Thursday • May 2 • 2024
Vol.XVI • No.XVIII
Manchester, N.H.
Remember when NH Assistant AG Jane Young shook his handcuffed hand before he began his sentence? Remember how Edward Arsenault, the “compliance” officer of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, was grinning ear to ear?
There have been some strange events documented after Granite Grok published my July 13, 2023 “Sicilian Ceramics, Florida Boys…Monsignor Edward Arsenault” article.
On 14th July, a day later, Edward Arsenault & Francesco Bolognini filed for divorce. A few days later, their Sicilian ceramics business, “Da Franz,” closed down. Francesco Bolognini assigned his half of their One Luxury Condominium’s property over for the paltry sum of $10 to Arsenault. But then, on August 14th, Edward Arsenault was given guardianship of Francesco Bolognini for “Mental health” reasons.
If Edward Arsenault married Francesco Bolognini so the latter could get US citizenship, Arsenault made sure to divorce him before the three-year trigger point for that. Was Arsenault paid to marry Bolognini? Is that how he paid off his restitution to the Diocese of Manchester of almost $300,000?
The story gets stranger. It transpires that Edward Arsenault and Francesco Bolognini got Unit 304 of “One Luxury Condominiums” property in Palm Beach County, Florida, from a Russian — Eduard Kochetov, “a single man” from Samara in Russia — for $10. The date of purchase was June 17, 2022.
Sharing the same address as the Arsenault-Bolognini ceramic business “Da Franz” at 2730 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, is Dylan Levin, who was arrested on a hit and run in 2021 & drug trafficking in 2023. Dylan Levin was involved in the illegal trafficking of snakes discovered in “Operation Viper.”
So Edward Arsenault and Francesco Bolognini got their place in Palm Beach for $10 from a Russian. And then they dissolved their marriage and their business, which was at the same address as that of a man involved in illegal snake trafficking, drug trafficking, and a hit and run.
Add this to the NY Post article in March 2023, and it all starts to reek:
“A defrocked, ex-con priest who was a diocesan spin doctor at the height of the Catholic church’s sex abuse scandal now heads a pair of New York City nonprofits which have raked in millions in taxpayer cash.”
What do NH US Attorney Jane Young and NH Supreme Court Chief Justice/ former NH AG Gordon MacDonald have to say? They are the ones who let Edward Arsenault off easy after no time in prison, a short time in jail, the rest on home confinement, and allowed him to continue “consulting” after sentencing. Not a good look.
The post Night Cap: There Have Been Some Strange Events Documented After Granite Grok Published My July 13, 2023 Article appeared first on Granite Grok.
Last week, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he would not seek reelection in 2024. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Manchin explained his reasons for leaving. He starts with a relatively noncontroversial assessment of the problems facing America—rising costs, dangerous drugs crossing the border, a large national debt, unsafe communities, and foreign wars that threaten to pull the United States in.
After some platitudes about these not being “Republican or Democratic challenges” but “American challenges,” Manchin concludes:
There are enough votes in Congress to solve or at least make headway against every one of these problems. A genuine commitment to legislating would put America on firmer footing for the next 20 years. But the Democratic and Republican machines have no interest in solutions. Instead, they stoke outrage because doing so brings them fame and funding.
For that reason, Manchin’s done with Congress. He now plans to travel the country to scope out interest in a movement to “mobilize the middle.”
That has many speculating and worrying that the West Virginia senator intends to run as the Democrat on the so-called unity ticket being organized by the centrist group No Labels.
The group has said Manchin’s announcement took them by surprise, but Manchin has a close relationship with No Labels, and his op-ed struck all the same chords as the group’s so-called common sense agenda.
Centrists like Manchin and No Labels can sound reasonable because they often cite the most pressing problems facing Americans and point out that Congress is entirely unable or unwilling to solve them. That’s all true. But things start falling apart when they try to explain how we got here and the way out.
As Manchin sees it, the American people are unified in their values and beliefs but unfortunately Congress has been taken over by two “extremes” that shun the wants and needs of the American people.
In fact, the reverse is true. The more than three hundred million people in the US have many different beliefs, values, priorities, and interests. Politically, there are American socialists, nationalists, libertarians, progressives, conservatives, liberals, monarchists, anarchists, neoconservatives, etc. And then there are the politically disinterested—the largest group by far.
In contrast, Congress is much more unified than the massive population it claims to represent. Ludwig von Mises, who spent many years studying and analyzing comparative systems of political economy, defined interventionism as the prevailing ideology among the world’s governments.
According to Mises, interventionism creates a mixed economy between socialism and capitalism where the bulk of the government’s actions are isolated interventions. Interventionism is built on the idea that the income and wealth of the population “is a fund that can be freely used” for the improvement of society through targeted interventions.
In other words, interventionism is an ideology whose adherents believe, or pretend to believe, that we are perpetually only a handful of government interventions away from fixing most of our problems.
While Mises was focused on economic policy, his analysis applies well to all kinds of government intervention. And so does his insight that, over time, middle-of-the-road interventionism leads to socialism—where the government effectively controls all production.
Mises details how, time and again, government interventions are implemented despite warnings from economists that terrible consequences will result. Then, when those terrible consequences inevitably arise, the government uses them to justify more interventions that themselves have terrible consequences, which are used to justify even more interventions, and so on.
The result is a long march toward tyranny. In his book Crisis and Leviathan, Robert Higgs argues this long march can often be sped up by what he calls the ratchet effect. Some interventions lead to a gradual, continuous decrease in living standards—such as the minimum wage or land-conservation laws. But other interventions, like sending newly created money into credit markets or bombing people in foreign countries, can lead to sudden crises like economic depressions or terrorist attacks.
The fear, uncertainty, and destruction caused by these crises make it much easier for governments to justify previously unthinkable levels of intervention, all in the name of addressing an emergency. But, as Higgs demonstrates, the emergency powers seized by the government are rarely rolled back once the crisis dissipates.
This pattern should be familiar to anyone who’s studied American history. Because the political class is made up almost entirely of interventionists. The political establishment is committed to a specific pace by which the government intervenes more and more in the economy. Meanwhile, the two “extremes” in Congress rarely push for anything more than a slight increase or decrease in the rate at which we travel down this same trajectory.
Understanding this dynamic makes the centrist solutions look a bit absurd. The “big spending” Obama Democrats implemented a top marginal tax rate of 39.6 percent, while the “extreme” Trump Republicans imposed a top marginal rate of 37.0 percent. Are our economic problems solved or at least greatly diminished if a centrist Unity ticket can split the difference and usher in a 38.3 percent rate?
Similarly, the apparently far-right House proposed a $14.3 billion aid package to Israel. The Democrats instead wanted $10.0 billion. Is the key to peace in the Middle East really as simple as “mobilizing the middle” to send $12.1 billion instead?
Centrists like Joe Manchin and his friends at No Labels are right about many of the most pressing problems facing Americans. But they’re wrong to blame extremism and dissent within Congress. The infighting in Washington, while nasty, is largely a sham. The two parties remain unified behind the same destructive ideology—interventionism. If we keep trying the same thing, how can we expect different results?
Connor O’Keeffe produces media and content at the Mises Institute. He has a master’s in economics and a bachelor’s in geology.
Connor O’Keeffe | Mises Wire
Mises Wire We heartily encourage reprints and shares of Mises Wire articles. If you wish to reproduce an article in your blog, magazine, radio show, newspaper column, classroom material, textbook, discussion group, website, or any other venue, please do so. The original publication source must be included in an appropriate place.The post The Problem with Joe Manchin’s Centrism appeared first on Granite Grok.
Discussing Hillary’s illegal email server was election interference, but indicting Donald Trump is not. The Hunter Biden Laptop story was also election interference quickly “debunked” by scores of experts whose commentary had all the hallmarks of an American Disinformation campaign.
A quick hop in the not-so-way-back machine reveals the evidence.
More than 50 former senior intelligence officials have signed on to a letter outlining their belief that the recent disclosure of emails allegedly belonging to Joe Biden’s son “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
The letter, signed on Monday, centers around a batch of documents released by the New York Post last week that purport to tie the Democratic nominee to his son Hunter’s business dealings. Under the banner headline “Biden Secret E-mails,” the Post reported it was given a copy of Hunter Biden’s laptop hard drive by President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who said he got it from a Mac shop owner in Delaware who also alerted the FBI.
The Hunter Laptop has since been “officially” determined to be genuine, as is all the Biden family dirt it contains, but these are details that have yet to be approved by the council of mainstream media Bishops for public consumption. It is far too sensitive, as is the subject of the “more than 50” intelligence experts whose intelligence should be questioned, if not subject to relentless abuse by the same media. Sorry, that’s not been approved either.
Do we need to wait 75 years?The hard drive contents have been online for a while now. Everyone who wants one has a copy. If you’re not interested in fisking or fishing, Marco Polo released a 660-page report on the contents that you can skim here. Some of that is broken down into more digestible bits of Biden Family crime and corruption here. But neither this nor the problem of unintelligent experts is required reading for voters. Nor has it pierced the veil of the collective consciousness. Most no nothing (John Snow) of the fraud contained nor the fraud perpetrated to interfere in a presidential election.
A significant proportion of Biden voters have said they’d not have voted had they known. This does not appear to have translated to 2024, at least not yet.
Given the battle at hand and the likelihood of vote-flipping software, ballot-box stuffing, and other foolishness, might itnot be advantageous to remind people that the swamp is full of dirty liars and they’ll do or say anything to protect their monopoly on power?
A power that permits what Hunter Biden and the Biden crime family have done and gotten away with little fear of consequence.
The post Reminder: The Hunter Biden Laptop Cover Up Was a Classic American Disinformation Campaign appeared first on Granite Grok.
A bevy of climate and environmental organizations rallied behind Mayor Miro Weinberger yesterday in support of a Carbon Pollution Fee Ordinance going before the City Council next week.
The upfront fee would start at $150/ton of the project’s lifetime carbon emissions and rise with inflation.
If enacted, Burlington “would for the first time in state history implement a science-based carbon fee on pollution from fossil fuels,” a statement issued by the Mayor’s office yesterday said. The fee would be assessed on heating and thermal systems in new construction and large existing commercial buildings if the property owner does not install a renewable system – builders and owners can avoid the fee by using electric and other high-performance cost-competitive modern technologies.
The Carbon Fee Ordinance was introduced initially by Councilor Ben Traverse (D-Ward 5), Chair of the Ordinance Committee, and Councilor Mark Barlow, Chair of the Transportation, Energy and Utilities (TEUC) Committee. The Ordinance was reviewed and approved by both Committees and is on the agenda for full Council action on November 20.
“Implementation of the Carbon Fee Ordinance is a big step forward towards our prioritizing clean energy and reducing Burlington’s greenhouse gas emissions,” said Traverse.
Weinberger first proposed a building electrification and carbon pricing policy in October 2020, and the City determined that implementing it would require a charter change. Voters approved the charter change proposal at Town Meeting Day 2021 with about 65 percent voting in favor.
The Legislature then passed H. 448 which Gov. Phil Scott signed on April 20, 2022. The Charter Change required subsequent approval by voters prior to implementing the carbon fee, and Burlington voters approved Question 2 at Town Meeting Day 2023 with over 67 percent of the vote.
The initial carbon fee for non-compliant buildings would be set at $150 per ton, and would be charged upfront at the time of permit based on the expected lifetime emissions output of the system being installed. The fee price will rise annually with inflation. Proceeds from the fee will support low-income residents in accessing clean heating technologies.
Organizations supporting the ordinance with Weinberger today included Renewable Energy Vermont, VPIRG, and the Vermont Natural Resources Council.
As described in a December 5 Burlington Electric Department memo, the fee emulates a current carbon impact assessment now in place in New York City:
We propose the fee would start at $150 per ton of greenhouse gas emissions, for permit applications starting in 2024. It would increase annually at the rate of inflation but limited to no more than a 5 percent increase in any given year.
The fee would be assessed based on a net present value calculation of the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that would be produced by the thermal system over its lifetime and charged upfront at the time of permit.
The goal would be to level the playing field for renewable technologies and represent the full societal, health, and environmental cost of the carbon pollution of the fossil fuel system.
We note that some cities are using higher carbon alternative compliance fees in their thermal sector policies. New York is using $268 per ton, and Boston is using $234 per ton. On the other hand, Vermont’s Climate Council has looked at analysis suggesting $128 per ton for use as a social cost of carbon in Vermont.
Guy Page | Vermont Daily Chronicle
The post Carbon Tax on Buildings Goes to Burlington City Council Next Week appeared first on Granite Grok.
On Tuesday evening, November 14th, TimCast.com released a new documentary titled ‘Infringed: Gun Rights In America’. The film was created by Lauren Southern, a long-time conservative commentator. Ed Powell, one of the co-hosts of “The Conservatarian Exchange on The Liberty Block podcast, was involved as a producer on the movie, assisting Southern with research and setting up the interviews for the film.
The post Liberty Block Host Teams Up With Lauren Southern On 2A Movie! appeared first on The Liberty Block.
Much has been said about the rise of Nikki Haley to second place in New Hampshire, mainly as a vehicle for bashing a struggling Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has the second place spot almost everywhere but the Granite State.
Polls that were taken before Haley announced that she wanted her government to out every public speaker on social media.
“…every person on social media should be verified by their name. First of all, that’s a national security threat. When you do that, people have to stand by what they say and it gets rid of the Russian bots the Iranian bots and the Chinese bots, and then you’re going to get some civility when people know their name is next to what they say.”
And again, no. It is unconstitutional, and Nimarata Nikki Randhawa should know better (that’s her birth name and public information). I bring it up for two reasons. First, it should be the end of her campaign, but we’ve yet to see any evidence. And two, Ace wrote some words about “Wine Aunt Nikki Haley,” and I needed an excuse to share them.
This is a terrible policy idea offered only to achieve a trivial, stupid goal — “we want people to be nice on the internet!” — but of course Wine O’Clock Wendys can only offer this kind of deranged perspective-free obsessive nattering.
We’re grappling with serious, existential issues and you want the government to make sure your fucking Twitter feed is “nice”??!?!
Incivility is not a national security threat, while most of what passes for the American Republic (bastardized by generations of negligence and abuse) is. Hence, the ability of insiders to speak anonymously to the problem we see in government is essential and protected. The State cannot make social media require speakers to use their real names or associations, and Nimarata Nikki Randhawa would be going up against two bulwarks if she tried. (Related: She Didn’t Mean to But Nikki Haley Just Ended Her Campaign for President.)
First, without regard to ideological labels, SCOTUS frequently defends free speech cases unanimously. It is a problematic Amendment to crack. Second, we have the Bruen decision. America rose in the smoke and haze of uncivil discourse—a charge led by the anonymous pamphleteers. Using pseudonyms in public political discourse is a well-established American tradition. Haley can say she wants it, but she can never do it, so you’d be right to ask – after being repulsed by the mere thought of it – what else has she said for effect that has no chance of happening, and she knows it.
Additionally, because the government cannot force “social media” companies to require speakers to publish under their legal name, the platform owners would be left to decide – perhaps with some prompting from the CIA, FBI, IRS, or OSHA, to do it anyway. Their lawyers would never let it happen, and not just because – as noted – it is not something the State can force. It would be bad for business. Anyone who needed or wanted to speak freely but had to do so anonymously would do that “talking” somewhere else. The loss of subscribers could snowball into a loss of interest, revenue, and investors, and that Big Tech, Left-Coast lifestyle to which platform execs had become accustomed.
And maybe you can’t sell that to Google, so now what?
Well, you could begin by not voting for politicians who announce how they intend to use government force to violate the rights of free citizens. It is a long list that didn’t start with Nikki Haley but of which she is now included, and it should disqualify her for many offices but most certainly that of the President of the United States.
The post With Nikki Haley in Second Place in NH I Feel Obligated to Remind Voters That She is a Constitutional Threat appeared first on Granite Grok.
Part one of this article looked at the rise in mental illness in our culture, especially the youth. The question is, where does it come from and why? Looking at the overwhelming influencers, namely teachers and social media, it begs the question of what has changed and who started it.
James Lindsay makes a very strong case the primary Marxist thought leader in this revolution is Herbert Marcuse and his seminal work “An Essay on Liberation.”
In chapter 2, Marcuse called for a “New Sensibility” whereby citizens would shrug off their implicit enslavement to a capitalist system were they to be awakened to a “critical consciousness” (re: get woke). In order to do this, Marcuse cites rebelling in the world of art with “anti-art.” This explains the move from classical realism to absurd and even offensive art. He uses the German phrase gemalte oder modellierte Erkenntniskritik, which translates to painted or modeled critique of knowledge – art as critical theory, in other words. One can now see Picasso, Dali, Pollack, and Marina Abramovic all playing a role in this assault on reality and beauty, adding:
Drag queen playing with small children.“But today’s rebels against the established culture also rebel against the beautiful in this culture, against its all too sublimated, segregated, orderly, harmonizing forms.”(p. 33)
Without batting an eye, Marcuse sees this deconstruction of the West and all its history as necessary to achieving his Marxist utopia, which arrives not from well-reasoned actions but on faith that from the ashes of destruction, it will simply emerge.
Chapter Three, he finally introduces the idea of creating mental illness in youth via education:
“Under these circumstances, radical change in consciousness is the beginning, the first step in changing social existence: emergence of the new Subject. Historically, it is again the period of enlightenment prior to material change – – a period of education, but education which turns into praxis: demonstration, confrontation, rebellion… The development of a radical political consciousness among the masses is conceivable only if and when the economic stability and the social cohesion of the system begin to weaken.” (p. 39&40)
And
“i.e., the political consciousness exists among the nonconformist young intelligentsia; and the vital need for change is the very life of the ghetto population; and of the “underprivileged” sections of the laboring classes in backward capitalist countries.”(p.42)
The strategy, in case you haven’t figured it out, is young teachers creating rebellious youth. As well as:
“The ghetto population of the United States constitutes such a force. Confined to small areas of living and dying, it can be more easily organized and directed… in this respect, the ghettos can be compared with the faubourgs of Paris in the eighteenth century, and their location makes for spreading and “contagious” upheavals… The fact is that, at present in the United States, the black population appears as the “most natural” force of rebellion.” (p. 42&43)
From this, we see Black Lives Matter and their “trained Marxist” leaders were intended to arise. As Dr. James Lindsay says, “We live in Herbert Marcuse’s world”.
The consequences of this deliberate move to radicalize the “ghetto population” include the recent slaughter of a retired police chief simply riding his bicycle being mowed down by two teens and a fourteen-year-old white boy beaten to death by a mob of black kids, both in Las Vegas. Eight of the teen assailants are being tried for murder. Though the left decries the prison problem in America their plans are only making it worse, but Marcuse may have known this:
“The student rebellion hits this society at a vulnerable point; accordingly, the reaction is venomous and violent.” (p. 43)
Again he returns to the need to create this change of mind in the students via a subversive overhaul of education:
“The demands for a structural reform of the educational system (urgent enough by themselves; we shall come back to them subsequently) seek to counteract the deceptive neutrality and often plainly apologetic teaching; and to provide the student with the conceptual instruments for a solid and thorough critique of the material and intellectual culture.”(p. 44&45)
The reform of education looks like what we’ve seen over the past few years. Young and oddly uniformed (colorfully dyed hair, piercings, pronouns, rainbow/BLM flags & anti-American logos, inter alia) teachers, and some older, all coming out of their Marxist closets to meet Marcuse’s call to re-educate America’s children into Marxist-socialism. This can only be done with the “instruments for a solid and thorough critique” of America and Western culture, especially Christianity, as Marx stated in the Communist Manifesto, “the ruthless criticism of all that exists,” a totalizing deconstruction after which the socialist man emerges into utopia. These people believe that if you just tear it all down, something better emerges via socialism. Only it’s never happened anywhere it has been tried – 0 out of 45 attempts. As Einstein said, “the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome”. Marxist-socialism is a type of insanity.
So children, rather than enter into lives of wonder and joy, are instead being indoctrinated into the mindset of Marxist revolutionaries who deliberately paint the world as obscene, convince you it’s obscene, and even justify obscenity to validate their point.
“This society is obscene in producing and indecently exposing a stifling abundance of wares while depriving its victims abroad of the necessities of life; obscene in stuffing itself and its garbage cans while poisoning and burning the scarce foodstuffs in the fields of its aggression; obscene in the words and smiles of its politicians and entertainers; in its prayers, in its ignorance, and in the wisdom of its kept intellectuals.“(p. 11)
This explains the glut of marketing all manner of products in the U.S. Marx prophesied Capitalism’s demise due to its rapacity and gluttony. Marxists believe they can overload the system with any number of items (just visit a toy or candy aisle), which acts as a fattening of the social calf for the slaughter. It’s known as immanentizing the eschaton or bringing the end of the world sooner by increasing its depravity.
This is why children are being taught all manner of sexuality and anti-American messaging. Intended to destabilize them, their families and our culture believing, as Marx taught, it inevitably leads to a socialist utopia.
Ponerology is the study of evilI cannot psychoanalyze Marcuse, nor have I seen one offered of him, but Marx has been classified as appearing to have schizoid personality disorder. It’s characterized by:
Also on the list of famous schizoid types are Bill Gates, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin, a veritable who’s who of global influencers regarding mental health, disease, and an evolutionary theory that someone like Marcuse could lean on to justify rebellion in the youth – it’s a natural evolution.
If it looks like madness and sounds like madness and was designed by those who are mentally ill, is it any wonder our children are becoming mentally ill, too?
The post The Left and Teenage Mental Illness: Bug or Feature? (Part 2) appeared first on Granite Grok.
This is an attempt to “break out” memes, links, and my commentary about the situation in Israel / the Middle East so as to not overload the standard meme posts that I do. My last “normal” meme post. In these Israel-related posts I don’t just have memes such, but lots of informative links as well as hopefully-insightful commentary.
Note that this is not meant to be a day-by-day update about what’s going on. Rather, to highlight uncomfortable truths about the actual nature of the conflict, deep-history background, and so on, as well as to show the at-present immutable nature of Islamic Jew hate and why that matters to today’s events.
Note that these posts do not repeat information – so there is a lot of stuff in prior posts. Please do check them out too if this is a topic of interest to you:
Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok
Israel: Still More Links, Memes, and Commentary – Granite Grok
Israel: Ongoing Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok
Israel: Ongoing Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok
Israel: More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok
Israel: Even More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok
Israel: More Memes, Links, and Commentary – Granite Grok
Israel: Memes and Commentary – Granite Grok
Israel: Memes and Commentary – Granite Grok
With some Israel-related materials here:
Meme Overflow – Granite Grok
Please post this, tweet & email it out, share it widely.
WAR & WHEN WILL IT END?
What if Palestinians don’t want peace? | Washington Examiner
I know I’ve seen videos of people cursing Hamas. That’s good. But then take a look at this poll:
Poll shows yet again: Palestinians across the board overwhelmingly support the most heinous terror attacks ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News
Yes. The drum that says Islam MUST reconquer every square inch of land that was once held by Islam. Take a look at these women: https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/women-of-gaza.mp4 One of the big mistakes I see people making is assuming all people want the same thing out of life: What do the Palestinians want? – JNS.orgOn paper, it is possible to see all sorts of deals. But we need to face up to the fact that none of them has been accepted. Perhaps, instead of projecting our own reasonableness onto the belligerents, we need to face up to the uncomfortable possibility that they are marching to an older and harsher drum. If they are not primarily interested in a normal and peaceful future, it doesn’t much matter what the rest of us say.
Related: Should Israel Spare the Gazan “Innocents”?: Madeline Brooks | the “silent” majority no more! (thesilentmajoritynomore.com) Hamas’ threats to “cut off heads,” slit throats,” and “slaughter every Jew on the planet” in 2019 were ignored Hamas bodycam video shows early moments of massacre and tunnels under Gaza | CNN Don’t forget – that bodycam footage was being livestreamed to the “home audience” in Gaza. You don’t set that up unless you think it will be well-received. —In short, the results from the Birzeit poll do not expose a peaceful people interested in coexistence and peace. They present a clear-cut portrait of a genocidal society.
…
Westerners assume that the Palestinians seek a future of prosperity and freedom and peace because that is what they aspire to preserve for themselves. But this isn’t the case—or at least not in the way that Westerners think. The Palestinians want a better life. But their conception of a better life is a life of jihad, of killing infidels. What motivates them is not prosperity but genocide. And this is why their hope needs to be extinguished.
—
A Ceasefire Deal With Hamas Would Be a Mistake | Frontpage Mag
The only way to justify this operation is to pin Hamas in place and destroy it. The failure to do that will drag this out until international pressure forces an end to it. Hamas forces will slip away, regroup and relaunch their operations.
—
On the Moral Rehabilitation of Gaza | Frontpage Mag
Some very interesting points from history… but it’s not quite analogous. Hamas and other Islamic fanatics don’t care about this life; they care about the next life. How do you convince such people to let go and accept the new reality?
—
CNN never questions displays of captured weapons – unless it is Israel capturing them. The media message: “The Jews cannot be trusted.” ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News
Not made easier by the media taking sides.
(Image from here)
—
‘Welcome to Hell’: Israeli Soldiers Troll Hamas From the Ruins of Gaza (freebeacon.com)
OOH, I can see why this could trigger outrage in the SJW set and in Hamas.
OTOH, ridicule and mockery can trigger people to make mistakes. And a clever military capitalizes on those.
ISLAM: PRACTICES, HISTORY, AND MENTALITY
Rockets hidden under a young girl’s bed in Gaza
—
Reminder: Israel was obeying the ‘ceasefire’ on October 7, its enemies were not! – American Thinker
Incredibly important point. There was a ceasefire in effect… which Hamas violated.
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/finished-showing-restrait.mp4
Correct. How many times do you get a “ceasefire” and then violate it… and expect restraint?
—
UN 242 For Anti-Israel Dummies – The Lid (lidblog.com)
The impulse to deceive runs deep.
ON INTERSECTIONALITY / LEFTIST SUPPORT
I bet this woman – who would instantaneously become a “Captive of the Right Hand” with all that entails were she to truly be in a Sharia state – thinks of herself as good and noble for doing so.
—
What ever happened to “Believe all women”. I guess that doesn’t apply to Jewish women. More:
Eyewitness Accounts: Palestinian Terrorists Gang Rape Israeli Girl, Cut Off Her Breasts While She’s Still Alive, Then Shoot Her In Her Head And Continue to Rape Her – Geller Report
“THEY FAILED US”: Women’s Organizations SILENT as Shocking Scale of Hamas’s Sexual Violence Against Jewish Women Becomes Horrifyingly Clear – Geller Report
And a former head of Human Rights Watch basically says that Israel / Jews were asking for it:
‘Jews Were Asking for It.’ Former Human Rights Watch Exec Implies Jews Deserve Antisemitism – Twitchy
—
One of the standard tropes is that Jews are all “white” and, thus, not deserving of attention because they’re all “Persons of Pallor” doing colonizing. Uh huh. Demographically, there are more descendants of the refugees from Arab countries (Sephardic & Mizrahi) than from Europe (Ashkenazi).
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/columbia-u-jewish-woman-speaks-out.mp4
Speaking of on-campus:
The Plight of Jews on College Campuses – American Thinker (link in the original):
Israel has learned to honor Machiavelli’s adage that it is better to be feared than loved. This lesson should be applied to campus life. The lessons of Gaza are relevant: when you attack Jews, they will hit back ten times as hard.
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PALLYWOOD
One of the comments I see is “Why won’t Israel offer to share the land”? Well, dummy, Israel’s offered many times to do so.
You see, Israel used to be controlled by Islam. It is, as I’ve mentioned multiple times with citations, a Koranic command for Muslims to reconquer every square inch of the planet that was once held by Islam – as a milestone marker to conquering the whole thing. But people don’t know that. Likewise, they don’t know about the 800,000-odd Jews kicked out of Muslim countries.
Control the information flow, control what people believe. Oh, and an interesting tidbit question to ponder:
Why, as Israel was giving back the Sinai, didn’t Egypt want Gaza?
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The IDF is presented as this evil force out to ethnically cleanse Gaza.
Hamas HATES this video. Israeli IDF soldiers giving water to Gaza citizens #israel
If the IDF wanted genocide, wouldn’t it be easier to just let them die of thirst? Related:
On the ground inside Gaza, where Israel is trying to save civilians from Hamas (nypost.com)
There are “As-A-Jews..” There are also “As-A-Genocide-Historians” in the pages of the @NYTimes – like @BartovOmer – who lie about Israel with impunity. ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News
There’s Genocide And Then There’s ‘Palestinian Genocide’ – American Thinker
Israel attempts to warn civilians and safeguards evacuation corridors. Israel evaluates infants to Egypt coordinated with the UN:
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/idf-evacuates-infants-to-egypt.mp4
Some genocide. A short video about civilian casualties in war:
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/urban-combat-casualties.mp4
Related to the “As a Jew…”
Fake “progressive Jews” stoke antisemitism ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News
This is what is known in real Judaism as a “chilul Hashem,” a desecration of God’s name, by making all Jews look bad. There are very few sins that are worse than this.
—
Warning: Some “uncouth” language in the below video.
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Lying-map.mp4
The above and below are debunking of the progressive map showing “loss of Palestinian land”. Watch the above, read the below, bookmark it, and send it to your friends.
Debunking “The Map that Lies” ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News
Remember, the other side is a master of deceit and propaganda:
Israel haters really are master propagandists ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News
After all, deceit is hard-coded into Islam:
Taqiyya: Deception and Lying in Islam (thereligionofpeace.com)
And two videos, links only, from the founder of Political Islam:
Bill Warner, PhD: Sacred Deception — Taqiyya – YouTube
Bill Warner, PhD: Deception in Political Islam – YouTube
And growing from the deception theme:
ANOTHER HATE HOAX: Muslim Man in Ohio Arrested For Faking Hate Crime, Claiming He Was Injured by Driver Who Screamed “Kill All Palestinians” | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila
The Apartheid charge, the Abraham Accords and the “right side of history” ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News
And peripherally related… who is doing the reporting:
SHOCKING: Western media let Hamas author their ‘news’ stories – American Thinker
—
UK doctor who worked at Shifa confirms Gaza hospital used for ‘non-medical purposes’ | The Times of Israel
IDF Publishes Trove Of Evidence Documenting 55-meter Hamas Tunnel Under Gaza Hospital – I24NEWS
Dramatic footage: Hostages led through Shifa Hospital on October 7th (israelnationalnews.com)
It’s fascinating that eye witnesses like this are so readily dismissed. Related to medical care:
Infant photos at Shifa are not believable ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News
The caption from Reuters says, “Newborn babies in al-Shifa hospital are swaddled and laid down seven or eight to a bed in a desperate effort to keep them warm and alive.” But if you want to keep the babies warm without an incubator, you would swaddle all of them – not leave some naked. You would cover their heads with the knit caps some of us are familiar with.Or, ideally, you would find people to hold them – preferably their mothers – and give them skin to skin contact to keep them warm. You don’t just lie them on a bed, some of them without clothes, one of them (who does not look premature or sickly at all) with their face pushed up against the sharp corner of a box.
—
Gaza beaches packed as Israel-Hamas ceasefire holds | AFP
(Restricted: must watch on youtube)
Two years ago. That’s one harsh-looking “concentration camp”… related, a couple of other videos from the heart of the “open air prison”:
A Stroll Through Gaza | Islamic Relief Canada – YouTube
While propaganda for Islamic Relief Canada, not the markets filled with food and other interesting tidbits.
Ramadan: Gaza’s green markets are alive with colour – YouTube
The Best Ramadan Food in Gaza – YouTube
OMG the privation and starvation!
5 places to visit in Gaza – YouTube
—
Highlights of Hamas Propaganda (barenakedislam.com)
Short clips. Reprise this post:
The 2019 Pallywood Oscars – Israellycool
TERROR COMING HERE?
Minds Of A Feather: … to the shores of …
And yet, today, we welcome them in and then wonder why there are so many anti-Americans of Muslim descent here in the US.
We have learned nothing in the past 300 years…
Meanwhile, terrorists here… do bad things while watching 10-7 footage (no graphic content, but graphic/adult discussion):
Manhattan Muslim describes doing bad things while watching the Oct 7 footage (link to video)
Remember, he’s HERE in the US. And in Canada:
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Sahar-Shehadeh-at-Durham-college-in-Canada.mp4
This is the terror these vermin here, in the West, are applauding:
Just When You Thought Hamas’ Savagery Couldn’t Get Any Worse (legalinsurrection.com)
And another GRAPHIC image (link only – be warned):
Disrespecting the dead
And this video (Link to short vide0):
Pay attention to the next murder by Hamas in the … [below video], the citizens flee from a terrorist who pursues them, shoots one of the Jewish citizens and then shoots the girl.
just plain murder
TREADING ON THE POLITICAL
I was right about Massie – Gun Free Zone
According to Open Secrets, Israel is rabked (sic) number nine for foreign lobbying dollars, after Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
But Massie says ISRAEL is the problem. Lest anyone thing I’m ONLY pointing anti-Semitism out on the Left.
—
Biden must call out antisemitism on the left – The Forward
He won’t. He can’t. There are too many Islamists entrenched in the Left now… and they need those votes as Jews are starting to wake up:
The Israeli Left woke up to find it had no progressive friends – www.israelhayom.com
Not just the Israeli Left. Quote from the article:
More: Diogenes’ Middle Finger: Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman Surprised His Party of Hateful Bigots is Filled With Hateful Bigots. (diogenesmiddlefinger.com)The global Left turned out to be very progressive in its antisemitism. In the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, for example, many were deeply offended. There are many editorials from left-wing supporters explaining their disappointment with the global left-wing community. Suddenly they discovered that Western universities are a poison swamp and of twisted incitement against Jews in the name of universal justice.
If you go where extreme leftists hangout, they’re comfortable with spewing out their bigotry among their echo chamber comrades. It’s just now these same people are feeling bold enough to verbalize their once internal dialogue of hatred and have now gone public. They are the cult of hate and destruction. They are university marinated minds of fools and anti-American immigrants. They are Dan Goldman’s people.—
Heads-Up Jewish Americans–Democrats Are Your Enemies! (independentsentinel.com)
Yes, they are. More:
Bringing American Jews to the right side of politics – American Thinker
MISCELLANEOUS
A few topical memes:
—
Watch Host’s Face as Thomas Sowell Exposes the Real Origin Jews Are Hated
This is a chapter in his book Black Rednecks and White Liberals. Sowell is an incredible intellect and one of my goals in life is to read every book he’s written. Right now I’m reading A Conflict of Visions. Not an easy book. Here’s a little about that book and what it contains by one of my favorite internet commentators:
The Battle of Big Ideas, Part 1: CONSTRAINED vs. UNCONSTRAINED
Another by him about “Palestinians”:
TERRORIST NATION
And he is the voice-over for this:
Debunking the Palestine Lie
—
This is kind of cute:
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/isri.mp4
Everyone loves the perceived underdog. That’s why it was an oh-so-shrewd shift from BIG ARAB WORLD against TINY ISRAEL… to POWERFUL ISRAEL against HAPLESS PALESTINIANS.
GIVING SUPPORT TO ISRAEL
You can’t go wrong with a donation here:
Connections Israel
And please share this post far and wide. There’s a lot of info here that many people don’t know. Post it, email it, share widely.
Also, if you’re willing:
Buy Me a Coffee
My thanks to the person who just bought me TEN coffees! Get a T-shirt too? Oh, wait, you can’t… Zazzle’s pulled it.
A CONCLUDING THOUGHT FOR THIS POST
As I plan, this week, to cook the turkey and other things for my family for Thanksgiving – I’m the family cook – I think of people without. Without or low on food and other things I take for granted. Without homes. Possibly without countries. And… I think of the families and friends who are missing relatives who were taken hostage or were killed in Israel and I am grateful that nobody I know – my friends and my family – have been directly impacted. I also weep for those who have been impacted; them, and their loved ones were were caught in the attacks themselves.
And in truth I also mourn those in Gaza who are afraid of Hamas. Though poll after poll shows enormous support for Hamas and its genocidal plans for Israel, I have to believe – I am driven to believe by faith – that there are those who do, genuinely, wish for a way out and for coexistence side-by-side. But I am a realist: I understand these people are a minority, likely a vast minority.
I’ve asked this question before, with no cogent answer: How do you coexist side-by-side with someone whose foundational wish is your destruction?
The post Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary appeared first on Granite Grok.
If you’ve never heard of SAU 16 in Exeter, New Hampshire, then you’ve missed an opportunity to watch the decline and fall of civilization. It’s not quite as bad as Loudon County, Virginia, but if I had to guess, SAU 16 sees them as a role model for shoveling woke social justice garbage at kids.
Except that the folks in Loudon are pushing back a lot harder. A lesson for the parents in Exeter? As is this.
Grokster Ann Marie Banfield is out of the country but still on the job. She sent me this. It is a Field Trip permission slip she received (presumably form a parent in Exeter). Note the purpose -to meet student activists – with the note “no chaperones needed.”
Also from Ann Marie.
So your school district has been slipping for several years academically. What do you do? You send the 1st graders to the DEIJ director to learn how to become political activists!! I’d suggest a few parents join your kids on this field trip and video tape it. Just let them know you will be videotaping the presentation!!
That permission slip for parent approval – remember, these are first graders – caused a bit of a stir that produced this follow-up from the School/District.
And then this from Ann Marie.
SAU16 in damage control. They are working to turn 1st graders into political activists!! As I said years ago, Competency Based Ed is a way to change the values, attitudes, and beliefs in students. I rest my case. Nothing academic about this.
Rumor has it one of the teachers pretending to teach 1st grade is on the Zinn Ed Project list to teach CRT, even if it means they’d get arrested. If you recall, some states have passed laws (or tried) that would restrict aspects of critical race theory in public education.
I was not able to confirm or deny the rumor before publication, but it would not surprise me, given that this field trip is effectively a social justice activist training primer for six and seven-year-olds under the cover of a history lesson.
History as reimagined by the politics of the left.
HT | Ann Marie Banfield
The post School District is Sending Its First Graders on a ‘Field Trip’ to Learn How to Be Activists appeared first on Granite Grok.
Music is more than just sound. It is a powerful force that influences our emotions, thoughts, and actions. It can inspire us, motivate us, comfort us, and even heal us. Music can also shape our lives in unexpected ways, from enhancing our productivity to transforming our gaming experience.
In this article, we will explore the fascinating journey of music from Mozart to Slots. We will tell you how it has influenced various aspects of human society.
Mozart: The Genius of Classical MusicMozart was one of the most influential composers of all time. His music was admired for its beauty, complexity, and originality. Mozart’s music had a profound impact on the world of classical music, as well as on the minds of his listeners.
One of the most intriguing theories about Mozart’s music is the Mozart Effect. This theory suggests that listening to Mozart’s music can improve one’s cognitive abilities. It works for our memory, attention, and creativity. The theory is based on the observation that some people who listen to Mozart’s music perform better on IQ tests than those who do not.
However, the Mozart Effect is not a proven fact. It is still a subject of debate among scientists and psychologists. Some argue that the effect is too small or too specific to be significant. Others suggest that there may be other factors that contribute to the improvement in cognitive performance.
Regardless of its validity, the Mozart Effect shows how music can affect our minds in subtle and profound ways.
Rhythm: The Key to Mental Well-BeingMusic is not only about melody and harmony. It is also about rhythm. Rhythm is the pattern of beats and sounds that create a sense of movement and flow. Rhythm can have a positive effect on our mental well-being, as it can regulate our mood, stress level, and sleep quality.
Rhythm can also enhance our focus and concentration by synchronizing our brainwaves with the musical beat. This phenomenon is known as binaural beats or brainwave entrainment. It can help us achieve a state of relaxation or alertness by matching our brainwaves with those of the music.
Rhythm stimulates our creativity and imagination by activating different parts of our brain. For example, listening to complex rhythms can increase our problem-solving skills and divergent thinking. Listening to slow-paced or simple rhythms can improve our memory and recall.
Rhythm is not limited to classical music; it can be found in any genre or style of music that has a regular beat pattern.
Slots: The Adventure of GamingSlots are one of the most popular forms of gambling in the world. They are games that generate random numbers based on a set of rules and symbols. Slots are designed to provide entertainment for players who enjoy spinning reels.
But slots are not just online casino games; they are also soundtracks for gaming experiences. Slots use different types of sounds to create atmospheres and emotions for players. Some sounds are soothing and relaxing; others are thrilling and stimulating. They immerse players in games by creating a sense of realism and immersion. Soundtracks can also influence players’ behavior by affecting their expectations, decisions, and actions.
For example, some studies have shown that playing slots with energetic sounds can increase motivation. Playing slots with calm or relaxing sounds can reduce stress levels and anxiety.
Soundtracks are not only used in casinos. They are also used in other settings where gaming takes place, such as arcades, video games, or online platforms.
The Future: The Power of MusicMusic has been around for centuries; it has evolved with time and culture. Throughout history, melodies have also been used for purposes from entertainment to therapy.
Music has the potential to continue to shape our lives into the future. As technology advances, so does the production and consumption of music.
We can see more personalized soundtracks that match our preferences and moods. Captivating sound trills transport us to different worlds. We can hear more therapeutic sounds that heal us from physical or mental wounds.
We may also see more cross-cultural collaboration between musicians from different backgrounds. There will be more genres and styles of music to come, reflecting diversity. In the future, we can expect even more beauty and harmony in the music itself.
Music is more than just sounds. It is a universal language that connects us across time and space. It is an enchanting melody that guides us through life’s journey from Mozart’s elegance to slots’ adventure.
The post How Music Shaped Our Lives from Mozart to Slots appeared first on Granite Grok.
So, a new NBC poll shows “young voters” (39 years and younger) souring on Biden. BUT … it is not because of runaway inflation. Most of them don’t even know what inflation is. It is not because of the weaponization of government to deny the political opposition freedom of speech and due process.
They like that.
It is not because the Biden regime is “transforming” America through illegal immigration. They approve of that.
To cut to the chase … it’s because of the Biden regime’s support of Israel.
The youth vote is STUPID.
It will never not be crazy to me that young people are more turned off politically by the war in Gaza, than they are at the fact that they’ll never be able to afford a home or raise a family in this country https://t.co/aoIppp95YX
— a newsman (@a_newsman) November 20, 2023
The post The Youth Vote Is STUPID appeared first on Granite Grok.
Education Freedom, both the idea and its actual embrace, has seen significant growth in recent years—a result of policy choices by Democrats who hate it. COVID oppression locked kids down and out of schools for months or years – and parents with them putting Ed-Choice on the radar.
This is how it is, they said, to which more parents than ever replied, this is how it was – we’re done with that. The result has been a steady exodus from traditional government schools to charter schools, private schools (both affordable and not), home school collectives, and more of the traditional parent-child version people might picture when asked about it.
New Hampshire added Education Freedom Accounts, which recently survived a legal challenge and has had a number of education freedom options in place for years. Despite these improvements, the state ranked 18th on the Heritage Foundation’s recent Education Freedom Report Card. What killed them?
This will sound familiar—cost per student, results, and administrative overhead. And there is plenty of room for improvement. That said, we are in better shape – according to Heritage, than every other state in New England. While Maine is a disappointing 35th on their report card, Connecticut is 50th (Oregon was 51st), Rhode Island was 49th, Massachusetts ranked 47th, and Vermont 46th (New York was 48th).
We’ll look at Vermont because we like to pick on them and not just because we give a Grok about the state; it dropped 22 spots in one year.
Vermont ranks #46 in overall education freedom in 2023, dropping 22 spots, the largest one-year decline in the country. Vermont declined in every category, most notably a nation’s-worst 39 spots in transparency.
Ouch.
Vermont ranks 50th overall in return on investment (ROI) for education spending. Vermont spends the third-most per pupil among states, spending $22,281 in cost-of-living-adjusted terms annually. Vermont ranks 20th in its combined fourth-grade and eighth-grade math and reading average NAEP score. The Green Mountain State employs 0.75 teachers for every non-teacher in its public schools. Vermont’s unfunded teacher pension liability represents 10.1 percent of its state GDP. Vermont can improve its ROI ranking by lowering per-pupil spending, improving academic outcomes on the NAEP, stopping growth in non-teaching staff, and addressing its significant unfunded teacher pension liabilities.
Everything wrong with NH’s return on investment is worse west of the Connecticut River, and – a wake-up call – NH Dems want that for the Granite State. They are surrounded by bad examples, which they see as things for which they should strive, to hell with parents and students.
And Vermont? They want to be like Connecticut or maybe even Oregon.
The post Education Freedom: NH Ranked 19th While Most of New England is Ranked Worst in the Nation appeared first on Granite Grok.
The politician’s stump speech on how to control private healthcare costs began with the tired bromide that Americans spend 30% more per individual for private healthcare than the rest of the world and had worse outcomes. Fixing the problem required the use of “market forces”.
Transparency was the ticket. Insurance companies should make public the negotiated rates they pay. Hospitals and providers should do the same on what they charge for services. All Americans needed to do was to “shop for the best deal”. The politician opined this would force competition and hospitals/providers would lower their prices.
Pharmaceutical costs had to be controlled, and reining in the middleman pharmacy benefit managers was a must.
Finally came promises of tort reform.
The attentive medical insurance company CEO smiled because the politician had proposed nothing different from the usual Washington DC think tank failed ideas.
We want to thank Jim Betti for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
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It remained a mystery why politicians and think tanks could not accept the reason why the cost of American private healthcare has never responded to textbook economic theory. Simply put, Americans want to pay their healthcare premiums and use it when they need it. And they expect the insurance companies to earn their money and take care of the rest.
Price transparency sounds like a good idea, but all it means is the hospitals and providers will discover the highest rates the insurance companies are willing to pay. Armed with this information, the hospitals/providers will then demand top reimbursement rates. In short, price transparency will likely raise costs. The insurance companies will raise premiums to cover the higher costs.
Pharmaceutical pricing and distribution are such difficult issues insurance companies subcontract the service {for massive fees} to Pharmacy Benefit Managers {PBMs}. PBMs negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies to establish the drug prices and distribution structure. The negotiating process is totally opaque, and since no one outside the PBMs understands it, no politicians or think tanks can figure out how to reign it in. The CEO did not really care because his industry’s massive profits were not affected. They simply increased the premium prices, passing on PBM costs to the consumer.
Tort reform is always promised but never happens. Injury and benefit trial lawyers just get richer.
It was reassuring to the CEO that politicians continued to woo voters with nonviable ideas on lowering healthcare costs. Because the exorbitant cost of healthcare had nothing to do with medicine, it had everything to do with the unholy alliance between five massively influential hunks of money. They go by the medical-sounding names of Healthcare Insurance Companies, PBMs, hospitals/providers, pharmaceutical companies, and patient-protecting trial lawyers. American healthcare is just the product that allows the hunks of money to move funds between themselves and realize massive profits.
In 2022 American private sector healthcare expenditures were approximately 2 trillion dollars. The vast majority of the money enters the system as insurance company {1st hunk of money} healthcare premiums. After the insurance companies take their cut {up to 15%}, the remaining funds are funneled out to the hospitals/ providers (2d hunk of money) and PBMs {3d hunk of money}. PBMs negotiate drug prices with Big Pharm {4th hunk of money} and facilitate any pharmacy transaction. Trial lawyers {5th hunk of money} can be viewed as healthcare parasites. The fear of lawsuits is conservatively responsible for adding a 5% premium to all healthcare costs.
Experts agree we spend 30% more per individual for private healthcare {600 billion yearly} than the rest of the world and have worse outcomes. Each of the big hunks of money understands to keep tapping into these excess dollars, they need to be solid in their unholy alliance. As long as the money flow {premiums} can be increased, the whole system works. The CEO noted the WSJ just reported 2024 Healthcare premiums are moving up 7%, and the average family policy is $24,000. Fortunately for the unholy alliance, the world is focused on Ukraine and Israel. In 2024, the massive profit-gouging will go unchallenged.
The health insurance CEO did have one concern. The five big hunks of money needed to implement a contingency plan before the public/government figured out how to recoup the yearly excess of 600 billion dollars of healthcare spending. Their solidarity would end if the powers in Washington DC could force the big hunks of money to fight each other. The best way to do this would be to control the money flow into the system by limiting the insurance company’s premium increases to inflation minus 1%. And limit the percentage of premiums that could be used as overhead {salary and administration costs} to 10%. The unholy alliance would quickly fracture as the insurance companies forced hospitals and providers to accept lower increases in reimbursement.
To remain solvent, hospitals and providers would have to become more efficient and bring overhead costs down. Bloated salaries and redundant middle management would become part of the past. Pharmacy Benefit Managers actually are a type of drug insurance company and the 10% rule on overhead would also apply to them. The PBMs would factor into their drug negotiations the limited available dollars and the 10% overhead ceiling. The economic reality that the money available to purchase drugs was not unlimitedly expandable would force pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices. The trial lawyer parasites could be easily dislodged by instituting loser pays. If trial lawyers find themselves personally accountable for frivolous lawsuits {Canada and Europe}, they will quickly disappear into the hole at the bottom of the wall.
The Healthcare System would come to equilibrium, and future healthcare costs would be controlled.
The CEO knew this could not be allowed to happen. The unholy alliance needed to be preserved. Hospital systems, PBMs, and insurance companies needed to get bigger. Hospital systems needed to merge, and PBMs could be either bought by insurance companies or vice versa. The pharmaceutical companies and the trial lawyers would continue their massive Washington DC lobbying efforts.
Just like the 2007 Wall Street banks, the healthcare hunks of money would become too big to fail and have massive political influence. And in times of stress, cowardly politicians would line up to throw billions at the unholy alliance.
And yet, the canny CEO knew the system was not sustainable and would eventually collapse, leading to a government-run healthcare system. A system lauded and praised by the powerful elites because they knew they would never have to use it.
A new market for private hospitals and doctors was only billions of venture capital dollars away. Rich folks would pay the inflated premiums. Private hospitals and doctors would have no more money losers. Obamacare, blue-collar folks, no-pays, Medicare, and the Medicaid welfare crowd would all be herded into the government healthcare corrals. The five hunks of money would be back in business, flush with our money.
Since 2010, the US healthcare industry has consolidated into huge hospital networks. The insurance industry has done the same, merging with PBMs. Big pharm and the trial lawyers are two of the largest K-street lobbyists. Watch out, America, because the chess pieces are in place, and the end game is coming.
This publication is the first of a two-part series dealing with the ghost of private healthcare insurance’s past, the present, and its likely future. The 2d piece will drop next week.
The post Flush with Our Money. The US Healthcare System has Never Cared Less. appeared first on Granite Grok.
Earlier today, Windham Selectman Bruce Breton formally requested the resignations of Windham Moderator Peter Griffin and Windham School District Moderator Elizabeth Dunn to resign their positions due to continuing, egregious errors related to the November 3, 2020 election and September 13, 2022, State Primary election.
His written request is copied below.
Subject: Formal Request for Your Resignation of Town Moderator & School District Moderator
Dear Mr. Griffin & Ms. Dunn,
I am writing to formally request your resignation from the position of Windham Town Moderator and Windham School District Moderator, and for both of you to publicly pledge that you will no longer participate in any of the processes that govern Windham’s elections.
As you are both aware, Ms. Dunn has also acted as Windham’s Assistant Town Moderator in every Windham election for many years, and both of you have equally shared the town’s election responsibilities during that time.
My request for your resignations is based on your inability to follow election laws and procedures, and therefore, your inability to provide accurate election results.
My concerns are confirmed in the joint report by New Hampshire’s Secretary of State Bill Gardner and Attorney General John Formella. Their official findings of their comprehensive investigation, analysis and conclusions regarding the November 2020 General Election in Windham was delivered to you on January 7, 2022. Their report exposed significant deficiencies in your collective inabilities to follow simple election laws and procedures. Their damning report identified unconscionable failures that included the disenfranchisement of voters whose votes were not counted. This is unacceptable.
Even more egregious is your continued disregard of New Hampshire’s election laws and procedures, as demonstrated by your inability to accurately document and report the results regarding the September 13, 2022 Primary Election.
I have read the complaint regarding the September 13, 2022 Primary Election that was submitted to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, and it is clear that the enormous errors and discrepancies that are identified in the complaint were all avoidable if you simply followed New Hampshire’s election laws and procedures that have been put into place.
The latest complaint provides dozens of indisputably egregious errors regarding inaccurately reported election results, inaccurately reported number of actual voters on election night, and inaccurately reported number of cast ballots. All of these, and more, are documented on the signed official election forms that you are responsible to complete and sign.
Your documentation, on official election documents prove your inability to accurately reconcile our elections. Your reported documented results are historically inaccurate. They include:
These are just a few examples. The complaint identifies 33 individual issues. ALL of the errors that are identified would have been caught had you simply followed the procedures that are outlined in the Election Procedure Manual.
Instead of taking responsibility of your errors and the seriousness of the complaint that was filed with the Attorney General, Ms. Dunn publicly dismissed the complaint as “background noise”.
With the First In The Nation Primary upon us early next year, it is of utmost importance that the public’s trust in Windham’s elections be restored and maintained – and that election laws and procedures are properly followed to ensure that every vote and ballot is accurately tabulated and accounted for in every election. You have proven you inability to do so on multiple occasions.
The continued pattern of egregious issues that have been documented for the last two federal elections has compelled me to request your resignation from your positions of Windham Moderator and Windham School District Moderator.
Please consider this request with the seriousness it entails. It is not background noise. As a Windham Selectman, I have an obligation to protect the rights of all Windham voters to have their voices heard accurately and fairly, without any concerns regarding failures to follow the law.
Respectfully,
Bruce Breton
###
Contact Information:
Bruce Breton
sqrd55@yahoo.com
603-475-9634
Release Date: 11/13/2023
The post Windham Selectman Bruce Breton Calls for Election Official’s Resignations appeared first on Granite Grok.
Inspired by an article about the recent elections in Virginia, it occurred to me that the same criticism could be made about the New Hampshire elections of 2022 or the recent special election loss in Rockingham County.
One local Virginia race, in particular, appeared to be typical of the Virginia Republican approach.
Gibson was flooding the airwaves (and YouTube and social media) with ads that emphasized three things: abortion, abortion, and abortion. She took the approach favored by extreme Democrats: “MAGA Republicans” wanted a 100% ban on abortions, “a total abortion ban, no exceptions,” “women and doctors in jail,” even “women [are] facing the death penalty for having an abortion.”
Owen’s response? Crickets. His ads can best be described as pablum for the masses. He assured us that he was for bringing us together and better-paying jobs. He wants better education and an end to divisive politics. No doubt he also supports motherhood and apple pie. His ads gave no details of how he would achieve these general goals and nary a word in response to the tsunami of fear-mongering abortion ads that Gibson was running, including on Fox News during prime-time morning hours.
Neither Owen nor anyone in his campaign gave any indication that they had the slightest inkling that abortion might be a key issue for thousands of suburban women who were being bombarded with Gibson’s ads. So, to my knowledge, he never responded to them or even attempted to discuss the issue.
That same “pablum for the masses” approach is what we saw three months ago in the Rockingham special election here in New Hampshire. The GOP had no message. The Democrats had a message. We can’t fight something with nothing.
In politics, if we don’t define ourselves, the Democrats will define us. If we don’t define the Democrats, they will define themselves.
And that is what happened in the 2022 State Rep races. The NH GOP advised our candidates to ignore all social issues and just keep talking about the bad economy. Democrats defined us as extremists. We didn’t even try to define them as the real extremists.
The truth is that the Republican position is much closer to the mainstream than the Democrats’ position. Overwhelming majorities (70%-22%) oppose third-trimester abortions. Strong majorities (55%-37%) oppose second-term abortions. The majority also oppose taxpayer funding of abortions.
Law professor Glenn Reynolds points out that European laws are similar to the Mississippi law that was upheld in the Dobbs Supreme Court case. “More than 20 European nations ban abortion after 12 weeks. In Britain, a woman named Carla Foster was recently sentenced to prison for procuring an abortion at 32-34 weeks.”
The Democrats’ support of abortion all the way to the moment of birth and their support of taxpayer funding of abortion are extremist positions. But do you hear Republicans campaigning on this issue?
Republicans need to:
1) Actually talk about abortion, not ignore it, and hope the issue goes away.
2) Attack the pro-abortion side as extreme, favoring abortion right up to the moment of birth (and even beyond), and favoring taxpayer funding of abortion.
3) Defend our position (e.g., a 15-week limit) as mainstream.
4) Not push for more restrictions on abortion – until the culture catches up. We risk all that we have gained if we try to go too far.
The post Night Cap: Abortion Is Not a Losing Issue for Republicans – But Ignoring the Abortion Issue Is a Losing Strategy appeared first on Granite Grok.
The Climate zealots of Agenda 2030 have presented to the world devious plans dressed up with nice words in 17 basic goals. If only we surrender our liberties to total global government control, these goals will save the earth from climate change.
Behind this masquerade presented as inevitable truth is the fraudulent science taught to our youth in public schools since the 1970’s. This generational campaign of fear has become a confrontational ideology of hate to divide and conquer. The technique is extracted from the same Marxist laboratory that Karl Marx created in his 1848 Communist Manifesto.
Do you really believe that Agenda 2030, sponsored in Congress by a former bartender, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as the Green New Deal, is a sincere and good plan to save the earth? Perhaps we can forgive a former bartender for not knowing the difference between mixing drinks and mixing private property with socialism. Yet, are we to believe the majority in Congress and the Executive branch are so ignorant that they do not know that mixing these two opposites is an explosion that will destroy liberty? Ignorance or betrayal, the result is the same. The ramifications of which must be avenged at the ballot box by American voters.
The prime targets of Agenda 2030 in all 17 categories can be summed up as mandating controls in place of free enterprise, individual choice and private property ownership. Let’s dissect goal number 1: End poverty in all forms everywhere. It’s a noble purpose, but it is about as accurate as calling the UN a peace organization. Guess where the funds will come from? Just as the United States funds approximately 20% of the UN budget, get ready to share more of your productive wealth with the world by force to end all poverty. Marxists, as you know, like to divide the wealth. Ostensibly ending all poverty is a scheme that fits like a glove, as if Marx was the tailor who designed it to “abolish private property.”
The proposal follows for “equal rights to economic resources.” Essentially, they claim absolute power over anything that belongs to you so they can give your wealth to someone they deem is deserving. If theft committed by an individual is a punishable crime, then theft by a global entity or any government agency is also a crime. The only recourse you have is to get involved and study the Constitution, which forbids all this global abuse of power. Contact Matthew Rhodes, New England Coordinator of The John Birch Society JBS, to learn about attending a six-part seminar called The Constitution Is The Solution at 207-391-0970. That freedom shall not perish; educate yourself in the proven track record of the JBS, the voice of liberty since 1958.
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Imagine you run a daycare. It’s big business, and the state gives you a big bucket of money for each kid you watch. You don’t even watch the kid as much as you should, and sometimes they get exposed to things they shouldn’t, but you still get paid to “watch” them.
Then, one day, some parent says, I’d like my kid to go to some other daycare, but I can’t really afford it. Is there any way I can use some of the money the state takes and gives to the Big daycare to help me do that? The big daycare puffs up its chest and says no frikkin way, but there are other “daycares,” and not everyone fits into the Big Daycare model. Some upstart legislators pass a law that would allow it, and while the Big daycare and its advocates are unhappy, there’s really no reason for this.
The kid they used to “watch” is no longer their responsibility, but they still get most of that big bucket of money. The parent only gets a portion of it under the law, leaving much of it in the hands of the big daycare. In other words, they get a bunch of money to do nothing multiplied by however many kids go somewhere else. This irks them so much that they file lawsuits demanding that the courts end the law so that they get all the money, even if it means they have to “watch” the kids again.
At this point, you would be right to wonder why. How are free money and no kid less of a good deal than having that kid, their nosey parent, and whatever grievances they have?
I’d say it’s not about the money, but that’s not true. Part of the issue is that Big Daycare – in this example – doesn’t want anyone else thriving at their expense, even if they are getting revenue free of any individual upon whom they are “meant” to spend it. Letting even that little bit go creates or supports competition, but competition for what? It’s not the rest of the money, so it has to be the kid. Or, more precisely, to what the child is exposed.
They want the money, but they want the child more.
This is a battle for your children’s minds and the ideological effects of keeping that money away from people who have different ideas about what children see and learn.
Not every parent wants their child to think they were born racist and have no path to repentance (CRT). They oppose access to sexually explicit material either on religious or mental health grounds, knowing young children, unable to understand it, might be disturbed or confused by inappropriate images and mixed messages. Some parents would prefer a more rigorous academic curriculum, especially if their child is being held back by a system obsessed with mainstreaming less capable young minds.
Or it could be as simple as the government schools’ inability to teach kids to read and do math, even to the watered-down testing, no matter how much money they get.
The public education experiment is failing, has failed. It didn’t have to, doesn’t have to continue failing, but that’s the path they are on.
If it weren’t for the government’s almost police-state-like monopoly and that tax-based revenue stream, results be damned, they’d have gone out of business and been replaced years ago by something that works at a fraction of the cost.
But here we are, watching them cry about money for students they don’t have and always demanding more of it.
The post Libs Crying Over Free Money appeared first on Granite Grok.
Good Morning, Jill. Or do I need to address you as Dr. Jill? I think this is a perfect day for an honest conversation. The people of America have been talking about it for some time, but maybe you are too close to the forest to see the trees.
Your Joe just turned 81, and we are not talking about taking the keys to the Corvette away from him, but we are thinking more about the keys to the White House. You did it. You pulled off the biggest con on America. You conspired to hide Joe away in the basement of your Delaware home and team up with Jim Clyburn to get your Man elected to the most powerful job in the world. Obviously, you had a quest for personal power and some time in the spotlight, but the gig is up, and it is time to go.
We have all watched a parent or loved one go through the aging process; some handle the voyage better than others. If Joe were just an octogenarian enjoying the sun and a good book, he would not be coming under such scrutiny. However, he is still trying to be President a few days a week, and 300 million Americans are concerned about Joe. Nearly 85% of those millions do not think he can handle the job, even on a part-time basis. The country deserves and needs more, and your legacy as a First Couple will be tarnished by your selfishness to stay beyond your time.
From the campaign, it was obvious that you wanted the White House more than Joe did. You hid him away and propped him up on the rare occasions he ventured into the public. He performed horribly in the debates, and his results were dismal in Iowa and New Hampshire. It was not until Jim Clyburn pushed the buttons in South Carolina that Joe was pushed into the White House.
Time alone does not entitle someone to the Presidency, and Joe had done nothing to earn the job. He has proven his ineptitude for three years. So we have to ask why you do not do the right thing, protect your husband from further failure, and, even worse, convince him not to run for another term. I think the spotlight has to be on you, for it is your greed for more money and power that you will sacrifice your husband for your gain.
As a First Lady, you have no great initiative to your credit. You chose no cause to put your mark. As the evidence mounts, it is clear that the Presidency is a shield from the legal tsunami that Joe, Hunter, and the entire Biden Crime Family would face. You push Joe, and he pushes the Justice Department to keep the Republicans from getting their due for what Joe has done to Trump and the American people. You know, the moment you walk out the door for the last time, hell will first come down on Hunter, and he will quickly turn on the rest of the family. It will not be pretty for you, but it will be sweet justice for us. You have delayed the process. You have done your part. It is not Happy Birthday, Joe. It is adieu.
The post Dear Jill, It Is Time To Say Adieu appeared first on Granite Grok.
My first thought when I read this story was that the judge was using the context of the US Supreme Court’s Bruen decision to show how out of touch it was with modern American (for lack of a better word) values. That the Clinton-appointed judge was trying to pry cracks in the decision with an eye toward breaking it.
How?
[Glen] Price, now 37, had already been convicted of felony armed robbery three times in the past, federal law prohibited him from owning a gun. So officers charged Price with possessing a firearm as a felon, a federal statute with a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years.
On November 2, however, the federal case against Price was dismissed after U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman, a Clinton appointee, determined that the statute prohibiting felons from possessing firearms was unconstitutional. That law “imposes a far greater burden on the right to keep and bear arms than the historical categorical exclusions from the people’s Second Amendment right,” Gettleman wrote in the 22-page decision.
Gettleman is not not wrong. The Second Amendment makes no distinction because the right to self-defense is natural and inherent. You are born with it, and the government is prohibited from denying that. In fact, their job (at least referring to our government) is to protect that right. Bruen affirms this, but the decades-long epidemic of hoplophobia (fear of firearms) has nurtured an unconscious animus toward a well-behaved culture of armed citizens that manifests as the embrace of limitations on the natural right. To catalyze this, opponents paint pictures of the Wild West, shootouts in the streets, and disagreements being settled with gunfire.
My response would be, what, like every day in Chicago or Baltimore, or almost any Democrat-run city with more anti-gun regulations than you could carry comfortably from city hall to your car, assuming it wasn’t stolen while you were inside?
I will add that the elimination of gun-free zones and support for armed, trained, law-abiding citizens would immediately reduce the incidence of mass shootings. (Related: Should Owners of Gun-Free Zones Be Liable if Disarmed Citizens Are Shot or Killed?)
Even those allegedly struggling with mental health issues continue to prove themselves competent enough to find target-rich environments where someone has disarmed everyone.
Having said all that, I don’t think US District Judge Robert Gettleman is trying to make that case. On the contrary, I believe he has deliberately advanced a process of appeals destined to reach the nation’s Highest Court, where the matter will come head-to-head with Bruen.
Can the Justices comport the context of Bruen with a ruling that allows felons found guilty of past gun charges to possess firearms legally?
I want to say yes, but I won’t. Should the case reach the US Supreme Court, the pressure that will be brought to bear will be intense – perhaps even ‘Dobbs v Jackson’ Intense. I don’t think Chief Justice Roberts would survive that. He would inevitably vote with the (so-called) Liberal justices and put the first cracks in Bruen with the goal of turning it into a paper tiger.
It’s just a theory. I could be wrong.
The post Judge Says, Statute Prohibiting Felons From Possessing Firearms Is Unconstitutional (Is He Trying to Break Bruen?) appeared first on Granite Grok.
After reviewing the town of Hartford D.E.I. training and discovering that it is a front for cultural Marxism propped up by lies and unproven social theory, I felt obligated to address the Select Board, which mandated it for town employees.
The following is my statement, and the link to the video is here (minutes 9:25-15:00).
Do you like to be lied to? I don’t think any of us like to be lied to, especially by our government or media. However, the lying has become pathological to the point both government and media are at all-time lows in terms of the trust they have with the American people. Why is that?
Recently, I watched a documentary film titled “The Greatest Lie Ever Sold,” which is an expose of the organization Black Lives Matter. It’s important to note the maker of the film is a black woman. She made the film because she discovered the fraudulent nature of its organizers. Among the things she cites in the film:
Black Lives Matter is an almost sacrosanct term now because, of course, Black Lives Matter. When I first heard the phrase, I was shocked because, as a rational adult, I can’t imagine who needed to be told Black Lives Matter. Personally, if you’re an adult in America and need to be reminded black lives matter, you’re a pathetic human being. Likewise, if you feel it’s your place to tell other adults black lives matter, you’re equally ridiculous.
This is grade school-level messaging, which is exactly the point. Black Lives Matter is a type of double-speak where the apparent meaning is different from the hidden meaning. Why do I say this? This is a Marxist tactic. We know because Patrise Cullors, one of the co-founders of BLM, is on video stating, “we are trained Marxists.”
As the BLM riots burned down my home city of Portland, Oregon, I had to find out what was going on with this group, so I went to their website. What I found in their mission statement was stunning – it was pure Marxism. It called for all seven planks of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, among which are:
They’ve since taken these statements down due to backlash, which is another lie. They won’t even stand behind their true intent.
Another example of DEI in practice comes just one town south of us in Windsor, where the principal was fired for stating on her private social media account, “All Lives Matter.” This is her right of free speech to state, especially in private. However, the Marxists on the school board had her fired for that simple statement – All Lives Matter. Does anyone disagree? Do all lives not matter? The Vermont courts agreed and awarded her $650,000 in damages along with another $225,000 to cover her legal fees. That’s almost a million dollars the town was forced to pay for the abuse of power. Is the town of Hartford prepared to face similar lawsuits when someone who either misuses or refuses to use a pronoun gets fired for creating a “hostile work environment”, as your DEI training implied?
Here are some other DEI disasters from just this past month:
These people are often called “social justice warriors.” It’s not about justice, though, it’s ideology that hides itself as a social theory but is, in fact, a religion. Why do I say that? Because Marx said that. The Communist Manifesto was originally to be titled The Communist Statement of Faith until his comrade Engels suggested it would expose their true aim. In other words, they lied.
If you’re still not convinced, ask the authors of Critical Race Theory an Introduction. I have the book. In the first edition, they state they met to write the book at a convent in Madison, Wisconsin, “surrounded by crucifixes, an odd place for a bunch of Marxists to meet.” I suppose we should take their word for it. The second edition removed that passage. Yet another lie.
Lastly, the concept of white privilege – have any of you heard of this? It’s the idea tied to America’s history that white people have created systemic privileges, thus systemic racism. It’s an interesting theory and sounds truly unique, but can anyone tell me where the Han people live in the world? China. Yes, like white people are in America, they’re the most popular people group in China. And one of the key pillars to Mao’s cultural revolution, for those of you who haven’t studied the history, was the concept of Han privilege, just like white privilege. That was in the 1950s. Mao was a Marxist.
So here it is, DEI uses terms we can all support and should support diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, that’s not how it’s practiced, which is the big lie. If the town intends to pursue this type of teaching, I hope it’s prepared to deal with the lies and potentially the lawsuits that also come with it.
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