Not everyone can be an influence on the internet, nor are we all as equally gifted in the things we pursue as we’d like unless you happen to be a mediocre male athlete. Being just okay is your ticket to record-breaking, award-winning glory. Just say you are female.

Boys who say they are girls are immediately praised for their bravery. They get attention, affirmation, and those catty bitches aren’t allowed to complain about any of it. Not even sharing a locker room.

And you can still be sexually attracted to girls. In fact, it is increasingly common, from pathetic mediocrity to sharing shower space with fit young women and maybe even setting the odd new school records in your chosen sport. And they must praise you!

 

A transgender swimmer at Ramapo College of New Jersey broke a women’s school record over the weekend after competing for the men’s team for three years.

Meghan Cortez-Fields won first place and broke a school record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.22 at the Cougar Splash Invitational, a two-day meet between six schools in Dallas, Pennsylvania. She also came in first place in the 200-yard individual medley and earned second place in the 200-yard butterfly.

 

The Swim team posted its congratulations on Instagram and then thought better of it after Riley Gaines weighed in.

 

The Ramapo College Instagram account that posted the photo of the male swimmer has now deleted the post

They always hate the public attention after being called out for their discrimination and mistreatment of women https://t.co/nqQNDAuCUP

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) November 19, 2023

 

Fox reports that Cortez-Fields was on the male swim team for three years and switched to the female team for his senior year. Interestingly enough, he’s still not that good but his mere presence in competition is denying the honor of victory in women’s sports to actual women. And what is truly amazing is that the gender-spectrum crowd and at least some of the LGBQ folks are still applauding and defending it.

Women and blacks used to be the victim classes Democrats missed most. Then Gay men. And not all that many years later, Gay men and straight women (or any woman who disagrees with the trans thing) might as well be crap on the shoe of the party. If you are a minority and you like the wrong candidates, you are getting scraped off the other shoe.

It’s a common problem for anyone fooled into thinking Democrats as a party care about anyone or anything but who can pave them a path to political power. They don’t have a big tent. You follow their path wherever it takes you, or you are dead to them.  Today’s darling is tomorrow’s bricks and mortar and it doesn’t take much to end up underfoot.

The Constitutional Republic is imperfect and messy but not nearly as rotten and bloody as the alternative they have planned. And you are not going to have a seat at that table.

 

 

The post Night Cap: Another Mediocre Male Swimmer Breaks Women’s School Record appeared first on Granite Grok.

The handwriting was on the wall. An Op-Ed in the New York Times entitled “I’m a Ukrainian, and I Refuse to Compete for Your Attention” summed things up nicely: a media junket the author’s friend had been organizing to Ukraine was canceled. The TV crew instead left for the Middle East.

The United States controls how the war in Ukraine proceeds and always has. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said it was the American side that scuttled any chance of peace in Ukraine as early as March 2022, soon after the war began. “The only people who could resolve the war over Ukraine are the Americans. During the peace talks in March 2022 in Istanbul, Ukrainians did not agree to peace because they were not allowed to. They had to coordinate everything they talked about with the Americans first. However, nothing eventually happened. My impression is that nothing could happen because everything was decided in Washington.”

Fast-forward to 2023, and the story is different. Earlier this month, NBC News quietly released a report that said U.S. and European officials broached the topic of peace negotiations with Ukraine, including “very broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a deal with Russia.” NBC said, “the discussions are an acknowledgment of the dynamics militarily on the ground in Ukraine and politically in the U.S. and Europe.” They began amid concerns the war has reached a stalemate and about the ability to continue providing open-ended aid to Ukraine. Biden administration officials are also worried Ukraine is running out of men in this war of attrition, while Russia has a seemingly endless supply. Ukraine is also struggling with recruiting and recently saw public protests (not shown on American TV) about President Volodymyr Zelensky’s open-ended conscription requirements. Kiev is today sending 40 and 50-year-olds to the front.

This comes as Time reported Zelensky’s top advisers admitted the war is currently unwinnable for Ukraine. Things look a bit better from the point of view of Ukraine commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhny, who believes the war is only at a stalemate. “It’s now a battle of inches,” say American sources quietly.

Americans will be forgiven if they never hear this bad news, never mind be surprised by it if they did. The narrative that drove sports teams to wear blue and yellow patches and E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt to paint his guitar the Ukrainian colors were simple. Amid a flood of propaganda, the story was always the same: Ukraine was pushing back the Russians with weapons provided by a broad range of agreeable NATO benefactors.

Between Ukrainian jet fighter aces with improbable kill ratios to patriotic female sniper teams with improbable hair and makeup, Russia was losing. It would be a difficult but noble slog for “as long as it takes” to drive the Russians out. Any talk about peace was insulting to Kyiv, fighting for its survival and all. Meanwhile mediagenic President Zelensky at first flew around the world like the anti-Christ Bono, procuring weapons while showing off his man-to-man relationships with celebrities. Now desperate, Zelensky is inflight claiming Russia, Iran, and North Korea sponsored Hamas’ attack on Israel, trying to rattle up some support.

It was as compelling as it was untrue. Any thoughtful analysis of the war showed it to be, from its early days, a war of attrition at best for the Ukrainian side, and while the U.S. could supply nearly bottomless cargo planes full of weapons and munitions, right up to the promised F-16 fighter-bombers and M1A tanks due on line soon, it could not fill the manpower gap. Any appetite for American troop involvement was hushed up early in the fight. Russia could do what she had always done at war: hunker down in the field and reach deep into its vast territory to find ever more conscripts to wait out the enemy. It didn’t hurt that Russia’s capability versus NATO equipment was surprisingly good, or perhaps the Ukrainians’ handling of sophisticated Western arms was surprisingly bad.

But the most predictable factor leading to quiet U.S. moves toward some sort of “solution” in Ukraine is as predictable as the battlefield results. There is unease in the U.S. government over how much less public attention (despite the propaganda) the war in Ukraine has garnered since the Israeli-Hamas conflict began more than a month ago. Combined with what looks like a feisty new Speaker of the House seeking to decouple aid to Israel from aid to Ukraine, officials fear that shift could make securing additional funds for Kyiv difficult.

Americans, the people, and their government, assisted by their media wielding the greatest propaganda tools ever imagined, seem capable of focusing on only one bright shiny object at a time. Over 41 percent of Americans now say the U.S. is doing too much to help Kyiv. That’s a significant change from just three months ago, when only 24 percent of Americans said they felt that way.

In the case of wars, a new bright shiny object must include two clear sides, one good and one pure evil, with one preferably an underdog, daily combat footage that can be obtained without too much danger, and a football game-like progression across a map that is easy to follow. It should not be boring. Ukraine was such a conflict and enjoyed almost a full two-year run. But the fickle attention of America shifted to the Middle East just as things started to look more and more like static WWI trench warfare in Ukraine. It was a hard act to follow, but something always follows nonetheless (the same calculus works for natural disasters and mass shootings, which are only as mediagenic-good as the next one coming.)

Ukraine, like Israel, owes most of its continued existence to American weaponry. However, despite the blue and yellow splattered on social media at present, Ukraine does not have anywhere near the base of support Israel does among the American public and especially within the American Congress. The terms for resolving the war will be dictated to Kyiv as much by Washington as they will be by Moscow, as with Crimea a few years ago. The end will be quite sad; Russia will very likely solidify its hold on Donbas and Crimea and achieve new territory to the west approaching Kyiv, roughly 20 percent of Ukraine. Ukraine will be forced to set aside its goal of joining NATO even as the U.S. takes a new stand on its western border with Poland.

It is all something of a set piece. America’s habit of wandering into a conflict and then losing interest is long (Iraq) enough to count as an addition to history (Afghanistan.) “We have your back” and “we will not abandon you” join “the check is in the mail” and “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help” among joking faux reassurances. Our proxies seem to end up abandoned and hung out to die. As in Iraq and Afghanistan, never mind Vietnam before that, what was realized at the end could have most likely been achievable at pretty much any time after the initial hurrahs passed away. It is sad that so many had to die to likely see it happen in 2023.

 

Peter van Buren | Ron Paul Institute

Copyright © 2023 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

The post Ukraine War is Just About Over appeared first on Granite Grok.

COVID-19 Booster uptake has been weak. By mid-October, it had barely scratched 2%, and six weeks later – despite all the advertising, cajoling – advertising, and (begging?), it has stalled at 7%. Over 90% of Americans are taking a hard pass.

 

A month after federal officials recommended new versions of COVID-19 vaccines, 7% of U.S. adults and 2% of children have gotten a shot.

One expert called the rates “abysmal.”

The numbers, presented Thursday at a meeting held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, come from a national survey of thousands of Americans, conducted two weeks ago.

The data also indicated that nearly 40% of adults said they probably or definitely will not get the shot. A similar percentage of parents said they did not plan to vaccinate their children.

 

After roughly 70% lined up for one or more shots, this precipitous decline seems unprecedented. What happened? Not to the decision by most Americans to no longer be booster buddies, I’d like to know when the media stopped calling this behavior vaccine hesitancy and those who rejected government information on these “vaccines” as anti-vaxxers.

If memory serves, COVID is still a grandma killer (to which we can add RSV – there’s a lousy shot for that if you want one), and anyone who rejects the approved medical science and public health recommendations is (or was) a domestic terror threat. We get none of that from the Public Booster Shills at PBS. This is about as rough and tumble as they get.

 

One expert at the meeting, Dr. Camille Kotton of Harvard Medical School, called the numbers “abysmal” and said part of the problem may be patient confusion. She urged stepped-up public education efforts.

Dr. David Kimberlin, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, also expressed dismay.

“The recommendations are not being heard,” he said.

 

Patient confusion. Not being heard.

What if the problem is how badly you’ve all burned your credibility?

Nothing from PBS on that possibility either.

The post PBS Reports on Abysmal COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Uptake Without Calling it ‘Vaccine Hesitancy’ appeared first on Granite Grok.

Texas needs more good leaders, and Suzanne Harp, a sixth-generation Texan on her mother’s side, emerges as a compelling figure, vying for a seat in the United States Congress for Texas’s 3rd District, which is encompasses suburbs north and northeast of Dallas, including the cities of McKinney and Allen.

Her father, an immigrant from Athens, Greece, taught her to appreciate her country and yet be mindful of government overreach.  Thus, Harp’s unique perspective, strong Christian values, and commitment to challenging the status quo position her as a Washington outsider with the potential to bring about positive change.

Today, she is a vice president with a leading mergers and acquisitions investment bank, building win-win relationships and alliances within the professional communities of CPAs, wealth advisors, attorneys, financial services people, and consultants.

However, Harp says her most significant accomplishment is raising and home-schooling her four children in Judeo-Christian values with her husband, Bill. They cultivated a relationship with the Lord by studying God’s Word alongside the great philosophers to develop a Biblical worldview, a deep understanding of the Constitution, and the blessings of being an American.

It is good that she has decided to run for Congress. She could be the one that’s going to provide Texas’ 3rd Congressional district with the missing leadership and give it the much-needed voice to fight for religious liberties, election integrity, and border security, as well as counter human trafficking, runaway spending, and unconstitutional mandates.

In an interesting turn of events, Harp played a significant role in exposing a scandal involving another Republican candidate, Van Taylor, who had been caught in 2022 having an affair with an American-born widow of an Islamic State recruiter and dropped out of his race. She had been accused of using her position to reveal her rival’s affair though it certainly seemed to be in the public interest to know.

Harp’s policy priorities reflect her values and commitment to the American people. She is for preserving religious liberties, thus ensuring that individuals can practice their faith without government interference. Her various campaign speeches can be observed to emphasize the importance of election integrity in that she supports measures such as cleaning up voter rolls, implementing voter ID, and conducting audits to maintain public trust in the electoral process.

On the issue of border security, Harp proposes common-sense reforms to restore peace and security at the border, addressing illegal immigration. She is also keen on upholding the Second Amendment, underlying the fact that she stands firm in defending the right of Texans to keep and bear arms, resisting any attempts to infringe upon these rights.

In the realm of social issues, Harp advocates for pro-life policies, emphasizing the protection of the unborn and opposing laws that infringe upon these rights, including late-term abortion laws.

In an issue that’s popular in energy powerhouse Texas, she calls for renegotiating the Keystone XL pipeline, highlighting the need to bring back jobs and money and rebuild America.

While Harp’s campaign materials don’t explicitly outline strategies to combat runaway spending and unconstitutional mandates, her general stance as a candidate suggests supporting spending cuts in non-essential areas, advocating for constitutional limits on government power, promoting transparency and accountability, and encouraging public participation.

Suzanne Harp’s candidacy represents a fresh voice that blends business acumen with a commitment to constitutional principles.

As Texas contemplates its representation in Congress, Harp offers a unique perspective and a promise of unwavering dedication to the values that have defined her journey from a sixth-generation Texan to a candidate for national office.

The post Suzanne Harp May Be Just the Congresswoman Texas Needs appeared first on Granite Grok.

To be clear, I use the word ‘maybe’ in the headline with a smirk. The political left would happily fundraise over your corpse if it would advance their agenda. Your death as a result of progressive policy is a win for them, even if you were a Democrat voter. They may not need you anymore, which should be of some concern.

Elections being the way they are these days, why care about a body you can replace with a bit of code in a place where there are so many losing a few hardly matters? And of what danger do we speak?

The winter of 2022. Deliberate energy policy decisions at the state and federal level nearly cost tens of thousands of New Yorkers (perhaps more) their lives.

 

In bone-dry language, the report “Inquiry into Bulk-Power System Operations During December 2022 Winter Storm Elliott,” explains how the gas pipeline network in New York nearly failed last Christmas when temperatures plummeted during the bomb cyclone. Freeze-related production declines, combined with soaring demand from power plants, homes, and businesses, led to shortages of gas throughout the Northeast. The lack of gas, as well as mechanical and electrical issues, resulted in an “unprecedented” loss of electric generation capacity totaling some 90,000 megawatts. While the lack of electricity was dangerous, the possibility of a loss of pressure in the natural gas network should send a bone-chilling shiver through the sacroiliac of every politician and bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., New York and the Northeast.

The report explains that if the gas pipeline system had failed, the recovery process in New York City would have taken “months.” In addition, the property damage due to damaged water pipes in homes and buildings would likely have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

Left unsaid in the report is that the collapse of the gas grid during the period in which temperatures in New York City stayed below freezing would have caused a calamity unlike any other in U.S. history. The cold that lasted from December 23 to December 28 could have resulted in thousands, or even tens of thousands, of deaths. The damage from burst water pipes would have rendered untold numbers of residential and office buildings in New York City unusable.

 

This was not the first such close call, and the current trajectory suggests they will get closer and likely become a reality, and that appears to be the point.

First, they scare you by suggesting catastrophic climate catastrophes. New York City Underwater from Sea Level Rise. They insist on a program of changes – despite never getting a single prediction correct – that will create climate disaster. Anyone who pushes back gets labeled a denier, called names, pilloried out of their profession, or canceled online (a scheme used for every other lousy idea advanced by the political left).

2022 was just last year. Energy policy continues its Marist March. Shut down coal, end fossil fuels, no nuclear, on the path to an all-electric future lacking production and capacity to meet even essential needs.

 

A friend who works for the federal government in Washington, D.C., and is familiar with the FERC/NERC report told me last week that the loss of gas in New York City would have required evacuating most of the people in the city. Let that soak in for a minute. New York City has roughly 8.5 million residents. Evacuating even 25% of Gotham’s residents during extreme cold would have required a herculean effort. But even assuming such an evacuation could be accomplished, imagine how the country would handle 2 million displaced New Yorkers who could not return to their homes for months. And while you’re at it, imagine if those 2 million New Yorkers had their homes soaked by broken water pipes.

In short, the U.S. narrowly averted both a humanitarian and economic crisis that could have put the country’s economy into a tailspin. Imagine America’s financial capital in such disarray that money center banks and Wall Street could not function because their office buildings didn’t have heat.

 

New York City may have survived the Winter of 2022, but can it survive any of them before the mystical benchmark of 2030? And that’s just one city. Add everyone around it up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

It sounds like a joke, but it’s not. You are the carbon they are trying to reduce.

 

 

The post Progressive Energy Policy Is Going to Kill You – And Maybe That’s the Point appeared first on Granite Grok.

Parents are asking where the SAU16 DEIJ Director stands on political issues. Andres Mejia holds the position of Vice Chair on the board of Seacoast Black Lives Matter, and he serves as the DEIJ director in SAU16.

Parents have already criticized SAU16 for hostility aimed at Christian students, so what will Jewish students face? That’s what one parent is asking the school board. 

A parent sent the following emails to the SAU16 school board questioning Mejia’s intentions. This is fair since he is working in a public school, and paid with public dollars. Parents want to know if his views align with Black Lives Matter and what that means for Jewish families who reside in the district:

On Mon, Oct 30, 2023 at 10:42 AM
Dear SAU16, school board and administration,
Our nation just witnessed the greatest execution of Jewish people since the Holocaust. On October 7th, 2023, Hamas committed acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Families at SAU16 have received multiple emails from the administration regarding different tragic events. Why has there been silence from SAU16?

In Aug 2021 Andres Mejia who currently sits on the board of directors of Seacoast BLM stated, “I am black, and I can never separate myself from Black Lives Matter. ” I hope it’s time for Andres to separate himself from this group if he continues to teach in our public schools because there is a conflict of interest. The Chicago division of BLM just posted a picture of a Hamas terrorist flying into the concert in Israel and BLM as an organization has come out publicly stating, “We support Palestine.” BLM is an organization that has shown its true colors and has abandoned the Jewish population.

It’s a terrible time to be Jewish and it’s difficult to see the groups that many Jewish people have supported not be as vocal on their behalf. The Black Lives Matter Chicago and LA’s horrible support of Hamas is incredibly disturbing.

My niece is Jewish. Many Jewish children and families in schools across the nation are feeling unbelievably vulnerable. Hamas is a terrorist group that wants the extermination of Jewish people.

I will continue to teach my children that a Palestinian child’s life matters just as much as a Jewish child’s life. I want them to pray for peace and recognize that ALL lives matter…full stop.

The parents who had concerns about the way SAU 16 teaches diversity is valid. Teaching implicit bias is dangerous and at its worst DIEJ believes the world is separated into two groups, the oppressed and the oppressors. I will not accept those toxic narratives and reject it for my children. Sadly, look at what’s happing on college campuses, children have been taught to have a “us” versus “them” worldview and it’s wrong.

Many on this administration signed a paper stating, “the color of your skin matters to us.” I found that statement unbelievable. I teach my children what Martin Luther King preached, “It’s not about the color of your skin is about the continent of your character.” Anyone that signed that paper should face consequences.

So many of SAU 16’s policies the last few years will be devastating to children for generations. I can’t believe what’s happening in our public schools.
Thank you.
******
(edit: After I sent this SAU16 did send me their statement on the Israel/ Palestine conflict, although I never received it via email from the school. I did however receive one for Lewiston Maine.)



On Sat, Nov 4, 2023, 10:05 AM
Good morning SAU16, school board and administration,
Seacoast Black Lives Matter chapter posted, “Join us at the State House, LET GAZA LIVE, No more aid to Israel!” Thursday night at the State House they were chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and “there is only one solution Intifada revolution!” The Anti-Defamation League defines these chants as antisemitic, they are calling for the extermination of Jewish people, the terminology is laced with genocidal, intent.

You can watch the video below. I know it says New Hampshire Youth Movement, however, Seacoast Black Lives Matter promoted and attended this event.

Andres Mejia holds the position as the Vice Chair on the board of Seacoast BLM and works in our schools as our DEIJ director. For many Jewish students, “never again,” is now. Antisemitic incidents have gone up 400% since October 7th.

I understand that this is a difficult time, however, I can’t imagine having a teacher in our schools allowed to be part of ANY organization where members are actively calling for genocide. Words matter. We must teach our children to pray for peace, pray for a cease-fire and pray for real solutions for Palestinians and Israeli’s.

I reject having DEIJ taught in our schools and the 6 billion dollar industry of Social Emotional Learning and its connection to failed Common Core. DEI urges students to embrace radical ideologies, including that people should be treated differently due to their race. We should prohibit school leaders from forcing teachers or students to accept the idea that they are guilty of prejudice just because of their skin color.

Sadly we are witnessing the repercussions take place on many college campuses.

Please do the right thing and have Andres step down from his position at BLM if he continues to work in our district.

I will close with these quotes;
Elie Wiesel, author of, “Night,” in his own words:
“No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them.”
“Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.”

“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”

“Someone who hates one group will end up hating everyone—and, ultimately, hating himself or herself.”
“In any society, fanatics who hate don’t only hate me—they hate you, too. They hate everybody.”
Thank you,
***

BLM has taken a definitive stand in support of Hamas by praising Hamas’s attack against Israel on October 7. https://www.newsweek.com/black-lives-matter-praises-hamas-sparks-backlash-1833630?fbclid=IwAR0_fRNXExrcF4Rd61x0X2asSDJm2SksSco7FgfUWEYeLWDUILIyUklNPPM

What is missing from BLM is any condemnation against the brutal attack. This was barbaric murders. Women were raped, and paraded around. Infants were taken from their parents, and the elderly were murdered live on Facebook. Raped and beaten women were being sat on and spit on.

How does any organization supposedly supporting human rights, ignore this attack?

BLM has stood for boycotting white-owned businesses https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/black-lives-matter-boycott-white-companies?fbclid=IwAR1aCS1xmzFWg3s4N_6xX0vlhDR70ooq892CVpNO1KacS2tZ4oXLOFAEJ1Y

Are these the views of SAU16’s DEIJ Director? Why is he not issuing a statement? Does BLM Seacoast speak on his behalf? If so, what does that mean for the Jewish families in the district? These are fair questions to ask when someone is hired but maintains a position on an extreme political organization.

Do Black Lives Matter? Absolutely, so does the lives of Jews and Palestinians. But BLM is an extreme political organization that represents an extreme political segment of society. Some of the BLM founders are Marxists like Alicia Garza. BLM: The Making of a New Marxist Revolution.

Much of their goal is to indoctrinate children into this extreme ideology. Parents are already questioning why 1st grade children in the district are scheduled to attend a field trip to meet with political activists this month.

BLM Seacoast didn’t condemn the attacks in Israel: https://www.facebook.com/blklivesmatterseacoast/
 Why doesn’t Mejia simply issue a statement and condemn the attack? Is it so hard to stand up against that kind of violence and brutality?

The taxpayers pay his salary. Mejia is working directly with their children, and parents deserve to know who they are employing. A field trip for 1st graders to learn how to become political activists plays right into the playbook for BLM and political organizations attempting to influence young children.

A school focused on academic excellence teaches first graders social studies academic content. This district has prioritized political action over academic excellence for their students, and the decline in their proficiency scores reflect this change. Parents need to start asking themselves, do you want your child on a path to becoming a radical political activist, or do you want them educated so they can think for themself?

Take a look at what Core Knowledge includes in their scope and sequence for Social Studies. Scroll down to 1st grade to see what your child should be learning in Social Studies.  A well educated child will have opportunities in life. A student who is indoctrinated in Marxism will need Marxism in the real world. A student who receives an excellent education won’t need Marx in the real world. Marxism is a utopia where opportunity is described as oppression. Marxists ignore historical data that shows that few people who work in low-wage jobs stay in them long, and move on to better jobs. Marxists have a disdain for the rich and middle class, and blames an unjust economy for the plight of the poor. But they never take into account dysfunctional behavior or bad choices that people make that prevents them from escape poverty.

Instead of refocusing their commitment to provide the students a quality education, they continue to dabble in political activism. This is why many families have left the district, and why other options are becoming attractive to parents who simply want their children to receive a quality education.

So what about the Jewish families in the district. Will Mejia remain silent and leave families to speculate, or will he do the right thing, and distance himself from such an extreme position BLM has taken?

The post What Does the DEIJ Director in SAU16 Think About the Jewish Families in the District? 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.

 

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

 

New information site:

HOME | Israel War Portal (warinisrael.org)

 

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

 

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.

Also note that these posts do not usually 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: 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.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/child-slaves-in-tunnels.mp4

 

What Makes Hamas Worse Than the Nazis (freebeacon.com)

A very interesting pointing out of a critical difference.

 

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

 

 

(Image source)

 

Remember from prior posts: The Koran DEMANDS that any land, every square inch, that was once – ever – controlled by Islam must be reconquered for Islam.  This, and a lot more, in this video; Robert Spencer has forgotten more about Islam and the Koran, etc., than most people ever knew:

 

The TRUTH About The War & Islam They’re Hiding (w/ Robert Spencer)

 

 

Note, in particular, the passage 2:191 “Drive them out from where they drove you out”, mentioned specifically early on.  This is universally understood to mean – again, as I’ve been saying repeatedly over multiple posts – that there is a Koranic command that ANY LAND that was once held by Islam MUST BE retaken for Islam.  Israel falls into this category.

Spencer’s book: The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process

Another critical book by Palestinian Media Watch: Deception: Betraying the Peace Process

Two other videos from that channel – links only:

They’re LYING About THE LAND?? (w/ Robert Spencer) – YouTube

Hamas’s Goal was NEVER Freedom! (w/@ApostateProphet) – YouTube

 

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

 

WAR & WHEN WILL IT END?

Hamas Can Be Destroyed, but What about Islamic Supremacism? :: Middle East Forum (meforum.org)

This is the bigger question.  Until Islam can – somehow – be reformed and get it to abandon its hard-coded Jew hatred, the wars will continue.  Related, at least to me:

When Neutrality is Immoral: Israel, Hamas, and the Problem of Moral Equivalence :: Gatestone Institute

—

THEY’RE ALL IN ON IT: UN, Red Cross, WHO, Gazan Doctors, Nurses, Legacy Media, All Knew Shifa Hospital Was Hamas Command Central Where Hostages Were Forcibly Taken and Murdered – Geller Report

Betrayal at a fundamental level.  More (link in the original, bolding added):

The Red Cross’s Gaza Scandal – Seth Mandel, Commentary Magazine

Over the weekend the IDF released footage from al-Shifa hospital showing Hamas fighters bringing hostages to the medical compound on Oct. 7, the day of its bloody incursion into Israel. One hostage, an Israeli soldier, was likely killed there. Fighters dragging the hostages can be seen interacting freely with medical personnel at the hospital, in case anyone still tries to argue that hospital officials have plausible deniability. And as some have pointed out, there was no way for the hostages to get to Shifa without being taken past several other hospitals on the way, so they were not brought in for medical care.

More about Shifa hospital:

Into the “Gaza Metro” Terror Tunnels: First Look into Hamas’ Underground City Beneath Shifa Hospital | The Gateway Pundit | by Richard Abelson

Hamas detainee admits jihadis used hospitals as bases for launching attacks while disguised in civilian clothing (jihadwatch.org)

Even guerilla soldiers are required to wear insignia according to the Geneva Convention.  Those who don’t are… wait for it… war criminals.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/hamas-uses-civilians.mp4

 

They say it.  They admit it.  The evidence is there.  More:

VOICES FROM GAZA that the talking heads ignore (barenakedislam.com)

See “Pallywood” below for more on the gullibility of the useful idiots.

Palestinians: ‘Extreme’ Support for Terrorist Group Hamas, Israel’s Destruction :: Gatestone Institute

There Are No Innocent Civilians in Gaza – Daniel Greenfield / Sultan Knish articles

“Ordinary Gazans” had a chance to save a Jewish hostage. Instead, they handed him back to Hamas. ~ Elder Of Ziyon – Israel News

“We are all Hamas” (barenakedislam.com)

School students call to murder Jews, “strike and burn Tel Aviv,” “blow up the Zionist’s head,” “The Zionist is Allah’s enemy!”

PA calls for unity with Hamas: “Our arms and hearts are open” to Hamas

Hamas calls for exterminating Jews and destroying Israel.  The PA does the same.  With whom is Israel supposed to negotiate?

 

The DISGUSTING Reactions to The War

 

 

—

Why Egypt and Arab Muslim nations refuse to accept any Palestian refugees (barenakedislam.com)

And herein lies the fundamental problem.  They tried to take over Jordan.  They did take over Lebanon.  And the Arab nations know this, and don’t want that to happen to them.

—

Islam vs. The West: Conflict Unfortunately Seems Inevitable :: Gatestone Institute

Jihad on Churches in France :: Gatestone Institute

It Is Time Biden Publicly Acknowledged This Is Iran’s Mullahs’ War Against Israel and the United States :: Gatestone Institute

Even more broadly, it is Islam’s war against the infidel.  Learn the history – two excellent books:

Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West

The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS

And secondary books too:

The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)

The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran

Mohammed’s Koran: Muhammad’s Quran

And an always-good resource:

The Greatest Murder Machine in History – American Thinker

—

Israel’s 15 ceasefires – Don Surber (substack.com)

After Palestinians have broken 15 ceasefires, AP and other propaganda outlets are demanding a 16th ceasefire.

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fool me 15 times?

But RTWT.  Related:

Dennis Ross tries to save Hamas | World Israel News

Though apparently he’s changed his mind (MHO: covering his behind):

Opinion | I Might Have Once Favored a Cease-Fire With Hamas, but Not Now – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

—

Mossad Has Been Given Instructions to Hunt Down Hamas Leaders Living in Luxury (townhall.com)

OOH, needed.  These people sit in luxury.  OTOH, once someone gets capped, in Qatar or elsewhere, it’s going to become very… “difficult” politically & diplomatically.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/hamas-leaders-2.mp4

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/hamas-leaders.mp4

 

 

ISLAM: PRACTICES, HISTORY, AND MENTALITY

Former Grand Mufti of Egypt: After Israel is destroyed, Muslims will defeat America and Russia (jihadwatch.org)

Itching for the battle of civilizations.  A world-wide conflagration.  One conquered by Islamic-rules war:

HAMAS BREAKS CEASEFIRE 15 minutes after it started (barenakedislam.com)

What baffles me is how, time and time and time and time and time again, Hamas does this… but people bleat “Ceasefire” like it has any actual meaning.

—

Hamas’ threats to “cut off heads,” slit throats,” and “slaughter every Jew on the planet” in 2019 were ignored

Ever since the Jews refused Mohammed, Muslims have hated Jews.  Period.  End of story.

—

Look what was found in a mosque.

 

 

 

ATROCITIES

This section has pictures, videos, and links to graphic stuff.  BE WARNED.  But… IMHO it’s critical to know what the enemy is capable of doing.

Warning: difficult footage. Nova survivors believed they were safe in Kibbutz Alumim. Unfortunately, Hamas terrorists got to them and kept no one alive.  (Link only.)

Nova survivors at Kibbutz Alumim

Through Israel’s Story

More:

More Hamas Atrocities Documented, Strongly Supported By Palestinians and Ignored By Western Feminists (legalinsurrection.com)

—

“Not just killed, barbarically mutilated and gang raped” (barenakedislam.com)

What ever happened to “believe all women”?

 

 

—

 

Hamas terrorists live-streamed killing of Gali’s daughter and abduction of others | Keshet News 12

 

 

 

ON INTERSECTIONALITY / LEFTIST SUPPORT

25% Of New Yorkers Think Israel And Jews Had It Coming – Pirate’s Cove » Pirate’s Cove (thepiratescove.us)

Yeah, when someone screams ALLAHU AKHBAR and shreds you and your whole family with a shrapnel bomb… don’t look to me for tears.

—

Equity, Equality and Hamas – Daniel Greenfield / Sultan Knish articles

The moral DNA of society was completely rewritten so that everything from freedom of expression to the value of human life had to be weighed in terms of identity politics. Even the most basic moral questions came down to the paradigms of oppressor and oppressed. Right and wrong were determined purely in terms of ‘punching up’ or ‘punching down’.

“Is it wrong to murder, rape and kidnap people?” was a question to which the answer was no longer “yes”, but “were the victims or the killers members of an oppressed group?”

—

Baruch College student tears down posters of kidnapped Israelis, says ‘Jews are all sh*t and need to die’ (jihadwatch.org)

Nice guy.

—

A question for the #metoo people:

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/a-question-for-feminists.mp4

 

 

PALLYWOOD

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/dont-eat-rotten-data.mp4

 

For the IDF, It’s Going to be a Long Slog Uncovering Tunnels Under Shifa Hospital (jihadwatch.org)

But the convincing proof has already been given. The media just refuses to consider it sufficient. The dozens of AK-47s, the grenades, the piles of ammunition, the soldiers’ uniforms, and more uncovered every day, all testify to a Hamas presence inside the hospital. So do the recently revealed CCTV videos of Hamas soldiers bringing hostages into the hospital. So does the discovery, on November 19, of the entry, inside the hospital, to one of the largest Hamas tunnels so far uncovered anywhere in Gaza — it is 55 meters long. To those with anti-Israel animus, all this mounting evidence is treated as unconvincing; the tone seems to be “you’d better come up with a lot more than that, if you expect us to believe you.”

It never ceases to amaze me that people who scrutinize every single image or video or statement released by Israel – examined with a microscope – accept at face value the press releases and data released by a people whose religion says that it is acceptable to lie.

Taqiyya: Deception and Lying in Islam (thereligionofpeace.com)

—

About all those Arab Muslims living in Israel… (barenakedislam.com)

Some “apartheid”.  Video, less than a minute.

 

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

 

I’ve posted several Israel-related videos by Bill Whittle.  I just found this to add:

 

BILL WHITTLE: THE CASE FOR ISRAEL

 

 

For several years now I’ve adopted an olive tree for Bill & company:

 

 

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

 

TERROR COMING HERE?

“They Came To Slaughter Us”: Machete Armed Migrant Mob Attacks Teenagers at Village Hall Dance in France, ONE DEAD, SEVERAL STABBED – Geller Report

Gang of African migrants goes on a stabbing spree in rural France, and the media accuses the ‘far-right’ of fanning ‘controversy’ – American Thinker

Say, how’s that mass migration working out for the “Welcome the stranger” Jews?

An Open Letter to Pro-Migration / SJW Jews – Urban Scoop

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-west-is-next.mp4

 

One media outlet inciting violence in ‘Crusaders’ lands (wnd.com)

They WILL attack in the West.  Gaza is only an excuse.  See what they’re screaming:

WATCH: “All Military Aged Males….En Route To Europe Chanting “Allah Akbar” – Geller Report

Canada: ‘There is only one solution! Intifada revolution!’ (jihadwatch.org)

Will people who say such things eventually resort to violence in Canada? There is no doubt about it.

Florida Imam Dr. Fadi Kablawi: The West Is Collapsing | MEMRI

Colorado Imam Karim AbuZaid on Martyrdom Rewards | MEMRI

MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD front group teaches Muslim kids in the U.S. to sing songs about beheading their Jewish enemies in Israel (barenakedislam.com)

NYC: Jewish Teacher Had to Barricade Herself In Locked Office as Hundreds of Rabid Students Tried to Storm Her Office at Hillcrest High School – Geller Report

They’re here.  And this:

Anti-Israel Activists Throw Smoke Bombs and Red Paint At Home of AIPAC President (legalinsurrection.com)

How soon before it becomes more than smoke bombs?

—

One of the big charges is ETHNIC CLEANSING.  Not really.  But this is:

 

 

—

Jews Outside Israel – Protect Yourselves (amyisroelchai.com)

While this post has an open call to make aliyah, there’s a message there as well for Jews everywhere:

A dear friend of mine told me that last Shabbat, a group of 20 pro-Hamas demonstrators stood outside one of the biggest shuls in London with signs – in Arabic – that said, “Kill the Jews”. My response to him was very clear. Find 30 tough Jews to make sure those protestors can’t walk for 6 months because if not, the 20 protestors will turn into 100 rock-throwing rioters who will eventually burn the shul down. Now is the time to act!

I take no joy in saying this, but FORCE and VIOLENCE are the only language these people understand.

“War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want.”

― William Tecumseh Sherman

I know… “Team Humanity”.  Well, when someone says they want to kill all Jews and sweep on to enslaving the world entire, I have the moral courage to take them at their word.

“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 their freedoms”

— Robert A. Heinlein in “Starship Troopers”

—

 

 

Who remembers that Arab doctor who advocated giving erroneous prescriptions for Jewish patients?

Ohio doctor fired for anti-Semitic tweets, including threats to give Jews “the wrong meds” – CBS News

 

 

TREADING ON THE POLITICAL

Biden Administration’s $10 Billion Prize to Iran: Just A Small Thank You for Engineering a War, Wounding 56 US Troops and Trying to Drive the US Out of The Middle East. :: Gatestone Institute

Biden Talking Out of Both Sides of His Mouth on Israel – PJ Media

Beyond useful idiots | Power Line (powerlineblog.com)

It’s increasingly obvious to me that President Biden intends to suppress Israel’s campaign to eliminate Hamas. I may be mistaken, but that’s the way the wind is blowing, isn’t it?

Report: Biden Apologized to Muslim-American Leaders for Questioning Death Tolls Given by Hamas (legalinsurrection.com)

Well, duh. You are a moron if you accept anything from Hamas, a legit terrorist organization.

Just how long is it going to take American Jews to grasp that the Democrats, no matter how much they voice support for Israel, are really backing the Islam contingent?  Why?  Votes.

 

 

—

The Curious Case of Rob Malley :: Gatestone Institute

This guy was pro-Iran from the very beginning.  And it says a lot that he was chosen for the position he’s in.

The puzzling thing is that throughout his career, Malley has been so pro-Iran, so pro-Hamas, and so anti-Israel that the wonder is: “Why is this just now becoming news?”

Malley has been consistent in supporting America’s Middle East adversaries throughout his government and think tank service.

 

MISCELLANEOUS

Jewish Security Chiefs Endorse Qatar? :: Middle East Forum (meforum.org)

Are you f*cking kidding me?

—

Another “Team Humanity” member murdered.

 

https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/vivian-silver-peace-activist-murdered.mp4

 

How many times to these people, who have reached out to the Arabs to build bridges, have to get murdered by the very people they’re trying to contact for them to get the fundamental point: when someone says they hate you and want you dead… believe them.

 

 

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

 

A CONCLUDING THOUGHT FOR THIS POST

Despite all the evidence I’ve compiled over all these posts that the Islamists in Gaza view Israel only as a stepping-off point to global jihad against all kaffirs… articles, references, websites, etc., there are so many many people who simply will not accept at face value that this could be true.

Note that I have no special knowledge of the Koran or of Islam, aside from what I’ve been compelled to learn over the past few years, and especially the last several weeks.  No, just a healthy sense of curiosity.  So how is it that amateur me can learn all this, but professional journalists… let alone whole news organizations… cannot do so.

There is, I believe, a blindness in humanity towards seeing the bad in people.  It represents an unwillingness to consider you might have been fooled.

 

 

It’s often said One subject, two Jews, you’ll get three opinions in four minutes.  Or some variation of the same.  And often non-Jews as well.  And that’s fair – people see different news sources, etc., and come to different conclusions.  But there’s something pathological in the rejection of veritable avalanches of the rapes, and beatings, and murders.  Eye-witness testimony.  Security camera footage.  Bodycam footage from the terrorists themselves.  And their plain-spoken words about killing Jews and world conquest.  And still people can’t come to admit it.  These deniers are TWENTY-NINERS (bolding in original, italics replaced by underlining):

Hence my term, “Twenty-Niners”.  People who cannot grasp that anything that could radically change the situation in which they live are actual possibilities, and completely dismiss concerns that others present even when backed by evidence.

This is a real danger.  I wrote about the decay of the survival instinct in the first of my three-part series on the biological roots of civilizational collapse (for reference, Part 2 and Part 3).  Survival demands threat recognition.  Muslims all over the world openly speak of global conquest.  Muslims openly speak that rape of kaffir women is permitted.

I have the moral courage to take them at their word.  Why is this so difficult?  Or are we at this point, observed by Teddy Roosevelt?

“THE CURSE OF EVERY ANCIENT CIVILIZATION WAS THAT ITS MEN IN THE END BECAME UNABLE TO FIGHT. MATERIALISM, LUXURY, SAFETY, EVEN SOMETIMES AN ALMOST MODERN SENTIMENTALITY, WEAKENED THE FIBRE OF EACH CIVILIZED RACE IN TURN; EACH BECAME IN THE END A NATION OF PACIFISTS, AND THEN EACH WAS TRODDEN UNDER FOOT BY SOME RUDER PEOPLE THAT HAD KEPT THE VIRILE FIGHTING POWER THE LACK OF WHICH MAKES ALL OTHER VIRTUES USELESS AND SOMETIMES EVEN HARMFUL.”

— PRESIDENT THEODORE “TEDDY” ROOSEVELT

Will Islam and the seemingly-unending streams of migrants from Arab and African countries prove to be that ruder people that treads us underfoot?  If so, it will largely be by our own doing.  Alas.

The post Israel: Ongoing Links, Memes, and Commentary appeared first on Granite Grok.

I no longer shop at Target, but that started years ago. Their website always sucked, and I rarely had a good experience there. Transitioning to #woke groomers just made it easier. And then there’s Amazon.

I use Amazon. I’m a prime member, and that’s not changing, but they continue to get our attention for the sorts of things behemoth businesses do—some good, some bad, and others somewhere in between. Today, for example, someone sent me a link. Amazon has a selection of Free Palestine gear. Free them from what? Hamas? The Palestinian Authority? A cycle of co-dependent violence.

I could support that, but the gear is unclear. We are meant to understand, but I’ve taken the liberty to amend it as pictured above. Isn’t that what we should be talking about?

The people living in Gaza and the West Bank are people, and they deserve some peace. To be free… from Hamas, Iran, and anyone else using them as proxies. But choosing or allowing terrorists to control your government and engage in those acts of violence in your name is not going to free you from anything.

Nor is standing with them when Israel says we could free you from them, or at least try.

The Left likes to bitch about that, mostly because they are Jew-Hating anti-Semities, but if these people want to be free, Israel is literally their best and only chance. The surrounding Arab countries fuel the conflict – or, at best, sit back and watch what passes for violent reality television. They don’t care what happens to the people in Gaza. If they did, they would take them in and care for their refugees or defend them and help them remove Hamas. They don’t.

If Israel were wiped out, they’d be fine with that, too.

Free Palestine. Of what? Violence or Jews? If the Jews win, ‘Palestine’ could be peaceful. If Hamas wins, do you think it will stop their violence? If you do, you’re an imbecile.

Israel doesn’t want the land back; they want the terrorists gone, which makes them the best chance anyone, anywhere in Palestine, has of being free.

Yeah, civilians will be injured or die and have, on both sides, but that’s what happens when you get trapped in a cycle of violence with people who use you as human shields. The question isn’t whether the people living in Gaza deserve to be free. It is what does that look like and how do we get there.

If you think the best path is to continue to encourage Hamas leadership and their Jew-hating backers in their commitment to killing millions of Israelis, the gear you want has Swastikas on it, and yes, you can probably find something on Amazon.

Feel free to be offended by that, too. The Swastika was an ancient symbol of power until the National Socialists ruined it. Strangely enough, Islamist Socialists have ruined the chances of freedom – to at least be left alone – for the people of Gaza. And only the people of Gaza, with some help form Israel, can fix that.

 

The post Amazon Sells ‘Free Palestine’ Gear – And We Should Free “Palestine” … From Hamas appeared first on Granite Grok.

Joe Biden is always quick to point the finger at Donald Trump, MAGA Republicans, and the Supreme Court for the dire state of the country. The truth is, he should be pointing at the man in the mirror he sees each morning. Joe Biden impulsively opted to change the direction of every aspect of American life, not because he had a better plan but to spite Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters. Joe Biden was so wrong and taken America so far off course that it will take years of Conservative control of the White House and Congress to get this train back on track.

For years, beginning with the Basement Campaign that Biden parlayed into a win, the Media has been compromising its credibility to support Joe and every decision he made. Even with obvious debacles like the Afghanistan Retreat or Southern Border, the Media has chosen to ignore the situation rather than criticize the actions and decisions of the President. The Media has begun to change their handling of the President. This redirection is not necessarily a voluntary choice.

Still, the state of the country under Biden has deteriorated so much in three years that to continue to ignore sensitive topics will expose their complicity with the Administration. To this point in Biden’s term, anyone who gets their news from the mainstream media has been kept in the dark. Now that the media has severed their outright support, they must make another choice. Support the President and look ignorant and oblivious, or move toward the Right and openly criticize the President and his staff. This loss of support is going to cripple the President’s reelection bid.

Other than preserving their own credibility, another reason for the change is they finally realize there is no way this man can fulfill the duties of the office for a second term. Joe Biden has been on “vacation” for the equivalent of a full year of the 35 months he has been in office. A four-day week is the norm for this aging President. He also rarely has more than one event on his daily schedule, and the “lid” is typically on by 1 PM. That means the President rarely works after he has lunch. We can look at this two ways. The Right is thrilled any time Joe Biden is not playing President, but then the country deserves a full-time Commander in Chief. Joe Biden is long past able to work full-time.

The Left is in a difficult conundrum. They are looking at the polls and now the media coverage and realize Joe Biden does not have a favorable shot at four more years in the White House, but nobody has had the ability to convince Joe Biden to step down. Many names have been bandied about, but if Joe does step down, nobody in the Democrat Party wants to see Kamala Harris on the top of the ticket. Gavin Newsom has been campaigning behind the scenes, and though he looks the part, when people start breaking down his governing of San Francisco as mayor and California as governor, he is not the guy. The Democrat bench is weak. When you are even hinting at Governors Hochul or Whitmer, you expose the Democrat problem, and that problem is monumental.

The post Why Is The Press Turning On Biden appeared first on Granite Grok.

There have been several talented politicians who are adept at messing with the media, and I’m not taking anything away from them, but I love this guy. Pierre Poilievre.

His polite indifference. The nonchalance with which he unwinds the press-pundit narratives, taking the opportunity they hand him to point out where misinformation originates. He’s brilliant with the press.

Who is he? Poilievre is a seven-term member of the Canadian Parliament, the opposition party leader, and is running to replace Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada.

 

Pierre became Leader of His Majesty’s Official Opposition in September 2022, and is running to be the Prime Minister of Canada. He believes in a country where the state is servant, not master. Where smaller government makes room for bigger citizens. Where people have the freedom to build a business without red tape and heavy tax.

To make room for personal freedom and responsibility, he believes in limiting government. He has been one of the loudest voices in the past several years fighting out-of-control deficit spending and tax increases, as Liberal addiction to debt became a crisis.

 

Grokster Rick Olson pointed him out to me over the weekend, beginning with the apparently infamous Apple video. Poilievre is at an apple farm eating an apple, and a reporter tries to ask him a question (2 min clip). This is brilliant, and the talking head Lat Debate folks (second half of the video) agree. He does not let himself be pushed around by journalists.

 



 

The Conservatives currently enjoy a 12-point polling lead over Truduea’s Liberals.

The post Pierre Poilievre is My New Favorite Politician appeared first on Granite Grok.

Recent signals by Pope Francis that the Catholic Church may soften its stance on homosexuality have created division and distress for traditional Catholic believers who seek to adhere to Scripture. Influenced by liberation theology (premised on Marxist tenets), the Pope increasingly employs social justice terminology, universalism, and naive globalist aspirations in his proclamations.

The apparent contradictions of this shift appear lost on a naive Pope who embraces a New World Government that advocates for abortion as “life-giving care” and indoctrinates young children into sexuality and transgenderism. This tension strains scriptural truths to the point of abandonment.

The Pope and Schwab

Pope Francis makes no effort to obscure his admiration for Klaus Schwab. He echoed POTUS Biden’s call to “build back better” following COVID and called for a New World Order in 2021:

In true globalist phraseology, Pope Francis has called for a “new world order” following the COVID-19 “pandemic.” He also advocated for global change on “green” issues, warning that “we cannot waste any more time.” He called the COVID “pandemic” an “alarm signal on which humanity is forced to reflect,” referring to the “cornerstones of reconstruction” which would be a key part of his new world order. “This time of trial can thus become a time of wise and far-sighted choices for the good of humanity, of all humanity,” he added.

This is not a tenuous connection – the Davos parish (where the WEF meets) has conducted “silence and prayer” vigils during WEF meetings “to pray precisely for the intention that good decisions might be made for a more just and peaceful world.” The Pope promotes a “new economic system” and has partnered with the UN despite its abortion advocacy and support for comprehensive sex education:

Such deepening ties with globalist corporations and leaders lend further credence to beliefs that Pope Francis is aligned with the WEF’s call for a “Great Reset.” He has referenced a “supranational common good” and said that “there is need for a special legally constituted authority capable of facilitating its implementation.”

The WEF’s Pope

These deepened ties include the Pope’s appeals to the WEF. In his “Message of the Holy Father to the Executive Chairman of the “World Economic Forum,”” Pope Francis makes a patently humanist social justice appeal:

In these years, the World Economic Forum has offered an opportunity for the engagement of diverse stakeholders to explore innovative and effective ways of building a better world. The overriding consideration, never to be forgotten, is that we are all members of the one human family. The moral obligation to care for one another flows from this fact. [It] is incumbent upon business sectors and governments alike, and is indispensable in the search for equitable solutions to the challenges we face. May your deliberations lead to a growth in solidarity, especially with those most in need, who experience social and economic injustice and whose very existence is even threatened.

An Improper Alliance

This melding of liberation theology with social justice toxicity is evident in phraseologies such as “equitable solutions,” “economic injustice,” and “growth in solidarity.” This is the language not of Christian theology but neo-Marxist secular globalist hegemony. Denigrating individualism and calling to amplify the moral authority of globalist government, the Pope appears to have forgotten Revelation’s caution about End Times:

“All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).

Christians of all denominations must resist global socialist government of any kind. The immoral proliferation by the UN and WEF of abortion, as well as transgender and sexual indoctrination of children, make these dubious allies for people of scripture-based faith. Including Pope Francis.

 

John Klar is an Attorney, farmer, and author. Mostly farmer… And Regular Contributor to GraniteGrok and VermontGrok.

The post Pope Francis and the Quest for a One-World Religion appeared first on Granite Grok.

Your ‘Voice’ Matters! 

At GraniteGrok.com, we believe in the power of truly independent media and the extraordinary change that happens when we support it. This Giving Tuesday, we ask for your support to help us keep that promise alive.

Why Give to GraniteGrok

Your donation doesn’t just fund a website; it fuels a vehicle for citizens like yourself to be heard—a way for truth to break through the veil of corporate media.

By supporting GraniteGrok, you are investing in the future of independent media by financially supporting those committed to its continued success in the coming year.

Every day, we strive to make a difference. From education and health freedom to political accountability and election integrity – from your town to statewide – sometimes across the nation and even around the world.

 

 

How You Can Help

Please Donate: Every dollar brings us one step closer to our annual goal. Visit either of our Donation pages (also here) to contribute securely and easily. You can also donate by check (email steve@GraniteGrok.com for a mailing address).

Share Our #GivingTuesday Campaign via email and on social media. Your voice has the power to inspire others and amplify the impact.

Consider Donating Your Skills. We are always looking for local voices, young and old, to help reach more readers and open more minds to the service and value that independent media can provide.

 

 

The Future?

GraniteGok has always been a labor of love, but to achieve a greater impact in every community, it must become more. We rely on your generosity and an investment in independent voices to do that.

I hope you agree and Thank You so very much for your continued support.

 

With gratitude,

Steve MacDonald – Owner/Managing Editor, GraniteGrok.com

 

 

The post Giving Tuesday: By Giving Today, You Can Help Us Make a Difference Every Day appeared first on Granite Grok.

Arizona State University must be rolling in the glory of this wisdom, imparted by two ASU profs who’ve started a discussion about why Free Speech on Campus is not just overrated but dangerous. My First thought? Their sort of speech sounds dangerous, but they got to say it.

The premise is this.

 

Our contention is that calls for greater freedom of speech on campuses, however well-intentioned, risk undermining colleges’ central purpose, namely, the production of expert knowledge and understanding, in the sense of disciplinarily warranted opinion.

 

These must be really smart people who, presumably, questioned nothing as they climbed the educational ladder of success, making the best means for passing accumulated groupthink to future generations. Unfortunately, someone has to decide. Which groupthink? There are thousands of campuses with many more thousands of experts. Not all of them agree on much of everything, and some don’t agree on anything, let alone whose expertise will define “expert knowledge.”

The ASU authors try to get around this trip wire by being who they are: Pompous, navel-gazing, self-absorbed pr!cks.

 

 Expertise requires freedom of speech, but it is the result of a process of winnowing and refinement that is premised on the understanding that not all opinions are equally valid. Efforts to “democratize” opinion are antithetical to the role colleges play in educating the public and informing democratic debate. We urge administrators toward caution before uncritically endorsing calls for intellectual diversity in place of academic expertise…

 

And Suddenly diversity is bad, and again, whose bad? Which bright lights are the ones into which we must walk? No one will agree, and if you don’t lead with the BIPOC community or the coalition of Left-Handed Albino Lesbian Scholars, many of whom will also not agree, you are begging for an “idea- illogical” civil war.

Violence is, of course, inevitable because what you seek, like everything else cast out of the progressive void, is impossible.

Free speech and vigorous debate is simply the best answer because the alternative is, well – this. A police power that compartmentalizes words, ideas, and thoughts that would not stop at the edge of campus. Nothing that intellectuals think on a college campus stays there, leading to a nation in which the people who thought up the idea (starting with two ASU professors) are not permitted to think or speak themselves.

Policing generations of mindless matriculators will only lead to the notion that free speech is antithetical to democracy and the Republic and that it should be prevented as quickly and as painfully as possible.

That is the trap.

As with any progressive policy, advocates assume they’ll always control the power behind it or that the power will tolerate them as if it owes them something, and that is never how it ends. We all end up against the wall, and it often starts with two idiots who are so smart they are stupid.

 

 

HT | HotAir

The post Night Cap: ASU Professors Argue That Free Speech on Campus Is a Bad Idea … appeared first on Granite Grok.

The insurance company CEO reflected on how Obamacare had delivered everything his industry could have hoped for. The new massive bureaucracy had strengthened his industry’s monopoly on private healthcare dollars.

President Obama’s promise to lower healthcare premium costs was just one of the many deceptions he used to sell Obamacare to the public and now each State was mandated to have Obamacare private healthcare insurance exchanges. President Obama’s fraudulent promises dissolved away as insurance companies raised rates and gobbled up the premiums. Combining Obamacare premiums with the funds their healthcare insurance products generated, the healthcare insurance companies now controlled all private healthcare dollars.

Obamacare was really a massive omnibus-like law that touched all aspects of American healthcare. It contained Medicare stabilizing taxes and funded Medicaid expansion by taking billions of dollars earmarked for Medicare and directing it to new Medicaid spending. And mandated all employers with more than 50 employees had to provide standard healthcare. There were also some long-sought-after reforms. Insurance companies could no longer refuse coverage because of preexisting conditions, the million-dollar cap on lifetime insurance coverage was done away with, and families could keep their children on their plan until the age of 25.

All States had to establish healthcare exchanges, and all Americans had to purchase healthcare or be subject to severe penalties. The healthcare exchange financing was achieved by forcing healthy young Americans to pay expensive healthcare premiums; in effect, America’s youth would pay for older, sicker Americans’ healthcare. When the penalties for those who did not purchase Obamacare-mandated healthcare were done away with, the program’s funding imploded. In any sane world, a program without funding would end. But in America, the insurance companies raised premiums, and to keep the Obamacare exchanges on life support, the US Treasury simply printed more money.

President Trump failed on his promise to repeal and replace Obamacare. With the onset of COVID-19, President Biden opened the federal spigots for even more massive deficit subsidy spending.

The insurance company CEO mused that giving Americans access to cost-controlled affordable healthcare would not be difficult. But regardless of any plan’s logistics, no plan would be successful without an irrevocable deal with the American people; in short, those who worked and their families would have access to affordable quality healthcare. Hard work was the universal currency of America’s success, and rewarding Americans for work was the carrot that would make the plan psychologically viable. Able-bodied Americans who refused to work would be left to their own devices.

Parts of Obamacare had to be preserved. The taxes designed to stabilize Medicare and mandating that companies with greater than 50 employees had to provide quality healthcare were essential. Getting rid of pre-existing condition exclusions, allowing children up to the age of 25 to stay on family plans, along with doing away with the million-dollar limit on how much insurance companies would pay needed to stay. Medicaid had to be addressed, but the way Obamacare did it was fatally flawed, and for the country to be fiscally solvent, it had to be revisited. (fixing this will be for another time).

Creating a massive bureaucracy of healthcare exchanges was never necessary. Allowing access to the already available national federal employee healthcare networks would do the trick. The system would work as follows:

Small businesses and the self-employed would be given similar healthcare tax incentives that large corporations enjoyed. Allowing small businesses/self-employed to give an employee up to $10,0000 healthcare-directed stipend would, in effect, pay for the bulk of an individual’s/family’s healthcare insurance costs. Like the tax perks that large corporations and employees under their umbrella enjoy, the stipend would be tax-deductible to small businesses and tax-free to the individual. Healthcare savings accounts with yearly pretax contribution maximums of $5000 could be used for any kind of healthcare expenses, including premiums, and this would finish the needed healthcare financing mechanism. With these policies in place, all working Americans could affordably purchase health insurance and additional funds set aside for possible deductible liabilities.

It is true that the government would be getting less tax revenue, but the tax cuts would be directed toward hard-working middle-class Americans as well as small businesses, the driving force of the economy. Indexed to income, subsidies would be required for lower-wage earners to purchase healthcare insurance. And so, the promise to make affordable healthcare available to anyone who wanted it and worked could be kept.

Working Americans who were not eligible for health insurance through their employer would have access to affordable healthcare. Quality would be assured because the healthcare insurance these workers obtained would be the same as our elected officials/federal employees.

If this workable healthcare plan replaced the Obamacare insurance exchanges with the federal benefits healthcare network, the insurance companies would cry foul. Because these new federal benefit enrollees would be from a different risk pool than the usual federal employees, and cost much more. This claim is dubious but “high-risk pools” of people could be identified and appropriate federal monies allocated to make the insurance companies whole. To make the entire system cost controlled the federal government would have to limit the insurance company’s ability to increase their premiums to inflation -1% and limit all administrative costs at 10%. (See the first healthcare piece).

The medical insurance CEO smiled to himself because he knew this workable healthcare solution would never happen. When Obamacare was first passed the bill had a mandate that all of Congress and their staff had to use Obamacare as their health care insurance. When the members of Congress and their staffs were faced with this reality, the howling and gnashing of teeth became so intense that President Obama illegally exempted Congress and their staff from the Obamacare mandate. They were allowed to continue to use the federal employee benefits program.

There is no way politicians were ever going to take the chance that “their health care” would be compromised. Obamacare and all its problems were for the masses, not for them.

The Obamacare private healthcare exchanges have since evolved into catastrophic healthcare coverage. Many lower- and middle-class Americans take the government’s subsidies but cannot afford the at least $5000 deductible, and if the deductible comes due, they become financially insolvent. The healthcare CEO knew the woke progressive elites needed to keep their base dependent on the government, and they would never prioritize work as a key piece of a successful healthcare plan.

And so, in 2024, when the massive COVID-19 Obamacare subsidies come to an end, the elite progressives will find a way to renew the unnecessary budget-busting subsidies—propping up the unsustainable program with more government deficit spending.

Since the present private/Obamacare healthcare system is unsustainable, the specter of socialized government healthcare looms in all our tomorrows.

But the health insurance CEO was still smiling because he knew:

Private healthcare and private hospitals would spring from the ashes of America’s burned-out private healthcare system. He and his colleagues would only have to deal with the upper echelons of society. The rest of us will be herded like cattle into a socialized rationed healthcare system run by the government with the same care and quality they show our veterans in the VA system.

 

The post The Future of Obama Care and America appeared first on Granite Grok.

We are reminded of the well-worn adage, “The left Always Tells you who they fear.” Donald Trump, obviously. Judge (now Justice) Brett Kavanaugh as well as Justice Clarance Thomas. And Elon Musk the moment he purchased Twitter under the auspices of restoring free speech to the platform.

We can debate just how free the speech there is, but not long after Master Elon began to work the flush handle at Twitter, the media began to promote what it marketed as Zuckerberger Meister Berger’s “Twitter-like” competitor. Threads. It was an Instagram side-car that the Musk-Hating media “advertised” with breathless hyperbole.

The free press can be like that when you promote its competition, free speech. They announced that Twitter is dying. Twitter is at death’s door. And look at this shiny thing over here. But Twitter isn’t even Twitter anymore, even though users still tweet. The little blue bird can still be found, and according to Google, ‘X’ has more organic traffic than either Instagram or Facebook.

 

Guess we’re not dead yet https://t.co/gokmvwFMiw

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2023

But what of Threads? For starters, it had been lying around doing little since 2019 when Facebook first introduced it. Most of the social media world had never heard of it, and even Instagram users were indifferent. But Twitter’s transition from messaging stooge for Biden’s information despotism to something less controlling introduced millions to Threads almost overnight. It was the Left’s new darling, but it only took a few days for folks to understand why it had languished for three years prior. It wasn’t all that shiny after all.

 

Everyone on Instagram likely got many hints to check it out, and they did. Threads is Instagram’s text app, and you have to have an Instagram account to have a Threads account. Built-in users and multi-platform growth made the boom of an “opening” easy, but they can’t make you use Threads. Instagram users took a bit of the serpent-offered apple, set it down, and walked away – at least for the moment. But Meta, as in I never ‘Meta’ Zuckerberg platform that didn’t censor content, appears to have done a lot right with the interface and integrations, according to reports.

 

The reports were all lies. It was crap. And now it’s dead.

 

As reported by TechCrunch, the app will be deactivated by the end of December. Starting November 23, users will receive a message saying that Threads is being discontinued and will no longer work. Users will be redirected to the main Instagram app when they try to send messages through the Threads app.

When Threads was introduced, Instagram said it was designed to let close friends communicate with each other. However, the app never became that popular among Instagram users – one of the main reasons the app is being discontinued.

 

The Platform is live for a few more days before it goes dark forever, and Elon is likely working that Cheshire grin of his while still under constant fire from the Left. The threat of an even slightly more open Twitter (pronounced X) is more than the Progressives can handle.

Remember. The Left always tells you who they fear.

 

HT | ZeroHedge

The post Meta’s “Threads” Dies as Musk’s Platform Tops Facebook and Instagram for Organic Traffic appeared first on Granite Grok.

Despite the numerous permanent problems faced by public healthcare systems, a significant number of people (such as citizens, politicians, and doctors) still seem to deem them necessary and believe that the problems associated with them can be solved by, for example, better management, increased expenditure, or central planning. Therefore, in this essay, the main arguments in favor of a gradual departure from public systems will be presented alongside the benefits of (unhampered) market solutions.

1. The Public System Overly Restricts the Role of the Consumer

In the market, despite the important role of entrepreneurs and capitalists, it is the consumer who is the most important link. In the economic sense, the whole process and organization of the production structure is subordinated to consumers. They are the ones to decide the success or failure of entrepreneurs because everything is subordinated to their satisfaction. The greatest “weapon” in their hands is the freedom of choice. Entrepreneurs have no other option than to meet their needs in the best possible way.

Therefore, meeting their health needs under market conditions would produce many benefits. The consumer would be free to choose from the offers of health insurance or entities providing their services directly. Competition processes would emphasize improving quality, lowering prices, or offering a wider range of goods and services.

Meanwhile, in the case of public systems, there is no mention of consumers, only patients, the insured, or beneficiaries. Although the public system seems to be subordinated to them, the impression is false. The insured have little or no influence on how much money will be allocated to specific services, which doctor will be assigned to them, and when, or what means or technology they will be treated with. In short, their key role as consumers in the public system is strongly marginalized, if not eliminated altogether, while their sovereign decisions are replaced by arbitrary procedures devised by officials and politicians.

2. The Public System Adversely Restricts the Role of the Producer/Supplier

In the case of the manufacturers and suppliers of medical services, the situation is very similar. If they wish to operate within the public system, they must meet a series of criteria imposed on them not by the consumers guided by their value judgments but by a bureaucratic system, which further inflates the costs. Although these manufacturers and suppliers are private entities, they can never fully develop their capacities as they would be able to do under market conditions.

They gain more freedom when operating outside the public system, but due to its universality, the number of customers is limited in advance. Not everyone can afford to pay a second time. Another problem may be further regulations limiting the scope of services offered on the market so that they cannot compete with public solutions.

Furthermore, another adverse effect of this situation may be the belief of a part of the population that public systems, known for their problems, nevertheless offer “free” healthcare, while market solutions, despite the better availability of services, offer higher prices.

3. The Public System Leads to the Creation of an Irrational Structure for the Financing of Medical Services

The universal healthcare system imposes taxes and premiums on the “insured” to finance access to medical services. It also leads to the creation of a single-payer system—a state-owned insurer responsible for the appropriate allocation of the funds obtained in this way. However, such “insurance” has nothing to do with market insurance, where the calculation of premiums based on the health risk of the insured plays a key role. Moreover, one cannot get insurance against all possible occurrences, such as against events that have already occurred or in cases where it is not possible to apply the theory of probability and thus estimate the risk.

“Lumping” everyone together into one “bag” or pot also has the fatal property that the insured do not purchase medical services based on the price system. This applies both to correctly assessed health insurance premiums and to direct payments. The direct expenditure on specific medical goods or services is marginalized, which makes it difficult to discern the situation. “Free” healthcare creates the illusion of abundance and accessibility when, in fact, artificially stimulated demand leads to queues and limited access to services.

Another disadvantage is that the single (public) payer is also the main buyer of medical technology. Because it pays for it with money that is not its own, it does not show the characteristics of a frugal consumer. Suppliers are also aware that there are no mass and individual consumers behind their purchases. Therefore, they do not have sufficient motivation to reduce costs and prices, even tending to artificially inflate them.

4. The Public System Introduces a Bad Relationship between the Patient and the Doctor

Another group that cannot properly spread their wings in the public system is doctors. To save money, they are burdened with a lot of administrative responsibilities that distract them from their patients. Each procedure, order of research, or consultation must be described, and the expenditure of funds on it must be justified. This has at least two negative consequences. First, physicians must comply with systemic guidelines rather than the needs of patients. Second, when attending to patients, physicians spend more time at their desks absorbed in paperwork. As a result, the public system has a negative impact on the development of the relationship between the patient and the doctor.

Health is an intimate sphere of the patient, and therefore, the patient’s problems need to be approached humanly. This requires time, attention, and empathy from doctors. In the rigid framework set by public systems, this is difficult to achieve.

5. The Public System Limits Our Responsibility for Our Own Health

When consumers do not provide medical services for themselves through their own expenses, it is more difficult for them to understand their own needs. I am not arguing that the public system automatically leads to irrational behavior in terms of one’s own health but rather that depriving individuals of much of their decision-making power in this area can result in undesirable consequences.

If society is convinced that the public system gives it the right to healthcare, its attention and vigilance regarding possible solutions offered on the market may be weakened. Thus, the social activity in taking care of one’s own health through proper nutrition, a healthier lifestyle, systematic use of services offered by private institutions in the field of periodic preventive examinations, or the monitoring of the market in search of solutions protecting against the consequences of serious diseases or accidents decreases.

Analogously, spending one’s own money on food makes the consumer pay attention to the quality and price, as well as show more interest in each product in a broader context. On the other hand, when the funds are beyond one’s direct control, the consumer may adopt a more passive attitude.

6. The Public System Leads to Further Interventions in Other Areas of the Economy

Organizing one’s own private healthcare system requires individuals to have adequate funds at their disposal. The more resources that people spend on purchasing medical services, the more satisfactorily their needs will be met. It does not matter whether one must buy private health insurance, buy a medical subscription, or pay for the services directly out of one’s own pocket. Thus, any intervention that directly or indirectly limits this range of possibilities may be met with less public support.

This will also make individuals more aware of their own needs and interests. In addition, such an open environment will increase the opportunity for a better understanding of market processes—in particular, the effects of interventionism in healthcare and the market economy in general.

7. The Public System Limits Aid to the Most Deprived

In contrast to public solutions, there are many charitable institutions on the market that use voluntarily raised funds to help those in need. They do not operate based on rigid rules; thus, their activities are not burdened with additional costs or bureaucracy. Such institutions do not have a centralized structure managing them from above, which allows them to develop quickly where it is most needed. An additional benefit is greater social awareness and the development of appropriate ethical attitudes.

In addition, it is worth noting another important fact: private charitable institutions do not create the illusion of helping. They clearly communicate that for their actions to succeed, they need the generosity of specific people willing to give part of their property to others. By contrast, no politicians who promise additional spending on healthcare to help those in need can show their sensitivity and ethical attitude in the same way because they do not devote their own resources to that purpose.

Conclusion

There are certainly more reasons to abandon public systems. Contrary to popular belief, public systems are not special or specific, and they can be implemented without much concern for our health. It is important for the public not only to be aware of the disadvantages of public systems but also to see the advantages of market-based solutions.

 

Łukasz Jasiński is economist at the Mises Institute of Economic Education (Poland, Wroclaw) and assistant professor at the Faculty of Economics of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (Poland).

 

Łukasz Jasiński |  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 Seven Reasons to Abandon the Public Health System appeared first on Granite Grok.

“Trump can’t win! He can’t win!” “Trump will drag all Republicans down to defeat!” “Trump is the only Republican who can’t beat Biden!” Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. We’ve had this pablum flung at us for years. And it is categorically FALSE.

See the tweet below from Tom Bevan. Trump is running ahead in 2016 and 2020 (the previous two Presidential elections that he WON).

It is past time for DeSantis, Haley, Christie, etc., to drop out and get behind Trump. They have no rationale … NONE … for running for the GOP nomination.

 

of 3 historical snapshots:

8 years ago today: Clinton +4.4 pic.twitter.com/pdo0NCjjnG

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) November 22, 2023

The post There Is No Longer Any Rationale For The GOP Presidential Primary appeared first on Granite Grok.

It took 34-year-old Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez just a little over four years to go from a Bartender to a verified Millionaire.

Cortez, or Sandy as she went by in her days at Boston University, graduated in 2011 and had significant debt from four years of overpriced study on Boylston Street.

She started a career as a Mixologist until she was elected to Congress in 2018 to represent the good folks of the Bronx and Queens. She lives in a luxury apartment in D.C., drives a Tesla, travels extensively, and makes $174,000 yearly as a Congresswoman. On her current trajectory, it is estimated Miss Cortez will break the Million Dollar ceiling by age 38. She attributes her growing savings account balance to good budgeting. Not bad for a self-proclaimed Socialist. I think it may be more a case of campaign funds finding their way into her personal accounts. I have no proof, but she has been investigated more than once for misappropriation of campaign donations. That is some pretty good financial manipulation for an Arts and Science Major. Like most internal investigations by Congress, they very rarely punish their own.

Cortez is not unique, but she may be the most high-profile case. And not just the Members of Congress who profit, but their friends and family who tag along and get onto the staff payroll. The salary of the Member is capped, but there is no such cap on staff salaries. It is well documented that Nancy Pelosi and Maxine Waters have their children on their Congressional or campaign staffs and are making six-figure salaries greater than their Congressional Moms. Again, these are not rare but widespread situations, and one of the reasons these politicians opt to stay in office for life. Their office is a retirement fund for select family members.

Nancy Pelosi has also tapped into another means of back-door income for her and her husband. Nancy and Paul Pelosi are worth more than $200 Million, most of which can be attributed to excellent luck in the stock market. Pelosi has been accused of using information regarding bills working their way through Congress to make stock trading decisions. An example was their making millions buying Tesla stock just before a bill mandating future government vehicles would need to be electric. They made a similar killing on a Microsoft stock purchase. Nancy Pelosi’s good fortune in the Market has prompted many proposed bills forbidding Members of Congress from buying individual stocks while holding office. Of course, with so many members of the House and Senate profiting from these activities, these bills will never get to any President’s desk for signature.

These people are not in office for the good of the country. They do not have an altruistic bone in their bodies. It may be wrong to paint with such a broad brush, but it is safe to say that any exception will be part of a tiny minority. It is no wonder that after a very short time in office, these folks lose any perception of the plight of the average American. These folks live by different rules and are not just members of Congress but a very exclusive club of personal entrepreneurs.

 

The post Ocasio-Cortez Goes from Mixologist to Congressional Millionaire in Less than Five Years appeared first on Granite Grok.

They’re flying so thick and fast it is amazing.

Take heart – there will be both a Wednesday and Friday Edition.  Last week’s Friday Edition.

Remember, ridicule and mockery are effective weapons:

1. Ridicule cannot easily be fought
2. Ridicule makes the enemy angry, and angry people make mistakes
3. For those in the “squishy middle” a Thought Splinter (and Part II and Part III and Part IV) can often be hidden inside humor.

Now, let the mockery and mayhem begin.

 

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

 

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

 

First, all the Thanksgiving memes that came in way too late to put into the pre-holiday post (or Friday for that matter):

 

 

Same applies to all domesticated animals.  Including the sheeple.

 

 

It would not surprise me if, someday scarily soon, having a Thanksgiving meal, or an actual Christmas party (or other traditional religious event) will be considered an actual crime.

 

 

 

I remember one year I was invited to the house of some (liberal) Jewish friends of my mother’s, she being down in Florida – snowbird – so she couldn’t attend.  It was… was… vegan because one of their sons was a vegan.  And he was “Dennis Kucinich this…”.  And that.  And the other.  The entire conversation was one long bash on anything to the Right of Stalin.  Ugh.  And because they were close and dear friends of my mother’s I couldn’t let the claws out… at least not too much.  I did slip a few shivs in the conversation here and there, however.

 

 

 

 

 

I loathe bean casserole, so no.  And I’m the only one who likes cranberry sauce at my house… but yes, one MUST go.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

How is this different than Nazi Germany?

Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning

The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left

Remember what they wanted to do to the unJabbed:

 

 

 

I hope so.  I pray so.  But… they’re not going to go down without a massive fight.

 

 

No matter the Leftist cause, they’re counting on the tolerance and desire by normal people to not get violent.  They keep doing this, that tolerance and desire will fade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 mg of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose.  Let’s assume 3 mg to be conservative.  300 pounds is 136077711 mg.  Divide by 3.  45359237.  Let me reword: 45.3+ million dead people.  From one sector of the border.

U.S. officials find ‘sophisticated’ smuggling tunnel on Mexican border | Reuters

Laid rails?  That’s not for foot traffic.  What else came in through that thing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five years ago I would have laughed at that.  Now, with a few lingering doubts around the edges, I’m pretty much convinced of that.

 

 

 

And, thanks to the enemedia being nothing more than propagandists for the Left, we had “Insurrection” for breakfast, lunch, and dinner… and the sheeple ate it up.

 

 

I will agree to reparations with the following conditions:

1. Removal to the African country that best matches their DNA profile.  After all, without slavery, that’s where they’d be now.
2. Payment in cash, to be handed to them on their arrival in said African country.
3. Immediate stripping of their American citizenship.
4. MHO as an option: Notify the locals that their cash-loaded long-lost kindred have arrived home from America so a suitable reception can be arranged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So let’s arrange for them to have a visit.  Rooftop welcoming party.

 

 

It does make me wonder.  Was the Captain in massive debt?  What happened to his family after?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Pick of the post:

 

 

Argentina did it.  That we don’t is a choice – a choice made by people who want to game the vote.

 

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

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

 

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

 

Come back Wednesday for another edition.  Same Meme Time.  Same Meme channel.

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

 

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

 

The post MONDAY MEMES appeared first on Granite Grok.

Three Middle-Eastern students visiting a family member of one of the three in Burlington, Vermont, were shot over the weekend. “The students, all age 20, were identified by their former school as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid, and Tahseen Ahliamed.”

They are each attending American Universities, including Haverford College in Pennsylvania ($70+K), Brown University ($65K+), and Trinity College ($21K+).

 

Preliminary investigation determined all three young men were visiting the home of one victim’s relatives in Burlington for the Thanksgiving holiday, police said. The three Palestinian men were walking on North Prospect Street when they were confronted by a white man on foot with a handgun, police said.

Burlington Police said the man, without speaking, discharged at least four rounds from a pistol and he is believed to have fled on foot. All three victims were struck, two in their torsos – reportedly in the chest and back. The third man was hit in the lower extremity – believed to be his buttocks

 

 

Because they are regarded as “Palestinian” students, everyone from Joe Biden to CAIR to foreign ambassadors is getting in on the right to be outraged. – but not at Burlington, Vermont. If the marketing is accurate, the Green Mountain State’s #Woke Mecca is the last place we’d expect to see this sort of #HateCrime. Happy, accepting, diversity-loving folk don’t shoot students on break from pricey elite American universities, especially if they are young military-aged men.

That’s just unheard of, and it was nowhere in the tri-fold brochure. Shootings are to be limited to drunken disputes between as yet un-relocated red-necks or sanctuaried “migrants” engaged in sex trafficking or drug trade operations.

 

Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Kingdom, posted on X about the incident, also naming the students and identifying them as “three young Palestinian men,” according to both CNN and Fox News.

He said the students were headed to a family dinner in Burlington when shot about 6:25 p.m. Saturday.

“Their crime? Wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh. They are critically injured,” Zomlot posted. Keffiyeh is an Arab kerchief or scarf worn as a headdress.

“The hate crimes against Palestinians must stop. Palestinians everywhere need protection,” Zomlot wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

 

Not to be contrarian, but even the Israel-hating biased media can’t find enough hate crimes against Palestinians to scratch the surface of the number of ethnic or religious attacks against Jews even before October 7th, when militants harbored by “Palestinians” committed hate crimes against Jews in Israel.

What was their crime? Objecting to Hamas militants hiding behind “Palestinians.”

I’m sure the numerous agencies rallied to investigate the violence in Burlington will find the ‘white male suspect,’ who will likely be presumed to be a Trump supporter, though the odds of that in Burlington seem thin.

We shall see, but while we wait, Burlington should be ashamed of itself.

[Update – CNN]

The man suspected of shooting three Palestinian college students in Burlington, Vermont, pleaded not guilty Monday to three charges of attempted murder in the second degree.

Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested Sunday afternoon near the scene of the attack, about a day after he allegedly shot the trio of 20-year-old victims, the Burlington Police Department said. At Monday’s arraignment hearing, the judge ordered Eaton – who appeared virtually wearing an orange jumpsuit – to be held without bond. …

Authorities said Eaton lives in an apartment building in front of the shooting scene and a search of his home uncovered evidence that gave investigators “probable cause to believe that Mr. Eaton perpetrated the shooting.”

During the search of the suspect’s home, authorities recovered a .380 semi-automatic Ruger pistol, a law enforcement source said. The weapon was taken to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ballistics lab, where experts are firing a comparison bullet to examine it against the bullets recovered from the victims and shell casings recovered at the scene.

 

 

HT | Vermont Daily Chronicle

The post Someone in #Woke Burlington Shot Three “Palestinians” Over the Weekend [Updated] appeared first on Granite Grok.