The Manchester Free Press

Sunday • November 24 • 2024

Vol.XVI • No.XLVII

Manchester, N.H.

GUN CONTROL LIES & PROPAGANDA: ‘Firearms are the Leading Cause of Death in Children’ 

Granite Grok - Sun, 2023-02-19 14:30 +0000

The gun control crowd has been spreading absolute propaganda that firearms are the leading cause of death in children. Of course, gun control propaganda comes as no surprise to anyone who fights for 2nd Amendment rights; however, these people are actually making the claim using information from the CDC (that government bureaucracy is a whole other ballgame of propaganda and corruption, but the same stats will be used to prove the point).

Here are just a few of the titles that you’ll see spewed across the internet by gun controllers and the media (one in the same), including the current administration in D.C.:

What all of these propagandists are pushing is an annual report on deaths from the CDC, 2020 being the last update to that report. What they neglect to tell people is that, for some reason, 18 – 19 years olds, and some of them include up to the age of 24, are being including in the definition of children.

Suddenly, 18- and 19-year-old adults are considered children?

Here are the numbers when including adults in the overall death statistics ages <1 – 19:

 

Unintentional Injuries ages 1-19:

 

Homicides ages 1-19:

 

Suicides ages 1-19:

 

Here are the statistics for overall deaths when you only include actual children ages <1 – 17:

Unintentional Injuries ages 1-17:

Homicides ages 1-17:

Suicides ages 1-17:

If you break out homicide with a firearm even further, for each age grouping, you’ll find that black American children suffer far worse from gun-related homicides than white American children in the same categories.

Homicides with firearms for white American children ages 1-17:

The numbers for black American children who are murdered with a firearm is significantly higher than for white children:

While both white and black children are known to be members of gangs, the percentage of black children becoming a member of a gang is much higher than that of white children. Of course, rather than focus on the root causes of why any child becomes a member of a gang, the government, politicians, and gun controllers prefer to push gun control that does nothing to stop gang violence or murders but only seeks to make it so the law-abiding have a more difficult, if not impossible, time protecting themselves from violent criminals.

And although Hispanics make up 50% of all gang membership compared to 32% black gang membership and 10% white gang membership, the homicide with firearm stats for Hispanics is lower than both that of black and white children (NOTE: included all races in the query but Hispanic ethnicity because Hispanic isn’t a race and some in the media call Hispanics ‘white’):

According to the FBI, “around 2,000 homicides a year are gang-related” for a total of 13% of all homicides.  The 2,000 number refers to all gang-related homicides which would also include adults ages 18 and up; however, there are absolutely numbers of children who are murdered with a firearm due to gang-related activity.

Of course, federal law dictates that no one under the age of 21 can legally purchase a handgun. Possession of a handgun by anyone under the age of 18 is illegal other than in specific instances:

Exceptions [18 U.S.C. § 922(x)(3)]:

  • Temporary transfer and possession of handguns and handgun ammunition for specified activities, including employment, ranching, farming, target practice and hunting, provided the juvenile is in possession of prior written consent of the juvenile’s parent or guardian who is not prohibited by federal, state or local law from possessing a firearm;

  • A juvenile who is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard who possesses or is armed with a handgun in the line of duty;

  • A transfer by inheritance of title (but not possession) of a handgun or ammunition to a juvenile; or

  • The possession of a handgun or ammunition by a juvenile taken in defense of the juvenile or other persons against an intruder into the residence of the juvenile or a residence in which the juvenile is an invited guest.

So, why is the current administration, non-profit organizations, politicians, and the media pushing a false narrative that the leading cause of death in children is now due to firearms? To push new gun control laws (I realize this is obvious to many of you but to others, not so much). These people believe that if they fearmonger regular Americans enough, the demand for more gun control will become inevitable. To be clear, all childhood deaths are absolutely horrid. What is even more abhorrent is the gun control crowd lying about the deaths of children to further push their gun control narrative.

Gun controllers never want to have an honest discussion about the real issues that affect Americans or our youth. Any time a horrifying tragedy occurs, they instantly dip their hands in the blood of victims whose names are yet unknown, to demand more gun control. It never matters if the killer was extremely mentally ill. It doesn’t matter if the murders were gang related. It never matters if every gun control law that already exists was violated. These people will push for more gun control laws in the name of ‘safety.’

Gun control is never about safety, it’s always about control. Control over those who seek to protect themselves from the criminals the gun control crowd enables.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Palate Cleanser – What? You want HEAT In the Winter in New England? Weaklings…

Granite Grok - Sun, 2023-02-19 13:00 +0000

Heh! A wee bit a cheeky tweeking from staunch hardcore NE Yankees:

It’s a bit different for me now – I used to really love the colder weather and I generally had no problems in going outside in a T-Shirt and shorts to do something active (as long as the wind was no more than a gentle breeze).  Hey, born here, raised here, working here – if you’re a Yankee, BE a Yankee and ACT like a Yankee. No sniveling allowed when it comes to “weather”.

As I think I’ve written before, back when I was working for Digital Equipment Corp (“DEC”), I was transferred to Honolulu for a 3 month stint. I remember a couple of days after arriving that the morning was around 65 degrees F when I got up for work. Coming from a few weeks of 10-28 degrees, this was SPRING TIME!  Just a polo shirt and khaki pants.

The locals were walking about in puffy down jackets.  Quite the contrast.

Anyways, that was a few decades ago and now my metabolism is really slowing down. I still wait all summer for February but I do have to admit that I LOVE my electrically heated gloves that TMEW gave me for Christmas…

…and no, no more “just a T-Shirt and shorts” anymore.

Sucks getting older, at least physically; I’m still trying to uphold that line “when I grow up, I never want to grow up” as Life is more fun that way!

(H/T: GeekPress)

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Milford School Board Bathroom (Policy) Backs Up – No More Urinal Ban …

Granite Grok - Sun, 2023-02-19 11:30 +0000

Milford, New Hampshire, got some unwanted attention this past week. The school board decided that as part of their effort to manage the unnecessarily complex problem of bathrooms and body parts, they’d ban urinals.

Stupid idea. Girls with penises can use urinals. Jeesh.

All that attention resulted in a whirlwind of “input” from all directions under the weight of which the board collapsed like a metal shed roof after a nor’easter. The whole business of segregating students’ restroom needs by tab or slot is out the window.

All-access passes have been figuratively returned.

But hey, they get to keep their urinals, not that boys who were born as girls can use them as easily, so ‘new problem’ (maybe). One that has yet to be thoroughly mined by the culture warriors. We’ve got stalls and urinals in the “boys” bathrooms. Don’t you need to install urinals in the “girl’s” bathrooms?

The approved worldview book of LGBTQI+, chapter 6 verse 9, states that girls can have a penis (just ask all those pregnant rape victims in California’s  “women’s” prisons).  There might even be a Title IX angle in there – equal accommodations and all that -for the lawyers to milk. School districts spend other people’s money, and what is insurance for if not to enrich lawyers?

If one room has wall and floor accommodations, then so shall the others. No exceptions. Just in case one of the “girls” has the other plumbing and can make use of them.

Or would that just piss someone else off?

 

 

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

It’s Not Just Groksters Who Believe Sununu Is “Not the Guy”

Granite Grok - Sun, 2023-02-19 02:30 +0000

Yep, another guy out in the blogosphere that’s fairly adamant that Chris Sununu will not be the next President even as he’s traveling all over the nation faster than an F-22 chasing a Chinese spy balloon.

And for the exact same reason we think – the time when talking about taxes is long gone as the primary (and sometimes, only) words out of Republican candidates.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. I was only vaguely aware of Sununu The Younger, but his attack on DeSantis for having the balls to fight the poison of social justice instantly rocketed him to the bottom of my list. You would think Romney’s failure would have soured the party on moderate business-oriented governors, but, evidently, Sununu didn’t get the memo. Likewise, I doubt modern voters are interested in voting for Bush Lite The Next Generation. No thank you. An unwillingness to actual fight for conservative values is automatically disqualifying, and I don’t [see] him bringing anything to the table as a Veep pick.

So there you have it. Now, I didn’t go looking for this kind of opinion but I am starting to see it where I didn’t expect to.

Overly ambitious…

(H/T:  Lawrence Person’s BattleSwarm Blog)

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Rep. Testerman’s Explanation Makes No Sense

Granite Grok - Sun, 2023-02-19 01:00 +0000

I have read Dave Testerman’s explanation for voting to kill HB 396. It makes no sense.

I understand the purpose of HB 396 to be to make it clear that New Hampshire law does NOT require schools to allow biological boys into girls’ bathrooms, lorckerrooms, or to participate in girls’ sports. From Cornerstone:

HB 396 was urgently necessary because school districts—and New Hampshire’s Department of Justice—currently falsely claim that New Hampshire law prohibits all separation on the basis of biological sex. These claims have deceived many schools and other public entities into bowing to gender ideology. Most now use self-declared gender identity alone to separate athletics and private areas, without regard to whether someone has even received medical transitioning.

By way of background and context … in 2018, Sun-King Sununu and the Republican legislature added gender identity to New Hampshire’s anti-discrimination laws with respect to employment, places of public accommodation and housing. The definition of “public accommodation” does NOT encompass public schools:”

Place of public accommodation” includes any inn, tavern or hotel, whether conducted for entertainment, the housing or lodging of transient guests, or for the benefit, use or accommodations of those seeking health, recreation or rest, any restaurant, eating house, public conveyance on land or water, bathhouse, barbershop, theater, golf course, sports arena, health care provider, and music or other public hall, store or other establishment which caters or offers its services or facilities or goods to the general public. “Public accommodation” shall not include any institution or club which is in its nature distinctly private.

However, in 2019 his Majesty allowed a bill to become law that allows the choice of “other” on driver licenses and State ID cards. Apparently, the concern is that these laws would be extrapolated to require public schools to allow biological boys into girls’ bathrooms, lorckerrooms, and onto girls’ sports teams. From the bill:

2  New Section; Administration of Motor Vehicle Laws; State Recognition of Biological Sex.  Amend RSA 260 by inserting after section 21-b the following new section:

260:21-c  State Recognition of Biological Sex.  Nothing in RSA 260, RSA 263, or any related provision of law, is intended to prohibit any public entity from differentiating between the male and female sexes in athletic competitions, criminal incarceration, or places of intimate privacy, or otherwise to deny or undermine the state’s rational interest in recognizing the male and female sexes.  In this paragraph, “the male and female sexes” refers to biologically male and female human beings.

Testerman says he killed HB 396 because:

This bill will do nothing to prevent the crowning of a male in a beauty pageant for females.

Wait … WHAT?!?! Because biological males would still get to compete in beauty pageants, girls in public schools should have NO PROTECTION ALL?!?! A 13-year old girl should have to share a bathroom and locker room with an 18-year old male?

Testerman’s rationale is NONSENSICAL.

The post Rep. Testerman’s Explanation Makes No Sense appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

New Hampshire’s Free State Project – How Freeing a Single State from “Government” Could Free Us All

The Liberty Block - Sat, 2023-02-18 23:39 +0000

People around the world are organizing various efforts to secure an area with political sovereignty to implement societies free from the control system of “government.” The largest and most exciting is the Free State Project in New Hampshire.

The post New Hampshire’s Free State Project – How Freeing a Single State from “Government” Could Free Us All appeared first on The Liberty Block.

Fact: Leftwing “Activists” Like to Derail Trains Moving Hazardous Chemicals

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 23:30 +0000

We shared a video of the overheating axel on the train that derailed in Palestine, Ohio. And that seems like the culprit. But did you know that derailing trains is a thing with the radical left, especially the enviro-fascists?

Much like the way various faces from the identity politics totem pole perpetrate hate crimes (often) against themselves, these green activists want to cause environmental disasters as a sort of I told you so.

Ace had a very detailed accounting of this practice the other day in a post about Mayor Pete “choo-choo” Buttigieg. Whoever is running the Biden administration had just turned down a request for Federal aid for Palestine, Ohio (FEMA has to rearrange their sock drawer), while Mayor Choo Choo blamed Donald Trump.

Did Palestine vote overwhelmingly for Trump or something? This seems particularly sinister, especially since the buck always stops at Biden. He’s said so himself. And so what if there are over 1000 train derailments a year, and most of them are minor without a toxic chemical spill set on fire by someone who looks nothing like Donald Trump.

What about the Antifa and Green Angst domestic terrorists who get off on train tipping?

 

Samantha Frances Brooks, 27, and Ellen Brennan Reiche, 23, were arrested Saturday night in Bellingham, located in Whatcom County, which borders Canada, as they allegedly placed “shunts” on Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks, according to a complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington Monday.

A shunt is comprised of wire and magnets that are strung across the tracks, mimicking the electrical signal of a train.

The two women were charged in connection to Saturday’s incident, but there have been 41 incidents of shunts placed on the BNSF tracks in Whatcom and Skagit counties since January. Shunts were placed in areas that disrupt the crossing guards where the tracks cross streets, so vehicles could have tried to cross the tracks unaware of the oncoming train, U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran said.

 

Ellen Brennan Reiche is a gender warrior and a Democrat Campaign staffer.

 

Reiche, who identifies as “non-binary” and uses “they/them” pronouns, was the deputy field organizer for Washington State Democrats, according to their now-deleted LinkedIn profile.

 

They/Them is probably not a Trump Voter (Mayor Choo Choo), so you may need to go back to the narrative drawing board right after you get back from vacation. Maybe see about addressing Antifa coordination and material support of acts of domestic terrorism against US transportation infrastructure.

 

According to the federal complaint, a posting on the anarchist website Itsgoingdown.com (IGD) described the shunting campaign as being carried out in solidarity with Canadian indigenous tribes seeking to prevent the construction of an oil pipeline in British Columbia.

The post also provided instructions for how to carry out sabotage …

It is worth noting the role played by IGD, which included both publicizing terror attacks, as well as providing clear instructions for those inspired to carry out future attacks. As the Center for Security Policy testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, websites like IGD play a crucial role in anarchist and Antifa organizing:

 

And maybe this is just a suggestion, when caught ‘red-handed, put them in prison for longer than people who happened to wander into the US Capital on January 6 (after Capitol Police let them in) to take a selfie.

One more point. Palestine, Ohio, is 95% white and voted 80% for Donald Trump, and refusing aid might just be political.

Update 1: After Trump announced plans to visit Palestine, Ohio, FEMA backtracked and announced it would provide aid.

Update:2

 


 

 

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Breaking News: Former President Jimmy Carter, 98, is Receiving Hospice Care at Home

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 22:11 +0000

Jimmy Carter was our 39th President elected in 1976. A former peanut farmer, Georgia State Senator, and Georgia Governor, he was a dark horse within the Democrat Party that campaign. However, he did win the NH First In The Nation Primary that year and we all know that catapulted him to the Presidency.

However, he was perceived to be a weak and ineffective President and lost to Ronald Reagan after one term.

We do wish him well and we are sad to hear the news.

(H/T: PJ Media)

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Reality Is Starting to Bite HARD on San Francisco’s “Sanctuary City” Proclamation

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 22:00 +0000

It’s easy to virtue signal highly when the cost is so low; when the rubber hits the road, however, not so much. Take sanctuary cities run by Democrats (or States or towns or whatever) who have LOUDLY proclaimed that illegal aliens are welcome.

You know, just like Nantucket Island (in MA) did this summer. Proclaimed their love for those whose first actions here in the US was to break our law BEFORE, ran around like chickens when DeSantis “helped” them live up to their virtue signaling, and then AFTERWARDS, saw how little their virtue signaling and word (as in “keeping your word”) actually meant.

So, too, San Francisco, but with a twist. We all know that their absolutely misbegotten Progressive/Woke policies have turned it into a third-world hellhole with respect to the homeless AND its refusal to enforce their laws (or just do away with them altogether). Thus, this caught my eye (reformatted, emphasis mine):

San Francisco reconsiders ‘sanctuary city’ status amid fentanyl overdose crisis

Officials in San Francisco are considering withdrawing certainsanctuary city” protections due to a rising fentanyl crisis that has led to a shocking number of overdoses, New WindowKRON-TV reported. Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Matt Dorsey, a Democrat appointed by Mayor London Breed (D) last year, said in a Tuesday statement:

“It is time to withdraw the protection of sanctuary from undocumented immigrants trafficking fentanyl on our streets.”

Yeah, still can’t let go of the Liberal Reality Distortion Field – really, “undocumented”?  Step one – to start solving a problem, you have to NAME that problem.  Using euphemisms like “undocumented” means you’re not serious as you are still “relieving them” of responsibility. How about “illegal criminals” instead? Sure, I know that’s still an oxymoron as well (if you are an illegal, you’re also a criminal) but at least a bit closer to reality.

According to investigators, as many as half of the individuals selling drugs in the city are illegal immigrants. Currently, the city’s sanctuary status prohibits San Francisco authorities from aiding Immigration and Customs Enforcement in most circumstances.

Dorsey introduced legislation to revoke sanctuary protections from illegal immigrants who have contributed to the fentanyl crisis.

Yep, self-induced policy mayhem.  And harm – of its own citizens. But at least someone is starting to wake up from their Woke-induced coma (even if only just enough to get re-elected):

However, Dorsey’s status exceptions would only apply to illegal immigrants convicted of fentanyl-dealing within the last seven years and then reconvicted of another fentanyl-dealing felony or violent felony. If passed, the legislation could make it easier to deport them.

If Dorsey was serious and wanted to do right by them,

“I’m asking my colleagues to update our ‘Due Process for All’ ordinance to add fentanyl-dealing felonies alongside violent felonies,” Dorsey told New WindowKQED. “The whole idea of sanctuary was to create a safe environment so that local governments could serve immigrant communities, including undocumented immigrant communities, and have their trust. To do otherwise would be to empower organized crime and elements that might exploit people who are in vulnerable situations.”

Clueless. Absolutely clueless.

Alas and alack, if put into practice, this half-hearted and lackluster change may help their virtue-signaling lives but will end up being a mere minor annoyance to the “organized crime” cartels who are just rubbing their hands together in glee, knowing their profits will be unaffected.

Virtue-signaling – saying something that says nothing at all and means even less when reality comes barging in.  And that reality?

Last year, in the city’s Tenderloin district, the San Francisco Police Department seized more than 65 kilograms, or approximately 144 pounds, of fentanyl. “With just two milligrams of fentanyl estimated to be a lethal overdose for most people, SFPDʼs drug seizure haul from street-level drug dealers in 2022 represents enough fentanyl to kill every adult in California,” Dorsey stated.

But it does seem that there are some that are just happy with the dying status quo:

FreeSF, a coalition of organizations that advocate for immigrant rights, said it was “deeply disappointed” with Dorsey’s proposal.

“Sanctuary policies are crucial to upholding our values of equality and including — and to building strong, safe, and flourishing communities for all. The board must recognize that the sanctuary ordinance is an essential part of the solution,” FreeSF said.

Ideology over drugs.  Haven’t they ever heard the phrase “it’s hard to go through life being stupid”?

(H/T: The Blaze)

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Presidents’ Day – Much More than Just a Three-Day Weekend!

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 20:30 +0000

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are arguably the two greatest leaders in the history of the United States. Two great Presidents. Two great Americans. For many years, we would come together as a nation and celebrate each of their respective birthdays.

We want to thank Jay Lucas for this Op-Ed. If you have an Op-Ed or LTE
you would like us to consider, please submit it to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.

Washington’s on February 22nd. Lincoln’s on February 12th. Then, in 1968, Congress enacted a law establishing Presidents’ Day – combining the two birthdays, extending the celebration to include ‘all Presidents,’ and requiring the holiday be observed on a Monday in February as part of a three-day weekend.

Inevitably, in the course of this transition, something important has been lost. That is the sheer magnitude of what each of these two great men accomplished on behalf of our country and their enormously positive impact. Washington’s leadership through the Revolutionary War and serving as President for the first eight years of our nation. Lincoln’s shepherding the country through its most traumatic and perilous time – our Civil War. So, as we celebrate this Presidents’ Day and enjoy our three-day weekend with family and friends, let’s each pause for a moment to reflect on the character, courage, and sheer greatness of these two men and how their accomplishments have shaped this great nation and therefore our lives today.

Over the course of our nation’s 246-year history, there have been 46 Presidents of the United States, each one with their own influence and impact on the course of our history. Some have been good leaders, while others somewhat less so. Yet, there is only a handful whose legacies border on what could be considered almost mystical. These are individuals whose names are synonymous with the office of the presidency, because of their uniquely strong and resilient leadership feature on our currency and our monuments. Names like Jefferson, Roosevelt, or Reagan might come to mind. Yet as we celebrate Presidents’ Day this coming Monday, there are two individuals who stand above the rest. They’re individuals who not only led us during our nation’s most trying times but laid the foundations for the growth and evolution of our nation in ways that still impact us today. Those two are of course George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

But what sets these two men apart from the other 44 presidents, many of whom also led us through perilous moments just as they did? When we look at the history and legacy of these two men, it must be said that their leadership each came at a time during our fledgling history when we didn’t just face external threats, but internal and existential ones that threatened the continuation of this American experiment. In Washington’s case, it was declaring our freedom from the stranglehold of the British empire, guiding our nation through its earliest and most vulnerable period, and then relinquishing control of the presidency. In Lincoln, it was the emancipation of enslaved peoples and the preservation of the union. Each of these men demonstrated a moral character that came to not only set the standard for what is expected of a President to this day but how we as Americans define ourselves. It’s their legacies we use to compare the quality of both a presidential candidate and a sitting president. And when we’ve forgotten or neglected their legacies, we tend to find ourselves with leaders unsuited for the office.

In the immediate moments following the death of President Lincoln on April 15th, 1865, his friend and the country’s Secretary of War at the time Edwin Stanton eloquently stated, “He now belongs to the ages.” It was befitting of a president who himself is often considered the most eloquent of our 46 presidents. It’s also a statement that encapsulates the legacies of both men whose tremendous vision, fortitude, and guidance have continued to transcend generations, are whose legacies offer seemingly timeless lessons. And though Presidents’ Day is now meant to celebrate the legacy of all of our presidents, it’s the standard set by Washington and Lincoln that all have tried to emulate.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

When Public Officials Racketeer — New Hampshire in the Spotlight

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 19:00 +0000

A recent article in the Concord Monitor regarding Primo “Howie” Leung, the Rundlett Middle School and Concord High School teacher who was arrested for sexual assault on April 3rd, 2019, should be setting off alarm bells in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

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

Four years after his initial arrest, he has yet to be prosecuted in New Hampshire, and his trial in Massachusetts has been delayed a sixth time. He is being prosecuted in Massachusetts because Concord (New Hampshire) Police Detectives Julie Curtin and Sean Ford claimed that his “victim,” Fabiana McLeod, was repeatedly sexually assaulted at the Fessenden private boarding school in Massachusetts while he was teaching there during the summer and she was assisting.

After Howie Leung’s arrest, an independent investigation into Concord School District’s alleged cover-ups was launched. Originally Robin Melone of Wadleigh Starr & Peters PLLC had been hired for the investigation.

But the school board dropped Robin Melone due to her role in defending St Paul’s School’s graduate Owen Labrie for his retrial hearing and NH Supreme Court Appeals (both denied after Congresswoman Ann Kuster made sure to insert her public influence at strategic junctures to steer judicial outcome).

Instead, Djuna Perkins, with a solo practice, completed the report on the Concord Schools. It was heavily redacted. She had been a prosecutor in Massachusetts and received a one-star rating in reviews but she spoke on NPR in 2014 regarding “consent” in campus sexual assault cases.

Mark Rufo, also of Wadleigh Starr & Peters PLLC, filed a suit against the Concord School District on behalf of Fabiana McLeod, which settled for $545,000. It would appear that the basis for this lawsuit relied primarily on the April 3rd affidavit and statements of Concord Police Detectives Julie Curtin and Sean Ford.

The essence of the Brady violation in Labrie’s trial had been that the prosecutor had made a statement to the judge about a deal made with a state witness (Labrie’s roommate, Andrew Thomson — son of Lucy Hodder, then Governor Maggie Hassan’s legal counsel) which, had it been known to the defendant and the jury, would have perjured this witness. Detective Julie Curtin had referred to this witness’s (perjury) statement in her affidavit, which she used for an arrest warrant in the Labrie investigation. The prosecutor admitted to the judge that she knew of a deal that had been made with the witness, but she believed that the police didn’t know about the deal. The state sealed this conversation at the time. It was unsealed months later and should have immediately put Julie Curtin on the Laurie list of corrupt police officers and disbarred the prosecutor. Neither happened.

Curiously, the first statement about Howie Leung’s arrest seems to appear on the New Hampshire Department of Education’s site with Tony Schinella as the contact.

Tony Schinella is also a reporter for the Concord Patch, which put out the first announcement of Owen Labrie’s arrest in July 2014 — updated and edited in 2018, right around the date of the Prout family’s civil suit settlement with St Paul’s School. If recollection serves me well, the edit in 2018 was the removal of “a ring of boys” from the original 2014 notice. In other words, all the legacy kids’ names disappeared, leaving just the scholarship student as the lonesome boogeyman.

Tony Schinella reported several times about the Howie Leung case. Who was supplying him with the narrative and why? The police file on Howie Leung pretty much ends in April 2019 right after he was arrested — according to the Concord Monitor articles. There are no moves to prosecute him in New Hampshire even though his arrest was made in the State after an investigation by Concord police.

Primex (New Hampshire Public Risk Management Group), the insurer for Concord School district, shelled out $1–1.5 million for civil claims filed by Mark Rufo/Wadleigh Starr & Peters PLLC, according to news reports, although precious little official documentation on this is publicly available. The board members of Primex are board members of Public School Districts, including Concord’s. Why would a public school district’s insurance exchange pay out such large sums of money prior to proof of a crime having been committed which wasn’t even worthy of prosecution in New Hampshire? Concord Police and the NHCADSV as well as Wadleigh Starr & Peters PLLC, and the DA of Merrimack County were all aware of Police Detective Julie Curtin’s credibility issues. Wouldn’t they want to do due diligence — for the credibility of their own profession as much as anything else?

“Howie Leung Loophole” law was passed, and recently a female teacher was arrested and charged under it.

The teacher came from a private school — a school with deep pockets like St Paul’s, like the Fessenden School, like Dartmouth College, like Phillips Exeter Academy which have all been hit with civil suits seeking millions. Linking each of these cases, you can find the NHCADSV and/or Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin, who is trained in “best practices” by the NHCADSV.

Julie Curtin’s investigation/witness payment budget is approved by the City of Concord Public Safety Committee, chaired by Amanda Grady Sexton, the Director of Public Affairs for the NHCADSV, whose bio states that she works with police and prosecutors to shape the narrative pretrial. One of the civil attorneys she worked with on the St. Paul’s and Dartmouth suits states that they get in front of the Associated Press and arrange creative ways to get the message out when the “victims” can’t. One of their methods is to use 3rd party “experts” such as Dr. David Lisak, whose statistics he debunked himself, but that doesn’t seem to matter.

The NHCADSV appears to receive 20% of each civil suit settlement and the attorneys collect 35% of each settlement. It’s a lucrative business and when lies travel faster than the truth, fast bucks can be made while defendants get forgotten for years as the wheels of justice get hindered by money-grabbing political moves.

Convictions Based on Lies: Defining Due Process Protection

Truth has very little to do with the process: Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin refers the selected “victims” (many victims of domestic violence and sexual assault have reported being completely ignored by both police and the NHCADSV) to the civil attorneys and the NHCADSV. She must have had a financial incentive to spend her days, months and years investigating St Paul’s School and Concord School District while ignoring claims of sex abuse where there’s no prospect of a kick-back. If there’s no financial reward involved, it’s not worth bothering with.

It looks as though there is a system of kick-backs from the civil attorneys who rely on Police Detective Julie Curtin’s statements for blackmailing schools into lucrative settlements. It helps that Amanda Grady Sexton’s husband is the political director and reporter for WMUR while Debra Altshiller’s (HAVEN)’s husband, Howard Altschiller, was chair of the New Hampshire Press Association. It also helped when Gordon MacDonald was Attorney General and blocked the release of names of dishonest police on the Laurie List. Geoffrey Ward, assistant Attorney General, made sure to delete the files of 28 corrupt police officers before the Laurie list was ordered to be made public. One of the names that briefly appeared on the public list was that of New Hampshire’s top sex crimes investigator: James F McLaughlin — who taught others of his unlawful tactics, which included federal entrapment and lies. Father Gordon MacRae is languishing in Concord Prison 28 years after he was framed by McLaughlin. He is unable to get justice because from top to bottom of New Hampshire’s justice system, too many people are compromised by the money that was involved in framing him and extorting the Diocese of Manchester. They literally cannot afford for the truth to come out. Payments were made to witnesses to frame Father Gordon MacRae — per several reports — but evidently, judges and prosecutors don’t seem to care, so we must presume they, too, are getting rewards.

Chessy Prout stated in her “memoir” with an introduction by Congresswoman Ann Kuster and co-authored by Boston Globe’s Jenn Abelson- that Detective Julie Curtin told her to “not worry about the details” and to not discuss what had happened with Owen Labrie with anyone, not even her mother.

Julie Curtin’s method seems to be to fabricate as she goes along and hope everyone gets out having made a few million without having to go to trial and get exposed. It is likely for this reason that Concord Police Chief refused to give St Paul’s School alum Lacy Crawford her student file, which Julie Curtin had obtained without a warrant, and then refused to give it to its rightful owner. What is Concord Police Chief Bradley Osgood hiding?

And where is all the money going? It transpires New Hampshire is home to $932.5 billion in Pandora Papers hidden accounts — shell non-profits, shell companies, and trusts.

After the lawsuits against Concord School District following Howie Leung’s arrest were settled, another lawsuit was filed against the Fessenden School in Massachusetts. That lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in August 2022. It failed to meet the most basic standards required to move forward. I understand that the lawsuit also relied on information from Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin’s and Sean Ford’s original statements in April 2019. Those statements included allegations of sexual assault in other states that have declined to prosecute. Could it be that the statements were fabricated to guilt schools & their insurers into coughing up millions for ambulance chasers receiving a referral from Concord Police?

There has been no further action taken against Howie Leung by Paul Halvorsen, DA for Merrimack County, Concord New Hampshire. Halvorsen was endorsed as a candidate by the NHCADSV and he used to be a board member on the City of Concord Council. Coincidentally, he shares the same last name as Truna Halvorsen who allegedly made a complaint about Howie Leung but was never interviewed for Djuna Perkins’ report. This article is also by Tony Schinella of the Concord Patch:

Concord Police Lt. Sean Ford said investigators were aware of Halverson’s claims but he said he could not speak about the Leung case since it was an open investigation.

Halverson was not questioned by the Concord School District’s private investigator, Djuna Perkins of DP Law, a former Boston prosecutor.

Howie Leung’s trial in Massachusetts has been delayed until the fall of 2023. Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin no longer works for the City of Concord’s police. She’s moved to Epping police department. She and Sean Ford were the police officers who were the investigators for the Attorney General’s Grand Jury Criminal Investigation into St Paul’s School after he’d been lobbied by the NHCADSV. That report was ordered to be kept private despite the school’s waiver of privacy. It yielded several civil suits.

The NHCADSV’s legal counsel, David Vicinanzo, praised Judge Richard McNamara’s decision to keep it private. The NHCADSV benefited from several civil suits and a contract with the school.

Transparency doesn’t suit the public officials’ shady enterprise. After extorting the Diocese of Manchester, St Paul’s School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Dartmouth College, Concord School District, and Fessenden School for nebulous claims, I wonder who the next target will be.

The post When Public Officials Racketeer — New Hampshire in the Spotlight appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

We Are Not Saying You Can’t Get The Jab™ if You Want It

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 17:30 +0000

The politicized Left does this thing where they take your objection to something and pretend it’s absolute. They do that because that is how they operate, and they assume we’re like them. Not so.

Examples.

Minors should not have access to material that is inappropriate. As a corollary, taxpayers should not be paying for that material. It continues to be widely available in the public and private domain, easily accessible to anyone of any age, but the Left accuses you of book banning.

Here’s another one.

 

In response to the covid vaccine mandates from employers, healthcare, and political sub-divisions, conscientious objectors asked to be excluded. Please leave us alone. We do not consent, or we have concerns, or there are religious or conscience objections. We’ve looked at your data, and we (or our kids) don’t need it.

The Left’s response has been to find ways to make you get the shots, from fearmongering to bullying to mandates or intimidation. They labeled you, discriminated against you (job loss, passports, limited public access), then accused you of not wanting anyone to get “vaccinated?”

Exercises of free speech used to provide information that has been suppressed are labeled as disinformation or misinformation. But all anyone ever wanted was the choice to say no and the protected right to share why.

We’re not fighting against your access to The Jab. Neither is RebuildNH or NH Health Freedom. If you want to wear a mask, do it. Feel safer locked in your home; stay there. You can’t wait for the next booster; good luck with that. And please, speak freely about why you think that is important and why you disagree with people who don’t.

What we get from the Left instead is institutionalized message control, censorship, and militant intolerance to any idea or practice outside that which you’ve decided best suits you.

So, banning mandates is not denying the mRNA shots. And even though the research shows no real public health value and a significant risk of public health harm, we’re not stopping you from having your say or rolling up a sleeve to get the next iteration.

No one is preventing you from playing vaccine roulette with your life. That’s your choice.

We just want you to respect ours, but we know you are likely incapable.

So we do this.

 

 

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Montana Governor Informs Feds State Won’t Enforce New Pistol Brace Gun Control Rule

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 16:00 +0000

On Feb. 8, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland informing him the state will not enforce the recent ATF rule on pistol braces based on a state law prohibiting enforcement of some federal gun control that was passed in 2021.

Pistol braces serve as stabilizers that enable a shooter to fire with one hand. On Jan 13, the  ATF issued a rule authorized by an unconstitutional executive order requiring potentially any gun equipped with a pistol brace to be registered with the feds.

According to the ATF rule, guns with pistol braces are now subject to a new “factoring criteria” point system, which will be used to determine if the firearm and pistol brace combination are now categorized as “short-barreled rifles” under the National Firearms Act. This is the same law used to regulate machine guns and sound suppressors. The rule doesn’t ban pistol braces, but it requires anybody that has a gun equipped with one to register the firearm with the feds if it goes beyond a certain threshold in the point system. If they don’t register it, the must destroy it. The registration process will come with a tax, and if history provides any indication it could take up to a year to complete the registration process.

Additionally, the ATF still claims the authority to classify a firearm and accessory as a short-barreled rifle under the NFA even if it does not cross the threshold of their point system.

In 2021, Montana passed a law prohibiting police officers, state employees, and employees of any political subdivision of the state from enforcing, assisting in the enforcement of, or otherwise cooperating in the enforcement of any new “federal ban” on firearms, magazines, or ammunition. A “federal ban” is defined as any federal law, executive order, rule, or regulation that was enacted after Jan. 1, 2021, “that infringes upon, calls in question, or prohibits, restricts, or requires individual licensure for or registration of the purchase, ownership, possession, transfer, or use of any firearm, any magazine or other ammunition feeding device, or other firearm accessory.”

The pistol brace registration rule clearly falls under the law’s definition of a “federal ban.”

Gov. Gianforte’s letter informs the U.S. attorney general that, “As a matter of law, the State of Montana and its political subdivisions cannot enforce, or assist the ATF with enforcement, of this rule.”

Gianforte also writes that the pistol brace rule “further erodes the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Montanans.”

“Our right to keep and bear arms is integral to Montana’s and our nation’s rich heritage, and this rule directly violates our long-held traditions. The rule also ignores the design and intent of stabilizing braces – to help disabled veterans fire large format pistols.”

Gary Marbut of the Montana Shooting Sports Association and many others worked tirelessly for years to get this first-step ban against federal gun control passed in 2021.

Three other states – Missouri, Arizona and Idaho – also have laws on the books that prohibit state or local enforcement of specific federal gun control, including this pistol brace registration scheme.

EFFECTIVE

The federal government relies heavily on state cooperation to implement and enforce almost all of its laws, regulations and acts – including gun control. By simply withdrawing this necessary cooperation, states and localities can nullify many federal actions in effect. As noted by the National Governors’ Association during the partial government shutdown of 2013, “states are partners with the federal government on most federal programs.”

With just a few thousand enforcement agents, the ATF doesn’t have the personnel or resources to enforce its gun control regulations without massive support from the states. That means every time a state refuses to cooperate with the enforcement of federal gun control – including this new rule – it sets the foundation for the people to nullify those acts in practice and effect.

Based on James Madison’s advice for states and individuals in Federalist #46, a “refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union” represents an extremely effective method to bring down federal gun control measures because most enforcement actions rely on help, support and leadership from state and local governments.

Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano agreed. In a televised discussion on the issue, he noted that a single state taking this step would make federal gun laws “nearly impossible” to enforce.

“Partnerships don’t work too well when half the team quits,” said Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center. “By withdrawing all resources and participation in federal gun control, states and even local governments can help bring these unconstitutional acts to their much-needed end.”

LEGAL BASIS

States can legally bar their employees and agents from enforcing federal gun control. They can also prohibit the use of state resources for the same. Refusal to cooperate with federal enforcement rests on a well-established legal principle known as the anti-commandeering doctrine.

Simply put, the federal government cannot force states to help implement or enforce any federal act or program. The anti-commandeering doctrine is based primarily on five Supreme Court cases dating back to 1842. Printz v. U.S. serves as the cornerstone.

“We held in New York that Congress cannot compel the States to enact or enforce a federal regulatory program. Today we hold that Congress cannot circumvent that prohibition by conscripting the States’ officers directly. The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States’ officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program. It matters not whether policy making is involved, and no case by case weighing of the burdens or benefits is necessary; such commands are fundamentally incompatible with our constitutional system of dual sovereignty”

No determination of constitutionality is necessary to invoke the anti-commandeering doctrine. State and local governments can refuse to enforce federal laws or implement federal programs whether they are constitutional or not.

 

 

Mike Maharrey | The Tenth Amendment Center

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Sun-Princess Nikki Haley … Billions For Ukraine, Pennies For America’s Young Peasants

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 14:30 +0000

So Sun-King Sununu in a dress … that would be the Sun-Princess, Nikki Haley … is running for President to keep funding that corrupt kleptocracy called Ukraine AND cut Social Security … but ONLY for younger voters.

This must be some kind of record … it took Sun-Princess just a few hours to show that she is totally out of touch with real Republican voters and a throwback … albeit a throwback in a dress and, as she apparently intends to keep telling us, in brown skin (her words, not mine) … to the globalist/corporatist GOP of Presidents John McCain and Mitt Romney. Oh, wait … those two warmongering globalists weren’t elected President.

So here’s Sun-Princess showing that she doesn’t understand … or thinks voters don’t understand … that Ukraine … where Zelensky outlawed opposition politics parties, the Orthodox Church and controls the media … is a kleptocracy, not a democracy:

And here is the Sun-Princess having a Marie Antoinette moment. Let America’s young peasants eat cake. What a way to attract young voters … vote for us so you can get less Social Security than your parents.

 

The post Sun-Princess Nikki Haley … Billions For Ukraine, Pennies For America’s Young Peasants appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Dartmouth Hitchcock Helped Cause the Rural Health Care Crisis in New Hampshire

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 13:00 +0000

WMUR has a nifty bit of Hospital Industrial Complex PR peddled as news. Dartmouth Hitchcock (DH) expresses concern about access to health care in rural New Hampshire but never mentions how they are to blame.

 

“We are seeing some stress fractures, and we need to attend to it now,” said Dr. Joanne Conroy, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health.

Conroy is calling on her colleagues to address the strain on New Hampshire’s health care system, particularly in rural areas.

“So we don’t get to that point where people cannot find an institution that can care for them,” she said.

The cause? According to the DH, “issues from the pandemic still plague hospitals, including high health care costs, supply chain problems and, especially, staff shortages.”

The problem is real, but everything else in this piece is smoke and mirrors.

Thanks to the legislature, Hospitals in New Hampshire have enjoyed a monopoly on health care. It has, if not wholly, nearly wiped out any prospect of genuine private practice. I don’t believe you can be a country doctor or run a clinic in this state without being hog-tied to the nearest hospital.

If you manage to find a location outside their mandatory sphere of influence, unless I remember incorrectly, the cost to set up and operate is prohibitive.

Based on what folks up north have told me, the result is white coat flight. The vaccine mandates for employees did contribute to the staffing issue, especially for nurses, but doctors are also fleeing.

 

I’ve heard and know some have closed their practices due to insurance, NH regulations, and Dartmouth who runs them out of business (according to them) – practice w/us (DM) or don’t practice a all.

We have lost 3 dentists In 3 years, w/no replacement. We lost our Podiatrist who moved to FL for better business reasons. AND, we just lost our ONLY retina specialist and now have to drive to Concord. We lost our PCP and are now back w/our PCP in Derry which is over 90 miles from here because we cannot get one here!

 

I reached out to someone else with some expertise on the topic, and they added that “a lot of medical professionals have left for biotech and other industries. Plus, many medical professionals don’t want to live in rural areas.”

Other issues include the decade-long abrasion created by ObamaCare, and COVID vaccine mandates, though we have no reliable data on attrition related to that. Hospitals required this of healthcare workers. Get the Jab. A few said no thanks and left, some were escorted out, and some will never enter the workspace.

As for costs, that’s been a problem for decades. We can go back several decades to State Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who pushed legislation that drove insurance companies and providers out of New Hampshire. Driving out competition created the insurance and public health cartels that control access and cost in the Granite State. It set the foundation for the problem bemoaned by Dartmouth Hitchcock and their buddy Maggie Hassan.

 

U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, brought the issue to Capitol Hill during a hearing Thursday.

“While it’s essential that we train more registered nurses, we also need these nurses to practice in rural areas in states like New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont,” Hassan said.

 

Hassan is good buddies with the woman who wrecked health care in New Hampshire. She even did her part as a State Senator and a governor. They both back more federal intrusion and control over local access and care.

If you are unsure what that will look like, ask Dartmouth Hitchcock. It’s a problem they claim they want to fix, but whose fixes they generally oppose at the expense of not just rural care but cost and access everywhere.

If you are serious about people finding someone who can care for them, you’ll have to relinquish your monopoly. We need competition and medical practice free of your influence. Accept insurance from providers in other states (assuming you don’t do that now)—Incentivise rural private practice by offering hospital access without demanding the operation by your leave.

The cure is less of what’s been happening for decades to your benefit, so the odds of it changing or getting better are likely nil.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Coming For Your Guns…and Prayers

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 11:30 +0000

We heard from three of the Democrat’s finest voices this week. No, Joe Biden is not one of them because his comments on Thursday continued to show how flawed his thinking is. I shouldn’t say flawed because that work implies wrong.

Joe Biden’s thinking is defective. He cannot think clearly despite Karine Jean-Pierre saying Joe Biden is the best communicator in the Administration. What exactly say about the rest of the gang?

The three I am referring to are Alexandria Cortez (D-NY), Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), and the Democrat Golden-Boy, Gavin Newsom (D-CA). In three short statements, these three divulged the true intent of the Democrat Party and the extent of the fear generated by the Right.

Gavin Newsom is tearing into the GOP for not going along with his new gun-control laws. He mocked them by saying the current level of gun violence is a cost of freedom. He joked about thoughts and prayers at the expense of freedom. Far be it for him to think a person could have freedom and prayer. To a Democrat, both of those ideas are evil. What they want is a purely secular society where people worship the governing class, and the governing class will cripple you with restrictions on your life. No wonder people are leaving California by the thousands, which is okay with Newsom. We will replace them with illegal citizens, give them the right to vote, and ensure our dominance and control forever.

Gretchen Whitmer should not even have a job after nearly being recalled for the damage she did to Michigan during COVID. But the ignorant voters returned her to her throne, and from there, she continued to rule. She believes there is a widespread use of 3-D printing, turning most semi-automatic guns into fully-automatic. She cannot verify this but uses it as an excuse to confiscate weapons from the public. I agree that many people should not have guns, but using a concocted reason is not the way to seize them. She, too, went after thoughts and prayers. She must have gotten the same talking points memo as Gavin and said that the era of thoughts and prayers is over, and it is time to disarm the public. Do you see a pattern here? Tear down religion and prayer and disarm the masses. They will be easier to control if not packing.

And then there is Sandy Cortez. She cannot stand religion so much that she was triggered by two Super Bowl ads purchased by Right Wing Conservative groups. These ads have been running for months and are pro-Jesus in nature. “He Gets Us” is an American religious advertising campaign launched in 2022 by The Servant Christian Foundation, a non-profit primarily comprising anonymous donors. The campaign aims to “reintroduce” the “Jesus of the Bible” to younger demographics and religious skeptics.

Sandy is Hispanic, and we know these folks are usually some of the most religious people you will find. Maybe Sandy lost her way while at Boston University or while shaking drinks behind the bar. Whichever the case, she has no use for religion. She has a problem with TV ads promoting Jesus, but she has no problem with young children exposed to gender identity and sexuality options in grade schools. Her priorities are a mess, but should we be surprised by her track record?

The GOP may not have had the successful midterms they had hoped, but with Joe Biden’s poor performance, they will have another grab at the ring in 2024. If they can get their act together and focus on what America and being American should look like, they should be far more successful in 2024.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

We Are The Defenders of Life

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 02:30 +0000

I have to ask, where are the defenders of life? I mean of the unborn, whom they are killing via abortions in NH, to the tune of about 2,000 a year (a guestimate because NH does not track the number of abortions).

We want to thank John Sellers for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.

I and a few others were at the public hearings at the state house fighting against allowing abortions up to birth and trying to persuade legislators to ratchet back abortion to when a heartbeat has been detected.

What are a few?

Maybe 40 people over the course of two days testifying on seven bills (good and bad) that could become law. Where are our churches, Pro-Life, and Religious people that are against abortions? Do they see what is going on, or are they that blind/busy or just don’t care?

I personally invited about 150 people (plus published the invite on the Grok) to these two days of hearings, and only five showed up five. I must be a bad salesman… And we wonder why the other side keeps winning; well, there are the numbers for you. Maybe saving babies is just not worth it, and we should call it a day. What say you? Five people make for a tough, tough battle. We have the same lack of help when it comes to educational issues.

There were some great testimonies over the past two days, but there could have been many more if you were there. I even talked to my wife about this and found out she has a great testimony, and it would have been awesome for the legislators to hear it. You never know what someone says that may change their view on an issue.

We have so many problems and so few people to fight. Most of us hate exercise (I do), but we have to start pushing (exercising) yourself to get to the state house, town meeting, school board meetings and to the voting booth. This is hard work, but if we don’t work hard, we lose.

Maybe I’ll see you at the next battle. Stay tune, because there are plenty of them. God help us all…

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Wokesters Need to Relearn This: REAL Ethnic American Diversity Celebrates Cultures But Gives Everyone “Space”

Granite Grok - Sat, 2023-02-18 01:00 +0000

The two most hated words among the Left’s Wokesters and SJWs are assimilation and tolerance.  Come here and be Americans and not just your nationality in a different place.

Reformatted, emphasis mine:

“…Of course, he’s right. Upon hearing this, the dumbest, and most obnoxious, panelist then compares assimilation to ‘erasure.’

Someone might explain to her that having purple hair and blaming everything on “white supremacy” has about as much to do with her ancestral roots as McDonald’s or Marxism.

…Even within these subgroups there are often deep differences. It’s just another reminder of why the identitarianism of “white” and “black” is so incredibly stupid and destructive.

But American life offers space to honor all those ethnic and religious heritages, as anyone who lives here knows, while also demanding newcomers embrace ones that make a diverse culture work. Despite all our sloganeering about “diversity” making us stronger — and it certainly enhances our personal and cultural lives — what makes us “stronger” is the ability to convince disparate groups of people with disparate traditions to adopt a set of societal norms and ethos. This means sharing a broad, unifying philosophy and a common understanding about civic life: a respect for the law and order and the foundational liberal ideas of rights, governance, and liberty; a common language; a belief in a meritocratic society; and the ability to live and let live by minding your own business. The United States, notwithstanding all its obvious injustices and sins, does this better than any place in the world.

-David Harsarnyi (“Get Married. Have Kids. Stay Together. Mind Your Own Business.”)

 

Celebrate your past ethnicity but don’t demand that everyone put your lifestyle and outlook above their own. That’s the REAL “safe space” that the Left demands but does not practice itself.

Ditto their idea of “inclusive” – you MUST be and do what we tell you to be “included” and “tolerated.

1984 all the way down.  And they are dragging America down with their ideology.  THEY are the true Oppressors – of the traditional American definition of tolerance (“I don’t like what you are doing, but just stay out of my face, and I’ll do the same for you”) as they just are unable to stay in their own lane.  Instead, they want to take everyone else’s lane away from them.

Instead, they are hellbent on Balkanizing the US – and we’ve seen what happens when Societies fracture: a hot civil war.  They haven’t figured out that when you push patient people past their breaking points, they will explode with a fury that knows no bounds, no manners, and no tolerance for anyone, not them (yes, Wokesters, that’s a warning that many others are also saying out loud).

People, after a point, will refuse to have Cloward-Piven foisted upon them.

 

The post Wokesters Need to Relearn This: REAL Ethnic American Diversity Celebrates Cultures But Gives Everyone “Space” appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Your Conception Permit, Please

Granite Grok - Fri, 2023-02-17 23:30 +0000

It distresses me to hear conservative media figures like Tucker Carlson and Howie Carr jumping on the ‘we need to enforce the gun control laws we already have’ bandwagon.

We don’t need to enforce them.  We need to get rid of them.

Consider this headline from Fox News:

A felony charge against Anthony McRae that was dropped in 2019 would have prevented him from purchasing the two handguns, which police say were obtained legally.

What was that felony charge?  Carrying a concealed handgun without a license.

Should it be a felony to speak without a license?  To attend a worship service without a license?  To have a child without a license?

Note that while a tiny percentage of guns are ever used in a crime, and a tiny percentage of gun owners ever commit a crime, every  crime is committed by someone whose parents had a child.  Letting people have children is orders of magnitude more dangerous than letting people carry guns could ever be.

It’s tragic that McRae used his handguns in such an awful way.  And there are, perhaps, many things that we might do to reduce the number of similar incidents in the future.

But those things must not include requiring licenses to exercise fundamental rights — those rights that precede government, and that government is formed to protect.

As Clarence Thomas explained in NYSRPA v. Bruen:

The constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not “a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees.”  We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need. That is not how the First Amendment works when it comes to unpopular speech or the free exercise of religion. It is not how the Sixth Amendment works when it comes to a defendant’s right to confront the witnesses against him. And it is not how the Second Amendment works when it comes to public carry for self-defense.

The law that McRae wasn’t prosecuted for breaking shouldn’t have existed in the first place.

But every time someone calls for ‘enforcing the gun control laws we already have’, it legitimizes the idea that you should have to ask the government for permission to defend yourself — and by extension, to exercise any of your fundamental rights.

One of the first things we teach children is that the ends don’t justify the means.  Unfortunately, when tragedy strikes, it’s also one of the first things that is forgotten, even by people who should know better.

So please, please, please:  Stop saying that we should enforce laws that require you to beg for permission to exercise your fundamental rights, laws that shouldn’t even exist.  The felony charge you avoid may be your own.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

NH State Rep Dave Testerman: Why I Voted “Retain” on HB396 Concerning Biological Sex and Decisions

Granite Grok - Fri, 2023-02-17 22:00 +0000

I made it known to NH State Rep Dave Testerman that he could explain his vote on HB396 (relative to state recognition of biological sex), which caused a lot of angst on the Right.  Below is his response. We thank him for sending this in. – Skip.

 

I seemed to have raised an awful row in the legislature by simply saying a bill, HB396 was not ready for prime time. The supporters wanted to put that House Bill on the floor for a long and heated debate. The opponents were willing to give them that debate. I did not think this was worth our time.

And now we come to the real and avoided firestorm.

HB396 avoids the recognition of biological sex. While the intentions of the sponsors are admirable, this bill does nothing because biological sex is already listed as a choice. This bill will do nothing to prevent the crowning of a male in a beauty pageant for females. This was already done this year. This bill avoids the elephant in the room, that one can be defined as an “other”. The silence gives an acceptance to that practice. Our “new” books are filled with the recognition of “others”.

In my opinion, the sponsors of the bill would better serve their intentions by repealing the RSA’s that indicate that there are more than two biological sexes. In my opinion, the sponsors of the bill would better serve their intentions by repealing the RSA’s that indicate that there are more than two biological sexes.

The fact is the simple reason there aren’t. We just don’t want to admit it.

For these reasons I believe the bill needed more work and I voted to retain the bill in committee. With our very close margins that was possible.

If you want to have some coffee and a chat, you can reach me at (603) 320-9524 or at dave@sanbornhall.net. Enjoy this lovely Winter.

Cheers!

Dave Testerman
Representative
Merrimack District 3
Franklin

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

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