The Manchester Free Press

Wednesday • December 25 • 2024

Vol.XVI • No.LII

Manchester, N.H.

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Dominating the Political Bandwidth in New Hampshire
Updated: 7 min 20 sec ago

Orwell v. Trump

Thu, 2023-03-30 00:00 +0000

If you’re not yet familiar with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Wickard v. Filburn in 1942, you should check it out because the Court may get a chance to revisit its logic in that case.

To recap:  Filburn, a farmer in Ohio, raised crops to feed to animals that he was going to eat.  The Department of Agriculture claimed the power to limit how much of various crops he could plant, and claimed that he had exceeded those limits.  The Supreme Court ruled that, even though none of the crops and none of the meat left the farm — let alone the state! — the fact that he didn’t have to purchase those things meant that his activity had an effect on interstate commerce, and therefore it was within the government’s power to restrict his activities.

So by not engaging in interstate commerce, he was actually engaging in interstate commerce.

It’s truly one of the wackiest rulings the Court has ever handed down, which is saying something.

But compare this to the reasoning now being put forth by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is trying to indict Donald Trump for… well, does it really matter?

Setting aside problems with jurisdiction, and statutes of limitations, and separation of powers, and a number of other issues that have been raised, Bragg’s argument seems to boil down to this:  Trump misused campaign funds because he did not pay Stormy Daniels using campaign funds.

As the t-shirts and bumper stickers say, 1984 was supposed to be fiction, not an instruction manual.

The post Orwell v. Trump appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Notable Quote – It HAS Been The Slippery Slope We’ve Said It Would Become!

Wed, 2023-03-29 22:30 +0000

Emphasis mine:

“Seeing this censorship industry go from, well, we’re just fighting ISIS to well, we’re just fighting Russian disinformation bots to well, now we need to fight domestic misinformation, which is just saying we need to fight against people who are saying things we disagree with online, that’s all that means. And I — I mean, it’s not a slippery slope. It’s an immediate leap into a terrifying mechanism that I — we only see in totalitarian societies of attempting to gain control over what the social media platforms are allow — are allowing. And so yeah, for me, it’s just — it starts at DHS, but we basically see almost every government agency involved in this.”

-Michael Shellenberger, Journalist (US House Hearing on the Twitter Files, March 9, 2023)

What we have seen over the last few decades is 1) People keep assuring me that the idea of The Slippery Slope just doesn’t exist and then 2) someone or some group decides “oh, we want that” and then “oh, this other thing” and of course “NATIONAL SECURITY!!!”.

Just look how fast we went from “Gas stoves are polluters” to “you can’t save yourselves, we need to regulate them” to “we’ve NEVER wanted to take your stoves away” (yep, the REAL “gaslighting slippery slope”) to SecEnergy Granholm admitting that they ARE looking to take enough gas stoves off the market so that there isn’t the possibility for a normal person to have the choice to buy one.

And now they’re after our refrigerators, air conditioners, and dish washers (again!).

We DO distrust government because they just are unable to leave us alone!

From Tolerance to Acceptance to Affirmation to Civil Unions to Gay Marriage;

Gender Dysphoria to toleration to forced affirmation to sexual organ multilation affirmation through coerced speech and lying to Parents. Oh yeah, now mandatory homosexuality (e.g, transwomen w/out surgery stating they are lesbian and then demanding that other lesbians have sex with them).

Go ahead, let’s see YOUR Slippery Slope examples!

(H/T: HotAir)

The post Notable Quote – It HAS Been The Slippery Slope We’ve Said It Would Become! appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

2023 Prediction: Drought Headlines Across the Region Regardless of the Weather

Wed, 2023-03-29 21:00 +0000

Have you noticed that no matter what the weather does, we find ourselves inundated with reports of extreme weather, and it’s all your fault? So how long before “extremely” pleasant, mild, or average weather will be deemed a sign of the climate apocalypse?

The headlines will read, “A complete lack of anything unusual is a clear sign of unusual things.”

The cataclysmic prophecy of the mundane. The everyday. That which has and always happens and has nothing to do with you or your lifestyle choices. These are peddled as signs from the Climate Gods by prophets whose predictions remain unrealized.

Some of these doomsday claims have become so common you could confuse them with perennial public interest stories. They talk about holidays, the changing seasons, annual parades, races, town meetings, elections, or … drought. Every year we hear about drought. And it’s almost April, so drought season is upon us—news about drought, odd-even water-use regulation, and the occasional hyperbolic headline.

If you wander up to our search bar and type in ‘Drought,’ you will find about 150 articles on the ‘Grok, most of them making fun of or debunking the perennial drought festival. It starts right after the town meeting and mud season. And that’s not to say we don’t have drought; we do. There are years when we get less than average precipitation, but much like calling everything racist, the impact of the begins to dry up from overuse.

In New Hampshire, for example, statewide, we have had above-average precipitation for sixteen of the past twenty years and eight of the past ten.

 

 

And that’s using dirty-dog, climate-cult-loving NOAAs data, and there is not much support for the perennial drought theory. But unusually normal or typical weather doesn’t get as many eyeballs, so there is no reason to expect that’s how it will get reported as we roll deeper into 2023.

My prediction; drought headlines for  2023 across the region!

The Immediate Future?

NOAA, which is about as bad at predicting as you can get, suggests that New England will experience 30-50% above average seasonal temps for spring while precipitation appears a toss-up (that means normal, which means they will sell it as drought).

The Farmers Almanac, just as reliable as NOAA, suggests that April will be slightly cooler and drier, with a warmer, drier May and higher terms as we move into a wetter June and July.

Over at Weatherbell Analytics, we hear about what could be a significant El Nino summer, while closer to the coming weeks, April is forecasted as cold and wet.

We’ve covered every base, so someone will be right about something, but as forecasting goes, there is little agreement.

Based on my back-of-the-envelope look, New Hampshire receives more precipitation in weaker El Nino years. That’s speculative at best (as in I eyeballed it), but one thing is sure. If we are not up to our ankles in water (which will be “because” of global warming), drought season is coming no matter what happens … because water use, like energy use, is not about the planet or the climate. It is about control.

 

 

The post 2023 Prediction: Drought Headlines Across the Region Regardless of the Weather appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Meme Overflow

Wed, 2023-03-29 19:30 +0000

As promised in the last Monday Memes, I have an overflow. My meme cup runneth over.  Not 100% sure about a Friday Overflow-Overflow – hopefully, but not guaranteed.

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 ***

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Work is still heavy but things are coming to a head.  MAY… be.

 

It’s coming in May!

 

 

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PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

Watch this video and understand… the Left uses crises, in this case the legitimate concern over TikTok, to advance their power.  Watch, and then write your congresscritter Senators.  Have to stop this bill SB 686 – and be careful for their doubtless-coming accusations of your being on China’s side.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/sb-686-vpns.mp4

 

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And related:

 

 

More than a few people I know have speculated that the reason high levels of power are so riddled with pedos is because they’re so easily blackmailable.

 

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Pick of the post:

 

 

Not because it’s particularly funny… now, watch this snipped scene:

 

A Man for All Seasons – The Devil Speech

 

 

To “get” The Devil Trump, the Left is willing to cut down every law and standard and precedent in America.  They will not like the winds that will blow when we – the side with the guns – understand, to our core, that it’s do or die to stop them.  And that we’re out of other boxes…

 

 

Understand that I wish it weren’t so.  I want there to be a good option.  But we’re about at the smoke jumble…

Lessons from Candle Smoke – Urban Scoop

 

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

 

Palate cleansers:

 

The post Meme Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

EMail Doodlings – A Comment about Mike Bordes and the Republican Schism Caused by the Democrat PAC Citizens For Belknap.

Wed, 2023-03-29 18:00 +0000

With permission from an email conversation – emphasis mine:

The reason some Republican folks get lumped in with the Citizens for Belknap types, and they know this, is because they align with people like Mike Bordes who out and out supported C4B, endorsed their leftist views, played along with them, and accepted their support. They further get linked, because even though Bordes has voted with the Democrat agenda 20% so far this session, I have not seen a single article calling this out. I get to choose between an outlet that spends its time trashing individuals over comments and another that completely and heinously ignores the wrongdoings of those who publicly reject the national Republican platform and that of the NHGOP. These incumbents don’t need to support it, they have Democrats who will vote for them. We lost so many good Republican votes and exchanged them for more of the “grab life by the pigtails” types.

For some outlets, it’s more important to keep connections even if the result is ripping 9-month-old babies from the womb by violent means. Even if that means the schools will teach children under ten how to give fellatio, it’s more important that they stay buddy-buddy because without the staff being connected to newsmakers, there’s nothing for them. Long for the days of the Tea Party where conservative values, conservative votes, and low taxes were the paramount of importance, not protecting your time out on the slopes.

Perhaps, that’s the answer. Hostage taking. Create a new group like the Tea Party, invite local republicans to decide which of the two more vehemently and consistently herald the NHGOP platform. Split the Republican votes and allow Dems to rule the day for the next decade until one side or another are victorious. It’s for sure that we can’t live alongside and abide most Democrat agendas, it’s uncertain whether Republicans who currently aid and protect wolves in sheep’s clothing will swallow their pride and choose to actually support Republican agendas again. It’s almost comical to hear about how “by God, we can’t have a DEM get that seat” when they’re also supporting Republicans that have a worse voting record than some actual Democrats on the same delegation.

That first line is the key and I’ll admit, put to truth far better than I have thus far. One can be a “CfB-er” without being a card-carrying member. Remember, it IS Politics and a lot of stuff gets done under the table and in Dark Corners.

“NO! I’m not part of Citizens for Belknap so stop it” I’m told by some. It’s clear with the above being stated by someone else that I’m not the only one that recognizes that officially being part of CfB, aligned with them politically (but “plausible deniable non-membership”), or just rejoice that their “common goals” were and are still being realized.

However, it does point out a major failure  – the lack of coherence in political actions. It’s why many have left the Party as folks like Bordes, David Nagel and Doug Trottier are trashing the Brand. As I have pointed out before, if voters can’t depend on Republicans ACTING like Republicans, why not vote for Democrats?

Or worse, why vote at all?

The Party’s job is to get Republicans into elected seats. They aren’t paying attention to the harm that is being done to its brand but unwilling to change it tactics/discipline to remedy that image (but it seems like we do far more of it – should we nicely ask to be paid as their “Ideals Lobbyist/PR guys?  Heh!) to be able to show that there ARE differences between the two Parties.

The post EMail Doodlings – A Comment about Mike Bordes and the Republican Schism Caused by the Democrat PAC Citizens For Belknap. appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

That a Law titled “A Parents’ Bill of Rights” is Even Necessary …

Wed, 2023-03-29 17:00 +0000

In the most beautiful country in the world with freedoms like no other, that a law titled “A Parents’ Bill of Rights” is even necessary is unfathomable. But here we are, living in the twilight zone.

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

Meet eleven-year-old KC. KC is autistic. She had a booster shot a week ago. She got a headache. She went to the school nurse. KC was asked if she had her recent immunization against Covid. KC said no because she didn’t really understand the question. The nurse gave her another shot. KC’s heart was racing later that evening. She went to the hospital. KC suffered a heart attack from double immunization.

Meet sixteen-year-old Suzie, who got caught with fentanyl. The school counselor feared that the punishment of Suzie’s father would be too severe, so they withheld this critical information from her parents. Suzie died a week later in the girl’s locker room from an overdose.

Meet ten-year-old Nicholas, who looked just like dad. Nicholas’s parents got divorced. Mom is a bitter, angry divorcee. Nicholas came home from school after a lesson on genderism. He told mom, “I think I wanna be a girl?” Mom booked flights a week later and took Nicholas to the state of CA, (which is now a sanctuary state for transgender youth who go for medical treatment.) Nicholas came home from CA with mom 4 weeks later after having genital amputation. Nicholas’s new name is now Nicole.

Meet Freddie. Freddie was an average 14-year-old, a great athlete with good grades, a good son. Last quarter, Freddie fantasized about all of the stimulating things discovered in sex ed class and from books in the school library. He didn’t want his parents to know, but he planned a meeting with a beautiful 16-year-old he met online to fulfill some of his erotic fantasies. Freddie was never seen again.

(An interesting testimony from John Paul Rice, producer of Hunger Games – states that according to the United Nations, 40,000,000, yes million, people are trafficked worldwide every year, a $150 billion dollar industry – TikTok)

If this Parents Bill does not get passed, you may become the parent of KC, Freddie, Suzie, or Nicky (who may or may not be fictional characters).

These are likely the most dangerous times in all of human history for parents. Don’t take a chance on your child’s protection… their life.

As a parent, wouldn’t you want to know that your child is struggling with sexuality, drug problems, or getting immunized? Wouldn’t you trust these issues better with your PCP, professional counsel, or religious counsel – instead of a school counselor or nurse that you’ve likely never met?

Our good leaders at the state house have introduced a Senate Bill, SB272-FN. This Bill seeks to protect the family and their familial traditions. An example of a few of these parental rights include:

  • The right to know if your child has committed a crime
  • The right to know if your child has asserted a different gender identity than that of which when they were enrolled.
  • The right to access medical records maintained by school personnel
  • The right to be informed of any medical procedure, or treatment to be performed
  • The right to inspect instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum
  • The right to exempt immunizations
  • The right to opt out of health or sex education that may be objectionable (to the family’s values or religious beliefs)

We have CA transients, like Wolfeboro’s failed representative candidate, Bobbi Boudman, who call parent activists “book banners.” She lied. We want age-appropriate books available in our school libraries. Should an eight-year-old be learning about gender issues? Of course not. They should be learning how to read, write, do math, and play on the swing set with their friends.

At this time, our U.S. Reps, Kuster and Pappas, voted against your parental rights in D.C. Kuster states, “We believe all parents have an important role to play in our education system – not just those who make the most noise.”

No, Rep Kuster. We do not want parents who have a 180 view of what we have – deciding what our children should learn.  We want traditional education.

“If the older generation can not get accustomed to us, we shall take their children away from them and rear them as needful to the Fatherland.” Adolf Hitler, June 1933.

NH is regarded as the number one state in all of these United States and in all categories. Let’s keep it this way by protecting our children. Please contact your local representative and your state senator and demand that your parental rights are guaranteed by voting in favor of this Bill.

If we don’t act now, we may never get another chance. And your child is counting on you to protect them in a country whereby progressive leaders have stepped into the twilight zone, likely never to return to a common-sense world ever again.

 

The post That a Law titled “A Parents’ Bill of Rights” is Even Necessary … appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Absence of Shame: Belknap State Rep Harry Bean & Laconia City Councilor Henry Lipman

Wed, 2023-03-29 16:00 +0000

After many months of apparently keeping a fairly low profile, Laconia City Councilor Henry Lipman has recently fielded a letter to the editor in the Laconia Daily Sun (also known as Pravda by The Lake) commending and endorsing the incompetent and inept management by Belknap Delegation Chair State Rep Harry Bean of the Belknap County budgetary process that is likely to result in an increase in county taxes in excess of 30%.

The major purpose and job of the Belknap County Delegation, consisting of all 18 elected state representatives from the county, is to review annually the county budget proposed by the county commissioners, take testimony from department heads, make adjustments to the budget, and ultimately to adopt a budget that typically is quite different from that initially proposed by the county commissioners.  If the Delegation does not adopt a budget by April 1 of each year, the county commissioners’ budget becomes operative.

So, Chair Bean has appointed one or more committees or subcommittees to review and work on the budget, without holding proper meetings under the open meetings law, RSA 91-A that he has flouted despite being advised of what is required by applicable law by several more experienced members of the Delegation.

And if anyone has pointed out to Bean the proper way to proceed, rather than following sound advice, Bean gets angry at those who had the temerity to suggest what would be proper.

We now turn to Henry Lipman: who is he and why did he feel motivated to come to the defense of Bean’s indefensible conduct?

Lipman is an elected City Councilor in the City of Laconia, the Belknap County location of what was formerly called the Lakes Region General Hospital (“LRGH”).  And Lipman was employed by and served as an officer of the LRGH for many years, with his most recent post being that of Chief Financial Officer.  The LRGH had operated for about 125 years.

Of course, as many people know, during Lipman’s tenure as CFO of LRGH, its financial condition deteriorated virtually without control, ultimately resulting in its bankruptcy filing and its subsequent acquisition by Concord Hospital only a few years ago.  But by that time, Lipman had departed from LRGH to parts at least initially unknown.

There are many so-called “old sayings,” many or most of which evolved over the years after having been based in fact.  A few of those old sayings come to mind in considering this situation.

One old saying involves the concept of the “Peter Principle,” which generally states that a person serving in an organization often rises up within the organization until they have exceeded their competency.  Does this not sound like Lipman?

Another old saying is sometimes applied to a person whose position was inherited rather than earned.  It goes something like this:  they think that because they were born on third base that they had hit a triple.

Thus, Harry Bean has often referred to himself as being a “hillbilly,” but most people thought he was simply being self-deprecating about himself.  Although he is well-liked in the area and owns many government-subsidized rental units in the Lakes Region, he was also astute enough to have lost a huge bundle of money by “investing” in what came to be known as the FRM Scandal.

Anyone with a reasonable degree of intelligence and knowledge about the New Hampshire open meeting laws who has attended or watched the budget proceedings of the Delegation under the Bean “leadership” should be appalled, and they might think that this is also evidence of the Peter Principle in action.

The final old saying is brought to mind when considering whatever happened to Henry Lipman.

After his ignominious tenure at LRGH, Lipman ascended to a position as the Medicaid Director of the State of New Hampshire.  In other words, he is now “from the government and he is here to help us.”

So, the final old saying which might be applicable to Lipman and his support for Bean is that birds of a feather stick together.

And these birds simply have no shame about their conduct of the public’s business.

The post Absence of Shame: Belknap State Rep Harry Bean & Laconia City Councilor Henry Lipman appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

The Apocolyptic Climate Cult as Veiwed by … Jordan Peterson

Wed, 2023-03-29 15:00 +0000

My apologies for the string of climate content, but sometimes you get into a groove, and it’s just a sweet deal to stay there and ride it for a while—anyone who elects to write a lot on a wide range of topics and often will understand. So, naturally, I have to share this.

It’s also a short clip, just under six minutes, most of it Peterson triggering the left by comparing what they say to what they do. Pronounce the planet doomed, for example, and then commit environmental devastation to vast swaths of the third world (and the people of color who live there) to save it.

 

Excerpt: “Even by the standards laid down by the environmentalists themselves, the policies that were put in place that were pro-environmental are failing,”

 

 



 

 

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Karine Assaults Congress and Republicans

Wed, 2023-03-29 13:30 +0000

The tragic shooting on Monday in Nashville, Tennessee, is another scar on America’s soul and an example of our inability to keep our children safe. Six innocent lives ended before their time by a deranged female.

This female woke up on Monday knowing she would die that day but that she would take victims with her. The number of victims could have been much higher if not for the quick response of tactical teams that took out the shooter. We can debate why these senseless shootings occur, but it is all theory and speculation. Fortification and securing our schools to make them the safest places possible for our children is where the focus should be.

Joe Biden addressed the shooting in comments to the American people. He used the same words for other shootings in the last two years. Biden quickly gave condolences to the victims’ families and then went political. He blamed the guns, not the shooter, for the senseless killing of six. The President blamed Republicans in Congress for another shooting that could have been avoided if they had passed his Assault Weapon Ban. He referred to the two AR-style pistols used by the shooter as assault weapons that his bill would ban. He is wrong on so many facets of this attack.

Karine Jean-Pierre was utterly out of line when she admonished Congress for the shooting. “How many more innocent lives must we lose before the Republicans will act to pass the President’s bill” were the words she used to comment on the shooting. This outburst is not an uncommon reaction by KJP. This woman, who has shown her inability to perform the duties of Press Secretary, is supposed to deliver the official positions of the White House. She is not a member of the President’s policy-making team and overstepped her role to speak in such a way to members of Congress. She often uses the term”we” as if she and the President are the same. She also misrepresented the facts of the shooting claiming six eight-year-old children were killed. A member of the press corps quickly corrected her.

The President and his secretary made the same mistakes. They both blamed the guns for the tragedy. Neither referenced the shooter with meticulous plans for breaching the Nashville Covenant School and published a manifesto on social media. She had contacted a friend to divulge her plans. Her friend contacted the Police, but her call was too late. Biden and Karine both referred to the pistols as assault weapons. They never say what an assault weapon is, but the term conjures images of fear, which is their intent. These guns are not automatic weapons with rapid-fire mechanisms. They are single pull-single shot guns, just like a 9mm, 45, or any pistol would be. The two were going for effect, not facts, which is a disservice to Americans and disrespectful of the victims to use them as pawns.

It is common for politicians to go political when they should be giving solutions. Biden and his team have shown that they have no viable remedy regardless of the challenge. And finally, a question for Karine. How many more innocent people will succumb to Fentanyl poisoning or be victims of horrendous crimes committed by illegals before Biden closes the Border? She will not answer that question, so we will answer for her. They do not know the number, but we have not gotten there yet. They are not only uninformed and hypocritical, but their actions and decisions are destroying our country at light speed.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

NH v. VT – A Tale of Two Political Cultures One Red and One Blue

Wed, 2023-03-29 12:00 +0000

Vermont’s legislature is working out the final details of Gov. Scott’s proposed 8.4 Billion dollar budget. Eight billion. That’s over 12,957.00 dollars for every man, woman, and child in the state. Guess how much New Hampshire’s is?

The final Budget for the Granite State will be around $13.9 billion or $9,743.00 per resident. Except it’s not. Vermont writes a budget every year, while New Hampshire’s budget is for two years. The spending equivalent per resident per year for Vermont based on the estimated 2024 budget is $12,957.00. For New Hampshire, it is $4,871.00. Vermont’s government spends 62% more per resident every year.

For what?

Some other Numbers

The Granite State has twice the population, more than twice the labor force, and a GDP of 82.94 (2022) billion compared to Vermont’s 31.4 billion (2022). New Hampshire has lower and fewer taxes.

WalletHub ranked Vermont as having the fourth highest tax burden by state. New Hampshire was 48th. The Tax Foundation estimates Vermont’s effective tax rate at 12.5% (47th) and New Hampshire’s at 9.6% (16th).

There are other variables, and everyone has work to do, and yes, there are a lot of federal funds used in both state budgets, but those are costs that, if the Feds went belly up tomorrow, the state would have to shoulder (more taxes) or cut.

Overall, New Hampshire is consistently safer, has a higher standard of living, lower welfare and poverty rates, and has better health outcomes.

Democrat rule has placed Vermont in hospice while we wait for it to die like every other Democrat-run hell-hole in America. But despite the advantages, New Hampshire is only ever one election away from joining it.

 

Closing note to the Free State Project. Where are those tens of thousands of Liberty-minded folks we were promised? If they don’t get here soon, it could be too late because the cauldron of poison bubbling in Vermont has been spilling accorded the Connecticut River for years. If we don’t dilute that influence, we may all be looking for another state in which we have some hope to live free before we die.

 

One more point;  Vermont’s 8.4 Billion 2024 budget, as proposed by its “republican” governor and has been labeled “lean,” but Phil Scott’s 2019 budget proposal was 6.1 Billion, nearly 40% less.

 

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Kamala is the Key to a Republican Presidential Win

Wed, 2023-03-29 10:30 +0000

The Democrats are placing all their bets on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris winning re-election in 2024. Their approval ratings continue to plummet, and both will easily be below 35% by the end of this year. These are not precisely the numbers to run a re-election campaign on. To most people, this blind faith in the current administration is tantamount to buying a ticket on the Titanic as it nears the iceberg.

Though Joe Biden continues to claim the economy is strong, 65% of Americans do not agree. Biden’s lousy fiscal policies actually impact these people. This storyline seems like Deja Vu, as this has been the case for most of his Presidency. But now we have the stock market dwindling as the Fed continues to raise rates to ward off a recession, which seems more inevitable every day. We have had two bank failures that make depositors everywhere uneasy about the safety of their savings. Biden says the banking industry is under control, but reality again proves Biden wrong. If Biden and Yellen decide arbitrarily which banks they will bail out, the industry and people will turn against him. Selective relief will please no one.

Kamala has been asked to wear many hats, but none fit, and she has failed every assignment. In most cases, it wasn’t attacking tasks poorly, but not at all. She has proven inept in every aspect of the job and is clearly a poor politician and leader. Nobody, including most Democrats, can ever see her as a Commander in Chief. She has no future in Washington, but she will not walk away. That is the problem the Democrats need to solve. It will not be easy, as Kamala will not admit failure.

Biden seems adamant about being on the ticket, though he hesitates to declare. He may be waiting for better timing when his numbers turn around or waiting for the outcome for Hunter. When the Hunter investigations go south, and Joe’s many lies are uncovered, he may have no choice but to step aside. No President since LBJ has been satisfied with one term, but the decision may not be Joe’ to make.

The Democrats will be hesitant to vote for a feeble Biden in 2024 if Kamala is the successor should Biden have to step down. Nobody wants to see Kamala with her hand on the Bible. The thought of Kamala assuming the throne puts a bad taste on every pallet. As long as Kamala is in the co-pilot’s seat, Joe will never come close to his record vote total of 2020.

I admitted last week that I see Trump as the only solution to the state Biden has driven our country. He has the Republicans, and a Biden/Harris ticket may be all the Independents need to pull the Trump lever. For the recovery to be effective, we need one more piece of the puzzle to fall into place. That piece would be for Mitch McConnell to retire. The House is under control, and our majority will grow in 2024. McConnell to step aside will let us get true Conservative leadership in the Senate. Somebody like Rick Scott would be a viable successor.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Help Write a New Versailles Treaty

Wed, 2023-03-29 09:00 +0000

I’ve rented a lecture room in Concord Heights from 1-3 pm on Palm Sunday. That’s this Sunday, April 2, 2023. All are invited for the purpose of shooting the breeze. It won’t be broadcast or recorded.

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

As you see, I’ve given the meeting an odd name, “Help Write a New Versailles Treaty,” the original one having been done in Paris in 1919 to end “The Great War,” a.k.a. WWI.

The plan is not to change what happened in 1919 — a little late for that. Rather, we’ll pretend that World War III is ensuing today and try to figure out what we hope to gain from a peace treaty. That will also entail trying to anticipate what “the others” hope to gain.

Actually, it will require that we talk about why there is a World War III happening at all. Whatever your background, it will be nice to hear your thoughts. Or you may want to just sit there and enjoy the angst.

The venue is Concord Community Center, 14 Canterbury Rd, off Loudon Rd, next to Walgreens. Free parking. If you wish to rsvp, that would help, but you can just show up. MaxwellMaryLLB@gmail.com

(The portrait above, of the signing of the Paris Treaty, is by Irish painter William Orpen.)

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Responding to Karen Testerman’s False Claims

Wed, 2023-03-29 03:00 +0000

You may have seen Karen Testerman publicly circulating false claims about HB 396 and the recent actions of her husband, Rep. Dave Testerman. It’s important that you know the truth.

As you may know, in February of this year, churches around New Hampshire spent days and nights engaged in tireless advocacy securing the votes needed to pass HB 396, State Recognition of Biological Sex.

Thanks to their extraordinary efforts, a miraculous victory was nearly secured. Every Republican on the normally moderate-leaning House Judiciary Committee voted to protect women and girls and send this critical bill to the floor.

Every Republican, that is, but one. Seeing that the bill could likely pass on the House floor, GOP representative Dave Testerman and a group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Marjorie Smith, stood together to cynically destroy the bill by working to send it to a so-called “study committee.”

Rep. Testerman’s vote was a surprise stab-in-the-back to women and girls. To be clear, Dave Testerman did not vote against the bill for any good faith reason. In fact, he seemed to think it was funny to wreck the efforts of churches and families who had fought for the bill.

Karen Testerman has publicly claimed the bill “did not accomplish anything” and “therefore needed more work.” These claims are as transparent as they are false.

For one thing, the claim that this bill somehow “did not go far enough” is an excuse that the Testermans invented several days after the vote. As everyone who was close to this process knows, Rep. Testerman initially struggled or refused to give any explanation at all for his vote.

In fact, Dave Testerman voted for the same bill when it was debated just last year: at the time, it was called HB 1180. These fake excuses evidently did not apply at that time. Dave and Karen Testerman are only using them now to conceal Rep. Testerman’s true motives.

There is one key reason that school districts around New Hampshire are faced with a crisis of extreme gender ideology: progressive advocacy groups, including Governor Sununu’s Department of Justice, have spread the false idea that New Hampshire law prohibits any separation on the basis of biological sex. Rep. Jim Kofalt’s HB 396 would have stopped these misrepresentations, clarifying that public entities are not forbidden from using biological sex to separate athletics, private spaces, and prison facilities.

Milford School District is one example of a district which ignores biological sex because board members have accepted these claims. In a committee hearing, Rep. Dave Testerman looked a young mother from Milford in the eye as his committee heard her desperate plea: a biological male is not only using her daughter’s locker room, but deliberately insulting her daughter’s privacy and dignity. This woman bravely asked Testerman and other representatives for their urgent help.

Rep. Testerman knew that HB 396 would have directly addressed this immediate problem. Testerman had also never raised any concerns about the bill—not last year, when he personally voted for the same bill, nor in the weeks leading up to the HB 396 vote.

Yet Testerman not only callously ignored this mother’s pleas, but purposefully acted to harm her daughter and other students like her. By single-handedly destroying a bill that he knew could pass, Rep. Testerman sacrificed the dignity and privacy of girls like this Milford student—whose story we have heard repeated in multiple New Hampshire school districts—for his own insidious political motives.

What about the “work” that Karen Testerman claims the bill needed? In the minutes immediately before Rep. Testerman’s vote, Democrats flaunted the fact that their motion would stop the House from ever taking up the bill, with Rep. Marjorie Smith joking that they might agree on a new amendment for the House to consider “in 10 years.” Rep. Testerman and the Democrats have no intention of doing any “work” on this bill—and everyone knows it.

Karen Testerman has also claimed that Cornerstone never fought to stop HB 608, the bill adding “gender identity” to state nondiscrimination law, in 2019. In reality, Cornerstone was a leading opponent of that bill, as a simple Google search would show any honest person. This egregious claim is merely a distraction. The truth is Rep. Dave Testerman has now done more than any single politician to perpetrate the very abuses ushered in by this bill.

Equally absurdly, Karen Testerman’s remarks have made much of the fact that Cornerstone has not been involved with the hodge-podge of bills that Rep. Testerman introduced this year. What she does not mention is that, this year, Dave Testerman has not even shown up for the committee hearings on at least five bills for which he was the sole sponsor.

Karen Testerman would have you believe that, even though Rep. Testerman does not take his own longshot bills seriously, Cornerstone—a group that often stands by itself against a dozen full-time left-wing organizations—must be involved in every one of the hundreds of conservative bills that legislators introduce each term.

The reality is that there is a good explanation for all of Rep. Testerman’s behavior. While our network of families and churches engages in the real work of advocacy, Rep. Testerman poses as a hardliner by introducing frivolous bills he knows will never pass. Underneath the rhetoric, however, he has proven that his motives are crooked. When the chips are down and real consequences are on the line, Testerman will collude with Democrats to enforce gender ideology on girls’ locker rooms.

We encourage Rep. Testerman’s constituents to make sure he is aware that he no longer represents their views and interests.

 

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Data Point – National Debt and Biden’s Budget Proposal

Wed, 2023-03-29 01:30 +0000

As of March 8 of this year, which is the latest date currently reported by the U.S. Treasury, the total federal debt was $31.459 trillion. In his budget—which proposes increasing the debt to $50.712 trillion over the next ten years—Biden emphasizes his commitment to fiscal responsibility.

(H/T: CNSNews)

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Camp Constitution Will Host a 12-Week U.S. Constitution Study Course …

Wed, 2023-03-29 00:00 +0000

Camp Constitution will host a 12-week U.S. Constitution study course beginning Monday, April 3—7:00 PM 129 Main St Alton.
The study course is titled Constitution 101 The Meaning and History of the Constitution, produced by Hillsdale College.

Please Submit Group communications or Press Releases to editor@granitegrok.com.
Submission is not a guarantee of publication.

The United States Constitution was designed to secure the natural rights proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. Signed by Constitutional Convention delegates on September 17, 1787—Constitution Day—it was ratified by the American people and remains the most enduring and successful constitution in history.

In this twelve-lecture course, attendees will examine the political theory of the American Founding and subsequent challenges to that theory throughout American history. Topics covered in this course include: the natural rights theory of the Founding, the meaning of the Declaration and the Constitution, the crisis of the Civil War, the Progressive rejection of the Founding, and the nature and form of modern liberalism.
Join more than one million Americans who have taken “Constitution 101: The Meaning and History of the Constitution.”

The course will be free. Donations accepted. All attendees will receive a free pocket of the U.S. Constitution. RSVPs are appreciated. Class 1 “The Theory of the Declaration and the Constitution.”

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

What Responsibility Does NHPR Bear For The Nashville School Shooting?

Tue, 2023-03-28 22:30 +0000

NHPR’s Todd Bookman recently wrote an article claiming that LGBTQ people are in danger of being attacked by “hate groups,” and that some have begun arming themselves, and training, in response to this alleged threat. Here is the headline:

From the article:

Every member of the group has a different story about how they arrived here, feeling the need to carry a weapon for self-defense.

“I went from concealed carry every once in a while when I was feeling it to every single day,” explains Sharon, a Navy veteran and competitive shooter who transitioned last year. “Because reading the news, having a few experiences, realizing that I’ve gone from: old cis-male, white, upper middle class, really no real fears about anything, to: there are people that just looking at me will want to hurt me.”

Sharon, along with others, cite both the fear of being targeted while simply existing in public, as well as a more organized and ominous threat. A neo-Nazi group now active in New England has targeted spaces where trans people gather.

“There’s been an uptick in hate crimes, there’s been an uptick in groups that have been protesting drag story times and drag shows, and it felt like I needed to learn how to protect myself,” says Jamie, who is carrying a new pistol she received as a gift for Christmas.

This is jaw-dropping. Protesting drag shows … in plain English, protesting the sexualization of children … is portrayed uncritically by Bookman as the equivalent of a hate crime towards transgender people and the people who protest drag shows are portrayed as representing an existential threat to transgender people. Wow! Is it that big a step to seeing the religious school in Nashville as an equivalent threat to the “haters” who protest drag shows, Mr. Bookman?

And where are the data and facts regarding that “Neo-Nazi group” operating in New Hampshire that Bookman claims is “targeting spaces.” And what the hell is “targeting spaces” supposed to mean? New Hampshire has some form of trans/cis apartheid where there are “spaces” reserved for transgender people?

And how about the uncritical portrayal of Sharon, who apparently can just by looking at someone tell whether that person is a threat? Such as people working at or attending religious schools, Mr. Bookman?

Here’s Bookman promoting his propaganda:

And hat-tip to Tucker Carlson for exposing Bookman’s hate-speech and the potential ramifications:

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Union Leader Doesn’t See The Big Picture – It’s Not About Vaccines, It’s About the Constitutional Separation Powers

Tue, 2023-03-28 21:00 +0000

Once again, we can see that the shiny and bright conservative armor that the Union Leader wore in decades past has turned rusty and tarnished. Never would I have expected to read a UL written Op-Ed actively advocating against the separation of responsibilities and Powers between the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch,

A quick recap:

  • Legislative Branch creates Law
  • Executive Branch merely follows that Law and ensures it is carried out Law

Rudimentary civics but heck, do journalists ever learn this rudimentary and foundational knowledge?  Should we not demand that their editors be even semi-learned in this area?  The Op-Ed concerned HB557 which would have removed the rulemaking authority from the Executive Branch and would have brought it back to the Legislative (in this case, for vaccines). Reformatted, emphasis mine:

It was close but the New Hampshire House did the right thing last week in rejecting a proposal to make it the medical authority on vaccines. While we do think our legislators often have their fingers on the pulse of the people they represent, the expertise on specific matters of health resides with the professionals.

Rule-making as it applies to vaccines currently comes under the purview of New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services. It should remain there.

Health officials are certainly not infallible. But In the case of public health emergencies, decisions of the life-and-death variety should not be subject to the whims or vagaries of 424 mostly non-doctors.

The UL niftily makes it seem as if NHHHS has had this Power since NH was formed instead of just 50 years ago. And sorry, unless a doctor is also a Legislator they should not have any more Power in creating Law than you or I. CERTAINLY, doctors should be advising Legislators in the process but it should never be left up to them to make Law outside of the Legislature.  That’s unconstitutional.

Again, the Legislature [should] lead and the Executive [should] follow. So where does “Rulemaking”, the ability of the Executive Branch to “make Law” (as the rules/regulations don the force of Law mentioned in either Constitution? 

Sidenote: the NHAPA has a mechanism called JLCAR which has a small select number of Legislators to “bless” or deny any rules proposed by the Executive Branch agencies. That’s still not legislating.

It doesn’t.

Instead, both the US & NH Legislatures just threw their Powers to the Executive Branch: the US Administrative Act of 1946:

…The 1946 law that gave Federal agencies the power to essentially make their own law and ability to set their own fines [and Administrative courts] was absolutely wrongheaded and philosophically inimical to the separation of powers laid out in the Constitution – and I think was the Congress’s starting moment of plunging into the abyss of being post-Constitutional.  If you GIVE your power away, trust me, those that pick it up will use it.

…And you can blame it on the Republicans who hold the majorities:

  • Have they held anyone in contempt AND DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT to apply penalties?
  • Have they withdrawn funding for offending agencies to make them feel the pain?
  • Have they held brought charges AND FOLLOWED THEM UP?

Pretty much, no.  Flapping their gums only is no way to govern.

and the NH Administrative Procedures Act (enacted in 1973). Ask yourself – which process makes more Law/Rules that affect our lives?  Yes, the Executive Branch. Not those that we elect to actually make Law.

And that’s exactly how the UL wants it, I guess.  It’s clear that the UL is now in the mode where the Administrative State is now its preferred governance model instead of the representative Republic model that our Founders designed.

Ayup.

Also this that I had left at Treehugger a while ago on the same issue:

Two thing at play and mostly due to the fact that we almost have two societies when it comes to the Proper Role of Government.

One, from the late 1800s decided that our US Constitution was outdated given the new idea that Societies could be “engineered” by the Smart People as if they were mere replaceable cogs and need their Guiding Hand to be successful (See Bill’s unsupported supposition above that the US, with 330M people, NEEDS that heavy hand). It is these folks that have inserted themselves into the bowels of Govt and have almost 180’d our Founders vision from being being one where Govt was supposed to protect Individual Liberties to one where Govt makes most of the important decisions (in contradiction to that vision)

The rest, myself include until a few years ago, placed our emphasis in family, friends, and careers thinking that Govt would just continue to work as we had learned in school.

And we have learned that this premise has been wrong for far too long. That’s how we “lost control” – most forgot the admonition that our government was only for a moral and involved people.

I’m afraid that too many became too complacent so we are where we are.

But I am labeled as an extremist for going against that now openly Socialist Narrative while I only hold onto the values embedded in the US (and New Hampshire) Constitutions – and fight for those values to be restored. Which requires a return to a limited Govt that stays within its “lanes”.

And to which Bill (and other THers) scoff at.

 

The post Union Leader Doesn’t See The Big Picture – It’s Not About Vaccines, It’s About the Constitutional Separation Powers appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Tennessee Shooting: Fear Is the Goal

Tue, 2023-03-28 19:30 +0000

The shooting of three innocent children and three innocent faculty members at the Covenant Christian School in Nashville, TN, yesterday quickly became the top story in the news.  Of course, a tragedy like this is newsworthy if for no other reason than to mourn with those who are mourning and give Americans a chance to grieve and support them in their time of loss.

The facts surrounding the case, as we’ve been told, are as follows:

  • A 28-year-old biological female who was living as a male committed the crime
  • The shooter once attended the school
  • The shooter’s mom is on social media calling for gun control as far back as 2018
  • The shooter’s dad has not been mentioned or given comments
  • The shooter’s brother is a law student
  • The shooter’s neighbors said the family is “very nice and very religious”
  • The shooter is described as “nice” and “kind of quiet”
  • The shooter dressed in camouflage, with an apparent tactical vest and a red baseball cap
  • The shooter carried multiple “assault” rifles
  • The shooter has a manifesto explaining their motive, which included shooting up another school
  • The shooter is dead and incapable of being interviewed or examined

I have no doubt this event will be used energetically by those wishing to remove guns from society and with the least amount of genuine sympathy to those genuinely affected by it.  Rather than ask why are these shootings taking place, why are the shooters nearly identical in nature and age, and why are they targeting children and gun-free zones, the opportunists and mock-heroes will come out denouncing guns with the loudest possible means – why?  Because all they need is fear to move people into making irrational decisions.

Tragedies like these are used to create such a cloud of panic and fear, kind of like that felt on 9/11, that those in government will swiftly move to “solve the problem”, which they will tell you is guns.  Not mentally ill or evil people using guns for evil purposes, but guns themselves.  As if the gun made itself, loaded itself, took itself to the school/mall/street and began discharging itself on innocent people.  If you are afraid you won’t even bother to notice the absurdity of the claim.  You will simply fear for your or your loved one’s safety.  The idea of safety is the tool they use to manipulate you.   To feel safe you will agree to comply with their solution – let’s get rid of guns or greatly restrict them.

Of course this sounds cynical to those who are so overcome with emotional and empathy for those suffering they will likely rage against my point.  However it’s important to understand how your brain works in moments like this.

The lower center of the brain is the “fight, flight or freeze” part that activates when we are confronted with unsafe and fearful situations.  It’s the part that pulls a hand of a burning stove top reflexively.  It’s made for that reason – to react quickly to danger.  Those who manufacture psychological operations (psy-ops) know this.  They know that if they can trigger a fear response people are more easily manipulated.

The part of the brain’s operating system they intend to avoid is the pre-frontal cortex which is responsible for executive function.  This part of the brain analyzes a situation.  It’s the part that officers and firefighters use as they rush in to fearful situations to save lives.  They can do so because they’ve been trained to override the fight, flight or flee reaction, keep their calm in the face of danger and make rational, life saving decisions.

Let’s think rationally about this situation.

This is the latest in a long list of patterns that needs explaining.  Schools are targeted by younger individuals, with over a 90% incidence of mental illness.  The people, often with little to no income and no history of training, all suddenly brandish expensive weapons, have detailed militarized plans, wear tactical gear and have a blood thirsty desire to kill children who have done them no harm.

Many of them were known by the F.B.I. who did not act.

Furthermore, forensic psychologists are on the record stating what NOT to do following an event like this to avoid future events.

  • Do not share the name or image of the shooter on television
  • Do not show footage of the event or victims
  • Do not in any way glorify or magnify this event
  • Do not use dramatic sounds or music on air when describing the event, such as sirens
  • Do not play records or sounds of shooting

Already this morning I have seen every one of these rules violated.  Already the school’s private video of the shooter blowing the glass doors open and shooting in offices as if we’re watching a video game or horror film are circulating online – everywhere.  This will create two psychological environments that help no one:

  • create widespread fear and demoralization
  • sow seeds into the minds of the next activist lunatic looking for their moment of glory

Watch the media do this and you will know they do not care about you or your children at all.

Watch the politicians piggy back the narrative and you can only conclude the same.

These are the same people who forced now known deadly vaccines, useless masks, crippling lockdowns and are pushing CRT, SEL, drag queens and anti-American curricula on these children.  When active shooters went into Ukraine they sent $100 billion of your taxpayer money in weapons to help defend them. When active shooters attack your children they want to take your weapons and ability to defend yourself away.

They are deliberately trying to demoralize and mentally cripple you and your children.  They are now using a tiny Christian School for their agenda, right after a tiny Christian School in Vermont stood up to them.

Don’t be fooled friends.  These people are evil.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to stand up and fight like heaven is on your side, because it is.

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Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

Federal Govt LIED to Us – They Are Taking Away Our Gas Stoves – And Going After Our Fridges, A/Cs, and Clothes Washers/Dryers

Tue, 2023-03-28 18:00 +0000

And aren’t you just THRILLED with how well your new dishwasher works (sarcasm – I hate mine)?  Thanks, Govt, for “looking out for me”!  All by our faceless, unaccountable, unelected, and now, REALLY unassailable bureaucrats all in thrall to Global Warming.

It’s for their own good (justifying their jobs while we just want to be left alone). Is this what Govt is supposed to do?

Our Govt IS looking to hijack our gas ranges as they are pushing regulations so much that only 4% of what the market now offers will be available for purchase, you know who the only people will be that will be able to afford them). And God help us all if the Feds start taking after Vermont, whose S.5 bill is going to put the price of gas out of reach for most of us.

I wanted to play catch up on what we’ve already posted on this – which turned out to only be the first salvo:

  • Steve – Report Motivating Feds to Consider Gas Stove Ban Funded By Green Group Committed to Transition Away From… Natural Gas
  • Steve – Banning Gas Stoves, Dogs and Cats, Living Together, Mass Hysteria …
  • Skip – Treehugger – Yep, I’m Unstacking Stuff. Treehugger Was against Stoves before They Were against Stoves.
  • Steve – Granholm: Lots of Misinformation About Gas Stove Bans, But Yeah, This Rule Would Ban Half of Them

So I’ve decided to fill in some more info to show that our Government really doesn’t care what you think – they have the Power and they are making us know that we don’t.  So they are going to be “re-imagining” our appliances without a single “by your leave” – or Legislation. Biden’s Eco-minion regulators have figured out that they can do this all on their own. But it does go back a ways in time.  A few posts from Treehugger  (they were on this “delete gas” hobbyhorse for a long time) that was already starting to kvetch about “take gas away! Take it away!  You don’t need that!” even when I pointed out that during electrical grid failures, I could still cook a hot meal for my family on my gas stove (I was branded a heretic). And the first one, from 2018, mentions the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) that Steve’s post has.

Background/History:

  • 2018 – Which Is More Energy Efficient for Cooking: Gas or Induction?
  • 2018 – Gas Stoves Are Unhealthy and Polluting, and the New York Times Is on It

Electrify EVERYTHING! was their mantra – before our grid got so shaky (conspiracy – take away gas and “all of a sudden”, electricity becomes problematic? ).

  • 2020 – San Francisco Bans New Natural Gas Hookups (The move will improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions.).  I pointed out that CA was already having rolling blackouts – glorious!
  • 2021 – Should We Electrify Everything or Keep a Gas Backup?  They said no as they IMMEDIATELY said people would use gas ovens to heat their houses. I think most people know that doing it will kill you from carbon dioxide/monoxide poisoning. A BIG fight in the comments section – enjoy it!
  • 2022 – Study: Methane Emissions From Gas Stoves Have Climate Impact of 500,000 Cars
  • 2022 – My Family Switched to Induction Cooking and We’d Never Go Back

And non-Treehugger link:

  • Increasingly under fire as potential health hazards, gas stoves could be banned in 2023, top federal official says: ‘It’s a real possibility’

And it turns out that it wasn’t the CPSC that that was going to do the Dirty Deed – try the Department of Energy

  • Energy Department proposes efficiency rules for cooking devices after gas stove furor (let’s stop using fossil fuels by other means, right?)
  • And how the study by RMI underlying all this is exposed: What to know about the study behind the push to ban gas stoves

The key to the finding is the quality of the data they used — and critics say the researchers failed to factor in the findings of the most comprehensive global study on the topic conducted to date.

That would be a report published in 2013 by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, or ISAAC, which utilizes data from more than 512,000 children in 47 different countries. The ISAAC study ultimately concluded there was “no evidence of an association between the use of gas as a cooking fuel and either asthma symptoms or asthma diagnosis.”…“There’s so many factors involved — you can’t just claim that 12% of asthma cases [are] related to a gas stove. You just can’t do that,” he said in an interview. “And maybe in some scenarios, it is [the cause]. And maybe in other scenarios, it’s not.”

  • Let the ban begin, incrementally -> with 50% off the market: “DOE rule could take half of gas stoves off market, new projection shows“. So, CPSC said all, then none, then DoE said maybe, and now 50%???  This was “interesting” – you can buy them but only use them for THIS much:

The proposed rule-making would set new efficiency standards for both electric and gas cooking tops, preventing them from exceeding set levels of energy use per year. (For gas stoves, this would be set at 1,204 British thermal units, or BTU, per year.)…The metrics used would not attempt to limit stove usage when they are installed and in use.

The British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a measure of heat, which is measured in units of energy. It is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

Sure, no limits. However, like current dishwashers and clothes washers, to “save” water and energy, they take twice as long. Am I being cynical to think that the largest burner that will be allowed going forward will the the same size as my current “simmer” burner?

And then the “We’re going to ban gas stoves by regulating them out of existence” begins.

  • 2023 – US Considers Gas Stove Regulations as Research Mounts on Indoor Air Pollution Risks  (The Consumer Product Safety Commission is concerned by the findings of a new study: 13% of childhood asthma cases are caused by gas stoves.)  Made the claim that gas ranges do kids asthma. And Americans are clueless about harming themselves – WE must protect them against themselves (said the US Consumer Product Safety Commission bureaucrats). Again, fun in the comments.  And by my friend VB:

Did anyone bother to inquire about how asthma—an allergy-response disease—is caused by natural gas cookstoves when there are no allergens in natural gas, or question the conflict of interest by the climate activist group Rocky Mountain Institute as a co-author of the paper? No—of course not. That would be inconvenient.

Me:

One of the “tells” of Progressives/Socialists – they TRULY believe that the rest of us should NEVER be allowed to make our own decisions. They SERIOUSLY believe that we are NOT adults and that we should NEVER be allowed that most unprogressive attribute of all….

Freedom. To choose for ourselves.

And then the walk-back begins (2023 onward):

  • Gas stove ban not in the works, agency chairman says amid uproar

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is not planning to ban gas stoves, its chairman said Wednesday, seeking to tamp rising political furor caused by another commissioner’s comments earlier this week.  “I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so,” Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric said in a statement.

  • Treehugger – There’s No Gas Stove Ban But Regulations Can Reduce Indoor Air Pollution (joining in with the entire Leftist media in Denying what was said – the beginning of gaslighting us all. TH fell for it…until they didn’t).  And one of my better comments on agency and freedom to choose here (“Short Answer: yes, just like Bob said….)

Oh yes there is a ban!

  • Yes, it’s real: Joe Biden’s Department of Energy just moved to ban nearly all gas stoves

Yes, the Biden administration is coming for your gas stove. The legacy media and the Left attempted to brush off the initial gas stove controversy and outcry from the Right as nothing more than an unsubstantiated, irrational conspiracy theory. The White House even insisted that President Joe Biden does not support a ban on gas stoves after one of his federal consumer safety officials suggested that such a ban was on the table.

But, as we are seeing in so many other instances, Republicans were right all along. President Joe Biden’s Department of Energy is, in fact, pushing an extreme regulation that would effectively eliminate nearly all gas stoves.

The Department of Energy is conducting this gas stove grab through a rule that would impose extreme energy performance standards on residential cooktops. The department’s proposed rule sets requirements for gas cooktops at the maximum technologically feasible or “max-tech” level. Based on the Department of Energy’s own analysis, gas cooktops at the max-tech level represent just 4% of current market share and exclude all conventional free-stand ranges.

Any rule that causes 96% of the products available today to be eliminated from the market is an extreme regulation. In fact, it is essentially an outright ban on gas stoves…Comically, Biden’s Department of Energy is justifying this proposed requirement based on estimated savings to the consumer for gas cooktops of $21.89 over the next 14.5 years, which equates to a savings of just $1.50 per year. People are not willing to trade such substantially decreased functionality and features for minuscule savings

  • And they were lying even as they were walking it back: Internal Memo Shows Biden Admin Wanted To Ban Gas Stoves Before Public Backlash

Such claims, however, have nothing to do with science and everything to do with radical climate activism.

…“I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so,” Hoehn-Saric said in a statement.

memo published by Fox News in February, however, shows federal regulators were far more serious about efforts to ban the gas appliance.

“The need for gas stove regulation has reached a boiling point,” Trumka wrote in an October memo. “CPSC has the responsibility to ban consumer products that emit hazardous substances, particularly, when those emissions harm children, under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.”

(Memo here).

“There is sufficient information available for CPSC to issue an NPR in FY 2023 proposing to ban gas stoves in homes,” he added. “The additional work needed to complete an NPR is primarily economic; the available health and scientific evidence on illnesses caused by the relevant gasses at the concentrations present in homes with gas stoves already exists.”

Emissions from the food cooked, however, are 11 times higher than the gas on the stove. Studies purporting to show dangerous emission levels from gas stoves examine aerial pollutants in enclosed spaces without ventilation.

  • This doesn’t help: Biden agency refuses to cite research supporting potential natural gas stove ban

Stoves are the anvils – now for the hammer (increased gas prices that will further constrain usage)

  • “You Are Killing Us!”: Southern California Gas Seeks 13 Percent Monthly Bill Increase

 

Oh, and that estimated savings to the consumer for gas cooktops of $21.89 over the next 14.5 years? Yeah, manipulated. Does “Social Cost of Carbon Dioxide” ring a bell?  It should. It got put into use during the Obama reign – it’s only purpose was to take a nebulous term and turn it into the environmental version of a Barrett .50 rifle?  Or is the Ma Deuce (.50 cal machinegun) a better metaphore?

Everything that is done by Government for economic reasons is based on that number – and it is arbitrary. It is whatever the current administration wants to peg it at. Obama had it at $53 to justify programs and making your lives miserable. Trump reduced it to a dollar. Biden has set it back to $53.  In this case, for that measly “SAVINGS!” of $21.89 over 14.5 years ($1.51/year), it will end up being FAR more expensive just in the upfront costs of buying a new range or additional gas.

Here is the most important document that the Biden Admin is using to kill off gas ranges. That financial mumbo-manipulation is on page 3.

DOE estimates the value of climate benefits from a reduction in greenhouse gases (“GHG”) using four different estimates of the social cost of CO2 (“SC-CO2 ”), the social cost of methane (“SC-CH4 ”), and the social cost of nitrous oxide (“SC-N2 O”). Together these represent the social cost of GHG (“SC-GHG”).[8] DOE used interim SC-GHG values developed by an Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (“IWG”).[9] The derivation of these values is discussed in section IV.L of this document. For presentational purposes, the climate benefits associated with the average SC-GHG at a 3-percent discount rate are estimated to be $1.17 billion. DOE does not have a single central SC-GHG point estimate and it emphasizes the importance and value of considering the benefits calculated using all four SC-GHG estimates.

Oh, the A/C – just starting but you can see what they are planning here.

The new energy efficiency standards, which will apply to room air conditioners and portable air cleaners, will enter into effect next year. The Energy Department contended that the new rules will assist with “tackling the climate crisis,” as well as save consumers $25 billion over the next three decades. Room air conditioners are more commonly called window air conditioners.

Has ANYONE ever experienced a lowered cost from anything that the govt has promised to “help” us with?

 

It’s like they’ve planned this all out in advance…indeed they have:

THE GREEN SCAM: Dark money group pushing gas stove crackdown has significant financial stake in green energy.

Alex Laskey, Saul Griffith and Ari Matusiak – who together founded Rewiring America in 2020 – have all pursued various wind, solar, electrification and energy efficiency ventures, some of which have netted them millions of dollars in buyouts or received significant federal funding. The three co-founders have simultaneously advocated for policies benefiting those ventures through the nonprofit.

“It’s a shocking amount of money that they’re hauling in with this scheme of theirs,” Tom Pyle, the president of the Institute for Energy Research, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “I call it Big Green Inc. It is literally a business for these guys and they cloak themselves in the mantra of trying to save the planet. But, really, this is just very sophisticated self-dealing.”

“Congress needs to be an aggressive watchdog precisely because of organizations like Rewiring America.”

As Glenn Reynolds says:

MAKING ORDINARY PEOPLE’S LIVES WORSE IS THE GOAL, THE ENVIRONMENT IS JUST THE EXCUSE

It’s all about The Control.

The post Federal Govt LIED to Us – They Are Taking Away Our Gas Stoves – And Going After Our Fridges, A/Cs, and Clothes Washers/Dryers appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

World Governing Body for Track and Field Bans Transwomen from Competing Against Real™ Women

Tue, 2023-03-28 16:30 +0000

Founded in 1912, World Athletics – previously the International Amateur Athletic Federation – was formed to standardize equipment, competitions, and recordkeeping. And beginning this Friday, any biological male who has been through puberty before “transitioning” is banned from women’s sports.

 

In regard to transgender athletes, the Council has agreed to exclude male-to-female transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from female World Rankings competition from 31 March 2023.

World Athletics conducted a consultation period with various stakeholders in the first two months of this year, including Member Federations, the Global Athletics Coaches Academy and Athletes’ Commission, the IOC as well as representative transgender and human rights groups.

It became apparent that there was little support within the sport for the option that was first presented to stakeholders, which required transgender athletes to maintain their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for 24 months to be eligible to compete internationally in the female category.

In terms of DSD regulations, World Athletics has more than ten years of research and evidence of the physical advantages that these athletes bring to the female category.

 

Experts in sports medicine and sports science (and track and field) agree that passing through puberty as a male gives young men inherent benefits regardless of what happens after. Years of research, they say.

Unfair advantages.

This is great news and a step in the right direction, but it needs to trickle down. The K-12 schools and colleges obsessed with letting boys compete as girls continue to have a degrading effect on opportunities for young women. Being sporty as a hobby is a distraction but taking it seriously is an investment in time and resources. It is a path many may forego, knowing that achievements will be more difficult or impossible if they must compete against otherwise unexceptional boys and young men who have traversed puberty before discovering “success” in women’s sports, thanks to the transgender agenda.

Losing an event or a game could cost a scholarship opportunity or a chance at competing nationally or internationally.  So yeah, the same progressive culture that is obsessed with prattling on about glass ceilings has introduced one made of even tougher stuff.

World Athletics should be applauded for its bravery, but until that ‘science’ finds its way back down the food chain, thousands, if not millions, of girls are going to grow up knowing they can’t win, so why bother?

 

 

HT | Daily Wire

The post World Governing Body for Track and Field Bans Transwomen from Competing Against Real™ Women appeared first on Granite Grok.

Categories: Blogs, New Hampshire

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