There are a handful of systemic barriers to maintaining a healthy weight, but most involve cramming more food into your face than your system can handle. From to much food to food that’s bad for you, less of that is not a bad idea no matter what you weigh, but some public health experts are pushing in the other direction.

It is old-fashioned to think of weight as something to be managed with diet and exercise. What if it wasn’t? I worked with a cardiac nurse who says she eats more and weighs less after meeting with someone who is an expert on food and human health. Your primary care physician is probably not that expert, and they are not permitted to ask you about your weight,  at least not until you have a serious health complication caused by that weight.

Instead of connecting people to people who can help them with their diet, the next best step is drugs and surgery.

My diet was never great, but my work always included a level of activity that allowed me to eat nearly anything.  I burned it off so quickly that weight gain was never an issue. At some point, after both my job and I became less vigorous, I discovered that unknown to me, one of my hobbies was collecting plaque in my arteries. After an ambulance ride and two stents later, my diet got a lot better. I lost some extra pounds I didn’t need (though I was never even technically overweight), and at the age of sixty, I’m in a place I’d likely never have been had my body not shouted at me about it.

Staying in that place demands my attention, so the idea of everyone’s doctors being instructed to bail on the more traditional exercise, less food, and better food schemes for weight loss is disturbing. While cardiac issues might not be a foregone conclusion for the overweight and obese (unless they got jabbed twice or more), a host of other issues (around 200 of them) are more popular than ever. Type 2 diabetes is all the rage. If you have diabetes, you are at increased risk for heart disease, so that’s one way to get there from here. Is it too much to expect your patients to find the discipline to eat less or eat better and move more?

What are the odds they’ll be any more mindful of the need to take the medications you prescribe them, or are you even allowed to care?

Have you ever tried to take medication or injections regularly for the rest of your life? It’s not as easy as it sounds; it is also a lot more expensive, but that’s the new formula for weight loss success. Instead of adopting better habits, you need to remember to take the pills they prescribed you.

People in developed countries will no longer have severe or complex obesity in the future because of medical advances – but telling people to eat less and move more is not a treatment, a leading expert said yesterday.

Professor Donal O’Shea told doctors they must change their messaging to obese patients

Professor Donal O’Shea told doctors they must change their messaging to obese patients. “Eat less, move more is not the treatment of obesity – get over it,” he said. “Prevention is different from treatment.”

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), Prof O’Shea said there are 198 determinants of obesity and they fall in to seven groups – five of which are outside people’s control. …

The only line patients feel is acceptable from doctors is: “Is it OK to discuss your weight today?” said Prof O’Shea, who runs the obesity service in Loughlinstown Hospital, Dublin, and is the HSE lead on obesity.

Doctors could say: “Where are you on your weight journey?”

And no, he’s not thinking about Ozempic. He is looking past that to bigger and better chemical treatments for the chronically overweight. These are choices that will likely be incredibly expensive – at least initially – with some unwanted side effects. Much like it is with many meds, the argument will be that the good outweighs the bad. Maybe don’t use the word outweighs. It’s insensitive. Whatever the words you use, one of the known side effects is enriching big pharma. The mRNA platform taught us that. Medically unnecessary complications are necessary to ensure compliance and profits.

Kickbacks don’t kick themselves back, right Tony Fauci?

Alternatively, we could point ourselves back toward a culture that values hard work, exercise, and a bit of dietary discipline over a quick fix that lets you keep eating pizza on the couch. If things go sideways, it’s a short trip from where we are back to those values. Learn to farm and fight or die—size matters, not.

And no, I’m not averse to solutions to obesity for people who have a rare genetic disposition or even ‘addicts’ who need some short-term help. Still, the majority of overweight folks are victims of bad advice from food experts in the government and regulations that make it cheaper to mlousy bad food than good, alongside a culture that lionizes excess at the expense of everything else. I like couches and pizza, but had I known I was an artery plaque hobbyist; I’d have made changes before my heart tried to kill me and saved myself a lot of money and bother on maintenance medication.

Deciding that obesity is a disease and not just a bad habit and that drugs and surgery are the better solution to this burgeoning health crisis smells more like marketing than medicine. Although to be fair, there is a reasonable argument that this is also true of how they treat heart disease.

 

The post Obesity: Eating Less is Out – Drugs and Surgery Are In appeared first on Granite Grok.

A thread (eleven in all) from Marco Rubio on X well worth reading. In my words, not his … we are a country, not an economy. This is heresy to free-market ideologues like the Koch-bots, who believe that the “free market” is the end, NOT the means to an end … that end being a stronger, more prosperous country for ALL Americans, not just for Wall Street and Big Tech and the corporatist/globalist class.

It seems my recent articles on industrial policy in @PostOpinions and @NationalAffairs have ruffled some feathers. @JonahDispatch @veroderugy @ericboehm87 @cpgrabow

A short on how free-market fundamentalists go off the rails. 1/11

— Senator Marco Rubio (@SenMarcoRubio) April 12, 2024

Unrolled Thread

It seems my recent articles on industrial policy in @PostOpinions and @NationalAffairs have ruffled some feathers. @JonahDispatch @veroderugy @ericboehm87 @cpgrabow

A short on how free-market fundamentalists go off the rails. 1/11 

First, as a re-cap, my argument is that markets are efficient, but don’t always work in the best interests of our country – especially when adversaries like China skew global markets in their favor with theft and subsidies. That’s not good for America. 2/11  None of the critics offer a solution to this. They seem not to be bothered by America’s dependence on Communist China for everything from our medicines to the electronics we use in our missiles. They also seem to think America’s industrial base, and our workers, are basically fine. 3/11  No, really. As one of my critics put it, the “supposed” decline of American industry “is an imagined problem.” Tell that to the millions of American workers who lost their jobs after free traders let China into the WTO. 4/11  But let’s address the criticisms. How is our industrial base really doing? Output has stagnated the past decade and a half. Productivity has declined. Employment has plummeted. And America’s share of the world market for key goods, from cars to steel, has cratered. If that’s health, I’d hate to see sickness. 5/11  The critics claim industrial policy can never work. One says “if anything can go wrong, it probably will.” If that were really the case, then Neil Armstrong never would have walked on the Moon. But industrial policy worked then, just as it has in many other cases the critics refuse to acknowledge. 6/11  Can industrial policy go wrong? Of course. But doing nothing means letting nationless corporations and foreign adversaries dictate the terms of our economy. Only the federal government has the ability – and duty – to check those forces. 7/11  All the Founders understood this. The first bill they passed was a tariff. Ronald Reagan understood it, too. He hiked tariffs to stop Japan from destroying the American auto industry via subsidized export dumping. 8/11  In the end, free-market fundamentalists are a lot like progressives, because they are more subservient to ideologies (free-trade ideology on the one hand, climate-change and DEI ideology on the other) than they are to the national interest. 9/11  Deindustrialization has wreaked havoc on the working class, made us less resilient, and corrupted our culture. I welcome debate on how best to strengthen our national security and economy. 10/11 

The post Marco Making The Fwee-Marketeers Big Mad appeared first on Granite Grok.

Last week, the Dover City Council did its part to support world Peace. I’m sorry. What I meant to say is that it posed and postured in a meaningless dance with no relevance to the business of the people of that city. Wait.

Sorry again.

Many in Dover are just as woke as those they elect, so there was meaning. Liberals in government voted to make sure liberals outside the government know they opposed whatever the hell is happening in Gaza as if that had meaning.

It was a bifurcated City Council meeting this week, part debate, part regular meeting. More than half of it was taken up by the contentious Gaza ceasefire resolution. The rest was advancing routine, non-controversial city business.

CEASEFIRE: Councilors April Richer and Robbie Warach sponsored the resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. I moved to remove the ceasefire resolution from the agenda as not germane to city business, but that attempt failed for lack of a second. During public forum, eight people spoke in support of the resolution and five spoke against. Comments were civil. Council discussion of the resolution took 27 minutes. Every councilor addressed the issue. The vote to pass the resolution was 7-1 by a show of hands – not a recorded roll-call vote as is customary (see picture above). I was the only councilor to vote no. (One councilor was absent.) Dover is now an outlier on this. The only other NH city that adopted a similar resolution was Lebanon, where three of seven members abstained. Manchester voted 14-1 against taking it up. Portsmouth voted 7-2 against considering it. All other cities have refused to put it on the agenda, including Nashua, Concord, and Rochester.

I didn’t look, but I expect that Dover stands with Ukraine, supported BLM, and the seasoned criminal who overdosed on Fentanyl, Saint George Floyd. Dover knows it isn’t easy on taxpayers, being green (and doesn’t care about the cost), and in their schools and public libraries, they defend allowing kids to have access to pornography.

I’m sure they think elections aren’t rigged except when Democrats insist or that J6 was actually an insurrection despite the lack of organized military leadership and the absence of any weapons.

Dover likes pride flags more than the American flag, has a growing distrust of free speech, loves mask mandates and lockdowns, and thinks everyone should get vaccinated (and maybe still does).

And they support a ceasefire in Gaza.

It is the first time I can recall them ever resolving that Hamas should stop launching rockets into southern Israel, even though that’s not what they mean. I’m also wondering if they will resolve that the United States should stop funding wars in the Middle East. Dover-Like Liberals were very much against that sort of thing when Republicans ran the government. Perhaps they could resolve that one way to ensure a cease-fire is for American Taxpayers not to have to pay for the ordinance necessary not to cease firing.

Or not. This is Dover.

The post Dover, New Hampshire Calls for Cease Fire in Gaza appeared first on Granite Grok.

There is no sound evidence that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones improve mental health. “The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress.”

This is one of the conclusions of The Cass Review, conducted by National Health Services England (NHSE) under the direction of Dr. Hillary Cass in the wake of concerns about the sudden increase in referrals to gender services, especially among females with autism, mental health issues, and trauma.

The Cass Review was commissioned to make recommendations on how to improve NHSE gender identity services and ensure that children and youth receive high-quality care. The Review’s conclusions flatly contradict Dartmouth Health’s written testimony, which asserts that “all gender-affirming care is safe, age-appropriate, medically necessary, and well-researched.”

Related: Dartmouth Health Ignores the Evidence

“The rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health,” the Review states. “The effect on cognitive and psychosexual development remains unknown.” Puberty blockers aren’t a “temporary pause” to give children and parents time to think, as Dartmouth Health claims. On the contrary, the “vast majority of young people started on puberty blockers proceed from puberty blockers to masculinising/feminising hormones.”

As a result, the NHSE is banning puberty blockers as a treatment for gender dysphoria for new patients, until and unless a safe research protocol is established. “The option to provide masculinising/feminising hormones from age 16 is available” the Review notes.  But it recommends extreme caution. “There should be a clear clinical rationale for providing hormones at this stage rather than waiting until an individual reaches 18.” Dr. Lim-Liberty dismissed the watch-and-wait approach as “outdated and harmful, denying resources needed to explore gender identity.”

Other highlights of the report:

Gender affirmation, including hormonal interventions, doesn’t prevent it. “Suicide risk appears to be comparable to other young people with a similar range of mental health and psychosocial challenges. Some clinicians feel under pressure to support a medical pathway based on widespread reporting that gender-affirming treatment reduces suicide risk. The above systematic review did not support this conclusion.” This conclusion directly contradicts Dartmouth Health’s claims that “rates of suicide are as high as 40% in transgender youth,” and that “banning surgical care to care is harmful and, according to the data, is life-threatening.

Although the report doesn’t use the term Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD), it recognizes social media and peer pressure as contributing to the recent spike in teens identifying as transgender, especially among teen girls after puberty. In a recent op-ed, Dr. Francis Lim-Liberty, head of Dartmouth Health’s pediatric transgender program, dismissed concerns about ROGD as “politicized misinformation” used on social media to “discredit the decisions and life experiences of trans people.”

The Cass Review warns against socially transitioning children at schools with new pronouns, names, and clothes because of the “clear risk of creating persistence of an identity that would in all likelihood have resolved by itself. We hope the government will use this information to end the practice of social transition in schools by untrained adults. The impact on other children of adults pretending a child has changed their sex is outside the terms of reference for this report, but it is something the government must address.” This is in sharp contrast with New Hampshire public schools’ practice of socially transitioning children in secret.

"Puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones have zero mental health benefits." Last night I asked the Nashua Board of Aldermen to stop promoting gender ideology in light of the Cass Review. https://t.co/88tAbA2fwL #NHPolitics pic.twitter.com/oiIvqTSa6H

— Sidewalk Steve (@Sidewalk_Steve) April 10, 2024

The post England Finds No Evidence for Transing Kids. Will Dartmouth Health Listen? appeared first on Granite Grok.

One of the most prescient, intelligent, passionate voices defending rural lands and rural agriculture has been lifelong Democrat Wendell Berry (though Wendell will tell you that he has no allegiance to any one party). The current Democratic Party appears to have no use for the considered wisdom of this Kentucky farmer, just as it has abandoned Martin Luther King, Jr., Thomas Jefferson, and the Kennedy legacy.

(It appears that the Biden Administration wishes Robert F. Kennedy dead rather than permit him breathing room in public discussions: Biden refuses to provide him with Secret Service protections.)

It is ironic that conservatives are now dismissed as racists for invoking King, vaccine deniers for heeding Kennedy’s cautions against Big Pharma, and as a threat to democracy for standing on the (liberal) Supreme Court precedents about race, free speech, equal protection, and other long-standing fundamental liberties. In this “what was good is now evil, and what was evil is now good” atmosphere, the conservationist voice of farmer Berry has been neglected in favor of fear, increased government domination, and subsidizing corporations to “save” humanity.

This, too, was forecast by the iconic Berry, who warned that totalitarian industrialism would devour an uninformed, complacent population that abandoned local culture and agrarian distributism in favor of zoo-like “consumerism” and techno-dependency. Wendell particularly cautioned against trusting Big Ag and processed foods with our health and food security. One need not be a farmer to see that Americans are addicted to cheap, sickening, highly-processed “foods” from which rodents walk away after a quick sniff of disdain.

The Left has not heeded the herald Berry; he has essentially been canceled in a bizarre ideological scourge of national self-contempt. But his words stand ever more strongly every day the nation moves toward that complete dependency on grid, government, and goons against which he raised a strident-if-ignored alarum. Consider Wendell’s wisdom, in contrast to the so-called “progressive” rescue of the nation through environmental histrionics and Draconian Green New )Marxist) Deal strangulation.

On Rewilding

Mr. Berry criticizes the “moral assumptions of the culture of exploitation,” noting in his essay The Conservation of Nature and the Preservation of Humanity, that “The most persistent and dangerous of these is the assumption that some parts of the world can be preserved while others are abused or destroyed.”

Vermont in 2023 enacted legislation that embraces this exact folly. The “Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act” sets a goal to ‘conserve’ 30% of all land in the Green Mountain State by 2030, and 50% by 2050. Small wonder land prices have nearly doubled, increasing homelessness and dashing the dreams of the young – from which Vermont progressives will ‘rescue’ them by taxing property and income to construct ‘affordable’ housing that costs taxpayers a fortune.

Vermont is merely aping President Biden’s “30 by 30” Executive Order, which “put[] the climate crisis at the center of United States foreign policy and national security.” The Order urgently expands industrial manufacturing of (polluting) renewable energy gadgetry, while “empowering workers by advancing conservation, agriculture, and reforestation.”

Neither workers nor agriculture are empowered when land is withdrawn from agrarian stewardship for so-called ‘conservation and reforestation.’ The President’s plan calls to set aside 30% of the country’s land by 2030. He claims this is “acting on science,” but Wendell Berry offers a more rural-informed perspective:

“If in order to protect our forest land we designate it a commons or commonwealth separate from private ownership, then who will care for it? The absentee timber companies who see no reason to care about local consequences? The same government agents and agencies who are failing at present to take good care of our public forests? Is it credible that people inadequately skilled and inadequately motivated to care well for the land can be made to care well for it by public insistence that they do so?

“The answer is obvious: you cannot get good care in the use of land by demanding it from public officials…. The idea that a displaced people might take appropriate care of places is merely absurd. ….If we want the land to be cared for, then we must have people living on and from the land who are able and willing to care for it….” (“Private Property and the Common Wealth,” delivered as a speech at a conference on “The Forest Commons” on March 31, 1995.”

The soil science is clear: well-managed, rotationally-grazed cows nurture the soil microbiome, prevent erosion, retain precious water, and sequester far more carbon dioxide than forests – permanently, and without peddling ‘carbon credit’ pollution indulgences to corporations. The argument for rewilding is “merely absurd.”

On “Renewable” Energy Technology

A persistent admonition in Wendell’s writing is to measure the ‘externalized costs’ of consumption, yet that is exactly what has been avoided like the bubonic plague by climate ‘science’ advocates. All things measured in carbon dioxide (“net-zero”) ignores water and soil pollution in mining operations for rare earth materials (lithium), the coal plants constructed in China to create solar panels and EVs, or the disposal costs of all these taxpayer-subsidized boondoggles. Ignored also by elitist academics is the steadily growing dependency for heat, travel, and electricity that these carbon-centric plans entail.

Berry’s jeremiads caution always against trusting the very same technologies that have erased small farms from the landscape and enslaved Americans – to poisoned food, pharmaceuticals (to counter the illnesses caused by toxic foods and packaging), drug addiction, urban squalor, suburban alienation from the land, etc. – to deliver them from this predicament by way of yet more polluting technologies. GMOs toxify and kill soils, and increase erosion and water loss, but the climate cult’s horns are instead aimed at cows and other livestock that can feed us without the intercession of Bill Gates, John Kerry, or Klaus Schwab.

Foreshadowing massive government outlays for EVs, solar panels, and heat pumps, Wendell observed thirty years ago:

“We can safely predict that for a long time there are going to be people in places of power who will want to solve our local problems by inviting in some great multinational corporation. They will want to put millions of dollars of public money into an “incentive package” to make it worthwhile for the corporation to pay low wages for our labor and to pay low prices for, say, our timber. It is well understood that nothing excites the glands of a free-market capitalist as the offer of a government subsidy.

“But before we agree again to so radical a measure, producing maximum profits to people who live elsewhere and minimal, expensive benefits to ourselves and our neighbors, we ought to ask if we cannot contrive local solutions for our local problems, and if the local solutions might not be the best ones.” (From Conserving Forest Communities, delivered as a speech at the Kentucky Forest Summit, 9/29/1994

Rural Americans will be impoverished by renewable energy as energy costs rise and their traditional self-reliance is dismantled. They are being impoverished now: EVs and solar panels are regressively financed on the backs of low- and middle-income taxpayers, justified by claims that these innovations will “help the poor.” The serpent is in the Garden: that rural Kentucky farmer warned us to close our ears.

Climate Alarmism

Wendell Berry does not believe that grand government plans will ever do more than create grander government-seeded calamities. An outspoken critic of the Green New Deal, his words in The Art of Loading Brush (2019) caution humanity against precisely the climate fear-mongering that is paralyzing critical thought today:

“A multitude of people, including scientists and other experts, have devoted themselves exclusively to the threat of climate change. It is a great “movement.” I am not a climate change denier…. But I certainly am a critic of the climate change movement, and for what I consider good reasons.

“My foremost reason is that when so many people are devoted so exclusively to a single fear, the movement ceases to have the quality of prudence or provision, and takes on the character of a fad. ….The great question now needing to be asked is how to move from protest, fear, anger, or guilt to the actual accomplishment of good work.

“The problem with prediction, no matter how scientifically respectable it might be, is its power to bring on first a fear and then a movement that can be popularized into a fad. But of all the bad motives none may be worse or more hopeless than fear. Nobody, I think, has ever done good work because of fear. Good work is done by knowing how and by love. Love requires faith, courage, patience, and steadiness, none of which can come from fear. Also it appears to be impossible to sustain for very long even the most reasonable fear of a future catastrophe.

“….I believe we have got to understand how the great, one-cause, fear-motivated climate change movement, for example, can become a major distraction, not only from better ways of problem solving and better ways of working and thinking, but also from the local causes of climate change—which has, after all, only local causes.” (pp. 70-72)

Voices of reason are too often eclipsed by voices of doom. Al Gore was, and remains, precisely the headless-chicken alarmist to scold Americans into slow death and quick enslavement. The supply of food, like the causes of pollution, has always been best grounded in local, widely distributed plots under intergenerational stewardship and individual responsibility. Neither “local” problem will be cured by despotic rule.

A global famine will soon displace climate change as the “one-cause, fear-motivated” distraction to corral yet more of humanity into total industrial captivity. If only Wendell Berry’s words were heeded, humanity might have averted the unfolding terrors of which he was a preeminent harbinger.

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

The post Climate Fear, Rewilding, the Green New Deal, and Other Absurdities appeared first on Granite Grok.

It is almost as if there are two Speaker Mike Johnsons. The Speaker Mike Johnson on X who calls out and criticizes the Biden-Regime … and the other Speaker Johnson, THE ONE THAT MATTERS, who passes and fully funds the Biden-Regime’s noxious, anti-American agenda, the very agenda that he claims to oppose.

But the GOP is playing a game of pretend and expects its voters to pretend that Speaker Johnson is “doing his best,” “doing what he can with the slimmest of majorities,” blah, blah, blah. Well … not all of them. A handful of GOP Senators are showing some courage and refusing to go along with the GOP’s tired all-talk-never-any-action act, refusing to pretend that Speaker Johnson is opposing and not enabling the Regime. One of these is Rand Paul:

.@SpeakerJohnson was incredibly wrong to vote w/ Dems against the 4th amend. when he killed the FISA warrant requirement and wrong to give in to the Dems spending demands. As I see it now, I'm not so sure there's a difference between him being in charge and Dems being in charge. pic.twitter.com/NoyRhUrvRM

— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) April 14, 2024

The post Rand Paul Has The Courage To State The Obvious … No Difference Between Speaker Johnson And The Democrats appeared first on Granite Grok.

I am taking a break from politics today to reminisce about something we may not think about much until they are silent. I am talking about the voices that narrated some of the great moments of sports that gave us incredible memories throughout our lives.

I can still remember vividly some of the moments I shared with my Dad, which revolved around sports and music. My Dad was a Jazz fan, primarily the Big Bands. I remember the Boston Globe and Newport Jazz Festivals and listening to Duke Ellington at Cranes Castle in Ipswich, Massachusetts. I remember my first Patriots game when they played at Fenway Park, and going onto the field to stand in front of the Green Monster after the game because that is where his hero, Ted Williams, played for so many years. And there was the night we listened to Jose Feliciano’s Light My Fire at Harvard Stadium. We didn’t have much growing up, but damn, we have great memories. We lived better than the wealthy.

Growing up in New England, we were spoiled with some of the greatest voices of radio and TV, who brought our sports heroes into our living room or bedroom, and I went to sleep with their voices in my head. There were so many of the early pioneers of play-by-play. Curt Gowdy was the voice of the Boston Red Sox and the early years of the AFL. Many a fall Sunday, I spent with Gowdy and Pat Summerall, hoping for a Patriot win. There was Johnny Most of the Celtics and Fred Cusick of the Bruins. They were familiar voices that were part of our sports journey. These were the early days when the game was the story and the “voice” was the supporting cast, unlike today when it is often reversed. I wrote a couple of years ago about the man I thought had the best job in the world, Jim Nance. I am listening to him call the final holes of The Masters as I write this article. My opinion of Nance has not changed. His voice is like the violin to an orchestra. He is integral to the event.

Two legends said goodbye today as they signed off on their last broadcasts. Mike Gorman, who has been the TV voice of the Celtics since the Larry Bird era, and Verne Lundquist, who has been calling the 16th at Augusta since before Tiger Woods picked up a club, signed off today for the last time.

We celebrate these men for the careers they have enjoyed and the joy and memories they have given us. They are the voices you hear, and you are transported back to a moment in time and a memory that brings a smile to your face or a tear to your eye. Sports do not have the importance in life it did when we were younger, but I am thankful for so many memories. The voices that brought us those moments, whether early on via radio or on TV, are as memorable as a Carlton Fisk home run in the twelfth inning in ’75 or a Billy Rohr near no-hitter in 1967. To Curt, Ned, Johnny, Gil, Fred, and Jim Nance, thanks for the incredible memories I will cherish until my final breath.

The post The Soundtracks Of Our Lives appeared first on Granite Grok.

Large US Cities have been plagued by a host of problems I’ve repeatedly proven can be solved if residents stop voting for Democrats. Crime, homelessness, systemic mismanagement, and, lately, a rise in business closures and departures are all directly connected to government policy decisions.

That’s what’s so amusing about this great idea from San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Dean Preston. Grocery stores shuttered without any notice is unfair to the locals, and he’d like a law that requires them to provide at least six months notice. There are a host of loopholes but that’s not the funniest bit. This is.

The bill would also require that grocery stores “meet and work in good faith with neighborhood residents” and the OEWD to find a workable solution to keep groceries available at the location. Those solutions could include identifying strategies and resources to allow the store to remain open, helping residents organize and open a cooperative and identifying another grocery store operator to take over and continue grocery sales at the location.

Strategies like, oh, I don’t know, arresting and prosecuting shoplifters?

San Francisco, to its credit, ousted a previous DA from the Soros Chaos Coaching tree, but not much has improved. With drugs, homelessness, and the infamous poop map, it is a city in rapid decline. Third-world diseases long eradicated from American shores have returned thanks to its long-running status as a sanctuary city that invited them back).

Getting rid of cash bail and ignoring crime was as much a progressive lurch to the left as it was a capacity problem. Like many post-BLM summer cities, San Francisco made sure the same cops they’d been in charge of for decades knew they did not have their back. With the justice system and the city against them, hiring and retention became difficult by design.

In other words, this is San Francisco’s fault, and the solutions are to reverse policy or – since that seems unlikely – replace “leadership (even less likely).

Yes, San Francisco is screwed whether the meddling grocery store idea finds its legs or not.  Business owners will hire lawyers to get them through the loopholes to avoid prosecution because “Under the legislation, any person affected by a grocery store’s failure to comply with the requirements could initiate legal proceedings for damages, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, or a writ of mandate to remedy the violation. ”

They will secure an exit strategy that does not require them to help find some sucker to replace them, not that anyone, knowing the risks the rules create, would open a business there. The solution is just as much a reason not to do business on the Streets of San Franciso. This leaves the people the City has screwed with declining options, much like the departure of other stores from CVS and Walgreens to Wal-Mart, Amazon, and others.

The people the City said it was helping suffer, so I have to wonder if San Fran will propose an idea similar to the one by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson—socialized grocery stores. Policy drove them out, and policy kept them away, so why not just take over? 

All Chicagoans deserve to live near convenient, affordable, healthy grocery options. We know access to grocery stores is already a challenge for many residents, especially on the South and West sides. A better, stronger, safer future is one where our youth and our communities have access to the tools and resources they need to thrive. My administration is committed to advancing innovative, whole-of-government approaches to address these inequities.

There is (of course) no mention of how the government created the inequities.

“The city of Chicago is reimagining the role government can play in our lives by exploring a public option for grocery stores via a municipally owned grocery store and market,” Pawar said. “Not dissimilar from the way a library or the postal service operates, a public option offers economic choice and power to communities.”

If they run it like the post office, are you warning taxpayers that they will be subsidizing the systemic losses to keep food prices within reachable range for these communities? And the more important question, will  “the city-owned stores tolerate the rampant unprosecuted shoplifting that drove other businesses away?” If not, how do you stop it without arresting brown people and since it is a government facility, is there a way to label it as insurrection?

The post Night Cap: If You Needed More Proof That San Francisco is Run by Idiots … appeared first on Granite Grok.

Whether from the gallery or on video, if you’ve watched the senate for enough hours and minutes, you know that the one with the gavel regularly asks the rest of the body “are you ready for the question?”

As the one bragging to have the longest time with possession of the gavel, former Senate President Chuck Morse is now on the receiving end of that question(from me) because he’s coming to stump locally at Sky Meadow on May 8, which is 3 weeks from now.

I was planning to submit this piece closer to that date, but between Kelly Ayotte and Chuck Morse, it was just a matter of time before one of them would unleash the first attack against the other, a campaign decision not made lightly, I am sure.  For the record, I’m not here to judge either one of them for taking that initiative or not.  It’s just that considering Kelly already had her turn to stump locally and Chuck firing the first shot last week, now is a good time.

Video and recording is forbidden as per NRCC rules, but I expect a room full of witnesses to be paying attention, even though many of them are likely tired of me mentioning Chuck’s 11/19/21 crime against NH that should never be ignored.

As I pointed out earlier, I take Sharon Carson’s January 4 in-person words on good faith that Chuck will answer my question and I therefore expect to be called on.  Oh, and I still plan to be polite, which I should reaffirm for the record.

However, as to not double dip, I’ve prepared a few suggested questions for others to ask.  They are not meant to discourage people from asking their own questions, but to encourage people to take it upon themselves to get him to go on record with regard to important matters receiving less campaign trail attention.  The enemy camp is in love with the word “underserved.”  Let’s just use that word to describe the amount of attention Adam Sexton is giving the following questions:

1) Will you renew the appointment of our current attorney general, and why or why not?
2) Will you sign HB 1093(school mask bill, previously vetoed)?
3) Will you sign HB 1414(Gunstock audit) if it comes to your desk in the future?
4) Will you sign HB 1002(RTK Tax) in its current form?
5) What is your opinion of commuter rail(something very bad for Nashua) coming to NH?
6) What is your level of knowledge of the youth center atrocities over the years and your plan to address it?
7) Will you promise not to repeat the same Mask Madness imposed on NH on 11/19/20, right after the Damn Emperor was reelected to a 3rd term?

I will end with the following disclosure that Kelly Ayotte already had her local stump event at the same place on February 8 and she was asked about HB 1002 and the youth center.  However, the other questions listed certainly apply to her also.  If you have questions to add to the list that are outside of the usual questions, kindly put them in the comments.  And, of course, between her and Chuck, a criticism of one of them is NOT necessarily an endorsement of the other.

The post Chuck Morse, “Are You Ready for the Question?” appeared first on Granite Grok.

(white) goldstandard-04-18-24-S.pdf
(gold) goldstandard-04-18-24-S-y.pdf

The post Senate Gold Standard – April 18, 2024 appeared first on NH Liberty Alliance.

Manchester NH House Rep/Lobbyist Alissandra Murray has occasionally attracted the attention of our authors and commenters. Last week, she is reported to have used the block feature on her X account, which is as good a time as any to revisit this.

If you communicate the people’s business there, can you block people whose responses you dislike or with whom you disagree?

According to both circuit court and a unanimous Supreme Court ruling, “officials who post about work-related topics on their personal social media accounts can be held liable for violating the First Amendment rights of constituents by blocking their access or deleting their critical comments.”

Work-related means political communications.

I’ve issued similar warnings in the past that include not just Dems but Republicans and Libertarians. This was inevitable, and this latest 9-0 first amendment decision sets the groundwork. Suppose you discuss your political agenda on measures, bills, issues, or other business of a town, county, state, or federal office. In that case, the public must be able to comment, or you are violating their First Amendment rights.

Rep. Murray, while not the only offender, is using this platform for political communication.

In Murray’s defense, political activity (speech) is not the means by which a potential violation of constituents’ rights is measured. Alissandra is still a free person and citizen with the same rights as the rest of us. She can speak as an individual and is not required to let just anyone engage her content. She could remark frequently and at length on a wide range of topics, especially on groups “owned” and moderated by others, without the moderator being obligated to allow the speech of dissenter others or ensuring they have access to respond.

How do we know the difference?

After a more detailed review, the Court’s standard measures whether “the official both (1) possessed the actual authority to speak on the State’s behalf on a particular matter, and (2) purported to exercise that authority when speaking in the relevant social media posts.”

It seems reasonable to suggest that Murray has no real authority, even as a House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee clerk. Still, she does have a vote in both the body and the committee. The opportunity to speak with authority on matters of interest to the state is not impossible.

This is also true for every other elected or appointed individual, especially at the county or local level, where their position makes them the executor or manager of policy that directly affects citizens and taxpayers.

It is not about whether you think you have authority but whether someone else can convince a court of it; in this case, the safest path is to allow the communication and ignore it or respond to it at your discretion.

In a free society with a First Amendment, your inconvenience (or umbrage) is the lesser concern than the right of others to engage you in political debate on matters where you have influence.

Unless the state can use force (because of the content shared), meaning it violates some existing law or statute (not the ones that exist in your head), my advice is to shut up and take it. I get that this won’t be popular with anyone. Leaving certain content has the appearance of consent or allowing them to use your platform for their speech.

So what?

If you’re right and they are wrong, ignore them. If you can’t do that, prove them wrong or get a proxy to engage them and move along. If they are unhinged, screen grab it, put it in a folder, and use it against them or the people they support.

Blocking people may not explicitly violate their First Amendment rights, but it makes you look like an incapable, incompetent coward.

I know, hours in the day. You don’t get paid to deal with this crap, but Alissandra does. She gets paid a salary by a third-party activist group.

She’s just being a coward.

 

The post To Alissandra Murray and Everyone Else in Office Blocking People on Social Media … appeared first on Granite Grok.

The New Hampshire General Court (i.e., our legislature) has reached “crossover.” The House has acted on all its bills and has started to deal with Senate Bills. The Senate has done the converse.

I have crunched the numbers – i.e., the voting records of 2024 through crossover – to determine objectively which members are RINOs – Republicans In Name Only.

I looked at every vote in which Republicans voted opposite Democrats. More specifically, I looked at all votes in which a supermajority (80%) of Republicans voted opposite a majority of Democrats. I ignored votes where both sides voted the same. A RINO vote is when a Republican votes with Democrats against a supermajority of Republicans.

The House has had 216 roll calls so far this year. On 21 of those, the Rs and Ds both voted the same. Those votes were ignored. On 15 other votes, Rs were divided, e.g. RC #137 had Rs voting 72%-28%. Those votes were ignored as not meeting the 80% threshold. The remaining 180 votes were scored as potential RINO votes. As it happens, 100% of Rs voted together – i.e., none of the Rs voted with the Dems – on many of those RCs, so there were no RINO votes on those RCs.

We want to thank Spec Bowers for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Steve@GraniteGrok.com.
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Almost every Rep at one time or another casts a vote the same as the Democrats. One example is when a Republican votes against the budget because it is too large, while the Democrats vote against it because they think it is too small. Thankfully, such votes are not common.

Most Republicans only rarely vote with Democrats against other Republicans. There were 37 who scored a perfect 0%. Looking at all Republicans, the median RINO score was 1.7%, meaning that, on average, they voted with Democrats only 1.7% of the time. 80% of Republicans scored lower than 4.7%; 90% scored lower than 8%.

There were 11 Republicans who voted more than 10% of the time against fellow Republicans. Clearly, they are out of mainstream Republicanism. Even more outside of the mainstream were 4 Republicans who voted more than 20% of the time with Democrats against Republicans. Worst as usual was Dan Wolf.

	RINO score	RINO votes
Wolf, Dan (R, Newbury)	69.7%	108
Bordes, Mike (R, Laconia)	31.0%	48
Guthrie, Joseph (R, Hampstead)	24.5%	37
Thackston, Dick (R, Troy)	22.6%	35
Coker, Matthew (R, Meredith)	17.1%	30
Bickford, David (R, New Durham)	14.7%	25
O’Hara, Travis (R, Belmont)	13.1%	8
Pearson, Mark (R, Hampstead)	12.2%	22
Ankarberg, Aidan (R, Rochester)	11.7%	21
Mason, James (R, Franklin)	11.1%	15
Proulx, Mark (R, Manchester)	11.0%	17

Here is the full list:

	RINO score	RINO votes
Wolf, Dan (R, Newbury)	69.7%	108
Bordes, Mike (R, Laconia)	31.0%	48
Guthrie, Joseph (R, Hampstead)	24.5%	37
Thackston, Dick (R, Troy)	22.6%	35
Coker, Matthew (R, Meredith)	17.1%	30
Bickford, David (R, New Durham)	14.7%	25
O’Hara, Travis (R, Belmont)	13.1%	8
Pearson, Mark (R, Hampstead)	12.2%	22
Ankarberg, Aidan (R, Rochester)	11.7%	21
Mason, James (R, Franklin)	11.1%	15
Proulx, Mark (R, Manchester)	11.0%	17
Nagel, David (R, Gilmanton)	9.8%	15
Milz, David (R, Derry)	9.7%	14
Boyd, Bill (R, Merrimack)	9.5%	17
Sytek, John (R, Salem)	9.0%	16
Bogert, Steven (R, Laconia)	8.9%	16
Pratt, Kevin (R, Raymond)	8.3%	15
Hunt, John (R, Rindge)	8.3%	14
Crawford, Karel (R, Moultonborough)	8.0%	11
King, Seth (R, Whitefield)	7.8%	14
Pearson, Stephen (R, Derry)	7.8%	14
Packard, Sherman (R, Londonderry)	7.5%	3
Foote, Charles (R, Derry)	7.4%	12
Roy, Terry (R, Deerfield)	7.3%	13
Vandecasteele, Susan (R, Salem)	7.1%	11
Phinney, Brandon (R, Rochester)	7.0%	11
Trottier, Douglas (R, Belmont)	6.9%	7
Healey, Robert (R, Merrimack)	6.7%	12
Rhodes, Jennifer (R, Winchester)	6.7%	12
McDonnell, Valerie (R, Salem)	6.1%	11
Yokela, Josh (R, Fremont)	6.1%	11
Gerhard, Jason (R, Northfield)	5.8%	10
Fedolfi, Jim (R, Hillsborough)	5.4%	9
Cole, Brian (R, Manchester)	5.3%	7
Kuttab, Katelyn (R, Windham)	5.2%	9
Nelson, Jodi (R, Derry)	5.0%	9
Popovici-Muller, Daniel (R, Windham)	5.0%	9
Mooney, Maureen (R, Merrimack)	4.9%	8
Testerman, Dave (R, Franklin)	4.9%	7
Harley, Tina (R, Seabrook)	4.7%	6
MacDonald, John (R, Wolfeboro)	4.5%	8
Plett, Fred (R, Goffstown)	4.5%	8
Tierney, James (R, Northumberland)	4.5%	6
Davis, Arnold (R, Milan)	4.4%	8
Lascelles, Richard (R, Litchfield)	4.0%	7
Rochefort, David (R, Littleton)	4.0%	7
Ball, Lorie (R, Salem)	3.9%	7
Janvrin, Jason (R, Seabrook)	3.9%	7
Stapleton, Walter (R, Claremont)	3.9%	7
Brown, Carroll (R, Bristol)	3.6%	6
Dolan, Tom (R, Londonderry)	3.6%	6
Katsakiores, Phyllis (R, Derry)	3.4%	6
Ouellet, Mike (R, Colebrook)	3.4%	6
Seidel, Sheila (R, Goffstown)	3.4%	6
Cahill, Tim (R, Raymond)	3.3%	6
Donnelly, Tanya (R, Salem)	3.3%	6
Emerick, Tracy (R, Hampton)	3.3%	6
Weyler, Kenneth (R, Kingston)	3.3%	6
Verville, Kevin (R, Deerfield)	3.2%	5
Boehm, Ralph (R, Litchfield)	2.8%	5
Brown, Richard (R, Moultonborough)	2.8%	5
Corcoran, Travis (R, Weare)	2.8%	5
Costable, Michael (R, Freedom)	2.8%	5
Ladd, Rick (R, Haverhill)	2.8%	5
Melvin, Charles (R, Newton)	2.8%	5
Phillips, Emily (R, Fremont)	2.8%	5
Reid, Karen (R, Deering)	2.8%	5
Spilsbury, Walter (R, Charlestown)	2.8%	5
Lundgren, David (R, Londonderry)	2.8%	4
Beaudoin, Richard (R, Gilford)	2.6%	4
Khan, Aboul (R, Seabrook)	2.6%	4
McLean, Mark (R, Manchester)	2.5%	4
Prudhomme-O’Brien, Katherine (R, Derry)	2.4%	4
Simon, Matthew (R, Littleton)	2.3%	4
Cordelli, Glenn (R, Tuftonboro)	2.2%	4
Creighton, Jim (R, Antrim)	2.2%	4
Drye, Margaret (R, Plainfield)	2.2%	4
Ford, Oliver (R, Chester)	2.2%	4
Greeson, Jeffrey (R, Wentworth)	2.2%	4
Kelley, Diane (R, Temple)	2.2%	4
King, Bill (R, Milford)	2.2%	4
Lekas, Tony (R, Hudson)	2.2%	4
MacDonald, Wayne (R, Londonderry)	2.2%	4
Pauer, Diane (R, Brookline)	2.2%	4
Ploszaj, Tom (R, Center Harbor)	2.2%	4
Potenza, Kelley (R, Rochester)	2.2%	4
Santonastaso, Matthew (R, Rindge)	2.2%	4
Seaworth, Brian (R, Pembroke)	2.2%	4
Smith, Jonathan (R, Ossioee)	2.2%	4
Thomas, Douglas (R, Londonderry)	2.2%	4
Tudor, Paul (R, Northwood)	2.2%	4
Walsh, Lilli (R, Hampstead)	2.2%	4
Infantine, William (R, Manchester)	2.1%	3
Panek, Sandra (R, Pelham)	2.0%	3
Andrus, Louise (R, Salisbury)	1.9%	3
Belcher, Mike (R, Wakefield)	1.7%	3
Berry, Ross (R, Manchester)	1.7%	3
Edwards, Jess (R, Auburn)	1.7%	3
Harb, Robert (R, Plaistow)	1.7%	3
Lekas, Alicia (R, Hudson)	1.7%	3
Lewicke, John (R, Mason)	1.7%	3
Lynn, Bob (R, Windham)	1.7%	3
Mannion, Dennis (R, Salem)	1.7%	3
Mannion, Tom (R, Pelham)	1.7%	3
McCarter, Nikki (R, Belmont)	1.7%	3
McConkey, Mark (R, Freedom)	1.7%	3
McGough, Tim (R, Merrimack)	1.7%	3
Notter, Jeanine (R, Merrimack)	1.7%	3
Renzullo, Andrew (R, Hudson)	1.7%	3
Rollins, Skip (R, Newport)	1.7%	3
Spillane, James (R, Deerfield)	1.7%	3
Smith, Steven (R, Charlestown)	1.6%	2
Coulon, Matthew (R, Pike)	1.5%	2
Murphy, Michael (R, Gorham)	1.5%	2
Durkin, Sean (R, Northumberland)	1.4%	2
Cambrils, Jose (R, Loudon)	1.2%	2
Cushman, Leah (R, Weare)	1.2%	2
Smart, Lisa (R, Meredith)	1.2%	2
Sweeney, Joe (R, Salem)	1.2%	2
Abare, Kimberly (R, Pelham)	1.1%	2
Alexander, Joe (R, Goffstown)	1.1%	2
Ammon, Keith (R, New Boston)	1.1%	2
Bailey, Glenn (R, Milton)	1.1%	2
Connor, James (R, Rochester)	1.1%	2
DeSimone, Debra (R, Atkinson)	1.1%	2
Gorski, Ted (R, Bedford)	1.1%	2
Hoell, J.R. (R, Dunbarton)	1.1%	2
Janigian, John (R, Salem)	1.1%	2
Kennedy, Stephen (R, Hudson)	1.1%	2
Kofalt, Jim (R, Wilton)	1.1%	2
McGuire, Carol (R, Epsom)	1.1%	2
McGuire, Dan (R, Epsom)	1.1%	2
Polozov, Yury (R, Hooksett)	1.1%	2
Porcelli, Susan (R, Hampton Falls)	1.1%	2
Post, Lisa (R, Lyndeborough)	1.1%	2
Stone, Jonathan (R, Claremont)	1.1%	2
Vose, Michael (R, Epping)	1.1%	2
Gould, Linda (R, Bedford)	0.9%	1
Pitre, Joseph (R, Farmington)	0.8%	1
Aron, Judy (R, South Acworth)	0.6%	1
Aylward, Deborah (R, Danbury)	0.6%	1
Burnham, Claudine (R, Milton)	0.6%	1
Colcombe, Riché (R, Hillsborough)	0.6%	1
Doucette, Fred (R, Salem)	0.6%	1
Drago, Mike (R, Raymond)	0.6%	1
Dunn, Ron (R, Londonderry)	0.6%	1
Erf, Keith (R, Weare)	0.6%	1
Gagne, Larry (R, Manchester)	0.6%	1
Granger, Michael (R, Milton)	0.6%	1
Hill, Gregory (R, Northfield)	0.6%	1
Horgan, James (R, Farmington)	0.6%	1
Leavitt, John (R, Hooksett)	0.6%	1
Newton, Clifford (R, Rochester)	0.6%	1
Noble, Kristin (R, Bedford)	0.6%	1
Nutting, Zachary (R, Winchester)	0.6%	1
Osborne, Jason (R, Auburn)	0.6%	1
Prout, Andrew (R, Hudson)	0.6%	1
Qualey, James (R, Rindge)	0.6%	1
Quaratiello, Arlene (R, Atkinson)	0.6%	1
Sellers, John (R, Bristol)	0.6%	1
Soti, Julius (R, Windham)	0.6%	1
Tripp, Richard (R, Derry)	0.6%	1
Turcotte, Len (R, Barrington)	0.6%	1
Aures, Cyril (R, Chichester)	0.0%	0
Avellani, Lino (R, Wakefield)	0.0%	0
Bean, Harry (R, Gilford)	0.0%	0
Berezhny, Lex (R, Grafton)	0.0%	0
Bernardy, JD (R, South Hampton)	0.0%	0
Boyd, Stephen (R, Hooksett)	0.0%	0
Brouillard, Jacob (R, Nottingham)	0.0%	0
Comtois, Barbara (R, Center Barnstead)	0.0%	0
Dumais, Russell (R, Gilford)	0.0%	0
Griffin, Gerald (R, Mont Vernon)	0.0%	0
Harrington, Michael (R, Strafford)	0.0%	0
Harvey-Bolia, Juliet (R, Tilton)	0.0%	0
Hobson, Deb (R, East Kingston)	0.0%	0
Kaczynski, Thomas (R, Rochester)	0.0%	0
Kenny, Catherine (R, Hudson)	0.0%	0
Layon, Erica (R, Derry)	0.0%	0
Love, David (R, Derry)	0.0%	0
Mazur, Lisa (R, Weare)	0.0%	0
McMahon, Charles (R, Windham)	0.0%	0
Moffett, Michael (R, Loudon)	0.0%	0
Perez, Kristine (R, Londonderry)	0.0%	0
Peternel, Katy (R, Wolfeboro)	0.0%	0
Piemonte, Tony (R, Sandown)	0.0%	0
Potucek, John (R, Derry)	0.0%	0
See, Alvin (R, Loudon)	0.0%	0
Sheehan, Vanessa (R, Milford)	0.0%	0
Sirois, Shane (R, New Ipswich)	0.0%	0
Summers, James (R, Newton)	0.0%	0
Tenczar, Jeffrey (R, Pelham)	0.0%	0
Terry, Paul (R, Alton)	0.0%	0
True, Chris (R, Sandown)	0.0%	0
Ulery, Jordan (R, Hudson)	0.0%	0
Varney, Peter (R, Alton)	0.0%	0
Wallace, Scott (R, Danville)	0.0%	0
Walsh, Thomas (R, Hooksett)	0.0%	0
Wherry, Robert (R, Hudson)	0.0%	0
Wood, Clayton (R, Pittsfield)	0.0%	0

The post 2024 RINO Report Card (Through Crossover) appeared first on Granite Grok.

Joe Biden stood at the podium, looked into the camera, and with his strongest demeanor, said, “Don’t” to Iran. Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin took up the verbal sword and uttered the same demand to Iran, “Don’t.” Well, we saw throughout the night from Saturday into Sunday what Iran thinks of the warnings of our Big 3 Dream Team.

They did not go to the microphone but to the trigger and said to Israel, America, and the rest of the Free World, “We Did.”

It took hours for the slow-moving drones, IBMs, and cruise missiles to travel from Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen to their target, Israel. Nearly 300 projectiles were launched at the small country of Israel. Because of the sophisticated Israeli defense system and the help of their allies, they managed to intercept 99% of the airborne weapons before they could reach their targets. Iran’s mission to inflict harm on Israel was a failure, but Iran had to see what the outcome would be, so what was the real purpose of this show of aggression?

First, the claim of this being the first attack by Iran on Israel has to be qualified. Iran has been supporting, if not manipulating, Hamas and Hezbollah since this conflict began on October 7. The only difference is the attack, this time, came directly from the territory of Iran. The apparent goal of Iran is to destabilize the Middle East. They see the division in the United States and sense weak support of Israel by America and want to seize on that divide to shake up the Middle East. Countries are choosing sides. Iran has the support of Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and, behind the scenes, Russia and China. Israel has the United States, England, Jordan, and France helping in their defense. The U.S. is calling for restraint from Israel, but Israel says they will do what is necessary to protect their sovereignty.

The escalation in the Middle East from a conflict between Hamas and Israel to a more widespread situation across the region means we now have two major hot spots, the other being Ukraine, that have started under Biden’s watch. This is terrible news for America as it shows a lack of respect for America and fear of Joe Biden. The world, especially our adversaries, knows that Joe Biden has weakened our military, has a poor grasp on foreign affairs, and has an ineffective team in Harris, Blinken, and Austin. China will back Iran, knowing that the Middle East will occupy our attention, drawing it away from Taiwan. Our military is not capable of involvement in multiple theaters.

Nobody in the Middle East wants or can afford a prolonged conflict in the region. The attention now falls on Israel as the world waits to see how she responds to the Iranian aggression. Iran is calling Saturday’s attack a limited first wave and, of course, warns Washington to stay out of the fight. Biden has to be looking to end this quickly, as two international conflicts and the disaster at our southern border will not play well with voters in November. Biden’s number one problem is the man in the mirror. He is not equipped, nor has he surrounded himself with qualified people to handle everything on his plate. This will be a good lesson to show that Woke and Diverse are no match for strong and competent. A bad lesson for Joe. A bad experience for America.

The post “Biden said, Don’t – They Did … So What Happens Next? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Just this:

 

 

(This works because I’m finalizing this post on Sunday.)

 

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

Remember, ridicule and mockery are effective weapons:

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

Now, let the mockery and mayhem begin.

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one reason I have truly started to hate the ADL.  The sentiment by that professor is not just not a Jewish one – no Shul I’ve ever been in has ever discussed, let alone promoted such that I’ve ever heard – but many on the Left DO hold this idea of eliminating whites.  The problem is that the ADL races to defend Jews even when they have said / done the indefensible.

I do understand the desire to “circle the wagons”.  Every group does this to some degree.  But, like comedian Evan Sayet observed, Plopping Jews have their real faith being liberalism.  The ADL also promotes mass migration and sexual deviancy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’d pay good money to see that happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Howard Zinn is a commie.  He’s poisoned all sorts of minds over the years.  Here’s a counter to that:

Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America

 

 

 

I may have told this anecdote before… when my mother was alive I’d visit for a couple of days here and here, and one day we were both listening to some absolute-drivel NPR show.  30 minutes of – as she’d put it – drek.  At the end of it she asked me how they could put such on the radio, and I replied that they didn’t make it for people like us.  They made it for their fellows in the media, and all their uber-liberal friends, and for the applause at the cocktail parties of how brave and edgy they were.

 

 

 

 

 

They were NOT “noble savages”, that’s for sure.

Taboo Truths About the Comanche | Frontpage Mag

Indigenous Slavers: American Indians Who Whipped and Owned Blacks | Frontpage Mag

 

 

 

As with so many things, why on earth would someone vote against this?  What possible innocent rationale could someone have against telling people what’s in their food?

Terrorist billionaires and the future of food – American Thinker

Democrats Block Amendment to Require Informing People if They’re Eating Bugs (infowars.com)

Related to the war on food in general:

Proposed EPA Rule Shuts Down Small Meat Producers | American Stewards

 

 

 

 

 

Not helplessly.  Hopelessly.  Screaming at the people repeating history that doom is coming, only to watch those idiots head straight for the cliff.

 

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

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

 

I’ll be the first person to admit that my “green thumb” is, well, only kind of green.  It doesn’t help that my soil is a few inches over gravel fill, and crap soil to boot.  Still, I’m gearing up for planting at least something – just cleared out my one 4 X 8 raised bed and hoping next weekend is “stable” enough I can start planting.  Mostly herbs and a bunch of garlic.  Did I mention I love garlic before?

Now, can I feed my family off that?  Not even close.  But… it’s a start, and it’s hopefully implanting an attitude into my kids as well.  Already set potatoes in sunlight to get them sprouting.  The plan is 8 five-gallon buckets for potatoes.  Plus 3-4 things of cherry tomatoes (always better luck than with regular sized ones).  And some beans.

Soon the local farmers markets will start up.  Patronize them.  Buy local whenever you can – not necessarily for cost, because my experience is that it’s not necessarily a savings to do so.  Buy like your food supply depends on that, because it does.  In a few weeks I’ll be compiling and posting a listing of NH farmers markets.  Please help me by commenting below on such markets in your area.  Not just for vegetables, but also local meats.

I do regularly go to the Nashua farmer’s market and need to keep an eye out for when they open for the season.  One year I stumbled on one in Merrimack but it seems spotty at best (didn’t see it the last couple of years).  Any other ones I should know of?  Again, I’ll compile a list.

*** I am looking for some classes to make sausage and cure it for no-refrigeration storage, as well as someone who knows how to set up a pressure canner as I’m stumped. Classes in that, home canning, would be ideal.  ***

One last thing on this, at least for now: make sure you tell those farmers that you’re doing this knowingly and deliberately.  They need to not just see your money coming in, but your words of support.

 

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

 

 

Why?  To avoid upsetting their new voting demographic.

 

 

 

People who fail to connect consequences to their actions – in this case, their advocacy – are among the most dangerous in the world.

 

 

As with food in bugs… WHY would someone turn this down?  And if they did do it with malice aforethought, they had to have been “in” on things to at least some degree.  Which speaks, IMHO, to the visceral hate they have for Trump and MAGA that they’re willing to put people at risk like this.  Then again… see just below on what Commies are willing to do to advance Communism.

 

 

Victims of Communism | Keep the flame of liberty alive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israel LEFT Gaza in 2005; the blockade – something always very expensive to do – was only implemented in 2008 (I think).  What could possibly have happened that Israel might have decided to do that?

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

The DOJ, FBI, and the ATF have been busy rewriting the “rules” regarding “engaged in the business” of firearms sales.  As a result, they are about to launch a massive effort to throttle our 2nd Amendment rights.  This is a fairly long read but goes into good detail about how they have weasel-worded the rules so they can target pretty much ANYONE they want to, and then point to the rules that make it legal.  Note that this was NOT voted on by Congress, it’s just an arbitrary change by unelected bureaucrats.:

Biden/Garland Target Political Opposition with “Terrorism”: DOJ Publishes New Rule to Update Definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a Firearms Dealer – POLITICAL MOONSHINE

—

T.L. Davis with another very thought provoking article.  Right now, if you jump the border, you get a phone, debit cards, medical care, food stamps, and all kinds of other “bennies” which are provided by the US Government (really the taxpayers).  If Trump manages to outwit and outflank all the issues & landmines laid for him and actually win (we hope), all the Deep State has to do is shut off the “free money” spigot by not refilling the debit cards & denying food stamps. Once the “bennies” currently going to all the illegal aliens (invaders, really) gets cut off, millions will be rioting, looting, and stealing within days.  And if armed citizens fight them off, well, we’ll just declare martial law and take the guns.  It’s just another way to undermine America:

Words Aren’t Enough – by T.L. Davis (substack.com)

—

26 Barges Break Loose Causing Bridge Closures and Damage on Ohio River – Vigilant News Network

What are the odds all these things are suddenly happening so quickly?

—

Even the DEMS don’t like Biden’s rules on tailpipe emissions:

Biden Administration Rebuked By Senate On Car Emissions – Victory Girls Blog

—

The 10 Stages of mRNA Denial – Vigilant News Network

Bird Flu Vaccine for Humans ‘Ready for Mass Production’ – Vigilant News Network

Start fortifying yourself with Vitamin C and D, zinc, quercetin, etc.

—

I’m not a fan of Bill Maher, but this monolog is spot on:

https://twitter.com/VigilantFox/status/1773916265138016505

—

Moonbattery in Maine:  Last year they passed a “feel good” bill making it illegal to do business with companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  But on April 10th, they STOPPED a bill that would help shut down the 100’s of illegal pot farms that are already operating in Maine (run by Chinese illegals at the behest of the CCP), and also help to prevent new ones from starting.  The CCP has been creating this illegal farms all over Maine, and the Federal authorities won’t do anything to stop them (wonder who they REALLY work for?).  This bill would have given some real teeth to the local law enforcement, so of course it was killed:

Maine Lawmakers Reject Bill That Targets China-Run Marijuana Farms | The Epoch Times

—

Double standards on display:  The DOJ is ignoring Congressional subpoenas, after putting Peter Navarro in jail for not responding to a Congressional subpoena:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/judge-berates-doj-for-defying-congressional-subpoenas-5623170

—

Not surprising, but it looks like many of Trumps enemies are being funded by George Soros and his ilk:

https://twitter.com/pepesgrandma/status/1778475118278361348

—

For those who think the coming war will be “fun” or “easy”, or something they can watch on the 6pm news, Aesop has some comments on that:

Raconteur Report: Once More, With Feeling

—

David Hogg gets schooled by a lady who grew up in communist China:

The Feral Irishman: Meanwhile, At Dartmouth College, A Chinese Immigrant Schools A Useful Idiot….

I’ve met Lily.  I’ve got to send a campaign contribution in this week.

—

A good article that takes a realistic look at prepping for long term survival.  The gist is this:  Unless you have VERY deep pockets, and can afford a bug out place in a remote location (and a means to get there that avoids the roads, like a helicopter), the realistic “survival” time is measures in days for those in cities, weeks for suburbia, and months in rural locations.  Remember, it’s not just criminals who want your preps, it’s EVERYBODY who didn’t prep enough (plus the government).  And as the days go on, more desperate people will be added to that “didn’t prep enough” list.  Are you prepared to fight off a horde of 20?  of 50?   What if the Sheriff shows up with 10 “deputized” men and demands you turn over all your supplies?  Or an Army National Guard unit?  Anyway, read it and start re-thinking your plans:

https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2024/04/emergency-preparations-dont-fool.html

Related:

“Getting Close To Post Time” – Liberty’s Torch (libertystorch.info)

—

The dollar is under attack by many forces; the BRICS nations want to kill it, inflation is eating up your dollars daily, and our own government keeps spending money we don’t have.  When the system crashes (by design mind you, this has been orchestrated for decades), people will be using $100 bills as fire-starter.  Got gold & silver?:

https://watcher.guru/news/brics-us-economist-anticipates-bankruptcy-market-crash

The problem – especially at this late hour – is to buy gold and silver with no paper / electronic trail.  You can bet your bottom dollar that all those companies selling “physical gold and silver” will have their records confiscated first thing.

—

The Communist Party’s 45 Goals For America CAME TRUE | Isabel Brown LIVE (rumble.com)

Just… wow.

—

The Girl Who Hugged Trump In Atlanta Is a Treasure – HotAir

OOH, Trump is apparently gaining with blacks and others.  OTOH, do not doubt the DS and its vote fraud machine.

—

The Daily Chart: Bidenflation by the Numbers | Power Line (powerlineblog.com)

Damning charts.

Joe Did That: Inflation Costs Americans an Extra $1K Monthly – PJ Media

 

 

—

As Iran readies to attack Israel, remember this is Biden’s design (nypost.com)

Remember, Iran considers America the GREAT SATAN.  And that, in Shia Islam, their version of the messiah cannot come until there is a world war.  To them, WW3 is not a bug but a feature.

While I do sympathize with those who say “Not our problem”, and it is tempting to think this, there is a problem: Iran wants to make it your problem.  More to the point, feeding Israel to the Islamists will simply stimulate their thirst to take on the West in general; after all, the West fed Hitler the Sudetenland, and that didn’t stop Hitler one big.  Appeasement never works.

—

Insurers Spy On Houses Via Aerial Imagery, Seeking Reasons To Cancel Coverage | ZeroHedge

IMHO, yet another way to force people from their homes and into permanent rentals as they can’t afford homes any more.

—

Remember: The climate data foisted on us by NOAA is based 30% on nonexistent weather stations – Behind The Black – Robert Zimmerman

Doesn’t matter.  Belief in “Climate Change” is now the religion for those who think they’re too smart to believe in religion.

—

The Intelligence Community Exists To Spy On Americans (thefederalist.com)

At this point I can’t disagree with this.  Related:

Thomas Massie Reveals Disgusting Carveout Congressional Members Gave Themselves in National Security Bill – The Politics Brief

“Congress gives itself a carve out in the reauthorization of FISA 702 warrantless spying on Americans,” Massie said. “The bill requires the FBI to notify and seek consent from Congress before violating the privacy of Congressmen.”

—

Sri Lankans stop repeal of ‘anti-gay’ laws despite UN pressure (massresistance.org)

A victory!

 

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

 

Pick of the post:

 

 

Oh, damn that’s the best one of the lot, by far.  Those, and those who say Oh, that’s just not possible.  (Or That can’t happen here.)

 

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

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

 

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

 

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

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

Thanks to John who bought me a whopping 10 coffees!

 

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

 

 

See all my Jab-related cartoons here.

The post MONDAY MEMES appeared first on Granite Grok.

Now comes the Appellant Daniel Richard pro se. hereby “objects’ to the reopening of the case in the above-named and numbered Supreme Court case, after the honorable court has closed arguments.

Plaintiff submits it would be fundamentally unfair and a deprivation of plaintiff’s fundamental due process rights for the court to take this unsolicited and extraordinary measure that will unfairly allow the defendants to have a second bite of the apple.

Plaintiff submits; the court was aware during the Supreme Court hearing of November 29, 2023, that his Appeal and ‘complaint’ contain allegations of a constitutional nature, where the plaintiff alleges a denial of constitutional voting rights; that said rights were cited within his complaint; that the plaintiff had an obvious personal stake in the case, and that the plaintiff alleged actual bias and harm caused as a result of said constitutional deprivation.

However well intended, this Court’s solicitation of a brief from the defendants and from friends of the court at this point in the appellate proceeding is extraordinary and appears to try to do by soliciting outside non-parties to what the state has twice declined to do, viz: raise standing in the state answer or in the state’s oral argument. The state’s reasons for not addressing this preliminary issue may be political or it may reflect personal liability of state actors, falling outside the umbrella of indemnity or immunity. Regardless, Appellant suggests it is improper for this unilateral expansion of briefing to outside parties by the highest court judges during appeal when it was not briefed by the state and therefore conceded at the trial court level appears unprecedented as to both activism and bias in the form of by discrimination.

Further, it appears to suggest state actors protecting other state actors by abuse of authority and highly questionable judicial activism to alter some element, presently known or unknown. Because elections are time sensitive, this further delay of a final state decision during an important Presidential election year, further operates to disadvantage Appellant alone. Meanwhile, the State Legislature and various top ranking state politicians have been actively working to “cement” illegal and unconstitutional voting machine voting and counting, and other unreliable election change-processes as “a done deal.’ Putting aside for the moment the millions of dollars of financial incentives involved in this “new” voting machine acquisition, and notwithstanding multiple irregularities already demonstrated in fraudulent computerized tabulating and counting indicating a lack of reliability in state machines, both past (2008) and those sitting in corporate warehouses waiting to be delivered around the state.

This delay and political actor and corporate activism is avoiding statutory reliance procedures. One of those, reliability testing, has a manmade loophole that with an “extension” (based on insider agreements between public officials and private corporations) means independent machine reliability testing can be postponed years beyond the 2024 election. This legislative political manipulation during the pendency of this case and appeal represents benefit to the tune of millions of dollars should this alternate machine-testing “agreement’ be successful.

Meanwhile, the top court is now initiating what appears to be an improper changing of Supreme Court rules for outside briefs on an issue the Plaintiffs briefed and argued below, but the State Defendants did not, even when raised by the lower court magistrate for them.

Placing in controversy Supreme Court Rule 16 with the following, this Courts order states that any replies to the Court’s solicitation must meet the requirements of Rule 16, such an order is contrary and repugnant to this Courts own rule 16 and Rule 30 which prohibits such a late solicitation and it is contrary to this Court’s own precedent on solicitation of Amicus Curiae during the preliminary stages of the Appeal. This Courts solicitation of an Amicus Brief at this time (post oral arguments) violates N.H. Supreme Court Rule 16(7):

“thecourt shall not consider any brief or memorandum of law after a case has

been argued or submitted, unless the court has granted to the party offering to file

the brief or memorandum of law special leave to do so in advance.”

This has not been done. Pursuant to Rule 16, an amicus curiae brief may be filed only with leave of court by interested parties, but moreover, an amicus brief must be limited to issues raised on appeal by the parties.

Plaintiff strongly suggests, this Amicus Brief solicitation cannot now be used to bail out city and state governments, as it was not briefed by the defendants on appeal. The amicus brief cannot now be used to allow a third party to brief standing when the defendants failed to do so themselves, and the respected members of this Supreme court should not allow such an unfair supplemental action against a pro se defendant.

This Court’s call to open an argument of standing with an Amicus Brief solicitation is un-timely and un-fair and suggests improper bias when top judges untimely initiate sua sponte such an order. Amicus Briefs submission is permitted under N.H. Supreme Court Rule (16) and Rule 30(1). Such practice is use in Federal Courts and many other states, during a court’s initial consideration of a case on the merits and not thereafter. This un-timely solicitation of amicus brief by this Court at this time and manner deprives Appellant of his substantive and procedural due process rights, and or the ability to consent to, or to object to, or to reply to any amicus brief filed in the manner provided for by said Court rules of procedure.

There is no prior Appellee motion for special leave of the court filed in advance for permission to file an amicus brief after oral arguments, therefore, under Rule 16(7) no brief or memorandum of law is now admissible in this instant case pursuant to this Court’s own rules.

The Courts use of an order soliciting an Amicus Brief is rare, and in this case, it is extraordinary in its timing, contrary to past precedent of this Court, presents an appearance of state discrimination against a pro se, and violates the Appellant’s Due Process Rights.

The precedent on the use of Amicus Brief solicitation was limited, and it was last used in case # 2022-0114, S.D. v. N.B. on September 20, 2022, (response due Oct. 21. 2022) which was filed well in advance of the submission of that case for consideration before this Court on January 25, 2023 allowing the parties to object to, or consent to, any amicus brief. This precedent does not support this Court present use of an Amicus Brief Solicitation after the time allowed the rules of this Court in effect in this case. Only one side benefits from such a legal maneuver. It is not the Appellant.

At oral arguments the Defendants raised the issue of standing in their oral arguments and spent three and a half minutes arguing why they did not brief the issue of standing, un-convincingly. If the Defendants oral arguments on standing were convincing, and the Court wished to give the Defendant a second bite at the apple, the Court should have done so immediately following oral arguments, not 4 months later. This Court solicitation for an amicus curie brief from the public will now allow a 3rd party to brief standing when defendants failed to do so.

Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald stated in oral arguments that trial court deferred standing, and that the trial court assumed standing. The trial court established standing by rendering its 16-page opinion, otherwise if there was no standing the trial Judge should have dismissed the case for lack of standing, which he did not do. If an error at law, this error by trial court over standing is now being raised by this higher Court and not by the Defendants who chose not to brief standing on appeal.

Defendants state on pg. 1 of their motion to dismiss and pg. 2 item 6, 7, 59, 60, 61, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75, 76, 77, Oct. 3, 2022, that the appellant for lack of Standing, “and move to dismiss the complaint in this matter on the grounds of standing” … The Defendants having briefed the issue of standing in lower court, by making the legal decision to not brief standing for a reason. There is some thinking that failure to give a reason and failure to argue standing relates to a political question of whether or not the state actors will lose or not be covered by state immunity for their action’s ultra vires. Under Superior Court rules failure to answer or deny is an issue, is admitted as true. That is not the absence of legal thinking, but the affirmative decision to avoid or ignore or waive the standing issue.

Therefore, the Appellant respectfully moves for the court to sustain Plaintiff’s objection against reopening the case to additional briefs for standing by the parties and that no out-side parties amicus curie brief be permitted into the record, and for the Court render its opinion on this case as briefed.

CERTIFICATION

I, Daniel Richard, do hereby swear that on April 14, 2024, I did deliver through the state court web site a copy of this to Christopher T. Sununu, et al.

Dated April 14, 2024

VERIFACTION

I, Daniel Richard, certify that the foregoing facts to be true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Daniel Richard

/s/ Daniel Richard

The post Daniel Richard v. Christopher Sununu, et al: Pro SE Plaintiff’s “Objection” To Reopen the Case… appeared first on Granite Grok.

We’ve completed the first week back for Comment of the Week, and it is time for readers and commenters to choose a winner. I’ve selected one comment from each of the past seven days (Mon-Sun) and included them below for you to review before you vote.

The winner, as selected by the Grokosphere, will have the option of contacting me (steve@granitegrok.com) to provide an address to which I will ship a ‘Grok goody. We will announce the winner on Wednesday morning.

I have provided a link to the post where you can find the comment and one to the commenter’s Disqus profile. Feel free to click and review for context if you feel it necessary.

When voting, you will select the Disqus Handle of the commenter you’d like to win this week in the poll below. The poll closes Tuesday at 6 pm.

Comment6 pme as originally submitted.

This week’s “Contestants.”

The Post:  G.E.T. R.E.A.L! – E: Education Reform
The Commenter: Publius

The schools aren’t perfect and share a portion of blame for sure, spending all their spare money on additional useless admin that don’t discipline, don’t give classroom support, don’t do their job of iep compliance, just sit there and try and enforce DEI and useless PD rather than trying to attract the best and brightest teachers with attractive salaries.

But we can’t forget to blame what we know to be the largest driver of student success.

Parents

Parents aren’t reading to their kids anymore, they aren’t fostering a love of learning, a sense of discipline, and a sense of respect

The parents plop their kids down in front of a screen for hours at a time, the almighty tablet has become their one stop shop for entertainment on demand. They then get a smart phone with all the quick-dopamine hits that give them easy highs and terrible lows when comparing themselves to everyone else. This constant connection to everything enables round the clock bullying too, and not to mention how that affects their attention span in the classroom, where they are truly addicted to the screen.

It’s an old comic at this point demonstrating the generational gap where a kid gets bad grades and the older generation asks the child what they did wrong, where the modern generation asks the teacher what they did wrong.

The covid years showed us how many parents don’t even care about the school teaching their kids anything but so many just care about it being free daycare.

As a society we once greatly valued education, but that has slowly been chipped away to ensure a generation of obedient, mindless slaves.

 

The Post: Dartmouth Health Ignores the Evidence
The Commenter: Brian W

“Evidence-based medicine” is a good philosophy but has morphed into the phrase they use when they think they can dazzle us with BS. Notice how little the phrase was used to support all the COVID measures taken, and when discussing treatments especially the clot-shots.

But it is interesting to follow the NHS (UK) travails through the evidence. When they finally shook off the blinders of the ideologues, this is what they did:

In January 2020, a Policy Working Group (PWG) was established by NHS England to undertake a review of the published evidence on the use of puberty blockers and feminising/masculinising hormones in children and young people with gender dysphoria to inform a policy position on their future use. Given the increasingly evident polarisation among clinical professionals, Dr Cass was asked to chair the group as a senior clinician with no prior involvement or fixed views in this area.

The evidence reviews were published in March 2021. Unfortunately, the available evidence was not deemed strong enough to form the basis of a policy position.
https://cass.independent-re…

One observer noted about some testimony in front of a state legislature in the US: When we asked for evidence to support the position for “gender affirming care” for children, the practitioners pointed to WPATH, which is not evidence but a Standard of Care (SOC). Specifically, they point to a paragraph in the WPATH literature where they claim that the SOC is based on a “cross-disciplinary consensus of the leading researchers, doctors, psychologists, and advocates.” Where else have we heard that “consensus” was evidence? The argument became a circular reference never referencing actual evidence. (I should try to find that again – I’m sure I butchered it) WPATH isn’s a professional society – most of its members are activists, so it can’t really even be a “Standard of Care” in the medical sense.

WPATH had a leak of internal messages a couple of years ago. From an article in “The Guardian”:

In one video, doctors acknowledge that patients are sometimes too young to fully understand the consequences of puberty blockers and hormones for their fertility. “It’s always a good theory that you talk about fertility preservation with a 14-year-old, but I know I’m talking to a blank wall,” one Canadian endocrinologist says.

WPATH’s president, Dr Marci Bowers, comments on the impact of early blocking of puberty on sexual function in adulthood. “To date,” she writes, “I’m unaware of an individual claiming ability to orgasm when they were blocked at Tanner 2.” Tanner stage 2 is the beginning of puberty. It can be as young as nine in girls.
https://www.theguardian.com…

In all, this is an insidious attack on children and future generations. If they can sterilize 15-20% of today’s youth, that’s more unborn children than Planned Parenthood could even dream about. We must fight it.

 

The Post: Did State Reps Know What They Were Voting For?
The Commenter: Houmid

The New Hampshire House (and Senate to be frank) suffer from an epidemic of, “have to do something-ism”. It’s an unfortunate fact that most of those representatives were indoctrinated with leftism by our public education system, and hence, are largely unable to apply logic and reason to government, and the effects that legislation has on our social and financial environments (and not just secondary and tertiary effects, but far too often even primary ones.)

The truth is, the more bills passed, the more the state version of the federal register grows. The more it grows, the more it costs to implement and maintain. And the more liberty is chipped away, denying actual rights of self determination to the people of this state.

If our representatives in Concord really want to do something that is of great benefit to the people, I suggest all 400+ of them each pick a single piece of existing legislation or regulation, and either reduce it, or eliminate it completely.

 

The Post: So, When They “Cheat on You,” You’re Supposed to Say, Thank You
The Commenter: tenbuckulus

Sadly it isn’t true that “Democrats will always be worse” because it really depends on what your hot-button issues are. On the trans issue, we have progressive “Republicans” that think gender is a social construct and centrist “Democrats” that recognize we are a sexually dimorphic species.

 

The Post: Jason Osborne’s Self-Serving, Nonsensical Definition Of Tyranny
The Commenter: NewHampshire

Your government in Concord has created many unelected boards and commissions to promote this stuff. Some are basically taxpayer-funded lobbies!!! It’s corruption at the core.

Gov. Sununu’s State Office of Planning and Development

Gov. Sununu’s Housing Appeals Board (appointees)

Legislative Establishment of a Land Court

State Legislature’s Housing Commission (created by Speaker Sherman Packard)

House Special Committee on Housing (created by Speaker Sherman Packard in 2024 which hears bills that normally would go to House Municipal and County Government)

 

The Post: 62% of Americans are Wrong
The Commenter: Tombstone Gabby

I think it’s high time the government had a ‘little chat’ with various unions, plumbers, electricians, etc, about apprenticeships in their respective trades. Some new Trade Schools would also help. The concept that “You have to have a collage degree to succeed” is not true for every youngster.

When the elites have managed to exterminate the ‘least useful’ members of the world’s population, they might just have a real problem with a water leak at 10PM on a Sat10 pmy night.

 

The Post: Rights, or Permissions?
The Commenter: Mike Remski

I don’t disagree with you but my reading/rereading is “That’s not what Ian is asking”.
Don’t focus on the MJ, focus on the reasoning.

That is what I tried to do.

My reading is:
Ian is saying “this is the reasoning/logic they are using to veto X. What is stopping them from using that same reasoning to veto Y”.

That is all. Nothing to do with the merits of X or Y. Just “If you use this reason to disallow X that same reason can be used to disallow Y. Is that what you want?”

Please just one vote for each. The poll will remain open until 6 pm Tuesday 6 pming ET. Results will be announced on Wed. Morning. If you have multiple voters using the same IP address, you will have to wait 8 hours between votes. We can see multiple votes from the same IP.

 

Pick one Commenter as This Weeks Winner

• Publius
• Brian W
• Houmid
• tenbuckulus
• NewHampshire
• Tombstone Gabby
• Mike Remiski

Vote

 

The post Who Wins Free Stuff? – Time to Vote for Comment of the Week appeared first on Granite Grok.

Texas shares approximately half of the 1,954-mile U.S.-Mexican border, making it a primary entry point for illegal immigrants.

In 2011, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 125,821 illegal immigrants in Texas alone. This high volume of illegal immigration presents significant challenges to Texas and the entire U.S., including economic, social, and security concerns.

Economic Impact: The influx of undocumented immigrants can strain public resources and social services, leading to potential economic challenges. It is essential to find a balance between humanitarian concerns and fiscal responsibility. Economically, illegal immigrants impose a significant burden on the state’s resources. They account for about 14% of the students in Texas public schools when U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants are included, costing the state around $3.75 billion annually. Furthermore, illegal immigrants are more likely to live in poverty, with about 58% taking advantage of welfare programs, which cost the state an additional $803.3 million annually.

National Security Threat: Open borders can be exploited by criminal organizations, smugglers, and potential terrorists. Ensuring national security becomes a formidable task in such a scenario. From a security perspective, the long Texas-Mexico border requires significant resources to secure, including workforce, equipment, technology, and infrastructure. The overall budget for all agencies and operating costs in 2011 was $56.3 billion. Despite these efforts, illegal immigration continues to be a significant issue.

Rule of Law: The rule of law is fundamental to the stability and functioning of any society. Ignoring illegal immigration can undermine the integrity of legal immigration processes and overall societal trust. The open border policy rewards those who break the law by entering the country illegally, undermining the efforts of those who seek to immigrate legally. Moreover, it threatens national security, as it may allow criminals and potentially dangerous individuals to enter the country undetected.

Public Health: Health concerns, especially during pandemics, are exacerbated by unchecked immigration. It is vital to have measures to ensure the health and safety of the incoming immigrants and the resident population.

Social Cohesion: Large-scale, unregulated immigration can strain social cohesion, as it may lead to cultural clashes and increased polarization within society. Socially, the rapid growth of the Latino population in Texas, primarily due to illegal immigration, threatens to influence state politics and immigration policies. This demographic shift could lead to policies enabling unlawful immigration, exacerbating its associated issues.

Addressing illegals

Immigration and open border issues require a multifaceted approach. It involves ensuring border security, reforming immigration laws, and creating stricter laws for immigrants to enter the country. Maintaining border security is essential to prevent criminal activities and ensure national security. Investment in advanced technology and personnel can be part of the solution.

It should be different from what the Biden administration has done. For instance, it has expanded the Title 42 policy that allows for increased expulsion of migrants while also granting humanitarian parole to 30,000 people from each country monthly, as long as they apply for asylum legally. Under President Trump, the plan required adult asylum seekers to book a meeting with U.S. officials and remain in Mexico or claim asylum in another country first before reaching the U.S. Failure to comply would make migrants ineligible if they subsequently go the border.

The issue of illegal immigration and open borders in Texas and the United States has become challenging. Under President Trump, there was a simple solution: Close the borders!

The circumstances of their arrival are intriguing in that unlike other illegal aliens, most OTMs  (other than Mexicans) promptly turned themselves in. Why is it not known for sure? There can be no doubt, however, that the scheme has given Mexican drug cartels and — potentially — terrorists a promising opportunity to simply step over the invisible line that is our border undetected by border tax adjustments or BTAs because the agents processing the new arrivals could not handle their posts.

To most Americans, the perception has long been that most of those illegally crossing our southern border are Mexicans, people coming here in search of work, looking to join family or a gang. While that may have been the case in the past, it is no longer supported by the latest immigration numbers today. According to a study done by Pew Research, detention of illegal Mexican aliens is at an all-time low. The primary reasons cited for the reversal are current mixed economic conditions, fewer job opportunities in the U.S., increases in deportations, and better border enforcement.  However, the number of illegal aliens has not diminished. As more Mexicans have opted to stay home, children from Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras have quickly filled the vacuum. Numerous sources indicate that President Obama’s and President Biden’s executive actions have helped spur these children to make the dangerous journey through Mexico and ultimately up to our border.

The question should be asked is if their parents are poor, how can they come up with as much as $10,000 to have coyotes (people paid by cartels to smuggle drugs and humans across borders) or others bring their child up to the Rio Grande, the natural boundary flowing between Mexico from the U.S. No sources could be found to suggest that terror groups are funding the trips, but one must wonder who is.

That would be understandable if they were arriving in a group of five. But they are coming in droves and in the same timeframe. There is no question that the children are diverting Border Patrol agents from covering their guard posts so illegal border crossers, in particular members of the Mexican drug cartels, their “mules” (people hired to smuggle drugs into the U.S.), as well as gang members and Special Interest Aliens (SIA) can cross the border unapprehended. SIAs are of considerable concern to our intelligence and law enforcement agencies for obvious reasons. Stories are appearing with greater frequency on various news websites and blogs about how radical Islamists are being stopped as they try to enter the country.

In short:  Active cells could attack critical electric-grid substations, the failure of which could compromise or cripple our entire electric infrastructure. Other obvious threats are car bombs, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) placed on busy highways or train tracks, bridge collapses, and other devastating attacks. We must close our borders now.

The post Biden’s Open Border Policy Is Compromising Our National Security appeared first on Granite Grok.

In New Hampshire, it is illegal to treat gender dysphoria. By law, you cannot advise any patient to consider their birth sex, only whatever else the culture can imagine, and I think, someday soon, someone should sue the state. There is no evidence that transition is the best choice, and there is increasing proof it is not.

Therapists have no choice, so the only remedy would be to take the government to court as a means to use discovery to correct this miscarriage of science, therapy, and injustice. Sadly, it will likely take the parents of a child who, after being encouraged to transition because no other consideration is permitted, has committed suicide or suffered harm from hormone treatments or surgery.

The legislature lacks the will to fix it, while I see that GraniteGrok continues to report a cascade of revelations about the serisl fraud being committed in the name of gender science and social justice.

The most recent revelations come again out of England, where a study was commissioned into the research upon which gender “therapy” for children is based. The summation of this analysis says it all. The majority of it is of low quality, lacks developmental rigor and transparency, and the pillars of gender medicine are built on shaky foundations.

In the foreword to her report, [Dr. Hilary] Cass said while doctors tended to be cautious in implementing new findings, “quite the reverse happened in the field of gender care for children.”

It’s almost as if actual science was hijacked to advance some other agenda.

Cass commissioned the University of York to conduct a series of analyses as part of her review.

Two papers examined the quality and development of current guidelines and recommendations for managing gender dysphoria in children and young people. Most of the 23 clinical guidelines reviewed were not independent or evidence based, the researchers found.

A third paper on puberty blockers found that of 50 studies, only one was of high quality.

Similarly, of 53 studies included in a fourth paper on the use of hormone treatment, only one was of sufficiently high quality, with little or only inconsistent evidence on key outcomes.

Stories from or about genderbending from the UK, France, Netherlands, WPATH, and others point to the unraveling of a conspiracy based on what amounts to garbage. Whether those truth bombs keep falling or not depends on a lot of things, including what we do with the information seeping between the clutched fist of the transgender agenda. We’re not talking emergency use vaccine money, but the payday is substantial and without continued pushback from parents, school boards, towns, and legislatures, the children are not safe.

The gender warriors will not leave them alone while accusing anyone who contradicts their program as bigoted. That’s a lie. You have just as much right to speak your opinion as they do and based on this new analysis, most of what has been passing for gender science is little more than opinion with very littleevidence to back it up.

 

The post Night Cap: A Majority of Gender Research Lacks Rigour, Quality, or Evidence appeared first on Granite Grok.

If you missed the recent ‘Grok coverage on offshore wind, you can catch up here. Wind Power is not any of the things they say and mostly things they will not, and a plan to put turbines off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire is moving ahead despite the long list of negatives.

An informative session on the topic is coming up, and we wanted to let readers know so they could share that or plan to attend.

We have some great speakers who will provide research and information about offshore wind and its effects on marine life, fishing, the environment, and its questionable effectiveness and sustainability as a green, renewable energy source. This event has been put together in response to a pro-wind informational session previously planned to take place in Rye last month, which was canceled when the organization learned some people opposing the project would be in attendance.

Would love to see you there!

Fishing Off Our Coast 2: Offshore Wind Power & The Fishing Community
Mark Your Calendars! Date: April 23rd Time: 6:00 PM Location: Rye Congregational Church
580 Washington Road, Rye, NH 03870

Representatives from the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) will discuss their concerns regarding offshore wind power in the Gulf of Maine, such as potential impacts on fishing grounds and the environment.

This is an important opportunity to learn more about the future of our coast and fishing industry.

If you go (I am not available that day), feel free to provide some details or a report for us to share.

The post Offshore Wind and New Hampshire – An Opportunity to Listen and be Heard appeared first on Granite Grok.

The ground shook in Tehran as Ali Khamenei, the 84 year old supreme leader of Iran, shook in his boots as he listened to President Joe Biden give his terse warning to Iran about attacking Israel. Biden looked into the camera, mustered all of his intestinal fortitude, and barked a single word that he thought would instill fear in the rogue country, “Don’t.”

Without another sound, he turned and shuffled away from the podium. He had spoken. It was feckless, but why should we expect more from this man who has disappointed us daily during his presidency?

I can imagine Biden had a similar effect on Benjamin Netanyahu as he listened to the American President, and it just adds to the confusing message of support that Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been delivering since the October 7 attack last year. One day, Biden is pledging unwavering military support for our greatest ally in the Middle East, and the next day, he is condemning Israel’s strategy and tactics. Since World War II, American support for the sovereignty and safety of Israel has been unconditional except for two Presidencies, Obama and Biden.

Nobody, except for China and Russia, has done more to bolster and finance Iran’s effort to become a nuclear threat, continue to be the biggest supporter of worldwide terrorism, and pledge to destroy Israel and America. President Trump had put a stranglehold on Iran with restrictions, sanctions, and freezing Iranian funds in America. These efforts had put Iran in a poor financial situation, which curbed their hostile actions.

Joe Biden reversed all of Trump’s decisions and set Iran free to pursue their devious plans once again. Billions of dollars were immediately available. For four years, we had this threat under control, but just like our border and the streets of America, Biden unleashed fury on America with no apparent purpose other than negating any Trump act. That is not a foreign policy position, but we were warned that Biden has never been on the correct side of any foreign decision.

As I am writing this article, Iran has launched an unknown number of drones aimed at Israel, so much for Don’t. These drones are slow-moving, and we do not know if cruise missiles will be launched as a second wave, but this is a critical moment in the Middle East conflict. This drone launch is the first direct attack from Iran and expands the breadth of the conflict. Israel will react as needed, but all eyes will be on Biden and the ample American assets in the area. Will we actively support Israel and go after Iran, or will we be empty threats, which is the track record of Biden’s administration?

This attack is risky for Iran, which is not popular with its people. They are performing to get attention from outside forces like China and Russia. They are trying to show strength. Tonight will tell how effective and strong Iran is, but the consensus is they will fall short. Israel is small in area but huge in heart. They will respond to defend themselves, but the bottom line is Iran would not have done this if America had a stronger leader. Again, Biden is the wrong man at the wrong time for world stability.

The post “Don’t” Is Not A Foreign Policy appeared first on Granite Grok.