Monday • December 4 • 2023
Vol.XV • No.XLIX
Manchester, N.H.
On International Women’s Day, I received an online advertisement for free breast and cervical cancer screening. The ad showed a man wearing a dress, long braids, and long nails, and said I may be eligible for the free screening if I am a “person with breasts or a cervix.”
I clicked on the ad and it took me to the website for NH Healthy Lives, which describes itself as a “collaboration between state agencies and state and local partners working together to help New Hampshire residents prevent chronic disease.”
This requirement for participating in the New Hampshire Breast and Cervical Cancer Program got my attention:
Related: CNN Erases Women
You have breasts or a cervix. This includes:
- Transgender women who have taken or are taking hormones
- Transgender men who have not had a bilateral mastectomy and/or have a cervix
For those who qualify, it lists transgender women, who are men who identify as women, and transgender men, who are women who identify as men but doesn’t list women, who are 99% of the people who need these cancer screenings.
The state of New Hampshire is using our tax dollars to promote free breast and cervical screening to men and helping to erase the existence of women in the process.
The post On International Women’s Day NH Promotes Breast and Cervical Screenings for Men appeared first on Granite Grok.
The world is in an amazing space with regard to technology. It is the most omnipotent force of our times. It has graduated from permeating our lives through just the TV, radio, car, etc., to now being with us 24/7 thanks to the amazing utility of the internet and the smartphone. In their turn, different types of business growth have been generated such as referral programs, which allow brands to grow in a more simple way.
A seemingly endless number of jobs have popped up due to the forever-maturing relationship between people and technology. Right from social media trackers, to the greatest cryptocurrency of our time-Litecoin. There are entire companies in the world today, which thrive, solely based on their ability to churn out great Instagram story ideas! Make sure to stay ahead of the curve and take advantage of new social media trends.In any case, a strong social media strategy can increase your revenue through acquiring new customers and attracting new ones.
Here’s a look at some of the new tech that’s going to change the world –
1) Flying taxis – Thanks to the unimaginable congestion faced by people on the roads, we are now looking at aeronautical solutions. The first of these solutions is going to be operational by November 2021. An incentive would be to test out your small business software platform. It is called the Urban AirPort which was greenlit by the UK government. This urban airport is going to be used for electric vehicles to land and take off in the future. These flying vehicles will be charged by a hydrogen generator. This company aims to replace all the old vehicles with this modern aircraft that does no damage to the environment. Designs are being developed by many companies.
2) Bionic Eyes – Humans have always been dedicated to the idea of not only preserving youth but also being able to replace our body parts whenever required. We don’t yet have the technology to replicate an entire arm or leg in a convincing manner. However, we do possess the means to create bionic eyes. In January of this year (2021), surgeons in Israel were the first people in the world to have implanted an artificial corneo into a 78-year old blind man. The patient gained sight in both eyes immediately after the bandage was removed. Positive signs included him being able to recognize his family members as well as read! The implant naturally ingratiates itself to our human body. It is built to such perfection, that the body doesn’t even reject it. This is a major breakthrough that will have repercussions on a host of other related research and medical work.
3) Infection detectors – After the implantation of a fake cornea, there doesn’t seem to be much that medical science can surprise us with. However, trust medical sciences to come up with even more zany and futuristic implementations of technology. Consider getting real-time support when making critical decisions.
A seventeen-year-old student from the USA has developed a new type of suture which changes colour from red to dark purple at the onset of an infection to the wound. It does this by detecting a change in the pH level of a particular person’s skin. The student found that the pH of the skin rises from 5 to 9 when a wound becomes infected. The student further found that beetroot juice naturally changes color when the pH goes to 9, and so used that as a dye while making the sutures.
The post A Glimpse into the Future appeared first on Granite Grok.
We learned that it was a good day for 2nd amendment rights, parental rights, health freedom rights, and school choice. The Republican-led House passed some really good bills today.
We learned that long-winded debate speeches do not do anything to change anyone’s mind prior to voting. The new ventilation system must be working overtime to circulate all that hot air. To that end, with the huge stack of House bills before us, it would be appreciated if House members, particularly our liberal friends across the aisle, would just cut to the chase and offer brief remarks before we press that red or green button.
We learned that NH Constitutional amendments are not the place to stick cannabis legalization laws, therefore CACR 20, CACR34, and CACR 35 all got canned via ITL or Table motions. After the smoke clears on all that, we do know that cannabis legalization will return in a later House session when HB1598 emerges from Ways and Means Committee.
We learned that the ridiculous land posting bill, HB1108, died with a vote of 239-102. This bill would have allowed people to post their land by painting trees and stones with purple paint instead of placing notices on them that contains names and contact information. Just because other states, like Maine (who now regrets the decision), do this doesn’t mean NH has to follow in foolish lockstep. Apparently, Rep. Casey Conley (D-Dover) would rather have Granite Staters deface trees with purple paint than with “nails and plastic signs.”
We learned that innovation in our financial systems with regard to cryptocurrency came one step closer to reality as House Republicans passed legislation promoting blockchain technology. We passed HB1503-FN (187-150) exempting the developer, seller, or facilitator of the exchange of an open blockchain token from certain securities laws and adopting the Uniform Commercial Code relative to controllable electronic records. NH will be a leader in this revolutionary technology by being the first in the nation to move forward with this trillion-dollar industry, creating jobs and investments. Now, if we only had purchased Bitcoin way back when….
We learned that House Republicans protected our 2nd amendment rights by passing HB1178 (190-147), which prohibits the State from enforcing federal statutes, regulations, and Presidential Executive Orders designed to trample your right to bear arms. Who listens to Joe Biden anyway?
We learned that after hundreds of years of being able to open carry a firearm at polling places, your right to do so would not be removed by HB1096, as that bill was defeated 190-153. In his floor speech, Rep. David Meuse (D- Portsmouth) tried to conjure up all sorts of hideous fiction regarding voter intimidation and open carry… but 190 House Reps knew better.
We also learned that the bill requiring background checks (HB1668) was killed 179-144. This bill would have made gifts or loaning firearms to friends, family, and neighbors into crimes. We see this bill every year. It is as perennial as the grass. It is good we mowed it down – again.
We learned that HB1476’s (bail reform) prime sponsor, Rep. Ross Berry (R-Manchester), can deliver an amazing floor speech as he talked about keeping our streets safe from repeat offenders. Passage of this bill means repeat offenders will be brought before a judge instead of a bail commissioner and cuts the maximum time someone can be held without seeing a judge from 72 to 36 hours. Catch and release is not working, and this bill fixes that and gets people off the street and sent towards the help they need sooner. This bill passed 199-134. Word has it that people in cities like Manchester are cheering.
We learned that House Republicans care about protecting children’s health choices today. We passed HB1131 (166-157), prohibiting school boards from making policies that require masks. Wearing masks should be by individual and parental choice. Now many can breathe easier as this moves to the Senate. We also passed HB1241 (166-148) which prohibits schools from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations to attend school.
We learned that various efforts to kill the Education Freedom Account program failed as a number of bills (HB1114, HB1115, HB1120, HB1152) meant to change the rules and weaken the program failed. It’s been a successful program and many kids and their families are reaping the benefits from school choice. Class dismissed.
We learned that the “woke” bill HB1261, which would have prohibited the use of Native American mascots in public schools, colleges, and Universities was defeated 170-143. Republicans understand that employing the qualities and symbols of our Native Americans is not inherently disrespectful or derogatory, in fact, they honor the many fine attributes of our Native Americans. Also, the decision to use names like warriors, braves, etc. is entirely up to the local school districts and institutions. One has to wonder why the Democrats are on the warpath to erase words that imply strength, bravery, and fortitude.
Finally, we learned that we have 154 more bills to cover by Thursday. Any bets on whether we’ll finish up or not? Stay tuned to see whether we’ll have to pull another all-nighter as we did 2 years ago!
The post So Kids, What Did We Learn From Tuesday’s House Session (03/15/22)? appeared first on Granite Grok.
In January of 2022, Stephen Marche published a book about the inevitable breakup of the union. In writing ‘The Next Civil War’ he clearly conducted extensive research into right wing and left wing ideologies, and the history, legality, and practicality of secession. Personally, I think that the book was fantastic and accurately described the current powder-keg situation within the united states.
The post The Next Civil War appeared first on The Liberty Block.
In January of 2022, Stephen Marche published a book about the inevitable breakup of the union. In writing ‘The Next Civil War’ he clearly conducted extensive research into right wing and left wing ideologies, and the history, legality, and practicality of secession. Personally, I think that the book was fantastic and accurately described the current powder-keg situation within the united states.
The post The Next Civil War appeared first on The Liberty Block.
Attention Petitioners! Although your town did not put the machine removal question on your ballot, this is your opportunity to challenge the accuracy of the machines, regardless!
We knew this might happen and have been preparing everything for your voice to be heard – Ready to learn what you can do about it?
Did you know it only takes FIVE REGISTERED VOTERS to request a recount in your town on any questions you just recently voted on (ref NH RSA 660:13*, below)?
For $10 per 1,000 ballots cast (and no more than $50 per election) you can get your answer!
We want to thank the Marigold Coffee Club for this Op-Ed.
Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
*Local ballot measure elections:
NH RSA 660:13 Application. – Five legal voters of any city or town which has voted on any question, other than constitutional amendments, printed on the ballot at any state election as provided in RSA 663 may, no later than the second Friday after the election, petition the secretary of state for a recount of the votes cast upon said questions. Such application shall be accompanied by a fee of $10 for each 1,000 ballots or fraction thereof cast at the election in said town; however, in no event, shall the fee exceed $50. The secretary of state shall fix a time for recount and shall notify the petitioners and the selectmen, clerk and moderator of the town or the mayor and clerk of the city of the time and place so fixed. He shall request the clerk having custody of the ballots to forward them forthwith to the secretary of state, and the clerk shall immediately forward them.
Source. 1979, 436:1. 1994, 4:25, eff. May 27, 1994.
The post To Request Your Town Perform a Recount, Please Fill Out and Sign the Form Here by Wednesday 03/16/2022 appeared first on Granite Grok.
School District Hides Traumatizing Segregation Experiment from Parents
Schools do many things that grind my rhetorical gears, but the deliberate deception may be the worst. It happens in New Hampshire in violation of the law, probably because the time is worth the crime, not that anyone can be bothered to punish violators.
And so we see the problem. Where we have parental rights and notification laws, they need to be enforced, or there’s no point in having them. And understanding these rules is either not required reading for teachers and administrators or, like many aspects of the progressive universe, it is a rule that only applies when it benefits the liberal agenda.
I can’t say if they’ve got parental notification laws for the San Antonio Independent School District to follow, but communication is typically very good according to these parents.
“They send us notes and newsletters about everything else. Your child is going to see The Polar Express and it’s pajama day on Friday before winter break, and we get no notice that they’re going to do a social experiment on segregation,” Brandi Lininger said.
They got a social experiment on segregation and an inappropriate movie by Spike Lee, and not a word to parents.
Mike and Brandi Lininger spoke to News 4 in San Antonio about the segregation experiment.
“All of the dark-haired kids, the brown- and black-haired kids, were treated as the privileged ones and the blonde-haired and the redhead kids were the ones treated not so nicely,” said Brandi Lininger.
The Liningers say teachers told students children in the fair-haired group were not as intelligent. That group was purposely given a game with pieces missing so the
It sounds like textbook bullying to me and violates the rules in most progressive schools. Again, on paper. Rules that they wrote and demanded but broke daily since the introduction of racist anti-discrimination lessons, of which this is one.
Not that schools were ever good at enforcing the anti-bullying rules unless it suited them. Long-time readers will remember I had some personal experience with that. Let’s say they were not prepared for me to remind them what the definition was in statute.
School bullying rules were the beta test for hate speech enforcement. As in, speech the progressives didn’t want around. A cultural revolution in public school, of which this lesson was a part.
As if we need that.
There are actually plenty of horrible things in history that teach us about discrimination and slavery. There are plenty of current-day examples as well, most of them in third-world counties where slavery has been practiced non-stop in some form for thousands of years—places where everyone has dark hair.
And they appreciate woke white liberals traumatizing 11-year olds, but if we want to educate kids, they should teach them about all the Marxist-communist governments that discriminated against tens of millions of people who looked just like them.
Murdered them. Imprisoned them. Put many in labor camps. Reduced everyone to property of the state.
No life under Mao “experiments” for the kiddies?
Slavery was awful and it should be discussed but let’s also talk about how we fought to end it and did and how and why and (oh, yeah!) that modern-day Democrats are trapping people of color on a new Plantation.
How about that slavery still exists in many other countries right now.
There is the human trafficking of light-eyed and light-haired girls to places where most of the people have dark hair. Or the sex and human trafficking happening not far from San Antonio across our open, unguarded border.
Or that the multi-generational debt being accumulated by Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress is another form of slavery. As deliberate as teachers hiding lessons from parents. And it will affect everyone, especially people of color trapped in crime-riddled Democrat-run cities.
And I would expect you to notify parents about these lessons in advance so they could opt their child out if they thought it was inappropriate. You might also want to tell them this. Anti-bullying “lessons” can lead to more bullying. I think the Left knows this. It’s why they like to teach people about slavery.
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Canada’s Chief Archivist has embarked on a mission to remove everything offensive from Canada’s historical archives. And yes, she gets to decide.
Internal emails show Canada’s head archivist ordered the removal of thousands of national archives she deemed “offensive.”
According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Access to Information records show that Leslie Weir, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief archivist at Library and Archives Canada, ordered staff to scrub more than 7,000 pages of historical records from their online database, citing that the content “may offend people.” …
Included in the so-called offensive content that has since been deleted were essays “celebrating” Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, articles from French explorers who left out the “Indigenous perspective” of events, and Northwest Mounted Police content that lacked “diversity” or lacked “language to explain the diversity” of the time.
One of the problems the archivists are experiencing is exactly what you’d expect.
[T]he only instruction by Weir was the broad request to remove anything that could be deemed “offensive” content. “Do we have a definition [of what constitutes offensive content]?” one manager asked. “This is not the way to do this,” a colleague retorted.
“This is not the way to do this?” What way is If you don’t mind my asking?
The problem is not knowing what to censor. It’s that some random bureaucrat can define for the people of an entire nation (and the world) which bits of their history we are entitled to review.
Based on what they find offensive?
No one doubts that it was written by the victors of conflicts or contests or that it is slanted by the culture or notions of time and space and all of that.
How are we not replicating that offense by doing the very thing these modern censors insist upon in the name of the latest point of view. And what right do they have (in the name of Diversity) to constrain information until the only thing left is what conforms to their worldview?
The act itself is as arrogant and misplaced as the thing they claim to be correcting.
Acts no less offensive than those these liberals would swear they oppose: when a religious sect or faith bans or prohibits material based on some social-cultural perception of the moment.
Let history remember Leslie Weir, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief archivist at Library and Archives Canada, for what she is and is doing.
Oh, and how about a few more people acting offended at what she’s doing to history.
The post Canada is Cleansing the Historical Record – ‘cuz Bits of It Might Offend People appeared first on Granite Grok.
(white) goldstandard-03-17-22-S.pdf
(gold) goldstandard-03-17-22-S-y.pdf
The post Senate Gold Standard – March 17, 2022 appeared first on NH Liberty Alliance.
With the collapse of the TCI scam, blue states desperate to virtue signal on this issue are scrambling to find ways to look #woke to the green meanies in the climate cult community. Rhode Island has picked a champion.
Under the initiative set to be rolled out this summer, residents who buy new Nissan Leafs, Chevrolet Bolts and the like at Rhode Island dealerships will be eligible for a rebate of $2,500. Those who purchase used cars will get a rebate of $1,500. And for people who meet low-income guidelines, an additional payment of $2,000 will be available.
For some buyers, the state money could save about a fifth of the cost of an electric car. A $7,500 federal tax credit would lower the price even more. While electric vehicles are more expensive upfront, studies have determined them to be cheaper in the long run, through savings on fuel and maintenance.
So, the plan is to make taxpayers pay up to 9,000.00 dollars each so someone can virtue signal, and EVs are not even green (unless you mean the money).
This is a colossal waste of resources for a product whose gross emissions cost from raw materials to end of life is not less than a regular automobile.
If you were eligible for all 9K and chose a Nissan Leave (SRP 39, 900.00), you’d still be on the hook for 30K.
The Chevy Bolt is no cheaper though I did see prices as low as 32K for 2022, but you still need the charging station (Chevy gives you a charging cord). Those are not cheap, and you’ll need 8 hours for a full charge.
Level 3 charging costs all that much more to buy and install (and add that carbon footprint before asking how your electricity is generated).
And these are the prices of the low-end tiny little sh!t boxes in the EV universe. Impractical for almost everything but getting back and forth to work so you can pay your outrageous electric bill (assuming work is not too far away).
This gets me to my point. The majority of EVs purchased to date in America are bought by people who can afford them. In other words, most buyers are top-income earners.
They could afford to buy the EV without the kickbacks.
PEV buyers tend to follow the general trend of new car buyers. The dominant age group for PEV buyers across the board is 25-54 years old. .. The most dominant annual household income bracket amongst PEV buyers is “greater than $100,000.”
In California, EVs are bought primarily by people earning $150,000.00 a year or more. That’s the top 8% of wage earners in the US.
Taxpayer bailouts and handouts for EVs have been around for years, and will the numbers have improved, 60% of all-electric vehicles end up in the driveways of the top 15% of wage earners.
Rhode Islands’ transportation initiative idea is to give handouts to people who don’t need them. And why not? The 2016 version of this spent over half a million to help 250 people by an electric car.
So it’s a used plan, not a new one, which reminds me. With few exceptions, never buy a used electric car. If the battery has aged even a few years (or aged poorly), you could be on the hook for a replacement. That could cost you 10-20,000.00 dollars, depending on the vehicle.
You used to be able to buy a used combustion engine car that was two years old for less than the battery replacement. Not that you’ll be able to drive it in RI all that long from now unless they stop electing Democrats.
There won’t be anything but electric cars, and even the top 15% will be complaining about how much it costs to charge them, not that we’ll have the capacity in the New England grid or anywhere else for all of that.
Great plan.
The post RI Transportation Initiative – Let’s Use Your Money to Help More Rich People Buy EVs appeared first on Granite Grok.
Democrats hate women. They promise them that promiscuity will lead to happiness when what they mean is misery and dependency for many. They exterminate millions of them in the womb and leave their mothers to suffer a form of PTSD.
And a few years ago the progressive patriarchy embraced a new level of hate. They announced that men could be women – by just saying they are – and then proceeded to put them higher up on the identity politics totem pole than biological women.
Anyone who objects, especially actual women, are insensitive bigots.
That’s the Democrat party position. And the media, run by Democrats, is happy to carry that bilge water.
USA Today recently released its Women of the year award and a list of honorees. You know things are bad when their top choice is Kamala Harris. The woman is only Vice President because Biden felt certain would be worse at the job of Vice President than he was.
And a stopped clock is right twice a day.
She’s a complete disaster which also serves as a form of job security. In some lucid moment, Joe must have realized he’d be perp-walked out on the 25th amendment if he didn’t make that move untenable. I have a gut feeling his wife Jill convinced him. I think she likes the gig and didn’t want to be the first lady dowager, or whatever you might call the spouse of a deposed ruler in a Constitutional Republic
Oh wait, I remember, Jill.
But at least Kamala, based on details intimated by Willie Brown was born a woman.
USA Today, which should be renamed BlueSA Today, suffering from distention of its editorial large bowel, felt compelled by the movement to kick an actual woman off a list of women in the name of diversity and inclusion.
Yes, we must include a man on the list of “great” Liberal women. And that’s probably true within their cult. Failure to abide by the men are women rules would rub the mangy fur on the progressive patriarchy the wrong way.
In the interest of avoiding the false outrage of endless Left-Turn virtue-signaling they took a space reserved for a woman and gave it to Admiral Levine.
Congratulations to the trailblazing @HHS_ASH Admiral Rachel Levine on being named one of @USATODAY’s Women of the Year. Your leadership during this pandemic has been vital. https://t.co/yiaFxyTGss
— Susan Rice (@AmbRice46) March 14, 2022
How ironic is it that “Rachel” Levine is being honored as a successful woman for successfully taking a job away from an actual woman?
He’s not the first and he won’t be the last.
Democrats are committed to filling roles once held by women with men claiming to be women. And women are supposed to sit the hell down and shut up about it.
Like I said, Democrats, hate women.
HT | RedState
The post The Left’s Other War: USA Today Gives Spot On Its “Women of the Year” List to a Man appeared first on Granite Grok.
Buying your first home can be a hair-raising experience if you do not enter into the process correctly. That begins with getting yourself educated and informed of the many ways that the government will aid you. You can call them schemes if you will, but they are simply programs designed to help people like you. Let us dig into each of the ways and then you can make an educated decision from there.
The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS)The FHLDS loan is a government backed loan aimed to help low- and middle-income families get into a home of their own. With this scheme you can save a substantial amount of money on the Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) by eliminating the cost altogether. Normally you would need 20% of the cost of the house for a down payment, but when you go through this scheme you will only need 5% down. There are obviously some stipulations that you must meet, so you may want to discuss the particulars with the lender that you have chosen to go through, as long as they offer this type of loan.
The Homebuilder GrantThe Homebuilder grant will give you a tax-free grant to use in your quest of building a house or renovating one. There are specific times of the year in which they take applications for the grant, so make sure you fill out the information during those times. When building a house, you may want to consider walking through a couple of display homes for sale because they will be slightly cheaper, and they can come fully furnished if you want to pay a little bit more.
First Home Supersaver SchemeSaving for a house deposit is one of the hardest steps when trying to get into your own home. The First Home Supersaver Scheme helps you with that by taking a voluntary set amount out of your paychecks to put away. You can also add more money to it so you can save up faster, but since it is an automatic payment taken out for the fund you will not have to worry about setting money aside, because let us face it, money in hand is hard to save. But money in a fund can be left alone until the time comes to make a deposit on a new house.
The Family Home Guarantee SchemeThis is another government scheme that has been set into place to help single adults with dependents get into their own house faster. It only requires a small deposit to be able to get a loan without having to pay the high Lenders. It is usually around 2% for a down payment that can qualify you for this scheme.
Stamp Duty Discounts and ExclusionsThe stamp duty is a specific amount of money that you will charged to acquire a new home. Each state will have its own costs, but there are a few ways that you can have this amount reduced or excluded if you qualify. The first way is if you are a first-time home buyer. The second is if you buy property before it has been built. Both will allow you to save some money on upfront costs.
State PlansEach state will have their own plans. The ones listed above are mostly federal schemes, which means that it will be available in every location. The state specific ones can only be acquired in that particular state so you will need to check with the government in your location to see what they have to offer.
Final ThoughtsYou need to keep in mind that getting a house is a long-term investment, so you need to take advantage of any discounts or grants that are available to you. If you are moving to a place that has a display home for sale check into it. If you do not want that particular location, the builder may have something similar in a different area. Before doing any looking around, though, check into all the government schemes above that can help you get into your new home, and apply for all of them for which you may qualify.
The post 6 Government Schemes That Can Make Buying Your First Home Easier appeared first on Granite Grok.
Before my marriage, the last time I went to an art exhibit, was when I went to see an exhibit of Gauguin in Sodom by the Potomac Washington DC, but that was only because I was accompanying my parents on their annual snowbird migration to Florida.
They wanted to see it, so – because “culture” and “education” – they dragged me along.
Before then? I suspect it was in elementary school, back in the dinosaur era when I had to evade the local T-rex on the way to school each day. (Or so my older financial drain & headache creator child tells everyone; “My dad is so old…”.)
My wife has always been an artsy-fartsy type and perhaps a year or so after the first kid’s birth we went to Boston’s Museum of Fine Art where, quite coincidentally, they had a huge exhibit of abstract glass art by Chihuly.
While I’m not normally a modern/abstract art fan, I must admit it was fascinating – to the point where we made a second trip just to see that exhibit again at my insistence.
I was captivated on two levels.
(Image source)
First, as art, it was visually appealing to me. Each physical piece compelled me to look at it from different perspectives, probably to the disconcertment of those behind me as I took my sweet time looking. (I suppose some of the pieces that look like tentacles pulled at my fandom of H.P. Lovecraft.)
Second, as someone with a whiff of familiarity with glass-making techniques, I had to admire the sheer skill it took to do each individual piece, let alone make pieces’ shapes and colors consistent. I can only imagine the learning curve it must have taken to get to that point of mastery.
SKILL, PLANNING, KNOWLEDGE, ETC.
Consider the Italian marble carving The Veiled Virgin. Image from the link.
Wow. Just… wow. Hashem only knows how much thought and planning went into this. How many hours of work it took, let alone practice trials and the inevitable discarded test pieces as the artist worked towards creating this masterpiece. The same for many of the 3D Greek and Roman friezes, Egyptian paintings and carvings, and so on.
So too are many of the renaissance artworks. Or ceramics from across the world, e.g., Persian, Chinese, Japanese, etc. Never mind the skill and practice necessary to create the varied art forms by myriad techniques.
Just think about the trial and error and experimentation to develop each step of the ceramics, or paintings, or sculptures – the mastery of the medium, the selection of which oils for carrying the pigments… let alone the development of the pigments themselves by people who cannot possibly have had actual knowledge of the chemical structures that created such vivid hues. Even earlier “primitive” artwork carried with it awe on my part.
And I found it interesting to me how old the lost wax process is, and from a logistics perspective it’s found in Europe, Asia, and even the Americas. Could there have been communications? Or were these different locations all independently originating this? Either possibility is intriguing.
BUT THEN… MODERN ART ARRIVES
Now let’s be clear – art, in any form, appeals to individuals, and as individuals, we have different tastes. That’s fair. I liked Chihuly, she did too but not to the same level; she likes paintings more while I prefer sculptures and ceramics & metals work. But my wife, modern art aficionado that she is, once gushed about an artist who had his own feces canned; some of his other artworks are equally… con man worthy, IMHO.
Lines on paper sealed in envelopes, balloons filled with his breath. She enthusiastically showed me other works by other artists… vile, amateurish. I’d rather own a painting by an elephant!
(Image source)
Other examples by multiple artists abound. The latest, to my knowledge, was the invisible statue that sold for over $18K. I’ve seen piles of junk for sale for huge prices. Supposedly there was a piece of modern art thrown away by the cleaning staff. Looking at it I find it hard to fault them for doing so.
As I understand it some of these “artworks” do appreciate and sell for significant gains in value. How I can’t fathom. But there we are. I suspect that owning something shocking & controversial has a lot to do with it.
THE PURPOSE OF ART
As I implied above, to me art is something that both appeals to the eye as well as makes one thing – whether on an artistic plane or, in my case, an admiration of the pure skill / extraordinary technology focus. To me art uplifts. It elevates. A really good piece of art, no matter the medium, appeals to the soul seeing a piece of captured beauty on earth. It makes you wonder; it makes you think. If you’ll tolerate a religious-based argument: beauty in art (and music) are small shards of the Divine captured for all to admire and be inspired.
But then we have the *cough cough* “art” with menstrual blood as the medium. And leave us not overlook the infamous Piss Christ, or the Virgin Mary depicted with pornographic images and elephant dung (links removed):
On a yellow-orange background, the large painting (8 feet high and 6 feet wide) depicts a black woman wearing a blue robe, a traditional attribute of the Virgin Mary. The work employs mixed media, including oil paint, glitter, and polyester resin, and also elephant dung, map pins and collaged pornographic images. The central Black Madonna is surrounded by many collaged images that resemble butterflies at first sight, but on closer inspection are photographs of female genitalia…
All praised, of course, as “edgy” and other laudatory terms, the main appeal is not artistic merit – at least, not by the metrics of how I define it. The cultural ion thrusters I mentioned here, a term I coined on my old blog, apply. Shock value seems to be the primary focus, with subsequent works by other artists determined to push that edge further; X shocks, to create a similar shock one must go to X-prime, X having already been done. Lather, rinse, repeat. Remember the furor over the clearly-deliberate upskirt-view to an actresses panties some years ago? Then it seemed like every actress was doing it. After that shock value went away, it moved to outfits with a built-in set of underwear to give the appearance of no underwear. And then, actual flashes of exposed “lady bits”. The edge moves in clothing for shock value, and thus notoriety and fame. Consider these edgy outfits from the Hollyweird Red Carpet set. Et tu, #metoo?
So too does the edge move in art in the quest for the next edgy.
Again, in my mind art should be about uplifting the spirit. Of seeing beauty. The same for music. I recall one time, visiting my parents during Christmas vacation from college, and they had some piece of choral / Christmas music on the TV in some show or another – I broke down, seeing this magnificent rendering of some classical music piece which was pure and melodious… and then comparing it to the crude and bitter world about which I was reading in the news.
RUINED AND TERRIBLE
Over the years since my re-introduction to art this phrase from the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring has come to mind each time I see such horrible drek passed off as art.
Do you know how the Orcs first came into being? They were Elves once. Taken by the Dark Powers. Tortured, and mutilated. A ruined and terrible form of life.
— Saruman
Yes, modern art is beauty that has been taken by the dark powers – tortured and mutilated to its utter ruination. Shocking rather than uplifting; negative rather than positive. Consider the controversy over the new Amazon-sponsored Tolkien production. From various sources, it looks to be something virtually unrecognizable as anything JRR Tolkien created. There are rumors – unconfirmed as I can find – of contracts with actors regarding explicit sex scenes. Supporting, however, here (links and italics in original, bolding added):
According to TheOneRing.net, the casting agency for the series put out an open call for actors who “must be comfortable with nudity.” In addition, Amazon Studios has hired an “intimacy coordinator,” and the writer and producer from “Game of Thrones,” Bryan Cogman, has officially been hired as a consulting producer.
…
The left is already cheering on the beginnings of the presumed assassination of Tolkien’s legacy. The leftist “NY Magazine” ran a story this week headlined, “Give Us the Horny Lord of the Rings Show We Deserve.” “Are we sure that an overwhelmingly erotic Middle Earth experience is such a bad thing,” read the article. “Make the elves get a little freaky. Allow the hobbits their fun. Give a new meaning to the inscription on the West-door of the Mines of Moria: Speak, friend, and enter.”
Anything decent and good and uplifting, the Left is determined to ruin and tear down.
THE LEFT IS MORGOTH & SAURON
Let’s not absolve the Right – there are elements of ruin here too, but broadly, what hasn’t the Left attempted to twist, break, and mutilate… and celebrated when they do?
Traditional marriage. Childhood innocence. Creation of posterity and a future. National sovereignty & pride. Character, not race. Individualism. Merit. Law and order. Religion and morality in general. Beauty in art and music. I could go on and on.
So here’s a challenge: look at anything the Left espouses. Then work back to what was, before the Left took it and changed it. My bet? You will find a thing of beauty. Of purity. Of wonder. Ruined.
“Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin [what] good forces have invented or made.”
— JRR Tolkien
A society that has lost its roots, and had its principles and traditions and virtue destroyed, is ripe for remaking.
(Link to AZQUOTES per their policy.)
And this is the real reason for their work to corrupt all: their Marxianic vision of a one-world Socialist Utopia. Remember, this does not need a central planning committee to push directions out. Merely having some simple rules.
The post From Divine to Disgusting appeared first on Granite Grok.
I’ve been idle on the merchandise front for a bit. As noted elsewhere, we’ve got a lot going on in the background. Some things have slipped through the cracks. But the initial response to GrokGear was tremendous, and we want to get that going again.
The storefront is here, and I’ll be going through the selections and mothballing the less popular stuff. What we replace it with might be up to you.
We want suggestions for some new GrokGear, and if we pick yours, I’ll send you something with that idea for free.
Like This!
Classic Coffee Mug
New! Pint Glass
They must be generic enough that our using them would not violate anyone’s copyright or ownership rights. We don’t want to do that. And submitting an idea is not a guarantee we’ll use it. But please make sure we can reach you if we choose your great idea.
Remember that the best stuff will be new and unique (and timely) but with themes with which we are all familiar.
You can email your ideas to steve@granitegrok.com. Please reference new grok gear in the email subject line.
And yes, we are looking for other platforms with domestic-only products for our storefront, but that’s not happened so far. We don’t have the resources to maintain inventory or address packing and shipping, so the choices are limited.
We will keep looking.
The post Help Us Create Some New GrokGear And You Could Get Free Stuff! appeared first on Granite Grok.
Democrats cheered when Biden stepped foot into the Oval Office and started shutting down oil and gas infrastructure. Prices immediately rose, and that was good for them too. Make it so expensive that green can compete.
So, what if you have to create economic hardship along the way. Crushing the lower and middle classes is a price they are willing to make you pay.
We paid more for oil from countries with atrocious human rights records. Funneled huge sums to Russia for oil we could have bought from ourselves at a fraction of the price. Democrats even created a star chamber to squeeze oil execs into promises of production reduction.
Russia invaded Ukraine, and Biden kept the Ruski spigots open until the polls said he’d better close them. And while he and his team of experts searched the Globe for oil, someone had the bright idea to invoke the Defense Production Act to (wait for it) encourage domestic production.
The Defense Production Act is the primary source of presidential authorities to expedite and expand the supply of materials and services from the U.S. industrial base needed to promote the national defense.
It could empower the Federal Government to do whatever was necessary to get the oil and gas flowing (again).
So, Biden puts his boot on the oil companies’ necks, and now folks are talking about him spoon-feeding them cash and instructions for the “protection or restoration of critical infrastructure.”
The federal law empowers the president to essentially nationalize private industry to ensure the U.S. has resources that could be necessary in a crisis. It even singles out energy as a “strategic and critical material,” giving the president wide latitude to prioritize contracts and force businesses to supply the government with materials and services.
A textbook example of Democrats ruining a thing and claiming the only cure is government intervention. But according to this report, Biden, Inc. is not interested in that, but I can’t say I believe that.
“You can help reduce domestic energy prices and further our nation’s energy independence while blunting the impact of President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to use Russian energy exports as leverage in the face of European and American sanctions,” lawmakers, including Representatives Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, and South Dakota Republican Dusty Johnson, said a letter to Biden.
I have a non-expert suggestion. Just get out of the way. Let them do what they do. They were doing it just fine until that day Biden trundled into the Oval Office. Plenty of oil and gas. No offshoring US dollars. Jobs a-plenty, lower inflation.
Get out of the way!
That’s not how Democrats do things—everything from astroturfing to late-night omnibus votes, calculated to get the government in the way. We are left to wonder if these were chess pieces moved behind the scenes so that the Left could get their hands on something they have an insatiable urge to micromanage at every level.
Energy. All of it. Forever.
Would they start a war to move that forward without having to vote in an election year on an unpopular Green Raw Deal? Fossil fuels for my friends and me in the name of national defense while you get solar panels, wind machines, and a culture of getting stuff done between brownouts and blackouts.
The goal of the game is control. That’s why they so easily spend trillions that don’t exist. If they can’t control this generation, they’ll get the next one.
People born into slavery to fiat money and massive spending packages The perennial state of the economic downturn. Obama’s new normal. A land shackled and embittered by the indifference of forebears tasked with ensuring domestic tranquility but who instead allowed their inheritance to be squandered on identity politics and confidence scams run by establishment politicians yoked to the mental illness of Marxism and the Democrat party.
Conditions brought on by a state of constant fear. A cascade of shadows sold as a need for government action but one that would disappear if only we could get the boot off our necks.
The post Response to Biden’s Boot on Oil Company Necks – Nationalize Them! appeared first on Granite Grok.
This battle between Russia and Ukraine is not their first go-round. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, another chapter in the ongoing unrest between Russia and Ukraine that goes back to the 1700s.
The short story is that Russia took Crimea from Ukraine. That was not the end of the saga as we see today that Russia wants all of Ukraine or will destroy it in its attempt.
There is a link between 2014 and 2022 and the Russian aggression, Joe Biden. It was Obama/Biden in 2014, and now with Biden/Harris, the Russian see a chink in the American armor. They are seizing on the weakness of Biden, not to mention the potential corrupt relationship of Biden/Russia.
Russia is not the only country taking advantage of America’s current weakness with Biden as her President. Iran launched ballistic missiles into Iraq over the weekend. Some say this was a response to the stalled negotiations between Iran and the United States as Biden wants to rejoin the Iran Nuclear Treaty. Russia is at the table assisting with negotiations.
North Korea has increased its activity with long-range missile tests. The fear is they are getting closer to a threat to America’s mainland with missiles carrying nuclear warheads. There is increased tension and anxiety that a China assault on Taiwan may be imminent. Talk on many mainstream media outlets is that we may be entering an era of global hostility thanks to a weak Joe Biden in our White House.
I share the feeling of many that we are under assault in America under Biden with nearly 200,000 unknowns crossing our border every month bringing gangs, drugs, and potential terrorists all hell-bent on causing harm to America. You can call it illegal immigration, but I call it an assault on our southern flank. We don’t have the military to stem that situation. We have Kamala Harris.
All of this is happening under the Biden watch. Why? Because nefarious leaders know that Biden will be too slow, ineffective, or ignore their actions. They can get away with what they are doing to others because Joe Biden is President. That is a sad, dangerous, and lasting situation.
Today, the world is far more dangerous and volatile than just ten years ago. There are more countries with or close to nuclear ready. The Taliban and ISIS have resurfaced and threaten stability in the Middle East. After four years of being kept in check by Trump, Iran has been given a second chance by Biden. China and Russia have allied, and having these two superpowers with no conscience between them in bed together is suitable for no one.
In addition to a weak Biden, he has made our military more WOKE than feared. We have a population that is more concerned with pronouns than patriotism, and the indoctrination of our children is on steroids with CRT. We are so malleable as a society that we allow a fictional story, The 1619 Project, to be taught as historically accurate in schools, yet we overlook 9/11.
In just over one year, we have taken giant steps backward in so many areas that you must wonder how long a correction will take. With inflation at a forty-year high, record gas prices, a looming recession, a poor energy policy, and a workforce content not to work, our strength and resolve are eroding. The only thing that Biden can point as a success is spending tax dollars we do not have at a record pace and a more diverse and Woke federal government. If that is his legacy, it is good for him that he may not recall it in the morning.
The post Weak Leadership at Home Brings Global Insecurity appeared first on Granite Grok.
The Department of Homeland Security has published what it calls a “Domestic Violent Extremism Internal Review: Observations, Findings, and Recommendations. It’s the blueprint for the political cleansing of the department.
The Working Group found very few instances of the DHS workforce having been engaged in domestic violent extremism. However, the Working Group assessed that the Department has significant gaps that have impeded its ability to comprehensively prevent, detect, and respond to potential threats related to domestic violent extremism within DHS. These gaps, which the Department is working with urgency to close, may have impacted DHS officials’ ability to adequately identify and address related threats…
Some of the issues they discovered included unclear definitions of “domestic violent extremist.” How will DHS employees know what to look for if the marching orders are unclear?
Other issues include a lack of training or specialized training to identify DHS employees engaged in “violent extremist activity” and how to rat them out.
There’s also no adequate mechanism for managing what the rats uncover and- naturally – inadequate funding for such operations.
In other words, DHS wants more money to cleanse the department.
I keep saying cleanse the department, but what does that mean? The Working Group was kind enough to give us some guidelines regarding behavior classified as extremist activity.
[T]he Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Department of Justice, and DHS, noted that domestic violent extremists “who are motivated by a range of ideologies and galvanized by recent political and societal events in the United States pose an elevated threat to the Homeland in 2021.”3 The assessment pointed to newer “sociopolitical developments such as narratives of fraud in the recent general election, the emboldening impact of the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol, conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and conspiracy theories promoting violence” that “will almost certainly spur some [domestic violent extremists] [sic] to try to engage in violence this year.”4
If you work at DHS and are concerned about election integrity or question the approved COVID19 narratives (maybe ask about why Pfizer’s Vax is still an issue after the latest doc dump), you might be tagged as a “domestic violent extremist.”
Observed at the very least.
But DHS is not organized, equipped, or able to identify, document, and track whatever it decides is domestic extremism in the department (odd, because isn’t part of what they do identify actual terrorists?), but they appear ready and willing to fix those problems and get to work.
This is scary stuff.
The Biden Administration uses whatever is at its disposal to find Federal Employees who might not be party purists and remove them from the bureaucratic gene pool.
Given what we’ve seen in recent years, it could result in interrogation, indefinite detention, and all the other fun things we hear about in third-world dictatorships (which ours has become).
And this is the entire Department of Homeland Security.
DHS is the third-largest Cabinet department, after the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.[4] Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, and Energy.
One final note, if you have seen stories that this report is about rooting out everyday Americans, that appears incorrect. But this is a far more dangerous step in the same direction. It outlines the framework for a purity test that will create an environment at DHS filled with ideological zealots who will then be tasked with projecting those tools and that attitude into the general public.
Not a good thing, that.
The post Report Suggests DHS is Preparing to Politically Cleanse the Entire Department appeared first on Granite Grok.
At the annual meeting of the Croydon School District on Saturday, the district demanded a ransom of $1.7 million dollars, and the voters of the district responded by approving a budget of $800 thousand dollars.
And in the 48 hours since that happened, there hasn’t been a single news story about it anywhere except at Granite Grok.
Seriously?
The post Croydon Cuts School Budget In Half, No One Notices appeared first on Granite Grok.
As usual, the best weapons – per Alinsky – include ridicule. For ridicule makes the enemy angry, and angry people make mistakes. Also, for those on the fence, uncomfortable messages wrapped in humor are often much more palatable and get through cognitive defenses.
And HAPPY PI DAY!
The post MONDAY MEMES appeared first on Granite Grok.
A promising bill faced a dramatic reversal in committee this week. Cornerstone has strongly supported the original text of HB 1180 – “state recognition of biological sex.”
A modest bill introduced by Rep. Linda Gould that clarifies New Hampshire state identification laws to say that schools, prisons, and other public agencies reserve the right to differentiate based upon biological sex.
A Monday amendment to the bill by the House Health and Human Services Committee, however, not only fails to accomplish Rep. Gould’s objectives but actively makes the situation worse and endangers women.
By omitting key language, the HHS Committee amendment reverses Rep. Gould’s intent, legally ushering in dangerous California-style incarceration policies. Granite Staters must call on their state representatives to do everything they can to reject the HHS Committee amendment in a roll call vote and then vote to pass Rep. Gould’s important bill in its original form.
Just over a year ago, California imposed a dramatic gender ideology experiment on women’s prisons. It decided that whether an inmate is incarcerated in a men’s or women’s prison will now be based solely on self-declared gender identity – without consideration of whether the transgender-identifying inmate has even received any kind of medical transitioning. The results have been horrific.
Just months after California’s policy was adopted, dozens of biological males had already transferred to the Central California Women’s Facility. Many of these men have never had any sex-reassignment surgery or even taken hormonal medication. One former inmate in the Women’s Facility told The Wall Street Journal, “They’re getting a full erection. So you’re locked in this room, 24/7, with a man and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Fortunately, New Hampshire’s Department of Corrections (DOC) has a much more moderate policy—for now. If an inmate is transgender, our state’s DOC makes a case-by-case determination as to which facility to send that inmate – weighing the safety of the individual inmate and the safety of the general prison population.
For example, a biologically male inmate in New Hampshire would likely be transferred to a women’s prison only if he had received medical transitioning procedures. The key point is that New Hampshire DOC – under its current policies – does not automatically transfer inmates based on self-declared gender identity.
While some conservatives may disagree with the current NH DOC policy, it is a far cry from the cruel system used by California, which utterly sacrifices the dignity and safety of women inmates on the altar of crazed gender ideology.
However, New Hampshire could be at risk in the near future of having a California-style system imposed upon it by a federal court. And on Monday, the HHS Committee, perhaps unknowingly, passed an amendment that has brought New Hampshire dangerously closer to this dystopian scenario.
Some legal background is necessary to understand why this is the case. New Hampshire already has liberal state identification laws, allowing Granite Staters to freely select whatever gender they choose on their driver’s licenses. Elsewhere in the country, liberal federal courts are using similar state laws to mandate that any official distinction between the sexes must be made according to these state documents alone.
In Adams v. School Board, for example, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the category of “biological sex” does not exist—except as defined by the state on identifying documents such as driver’s licenses. In the Adams case, a Florida school board sought to treat a biologically female student, who identified as a male, according to the student’s biological sex. But the Eleventh Circuit ruled that, because Florida’s legislature had allowed the student to list “male” on state identifying documents, Florida had officially taken the position that the student’s “sex” was male—period.
The court explained that “as a court of law, we cannot simply ignore the legal definition of sex the state [of Florida] has already provided us, as reflected in the official documentation of Mr. Adams’s sex as male on his driver’s license and birth certificate.”
In order to prevent confusion and these kinds of abusive interpretations, NH Rep. Linda Gould and other women legislators courageously introduced HB 1180: “relative to state recognition of biological sex.” This simple clarification would amend our state identification laws to add the following language:
Nothing in [NH state identification laws] is intended to prohibit any public entity from differentiating between the male and female sexes in athletic competitions, criminal incarceration, or places of intimate privacy, or otherwise to deny or undermine the state’s rational interest in recognizing the male and female sexes. In this paragraph, “the male and female sexes” refers to biologically male and female human beings.
Rep. Gould’s bill would not force any school board or state agency to change their current policies. On the contrary, her bill is necessary to protect the DOC’s current policy. Although the NH DOC might not realize it, its current policy actually depends upon biological sex categorization.
After all: when a “cisgender” woman is incarcerated in New Hampshire, the NH DOC does not do a case-by-case analysis to determine whether to imprison her with men. She is simply incarcerated in a women’s prison.
It is only transgender inmates who the NH DOC subjects to a case-by-case analysis. Using the language of the left, the DOC therefore treats “transgender women” differently from “non-transgender women.”
The difference between a “transgender women” and a “non-transgender women” is, of course, her biological sex. It is biological sex that the NH DOC is using to differentiate between these groups of people—whether or not the DOC itself wants to use that term.
On Monday, the House HHS Committee placed this current DOC policy in dangerously legal jeopardy. The Committee amended Rep. Gould’s amendment to remove everything after “athletic competitions.”
At first glance, the Committee amendment may seem like it is merely a weakening of Rep. Gould’s bill. In fact, it is a disaster. If passed into law, the HHS Committee amendment would tee up legal arguments for those who wish to force New Hampshire to adopt California-style incarceration policies.
If the HHS Committee amendment were passed into law, groups such as GLAAD, the ACLU, and others would be quick to point out that New Hampshire has specifically stated that it recognizes the category of “biological sex” only in the area of athletic competitions. In all other situations, the HHS amendment legally implies that courts should default to state documents in determining whether an individual must be treated as male or female.
This means the HHS amendment would put women in more danger than they are today. Currently, we might argue in court that – when the legislature adopted our current state identification statutes – it did not realize that judges might interpret them to mean that the state does not recognize biological sex. But the HHS Committee amendment would show courts beyond all doubt that our legislature specifically considered this very consequence, and chose only to recognize biological sex in athletic competitions.
At Cornerstone, we appreciate that compromises are sometimes necessary. We recognize that not everything can be achieved at once. In fact, Rep. Gould’s original bill – which we strongly support – is perhaps the most minimalist bill on gender issues a conservative could possibly introduce.
But the HSS Committee version of HB 1180 is not a halfway measure or a compromise: it is a potential calamity for women. We urge you to call on your state representatives to do everything they can to reject the HHS Committee amendment in a roll call vote and then to pass Rep. Gould’s important bill in its original form.
The post NH House Committee Okays Incarceration Based Solely on “Gender Identity” appeared first on Granite Grok.