The first meeting of the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee in 2024 consisted of a round-robin series of members sharing their priorities and wish lists for the new session.

While these wonderful folks who brought you the Clean Heat Carbon Tax in 2023 have even bigger plans for your wallet this year (more details to come later), the “priority” that jumped out was one of Senator Dick McCormack’s (D-Windsor) that they just need to do a better job of explaining to the public that what they are doing isn’t terrible, awful, no-good policy.

“I am not happy,” says McCormack with stern disappointment rippling through his countenance, “with where the public seems to be on what we’re doing. I get constituent calls telling me that we’re wrong to try to raise people’s energy costs.”

Hmm. Maybe one conclusion to draw from these calls from the people who elected you is that you are, in fact, wrong to be passing laws that raise people’s energy costs – that they can’t afford to indulge your ego-driven, save-the-planet god-complex fantasies and you should listen to, respect and represent that perspective in the State House per your job description as an elected official in a representative democracy.

Alas, no. This is not the lesson learned here. As Principal Skinner of The Simpsons might conclude, “Am I so out of touch? No, it’s my constituents who are wrong.”

The problem McCormack sees as needing to be addressed here is that the local yokels are just too ignorant and in the dark about what great things he and his fellow Democrats are doing for them. “I don’t think the public knows that. I don’t think they believe that.” (Well, they don’t, and they shouldn’t, so score one for us!) McCormack’s solution: Work on doing a better job of “how we present the case.” To which I say, go for it! Please.

The irony here is that McCormack himself admitted that he didn’t understand how the Clean Heat Standard law worked, called it a “Rube Goldberg” contraption, but voted for it anyway. (Here’s the video). So, pro tip, if you want to be able to explain to your constituents how a law you passed is supposed to help them, you might want to understand how that law works, what it costs, and how it gets paid for. You didn’t do that. Your colleagues actively and aggressively refused to do that work, which looks, well, kinda shady. Like maybe you’re trying to hide something from us. But now you want to be trusted and, sorry for chuckling, praised? Yeah, no.

McCormack is upset that the public views his and his party’s energy policies from the perspective, “Should the elitists in electric cars be allowed to force real people to spend all that money on their yak yak yak.” Yak yak yak I assume is shorthand for the hundreds of millions, running into billions of dollars, in subsidies for other people’s EVs, weatherization projects, renewable energy boondoggles, etc. and so on down the very long list of pork projects these folks are, in fact, forcing us to spend our money on.

Sigh…. To some extent here I regret having to pick on Senator McCormack because he committed the sin of speaking up. I will give him credit for at least thinking he wants to do a better job of explaining legislation to constituents, as that is a noble aspiration – so long as you’re being honest about what you’re selling.

This is better than the Committee Chairman, Chris Bray (D-Addison) who – not for nothing in his job outside the statehouse is a PR professional who founded the company Common Ground Communications – has done everything in his power to stop any meaningful discussion from occurring about cost or other impacts on real people as a result of these policies. Silence is a communications strategy too.

In response to McCormack’s desire for more and better public communication, Bray said, “It’s hard to have conversations on the topic in part because it’s such a large and amorphous [unintelligible] that people end up thinking near term, close to home. What is it costing me this week? Voting with your wallet as opposed to saying we have a big thing to tackle as a state, as a nation.” Which reveals two things:

1) Bray doesn’t want to make the case to the public because he thinks we’re too stupid to understand or buy into what he thinks is the genuinely important priority (Chris Bray Saves the World with your money! as opposed to you being able to pay your heating bill that was due last week). And, 2) He knows Vermonters are correct in our understanding that these policies are extremely costly, and the more this reality is discussed publicly, the more people are, in fact, going to vote with their wallets – and not for him.

Bray also asked McCormack if he could cite any examples of communicators who have done a good job of explaining why these “green” boondoggles that line the pockets of Party donors at the expense of taxpayers, fuel buyers and electric ratepayers — but let’s be honest have no actual impact on climate — are somehow good for the folks footing the bill. McCormack answered, yes! “I’ve heard it done well many times, but I’m not sure the public bought it.” No, the public didn’t buy it because, unlike you, they actually do understand it.

This recalls a wise insight from advertising guru Bill Bernbach, “A great ad campaign will make a bad product fail faster. It will get more people to know it’s bad.” Which is why I predict Senator McCormack’s New Year’s resolution to do a better job of explaining to his constituents what he and his colleagues are really up to in Montpelier will evaporate pretty quickly. These are bad products, and the faster people learn about them, the faster they will fail.

My resolution is to make sure that happens by keeping the light shining bright! Happy New Year!

 

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.

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The WHO (World Health Organization) took center stage during the COVID pandemic as the global coordinator of effective response. Questions about the organization’s proper role – and competence – preceded and now survive the COVID-19 crisis. Was the WHO effective and apolitical in its response, and can it be trusted with its global medical preeminence?

Though bathed in a patina of trust, health agencies have long proven that they can fall victim to the human frailties of error, bureaucratic lethargy, political bias, and hubris. Post-COVID-19, many national interests are pushing to expand the WHO’s authority and funding even more, viewing its faulty responses to the pandemic as justification to allocate more money to shore up those failures. Others take a contrary view, asserting that the organization’s shortcomings during COVID-19 demonstrate intractable problems with no global solution.

Who Is the WHO? The WHO has fared very well post-pandemic, increasing its gross revenue by some $300 million in 2022 to $4,354,000,000 (including $739,000,000 from the United States). As more questions about the COVID virus response are raised, including Wuhan lab origins and potential adverse effects of vaccines, the global jury is still out as to whether the WHO was rescuer or bumbler. Concerns about competence preceded the pandemic. A 2016 article noted:

“Public health specialists, non-governmental organisations and some of the WHO’s biggest donors say the organisation is unwieldy, poor at coordinating responses to epidemics, and too thinly spread. And increasingly it struggles to set its own priorities because many of its donors give it money earmarked for specific projects.

“Some experts inside and outside the organisation say those flaws mean the WHO’s lead role in global health is now at risk.”

Many stakeholders have tried to parlay the COVID-19 debacle into an even more significant future power base for the WHO. The organization is pushing to expand its powers, funding, and global oversight of member nations under the pretense of being better positioned to respond more effectively to future pandemics. Questions about virus origins, gain-of-function research, lab safety, vaccine efficacy, and the appropriateness of quarantining healthy people (and children) have caused many legislators and citizens to pause.

Indeed, the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a December 13 hearing titled “Reforming the WHO: Ensuring Global Health Security and Accountability.” Americans must ask: Is the federal government seeking to press the WHO on its competence, or politically rejuvenate it using faux hearings to bolster its legitimacy?

A key question is whether the WHO can ever be indeed “independent” from the winds of national politics. History suggests not, including during the recent experience of COVID-19. The WHO presents itself as an objective medical team that “… encourages the strengthening and expansion of the public health administrations of member nations ….” But that airy-fairy ideal ignores the realities on the political ground.

Myanmar, Syria, and the WHO While Myanmar oppressed minority ethnic groups, the WHO worked with its central government, “exacerbating existing political tensions.” In Syria, Brown’s Political Review wrote, the WHO’s well-intentioned efforts aggravated that nation’s civil war:

“WHO’s failings in Syria are not strictly in the public health sphere, as its cooperation with the Syrian government played an indirect role in shaping the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian government has pursued a military strategy that targets the health of rebels …If WHO were more willing to work with Syrian rebel groups to achieve positive health outcomes, it would avoid playing into Assad’s military strategy.”

The Wuhan WHO? Similar concerns were raised when the Wuhan virus began its spread. In an article titled “How China Deceived the WHO,” The Atlantic observed:

“… when the pandemic now consuming the world was still gathering force, a Berkeley research scientist named Xiao Qiang was monitoring China’s official statements about a new coronavirus then spreading through Wuhan and noticed something disturbing. Statements made by the World Health Organization, the international body that advises the world on handling health crises, often echoed China’s messages. “Particularly at the beginning, it was shocking when I again and again saw WHO’s [director-general], when he spoke to the press … almost directly quoting what I read on the Chinese government’s statements,” he told me.”

Gaza Strip and Abortion The evidence the WHO is not independent of political pressures can be seen in its recent proclamations about Gaza. Recounting a litany of health crises in the Gaza Strip, the organization does not address civilian casualties in Israel while engaging in political statesmanship:

“[The WHO] calls on Member States, donors and international humanitarian and development actors to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, and to ensure the allocation of human and financial resources in order to urgently achieve these objectives.”

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is enormous, but is inextricable from the (unmentioned by the WHO) attacks on Israeli citizens. The organization’s pronouncements make that conflict appear one-sided and implicate Israel in Geneva Convention violations. Did the WHO rally resources for Russian civilians as well as Ukrainians?

The WHO also endorses abortion, transgenderism, “equity,” sex education, and questions whether age of consent laws should be adjusted to permit minors to consent to sex despite existing protections. This mission creep now extends to every facet of human life: Human “health” touches everything, and so the WHO has expanded its purview far beyond what was contemplated at its formation in 1948. More voices are calling for restraints on the powers of this organization, even as global efforts are underway to use the failings of the COVID-19 response to grant it even more power over sovereign nations.

The post Night Cap: Who Trusts the WHO? appeared first on Granite Grok.

One of our oldest legal concepts is habeas corpus. (‘You must have the body.’)  The basic idea is that you can’t detain someone indefinitely without showing cause why he should be detained.  It gives the accused a right to challenge the accusations against him in court.

In a world without habeas corpus, you could be picked up by the police (or by the FBI), and placed in a cell somewhere without ever being given the chance to be told what you’re accused of, to talk to an attorney, and so on.  You could sit there for years — or maybe forever — without ever having your day in court.

It’s not a world most of us would want to live in.

It’s not a big jump from habeas corpus to what those of us who don’t speak Latin might call habeas convictus. (‘You must have the conviction.’)  The basic idea is that before you punish someone for committing a crime, you have to convict him of committing that crime.

In a world without habeas convictus, you could be fined, imprisoned, or deprived of your property — or prevented from running for office — without ever being convicted of committing a crime of which you’re accused.

Again, it’s not a world most of us would want to live in.  If you’re familiar with Lewis Carroll, you might remember this exchange from Alice in Wonderland:

‘Let the jury consider their verdict,’ the King said, for about the twentieth time that day.

‘No, no!’ said the Queen. ‘Sentence first–verdict afterwards.’

That’s the world we’re heading for now — the world that Colorado’s Supreme Court, Maine’s Secretary of State, and a lot of others would like to live in.

The way we get there is by ignoring the importance of setting precedents.  If you’re familiar with A Man for All Seasons, you might remember this exchange between William Roper and Sir Thomas More:

“So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!”

“Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?”

“Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!”

“Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down, and you’re just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!”

Whether we support him, oppose him, or just don’t care at all about him, we should all be protecting, not Donald Trump, but his rights under the law… for our own safety’s sake.

The case that SCOTUS will be taking up regarding Trump’s ballot eligibility actually is about the 14th Amendment, but not the part that people are focused on.  It has to do with the part that says

nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law

That is, SCOTUS will be considering two questions:

Can you be punished for a crime without first being convicted of it?

Can you be convicted of a crime without first having a trial?

It’s amazing that these questions even have to be adjudicated.  But if the Court decides that the answer to either question is yes, then God save us all… because the law will no longer be able to, having been cut down to deprive the devil — in this case, Donald Trump — of its benefit.

 

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Like everything else in the 21st Century America, the news cycle has evolved. This evolution has been happening for decades as we watched the slow death of print newspapers to digital versions. Still, even on a cellphone or tablet, the American attention span is inadequate to read news stories.

Most people are satisfied with the smallest, most digested version of the news possible. Headlines are enough for most, though they will never have enough info to discuss the topics of the day. For the young, let’s stipulate under 40, X, Instagram, or TikTok is enough, as long as the reel is short. Regardless of the importance or impact of a new story, a happening is only viable for a few days, and then people move on. Something new has happened and is pinned to the top spot. That old story from two days ago has been moved to the archive. No longer does it fall below the fold or to page 6, but to the archives to live unopened forever. This dynamic is a shame, as some stories need to be played out until the epilogue.

Lahaina and East Palestine are two stories that should not have died. The people in these two communities, separated by half a globe, have been impacted in such a way that they may never know what it is to live an everyday life. What happened to these folks was not of their doing. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. East Palestine was the victim of the aging railway that traverses their simple town in the heartland of Ohio. A train carrying a combination of toxic chemicals that, to pronounce them, would sound like a Kamala Harris word salad oratory derailed and dumped its poisonous cargo into the land and water of East Palestine and rendered it unhealthy for years to come. Land was rendered useless as front lawns were turned into toxic waste dumps. Creeks, streams, and even well water made dangerous and undrinkable. These people have lost the nest egg they lived in and will need to find a new place to start over. It has been over a year since the tragedy in East Palestine, and the folks who remain are still waiting for a visit from Joe Biden. Promises left unfulfilled. These folks committed a mortal sin in Biden’s eyes by voting for Trump. They are not important to this President.

Lahaina in Hawaii is similar, but this town was leveled by fire. The blaze was not an accident but was caused by neglect by the local power company. By not performing preventive maintenance on power lines, they created a spontaneous spark and inferno that erased Lahaina from the map. Biden did visit Lahaina, but aid is slowly arriving for these folks, and estimates are that it will be 5-7 years before their homes will be rebuilt. Who can imagine putting their lives on hold for half a decade? No answer is needed.

The East Palestine and Lahaina events were front page, lead story issues for a week or so, a lifetime in the media world. The reporters and news crews soon tired of the story, and something new and shiny caught their attention. I am not calling for videos of scorched land or dead fish floating on tainted water to lead every news hour, but we must not forget these tragedies and their victims until their lives are back on track. These are our brothers and sisters, and, but for the grace of God, it could be us living in a cheap hotel room with only memories of a life we lost. We can continue living our lives, but we must continue to pray and support these folks until they enjoy the same life we wake to every morning.

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In Part 1, I explained the 1993 decision of CLAREMONT SCHOOL DISTRICT V GOVERNOR. Fast forward to “today”: we now have two trial court rulings coming out of the Rockingham Superior Court that is a direct result of this 1993 decision and which essentially order a complete takeover of the New Hampshire School system by the State.

Orders that result in a tax increase of over $549,000,000 and that tell the State what the Educational system must do to fulfill its “duty” to provide an education to each and every student in New Hampshire. It also guts the local system of taxation, transfers enormous wealth from the “wealthy” districts to the poor, and essentially creates a Statewide School district administered from Concord.

Let me begin to explain by giving a short and brief (to be followed with lengthier analysis in subsequent articles) of

1.Conval School District v State Of New Hampshire- no. 213-2019-cv-00069;

2. Steven Rand et al. v The State of New Hampshire no. 215-2022-cv-00167).

(FYI: I never met the Honorable David Ruoff, Judge of the Superior Court for Rockingham County. I have never been in his courtroom. No reason for me to have done either, as I retired from the practice of law years ago and have never held a license in New Hampshire. For this article, I assume he is a very good judge of the highest judicial standards on all levels. Nothing I say here is meant to be directed at him on a personal level; rather, I direct myself to his opinions and the results of those opinions that take multiple giant steps toward destroying a big part of the local control/ direct democracy concepts that I have grown to know and love.)

First, in the Conval case, the Rockingham Superior Court decided to do what no Court, not even the Supreme Court, did in 8 prior decisions:  the Court decided to tell the “People,” the legislature, the Governor, the State Board of Education what a “constitutionally” adequate education requires. The Court took testimony from the “experts” presented by the plaintiff as to what they, the experts, feel/believe should be in every child’s education. The Court then – in total reliance on these experts – determined and delineated what the Constitution of New Hampshire requires of the State to fulfill its duty to provide an education. The Court actually listed the components of this Constitutionally mandated curriculum (which I will discuss in an upcoming article). The Court then declared that the current education system – and any future educational system – would be unconstitutional if it did not follow this Judge’s (expert) stated curriculum.

(Please note: one judge, sitting in one trial court, has now issued an order that determines New Hampshire school curriculum Statewide, and he did it based upon the opinions of “educational experts” who you probably never heard of. And certainly, did not elect. KEEP FURTHER IN MIND- THE GENERAL COURT AND THE GOVERNOR HAD, PREVIOUS TO THIS RULING, MADE THEIR OWN DETERMINATION OF WHAT A CONSTITUTIONALLY ADEQUATE EDUCATION ENTAILED AND WHAT IT COST. A SINGLE JUDGE, SITTING IN A SINGLE COURT, OVERRULED THE DECISION BY THE ELECTED BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT AND REPLACED THEIR DECISION WITH THE “OPINION” OF UNELECTED EXPERTS.

YIKES!

But there is more. Those pesky experts wanted more. They wanted to overrule the elected folks on the cost of such a system. The elected officials had determined the cost and the tax rate to pay for this Constitutionally mandated education and the experts said “NOPE”-not enough.

To put it bluntly, THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR DETERMINED THE TAX RATE TO BE CHARGED TO PAY FOR ITS VERSION OF THE NECESSARY CURRICULUM AND THE JUDGE, BASED UPON TESTIMONY OF THE “EXPERTS,” RULED THAT THE RATE DETERMINED BY THE ELECTED FOLKS WAS UNCONSTITITIONAL.

HE FURTHER RULED THAT IF THE ELECTED OFFICIALS IMPOSED A TAX RATE ANY LESS THAN WHAT THE “EXPERTS” FELT NECESSARY, THAT SAID TAX RATE WOULD ALSO BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL. IN OTHER WORDS, HE OVERRULED THE ELECTED OFFICIALS ON THE TAX RATE AND IMPOSED THE”EXPERT’S” TAX RATE.

Here is what happened:  The Court began by asking -what does it cost to fund this “Constitutionally ” adequate education? The Court went through all sorts of analyses of funding (AS PROVIDED BY THE “EXPERT”). and decided that the minimum amount to fund this Statewide education – the one ordered by the Court AND DEVISED BY THE EXPERT- was in excess of $7000 per pupil.

The State had determined the cost to be $4100 per pupil. The expert calculated the cost of his program to be at least $7000 dollars and probably closer to $11,000. THE JUDGE ESTIMATED THE “ADDITIONAL” TAXES NEEDED TO FUND HIS PROGRAM WAS APPROXIMATELY $549,000,000. The Court then held that the State must raise the taxes by at least this much, or its entire program would once again be held unconstitutional by this Judge.

The Judge was, of course, not yet done: He ordered that this $549,000,000 must be raised by the State through a Statewide property tax (known as SWEPT).

Here is how SWEPT works: The state assessor calculates this tax by taking the assessed valuation of all property in the State and multiplying that assessed value by a fixed tax rate, which the assessor determines is necessary to raise the amount of money budgeted. Thus, if the State Education budget is 1 billion dollars, the assessor takes the full amount of all assessed values in the state and then divides that into the one billion to get the tax rate per 1000. That rate must be the same throughout the state.  To be clear, every property in the state – all of them – no matter where they are, no matter the needs of their community or their school district – gets assessed at the same rate as all other properties in the State. A two-bedroom condo in Nashua is taxed at the same rate as a $7 million home in Laconia.

This year’s rate is $1.20 per 1000.

A problem arises: It seems that wealthier school districts generate more money than they need to cover the cost per student the State allocates for each student in their district. Other “poorer” districts do not generate enough money to cover the same amount from the assessed valuation of $1.20 per $1000.

To explain: suppose one town has 100 houses valued at $1 million each. Another town has 100 houses valued at $100,000 each. If each taxpayer is charged $1.20 per $1000, it is not hard to realize that the first town will vastly outraise what it needs to cover its $4100 (using the current rate, for example only) per student, and the poorer town will not generate enough.

When that happens, the law forbids adjusting the tax rate. Equity requires everyone to pay the same tax rate.

As such, there is a built-in surplus for many towns and a built-in deficit for others.

NOTE: The current system tells the wealthy districts to keep the “excess” money and spend on their local schools; it tells the poorer districts, “Not to worry, the state will make up the differences.” That is unconstitutional says Judge Ruoff in case number 2, Rand v State of New Hampshire:

2. Rand v State of New Hampshire

Under the current system (SWEPT), THE “EQUITABLE” requirement of uniform tax rates results in excess money being generated in wealthy districts and deficient sums in poorer districts. In the past, the legislature and the Governor, again both Democrat and Republican, decided that the excess money generated would stay in the local taxing district. For example, look at the Hollis-Brookline budget: it shows several million dollars of such excess funding staying in the local coffers. Judge Ruoff rules: ” UNCONSTITUTIONAL.” Why? Because taxes must be equitable, and it is not equitable to allow wealthy districts to have that excess money. It must be paid to the State to be used to fund the deficiency in poorer districts.

In other words, we have one statewide school system funded by one statewide property tax. No more privileges to the wealthy. It’s now a centralized system, controlled in Concord, with equity for all!

I THINK CERTAIN CONCLUSIONS ARE REASONABLE:

1. The Courts have not stated any basis to conclude that the students in New Hampshire are not receiving an “adequate” education. In other words, where is the fire the Courts seem intent on putting out? Not one reference did I read where, NOR DID I FIND any case that is made that the students are receiving an inadequate education? Indeed, by the state’s own logic, an adequate education is bought by spending 4100 dollars. Or $7100. or $11,000. If so, then the students are already getting this “adequate education” because, by the state’s own analysis, the average per-student expenditure-expended by local districts- is over 19,000 a year. The only difference is that the courts want the State to pay it and not the localities. How does changing the identity of the check writer affect the adequacy of the education?

2. Requiring the State to fund 40 to 60 percent of the school budgets effectively transfers control of the schools–all of them- to central command in Concord. That means that whoever controls the Department of Education controls the curriculum of the schools. It’s just one tiny step away from turning over to the same DEI Marxist that runs so many school districts around the country. Money is power. Controlling money is the ultimate power. These rulings, designed to provide an adequate education, are leading to centralized control.

3. Local property tax rates will go up substantially. I live in Hollis. I looked at the statistics on Hollis Brookline schools. They are one of the “wealthy” places that overfund. That resulted, if I read the data correctly, in roughly 2 million coming back to Hollis Brookline. That money is gone under this system. It’s about 10 percent of the budget. Guess what is going to happen to my property taxes.

4. My saddest conclusion:  Local control (parental control) is being replaced with control by “EXPERTS” who are neither elected nor accountable to anyone.

Simply put, these Court decisions are turning over every kid’s education to “experts” who are neither elected nor accountable to anyone. These experts proffer their opinions based upon what they were taught in Universities- you know, the same ones who brought you CRT and DEI and BLM.  Their philosophies, their ideology, and their world view are what will now be crammed down the throats of every student in New Hampshire from a centralized command post in Concord. To me, every kid is different. They learn differently. They progress differently. Every teacher is different. Every school facility is unique. Every town has its own identity and culture. Education at the local level without the “experts” has been around for 250 years. Why should some expert who I never met and will never talk to, dictate what the kids in my town learn?

5. DEI is a horrible theory and should never be read into the New Hampshire Constitution. Especially stuff written 250 years ago. No argument I know of could convince me that the folks writing the New Hampshire Constitution meant to embrace principles of EQUITY (as that term is used in DEI). Yet, is not the “EQUITY” as used in DEI the essence of the numerous court decisions since 1993? Is not EQUITY the entire basis and explanation for this power grab?  Are the Courts not using EQUITY as a filter to interpret the Constitution, as well as to define the State’s duties to control education from Concord?

These two Rockingham superior court cases are not yet final (that I know of). I suspect the cases will be appealed to the Supreme Court. What is the likely ruling at the Supreme Court level? To answer that, I will, in my next article, analyze several Supreme Court decisions that will form a backdrop to the analysis. My Conclusion: this total revamp of the State Education system with centralized control in Concord, a system run by unelected and unaccountable bureaucratic “experts,” will become the law of New Hampshire.

Good luck to the students of Hollis-Brookline. Your white wealthy privilege has done you in. Your schools are about to be subsumed into the New Hampshire Department of Education Unified School District.

But there is GOOD NEWS: this centralized control in Concord by the experts should take effect just in time to enforce the new TITLE IX rules coming out of D. C. You know, the ones that say there are no longer any boys or girls – they all play on same sports, use the same bathroom, robe and disrobe in the same gyms. With this centralized control, no need for the Fed’s to worry about parental objections. Or local school boards that object.

God bless these folks that take care of us. Take down those “live free or die” flags. Don’t need them no more.

 

 

The post Are the State Courts Trying To Transfer Control of School Districts to Central Command in Concord? (Part II) appeared first on Granite Grok.

Special Forces Community endorsed Haley

Last week, a number of Special Forces veterans listening to the Wilkow Majority became apoplectic when Brandon Webb announced that SOFREP had endorsed Nikki Haley. While not a monolithic endorsement, a substantial endorsement, nonetheless.

I was not at all surprised. In fact, it seemed a logical choice for the Special Forces Community to endorse Globalist puppet Nikk Haley. Most lose sight of the fact that the Special Forces community are professional warfighters. To play one’s craft, there must be wars. Thus, the continuation of the self-licking ice cream cone.

Nikki Haley has been endorsed by Linked In Founder Reid Hoffman, who has been funding many of the legal efforts against Donald Trump. Also endorsing Haley, the Klaus Schwab meat puppet is Larry Fink, emperor of DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) and Black Rock CEO. These people are evil fascist corporate overlords.

Fox News is in the bag for Nikki Haley. Their subtle reporting is not subtle enough. Reasonable people watching see right through the veneer. Sending Lawrence Jones into middle American diners where the folks sing Trump’s praises is not a very effective cover.

On January 17, 1961, Outgoing President Eisenhower addressed the American people, warning them about the dangers of the “Military Industrial Complex.” The federal government’s collaboration creating alliances with military and industrial leaders makes American vulnerable. While Eisenhower did think such collaborations were necessary, he also saw them as fraught with abuse of power.

 

 

Nikki Haley is hands down the deep state establishment candidate. She is a globalist meat puppet and stooge for the international globalist constituency. When the endorsements come, make sure you critically analyze why that entity or person is making the endorsement.

Supporters of Nimrata are being duped. Under the guise that a second Trump presidency would be noisy, strife-filled, and full of conflict, those supporters foolishly believe that they would never attack her in the manner the progressive devils are attacking Trump. Why wouldn’t they? If these lawless and fascistic tactics succeed in taking down Trump, why would those tactics not become part of the playbook?

The post Nikki Haley: Globalist Establishment Meat Puppet appeared first on Granite Grok.

I think everyone can agree that Civics education in America is suffering. Graduating students cannot answer basic questions on Civics.  But there is a debate on how to improve Civics education for k-12 students.

I’ve attended public legislative hearings on Civics education in New Hampshire. Everyone agrees that we have a serious problem. It doesn’t surprise me that those testifying, admit that children are devoid of basic Civics knowledge. You would think that this would mean that everyone would want to improve Civics literacy. You’d be wrong.

Political activists see this as an opportunity to turn students into political activists. This is why they want to focus on Civics activism versus Civics literacy. There is a big difference.

NH Civics describes themselves as: The Leader in Civics Education—
We envision a New Hampshire that is first in the nation in citizen preparation and a national leader in civics education.

One would think that this organization would be fighting for Civics literacy for New Hampshire students, but when you look at what they’ve been doing, it makes you wonder.

WESTHEIMER

Back in 2020, NH Civics hosted Joel Westheimer as one of their guest speakers. Westheimer is the son of Ruth Westheimer, the sex therapist. Westheimer is the University Research Chair in Democracy and Education at the University of Ottawa. He is also the education columnist for CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning and Ontario Today shows.

Westheimer is an author and has written a few books including Pledging Allegiance, the Politics of Patriotism in America’s Schools.  If you scroll through the quotes he includes on his website, you can see that many of the people are considered far leftists. What does that mean for Civics education? Howard Zinn is featured in his book, as the person who wrote the Forward. Howard Zinn’s book “A People’s History of the US” has been used in classrooms across the country.

Mary Grabar exposes Howard Zinn in her book Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America. 

Scholar Mary Grabar exposes just how wrong in her stunning new book Debunking Howard Zinn, which demolishes Zinn’s Marxist talking points that now dominate American education.

Then there’s the interview with Westheimer and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers:

 

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

One begins to wonder, what is it that NH Civics has in store for New Hampshire students?

Here is what NH CIVICS considers a good resource for teachers: Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools. The report was produced by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the Leonore Annenberg Institute of Civics of the Annenberg Center for Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

What does Annenberg Institute for School Reform prioritize for students in public schools? Literacy? Academic excellence? NO. Community Organizing.
The Strengths and Challenges of Community Organizing as an Education.  If you scroll down to the Introduction and go to the last paragraph you will see where they reference Saul Alinksy as a source for community organizing:

 

6 Community organizing has a long history in the United States. Warren (2001), Shirley (1997), and Oakes and Rogers (2006) provide excellent reviews of the historical roots of modern education organizing, including the evolution of the theories of Saul Alinsky and others.

Annenberg can be traced back to domestic terrorist and radical Bill Ayers.

LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS

We know NH Listens through the Carsey School of Public Policy, is a Community Organizing group out of UNH.
See:
1) NH Listens? No They Don’t. They Tell! 
2) We’re being followed…..again.. Welcome, NH Listens & the Carsey Institute!

3) SAU16/Exeter: Now Hiding Critical Race Theory Meetings From the Public

4) Community Organizers Coming to Henniker/SAU24 to Divide the Community?  

5) NH Civics? A Front for Radical Leftism in the New Hampshire Classrooms?

So it was interesting to see that NH Civics’ announced that they had hired Executive Director Allyson Ryder.  Prior to joining NH Civics, Ryder worked in higher education at UNH in the Office of Community, Equity and Diversity, and as a Fellow for NH Listens through the Carsey School of Public Policy.
That’s code for, she worked as a community organizer for leftists.

Her Linked-In profile refers to her as a Systems Change Leader:

 

 

Change Agents  seek to change the political landscape and identify the resisters in their community wherever they serve.
See: https://www.amazon.com/Change-Agents-Schools-Barbara-Morris/dp/0931650003

More from Ryder’s Linked-In Profile:

 

Think about the marketing employee who thought she could change the political landscape for Bud Lite.

 

 

One has to wonder what this equity and diversity expert wants to do with New Hampshire children and their whiteness.

COMMISSION ON New Hampshire CIVICS

It’s also important to know that NH Civics is part of the Commission on New Hampshire Civics. This commission was established to develop educational materials to teach the state constitution in New Hampshire schools. The statute law requires this commission to :

The commission shall create a textbook and related curriculum specifically designed for New Hampshire students and teachers to help them explore the history, heritage and principles of the New Hampshire Constitution and the government it established.

One can only imagine what kind of textbook NH Civics has in mind for the students in New Hampshire. Perhaps an anti-American textbook by Howard Zinn?

Even CNN is sounding the alarm on how these political agendas have failed American Universities.

 

 

The Commission has two meetings coming up that you should attend:

COMMISSION on New Hampshire Civics
01/23/2024 1:00 PM @
Department of Education, 25 Hall Street, Granite State College Building, Events Center, Concord Regular Meeting
01/08/2024 2:00 PM @
Department of Education 25 Hall Street, Granite State College Building, Events Center, Concord Regular Meeting

It might be worth watching what comes from the Civics Commission since NH Civics is part of this Commission.

 

The post NH Civics Hires Diversity and Equity Community Organizer as Executive Director appeared first on Granite Grok.

First, I am merely an “enlightened amateur”.  Please vet & check on your own.  Caveat emptor.  Consider these to be priming the pump for your own investigations.  I know this is a long post; I am attempting to put out a lot of information as a resource.  Read or skip sections depending on your interests.

Second, I fear spicy time is very close, but even a month of food, water, etc., puts you well ahead of most of the sheeple.  IMHO, set your minimum sights on a three-month period.

Third, two things will be critical for having the best chance of making it through:

1. Mentality: first and foremost in survival is having a flexible mentality and cultivating the ability to adapt. Vanity has no place in survival.
2. Develop a meatspace network of people that are likeminded: cultivate your community ties and build alliances with neighbors (note: don’t babble about the Jab or globalists or depopulation, or start pointing political fingers when doing this)… and remember, the first rule of PREP CLUB is that there is no prep club.

And please follow both me, Nitzakhon, on Gab… as well as my blog host Granite Grok.  FYI, here’s a link to the last Survival Sunday.

Note that these grow over several weeks.

 

 

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

 

Hope is an expensive commodity. It makes better sense to be prepared.

Thucydides

 

 

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

 

Top of the fold:

 

Well Being: Dietary Supplements – by Robert W Malone MD, MS (substack.com)

They don’t want you healthy.

 

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

 

SITREP sites:

I used to do a SITREP post as a separate, stand-alone.  I can’t afford that time any more.  Here are some “starter places” for sites that I routinely go to get info about what’s happening.

The sidebar of my old blog, with links to other places.   redpilljew

Gates of Vienna

Doug Ross @ Journal (directorblue.blogspot.com)

The Other McCain

TheBlaze

ancipient news

 

=+=+=

Oddments – random thoughts on prepping:

 

Bayou Renaissance Man: Emergency food supplies: points to ponder

Food shortages coming, by dribs and drabs.  MHO is that the supplies will slowly, slowly constrict to avoid mass panic… until the absences become so noticeable that there’s a “preference cascade” where the mass public becomes consciously aware in a very short timespan.

 

=+=+=

Prepper Site URLS:

Most have daily articles; revisit daily.  Please recommend others in the comments.

Ask a Prepper, how to prepare, survive and thrive, latest news

Mother Earth News

The Organic Prepper Home – The Organic Prepper

SurvivalBlog.com – The Daily Web Log for Prepared Individuals Living in Uncertain Times.

SHTF Blog – Modern Survival

Survival World – Everything You Need To Know to Survive

Homestead Survival Site – How to Live Off The Grid in Comfort and Style

Urban Survival Site | How to Survive a Disaster in the City

Mind4Survival – Survival and Preparedness

Gray Wolf survival

Sustainable Living (sustainablelivingideas.com)

The Classic Survivalist – Surviving in a Modern World

Primal Survivor – Practical and sensible prepping advice

Em Off-grid – We & Our Off The Grid Life – Em OffGrid

Resource for Practical, Daily Prepping Skills for SHTF & Survival (geekprepper.com)

Home – Backwoods Home Magazine (new)

Purpose Driven Homestead – Our family is on a journey to rediscover the ways that we can be more self-sufficient in our own backyards. (new)

And three aggregate sites listing their top favorite sites & links too:

TOP 50 SURVIVAL & PREPPER BLOGS

The 50 Best Survival Blogs

Prepper Website – Preparedness • Survival • Alternative News

—

Specific, one-up articles:

Building an Outdoor Oven – Mother Earth News

The technology of the domed oven is ancient. In one of the world’s oldest excavated Neolithic villages, every house had a domed mud oven. That was 9,000 years ago! The technology hasn’t changed. Any refractory dome that has a hole cut into it (so you can heat the oven with an interior fire) will cook pizza and other foods when the fire is still burning. However, the ultimate power of the domed oven is that the dome functions like a battery, absorbing heat while it’s being fired. So, after the fire has died down, you can sweep out the embers and bake bread and casseroles with the stored heat radiating into the oven from the dome. When the oven is nearly cool, you can dry wild mushrooms, herbs, and fruit inside.

—

15 Items Every Prepper Should Hoard – Off-Grid

Video embedded.

—

EMP Proof Batteries For Off-Grid Battery Bank (modernsurvivalblog.com)

Looks like the “old batteries” are best.

—

Related to Spicy Time:

 

If you’re out in the woods, got to build fires with minimal to no smoke.

 

Stop the Smoke, Do THIS to Your Fire Pit

 

 

—

DIY Projects to Hide Your Survival Plants in Plain Sight – Ask a Prepper

Nevertheless, it’s highly likely that those neighbors will remember your garden when food runs out and they want something to eat. That’s when they might be tempted to slip over the fence and see what you have that they can reappropriate for their own use.

This makes it so that the real trick about growing a survival garden is keeping your garden from being obvious. As an alternative, some parts of your garden might end up being obvious, but you’ll want to make sure that not all of it is readily identifiable as a vegetable garden. The more of your garden that you can keep people from recognizing for what it is, the better.

—

 

 

—

EMP: The First 72 Hours – Ask a Prepper

Excellent.  MHO on an EMP.  Anyone with the capability to EMP will likely do it several times, spread out over weeks or even months (assuming retaliations don’t kick off).

Three more from the same site:

These Common Items Will Become a Luxury When SHTF – Ask a Prepper

7 Assumptions That Can Get You Killed When STHF – Ask a Prepper

Meds FEMA Will Take From You in a Crisis. Hide Them Now – Ask a Prepper

—

“It is interesting to hear certain kinds of people insist that the citizen cannot fight the government. This would have been news to the men of Lexington and Concord, as well as the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan. The citizen most certainly can fight the government, and usually wins when he tries. Organized national armies are useful primarily for fighting against other organized national armies. When they try to fight against the people, they find themselves at a very serious disadvantage. If you will just look around at the state of the world today, you will see that the guerillero has the upper hand. Irregulars usually defeat regulars, providing they have the will. Such fighting is horrible to contemplate, but will continue to dominate brute strength.”

— Col Jeff Cooper USMC ret.

Related:

Citizens would win against the U.S. Military, here’s how | by Conor | Sword and Shield | Medium

(May need to register; you do get a “free pass” to 1-2 articles.)

—

Related to Bushcraft specifically:

 

This actually WORKS! Primitive Water Filter Survival Hack!

 

 

More on water:

Ten Ways To Purify Water For Drinking In The Backcountry For Bushcraft, Camping, or Survival – YouTube

Can a Solar Still Generate Enough Fresh Water for Survival? | MythBusters – YouTube

This looks like an awful lot of work, but… on my Rumble channel:

Boiling water with… basically nothing to start with (rumble.com)

And this is interesting – apparently pine works the best!

 

 

—

 

 

 

—

 

DIY Survival Lighter

 

 

Homemade, but kinda neat!

 

And speaking of fire:

Making Fire with a Bootlace and a Knife | How to make Char cloth – YouTube

Good, but could have been a LOT more succinct and concise.

—

Camping Food (odysee.com)

Video.

—

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

Short of years and untold wealth, you cannot possibly be fully prepared for everything (I have to keep reminding myself of that).  But even some preparations, ideally at least 90 days of food, water / water purification, etc., puts you head and shoulders in front of the vast majority of the sheeple who will be in jaw-gaping astonishment when the SHTF.  The only relevant questions are:

1. When does it start?
2. How bad will it get?
3. How long will it last?
4. What will the aftermath look like?

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

I have a FORAGING group on Gab.  I will check 2-3 times a week to see if people have asked to join.

—

Foraging: One-up articles

Site:

Eat The Weeds and other things, too – Foraging, Permaculture, and other things, too

And an article:

Forsythia – Eat The Weeds and other things, too

—

 

How to eat acorns – hot leaching method by boiling the tannic acid out

 

 

—

 

 

—

Foraging (permanent feature):

Foraging (practicalselfreliance.com)

Wild Harvests (arcadianabe.blogspot.com)

Southern Appalachian Herbs

—

Books (permanent feature):

Feasting Free on Wild Edibles (old but good)

The Lost Ways (much more than just foraging)

The Forager’s Guide to Wild Foods

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO EDIBLE WILD PLANTS FOR BEGINNERS

 

 

=+=+=

Shortages (broadly):

Over 1.3 Million Chickens Will Be Killed at an Ohio Egg Farm * 100PercentFedUp.com * by Daniel

Get ready for the squeeze.  And the war on beef is definitely heating up too

—

 

 

=+=+=

Gardening, Food Storage, Animals, Food Preservation, Health, and Related:

 

Back To Eden Gardening Documentary Film – How to Grow a Regenerative Organic Garden

 

 

Other gardening videos (links only):

Watch This Before You Plant Garlic – YouTube

This ONE Tip Will DOUBLE The Size of Your Garlic Heads! – YouTube

And:

 

On growing potatoes:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/grow-your-own-potatoes.mp4

 

Speaking of spuds (and other thinks):

 

 

—

This Pool Noodle Seed Starting Hack Is A Plant Lover’s Dream (housedigest.com)

But be careful of the material and leeching, so I’m not sure how useful.  From the same site:

Edible Gardening – HouseDigest

—

Warning: videos on butchering animals:

How to Butcher a Chicken for Beginners [GRAPHIC] – YouTube

How to Butcher a Rabbit – Details + Tips & Tricks | Creme d’Argent meat rabbits – YouTube

—

General gardening videos (links only):

Composting for Beginners | A Market Gardener’s Guide – YouTube

How To Make Compost Manure From Kitchen Waste, Fast and Easy – YouTube

The Art of Lazy Composting | How to Make High-Quality Compost the Simple Way – YouTube

5 Composting Myths You Should Stop Believing Right Now – YouTube

I’m planning to start a compost pile this spring.  And also, late spring, take the kids to the seacoast to just kick around and explore.  But a thought I’ve had is to gather up a five-gallon bucket of kelp / other seaweed to add to the pile.  Sea grass too – not live, but stuff that’s been washed up.

—

24 Newbie-Friendly Vegetables You Can Easily Grow Indoors (morningchores.com)

And from the same site:

Growing Jerusalem Artichokes: The Complete Guide to Plant, Care, and Harvest (morningchores.com)

—

Homesteading: Raised Beds, Garlic and Aesthetics (substack.com)

Hopefully good info.  Other things in a similar vein:

How to Start Seeds Indoors – How to Germinate Seeds Inside (thepioneerwoman.com)

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners – How to Start a Vegetable Garden (countryliving.com)

—

How to Raise and Breed Mealworms for your Chickens – Fresh Eggs Daily® with Lisa Steele

Looks like a lot of good info there, and on the site in general.  Related:

 

 

—

The Complete Guide to Survival Gardening for Doomers (collapsesurvivalsite.com)

Long and lot of info.

—

 

 

 

 

—

Links on old-time food storage (permanent feature):

Thanks to the Canning and Preserving group on Gab, I now have these links:

Preserving foods by drying | How to dry foods safely (uada.edu)

USDA-Complete-Guide-to-Home-Canning-2015-revision.pdf (healthycanning.com)

Canning | SDSU Extension (sdstate.edu)

Food Preservation– Canning | Consumer Food Safety | Washington State University (wsu.edu)

Canning Timer & Checklist App | OSU Extension Catalog | Oregon State University

National Center for Home Food Preservation (uga.edu)

Canning Recipes | Ball® Mason Jars (ballmasonjars.com)

—

Topical Books (also permanent):

Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking & Curing

Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing

A Guide to Canning, Freezing, Curing & Smoking Meat, Fish & Game

The Prepper’s Canning Guide

Pickled Pantry

Fermented Vegetables

Hydroponics and Greenhouse Gardening: 3-in-1 Gardening Book to Grow Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruit All-Year-Round

Hydroponics for Beginners: The Complete Guide to Hydroponic Gardening, Designing and Building Inexpensive DIY Hydroponic Systems…

The Aquaponics Guidebook: Combining Aquaculture and Hydroponics Combining Aquaculture and Hydroponics

 

=+=+=

Self-defense (broad)

If you carry concealed and you decide to join USCCA – like I just did – please use this link.

—

 

Assorted links to videos (some seem better than others so YMMV):

Here’s What You Need to Do When You Are Carjacked – YouTube

What To Do When An Intruder Breaks Into Your House At Night – YouTube

I remember reading, IIRC in Massad Ayoob’s In The Gravest Extreme, that he said that an intruder at night has already thought about and planned for the possibility that they might encounter a resident awakened by their presence… and you can be assured that those plans aren’t good for you (he has another, similar, book that looks like an update that I need to get).  Remember – you’re likely still sleepy, and they’re awake and pumped with adrenaline.  Now this is not advice, just a recollection, but my recollection is that if you miraculously get the drop on them, just shoot.  Don’t Hands up! or warn, just shoot.  After all, they’re almost certainly within Tueller Drill distance and they’re pumped to take you out anyway.  My recommendation is that if you have a local cop friend who already knows you have firearms, ask their professional advice which is sure to be all legalese, etc…. and then ask, So, what would you do?

Stop a Dog Fight Instantly – ‘Unlock’ a Biting Dog in SECONDS !! – YouTube

Reasons to carry a FIXED blade – YouTube

Special For Girls || Self Defence || Commando Fitness Club – YouTube

What You Need To Confront Groups Of Armed Violent Criminals – YouTube

SELF DEFENSE PRESSURE POINTS FOR BEGINNERS – SELF DEFENSE 101 – Five Elements Tactical – YouTube

3 Ways to Touch & Sleep People ● Instant Knockout Strike – YouTube

Neck strike.  This can kill.

—

 

I love how the other person at the table just continues eating their ice cream!

 

Situational Awareness!

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/attacked-a-table.mp4

 

But watching this, I instantly knew those guys walking around the corner were bad news.  And, clearly, so did the guy at the table.

 

=+=+=

Hunting & Fishing:

 

Tanning Deer Hides Start to Finish! How Easy is This? | TUTORIAL | INDIGENOUS SKILLS | DIY

 

 

Other videos (links only):

How to Butcher a Deer at Home | The Bearded Butchers – YouTube

Hide Tanning 101 – How to make Leather from Animal Skins, NATURALY – YouTube

Venison Hind Breakdown #shorts – YouTube

 

 

=+=+=

Concluding thoughts if I’m moved to comment:

 

Something to consider as we watch the rivers of people streaming into our country:

The USA’s Army of Illegals – Vox Popoli (voxday.net)

Related to the literal tsunami of illegals… amongst many other things:

Biden Isn’t Worried About Diseases Seeping Through The Border (thefederalist.com)

 

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

 

Boots on the Ground…Jan. 3rd… MIDDLE EAST is getting ready to EXPLODE…Attack in Iran

 

 

Not to be doom and gloom, but with all the piles of war-tinder around, let alone the things that are already going on… something’s gonna blow.  It could be the Middle East.  It could be China-Taiwan.  Russia looks to be winning in Ukraine despite Western aid.

 

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

 

Palate cleansers:

 

—

—

 

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

 

Please check out my MEMES collections; last one here.  Mockery, ridicule, and the wrapping of uncomfortable truths inside humor can penetrate the cognitive shields of normies far more effectively – IMHO – than dry facts and figures.

And if you enjoyed this post, please do consider buying me a coffee or two:

Buy Me a Coffee

 

The post Survival Sunday appeared first on Granite Grok.

Having spent time with former police, I’ve heard my share of stories about ‘domestics.’ Fights between cohabitating partners if you prefer. I’m also familiar with recovering angry drunks who were abusive – my mom spent her life helping alcoholics in recovery. People hit each other, and some men hit women.

Some guys are more like Comedian Bill Burr, who said, I don’t condone hitting women, but I understand it. He was being funny and real. As I said, people hit each other. And yes, there are plenty of women who hit men. But put them in a ring, and there might be a lot of money in it if you can do it professionally and survive the abuse.

Boxing used to be the sport of kings, but now, thanks to US boxing, it is also the sport of queens. It is allowing men to fight in women’s matches if they claim to be women.

 

We used to call this violence against women. Now we call it a victory for trans rights. The trans cult is a mental health epidemic in our country and it needs to stop. https://t.co/GjDDMrDSn7

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 4, 2024

 

As policies go, this one is slightly better than most I’ve seen.

 

Under the new policy, included in the 2024 rule book, male boxers who transition can compete in the female category so long as they meet certain criteria.

Those under the age of 18 are still required to compete as their birth gender, but adults can choose their category as long as they state their new gender identity and fully complete gender reassignment surgery.

 

But it completely fails to address the actual threat. A male competitor who undergoes surgery still benefits from the increased bone density and muscle mass, height, and weight advantages. A female boxer would have to be crazy to get into the ring with a man who transitioned after maturing into adulthood. The likely difference in reach combined with power puts her at a significant disadvantage.

Transwomen will dominate the sport, effectively erasing it as a path for women to pursue athletically unless they like getting beat by women who were born men.

 

Ebanie Bridges, the bantamweight world titleholder, also said the policy has no place in the world of boxing.

“I don’t care about ‘political correctness,’” she wrote. “It’s politically incorrect to have a man fighting a woman… and [I don’t care] that’s exactly what this is… this society is too soft… This is our health and safety.

“The girls need to stick together or women’s sports in 50 years will be filled with male-born champions.”

She added in a follow-up post: “It’s bad enough having trans women breaking records in other sports like track and field, swimming and powerlifting but it’s a bit different to them breaking our skulls in combat sports where the aim is to HURT YOU, not just break a record.

 

And unlike domestics, where we might suspect something is off until someone ends up dead, we can see it from here. US Boxing just put a hit out on some woman; we just don’t know yet who it is.

 

The post US Boxing Makes ‘Wife Beating’ A Professional Sport appeared first on Granite Grok.

So I just (1/6 10:00 AM) read a post … in fact, it’s the most popular post … Night Cap: Chuck Schumer Explains The Democrat Game Plan Today, which presents the border as a Democrat versus Republican binary dispute. Essentially, if you want open borders, vote Democrat. If you want secure borders, vote Republican.

Republicans want the Border closed and secure. The Democrats want it open and a fast track to citizenship for illegals.

It is what the GOP Establishment wants you to believe.

It is what many … perhaps most … Republican voters want to believe. That the candidate with the “R” after his name is on your side. Except it is NOT true. While there are many Republicans serving in Congress who are sincere about securing the border with no strings attached, there is a critical mass of Republicans who represent the donor-class who will NOT secure the border … and secure should be in quotes: “secure” as in when they say that word it does not mean what you think it means.

When Trump was elected in 2016 … the last free and fair election … he swept into office GOP majorities in both the House and Senate. But the GOP Congress REFUSED to fund a border wall. Because Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and their ilk represent the donor class, not Republican voters, and the donor class wants open borders … the donor class would call it something like “free markets require the free flow of labor,” which is a lovely euphemism for cheap labor.

The author of Night Cap: Chuck Schumer Explains The Democrat Game Plan Today, presents the House’s passage of H.R. 2 as proof that the border is a Democrat versus Republican binary dispute:

The House passed H.R. 2 last year, and Chuck Schumer will not bring it to the floor for debate. Who is obstructing? KJP says the Republicans do not want comprehensive Immigration Reform. KJP, have you read H.R. 2? I didn’t think so.

The donor-class GOP who voted for H.R. 2 did so knowing full well that it was D.O.A. in the Senate (and that would have been the case even if Cocaine-Mitch was running the show). The much better test of whether the House GOP actually wants something done about the border is their unwillingness to impeach Mayorkas. And as for you bitter-clingers saying that the Senate would NOT have impeached, the Senate would still have been required to hold a trial where the House Impeachment Managers could have shown the American people  how the Biden-Regime has intentionally flooded America with illegals:

740,000 illegals have invaded the border since October 1st, 2023.

We must never stop sharing this list of 19 House Republicans who protected DHS Secretary Mayorkas from impeachment:

Rep. Dan Crenshaw
Rep. Nancy Mace
Rep. Patrick McHenry
Rep. Tom McClintock
Rep. Virginia Foxx…

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 28, 2023

And one final … and indisputable … point: It is no longer enough to secure the border. Once the illegals the Biden-Regime has let into the country have children … who by virtue of “birthright citizenship” are citizens and therefore get to vote … and those children reach voting age, there will be tens of millions of new Democrat voters and permanent Democrat majority. The open Southern border is the actual “attack on our sacred democracy.”

But there will be no political will to deport these millions of illegals. Even if somehow … despite the 2024 election already being rigged … you do get a real secure-borders GOP federal government in 2024, the first sob story on ABC, CBS, NBC, etc., and the GOP would crack on the issue of deportations. In twenty years, America will be totally unrecognizable and unsalvageable.

 

The post No … Republicans Do NOT Want The Border Closed And Secure appeared first on Granite Grok.

As the 2024 legislative season begins, I wanted to thank you all for your continued support and help furthering liberty in New Hampshire.

Most weeks, we ask that you sign in to support or oppose bills and write a brief email to the committee with your thoughts. The emails can be as simple as one or two sentences asking the committee to support or oppose the legislation or as long as you need to express your personal thoughts, but it makes a huge difference for the legislators to know that people are paying attention.

If you have time, all of these are public hearings. I have posted the building and room number if you wish to attend in person.

Key:
LOB= Legislative Office Building
SH= State House
HB= House Bill
SB= Senate Bill

 

Tuesday, January 9th, N.H. House
Commerce
LOB, Room 306-308

10:30 a.m. – SUPPORT – HB 1232. This bill prohibits the government from using a central bank digital currency in any way. Central bank digital currency would mean a completely government controlled wealth system and needs to be fought in every possible.
Click here to register your disposition.
 Email the committee.

 

Wednesday, January 10th, N.H. Senate
Health and Human Services
LOB, Room 101

1:00 p.m. – SUPPORT – SB 319
This bill prohibits the state from purchasing, promoting, or distributing vaccines and pharmaceutical products without human clinical trials. The state of New Hampshire did purchase, promote and distribute the COVID booster before human trials and this precedent cannot be allowed to stand.
Click here to register your disposition.
 Email
Regina.Birdsell@leg.state.nh.us
Kevin.Avard@leg.state.nh.us
Jeb.Bradley@leg.state.nh.us
Becky.Whitley@leg.state.nh.us
Suzanne.Prentiss@leg.state.nh.us

 

The post The 2024 Legislative Season Begins – Take Action on Two Important Bills This Week appeared first on Granite Grok.

On May 7, 2022, Ms. Sidney Powell (a former DoJ prosecutor) gave a deposition to the “House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol pursuant to House Resolution 503.” Mainstream media has not covered it; it does not suit the official narrative.

And why hasn’t Ms. Powell tried to spread the word? She signed an agreement to be gagged as part of a plea deal (which I think has to do with Jan 6, not sure).

I’ve chosen only a small portion to print here (I downloaded a copy months ago – it’s about 50,000 words).  If you wish to see the rest, you can contact me.

So, is there any conflict of interest by me (Mary Maxwell) in publishing this, given that I am currently a candidate for the January 23 Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire? There is a prejudice on my part to believe Sidney Powell. She totally won me over with her 2014 book “Licensed To Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice.” She is my hero of the 2020 affair.

Editing.

I have not “edited” this thing. The usual sign for elision, three dots, was used by me to indicate that a small portion was deleted, to spare the reader from non-essential chatter: I use “&&&” to imply a substantial omission, but in fact, most of the deposition is not here as you can guess from my presenting only 2.6k out of 50K words. As for the italicized headings, I made them up to lure you in.

[‘Grok] – reformatted to make it easier to read, but no other edits from us.

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

SELECT COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE JANUARY 6TH ATTACK ON THE U.S. CAPITOL, … DEPOSITION OF SIDNEY POWELL
Saturday, May 7, 2022, Washington, D.C. [Greatly abridged, otherwise no alteration — MM]

Good morning, Ms. Powell. My name’s ____ I’m senior investigative counsel.
A Good Morning. You’re too young to be senior investigative counsel.
Q I think you’re gonna actually make me blush, ma’am. &&& I believe you were involved at some point in trying to get an executive order signed that would allow for the seizure and inspection of voting machines; is that correct?

Litigation was a means of getting to the truth I had hoped. I mean, that’s the way our court should have functioned.

A We were looking at the possibility, and I drafted the foreign interference findings if I remember correctly or at least had a hand in writing those, to support the use of Executive Order 13848 on cyber security to secure the voting machines hopefully in three to five cities where the voting irregularities were the worst, and then have them imaged by a bipartisan professional group that understood what they were doing. We even suggested the use of it being videoed if I remember correctly so that we could get the evidence of whatever happened and lay all this to rest.

And one of the things I really appreciated about — most of this was discussed on the December 18th, that meeting is one I have more recollection of than any others because it was the most pointed. A. … I didn’t have a broader strategy than getting the information I needed for the litigation other than like I said, my primary goal was to get to the truth. Litigation was a means of getting to the truth I had hoped. I mean, that’s the way our court should have functioned.

It wasn’t going to work for me to do anything with campaign people because they were politicians.

Q but did you have meetings with campaign staff in the time shortly after the election?

A I had one very short meeting with some campaign folks right after the election. That was kind of along in the timeframe where I realized it wasn’t going to work for me to do anything with campaign people because they were politicians.

[I] was gonna follow the truth and the law wherever it led, including on any Republicans.

Q Tell me what you can remember about that meeting that you just eluded to where you realized they were politicians and they weren’t really going to be of assistance to you?

A I don’t remember much about it other than it was very short. And I mean, they didn’t even want to look at me when I walked in the room.

Q Were they — were you able to at least share your perspective and your views on things?

A I don’t recall being able to do that.

Q Had you been invited to that meeting?

A Only by Mr. Giuliani, and he wasn’t much more welcome there than I was. Yeah. I was definitely persona non grata. Q. Do you have any idea what that was based on?

Well, I mean, part of it was I was the only female in the room. And part of it was that they know I wasn’t impressed with them and didn’t bow and scrape to them and was gonna follow the truth and the law wherever it led, including on any Republicans.

Threw the president under the bus…

A No. White House counsel was not there.

Q Was Jared Kushner there? 20 The Witness. Yes. Jared was there. Was Jason Miller there? Do you know that name? He might have been. I don’t know. You mentioned some meetings with Pat Cipollone. Earlier, you said that one of the reasons you felt like you weren’t welcome there was that the people in that meeting knew that you weren’t impressed by them. Why was that? Why weren’t you impressed by them?

A My impression was that they didn’t want to do anything, that they had thrown the President under the bus, that they had told him they were prepared for whatever post-litigation activity was needed, and they hadn’t done squat. And they knew they were gonna lose, and they were moving on to their careers on K Street or whatever big deals they’d made.

They were all looking at their next job, which they probably lined up before the end of the campaign.

MS. MURPHY: Why do you think these people thought they had lost?

A I think they — in retrospect, I think they knew they were gonna lose.

Q They knew they were gonna lose, but you didn’t believe the President was
going to lose; is that correct?

A I don’t think he did lose.

Q So the schism — the difference between you and this group of people is that they believed he was going to lose, but you did not believe that he had lost?

A I would call it more of they were acting in their self interest as opposed to the interest of the country or the voters. It was a very self-interested bunch.

Q They were self interested because they were accepting a loss that you didn’t believe was a real loss, or — can you explain a little bit more why you think they acted in a self-interested way?

I definitely think some Republicans had a role in getting rid of President Trump.

Q And you believe that plan was executed by some of these people who were Republicans as well as who else?

A I don’t know that those people in the room had any part in executing the plan, but I think they had realized that what was going to come down. And I definitely think some Republicans had a role in getting rid of President Trump.

I’ve been on the criminal justice reform kick since I wrote “License to Lie.”

Ms. Murphy. Great. Thank you so much, Ms. Powell, for clarifying that for me, with that I yield back. Ms. Powell, I want to ask about your interactions, if any, with Members of Congress in connection with the — with your election challenge efforts. Can you identify the Members you’ve had interactions with Yes. between November 3rd and January 6th with respect to the election challenge efforts?

A … I guess by way of background, I should tell you that I’ve been to the Hill a number of times. I’ve talked with a lot of them about different things related to Flynn. I’ve talked to them about criminal justice reform. I supported the act — whatever the second step act was or first step act to, you know, promote criminal justice reform. I’ve been on the criminal justice reform kick since I wrote “License to Lie,” and realize that we over criminalize, over incarcerate, and that falls predominantly on the minority communities when we do that, and there’s nothing good about it. …

President of the United States couldn’t get what he wanted in his own house.

Q Understood. I’m focused — or I’m really interested only in your conversations with Members regarding the challenges to the 2020 election.&&& . Was that the December 21st meeting at the White House? A Probably. Q I think we have some emails from you about — well, let me try and put it in some context so maybe it will refresh your recollection. …You were invited to the White House, you went to the White House, and then you were blocked from seeing the President?
A That sounds right. There were a number of times something like that happened.

Q Oh, it happened more than once?

A Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Q How did it — I think we’ve seen in your documents WAVES authorization for the 21st, and maybe communications with White House ushers or someone else, telling you you were cleared. A Yes. I was cleared to come into the White House, and then I was not allowed to go into the meeting with the Congress people.

Who told you you couldn’t join the meeting?

A. …Mark Meadows steered me off in another direction. And did he specifically tell you that you were dis-invited from that meeting? Essentially, yes. I don’t remember the exact words, but it was very clear. Okay. Tell me what you remember about that interaction. …

A One of the things that was very obvious and very upsetting to me as a citizen of the United States of America is that the President of the United States couldn’t get what he wanted in his own house.

I was showing him things he hadn’t seen before, and he was pissed.

Q Were there instances in which the President specifically reached out to you to set something up and then his aides blocked you from — or someone blocked you from actually going forward with the meeting? A Yes, siree.I think there were at least three times when he was expecting me, and I was not allowed to go through….

Q If we scroll down a little bit to the first-in-time email which is dated December 20th at 9:51 p.m. — do you see that? A Yes.

Q So this seems to describe an incident where you came to the White House to provide information to and brief the President and that you were blocked. You said you were, again, blocked from seeing the President. Do you see that? 20th? A Yeah. Yep, yep, yep.

Q Okay. So this wasn’t the first time that happened, it sounds like, December..&&&

Q — an email. And you see Mr. Meadows says: I was not aware that a meeting had been set up with POTUS — A Yeah. That was kind of the point of the meeting, I think.

Q What do you mean? A I mean, the President wanted to talk to me by himself. I don’t think he felt like he needed his hand held by Mark Meadows all the time.

Q Did he tell you that, the President? A No. Q So why do you say that was the point of the meeting, that Mr. Meadows would not know about it?

A Because it was supposed to be just me and the President. … Q And did you share with the President that you didn’t think he was getting your unvarnished or complete information because of people around him? Yes.

Q How did he respond when you said that?

A I don’t remember his specific response other than he was — well, like, for
example, the night of the 18th, I can give you that example because the night of the 18th, I was showing him things he hadn’t seen before, and he was pissed.

[Trump] was extremely frustrated with the lack of, I would call it, law enforcement by any of the government agencies that are supposed to act to protect the rule of law in our Republic.

Q Yeah. And definitely we’re going to talk about the 18th. I’m just wondering if you ever had a private conversation with him in which you shared your frustration that you weren’t able to… A Well, while I can’t remember any specific words, my impression was he was certainly fine with that, he was — he was, you know, comfortable with me and trusted me. That much was very clear. But I don’t remember specific words.

A I don’t remember. Somehow I knew about a meeting with Rudy and the President about the machines and the general issues obviously, but I don’t remember how I came by that.

Q Do you remember what the issue was that was creating the urgency for you to meet with the President face-to-face? A It was whatever the status of the evidence was at that time with respect to the machine fraud and getting access to the machines to — to image them. I mean, time was going by, and I don’t know whether Dominion had already come out with its Trusted Build problem — program by then or not.

So there was evidence at risk of being destroyed, and frankly everywhere there was any evidence at all by any voting machine company.

But, for example, in Georgia, they were already trying to wipe the machines and, quote, get them ready for another election. So there was evidence at risk of being destroyed, and frankly everywhere there was any evidence at all by any voting machine company. …So my concern was that we needed to get lawful access to machines and have a professional, nonpartisan or bipartisan group do them — do the images while they’re being videotaped, so there could be no question about the integrity of the process, and collect the evidence.

Q I note for the record that Mr. Schiff has joined the deposition.

Ms. Powell, the reason I’m curious on this is that you had had a very lengthy meeting with the President face-to-face on the night of the — or well into the night on the 18th, correct?

A Correct…. A Well, I know on Friday he had asked me to be special counsel to address the election issues and to collect evidence, and he was extremely frustrated with the lack of, I would call it, law enforcement by any of the government agencies that are supposed to act to protect the rule of law in our Republic.

I was fricking outraged and appalled that anyone could tell the President of the United States that what he directed was not going to happen…

A. if we were going to access the machines, time was a-wasting, and we needed to get after it.

Q And so, on Monday morning, on the 21st, you said to Mr. Meadows: It’s imperative I be included in the meetings scheduled today with you, Rudy, and with the President, about the machines and any of these issues. &&&

Q When you left the White House on the night of the 18th, do you understand that there was sort of a plan or strategy in place; had the issues that you had come to talk about been resolved? A Yes and no. Q Okay. Why do you say that?

A I was clear on what the President wanted, but — he wanted the same thing I wanted; he wanted the truth. Whether it meant he needed to walk to the helicopter, as he put it, with his head held high and know that he had lost fair and square, or whether he needed to fight for the preservation of the Republic in what I would call a Lincoln-esque fashion. So — but when I left, I knew from what Cipollone and Herschmann, and whoever the third guy from White House Counsel’s office…, had said, I mean, they flat out told the President he could name me anything he wanted to name me and no one was going to pay any attention to it.

Q Okay. And so how did the — so how were things left?

A So it was left that, from my perspective, nothing was really resolved. … I made a call to Mark Meadows the next morning, saying: Hey, I’d like my key and my White House pass. And his response was: Well, that’s just not going to happen. And that was pretty much the end of that conversation.

But I knew at the same time that the President still had his concerns, and as a citizen and an American, I was fricking outraged and appalled that anyone could tell the President of the United States that what he directed was not going to happen, or that he could do that and no one would pay any attention to it.

[M Maxwell’s comment: See?]
P.S. Remember, I too am “gagged” — by Disquis and so cannot reply in the Comments section.

The post Night Cap: No Wonder Sidney Powell Is Under a Gag Order appeared first on Granite Grok.

Shenna Bellows, the Secretary of State for Maine, has been making the circuit of media news shows basking in the adoration of the Liberal talking heads. Bellows has turned her fifteen minutes of fame into a two-week media blitz.

Unfortunately for the Pine State Politician, she is no match for the folks in the national media, and she is getting caught up in her past that she hoped was buried forever. Shenna has practiced the holier-than-though persona that she is playing for the cameras. She is the keeper of the Constitution. The role of protecting Mainers had fallen to her, and she accepted the responsibility with all the zeal of a true American hero. The problem is she is a sham. This action to keep Trump off the Maine ballot is an embarrassment for Maine, shows how divided the state is, and is exposing a past that will now fuel the impeachment efforts by Republicans to remove Bellows from office.

Bellows knew her decision was flawed, so she ended her verbose 34-page conclusion with a one paragraph suspension of her ruling pending court challenges. The Secretary was playing both sides of the fence. She made the move to appease the Left of Maine, and her suspension was her built-in defense when the decision blew up. And it has.

Trump has already challenged the Maine decision in the Maine Supreme Court. The left-leaning court could rule against Trump, but that is highly unlikely. Nearly every Constitutional expert believes any court ruling will be unanimous in shutting down any removal of Trump, including Maine. Time is of the essence, as the primary in Maine is on March 5.

Papers have been filed to begin the impeachment of Sheena Bellows. Bellows has had a short career in Maine politics. She was a state senator for four years before being appointed to the Secretary of State position by the Legislature. The Trump decision is one of the reasons the Right is moving to impeach the Secretary. The other is what Bellows did before her public career.

She was executive director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine between 2018 and 2020. She served as the executive director of Maine’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) between 2005 and 2013. But less than a decade ago, she found herself in a far more subdued role: Interim Executive Director for Learning Works, a non-profit founded by socialist activist Ethan Strimling. It was this job that was the focus of complaints against Bellows.

Representative Sobolesky filed an ethics complaint against Bellows and wrote in a letter to the Maine Ethics Commission:
“What occurred appears to be election interference of the highest order. It would seem that Secretary Bellows did not act ethically and instead did what was best for her preferred candidate and the Democratic Party instead of the voters of the state of Maine.”

Trump claims in his challenge of Maine’s ruling that Bellows should have recused herself from the decision process. Trump and Sobolesky are pointing to Bellow’s position in Strimling’s non-profit.

Soboleski filed his complaint on January 1, accusing Secretary Bellows of bias in her decision to bar former President Trump from the 2024 GOP primary ballot in Maine. Strimling, the former mayor of Portland, was the ringleader behind the ballot eligibility challenge filed with the Secretary of State’s office, providing a pretext for Bellows’ ruling.

If Bellows is to continue her role in Augusta, she must beat the Ethics charge and the Impeachment action. With the Maine Legislature predominantly Democrat, she has a better chance of keeping her job than her decision holding up in court. Either way, her career is badly bruised.

The post Bear Pond Conservative Chronicles: Bellows Cannot Hide From Her Past appeared first on Granite Grok.

New Mexico’s Attorney General, Raúl Torrez, has filed a lawsuit. In the suit, “Torrez claims that Meta’s platforms, Facebook and Instagram, are a breeding ground for predators who target children for human trafficking, the distribution of sexual images, grooming, and solicitation.”

 

Teens and preteens can easily register for unrestricted accounts because of a lack of age verification. When they do, Meta directs harmful and inappropriate material at them. It allows unconnected adults to have unfettered access to them, which those adults use for grooming and solicitation. And Meta’s platforms do this even though Meta has the capability of both determining that these users are minors and providing warnings or other protections against material that is not only harmful to minors but poses substantial dangers of solicitation and trafficking. For years, Meta has been on notice from both external and internal sources of the sexual exploitation dangers its platforms present for children but has nonetheless failed to stem the tide of damaging sexual material and sexual propositions delivered to children. In short, Meta has allowed Facebook and Instagram to become a marketplace for predators in search of children upon whom to prey. Meta’s conduct is not only unacceptable; it is unlawful. This action seeks to force Meta to institute protections for children because it refuses to do so voluntarily.

 

We know that META can identify and filter, block, shadowban, and cancel anything it chooses, demonstrating a willingness to flag, segregate, quarantine, and even take down content at will. That is part of what is intriguing about the story. Torrez office and New Mexico (NM) Law enforcement have been investigating this for some time and “has asked a judge to prevent Meta from removing evidence of alleged child sexual exploitation from Facebook and Instagram, which it says is related to legal action it is taking against the company.”

Meta has said it can and will do what they should have done to prevent the need for any investigation in the first place, but the NM AG needs the evidence and wants a judge to tell Meta they’d best not delete or destroy it or make it inaccessible.

 

In the new court papers, Torrez said that one day after his office filed the lawsuit, Meta deactivated the accounts set up and used by investigators.

This was “even though the accounts at issue had operated for months without action by Meta, and even though investigators had previously reported illicit and unlawful content to Meta through its reporting channels”, the document states.

It adds: “Meta’s disabling of these accounts prevents the state from continuing its investigation into Meta’s activities. [The state] no longer had access to data within those accounts.”

 

We can hear the sound of the pants-zipper being pulled back up, but we do not see it happen and are too late to witness any wrongdoing.

At the same time, the story begs other questions. New Mexico is a blue state. The Governor is very liberal. The AG is a Democrat. Without looking, we can suggest that the public schools are all-in on the gender-grooming project that directs (to borrow from the AG’s lawsuit) “harmful and inappropriate material at them, [and] allows unconnected adults to have unfettered access to them, which those adults use for grooming and solicitation.”

Public schools are the preferred choice of pedophiles, given the unfettered access to victims, with significantly more cases of abuse than any other occupation, with the possible exception of anyone in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts or politics.

The legal definition of grooming in the lawsuit applies to the activity in public schools. Those legally defined as children have access to or are allowed to view explicit material, including images (cartoons count), normalizing the exposure and sexualization, complete with the mental health complications that come from exposing those with little or no concept or capability to conceptualize or understand it.

The usual suspects are operating freely in the state, talking about banned books anyone can order on Amazon right now and have delivered in printed form in a day or two or received electronically in seconds. As far as I can tell, the public school grooming culture is alive and well but not of concern to the Attorney General.

To be clear, what the NM AG is dealing with (in many cases) is pictures of naked minors being sexually exploited en masse and without restriction on META’s platforms, and that needs to be stopped, but then so shouldn’t the significant human and child trafficking that current open-borders policy has facilitated.

In other words, we appreciate the interest – and who doesn’t love to see META sued – but some consistency would be nice.

Stop exploiting children, even when it dovetails with your party’s culture war politics.

 

The post New Mexico’s AG Investigates META for Allowing Child Grooming and Trafficking … But Not Its Public Schools? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Long ago, an unknown Chinese philosopher’s words described the biblical root of liberty that we call Americanism: “The well-being of a people is like a tree, agriculture is its roots, manufacturing, and commerce are its branches and its life; if the roots are injured, the leaves fall, and the branches break away, and the tree dies.”

This “tree” that produces ordered liberty is the fruit of biblical wisdom. Josiah Holland’s words draw a picture of liberty in the process: “God gives every bird its food, but he doesn’t throw it in the nest.” Godly wisdom summed up in a word: self-reliance. Self-reliance weaves fibers of strength into the backbone of our American Republic. In recent decades, there has been a tearing down of this virtue by a nefarious cabal to disrupt the civilized order.

The injured root of agriculture was first attacked in 1933 with the Soviet-inspired Agriculture Adjustment Act (read Dan P. Van Gorder’s book, Ill Fares The Land). It featured attacks on the self-reliance of our farmers that have now grown into the Department of Agriculture. American manufacturing and Commerce have suffered decades of socialistic bureaucratic laws hindering production and transportation. The poison of bureaucratic law deserves the title of the fourth branch of government, for these executive branch agencies are the source of thousands of laws while Congress, the lawmaking branch, looks the other way.

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

America’s tree is rooted in Judao/Christian ethics of the Ten Commandments and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Enduring strength that has withstood two hundred years of war against God and the Constitution. Miraculously, America still retains the sovereign power for our leaders to rule our own destiny. Will you be the water that allows the roots to go deeper by doing your part? Will you engage our representatives and demand enforcement of our laws, which pass on to posterity? Or will you be part of the silent majority that has gradually enabled progressive forces? Silence enables the recreation of our nation upon the satanic roots of humanism that are now killing the leaves and branches of liberty!

Silent majorities in state and federal congressional seats of power will not be shaken from silence by the silent majorities of constituents. In the long run, silent mobs are more dangerous to the life of liberty than the violent mob. Edmund Burke’s words challenge silence: “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.” Courage begets courage. Truth needs friends in Washington, D.C., and your state capital. The constituents must speak, and the representatives will follow.

 

The post Divine Seeds of Liberty appeared first on Granite Grok.

Concord has a new City Councilor named Ali Sekou. Congrats to him. He is also the president of the IQRA Islamic Society of Greater Concord. His Mosque sits on a piece of property adjacent to the First Congregational Church at 177 N. Main St, in whose lot (some) his Mosque attendees are alleged to have parked.

The church has been closed and unused for a while – I’m not clear how long, but parking is always an issue if you’ve spent time trying to access anything on Main Street in Concord. Given how little parking is available to anyone regardless of their religious affiliation, that empty lot most certainly looked inviting, and it was close.

There would be no good reason not to use it until the property was purchased by developers looking to add much-needed housing – and there are few in Concord who can’t shut up about the need for MORE HOUSING!

From Patch.com.

 

 Their first proposal included 34 one- and two-bedroom apartments with rents expected to start at $1,400 monthly. The pair purchased the building and related parcels for $625,000 in October 2023 and planned on spending about $5 million renovating the building.

The Coalition purchased the building and connected parcels for $800,000 in December 2020.

 

Ali is a smart guy. The dude speaks four languages, is well-educated, ran for office supporting new housing development, and is suing the city to prevent the 30-unit housing development on the First Congregational Church property next to his Mosque.

The lawsuit lists several injustices, claiming  the zoning board “acted unlawfully and unreasonably when it purported to find that it could reach the merits of the applicant’s second variance application,” “discouraged the public from repeating comments,” and that the development would “significantly alter this and create an intensity of use foreign to this property and area.” There are other concerns, not the least of which should be why a politician who ran for public office to address the housing crunch opposes new housing. It’s got a very NIMBY-like feel to it, with him being the mosque president.

It does get cold in Concord despite all the global warming rhetoric. Rain. Snow. It might be challenging to encourage new people to attend the Mosque, given the distance you might have to walk—all that noisy construction. It adds a disincentive to attend when the destination is inaccessible except by foot on city sidewalks, sometimes covering blocks depending on the hour and the day, but not to the 30 families who would be living next door for short money in the current New Hampshire rental property market.

Downtown. High walkability score. Everything is accessible, especially the Mosque! It’s right next door!

Of course, since the developers purchased the property, any available space for parking at the church has been cordoned off. One Concord resident I spoke with said there’s a no parking sign. I suspect there’s more to the story, and we love anonymous tips and whistleblowers (hint-hint).

I’ve no dog in this fight, not my city, so we wish both sides of this lawsuit the best. But NIMBY or parking, the current climate favors new housing, so good luck stopping that.

 

The post Concord Mosque President Sues to Stop Adjacent Housing Development … Is it NIMBY or Something Else? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Nikki Haley is a warmonger. She wanted, as Governor of South Carolina, to shift more of the tax burden to the working people; i.e. her proposal to cut the state income tax and raise the gas tax. And, among other things, she SUPPORTS AMNESTY. According to Miss Nikki, illegal aliens aren’t really illegal because they are coming to American for the right reasons:

Nikki Haley says it's inappropriate to call the illegal immigrants 'criminals':

"We don't need to be disrespectful. We don't need to talk about them as criminals. They're not, they're families that want a better life." pic.twitter.com/ypMi4H1Oya

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 4, 2024

This, among other things, is why the GOP Establishment loves Miss Nikki and why she is seen by the Left as the least worst Republican … SHE IS NOT REALLY A REPUBLICAN:

You thought Democrats were going to dump Biden for Gavin Newsom, but they're not. They're backing Nikki Haley instead. pic.twitter.com/KcpNMFdZAm

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 3, 2024

 

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On Tuesday, January 9th from 1:00 – 4:00 PM, there will be two gun control bills heard in the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee. There is also a pro-2A bill that will be heard. If you can do it, show up AGAINST these bills.

The gun control crowd is spending a LOT of money this year to push their draconian, out-of-state legislation and will be paying people to be there.

It doesn’t matter that New Hampshire is consistently one of the safest states in the country. It doesn’t matter that New Hampshire has ‘Constitutional Carry.’ What matters to gun controllers is out-of-state legislation that will intentionally harm Granite Staters and infringe upon your fundamental human right to self-defense.

The gun control bills are listed below:

Senate Bill 571 – AN ACT requiring a background check prior to any commercial firearm sale.

This bill has been resurrected from the depths of Hell for at least a decade. And as always, this bill will make it so anyone who provides firearm training, other than those who are already FFL dealers, will NOT be able to provide firearm SAFETY training. Year after year after year, we have explained how this bill harms those who seek gun safety training but year after year after year, gun controllers don’t care. They claim to be all about gun safety but when it boils down to facts and reality, it’s more about control. They care nothing about actual gun safety.

Senate Bill 577 – AN ACT imposing a waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a firearm.

This bill seeks to stop law-abiding Granite Staters, who pass a federal background check, from taking the legally purchased firearm home for 3 days. If you’re a woman with a stalker or abusive partner and don’t have a restraining order, you’re out of luck when it comes to protecting yourself and practicing your fundamental human right to self-defense. NH’s 2A doesn’t mention anything about a waiting period, neither does the Constitution. The only people who want a waiting period are those who seek to enable criminals.

The only good bill to support is below:

Senate Bill 322 – AN ACT relative to licenses to carry.

When ‘Constitutional Carry’ was passed Granite Staters no longer had to ask permission from the government to carry a firearm how they see fit.  Some Chiefs of Police decided not to sign their names on the pistol/revolver licenses (PRL) of those who still sought to get a PRL for reciprocity purposes in other states. This bill will require those who issue PRLs to sign their name to them.

You can email and/or call the committee members below:

First Name	Last Name	Email Address	Phone
Daryl	Abbas	Daryl.Abbas@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-4151
Sharon	Carson	Sharon.Carson@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-3266
Shannon	Chandley	Shannon.Chandley@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-3092
Bill	Gannon	William.Gannon@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-3077
Rebecca	Whitley	Becky.Whitley@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-3092

 

| Women’s Defense League

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The thought-police wordsmiths over at the United Nations have been busy working on the correct vocabulary when commenting on a wide range of things, including events for which Human beings were ill-prepared.

Remember the Early Obama-era overseas contingency operation and man-caused disaster? The UN has taken the latter to heart.

 

A natural hazard, such as a hurricane, earthquake, or flood, only becomes a disaster when it impacts a community that is not adequately protected, and whose population is vulnerable as a result of poverty, exclusion or socially-disadvantage.

There are also disasters that result from natural hazards, like wildfires or desertification, that have a devastating effect on natural resources, laying waste to ecosystems and wildlife habitats. Some of these originate from man-made hazards, like chemical spills or nuclear leaks. This destruction can have serious effects on the communities that co-exist and rely on these resources, causing economic and cultural losses, and ruining lives and livelihoods.

Still, those aren’t natural disasters.

First, isn’t the use of the word man sexist and bigoted? If you’re thinking the language that should read person-caused .. wait! Person has “son” in it and, as such, is also sexist and bigoted. We can’t call it a human-caused hazard ‘cuz “man.” They/Them?

You see the problem.

Here’s another one.

What about They/Them caused disasters around rare-earth metal mines in Asia and Africa? Countries like China are poisoning the land and water, as well as generations of the indigenous population, to feed the West’s suicidal obsession with solar panels and lithium battery packs, of which there are not enough “natural” resources to make viable for any energy transition except a world with less or no energy.

Surprise! They have words to describe that like ‘Green Energy, ‘Net-Zero,’ Progress, Evolution, but none of them properly describe or portray the environmental destruction created and advocated by the United Nations’ environmental and energy agenda.

The United Nations has led a decades-long policy path that has diverted trillions globally away from people in need for pointless CO2 reduction strategies that have led to China’s massive growth in land, air, and water pollution. Total contamination in response to UN directives and priorities is a Disaster.

Perhaps, instead of insisting we all rethink how we view damage and loss of life from any event, we reimagine a world without the disaster that is the UN, the WHO, the IMF, the WEF, and the World Bank. All of them have done enough damage to the world and its people to have earned a declaration as a global terrorist organization.

 

The post Where the United Nations (sort of) Admits … It Is a Disaster appeared first on Granite Grok.

Camp Constitution will hold its 15th Annual Family Camp at the Singing Hills Christian Camp https://www.singinghills.net/ Plainfield, NH. from Sunday July 14 to Friday, July 19, 2024

Returning instructors include Pastor David Whitney of the Institute on the Constitution; Professor Willie Soon, world-renowned astrophysicist and climate realist; Catherine White of The Constitution Decoded; Alex Newman, author and host of the Sentinel Report, and Rev. Steve Craft, Camp Constitution’s chaplain.

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Guest instructors include Tucker Carlson and Julie Wilkinson, who played the abortion nurse in the movie “Unplanned: The Abby Johnson Story.” In addition to the classes, the camp will offer marksmanship courses, martial arts, hiking, basketball, volleyball, wiffleball, optional field trip,s and swimming, chess, gaga, and corn hole tournaments. Campers and staff end the day with an evening campfire.

Camp Constitution’s annual camp is a family camp open to entire families, unaccompanied minors, and adults. The cost for the week which includes lodging, meals and class handouts is $300 for those 13 and over. $200. For campers 12 and under, and three and under with parents are free.  The camp offers an “Early Bird” discount of $50, per person by registering by May 1.   A link to the camp registration:  http://campconstitution.net/camp-registration/

 

Contact: Hal Shurtleff
(857) 498-1309
campconstitution1@gmail.com

 

The post Camp Constitution Announces Its 16th Annual Family Camp (w/Guest Speaker Tucker Carlson) appeared first on Granite Grok.