Monday • November 25 • 2024
Vol.XVI • No.XLVIII
Manchester, N.H.
To whom it may concern: On February 5, 2024, the news site “In Depth New Hampshire” (for whom I have a great deal of respect – so this is not leveled at them as I believe they were unaware) published a “News Release” entitled “What to do about teen dating violence.”
At the end of the news release was a link to the NHCADSV website and a number to text.
The photograph used at the head of the article is linked to “Love is Respect,” which is another non-profit. You can look up their ad campaigns easily online and see that they launch these every year and that the “news release” in In Depth is essentially a repeat of an advertising campaign that goes back to at least 2019.
The teens in the photograph at the head of the article wear T-shirts in a certain shade of blue and a certain shade of yellow/gold, with pants in blue and grey, respectively. These are models for an advertisement.
My research indicates that this article is not a “news release” but a piece of branded content/advertising tied to the Democratic Party fundraising via NNEDV and NHCADSV, whose director of public affairs is Amanda Grady Sexton, listed on Opencorporates.com as a director of Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s re-election campaign committee. Senator Shaheen is in charge of the U.S. Senate committee, which obtains VAWA grants for NH.
I believe money is raised from engagement in the article and clicks on the links with a partnership to Target , possibly who have partnership campaigns for non-profits and pay 8% (per their partnership site) back to their partners). I believe that the fact that the article was published by In Depth will be used by the promoters as an “endorsement” for the ad campaign and non-profits and advertisers involved.
I believe that the clothing worn by the models in the photograph is available at Target or a partner retail shop for the campaign. I believe that the coloring of the rainbow in the photo is also carefully picked to market to teenagers. Articles on Researchgate by Sharyn Potter of UNH partnered with the NHCADSV talk about social media campaigns and making them more realistic to students.
Chessy Prout, NH State Witness in NH v Owen Labrie, did an ad campaign for Target as a “Survivor” for the non-profit “Vital Voices” tied to the Clinton Foundation, which is represented for PR by SKDK (a Democratic Campaign PR company) who also represent “Its On Us” which she has stated she worked with before the criminal trial of NH v Owen Labrie. “It’s On Us” is tied to Blue Crab Strategies and Civic Nation, which is headed by Valerie Jarrett, who was Obama’s Chief of Staff, and headed “Not Alone,” which was strategically tied to UNH PIRC and Sharyn Potter. UNH PIRC is tied to NHCADSV, whose legal counsel includes David Vicinanzo – a Clinton appointee, and Shaheen & Gordon, whose founding partner ran Hillary Clinton’s 2007/8 campaign and her 2016 SuperPac.
“It’s On Us” joined NHCADSV, NHCADSV, Amanda Grady Sexton, NNEDV, Congresswoman Ann Kuster in a social media and phone campaign in July 2019 to block ABC /GMA from airing an interview between Amy Robach and Owen Labrie. They used the #SurvivorsOverRatings, for which I believe there were financial kickbacks from advertising partners to the organizations (including NHCADSV and NNEDV, who are tied to this “Love is Respect” campaign) involved.
At the time the interview should have aired, the class action lawsuit Rapuano & Does v Dartmouth Board of Trustees was in mediation. The PR for the suit was paid for by Times Up/NWLC – another client of SKDK like Its On Us. Congresswoman Kuster supported the suit. NHCADSV were financial beneficiaries of the settlement. They received what appears to be $2.865 million. That money appears to have gone towards Every Voice Matters Coalition, which is part of Its On Us, which is part of Civic Nation and therefore a fundraiser for the Democratic Party.
One of the attorneys who led the suit is Steven J. Kelly Esq, who lobbied the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for A Survivors Bill of Rights in May 2015. Senator Jeanne Shaheen introduced this in 2016 when it passed. Kelly had been introduced to Chessy Prout by Laura L Dunn (an advisor to the WH “Not Alone” task force and a protege of Vice President Joe Biden), who had been recommended by Concord PD Julie Curtin, whose budget to investigate NH v Owen Labrie had been approved by the City of Concord Public Safety committee chaired by Amanda Grady Sexton on Senator Shaheen’s campaign committee.
Amanda Grady Sexton co-authored a guide to Pretrial publicity with Steven J. Kelly, who was on the board of directors for the National Crime Victims Law Institute, which published the guide, recognized Laura L Dunn as a “partner spotlight” in 2014, recommended Amanda Grady Sexton to Gordon MacDonald and/or Congresswoman Ann Kuster and recognized Concord PD, Julie Curtin. Early in the trial, Laura L Dunn announced that her client (later known as Chessy Prout) was a “Survivor.”
The exclusive TV coverage had been granted to WMUR, whose political director is married to Amanda Grady Sexton, who attended the trial to keep tabs on the media (per Concord Monitor) and who acted as a go-between between the Prout family and the Prosecutor (per Chessy Prout) and as the person who shaped the media for police, prosecutors and civil attorneys (per her own bio).
Political advertising that is not stated as such is deceptive and dangerous for parents and families. The NHCADSV news release is deceptive political advertising.
I trust you will take action and force the NHCADSV to be more transparent about its “news releases” and to admonish those involved in deceptive practices of using “news releases” for political agendas.
Thank you.
This is an email from Clair Best to the NH AG and a number of other recipients, including Nancy West (In-Depth NH).
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Vermont Democrats banned militias last year, which we observed was an odd departure given that the state existed because of one. Comrade Ed Markey (D- MA), following Vermont’s lead, though it is more likely a shared totalitarian itch they have to scratch, has offered up legislation to ban “militias” nationwide.
The bill seeks to limit most militia activity, creating criminal penalties for people who engage in certain conduct, including intimidating elected officials, interfering with government proceedings, and pretending to be law enforcement.
Alert, Warning, Danger Democrat Will Robinson, Danger!
I’m not sure why I have to say this at all about the political Left intimidates elected officials every day and government officials often. I can’t imagine they’ve not thought of that, which is why that was not the reason from my headline. Democrats don’t follow laws, and they don’t take them to limit themselves or their advocates, but Markey is playing with fire. Any immediate challenge to the bill, should it become law, and it will get challenged should that happen, would have a difficult time surviving even a constructionist reading of the Second Amendment.
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
You might argue, given the deliberate words in the Second Amendment, that it exists to prevent Ed Markey and Democrats from banning militias or anything the government decides has the appearance of one. The Left has also gone to great lengths, for as long as they’ve been able, to argue that local National Guard units are what is meant by militia, but that makes no sense. A free state cannot protect itself from an overreaching tyranny with garrisoned National “troops,” even if they are constituted of locals. The word ‘National’ suggests fidelity to the general government, not the states.
The states ratified the constitution to restrain the national government in the interest of their freedom from it. It is, therefore, contrary to suggest that the security of a free state, in the form of a militia, can in any way be confused with a national guard. Or perhaps it can, but given the plain language of the Amendment and the fact that every other right of the people is individual, a Supreme Court-level challenge seems unlikely to survive this – if it even has to go that far to get turned away.
Not that I’m laying my hopes upon judges to protect the natural rights of self-defense and, by extension, an association or assembly or peaceful but armed citizens (is not a militia potentially protected by the First Amendment as well?).
Ian will have plenty of excellent thoughts about it, I hope, so we’ll leave the rest to comments, but I have to think that someone smarter than Ed Markey will have a “New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York” moment. The City, after realizing what it was likely in for in the highest court, changed the law to make the case moot.
This, I think, could be like that.
Markey is looking to take a big bite out of something he and his party may not be able to chew it.
S.3589, by the way, was announced on January 6th in response to an alleged insurrection in which none of the protesters was armed. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 16th, where it sits, like a companion bill in House HR6981.
S.3589 has only one co-sponsor in the Senate. The House version has eleven co-sponsors.
The post Ed Markey’s Bill to Ban “Militias” Nationwide Could Backfire in a Big Way appeared first on Granite Grok.
Nevada has a Primary and a Caucus, and they make you choose. Nikki Haley chose the Primary (no delegates are awarded, so how dumb is that). Trump chose the Caucus, the results of which are still two days away. But we know who won Tuesday’s Primary. Nobody.
Called with 50 percent of the vote in, “none of these candidates” garnered 60.3 percent of the reported vote, while Haley earned 33.4 percent and Pence and Scott — neither of whom is running an active campaign for the presidency — earned 4.2 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.
Former president Donald Trump — who currently holds a 54.7 percent lead in national GOP polls, according to the RealClearPolitics average — did not compete in the primary, choosing instead to enter Thursday night’s caucus run by the state Republican Party. In a twist unique to this year’s contests, GOP candidates were required to decide between the primary and the caucus. Nevada had traditionally held the latter option in each presidential election cycle, but after the state passed a law in 2021 replacing the caucus with a primary and its Republican Party unsuccessfully sued, the Nevada GOP established its own caucus.
Haley’s campaign said it was rigged to favor Trump because the split (primary/Caucus) system resulted in them not spending resources there. That’s a hell of a dodge. You didn’t spend resources there because you chose to be on a primary ballot from which no delegates are awarded, but that’s not nearly as huge a blunder.
Given the choice between you, a bunch of candidates who dropped out, and nobody (remember, Trump wasn’t on this ballot), over 60% chose none of these candidates. Nobody.
Voters showed up at the polls to vote for nobody instead of you.
And even though Biden wasn’t officially a candidate – South Carolina is the first official DNC primary, he got over 90%.
Maybe that’s why. Without Democrats to meddle you couldn’t even beat none of the above.
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Senator Rand Paul, in his talk, Deception: The Great Covid Cover-up, at Hillsdale’s College Washington campus, exposes many revelations of unknown nefarious facts about the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and their major role in initiating gain-of-function research at Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Do you trust Chinese research? Dr. Fauci does! Do I have trust in the government? Never! Do I claim that all government employees are dishonest? Never! Patrick Henry advises us that “we cannot rest our liberties on the assumption that our leaders will be virtuous.” Jefferson prescribes the solution to unscrupulous leaders: We must “bind them down from mischief to the chains of the Constitution.”
Reminds me of Union shops where the Union member is accused of feather bedding while management and government bureaucrats, more guilty of theft, escape unscathed. The average American may be unaware of how in Unions shop workers take advantage of new bosses because they know more about the job than the boss. The worker can milk the job (essentially stealing wages) only limited by his moral character. For the unscrupulous, it is a gold mine. This, I believe, is a microscopic picture of a scientist who milks government grants at will because we, who sign the checks for their license to steal, know not what they do. When this happens, it makes feather bedding by Union employees look like chicken stealing.
Senator Paul expressed his honest distrust of Dr. Fauci when he stated: “It is an open question how gain-of-function-research was funded in Wuhan without committee review.” Do you trust this laboratory game “…involve[ing] taking two viruses and combining their genetics to create something more dangerous, more lethal or more contagious — on various coronaviruses at Wuhan Lab?” According to Senator Paul, we can blame congressional ignorance about Fauci’s con game on Dr. Fauci. For the past four decades, he has operated with very little congressional oversight. Congress trusts, I don’t. Do you? According to Senator Paul, mortality for COVID was less than one percent. Experiments now going on with viruses have the potential mortality rates of 15 to 20%.
Driving the weapon of citizen distrust was reinforced when Twitter files. “… we know that the mainstream media and Big Tech did not act alone in their many efforts to silence, to censor speech about the lab-leak theory, lockdown, masks, vaccines, and school closures, etc., … they were directed by the FBI and other intelligence agencies.”
This amounts to Executive unelected bureaucrats turning against We, The People, denying our First Amendment Rights.
In this national moral crisis: “freedom to petition government” must impact Congress with questions like: Why was Dr. Fauci given an open check signed by the taxpayer for four decades? As Washington eloquently put it, “[t]ruth will ultimately prevail when there are pains taken to bring it to light.”
Senator Paul reminds us that Dr. Fauci’s funding of dangerous research and then lying to Congress and to the American people about it for decades it equivalent to what C.S. Lewis called a moral busybody:
”Of all the tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive…. [T]hose who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
It is time that criminal acts by the government accepted as bureaucratic expertise are punished. Americans must be the accuser by filling the phone lines and email boxes of their Senators and Congressmen with a demand that the former world’s highest paid government “featherbedding” bureaucrat should be tried, convicted, and sentenced to jail.
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” (Ecclesiastes . 8:11).The post Congress Trusts, I Don’t. Do You? appeared first on Granite Grok.
My good friends, Don Bolduc and Rep. Bob Healey, recently got back-to-back coverage in the Union Leader simply because they espoused their ho-hum rhetoric against President Trump in favor of their friend Nikki Haley. Hey, I get it. We all want to showcase the good points of our favored candidate and disparage the “opposition.”
But, while Bolduc refrained from outright nastiness toward Trump, Healey went full throttle with his ridiculous portrayal of wizardry nonsense. Something, I’m sure, the Union Leader enjoyed printing.
Don and Bob put their own political spin on Trump. Healey claimed that Trump promised to cut spending, who then turned around and signed the largest spending bill in history. What he ‘forgot’ to mention was that it was during the 2020 Covid epidemic, and the Democrat-controlled Congress passed the whopping $900 billion pandemic relief package and tacked on a $1.4 trillion catchall spending bill. They then sent the 5,593-page – the longest bill ever – to Trump’s desk to sign. There was no chance of President Trump vetoing the bill because he did not have the votes in Congress to support it. Nice spin, though.
Fake Kudos” to the Union Leader. They opted once again to choose to print Trump-critical’ op-eds while refusing to print my op-eds in favor of Trump. Way to go UL!
Bolduc claimed Haley “represents the opportunity” to end the tit-for-tat rancor in politics. Hmm, when Don was running for U.S. Senate to represent NH, Haley backed and supported him. Healey worked for the Bolduc campaign. Now, they both have their own little tit-for-tat in support of their friend Haley. I’m not knocking it (good for them for their loyalty to her). I’m just pointing out that all aspects of tit-for-tat will always be part of the political scene, and Bolduc and Healey know it.
They claim that Trump is polarizing and divisive, but the only polarization being done is from the actions of Democrats and the media who, in controlling the message to the uninformed voters, promote their agenda of orange man bad. The media and their Democrat pals are the ones who perpetuate divisive politics with their false narratives and selective editing.
We want to thank Di Lothrop for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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Let’s talk about Haley and her track record. She can’t run from it; she’s been in party establishment politics much longer than Bolduc claims. The reality of her twelve years in South Carolina as a state legislator, then governor, was a variety of incompetence, shocking mismanagement, and scandals. She doled out endless favors to big donor corporations and the rich, and her practice of pay-to-play made her legendary in SC politics. In other words, she was – and still is – owned by Wall Street billionaires.
She gave tax incentives – taxpayer money – to Chinese Communist companies. She sided with Disney, opposing parental rights for Florida. She opposed SC legislation to keep boys out of girl’s bathrooms. She says she’s opposed to vaccine mandates, but she voted against allowing parents to opt-out.
Haley’s leadership is inclusive all right, not to the needs of the people of SC, but to the lobbyists of corporate America who continue to line her pockets with the $ millions they give her.
Bolduc claims that candidate Haley gives us “fresh ideas” but the thousands of Haley Mail that choked our mail boxes every day for weeks prior to the NH Primary tells a different story.
They mimic every policy that Trump has already delivered when he was in the White House.
Nothing new and fresh to see here from Haley. She speaks in ‘talking points,’ and when she is forced to go off-script when a voter asks a question, she makes Bidenesque flubs and makes a fool of herself.
Haley came in a distant third in Iowa’s caucus. And, then she lost to Trump by double digits in New Hampshire’s primary. Haley can spin the results, but it was Democratic-leaning Independents who picked up a Republican ballot on January 23 to vote for Haley simply to skew a Republican primary vote. Oops, they lost.
What makes Don and Bob think that those same Democrat Independents will vote for Haley if she became the nominee in November? No, they will treat her the same way they treat Trump. They will vilify her and vote for Biden like good little partisan voters.
The views and opinions expressed by contributors are those of the author and may not reflect the opinion or position of Grok Media, GraniteGrok.com, its authors, advertisers, donors, or sponsors.
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The nation’s recent deep freeze stranded many expensive electric vehicles (EVs) with drained batteries, often in front of charging stations equally disabled by the cold. Warmer areas like California, where some 39% of EV car owners reside, do not abuse their batteries with the harsh seasonal winters that threaten many regions of the nation and world. Electric vehicle sales were quite chilly even before the arctic blast, despite price drops and government subsidies. The cold weather troubles reveal why the market for this vaunted technology may continue to cool.
Car ConspiracyThe 2006 documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” explored the possibility that government and industry forces conspired to ensure the failure of the prototype electric vehicle of the mid-1990s: the General Motors EV1. EVs may have been viewed as a threat to oil or automaker profits, but automakers claimed the failure of the vehicles to succeed was primarily attributable to a lack of consumer demand. Current public displays of the sharp drop in efficiency of electric batteries in frigid environments will not boost popularity, instead offering yet one more reason for consumers to prefer the traditional gasoline engine.
EVs are relatively expensive, and many remain skeptical that charging stations and electric grids can support them – even in warmer temps. Growing awareness of the pollution generated in the mining of lithium and other materials in EV battery and vehicle manufacturing (and the eventual disposal of non-recyclable batteries) undermines the environment-sparing messaging used to justify the hefty price tag. And then there is “range anxiety.”
Range AnxietyRange anxiety refers to the understandable concern of consumers that EVs lack the ability of gas-powered cars to travel long distances reliably. Indeed, concerns about vehicles that could, at that time, travel less than 100 miles per charge were likely part of the lack of consumer appeal for GM’s EV1 in the 1990s. Today’s models approach the three-hundred-mile range – until it gets too cold. Car batteries lose energy much faster when the thermometer plummets and the increased energy requirement to keep the driver and passengers warm certainly doesn’t help. It is estimated that sub-freezing temps can reduce EV range by 40% when the heater is on.
Many consumers will hesitate to buy a vehicle in which turning on the heat could leave them stranded on the roadside in life-threatening weather. In the recent cold snap, many EV owners claimed their cars would not charge at all or that charging stations failed to function. And while EV proponents claim gas stations too are vulnerable when the power goes out (and that future EVs will permit charging other vehicles), it is a familiar rescue to Americans when someone pulls a can of gasoline from the back of their truck to get “old-fashioned” motorcars back on their way.
Electric Vehicle Rental DisappointmentHertz Rentals launched an ambitious EV car rental program, purchasing 100,000 EVs and installing charging stations for its users. The plan has been back-pedaled as the company recently shed about a third of its EV fleet. Rental customer experience may have a lot to reveal about the broader long-term salability of EVs.
Americans often rent cars for long journeys, perhaps seeking a more reliable vehicle than their personal auto, or to spare it the extra mileage or risk of a far-from-home breakdown. Road trips are part of the American wilderness experience, a la Jack Kerouac. Such journeys tackle long distances over this grand American geography: Many people drive hundreds of miles a day, or even through the night, to reach their vacation or business destination.
Enter the electric vehicle rental. Depending on the departure location, there may or may not be ample charging stations en route. An app or other electronic access is also required before departure in order to use the electric charging stations, as no cash is allowed. The stop will not be a three-minute fill-up with coffee and donuts as in the gas station era, but likely a one-hour affair (if the charging stations are operational and available, and if it’s not sub-freezing). Some technologies (Tesla Superchargers) can accelerate charging times, but it is still far more time-consuming to juice a battery than to simply pump petrol: EV charging stations cannot recharge cars anywhere near as fast as liquid fuel stations.
A traveler hoping to drive 750 miles or more in one day to a family member’s wedding, graduation, funeral, etc., would thus have to make at least two lengthy stops with an electric vehicle rental, making an already-exhausting journey dangerous, perhaps necessitating a hotel and an extra day (or two, if returning) car rental. Better to take a gasoline-powered rig.
Hertz admits as much on its website:
“But if you’re keen to explore the many benefits of driving an electric car – low emissions, a quieter ride, and lower running costs among them – don’t let range anxiety stop you from giving it a go….
“So, while you won’t be able to drive from dawn till dusk, EVs are great for day-to-day driving and multi-stop road trips. Electric cars also offer better efficiency in city settings, thanks to regenerative braking: the ability to build up power reserves when stopping repeatedly.”
Many Americans want to drive from dawn till dusk, or even from dusk till dawn. Hertz also experienced higher repair and tire costs with its EV fleet. Repair costs for bodywork on EVs (especially Teslas) are generally substantially higher than for gas-powered vehicles; EVs go through tires 30% faster. All of these are negative factors not just for car rental companies, but individual American car buyers increasingly concerned about a wobbly economy in an even wobblier election year.
Freedom of Safe TravelA subconscious instinct against dependency infuses pictures of EVs parked in darkness due to harsh, frigid elements. If there is a time consumers want dependability for their loved ones, it is in times of emergency such as a winter storm. Then there are the many consumers accustomed to the self-reliance of a woodstove or generator, who are also reluctant to relinquish that independence for the techno-enslavement of heat pumps. Like EVs, heat pumps decline in efficiency as temperatures drop. Even with improvements to this problem, there remains a complete dependence upon the electric grid for life-saving warmth. The Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared” is pretty useless if all one can do is wait for the power to come back on to stave off hypothermia in a home or car.
Like a load of heavy, wet snow on a cheap tin shack, the numerous problems that accompany EVs promise to break the unfulfilled technological promises and dubious climate justifications concocted to prop them up. Winter storms reveal EVs stalled in squalls with dead batteries; summer EV driving threatens California with blackouts. Lithium mining and battery disposal eclipse the claimed environmental benefits of carbon dioxide reduction, and EV subsidies are “inequitably” regressive.
With such a fast-growing list of insurmountable problems, the EV appears to be killing itself.
John Klar is an Attorney, farmer, and author. Mostly farmer… And Regular Contributor to GraniteGrok and VermontGrok.
The post The Demise of the Electric Vehicle appeared first on Granite Grok.
There are plenty of believers, philosophers, and ordinary people with minds greater than mine who can speak to the merits of forgiveness. Holding a grudge is burdensome. Having lived it, I can speak from experience that it’s a curse, but there’s a less recognized attribute within that. That blessing or curse, depending on how one looks at it, is a good memory.
I am one of those people who have a good memory, often much to the chagrin of my parents. And more relevantly speaking, my good memory is often a thorn in the side of many Republicans, both good ones and RINOs.
This morning, my email inbox had a follow-up reminder from the Rockingham GOP for their congressional candidates’ meet and greet soiree at 6 pm this Wednesday(2/7) night at the Rockingham County Nursing Home. I’m unfortunately unable to find a link to an event calendar, but due to buying a raffle ticket of theirs some time ago, I am on their email list. Someone might ask who their webmaster is because their site is not up to date.
The four candidates on their ballot are not on mine, so they don’t take up much space in my head, except for one of them: Councilor Prescott.
I saw Prescott speak at the Merrimack GOP in August 2022 when he crashed their meeting, meaning he appeared without RSVPing. I was there because Gary Daniels was being primaried by a Wilton police lieutenant and wanted to get some intel and ask a question. This was the last local GOP meeting before the primary, and Merrimack reps had a contentious one. Ms. Ginger did an amazing yet polite job at the podium enforcing time limits and the pecking order regarding up and down-ballot candidates’ mic time, which did not allow Prescott to take questions.
We all know that Karoline won the primary, and Prescott, therefore, returned to irrelevancy after that, but he’s back! And he has the 603 endorsement. I mention Merrimack for another reason: the Everett Turnpike. Almost everyone in Nashua has to use it at some time or another, and some use it more than others.
The “Merrimack Only” tolls at Exits 10, 11, and 12 were eventually removed, but the memory of them remains. In fact, Bill Boyd mentioned the “Merrimack Only” tolls on his campaign home page and literature before being elected. Remember, I said I have a good memory, and I can’t be the only one. In 2017, Councilor Prescott partnered with the worst of the Executive Council enemy camp, Andru Volinsky, in wanting to raise the tolls. Almost as unacceptable as voting for an income tax!
Anyway, Prescott needs to answer for his crime against ALL toll payers, not just users of the Everett Turnpike. The 2022 Merrimack opportunity to question him on his record did not materialize, but Wednesday presents another opportunity. The event is located near the center of a territory outlined by 93, 101, the seacoast, and the state line. Locals there might be less likely to use toll roads as regularly as people elsewhere, but I encourage attendees to put him on the spot and ask him if he regrets wanting to raise the tolls. Any attempt to add or raise taxes should not be forgotten, and there might be people there who weren’t paying attention at the time.
Everyone knows the sad reality that “the OTHER district” gets all the attention, money, and resources, and Annie Kuster’s constituents are thought of as chopped liver by the elite. If Prescott is the one that winds up on their November ballot, this toll hike stain on his record needs to be addressed.
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I have often opined that I feel there are groups of people who foment the belief the country is ripe with systemic racism. They do this for power, relevance, and, of course, money. I always point to the Rev. Al Sharpton as proof of my theory. There has never been an incident involving people of different colors that the Reverend did not insert himself into the middle of.
It is the sole issue that keeps him in the public eye, for without Racism, Al would be another talking head hiding on MSNBC.
Jesse Jackson drew the blueprint for Sharpton to follow, but Sharpton never ran for President as Jackson had. Black Lives Matter has proven to be a money laundering pyramid scheme, but the Department of Education maintains its support of BLM, and BLM reciprocates. Their mutual efforts keep both relevant in their eyes.
Every February, all of these groups and individuals band together to convince Blacks, Browns, and Reds they are oppressed and Whites that they are the oppressors. They use media and classrooms to push their agenda and work tirelessly to convince the current generation of students that the country was built unfairly on the backs of people of color, remains systemically racist, and that all White people are supremacists by heritage. This message is untrue, unfair, and unsafe for White students who bear no responsibility for the actions of their ancestors.
I remember the feelings of guilt I had as a child, being of German heritage. Whenever WWII, Hitler, or the Holocaust was discussed in school, I had feelings of responsibility. I grew out of this state, but it influenced me greatly. This is the guilt that is being exerted on our caucasian children. They do not deserve it, and it is unfair to subject them to it. Children are not born racist. They do not see color as an issue. They may be taught to see the differences in a person’s skin color by their parents, friends, educators, or society. This exposure and education of racism is what I see happening in our schools and media during Black History Month.
When doing some research for this article, I came across the following:
The Center for Racial Justice in Education website contains a subsite called: A RACIAL JUSTICE GUIDE TO THE WINTER HOLIDAY SEASON. The following is just one of the segments.
Christian Privilege, Hegemony, and the Winter Holiday Season:
I confess I had to look up hegemony and found: hegemony: he·ge·mo·ny hi-ˈje-mə-nē 1: preponderant influence or authority over others: DOMINATION battled for hegemony in Asia 2: the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group.
They took a season of joy that belongs to no particular race or color and turned it into a study of White Supremacy.
Even our President takes frequent opportunities to rally his core by touting his perception that America, and specifically the Republicans, is systemically racist and filled with white supremacists. This is a dangerous message coming from our leader and a person who says he was elected to unify us. Talk and lessons like these are pure evil and divisive. They do not belong in our schools or culture. Singling out groups to celebrate them, such as Black History Month or Gay Pride Month, has the reverse effect of their intent.
Or, as is the case of the Reverend Sharpton or Joe Biden, maybe creating issues and division is their true intent. It all comes down to power, money, and relevance.
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Two time slots are used for any news story you want to bury. These slots are the black holes of news. Friday afternoon and Sunday night are when you drop news you don’t want anyone to see or hear. Chuck Schumer started teasing the text of his blockbuster border bill on Friday morning, but it did not become public until late Sunday night.
So, the bill that Schumer claimed would garner bipartisan support and be law quickly was dropped along with the trash for Monday curbside pick-up. If anyone printed this bill to read, the pages probably hit the curb, too. That is where this lousy piece of legislation belongs.
First, this bill does not stop the flow of illegals across our border. The bill has a trigger that sets steps to close the border in motion. That trigger is 5,000 illegals crossing per day. There should not be a single Republican in line to sign this piece of scratch paper. Why should we allow any illegal migrants into the country? We have avenues for people to enter America legally. Anyone who enters by wading across the Rio Grande enters this country as a criminal. Come through a legal port of entry, or do not come in at all. If the Federal Government cannot change that 5,000 to zero, this bill should be dead in the water. That is how the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, refers to this bill.
Next is the real reason for this bill. The amounts of money in this bill tied to Ukraine, Gaza, and Taiwan are staggering, and Biden and the Democrats hoped that they could sell America on the border control portion of this bill and that the slush money would slide through as a bonus. The Dems should not be surprised that the Republicans are not falling for the sleight of hand. Even though it got published on a Sunday night, the Republicans caught it before it slid through to Joe’s desk.
The American people are tired of the billions of dollars funneled to Ukraine without accountability or results. We can send billions to Ukraine every few months until the end of time, and they will still not win the battle with Putin and Russia. Remember a year ago when every politician, right down to Randi Weingarten, traveled to Ukraine to show their support? When was the last junket you can remember to have their picture taken with Zelenskyy? But the money keeps flowing as do the rumors of kickbacks coming back to Biden and the Democrats. Ukraine is a money laundromat for the Dems. Here is a breakdown of the money in this bill:
It is disappointing, but not surprising that Mitch McConnell had a hand in crafting this bill, and his Republicans will submarine him. This may be the action that ends McConnell’s career, which is fine. Rick Scott is primed and ready for his slot. Maybe Mitch can take Chuck with him.
The post Border Bill So Good It Got Dumped On Sunday Night appeared first on Granite Grok.
Australia and New Zealand were frequent objects for criticism when it came to authoritarian pandemic policy, so I admit that this comes as a surprise. “The South Australian Employment Tribunal has found that employers who mandated their staff to take the COVID-19 vaccines can be held liable for injuries caused.”
It found that the injury arose “as a result of both [the government’s] vaccination mandate and the applicant’s employment.” Employment, the tribunal said, does not have to be the “only or most significant cause”; it is only necessary that it be a “significant contributing cause of a work injury.” The implication is that employers cannot shift the blame; they, too, are responsible.
The potential fallout looks epic as the Medical Industrial Complex, aided and abetted by politicians and government agencies, wrestles with job creators who zealously took them all at their word. On one side, you’ve got institutional pressure to comply, and on the other, the “if they told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?” The answer was yes, primarily because if it was no, there were immediate consequences, and not just in Australia.
I’ve no doubt the government will refuse to accept responsibility for forcing businesses into a corner where they may now find themselves faced with – if not a class action, then an endless train of individual lawsuits to address side effects from vaccine mandates that incapacitated injured, or killed employees who only got them because the alternative was to get fired.
The other fun bit, not for the vaccine injured or the families who lost loved ones, is that a Western Court has documented as a work-related injury any debilitating consequence of job-related forced vaccination. From 30,000 feet, we expect insurance companies to balk. At the same time, future mandates may now need to cross a new set of hurdles erected by business owners who have every right to question everything if they are to be left on the hook for any consequences.
We now need that to spread faster than the Wuhan Flu to the rest of the so-called Western world and, from it, a line of responsibility to government agents, NGOs, bureaucrats, politicians, colleges and Universities, and everyone else. If you made them do it and caused harm, you are liable with the caveat that it is the government who is responsible if the employer was acting under threat from it.
With another caveat. Employers could have come together and pushed back, given the sketchy emergency use authorizations and absence of fully informed consent.
Peaceful resistance works, but you have to choose it before you lose it.
The post Court Rules Businesses That Mandated Vaccines Are Liable for Vaccine Injuries appeared first on Granite Grok.
Name something that the most notorious RINO/globalist/corporatist GOP Senators have in common. If you said they come from RED States (RED meaning States that overwhelmingly went for Trump) … that’s a bingo—for example, South Dakota. When you think South Dakota, you think RED, right? Think again.
Here is South Dakota’s Mike Rounds pushing Mitch McConnell’s amnesty-bill by claiming that if you oppose amnesty you are … wait for it … Putin’s puppet. How original!
Mike Rounds says Russia is why you don’t want an amnesty deal and money for Ukraine.
Mike Rounds of….South Dakota.
South Dakota is a GOP state by around a 30 point margin.
Their senator is Mike Rounds.
GOP primary voters are the problem. https://t.co/dFTKdwMMc8
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) January 31, 2024
The “face” of the amnesty bill … James Lankford of RED Oklahoma. The list goes on and on. Romney … RED Utah. Cornyn … RED Texas. Mitch McConnell … RED Kentucky.
The inescapable conclusion is that GOP voters are NOT very good at voting. They keep electing RINOs.
New Hampshire, while a BLUE State, is illustrative. Dear Leader Chris Sun-King Sununu locked us in our homes over a flu. He told us that liquor stores were “essential,” but houses of worship were non-essential. You know the rest. And what did GOP voters do in response … they overwhelmingly helped to reelect him. They rewarded his tyranny.
The problem, GOP voters, is staring back at you when you look in the mirror.
The post GOP Voters Are NOT Very Good At Voting appeared first on Granite Grok.
The UK Daily Mail (Online) has a lengthy look at the public safety issues in Vermont. Rising overdose deaths and a murder spike have the experts reeling as they look for ways to turn things around. It’s a mystery to them – but not to us.
Stop voting for Democrats and supporting their failed policies at every level of government.
The state police are short-staffed because no one wants to work for a state whose ruling party is more interested in burnishing its progressive image with the next TikTok video alleging misuse of force. The cops know you don’t have their back and will throw them under your bus at the first opportunity.
This applies to local police forces as well, which are chronically understaffed, in some cases because Democrats defunded them right before the crime wave started.
You even bragged about it, so consider yourself lucky that you are not 20 or 25% understaffed, though that’s likely to happen as people retire that you can’t replace because you went out of your way to sh!t on cops for the better part of a year.
The drug overdose problem is the Democrat’s fault as well. Open borders and sanctuary policies allow easy entry for both the product and the gangs who will seek to profit from it. Add decreased policing, and you’ve created an environment for lawlessness, which you use to disarm law-abiding citizens, resulting in more victims.
To this, we add the systemic policy failures on a number of other fronts (energy, food, monetary) that have driven up inflation and prices, making it harder for locals to make ends meet, on whose backs you’ve piled teeming masses of undocumented illegal entrants.
Not surprisingly, no one seems to realize that Democrats are the problem.
When asked about a solution, [criminology professor Penny Shtull] said she and other experts are working with police – stating that they are looking at federal data secured over past few years for the entire country, hoping it will provide some guidance.
‘Nationwide, we’re looking at what type of programs or practices – whether that’s law enforcement or on a governmental level in terms of policies and practices – may have reduced the overall, nationwide crime rate and whether those can be applied to places like Vermont.’
You don’t have to look far. New Hampshire, just a step to your right, is significantly safer per capita (the safest state in the nation, actually). We didn’t defund any police, we don’t disarm law-abiding citizens, we are not a sanctuary state, and we have no sanctuary cities.
We have record low poverty, high quality of life, one of the lowest overall tax burdens, are the freest state in North America (Fraiser Institute), and support the right to self-defense (constitutional carry). We’ve also managed to keep Democrats from dominating state offices (just barely) for long enough to encourage growth and independence instead of stagnation and dependency.
I’ve said it many times before. Vermont is that train wreck of a family member whom you look to for what not to do. You see your Uncle Vermont over there. Don’t be like that.
Vermont’s crime problem is tragic, as are the overdose deaths (we’ve got a lot of those here as well), but they are problems that begin with policy. Deliberate choices. Decisions and paths of pursuit whose failure is foretold in places like Chicago, DC, Baltimore, Memphis, Loc Angeles, and Detroit. Geography cannot protect you from Democrat rule, and Vermont is no different.
Get rid of the Democrats if you can. If not, you might have to move.
If you are planning to come to New Hampshire, please don’t bring the Democrats with you, or not long from now, you’ll have to move again.
They destroy everything they touch.
The post UK Daily Mail Can’t Find Anyone Who Knows Why Vermont is Such a Mess (They Should Have Asked Us) appeared first on Granite Grok.
HB1002 recently passed the House by about a dozen votes and now heads to the Senate for deliberations. This Bill permits municipalities to establish a policy to charge up to $25 per hour for requests that take over 10 hours to fill.
The Preamble to the Right-to-Know Law states: The purpose of this chapter is to ensure both the greatest possible public access to the actions, discussions, and records of all public bodies and their accountability to the people.
Nashua has a well-documented problem with transparency. In the last 2 ½ years, the City has lost five cases in Superior Court and three cases in the Supreme Court. In a case before the Court now, the City has acknowledged eight violations claimed by the Petitioner; the case is still in the Court (226-2022-cv-00309). See Superior Court orders for 2026-2021-cv-00163, 226-2021-cv-00354; 226-2021-cv-00306, 226-2021-CV-00133,226-2023-cv-00141 and Supreme Court orders 2021-0253, 2022-0237, and 2022-0399.
This bill will not improve transparency in New Hampshire.How are we supposed to verifiably know as taxpayers if our records requests are over and above the 10-hour “free” limit when charges begin? In Nashua, where it’s all personal, will the accounting be trustworthy? Early on in my records requests, a City official claimed that my requests had cost the city over $100,000 in 6 weeks! When I requested the data to support this claim, no records existed. Unpopular people have the same constitutional rights as people who are liked.
While some citizens have won their record cases against the City, the cost and damage to their reputations was high. The courts are seriously under-resourced and faced with delays, backlogs, and workforce shortages, so these matters are taking years to come through the Superior Court. The inability of the court to be efficient to these priority hearings, has empowered an already overly empowered city. The Ombudsman’s Office is still establishing rules and has no history.
All Nashua court orders have yielded no improvement for records access for citizens, despite a Court order strongly suggesting that the [City] quickly get ‘in the business” of responding to Ms. Ortolano’s basic questions and requests for information” and “the Court strongly encourages the City to develop a uniform policy outlining the process for making a Right-to-Know request for City records and to make that policy publicly available on its website.” (226-2023-CV-00165)
How did this city become so obstinate to responding to public record access? Massive imbalances in power and political control over decades, echo chambers, and an elected board and leaders – emboldened to disparage and marginalize citizens in their attempts to redress their government.
My recent work has focused on the cost and the financing scheme for the Nashua Performing Arts Center (PAC). The City entered into a federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction to obtain $2.5 million in additional funding for a project that ended up costing almost $40 Million. My interest was piqued two years ago when the city refused to legally notice public meetings and provide records on the PAC. I was being stonewalled and filed a lawsuit in August 2022. This federal program is designed for for-profit corporations, not municipalities, to provide tax credit benefits to construct facilities for the greater good of the public living in low-income areas.
Unable to get any City leaders to answer basic questions, I put in an August 2022 RTK request to gather all NMTC emails to help me understand how this financial scheme worked. The City is subverting any cooperative efforts to work together, and they will not engage in productive communications.
Initially, the city stated there were 1200 emails they would “batch out,” and they would keep me updated on the completion date. After six months and no updates, I emailed the city for the completion date. The City responded that they had discovered another 1800 emails that would take approximately four years to deliver. The City offered no record description to reduce the burden, and they did not deny the request as unreasonable. Imagine the cost of these records under HB1002.
Frustrated and believing that this was an unreasonable delay of records, I filed a short, concise, expedited petition. Exasperatingly, the Court consolidated it, without a hearing, into a case that is taking two years to be heard. The court decision destroyed my right to reasonably access the records, which I should have rightfully been afforded under RSA 91-A to help me understand the fraud and deceit, misuse of public money, and falsification of records that took place on this project. How will the Courts mediate this costs issue when requesters believe they are being charged unlawful fees?
Unsurprisingly, the city is heavily redacting these emails. I filed a Petition claiming a crime/fraud was perpetrated, requesting the Court review the emails to determine if the redactions are legal. That, too, was rolled into the Petition that’s taking two years to process. My faith in the adjudication process has wavered.
Nashua’s Performing Arts Center was not the proper application of this NMTC Federal program. The city formed three shell companies that shifted $21 Million of public bond money ultimately into a fully private Corporation and shut down all record access.
The emails, despite the slogging production, have been enormously valuable. They established the timeframe for all the hidden transactions and revealed that the city, before closing the Federal money deal, formed a for-profit company without disclosing this candidly and properly to the Board of Alderman. The city did not disclose:
The emails documented more public fund mismanagement:
The three shell corporations formed for the NMTC transaction cannot pay:
o their operating costs
o fees associated with this seven-year federal program – and-
o the interest payment on the loans
To deal with the fact that the Corporations have no revenue sources except by way of the City, the city is now renting the building taxpayers bought, paying approximately $500,000 a year to cover the above costs.
All this was learned through records requests and a lawsuit that has currently been through 3 days of Trial and will conclude in April 2024. It is clear from three days of the Trial that this lawsuit was necessary. Additionally, the lawsuit has now prevented the City from engaging in future NMTC transactions – a significant victory.
What would all this citizen work cost me under HB1002? On January 17, 2024, I asked the City to estimate the cost of batching these records. Several days after I made the request, I received the next batch of emails and immediately wrote back and requested an estimate for the time to produce those records. It has been 18 days, and no one has responded. How much deliberation does this request require? I am interested because fees may be right around the corner.
The Honorable Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Lynn, knows better when he tells the legislative body that citizens can get their costs back in Court if it is proven that the municipality was unreasonable. The Judicial system is seriously under-resourced and overburdened. Cities have deep pockets funded with taxpayer money to fight to their last dying breath. The Court awarded $63K in Attorney’s fees for my 2020 RTK case for Assessing Records (2020-00133). It is now under appeal with the Supreme Court. If I prevail, it will have taken over five years to get the money back without interest. Frustrating and stonewalling requesters is the name of the game in Nashua, and this bill will only enable some municipalities to continue with their unsavory tactics with impunity.
Please protect our First Amendment rights and vote ‘No’ on HB1002.
The post HB1002 – Charging fees for Right-to-Know Requests appeared first on Granite Grok.
This week, my committee continued with public hearings. HB 1292 allows state retirees to include adult children up to age 25 in their health insurance, whether or not they are students; this is the same as the employee plan and private health plans. Since the parents pay the full cost for their dependents, the committee voted unanimously to recommend this bill.
HB 1435 would extend payments from the retirement system to former spouses even after the retiree returns to work and stops receiving a pension. In that case, there is no payment for the ex-spouse to receive a portion of, and the ex has no relationship with the retirement system – neither a member nor a beneficiary. This is a rare situation – there are about 650 split benefits (due to divorce court orders) for over 40,000 retirees, and even fewer are affected by a return to work. The retirement system is constrained by the New Hampshire constitution and statute and by IRS rules to only pay members and beneficiaries. The committee voted unanimously to kill the bill, with the court system as recourse in individual cases.
HB 1352, on firefighter protective equipment, intends to ban PFAS-treated gear unless there is no equivalent; the current technology for high-temperature protective equipment uses PFAS in one form or another, although manufacturers are researching other materials. Uniforms other than protective equipment, however, can be made from non-toxic materials. The bill went to a subcommittee to ensure it wouldn’t be a mandate on local fire companies and that it properly considers volunteer fire departments.
HB 1079, on critical incident stress management team members, started as a one-line addition to the current statute that added hospital emergency room personnel as potential members of these teams. The sponsor brought in a five-page amendment that added a lot of clarifying detail, so the bill went to a subcommittee to review the amendment.
HB 1070, on procedures in a state of emergency, essentially told state employees not to obey orders that would violate civil liberties or the federal or state constitution. Since the governor and council are now specifically barred from issuing such orders, it doesn’t seem the bill is needed.
HB 1267 prohibits the state treasurer or the retirement system from investing in funds that consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in any way. While pure reliance on ESG is not something the state looks for in investments, many funds look at governance or assess environmental risks as part of their due diligence for investments. Saying they couldn’t is restricting the capability of the treasurer or the retirement system to maximize returns. We voted unanimously to recommend killing the bill.
HB 1451 is a recommendation of the retirement commission I chaired this fall: it includes “mandatory overtime” in base pay for pension purposes rather than pay over base.
This allows all mandatory overtime to be credited towards pension earnings since other overtime can be limited. This is an anti-spiking provision; it commonly happened that some late-career employees would work lots of overtime to pad their pensions. HB 1451 gets around that by requiring the employer to classify the overtime as mandatory – much harder to manipulate that way. The committee discussed what was mandatory and how to identify it; after a few rounds of discussion they agreed letting the employer define it was the most flexible way. The bill was recommended to pass unanimously after I thought about it for a while.
We want to thank Rep. Carol McGuire for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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HB 1548, recommendations of the joint committee on employee classification, presented that committee’s recommendations on employee pay classes and the pay ranges for a few employees who, because of special skills, were paid outside the classification structure (the state epidemiologist; pharmacy investigators.) After some explanations, we voted unanimously to recommend the bill.
HB 1411 would require all state agencies and their contractors to accept cash payments. The sponsor was concerned that low-income citizens would be penalized since many do not have bank accounts, and in particular, the Spaulding turnpike from Portsmouth through Rochester has been aligned to require E-ZPass payment. Those tolls no longer take cash; an EZPass account requires a $20 non-interest earning balance, and going through the tolls without an EZPass has penalties. Issues the committee brought up – and the sponsor could not address – included online transactions (fish & game licenses, professional license renewals) and tolls. The DMV, another government agency people deal with, does accept cash. The bill went to subcommittee to consider these complexities.
My HB 1271, converting a number of licensing boards to advisory boards, took a number of boards with fewer than 200 licensees (many fewer than 50!) and converted them to advisory boards. This is beneficial since these are the boards that have trouble getting members appointed, meet infrequently since they don’t have a lot of business, and are otherwise less responsive than we like. In addition, many licensees know each other, so
investigations are difficult. This went to subcommittee to consider if these are the right boards to consider and if advisory boards are the appropriate response.
HB 1408, merging and reorganizing various licensing boards, was a request of the governor’s office. Many boards and licensees objected, and so a subcommittee was called to work on the details.
Two bills I sponsored at the request of the governor’s office -both sections pulled from HB2 last year as needing specific evaluation – were HB 1285, merging the board of podiatry with the board of medicine, and HB 1286, merging the board of land surveyors with the board of engineers. The board of medicine didn’t mind covering the podiatrists – they deal with physicians, physicians’ assistants, and all specialties – but they opposed trimming the size of the board. The podiatrists were vehemently opposed to losing an independent board; with only 100 licensees, the subcommittee will consider an advisory board.
Both the land surveyors and the engineers objected to the board merger, and since both boards seemed to be operating effectively, I wasn’t convinced this was necessary. Both sets of licensees are substantial – 6500 engineers of several specialties and 450 surveyors – so I think we’ll leave them alone.
Thursday, we met in session for what should have been a short day. Forty-six noncontroversial bills – including two from my committee – were approved on a voice vote. Two new representatives from Coos County were welcomed: they were both Republicans, bringing the count to 200 R, 195 D, three I, and two open seats.
HB 1199, having the office of the child advocate collect data on homeless youth, was not tabled, 187-188, then passed on a voice vote. Both HB
155, updating court statutes to reflect the recent change for special education eligibility through age 21, and HB 1598, having federal payments (social security and veterans’) for children in foster care collected and given to the child when leaving foster care, were passed without comment.
HB 1237, forbidding unmarked police cars from being used for traffic enforcement, was debated, not killed, 162-213, then amended and passed on voice votes. The opponents were concerned that it was an unfunded mandate on local police departments; the amendment specified that unmarked cars can be used if the officer sees a traffic violation – they just can’t lie in wait to catch speeders. Marked cars are more effective at slowing traffic, if not at raising revenue by catching speeders – and local police here don’t profit from traffic tickets!
At this point we reconsidered our vote on HB 396, which allowed discrimination on the basis of sex in the specific cases of toilets and locker rooms, jails, and women’s sports. We had passed it, 192-184, on January 4; reconsideration failed, 187-190.
HB 1372, prohibiting torture, was killed, 319-58, without debate. Since any act that qualifies as torture is already illegal, this ban is redundant and unnecessary.
HB 1068, requiring a blood test for lead for any child entering public schools or childcare, was a duplicate of a bill (HB 342) that was vetoed by the governor last year. I opposed it then, as asking schools and day cares to enforce (without pay, of course) the state requirement of lead tests for children. After some debate – reminiscent of last year – the bill failed to pass, 189-190, then was killed on a voice vote.
HB 1520, establishing a car ownership program for some families on welfare, was debated at some length before not passing, 184-193, and being killed on a voice vote. I was opposed since the program would be expensive to run, might burden the individuals granted the cars with unsustainable insurance and maintenance costs, and is better handled by private charity.
CACR 23, putting a right to abortion in the state constitution, was debated at length, including one supporter who carried her few week old infant while she spoke! It did not pass, 193-184, as constitutional amendments require 60% of the legislature as well as 2/3 of the voters.
HB 1002, allowing municipalities or state agencies to charge fees for responding to large or complex right to know requests, was debated at some length. It passed, 193-179; I voted against it because I was concerned it didn’t strike the right balance between overburdening local employees and maintaining the public’s right to know. At least some of the opposition seemed to be concerned that public employees would maliciously inflate the time to respond to these requests and so charge excessive amounts – not my concern, I’ve found most public employees are trying to do a good job.
HB 1005, requiring training and continuing education for judges, passed without debate. HB 1248 would ban abortions after 15 days of pregnancy; before the debate started, a motion to indefinitely postpone the bill passed, 363-11. So the House won’t entertain any more bans on very early abortions this year.
HB 1230, creating a study committee on home weatherization, was debated at some length before being killed, 240-133. HB 1398, on cost recovery relative to net metering, went to interim study
without debate. HB 1499, a study committee on a clean energy and conservation corps program, passed without comment.
CACR 13, a constitutional amendment prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude, was debated on an amendment that echoed the language of the federal constitution. This was all about the word-smithing, as nobody is in favor of slavery; the amendment was defeated, 168-201, and the bill passed 366-5.
HB 1179, granting military retirees free access to state parks, passed without comment. HB 1338, prohibiting state or local enforcement of the draft, was debated and killed, 266-101. The fact that the draft has not been used for fifty years probably had a lot to do with it.
HB 1391, allowing new cars not be inspected until the second year after purchase, was debated and passed, 241-123. Car inspections have not been shown to reduce accidents, and new cars are the safest and cleanest cars on the road; this is the first time I remember any reduction in mandatory inspections passing the House.
CACR 20, declaring independence from the US if the national debt goes to $40 trillion, had been pulled from consent, presumably by some representatives objecting to the committee’s recommendation to kill the constitutional amendment. Before the (undoubtedly lengthy) debate began, a motion to indefinitely postpone passed, 341-24.
HR 20, affirming the friendship between New Hampshire and Taiwan, had been pulled from consent so that the sponsor could make a long speech in support of the committee recommendation. After a few more remarks, the
resolution passed, 354-6.
HB 1447, prohibiting smoke emitters on motor vehicles, had a lengthy speech by the sponsor opposed to the committee recommendation.
Apparently, these “rolling coal” devices are prohibited by federal law, but that isn’t well enforced in New Hampshire, in his opinion. After some debate, the bill was killed, 308-46.
Friday, I met in subcommittee on HB 1466, disaster relief to small towns. We talked with the department of homeland security and emergency management, and found out that they were fully funded by federal grants, and so unable to work on a state grant program. The bill essentially set up a parallel organization, which seemed excessive. After some discussion, we agreed to amend the bill to simply authorize towns to ask the Fiscal committee for a grant once an emergency is declared. This will be quick and hold a town over until they have time to apply for a FEMA grant or hold a town meeting to authorize a loan. I’ll present this amendment to the committee this coming week, and see how it looks.
The post Carol McGuire: Your State House appeared first on Granite Grok.
I have been saying this (see tweet from Elon Musk below) since the illegitimate Biden-Regime took power. And even if the Regime is unable to legalize the millions (probably over ten at this point) illegals they’ve assisted in invading the United States, it is only a matter of time until the children of these illegals, who are born citizens through so-called “birthright citizenship,” … we’re talking about 20 MILLION or more new Democrat voters … are able to votes and give the Left permanent political control.
This issue transcends everything. America is on track to become a one-party, police-state in AT THE MOST twenty years.
And yet GOP voters in supposedly “red” States keep sending RINOs to Congress who support illegal immigration because it’s what the GOP-donor-class wants … e.g., Graham, Cornyn, McConnell, Lankford, etc., etc. etc.. “A Republic, if you can keep it” … we obviously can’t.
Biden’s strategy is very simple:
1. Get as many illegals in the country as possible.
2. Legalize them to create a permanent majority – a one-party state.
That is why they are encouraging so much illegal immigration. Simple, yet effective. pic.twitter.com/B9M5ypUOQB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2024
The post Night Cap: Musk Gets It … Why Don’t GOP Voters? appeared first on Granite Grok.
So-called “climate science” extends far beyond the traditional bounds of science built on facts and logic and is driven by emotions, amounting to essentially a religious cult masquerading as scientific discipline.
The more climate “studies” depart from traditional scientific foundations, the more bizarre the efforts to taint objective determinations with moralizing policies.
A recent example is displayed by a climate ecologist who has undertaken to solve humanity’s most ancient moral challenges through globally orchestrated renewable energy and wealth redistribution.
Take the example of “environmental redistributism.”
These climate “scientists” promise to rework all human social relations to reverse the existence of carbon dioxide.
A recent “study” seeks to employ climate modeling to reallocate wealth and solve the moral conundrum of human inequality. The researchers claim this is a “paradigm-shifting” plan for “environmental redistributionism” (a.k.a. ecosocialism).
Professor of Ecology at Oregon State University’s College of Forestry William Ripple said:
“We aim to bend the curves on a wide range of planetary vital signs with a holistic vision for addressing climate change, biodiversity loss and socioeconomic injustice. Our work presents a case for how humanity can embark on the journey of saving the world from these environmental and social crises.”
This is science fiction fantasy: Prof. Ripple has left the science class and entered the climate chapel. He did not propound a new currency, tax structures, or motivations for humanity to give up personal property, but that will likely infuse his environmental justice pseudo-scientific sequel.
Other voices are joining him.
The Climate CacophanyWithin the recent “climate” study are the visible seeds of justification for governments, globalists, and corporations to take totalitarian control of individuals and their liberties (including eating choices) and wealth (to balance the world “equitably”):
….we call for the development of a new restorative pathway scenario that would go further for sustainability and equity than the current SSP1. ….The scenario would also focus on reducing the consumption of primary resources to keep environmental pressures within planetary boundaries. The restorative pathway would represent a more equitable and resilient world with a focus on nature preservation with vast reserves as a natural climate solution; post-growth economics; societal well-being and quality of life; equality and high levels of education for girls and women resulting in low fertility rates with higher standards of living; more efficient crop fertilizer use; a diet shift with major reductions in meat production; and a rapid transition towards renewable energy….
This distillation of the Green New Deal into the guise of scientific study is a bait-and-switch too far. The more climate ideology steers humans toward grand schemes of totalitarian domination, the more apparently disconnected from established liberties and traditional scientific methods it becomes. The climate priests of woke theocracy are polluting science in the name of ending pollution.
Then there’s ecosocialism.Governments that have failed to provide equity, a perfect society, and an end to all evil thought are to be replaced by a globalist power that will now cure all of these problems, in toto.
The Biden administration has announced its own pseudo-scientific plans, claiming Joe Biden is:
….laying the foundation for the most ambitious environmental justice agenda ever undertaken by an Administration and putting environmental justice and climate action at the center of the federal government’s work.
The executive order formalized the President and the Vice President’s commitment to ensuring that all federal agencies develop programs, policies, and activities to address the disproportionately high and adverse health, environmental, economic, climate, and other cumulative impacts on communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.
The environment has become the Marxist Trojan horse through which the government seizes all power over all humanity.
Other areas of science have similarly abandoned trusted moorings for strange skies. Scientific reasoning has been jettisoned for an ideological agenda that has nothing to do with the scientific method but instead abuses science to attain totalitarian domination.
Scientific research may one day establish unequivocally that totalitarian domination is evil. In the interim, what used to be called science has lost its way, and in 2024 looks more like necromancy, wizardry, or plain old-fashioned snake-oil chicanery.
John Klar is an Attorney, farmer, and author. Mostly farmer… And Regular Contributor to GraniteGrok and VermontGrok.
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The bipartisan Uni-party border “deal” was released last night (2/4), and it is even worse than rumored. Among other things, there is no cap at all on illegal immigration (“the border never closes”).
Mayorkas receives virtually inestimable discretion to interpret/implement the deal; and, as if that is not enough, Biden receives the discretion to suspend the “deal” as he sees fit. GOP voters have been screwed again … BY THE VERY “REPUBLICANS” THEY ELECTED. Just from Sean Davis’ X:
I have carefully reviewed the @SenatorLankford + Mayorkas bill
It codifies invasion policies, kneecaps the ability of President Trump to undo the damage, and is a massive giveaway to the far left interests promoting illegal immigrantion
— Mike Howell (@MHowellTweets) February 5, 2024
Lankford’s ‘compromise’ border bill legalizes the invasion https://t.co/wEHfw1Cnsy pic.twitter.com/KTGrCs5UEx
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) February 5, 2024
This bill is the worst screwing in the Senate since that Dem staffer filmed his porno on Klobuchar’s desk. https://t.co/v8WDDcgaAf
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) February 5, 2024
Get this: Under the new border bill, if you are an immigrant who wants to work in the US you no longer have to be married to a citizen—you only have to be a *fiancé / fiancée* of a citizen. I’m sure that won’t become a huge scam!
Section 214(c) of the Immigration and…
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) February 5, 2024
Under The Senate’s Atrocious Border Bill, Everybody Gets Asylum https://t.co/wRTQxFyXfx
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 5, 2024
The Inflation Reduction Act was actually a trillion dollar spending bill. The border security bill is actually a mass amnesty. Just assume bills do the opposite of what they say.
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) February 5, 2024
The House is impeaching Mayorkas next week while the Senate will be voting to give him massive discretion to …not enforce the border. Why would any Republican vote for this? https://t.co/7PI8uqIWfJ
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) February 5, 2024
"The border never closes" is a good summary of this bill, and of Joe Biden's policy.
I can understand why Chris Murphy supports it. I cannot imagine why any Republican supports this atrocious proposal. https://t.co/ekv7LJ8qbO
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) February 5, 2024
The bipartisan deal from the Senate immediately gives @fema over $930 million of your tax dollars to import and spread more illegals throughout your communities.
This is not negotiation this is capitulation. pic.twitter.com/8Tcn3gDepL
— Rep. Tim Burchett (@RepTimBurchett) February 5, 2024
The post GOP Voters Screwed Again, By The Very “Republicans” They Elected … Border “Deal” Is Mass Amnesty And Worse appeared first on Granite Grok.