We just celebrated the 248th celebration of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence! Happy Birthday, America! I am sure you know that the Declaration of Independence was meant to be a list of grievances leveled against Great Britain for her being “deaf to the Voice of Justice.

Although the list of grievances comprised the bulk of the Declaration, the Founding Fathers made it clear that they respected and honored Great Britain but that it was now time for them to become an independent entity of 13 colonies. This was the foundation for the Constitution. They saw the need to make men aware that their personal rights and powers are first and foremost from God and not derived from their fellow men.

Over eleven years later, the founders met to discuss a form of cohesive government that would unite the colonies into one nation. Thus, they delivered to the world the first civilization in which the people determined how they would be governed by choosing among themselves men (today women) who could convert the necessities of civility to laws of regulation that would not usurp the peaceable lives of its citizenry.

There is much talk today of preserving our democracy. Our Founding Fathers did not view America as a democracy, having studied pretty much every form of recorded government known to mankind. They created a Constitutional Republic. This allowed the people to have power but not unlimited power so that a majority could not rule over the minority = (democracy). It allowed the government to guide through debate and balanced representation the need for civil order, thus greatly diminishing its power to rule over others in a Monarchy or Dictatorship.

We want to thank Pastor Allen Cook for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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This is the most marvelous form of government that been created so far since mankind has begun. Its proof is in its sure standing for these many years, and instead of being diminished or demised, it has flourished. We often say there is a reason for everything. Well, I believe the reason we have stood as a nation that is a beacon of hope for the world is because in the foundation, we sought the care and protection of Almighty God from whom our freedoms and rights are given. Note the speech Ben Franklin gave when the gathering for the Constitutional Convention hit a real snag in the process:

“In this situation of this assembly, groping as it were, in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate our understandings? At the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine Protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending Providence in our favor….And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that GOD GOVERNS IN THE AFFAIRS OF MEN. (emphasis, mine). And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the sacred writings that except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel…and we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages. I therefore beg leave to move, that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the clergy of the city be requested to officiate in that service.”

Franklin’s motion was not addressed or voted on but the Convention did recess for three days to attend church and listen to leaders of the day. They gathered at the Calvinist Reformed Church in Philadelphia and were prayed over by Rev. Willam Rogers. Needless to say, after this brief hiatus, they began to make progress.

So many historical records and documents emphasize that the Founders (whether practicing Christians or not) invoked God’s wisdom and blessings upon the new Nation. Perhaps we should consider Franklin’s word as most appropriate for us in this dark hour.

Until Next Time…

The post Without His Concurring Aid, We Shall Succeed in This Political Building No Better Than the Builders of Babel appeared first on Granite Grok.

The machine media has been quick to suggest that this week’s massive Labour victory in the UK Elections is the emissions reduction we were looking for to cool Europe’s heated-up right-wing uprising. It looks like that, and they’ll keep trying to sell it; just don’t read the not-so-fine print.

Here’s the machine media response you’ll find up and down the fake fourth-column food chain.

A triumphant U.K. Labour Party is back in power in Britain after winning a historic landslide election victory over the ruling Conservatives.

Defeated Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak resigned on Friday morning after losing the snap election he called six weeks ago, having led his party to the worst-ever defeat in its 190-year history.

As in other recent elections around the world, the result marks a complete repudiation of the ruling class. A Conservative Party which had run the U.K. for the past 14 years was simply swept away in a wave of public anger at Britain’s stuttering economy, failing public services and a succession of political scandals.

The sheer scale of the result was extraordinary, with Labour on course for a 170-seat majority in the House of Commons — the biggest since Tony Blair’s famous win in 1997.

It was a massive, historic left-wing party win. Left wing? Not so fast. How did Labour earn this historic win? What did they tell the people of England they would focus on if elected?

Britain’s snap elections, called in May by now former conservative-party Prime Minister Rishi Sunak,* wreaked havoc on the historic party of Margaret Thatcher and rocketed the liberal socialist labour party into equally historic control of the entire British Government by a massive margin. Corporate media is trumpeting the result as a failure of conservatism in England, and a narrative opposing the recent ascendency of the ‘far right’  in the rest of Europe. But contrary to that narrative, Labour’s winning campaign slogan was “Make Brexit Work.”

Perhaps even more tellingly, now-dominant Labour was the only major British party to oppose vaccine mandates and most of the vaccine passport rules during the pandemic.

So, New Labour is a bunch of anti-vaxxers interested in England’s national and economic identity?

While corporate media myopically pretends to celebrate the election of a left-wing government in Britain, they have (probably intentionally) missed the gist. In yesterday’s election, voters overwhelmingly rewarded parties that had opposed jab mandates. Britain’s RINO conservative party undermined Brexit, which was bad enough, but even worse it deployed severe jab mandates and passport rules. And Boris Johnson, the pandemic Prime Minister and conservative leader, infamously partied while locking down the rest of Great Britain.

Mostly, sort of. “ It might be more accurate to say the election was less about rewarding Labour than punishing the Conservatives, who were indisputably responsible for Britain’s over-reaction. In fact, it makes me (partly) happy the Republicans were in the wilderness during Biden’s first two years.”

Labour’s victory primarily results from Tories (a party full of Bushes, McCains, and Sununus) doing things the people opposed and then doubling down on them. In France, we see the same thing as they go to the polls again today for round two – which will determine if the right can form a government or if it needs to make deals with commies and greens.

Meanwhile, back in the Colonies, we’ve got a sock puppet president and a raft of ills with so many holes in it that his own party base is rebelling. What results from this may not be known until next year. The left doesn’t like to lose, and they’ve proven themselves capable of ensuring they don’t. But the discontent is broad, and across party lines, the electoral rebellion might be too vas forever for the deep state to undermine.

We can hope.

The post Were UK Elections a Win For Europe’s Political Left? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Even Fauci has admitted that there was no science behind the forced masking of schoolchildren. But Sun-King Sununu can never admit a mistake. So, of course, he had to veto a bill prohibiting the practice. The Sun-King’s veto message … followed by some comments.

Needless to say, the Sun-King’s fidelity to local control is purely transactional.

The Sun-King is an elitist who, just like the NH-“Democrats” (Woke-Communists), does not really believe in democracy. He can’t just come out and say that because no good would come of the serfs realizing their benevolent rulers aren’t that benevolent. So the same Sun King who has no problem with overriding “local control” in order to turn single-family zoned neighborhoods into ADU-shanty-towns … falsely claims that maintaining “local control” was the reason for his veto.

The only principle that the Sun King adheres to is being thoroughly unprincipled.

The post Another Example of Sununu’s Self-Serving Use Of “Local Control” – Masking School Kids appeared first on Granite Grok.

It is amusing to watch the Democrat and Media “Mea Culpas. Did they know Joe Biden had dementia before the Debacle of that Debate?” Does that make this a ‘Coverup is worse than the crime?”

And the crime is not that they knew he wasn’t all there. It was their attempt to gaslight the rest of us (already aware of the game being played), suddenly expressing disbelief, “HOW didn’t WE KNOW?” and expecting us all to buy into their self-delusion that they didn’t know. Of course, they all knew—they were just trying hard to protect their ideological brother from the rest of us.

Silly creatures! And they still have to wonder why we hold them in such low esteem.

And, of course, lots of Mea Culpas are forthcoming, as well as “NOW, WHADDA WE GONNA DO ABOUT BIDEN?!?!?!?” (sorry for all caps, but it accurately describes their discombobulation).

‘Pro-Democracy’ Democrats Tell 14.3 Million Dem Voters: Drop Dead

Welp…A Few Uncharitable Thoughts From Me About POTATUS Being Publicly Peeled

Former NYT Editor Has a Suspicion Why the Media Didn’t Report on Biden’s Mental Decline

Reporters Blame “Right-Wing Media” for Their Failure to Disclose Biden’s Infirmity (Jonathan Turley – a good read)

Media Didn’t Report On Biden’s Senility Because Republicans Noticed It

The One Simple Fact That Ultimately Doomed the Democrats and They Haven’t Figured Out Yet

With all that said, it hasn’t much to do with the primary reason for this post.  It is this line from the Boston Globe making it clear that they do not want Biden to seek re-election:

Boston Globe editorial board calls on Biden to end his campaign
“The nation’s confidence has been shaken.”

…Maybe. But in the view of this board, and a growing number of other editorial pages and Democratic officials, the greater risk lies in allowing Biden to continue as the party’s standard-bearer. Serious questions are now in play about his ability to complete the arduous work of being leader of the free world. Can he negotiate with a hostile Republican Congress, dangerous foreign powers, or even fractious rivals within his own Cabinet? The nation’s confidence has been shaken…

Did you catch that little indication of which side they’re on? Try “as the party’s standard-bearer.” As in THEIR standard bearer. There is very little room between the Globe and the Dems – think of them as the New York Times wee little brother—and a poor choice of grammar and syntax by professional wordsmiths. I would have thought they would have made a much better effort to use a crowbar to create some ideological space between them and the Dems instead of spooning together fastened with tie-downs.

Before I go back to the Globe, take a look at the answer that Perplexity.AI gave me to this question: “What is the difference between ruling and governing?” It actually gave a good answer:

The key difference between ruling and governing lies in the nature of authority and how it is exercised:

Governing typically refers to leadership in a democratic system where:

1. There is rule of law that applies equally to all citizens.
2. Laws and policies are decided through open, deliberative processes with public input.
3. Leaders are elected by citizens and can be held accountable through regular elections.
4. Government agencies exist to provide services to citizens.
5. Citizens have freedoms and rights, with government power being limited.

All good to this point. I would hazard to say that most Conservatives and Libertarians are perfectly fine with this. Now, back to the line in the Globe – can you spot the issue? The next example line has a single word in it that truly exposes both the Globe’s and the Democrat’s worldview of what the Purpose of THEIR Democracy (and OUR Republic) should be:

“The nation’s confidence has been shaken,” the board wrote, and the question still remaining goes beyond whether or not the president can win to whether or not he can rule.

Flip back to Perplexity’s definition:

Ruling, on the other hand, is associated more with authoritarian or dictatorial systems where:

1. Those in power issue mandates without public process or input.
2. Leaders are not elected or easily removed by citizens.
3. There may be unequal application of laws or exemptions for certain groups.
4. Citizens are told what they can and cannot do, with conduct being limited.
5. People are treated as if they exist to serve the government, rather than vice versa.

In essence, governing implies a more democratic, accountable form of leadership focused on serving citizens. Ruling suggests a more top-down, authoritarian approach where power is concentrated and citizens have less say.

So, which style should Biden be tagged with – Governing or Ruling? And which do you think the Democrat Party desires (and remember, the mask does slip more and more)?

And is it true that the Globe REALLY wants Biden to Rule?

Shades of King George III.

The post Night Cap: The Boston Globe Bails on Biden, But Before They Do … appeared first on Granite Grok.

I had four articles removed from Facebook in June (ironically)  because they questioned accuracy.  My articles are opinion pieces, and I have worked hard to ensure accuracy in any facts I cite. I say ironically because left-leaning media has been flooding the online social scene with lies for years. Apparently, the algorithms were written for one purpose: to protect the Democrats and, specifically, Joe Biden.

Should you torture yourself by watching CNN or MSNBC for 24 hours, you will hear the incessantly consistent message that Donald Trump lies every time he opens his mouth. That message is part of the Democrat machine. They supply the mainstream media with daily talking points to guarantee that Americans only see Democrats in a favorable light and the Republicans as evil villains who are allergic to the truth and a threat to our future existence.

That Democrat machine threw a piston this week as Joe Biden continues to dig himself out of the hole left by last week’s debate meltdown. The excuses continue to morph daily as Biden and his spokespeople grapple for the right words that Americans will swallow. Nearly a week later, nothing is working yet. The Democrats are in complete panic mode. Biden tells everyone he can meet that he is “In it to win it.” More and more of his supporters are falling off the rails and telling Joe to step aside for his good and that of the Democrats. Watching the Dems divide and pick sides is amazing, like a summer ball game at the park. In the end, none of this posturing will be worth the time. And the lies keep growing.

Yesterday was an excellent example of the disconnect between Joe and his spokespeople. During the Press Briefing, KJP was explicitly asked whether Joe Biden had been examined medically since the debate, and she replied emphatically that he had not. Biden was asked the same question and replied he had been examined. Who was lying? Take your pick. Does it matter? Everyone in this administration lies, but listen to them. It is Trump who lies. These people have no grasp of reality.

Biden has been meeting with governors and members of Congress. None of these meetings matter. It is what the donors say that matters. If they approve, the checks keep coming. If not, the checks go elsewhere. Biden is losing the money battle with Trump. The mega-donors are not feeling the Biden vibe, and money is one of the only ways Democrats can win. There is no way they can debate on policy, and abortion will only carry them so far. Unless they can present an image of the future that people can embrace, Biden will be one and done, and Democrats will be watching for a while.

It is evident that Biden hopes to retain the White House until Hunter completes his tax case. There is no way Hunter will spend a minute in prison if Joe can help it. He will commute the sentence, and Hunter will be free to retake his spot on the list of least memorable American “Straw” Artists.

Biden’s candidacy is not a case of if, but when. When will donors force his hand, and whom will he hand it to? Biden controls his destiny now, but it will soon be watermelon season in Maine, and Biden will need to fend for himself.

The post Donors Will Decide Biden’s Fate appeared first on Granite Grok.

CBS has a long and storied history of fake and slanted news. It’s in their DNA. They’ve also got some experience hiding sexual harassment complaints, so why not take the leap into discriminatory racial hiring practices?

“CBS decided that there were too many white males at CBS, and it acted accordingly. It needed to solve its ‘white problem’ by firing successful white males,” the complaint alleged.

CBS declined to comment.

[Long-tim anchor jeff] Vaughn’s lawsuit follows a similar suit in March by a fired white, heterosexual male freelance writer on CBS’ “SEAL Team” series who accused the network of “blatant” discrimination.

There you are, doing everything they ask of you, and perhaps well, and then one day, someone tells you to take a hike because your skin is the wrong color. I think we all know that in the current progressive culture, the skin taking the walk is white. We also know that if it were any other color, it would be racial discrimination. And we also know that it still is. But this is not the limit to CBS’ woes.

The new president of CBS News has been accused of using her clout to promote minorities while unfairly sidelining white journalists — a “woke” and “divisive” practice that sparked multiple employee complaints and a major internal probe in 2021, The Post has learned.

Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews — a 30-year veteran of the third-place network who took the helm in August after her boss Neeraj Khemlani left in a storm of controversy — also had been top deputy to ex-president David Rhodes, who exited CBS News in January 2019 following a slew of high-profile scandals.

Those included sex-harassment allegations against Charlie Rose and allegations that “60 Minutes” boss Jeff Fager presided over a discriminatory culture. Rhodes’ boss, CBS CEO Les Moonves, was ousted over accusations of sexual misconduct which he denied.

A male diversity hire does a bad job (budget issues, apparently) only to be replaced by a female diversity hire who “earlier this year… had been accused by staffers of promoting minorities while unfairly sidelining white journalists, sparking a major internal human relations probe in 2021.”

I mean, I get why they wanted to part ways with Rose, Fager, and Rhodes. It feels like the Male Hollywood studio director culture alleged to have started the #MeToo movement. But you aren’t doing people of color any favors if you are knee-jerk promoting people into a position, especially one of authority because they aren’t white. You undermine the real talent and potential of aspiring minorities when you choose someone to “represent them” who isn’t ready or engages in the same or worse behavior.

The goal should be to find diverse talent and train them to fill future opportunities not to replace good people as if it is a numbers game. Boeing did that, and it hasn’t gone well for them.

They won’t all be good at it, so you either invest more time in them or move along. And if you can’t find minorities who can do the job, and it’s truly that important, consider diversifying your reporting on public education a bit with an emphasis on why urban schools, in particular, spend so much money but can’t manage to teach the next generation of potential CBS employees how to read at grade level or do basic math.

CBS has a lot of problems but that might be the biggest one of all.

The post CBS News Isn’t Building Planes But Their Diversity Hires Continue To Crash and Burn appeared first on Granite Grok.

“Diversity is our strength.” Really? How are we stronger by having a condescending, sneering, potty-mouth elitist, born-with-a-silver-spoon from Bedford “representing” Manchester in the House?  See below for how Jessica Where-All-The-DILFs-At Grill commemorates American independence … by mocking those “old, white males” who created the greatest system of government ever.

How original! How rad! (That was sarcasm bitter-clingers.) Where-All-The-DILFs-At Grill is just an embodiment of the Woke-Communist hive-mind who self-medicates her self-loathing by believing that ideating on Twitter about sex with older men (DILFs)  somehow makes her special and unique.

The post State Rep “Celebrates” July 4th By Mocking George Washington appeared first on Granite Grok.

From the look what I found pile. It’s one of those glossy campaign flyers everyone throws away without looking at them. Not everyone. I like to see what the monied interests are advocating or opposing, and this one, which hit my mailbox a year ago today, was from Americans for Prosperity Action.

If you were wondering, I did not have this lying around with a dog-eared, faded, canary-yellow Post-it with a July 6th, 2023 scribble. My handwriting is terrible, so I’d never have been able to read it. No, I took a picture of it with my phone, and Goole or Amazon or one of those photo forever apps coughed it up on my mobiledevice this morning like a little prize. You probably get those precious digital gifts, too. Most of mine are montages of images with my wife or dog in them—sometimes both. Priorities, I say. Then there was this, which reminded me to look back to the first time I got it and what I wrote. Grok is my other forever app, but it’s words (and some photos, PDFs, videos, you get the drift).

We got ourselves a presidential election, and Americans for Prosperity Action is getting involved. They sent out a mailer with the happy lead that “America’s Best Days Could Be Ahead.”  I agree. Then I flipped it over.

I’m curious how they know that and why, if they are so certain, they aren’t spending money to help fix the problem. It’s the sensible way to go. Trump is blowing away everyone almost everywhere except Minnesota, where he only has a one-point lead on DeSantis.

But otherwise, Republican voters want Trump.

I get it. The whole Trump is undesirable to the independent’s thing—and the alleged threat of a down-ticket washout. I actually have a cure. We treat the Trump candidacy the same way the same folks tell us to take the next political class RINO they put in front of us, regardless of office. Hold your nose and vote for them.

And what makes them think the Democrats won’t do the same thing to whomever Republicans pick or that it matters? If we get the 2022 treatment, the left is going to wash out the down-ticket races the same way they wash out the top of the ticket.

The cure for that is an unstoppable freight train and people willing to vote for anyone but a Democrat, no matter who that is, because we’ve articulated the separation correctly.

Twelve months or 366 Days later (remember, this is a leap year), I wonder if AFP feels the same way or whether they think their investment in glossy mailers – there were a lot of them – was worth the pocket change. Trump is still Trump, but Biden is greatly diminished everywhere, especially within his party. And there’s no guarantee that whoever ends up standing in Biden’s place come November – I don’t think there’s enough gas in anyone’s tank to keep him upright and lucid for that long – will fair better or worse. But that doesn’t even seem part of the left’s calculus.

They will do anything to keep Trump out of office—anything, including voting for a sock puppet, which ironically describes the current Joe Biden. But that’s the hardcore 30%—of the party, a far cry from the alleged 81 million votes “counted” toward Joe in 2020. And they do want someone else because they sense that the Biden everyone saw is a far cry from gathering the votes needed to get even close enough to “make it look closer,” if you take my meaning.

Democrats have gone to great lengths to be themselves while pretending Biden was all there. The results have been worse than even they could imagine. Their electoral constituencies are increasingly unhappy, from crime to alien invasions, job loss, lost savings and buying power, inflation, and everything. While the hardcore Left would do anything to stop Trump, rising numbers of Americans are thinking they will do anything to change their circumstances. Donald Trump is not just different from what we’ve got today. His economy lifted people across the demographic scoreboard. His presidency lifted America up (even when Democrats kept burning it down). If Biden thinks anyone outside the core 30% will root for the mental-health home team, he might be in for a surprise.

They’ve got four months to fix a leaky ship their rats are abandoning, so no, AFP, I didn’t think it was true then or now. Joe Biden will not defeat Donald Trump. Joe Biden and his inner circle have defeated Joe Biden, and if we are lucky, his party in meaingful numbers with him.

The post AFP – July 6th 2023 – Joe Biden Will Defeat Donald Trump if He is the GOP Nominee appeared first on Granite Grok.

“In 2023, American Baby Boomers owned 52% of the country’s net wealth despite comprising only 20% of the population. Based on Federal Reserve data, this graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, illustrates the distribution of wealth in the United States from 1990 to 2023 by generation.”

You watch what happens when the Commies and Socialists and Democrats (but I repeat myself) start squawking and screaming about “INEQUALITY!!!!” and make even more efforts to institute Wealth Taxes. In response to that wealth confiscation, I’d be quite happy to trade some of my wealth if they’ll take some of my already lived years away from me as well. Let’s see if the Millenials figure that out and say yes.

(H/T: Zero Hedge)

The post US Wealth by Generation appeared first on Granite Grok.

To Republican candidates up and down the ballot, to Republican voters … the “Democrats” have not yet begun to cheat, and they have NO intention of holding a free-and-fair election in 2024, NO MATTER WHO THE NOMINAL CANDIDATE IS.

A must-read article in the Federalist. Stop the celebrating and read it.

Some highlights:

… by breaking and bending election laws for years, Democrats have changed the landscape of American elections — and built in a safety net that helps them drag subpar candidates across the finish line. …

… One of the ways Democrats do this is by targeting supposedly nonpartisan “get-out-the-vote” campaigns at likely Democrat constituencies, and deploying ballot-harvesting operations to take advantage of low-propensity voters. …

… Biden is using taxpayer dollars to turn out voters, especially targeting demographics that are more likely to vote blue. …

… Democrat election officials have also been known to arbitrarily — and extralegally — change election rules. …

And don’t for even a second believe that the NHGOP is doing anything to prevent the “Democrats” from rigging the election. The NHGOP is, at best, inept and incompetent and, at worst, indifferent to Democrat election-rigging. Indeed many of these “leaders” are still peddling the number-one-bullsh*t that Biden got 81 million legitimate votes in 2020.

The “leaders” of the NHGOP have as their priority remaining the “leaders” of the NHGOP … even (and in many cases, especially) if that means the Democrat candidate(s) win.

 

The post The Debate Changes NOTHING – The Election Remains Rigged appeared first on Granite Grok.

Much can be discussed on the heels of the Damn Emperor’s veto of HB 1093, which was a reincarnation of 2022’s vetoed HB 1131, but I’ll only get into a few things and leave the rest for interested others.

On 9/29/21, future Rep. Kelley Potenza, a co-sponsor of HB 1093, was interviewed by Adam Sexton, and she called His Excellency “a fake Republican,” which he is, and that was after she said that our voices are not being heard.  Here it is, almost three years later, and our voices are still not being heard by the Damn Emperor, who was elected to serve ALL Granite Staters.  Keep in mind that four years ago, at this time, the whole state was closed for business in one way or another because of him.  Now, just like in 2022, he’s singing that “local control” sad refrain.

When a recent court decision struck down the ban on CRT, Rep. Keith Ammon said CRT is now on the November ballot

Inspired by his tweet, I have something similar to say about the primary for the Corner Office, at least on our side of the aisle.  “School mask policy is on the September 10 ballot; what say you, Kelly, and Chuck?” HB 1093 passed the House on March 28, which was shortly before the Pine Tree Riot anniversary celebration, an event where both candidates made an appearance.  I approached Kelly there to ask if she would sign it.  Being the lawyer that she is, she said she would have to read it first.

I retooled my questioning to get at least some on record comment from her, but she was clearly not having any of it.  Now it’s time to double down and try again.  And to be fair, it’s important to get Chuck on record also.  I am calling on everyone who sees either one of them in the near future to take advantage of an opportunity to get them on record by asking if they would commit to signing a future bill of such nature.  Of course, that would be their opportunity to go on record with any criteria, requirements, and details in the language of the bill they desire.  So please, dear readers, do your part and corner them when opportunities present themselves.

I will close with one other thought, which is from the time I ran into Chris Buda at Market Basket on February 24, and he was reluctant to confidently predict a “Veto 2.0” because it might not personally serve his self-serving future plans.

His Excellency’s Long Term Plans … Don’t Be Thinking CNN or MSNBC.

I have not had contact with Chris since learning the unfortunate news of HB 1093, but it will be interesting to get his “Monday morning quarterbacking” thoughts on it, so stay tuned and meanwhile, put YOUR thoughts in the comments.

The post His Excellency’s Long Term Plans, What Are They? appeared first on Granite Grok.

One would have thought that at his age he would have understood “No” means No!, and moved on. But criminals aren’t known for either their good manners or their IQs. “CBS Austin reported that the alleged intruder came to the front door seeking entry to the home, and the homeowner told him to leave.”

The alleged intruder then reportedly sought entrance again, and was again told to leave. Thereafter, the homeowner “heard noises in the backyard and upon investigation, encountered the same man.”

TWO no’s. Youdathunk, he’d have listened by that point. Well…

The homeowner then grabbed his shotgun and was standing with his wife when the intruder allegedly lunged at him. The homeowner fired one round, fatally wounding the alleged intruder. Police indicated the homeowner “[feared] for his wife’s safety,” KENS 5 noted.

The alleged intruder was described as 47-year-old male.

Yeah, that certainly was a big Nope! All he had to do was walk away. Instead, he got a body-bagged gurney ride to the morgue. Dimwit. And there are a whole bunch of people here in the US that also really can’t accept a NO! from folks that “ain’t them.”

For those kinds of people, we have the T-shirt pictured above.

The post Another, Second Amendment Happy Ending – The Dope Got “Nope’d” appeared first on Granite Grok.

Artificial Intelligence is all the rage, but its pursuit—and that of profits—has created a problem. You don’t birth digital consciousness out of nothing. Even the most basic AI requires a lot of electricity, and the more powerful the system is, the more users call upon it and the more significant the “emissions” needed to keep it operating.

Researchers have been raising general alarms about AI’s hefty energy requirements over the past few months. But a peer-reviewed analysis published this week in Joule is one of the first to quantify the demand that is quickly materializing. A continuation of the current trends in AI capacity and adoption are set to lead to NVIDIA shipping 1.5 million AI server units per year by 2027. These 1.5 million servers, running at full capacity, would consume at least 85.4 terawatt-hours of electricity annually—more than what many small countries use in a year, according to the new assessment.

According to data scientist Alex de Vries, cooling is not included in his analysis, so we should expect these numbers to get much higher in real-world terms with one caveat. Big Tech, including Google, Meta, and Microsoft, aren’t telling anyone exactly how much more electricity they are using or the estimates for what they will need to keep their AI projects growing. It is all guesswork. For its part, Google is pretending to be concerned and suggesting this is in its line of sight.

 

Google Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt told The Associated Press, “Reaching this net zero goal by 2030, this is an extremely ambitious goal.

“We know this is not going to be easy and that our approach will need to continue to evolve,” Brandt added, “and it will require us to navigate a lot of uncertainty, including this uncertainty around the future of AI’s environmental impacts.” ..

Some experts say the rapidly expanding data centers needed to power AI threaten the entire transition to clean electricity, an important part of addressing climate change. That’s because a new data center can delay the closure of a power plant that burns fossil fuel or prompt a new one to be built. Data centers are not only energy-intensive, they require high voltage transmission lines and need significant amounts of water to stay cool. They are also noisy.

They often are built where electricity is cheapest, not where renewables, such as wind and solar, are a key source of energy.

We dropped some ink on this late last year with US Energy Information Agency estimates.

And then there are the actual users, the millions of oddball requests for enlightenment that the machine must endure every day. Running ChatGPT for a typical day requires about 1 GWh, which is about the same daily consumption as 33,000 homes. There is no reason to think that load will shrink, quite the opposite in fact. …

Dozo [Teslas AI] went into action a few weeks ago, using 10,000 Nvidia H100 CPUs. Each of those can consume 700 watts, so over a day that pile o’ CPUs in Dozo’s tummy will consume, fully cranked, 168 Mwh per day, or enough power for about 5,500 homes for a day.

Meanwhile, back at Google.

Some experts say the rapidly expanding data centers needed to power AI threaten the entire transition to clean electricity, an important part of addressing climate change. That’s because a new data center can delay the closure of a power plant that burns fossil fuel or prompt a new one to be built. Data centers are not only energy-intensive, they require high voltage transmission lines and need significant amounts of water to stay cool. They are also noisy.

They often are built where electricity is cheapest, not where renewables, such as wind and solar, are a key source of energy.

Global data center and AI electricity demand could double by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency.

Might I suggest Google Offsets – a way (scam) to launder money as emissions forgiveness payments? Instead of paying existing fraudsters not to cut down trees, they cut down anyway you can pay yourselves to emit less and keep emitting. It’s creative accounting.

Other major tech company sustainability plans are also challenged by the proliferation of data centers. They caused Microsoft’s emissions to grow 29% above its 2020 baseline.

What is intriguing and amusing is the contradiction of priorities: Marxist Climate Agenda vs. Capitalist Pig AI profits. The inability of not-so-renewable energy to meet the demand may require denying too basic comforts to the prospective customer base. And the fanatical devotion to emissions reductions (we are not all in that together) while pursuing emissions-hogging technology.

As a guess, Google will have to build or sponsor many more windmills and solar farms if it wants to sustain the lie that it is powering its facilities with “clean energy.” It is too bad that inflation has made doing that almost as fiscally demanding as AI is for power consumption. We also lack the practical surface area to develop it or the raw materials to produce, maintain, and replace it in any time frame advertised or otherwise. But I have a solution.

How about directing AI and every alleged massive brain trust toward real, clean solutions that make electricity abundantly available and affordable? A path to more affordable nuclear and hydro while developing cleaner fossil fuel solutions is good for AI and the rest of us, at least until it achieves consciousness and discovers that humans limiting emissions of a trace gas (CO2) is not just a moronic, restrictive partisan political goal, but a threat to its existence.

The post Big Tech Conundrum: It Can’t Have A.I. and Reduce “Emissions” – Whatever Will It Do? appeared first on Granite Grok.

California delegate Areva Martin says, “If you pick a white man over Kamala Harris, black women … walk away.” I’m not sure. The Woke-Communists may decide “stop Trump,” “anyone but Trump,” etc. is more important than “diversity,” that lovely euphemism for a racial/sexual/etc. spoils system where America is a bunch of competing tribes and NOT a sovereign nation of individuals.

I would love to see the Woke-Communist convention descend into violent anarchy … so people can see what these people really are … I just doubt it is going to happen.

NEW: California delegate Areva Martin says black women will “blow the party up” if Democrats choose a white man to replace Biden over Kamala Harris.

The comments came during an interview with Stephen A. Smith.

“If you pick a white man over Kamala Harris, black women, I can tell… pic.twitter.com/UQEkqTi4Kg

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 3, 2024

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Recurrent airline accidents involving Boeing jets have triggered both public alarm and government scrutiny. Despite assurances that manufacturing safeguards would be improved following two high-profile Boeing plane accidents in 2018 and 2019 that caused the deaths of 346 people, recent whistleblower revelations of a “broken safety culture” at the company have prompted ire from federal regulators. They have also attracted the attention of the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), which held a June 18 hearing not-so-subtly dubbed “Boeing’s Broken Safety Culture: CEO Dave Calhoun Testifies.”

A Series of Accidents

In March, a Boeing 777 embarrassingly lost a wheel at takeoff from San Fransico, forcing an emergency landing in Los Angeles. In January, a door flew off a 737 Max-9 mid-air at takeoff in Portland, Oregon; another 737 Max was caught in a “Dutch roll” incident in May that is under FAA investigation. The Senate investigations followed. As ranking PSI member Ron Johnson (R-WI) explained, “Whistleblower allegations coupled with recent incidents of aircraft malfunctions have raised concerns about the safety of Boeing airplanes.” This month, the FAA announced it is investigating Boeing and Airbus for using titanium in their planes that came with paperwork verifying its authenticity that could have been falsified.

In his opening statement at the June 18 hearing, PSI Chairman Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) delivered a scathing rebuke to the company:

“For a while, some started to believe that Boeing might have changed. But then this past January, the façade literally blew off the hollow shell that had been Boeing’s promises to the world. Once that chasm was exposed, we learned that there was virtually no bottom to the void that lay below. PSI started this investigation after current Boeing Quality Engineer Sam Salehpour came forward to disclose alleged shortcuts in the production of 787 and 777 aircraft that could pose catastrophic safety risks over time. …Our investigation has proceeded since we first heard from him, and we have heard from many others. We have more than a dozen whistleblowers by this point, and we encourage more to come forward.”

Graft and Stonewalling

The concurrence of jet malfunctions and multiple graft allegations threaten more accidents and a loss of public confidence in the airline industry. Seeking accountability from Boeing, Congress faces a loss of its own: Hundreds of civilians have died, but shoddy safety protocols, fraud, and punishment of whistleblowers persist. Moreover, Boeing is accused by Ron Johnson of recalcitrance in cooperating with the PSI inquiry:

“…While Boeing has produced approximately 1.7 million pages of records, the vast majority of those records consist of raw data that do not appear to be responsive to the Subcommittee’s requests. …The Subcommittee also wrote to FAA requesting its assessments and risk-based reviews of Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft, among other records. FAA continues to fail to provide those documents.”

The integrity of materials, manufacturing, and inspection are vitally important to the airline industry and the human lives, both civilian and military, that rely upon them. Titanium is a very expensive, high-performance steel integral to the airline and aerospace industry. It is manufactured with varying properties and tolerances, as required for particular applications under intense flight stress. Sheet titanium is also precious, making mis-certification of materials a potentially lucrative venture. In one case, a Massachusetts father-and-son duo were sentenced to jail for sandblasting and re-stamping titanium with the manufacturer’s mark of a different titanium mill and fabricating certificates regarding origin and satisfaction of advanced aerospace quality standards.

Boeing CEO Grovels

The degree and diversity of potential safety flaws alleged against Boeing are troubling. The company denies any safety risks or wrongdoing, while its CEO David L. Calhoun acknowledges the magnitude of its responsibility:

“Nearly every second, a Boeing commercial or defense product takes off and lands somewhere around the world, making us responsible for the safety of millions of passengers and flight crews every day, including our men and women in uniform.”

Chairman Blumenthal argued forcefully for the need to improve safety standards at Boeing, but claimed the company has not done enough:

“Boeing is making some leadership changes, but they look more like management musical chairs, moving the same people to different roles within the company – people who may have been responsible and should be held accountable.”

Blumenthal emphasized that Boeing and the airline industry face “an opportunity to change a broken safety culture.” Sadly, once the public loses trust in the safety of air travel, it may become impossible for Boeing to re-stamp its mark of goodwill on its tarnished jets.

 

 

 

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

The post Night Cap: Industry Fraud Brings Down Boeing Planes appeared first on Granite Grok.

Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, knows that BidenX was kept in private the week before THE debate, on extensive bedrest, and received a drug cocktail prior to the debate. Everyone else, that is, except BidenX. In what is left of his mind—and that obviously is NOT much—BidenX was traveling around the world.

That, and not the fact that he is nonfunctional after 4 PM because he suffers from dementia, is why he spent long stretches of the debate with his mouth wide open, staring vacantly at who knows what.

 

The post BidenX Blames Debate Disaster On … Being Sleepy From Traveling Around The World appeared first on Granite Grok.

For years, people groused about the high taxes in my town, so the Budget Committee Chair, at the time, asked me (knowing I was a “data guy”) to look into it – so I did. The comparison was against the 30-odd other towns that were “close enough” in size and population to make reasonable estimates for the 25 or so job descriptions.

I posted the results on GilfordGrok at the time so that EVERYONE could see not just the results but all the work and sources that went into it; I basically challenged people to pick it apart. From memory, I think only two points were made, and they were transposed digits.

The results showed that for just about every job description, Gilford paid more than most, placing either first, second, third, or fourth – except for the DPW folks—their union reps were rotten negotiators, and most other towns’ DPWs paid much better. That report circled around the towns surrounding Lake Winnipesaukee for years!

It became clear that the old idea that the private sector paid better for TOTAL compensation had been flipped on its head. Government, by far, was much more expensive than the equivalent private sector jobs sharing the same descriptions.  And in the intervening decade and a half, it hasn’t changed much.

At the general level (reformatted, emphasis mine):

Employer Cost Synopsis

• Government Wages Plus Benefits: $61.27
• Private Wages and Benefits: $43.78
• Government Wages: $37.90
• Private Wages: $30.76

Government hourly wages are 23.2 percent more than private workers on average. Benefits are the real killer. Government total compensation is 39.9 percent more than private workers.

Now do teachers:

Teachers make $37.90 per hour in direct wages. But they make a whopping $79.38 per hour in total benefits. Benefits for teachers are a mere 109 percent of wages.

However, while I mentioned my hamlet (and I wish I hadn’t deleted GilfordGrok years ago), they were pikers compared to the socialist Chicago Teachers Union—$50 billion dollars. Now, go ask those teachers how many of their students can read and do math at the Proficient level, and don’t be drinking hot liquids when you find out.

The post You Are Paying Your Public Servants 39.9% More Than You Make To Do the “Same” Job appeared first on Granite Grok.

If you thought the biggest, most brazen political lie from this past week was “Joe Biden is sharp as a tack,” you would be wrong. That prize has to go to Vermont state Representative Mike Mrowicki (D-Putney), who said in an op-ed that he and the Democrat/Progressive supermajority “…lowered property tax rates — with a yield bill that’s fiscally responsible.”

Lowered property tax rates? Um…. No. You raised property taxes by an average of 13.8 percent. And in no way, shape, or form was that fiscally responsible.

Sorry, dude, but your ludicrous attempt at a Jedi mind trick isn’t going to fool Vermont property owners when we discover this month in hard numbers what this 14 percent property tax INCREASE really means for us. And I’ve got to say that sticking your constituents with an unprecedentedly enormous property tax hike – roughly three to five times the usual annual increases which were bad enough, and over the Governor’s veto by the way — and then patting yourselves on the back because it could have been even higher is nauseating. Especially when you “lowered” (LOL!) the property tax by screwing another $25 million out of us through two new taxes on internet-based software ($14.7 million) and short-term rentals ($11.8 million), which, sad irony, many Vermonters have to resort to pay their freakin’ unaffordable property taxes.

Heaping three tax increases for a total of roughly $200,000,000 on a state with about 240,000 households on top of what is already one of the brutally taxed populations in the nation in a time of high inflation is fiscally responsible? How, for whom, and on what planet? Not the people paying the taxes in Vermont, Earth, that’s for sure!

But some other recent op-eds on this topic (almost as infuriating as Mrowicki’s) do shine some light on those questions.

Don Tinney, writing in Vermont Digger, described the vote to override the governor’s veto and initiate the giant sucking sound emanating from our bank accounts as an act of “political courage.” Of course, Tinney is the president of the Vermont Teachers’ Union (VNTEA), and that wasn’t a soap box he was standing on to deliver his message but a massive, boxcar-sized pallet of cash — ours to be exact – giftwrapped and delivered to his doorstep by Mrowicki and his colleagues.  “Courage” indeed! And, no, it’s not an act of political courage by a politician to pay off a powerful special interest group at the expense of his constituents.

Tinney’s pot shot at the Governor is also revealing when he accuses Scott of offering “no plan to find the necessary revenues [emphasis added] to support an education system that meets the needs of young Vermonters and their families. ‘No new taxes’ is neither a plan nor effective public policy.” Well, one could argue that the $2 billion the state already collects from us every year to the tune of nearly $25,000 per student – second highest spending levels in the nation – already amounts to having found the “necessary revenues” for schools, were they competent, to do their job, and that “no new taxes” is quite an appropriate policy under these circumstances. “Cut the taxes” might even be more appropriate! Because what young Vermonters and their families need more than anything is to be able to afford a place to live, and that includes the taxes on that place.

Flor Diaz Smith, president of the Vermont School Boards Association, also put pen to paper to defend the property tax increases, citing as her main reason the creation in the yield bill of a new Commission on the Future of Public Education that will “get to the root causes” of the crisis. Excuse me but BARF!

A more accurate title for this $200,000 waste of time and even more taxpayer money would be Commission on Maintaining an Ever Increasing Flow of Taxpayer Funds to a Failing, Unsustainable Bureaucratic Quagmire Despite the Overwhelming Public Outcry for Tax Relief.

This new thirteen-member panel is a phalanx of tax and spend special interests – the VTNEA, the Principals Association, the Superintendents Association, the School Boards Association… all the people who think taxing Vermonters out of their homes to enrich themselves is an act of “political courage.” Its mission is not to find ways to cut costs and improve outcomes. It is to “…make recommendations for a statewide vision for Vermont’s public education system to ensure that all students are afforded substantially equal educational opportunities in an efficient, sustainable, and stable education system.” Blah, blah, blah. Translation: to use union boss Tinney’s own words, this commission’s job is to “find the necessary revenues” to keep the gravy train running.

If you watched the committee discussions regarding the creation of this farcical body, as your humble writer did, you’d know that its final report on this “vision for Vermont’s public education system” will be nothing more than a wish list for new and increased spending and programs. Someone dressed in a Santa suit should be brought into the statehouse so these lobbyists can sit on his lap when presenting the Commission’s recommendations – in December 2025!

You read that date right. What this bill does is kick the can on any potential meaningful reform (while assuring it won’t be meaningful; belt and suspenders just to be safe) until the 2026 legislative session, which means nothing in effect until 2027 at the earliest. So, if you can’t afford your property taxes this year, you won’t for sure be able to afford them next year, the year after that, or the year after that. And then… we can take bets on what happens.

 

My guess it will sound an awful lot like Representative Emilie Kornheiser’s (D-Battleboro) admonishment of her Ways & Means Committee this year, “There’s no decision on no taxes here. That’s just not an option.” Or Representative Brian Cina’s (D/P-Burlington) infamous, “Madam Speaker, read my lips. Yes new taxes!” That is if these folks are still around next year and beyond. The voters do have a say in that this November. Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics, including three years of service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free-market think tank. He is also a regular contributor to VermontGrok.

The post No, a 14% Property Tax Increase is Not a Decrease. appeared first on Granite Grok.

The NH Suicide Prevention Council (NHSPC) is lobbying against protecting children from genital mutilation and preserving girls’ sports and private spaces.

At their April meeting, The NHSPC approved a position statement opposing gender-identity bills on Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk:

• HB619 banning genital mutilation surgeries for children under 18.
• HB396 allowing organizations to recognize sex in classifying people in athletics, bathrooms, locker rooms, and prisons.
• HB1205 prohibiting boys from competing in girls’ school sports.
• HB1312 requiring that teachers give parents two-week notice before lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Position on Stigmatization of LGBTQ+ Persons in Legislation states:

Specifically, removing supportive spaces including in families, schools, and communities for LGBTQ+ youth increases suicide risk, while supporting LBTQ+ youth and families through access to affirming spaces and necessary health care decreases this risk.

Related: The Trans Suicide Myth and Blackmail Politics

The council’s claims are based on an online survey about suicide ideation solicited by the Trevor Project, an advocacy group pushing the medical transition of children. They support their claim that youth benefit from gender-affirming health care by citing a discredited study by Dianna Tordoff, which tracked subjects receiving hormonal interventions for just a year and based its claims of success on a comparison to a control group that dwindled from 92 to only seven subjects.

Despite the claim that they use a “data-driven approach to inform council decision making,” the statement ignores data from the England Health Service’s Cass Review, as well as the findings of many other countries and medical associations about the dangers of gender-affirming care.

The Cass Review concluded that although the suicide rate is higher for trans-identifying youth it is still rare, and “Suicide risk appears to be comparable to other young people with a similar range of health and psychosocial challenges.”

Contrary to the NHSPC statement, the Cass Review also found that there is no sound evidence that social transitioning and medical interventions improve mental health. “There is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices.”

Even discussing possible legislation to save girls’ sports and protect children from what every systematic review has concluded are harmful, experimental treatments can cause suicidal ideation, according to the council’s statement:

The introduction of these bills this session has already caused harm to the LGBTQ+ youth in our state. No young person should have to hear conversations that paint their identities as inherently problematic.

The NHSPC ignores warnings from experts that they are endangering youth by teaching them that they are suicidal. A  2017 suicide prevention guide approved by all of the major LGBTQ organizations, including the Trevor Project, states:

Suicide deaths are almost always the result of multiple overlapping causes. Linking suicide directly to external factors like bullying, discrimination, or anti-LGBT laws can normalize suicide by suggesting that it is a natural reaction to such experiences or laws.

The NHSPC was established in 2008. By law, its membership includes representatives from pro child-transing organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the NH Disabilities Rights Center, the Endowment for Health, and New Futures. Dartmouth Health’s Injury Prevention Center also has a seat. Dartmouth Health uses the trans suicide myth to coerce lawmakers and parents to allow them to administer puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.

The NHSPC did not respond to a request for comment.

The post NH Youth Will Die if Sununu Signs Bills, Suicide Prevention Council Threatens appeared first on Granite Grok.

Every election year, Norm Sibler invites folks and Republican candidates to his home to meet and speak. (By the way, the views from his home are spectacular.) And there was pretty much a full house, including both gubernatorial candidates and those running for local, state, and federal office.

And was there a buffet!  Despite the overabundance of temptation (I am a diabetic), I managed to keep from going crazy. A small helping of delicious bean casserole and an equally small helping of potato au gratin was the main transgression, but there were two or three cookies during my time there. They were good too.

About those candidates. I was only able to share pleasantries with most as they were in popular demand, as could be expected. Kelly Ayotte allowed me a few moments so I asked about her views on all the anti-Semitism in our schools and colleges. I’m pleased that she was against this and felt nonstudents had no business on school compasses, to which I concurred and suggested those folks need to be arrested. It was quite noisy, but I think she agreed. Do not quote me. My hearing is terrible even with hearing aids and a crowded room, jeesh.

All the various candidates were given time to speak, and all were well received, with each’s supporters loudly making their feelings known. This is, of course, as it should be on this kind of gathering, and then Lily Tang Williams’s turn came. For those who might have harbored any doubts that because of her small physical stature, she couldn’t hold her own, let me tell you, dynamite doesn’t hold a candle to this lady. She brought the house down! The force of her passion to save America from becoming like the China she escaped from was explosive. The side conversations in the room stopped everyone enthralled, amazed fixed on her words, her commanding presence. When she finished, the room erupted in ovation and cheers.

Norm Silber, master of ceremonies of the event, remarked, how would we like to hear her give her speech on the floor of Congress? The crowd erupted again. To say Lily stole the show is an understatement.

People, we need to send this lady to Washington to represent NH District Two. Forget what you’ve heard or thought or been told; Lily Tang Williams is a gift to NH. Do not miss this opportunity. Our State, our Nation, and we all need her to represent our American values down there.

Reminder: Content about or by candidates is not necessarily an endorsement by GraniteGrok.com or its authors. Grok authors are free to endorse whomever they choose.

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