Tuesday • May 14 • 2024
Vol.XVI • No.XX
Manchester, N.H.
So my first post, “So McDonald’s Thinks It Can Force “Ordering Compliance”?“, told the tale of poor customer service at the Laconia McDonalds (“You WILL use our ordering kiosk – Oh, the sausage burrito isn’t on it…”) and then attempting to get in contact with a responsible adult (“So McDonald’s Thinks It Can Force “Ordering Compliance”? The Follow Up – Part 1“).
I am happy to report that I did get a response (unlike the Gilford School Board, of which most of you understand the simple explanation: “Easter Island stone-faced Moa statues”) yesterday:
—— Original Message ——
From: “Boston Rest. 01693 (US Stores)” <bos.1693@us.stores.mcd.com>
To: “skip@granitegrok.com” <skip@granitegrok.com>
Sent: 5/16/2022 4:12:37 PM
Subject: Recent visit to McDonald’s
Hello Skip,
Thank you for reaching out to me about your poor visit to my restaurant. I did attempt to call you this afternoon however your voicemail box is full and I was unable to leave a message.
If you would like to further discuss your poor visit please call me here at the restaurant (603)524-9394. I will be available between the hours of 9:30am and 5pm tomorrow.
Thank you,
Mykle Lepene
General Manager
McDonalds #1693
1231 Union Avenue
Laconia NH 03246
603-524-9394
So, having been invited to do so, this morning, I called. After a few moments, Mykle came on the line. Not a very long call but sufficient. He agreed that it was a problem that should NOT have happened – especially as another person was treated the same way while I was watching.
“A training issue”, he said. Given that I had included the receipts, he said he’d be talking with them. Then he corrected himself and said that he’d be talking to a lot more of the employees to ensure that the right message was presented correctly; this should not have happened. He also offered to sit down with myself, TMEW, and the Grandson to talk across a “make it up to you” meal. Being honest, I told him that I would think that offer over – after all, T-Bones management had offered the same thing but I never took them up on it. It was never my intention to get a freebie out of this – mostly to point out that the employees’ management had put them into that difficult position (are you listening, Gilford School Board?).
He’s “out of the office” tomorrow so I’ll think about the offer. But it was nice to see that Mykle wants to do the right thing.
Now – to the lady that experienced the same thing we did (and whose brother reads GraniteGrok). Tell your brother to email me at Skip@GraniteGrok.com and 1) tell me the item your sister bought for you, and 2) if you would like to accompany us IF I decide to take him up on his offer.
After all, I think you both are due an apology as well.
The post So McDonald’s Thinks It Can Force “Ordering Compliance”? The Follow Up – Part 2 appeared first on Granite Grok.
Nick Arama, RedState: Twitter Exec Steps in it Big Time With Remarks About Musk in Latest Project Veritas Video
Project Veritas dropped a video from a senior Twitter engineer on Monday that was damning — showing bias and censorship on the platform. The engineer, Siru Murugesan, said that the employees were “super left, left, left, left, left,” “Commie as f**k,” and admitted that they were censoring the right more than the left.
However, that wasn’t the only video that they dropped. They released another one capturing a Twitter executive, Alex Martinez — who they identify as a “lead client partner” — saying that they believe in something that’s “good for the planet” and not just to “give people free speech.”
Twitter executive calling Elon Musk mentally handicapped, "special" and saying he has "aspergers."
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 18, 2022
This Twitter exec goes on to say that Twitter is "not here to give people free speech" @elonmusk is going to want to see this one too…pic.twitter.com/dQZamaLiC8
Martinez’s remarks are a great window into the psychology of the leftists who have been in control of Twitter. He says that Elon Musk is going to have a hard time responding if he’s asked why he’s taking down the disinformation policies Twitter has in place. Martinez mocked Musk, mimicking what he thought he might reply: “Uh, because people should make their own decisions.” Then countered: “But people don’t know how to make a rational decision if you don’t put out the correct things that are supposed to be out in the public.” How pretentious is that? We can’t decide unless they tell us what to think?
Read the rest here.
The City of Nashua has just begun the Budget Review Committee meeting for the 2023 budget. The City will hold 6-7 budget meetings over the next month. Per the City’s NRO 5-14, any committee of the Board shall have public comment at the beginning and the end of the meeting. Alderman Dowd, a seasoned politician, chairs this board. This year, Alderman Richard Dowd decided to cancel public comment and change the name of the meeting to a “working session”. Nowhere is “working session” defined in the charter, NRO’s or policy.
It is the same meeting as year’s past where public input was allowed at the beginning and the end. He believed he had the right to just cancel the public.
On Sunday evening, I put the Alderman on notice, through an email, that this was in violation of the City NRO. I requested public input be restored. Monday’s budget covered the Mayor’s, Alderman, Legal and Clerk’s offices. I had plenty to say in my 3 minutes about those offices, particularly the Mayor and legal departments given the tactics and costs the taxpayer bore to deny the public access to public information. The $120,000 (salary & benefits) Right to Know Attorney should be removed from the budget. This was a big failure and it is clear that Attorney Bolton did not properly manage and provide the oversight necessary for this position.
At Monday evening’s Budget Review Committee meeting began, Alderman Dowd announced that public comment would be allowed. He was unaware he had broken the ordinance. This is unlikely as this is an ordinance he personally revised and presented that garnered Board approval in 2020. He then explained why he cancelled it. He wanted the new two recently elected Aldermen to be able to ask plenty of questions to the department leadership as this would be the only time they would be present for these meetings. Apparently, he did not want the public wasting valuable teaching moments for the newcomers to the Board.
Clearly, Alderman Dowd, similar to many Aldermen, has forgotten who elected him and who he serves. His constituents are the last thought in his mind. Few citizens come out to participate in the budget meetings; more are needed to get involved. I am a citizen who participates and because I am strongly disliked, Alderman Dowd thought it prudent to just cancel public input for the budget meeting. The public’s voice should be welcomed at a meeting involving the spending of our tax dollars. I have every right to express my dissatisfaction in the spending of my money in departments I believe are mismanaged.
Monday evening’s Budget Review Committee meeting lasted about two hours. Public input lasted 9 minutes. Alderman Dowd, was it worth the public dissension and your reputation to violate your ordinance and cancel public input?
The post Silencing the Public at the Nashua Budget Meetings – Right To Know appeared first on Granite Grok.
Independent Journal Review: Gen. Flynn Makes His Move: 'I Don't Give a Crap, I'm Going After These People'
Lt. Gen Michael Flynn is warning the FBI and the U.S. Deptartment of Justice that he is coming for them by filing a lawsuit seeking $50 million in damages for “malicious prosecution” related to the discredited Russia collusion crusade.
Flynn, who was briefly President Donald Trump’s national security advisor until the corrupt FBI began persecuting him, has filed a civil lawsuit seeing $5 million in property damages and an additional $45 million in personal injury for the years-long persecution for allegedly lying to the FBI — a charge he has steadfastly denied.
The general says he is coming for the FBI, including former chief Jim Comey, and all the way up to former President Obama, who directed the DOJ to persecute Flynn just before Donald Trump took office.
Flynn appeared on “The Absolute Truth with Emerald Robinson” on Tuesday to put his antagonists on notice that he is coming for them.
“I have gone back into the Department of Justice to let them know, to put them on notice, that I am going to sue these people — I don’t give a crap about the money … to let them know I’m not going to sit on my laurels, and do ‘woe is me,’ and wring my hands. That we are going to go after these people. And we actually filed, very quietly, an intention to sue the Department of Justice, all of these people, from Jim Comey up to President Obama.”
Read the rest here.
We elect our legislators every two years, and 2022 is a state election year. Primary elections for the NH State Senate and House of Representatives are in four short months, and the general election is in six months. A lot can happen in that time. Will you be part of ensuring a bright future for the next generation in New Hampshire?
We live in difficult times. The fight to protect our individual liberties, not only at the national level, but right here in New Hampshire, is a daily struggle. In Concord, there are 424 individuals – 400 representatives and 24 senators – who speak and vote for us, each bearing significant responsibility for the future of our state and its citizens.
Although we have narrow Republican majorities in both chambers, that is no guarantee that life, family, and liberty are protected. As voters, we need to be informed as never before, to truly understand our candidates and what they stand for.
And, in a state where we often know our representatives and those in our community, we have a unique opportunity to run and serve ourselves. In fact, the state is in real need of principled, strong individuals who are willing to speak truth and defend our individual rights and institutions which have never been under the type of sustained assault they are now.
Our biennial elections aren’t only for state representatives and senators, but for our governor, the key role of executive councilor and for county offices. We at Cornerstone have been privileged to support many first-time candidates. And they’ve made a real difference at the state house. But there is much work left to be done. To secure our freedoms for future generations, many more candidates of integrity are needed.
Now is the time. We can’t afford to wait out this election. This is the year we must stand strong and stand together. And Cornerstone is here to help with information and insight. Here are key dates and deadlines for the 2022 Elections in New Hampshire (to determine your voting district, go here):
Filing Period for all seats: June 1 (Wednesday) to June 10 (Friday), 2022
Qualified candidates for Executive Councilor, state senator, or county office must file with the Secretary of State. Qualified Candidates for representative to the General Court (NH House) or as a delegate to the Republican state convention must file in person with the Town or City Clerk’s office where they live. Filing typically includes:
Filing Period: June 1 – 10, 2022. All filings must be completed by Friday, June 10th, 5:00. (Note: Any filing on the last day of the filing period must be in person by the candidate.)
State Primary Election: Tuesday, September 13, 2022
General Election: Tuesday, November 8, 2022
You’ll find full details on filing on the Secretary of State’s website. You can contact the Secretary of State’s Office with any questions by calling them at 603-271-3242 or emailing them at elections@sos.nh.gov.
If you are considering filing for office, please get in touch. We understand New Hampshire’s legislative landscape and where the greatest needs are for candidates of integrity. We are also here to support principled candidates and to serve as a knowledgeable resource. Let’s stand together.
The post How About Running for Office – Yes, You! appeared first on Granite Grok.
The Democrats were apoplectic for four years every time President Trump spoke or tweeted an off-color description of an adversary. Sleepy Joe, Pocahontas, and Crooked Hillary were some that hit the mark and set the media world on fire. The Left claimed this language was below the status of President and was one of the reasons they urged you to vote for Joe Biden. Uncle Joe would bring civility and harmony back to a White House plagued by the evil Orange Man. The hair sniffing look at the hair on my legs in the pool man from Delaware would bring class and decorum back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Like a cheap used car salesman, they lied.
With the polls continuing to slide to below Carter-like numbers, the Democrats realize they have to take the focus away from the facts and issues of a failed administration. They have charged their research teams to develop effective monikers they can use against the Republicans. They are going to go low and start the labeling and name-calling. Mind you, this is not a new tactic for Democrats, and you need only travel back to 2016 and the Basket of Deplorables coined by then-candidate Hillary Clinton. It did not work then, and it will not work for Joe. It is a lame last-ditch effort to save the mid-terms.
On her way out the door, Jen Psaki claimed erroneously that Joe Biden coined the phrase Ultra MAGA all by himself. It has since been debunked and disclosed that this phrase, that Joe is having trouble saying, resulted from a six-month round table discussion led by Anita Dunn. She had to use one more lie for us to remember her. When Joe went one step further and called Donald Trump the MAGA King, Trump thanked Biden for the compliment. Joe is just putting shells in Donald’s gun, and he will not beat the former President in a war of words.
Biden is not the only one stooping to new lows. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was in rare form on the Sunday talk shows. She attacked the former President and the current Supreme Court in one short sentence. First, she referred to Donald Trump as a “creature” and described the Court he built as the most dangerous in our history. This rhetoric comes from a woman who has a freezer full of more chocolate ice cream treats than it would cost to fill up the average person’s car on Biden Gas. She also has amassed more money from insider trading than any of us could spend in a lifetime. She is the Loch Ness Monster of the Washington swamp.
This metamorphosis of the Democrat party into Progressive wanderers lacking direction is the unfortunate effect it has on our country. It is changing the culture and destroying the next generation with its continuous assault on our children through education. In 1956, Russia’s Communist leader Nikita Khrushchev said, “We will take America without firing a shot. We do not have to invade the U.S. We will destroy you from within.” His words are coming to fruition, and his weapon is the Democrat Party. To think this great nation can be brought to her knees by a bunch of octogenarians led by Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer.
This article was first published on The Liberty Loft thelibertyloft.com
The post Our Former President is a Creature appeared first on Granite Grok.
Just as the Dems are using various measures to make sure crime pays, they are also thinking of ways to make people “comfortable” being poor. They need to, because poverty is the lifeblood of the Democrat Party. Without high levels of poverty, the Democrat Party would wither away. This is why they implement policies that guarantee poverty will be sustained at a high level, and then offering “free” poverty-related benefits to ensure the votes will keep rolling in.
White House says 20 internet companies will provide effectively free internet to millions of Americans
[Video at the link – important bits below]
The Biden administration announced Monday that 20 leading internet service providers have agreed to offer basic low cost plans that will be free for millions of Americans after a refund.
The 20 companies, including AT&T (T), Comcast (CMCSA), and Verizon (VZ), cover more than 80% of the U.S. population. They will immediately provide at least one plan that costs no more than $30 a month and provides download speeds of at least 100 mbps.
The White House says that 40% of the U.S. population, about 48 million households, will be eligible to sign up through an existing program called the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The program is aimed at lower income Americans and offers participants a discount of up to $30/month on their internet bill, meaning they’ll effectively get free service if they can get online with one of these participating companies.
Democrats know that it’s hard for Republicans to compete against their version of Santa Claus, so they persist in killing the proverbial “golden goose.” Democrat politicians pretend to be “helping the poor” but it’s a crass, self-serving lie. In reality, they are helping themselves to stay in power, which is, after all, their primary goal.
We want to thank Merlin for this Op-Ed. If you have an Op-Ed or LTE
you would like us to consider, please submit it to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
For their next vote-buying ‘act,’ they are trying to have over $1 trillion in student loan debt “forgiven.”: Administration signals student loan forgiveness decision may come soon
Today, it was admitted that $100 billion (or more) was stolen by criminals from COVID relief funds due to lack of program oversight.
Considering ALL the multitude of government giveaway (vote-buying) programs, this must amount to hundreds of billions which go directly to crooks. Crime pays (these days) and the middle class picks up the tab, so get your Vaseline ready, you know what’s about to happen. The bottom line is that Democrat politicians don’t care how much human misery those “beneficial” programs create — after all, that IS the point. Adding expensive new welfare perks will only serve to hasten the day when our debt-ridden bankrupt nation goes into a state of complete and precipitous financial collapse.
At the rate we are spending money and given the sky-high rate of inflation being fueled by “free money” which may be fairly soon. To make matters worse, and needing every vote he can buy,
Biden is now talking about a new $2 trillion giveaway program just as we begin to head into the Fall election.
This is vote-buying on a massive scale. If you agree that vote-buying is a bad deal for both the poor and the middle class, and will destroy the economy, do not vote for a Democrat ever again.
You won’t regret it.
The post Another Democrat Vote Buying Program Emerges Before the Elections appeared first on Granite Grok.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Keith Carlsen
603-997-1446
info@michael4nh.com
www.Michael4NH.com
Michael Yakubovich Releases List Of Early Endorsements In Race For State Senate District 16
Six Term State Representative John Burt of Goffstown Will Serve As
Campaign’s Fiscal Agent
HOOKSETT, NH (May 13, 2022) – In advance of his official campaign kickoff on May 19, Michael Yakubovich’s campaign for State Senate today released a list of early endorsements in the race for District 16. The list contains current and former State Representatives for Goffstown, Candia and Raymond.
Topping the list of endorsements is six term State Representative John Burt, of Goffstown, who will serve as the Yakubovich campaign’s fiscal agent.
“I’ve served in the Legislature with Michael Yakubovich, and I know that he is completely committed to the ideals of lower spending and lower taxes – ideals that make New Hampshire the best state to live, work and raise a family. As the next State Senator, Michael will deliver results for the voters of Goffstown and State Senate District 16.”
The following legislators currently serve in the State House:
The following legislators have previously served in the State House:
“I’m proud to have the endorsements of John Burt and other current and former State Representatives from towns across Senate District 16,” said Yakubovich. “And I’m already working hard to earn the most important endorsement of all: the support of the voters of Senate District 16 in the September 13th primary election.”
Yakubovich will officially announce his campaign at a kickoff event on Thursday, May 19, 2022 at the New England Tap House Grille (1292 Hooksett Rd) in Hooksett.
The post Michael Yakubovich Releases List Of Early Endorsements In Race For State Senate District 16 appeared first on Granite Grok.
The banquet hall at the Capitol Plaza & Conference center was nearly full for the 6 pm speaking session featuring counter-woke firebrand Dr. James Lindsay and recent First Amendment champion Nick Merriweather. Drinks and somewhat lively conversation filled the air as concerned parties shared stories and ideas in anticipation of the evening’s presenters.
One Burlington resident spoke of her concerns for seeing her lovely city on the verge of being uninhabitable by someone with her political views. A mother of two, she shared stories of losing friends while gaining others as she spoke up about her political concerns. Though a libertarian and not a Trump supporter she found even that was enough to have friends cancel her from their inner circle. Carrying a degree in microbiology and molecular genetics she bemoaned the lack of science behind the mask mandates. Though an expert she has taken heat for speaking out against the futility of masks for stopping transmission of a highly contagious airborne virus. In her case the narrative proved stronger than the actual science.
Some familiar faces and some new ones gathered to the tables as the event hosts introduced new Republican Party senate hopefuls and other leaders of conservative Vermont politics. The esprit-de-corps was lively for an older dinner party crowd, and the evening began with solemn moments including a pledge of allegiance and prayer offered by John Klar.
James Lindsay is quickly becoming one of the most sought after speakers among conservative groups in the U.S. thanks largely to his expertise in understanding “woke” culture. His popular Youtube channel “The New Discourses” has nearly one hundred thousand subscribers, which some will tell you represents what they’ll allow not what he would actually have were Youtube not a woke corporation. Recent discoveries of Twitters number fudging give one pause. Lindsay is no doubt one of the scariest voices to the left, given he is a confessed liberal Democrat and college educator, not to mention an atheist who published the book “Why Everyone Is Wrong About God”. If He too is wrong about God I can’t help but to be amused by the fact they the Almighty may be trolling him by making him a defender of both Christianity and Christians post publishing. Such are the times.
Lindsay takes no time getting to the serious nature of the culture war. Referencing Antonio Gramsci’s “long march to the institutions” strategy he warns the woke goose-stepping is getting louder and more forceful by the day. His recent book Race Marxism exposes the roots of Critical Race Theory, as well as the other grievance theories such as queer theory and gender theory, as fundamentally Marxist. All of them have the dialectical model of oppressor v. oppressed first proffered by Marx, only his was among the classes. Lindsay points out the failure of the class dialectic led to Marxists like Gramsci and Herbert Marcuse to switch identities to the “ghetto” population and other societal outcasts, like homosexuals, feminists and the like. The more radical the more revolutionary is their reasoning.
He reminds the audience Marxism, despite its atheism, is a theology with all of the trappings of a religion. It has prophets (Gramsci, Paulo Freire), a savior (socialist man), a promised land (Utopia), scripture, liturgy, sacraments, and so on. This explains the obvious religious fervor, extremism and evangelism of the youth that is at the root of our current societal dysfunction. Lindsay’s warning is more dire than the last time he spoke for the Dartmouth Republicans. Though Americans are fundamentally in favor of freedom and a shared American dream, the crypto-communists have co-opted those values and used them strategically to take over institutions (banking, universities, tech) as well as Lindsay’s chief concern – pedagogy. The revolution they want can’t survive a battle among boomer and Gen X, but it can outlast them by indoctrinating our children, which they are doing and with haste.
Of course the funding is an issue too and here he explains such groups as Black Rock and the aptly named Vanguard are acquiring vast sums of wealth in the trillions of dollars while shaping a Marxist future with such things as their Chinese Communist Party inspired ESG scores and woke corporate grooming agenda via Diversity, Equity and Inclusion consultants who are paid absurd amounts of money to effectively intimidate while codifying neo-Marxism among the workers.
The picture is bleak to those without the stomach of men such as Dr. Lindsay, however he won’t let anyone off the hook. The battle is at our door and you get one shot to win this, we are in the ninth inning and up to bat. This is not the time to go to the bathroom, get more popcorn and watch or get to your car to leave early. No – this is the time to fight back with everything you have including what little courage you can muster. It’s all hands on deck and playing for keeps.
There is a natural transition from that to Professor Merriweather who did in fact stand up and fight his own battle at Shawnee State. Accused essentially of harassment for not bowing to a student’s preferred pronouns. Merriweather expected his administration to know their constitution and support him but instead were intimidated by an unhinged college-aged person who lacked the stability of their own identity.
Professor Merriweather, a Bible believing Christian, stood firm on both Biblical truth and his faith as he sought the legal counsel of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a group with a 13-0 record at the Supreme Court, who padded their stats as they argued Merriweather’s first amendment right to not be compelled to speak were greater than the student’s right to not be offended.
The judge agreed, and Merriweather spent the bulk of his time reading the judge’s decision. Attacked by staff and faculty along the way, Merriweather maintained his reasoned position which the judge elucidated with the following logic. The student’s “I am offended” plea is subjective and therefore opens the door to militarizing speech in the hands of the professional victim class. Setting this precedent would open the door to compelled speech whereby complainants could require pacifists to support war, believers to reject God, and so on. Speech standards in line with the principles of the first amendment must be objectively sound. This extends beyond personal preference to the freedom enumerated up to and including speech that offends.
Both men are examples of the need to stand against this devilish enemy swirling in our streets, schools and even sanctuaries. Brothers in arms, Trevor Loudon, podcaster John Harris and Pastor Judd Saul recently released a documentary “Enemies Within the Church” that corroborate Dr. Lindsay’s work. We recommend you listen to as many of Lindsay’s podcasts and watch that film to get a clearer picture of just who has brought this fight to America, from without as well as within.
The post Montpelier: Counter-Woke Firebrand Dr. James Lindsay and Recent First Amendment Champion Nick Merriweather appeared first on Granite Grok.
Sarah N. Lynch, Reuters: Prosecutors say lawyer used clout to plant damaging information on Trump with FBI
WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Tuesday sought to portray an attorney who formerly worked for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign as a privileged, high-powered person who abused his connections with the FBI in a bid to harm former President Donald Trump's campaign just weeks before the election.
In opening arguments in a federal court in Washington, prosecutor Brittain Shaw told a jury that attorney Michael Sussmann misled the FBI about who he represented when he met with the bureau's top lawyer on Sept. 19, 2016, to provide a tip alleging internet communications between Trump's business and a Russian bank.
The allegations were investigated and later discredited.
"The evidence will show that this is a case about privilege - the privilege of a well-connected D.C. lawyer with access to the highest levels of the FBI," Shaw said, adding that Sussmann abused his connections to "use the FBI as a political tool."
The case against Sussmann is being led by Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed by then-Attorney General William Barr in 2019 to probe any missteps in the FBI's investigation into whether Trump's campaign was colluding with Russia.
Read the rest here.
Note: No, not me this time but from “Vindaloo Bugaboo”, also a frequent commenter at Treehugger who would fit in well here at GraniteGrok. I liked what he wrote at one of TH those posts and asked if he’d “translate” it for GraniteGrok. And no, I had no input in that commenting series as he was doing so splendidly well!
As a child, one of my favorite bedtime stories my mum would read me was the 1974 Scholastic Books classic, “Little Red Hen” by Paul Galdone.
In it, the little red hen is an industrious busybody who lives on a farm with a dog, cat, and mouse, all of whom are rather lackadaisical in their approach to life. The little red hen asks who will help her sow the wheat, tend the crop, harvest the grain, have it milled into flour, and mixed into a batter, but the three of them refuse to help. Only once the cake is baked and its tempting smell wafts through the farmhouse do the dog, cat, and mouse collectively have their interest piqued in “helping”. So it’s no surprise that when the little red hen asks who will help her eat the cake, all three eagerly answer in the affirmative—but she denies them, pointing out they did no work and thus should not benefit from hers. Instead, only she will enjoy eating the cake, which she does.
We want to thank Vindaloo Bugaboo for this Op-Ed. If you have an Op-Ed or LTE
you would like us to consider, please submit it to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
At the time, I didn’t realize the story was an aphorism for the predatory failures of socialism, where the largesse of work ethic and self-sufficiency are denied the worker and instead, the spoils of his labor are shared with those who did not earn the right to its access. Instead, I simply saw it as a fun story with farm animals and an additional message of Hard Work is how you achieve what you want in life—which resonated with my parents and became an essential recurring theme of their childrearing.
Recently, there was a discussion over on TreeHugger.com about how Los Angeles County has approved a ban on single use plastics within all unincorporated areas for restaurants, stores, food trucks, and hospital cafeterias. The ban ostensibly will assist in fighting the ever-growing threat of oceanic plastic pollution. What wasn’t discussed was why L.A. County officials didn’t apply the single-use plastic ban to all residents within county limits, even though they’re responsible for issues related to surface water use and pollution control (both of which are imperative aspects to limiting oceanic plastic pollution.)
I raised the argument that the decision was a coward’s endeavor for not extending the ban to all 8 million residents within county limits. If they were truly sincere about having an impact, then the biggest bang for the buck would have been to implement a policy that specifically targets a reduction in plastic waste made by the biggest polluters—and that would fall primarily on the restaurants, food trucks, stores, and other businesses within incorporated areas of Los Angeles and its 7 million residents, not the 1 million residents outside those areas. Instead, they chose to prioritize enforcement among the latter, presumably because they have no recourse for redress except to the state legislature, and in deep blue California, that’s a non-starter.
One of the other commenters whom I’m typically friendly with, Bob Baal, argued vehemently that:
“[oceanic plastic pollution] is our problem – it’s your problem – it’s my problem – it’s everybody’s problem – all 8 billion of us.”
Well, yes, collectively it is all our problem, but there’s a difference between unintentional pollution and wanton disregard for consequences that requires further nuance when debating the topic. So while it’s true the U.S. is the largest producer of plastic waste in the world, very little of what we produce ends up in our waterways that connect to the ocean, according to the EPA’s 2020 federal strategy on addressing marine litter.
Thus, those who are contributing most heavily towards oceanic plastic pollution should be the primary concern for policy makers who are intent on ameliorating the problem. And that, no surprise, would require systemic change beyond what the U.S. can or should do:
“Systemic change, in contrast to relying on product-specific regulations, would require middle- and low-income countries to expand their waste collection rates to 90% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas and to support the informal collection sector. Achieving that goal would require adding 4 billion people to the world’s waste and recycling collection ranks, or 500,000 people per day, every day from now to 2040.”
Notice how the Pew Trusts’ report focuses on middle- and low-income countries for implementing systemic change despite the U.S. being the largest producer of plastic waste. In other words, one can conclude we deal with our own plastic waste quite effectively, thanks to our highly regulated waste and pollution abatement systems. I emphasized the difference between responsible behavior and wanton disregard for consequences by using an analogy about spending habits:
“If I’m responsible with my spending habits, if I save and invest, if I keep up my credit score by not defaulting on loans and paying my credit cards on time every month, if I go to college and further my education, if I go into a profession with good compensation, and don’t squander money on vices such as drugs or alcohol or gambling, why should I be held accountable for what the high school drop-out with a drug use problem and inability to hold down a job does? Why should my life be made more difficult when those who cannot—or simply refuse to—comply with societal norms of responsibility get a free pass of unaccountability?”
Bob’s response was this:
“A better model [for comparison] is the old family finance model. You have a pot in the middle of the dinner table. When a family member gets paid, he tosses the money into the pot. When a family member needs money, he reaches into the pot. It’s the family responsibility to make sure there is enough money in the pot for essential bills.
So, you and the high school dropout draw from the same pot – and his actions determine how much you can draw out.”
In theory, this is true—except when it isn’t, which is always, because as we all know every family suffers from dysfunction, sometimes severe dysfunction, whether readily observable or not. And Americans, as we like to pretend we’re one big family, have serious internal dysfunction that puts to shame even a “People of Walmart” collage. This extends to the idea of mutually contributing to a common by all individuals, i.e. the “old family finance model” of a pot in the middle of the dinner table, as I pointed out to Bob:
“Imagine some family members consistently put money into the kitty, but there was one giant suck who didn’t contribute at all—or did so, but infrequently, or at a miniscule level—yet consistently kept taking out far more than [he or she] contributed. Would all the other family members simply look the other way, or would they speak out? Would they encourage that individual to put more money in, or maybe suggest getting a better job, or working more hours, or merely not taking out as much as they had? If other family members knew there was something they were saving for, but could never achieve that goal because the money being taken by the giant suck kept undermining the family's goals, would there be any resentment or perhaps some kind of action, e.g. the giant suck not being able to use the money pot any longer?”
Sadly, these arguments went unacknowledged because to do so would have meant Bob had to address the pressing issue at hand: what to do about those who disavow their obligation to both collective effort and personal responsibility. But in his quiescence, one can clearly see his ideological rationale: that Little Red Hen alone is the primary individual from whom compliance can be successfully extracted, because the scores of dogs, cats, and mice far outnumber her and are impatiently waiting for that cake to finish baking.
The post DISQUS Doodlings: Socialism Disavows Individual Responsibility – The Old “Makers vs Takers” Connundrum appeared first on Granite Grok.
Even with the revising of the State House Districts in Belknap County based on the latest federal census, there are still 18 State Representative seats for the county, although the grouping of towns has changed. Principled, freedom-loving conservative Republicans, who will actually vote Republican if they are elected, are needed for the following state representative districts for which we do not yet have “suitable” candidates:
As far as the State Senate goes, all towns in Belknap County are in District 2 except Gilmanton which is in District 6. Tilton is in District 7 and Barnstead is in District 17- so we need 4 Senate candidates.
All Belknap towns and cities are in Executive Council District 1 except for Barnstead which (for some unknown reason) is in District 4- so we need 2 Executive Council candidates.
The 603 ALLIANCE conducts excellent training for prospective candidates. If you have already decided you’d like to run for office in 2022, or even if you’re just thinking about it, please mark your calendar and plan on attending one of the 603 Alliance training events. You only need to attend ONE Of the following trainings. Pre-approval and advance registration are required. If you’re interested in attending, contact the 603 Alliance via email at info@603alliance.org
Here’s the schedule:
In addition, the 603 Alliance will be holding its biennial Issues Briefing for all Republican candidates. Mark your calendar for Thursday, July 14th from 6 to 9 PM in Concord. Watch the 603 Alliance website and newsletter for details.
If you have any questions about running for office- what it takes to win and what it takes to serve, or anything else you can think of, and how the BCRC can help your race, contact one or more of the members of the Executive Committee of the Belknap County Republican Committee (the “BCRC”), as follows:
Chair- Norm Silber
Email: njs@silbersnh.com
Phone: (603) 293-0565
Vice Chair- (Rev) Paul Terry
Email: revpaul51@verizon.net
Phone: (401) 648-1607
Secretary- Priscilla Bean
Email: froggytouttaint@aol.com
Phone: (603) 455-6115
Treasurer- Dr. David Strang
Email: davidstrangmd@yahoo.com
Phone: (603) 520-0435
Member at large- Marc Abear
Email: sea1mra@gmail.com
Phone: (603) 707-6538
Please note that although the by-laws of the Republican Party of New Hampshire prohibit taking positions in primaries, there is no such restriction on the BCRC.
The post Belknap County (NH) Candidates Wanted!! appeared first on Granite Grok.
As promised in the last Monday Memes, I have an overflow. My meme cup runneth over.
Now, let the mayhem, mockery, and ridicule resume:
*** Warning, a few possibly off-color ones, in case tender eyes are about ***
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This post’s winner.
I do not agree with being a racist, though the last few years are forcing me to be more… cautious in general, but I find this to be spot-on accurate. I am a multi-generational American on my father’s side, as “pasty white” as you can get visually. Both my mother and wife are immigrants. My wife is a non-white (nominally) Sunni Muslim woman. And yet… and yet… if I disagree in the slightest with anything the Left wants, I’m a raaaaacist or whatever else. I have, as a couple of examples, autographed-and-framed pictures of Larry Elder, Alan West, and Walter E. Williams on my wall at home – among others, of course, and anyone who has followed me for any length of time knows of my admiration for Thomas Sowell.
I’m tired of extending my hand only to have it slapped. I’m tired of having my character judged by the color of my skin – an action that, were I to do it the other way, would rightly be called racist.
Regrettable. But understandable.
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I have several essays I’m working on, but none are “ripe” yet. Also, got lots going on at the house. Don’t worry, I haven’t given up writing. And – hopefully – a piece coming out soon at Urban Scoop that I submitted about a week ago but it hasn’t popped yet that I’ve seen.
The post Meme Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.
Epoch Times: EXCLUSIVE: Key NIH Research Executive Received 70 Secret Royalty Payments; Colleague Got 7
Two key National Institutes for Health (NIH) executives in positions of influence on decisions about who gets grants from the agency received a total of 77 previously undisclosed royalty payments from outside firms between 2010 and 2014.
The secret royalty payments, which were first reported by The Epoch Times, are among thousands estimated to total at least $350 million paid between 2010 and 2020. Long-time NIH Director Francis Collins received 14 payments, Anthony Fauci, who heads NIH’s National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), received 23, and Clifford Lane, Fauci’s chief deputy, got eight payments.
Acting NIH Director Lawrence Tabak conceded during questioning last week by Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) that the undisclosed royalties have the “appearance of a conflict of interest,” but he insisted that the agency has sufficient internal safeguards to prevent such problems. Federal law and ethics regulations bar federal employees from activities that present either the appearance or an actual conflict of interest.
Read the rest here.
Mark Wauck, Meaning in History: Briefly Noted: Twitter's Choice
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t understand the specifics of what’s going on with the Musk/Twitter deal, in the sense of understanding the technicalities of possible shareholder lawsuits. I think most of us get the general picture: A massive fraud has been perpetrated. Zerohedge sketches out the unhappy alternatives that Twitter is faced with:
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 16, 2022
A number of additional thoughts occur to me.
It seems pretty obvious that Musk must have had a pretty good idea of what was going on—nobody spends that kind of money on acquiring a business without having done a deep dive into the whole business model and the sustainability thereof. He certainly had the money to do due diligence even without selling off the Tesla stock.
It also seems pretty obvious that Twitter management understood all this, which leads to the question: Who, really, is behind Twitter? Because how could this go on so long so publicly? Were the initial nonsensical attempts to thwart Musk’s purchase simply a desperate effort by Twitter management to avoid exposure?
Read the rest here.
Depending upon in which circles you run, or chant among burning candles, the term conspiracy theory has no doubt been tossed around. Among most, it has become a pejorative term to dismiss those who voice their distrust in official narratives or reported stories of major world-changing events.
Among others, it’s a badge of honor indicating a healthy level of distrust for a world full of, often powerful and elite, criminal conspirators. At least that’s what Elvis told me at last’s weeks Tin-Foil Hat Brigade meeting.
It is important to note for a conspiracy theory to emerge there must always be an official story it is built to challenge.
Some of the more popular conspiracy theories include:
The beautiful thing about both the official story and the conspiracy theories is their believability, or as one of my assets refers to it “plausible deniability.” What is plausible deniability? It’s the ability of the actual perpetrators (re: intelligence community) to claim denial of any wrongdoing on plausible grounds.
For you non-theorists, that’s a battlemented way of saying “lying.”
So, assuming JFK was shot by a coordinated effort among the CIA, anti-Castro Cubans, and the Mafia (as is assumed in Oliver Stone’s movie), all with shared means and motives, having Lee Harvey Oswald, a known Communist, at the scene and a narrative that claims he was the lone assassin, despite the reports of multiple shots from around the grassy knoll area, create a plausibly deniable scenario allowing the actual conspirators to escape.
The goal of most crimes is to escape unless you’re a mass shooter, which is obviously a suicide mission meant to call attention to your plight. Lee Harvey was a man ahead of his time.
With that in mind, we at the GraniteGrok Conspiratory are offering the world’s first Conspiracy Theory IQ Test! Are you shrewd, silly, or a simple sheep? Let’s find out.
The Moon Landing was…
The Reichstag was burnt down by…
Examples of a false flag (list all – 1 pt. for each correct answer)
Jesus Christ was killed by…
The type of rifle Lee Harvey Oswald used to not kill Kennedy with
The SARS-COV2 virus originated in…
The 2020 election was…
The Piltdown Hoax was…
The Paperclip Conspiracy was…
The Tuskegee Syphilis experiment was…
Put down your number two and let’s total your score!
Answer key:
1. A, B, C, D & E (max 4 pts.)
2. B (1 pt.)
3. A, C, D & E (4 pts.)
4. A, B, C, D & E (4 pts.)
5. A (1 pt.)
6. A, B, C, D & E (5 pts.)
7. C, D & F (3 pts.)
8. D (1 pt.)
9. C (1 pt.)
10. C (1pt.)
Add’em up and find your score!
25-20 points – You are from a superior race, most likely aliens
19-14 points – You quit watching mainstream media years ago
13-8 points – Your public school education has not been wasted
8-4 points – You’re still upset about your CNN+ subscription being canceled
3 or less – You don’t read good
Congratulations and keep that head on a swivel, because the next conspiracy against mankind starts in three…two…
The post Social IQ Test: Conspiracy Theory Edition – If You Don’t Believe This You’ll Believe Anything appeared first on Granite Grok.
Clint Siegner, Money Metals Exchange: The Politics of Sound Money: What’s at Stake
An occasional critic will ask that we “stick to our lane” and limit commentary to metals and the markets. They would prefer we avoided politics. When it comes to gold and silver, that is easier said than done.
There is no separating the metals markets from the world affairs motivating people to buy physical bullion.
Good luck to a market commentator who sets out to explain the price action over the last few weeks without acknowledging the larger, unnatural forces at work. Rampant cheating, regulatory capture, and algorithmic trading have all but divorced market prices from fundamentals such as supply and demand.
Gold and silver have a very long history as honest money. And money is one of the central battlefields in the ideological war between globalist elites and those seeking limited government and personal liberty.
The globalists are preparing to roll out Central Bank Digital Currencies. If they can convince people to adopt this next evolution of fiat money, they will attain a level of information and control that prior generations of central bankers only dreamt of.
The alternative to a crooked and failing monetary system is a currency which is unprintable and beyond the control of socialists and sociopaths. Gold and silver are central to an honest money system.
Last Tuesday, West Virginia Republicans delivered an overwhelming victory to pro-sound money candidate Alex Mooney in his primary battle to retain his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sound money advocate
Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) trounced a
left-leaning Republican last week.Representative Mooney is one of the leading voices in Congress for auditing the Federal Reserve and restraining its powers. And he has put forth legislation that would repeal discriminatory capital gains taxes on gold and silver bullion as well as comprehensively audit America’s gold for the first time in 70 years.
Our company’s leadership, like the vast majority of our clientele, has chosen a side. We are committed to sound money principles that include limited government and personal liberty.
Money Metals is located in Idaho. In “red” states, such as Idaho, the primary election is where the real choices are made.
Tomorrow a small minority of Idahoans will vote in the state primary along with voters in four other states. And many other state primaries lie just ahead.
The stakes are particularly high this year. Most Americans can feel it, but they won’t bother to vote in their primary.
We hope goldbugs will be an exception. If we don’t seize this opportunity to elect leadership with values matching our own, there may not be another.
Clint Siegner is a Director at Money Metals Exchange, a precious metals dealer recently named "Best in the USA" by an independent global ratings group. A graduate of Linfield College in Oregon, Siegner puts his experience in business management along with his passion for personal liberty, limited government, and honest money into the development of Money Metals' brand and reach. This includes writing extensively on the bullion markets and their intersection with policy and world affairs.
Get-Paid-To (GPT) are websites that pay users in small amounts for the tasks they are given to complete. Users can earn good money from such sites, and the work they are required to do is simple.
This phenomenon automatically makes the GPT sites a popular choice for traders or other market users. There would be less people who would not prefer GPT to get an extra income or rewards.
To analyse the website and why it is so popular among the masses, we have a brief discussion on the topic. So, let’s understand the importance of GPT websites.
Defining GPT SitesGPT sites are the websites that work online to help traders or users earn money in small amounts. Users can go to such sites and complete the tasks available to earn points and gradually get against the points earned.
The points carry some value for the sites, although every website has its earning point value. In addition, there are payment methods like PayPal, e-wallets, Neteller, etc.
Users can go for one task or complete multiple tasks to make money within a short time span. The money earned is used for getting gift cards such as Amazon vouchers, Starbucks gift cards, and many others.
How Users can Earn Points at GPT Sites?GPT sites have a range of offers for the users to earn, and they can go for a single or many at a time tasks to get earning points. Below mentioned are the ways to earn points at GPT sites:
Users can have advantages of GPT sites as they are online and a great medium to make money. Here, we have a brief overview of the website and how users can make the best of it, considering its pros:
GPT site users can have small profits with their online task completion, but to know how much is this amount, here we are. As the amount for the tasks we generally do is based on the work, the same goes with these GPT sites.
Users are paid on the basis of the work they are doing and the time used. Therefore, the length and complexity of the task are of great importance to analyse the price earned for it.
Tasks that are small and easy to do will have low value. For example, reading emails or sign-ups may cost a few cents, but the tasks that are difficult and long may offer dollars.
There are even point systems used with many GPT sites, and each has a different value. Traders can check the point value and get the funds used.
To have a brief understanding, users can have a look at the data available:
In similar ways, other tasks can have their value, and these can vary for different websites.
Some Popular GPT SitesGPT sites are known to many users of the market and internet users but to consider the reliable and genuine websites; we have selected the best and most used GPT sites.
Hee’s the list of the famous GPT sites:
Certainly yes, GPT sites are legitimate and have a rich scheme to entertain users and attract them with the rewards of money or cryptos. Users of such websites work to get paid for their efforts which could be in any form.
The earning is not a 10 to 6 job but an open network of small tasks that are interesting for the user and help them have some profit in their free time. A pleasant way to earn money online without risking anything.
ConclusionGPT sites are legitimate, easy to use, do not require degrees, have unique tasks, and engage many online users. These are popular because of the money they offer with small tasks that are engaging for the people.
In their free time, users can go to GPT sites to make a small amount of money, which can be a few dollars for a month. The article has discussed GPT sites, their advantages, how users can earn from them and how much they can earn.
All these points, along with the site being a legitimate place, make it highly popular among the crowd and support them.
The post Why are GPT Sites so Popular? appeared first on Granite Grok.
I think some Republicans would like baby formula to be the ‘George Floyd’ of the empty shelf crisis. “I can’t eat. I can’t eat.” A systemic supply-chain failure that also hits women and minorities hardest. Something that stirs up the outrage. Shelves are empty but is there a “shortage?”
One reader attempted to provide some helpful information on Facebook about that. She discovered that if you use Amazon and change the country from US to Canada, they’ve got baby formula. Lots of it. Just order it and have it shipped to your door.
It never occurred to me to try that, so I did.
There is plenty of formula on the US Search, but many are increasingly unavailable or out of stock. It is clearly a problem.
And I can’t speak about the prices. I’m sure they’ve gone up as supply has been pinched, which creates a shortage by pricing people who may need it most out but the Biden economy has been doing that to everything, and now this.
On Amazon’s Canadian site, they have no shortages that I could find, so – an excellent tip for moms looking for formula? I guess if you can’t get any in the US.
So, why did Facebook yank that message?
Was it an honest mistake? Did Zuckerberg’s bots get it wrong? Does it matter because what’s up with the war against moms? Better yet, what do they have against women’s rights?
Women, with a few exceptions, can feed their babies. They don’t need the government, Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg, or even Canada to do it. But it interferes (or so the messaging goes) with their career potential. It infringes on their right to equal pay or hours potential and what have you. And isn’t that why they say we have abortions?
It’s actually to exterminate millions of minority babies, but they like to claim it protects women’s freedom from the natural constraints of motherhood.
I know. Democrats suck at math, but we need a few babies to grow up and become good little serfs to pay for the Progressive experiment. We gonna need some babies. That “Trophy Wife” ain’t cheap.
AND yes, before you say it, Bill Gates stopped stroking his Persian long enough to invent synthetic baby formula or something. I heard the story. So, maybe that is a thing too but excuse me? Baby Formula is already a suitable replacement for mother’s milk.
Why didn’t Bill buy up the Baby Formula “farmland” and corner the market? Why all the supply chain voodoo? And to what political end.
Remember, everything is political.
And the shortage, whether contrived by Democrats or another deliberate “failure” of their poor leadership, limits women more than anyone. Is this just another flank in that war?
And what about the chest-feeder class of Progressive? Men need baby formula or a womban to feed a baby (*womban being a woman who has a right to an abortion because she has a womb).
The shortages potentially harm them too but self-harm? Looking for Canadian baby formula is ‘self-harm’?
We’ve also got the more obvious problem. Canada has tons of baby formula. How about Mexico and everywhere else? Is this like oil? The Biden administration is undermining our supplies so he can beg our enemies to increase imports of … baby formula?
Is there a strategic national reserve about which we don’t know?
Is it in Canada?
The post There’s No “Baby Formula” Shortage in Canada – Why Does Facebook NOT Want You to Know That? appeared first on Granite Grok.