Saturday • December 28 • 2024
Vol.XVI • No.LII
Manchester, N.H.
From time to time, I find myself watching an occasional program on the main so-called public broadcasting TV channel in our area, WGBH, based in Boston. While some of their programming is very entertaining, such as, for example, many of the Masterpiece Theatre dramas, I recently tuned in to an episode of one of their so-called journalistic series, Frontline.
Last night, Frontline ran for 2 hours, essentially broadcasting a hit piece on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginnie. While it was not particularly surprising to see a hit piece against conservatives on public broadcasting, I was struck by their listing of financial contributors to its operation, and more particularly, the prominent mention of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (“CPB”) as one of its financial angels.
This was not the first time I noticed that CPB appeared to be funding programming on WGBH and presumably other so-called public broadcasting stations. So, it got me thinking about the CPB and I became curious to learn more about it.
A simple web search indicated that the CPB receives a substantial portion, or perhaps, most of its funding from me and my fellow taxpayers. Since around 1968.
In the current fiscal year, the CPB received nearly $500 Million in taxpayer funding for its activities. And for next year, it has requested in excess of half a Billion dollars from the taxpayers. I am not making this up.
The taxpayer subsidies to the CPB are, of course, in addition to the funding public broadcasting stations receive from various and sundry foundations (mostly oriented toward the political left) and from their incessant grubbing for contributions from the public at almost every turn.
However, if the programming on so-called public broadcasting stations is good, it should be able to compete in the marketplace with privately-owned broadcasting outlets, by selling advertising, without the necessity of taxpayer funding. Or if public broadcasting does not want to clutter their offerings with advertising, they can adopt the subscription model and attract viewers who are willing to pay personally for the programming, much like people who pay to have access to HBO and other premium channels.
But the overriding question is: is it a proper role of our government to spend taxpayer funds to pick winners and losers in the marketplace for television viewers.
So, when you write your check for your federal taxes, know that a substantial portion of your money is going to support the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. And if this disturbs you, contact your federal senators and representatives (Ha, Ha!!) and ask them to de-fund the CPB and make it stand on its own two feet. And you might want to ask potential or actual presidential candidates whether they would support de-funding CPB.
The post Corporation for Public Broadcasting – Funder for WGBH’s Democrat Hit Pieces appeared first on Granite Grok.
In New Hampshire, judges are nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the Executive Council. The mandatory retirement age for a judge is 70 years old. This year, Supreme Court Justice Hicks will reach mandatory retirement, and the process of replacing him will begin.
Please Submit Group communications or Press Releases to editor@granitegrok.com.
Submission is not a guarantee of publication – Publication is not an endorsement.
In light of some of Governor Sununu’s past nominations, there is reason to be concerned, and the eventual replacement could have lasting effects on NH law for years to come, particularly in regard to civil liberties.
Currently, Assistant Attorney General Anne Edwards has been nominated, but not yet confirmed as a Superior Court judge. Anne Edwards was one of the main enforcers of the absurd, unscientific, and damaging Covid-era mandates and RebuildNH opposes her confirmation as a judge. Someone with such a disregard for basic civil liberties should not serve as a judge.
The post Upcoming Judicial Appointments appeared first on Granite Grok.
Last week the House passed legislation increasing the debt ceiling. The bill was supported by all but four Republicans. For some Republicans, this was the first time they had ever voted for a debt ceiling increase.
Perhaps the reason they did so this time was because the legislation also promised to reduce federal spending by $4.5 trillion over the next decade. Most of those spending reductions are achieved by rolling back Fiscal Year spending to 2022 levels and then limiting increases in spending to one percent for the next ten years. The bill also returns unspent COVID relief money to the US Treasury and eliminates President Biden’s student loan forgiveness programs.
Perhaps the most significant part of the bill is the REINS Act. This legislation requires congressional approval of any new federal regulation that will have an impact of more than $100 million, will have significant harmful impact on the economy, or will increase consumer prices. Even though the bill increases spending and debt, there are reasons a supporter of limited government might vote for it.
However even in the unlikely event that this bill is passed in the Senate and signed into law by President Biden, it is unlikely that the one percent spending cap would remain in force for the full ten years. Historically, spending caps imposed as part of a balanced budget or debt ceiling deal do not last for more than one or two Congressional terms. This is because every spending program is “protected” by members of Congress whose constituents and/or donors benefit from the program. This process already occurred with this bill before it was even voted on, as Speaker McCarthy had to remove provisions limiting ethanol subsidies to appease several farm state Republicans.
Surely lobbyists for the military industrial complex are already plotting to use hysteria over China, Putin, Iran, or one of the US’s many other designed enemies to justify greater than one percent increase in military spending.
The only reason the US government is able to run up such huge deficits without experiencing a complete economic meltdown is the dollar’s world reserve currency status. But the growing de-dollarization movement-fueled by the US government’s fiscal recklessness and hyper-interventionist foreign policy should be a wake-up call to Congress.
Sadly, few in DC seem to be paying attention.
The government’s fiscal situation will soon worsen, as both the Social Security and Medicare trust funds will likely be bankrupt within the next decade, forcing Congress to find an additional $116 trillion to fully fund them.
The looming economic crisis is a symptom of our moral and philosophic crisis. Too many Americans have bought into the lie that government can and should provide them with economic and physical safety while promoting “global democracy” abroad. Therefore, the most important step in the liberty movement now is convincing more people to apply the same moral code to theft and murder committed by government as they apply to those same crimes by private citizens. The government, at the very least, should be held to the same moral codes as the people it governs.
Ensuring that government follows the same nonaggression principle as law-abiding citizens is the key to a society of freedom, peace, and prosperity.
Copyright © 2023 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.The post Congress Ignores Real Debt Ceiling Drama appeared first on Granite Grok.
In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate
I, Hasan, the son of Akbar, resident of the village of Saraab, being of sound mind and resolute belief in Muhammad, praise be upon him (PBUH) and the 12 Imams, the Pure Ones, declare this here as my last and final will and testament.
I have found it my sacred duty to answer the call and volunteer as a suicide martyr for any mission that our Olama (religious leaders) assign to this humble servant. I have given the matter great thought and have consulted extensively with our village Agha (the mullah). Agha, with patience and understanding, allowed me to ask many questions and replied to all my inquiries. In order to assist other brothers who may have similar questions as they contemplate offering themselves in the service of our infallible faith, I hereby report the essence of my conversation with Agha.
Me. Agha, I offer Your Person my infinite gratitude for giving me a private audience before I head for Tehran and enlist in the Martyrs Brigade. I humbly request that you accept this sum as an insignificant offering, representing my entire worldly possession, as a token of my gratitude for your console and time. It is the payment I received for selling my donkey – my soul-worldly possession of any value. I gave my hoe, shovel, and pick to my elderly parents so that, with the help of my two sisters, they can work our allotted plot and manage to survive. I have only taken enough money from the sale of the donkey to pay for the bus fare to Tehran…
Mullah. (Quickly tucks the notes under his cloak) and says no need, no need for this, my son. The fact that you are volunteering proves that you place no value on this fistful of dust, this worthless world, and you are aiming for eternal life in Allah’s paradise. If you insist, I’ll accept your offering and will pray for your pure soul.
Me. Thank you Agha for your kindness. I am particularly grateful to you to allow me to unburden myself, unreservedly, of many questions and be ready to wing my way to the next world with absolute certitude regarding our sacred faith. To do so demands that I ask my questions without any reservation and Your Person have allowed me to do so. I am eternally grateful to you Agha…
Mullah. Yes, yes, yes. Please go ahead.
Me. I am committed to embarking on my mission and nothing is going to prevent me from so doing. Yet, over the years, listening to the ulama, your own sermons, and what I have learned from the Quran, the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet), and the Sunna (the examples set by Muhammad) have made me think. Most troubling of all has been the whispering of an evil man, my tent-mate in the army from which I was recently discharged. This man never said his five times a-day obligatory prayer, he never consulted the Quran or even did not observe the fast. To the contrary, at every opportunity he raised questions about our infallible faith that caused me great anguish…
Mullah. Go ahead, son. Get to the point. Realize that I am a busy man and I can only spend so much time with any one person. But, since you are a very special believer and you are on your way to offering yourself in the service of our sacred faith, I will take the time and make every effort to relieve your anguish.
Me. Thank you, Your Person, I will try and organize my thoughts. Yet, you will pardon me if I end up jumping all over the map from one topic to the next as they pop up in my head…
Mullah. Go ahead, go ahead. Time is of the essence.
Me. My motive for volunteering is pure. It is my duty to give the life that Allah has given me for his faith. I am also interested in the promised paradise. I understand that by offering my life I will be admitted into a paradise of indescribable magnificence where rivers of milk and honey course through the endless place, choicest fruits of all kinds adorn the trees and all imaginable nice things are for the residents…
Mullah. Yes, yes, yes. I know all about these. Get to the point.
Me. Well, Your Person, I am truly ashamed to ask troubling questions, most of which have been implanted in my mind by this evil tent-mate. For instance, I am confused about the promised paradise and the reward for a martyr – I mean the promised 72 virgins…
Mullah. Yes, yes, go on. What about it?
Me. I hope you forgive me. But, with your permission, I will try and lump my questions about the 72 virgins. Would I be married to all 72 of them? I know that we are allowed four wives on earth and as many seeghe (temporary wives) as we wish or we can afford. In this accursed earth, not only I couldn’t afford one virgin for my wife, even a widow declined my parents’ proposal to marry me. Furthermore, I couldn’t even afford to have one seeghe. So, you understand that I am a healthy 26-year-old man and I find this promise most alluring to me…
Mullah. Yes, I understand. So what is the problem?
Me. Well, as I said, will all 72 of them be my wives? Would I be able to divorce one or all of them? Can I punish them if they misbehave, like women are wont to do? Having the same 72 virgins forever is a long long time. Could I get rid of them and get some new ones? Would I be able to choose my virgins from a lineup or will they be assigned to me, whether I like them or not? You see, Your Person, I hate to confess this. I have a hankering for a special kind of woman – the blue-eye-blonds, the infidel European and Americans. Would they be in heaven, would Allah make exceptions for them since they are so beautiful? Allah can make exceptions, the scripture says, “He does as he wills and ordains as he wishes.” The type of women I am talking about I have seen in a couple of movies are the ones who get my juices bubbling, pardon me for my impertinences Agha . I don’t care much for scrawny shriveled women like the ones in this village. See what I mean?
Mullah. Son, all these questions are irrelevant. Why do you think it is called paradise? It is just that, paradise. It means that you get your heart’s desire since you have earned admission to it.
Me. Thank you, thank you, Your Person. I knew that you would answer my questions satisfactorily. Now, the older of my sisters is 24 and not married. There is no suitor in sight and chances are that she will go to her grave virgin. She was seriously thinking about volunteering for the Martyr Brigade and going with me to Tehran. We talked about it and I told her about the 72 virgins that I will be getting. That was a mistake, I believe. She asked what she would get for her sacrifice. I had to wreck my brain to come up with an answer. I didn’t think that she would get 72 men. Because, Allah forbid and I do beg your forgiveness for what I am about to say next. If a woman serves 72 men that would be like a brothel, right, Your Person? That just doesn’t seem right and it is not very practical for one woman to satisfy the lust of 72 men. I told her that she would probably be one of the 72 virgins that another man would get since given the shortage of men in this village and our poverty she is likely to go to the grave virgin anyway. She became furious and almost slapped me in the face.
Mullah. Yes. That’s women for you. They are so feeble and emotional. And at the slightest thing they get provoked and become completely irrational— best not to engage them in any serious discourse. They are childlike, even when they are old. For this reason, Allah has ordained in the Quran that men are rulers over women. Women are not equal to men. Women need wise and strong rulers to keep them in line. Otherwise, the whole world would be ruined. Besides, what if women don’t like what they get? The scripture says that a woman’s testimony in the court of law is worth half of that of a man’s, no prophet of Allah has been a woman, no Imams has been a woman, no Ayatollah, not even a mullah has ever been a woman. They just have to know their rank and their place and be grateful to men who care for them, support them and feed them.
Me. Excuse my impertinence Your Person, but my mother is a woman and she is by far more rational, calmer, and wiser than my father. How could that be if women are by design inferior, emotional, and childlike and need men to manage them?
Mullah. Son, you are showing signs of wavering in your faith. These are not my sayings; they are the scripture, the very words of Allah himself. Tonight say extra prayers and repent. I, for my part, shall pray for you so that you do not succumb to the whisperings of the accursed Satan.
Me. Thank you, thank you a thousand times Your Person. But the trouble is with my brain. It keeps raising all kinds of questions. For instance, this tent-mate of mine once asked me, “Why Imam Jafar is called ‘the Truthful?’ Was it because the other eleven Imams were liars?” See how troubling the question can be. I told him that the other Imams must have practiced ketman (secretiveness) and taqiyya (denying) in instances that could cause trouble. They were not actually liars. They exercised wisdom and practiced what is prescribed in the scripture. Am I correct Your Person?
Mullah. Yes and no. You are correct that the Pure Imams were not liars. Yet, it is not up to you to judge the Pure Imams in any way that impugns their character and life. It is not up to you to justify what the Prophet or the Pure Imams did. They are in a special realm of Allah and they are not subject to the same rules that govern us, the sinful mortals.
Me. Yes, yes Your Person. That answers great many of my questions. Studying the Sunna baffled me about some of the things the Prophet did. In his late fifties, for instance, the Prophet married the nine-year-old daughter of his friend and best disciple. No ordinary man of that advanced age should bed down with a tender child of nine. Right?
Mullah. Son, I see that you are a troubled soul. Your faith is tested…
Me. But Your Person, Allah has given me a brain to think with and I cannot help but think about things. If I do not use my brain, then what good is it? Why Allah gave me brains in the first place if I am not to use it?
Mullah. Yes, Allah has given you brains to use it to serve him, love him and obey him and follow the dictates of the Seal of the Prophets. Yet, there is a price to pay for the gift of the brains. It is, unfortunately, the very instrument that the accursed Satan infiltrates to plant seeds of doubt, lead you astray and destroy your faith. I see pieces of evidence of this in your questioning.
Me. Your Person, I beg you to forgive me. You are right indeed. It is the accursed Satan who takes over me, manipulates my thoughts and enflames me. You have been so kind and indulging that I find it in me to ask a few more questions that really trouble me. And since I am headed for the next world, I want to arrive there with absolute certitude about our holy faith and its teachings…
Mullah. I have other urgent matters to attend to them. Please speak up and let us be done.
Me. Yes, yes. I will get to the point directly, but first I beg your forgiveness for this very question is a shameful one. As you recall, my late cousin Ghasem, blessed with his soul, was killed in a religious mission. Our very own Ayatollah declared him a martyr and the government pays his parents a monthly stipend for it. You, yourself, during his burial, proclaimed him a martyr and assured us all that he was in heaven already…
Mullah. Yes, yes. I thought that you were going to get to the question. I need not be reminded of all these preliminaries. What is the question?
Me. Well, I was a lad when they brought his body to the village for burial. My father and uncle asked me to help with the washing of his body before burial. I noticed that although much of his chest and head were seriously injured, his instrument was fully intact.
Mullah. Yes?
Me. Well, how should I say this? Fine, my question is how my martyred cousin, blessed with his soul, is going to partake from the 72 virgins if his instrument was buried with the rest of his body. I saw it with my own eyes that it was buried. Would they issue him a new instrument in paradise? If he is not issued a new instrument, he would most likely sit around, sigh in frustration, and weep bitterly for eternity. That would be true hell, not paradise.
Mullah. Son, you have not only a questioning mind that the accursed Satan has completely taken over, you have a mind that is fixated on sex. You are in dire trouble and in great need of spiritual rehabilitation.
Me. Yes, Your Person. You are correct as always. But, sex is important to healthy men. Is it not for this reason that the Prophet himself had numerous wives, that Muslims are allowed four wives and many Seeghe? And you, yourself, have four wives and reportedly partake of Seeghe on your biannual journey to the shrine of Imam Reza?
Mullah. Now, you have exceeded my patience with your vulgarity. I demand that you take your filthy self out of my presence at once before I have you lynched for blasphemy.
Postscript
I ran out of the Mullah’s house as if the devil himself was after me and left the village in the dead of night fearing the wrath of the powerful mullah. It may be that Satan has taken over my brain and it is he who is raising these blasphemous questions. But even my donkey has a mind of its own and did not always do what I wanted it to do.
Am I less than a donkey to blindly believe and obey what others say? I did not even scratch the surface of the mounds of questions that I have. Why, for instance, our Mullah can have four wives and comfortable life built on the sweat and blood of us destitute villagers? We have to pay Khums (Tithe, one-fifth) of our meager earnings? We have to give Zakat (religious contributions) and even gladly offer our life when they demand it. They have their paradise here on earth, thanks to the servitude of fools like us while giving us phony promises as compensation in the afterlife. I have changed my mind about joining the Martyrs Brigade, until such time that some religious authority can give satisfactory answers to all my questions.
My Satan-possessed mind advises all young men and women to beware of the mullahs. They are wolves in sheep’s garbs.
The post The Last Will and Testament of a Suicide Bomber (Satire) appeared first on Granite Grok.
It used to be you couldn’t investigate a commie without the progs calling it another unjust McCartheyesque blacklisting smear campaign. They’d say we don’t have Russians hiding in the bushes, but now they can’t stop saying we do.
Everything is a Russian disinformation campaign. Their political opponents are all working with Russian operatives. I guess this is what Clinton meant by the Obama Era Russia Reset. It was, after all, her campaign that created the Stelle dossier alleging Russian collusion and election interference.
Funny how Hollywood never caught on to that lie. They so love to remind us how they were targets which is ironic. The Biden Administration has made it clear that political satire is punishable by fines and imprisonment, no matter where you claim to stand politically.
Three weeks ago, the Department of (in)Justice indicted Omali Yeshitela, Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel, and Augustus C. Romain Jr. Their crime? They are reportedly black leftists who opposed the war in Ukraine using memes and other communications on the internet. DOJ alleges three Russians funded them.
A federal grand jury in Tampa, Florida, returned a superseding indictment charging four U.S. citizens and three Russian nationals with working on behalf of the Russian government and in conjunction with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to conduct a multi-year foreign malign influence campaign in the United States. Among other conduct, the superseding indictment alleges that the Russian defendants recruited, funded and directed U.S. political groups to act as unregistered illegal agents of the Russian government and sow discord and spread pro-Russian propaganda; the indicted intelligence officers, in particular, participated in covertly funding and directing candidates for local office within the United States.
Did you read the story yesterday about the US Intelligence Apparatus having a Congressionally funded disinformation investigation unit? You should. Then, read this from the DOJ on the indictment of Omali Yeshitela, Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel, and Augustus C. Romain Jr.
“Russia’s foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponized our First Amendment rights – freedoms Russia denies its own citizens – to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The department will not hesitate to expose and prosecute those who sow discord and corrupt U.S. elections in service of hostile foreign interests, regardless of whether the culprits are U.S. citizens or foreign individuals abroad.”
The feds have been spying on Americans illegally for years. Obama’s DOJ spied on opposing political opponents. We knew that. But now we have the “new” Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC)—the front group for the weaponized bureaucracies’ war on free speech.
The Federal Government will use its Russian/Foreign election interference narrative (as but one example) to fearmonger people from exercising their First Amendment Rights, and winning in court isn’t the point, even though pro-Trump Douglas McKay was sentenced to ten years in prison for election interference.
Cellmate: What are you in for?
McKay: Hillary Memes.
This Machine will, moving forward, find targets of opportunity. Look for examples to be made. And as we’ve long warned, being on the Left will not protect you.
HT | Gateway Pundit
The post Being on The Left Will Not Protect You From Biden’s War on Free Speech appeared first on Granite Grok.
Where is the reading? And where’s the age-appropriate consideration for curriculum?
In the included images, we see the conference agenda from the New Hampshire Library Trustees Association spring 2023 conference and annual meeting.
Even a casual review of the agenda will note that The keynote speaker’s topic for this year’s meeting and conference is fighting “censorship” thru library advocacy.
Why does my local library need to be involved in advocacy? It is also a pertinent question to ask, what do they consider to be censorship? Censorship is often a convenient label to push back against concerned parents and community members requesting age-appropriate content filtering so as not to expose our children to sexually graphic content.
You think they could have had a keynote speaker on how to work more cooperatively with community members on how to identify age-inappropriate curriculum in a respectful manner that still keeps pertinent ideas and information accessible in the public sphere.
It is also worth noting on the agenda that five out of the ten breakout sessions are diversity, inclusion, and equity related, but not a single one of the ten is related to reading.
We have millions of children who will struggle with developing basic reading habits and skills post-COVID shutdowns, and our local libraries are in a perfect position to fill that gap and help parents prepare their young learners for elementary education by contributing to improving their reading ability.
I see no such focus on this annual agenda.
The post The NH Library Trustees Association Met Yesterday to Talk about Reading? Nope – ‘Social Justice!’ appeared first on Granite Grok.
Over at NH-NeverTrump Journal … the voice (some would say brain) of the NHGOP-Establishment … the obsession with a historical marker honoring a dead Communist continues. We have much, much, much bigger problems in New Hampshire than a historical marker for some Commie. The saying Nero fiddles while Rome burns applies … the NHGOP is fiddling while New Hampshire burns.
The two most important issues facing New Hampshire are (1) the brainwashing/sexualization of our children … DEI/CRT and grooming, and (2) the assault on our democracy … the ConVal education funding lawsuit.
Both of these issues represent the struggle of good against evil. But the NHGOP is too Low-T to say that … that will scare away the white women in Bedford; we’ve got to get them back in the fold. So I will say it AGAIN … DEI/CRT and grooming are EVIL. People who support brainwashing children with DEI/CRT and sexualizing children are actual, living COMMUNISTS. They are evil.
Some unelected judge presiding over a trial that to replace the education policy determined democratically, at both the State level and the local level, with his personal views of what constitutes an “adequate education” and how much that costs is an actual attack on our democracy. It is quasi-authoritarian. It is another manifestation of the Left’s EVIL.
The post The NHGOP Fiddles … While New Hampshire Burns appeared first on Granite Grok.
The Hunter Biden laptop story tried to be at the center of the 2020 presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Attempts to circulate the evidence exposing the Biden family for being, as Peter Schweitzer of the Government Accountability Institute at Stanford University, the most corrupt political family in America were thwarted by a collection of social media and intelligence community influencers who derailed it as “Russian disinformation.” This now ubiquitous labeling of anything the left wants to discredit by tying it to Russia has become paper thin cover, and thanks to the 624-page report by Marco Polo (MP), it is completely transparent.
Nearly three out of four Americans polled said “truthful reporting of the Hunter Biden laptop” would have changed the outcome of the 2020 election. We have obtained a copy of the report and are here to determine the truth as 2024 hangs in the balance.
Marco Polo touts itself as “a non-profit research group exposing corruption and blackmail to drive an American renaissance.” Their report is thorough to the point of painstaking accuracy, validated by expert analysts, authentic photographs, texts, and documents all put together in a systematic expose of the laptop’s contents. The only criticism we noticed is the apparent bias in the explanatory writing style of its authors. This bias, no doubt, can be used by critics to try and denigrate the report, however, our goal is to elucidate the facts that appear to reveal a pattern of corruption not unique to Hunter but his entire family. Don’t take it from us, however, you can look at the report here*.
(*The content in the report is of a highly sensitive and intended for an adult readership, and should not be viewed around children or anyone sensitive to sexually exploitative images. )
MP implicates the “DOJ, FBI and corporate media for gaslighting the public and accuses them of cowardice by avoiding federal law enforcement of what appears to be criminal activity on the part of members of the Biden family including the sitting president.”
The story begins with a computer repair shop owner named John Paul Mac Isaac. Mr. Isaac maintains Hunter Biden abandoned the device at his shop in Wilmington, DE beyond the point of safe keeping, at which point Isaac discovered the apparent criminal information, including what appeared to be sex trafficking and other felonies. Concerned he is in possession of illegal material he contacts F.B.I. child pornography agents . He is made to wait several weeks before being contacted.
The MP team indicates both F.B.I. agents scrubbed their online accounts around this time, with one agent having direct connections to Hunter Biden via a letter of recommendation given on behalf of the agent’s child to alma mater, St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia. This type of quid pro quo, if true, underscores the penultimate issue to the higher crimes, which is the ability of law enforcement to be bribed into not doing their tax payer funded jobs. Above those are the actual crimes and ability of America’s foreign enemies to use them as blackmail.
As a contextual note to this story they list numerous acts of American authorities who, like Hunter, recorded their criminal activity while in office for the public to discover:
Though it appears primarily members of the Democrat party who engage in these activities the behavior is bi-partisan. One recalls former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill) served 15 months in prison for sexually assaulting his minor students.
The question of authenticity is addressed by MP, citing two separate computer forensic specialists and their analysis. The first, former Secret Service agent Konstantinos “Gus” Demitrelos, was certified by the federal government. His credential is with the US Treasury CS2000 program. Now the CEO of US Cyber Forensics, his conclusion states:
“Based on my analysis and overwhelming data confirms Hunter Biden’s MacBook Pro was not hacked and the data contained in the hard drive is authentic…there was no manipulation of any photographs, emails, documents or other activities.”
The second expert analyst, Bradley Maryman of Mayman & Associates, specializing in computer systems and devices analysis, concludes:
“The operating system timestamps appear to be authentic, and no evidence was found to suggest that the timestamps were altered or manufactured…No indications were found that would suggest the data was manufactured.”
Two more F.B.I. agents are then implicated in “slow walking” the investigation. The first, a Supervisory Intelligence Analyst named Brian Auten, also played a central role in the Russia collusion/Steele dossier “hoax.” The second, Tim Thibault, retweeted a Lincoln Project tweet indicating animus toward President Trump, accusing him of being “psychologically broken, embittered and deeply unhappy…”
The chain of command that follows includes multiple agents and officials, including Inspector General Michael Horowitz and Trump AG Bill Barr, all in a position to act lawfully on behalf of the American people, choosing instead to ignore or obfuscate on behalf of the Biden family. Among their excuses were to “not interfere with an ongoing investigation” and “not…change the outcome of the election again”.
Upon election, Joe Biden appointed Nick McQuaid as chief deputy of the DOJ’s criminal investigations division, despite his being a colleague to Hunter’s attorney at Latham & Watkins. MP alleges this violates 28 CFR & 45.2 for failure to recuse himself.
MP also cites 18 USC & 4, which requires any person who has “knowledge of actual commission of a felony” must report it “as soon as possible” to “some judge or other person in civil or military authority.”
Further adding to the severity of this MP report are the pictures, ID cards, text and email exchanges, and official documents which verify the owner of the laptop to be Hunter Biden.
The second part of this three-part series will look at the major accusations levied by MP against the Biden family. They include business crimes involving international cohorts from Ukraine, China, Mexico, Serbia, Romania, and Kazakhstan, sexual crimes including human trafficking, and drug-related crimes now famously meme’d all over the internet.
Part three will consider the implications of federal and private entities positioned to violate the rights of the voting public, what this means looking ahead to the 2024 election, and what our current leadership indicates about us as a country.
For all of the alarm sounding by the establishment in media and DC, it appears the cries of foul play emanate from the very swamp then president Trump said he was hoping to drain.
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The post EXCLUSIVE: Marco Polo Report on Biden Crime Family appeared first on Granite Grok.
In 2017 four (for lack of a better word) terrorists attacked Iran’s Parlament Building in Tehran, killing thirteen. A court in Iran has blamed this on ISIL, and America for ISIL’s involvement, including George Bush, CENTCOM (Tommy Franks), the CIA, and Barack Obama.
The building of the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of the founder of Iran’s current establishment, Ruhollah Khomeini, were targeted during the daylight assault that killed 17 people in total.
The court ruled $9.95m needs to be paid to compensate for financial damages while $104m and $199m are for moral and punitive damages, respectively, with the total nearing $313m.
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As to why the US is being blamed for the attacks, the website cited comments by American officials about the “fundamental” role played by the US in “organising and guiding terrorist groups,” news and information published by US media, and books and speeches by US officials discussing “the CIA’s role in creating terrorist groups,” including ISIL.
The judiciary also acknowledged the ruling comes as a response to numerous orders by US courts over the years that have blamed Iran for “terrorist” assaults, and ordered compensation paid from seized Iranian assets.
Iran blames the crisis of ISIS and ISIL on Bush, Obama, and the CIA, but none of those named has any known assets in the country, so Iran has no means by which to collect the compensation.
I beg to differ.
The Bamster Air dropped pallets of cash, which John Kerry admitted would end up in the hands of groups deemed terrorists. Under Obama, sanctions were eased or lifted, and we got the Iran Deal, allowing legal import and exchange of much-needed goods and services. There were lots of backdoor meetings peddled as diplomacy that was meant to shift power toward Persia. Democrats were even talking about going to the mattresses for Iran when Trump had Soleimani taken out.
Did you notice that Iran didn’t name Trump in any of this, even though the attack was in 2017?
Trump more or less took ISIS out, but he did not do Iran any favors. He restored sanctions and applied pressure such that, once Biden stumbled into the Oval Office, Iran demanded reparations for the hurt Trump put on the nation.
And so we have a pattern. Iran is a terror state whose people need to be freed, but Democrats appear comfortable with the totalitarians currently running the place (and the systemic abuse of women and LGBT folks).
Reparations that make no sense are in the air. Who knows, maybe Biden will toss them another taxpayer-funded bone. Or, he could ask his buddies in the Taliban to give them some of that military equipment he left next door in Afghanistan..
The post Court Rules That Barack Obama, George Bush Must Pay Reparations For ISIL Attacks on Iran appeared first on Granite Grok.
As promised in the last Monday Memes, I have an overflow. My meme cup runneth over. Fairly certain about a Friday Overflow-Overflow.
Also, for those prepper-minded, my last two Survival Sundays:
Survival Sunday – Sunday PREP Edition – Granite Grok
Survival Sunday – Thursday SITREP Edition – Granite Grok
Now, let the mayhem, mockery, and ridicule resume:
*** Warning, a few possibly off-color ones, in case tender eyes are about ***
Except The Potato and his puppeteers want this to be real.
>>>>>=====<<<<<
But there’s no such thing as anti-white racism. Our intellectual and moral superiors have assured us so. More:
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My daughter sent me a video short of an obviously gay guy in an utter panic that Trump has discussed stopping the trans-ing of kids. Seriously. These people are DETERMINED to groom your kids and make them gay if not trans.
Idaho parents grill library official over obscene children’s books (massresistance.org)
Special Report: Boston Children’s Hospital Gender Clinic (massresistance.org)
>>>>>=====<<<<<
>>>>>=====<<<<<
Remember when we had sovereignty?
>>>>>=====<<<<<
>>>>>=====<<<<<
Yippie kay yay, MFer.
>>>>>=====<<<<<
Pick of the post:
Chelsea Clinton: ‘It’s Time To Force-Jab Every Unvaccinated Child in America’ – The People’s Voice (thepeoplesvoice.tv)
I saw a short video of her discussing this. The arrogance, the condescension, the hubris, of thinking – truly believing – that the reason people are against The Jab… and speaking for myself now a confirmed anti-vaxxer in general… is simply because they haven’t explained the benefits well enough or simply enough to us low-forehead deplorables. Reminds me of this:
Wrapping up, just look at that predatory stare coming from her. That’s not a smile, that – IMHO – is a threat-smile. A snarl of aggression.
>>>>>=====<<<<<
The Left takes care of its own. We need to remember that.
>>>>>=====<<<<<
Palate cleansers:
—
—
The post Meme Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.
The history of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys has some odd turns, but the result was Vermont. It is a state that exists because of a militia that just banned militias.
Related: Slippery Meet Slope: Vermont Dems Pass Yet Another Gun-Grabbin’ Bill
Vermont on Monday made it a crime to own or operate paramilitary training camps in the state after Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed legislation introduced in response to a firearms training facility built without permits that neighbors called a menace.
Violators face up to five years in prison or a fine up to $50,000 or both, according to the law. It prohibits a person from teaching, training, or demonstrating to anyone else the use, application, or making of a firearm, explosive, or incendiary device capable of causing injury or death that will be used in or in furtherance of a civil disorder. It also bans a person from assembling with others for such training, instruction or practice.
According to the report, the law does not prohibit,
In other words, Vermont Democrats have created an incrementalist loophole in the law for redefining legal activity regarding firearms training.
To be clear, we accept that there are or may be individuals or groups who gather and train to do what Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys did beginning in 1770. A “militia organized to defend the property rights of local residents…”
They are also credited with stopping,
“… sheriffs from enforcing New York laws and terrorized settlers who had New York grants, burning buildings, stealing cattle, and administering occasional floggings with birch rods.
We are not condoning civil war or paramilitary interventions, but you can’t escape the irony. Given the current decline in rights, New York has clearly won control over the “land grants,” and modern Vermont Democrats mean to ensure things stay that way (politically), no matter how despotic their designs on power.
Make no mistake. This law will develop a case of mission creep in successive legislatures as progressive gun grabbers in Montpellier find new and exciting definitions for “legal activity” and “civil disorder.”
You can count on it.
And one more bit of irony. If ever the state has a need to contain or suppress an alleged militia, they can call on the Vermont Air National Guard for support – nicknamed ‘The Green Mountain Boys.’
The post Vermont: A State That Exists Because of a Militia Just Banned Them. appeared first on Granite Grok.
Dear Ms. Fenton, Please review the following information attached to this email. Several parents in district SAU16 contacted me today regarding a PEAR survey that would be administered to students. The notification sent home indicates all children will take this mental health survey unless a parent or guardian notifies the district that they do not want their child to complete it.
It is my understanding that this kind of survey would fall under state law that requires informed consent before a child completes a non-academic survey.
From the PEAR website :
PEAR partners with schools and youth-serving organizations to drive positive youth development by improving mental health and program quality.
From the PEAR webinar on holistic assessment:
In addition, the video from PEAR includes information on how the Clover Framework and the holistic assessment are connected to mental health. That begins at 21:22.
Federal Law ESSA requires informed consent when schools administer mental health assessments. ESSA SEC. 4002. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
As you can see from the notice sent to parents, PEAR will be gathering the data in order to conduct research on the students. Basic ethical guidelines where research is involved also require informed consent.
A notification was sent to parents, but this would not meet the regulations that require informed consent.
The post Investigation on SAU 16 appeared first on Granite Grok.
As a thought exercise, let’s pretend that Denver’s 9th District City Council member Candi CdeBaca had just proposed the following idea. That Denver should tax black and brown businesses and give that money to white businesses.
“Instead of a bid collecting extra taxation from the white businesses that are struggling, you could be collecting those extra taxes from black and brown-led businesses all over the city and redistributing them to white-owned businesses, who are not part of the bid, or who are simply just white owned,” she said. “And that’s one way to give back in the business form fashion. I think when we talk about resources being returned, this is where consumer-owned or municipally-owned resources are important.”
Sounds racist. Here’s what she actually said.
“Instead of a bid collecting extra taxation from the black and brown businesses that are struggling, you could be collecting those extra taxes from white-led businesses all over the city and redistributing them to black and brown-owned businesses, who are not part of the bid, or who are simply just black or brown owned,” she said. “And that’s one way to give back in the business form fashion. I think when we talk about resources being returned, this is where consumer-owned or municipally-owned resources are important.”
In a colorblind world of equity, this is also racist, but the term colorblind has been deemed racist by racist supremacists of color. These folks are convinced that the correct response to past injustice, real or imagined, is a radical pendulum swing to the other extreme.
Sorry, I’m not down with the struggle unless the struggle is getting back to a world where what you say and do defines you.
Human rights, and natural rights, are colorblind. Those rights don’t care about your history or politics, and the minute you add color, you are no longer talking about either. You are the problem, not the solution, no matter the color, and increasingly Democrat.
The worst outcomes in America in education, employment, and even business are found in and around the Democrat-ruled urban plantations we call cities. All that money taxed over decades has done nothing for people of color and everything for the Democrats of all colors who have trapped them in a perennial misery they blame on everyone but themselves.
Broken families, poverty, crime, and the welfare cycle are all deliberate outcomes of Left-Wing policy. So yes, there are people of all colors who have been wronged by the past, but in the present, their biggest enemy is the Democrat party which is doing everything it can to get us all so pissed off at each other that we don’t notice they are to blame.
The post It’s Not Racism to Tax People Based on Skin Color if You Give That Money to Brown People appeared first on Granite Grok.
Gun control advocates in Texas are excited because a House panel has advanced a bill to raise the age at which you can buy an AR-15 from 18 to 21.
Of course, even if passed and signed into law, the law would be struck down. As Justice Thomas asked in Bruen, is there another fundamental right where we could require this kind of restriction on its exercise?
Could we keep you from attending church until you turn 18?
Could we set the age at which you can exercise free speech to 21?
Could we say that government agents are free to search your person, papers, or effects without a warrant until you reach age 30?
For that matter, do you lose any of those rights just because you have been convicted of a felony?
A huge amount of crime is committed by children born to young mothers out of wedlock and by the children of people who have committed crimes themselves.
So could we say that you are not allowed to have a child unless you’re 25 years old, married, have passed a training course, and have never been convicted of a felony? Could we limit the number of children you have to eliminate ‘high capacity households’? Could we make you surrender your children to the authorities in case of divorce or conviction?
Some legislator should introduce that last set of restrictions as a bill — the Assault Children Ban — just to collect sound bites from the people who would oppose it. Especially when you mirror their own arguments back to them:
Why should we care about your rights, when you’ve been very clear about articulating your belief that safety is more important than rights? Keep in mind that one hundred percent of crimes are committed by people whose parents had children. Even if most children are never convicted of a crime, can we afford, as a society, to have people bearing and keeping assault children without proper safeguards in place?
Then we could play those sound bites as testimony at future hearings on new gun control laws.
The post The Assault Children Ban appeared first on Granite Grok.
Concord, NH — On Wednesday, the Marijuana Policy Project and Americans for Prosperity-New Hampshire will host a Facebook Live event to discuss HB 639, a bipartisan cannabis legalization bill that was filed by New Hampshire’s Republican and Democratic House leaders –
Please Submit Group communications or Press Releases to editor@granitegrok.com.
Submission is not a guarantee of publication – Publication is not an endorsement.
Representative Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) and Representative Matt Wilhelm (D-Manchester). There will also be a Q&A at the end.
What: New Hampshire Cannabis Legalization Virtual Town Hall — A discussion of the bipartisan bill to legalize and regulate cannabis for adults (HB 639) with public safety, health, and cannabis regulatory experts.
When: Wednesday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: Facebook Live (RSVP here)
Who: Dr. David L. Nathan, MD, psychiatrist, educator, founder and past president of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, and co-designer of the International Intoxicating Cannabinoid Product Symbol
Rick Van Wickler, Superintendent of the Cheshire County Department of Corrections (Ret.)
Barbara Brohl, JD, former Colorado Director of Revenue, Colorado’s chief cannabis regulator from 2011 through 2017, currently consultant at B J Brohl Strategies
Dr. Riley Kirk, PhD, cannabis research scientist and educator, N.H. Cannabis Association Advisory Board Member
Karen O’Keefe, JD, Director of State Policies, Marijuana Policy Project
Ross Connolly, Northeast Regional State Director, Americans for Prosperity (moderator)
Contact: Violet Cavendish
vcavendish@mpp.org, 703-498-9883
###
Founded in 1995, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the nation’s leading cannabis policy reform organization. MPP has played a central role in passing dozens of cannabis policy reforms in states across the country, including 13 successful cannabis legalization campaigns, and also works to advance federal reforms. Visit www.mpp.org for more information.
Press releases are reformatted
Originally published with an incorrect byline. This has been corrected.
The post New Hampshire Cannabis Legalization Virtual Town Hall appeared first on Granite Grok.
This week could be huge in the future of the Biden Crime Family and a test of the President’s belief in the rule of law. The First Son, Hunter Biden, may have made a critical mistake when he challenged the support payments he is responsible for to his daughter, Navy. Hunter faces a tough Family Court Judge forcing him to open the books without redaction. It is ironic that with all of the investigations by the Federal Government, seemingly afraid to pull the trigger on charges for Hunter, a Judge protecting the rights of a four-year-old may tear down this House of Cards.
James Comer and the House Oversight Committee are scheduled to divulge the Congress case against the Biden family, which involves accepting money from foreign governments for preferential treatment. This presentation would take the pressure off Biden’s Justice Department to levy charges against Biden or his son, Hunter. Another possibility, if the Justice Department produces charges before the House lays out its case, would be to charge Hunter with a couple of simple misdemeanors, including supplying incorrect info on a Federal Gun Application and Tax Code violations.`These charges would be tantamount to a slap on the back of the hand by Sister Superior and an affront to America-PERIOD!
Joe Biden went on the offensive this weekend by granting a one-on-one interview with the softball-throwing Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC. She fed him a question about Hunter and proclaimed there was no connection between Hunter and Joe. Why? How? Where does she get the authority to make that statement? That was a self-serving statement probably insisted on by the Biden Cartel. They are no longer the Biden Camp in my world. They are a crime cartel.
Of course, Joe answered that Hunter had done nothing wrong and is proud of his son, which drives him in his presidency. We can blame Hunter for America’s woes under Joe Biden if true.
Hunter has put Joe Biden between a rock and a hard place. If Joe sits back and does nothing, Congress and the Justice Department combined may put enough pressure to charge Hunter with serious charges that will implicate his Father and as many as eight other Biden family members. If he steps in and interjects or insulates Hunter, he may take a hit on FOX and Sky News, but nobody else will know what happened. That is the sad state of today’s media. The MSM does not care. Biden can get away with virtually any crime, and they do not care.
It will be interesting to see what coverage Comer gets on Wednesday. I hope he builds a case that few can dispute. This family may be the most corrupt machine since the Kennedys and, more recently, the Clintons. Biden is dirty. He had gotten filthy rich on his name and the backs of the American people. He deserves to be taken down like a Confederate statue during COVID.
I think Joe Biden has the audacity to believe he is untouchable. I hope that arrogance brings him down and that America still has the backbone to stand up to politicians, even a President, who has taken advantage of their position to disrespect Americans for personal gain.
The post Can Biden Keep The Law Away From His Cartel appeared first on Granite Grok.
Keep this in mind as this was definitively told to me: The District does not lie to parents. Yep, I took that person at their word, sorta (backstory later). But that is an official pronouncement. Like “Hunter hasn’t done anything wrong.” –
We all are to believe Government speech on all things.
Cue Ronaldus Magnus: “Trust but verify“. Well, I dunno about the first part, given the last two and half years of fighting the unconstitutional portions of a Gilford School Board Policy but I knew that it was time to move on from fighting on just the language of it. I learned early on that debugging code by “playing computer” can get you just so far – at some point, you have to give your application some input and see what comes out on the other end (IF you are lucky that the major path through your code actually produces something first time). So I decided to do the “verify” bit by putting an input into the GSB Policy and see what would pop out. Like any obscenely over-optimistic programmer, I had thoughts.
So, yep, I went there last week. For anyone that knows me and/or has been reading the ‘Grok on a regular basis, this is not unexpected. Frankly, I have used that question before (see here and here) during a Gilford School Board meeting to the Grandson’s Principal. That gave me the chance to berate and shame said SB over their Policy JBAB (Transgender and Non-Conforming, first issued by The Trevor Project, promulgated by the NH School Board Association, and then shoved onto the school district by woke SBers and Staff) as it forced Staff to lie to parents when asked that question of their child.
Given that the Board has finally fixed their anti-Free Speech problem (Kudoes to them for finally doing so but in which they decided they could grant a new Right to a minor child to force others to use their “preferred pronouns” in violation of our First Amendment’s Freedom of Speech), it was time for me to start concentrating on the other substantial issue – the Board giving itself the Power to force its Staff to lie to Parents concerning the transgender status of their child.
So this time, I decided that I would follow the District’s Policy KEB (“PUBLIC COMPLAINTS ABOUT SCHOOL PERSONNEL, EMPLOYEES, STUDENTS
OR ADMINISTRATION”) which mandates how complaints were to be handled. You see, back in 2017, the School Board decided to wall itself off from its voters and townfolks by telling everyone that they had to first talk to their teacher, then to their Principal, then to the Superintendent, and finally to the Board Chair. If you try to directly address your Elected Representatives, they will short-circuit that attempt and shove a complaint downward.
Sidenote: I told the Chair at the time (a Lt Col Green Beret (ret) that was fond of the word “outSTANDING!”) upon KEB’s acceptance: “OUTSTANDING!” – he was far from amused. “WAY TO GO in separating yourselves from your constituents -Aristocracy much?”.
The amusement level continued to spiral downward. They did so even as I pointed out its loophole: it disenfranchised people like me that didn’t have a child in the school system at the time (mine had long graduated) – I had no official place to start to bring problems to the Board. But I digress…
Sidenote: They aren’t the only Board that have this in place as the NHSBA has pushed this out to most Boards in the State (I’d give a link here but the NHSBA server used for policies (outsourced) is down and has been for quite some time; convenient).
So, time to get to the point – I asked the Grandson’s teacher the operative question of the day expecting that I’d receive a specific response. And yes, I have partially redacted names:
On Mon, May 1, 2023 at 3:28 PM Skip <Skip@granitegrok.com> wrote:
Mrs. <redacted>
What is the transgender status of my legal son?
-Skip
First response back – did the teacher respond to my question?
—— Original Message ——
From <<redacted>@sau73.org>
To “Skip” <Skip@granitegrok.com>
Date 5/2/2023 8:52:50 AM
Subject Re: Concerning <the Grandson>
Skip,
I do not understand your question. Has there been a change in status that you would like to discuss with me or with the administration?
<<redacted>
Well, my programming path turned out to be operational – I got the answer I was expecting by proxy – no mention of an answer to my direct question. I’m sorry but if she’s asking me about a status change that SHE assumes that I already know, why would I be asking for a status from her?
So I told her that:
On Tue, May 2, 2023 at 9:26 AM Skip <Skip@granitegrok.com> wrote:
My question is straight forward and needs only a small qualifier expansion: what is the transgender status of my legal son while in school?
-Skip
I thought that the addition was reasonable – removing my home from the equation. I also thought that the “place modifier” was simple as well. But back to the “Tip toe, through the tulips” dance (and yes, you have to be of a certain age to get that reference). Seriously, who among you DIDN’T understand my question the first time?
And yes, this will come back to the fore later on. In the mean time, one note, two note:
—— Original Message ——
From <<redacted>@sau73.org>
To “Skip” <Skip@granitegrok.com>
Date 5/3/2023 8:12:34 AM
Subject Re: Re[2]: Concerning <<redacted>Skip,
Thank you for your inquiry. There has been no discussion on the transgender status of your legal son while in school.
<redacted>
OK, did I ask about any “discussions” at all? Did I ask about any conversations that happened in school? Shades of what I said back during that School Board meeting referenced above: “that’s a dodge”:
On Wed, May 3, 2023 at 8:41 AM Skip <Skip@granitegrok.com> wrote:
>> There has been no discussion on the transgender status of your legal son while in school.
That’s a deflective retort. The answer is either he is or he isn’t. Which is it? A plain, truthful answer is all that is needed.
-Skip
And then the teacher went snippy. However, she made it clear that she had chosen her message and she was going to stick to it regardless of the intent of my question. For those of you that have the courage to ask for yourselves AND your child, watch what happened again:
—— Original Message ——
From <redacted>@sau73.org>
To “Skip” <Skip@granitegrok.com>
Date 5/3/2023 9:50:34 AM
Subject Re: Re[4]: Concerning <redacted>Skip,
This is my truthful and complete answer. There has been no discussion on the transgender status of your legal son while in school.
If you have any questions or concerns on this matter please address it with the administration.
Thank you, <<redacted>
Note that at no time was a direct answer given to a simple, unambiguous question. That’s known as lying by omission. Contrast that with:
The District does not lie to parents.
Right after that, and I suspected that it would be, I found out that this email thread was being monitored by “the Administration”.
Part two in a day or so.
The post “What Is The Transgender Status of My Legal Son?” Part 1 appeared first on Granite Grok.
The City has hired Attorney Russell Hilliard to represent a Right to Know Petition alleging record violations within Director Cumming’s Economic Development office. Mr. Cumming built a publicly financed Art Center, denying the public access to financial and construction records, and installed barriers downtown without proper noticing of public meetings. Attorney Bolton and Attorney Leonard are also involved with this.
I filed a motion to recuse both Attorney Bolton and Attorney Leonard from representing this case. Both are repeat offenders in disregarding Court rules. Their lack of candor with the court has resulted in extraordinary legal bills for the city. Both have been on a mission to repeatedly arrest me in City Hall for no justifiable reason. Their personal vitriol and animus directed at me, a citizen, has made them both unreasonable and unable to perform their duties. Reasonableness and the law should go hand-in-hand.
Attorney Hilliard, in representing both city attorneys, has cited their First Amendment Rights to freely express themselves. This comment was chilling. Both Attorneys have written public comment policy/ordinance that violates citizens First Amendment Rights to free speech. Nashua has changed its public comment policies to public compliment policies. Only Board-approved niceties can be expressed.
In 2020, Attorney Leonard crafted a revised public comment policy for the Board of Assessors, adding the language:
In 2022, Attorney Bolton crafted a revised public comment ordinance (O-22-024), limiting free speech:
(10) Crude, vulgar, profane and/or obscene remarks are prohibited: and
(11) The presiding officer has authority to terminate the remarks of any speaker when such remarks do not adhere to this ordinance or other applicable law.”
In both cases, I pointed out the unconstitutionality in approving policies that restrict speech. The Boards would not strike the language and the Attorneys have adopted a “sue us” mentality. The City has the upper hand in this game as lawyers are in short supply to assist. Few are up for the challenge of taking on Nashua and understand they are subject to heavy smearing when engaging with this City.
Friday, to my pleasant surprise, the ACLU and the NEFAC (New England First Amendment Coalition) sent a letter to Aldermanic Board President Lori Wilshire and copied Attorney Bolton pointing out the unconstitutionality of Ordinance O-22-024.
https://www.nefac.org/news/nefac-aclu-to-nashua-officials-repeal-unconstitutional-civility-ordinance/
The Board has not respected the viewpoints of citizens on this matter. Let’s see how they view the interpretation of the law from two higher powered organizations. What’s your guess?
A Lack of Transparency is a Symptom of Dishonesty
The post Attorney’s Steve Bolton and Celia Leonard Exercise their First Amendment Rights – What About the Rights of the Nashua Citizens? appeared first on Granite Grok.
Maine’s got a marijuana crisis, as in too much of it. The price has collapsed. Combined with the rising cost of electricity, growers can’t afford to operate. The result is a mass exodus of “individuals registered with the state to supply medical-use marijuana for patients.”
Rather than just letting folks find the weed they need, weed needs some guardrails; at least, that’s what some folks are saying.
“This survey makes clear that the biggest issue facing the medical program is oversupply,” said John Hudak, director of the Office of Cannabis Policy, in a statement. “That oversupply has led to massive drops in wholesale price, making it difficult for registrants to endure mounting energy costs and other market conditions.” …
The report also identifies high utility and business costs, competition with the adult-use market, and banking regulations and fees as drivers of the drop-off. Banking is difficult for many cannabis businesses because the drug is still illegal at the federal level.
But it’s not just the Feds.
“Every single year we deal with some existential threat to our ability to operate from our own state government,” he said, adding that people are “discouraged and disenchanted.”
The Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) blames the legislature. Some growers/Caregivers oppose some the OCP says is needs doing to correct a supply problem that is also infecting the adult cannabis market. Between competition and supply, the price has gotten so low that growers can’t afford to grow (or so some say).
But it seems to me that deregulation is the fix to everyone’s problem. Less interference, not more. Marijuana entrepreneurs will find ways to profit in a legal market without any state interference, but here comes Maine to do some interfering.
The Legislature is considering two bills that could prevent more small businesses from leaving the market. One would give the state the authority to temporarily stop issuing new adult-use cultivation licenses or allowing expansions if the average price falls 20% below the previous year’s average, or if the volume grown over three months is three times greater than the previous year’s. The second piece of legislation would effectively reduce the maximum size of a newly licensed medical- or adult-use grow operation to 7,000 square feet.
More regulations will likely lead to lobbyists protecting a government-managed cartel. Small business caregivers or growers will get wiped out. Private growing will be prohibited, or if it’s not legal, never get there from here. Instead of cheap heaps of inventory, you’ll get supply chain controls to keep prices high and, for some who may genuinely need it, out of reach.
But Maine has no incentive to support low prices. It collects a 5.5% tax on medical marijuana, a 10% tax on recreational (adult use), while,
Cultivators will pay a $335 per pound excise tax on flowers and mature plants and a $94 per pound tax on trim. Immature plants and seedlings will also be taxed at the rate of $1.50. Seeds will incur a 30 cent per seed excise tax. All must be paid monthly.
The State takes in a respectable haul. $12M – $14M per year in medical and recreational marijuana tax revenue. And while 12% of all Maine Marijuana tax revenue goes to the “Adult Use Marijuana Public Health and Safety Fund,” the other 88% goes to the General Fund.
I love that. We’ll permit you to do something you might do better without our consent, we’ll call it legal at the state level, regulate it, tax it, and then use a percentage of that to tell you about the health and safety risks of the thing we’re taxing.
How about an educational program regarding the health and safety risks of government meddling and taxation? Anyone?
And we’ve arrived at my primary objection to state regulation and taxation. The state has a financial interest, as do the large growers who will hire lobbyists to help manage everyone else out of business and then build a cartel with the state. This will drive up prices but also drive away competition with increasingly burdensome licensing and other rules that add costs.
Marijuana has issues we should not ignore that I have address elsewher, but the progressive state’s addiction to revenue can’t be ignored, and Maine is getting bluer by the minute.
HT | Portland Press Herald
The post Is Maine Building a ‘Budding’ Weed Cartel? appeared first on Granite Grok.
Jason Osborne still does NOT understand why the NHGOP in particular … and the GOP generally … performed so abysmally in 2022. His thinking is STUCK in the 90s, or maybe the 80s or 70s. He believes that voters only think about the “top-of-the-ticket” and then fill in the same Party as their top-of-the-ticket choice all the way down the ballot:
The Communists … aka NH-Democrats … kicked your butt in 2022 because they work smarter and harder than you, Jason. They identify likely voters … an obvious example is college students … and they work their asses off to get those voters to vote.
The NHGOP, in contrast, indiscriminately mails out a cookie-cutter glossy flyer of the State rep candidate next to a smiling Sun-King Sununu. And a bunch of annoying texts and robot phone calls that likely reduce turnout. Jason, dear, you are helpless because you are clueless about how to win elections.
In the interest of fairness, I am going to allow Jason to respond. This is NOT Peter Tosh … and to claim that it is and that I am trolling Jason’s obsession with legalizing weed is simply the worst kind of sexist misinformation.
The post NHGOP “Leader” Jason Osborne … I’m Helpless; Totally Helpless appeared first on Granite Grok.