In a recent op-ed, Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico explains what makes semi-automatic weapons so dangerous:

AR-15s—the weapons used in a number of mass shootings—aren’t dangerous because of how they look. They are dangerous because they use expanding gas to simultaneously fire a bullet and reload the next round while staying steady on target. The weapon’s primary limitation is how quickly a shooter can pull the trigger.

I wonder if he’s ever actually shot an AR-15 or if his are just nicer than mine, because mine don’t ‘stay steady on target’ between rounds.  Mine recoil, requiring me to reacquire the target before pulling the trigger again.

I think perhaps he’s confusing the use of gas to cycle a round with the use of gas to help a compensator reduce muzzle flip.  In which case, perhaps what he really wants to ban are compensators.

When I teach people about gun safety, I show them how a semi-auto pistol works, and how a revolver works.

First, I point out that with the pistol, each pull of the trigger causes the gun to fire and then load another round:  Fire, load.  Fire, load.  Fire, load.

Next, I point out that with the revolver, the order is different.  Each pull of the trigger causes the gun to load a round and then fire it:  Load, fire.  Load, fire.  Load, fire.

Finally, I ask:  So you can see why a semi-automatic (which fires and then loads) is so much more dangerous than a revolver (which loads and then fires), right?

After twenty years, I am still waiting for someone to say ‘No!  It’s the same thing!’

How fast can you fire a revolver?  Take a look, and then decide for yourself whether Heinrich has any idea at all what he’s talking about.

 

The post Why Semi-Autos Are So Dangerous? It’s the Gas! appeared first on Granite Grok.

The Democrat’s war on women began before they accused Republicans of it, but more recently, there have been direct assaults and flanking maneuvers to take everything from them, from privacy and safety to awards and accomplishments, and – the CDC didn’t want to be left out.

 

CDC is slammed for confusing and woke new guidance for winter vaccines that describes women as ‘pregnant people’ https://t.co/57ZpkBmiJe pic.twitter.com/exBszhcbj0

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) December 3, 2023

 

The CDC has wiped references to ‘pregnant women’ or ‘pregnant woman’ in vaccine guidance and replaced them with terms like ‘pregnant people’ and ‘pregnant parent’ in an effort to become ‘gender neutral’.

Other gender-specific terms such as ‘she’, ‘her’, and ‘mother’ have also been resigned to the dustbin of history by the CDC.

 

As part of the reordering of the common-sense universe, the National Medical Establishment’s broken leadership wanted to ensure that women who think they are men are not sent into a tizzy over the prospect of being reminded they are, in fact, women.

Men are incapable of getting pregnant, but women who think they are men – lacking surgical intervention to prevent it, could. This is what is meant by the dystopian left when they say, MEN CAN TOO GET PREGNANT, PFT! Yes, the same way a rock can swim. You just have to call what’s happening something else and then demand everyone else believe it. Sometimes, under legal threat of punishment if you dare refuse.

There are words for that. Tyranny for the latter and Insane to both, which is a terribly un-PC thing to say, but pandering to the inmates at the asylum never finds its way onto the day’s to-do list. Pity, that. As is this, at least for the super-spreaders at the Center for Woke Disease Transmission.

 

“All pregnant persons are women. A trans man is a woman who is trying to alter her body to resemble a man’s,” [Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of AAPS] said, adding “She is endangering her baby’s health if she is taking testosterone. The CDC ought to be warning about that.”

 

Not likely, but we are happy to warn anyone who reads this about the CDC. Not that there’s a need. All that COVID business appears to have established where the crazy people are and why – in the best interests of public health – we listen politely when they speak and then laugh amongst ourselves and walk away (maybe write a blog post) – but here’s the rub. When the CDC talked during the ‘pandemic,” state and local public health officials and far too many politicians danced to their tune without question.

Will they be following the Centers for Democrat Control on the question of erasing women and mothers?

And what, exactly, are you prepared to do to prevent that?

 

The post The ‘Mother’ of All Wars on Women appeared first on Granite Grok.

Parents in SAU4 serving the communities of Alexandria, Bridgewater, Bristol, Danbury, Groton, Hebron, Hill, and New Hampton, spoke passionately against the CDC wellness policy proposed for their school district at a recent school board meeting.

After discovering the proposed changes to their Wellness Policy, parents rejected accepting the CDC model policy that would turn their school district into a mental health and medical clinic.

This is the current Wellness Policy:

JLCF Healthy School Wellness Sue

This is the proposed change to the CDC model policy: 
NASD Wellness Policy 2023 (final draft)

We’ve already noted big problems within the schools that have implemented some of these changes. For instance, school districts that implemented the Multi-Tiered System of Support with Social and Emotional Learning are sharing personally identifiable mental health information on their students with Keene State- BHII. Parents and students had no idea that personal mental health information would be shared with anyone. Not only is this unethical, it violates the student’s privacy rights based on The New Hampshire Constitution.

This year, two young New Hampshire students were vaccinated against their parent’s consent. That’s what happens when you bring a vaccine clinic into the school when parents are not present. Parents in Rochester and Nashua found out their children were vaccinated after they sent strict notification not to vaccinate their child this year. Mistakes are going to happen when parents are not present.

Recently, in Maine, a father was shocked when he found a small bag of pills that were given to his daughter at the school based medical clinic. The parents of the 17-year-old were not aware that their child was prescribed Zoloft,  a medication that causes suicidal thoughts. He then began questioning how this could happen without his knowledge or consent. It happened because the school district agreed to incorporate the CDC model by including a medical clinic at the school.

How did they treat and prescribe a medication without his knowledge or consent? The clinic says they don’t need parental consent because the Federal Government funds them. The CDC model is void of ethics or any respect for parental rights.

After the father in Maine discovered his daughter was put in danger, he withdrew her from the district. It gets worse–he was then visited by Child Protective Services who finally determined there was no problem with the parents. From the outside, it sure looks like he was retaliated against by someone either in the school or working at the school clinic.

Parents in SAU4 are now educating their board members that they don’t want any part of this. They value their God-given rights to parent their children. But school board members are too quick to chase federal dollars without any critical analysis of what it means for the families they are supposed to serve. People who run for school board need to do their due diligence on everything that comes before them.

Parents and residents made the case that they want the district to focus on academics.

No one mentioned the lack of education and credentials by those assessing and treating the students for their mental health. Many of the people working in the district do not have the education or credentials to treat a child’s anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts. These are extremely serious mental health problems that deserve expert care from a Ph.D. Child Psychologist who is licensed and follows the APA Code of Ethics. Parents would then get the best mental health care for their children, be included in the decisions with the doctor, and their child’s privacy would be protected. That’s not what parents will get with the CDC model.

After the parents and residents spoke, a student representative serving on the board went in the opposite direction, and supported all of these changes to the school system. Citing the importance of a child’s mental health, the child argued that turning the district into the CDC model would be good for children. But this is a child who has no idea how children have been physically harmed, and how students have had their privacy rights violated. I’m going to guess she has no idea where any of the sensitive personal mental health data on her peers has been sent.

Maybe this student and all of the board members should be aware of an incident that played out in East Stroudsburg Pennsylvania years ago when the 6th grade girls were rounded up in school, and then forced to undergo vaginal exams. Parents in PA were not notified, nor did they consent to forced genital exams on their 6th grade daughters. I wonder if the student representative serving on the SAU4 board would be so open to school based clinics if she knew the trauma that the girls in PA had to endure. This is what happens when parents are discarded by those who think they know better:

Parents were outraged that the exams had been performed, allegedly without their knowledge.

“It was horrible,” one of the girls testified Tuesday. “It hurt physically. But it really mentally hurt knowing that somebody was doing this to me when I didn’t want them to do it.”

The girl, now 15 and the trial’s first witness, wiped away tears as she described the exam. During her testimony, the physician, Ramlah Vahanvaty, was sitting 30 feet away at a defense table.

In the back of the courtroom, the girl’s father and other parents dabbed at their eyes with tissues. Her mother, who is seriously ill, was not in the courtroom.

The genital exams were performed during the overall medical checkups required by the state for sixth- graders.

No one in the audience at the school board meeting disputes the importance of good medical and mental health care for children but that’s not the mission of public education. The district is struggling to meet its own mission of providing a quality academic education.  How does anyone think they will be able to meet the child’s medical and mental health needs? They are already proving they are incapable of taking on these tasks because they are not hiring the best qualified individuals, following ethical guidelines, or providing the privacy protections students deserve.

The school board should reject the revised wellness policy, and the wellness committee shut down.  There is enough evidence to show that school districts are not the place to provide these services.

 

The post SAU4 Parents Say NO to the CDC Take-Over of their School appeared first on Granite Grok.

Anxiety, a prevalent mental health issue affecting millions worldwide, can be debilitating. However, advancements in alternative medicine have introduced unique methods to combat anxiety, including the use of fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). This article explores six ways to calm anxiety, with a focus on innovative and natural approaches.

1. Microdosing Fly Agaric (Amanita Muscaria)

Recent scientific research has shed light on the potential benefits of microdosing certain mushroom species, particularly Amanita muscaria. Microdosing involves consuming small, sub-perceptual amounts of a substance to experience its benefits without significant psychoactive effects. The OM.SHROOM company, a pioneer in this field, offers Amanita muscaria in various forms, including dried caps, powder, and capsules. These products are carefully prepared to ensure safety and consistency, providing a novel way to alleviate anxiety symptoms.

2. Regular Physical Exercise

Engaging in regular physical exercise is a well-known method to reduce anxiety. Physical activity releases endorphins, natural mood lifters, and helps in maintaining a balanced mental state. Activities like jogging, yoga, or even brisk walking can significantly lessen the intensity of anxiety symptoms.

3. Mindfulness and Meditation

Practicing mindfulness and meditation can significantly calm the mind and reduce anxiety. These practices help in focusing on the present moment and in reducing the overthinking that often accompanies anxiety. Techniques like deep breathing, guided imagery, and mindfulness meditation are effective in managing stress and anxiety levels.

4. Balanced Diet and Hydration

A balanced diet plays a crucial role in mental health. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon and walnuts, and those high in antioxidants, such as berries and leafy greens, can enhance brain health and mitigate anxiety. Staying hydrated is also essential, as dehydration can worsen anxiety symptoms.

5. Adequate Sleep

Poor sleep patterns are closely linked to increased anxiety. Ensuring a regular sleep schedule and creating a calming bedtime routine can significantly improve sleep quality. Practices like limiting screen time before bed and creating a comfortable sleep environment can foster better sleep, thus reducing anxiety.

6. Professional Counseling

Seeking professional help is vital, especially for chronic or severe anxiety. Therapists and counselors can provide personalized strategies and support. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is particularly effective in treating anxiety by changing negative thought patterns.

In conclusion, while traditional methods like exercise, diet, and sleep are foundational in managing anxiety, emerging approaches such as microdosing Amanita muscaria offer new hope. The OM.SHROOM company provides a range of products, including dried caps, powder, and capsules, for those interested in exploring this option. For those considering this route, it’s worth noting that fly agaric for sale are available at mushroomholistic.com, ensuring accessibility and convenience. Remember, addressing anxiety is a multifaceted approach, and what works for one individual may differ for another. Always consult healthcare professionals before starting any new treatment.

The post 6 Ways to Calm Anxiety appeared first on Granite Grok.

Yes, I am still in “semi-retirement” and not writing much, having to take care of TMEW, the Grandson, and the Granddaughter’s needs in a variety of very time-consuming ways. However, I am quite happy to report that one of “Life’s familial responsibilities” has just come to a good end:

Case DISMISSED

So Ordered

I believe that I had a good-sized hand in this decision due to the nature of my testimonies. No, I can’t repeat what I said other than to say look at some of what I have publicly written here on the ‘Grok concerning DCYF before the hearings started. Then there were other things that I cannot say, due to the nature of Family Court restrictions, that will go unwritten here. However, I laid out the reasoning why this was important to me (“Are Schools Flagging DCYF to Intimidate Parents who Get “Too Involved” In Their Child’s Education?“); I wrote this:

School Districts may be sending bogus “tips” to DCYF against parents who have, shall we say, become TOO involved in their child’s education and letting their Elected Representatives (aka, School Board members) know how wrongheaded they are. You know, the kinds of Parents that the Federal Department of Justice called “Domestic Terrorists” at the behest of the (now disgraced and broke) National School Board Association?

About that DT charge – a  reminder: only ONE of the five members of my School Board was brave enough to tell me, upon asking them all, said I wasn’t a Domestic Terrorist. I think the others were frightened that I asked it during a School Board meeting and didn’t have the courage to tell me what they really thought about me at the time…anyways:

Let’s say that the phrase “We’ll teach them who is in charge and who is the Boss” keeps ringing in my head. After all, there can be no dissent from the otherwise “lovely” school districts’ Narratives, eh (see here if you don’t believe me)? That schools shouldn’t be held accountable for what they are doing (like screwing and grinding up academic rigor like wheat in a mill) but demanding that students and staff must always know and practice the latest politically-made-up pronouns are, who is oppressing the oppressed, and learn all the micro-aggressions, right?

The Berlin, NH, DCFY office is going after a two-veteran family (prior Marine and Navy) that has been holding their SAU accountable. DCYF is claiming that they lock their daughter in a bedroom – when there’s no door at all?

And off to the races it started.  With all that said again, however, the news came last night from the Eldest that his DCYF case was thrown out of court with the above-bolded words (“DISMISSED”). I don’t know how many times this similar action has been taken by Districts (I started a project on that months ago and it is still on my plate) but I will be looking to find out how many of the cases that DCYF believes to be legit and takes to court end up being tossed out on their ears. Right now, this is only One (reformatted, emphasis mine, and redacted info that might get me into trouble for printing it) and its logical ending point:

RSA 169-C:3, XIX (b) defines a neglected child as one

“who is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health, when it is established that the child’s health has suffered or is likely to suffer serious impairment…”

DCYF’s theory appears to be that <redacted> is neglected as she is not receiving the parental care she requires due to her behaviors.

DCYF has not proven by a preponderance of the evidence that <redacted> caused the <redacted> or the <redacted> while providing discipline. Moreover, DCYF has not proven that even if the <redacted> were caused during…discipline, that the child is without proper parental care or control or that the child’s health has suffered or is likely to suffer serious impairment. Following the 2-day hearing, and after consideration of all the evidence presented and the credibility of the witnesses, the Court finds the evidence does not substantiate the petition.

Case DISMISSED.

      So Ordered.

Ayup. Now, TMEW and I, as the placement Foster Parents, still have our Granddaughter due to the Daughter-in-Law’s case, but that might not last much longer due to this dismissal. You see, DCYF tried to get both of them but had to downgrade his charge (they finally figured out “we got nuttin”), and now his case has totally evaporated on them. And hers was predicated, in part, on his charge being proven, which wasn’t. Thus, DCYF’s case against her is now teetering on its brink of doom and on appeal/re-opening/reconsideration/another plea, may get wiped out as well.

When you try to get too cute by half, this is what can happen. However, whatever may happen means, for me, one thing – more Right To Know’s to be written. Because even if the participants believe it is over…

…it ain’t.  Except this one part of it which, as DCYF just found out, some families refuse to lay down and give up. As one wise DCYF worker was heard to have said:

“I think we picked on the wrong family”.

Ayup.

I already have two sent into the Colebrook School District to post, with a bunch more running around in my head. I also have more for DCYF as well – both the “investigator” and the lawyer. And the Laconia Child Advocacy Center.

That all should keep me focused on something other than watching TV for now.

 

The post Night Cap: DCYF Court Case Got “Judge Canceled” appeared first on Granite Grok.

“What is the Executive Council?” was the title of a routine column written by the late Bernie Streeter about 30+ years ago for the 1590 Broadcaster, a now-defunct free newspaper in Nashua. Bernie Streeter was one of Dave Wheeler’s predecessors and held office in the early 90s before becoming the mayor.

As a young adult, I was too busy living in my own little world to pay attention to whatever he was saying. I just showed up to vote in every election for the Republican because I didn’t want the Democrat to be elected, and the office of Executive Councilor was no exception.

The Executive Council is a five member-elected body that shares power with the governor. To borrow content from former Rep Melissa Blasek’s presentation, NH is unique and arguably has the weakest governor among the 49 others. The EC is kind of like the last firewall protection against a tyrant governor. That’s why who its five members are is so important, especially as of late.

Unfortunately, the EC had been derelict in its duty of representing the Granite Staters who elected them and rather just rubber-stamping the governor’s wants and desires. This is also another reason why State of Emergency reform is so badly needed. More on that in a moment.

I will embed the following link for the reader’s reference on the EC, of which some parts are not always up to date, particularly the meeting calendars and with that disclosure out of the way, let’s discuss the responsibilities of that body.

We want to thank Julie Smith for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page.

The EC must approve all appointments by the governor. They include judges, cabinet members, and lower-level bureaucrats. Keep in mind that these are UNELECTED government positions. Again, you don’t get to vote those out in the next election. That is why it’s so important to get the EC to block bad picks so they don’t have a lifetime appointment.

I use the word “lifetime” because the only positions that I’m aware of with an expiration date are supreme court judges on their 70th birthdays. There is currently a vacancy created by the outgoing Judge Hicks and a nomination in the pipeline for Judge Countway (or whatever last name she is most currently using or will use).

Gordon MacDonald was a rogue attorney general, and Sununu nominated him to the bench. Many of us aggressively implored Councilor Wheeler et al. to reject the nomination for a variety of reasons that would make for another article. Anyway, the EC at the time, which is the same five people we have today, defied the will of the constituency and rubber-stamped him into office. He is currently 62, so there’s a light at the end of the tunnel less than eight years away, pending the outcome of a recent bill changing that 70 to 75 years of age.

Anne Edwards, another Sununu appointee, was rubber-stamped onto the bench despite solid reasons made known for not confirming her.

And look at the Department of Insurance. DJ Bettencourt, a long-time friend of the state Royal Family, was recently rubber-stamped into his commissionership despite his less-than-noble character.

Another part of the EC’s duties is approving contracts and spending that involves more than $10,000. I will let someone else discuss what’s wrong with just handing out wasteful sweetheart deals without any oversight to out-of-state businesses. Remember St A’s on 9/29/21 and the arrests on 10/13/21? Of course, you do! A big agenda item was accepting millions of federal dollars with unreasonable strings attached. The rest of that was history. There are, however, all kinds of smaller tag items, but they do add up and put NH over a barrel and dependent on federal money, which is a big part of what makes NH secession so desirable to many.

Keep in mind that federal money is YOUR income tax revenue. There’s a great Thomas Sowell quote about the government quietly stealing your money while giving some of it back to you flamboyantly. If you don’t know Sowell, look him up.

As to the State of Emergency (SoE) issue, we are all by now familiar with Chris Sununu’s Executive Order (EO) madness. It started almost four years ago with over 80 COVID-related EOs, some of the most egregious ones being decreed shortly AFTER his reelection! But there’s a quieter part of the SoE that receives much less attention from Adam Sexton and his peers. It involves bypassing the legislature. Since I am not a constitutional scholar by any stretch of the imagination, I will refer the readers to Daniel Richard with detailed questions that might arise, but simply put, our governor misused the Executive Council to move larger parcels of money around that would, outside of the SoE, require approval from the legislature.

Remember, it is the House and the Senate that make law, NOT the governor. That means the EC can’t make law either. But this monkey wrench of an umbrella, the SoE, has allowed our governor to enhance his tyranny with millions of dollars at his disposal that otherwise would not be so easily available.

In the fall of 2021, an injunction against accepting that federal money was petitioned for and rejected by Judge David Ruoff, the same Maggie-appointed judge that recently ruled the wrong way on the “Claremont 2.0” school funding suit. That judge was UNANIMOUSLY ushered into office, and 2 of those ECs (Wheeler and Kenney) are still in office today!

Who sits on the EC matters! And so does SoE reform!

 

Reminder: The views and opinions expressed in Op-Eds are those of the author and may not reflect the opinion of GraniteGrok.com or its authors.

The post “What is the Executive Council?” appeared first on Granite Grok.

Between 1931 and 1944, we got Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, the Son of Frankenstein, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, and House of Frankenstein. A name pronounced incorrectly for decades until Gene Wilder straightened us out in Mel Brooks, Young Frankenstein.

It’s Frahn-ken-Steen.”

When it comes to the serialization of the horror show called Global Warming, Climate Change, Climate Chaos, and the Crashing Climate, pronunciation hardly matters as long as you are saying the right words and following the bouncing ball of consensus, which changes all the time with only one common thread. It’s your fault, and they’ll be taking your money to pay their “friends” to fix it.

Scientists posing as journalists, wait – I’ve got that reversed, are in on the scheme and are forever coming to the rescue of this or that flailing narrative about global warming. The issue, or should I say back issue, is that they’ve not gotten all their Winston Smiths in a row. Rewriting history happens but not on a scale necessary to ensure the latest lie isn’t trampled on by some unearthed previous truth.

If you recall, the wonky jetstream is your fault, except it’s not. Without relitigating it, grand solar minimum decreased solar energy and weakened jet stream equals wonkiness. The science and journalism, or do I have that backward, argues that you’ve gone and done it—you and your gas-powered leaf blowers and string trimmers and combustion engines and white privilege. You broke the planet, you murderer!

 

 

 

 

Climate Deniers. Write that down because Science News ran a rather lengthy bit about global cooling in March of 1975, the year before America’s bicentennial. Some thoughts about planning for the potential ice age. It’s quite the thing—three successive pages of dense text and two visual aids. The average internet mind would never even consider trying to read it. Like the dog-eared paperback copies of Great Expectations you were supposed to read in Middle School. Lots of tiny words, close together – offensive handwritten notes in the almost non-existent margins. Forget it; where’s the Cliffs Notes (no internet back then)?

The article does not slay the current narrative because of how wrong the cooling science was then – though it should – the problem is the presence of inconvenient science for the current crop of wonky jetstream alarmists.

It looks like this,

 

 

Which looks a lot like this nearly 50 years later.

 

 

The text explaining the top drawing (and the bottom) is an even more significant problem for the Warmist Cult.

 

The cause of this increased variability can best be seen by examining upper atmosphere wind patterns that accompany cooler climate. During warm periods a “zonal circulation” predominates in which the prevailing westerly winds of the temperate zones are swept over long distances by a few powerful high and low pressure centers. The result is a more evenly distributed pattern of weather, varying relatively little from month to month or season to season.

During cooler climatic periods, however, the high-altitude winds are broken up into irregular cells by weaker and more plentiful pressure centers, causing formation of a “meridional circulation” pattern. These small, weak cells may stagnate over vast areas for many months, bringing unseasonably cold weather on one side and unseasonably warm weather on the other. Droughts and floods become more frequent and may alternate season to season, as they did last year in India. Thus, while the hemisphere as a whole is cooler, individual areas may alternately break temperature and precipitation records at both extremes.

 

A cooling climate causes Jetstream variability—a cooler atmosphere. I’m no expert, but I’ve got at least a passable handle on the English language. If cooling causes variability and we’re in a grand solar minimum (reduced solar energy), warming can’t drive it, too, regardless of where that warming is from. And especially since at least 1975, a warmer atmosphere has been credited with a stable jetstream.

I realize that the climate change consensus crowd will change the consensus to make the narrative fit the observation because that is what the word change in Climate change means. The expectation is that the peasants are too stupid to catch on, even after the self-proclaimed experts have been wrong about everything.

And I’m not here to give the peasants more credit than we are due. Too few are interested enough to realize what it all means. The misery they are experiencing is a direct result of a man-made money crisis created to fund the real climate chaos. The funding of a transition to a failed system incapable of powering our 20th-century needs, forget the 21st century.

Theirs is an undeniable hypothesis more in keeping with fundamentalist faith than science. Secular demi-gods capable of changing the weather and the world, but only if you will part with everything you worked to achieve while they part with nothing.

A wind that needs to change.

The monster of Climate Change dogma is the only thing we need to fear: that and its never-ending sequels.

 

 

HT | RCSB

The post The Ghost of The Son of The Bride of the Wonky Jetstream appeared first on Granite Grok.

Parents in every School district are losing parental consent over their children. School Boards are revising changes to the EHAB and JLCF policies, which deal with DATA GOVERNANCE SECURITY and WELLNESS, respectively.

They are allowing parental consent per se, but personally identifiable information (PII) still could be captured by third-party vendors because the schools are leaving that fine print up to you to figure out. They are also adding wording to include Mental Health and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), where Wellness was once limited to Nutritional and Physical Health. Learn more on SEL at this link.

Some kids need help, but not all, yet they are applying this to all.

These changes seem harmless and wonderful on the surface, but the devil is in the details. PII includes many things i.e., phone number, address, age, sex, social security and license number, even parent’s information, and so on. If you don’t consent, your child loses out on education that could be beneficial.

Ask the district to protect your child’s PII in all cases, with no exceptions. Gaming companies are now gathering PII also. And if school district SAU4 Newfound can suffer a ransomware attack, then maybe your child’s data is not safe at all.

You heard the saying Cash is King. Well, Data is King in this new world, and it’s better than cash; it’s gold to them.

Adding Mental Health, SEL, and using Medicaid to pay for these services is usurping parental consent. The Wellness policy affects All children, including yours. School surveys and assessments on your child are infringing on their and your private personal information by the questions they ask.

Search Pros and Cons of SEL, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Schools now keep a database of information on your child, and some schools are sharing it with outside sources.

NH Constitution, Part 1, [Art.] 2-b. [Right of Privacy.] An individual’s right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent.

Protect your rights or lose them forever!

Representative John Sellers
Grafton District 18

 

Reminder: The views and opinions expressed in Op-Eds are those of the author and may not reflect the opinion of GraniteGrok.com or its authors.

The post Parents in Every School District Are Losing Parental Consent Over Their Children appeared first on Granite Grok.

A group called Campus Voter Project is encouraging out-of-state college students to vote in the college town in which they happen to be on election day. Not by absentee or mail-in ballot where the tuition bill or their tax refund would go.

No, they want you voting in the town your college or university is in – (as if it needs more Democrat votes).

 

Register at School or Home

Students have a decision about where to register to vote.

You have a right to register to vote at the address you consider the place where you live, whether that is your family’s home or the place where you attend school. You should update your registration anytime this home address changes.

You may only be registered and vote in one location.

Tuition Status

Being deemed out-of-state for tuition purposes does not prevent you from choosing to register to vote in your campus community.

 

It fascinates me how a state (New Hampshire has been like this for nearly two decades) can allow universities to discriminate against students in this manner. They give them the right to decide ballot measures, how other people will be taxed (or how much freedom they’ll have – depending on who gets elected with those votes) but demand the student pay two to three times as much for the same education as resident students who pay in-state tuition.

It almost sounds like an education poll tax because we know from recent history that requiring them to get a state ID or driver’s license is an undue financial burden. That’s what the folks who want out-of-state students voting in local elections often claim.

What to do?

The New Hampshire legislature tried it at least once: pass a bill to grant any student who registers and votes in the state of NH in-state tuition rates. Vermont won’t even give such an idea the time of day, but the Granite State should consider it again. Call it the Economic Equity in Education bill. Suppose a student feels like they live in New Hampshire for voting purposes, regardless of their in-state-rate ineligibility on any other (typically dozen or so) criteria. In that case, they get a refund for the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition and pay in-state rates as long as they remain registered and on the NH voter rolls.

An aging population that needs young blood would benefit from the increase in youth and inexperience that the more affordable education provides. We could lower the total student debt burden, which, in New Hampshire, is significant, saving taxpayers money when the folks who want non-residents voting here promise to bail them out.

Students from poorer states who might not otherwise seek to vote in a state where they don’t live might be able to afford higher learning right here, in New Hampshire (including students who were planning to attend a school in Vermont).

Call a representative wherever they may live (Democrats have elected non-resident students to the NH Legislature) and ask them to support an Economic Equity in Education Bill.

Stop overcharging non-resident voters for the same education.

Stop discriminating against “voters”  whose only sin is living outside the state.

It’s the right thing to do!

 

The post So, Vermont Discriminates Against Its College Students, Too? appeared first on Granite Grok.

Former US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has decided to become a former Congressman To spend time with family? – No. He has said nothing specific about how he will fill his “free” time, but intends to work to get Republicans elected, especially in the seats of Republicans who voted to remove him as Speaker.

 

The Californian pledged to “serve America in new ways. I know my work is only getting started.”

“I will continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office,” he continued. “The Republican Party is expanding every day, and I am committed to lending my experience to support the next generation of leaders.”

 

The GOP is barely functional when they have a majority. His departure will start the new year by making what there is of the current majority even thinner. It begs the question: why get different Republicans elected if there’s no impetus to advance so-called Republican priorities now?

Were you as Speaker, the most important priority? Seems like it. We have to assume those are the sorts of Republicans you’d back. Does that mean they will also, like you, help Biden advance his agenda or sit on their hands instead of doing anything meaningful (political theater doesn’t count) to address corruption, budget process, or using that soapbox to excoriate Dems for defending the Biden Crime Family, going to war with parents, and building on already unsustainable generational debt?

Whatever McCarthy has planned, he knows what it is and is making himself available. Being in Congress was somehow an obstacle. By stepping aside, regardless of the lost vote or promises to replace himself with more later, he can do whatever that new thing is.

So, what is it?

 

The post Kevin McCarthy Opts to Make Razor-Thin Republican Majority Even Thinner appeared first on Granite Grok.

As promised in Monday Memes, I have an overflow.  So many memes it’s not funny any more.  And yes there will be a Friday edition too.

Let the mayhem, mockery, and ridicule resume:

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

I would always prefer to use a peaceful means to solve problems.  To quote Mr. Miyagi: “Fighting not good… someone always get hurt”.  But on the flip side of that is another sage piece of movie advice that applies to life: “Y’see, some men, you just can’t reach…”  And cap that off with this quote from sci-fi literature:

Anyone who clings to the historically untrue-and thoroughly immoral-doctrine that, ‘violence never settles anything’ I would advise to conjure the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler could referee, and the jury might well be the Dodo, the Great Auk and the Passenger Pigeon. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedom.

— Robert A. Heinlein

 

 

 

I wish I could have more.  But not with my Jabbed wife, and I’m getting kind of long in the tooth to be a parent.  Not that, if Hashem willed it, I wouldn’t try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which reminds me I need to get my kids back to the range.

 

 

 

 

 

Control the information flow, and control what people believe.

 

 

 

And probably have plugged a lot of the holes in the system too.

 

 

 

I’d buy that for a dollar.

 

 

 

 

What amazes me is how many people don’t see a problem with this.

 

 

IMHO there’s no fire in Hell hot enough…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All on the US taxpayer dime.

 

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

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

This is an uncomfortable topic as a lead-in to a bigger one, but people who share pictures and videos online need to be made aware of this:

The unstoppable rise of deepfake PORN: Experts reveal explosion in AI sites and apps that stitch faces of ANYONE with photos online onto naked bodies, as victims tell of their horror after police say there is NOTHING they can do | Daily Mail Online

So.  About two years ago, give or take, I clicked on a “clickbait” link and was taken to what – on the face of it – was an utterly convincing short clip of a mainstream actress that I like.  This actress  has, to my knowledge, never done such films.  Topless, I believe (I’ll take the search engine’s word for it, I haven’t looked for it), but not in actual porn.  But setting aside disbelief, it was a fairly convincing portrayal of her in a hard-core scene.

Now, the link above.  This is a specific and very harmful example of deep fake / AI editing technology.  We can literally not believe our eyes any more.  We can’t even believe video any more.  And in this specific instance the damage that can be done to someone online through such technology is unlimited.  Often one doesn’t even know that one’s image has been so compromised until someone tells them.  Incredibly insidious.

Now, the bigger picture.  First, it was said that “Seeing is believing”.  Then, as people became aware of how pictures and video clips can be selectively printed without context, or edited / trimmed, to distort the actual reality, the sage wisdom that you can’t believe half of what you see came forth.  Nowadays, you can’t believe anything.  Not anything.  FedGov now has an exobyte computer and where there’s one that we know of, not only are there others, but what do we NOT know of?  What kind of fakery could that create?  What was an information-enabling technology – photos and even more, videos, has – through the ability to edit or outright forge or create through computing technology (another enabling technology) – become something that now shrinks our circle of trusted information to either what we see with our own eyes, or have reported to us through people we trust in person as we become aware of what’s possible.

And now that FedGov is hoovering up Trump’s likes, followers, etc., and doubtless I and other are “on lists”… and if you are reading this I suspect you are too… with all that computing power and fakery possible, imagine what they might do in a very individual-tailored fashion to shut you up, or shut you into a cell on – quite literally – AI-fabricated evidence.

I think there are only one or two pictures of me floating around – stills – not that I expect anyone to attempt to graft my mug onto someone else.  And about one of the women in the article – imagine being on a job interview and someone, for some reason, not liking you or wanting you to be employed there.  Such faked material would be a perfect way to say “Hey boss, I just found this video of the person you interviewed yesterday…”  Or blackmail of a coworker.

But whether porn, or just deep fake videos or stills, or whatever… the open sharing of pictures and videos is becoming increasingly dangerous.  If you can, time to start taking down what you can.  And to be cognizant that even if there’s video… you can’t believe what you see.  Whether about a person or anything else.

Time to dial the Skepticism knob to “11” on everything.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember arguing once for the idea that to get benefits you need to have implanted birth control.  And was called… of course… a raaaaaacist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And 100 years from now The Narrative created by this fraudulent statue will be the Truth in the minds of most.

 

 

 

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

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

This simple fact about the nature of government cannot be grasped by too many people.  And a tie:

 

 

It’s not cowardice.  It’s wanting to suck the last morsel from the FedGov trough before it all crashes.  Traitors, every last one of them.

 

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

 

Palate cleansers:

 

—

—

 

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

 

Come back on Friday for more memes.  Same meme time.  Same meme channel.

 

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

 

 

 

The post Meme Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.

I have several readers who send me news-related articles on a daily basis. Some of them funny, many of them concerning the shifting political winds and typically all of them bent toward conservatism. 

 

WaPo Image of Trump-Caesar

Rarely am I sent something that is alarming, that is, until yesterday.  An article from the Conservative Tree House referenced a Washington Post Op-Ed referenced on Twitter/X by Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz with the comment: “They’re obviously green-lighting assassination.”

 

One may recall Tucker Carlson’s recent interview with Trump, where he casually suggested as much to the former president himself.  Reasoning backward from the logical conclusion, Carlson recounted the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach the D.C. uni-party had attempted thus far to dismantle and destroy the former president. Here is a quick recap:

• Media and elites mock his chances of beating Hillary Clinton
• Dems announce his impeachment the day he’s elected
• Clinton and Dems claim he stole the election as media supports claim
• Launch national smear campaigns regarding the Russia collusion (which Clinton funded)
• Tie his “very fine people” comment to affinity for white supremacy rally in Charlestown
• Schumer warns intelligence community has “seven ways from Sunday” at taking down Trump
• Riots take over country following George Floyd death – Dems and media support rioters and blame Trump
• House drafts articles of impeachment over Mueller Russia-collusion report
• Riots move to D.C. and envelope White House
• COVID pandemic is launched with Trump subsequently blamed for any of its deaths/mishandling
• 2020 election called “most safe and secure” by media despite record levels of fraud appears to s
• teal it from Trump
• Trump framed for Jan 6th “insurrection” despite video evidence indicating federal planning
• Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence raided by FBI for documents
• Trump indicted in multiple states for a variety of charges all designed to imprison him
• Attempts to remove Trump’s name from ballots in swing states

As anyone can tell the powers that be in D.C. appear to be willing to do just about anything to keep Donald Trump out of the White House.  Even murder, though?

Enter “neo-con” Robert Kagan.  Kagan is a foreign policy wonk from the Brookings Institution with the preferred deep state pedigree: Yale, Harvard, and American University degrees; lifetime political mouth-piece; aggressive foreign policy positions; spouse (Victoria Nuland) in the State Department; pro-military industrial complex personality disorder.

Kagan’s piece for the Post is a lengthy screed-like plea to anyone who will listen inside or outside the beltway.  Donald Trump is an existential threat to our liberal democracy, and a second Trump presidency will be a dictatorship unlike anything we’ve seen since Stalin, Hitler…Napoleon… or even Julius Caesar.

WaPo image of Trump-Napoleon

Despite being a historian who has spent his life in American politics, Kagan seems to think a dictatorship in the U.S. is feasible.  He labors at length to make his case, claiming Trump’s ability to wield power over anyone he wishes once enthroned with executive privilege, seemingly unaware of the checks and balances in place to limit as much.  The tone of panic is palpable, and the call to action to do “the unthinkable” even at “the cost of career and family” is explicit.

As a concerned citizen, everyone should read this if for no other reason than to see this is the thinking of the career political elite.  Kagan’s ability to project onto Trump the very things being done to him – maniacal desire to control, weaponized DOJ, myriad abuses of power, targeting political enemies – indicate a type of fantastical tone-deafness from someone sitting squarely at the bottom of public trust and favorability.  Americans trust establishment media and political pundits almost as little as they do terrorists and Marxist school administrators with pedophilic tendencies.

Looking at Kagan’s bio in Wikipedia for context, he also shirks his “neo-con” label, calling himself a “progressive in the most American sense”.  Whatever he means by that it comes as no surprise this is how he views himself.  He and his wife both favor America’s power to manipulate politics globally and the notion of regime change to that end.  Military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine are all projects both have worked to endorse whatever the cost to human life.  Should we expect anything different from them if they feel threatened at home?  The answer clearly is – no, we should not.

Rather than try to understand how the American populace could elect Trump in the first place, Kagan spends his time adding layer after grotesque layer to the image of Trump the insiders need to fear.  To them, Trump is an outsider who refuses to acquiesce to establishment ways of running the country.  Kagan takes liberties psychoanalyzing Trump and his real motivations, which are always selfish and faux-patriotic.  This is projection at its finest.  One need only look at Kagan and his ilk’s track record and writings to see through the charade.

It can’t possibly be the American people have had enough of a recalcitrant and even hostile government that over-promises and under-

WaPo image of Gen. Mike Flynn a la Kathy Griffin

delivers on the taxpayer’s dime.  No.  People like Kagan are too busy running from echo chamber to echo-chamber, acquiring confirmation bias for their real problem, which invariably is Trump and the apparent idiots and racists who support him.  Never mind, the complaints are from both sides of the aisle at this point and aimed at a uni-party who have gotten us $33 trillion dollars in debt, degraded our education system, flooded our cities with illegal “citizens,” co-opted billions to fight in Ukraine, and gaslight us all the while they cover-up obvious crimes from the Esptein Island-prison suicide sham to the Hunter Biden media scandal and mysterious cocaine in the White House or the magical cleaning of the streets of San Francisco for communist dictator Xi Jiangping.

None of this requires racism to generate vitriol from the people, which is why Trump’s numbers are soaring among blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, let alone trad-white-conservatives.  The irony is lost on people like Kagan who can’t fathom the American people are not as stupid as they need them to be, and our support for Donald Trump is not evidence of atavistic racism but adults who are tired of being toyed with by those we literally pay to serve us and our best interests, not theirs.

Kagan writes for a political class that uses its delusion to justify political hit jobs on a daily basis, only now they’re calling for a real hit.  Sadly for them we have the internet and enough common sense to see behind the curtain that was the once and powerful Oz of D.C.  We’ve had enough, as had Donald Trump, which is why he’s our guy.

To stop him from becoming our next president, you’ll have to kill him, apparently, which seems to be on the table for these swamp creatures.  They say so themselves, pictures included.

The post Kill Trump?  WaPo Says the Quiet Part Out Loud appeared first on Granite Grok.

Most Americans are appalled – disgusted may be a better word – by the vile antisemitic demonstrations spreading across our country today. Ostensibly intended to show support for the besieged Palestinian people, they more closely resemble Germany’s ugly, antisemitic riots just prior to World War II. There is no effort to hide the utter hatred for Israel.

But this is America – not Nazi Germany, and the exponential rise in antisemitism in this country, that massive pro-Palestine demonstration in Washington, would have been unimaginable just a couple of months ago.

This new antisemitism makes no sense, especially considering that it all started after the Israeli people were again victimized – savagely attacked by Hamas on October 7th. It was on that date that the terrorist organization launched a sickening assault on the people of Israel. More than 1,200 innocent men, women, children, and even babies were slaughtered. Hundreds were taken captive in that unprovoked attack.

Israel, of course, responded accordingly. And that justified response somehow spawned the despicable antisemitic demonstrations we’re witnessing today here and around the world.

Americans have a long history of protests and demonstrations. We’ve sparred over civil rights, abortion, religion, parental rights, Supreme Court decisions, and Executive Orders. There have been more than enough domestic controversies to keep our country divided.

But now, a conflict that’s been raging in the Middle East for centuries has been brought to this country. What is particularly shocking, though, is that so many Americans have taken a stance against Israel, one of America’s staunchest allies.

In recent years, Israel has been an invaluable partner in the war on terror. Beyond that, America has always been a friend to Israel because we share the same values. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. We’ve supported that country because it is a peace-loving nation surrounded by belligerent and aggressive neighbors. And in the aftermath of the October 7th atrocities, America, and all people of goodwill, sided with Israel because that country was defending itself from a terrorist organization that can only be described as the essence of evil. The unspeakable atrocities committed by Hamas were not acts of war. They were acts of barbarism that can never be justified. Yet somehow, today, we’re witnessing this inexplicable rise in antisemitism.

Most of the people engaged in today’s riots seem to fall into one or two categories.

They’re young people, filled with passion but void of facts. They’re born followers who don’t know and don’t want to know that Hamas is a terrorist organization that instigated the current conflict. They don’t care to know that Hamas is dedicated to the complete annihilation of the Jewish people. They’re certainly not aware that the Hamas Covenant of 1988 begins with this quote from Imam Hassan al-Banna: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it…” They probably don’t know that the Palestinian people elected that same hateful organization to lead their government in 2006. They’re likely unaware that Hamas deliberately targets innocent Israeli civilians and then cowers behind Palestinian schools and hospitals to deter retaliation.

Young and idealistic, the passion of those protestors comes straight from the teachings of their radical college professors or from Chinese-controlled TikTok, another purveyor of antisemitism.

Other rioters are themselves Arabs or Muslims, many of whom harbor an intrinsic hatred of Israel. Either they brought that hatred with them when they came to this country, or they learned it here from their parents or grandparents. They care nothing about the creed that’s supposed to unite Americans, E pluribus unum. The once-renowned concept of a melting pot means nothing to them. They, like those six million unchecked migrants flooding across Joe Biden’s open borders, are major contributors to the Balkanization of America.

They denounce Israel for the innocent Palestinians killed in the aftermath of October 7th but won’t even acknowledge the Israeli women and children specifically targeted by Hamas. When clear-thinking, open-minded people consider the atrocities committed by Hamas, any criticism of Israel fades away. Allegations of injustice and oppression become mute, and objective people understand that before anything else, this scourge must be eliminated. That’s exactly what Israel is trying to do while trying to minimize casualties among the Palestinian people.

Nothing can be more tragic than the loss of innocent lives, but Israel was provoked into this war. And as in all wars, civilian casualties are inevitable.

On December 7th, 82 years ago, our country was ruthlessly attacked without warning. More than 2,000 Americans died, and we responded quickly and decisively. Our entry into the conflagration that had already been raging in Europe resulted in a costly and bloody world war that killed an estimated 15 million combatants and 38 million civilians. But it saved the world from tyranny and rescued the Jewish people from extinction.

Today, the Jewish people are again threatened by a malevolent force determined to wipe them off the face of the earth. This time, they responded decisively. They’ve set out to eliminate that threat to their very existence. They must not and will not allow public opinion, protests, or weak-willed politicians in Washington to deter them.

The post The Poisonous Mix of Imported Hatred and Home-Grown Ignorance appeared first on Granite Grok.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a Climate Change Indicators page that we expect will be getting a rehab any day now. When yo select change in hot temperatures it produces a map that contradicts the others on the page.

From the CO2 Coalition.

 

As reported by EPA, only 19% of all weather stations report an increase in the number of hot days since 1948!

Below is an important chart that somehow slipped by EPA’s “consensus” censorship squad. It is a map of all 1,066 weather stations across the United States. The change in the number of hot days for that station are ID’d as increasing (red), stayed the same (blank) or decreasing (blue).

A total of 863 stations, or 81%, reported either a decrease or no change in the number of hot days! Any guesses on how long this map will remain up on their site?

 

 

The significant number of stations compromised by encroaching heat islands makes me wonder two things. Are all 19% of the stations showing an increase so encumbered, and how many of the others are as well?

That doesn’t change the public relations hitch this puts in the Climate Cults Global Warming Step. It’s inconveninet, but not devastating. They’ve survived all the apocalyptic predictions that never came to be while predicting more, so this can’t be much of a concern. But I do expect the map to change or the data to be tweaked so it presents a result aligned with the current dogma.

The post EPA.GOV – 81% Of Stations Report The Same or Declining Average Temperatures Since 1948 appeared first on Granite Grok.

So, even the advocates’ number crunchers looking at the Global Warming Solutions Act’s Clean Heat Standard have to admit that the costs Vermonters will have to cover to meet greenhouse gas reduction mandates exceed any potential benefits — by a lot — even after those advocates apply two and a half billion dollars in totally made-up benefits to the ledger via the bogus “Social Cost of Carbon.”

(Side Note: If you want an excellent if highly technical explanation of exactly how and why the Social Cost of Carbon numbers are completely fabricated, Roger Pielkey just posted this article where he describes SCC calculations as “Sneaky. Uncool. Not science.”)

Asking a clarifying question during the November 30 meeting of the Climate Council Cross Sector Mitigation Committee, TJ Poor of the Agency of Natural Resources pressed presenter David Hall about the cost/benefit dynamic, “The takeaway here is that [these measures] are not cost-effective under the societal test…. These measures are not cost-effective, is that right?”

After a little hemming and hawing, Hill stated clearly that, yes, “The net present value of the cost is greater than the net present value of the avoided fuel costs and the avoided social and economic damages.”

The delta between the costs and benefits for the most likely policy scenario, according to the report, is negative $1.33 billion. But, if you remove the fake $2.5 billion in “benefits” attributed to the Social Cost of Carbon from the equation, that number jumps to nearly negative $4 billion.

Digging into the full report, there are other red flags Vermonters should be aware of.

Readers will recall that there was much rending of garments and gnashing of teeth when ANR Secretary Julie Moore estimated the impact of the Clean Heat Standard on heating fuel prices would be around 70 cents per gallon. Well, the Thermal Analysis Final Report shows that number rising as high as $1.41 per gallon, albeit this doesn’t happen under their scenario until 2045.

In the near term, they predict a 4 cent per gallon addition in 2024, rising quickly to 25 cents per gallon by 2030, then taking off after that to 63 cents per gallon by 2035, $1.13 by 2040, and $1.41 by 2045. But I would say these estimates are low. Way low. And falsely backloaded.

First, the study admits, “Unlike the program costs, state administrative costs are not anticipated to be recovered through fuel prices or rates, but to be embedded in the state’s departmental operating budgets. A cap-and-invest program would generate revenue through the sale of allowances that can be used to fund administrative and program costs. Our analysis does not include an estimate of the size or use of such revenues [emphasis added].” So, the numbers outlined above do not include the likelihood that the substantial costs to administer the Clean Heat Standard program by the state will also be covered by the sale of Clean Heat carbon credits. They almost assuredly will be, but if not, another tax will have to be raised or created to pay for this.

Also not included in this analysis is the cost of any equity program designed to help low-income Vermonters who, for whatever reason (upfront costs, lack of desire, lack of infrastructure, lack of access to labor, etc.), don’t or can’t transition away from fossil fuels. The law promises such assistance (Act 18, § 8129 (a)), and it will be expensive. Where will the money come from to subsidize low-income fossil fuel users? Again, I’m guessing from the sale of Clean Heat, carbon credits added to the cost of heating fuel – a big number not reflected in the numbers of this report.

As for my assumption that they are falsely backloading the impact on prices, the report acknowledges that without aid subsidies to lower-income Vermonters, the Clean Heat Standard is regressive. “On the other hand,” it says, “LMI households can be prioritized for access to and benefits from clean heat measures, thereby lowering energy cost burdens for those customers who participate in the program. Such participation may result in increasing overall program costs, however [emphasis added].” Yes, indeed, this will raise the costs!

The report notes that the preferred way to help low and middle-income households is to massively subsidize their transition away from fossil fuels. “Our analyses incorporate the assumption,” says the report (p.14), “that low-income households would need financial incentives equal to 100% of the costs for the new technologies or for weatherization and moderate-income households receive an incentive equal to 75% of costs [emphasis added].”

Fully funding weatherization projects, electric panel upgrades, and installing heat pumps and heat pump hot water heaters, etc. for a large segment of the population is an incredibly expensive proposition. Those costs have to be raised “up-front” if the goal is to move the people who can’t afford this stuff (ie. have no money) to the front of the line. And again, the cost of doing this is not accounted for in the report’s numbers.

The current 2 cent per gallon state surcharge on heating fuel raises about $5 million, so, roughly speaking, an additional 4 cents increase in 2024 would raise an estimated $10 million. This doesn’t even cover the report’s estimated administrative costs of the program between 2024 and 2030, which they say are “$11 million to $28 million above the BAU [Business as Usual] for 2024, from $31 to $53 million above BAU in 2030.” And FYI, they expect the cost of this bureaucracy to grow to be between $130 to $200 million per year by 2050, which our children and grandchildren will have to pay for. Fun!

And, last point, I mentioned in a previous article on the also admitted lack of cost-effectiveness in Vermont’s renewable energy policy that the Social Cost of Carbon is a “keleven” – “a fictitious number used by an incompetent or corrupt individual to balance accounting books.” As such, the keleven changes its value to fit the accounting needs of the corrupt and incompetent actor. So it should be of no surprise that the members of the Climate Council, upon hearing this report, immediately called for adopting a higher Social Cost of Carbon number to “balance” their books as a way to claim their whackadoo policy shouldn’t be scrapped. What a crock!

 

 

Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics, including three years of service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free-market think tank. He is also a regular contributor to VermontGrok.

The post Clean Heat Standard “Not Cost Effective” appeared first on Granite Grok.

America’s weakness is her public’s lack of attention and protection for all that she offers. As each generation passes on, so does the lessening of the overall splendor that our Forefathers sacrificed for and authored. As time goes on, this diversion of attention and respect becomes a weakening agent.

Current Americans who retain those basic qualities are concerned yet have anticipated this questioning of “just how did this happen? Well, the short answer is that we, in our ignorance and “know it all” thinking, chose to follow the easier path or at least to “not rock the boat” or offend.

However, in our haste not to offend, we began to identify separately from each other. Group identity sprung up, although its very nature suggests offending or holding jealousies against the other identities. Essentially, this separate group identity is a nonsensical system compared to when a proud America congenially gleamed and prospered with its single mongrel being.

This division eliminated time and effort, let alone the interest and respect for what those white-haired Founders had to say. That was then, and besides, they were slave owners! This often became the excuse. However, that smells of a criminal and premeditated agenda, which blocks one’s knowing of their unalienable rights, freedoms, and overall proud heritage.

Currently, no educational source will fill our younger citizens’ understanding gap, and the reason is perfectly clear: today’s ignorance was and continues to be its purpose! So, for those who have still retained their curious nature, the following should act as a stimulation and also a validation. For others with less curiosity, it may also spark an overdue questioning of their imposed state of darkness.

Thomas Jefferson stated, “If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.” This says it all, and with regard to our enemies, this advice also directs what their efforts have undertaken!

John Adams stated, “Liberty cannot be preserved without a central knowledge among the people.” Once again, our enemy is cunning in that they study what they are devoted to keep from you.

James Madison warned, “A Popular Government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy, or perhaps both.” The central theme of these quotes is to be informed, for it to be available, and for the necessity of public knowledge. This our enemy realizes, and is also why such info is no longer taught!

Alexander Hamilton stated, “If it be asked, what is the most sacred duty and the greatest source of our security in a Republic? The answer would be an inviolable RESPECT FOR THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS.” (his capitalizing) Our enemy is again served when even Law Schools avoid teaching or even opening up our Constitution for study and understanding.

And finally, Benjamin Franklin advised, “A Nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the region of ignorance that tyranny begins.” A quick glance at today’s standards, knowledge, and faulty priorities will validate Dr. Franklin’s belief. Also relevant is his acknowledgment to God, our Creator, of which faith has been another successful enemy target!

Our Theological seminaries are the latest to fall in line with our Law School’s misdirection. However, when dealing with the faithful and their shepherds, it becomes necessary to rely upon the system of gradualism. Our Holy Bible cannot be scrapped as quickly as our assortment of Revolutionary and Civil War monuments.

In closing, the father of our great country said it best when addressing his troops on July 9, 1776. His General Orders, in part, “…The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavour so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country.” (Washington’s capitalization)

Realizing that this was obviously in the past, yet it flies in the face of a certain modern but questionable President and his absurd comment that “America is not a Christian nation!”

These two diverse statements best portray the divide from our righteous founding versus today’s rudderless ship of State!

 

The post Night Cap: Long Ago Solutions appeared first on Granite Grok.

Stumbling Joe is really knocking them out of the park if, by that, you mean setting some of the darkest records in the history of the Nation.

Illegal law breakers entering the Country has gotten so bad Democrat mayors and Governors are getting pissed off. Inflation has been with us for a while and recession – more or less, though not officially. Prices are up astronomical amounts in some cases. Living is difficult, not much is affordable, jobs are hit or miss, and we’re falling behind everyone, especially our self-professed enemies. Joe’s response is, more systemic failure. All in all, he’s easily surpassed Carter and Obama as a failure, but he’s not done yet.

 

More Americans committed suicide in 2022 than in any other year on record, according to data released by the CDC on Wednesday.

The National Center for Health Statistics recorded nearly 50,000 suicides last year, up 2.6 percent increase from the prior year. The 2022 suicide rate of 14.3 per 100,000 Americans is the highest since 1941.

The increase in suicides was largely driven by older Americans taking their own lives. Suicide rates for young people returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 after soaring in 2021 amid the social isolation and financial stress caused by the pandemic and resulting lockdowns. Suicide rates for children aged 10-14 declined by 18 percent in 2022, and rates for young people aged 15-24 declined by 9 percent.

 

People are so excited about Joe Biden’s America that they are killing themselves in record numbers, and Democrats have to be excited about that. They are the party of death and assisted suicide. Fewer older people take a sliver of the strain off their bloated dependency budgets, so more of them add up to huge savings they can spend elsewhere to buy votes of favors, not that ate couldn’t just print some money for that – which they do.

But assisted suicide without the assist must also have them at cross purposes. They love it when people die – good for the planet, they say. But they are obsessed with micromanaging everything.  You can still die, but they’d like to kill you if that’s okay. It allows them to expand the constituency of government workers (therapists, doctors, grief counselors) who, by their employment, become dependents of the state who will vote for (assuming that is still allowed) or at lease advocate for their existence, even if it kills you.

 

 

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Pramila Jayapal is a Member of Congress from the State of Washington and is known for comments that should roll the eyes of even the most Radical of the Left Wing of the Democrat Party.

Every time she speaks, she curdles the coffee of every member of the Republican Party, and I might say, any person with morals higher than a member of Hamas. That is the lowest of the bars. The latest bizarre comments from Jayapal came on Sunday morning when she appeared on CNN’s State of the Union. Jayapal got heated when Host, Dana Bash, pushed back on a response to a question about the rape of Israeli women and children by the savages of Hamas on October 7. 

From the Jewish News Syndicate:

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) twice hedged her condemnations of Hamas terrorists raping Israeli women during an interview on Sunday with Dana Bash of the CNN program State of the Union.

“The rape, of course, but I think we have to remember that Israel is a democracy. That is why they are a strong ally of ours, and if they do not comply with international humanitarian law, they are bringing themselves to a place that makes it much more difficult strategically for them to be able to build the kinds of allies to keep public opinion with them,” Jayapal said.

When Bash noted that Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, answered a question about the rape of Israeli women by condemning Israel broadly, the congresswoman said, “I already answered your question, Dana.”

Instead of deploying the conjunction “but” as she had previously, Jayapal used the conjunctive adverb “however” this time.

“I said it’s horrific, and I think that rape is horrific. Sexual assault is horrific. I think that it happens in war situations. Terrorist organizations like Hamas obviously are using these as tools, however I think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians,” she said.

Jayapal—who called Israel a “racist state” in July and then seemed to apologize before doubling down a few days later—told Bash that Israeli forces have killed 15,000 Palestinians, “three quarters of whom are women.”

Bash called that “horrible” without questioning the source of the numbers. But the CNN host told Jayapal that Israeli soldiers don’t rape Palestinian women.

“I don’t want this to be the hierarchy of oppression,” Jayapal said.

Bash noted that “It’s kind of remarkable that this issue hasn’t gotten enough attention globally—widespread use of rape, brutal rape, sexual violence against Israeli women by Hamas.”

“I’ve seen a lot of progressive women, generally speaking—they’re quick to defend women’s rights and speak out against using rape as a weapon of war, but downright silent on what we saw on October 7,” she added, “and what might be happening inside Gaza right now to these hostages.”

In response to Bash’s comment that the Israel Defense Forces doesn’t rape Palestinian women, Jayapal said, “Frankly, morally, I think we cannot say that one war crime deserves another. That is not what international humanitarian law says,” the congresswoman said. “We have been allowing Israel to literally indiscriminately bomb hospitals, violate international humanitarian law.”

Even when pressed, Jayapal could not bring herself to condemn outright the rape of Israeli women and children by Hamas terrorists. She finds it horrific but equates it to Israel killing civilians in Gaza. She says we have to look at these rapes “in the balance” of war. She claims to be concerned with women’s rights and conditions, but she is not even concerned with the rape of Palestinian women by the Hamas goons.

Sheryl Sandburg said it best when addressing the United Nations on Monday, “There are no circumstances that justify rape. And that is why the silence on Hamas’ war crimes against Israeli women and children is so dangerous.” She is absolutely correct. This should be the easiest decision one could make to condemn Hamas outright. There is no balance or equivocation necessary.

But the Radical Left cannot find it in themselves to say the words. Antisemitism is at the core of this group of Democrats, and if their fellow constituents cannot quickly condemn it, then we have no choice but to hold them complicit. Let’s see who stands up and says no to Jayapal and who stands behind her in silent support.

The post For Pramila Jayapal, Rape Is A Tool Of The Military appeared first on Granite Grok.

Anyone paying any attention to the news knows Mr. Biden has seen better days.  Now, it’s not just gaffes anymore.  We progressed to hot mic moments.  Now it’s just plain sad.  The man can barely walk without falling down or tripping.  He confuses people and places all of the time. He even has trouble working from a teleprompter.

One GOP Congressman, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX),thinks Mr. Biden is living in the equivalent of an assisted living facility.

Jackson is a retired US Navy rear admiral and worked as a physician in the White House under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.  He expressed his alarm to Sean Hannity, calling the president’s cognitive impairment “an embarrassment,” “scary,” and “dangerous.” In the Hannity interview, Congressman Jackson says the President’s “cognitive decline” is no longer a mystery.

“It’s no longer breaking news when I tell the American people that there is something wrong with Joe Biden. Everyone can see that now. It’s not in question anymore. It’s what are the Democrats going to do about it?”

“The natural course of any of these illnesses, I don’t know if it’s Alzheimer’s, dementia, or multi-infarct dementia. I’m not making a diagnosis, but I’m saying he has a cognitive issue related to his age. The natural course of all these illnesses is that they get worse with time. They don’t get better.”

“The White House is nothing more than an assisted living facility right now…”

“We have big issues right now that this country needs to be dealing with, and we need a commander in chief, and we need a head of state that’s cognitively and physically fit to do the job, and this man is absolutely not…”

“The Democrats are in damage control right now. They are frantic. They realize that they have made this mistake. They put this man in office and expected him to be our president for four years, and he’s not going to make it four years, I don’t think…”

We have a solution for an incapacitated president. It is the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. If the people in the cabinet cannot see what is going on, what does that say about their judgment?

If they lack the fortitude to act responsibly, what does it say about their integrity?  Will it affect the way you vote?  Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? Should the White House be an assisted living facility?

 

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I just happened to stumble upon this video on Twitter, and it’s not your typical cat meme.

Wonder why the J6 Committee never showed this video?

Watch as police throw 3 concussion grenades into a peaceful crowd

The man at the end says everything was peaceful until police did this

I’ve never seen cops throw flashbangs into peaceful crowds pic.twitter.com/VB1Zos1dVN

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) November 30, 2023

The video captures the unsettling scene of police hurling not one, not two, but three concussion grenades into an apparently peaceful crowd at the Capitol on January 6.

In this eye-opening footage, the peaceful atmosphere is shattered by the deafening blasts of concussion grenades.

It made me wonder, “Why hasn’t this been shown?”

It’s the kind of reality check that sends shivers down your spine. But here’s the kicker: the January 6 Committee, the supposed guardians of truth in the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection, has kept this video, and probably, many others, under wraps.

The Jan. 6, 2021, narrative was that the Capitol had seemingly turned into a battlefield, and the January 6 Committee was assigned to untangle the mess left after the insurrection.

How are we to make any sense of it all, with this video, a piece of the puzzle, showing police tossing concussion grenades into what looks like a peaceful crowd? But why did the January 6 Committee keep this nugget from us?

Lack of evidence – is that we are to understand? Because that’s the committee’s first line of defense. They’re on a mission to decipher what happened that fateful day, not a sideshow of unrelated incidents.

Fair enough, but how about this video and probably several others we haven’t seen to provide a sneak peek into the broader story? Did they leave stones unturned?

We can understand if the committee has to walk a tightrope, juggling legal standards and ethical norms. But this isn’t just any video – it clearly shows the police force, and this video, by itself, is the smoking gun, showing a pattern of aggressive tactics that fueled the chaos. Shouldn’t ethical concerns push them to expose potential misconduct?

Or maybe the committee wants the cold, hard facts. That is understandable, considering the gravity of the situation. But what if this video is a fact, a stark reality of how force was used that day? Does it not deserve a seat at the truth-telling table?

The committee might argue about the availability of other evidence or maybe just that other videos are more relevant and reliable. But what if this one is unique, capturing a moment of truth that others missed? Shouldn’t they explore every avenue to present a complete picture?

The January 6 Committee delved deep into emails, text messages, internal communications, depositions, and what-not. They claim they turned over every stone in their quest for truth.

But what about the video that could speak volumes without a single word?

As we navigate this maze of investigations, it’s not just about the committee. It’s about those who swore an oath to protect and serve, resorting to force against peaceful crowds. What consequences should they face?

If the use of force was unreasonable, criminal charges are on the table. But what if these charges are the exception, not the rule? Do we need a systemic shift in how we evaluate the use of force?

Officers can be held accountable for damages by way of civil lawsuits. But accountability isn’t just about compensating victims – it’s about redefining the relationship between the police and the people they serve.

Citing internal investigations, departments can have their internal checks. But these investigations might resemble something of a fox guarding the henhouse. Should external scrutiny be the norm?

True, videos can shape public perception. And we can’t just brush them aside, saying that such snippets lack context. And it is prerogative that we look to the complaints from other officers – fellow officers, as the whistle-blowers, overcoming the code of silence that might prevail. Shouldn’t we foster an environment where speaking up is the rule, not the exception?

We should – with “professional consequences,” which are violators losing benefits or even getting terminated. But what if the consequences aren’t consistent across the board? Shouldn’t justice be impartial to the badge?

As we grapple with these questions, no doubt, the January 6 Committee stands as a symbol of our collective pursuit of truth. But in their quest, let’s not forget the videos like this that might hold the missing pieces. It’s not just about the events of January 6; it’s about the lessons we learn and the changes we demand. Ultimately, it’s about reclaiming a sense of justice that extends beyond the hallowed halls of the Capitol.

The post Could This Unravel the January 6 Committee’s Conclusions? appeared first on Granite Grok.