“Eleven conferences — the Atlantic 10, Big East, Big South, Big Ten, Big 12, Conference USA, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Pac-12, WAC, Southeastern and West Coast — recently told ESPN that a home school with a post-game celebratory court storm could be subject to a fine under certain circumstances. Some have precise penalties, while others have general language regarding disciplinary measures and their applicability.” – ESPN.com

I love watching fans storm a court or swarm a field after a big win. The primal, elemental, and spontaneous outpouring of joyous humanity celebrating a special sports triumph always moves me. So, do the proposed restrictions infringe on 1st Amendment provisions or the right to assemble? WWBKD? (What would Bobby Knight do?)

Watch the end of the movie hoop classic “Hoosiers” when the Hickory High fans storm the court to embrace their heroes. Or YouTube the old Boston Garden after “Havlicek stole the ball!” Or Fenway Park on that magical October 1, 1967, after Rico Petrocelli caught a popup setting up the BoSox for their first World Series in decades. Six-foot-6 pitcher Jim Lonborg was swept away to centerfield and a mad mosh-pit of delirium.

Primal. Elemental. Joyous.

There are, of course, dangers when waves of humanity are unleashed, overpowering 70-year-old ushers and the lone security cop. Mob mentalities take effect. Havlicek was battered and bruised by fans after he stole the ball. He called them “ruffians.” Lonborg’s uniform was ripped to shreds. I’m sure that today, in various New England locales, grandfathers share pieces of cloth with their progeny, explaining, “This is what Jim Lonborg wore when he pitched the Sox to the pennant in 1967.”

Seriously.

And when those gridiron goalposts come down, they can injure even the most hard-headed football fan.

Hence, the proposals for court storm policies.

“This is why we can’t have nice things, people!”

These outpourings, these court storms, aren’t entirely spontaneous. When the Celtics beat the Lakers at the Garden in 1984 for the NBA title, fans surrounded the court for a while before the final buzzer, waiting to pounce.

On the college level, one can be sure that ne’er-do-wells have courtstorm strategies that involve not hoisting a hoopster but hugging a cheerleader. Truth.

But for the most part, the joyous storms and swarms are unscripted. Who knew Havlicek was going to steal the ball?

Next month marks the 50th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run mark. Film/video of that milestone moment in Atlanta will be shown everywhere. And accompanying Aaron on his historic round trip, you’ll see Britt Gaston and Cliff Courtenay. The two Brave fans were only 17 when they ran onto the field from the first-base stands and caught up with Aaron. Now Britt and Cliff are immortal. They even made this column five decades later.

Court storms and field swarms are de rigueur everywhere at countless high school championship events. Players, parents, and peers no doubt dream of that ultimate title moment marked by Gatorade showers and heroes hoisted in celebration.

Like so many others, I also dreamed of such a moment. But most of us never taste that sweet championship nectar.

My high school senior year saw me and my Groveton High School Purple Eagle basketball teammates in a state tournament semifinal game at Plymouth State, trying for a spot in the title tilt. Half the gym was purple as busloads of fans came down from the North Country. Sadly, we fell way behind, 27-12.

Still, in the second half, we chipped away at the lead, and the purple-clad folks took heart. Closer and closer we came and louder and louder were the GHS fans. I remember scoring in the last minute to cut the lead to 47-46 as the gym exploded. A dam was about to break to release a purple flood onto the floor.

But we ran out of time. The white-clad players enjoyed a court storm as the purple rain fell not.

I stood watching the other team get swarmed while a lone figure hurried to me from the purple side—tears streaming down her face. Her back to the celebration, my girlfriend offered a very public embrace. I’ll always remember that.

So, most athletes never experience a court storm. But sometimes, kids offer opportunities for parents to vicariously experience “swarm joy” when offspring win titles denied to their dads and moms. When my daughter’s Concord High School softball team won a state championship, I (thankfully) did not run out and leap onto the growing pile of players celebrating a title. But that was also, in a way, my storm/swarm moment as well.

And, upon further review, perhaps the lonely gesture of that teary hug offered to a losing basketball player is perhaps of equal—if not more—value than a leap into that fleeting mosh pit of sports joy experienced by that happy few band of brothers (or sisters) fortunate enough to grab sports’ ever-so-elusive brass rings.

The post “Storming the Court” – And the First Amendment appeared first on Granite Grok.

Today during a hearing of House Special Committee on the Division for Children, Youth and Families (regarding DCYF), something interesting and (perhaps) wonderful occurred. A recommendation was made to ask those testifying to swear they were telling the truth (under penalty of perjury), and a Democrat objected to it.

To borrow from RebuildNH, who, in all fairness, beat me to the punch breaking this news (on Telegram),

This morning, the House Special Committee on DCYF, chaired by Rep. Leah Cushman, required every person testifying to take an oath before giving their testimony. This is unusual for House committees, but it is in statute and is therefore within the rights of the People’s representatives to do so. With the level of outright lying we’ve seen on other committees (ahem, executive departments testifying in front of the HHS committee), thanks should go to the Republican representatives insisting on truthfulness. On the other hand, Democrat members objected to this move, calling a requirement that people testifying tell the truth “insulting.”

In this excerpt, Rep. Sandra Panek makes the suggestion, citing the relevant state statute at 4 minutes (in the video below.

Pursuant to RSA 1414, which states that any Senator or Representative, while acting as a member of the committee, of the legislature, may admininster an oath to any person who may be examined before such a committee. I would like to require an oath of the witness and all witnesses testifying before this committee. The testimony we are taking is concerning a very serious subject matter, and we must ensure truthfulness. There have been various committees, both ad hoc and standing that have heard lots of testimony, relative to family law matters, and in many cases can go on and on, and take up lots of precious time. And sometimes it was later found out that the testimony was infactual. What we want to do is establish that this process is eliciting factual information so we can make the most informed decisions, based on the testimoney we received.

Democrat Rep. Lucy Webber immediately objects.

It’s something that we normally do not do. This is not a tribunal. This is a fact-finding mission and it seems to me that to require an oath is way outside of our normal procedure. And as one who assumes people standing in front of us are going to be truthful, I think it’s, it’s, frankly kind of insulting to our witnesses but I also .. the point of this commission .. committee, is to discover issues with DCYF, it is not to prepare the ground for some kind (of) future prosecution. And so I think that the administration of an oath is both unnecessary and insulting and I would really prefer to get a ruling form the speaker’s office as to whether it is an appropriate thing for us to be doing because I’ve literally in 18 years never seen it.

The Committe Chair (Rep. Leah Cushman) thanks Rep Webber for her input, but decides to require the oath, after which there is some additional remarks. I’ve excerpted the exchange below. The Full committee hearing can be viewed here. My question to the readers is this. Is it time to change the practice of assuming those testifying before any legislative committee are telling the truth (to the best of their knowledge) and asking them to swear an oath affirming that what they have to say is the truth under penalty of perjury?

Or maybe (just) public officials and (in particular) members of the executive branch, as observed in the pull quote from Rebuild at the beginning of this piece?

I’m sure you have thoughts. Here is the excerpt 4 min in to about 7 min. (The debate on this matter continues up to just past the 12-minute mark in the full version before anyone is sworn in).

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The post When Witnesses are Asked to Swear an Oath to Tell the Truth – Democrats Object appeared first on Granite Grok.

You elected them to New Hampshire’s Citizen Legislature to represent you. When they don’t show up, you’re not being represented, are you? And with the razor-thin majority, every vote matters, so, as promised, we are releasing our first NH House Republican Attendance Report.

This week’s update offers a year-to-date percentage of how many votes they did not miss (you can do the math to determine the percentage they did miss). This is an important metric, and while it does not include voice votes, Roll Call votes are typically critical votes on issues important to Republicans.

We’re not telling you what to do with this information or that, in some cases, a “republican” Rep. missing a vote isn’t good for Republican priorities, just that they’ve missed a percentage of roll call votes, you should know this, and can pursue that with them if that’s how you roll (including a thank you to reps who always find a way to be there when it matters).

The House roster is available here if you are unsure who represents you (unlikely in this audience, but possible).

The Numbers

There are currently 201 Republican Reps in this survey, of whom 112 had perfect attendance. An additional 57 had attendance better than 90% – 32 had attendance worse than 90%.

Note 1 – This is their attendance percentage for all roll call votes, including procedural motions and quorum calls. It does not include attendance for non-roll call votes.

Note 2 – No exceptions are made in these numbers for illness, family emergency, any emergency, or any other absence excused or not. They missed the vote, period. You decide what that means to you.

The numbers below represent how often they were present for Roll Call Votes Year to Date (Jan 1 to Feb 29th). Linda Gould, for example, scored 35.2%, so she missed 64.8% of all roll call votes.

Future installments will list NH Republican Reps by the number of actual roll-call votes they missed in the previous week.

Below are the 32 Republicans with attendance worse than 90% since the beginning of the session.

0.0%	Sanborn, Laurie (R, Bedford)
35.2%	Gould, Linda (R, Bedford)
35.2%	Piemonte, Tony (R, Sandown)
44.3%	Cole, Brian (R, Manchester)
46.6%	O’Hara, Travis (R, Belmont)
52.3%	Varney, Peter (R, Alton)
58.0%	Milz, David (R, Derry)
58.0%	Trottier, Douglas (R, Belmont)
64.8%	Khan, Aboul (R, Seabrook)
68.2%	Lundgren, David (R, Londonderry)
70.5%	Kenny, Catherine (R, Hudson)
72.7%	Vandecasteele, Susan (R, Salem)
75.0%	Mason, James (R, Franklin)
79.5%	Bordes, Mike (R, Laconia)
79.5%	Crawford, Karel (R, Moultonborough)
80.7%	Dolan, Tom (R, Londonderry)
80.7%	Foote, Charles (R, Derry)
80.7%	Prudhomme-O’Brien, Katherine (R, Derry)
81.8%	Beaudoin, Richard (R, Gilford)
81.8%	Nutting, Zachary (R, Winchester)
81.8%	Smart, Lisa (R, Meredith)
81.8%	Testerman, Dave (R, Franklin)
84.1%	Thackston, Dick (R, Troy)
85.2%	Tenczar, Jeffrey (R, Pelham)
86.4%	Guthrie, Joseph (R, Hampstead)
87.5%	Doucette, Fred (R, Salem)
87.5%	Infantine, William (R, Manchester)
88.6%	Bickford, David (R, New Durham)
88.6%	Polozov, Yury (R, Hooksett)
88.6%	Renzullo, Andrew (R, Hudson)
88.6%	Verville, Kevin (R, Deerfield)
89.8%	Peternel, Katy (R, Wolfeboro)

The post How Many “Votes” Has Your NH House Republican Rep. Missed So Far This Year? appeared first on Granite Grok.

And… it’s Monday!  Ugh.

Take heart – there will be both a Wednesday and Friday Edition.  Last week’s Friday Edition.

Remember, ridicule and mockery are effective weapons:

1. Ridicule cannot easily be fought
2. Ridicule makes the enemy angry, and angry people make mistakes
3. For those in the “squishy middle” a Thought Splinter (and Part II and Part III and Part IV) can often be hidden inside humor.

Now, let the mockery and mayhem begin.

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

BATF = Burn All Toddlers First

I read the excellent book NO MORE WACOS.  Fascinating background.

 

 

 

Also: Federal Bureau of Incineration

 

 

 

No wonder he’s hated by the Left.

 

 

 

Is this a “Let them eat fruit loops” moment?

 

 

I’m torn.  Yes, I’m on Gab and no, I’m not a PRO member.  I appreciate fully that there is enormous expense associated with images and especially videos in terms of storage.  And while I do NOT appreciate the enormous amount of anti-Jew and anti-Israel posts, I will – per Voltaire – defend their right to hold those beliefs and speak their mind.  For in protecting even speech I hate, I protect my own.

So I am weighing going Pro, simply to continue to be able to share not just links but also images.

 

 

Ten percent to the BIG GUY, Joe getting $$$ confirmed.

The Public Disservice Of The Hunter Biden Testimony – Issues & Insights (issuesinsights.com)

What I find fascinating with the Left is that they ALWAYS double-down and deny.  And, of course, the GOP fails to play hardball.

 

 

I remember my VERY pregnant wife taking her oath of citizenship, and beaming.

 

 

Did I post this before?

 

 

This year I definitely need to get the potatoes started earlier.  We got a handful of fingerlings, nothing more.

 

 

The low valuation of Mar-A-Lago by the corrupt courts boggles the mind of anyone who looks at it with any sense of fairness.

 

 

 

Schumer Calls For Path To Citizenship For “All 11 Million, Or However Many” Illegal Immigrants There Are | Video | RealClearPolitics

 

 

 

 

In the movie GLADIATOR there’s a line: Rome is the mob.  And the Democrats understand this.

 

 

Probably not everything, but a damned lot of it.

 

 

Read this take on resistance:

The 2nd Amendment is Obsolete, Says Congressman Who Wants To Nuke Omaha | Monster Hunter Nation

And on that:

 

 

Is that a real sign?  These people better remember that there are people like my Jarhead friend who can hit a few-inch circle from 300-400 feet away.  And some, like a friend of his, was a former sniper and can do that same small circle from even farther.  And when the power goes out from shot-up transformers, and the water pressure dies, and there’s no refrigeration or purchases with electronic payments?  And worse things?

 

 

Can I scream BINGO if these all get checked off?

 

 

 

 

 

I agree.  As a former porn consumer, I realized the damage it was doing to myself and my perception of my wife and marriage and quit.

I run hot-and-cold on Ben Shapiro, but his book PORN GENERATION was definitely eye-opening.  And I’ve read a lot / seen a lot of videos since then which confirmed my instinctive take on what it was doing to me.

 

 

Apparently a judge that mostly rules on… get this… traffic infractions.  How in the Seven Hairy Hells does this person get to even impact Illinois’ ballot?

 

 

Speaking of porn; as I understand it, Japan is a sea of it.  No wonder Japanese people, particularly men, are not getting married.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So… she should have just laid back and tried to enjoy it?????

 

 

 

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

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

 

 

 

They’re going to go FULL BORE to silence you.  And it will come to the US too, despite the First Amendment.  It doesn’t even have to be official – just scare enough reporters with things like this:

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Uniparty.  They hate Trump and, by extension, all MAGA people.

 

 

 

 

Had a chat with a guy at Synagogue recently.  Political conservative, gun owner… we agree on our shared utter astonishment at the “That can’t happen here” mindset of so many fellow congregants.  Another politically conservative Jew I know is also a gun-owner, similar comment.

 

 

 

This is a generations-long, FAITH DRIVEN effort.  This is their religion.

 

 

 

That’s weird.  James Woods is, IMHO, incredibly insightful.

Elon does seem to be rather… dual-faced on this, I have to admit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank Hashem it’s not that easy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Link section (some mine, some from my Jarhead friend):

 

Come back Wednesday for this one.

 

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

 

Pick of the post:

 

 

Sowell.  Enough said.

 

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

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

 

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

 

Come back Wednesday for another edition.  Same Meme Time.  Same Meme channel.

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

 

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

 

The post MONDAY MEMES appeared first on Granite Grok.