe Biden hobble to the finish line and safely end the term for this gang who could not shoot right?

Joe Biden went all in Thursday night and bet the house, the White House, on the hope that he could muster one more scene, like the State of the Union, and show the world he is still fit to run this country and still the only person who can beat Donald Trump. Joe said, “hit me,” when he should have said, “stay,” and the last card gave him 22. The Scranton Kid went bust, lost, and is broke: political power broke. By the 13-minute mark of the debate, it was clear Joe Biden was not fit to run, nor had he been running this country since 2021. The Democrats are screwed, but so are the American people. The bad guys of the world know that we do not have a President who can protect us, and we are not safe. America is being held hostage by an octogenarian who won’t give up the keys.

So, who has been running the show these last four years? Who is behind the curtain holding the strings on this puppet? I believe it is not a single person but a group of people led by Barack Obama who has been able to fool enough people to vote for Biden and give these psychopaths the time to complete the transformation of America promised by Obama nearly 16 years ago.

Insiders claim that Joe Biden can only perform his duties from 10 AM to 4 PM. This limitation is why you usually see his on-camera events during that timeframe. Later in the day, he is more apt to gaffes and shows signs of fatigue. This schedule is unfair to Americans who deserve a full-time president, and a part-time executive is a national security issue. It is estimated that the President has seven minutes to respond to a missile attack on America, and less if hypersonic. We need a Commander in Chief who is coherent 24/7, period.

Joe Biden’s mental decline is accelerating. You only need to look at videos of the President in 2021 and now for comparison. That decline is not going to slow. Democrats should be concerned about Biden finishing his first term, let alone reelection. Biden’s selfishness in resigning may result in a constitutional crisis, with the need for emergency measures to be put in place. That may be a delay in the election or provisions for a replacement candidate on all state ballots. These will create an issue between the federal and state governments regarding the control of elections. The Democrats are concerned with the Republican threat to Democracy, but they seem to be doing an excellent job of imploding it now.

The post Who Is Running This Show appeared first on Granite Grok.

The infinite number of progressive (AI?) monkeys are banging away on their endless number of virtual typewriters (some of whom are still tasked with the regime’s censorship duties in the digital dungeons at Menlo Park and Mountain View) to explain away or erase what happened last Thursday. Don’t let them.

We need to keep that truth alive in the minds of Americans if we can, and that’s what the latest Trump Ad below attempts to do, I think. It is a public service reminder. Mr. Biden is not running the country (as we’ve all known for some time), but whoever is can’t continue to do that if Biden is removed or voted out of office. Even if his replacement were a Democrat, the people behind Biden wouldn’t be in charge. That new president would. They don’t want that either, I suspect.

Not that the outcome would be any different. Democrats are gonna’ Democrat, as they say, and we can expect Biden’s CNN deep fake performance to feature heavily against the left up and down the ticket: How are you still Ridin’ With Biden?

The answer is a visceral hatred of Donald Trump and the projection of Biden’s failings onto him. Don’t let them get away with that, either, and feel free to send us anything you think will help.

In the meantime, we have the Trump promo below, but first,

This is what happened in #DebateNight pic.twitter.com/8Gs3uaQqq5

— Amit Shah (Parody) (@Motabhai012) June 28, 2024

 

And Second: A brutal Fact Check of the things Biden did say.

 

Prepare to watch the most brutal CNN fact check of crooked Joe you’ll ever see.

Has the call already gone out to take out Joe Biden? pic.twitter.com/YRqE9nNmDi

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 28, 2024

And Third, this isn’t a new problem for Joe (circa 2020):

Joey’s a liar with numbers ALWAYS!
Here’s a compilation of a few! pic.twitter.com/wfo8TyOwQG

— TXIND1836 (@txind1836) June 28, 2024

And Here’s a Trump Ad:

Trump just released a brutal 95 second ad of Joe Biden’s debate lowlights: pic.twitter.com/enusIKHhwN

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 28, 2024

The post Don’t Let Them Reimagine What Happened on That Debate Stage appeared first on Granite Grok.

I remember reading the columns and editorials of several conservative and Republican pundits who were hoping that Trump would lose in 2020.  They based their hopes on hatred of Trump’s personality and his disregard for “the norms of Presidential behavior.”  They called themselves “NeverTrumpers” and were proud of it.

Others on both sides of the political aisle also hoped for conservatives and Republicans to lose, saying that the “only way” for the public to understand how screwed up America had become was to allow the country to hit rock bottom.  Their theory went that “once we’ve bottomed out, we’ll be able to rebuild.”

I disagreed with all of them, often and quite loudly.  I felt that allowing the US to continue to decline was a danger to the rest of the world: the US is a stabilizing force around the world, and to destabilize the US would be to destabilize the rest of the world.

On Thursday night, CNN was instrumental in ripping off the mask that the Democrats had kept in place over Biden’s cognitive decline.  By setting the rules for the debate, Biden himself had put in place the stage where the world would know that “the emperor has no clothes.”  The Democrat’s and media’s selected and appointed leader failed miserably to speak in complete sentences, to maintain a single train of thought, and to answer questions completely and honestly – without repeating previously and often-debunked tropes about his opponent. After his disastrous performance, his wife, Jill, spoke to him as a child in front of the whole world: “You did so well, Joe!  You answered all the questions!”

Nail, meet coffin.

Democrats used the federal government to pass laws that forced individuals to submit to policies that tore families apart, violated scientific facts, and unbalanced equality throughout both government and private industry.  Now, after Thursday night and their party leader’s almost total mental collapse in front of the entire world, the Democrats are in full panic mode.

Republicans, meanwhile, concentrated on winning state-level elections and won at least half the governor’s mansions and state legislatures in the nation.  They gained the power and the state-level support to begin passing state-level laws to counter an increasing number of those federal mandates.

The up-and-coming generation is realizing that they cannot afford to live on their own because of the huge debt load that both taxes and inflation have saddled them with.  They’re not happy.  And they’re beginning to realize that Biden’s “school debt forgiveness” plan, which has twice been found unconstitutional, won’t happen.  They want to blame someone… but they can’t blame Trump.

Then:

This past week, the SCOTUS issued decisions that reversed decades of “government knows best” assumptions.  The most impactful was the declaration that “Chevron is overruled” (that is exact text from the decision).  Reversing Chevron means that Congress can no longer write obscure and confusing laws, pass them, and hope that the Administrative branch can turn those obscurities into enforceable measures.

The result is that Congress must now make its meaning clear from the start.  Legislators must legislate.  They can no longer pass the buck and use Nancy Pelosi’s “we have to pass the law to find out what’s in it” mantra.  The SCOTUS has declared that “if it isn’t in the law, then it isn’t in the law.”  The SCOTUS has slapped the wrist of the “administrative state” and told them to enforce the law as written.  And if there is obscurity, it is up to a court to decide what the law means, not some functionary in DC.

The media is still complicit in its hatred of the concept of American self-determination.  They (or it) believe that The People cannot make decisions for themselves.  The People are plainly too stupid, too uneducated, too biased, or unable because “they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them (Obama)”.  No, they declare, it is up to them, the self-appointed “experts”, to act as “guides”.  Anything else is an “attack on democracy.”

Now, after Thursday night, those self-appointed “experts” have been revealed to be sycophants and ideologues who were willing to sell their reputations for a seat at the pundit’s table on networks with ever-shrinking audience bases.  Some of those “experts” don’t even have enough national viewers to fill a mid-sized football stadium.  (You’ll be shocked at how few viewers some of those “hosts” have.  The statistics are factual: cable boxes can – and do – report the channels being watched and at what time, and those numbers can’t be faked).

Yes, there are a huge number of Americans who are still comfortable wearing rose-colored glasses and believing that the government knows best.  But more and more Americans are looking at their wallets, their children’s educations, and their hourly wages.  And their satisfaction with their current situation is waning.  They’re finding out that “that government is best which governs least” (attributed to Jefferson, but he didn’t actually write it.)

For some, it’s hard to admit that they may have been misled, especially when they believed what they were told by almost all of the “experts” in the news media, and especially after the debate and they saw for themselves that the current president is “fading.”  The big question is: will they look in the mirror and ask themselves, “Have I been played for a fool?”

My advice to them is: Don’t be too concerned.  MILLIONS of Americans were also played for a fool.  The question now is: will you continue to allow yourself to be “played” by those who only want power for themselves?

The post Has America “Bottomed Out”? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Terry Red-Flag Roy is the gift that keeps on giving … to the Woke-Communists. Why would you legitimize a Fake-News, Advocacy-Journalism, propaganda-outlet like NHPR by giving them an interview?

The answer is obvious in the case of Terry Roy … because he is a narcissist first and a conservative a distant second. See below:

Is it possible that Red-Flag Roy doesn’t understand that the “journalists” at NHPR look down on Roy’s constituents … see them as part of a sub-class of humans that NHPR and the rest of the elites have a duty to rule over … and that NHPR’s loyal-listeners share those sentiments? And doesn’t understand that legitimizing fake news and advocacy journalism, at best, does nothing to advance conservatism?

The post Night Cap: Useful Idiot Part V … Terry Roy Does NHPR With His BFF Alissandra Murray appeared first on Granite Grok.

Vermont has just done something hailed by Climateers as groundbreaking and memorialized by The Week with the headline: ‘Vermont becomes first state to make fossil fuel companies pay for climate change.’

Really?

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. They haven’t done anything but pass a bill (S.259). They have no idea how they will execute it, or if they can, what it will look like, and how much … you get the idea. And in the interest of helping bring this closer to the planet Earth they claim to be saving, I think what The Week meant was that they are the first state to say they are going to try to do it.

Do What? If you are familiar with Vermont, you’ve got a handy string of unflattering references and colorful metaphors suggesting the political/bureaucratic equivalent of erectile dysfunction. If you know anything about Vermont’s Clean Heat Standard (for example), you are probably giggling and pointing or shaking your head. While Vermont has the votes to pass any climate legislation it can imagine (as much science fiction as climate change itself), it increasingly lacks any ability to craft language or rules its government can make work.

They say they are going to “make fossil fuel companies pay for climate change,” but is that what their legislation will do?

The Vegas odds are low, which might be why Vermont – despite all the other blue states with their significantly larger number of left-wing lunatics – managed to pass it before anyone else.

Is it the result of an advanced case of progressive mental illness? An insular, self-absorbed obsession with the lie that the carbon dioxide emitted by Western “democracies” is going to despoil the planet (while the greater emissions from India, Africa, Asia, and especially China will not). Napolean Syndrome? Or is it simply the innate leftist hunger to redistribute other people’s earnings as they see fit, even when it harms the people in whose interest they claim to act?

How about all of the above?

Another Climate Laundromat

The problem begins with the Vermont legislature having more elected Democrats in it than (at which) you can shake a Mann-Made hockey stick. It has veto-proof majorities in both chambers. The state’s governor, Phil Scott, is a token Republican and a chief executive with a soap box but not much else. He’s also alleged to be the most popular governor in the country but has anyone considered that the two things (impotence and popularity) might be connected?

Mr. Scott allowed S.259 to become law (the thing that will “make” fossil fuel companies pay for climate change) without his signature, in part because he couldn’t stop it and, in part, because he is himself, is a little bit Hopey-climate-change.

From The Week.

[Gov. Phil] Scott did not seem too keen on the idea of the bill, seemingly brushing it off as too difficult a task. However, in a note to Vermont’s Senate secretary, he wrote that he “[understands] the desire to seek funding to mitigate the effects of climate change that has hurt our state in so many ways,” especially given that Vermont dealt with deadly, climate-caused flooding last year.

Translation: Tax and spend Democrats are so incapable of managing the taxpayer’s wages that it must find scapegoats to help pad a treasury it can’t fill despite the endless parade of new and higher taxes, and Phil is willing to let them trip over this cluster of (you know what’s) because he likes other people’s money too.

If it doesn’t work, he didn’t sign it, and he can always say he couldn’t stop it.

You Can’t Help Loving Other People’s Money

For the record, all flooding is climate-related, as is its absence. Rained out weddings, glorious beach days. Weather. Climate. In the case of Vermont, Its ‘Climate’ has a long history of major floods. Vermont also has a history of building things where it has flooded before for as long as people have been living in Vermont. I wonder if the fossil fuel company lawyers could do something with that when the Green (as in, we need a mountain of someone else’s money) State figures out how much to put at the bottom of the bill they plan to send them.

This is a state that spends thrice as much on education to crank out kids barely half as bright. That same state can’t possibly fix anything (certainly not the weather), no matter how much or whom they charge. Not that this is about that. This is a fishing expedition—legalized robbery. And by claiming the pockets to be picked are Big Oil, they make you think one thing when, in fact, the truth is something else.

S.259 will allow Vermont to “bill fossil fuel companies retroactively for the costs of addressing, avoiding and adapting to the damages that the emissions from their products have caused” between 1995 and 2024, said Heatmap News. But this is a multistep process. First, the Vermont treasurer must assess the total cost of these emissions to determine how much the state is owed.

Don’t you dare say Ex Post Facto or mention Bills of Attainder (both unconstitutional) because Vermont’s legislators love what they love (by which I mean your money). S.259, the “Climate Superfund Act,” launders money to fill the state’s coffers by charging fuel companies for alleged damages caused by alleged climate change (which amounts to whatever the government’s thieves say it is). Oh, look, a storm wrecked some infrastructure that was built where it floods every ten years. Make them Pay!

Climate change is less about climate and more about change. The change in the amount of change in your pocket. The fossil fuel companies won’t be paying for whatever the regulators decide is the cost of “climate change.” That will be borne by every citizen in the state of Vermont, and the Legislature can’t prevent that.

That added cost of doing business in Vermont won’t just trickle down. It will show up in the rising cost of everything that moves in a vehicle fueled by … fuel. All energy costs will spike. Businesses will have to cut staff, pay, and benefits and maybe even close up shop. Even the cost of government will go up.

That Climate Superfund will make everything more expensive (which includes covering the cost of climate change) at a time when, thanks to some Democrats who did something from DC, everything is already more expensive.

What Big Oil Should Do

When I first heard the Vermont State Senate bill passed (and I’ve said this here before), I thought fuel companies should stop doing business in Vermont. The State is, after all, in a huge hurry to get to its all-electric, no-fossil-fuel paradise. Say no today. Don’t wait for the office of charging fossil fuel companies to pay for climate change to send a bill. Give them their green future now. Good and hard, if you take my meaning.

And how long do you think it would take for all hell to break loose? Not long. Sure, Vermonters can drive to New York or Massachusetts to get gasoline—to New Hampshire if they want it and want to save a lot more money—but that’s an impractical solution. The entire economy needs fuel, oil, and gas to run. Without it, the state is at a standstill when the tanks in the ground are empty.

Is that what it will take to get Vermonters to end the madness? To vote for candidates whose primary goal is not to screw them as hard as they can in pursuit of their partisan fantasies?

Maybe. America is in something of the same situation, except that it only takes a few dedicated operatives in a handful of states to screw the entire nation. But that should mean more for activism at the state level.

Fix what you can as soon as possible, and then be vigilant about keeping it that way, especially in Vermont. The path it is on has been spiraling downward for years, and S.259 isn’t going to punish anyone but Vermonters.

 

| Substack

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