Time got away from me – Life, elections, illnesses, and other and sundry reasons as to why I didn’t keep up on this. However, it’s time to restart this project and Colebrook needs to be prodded. Like with a number of other Districts, SAU7 Superintendent decided that to satisfy my RTK from October was to “look them up yourself” and sent links to their library management system to do so.

Again, look at the date – back from October of last year:

—– Original Message ——
From “Debra Taylor” <dtaylor@sau7.org>
To Skip@granitegrok.com
Date 10/13/2022 2:56:55 PM
Subject Response to Right to Know Request

Hello,

Please see the attached letter.

Sincerely,

Debra J. Taylor, Ph.D.
Superintendent
School Administrative Unit 7
21 Academy St.
Colebrook, NH 03576
603-237-5571

And the PDF that was attached to the email:

SAU7 Colebrook Debra Taylor Response to Right to Know Request – S.Murphy October 11, 2022

The important bit from that document:

The card catalogs for the Colebrook School District schools are maintained digitally and can be found at the following hyperlink: https://sau7.follettdestiny.com/common/welcome.jsp?context=saas121_2800084

Yeah….no. So yesterday, I decided to start tapping on my keyboard and let her know that was inadvisable – a Respondent can’t tell a Requestor to do the work, that’s HER job to supply the Responsive Records. Sorry, this is not a grocery store where everyone has to check themselves out. This is a “cashier only” type of deal – I ask, you send.

And I am getting tired of what I am seeing over and over – School District websites listing the School Board members but without any contact information available. Thus, my updated RTK now demands their contact information:

—– Original Message ——
From “Skip” <Skip@granitegrok.com>
To “Debra Taylor” <dtaylor@sau7.org>
Date 5/5/2023 3:19:59 PM
Subject Re: Response to Right to Know Request

Good afternoon,

I have to apologize for this VERY late reply to your email to me from October of last year. However, work should never be left uncompleted and my NH School District Library card catalog project is restarting.  In your response to me, your attempt to deflect your legal responsibility was this:

The card catalogs for the Colebrook School District schools are maintained digitally and can be found at the following hyperlink: https://sau7.follettdestiny.com/common/welcome.jsp?context=saas121_2800084

That response from you is insufficient and is not a proper response to my legal demand which was for the contents of the SAU7 card catalog. It is for the entire card catalog that makes up the Responsive Record that must be returned to me.  A Respondent cannot fluff off their duty under RSA 91-A to the Requester to do the work themselves; this is not how it works.  Sorry but this is not a grocery store where everyone has to self-check themselves out. Thus I am reissuing my RSA 91-A / Right To Know demand to the District for the  District’s card catalog.

If your library staff does not have the requisite skill set to accomplish this task (which should take no more than 3-5 minutes), I can send them the exact instructions to follow to have your Destiny library management system quickly put that together and output to a spreadsheet file as demanded.

Please note that this Right To Know is being sent with an addition: Contact information for the School Board members (re: email addresses, phone number). Upon review (https://www.sau7.org/colebrookschoolboard), there is no way for Colebrook residents / voters to directly reach their Elected Representatives via the District’s website.

Thank you for your legal attention to this matter.

-Skip

Skip Murphy
Founder, co-owner
GraniteGrok.com | Skip@GraniteGrok.com
Dominating the political Bandwidth in New Hampshire

The saga continues again…

The post Colebrook School District (SAU7) – Time To Cough Up Your District’s Card Catalog appeared first on Granite Grok.

In one of the finest examples of backward thinking Progressivism, the fuel responsible more than anything in the past two decades for lowering American emissions (if you still think that’s a thing we should do) was just banned by NY Democrats.

Related: Ohio Law Defines Natural Gas As Green Energy – Requires Regulators to Grant Leases

Increased reliance on natural gas has led the way and the world when it comes to cutting so-called carbon or CO2 emissions. It only makes sense that Democrats are in a mad rush to ban it, beginning with the chatter about gas stoves. You recall. News leaks, the claims are denied, the alleged harms are debunked, and a few months later, the Feds have rules to end gas stoves. States are jumping the gun and rushing to be the first to make energy more expensive and options fewer.

New York State Wins.

 

New York has become the first state in the country to ban natural gas stoves after the state Legislature approved a new state budget that includes a prohibition on fossil fuel combustion in most new buildings starting in 2026. …

The measure prohibits the installation of fossil fuel equipment in new buildings under seven stories by 2026 and by 2029 in taller ones, effectively requiring all-electric heating and cooking.

There are exemptions for places such as hospitals, manufacturing facilities, and restaurants. Existing buildings are also exempt from the ban.

Exemptions are nice and meaningless if Democrats continue to rule the roost. And while the new rules grandfather in existing infrastructure, use, and appliances, it won’t be long before they come for those. They will sunset legal sales just like they have with fossil field power cars. A handful of states are working out how to make that happen, even if it makes no sense.

Related: Too “Green” California Has to Build Five Natural Gas Power Plants to Prevent Blackouts…

California, the tip of the stupid progressive spear, announced a ban on Diesel trucks after 2036 with nothing on the table to replace them or infrastructure to charge their planned EV replacements.

 

California regulators voted Friday morning to implement a ban on new combustion truck sales after 2036, and mandate all trucks be zero emission vehicles by 2042, significantly tightening the state’s already strict trucking emissions rules.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) finalized the Advanced Clean Fleet rule, which would mandate that 50% of all state and local government vehicle fleet purchases be 50% zero-emissions by 2024, and 100% by 2027, and create a registry for drayage trucks. The rule — which comes one day after the board voted to implement the state’s first-ever rules to limit train emissions — would go even further than recent California rules approved by President Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency, which would cut diesel truck sales in half by 2035.

 

It’s a lot like COVID. The cure is worse than the diseases, but they mean for you to have it, and dissent will not be tolerated.

That’s your cue to object, and often.

 

The post New York State Dems Ban Natural Gas in New Construction (Heat, Stoves, All of It!) appeared first on Granite Grok.

We find ourselves today living in a post-George Floyd world of Wokeism where talk of equity, environmentalism, and social governance (ESG) have replaced accusations of microaggressions and discussions about the extent to which White privilege exists, if at all.

We want to thank Vindaloo Bugaboo for this Op-Ed. Please submit yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.

And while there is still plenty of racism making the news headlines, by and large, it’s been supplanted by the next liberal social injustice de rigueur—that of transgenderism “rights.” The issue, however, is that they demand Joe Q. Public willingly endorse an untenable lie.

During the early and mid-20th century—and continuing right on up through 2008’s Robert Downey Jr. spoof film “Tropic Thunder”—several notable Hollywood actors and actresses made cameo performances using Black minstrelsy, better known as blackface (Native American or other BIPOC minstrelsy notwithstanding).

Over time, especially after the passage of the landmark Equal Rights Act of 1964, theatrical blackface eventually was shunned due to its overt racial insensitivity—and rightly so, as defense of the practice, today has been relegated solely to philosophical discussions of its historical use when racial opportunities were not what they are today. Regardless of its racist undertones (and disregarding its use as far back in time as the days of Shakespearean performances at The Globe in England), absolutely no one would ever take seriously an actor wearing blackface who professed with all sincerity to being, in fact, Black. If an actor had professed thusly, they would’ve been laughed out of the movie studio’s front office and permanently (pardon the pun) blacklisted.

Hollywood may be one of the most progressive cities on the planet, but even they would draw the line at such ludicrousness.

The reason for this is simple: despite donning theatrical makeup and a costume, external changes do not legitimize a white actor’s claim of being Black because legitimacy is dependent upon establishing genetic, physical, and genealogical evidence to verify the claim.

Yet here we are today, in 2023, staring into the abyss of state legislatures around the country attempting to codify transgenderism “rights” into law without respect to the more fundamental affirmation of the extent to which biology determines gender. These Progressive legislators insist on gendered terminology like woman or man must necessarily be divorced from their respective biological constraints because—as radical trans activists love to point out—”gender and biology are two different things.” Well, yes, that’s true, but not in the way they pretend it to be.

The fallacy of their reasoning lies in them divorcing themselves from the fact that gender is derived from biology and is not just an arbitrary psychological construct unknown to anyone but the individual.

As a clinical laboratory scientist, I know a few things about the human body and anatomy. There are fundamental biological differences between the sexes; in addition to the XX and XY chromosomal foundation embedded into every cell of the human body, men have a different Q angle—the lateral line of pull of the quadriceps muscle relative to the patella, affecting the downward force through the leg and knee. This is one reason why men are faster than women when sprinting or running. The Q angle is reduced in men, providing a more linear piston-like movement in the leg.

The pelvis is fundamentally different between men and women as well; a female pelvis is larger and wider than a man’s and has a rounder pelvic inlet, while male iliac crests are higher than females. Men have larger larynxes than women and thus deeper voices, more muscle mass, greater bone density, and—literally—thicker skin. A simple Google search on the physiological differences between men and women yields a staggering 121 million returns. Yet despite an overwhelming amount of long-established scientific evidence, we’re seeing reports of educators claiming forensic anthropologists cannot tell the difference between a male and female skeleton!

This is insanity beyond that of Orwell’s “1984” doublespeak. It is insidious, insistent, irresponsible, and indefensible.

What Progressive legislators and academic (I use that term loosely) zealots are engaging in is what I refer to as biological blackface. Biological blackface is the purposeful delegitimization of the opposite sex from which you were born using hormonal therapy, cosmetic surgery, theatrical makeup, and fashion.

I refer to transgenderism as biological blackface not only because it is physically impossible to change one’s biology (male to female, or vice versa) but because such ambiguity of long-established fact is offensive, dehumanizing, and delegitimizing to women who were born biologically female. Regardless of a whole litany of “treatments” meant to align the outward physical appearance with one’s perceived inner identity, no treatment can undo the biological foundation for gender that a conjoined sperm and egg create.

A man who uses any or all of those means of biological blackface to convince himself and others he’s a woman has no more scientific legitimacy than would Marjorie Reynolds in the 1947 movie “Holiday Inn” had she claimed she was Black because she donned face paint and fake braids. Likewise, the same is true of a woman who insists she’s a man because she injects testosterone into herself to spur facial hair growth. Externalities are not what makes a man a man or a woman a woman, but rather it is biology.

• If I were to darken my skin using black walnut extract, doing so would not make me Black.
• If I were to change my hair color and style, they would not make me Black.
• If I were to talk in Ebonics, listen to rap music, and play for the NBA, those things would not make me Black.

Being Black means you possess certain genetic, physical, and cultural characteristics that are the same as for people existing in or descending from Africa. It is not dependent upon the extent of melanin in one’s skin (although to a large extent that is true), nor one’s nose width, lip thickness, musculature, or hair follicles, and it certainly is not governed by the wearing of African tribal clothing.

No amount of skin-based melanin modification or elective surgery can ever negate the reality of my Northern European heritage; I could replace my entire wardrobe with nothing but kente and dashiki fashions, and yet I would be no more racially identifiable with James Earl Jones than any other Caucasian. And if I did those things, I’d be mercilessly scorned, mocked, ridiculed, and abused if I claimed— with conviction —that because those things make me feel Black, I, therefore, am Black.

Yet this is the very rationale that trans activists demand of society writ large, as well as demanding we disregard biology as having any relevance to determining one’s gender. They believe taking hormone suppressors and undergoing cosmetic surgery (and that’s what it is, little more than superficial body modification) are sufficient forms of external validation for convincing others to suspend their sense of reality as they seek validation for what they feel themselves to be. It’s madness, unrooted in science or possibility.

In clinical terms, transgenderism is known as gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is defined by the American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, and other medical organizations as a mental health disorder—the key word being mental. It is demonstrably not a physical, genetic, or biological condition that can be “corrected” by changing one’s outward appearance. It is fundamentally a disorder of the mind, a conflict between one’s biological reality and a self-perception of being something else. Yet reality lies in the physical; the psychological is malleable and unknowable.

For the sufferer of gender dysphoria, therapy and reconstructive surgery may be of use in assisting them in addressing their perception of innate femaleness or maleness, but that no more makes them an actual woman (or to a far less common extent, man) than my dressing in a “furry” costume and wearing a prosthetic tail makes me an actual cat.

Affirming a lie does not make it truth, regardless of how many times it’s repeated.

The belief that one’s internalized mental conflict supersedes and negates biological identity—and worse insists upon the law to force me into compliance with endorsement of said internal conflict—is not only false but scientifically indefensible. We do not normalize schizophrenic or multiple personality disorder behavior, just as we don’t normalize pedophilia, necrophilia, or bestiality. Those, too, are all mental health disorders—but it does not serve the greater societal good to indulge the whims of those suffering from their condition in an attempt to normalize their mental health issues.

Transgenderism is unmitigatedly offensive to the biological woman who must compete against biological men and all their inherent biology-derived advantages. As a society, we changed our collective tolerance to and use of blackface once we understood how degrading and dehumanizing it was to Blacks, and we now must stand up against those who advocate in favor of the degrading and dehumanizing effects against biological women by those in the radical transgender movement.

 

The post Transgenderism Is Biological Blackface appeared first on Granite Grok.

It was true back in 2011, and it is still true today. Conservatives believe in the honor and dignity in work. Progressive don’t believe in a hand-up and are willing to supply a hammock forever.

Sidenote: I once told a person that if I got laid off from my software company, I might come looking to him for a job and that I’d be willing to clean his toilets. He looked at me really funny like until I told him about the honor and dignity bit.

I came across this via Cafe Hayek a while ago and stored it away. I just came across it again, and what Armen Alchian and William Allen said about history and poverty reminded me of someone else’s take on this (emphasis mine):

Thousands of years of recorded history present a persistent story of poverty and tyranny, with an occasional experiment in personal freedom and opportunity being fulfillingly productive. If we are to foster the good society and its responsive, efficient economy, intellectual competence must be married to high character. Otherwise, we will defeat ourselves by generating increasingly efficient gulags.

It is clear that a Society that maximizes an individual’s self and economic Freedom is a successful one. Everyone profits from everyone else’s industriousness in seeking out opportunities to fulfill their dreams and take care of their families (re: their “self-interest” which the Left always perverts to “selfishness” to those that are successful and inflame others to high levels of Envy).

However, over the last two decades, it is clear that our Society is becoming far less free and certainly no longer a “high character” one at an ever increasingly rapid pace.

…and immediately thought of Robert Heinlein’s quote that said it a little bit plainer. In trying to find that quote, up popped a post of mine written way back in 2011 that is as relevant as it was back then.  I would suggest that you read it – not for my “wit and wisdom” but for the comments from entrepreneurs that were throwing in the towel as Government was making it too hard to succeed.

The Heinlein Quote:

“Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.

This is known as “bad luck.”

– Robert A. Heinlein

Again, go read the story of the wanted-to-be mine operator and the jobs he wanted to give to people that were BEGGING him to take them on. But because of the Left’s whining about just about everything, after sitting there listening at the government hearing, he threw in the towel realizing that it would be too expensive because the Left was going to MAKE it too expensive.

It was happening back then and it is still happening today.

 

 

The post Redux: “Conservatives Believe That The Best Form of Welfare Is A Job. Govt Thinks Otherwise.” appeared first on Granite Grok.

BUD’s stock price is still hanging in there. On March 31st, it was at $66.73, and Friday morning, it was set to open at $65.90 (closed Friday at 64.83). It’s been like that for weeks. Every time it gets near $63.00 per share, there’s a buying spree, and it pops back up, though not to the price before the Muvalney nonsense went wide.

On paper, there’s no obvious reckoning, but that doesn’t mean one isn’t underway. People have stopped buying Bud Light (which I like to refer to as Blight).

The video was filmed during a four-game series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox this week.

Fans were lined up at a neighboring stand, leaving the Bud Light-stacked stand empty.

 

 

 

 

AB’s CEO has come out publicly and stated that there was no official campaign with Mulvaney. An advertising partner was responsible. And now AB is dumping a small fortune into supporting the Blight supply chain partners while promising a massive ad campaign over the summer to resuscitate the brand.

Funny thing. Isn’t that what Alissa Heinerscheid, the (former) VP for Blight marketing, said the Mulvaney thing was about? Building the brand among new demographics.

Ghosts. She must have meant ghosts.

 

 

HT | IJR

The post Bud Light “Stand” at Crowded Red Sox Game Has No Customers appeared first on Granite Grok.

On March 14, 2023, Jen Larochelle from Hebron wrote a Letter To The Editor to convince residents in the Newfound Area (Danbury, Alexandria, New Hampton, Bridgewater, Bristol, Hebron, and Groton) / SAU4 School District to vote for Michael Delaney of New Hampton over Fran Wendelboe (who was the incumbent).

We want to thank NH State Rep John Sellers for this Op-Ed. Please submit yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.

Delaney won by four votes. In Hebron (one of the smallest towns in the district) where she lives, 80 percent voted for Delaney because they took the bait and caused Fran Wendelboe to lose the seat. The thing is, Larochelle never talked to Delaney, yet she says in her letter that he would be fiscally responsible and do right for the children. Wonder how she knew that?

Guess what? Delaney resigned, and now Fran Wendelboe is at the mercy of the school board to be the New Hampton Representative when it votes for a replacement to fill Delaney’s vacant seat. I wonder if the Hebron School Board representative will vote to have Fran represent New Hampton.

But wait, there’s more! Hebron is one of three towns thinking of leaving SAU4 by creating their own SAU via legislation,

HB349; the bill has passed the House and Senate, now onward to the Governor for his signature. The last step in the process would be a vote by those towns. Yet, Hebron, Bridgewater, and Groton were able to vote on who should be the school board representative for New Hampton! This is not new in politics but needs to change.

Newfound, SAU4 has a few other issues going on, including using the SAU email address to send political emails and the resignation of the SAU4 superintendent.

New Hampton residents need to voice their support for Wendelboe to the school board now.

 

The post If You Live In New Hampton, Please Support Fran Wendelboe for School Board appeared first on Granite Grok.

This week, my committee met for the last public hearings on Senate bills and to vote on many of the bills in committee. SB 74 was a housekeeping bill, updating language relative to the state Department of Personnel.

We want to thank NH State Carol McGuire for this Op-Ed. Please submit yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.

I brought in an amendment with similar language changes, also a request from the Department of administrative services. There were some questions, but no opposition, and we immediately voted to adopt the amendment and pass the bill.

SB 108 would allow the employees at the public defender program to join the state employees’ health insurance plan. That is a full-featured plan; I was surprised to find that it cost less than their current plan, both for premiums and co-pays. The public defender program is already paid from general funds, and they offer employer-paid health insurance, so changing to the state employee plan would only be a cost impact on the state if many more employees chose this insurance – or if the public defenders were a lot more expensive to cover than the average state employee. With 250 public defenders versus 18,000 state employees (more or less), it would take a massive differential to change the average cost. We voted unanimously to recommend the bill.

SB 105, on the live birth worksheet, was a different story. The sponsor was convinced that her bill, which deleted most of the data collected, was necessary to protect the privacy of mothers and children; every other person testifying (for over 1.5 hours!) was opposed to most of these changes. Nobody was opposed to removing the criminal penalties for not fully and accurately completing the worksheet; the main opposition was in removing the mother’s (and father’s, but not as vigorously) identification. Getting the results of the baby’s blood test screening immediately is vital for treatment of the genetic conditions we test for – even a few days may delay diagnosis, and for many of these conditions there is no real treatment, only prevention, and the effects before diagnosis can be devastating. I was also concerned that the vital records department would be unable to issue a birth certificate without the data this bill would delete (names of the child and the parents!) and that we would lose all genealogy data. Other members of the committee were concerned about losing the address data: public health data on maternal mortality and other childbirth-related situations would be impossible to collect or analyze if the only address were the hospital’s. The bill went to subcommittee for further discussion; I cut off the agencies and lobbyists who had signed up to speak and told them to work with the subcommittee.

Then we debated and voted on most of the Senate bills we had heard earlier. All but one of the votes were unanimous since the bills had gone to subcommittee and we’d worked out the kinks on most of them. SB 147, on the dentists’ board, was amended to delete some of the controversial limits on child anesthesia, since a Senate committee has a retained bill on the topic. SB 203, on the manufactured housing board, was amended to delete the restructured board and simply keep the website available for five years. SB 53, on advanced refrigerants, was recessed until the building code review board met and approved the necessary code changes.

SB 49, on the OPLC fund, was amended to require any surplus above $3 million at the end of the biennium be used to reduce license fees. We all agreed that while the agency needed some liquidity, but the excess should be minimal and not sent to the general fund. SB 44, expanding the scope of practice of masters level alcohol and other drug counselors (MLADC) to mental health treatment without the current requirement of substance use, was amended to clarify the educational requirements – a criminal justice degree isn’t a good basis for mental health treatment.

SB 71, on workers’ compensation for firefighters, had started with a major study commission on cancer detection and screening. This commission violated the House rules, in that legislators were in the minority – but adding more people likely would dilute the effectiveness of the commission. We amended the bill to keep the presumption of cancer being caused by workplace exposure (not guaranteed, but a place to start – the workers’ comp agency didn’t see a problem or much expense in this position) and delete the commission. A study by the insurance industry would be more effective, in our opinion, than one led by the legislature.

SB 149, on nurse agencies, was not unanimous. We amended the bill to place the registry directly under the OPLC, not the board of nursing, and clarify what actions (revoking an arranged placement, creating a bidding war, placing a nurse with a suspended license, and so forth) could lead to discipline and what kinds of discipline could be imposed. I tend to agree that a consolidated complaint from the OPLC of a pattern of bad behavior is more likely to get action from the attorney general’s consumer protection group than individual complaints, but I still think the bill is unenforceable. At least the amendment improves the bill, and we were unanimous in supporting it. The bill itself was recommended 15-4, and I was in the minority.

Finally, SB 207 turned out more difficult than anticipated. This bill created a study committee on licensing for mental health professionals, which I thought was redundant to the ED&A committee – we’re working on licensing issues all the time! Therefore, I had an amendment to delete the study and just left the part about peer support counseling for first responders – I wasn’t necessarily in support of it, but I was willing to discuss it and didn’t remember much testimony. Fortunately, some lobbyists who worked with those groups were present and explained why they thought the bill was necessary. I and the rest of the committee were thoroughly confused, so I sent the bill to subcommittee.

 

Representative Carol McGuire
carol@mcguire4house.com
782-4918

The post Your State House 05/28/23: Dealing With The NH Senate Bills appeared first on Granite Grok.

In a unanimous decision earlier today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the general welfare clause … Article 1, Section 8 … of the constitution guarantees an adequate national defense. The Supreme Court added that, while “in the first instance it is up to Congress to define the parameters of an adequate national defense, the scope of the duty clearly encompasses defending the Ukraine from Putin.” President Biden, in response, announced the immediate deployment of an unspecified number of troops to the Ukraine.

Oh … I know what you are thinking: You cannot fool me. This is ridiculous. There is no “right to an adequate national defense” in the constitution. Judges have no business interfering in foreign policy.

YUP … but everything in italics applies equally to the New Hew Hampshire Supreme Court’s education funding decisions … yet “the system,” INCLUDING the NHGOP, simply goes along with the court.

And … I know some of you die-hard Red-team’rs are thinking: No comparison. None at all. Our State Constitution says “shall be the duty.” The federal constitution doesn’t say anything about any duty.

Sorry (not really) … but you don’t have any idea what you are talking about. When the phrase “common defense” within Section 1, Article 8 the federal constitution is READ IN CONTEXT … the militia clauses, the Commander-in-Chief clause, AND HISTORY … it is clear that the federal constitution assumes that we would have an army and navy. Likewise the State Constitution assumes that there would be … more accurately continue to be … a system of public schooling. There is NOTHING in either constitution, nor in the historical record, that suggests that either constitution contemplated the judiciary having any role at all in either the national defense or public education.

In other words, claiming that the New Hampshire Constitution contains a judicially enforceable right to a “fully funded” “adequate education” is the equivalent of claiming that the federal constitution contains a judicially enforceable right to an “adequate national defense.”

* * * * *

This will likely be the last … for a bit … in my series on the ongoing ConVal education funding trial. You can find prior posts here:

THE CONVAL EDUCATION FUNDING LAWSUIT … ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHNNY-WOKE TELLS THE COURT: THE STATE IS ONLY A LITTLE BIT PREGNANT

HEY PATHETIC NHGOP … CONVAL IS AN ACTUAL ATTACK ON OUR DEMOCRACY … AND YOU ARE AWOL.

THE CONVAL EDUCATION FUNDING TRIAL … WHAT THE NHGOP SHOULD DO, BUT WON’T, BECAUSE THE NHGOP IS CONTROLLED OPPOSITION

The post BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court Finds “Right To An Adequate National Defense” … Biden To Send Troops To Ukraine appeared first on Granite Grok.

I was recently asked to participate in a one-question poll by the GOP House Leadership Team, which is actually the Kevin McCarthy Campaign Committee. The question asked to identify my number one issue from the following list:

WHAT IS YOUR NUMBER 1 ISSUE?

• Border Security
• Economy & Inflation
• Election Integrity
• Protecting Life
• Lowering Crime
• Investigations & Accountability

It seems to be a simple question, and I should have answered quickly, but I had to stop and put this list into priority. It was not an easy question.

Each of these alone is a significant problem for America. When you see them as a group, you realize the extent of the damage the Biden Administration has inflicted in two short years. We may find it challenging to stay afloat for the final two years of Biden’s term. We don’t want to give him a chance to “finish the job.” To finish the job is not a redirection or transformation but the destruction of America. To say “Rome is Burning” to describe Joe Biden’s America is not hyperbole. 

After ranking this list, I narrowed my answer to Border Security. I am concerned about the others, but these other issues may be inconsequential if we do not secure the Border. Let’s look at how serious the Border Crisis is and how it impacts all the other problems.

First, for a country to exist, it must have sovereignty and clearly defined Borders. Biden and the Left do not need Borders, so they are comfortable with an unsecured Southern Border. Europe tried the experiment of no borders and uncontrolled travel between countries. It did not take long to realize this was a colossal mistake and harmful to the individual countries. Some European countries, such as Greece, Finland, and Hungary, have built walls to fortify their Borders.

We do not have control of our Border, which has led to a proliferation of gangs in nearly all of the 49 contiguous states. We know that people on the international terror watch list have entered America. We also know that people from over 160 countries have illegally crossed into America. This fact dispels the claim by the Biden Administration that the people coming to our country are seeking asylum because of hardships in Central America.

We know the amount of Fentanyl coming from Mexico is growing, and the means of distribution are more creative and aimed at a younger population. Fentanyl poisonings and deaths are increasing each year and exceed 100,000 a year. It is confirmed that Mexican Fentanyl originates in China. It is estimated that ten million illegal aliens will cross from Mexico during Biden’s term, bringing the illegal population in America to 10% of our total.

The breakdown of our Border will impact our economy by flooding the country with millions of untrained workers driving down wages. The increase in crime, drugs, and gangs stretching across the country will negatively affect our quality of life. Millions of non-English speaking children blended into our classrooms will further impact our already challenged education system.

The Republican-controlled House is working very hard to determine the impact of a corrupted election process and to get to the bottom of the facts of how the Biden Crime Family, Intelligence Agencies, Justice Department, and media conspired to influence the 2020 and 2022 elections,

We have many serious issues to face, but until we restore and fortify our geographic Border, we have no country to protect.

The post Biden Has Done So Much Harm, Which Is The Worst appeared first on Granite Grok.

Eric Adams is the mayor of New York City. He is pretty typical of big city mayors. He is a leftist. He is black, his city is struggling, and he does a lot of what American politicians these days do a lot of; blame other people for their problems.

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

You might think we would want to elect people who are problem solvers to political office. But you would be wrong. We tend to elect the loudest, most rhetorically adroit blame-throwers we can find. It’s what we do.

Mayor Adams this week sent out a press release accusing the Governor of Texas of “…deciding to play politics with people’s lives….” The Mayor said, “… this behavior [is] morally bankrupt and devoid of any concern for the well-being of asylum seekers….”

Mayor Adams went on asserting the governor is “… targeting five cities run by Black mayors….” Adams makes the accusations “… Abbott bussed migrants to New York against their will… had security guards hold them hostage on busses when they tried to get off in other cities… shipped them off while sick and COVID positive… tagged individuals with barcodes…” Here’s the link: https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/305-23/mayor-adams-on-governor-abbott-s-decision-resume-busing-asylum-seekers-five

So, here are the questions: Is Gregg Abbott a racist bastard dumping his state’s problems on a poor big city in another state? Is Eric Adams a racist bastard deflecting responsibility away from the poor results of leftist policy decisions? What are the facts? Why should you care?

Let’s start with the facts. El Paso, Texas, is a city in Texas. It has been bussing illegals to various places around America. The Mayor is Oscar Leeser, a Democrat, a Hispanic man. El Paso has bussed 10,713 illegal migrants to New York City (NYC). The State of Texas has bussed 5,200 illegals to NYC. https://nypost.com/2022/10/06/mayor-of-el-paso-oscar-leeser-sends-twice-as-many-migrants-to-nyc-as-texas-gov-greg-abbott/ It seems Mayor Adams is “presenting the facts poorly”… at the very least he’s skewing the presentation.

It turns out the illegals are being asked where they want to go when they get to America. The illegals are choosing the cities of Chicago, Denver, and NYC. Last week the New York Post (NYP) did a story on VOLAG handling of illegals. What are VOLAGS? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VOLAG They are any of the nine U.S. private agencies and one state agency that have cooperative agreements with the State Department to provide reception and placement services for refugees arriving in the United States. Did you know the State Department was paying for the illegal immigrants flooding our southern border? https://www.judicialwatch.org/state-dept-redacts-big-chunks-22-8-mil-contract-resettle-muslim-refugees/

Well, if you ask the NGOs dealing with the illegals, like Catholic Charities or Lutheran Family Services, they will tell you, as Karina Hernandez of Catholic Family Services in Houston told the NYP. https://nypost.com/2023/04/28/nyc-chicago-final-dream-destinations-for-migrants-bussed-out-of-west-texas/ It is the illegals who are choosing Chicago and NYC as their tops choices of final destination because they have family there, they know people there. The takeaway? Mayor Adams does not know what he is talking about, or he is speaking a truth not supported by the facts.

The larger point here is: Yes, a white governor is sending illegals to black-run cities. But at least in large part, the reason so many illegals are arriving in these black-run cities is the illegals are saying they want to go there. And… black Democrat mayors in southern and western states are sending their illegal migrant problems to other black mayors across the country… Facts can be inconvenient.

In December of 2022, the City of Denver, according to Mayor Michael Hancock, got an unexpected influx of illegals. The Denver Post and the Colorado Sun reported the illegal migrants themselves who had used social media to coordinate a group trip to Denver. They believed the sudden arrival of so many of them all at once would guarantee more free services: housing, food, education, and jobs. Let that sink in. Where did that notion come from? Do you believe it was organic? https://www.denverpost.com/2022/12/15/denver-state-of-emergency-migrants-immigrants-mayor-hancock/ ; https://coloradosun.com/2022/12/18/denver-migrant-immigration-opinion-littwin/

The influx of illegals left the city in financial straits. The City could not fit all those free services into the budget. There were suddenly too many people all expecting lots of services, and delivery systems and resources were not in place.

Mayor Hancock decided to get rid of his problem. The Denver Post reported the Mayor spent $492,000 on one-way bus tickets to other cities across America. Care to guess which cities this black male mayor sent his illegal migrant problems to? Top destination; Chicago, black mayor. Second top destination; NYC, black mayor. Third top destination; Atlanta, black Mayor. Are you seeing a pattern developing here?

There does not seem to be a lot of support for Mayor Adams’ charge of racism against the Governor of Texas. What do we think of people who make unfounded allegations of racism?

What we seem to be mixing up here is a witch’s brew. We are inviting the rest of the world to send us their homeless, tempest-tossed, tired, poor, huddled masses and the wretched refuse of their teeming shores. And they are doing it. These Democrats are spreading it across America.

What we have is the nullification of our immigration law by our federal government. This is flooding the southwest with illegals. The southwestern cities are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the influx.

They are incapable, with the resources available, of dealing with the number of services needed by this uncontrolled arrival of people. The arrival cities are sharing their misery by paying for these illegal aliens to travel elsewhere. This is a federally mandated diaspora.

The illegals want to go where they have family, and contacts, or where they believe they can get services. It is a human response. The ignorant part, on the destination end, is the sanctuary assumption. The political elite has decided for their subjects that they will accept poverty, crime, and destruction of their future. That is what sanctuary is; a signed blank check for social chaos and poverty.

Couch it as you will with idyllic language. But real people require real food, real education, real water, garbage service, and policing. Those things must be paid for or people will go without. That’s what is coming. We are going to face a reckoning for the promises made but lack the ability to fulfill.

Mayor Adams is using the accusation of racism to distract from the truth. Many of America’s cities are run by Democrat mayors of all colors. They embraced sanctuary city policies. It sounded great as an expression of their city’s values.

There are over 100 sanctuary cities and 11 states in the U.S. Sanctuary jurisdictions are magnets for illegals. https://cis.org/Full-Screen-Map-Sanctuary-Cities ; https://www.fairus.org/issue/sanctuary-policies/do-you-live-1-11-sanctuary-states Think about it… Those sanctuary locations offer things like free housing, food, transportation, education, medical care, and a refusal to cooperate with officials seeking to enforce the law applicable to deportation of illegals.

If you are an illegal alien and you just got to the VOLAG on the border. Say you don’t know anybody here. Where are you going to want to go? Will the promise of getting something for nothing attract your attention? How about protection from deportation? Think the VOLAGs tell you about sanctuary cities?

Did the VOLAGs maybe do some coaching before you decided to come? Do those VOLAGs get paid for what they do? Do they operate outside the U.S as well as within? Remember, they are operating under “cooperative agreements” with the State Department. Look it up. It’s another whole bag of snakes.

Free stuff, it isn’t free. NYC has to come up with $4.2 billion to fund those sanctuary policies. That’s going to crimp the budget. It will probably raise the tax rates. The results of Leftist policies will destroy all who adopt them. It is true each time, every time we listen to the Siren’s song. Just think about it.

New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle are turning into violent, crime-ridden dumps. The Mayor is wrong about the racism charge but right in understanding their cities are in trouble. Knowing you are in trouble isn’t the same thing as doing the right things to fix it… is it?

 

The post Let’s Play Who’s The Racist Bastard appeared first on Granite Grok.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, an Obama appointee, has made most of her accumulating wealth from book deals with Random House or its subsidiaries. A sum of 3.6 million dollars over eleven years if the reporting is accurate. So, why didn’t she recuse herself in Aaron Greenspan v. Random House?

 

In the case, Greenspan – an author who was classmates with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg while at Harvard – alleged that his proposed book about the founding of Facebook was rejected by Random House, only for the company to then grant a book deal to another author who copied his idea and then turned it into the successful movie “The Social Network” in 2010.

During that case, then-Justice Stephen Breyer, a fellow left-wing justice, did ultimately recuse himself due to receiving payments from the publisher in the past. Sotomayor, however, did not recuse herself despite doing the same thing.

 

That was ten years ago, so? Old news. Partisan garbage?

 

According to the Daily Wire, Sotomayor was paid $3.1 million by Penguin Random House over the course of two years; in 2010, she was paid $1.2 million by Knopf Doubleday Group, part of Random House’s conglomerate, and then received two separate advance payments in 2012, which amounted to $1.9 million when combined. These payments have made Penguin Random House her single largest source of income.

 

Getting 3.1 million dollars from the accused and then voting in their favor looks terrible regardless of the specifics of the case. And while I am sure she’s had more than one opportunity to explain it away, in the wake of the progressive war being waged against Justice Clarence Thomas, it looks worse.

 

In another case in October of 2019, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case of children’s author Jennie Nicassio, who sued Random House after the publisher allegedly began selling a book that was nearly identical to one of her own. In declining to hear the case, the Court ultimately affirmed the ruling of a circuit court which had ruled in Random House’s favor. Sotomayor once again did not recuse herself in the vote to decline Nicassio’s case, even though Breyer once again did recuse himself.

 

Justice Breyer’s recusal shines an unpleasant light on the Wise Latina. Stephen Breyer is no more or less a progressive jurist than Sotomayor, yet he had the integrity to step away from two cases where he had the appearance of potential bias. Sotomayor could not be bothered.

Water under some bridge, I suspect, but it is rhetorical ammo for opponents looking for something to toss back at the wailing banshees who will not leave Clarence Thomas alone.

 

 

HT | American Greatness

 

The post If You Want a Dirty Justice, The Wise Latina Failed to Recuse Herself and Then Ruled in Her Publisher’s Favor appeared first on Granite Grok.

Nordstrom announced on Wednesday that they would close their two stores in San Francisco after 35 years of serving the fashion needs and wants of the Bay Area. There have been twenty significant retailers that have closed up shop in San Francisco since

2020. Shoplifting, robbery, and the safety of their employees are too important to remain in the City by the Bay. How many companies locking their doors as they close does it take before the Mayor, Governor, and President all admit that the plan to make America a Woke, lawless country is a failure?

San Francisco is a city that has survived earthquakes, the assassination of its Mayor, the COVID Epidemic, Former Mayor Newsom, and Representative Nancy Pelosi is being brought to its knees by a DA who won’t enforce the law and a population that is out of control. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the country and has been a tourist destination for worldwide travelers. San Francisco is still one of the most expensive places to buy real estate, but how long can it stay firm against this assault?

Gavin Newsom visited his former home city last week and did not make a good impression on anyone. He was caught on tape being asked by someone on the street what he would do to save Frisco. Newsom was arrogant when he snidely responded, “I thought you would tell me what to do.” He came across as pompous and holier than thou.

Nordstrom is not the first to leave Frisco; there will undoubtedly be more to close. Retailers that have already exited the Bay Area since 2020 are Whole Foods, Crate & Barrel, Marshalls, GAP, Office Depot, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Banana Republic. All of these companies ceased operating in San Francisco for the same reasons. They could no longer be profitable with the rampant crime and could no longer protect their employees.

We saw the video of Target last week in San Francisco, where every piece of inventory was locked up behind glass. You need a sales clerk to unlock a cabinet to give you a tube of toothpaste. Only those on the Far Left can call this progress.

Crime, deserted neighborhoods, and tent cities of homeless people pepper the sidewalks of former active downtown shopping areas. It is not just San Francisco. We have already seen Baltimore, Detroit, and Chicago become shadows of their former greatness. Los Angeles, Denver, and New York are following suit. All of these cities are under
Democrat control. How can any rational person claim the Left’s policies work for America?

San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in the country, with some of the highest real estate values. The local and state governments have abandoned the taxpayer citizens to maintain a WOKE and sanctuary city. These continued crime, drug, and homelessness issues will erode the value of people’s homes and make them unsaleable.

Correcting the parameters forcing businesses out of the city and state is impossible. The government is either complicit with the direction of the town, or they are powerless to make corrections. The future seems obvious. Gang rule will replace Democrat rule, and these cities will die away. Blindly trusting Democrats will prove to be suicide for all of these cities that are spiraling out of existence.

 

 

The post How Many Retailers Closing Will It Take To Admit Failure appeared first on Granite Grok.

You might ask yourself, why would a parent want to put their kids near drag queens? The better question is, why do drag queens want to be near kids? And if it is all so ordinary and okay, why did they drop the word “queen” from Drag Queen Story hour?

Content Warning

That’s right. It is now called Drag Story Hour! What happened to ‘Be You?’ If you are a “drag queen,” why drop the “queen” from events where “drag queens” in full makeup, hair, and costume read books to children at public libraries?

Not proud?

We hear all this prattling on about Pride, and then you stuff the “queen” in a closet somewhere. It’s an odd move because these drag queens … aren’t hiding much nor appear to have much need of a closet.

 

 

 

 

 

These are deliberately published pictures on public platforms, and wouldn’t you know, these are also the promoted guests at a Drag Story Hour Event coming up in Berlin, New Hampshire.

If you are an adult and this is your thing, from either direction, I don’t care. I’ve made that clear so often that even an incensed lying liberal stooge should have stumbled across it. But I do have an objection to exposing children to this lifestyle choice. And the flyer for this event is quite clear. “Adults must be accompanied by a child.” You can’t just show up without a minor.

This ‘presentation’ is for children.

The flier also insists that “The Library is NOT sponsoring event.’ That’s how they wrote it—not sponsoring event. It is missing a word, just like Queen from Drag Story Hour. A coincidence? Perhaps, like how the library is not supporting an event that involves reading to children inside the library. 

Is the library upset that they exiled the queen from Drag Queen Story Hour?

No, they don’t want any calls or emails from taxpayers who might wonder why a public library is NOT sponsoring an event” held on the premises. Have they given up control of the property? Are the Queens not allowed to touch the books? Do they have to bring their own?

Related: Vermont Man Who Created the Most Misogynistic, Sexist, Anti-Women Cartoon Imaginable Invited to Read to Children at NH Public Library

We’re not supposed to ask, but “Drag Story Hour” could just as easily be sponsored by The National Hot Rod Association and feature Matt Hagen or Alexis Dejoira. Drag Racing. Story Hour. No Queens, unless you mean Alexis, who is a biologically heterosexual female and could be considered a queen of drag racing.

 

Alexis Dejoira

 

Nope. The other Drag queens are coming to the Berlin public library, one of whom is Emoji Nightmare/Justin Marsh (see also Cumpstrella Cumpstrella).

Marsh, an upstanding citizen of the People’s Republic of Vermont, is due in court on May 8th (9 am) on charges of alleged domestic assault, unlawful restraint, and interfering with emergency services.

 

Oct. 18 at 6:58 a.m., after responding to a dispute in Hyde Park village, police arrested Justin Marsh, 33, of Hyde Park, for domestic assault, unlawful restraint and interfering with emergency services.

 

Just a little public disobedience, or maybe someone asked why they took “queen” out of Drag Queen Story Hour, and Justin just had to be Justin. Perhaps you can ask the sponsors (not the library). See if they can explain any of it.

 

 

The post They Took the “Queen” Out of “Drag Queen Story Hour” (Are They Hiding “Her” in a Closet?) appeared first on Granite Grok.

To all those who are sending in memes, thank you!  Keep them coming please, as it helps me gather weaponry to fight the Left.  Please do share this post, and if you share an individual meme, consider mentioning you saw it on the Grok!

Speaking of, from this week, Monday Memes and Meme Overflow.  Also don’t forget both complementary parts of my Survival Sunday feature: PREP edition and SITREP edition.

 

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

 

 

In light of that, see this:

Ireland Set to Pass “Hate Speech” Laws – Will Make Possessing “Hateful” Content on Your Devices a Jailable Offense – Elon Musk Weighs In | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft

 

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

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

When you see a GMO product and decide to no longer buy it, make sure you let the company know they’re losing a customer… and WHY.  Snail mail is best, IMHO.  In parallel, if / when you find an acceptable substitute, tell that new company why you’re now a customer.  Include that if they go the GMO route, you’re willing to leave them too.

 

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

 

Science, the Transgender Phenomenon, and the Young | Abigail Shrier

 

 

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

 

Just a meme dump.

 

   

 

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

 

Oh SH*T, the small bank collapse is real and it’s here | Redacted with Clayton Morris

 

 

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

 

 

I have seen multiple independent videos doing this comparison.  So here’s the thing.  I’m not a biologist.  Seriously.  I can see the difference.  So why are there not more doctors, etc., not looking, when it’s not difficult to do?  It’s because they don’t want to know.

 

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

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

A two year old can barely speak.  And you’re willing to start transitioning a kid at that age?

Wood chipper therapy.  Stat.

 

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

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

 

The post Friday Meme Overflow-Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner is the latest pro-crime Soros-backed prosecutor to be driven from office “after visiting judge John Torbitzky ordered seven out of 10 claims filed against her by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to move forward.”

 

According to Bailey, Gardner’s other failures to take prosecutorial action resulted in some 12,000 criminal cases being dismissed, “endlessly frustrating courts and victims desperate for justice.”

Police are “drowning in drugs” seized in cases that have languished, Bailey wrote, and alleged that Gardner’s office had allowed arrest-warrant applications to go “unprocessed for more than eight months.”

Bailey also accused Gardner of agreeing to “extraordinary bond reductions” and failure to seek bond revocations for suspects charged with violent crimes.

 

Gardner has company. Virginia State Attorney Buta Biberaj got tossed from a case by a judge after it was revealed that she lied to the court about a suspect’s extensive criminal history. And DA Chesa Boudin was recalled by San Francisco voters last June. Other recalls have been attempted as crime continues to rise in Democrat-run cities that advance Bouin-style progressive justice.

 

San Francisco was a trainwreck before, but it has suffered under Boudin. Rampant shoplifting because the DA won’t prosecute what he called petty crimes. Actual hate crimes against real Asians.

And the progs are paying attention. According to the Post, other DAs who got elected (with Soros Money) have enacted similar policies with similar results. Rising crime and no accountability. Add several years of anti-police ‘defund’ rhetoric from Democrat councils and mayors, and someone will have to take the heat.

 

The Democrat’s notion of justice is criminal. Someone should put that on a bumper sticker or sew it on a pillow. Or how about “The Democrat Party – Hurting the People We Promised to Help.”

One thing Gardner may have gotten right. When the Missouri AG started the process, she called it a witch hunt. Hey, she called herself that; it wasn’t me.

 

“Gardner is among many progressive prosecutors who received backing from billionaire financier George Soros, according to The Missouri Times.”

The post Another Soros Backed Prosecutor Resigns appeared first on Granite Grok.

An Executive Council (EC) seems to be a strictly NH “thing.” It is part of the Executive Branch and approves all contracts that are brought forward to them. The EC also has the duty to approve any nominations for senior posts within the Executive put forward by the Governor as well as those for judgeships.

This past Wednesday they held a hearing on the nomination of Anne Edwards to the NH Superior Court. Edwards has served in the NH Attorney General’s office for quite some time.

Thus, it is their job to be part of the checks and balances that help to create one of the weakest Governor’s offices in the US – our NH Founders knew correctly what was needful to keep Power from being aggregated into one office and person.

I was not able to attend, but Chau Kelley was there with her cameras and has graciously let GraniteGrok put up the testimonies that she captured – MANY THANKS, ma’am! When I finish listening and publishing them all, I’ll have my own thoughts on this nomination but not now.

In addition to these videos, you can click here to see the existing posts that have been written about her on GraniteGrok as well.

There are 19 separate videos – too many to put into a single post.  I started with Anne Edwards’ testimony and then proceeded with some of the videos that Chau sent to me in chronological order. Thus there will be a Part 2 (or more):

Anne Edwards:

Tom Murray:

Russan Chester:

Ken Eyring:

Diane Fisher:

Daniel Richards (listen closely concerning about the NH Constitution, absentee ballots, affidavits, Town Moderators, and Town Clerks):

NH Secretary of State David Scanlon:



 

Part 2 will follow shortly.

 

The post NH Executive Council Hearing: Anne Edwards Nomination for Superior Court Judge Part 1 appeared first on Granite Grok.

If you were looking for a line item example of wasted taxpayer dollars, we’ve got a winner. The US Fish and Wildlife Service, part of the US Department of the Interior, offers employees paid time off for counseling to address the climate cult equivalent of PTSD.

 

US Fish and Wildlife Service employees are struggling to cope with feelings of trauma and loss over the world’s changing climates and imperiled environments. Their work repeatedly confronts them with ecological changes, but even a sense of “anticipated loss” perhaps decades from now requires compassionate help. Or so the FWS and American Psychological Association tell us.

The FWS is thus offering paid leave to employees who attend “eco-anxiety” and “climate grief” training. When the House Natural Resources Committee called the sessions a colossal waste of money, the agency downplayed their cost and scope. But naturally the “woke” programs don’t end there.

FWS Director Martha Williams is also pushing diversity-equity-inclusion-LBGTQ programs as the agency’s “number one priority” (or perhaps number two, after climate change). Employees can take as much paid time off as needed for DEI and “gay pride” programs and eco-anguish counseling.

 

Let’s break this down in real terms. The government created a fake problem that costs taxpayers hundreds of billions before the shadow taxes and other economic damage it perpetuates. They sold government workers on the legitimacy of their fake crisis. And they are now spending more money on them to address the trauma their fearmongering created.

It all sounds so familiar.

The war on drugs, the war on crime, the war on poverty, the war on healthcare. The border situation. The opioid epidemic.  What Eversource did to NH’s electricity rates.

At the end of the day, everyone else in this pitiful chain of events – pick one, they are all the same – gets paid, and we get screwed.

It sure would be nice if there were a way to fix it without having to *shoot up the place. Wait, there was, but they did the same thing to elections.

 

*And no, I am not saying it is time for a shooting war. It’s turn of phrase. The second amendment is for defense, not attack. 

The post Paid Leave Offered to Government Employees to Attend “Eco-Anxiety” and “Climate Grief” Training appeared first on Granite Grok.

We learned that Senate and House Democrats are fixated on supplying menstrual products in every public bathroom at public expense—this time, they want it provided in state and county correctional facilities at taxpayer expense with SB209. A similar bill, HB421, has already passed in the House, which is now awaiting its fate in the Senate.

Yet again, this bill, SB209, came before the legislature demanding free menstrual products – “for those who biologically menstruate.” Thank goodness it isn’t for those who do not biologically menstruate, although who wouldn’t want to grab a few free tampons to use to clean your firearms? SB209 was tabled with a vote of 357-9.

We learned that kids who need to be placed in another school based on an education hardship (like being a victim of bullying) will be more easily accomplished by the language fixes in SB77. This bill passed on a slim 187-183 vote. Every House Democrat, and Rep. Dan Wolf (R-Newbury), voted to leave the statute as is and make it more difficult to place kids having issues into educational settings that would be better for their learning experience. Passing this bill was truly “for the children.”

We learned SB152 passed 250-123. This bill will require the Department of Education to develop a career pathway in marine trades at regional tech centers. Those who voted against this bill did not like the fact that with this bill, a new commission will be created with spending authority and that there is no legislative oversight of the program. Additionally, it creates programs for a not-yet-existent offshore wind industry which is considered a totally speculative move and is not a fiscally responsible use of taxpayer dollars. As we pay to train more kids in the offshore wind industry, seemingly to encourage the installation of wind turbines off our coast, one can only wonder about the damage that will happen to our fishing and lobstering industries. The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.

We learned that all but 6 House members voted to affirm support of New Hampshire’s First In The Nation Primary status. SCR1 is a concurrent resolution that upholds our position on FITN and states that we support our Secretary of State to follow legal action to hold the primary before all other states. The vote was 356-6 in the House after being voted 18-0 in the Election Law Committee. Those who voted against the resolution were Sherry Dutzy (D-Nashua), Molly Howard (D-Hancock), Lucius Parshall (D-Marlborough), David Preece (D-Manchester), Amanda Toll (D-Keene), and John Hunt (R-Rindge).

We learned that SB14 passed with a voice vote after a Table motion was defeated 321-46. This bill puts into statute the definition of a “game camera” and makes it clear that landowners have the right to know if anyone is placing a game camera (aka surveillance) on their property. The majority believes that whether or not your property is in current use, your property rights should be protected. No one should be able to put a game camera on your property without permission. Landowners have the right to know if game cameras are on their property, where they are located, and who placed them there. Landowners can also post signage on their property saying that “game cameras are allowed.”

We learned that SB52 passed 187-184. This bill creates a study committee to determine how to publicly fund an electrical infrastructure to support Electric Vehicle charging stations throughout NH. The argument against this bill was that we did not need this sort of study of public funding when “horseless carriage technology” emerged and gas stations were needed for those traveling by car. We let the free market sort that out on its own. The people pushing this bill are panicked that no one will come to NH, and our tourism will take a nosedive if we don’t hurry up and spend public funding to build EV charging stations all over the state, especially in the White Mountains and ski areas. They are very worried that people will go to Maine or Vermont instead. Rep. Thomas Cormen (D-Lebanon) said, “If we don’t build it, they won’t come.” Rep. Michael Vose (R-Epping) urged people to vote ITL on this bill because we should let EV charging stations evolve the same way gasoline stations did, and we should rely on the free market to make that happen. Besides, why are we duplicating efforts when there are already other entities studying this issue at no charge? (pun intended)

We learned that SB69 was Tabled (190-181) after the Ought To Pass failed on a tie vote of 186-186. This bill would have allowed non-profits to participate in net energy metering, raising the megawatt limit from 1 to 5 megawatts. This means nonprofit entities could lower their electric costs while raising yours. Rep. Mike Harrington (R-Strafford) said, “There is no beneficial effect for allowing organizations like Dartmouth College to save money on their electric rates – they save, and the ratepayers pay.” Ratepayers pay more because this net metered energy is purchased by the energy company at retail rates… not wholesale rates.

We learned that a similar net metering bill, SB79, passed the House by a 194-179 vote. This bill would expand net metering under the Limited Electrical Energy Producers Act to qualifying industrial and commercial businesses producing from 1 to 5 megawatts. This means, again, that the amount of excess energy created over what the business uses is credited at the retail rate and not the wholesale rate. Other ratepayers, like single moms and senior citizens, end up paying more for their energy because the electric supplier is purchasing energy through net metering at those higher retail prices. It should be known that currently, businesses can build a 5-megawatt solar array, but they are limited to net meter only 1 megawatt of it. Opponents of the bill see this as an increase of subsidies to businesses at all other ratepayers’ expense. It was suggested that the Governor is against these net metering bills and is likely to zap them with a veto.

We learned that SB167 – the green hydrogen energy and infrastructure bill – died with a vote to ITL 187-186. The truth is we have no current or planned green hydrogen energy hub, or manufacturing in NH that would facilitate its production or use, so why incentivize the construction and implementation of facilities? This bill seems very premature, but would establish tax credits, and an advisory committee. Rep. Tony Caplan (D-Henniker) said that H is the H in H2O and H is the H in Methane’s CH4… well, I say H is also the H in Hindenburg. How soon they forget.

We learned that the charitable gaming bill, SB51, to create a commission to study charitable gaming and historical horse racing passed on a voice vote, but that SB104 regulating online gambling and directing proceeds to a community college scholarship fund was indefinitely postponed with a voice vote. Gambling made out 50-50 today.

We learned that SB15 was pulled off consent with the intention of adding an amendment to it to repeal the prohibition on the possession, and sale of blackjacks, slung shots and metallic knuckles. The amendment was the same as HB31, which was passed by the House and killed by the Senate. Rep. Spillane (R-Deerfield) sought to revive this bill and tack it onto SB15. The amendment motion died 196-177. SB15 is a bill relative to the use of tree stands and observation blinds (for hunters) and clarifies rules for hunters to place tree stands and blinds on property they use for hunting. Many felt the amendment was just not germane to the underlying bill, or they did not want to jeopardize the underlying bill being passed with this amendment tacked onto it.

We learned that there will be more Senate bills coming our way as our House committees work to have hearings and exec sessions to get them ready for the House votes. Stay tuned.

The post So Kids, What Did We Learn From This Week’s House Session (05/04/23)? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), last weekend defined a secure border on an NBC interview show this way, “… It is maximizing the resources we have available to us, to deliver the most effective results…”

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At the risk of taking the DHS Secretary out of context, his answer is pure, 100% unadulterated, male bovine excrement (BS).

The Secretary’s answer is a perfect District of Columbia non-answer answer. It is the kind of nonsense word salad so often served up by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and the administration. How is it the Secretary of DHS cannot come up with a definition of a secure border?

What’s wrong with defining a secure border as: Nobody comes in, and nobody goes out without being invited, noted, and approved. How about we enforce the law, do so equally and fairly and we stop the de facto nullification of our immigration law… by our own government.

In ten days, on May 11 th, we will stop using Title 42 the World War II-era public health order prohibiting entry into the United States if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes it could introduce communicable diseases into the country. CDC officials invoked Title 42 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March of 2020.

Title 42 allows U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to immediately expel migrants from the U.S. without giving them a chance to request asylum. In most cases, agents can remove migrants within two hours.

Migrants sent back under Title 42 do not have an immigration enforcement removal on their record and are rarely processed. Instead, they are turned around and repatriated to their country of origin. Under Title 42 order more than 2 million people have been denied entry.

If you add the ending of Title 42 to the gangbanger exodus from crackdowns in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras the situation at our southern border begins to come into focus. There are two dangers: The gross number of people ready to surge across our border and the fact that many if not most are young male gang members fleeing their own government’s law enforcement.

In the hours and days after May 11, the time of expiration of Title 42, we could see over 100,000 people flood across the southern border. Some of our southern border towns have already declared a state of emergency to deal with the influx of people.

Our southern border is not secure. The proof is the mayors of the cities on the border feel they have to declare a state of emergency to handle the situation. Someone here is not telling you the truth. Maybe it’s time to get off the couch and decide who it is.

Judging by the shootings by an illegal alien in Cleveland, Texas over the weekend, your life may depend on it. Why can’t the leadership of the DHS just level with us about what it is doing with malice and forethought?

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A Transgender student has been removed from Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, after showing more than the content of his character in the girl’s locker room.

Sorry, you could say he exposed his character as well. He exposed himself, spit on girls in the locker room, and then was involved in a fight with a girl afterward.

 

A Transgender student at a High School in Riverside, California has assaulted a girl after exposing his genitals and spitting at girls in the girls locker room.

According to a student witness, the transgender boy entered the girls locker room and after being confronted for… pic.twitter.com/KEU3mOq7QP

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 28, 2023

That Real girl has got some stones for not having any, you know, stones. She’s all up in his/her grill for the bad behavior, and her opponent is twice her size. She’s not taking any of whatever else it is they’ve got going on there. The report does say they have a history of aggression towards each other, and this is not their first throwdown.

I’m thinking this is a common problem, and the administration was afraid to take any of it too seriously, but 5.5 million views on Twitter changes things. Or does it? Deliberately exposing your junk where “there are present other persons to be offended or annoyed thereby” violates California Penal Code § 314 PC.

A conviction can mean up to six months in jail and up to 1000.00 dollars in fines. A second offense could result in a trip to a State Prison. You are also required to register as a Tier One sex offender for the next ten years.

There is no trans-exception in the law that I can find. This suggests that deliberate exposure in the presence of people offended or annoyed is illegal.

 

314. Every person who willfully and lewdly, either:

1. Exposes his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where there are present other persons to be offended or annoyed thereby; or,

2. Procures, counsels, or assists any person so to expose himself or take part in any model artist exhibition, or to make any other exhibition of himself to public view, or the view of any number of persons, such as is offensive to decency, or is adapted to excite to vicious or lewd thoughts or acts, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

 

I predict no charges will be filed based on 314 PC. It runs counter to the liberal notion that private parts do not indicate a person’s sex or gender, and claiming they felt otherwise at the time is a far greater offense to a Liberal.

They seem hellbent on making pedophilia legal; how difficult could it be to change this law to allow indecent exposure without consequence?

 

 

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