Remember how fun it was in grade school playing the game of musical chairs? You’d circle around the chairs to music and when the music stopped everyone had to grab a chair.  But, they were one short. Out went the kid who didn’t get the seat. It was a frantic, fun game that honed kids’ listening, social and problem-solving skills.

The Nashua Board of Aldermen engaged in that game in their chamber recently. The Board of Alderman gallery had a press table in the back.  We all remember the time when press was attending governmental meetings and then, once COVID hit, the press was gone. Nashua’s press table, which had two seats, was sadly empty.

As often a lone attendee at Board of Alderman meetings, typically, I’d bring my computer to sit at the unoccupied press table, work, capture my thoughts, and sometimes contribute to public comment. I’m not a popular person with my city government, so they became irritated.

Initially, I was asked not to sit there. When I questioned the Board President on why that would be a problem, she explained it was a press table and I was not press. The idea that nobody was sitting there did not resonate with her. She was having none of that!

Ignoring the silly comment, I came to the next meeting and sat at the unoccupied press table. I received glaring looks of disapproval and frustration from the Board.

At the next meeting, the two chairs were removed, and only the “press” table remained. The game of musical chairs had begun.

As a woman who knows how to fix a problem, I inquired about the chairs and unsurprisingly learned that the Board President requested the chairs be taken away.

As a creative problem-solver, likely honed from my elementary school musical chairs days, I took a chair from the hallway right outside the chamber and carried it into the gallery, quietly placed it at the table and took my seat. Whoa, I had crossed the line! The President and others moved beyond glares and verbalized their disapproval of my boldness.

All of this was giving me a chuckle. How silly! How childish! But musical chairs is a child’s game.

Well, at the next meeting, the Board of Aldermen upped their game. Not only would the chairs remain missing at the ‘press’ table but the chairs at the public table in the hallway were mysteriously missing as well. The President harshly verbalized that if you’re not a member of the press, you cannot sit at the press table. Mind you, it was never labeled a press table. 

In a brief history, Nashua had a senior woman in her 80s who came to meetings for years and sat at that table when the press wasn’t there. She was a terrific participant in her local government. Would the Board President object if the Mayor had wanted to sit at the table?

As a creative problem-solver, at the next meeting, I carried my own chair to the chamber, quietly unfolded it at the back “press” table, took a seat with my computer, and began my listening and working. That earned me a harsh tongue-lashing for my bold and brazen move and “lack of decorum” in the chamber. They hollered, “you’re not ‘the press’. YOU can’t sit at that table”.

Again, as a creative problem-solver, I reached out to Granite Grok to request a press pass as I’ve written articles for the paper. Alas, I would have those essential and critical press credentials necessary to entitle me to a seat at the “press table”. I sent a letter to the Board of Alderman, I was official, I had a press pass. The table’s official use had been restored!

Excited, I appeared at the next meeting with my press badge prominently displayed. But the Board President and Alderman one-upped me. This time, they removed the table! And the space in the back was now an empty hole.

The adrenaline-fun-filled game of musical chairs in Nashua had ended. I lost—a fitting ending illustrating the Board’s welcoming of the public. Corporation Counsel for Nashua announced he might like to put a legal library in that back area. This never came to fruition. Perhaps a few books on 1st Amendment Rights and the Right to Know Law might be helpful in the gallery of the Board of Aldermen chamber.

Pay attention to your local governments. Sometimes, they’re really a hoot.

The post Musical Chairs appeared first on Granite Grok.

I’ve been telling stories to my grandkids since they were born.  They’re always the main characters in the stories.

In one story, they captured a ghost, which they were exploiting for money (e.g., by putting it on television shows). They kept the ghost in a Ziplock bag.

The group PETS (People for the Ethical Treatment of Spirits) responded to this by obtaining a court order to ‘release the ghost from the bag.’

Hoping to teach them something about the difference between the letter and the spirit of the law, I had planned to surprise them by saying that they let the ghost out of the bag… inside a larger bag.

But the older one beat me to it.  She literally said:  ‘I know — we open it inside a bigger bag!’

She was four years old at the time.

I was reminded of this recently because — as many of you know — Texas has been putting razor wire in the Rio Grande to stop the influx of illegal immigrants across its border.

And SCOTUS has said that the US Border Patrol can cut the wire.

But what SCOTUS didn’t say was that Texas can’t keep replacing the wire that gets cut!

So, as far as I know, that’s the plan:  let the Border Patrol cut the wire (so the state is not ‘defying the Supreme Court’, as many have claimed), then replace it with new wire.  Repeat as necessary.

So this is the state of things in our country:  We have seventy-year-old judges ‘interpreting’ the law by issuing orders that even four-year-old children could see how to get around.

I can hardly wait to see what happens next.

The post Texas: The Art of the Loophole appeared first on Granite Grok.

Jeff Chidester, Mike Rogers, and I had our share of time to fill on radio row – with opinion, commentary, speculation, and observation. Events like the First in the Nation Primary are opportunities to leverage those debates, hopefully with people aspiring to run the country, but do they even know what the nation needs?

A recent Rasmussen poll suggests that what Angelo Codevilla documented in 2014 was no better and perhaps worse today than ten years prior. Codevilla called it the Ruling Class and the Country Class. Pundits referencing the Rasmussen poll are more succinct, but there is no difference between the two. It’s US vs Them.

Among the 1,000 elites surveyed, 73% of the elites were Democrats, and 14% were Republicans. The study also examined adults who attended either Ivy League colleges or “elite private schools, including Northwestern, Duke, Stanford, and the University of Chicago.”

Jeff, Mike, and I discuss this below, but first, a few more snippets.

• Financial Well-being: Nearly three-quarters of the elites surveyed believe they are better off now financially than they were when Joe Biden entered the White House. Less than 20% of ordinary Americans feel the same way.
• Individual Freedom: Elites are three times more likely than all Americans to say there is too much individual freedom in the country. Astonishingly, almost half of the elites and almost 6 of 10 ivy leaguers say there is too much freedom.
• Climate Change: An astonishing 72% of the elites — including 81% of the elites who graduated from the top universities — favor banning gas cars. The majority of elites would ban gas stoves, nonessential air travel, SUVs, and private air conditioning. That means no air travel with the kids to Disney World.
• Education: Most elites think that teachers unions and school administrators should control the agenda of schools. Most mainstream Americans think that parents should make these decisions.

The people who would rule us have no clue what it is like for those I’ve often referred to as the peasants, and based on this poll, I’d say from the perspective of the elites, I’ve got their interpretation correct. Here are a few minutes of that conversation (recorded Jan 21st – Manchester, New Hampshire).

Please subscribe to our Rumble Channel.

 

!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u359331"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");

Rumble("play", {"video":"v46tx60","div":"rumble_v46tx60"});

The post US vs Them and the 2024 Presidential Primary appeared first on Granite Grok.

Austin’s border militarization is wrong; so is U.S. interference. NH should divorce both governments.

(Above) New Hampshire independence advocates rally before a hearing on secession legislation (Photo by Joa Orga).

In a memorable sci-fi moment, elderly politician Chrisjen Avasarala warns interstellar envoy James Holden of danger. She expects a murderous local faction will try and get him on their side. “Do not,” she says, “put your dick in it.”

Those of us in America who advocate a “national divorce” should consider her advice – and historical precedent – before we “jump to the side…of Austin’s aPARtheid.” Every state and empire involved with this ugly confrontation will lie, steal, cheat and at least occasionally kill. That’s what states and empires do, even when they’re not trying to build the next Berlin Wall or accrue millions of destitute migrants at taxpayer expense. So how should Concord react? How should secession advocates react? It, and we, should let the non-aggression principle be the guide.

Within the limits of practicality, we should:

– Support the human rights, of every member, of every party, to this conflict.
– Oppose every act of aggression committed by every member of every party to this conflict.

Ignore the faction; focus on the action.

So what aggressive misdeeds have been committed? Well, walking to Texas from Mexico without papers…is not an act of aggression. Making taxpayers help or harm migrants *is* an act aggression. Both D.C. and Austin have committed both acts.

1) Washington made this showdown possible by using income taxation to seize the earnings of Texans. It then redistributed some of the stolen property to so-called “illegals,” artificially increasing the number of migrants and creating more resentment toward them. It has actively fostered immigration problems. Where in the U.S. Constitution is such a redistribution of wealth to immigrants authorized? Even if authorized, would it be right?
2) Where, in its constitution, is D.C. empowered to prevent Texans – even Texas goons – from restricting immigration themselves? To restrict Texas citizens from owning or acquiring certain firearms they may deem useful for self defense in a time of crisis? How many hundreds of pages of gun laws does D.C. impose on Texas?
3) Where is D.C. empowered to make New Hampshire taxpayers underwrite its actions against Austin? To tax New Hampshirites and give their money to random immigrants?
4) Has everyone forgotten the extent to which D.C. has destabilized Latin American countries over the years, including the 2009 coup in Honduras?
5) Should D.C. be allowed to get away with its pause on Texas natgas permits? Do these constitute economic sanctions which would raise prices in New Hampshire?
6) If D.C. doesn’t follow its constitution, why does Austin have to follow it? Why does New Hampshire?

Having raised these concerns:

A) The Texas government’s attempt to militarize part of its border with Mexico is an act of aggression against the many Texas taxpayers who disagree with such measures. It is also an abuse of migrants who wish to exercise the inalienable (if not yet recognized) human right to travel on public roads without government permission.
B) Austin imposes some gun control of its own on Texas. This limits the ability of Texans – and migrants – to exercise legit self defense against violent criminals. Like Kiev, Austin has experienced a rush of brains to the head on this matter and gun laws there have generally been loosening.
C) Austin, at least on occasion or by accident…does direct some welfare payments to undocumented migrants.
D) State sovereignty is desirable as a hedge against Washington, its over-taxation, its no-win wars. But Texas’ rulers have picked a dirty issue upon which to make their stand for such sovereignty. This issue likely won’t stand the test of time. If the trends of the last 500 years continue, by 2100 it will be widely understood that no human being – or sentient being – is “illegal.” It will become obvious that no peaceable person or person-equivalent should be told which region of the earth they may visit…that none should be forced to get permission from an earthly nation-state before they can travel. Those alive today who hold the popular view favoring guarded borders and travel papers….will likely be regarded like slavers or Jim Crow enforcers. In 1860 it was a commonly-held belief in the United States…that one human being should be able to enslave another based on ethnicity. Now it is a commonly-held belief that one human being should be able to severely restrict the movements of another based on nationality and “papers.” The two beliefs are not wildly different. Someday those who hold the second belief will probably be almost as disgraced as the slavers of 1860.
E) Since 1865, Austin has tamely acquiesced in nearly every Unionist genocide and torture chamber spree, from Wounded Knee to Bagram Air base. But it’s going to make a stand over..not being able to build its own border police state at taxpayer expense? Is there some reason Austin can’t just get out of the way, letting private citizens defend property or aid immigrants as they see fit in accordance with common rules of decency?
F) Arguably, constitutionally…Austin was correct in the 1860s when it claimed Washington had little authority to keep Texas in the union. Other states supported Austin’s position. But the stain of slavery blotted out all.
G) Arguably, constitutionally, Austin was correct in the 1960s when it claimed that D.C. had little authority to enforce the Civil Rights Act. Other states supported Austin’s position. But the stain of segregation blotted out all.
H) And arguably, constitutionally, Austin is correct in the 2020s when it claims D.C. has little authority to prevent local immigration control. Other states are supporting Austin’s position.. But the stain of border militarism may, in its turn, blot out all.

The most regrettable misdeed hasn’t been committed yet. That would be the use of deadly force by Austin against D.C.’s enforcers…even in “self defense.” Any such act of political violence by Texans during this standoff…would be an inexcusable breach of everything Dr. King – and to some extent Texit leader Daniel Miller – have taught the world in the last century: An autonomy-minded region’s chances of political success against established central government…drops by 3x if the autonomists start using deadly force. Washington understands this, and there is probably some risk of a false flag event where D.C. attacks itself and makes it look like the Texans did it.  Maybe now is a chance for Texit folks to play some constructive or mediative role reducing tensions between Austin and Washington…so that their peaceable secession drive can continue in an orderly way.

During the 19th century, New Hampshire had a nonviolent independence movement which opposed both the expansionist wars of the Union…and slaver cruelty of the South. This movement was mostly forgotten, because the secession “success” of Southern slavers damaged all subsequent efforts at full independence for the states. But what if New Hampshire had declared independence in 1850 to protest slavery? Or the invasion of Mexico? Or all the Federal abuses at once? What if it at least had put secession to a vote? Setting that example might have kept independence alive through the decades as an active possibility for the states, disconnected from the taint of Fort Sumter and Confederacy.

NH has the ability to set such an example, and we have done it. In 2022, NHexit put legislation in front of the whole State House which would have let all New Hampshirites vote in a referendum on independence. In 2024, we brought almost exactly the same legislation forward and it made it into a Newsweek cover story. We do these things to show how plays for autonomy can be orderly, clean and even friendly. We do them to mainstream secession as Quebec and Scotland have done. But mainstream or not, New Hampshire independence is the root-striking answer to all grievances outlined above. We don’t belong in the same empire with D.C. and its on-again-off-again manipulation of migrants as political cannon fodder. We don’t belong in the same empire with Texas and its razor wire.

When India left the British Empire, no one imagined the two would part peaceably and that over 70 years of happy relations would follow. But that is what occurred. So it can be with New Hampshire and the increasingly troubled states of this continent. Change is coming fast. Once we are disentangled from our unhappy marriage with Austin and D.C., we can finally have a shot at normal friendly relations with both.

Michelle Obama once said, “If They go low, we’ll go high.” So what does the Democrat’s favorite First Lady have to say about the Biden/Harris Administration putting their reelection campaign on a one-horse pony: abortion? Silence. The Obamas are sending mixed signals on the 2024 election.

They are making suggestions to the Bidens and all Democrats on what needs to be done for reelection, while Michelle is signaling that she is ready to take the baton from Joe. They know that Joe is too old to finish the race and are waiting for him to gasp for air. The Democrats are a dysfunctional, confused group with no unifying goal except abortion.

The Democrats have also signaled that they cannot win on the accomplishments of Biden’s first term. Bidenomics is a non-starter as inflation is outpacing wages, and credit is beating the hell out of savings. Education is failing our children, which leaves only one option: make it free. Don’t worry that the students from 10 years ago or those to come will pay for their education. We’ll forgive the loans of those who will vote for us now. On the day of the New Hampshire Primary, which Joe Biden rendered irrelevant, Biden was nowhere to be seen in the Granite State. He has not been to New Hampshire in over two years. The President, who claimed to be the great unifier, said that New Hampshire was too white to give it relevance. On Tuesday, Biden joined his even less popular Vice President Kamala Harris in Virginia, hosting a Reproductive Rights support group. Biden and Harris recognize that the only subject they can connect with the voters today is abortion.

If you cannot talk about safety and security at home with a porous Southern Border, the Middle East is on fire on multiple fronts, and Zelenskyy comes to Washington monthly to refill his piggy bank. That bank is one-of-a-kind with the tagline: 10% of your tax dollars that go to Ukraine is sent to “The Big Guy.” They cannot talk about Bidenomics because everyone knows it is not working. They cannot speak about Fentanyl as we are still losing 100,000 lives per year to drug poisoning. They cannot claim an improved infrastructure as commercial passenger jets are catching fire and losing doors in mid-flight. No, there is nothing about Biden’s policy that this Administration can point to as a success, so they will fall back on a proven winner to get votes: abortion. Until every state offers free abortions to every person with a uterus up until the time of delivery, they will keep using abortion as a campaign slogan and blame the Republicans for putting every woman’s life in jeopardy. It is a horrid purpose and a gross hyperbole, but it works for Democrats.

So this is how the Democrats go high. Let’s not work on the issue of unwanted pregnancies, but let’s disregard the life of the unborn as if it is simply human tissue, kill it, and set the woman free of any responsibility. To Democrats, abortion has nothing to do with reproductive freedom but freedom from responsibility. But if you do not care about human trafficking across the Border, Fentanyl deaths, or millions of homeless Americans, then what is a few thousand dead fetuses?

The post Forget Prosperity, We Have Abortion For All appeared first on Granite Grok.

Dear Ms. Stanley,

I came to the State House to testify at the hearing on SB573 which is an act relative to parental consent for medical care. SB573 would add a new RSA by adding a new Chapter, Parental Consent to Medical and Mental Health Care.

Within SB573 there is the following language on consent for mental healthcare:

IV. Soliciting to perform arranging for the performance of, or performing mental health practice, as defined in RSA 330-A-2, VI, on a child.
170-1:1 Parental Consent to medical and Mental Health Care Required.

Unfortunately, I could not stay for the hearing since it ran late. I did go back to listen to your testimony (23:00) and decided to reach out to you based on what you presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Since you are the Executive Director of National Association of Social Workers NH, I was concerned by some of the statements you made regarding school social workers who are servicing students in our public schools.

In your testimony, you mentioned that students in our public schools who are receiving mental health services from social workers have consent from their parents through their IEPs, 504 plans, etc. That was good to hear. But then you said that this Bill would have a chilling effect on the Social Workers in our schools. You went on to explain that a child may come to a social worker wanting to talk to them. That the social worker may want to conduct an assessment on that child or make a referral as part of their job.

Under federal law, Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA, Sec. 4002 General Provisions:

“(a) Parental Consent.–

“(1) In general.–

“(A) Informed written consent.—A State, local educational agency, or other entity receiving funds under this title shall obtain prior written, informed consent from the parent of each child who is under 18 years of age to participate in any mental-health assessment or service that is funded under this title and conducted in connection with an elementary school or secondary school under this title.

(ESSA) was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, with bi-partisan support from Senator Shaheen and Congresswoman Annie Kuster.

I’m confused by your testimony. Are you saying that social workers in our schools are assessing and providing mental health services without parental consent? And if SB573 were to pass, only then would school social workers have to seek parental consent under the conditions you listed.

If that is the case, it sounds like our school social workers are violating federal law.  I am copying New Hampshire Senators and Commissioner Edelblut on this email to alert them to the possibility that social workers in our public schools are currently violating federal law.

I support SB573 for the very reason that you seem to have admitted during the hearing. The mental health counselors working in our schools are either not aware of this federal statute or they are ignoring it. Maybe if SB573 were signed into law, this would clear up any confusion that currently exists.

SB573 would essentially require parental consent for mental care, which is currently required under federal law. Based on your testimony, I’m now very concerned that school social workers around the state are violating federal law. This tells me that the passage of SB573 is even more important to pass.

If you were not aware of the parental consent provision in ESSA, I hope that you will make sure that school social workers are better informed.

The post Parental Consent to Medical and Mental Health Care in Schools appeared first on Granite Grok.

Electric Vehicles have an opportunity to replace the Edsel as the historic reference for transportation marketing failure. The Edsel was “overhyped, unattractive (distinguished by a vertical grille said to resemble a horse collar[2]), and low quality.” It was also introduced during a crappy economy.

The EV is an overweight pack of lies whose “popularity” was compelled into being by progressive politicians and bureaucrats, and the Ford Motor Company has lost billions in 2022 equivalent dollars. A problem repeated in recent years as the government incentivized automakers to invest heavily in Electric Vehicles. Forced might be a better word. Between public statements about ending combustion-driven transportation and stricter fuel economy mandates, carmakers were not given much choice.

Car buyers, however, still have one.

Several years into the push to replace gas-powered engines with EVs has met an impenetrable wall named reality. EVs are not any of the things promised. Production has been scaled back as inventory piles up, dealers refuse to take more of it, and billions in losses are written off. Ford has taken a beating, and its latest mea culpa comes in production cuts for its EV truck line.

Ford planned to produce around 3,200 F-150 Lightnings per week in 2024 at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, which assembles all of the electric pickup trucks produced by Ford. Ford announced last month that it was cutting its production of the trucks in half, all the way down to 1,600 per week.

Ford has slashed $12 billion in EV investments as it struggles to sell its all-electric vehicles to consumers who have numerous concerns about transitioning from gas to electric, especially as retail prices for most EVs remain high.

Ford is shuffling employees to gas-powered production lines and hiring workers to build cars people want and can almost afford, as opposed to the impossible-to-afford EVs, which have only gotten more expensive. And the demand for rare earth metals has done little more than jack up costs and transfer wealth to China.

Given the Biden family’s cozy relationship with the CCP, you’d be right to wonder if this wasn’t just another way to make protection-money payments or extortion money, but it’s not just Biden. The left is obsessed with crushing the fossil fuel industry. Biden ran for office on it. The Dems are nearly all-in on the lie—the rich ones, at least. But you can only put so many lawn ornaments in your driveway (it’s not safe to park them in the garage), and the nation is running out of people who can afford impractical virtue-signal mobiles.

Without further interference from the government – and even it can’t backstop these turds with enough of someone else’s money to make them appealing – the industry is destined to collapse under the excessive weight of its own lithium battery limitations.

That won’t be the end of it. The apocalypse cult won’t let it go, but that’s not the biggest issue. Much like wind and solar waste, no one went in having end-of-life solutions for toxic components, and there is a lot of that out there – some of it aging in dealer lots.

No worries. I’m sure the EPA will make some rules to address another mess the government has made, and we’ll get to pay for that too.

 

 

 

The post Ford Forced to Cut EV Production As America Runs Low On People Who Can Afford Virtue Signal Mobiles appeared first on Granite Grok.

In one of my previous articles, I told the story of how my request for Michael Knowles’ Amazon #1 bestseller Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds was denied by my local public library.

While I used this anecdote as an example of the double standard that libraries use when referring to “banned” books, I am bringing it up again here to highlight the dysfunctional process by which librarians select books.  Speechless is about the weaponization of political correctness and is written by a well-known conservative writer, so it was not surprising that my request was denied. In fact, I had used this request as a test, and my public library acted as I predicted it would.  While the library justified its denial by claiming that there were no positive reviews of this book, I was easily able to find a lot of complimentary feedback online about this title and the fact that it was the number one book on Amazon for a substantial period of time also attested to its worthiness to be added to my library’s collection.

Librarians, however, look for reviews in a small number of “professional” publications like Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and ALA’s own Booklist, and all of these sources, as you would expect, inordinately promote woke material and overlook worthy but conservatively themed items.  Additionally, librarians are motivated to buy material that has won annual book awards, many given by the ALA.  Unfortunately, most awards in general these days, from the Oscars on down, are not based on merit but on how well nominees align with an organization’s political agenda.

When librarians decide which books they will purchase for their collections using taxpayer dollars, you’d think that they would consider which books their users actually want or need to read. Sadly, this is not what happens in most publicly funded libraries.  Instead, these librarians are influenced by woke review sources and annual book awards to buy those books that they, along with the organizations they look to for guidance, think their patrons should read.

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

When I recently visited the home page of Kirkus Reviews, a popular source among collection development librarians, the featured story was a glowing review of the newly released film Origins.  This documentary is based on the book Caste: The Origin of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson, a book which Kirkus describes as “a sweeping survey of how ingrained systems of social categorization. . . have led to horrific crimes and injustices throughout history . . . and how such systems have been used to oppress a wide range of people.”  The woke point of view conveyed by this review is echoed throughout the publication and is also reflected by the books that are awarded the annual Kirkus Prize.

The 2023 fiction winner was The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, a novel that portrays the “solidarity” of Jews and Blacks against “the many local White Christians” who “frown upon the easygoing relationship between” these two groups.   The non-fiction prize went to Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino,” which Kirkus described as a “powerful look at what it means to be a member of a community that, though large, remains marginalized.” Finally, the “young readers” award was given to American Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History, in which the historical “contributions of women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people are featured prominently.”

Kirkus Reviews also offers a “curation service” featuring “diversity collections,” which was “developed to help librarians find diverse books that meet modern standards of sensitivity and respect.”  Books highlighted here include Metaracism: How Systemic Racism Devastates Black Lives and The Pink Line: Journeys across the World’s Queer Frontiers.  My purpose in pointing out all of these specific books is not to object to their being published and read because that would violate the tenets of free speech; what we must take issue with is the clear promotion and celebration of books that convey racial and sexual themes while practically ignoring any other type of book.

This obvious promotion is also seen in Library Journal, another influential book review source for collection development librarians. Among the books it celebrates in its “Best of 2023” list is Lucky Red, in which author Claudia Cravens “skillfully blends Western tropes…into her queer coming-of-age story” set in “the town’s woman-run brothel.”  Of the ten “best” books recommended in the “Romance” category, two are described as “gay romances,” while the lesbian romance Mrs. Nash’s Ashes features the “delightfully quirky grumpy/sunshine romance” between the titular female character and a woman named Elsie.  Chef’s Choice is “a charming queer romance” featuring two transgender characters, one identifying as a woman and another as a man.   With such a large percentage of recommended books on LJ’s “Best of 2023” list featuring LGBT characters, it is hard to deny the clear over-representation of such books in this particular sample.

The American Library Association has its own review publication called Booklist.  Its October 2023 issue featured the article “Essentials: Here Be Drag Queens,” which provides a “celebration of modern drag” by recommending fourteen titles, including the picture books Auntie Uncle: Drag Queen Hero and If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It.  For older children, Booklist recommends Martin Mclean: Middle School Queen, which tells the story of a boy who wants to compete in an all-ages drag contest. In Kings, Queens and In-Betweens, recommended for high school students, “17-year-old lesbian Nima, just rejected by her longtime crush and best friend, stumbles into a drag show at a local fair” where “she finds a fascinating and accepting community, as well new confidence and a potential new romance.”

In addition to the reviews provided by Booklist to promote its woke agenda, the ALA also gives out a number of awards that celebrate books that reinforce this agenda and strongly influence purchasing decisions.  One of this organization’s most coveted accolades is the Stonewall Book Award for “LGBTQIA+” literature, which the Rainbow Roundtable sponsors.  In addition to the awards given for adult fiction and non-fiction, prizes have also been given for “young adult” books and even children’s books for over a decade. In fact, in 2021, a board book, We Are Little Feminists Families, was given Stonewall’s Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award. Last year, this award was given to “Love, Violet,” a book that suggests that an innocent friendship between two girls is homosexual, and also to When the Angels Left the Old Country, a “young adult” novel in which, according to Kirkus Reviews, “Queerness and gender fluidity thread through both the human and supernatural characters.”

As I pointed out in my previous article about the misnamed category of “young adult” literature, When the Angels Left the Old Country was also a runner-up for the Printz Award given to a book that the ALA believes “exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.”  The other four books that the ALA considered “excellent” were:

• All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir, the overall winner, which Kirkus Reviews praised for confronting “head on the complicated realities of life in a world that is not designed for the oppressed to thrive in.”
• Scout’s Honor, by Lily Anderson, in which “the cast displays an effervescent mix of racial and ethnic identities” (from Kirkus Reviews)
• Icebreaker, features a gay romance between two hockey players and
• Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality, a book that “offers nature-based analogs for many types of human sexual orientation and gender identity,” according to a BookPage review.

With the Printz Award winner and its four runners-up all having racial and sexual themes, there is no denying the inordinate attention given to books focused on gender or race, suggesting that these are the only themes worthy of merit in our society.

The American Library Association has not cornered the market on book awards.  The National Book Awards are presented each year by the National Book Foundation.  This year’s fiction winner was Blackouts by Juston Torres, which addresses “the distortions and erasures of queer history” (NPR). Three of the four honorable mention winners are on racial themes, including:

• Chain Gang All-Stars: “a kaleidoscopic, excoriating look at the American prison system’s unholy alli­ance of systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration,”
• Temple Folk: “The ten stories in this collection contribute to the bounty of diverse narratives about Black life,” and
• This Other Eden: “an enduring testament to the struggle to preserve human dignity in the face of intolerance and injustice.”

As I have already mentioned, my purpose in writing this article has not been to bash individual books.  I have simply tried to provide anecdotal evidence to expose the woke agenda of most book review sources and award programs, an agenda that would likely be supported, if I had the time, by a more objective statistical analysis.  What concerns me is the clear promotion of these books, which dominate every review source and are inordinately given awards, drowning out books on a multitude of other topics.  As a result, the impressionable and predominantly left-leaning staff members of most publicly funded libraries end up purchasing a disproportionate number of these titles, and these books often just sit on the shelves, rarely getting checked out because patrons are simply not interested in reading them, nor should they feel that they should read them.

Meanwhile, review sources and awards are often cited as justification for their purchase in town and school district budget reports.  Those who are hired to run our publicly funded libraries need to realize that the real justification for buying any book in a public or school library is how well it serves the needs of its users, not how well it reflects a woke organization’s questionable agenda, nor what awards it has been given by these organizations or what their glowing reviews have to say.

| Substack

The post “And the Winner Is…” (How Librarians Decide What We Should Read) appeared first on Granite Grok.

This is from a Substack article by Chris Bray, writing about progressives who are upset that Texas is defending its border.  It has my irony meter pegged at 10:

The people who run formally declared sanctuary states and sanctuary cities are very very upset that state and local officials are refusing to acknowledge the federal government’s supremacy in matters of immigration and border security.

The post Quote of the Day appeared first on Granite Grok.

Every other Tuesday evening in Hartford/White River Junction, the town holds its Select Board meeting, with the first few minutes open to public comments.  This week’s meeting saw several members of the town chiding Board Member Lannie Collins for his statement made regarding the controversial event sweeping the nation – Drag Queen Story Hour.

Pride Center Vermont and the Vermont Chapter Drag Queen Story Hour recently attempted to hold the event at the Northern Stage theatre in downtown White River, however it was disrupted due to a bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax.  The threat was issued via email and was said to have come from an encrypted Russian server which leaves the question – who perpetrated the hoax?  (For more on the rise of hate crime hoaxes read this book)

The comment controversy began with board member Ally Tufenkjian referring to a recent drag event as “a positive experience” to which Collins replied ““I take deference to it being labeled a positive experience because some people in our community would not view those events at Northern Stage as a positive experience,” Collins said during Selectboard comments earlier this month. “That is a personal expression and is not shared by all members of the board or all residents within the town. And I don’t think it’s appropriate (for Selectboard members) to make personal statements about whether it is positive or negative.”

Though rarely attended by townsfolk, and rarely viewed online due to their pedantic and bureaucratic nature, this meeting saw a relatively packed house by Hartford standards.  It seems word got out Mr. Collins exercised his right to voice his concern on behalf of those in town who share his apprehension given the event is not only categorical grooming of children but has been riddled with child sex offenders around the country.  Collins detractors either are unaware or simply aren’t concerned the children’s safety may be compromised in the name of diversity and inclusion.

A look at the performers that evening finds Drag Queens *Emoji Nightmare and *Katniss Everqueer. (*WARNING: One look at their social media and it’s obvious they promote highly sexualized behavior.)

Emoji Nightmare is a man from tiny Cambridge, Vermont, whose real name is Justin Marsh.  Marsh grew up in Cambridge on a dairy farm where he lives to this day.  His day job is as a financial advisor, while his evening and hobbyist passion seems to be all things drag.

Katniss’ bio mentions her work with autistic and disabled children, among other interests, but another concerning statement tells us she likes to portray Silence of the Lambs and Lot’s O Huggin’ Bear.  Who is Lot’s O Huggin’ Bear? The Disney Fandom page describes the character as:

“…the main antagonist of the animated film Toy Story 3.  He is a large, magenta-pink strawberry-scented teddy bear who ruled Sunnyside Daycare with the iron fist of a prison warden, despite his advertised sweet nature.”

Furthermore, I don’t think anyone takes issue with older people, be they teens or adults, helping children learn to read.  However, improving literacy is not what Drag Queen Story Hour is about.  They even say as much:

“DQSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models,” RADAR Productions writes about the program on its website. “In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress-up is real.”

In other words, having a stable identity is “rigid,” and looking to those who defy societal norms as “role models” is to be lauded as good for children.  This is only one aspect of the event adults who object take issue with.

The more concerning issue, especially for those who understand predatory behavior, is the same setting allows grown men to be disguised as women to unwitting children.  Men have long been the predatory class when it comes to sex crimes against children.  The Stop It Now site reports that “males made up almost 88% of perpetrators.”  There is not a more perfect scenario for a predator than to be able to access children in disguise as something innocent, especially if the disguise includes convincing parents they are there to help the child.

This is not to say Justin or Kat are predators, but their chosen method for “queering children” also happens to be ideal for those who would sexually abuse them.  Grooming requires time and a necessary drawing down of one’s guardedness, both the child’s and parents’. This is why predators gravitate toward positions like coaching, daycare, clergy, and school jobs because they need to have the appearance of wanting to help children.

A counterargument I heard is, “But what about priests”?   Or, for that matter, what about coaches and teachers?  Should we prevent them from being around children? No, but they also aren’t posing as something they aren’t nor specifically targeting children in a sexualized manner, while drag queens are – deliberately.  Those other vocations also require background checks – DQSH does not.

Not all drag queens support these story hours, nor do all members of the LGBTQ+ community.  Those outspoken against it agree with their hetero-normative peers it’s inappropriate for children and clearly a method of grooming.  The group Gays Against Groomers grew out of this concern.  There statement:

Gays Against Groomers is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization of gay people and others within the community who oppose the recent trend of indoctrinating, sexualizing and medicalizing children under the guise of “LGBTQIA+”

 

Still, what proof is there that predators would use such an innocent and fun event to target children? Here are just four instances out of many:

· Judge who headed ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ sponsor arrested on child porn charges

• Houston Public Library admits registered child sex offender read to kids in Drag Queen Storytime
• Oregon school teacher who mentored 11-year-old drag queen sentenced for child sex crimes
• One is Houston man William Travis Dees, a.k.a. Lisa Lott, who was incarcerated and listed as a high-risk sex offender in 2004 after he abused multiple children ages 4, 5, 6 and 8.

 

Other concerning factors as it relates to the potential targeting of children with this type of event in Vermont:

• The US accounts for 800,000 missing child cases each year.
  • Alaska is the state with the highest number of missing people, including both adults and children. The state of Arizona takes second place, followed by Oregon, Washington, and VERMONT.
• The average age for a minor to enter the sex trade is 12 – 14.
• Children with disabilities are 2.9 times more likely than children without disabilities to be sexually abused.
• Children with intellectual and mental health disabilities appear to be the most at risk, with 4.6 times the risk of sexual abuse as their peers without disabilities.
• In as many as 93 percent of child sexual cases, the child knows the person who commits the abuse.
• 60% of children who are sexually abused do not disclose

(source: Stop It Now)

Lastly, and perhaps most shocking, the popularity of DQSH extends overseas, especially in the UK, where the incidence of sex crimes against children is now most commonly perpetrated by other children.

 

The post Night Cap: Hartford, VT Board Meeting – Hot Views Exchanged Over Drag Story Hour appeared first on Granite Grok.

First, I would be remiss if I didn’t note that I became aware of this latest assault on liberty in New Hampshire from the NeverTrump, RINO website NH-Journal, a/k/a NH-NeverTrump-Journal. So what happened is a January 19th decision by the New Hampshire Supreme Court that essentially said you have no right to expressive speech in New Hampshire (here’s the link):

New Hampshire v. Bossi.

In a nutshell, Chris Sun-King Sununu’s Supremos upheld the criminal trespass conviction of a woman who protested a school board’s mask mandate by entering the school board’s PUBLIC meeting without a mask. While Sun-King’s Supremos never address the freedom of speech implications of their ukase, the decision is all about freedom of speech.

There is NO, and there never was any, medical justification for mask mandates. A mask mandate, therefore, requires the attendees of the meeting to engage in expressive political speech that the attendee may disagree with: e.g., obedience to authority, support for the Sununu-Regime, etc., etc., etc.. Not wearing a mask is also political speech …e.g., opposition to COVID-tyranny, disapproval of the Sununu-Regime, etc.

Criminalizing the refusal to wear a mask is criminalizing political speech. Moreover, under the same ignore-freedom-of-speech analysis used by Sun-King Sununu’s Supremos, the school-board could forbid people from wearing MAGA hats to school board meetings or anti-DEI hats or shirts, etc., etc., etc..

But I know … I know … it’s okay that Sununu’s Supremos have ruled that incorrect political speech in New Hampshire can be criminalized because Sun-King Sununu is really, really, really good on the Second Amendment, and he cut business taxes!!!!

The post The New Hampshire Supreme Court Rules … NO Free Speech In New Hampshire appeared first on Granite Grok.

It’s one thing to support a candidate, but New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu is just embarrassing himself. He’s drunk on the attention and has lost control of himself. Haley seriously underperformed in Iowa and lost by more than ten points in New Hampshire. And now she’s shedding donors.

Rich Democrat funder Reid Hoffman has derailed his money train to Haley, and he’s not alone. With no path to the nomination anywhere in sight, Sununu’s Haley fan club is going to have to do more than yap about how great he thinks she is. There’s no path. It’s Haley or Trump, and Trump’s base won’t vote for her. Neither will a bunch of primary-meddling Democrats who’d never vote for her in general (yes, we heard a few more stories about NH Dems trying to vote for Haley), and even on his worst day, Biden beats a Republican nominee elected by Democrats.

But wait, there’s more.

A Republican fundraiser told CNBC on Wednesday that three clients who each helped Haley raise up to $100,000 for her campaign are now opting out of assisting the former U.N. ambassador.

Others explained that while they plan to speak out publicly in support of Haley, they aren’t convinced they’ll be able to raise much money for her campaign since she’s winless so far in the primary season. -CNBC

Winless and unlikely to win anytime soon. She isn’t on the ballot in the Nevada Caucus, and South Carolina loves Trump. Nationally, Haley is down by as many as 63 points, which means at least 20 points and probably 40, even if Democrats meddle in other states. That’s a “yuge” gap, and on those terms, the calls for her to get out now so the party can focus on November seem justified.

So what value is left, other than to spend a pile of cash against Trump that could be directed at Dem opponents?

There are – I eyeballed it, so this might not be exact – just over twenty mixed or open Republican primaries, of which New Hampshire is one. I’ve heard from insiders and outsiders alike who were not all that keen on the recent effort to close the primary in New Hampshire. The zeal to encourage Democrats to meddle in their election has helped them turn a corner.  They are willing to talk about and support a closed Republican primary.

In a state that is 40% registered independent, it will force fence-sitters to pick a side to have a voice in those contests. Some will continue to argue that closing the primary is not fair, but if that’s true, then no private organization should be allowed to decide who votes on their leadership, priorities, principles, or direction. That’s what the primary is, and a small number of Republicans have gone too far to undermine it in their quest to slow Trump’s train.

That’s politics, and it’s part of the process, but so are the side effects.

Regardless of your thoughts about him or her, Chris Sununu has been a great advocate for Haley. But as he serves his last year as governor and transitions to whatever comes after that, it may have cost him the respect of many in his own political party. I should say more, he’d already lost much from many. And for what?

A candidate that can’t beat an opponent for whom he has said he would vote.

 

The post Did Haley-Homer Chris Sununu Just Help Us Close the NH Republican Primary? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Car exhausts have chemicals in the fumes, as we all know, as do any fossil fuels being burned, including planes. So even without specific chemicals being injected into the Contrail, it is still technically a Chem Trail.

They are called Condensation Trails or Contrails; this is the same effect of a car warming up in the extreme cold. When Planes fly at altitude from 20,000 to 40,000 feet it is Extremely cold at that altitude. Thus creating condensation in their exhaust fumes.

Also, dispersal at those altitudes could go a long way before coming down. If they were trying to spray chemicals on us, they should be at lower altitudes. And since the prevailing winds up there are east to west, spraying NH at altitude would end up over the ocean.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t trust the government, never got jabbed and never will, will not wear a mask again; I avoided the mask as much as possible during the Govid (Government Virus Disease) B.S., do not believe Oswald acted alone, well he thought he acted alone, but was set up, and still not 100% on the 1st moon landing.

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

I need good scientific proof of this Cloud Seeding, Weather Modifications, or the intentional injection of pollutants into the air. And Yes, I know all about HB1700; just wonder exactly how they plan on enforcing it, tracking planes to their home bases, and handing them tickets.

I do not believe the cost analysis of the bill is anywhere near the real cost.

Then, the Karens, complaining about Wood or Pellet smoke next and how the bill is written, the NH DOE will have to investigate. I had heard that the Smokehouse in Ossipee was forced to fix their exhaust so you would not see smoke rising from the little piggy. I did not doubt the story.

I am here and ready to learn, but please, scientific sites only. I have no energy to research all this myself; I have enough conspiracy theories to defend as it is.

The post Condensation Trails or Chem Trails, is There a Difference? appeared first on Granite Grok.

A group of New Hampshire Democrats have introduced a bill that is so blatantly unconstitutional that you’d think even they would know better. There is no chance of that. Oppressing speech feels right, especially if your bill allows you to accuse people of a crime without evidence of one.

They even added a special section prohibiting protected speech 90 days before an election (ala McCain Feingold).

HB1500 is an act relative to prohibiting the unlawful distribution of misleading synthetic media – where synthetic media is defined as “any form of media including text, image, video, or sound, fully or partially created or modified through the use of artificial intelligence algorithms.”

Without venturing down the “your side does this more than anyone rabbit hole,” what exactly were they thinking? You can’t require the consent of the object of your ridicule (for example), especially politicians, as we near an election. But that’s not the most dangerous feature of this smoldering crap wagon of words.

The proposed legislation fails to explain how the target or an advocate can tell if the text, image, video, or sound is (for lack of a better word) analog or AI. So, when looking at a bunch of text, a meme, or a parody video – all protected speech under the First Amendment – how does one discern if it was crafted by human hands or artificial intelligence?

Let me give you an example. Which one of these images was “fully or partially created or modified through the use of artificial intelligence algorithms.”

     

 

The answer is neither and, therefore, both because the bill has no mechanism for preventing snowflakes (or paid activists) from using the law HB1500 would create to engage in malicious acts of lawfare.

HB1500 is also an entrapment law. Anyone sharing a screengrab second-or-third-hand of something whose source document turns out to violate the law has no way of knowing in advance they might be breaking it, which again, demonstrates the idiocy of what it pretends to do – protect constituents these legislators consider too stupid to make decisions about online content for themselves.

That’s not the actual goal. HB1500 exists to suppress political speech with an emphasis on quelching dissent in the weeks leading up to an election when we need it most! But if we were to pretend otherwise, what right does NH have to tell citizens they need to acquire and use technology to ensure that any expression they engage in is not derived in violation of HB1500?

The correct, undiplomatic response to legislators ignoring any or all of these problems involves the phrase “you and the horse you rode in on.”

I don’t use AI, but as written, the easily offended could accuse me of violating this bill were it to become law without any evidence or concern for the need – which is an all-star attribute of laws under Democrat Socialism. Dragging innocent citizens into the so-called legal system on a lark, if you like, which – in my opinion – is the point. This bill suppresses the rights of innocent citizens while fattening the pockets of lawyers (not to mention cluttering up court schedules) for charges that cannot be corroborated and are – literally – protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the NH Constitution.

[Art.] 22. [Free Speech; Liberty of the Press.] Free speech and Liberty of the press are essential to the security of Freedom in a State: They ought, therefore, to be inviolably preserved.

I missed the public hearing and had not heard about the bill until after the fact, but one thing is clear. Democrats, especially the bill’s sponsors, are at war with the Constitution and free expression, and this is just another flanking maneuver and a poorly written one, at that.

If you agree, please get in touch with the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety with some politely worded thoughts.

The post HB1500: The Dems Latest Act to Chill Free Speech and Expression … Is a New Kind of Stupid (With an Old Twist) appeared first on Granite Grok.

To all those who are sending in memes, thank you!  The inflow has accelerated – a good thing!  Please do share this post, and if you share an individual meme, consider mentioning you saw it on the Grok!

Speaking of, from this week, Monday Edition and Wednesday Edition.  Also check out my latest Israel-focused meme & commentary post if this is a subject of interest to you.

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

I go to sporting events for my kids and with my kids.  I am astonished at how many people do not stand or place their hand on their hearts when the Star Spangled Banner is played.  And I am very proud of my immigrant wife who dutifully not only places her hand on her heart, standing at attention, but makes sure our kids do too.

 

 

 

 

 

Reminds me of a guy at synagogue who said that he’d had three shots, still had caught Covid, but said exactly that: “Thank goodness I was vaccinated or it would have been worse”.  FFS.

 

 

 

 

Drip by drip the news is coming out.

 

 

Not to mention, from what I understand, booking every escort in or around Davos.

 

 

 

Late stage: They’ve been planning a One World government for at least a century.  Under their enlightened “philosopher king” rule.

 

 

 

 

I can’t say, in my book, that Trump is “squeaky clean”… but it speaks volumes that to get him they had to invent stuff.

 

 

 

Because it sounds so good in theory.

 

 

 

NOT incompetence.  Malice.

 

 

 

 

 

And yet everyone in America points to Canada as a “shining light” of government health care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karma.

 

 

Heroes and heroines.  Related:

Prosecution for Americans Who Forged COVID Vaccine Cards — But ‘Pandemic Amnesty’ for the Powerful? • Children’s Health Defense (childrenshealthdefense.org)

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, they keep adding to the vaccine schedule.

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

 

This is, or should be, huge.  At this point, any location that doesn’t hand-count – with witnesses – the paper ballots is suspect.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Gee, maybe people don’t want to see trannies or fat people in bikinis???

 

 

 

Keep pushing it, Leftists.  We’re getting close to reaching for the switch.  Alas.

 

 

Those who continue to push it should understand that – while this is an extreme example – there are a lot people on “our side” that can do this kind of shot from 500+ yards.

LONG WAY THERE: 4549 YARD RIFLE SHOT (ON VIDEO) – The Classic Woodsman (ericnestor.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know a sad number of “Conservatives” who think like this.  Look, the only person with whom I agree is myself, and sometimes not even then!   But really – don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Her, Barackus, Pedo Pete, and a bunch  of others.  And not just from that side of the aisle.  Heck, raffle off chances to pull the lever and you’ll raise gobs of money.   Hell, throw in Daddy and whelp Soros, plus Barbara Spectre for good measure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Damn, that’ll leave a mark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The UN is UNuseful and UNneeded.  Whether for Israel or anything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To modify a quote from General Sherman:

“Migration is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want.”

‘Betrayal to our citizens’: Alderman warns Chicago is ‘not equipped’ to handle flood of illegal immigrants | Law Enforcement Today | lawenforcementtoday.com

 

 

 

 

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

 

Link section; some from me, some from my Jarhead friend:

 

Bayou Renaissance Man: The COVID-19 scam is now plain to see – but the authorities worldwide continue to exploit it

And yet our government is still urging us to get booster shots, and those who refuse to contaminate themselves with a COVID-19 vaccine are still facing discrimination in many cities and states.

My Shul still recommends it to everyone.  I see job postings that I’m interested in but then, when I investigate, the company has “Must show proof of Covid Jab”…

—

Bayou Renaissance Man: Milei lays it on the line at Davos – and the elite sneer

Smackdown.  But they don’t care.  Remember, they’re relentless – this is their FAITH.

—

The West Should Stop Being Ashamed of Its Success And Stop Committing Cultural Suicide – Flopping Aces

Amen.  Western Civilization is the greatest, most exceptional civilization.  Or… was:

Heat Becomes Unaffordable In Germany… Seniors Struggle, Staying Warm At Public Heating Places… (notrickszone.com)

Germany and others used to be first-world countries.

—

The Draft Comes Back – Vox Popoli (voxday.net)

I wonder if all those Swedes who were gung ho about Sweden joining NATO realize that their forced military service is a direct consequence of their foolish decision to join the military wing of Clown World. I also wonder how they’re going to square the logical circle about forcing young men to fight in defense of individual freedom and democracy.

Regardless, it appears the young men of the West are going to face a choice. Fight the clowns ruling your country or fight the combined military forces of China and Russia. Based on recent events in Ukraine, the former would appear to be a much better bet.

—

Bayou Renaissance Man: The illegal alien migration corridor exposed

This is scary stuff.  Look at the scale of the operation!  Related:

BORDER SHOWDOWN: Texas Defies Feds — ‘We Will Continue to Deploy Razor Wire’ (breitbart.com)

G-d bless Texas!  I was listening this morning to talk radio – so when are the states that are supporting Texas sending troops to help out?

States standing with Texas as of January 25, 2024 (substack.com)

Military expert says Texas has constitutional right to defend itself (wnd.com)

—

The Crisis In The Red Sea Threatens To Disrupt Global Supply Chains Even More Than The Pandemic Did ⋆ Conservative Firing Line

War is not just military.  For Islam (and any group that practices total war) war is economic, and resources, and moral…

—

The Transgender Suicide Scam – American Thinker

I have read this multiple times – versions of “Would you rather have a live trans-boy or a dead girl (or vice versa).  And IMHO this is a clever bit of psychological twisting, done intentionally to get parents to go along.

—

The Fix Is In – Trump Goes To Prison | Armstrong Economics

This article has some fairly compelling data showing that the Deep State already has plans to put President Trump in prison, no matter what “We The People” have to say.  Jail, or other plans:

Not Cool – Alex Soros Tweets: “Bullet Hole, 47” – The Last Refuge (theconservativetreehouse.com)

Alex Soros (the son of George Soros) just tweeted out a very interesting tweet, implying that he was paying to have #47 “bullet-holed”.  Interestingly, the bills shown in the photo are OLD, in fact one of the commenters (Dad’s Son, posting on January 22, 2024 @ 2:45) noted that from the signatures on the bills, these are all from 1963.  Gee what important event happened in Dallas in November 1963?  I seriously hope the Secret Service takes a good hard look at this, and at Alex Soros

—

Minds To Think – by T.L. Davis – T.L.’s Posts and Podcasts (substack.com)

TL Davis with another “I can’t say he’s wrong” post.  Somewhat related:

WHO Blames ‘Fake News and Conspiracy Theories’ As Sovereign Nations Reject Pandemic Treaty – The People’s Voice (thepeoplesvoice.tv)

—

More evidence that smart phones are destroying minds – Behind The Black – Robert Zimmerman

Smartphones are causing children to have behavioral, as well as cognitive issues.  And from Bill Whittle (video, link only):

PJTV: Five Alarm Fire (youtube.com)

—

Harvard Sinks Even Further, Med School Forced to Retract Multiple Papers After Data Falsification Probe (thefederalistpapers.org)

The more I observe, the more I am 100% convinced that the fraud in our society has run long, and penetrated deep.  In every field.

 

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

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

No.  Globalists and Islam are our twin threats.  Not the above.

 

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

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

 

And related:

 

 

I feel this.  Actually, here, it’s worse.  We’ll be OUT of something, and then someone will complain we’re out of it, and I get blamed because I’m not a telepath.

—

 

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

 

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

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

 

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

 

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

Last year, Vermont Democrats and Progressives put forward a bill (S.39) to raise legislative pay by over double, plus a generous benefits package that regular Vermonters working a similar part-time job would not qualify for. Governor Scott vetoed the bill, which passed the House 102-44 and the Senate 19-10 largely along party lines.

Needless to say, it was highly unpopular with We the People, and majority leadership decided not to challenge this veto with an override vote.

But, alas, that was not the last to be heard from a particularly greedy cabal of entitled Senators led by Ruth Hardy (D-Addison), Becca White (D-Windsor), and Anne Watson (D/P-Washington), whose goal is to end Vermont’s tradition of a citizen legislature and replace it with an elite, political class of full-time politicians – a.k.a. themselves. (Seriously, just release the flying monkeys already.)  So, this year, they are trying again with a “more modest,” ostensibly lower-cost alternative, S.224 – An act relating to compensation and benefits for members of the Vermont General Assembly.

The principal “cost saving” measure in S.224 over S.39 is that it removes the nearly $2 million a year in healthcare benefits packages – for now anyway, as the bill retains the study committee that will recommend adding it back in a year.

According to the fiscal note, this new bill also lowers the overall annual expenditure on legislator salaries from S.39’s proposed $6,596,443 to $4,445,904. Great… BUT!!… this bill shifts the remaining money largely away from rank-and-file legislators and gives it to the “Speaker, Pro Tem, [Committee] Chairs, Majority, and Minority Leader” – all of whom coincidentally (with the exceptions of the two minority leaders and two committee chairs, one token in each chamber) are Democrats!

According to Seven Days Math, “The chairs currently earn about $16,867, only slightly more than rank-and-file members. Under the new system, the chairs would earn $23,790 during the session, plus a stipend and up to 20 days of off-season pay. That’s a total of $34,717, or about $17,850 more than they earn now — a 106 percent increase.” Rank and filers get a significant raise too from their current “$15,180. That would increase to $21,627. The 20 days of off-session pay would add $4,553 for a total of $26,180,” but not nearly as nice as the chairs.

This proposal, apart from just plain milking the taxpayers, creates some serious ethical and political problems. First, as alluded to above, the partisan dynamics of the legislature mean this is an especially big windfall for members of one particular party. It’s a partisan, Democrat money grab.

Currently, there are 23 Democrats out of 30 total senators, and there are 14 committees that need a chair. In the House there are 106 Democrats out of one hundred fifty total, and 17 committees that need chairs. So, of the 33 lawmakers, including the speaker and senate president pro tem, who would be receiving markedly higher salaries, 28 of them would be Democrats. That’s assuming that with nearly ten grand at stake for one of their own Democrat leadership would allow Senator Russ Ingalls (R-Essex) to keep his chair of the Institutions Committee or Representative Mike Marcotte (R-Coventry) his of Commerce and Economic Development.

This gets me to my next point: This would create a seriously unhealthy, feudal-like intra-caucus hierarchy and patronage system. The party in power controls all the big salaries and the leadership in that party controls who gets them. So, if you want that chairmanship and the big bucks that come with it, you better be loyal to the Speaker of the House or the Senate President Pro Tem as you smarm your way up that ladder. As a citizen, if you are concerned that our so-called elected representatives are too often doing the bidding of party leadership and not that of their constituents as it is, Katy, bar the door if S.224 becomes law!

It’s one thing to rhetorically twist someone’s arm to convince them to vote a certain way, refuse to sit with them in the cafeteria, or even threaten to take away the metaphorical paper hat that comes with a committee chairmanship, but it’s quite another to be able to threaten that person with a loss of $10,000 worth of income if they don’t play ball and do what you say. Or to bribe with such a cash payout for going along. As such, S.224 opens the door for some really corrupt back-room politics that do not serve the interests of truly representative democracy.

Supporters of this specifically bad bill supporting a generally bad idea are spinning it as a way to allow more moderate-income Vermonters to run for office. Nonsense. They see it as a way to give their incumbent selves the ability to campaign year-round at taxpayers’ expense, a way to consolidate and keep political power, and to further insulate themselves from having to have a real job and, though such experience perhaps better understand the real plights and problems of their constituents.

Campaign for Vermont did a poll at the beginning of this session and found that 77% of Vermont said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who voted to increase their own pay by 100%, 66% much less likely. Well, that’s pretty much every Democrat and Progressive in Montpelier! And it looks like they’re ready to do it twice! Let’s make sure voters remember this sentiment come November.

 

Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics, including three years of service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free-market think tank. He is also a regular contributor to VermontGrok.

The post The Last Democrat Pay Raise Bill Was Greedy. This One’s Also Corrupt. appeared first on Granite Grok.

If you set up a table with a few microphones almost anywhere, you never know who might sit down to talk with you. Do it at the DoubleTree in Manchester during the New Hampshire primary, and you might get to talk with Vermin Supreme.

And why not? He’s always a guaranteed great guest, so we were fortunate to catch him for a few minutes to talk about the circus of politics. WGBH described him as,

“…running on a platform that includes free ponies for all Americans, time travel research and using zombies to create energy by harnessing “the latest in hamster wheel technology.”

He also runs on a promise of mandatory toothbrushing laws, “because gingivitis has been eroding the country’s gum line for long enough and must be stopped.”

He took a few minutes to sit down and chat, and for folks who like short videos, this is perhaps our shortest interview of the weekend. Ha had a lot of people to meet, and making fun of politics is hard work but good work.

Watch this video and Rumble, and if you do – please follow us.

 

!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u359331"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");

Rumble("play", {"video":"v46lsfx","div":"rumble_v46lsfx"});

 

The post Vermin Supreme Interview – Radio Row, Manchester – FITN Primary appeared first on Granite Grok.

Climate “science” has long claimed that the hard-working beaver plays an essential role in sequestering carbon by corralling sediments in dams. A recent scientific study asserts that beavers colonizing the Arctic tundra are doing the exact opposite, releasing methane when their warming ponds thaw vast areas of permafrost.

It is hard to decide whether beavers are enemies or allies in the climate mission to save the world — a common theme in the cloudy waters of pseudo-scientific climate claims.

Good Beaver, Bad Beaver

The latest beaver climate-impact narrative alarmingly suggests beavers have been colonizing the northern territory at a frantic pace, creating new bodies of relatively warm water with their damming projects that thaw the underlying ground and release methane, a marsh gas now designated as a planet-slayer. Scientists have been able to confirm this phenomenon with satellite imagery of methane hotspots that extend for many meters around the ponds.

This beaver effect contrasts with earlier assessments of southern denizens who allegedly sequester carbon using these exact same ponds. It appears that the identical activity in two disparate regions yields diametrically different climate impacts. This is no meaningless inquiry – governments and venture capitalists invest billions of dollars in schemes driven by such “science” with often unanticipated climate, social, and economic impacts. Interestingly, the beaver problem in Canada is attributed to anthropomorphic causes – warming temperatures and reduced trapping.

Beavers, Cows, and Humans

Climate warriors are finding it hard to hit a target they keep shifting. The case of beavers invites other contrasts. Consider that not all humans or cows pollute the same, much like beavers. The Amish and Inuit do not pollute anywhere near as much as the typical urban American teenager. The Amish likely sequester more carbon in the soil from farming throughout their lifetimes than they ever create from consumption; the Inuit do not farm but at least they don’t consume cell phones and flatscreen TVs. And the carbon footprint of societies such as that of the United States may improve with the purchase of solar panels and EVs, but only while that of China spikes upward by manufacturing those very consumables.

Just like the lowly beaver, there seem to be good climate humans in some areas and bad actors in others. This is also evident with cows, standing in the dock with beaver climate offenders. Cows in concentrated animal feed operations (CAFOs) generate much more pollution due to their incarcerated dependence on human fossil fuels than cows freely roaming in pastures (which nurture soils and reduce erosion). Such domesticated bovine are more like bison, who once roamed the American Plains, building the soils that feed the nation even now.

Bison vs Cows

Indeed, the same cadre of climate investigators ogling beavers have identified bison as climate saviors. The Sierra Club claims cows are bad, and grazing them on public lands is bad, but bison are beneficial:

“This all may seem contrary to what you may have known about grazing animals impacting the climate. Typically we hear about their methane emissions, which is a greenhouse gas that causes considerable climate impacts … If bison were restored to this landscape it could heighten the ability of the soil to hold even more carbon dioxide, acting as a natural carbon storage facility (Wright, 2018). It is important to note, however, that holistic grazing methods with bison are still being researched by scientists and there is some disagreement on its’ [sic] ability to act as a potential climate solution (Irfan, 2018; Wright, 2017). Nevertheless, it is interesting to think that restoring bison to the landscape could have the potential effect of helping solve the climate crisis.”

It is interesting to think about how this bison analysis might be applied to cows and beavers and how important it is to complete such research before closing farms and culling herds. Of course, cows replenish soils and provide vital natural fertilizers in lieu of synthetic chemical substitutes. America has about 94.4 million cows, 70% of them confined in CAFOs where they are fed tens of millions of acres’ worth of machine-harvested feed. Less than 1% of the nation’s 360,000 bison are wild. The “climate crisis” will sooner be solved by fusion engines in every car and home before enough bison can be procured to counter planetary warming (unless they are cloned in a factory, like synthetic meat). But the nation’s cows are ready to serve!

Conflicting Climate Prophecies

Grand globalist policies are launched on the whispers of so-called climate scientists who seem to lack the common sense of a ruminant. It is to be expected that beavers will vary in impact – aren’t the bad beavers in the north also sequestering carbon dioxide in their methane-releasing ponds? How can scientists condemn cows and praise bison in the same breath without seeing the conflicting assessments? How can cow methane (from burping) be used to eclipse cow carbon sequestration (through defecation)? Just like beavers and humans, not all cows are the same.

The beaver climate impact about-face is just one of a plethora of bait-and-switch propaganda flip-flops by climate alarmists who rush to cataclysmic judgments at every turn. If the ideological fanatics cannot pause long enough to reflect on the myriad inconsistencies and conflicting motives in their own pseudo-scientific “works,” it is to be hoped that you, dear reader, have now done so.

 

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

The post Latest Climate Conundrum: Bad Beavers or Good? appeared first on Granite Grok.

New Hampshire Right to Life (NHRTL) welcomes the public and press to join the annual state-wide March for Life in Concord, NH, this Sat, Jan 27. This year’s theme is Empowering Pregnant Women to Keep Their Babies, which will celebrate the work that the pro-life movement is doing to support mothers and their children.

The schedule is:

• 9 AM Memorial Gathering at the Concord Landfill – 77 Old Turnpike Rd, Concord, NH
• 10 AM Mass at Christ the King Parish – 72 South Main St, Concord, NH
• (main event) 11:30 AM Public Rally at Eagle Square Amphitheater Concord, NH (below the historic clock tower, across the street from the NH State House).
  • Dynamic speakers will highlight strategies in support of women in NH & inspire a culture of non-violence against women and their children.
• 12 PM Peaceful March up Main St. to Christ the King Hall 72 South Main St, Concord. Enjoy light refreshments.
• 1 PM Pro-Life Conference with speakers & a recorded video address by Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood Clinic Director who became a pro-life activist.

Additional information is available at nhrtl.org.

The event is sponsored by New Hampshire Right to Life.

Jason Hennessey, President of NHRTL, said, “We are excited to host this March for Life and share our vision of empowering pregnant mothers to keep their babies and thrive. All who want to protect and empower moms and children are welcome.”

Photos of the event will be available upon request.

NH Right to Life is New Hampshire’s largest and longest-standing organization dedicated to the pro-life cause.

Contact:
Jason Hennessey
President, New Hampshire Right to Life
life@nhrtl.org
https://nhrtl.org

###

The post NHRTL to Host March for Life and Pro-Life Conference on Jan 27 appeared first on Granite Grok.

Most of the testimony HB 1419 the other day was personal and about those poor teachers and those who think it’s ok to expose children to age-inappropriate materials. I could not attend the meeting, but here’s some enlightenment from someone who went through the “process” and the outcome.

My grandchildren are now in school. I own a farm and can probably educate many on sexual reproduction, but it doesn’t give me the right to educate other people’s children, animals, and sex.  Today, books in our schools are full of horrors such as bestiality and other vile topics beyond natural sexual experience. No wonder there’s so much violence, sexual confusion, and teen suicides. A generation ago none of these books were available, I know this, I volunteered in the schools. Two generations ago, when I was in school, they were not available either. I had access to the Unh Diamond library in high school. Back then, the librarians did not allow us to see or read books that were not age-appropriate. Fact. Now the schools are promoting them as “sex Ed,” self-help, therapy, and so on…yet professionals do not write the books in question. My middle school granddaughter brought home a book called “It’s Perfectly Normal,” a sexually graphic book. That is what started me down this rabbit hole. She was appalled at the content, and it took a lot of explaining to undo the school’s mess. BTW, NO ONE is allowed in the Dover school libraries, no one! No one is allowed into the classrooms, either. I first thought the schools were not aware of these books. Quite the opposite, they prided themselves on them. I started researching and found over 110 books, see attached link below, in Dover schools. Only books rated 3-5 are listed. The number is based on the movie rating system. For details see ratedbooks.org These are the worse, r-rated and up, not high schoolers making out or first time sex, they are filled with sex trafficking, pedophilia, rape, sodomy, oral sex, necrophilia, beastiality, pornography and many more horrors. The school berated me for challenging and changed the rules from no limit to two books per year. I went through their process; it took a year for one book, Boy Toy, about a married female teacher who grooms a 12-year-old boy for sex. What message is the school sending children and teachers by keeping this fodder? I was personally exposed to the local paper by the superintendent as a “book banner” and the town pariah and got threatening calls, and my small business was ruined. The book I challenged, Boy Toy, was put back by order of the school board after the useless challenge of people the school board chose to review the book! My appeal went on deaf ears . Why and what exactly are the promotions of this material doing to children who read it?. I also found sex apps on the Chromebook and SORA that were ignored by the city. I want to add, that many of my these books are written by adults to groom children and make a buck. The authors are enjoying a windfall for every “ban” or challenge. Dover purchased over a dozen copies of “Boy Toy” with tax payers monies! They couldn’t be bothered going to the library and reading the copies we already paid for. Then, the superintendent told tax players I was wasting their money by challenging them. They also put Tricks, by Ellen Hopkins, back in the school library after a challenge. This book glorifies child sex trafficking. Boys and girls turning “tricks” for pedos with lots of drugs. The books on the list are not written by therapists to help children in need. This is important! These books are not self-help books or sex Ed anyone would want a child to read, nor would any qualified therapist use them as therapy for a crisis child… I have eight books challenged out of 110. I received a letter from the superintendent I can only challenge 2. Frankly, I’m at a loss. My life was ruined by these people who are exposing children that are not their own to horrors adults can’t even process. Link to list in Dover.

The post Night Cap: School Book Challenges – These are Not Self-Help Books by Therapists appeared first on Granite Grok.