Vermont taxpayers are desperate for relief, especially in regard to funding public education. The only way to provide that relief is to return spending levels on Pre-K to 12th to something resembling normal pre-Covid levels.

The obstacle to this necessity is the politically powerful VTNEA, Superintendents’ Association, Principals’ Association, etc. (aka The Blob) are violently opposed to any reform of the system that impinges on the ever-increasing flow of money from Vermont taxpayers’ wallets into their own. And, conveniently for them, just as firmly ensconced in their pocket as $2.5 billion and growing of our hard-earned money is the Democrat Supermajority.

Taxpayers beg for relief; union special interests demand more cash, not less. Guess who the Democrats are doing the bidding of? Spoiler alert: not you!

We saw this in bald terms when Rep. Nelson Brownell (D-Pownal) explained that the education finance “reform” bill being proposed today is about “look[ing] at costs, but not in a containment way (emphasis added).” Just yesterday, House Ways & Means Chair Emilie Kornheiser (D-Brattleboro) snapped at Republicans offering an amendment to the property tax bill that would lower taxes, “There’s no decision on no taxes here. That’s just not an option.” Translation, “VTNEA et al, keep telling us how much you want to spend, and we’ll keep hitting up the taxpayers with more and higher taxes to pay for it.”

Here’s the reform reality we need to embrace: Vermont independent schools that participate in the Vermont’s 150-year-old town tuitioning system very generally speaking do a better job of educating our children for far less money. It’s a win/win for everyone who should matter.

We need more of this – lots more of this — not less.

Now, when opponents of this cost-effective, highly popular form educating our children howl – as they are certainly doing at this point in the story – that independent schools are only able to achieve these stellar results because they discriminate, no they don’t. That’s a lie. Every school, public or independent, in Vermont that accepts state dollars is subject to the same state and federal non-discrimination laws and regulations. Period.

The taxpayer funded per pupil costs for independent tuitioning schools are capped at $16,756 for elementary students, and $18,266 for middle and high school students. That’s 30 percent less than the official, weighted per-pupil average of $23,586 spent by the government run public schools. And, if one simply takes the $2.5 billion education budget and divides it by the 80,000 actual living, breathing student bodies in the classrooms, that number goes up to over $30,000 per kid.

So, using the most conservative numbers here, if every Vermont student were in the tuitioning system with a capped per-pupil spending rate, Vermont taxpayers could save around $750,000,000. And we’d still be spending 15 percent more per child than the national per-pupil average! And we’d more than likely be achieving better student outcomes.

Sounds like a plan, doesn’t it!

There are some communities that are coming to this conclusion. Parents of children in the Windham Elementary School, for example, just won a school choice petition battle – taking on the Blob as well as a hostile local school board – by an overwhelming vote of 82-45 to close the school and give the kids choice. As the Brattleboro Reformer reports:

“Windham families spoke up forcefully at the town meeting, giving several reasons for their fear and dislike of the Windham Elementary School, which is currently closed. They particularly cited the school board’s inability to affirm that the school would be improved in the immediate future, given lack of staff and serious deficiencies in the school plant,” the Windham Committee for School Choice said in an announcement. “The resounding victory for the solid majority of parents who wanted school choice was unexpected, and suggested that some pro-school voters at town meeting changed their minds on the basis of what they learned from the unhappy parents.”

That last point is key. Parents and taxpayers need to speak up, speak out, and make the case for school choice. Forcefully. It’s a winning issue.

National and state polling data tracked by the American Federation for Children shows public support for school choice at landslide levels between 65 and 75 percent. And for all you wokester social justice warriors out there, demographically that support is highest among Black respondents at 73 percent. (Or is your real attitude, “Black lives matter, but their opinions not so much”?) Hispanic support is at 71 percent.

Really, the only segment of the population that doesn’t support school choice is the special interests that profit mightily from the public school monopoly system. Breaking up that monopoly is the reform we need for the benefit of both as taxpayers and students. The system we have now, with rising cost and falling test scores is failing both. And so are the Democrats in Montpelier who are placing the demands of special interests above those of their constituents.

 

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 More Independent Schools and More Choice Are the Property Tax Solution appeared first on Granite Grok.

I gave testimony this week in support of New Hampshire bill HB396 to protect women’s spaces and sports. This is my testimony.

Related: Take Action to Save Women’s Sports in New Hampshire

This is the Live Free or Die state and Governor Sununu made a terrible mistake in 2018 when he signed HB1319, “prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity” into law. He thought he was integrating lunch counters in the deep south but what he was really doing was stripping away the privacy and safety of women and girls. 

An estimated 91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female and 9% male. Nearly 99% of perpetrators are male.

In a Swedish study on a population of individuals who had undergone sex reassignment, the researchers state: “male-to-females . . . retained a male pattern regarding criminality. The same was true regarding violent crime.”

A large percentage of trans-identifying males, also known as “transwomen” are sexually attracted to women. They transition because they have a sexual fetish called autogynephilia. If a person has one sexual fetish they are very likely to have other sexual fetishes. 

Here in Nashua, we had a male state rep, Stacie Laughton, who identified as a woman, was sexually attracted to women, and who was charged with soliciting pornographic pictures of local toddlers. Thankfully, he is being housed in a men’s prison. 

Should men with autogynephilia and other sexual fetishes be given access to women’s and girls’ spaces of intimate privacy or women’s prisons? Segregation by biological sex can be a good and necessary thing. It’s not like racial segregation.

The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire officially supported HB1319 in 2018. They thought they were giving freedom to trans-identified people but they were really taking away the freedom from businesses and organizations to choose whether or not to allow men to access their women’s restrooms and locker rooms. 

Let Planet Fitness choose to allow men into their women’s locker rooms. Women can choose whether or not to join that gym and risk seeing a man undressing or a man watching them undress. Or they can join a gym that respects their need for privacy and safety.

My testimony against HB1319 has been immortalized in the Hulu documentary “Changing the Game” and it is still relevant today.

Do you trust women to use their own intuition about who is safe to be in a women’s restroom or locker room? Do you respect a woman’s right to privacy? Do you respect a woman’s right to protect herself? Do you want to see women left vulnerable in restrooms or locker rooms to sexual assault, especially young girls? 

Contact the Senate Judiciary Committee and ask them to vote OTP on HB396, “permitting classification of individuals based on biological sex under certain limited circumstances” at sharon.carson@leg.state.nh.us; William.Gannon@leg.state.nh.us; shannon.chandley@leg.state.nh.us; Becky.Whitley@leg.state.nh.us; Daryl.Abbas@leg.state.nh.us; matthew.schelzi@leg.state.nh.us

“Governor Sununu… thought he was integrating lunch counters in the deep south but what he was really doing was stripping away the privacy and safety of women and girls.” HB396 would allow Granite Staters to acknowledge the reality of sex @BethRS62 #NHPolitics pic.twitter.com/0kf6SxsOIl

— Sidewalk Steve (@Sidewalk_Steve) April 25, 2024

The post Sununu Thought He Was Integrating Lunch Counters but He Was Stripping Away the Privacy and Safety of Women appeared first on Granite Grok.

What the hell is the matter with Goffstown? The latest: A DemocratCommunist State Rep, Judi Lanza, arguably attempting to commit multiple crimes because, apparently, she thinks her position as a State Rep entitles her to shake down local businesses.

And … you can’t make this stuff up … Lanza apparently actually used the “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM” line when called out for her thuggery:

Don't you dare get in between Rep. Lanza (D-Goffstown) and her scam of getting a drink and not paying for it!

She will quickly let you know who she is and why she is entitled to free stuff from Panera.

She won by 7 votes in 2022.#nhpolitics pic.twitter.com/8dWR8a0qcb

— Committee to Elect House Republicans (@CTEHR) April 26, 2024

Arguably, Lanza attempted to engage in Theft By Extortion, Theft By Deception, and Official Oppression. So I ask again: WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH GOFFSTOWN?????

The post “Do You Know Who I Am” … Yes, Goffstown State Rep Judi Lanza: You Are A Thug appeared first on Granite Grok.

The New Hampshire Republican Party held its annual meeting in Concord two weeks ago. That was probably a mistake, but the State House is there, so I can guess why they’d think it would be safe. Concord is a city filled with lefties and a few Libertarians, but it is not like there weren’t a bunch of armed citizens present inside at the event.

But they were all indoors.

While they were in their biannual “meeting” (discussing party business), some deranged proglodyte keyed a bunch of cars in the parking lot. Vehicles were reportedly tagged based not on a shadow of a penumbra but Republican-supporting bumper stickers or cars with State Rep. plates. You know, obvious GOP types. I hear there were a few there (snark!).

That sounds like an actual hate crime to me. Tony Schinella at Patch has the best reporting so far.

Lawrence Anthony Dunlap, 37, of South Spring Street in Concord, was arrested on Friday on 11 felony counts of criminal mischief. He was charged after a nearly two week investigation into close to a dozen vehicles that were keyed and damaged around Concord High School during the New Hampshire GOP convention at the school. The party rented the Christa McAuliffe Auditorium and the Main Street corridor for the function. In the early afternoon, when attendees began to leave, many with political license plates, including state representative registrations and political stickers, called police after seeing their vehicles damages.

Soms investigating by City Police, a warrant, and a search of Dunlap’s Residence later “yielded firearms, a manifesto, suicide notes, and a bag containing zip ties, masks, and gloves.” Isn’t this standard junk drawer fare for the average Concord Democrat? Maybe not firearms, but this is the Live Free or Die State, and the Constitution is silent on the right to carry gloves and zip ties, while suicide notes are clearly an act of free speech. I do have to ask. Were the Dunlap scribblings early drafts for shuffling off his own mortal coil, or was he pretending to be Xerox and making copies for others?

That might look bad. A local progressive who was outside (party meeting) was found in possession of abduction paraphernalia and firearms. Imagine the rising din were the report to suggest the opposite. They hated Obama (even Democrats hate Biden) and keyed Democrat cars. Found in possession of abduction material. That’d be a hate crime. The National media would pick that up, “discover” he was Christian for five seconds, and link him to everyone with name recognition in the GOP.

We’d have CNN and MSNBC holding panels and sticking microphones and cameras into politicians’ faces, many of whom would sputter pablum-filled apologies and denounce the dude.

That’s not what happened. The story got covered locally by Patch and NH Journal (and now here), but the only “corporate coverage” of the suspect and the arrest was a paltry 105 or so words from the local ABC affiliate (WMUR) with no mention of a partisan or (even potential) politically driven animus.

I guess that’s what the corporate media meant by unity.

 

The post Search Yields Firearms, a Manifesto, Suicide Notes, and a Bag Containing Zip Ties, Masks, and Gloves appeared first on Granite Grok.

Many of us have been watching the images of the protests on the Columbia, Yale, and NYU campuses and listening to the alarming stories of Jewish students being harassed or confined to their dorm rooms for safety. The images could be of mass protests in Gaza if the crawler didn’t identify it as Harvard.

It is unnerving to think that our country has sunk to such a low level that antisemitism is spreading faster than COVID. But we were given words of hope and encouragement yesterday as Congresswoman Cortez (D-NY) praised the “peaceful” protests and the brave students exercising their right to gather and protest. Cortez is a buffoon, and the fact that President Biden commended her for her words of clarity is an example that Joe Biden cannot be of sound mind.

The protests against Israel and for Palestinians and Hamas are far from peaceful, and for anyone to say so is a fool. Police are being taunted. Jewish students are harassed, threatened, and told to go home. Illegal encampments have been set up on university real estate, and classes are disrupted, with Jewish students having to attend class via live stream. The irony is when one Jewish student was walking by the demonstration area, they were threatened with inciting violence. That is like saying the person with the black eye is guilty of being in the path of a punch. We have lost our collective minds.

Twenty-two of the top fifty universities in the country have active protests on their campuses. Some administrators have asked police to come onto the campus property to restore peace. Student protestors have been arrested, and non-student agitators are found mingling with the students and trespassing onto school property to join and bolster the pro-Palestinian actions. Some graduations have been canceled because the campuses are not safe. Some members of Congress are calling for presidents of the institutions with protests to resign if they are unable to bring order to their communities and assure safety for the Jewish students. President Biden has yet to make an official statement on the protests. He has given flip answers to media members yelling questions at him but no specific comments during his public appearances. It appears that Biden is hoping to lay low and hope this situation will burn out before he must address it.

Our President’s silence is as complicit to the anti-Israel sentiment as TikTok, `which is calling for violence if changes are not seen in America’s stance on Israel and Palestine.

These protests go well beyond free speech. When students and activists are threatening the safety and well-being of others and screaming, “We are Hamas,” they have lost their rights and should be arrested. Over 200 individuals were taken into custody at Columbia. None of them were booked, photographed, or fingerprinted. They were treated as if their parking meter had expired. We have lost control, and the inmates are running the asylum.

This article came together very quickly. Sadly, I wrote it with frustration and anger at the lack of leadership in our country and the absence of common sense. It is obvious this is a concerted effort across the country to promote hate and antisemitism towards Jewish people. Biden said on Monday that there are good people on both sides of this complex issue. That is exactly the comment that Donald Trump made about Charlottesville that Biden condemned Trump for. What short memory does our President have, or does he not have one at all? We now condemn him for his lack of fortitude to shut these protests down, call them out as hate crimes, and restore peace to these campuses and safety to all students. Maybe he can funnel some of the effort into locking up the January 6 protestors and direct them to find who is responsible for these insurrections.

The post When Does Peaceful Protest Become Civil Unrest appeared first on Granite Grok.

This week, my committee met twice on Senate bills. Tuesday we voted on six of them. SB 439, prohibiting boycotts of Israel in state procurement, was the most divisive. I moved to kill the bill, since the committee has long opposed using the state procurement system to make political statements.

After some discussion, the vote was 14-6, with the six not wanting to seem unsupportive of Israel or anti-Semitic. All our other votes were unanimous.

SB 480, on regulation of real estate practice, was amended, as planned, to delete unnecessary sections and passed. SB 437, on local authority to amend the building code, passed without amendment. SB 372, on plumbing apprentices, had the House clarifying amendment to go to two apprentices per master plumber. SB 369, on public notice for professional board meetings, had a committee amendment to only extend the notice period for written comment, then passed. SB 306, on manufactured housing rulemaking authority, was amended to insert the necessary definition of dispute resolution.

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

We also discussed SB 485, which would require digital licenses, and realized that it was more complicated than we’d thought. Also, the testimony in favor was from a company that sells such a system, and it wasn’t clear that the interface with other states protected privacy well enough. So we recessed the executive session to prepare an amendment to cut out the digital licenses and just leave the boards’ responsibility to consider and evaluate military training and experience.

Wednesday, we started with SB 481, establishing Juneteenth as an official holiday, not just a proclaimed day. This was a concern to many members, as June 19 is pretty late for many schools, and we were not supportive of interrupting exams. Having an official holiday raised questions of time off (at taxpayer expense) for municipal workers, and how having government workers off when many private sector workers wouldn’t get a holiday was also questionable. We voted unanimously to not pass the bill.

SB 373, on the state building code, had been amended by the Senate to simply require the building code specify that leakage not exceed five air changes per hour. This number has changed several times recently, from seven to three in the 2018 energy code. The 2021 energy code (which we did not recommend) goes back to five; experience with buildings made to three air changes has shown that they build up moisture, favoring mold; chemicals from building materials and cleaning products; and tend to keep pollutants and allergens inside. From testimony, it seems the building code review board didn’t fully evaluate this specification by itself, but only as an element of the energy code; the home builders, who were pushing for the change, had also done a very poor job of presenting it as a stand-alone amendment.  We ran out of time to vote on it, but I’m leaning in favor of the change.

Then we spent 3.5 hours hearing SB 440, on the board of optometry. Nationwide, optometrists are working to regularize the profession and increase their scope of practice; the opposition, here as well as elsewhere, comes from the ophthalmologists (eye surgeons.) We had testimony on the training and skills of optometrists, as well as their greater numbers and easier access – New Hampshire has 333  optometrists versus 77 ophthalmologists.

Some of the more important issues I heard were that only some of the optometrists are trained in the procedures they wish to add to their scope of practice – it’s a fairly recent addition, and only 2 of 24 optometry schools in the country are in states that allow optometrists to perform them (and so, get enough practice to actually qualify as trained.) The ophthalmologists report that approximately 13% of these procedures develop complications, and optometrists are not trained in treating these complications (per the ophthalmologists.) The bill is also rather badly written, with a long list of procedures they won’t do and no definition of the ones they want to add to their repertoire. So, off to subcommittee it went!

 

The post Your State House appeared first on Granite Grok.

Maine just became the 17th state in the nation to sign onto an electoral compact to reward the national popular vote leader, leaving Maine, New Hampshire and many other smaller states at the mercy (or lack thereof) of big blue states like California and New York.

National progressive activists and lobbyist firms hate the Electoral College, and they make absolutely no attempt to hide their disdain for the only institution standing between free and fair elections and national elections decided solely by New York City and Los Angeles County.

As a lifelong voter in a state of 1.4 million people, it scares me to death to think that ultra-progressives could void our votes in ONE county in ONE state.
Imagine it, folks! EV mandates from Gov. Newsome, lawless city streets like we see in Chicago, and mandatory jail time for misgendering an LGBTQIA+ person.

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

That is what we have to look forward to after we lose our rights to an opinion, a voice, and a vote.

As a New Hampshire State House Candidate in 2024, I want to personally promise Grok readers in the Laconia area, as well as the entire state, that I will NEVER vote for the Live Free or Die state to join this horrific ultra-progressive power grab.

I would hope that every single republican candidate for office in the upcoming election would stand tall and come out against this publicly and proudly.

If you have any questions or would like to share your concerns, please feel free to email me at Littlefield.vivek2024@gmail.com, and I will respond promptly.

Vote Littlefield For Laconia. Hon. Richard H Littlefield Reminder: Content about candidates or by candidates is not an endorsement by GraniteGrok.com or its authors.

The post Night Cap: Electoral Compact or Horrific Progressive Power Grab? 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.

Also note that these posts generally do not repeat information (e.g., specific links or memes) – 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: 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

Don’t forget my special report on the *cough cough* hardships of pre-Oct 7 “Concentration Camp Gaza”:

Pre-War “Concentration Camp” Gaza – Granite Grok

 

 

 

TOP OF THE FOLD

Iran’s Oil Exports Climb to the Highest Level in 6 Years | OilPrice.com

Not good.  Iran is awash in cash these days.  Cash to fund this:

Iran Mullahs Speeding Up Nuclear Weapons Program: Anyone Interested? :: Gatestone Institute

—

Watch this video and tell me you’d want to give these blood thirsty individuals a state next door.

A question I keep asking.

 

 

WAR & WHEN WILL IT END?

From here:

BREAKING: Police investigator reveals 99% of captured Hamas terrorists show no remorse for their heinous acts on October 7th—murder, rape, and kidnapping of Israelis.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/He_interrogates_Palestinian_terrorists.mp4

 

Understand, they’re PROUD and HAPPY with their deeds.

—

From here – how clerics in Iran are being abused:

This is what Iranians think of the Islamic regime.

Obviously not ALL Iranians, but this is encouraging.

—

Battles in the information war – Oct. 7 video shown

Good.  Get this idea out there.  Israel needs to release that full video.

—

“Peace Mediator” Qatar: “October 7th is only the beginning. We will eliminate all the Jews” – Geller Report

They openly say they want Jews dead.  Have the moral courage to take them at their word.

 

 

ISLAM: PRACTICES, HISTORY, AND MENTALITY

From here:

Oh yes prior to the founding of Israel Jews lived in Nirvana in Arab countries ! Well until pogroms just happened.. LGDN
//:::::::

Compare the massacres of Jews on October 7 in Israel with August 7 in Algeria.

In 1934, Arabs slaughtered hundreds of Algerian Jews. Look at how they killed them.

“A scene of utter desolation and horror, of Jewish girls with their breasts cut off, of little children with numerous knife wounds and of whole families locked in their homes and burned to death, was described by a Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent, who succeeded in reaching this city today.

“It will take days before the world will obtain a true picture of all the atrocities committed by the Arabs during the pogrom on the Jewish quarter,” the correspondent wired.

“The only comparison I can think of is the Palestine riots of 1929. I found Jewish girls with their breasts cut off, greybearded Jews stabbed to death, little Jewish children dead of
numerous knife wounds and whole famities locked in their homes and burned to death by the rioters.

“Just as in Palestine in 1929, the lists of the dead and injured run into the hundreds with no official estimates available. The hospitals are Alled with Jewish victims and the doors of the hospitals are besieged with half-crazed wives and mothers seeking to ascertain whether their loved ones are among the dead or injured, or whether they succeeded in escaping the pogrom bands.

“The Jewish ghetto is heavily guarded by troops, but the ruins are still fresh.and smoking. Many of the houses are completely de-serted. The famous Algerian Jewish families Halini and Dadoun were completely exterminated by the Arab rioters.

“The Jewish printer Attali, whose children were all murdered by Arabs and who was severely injured, as was his wife, told me of the bestialities practiced by the Arabs during the pogrom, which he characterized as worse than the Inquisition in Spain.

“I myself saw two Jewish girls on the verge of death owing to the fact that pogromists cut off their breasts.
“The city is calm now, but the authorities are prepared for renewal of rioting.”

LONDON, Aug. 7. – London newspapers reporting the violent massacres which took place in Constantine, Algeria, emphasize that the worst features of the riots were the atrocities committed by the Arabs on the Jewish women and children. Estimates of the dead run to over 100, most of them killed in a brutal fashion.

The newspapers also revealed that most of the Jewish victims were killed by Arab debtors, whe seized upon the riots as a means of ridding themselves of debts owed the Jews.
Marina Medvin
@MarinaMedvin

 

 

I knew about Hebron and the Nebi Musa riots; this one’s new to me.

 

 

ATROCITIES

From here:

GRAPHIC CONTENT
No Masks!
No Keffiyah scarf!
No military uniform!
These are CIVILIANS who made a choice to kidnap,rape,burn and murder Civilians of ISRAEL.

Note, graphic – link only.

—

They murdered the children’s mother in front of their eyes, grabbed her corpse, hit it under the bed and planted explosives around it.

Picture and text there too.

—

From here:

DAILY REMINDER
Warning Graphic

Yes, this is what Hamas did on October 7th.

We will not forget the barbaric evilness of Hamas and the other extremists in Gaza. The evilness must be destroyed otherwise it continues and will come back more evil.

This was the reason the IDF went into Gaza. To destroy Hamas in order to prevent more terror from them. Lets not forget. When Hamas is not finished, the terror, as they say themselves, will continue. All the terrorists must be brought to justice

Also Rafah must fall

Desert Intelligence Unit
@DesertUnit0777

Graphic pics.  Be warned.

Atrocity reminder 1

Atrocity reminder 2

Atrocity reminder 3

Atrocity reminder 4

 

 

ON INTERSECTIONALITY / LEFTIST SUPPORT

From here:

Rep. Ilhan Omar is seen shaking hands with Khymani James, who openly said that “Zionists don’t deserve to live.”

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/omar-shakes-hands.mp4

 

See related links in the TERROR COMING HERE section.

—

From here:

Now they merge transexualism with terrorism.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/trannies-for-palestine.mp4

 

 

 

PALLYWOOD & MEDIA DISTORTIONS/LIES IN GENERAL

Palestinian Ruling Party Admits: Hamas Steals Aid, Kills Aid Workers in Gaza (breitbart.com)

Who could possibly have thought this could happen?

—

DEBUNKED! Palestinians Caught Red-Handed Blaming Their Own Mass Grave on Israel (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Guest Contributor

It’s not just that they lie.  It’s that – according to the article – the information was out there and readily available to check.  That the enemedia did not do so is very revealing.  Remember, about lying in jihad:

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

—

From here:

The coordinator of government operations in the territories provides data on bakeries in Gaza that have returned to activity.

26 bakeries that produce close to 5 million pita breads a day.

North Gaza: bakeries that produce 2.2 million pita breads a day.

Central Gaza: bakeries that produce 2 million pitas per day.

Southern Gaza: bakeries that produce 715,000 pitas per day.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/gaza-bakeries-operating.mp4

 

That’s a lot of pita.  Starvation?  I don’t think so.

 

 

TERROR COMING HERE?  TO THE WEST?

 

 

And today, visibly Jewish students and persons are being harassed and blocked.  And while I take NO JOY in this prediction, I make it nonetheless: this will not be stopped with education, or gentle voices of fact and reason, or counter-protests.  The Nazis were stopped by force.

They’re ginning themselves up, with their Antifa allies and fellows, for actual violence.  When that inevitably happens, the cost must be high to them.  Nothing quite daunts people when they see bullets incoming, and hitting them and people around them.

Again, I do not advocate violence, but – citing the second Lord of the Rings movie, open war is upon us whether we risk it or not.

Get strapped.  Get trained.  Get informed about the local laws of your state.  And I strongly urge getting USCCA coverage in case you do have to shoot to defend yourself.

Also, look up:

Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership (jpfo.org)

Homepage | Jews Can Shoot

I also highly recommend the book by Massad Ayoob:

Deadly Force: Understanding Your Right to Self-Defense, 2nd edition

 

 

—

Black, non-binary Columbia student leading Gaza Camp protest says ‘Zionists don’t deserve to live’ | The Post Millennial | thepostmillennial.com

He seems nice and open-minded.  As do these:

‘JEWS SHOULD DIE’: Here Are Extremist Nazi Student Leaders of the Anti-Jewish ‘Protest’ Camp Bringing Columbia To Its Knees – Geller Report

Related:

What I Saw at Pro-Palestine Ivy League Encampment (dailysignal.com)

Note the last quotation at the bottom.  It’s an open alliance – the Green-Red alliance:

Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam And the American Left (2006-02-17) [Paperback]

United in Hate: The Left’s Romance with Tyranny and Terror

 

 

TREADING ON THE POLITICAL

US State Department Stabs Israel in the Back, Twists the Knife | World Israel News

Whose side are they on?  (Wait, we know.)

Report: Biden Regime Behind Imminent Arrest Warrants for Senior Israel Officials – Geller Report

—

White House: There Are ‘Too Many Civilian Casualties’ in Israel’s War, ‘The Number Needs to Be Zero’ (breitbart.com)

Setting a standard no nation can achieve.

—

Reports: Steven Spielberg ‘Involved Strategically’ in Biden Campaign (breitbart.com)

Rising to the very definition of “Court Jew”.

—

From here:

Liberal Jewish billionaire investor is indicating the direction many American Jews are willing to go in the coming election.

 

 

Liberal Jews starting to wake up to their binary choice:

 

 

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

Donations to major pro-Palestinian groups go through this Jewish-chaired NY nonprofit | The Times of Israel

This man will be held down and slaughtered when his time comes.  He’s a Jew.  That’s all that will matter.

—

Israel — An Unlikely Pariah in a Dangerous World – American Thinker

Israel is on the frontlines of the fight for Western civilization.

And this is a point I’ve tried to make repeatedly: If the West feeds Israel to Islam, Islam will not be sated but will, instead, have its appetite whetted and increased.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/key-to-peace-in-the-middle-east.mp4

 

 

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

The news is full of the protests at universities.  And they’re getting violent:

WATCH: Activists Assault Breitbart News Journalist at UCLA ‘Palestine Solidarity Encampment’

They will escalate, and escalate, and it will be the “Summer of Love” with “mostly peaceful” arsons and beatings and murders.

 

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

I see Red, Red, Oh, Red!

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Rumble("play", {"video":"v4nkre0","div":"rumble_v4nkre0"});

The post Chicago Citizens Weigh In On 70 Million for Illegals … appeared first on Granite Grok.

By tabling HB 1156, the New Hampshire state legislature has been derelict in its constitutional duty to nullify the globalist control of the WHO/CDC from controlling our healthcare decisions. Congressman Andy Biggs (R – AZ) bill H.R. 79, the WHO Withdrawal ACT is now the only opposition to the clear and present danger of the global pandemic treaty.

The Biden Administration International Health Regulations (IHR) Amendments to the global pandemic treaty are due to be signed in late May. Essentially, IHR will legalize the Executive Order fiat that violated our God-given inherent right to personal healthcare during COVID with the teeth of IHR law. Do you trust American leaders who ignore Ben Franklin’s warning: “that giving up essential liberty to secure temporary safety, we will deserve neither?” I don’t!

This WHO power grab will make personal healthcare obsolete. For safety to protect your health, the WHO plans to strengthen prevention, preparedness, and response. Do you want global unelected bureaucrats to make decisions, like having the power to initiate world travel health passes that will discriminate against the unvaccinated, the power to declare pandemics to implement controls, or the power to be your doctor to make decisions you’ll have no power to refuse? You’ll find further violations of individuals’ health privacy at global coordinated actions.

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.

If you cherish liberty, Americans must think critically about the Biden Administration’s Amendments giving the WHO power over American healthcare. We must ask our Representatives and Senators why they trust the leader of the WHO. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been presented as a civiv-minded Ethiopian public health official. Do our elected officials know he is a former communist revolutionary?

Before it’s too late, the American people must recognize that both state and federal government servants who choose globalist goals for the sake of party loyalty are actually choosing to side with the enemies of American liberty. Vladimir Lenin revealed the scheme that is now taking place, early in the 20th century: “Socialized medicine is the keystone to the arch of a socialist state.” Patriots simply point to their oath of office. Where in their oath do they find authorization to promote Lenin’s master scheme to control people now coming to fruition through healthcare controls of the WHO? The keystone of communism fails without the control of healthcare.

My late friend and Chapter Leader of The John Birch Society from Laconia, Colonel Bob Kingsbury, was General Patton’s First Scout and a survivor of the Battle of the Bulge. The last time I saw him, he said: “ We would have stormed the gates of hell for General Patton.” Today, in order to protect the liberties these men preserved for us, we must follow their example. They did not exchange safety for slavery. Aim the thrust of our grievances at the hell that our government has been creating for decades and continues to perpetuate to destroy American Independence and, thereby, our liberty. Senator Shaheen, Senator Hassan, and Representatives Pappas and Kuster must be swarmed with emails, snail mails, and telephone calls to vote for H.R. 79, The WHO Withdrawal Act. Join tens of thousands who promote liberty by educating yourself for battle at

https://jbs.org/alert/get-us-out-of-the-who-support-h-r-79/

The post HR79 WHO Withdrawal Act appeared first on Granite Grok.

• These are the most liberty-critical hearings for the week
• Click on the bill number to read the bill.
• Click on the committee name to email the committee your thoughts.

Of the 19 hearings in the House, we are recommending support of 0 and opposition of 5 with 2 being of interest.
Of the 44 hearings in the Senate, we are recommending support of 10 and opposition of 2 with 2 being of interest.

Position	Bill	Title	Committee	Day	Time	Room	State Analysis
Support	HB1227	relative to extending the hours of alcoholic beverage sales for on-premises licensees.	Commerce	Tue 4/30	10:20 AM	SH Room 100	This bill extends the hours of alcoholic beverage sales for on-premises licensees.
Support	HB1334	relative to the sale of beer in refillable containers.	Commerce	Tue 4/30	10:40 AM	SH Room 100	This bill allows for the sale of beer in a refillable container.
Support	HB1624	relative to allowing the distillation of hobby liquors.	Commerce	Tue 4/30	10:50 AM	SH Room 100	This bill allows the hobby distillation of liquors produced from beer or wine.
Of Interest	SB555	relative to receipt of pharmaceutical rebates by insurers and pharmacy benefits managers.	Commerce and Consumer Affairs	Tue 4/30	10:00 AM	LOB Room 302-304	This bill revises the annual reporting requirement for pharmacy benefits managers regarding pharmaceutical rebates. The bill also revises the percentage of rebates insurers are required to make available to enrollees, increases the fine for noncompliance, and removes prospective repeal of RSA 415-A:7, relative to insurer cost sharing of rebates.
Oppose	SB196	establishing a minimum amount of uninsured motorist coverage required for vehicles operating as part of transportation network companies in New Hampshire.	Commerce and Consumer Affairs	Tue 4/30	1:15 PM	LOB Room 302-304	This bill establishes a set minimum amount of coverage required for vehicles operating as part of a transportation network company in New Hampshire.
Support	HB1312	requiring parental notification of student health or well-being and certain curricula by school districts.	Education	Tue 4/30	9:10 AM	LOB Room 101	This bill expands notice requirements by school districts to parents for certain curriculum course material, and prohibits school districts from adopting policies that prohibit employees from answering questions from parents about students’ well-being.
Support	HB1567	relative to zoning provisions concerning family and group family child care uses.	Election Law and Municipal Affairs	Tue 4/30	10:20 AM	LOB Room 103	This bill generally requires family and group family child care programs to be allowed as an accessory use to any primary residential use under local zoning and planning regulations.
Oppose	HB1593	(New Title) making an appropriation to the department of health and human services to support recreational activities for individuals with developmental disabilities.	Finance	Tue 4/30	1:40 PM	SH Room 103	This bill makes an appropriation to the department of health and human services to fund recreational activities for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Oppose	HB1583	relative to the per pupil cost of an opportunity for an adequate education.	Finance	Tue 4/30	2:00 PM	SH Room 103	This bill increases the base annual cost of providing an opportunity for an adequate education, establishes relief aid funding and fiscal disparity aid, and requires municipalities to remit excess SWEPT payments to the department of revenue administration.22Feb2024… 0620h2024 SESSION 24-2209 02/10HOUSE BILL 1583-FN-AAN ACT relative to the per pupil cost of an opportunity for an adequate education.SPONSORS: Rep. Wheeler, Hills. 33; Rep. H. Howard, Straf. 4; Rep. Selig, Straf. 10; Rep. Kenney, Straf. 10COMMITTEE: Education—————————————————————– This bill increases the base annual cost of providing an opportunity for an adequate education. It also establishes relief aid funding and fiscal disparity aid.
Support	HB1245	relative to release of confidential records of a person appointed a guardian.	Judiciary	Tue 4/30	2:15 PM	SH Room 100	This bill provides that a person appointed a guardian shall retain the right to access and consent to the release of his or her confidential records unless the terms of the appointment provide otherwise.
Support	HB1032	relative to certificate of title exemptions for vehicles 20 or more years old.	Transportation	Tue 4/30	1:00 PM	LOB Room 101	This bill exempts vehicles 20 or more years old from having a certificate of title.
Support	HB1202	relative to the issuance of permits for the alteration of driveways exiting onto public ways.	Transportation	Tue 4/30	1:10 PM	LOB Room 101	This bill establishes certain deadlines for issuance of permits for the alteration of driveways exiting onto public ways.
Oppose	SB366	relative to restricting the purchase of real property on or around military installations.	Commerce and Consumer Affairs	Wed 5/1	9:00 AM	LOB Room 302-304	This bill prohibits the purchase of real property by the People’s Republic of China on or within 10 miles of any military installations or critical infrastructure facilities.
Oppose	SB423	relative to mandatory disclosure of insurance policy limits.	Commerce and Consumer Affairs	Wed 5/1	9:30 AM	LOB Room 302-304	This bill requires insurers to disclose the liability coverage limits of an insurance policy upon request by a claimant or the claimant’s attorney.
Oppose	SB558	relative to insurance coverage for infertility treatments, protection from discrimination during IVF treatments, parental leave, and adoption.	Commerce and Consumer Affairs	Wed 5/1	11:00 AM	LOB Room 302-304	This bill requires insurance companies to certify coverage for fertility treatment and prohibits employer discrimination based upon that treatment.
Support	HB1065	relative to fire sprinkler requirements in residential buildings.	Executive Departments and Administration	Wed 5/1	9:15 AM	SH Room 103	This bill adds an exception to the state fire code for fire suppression or sprinkler systems requirements for certain existing residential buildings with no more than 4 dwelling units.
Support	HB1526	relative to a conditional veterinary license for veterinarians educated in other countries.	Executive Departments and Administration	Wed 5/1	9:30 AM	SH Room 103	This bill enables the board of veterinary medicine to issue a conditional veterinary license for veterinarians who are educated in other countries.
Of Interest	HB1688	relative to the use of artificial intelligence by state agencies.	Executive Departments and Administration	Wed 5/1	9:45 AM	SH Room 103	This bill prohibits state agencies from using artificial intelligence to manipulate, discriminate, or surveil members of the public.
Of Interest	HB1669	relative to restricting data sharing through the state immunization registry.	Health and Human Services	Wed 5/1	10:00 AM	LOB Room 101	The bill prohibits the department of health and human services from sharing data from the state immunization registry with other organizations unless the department can assure withdrawals from the registry will be honored by the organization. The bill also establishes a position in the department of health and human services to assist in implementation and makes appropriations to the department therefor.
Of Interest	SB315-2024-1647h	Public hearing on proposed non-germane Amendment #2024-1647h to SB 315-FN-LOCAL, relative to law enforcement agency reporting on information concerning bias crimes	Criminal Justice and Public Safety	Wed 5/1	10:00 AM	LOB Room 202-204	The amendment requires a law enforcement agency operating within New Hampshire to report information concerning hate crimes to the department of safety, and requires the department of safety to publish the statistical information on its website. The amendment also amends the definition of “tenant” and “tenancy” to exclude individuals that are not lawful occupants of certain properties and who entered or remained there in violation of certain provisions of the criminal code. This bill further provides for procedures for the removal of those persons from the property.
Oppose	SB508-2024-1645h	Public hearing on proposed non-germane Amendment #2024-1645h to SB 508-FN, relative to the duties of the superintendent of the county department of corrections concerning mental health and substance use disorder screening of inmates and coordination for services upon reentry into the community	Criminal Justice and Public Safety	Wed 5/1	1:00 PM	LOB Room 202-204	The amendment requires the superintendent of the county department of corrections to require his or her contracted behavioral health treatment providers to use validated screening tools for mental health and substance use disorder and to, where such providers exist, permit licensed community-based treatment providers who meet the security criteria for access to the facility to have contact with people in custody for the purpose of coordinating services upon reentry into the community. The amendment also defines antisemitism for the purpose of enforcing anti-discrimination laws on the basis of race, religion, or national origin.

The post Bill Hearings for Week of April 29, 2024 appeared first on NH Liberty Alliance.

Joe Biden uses his mouthpiece, Karine Jean Pierre, to detail his stance on every American deserving their Constitutional right to Free Speech. KJP will refer to all of her coined responses in her massive notebook. They are lines that could be written by a 5th-grade class given the assignment to define Free Speech.

She repeats the lines, ” The President has been clear,” ” The President has been forceful,” ” MAGA Republicans are the biggest obstacle to Free Speech,” “Donald Trump hates America.” Actually, if you go to any page of her book, you will find these same mindless lines. Her book could be condensed to a single page. Leaders are more than catchphrases. They are about action. Let’s analyze some of the President’s actions that show little belief in Freedom of Speech.

Student Protests on Campuses Across America: We should not have to translate our President’s comments when our colleges and universities turned into encampments of hate. On Day 1, when it was obvious that these were not organic demonstrations by students, the President should have addressed the country and assured Jewish faculty and students that if these private institutions could not protect their safety, the Federal Government would step in, treat these left-wing funded demonstrations as hate crimes and shut them down. These are not peaceful protests about Palestinian and Gaza’s rights when their primary focus is anti-Israel and anti-Jew. When students and faculty were threatened strictly because of their religion or homeland, a leader would have stepped in, removed the tent cities, arrested the instigators who funded the demonstrations and restored safety and dignity to these elite institutions. He would have returned the students to their classrooms.

Is Free Speech Putting A Gag Order And Confining Your Opponent To A Courtroom? Joe Biden has weaponized his Justice Department against Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and do not let him absolve himself of this heinous act. At a time when our AG and DOJ should be working overtime to seal the border, identify hostile people allowed to enter our country, and shut down the Chinese assault in every corner of America, they are creating new bogus charges against Trump and denying security for Kennedy along with access to ballots. Are these the actions of a man with a grasp of First Amendment rights? I think not.

Joe Biden Is Politically Conflicted Preventing Needed Leadership: A clear example of this dilemma is his failure to recognize and condemn students praising and pledging allegiance to Hamas, a definite terrorist organization funded by Iran. He will not speak out and acknowledge these students are wrong and possibly committing a crime by claiming to be Hamas because he will not offend the Squad and perhaps put Michigan in play for Trump. This is not leadership by Biden but a politician riding the polls. A true leader would make the right decision for the country and not hide behind the polls and his feckless Press Secretary, KJP. Good luck finding Biden amongst the weeds he has set up to hide the shortcomings of this man and his Presidency.

 

The post Joe Biden Sees Free Speech As A Muzzle On His Competition appeared first on Granite Grok.

Judge Susan Ashley has issued an ORDER that my appearance on behalf of Joa is allowed.

I have been filed documents with the Court that I imagine the Judge hasn’t reviewed yet, pending this order.  I have been doing so because time is limited as the trial scheduled for May 21st.

I gave testimony this week in support of New Hampshire bill HB619 to protect kids from genital gender reassignment surgery. This is my testimony.

Related: Don’t Force Taxpayers to Fund Irreversible Surgeries for Gender-Confused Kids

I have met and heard the stories from many detransitioners who have deep regret for the irreversible damage to their bodies. Kids and teens who are confused about their gender and many who also have comorbid serious mental health problems such as autism, ADHD, and PTSD are being led down the path of medical transition starting with puberty blockers followed by cross-sex hormones and finally having their healthy body parts removed. 

I’ll read from the tragic story of Sam, a detransitioner in Massachusetts who can be followed at twitter.com/sam_the_m.

I started identifying as transgender as a teenager, which would eventually lead me down the path of cross-sex hormones and irreversible surgeries. By the time I was 21 years old, I had completed my medical transition which included having my penis and testicles amputated, a decision that I now deeply regret.

Getting a neovagina removed is proving to be a difficult task. Most surgeons do not want to do it and it’s unclear if it would even be covered by insurance. Doing it out of pocket is an incredibly expensive endeavor ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.

It has been almost half a decade since my surgery, and I have still not recovered. The toll that the surgery took on my health was immense despite only being 21 years old at the time. Complications, maintenance, and risk of sepsis make removal necessary. How is this healthcare?

This is coming from someone with minimal complications during and following surgery. Imagine the people that had big complications. No wonder why the suicide rate among post-operative trans-identified males is higher than before surgery.

Rep. Gerri Cannon is quoted in regards to this bill, “It’s about why we are considering putting medical procedures into New Hampshire law. Medical science is constantly changing. We should be asking ourselves, ‘Will this legislation stand the test of time?’” 

My response to Rep. Cannon is “Will this barbaric surgery on children’s genitals stand the test of time?” 

Contact the Senate Judiciary Committee and ask them to vote OTP on HB619, “to require a person to attain the age of majority for genital gender reassignment surgery.” at sharon.carson@leg.state.nh.us; William.Gannon@leg.state.nh.us; shannon.chandley@leg.state.nh.us; Becky.Whitley@leg.state.nh.us; Daryl.Abbas@leg.state.nh.us; matthew.schelzi@leg.state.nh.us

“Will this barbaric surgery on children’s genitals stand the test of time?” @BethRS62 testifies for NH HB619. She quotes @Sam_the_m #NHPolitics pic.twitter.com/uoliIaCQTb

— Sidewalk Steve (@Sidewalk_Steve) April 25, 2024

The post Stop Genital Gender Reassignment Surgery on Kids in New Hampshire appeared first on Granite Grok.

Watching and reading about the outrageous and terrorizing anti-Israel violence occurring on Ivy League campuses across our nation, it is appalling how the current Administration and left-leaning press report and view this despicable violence.

Remember 2020, the so-called “Summer of Love!” BLM and Antifa invaded some of our major cities, including our Nation’s Capital, causing multi-millions of dollars in property damage and bodily injury. They justified their destructive behavior as a response to the death of convicted felon George Floyd. Did the left-wing media ever honestly report the chaos and damage they caused, condemn their actions, or label them as hate groups?

None of the rioters were arrested. Now, young indoctrinated radical students at our so-called “elite” universities believe they are free to take over their campus, block streets, roadways, and bridges, and cause chaos because they hate Israel and support the terrorist group Hamas. These student terrorists freely harass Jewish students and professors.

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

They express their hate for our country with chants of “death to America” and call our police “pigs” to their face. They cover their heads and face with the Palestinian Keffiyeh (scarf) to protect their anonymity and smear their hands with red paint, which symbolizes the celebration of the brutal murders of two Israeli soldiers by Hamas terrorists in front of a cheering, bloodthirsty Palestinian crowd. These student terrorists celebrate Hamas’ cowardly slaughter of innocent men, women, and babies on October 7, 2023!

These student terrorists, BLM and Antifa, are hate groups and are extreme threats to the future of our democracy. Biden, the Democrats, and the left-leaning press protect them. However, if you believe in “God, Family and Country,” which has been the motto of the USA for over 200 years, you are labeled a right-wing extremist. All I can say is, “God Help Us!”

The post “God Help Us!” appeared first on Granite Grok.

A proposed EPA rule mandating more stringent effluent limitations for nitrogen, and adding phosphorus for the first time, would impose high costs on approximately 850 of the nation’s meat and poultry processing (MPP) facilities.  Some processors will be compelled to close due to prohibitive costs.  Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s vaunted PFAS reporting rules merely monitor ongoing water and product pollution by more deadly PFAS (forever chemicals) and other toxins generated in the renewables manufacturing facilities being funded with billions of taxpayer dollars.  Reducing food supplies while spewing toxic chemicals onto children is the legacy of this presidency.

The new EPA rules are presented as an innocuous effort to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus discharges in waterways, but upon inspection, they are sweeping in their aggressive impact.  Extending EPA jurisdiction to all things climate is the new Biden norm, and these rules similarly saddle private industry with daunting costs to retrofit facilities.  The EPA is once again exceeding its congressionally authorized mission (shifting from ecological protection to global warming cultism) and also its jurisdiction — these rules extend to an estimated 3,879 MPP facilities not previously regulated and encroach on states’ rights by governing non-navigable waterways historically left to local oversight.

The EPA’s own proposals acknowledge that compliance costs will be high, estimating that facility upgrades will cost $300,000–$400,000 initially, with annual maintenance costs of $100,000.  This will surely cause many food processing facilities to close or raise processing fees, which will impact local farmers and drain consumers’ wallets.  The EPA estimates that “the proposed rule would reduce pollutants discharged through wastewater from MPP facilities by approximately 100 million pounds per year,” and that approximately 850 facilities will initially be impacted.  That is an annual cost of about 85 cents per pound of pollutants at $100,000 — in addition to the initial capital investments to retrofit of $2.55–3.20 per pound.

The Biden administration has unleashed an attack on American farms that mimics the E.U.’s assault to dissipate nitrogen in the name of saving the world.  This will starve the world to save it: whether by design or incompetence, the Biden administration is tightening a regulatory noose on local farm production while funneling astronomical borrowed subsidies and regulatory favoritism to so-called “renewable” energy manufacturing facilities.

Foreign meat and poultry producers will not incur the EPA burdens, which will fall exclusively on U.S. domestic farmers and consumers.  The EPA’s new rules will extend to indirect instead of direct effluent discharges, indirectly aggravating existing food price inflation that POTUS Biden denies exists.  Local food is healthier, is produced at scale, is transported shorter distances, nurtures rural economies and culture, and ensures future food security.  Escalating tensions in the Middle East threaten a modern-day OPEC if the Strait of Hormuz (which supports 25% of global oil supplies) or other oil transport chokepoints are compromised, in addition to inflationary impacts on the growing amount of U.S. food shipped (using fossil fuels) from abroad.

Biden’s “team” has similarly imposed hazy new endangered species regulations on American farms, unconstitutionally dispensed disaster relief funds to farmers based on skin color and sex, proposed SEC rules that would threaten mid-sized family farmers, and fueled food inflation with reckless spending on pet ideological projects.  That latter disgrace — huge subsidies of supposedly “renewable” product manufacturing despite the toxic pollution generated thereby — is what contrasts so dramatically with EPA’s sudden interest in relatively innocuous nitrogen and phosphorus.

This is not to say that these elements (without which life cannot exist) are not a potential environmental pollutant.  Yet they do not cause the host of human illnesses presented by forever chemicals (PFAS), atrazine, glyphosate, and a seemingly endless list of toxins for which Biden & co. have done less than nothing to restrict.  The hyper-manufacturing of solar panels, E.V.s, and heat pumps all generate PFAS and other toxic chemicals, which are spewing into Americans’ water, soils, and household products while the administration targets…MPP plants.

The EPA boasts that its Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is

a $27 billion investment to mobilize financing and private capital to address the climate crisis, ensure our country’s economic competitiveness, and promote energy independence while delivering lower energy costs and economic revitalization to communities that have historically been left behind.

Marginalized farming communities and their local farms are being more than left behind — they are being sabotaged.  E.V.s are regressive.  Electric rates and food prices are skyrocketing.  American agriculture is made less competitive with every new Bidenomics shenaniganza that increases U.S. costs without burdening foreign competitors one whit.  Everything about this administration is a socialist injustice scam.

This is clearest in the “climate initiatives” themselves.  New EPA regulations of PFAS in drinking water will (as with the meat processing facilities) regressively pass the costs of filtering water on to ratepayers, keeping its own mega-fund for its bureaucratic rainy day.  Meanwhile, its PFAS regulations for corporate reporting of 12,035 PFAS will take years to simply collect data while the vast amount of PFAS generation will continue unabated.  This toxic generation is amplified by billions of dollars frittered away on counterproductive “renewables manufacturing” that generates PFAS and many other chemicals that are toxic to children and wildlife.  Presumably, America’s poorest and most marginalized communities will pay for that clean-up later via yet higher water rates (and health care costs) — but not out of the EPA’s slush fund.

The EPA’s new MPP effluent diktats are justified under the pretention of helping everyone with food-targeting nitrogen clean-up:

These technology-based regulations are intended to represent the greatest pollutant reductions that are economically achievable for an entire industry. The Clean Water Act requires EPA to periodically review and, when warranted, revise the technology-based limits for industries to keep pace with innovations in treatment technology. As treatment technologies advance, revising the limits on which they’re based locks in the advancements, leveling the playing field for the whole industry.

Kamala Harris could not better concoct this word salad.  Translation: The EPA is leveling the whole industry by ensuring that MPP facilities can’t keep pace with the competition, starting with the big guys before tightening the noose.

Meat is out; processed “alternatives” are in store for the proles.  New WIC rules for low-income recipients discourage dairy products in favor of plant-based diets, rationalized by the USDA as “changes [which] align the food packages with the latest nutrition science and better support equitable access to nutritious foods during critical life stages[.].”  Women and children need more dairy, not more soy burgers.  Whom is the federal government really serving, aside from globalists and Bill Gates’s synthetic meat boondoggle?

The EPA will thus clean up non-deadly carbon dioxide in lieu of human-toxic PFAS, starting with meat and chicken processors, while E.V.s and solar panels are churned out like a self-replicating virus.  Americans are slowly waking up to the death spiral of wokeness.  Let us pray they wake up before it’s too late and they are sterilized by toxic chemicals or starve to death like post-modern Maoists and Stalinists.

 

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

The post If Biden’s EPA Really Cares about Pollution… appeared first on Granite Grok.

On Monday, April 22, 2024, I attended a status conference at the Nashua Superior Court for citizens petitioning the Court to review the City’s redactions on emails associated with the construction of the Art Center.

These emails, crucial to understanding the transaction to use federal money for the project, were heavily redacted and shrouded in secrecy. The City’s actions have effectively transformed our public project into a private one, with over $34M of public spending going to a private corporation, all with no accountability to taxpayers.

The status conference was brief, about 20 minutes, and the citizen representing two plaintiffs, one of whom was away on travel, read from a scripted write-up. Public speaking is difficult for this citizen, and she was uncomfortable before the court, but she’s a great behind-the-scenes researcher and data digger in city finances.

The City has pitted a team of four attorneys against these two self-represented litigants, a David and Goliath scenario that underscores the uphill battle these individuals face. It is disheartening to witness how cases involving public records in Nashua, which should be straightforward, become entangled in complexity. The Court’s convoluted and cumbersome process seems to perpetuate a lack of equity and impartiality and a denial of our constitutional rights to an open, accessible, accountable, and responsive government.

The story behind these redacted emails requires another article to explain the intensity with which the City has worked to keep these records from a judicial review.

A challenge for self-represented parties going to court with the City is that these people often need money and time to challenge the system. This is the case with these ladies. The citizen’s presentation to the Court was funny. When the judge asked her if she wanted discovery (this is permitted in some cases where a person sends formal written questions or conducts transcribed interviews of witnesses), she responded she would like to pose questions to the City but that she could not afford the cost of depositions. She then advanced her remarks by stating that she had attended Ortolano’s hearing for six days regarding Right to Know challenges on the downtown barriers, the Tax Incremental Finance Advisory Board, and the Art Center and that when Ortolano put the city expert employees on the stand most of them responded with I can’t remember, could you repeat the question, and I don’t know? The citizen explained to the judge it didn’t appear that it would be productive to pay the cost of depositions to hear those types of answers all over again. Smart.

When the Court asked Attorney Bolton how much time he would need for the case and how he would handle discovery, his response was equally humorous. He told the Court he couldn’t determine how much time it would take to discuss these redacted emails and the crime-fraud exception being employed by the citizens. He stated, in a very shocked and bewildered look, that he could hardly believe that we had just completed a Right-to-Know trial with a citizen that took six days of testimony to complete!

It should have been easily understandable, as Attorney Bolton and Mr. Hilliard had clearly counseled the City employees to be evasive and unresponsive. Testimony riddled with: “I don’t know.” “ Can you repeat the question?”  “What are you referring to?”,  etc. The City witnesses were hostile. This made the Trial more difficult and time-consuming, especially for a non-lawyer. I could never get to the truth in court when the City is the Defendant.

Attorneys need to have good memories and recall to advance their lawsuit interests. Attorney Bolton appeared to have a memory lapse, forgetting that the City’s case structuring order submitted to the Court for this Right to Know Petition requested a 3-day trial to be held in February of 2024. The City’s initial verbal request was for a six-day trial. The trial took six days and ended on April 12, 2024. The City got precisely what they asked for. My initial case structuring request was for a 2-day trial in May 2023.

The inefficiencies in the Judicial/legal system are staggering. It seems to favor those with taxpayers’ resources and legal expertise, leaving self-represented litigants like these ladies at a significant disadvantage. Attorney Bolton, who had the upper hand throughout the process, is expressing discontent. But in reality, he got exactly what he wanted. We now await the outcome of a Court Order, a process that could have been much more streamlined and efficient had the City been more transparent and open with citizens.

Should accessing public records in Nashua be so difficult and costly? The City is in command and control of this process but is rigid and unyielding. Transparency and truth go hand-in-hand but the City wants no part of that.

The post Struggling for Access: The City of Nashua’s Impenetrable Wall of Redactions appeared first on Granite Grok.

To the Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. All of the following phrases will seem familiar because they were all heard in the discussion of this bill during the past few weeks.

• 2 doctors have to determine if the patient meets the medical criteria
• This bill is narrowly constructed
• There are guardrails and safeguards in place
• This is a decision between a patient and their doctor.

These phrases should also be familiar because they mirror almost word-for-word phrases used to describe abortion in the US in the early days of legalization.  Originally, two doctors had to verify that the abortion was medically necessary. These were the hard cases – life of the mother, rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly. Those doctors were the safeguards.  Later, the list expanded from life of the mother to life and health of the mother, from other medical issues to no medical issues to no reason at all.  It ceased being a decision between a woman and her doctor and became abortion on demand.  At the same time, the number of abortions exploded from 616,000 in 1973 to close to 1.5 million in 1990.  Even today, the number is more than a half million a year.

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

We don’t need to look at Canada – where medical aid in dying went from applying to the seriously ill who would be dying soon to applying to those for whom death was not considered reasonably foreseeable to applying to those suffering solely from mental illness, all in the space of the seven years from 2016 to 2023 – to see how this can expand.  We need only to look at our own history of abortion.

In the testimony on this bill, you’ll hear about the hard cases that probably fit today’s guardrails. But, as we have seen in both Canada and the US, things that fit today’s guardrails can easily go off the rails. Let’s not give Medical Aid In Dying a chance to do that. Let’s learn not from hypothetical slippery slopes but from actual history and vote HB1283 Inexpedient to Legislate.

 

The post Testimony: Vote HB1283 Inexpedient to Legislate appeared first on Granite Grok.

If you care about library matters, whether you live in a town or a city,* this video is for you! Skip to 37:25 and tune in for the 19 minutes that follow because the lunacy is mind-blowing.

It’s helpful to point out something obvious to locals, but not so much outside of Nashua. “You can’t fight city hall” is a phrase often said, but you can’t even do that from within if you’re outnumbered by the enemy camp. Even with three hookey players and Alderman Jette, a lawyer who can be halfway decent sometimes, the roll call was 4-8.

Freshman Chris Thibodeau, Tyler Gouveia, and John Sullivan co-sponsored a “resolution” to the city charter(like a CACR in the legislature) that phases out the library trustees, one election cycle at a time (every two years), from being appointed by the mayor to being elected the ordinary way.  Tyler introduced it with a brief elevator speech in the same way a rep or senator would introduce a bill.  You, the reader, can surmise why this resolution is a good thing and come up with several plausible reasons, such as trustees being accountable to the voters, but The Swamp was having none of that!

To use gun-speak regarding hunting, the hunter first identifies the target and then shoots. None of the swampsters identified the target, but they definitely shot at the resolution. Psst, the target was Library Lewdness, a topic I’ve previously written articles about, as have Rep Arlene Quaratiello and Cindy Bennett, a library trustee in her town.

Needless to say, the resolution failed twice, actually, if you count both motions, but I want to point out a few Aldermen for the Wall of Shame.  Alderman Clemons, a sniveling snotty punk from a family of hostile lunatics, compared Nashua to “becoming like Florida, where they ban books.”  Yes, he did say that and it’s all in the video.  Alderman Kelly, who was Councilor Wheeler’s last opponent and is running again, presumably on the same platform of Planned Parenthood and commuter rail, was just as hostile in the discussion.  She spoke more than once and said stupid stuff.  You can’t make up some of the stuff said, so if you didn’t play the video, please do when you have a moment.  And as Columbo would say, “one more thing” with regard to Alderman Kelly being Wheeler’s opponent, she must first beat her primary opponent, who is none other than Ms Melanie Levesque!

I salivate over the amusement of two women unworthy of my vote who have been on my ballot multiple times at odds with one another.  I then think of…  Never mind, I don’t want to give any lunatic librarians any creative ideas, so let’s move on to my former opponent, Alderman Dowd.

You might remember that he’s the one who, as committee chair, lost track of $4.5M in ESSER funds and kept the missing money secret until after the election.  That was in addition to all the things I noted in my anthology of articles on him, but he said some things during the discussion that I will call attention to.  Keeping in mind that he’s a decaying old man who lost track of millions, he somehow decided that one reason to oppose the resolution is that a library trustee candidate’s campaign cost $5000.

Someone should ask him how he arrived at that number.

He also yammered about partisanship, but the comment that made me laugh was his desire to make sure Nashua stays a city.* At minute 54 in the video, he says, “Too many people are trying to make us turn into a town.”  Then, he claims that partisanship doesn’t belong in a library.  Ian Underwood’s assignment, should he choose to accept, is to ask Alderman Dowd for his blessing(written recommendation) that the Croydon Budget Battle be added to the Nashua Public Library inventory and circulation.  I’ll even pay for the book if he says yes, and it really does happen, not that he’s a library trustee himself.

I know that good literary form demands that an article finish with a conclusion. My conclusion, aside from bringing attention to more Nashua shenanigans, is to alert Councilor Wheeler’s constituents of Alderman Kelly’s local antics. Melanie already has statewide name recognition from her failed attempt to get Scanlan’s job. To the very rural voters of EC District 5, I ask, “Do you want an executive councilor who’s a city slicker?”

The post Night Cap: A Failed Attempt at Urban Library Reform. appeared first on Granite Grok.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Climate Cult’s got some new problems to address. A reliable government advocate for the fossil-fuels-drive-the-apocalypse narrative just kicked their scientific consensus in the McNuggets – twice.

In a tweet earlier this month, NOAA had this to say (tweet and accompanying scary graph below).

The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere today is comparable to around 4.3 million years ago, when sea level was about 75 ft higher than today, the average temp was 7 degrees F higher than in pre-industrial times, & large forests occupied areas of the Arctic that are now tundra.

If the damage does not appear obvious, I am happy to explain. First, they admit there was as much CO2 in the atmosphere absent any whiff of modernity or your fossil-fuel-fired Western comfort. That’s the science, my friend. Second, for reasons the science cannot explain, equal concentrations of CO2 correlate with a 75-foot difference in sea level from today.

Let’s make it four problems: There is no correlation to sea ice either (we have loads of sea ice compared to the same CO2 concentrations then), and large forests existing on the land currently inhospitable to same.

We’ve covered all of this in past articles, so we’d like to thank NOAA for confirming our previous reporting with a hat tip to the proggy detractors who doubted that science.

I’m no atmospheric scientist (or geologist), nor do I rely on a rising tide of climate cult grants to sustain my way of life, but “The Science” suggests some other forcing is involved that has nothing to do with CO2.

I’m sure someone from the CO2-causes-sea-level-rise-funding camp will be along shortly to politely correct my pedestrian observation. After all, how could laymen such as myself be expected to interpret a tweet from NOAA properly? I’m not even supposed to be able to read. Just look at the picture, dopey, and then vote for more research funding into scaring people out of their natural rights even when the science makes no sense.

The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere today is comparable to around 4.3 million years ago, when sea level was about 75 ft higher than today, the average temp was 7 degrees F higher than in pre-industrial times, & large forests occupied areas of the Arctic that are now tundra. https://t.co/9vnsfHOPdI pic.twitter.com/viokc0JYSB

— NOAA Climate.gov (@NOAAClimate) April 5, 2024

Note: If this came from anyone but NOAA, would it be disinformation?

The post While Scaremongering CO2 NOAA (Unintentionally) Admits No Correlation to Sea Level Rise … or Fossil Fuels appeared first on Granite Grok.