The Manchester Free Press

Monday • November 25 • 2024

Vol.XVI • No.XLVIII

Manchester, N.H.

Londonderry Town Manager Is Still Whining …

Granite Grok - Wed, 2024-02-14 19:00 +0000

If you think a Town Meeting is an opportunity to show residents how hung up you are on the spanking you got (and deserved), welcome to Londonderry. Town manager Michael Malaguti is reported to have taken the opportunity to attack his detractors.

Related: Londonderry Needs a Town Manager That isn’t a Whiny Little Bitch

Town Manager Michael Malaguti began his ‘State of the Town Address’ at the Town Deliberative Session by launching into an attack against residents who have asked for accountability and transparency at Town Council meetings. Malaguti believes we are in a ‘battle for the soul of our community’ against a small group of individuals with an agenda. Malaguti also attacked former Town Councilor Deb Paul and the Londonderry Times.

A battle that includes “his” town engaging in expensive and frivolous lawsuits.

 

This case involves a frivolous complaint of sexual harassment, brought in apparent bad faith. The complaint was brought by the highest administrative officer of a town. He brought the complaint against an elected official to have her censured for what she said at an on­the­record, public hearing. The views she expressed, and the language that she used, was constitutionally and statutorily protected political speech. …

Instead of taking the opportunity to repent past wrongs that included lawfare and the active suppression of the right to free speech and government transparency, Malaguti abandoned bridge building and corrective internal action for a cheap shot with no opportunity for rebuttal to the same audience.

He did go on to praise a wide range of groups and individuals, but the question Londonderry residents should be asking is, when will (and the town) turn against me? It doesn’t appear to take much. All you need to do is challenge their use of tax dollars, their authority, and how they handle right-to-know requests—things citizens are expected to do to keep any level of government accountable. And you’d best do it quickly. HB1002, which would allow them to charge you for the right to hold them accountable, is co-sponsored by at least one NH House Rep. from Londonderry.

There were likely conversations about the cost of obstructing citizen inquiry and how it might be possible to profit from the practice.

They don’t want you to know, but if you do and you persist, who knows,  Malaguti might whine about you asking your public servants uncomfortable questions.

You might even want to make that a goal.

 

The post Londonderry Town Manager Is Still Whining … appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Meme Overflow

Granite Grok - Wed, 2024-02-14 17:00 +0000

As promised in Monday Memes, I have an overflow. My meme cup runneth over.  And yes there will be a Friday edition too.

Let the mayhem, mockery, and ridicule resume:

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Applies to a lot of people these days.

 

 

 

A set-back, not a defeat.  Remember, these people are MISSIONARIES dedicated to One World Government rule.  They’ll not give up – ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not just protecting Killary.  This is in-your-face double standard time.  All meant to demoralize you.

 

 

 

 

 

The operative word is HOW.

 

 

 

You want people to get shot?  That’s a really good way.  Better yet, you strap on a piece and body armor and you go do it.

 

 

 

 

 

Me at 3 AM after a bladder call.  Ugh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have guests coming this weekend.  Tongue-biting time.

 

 

 

Did we really win WWII?

 

 

 

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

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

 

In reading some books about nutrition – specifically, Why We Get Fat – he discusses how heart disease, etc., exploded in primitive societies when traders came in with processed flour and sugar as trade items.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget the bugs!  Apparently chitin is tremendously delicious to cancer cells.

 

 

 

Ouch!  But true.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their bank accounts examined too.

 

 

 

 

I’ve only ever mounted Old Glory wherever I live.  That or the Gadsden flag.  If I can ever afford it I want to get a flagpole out, with the American flag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sons and daughters.

 

 

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

 

Cut & pasted verbatim from my Jarhead friend (will have a better selection on Friday):

 

This next section is all about the coming war in America.  Call it a civil war, or an invasion, or an insurrection, or whatever, but it’s coming:

I read this comment by Colin Powis on this article: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/02/what_trumps_retribution_really_means.html

and I think this is the most likely scenario if Trump gets re-elected:

Begin comment:

COLIN POWIS If Trumps avoids assassination (or a strange unexplained plane crash), and if he can get ”early mail in voting” banished from those six crucial swing states, and actually win the election, then the Dem gangsters will simply incite a real ”insurrection” on the streets in every blue or swing state . They’ll call out their defacto street militia with the BLM morons and make it clear to every recent “migrant” that Trump intends to deport them; they will form a diabolical street alliance to intimidate police and essentially control the streets of major cities, thereby giving the Dems the pretext they need to declare a national emergency and refuse to hand over power to a Trump government. The Dem gangsters would rather spark a civil war than ever have Trump as president again . This is the undeniable direction this is heading to. There could be two parallel governments at the same time and Trump’s first act as president could be to declare martial law and send in the National Guard to start shooting the leftist anarchists rioting in the streets. If Trump were to become President again, the first thing he’d need to do is close the border, then cut off all funding for the Fifth Column of migrants who have invaded the country.  Suddenly this is not just the specter of a civil war between blue and red, it’s a potential war against feral third world migrants with a sense of entitlement.  It wont take much for the Dem gangsters to incite them against conservative citizens and ”white supremacists ” who want to deport them.  In fact the recent Hamas surprise attack on Israel could be a blueprint for future Muslim/ Migrant attacks on Americans.

End Comment

The globalists have been planning the demise of America for a century or more, and we are in the end game now.  These elites (many in government) KNOW that they will be targeted by Trump and his administration, as well as any American Patriots in general.  THAT’s why they are fighting so hard to keep Trump out of the White House.  Like the above comment says, if by Divine miracle Trump actually gets re-elected in November, it would not surprise me if the Marxist’s start openly arming the 8 million to 30 million illegals, and (like it says above), telling them that if you don’t fight for us, you’ll be deported (at best) and maybe killed.  There’s a lot of time between the election in November and the Presidential swearing on January 20th, and these forces could very easily “set the country on fire” (maybe literally) to destabilize it.

Add to that the 400,000 (could be more) military aged males from China who snuck in through the southern border, so they are ALREADY here:

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20388/china-infiltrators-us

China, seeing an opening, could easily activate this army.  Imagine if just 1% of those Chinese infiltrators (that’s 4,000 active agents) start sabotaging our infrastructure*.  Bridges blown up, power grids shut down, water systems poisoned or shut off, banking systems collapsing, cell networks dead:

https://disswire.com/u-s-officials-chinese-hackers-are-planning-to-take-down-power-grid/

Is ANYONE in America prepared to fight on the scale these numbers are showing?  All of our military, even if you include the Coast Guard, the National Guard, and ALL the Reserves only make up about 4 million or so.  Law enforcement adds another 2-3 million, giving us MAYBE 7 million uniformed fighters, but that’s stripping ALL assets from our overseas bases and bringing them home.  And also assuming that our new “woke” military doesn’t just throw down their arms and surrender.  Some of them might join the leftists…

Even if our military fights FOR us, the only REAL hope we have is that  American Patriots who have guns will form militia’s and FIGHT BACK.  There are something like 120 million armed Americans, and about 1/2 of those are hunters, capable of dropping a game animal at 300+ yards with one shot.  But this is also why the globalists want to take our guns away, and restrict the formation of militia’s.  Figuring out ways to prepare for the coming war and save our country is what keeps me up at night.  Lately I’ve been working on “grid down” comms, and I’m currently studying to get my ham radio license.  What would you do if you woke up and the internet and all cell phones were dead?  Better think about it, as it may be closer than you expect.

Spicy time approacheth.  Find your steel.

 

 

* Added.  A paragraph from this essay.  Now, multiply that across the US.  Every. Major. City.

The scariest single conversation I’ve ever heard in my life was five Special Forces guys having a fun thought exercise about how they would bring a major American city to its knees. They picked Chicago, because it was a place they’d all been. It was fascinating, and utterly terrifying. And I’ll never ever put any of it in a book, because I don’t want to give crazy people any ideas. Give it about a week and people would be eating each other (and gee whiz, take one wild guess what the political leanings of most Green Berets are?).

Similar dinner conversation once, with a bunch of SWAT cops from a major American city, talking about how incredibly easy it would be to entirely shut down and utterly ruin their city, with only a small crew of dedicated individuals and about forty eight hours of mayhem and fuckery.

 

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

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

I know I’ve said this before, but… think of the power you desire.  Now imagine that power in the hands of your political opponent.

 

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

 

Palate cleansers:

 

 

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

 

Come back on Friday for more memes.  Same meme time.  Same meme channel.

 

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

 

The post Meme Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

TikTok Banned On Federal Phones Except Joe’s

Granite Grok - Wed, 2024-02-14 15:00 +0000

Joe Biden declined an offer from CBS to sit for the traditional Super Bowl interview with the President. This is the second year he has opted to pass on the tradition. To be fair, Trump passed on two Super Bowl interviews while in office. He claimed there was no way he would be given a fair and unbiased session. Biden knows he will be treated with kid gloves but cannot get through an unscripted interview without serious blunders. With Biden’s horrendous press conference last week after the release of the scathing Special Counsel Report, there was no way Biden’s staff would let him go in front of 100 million viewers. To do so would be political suicide. So, instead of appearing on CBS, Biden turned to X and TikTok to get his message out on Super Bowl Sunday.

Biden has lost his grip on just about every voting block. Seniors, Spanish, Blacks, Browns, Reds, Jews, and even women do not support Biden. The young voters are pulling for the Grandfather in the Oval Office because they still believe Biden will forgive their student loans. That is the group he was speaking to on Sunday by using X and TikTok. Let me take on the X reel first. Biden used this opportunity to record a defense of Bidenomics and blamed the industrial machine for taking advantage of consumers. He points to food items like chips, candy, and juice drinks as examples of companies shrinking product size rather than raising prices. He has coined this practice of Shrinkflation. This practice has been in play for years, and because you can only price certain items like snacks and drinks to a certain point. I went to a convenience store last week and bought a bag of potato chips, tortilla chips, and a jar of salsa. The total for the purchase was $17. I was ticked, but not at the store or even the vendor. I was ticked at Joe Biden, who has forced companies to raise prices or shrink sizes.

Joe Biden is an anti-business President. This is partly arrogant and primarily ignorant of economics. You cannot raise taxes, minimum wages, fuel, and utility prices and then blame the industry for increasing prices. Biden thinks he can force the industry to bring prices down. That is not the President’s or government’s role in a capitalist economy. Joe, you created this situation; now, as you say, grow a spine and own it. His X post came across as bitter and angry, not the image he needs to portray as America’s Grandfather.

The problem I have with the TikTok post is more about hypocrisy than content. Federal employees have been forced to remove TikTok from government phones or computers. But here is President Joe Biden using the TikTok platform to communicate with America’s youth. When Karine Jeanne-Pierre was questioned about Biden’s use of the Chinese-owned platform, she blew off the questioner, claiming this was Candidate Biden and not President Biden ranting on TikTok, so she could not discuss it further because of the Hatch Act. What a crock. Biden signed the bill banning federal employees from using TikTok. I don’t care if Papa Joe uses TikTok to sell his Corvette. He has no place anywhere near the CCP app. This is another example of a two-tier system where rules apply to all except the Bidens.

The post TikTok Banned On Federal Phones Except Joe’s appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

If You Are Tired of The Left’s Parentalism Call Them Out On It

Granite Grok - Wed, 2024-02-14 13:00 +0000

As advocates for inherent or inalienable, natural rights, the things government shall not infringe, we find the increasing censorship, the narratives about pre-bunking, misinformation, and disinformation … disqualifying characteristics for anyone pursuing public office. It is parentalism, and it needs to stop.

Parentalism is the government or its advocates insisting that you are incapable of something you do every day. Filtering out the truth from fiction, fact from fancy. The state and its allies (media, big tech) must protect you from content that might mislead you … into believing that they are the colluding, misleading, lying, censorious bastards bent on controlling you, your labor, your actions, and the way you are allowed speak and think.

Speech codes, compelled speech, blocking, suppressing, or limiting public expression should all be challenged when suggested or promoted.

Why do you think your constituents, the people, are too ignorant or too stupid to work through the facts on their own?

Better yet, what makes you, or those you’ve chosen or accepted for this task, better suited? If your voters are too stupid to know right from wrong, how could their representative be any better? You, by all rights, are a reflection of their will, and if they are too ill-informed to sift the news, you can’t possibly be much, if at all, more capable.

But you think you are, which makes you the more dangerous idiot because you are the reflection of them with government power, which you have demonstrated a keen interest in abusing.

The result is a system of governance that increasingly treats its people like children, from telling it what it can see or say to medical decisions and whether you even have rights at all and, if so, when and where.

Reinforcing this relationship by re-electing people who foment it will only make matters worse. And while there is a reasonable argument that we’re past being able to vote our way to clean election, you can still do it at the local level.

States have rights, and one of them is to tell the Feds to go to hell. It can refuse to enforce federal laws that contradict state law or the Constitution, and while that won’t always look the way we’d like (Hawaii denying 2nd amendment rights, for example), that culture is likely the only thing standing between you and tyranny from sea to rising sea.

They do not know better what is best for you, your family, friends, or the local community they were allegedly chosen to protect, but if you don’t call the parentalists in government, it will only get worse.

 

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Avoid These Common Mistakes When Investing in Crypto

Granite Grok - Wed, 2024-02-14 12:00 +0000

Even though the crypto market has cooled off a little since 2022, the public is still interested and investing in different digital currencies and stores of wealth. Crypto is an exciting investment and trading option that can be very lucrative. However, everything can be undone by simple mistakes that many people investing in cryptocurrencies, even those who have been doing it for some time, make.

Forgetting Password and Seed Phrases

Every crypto wallet requires a password to access. Forgetting your password means the crypto inside it becomes irrecoverable. Many wallets come with seed phrases that can help with recovery if you forget your password, but forgetting this too effectively means your cryptocurrency will be locked away forever.

The best thing you can do, besides creating a strong password, is to keep a copy of your seed phrase somewhere safe where no one else can access it and separate it from your wallet. Ideally, store it in a locked and protected folder on your computer or phone so it is inaccessible if a malicious actor gains access to your devices.

Not Taking Advantage of Available Access Options

The most common ways of accessing cryptocurrencies are through a website, software, or trading platform. But did you know there are additional physical options for doing the same? Options like the Tangem Bitcoin ring make it easy to pay for everyday items easily by tapping an NFC-enabled device.

You get the same convenience a card or cash affords you while enjoying the same security you would when accessing your accounts and funds through a secure website or software. The best thing is that these access options do not require constant access to the server, eliminating a common vulnerability point when paying with crypto.

Accessing Your Wallet On A Public Network

Even though network security has come a long way and man-in-the-middle attacks are not as common as they used to be, there is still a chance of someone intercepting your details when you access your wallet on a public network.

A good security measure is to never connect to a public network, whether accessing your crypto wallet or simply browsing the internet.

Not Knowing About The Latest Scams

Because of how many people do not know about crypto scams, users have lost billions of dollars in the past two years alone, with over $700 million stolen in 2021 alone. These scams can range from simple pump-and-dump schemes to more sophisticated phishing attacks. With phishing attacks, malicious actors can access your wallet to drain it or trick you into sending them crypto.

There are also scams where a legitimate-looking website asks you to log in and connect your crypto wallet to trade. If you give them permission to access your funds or act on your behalf, there is a significant chance you will lose everything in your account.

Cryptocurrencies are still relatively new for many people even though there is a lot of interest around them. Those new to this market are more likely to fall into known traps or make simple mistakes that can lead to huge losses. Knowing where the pitfalls are and what mistakes to avoid remains the best way to protect yourself and your crypto.

The post Avoid These Common Mistakes When Investing in Crypto appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Critical Race Theory: Flawed From the Start

Granite Grok - Wed, 2024-02-14 11:00 +0000

Racism is part of every culture and always will be, to some extent, part of the human condition. The issue is how we react to it, no different than the sexes.

The first source for a definition of CRT that I found was Britannica, which says, “critical race theory (CRT), intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category.”

The logic fails right out of the gate. I hate to tell you this, but race, ethnicity, and sex are biologically grounded features of physically distinct subgroups of human beings. We have always been taught that humans are different but all the same on the inside. That is the way it has been taught and the way it should be taught.

According to two of the founders of the new CRT, Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, “Races are products of social thought and relations. Not objective, inherent, or fixed, they correspond to no biological or genetic reality … races are categories that society invents, manipulates, or retires when convenient.”

This also goes beyond logic. Discrimination goes far beyond just that. Short and tall people, fat and skinny people, and intelligent and less intelligent people all have discrimination issues. In many cases, unconscious bias does not kick in until someone speaks or stands up, or in the case of the handicapped, when they can’t stand up.

And there is another group discriminated against, the “Physically Disabled” versus the “Physically abled.” These differences are clear and obvious and cannot be ignored. As Humans with the condition of being aware of differences, we need to learn to be accustomed to the differences and just live with them without prejudice.

Today we have people trying to overcome true science to deny differences in sex. It is scientifically impossible to change a person’s sex. As for living life as One, I am not religious, but if Adam, the first human male, and Eve, the first human female, did not see the differences, the human race would have ended there.

The post Critical Race Theory: Flawed From the Start appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Night Cap: Are we still the “Live Free or Die State”?

Granite Grok - Wed, 2024-02-14 03:00 +0000

We are slipping, folks. Most of us have been proud to live in the state with this distinctive motto. But, is that all it was meant to be…a motto? Let’s talk about this.

Last fall I noticed that convenience stores were scanning driver’s licenses for proof of age, whether you were obviously an octogenarian or not! Just the idea that anyone would want to look at my license to prove I am over 21 was, I thought, a good reason to always make a wise crack about it! For over a decade (maybe 2 or 3 decades…time is hard to gauge once you get just so old), I would be standing in line and seeing balding, very gray-haired men & women asking for their IDs at convenience chain stores. It appeared there was no sign of aging that would be enough proof that a body was of legal age, so ALL licenses must be viewed. Still, a corporation might have to look high and low for employees who could actually do the math when looking at the date of birth. (see how one problem – failure to educate – leads to another?)

Enter scanners. I just want to point out that there are much less expensive ways to enter the mm/dd/yy and have the age spit back. Suspicious Me believes the ability to collect data was a big selling point of these driver’s license scanning systems.

I have to allow that there could be a situation where the Department of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms or Liquor Commission inspectors might be hovering around these vendors, checking to see if IDs are being “thoroughly” checked. There is no doubt that safety and freedom are each a fraction of one whole. More safety means less freedom and vice-versa. Whether Ben Franklin said it or not, this quote is so true: “Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”

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

At the time I saw this and became alarmed, I had no idea how fast these scanning systems were being implemented throughout our communities. But, I was alarmed and I did begin a process to stop the use of scanners. See articles describing my experience here and here.

Since those articles were published, quite a few people have contacted me with their personal experiences of driver’s license scanning. Please understand that I realize how busy everyone’s lives are with work and families, and I am not admonishing those who did what they had to do just to get through the day…but…our freedoms are under attack, and we must notice when it is occurring, or we are at high risk of losing freedom.

The 1st step when someone appears to be stepping on one or several of your US Constitutional Rights…walk away if that is an option. Step 2: Do some internet searching or ask a State Rep. if your rights have been violated. Step 3: Keep notes and documentation as much as possible. Step 4: Begin to realize and use your power as a citizen of NH. Step 5: Use our legal system to begin to insist your rights be restored.

Remember, I thought this was a small problem that would be easy to point out and have our system fix the issue. Hopefully, that is the case most of the time, but always remember the truth in knowing “where there is smoke, there is often fire.” We can retain our right to “Live Free or Die” only with enough eyes and ears to guard against the slippery slope.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Bananas: Taylor Swift Wins First Super Bowl Championship & MVP

Granite Grok - Wed, 2024-02-14 01:00 +0000

It seems like she was just a fresh face out of high school only a short while ago, running up and down stadiums belting out feel-good hits about young love.  Today she is Taylor Swift, Super Bowl LVIII Champion.

After another long season wearing down her body, giving her all to her fans, Swift descended onto the field in Las Vegas for a shot at becoming the first female celebrity Super Bowl champion.  Her pre-game warm-up routine was lengthy and comprehensive, as many were questioning if she had the speed and stamina to play on the world’s biggest stage.  As if!

As has become common practice for Sunday warriors, Swift painted her face with dark black rings around her eyes, likely to intimidate her opponents, and bold red markings around her lips and mouth, evoking an almost savage cannibalistic visage sure to drain the blood from the hearts of the men she would soon destroy.  The famous trail of bodies she has left in her wake, notwithstanding last night’s carnage of masculine football hopefuls, was the thing of legends.  It takes a lot of balls to play in the NFL when you’re a 5’11” 107-pound female.  Luckily, she spent the night collecting them from the unlucky sacks on the field.

Early in the first quarter Swift led her team with an aggressive combo air-ground attack that had the San Fransisco 49ers defense guessing what would she do next?  Her usually electric touch turned to bad luck and bad blood as one of her supporting role players fumbled the ball, leading to a 49ers field goal and the early lead.  As the camera panned to the sidelines, she could be seen mouthing “I knew you were trouble” to the dejected receiver who would not return to the game.

Still in the first half Swift set out to score with the new guy on the field who uncharacteristically also came up short on a third down option-pass-read-delay-up-the-middle-Statue-of-Liberty-screen-fake-sweep-back-to-the-sideline-hot-route that had been working all season, however the Niner’s defense read it like an Hemingway novel and forced a punt.  Swift sat on the sideline with a blank space look on her face before coach Andy Reid told her to shake it off and get back in the game.  Moments later, her boyfriend Travis Kelce nearly knocked the coach over in a tirade for having not been in on the crucial third down play, prompting Swift to separate the two and telling Kelce what every emotionally charged lover needs to hear at a moment like that – “you need to calm down,” which he did immediately.

Trailing at the midway point, Swift, rather than watch the unusually tame half-time show featuring a mostly clothed Usher and friends, took the opportunity to motivate her team.  Taking responsibility for her less-than-stellar performance, she told them, “I did something bad,” before reminding them, “You belong with me.” This moment was like “our song,” finally asking them, “Are you ready for it?” repeatedly until she ran out of cliché song lyrics.

The third quarter began with a couple of streakers running out onto the field only to be apprehended by security.  Game analysts Tony Romeo and Jim Nantzipants had a good laugh, as we all know if you want to be on the field naked at the Super Bowl, you need to be part of the half-time show.

A long march down the field culminated in a score off a cleverly designed play called the getaway car, where Swift faked falling down injured, causing the field full of men to rush to her aid only to quickly pitch the ball to an undefended running back who scampered untouched into the end zone.  The mad genius of Andy Reid and his ability to manipulate the opposing team like a classroom full of children tied the game headed into the fourth quarter.

Attempting to mount a historic comeback reminiscent of Bud Light after they cut Dylan Mulvaney to bring Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith out of retirement, Swift marched her team across midfield before calling a read-option-sequin-dime-trap-curl-route-matrix-collarbone-shuffle-pass to the flat that led to yet another turnover.  The replay appeared to show her pass had been thrown behind the receiver who she was seen berating on the sidelines.  The cameras could see her telling her teammate, “Look what you made me do,” before walking away, muttering what appeared to be, “We are never ever getting back together.”  Heeeellls naw!

Needing a miracle, Swift headed up to the executive boxes, where some of her friends obliged by calling on the Prince of Darkness to stifle the 49ers, who had packed the stands with Bay Area faithful in the familiar environs of Sin City.  As they waved their spiritual gang signs furiously in the air, Swift could be seen slamming back a drink like the big boss lady she is before running back onto the field and sacrificing a live chicken to Molech.

The fourth quarter saw Swift single-handedly bringing her team back from the brink.  After wisely summoning demonic energy to tilt the odds in her favor, she literally ran over the backs of her linemen before throwing a pass to herself to tie the game.  Cameras panned to the celebrity fan box and caught a gape-mouthed Tom Brady jumping up and down in admiration of this gridiron goddess who was shredding his records like an FBI agent.

In overtime, the 49ers could only manage a field goal, which set the stage for Miss Tay-Tay to do the unthinkable.  After fielding the kick-off, she ran headlong into the heart of the 49ers’ special teams’ defense before breaking into a Siren-like song that mesmerized her tacklers and the stadium half-full of ex-boyfriends.  Then, in what appeared to be a series of laterals to herself, she galloped down the field doing cartwheels into the end-zone, winning her first Super Bowl of what fans believe will be many given the steady stream of league “talent.”   Following the game, she thanked black people for the month of February before giving herself the vaunted Lombardi Trophy.

An emotional and still single Tom Brady was seen openly weeping in the crowd.

The post Bananas: Taylor Swift Wins First Super Bowl Championship & MVP appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Senate Republicans Help Dems Bloat National Debt – Pass $95 Billion for Endless Wars

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 23:00 +0000

The state of your dollar just took another kick to the McNuggets. The US Senate has passed a 95 billion dollar “aid” package to the Military-industrial complex under the guise of supporting wars in Ukraine and Israel, planned war in Southeast Asia, and nothing for US Border Security.

On Feb. 4, the Senate unveiled the text of a bipartisan national security bill to provide aid to Ukraine during its war against Russia and Israel during its conflict with Hamas, along with border security provisions, though it was rejected by the body on Feb. 7 after Republicans deemed the latter provisions inadequate to mitigate illegal immigration. A new version of the bill, stripped of such provisions, was passed by the Senate on Tuesday at 6:37 AM by a vote of 70 yeas to 29 nays in extraordinary circumstances, after the Senate remained in session throughout the night.

Remember when Trump couldn’t get a few billion to finish the southern border wall? The same sort of deterrent Democrats use to protect their homes and neighborhoods. It’s pretty uninviting, a wall (it looks like we need one on the northern border now, too). And if you remind the world that we’re not an open door and will follow existing law, there is less incentive for third parties to pay for ships, busses, trains, and planes filled with third-worlders and move them to places from which they cannot advance into the US.

Alternately, even just one billion would provide travel costs to return a significant number of illegals loitering in local hotels, rec centers, airports, and street corners. Put them on a bus to the airport (unless they are living at the airport) and send them back, or – better yet – ship them to Geroge Soros’ home(s), Bill Gates Estate, and Barry Obama’s island mansion.

In Massachusetts, Boston City Councilwoman Julia Mejia is asking residents to open their homes to the invaders. She says it is a shared responsibility. No. Following the law is a shared responsibility, and the Biden administration and Democrat cities and states have been ignoring it for years. Now that they know what that looks like, they’d like to blame and burden you.

Councilwoman Julia Mejia, to the best of our knowledge, has not opened her home up to any illegals as the Democrat Administrations she supports (Boston, Massachusetts, and Biden) continue to violate the law to the detriment of actual citizens and taxpayers.

While in Congress, the people we elected to protect us from the government use it to destroy our savings and our nation.

I think Mr. Trump would have had this all worked out long ago by not blocking a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Biden did that. Back in 2022, his administration got Boris Johnson to convince Ukraine to bail on a peace deal that would have ended the conflict maybe tens of billions of US dollars ago and a lot of lost Ukrainian lives (for those of you still standing with Ukraine).

You’d be right to ask why.

 

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

House Gold Standard – February 15, 2024

N.H. Liberty Alliance - Tue, 2024-02-13 22:40 +0000

(white) goldstandard-02-15-24-H.pdf
(gold) goldstandard-02-15-24-H-y.pdf

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Senate Gold Standard – February 15, 2024

N.H. Liberty Alliance - Tue, 2024-02-13 22:40 +0000

(white) goldstandard-02-15-24-S.pdf
(gold) goldstandard-02-15-24-S-y.pdf

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Federal Commission To Propose Changes To Social Security

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 21:00 +0000

They can say it is bipartisan, which is rare in a Congress with a more secure boundary between the two Parties than our southern border. But I think you can also call it a Hail Mary when the proposed bill is sponsored by two Senators who have announced their retirement from public service.

Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) have joined forces and want to see the creation of a Fiscal Commission to review Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The House Budget Committee recently approved a bill that would form a 16-member fiscal commission to review the retirement program and others that face severe shortfalls. The House proposal was also bi-partisan.

The Social Security program has been in place since 1937 and is relied on by over 60 million seniors. Cuts to entitlement programs have always been considered the third rail of politics, but when you have already announced you are done, you may as well go out with a bang. With net worths of 300M and 10M, respectively, Romney and Manchin are far removed from people who rely on Social Security for $25,000 a year.

It amazes me to see how politicians can talk about cutting a program for people who worked their entire lives to qualify for Social Security, but you will never hear them cut Welfare or Snap programs. Except for Frank Siller and his Tunnels to Towers foundation, you never hear Washington bureaucrats address Veteran poverty or homelessness, but they will vote for more funding for Ukraine. Politicians want to form a commission to study cuts and changes to Social Security, but when did you hear one propose a plan to pay back the Social Security Fund the $3 Trillion the government has “borrowed” from it? Maybe Biden can forgive that debt so politicians never have to speak of it again.

Fiscal Commissions are not often used, but they are a way of negotiating essential programs for the American people with virtual anonymity. The hearings are held behind closed doors. A commission in 2010 recommended raising the minimum age for Social Security and cutting benefits, but Congress voted down both. The commissions do not write bills but develop recommendations for Congress to act on. Some say the reason for the current commission is to force Republicans to support tax increases to prevent cuts in entitlements. The proposal to form the commission has an air of extortion about it.

I want to propose a commission for Congress. It would study the end of omnibus bills filled with unnecessary pork projects to satisfy special interest groups and buy votes until significant progress is made to reduce our National Debt, which is now $33 Trillion. There would be a provision that there are no raises for Congress until every person in the military lives above the poverty level and no veteran is homeless. There will be no more money or benefits given to illegal migrants until Congress eliminates Congressional pensions. I think the chances of any of my plans getting support are nonexistent, but they show how messed up our priorities are in Washington.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

No Farms No Food

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 19:00 +0000

Stalin called the “farmers” enemies of the state. By expropriating them, the state took over food production, and 7 million Russians starved to death.

100 years later, the globalists, EU, WHO, and WEF are opening war on the farmers. But the farmers are protesting en mass. Why and how does this affect us in the United States? They have already implemented similar laws on CO2 and nitrogen here by way of the “green New Deal.”

Our neighbors in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and Canada have already started a Carbon credit system better known as the Carbon Tax.

Right here in NH the EPA has a stranglehold on many communities with their nitrogen limits. The gentrification of NH has brought many here because of the rural environment. Yet, we are losing land and farms every day that will never come back. Only a decade ago, the open space committees in NH towns saw the benefits farms have to the environment and the beauty of our state. Today, they want to end open space in favor of 15-minute densely populated cities by developing open space into housing.

In Massachusetts, they are mapping housing “suitability” starting along the “T” train lines. Decarbonizing Methods in Vermont will work to eliminate livestock.

Just how much will it take for a revolt here?

The EU adopted rules that put a stranglehold on farmers without a thought or care of the repercussions. Backed up against a wall, farmers are revolting. They are moving large amounts of manure and refuse to the cities with tractors. They are starting fires and blocking roads. What the elites did not count on was a bunch of pissed-off farmers with heavy equipment and lots of manure.

In 2022 the trucker convoy on Canada showed us how fragile the economy is and dependent on trucking. Many truckers are still in jail, the Canadian government froze bank accounts and go fund me accounts to benefit the truckers. The government promised the Canadians help but never delivered. The trucks and tractors are ready to roll on April 1 2024. This time, the farmers are joining in the protest against the new carbon tax.

The revolt in the EU (European Union) started in the Netherlands. In 2019, the EU and the Netherlands government went on an all-out war on their own farmers. A report released by Prime Minister Johan Remkes, titled “Not everything is possible,” sparked fear as the farmers did not know if their land would be taken by force, and it was not clear how the government restrictions and buybacks would affect their livelihoods. This started the farmers’ revolt.

Signs displayed by people, “No farmers, no food, how dairy you, proud farmer,” were displayed.

The harsh implications from their government and the climate czars, forced many to take to the cities in their diesel tractors and trucks. The primary government targets are CO2 and nitrogen. It wasn’t clear until the government report put the lion share of the blame on dairy farmers who, according to the EU, were responsible for 80% of nitrogen pollution, yet the percent of dairy farms as a business in the Netherlands is only 1%. Farmers had reduced nitrogen emissions 2/3 since 1990, decided the levy broke.

Hundreds of Dutch farmers signed up to close their livestock farms under the new scheme. The EU has approved a €1.5 billion scheme to buy out Dutch farmers and reduce nitrogen emissions, also known as the “Nitrogen Wars.” They are blaming the water quality on the pesticides used in farming. The EU classified land under the “Natural 2000” document, which includes vast farming lands of France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium, has brought this issue to the forefront. Farming in the Netherlands has decreased by 50% since 1960, and before the EU is done, many more will succumb to the pressures. The protest has started again in the Netherlands in 2023.

Here in NH, the EPA has a stranglehold on towns along the Great Bay watershed with a restrictive contract each town has to sign that has to do with nitrogen from stormwater runoff. They don’t know if stormwater runoff is causing increased nitrogen in Great Bay!? But there is no increased nitrogen in Great Bay, according to NHDES data.

The Municipal Alliance for Adaptive Management (MAAM) is researching why the ell grass and snails are in decline and, at this time, does not have a clue. But a rain tax, aka stormwater utility, will fix everything. This disconnect will erode our NH way and make way for further gentrification, which adds further risks to our ecosystem. Each property is assigned a number generated by UNH from grants. See the Web link for your town and property impact. This will be used to “tax” everyone for Total Surface Solubles (TSS), which includes nitrogen and phosphorus. The more land and impervious surfaces you have, the greater the number or impact. Farms are vulnerable due to large tracts of land and pole buildings. There are no exemptions.

Not every EU country is protesting about nitrogen, other factors such as the EU end of subsidies for diesel and buying cheaper food from Ukraine rather than countries in the EU. Billions of European money have gone to Ukraine for food that can be produced within each EU country, yet European farmers saw their income decrease by 12% between 2022 and 2023, according to a report from the insurer “Allianz Trade.” French farmers are those whose income has fallen the most, with -a 22% income over one year.

The Irish farmers are going out of business in favor of Brazilian food farmed on lands taken from developing the Amazon. Large companies manufacturing food and fake meat production in Ireland are reportedly considering killing 200,000 cows in the country to meet the European Union’s climate CO2 targets. The government is actually offering money to cull herds and help the planet. Irish farmers are now protesting their government. Check out an Irish Documentary of what it will be like in 2050! Farmers making Fake milk, growing bugs.

The EU is feeling the pressure according to the BBC, on February 6 head of the European Commission, “Ursula von der Leyen, has announced plans to scrap a proposal halving pesticide use across the EU. Von der Leyen also said the issue of pesticide use had not gone away and that further conversations would be needed before a new proposal to reduce them could be put forward. Tuesday’s announcement that it is being scrapped has been welcomed by some, including the European farmers’ lobbyist COPA-COGECA. Like farmers elsewhere, they demand more flexibility from the EU, tighter controls on the produce of non-EU countries, and more help from their government. But not all farmers, organic farmers, in particular, are in favor of the COOS-COGECA position on NGTs (nongenomic techniques).

The majority of European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favor of weakening biosafety requirements for NGTs but also to maintain traceability of NGTs all along the production and the possibility for national coexistence measures to protect organic agriculture,” said Jan Plagge, president of IFOAM Organics Europe, after the vote. The vote by MEPs is full of contradiction as it acknowledges some major issues associated with NGTs deregulation but fails to provide concrete solutions and would leave farmers and breeders exposed to the corporate takeover of genetic resources through patents.”

Largely ignored, the revolt is only getting worse since the EU and their green agenda, decided to give millions to Ukraine, that not in the EU and send a message that the “peasants” don’t matter. The EU called them a “noisy” outrage. But did nothing help to solve critical problems.

Farms are an easy target for the globalists, WEF, WHO climate agenda. Their plans to end pesticides have failed and will be reconsidered again. The push to eliminate nitrogen and CO2 will cripple traditional farming as both are necessary to grow food and feed livestock. When did farms become the devil? Will the EU stand by their decision and continue to support Ukraine over their own countries? Will they make “pie crust” promises to the farmers? Will this be the beginning of the end of the EU? Time will tell…while the farmers in Europe struggle. But the Ukraine laundry is doing great! So strange they punish farmers and not pesticide companies!? Lots of questions…

Tractor protests spotted in:

Netherlands
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Spain
France
Belgium
Portugal
Lithuania
Greece
Holland
Scotland
Slovakia
Slovenia
Latvia
Bulgaria
India
Romania
(And now the UK)

To be fair, nitrogen is a good/evil element. As are all our “elements,” They cannot answer the basic question, which is “How low can you go before we destroy our ecosystem”? Our industrial evolution has compounded many by-products of nitrogen that are not good. It is true that farming and pesticides can cause erosion and pollution, yet farmers have learned to maximize crops and avoid disaster. Buffer zones maintain runoff to filter excess nitrogen before release into streams and swales.

Farmers are not in the business of “raping” the land as the globalists claim. The land is their livelihood, and they adapt and use BMPs. Livestock farming gets a bad rap, C02 cow farts, methane and nitrogen are all byproduct of modern farming. The largest being manure. Farmers have learned to maximize the waste back into fertilizer returned to the earth. Methane, in some cases, is used to generate electricity. Nitrogen runoff is, at best, minimal.

The issue affects us all and is not limited to Europe. They’ll have us eating bugs and liking it if we allow it.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Beware The Woke Politics of the Rockefeller Institute’s “After Party Bible Study”

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 17:00 +0000

Allie Beth Stuckey of the Blaze Media Group and Megan Basham, culture reporter for the Daily Wire, discussed a recently marketed Bible Study that portrays itself as Christian Centrist with the goal of fostering Christian humility at the ballot box.  Sounds great, right?  Only it’s backed by long-time Planned Parenthood and LGBTQ funder The Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

The name Rockefeller was ubiquitous with American industrial success around the turn of the 20th Century, with its patriarch John D. Rockefeller amassing enough wealth to be called the richest man in the world at one point as he sat atop Standard Oil.  He would use his largesse to not only develop the modern-day pharmaceutical industry but also cunningly put money into tax-sheltered philanthropic foundations, which allowed his family to massively affect American society.

One of his pet projects was then nascent Planned Parenthood at a time when eugenics was becoming popular.  Eugenics is the practice of selective breeding in order to genetically improve the quality of the human race.  However, in the hands of racists, this can mean fewer people from racial groups they don’t like.  His champion, Margaret Sanger, has since been outed for her secretly stated goal to reduce “the negro” population as well as other undesirables, or as Sanger award winner Hillary Clinton might say, “basket of deplorable.”  They continue to get funding, and though they’ve walked back their connection to its founder, Planned Parenthood still aborts black babies at a disproportionate rate nationally.

RPA also has given large amounts to the LGBTQ movement over the years and, in many ways, can be credited for its expansion.  Their purse strings are long and deep, giving to a variety of causes, some $500 million per year to 70 countries.  No longer content to influence American society, the Rockefeller mission is global.  How global?  They also donated the land to the United Nations, and its latest heir, David Rockefeller, bragged about his plan to dissolve America in favor of a global one-world government.

So churches should keep this in mind as the new After Party bible study is marketed far and wide.  Mrs. Basham informs us the packaging is pretty, and the message appears benign and even responsible, but the first red flag is who is behind it. Having sat through the study, she warns not to be fooled by the many platitudes and slogans continually repeated, notably in the absence of scripture.  She noted on more than one occasion, the not-so-subtle message was “voting Democrat is Christian,” even using images of pro-life sign holders as the narrator warns some people may be certain about their views but simply aren’t because Christianity is apolitical, while also being ironic apparently.

Also raising red flags are Curtis Chang, David French, and Russell Moore, all Big Evangelical names with squishy liberal middle sections.  Chang and French were vocally pro-vaccine to the point of even coercing Christians to take it under threat of killing their neighbor if they didn’t.  Moore, once head of ethics for the Southern Baptist Convention, has been found to promote Critical Race Theory and denounce those who don’t.  All three were or are vocally anti-Trump, claiming he has become a false idol while pretending to be apolitical.

This is the group that has packaged a slick new study intended to manipulate the Christian vote prior to the election and positions themselves as having no political motivation while quietly whispering to conservatives, “Did God really say?” (insert conservative Christian political view here).

The watchtower calls for watchmen, however needing as many as we can get we owe a thanks to these courageous sisters for standing on guard as the enemy of the church continues to masquerade as an angel of light and political diplomacy.

 

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Before You Start Shouting About COVID, Midazolam, and Mass Murder …

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 15:00 +0000

I recently woke to a slew of links to reports suggesting that the UK government had euthanized thousands of elderly patients with the drug Midazolam, reporting the deaths as COVID-related for obvious nefarious purposes. After some research, I doubt it.

The assumption is based on statistical data showing a spike in administered doses that coincide with early deaths among elderly care patients (here is the relevant preprint). I don’t doubt there was a spike but as little respect as I have for the Medical Industrial Complex post-COID-response, we should avoid the desire to jump to conclusions. That is, after all, the hallmark of both Pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical intervention failures in response to COVID.

COVID is the flu. The flu kills the old and frail. There is no doubt that the COVID response resulted in countless unnecessary deaths and that far too many people making those decisions or enforcing them against better judgment are responsible. The problem with the Midazolam mass-murder conspiracy theory is that the drug “can legitimately be used for patients who have terminal restlessness or respiratory distress.”

Midazolam and Morphine are used to allow patients to tolerate active treatment e.g. high flow oxygen, by managing their symptoms (which were overwhelming). These medications, if used appropriately, aid symptom management. Systematic reviews have shown no respiratory suppression and no hastening of death due to sedative medications.

In preparation for the arrival of the virus, care home residents were asked whether they wanted to be admitted to hospital should they catch SARS-CoV-2 and develop COVID-19. As the only treatment for the frail was oxygen, many said they would rather not be admitted. Consequently, if a resident who had expressed a wish to remain in the care home subsequently deteriorated and was felt to be dying,  midazolam prescriptions, along with prescriptions for painkillers and anti sickness medications, were written in anticipation of these being needed.

Given the large number of people who died of a respiratory disease in April 2020, it is unsurprising that higher numbers of Midazolam prescriptions were written during that period. However, an increase in prescriptions does not necessarily equate to an increase in drugs actually administered to or taken by patients.

Armed with this legitimate medical application as a possible explanation, I went looking for support for or against the notion and landed on Dr. Pierre Kory’s substack.

The seeming perception of policy makers that they were in a mass casualty when it appears they were not led the care home residents to die of Covid at needlessly excessive rates due to lack of access to hospital support devices. Which then led to many developing severe breathlessness in the home with the only available care options to be those of “comfort meds.” It seems the reason why they put in a medication protocol as part of their policies, is that they knew they would be needed as a result of insufficient hospital capacity with inability to make available the use of non-invasive and invasive ventilators and high-flow oxygen devices.

Dr. Kory cites a number of missteps that we’ve come to know well as responsible for needless excess deaths. Many of us know people who got severe illnesses and ended up victims of protocol, not so much from the virus. Malfeasance and misfeasance were rampant.

More from Dr Kory.

Further, these policies likely explain so many of the troubling reports by patients and their families of being denied care and thus causing the premature death of patients. But again, I believe (although I was not there, I have read some of the investigations into what happened) that it was the policies that caused the excess deaths, not the meds (although I suppose one could argue there is little difference given that the meds were part of the policy, but I personally do see a distinction – the meds were secondary, albeit an unfortunate and ugly part of the whole mess in that early wave). …

But?

But again, although terrible actions were taken by some providers out of fear and confusion as to what the “right” thing to do was, I cannot ascribe the intent of murder or euthanasia systematically to a population of health care providers. Although I, like many others, recognize that individual providers in certain situations may have “lost their minds”,, a.k.a “ethical bearings” and thus may have actually committed those acts out of some combination of ethical ignorance and fear but I refuse to accept they did it out of malice.

Mistakes were made. A lot of them, with mortal consequences. This is not an effort to dismiss those. We continue to stand behind our past reporting, but this analysis about Midazolam being deliberately used to murder the elderly before we really even knew what we were dealing with reeks of a counter-intelligence media trap set to ensnare people so embedded in the anti-globalist agenda that they can’t help but repeat it.

More likely, it is hyperbolic clickbait, but there is a medical/treatment explanation for its use, specifically in the UK, where socialized medicine has, for decades, crippled access to care. In other words, the killer in this story is not Midazolam. It is the system that so ruined itself that a spike in comfort drugs was the best they could do, and while people died, the drugs were not administered to kill them.

They died because of the system, not the medication (in this case). At least, that’s how this looks from where I sit.

You are, of course, encouraged to disagree.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Reminder: Can’t Predict Snowfall a Few Days in Advance, But a Few Years From Now … Doom!

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 13:00 +0000

Schools and Businesses all over New Hampshire announced they would be closed this morning. WMUR shows 78 of them as of 6 am ET. Why? The promise of snowmageddon. A storm that might have dumped up to a foot of white stuff. Also, as of 6 am, we’re getting NoMageddon – less than an inch.

Doctors’ offices, dentists, schools, the list is very diverse. They acted and reacted to forecasts predicting significant snowfall. They canceled appointments, procedures, screening, and classes. The meteorologists had plenty to say, but every report did note that they were watching the storm track and that totals could change.

They did.

The system moved so far south in just two days that southern New Hampshire no longer expects more than a coating to an inch of snow today. But, a few days ago, most of New Hampshire was getting snow, with southern New Hampshire looking at the potential for significant accumulation. Or not. The computer models couldn’t get the facts right on that short runway, but we’re expected to take as gospel model predictions decades or centuries from now.

Can you blame us for being skeptical?

The repeated failure to predict local weather accurately. Climate cultists wearing The End is Near sandwich boards have not gotten anything else right, as none of their cataclysmic predictions has come to pass. Third, there is a lot of money changing hands, much of it ours, to keep this false fearmongering alive. Fourth, the whole cabal of climate catastrophists supports a political agenda to control energy, economics, and human activity.

Activity that came to a standstill at businesses and schools around New Hampshire today is based on another prediction that didn’t come true.

The earth’s climate is far too complex for mere mortals or their computer models – even the ones trying to be honest – to predict. They’ve managed passable scores in the short term, but even those, like today, can be wildly inaccurate.

No amount of technology can surpass the fact that they are guessing, and time and distance make this fortune-telling more prophesy than science.

The only thing the long-range modelers can know is what will get them more funding, and that’s political science, not actual science.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Taxpayers Are Tired of Paying for Other People’s Mistakes

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 11:00 +0000

It appears that Aldermen Dowd and most of the rest of the Board of Aldermen for the City of Nashua think that the Nashua taxpayers have very deep pockets.

The City of Nashua residents must remember that the city received a total of $44,453,420 in ESSER funds from 2020-2022. That Aldermen Dowd states the ESSER funds were short is a total lie. It seems that the Nashua School District spent the money on other things.

A resident should also remember that ALL of this money only went to public schools, and none went to private/charter schools. Maybe some of the money should have gone to the private schools because they would have tracked the funds that were received accurately.

Currently, the Nashua School budget is $176,664,951, with school bonds totaling $133,011,500 for a grand total of $309,676,451. This is for the lowest enrollment in public schools and in educational scores in the last ten years. Maybe this is why the School District could not keep track of all the money they received.

Last week Aldermen Dowd gave an explanation on the ESSER funds that the City of Nashua received that was appalling. Aldermen Dowd told the board and the public that the city was short on ESSER funds by $4.5 million dollars. Aldermen Dowd said no problem, the School district spent the ESSER funds on other things however that is the school district problem and not the Nashua taxpayer problem.

School officials will just have to cut their spending down by $4.5 million dollars in other places. And whoever made this mistake needs to be fired now. A $4.5 million dollar mistake is no small matter, and someone needs to be held accountable.

Second, if a roofing company gave the City of Nashua a quote to do the two roofs, that is the figure that the Nashua taxpayers should pay. If the roofing company did not realize that there were already two roofs that needed to be removed and now wants to charge the Nashua taxpayers an additional $2 million to remove the old roofs, then maybe taxpayers should not be using them because it appears that they are NOT qualified.

Please stop being so free with the Nashua taxpayer’s money and start holding people accountable for their mistakes.

Nashua residents need to voice their opinions with Aldermen Dowd and other board members. Please send an email to them at boa@nashuanh.gov and tell them that the Nashua taxpayers are tired of paying for other people’s mistakes.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

What Does Emmys Snub Of “Blue Bloods” Say

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 09:00 +0000

There is only one show on network television that I have watched and have for years. Fortunately, thanks to DVRs and streaming services, I have not had to park in front of a television every Friday night for the last 14 years. Blue Bloods has been a constant for over a decade because it is a rarity.

It is quality acting, with great storylines, favorably portrays the police, and has strong family values. For a primetime show with a lengthy history, Blue Bloods has only been nominated for one Emmy, and that was for a stunt performance. No actor has ever been recognized for their work. Why?

I remember years ago reading about why Tom Selleck joined the CBS show. He was brought to tears by the script of the pilot show and wanted to be a part of what he saw as a quality TV series. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that nearly every show has given me wet eyes. Apparently, 15 years later, Blue Bloods still touches Selleck more than just a TV series. Most of the characters on the show have grown up before our eyes, and some have died. This show is a model of quality and consistency in an industry that lacks both. So why the snub by the Emmys? There appear to be many, and none of them are justified.

  • Blue Bloods has had consistently high ratings, especially for the Friday night time slot. One of the problems is the age of the audience. The 18-49 age group is not home watching TV on Friday nights. The show is a success, but it is just not popular with the younger set.
  • The show’s creators, Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green, were fired from the hit show The Sopranos. This blemish may have harmed Blue Blood’s chances for industry recognition.
  • Two female characters, Jennifer Esposito, who played Detective Jackie Curatola, and Amy Carlson, who played Linda Reagan, were both “killed” off the show under questionable circumstances, which may have cast shadows on the show by insiders.
  • The Catholic League had always supported the show because of its strong family values but had a change of heart when one of the show’s storylines hinting the Catholic Church was “behind the times” regarding its positions on homosexuality. The episode also featured a cardinal struggling with his sexual identity and a nun who admitted being a lesbian. These views were not received well by the industry.
  • Some think Blue Bloods is too pro-police in a time when the police are not in the brightest of lights with the radical left that has deep ties with the entertainment industry.
  • Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynihan, and other cast members may have gotten gun permits to carry in New York because of their connection with the show. This preferential treatment doesn’t sit well with some.

Most of these possible reasons seem petty for a show with such success and longevity, but not surprising in an industry so shallow. Fortunately, millions of viewers like me are not hooked on the show because of awards but for the quality of the show. Maybe there is a message there. Not everyone needs a trophy to live a quality life. Just being good at what you do should be enough.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Night Cap: You Voted for Joe Biden – What’s Wrong With You?

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 03:00 +0000

I had some thoughts about the person that occasionally (rarely?) sits behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office. The man can’t seem to find his way onstage. He has difficulty making it to the podium. He appears to shake hands with people who aren’t on the stage.

He frequently speaks to or about people who aren’t there—because they’re dead (e.g., Francois Mitterrand, who died in 1996, Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, or Rep. Jackie Walorski who died before a conference that she had convened).

He just spoke of asking President Lopez Obrador of Mexico to open the gate between Gaza and Israel. He continues to repeat tall tales about various events that have been fact-checked as false. He slurs words together.

When he is finally done. he can’t find his way off of the stage. Does he seem OK to you?

The latest buzz? The report about the classified documents about Afghanistan and Ukraine found in cardboard boxes in Mr. Biden’s garage and in his office at the Penn Biden Center. As Mr. Biden was the vice-president or a senator at the time, he was not legally allowed to declassify and retain those documents.

Will he be indicted? Per special counsel Robert Hur—no. Why?

Mr. Hur noted that Mr. Biden’s memory was so poor that he couldn’t remember when he was vice president or when his son Beau died, among other things. Mr. Hur stated that Mr. Biden would be a sympathetic elderly defendant and a jury wouldn’t convict. Not that AG Garland would actually issue an indictment against his buddy. C’mon, man

Are you still planning to vote for this person as president of the United States?

The post Night Cap: You Voted for Joe Biden – What’s Wrong With You? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

HB1002 and Bribery: Give us Some Cash and We Might Share Some Documents You Already Paid For…

Granite Grok - Tue, 2024-02-13 01:00 +0000

Charging residents for government transparency (see HB1002) increasingly sounds like a bribe to me. Yes, we created these documents at your expense, but if you want to see them, you’ll need to slip us a little cash. It might be a lot of money; we’ll let you know.

The bill passed, was reconsidered, then did not pass but did not fail. It has been rushed back to the Judiciary Committee for emergency resuscitation. The goal of its sponsors [(Prime) Kuttab (R), Michael Cahill (D), Ball (R), Maggiore (D), Ankarberg (R), DeSimone (R), Dunn (R), Nelson (R), Bill Boyd (R), Edwards (R), Grassie (D), Carson (R), Gannon (R), Watters (D), Lang (R), Avard (R)], all of whom have put the state before the people (IMO), is to rearrange the words until it passes the NH House.

The buzz suggests easy passage in the Senate (like sh!t through a goose), and Gov. Sununu signing it seems likely, so this bilking citizens is a wholly endorsed project of the Republican Party.

They are making public document access and, therefore, government accountability a potential hardship.

Ua Nemhnainn, commenting on an earlier article about HB1002, observed that Article 8 of the NH constitution clearly states that “the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted.

The only remaining argument against my … points is possibly over the word ‘unreasonable’ in Art. 8. If a fee would impact even a single citizen from accessing government records, it is unreasonable. Overall, this bill would have a chilling effect on low-income and ordinary citizens even making requests, as they would have no way to know ahead of time if they would suddenly be charged $25 or $300 for a request.

This is a point we’ve also made, but Ian Underwood added a new dimension to the conversation – as we expected he would – by pointing out that the system we have without the need for bribes (my words, not his) has things backward from go.

The problem with the current RTK setup is that you have to already know there’s a problem before you can start looking into it. If you want to find the problems, you have to be able to look at everything.

Actual transparency would require towns, municipalities, school districts, and agencies to make all documents that could be subject to an RTK available online as soon as they have been created. That would include all official emails, all RFPs, all bills, all correspondence… everything.

That’s what a Right to Know (RTK) law would require. What we have now is a Right to Ask (RTA) law, which is a very different kind of thing.

We have a “right to ask” but not a right to know, to which the HB1002 sponsors and supporting members of the legislature would like to add a fee, fine, tax, or, as I’ve now suggested, a bribe.

Yes, you can ask, but before you can know, we’ll need some as-yet-to-be-determined sum of money upon whose payment we may then provide the documents we think you requested (if they get it wrong, you’ll likely have to grease their palms again).

All we’re missing is a muscly gold-chain-adorned leisure suit-wearing guy named Vinnie the fixer and a shadowy alley reeking of garbage and piss.

 

 

The post HB1002 and Bribery: Give us Some Cash and We Might Share Some Documents You Already Paid For… appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

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