Sunday • November 24 • 2024
Vol.XVI • No.XLVII
Manchester, N.H.
The political left has never understood that, if you give the government enough power to create “social justice,” you have given it enough power to create despotism. Millions of people around the world have paid with their lives for overlooking that
-Prof. Thomas Sowell ( Barbarians Inside the Gates)
“Social Justice” is really Mob Justice. Just think of the Antifa riots, the BLM riots – both are the extremes of the Mobs but they never say that their actions are to bring riots, they hide under “Social Justice. Social Justice is artificial, capricious, and arbitrary. It also has no bounds. There is no reasoning behind it, no studied approach to it.
Once one applies “Social” as a modifier to “Justice”, there IS no justice – just an ideological mob out to get what it wants. And what it wants is Control. Control of a location, control of a situation, control of actions, control of behaviors…
…control of your thoughts and your freedom.
It’s real name is NOT “Justice”, it is simply Cultural Marxism soon to be turned into Governmental Marxism. And with Biden’s recent executive order that is imposing “equity” (re: not the equality as seen by our Founders but the “equal outcome” demanded by Socialism & Communism), that is where we are headed.
(HT: Cafe Hayek)
The post Notable Quote – appeared first on Granite Grok.
I don’t think this gets said often enough, but oil is a biofuel, and it is one of the best we’ve ever found. Coal is another. Nothing beats nuclear, of course, but that solves the imagined problem, so we can’t use that. What to do, well – Exxon tried algae.
You’ll remember the ads, back before streaming, when cable television was king. Exxon spent tens of millions on ads to appease the Goreons ranting about our dying planet. Exxon invested vast sums in research that would (allegedly) turn algae into some replacement for oil with fewer emissions. What it did was replace money that could have been spent on something useful with nothing.
The end of algae as a substitute for crude oil comes after $350 million and 14 years of commitment. This expenditure was joined by a “green” advertising campaign around the project of at least $60 million, mostly spent between 2017 and 2019. … Exxon has slashed its support for Viridos Inc., a biotech company based in La Jolla, California, that operated as the oil giant’s key technical partner since it began its algae push in 2009. With Exxon funding drying up and difficulty finding other backers, the biotech firm laid off 60% of its staff on Dec. 27, according to Viridos executives.
Exxon has wielded a cleaver to the algae budget ending their commitment to icky goo as a viable alternative fuel.
Is this a good time to remind Exxon and everyone else that oil is biofuel or that CO2 from its use is not ‘warming the planet’ or the rest of it? No, too bad. It’s true. The Goreons are just angry little worker ants with empty, meaningless lives carrying the political ambitions of Marxists to fill their godless vacuum.
And to be fair, there are a growing number of folks who claim to believe in a God that has fallen under the same spell as Exxon – that you can appease these people. Like all their other science, hard, soft, or political, the facts are whatever advances the agenda. Playing along just encourages them.
Stop doing it.
The moment you think you’re close, they change the name and the rules and move the goalposts – none of which apply to them. It’s sort of their tell. You’d think people who make millions being smarter at running a business would notice.
HT | WUWT
The post After 14-Years Exxon Stops Feeding a Lie: Bails on Algae as a Viable Biofuel. appeared first on Granite Grok.
Background:
Well, Monday night was supposed to be THE night that the Belknap County Delegation (made up of all the NH State Representatives from Belknap County) to finalize the Belknap County budget for the next year. The “Biz” items on the Agenda:
NH State Rep. Harry Bean, as Delegation Chair, has the ultimate responsibility for initiating, for over-watch, and for finalizing the process of determining the budget for the entire county. That means that he is responsible for the process for arriving at “The Bottom Line Number” starting with the Belknap County Commissioners’ proposed budget and ending up with that Bottom Line Number.
That Number determines how many dollars are going to get grabbed out of our wallets as one part of the four parts of our property taxes
Of prime importance to taxpayers is that unless the Delegation members, under the “leadership” of Harry Bean, do their job right and get a number for THEIR budget by the end of March, the Belknap County Commissioners (Peter Spanos (former NH State Rep), Glen Waring (former Gilford Financial Director), and Stephen Hodges (former Belknap Sheriff) ) proposed budget will go into effect by default. Their budget calls for a total raised by taxation (that’s you and me, boys and girls) will rise a whopping 35.4%.
Thus, keep two three things in mind after reading that last line along with this one: this sordid story of proving that the Peter Principle (that people rise to their level of incompetence) still runs amok here in the County.
Sidenote: YES, I saw SO many things wrong, I can’t contain them in just one post. But I shall talk about them all over some amount of time.
Back to the Agenda. Remember these as you read through (and PLEASE read this post!) as they play a part in this recounting:
Open Meetings. Or rather, the lack thereof by the Delegation for Budget Meetings
My tutorial on the Open Meetings of RSA 91-A is here. However, for this post, it’s more than a bit chopped up to let me quote it and bold the important bits that pertain to the rest of this post. Starting with that if a Public Meeting by a Governmental Body isn’t properly noticed (re: publicized), is it really a public meeting? Emphasis mine
Except in an emergency or when there is a meeting of a legislative committee, a notice of the time and place of each such meeting, including a nonpublic session, shall be posted in 2 appropriate places one of which may be the public body’s Internet website, if such exists, or shall be printed in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town at least 24 hours, excluding Sundays and legal holidays, prior to such meetings.
So NH State Rep Stephen Bogert, a brand new Rep, was made the subcommittee chair by Chair Harry Bean who, himself, had never chaired a governmental body until this year. However, Harry served a number of years on the Gilford Budget Committee and we ran ALL meetings extremely by the book. Harry should know the “public meeting and notice” drill by heart as he was a part of it for so long.
There were supposed to be meetings during February to prep the Delegation’s budget. When it became the time, after the Nov election, for it to start, I started watching for the notice on the Delegation website (see above). Was there?
Nope:
None in January -just the main Delegation meetings on Jan 10th and 18th. Sure, they jabbered a bit but got nothing done on the budget (what a surprise). But they DID have Budget Committee meetings – I have downloaded the video files that were recorded for 2/1/23, 2/8/23, and 2/15/23 meeting. Mysteriously, they now show up on the main County page schedule for Feb but none for January.
In violation of RSA 91-A. Not, not that they were recorded but that they didn’t tell the Public that they were going to happen. And according to RSA 24:9-D, they had to have to give seven day notices for each of those meetings.
And didn’t.
And here is where the Delegation has gotten themselves into really hot water to the point where they “conveniently” forgot to properly notice that the meetings were to occur on those dates.
During the meeting there was a lot of fingerpointing going on with some of the “CoB” Reps saying that the meetings HAD been noticed, I was waiting for the Public Input to state that they HADN’T been noticed, NH State Rep Barbara Comtois, during the meeting brought up that NONE of the meetings had been PROPERLY noticed (but got a lot of push back for it (re: one of Harry’s “scapegoats” that DOES know more than he does about the process), and then Harry and Debbie Schakett (County Administrator started a back and forth that told me, via word and body language, they both knew that the jig was up and that they had to go into CYA mode about not properly noticing the meetings.
Why? Any results, work, or decisions made during improperly noticed meetings have to be thrown out and thrown away. Everything has to be redone. So this is the SECOND TIME that Harry Bean has decided to “lead” by ignoring the proper laws because “we have to get something done!” even as I and others have told him what he MUST do. Yet he’s well steamed up over others telling him that instead of admitting he was wrong.
I’ve got the video but haven’t had the chance yet to clip out the good bits but here’s the Zoom meeting on the Lakes Region Public Access site: click on Belknap County Delegation 3-6-23. Once I edit / clip out the relevant parts, I’ll either update this post or put up new posts.
Leadership, anyone?
So rather than relying on just what said during meeting, I decided to find out for myself so I did two things:
Pursuant to the Right to Know Law (RSA. 91-A:4 (I) ), I am demanding access, within 5 business days, to the below enumerated governmental records during the period starting December 1, 2022 to March7, 2023 inclusive…This request concerns the proper noticing for any meeting, be it the full Belknap County Delegation or any subcommittee thereof per RSA 91-A:2, II (excerpted, emphasis mine):
I am demanding that the Belknap Delegation / Belknap County Administration provide:
Financial Records
- The expenditure transaction history from any and all General Ledger accounts, during the stated period (above), used to pay for noticing meetings in the Laconia Daily Sun or other media outlets
- Any and all Invoices from the Laconia Daily Sun or other media outlets for such services
- Any and all remittances from the Delegation / Belknap County paying those invoices
Creative / Advertising documents:
- Copies of any and all ads created by the Delegation / Belknap County for placement in those media outlets
- If the above is not provided, and emails / voice mails / other correspondence by the Delegation / Belknap County outlining the information for such noticing to be used by the media outlets for their ad creation.
So here is what Deb Schakett send to me for the “creatives” (think ads/notices):
Note the bottom line with the 35.4% rise in taxation that the Commissioners think is appropriate for Belknap County residents to fork over. But the notice IS for the 12/12/23 meeting. And if the Delegation doesn’t get its act together NOW, it will be THEM that are responsible for it and Spanos will be grinning ear to ear that he pulled a fast one over Harry Bean and the other CoB endorsed Reps (remember, the “scapegoats” are all people that the CoB were going after to get rid of them).
And the next one
So that was what Schakett sent. Note that NEITHER OF THEM cover any of the subcommittee meetings (just one Delegation meeting to talk about the process – and they didn’t really get anything accomplished during that meeting either).
Here’s the Purchase Orders from the County and the Invoices from the Daily Sun:
asdfBelknap County Deb Schakett Daily Sun Invoice PO Scans_20230307_130428
And the two ads sent to me by the Daily Sun:
The dates by the Daily Sun were 12/29/2022 and 2/22/23 for placement.
Look at all that time WASTED! Nothing in November, nothing in December, and only unnoticed meetings during February. And STILL no budget ready.
Way to go, Harry & Company!
So, what’s the upshot of all this:
Oh, and there’s more coming! I originally wasn’t going to go to the meeting, but something that TMEW said to me that told me “Go”, so I did. But this post is long, once again.
To Be Continued…
The post Belknap County Delegation Chair Harry Bean Proves That the Peter Principle Is Alive and Well appeared first on Granite Grok.
Chuck Schumer exposed himself and the entire cabal of members of Congress who staged the January 6th lie on prime-time TV. When he threw his temper tantrum on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, he built a case against him for crimes against the American people.
The January 6th Committee showed hours of footage of the protestors entering the Capital. Those images told a horrid story showing windows and doors smashed in to allow access to the Capital’s interior, where they damaged property and disrespected the core of our government.
Unfortunately, the Committee chose the video segments that supported their story that the protestors were a mob creating an insurrection against the United States government in retaliation for a corrupt election in 2020. They kept the remainder of the unseen video under lock and key. As long as the Democrats controlled Congress, their misdeed was safe. The Republicans took control of the House in 2022, and one of the first actions of the new Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, was to release over 6,000 hours of video the public had never seen. His office released the stash of recordings to Tucker Carlson of FOX News. After a few weeks of reviewing the many hours of video, Tucker released some of the tapes on Monday night in Prime Time. I guarantee more people watched Tucker than the January 6th Committee hearings. These tapes told a very different story that destroyed the findings of the Committee.
Senator Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor on Tuesday and threw a Senatorial Temper Tantrum demanding that Tucker Carlson and Kevin McCarthy be charged with treason. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent Rupert Murdoch a letter requesting he censors Fox News hosts. This is the leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the House violating the First Amendment and requiring the censoring of the media.
Schumer attempted to place blame on Carlson for perpetuating a lie on the American people and that Kevin McCarthy was complicit. In truth, the disaster here is the egg all over the faces of the Democrats, who have lied and are guilty of suppressing evidence.
Among the lies debunked by Tucker Carlson were Brian Sicknick being murdered by protesters (Tucker showed he was unharmed), Jacob Chansley, aka “The Qanon Shaman” committing sedition (he marched peacefully throughout the Capitol), and Ray Epps being a patriotic whistleblower (he perjured himself before the Committee.)
Showing these tapes cannot be the end of this story. Schumer, Pelosi, and every Senator and Congressperson who went along with the dog and pony show of the January 6th Committee must be questioned, investigated, and possibly charged for violations.
There was much wrong with the protest on January 6th, but it should not be compounded by members of Congress breaking the law to tell a fictitious version of the day. Holding office does not place you above the law, and violating the First Amendment and suppressing evidence are serious crimes and should be treated so.
Tucker Carlson invited Chuck Schumer to appear on his show, but Schumer insists on Tucker and FOXNews apologizing for showing the tapes and admitting they lied to America. As usual, Chuck has the facts wrong, and he should take to the microphone and do exactly what he demanded of FOX. Don’t hold your breath waiting.
The post Schumer, Not Tucker, Should be Held for Treason appeared first on Granite Grok.
Remember, *I* didn’t draw this line in the political sand; Governor Sununu did that. Mr. Sununu also warned minor candidates not to carve up the field.
“I think there’s a lot of hope and opportunity for good candidates to get in, drive the message where it needs to be,” he said. “But the discipline is getting out, too. The discipline and saying, ‘Look, you’re only polling at 5%, you got to get out.’ We don’t want a crowded field here.”
So, how is that aging? Not well, so, I’m going to hold him to it. How is he doing? Let’s just say the phrase “5%, you got to get out” will haunt him.
Sure, within the small fishbowl that is NH, he’s a big fish, but out in the pond, if you take these polls correctly, he isn’t even at tadpole level:
CPAC was this past weekend, and attending one is still on my bucket list. However, like almost any political event, great or small, everybody will be running their straw polls for this, that, and of course, President. CPAC is famous for theirs.
The results for BOTH President and VEEP:
President: I know it’s small, but that arrow points to Chris Sununu registered a humongous 0.2% of the straw poll.
Yes, for the math-challenged amongst you, 0.2% is a lot less than the 5% he has stated. It’s almost as if he wants us to believe that he’s above his own line in the sand. Actually…
For VEEP: a bit better…An astonishing 0.3% – a 50% increase! Bazinga! Gang busters!
Er, still not >5%. Sununu is still a tadpole.
BTW I’m behind on everything, and DVR’d TV shows are no different. On Monday’s Special Report with Brett Baier, in the last segment, they had a series of video clips from CPAC. While Trump was speaking, the chyron said:
Hogan: Candidates should not run out of vanity
Good advice, eh Sununu? Hmmm.
To be continued…
The post Sununu’s Polling “Line In The Sand”: CPAC Version appeared first on Granite Grok.
The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center has been a target for nut-job leftists for months. In December, we reported on the rock-throwing “peaceful” protesters with explosive devices and gasoline. The protesting never stopped, nor did the arrests.
On March 5, 2023, a group of violent agitators used the cover of a peaceful protest of the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center to conduct a coordinated attack on construction equipment and police officers. They changed into black clothing and entered the construction area and began to throw large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers.
Thirty-Five mostly peaceful Antifa-linked “protesters” were detained, and twenty-three of those have been arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. The local LEOs have had enough of the months of disruptions and violence, but it’s not a total loss. Check out the diversity of these domestic terrorism suspects.
We’ve got young, not so young, male, female, black, white, Hispanic, curly hair, straight hair, hair loss, and even a ginger (pale enough but the red looks fake – brown roots, kind of a giveaway). No one from New Hampshire, but three from MA, one from CT, and one from RI. I see Canada and France were represented, which – point of order, is international terrorism if the GBI is taking notes. And the Canadian guy looks like a girl, so they got that too.
A few of them look happy – which is not uncommon for left-wing “peaceful” protesters. Getting arrested looks excellent on the political resume if you want to be a Democrat staffer or work for a Soros or Brooks funded “non-profit.” Get hired to write public school curricula—lots of options unless you get serious jail time, in which case, guys, say you’re a woman and ask Biden for a pardon.
I can’t say that anything bad will happen, but given that these so-called anarchists are also Marxist collectivists who were all in this together, they should probably each have to pay the same fine and serve the same jail sentence of whoever gets convicted for the worst crime.
This way, we’ll have diversity and equity.
HT | Conservative Treehouse
Note: The featured image is for effect and not from the protest in question.
The post Domestic Terrorism Diversity Win appeared first on Granite Grok.
Islam can justifiably be condemned as a barbaric ideology that has energized and continues to energize crimes against humanity. Islam belongs to a raft of doctrines such as Nazism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism of various stripes that promotes hate and violence against others. Despicable doctrines of hate and violence remain confined to their place under the “shameful” classification in libraries until people adopt them as their program of life. Hence, it is people who are guilty of bringing to life the dogmas of savagery.
In the same way, that ignorance of the law does not constitute a valid defense, not bothering to find out about the true nature of Islamic precepts and practices and blindly doing Islam’s bidding constitutes inexcusable wrongdoing. Muslims, therefore, are indictable for subscribing to the Quran and committing themselves to carry out its ruthless instructions at great harm to the non-subscribers.
A vast cadre of Islamic apologists, generally from the ranks of the well-pampered parasitic clergy, labor greatly at defending Islam and keeping the masses in servitude. In practice, these sheepdogs of Islam earn their very livelihood by devouring the sheep they herd.
The apologists cover a wide spectrum. On one extreme are the unrepentant and shameless bigots who adhere to and promote every provision of the Quran, the Hadith, and the Sunna. These robots pride themselves on being diehard obedient literal believers of Allah.
Then, there are those apologists who do their best to walk a tightrope. They skillfully straddle a zone with one foot in the Islamic muck and the other out. These illusionists—the smoke and mirror artists—are masters of double-speak and are very difficult to pin down. Yet, they are most effective in their work. They manage, through their clever tactics of half-truth-half lies, to keep the faithful in line and fool the gullible non-Muslims.
And then there are the sheep—the rank-and-file Muslims. They are indictable because they are the ones who keep Islam alive by feeding and supporting it. It is this rank that supplies the Islamic foot soldiers—those servants of the All Kind and All-Merciful Allah who do not have a grain of kindness or mercy in their dark hearts. These easily programmable robots detonate explosive vests not just to kill the kafirs, but to kill even other Muslims. They slaughter innocent kidnapped people as cheerily as they slash a lamb’s throat. With exhortation passages from the Quran pasted on the wall of their slaughterhouse, they shamelessly fire their Ketusha rockets, not at the military but directly at the civilian population.
Are all Muslims the leeching clergy, or actively involved in terrorism and included in the blanket indictment, you ask?
The fact is that being a Muslim is a clear admission of wrongdoing, the extent of which depends on the degree of a person’s Muslim-ness. If he is only a Muslim who does not practice Islam, then he is, at the very least, guilty of hypocrisy. If he is somewhat of a Muslim by tithing, from time to time, following the ranting of the local mullah or imam, and swallowing whole the pronouncements of the high divines, then he is guilty of significantly contributing to the evildoings of Islam.
Lastly, there are those Muslims who simply lack the courage to leave Islam and exercise their gift of humanness. They are the pathetic crowd guilty of remaining in the fold of tyranny and withholding support from the forces of liberty and human dignity. Also, to use an old cliché, if a person is not part of the solution, he is part of the problem. Islam is indeed a huge problem.
Some Muslims have objected to my taking Islam to task and not addressing the atrocities of others, both in the past and in the present. I do not see myself as an ombudsman for mankind, commissioned either by God or self-appointed. I am not egotistical enough to see myself as a universal arbiter of all wrongdoings. I, however, unreservedly condemn all genocides, religiously based or otherwise, and all wrongs visited upon any individual or people irrespective of time, place, and any other considerations.
My focus is Islam, because I, my people, and my native country, Iran, have been victimized by a primitive alien ideology for far too long. Having witnessed first-hand the horrors and indignity that Islamofascism visits on people it subjugates, I have taken it upon myself to do my part in defeating this ideology of oppression, hate, and violence.
I enjoy and deeply cherish the liberty that America has generously afforded me, enabling me to raise a cry from the heart regarding the tragic plight of millions of Iranian victims—my compatriots who dare not speak against the wicked mullahs and their mercenaries.
I am the voice of tens of thousands of Iran’s best children, many of them literally children, who have been imprisoned, brutally tortured, shamelessly raped, and viciously slaughtered by Allah’s beasts presently ruling Iran.
The heartless religionists of Allah have plundered and continue to plunder the people’s vast oil income, fill their bottomless pockets with ill-begotten funds, and finance adventurism in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and anywhere and everywhere they find willing clientele.
In the meantime, over the past three decades of their Islam-authorized dastardly theocracy, they have driven masses of the Iranian people to abject poverty. They have created a culture of nihilism and despair that has spawned one of the world’s most drug-addicted societies and have compelled a great many women to sell their bodies in order to survive.
It is, so, I find it both my sacred duty and inalienable right to indict Muslims as either criminals themselves or accessories to the crimes, seek justice for my people, and warn others of the dangers of Islamofascism in all its forms.
I challenge all Muslims to abandon the demonic cult of Muhammad and join forces of liberty and justice for free people with no turbaned masters or masters of any kind.
It is a crime to remain silent in the face of evil, it is said. Thus, I am speaking up and urging other good men and women to raise their resonant voices while they can before they are brutally silenced by the ever-creeping Islamofascism.
The post A Challenge to All Muslims appeared first on Granite Grok.
If you read today’s Morning Mail, you saw some video from Tucker Carlson Tonight that harpoons the years-long narrative about the so-called January 6th insurrection.
You may have also seen it on Fox or elsewhere online. Damning stuff, and the machine has lost what passes for its hive mind.
Chuck Schumer openly called for censorship of the media (Tucker Carlson’s program) and the video “you paid for,” which was suppressed for over two years. Defendants on trial for alleged J6 crimes were denied access as part of their legal defense.
Why?
Because it undermines two years of lying and complicity by the political establishment and the media of false narratives, real banana republic show trial stuff, all to protect other lies.
And not just Democrats. Republican Never-Trumpers line up as well to defend the obfuscation, lies, censorship, and obstruction of justice.
As always, it is fun to watch Carlson expose them for who they are.
The post Tucker Carlson Responds to “Leadership” Losing It’s Hive Mind After Release of J6 Capitol Hill Video appeared first on Granite Grok.
It has come to my attention that there is a newly formed committee to review challenged books. I have questions and want straightforward answers. All I have is an obscure two-page form given to me by a third party.
We want to thank Julie for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page.
No idea where they came from, where it exists or who/how it was generated.
1. Where are the public school rules/laws where the challenge book review is explained in writing?
2. Timeline of the review process, selection of reviewers process, public invite process, the process of review, standards of the review, are they using city law #41 as a baseline for adult content, what happens to books deemed unfit (if that will ever happen)? Why is there a “restricted” library in each school? Who decides if books go there? If the books are restricted, why are we paying for them? Where is the guideline for a restricted book? What is the current process of buying books?
3. Classroom libraries are not included in the online library. There is no way to search the books in a classroom at all. All books available to children should and must be made available to parents. How does a parent know if the library contains obscene books!? Who is responsible for cataloging the books? Same with SORA. Where and how is an opt-out request for questionable books?
4. Who is on this committee? How many citizens? Are they impartial (not friends of the SB members)? What are their emails? When did this committee form? I don’t recall a public notice, ever. What are the qualifications? What are the guidelines? Where are the minutes?
FYI… Here is an example of a Florida Media Specialist to review books.
The more I learn, the more questions I have. If I need to fill out a formal RTK, let me know. I’m hoping that’s not the case, and you can refer me to a document where I can learn this information, or maybe someone will answer in concise, clear answers. This is my second request. It’s been a month since the obscene books I challenged have been submitted, and crickets…
I’m requesting answers by Friday, March 10, 2023.
Julie P.
Ward 5
Dover NH
Editors Note: We are in possession of the responses to these questions as well as other correspondence we will share in a future update.
The post About Your New Committee to Review Challenged Books in Schools appeared first on Granite Grok.
Welcome to March 8th, 2023. It is International Women’s day. The day when Democrats celebrate robbing women of things (jobs, medals, history, privacy) by insisting that men are or can be women.
It is also ‘be nasty’ day. No, I don’t make these up. Someone else does that. Be nasty on women’s day, really? March 8th is also ‘fill your staplers day,’ ‘Peanut Cluster day,’ and ‘retro video game day.’
On this day in 1817, the New York Stock Exchange was founded. The House of Commons approved Canada’s First Constitution (1867). The US Supreme Court ruled (1948) in McCollum v. Board of Education that religious instruction in public schools was unconstitutional. And in 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 lost contact and disappeared with 239 people on board, prompting the most expensive search effort in history.
The Morning Mail
Obscure Word of the Day:
Pickelhaube – A spiked helmet worn by German soldiers.
Quote of the Day:“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” ― Mark Twain
Local FlavorB-B-B-Biden
Misc
The Morning Mail is a selection of content emailed to me by readers, unsolicited newsletters, and other miscellaneous sources. Publication does not imply endorsement of the source or content.
The post The Morning Mail – March 8th, 2023 appeared first on Granite Grok.
Transportation calamity Tsar Choo Choo Pete Buttigieg has been jet-hopping here and there at taxpayer expense. Government agencies do that, but the US Department of Transportation, which works for Pete, won’t say how much it has cost you.
The Transportation Minister for the Most Transparent Administration in History has something to hide.
“The DOT and the agency’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office both declined to detail how much each flight cost taxpayers over the course of multiple months and in recent weeks,” Fox News Digital reports. “The stonewalling comes amid an ongoing inspector general audit of Buttigieg’s use of the planes, which are part of a small fleet managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).”
“It’s inexcusable that Secretary Buttigieg’s agency is hiding the detailed costs of these taxpayer-funded flights,” Caitlin Sutherland, the executive director of watchdog group Americans for Public Trust, told Fox News Digital. “Federal law dictates a timely release of exactly these types of records to the public.”
She added, “The American people are entitled to know the true cost of Buttigieg and his entourage of staffers flying private to destinations that have readily available commercial options.”
No one is asking anyone to reveal sources and methods. It’s a spreadsheet line item, and this trip cost this much, and that one was that much, and here’s a total. There’s no reason to conceal these details unless … masking, hiding, concealing, or obscuring. There must be some there, there!
Choo Choo Pete is already famous for taking “breaks” from the impossible burden of his title. Not the work, he wouldn’t know where to start, but he’s enjoying the perqs, which might include using government property for his personal enjoyment.
There’s a lot of that in government, but given the lack of evidence that he’s used them to do his job, the extra PR hit might find Pete on his way into early retirement.
On a positive note, he’ll never be able to stage a serious run for president, not that he ever has – but his stint as the Transportation Tsar has demonstrated how completely incapable he is of managing or leading.
Small victory.
The post Choo Choo Pete’s DOT Blocking Efforts to See His Taxpayer Funded Travel Expenses appeared first on Granite Grok.
While many anti-federalists, including Patrick Henry, regarded the judicial branch of the federal government under the proposed U.S. Constitution with deep suspicion, the Federal Farmer took a more moderate, albeit guarded stance.
In his fifteenth letter dated Jan. 18, 1788, he wrote that hostility toward the overall concept of the federal judicial branch was not warranted. (bold emphasis added):
“These clauses present to view the constitutional features of the federal judiciary: this has been called a monster by some of the opponents, and some, even of the able advocates, have confessed they do not comprehend it. For myself, I confess, I see some good things in it, and some very extraordinary ones. ‘There shall be one supreme court.’ There ought in every government to be one court, in which all great questions in law shall finally meet and be determined.”
Like the general government itself, the Federal Farmer believed that a federal court was needed. However, he also believed it would be difficult to set it up properly, and in a way that preserved liberty. (bold emphasis added):
“In forming this branch, our objects are—a fair and open, a wise and impartial interpretation of the laws—a prompt and impartial administration of justice, between the public and individuals, and between man and man. I believe, there is no feature in a free government more difficult to be well formed than this, especially in an extensive country, where the courts must be numerous, or the citizens travel to obtain justice.”
While the Federal Farmer supported the idea of a federal court, he was wary, believing it was the branch that had the greatest potential to destroy freedom.
“It is true, the laws are made by the legislature; but the judges and juries, in their interpretations, and in directing the execution of them, have a very extensive influence for preserving or destroying liberty, and for changing the nature of the government. …These men, such is the state even of the best laws, may do wrong, perhaps, in a thousand cases, sometimes with, and sometimes without design, yet it may be impracticable to convict them of misconduct. These considerations shew, how cautious a free people ought to be in forming this, as well as the other branches of their government, especially when connected with other considerations equally deserving of notice and attention.”
The Federal Farmer worried that the judiciary would be able to operate under the public’s radar.
He argued that people are more inclined to watch over elected officials than those holding appointed offices. In addition to a lack of public oversight, judges could also err in their rulings. That, he worried, could go unnoticed by most people.
“… A bad law immediately excites a general alarm; a bad judicial determination, though not less pernicious in its consequences, is immediately felt, probably, by a single individual only, and noticed only by his neighbours, and a few spectators in the court. In this country, we have been always jealous of the legislature, and especially the executive; but not always of the judiciary: but very few men attentively consider the essential parts of it, and its proceedings, as they tend to support or to destroy free government: only a few professional men are in a situation properly to do this; and it is often alledged, that instances have not frequently occurred, in which they have been found very alert watchmen in the cause of liberty, or in the cause of democratic republics.”
The Federal Farmer did concur with Patrick Henry on the importance of the right to a trial by jury (bold emphasis added).
“The jury trial, especially politically considered, is by far the most important feature in the judicial department in a free country, and the right in question is far the most valuable part, and the last that ought to be yielded, of this trial.”
He went on to explain that juries allow the “body of the people” to have direct influence on the operations of the government.
“Juries are constantly and frequently drawn from the body of the people, and freemen of the country; and by holding the jury’s right to return a general verdict in all cases sacred, we secure to the people at large, their just and rightful controul in the judicial department.”
The Federal Farmer went on to say that “if the conduct of judges shall be severe and arbitrary, and tend to subvert the laws, and change the forms of government, the jury may check them, by deciding against their opinions and determinations.”
He added that because the body of the people bear the burdens of the community, “they of right ought to have a controul in its important concerns, both in making and executing the laws, otherwise they may, in a short time, be ruined.”
“Nor is it merely this controul alone we are to attend to; the jury trial brings with it an open and public discussion of all causes, and excludes secret and arbitrary proceedings. This, and the democratic branch in the legislature, as was formerly observed, are the means by which the people are let into the knowledge of public affairs—are enabled to stand as the guardians of each others rights, and to restrain, by regular and legal measures, those who otherwise might infringe upon them.”
Although he doesn’t outright claim, as Henry did, that the Supreme Court would undermine the right to a trial by jury, the Federal Farmer notes that the constitutional language gives the high court the final word (bold emphasis added):
“To dwell a few minutes on this material point: the supreme court shall have jurisdiction both as to law and fact. What is meant by court? Is the jury included in the term, or is it not? I conceive it is not included: and so the members of convention, I am very sure, understand it.”
The Federal Farmer also observes that while the federal judiciary could undermine liberties, there were options under the Constitution to rectify it. One way was for Congress to strip the Supreme Court’s authority to rule on certain issues.
Yet, he didn’t think that would allow Congress to include jury trials under the purview of the “supreme court.” (bold emphasis added):
“But the supreme court is to have jurisdiction as to law and fact, under such regulations as congress shall make. I confess it is impossible to say how far congress may, with propriety, extend their regulations in this respect. I conceive, however, they cannot by any reasonable construction go so far as to admit the jury, on true common law principles, to try the fact, and give a general verdict. I have repeatedly examined this article: I think the meaning of it is, that the judges in all final questions, as to property and damages, shall have complete jurisdiction, to consider the whole cause, to examine the facts, and on a general view of them, and on principles of equity, as well as law, to give judgment.”
In his sixteenth letter dated Jan. 20, 1788, the Federal Farmer revisited the issue of jury trials, arguing that civil cases should be included in that right. (bold emphasis added):
The trial by jury in criminal as well as in civil causes, has long been considered as one of our fundamental rights, and has been repeatedly recognized and confirmed by most of the state conventions. But the constitution expressly establishes this trial in criminal, and wholly omits it in civil causes.
I have already observed upon the excellency and importance of the jury trial in civil as well as in criminal causes, instead of establishing it in criminal causes only; we ought to establish it generally;—instead of the clause of forty or fifty words relative to this subject, why not use the language that has always been used in this country, and say, “the people of the United States shall always be entitled to the trial by jury.”
The Federal Farmer said this would “preserve the jury trial in all cases.”
“I have observed before, that it is the jury trial we want; the little different appendages and modifications tacked to it in the different states, are no more than a drop in the ocean: the jury trial is a solid uniform feature in a free government; it is the substance we would save, not the little articles of form.”
Reprinted with Permission | Tenth Amendment Center
The post Federal Farmer: Will the Judiciary Preserve or Destroy Liberty? appeared first on Granite Grok.
Pete Buttigieg is a highly intelligent individual. Pete Buttigieg was a high school valedictorian, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, and was elected a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Buttigieg was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford. Pete Buttigieg is brilliant and one of the most inept members of the Biden Administration, ripe with ineptitude. With all of his impressive intellectual pedigree, Pete Buttigieg is remembered for his time as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, as Pot-Hole Pete. In the true spirit of the “Peter Principle,” Pete could not handle the infrastructure of a small town, so President Joe Biden gave Pete the whole country to play with.
I listened to a debate on Mayor Pete between liberal and conservative pundits. The conservative journalist pointed to specific failures by Pete in his two years as Transportation Secretary, while the liberal claimed that Pete is maligned only because he is a potential Presidential candidate. Not that he is competent, but he is under a microscope because he is a rising star amongst Democrats. Pete is not a rising star but a shooting star, a romantic moniker given to a dying star burning out of existence.
If Pete Buttigieg is considered a front-runner for Presidential office, then that speaks volumes for the weakness of the Democrat Party. There may be fifteen to twenty qualified Republicans who may run for the Presidency in 2024. Will they primary to run against Mayor Pete? They are salivating at that scenario. Bring him on.
The failures of Pete Buttigieg have been well chronicled. Not necessarily a failure, but he thought so little of his responsibilities that he opted to take eight weeks of paternity leave when he and his partner adopted a newborn. He stumbled upon the Supply Chain Crisis and solved it by having the fleets of waiting ships move out to sea so they would be out of sight-Nothing to see here. The airline crisis of 2022 was never directly addressed by Buttigieg other than the letter he sent to Airline CEOs. There is nothing like a scathing letter to solve a problem. It did nothing. It took him a month to appear in East Palestine after the Norfolk Southern toxic chemical disaster, and he only did go after former President Trump upstaged him in Ohio. He is embroiled in a controversy about using private versus commercial jets in his government capacity. He is stonewalling Congress, investigating his abuse of expenses in his department. It is time for little Mayor Pete to grow up and own his shortfalls.
Excuses for incompetence are not justification for bad decisions or performance. This is not a case of criticizing Buttigieg because he may run for President. He has already done that and failed. This criticism is because he is in a position he is not qualified to hold. He is a prime example of failing up. He was rewarded with his role as Secretary of Transportation for falling in line in 2020, and clearing the way for Biden to win the Democrat nomination and the Presidency. Pete Buttigieg is the poster child of the Peter Principle. He has been tested, and he failed. Now we on the Right can smirk at the thought of him ever running for President, but we still have to suffer from his failures. Who is on deck when he strikes out to end his moment in the spotlight?
The post Pete Needs to Stop Hiding Behind His Candidacy appeared first on Granite Grok.
Well … not quite yet … but that’s clearly where “conservatism” in New Hampshire is headed … because “conservatism” in New Hampshire, to paraphrase The Princess Bride, does not mean what you think it means. I have been posting lately about how New Hampshire’s “fiscal conservatives” rail against commuter rail, while at the same time turning a blind-eye to the FACT that we have no idea how the majority of “education funding” is being spent … EXCEPT we know it is NOT being spent in the classroom.
Here is another example that New Hampshire is the land of the faux-fiscal-conservative, a “Republican” State Senator making the case for OBAMACARE Medicaid Expansion:
A couple of points … This is what passes for “conservatism” in New Hampshire: tweaking big-government Democrat programs and claiming that the tweaks have transformed these big-government Democrat programs into the New Hampshire Advantage, the 603-Way, blah, blah, blah.
Do you know why Obamacare Medicaid Expansion is praised by the faux-fiscal-conservatives, while the choo-choo to Boston is condemned … even though the former costs far, far more than the latter? Because the real beneficiaries of Medicaid Expansion … Health-Care, Inc., i.e., the big hospitals … are more powerful than the people who would benefit from commuter rail. That’s all that “conservatism” means in New Hampshire.
Yes … New Hampshire is truly a magical place … a place where big-government solutions aren’t big-government solutions when the “Republicans” do them.
The post The Conservative Case For Drag Shows appeared first on Granite Grok.
He’s on NBC’s Meet The Press with Chuck Todd (that was yesterday morning, btw That was Sunday – Steve moved this post time-wise) who is a former Democrat political operative and worked for Democrat Senator Tom Harkin to show his Dem bona fides. He had Baby Huey on (there are always “pet Republicans” for the Leftist media and he’s getting on so many times, I’m wondering if that’s part of the goal).
Here’s the line that Sununu said that caught my ear and eye:
…Republicans cannot win without Independents. Cannot happen. If we just stay in this ultra-Conservative extreme lane, which is a small part of the Party, by the way…
Extremists, you say, Chris Sununu?
No one is disputing that first line – we have to convince Independents that Conservativism results in far better outcomes and protects their Liberties and Freedoms (and not just “freedom to handouts paid for by others”).
But ask yourself – who calls Conservatives “Extremists”? Yes, that’s right – Democrats, Socialists, and Communists. Nice to see he’s adopting their language to berate many of the folks that would vote in a Republican Party.
You’re an Extremist and HE’S an Extremist and SHE’S an Extremist and that one over there is an Extremists and….you get the idea.
I like this from him because I can use his Daddy’s own admonition against him: talk, talk and talk some more, Chris. Please, over and over
And the rest of us need to be talking about what he’s saying as well. Especially when he’s insulting Republicans and expecting them to vote for him.
Unless his lane is to attract Democrats to cross-over during the primaries?
The post Quick thought: So NH Governor Believes that Conservatives are all Extremists? appeared first on Granite Grok.
It is March 7, 2023 at 10:00 AM. NHGOP-NeverTrump’s world was wrecked last night by Tucker Carlson and Kevin McCarthy. We now know that everything … and I mean EVERYTHING … that they … as in the Democrats, the regime-media, the GOP-NeverTrump, etc. … have been telling us about January 6th “insurrection” was a LIE.
A couple of examples below. But don’t hold your breath waiting for apologies or even acknowledgement from the likes of NHGOP-NeverTrump “Republicans”such as Sun-King Chris Sununu, Mikey Grifter Graham, Jimmy Ukraine-First-America-Last Merrill, etc., etc. etc., who gleefully and wholeheartedly embraced and peddled the insurrection-hoax. … The local lesson to be learned is that Sun-King and his ilk cannot be trusted.
BREAKING: Never before seen video of January 6 shows Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman, being led through the Capitol by police the entire time that he was in the building. pic.twitter.com/rikoRMWezF
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 7, 2023
Tucker Carlson's Report On The Never Before Seen Footage Of Officer Brian Sicknick On January 6th
"To this day, media accounts describe Sicknick as someone who was 'slain' on January 6th. The video we reviewed proves that is a lie. Here is surveillance footage of Sicknick… https://t.co/wlrMvyDznW pic.twitter.com/yVMSdBMM2t
— The Columbia Bugle (@ColumbiaBugle) March 7, 2023
The post Last Night Was A Very, Very Bad Night For The NHGOP-NeverTrump appeared first on Granite Grok.
This week, we met in session for two days. First, we approved the committee recommendations on 40 non-controversial bills, then special ordered HB 20, naming a bridge in Merrimack for Speaker Hinch. After a laudatory speech, the bill passed 356-4.
We want to thank Rep. Carol McGuire for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
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HB 459, exempting some businesses from the consumer protection act, was killed without comment.
HB 531, requiring the tobacco tax be set based on the rates in neighboring states, was briefly debated and killed on a voice vote.
HB 639, legalizing cannabis and having the Liquor Commission sell and regulate it, was debated at length and passed, 234-127. This wasn’t my preferred regulatory scheme, but it’s better than nothing.
HB 504, on the adult parole board, passed without comment.
HB 272, increasing per pupil funding for charter schools, passed 348-11 when a notorious “standard public school only” Democrat urged us to vote in favor (many Republicans, including me, are strong supporters of charter schools and want them to succeed; fewer Democrats support charters.)
HB 492, requiring the department of education provide the education committee with copies of their laws and rules, passed without comment, as did HB 529, adjusting the education formula for special education students.
HB 250, doubling the accidental death benefit for Group II (police, fire, corrections) members, was very briefly debated and passed, 260-103.
HB 436, deleting the pension transition steps for Group II that were imposed on non-vested employees in 2011, was debated and passed, 282-80. This is a massive benefit increase for the 1731 people in that group who are still working, worth over $100,000 per person (exact calculations are still in progress.) I voted (and spoke) for it, since this is the formula we worked out to encourage recruitment and retention (the changes are phased in over ten years, so we’re hoping many will stay until they get the better benefit.) If I could have come up with a cheaper plan, I would have.
HB 571, a cost of living increase for some Group II (only) retirees, was debated and passed, 192-167. I spoke against it since it seems divisive to me – all other cost of living increases have been for both Group I and Group II. All three bills went on to Finance to figure out how to pay for them. At least none will be downshifted to property taxpayers – all are paid by the state.
HB 282, expanding Medicaid to cover children and pregnant women who are lawful immigrants, was debated and passed, 186-170.
HB 565, expanding Medicaid for a year after giving birth, was debated and passed 184-179. I was opposed to both as Medicaid is such a poor medical plan for the recipients and the taxpayers.
HB 574, establishing a tiny ($30/year) improvement in the WIC program that has over $300,000 in administrative costs, was amended, 283-80, debated, failed to pass 180-184, not tabled, 181-183, then killed, 185-179. Whew!
HB 614, directing a study on how to study whether PFAS in Merrimack causes kidney cancer, was passed without debate. I think half a million to study a study is excessive, and I hope some in Finance will agree.
HB 57, instituting a state minimum wage and increasing it to $15/hr, was debated and failed to pass, 178-183, not table, 180-183, then killed on a voice vote. The opponents seemed to think that actual wages would be set by this legislation, when anyone looking at help wanted signs knows unskilled, part time jobs are going for $15-17/hr!
HB 74, requiring unused vacation or other paid time off be included in final wages, was debated and passed, 187-174.
HB 489, establishing a county tourism fund, was debated and killed as unnecessary, 190-171. HB 212, adding $2 million to the PFAS fund, passed without comment.
HB 276. establishing the cyanobacteria mitigation fund, passed, 199-160, also without comment.
HB 534, providing assistance for private wells in the case of a natural disaster, was debated and passed, 179-177. I was opposed because the bill is vague and grants the environmental services commissioner very broad authority to define the program in rules rather than law – and they consider drought a natural disaster!
HB 108, criminalizing making false statements of child abuse, was debated and passed, 214-143. I was opposed – the whole abuse process seems to be missing due process protections.
HB 124, temporary alimony guidelines, passed 179-178.
HB 151, creating a study committee on various forms of non-married cohabitation, was passed 199-155. I was opposed since that’s a study committee I would hate to serve on!
HB 97, adding penalties for crimes that involve an invasion of privacy, passed without comment.
HB 160, forbidding towns to have ordinances banning public displays of chest, was debated before being killed, 223-129 – I voted in favor of the bill, but without real enthusiasm.
HB 191, requiring the state police to set up a gun take back program that would destroy the weapons, was debated and killed, 237-121.
HB 201, decreasing the penalties for driving without a license, was debated and passed 190-165.
HB 581, repealing the state-controlled drug act, was debated and killed, 286 – 170. I was among the anti-prohibitionists!
HB 643, another marijuana legalization bill, was killed without comment.
HB 45, a study committee on student loan forgiveness, was killed without comment, 312-43.
HB 131, requiring schools to publish their recording and observer policies, was killed without debate.
HB 540, adjusting the funding formula for special education students, passed without debate.
HB 601, having the state enter the Medicaid direct certification program for free and reduced price school meals, had an extensive debate. This bill would have the state share with the schools information on the Medicaid rolls, so no application would be required and all eligible children would be enrolled in the (federal) free and reduced price program. The concerns are that not every family completes the application, for one reason or another; many high school students, in particular, don’t really like the program; and not every school is in the federal program. Still, a floor amendment to limit data sharing passed, 176-174, the bill was not tabled, 161-195, and after more debate the bill passed, 205-151. I supported the amendment but not the bill.
HB 196. a commission to review campaign finance laws, was tabled, 339-7.
HB 252, exempting agricultural operations from municipal noise ordinances, was debated on including “agritourism” in the exemption – some people apparently didn’t want to listen to wedding music! An amendment to delete agritourism failed, 164 176, and after more debate the bill passed, 266-84.
HB 35, requiring middle and high school ID cards to have the eating disorders hotline number on them, was special ordered to first thing Thursday so that the high school student who came up with the idea (and his parents) could be present. It was debated, with the supporters talking about the issues with eating disorders, and that adolescents don’t think of an eating disorder as a mental illness; opponents were concerned that a list of special purpose numbers would diminish the usefulness of the system, and that the eating disorders hotline was only available for limited periods. It passed, 238- 105; I was opposed. Of course, when I was in high school the eating disorders were concentrated among the wrestling team.
The committee amendment to HB 180, renaming Columbus Day, satisfied nobody: my committee decided to change it to Italian Heritage Day, which was unacceptable to opponents and supporters of Columbus. So I moved to table it before we started the (probably lengthy) debate, which was adopted on a voice vote.
HB 338, using an inactive program to mandate subsidies for insulin, was killed, 283-61, without debate.
CACR 6, raising the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75, was explained by the sponsor, Representative Bob Lynn, who had been forced to retire from the bench and then decided to run for the House. Seventy isn’t as old as it was in 1784 when this limitation was created. The amendment passed 321-27. HB 63, exempting religious organizations from all land use restrictions, was killed, 189-158. It’s a nice idea in principle, but even a church needs to keep its well away from the septic system, and the driveway needs sight lines!
HB 240, requiring interracial marriages to be accepted, passed 218-132. I was opposed because it’s not necessary; New Hampshire has accepted interracial marriages since it was founded.
HB 254, allowing remote or hybrid meetings for local boards, was killed without debate.
HB 256, prohibiting municipalities from discriminating in the use of public facilities, is Dan’s bill to prevent the town from not renting a park to the local Republican group even while a craft fair was going on in another part of the park. No problem in discriminating on usage, but this was a group that wanted to sit on the picnic benches and talk politics! The committee had decided he should have sued the town instead of putting in a bill, and it was killed without comment.
HB 308, allowing hybrid meetings for state boards and commissions, was debated and passed 222 – 127. I was opposed; hybrid meetings are fine for a lecture or a very small group, but once you reach a certain size, the interactions between members are stifled, and public comments are difficult to properly consider. I chaired hybrid committee meetings in 2021, and it was very inefficient, with half the committee present and half on video and the public entirely on video. OK to listen to the testimony, but questions were a problem, and the debate necessary to decide on a position was horrid.
HB 44, allowing four units in every single family zoned district that had public water and sewer, was debated at some length. Supporters wanted to increase the number of houses (and apartments) in the state; opponents talked local control. I supported this idea last session when the supporters were talking about triple-deckers downtown and splitting some of the giant Victorian houses into multiple flats – both seem appropriate for downtown areas. So I voted for it, but it lost 117-232. After that, the concerns about building four townhouses on tiny plots of land – and the fact that towns can allow this density, as Allenstown and Pittsfield do – convinced me to vote to kill it, 209-141.
HB 123, making school board and select board members of the local budget committee non-voting, was debated, not passed, 168-176, then tabled on a voice vote. I supported the bill because, from my time on Epsom’s budget committee, the school board member was always an advocate for the school budget rather than a working member of the committee.
HB 226, allowing municipalities to regulate single use plastics, was killed, 257-90, without debate.
HB 312, raising the number of voters (to 10%) required to petition for a special meeting, was tabled before debate, 316-30.
HB 357, extending the terms of some county officials in Belknap County, was tabled 177-162. I was opposed because it was a special bill for only one county: if their county attorney needs a four-year term, why not those in every other county?
HB 403, restricting the authority of selectmen to abate taxes from “for good cause” to only “administrative or clerical errors,” was killed, 200 – 144, without debate. I voted for the bill because it’s an anti-corruption position, limiting arbitrary tax abatements for friends or family. (I don’t know that it actually happens, but “good cause” is certainly easier to finagle than a clerical error!)
HB 310, requiring a hydrology analysis when building a subdivision, was killed without comment. Apparently, this expensive requirement couldn’t be relied on for very long, as water flows pretty freely…
HCR 1, requesting a federal constitutional convention under Article V, had a very long debate, with opponents being concerned about “runaway conventions” and supporters convinced that a convention was the only way to restrain Congress. Dan spoke in favor of the achievements of some New Hampshire constitutional conventions and actually got a round of applause! He convinced me; I am normally not very concerned about Washington – Concord is all I can manage. Also, I’m typically opposed to resolutions as they don’t really accomplish much. HCR 1 failed to pass, 156-192, was not tabled, 163-184, and finally killed, 198-150.
HR 8, urging Congress to ban assault weapons, had another lengthy debate before being killed, 181 – 162. This was largely partisan: nine Democrats, including Alan Turcotte from Allenstown, joined all Republicans in opposition.
HR 9, urging an “American Marshall Plan” was killed, 176-169, without debate.
HR 10, supporting statehood for the District of Columbia, was debated before being killed, 179-168.
HR 15, affirming opposition to establishing a state religion, was killed on a voice vote.
At this point, (2:15 Thursday) the Democrats realized that they had the numbers and moved to take off the table HB 430, requiring EFA students serve at least one year in public schools before they were eligible for this program. This passed, 177-169, and after a series of reconsideration motions (and a failed motion to indefinitely postpone the bill) HB 430 passed, 176-169.
HB 234, which repeals the law that allows utilities to “sweep” unassigned renewable energy certificates, was likewise removed from the table, reconsidered, and passed, 178-169. Both of these bills have been Democrat priorities; the “sweep” repeal has been considered multiple times and limiting the use of EFAs has been an goal ever since we created them two years ago. With the tiny margin we have in the House, I’m afraid more Democrat priorities will pass, and we can only hope the Senate and the Governor will stand firm.
Finally, HB 111, a study committee on electric vehicle charging for renters, was not killed, 172 174, then passed, 175-172.
HB 498, requiring conservation officers to get a warrant for search and seizure, was debated and killed, 233-113. I supported this bill, as I have several times in the past: fish and game officers should not be able to violate our constitutional rights!
HB 598, creating a dedicated fund for maternal mortality reviews (and using marriage license fees to fill the fund!), was tabled without discussion. Marriage license fees shouldn’t be used to fund unrelated priorities or it becomes a tax; right now, nearly all the fee is used to fund programs to aid victims of domestic violence, even though unmarried people are most of them.
HB 7, calling for the Federal government to preserve Medicare and Social Security, passed 33312. HR 16, posing questions to the Internal Revenue Service, was briefly debated before being killed, 283-60.
Representative Carol McGuire carol@mcguire4house.com 782-4918
The post Legisaltive Round Up: Your State House – February 24, 2023 appeared first on Granite Grok.
Elected Democrats in Vermont must have short memories, or maybe they don’t care. The Legislature is advancing a climate bill to hike the cost of heating your home. France added a climate gas tax hike no one but elites wanted a few years ago that set the country on fire in protest.
Related: Another Expensive Lesson New Hampshire Could Learn From Vermont
France’s yellow vest movement lasted for months, sparking similar activities in the UK and elsewhere. They were protests against elected representatives raising the cost of fuel which inevitably increases the cost of everything.
“…the so-called “yellow vest” movement, which has grown out of anger over rising fuel prices, is planning a major operation on Saturday that they hope will ring the French capital to a standstill. … Some 175,000 people have signalled they are interested in going to the event.
On Saturday the yellow vests organised approximately 2,000 roadblocks, rallies and traffic slowdowns in France to highlight their anger with President Emmanuel Macron’s government over increases in taxes on fuel and their general loss of spending power.
It worked. They shut down the country, and Macron and company were forced to bail on their climate gas tax. Closer to home, Vermont’s climate-cult-obsessed Dems are repeating Macron’s mistakes. The State Senate passed S. 5 with a veto-proof majority, which would make Gov. Scott’s promised veto meaningless. S.5 is the So-Called Clean Heat Standard, which attempts to electrify all heating by some arbitrary date by making more affordable options less affordable.
Previous efforts have failed, and so should this. The public objection is reportedly epic.
During floor debate, Sen. Randy Brock, R-Franklin, told his colleagues that he received over 700 phone calls, letters and emails from Vermonters about S.5. “I have three who wrote me in favor of it,” Brock said.
Sen. Bobby Starr said he received over a thousand contacts regarding S.5, and took the opportunity to remind his colleagues that “we’re all sent here for one purpose, and that is to represent the people that send us here.”
Wrenner said that her “no” vote was, “A nod to representative government. My constituents do not want S.5 to pass.”
Vermonters oppose it, but it is moving ahead anyway because all but a few Dems bow before the climate gods before any other, including the people they were elected to serve. I won’t revisit here all the reasons why it’s not just a bad idea but doomed to fail, but you could read this for context.
Related: Vermont Democrats Want You to Freeze to Death
The bill will likely get to Gov. Scott, who will veto it, and then pass back through the lower chamber like sh!t through a goose.
That brings us back to the Vermont State Senate. You can win this there if you are willing to make a bit of a scene. In other words, Vermont needs a yellow vest movement.
For the record, I am not suggesting you burn stacks of tires or cars or do anything destructive or illegal. We ban commenters for implying violence on these pages, so there are no threats, just the exercise of your lawful right to assemble peacefully in yellow vests, which are cheap. You can get a ten-pack on Amazon for about $23.00, delivered in just a few days. If you only want one or two, you can do that as well, and it’s still very affordable.
Marches, protests, anti-S.5 events with hundreds of folks in yellow vests. It paints a picture that will travel around the internet and the world. You’ll find advocates and experts in all corners willing to step up and point out why this won’t do what they say at any price. Press calls to state senators at all hours can get unnerving in the shadow of a small army of yellow vests.
This bill is not popular across political lines, so allies are everywhere, but no one does street theater like the Left, so take a hint from them and one from France and do more than make phone calls and send emails. Stand out peaceably in opposition in a manner that cannot be ignored.
Start a yell0w-vest movement, and get on that soon. Your lives and livelihood depend on it.
HT | True North Reports
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The post I Think It’s Time for Vermonters To Start a Yellow Vest Movement in Opposition to The Clean Heat Standard appeared first on Granite Grok.
There is not much in the world more dangerous to a person than the Democrat Party Agenda, so when I heard that a brain-eating amoeba had killed a man in Florida, my first thought was, MSNBC?
That stuff poisons your mind with tribalism and loathing. It could be labeled hate speech if there was, in fact, such a thing. The constant droning, deep-state water-carrying, blinders-on pablum is enough to damage anyone not there with popcorn enjoying it the way you would observe animals in a zoo.
I don’t know if this man drank that kool-aid, but it wasn’t what killed him.
Health authorities in Florida issued a warning late last week to residents about tap water after it was confirmed that a man died from a brain-eating amoeba.
The alert, issued to Charlotte County, said that residents should avoid washing their face with tap water. Officials said the unidentified man was infected with the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, after washing his face and rinsing his sinuses with infected tap water. …
Naegleria fowleri is found in soil and warm freshwater including rivers, hot springs, lakes, and other bodies of water throughout the United States. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately three people each year get infected.
Of the 154 known cases since 1962, only four people have survived.
Symptoms of infection are initially severe headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, seizures, hallucinations, and coma, according to the Florida health agency and the CDC. The infection can be combatted by certain antimicrobial drugs including azithromycin, fluconazole, and miltefosine, as well as the corticosteroid dexamethasone.
At any moment, the WHO, FDA, CDC, ETC, will fast-track an experimental emergency use “vaccine” and insist everyone take it for the good of the community. Another feature of an agenda seeking new ways to harm or kill the people that Democrats claim to defend. A plan that, should it ever reach critical mass, will infect everyone by force, if necessary.
At this point, death will be the only means of escape, a path they are willing to help you along whether you’ve chosen to walk it or not.
The post When They Said “Brain Eating Amoeba” my First Thought was ‘Democrat Party Agenda’ appeared first on Granite Grok.
If you have been in a car accident, the chances are that you need to hire a car accident lawyer.
A car accident lawyer specializes in helping those who have been injured in an automobile accident fight for their rights. Car accidents can be extremely traumatic and cause financial, physical, and emotional damage to victims.
This is why it is so important to have a knowledgeable and experienced car accident attorney in Temecula on your side.
What Does a Car Accident Lawyer Do?A car accident attorney in Temecula works to advocate for their client’s rights by representing them in court or negotiating settlements with insurance companies.
They help their clients navigate the complex legal system and make sure that their rights are protected throughout the entire process.
Additionally, they will work hard to get the best possible outcome for their clients by providing strong legal representation and advocating for fair compensation from insurance companies or other parties involved in the case.
Car accident lawyers will also advise their clients on how to proceed with filing claims against negligent drivers, as well as researching available evidence, including witness statements, pictures of the scene of the crash, and medical records of injuries sustained, all of which may be helpful when filing a claim or defending oneself in court.
On top of this, they will typically also provide advice on how to handle interactions with insurance companies and provide helpful tips on how to protect oneself legally if involved in an automobile incident.
Additional Services Offered by Car Accident LawyersIn addition to providing assistance with filing claims against negligent drivers or insurance companies, car accident lawyers can provide additional services such as obtaining police reports from local law enforcement agencies, obtaining medical records from hospitals, negotiating settlements between parties involved, representing clients in court, preparing motions for dismissal or summary judgment, and more.
Furthermore, depending on where you live, many states offer specific laws that may entitle individuals who were injured due to another person’s negligence access to punitive damages beyond what would normally be awarded through compensatory damages alone.
In these cases, it can be especially beneficial for victims to retain experienced legal counsel since, many times these cases can involve complicated legal matters that require extensive research and knowledge about applicable laws at both state and federal levels.
Final ThoughtsDespite the potential complexity of car accident cases, having an experienced attorney on your side can make all the difference when it comes time to seeking justice or fair compensation after being involved in an automobile incident caused by another person’s negligence.
A good attorney will be able to guide you through every step of the process while ensuring your rights are protected along every turn, from researching available evidence all the way through final negotiations with insurance companies or other parties involved in your case so you can rest easy knowing that your best interests are always taken into account throughout every step of your case.
With a good car accident attorney in Temecula fighting for you every step of the way, you can rest assured knowing that justice will prevail and you will receive fair compensation from those responsible for any harm done during an automobile incident involving yourself or someone close to you.
The post An Overview of What a Car Accident Lawyer Does appeared first on Granite Grok.