Saturday • December 10 • 2022
Vol.XIV • No.XLIX
Manchester, N.H.
FBI Goon Smashes Cameras During Crypto Six Raid
Christmas came early! Just days before the start of the Crypto Six trial, federal prosecutors have revealed they will be dropping the supermajority of counts in their ridiculous case against me. Gone are all twelve of the “wire fraud” charges, three “money laundering” charges, “conspiracy to commit bank fraud & wire fraud”, and most importantly the charge with the ten-year mandatory minimum sentence, the “kingpin” charge of “continuing financial crimes enterprise”. All gone!
If you’ve been paying attention to the case for the last twenty months, you may recall the big deal the prosecutors made to try to keep me in jail until trial, claiming I am a “sophisticated cyber criminal” and a “danger to the community”. Prior to the charges being dropped, my bail conditions had loosed to where I am no longer wearing a tracking anklet. Now that those charges are gone, when we recently asked to remove the government spyware from my computer and phone, the prosecutors had no objection. Apparently, I’m no longer the scary things they told the judge and press that I was.
The remaining charges that are slated for trial are:
While this is assuredly good news, as it reduces the maximum time I could spend in prison from 420+ years to 70 years, it’s really sad news for my three friends who took plea deals on the “wire fraud” charges. Had they known the charge they pled to would eventually be dropped, they surely wouldn’t have taken the raw “deal”. Now they are saddled with felony convictions for the rest of their lives for something that sounds really bad. The reality is, the accusations were simply that they’d lied to a bank, and that it was not even to try to scam the bank out of money, but only to do things like keep an account open. However no one who checks their record is going to ask them for details. They’ll just see “wire fraud” and think they are dealing with a fraudster, when in fact no one was defrauded. None of the banks lost anything and no restitution was ordered during sentencing for any of the three. None of them committed fraud, but they took the plea likely out of fear – the reason most people take a plea – because the feds know how to scare people.
Don’t Take the Plea Deal Flyer
They stack a ton of charges against you, then threaten to stack even more if you don’t tap out. A few years of probation and a felony starts looking really good compared to thirty years in prison, so it’s understandable why people will take a plea, even though they didn’t actually commit the crime of which they are accused. The prosecutors love it as they rack up conviction after conviction, ruining innocent peoples’ lives and bolstering the prosecutors’ careers. Plus, they never have to bother preparing for and going to trial. It’s super easy for them and it almost always works.
For a long time, I have been an advocate of “Don’t Take the Plea Deal“. ESPECIALLY if you didn’t actually do anything wrong. It is certainly risky and scary to go up against the federal behemoth. They have unlimited resources to throw at destroying you. However, if you take the first plea, you will never even get to see what kind of case they have against you. It might be a really crappy case and they may have made critical errors. There’s also a good chance of a better plea offer coming later on, but if you take the first plea, you’ll never find out. Of course, you have to do what you feel is right for you, and I never blame anyone for taking a plea if they feel that is best.
However, long term, people taking plea deals just empowers the state. If more people stood up and demanded their right to a trial, even on things as simple as a speeding or parking ticket, the “justice” system would not be able to handle the case load and they would likely just drop charges all together.
While I am happy to see the bulk of the charges in my case go away, I’m sad for my friends who were intimidated into wrongful convictions for vicitmless “crimes” on charges that would likely have been dropped anyway. The Crypto Six trial begins with jury selection on Tuesday, Dec 6th at Federal Court Church in Concord, NH. For more background on the case, visit TheCryptoSix.com.
I have found that NH’s RSA 91-A, NH’s Right to Know Law (similar to the Federal FOIA – Freedom of Information Act) to be a citizen’s best tool for carrying out our responsibilities in keeping our Government both in check and accountable. Our State Constitution makes this clear:
[Art.] 8. [Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public’s Right to Know.] All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive. To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted. The public also has a right to an orderly, lawful, and accountable government.
While I am not a lawyer, I use it often and often I get questions from others about its use as I’ve learned how to wield it against the stubborn and obstinate (like here, here, here, and here as a pretty good example). So this morning, I got this email and attached was the new RTK policy from Hudson:
—— Original Message ——
From: <redacted>
To: “skip@granitegrok.com” <skip@granitegrok.com>
Sent: 12/3/2022 9:07:35 AM
Subject: Hudson’s RTK PolicyPlease see attached, I did a RTK to get the members of the Hudson BOS emails. .
Of COURSE I was going to help! Here’s their new policy. Not bad – rough start and I never like being forced into using someone’s form process. RSA 91-A is supposed to be for CITIZENS’ benefits and not the Government’s. Sure, there can always be a give and take, a bit of politiness – but only to a point (like not being led down a rathole).
(Hover over the page and the Navigation bar will appear)
Hudson RTK Policy DRAFT Updated Oct 17 2022Here’s my response – relatively quick fisking:
—— Original Message ——
From: “Skip” <Skip@granitegrok.com>
To: “Terry Stewart” <yrrets@aol.com>
Sent: 12/3/2022 10:34:43 AM
Subject: Re: Hudson’s RTK PolicyHi Terry,
They’ll lose in court right from the get to with this:
Information for Right To Know requests are only required to be provided to legal New Hampshire residents Nothing in the law requires the Town to provide information to an out-of-state individual.
If someone asks the nitwit that wrote this to legally define what a citizen is, deer-in-headlights. If they do, they’ll also solve the voting problem of domicile and residence. If I still lived in MA but came to Hudson and said I was going to vote, the Dems have made sure that I was now a citizen. Also, 91-A doesn’t say WHICH citizen. As in “Citizen from WHERE?” is undefined.
And the preamble speaks to PEOPLE: discussions and records of all public bodies, and their accountability to the people
There are other exemptions including but not limited to, draft notes, attorney-client privilege communication, public safety information, school records of minors, and similar information. For further details on the allowable exemptions please see RSA 91-A5.
Even if they go into non-public, there are things that can be RTK’d IF those in that non-public don’t follow the Law entirely.
And these are the ONLY allowable items not subject to RTK
91-A:5 Exemptions. –
The following governmental records are exempted from the provisions of this chapter:
I. Records of grand and petit juries.
I-a. The master jury list as defined in RSA 500-A:1, IV.
II. Records of parole and pardon boards.
III. Personal school records of pupils, including the name of the parent or legal guardian and any specific reasons disclosed to school officials for the objection to the assessment under RSA 193-C:6.
IV. Records pertaining to internal personnel practices; confidential, commercial, or financial information; test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a licensing examination, examination for employment, or academic examinations; and personnel, medical, welfare, library user, videotape sale or rental, and other files whose disclosure would constitute invasion of privacy. Without otherwise compromising the confidentiality of the files, nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a public body or agency from releasing information relative to health or safety from investigative files on a limited basis to persons whose health or safety may be affected.
V. Teacher certification records in the department of education, provided that the department shall make available teacher certification status information.
VI. Records pertaining to matters relating to the preparation for and the carrying out of all emergency functions, including training to carry out such functions, developed by local or state safety officials that are directly intended to thwart a deliberate act that is intended to result in widespread or severe damage to property or widespread injury or loss of life.
VII. Unique pupil identification information collected in accordance with RSA 193-E:5.
VIII. Any notes or other materials made for personal use that do not have an official purpose, including but not limited to, notes and materials made prior to, during, or after a governmental proceeding.
IX. Preliminary drafts, notes, and memoranda and other documents not in their final form and not disclosed, circulated, or available to a quorum or a majority of the members of a public body.
X. Video and audio recordings made by a law enforcement officer using a body-worn camera pursuant to RSA 105-D except where such recordings depict any of the following:
(a) Any restraint or use of force by a law enforcement officer; provided, however, that this exemption shall not include those portions of recordings which constitute an invasion of privacy of any person or which are otherwise exempt from disclosure.
(b) The discharge of a firearm, provided that this exemption shall not include those portions of recordings which constitute an invasion of privacy of any person or which are otherwise exempt from disclosure.
(c) An encounter that results in an arrest for a felony-level offense, provided, however, that this exemption shall not apply to recordings or portions thereof that constitute an invasion of privacy or which are otherwise exempt from disclosure.
XI. Records pertaining to information technology systems, including cyber security plans, vulnerability testing and assessments materials, detailed network diagrams, or other materials, the release of which would make public security details that would aid an attempted security breach or circumvention of law as to the items assessed.
XII. Records protected under the attorney-client privilege or the attorney work product doctrine.
XIII. Records of the youth development center claims administration and the YDC settlement fund pursuant to RSA 21-M:11-a, with the exception of settlement agreements, which shall remain subject to RSA 91-A:4, VI, and, after a claim has been finally resolved, such other records the release of which would not constitute a violation of other provisions of law or an unwarranted invasion of a claimant’s privacy.This is wrong:
Requestors should first make a reasonable effort to find the information they seek on the Town website HudsonNH.Gov. By using the Search feature, most past meeting minutes, meeting packets and meeting recordings can be found. Additionally, information on town events, activities, projects and similar may also be found on the town website. When requested, information is not directly accessible on the town website, the requestor should follow process below to request the information.
There is NOTHING in RSA 91-A that “requires” a Requester to go search on their own. The law says the Requester demands, the public body forks it over. Except for this:
VII. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a public body or agency to compile, cross-reference, or assemble information into a form in which it is not already kept or reported by that body or agency
>> All requests for information should be submitted to the Town Administrator’s Office
Demand that they tell you if should is meant to be viewed in the mandatory version of the word or voluntary. I NEVER submit my RTKs to a TA or a District Superintendent. ALWAYS to your elected Representatives as THEY are the ones responsible for that particular subdivision of the State.
And the RSA makes no leeway to make it “easier or efficient” on the part of the Responder.
The completion of an application is not legally required to request public information, but it is highly recommended that the requesting party complete a request form – Hudson NH Right to Know (RTK) Request Form for town employees to accurately provide timely information to requestors. Reference the addendum to this policy for more details on the application process.
Sorry, that isn’t happening with me – I have my template that has all of the legalities built in and I’m not going to deviate from that practice
To confirm the accuracy of the request and to start the timeline as outlined in RSA91-A, it is highly recommended to have the requesting party sign and date the application before submitting it for the processing of the request.
They can ask but people can email RTKs in as well. As long as “highly recommended” doesn’t become mandatory, they can ask for whatever they want. Besides, emails get time stamped and that’s good enough.
Right To Know information can be provided in the following forms based on the most effective delivery method as it relates to the amount of information being requested.
- Printed on paper
- Emailed back to requestor: limited if requested files are too large to send
- Loaded onto a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Hard Drive
- Post marked through USPS (which can incur cost to the requestor)
Reference section 2.4 to see associated costs with each option when applicable
Using Dropbox or Google Drive is also something I use.
Right To Know information can be provided in the following forms based on the most effective delivery method as it relates to the amount of information being requested.
Printed on paper
I just had a school district that printed out about 1500 double sided pages, highly redacted, of RTK’d emails. They smiled when they presented me with the stack thinking that I’d either have to pay them an enormous amount of “copy fees” or spend hours/days reviewing the information.
They first complained and then frowned when I brought in my high speed portable document scanner (a double sided page scanned in less than a second) an converted it to a searchable PDF. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
As to the rest of it, they can pound sand from a legal standpoint.
Hope this helps and I’m going to use this as a post (scrubbing your info but using yrrts for the H/T: bit)
-Skip
I have no problem with a town (or other) wanting to use a form – but let them use it. Policy/ordinance cannot trump State Statute. They can always ask for what they want but they are entitled to demand only that which RSA 91-A allows.
Every town is different and so are the people in each town. Some towns just fork over what is requested and some want to stifle any attempts to get at information that taxpayers have already paid for (I’m thinking of Nashua and you, Mayor Donchuss).
Please also know that there is an entire group of people who have made RTK’s their main interests: Right to Know NH.
(H/T: Yrrets)
The post Hudson NH’s New Right To Know Policy – A Quick Fisking appeared first on Granite Grok.
The lobster industry is one of the most important to Maine and New England. The lobster is a necessary component of the region’s economy.
The lobster industry has been under attack for years by government restrictions and environmental pressure making it increasingly difficult for families that have been harvesting lobsters for generations to continue.
Maine’s lobstermen and women are under attack by the Biden Administration after recent rule changes restricting seasonal lobster fishing in 950 square miles of federal waters off Maine’s coast. This action is an inflexible and poorly considered attempt to protect the North Atlantic right whale population.
The 950 square miles, from Mt. Desert Island to Casco Bay, that will be off-limits for fishermen between the months of October and January, will have a major impact for off-shore lobster fishing and will displace countless fishermen, and overcrowd areas outside the restricted zone.
The facts about the right whale population do not warrant these restrictions. It has been over twenty years since the last recorded incident of a right whale caught up in any lobstering equipment. There are no recorded instances of whale death due to the lobster industry. We are destroying an important regional industry with no justifiable reason. Thanks to Joe Biden and his lack of spine when dealing with environmental groups, families of Maine Lobstermen are seeking other means of supporting their families.
The Whole Foods grocery chain has suspended offering any form of Maine Lobster to their customers. This action directly responds to the same environmental pressure to which Joe Biden bends his knee. Whole Foods is just one company, and its boycott will not have a considerable impact on the financials of the Maine industry, but the PR impact will be significant. If the WOKE had a brain, it would be dangerous.
There cannot be a situation involving Joe Biden without a dose of hypocrisy. While the Biden Administration is putting the squeeze on Maine’s Lobster industry, he is serving lobster at a State Dinner for the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife this week. Biden has again shown how tone-deaf he is to the plight of some Americans. Aside from the direct slap to Maine Lobstermen, this lavish State Dinner comes just one week after American families experienced the most expensive Thanksgiving dinner due to Biden inflation. This choice of entree for the State Dinner was deplorable.
Joe Biden ran for President, claiming he would unify us after four years of the divisive Donald Trump. He has driven the wedge in deeper, deflated our retirement accounts and dreams, destroyed high-paying jobs in the petroleum industry, and driven a knife into regional industries like the Maine lobster industry.
Biden claims that his economy and job creation are at never before seen levels. It is all bogus, like the plagiarized speeches that he gave that drove him out of two previous Presidential runs. It is impossible to fathom how Democrats think Biden’s policies are good for Americans. We on the Right know how dangerous he is, and unlike Democrats, we pray there is no Chapter 2 for Joe Biden.
The post Hey Joe, Get Your Claws Off of Our Lobsters appeared first on Granite Grok.
New Hampshire has sleepwalked into a population crisis. The state’s demographic balance has been poisoned by decades of anti-child and anti-family policies—often explicitly designed to drive young families out of Granite State communities. As a result, New Hampshire has become catastrophically old.
In New Hampshire politics, discussing the state’s demographic doom is sometimes seen as an attack on the elderly. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, it is the elderly who will be hurt the most as our state slips off the precipice of demographic collapse—and it is for their sake, most of all, that we must confront this problem.
Let’s start with the facts about our population woes. New Hampshire is one of only three states in the country where 100% of all counties now experience more deaths than births—and this implosion is accelerating. As documented in an alarming new book by demographer Peter Francese and coauthor Lorraine Merrill, New Hampshire is now older, and aging faster, than any state in America except Maine.
Of all 50 states, New Hampshire has the single highest rate of students who leave the State when they begin college—and most flee the state permanently. Thanks to this exodus of young adult Granite Staters, New Hampshire has also seen the largest 10-year decrease in children of any state in the US. As Stratham Selectman Joe Lovejoy told Francese, “We’ve been headed in the direction of making ourselves extinct.”
Other ultra-elderly states have realized that having an entire state composed of old people may not be a good idea. Vermont has started paying young professionals $10,000 to move to Vermont as part of a “remote worker grant program,” desperate to lower its median age of 42.8—the third-highest in the country. New Hampshire’s median age is 43.
New Hampshire has done little to compete with slightly younger Vermont. According to a study by Stay Work Play, one in three 20-40 year-olds still in New Hampshire say they are likely to leave the state—and only 19% feel committed to remaining. Key problems cited by young Granite Staters include a lack of affordable housing and a social and cultural vacuum: a problem Stay Work Play calls “the loneliness factor” of New Hampshire.
Sadly, this demographic collapse is no accident. It is the bitter fruit of decades of purposefully anti-family, anti-child policies like age-restricted housing and a lopsided tax system. In his other research, Peter Francese has presented overwhelming evidence that these policies are part of an effort to make New Hampshire communities as inhospitable as possible to young families. This effort is of great concern to us at Cornerstone, where we have long promised to fight for a New Hampshire “where families thrive.”
In a revealing 2008 documentary, then-Deerfield Selectman Andy Robertson recalled many residents telling the town government to keep children out of Deerfield because “We’ve already raised our children: we did that in Massachusetts.” More recently, Pelham planning director Jeff Gowan has explained that Pelham first began to favor age-restricted housing because advocates argued that doing so would keep children out of the town. There are numerous similar stories throughout New Hampshire. Today, says Francese, the result is that “the only truly affordable housing in the state is if you’re 55 or older and have no children.”
We want to thank Ian Huyett 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.
Anti-family policies have been driven by a belief that treating children like an infestation of vermin will lower tax bills. Robertson described how Deerfield retirees, often from Massachusetts or Connecticut, would “‘keep repeating their mantra’ that any development might bring children and raise tax bills.”
In fact, excluding young families neither boosts local revenue nor effectively reduces school taxes. In the case of Pelham, for example, Francese explains that costs incurred by residents of age-restricted housing—such as costs to medical services—actually exceeded the property taxes on age-restricted housing units, which had been diminished by elderly tax abatements. Meanwhile, while school enrollments declined, school taxes did not. Seeing its mistake, in 2019 Pelham became the first town in New Hampshire to adopt a warrant article prohibiting any new age-restricted housing.
But the greatest irony of anti-family policies is that, if they are not reversed, they will ultimately hurt those they were ostensibly meant to help: the elderly. That’s because a state with a low and diminishing number of people under retirement age will—sooner than many of us expect—become a state without a functioning workforce.
Of course, this trend also hurts young workers by depriving them of the beauty and liberty that New Hampshire has to offer. Yet, for the most part, it is not these workers who will die needlessly in hospitals that are short on perioperative staff. It is not young families who will be trapped in burning homes because local fire departments lack volunteers. And it is not small children who will die of untreated heart attacks and strokes as ambulances drive from forty-five minutes away.
This is no exaggeration or speculation. Consider that, in less than 10 years, most people in Carroll County, New Hampshire will be over the age of 65. Currently, only a single county in all of America has an over-65 majority: Sumter County, west of Orlando, Florida. And it does not paint an attractive picture of New Hampshire’s near future.
Although Sumter County is at first glance economically well off—with ambulances provided by a for-profit company—residents who call 911 face staggering delays caused by crippling understaffing. An elderly person who experiences cardiac arrest can expect to wait up to an hour and 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
Alarmed by the aging of Carroll County, the Mt. Washington Valley Housing Coalition has asked: “With the lack of available housing, who is going to move here and fill those jobs?” The answer is simple: without purposeful changes, New Hampshire’s jobs will not be filled.
Job openings, by themselves, will not cause a young workforce to sprout out of the ground or drop from trees. Nor will New Hampshire’s demographic crunch resolve itself. This is not some economic cycle which the free market, by itself, will naturally fix. It is a misconceived but deliberate manipulation of our human ecology by state and local governments.
The elderly, like all Granite Staters, benefit in many ways from living in a mixed-generation community. But if New Hampshire does not change course in a consciously pro-family direction, it is the elderly who will ultimately suffer the most.
Ian Huyett is the General Counsel and Director of Policy at Cornerstone, a Christian advocacy group in New Hampshire.
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At least as far as the NH Democrat Party is concerned. Steve and I had talked a bit about this on the phone early last evening; his post covers most of our conversation high points (and more) before the Democrat National Committee Rules Committee voted to adopt the 1) South Carolina, 2) + 3) NH and Nevada, and…who cares which State is next.
And now that Committee, according to a later WMUR report, has actually voted to confirm that with that decision going to full DNC probably tomorrow. I’m betting that Mo Elleithee, the Rules Committee Chair, is CERTAINLY going to get a lot of questions from Fox News as he is a regular contributor on a number of their shows. But he’s quoted as saying this:
“We are making a decision I think people can get behind, and we’ve also empowered the chairman to enforce this decision in a way that gives it more teeth than I think it ever has before, which I think will be important in the event there are any issues“
Ah yes, a GREAT Show – and it is a long time from being over. As the title above says, the DNC has become FITN Deniers as in denying the NH Dem Party the First In The Nation Primary. And that set of “choppers” will be used on both the NH Dem Party and the candidates themselves. No, they didn’t say the quiet part out loud but Steve runs down a few scenarios with the most important one being here:
The gobs of money that once poured into the hands of Dem Chair Buckley, his ‘Crats,’ and the assorted “non-partisan” partisan Lefty groups will dry up a bit and maybe a lot. Without a legitimate primary, they stand to lose money, primary delegates, prestige, connections, and influence.
Hit hardest will be Ray Buckley even if he’s been a high muckity-muck DNC title holder for decades. Much of it, IMHO, is that he has brought in MILLIONS of buck almost every year with his connections (and, in at least part, being part of one of the sexuality identity groups that the Democrats so highly praise (even if he is old and white). Alack and alas, his vaunted pull has been downgraded to a weak tug. And with that, AND the loss of the FITN, why should the cut-throat DNC politics pay him or NH much mind? Why should they, being the Chair of what has become a shrunken State Party. Et to, Brutus? Blindsided by the Democrat version of Survivor where you just got outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted. Cast out and told to cast off.
I’m betting that Buckles is now thinking of retirement (or as least, being downgraded to a “wise man” who is occassionally asked for advice but with no real power. After all, in the Dem scheme of things, if your money spigot is shut off, so are you. I’m also betting that as he’s lying prostrate on the floor with a knife, with “DNC” on the handled, in his back.
His long years of service was justly rewarded.
So the question is, with all that, he up to making yet another big decision?
What’s he going to do about the Primary?
It’s no longer the FITN for the Dems (and the new NH GOP Chair, assuming status quo for the GOP, will be smiling broadly as s/he will get all the limelight that Buckley believes is his). The State now pays the freight for both parties Primary elections. Will Buckley just go with what SecState Scanlon has already said – our Law keeping our Primary 7 days before any other such election anywhere else?
Sidenote: Is THIS action by the DNC now going to muddle the NH Secretary of State election next week? Democrat Melanie Levesque is challenging SecState Scanlon, who has only been in that office 10 months, under of silly motto of “WE NEED NEW LEADERSHIP!!!”. Or will SHE jump out to challenge Buckley, at his time of weakness and blame, for the NHDP Chair? I can’t speak to how divided the NHDP is but certainly the NH Legislature is barely a Republican majority – and the Legislature is the entity that elects the SecState and not by general election.
That certainly would strip the NHDP of pretty much EVERYTHING…except there is a loophole that Buckley could use…
Each Party can set up its own Primary election on any date it wants if I am remembering this right. This would allow Buckley an escape hatch in scheduling the NHDP Primary when the DNC tells him it should be held. This loophole, however, is fraught with its own issues.
The Problem is that the NHDP would have to pay for it themselves if they held on the same day as Nevada (which, as Steve points out, is “delegate problematic”. It would allow them to “play by the rules” and keep their delegates in play and allow the Dem candidates to show up. It won’t be cheap, though. Such a dilemma: stay a cheap #1 (which really turns out to be a zero) or an expensive #2.
What will he do? If he retires, we’ll never be able to use this again:
except to remind him that the DNC now forced him to wear it. Always. And for us to remind Democrats that it was during Ray Buckley’s watch that the NHDP lost the FITN Primary.
The post Democrat National Committee – FITN Deniers! appeared first on Granite Grok.
Women’s soccer doesn’t attract as many viewers, so they’ve been making less money than men. But thanks to a new deal, the men will need to split their total winnings at the World Cup with a women’s team that never left home.
The U.S. Women’s National Team — which was not on the field this week as the United States defeated Iran but hopefully watched from the comfort of their homes — will get half the winnings earned by men’s team players — after U.S. Soccer takes its 10 percent — and half of any other prize money the USMNT wins through the end of the World Cup if they continue to win. All because of “equity” and a new collective bargaining agreement that requires World Cup winnings to be pooled and divided evenly between the men’s and women’s teams.
It’s not like they are dependent on them for their lifestyle. The US Women’s Soccer team is a cadre of millionaires before endorsement or ad deals (the team got 22 million after brokering the arrangement that also nets them men’s cup cash).
They will also get half of the 13 million the men’s team has earned thus far in Qatar (more if the men keep winning). A sum larger than the Women’s team’s total world cup earnings over two years of taking the “Women’s” title.
For comparison, the women’s team — that did not contribute to the 2022 World Cup winnings — will now take home a minimum amount that, before U.S. Soccer takes its cut, is greater than the cash they brought home after placing first in two successive Women’s World Cup competitions.
Nowhere in the reporting do I see any indication that the Women’s World Cup winnings must be shared with the men’s team. So, this is a poorly negotiated divorce agreement with a bunch of women to whom you were never married. All because Women’s soccer can’t seem to attract the eyeballs to warrant an equal pay agreement without taking money from men.
Here’s a thought. Men who could not make it to the Men’s team should try out as women. Within a few years, Women’s soccer will be little more than men claiming to be women’s soccer. It will be a #woke, social justice victory for cultural-Marxist progressives, and you’ll never need to worry about mixed-gender bathrooms or locker room “issues.” Before too long, all the women will have a penis and a share of the “men’s” team winnings too.
HT | Townhall
The post US Men’s and Women’s New Soccer Winnings “Payout Scheme” Look More Like a Divorce Settlement appeared first on Granite Grok.
Ian Freeman Gets His Freedom Back: Running GNU/Linux On His Laptop Again
Ian Freeman of the Crypto6 is once again free to utilize his choice of operating systems: GNU/Linux. Back in ~ May of 2021 the feds took away Ian’s freedom of choice in what software he could utilize despite never having been convicted of any crimes. A tactic they regularly utilize against their victims. The purported reason for the arrest this time around was over the bastardly crime of selling crypto. However, after a decade of being targeted by the feds and the feds targeting other free staters and leading liberty activists in New Hampshire it’s a bit hard to believe that it was anything other than a politically motivated attack on freedom in the free state. This is at least the 2nd raid of Free Talk Live’s studio in the past 5 years, and the third incident involving federal agents and Ian / 73-75 Leverett St since ~2012.
However this isn’t what this story is about. It’s about the federal government’s attack on all things freedom and that includes the use of free software. What is disturbing about this is that the state is utilizing bail restrictions to prevent people from utilizing free software and has been doing it since at least the 1990s. Unlike other cases I have not heard of anyone else being successful in getting this type of restriction lifted and that’s quite disturbing. It took Ian more than a year and a pricey lawyer to get a ruling to lift this unreasonable and burdensome restriction on his right to utilize the software of his choice.
The good news of course is that with the help of his lawyer he was able to get the judge to lift this bail restriction. The bad news is that it comes just a week before his trial is set to begin. Yes- that’s right. It took ~19 months not including the two months that Ian spent in a cage to get a ruling to restore his right to utilize free software. And that’s ~2 months under which he was illegally held based on a magistrates misunderstanding of the law.
You might think this story ends with an operating system, but it’s not so. Not only did this restriction exist, but he’s also been prohibited from utilizing other free software. There is also an explicit prohibition on his use of Telegram. Now there is an argument for the restriction on his use of Telegram. At least in theory the argument would go that Telegram was a tool utilized in the course of conducting some sort of criminal enterprise. The problem with this logic is of course that a phone was also utilized in the course of conducting whatever sort of criminal enterprise that the prosecution has imagined up. Yet- there is no restriction for the use of a telephone.
There are many other unreasonable restrictions and violations of justice that defendants not convicted of any crimes face when being pursued by authorities who more often than not have no real basis for the restrictions on an accused freedoms. Ian they claimed was a flight risk- yet had no basis other than unsubstantiated claims of wealth, of which the judge eventually ruled was not a basis for holding someone. In fact even mob bosses can’t be held without bail! Yet- nothing stopped the prosecutor from slandering Ian’s good name and calling him a “kingpin”. No penalty will emerge from such actions because prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement are generally immune.
What can we do to change this? Well, not much. Without moving for independence New Hampshire residents will always be under the thumb of federal agents looking to attack freedom in the state. Fortunately there has been a growing independence movement in the state. If you’ve not heard of it check out https://www.nhexit.us for more information on the independence movement.
Not yet in New Hampshire? Well, if you believe in joining with other like minded persons to achieve liberty in our lifetime you should join the migration of liberty-minded folk moving to New Hampshire. After a decade of work free staters have achieved almost ~100 liberty friendly reps. While it may be another 8-10 years at our current rate of increasing representation to achieve more significant victories your move could help increase the pace. Not to mention we do have some small victories !
In 2017 for instance free staters worked with state representatives to pass a bill protecting New Hampshire businesses dealing with cryptocurrencies from state regulators. The bill passed and the governor even signed it into into law. There have been many other small victories like this one, but as has been demonstrated by the arrest of the Crypto6~ more needs to be done to achieve real freedom in our lifetime. If you’re a liberty-minded person join us in New Hampshire and we can achieve real freedom together.
Joe Biden … America’s figurehead/imposter President …has weighed in on the Democrat Presidential primary. He wants South Carolina to go first. And the political-grifters in New Hampshire … the consultants, insiders, masterminds, blah, blah, blah … are melting down over the thought of losing all the money and attention FITN brings:
The delicious irony is that all these grifters … and the vast majority of New Hampshire’s grifter-class … wanted, and helped, Joe Biden get “elected” President. CRY. HARDER. GRIFTERS.
The post Cry Harder Grifters appeared first on Granite Grok.
If you missed it, the Democrat National Committee is about to move its First in the Nation Presidential Primary out of New Hampshire and into South Carolina. New Hampshire’s primary would follow a week later on the same day as Nevada’s. But that’s not what’s going to happen.
Republicans have no plans to abandon New Hampshire as their first in the Nation primary, and the Granite State will be holding it. State law requires NH to hold that primary a week before any other scheduled presidential primary, so if the DNC says SC on January 30th, 2024, New Hampshire’s will be on January 23rd.
Short of a law change, and that’s not happening, the Democrats in New Hampshire (and Iowa) are F==ked!
The committee, in a voice vote, approved the move on Friday with only the members from Iowa and New Hampshire opposing the change. The new calendar will be put to a vote of the full DNC in February 2023.
South Carolina has significantly more Delegates to win (54), with Nevada (36) also eclipsing New Hampshire (24). And it’s not just Delegates up for grabs. The Candidates themselves will come under significant scrutiny concerning where they campaign. South Carolin is a Diversity and Equity “hire.”
If any of them try to spend more time here than warranted (because both primaries will be the week before, whether the DNC or NH Dems like it or not), they’ll get the stink eye from the DNC and every minority group you can name that wants some attention (and don’t they all?).
It gets worse.
With more delegates in Nevada and no threat of them being sanctioned by the DNC, it makes more sense to campaign in Nevada.
It gets worse.
New Hampshire Democrats who typically crowd around contenders and promote the primary could subject themselves to the same stink eye.
It gets worse.
The gobs of money that once poured into the hands of Dem Chair Buckley, his ‘Crats,’ and the assorted “non-partisan” partisan Lefty groups will dry up a bit and maybe a lot. Without a legitimate primary, they stand to lose money, primary delegates, prestige, connections, and influence.
And what can the media do? They’ll be here for the GOP, but will it be bad form to recognize the Dems who show up for a racist primary among mostly white people?
No idea, but it will be fun to watch.
And Republicans will not have any of these issues while benefitting from being able to hoist the Dems on their own Diversity petard.
One negative note. If there’s no point in Dems voting for a candidate in their primary, they’ll register as independents to mess with the Republican primary. And we do not have the votes to change our state to a closed primary, not that they would if they could. With most voters registered as undeclared, there’s not much incentive to piss everyone off -including all the Libertarians.
And what if we had a closed primary and more than a few of them decide to pick a side, and we manage to help push a more liberty-minded Republican into first place?
I’d still expect a cluster, but most of it will be on the left, and that makes me smile.
The post The DNC Just Screwed the NH Dems and It’s Glorious appeared first on Granite Grok.
Elections just had – will things change? Can or will the Republicans do the right things according to the feedback of their base? Or just go along to get along?
And with the news that the top two spots in the NH GOP are empty for January’s NH GOP Annual meeting, how will the Party go? Hey, email me, candidates – after all, after quite some absence, I’m back as an NH GOP Delegate – persuade me to vote for you (or not). Or should I become your opposition? Whaddya think, readers?
And how many of you, loyal readers, took the plunge, ran for NH GOP Delegate, and get to help drive the Party? Or won your Primary and be able to join this Party’s party?
However, as always, this thread is here for you so yak about whatever you want or need!
The post Friday Open Thread – The More Things Change….But Do They? appeared first on Granite Grok.
Do you know what is really happening behind NH prison bars? To find out what goes on there, you would need to talk to someone who was on the inside. Frank Staples could help you with that. He was there and is willing to share his story with us.
The post What Happens In NH Prisons? appeared first on The Liberty Block.
Joe Biden is fond of his ice cream, and who can blame him? Tasty stuff, though he appears to be very vanilla, which strikes me as racist if you take my meaning. Brown Ice Cream Matters, just not in Joe’s America. So, James Cordon pays a visit to Sundown Joe and has a question.
He says to President* Biden, “I want an ice cream.” How quickly…” Biden leans forward, presses a button on his desk, and the rest is, well – watch and see.
HT | iFunny.co
The post Five O’Clock Funny – Joe Biden, Ice Cream, and Armageddon appeared first on Granite Grok.
Switzerland imports most of its energy from European neighbors. If you’ve been paying attention, the “neighbors” are preparing for shortages and blackouts, so there’s little or nothing left for Switzerland to buy. So, what to do? The Swiss have a plan—COVID-like lockdowns without the internet or television.
Related: New England’s Shortsightedness on Energy Isn’t Just Bad for You, It is Bad for The Green Agenda
Keep in mind that this was always the end game. Their math never added up, even if there was a climate crisis which, of course, there is not. You were always going to end up here; by you, I mean not them, just you.
The Federal Council of Switzerland has therefore published draft legislation, which outlines four tiers of escalating measures to conserve electricity and avert potential blackouts. The first prescribes a lot of temperature restrictions for things like refrigerators and washing machines. The second includes more unusual rules, such as the demand that heating in clubs and discotheques “be set to the lowest level or switched off completely,” and that “streaming services … limit resolution of their content to standard definition.” The third foresees cutting business hours, banning the use of Blue Ray players and gaming computers, and also limiting the use of electric cars, which should be driven only when absolutely necessary. A fourth and final tier mandates closure of ski facilities, casinos, cinemas, theatre and the opera.
If they get to the fourth tier, the Swiss will have very little to do but think about how they ended up cold and in the dark.
The answer is the lie that eugyppius explains here.
Electric vehicles, which politicians have heavily subsidised as one of their primary policy responses to climate change, are just now crashing against that other great arm of the green agenda, namely renewable energy. You can’t drive everyone into ever greater dependence upon the electrical grid, while also orchestrating an energy transition to wind (which hardly blows in Germany, except in the north) and solar (which generates no meaningful power in the depths of the Central European winter).
Related: Irony Alert: Thanks to the High Cost of Renewable Energy, Europe Can’t Afford to Make Renewable Energy
The radical energy extremism of the Climate Cultists is incompatible with even subsistence living, and I find it difficult to believe that they do not know this. Sure, the rank-and-file facemask-alone-in-the-car advocating Karens who couldn’t wait to get stuck with the experimental vaccine are so far down the rabbit hole they can’t accept how badly they allowed themselves to be misled. I get that. But up top, you’ve got politicians printing money who know better or crony capitalists who will do whatever it takes to tap that funding.
This was not a side effect. It was the goal.
When the peasants appear on the verge of revolt, they’ll approach this like the mRNA injections. They didn’t know how poorly the vaccines worked or how unsafe they were. They’ll say it was an honest mistake, except for all the people like us who nailed it early on and repeatedly after that but were labeled science or vaccine deniers or peddlers of misinformation.
Electric vehicles were a pile of over-subsidized lies long before they told you not to charge them. Wind and solar are a lie, as are many of the green unicorns that even the odd progressive (Michale Moore, BBC, Harvard, Greenpeace, Sierra Club) has had to admit are failures or worse. It hasn’t changed anything.
None of these individuals or groups has the reach or influence to stop this runaway train they have been riding for too long, mainly because they still think some parts have merit. But that’s the same degree of denial that’s keeping the facemask-alone-in-the-car advocating Karens warm.
Related: Net-Zero Reality: There Are Not Enough Resources To Make the Batteries and Replace Them Every Ten Years
And if you think people dying in the dark or the cold will move the needle, don’t hold your breath. People dying alone during COVID didn’t rise to the necessary level for change. Other fears were piled up to silence that distress. The Green agenda is no different. It was the depopulation cult before they came out and just said it. We need some of you to die, and by you, them mean you, not them.
Everything else is just rearranging deck chairs.
The post Switzerland’s Power Shortage Plan Looks Like COVID Lockdowns Without TV or Internet appeared first on Granite Grok.
Press Release
Date: December 2, 2022
To: Members of the Press
From: Sent on behalf of Mr. Lou Gargiulo, Senate Candidate District 24
Resolution of Appeal to the New Hampshire Ballot Law Commission
Background
On the 21st day of November 2022, Mr. Lou Gargiulo filed an appeal to the NH Ballot Law Commission upon learning of certain irregularities in the process and procedures used to collect, transport and count ballots cast during the election held on November 8, 2022, and its subsequent recount for the District 24 Senate Seat.
Statement
Mr. Gargiulo’s intent in filing his appeal was to bring to light matters of great importance to all New Hampshire residents, regardless of party affiliation, as to the veracity of our elections and
their results. Lou Gargiulo, Candidate:
“Ensuring the accuracy of the process by which we select our leaders must be paramount for the State of New Hampshire’s officials, as well as our local town moderators and clerks. I am pleased to announce today that the Ballot Law Commission has agreed to allow me to present evidence to them that can only lead to positive change.”
Note: Shared Content may not necessarily reflect the views of GraniteGrok.com, its Ad sponsors, Donors, or individual authors.
Mr. Gargiulo took the opportunity at an informal pre-appeal meeting held this morning to clarify that his intent was to use his standing as a candidate to raise these important concerns. He further stated that his goal was not to overturn the election results, but to strengthen the process for the future.
“Making sure that legal safeguards relative to ballot security are followed, and that appropriate trainings and guidance be provided in the future to cities and towns throughout the state as needed is my only goal.”
He further took the opportunity to graciously congratulate Ms. Debra Altschiller on her success in the District 24 election, as he converted his appeal of the election results to an agreement to present to the BLC in early 2023.
Corey MacDonald, Esq., Counsel for Mr. Gargiulo:
“Mr. Gargiulo intends to focus his immediate efforts in collecting and presenting to the Ballot Law Commission, the concerning materials his team found, and to provide them with the insight needed to effect positive change for our great state. Mr. Gargiulo should be congratulated for using his standing in this race to bring areas for improvement to light.”
Mr. Lou Gargiulo, Candidate:
“Our elections and the processes by which we ensure their accuracy should be of the utmost importance to every New Hampshire citizen. We look forward to the opportunity to present our findings and concerns to the BLC, solely to ensure New Hampshire’s elections are the gold standard for current and future generations.” –
END OF STATEMENT – Issued by Corey F. MacDonald, Esq., Counsel for Mr. Gargiulo
Please direct inquiries regarding this release to:
Corey F. MacDonald, Esq.
MacDonald Law, PC
603-712-5226
Corey@macdonaldlaw.us
Requests for additional comment or interview with Mr. Gargiulo may be entertained.
The post Breaking News – Lou Gargiulo, NH Senate Candidate District 24: Resolution of Appeal to the New Hampshire Ballot Law Commission appeared first on Granite Grok.
To all those who are sending in memes, thank you! Keep them coming please, as it helps me gather weaponry to fight the Left. Please do share this post, and if you share an individual meme, consider mentioning you saw it on the Grok!
Speaking of, from this week, Monday Memes and Meme Overflow. Also don’t forget my Survival Sunday feature – but please note, I’m taking this coming Sunday off. Part of that is to restructure the post and break it up some, because it’s getting enormously yuuuuuge and unwieldy.
*** Warning, a few possibly off-color ones, in case tender eyes are about ***
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I am not surprised at the latter. With all the actual, real-world info coming out about how “protection” turns negative after about two months, I am not surprised at all. And I’ll say it: I believe this to be deliberate. Not just for the depopulation effects, but for the profit ones – “Hey, you now need our stuff every two months or your immune system dies”. The ideal drug pusher model. And related:
Years? Those LNPs can release over years?????
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Precisely. Or when the electricity goes off for more than a couple of days thanks to “zee inevitable crippling cyber-attack”:
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/cyber-attacks-next.mp4
As I understand it from a couple of people who research this, on the third day the two-legged predators really start coming out.
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I hand-typed in the archive link. It’s blocked because it was reported as hate speech. Which it is. But I find it fascinating that the Wayback machine is now censoring stuff. A good piece at my former blog host about free speech and sunlight:
Musk And The Censors – Liberty’s Torch (libertystorch.info)
Many are the things the Left doesn’t want anyone to say openly. Discussion of certain subjects – for example, the influence of federal regulation and the profit incentive on the behavior of large pharmaceutical companies these past few years – has been ruled completely out of bounds. Discoursing on such a subject on any of the big sites risks being banned and shunned as a “hater.”
But RTWT.
Over time I have become aware of the overt anti-White sentiment – not only in this country – but globally. As I’ve said many times, I’m pasty white and could easily pass at a KKK rally absent my kippa. I’m writing about this in Thought Splinters Part 5 – coming! Related:
But… but… but the Great Replacement isn’t real! Our intellectual and moral superiors have assured us so!
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I’ve seen some of the pictures of those auctioned “artworks” – I won’t post them. They’re VILE.
As social media users continue to scrutinize the luxury fashion brand and its offerings, they have turned their attention to a number of art pieces depicting children with genitalia in place of their noses and mouths, among other features, on the website of world-leading auction house Christie’s.
And never mind that these things are created, and auctioned… they’re sold, and for pretty big coin too.
Despite the recent focus on it online, the British brothers’ deliberately provocative work has been sold via Christie’s for more than two decades, achieving prices that range from hundreds of dollars to more than $500,000.
I’m starting to write an essay focused on this. Related:
And this is the first of five posts… exceedingly disturbing:
Pizzagate Exposed: Part 1 – Liz Crokin Report (substack.com)
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Another recipe from My Tree in Israel. Best olive oil I’ve ever had – and everyone to whom I’ve given a bottle as a gift agrees. (It’s not cheap, so be warned!) Makes a nice gift too. In full disclosure, one of the owners is a friend of mine but I receive no compensation.
And now they’re dipping their toe into wine. I’ve adopted one grape vine.
Bit of sticker shock, so be warned. But if it’s as good as the olive oil, IMHO worth a vine fee every year.
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Pick of the post:
For sheer humor value!
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Palate Cleansers:
The post Friday Meme Overflow-Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.
Neither Steve Stepanek or Pam Tucker are staying for a third term:
Concord, NH – NHGOP Chairman Stephen Stepanek and NHGOP Vice Chairwoman Pamela Tucker released the following statements in regard to their positions at the New Hampshire Republican Party:
NHGOP Chairman Stephen Stepanek’s Statement:
“It has been a privilege, honor, and pleasure to serve as Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party for the past four years. I learned a long time ago, in business, that a leader is only as good as those he surrounds himself with.
I would first like to thank my amazing Vice Chair Pamela Tucker. Her work in organizing and overseeing candidate recruitment was nothing short of amazing. She has also worked hard on setting up a women’s program to identify, train and mentor young women who will be our next leaders.
A sincere thank you to Juliana Bergeron, our National Committee Woman, who worked closely with me as we fought to protect our First in the Nation primary as well as being at the forefront of putting together many of our successful fundraising events.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank Kate Day, who headed one of the key programs, that I promised I’d focus on when elected, and that is the building of a grassroots organization; the foundation of any strong party. Kate headed the project to create new town committees across the state. Thanks to Kate, today over 80% of the towns in NH that have their own Republican town committee or belong to a regional town committee.
At the start of my time as Chairman, my Executive Director Elliot Gault and my Communications Director Joe Sweeney did the work of six people and did it well. When Elliot moved onto the Governor’s office, Joe stepped up as ED and we brought on Maya Harvey as our Press Secretary. Maya proved to be an outstanding energetic person who held the capacity to light up any room she entered. Joe and Maya were such a good team that Senator Morse recruited them to run his US Senate campaign.
Fortunately Elliot Gault stepped forward again as ED and we recruited Mackenzie Rohde from New Jersey as our Communications Director. We again struck gold in bringing Mackenzie on board who strongly took control of NHGOP’s messaging that properly supported our platform.
My sincerest gratitude to all of you.
When I was elected four years ago, the NHGOP was and had been in serious financial condition for many years. I made two commitments that day. The first was to put the party on a firm financial footing with an established donor base. The second was to create a solid grass roots organization.
I am happy to say that with the help of many dedicated people, a few which I have mentioned, that my goal has been achieved.
Therefore, today I am announcing that I will not be seeking a third term as Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party.”
NHGOP Vice Chairwoman Pamela Tucker’s Statement:
“I have made the decision to not run for re-election for the NHGOP Vice Chair position for the next term. Moving on from the NHGOP as Vice Chair is a bittersweet feeling. I am looking forward to my next endeavor, but look back with a grateful heart for our team and all the experiences we’ve shared together. First and foremost, I’d like to thank my colleague and friend, NHGOP Chairman Stephen Stepanek, who led our team day in and day out, was a fundraising machine, and held the reins of making the NHGOP the successful organization it is today. I am grateful for what everyone has built together; the support we’ve shared for each other and the accomplishments and hardships that we’ve tackled as a team. Thank you to every member of the NHGOP staff and team for making my job as Vice Chair as smooth as possible. I graciously thank every supporter, activist, door-knocker, sign holder, and all those in between for making my time at the NHGOP a success! We did what we set out to do and then some, and as Vice Chair, that’s all I could ever ask for.”
Thank you,
Stephen
Not enough noses to count or that the base is rather dissatisfied with unmet expectations?
The post Breaking News: NH GOP Chair and Vice-Chair Not Running for January Re-election appeared first on Granite Grok.
Here, I reported that Doug Lambert had been arrested and charged with simple assault stemming from his activity at the October meeting of the Belknap County Republican Party. At the November meeting, based on testimony and a truthful video created from 3 camera angles (provided by GraniteGrok), he was stripped of his General Membership.
There have been skeptics to be sure. It’s also clear that during his testimony, he made light of the proceedings. Now in possession of the Gilford Police reports as well as the Laconia District Court paperwork (to date, to be sure), it is clear that “there” really is there. Best place to begin is always at the beginning. At the sake of being repetitive, the video once again:
There are all kinds of commenting going on over here about this recounting so for adding more video-specific comments, take a stroll over there and yak about your and the other commenters’ thoughts (if you don’t mind). The purpose here is to simply outline what is now happening with Lambert’s alleged] assault.
Sidenote – always remember that in our system of jurisprudence, the defendant is always assumed to be innocent until proven guilty by the weight of the evidence, intent, motivation, and ability.
As reported before, a report was made to the Gilford Police Department by the victim, logged, and the following was abstracted from the GPD Arrest Log after the report was made:
Gilford Police Department Page: 1
Dispatch Log From: 11/08/2022 Thru: 11/08/2022 0000 – 2359 Printed: 11/09/2022For Date: 11/08/2022 – Tuesday
Time Call Reason
<snip>
1050 Service of Paperwork
Location/Address: FARMER DR
The more complete abstract was just released on 11/27 where Lambert finally turned himself into the GPD for booking (and this is a public record):
And yes, the arrest happened.
This was preceded, of course, by the original statement by the victim (re: dated 11/4/22):
(click to embiggen)
Entered into evidence at the GPD at the time of the report was this following video (courtesy of GraniteGrok):
Please note that this was viewed by GPD personnel. As opposed to what Lambert attempted to persuade in the BCRC meeting video above, their determination was that contact was made and it wasn’t consensual. Otherwise, their arresting process would have stopped short. While this incident still needs to be adjudicated, the GPD agrees (to the extent that they can).
The next post will start to outline the process of getting a temporary restraining / stalking order.
The post NH GOP Delegate / Gunstock Area Commissioner Douglas Lambert Arrested and Charged with Simple Assault – Paperwork Part 1 appeared first on Granite Grok.
In China, the people are revolting in what is being termed the “White Paper Reevaluation.” In cities around China, demonstrators are holding up blank sheets of white paper. They say nothing but again say everything, you can only push people just so far.
They are rattling the cages of Xi and the CCP and are calling for both to “step down.” (Not very Likely, and we can expect the tanks to begin rolling any time now).
These demonstrations are in response to the new waves of Corvid lockdowns imposed by the government. Triggering the “revolution” was a fire in a high rise that killed ten people, locked in, who couldn’t get out. A tiny number compared to the 1.4 billion Chinese population but not to the people who cared while the government did not.
Discontent in China has been growing as evidenced by the “let it rot” attitude of growing numbers of the young, highly educated who can not find jobs. The competition for those jobs is fierce and working conditions and hours are oppressive. Only the best and toughest thrive so many are just giving up and saying, “let it rot”.
There are lessons for those of us here to take note of. First: a college education is only as good as it can get the student a meaningful job for their future. Too many of anything flood the needs market place and we see this to be true here in America also. So a college degree is only as good as the future it can provide and parental bragging rights do not pay the bills or their student loans. Second: The Chinese people have no Second Amendment Rights and do not own firearms so really these “revolutions” are only paper thin, they have no teeth. So far XI has not responded (not stepped down) but if he does respond expect the rumble of tanks, it’s what authoritarians do. People don’t count only their power and control matters. They do have elections in China too but, if you can’t trust your elections how can you trust your government?
Is any of this ringing any bells to readers? We have a very valuable Ace in the hole here in America. Millions of law-abiding legal gun owners. Politicians here have mostly had to take into account that factor and moderate any ambitions toward any authoritarian leanings, that is until recently. This accounts for the left ever-increasing push to take our guns away. It is not legal gun owners who are responsible for gun crimes, it’s criminals. But it’s armed citizens who are the threat to any authoritarian, one-party control such as in China. It is in no way a humanitarian gesture by the left to release violent criminals from prison, it’s a calculated move to increase violence to create more cries for government to “do something”. Like, take legal gun owners guns.
Something to keep in mind. When authoritarians label their opposition as radicals or terrorists it’s because we refuse to bend a knee to their demands.
The post The White Paper appeared first on Granite Grok.
Whether you agree or not with the timing of Donald Trump’s announcement that he is running for President, his “hat” is “in the ring.” And regardless of what you believe are his chances, I have some advice.
Let some of that sh!t go.
In 2016 you had a clear vision of what you wanted to do, and once in office, you did it. No matter the hurdles, barriers, or less-than-stellar moments, you said it and then tried to get it done. That’s rare.
And while every campaign has to look at what’s happening (or happened), for contrast, what will you do about it? In other words, you can’t win anything by nagging us about how you were mistreated. Let’s assume that’s going to continue at DEF CON 1. How can you still achieve whatever it is you are running to accomplish?
Is there a way to talk about it without sounding like a sore loser?
And since no one in the swamp wants you to clean them out, how do you sell the need without undermining the system you’ll have to navigate to get the job done?
I guess I’m saying that instead of focusing on how it’s all stacked against you (or us) as an underdog, use something you have few others can claim. Experience. What did you learn, and how will you approach this differently?
You are still the outsider candidate. Nothing “establishment” wants you derailing their money or global reset freight train. So, why should we lay the Trump agenda (warts and all) before that, and how will it slow, stop, or derail the political power-brokers and the donor class that supports them to the benefit of regular Americans?
Tell that story to the people. And when the mob opens its mouth to derail you, point out the system they are defending, the inequity of it all, the incompetence (with recent examples), and refuse to support that (or perhaps challenge them on why they do).
And stay on that message.
America is not great right now. It needs a fighter, but it also requires a powerful vision to overcome everything the Left will do from now until weeks after the 2024 election.
It’s a tall order for anyone, but people will listen if there is a vision and a path and complaining about how you were wronged is neither. Using that experience to plot the course ahead, however, could.
The post Some Advice for Candidate Trump appeared first on Granite Grok.
There are so many elements of the possible rail strike that anger people who care about the situation. The first is that we are still contending with a potential shutdown. We were told by Joe Biden, the “Union Guy,” that he had resolved the strike back in September. He lied.
Like so many other lies, he blew smoke at us to help his party minimize the losses in the Midterms. Student Loan Forgiveness, avoiding the rail strike, falling gas prices……all lies. And like sheep, the American people bought his lies and voted for more Democrats at all levels than deserved to win. Biden promised he would be the most transparent. He never said he would be the most honest. We see that clearly, now.
Secondly, why is the government involved in negotiating contracts for private institutions and passing laws to grant benefits to specific union workers? None of this should be happening in a country that bases its economy on capitalism and free enterprise. Government intervention would be the solution in a socialist or fascist state.
The most hypocritical move on the part of Biden was to put the burden of solving this labor issue in the hands of Congress. The last time this rail contract needed action, Bill Clinton was President, and Joe was a Senator from Delaware. Congress was asked to intervene, and six Senators voted NO to Congress’ plan to avoid a strike. Joe Biden was one of those six and voted no because he said this was a union issue with the rail companies and not the place for government intervention.
Not to consider this possible strike a trivial matter. One-third of all products used and bought in this country travel via rail. With the economy already fragile, the country does not need the type of disruption to the supply chain that a rail strike would create. We also do not need thousands of rail workers, not to mention all of the ancillary workers hitting the unemployment ranks just before the holidays, or any time, for that matter. We could look at 1-200,000 workers that could become non-workers next week.
Biden was so pompous in September as he took a victory lap touting his years of working with the unions as making him the right man for the job. He failed and lied. When are the Democrats going to join the right and recognize that this President and his administration are inept? Biden asking Congress to clean up his mess was terrible. But equally bad was the House passing a stand-alone bill granting all rail workers, regardless of which union or contract, seven days of paid sick leave per annum. Where in the Constitution does it give any branch of our government the right or power to negotiate or dictate contract terms to any industry? It isn’t there, and I am disappointed for any Republican who voted for either of the two bills drafted to prevent a strike. I do not want a strike. The negative ramifications are too significant, but I do not want the government to assume more power.
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