This author recently wrote about the nature of capitalism in contradiction to its opposing ideology— communism. We echoed Javier Milei’s view that capitalism’s self-correcting mechanisms are not failures. This is akin to being on a bandstand in a jazz band. There are no failures if you approach the unfolding of events as part of the process.

A failure is only a failure if the group treats it as such. If a jazz band improvises off of a misplayed note, then it becomes part of the performance. Similarly, If a company’s investments losing value and causing price rebalancing across the market is considered simply a natural process in the markets, which it is, then all of the accessories to considering such an event a failure are unnecessary.

These accessories are typically government interventions and media hysteria promoting such interventions. None of this is necessary. The government and media can still exist and play a role in markets without such non-capitalistic socialist and communist-styled interventions. Contrary to socialist orthodoxy, all societal participants and jobs could exist and even be improved under the capitalist model.

This past week, a Tesla factory was raided by supposed anti-capitalists. A growing movement on the political left decries capitalism. They often protest that capitalism leads to all sorts of nefarious things and does nothing good. These people have believed wrongly that capitalism is a failing system and that what is necessary is to tear down the capitalist economy. This is simply silly.

What humans call capitalism is a natural and universal process. We use words in the English language like market, economy, and capital to describe features of human interaction. Such interactions are necessary in a society. They happen in all human societies. These interactioms help people to create prosperity and abundance for themselves and for their communities.

No human can live alone. We are not meant to live solo. Everyone who has tried has lost their life. Humans are meant to live in communities and interact with each other to help each other share the responsibilities, duties, and activities that are essential for human life. The exchange of complex, sophisticated goods and services that occur between humans requires the devices we call markets, prices, and capital.

We would not be able to build airplanes, computers, clothes, or other complex products without this system of interactions that we call capitalism. It doesn’t matter what this system of interactions is called. All of these products, which many take for granted, require intense specialization of labor and activity.

For example, a car requires steel to be mined, refined, and finished into a product. Similar multistage complex processes must occur with multiple different types of plastics, electronics, textiles, and other materials. None of this can be possible in any system other than the one we describe by the word capitalism.

Thus, saying that capitalism must be torn down and destroyed is like saying we must tear down and destroy a natural human function— like walking or communicating through speech, or farming. Imagine if farming was decried as a negative human process in the same way that the political left is propagandizing against capitalism. How stupid would that be?

This is why the arguments to destroy and overhaul capitalism are silly at best and ultimately stupidly idiotic.

The post Night Cap: Why Anti-Capitalists are Always Wrong appeared first on Granite Grok.

I have been saying I need to get involved, but I hate leaving the house and have said when an event is local, I will attempt to go. Moms for America had an event at Harley Jacks in Ossipee, and I did not get the gumption to go.

Then in a Wolfboro group I had talked about my efforts to at least act locally and then was told a US Senate Candidate would be down the road at Indian Mound Golf Course’s restaurant, The River’s Edge Grille & Tavern. I was called out and had to standby my word. Can’t get much closer. How could I not say “Yes”?

Holly Novelesky, who is running for Congress in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, was the guest speaker. She is dynamic and a very good speaker. She runs a business and has been in the Steel industry along with being a Nurse and she served our country as a US Army reservist. She is as strict as Trump when it comes to immigration, being a nurse, of course she wants to work to fix the many issues in the Medical Industry, and is very energy conscious and understands that you can not just turn off coal and go alternative.

She understands we need to work on transitioning to alternate green energy solutions. She believes all illegal immigrants should be deported but does not advocate actively looking for them. Her attitude is when anyone commits a crime, if they are here illegally, meaning if they did not go through the Lawful process of immigrating here, then they should be immediately deported.

We want to thank Ken Goodall for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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Now I consider myself a Hippie Conservative with a twinge of liberalism, so I asked her, “What about those illegals who have been here working and actually contributing to society where they live, is there any way we could work with those good people caught in a bad place?” She said she believed in the two-tier system we have always had, and that would create a third tier, which would mean all the immigrants who have already gone through the process, and the ones in the legal process now, would unfairly be held back while those who broke the law to come here would go to the front of the line, and that is wrong. I could not argue that point.

She was asked about what she could do to look into the issues of the legal system in NH where we have issues from the top down where people who are not actually trained in Law Enforcement are overseeing our State police, Sheriffs, and local departments. She said her position does not give her much pull in local with NH issues.

She was then asked about congressional investigations into Law enforcement issues in states and why she could not work to have a panel of some sort investigate it? She had not thought about it that way, and that she would look into the issues.

Now, I Wish I had thought about the major case involving child welfare at the NH Youth Detention Center. If ever something needed federal attention, that is it.

I asked her about her Energy Independence plan and whether it would include drilling in Anwar (The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), and she admitted she was not familiar with details about drilling there and would need to research further. I should have pushed her since Trump has said he would start up again as soon as he gets back in office, and how she did not know with all the news around about it over the last couple of decades? At least I planted the seed.

I spoke about her Clean Energy policy and how alternative green energy is not proven, especially in climates like New Hampshire’s, and her thoughts on Nuclear Power, which I believe is our best solution at this point in time. She said she should have included nuclear when she spoke about her Energy Independence policy and that alternative energy methods should work in concert with nuclear and coal as we work to transition to green energy in the future.

I didn’t like her answers on ANWAR or her Green Energy Plan, but those, in my humble opinion, are not enough to withhold my vote. I can vote for her “Without Holding My Nose,” and that is my litmus test on being able to vote for someone. https://www.holliefornewhampshire.com/

 

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Antifa was founded in the 1930s to attract National Socialists to their Marxist cause. The Former were attracting people away from their movement—which has very similar worldviews—and the Marxists wanted a monopoly on unhinged, violent street thuggery. Socialists do, after all, think they should own everything.

Someone has to own it; it just can’t be you.

For obvious reasons, these details are left out of the 21st-century Anifa brochures (saving space for all the color photos of them setting  Portland ablaze). Pretty. Fire. Hee Hee.

Any affectations to the contrary are nonsense. They don’t care about gays, or blacks, or women’s health care, or being trans, or justice of any kind. They are focused on using those things to divide people so that they are unable or unwilling to join hands against the Democrat party. A party that hates it when other people have guns. The party of “you didn’t build that.”

Antifa are the left’s modern-day red shirts (in black block). They are engaged in street actions. They are, for all intents and purposes, a militia. But, laws regulating militias never mention Antifa. They talk about patriot groups or anti-government groups and use that as an excuse for other agendas. Vermont passed anti-militia legislation as part of a zoning dispute. Portland, where you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting an Antifa member, has legislation prohibiting or limiting citizen ‘militias.’

 

SECTION 1. (1) A person or group of persons is subject to an action described in subsection (2) or (3) of this section for engaging in paramilitary activity if the person or group
of persons knowingly, while acting as part of a private paramilitary organization or on behalf
of or in furtherance of any objective of a private paramilitary organization:
(a) While armed with a deadly weapon, publicly patrols or drills;
(b) While armed with a dangerous or deadly weapon:
(A) Publicly engages in techniques capable of causing physical injury or death;
(B) Substantially disrupts governmental operations or a government proceeding;
(C) Assumes, exercises or asserts, without legal authorization, the functions, powers or
duties of:
(i) A law enforcement officer, including any sheriff, police officer, marshal or other peace
officer; or
(ii) Any local, city, county, state or federal official; or
(D) Interferes with another person and thereby:
(i) Prevents the other person, or attempts to prevent the other person, from engaging
in conduct in which the other person has a legal right to engage; or
(ii) Causes the other person, or attempts to cause the other person, to engage in conduct
from which the other person has a legal right to abstain; or
(c) Trains to engage in any activity described in paragraphs (a) or (b) of this subsection.

 

No state allows paramilitary militias – not exactly -but what, in the context of the Oregon bill, is something Antifa does not or has not done? They are, by design, a trained, organized, violent faction, but all we ever hear is how they are involved in some violent act or about how they seized a police station or courthouse or tried to do that.

It might be a good question for candidates who support additional layers of law to address “groups,” especially if they invoke January 6th. The only armed individuals were government “employees.” If that is the framework or motivation for new legislation to address unrest, you’d better be prepared to explain how you’ve gotten buy-in from ‘constituents’ in BLM or Antifa, both of whom are more likely to run afoul of the law was the intention that it be equally applied.

 

The post To Blue States “Banning” Militias – BLM and Antifa Behave Like Militias appeared first on Granite Grok.

66 Billion to Illegal Immigrants & Just 3 Billion to Our Homeless Veterans …

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Kelly Ayotte is no conservative … unless you define “conservative” as spending the first five years of your Senate term being a mini-me John McCain and the last as a mini-me Jeannie Shaeenie. Morse is no conservative either … he voted to enshrine Obamacare into State law and staunchly supported COVID-tyranny.

More importantly, running as a “conservative” is not the way to win statewide office in New Hampshire for the foreseeable future. Hell, even the supposedly “conservative” CD-1 looks like it is going to belong to Chris Pappas for as long as he wants it. So why should the NHGOP primary be about which candidate is the most conservative … given that real conservatism is anathema to a majority of New Hampshire voters?

Let’s look at the 2022 CD-1 primary and general election. Karoline Leavitt received approximately 25,000 votes in the primary, while Mowers and Gail Huff Brown … who presumably were viewed as less conservative than Leavitt … combined for approximately 33,000. Prescott and Baxter combined for approximately 15,000.

Pappas won the general election by a landslide … 167,000 to 142,000. The “conservative” in CD-2, Burns, fared even worse. He was blown out by 36,000 votes. So, I ask again, why are Ayotte and Morse … who aren’t even conservatives … making the primary about who is the conservative? Makes no sense.

Sun-King Chris Sununu did NOT repeatedly win elections because the majority of voters believed he was a real conservative. He won precisely because the voters believed, quite correctly, that he was NOT a real conservative. I am aware that Sununu used the term “conservative” to describe himself, but his positions … abortion-on-demand, “diversity-is-our-strength,” boys participating in girls’ school sports, COVID-tyranny, etc., etc., etc. … were anything but real conservativism.

Unfortunately, bitter-clingers this is what New Hampshire has become … a place where only a pseudo-Republican like a Chris Sununu or a Larry Hogan or a Charlie Baker can win a major office like Governor or Congress.

What probably would best position Ayotte and Morse for the general election is to just drop the conservative-schtick.

The post NHGOP Gubernatorial Primary … Or Maybe We Could Just Stop Pretending? appeared first on Granite Grok.

For years, I have always tried to give the libertarian movement the benefit of the doubt. I know there are different factions/degrees in the movement that may be more left or right leaning than others that claim to invoke or promote various concepts of voluntary, individual liberty.

I am not an expert on this school of thought, nor do I have any status or prestigious credentials about libertarianism to offer. What I can offer is my own observation and keen sense of identification.

Economically, I think the movement is spot on with many issues such as auditing the Fed, getting rid of income and other unnecessary taxes on both the Fed and state level, opposition to big central banks, concern over the revolving door (back and forth between multinational corporations/lobbyists and political positions), statist/coercive policies on any level and more.

In terms of civil liberties, they are great with a majority of issues such as defending due process, opposing unequal treatment of the law, opposing aggressive foreign policy, supporting vocalized protests against abuse of state and local power, calling out the weaponization and militarization of our federal administrative agencies, opposing the media propaganda, promoting voluntary associations and assembly, and the list goes on.

We want to thank Ryan Bennett for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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In principle, the elements of voluntary association, non-aggression, localized representation, grassroots initiatives, free markets, regional banks, and decentralized currency all embody a set of concepts that sound pro-liberty, Constitutional, and likely are. 3

However, culturally, there seem to be some flaws. Unless, of course, there are various movements infiltrating some apparatus sectors of the libertarian movement. Either way, and most prevalently with LGBT activism, the legalization of drugs and legalization of prostitution ideas do not reflect the moral order of God’s natural law. This is not to say all libertarians support this. However, the umbrella of libertarianism seems to include anyone and anything that “does not harm anyone” and is “voluntary,” tolerating the pseudo-intelligentsia woke ideology that crept in behind the original movement closely associated with Ron Paul.
Where is the line drawn, though? Can anyone assert to be a libertarian because they don’t want to go to war, want local governments to have more control and privatization of the economy as much as possible?

What about staunch pro-choice, LGBT, prostitution, and drug rights? Can they be libertarian if they invoke one of these progressive issues while simultaneously declaring they are anti-vaccine, want less government all around (not a bad idea on its own), etc?

The libertarian movement should continue to be inclusive (in a non-woke manner) and promote the voluntary, non-aggression, anti-regime change ideals many sincerely promote in various ways and through a multitude of mediums. However, the party needs to adopt or become more vocal on some moral positions that are in alignment with Judeo Christian framework we were founded on (if they have already, then I refute this statement).

The concept of individual liberty is necessary, but only if it does not violate the natural rights of others. LGBT activism, hard drugs such as fentanyl and opioids, and the pouring in of hard drugs and rampant prostitution have all done spiritual damage to our youth despite this concept of “individual liberty.” Though the government has also abused the war on drugs and can use these issues as a false cover to become Orwellian, the issues should not be ignored. These issues should devolve to the states if not explicitly stated in the US Constitution. The laws of nature imply a moral order, not just rogue forms of individual liberty. This is a spiritual issue more than anything. Sometimes a consensual decision leads to spiritual death and depravity and our country should also protect these people in bondage or victims to un-Godly decisions, as well as our children.

Even if heavy-handed government policies are not enforced, at the minimum, God’s law should be promoted in the libertarian apparatus, especially with the way drugs and sexual perversion are polluting young people’s minds and cognitive development, not in a way that evangelizes but in a way that upholds the natural moral order. If we promote these values organically and work to engineer these ideas and promote the liberating power of the God of the Holy Bible, perhaps the next generation, less government would be necessary to promote and protect public health and order.

To those who already confront this and call this out thank you. This is more of an external view.

 

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 The Cultural Issues Tainting the Libertarian Movement appeared first on Granite Grok.

Urban pandemonium and rampant crime are transforming many American cities into seemingly third-world metropolises. Aggravating this roiling mayhem is a flagrant open-border policy that is flooding US cities with undocumented foreigners in street camps and homeless shelters.

Alarming increases in reported cases of measles, tuberculosis, polio, and leprosy are all just additional symptoms of these chaotic times. Yet “vaccine hesitancy” from so-called “disinformation” is being widely blamed for these outbreaks by government and media outlets.

Applying the rubric of COVID-19 response to illegals carrying diseases is simple enough – social distancing, masking, contact tracing, and vaccination have long been the tools to combat measles, tuberculosis, and polio as well as coronaviruses. Hundreds of thousands of foreigners from nations with inferior safeguards against contagious illnesses have overrun US borders both north and south, evading traditional protections. Establishment media and government agencies poo-poo concerns that open borders risk resurrecting diseases once thought conquered in America, instead scorning detractors as racist nativists or vax-deniers. “Real science” (and common sense) suggests that untracked and un-vaccinated immigrants may be bringing not just fentanyl and weapons into the country but deadly pathogens as well.

Disease and Misinformation Outbreaks

The widespread media spin is that measles and TB are rising because of dangerous domestic sources:  vaccine-hesitant US citizens. Common sense and science were jettisoned under the fear-mongering COVID-19 mRNA roll-out, along with liberties protecting free speech, free travel, and freedom of assembly. Americans were told a slew of unscientific lies about COVID-19 and novel vaccines by a government peddling Big Pharma products. This seeded a distrust not just of novel mRNA shots but of all vaccines, all around the world.

The jabs were not 100% safe and effective: They did not prevent infection, symptoms, or transmission. They caused myocarditis and other adverse health problems, and they were unnecessary for healthy minors despite being pressed upon them. None of this led to an increase in trust of either Big Pharma or the government.

It doesn’t help that the children of American citizens are required to be vaccinated against measles to attend New York City public schools in which illegals enroll their unvaccinated kids under an exemption. Meanwhile, vaccine proponents push to eliminate religious and philosophical exemptions for future vaccines, claiming “misinformation” is behind parental hesitancy. This will likely encourage even more parents to keep their young children home to protect them from both potentially infected foreigners and dubious medical “science.”

Outbreaks of varying diseases in Chicago, New York, and Florida all exhibit a similar pattern of government and media bias and misinformation.

Chicago’s Measles Outbreak

Measles is highly contagious, but it was reportedly eliminated from the US in 2000. In order to seed outbreaks, it must therefore be imported, find an unvaccinated population, and spread. Tens of thousands of unmonitored illegal migrants flocking over the Rio Grande are a natural vector for transmission, which is precisely what occurred in Chicago. However, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) claimed that unvaccinated illegals are the victims, not the cause. “We have no reason to believe that new arrivals are bringing infections to Chicago,” CDPH public information coordinator Jacob Martin told Newsweek. But if the disease isn’t being brough in by unvaccinated migrants, where is it coming from?

“In this case, we believe the opposite, as the first measles infection identified in Chicago was not found in the new arrivals population, and 17 different states in the U.S. are currently experiences an emergent measles outbreak of some kind due to reduced vaccination rates,” Martin continued. “Measles is already here in the United States, but he migrant population on the whole is under-vaccinated compared to the traditional Chicago population and is therefore at higher risk of infection.”

This unscientific conclusion ignores real science. How can the CDPH possibly know how many cases are transmitted by an enormous influx of untracked, unvaccinated migrants traveling from nations where measles is more common? How can it conclude that the 17 other states are not similarly exposed – or that outbreaks are attributable to “reduced vaccination rates”? There must be a host to infect the unvaccinated. Similarly, the CDC reported that “most of the recent importations involved unvaccinated Americans who got infected in the Middle East and Africa and brought measles back to the U.S.” How can the CDC accurately trace ghost migrants who avoid monitoring?

If not the cause of importation, there is no dispute that unvaccinated immigrants are a key demographic for spread: Per the CDC’s report, more than half of 2024’s cases come from the Chicago outbreak, largely from people living in migrant shelters. Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a doctor in NYC, told Fox News that the outbreaks in Chicago were predictable. “To be honest, I’m not surprised,” she said. “We have open borders with all sorts of people coming in from countries from all over the world bringing in various illnesses, viruses, disease and bacterial infections.”

Medical science confirms this logic. Open borders bypass overseas and US-entry screening, eliminate tracking, and make therapy and treatment difficult. Yet headlines proclaim that it is unvaccinated, misinformed Americans who are the threat. Such claims create a vicious cycle of yet more distrust of politicized government misinformation, increasing vaccination reticence.

New York City’s Tuberculosis

A recent tuberculosis outbreak in New York City appears to be similarly connected to illegals. In the Big Apple, the TB rate is 6.1 cases per 100,000 – more than double the national rate. According NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, “close to nine out of 10 (88%) of these TB cases are people born outside the United States.”

A 2019 study titled “The impact of migration on tuberculosis in the United States” concluded:

“Due to greater exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection before migration, migrants moving to low-incidence settings can experience substantially higher tuberculosis (TB) rates than the native-born population.

“….TB among non-US-born individuals now represents the majority of new TB cases. ….As TB disease can develop many years after infection, migrants exposed to high rates of tuberculous infection in their country of origin face elevated risks of future active disease after US arrival compared with US-born individuals ….with 53% of TB cases in non-US-born individuals coming from the top five countries (Mexico, the Philippines, India, Viet Nam and China), and 22% from Mexico alone.

“For the five countries of origin that represent the majority of non-US-born TB cases (Mexico, the Philippines, India, Viet Nam and China), their contributions to US TB epidemiology reflect large resident populations as well as elevated TB exposure for these individuals before arrival.”

Florida’s Leprosy Surge

The government’s disinformation campaign protecting illegals was repeated in Florida, where leprosy has been steadily rising and may be endemic, though experts do not know. Traditional risk factors include armadillo exposure and “having recently lived in leprosy-endemic countries.” Armadillos have been ruled out as a cause of Florida’s leprosy surge, yet the CDC issued a statement that seems to reach unsupportable conclusions:

“Florida, USA, has witnessed an increased incidence of leprosy cases lacking traditional risk factors. Those trends, in addition to decreasing diagnoses in foreign-born persons, contribute to rising evidence that leprosy has become endemic in the southeastern United States.

“The number of international migrants in North America increased from 27.6 million persons in 1990 to 58.7 million in 2020, so a link to migration may account for the increase in incidence of leprosy in historically nonendemic areas. Further, reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that, although the incidence of leprosy has been increasing, the rates of new diagnoses in persons born outside of the United States has been declining since 2002 (Appendix Figure).”

The CDC emphasized that “Contact tracing is critical to identifying sources and reducing transmission.” Illegals are not traced or effectively treated. The referenced appendix figure is titled “Case Report of Leprosy in Central Florida, USA, 2022,” but only includes data through 2010 – hardly a very good measure of current immigration conditions, let alone a sound premise for reaching conclusions that immigrants cannot be a cause of spread.

Politicizing disease outbreaks against Americans to justify yet more dangerous illegal immigration ensures greater vaccine hesitancy. One needn’t hold a doctorate to see that “real science” is being doctored.

 

 

John Klar is an Attorney, farmer, and author. Mostly farmer… And Regular Contributor to GraniteGrok and VermontGrok.

The post It Is Un-Vaccinated ‘Immigrants’ Not Vaccine-Hesitant Americans appeared first on Granite Grok.

I just saw a story about Candidates for Governor, and Shaun Fife was not mentioned, so I searched DuckDuckGo and Google and got a few results. He needs to get out there in the media. Between Morse and Ayotte, I will be writing in “None of the Above” again.

My litmus test is being able to actually support someone enough to vote “without holding my nose.”

Well, I just searched FreeSpoke and Noticed Shaun Fife is under “The Maji Party.” I Like what I have read about Shaun so far, but I am not too sure about the Maji Party, and I will not be alone.

“The Idea for MAJI came from the failed election of 2020.”

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

“We are gathering Anons and other citizens of the electorate to put GOD FIRST.”

I did not know if “Anons” were actually short for QAnons, and now I know it is; I looked it up. Early on, I followed QAnon. I actually jokingly used a Star Trek reference “I am Q”, until it went off the tracks. And then that guy in Horns at the Capital on January 6th certainly finished taking it right off the rails into the bushes!

I believe in what Shaun Fife is saying as a platform, and hopefully, the Anon connection can be overlooked by independents. That depends on how many independents have any signs of TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome).

I can overlook the Anon connection because I know the Majority of those people are not wearing horns, as I did not when I first followed QAnon. But those unhappy Republicans against RINOs, conservative Democrats, if there are any left, and conservative “Undeclared” voters may be chased away by the Anon connection.

Either way, Shaun Fife needs to get out there more and push his agenda, which I do believe is worth supporting and could, at this point, even pass my smell test.

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I hate throwing a vote away, but I can no longer vote anti-democrat without actually supporting the candidate.

It feels good to vote for people you believe in. As a young libertarian voting for the first time, I believed in John Anderson, then again for Ross Perot. Then, I voted Democrat in the Primary for Tom Laughlin (Billy Jack), but he did not make it past the primary, so back to Ross Perot.

Then, when Clinton started stealing sportsmen’s money and redirecting government organizations to Animal Rights, I became anti-Democrat and voted that way in every election until this year’s primary.

If Shaun Fife does not get out there in the media and push his Working Man’s Agenda without name recognition, he will not stand a chance. If he stays on the tracks, I will be able to vote for him or write him in if I have to.

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By now, anyone who’s not politically asleep at the wheel ought to know that the American Library Association (ALA) is no friend of any community of decent people.  Please talk to people like Beth Scaer and her husband or Rep Arlene Quaratiello or Cindy Bennett if you want to learn more.

Covid has taught many of us that the decision-making behavior of lower levels of government is often yoked to grant money from either higher levels of government or NGOs with intentions repugnant to the values of decent people.  That’s a big part of why secession is a topic worthy of polite and meaningful discussion, no matter how you, the reader, feel about it.

Though I think I’ve beaten the dead horse enough, I’ll still point out that 11/19/21’s unfortunate event in the Joint Fiscal Committee was about taking the wrong money, but let’s move on with another quick point.  Campaign finance data is popularly sought for obvious reasons.

Moving on, let the readers be reminded of the role and responsibilities of the executive council, and Wheeler has two bad actors from the enemy camp primarying each other to become his November opponent.  One of them is Alderman Kelly, his previous opponent, and the mayor’s lap dog. While she is equally unworthy of office, ANY office, let’s, for now, focus on her opponent, Ms Melanie Levesque.

I know some eyes are already rolling, but to that, I will point out a few things with the lesser one being that her birthday is coming up this month.  If you happen to run into her, by all means, wish her a happy one.  And I would also suggest reminding her that Alderman Kelly, Wheeler, and Kevin are all younger than her and always will be!  The other item, though for the attention of ALL Wheeler constituents, is a local matter concerning her because it’s about the Brookline library.

If you poke around enough to learn who the power players, um, I mean “trustees,” are, they are no ordinary members of the enemy camp.  While data in Marylyn Todd’s Nosey Neighbor App is not necessarily admissible in a court of law, it’s another example that the Party of Diversity has no diversity of thought in the Board of Trustees.  Trustee Carol Schreck, whose term ends next year, can also be found here.

All you have to do is see who the captain of the team is and who her right-hand woman is!  “So what,” you might say.  I received a tip about Ms Melanie’s apparently relentless interest in “utilizing” a local with some physical challenges, to put it respectfully.  It was said that family members claim the existing accommodations that the library currently provides are perfectly acceptable. However, as mentioned earlier, now comes the ALA and some free money that the Brookline library might qualify for. They just need an excuse to apply for it. Family members are keenly aware of their flesh and blood being used as a tool.  If Melanie is successful in securing that grant money, it’s as guaranteed as death and taxes that there will be a press release promoting her accomplishment just before it’s time to vote, either in the primary or in November.

There are variables, such as how long the paperwork process takes and who wins their primary, but the voters in District 5 should know that Alderman Kelly pushing for federal grant money bringing commuter rail to Nashua or Melanie pushing for ALA money infusing their agenda into the Brookline library are the kind of grant-chasing behavior that needs to be kept out of the government body who’s responsible for the oversight of the movement of YOUR money.

 

The post Is Melanie Pushing for Free ALA Money? You Tell Me. appeared first on Granite Grok.

We have been so blessed with op-eds and content that for the rest of today, we will be publishing a post every hour. Typically we add new content every two hours, beginning at 6 am and ending at 10 pm each day. Today, we are publishing a lot of additional content.

Beginning at 2pm we will have a new post ever hour on the hour. The purpose is to off-load the backlog of submissions.

If they sit in the folder too long, they might time out (no longer relevant) or might never see the light of day (lost in the shuffle). It happens. I can’t publish everything, but very little of what I get isn’t at least worth sharing to see what the community thinks.

So here we go, and apologies in advance for the firehouse.

Tomorrow (Monday), we will go back to the regular schedule.

And hey! Happy Mothers Day!

 

The post Grok Reader’s Heads Up – Incoming!!! appeared first on Granite Grok.

(TU – Londonderry) The Town of Londonderry has dismissed a complaint by Kristine Perez against Councilor Farrell, stating that Councilor Farrell did not violate the ethics code. Kristine Perez filed the following complaint:

On 4/22/24 at approximately 8 PM Councilman John Farrell exited the Moose Hill Conference room from the rear exit. He immediately approached me and in aggressive manner, pointed his finger directly in my face and yelled “Go ahead report me to the AG’s office. Bring it on bring it on” he then entered the men’s lavatory and when he exited, he again yelled “Bring it on, bring it on” waving his arms in the air. I responded, “you’re being an ass” to which he stated “you’re the ass just look in the mirror.” Please review the video tapes from the town hall, “Back lot, hall entrance B” for this time period.  I felt extremely threatened by his aggressive actions and feel it meets the legal definition of assault without battery.

Complaint filed 5/3/2024 by Kristine Perez

The complaint stemmed from an interaction Perez had with Councilor John Farrell in the Town Hall after speaking during public comment.

Kristine Perez spoke at the 4/22/2024 Town Council Meeting asking for public comment to be added to the Town Council meetings, concerns of charter violations and the planning department reorganization.

Kristin Perez speak at public comment, 4/22/2024

Below is a video of the interaction between Kristine Perez and Councilor John Farrell. The video has no audio. Councilor John Farrell was contacted for comment but did not respond.

Video from Town Hall, 4/22/2024

Shortly after opening the 5/6/2024 Town Council Meeting, the council made a motion to enter Non-Public Secession under RSA 91A. The Council left the room and returned 7 minutes later. The council did not seal the meeting minutes. The Council also did not comment on the non-public session. According to the meeting minutes, the session was to discuss the complaint filed by Kristine Perez. The Town attorney “assumed the truth of the allegations” but found that Kristine Perez “does not allege conduct that would violate the Code of Ethics or fall within the scope of the Code of Ethics”. Chairman Chad Franz entertained a motion made by Vice Chairman Combes to close the matter with no further action based on the findings and advice supplied by Attorney Carrier. Councilor Faber seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously, with Councilor Farrell abstaining.”

 

Minutes from Non-Public Session on 5.6.24
Following the pledge of allegiance during the regularly scheduled Town Council meeting on 5.6.24, a motion was made by Vice Chairman Combes to enter a non-public session pursuant to RSA 91:A-3 II(l) for the consideration of legal advice provided by legal counsel. It was seconded by Councilor Dunn and a roll call vote was taken, with each member of the Town Council voting in favor.

All 5 members of the Council left the Moose Hill Room and moved to the TM Conference room on the second floor of Town Hall along with the Town Manager and Assistant Town Manager.

Attorney Megan Carrier indicated she had reviewed the Code of Ethics complaint made by Kristine Perez against Councilor Farrell, which had been received by the Town Manager and Chairman Franz on May 3, 2024 and referred by them to Attorney Carrier. She stated she reviewed the Code of Ethics, which requires complaints to be investigated. For purposes of her analysis, Attorney Carrier assumed the truth of the allegations. Having done so, she concluded that Ms. Perez’s complaint does not allege conduct that would violate the Code of Ethics or fall within the scope of the Code of Ethics. She provided a list of prohibited conduct, including conflicts of interest, a failure to recuse in quasi-judicial actions, a failure to disclose, unfair personal use of town property, misuse of confidential information, improper gifts, and failure to cooperate with an investigation. Attorney Carrier indicated that Ms. Perez does not allege such prohibited conduct in her complaint.

Chairman Franz entertained a motion made by Vice Chairman Combes to close this matter with no further action based on the findings and advice supplied by Attorney Carrier. Councilor Faber seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously, with Councilor Farrell abstaining. Chairman Franz asked the Town Manager what the next steps are? The Town Manager indicated the minutes would be unsealed unless the Council makes a motion to seal them upon returning to public session. A discussion followed whether to seal Attorney Carrier’s advice. The Council determined that neither the minutes nor Attorney Carrier’s advice should be sealed.

At approximately 7:10 p.m. the Councilors returned to the Moose Hill Chambers and the meeting.

A motion was made by Vice Chair Combes to end the non-public session and return to the public meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilor Faber and all voted in favor by roll call vote.
Minutes taken and prepared by: Mike Malaguti

When public comment was opened Councilor Farrell immediately asked to speak and addressed comments made at prior town council meetings. Farrell referenced the alleged charter violation in regard to voting on the town budget. Farrell stated that the town council does not adopt or vote on the budget.

Councilor Farrell address comment made at prior meetings, 5/6/2024

Kristine Perez’s husband, John Perez, spoke at the 5/6/2024 Town Council Meeting, addressing concerns of a council member bullying and attacking his wife at the 4/22/2024 meeting. He expressed concerns about his wife attending future meetings. After speaking, the Town Council did not respond.

Resident John Perez addresses treatment of his wife at the 4/22/2024 town council meeting

On 5/8/2024 Kristine Perez was informed through email that Councilor Farrell did not violate the Town Ethics Code.

Please be advised the Town has investigated your complaint and determined that Councilor Farrell did not violate the Code of Ethics during your interaction on April 22, 2024.

Email from Town Manager Malaguti, 5/8/2024

Asked for comment, Kristine Perez stated that she did not file an ethics complaint but used the ethics form since it was the only form available on the town to file a complaint. The complaint filed was due to threatening and aggressive behavior of Councilor Farrell.

| Town Underground

The post Complaint Against Town Councilor Dismissed by His Buddies on the Town Council appeared first on Granite Grok.

Grokster Ed’d in March, pointed out how WMUR’s Political Director Adam Sexton believed it was “interesting” when NH State Senator Becky Whitley had a hissy fit when someone said something that broke her Narrative concerning the use of the perfectly legal and applicable  phrase “illegal alien.”

Interesting discussion in @TheNHSenate Judiciary Committee today as @BeckyWhitleyNH asks @SenatorGannon not to use the term “illegal alien” as they debate a bill dealing with immigration issues #NHPolitics #WMUR pic.twitter.com/xodktsXknh

— Adam Sexton (@AdamSextonWMUR) March 12, 2024

He followed that up in another post, “The Becky Whitleys Are The Dehumanizers,” where he tore her a new one—outlining her hypocrisy of holding up a “Principle” but in “defending” it, jumped right into the vat of boiling excrement. She certainly refused to “maintain the dignity of every individual with whom we interact” by putting on a “Karen on steroids” performance. Civility, Becky? But WAIT, there’s more!

But I didn’t see or hear of anyone commenting on the last bit she said. Listen again at 1:05 for what is in our future if she is elected:

“The Administration has actually issued many memos, including from the top official of Customs and Border Protection, that we should not be using that term.”

Got that?  She’s like that old-time spinster school marm wrapping our knuckles because we refuse to obey.

In doing so, she let us know that she’s all about doing the “Democrat Lockstep Limbo”…

SideNote: Dontcha just love the visual of bending over backward to support the indefensible by allowing her own speech to be determined by some “important” bureaucrat – who happens to be in charge of keeping our southern border open to the diseased, the drug mules, the armed cartels, and the thousands of central and south American gang members (remember the cops being assaulted in NYC by our, as Biden and other Democrats have named, “newcomers”?)

…her philosophy. Her gums flapping, eyes blazing, and determination to correct our backward ways made it quite clear that her fellow “mansplaining” Senators were beneath her contempt. But we are to have our wallets fleeced by these criminals that flout our laws – after all, being an AWFL (Affluent White Female Liberal) demands that her morality is superior to any others.

“Everything is free in America” – except your speech if you are a citizen paying the taxes for all that. Becky is seeing to that as well. But she can’t take credit for being original for that.

Guess who, in the Live Free or Die State, is in charge of what speech we all are allowed to use in Her Excellency’s hearing? No, not her, although she tried hard to be a mouthpiece for the Democrat propaganda machine. Yep, see above.

You see, I’ve been writing for years that the Democrats have been trying to turn Live Free or Die into Washington DC Democratland; what happens there, they want here.

So remember, when government officials, be they Democrat government workers or a Progressive / Socialist / Democrat Guv named Becky Whitley, BY DEFINITION, you are seeing a Fascist. After all, fascism puts the State FIRST and individuals don’t exist. She gave us the best example possible…

…She demanded that individuals bow down to DC, give up their speech, and in doing so, give up their minds and conscience to the State.

And the Left gets upset when we on the Right talk about Tyrannical Govt? How bad can it get if they demand to control, as she did, our minds?

Yes, I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and it wasn’t an oncoming train.  I announced at last year’s Groktoberfest that I was going into semi-retirement because I had to step back from the ‘Grok and place my family first for a while. I handed all the reins over to Steve.

Fortunately, the medical issues that best TMEW and the Grandson are now under control, and the Granddaughter / Foster Child has been returned to the Eldest and Daughter-in-Law, with two lines (from others) said by DCYF workers:

• “This should have NEVER gone to court” (e.g., the parents weren’t the problem – the child was, and now DCYF is supplying that needed help at home.)
• “I think we picked on the wrong family”; ya think putting me on the stand on a whim was a great idea after I had wargamed out a bunch of scenarios for a couple week AND you failed to follow The Lawyer’s Maxim of “Never ask a question of a witness that you already don’t know the answer”?

Yeah, I have to say that it was one of the BEST DAYS of my life. The Judge, however, was not amused.

So all that is now in the background and I will be starting to return to writing (slowly). However, know that Steve will still hold the reins.

 

The post Wannabe Live Free or Die – Becky Whitley Made It Real Clear Who Will Be Giving Her Marching Orders, Eh? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Over one hundred and twenty colleges and universities across the United States and the world saw the planning of spontaneous protests this past month and with it the staunch capitalists at NCAA headquarters seized the opportunity to form a new sports league.  The league will be named the Collegiate Radical Interscholastic Protest League (CRIPL) and will be the first ever truly trans-ed sports team endeavor by the NCAA.

Inspired by the tremendous athleticism on display by many of the protestors, NCAA officials, anticipating these protests to occur regularly every four years like the Olympics and presidential elections, anticipate three seasons of preparatory play with a national championship held quadrannually.

Early favorites among the schools clearly show an edge to the Ivy League institutions, which have been falling lately in the rankings as preferred destinations by high school students concerned about employment after college. Early odds favor Columbia, UPenn, and Dartmouth as having the talent to go the distance, while on the West Coast, UCLA has emerged after weeks of high-level civil unrest.

Boston’s Emory Board University, famed for its Cosmetology Ph.D. program, has already hit the ground marching, meeting on the greens outside the quad for daily singles. These dedicated student-athletes are up at the crack of noon to hone their skills and take their game to the next level.

Questions about funding the teams and the league have many concerned that other programs will need to be cut however, sizeable donations have already been offered to create a trust fund from which the schools will get equal compensation across the board so as to create a perfectly fair and socially equitable pay scale disallowing advantages given to larger programs.  However some students anticipating a career as professional protestors argue their future hopes and dreams should not be limited.

“I’ve been protesting since I was a little kid, so I’ve always known this was my passion.  I never imagined I would have the opportunity to do it for a living,” states Yale freshman Uriah Goldenspoon.  Goldenspoon’s parents tell Bananas Media he was a uniquely anti-authoritarian child despite being given virtually anything and everything a child could want.  Mrs. Goldenspoon recalls one summer vacation when Uriah refused to get on the plane to Cancun after throwing a stage five tantrum in the jetway upon learning he would not be flying coach with the rest of the patrons, many of whom applauded after seeing Uriah buckled into his first-class seat.

“We knew pretty early on he was likely to be an insurgent somewhere in the third world when we got a call from his teacher saying he was community organizing the other students to stage a revolt after the school refused to put in electric chargers for tricycles” Mr. Goldenspoon recounted.  “We also found a stash of books under his bed when he was eight.  First, it was Mao’s Little Red Book.  Then we found Rules for Radicals and, finally, Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit.  I’m forty-eight, and I still can hardly make out what those guys were saying.  We got him a poster of Brittany Spears in a bathing suit only to have him paste a picture of Che Guevara’s head over hers.  It was very concerning.”

Not concerned are Goldman’s non-student coaches, who anticipate that his ability to break through a police line with a garbage can lid is unparalleled.

“Uriah has serious quick-twitch muscles, he’s very explosive.  Since the league won’t let us use actual explosives, he’s a game changer.  Most of the guys we have out here are severely malnourished vegans who can barely get through the ‘hey-hey ho-ho’ chants, so we’re hoping Uriah doesn’t get picked up in the portal before the championship season.  We know the comrades over at Georgetown have been courting him online with an extra-large tent and a fully-financed waterbed.”

Speaking of water beds the SEC has one school, North Georgia State, which will be headed up by a coaching legend.  His simple philosophy of “ground and pound” is sure to get the attention of the more finesse driven styles of the other schools.

“I’m here to build character” states the coach who famously has a corner booth at Beef O’Brady’s where he needs help opening the door due to the number of championship rings he wears on his turning hand.

Rivals Alabama State School for the Legally Blonde have asked his coaching nemesis to captain their squad; however, they were turned down as no self-respecting southerner would be caught dead at a college protest.  ‘Merica!

Many of the teams were concerned about mascots, of course, so the race for inoffensive team names was a heated one.

The NCAA pre-season top ten rankings are:

1. UCLA Street Rats
2. Columbia Counter-Insurgents
3. U Penn Pennophiles
4. Dartmouth Big Green New Dealers
5. North Georgia State Notaries
6. Cal-Berkeley Commissars
7. Portland State Queers
8. Evergreen State Sociopaths
9. University of Chicago Community Organizers
10. (tie) University of Delaware Dispensers
11. (tie) University of Texas Tackling Trannies

The post Bananas: NCAA Creates New Interscholastic Protest League appeared first on Granite Grok.

Progressive politicians have taken over Maine and are making the most of their time in power. These people, who live on the extreme left of society, know that the clock is ticking, and they must initiate as much change as they can before the people realize they were wrong, giving these people the wheel and taking it away.

In their time in Augusta, they have legalized marijuana, paved the way for thousands of illegal migrants to come to Maine, passed the most liberal abortion law in the country, established Maine as a sanctuary state for abortion and transgender care, and moved Maine into the top slot of the most taxed states in America.

Because of the size of Maine and the shortage of law enforcement personnel to keep it secure, the Progressives have made the state a perfect environment for the Chinese cartel to infiltrate and establish hundreds of illegal pot farms. They are imposing restrictions on the lobster industry, making it difficult for these hard-working seamen to make a living in one of the state’s oldest industries while relaxing the enforcement of laws, making it easier for illegal residents to survive and prosper.

Aside from the apparent drop in quality of life for Mainers, one of the most harmful elements of the new Leftist direction is the precipitous decline in the quality of education. U.S. News has published its rankings of the states and looks at many elements that a person could use to determine the desirability of a state. In Maine’s case, it has dropped in the ranking of every aspect in 2024 compared to the state in 2018. This article was not good news for Maine but terrible news for the Progressives who think their vision is the proper choice for the future.

The ranking for education in Maine is not good news for Governor Mills, the state Department of Education, the Progressive Party implementing the changes in education, or the students shortchanged by the system. I acknowledge that the pandemic occurred during this time, but it is a constant in all states. The ranking of Maine’s quality of education dropped from 19th in 2018 to 43rd in 2024—a fall from the top half of states to nearly the worst. Although Maine’s overall education is not dead last, U.S. News did rate the state’s public schools as the worst in the nation, following an overview of all public schools in the country.

The news outlet ranked schools based on six metrics, including college readiness, which is weighted heaviest, student performance in advanced, college-level classes, performance on standardized tests, and the graduation rate. The outlet also used one Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) metric to measure schools, ranking them based on the performance of “underserved students,” meaning low-income, black, and Hispanic students.

Two areas that showed promise are Equality and the Overall Environment, though the ranking was poor for air and water quality. Maine had ten times the number of water violations than the national average.

This article by U.S. News is a damning condemnation of the decisions and policies of the people responsible for these results, and those people are the WOKE and Progressives. We must replace these people before their impact affects another generation. The Progressive movement is misnamed and is actually regressive. Their goal is the destruction of America. There is no other option. They must be replaced.

The post The Facts Show The Impact Of Progressives On Maine appeared first on Granite Grok.

On the steps of a court in downtown New York City, former President Donald Trump noted that the threat to the USA today is not from Russia or China or from the US political right. The threat is from the left. It is an internal threat from the US political left.

But what is the left? Who composes this group of people, and what do they represent?

By and large, they hide like wolves in sheep’s clothing. For starters, they have infested the Democrat Party. They are race baiters and woketards who think that by politicizing situations, it is both democratic and the best way forward. But who else is involved?

The left has infiltrated the military in the USA, NATO, and the UN intergovernmental organizations. They are people who are complicit and content with following a direction that secures their own positions while ruining many hundreds of thousands of their fellow citizens’ lives. They tend to live in upper middle class or wealthier positions, so they do not see the damage that they are doing to their own countries.

These people are surrounded by non-US citizens— often foreigners. Leaders from other countries. The wealthiest, most affluent from other countries. Those people typically think in a way aligned with prevailing globalist ideals, which currently are self-destructive and decidedly unhealthy. Their mentality is zero-sum— when they benefit, others lose. This is not necessarily how reality works, but these people are too naive to see otherwise. So, their decisions benefit themselves and hurt those they see as political opponents.

So, the left, as it is called, constitutes largely Democrat Party members and foreign-associated US citizens. Who do these people associate with? Mostly they are influenced by other people in the West— Europe mostly, eapexially Western Europe. These are the internationally-minded folks in Western Europe— France, Britain, Germany, Spain, and other countries. Do you think that they are acting in the best interests of the USA or in their own best interests?

Europeans see the USA and its people with disdain. US citizens are mostly rowdy, fat, and belligerent. US politicians are tools. European aristocrats use the USA to generate and maintain conflicts so that they can profit. Keep in mind that Europe is a very aristocratic place. That’s why the Puritans and others left to settle in the Americas—so they could build above the glass ceilings in Europe established by the bourgeoisie.

And what about others across the planet? Outside of Europe, few countries have respect anymore for the USA. Washington’s decades of international subterfuge, military escapades, and politicization have cost the USA dearly. China, Iran, Russia, and other countries are happy to see the USA in decline, especially if they can control that decline and profit from it, as is unfolding under the Biden junta.

It is possible for the US to recover, but the leftist political caste must thrown off. They benefit nobody except for themselves.

For the most part, leftists are obsessed with winning the favor of billionaires and supposedly exotic foreign governments. That means they are easily manipulated, and they are. It means they can be easily swayed to pursue agendas if they think it will be popular. The US left has fallen victim to devious political maneuvering. They have been psyched out. They are compromised.

This is why the drain the swamp campaign is so important. The US government is full of sycophants who think that attaining power occurs when they win the favor of the wealthy. In turn, this has led to their selling out their entire county to idiotic and moronic ideas.

It is time to abandon the US Left. Don’t feel sorry for them. They will recover. And maybe they’ll abandon their bad ideas and find better ones.

Maybe.

The post Night Cap: Who is the Left and Why Should We Abandon Them? appeared first on Granite Grok.

The US State Department and a short list of named co-conspirators are being sued for “engaging with and promoting censorship technology designed to bankrupt domestic media outlets with disfavored political opinions.”

It asks the court “to declare the State Department’s attempt to interfere with domestic speech illegal and to permanently bar it from developing, promoting, or encouraging bothers to use technology to de-amplify, shadow ban, or restrict “the lawful speech of the American press and Americans.”

Similar charges are mucking about the Judicial branch in cases against the FBI, CIA, and others. Still, anyone who hints at the shadows of penumbras of a conspiracy gets a tinfoil hat. They say there is no coordinated war within our government against the First Amendment. It is about public safety, about truth.

Generations of the product of public education mills have made people too stupid to know what they should know, and the government is here to help, which seems like a good time to share a quote from Albert J. Knock.

Like all predatory or parasitic institutions, its first instinct is that of self-preservation. All its enterprises are directed first towards preserving its own life, and, second, towards increasing its own power and enlarging the scope of its own activity. For the sake of this it will, and regularly does, commit any crime which circumstances make expedient.

The State Department asked that the case be dismissed (probably because they believe you would have to be stupid to sue them), but US District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle denied the motion.

“Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,” the order begins. “This provision enshrines ‘[o]ur profound national commitment to the free exchange of ideas.’ … Indeed ‘[i]f there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.’”

And while the plaintiffs may succeed, this is not a cure for what ails us. The problem is deeply rooted in the thing of which we on the right are so often accused: fascism.

Those of us fighting for free speech are labeled fascists, and yet it is they who are invested with corporate titans to control the production and dissemination of “information.” They are likewise aligned with giants in the financial sectors to control bank loans and investment – and increasingly in energy, health care, and now food and farming. Using force to affect a partisan interest that not coincidentally decreases access, individual liberty, and the ability to speak out against these transitions. That’s fascism, defended by speech-stifling anti-fascists (Like Antifa) whose end game is to get the burgeoning statist fascism to take one more step to the left. From the current information syndicalism cum modern Fascism to government ownership of not just the means of production but of all property, including your body, speech, and thought.

A state wherein the will of the bureaucracy is the law, a wall behind which the fascist politicians who enabled them may hide, claiming all along that they agree there is a problem, and as soon as you re-elect them, they’ll pretend to do something about it.

 

The post They Are The Fascists appeared first on Granite Grok.

John F. Williams of Portsmouth Orthopedics was awarded a Citizens Bank 2024 Small Business Community Champion Award, which includes a $10,000 grant for his business.

John discusses his career path from the military to the private sector, helping people with orthotics and prosthetics, working with veterans, and navigating the complicated VA and insurance ecosystem.

The post The New England Take: How $10,000 Can Help Rural New Hampshire Veterans with Orthotics and Prosthetics Healthcare? appeared first on Granite Grok.

My mom was born on April 13, 1921. She grew up on a farm in Idaho. She knew from a very early age how to milk cows, fry up chicken, and plant and harvest potatoes and corn.

At the age of 18, she was the sole woman graduate of Walt Whitman College in Walla Walla , Washington. She majored in the German language and was so proficient that she was hired by the War Department in early 1940 to interpret German high command war messages.

When the Allies captured the E-MACHINE- a typewriter that allowed encrypted German messages to be de-coded-she was selected as one of five to work in a top-secret office decoding German war messages. She stayed in that position for the duration of the war and hoped to make a career doing the same job. When the war ended, her job ended and she was told that she was being replaced by a returning army officer- a man. She was told to go home and have babies, like a good woman should.

To a “modern” woman, these events would have proven the mantra of the time- that women were enslaved, second-class citizens, denigrated by a disgusting male power structure.

In the 1960’s, it was the time of the “sexual revolution”. The birth control pill was-according to the media-liberating women from a life of slavery, drudgery, male dominance, and control. New visions of what it meant to be a woman were emerging, all asserting that women were being liberated from a repressive society. Motherhood was being attacked as servile, degrading, and unworthy of a freedwoman.

My mom did not buy into any of this”nonsense.” Indeed, her outlook was the exact opposite. Being a woman, being a wife, and most importantly being a mom was the absolute highest calling. Being an employee of the war department was enslavement because it meant that her highest calling in this life was to play word games in German.

She looked out upon the universe and very much saw the hand of God in all that was visible and all that was not. She lovingly and with great love and admiration for the creator of the universe asked if he truly intended her to play those word games. The answer of course was that he really cared not for her job as an interpreter. “The creator of the universe” she would tell me “holds nothing more valuable than creation. And he gave me something that no man has, and nor ever can attain: he gave me the power and the ability and the desire to create with him the new life he so values.

At a very early age, I remember her telling me that it is in being a mom, in creating and sustaining a family that she was truly free.

Not the freedom to burn your bra or dance naked in a bar. She called that freedom for chaos.

By Freedom, my mom meant “FREEDOM FOR EXCELLENCE.”

If you give a teenage boy a set of golf clubs, take him to a PGA golf course, hand him a ball, and tell him to tee off, he has the freedom to do that very deed. But, without instruction, training, and guidance, his freedom is freedom for chaos: he will slice, shank, and divot the hell out of the course. He will never however play Golf.

If you, however, teach him over weeks, months, and years the game of golf, the techniques to play well, and if you instill in him the discipline needed to be a PGA-level golfer, he will have a very different kind of freedom. He will have the freedom to play the game the way it was meant to be played. He will have the freedom to drive the ball 300 yards to just the right position in the fairway; the freedom to hit his second drive onto the green; and the ultimate freedom of sinking that birdie putt that you have never been able to hit. He will, in short, have the FREEDOM FOR EXCELLENCE.

It is in Motherhood that my Mom felt she had her best chance for such Freedom. She knew in her heart that if she worked very hard at being the best mom she could be, if she disciplined herself to place motherhood above all other values, and if she developed the good and needed skills all good moms have, she would achieve the excellence in her life that would enable her to be truly free to the very best person her God meant her to be. And she would be a freedom fighter in his world.

My mom achieved that excellence. From a very early age, I remember how truly dedicated she was to developing in herself the “excellence” of being a mom. From the relatively trivial (she got up very early every day to make me oatmeal for breakfast. Eggs on Sunday. Brown sugar on payday. She made me my lunch- peanut butter and grape jelly- and always put a note telling me to do my best) to the far more substantial( she taught me the classics-Aristoltle, Socrates, Plato. By fifth grade, I was reading Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, and Chaucer) she was dedicated to creating, nurturing and sustaining the family she knew God meant her to have.

She came to my football games. She watched me hit home runs on my baseball team. She was my source of wisdom, careful thought and devotion to civility. I guess more importantly she taught me true Christian love. She was the most Christian person I ever met. She taught me to love family, to lovingly participate in family dinners, family holidays, and she taught me to place family above all else.

She worked as hard as anyone I ever met to being the very best mom and grandmom she could be. She strived for “mom”excellence and her mission was to not only give me life thru birth but to nurture me into being the man that she felt God wanted me to be.

She did her job 24/7. She never relented but always worked with me trying her very best to develop in me excellence in my thoughts, words, and deeds. ( That is not a comment about me, but about her and who she was. She strived for excellence in being a mom.)

As my mom approached the end of her life, she told me her prayer: that her death would be a peaceful one. I remember telling her:”Mom, it will be more than peaceful. For all that you have given to me, to our family, God must be smiling.”

To me, she died a truly free woman, brought there by her commitment to achieving the highest calling she knew God gave her: Being a partner with him in creating new life and nurturing the souls of his sons and daughters. HER FREEDOM WAS NOT THE FREEDOM OF CHAOS BUT THE TRUE FREEDOM GAINED ONLY BY EXCELLENCE.

When I met my wife, when I first looked into her eyes, I was filled with wonder. I saw beauty on many levels. I was filled with the thought that I had met the woman I wanted to marry.

Of all that I saw though, what I was most struck by was that I saw in my wife the same thought of motherhood that I had seen in my mom. She found greatness, not poverty, in creating life. She found joy in family and all that it entailed. Being a good mom, and achieving excellence in the life of her children, gave her the same freedom my mom had. I don’t know anyone who is as free in their thoughts and their beliefs than my beautiful wife- for she has found the freedom God gave her by achieving the excellence of being a mom to her children.

So too my daughter and my two wonderful daughters-in-law. Each has followed their own path; each has achieved their own life. But, somehow, someway each developed the same notion as my mom: Momhood is life; is excellence; is freedom to be the absolute best person they could ever be.

As I stated in the title, I am going to celebrate Mother’s Day and there is nothing you can do to stop me. And I will fight anyone who wants to take away from my mom, my wife, and my wonderful daughters their desire to achieve the FREEDOM TO BE EXCELLENT.

I say HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to them, and to every mom out there who strives mightily day and night to achieve the same excellence and the same FREEDOM.

God bless Momhood.God bless the moms who find freedom in being excellent.

.

The post I Want To Celebrate Motherhood! And Nothing You Can Do Will Stop Me! appeared first on Granite Grok.

Julie Smith suggests on Thursday that New Hampshire follow Nebraska and have a single legislative chamber, presumably our lower House, and do away with the Senate.

She mentions my proposal Tuesday, that New Hampshire follow part of Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies and let voters select a Senator by specifying our philosophy or party rather than picking a specific nominee.

Julie’s column is mostly about the Senate’s corruption, in which a right-thinking Senator gets “chilled” or “steamrolled.” The Senator acquiesces — or is frightened by the publicity of a roll-call vote — as a good bill is killed or a bad bill is passed, tucked inside a unanimous, anonymous Consent Calendar.

Now, wait. On the one hand, there is too much publicity, and on the other hand, there’s too much secrecy. And by the way, the House also has roll calls, Consent Calendars, and whips to remind his party’s Reps of the painful consequences of leaving the Hive. (The pressure is why two from each party became Libertarians last session, where they had no pressure and thus no theme, only a date with election oblivion.) And what about the concealment when a hundred good bills (including limitations on future States of Emergency) were bundled into the Budget Companion Bill? None of us demanded separate bills, one issue per bill, as we tend to do, because we and our Reps knew that the Governor would veto each of them; he couldn’t veto HB-2.

Julie says that it’s easier to be true to yourself and your constituents in a sea of 399 other Reps, but my part of the state is only interested in two of them, and none of their public acts are made hard to follow by the size of the House. Does Senate “corruption” simply mean the author’s opinions often don’t prevail?

I can accept Julie’s proposal of a unicameral New Hampshire General Court, though there is a benefit to having two chambers, even if we apportion them in an identical way. A chamber leader’s strong will, or even personal whims, and sessions in which Republicans run one house and Democrats the other make it harder for both chambers to enact identical text, and that is a safeguard.

Julie, what do you say about my proposal — Keep the Senate but make it structurally different from the House to reflect philosophies rather than our geography? Nothing. Over to you!

The post Unicameral Versus Party List appeared first on Granite Grok.

I got to know Spec Bowers during the Greg Moore … oops, sorry; of course, I mean the Bill O’Brien … speakership. For a “Yale man,” he was a good guy. A rare breath of intellectual fresh air in the very short-lived GOP supermajority elected in 2010 by the TeaParty wave.

But I don’t know what the hell he is talking about when he claims in GOP Campaign Strategy – The Governor’s Race that:

It seems that NH Democrats are worried about Kelly Ayotte, and not interested in policies that are important to NH citizens …

Actually, my dear Spec, it is just the other way around. “Democrats” … you should be calling them Woke-Communists … are obviously talking about things that matter to voters, while Republicans, or what passes for Republican in New Hampshire, are NOT. Do you, my dear Spec, have a better explanation for how the Woke-Communist GAINED seats in the New Hampshire House in 2022, in what should have been a Red Wave election?

Take public education, for example. The Woke-Communists’ mantra is that they are going to adequately fund public education, invest in public education, blah, blah, blah. The NHGOP response: EFAs! EFAs! EFAs all the way, everyday! EFAs are like EVs. There is no unmet demand among consumers of public education for EFAs. The NHGOP should be talking about IMPROVING public education as a counter to “investing” in public education. More specifically, by cutting the bureaucracy … especially the DEI bureaucracy …. and putting that money into classrooms. An excellent example is Massachusetts which spends roughly the same per pupil, but pays its teachers much more than New Hampshire does.

But don’t hold your breath waiting for the NHGOP to do so … they apparently are more interested in getting pats-on-the-head from AFP and Josiah Bartlett than actually winning elections. Stated slightly differently, my dear Spec, only about one-sixth of New Hampshire voters are “conservatives” and making EFAs the be-all and end-all of NHGOP education policy essentially writes off the other five-sixths.

The Woke-Communists are also going to save us from Climate Change. What’s the NHGOP response? Do they even understand, never mind have the ability to articulate, that “green energy” makes electricity more expensive? Are they proposing any policies to actually bring down the cost of electricity? All I am hearing is that the Choo-Choo train to Boston must be stopped … that this is the proverbial hill to die on.

My dear Spec, we could walk through the Woke-Communists’ other issues … abortion, “affordable housing,” “access to healthcare,” etc., etc., etc. … and see the same dynamic. The Woke-Communists are resonating with the voters … who increasingly are progressive-extremists attracted to New Hampshire because the Granite State has become a magnet for progressive-extremists … while the NHGOP is not: “smaller government,” “cut burdensome regulations,” blah, blah, snooze.

For example, here is a campaign mailer from the Woke-Communists in Manchester. All of the candidates pictured won. So, if any Party is guilty of not talking issues in a way that resonates with that ever-shrinking pool of persuadable voters, it is the NHGOP:

The post Spec, What The Hell Are You Talking About? appeared first on Granite Grok.