As of Sunday, July 2, 2023 (approximately 10 am), which is when I am typing this, the West is still being told that France is dealing with riots. It has been reported that 45,000 police have been deployed across the country in response to the “rioting.”

Following the latest night of violence, France’s Interior Ministry announced there were 719 arrests around the country on Saturday night, where a total of 45,000 police fanned out in a so-far unsuccessful bid to quell violence.

It sounds more like an “insurrection” than a riot … especially when you say the part out loud that you are not supposed to say out loud:

 

Allahu Akbar: France's Child Soldiers…

At just 8 years old, this child soldier is already prepped to wage Jihad on the French police, bred to harbor a deep hatred for France. Are these the hopeful faces of France's future? Islamic groups view children as potential 'soldiers'… pic.twitter.com/nCQStUX7Op

— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) July 2, 2023

Perhaps France will be successful in quelling this insurrection … oops, I mean “riot,” but how long until the next one?

And how long until all the “migrants” the Biden regime, with the full support of the Uni-Party-Republicans, is flooding America decide to “riot.”

 

The post Dien Bien Phu … Take Two? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Attorney General Merrick Garland was right when he said that an attack on the Department of Justice is an attack on the people charged with ensuring that the legal system is administered fairly for all Americans. When we refer to the weaponizing of the Justice Department, we are not pointing our fingers at those on the front line. We are pointing them at you, Merrick Garland, the most corrupt Attorney General in modern times.

You are the person who targeted parents concerned with the curriculum at their children’s schools as domestic terrorists. You are the person who allowed protestors to torment the homes of our Supreme Court justices. You are the person who let a deranged individual attempt the assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

You are the evil we want to eradicate. Not the men and women honoring their pledge to their assigned jobs. We want to remove you from the position of power that you have perverted to enhance your own agenda. Your job was to protect the American people. You created a position to protect the President and yourself. You have to go.

Your performance is very similar to what we have seen from the FBI. From Comey to McCabe and Wray, the leadership of our FBI has embarrassed the FBI and our Country. You all have worked diligently to ensure the Democrat control of our Country and to thwart any attempt by Republicans to change course.

You have deceived and taken advantage of the American people. Americans always understood the lack of credibility in the executive branch, where every decision is based on politics and polling. You corrupted the neutrality of the Justice and Investigative departments of our government. You wanted us to fail, but the times have changed, and we are making headway on the cards we were dealt.

This arrangement cannot continue. The press is rearing up out of a feeling of self-preservation. Why have we been waiting five years for the investigation into Hunter Biden to continue and bear fruit, only to be deceived and stonewalled? Why, after all that time, does the American media still turn their backs and do the bidding of these corrupt politicians who only have themselves to serve?

It actually would behoove us to shut down these two factions of our Government, come to a common ground for those across the political aisle, and replace the entire upper level of management. These were once admirable groups that operated without a Right or Left-leaning. Things changed, and those in charge sought power over protection. Those in charge picked a horse in the race, and if it was Republican, they rode it home with pride. If that horse chose to veer Right, the Left found a reason to override and get us all facing the same description.

We do not need a supermajority. We can get by with a simple vote count, and the Democrats will ensure that count never happens. We, the people, need to make sure it does.

 

The post No Mr. Garland, It Is You We Impugn appeared first on Granite Grok.

I’m back doing my darndest to fill in for Nitzakhon and his incredibly popular meme posts. Our readers love them, and while he is away on a “special assignment,” I’ll do what I can to keep the meme alive.

Your memes are served hot and fresh with a few not-meme-inspired images (because the world is an amazing place) and some general a-political tomfoolery. I mixed them in this time.

And, as always, when viewing, consider the possibility that some material may not be age-appropriate. Feel free to decide what age or how appropriate for yourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Monday Memes appeared first on Granite Grok.

The Associated Press reports 34% of us support his handling of the economy. Voters’ assessment of the economy is dismal. Yet, Biden continues to say and do the same things. An NBC poll says 74% of us think America is on the wrong track. So, what’s going on?

The strategy is familiar. Biden is using rhetoric as a substitute for performance; it is the Leftist way. If voters dislike what you are selling, don’t change the product.  Market it differently.  Call it Bidenomics and the battle of the “trickle-down” straw man.

His economic message isn’t new.  His arguments have been around for years. The words have no effect. You see, the cleverest slogan doesn’t disguise reality.  Mr. Biden’s claim is: Wages have been growing at a rapid clip on my watch.  That is true but completely wrong… Here’s why.

Mr. Biden is presiding over a decline in real average hourly earnings. What that means is, yes, wages are going up. The problem is inflation is up more. The result is: His policies are responsible for the loss of purchasing power. He made us all poorer. We can buy less with our higher wages; 3.6% less on his watch.

The worst inflation in 40 years came from gross overspending. It is compounded by Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act which flooded a recovering economy with $2 trillion of additional stimulus. It came in addition to trillions spent the previous year. The spending splurge, combined with ending energy independence plus restrictive trade policies, generated inflation.

Mr. Biden claims American billionaires are not paying their fair share.  To be clear, he does not describe what share exactly is a fair share. So let’s ask a couple of questions: Would that mean we all pay the same amount?  Isn’t that what equity demands; equality of outcome?   Would it mean we pay the same percentage?  Does the responsibility to pay depend only on the ability to pay?  If that’s true, where does it lead?

The average billionaire’s tax rate is 8%, according to Mr. Biden. How would he have acquired that information?  Do you want your tax return information shared with your neighbors?  Mr. Biden says no billionaire should pay a lower rate than a school teacher, fireman or policeman.   Why are all his examples, public employees?

The implication of Mr. Biden’s statement is the average American is paying far more than 8%. But is that true? No, no, it is not.

According to IRS data the top 1% of taxpayers pay an average effective income tax rate of 25%.  Those people earning more than $60 million/year pay an average tax rate of about 22.9% in federal taxes. Again that’s according to the IRS. You can check the numbers at Politifact.

Now looking at teachers, firemen, and police, let’s assume this is a proxy for those making less than $100 thousand/year. There, we find those people pay an effective federal tax rate between zero and 15%.  Mr. Biden is simply wrong in his claim, and he’s hoping he can lie and you will not have done your homework.

Mr. Biden cherry-picks positive data points to brag about instead of recognizing policy failure and changing policy.  There are some positive indicators; there always are.  For example, the unemployment rate stands at 3.7%.   Also, there is an uptick in factory construction. The flip side of the coin is: Government subsidy is almost 100% responsible for that activity.  It is not actual innate growth from the demand in the private sector.

He just keeps hoping the Federal Reserve will fix inflation. He seems like a deer in the headlights.  He’s frozen in place as oblivion hurtles toward America.

Mr. Biden also speaks about the deficit. He says the deficit went up every year under Trump, and it has gone down under him. Again Mr. Biden is correct but completely wrong. Here’s why. America has not balanced its budget in more than 20 years, since 2001, actually. During the pandemic, we did some big-time bipartisan spending. Since the Plandemic years, we have spent too much but less successively.

We are still engaging in a serious and unnecessary amount of deficit spending.  The difference in the rate of deficit spending is what Mr. Biden would claim credit for. The CBO has released a report saying the deficit reduction claims are not material. Over the next 25 year, our national debt is going to climb from 91% of GDP to 181% of GDP.

Bloomberg News reports such high and rising debt will slow economic growth, push up interest rates and payments to foreign debt holders, and pose significant economic risks to the fiscal and economic outlook of America.

Nobody in the District of Columbia should get credit for much of anything except irresponsible behavior.  We are nationally behaving like Hunter Biden. A lot must go right for Bidenomics to succeed. The Fed must avoid the long-predicted recession. Higher interest rates might continue to trigger bank failures. The Fed’s track record is not encouraging.  Inflation has been persistent.

Assuming economic success, other issues will step forward.  Biden’s fitness for office is in doubt.   There are reasonable concerns over the 80-year-old president’s physical and mental capacity.  People his age only move in only one direction.

If you worry about Biden’s health and capacity, then you are likely terrified at the prospect of Kamala Harris. She inherits the office of president should something happen to Biden.  She’s the most unpopular vice president in history. Nothing makes people feel good about Harris.

Then there’s the issue of corruption.  IRS whistleblowers have revealed the schemes of the Biden family. There are Hunter’s escapades. There is Joe’s entanglement in Hunter’s scandals. There is the House of Representatives seeking to uncover the details of the Biden family operations.

The precariousness of Biden’s political position comes from the decline in the American standard of living. It is not helped by his obvious health and diminished capacity issues. It is magnified by the inept and obvious corruption. The once generally accepted genial grandpa issuing reassuring platitudes from his Delaware basement is gone. That myth has been replaced by the cranky demented octogenarian with a troubled relationship with the truth.

The nation is on autopilot.  We are moving toward a general election.  Will the result again be determined by narrow outcomes in three or four states?  The election may depend on the MAGA/anti-MAGA struggle.  How are the parties approaching the election?   Which side are you on?

 

The post Mr. Biden Knows He’s Vulnerable appeared first on Granite Grok.

Recap: I had put in a Right To Know to DCYF Specialist Amy Fortin for their Investigative Manual that is supposed to outline how DCYF Field Workers are to handle their cases. She at first blew me off by not responding within the first five business days after receipt of the Right To Know that demanding a copy for inspection.

When I reminded her that she was overdue, she responded that her lawyer’s advice to was to tell me it was a public document and that it could be found on the Internet.

In other words, go pound sand. Silly person.  I responded with, “RSA 91-A has Clauses 7 & 8 has penalties – would you like to find out how?” and that’s when DHHS Chief Legal John Martin showed up and delivered the Responsive Record demanded of Fortin.

But that got me thinking – what was that path from me to her through to him?  So I put in a Right To Know to find out (as you can tell, an RTK is the most powerful tool a citizen can employ in keeping our Government in check and to account) to him as he had said, in effect, “ask me anything.” I made it clear that I was NOT asking to see any “privileged client/lawyer communications” as outlined in the Right To Know law as I knew and specified in my RTK that such were unwanted and are exempt from RTKs. Just the communication pathway.  What I received from him didn’t make the grade (reformatted, emphasis mine):

—— Original Message ——
From “Martin, John” <John.B.Martin@dhhs.nh.gov>
To “Skip” <Skip@granitegrok.com>
Date 6/30/2023 1:31:08 PM
Subject RSA 91-A Right to Know Request

Good afternoon Mr. Murphy.  I am responding to your Right to Know request pursuant to which you requested any internal e-mails relative to your initial Right to know request seeking a DCYF protocol.  At this point I have reviewed all of the e-mails beginning with your initial request for the protocol leading up to my e-mail to you on June 9, 2023, when I provided you with two DCYF protocols.

Every internal E-Mail was either sent to a State attorney or by a State attorney for the purposes of legal consultation.  As a consequence, these e-mails fall under the attorney/client privilege and are exempt from disclosure under RSA 91-A:5,IV.  For this reason, there are no public records that are responsive to your request.  That being said, I hope you have a good weekend and a nice 4 th of July.

John B. Martin, Deputy Chief Legal Counsel
Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Legal and Regulatory Services

Bureau of General Counsel
129 Pleasant Street
Concord, NH 03301

His response specifically leaned in on what I specifically DIDN’T want to see, attorney/client privilege, as the reason not to send me anything. I decided to correct his logic because, from my standpoint, he was pulling a curtain I had already rent across to shield those Responsive Records for whatever purpose):

—— Original Message ——
From “Skip” <Skip@granitegrok.com>
To “Martin, John” <John.B.Martin@dhhs.nh.gov>
Date 6/30/2023 3:04:21 PM
Subject Re: RSA 91-A Right to Know Request

So far it has been!  Hope yours has been as enjoyable as mine has been thus far!

Relative to the attorney/client privilege, I wasn’t asking WHAT was said, only who was involved. Redacting any and all email bodies of such Responsive Records, would be fine – that erases any client/privilege communications that are subject to RSA 91-A:5, XII.

Providing names/email addresses and those connections, however, is not explicitly enumerated in that clause of the statute. The resulting digraph, which is of interest to me and the reason for the RTK,  would be void of ANY such prohibited privileged legal advice. Therefore, those records should be released and available for my inspection.

And yes, good wishes are returned back to you as we celebrate what our Founding Fathers, in their political genius, bequeathed to us – a governance model that first and foremost that was the first one that put citizens first and over a Government that should be totally and wholly responsive to them…

…And not the other way around. It is unfortunate that their aspirations have not yet been met in many ways.

-Skip

Let’s see what happens

The post Still Digging in: Which DCYF Personnel Were Included In On My Initially Botched RTK? appeared first on Granite Grok.

There’s a saying in software that the only numbers you should be seeing in code are zero, one, and infinity.  If you’re seeing other specific numbers (e.g., there can only be 140 characters in a message, or 255 characters in a filename, or a finite number of elements in a list), then someone is being lazy.

It occurs to me that the same is true when considering the ‘interpretation’ of constitutions by courts. Just recently, SCOTUS decided that POTUS didn’t have the authority to forgive student loan debt without action by SCOTUS.

Justice Kagan’s response?  That this is terrible because ‘some 40 million Americans will not receive the benefits the plan provides’.

So, 40 million Americans would be let off the hook for up to $20,000 each.  According to Justice Kagan, that’s sufficient reason to leave the program in place.

But what if the numbers were 4 million and $2000?  Or 400 and $20?  Should those numbers make any difference at all?  They should not.  As a rule, if you’re basing an argument on numbers, it means you’ve lost your connection to the underlying principles involved.

Note that the same is true about arguments over gun control, education, all flavors of welfare, voting, censorship, and so on. If you think that

RKBA works differently if the number of people killed with guns each year is 30,000 or 300;

a tax on income or assets is justified if it’s ‘small enough’;

a war on drugs is justified if the number of deaths from overdose is ‘large enough’;

shutting down entire economies and cultures and stripping people of the rights you’re supposed to be protecting becomes necessary when an infection rate is ‘high enough’;

and so on, then you have completely misunderstood the concepts of individual rights, delegated powers, and government by consent, and you shouldn’t be allowed to officiate at a little league game, let alone on the nation’s highest court.

The post Numbers aren’t Principles appeared first on Granite Grok.

The videos say it all. Just as Ray Epps somehow, someway has escaped prosecution for instigating … some would say leading … the “insurrection,” the person cutting down the security fence WHILE TRUMP IS STILL SPEAKING somehow, someway did not even get picked up by the FBI’s J6-radar. Amazing … isn’t it? But remember the real threat to America is NOT Merrick Garland or Chris Wray … it’s PUTIN; its PUTIN, PUTIN, PUTIN, PUTIN, PUTIN.

Two videos in one.

Watch what happened on SW lawn of Capitol grounds as Trump finished his speech at Ellipse around 1:10pm on January 6.https://t.co/WKb78SxpTQ

— Julie Kelly (@julie_kelly2) July 1, 2023

 

The post Nothing To See Here … Just The FBI Cutting Down The Fence Around The Capitol WHILE Trump Is Still Speaking appeared first on Granite Grok.