If Jay Newton is right, why are many workers poor after each minimum wage increase? Why, after about 24 minimum wage increases over 70 years, haven’t we achieved economic nirvana where everyone’s rich and no one’s poor? Minimum wage laws aren’t a panacea; they’re attractive-sounding political programs designed to get votes.

A higher minimum wage makes it harder to get people’s most important job, their first job; the job that starts people toward prosperity.

New Hampshire is creating jobs and increasing wages without a minimum wage increase (see page 4 of the Jan. 25 Laconia Daily Sun). Local starting wages are $14-$16 per hour.

The 2014 Seattle $15-per-hour minimum wage increase helped some, mostly experienced, workers minimally, about $5 a week (here and here). Other workers suffered reduced work hours, were laid off, and/or had their employer-paid benefits cut. Most businesses can’t just absorb increased costs.

Minimum wage increases, without productivity improvements, ripple through the economy, causing inflation that hurts poor people the most (higher skilled workers get increases, businesses raise prices, taxes increase, etc.).

When initially considering minimum wage laws, the Labor Department said that they were “likely to produce undesirable effects upon” the Puerto Rico and Virgin Island economies. If a minimum wage hurts their economies, why not others? Minimum wage laws are politically, not economically, motivated.

During the pandemic, billionaires became richer because government changed how people work and consume (rewarding investors) and shut down businesses providing millions of jobs, especially blue-collar ones.

To help poor Americans, remove the illegal aliens who depress wages, take jobs, and raise their living costs; encourage investment to provide more and better jobs; buy American-made goods; and improve education to improve American workers’ skills.

Don’t fall for the false promises of minimum wage increases.

The post When Faced with Higher Wages, Poor People Suffer the Most appeared first on Granite Grok.

Instapundit had these tweets from Michael Shellenberger (not in his Twitter feed anymore) on information from Pew Research on how US Journalists see their jobs vs. how the Public see how they SHOULD be doing it.

There’s a pattern there – and the younger “journalists” will soon find out that if you call yourself a news journalist that is indistinguishable from a political operative, you’ll soon be saying, “want fries with that?” or taunts of “learn to code.” WAIT!  Mcdonald’s is working to robotize ALL of its operations, and the rise of AI bots like ChatGPT is replacing low-level programmers)

 

 

They call themselves NEWS reporters – not opinion writers. And they wonder why the public no longer trusts them to report just News.  We KNOW they are Woke; we KNOW they slant Left, because COLLEGE!

Remember that TV ad for the room freshener that talked about being “Nose Blind”?  Yeah, that – journalists don’t understand they “stink” at their jobs, but they are so in the “room” they can no longer smell their biases.

This:

 

 

We have become segmented by age and smaller and smaller subsections of the population. Those people reading the Huffington Post and (formerly TreeHugger) are the kinds of folks reading the Washington Beacon or the Epoch Times (they may be reading the NY Times). This is similar to the geographical “Grand Sorting” that is happening as people migrate to Red or Blue States.

And it seems to not only be hammering in the biases of their readers and watchers but the Journalists themselves.  It’s the Lefty journalists that are responsible for “misinformation” because they no longer accept the idea of Free Speech and that everyone gets to have an opinion.

 

 

But if you disagree with their monoculture, you are to be persecuted.

 

The post And US Journalists Wonder Why the Public Is Ignoring Them? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) router machines can be used to produce a wide variety of projects. However, if you are looking for the perfect ministry addition to help grow your business, definitely look into a CNC router machine.

From sign timber, cabinet work timber, distance plastic fabrication, non-ferrous distance essence machining, press timber etc., CNC router machines can offer you a whole other position to grow your business. CNC router machines run on computer numerical control and robotic technology.

This means that upon downloading a software program to the machine that tells the machine exactly what to do and what to do, basically, all the driver has to do is press the launch button while the machine loads the content. . Yes, it fills and requires very little mortal intervention.

One hand can supervise the operation of several machines at a time. Once started, the machine will continue to operate until the program tells it to stop. CNC router machines come in different sizes giving you more design possibilities depending on the size of the material and what you can create. Of course, there will be very little waste because the machine will cut all the necessary corridors using one spacer (unless the design is very large and demands a lot of material).

For the machine to operate the various systems

Virmer is a program that would need to be written for each design. You can save the program that the programmer wrote and use it any time in the future when you may need to copy a project. However, the design will of course, not be exactly the same if it does. With computer numerical control technology, you can guarantee that every time the program is used; You will get exactly the same finished product. Copying is a simple process.

A router has motors that actually help the system to cut in all directions on its axis. The drive system is important to the machine because the better it is, the better the quality of your routine. CNC router bits are actually controlled by a spindle and come in many different shapes and sizes as you will know if you are using a power tool with drill bits. It is important to note that whenever you operate any machine you have to think about safety first and this is true when using a CNC router.

Although the machine comes with guards that can protect your hands from injury while feeding the material, you should also use common sense while operating the machine. There is also a stop button system on the color corridor of the machine. Still, you should wear gloves and sound-blocking equipment as backup protection to avoid accidents. A CNC router machine is also provident because once you program it, you don’t have to keep an eye on it. Rather, you can switch to another task or take a break when it suits you. It also opens up the opportunity to do systems that used to tolerate a platoon of people.

The post What is Computer Numerical Control (CNC)? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Vermont has a lot of things we don’t have here in New Hampshire. They’ve got a State income tax. They’ve also got a majority Democrat legislature, and yes, those two things are related.

They are a sanctuary state which explains the exponential increase in border crossings, and have advanced more gun restrictions as crime rates climb. So, when I saw this headline, I knew what it meant, but it also meant something else to me.

“Vermonters Encouraged to Support Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery with Nongame Tax Checkoff.”

Because you have to pay state income taxes in Vermont, they can also ask you for things like donations to the Nongame Wildlife Fund.

 

“Every dollar Vermonters donate to Nongame Wildlife Fund on their taxes is nearly tripled,” says Rosalind Renfrew, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s Wildlife Diversity Program Manager.  “Donations are leveraged by matching federal grants, meaning that every dollar donated secures another $2 in federal funds for Vermont’s wildlife.”

 

They mention a sturgeon and a bat, but if we’re being honest, the most endangered “species” in Vermont is principled Republicans. The National GOP ATMs – and I’m not implying any of them are principled Republicans – have more or less written the state off, expecting little or no return for their money. In other words, they can’t even get a RINO elected except Governor Phil Scott, who is a token now that the legislature has veto-proof majorities.

And he’s barely purple, leaning blue.

Things are bad. Massachusetts bad. It won’t be long before successive speakers of the Vermont House find themselves in jail for corruption or fraud or something. Even re-elected while in prison (we’ve had that happen on our side of the Connecticut river. It’s a Democrat thing). But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Instead of lining up to beg for alms from the state budget (or almost everything), you could elect candidates who would eventually create a state economy that allows you to succeed. Where keeping what you earn is a bigger priority than finding new ways to take it from you. A place where you don’t have to ask a bureaucrat about your carbon offset balance and do you have enough social credit points to cook some of those insect-based weiners they’ll make you eat.

Where identifying as an illegal “migrant” will get you more rights and benefits than if you were actually born there.

Democrats suck, by which I mean the lives and livelihoods of everyone in their ideological blast radius. Which is to say, what is endangered is Vermonters and Vermont.

I wonder what Ethan, Ira, and Ebeneezer Allen would think of that?

 

 

The post Vermonters Encouraged to Support Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery … You Mean Republicans, Right? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Again, from the same post from TH: Are British Conservatives Really Committed to Climate Action?  Note the nuance of the structure of the post title – can we TRUST Conservatives? Do they really accept Climate Change – and are willing to use Government (in this case, the new and then quickly former Prime Minister Liz Truss) to force the change WE want onto everyone else?

Not well stated but look at that title again and we see the difference between European  and American governance. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Europeans have been conditioned, over a few thousand years, to do what they’re told (with a few exceptions along the way). Americans still, however, retain a bit of that distrust of Government. Up until the Pandemic, that is, when many of our fellow Americans gave up their freedoms for security – with Government diktats being the Oppressors (I’m thinking of you, NH Gov. Chris Sununu!).

Anyways, the same commenter I talked about in my last post, gr8bkset decided to take ANOTHER crack against Conservatives:

The goals of conservatives is to save THEIR money from being spent on the masses. They believe they’re rich enough and old enough to outlive climate change. Dying with a bunch of $$ left does them and society no good.

Well, I as a Conservatarian take issue with that.  Painting us all as Scrooge McDucks seems to be the purview of all of the Greenies – that is, green with envy. If we won’t think like them, slander us.  It’s not a new thing but his statement is clear – the only good purpose is what benefits Society. And I’ll add, that rich person could have spent millions or more funding all kinds of philanthropic ventures. After all, just look back to the Gilded Age where the rich were called Robber Barons. But they also funded libraries, hospitals, and other works.

Another Socialist agree with him, Stephanie, with “Sadly True”. Then Vindaloo Bugaboo asked her a pointed question:

Whom do you consult with first when deciding what you want to do with your own money, Stephanie? Anyone?

Just asking for a friend.

OUCH! I then moved the conversation to where the Eco-Socialists have little expertise: Government and governance with THE question that generally goes unanswered (shades of Bruce Curry):

Answer this: whose money is it FIRST? Whose money is it really?

One of the Pillars of our Constitutional Republic is the Right to Private Property – and yes, wealth is part of Property. Where do *I* get off in demanding that your money be taken from you, forcibly, to spend it on my home? That’s what your words are agreeing to, that “it’s no longer yours when MY purpose needs it”.

So let me also ask this: Where in the US Constitution is the enumerated Power for the Federal Government to do such things? I don’t care if it is a good idea or not, but another Pillar is The Rule of Law. We keep ignoring that at our peril.

And let me ask you the same question that I ask others that “somebody has to DO something!”:

Then do something – stop being lazy, form a non-profit, get donors, and do it yourself.

American Society USED to be all about self-reliance and voluntary responsibility for others. When De Tocqueville toured the US in the mid-1800, he was agape at how little people bothered with Government (and the converse, how little Govt interfered with us). With the rise of Big Government starting with Wilson, shoved into higher gear with FDR, Nixon giving it a shove, and Obama going into overdrive, those two attributes have withered away.

As I said during my 10 years on my hamlet’s Budget Committee: “it’s not OUR money but we should spend that money like that taxpayer, from whom we have TAKEN the money from, would”.

And then a non-American, Annie Cass, decided continues the trope that Conservatives hoard their money. It’s the bolded part that shows what she believes to be THE Proper Role of Government:

Sidenote: as I’ve said before, studies have shown that the opposite is true in that Socialists tend to give less money and time than Conservatives. The former believes that Government should do such things. The latter believe we INDIVIDUALLY are mandated to do so for others.

Those of you advocating fracking need to revisit the reasons why those wells were capped – clean water is as pressing a need as energy, and if ONE source of energy messes up the ONLY source of non-bottled water you’ve got, other sources of energy start to look not only good, but absolutely necessary.

I really don’t know why they call them “conservatives” when the only thing they’re really interested in conserving is the size of their bank accounts. The lives of their constituents are of little apparent account to them. British people are going to die this winter because they can’t heat their houses. Most of these people will not be welfare recipients, but full time workers. Many of these full time workers are employed, directly or indirectly, by people who pay themselves many thousands a week for working no harder than the people who actually produce the goods or services they sell.

It is the duty of governments to tax those who are paid much more than the average person so that those whose entire income barely covers food and rent aren’t bled further. Conservatives have a track record of allowing the poor to literally starve and freeze so that their wealthy mates aren’t troubled by having their wealth diminished. They only do anything different if the results of business as usual are so outrageous that it just can’t be sold to the electorate. As a significant proportion of the British public won’t be able to find the extra money to cover multiplying energy costs this coming winter, Truss is forced to make noises about helping out. You can be certain that, if humanly possible, the cost of that bill won’t be coming out of her backers’ back pockets. So the rush for cheap-and-dirty fuel is on.

Russia can’t capitulate soon enough.

So if the other side is trying to convince me to join them, insulting me to my face (“Conservatives have a track record of allowing the poor to literally starve and freeze so that their wealthy mates aren’t troubled by having their wealth diminished”) isn’t going to work.  Mostly because it isn’t true. But she decided to go to that Governmental purpose:

It is the duty of governments to tax those who are paid much more than the average person so that those whose entire income barely covers food and rent aren’t bled further.

Not in the US it isn’t – our Declaration of Independence (the philosophical underpinning of our Constitution) clearly states what the Proper Role of Government is.

I’ll say again what I said earlier but a bit differently – show me where in the US Constitution, which Article and Clause gives the Federal Government the enumerated Power to do what you claim it should be doing?

Yes, I know, too many Americans are clueless about the “fence” in which the Constitution is/was supposed to keep us safe from Government in providing for that the Proper Role and that the Feds do so much more than it should (a bug, not a feature).

For that, I blame our poor education system that no longer teaches basic Civics such that voters would “kick the bums out” that stray beyond that fence.

And it’s, like many Americans unfortunately, she has no idea what a Constitution is for – really, a place where excuses are made?

Not being a US citizen I’m not sure quite what excuses your constitution gives for allowing your government to work for only a proportion of your citizenry, and not all of it. From the outside, the US looks like a slave state which never quite got over having to replace actual slaves with wage slaves. It only gets away with allowing the predators to rule because so many US citizens dream of being one of them. It’s your cultural DNA that gives you poor domestic infrastructure and literal beggars on the streets. But hey, if that’s what the people want . . .

Heh! My quick response:

Slave State

BINGO – I win! DRINK!

I’ll give her some excuse for not being an American citizen. However, it’s clear that many Americans now think the same thing. Really, “wage slave”?

Do I get the chance to say “Hey, Biden’s in charge and he PROMISED that other countries would look upon us better than that Mean Tweeter”.

So, is Biden succeeding?

The post Treehugger – After Being Insulted, I Ask THE Important Question! appeared first on Granite Grok.

Needless to say … but I will say it anyway … to anyone who says this is NOT a clip of Biden and Kamala learning about the Chinese spy balloon, but rather a clip from F-Troop … you are speaking the language of white supremacy.

And another thing, the reason the Biden-regime is watching helplessly … because BlackRock, Vanguard, etc. and Big-Tech have TRILLIONS invested in China and they absolutely will NOT tolerate that investment being placed at risk for something so quaint as the idea that America is a sovereign country, as opposed to another brick in the wall of the global economy.

The post BREAKING!!!! …. Exclusive Footage Of President Biden Learning About The Chinese Spy Balloon appeared first on Granite Grok.

While Treehugger is still alive, barely, it isn’t the harder hitting / deeper posts of the past. Thus, I’m spending far less time there and I’m just going to put up the last comment threads from some of the posts I thought were worth keeping.  This set is both timeless, in the past, and kinda short lived as it goes back to mid-September when Liz Truss supplanted Boris Johnson as Britain’s Prime Minister (for what, a couple of days?  Heh!). Headline: Are British Conservatives Really Committed to Climate Action?” because all of the Left hates the Conservatives and must throw shade. Being TH, it’s always from an Eco-Socialist standpoint – and in TH stances, pit in the sky absurd thoughts of how things should work. Like this:

…Yet in an era of accelerating climate consequences, we also need to beware of what futurist Alex Steffen has described as “predatory delay,” meaning the strategic positioning of fossil fuels as a necessary and supposedly temporary evil as we navigate our way toward a lower carbon future. Here, there were signs during the Tory leadership debates that both Truss and Rishi Sunak—the two finalists in the contest—were willing to toss red meat to their base by throwing renewables under the metaphorical, diesel-powered, and chronically underfunded bus.

And now that Truss has taken office, this hostility to onshore wind farms and solar panels has manifested itself in one of the most baffling policy reversals of recent memory: She has confirmed she will allow fracking to resume in England.

Oh, the horrors from Sami Grover – hydrocarbons being taken from the ground to allow the poor and middle classes some semblance of modernity and a better lifestyle. They want what they want and EVERYONE must go on a war footing to make it happen NOW – and time and money never seem to be mentioned or taken into account. Well, Truss lasted only a couple of weeks before blowing herself up so the post is moot but the comments live forever (until TH gets really scrapped).

So, in true form, a commenter “Gr8bkset” brought up the Green New Deal (by AOC and recently passed as Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act under a false flag) of re-weatherize EVERYTHING. Hey, it will be quick and no fracking need. You know “anti-energy” instead of mining oil for energy.

Yet in a world where project development will most likely take years and where household economies are hurting now, a far more “populist” approach would surely be to finally get serious about massive insulation, energy efficiency, and heat pump drive for households across the country.

NO clue as to how slowly Govt would work on this. The guy thinks he’s in a Harry Potter movie and he’s got a Mega-wand (similar to most Eco-Socialists – time and money is irrelevant – just the goal of achieving that “little nirvana” matters. My friend Vindaloo Bugaboo started the intellectual caning:

Serious question—who in the blue hell thinks that “massive” improvements in home insulation, upgraded energy efficiency, and heat pump installations will be more timely than restarting fracking? If you do, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

I piled on – no sense of reality:

Gr8bkset, are you REALLY thinking in real world terms? Or is your ideology blinkered you in this?

Even just take 1,000 buildings. Tell me, how LONG would it take the Federal Govt to write the legislation, get it passed, shovel it out to the multiple bureaucracies that will claim to have jurisdiction, set up their own series of “grants”, the time for State and Local politicians and THEIR bureaucracies to evaluate and write their grant-response-proposals, pass them up and down their chains, send them in, have the Feds evaluate them, dither for a while in picking winners and losers, and then announce the awards?

Just THAT process will take months – a lot of them. In comparison, fracked wells that have been capped can be put back into production in a matter of weeks. Go ahead, tell me where both VB and I are wrong?

And I haven’t even mentioned how long it would take a bunch of contracters, all of whom can’t even get the help they need now, to take care of even ONE home. Now take that process country wide – I await your “how long will it take to do all that” answer in response.

So Gr8bkset effectively said “yeah – but individuals can do it for just short money. It’s ALWAYS the response – the Socialists arguing how individuals, some who DON’T even have that short money in their pockets, should spend their money. VB spanks him again by, you know, bringing up REAL costs. This is the important bit – Socialists rarely have the courage to use actual numbers in their statements. And when someone does, there is angst and anger

If weatherization only cost the average UK household $2000 it’d be done a long time ago. A simple Google search shows that fully insulating a UK detached home will typically cost £15-20,000. Assuming an existing structure (not new build) that cost will depend on a “top up” of insulation or a complete revamping of the insulative capabilities costing £5000 – £7000 for internal jobs (that cause you to lose square footage) or £8500-£15000 for external insulation and render.
https://job-prices.co.uk/in...
When the median average salary for all employees in the UK is £38,131 that’s a huge bite to take on, especially given housing affordability.
https://www.gov.uk/governme…

Someone else added in backing the claim that it cannot be instantaneous:

I work for a federal weatherization program . . . we deal with grants all the time. Although it’s convoluted and loopy at times, they get administered, implemented and followed. But returning to the thing that’s causing the problem in the first place is feel-good post-rationalizing while doing the headless chicken dance.

And just so everyone’s aware; the two biggest components of weatherizing are insulation and air infiltration. They go hand in hand, and unfortunately energy reduction is sometimes exaggerated. But the savings are slow and steady, and eventually pay for the costs. In an age of everything now however, slow and steady is a hard sell.

I agreed:

But the savings are slow and steady

No argument there – mine is with gr8bkset is trying to palm off this as a minor project taking no time at all. And as VB points out, it will take a LOT of money, too.

For RIGHT NOW, increasing fossil fuels available and at a much lower marginal cost, is the way to keep folks from freezing to death and halting the global economy as if it had parachutes streaming from it. Look, you want REs and other non-fossils? Fine.

But at least be intellectually honest and showing some integrity that it can’t be done instantaneously, can’t be done in 5 years, and most likely won’t be done in even 30 years.

There’s not enough money and there aren’t enough workers to make it happen.

And where do families go when Govt takes over their home in their “we’re from the govt and we’re here to help you” schtick? And HOW will the govt manage the disruptions to all those lives during that process?

And one of the “Ideologically blinkered” ones proved my point about being radically clueless, Nio:

It could be done in 5 years if the effort was made and it became a national priority. What choice is there but to try to keep all dirty fossil fuels in the ground with climate change getting worse? Solar and wind are at record low prices and continue to plunge in price. Battery storage is also coming down in price. The only solution you have is to keep us addicted to using dirty fossil fuels which are polluting and destroying this planet.

Those prices MAY come down in the future but they ain’t there yet. However, this nitwit, like all Progressives, wants the entire nation to go on a war footing to get something done that CAN’T BE DONE. There is no realistic way to get what he wants.

Reopening closed fracked wells can take but a few weeks as opposed to what Nio wants. VB, again, responding to another of my comments:

In comparison, fracked wells that have been capped can be put back into production in a matter of weeks.

Bingo. Those wells are sitting there unused; it’s not like you have to drill hundreds of new ones before you can begin pumping nat gas but instead can begin almost immediately. And since Britain’s economy is staring into an abyss over energy costs this winter (thanks, Russia and EU elitism) every cu ft of NG will be much appreciated.

Heck, Nio can’t even persuade a couple of rational Conservative / Libertarians that he’s right. How’s he going to persuade an entire nation that is severely divided?

He can’t. And this “Inflation Reduction Act” is going to fail after spending trillions.

OK, speak up – who got their home “weatherized” under this Act?

The post Treehugger – What’s Faster? Fracking or Weatherizing Every Building in the Country? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Cryptocurrency has been in the news lately, but while most people have heard the term, only some people understand what cryptocurrency is. 

Cryptocurrency, or crypto for short, is a form of decentralized finance. Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a form of electronic currency in the form of coins or tokens. 

These coins and tokens are not physical items. Instead, they are code that is recorded on a publicly shared ledger. 

With traditional currency like the US Dollar, the currency gets its value based on the number of dollars in circulation at any given time and the value of the currency as it is traded against others. 

Since the US government and central bank support the dollar, its value is partly due to the number of dollars in circulation and the perception of the strength of the US economy when trading against other currencies like the Canadian dollar, Peso, or British Pounds. 

If you are reading this and wondering what is decentralized finance and cryptocurrency is, the two are interrelated but different. 

Decentralized finance is a broad definition of a platform for financial transactions. With decentralized finance, it is typically an electronic form of finance that includes cryptocurrencies and NFTs. 

Cryptocurrency is the electronic currency that DeFi operates and can take various forms, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others. 

With DeFi, no central authority regulates the amount of currency in circulation or provides a tangible item for determining value. 

With DeFi, the value of the currencies is based on the perceived and agreed value between peers agreeing to a transaction. 

Peer-to-peer value adds volatility as the currency’s value is based on the total amount of coins available and the demand that others have for the coins. For example, Bitcoin is a finite coin, and no more will be generated, which aids its value. At its peak, Bitcoin  traded for over $65,000, making it the most valuable cryptocurrency in the world. 

As people moved away from crypto, the value of Bitcoin took a beating, losing over 50% of its peak value in a short time. 

For investors, that could be a disaster for their portfolios. Imagine buying Bitcoin at $40,000, watching it surge by over ⅓ in value, and drop by more than 50% within days. 

That said, cryptocurrencies offer higher risk but much higher returns than traditional investments. 

There are three typical ways to invest in a cryptocurrency that mirror similar investment strategies but have much more volatility associated with them than traditional investments. 

To start investing in cryptocurrency, an investor would need to find an online trading platform or exchange and deposit fiat currency like dollars into an account before selecting a currency to invest in. 

Buy-and-Hold

Much like traditional investing, where an individual buys a stock and holds it for years to gain value as it appreciates, crypto investors can buy-and-hold a coin as a strategy to sell once it gains much more value. 

The strategy in DeFi is known as HODL, a long-standing joke originating from a typo. 

With a HODL strategy, an individual is holding onto a currency regardless of the dips and peaks that occur during ownership. 

It may take a person with either a disciplined strategy or a diversified portfolio to ignore the volatility and hold the coin for any duration. 

NFTs

NFTs are short-hand for non-fungible tokens and are a form of digital currency that is part of the DeFi economy. An NFT can be anything that is unique and non-replicable, like individual works of art, songs, or any item that can be designed but not replicated.

The code that makes up the coin with cryptocurrency is limited to a certain amount. NFTs are unique lines of code that cannot be duplicated, making them more scarce than other coins and tokens. 

The exclusivity of NFTs makes them more valuable than other forms of digital currency, making them more difficult to trade with others. 

Since NFTs can’t be duplicated, the two parties need a smart contract that passes ownership from one party to the other to use them for a transaction. 

Yield Farming

Similar to CDs and savings, yield farming is a form of passive investing. An investor would lock an idle token, perhaps loaning its value out to another party in return for an agreed rate of return. 

Opposed to CDs, there are two significant differences. The first is that these investments are not insured, and two, the returns are not set by a central authority but rather by the market value at the time of agreement. 

Investing in cryptocurrency is risky but also provides much higher returns. Understanding the basics and balancing out cryptocurrency as part of a diversified portfolio can lead to some incredible gains. 

The post Understanding Cryptocurrency As An Investment Opportunity appeared first on Granite Grok.

The Complaint filed against Judge John Curren with the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) has now been expanded to include the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) which provides management oversight of the Court Clerks.

Having engaged in numerous conversations with the Clerks in the 9th Circuit Division of District Court, and having received conflicting information, on January 31, 2023 I decided to speak with a Supervisor at the Courthouse. Is the Judge telling the Clerks to hold off in issuing the orders or are the clerks losing paperwork and just sitting on orders?

I walked away with few answers, more confusion and the distinct feeling that I had been lied to. My hope was to understand the process on how paperwork is handled and how Orders and Notices of Decision are issued and mailed.

The Judge denied the City of Nashua’s Motion to Intervene on an Annulment on November 23, 2022. The Court maintains a Case Summary computerized sheet that creates an index of all filings on the case. The Case Summary recorded a “Notice of Decision” was issued on January 4, 2023 for the November 23, 2023 order. Why did it take 5 weeks to attach the Notice to the Order? The Supervisors response was – because that is what it takes.

I asked the Clerk why the Notice was never mailed. She insisted it was mailed, but I explained that no copy of the order or decision was received. When I asked her to provide me with a copy of the Notice from the file, she stated that she could not locate it. When I stated that this is a computer generated form and can’t the clerk just pull a copy off the computer, the Supervisor explained that the form is deleted from the Computer so no record exists. Does this sound reasonable? The Supervisor insisted that the information was lost by the parties and not the Court. (the other party in the case did not receive the order or Notice either)

What was more disturbing was that my Attorney and I had been following up on the case since the end of November. The Clerks consistently and repeatedly stated that the orders and notices were coming any day, – mailed tomorrow, – to be completed soon. None of this was true. It took 70 days to get the Order and Notice mailed.

The Supervisor explained that they work by date from a pile and incoming mail goes at the bottom of the pile. When I asked the Supervisor what day they were working on now, she responded that she did not know.

The Supervisor explained that the District Court, unlike the Civil Court, has no deadlines and guidelines established on when work is to be completed.

So, at least I now know that the date for completing the annulment is anyone’s guess. But when this all started in July 2022, I was told I should have this wrapped up in 30 days. I lost my patience at 7 months.

Attorney Mittleholzer of the JCC has responded and accepted the Complaint stating they required 90 days to conduct a review; Attorney Dianne Martin has not yet responded. I have written to the Executive Councilors as well. I am looking for answers. And so it begins…

 

The post Judicial Misconduct Complaint Expanded – Part III appeared first on Granite Grok.

For the past two decades, the progressive left-wing of the united states and the world has been insisting that the globe is warming catastrophically quickly due to human behavior. There is a myriad of hard sources, facts, and figures that disprove this ridiculous claim. Additionally, The Liberty Block published an article in 2021 proving that even the most hardcore progressive elites do not believe the Earth is warming. 

The post It is Cold – And Getting Colder appeared first on The Liberty Block.

Passing this legislation in Florida would mean that over half the US states hew to the second amendment’s restriction on government. As in, “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Reformatted and emphasis mine:

Florida taking the first steps to become 26th constitutional carry State

The speaker of the Florida House announced lawmakers had filed the bill this morning.

Florida lawmakers’ promise to introduce legislation allowing permitless concealed carry of firearms, called “Constitutional Carry” by proponents, has been met. At a Monday morning press briefing, House Speaker Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) and other gathered lawmakers announced House Bill 543, which would allow weapons and firearms without a license for concealment.

The proposed bill was written by Rep. Chuck Brannan (R-Lake City), with state Sen. Jay Collins (R-Tampa) writing the companion legislation for the Florida Senate. Gov. Ron DeSantis said in December that he was committed to the legislation passing and urged state lawmakers to propose it.

Under the proposed bill, Floridians would no longer need to apply for a license for concealed carry. The state of Florida already allows firearm purchases for those 21 and older without need of state application, aside from federal requirements for background checks. Should the bill pass, the regulation of concealed carry permits, handled by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, would end.

As it should be.  And then Second Amendment Rights activists and participants can rightly say that the majority of the country can say that the Second Amendment is no longer a second-class Right.  The Left always proclaims that “the streets will run red with blood” if it passes. Balderdash – no such thing ever happens (just like “gun control” can control gun crime.  Doubt me? Abstracted, reformatted, emphasis mine:

Bad neighborhoods: 1% of counties responsible for 42% of America’s murders

Only a tiny fraction of U.S. counties account for nearly all of the country’s homicides, according to research released Tuesday that showed a striking concentration where killings take place.

•  The worst 31 counties — generally urban jurisdictions — have about a fifth of the country’s population but accounted for 42% of the country’s homicides in 2020
• The worst 5% of counties accounted for 73% of homicides. That ticked up slightly from 69% in 2014 and 70% in 2016.
• Meanwhile, 52% of counties recorded no homicides in 2020, and another 16% recorded only a single killing.

So if you didn’t pass elementary school, especially in these Democrat-controlled cities, in 68% of US counties, we are pretty much having “streets running red with blood” and are not killing each other with guns with any frequency.

Second translation:  It’s a CULTURE War that is happening – people in cities, especially in gang areas, are committing these crimes.  In rural areas, not so much. For every school shooting we hear about, even most of the “mass shootings” (depending on whose definition you are abusing) pales in comparison to Chicago every weekend on people who got shot. Yet, I don’t hear anything from the Democrats except for empty words but want to take OUR guns away (those of us that have never fired a shot in anger or outside of a gun range (inside, outside, ad hoc).

And even within those counties, it points to gang warfare over turf (either geophysical or crime type (drugs, prostitution, gambling, et al)):

Mr. Lott crunched the data for Los Angeles County and found that 10% of the county’s ZIP codes accounted for 41% of the homicides. Another 10% accounted for 26% more.

“Murder isn’t a nationwide problem. It’s a problem in a small set of urban areas, and even in those counties murders are concentrated in small areas inside them, and any solution must reduce those murders,” he wrote in his report.

Hey, “Urban Areas”?  Instead of trying to scapegoat the rest of us, how about locking up those committing the actual CRIMES?

(H/T: Hot Air)

 

The post Adding Florida Would Mean More Than Half of US States Hew to This Restriction on Government appeared first on Granite Grok.

Yes, they are. Nadler, Schiff, Johnson, and Cicilline all sit on the House Judiciary Committee, and after their comments yesterday, they may also be sitting on their cerebellum. There is no way these bloviators can review their comments and think they are seriously thinking individuals, let alone members of the House of Representatives. This exchange of statements by the Democrat members is a national embarrassment. Each member did their best to raise the bar on ludicrous jabs at the Republicans who are now in control of the House and all committees.

Nadler called the hearings an attempt at “showboating” and said there is no serious issue at the Southern Border. This is the same little man, physically and in stature, who spent four years pushing a Russian conspiracy and supporting any reason to impeach President Donald Trump.

Johnson from Georgia, who two weeks ago suggested that Classified documents may have been planted in Joe Biden’s office and home by Republican operatives, said the committee hearings were nothing but a distraction.

Adam Schiff took the humanitarian route and declared that Republicans are demonizing migrant families. No, Adam, these are not migrants. They are lawbreakers as soon as they illegally enter our country. Millions are doing just that because you, your President, and the rest of the Democrats have destroyed our Border and sovereignty. These words are from a man who lied and deceived the country into believing he had proof of Trump’s collusion with the Russians. He never produced those facts.

And Cicilline, from the corrupt state of Rhode Island, claims that the Republicans are using scare tactics to turn the American people against the immigrants flooding into America. These are not immigrants but illegal aliens emanating from over 170 countries.

These people are in complete denial about the crisis at our Southern Border, and this is the thinking they relay to their supporters. You just have to watch the videos, listen to officials from the Border states, or talk to anyone from Border Patrol to know that our Border is broken and out of control. And if not enough to have our Southern Border dissolved, we learned this week that our Northern Border with Canada is now hemorrhaging. We have been borrowing staff from the Border with Canada to bolster our presence on the Southern Front because we felt comfortable that the Northern Border was secure. It is not.

This dichotomy between the Left and Right is adding momentum to the Republican action to impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. Two Republicans have already submitted separate Articles of Impeachment on Mayorkas. The Republicans also made good on their promise to remove Ilhan Omar from the prominent Foreign Affairs Committee. On a vote along Party lines, Omar was officially removed today. This action against Omar was warranted based on her documented views showing disdain for America and her antisemitic beliefs against Israel. She has expressed her support for Palestine and said that Israel does not deserve to exist as an independent country.

We see a stark difference between the Republicans of this new Congress and their Democrat colleagues. We see execution from the Right and emotional outbursts from the Left. Representative Cortez went to the well of the House today to give a demonstrative rant calling the action against Omar racially motivated. With arms flailing and bouncing up and down, she thought these antics were making an impression. They did with the head nodding Dems sitting behind her. The real problem here is that we cannot expect a different outcome if the ignorant electorate continues to send these people back to Washington. Maybe this is why the Left wants to lower the voting age and allow non-citizens the right to vote. That will help keep this vicious, destructive cycle going strong.

The post The Congressmen Cannot be Serious appeared first on Granite Grok.

This week, the New Hampshire legislature debated a bill that would give local towns and cities the power of rent control. In its defense, one New Hampshire Democrat argued that the landlords were not housing providers.

 

This bill enables municipalities to adopt bylaws to regulate the period of notice required prior to a rent increase on residential property and the permissible amount of such rent increases.

 

HB95 died a well-deserved death by a large margin in a chamber with a very slim Republican majority. It came out of committee with a 16-3 recommendation to kill it and lost on the floor of the House 301 to 63. 117 Democrats opposed it, which makes this all the more amusing.

One of the bill’s sponsors, Democrat Rep. Eric Gallager, from Concord, looking the part of the scruffy Marxist with his suitably useless cloth bandana face mask (to protect him from COVID, I can only assume), delivered what one Rep reported to me to be the worst floor speech he’s ever seen.

You can watch all six incredibly painful (but amusing) minutes here, but NH House Republicans took the money shot and set it to some… appropriate music.

 

 

 

Gallager is not new to controversy though many of the tweets we’ve shared in the past have since been deleted. He appears to have left Twitter, probably at the request of the State Democrat Party. (If I missed him, please share the link to his feed in the comments.)

They may want to ask him to refrain from speaking on the floor of the House.

It’s not good for the business, which, as we all know, is ‘you didn’t build that,’ but as soon as they have the votes, they’ll whittle away and try to take it from you and give it to the workers government.

 

 

*NH is a Dillons Rule State. Local government entities, from counties to cities to towns to school boards, cannot do anything without the legislature having passed authorizing legislation. And yes, they still try to do things without authorizing legislation. 

The post Democrat: “Landlords Are Not Housing Providers. The Workers Who Built the Housing Are…” appeared first on Granite Grok.

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

Speaking of, from this week, Monday Memes and Meme Overflow.  Also don’t forget both complementary parts of my Survival Sunday feature: PREP edition and SITREP edition.

 

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

 

 

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

 

Please do help me out… buy a bumper sticker or three, and spread the word about them.

 

On trusting Democrats.  Not.

 

Here.  Also in a .223 version.

 

What’s “Build Back Better” really mean?

 

Lastly, inoculate yourself.  And another version.

So far I’ve earned a whopping $10-odd.  Woo hoo.  Not enough for my 20-acre compound, alas.  Get busy clicking BUY, people!!!

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

The unfortunate passing of Joan Rivers was certainly… coincidentally timed.  And…

 

 

Like James O’Keefe above… for the record, I’m not suicidal or depressed.  And overall in reasonably good health.

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

Yeah.  I want it back too.  With interest.

 

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

 

  

 

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

 

 

A few simple rules is all it takes to create a great organization.

 

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

 

 

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

 

A HUGE cyber attack may be coming. Here’s how to PREPARE.

 

 

Don’t forget… the “inevitable” cyber attack.  As rehearsed for frick’s sake!

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/candace-owens-on-inevitable-cyberattack.mp4

 

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

 

 

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

 

FAKE NEWS

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as “bad luck.”

— Robert Heinlein

 

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

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

Hands down!

 

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

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Instead of themselves. We’ve written in the past that Paypal, because of our writing, restricted the use of our own money for six months. We could look at it, and run reports against account activity, but no money could be added in at all (either by you folks, our sponsors, or even ourselves) or expended. Once that time in Paypal Purgatory was over, I quickly moved it out.  While we still have a Paypal account, I sweep it regularly to keep the balance low.

Yes, we have been evaluating other payment processors to either add to Paypal or replace it entirely; we have not yet pulled the trigger on that. A wrench has been thrown into that process, however, as Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, is making noises that Twitter is going to go into that business. Given that many Conservatives are returning to Twitter (including us: @GraniteGrok), I’m betting he’ll have a pent-up demand for those services.

He’d be returning to his roots. Remember, Musk was one of the original founders of Paypal and the buyout from eBay gave him the funds to start his meteoric rise as one of the greatest entrepreneurs in history.  So I’m going to sit back for a bit and watch. Meanwhile, here is Twitter’s press release:

The following message was shared with PayPal employees today by President and CEO Dan Schulman.

Over the past year, we made significant progress in strengthening and reshaping our company to address the challenging macro-economic environment while continuing to invest to meet our customers’ needs. While we have made substantial progress in right-sizing our cost structure, and focused our resources on our core strategic priorities, we have more work to do. We must continue to change as our world, our customers, and our competitive landscape evolve.

This is called “partial denial” as well as “our own created crisis”. Review the opening of this post and know that Paypal created part of that evolving “competitive landscape”. When you tell a large number of your customers, simply because of their Woke Ideology making their britches too big and believing they could use their size to bully those that don’t agree with them.  Like us.

Addressing these changes requires us to make hard decisions that will impact some of our colleagues. Today, I’m writing to share the difficult news that we will be reducing our global workforce by approximately 2,000 full time employees, which is about 7% of our total workforce. These reductions will occur over the coming weeks, with some organizations impacted more than others. We will treat our departing colleagues with the utmost respect and empathy, provide them with generous packages, engage in consultation where required, and support them with their transitions. I want to express my personal appreciation for the meaningful contributions they have made to PayPal.

While it seems that the economy has (finally) hit Big Tech, when you tell customers that they must walk on eggshells and only use speech that Paypal agrees with, that’s no small reason for, in part, that must be playing a role this RIF (Reduction In Force).  If a customer figures out that his vendor doesn’t like him, why stay?

…but I am confident we will come through it together with compassion for each other, our values at the fore, and a shared commitment to the future of PayPal

My only “shared commitment ” is to get out of Dodge completely as soon as we can.

Liberal journalists, pundits, and others used to taunt Conservatives with “If you don’t like it, start your own company!” – and then got upset when Conservatives took the hint and did and consumers switched to them. We’ve looked at a number of them already. In the aggregate, they could replace what Paypal does. Reviewing what individual companies offer RIGHT NOW is the problem. Not one of them has all the pieces in place yet (Soon!, they say) for us to move.

To be honest, given what Paypal did to us and NEVER told us why, I have no tears for those that were laid off. I don’t wish them ill; I just don’t care.

Too bad, Paypal, you brought some of this onto yourselves.

Sidenote: in pulling up the Paypal logo, this popped up. Given that the Fed and other large banks are doing “pilot projects” to digitize our dollars (allowing them to do their version of the Chinese Social Credit system as in “eating out too often? Donating to a conservative candidate or group?).Yeah, we’re giving you a time-out from your money:

I already don’t trust my Government and I’m not liking Big Banks either…

The post Hahahahahaha – Paypal Lays Off 2,000 workers (7% of their workforce) – Blames Economy. appeared first on Granite Grok.

Reminder: The Weather Was Worse When We Had Less Atmospheric CO2 …

There are a lot of lies when it comes to the Climat Cult. That there’s a crisis, that they can fix it, and that CO2 is the driver. Not only is CO2, not the driver the greenhouse effect does not drive the earth’s climate.

Our atmosphere is not like Venus, nor is its anything like ours, but the experts want you to hold that image in your mind. Venus is so hot – because of the greenhouse effect. So it’s not insanely hot because the sun is beating down on the surface for 2,916 consecutive hours of any given 5,832-hour day?

Not comparable. But the idea feeds their CO2 mythology, which has no connection to observable weather. So much so that NASA has continued to massage the temperature record to make it match.

Adjustments are required to records that did not consider the advancement of funding or a partisan agenda. It’s such a joke. One that is so easily exposed; we do it here all the time. And sometimes, we find people who have done a better job – at least in presentation – and share their reporting. Today’s lesson comes as they often do from Tony Heller, who reminds us that the weather used to be worse, more extreme, and more deadly, without regard to the CO2 myth currently being peddled.

!function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u4"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");

Rumble("play", {"video":"v256xd3","div":"rumble_v256xd3"});

The post Reminder: The Weather Was Worse When We Had Less Atmospheric CO2 … appeared first on Granite Grok.

You can call it “The hubris of high office”, the “Insolence of a long-term office holder”, or “Progressives on Parade”. Or all three at once but these two short paragraphs show that these folks have no interest in governing, they believe that you are ruled by them.  And they have no problem in letting you know that, one way or another.

So Elon Musk, who makes Progressives’ heads explode simply by breathing, went to DC and met with a number of Republicans but happened to run into House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y). And that was the only Democrat he talked with while he was there.

Snubbed, SNUBBED, I say!  How DARE he not talk to me and me!  After all, doesn’t he report to ME?

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., told the news outlet that Musk’s failure to meet with congressional Democrats is “seriously a mistake and I think it would be a good thing to have him come in and explain himself.”

When asked about Musk, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said: “I am deeply concerned with how he’s running that company into the ground. It seems like a vanity project that is going wrong with an explosion of hate speech on that platform.”

Well, maybe not but it’s clear that they have it in their minds, hearts, and souls that he should if he doesn’t.

I’m sorry, but the last time I remembered what I learned in elementary school, we elect people and they work for us. Here, we see Schakowsky and Schiff both with the ‘tude that’s something they never learned (or if they did, have tossed that onto the same pile as “limited government”, Federalism”, the US Constitution, and Liberty.

WHY, Jan, does Musk have to explain ANYTHING to you? He doesn’t live in Illinois, didn’t vote for you, has probably never even met you. So WHY is it, with respect to the First Amendment’s Freedom of Assembly (and conversely, not having to “assemble” with anyone you don’t want to) is it a mistake?  Is she thinking she’s the female version of Don Corleone and Musk has to kiss your ring?

Hey, Adam, so WHAT if he actually runs Twitter into the ground?  YOU don’t own it, the Government doesn’t own it, and it IS (along with investers) his to do with as he pleases. So if he tanks it, all that happens is that no more taxes are taken by the Fed Govt. And, like all control freaks, while he complains about “hate speech”, Musk has already rolled out stats that speech that Schiff doesn’t like (hate speech which is merely “speech Progressives don’t like, mostly from Conservatives lips).

And again, Twitter is Musk’s business. He owns it and if it IS a “vanity project”, who cares?  Certainly Schiff is sticking his government nose shouldn’t belong – in a private person’s life and business.

But this is how Progressives roll – EVERYTHING should be Government’s business.  And they certainly live and act as that’s true.

Up Yours!  Both of you!

Oh, do you think that “totalitarian” is a word that fits their outlook?

(H/T: Hot Air, Newsmax)

The post Once Again, Congressional Progressives Show THEY Believe Govt Owns You AND Your Company appeared first on Granite Grok.

If you surf (or troll) meme sights, you’re likely to observe a rise in sh!t posting about the prices of eggs. It was getting out of hand before the Connecticut egg farm burned down and took 100,000 chickens with it.

Eggs are about to get more expensive.

 

 

 

More from iFunny in a minute because the latest egg news circling the internet is that their power to fight SARS, especially COVID, is a known scientific quantity.

 

The National Institute of Health’s own studies shows that Chicken Egg Yolk antibodies actually block the binding of multiple SARS-COV-2 Spike protein variants to human ACE2.

 

PubMed Jan 2021

 

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is still spreading worldwide, and there is an urgent need to effectively prevent and control this pandemic. This study evaluated the potential efficacy of Egg Yolk Antibodies (IgY) as a neutralizing agent against the SARS-CoV-2. We investigated the neutralizing effect of anti-spike-S1 IgYs on the SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, as well as its inhibitory effect on the binding of the coronavirus spike protein mutants to human ACE2. Our results show that the anti-Spike-S1 IgYs showed significant neutralizing potency against SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, various spike protein mutants, and even SARS-CoV in vitro. It might be a feasible tool for the prevention and control of ongoing COVID-19.

 

 

PubMed Nov 2022

 

Coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection has become a global pandemic disease that has social and economic chaos. An alternative mitigation strategy may involve the use of specific immunoglobulin (Ig)-Y derived from chicken eggs.

 

There are more like this. It is not fringe science or conspiracy theory, but if you’re looking for a conspiracy theory, acts of domestic terrorism against the food supply are on the radar. We can add egg farms because, hey – egg yokes might be an accessible prophylactic to COVID, so let’s make them more expensive or just inaccessible to anyone but the jet-setting climate conference-crashing global elite.

Or something like that.

Here are a few more memes.

 

 

 

 

The post Does It Make Sense Now? Egg Yokes May Protect You from SARS CoV2 … appeared first on Granite Grok.

Again, if you believe that our Constitution is our most foundational Law (and our Social Contract – see what I did there SJWs?), this is actually needed. Landrigan has the story.

Reformatted, emphasis mine.

New Hampshire mothers of newborns face criminal penalties if they don’t truthfully answer questions about personal habits ranging from their weight during pregnancy to their use of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs and any history of sexually transmitted diseases.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to remove those penalties and permit mothers to opt out of having to provide personally identified information. Current law allows state government to keep these paper records indefinitely. This bill would also repeal that provision.

After all:

[Art.] 2-b. [Right of Privacy.] An individual’s right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent.
December 5, 2018.

Right now, there is information that is gathered not for medical records but for the NH Division of Vital Records Administration (which isn’t covered by HPPA restrictions). So I DO agree with NH Sen. Rosenwald (emphasis mine) that,

“These questions are none of state government’s business if she doesn’t want to share,” said Sen. Cindy Rosenwald, D-Nashua. Her bill (SB 105) is the product of a study committee that worked on the issue last year.

If it is only going to a state bureaucracy that keeps records, it IS the correct question to ask if whether or not that information is wanted or needed.  Especially if there are no special protections to keep that individual info safe. It also gets hoovered up by that stellar Fed agency known by three letters: CDC.

And I then I had to smile – bureaucrats are complaining their “THEIR” data is being taken away from them:

State health officials and a representative of the New Hampshire Hospital Association raised concerns over permitting mothers to opt out of providing the information.

“It is one of the busiest and challenging times for a woman’s life, but our members have said this (opt-out) is going to be a challenge,” said Paula Minnehan, senior vice president of government relations for the hospital group. HHS officials said public agencies and research groups rely on this information to produce reports and form strategies, such as how to reduce high rates of illegal substance abuse or STDs.

Obviously, none of the above have read Article 2-b (er, EVER read the NH Constitution, period?).  No, it should NOT be a challenge at all – you just can’t ask. Any work you do either has to be done by getting the data by other means. How about offering MONEY to the Mom to buy that personal data?  Instead of assuming it should be free to you? After all, if you are making the signals that such data has value, why won’t you pay for it?

Again, I have to agree with Rosenwald:

“It’s the job of hospitals to convince the mother the public good gained by analysis of this information in de-identified form is a good reason to agree to the release of this data,” Rosenwald said. She predicted the rate of mothers opting out would be low, but they should have the option.

Exactly right – if the Mom wants to share, great. If not, no go. Oh, and there’s the money – and the State wants its self-interest to have priority over these mother’s data:

Deputy Secretary of State Erin Hennessey said it was unclear whether permitting the opt-out would jeopardize an annual $169,000 grant the Centers for Disease Control gives New Hampshire to gather the information.

Sorry, justifying obviating the Constitution with a mere $170K is a bad argument.  Are you that entitled, ma’am?

 

The post I’m Agreeing With NH Senator Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua)?? Why, Yes I Am appeared first on Granite Grok.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be the name of a chain of convenience stores in Florida, not a federal agency.

The post Quote of the Day: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) appeared first on Granite Grok.