The first Jake from State Farm commercial was a good ad because it was funny. A husband is confronted by his untrusting wife, who doesn’t believe he’d be on the phone talking to their insurance agent that late at night. “What are you wearing, Jake from State Farm?” she asks.

Jake replies, umm, khakis. Queue the decades-old tagline; “like a good neighbor, state farm is there.”

White Jake got replaced by black Jake, and while the new Jake is a good Jake, and I could care less what color he is, the deliberate virtue signaling annoys me. In House of Dragons, HBO cast black actors to play characters who are not just pale and blonde. The race itself has this distinctive trait and has for centuries. The black actors are fantastic. Top shelf. I love their characters and portrayal. I have no complaints about the performances, but HBOs need to pander (and it’s not the actor’s fault) is so obvious it is irksome, especially when we know it is not about pairing a performer to a role. They would never cast a straight white man as a character who was black and gay, no matter how well he pulled it off.

Annoying.

Perhaps not nearly as much as State Farm has annoyed policyholders in California. The good neighbor won’t be there for 72,000 of them whom they’ve decided to drop because the not-so-golden state has made doing business there impossible.

The insurer blamed inflation, regulatory costs, and the increasing risks from catastrophes for its decision to scale back in the blue state.

“This decision was not made lightly and only after careful analysis of State Farm General’s financial health, which continues to be impacted by inflation, catastrophe exposure, reinsurance costs, and the limitations of working within decades-old insurance regulations,” State Farm announced in a March 20 statement.

The reference to risks from catastrophes refers in part to forest and woodland policy. California has been a lousy steward, pandering to environmental groups that balk at the clearing of standing and downed wood to protect the forests and the people living in or near them. California also suffers from other tendencies that lead to risk, like letting Democrats run things. State Farm can’t see a way to be a good neighbor, so they’ve decided not to pretend.

This is a real crisis,” [California’s insurance commissioner Ricardo] Lara told KABC in an interview Friday.

The commissioner said he wants to investigate State Farm’s finances, but warned that regulators can’t go too far, or else they would risk pushing companies out of California entirely.

“Insurance companies are not like utility companies,” he told KABC. “By law, they don’t have to be here, and when we try to overregulate, we’ll see what happened after the Northridge earthquake, when the legislature came in and tried to overregulate, and they no longer write earthquake insurance in California.”

The obvious solution is to sue the crap out of them and maybe this isn’t like compelling speech (also illegal). You can’t force them to open a business or to do business, and this is California so, naturally, they have an Obamacare for property insurance.

• Customers should shop for another insurance policy by asking for recommendations from trusted sources or seeking an independent insurance agent.
• Utilize the California Department of Insurance shopping tools available on their website.
• Compare multiple policies, shop smart and choose the best coverage that suits your needs.
• Call the state’s insurance consumer hotline at 800-927-4357.
• Buy insurance through the California Fair Plan if you strike out in the normal marketplace.

One hitch. This insurer of last resort doesn’t have much of a fiscal surplus with which to cover claims when they have another significant wildfire event and the will.

Guess who will be on the financial hook when that happens?

 

The post California: Jake From State Farm Might Not be Your “Good” Neighbor For Much Longer … appeared first on Granite Grok.

I have spent three years in the Nashua South civil court addressing records disputes with the City of Nashua. During this time, I’ve gained experience formulating an opinion on the impartiality of the Nashua judges in hearing cases brought against Cities.

Another Nashua citizen filed a right-to-know petition against the Town of Conway in June 2023 for failing to provide records.

Judge Temple handled the case, and the Town of Conway filed a motion to dismiss. The Court dismissed several claims, but others remained to be heard in a merits hearing. On July 12, 2023, the Town of Conway filed a motion to award attorney fees. It was a puzzling motion as the Judge had yet to hear the case’s merits, and the standard for awarding attorney’s fees is very high. How do you win fees without hearing the case?

When Judges go on vacation, the other Judge will issue orders on motions, objections, or responses to keep the case moving. At the end of July 2023, Judge Temple was on vacation, so on July 25, Judge Colburn ruled on the motion to award attorney fees. Judge Colburn ruled to grant the Town of Conway’s request for the Citizen to pay $675 in legal fees to Conway. It was a frightening ruling for citizens working hard to access public records, especially since this Judge had just issued an order on July 7, 2023, claiming I was acting as an attorney and actions could be taken against me. Without a fair hearing, she slammed the Citizen with fees.

This action created more filings and another hearing, during which the pro se citizen presented to Judge Temple that it was unfair and improper to impose fees on a plaintiff when the Court had not held a merits hearing. On September 8, 2023, Judge Temple reversed the Court’s order and ruled that fees would only be determined once the case is heard. The case remains open and is awaiting a merits hearing. Judges have a duty, according to “cannons,” to respect the inexperience of pro se litigants and help them understand the legal process (not the law), but Nashua judges do not do this.

It is concerning that a judge ruling on behalf of another judge’s case did not read the short case file to educate herself on the case. Was this the result of an overworked Judge or a deliberate action to smackdown the pro se litigants seeking records? The standard for awarding attorneys’ fees in RTK cases requires proof of bad faith, vexatious, or frivolous actions. The awarding of fees is rare.

Judge Colburn’s order firmly told pro-se litigants to get out of the Nashua court system. The Nashua Court will not process records petitions per the law and rule fairly and impartially.

Our two civil judges in Nashua, Judge Colburn and Judge Temple, specialize in drug court and criminal matters. Their strengths and interest in other civil matters aren’t there, and drugs and violent crimes will trump records matters every time. Undoubtedly, it is difficult for judges to be “jack of all trades” adjudicators skilled in every area of law. To compound this matter, our 400-member House of Representatives creates a vast amount of legislation each year. Judges must stay on top of these new laws and prepare for legal challenges that can require writing new case law.

Nashua is ready for more judges willing to address civil matters with the weight and priority they deserve. Given the state of this country and the significant lack of media coverage for local governments, the court system should recognize the public’s heightened awareness of governmental accountability. We need the Courts to share our public record interests, as our NH Constitution specifically recognizes, and permit us to challenge the open, accessible, accountable, and responsiveness to access our public records. We are not vexatious, frivolous, or bad-faith citizens out to create burdens or harm anyone. We are citizens engaged and vested in our communities and our civic duties.

The post The War on Your Right to Know: Bias Against Pro Se Litigants appeared first on Granite Grok.

Although our state is probably the best place to live in the US, and although it is the safest and most respectful of Second Amendment rights of all the states, there are still some things that could be done to improve New Hampshire for all.

So, please consider the following suggestions (in effect, a wish list) in what some might consider an appropriate order (apologies in advance for the length of this piece):

#1- Eliminate same-day registration to vote.
The present laws allowing same-day registration to vote in our elections are invitations to fraud and abuse of the electoral process.

The argument against elimination of same-day registration is that our state will have to comply with the federal Motor Voter Law if we no longer allow same-day registration. So what!

This writer moved to NH from a state that never had same-day registration and was subject to the federal Motor Voter law since its inception, he worked extensively on ballot integrity matters in that state’s most populous county for many years- and found that compliance with Motor Voter was actually no big deal.

Which is worse, Motor Voter compliance or allowing throngs to register on the day of elections without effective policing as to whether they should be allowed to vote in our elections?

New Hampshire elections should be determined by voters who are bona fide New Hampshire residents.

This change can be accomplished by a statute adopted by the General Court and signed into law by the Governor.

#2- Eliminate college student voting.
At present anyone attending college in our state has, by state statute, the right to vote here, even if they are not bona fide residents of New Hampshire.

Anyone attending college in our state should vote in the locale from which they came to school, whether it be a town or city in New Hampshire or another state.

So, if you go to college at Dartmouth and have an apartment or dorm room there but you are actually from Massachusetts, you should vote absentee in Massachusetts. Likewise, if you are from Plymouth, NH, but attend Dartmouth, you should vote absentee in the Plymouth elections, not in the elections held in the Dartmouth area.

New Hampshire elections, including local elections, should be determined by voters who are bona fide New Hampshire residents from the locale in which an election is held.

This change can be accomplished by a statute adopted by the General Court and signed into law by the Governor.

#3 Eliminate the ability of voters registered as “undeclared” to select, receive, and vote a ballot of a political party in a party primary.

Candidates selected to run in a general election through the party primary process should be elected by voters who are actually members of the relevant political party, and not by “instant” members of a party they choose on election day at the polls.

Although political party registration is self-selected- i.e., there is no loyalty oath or blood test to determine who is really affiliated with the party in which they choose to register, in order to be allowed to vote in the candidate selection process of a party, the least we should expect is that those voting in that process have registered as members of that party. And prior to election day.

This would not require a constitutional amendment- only legislation passed by the General Court and signed into law by the Governor.

Why would not this be a simple, commonsense change to adopt?

#4- Prohibit personal taxes in our Constitution.
It does not take a genius to observe that politically our state is currently on a knife’s edge, especially in the NH House, where on any day the Dems could outnumber the Republicans and adopt their agenda, which includes new personal taxes.

Although the Senate is not as close, and although the Governor should serve as a “firewall” against such antics, the best way to protect our citizens once and for all in the future is by a constitutional amendment clearly prohibiting the taxation of personal incomes, personal capital gains, and any broad-based sales tax other than the existing tax on rooms & meals.

#5- Elect our Attorney General by popular vote.
Our attorney general is nominated by the Governor and must be confirmed by at least 3 of the 5 members of the Governor’s Executive Council. In other words, at present 4 individuals determine who will sit as the top law enforcement official in our state.

More than half of the states in the US elect their attorneys general by popular vote, but not New Hampshire.

Changing the existing process to a popular election would require an amendment to our state constitution, but it would probably be worth it.

It should be noted that even our Secretary of State, our state’s highest election official, is elected every two years by a vote of the 424 members of the General Court.

#6- Make our state court judges more accountable to the people.
Each of our state court judges is nominated by the Governor and must be confirmed by at least 3 of the 5 members of the Governor’s Executive Council. In other words, 4 individuals determine who will sit as one of our judges. And once confirmed, a judge serves until age 70 or until they retire or die before then.

Although there is a disciplinary process supposedly designed to deal with problem judges in our state, it is, in the opinion of many, a toothless tiger.

The only present way to remove a state court judge in our state is by the process of impeachment- articles of impeachment must be passed by the NH House and tried before the NH Senate. In the history of our state, only two such proceedings have even been initiated, neither of which resulted in the removal of the subject judge. In other words, impeachment is a hollow, ineffective remedy for New Hampshire.

It should be noted that all of our state representatives and senators, and our governor (and even our members of the federal congress), must stand for election every 2 years, so if any of them misbehave sufficiently, the people can simply vote them out of office. Not so with our judges.

A constitutional amendment could provide for the ability of citizens to gather sufficient signatures in a recall petition, and a recall election based upon the petition would be held. If a majority of the citizens vote for removal, the judge would be removed, and the vacancy must be filled.

This process has been used in wacky California for many years and has resulted in the removal of state supreme court justices as well as, incredibly, the state’s governor (this is how Arnold got to be governor).
Recall by such a process is a very high bar but it does work, and the existence of the process could serve a salutary effect on individuals serving as judges who might otherwise misbehave.

Query- if this is good enough for wacky California, why isn’t it good enough for New Hampshire?

#7- Purge Anti-Catholic bias from our state constitution.
In a couple of places in our state constitution there exist so-called Blaine Amendment language, which clearly originated in various parts of the country as expressions of anti-Catholic bias even after it was rejected by the US Congress many years ago.

In a state in which many Catholics from Canada migrated to the new state, and in which we now have a successful educational freedom account program, it is long past time to eliminate the Blaine Amendment language from the state constitution that purport to prohibit funding of religious schools.

#8- Eliminate an obsolete office from our constitution.
The state court reorganization several years ago eliminated substantially all duties of the office of Register of Probate, but we still have elections for that office in each of our counties every 2 years.

Thus, the Register of Probate in each county gets paid $100 a year but has no office, no desk, no staff and, essentially, no duties.

A constitutional amendment curing this issue was passed by the General Court a few years ago but did not achieve sufficient votes in the general election to become effective. It needs to be done once again with a better explanation for the voters.
_______________
Can any of this actually be accomplished?

Not without a solid majority of “real” Republican members of the House and Senate and occupying the Governor’s office.

Obviously, none of these suggestions would garner support from Dems and most RINOs.

The post Night Cap: Improving New Hampshire! appeared first on Granite Grok.

Admittedly, I have not kept my knowledge current on the efforts to create a paddling park on the Winnipesaukee River in recent years, but recent Grok coverage and attention from the NH Journal stirred some thoughts and memories.

I also wasn’t familiar with the current people in office.  In fact, all I knew was that Karen Testerman, who I voted for in the past 2 primaries in hope of removing the Damn Emperor, was an alderman for some time.

It might be helpful to offer some background that I hope will aid the reader in making sense of what I have to say, starting with my early days of whitewater paddling in the late 90s, when my senior peers were sounding the alarm on the Boat Tax.  D’Allesandro and Rep Goley, both from Manchester and well on their way to eternal swampdom, were sponsoring bills to require unmotorized vessels to be registered.  They were trying to shake down paddlers in an attempt to balance the F&G budget, and I always objected.

A fellow Nashua paddler, who supported my candidacy more than once, was one of my regular peers on the water, and we regularly carpooled to our favorite rivers, one of them being the Winnipesaukee.  During our cumulatively many miles and hours on the road, we would discuss a variety of things.  His father died not long after we met, and we were talking about my refusal to park in the pay parking or some raised cover charge to a popular event when he said, “My dad was a Scottish Presbyterian; you two would have made great friends had you met.”  I was dumbfounded and said, “I’m not in the habit of choosing friends for their religious views; why do you think that?”  He went on to say that his dad stubbornly did not believe in any unnecessary spending of money.  When he showed up to vote in the last city election, I told him I wanted to replace Alderman Dowd with some “Scottish Presbyterianism.”

So enough with that, even though I admit to having lots of Scottish ancestry, federal omnibus porked up bills are nothing new.  However, the Franklin Paddle Park is new.  I don’t paddle much these days, and I have to admit that I certainly don’t miss being in the company of lots of people with demented political views.  The fellow paddler I just referenced is ok, and I should say that for the record, just in case he reads this.  Considering the prevailing views of most paddlers I’ve associated with, I predict that Jeanne Shaheen will achieve sainthood in that community.

Sadly, most paddlers I know are in desperate need of a good therapeutic dose of Thomas Sowell.  I suggest the quote he makes about government quietly stealing your money and giving some of it back to you flamboyantly. Shaheen is a good poster child for that.

There are several people worthy of recognition for their Franklin & Winnipesaukee River activism.  Someone else can certainly write about them if so inspired, but I’m here to talk about funds, funding, and generosity.  Whether or not you, the reader, have ever paddled whitewater or even visited Franklin, I want you to recognize that Shaheen is no friend of paddlers or of Franklinites, or of Granite Staters. (see above comment on Thomas Sowell quote)  You will observe canonizing comments of her, especially in the next midterm, but I want you to know who the real hero is.  It’s Mr Grevior, the local furniture store owner.

In my earlier years of paddling the Winnipesaukee River, the takeout area near the bridge was a run-down Chinese restaurant that closed.  I met Mr Grevior, a river enthusiast and next-door business owner, while we were dropping off shuttle cars in the Chinese restaurant lot on a cold, drizzly spring day.  He was walking by with his dogs and he invited us to get dressed in his furniture store restroom.  Wow!  Think of big furniture showrooms.  His store was in a refurbished mill building with limited square feet of floor space.  I was floored, no pun intended, by his candid and generous offer because accepting it involved tracking in wet footprints and brushing by new furniture while wearing wet wetsuits and carrying wet apparel back out through the showroom.  He didn’t have a care in the world.  He later bought that Chinese restaurant lot and donated it for the creation of what’s presently known as Trestle View Park.

If anyone deserves praise from the paddling community and/or Franklin, it’s Mr Grevior, who has always been interested, generous, and thoughtful to the community, rather than a career politician and DC swamp rat that does nothing for NH beyond claiming its share of the federal pork.  You can show him and his family business some love if you or someone you know in the Franklin area wants new furniture.

And if you cross paths with Chuck Morse, suggest that he swing by and pat the family dogs.

Spruce would want that.

The post One Paddler’s Thoughts of Franklin’s Whitewater Park appeared first on Granite Grok.

George Santos running in the primary for congress. Trump clinching the nomination; SOTU; was it a declaration of war against half the country? why did Katie Britt present the republican response and not Trump or someone else with more gravitas? cryptocurrency; would the dems let Trump win and blame him for an inevitable economic collapse? would congress refuse to certify trump if he wins? Current situation in Haiti; RFK Jr’s campaign vs. the “culturally vulgar” campaigns of Trump and Biden; Lazer joined the show and reported from Ukraine; U.S. building temporary ports to send supplies to Gaza;

The post The Conservatarian Exchange Podcast #197 appeared first on The Liberty Block.

Upon request, we are publishing a quick pop-up poll on Twitter that will run for the next day or so (don’t wait to vote). The question is, ‘Should the NH House be a paid “professional” legislature? Yes or No?’

This is in response to someone who shared a poll that said 87% of respondents said yes. For the record, we are a no.

Should the NH House be a paid “professional” legislature? Yes or No?

— GraniteGrok (@GraniteGrok) March 29, 2024

The post Twitter Pop Up Poll – Should the NH House be a Paid “Professional” Legislature? Yes or No? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Schools have made pornographic images available to children in our schools in the school library. Sometimes, books are available to children in the school library or on the library App. Many of these books contain pornographic images.

This is considered a tool that sexual predators use in order to groom children in order to abuse them. From: Grooming, Know the Warning Signs: 

Desensitization to touch and discussion of sexual topics: Abusers will often start to touch a victim in ways that appear harmless, such as hugging, wrestling and tickling, and later escalate to increasingly more sexual contact, such as massages or showering together. Abusers may also show the victim pornography or discuss sexual topics with them, to introduce the idea of sexual contact.

So why is it ok for schools to provide this kind of obscene content to children in our public schools? That’s a good question. Many of our public schools now make these books available to children and actually defend this. Some parents have challenged these books, only to be told this is book banning. Well, it’s not book banning because that would mean no one could access the book. These books are still available to buy, and accessible by adults.

So why do public schools make pornographic books available to children, knowing that this is a way for predators to groom children?

Why are pornographic websites banned from their iPads at school? Why is one form of pornography ok for them, but another is not?

None of this makes any sense. You just need to know that this is now available for children to access in their school library or on their Sora App.

If these books are used as a way to groom a child in school by a predator, no one will take responsibility for that. They will all look at each other with a blank stare on their face if you confront them. No one will take responsibility for your child’s sexual abuse.

What can you do? Well the first question to ask is, how do you trust anyone in a school that thinks this is ok?
Then figure out how quickly you can remove your child from that environment.

The post Exposing Children To Pornography Is Grooming, So Why Do Schools Get Away With It? appeared first on Granite Grok.

So Annie Kuster is finally going to retire to her dacha (or perhaps dachas) … after spending over a decade voting to “transform” America into a dystopian hellhole of illegal aliens, open borders, late-term abortions, and forever wars.

The normal reaction from a Republican would be “good riddance,” “about time,” “don’t let the door hit you in your fat ass on the way out,” etc., etc., etc..

But the NHGOP is not normal. One of its “leaders” normalized the abnormal (the abnormal being Annie’s hard-left ideology) by thanking her for her service:

 

 

Sweeney obviously is deep in the throes of Stockholm Syndrome.

Aiding and abetting an illegal invasion of America, funding forever wars, and aborting eight and nine-month-old unborn babies is “service” in the alternative universe Sweeney inhabits.

But, in his defense, perhaps Sweeney has been too busy ramming apartment complexes (“workforce housing”) down our throats to pay attention to Annie’s voting record. Slava Ukraine! New Hampshire Advantage! Mask Up! Vax Up! Slava Ukraine!

The post Thanks For Nothing appeared first on Granite Grok.

With a constant stream of Hollywood end-of-the-world calamity blockbuster movies, Americans are generally distracted from the real-life disaster scenario that threatens us.  Growing dependency on processed foods, often shipped long distances via crammed distribution systems, has created a vulnerability to food supply disruption unparalleled in human history.

The Real Threat to Your Way of Life Unprecedented Dependency

The Southern sharecropper of a century ago generally possessed a healthier and more secure food supply than the vast majority of today’s urban denizens.  The sharecropper was essentially an indentured servant to the landowner, but he could produce a substantial amount of his own sustenance.  Most modern Westerners (especially Americans) may own land freely, but they are indentured servants to industrial food manufacturers and the phalanx of captured regulatory agencies that oversee food and agriculture.

We tend to suppress or dismiss alarms that the American food supply — for decades the global leader in technological and genetic advances in plants and livestock — could in fact be vulnerable to a seismic disruption.  Americans have come to take their food for granted, perhaps understandably: the average household food budget has long hovered at a mere 9% of income, and food choice diversity in products (including ethnic choices) has never been greater.

Yet there are fractures within this amazingly productive system: not everything produced is healthful for humans or ecosystems.  Economic and other trade-offs involved in the creation of this “Green Revolution” in agriculture and food distribution may be a devil’s bargain.  It is not the intention here to forecast doom, but to critically assess some profound and growing threats against which preventive measures might be employed.

Trapped in Suburbia?

The migration of rural Americans into cities for better pay and amenities over the last century or so has accompanied standards of comfort and plenty unimagined in the past.  City workers overflowed into suburbs, where more and more land was irrevocably withdrawn from local agricultural uses in favor of cheaper foods shipped from larger, more efficient, or more productive areas.  Indeed, much of Americans’ domestic produce is now grown in California and Arizona and then trucked or flown to points east and south — a very different demographic picture from 1924.

The trade-off for cheap food was consolidation and mechanization, which dramatically shifted the nation’s food production and distribution from the local and diverse to the massive and homogeneous. Much like Walmart and Applebee’s displaced Mom-and-Pop general stores and family restaurants, the consolidation of farming and food processing (including especially meats, an industry now tightly consolidated under the control of a handful of gargantuan corporate conglomerates) lowered prices but also choice. This rapid transition was made possible by technology fed a reliable diet of cheap fossil fuels to replace the historic labor of mule, horse, and human.

The resultant benefits of this conversion in agricultural infrastructure are obvious, though so too are numerous health problems.  But what is not readily apparent to most consumers is how vulnerable this seemingly miraculous system is to disruption or destruction.  Consider the weak links and the potential modern threats.

Food System Vulnerabilities

Many of the technological advances that have improved agricultural efficiency or yields carry accompanying novel risks.  Today, most food is transported long distances, including internationally, in container ships that clog a paltry handful of backed up ports, frantic to transfer goods onto a fleet of tractor-trailer trucks.

Tractor trailers, often refrigerated, are the chief means by which Americans get their goodies in plenty, whether from Amazon or Dollar General.  American roadways are congested with constant truck traffic, packed into overflowing truck stops and paused in breakdown lanes.  It is a fantastic feat of free-market capitalism.

But infrastructure has been poorly stewarded, especially of the nation’s bridges. Finding skilled drivers is a growing problem. The nation’s fleet of trucks is dependent on Taiwan for microchips and foreign sources (particularly China) for diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), without which the trucks don’t budge.

Food System Threats

The shift to industrial agriculture has inflicted profound assaults on the nation’s precious underground water aquifers and its healthy soils.  Soils are eroding at alarming rates in many regions, while water draw-downs are not naturally replenished by winter snows or spring rains.  The San Joaquin Valley produces 25% of Americans’ food on 1% of the nation’s land, yet some sections of this fertile breadbasket had subsided some 28 feet by 1970 and now subside approximately a foot every year due to water withdrawals!  These long-term threats are far easier to demonstrate than climate change and are unaddressed by Chinese-manufactured solar panels or E.V.s.  A greater threat than these slow-moving crises may be potential sudden events (including a repeat on a far greater scale of the Great Flood of 1862).

The war in Ukraine impacted world grain supplies and prices.  The COVID pandemic was accompanied by unprecedented spikes in fertilizer prices that persist.  DEF supplies were at one point crucially threatened, and could be again.  Microchip shortages left thousands of trucks stranded or idle.  An expanding war in Ukraine, an incursion by China into Taiwan, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP), an oil crisis, or even a trade war with China could send ripples of supply disruptions around the globe almost overnight — including in the U.S.

America’s tumultuous social fabric is torn: extreme social unrest could close major highways.  The fiat dollar is weak and declining, aggravated by reckless money supply policies and weak regulatory oversight: hyperinflation, currency collapse, and an electronic government replacement currency looming over the nation and its fragile food distribution system.  The creepy crew at the WEF claim that the next great threat to the world is a cyber-attack.  How would the U.S. food supply system fare, given the myriad of potential vulnerabilities that scenario presents?  The WEF was almost prescient about the pandemic.  Will there be another of those, this time with a higher mortality rate and a more panicked run on grocery stores?

Globalization offers many cost savings and efficiencies but obscures unique threats.  A balanced domestic agricultural system requires small or medium-sized farms distributed throughout the rural landscape.  Having abandoned that interconnectedness in favor of the “big,” America is gambling big like no society in human history.  No people has ever been so divorced from its soil.

Support your local farmer, and keep your eye on that food birdie.  Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot all understood the colossal power of food to subjugate the masses.  Klaus Schwab and his ilk are not nobler.  The real reason European farmers are being undermined has little to do with carbon dioxide or nitrates.

 

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

The post Why Famine and Food Shortages Grow More Likely Each Day — In America! appeared first on Granite Grok.

He’s back. We previously covered State Rep Damond Ford in: State Rep Damond Ford Doesn’t Know Much About History and State Rep Damond Ford … You CANNOT Be Progressive And Pro-Israel and Rep Damond Ford: Heaven Is Only For Communists. But there is more. Damond Ford, just yesterday, back to spewing his Woke-Communist hate for Israel:

Are Woke Communists like Damond Ford who Manchester voters want “representing” them? Or are they clueless that Damond Ford, like so many other “Democrat” Reps from Manchester, is actually a Woke Communist? And what does it say about the current state of politics in Manchester, New Hampshire, and the focus of the NHGOP that Damond Ford does not even try to hide it?

The post State Rep Damond Ford … Do Manchester Voters Have Any Clue? appeared first on Granite Grok.

In a contentious and narrow vote, the New Hampshire House passed a ban on school mask mandates Thursday. The 187-184 vote was opposed by Democrats, who warned that the law would prevent local school boards from protecting students and staff from future contagious diseases. Republicans had a few major arguments, which helped them pass House Bill 1093. 

The post House Passes Bill To Ban School Mask Mandates appeared first on The Liberty Block.

To all those who are sending in memes, thank you!  Many, many good ones!  Please do share this post, and if you share an individual meme, consider mentioning you saw it on the Grok!

Speaking of, from this week, Monday Edition and Wednesday Edition.  Note that my weekly Israel post will be out on late Saturday.

 

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

 

 

AND…

To all my Christian readers, I wish you a wonderful and celebratory Easter.  In these times of trouble, and in all times, may He be a blessing and a comfort to you.

 

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

 

 

Assuming this is true, this is yet another poke at the Bear.

TPTB seem desperate to provoke WWIII.

 

 

 

 

 

Very sad but true.  There’s a reason I refer to the population, as a whole, as “sheeple”.

 

 

 

 

There’s an old joke that lab rats are being replaced by politicians.  Why?  Because there are some things rats won’t do.

 

 

 

 

Just heard her mentioned on the radio the other day.

 

 

 

 

 

Coming soon: We must obey the DS “for the greater good”…  I was rereading one of my old essays and read a quote from a lib who PREFERRED living under the enlightened rule of panels of experts.

 

 

 

Strength is currency in the Middle East (and around the world).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Didn’t she actually issue a press release saying she’d never done the deed with Trump?

 

 

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

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

 

 

 

The data are clear.  But so many won’t see – because it would either disrupt their paychecks, or their vision of themselves as superior.

Understand, the entire system is bought lock, stock, and barrel.

 

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

 

 

Just saw a video on Telegram about how laden Dunkin’ Donuts is with glycophosphate.

 

 

 

Am I an advocate of corporeal punishment as a general rule?  No.  But sometimes it’s necessary when all other avenues fail.  In particular, when the kids were young, one swat on the butt was mainly to get their attention.

 

 

 

IMHO there is no innocent explanation for stopping this.

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent costume idea!

 

 

 

Don’t just boycott them.  Write them a physical letter to tell them why.  No, no emails or comment forms – those can be set to ignore most keyword messages.  A physical letter, especially in swarms, is harder to ignore.

 

 

 

And they do so openly, not by “nudging”…

The Fly on the Urinal – Urban Scoop

 

 

It makes you wonder – do they really think people are that unobservant?

 

 

 

 

Remember, this is a multi-generational faith.

 

 

 

Well, sunlight is great in dosed amounts.  If you get fried / lobsterized, that’s different.  Over the course of a summer I build up a nice tan, but I’m careful about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Regarding the container ship Dali that lost power (twice) just before crashing into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore.  This site has videos from several sources showing the ship made a last minute course change literally seconds before impact.  Given the course change, and the power going out (twice) just before impact, it certainly seems like a cyber attack set up to make the impact cause the most damage possible.  The bridge was a major artery for goods moving North-South on the Eastern seaboard, and the pieces of the bridge are now blocking access to the port, which was the 9th busiest port in America.  If this was a cyber attack, they sure got the bang for their buck:

It WAS NOT an accident: Ship changed course and kept it… something is fishy yet again – Whatfinger News’ Choice Clips

Related:

Bayou Renaissance Man: The Baltimore bridge collapse and supply chains

—

Looks like Biden is considering blanket amnesty for illegal aliens.  So we allow them to come, then make them instant citizens.  Just in time for them to register to vote for the 2024 election, isn’t that great!  The scary part is, short of trying Biden for treason (which the UniParty won’t do), I don’t see how to stop it:

Biden Is Considering Illegal Immigrant Amnesty – HotAir

—

This is the article from the Epoch Times about Steve Baker, a journalist who covered January 6th, 2021 at the capitol, and how he was not arrested until he started becoming effective at debunking the “narrative”.  He was charged with 4 misdemeanors, and voluntarily turned himself in (as requested) to the FBI in Dallas.  They arrested him, placed him in leg chains, shackles, and handcuffs (with a belly chain) to perp walk him in front of the judge.  The message is:  “Don’t mess with our narrative, or we’ll take you down”:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/steve-baker-on-the-jan-6-front-lines-and-in-the-dojs-crosshairs-5609736

—

Wisconsin election integrity group Omega 4 America has found another method by which the Dems plan to steal the 2024 election, and it also explains why Biden et.al. are flying illegals into swing states in the middle of the night:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/03/wisconsin-researchers-find-illegal-aliens-are-flooding-voter/

—

The WEF et.al. is now coming for your garden (seriously, they want to ban private food production).  However, a bill being introduced in the U.S. Congress will allow having private food production means, and make it so the government cannot dictate regarding food sold within a state (only that passing across state lines).  Maine has already done the right thing, as they passed a law last year that allows Mainers to grow, harvest, and sell food from private food sources (MANY Mainers, on BOTH sides of the aisle supported this bill).  Of course that will only work if the Feds keep their hands off…

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/great-reset/the-right-to-grow-food/

 

 

Funny how the government used to encourage self-sufficiency.  Now they’re on a jihad against it.

—

A good article on the “new cars” (which are really rolling surveillance platforms), and how they won’t LET you go over the speed limit, or pass another car, or whatever.  You are no longer a “driver”, but an “observer”.  This started in 2017, and all new cars are getting it now (some system more “active” then others).  And as of 2025, all new cars are required to have a “kill switch” installed so law enforcement (or the government) can shut your car off if you don’t obey.   And once they have enough cars on the road “under control” (say 60% or more), how long before they pass a law requiring you to have a “monitoring device with a kill switch” installed in order to drive on public roads?  And pretty soon after that, ANY car that is not “government controllable” will be outlawed.

https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2024/03/24/would-you-still-want-to-drive/

In fact, in the future, I predict you won’t even be able to BUY a car anymore, at best, you MAY be allowed to lease one (you’ll own nothing, and LIKE it, peasant).

Eight States Plan to Ban the Sale of Gas-Powered Vehicles as Joe Biden Issues New Rules to Begin Killing Them Off | The Gateway Pundit | by Cullen Linebarger

—

For those who wish to get blood from “un-jabbed” donors, several sites are setting that up (because the Red Cross doesn’t care).  Full disclosure:  I’ve been giving blood since I was 18 (always through the Red Cross), and I’ve given over 10 gallons now (gotta love the Oreos…).  However, the last couple times I gave, I asked the Red Cross folks about unjabbed blood (I’m unjabbed), and they didn’t care.  So now I’m considering donating to one of these organizations:

https://granitegrok.com/blog/2024/03/looking-for-safe-blood-in-the-post-pandemic-era

—

If you like watching YouTube videos about subjects that may make government nervous (gorilla warfare, how to conceal your face from facial recognition, how to make maps from drone video, etc.), Google is now ratting you out to the Feds.  Better get a REALLY good VPN, and maybe route through TOR (although the Feds take a special interest in you if you start using TOR):

https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2024/03/24/google-has-been-ratting-out-youtube-viewers-to-the-feds-n3785282

Somewhat related:

A whistle blower is saying that Google and Meta are basically extensions of the NSA, CIA, DHS, DOJ, and FBI now.  Anything they have on you (your searches, likes, comments, reviews, purchases, etc.) the government has it.  Who cares about that pesky 4th Amendment anyway…

https://gellerreport.com/2024/03/google-and-meta-function-as-extensions-of-the-us-intelligence-community.html/

—

A (very) short “future history” story on X, showing a very plausible look on what will happen:

:https://twitter.com/Matt_Bracken48/status/1771897931676713128

—

Here’s Bill Gates on X, explaining why it’s OK for him to fly in a private jet and travel, but YOU shouldn’t:

https://twitter.com/wideawake_media/status/1772213468684296547

—

Right now, the Republicans hold a very slim majority in the US House (217-213).  However, Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc) and Representative Ken Buck (R-Colo) have both “designed to resign” before their term is up, leaving April 19th.  If they left NOW, their districts could hold a special election before November.  And given that they both come from deep red districts, a special election would give the R’s a solid chance to put R’s back in those seats.  But by waiting until mid-April, there will not be enough time for the special election, and those seats will be vacant, while the Dems are busy with special elections to REPLACE the Dems in the positions they lost.  Why is this important?  Besides holding the majority in the House, the House members are who certifies elections.  If the Dems control the house, they could vote to NOT CERTIFY the 2024 election! Or vote to accept “alternate electors”, so that Slo-Joe “wins” even though he didn’t win.  Having these RINOs wait until mid-April to quit seems like another UniParty set-up to deny Trump the White House (assuming he wins).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/03/22/another-house-republican-is-resigning-narrowing-gop-edge-to-one-seat

Related (shows the details better):

DC RINOs Attempt to Sabotage President Trump’s Re-Election With Retirements, Insurrection Legislation – ISRAPUNDIT

Susan Collins is openly saying she will NOT endorse Trump, and in fact, may renounce the Republican party altogether and become Independent.  The Swamp really, REALLY, doesn’t want Trump back in the White House.  Gee, maybe because he might actually correct our course?

Sens. Murkowski and Collins Could Leave the GOP (independentsentinel.com)

—

Baltimore voted to “defund” their police.  Now they have major crime happening all over.  So what do they do?  Defund some more!:

Baltimore City Implodes: Police Force Collapses, Only Three Officers Patrolled Major District  | ZeroHedge

—

Globalists are itching to implement CBDC, and the folks running the SWIFT system (controls the bank transactions in the Western world) are planning to transition to CBDC in 12-24 months:

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/03/25/swift-planning-launch-of-central-bank-digital-currency-trading-platform-in-12-months

Related:

https://www.reuters.com/technology/blackrocks-fink-says-russia-ukraine-crisis-could-accelerate-digital-currencies-2022-03-24

I’ve mentioned that with a CBDC your account could be frozen.  And 99% of the time, I get some version of “That can’t happen here”.  And disbelief, utter disbelief, when I tell them about what happened to Canadians during the trucker protests.

—

A good piece from TL Davis on why we need citizen militias:

https://tldavis.substack.com/p/bucking-for-a-new-waco

—

We bitch about the Millennials (and some of them do whine a LOT), but here’s a sobering look at where they stand financially.  The long & short of it is this:  Most will never own a house, and never be able to retire:

Hopelessness setting in and leading to depression – Gun Free Zone

—

The national debt is piling up at a rate that is totally unsustainable, as just the INTEREST is $1.1 Trillion (yes, with a “T”) per year.  When it all collapses, people will be using $100 bills as fire-starter.  Here’s a good article laying it all out.  Take a look at your finances and use your cash to pay off any debt you have, as that will be used to enslave you:

CBO Director Warns Of Debt Market Meltdown With US Debt On “Unprecedented” Trajectory | ZeroHedge

Fiscal Collapse Accelerates – by Peter St Onge (profstonge.com)

A reminder.  I hate being right all the time:

 

E I Feel Like Sarah Connor The Coming Financial Collapse

 

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Pick of the Post:

 

 

Make it like the old Indian practice of Sati; burn them alive on the funeral pyre with the carcass of their owner.  Just MHO.

 

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Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

 

I’ll show myself out.  TGIF!

 

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

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

 

My thanks to JC who bought me five coffees!

 

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

 

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

So little of what we see in the news these days can be called good.  In fact, one has to look pretty hard to find it.  Few would argue the chaos in New Hampshire (exploding violent attacks, joblessness, high cost of living, reckless politicians, etc.) is reflective of the larger global chaos.  The evidence and outcomes of two world wars you think would have been enough to avoid a third, yet here we are staring it in its big, ugly, insatiable maw.

Who couldn’t go for a little good news right now?

Today marks the annual holiday recognized as Good Friday among the faithful.  It’s a holiday that harkens us back to a day similarly dark and brutal full of suffering, where mankind proved beyond a shadow of a doubt we were, as we are today, morally bankrupt and depraved, collectively conspiring to kill the greatest servant and most peaceful human being to ever walk the earth – God the Son – Jesus Christ.

If you haven’t seen the Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson’s award winning movie about the time leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, today would be a good day to watch it.  Despite Christian movies being notoriously poor quality, full of clichés and the kind of contrived or dispassionate acting one expects from low budget filmmaking, this movie impressed even anti-Christ Hollywood.

How?

Gibson, despite his publicly flawed life, shares the passion of the Christ, both in name and deed, by pouring himself entirely into reenacting the capture, mock trial and capital punishment of Jesus.  By all accounts the movie is a masterpiece, and perhaps the only movie about Jesus that rises to the level of being worthy of calling itself Biblical.

Not one for spoiler alerts, if you don’t already know the story then you’ve somehow managed to live this long without hearing the greatest story ever told from the most popular book of all-time.  You might want to catch up.  However, even if you do know the story, the artistic rendering in Gibson’s film will leave you profoundly moved at what Jesus was willing to suffer on your behalf.  If you’re not stirred in your soul to admire what Jesus went through at the hands of evil men to save you from an eternity of suffering and replace it with an eternity of peace and joy among loved ones, knowing that He neither deserved nor had to do it, then you are as spiritually dead as He says you are.

What makes this fake religious, conspiratorial, bloody, painful, and evil act of mankind so good is the One who suffered through it so we wouldn’t.

When asked by a young rich ruler “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responded with a keen rhetorical question:

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” (Mark 10:18)

The young wealthy man, just like most of his Jewish contemporaries, could not see Jesus was not just their long awaited Messiah, but God in the flesh.  Jesus was offering yet another clue, but spiritual blindness makes it difficult to see.

In fact, none of us can see the truth of God until He opens our eyes.  Gibson’s film is intended to help us get there.

So what makes this Friday so particularly good if it recalls yet another of man’s brutal deeds against even God Himself?

It’s the moment in time we are allowed to see the deep, deep goodness and love of God the Son, Jesus the Christ, alluded to here:

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)

The God of the Universe sees our spiritual bankruptcy.  He knows our need of saving, and He knows we are powerless to save ourselves.  He also knew that we would conspire and plot to kill even His precious and most innocent only Son, yet somehow uses our own evil act to extend forgiveness and save us from ourselves.

That’s what makes Him the only one who can truly be called good, and that’s what we are called to remember this day each year.

Happy Good Friday New Hampshire.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Originally published April 7, 2023

The post Thank God It’s Good Friday appeared first on Granite Grok.

Jill Biden was singing to the choir the other evening when she spoke at the Human Rights Campaign Dinner, and I have to wonder if everyone there agreed with her claim that parents concerned about age-inappropriate material in school libraries are fascist.

Jill Biden: If you don’t want your kids reading Gender Queer or other sexually explicit gay porn books in school then you are akin to Nazis during World War II. Report here: https://t.co/FQkF6ZpmLL pic.twitter.com/GzEBTGnejK

— m o d e r n i t y (@ModernityNews) March 25, 2024

She might be serious; after all, look at what she married. The child-sniffing perv who swam naked daily in front of the female members of his Secret Service detail (as VP) and was credibly accused of doing what Donald Trump said that made Dems lose their minds. Biden actually grabbed a woman by her p**** (as a US Senator), but did he get armies of pussy hat-wearing harpies marching in protest when he ran for president. Nope. They defended his creepy ass. So Jill might be all in on the grooming. Joe was showering with her daughter, Ashley.

How could she possibly feel differently about people who think that’s sick, perverse, and, in most states, illegal? More to the point, she finds those who object offensive, anti-democratic fascists. Nazis. A strange take, but Jill’s brightest idea was marrying a pervert on whose coattails – with a little help from a few last-minute mail-in ballots – she was able to ride her way to Mrs. Mr. President. A guy who has done more fascist things in three years than Trump was falsely accused of in four. Ideas the plagiarizer-in-chief stole from the DNC media narrative mills and made real.

They don’t call it projection because it’s bright. And what does Dr. Jill make of this?

Maia Kobabe, who identifies as non-binary told the Washington Post that her book is aimed at “older teens,” not kindergarten aged kids.

“I originally wrote it for my parents, and then for older teens who were already asking these questions about themselves. I don’t recommend this book for kids!” she said in the interview published last week.

Gender Queer is the magnum Opus of the K-8 grooming class, but the author disagrees with it being available to children. Does that count for anything? Does Mrs. Mr. President need to slow her roll, recalibrate, and (God forbid) apologize for lumping Maia Kobabe with fascists?

How about the parents of “children” who happen to be LGB but object to age-inappropriate sexualized comics and lit in schools and libraries? I guess they’re all fascists, too.

Gay Nazis. Whodathunkit.

The post Jill Biden Just Equated the Author of Gender Queer With Nazis appeared first on Granite Grok.

Another week, another opportunity to get emails from disgruntled Reps who missed one vote. That seems to be the cycle. The folks who’ve been diligent get miffed, while the gross offenders could care less. That’s fine; this is, after all, to alert the people that a handful consistently refuse to represent.

A quick note from the data guy: Rep. Soti was present but declared an ethical conflict and did not vote three times. As you can see, several Reps had excellent records until today. It must have been something serious that kept them away. Several Reps were there all day until near the end, so I assume they had to leave for work or something else important.

Here’s the attendance record for this week (on the left) and the total roll call votes missed all year on the right.

Have compassion for your citizen legislators who have to leave for jobs or other responsibilities when the session runs long (as it has these past few weeks), but know that both sides (majority and minority) must play the game of chess to effect the best possible outcomes.

If you’d like a round-up of yesterday’s House business, we published one this morning.

 

3/28		YTD
30	Sanborn, Laurie (R, Bedford)	197
30	Varney, Peter (R, Alton)	84
30	Mason, James (R, Franklin)	52
30	Harley, Tina (R, Seabrook)	47
30	Brouillard, Jacob (R, Nottingham)	40
30	True, Chris (R, Sandown)	36
30	Phinney, Brandon (R, Rochester)	31
30	Dumais, Russell (R, Gilford)	30
18	Pitre, Joseph (R, Farmington)	67
13	O’Hara, Travis (R, Belmont)	121
12	Trottier, Douglas (R, Belmont)	92
12	Infantine, William (R, Manchester)	37
7	Crawford, Karel (R, Moultonborough)	50
7	Foote, Charles (R, Derry)	26
7	Bernardy, JD (R, South Hampton)	16
6	Panek, Sandra (R, Pelham)	47
6	Testerman, Dave (R, Franklin)	45
6	Lundgren, David (R, Londonderry)	44
6	Beaudoin, Richard (R, Gilford)	36
6	Fedolfi, Jim (R, Hillsborough)	24
6	Brown, Carroll (R, Bristol)	21
6	Plett, Fred (R, Goffstown)	6
5	Piemonte, Tony (R, Sandown)	89
5	Boehm, Ralph (R, Litchfield)	6
3	Hunt, John (R, Rindge)	15
3	Smith, Steven (R, Charlestown)	8
3	Notter, Jeanine (R, Merrimack)	4
3	Soti, Julius (R, Windham)	4
2	Berry, Ross (R, Manchester)	10
2	Layon, Erica (R, Derry)	5
2	Reid, Karen (R, Deering)	2
1	Cole, Brian (R, Manchester)	50
1	Guthrie, Joseph (R, Hampstead)	37
1	Vandecasteele, Susan (R, Salem)	26
1	Dolan, Tom (R, Londonderry)	19
1	Bickford, David (R, New Durham)	13
1	Doucette, Fred (R, Salem)	13
1	Nagel, David (R, Gilmanton)	12
1	Kuttab, Katelyn (R, Windham)	8
1	DeSimone, Debra (R, Atkinson)	7
1	Roy, Terry (R, Deerfield)	4
1	Sytek, John (R, Salem)	4
1	Aylward, Deborah (R, Danbury)	2
1	McConkey, Mark (R, Freedom)	2
1	Potenza, Kelley (R, Rochester)	2
1	Rhodes, Jennifer (R, Winchester)	2
1	Sellers, John (R, Bristol)	2
1	Noble, Kristin (R, Bedford)	1
1	Seidel, Sheila (R, Goffstown)	1
1	Stone, Jonathan (R, Claremont)	1

The post NH House Republican Attendance for the Week of 3-28-2024 appeared first on Granite Grok.

We learned that it took from 9am until 7pm, with an hour or so break for lunch, to get through 43 bills on the regular calendar, 2 off the consent calendar, plus 3 that were taken off the table, and 1 more that was reconsidered. It was a long day and I’ll try to review some highlights.

We learned that today was Table Day! Many bills were either put on the Table, attempted to be Tabled, or Taken off the Table today. Tabling was the motion to do if you wanted something dead after today because, after today, you will no longer be able to remove bills from the table with just a simple majority. Tabling a bill today also killed a bill without going through all the speeches and Parliamentary Inquiries (PIs) – so it saved some time.

We learned that the House was in a forgiving mood as we passed HB1366, with a Roll Call vote of 283-80. This bill annuls criminal convictions, which resulted in a misdemeanor, for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Having a misdemeanor removes some economic barriers for these folks who committed crimes of possession, and the House just thinks it’s time we let bygones be bygones, especially since some claim we’re on the cusp of legalization in our state.

We learned that HB1713 and its amendment passed on a voice vote. This bill requires that a defendant who is charged with or awaiting sentence for an offense punishable by life imprisonment or imprisonment of a maximum term of 15 years or more be present at the return of the verdict and at sentencing after trial, subject to excusal for cause. The bill further permits a court to order the use of reasonable force in carrying out a transport order issued pursuant to this section of an incarcerated defendant who refuses to comply with that order. The bill further makes it a class A felony to knowingly violate this provision. This was a bill created by Former House Speaker Steve Shurtleff (D-Penacook) in response to the murder conviction in the Harmony Montgomery case. The bill was accepted by the House as a late bill (submitted after bill submission deadlines) and fast-tracked through the House. If this bill passes the Senate and gets signed by the Governor, Adam Montgomery may have to face the family and loved ones of the daughter he is convicted of murdering at his May 9th sentencing date.

We learned that a bill prohibiting mandatory masking policies in public schools passed 187-184. HB1093 would prohibit public schools from adopting policies that require students or members of the public to wear a mask while on school property. Protective equipment used for sports or for handling chemicals for scientific or educational purposes was excluded. I think they omitted Halloween festivities at schools, but at least this was a good start.

We learned that HB1592 was Tabled 191Y-186N. This bill was another attack on Education Freedom Accounts, and would have prohibited the use of EFA funds for religious school tuition. This would be contrary to multiple U.S. Supreme Court rulings dating back several decades. These include Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), Trinity Lutheran v. Comer (2017), Espinoza v. Montana Dept of Revenue (2020), and Carson v. Makin (2022). The opinion in the Carson case sums up these cases: “A neutral benefit program in which public funds flow to religious organizations through the independent choices of private benefit recipients does not offend the Establishment Clause.” Week after week, we see these continued attacks on our successful EFA school choice program…. Because afterall, House Democrats will tell you,“it’s for the kids”.

We learned that parental consent won today. HB1616 passed 190Y-187N. With regard to Medicaid reimbursement for medical and health related services provided to students with disabilities, this bill affirms that written parental consent should be obtained for each new service provided to the child and billed to Medicaid. Proponents believe that an initial consent should not be an open door for all services and billing for the child. Parents have a right to know what is being billed. Democrats wanted to Interim Study this bill, essentially killing it and allowing the continued practice of “blank check” billing and non transparency. I think parents should know if their kids are actually receiving the services that are being billed by providers.

We learned that HB1145 passed 208Y-162N. The House was talkin’ trash as they debated banning the private ownership of landfills. An initial motion to Table failed 180Y (R:178 D:2) to 193N (R:11 D:182). The premise of this bill is to ban private ownership of landfills in New Hampshire in order to get around the US Commerce Clause and allow us to limit – or even eliminate – the importation of out of state trash. It grandfathers in existing landfills, so there will be no impact to what we already do at those facilities anyway. Four of the six landfills in the state are publicly owned. Almost 50% of those facilities’ landfilled trash is from out of state. We only have one new landfill permit currently being considered at the State Department of Environmental Services, and it appears this bill just seeks to shut that down. It’s the one being considered in Dalton. It’s not even clear what would happen to that permitting process if this bill gets signed into law. Proponents claim it’s a better idea for all landfills to be owned by the state, or its political subdivisions, and operated by a contractor. Opponents just don’t like the fascist idea of banning private ownership of anything.

We learned that HB1222 passed with an amendment and a voice vote. Currently, Physician Assistants (PAs) may only practice if they have a signed collaboration agreement with a physician, and basically, this bill eliminates that requirement. These collaboration agreements can be costly; up to $1000/month and in many, cases the physician who signed a collaboration agreement had no relationship with the PA other than requiring the PA to pay for the signature. This bill will make it easier for PAs to practice in NH would help alleviate the shortage of medical personnel, and increase access to medical care.  This bill will make it less expensive and easier for them to say, “Take two aspirins and call me in the morning.”  Just kidding… they do more than that!

We learned that HB1323 passed on a voice vote. This will allow an appropriation to be made to print 5,000 copies of the NH State Constitution for the fourth graders who tour the State House. I’d say civics education is a worthwhile use of tax dollars. As they say, “It’s for the children”!

We also learned that parts of HB1607 passed. This was the “Safe Haven” bill. Current law allows a parent to surrender an infant within seven days of birth directly to a person at a hospital, church, police or fire station, or to an EMT at an agreed location. That is considered a “warm handoff.” This bill, in its entirety, would expand the time for surrender to 61 days and would allow the parent increased anonymity, as the child could be placed in a safe haven baby box at a hospital, fire station, or police station, which is attended 24 hours a day. As drafted, the bill also provided for the exclusion of all evidence of abuse or neglect gathered as a result of the parent surrendering a child in this manner from being used as evidence in a criminal or civil trial. The exclusionary piece was stripped out on a motion to divide the bill into two questions. Sections 1-4 and 6 of the bill passed 372Y-1N and section 5 of the bill, regarding the exclusion of evidence, failed 185Y-188N. House members did not want someone who abused a child after 61 days to get off “scott free” after surrendering a child to the safe haven box. House members who wanted the exclusionary portion to remain in the bill, claimed that saving a babies life should take precedence over prosecuting a parent. We have now left this bill in a box for the Senate to deal with.

We learned that HB1121 passed on a voice vote. This common sense bill allows a wetlands permit exemption for a property owner who wishes to clear storm debris from a stream on their property, especially if the debris is causing a blockage in the stream causing the stream to divert course which threatens property. Recent flooding in my town prompted me to author this bill. I’d be pleased if you called your senator and asked for him/her to support it.

We learned that both wake boating bills were tabled. HB1301 sought to establish a petition process before the NH Department of Safety where 25 people can request a hearing to ban wake surfing on a specific body of water. That was Tabled 196Y-172N. HB1390 was Tabled 190Y-178. That bill added definitions, made various prohibitions and restrictions to wakesports. The changes sought to lessen the impact of the energy distributed by these waves to shoreline, loon nesting spots, and unintentionally to people who are recreating in smaller craft and to protect the water quality of the lake. Opponents of both bills claim that they were too restrictive, would have hurt tourism and most importantly that public waters belong to everyone to enjoy. They were not convinced that wakesports are a cause of water quality damage but that excessive rain and other factors contribute more to shoreline erosion and cyanobacteria blooms. I would imagine these bills will probably come back to the legislature again, like large ripples in the pond.

We learned that both bills designed to increase housing passed. HB1291: increasing the number of Accessory Dwelling Units allowed on a property passed 220Y-143N after a Tabling motion failed 87Y-277N. HB1399 also passed 220Y-140N. That bill allows single family homes to be divided into a duplex. Opponents of both bills said this was a top down, one size fits all zoning change mandated by the state. They felt local control should prevail in these matters. They’re not wrong either.

We learned that HB1683, relative to coverage of circumcision under the state Medicaid plan, was tabled last week 188Y-187N. Today it was taken off the Table 189Y-188N followed by a motion to ITL which failed 185Y-188N. Then a Motion to Reconsider the OTP/A motion passed 188Y-186N followed by the final OTP/A Motion that failed 184Y-191N. After that, it was put back on the Table with a Voice Vote. So you can see how that whole exercise was a total waste of time.

We also learned that HB1353, the bill that would give the Commissioner of the Dept. of Education subpoena power (Tabled last week 293-58), was also attempted to be taken off the Table. The motion to remove from the Table failed 183Y-194N.

We further learned that when Republican attendance dropped to 178 and Democrats were 182, (around 6:05 PM), Rep. David Luneau (D-Hopkinton) seized the opportunity to remove HB546 off the Table. That bill was Tabled back in January (01/03/24) with a vote of 190-187. This bill was relative to the School building aid funding program and requires a minimum of $50,000,000 per fiscal year to be transferred to the school building aid fund, in addition to any debt service payments, for school building aid grants. The Remove From Table motion passed 182Y-179N and an OTP motion then passed 182Y-178N. The breakdown of roll-called votes went like this: Yeas 182(R:1 D:181) Nays (R:177 D:1). It’ll be interesting to see what the Senate Finance Committee does with it.

We learned that HB1711 was pulled off the consent calendar. HB1711 authorizes the state to report mental health data for firearms background check purposes and providing for processes for confiscation of firearms following certain mental health-related court proceedings and for relief from mental health-related firearms disabilities. All the gun groups were against this bill. At first, a Table motion failed 150Y-205N. Then, the committee amendment (0431h) passed on a voice vote, and two other floor amendments failed. Ultimately, the bill passed with the committee amendment, 204Y-149N on a roll call vote. The vote breakdown was Yeas 204 (R:25 D:179) Nays (R:147 D:2).  Proponents said that this language was adopted by language from the NRA and was vetted with our NH Attorney General and NAMI and that it works well without any problems in other states to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental illness. Opponents felt there were too many issues with a “red flag” bill like this and that psych doctors could declare anyone “unfit” and strip them of 2A rights.

We finally learned that at 7 PM, HB1283—the assisted suicide bill—was reconsidered after it passed last week OTP/A 179-176. The reconsideration motion failed 147Y-210N. I think at this point, people just wanted to go home. This bill will now go to the Senate, and we’ll see if they will assist in its demise.

Next week, we get a break, but we’ll be back with more bills and motions on April 11—which will also be Tartan Day! We’re headed to Crossover Day, and we’ll start seeing Senate bills hit the House floor.

The post So Kids, What Did We Learn From This Week’s House Session (3/28/24)? appeared first on Granite Grok.

The dark clouds in Joe Biden’s latest pronounced promise to his gullible following are that he will dismember the Second Amendment and create their dream of gun control (elimination, that is). I guess Joe really thinks he’s a King of something; I’d suggest he’s the king of fools.

The only way he could do that is by amending our constitution (ours, not his), removing, eliminating, or radically chaining the 2nd. Oh, he might try stacking the SCOTUS, even if that is problematic, but the only other way is by some kind of force.

Either of those routes would be met with equal measures of resistance. So, unless Biden and Democrats can gain supermajorities in both houses of Congress, the only path would be to trigger some kind of reaction they could declare, such as a revolution, then martial law, and try to seize permanent control of the government.

A key for we conservatives is to keep from overreacting to any provocation from the left, hold our ground on our rights, and watch those sons of you know what. Next, we must unite and vote out the Democrats and elect our people. Once we do that and have Trump as President again, we can demand every leftist criminal in or around the government be arrested, prosecuted, and sent to prison for exceedingly long terms.

Never Trumpers need to understand that Trump has not broken any laws, has upheld the constitution, and even if he lacks the proper etiquette or what they expect from a president, he does give us our best chance to save this Republic—better Trump than communist slaves.

The post Night Cap: Dismembering the Second Amendment appeared first on Granite Grok.

Lily Tang Williams, the front runner Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Hampshire’s 2nd district, issues her statement on Rep. Annie Kuster not seeking a 7th term.

“I want to thank Rep. Kuster for her service and I hope all is well with her and her family.

I am energized that the voters of our district will be offered a choice based on issues rather than incumbency.

Please Submit Group communications or Press Releases to steve@granitegrok.com.
Submission is not a guarantee of publication – Publication is not an endorsement.

As a legal immigrant who worked hard to earn my citizenship, I believe it is critical that we re-establish our nation’s Border Security to protect our northern and southern borders, reduce government deficit spending, control inflation, and develop all energy resources within a free market economy.”

Lily Tang Williams, born and raised in Communist China, came to the US to seek freedom in 1988. She is a mother of three adult children, two of whom served in the US Military, is a self-employed small businesswoman. She is actively campaigning in NH 2nd Congressional District and has garnered 52 endorsements from current NH State Legislators. Lily’s campaign slogan is “KEEP THE AMERICAN DREAM ALIVE.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Weare, New Hampshire
March 27, 2024
Contact: Mark Zaccaria, zaccaria@att.net, 401.225.5051

 

Reminder: Content about candidates or by candidates is not an endorsement by GraniteGrok.com or its authors.

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For years, Democrats in New Hampshire have pretended to be the Jimmy McMillin of property taxes. Like the rent, they are too damn high. If elected, they promise to do something about it. Lower them. Not taxes; those will go up; you just won’t see them.

The goal is not fewer taxes but less visibility, at least initially. Your property tax bill will get a trim, but your total tax burden will grow substantially. These are Demcorats. It can’t go any other direction but up. Government always comes first; if you’ve any doubts, look left (from New Hampshire) to Vermont.

The Green Mountain State used to be safer and healthier but has been heading in the wrong direction on tax and regulatory policy for a long time. An itch it has gotten more aggressive at scratching as Democrat majorities increased to veto-proof majorities. Vermonters only have themselves ot blame, but it allows the rest of us to learn from their mistakes.

The Vermont House is expected to vote on an $8 billion state spending plan this week. It comes as lawmakers consider millions in new investments and millions in new taxes to fund them.

A key House panel advanced a plan to fund critical priorities in the budget, floated by about $125 million in new taxes.

The House Appropriations Committee is considering a state spending plan, including a big expansion of Medicaid, an expansion of the judiciary and more supports for affordable housing. And those ideas are all funded by new taxes– increases in the corporate income tax, the foreign income tax and the property transfer tax, and a new tax bracket for Vermonters who make more than $500,000 annually.

A proposal to tax unrealized gains like stocks did not advance.

Others, like a potential tax on candy, soda, streaming services and an expansion of the sales tax are still up for debate.

Vermont is already overtaxed. It has environmental aspirations that will cost billions and an education funding debacle it created that requires a 20% hike in … property taxes. That’s unpopular, so the people who made the mess are willing to consider raising less visible taxes as if that helps.

But a revenue option to buy down the property tax hike is not yet on the table, though Vt. House Speaker Jill Krowinski said last week they will work on ways to lower the property tax burden.

Gov. Phil Scott said last week he would consider raising taxes to buy down the $240 million ed fund increase, but he said he would only support that if lawmakers pass widespread systemic reform, which is something that would likely take multiple studies and legislative sessions.

The necessary reform is fewer Democrats and, it has to be said, fewer Republicans like Phil Scott, who can’t stop the Democrats he has and can do little more than appear to resist impulses he shares.

I’m not sure if Vermont can be saved. It would take a level of civic and electoral awareness that people who tend to vote for Demcorats lack. New Hampshire, on the other hand, is teetering on the ends of a bowl, leaning back against a growing army of Democrats trying to push it in. If they succeed in taking the majority and the governor’s office, we’ll be swirling in the blue water behind Maine, which has a bit of a head start but still has a way to go to catch Vermont.

Both places where the more the government takes, the worse everything else gets.

 

The post Granite Stater’s (Any Stater’s Actually) Can See What Democrats “Mean” by Looking At Vermont appeared first on Granite Grok.

Incumbent NH State Representative Jose’ Cambrils is running for re-election in Merrimack County District 4 – Canterbury / Loudon.

Jose’ was born in Victoria De Las Tunas, Cuba in 1960. He and his family immigrated (legally) to the United States in 1965 to escape from the Communist Castro regime.

He was very proud to take the oath of citizenship and become a U.S. citizen in June of 1973.

He went on to earn a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass., in 1983 and an MBA in Operations Management from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, Mass., in 1987.

He moved to New Hampshire in 1987, fell in love with this great State, and has been here ever since. He and his wife, Allison, have lived in Loudon for the past eight years.

He has been a life-long “Reagan” Republican since voting for the first time in the 1980 election.

Jose’ worked for Honeywell, Wang Labs, Cal-comp, Sanders Associates, Lockheed-Martin, and BAE Systems over the course of his 35-year career as an Engineer and Engineering Executive in the Commercial and Military Electronics business.

He retired from BAE in September of 2015 at the age of 55. He has remained very active in politics and in local community support. He is also a proud long-time member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), the NH Firearms Coalition (NHFC) and the American Numismatic Association (ANA).

Jose’ is a Republican State Delegate and he was the treasurer of the Merrimack County Republican Committee from September 2017 – January 2024. He continues to be an MCRC member. He was given the Norris Cotton Award for his service by the NH GOP in January 2024.

In 2020 Jose’ won the Republican primary and the general election for one of two seats for NH State Representative in Merrimack County District 9. He became the first Cuban refugee to hold high office in the State of New Hampshire. He ran again and won re-election for State Rep. in 2022 for Merrimack County District 4 – Canterbury/Loudon.

Jose’ served on the Science, Technology & Energy Committee in his first term. In his second term, he was asked to serve on the Finance Committee. He is a member of the Freedom Caucus. He has never missed a House session in four years of service, and he has a 100% vote rating with the House Republican Alliance 4 years in a row. He received the “General John Stark Protector of Freedom” Award from Americans for Prosperity (AFP) in 2021 and a 100% voting record Gold Award from Granite State Taxpayers (GST) in 2022. Additionally, he has been endorsed by NRA, NHFC, NH Liberty Alliance, Cornerstone, CPAC, and RebuildNH with “A” ratings.

He is fluent in Spanish, and his interests include fishing, hunting, coin collecting, and Cuban-style pig roasts. VOTE FOR JOSE.

 

E-Mail: Jose4NH@comcast.net

WEB Site: Jose4NH.Org

 

Reminder: Content about candidates or by candidates is not an endorsement by GraniteGrok.com or its authors.

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