Late in the fall of 2023, the Supreme Court issued mandates that ordered the City of Nashua to follow the trial court’s order in two Right-to-Know (RTK) Petitions and produce emails stored on backup tape. The email records requested were for two months of specific records within Nashua’s assessing office.

Nashua lacks written policies for handling record requests and is uncooperative in reducing the burden. Until eighteen months ago, emails were provided without attachments, and requesters were only informed of email volume, not including attachments.

The City hired Attorney Russ Hilliard 18 months ago for Right to Know (RTK) legal challenges. At this time, the City decided to review each page, page number, redact as needed, and insert all attachments into records before providing them to requesters. Requesters were not informed of this new process. An email request with 1000 emails could have 20,000 pages of attachments. Citizens may not want staff to review voluminous attachments that are already public records. For instance, Nashua’s assessing office has a data disk with 3400 pages of numbers which is already a public record on their website.

The City began producing the Court ordered email records in December of 2023. The city was being evasive and uncooperative in specifying the number of pages of documents involved. The City began providing all the attachments, primarily public records, without communicating with the requester. Of course, the requester informed the City that she did not want the attachments.

The city informed her that they would continue to review, number, insert, and redact all those records regardless of her request not to receive the attachments. It turns out that this is causing a long delay in the delivery of the records. It appears the city will need about 15 months to deliver the records. However, the city is unwilling to provide a timeframe for completion. The City refuses to provide the attachment page volume even though they have this answer. This City operates with malicious compliance.

The requester reopened both lawsuits, filed a protective order, a contempt order and an RTK lawsuit. The hearing is on April 22, 2024 at Nashua Superior Court.

The City hypocritically advocates for the State to amend the RTK law to charge fees for voluminous requests while working to increase the volume of the documents by adding unwanted attachments thereby increasing fees to be charged to citizens. All this while complaining of burdensome citizens making unreasonable demands. In reality, the burden and inflated costs are created by hostile City leaders to discourage and delay documents. Nashua City leaders work tirelessly to marginalize citizens who do not echo their message.

A Win is never a Win in Nashua.

The post Nashua’s Malicious Email Game appeared first on Granite Grok.

Polling on the problem of too much free speech is a scary enough prospect as the Government that lies to us works to convince Americans that it not only has no obligation to protect their First Amendment rights but that citizens should rally to demand it take them.

According to a new poll from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a First Amendment organization, nearly a third of Americans, including similar numbers of Republicans and Democrats, say that the First Amendment goes “too far” in the rights it guarantees. More than half agreed that their local community should not allow a public speech that espouses a belief they find particularly offensive.

When I saw the headline, I thought one-third could be Democrats, but as the pull quote reveals, an equal number of Republicans make up that number. Would it be brash to suggest they should not be registered as Republicans? Certainly not “conservative, as this would run contrary to the notion of conserving the natural rights our Government allegedly exists to protect.

That’s what Conservative means, by the way. The uniparty has been working on all cylinders to dilute that notion and succeeding. Many think there is such a thing as hate speech. That misinformation and disinformation are things a government (even through proxies) should be allowed to manage.

Half of the respondents said that their community “definitely” or “probably” should not permit a public speech expressing the opinion they found most offensive. A whopping 69 percent said a local college should “definitely” or “probably” not allow a professor who holds such an opinion to teach there. Over a quarter of respondents said that someone who previously said the offensive opinion should be fired from their job.

It is a sad day and not just for speech. Too many people have been lulled into complacency. They have no idea why the Bill of Rights and Constitutions exists. Once you let the Government take something away, it will not give it back, nor will it stop until it has taken it all.

This needs to change, and while Independent media has made significant inroads in recent years, it is clear that more work needs to be done. As we like to remind you, liberty is more precious, rare, even than life, and tyranny never rests, so neither can we.

Here is the survey from FIRE.

The post The First Amendment is a Problem for at Least One Third of Americans appeared first on Granite Grok.

It was only a few years ago that Vermont lawmakers were bragging that thanks to them, Vermont had adopted the lowest acceptable threshold for PCBs (a potential carcinogen found in certain pre-1980s building materials) in schools – a level significantly lower than what the federal EPA deems safe (4000% lower!).

Levels significantly lower than what European governments deem to be safe. Some critics worried it was an impossible standard, but Vermont being Vermont, we had to be the lowest.

In 2021, Vermont lawmakers took things a step further by slipping language into that year’s budget bill mandating that every school in our state built before 1980 be tested for PCBs along with Vermont’s new regulatory guidelines. We were the first state in the nation to demand such a program. Vermont being Vermont, we also had to be first!

Heady stuff, saving the children and all. Makes for wonderful press conferences and a bullet point for your next round of campaign materials.

VPIRG boasted in its 2021 legislative wrap-up at the close of session, “This year, we supported further protections for Vermont’s children by backing new requirements in H.426 requiring schools to be tested for radon and PCBs. This will help to identify toxic threats and keep children safe.” Great!

According to the state website on toxic substances,

PCBs can cause serious health effects. The potential for health effects from PCBs, as with other chemicals, depends on how much, how often, and how long someone is exposed to them.

Numerous studies in both humans and animals have shown that exposure to PCBs can affect the nervous, immune, reproductive and endocrine systems. PCBs are also classified as human carcinogens. This means that exposure to PCBs can cause cancer in humans.

Additionally, the different health effects of PCBs may be interconnected. This means that if one system of the body is affected by PCBs, it may have significant effects on the other systems of the body, which can lead to many serious health problems.

But now, in the midst of a devastating property tax crisis brought about by a combination of a tax-and-spend-like-drunken-sailors ideology wrapped in general legislative incompetence, it looks like that mandatory PCB testing program is going to be put on hold. Not because the tests aren’t turning up PCBs but because they are. And fixing said problem is expensive. And potentially expensive on the property tax.

It’s one thing to stand on a soap box and proclaim your love for the children. It’s another to actually pay a price – political and financial — for doing it. So, faced with the prospect of the latter, our courageous legislators say never mind. What are a few carcinogens here and there? Kids are tough!

The ostensible logic behind a testing pause put forward by Peter Conlon (D-Cornwall), chair of the House Education Committee, is that because the state doesn’t have the money to fix the problems if found, there’s no point in looking for problems in the first place. Like with that Spinal Tap drummer who died in a bizarre gardening accident, the authorities in Montpelier have decided PCBs in our schools are crimes “best left unsolved.”

Thankfully, my own kids have aged out of the hot mess of Vermont government-run public education in all of its aspects has devolved into, but if I were still a parent of school-aged children and there was a possibility of a poisonous substance lingering throughout the building, I’m forced by law to send my little tykes to 180 days a year, I’D WANT TO KNOW!

In a recent interview with VT Digger, Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore estimated the cost of finishing the testing program would is between $30 million and $70 million over the next two years. That’s a lot of money, for sure. But it’s about the same amount allocated for the newly passed universal free meals program. It’s far less than the amount newly allocated to expand government-run pre-k. If PCBs are really the dire problem we were led to believe, wouldn’t it make more sense to prioritize ensuring classrooms are not a health hazard before shoveling more younger children into them? I guess not!

And if the resources aren’t available to fix the problem once detected – a legitimate reality – no parent should be forced to send their kid into that space. Ever. Other options should be made available. Immediately.

And this, I suspect, is why the Democrats in the legislature are now so hell-bent on a testing pause (they tried last year as well with H.486): The VTNEA does not want parents in a legal/moral position to demand other educational options.

If a school has to close because it’s unsafe (or for any other reason) and there are no other public options within the district, the families in that district get school choice. Not every community has an abandoned mall they can convert into a school as Burlington did when PCBs led to the demolition of their high school or the nearly quarter of a billion dollars to build a new one.  The teachers’ union, public school special interests, and their political bedfellows would, it appears, much rather see kids get cancer than allow an opening for expanded school choice to emerge.

Either that or the PCB issue was always just a phony baloney scare tactic used by politicians to virtue signal their “anything for the children” persona and to give their activist allies like VPIRG a lucrative opportunity to fundraise for a cause by spreading unnecessary panic. But, as with the Act 127 ‘equity’ pupil weighting debacle, it’s blown up in their faces.

 

Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics, including three years of service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free-market think tank. He is also a regular contributor to VermontGrok.

 

The post So, It’s Okay to Poison the Children Now? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Members of the Apple cult who were hoping to one day drive their iteration of an Electric Vehicle will be disappointed. After dropping billions into an effort to one day compete with Tesla Motors, The Tech Giant has cut the plug-in cord.

Apple wanted to develop new battery technology that would dramatically cut the cost of electric vehicles and wanted to develop software that would make their cars fully self driving. …

The news comes after Apple said last month that it was pushing back its timetable for debuting its electric car from 2026 to 2028, which comes as the electric vehicle market has fallen off significantly in recent years due to a wide range of consumer concerns.

What no one ever seems to say is Apple, despite its braintrust, easy access to China, and billions of dollars, couldn’t make it work. There was no path to a more affordable battery pack technology. They also didn’t say why, at least not in the reporting I found: inflation and the price hikes created by false demand.

Government policy has driven the development and manufacture of Electric Vehicles for which the general public has no use, even if they could afford one. The recent glut of inventory and an almost institutional retreat by car makers is back in the driver’s seat, with Apple not being alone in wasting billions. Domestic EV makers have reported similar losses from making EVs. Unions have expressed anger at the changing dynamic EVs bring to autoworkers who have lost jobs, pay, and opportunity. It’s gotten so bad that one government, Joe Biden’s, has decided the impending and inescapable planetary doom that precipitated their EV demands can wait until after the next election.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that the Biden administration was preparing to ease its push to force EVs onto American consumers as consumer demand for the vehicles remains low, dealerships have expressed serious concerns, and automakers have had to cut production and revamp production of gas vehicles.

The report said the move was a “concession to automakers and labor unions” from the administration, as it was forcing “limits on tailpipe emissions” to force Americans to switch from gas-powered cars to more expensive electric vehicles

It might be a useful bit of political art to remind voters that we were told we couldn’t wait until we could and that should you fall for this sleight of hand and vote for Democrats despite their crimes against common sense and the economy, they put the screws to you the minute they get back into office.

Their preferred priorities are a dead end that is voting them trillions.

 

The post No iCar In Your Future – Apple Cuts Plug-In Cord After Wasting Billions on Titan EV Project appeared first on Granite Grok.

There are many things a local, state, and federal government can do for its people, from ensuring clean, drinkable water and road maintenance to police and fire protection to border security. But there are some elements of life that the government should avoid, and Portland, Maine, is considering crossing the line on two of them. The city of Portland is considering a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for all residents and an ordinance to increase the minimum wage in the city to $20 per hour. Both are terrible ideas that will harm local businesses and stifle the work ethic of an already stagnant workforce.

The problem with these suggestions begins with the premise. The Portland, Maine City Council’s Housing and Economic Development Committee is modeling its 2024 Plan on the implementations of Portland, Oregon. Portland, Oregon, is one of the most progressive cities in the country, and its policies are so toxic that there is an active movement for the more conservative eastern region of the state to secede from Oregon and join neighboring Idaho. This effort to secede includes portions of Northern California that do not align with the more progressive Southern California.

The Portland, Maine Council points to a pilot program of the Quality Housing Coalition that gave a UBI of $1,000 a month to a group of 20 mothers for one year. The site outlines the program, which started in 2023 but does not detail its results. The program includes training for those receiving the benefit, but not whether this is designed to be a bridge program or a renewable subsidy.

Setting up a UBI program, which was initially the idea of Democrat Presidential candidate Andrew Yang, is rife with potential opportunities for fraud and, as stated earlier, inhibits a person’s need to work. Though $1,000 a month is not a living wage, it might keep someone out of the full-time workforce at a time when workers are needed in every sector of the economy.

The minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage for a family, but that is what Democrats are trying to create. Recently, a California Senate seat candidate suggested a statewide minimum wage of $50, which would be a yearly total of $104,000. The thinking is that this is needed to support a small family in California. Can you imagine the cost of a Happy Meal or a pizza if the person making it was paid $50/hour? Wages should be set by the free market and not by the government. Arbitrarily setting a high minimum rate to give the appearance you are working for the people is destroying small businesses, which actually are helping people.

This trend toward a Socialist government, which involves itself in every aspect of life, has to be shut down. Pro-government must be replaced with pro-people and pro-business. We must get Americans back to work instead of their mailbox to get their paycheck. Since COVID, the new jobs created nationally have been filled predominantly by non-American-born workers. This trend is contradictory to what the government is attempting to control. The immigrants are filling the jobs at lower wages than Americans. At the same time, the government wants to regulate minimum wages. It is a vicious cycle that the government should pull out of.

One more quick example of a government idea gone wrong is the plan by Brunswick to house illegal aliens relocating to Maine. Maine allocated nearly $3.5 million to provide apartments in five new buildings in Brunswick to 60 illegal immigrant families. This amount breaks down to $58,333 per family that is in our country illegally. There are over 200 homeless veterans living in shelters or on the streets of Maine. Most efforts to eradicate veteran homelessness are donation-based. It appears our priorities are very messed up.

The post Bear Pond Conservative Chronicles: Two Bad Decisions By Portland Leaders appeared first on Granite Grok.

Rumor has it that mindless Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech will include a new deflection from his complicity in the shitshow that is the American economy. The guy who swore to end fossil fuels (no matter what…it would do to the economy) appears ready to blame greed for what ails us.

And I must admit, I agree, but not in the intended context of Joe’s handlers.

No one has taken advantage of their position to spend other people’s money like Joe Biden. Since he took office, the Government has pig-piled trillions in new debt onto the backs of children and grandchildren who didn’t have a vote and have yet to earn a dime. Add in the debt service on that profligate spending, and the notion that Joe can come up with a better example of corporate malfeasance than what he and his Government have done seems unlikely.

Taking advantage of your position to misuse trillions of other people’s dollars to pursue your self-interests is about as greedy a thing as I can imagine.

Only the Government can abuse people that way and get away with it. The Bidenistas also think they can get political traction with another trial balloon phrase – shrink-inflation.

On Friday, Politico reported that Team Biden is strongly considering making snack-food shrinkflation — “fewer chips in the bag,” as Joe said — the magnificent centerpiece of Joe Biden’s belated State of The Union speech on March 7th. I realize that idea sounds more like an SNL sketch than a real plan. It’s literally unbelievable that the leader of the free world would target smaller processed food packages as America’s primary problem.

The problem with this approach is not that the bag has fewer chips, but why? Government debt-driven spending sprees incorrectly counted as GDP make this record-setting act of generational theft look good on paper while devaluing every dollar, making everything exponentially more expensive. If the chip makers want to make any money to stay in business in this environment, they either take a few chips out of the bag or start charging a lot more.

Maybe Joe could talk about the academic shrinkflation of public schools. The schools themselves swell with staff and bloating budgets, but there is less education than ever. And it’s not just schools; every aspect of Government takes more, costs more, makes things cost more, costs even more thanks to inflation, and gives less.

Shrinkflation is what you did to the dollar, Joe. You shrank its value. We’re lucky there are chips or a bag to put them in.

And Joe’s Democrat replacement will be able to pretend whatever Joe did was none of their doing, but Joe is still operating on the assumption he is running for re-election. That is not true, though I doubt anyone has told him. His name is on the Democrat primary ballot, but it is little more than a placeholder, much like those signs progressive protesters had with a blank space to write the name of whoever Trump nominated to the Supreme Court. Gorsuch? How do you spell that – Hey, hand me the Sharipe. Until they break the news about Joe 2.0, why not keep using Joe as a trial balloon alongside whatever bit of progressive wordsmithing the DC Dungeoun narrative mills can concoct? Something might stick. After all, they want to keep the election in November close enough so that when they steal it, it doesn’t look as obvious as it did in 2020.

Sure, they got away with that one, and yes – they’d love a full-blown civil war, curfews, and a reason to roll out all those BearCats Obama sold to your local PD when he was President, but it would be easier if they could steal it to protect their political greed.

Greed is precisely the problem, and Joe blaming it on anyone but himself and the Government is more of a Democrat projection.

The post Night Cap: Shrink-Flating Biden’s ‘Greed-Flation’ appeared first on Granite Grok.

This is an assertion of a history of racketeering and Ponzi Schemes relating to the attorneys and non-profits involved in the YDC cases. Attorney General John Formella sought $100 million of public funds to pay for claims against the State for victims of YDC abuse. David Vicinanzo states that he was one of the lead attorneys to seek it.

According to 169- C 3:
VII. “Child placing agency” means the department, Catholic Charities of New Hampshire, Child and Family Services of New Hampshire, or any successor organization.

David Vicinanzo and Nixon Peabody have served as legal counsel to the Diocese of Manchester, which covers Catholic Children’s Services and Catholic Charities.

Gordon MacDonald, New Hampshire’s Supreme Court Chief Justice, was also employed by Nixon Peabody and was also counsel for the Diocese of Manchester.

Together, David Vicinanzo and Gordon MacDonald handled hundreds of cases involving alleged child abuse for the Diocese.
Francis Talbot was a longtime chaplain at the YDC. He was accused of sexual abuse at the Diocese and convicted. He was not charged with sexual abuse at the YDC. I believe that David Vicinanzo and/or Gordon MacDonald or their colleagues at Nixon Peabody would have been involved in his case in 2002.

We want to thank Claire Best for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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Rule 1.7 requires Attorneys to reveal if a conflict of interest exists. I do not believe that David Vicinanzo or Gordon MacDonald have revealed this with regard to the YDC cases and their representation of the Diocese of Manchester, which included Catholic Charities and priests who had been accused of sex abuse, such as Francis Talbot – a Chaplin at YDC.

I believe there should be an investigation into quid pro quo arrangements when it comes to David Vicinanzo, who also claims that he provides “pro bono” legal counsel to the NHCADSV to whom his ex-business partner Gordon MacDonald referred plaintiffs of YDC abuse after he’d dismissed the initial case for “victim negligence.” David Vicinanzo and Nixon Peabody then joined Russ Rilee in the claims against YDC. It would be logical to assume that his client, the NHCADSV, introduced him.

It would be logical to assume that between he and his client, it was arranged for Timothy McLaughlin at Shaheen & Gordon to threaten me with a defamation suit to withdraw statements I had made about the NHCADSV and Amanda Grady Sexton being involved, with other public officials and attorneys, in a “kids for cash” type scheme.  The NHCADSV has stated that they brought on Brian Harlow, a victim of Diocese of Manchester abuse, on the 10th anniversary of the Diocese investigation/Spotlight to increase their business. Brian Harlow came from non-profit SNAP. The Executive Directors of SNAP resigned after a whistleblower highlighted a kick back scheme with attorneys.

David Vicinanzo gave political donations to Ovide Lamontagne, Kelly Ayotte, John Sununu, Chris Sununu, John Stephen inter alia:

From Wikipedia:
As an attorney for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester, Lamontagne negotiated the 2003 settlement of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s investigation into the child sex abuse scandal that spared the diocese from being criminally charged. In all, in the period of 2002–03, the diocese agreed to a $15.5 million settlement involving 176 claims of sex abuse.[5][6]

The May 2003 settlement of 61 abuse claims for $6.5 million handled by Lamontagne as counsel for the Manchester Diocese prevented the diocese from being criminally prosecuted. In December 2002, the diocese had admitted that its failure to protect children from sexual abuse may have been a violation of criminal law, becoming the first diocese in the United States to do so. Under threat of indictment by the New Hampshire Attorney General, Bishop John McCormack signed an agreement acknowledging that the Attorney General office possessed evidence sufficient to win convictions as part of the settlement.[7]

Lamontagne claimed that McCormack and other prominent church members wanted a speedy settlement and, in an example of behaving “pastorally” rather than as a litigant, instructed their attorneys to take a moderate stance and eschew hardline legal tactics. Lamontagne said of the diocese’s legal strategy, “That is not typical in terms of client requests.”[8]

John Stephen introduced the no-bid contract for Maximus Inc. for Medicaid in 2004. Maximus is contracted with Catholic Charities, and Kathleen Kerr, who was legal counsel for the NH DHHS/DCYF for 12 years, joined Maximus Inc. and is on the board. Maximus is contracted with the DCYF and YDC.

The YDC is named after John Sununu, to whom David Vicinanzo also gave generously.

Gordon MacDonald dismissed David Meehan et al.’s claims against the State for child abuse at the YDC for “victim negligence”. He then referred plaintiffs to the NHCADSV, who are David Vicinanzo’s clients. Then joined Russ Rilee and convinced Gordon MacDonald’s successor, John Formella, to get approval for $100 million. Nixon Peabody is seeking 40% of each claim they make. The NHCADSV I believe are also to receive a portion of each settlement as they did in Rapuano & Does v Dartmouth filed by Chuck Douglas and Steven J Kelly Esq who also filed several suits against St Paul’s School while David Vicinanzo represented members of St Paul’s Faculty.

David Vicinanzo praised Judge Richard McNamara’s decision to keep the Grand Jury Criminal Investigation Report private. His client who had petitioned for it – the NHCADSV – got a contract with the school out of it.

David Vicinanzo also represented Phillips Exeter Academy when the DCYF admitted to deleting files of sex abuse at the school. His client, the NHCADSV, got a contract out of it.

When Catholic Medical Center was forced to pay $3.8 million for a kickback scheme revealed by a whistleblower, Chuck Douglas stepped in to represent the whistleblower.  Catholic Medical Center falls under Catholic Charities as well, and former Monsignor Edward Arsenault (who pled guilty to defrauding the Diocese of Manchester, CMC, and a dead priest’s estate) had been responsible for increasing the business for Catholic Charities and CMC. That means that he was responsible for increasing business for Nixon Peabody and Divine Millimet and John Stephen, who’d introduced Maximus and had a consulting company that is down the block from Nixon Peabody. David Vicinanzo had made political contributions to Ovide LaMontagne of Divine Millimet and to John Stephen.

Nixon Peabody has been involved in a couple of National Ponzi Schemes. At least one of them using public funds. The law firm was founded in 1999. David Vicinanzo and Gordon MacDonald joined. The Diocese cases quickly ensued. James F McLaughlin was the police officer. Edward Arsenault was the “compliance” officer, personally arranging 250 settlements according to his bio, and Chuck Douglas was filing many of the claims.

Chuck Douglas was New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice when John Sununu was Governor. Chuck Douglas allegedly ordered a teenage girl back to YDC after the State had paid for her to have an abortion. In Chuck Douglas’ divorce proceedings from Caroline Douglas, she accused him of financial fraud and spoke of the “club” of attorneys and judges. They are the same club today as they were in 1999. And they are protecting James F McLaughlin, attorneys, non-profits, and AGs who have all benefitted from the Diocese cases, the St. Paul’s School cases, and the Phillips Exeter Academy cases.

Not one of these is asking for a Grand Jury Investigation into the YDC. The DOJ funds UNH for research and policy regarding child sex abuse. The centers have been operating in one form or another since 1978. The DOJ has funded the New Hampshire Justice system for the prosecution of youths. The NHCADSV endorsed former juvenile prosecutor Paul Havorsen to become DA for Merrimack County. He had sent children to YDC, where they were abused.  Forty years after the UNH center was formed, the Office of Child Advocate came into existence.

In a few months, it published a report on the extreme abuse of children at YDC. UNH never did this. Is it because the YDC is a sexual and mental abuse research center? Is it because the abuse of children at facilities that fall under Catholic Charities or the DCYF can have their data taken and become studies for UNH, whose chair is Alex Walker, who is also Chair of the Catholic Medical Center and represented the Diocese of Manchester with Ovide LaMontagne?

How can you assure the public that Nixon Peabody’s representation of the YDC cases, St Paul’s School faculty, Phillips Exeter Academy, and the Diocese of Manchester were not Ponzi schemes benefitting attorneys and non-profits in a small club that included Chuck Douglas, the NHCADSV, the AGs office, Edward Arsenault, James F McLaughlin, and DCYF?

Should the public be the first ones to foot the bill for the $100 million in claims of sex abuse or the people in the club above who have profiteered?  These attorneys have dozens of companies, properties, and shell companies. Two of Nixon Peabody’s partners are on the board of directors for Primary Bank, which is the bank for Children’s Advocacy Centers. The bank’s directors are also heavily involved in Catholic charity-related businesses.

Please investigate Ponzi schemes before the public is defrauded. The FRM Ponzi scheme under Kelly Ayotte’s tenure as AG involved the Banking Department and other public offices. The AG’s office has withheld information on the cover-ups of YDC abuse. I understand that victims are unable to access their medical records from the doctors they were sent to see while at YDC. These doctors were affiliated with the Catholic Medical Center/Charities.

There must be a clear and transparent investigation before the public is further defrauded. The money came to New Hampshire for child services. It was used for everything but the protection of children.  AG Gordon MacDonald dismissed Anna Carrigan v New Hampshire. What is going on?

The views and opinions expressed by contributors are those of the author and may not reflect the opinion or position of  Grok Media, GraniteGrok.com, its authors, advertisers, donors, or sponsors.

The post Conflicts of Interest, Public Corruption, the YDC and DCYF appeared first on Granite Grok.

Hillsdale College, located in Hillsdale, Michigan, is the premier bastion of classical freedom-loving American no-compromise higher education.
It offers free, noncredit online courses by its faculty. These online versions are based upon those in the College’s undergraduate core curriculum, which all Hillsdale students must complete prior to graduation.

In addition to lectures, these online courses feature readings, study guides, quizzes, and discussion groups. There is also an opportunity to receive certificates of completion for each course.

For more information on, and to sign up for, the free online courses, go to www.hillsdale.edu and click on the Online Courses” tab at the top of the home page.

ABOUT HILLSDALE COLLEGE

Hillsdale College was founded in 1844 by men and women who proclaimed themselves “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings resulting from the prevalence of civil and religious liberty and intelligent piety in the land,” and who believed that “the diffusion of sound learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.”
Hillsdale was the first American college to prohibit in its charter any discrimination based on race, sex, or national origin. Associated with the anti-slavery movement from its earliest days, it attracted to its campus anti­ slavery leaders such as Frederick Douglass and Edward Everett, who preceded Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg. Several of the College’s leading men were instrumental in founding the new Republican party up the road in Jackson, Michigan, in 1854. And Hillsdale sent a larger percentage of its students to fight for the Union in the Civil War than any other American college or university except West Point. Two of those Hillsdale veterans helped carry Lincoln’s casket to the slain president’s final resting place in Springfield, Illinois.
Hillsdale’s modern rise to national prominence began in the 1970s, when the federal government attempted to impose a host of regulations on the College-including racial quota requirements that violated Hillsdale’s principled policy of nondiscrimination. When the Supreme Court upheld these regulations in the 1980s on the basis that Hillsdale students received federally funded grants and loans, the College decided to refuse even this indirect form of federal aid, replacing all federal student aid with privately funded grants, loans, and scholarships.

Hillsdale’s Board of Trustees pledged first that the College would continue its long­ standing policy of nondiscrimination, and second that it would not accept any encroachments on its independence. It is a pledge that has been renewed several times in subsequent years and stands to date.

Today an independent, coeducational, residential liberal arts college with a student body of some 1,460 undergraduates, the College continues to carry out its original mission. With a core curriculum that comprises about one-half of courses a student needs to graduate, Hillsdale maintains its strong fidelity to the liberal arts.

In its outreach, too, the College teaches those same ideas that advance “civil and religious liberty.” Its many programs include the Center for Constructive Alternatives, one of the largest college lecture series in America; the Hoogland Center for Teacher Excellence, which holds seminars for high school teachers of civics and history; the National Leadership Seminars; the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship, in Washington, D.C.; and Imprimis, a monthly newsletter that reaches over 4 million people. Opened in the fall of 2012, the Hillsdale College Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship offers an M.A. and a Ph.D. in politics.

For more information about Hillsdale College, and to obtain a free subscription to the Imprimis monthly, please visit www.hillsdale.edu

The post Hillsdale College- Free online Learning & More appeared first on Granite Grok.

Though this article is designed for the Ward 2 voter/reader, Alderman Dowd’s chairmanship is ultimately a citywide product.  Alderman Wilshire was given the gavel by the body of 15.  That’s nine wards with one alderman apiece plus six members elected at large. Keep in mind that there was an opportunity to remove some of those 6 in addition to the mayor.

Prior to the November 2023 election, I learned that Dowd was not held in high esteem by his condo community.  As his opponent, I gave that neighborhood some extra attention while out canvassing, then wrote this article about some condo association dirty laundry I learned more about while talking to well-engaged members of that community.

I was bent on removing that old fixture and fueled by my anger against his Mask Madness and big spending modus operandi; the latter being a big part of the resulting “Property Tax Tyranny.”

Last night’s meeting offered much to observe and take note of.  It’s almost 2 hours long, but I encourage you to watch the public comments that are in the very beginning.

You could call it “3 WATCHdog Night” because the first 8 minutes were comments by three local women who almost don’t need any introduction: Laura Colquhoun, who recently wrote this article; Laurie Ortolano, who also speaks a 2nd time during a separate public comment at 1:41:35 to 1:44:35, and does hold her own as a Grokster, and Paula Johnson, who was recently ousted in a school recount and is planning to appeal recent litigation against the City that did not go favorably.

They tore it up!  Good job, ladies.

I’ll give you the brief Jim Rice NESN desk summary.  It became obvious that Alderman Dowd, as chair, knew about the ESSER funds shortfall BEFORE the election, and some of his ilk just started learning how bad only lately.  For a detailed, play-by-play review of last night’s clown show, stay tuned in beyond the 9th minute when Alderman Sullivan asks questions.  One very nasty member of The Swamp, who has been exceptionally hostile to Laurie Ortolano in the past, started questioning Dowd also though as a way of pretending to want accountability to his constituents.  What a phony!

Watching the enemy camp eat its own is very gratifying, though only fleeting, but I will finish with this montage here because elections really do have consequences.

The post Voter’s Regrets, the Sequel appeared first on Granite Grok.

Here’s something that blows my mind.

On the one hand, conservative parents continue to fight over the issue of pornographic books in school libraries.

But on the other hand, they continue to send their children to a political institution controlled by woke progressives.

An institution that is being given access to those children, 6 hours a day, 180 days a year, during the most impressionable years of their lives.

That’s 13,000 hours that progressives can use to weave their agenda into the subject matter of every lesson and activity — to say nothing of countless opportunities to provide personal ‘guidance’ to the students who have been placed in their care.

If you’d like a preview of how this comes out, read Xi Van Fleet’s excellent book, Mao’s America: A Survivor’s Warning, in which she lays out some pretty startling parallels between Mao’s cultural revolution in China during the 1960s and 1970s, and the one that’s going on here in America right now.  (Or, if you’re short on time, watch her recent interview with Tucker Carlson.)

If you’re a conservative, the problem you need to be working on isn’t removing pornographic books from the school libraries. It’s removing your kids from the schools — at least if you would like them to grow up with your conservative values.

As someone said, if you send your kids to Caesar to be educated, it’s silly to complain when they come back as Romans.

And in case you’re thinking that the public schools can be reformed, or reclaimed, or reconstituted, or retooled, or repaired, just remember:

Any taxes you pay can and will — sooner or later — be used against you.

 

The post It’s Not the Books That Need To Be Removed… appeared first on Granite Grok.

To all those who are sending in memes, thank you!  Keep them coming please, as it helps me gather weaponry to fight the Left.  Please do share this post, or if you share an individual meme or link, consider mentioning you saw it on the Grok!

Speaking of, from this week, Monday Edition and Wednesday Edition.  Also check out my latest Israel-focused meme & commentary post if this is a subject of interest to you.

 

*** Warning, a few possibly off-color ones, in case tender eyes are about ***

 

 

Whether a laugh, a warm feeling, or a cold slap of truth.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

 

And no repercussions.  Of course.  When people see – blatant, in your face – differences in how laws are enforced, they lose faith in the entire system.  Which is the point, of course.

 

 

 

 

Are you f*cking kidding me?????

 

 

Yes, I question the whole DEI involvement, but something seems awry.  My “paranoid antennae” are twitching on the sudden step-change uptick in this – could this be deliberate to get people to not want to fly?  If that’s true, expect other types of airplanes to start developing problems too.

 

 

 

 

I suspect she’s holding on hoping Trump gets taken down by the lawfare.  Then she can present herself as the “logical” replacement.

 

 

I remember a while ago searching for images of “X couples”.  X = White, Black, Hispanic, Asian.  You guessed it.  The latter three were as you’d expect.  The White one was virtually all mixed race.

 

 

By this standard, most of the GOP sucks canal water.

 

 

 

Speaking of:

Explain Why Obama, Admitting He’s Running Biden, Is Released – Liberty’s Torch (libertystorch.info)

 

 

 

 

Combines with this:

 

 

You must remember – most people don’t want their calm, stable view of the world disturbed.  They don’t want to believe that there are truly dark and evil people in this world.  They want to live – per the TV show – in the sunlit side of reality, and flat-out deny there is a dark side.  And while I don’t normally intersperse videos anymore, this is spot-on truth-in-fiction:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/octagon-quote.mp4

 

 

 

 

What Is Caesar’s And What Is Mine? – Liberty’s Torch (libertystorch.info)

 

 

 

 

Estimated net worth $680 million.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s that definition of insanity again?

 

 

Beware confirmation bias.  A line from the scifi book DUNE is appropriate: “Hope clouds observation”.

 

 

Speaking of “diversity”:

Bayou Renaissance Man: Importing crime

 

 

 

 

 

In my case, same household.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

 

 

 

The “whales” seem to be fleeing the market.  IIRC Bezos is up to $6 billion in sales.  Why?  And what to make of this:

 

 

I do not recall, EVER, seeing any similar warning about prior eclipses.  Do you?

 

 

What’s coming?  Don’t forget, there really is a market for “ultra-rich people” getting bunkers.

Platinum Series – Atlas Survival Shelters

Inside Luxury Bunkers Where Ultra-Rich Prepare for Doomsday (businessinsider.com)

Nor should you forget our “good and dear friend” giving us this warning:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/cyber-attacks-next.mp4

 

Concluding:

Bayou Renaissance Man: A reminder: why we should be storing food

Fascinating – I got this warning:

This post may contain sensitive content. In general, Google does not review nor do we endorse the content of this or any blog. For more information about our content policies, please visit the Blogger Community Guildelines.

I’ve NEVER had to sign in to open his posts before.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Others have noted it too.  Odd how they all – just about – seem to be swimming in money by the time they leave office.

 

 

See my comment above about not wanting to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember one “researcher” making some kind of “bug milk” ice cream and handing out samples.  Then, telling them what it was after they’d eaten it, and being insufferably pleased about it.

 

 

 

 

Generations and generations and generations.  This is their FAITH, remember?  And in parallel with that, their FAITH that they are made from finer clay and thus deserve to be at the top.

 

 

Peter Grant challenged me on Gab about this.  I do remember hearing a voice recording of this, so I do believe it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll give him credit for a lot of judges.  But ultimately, he’s a swamp creature.

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Link Section (some mine, some from my Jarhead friend):

 

Embalmers are Continuing to Find Mysterious Clots in the Vaccinated (midwesterndoctor.com)

Kind of technical, but… the overarching thing to me is how – HOW – in the face of these “calamari clots” that nobody’s ever seen before, there’s no mass interest in WHY they’re suddenly being seen.  But then, there’s the axiom:

You cannot get someone to see something, when their paycheck depends on them not seeing it.

—

To Understand The Globalists We Must Understand Their Psychopathic Religion – Alt-Market.us

Long and thoughtful.

And I will argue that one prime reason they argue that there are no souls, and no divine sparks, is because they fear death – and thus believe they can just transfer their minds to a computer and live forever.

—

Yes, they really are that stupid and evil. – Liberty’s Torch (libertystorch.info)

On guns, or anything else, they speak from ignorance and propaganda without thinking.

—

Vahid Beheshti: My Plan to Bring Down the Iranian Regime :: Middle East Forum (meforum.org)

Cue Saruman voice: “If the West stands firm to support the Persian people, the Mullahs will fall”.  This can only be a good thing.

—

Will Dems Steal the 2024 Presidential Election Even If Trump Wins? Count on it and Prepare. – The Lid (lidblog.com)

I’d bet every dime I have that they’ll try.

—

Colorado Democrats Kill Bill Penalizing Raping Children – The Lid (lidblog.com)

I don’t want to live here any more.

—

Meta’s AI Achieves the Left’s Dream, Makes Donald Trump Disappear (jihadwatch.org)

Holy Orwell, Batman!

—

Death of a Nation, Birth of Another – by T.L. Davis (substack.com)

Start planning.

—

Yes, Hitler Was a Socialist. – Urban Scoop

 

 

And bringing up an older piece I did:

Hitler’s Missing Speech – Liberty’s Torch (libertystorch.info)

—

“Who Could Be Next”: Top Canadian Pension Fund Sells Manhattan Office Tower For $1, Sparking Firesale Panic | ZeroHedge

This could be the start of an avalanche.

—

Aaron Bushnell, Who Burned Himself Alive, Cheered Murder of U.S. Soldiers – Daniel Greenfield / Sultan Knish Articles at DanielGreenfield.org

Vipers in our midst.  Anyone remember that cadet who graduated with this T-shirt on?

 

 

Incidentally, good book:

Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him

—

The US Government is actively funding Chinese Gain-of-Function research into bird flu.  First:  I thought this was ILLEGAL, and 2nd, didn’t the last several years teach us that this is a BAD idea?  The only thing I can conclude is that this is deliberate, “in-your-face”, we’re doing it anyway, and SHUT UP Peasants:

Watchdog group uncovers docs showing US govt. now funding more gain-of-function research in China for bird flu | Sharyl Attkisson

—

Machine guns are defined as: Pull the trigger & hold it, and the system will continue firing until it runs out of ammo or you let up on the trigger.  Due to the NFA and other laws, since 1984, they are also illegal to make for civilians.  So if you want one legally, be prepared to payout some SERIOUS cash (like $15K-$30K) for a used one (assuming someone is willing to sell), plus tax stamps, a seriously deep background check etc., etc., etc.  Or you can do what the Chinese are doing:  Flooding the criminal market with special (illegal) parts that allow standard, semi-auto guns to be made into machine guns (and the Chinese are selling suppressors, which is ALSO illegal without tax stamps, & lots of paperwork).  The criminals don’t care if their gun is illegal as all He__, in fact, it may make points for them “in the hood”:

‘Blood Money’: How China Is Secretly Arming American Criminals (breitbart.com)

This is an excellent article written in 2014, and it makes an interesting perspective to see how much MORE corrupt the government has become since then:

The Pig Trap « Taxicab Depressions

Also from that site:

 

 

—

The FBLie would have us believe that the retail theft in the urban areas is being done by white people.  While I’m sure there are SOME people of all races involved, the vast majority of videos from ACTUAL EVENTS show differently:

https://anncoulter.substack.com/p/ever-wonder-why-the-fbi-didnt-see

London, one of the shining cities of the West, has fallen to Islamic rule.  And thanks to the feckless “leaders” in Britain, not a shot was fired:

Londonistan: Who’s City Is It? – Winds of Jihad (sheikyermami.com)

Related:

British MPs are having to hire bodyguards to protect them from Muslim extremists (barenakedislam.com)

—

For my Jewish friends:  If you or your children are attending college at a liberal university, I encourage you to get out NOW.  For the moment, the Muslims [and their Leftist allies] are just chanting slogans & breaking windows, but I fear it will soon slide into a full on violence to wipe you out.  Frankly I’m ashamed that this is happening in the United States:

UC BERKELEY: Violent pro-Hamas, anti-Israel Muslim thugs shut down event hosted by Jewish students (barenakedislam.com)

—

From the “let them eat cake” department:  Kellogg’s is now advertising helping your food budget by eating cereal for dinner.  There were times in college when my food budget meant peanut butter sandwiches and Raman noodles for most of my meals, but the average family should NOT have to eat cereal for dinner!:

Cereal For Dinner – Kellogg’s CEO Sends Depression-Era Message – Victory Girls Blog

—

Regarding the “pipe bombs” from January 6th, 2021.  Amazingly, a 3rd camera that showed the screen was found to have “somehow” panned away from the “scene of interest” during the whole response.  We have a saying in the military:  Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but 3 times is enemy action.  This makes it look more and more like a set-up by the FBI & The DOJ, turning them into “enemies of the people”.  The question is:  What do we do about it?:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/3rd-pipe-bomb-camera-deliberately-turned-away-from-scene-5595947

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

Whether it’s eating bugs or going gay/trans or whatever, notice that the marketing is always aimed at kids.  Remember, two famous socialists about kids:

 

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

 

Especially weekend mornings.

—

—

—

 

I’ll show myself out.  TGIF!

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

And don’t forget… come back Monday for another edition.  Same Meme Time.  Same Meme channel.

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

The post Friday Meme Overflow-Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.

The question is NOT why is the Biden-Regime rigging the 2024 election. What did you expect? They rigged 2020 and got away with it … with the assistance and encouragement of NeverTrump ideologues like Mikey Graham, who is still bloviating about how no courts have found voter fraud in 2020.

It is undisputed that the rigging took the form of Big Tech/Regime-media censorship (Hunter Biden laptop), Deep State disinformation amplified by Big Tech and Regime-media (Russia bounties, “suckers and losers”), Zuckerbucks, changes to voting laws in various swing States that allowed unreliable mail-in voting, etc., etc., etc.

Cry harder, Mikey. Did you really expect that the Left would stop rigging elections?

The right question is why … DESPITE EIGHT YEARS of off-and on GOP control of State government under the reign of the mighty Sun-King Chris Sununu … New Hampshire STILL ALLOWS OUT-OF-STATE COLLEGE STUDENTS to decide its elections. And do NOT tell me it’s because the Constitution requires it … other States do NOT allow out-of-State college students to vote in their elections and New Hampshire could do the same.

It is because the NHGOP are incompetent and have a loser-mentality … lose gracefully!

The post New Hampshire’s Rigged Elections … NH-NeverTrumpJournal Asks The Wrong Question appeared first on Granite Grok.

Interesting things happen when you embrace forced multi-culturalism with open borders, lawlessness, gang activity, depleted or stressed law enforcement, drugs, and Democrat control. More people end up dead.

Vermont’s growing annual body count, which can be linked directly to Democrat policy, added another victim.

Vermont state police say Christina Chatlos, 38, was shot and killed during a fight in St. Johnsbury last month.

According to court paperwork, investigators say Mohamad Said, 15, of Springfield, Massachusetts, pulled the trigger. Investigators say it stemmed from a drug deal that took a violent turn.

Chatlos, of Williamstown and Barre, was found dead on Jan. 23 inside a car with bullet holes in it parked in a lot on Portland Street, on the grounds of the Cornerstone School.

Said is in custody in Massachusetts after his arrest on a separate matter but will be extradited to Vermont, where he will enjoy all the comforts of the criminal justice system while awaiting trial. But we can’t ignore the similarities between this shooting and the rising violence across the state. Much of it involves non-Americans who either snuck in and were welcomed thanks to sanctuary policy or were resettled from a second or third-world country by some taxpayer-funded religious organization like Catholic Charities (notice the lack of Left-Wing outrage here about the separation of Church and State).

Vermont’s economy is not great, which Bidennomics only makes worse. The result is a land of milk and honey, where both seem spoiled. You simply can’t afford either, and the lack of jobs means that as a subject to the state, living on the dole, drugs, and crime are your fastest opportunity to a better-looking life or way out of it.

If professional shoplifting isn’t your thing, there are enough imported criminals, thugs, and gang leaders to start a nice war, which is how an increasing number of murders come to pass in places like Vermont.

The Democrat’s knee-jerk response to a rise in violence for which they are responsible is to disarm law-abiding citizens, a task well underway in the Green Mountain State.

You’d be right to ask if they saw it coming and this deliberate chaos was to justify eroding Second Amendment rights, which will only make the problem of murder worse for victims, and no, Democrats don’t care. Murder is good for their politics.

Vermont should expect more of it.

The post Murder is Good for their Politics appeared first on Granite Grok.

In Daniel Webster’s eulogy of George Washington, Webster praised our first President’s concern that posterity would forget the blessing of liberty our Constitution is to our nation. “He invokes a respect for our Constitution and issues a solemn duty in watching over it carefully — in words so beautiful as to bring tears to our eyes.” Due respect for this blessed heritage was lacking in the NH’s legislature when HCR 40 passed an application calling for a constitutional convention (ConCon) to ratify a Balance The Budget Amendment in 2012. State Rep. Nikki McCarter has sponsored HCR 9 that would rescind New Hampshire’s sole live application for a ConCon.

Human nature is prone to selfish deception to achieve personal goals. Organizations with six-figure lobbyist salaries, such as the Convention of States (COS) & Wolf PAC, have wined and dined many state legislators to convince them to sponsor their cause. Instead of pursuing the Article V process, that has given us the first 27 Amendments, they have promoted the dangerous ConCon method to fix the Constitution. They blame the Constitution for the federal abuse of power caused by politicians who ignore its limits.

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

Money buys support, but truth begets true believers. The grassroots voice of freedom, the John Birch Society (JBS), comprised of 99% volunteers in their educational army, has opposed and stopped this deceptive narrative throughout the nation. For over four decades, I have been in this battle for truth to preserve the Constitution. At JBS, we say, “The Constitution isn’t broken; it just needs to be obeyed.” Naturally, everyone is for a balanced budget. People then argue it is the Constitution’s fault and one amendment will fix the problem when thousands of violations of it each year are causing a 34 trillion dollar debt to fund unconstitutional wars, foreign aid, and unlimited bureaucracies. Politicians love this lie that hides their big spending. Orwell exposes how the mind is conditioned to accept what is not true: “The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie becomes truth.”

The crux of this issue requires a lot of history going back to the 1787 ConCon that set the precedent of a runaway convention. All states under the Articles of Confederation (AC) sent delegates to the 1787 ConCon with commissions to amend the AC. Delegates Pinckney from SC and Eldrige of MA said the delegates do not have the authority to go beyond their state’s mandate to amend the AC. Madison and the Virginia delegation decided to appeal to a higher authority, as the signers of The Declaration of Independence did: “They chose to exercise the transient and precious right of the people to abolish or alter their governments “ When the God-given rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are denied: “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, …”

Historically, Americans have been blessed with more freedom than any people who have walked the face of the earth. Obviously, this issue is deep. My effort here is only to pen “tip of the iceberg” information to trigger your investigation. Will you discover this is a fraudulent cause with dangerous consequences? Follow this link to learn and take action: rescind-new-hampshires-con-con-applications. Tell your state legislators to pass HCR 9 to rescind all ConCon’s

The post Rescind HC 9 appeared first on Granite Grok.

Congressional leaders are sitting down with Dementia Joe to talk about how to spend your money. If you have been following along, you know that starting this Friday, the US Government may partially shut down. Congress has not yet agreed on a new funding deal (as I write this) for the federal government for the rest of 2024.

This joy ride started back in September when the full year’s funding bills should have been passed. But leaders couldn’t agree on the amounts. Since they’ve kicked the can down the road every few months, setting a new deadline each time. Now, we’re approaching the March 1st deadline. So far, it doesn’t look good.

Mr. Biden and Senate Majority Leader Schumer want a lot of spending on lots of things. They want $95B for the wars in Ukraine and Israel. House Speaker Mike Johnson and his party want less spending, especially for those foreign wars. We have a $34T national debt, record annual deficits, and record interest payments on that debt. We cannot afford all the wants.

The interest payments on that debt will be greater this year than the entire US military budget. That’s a wake-up point; enough! The Congressional Budget Office agrees with Speaker Johnson. Their analysis is that America’s national debt will reach $54T within the next six years.

The Penn Wharton School, too, says it’s true. The big debt load means the US will likely be insolvent by the year 2040. Not bothered by facts and data, Mr. Biden and Mr. Schumer insist on more spending. Sen. Schumer says opposition to further spending means you’re an extremist.

Mr. Johnson, not pleased by that rhetoric, says the shutdown starts Friday, if there is one, and the responsibility for the shutdown belongs to the Democrats. He points out that during recent negotiations, Mr. Schumer suddenly said he wanted more spending this year on new additional priorities.

We’ve got three days for Congress to pass at least 12 budget bills, or the shutdown begins. Can they do it? Some House Republicans say a minibus deal can be used. Others say they should kick the can again until April.

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

Those who care about the future of America say it’s time to shut down the Government and reset our priorities. They want to shock the American people with how bad the fiscal crisis really is. It’s time for DC to finally be honest with the American people. Yes, even if it means doing something unpopular.

America’s biggest budget items, by far, are Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. If DC is serious about cutting the federal budget and reversing that debt crisis, this means we have to change laws and start cutting or limiting those programs. Virtually every American will be affected, especially retirees.

That is why nobody in DC really wants to talk about the federal debt, deficit, and record interest payments. Sacrifice is not a popular idea. Those are the facts on this evolving budget crisis.

As it turns out, promising lots of free stuff to everybody is really easy. Paying for it, however, is not so easy. In fact, we can’t pay for it unless we take on more debt, massively cut spending, or jack up taxes. That’s the ugly political and financial reality this morning.

There’s no easy answer that comes without pain and sacrifice. That’s the honest reality nobody in Washington DC really wants to talk about, and certainly not in a Presidential Election Year. So, we should expect more lying and political theater over the coming days.

At the end of the day, there won’t be any material progress on deficits or debt. At most, we’ll see some version of “can kicking” that will push this problem down that road. But you have to know, at some point, there’s no road left. That’s when your kids and grandkids are stuck with the nightmare we’re seeing in places like Argentina and Venezuela.

The post Night Cap: Shut It Down, Kick the Can, Act like Adults appeared first on Granite Grok.

As schools begin the shift to providing mental health services, parents need to be aware of some big problems that have been uncovered. Personally identifiable mental health information on students has already been shared, but schools are still failing to acquire informed parental consent for their child’s mental health assessments and services.

SEL is a way to shift more time away from learning the academic content. You can see in this video how the gatekeepers of the SEL programs admit that teachers are no longer important. Your kids can just learn that stuff on the internet. GO HERE.

This request for an investigation into what is going on in Merrimack was sent to The New Hampshire Department of education. Parents need to be informed and consent to all of these mental health programs and services offered by school counselors.

1st Request for Documentation:

Dear Superintendent Olsen:

Pursuant to the Right to Know Law (RSA, 91-1), I am requesting public access, within 5 business days, to the governmental records:

1) A copy of any parental permission slips for teachers to assess students using the DESSA. A copy of any parental permission slips for students to participate in the Second Step SEL program.

2) Copies of all SEL competencies or competencies related to social and emotional learning. (eg: Social Skills)

3) Documents showing where SEL/Social Skills competencies have been sent or will be sent. Colleges, etc.

Per RSA 91-A:4IV(C) If you deny any portion of this request, please cite the specific exemption used to justify the denial to make each record, or part thereof, available for inspection along with a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the information withheld.

Please let me know when these records are available for inspection or you may email the records to me at Banfieldannmarie@gmail.com.

Ann Marie Banfield
TRUST REQUIRES TRANSPARENCY

Ann Marie Banfield

2) REPLY BACK TO ME by SUPERINTENDENT:

Good morning Ann Marie,

I am submitting my response to your RSA 91-1 Right To Know Request. The attachment addresses your first request. With regard to your second and third request, my response to both is that the District does not maintain SEL competencies, or competencies related to social and emotional learning and thus has no responsive records.

Regards,

Everett Olsen

Chief Education Officer

SKM_C754e24022312280

3) FORWARD to NH Dept. of Ed for an INVESTIGATION:
Dear Ms. Fenton,

Please see the forwarded email from Superintendent Olsen, along with the documents I requested in my 91-a. 

I am asking you to open an investigation into the failure to secure informed parental consent before screening students with the DESSA- Devereux Student Strengths Assessment. It appears that the district required consent once the screening was completed to see if parents approved of additional support for their children.

As you know, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires informed consent by parents when children are assessed or receive mental health services from their school district. While I can appreciate that a consent form was sent to approve of additional services, I believe consent should also be required when their children were screened. 
Second Step includes SEL but also Transformative SEL which crosses over into political activism.

As you can see from the attached documents, the teacher will be covering serious mental health issues like managing stress and anxiety.

Aperture, the maker of the DESSA, includes their privacy policy here. Parents in the district are now raising concerns over what we see is a lack of security with the personal student data they collect and store. For instance, the privacy policy states that while financial payment information will be safely encrypted, it does not say the same about student data. 

Parents do not know what actual data is being collected, with what third parties it is being shared, and how it is being secured.

What happens if, through the screener, a student is experiencing emotional distress? The DESSA tool is supposed to help schools identify students who might need additional social and emotional health support so that they can ensure students have access to the right services and are getting the help they need.

Who has access to all of this personal mental health data? Where is it stored? Has Keene State BHII or any of the former universities accessed this sensitive information?

A New Hampshire physician wrote in The Wall Street Journal about how teachers are now performing mental health screenings using the DESSA. This is all done without parental knowledge or consent.

It was Marc Kirsch, who was Director of Sales & Business Development for Aperture Education, who confirmed for me in 2017 that the DESSA was a mental health assessment. Aperture even markets that “students have experienced a dramatic increase in mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression and behavior disorders. School-based programs focused on building social and emotional skills can proactively support students’ mental health.”

It even appears that you can get a psych degree in a one-day seminar.
Paul LeBuffe is the Vice President for Research and Development for Aperture Education (Apertureed.com). He is a graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland and received his Master’s degree in experimental psychology from Bryn Mawr College. For the past 25 years, Paul’s career has focused on strength-based approaches to promoting social and emotional competence and resilience in children, youth, and the adults who care for them. 



My first interaction with SEL was with a New Hampshire teacher several years ago when she sent me this:

DESSA is a program that allows teachers to enter and track student social and emotional behaviors in order to flag and group students for intervention.   I’m a huge tech person; but this type of tracking of data makes me extremely nervous.  First, because even physicians don’t track data like this over this long of time, and second because the data could be used (potentially) against a child later in life (ie college applications), and third, because a data breach on a system like this wouldn’t take much.   It’s VERY concerning to me, and because it’s teachers making the observations and entering data, it’s really flying under the radar, but is becoming more and more promoted and used especially in this area.  If ever there was something to get after, it’s programs such as this one.
I think if parents saw samples of the questions and the data that it feeds back, they would be totally against it. 
 I believe the info is fed to the DESSA servers. Where it goes from there, not sure exactly – that’s part of the issue. It’s made to track kids across settings and flag high risk kids…so I believe the intent is to store data for access beyond district walls As a teacher I’d like to refuse taking this info from my students. Can I refuse this as a professional?


In addition, as you will see by Superintendent Olsen’s reply, he said:
”With regard to your  second and third request, my response to both is that the District does not maintain SEL competencies, or competencies related to social and emotional learning and thus has no responsive records.”

As you can see from the file attached titled Merrimack-NH-School-District-SAU26- Essential Learning Competencies, on page 4 titled Subject Area: Characteristics of a Successful Learning, there are competencies listed as part of the Second Step SEL program.  This document was not provided to me in Mr. Olsen’s reply to my 91-a.
Merrimack-NH-School-District-SAU26-Essential-Learning-Competencies

I’m also attaching a file that is from a newsletter provided to parents explaining what will be covered in their child’s social and emotional class. This was sent to me by another source. If you scroll down that document, you will see that they are working on “managing anxiety,” among other mental health issues.
Newsletters (1)

The concerns I’ve raised have been many. For instance, will any of this data be used to deny a child a career in the military when they are older?

Informed parental consent was added to the federal law for good reason. Child Psychologists understand the importance of privacy and informed consent, and It’s why they should be the ones administering mental health assessments and treatments to children–not teachers and school counselors.

Please review the information I provided.

Thank you
Ann Marie Banfield 

 

The post Deteriorating … Mental Health, Privacy, and Parental Consent in Public Schools appeared first on Granite Grok.

Unless you are on the far-Left of the political spectrum, you have NO representation in the United States Congress. New Hampshire’s Congressional delegation … Shaheen, Hassan, Kuster and Pappas … can vote like the obedient Communist-bots they are up to a few months before an election at which point, like a chameleon, they become “moderates” and “bipartisan” in the reporting of Fake News WMUR, NHPR and the rest of the deep BLUE media in the deep BLUE State of New Hampshire.

(As a parenthetical note, non-Communists in CD-1 had a chance to actually have a competitive district … but the mighty Sun-King, Chris Sununu, vetoed the GOP-drawn map because Sununu is far more Democrat than he is Republican.)

Maggie Hassan recently visited Ukraine to shill for the military-industrial complex … repeating the same nonsense that the warmongers have been repeating for years; for example: Ukraine has “degraded” Russian military and they just need a little bit more “aid” (American MONEY) to finish the job, yet SIMULTANEOUSLY this degraded Russian military is going to somehow conquer all of Europe if we don’t “aid” Ukraine.

Maggie Hassan is an ideologue/grifter. She votes exactly how her Communist “leadership” tells her to vote because in her mind a vote that advances Communism is good for New Hampshire. Hence America going further into debt to support that Corruptocracy called Ukraine because the Communists in the Deep State are obsessed with conquering Russia is good for New Hampshire. And while she and the rest of the delegation bankrupt America, they enrich themselves.

Compare Jeannie Shaheenie’s net worth when she entered Congress with her net worth today. And then explain to me how she made all those millions on a Senator’s salary. Salva Ukraine! Salva Ukraine! Salva Ukraine!

As I told President Zelenskyy directly when we met him, Granite Staters and Americans stand with him and with the people of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/tn3NsQZi88

— Sen. Maggie Hassan (@SenatorHassan) February 24, 2024

The post Maggie Hassan Loves The Smell Of Napalm In The Morning appeared first on Granite Grok.

This is an attempt to “break out” memes, links, and my commentary about the situation in Israel / the Middle East so as to not overload the standard meme posts that I do.  My last “normal” meme post.  In these Israel-related posts I don’t just have memes such, but lots of informative links as well as hopefully-insightful commentary.

Note that this is not meant to be a day-by-day update about what’s going on.  Rather, to highlight uncomfortable truths about the actual nature of the conflict, deep-history background, and so on, as well as to show the at-present immutable nature of Islamic hatred of Jews and why that matters to today’s events.

Note that these posts do not repeat information – so there is a lot of stuff in prior posts.  Please do check them out too if this is a topic of interest to you.  In reverse chronological order:

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Still More Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Even More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Memes and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Memes and Commentary – Granite Grok

With some Israel-related materials here:

Meme Overflow – Granite Grok

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

From here:

Insanity from Meta as an Instagram user is told by a customer service rep. her account is being throttled due to her support of the Israeli kidnapped hostages.

That explains a lot about my Instagram account lately.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/instagram-blocks-pro-israel-posts.mp4

 

 

TOP OF THE FOLD

 

Hamas Official: There are no Palestinian people. They are Egyptian and Saudis.

 

 

I’ve posted this link before.  Most of the current-day Arabs who are calling themselves “Palestinians” are actually descendants of the Arabs who in-migrated because of the Zionist-fueled economic boom.

Were the Arabs Indigenous to Mandatory Palestine? :: Middle East Quarterly (meforum.org)

 

 

 

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/every-muslim-knows-israel-belongs-to-the-jews-1.mp4

 

And on the Kotel specifically:

Spencer about the Temple Mount (rumble.com)

Also, on the history of co-existence:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/history-on-coexistence.mp4

 

 

 

—

IDF Uncovers 10-Kilometer Hamas Tunnel Under Hospital and University in Northern Gaza (legalinsurrection.com)

One tunnel.  Six miles long.  And this video, below, was done before the above was found.  How much effort went into this, versus benefitting the Gazans?  How much more remains to be found?

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gaza-underground-infrastructure.mp4

 

—

Gaza is where the world’s double standards for Jews and double standards for Muslims intersect ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News

Read the whole thing!  And also a must-read:

The Palestinian honor killings of thousands of women and children ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News

 

 

WAR & WHEN WILL IT END?

The Rapid Return of Israel’s Disastrous Policy :: Middle East Quarterly (meforum.org)

You cannot negotiate with someone whose policy is killing you.

Those policies rest on two main assumptions: that economic benefits – more work permits in Israel, a larger fishing zone, outside funding – gives Palestinians something to lose, taming them and making them less inclined to aggress; and that an Israel so much mightier and more advanced than its Palestinian enemy can afford to make concessions.

Oct. 6 Gaza had something to lose.  They chose to loose it anyway.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gazans-you-chose-to-destroy-yourselves.mp4

 

This suicidal return to the “status quo” means that every Israeli needs to have this tattooed on their foreheads so they can see it in the mirror every morning:

TRYING TO PLEASE YOUR ENEMIES DOES NOT TURN THEM INTO FRIENDS.

Unintended Consequences | Gates of Vienna

Israel has to be very careful with the idea of a ‘Palestinian’ state. Gaza was handed over to the Palestinian Authority at the behest of the USA and EU in 2006, and once more we are watching the unintended consequences. It is incredibly naïve to think that a state full of people brainwashed into Jew-hatred can live peacefully alongside a Jewish state. We tried that, but the T-shirt did not change its spots.

Remember, Jew hatred is hard-coded into the Koran.

Islamic Jew-Hatred – a religious mandate – Geller Report

Jew-Hate in the Muslim World | Frontpage Mag

Antisemitism in the Qur’an – Winds of Jihad (sheikyermami.com)

—

ISRAELI RAMADAN ULTIMATUM: Either Hamas frees all hostages by Ramadan or the IDF will smash the terrorists’ last stronghold in Rafah during the Muslim holy month (barenakedislam.com)

They have a choice.  Personally, I suggest this kind of plane… loaded with pig blood, airdropping all over Gaza, as a last resort.

 

(Image source)

 

To WIN a war, the people losing have to be crushed.  Like I tell my kids if they ever get into a fight – make sure the other kid knows they lost.  On that:

“I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza, and that every baby, even 80 years from now, will tell their grandchildren what the Jews did” (barenakedislam.com)

There Can Be No Ceasefire in Gaza with Hamas in Power :: Gatestone Institute

Remember the Carthage solution:

 

 

Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps chief: Only ‘eradication of Israel’ will guarantee security of Palestinians (jihadwatch.org)

When someone says they plan to kill you, believe them.

Want to Stop Iran’s Regime? Hit the IRGC Assets :: Gatestone Institute

—

Not everyone in Gaza agrees with Joe Biden’s claim that Israel has “gone too far” in its retaliatory war against Hamas (barenakedislam.com)

I so, so, so want to believe that this guy is sincere.  I so, so, so want to believe that he’s genuine in his condemnation of Hamas and not of Israel.  Like this journalist:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/palestinian-journalist-speaks-out.mp4

 

And this guy – again, I WANT to believe co-existence is possible.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/arab-muslim-israeli-thanks-israel-supporters.mp4

 

It’s just that I understand, on an instinctive level, what a cultural and religious propensity to lying in the service of jihad is.

Taqiyya: Deception and Lying in Islam (thereligionofpeace.com)

—

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/thats-the-terrorists-fault.mp4

 

—

Media gets the IDF’s use of AI completely wrong ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News

Arm-chair quarterbacks.

 

 

ISLAM: PRACTICES, HISTORY, AND MENTALITY

“I assure you, madam, if Jews were chopping off heads and slitting throats, I’d be spending more time looking at Judaism” (barenakedislam.com)

Video.

—

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cant-trust-the-un-period.mp4

 

Why?  Because NO TREATY signed with a kaffir has actual meaning.  Mohammed himself set the precedent.

Myth: The Treaty of Hudaibiya (thereligionofpeace.com)

In parallel, NO SANE PERSON should trust the UN.  Ever.

 

 

 

 

—

 

 

Arabs are from Arabia.  How’d they get to Israel?  Oh, wait… colonization!  Speaking of, this is an amusing video:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/i-am-a-white-colonizer.mp4

 

Don’t forget the Jews have been there the entire time:

Jews – a continuous presence in Israel, no matter who was in control (rumble.com)

 

 

ATROCITIES

Muslim terrorists on Oct. 7 at rally point (rumble.com)

The video begins at a gathering point for a huge force of Hamas Terrorists in a nature reserve west of Kibbutz Beeri, seemingly where they met after crossing the fence Once the Toyota begins to drive, we can hear the euphoria in their voices ahead of the crimes they are about to commit.

Here are a few excerpts from what they say to each other as they speed towards Israeli communities:

(01:30): “Oh, the weather is great!”

(02:06): “This is the hour for Jihad! This is the hour for Jihad!”

(02:15): They taunt [Israeli prime minister] Netanyahu.

(02:20): “My God is generous with us! In the name of God we will succeed!”

(02:37): “It will take them two years… no…. 20 million years to figure out what happened here!”

(03:00): “We must livestream it on the GoPro! It’s a must!”…. “Don’t worry, this will be seen live so everyone [in Gaza] will follow us!”

At (03:20), the Hamas Terrorists arrive at Kibbutz Be’eri, the site of one of the worst massacres. They begin to scream out, “BE’ERI, BE’ERI!” while laughing uncontrollably.
(03:50): “Walla, I will die a holy death!… God be with us!”
(03:59): “Send anyone and everyone our way! Oh Allah, the Great!”

At (04:27), they approach road 232, and we can hear the driver screaming, “Where is [the city of] Netivot?”

At (04:48), We can hear the driver start to sing a jihadist song, “Qariban Qariban,” which was famously adopted by ISIS. After he finishes singing, the driver stops to shoot intensely at an Israeli civilian car.

At (05:45), the driver sees a family station wagon approaching down the road. We can hear the driver say, “Give him lead Mahmoud!” The terrorists then fire assault rifles, an RPG, and a heavy machine gun at it until finally they approach the vehicle.

At (07:20), the terrorist says, “Clean it [the vehicle] out! Clean it out!”

The driver’s fate is unclear.

—

Presented as videos (not just links) – but understand, the content is horrible.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sexual-violence-discussion-1.mp4

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sexual-violence-witness-1.mp4

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sexual-violence-witness-2.mp4

 

—

From here:

Shocking new footage from Oct 7 reveals Hamas kidnapping Thai agricultural workers.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/thai-workers.mp4

 

—

Understand what happened here.  A man is running, carrying his daughter… clearly a civilian.  And he’s gunned down.  Video, link only.

Fleeing man gunned down while carrying his daughter

 

 

ON INTERSECTIONALITY / LEFTIST SUPPORT

 

 

—

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/fighting-on-college-campuses.mp4

 

—

Islamic scholar who endorses Hamas, Hizballah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad lands job at Columbia University (jihadwatch.org)

Now, imagine a school hiring a KKK “Grand Wizard”.

 

 

PALLYWOOD & MEDIA DISTORTIONS/LIES IN GENERAL

Last week I did this post showing how Gaza is, absolutely and without any doubt by anyone with three brain cells that speak to each other, NOT an “open air prison” or “concentration camp”:

Pre-War “Concentration Camp” Gaza – Granite Grok

I just rediscovered this video – “Thanks Hamas”.  Look at all that’s in Gaza – or was.  NOT the “concentration camp” that is claimed:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Thank-You-Hamas.mp4

 

Nice buildings, clean streets in good repair, greenery, markets full of food, maintained beaches, hospital halls, water parks / amusement parks, restaurants & hotels, kids rollerblading… every single second of this video gives absolute lie to the idea of a “concentration camp”.  Here’s another video:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/where-is-the-concentration-camp.mp4

 

Now comes this article:

Countering ‘Pro-Palestine’ Propaganda Part 5: Gaza is an Open-Air Prison :: Middle East Forum (meforum.org)

The evidence is there, right before your eyes.  The problem is demoralization, as described by Yuri Bezmenov (link only):

Yuri Bezmenov – How To Demoralize A Nation. (youtube.com)

And Sowell:

 

 

With a parallel word from fiction:

“Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.”

― Brian Herbert, House Harkonnen

Because that belief, tying in with Sowell, makes the believer feel virtuous.  And, having tied that virtue to a specific belief, the belief is engraved in their minds lest – in actually assimilating contradictory information and having to reconcile it against their beliefs – they slide to undermining their belief in themselves as virtuous.  The vast majority of people do not have the strength of character to make that self-assessment / self-correction.  Thus they reject anything that would call into question their virtue.

I, personally, have seen this in action multiple times.  For example, in a “discussion” a few years ago about abortion and Planned Parenthood with a loonie-leftie fellow Yid coworker, I said that Sanger sp0ke at Klan rallies.  He didn’t believe it.  I pulled up proof on the computer – a picture of her at a Klan rally.  He literally stared and refused to believe it, actively called it a fake, even when I found a newspaper article giving background on the event.  For him to acknowledge this would undermine his faith that abortion was good.  So he rejected it in toto lest his view of himself, in supporting abortion, be undermined by the realization of abortion’s racist roots.

—

Uncle Tom and the Happy Dhimmi: Reimagining Subjugation in the Islamic World and Antebellum South :: Middle East Quarterly (meforum.org)

This is a particularly egregious form of Pallywood – implying that until Israel was restored in 1948, all was fine between Jews and Muslims.

—

The Hamas way | Power Line (powerlineblog.com)

Introduction to a podcast.

—

Indoctrination in schools:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/indoctrination-in-schools.mp4

 

—

Media Leaves Out Key Details to Paint Israel as the Aggressor (jihadwatch.org)

Leaving out all the pesky details that might put Israel into a better light.  Related:

Guardian completely avoids journalism in promoting ‘starvation’ libel < CAMERA UK (camera-uk.org)

 

 

TERROR COMING HERE?  TO THE WEST?

 

 

—

Islam is an existential threat to Western civilization – Winds of Jihad (sheikyermami.com)

Yes it is.  And, as I’ve wailed before, too damned many Jews want to bring more to the West:

An Open Letter to Pro-Migration / SJW Jews – Urban Scoop

And you want more of these people here?  Video grabbed from the link in case it gets disappeared.

A MusIim Girl was brutaIIy beaten in the streets of Raqqa/Syria by her family in an “honour killing” crime. Her family chased her in the streets and dragged her from hair. She was screaming and everyone kept watching. One of thousands of honour killing crimes Among MusIims.

Link only:

Dad beats daughter on Syrian street

Other examples:

“IRELANDISTAN?” (barenakedislam.com)

UC BERKELEY: Violent pro-Hamas, anti-Israel Muslim thugs shut down event hosted by Jewish students (barenakedislam.com)

“Us Muslims are coming for you, you dirty Zionist motherf*ckers” (barenakedislam.com)

The Left and Islam.  Allies.  Speaking of, here’s that LEFTIST guy who self-immolated:

I didn’t go far enough – Gun Free Zone

 

 

—

And in the Caliphate of England… – Gun Free Zone

How long till we will see live televised/streamed stoning and beheadings from Trafalgar Square?

Projecting images on London landmarks calling for the genocide of Jews is not a criminal offense, say police (barenakedislam.com)

If you are a British Jew in the UK, your application for a passport could be denied (barenakedislam.com)

Contrary to popular Muslim propaganda, Islam DOES NOT mean peace… (barenakedislam.com)

 

 

TREADING ON THE POLITICAL

Blinken: New Israeli housing units ‘inconsistent with international law’ – JNS.org

The problem is that these delusional idiots think peace is possible with people who are sworn to destroy you. And one more thing: the addiction to the impossible.

Does Palestinian Violence Have Benefits? – The Lid (lidblog.com)

The Two-State Solution is an unquestionable.  You simply cannot – in the halls of power – doubt it.

The World Prepares to Recognize a Hamas Palestinian State (jihadwatch.org)

The Biden administration also wanted Israel to defeat Hamas, but not to defeat it too much.

The administration is worried that if Israel wins in Rafah, it will win too much and be much less interested in its diplomatic solution of creating a “Palestinian” state which it believes is the real solution to the conflict. And it needs Hamas to provide pressure on Israel to create such a state.

The same failed idea that has haunted the region for decades is that Islamic terrorism can only be defeated by giving the terrorists some, but not all, of what they want. Much as it did not occur to the State Department that the Taliban would want everything, it refuses to believe that Hamas would want everything. And every time the negotiations fall apart, history is rewritten again.

In an article published in early October, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan described the negotiations that had brought peace between Hamas and Israel. “We have de-escalated crises in Gaza,” he boasted. The online version of the article has been edited to remove those words.

A lifeline to terrorists.

Hey, Joe Biden and all your EU co-conspirators, it’s the Palestinians who don’t want a two-state solution (barenakedislam.com)

Related:

Biden Regime Warns Israel Not to Interfere With Hamas Members Stealing Aid (jihadwatch.org)

—

Biden Moves To Attach Conditions On Israel Using US Weapons In Gaza  | ZeroHedge

So where are the calls for Hamas to obey international law?

Is Clueless Biden Getting Closer to Abandoning Israel? (townhall.com)

Not just clueless.  Deliberately deceptive.

Joe Biden puts lipstick on Palestinian pigs ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News

—

US launches unprecedented investigation of company producing Iron Dome parts | Israel National News – Arutz Sheva

Does ANYONE think this is purely coincidental?  And, being the paranoid sort, I have to wonder about this too now:

Biden might have torpedoed the truce talks ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GIVING SUPPORT TO ISRAEL

You can’t go wrong with a donation here:

Connections Israel

And please share this post far and wide.  There’s a lot of info here that many people don’t know.  Post it, email it, share widely.

Also, if you’re willing:

Buy Me a Coffee

 

 

A CONCLUDING THOUGHT FOR THIS POST

In the Middle East, You Win with Fear :: Middle East Forum (meforum.org)

Only a crushing and devastating blow to Hamas will pave the way for a truce that would not be a victory for the terrorists. Such a truce would survive much longer than a half-baked truce that survives only several months until another extortion scheme.

I keep saying this.  I will continue to say this.  Peace with a hostile enemy is only possible once they’ve been crushed.  And it is critical to understand the culture: to them, mercy and such are signs of weakness to be exploited until you get the upper hand.

Know your enemy.

 

The post Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary appeared first on Granite Grok.

Tom Bowler

Nikki Haley may need to find another war to run on (There’s always Gaza!) to keep her Military Industrial Complex (MIC) Campaign Cash Flowing. Ukraine is losing, Russia is winning, and the only players who don’t want Peace are in NATO. But Peace is in the Air, and it’s been a bad week for the MIC.

Ukraine lost the “strategically paramount, fortified city of Avdiivka,” after which Russia launched an unstoppable border-wide offensive. Two days ago, the CIA used the New York Times to burn all of its “secret” assets in Ukraine, and today, we learn that Russia and Ukraine were both in Saudi Arabia in immediate succession in hopes that the Saudis can negotiate Peace.

 This morning, the Jerusalem Post covered the fast-moving story headlined, “Ukraine’s Zelensky holds talks with Saudi prince to push for peace plan with Russia.”

Peace plan! According to the article, on Tuesday Zelensky and a team of Ukrainian support staff went to Saudi Arabia to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and a whole lot of other Saudis.

The Saudis gave Zelensky the royal treatment. Literally, in this case. The day before, on Monday, the Saudis coincidentally hosted a delegation of Russian officials.

The timeline suggests there would have been just enough time to put the two meetings together if the Ukrainians started working on it late last week, either after the New York Times story broke on Wednesday or possibly right after CIA Director Burns’ visit. Either way, the Ukrainians are now seeking a peace deal from the Russians through one of its closest allies and new BRICS member, Saudi Arabia.

Not Peace through strength or Peace through war but Peace through … Peace. Zelensky likely sent his opening terms – which means a bunch of things he knows he won’t get, a few he likely can – last week after losing Avdiivka the previous week (and does this make him a Putin apologist?). Russia is all over his eastern front, and giving 61 billion to US arms manufacturers in the name of Ukraine isn’t going to help anyone but Defense contractors, not that the US doesn’t need to restock the sorts of things a nation might toss downrange in a conflict (but we have a budget/appropriations process for that and it’s one of the few Congress actually got done).

Feel free to speculate on the cascade of failures, but the CIA one is the most interesting.

First, longtime CIA watcher Mike Benz agreed with me that the 34-page Times’ article was an obvious CIA plant, but one paragraph convinced him the disclosure was actually just an effort to pressure Congress to pass the $61 billion Ukraine aid package by selling what terrific work the CIA was doing in Ukraine and how it needs funding to continue.

I disagree with Mike for four reasons.

One: the CIA could have much more easily assigned an attractive analyst with a compelling pair of visual aids to directly persuade Speaker Johnson (and anyone else in Congress) in a classified briefing without burning its network; it does that kind of thing all the time. Second, the CIA, like cockroaches, never do their scurrying out in the open. The network is useless to the CIA now its cover is blown, so there is no longer any need for CIA funds. Third, Ukrainian officials seemed deeply upset by the disclosures, rather than salivating over chances for a new plane-load of cash pallets. Fourth, though the reporters tried to squeeze the disclosures into a strappy dress, they wound up looking more like a balding, middle-aged, trans NATO general trying to pull off a tight skirt look.

Childers further posits with prompting from a reader that even the CIA might be afraid they can’t stop Trump, and it’s time to bury all the bodies before there’s something for which there’s no plausible deniability. But there’s still a lot of Joe and Hunter Biden stink and plenty of Obama’s, too (Joe was his point man in Ukraine). His people were there, did things, as things, hid things, tried to impeach Trump for asking about them (and succeeded), and then pushed the NATO thing that started the war.

They must have had a lot to hide besides secret Biolabs and secret CIA infrastructure (like the massive laundromat for taxdollars that became war funding). If Peace comes, expect the uniparty to try to launder recovery dollars through Ukraine to keep the train rolling until the last possible moment. Elections, after all, can be stolen. And if you did it once, you can do it again, though not in Delaware. A judge just struck “down a law allowing early voting and unlimited mail-in voting because those things were barred by the plain language of the state’s constitution.”

If judges in a few more states can find their constitutions before November, who knows what the CIA might have to consider.

The post UniParty Forever War in Danger: Zelensky Wants Peace – Visits Saudi Arabia Right After Russia appeared first on Granite Grok.