It happens to most of us from time to time, at least to me, but when it’s someone like the just resigned Professor of Harvard University, Claudine Gay, or Nikki Haley, running for the nomination for President of the US, we should expect better.

In these cases, it happens to be on closely related subjects, the Hamas/Israel war.

Ms.Gay went to testify before Congress on the issue of antisemitism in American universities and totally outed herself as an anti-Semite. She tried to excuse accepting radicalized liberal students’ support for Hamas and naming Israel the aggressor and the terrorists as “free speech”? Standing behind Hamas, who are Terrorists and initiated the conflict with an unprovoked, unjustified, murderous attack on Israeli civilian men, women, children, and babies, can not be justified by any human with the least concept of human rights. But there she was right before our American Congress, spouting her pander to the terrorists as if it would buy her any slack if they invaded Harvard.

Given all that has unfolded, I question why any University would allow Muslim organizations to exist on compasses where they work to radicalize our students and create ever more anti-Semites.

Now then, Nikki, and here again, trying to sound like the tolerant humanitarian suggests we accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza here in America. Has she no understanding of what Islam is, what its objectives for not only Israel is but also for America? In case anyone has any questions, it is the total destruction of both nations, the eradication of all Jews worldwide, and a Muslim totalitarian-dominated America. These refugees from Gaza are the people who elected Hamas to govern them with the promise to destroy Israel and kill the Jews; these “refugees” have no love for America, would have no sense of gratitude to us if we took them in, and would surely work against us just as they do against the Jews.

How could not Haley, who was our US Ambassador to the UN, not know this? Has her desperate drive for the nomination come at the cost of risking the millions and millions of lives it would cost if Islamic power archives its goals?

Any questions any readers might have can easily be answered by getting a copy of the Koran and reading it. It was written in the Dark Ages by a barbaric culture that was ruled by absolute totalitarian power and has never changed since then. Its basic ideology is misogyny, homophobia, and antisemitism, just for a start.

The post We Should Expect Better appeared first on Granite Grok.

Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackerman took to X to share some thoughts, not just about Harvard, anti-semitism, racism, and anti-racism, but a deep-dive analysis of DEI, the appointment of Claudine Gay as President, and inside baseball at Harvard, which he suggests should result in its full board tendering their resignations.

It is a well-written look at Harvard after October 7th and an eye-opening excursion for Ackerman. He shares with us his discovery of how sinister DEI is and offers a great deal of thought, some of which looks like this.

 

An ideology [DEI] that portrays a bicameral world of oppressors and the oppressed based principally on race or sexual identity is a fundamentally racist ideology that will likely lead to more racism rather than less. A system where one obtains advantages by virtue of one’s skin color is a racist system, and one that will generate resentment and anger among the un-advantaged who will direct their anger at the favored groups.

The country has seen burgeoning resentment and anger grow materially over the last few years, and the DEI movement is an important contributor to our growing divisiveness. Resentment is one of the most important drivers of racism. And it is the lack of equity, i.e, fairness, in how DEI operates, that contributes to this resentment.

 

He later announces that (FYI – ODEIB is Harvard’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging).

 

The ODEIB should be shut down, and the staff should be terminated. The ODEIB has already taken down much of the ideology and strategies that were on its website when I and others raised concerns about how the office operates and who it does and does not represent. Taking down portions of the website does not address the fundamentally flawed and racist ideology of this office, and calls into further question the ODEIB’s legitimacy. Why would the ODEIB take down portions of its website when an alum questioned its legitimacy unless the office was doing something fundamentally wrong or indefensible?

 

As an aside, does inclusion not also mean belonging? I’m not a Harvard grad, didn’t graduate college at all, though I wasted some money on it. I don’t suppose being included is as warm and fuzzy as belonging, but Ackerman is correct. That office needs to go away. After the discovery of the UNH Bias-Free Language Guide, the University did something similar. It retooled web pages and made some things disappear, but as I noted then until you cut that budget, close that office, and perp-walk those activists out the door, the poison was still in the well.

And it is still in the well, has seeped into corporate culture, and is tainting culture and the nation. Harvard’s embarrassing few months of anti-semitism are – as Ackerman notes – but a canary in a coal mine. The real issue is DEI and the culture that has allowed it to metastasize. “The techniques that DEI has used to squelch the opposition are found in the Red Scares and McCarthyism of decades.” DEI is oppression in the name of anti-oppression. Racist in the name of anti-racism. A means to creat class division in pursuit of Socialism – whose only goal is Communism.

Ackerman’s remarks amount to several words, far too many to share outside its original tweet, but thanks to embedding, we don’t need to do that. We can share the tweet, and so we have.

There’s a lot there, and I think you’ll find it worth your time and attention. Click ‘show more’ for the rest. If you are not on X, I’ve copied it into a PDF you can view here.

In light of today’s news, I thought I would try to take a step back and provide perspective on what this is really all about.

I first became concerned about @Harvard when 34 Harvard student organizations, early on the morning of October 8th before Israel had taken any military…

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) January 3, 2024

 

The post “DEI is Racist” appeared first on Granite Grok.

State Reps

The anti-independence loyalists to the US Empire thought it was over when the historic 2022 bill went down in flames in the state house. However, we were just getting started. Thanks to one brave state rep, the secession bill is back!

Rep. Jason Gerhard has filed CACR 20. Like its predecessor, it proposes to put the question of New Hampshire declaring independence on the ballot as a constitutional amendment. However, Gerhard added a trigger event: if the people pass the amendment, peaceful secession won’t happen until the US National Debt reaches $40 Trillion.

The trigger idea is interesting because it should get people thinking, “Where is my line in the sand?” How much federal tyranny do the people of NH need before they have had enough and are ready to do as their forefathers did and break up with their abuser? The founders seceeded from the king over much less than we face from the federal gang today. Today we have endless war, ridiculous taxes and regulations, prisons full of nonviolent people, inflation, and no one in DC is going to make it better. Gerhard’s bill should start a necessary conversation. Do we want to continue to suffer, yoked to the falling empire as it crashes and burns, or should we forge our own path of freedom?

Likely to give us as little time as possible to get the word out, the public hearing has been set for Friday, Jan 12th at 9:30am in rooms 206-208 of the Legislative Office Building at 33 North State st in Concord. If you care about independence, please attend and tell the committee how you feel. If you can’t attend in person, you can sign in favor of the bill – CACR 20 – and leave a comment.

There’s a second bill of interest that will be having its public hearing at 10:15, filed by Rep. Matt Santonastaso, HB1130, which would create a “study committee” to examine all the tough questions about NH Independence.

Please contact your state rep and ask them to support both bills, CACR 20 and HB1130. Remember, with CACR 20 you are asking the reps to simply allow the people to vote on the question. They can be against secession personally, but still vote for CACR 20, which only puts the question on the ballot for the people to decide. It would require 2/3rds to vote in favor to pass, so if they believe secession is unpopular, for what reason could they oppose putting it to a vote?

Hope you can attend the public hearing at 9:30am on 1/12. Please spread the word to all liberty-loving people!

State Reps 

The anti-independence loyalists to the US Empire thought it was over when the historic 2022 bill went down in flames in the state house. However, we were just getting started. Thanks to one brave state rep, the secession bill is back!

Rep. Jason Gerhard has filed CACR 20. Like its predecessor, it proposes to put the question of New Hampshire declaring independence on the ballot as a constitutional amendment. However, Gerhard added a trigger event: if the people pass the amendment, peaceful secession won’t happen until the US National Debt reaches $40 Trillion.

The trigger idea is interesting because it should get people thinking, “Where is my line in the sand?” How much federal tyranny do the people of NH need before they have had enough and are ready to do as their forefathers did and break up with their abuser? The founders seceeded from the king over much less than we face from the federal gang today. Today we have endless war, ridiculous taxes and regulations, prisons full of nonviolent people, inflation, and no one in DC is going to make it better. Gerhard’s bill should start a necessary conversation. Do we want to continue to suffer, yoked to the falling empire as it crashes and burns, or should we forge our own path of freedom?

Likely to give us as little time as possible to get the word out, the public hearing has been set for Friday, Jan 12th at 9:30am in rooms 206-208 of the Legislative Office Building at 33 North State st in Concord. If you care about independence, please attend and tell the committee how you feel. If you can’t attend in person, you can sign in favor of the bill – CACR 20 – and leave a comment.

There’s a second bill of interest that will be having its public hearing at 10:15, filed by Rep. Matt Santonastaso, HB1130, which would create a “study committee” to examine all the tough questions about NH Independence.

Please contact your state rep and ask them to support both bills, CACR 20 and HB1130. Remember, with CACR 20 you are asking the reps to simply allow the people to vote on the question. They can be against secession personally, but still vote for CACR 20, which only puts the question on the ballot for the people to decide. It would require 2/3rds to vote in favor to pass, so if they believe secession is unpopular, for what reason could they oppose putting it to a vote?

Hope you can attend the public hearing at 9:30am on 1/12. Please spread the word to all liberty-loving people!

To all those who are sending in memes, thank you!  Keep them coming please, as it helps me gather weaponry to fight the Left.  Please do share this post, and if you share an individual meme, consider mentioning you saw it on the Grok!

TGIF!

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 ***

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s something that feels to me, just infernal, about this obsession with bug eating.  Some time ago I saw a video of Salma Hayek eating Mexican crickets.  Apparently that’s not the only creepy-crawly she eats.  And something in that video struck me as just wrong – no, not just the fact that she was eating them.  Call it intuition, but it was the glee she seemed to have in doing so that gave me shivers.  Later, I found out she’s married to the head of Baal, er, Balenciaga – of this infamous fame.  Add in Nicole Kidman’s seeming glee at eating bugs in her own infamous video… plus legions of other notables.

 

 

And through a good friend comes this:

KILL Switch (coldfury.com)

The more electronic they make these things, the less I like them.  Back when I worked in automotive it was all presented as “value add” features for the driver, but now I’m wondering if there was – even then – a more nefarious purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

Remember, overall the flow only goes one way.

 

 

It’s not just the weapons.  It’s the strength and courage and willingness to use them.  Remember…

Steel isn’t strong, boy, flesh is stronger.

And understand… I’m not chomping at the bit for this to happen.

 

 

 

 

You’ll own nothing, and be happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It would be great to have some midwives weigh in on this.  I’ve sent in a request to:

NACPM

 

 

There are no words in my – or I think ANY – vocabulary to adequately capture the rage I feel about this.

 

 

A person I know in Europe verified this… and it got pulled ONLY because social media became aware of it and raised a storm over it.

 

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

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

 

Between honeypots (the adult kind) and pedoville traps, just what percentage of our politicians and other notables are compromised?  Especially now with the Epstein lists getting rolled out.  I was astonished at Stephen Hawking, for example… though from the piece where I saw him in a picture there are, discretion used, some things he liked to watch.  But this might explain one reason there’s so much rage at Trump:

 

 

 

 

There’ve been a lot of rumors about how pedo, or just plain kompromat, is used to get leverage on politicians, officials, and business executives.  If Trump truly is clean of this – and it seems to be so – how great their anger at not being able to leverage him.

And there’s a lesson in that for our own behaviors.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m confoozled.  How can any person with three brain cells that talk with each other not look at this and not conclude something very fishy happened?

 

 

We don’t know they’re of “equal” importance but it IS odd.

Now let’s back up a little.  Pasteurization – plus refrigeration – were critical things in terms of being able to provide shelf-stable milk.  I don’t think there was the knowledge base to know just how much more nutritious raw milk is at the time.  But now that we know, it does seem odd that there is a literal war on anyone producing, selling, and buying raw milk even with contracts and signed acknowledgements of risk.  For example:

Police raid farm of former raw milk seller Michael Schmidt who says he is obeying law; among three farms hit by crackdown in 2021 | FarmersForum.com

Amish farmer raided by feds wins court battle against USDA mandates – COSAction (conventionofstates.com)

Again, I acknowledge there do seem to be risks as well as benefits to the stuff.  But if I sign a contract stating that I am aware of risks – enumerated and explicitly named, as they should be – and still want it… what’s the problem?

 

 

 

 

 

Words mean things.  That’s why the Left works so hard to change and/or compromise their meanings.

 

 

 

I started, a long time ago, a book by the “controversial” author of The Bell Curve, entitled:

Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950

I got distracted but should return to it.  Among the myriad other books I want to read.

 

 

The problem is that they believe – TRULY BELIEVE – that they do.

 

 

Follow the money… and how much for the “Big Guy” again?

 

 

 

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

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

This is not an appeal for aid to Israel.  This is a wake-up call to the Christians (and others) that think that by giving away The Sudetenland Israel they can buy their own safety.

First Saturday, then Sunday.  That is to say, first the Saturday People, then the Sunday People.  Islam wants the whole world.  Their Koran says so.  They say so.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/british-mosque-preaching-until-you-are-strong-enough.mp4

 

Palestinians: We will conquer Europe and all infidels (rumble.com)

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/islam-wants-the-west.mp4

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-west-is-next.mp4

 

Have the moral courage to take people who openly say they want to conquer you at their word.

 

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

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

 

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

 

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.

I wanted to take the time to respond to the government propaganda department’s continued lies in regard to the Crypto6 case. The Crime3 podcast interviewed former government agents and I wanted to take the time to respond to Jenifer and Chris’s lies and manipulations regarding the case and what unfolded.

You can find the episode here:

My open letter to the scum of the universe:

What these so-called blockchain ‘experts’ leave out whom have a bias and agenda when they’re talking about traceability of cryptos like Bitcoin (due to the public nature of the block chain) is that the “evidence” they produce is not admissible at trial and they’re not experts in the subject matter within the trial context according to the courts. By getting on these podcasts they’re in a sense defrauding the public about their credentials and abilities. The prosecutors are building cases on unscientific and unreliable evidence. The blockchain ‘evidence’ does not meet the standards of scientific scrutiny needed for admission in the courts at the trial level. Let me clarify one other aspect that this is at least for the federal system as was evidenced in the Crypto6 case.

While the governments top ‘expert’ was allowed to testify she was not admitted as an expert in the courtroom, nor was the blockchain evidence she brought forth. Humorously she admitted that even the defense lawyer could re-produce her results using public websites. While it is correct that blockchain tracing can be be utilized at early stages of an investigation to try and figure who did what when and even obtain search warrants that’s a very different thing than utilizing blockchain tracing as evidence at trial. The standards of evidence to obtain a search warrant that might lead to actual evidence are much lower than the standards needed to introduce that evidence at trial. This is why a search is essential to a criminal investigation. The actual evidence is not the evidence that leads one to ‘suspect’ a crime has occurred. That’s merely an investigative tool. It’s like a hunch that something has occurred, but now you need to find actual evidence it occurred.

There are different aspects of the problem. One of them is that while you can easily trace an individual transaction it’s a very different thing and an impossible task to trace thousands of transactions without the help of specialized tools. Those specialized tools can’t be scrutinized by actual experts because of the companies behind those tools are withholding the source code. Therefore the methodology hasn’t withstood the necessary public scrutiny. What happened in the crypto6 case was that people were intimidated into taking plea deals, cases against individuals were dropped, and in the one trial that occurred a story was told based on lies and half-truths of which the evidence itself didn’t support. The jury appeared to have been unable to understand the evidence or its connection to the story being told. This or a combination of this combined with tactical attempts to make the man they were after: Ian Freeman. They tried to make him out to be a anti-government bad guy satanist who prayed on little old ladies. None of this could be farther from the truth. They used politics and a broken or rigged jury system to achieve the results they wanted. The one person in the jury pool for instance who had touched Bitcoin was thrown out as was anyone who might have had an understanding of what was occurring. He was then portrayed as an anti-government violent satanist by way of others. He hasn’t uttered a word of violence, made allegiances with Satan or worshiped Satan, or been any of the things the government has portrayed him as. They took words out of context, implied he knew about things at a time in which he did not, and worse. Being against taxation isn’t a crime, but if you can convince a jury of people pulled from only the most upstanding government worshiping citizens in society everyone is guilty regardless of any actual wrongdoing.

The ‘experts’ which spoke in the Crime3 podcast about the church of the invisible hand left out the primary tenants of I believe all of these churches twisting what they admitted to not even understanding. It’s peace: “It is our mission, inspired by God, Allah, the Universe, and the inner light – to foster peace”. You can lie about it and claim it’s anti-government, but that isn’t really an accurate portrayal of any of these churches here. The very nature of the belief system is one of peace and violence is only ever justified in defense thereof, not one of no government. It’s not a pacifist philosophy, but it’s close to it.

You can connect it to libertarianism, but if you don’t understand what that means in this context you’ll be dearly misinformed. Libertarian philosophy can be summed up as the non-aggression principle. It is the fundamental principle of morality that states that any person is permitted do everything with his property, except aggression. It’s being against the use of violence to achieve social and political objectives where those objectives aren’t defensive in nature to actual violence, theft, and coercion .

For example participants do not believe that there should be no laws. Rather they believe the only laws that should exist are ones that prohibit non-consensual violence. Violence in defense of oneself and others is completely acceptable. That’s not anti-government. No one as far as I’m aware is objecting to the prosecution of violent individuals. They’re objecting to prosecution of individuals for smoking weed, a sacrament of one of the churches in question by the way. The government here uses violence against peaceful people, not violent actors.

They present our community as one that existed as if they get to dictate our existence or that arresting a few people somehow makes it go away. In reality it’s a community of 10s of thousands in size that continues to grow every year. Both in terms of births and in terms of people migrating for peace, love, and liberty. We have significant representation in the statehouse making up as much as ¼ of the house. We even got our first state senator last year. Our churches don’t disappear just because the state or some federal agent doesn’t like us. This is at the heart of it a religious persecution and a battle over beliefs and ideas. Something that state schools give the impression was a tenant at the foundation of the nation, but for which in reality is a hypocritical modern day representation of the United States. The United Sates today is a country that has restricted religious beliefs and religious organization that do not conform or did not exist 50 years ago. Where some religious organizations are protected others are not. We aren’t allowed to setup new non-insurance based solution to health care for instance that other religious groups have had in place for over 50 years. There right to exist is enshrined in law. Ours are not. The difference is they had such organizations already which pre-date the 1950s era socialist dictate that legally changed how health care worked in the United States. We do not have freedom and we don’t have religious freedom outside specific dominant religions.

One of the messages that they keep bringing up is that there were many churches. This is a misleading representation of what was actually going on. The Shire Free Church is a church that was founded in 2010 around peace, love, and liberty. It is an interfaith church that welcomes all peaceful people whether you’re a Muslim, Jew, Catholic, Protestant, a Quaker, or something else entirely. In fact one of the board members is a Quaker. Ian, the primary political target in the Crypto6 case was just one of the people on the board of the Shire Free Church. The Shire Free Church is registered with the state of New Hampshire. Around 2017 the Shire Free Church setup a crypto outreach effort. A DBA was filed with the state to that end. This became one of these “many churches” when in reality that isn’t what a DBA is. A DBA is saying you’re representing yourself under multiple names. It does not mean you are setting up multiple entities. This made a lot of sense as the church was going to focus on spreading peace through cryptocurrency. If you don’t understand the history of money you won’t understand any of this and it can be twisted into some dubious money laundering scheme. This was the angle the government turned to when it became apparent no actual crime occurred. Lawyers were sought and advised the church how to legally sell Bitcoin long before the FBI’s investigation got off the ground.

Cryptocurrency is a non-state currency and has the potential to undermine state violence. The US government switched to a fiat currency to fund war efforts many decades ago. A fiat currency is effectively a currency that isn’t backed by anything. Previously currencies were backed by things like gold. You could go to the state or a non-government bank before that and get your gold out (the thing with real value). The government discontinued the ability of people holding dollars from getting the real money the government held on their behalf out (gold, silver, etc). This then allowed the government to print more dollars than they had gold. In turn the dollars people held become worth less and less each year and enabled and continues to enable the government to drop bombs on women and children overseas.

The churches didn’t help anyone evade income taxes. The IRS’s own website states that churches and their ministers aren’t required to file income taxes unless (unless they’re 5013c churches) except in circumstances where a minister has a side hustle at Mc Donalds more or less. Ian Freeman did not have any such side hustles where he personally brought in money. Any revenue from the sale Bitcoin went back into the coffers of the church. The federal government never showed where the money went in the case outside of the vast majority of it going back into purchasing Bitcoin. If anything their own evidence disproved this was the personal income of Ian Freeman. This all made sense too given the mission of the church was to foster peace and this particular outreach effort was to spread peace through the sale of cryptocurrency. I should point out the sale of cryptocurrency was one small part of the spreading of cryptocurrency. The church also helped businesses get setup with cryptocurrency and taught others how to use cryptocurrency. It was not about “investing” in cryptocurrency even if that is often why people buy it. What the market later turned into was not how crypto was started or why the church or our community support it. We’ve held meetups to teach people about cryptocurrency long before the sale of Bitcoin even. The church has other outreach efforts that also have nothing to do with cryptocurrency including building orphanages in Africa, helping the homeless, and even helping people and families with mental health issues. The church provided below market rate rents to numerous families struggling with addiction over the years as well as others with mental health related issues all long before it sold any cryptocurrency.

I think the framing of the feds saying that because a few people wrote donations on wire transfers to the church that the church was somehow engaging in criminal activity is just preposterous. The first donations to the church long preceded the accusations here too. Just because some people considered the proceeds from their purchases of Bitcoin donations does not make the transaction criminal. Remember the church was founded in 2010 … many years before any vending occurred. The first regular sales of Bitcoin didn’t occur until 2016-2017 which is the same time the FBI started investigating. The proceeds of cryptocurrency transactions can be donations too. If not then why haven’t you gone after eBay or sellers on eBay? eBay and a portion of it’s sellers contribute a portion of the profits from their sales to charities all the time too. It’s anywhere between 10% and 100% if my memory serves me correctly. This is a major fundraising effort. Why is it that just because this involved selling Bitcoin that those proceeds can’t also be donations?

They put forth this idea that the crypto6 are somehow tied to New Hampshire because of the 2008 financial collapse. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. These people are tied to New Hampshire through a set of beliefs and moves to the state as part of the Free State Project migration. The migration is a movement of folks who believe in promoting peace, liberty, and love for one another. It’s all about the non-aggression principle. While there is a connection between Bitcoin and the 2008 financial collapse in that Bitcoin was created in that context (to enable people to escape the government regulated banks of which many failed and whom had malicious intent) it has nothing to do with people moving to the state. It’s merely one avenue that people who have that belief system have to promote peace. This is not about Bitcoin or cryptocurrency. It’s about peace. The same people who promote Bitcoin also promote the goldback and other systems of barter for the same reasons. It’s not about individuals profiting here even if it can be said that people outside libertarian circles have mostly gotten into cryptocurrency out of an interest in profiting from the swings. The reasons these people got into crypto differ from the schmucks promoting it for personal profit, scheming, or otherwise benefiting from it (not unlike they use the dollar too might I add) with ill intent. While the media would have us all believe Bitcoin is only used for laundering money and illicit drugs it actually only makes up a tiny percentage. Likely less than that of which is funneled through fiat or US dollars as a percentage and the entirely banking system as a whole for that matter.

They continue to disparage Ian’s name through lies. Ian believes these people despite the lies have every right to tell them. Ian wouldn’t do the same in return, that is lie about what the government is doing or them. He doesn’t have to either. Lets take the the claim that Ian is constantly advocating for sex with children. This is just absurd and propaganda the government probably created. In two decades of producing Free Talk Live you’d think they’d be able to come up with some audio or video of Ian actually saying this. No one has. At best they’ve twisted advocating freedom into some bizarre child-adult sex claim that is false. Then they backed it up through false affidavits and a raid in 2016. This was likely an attempt to take Ian and at least Free Talk Live out through disparagement of his name. The FBI raided Ian’s house in 2016 with the claim that child pornography would be found. No child porn was ever found, no arrests were ever made, and the FBI was sued for the return of what they stole. The vast majority of which has been returned. Why do they feel a need to twist a message advocating peace and freedom into one that is disgusting and more representative of their despicable behavior than Ians?

Ian Freeman didn’t create the Church Of The Invisible Hand. Rich Paul (aka Mr Nobody) has been talking about it and preaching his beliefs surrounding it for a decade whether or not I or anyone else agrees with his beliefs or the Church Of The Invisible Hand. The Church Of The Invisible Hand has a mailing list and members whether or not you like it or not. The ideas behind it existed long before Mr Nobody’s involvement with crypto sales too. These sales involving Nobody and Ian and the Shire Free Church only occurred in the last year of the FBI’s investigation. It’s not even clear how or where or if the Church Of The Invisible Hand is ‘connected’ to it all. They’ve literally just taken things people have said out of context and turned it into “all these churches”. I’m surprised they didn’t bring up Gun Church. Gun Church is not connected to crypto sales and is not even a church to the best of my knowledge. Though they do accept cryptocurrency donations. It’s an entity maybe, but not a religious one. It would be more akin to the Church Of Emacs probably. Which is a way of taking sides in a debate over which text editor is better in the Unix (operating systems) / Linux world. If you twist reality enough and the meaning enough than maybe… there were all these “churches” and because these people also had a connection to crypto well… we can ignore reality and somehow say these churches were all fronts to some fraudulent end.

Free Talk Live is an outreach effort of the Shire Free Church and has been around for decades. It’s where peaceful people come together and preach about peace and communicating our ideas to the world. It’s not some “New Hampshire” thing. It’s airing on ~200 some odd radio stations around the United States. It’s akin to any other TV ministry of which I’m sure just about everyone has heard of. They may take different forms, but the gist of it is someone gets on TV and preaches about their religious viewpoints. Free Talk Live continues to air on radio stations across the United States in spite of the FBI’s attempt to take Ian out. In spite of the FBI’s arrest of Aria, Nobody, and a few others. The FBI has repeatedly failed to take out Ian and the Shire Free Church. Free Talk Live lives on. You can listen to it online at https://www.freetalklive.com/

Aria DiMezzo did form the Reformed Satanic Church, did some outreach to raise money for kids with cancer, and was around only a very short while. The FBI made arrests shortly after it was formed and so it’s hard to judge something that barely existed. It barely had time to do anything or build a membership or preach anything. However Aria DiMezzo did do some of that none-the-less via her work with the Shire Free Church. The crypto-sales however were not tied to one another. I believe the connection as was explained at Ian Freeman’s trial was that Ian had referred customers to Aria on a few occasions where the Shire Free Church was overly burdened by it’s success in its own outreach efforts.

Renee and Andrew Spinella were threatened by the government and intimidated into taking plea deals. Andrew Spinella had little to no knowledge of anything as was evidenced in court and agreed to by basically everyone including judge, prosecutor, etc. There was a connection due to some bank account where his name was on the account. He had nothing to do with selling Bitcoin. It was probably in connection to Renee that the FBI arrested him. Renee was aware of the governments displeasure with the churches Bitcoin sales and basically haphazardly tripped into what was effectively a situation she wasn’t comfortable being in. She clearly didn’t get it and probably should not have gotten into any of it in the first place. Out of an abundance of caution she quit long before the FBI raided over crypto-sales. If anyone was guilty of anything it was probably Renee humorously, but mostly being unwitting to the morals, laws, legal advice, understanding, reasons, and so forth of it all. Her view on it was not representative of our communities and she did not seem to fully understand what she was doing. She did not move to New Hampshire as a libertarian for the Free State Project. She may have come along, been a significant other in years leading up to the FBI’s 2nd raid, but may not have understood what the rest of us were preaching. She did not know about or understand the legal advice, but she did understand the threat of the feds and appeared to not believe what she was doing herself even if it was completely legal.

No one changed their identities. People did change their names over a period of a decade or longer. It wasn’t to “escape justice” as is being presented by this warped government propaganda. Rich Paul changed his name to Nobody for political reasons. He wanted to give the people of New Hampshire the opportunity to vote Nobody for mayor and later governor. I do not know the reasons Ian changed his name from Ian Benard to Ian Freeman, but it was a very long time ago. It was not a secret. It was a well known fact anyone could do a search of the internet and discover. The last person who also changed their name (?) and this is a little unclear as to when… but was Aria. Aria as we’ve always known her escaped persecution in southern Mississippi for being trans only to end up in the northern state of New Hampshire to face it from the federal government. I don’t know if this name change was a legal name change. I believe she is currently caged under her legal name issued at birth which was a male name. For someone walking around in dresses is it really unreasonable that they’re going by a more feminine sounding name? None of these name changes or aliases were secret or to hide their real identity. In fact certain people still go by their former name. Now an alias to their legal name.

The government agent speaking in this Crime3 podcast is under the belief that the church promoted Bitcoin in order to have people to sell Bitcoin to. This just doesn’t match with reality or the unfolding of events. The Shire Free Church was promoting Bitcoin long before the churches first vending machine or crypto sale. The church didn’t promote the spending or usage of Bitcoin to give people a need for Bitcoin as was stated. This is an absurd given the time frames involved and what started happening when. The church was promoting Bitcoin many years before it started selling Bitcoin and the church had no need to sell Bitcoin from a financial standpoint. The church had received significant donations at its founding including a 100 BTC bar. That’s 4.3 million dollars at today’s prices not including the value derived from its uniqueness (very few remain that have not been redeemed pushing the price of this item up beyond the 100 BTC of Bitcoin the bar contains). Ian had no need for money and long ago took a vow of poverty. He does not drive a fancy car, own a fancy home, or waste money on frivolous things either. When the church did start selling Bitcoin there were far more people demanding it than the church could ever hope to supply short of turning it into an actual business. There were plenty of places to get Bitcoin in 2016. Spreading it and I’d argue particularly locally however was still valuable act from a spiritual sort of standpoint and one from a philosophical fight stand point. No one was under the guise that the government would not start a fight even if it was completely legal. There are people that Ian and our community have interacted with over the years who did get into selling Bitcoin for profit and financially benefiting from it. That was not what happened here. One person we knew had 80 vending machines for instance many years before the FBI raided. Another person we knew had at least 20-30 if my recollection is correct. The Shire Free Church started with a single vending machine early on and added about one vending machine a year. When it raided there were 4. Ian started referring people to Aria explicitly because there were too many people wanting to purchase Bitcoin from the Shire Free Church. The church couldn’t reasonably keep up with the demand. This idea that the church had to promote its usage to sell Bitcoin is ridicules as by the time the sales started Bitcoin had already exploded. The church didn’t need to sell Bitcoin. It was already well established and financially sound.

They claim that setting up a Bitcoin vending machine is legal, but only so long as you follow the rules that have been setup by government. The problem here is that the church sought legal advice and even got the laws in New Hampshire changed to ensure it was operating well within the law. To now claim that the church wasn’t operating within the rules despite the hoop jumping it did and we as a whole did is absurd. The government at no point came to the church and said “hey- we think you’re not operating legally”. At best they sent a letter to what appeared to be thousands of vending machine operators with a name that was NOT Ian, not the Shire Free Church, and of which didn’t say you are, but only you may be operating outside the bounds of the law. The lawyers however dissagreed.

If you look at other cases the government has gone after people in you’ll notice some interesting things. For instance the federal government says you have to register with the state government, but some states don’t have any registration requirement. They don’t care. It’s literally impossible to register. You can register with the federal system and when people did that the federal government didn’t care. They claimed these people were still breaking the law. How can you require someone to register with a state that doesn’t have registration in the first place? This isn’t an issue of “just follow the rules”. The government is fabricating criminals as they don’t like certain groups of people and this is a means of going after us. The Crypto6 case is explicitly a case of the government targeting activists for political and religious reasons and Bitcoin is almost barely noticeable. It’s just their means of targeting and had it not existed there would be no change here. The government would still be persecuting Ian Freeman for some other factious crime he didn’t actually violate. It’s not even the government as a whole who is after Ian here, but in this case one specific agent it would appear named Phil Christiana. Phil has been involved in 3 separate targeted “investigations” regarding one individual Ian Freeman, and one entity: The Shire Free Church and Free Talk Live. Though he’s “investigated” many other free staters.

The feds tried to get Rich Paul to entrap Ian in 2012, tried to disparage his name by making a false affidavit and raiding over non-existent child porn in 2016. When that failed in March of 2016 they immediately started an investigation into the Bitcoin vending. Then in March of 2021 the FBI raided a 2nd time with multiple tank-like vehicles that were former actual military vehicles used in war zones. They brought in about ~56 FBI agents and something closer to 100 law enforcement agents. This over the mere selling of Bitcoin? You’d have to be a fool to believe this was just a matter of the church failing to file paperwork. This was a politically motivated attack on libertarians and our beliefs in New Hampshire. Phil Christiana was targeting Free State Project movers before Ian Freeman ever arrived in New Hampshire. Ian just became Phil Christiana’s #1 target.

There were policies in place to protect their customer’s privacy just like any bank or company has. To suggest this somehow implicates the church in illegal activity is again absurd. The church was NOT required to register with FinCEN and the church maintains that position. The case is still being fought through the courts and no final decision exists to even contradict this. The state has no regulations on people or entities selling Bitcoin and so long as you are not doing it for profit the federal regulations don’t require you to register either. There are a number of different reasons the church was not required to register as a money transmitter, but this would be one of them. Remember that long before the FBI and dozens of other 3 letter agencies raided in 2021 the church had received advice on how to operate and did operate legally. Even if the church did have to register and didn’t we’re talking about a paperwork violation here. The church had procedures in place to hinder scammers. The church did more to stop people from becoming victims of scammers than any of the banks did in this case. Every one of the “victims” that got up on the stand stated clearly that Ian called them to verify that they understood what they were purchasing. None of the banks made any attempt to stop individual transactions and one of the governments own experts from a credit union stated that they didn’t have to stop individual transactions merely because they were suspicious anyway. This was the reason that she didn’t close the Shire Free Church’s account at that very credit union. She even stated in a letter replying to Ian that the churches operations may be completely legal. Ian had written to her stating that the churches lawyers disagreed with the banks stance and asked for reconsideration. There were no complaints regarding the account or victims and many transactions had occurred. Despite her gut feelings there was nothing she could point to evidencing a problem. It was merely suspicious activity and not criminal activity that resulted in the account being closed. The government is effectively protecting banks while saying everyone else needs to stop individual transactions based on gut feelings they don’t even have.

The government is claiming the church didn’t want to know about romance scams and yet Ian testified to the fact he asked customers if they were being put up to purchasing crypto by a lover. He even went so far as to ask people if they’d ever met their significant others. The problem here is that these scammers convince their “lovers” to lie so none of this really matters as far as stopping scams. It’s just a fools errand to think these regulations or this position has some positive impact on hampering scammers. Remember that the banks didn’t ask any of these “victims” any questions. They took zero steps to stop the individual transactions. There was one person who testified that the bank told him he was laundering money and he continued to do it. Unlike that situation the man KNEW he was laundering money for a scammer. Ian nor the church ever knew about any scams or laundering that occurred. The laundering was being done by third parties, not the church, not Ian, not the banks. To whatever degree this occurred it was not a result of any person in this case except for the one man who knew he was laundering money for scammers because a bank agent told him so when they closed his account. This transaction was not related to the purchasing of Bitcoin from the church and many if not all of these victims were purchasing Bitcoin from other parties. It’s unclear how many as often these people testimony was in error or clearly incorrect. One women read a letter stating she bought her crypto from a Florida vending machine yet the Shire Free Church had no vending machines in Florida. This letter differed from what she had previously testified to.

Lets talk willful blindness for a moment since the government is claiming the church was being willfully blind. The church wasn’t required to know what people were using their crypto for because it wasn’t required unless you had to register as a money transmitter in the first place. The registration is what made that relevant. However even when that is required it isn’t what you think. This is just what the government agents want you to believe. Despite that the church was not required to ask for ID it DID where it was relevant and important. This meant every “victim” that the government brought forth was called and questioned on the phone. These people knew they were buying Bitcoin. These “victims” were asked whether or not they were purchasing Bitcoin for a boyfriend / girlfriend / partner that they did not know in person. This list of questions was more thorough than any bank doing KYC or any KYC that might have been required. These people lied. They lied because the scammers told them to. Some people should not control or retain control of their savings because they’re unable to make rational decisions. Banks aren’t required to ask what you are spending your dollars on every time you make a withdrawal or conduct a transaction.

Imagine that for a moment. Have you ever went to a fiat (cash) ATM machine to withdraw money and been asked what or who you were going to spend it with/on? I’ve NEVER had a bank ATM ask me where I was going to spend my fiat currency. This ‘not asking’ standard is clearly not willful blindness. One only thing about it for a moment to realize that. There was a sign on the vending machines that listed rules including that the wallet you were sending the crypto to was your own. This should if people obeyed it ensure that no third party scammer could get ones crypto. AKA this is KYC as KYC isn’t a specific list of things banks or money transmitters must do, but rather a bank /  money transmitter must have a KYC policy with things in it to try and thwart various criminal activity. The one rule that may have stated don’t tell us what you are doing with the crypto (this may not be accurate description of the rule as I’m taking it from what the government agent said in the podcast rather than checking it was accurate myself) was explicitly because that would complicate things for non-employees (staff here aren’t actual staff of the church, but employees of other businesses where the vending machine is setup). There were no employees of the church at these vending machines. To whom would the sign refer if not people who might be confused as employees of the church? Ian is the person who took care of technical support, not anyone else. A cashier at a bar/restaurant in which the vending machine happened to be placed would in theory all of a sudden have to know the law and then presumably do something if someone said they were planning to buy drugs with the Bitcoin [?in theory?]. These weren’t actual employees or staff of the church here. So what you might be able to imply is willful blindness here isn’t within context of the churches vending machines and other actions and operations as it pertained to selling Bitcoin and by comparison to what every bank cash ATM machines does. To take this and accept it as true would mean that every bank was committing willful blindness by not asking you where or what you were planning to spend your ATM cash withdrawals on. It’s also a silly question in that how many of us even know where we are going to spend that cash or what on? I don’t know where or what I’m going to spend it on when I withdraw it. I bet you don’t either most of the time. The same thing applies to Bitcoin purchases.

Ian went out of his way to comply with the law. Yes- he knew how others were targeted for prosecution and where they fell afoul of the law, but didn’t his refusal to make those mistakes prove he was making every effort to comply EVEN if he didn’t agree? The law doesn’t dictate what people believe. The law dictates what they must do and Ian did what he had to do, but nothing says he had to agree that drugs are bad to sell Bitcoin. He may have had to act under some set of circumstances (like if he had to register as a money transmitter) had he encountered a customer purchasing Bitcoin and then stating he was selling drugs. The reality is Ian refused to sell Bitcoin to an undercover officer claiming to be a drug dealer once he was made aware of this falsehood. He may have known this was an undercover officer by the mere fact this was a standard operating procedure used by malicious officers to prosecute innocent Bitcoin sellers, but none of that or if anything it just goes to prove he’s innocent. It doesn’t prove he’s trying to cater to criminals or that he’s being willfully blind. It proves the opposite. That he was COMPLYING with the law. They’re literally crucifying Ian for following the law while claiming he didn’t want to follow the law (even though they have no proof to that end) and therefore he’s a bad man and he should be locked up for the rest of his life.

It’s not even clear that he could have knowingly operated a money transmission business as the laws at the time did NOT include Bitcoin or cryptocurrency. The government is just intentionally blind here due to their bias. It’s not clear cut that he was operating a money transmitting business as the government apologist in the podcast is claiming. The law was changed in 2021 AFTER the FBI arrested Ian and the Crypto6 to include virtual currency. For him to knowingly done so it would have had to been clear that the Bitcoin was in fact money as defined by the law or some instrument thereof AND he was transmitting it. This is a question that remains open for debate and the lawyers disagree on which is evidenced by the very fact that different lawyers are arguing it in the courtroom. It was not transmitted like a money transmitter transmits money either. The law says to another place or person. The church sold Bitcoin to users and did NOT move money from one physical location to another or from one person to another.

Every person who bought Bitcoin online was required to provide a ID. The church had a picture of an ID for every “victim”. To suggest that they weren’t following a set of KYC procedures is a flat out lie. It may not have been what the government agents wanted, but the law does not dictate the specific of the KYC procedures. When you go to a store and purchase a gift card do they ask for your ID? I can tell you they don’t. They may have a warning about scams posted and it might be some states do require ID, but it’s not a federal mandate required by KYC. This isn’t ‘facilitating’ scammers as they want to portray it. Not even a fraction of 1% of purchasers were victims of scammers according to the governments own statistics in this case. The victims also bought Bitcoin in this case from other sellers. It was not a case where “if only the church hadn’t sold them bitcoin, or if only the church had done KYC” that these people wouldn’t have lost money. Every one of them bought Bitcoin from other sellers and a heck of a lot more Bitcoin in fact in at least some instances. Some as was previously stated were actually actively and knowingly laundering money for scammers and these same people the government is claiming are “victims” of the church. It’s absurd to claim an actual money laundering individual is a victim of a church when the church knew NOTHING about it at the time it occurred and actively tried to stop scammers/money laundering through more stringent measures than any other bank or money transmitter.

Romance scams are real, but they’re not the fault of the banks. They’re not the fault of Bitcoin sellers. They’re not the fault of Ian, the Crypto6, or the Shire Free Church. The fees were also far less than the government claimed. The government claimed 10-21% and in reality all the victims paid 10%. The church actually charged as little as 5% and all of this is well within what the market rate was for the given method. The vending machines were as low as 8%. In person it was at times as low as 5%. Online it was at least as low as 10%. The 20-21% would probably have been for new customers and via payment methods that had more risk associated with them. Vending machines in Boston are in the 20% range for comparison. The government tried to claim anything over 1-2% was insane profits when it didn’t take into account that vending Bitcoin through a vending machine has different costs associated with it than selling Bitcoin wholesale via a major online exchange. The rates in practice were below the market rates and it’s only through manipulation of the facts and of folks who do not know what the range is for fees that you can make it out as if this was some sort of “scheming” or catering toward scammers that the government would have you believe. The reason that there were actually very few victims of scams purchasing through the church is that the church had a very strict KYC policy and was relative to the methods used. In other words the policies for the vending machines were less than that of online sales. One business owner testified he was unaware of even a single minor incident until years later and another business owners testified that they were unaware of anyone becoming a victim. This includes a business owner who regularly helped people with Bitcoin, but he said that it was only once that he ever needed to ask someone to leave.

While people DID purchase Bitcoin online via sending cash on a rare occasion, and most was done via wire transfers and cash deposits every person was required to write that they understood they were purchasing Bitcoin from the church. A photo of a drivers license was required and a picture of the bank receipt with very particular wording on it. This ensured that people for the most part didn’t unknowingly purchase Bitcoin and become victims of scammers. Scams take many forms and you can’t stop all scams, but no one who purchased Bitcoin from the church was unaware of what they were doing. No “victim” thought they were purchasing a car while wiring money to the church. Bitcoin was only ever released upon the confirmation that the buyer understood that they were buying Bitcoin from the church. All of this was presented at the trial.

Notice how the agents can’t tell you how many people were impacted even though the state did reveal this statistic. They can’t tell you because they’re manipulating you. They are lying. They just say “many people”. The reality is a few people did lose a lot, but it was not as a result of the church or failures of the church to do KYC. These people lost much of their money via purchasing Bitcoin from various sellers. There were hundreds if not thousands of people selling Bitcoin. They had 7-8 victims testify, but not all of these victims were actually victims in the end. The restitution hearing is occurring on January 8th, but even before this date determines how many victims there are a number of them have been dropped. That is they’re NO LONGER victims. You would think they’d have to prove that these people were actually victims BEFORE the trial started. That is sadly not how the real world works though. In the real world you get convicted based on lies told by prosecutors, “victims”, and others with a financial interest in the case. Then who is and isn’t an actual “victim” gets figured out after the trial is over. If you throw enough “victims” up to testify it sounds like someone was harmed, but it doesn’t make it true, and certainly even if these are genuine victims it’s not the case that the church partook. In fact the judge ruled Ian did NOT have knowledge of the crime and one of the charges were thrown out as a result. Other charges should have been thrown out as well, but apparently thinking about money laundering is illegal, but knowledge is a requirement of actual money laundering. So they can convict you of conspiracy to launder money without any actual money laundering ever having occurred. And in reality without ever having thought of money laundering given that the church took many steps to thwart would-be money launders.

They claim we used the word “victimless financial crimes”, but to the extent this has some truth there are victimless financial crimes. This case is evidence of that. Whose the victim of this crime? There is a victim of a third party who actually duped someone maybe, but there is no victim of the crime here committed by the accused. Ian isn’t being accused of targeting elderly people or targeting scammers. At various point the prosecution admitted that much even if they did say it at other points. The government and the judge agreed in two separate hearings involving Renee and Mr Nobody that no one ever lost a dime. There was zero restitution owed by anyone else because there were no losses yet somehow this has now changed. Now there are victims who Ian owes money to even though there were not victims of the crimes. There were victims of third parties of which Ian didn’t know or have anything to do with… but no direct victims (and this assumes what we are being told is correct since no evidence was presented to prove these folks were victims of third parties beyond some testimony of the victims of which couldn’t even clearly remember or identify who or where they bought Bitcoin from).

The protections for consumers are a farce. The government wants you to believe these were all elderly folks yet many of the so-called victims were younger than the judge, prosecutor, and defense lawyer in the case. They also use an interesting choice of words. They facilitated money laundering, but didn’t know of the money laundering. The banks in that regard all facilitated money laundering too, but didn’t know of the money laundering occurring. Somehow one little piece of paper somehow immunizes the banks and despite the church doing more than the banks to stop scams they want to hold the sellers of Bitcoin to a higher standard. Or at least Ian. Remember, this isn’t about Bitcoin. It’s about one agent having a grudge against free staters and libertarians. How many different “crimes” does an agent have to investigate over close to two decades before he finally gets his “man”? Apparently two arrests and a disparagement of a mans reputation I suppose is the answer to this one.

Rather than make work for yourself government agents… if you really care about these “victims” maybe you should focus on actually getting laws passed to help stop vulnerable folks from being so easily victimized. The banks didn’t stop these people from wiring “large” sums of money to parties they didn’t know. It wasn’t little old vending machines in Keene New Hampshire that were the problem. It was that there was and is zero measures in place for “vulnerable” people to wire away life savings. A seller of Bitcoin can’t know if the buyer has billions of dollars and a $25,000 purchase is nothing to sneeze at. A bank on the other hand would or at least might know.

Of course if we actually solved this problem through real measures law enforcement would be out of a job, so of course they don’t want to actually solve this problem. The solution boils down to simple mathematical algorithms. You don’t need to regulate money transmission at all outside of traditional banking institutions. All you need to do is require a two-step confirmation process on the wiring of funds over a certain threshold over a particular period of time for a particular demographic. This can be based on how much is in an account, how much is normally sent out, and age. Someone whose 20 might have zero checks. Someone whose 55 might have an algorithm that stops wire transactions that are 1.5x their normal monthly expenditure / withdrawal. This shouldn’t stop them from conducting the wire, but if a 2nd person now needs to sign off on it is required it makes the amount of hoop jumping a scammer does significantly higher. Or they may need to stop in at the bank to do the wire and the bank employee maybe has to accept a certain amount of risk. That is if they wire $100,000 and it turns out to be a scam they’re on the hook for a weeks wages. Of course none of this should stop someone from spending their own money and risking everything … including sending it away to a scammer… but … it would make it more difficult for someone to be scammed and be able to excuse it away as “someone should have stopped me”. If you are really that incapable of managing your own money maybe it’s time to hand that responsibility off to someone else and stop blaming innocent intermediaries that are just doing what you asked. The rest of society should not be burdened because there are dumb or vulnerable people in the world.

The bank accounts didn’t get shut down because the rules weren’t being followed as the government is now claiming. The bank accounts got shut down mostly as a result of attempts by scammers to get elderly folks to wire funds that were then later realized to be scams. When the victim went in and told the bank the bank would pull the money back. If the money is pulled back the receiving bank has to deal with it. The seller has to deal with it. Everyone has to deal with it. The receiving bank now starts asking questions. It turns out that every receiving bank agreed with the church in regard to the KYC policy and thus the church never lost any money except for in one incident where Ian realized he made a mistake. In that instance he refunded the customer or otherwise didn’t fight it. In all the other instances he won and the receiving bank agreed with the church. Accounts may have been shut down, but it wasn’t because of a lack of KYC or criminality of some kind. The banks didn’t outright say the reason they shut down accounts typically, but it always occurred when customers pulled back money whether it was someone trying to scam the church directly (aka a scammer sent money from his own bank, then claimed he was scammed when he wasn’t) or indirectly via third party victims. The point is there was not ever a situation where “receiving bank detects scam” or lack of KYC compliance and shuts account down. The only possible time that might have occurred was with a credit union. The humorous thing is the credit union expert testified that they were allowed to permit the transactions to occur for a long while and despite suspicions no issues ever occurred. They later killed the account without money getting pulled back. That account was I believe not used to sell Bitcoin humorously. There were a dozen or so accounts, but this was over a period of 5 years. It’s not what the government is making it out to be. The church took steps to minimize the likelihood of scams because it was in everyone’s interest to stop scamming.

The government says these accounts were shut down due to suspicious activity yet that just isn’t the case. At best they can claim that may have occurred with a single credit union account that was not used to sell Bitcoin. None of the banks were brought in to testify to this “suspicious activity” claim or reason as to why an account closure occurred. None of these banks would ever say why they shut down an account either when asked by the church. There is no substance behind these agents claims that the accounts were being shut down due to suspicious activity. The agents say this and that, but the truth is somewhere else. What exactly was suspicious exactly too? Why was it that accounts were only closed after sending banks pulled money back? If an account has been used for 6 months to a year and a half with the same type of activity and no closure why did it take so long? It’s not suspicious activity that resulted in account closures. It was sending banks pulling money back that resulted in their closures. This doesn’t mean these people would have lose their money either. The sender would have had to sign a receipt saying that they understood they were buying Bitcoin from the church. This may have actually resulted in accounts getting shut down as those would-be victims may have realized that they were being scammed and gone to their bank to try and undo the transaction. In some respect that is the point of all this, but receiving banks aren’t going to like that. Undoubtedly this was more of a “we’ll take your money until it’s no longer in our interest to do so” situation. The banks never lost any money according to the government, but they did profit off all the fees they charged.

The church donation point they keep harping on was more of a handful of senders writing it as the reason they were sending the money. I have no idea if these were outright donations or the people just considered the proceeds donations or what the story was. There were all sorts of reasons people would put down as to why they were sending out a wire. Often they’d write investment or something else entirely.

The government wants you to believe that because a dozen accounts existed that can be tied to crypto by different people that it somehow is evidence of bank fraud. This just isn’t the case. They took accounts opened by different people for different entities and different reasons and put them all together and said look here all these accounts is evidence of crime! They connected the accounts through malicious descriptions. For example Ian referred customers at one point or another to Aria and even if there was no profit in it they’re now claiming it’s “one thing” or one business. Now because it’s one business those different accounts being opened is somehow bank fraud.

The series of events was more along the lines of Ian having an account in his own name, selling Bitcoin for the church, then using an account specifically for the Shire Free Church to sell Bitcoin. Then at some point it made sense to open an account specifically for selling Bitcoin and keep the Bitcoin sales separate from the other Shire Free Church account(s) (which by the way is actually what you’re suppose to do). So a DBA was registered with the state to that end and an account opened. Effectively it’s a logical succession of account creation over a 5+ year period. Over a few year period some accounts were closed, but not because of suspicious activity. It was because of scammers victims going to their bank and saying they were scammed. The sending banks would claw the money back. This would start a tug of war. Ian would have to prove that the sender knew what they were buying and the church won every case. The account would remain shut down, but not because of suspicious activity or non-compliance with KYC or anything of that nature. No bank employee ever testified to that and they would always refuse to say why an account was closed. However with enough accounts closed it becomes obvious. You need to try and minimize receiving monies that are derived from fraud before it hits your account rather than after. After the fact you can send money back maybe, but you can’t stop someone from trying to wrongly ‘claw it back’. Even when you win the account will remain closed.

Suspicious activity isn’t a crime either. It’s effectively occurs through routine activity like making deposits. If you go to the bank every day and your business brings in $7,000-$8,000 in cash because it’s a cash business that might get picked up as “suspicious activity”. It’s not illegal, but it falls within certain amounts that the bank has to report it even though its entirely routine for you and the reason you are doing it is because the bank is suppose to keep your money safe right? What would the alternative be? Keeping the money In a safe and then doing a weekly deposit? Well, a $50,000 deposit is also suspicious because of the amount of cash you are now depositing all at once. No matter how you do it the government thinks that is suspicious. Did you just buy a house and just made $150k wire and have never done that before? Well, you’re now suspicious too. There are millions of these suspicious activity reports that get filed. If you haven’t had one or another report filed on you I’d be shocked.

There was no evidence presented to suggest that large amounts of cash was dealt with outside of the vending machines. The banks don’t like dealing with cash. This would likely have been problematic. Cash by mail occurred, but was not common. The cash was mostly from vending machines.

There was no evidence of ANY profit being made. They showed the fees were charged, but the money went back into crypto mostly and it all went into the Shire Free Church.

The government didn’t prove its case. The preponderance of evidence is in theory how it works, but the government didn’t even have a blockchain expert to connect any of it together. What they did was make claims, but didn’t back those claims by any evidence. The court ruled in Ian’s favor here in at least one aspect and that was the FBI’s lead expert was NOT an expert. This humorously from a judge who thinks the blockchain is a person. Yea- he stated that in open court. The jury convicted, but the judge also later ruled the jury ruled in error as there wasn’t evidence to prove the knowledge component for at least one of the charges. That charge was thrown out. The defense will argue in future appeals all the charges should have been thrown out.

The co-spend analysis and tools didn’t withstand scientific scrutiny remember. What the government did was put a non-blockchain non-expert on the stand and we’re now suppose to believe that despite that she is NOT an expert what she said was accurate and true. At no point did they even explain blockchain or Bitcoin. They dumb’d it down to a point where they were merely making accusation without any evidence to back it up. You hit send, money appears there. Meanwhile money hasn’t been defined, sending hasn’t been defined. What does sending mean? Nothing moved from one location to another or from one person to another (as a money transmitter would be doing). You might think you understand these words and in some context you probably do. But if you don’t understand how Bitcoin works you wouldn’t understand that “sending” isn’t the same thing nor is it sending it on another behalf. The bank sent money on their customers behalf to the church. They acted as an intermediary. The church didn’t act as an intermediary to move money. The church sold it’s own Bitcoin to it’s customer. It would more akin to a US bank selling you Euros, but where Euros weren’t defined as money because Euros are new and somehow different from other currencies too. Virtual currencies were added to the money transmission law, but not until 2021. This is after the fact and if such a law existed it would be known as an ‘ex post facto law’. That’s not legal in the United States. A law must exist at the time you violated it. They can’t pass a law years later and say you broke this law that didn’t exist at the time you committed a a given act.

They’re not telling the trust again about everyone taking a plea deal (minus Ian Freeman anyway). The government dropped the charges against Colleen Fordham. She never took a plea deal and was one of the most respectable individuals in that she refused to take a plea deal. Mr Nobody was bullied into taking a plea default. His circumstances were such that he’d likely have seen a more serious outcome as a result of prior activism. Mr Nobody stood up to the FBI in 2012 refusing to wear a wire into the Keene activist center. They were after Ian Freeman. For his refusal the FBI had the state arrest him over the illegal sale of marijuana. He took that to trial and lost. He spent a year in a cage already defending Ian Freeman. While it is probably the case he should have continued to fight it Mr Nobody already had spent six months locked up over this for at best a seriously minor role in it all. Colleen Fordham didn’t even have a cryptocurrency wallet at the time and hadn’t for a number of years. They arrested her likely in an effort to get at Ian. The same is likely the case for Renee and Andrew Spenella. Andrew wasn’t even aware of what was going on. His name just happened to be on one of the bank accounts. Renee was more involved, but had not been involved for a while. She had long ago moved on. The FBI actually attempted to intimidate Renee into testifying on behalf of the FBI and this occurred 8 months or so prior to the FBI raiding. This and another incident more than tipped off the Crypto6 and community that a raid was coming. However there is a bit of thought by some that if the FBI was going to do something they probably would have done it already. However between that and the undercover FBI agent it was pretty clear that the 6AM raid was real when it finally arrived. I will admit at first I thought the FBI was elsewhere that morning… and well, they were sort of, but I didn’t immediately think Bitcoin and simultaneous coordinated raid on a half dozen of my closest friends. That took 30 seconds and about the amount of time it took me to get my car out of the driveway. I headed straight to the main location they’d be targeting: The Free Talk Live studio. I will also mention Aria did hold out on taking a plea deal and likely only got time as a result of that delay. Ultimately it’s hard to stand up to a government with unlimited resources, 100s of agents, and millions of dollars spent in an effort to entrap you in a crime you didn’t actually commit.

Despite the governments attempt to force people to testify against Ian in the Crypto6 case including otherwise would-be co-defendant it was mostly to little benefit of the government. Nothing was revealed that wasn’t already well known. What Ian did wasn’t a crime. Chris Reetman (Colleene’s husband) testified at trial for instance that he believed Ian wasn’t required to register with FinCEN even though had he gotten another crypto vending venture off the ground he would have registered. The reason for this is because of how the vending machines would have been operated. The church only ever sold its own Bitcoin. Chris on the other hand would be connecting his vending machines to an exchange and in that context he would be acting as an intermediary rather than an individual or entity just selling its own Bitcoin.

They were forced into pleading guilty under the full threat and significant violence of the government. No one genuinely admitted to anything. You forced words out of his mouth at the threat of violence.

What they also fail to state in telling us about the restitution / sentence and how Ian will pay the victims more rather than the government is that Ian requested that the penalty be minimized so as to maximize the amounts going to the victims of third party scammers should that be ordered. It was not the government requesting this. Ian would rather people who harmed him (the “victims” who testified) get more money than for the state to get anything. Why? At lest these “victims” aren’t likely to go and utilize that money to commit violence again others. The government on the other hand absolutely will utilize that money to harm other peaceful people. This is the difference between Ian and the government. The government claims to care about you whereas Ian actually cares about you.

Again they change what they claim the fees charged were. At one point during the trial it was 10-20% that they were claiming. Now it’s 5-15% in this podcast. Someone clearly read my prior posts at Free Keene. The only reporting of a 5% fee was from me. Almost no one else was aware of this number as it was an in-person number at a particular point in time many years ago and the church rarely sold to people in person. Keep in mind this was not always 5% so you may have paid 10% in later years as the costs of operating the vending machines and selling Bitcoin went up. At all points these fees were well within or even below market rates. At the time the 5% in-person rate was charged the vending machines were around 8%. Closer to Boston the non-church FinCEN registered vending machines were charging around 20%. This blows the idea that people are paying this “high fee” out of the water. KYC FinCEN registered and compliant sellers were charging substantially more than the church and the online exchanges were probably in the 1-2% range. 5% once you account for the additional labor involved and other costs isn’t so out there.

The agents in the podcast also speak of bank fees that are in the few percent range and act as if this is evidencing that it makes no sense to buy crypto at this rate. The implication is only criminals would buy and spend Bitcoin at this rate. This argument falls flat on its face once you consider that a business purchasing goods with a credit card that pays 3-5% in bank fees (credit card fees) for the goods and then turns around and sells those goods to you and also pays with a credit card just resulted in the banks netitng 6-10%. In other words the price has to jump on those goods by 10%, not the “few percent” the government is claiming. It costs a lot more to use banks than crypto. With Bitcoin or probably better compared these days to Bitcoin Cash you’d not pay anywhere near this even if you pay 10% to acquire it. The problem here is the receiver doesn’t pay 3-5% to receive your crypto once those dollars are crypto (that would be the company you end up spending that crypto you bought). This enables many merchants to discount the price of the goods for those who pay with crypto. My business offers free shipping as an example. Others offer discounts as high as 10%. It’s only through ignorance and a lack of understanding of the banking system that you can make this argument against crypto or fees sound rational. However as was pointed out some people use crypto not to save money- that is only a side effect. No. Some of us use crypto out of principle. We want to spread peace and one way to do that is by undermining the ability of government to skim value off the inflating of the dollar or other government fiat currencies (aka Euros, British Pound, etc). This is why Bitcoin is popular in libertarian circules and got adopted in libertarian circles prior to the speculators figuring out they could make a dime off it. Many today do utilize it as an investment vehicle, but that has NEVER been the reason I use crypto.

They talk about seizing 3 million in cash and cryptocurrency. The humorous part of this is that about ~$4 million of that which was seized (at today’s exchange rate anyway) was money donated to the church in 2016. It was NOT fees charged from selling Bitcoin. I’m sure the evidence to this end will be forthcoming at some point, but I also am sure plenty of people in libertarian circles are already well aware of this and witnessed that donation first hand. Maybe there is even video of this somewhere. I have not looked, but it’s also the most likely scenario given acquiring such item years after the bars were discontinued would have been costly. Given Ian and the church were around at that time regardless of what you believe about Ian it’s the most likely route into the church’s hand.

There isn’t a question about where the money went. One of the governments agents testified to the fact that most of it went right back into purchasing Bitcoin for the churches coffers. So the church didn’t get to keep $10 million dollars. At best if the church received $10 million and the average fee was 10% then it would appear the church netted $1 million. That isn’t really the case though as the church had to pay to acquire the Bitcoin and it had to pay landlords to rent the space the vending machines existed in. The church had to hire contractors to fill vending machines. The church had to do technical support for people not super familiar with Bitcoin (another reason someone would buy Bitcoin from the church likely rather than go through complicated KYC procedures, though the churches online sales were just as if not more complicated despite the lies the agents are telling). Now where did the rest of the money go? Isn’t it obvious? And shouldn’t you know that already? The Shire Free Church funded the construction of orphanages in Africa, helped the homeless in Keene, turned a church building into a Mosque for another persecuted minority, and contributed to many different worthwhile projects. You just refuse to acknowledge the good work of the church and its participants. As we’ve stated all along government employees are the real scum of the universe. They’re the ones stealing and using violence and coercion to get their way. They call it taxation and justify it through laws. These laws have real victims resulting in people losing their homes and businesses. It’s immoral, but the real scammers in this case are those falsely claiming to be going after “fraud” and humorously maybe sort of scammers. The governments own “victims” who testified in the crypto6 case all stated the FBI was NOT interested in going after the scammers. They only ever wanted Ian Freeman the “victims” claimed. It was only after calling the government out that they brought in a fed to claim something was “happening” in regard to going after the actual scammers in this case. That is NONE of the crypto6. Where are those scammers now Mr FBI??? I thought you were going to do something about the actual scammers? That’s right. Just another lie from your federal government.

There was a clear use. You just ignored it. We’ve been reporting on where that money went this entire time. We talked about it on Free Talk Live. We wrote about it at FreeKeene.com. To claim it wasn’t advertised is absurd. Aria posted about it online at least in relation to the Reformed Satanic Church. Completely separate from the Shire Free Church mind you, but Ian wrote about the Shire Free Church and we talked about it on Free Talk Live all the time. There was no paperwork filed (the church was registered with the state sadly just so you a-holes couldn’t claim it was fake) with the government, but that doesn’t mean it got spent on sex, drugs, and fancy cars. If it had the FBI would know about it because the government SURVEILLED the churches studio, infiltrated via agents, and followed us around for the last 7+ years. They mapped out Ian’s network not unlike that of the Mafia. It was disgusting considering that all Ian ever wanted was more freedom and peace in the world.

There is nothing wrong with cash and there is nothing wrong with Bitcoin (well, as it existed years ago). The two are more alike than dissimilar. Retaining the freedom of cash is NOT immoral. Your lies won’t succeed in undermining our freedom or our movement.

I ask one last question! What financial benefit did ANY of us get from this so-called scheme you claim. Last I checked there is zero evidence of ANYONE benefiting. Not at least by the size of the claimed scheme. If the one-bedroom Ian shares with his wife or ex-girlfriend counts then OK! But that’s an absurd claim and the IRS said that was 100% OK. It did not constitute taxable income for which Ian would have had to file a return, but even that is a bit much as the churches wealth was not from selling Bitcoin. It pre-dated it. But seriously- you’re not suggesting the government spent millions of dollars over 5 years to get Ian for the sake of the one-room, food, the clothes on his back, and the gas in the churches vehicle are you? That would be the most absurd waste of stolen (taxes) money ever.

No one facilitated scammers. No one! The Shire Free Church implemented a STRONGER KYC policy than any of the banks that wired money to the church. This is where said policies were warranted and no evidence exists to suggest that had a piece of paper been filed with this or that agency that the world would somehow magically be a safer place no matter how much you may want that to be true.

As to how to look at Ian and the Crypto6? I will hold Ian up as a hero, I will hold up Mr Nobody as a hero. Ian is a potential martyr particularly depending on how things continue to unfold on appeal, and certainly everyone is a victim of big corrupt government and the thieves calling themselves employees of the federal government. I will also give my respects to all the others connected to this case who suffered at the hands of government with one exception. A lying thieving fake collaborator of government: Melanie Neighbors. The Crypto6 stood relatively strong against the beatings of government and there is nothing more I could possibly ask of anyone moving to the free state. These people took the statement of intent to it’s maximum interpretation and for that I respect them greatly:

“exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property.”

When I first heard of Joe Biden declaring January as Human Trafficking Prevention Month, I thought this was a story from the Babylon Bee site. I felt that even Joe Biden could never be so tone-deaf as to mock the most significant human trafficking operation in history by recognizing a tragic situation with a White House Declaration honoring its existence.

During Joe Biden’s first administration, every month sets a new record in illegal crossings, apprehensions, and get-always. Nearly 1.2 million illegals cross the Rio Grande. These people are scattered across America before they can undergo a proper background check. There have been dozens of Aliens who have been stopped on the Border and who were known to be sponsored terrorists. There is no way of knowing how many terrorists managed to avoid detection and are now living among us. That makes our Border a failure of National Security. And only one person is responsible for that failure, and that is President Joe Biden.

There are two key issues in Biden’s proclamation putting a label on the Month of January. One is the concession or appeasement of certain blocks of people or special interest groups; the other is a continued effort to sever our connection with our history and traditions. This thought line came to me last week when I saw an online post by the Bidens wishing all a happy Kwanzaa. I reacted to the post by searching to see if there was also a post celebrating the Feast of Festivus. My thinking is both “holidays” have the same historical significance. One was created by a Black man in 1966, and the other was the product of a famous sitcom.

Neither has deep-rooted historical significance, but there is a vast difference between the two. No group, other than Seinfeld groupies, knows what Festivus is, but not acknowledging Kwanzaa will get you labeled a Racist. This fear of being targeted as a Racist is why we have significant thoroughfares in cities like Minneapolis or Washington D.C. painted with BLM or Black Lives Matter. Nobody in America after the George Floyd death would dare say anything negative about the Black Lives Matter movement even though a couple of years after its inception, it was exposed for the money laundering pyramid scheme that it was.

The hypocrisy of Biden to even touch the topic of human trafficking is appalling. The Mexican Cartels are making billions extorting families from around the world in exchange for safe passage across the Border into America. There are horrid stories of women raped during their journey, and the U.S. government has lost nearly 30,000 juveniles who have crossed the Border and have now fallen out of the system. These children are suspected to be involved in the sex trade or the illegal, underage workforce. For Biden to attach himself to this month-long focus is to put himself in focus for his utter failure at our Southern Border, and now our Northern Border as it too is currently being breached.

Being tone-deaf to the complaints and wants of the people is bad enough, but to be absolutely deaf to the criticism Biden faces on nearly every policy front is inexcusable for someone like him who has been in the system for half a century.

The post Joe Says, January Is Human Trafficking Prevention Month appeared first on Granite Grok.

You’ll likely have heard the latest shot ’round the world. But, if not, a Democrat legislator in the New Hampshire House, speaking to his fellow members, said that while he supports transgender people, he could not condone surgical intervention on children.

Rep Jonah Wheeler (D – Peterborough) passionately mirrored the thing most everyone to his right whom I know finds objectionable about the transgender agenda (more than the grooming). These are children, and this damage is permanent.

 

Watch: @jonahowheeler, one of the more progressive members of the @NHHouseofReps, explains why he is supporting the amended version of HB 619, prohibiting gender transition procedures for minors #NHPolitics #WMUR pic.twitter.com/8TwoEFPRY5

— Adam Sexton (@AdamSextonWMUR) January 4, 2024

The gender-surgery zealots at Dartmouth Medical won’t be pleased.

 

I. Any referral for or provision of genital gender reassignment surgery to an individual under 18 years of age is unprofessional conduct and is subject to discipline by the appropriate licensing entity or disciplinary review board with competent jurisdiction in this state.

II. A minor or the parent of such minor aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may bring an action in the superior court for damages and injunctive relief against any person who has committed or attempted or threatened to commit such violation or any person who has aided or abetted the same.

 

The Bill, HB619-FN, passed (199-175). It moves to the State Senate, where it is in less danger than at Governor Sununu’s Desk. Sununu has advanced so-called gender-affirming legislation in the past. I’m not clear on his position regarding the surgical mutilation of children, but the bi-partisan House vote is significant. So is what happened after. Rep. Judy Aron reported (of Rep Wheeler) that,

 

After his visit to the well to speak in favor of this bill, he was immediately verbally attacked in the back anteroom by members of his own caucus, prompting the House Clerk, Paul Smith, to intervene. So much for the “Be Kind” and “Diversity and Inclusion” crowd.

 

So much for those “People Over Politics” signs we’ve seen sprout up with Democrat names on them as election day looms. Dem Reps Murphy and Rung put politics before children (as did Rep. Thomas), voting to let adults coerce children into life-altering surgical interventions. I’m not saying that Murphy, Rung, or Thomas were involved in berating Rep. Wheeler in this incident. My point is that their politics always came before and over people. This vote, their voting record, and social media antics prove that.

Perhaps by People over Politics, they mean like a pig on a spit.

HB619 also puts the brakes on chemical transition and the use of hormone blockers on children. (Correction: Puberty blockers were not banned.)

But as Rep Aron noted earlier today, that wasn’t the only good news.

 

The House killed HB264-FN (191-185), which would have allowed transgender people to alter historical documents – their birth records. The House also killed HB368-FN (190-185), which would have given certain privacy protections (like protecting medical records from subpoena) for transgender people seeking gender-affirming health care in NH. There were many issues surrounding the legal ramifications and possible lawsuits resulting from this type of legislation, especially if one parent objects to said care and sues the state or medical practitioners over the transgender healthcare received by their child.

 

I am reminded of how the transgender agenda, like the gay agenda that preceded it, claimed that it only ever wanted to be equal—the same. And a lot of people fell for that. That they would be treated like everyone else – except where everyone else treats everyone else like crap and gets on with their lives anyway; people can be mean, and we all get to see it but don’t be mean to openly LGB folks – and for clarification, I mean the activist class of this movement. Their equality was to be a step above. Not just acceptance but reverence.

You could be an ass to anyone else but them. Their equality rose to a level of inequality where – in this case, the transgender movement – they get extra special treatment, more privacy, benefit from legal protections no one else gets, and the power to define the speech and thoughts of others. Compel it.

You lost a lot of support with that line of thought, much like you will lose support if you insist on adults having the right to alter children surgically – permanent body-altering surgery before they can even begin to understand how that will impact the remainder of their lives.

Thanks to House Leadership and the slim Republican majority, as well as the 21 NH House Democrats who voted to protect children.

Three Republican members, for the record,  voted Nay. I know one of them and have asked why they opposed the bill. I will update this post when I get their response.

 

UPDATE

Belcher, Mike(R) Carr. 4 – Was a Yea on HB619 and a Nay on the amendment. That was my mistake – and I apologize for the error. Bickford, David(R) Straf. 3 Wolf, Dan(R) Merr. 7

And thanks again to Rep. Aron for her timely (next day) NH House legislative updates (read this week’s here and here if you missed them).

 

The post ICYMI – Bi-Partisan NH House Vote Bans Transition Surgery for Minors [Update!] appeared first on Granite Grok.

We learned that today we were able to finish up all of the leftover 2023 retained House bills and were successful in passing some really good bills… and killed some bad ones, too. It was a good two days!

We also learned that while yesterday (1-3-24), the majority of Democrats attended the House session wearing face masks, by the end of today (1-4-24), most of them had ditched their masks. It made me think of what is on the plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty in NY harbor, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

We learned that our first bill of the day was a big one. HB263-FN, which would have made Medicaid expansion permanent, without the 7-year sunset that the Democrats agreed to last spring in HB2 and the governor signed into law in June 2023. We killed this bill and kept the sunset provision with a vote of 191-183 (and it was roll-called). I happen to enjoy sunsets… don’t you?

We learned that our first close vote of the day was HB267-FN, with a vote of 189-188 to kill the bill (the Speaker did not vote). The Finance committee recommended killing this bill because they felt that asking for $250,000 to fund a Department of Environmental Services position to monitor cumulative impacts of polluting emissions when applicants seek permits for waste projects should have been in the initial budget and requested by DES last year. Of course, this position is not a one-time thing and would be a permanent position in DES. Rep. Karen Ebel (D – New London) said that she believed $250,000 was a modest amount of money to request. The folks sitting behind me pointed out that this represented the cost of a used Lamborghini. Everything is relative, and seeing as this is a permanent DES position, there’s a cumulative impact right there.

We learned that the transgender agenda did not fare well in the House today. The House killed HB264-FN (191-185), which would have allowed transgender people to alter historical documents – their birth records. The House also killed HB368-FN (190-185), which would have given certain privacy protections (like protecting medical records from subpoena) for transgender people seeking gender-affirming health care in NH. There were many issues surrounding the legal ramifications and possible lawsuits resulting from this type of legislation, especially if one parent objects to said care and sues the state or medical practitioners over the transgender healthcare received by their child. Finally, HB619-FN passed (199-175), which would prohibit minors, age 18 and younger, from receiving gender transitioning procedures/surgery. This one made national news almost immediately. A very brave and rational Rep. Jonah Wheeler (D-Peterborough) spoke at the well about his support for the transgender community, but at the same time, he could not support life-altering and irreversible sex change operations for kids. After his visit to the well to speak in favor of this bill, he was immediately verbally attacked in the back anteroom by members of his own caucus, prompting the House Clerk, Paul Smith, to intervene. So much for the “Be Kind” and “Diversity and Inclusion” crowd. Kudos to Rep. Erica Layon (R-Derry), who spoke so well in support of NH putting “a pause” on gender transitioning surgeries and treatments in NH (like hormones and other drugs) for minors until we have real data to ensure that no permanent harm is done to these kids. This bill also redefines conversion therapy and removes restrictions on this practice. Almost all votes on these bills were roll called.

We learned that HB396 passed 192-184. This bill allows for the state to recognize biological sex, such that it permits classification based on biological sex in lavatory facilities, locker rooms, sporting competitions, and detention facilities. Rep. Kristine Perez (R-Londonderry) did a great job and put in a lot of work in her amendment (2023-0441h) to this bill to make it clear. The House passed the amendment with 194-182. Someone truly needs to help Rep. Eric Turer (D-Brentwood) and Rep. Marjorie Smith (D-Durham), as well as others in their caucus, who simply cannot seem to understand or define what the term “biological sex” means. Trying to answer their request for clarification of the term “biological sex,” Rep. Bob Lynn (R-Concord) gave a brief biology lesson with regard to XY and XX chromosomes in humans. Hah, and you thought these folks “followed the science”! I mean, isn’t that what they keep telling us?

We learned that HB194-FN passed 194-179. This was the bill that would direct the division of archives and records management to compile and maintain a list of public monuments, update that list every ten years, and make that list available publicly online. It was argued that this was an unnecessary bill because the Director of the Division of Historical Resources says towns already have their own lists, and we don’t really need to spend the money and resources to do this at the state level. Proponents say it will assist those doing historical research and planning trips to visit them. As far as I am concerned, I don’t like such a list… it could easily become a list of targets for those who seem to enjoy defacing and damaging our treasured monuments, as we have seen happen in the past across the country. I hope the Senate kills this one.

We learned that a voice vote killed HB434-FN, which was a bill that would have allowed people to fly drones in state parks for a $25 fee. Aside from the testimony regarding interfering with people enjoying their time in state parks, even the Audubon Society didn’t like this one because they claimed it would disturb the wildlife. In any case, this bill just didn’t fly.

We learned that HB199 died with a whopping 319-53. This would have eliminated useful thermal energy from renewable energy classes. Many people/municipalities statewide rely on Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) that come from biomass (wood or waste to energy) plants. So, the proposal to ditch this classification for RECs went up in smoke.

We learned that the “Defend the Guard” bill, HB229, passed 187-182 after adopting an amendment (2023-0045h) made by Rep. Diane Pauer (R-Concord), Rep. Michael Granger (R-Milton Mills) and Rep. Tom Mannion (R-Pelham). This bill limits the activation of the NH National Guard to active combat areas to only those times when the US Congress has passed an official action pursuant to Article 1, Section 8, of the US Constitution, thereby not allowing our NH National Guard to be placed in harm’s way in foreign countries in undeclared wars. This bill does not in any way prohibit the guard from participating in training exercises outside the US, training with foreign countries, or performing humanitarian or civic assistance, nor will it prohibit the governor from consenting to the deployment of any NH guard member under Title 32 of the US Code. There are more details in the bill, but essentially, it prevents our NH guard from being sent into combat without a declaration of war. An important note is that the Finance Committee waived this bill off coming to them after this vote and requested that it be sent along to the Senate.

We also learned that two bills from the Transportation Committee were Tabled. One would allow nonresident aliens (HB375-FN) to obtain an NH driver’s License, and another one that would give REALID NH driver’s licenses to those people applying for asylum without identity verification or vetting (HB570). Tabling votes were 185-179 and 187-180 respectively. There just seems to be this continued effort to give noncitizens living in NH drivers licenses; which would otherwise be fine if it also didn’t also give them the key credentials to vote in our elections!

We learned that there were two gun bills pulled off the Consent Calendar by Rep. Jason Gerhard (R-Concord). One was HB144, which would have allowed the restoration of firearms ownership to nonviolent felons. This bill was unanimously killed in committee because there already is an annulment procedure for state offenses. There is no annulment procedure for federal offenses, though, and we don’t control that. The House agreed with the original unanimous committee vote, and ITL’d the bill 297-63. The other was HB512, which would have exempted firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition manufactured in NH from interstate commerce and federal regulation. This bill would have put manufacturers in serious conflict with state and federal law, and again, the House agreed with the original unanimous committee vote and ITL’d the bill with a vote of 286-69.

Finally, we learned that we got all our work done and won’t have to come back to session until February when the 2024 early bills start emerging with committee recommendations for the House to vote on. Let the games begin, and may the odds ever be in our favor.

The post So Kids, What Did We Learn From Thursday’s House Session (1/4/24)? appeared first on Granite Grok.

In a story that seems to be becoming increasingly common as time goes on, The Western Journal reported this week about a Canadian EV owner experiencing some massive sticker shock over the cost of replacing the damaged battery in his electric vehicle.

Now, those of us who have always driven internal combustion engine (ICE) cars have, at one time or another, been faced with big repair bills for some of those vehicles. I can remember spending $4,000 on a new radiator for a 10-year-old Infiniti QX 50 with 220,000 miles on it that I just couldn’t bear to part with several years back. I did finally retire that wonderful vehicle when faced with the prospect of a $6,000 tag for a rebuilt transmission.

So, all cars will eventually cost you or your insurance company big money to repair — no one is saying that’s unique to EVs. But where EVs are concerned, it’s the magnitude of the price for replacing a damaged or worn-out battery that is often quite eye-popping.

I wrote a story in September about a fellow in the U.S. deciding to junk his paid-off EV when he got an estimate of $30k to replace his battery. We now see frequent reports that auto insurance companies are charging higher rates for EVs than for comparable ICE cars due in large part to this extravagant battery replacement cost.

If you think that $30,000 is extravagant, well, get ready because it apparently isn’t even close to the worst-case scenario. Per the Western Journal, a Canadian man, Kyle Hsu, paid roughly $55,000 Canadian ($41,583 US) in 2022 to buy a brand new Hyundai IONIQ 5. But, less than a year later, Mr. Hsu was involved in what seemed to be a minor accident resulting in superficial damage to his beautiful EV.

Unfortunately for Hsu, it turned out that the battery protector cover on his car’s undercarriage was warped, a problem that could, in certain instances, cause the battery to explode. This meant that he would have to replace his car’s battery pack in addition to fixing its structural damage. Hsu says he was shocked when the estimate to replace the battery came in at $61,000 Canadian, or about $46,000 in US dollars. That’s almost $6,000 more than he paid for the car when he purchased it brand new. (RELATED: DAVID BLACKMON: Climate Fascists Are On The March)

Even worse, because the damage was caused by an accident, the bill was not covered by the car’s warranty, leaving Hsu with the alternative of filing a claim with his insurance carrier. But the resulting insurance implications were enormous, with Mr. Hsu facing a rate increase of up to 50% if he filed the claim. His only other choice would be to foot the repair bill himself and now have over $87,000 US dollars invested in a $41,000 car.

This is insane. This is not sustainable. The EV industry simply cannot have stories like this one popping up with increasing frequency and hope to sustain growing demand for its products.

When you combine horror stories like this one with:

• range anxiety that pops up any time the weather isn’t perfect;
• the lack of charging infrastructure;
• the unreliability of the infrastructure that does exist;
• the non-recyclability of the battery materials;
• the increasing restrictions on charging due to the massive load EVs place on the grid;
• and all the other significant issues EV makers have yet to address,

you see an industry that is almost doomed to failure before it really gets up and running.

I frequently remind readers that EVs have been around since the 1880s. They are not a new idea in any sense of that word. If they were really the answer to displacing ICE cars at societal scale, it seems likely they would have already done so. What we see popping up with increasing frequency now in the form of stories like this one are simply manifestations of the reasons why that has not already happened.

EVs today are what they have always been: A niche product, a luxury item suitable to fill discreet purposes for the upper 5% or so elites in any society. The technology simply is not there yet to make them anything more than that.

David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

 

David Blackmon | Daily Caller

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Well, Happy New Year to all, and now that we are officially in 2024, I’m turning my attention to election-year politics (as if it’s not always really). So I welcomed a call from Lily Tang Williams, who ran in a bid to face Annie Kuster two years ago and intends to run for another chance to displace “rubber stamp” Annie.

For those not familiar with Lily, she is an immigrant from China who is now an American citizen and really knows the horrors of communist China and can make listeners really feel the danger. I was privileged to be one of the Grok interviewers who unanimously endorsed her campaign last time and, speaking for myself, do so again. With her life’s experience, she is unquestionably a true constitutional conservative, exactly the kind of person so many of us here on the Grok have been calling for. She presents no risk whatsoever of going to DC and succumbing to the swamp like so many others (RINOs) have, of that I’m certain.

Here in Gilford, I’m in District 1, as many of you may be, still, I have signed up as a campaign worker for her in the second. I am inviting all Grok readers to join me regardless of which district you are in and, for once, get behind a candidate who can face down both crooked politicians and media on the left. The lack of great name recognition can be changed if we all join together starting now and work to force news outlets and career politicians to listen to our demands for that conservative voice we have all been looking for that the left can’t challenge her first-hand life experience in a hostile communist nation.

I’ll be presenting updates on where and when she will be holding presentations and campaign events here on the Grok as I am made aware of them. Together, we can make a difference.

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Most of the groups and members of groups who hate or fear firearms are clueless about them. They’ve never fired one, carried one, or paid a moment’s attention to the detrimental side effects that follow the laws they advocate. Oh, and sometimes – if you are these idiots – you break the laws you demanded.

 

Blissfully unaware of state law, a gun control advocacy operation called New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence visited the homes of some people who wanted to get rid of a firearm and trade it for a gift card. Then, right there on site, they used an angle grinder to cut the gun’s receiver in half.

Once that was done, they took the two pieces to a local high school. The parts were then given to young gun control activists, who used the bits of wood and metal to build anti-gun “works of art.”

 

If you are playing along at home, you have likely discerned the criminality for yourselves. New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence advocated for a law prohibiting the private transfer of firearms. The number of violations is equal to the number of firearms they took possession of from private owners regardless of what they planned to do with them. Here’s the second.

 

Worse, the group’s destruction of receivers don’t comply with ATF guidelines for rendering them permanently inoperable. So, when they took these guns (which were still legally guns) onto school grounds and transferred them to minors, they broke all kinds of laws — laws NMPGV itself supports — including state and federal felonies.

As a result, the local Sheriff has announced that he is investigating them. Strangely, NMPGV doesn’t think that’s fair at all.

 

The bit about the Sheriff’s investigations is (IMO) hilarious. One of the motivations for groups like NMPGV is Sheriffs who refuse to enforce laws that violate the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. This bit of lawlessness followed the local city cancelling a gun-buyback program. NMPGV, ignoring their own advocacy, violated the private transfer prohibition, which includes not having completed a background check.

 

“Reviewing the law I do not see where they are exempt from having to undergo a background check and are required to like anyone else,” San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari wrote in a Facebook post. “A sale is taking place (gift cards $100 and up), it is advertised as a purchase and called a ‘buy back.’ ” He went on to explain that the law prohibits all transfers, and that the gift cards were definitely “consideration” under state law, triggering the prohibition.

A decision on how to proceed is pending input from New Mexico’s Democrat Attorney General. If the AG gives them a pass, they have established that you don’t need to follow the law to transfer firearms, which will be the rule until someone they want to prosecute does it. Again, without any consideration of the reality that the Second Amendment doesn’t give them the right to enforce any of this, even against the goofy anti-gun group.

The only real “crime is the fraud perpetrated by New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence. Nothing they are doing does that, and certainly not cutting a few rifles in half.

 

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For those old enough to remember or who may have served during the Vietnam era, the impact that war had on the fabric of our military and our nation was truly devastating. It was compounded by the nation’s apathy and, at times, outright hostility towards those who served.

The result was a disaster in morale and significant indiscipline incidents throughout the force. Readiness and our warfighting ability were placed at risk. We left Vietnam a hollow military and now appear to have come full circle.

The rebuilding of the military after Vietnam and the transition to an All-Volunteer Force took years, led by then-President Reagan and senior officers who vowed never to let what happened in Vietnam happen again. It was very painful, but we came out of it a better, more capable force with extremely high morale. It was this force that fought the first Gulf War, along with Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Unfortunately, our senior leaders have again lost their focus on the most critical aspects of our profession, namely, readiness and warfighting and selecting leaders based on merit, not some Marxist concepts such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). These leaders have forgotten their primary responsibility is to man, train, and equip the armed forces. They have displayed a cavalier attitude and a lack of loyalty in dismissing over 18,000 military members and volunteers, all of whom refused to take an experimental vaccine. Recent medical studies seem to vindicate these service members.

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Leaders now care more about bringing a “woke” culture to our profession with its disastrous impact on recruiting and readiness while giving priority to finding phantom nonexistent “extremists” in the ranks recently debunked by the Wall Street Journal, among others, me included. Their major achievement, however, was giving us unilateral surrender in Afghanistan and the sacrifice of the lives of 2400 brave soldiers while leaving behind $70 Billion in equipment, aircraft, armored vehicles, and thousands of real “assault weapons” to arm our adversaries. To this list, we can add a recruiting shortfall of crisis proportions driven in part by using Drag Queens and cross-dressers to entice young military-age middle-class males to join. No surprise that the American public’s desire to serve is in the toilet. Our values have become nonexistent while our apathy rating is off the chart.

The time for accountability to the American people and those serving has arrived. The damage of the past three years is immense and will take many years to correct, while those responsible will escape any responsibility. They betrayed our trust and the trust of our soldiers and their families; this was unconscionable. Correcting this damage starts with a values-based Commander-In-Chief and senior leaders who lead from the front, not from their office, and who will hold everyone under them accountable regardless of skin color or ideology and promote based on merit, not your DEI score. They need to get their heads out of email, Facebook, and Twitter and get in the damn foxhole with soldiers and fix this problem or be shown the door. At the end of the day, the mission of the Armed Forces is to fight and win our nation’s wars. To do that requires we instill a warrior ethos, not a woke ideology, into the young men and women who volunteer to join and who want to make a difference. After all, it’s only the security and survival of our nation that’s at stake.

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“Jimmy” Kimmel is one of those tough guys … oh, I’m sorry: tough persons … on the Left who can dish it out but not take it. Here’s “Jimmy” acting like a bitch in response to Aaron Rodgers speculating that “Jimmy” will be on the Epstein List.

NOTE: This was written a couple of days before the court began releasing the documents. Needless to say it has been upstaged/overtaken by that.

But read carefully. “Jimmy” NEVER denies he visited the Island.

 

 

This is the funniest “Jimmy” has been in years, and needless to say, it’s unintentional. He thinks he’s so much smarter than us that we will fall for his non-denial. Cry harder, bitch.

 

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Teacher’s Unions are sinister private entities whose only concern is how much money they can make and how best to use that to impact politics at every level of government. Sure, Janus v. AFSCME was a great decision, but the war against public employee unions continues, and Ron DeSantis is leading that fight.

He may not be your guy, and there’s plenty of room to debate campaign failures and whether he’s another Republican Governors Association stooge, but we give credit where due. Florida passed a law in May of 2023 that “requires at least 60% of workers in a bargaining unit to be dues-paying members.”

Janus v. AFSCME affirmed that unions cannot force members to pay dues. DeSantis and Florida Republicans passed a law that requires unions with fewer than 60% dues-paying members to hold an election to recertify the union. The recertification threshold isn’t high, but this new wrinkle could end the union, and it has also created an opportunity for a different sort of “union” to vie for teachers’ attention.

 

Another union, led by Miami teachers who are dissatisfied with UTD, is trying to get on the ballot too. The Miami-Dade Education Coalition (MDEC) needs a 10% showing of interest by mid-January to qualify. The new union’s pitch is that it will fight for teachers’ and students’ interests without the politicking and divided alliances of the UTD.

“We are going to be totally and completely nonpartisan,” says MDEC Vice President Renee Zayas, a district high school teacher and former UTD member. “We will not be endorsing candidates.”

 

Competition. We’re supposed to love that in America. Kudos to these teachers for trying to change the game, but a union is a union, and public employees should not have them. Period. Private sector, I get – and as a matter of disclosure, for those who do not know, I was a Teamster for close to a decade. Long enough to collect a very small pension (tiny) when I reach retirement age. That also means I’ve been inside a union, seen it work, and talked to union homers, stewards, union bosses, and rank-and-file for and against. Our union went on strike, so I’ve seen both sides of that, and I understand the deal.

Teachers should not be in unions. Government employees should not have unions unless you privatize local education or public safety. That might then open the subject to debate and to local government choosing to drop a union shop like a hot potato for one that was not.

I’m Drifting…

The Florida Law could be tighter, but it sets a standard for addressing some of the more common problems with unions. They are political, and plenty of members would prefer they not be. Forcing a vote of confidence, even with a threshold as low as 30%, is a start. And it has opened the business up to competition. DeSantis may not have run an outstanding national campaign, but he’s done some excellent work in Florida that other states could try or build on.

 

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This is an attempt to “break out” memes, links, and my commentary about the situation in Israel / the Middle East so as to not overload the standard meme posts that I do.  My last “normal” meme post.  In these Israel-related posts I don’t just have memes such, but lots of informative links as well as hopefully-insightful commentary.

Note that this is not meant to be a day-by-day update about what’s going on.  Rather, to highlight uncomfortable truths about the actual nature of the conflict, deep-history background, and so on, as well as to show the at-present immutable nature of Islamic Jew hate and why that matters to today’s events.

Note that these posts do not repeat information – so there is a lot of stuff in prior posts.  Please do check them out too if this is a topic of interest to you.  In reverse chronological order:

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Still More Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Ongoing Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Even More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Memes and Commentary – Granite Grok

Israel: Memes and Commentary – Granite Grok

With some Israel-related materials here:

Meme Overflow – Granite Grok

Another new website – or at least, new to me:

Taking Back the Narrative (tbtnisrael.com)

 

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

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An excellent long-form interview / discussion with Brigitte Gabriel.  In the first she asks a critical question: If Israel has this 45-odd-minute presentation of the atrocities captured from Hamas’ own terrorist cameras, why has it not been released?  From what I understand, NOBODY who sees it comes away thinking that the attacks on Gaza are an overreaction on Israel’s part.  I’ve seen snippets here and there and it’s obviously not the most graphic stuff – and even that makes my blood boil.

 

Brigitte Gabriel – Making Sense of the War in Israel

 

 

Somewhat related to some things she says about Gazans:

Freed Gaza Hostage: ‘Everyone Over There is a Terrorist’ – HotAir

Silence On Hamas’ Twisted Use Of Hospital Will Ensure More Die (thefederalist.com)

—

You can’t be a settler or occupier in your own land | Guest Columns | clevelandjewishnews.com

Just see here:

 

 

 

 

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

 

Israel Victory Project (meforum.org)

Another news site I just found – a slew of articles, like this one:

The Psychological Battlefield Is Just as Important as the Military One :: Israel Victory Project (meforum.org)

 

TOP OF THE FOLD

 

 

Israel’s area is a little more with the Golan Heights, but not much.  From north to south it’s 424 km (263 miles) and at its widest it is 114 km (71 miles).  It has NO “strategic depth”.

Note: I live in New Hampshire (duh).  The area of NH is 24, 214 square km.  For reference, Massachusetts is 27,340.  Now, imagine being in NH and being surrounded by people who, to varying degrees, would love to see you wiped out as a political entity, and your people enslaved or killed.  Some of those neighbors, say from Vermont, launch thousands of missiles at you in a year, and have been for years.  How long would YOU put up with it?

‘They’re So Cruel’: How Oct. 7 Destroyed an Israeli Peace Activist’s Faith in the Palestinians (freebeacon.com) (link in the original; italics replaced by underlining; bolding added):

Lahav, a manager at a travel company, long participated in peace demonstrations. In recent years, she volunteered for an Israeli charity called Road to Recovery, driving Palestinian children from the border of the Gaza Strip, less than two miles from her home, to Israeli hospitals for life-saving medical care.

“We thought that Palestinians are good people. All they want is peace and prosperity,” Lahav told the Washington Free Beacon in an interview from a hotel in this Red Sea resort city where she and most of her community were temporarily relocated. “It’s just that Hamas is forcing them to be in this aggressive situation.”

When terrorists first shook the door of her safe room on Oct. 7, Lahav was sure that she and her 22-year-old daughter were about to be killed. But a makeshift lock she had fashioned out of an oar and a vacuum cleaner thwarted three separate break-in attempts. The women lay in the darkened room for about 10 hours listening to sounds of automatic gunfire and grenade explosions. At one point, they heard a group of teenagers robbing their house.

Later, Lahav learned from other Nir Oz survivors that Gazan women and children as young as 10 years old had followed Hamas terrorists into the kibbutz, looting, helping the armed terrorists, and apparently enjoying themselves.

Somewhat related:

The Status of Settlements in International Law (jcpa.org)

Does Israel Occupy the West Bank? (youtube.com)

Video by an internationally-known lawyer extremely knowledgeable on international law.  And related to the situation, a selection of videos (links only):

Are Israeli Settlements the Barrier to Peace? (youtube.com)

A Palestinian Explains Hamas (youtube.com)

Why Isn’t There a Palestinian State? (youtube.com)

Why Are There Still Palestinian Refugees? (youtube.com)

On this last one: ONLY in this situation have the “refugees” been given multi-generational refugee status.

—

Related to the hostages:

Declining Temperatures – Liberty’s Torch (libertystorch.info)

Embedded quote:

“It seems that, back then, Islamic terrorists preferred to ransom infidel captives rather than kill them. They took quite a number of such captives, and for a while they received a great deal of money for them. One group that had made a pile kidnapping and ransoming Westerners decided to try the game on a Soviet agent. But the KGB didn’t respond the way their Western victims’ governments had. Instead it performed a counter-kidnapping of one of the group’s members, and returned him to his confreres in pieces, in a plastic bag. There was a note on the bag, in Russian and Arabic. It said, ‘This is the way we play.’ The kidnapped Soviet agent was back with his comrades within twenty-four hours, alive and whole. No Soviet agent was molested ever again.”

So… find the Hamas leaders, whisk them away, and not only do something similar, but enclose a CD with a video of them getting the Jack Pershing treatment while still alive (see link just below) before sending their remains to Gaza.  MHO, pig p*n!ses sewn into their mouths would be a nice added touch.  Perhaps with the testicles hanging out like they were engaged in f——o with the pig.

How American Soldiers Used Pig’s Blood and Corpses to Fight Muslim Terrorism | Frontpage Mag

 

 

WAR & WHEN WILL IT END?

Israeli army did not fire on own civilians at Nova music festival – Truth or Fake (france24.com)

Remember, in war the first casualty is truth.

—

Israel Is in a Strong Position, Not a Weak Position – American Thinker

An interesting perspective.

—

From a contact on Telegram (grammar and formatting changed):

They’re screaming: “we want the az adeen Al-Qassam battalions” (The millitary wing of the hamas…)

Rammalah is the Palestinian Authority’s capital in the west bank… Which has also postponed the elections in the west bank for the last 20 years out of fear that hamas would win the elections in the west bank too…

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/new-year-in-rammalah.mp4

 

Again and again I ask: how do you live not just with neighbors that openly state they want you dead, but people ostensibly within your borders that say so?

—

Hamas War Crimes: Terrorist in Civvies Hides RPG under Blanket, Terrorist Tells Gazan “I’ll Place a Bomb Between You and Your Wife.” | The Gateway Pundit | by Richard Abelson

Such wonderful people.  Related:

IDF Proof: Hamas, PIJ use young children for Gaza terror activities – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

—

80,000 Israelis Displaced as War with Hezbollah Looms – Iran-Proxy Strikes Israel Over and Over | CBN News

Not good.  Israel is already in a multi-front war.

 

 

ISLAM: PRACTICES, HISTORY, AND MENTALITY

A series of videos about Islam being a “Religion of Peace” (links only):

Is Islam a Religion of Peace? (youtube.com)

The myth of “peaceful Islam” – History: Islam is NOT a religion of peace (youtube.com)

Former CIA officer: Stop calling Islam a ‘religion of peace’ (youtube.com)

And one, specifically, on the alliance between Islam and the Left:

What Radical Islam and the Woke Have In Common (youtube.com)

Don’t forget these two books about that topic:

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

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

 

 

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

 

So we understand the kind of people Israel is dealing with:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/doctor-on-child-cured-by-jews.mp4

 

Also on my Rumble channel:

An Israeli doctor – look what was found in a terror hideout (rumble.com)

So this doctor is pointing out that one of the documents found in a terror hideout full of weapons was a set of discharge papers for a Gazan boy treated for – and cured of – cancer in an Israeli hospital.  It reminds me of an incident, over a decade ago so I can’t find a link, of a Gazan boy with a heart condition.  As he was being operated on by Jews to save his life, his mother hoped he’d grow up to be a shahid and kill Jews.  Said this in a TV interview literally as her son was in the operating room.

 

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

 

 

ATROCITIES

Israeli Forces Capture Terrorists in UN Schools, Find Weapons in UNRWA Sacks | The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com | Pesach Benson / TPS | 14 Tevet 5784 – Tuesday, December 26, 2023 | JewishPress.com

Storing munitions in schools invalidates any protection they might have under international “Rules of War”…  just look at what the IDF found in one high school:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/khan-yunis-high-school.mp4

 

Does this resemble anything that might be found in your – or your kids’ – high schools?

—

 

 

From Telegram:

The Kedem-Simantov family.

They were all slaughtered by Hamas terrorists on October 7. We will remember and not forget.

—

This is a short clip of a corpse on Oct. 7.  Very graphic.  This is a civilian.  But remember, in Islam there are no civilians who are not Muslim.  Any person – ANY PERSON – in a war with Islam is, by definition, a combatant from the “House of War” and therefore fair game.  I don’t know how to say this more clearly, but they simply do not think like you do.  Click on the link to view, but be warned.

Oct. 7 casualty; bloody and maimed.

On the sexual atrocities Hamas committed on Oct. 7 (substack.com) (italics replaced by underline):

Which is good, because the Times’s descriptions of these crimes nearly beggar belief. They go beyond rape, or gang rape, or even the execution of prisoners. As described by witnesses who survived, and confirmed by video and forensic evidence, Hamas’s attackers turned murder and torture into can-you-top-thissport:

And detailed descriptions of corpses and eye-witness accounts to rape and worse:

‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7 (yahoo.com)

More – sourced from the same original:

What Happened on October 7 | Power Line (powerlineblog.com)

“The Times viewed photographs of one woman’s corpse … with dozens of nails driven into her thighs and groin” (legalinsurrection.com)

Horrific.  But while I deeply respect the tweeter here:

Perhaps the greatest mercy Israel is showing to Gaza is not releasing to the public the full details of what was done by the invaders to their victims. Ostensibly for the sensitivities of the families, but also I think because what populace would be able to restrain themselves?

I disagree, and concur with Brigitte above.  The world needs to see these videos.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/woman-i-want-to-live.mp4

 

Gaza terrorist confesses to raping then murdering Israeli woman | World Israel News

According to the report, the terrorist described in detail to his interrogators how the woman was raped and then murdered. The details even enabled Israeli authorities to identify the female victim.

With three other associated images, click-through but be warned:

Crimes 1

Crimes 2

Crimes 3

Again: the world needs to see that 45 minute video.  All of it.

Related:

Hostages were starved, tortured, sexually assaulted and denied treatment | World Israel News

—

Merry Christmas, Gaza | Power Line (powerlineblog.com)

Embedded quote (bolding added):

In the compound, the IDF found explosive belts specifically modified for children to wear, along with dozens of mortar shells, hundreds of grenades and several intelligence documents, it said Sunday.

—

Mia Schem’s Captivity Was Anything but Kindness – HotAir

Don’t be fooled otherwise.

—

On the “Two State Solution”:

The ‘Two-State Solution’ Echoes Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’ – The American Spectator | USA News and Politics

Again – you can’t make peace whose base position is your complete destruction:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/can-there-be-a-two-state-solution.mp4

 

On my Rumble channel too:

A Former Hamas Member on the Two State Solution (rumble.com)

And related:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/more-on-palis-hating-israel.mp4

 

 

ON INTERSECTIONALITY / LEFTIST SUPPORT

Unmasking SJP (jcpa.org)

Two page document.  SJP is nothing more than a Hamas PR / brainwashing front.  Related to college campuses, though this is supposedly about BLM I seem to remember it being about pro-Gaza events (or maybe it was another, similar video):

 

Liberal Jewish Student FINALLY Wakes Up

 

 

—

Douglas Murray, a gay man himself, weighs in on the “Gays for Gaza” “Queers for Palestine” insanity of the Left (barenakedislam.com)

I saw a video of a chain of people being tossed off a rooftop – possibly Gaza but not sure – but regardless, Islamists murdering people in a manner consistent with how gays are treated by them.  And… STILL the LGBTQP+ crowd supports them.  Talk about a total atrophy of the survival instinct; discussed in my three-part series on the biological roots of civilizational collapse:

Civilizational Collapse and Biology (Part 1) – Urban Scoop

Civilizational Collapse and Biology (Part 2) – Urban Scoop

Civilizational Collapse and Biology (Part 3) – Urban Scoop

—

We Have Abdicated Our Responsibility | Frontpage Mag

We deluded ourselves into believing that advocating for Muslim immigration from countries that export terrorism would be no threat to us. But we failed to realize that most of the immigrants coming from these Muslim countries have been taught since they were babies that the Jews are the sons of apes and pigs.

We allowed ourselves to become fragmented. We told ourselves that Tikun Olam is the most important thing above and beyond our own security. We told ourselves that supporting the Democratic Socialists of America and being Bernie Sanders supporters was okay despite their positions on Israel. We told ourselves it wasn’t a big deal that Linda Sarsour was one of the heads of the Women’s March.

—

If Israel is sooooooo apartheid, explain how the Muslim Druze seem to be doing quite well (on my Rumble channel):

Druze in Israel – a man explains (rumble.com)

—

Campus Anti-Zionism Dates Back to 1967 – American Thinker

Some great history, including how the USSR got involved.  And how weak many “Jewish” organizations are on campus.

 

 

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

 

Yoseph Haddad interviewed by Dr Sheree Trotter

 

 

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

 

PALLYWOOD & MEDIA IN GENERAL

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/lights-camera-makeup-pallywood.mp4

 

Look at these people grinning as they’re being dolled-up for the cameras.  Also on my Rumble channel:

Lights… Camera… Make-up… PALLYWOOD! (rumble.com)

—

Gaza – so dangerous that nobody dare do anything.  Except hold an open-air market.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/market-in-central-gaza-dec-18.mp4

 

—

The True Cost of the Israel Apartheid Narrative | Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (jcpa.org)

Video – about 45 minutes.  Including a woman from South Africa who knows, you know, actual apartheid.

—

NBC Asks If IDF Tunnel Display Justifies ‘Massive Palestinian Deaths’ (newsbusters.org)

Liberal Media Spreads Blood Libel About Israel and Organ Harvesting (legalinsurrection.com)

The media are actively taking sides.  This link is long and broad but it shows the role of information in this war:

“You have Jews everywhere,” one former Hamas minister, Fathi Hammad, shouted to a crowd in 2019, “and we must attack every single Jew on the globe by way of slaughter and killing, with God’s will” (barenakedislam.com)

—

No wonder so many people, including most other Arabs, hate the Palestinians (barenakedislam.com)

Video & text.  And who actually stabbed her to death?  (Bolding added).

Police confirmed that Aya Abu Hajjaj, a 24 year old Palestinian woman in her final term of pregnancy who was fatally stabbed last month, was killed by her 14-year-old brother, her 51-year-old father, and a 15-year-old cousin.

Honor killings are nothing new in the Arab world.

Dr. Sanity: HONOR KILLINGS AND SUICIDE BOMBINGS – ISLAM, ARABS, AND SHAME (drsanity.blogspot.com)

One of the things that I recall from Brigitte Gabriel’s book Because They Hate was that Palestinian terrorists would rape a woman (or boy) and then say that the only way for them to protect their family’s honor would be to become a shahid and do a suicide attack… same with kids that are found to be gay.  Threat of disclosure of their rape or their being homosexual to the wide world, shame on your entire family… or here’s your suicide vest.  Other resources / info / links on honor killing:

You searched for honor killing – Political Islam

Worldwide Trends in Honor Killings :: Middle East Quarterly (meforum.org)

You searched for honor killing – Geller Report

 

 

TERROR COMING HERE?  TO THE WEST?

Italy: Pro-Hamas demonstrators disrupt Milan Christmas concert (jihadwatch.org)

Note that the sign is in English, not Italian.  More in Europe:

GERMANY: Three Muslims arrested in alleged terror plot to attack Cologne Cathedral (barenakedislam.com)

What the Hell is wrong with Spain? It took them 700 years to eliminate their Muslim rulers the first time, why are they heading down the same suicidal road again? (barenakedislam.com)

Netherlands: Islamic Schools Ban Muslim Children From Befriending Jews and Christians, Teach Non-Believers Should Be Killed (Video) – RAIR (rairfoundation.com)

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Indiana: Muslim prays ‘Oh, Allah, bring annihilation upon the aggressor Zionists, the criminal Crusaders’ (jihadwatch.org)

Such nice people.  Let’s invite more in.  Here they are in Berlin:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pro-hamas-new-years-in-Berlin.mp4

 

More on terrorists already on our soil:

German Police Foil Islamic Terrorist Attack on the Iconic Cologne Cathedral on New Year’s Eve, Five Muslims Arrested – Geller Report

NJ Busted Muslim: “Jihad… Coming Soon To a US Location Near You” | Frontpage Mag

Muslims Attack the Police Across France: Riots, Arson Stone Pelting – Geller Report

 

 

Attacking a person with a Canadian flag in Canada:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/enemy-in-the-gates-in-canada.mp4

 

They’re utterly open about what they plan – wait until you’re strong enough:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/british-mosque-preaching-until-you-are-strong-enough.mp4

 

—

 

Brigitte Gabriel’s Warning: The Shocking Truth About What Lies Ahead for America

 

 

 

TREADING ON THE POLITICAL

Biden has ‘frustrating’ call with Netanyahu over Israel’s decision to withhold tax revenue from the Palestinian Authority in latest sign of tension between Washington and Tel Aviv | Daily Mail Online

Biden to Israel: Hey, we know you’re in an existential war, but could you please give your sworn and mortal enemy money?

—

 

 

Not just Hamas:

BIDEN’S INVASION: Iranian Terrorist Apprehended at US Border – Geller Report

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS

 

The Maori of New Zealand show support to Israel with the famous Haka dance

 

 

Related (link only):

Why so many Māoris are standing for Israel (youtube.com)

—

A follow up to my last CLOSING COMMENT on the silence of the world… if it’s not Jews:

World Ignores Muslims Butchering and Slaughtering Christians “For Sport” in Nigeria, 50,000 and Counting – Geller Report

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/nigeria-is-a-warning.mp4

 

Related:

 

 

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Israel’s Opium Addiction – American Thinker

I agree.  Long-term, Israel needs to be weaned off American largess.  Not just because it creates a dependency that no nation should tolerate, but it creates enormous hostility in America towards Israel.

—

Beating the Anti-Semites – American Thinker

The flip side of this is that no American Jew who supports his community, who values his heritage, can honestly call himself a leftist. This despite the fact that most American Jews (the ultra-orthodox excepted) were raised in liberal-left traditions. It’s a difficult thing to overturn the convictions of a lifetime, but it has to be done. As it stands, American Jews are in the ghastly position of collaborating with those out to destroy them

 

 

GIVING SUPPORT TO ISRAEL

You can’t go wrong with a donation here:

Connections Israel

Here’s a video they just did:

WAR FOR ISRAEL | connectionsisrael

And please share this post far and wide.  There’s a lot of info here that many people don’t know.  Post it, email it, share widely.

Also, if you’re willing:

Buy Me a Coffee

 

 

A CONCLUDING THOUGHT FOR THIS POST

On New Year’s Eve my family and I went to downtown Boston to my wife’s favorite restaurant.  And, of course, the Gaza protests were there in Boston Common.  Between the crowd gathered and chanting “Free free Palestine”! and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”! plus others wandering around or some in coffee shops with signs and patches, I’d estimate at least 100 people.  Likely there were more – which is supported by the link below.  More on the event:

Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian Protesters Take Over Historic Boston Common, Crash New Year’s Eve Celebration | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft

In Chicago they are, per one source, cosplaying Gazans:

 

 

It was cold; not as cold as I’ve seen it but cold.  So get this through to your core: these people are committed if they were out there for that long.

These are people that make calls and write letters.  They do op-eds and Letters to the Editor.  They write their elected officials at every level.

Write and call yourself:

Senate

House

Find your local paper and use my – and other – sources to write letters countering their narrative; after all, those who supply the information control what people think.

 

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

About three years ago, two Conservatives from Maine created a grassroots organization to lobby the State Legislature to pass laws that align with traditional Maine values and assist Conservative Republican candidates in their quest for office.

The Dinner Table was named after the famous Ronald Reagan line, “ALL GREAT CHANGE IN AMERICA BEGINS AT THE DINNER TABLE.” With Reagan’s inspiration, Alex Titcomb & Rep. Laurel Libby created the most significant grassroots political action group ever in the Pine State.

The Dinner Table continues to grow and sees a membership surge every time Augusta comes down with another Left-Wing decision. 2023 was rife with written and passed decisions to assuage the Left or Special Interest groups. One such law was the ultra-liberal reproductive rights (abortion) bill passed last summer that aligns Maine with the least restrictive abortion rights states in the country. The bill effectively allowed voluntary abortion up to the point of birth and was opposed by over 80% of Maine voters. The bill had the support of the largest abortion services provider in the country, Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood claims that abortion is one of the least sought services they offer, but they spent nearly $800,000 wooing State Reps and Senators. Proponents deluged the Capitol chambers with support and against the people’s will. The bill was passed after an all-night session in the House chamber.

The Dinner Table has been active in resisting new laws that promote the spread of the Marijuana Industry. Marijuana has been legal for medicinal and recreational use since 2016 and has become the third-largest industry in Maine. The politicians want to see those tax dollars continue to grow.

Most recently, the Dinner Table was active in fighting the removal of Trump from the state’s election ballot. They were unsuccessful, but that was not due to lack of effort. The cards were stacked against Trump and any supporters, and the Liberal Left got their wish when the Secretary of State released her decision last week. She immediately suspended her decision, knowing it would be directly challenged in the Maine Supreme Court. The Trump Team has filed a challenge to the decision.

Recruiting and supporting candidates is the other focus of the Dinner Table, and the support is both in training and helping with the financial demands of running for state office. The time is right for the Dinner Table as the political pendulum appears to be swinging to the right. However, you still need candidates who can do the job, represent Conservatives, and be attractive to Independents. That is a tall order, but the leadership team of the Dinner Table is confident, and they have built an enthusiastic team of Conservative Patriots who have already shown they are primed and ready to meet the challenge.

Conservatives are motivated but also angry and feel threatened. They think the effort by the Left to push America toward a Socialist form of government, and they take it personally. If there is one lesson the Left needs to heed, it is you do not threaten the Democracy that Conservatives hold dear. They appear to be slow learners.

The post BEAR Pond Conservative Chronicles: In Maine, “The Dinner Table” Links True Conservatives appeared first on Granite Grok.

When these documents were pried (rhetorically) from Jeffy Epstein’s dead hands – or, more accurately, stemming from Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against short-term New Hampshire property owner Ghislaine Maxwell – the names on that alleged list were not easy to find.

Everyone was looking for names. Where are the names? Who is on “the list.”

Several searches produced nothing. The usual mainstream media suspects had articles about the doc release, the lawsuit, and the judge who declared the documents with the names could be made public, and there were a handful of actual names, but not all. Bill Clinton. Prince Andrew. Donald Trump. Nothing we didn’t know.

They were out there, somewhere, but I’d expected a flood of content upon release, with every one of them including a nice, neat, easy-to-share “list.”

I found one this morning—Newsweek, of all places. Emphasis, mine.

 

The names were unsealed from a lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, an alleged trafficking victim, against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend. Maxwell, 61, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after she was convicted in December 2021 of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage girls.

Many of those whose names appear in the documents released Wednesday aren’t accused of wrongdoing or have been mentioned previously in legal proceedings or news accounts. The documents released Wednesday are not an Epstein “client list.”

What they are exactly will be up to the people who read it. Still, you’d be right to wonder why they appear in previously sealed court documents related to the human trafficking trial of a woman linked to a pedophile operation.

Some of these names may be the result of an inconveninet coincidence—some of them. You get to decide, and you can view the released documents for yourself in search of context – and please share your thoughts in the comments. I’m still skimming them, but could not resist getting something out there for people like me looking for some sort of list.

Newsweek ads that,

 

Some portions of the records will remain confidential, including those identifying people who were children when they were sexually abused by Epstein, who took his own life in August 2019 in a federal prison in Manhattan as he awaited trial on sex-trafficking charges.

Preska gave lawyers for each of the people named the opportunity to review the files before they were unsealed and argue in favor of keeping them out of public view.

Here are the names Newsweek pulled from the linked docs. Again, not a client list but a list of known associates or persons of interest of either Epstein or Maxwell that turned up at trial. We leave the rest up to you, dear reader, with more speculation on this, most certainly to follow. There are 90 lines, but four were redacted – which leaves us with  86 named.

 

1. Ghislaine Maxwell
2. Virginia Lee Roberts Giuffre
3. Kathy Alexander
4. Miles Alexander
5. James Michael Austrich
6. Philip Barden
7. REDACTED
8. Cate Blanchett
9. David Boies
10. Laura Boothe
11. Evelyn Boulet
12. Rebecca Boylan
13. Joshua Bunner
14. Naomi Campbell
15. Carolyn Casey
16. Paul Cassell
17. Sharon Churcher
18. Bill Clinton
19. David Copperfield
20. Alexandra Cousteau
21. Cameron Diaz
22. Leonardo DiCaprio
23. Alan Dershowitz
24. Dr. Mona Devanesan
25. REDACTED
26. Bradley Edwards
27. Amanda Ellison
28. Cimberly Espinosa
29. Jeffrey Epstein
30. Annie Farmer
31. Marie Farmer
32. Alexandra Fekkai
33. Crystal Figueroa
34. Anthony Figueroa
35. Louis Freeh
36. Eric Gany
37. Meg Garvin
38. Sheridan Gibson-Butte
39. Robert Giuffre
40. Al Gore
41. Ross Gow
42. Fred Graff
43. Philip Guderyon
44. REDACTED
45. Shannon Harrison
46. Stephen Hawking
47. Victoria Hazel
48. Brittany Henderson
49. Brett Jaffe
50. Michael Jackson
51. Carol Roberts Kess
52. Dr. Karen Kutikoff
53. Peter Listerman
54. George Lucas
55. Tony Lyons
56. Bob Meister
57. Jamie A. Melanson
58. Lynn Miller
59. Marvin Minsky
60. REDACTED
61. David Mullen
62. Joe Pagano
63. Mary Paluga
64. J. Stanley Pottinger
65. Joseph Recarey
66. Michael Reiter
67. Jason Richards
68. Bill Richardson
69. Sky Roberts
70. Scott Rothstein
71. Forest Sawyer
72. Doug Schoetlle
73. Kevin Spacey
74. Cecilia Stein
75. Mark Tafoya
76. Brent Tindall
77. Kevin Thompson
78. Donald Trump
79. Ed Tuttle
80. Emma Vaghan
81. Kimberly Vaughan-Edwards
82. Cresenda Valdes
83. Anthony Valladares
84. Maritza Vazquez
85. Vicky Ward
86. Jarred Weisfeld
87. Courtney Wild
88. Bruce Willis
89. Daniel Wilson
90. Andrew Albert Christian Edwards, Duke of York

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HT | Newsweek

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We learned that today was the first of two days this week that the House will determine the fate of around 66 bills that were retained from last year. We voted on 37 of those bills today.

We also learned that the majority of Democrats attended the House session today wearing face masks as if they pined for the old COVID days in the UNH athletic arena. Rep. Eric Gallager (D-Concord) still wears a bandana on his face, bank-robber style. Maybe it’s all just become some sort of fashion statement…Or maybe just some cult thing?

We learned that first out of the gate was HB185 – a bill having to do with shared parenting coming out of Children and Family Law, passed with 202-172. Apparently, some changes in language will clear up ambiguities for judges when it comes to visitation and parenting rights.

We learned that HB645-FN will allow the establishment of “Decentralized Autonomous Organizations” (DAOs) in NH. Similar to legal entities like LLCs and corporations, this allows people to pursue coordinated projects using predefined rules (codified in software) deployed on public blockchain networks. A DAO allows participants to govern themselves directly over a decentralized computer network. This bill will allow a DAO to register with the NH Secretary of States office, and will make NH a leader in this new technology. Some people say it’s really cool and cutting-edge. I say it’s much better understood by the folks in the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee. Chairman John Hunt (R-Rindge) was absolutely thrilled at the passage of this bill 340-33, citing it as one of the most thrilling bills to come out of Commerce in a very long time.

We learned that the House killed HB113 with a vote of 195 No-178 Yes (on OTP motion) and finally a voice vote of ITL. That bill would have eliminated the physical fitness requirements for certified law enforcement officers. So, those requirements will remain in statute. The argument for removing them was that it was an impediment to hiring and that it didn’t need to be in NH statute now anyway because many police agencies and municipalities have their own physical fitness requirements. 195 members of the House felt that we need to keep physical fitness requirements on the books. We can’t have criminals being more healthy, active, and agile than our police officers now, can we?

We learned that 9 out of 12 education bills were tabled. I guess they just weren’t worth talking about, so they were tossed on the table. The three that were debated were: HB354, which passed 190-177 and would allow charter schools to be eligible for state school building aid, HB628-FN which died 195-178 and would have required homeschooling parents (teaching their own kids) to get a background check if they were getting Education Freedom Account money, and SB151-FN which died 186-183 and would have included mental health education in adequate education standards (yet another unfunded mandate in NH curriculum). Now to tackle the 100+ bills coming to their committee in the coming months! Those committee members will be camping out at the State House.

We learned that the House would prefer state primary elections be held on the 3rd Tuesday in August according to the OTP 281 Yes – 82 No vote on HB115. Is anyone even around to vote in August?

We learned that 2 Ranked Choice Voting bills went down in flames. HB345-FN (RCV for state party primary and municipal elections) was killed 207-170 with a roll call vote… and HB350 (RCV for federal and state offices) was killed 248-128, also on a roll call vote. Ranked Choice voting has been an utter mess in Maine and Alaska. Why would we ever want to bring that crazy mess here? If you can’t make up your mind who to vote for then RCV is for you. You rank your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice from the candidates, and then the computer algorithm decides who the winner is… umm yeah, that’s transparent and somehow translates into the “consent of the governed”… BIG NOPE! I’m glad the NH House still has some sense and rejected this, although it would have been interesting to see how it would have come out if we somehow ranked choice voted these bills (wink).

We learned that the House passed HB463-FN with 195 Yes-172 No. This bill allows the Secretary of State to establish an online election information portal to make voter registration easier and available online for updates and corrections. Now let’s see what the Senate does with this and if they have any concerns about election security, voter fraud, file hacking, and a host of other problems, this portal might invite.

We learned that HB369, establishing an energy task force to provide energy relief for farms, was voted down 187-186. That was the first real close vote of the day. It ended up being tabled 322-54. The majority did not want to spend $100,000 to give UNH an FTE/person to run a program to help farmers find federal grant money to help them with energy use improvement on a farm. It was claimed by opponents that there are places they can already get assistance, and also, the program should not just be for farmers… but should include businesses and individuals.

We also learned that HB602-FN, yet another landfill siting bill, passed 226-145. This bill ended up being an entire rewrite of the original legislation that was submitted last year and would allow the Department of Environmental Services to come up with a two-step process or preliminary checklist for a landfill permit application. Proponents claim this will avoid applicants and DES investing time and resources in a site that would ultimately be deemed unsuitable for a landfill. Just wait… there are 17 more landfill-related bills coming in 2024! The House is not done talking trash!

We learned that the establishment of a new state retirement plan group (Group 3 – changing to a defined contribution plan for newly hired employees) proposed in HB559-FN died 192-181 and was then indefinitely postponed with a vote of 201-174. This bill would have created a third tier for all new employees in the state retirement system, allowing them to take their contributions with them should they leave state employment (like most companies do these days). Proponents of this bill know that people don’t stay decades at any one job anymore. Now, this topic can’t be discussed again until 2025.

We learned that HB601-FN-Local was killed 189-188. One vote mattered as this bill which would have required the Department of Education to obtain direct certification with Medicaid such that any student on Medicaid would automatically be signed up for free and reduced meals. There’s a reason why families don’t want to sign up for free and reduced meals, and there are privacy issues of their family information involved too… so why do proponents want to automatically enroll them and make them participate? Umm… probably because they know school districts will get more state money (differential aid) based on how many kids get free and reduced meals. Relieving food insecurity?? Nah… Follow the education dollars involved.

We learned that HB620-FN died 188-185. This bill would have established a division of early learning in the Department of Education. It basically would have revived the failed federal Head Start program in NH. Thank goodness three more people in the NH House understood this to be an unwise educational investment.

We learned that SB239-FN was sent to Interim Study by a vote of 186-185. This bill would have amended the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention, serving as an advisory capacity to the governor and general court, to include drug misuse prevention and harm reduction. Drug misuse prevention and harm reduction could literally mean a lot of things. Rep. Ken Weyler (R- Kingston) said this legislation needs to be studied more, narrowed down, and set some well-defined limits to any proposals. That was the wisest string of words spoken during the day.

Finally, we learned, as Scarlett O’Hara once said, “Tomorrow is another day.” Stay tuned as we finish up what is left on our legislative plate on Jan 4th…. And then it will be a whirlwind of committee hearings until we see you in February!

 

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According to retired Wall Street Journal’s executive Washington editor Gerald Seib, candidate Trump has an advantage being his party’s front-runner since the primary “rules and calendar are designed to help a front-runner sew up the nomination quickly.”

If you can stomach it, Seib is implying that the Republicans don’t play fair and that, otherwise, his challengers could be a threat!

His piece was written prior to when those cheating Republicans removed former Rep. George Santos from the House, which reduced their House majority. Such cheaters! Still, Seib misdirects the public’s understanding, or at least tries to but it’s impossible given Trump’s former Presidency and the public’s relishing for more of it!

Seib employs journalism’s current standard to misdirect rather than option two: to accuse the opposition of your party’s tactics. Whichever the case, their tactics are anticipated since Trump has read their playbook and is quite capable, given his tendency to fight back. But more effective is his supporting cast, which includes the truth he speaks and puts into play.

Trump will be the Republican nominee because of the public’s instinctual draw to what they have been seeking. Many have sensed the void that something was missing. So when Trump started to campaign by citing issues that career politicians would never even mention, they immediately knew that their search was over! This is a fact that the voters remember, in addition to the public’s starvation for the truth, which will ensure Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

This voter loyalty and avid support points to why the truth has been erased from our children’s grade school lessons. Why inform the young when ignoring and inventing a different American beginning poses less difficulty?

Recognizing truth and its vital input is but one of the missing links to proper governing. Over the last century, it’s been a gradual but steady disinterest by the public that has enabled these miscreants to gain and retain elected power. By not knowing, even the more obvious abuses of power fail to stir many from re-considering their voting norms.

Today’s perfect example is shining when the self-proclaimed “poorest Senate member” buys beachfront property in addition to other pricy residences. At some point, it is we, the people, who become partially to blame. Not totally, but with an air of complicity from when they were in grade school, their parents in high school, and their college-educated grandparents were short-changed from the public’s necessary learning scale. Their learning interest lessens when America’s glorious Founding is not taught.

So magnificent was America’s beginning that some might say “glorious” doesn’t quite do it justice, so much so that some may point skyward, and rightly so, given the magnitude of our rag-tag military’s success against the most powerful force of that era. That, in addition to a rare gathering of the most knowledgeable minds holding a united purpose. Again, planting thoughts of insurrection in the young would not jive if these long-ago truths were taught.

When understanding that both Russia and China endlessly teach their youngest with glorious nationalistic tales of past victorious battles, our course is clear! Dust off those factual accounts of our 1776 Founding; delve into the strife and sacrifice, the meagerness of our forces, and despite how ill-equipped, still managed to gain independence from the tyranny of British rule. The fact that ignorance has been the lead object of our curriculum for several generations should present a tenure or starting point for realizing when today’s more bold and boisterous in-your-face demand for the ruination of America’s Blessed freedoms actually began. How many knew that the CPUSA, the Communist Party of the United States, was initiated in 1919?

Trump is the one person who, with his attitude and financial resources, can actually compete and overcome this pervasive revolution. Our enemy knows it and paints his efforts with whatever brush happens to be most damning. They recognize his intent and awesome appeal to re-unite our people by this awesome and truthful appeal! Our enemy fears its power and also accepts the fact that it’s unbeatable when known! Therefore, what our enemy fears is our best weapon; this is only common sense! Besides, it’s the damn truth!

 

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