Maybe ask yourself this question … what wouldn’t people who support an obviously absurd court decision obviously intended to prevent Trump from being elected POTUS a third time do to prevent Trump from being elected POTUS a third time? The obvious answer … NOTHING. Of course, they would like us to keep believing that presidential elections are exercises in democracy and our votes matter, BUT if necessary they will go full Lenin on us.

The actual insurrection was the soft-insurrection that began even before Trump was elected in 2016 and culminated in the rigged election of 2020. In case you have forgotten, maybe you should review a succinct (albeit only partial) summation from Sean Davis:

They tried to prevent Trump’s election in 2016 with illegal spying and the bogus Steele dossier. They used a lawless FBI operation to cripple his presidency. They impeached him twice. They accused his Supreme Court nominee of running a secret gang rape cartel. They shut down the country over a flu, then lied about its origin, illegally changed ballot laws, burned American cities to the ground, stole the 2020 election, and then imprisoned anyone who protested it. Now they’re trying to put Trump in prison, and if that fails, they’ll throw him off the ballot. You can fill in the blanks on what they’ll consider if neither of those options work.

This is such a massive cope from people on the right still operating under the insane assumption that the Left won’t do *everything* possible to prevent Trump from becoming president and assuming the powers of the office.

They tried to prevent Trump’s election in 2016 with… https://t.co/F5RUKyxVvV

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) December 20, 2023

If you think this all ends after an appeal to the United States Supreme Court … YOU ARE DELUSIONAL. It won’t end unless and until Republicans actually fight back and Republicans will NOT do that because far too many of their “leaders” support the Left’s objective of preventing Trump from becoming President. An example of actually fighting back:

DeSantis and the Florida legislature should throw Biden off the ballot for having engaged in rebellion/insurrection by dissolving the Southern border and abetting invasion of the U.S., and by using his corrupt DOJ/FBI shock troops to shred the law and Constitution and terrorize…

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) December 20, 2023

But, as we already know, that is not going to happen. DeSantis and Haley and Christie all intend to participate in totally rigged, banana-republic Colorado primary.

Yet most Republicans continue to pretend that the 2024 election is going to be an actual election. Pathetic, totally pathetic.

The post Colorado: Y’all Still So Can’t Connect The Dots … appeared first on Granite Grok.

This is from a conversation in the comments below one of Steve’s recent posts.  It seems relevant to a lot of what’s happening just now, so I thought I’d post it separately.

Where [many people] see lots of different problems, I see only a couple that underlie all the others.

The first — not to sound like a broken record or anything — is confusing consent with majority rule, acting as if those are the same when, in fact, they are nearly opposites.

The second is confusing form with function.

Legislatures pass laws, and eventually, people start to think that as long as the legislature follows certain formalities (introduce a bill, hold hearings, vote, send to the executive for signature), then whatever they enact must be a valid law.

Judges issue opinions, and eventually, people start to think that as long as the judges follow certain formalities, then whatever they want to rule on must be a valid precedent, i.e., ‘the law.’

Regulators issue regulations, police issue ‘lawful orders’, presidents and governors issue ‘executive orders’, and all of these are considered to have ‘the force of law’. And so on.

People seem to have completely given up the idea that if government officials try to exercise a power that their written constitutions — their job descriptions — do not delegate to them or clearly prohibit them from having, then what they say or do isn’t binding on anyone.

Imagine how different things would be if people were willing to look at laws, regulations, orders, and judicial opinions coming from government officials and say:

Look, we can read our constitutions as well as you can, and what you’re trying to do is so clearly outside of the legitimate scope of what you can do that we’re just going to ignore it. And if you try to force the issue, you’ll meet with armed resistance.

I think this is exactly what the Second Amendment means by ‘the security of a free State.’

 

The post The Security of a Free State appeared first on Granite Grok.

An ongoing kerfuffle over alleged Saudi water withdrawals from Arizona to grow alfalfa highlights the complexity of competition for increasingly scarce – and thus valuable – water for crops and residential uses.

Revelations about gargantuan volumes of water withdrawn at little cost by a Saudi company to grow hay for export have sparked a passionate dispute that extends outside America’s third-driest state to California and other water-pressed jurisdictions.

Water for Saudi Arabia

The Saudi connection stems from a company named Fondomonte, which reputedly has been withdrawing unlimited amounts of water from lands it leases for merely $25 per acre: The value of the water extracted far exceeds the rent paid. Fondomonte is allegedly growing alfalfa year-round on its 3,500 Arizona acres to ship off to other countries – like China. Outcries of foul play have resulted in an ongoing effort to limit or ban foreign nationals from owning Arizona water rights or to retroactively impose monetary assessments for the water withdrawn.

The issues of water friction will lead to yet more lines drawn in the Arizona sand. Water rights there are big business, as the state endures a crippling, decades-long megadrought that pits farmers and ranchers against newly arriving residents who seek to limit water usage and development. This in turn drives up the cost of housing, water rights, and farmland, creating a vicious cycle that further escalates prices and speculation.

Water Wars Brewing

Issues over water also exacerbate growing cultural tensions. Brad Fain, a multi-generation Arizona farmer and rancher, observes that newcomers “…see farmers as unsophisticated and maybe greedy. They don’t understand our culture, or the complexity of our business.” This urban-rural division grows more intense as Californians and New Yorkers flee high taxes and COVID chaos for sunny climes and retirement. Fain sees the pressures on both sides and is sympathetic.

Arizona is extracting water faster than aquifers and rivers can replenish their flow. Arizona’s key policy dispute arises over whether all growth should be halted or managed to extract the wealth and policies necessary to implement yet more water efficiencies. Agricultural producers have been watching water use as part of their bottom line for decades, investing in modern irrigation technologies and more regenerative practices to reduce their drawdowns while staying in business.

Mr. Fain points out an interesting opportunity to balance these competing uses: Employ taxes on development to invest in “closed loop” residential water systems that reclaim and recycle residential water usage. Private drilled wells for housing may not be as amenable to such practices as public water systems. Most residential water can be processed and reused, with the exception of swimming pools, lawn watering, and landscaping. Suburban residents seek to restrict new development, sparking cries of elitism. They want to keep their lawns and water them, too.

Arizona’s Efforts

The battle lines were drawn four decades ago, when Arizona’s 1980 Groundwater Management Act created “extinguishment credits” to incentivize farms to sell or convert their water rights for development uses. This shifted resources away from water-intensive food production to water-absorbing residential growth. Farming and ranching have steadily declined, but precious water has been sucked up by the suburban sprawl. Rancher and developer Brad Fain “Tools were put in place to augment our water. We have to be very careful with our water.”

Regardless of climate change, anthropogenic water drawdowns have increased the strain on US aquifers and rivers. The coming water wars pit neighbor against neighbor. Brad Fain is sympathetic: “Where are these people to go? They come from all over the world to America seeking hope, and retire to warm climates from up north seeking their lifelong dream. We must build more hospitals and businesses, and we have a nursing shortage and insufficient housing to meet this surging demand. We can conserve more water while supporting reasonable and smarter development.”

Uniting for Solutions

These pressures are hardly unique to Arizona. As the BBC reported in 2014, California was shipping hay to China during a severe drought there, impacting not only water supplies but the viability of American  farms:

In the dried-up fields of California’s Central Valley, [some] farmers … are selling their cattle. Others have to choose which crops get the scarce irrigation water and which will wither. … The farmers are making hay while the year-round sun shines, and they are exporting cattle-feed to China. … Japan, Korea and the United Arab Emirates all buy Californian hay. The price is now so high that many local dairy farmers and cattle ranchers can’t afford the cost when the rains fail and their usual supplies are insufficient.

California produces roughly half of all American produce. The water troubles in the American West extend far beyond the borders of Arizona and foretells of a wider conflict for precious resources yet to come. Better water management and conservation are necessary from all sides, whether rich or poor, urban or suburban, black or white, red or blue. In a time of rancorous, divisive “identity politics,” all Americans must identify threats of thirst and starvation as common enemies against which we must forge a united policy response.

Note: I discuss America’s growing water crisis at length in my book, Small Farm Republic. Solar panels, EV cars, and synthetic meats do nothing to conserve water or rebuild soils. Cows do this while sequestering carbon dioxide. 

 

John Klar is an Attorney, farmer, and author. Mostly farmer… And Regular Contributor to GraniteGrok and VermontGrok.

The post Night Cap: Saudi Water Battle in Arizona appeared first on Granite Grok.

It’s rumored that some Republican-controlled state governments are considering prohibiting Joe Biden from appearing on the ballot in their states. Of course, Democrats are crying foul:  ‘He isn’t an insurrectionist!’

And yet, both candidates have been convicted of insurrection exactly the same number of times:  Zero.

Apparently, Democrats have proved that you don’t really need a reason to keep someone off a ballot if you have the political will and the numbers to make it happen. (Related: Thanks to Colorado, NH Republicans Can Sweep Every Federal Race in 2024.)

Just like they proved that you don’t really need a reason to impeach a president, if you have the political will and the numbers to make it happen.

I love what RFK Jr. said about the situation in Colorado. Paraphrasing, if this were happening in another country, we’d be saying:  That’s not a real election.

With each week that passes, our chances of having a ‘real election’ seem to decrease significantly.  This could be a good thing if it helps us move, as a country, beyond the farce that majority rule has made of what was supposed to be government by consent.

 

The post Reason? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Reason appeared first on Granite Grok.

Since writing the first article, Are Convenience Stores Violating Your Privacy, I have been gathering more information and find the Driver License Scanning issue to be quite the bottomless rabbit hole.

Here are some key takeaways:

1. 1. 1. The AG’s office is still trying to get me to go away.
      2. I did have a conversation with the Director of DMV, John Marasco, who says he has concerns.
      3. There is a committee of state legislators that must approve the rules of most departments, but as far as I can tell, the Department of Safety is “exempt” from having its rule-making overseen by the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules.
      4. It has been reported to me that Macy’s is now scanning driver’s licenses to verify identity during credit card purchases.
      5. (According to another reader) LHS Poll Pad Training in Manchester is instructing people to scan driver’s licenses (must ask first) to verify voter identity:  https://lhsassociates.com/resources/Poll-Pad-Sell-Sheet-(NH)-(1).pdf
      6. We are still not absolutely sure exactly how much information can be scanned off of the license.  One State Representative told me that everything on the front of the license can be scanned.  Others think less information can be scanned.  As taxpayers, I believe we have a right to know.

As noted above, the NH Attorney General’s office isn’t all that interested or concerned. A John R. Davis responded to my RSA 91-A request as follows:

 

“I am an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection & Antitrust Bureau (“Bureau”) of the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General. I am responding on behalf of the Bureau to your 12/04/2023 email to Ms. Jessica Raymond, of the Bureau, which email is attached below.

For your information, I believe that the Bureau previously, timely responded to your right-to-know request. I believe that the Bureau provided all documents that the Bureau had to provide under the applicable statute. Furthermore, I believe that the Bureau, both in referring you to the Department of Safety (“DoS”) and closing your complaint, acted properly.

Relative to your most recent email below, please be advised of the following:”

I asked the AG the following questions.

 

Before closing the case, did you confirm the following:

• Verify the equipment “does not visibly identify any personal information, other than driver license number and name”? If so, how did you do this? Please provide documentation to prove this finding. Driver licenses have other personal information on them, including date of birth, address, etc…
• Verify the equipment “does not retain, store or transfer any personal information, other than driver license number and name, for any period of time.” Please provide proof the equipment that is used to scan licenses by Circle K does not retain unauthorized data.
• Please provide proof that you verified the Circle K equipment “does not store any personal information, other than driver license number and name, in a central repository, disaster recovery central repository, such as a cold site or hot site whether on-site or in a remote location.”

 

The only documentation provided to me was our email exchange and my written complaint. There was no indication that any investigation or equipment testing was or would be done. Should there? Let’s look at the law.

 

From TITLE XXI Chapter 263 – Drivers’ Licenses

 263:12 Prohibitions. –
It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to:

X. Knowingly scan, record, retain, or store, in any electronic form or format, personal information, as defined in RSA 260:14, obtained from any license, unless authorized by the department. Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a person from transferring, in non-electronic form or format, personal information contained on the face of a license to another person, provided that the consent of the license holder is obtained if the transfer is not to a law enforcement agency. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person selling alcohol or tobacco who uses due diligence in checking identification to prevent unauthorized sales and purchases of alcohol and tobacco shall not be held responsible for the acceptance of fraudulent identification. Where due diligence is exercised on the part of the seller, the unauthorized purchaser shall be liable for any penalty or fine resulting from the unauthorized sale.

 

There is no legal reason or legal exception that justifies Macy’s, a convenience store, or LHS Poll Pad Training in Manchester to gather this data in this way. Scanning your driver’s license in New Hampshire is illegal, with these exceptions (emphasis added).

 

This paragraph shall not prohibit the scanning, recording, retaining, or storing of such information in electronic form collected with the license holder’s consent as part of a sale of merchandise to a pawnbroker, scrap metal dealer, or other secondhand dealer, and submission of such information to law enforcement databases for the sole purpose of identifying sellers of stolen merchandise. The pawnbroker, scrap metal dealer, or secondhand dealer shall not retain the scanned information in electronic form transmitted to a law enforcement database, unless required by local regulation, and shall not furnish the information to anyone except a law enforcement officer. The pawnbroker, scrap metal dealer, or secondhand dealer may maintain in a log or other document the name and address of the person whose license was scanned along with a description of the items the individual sold, pawned, or purchased, and shall allow such log or document to be examined by a law enforcement official upon request.

 

Absent new information, these businesses are committing misdemeanor offenses every time they scan the barcode on the back of your driver’s license, regardless of your having given consent.

But the State Attorney General either doesn’t have the time to provide the legal exception that allows it or to investigate and prosecute violations if that’s what they are.

Are they too busy working on another frivolous case against James O’Keefe?

 

The post Are Driver’s Licenses Being Scanned Illegally in New Hampshire? 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.  Understand that I do get a fair number of repeats, and some that don’t “grab” me as well.  However, 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 Edition and Wednesday Edition.

 

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

 

Note: I will be taking the day off on December 25th – Christmas.  OK, I grumble about it, but my (non-Jewish) wife loves it and so do the kids.  And speaking of Christmas, here’s a piece I wrote about my being a Jew in a Christian country:

Merry Christmas! | Forward in Christ Magazine

 

 

So consider this slickly-worded WEF presentation.  Just marvel at how noble and high-sounding a clampdown on the information flow can seem:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/wef-cencorship-video.mp4

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MHO, if the US / NATO go to a hot war with Russia directly, it will turn nuclear.  No question.  And I have ZERO doubts that Putin has plans for that.  While I’m certainly no expert, in many senses the Russian mentality – that I’ve come to know at least – is very simple: “If we’re going down we’ll take you down with us”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who the living F voted for this POS to have such control over what we can or can’t do?

 

 

 

 

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

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

 

Any of the above sound familiar?  No, wait… any of the above NOT sound familiar?  Take a look at the tearing down of statues.  This is part of Mao’s “Four Olds” strategy, sweeping away the last vestiges of the old Republic.

 

 

How soon before they get tired of statues and just come straight for anyone to the Right of Stalin?  I’m betting within a year…

People who fled Communist China are sounding the alarm.  People who fled Communist Cuba are as well, as are people who fled Communist Venezuela.  They’ve seen this before.  And despite this living testimony from countless people who have seen their countries fall, most people are TWENTY-NINERS as to the possibility that bad things could happen here.  (A Telegram friend is lamenting their seeming role as a Cassandra – making correct prophecies and attempting to warn people about multiple things, only to be completely ignored if not derided.  I know the feeling.)

Hence my term, “Twenty-Niners”.  People who cannot grasp that anything that could radically change the situation in which they live are actual possibilities, and completely dismiss concerns that others present even when backed by evidence.

They have Stability Privilege.  And reality’s going to come knocking… hard.

 

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

 

 

 

 

Ouch.  Where’s Fang Fang when you need her?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just wait until all those fighting age men are married to all the arms and ammo purchased by Barackus.  What, you thought the forest service and agriculture departments, etc., really needed all that weaponry?  The Left may be missionaries, and insane to boot – but they’re shrewd and cunning…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

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

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

—

 

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

 

And don’t forget… come back Monday for another edition.  Same Meme Time.  Same Meme channel.

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

 

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

 

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

Londonderry Times publisher Deb Paul stood before a judge on Wednesday to receive her punishment. The crime was failing to include the ‘magic words’ identifying blatantly political ads as…political ads. The judgment hath arrived.

Deb has until early January to pay a $620.00 fine, according to InDepth NH, (124.00 per violation).

 

Prosecutors charged Paul, 64, with six Class A misdemeanors which carry up to a year in jail and $2,000 in fines for the ads she ran in the Londonderry Times and Nutfield News, though Steckowych found her not guilty on one count after November’s bench trial.

Paul did not respond to a request for comment.

According to prosecutors, Paul repeatedly broke the law when publishing ads for local political candidates and warrant articles in the Londonderry Times and the Nutfield News in the run up to the March 2022 municipal elections. The Nutfield News has since ceased publication.

 

As per previous reporting, we find this excessive, given the lack of clarity in the statute. A problem the legislature needs to address. We also made a promise.

 

Regardless of what punishment the judge decides is fair, and we think a warning will do, the free press and independent media are more important to the liberty of the nation, the state, and the town of Londonderry than the “magic words.” We feel obligated to rise in support of Deb Paul and her newspaper. To share more of its content with our audience who, and this may not come as a surprise, agree that the town has become a stink-hole of political insiders. A swamp of its own that needs draining.

 

We intend to keep it.

Investigative material directed at Londonderry’s intractable swamp can look forward to finding a second home here, along with some of our poking and prodding. We know a few folks in Londonderry who wouldn’t mind if that town got a bit more exposure, but if you live in or nearby (Derry’s a bit of a cesspit as well), we hope you’ll send us your inside scoops.

If we get enough material regularly, perhaps we will feature it in Derry/Londonderry MicroGrok. Not to compete for local market share but to use our reach to get more eyeballs looking in that direction. Remember, local stories matter because the nonsense you see in one town is often in many, and until it gets pointed out, folks might not think to look for it in their town.

If you want to be a local hero, make a point of turning yourself into Ed Naile. He left us a few years ago, but he had a very respectable reputation before he passed. If Ed walked into a meeting in any town, people in the know knew to be worried about why he was there. Even if he never said a word.

New Hampshire could use a few more like that who then take their observations to the new media. We can’t cover everything, and we can’t print everything. Some of the work folks do at the local level might not translate to this medium, but a lot of it does, and we’re willing to see what you have to share.

And so is Deb Paul at the Londonderry Times. Don’t be afraid to reach out and support your local muckrakers.

 

Update: The actual total fine may be different than what was reported by InDepthNH. Deb Paul had suggested to me that she was waiting to hear form the Judge. I will update this post when we have clarification.

The post A $620.00 Fine? appeared first on Granite Grok.