Saturday • May 18 • 2024
Vol.XVI • No.XX
Manchester, N.H.
The Financial Times has dropped a report that sheds much-needed light on companies bragging about their environmental, social, and governance scores (ESG). It turns out they are a lot like ISO. A way for people to make money while pretending to do something that matters.
In the latter decades of the last century, someone thought we needed a metric to measure a company’s commitment to quality control. ISO 9000, ISO 9001, and so on. Quality control matters but in the real world, your customers measure it and then decide whether or not to do business with you. But ISO was never an honest indication of anything other than your ability to meet the stated standard.
I was a Quality Control Manager. I wrote and managed an ISO system. We paid third-party auditors to certify our process, laundering money into the hands of alleged experts whose only job was ensuring that employees followed the documented procedures. You could write any instructions you wanted. It could produce crap. As long as the workers followed it and the end product met the documented requirements, you could get ISO certified.
That’s a bastardization of an oversimplification. We did a lot to ensure quality because staying in business demanded it. My job was to figure out how to make my job less necessary. Work with the managers and staff to determine how to efficiently get the best results and reduce waste, defects, and errors. What we didn’t need to do was spend many thousands more annually keeping and updating an entire ISO system that we could pay an external ISO auditor to verify. Except we did. This latest thing captured many industries, and the ISO label, meaningless as it could be, got you more business while an entire industry (see also abscess) grew to service it.
Quality Control always mattered, but suddenly there was a new expense item for an extra-judicial overseer everyone agreed to pay for the BS label. And like all such constructs, it only seemed to get more extensive and expensive, self-important, corrupt, and corruptible. ISO auditors could fail you because they felt like it or pass you for the same reason.
The quality control auditors needed quality control, which was a downstream expense in and of itself – creating this massive bureaucracy that cost millions across multiple industries annually but produced nothing.
Pandering to social justice is also expensive, and many companies hired experts to make them appear #woke, only to discover how wasteful and unproductive that can be – and ESG is no different. It creates a perception for investors, potential business partners, or consumers that you’ve done something. That something is a bunch of paper in binders (or on company servers) that don’t mean anything in practical terms—Potemkin social and climate justice.
From The Fiscal Times.
Companies rated highly on widely accepted environmental, social and governance metrics pollute just as much as lowly rated companies, research has found. This perverse lack of correlation holds even if companies’ carbon intensity — their carbon emissions per unit of revenue or market capitalisation — is compared purely to their environmental rating, according to Scientific Beta, an index provider and consultancy. …
ESG ratings have little to no relation to carbon intensity, even when considering only the environmental pillar of these ratings,” said Felix Goltz, research director at Scientific Beta. “It doesn’t seem that people have actually looked at [the correlations]. They are surprisingly low.”
And this makes perfect sense. Net Zero, Electric Vehicles, Wind, and Solar are all affectations assigned a false perception. None of them is good for the environment; many may be worse than what they are meant to replace. Things with which we could do more and inevitably emit less (if that mattered) will be mothballed and replaced with environmental shibboleths that are less useful and dirtier than their predecessors. But they have been assigned a symbolism to which they have no right.
“The carbon intensity reduction of green [ie low carbon intensity] portfolios can be effectively cancelled out by adding ESG objectives.”
And we’re not even talking about investing in (for example) solar, which enables the world’s number one ocean polluter, air polluter, carbon emitter, and (perhaps) human rights violator China. But it is still viewed as earth friendly.
If you want to install solar, don’t pretend you are not enabling environmental disaster and the opposite of pro-rights, human, social, or environmental. It is one of many deceptions perpetrated upon us at great expense.
Think of it like gloves on food service workers. They look like they do something, and in a minimal sense, there is a value, but if you don’t change them between tasks, you can still cross-contaminate food and surfaces – which is why you are told they need to wear them. Not used properly, they do the opposite of the stated purpose. Or you could wash your hands a lot and skip the gloves, which are themselves an added expanse with a front and backend carbon footprint and a potential environmental hazard.
Medical face masks are another example. They may keep you from sneezing or spitting into an open chest cavity, but they don’t stop the spread of germs and never did. And the moment you touch them, that minimal advantage is lost – but people still think they can do things they cannot while frequently adjusting them, voiding what little value they had. And no one – even medical professionals who know these truths – are allowed to communicate them. It would destroy the illusion.
ESG is annother illusion. It is an affectation that hides harm and distracts from meaningful investment and innovation in things that could improve the air and water worldwide, not just in the places you can see – all to make more money.
HT | ZeroHedge
The post ESG is MBS (More Bull Sh**!) appeared first on Granite Grok.
Reports of a new underground railroad spiriting people from captivity on the west coast have emerged in recent days. Families, mostly white, conservative, and/or Christians, are leaving in the dead of night via a network of rural routes and safe houses.
It is still uncertain where the railroad began, with many claiming California, others Oregon and still others certain it started in Washington. Sitting around a campfire, several of the investigative journalists covering the story bandied around the likely genesis.
“California just legalized sex with minors, and no one can find a decent scriptwriter,” pointed out one anonymous camper.
“Yeah, but women in Portland, Oregon, are being beaten by homeless people, yet it’s illegal to box a kangaroo!” another voice cried out from the shadows.
“That’s nothing, Supreme Chancellor of Washington, Bill Gates, just funded super ticks that make people allergic to meat, and the state banned lollipops!” decried another incredulous reporter.
The erstwhile outdoorsmen comforted themselves by passing around a handle of maple moonshine (which is not only legal in Vermont but encouraged) despite having lost two of their compatriots. One was arrested for painting his horse, and the other for failing to leave his house while naked.
In an ironic twist, the new railroad sees many of its escapees fleeing the north and west while heading south to freedom in hopes of finding a decent Chik-Fil-A. The thought of escaping to a place where you’re free but not so free you can keep your donkey in a bathtub, as in Georgia, has many packing up to make the treacherous trip. Some have made it all the way to Alabama, where they were protected from saboteurs who were executed for putting salt on the railroad tracks.
Mexico also became a destination for those seeking asylum, including thousands of migrants who had recently crossed into America.
“Estados Unidos está lleno de locos” shared one passenger as he strode defiantly back over the border. “Al menos los cárteles no querían que comiéramos insectos y nuestras mujeres saben jugar al fútbol” which was lost in translation since Banana’s Media doesn’t have anyone who speaks native Texan.
There was some discussion of using one of the original routes to escape to Canada, however, many of the passengers feared being ruled by fancy lad Governor Justin Trudeau who exercised a limp-wristed iron fist over his citizenry during the pandemic. Still, many remain hopeful as Trudeau’s wife recently had the good sense to divorce him after reports arose she decided she likes men, as does her estranged husband.
Vermont, once the first colony in the union to abolish slavery, has been rumored to be yet another state ready to see its nearly 3% Christian population fleeing to safer spaces like Florida; however, time estimates for construction of the Vermont underground railroad forecast well into the 2030s due to the anticipated wait time for Larry, Daryl, and Daryl to finish arguing over the road work after the recent floods.
At least in Vermont, they have the good sense to make sure their women get their husband’s permission before getting false teeth and keep those atheists in check by telling them to keep their blasphemy holes shut about the God they don’t want to believe in.
Amen.
The post Banana’s: New Underground Railroads Emerge Along West Coast appeared first on Granite Grok.
There are a lot of numbers and stats out there, as well as gun-grabbing groups spouting “White Extremist!” and “Right Wing!” as soon as news of another mass shooting flashes across the Left-leaning Mainstream Media.
They don’t bother with actual FBI stats – the “gold” standard, for as much as the politically weaponized FBI can be trusted.
But it’s always the case that as soon as the facts come out, as in the shooter was “Democrat, Socialist, Transgender, Black, other minority” or any “protected class” (that decided it wasn’t going to “protect” someone else), the Press “move on” and the story gets the “after-birth” abortion treatment.
If it were about me, the story would have “legs,” and WUMR would howl about it for weeks. Ray Buckley and company would use it over and over again (you know Ray, the guy that makes it clear that Parents are WAITING to beat their gender dysphoric kids to death at the mere sight of a tutu or some such thing).
Sidenote: Despite all RINOS (Mike Bordes, Travis O’Hara, Dave Nagel) that flaunt the NH GOP Platform or how Republican Leadership has for years magnificently failed to meet any kind of Platform discipline against them for years, I’m still happy to say that I’m a good Conservatarian but only a registered Republican to vote in the Primaries.
So, for all of the yammering by Republican Leadership about being pro-gun, why isn’t this question asked more often when they proudly proclaim that they support the Second Amendment? Why aren’t they ALSO asking this question??
What percentage of gun crimes are committed by Republicans?
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) June 10, 2023
As I said above, the Left will use ANY Republican-associated incident for years afterward. Why is that Republican Leadership? Why aren’t you returning fire (pun intended)?
Or is the reason for “why aren’t you?” because you are only comfortable taking the safe path by preaching to the choir but deliberately failing to use that question as an opportunity to go after the Constitution Deniers?
Are you telling me that a cartoonist has bigger stones than you?
HT | Instapundit
The post Seriously, Second Amendment Haters – What Percentage of Gun Crimes Are Committed By … appeared first on Granite Grok.
Do you ever wonder why CRT, DEI, woke, etc., is so pervasive? It’s because, to paraphrase Patrick Bet-David, a relative handful of people have accumulated enough power to run everything. And, sorry to have to tell you this, bitter-clingers, as long as people like Larry Fink (Blackrock), Jamie Dimon (Chase), etc., etc. possess this power, it is, at best, wishful thinking to call America a Republic or a Democracy.
It is also, at best, wishful thinking to claim that Blackrock, Chase, State Street, etc. represent the free market and totally absurd to claim that the solution is … if you don’t like how they’re pushing woke, then build your own multinational trillion dollar investment company. The vast majority of investors in Blackrock have no idea that THEIR money is being used to attack their values, manipulate their children and, indeed, eradicate their very way of life. Allowing a relative handful of people to have this much power is not a free market … it is the “O” word as in OLIGARCHY.
The post Must See Joe Rogan Experience … Patrick Bet-David On Who Actually Runs Everything appeared first on Granite Grok.
Soccer is not my favorite sport, and there are not many sports that I do not enjoy. It may fall just above men’s polo or synchronized swimming. Women’s soccer is by far my least favorite sport and sports team for several reasons.
I dislike the National Women’s Team – primarily – because they are the most pampered, self-absorbed., and unpatriotic group of athletes ever to wear the uniform adorned with the United States flag. Because of my feelings towards this team, I am sad to say I was glad to see them eliminated from the 2023 World Cup.
The hype was tremendous for this team as they entered the competition. They were favored to win the championship as most thought they were the superior team in a field of 32 countries, a historic number of teams. The U.S. team had one win and two draws through today, which were not enough to move them onto the next round of play. This year, the U.S. Team was eliminated from further play after a reasonably strong 3-1 opening win against Vietnam. This victory would become the last win the United States team would enjoy this year.
The next three matches against the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden did not earn a win for Team U.S.A., but one goal in total and a final loss of 5-4 goals in the Swedish game of extra kicks. Their 5-point total was the lowest ever achieved by the U.S. at a Women’s World Cup, despite the inaugural 1991 edition only awarding 2 points for a win instead of 3. They lost to Sweden on penalties in the round of 16, achieving their worst-ever World Cup result and leaving without a medal for the first time. This group of underachievers was done playing for 2023 and a massive disappointment for U.S. Women’s Soccer.
There were no standout performances, as there was very little offensive output for Team U.S.A. This team failed to live up to the hype and pre-tournament predictions but was still able to create controversy with their off-field actions. The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team has sparked controversy for not singing the national anthem at the World Cup. The reasons behind some players’ silence remain unclear, continuing a trend of anthem demonstrations that started in 2015. The constant barrage of anti-American rhetoric by their leader, the legendary Megan Rapinoe, and her constant demands for higher compensation equal to the men’s soccer program, were a distraction from the team’s performance and led to the lack of support for the team by Americans.
Any reporting that the early elimination from the competition is most rewarding to Conservatives oversimplifies the feelings about this team. This team never represented America or American ideals and underperformed on the field. The United States female soccer program needs a complete make-over, and the retirement of Rapinoe is a good start for the future.
The post America’s Least Liked Team (Women’s Soccer) Disappoints Us appeared first on Granite Grok.
This has been lying around in my stack of stuff for a while, but it is still amusing. It is an ad for a recruiting firm, RedBalloon, that contributor Pam Brown referenced back in 2021 (“Finding Freedom“).
And no, we’re not getting paid for putting it up. Doesn’t matter – when you are watching and thinking about the words, it IS how the Left is distorting our normality by changing how people are perceived (character traits, intellectual horsepower, motivation, work ethic, care of family and friends) to simply immutable attributes (race, chromosomes) to changeable-on-a-whim ones (“this morning, I was a male, now I’m female, and tonite I’ll be ten other “genders” all at once and you WILL affirm and love every single one).
After all, Woke is part of Social Justice, and we ALL know how fast somebody is pulling that chain around in random ways – simply because they can in attempting to drive the rest of us nuts.
But only if we let them. I’ve easily learned that if I laugh at them, the table gets turned rather quickly. You know, like making a 5-year-old frustrated for sport (and then I give him a big hug – the SJWs, I just laugh harder and longer. They’re even easier to frustrate.).
Anyways, the commercial hits all the right top notes: “If You Are Struggling to Define ‘Woke,’ a Viral Ad From RedBalloon Makes it Child’s Play.”
One of the most absurd talking points lately is that people who oppose the radical left’s agenda should stop using the term woke because it can’t be defined. Unless you have been asleep since Jan. 21, 2021, you see examples of it almost every day in the White House press briefing and whenever the dementia-patient-in-chief appears in public to pander to his far-left constituents.
Perhaps the best definition of woke is the one memorialized when Justice Potter Stewart tried to define hard-core pornography in 1964. “I know it when I see it.” A more technical explanation would be an ideology that requires adherents to view people as atomized individuals. Then society must provide social benefits and punishments based on the full complement of observable and claimed characteristics in a complex intersectional ranking system.
This laborious exercise divides society into the oppressors and the oppressed… It is also why some employment applications and medical forms now ask for your “gender assigned at birth.”
…The worst part of wokeness, aside from it showing up in public school curricula, is how it has invaded the workplace. As corporations try to satisfy the newest requirement set upon them by the Human Rights Council, DEI training proliferates. Some of it morphs into expecting employees to engage in outright activism for left-wing causes.
…And God forbid that you say the newest unutterable phrase or make an O.K. sign. Some companies even have their own version of a struggle session, where you confess your privilege and apologize to coworkers who score more points in the Oppression Olympics than you do. Pay no attention to the fact that half of those you somehow oppressed are probably senior to you and make more money. It is enough to make you feel like the guy in the head-desk gif banging his head.
I am so glad that, being retired, I don’t have to worry about my paycheck being dependent on what I say or do that has NOTHING to do with my actual job responsibilities and how successful I am in doing them. Frankly, I would think that with all of this nuttiness (although it seems since 2021 when DIE and Wokeness were peaking), it would be pushing Conservatives along in a directed fashion: make your own job.
Be an entrepreneur and control the atmosphere in your company.
HT | PJ Media
The post “Time to Grow Up & Back To Work” – An Ad That Also Makes Sport of Wokeness appeared first on Granite Grok.
Summer has the habit of being warmer than the rest of the year, which encourages more travel and typically drives up fuel prices—demand, supply, you know, the drill. But prices have been unusually high, which CBS claims has something to do with Global Boiling.
Related: Kool-Aid Drinking Congresscritter Says Blaming Biden for High Gas Prices is Un-American.
The spike in gas prices has NOTHING to do with Bidenomics. CBS Host @GayleKing says that it’s actually due to the weather.
KING: “Have you noticed a recent surge in gas prices this summer?…
Extreme heat is playing a role.” pic.twitter.com/FygxxhEMtu
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 4, 2023
I guess Gayle ignores Democrats when they do things to deliberately drive up gas prices, so blaming the hot weather – admittedly a progressive media double-tap – sounds silly. But since she broke the seal on that narrative, We must assume she doesn’t know that warmer weather improves fuel economy, which would reduce consumption and potentially suppress prices. Use less and get more; need less.
Hot weather can actually increase your fuel economy. Your engine warms up to an efficient temperature faster; summer grades of gasoline can have slightly more energy; and warm air causes less aerodynamic drag than cold air.
Warm weather causes fuels to expand, which also adds to the fuel economy benefits, but that’s not going to offset much, if any, consumption, which brings us back to energy policy. Joe Biden promised to end fossil fuels. He campaigned on it and has used the power of his office to do that, which … drove up gas prices.
Democrats in Congress got busted telling energy company CEO’s to lower production, which would … drive up prices.
Joe Biden kneecapped domestic production on day one and more than a few days since, which drove up gas prices.
That created increased foreign dependency, which … drives up gas prices.
Barry Obama made it clear that his policies which are Joe’s policies would make gasoline very expensive. The Dems have not been shy about engaging in policy to end fossil fuels. The New Green Deal or any of its bits rammed into other legislation would .. drive up gas prices.
Here in the Northeast, Democrats pushed hard for the Transportation Climate Initiative, which aimed to make motor fuels cost more.
Gasoline taxes at the state and federal levels have always been promoted as a way to reduce transportation emissions by making gasoline too expensive for … economically disadvantaged folks and working-class people.
Gas prices have been high for a while. So, long that people stopped complaining about it. But the recent price spike as we approach an election year has to be addressed lest the planned harm falls at the feet of the people who are typically proud sponsors of raising the price of a gallon of gas.
It’s not deliberate policy to make motor fuel cost more; it’s global warming, which – as you all know – is responsible for everything, the way a child’s invisible friend broke the lamp or spilled the juice, or put chewing gum in his sister’s hair, even after admitting to wanting to do it.
The post CBS Says Hot Weather Responsible for Rising Gas Prices … Ignores How Biden Promise to End Fossil Fuels Would Raise Gas Prices appeared first on Granite Grok.
So … your favorite author recently posted Trump Is Going To Prison … But Just Keep Pretending Everything Else About The 2024 Election Won’t Also Be Rigged, which not surprisingly generated outrage from the just-keep-pretending crowd. But there was one comment that merits consideration and comment. It is this:
Of course, Trump is guilty. As President, he did NOT start any new wars … defied Congress (which was controlled by the GOP for two years) and tried to build a border wall … and actually got tough (as opposed to just talking tough) on China. That’s what he’s guilty of. That’s why the Uni-party is desperate to prevent Trump from becoming President again … even if it means putting him in prison for the rest of his life.
The “charges” the Biden regime has brought against Trump are a sham. The real crimes are what I listed above.
And anybody who believes that Trump is going to get a fair trial is either DELUSIONAL or a propagandist. No J6 defendant has gotten a fair trial. The “judge” is a Communist who has had no compunction about destroying the lives of anyone who questions the System’s narrative that the 2020 election was NOT rigged.
That’s the same Tanya Chutkan who represented Theranos at Boies Schiller (the firm that hired Fusion GPS to attack Theranos whistleblowers) and then presided as judge in the U.S. House lawsuit against Fusion GPS. Completely corrupt. https://t.co/3HvYcuBe3B
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) August 1, 2023
The DC jury will consist of a bunch of Communists who believe that Trump is Hitler and MAGA are Nazis. Question: what would you do to stop the next Hitler? Answer: Anything.
REMINDER: If you get arrested in D.C., your jury will be made up of 12 people who think like this: https://t.co/sm0zWsFMkQ
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) August 3, 2023
The post Of Course Trump is GUILTY appeared first on Granite Grok.
I wish more people really understood the difference between the two as I believe it is one of the most pernicious uses of the Left’s “redefining our Common Language out from underneath us all.”
“Equity” is a term chosen because it sounds kind of like “equality,” which Americans support. But it means the opposite of equality. Equality constrains authorities by forcing them to treat everyone the same.
The whole point of “equity” is to break authorities free of that constraint, so that they can favor those they wish to favor, and disfavor those they wish to punish.
And we know that the Left is all about punishment and revenge for questioning them, committing the “sin” of disobeying their philosophy or attempting to show that their Narrative(s) on the issues are wrong.
Our American ideal is that everyone is equal before the law and that our Founding Fathers designed a system in which no one was any better with respect to Government than anyone else. Yes, it hasn’t always worked out that way, but our system has, many times, self-corrected itself.
The move by the Left to insert “equity” and, when possible, supplant “equality” altogether is being done to:
In short, bring back Discrimination after a century and a half of America trying to erase it. Not just using Race (they being the Party of Slavery, KKK, and Jim Crow – which they are now trying to rewrite history (shades of Soviet Union’s Communism of “he who controls the past controls the present; he who controls present controls the future”). Along with “protected classes,” it will result in a tiered American Society – exactly what our Founding Fathers fought against.
I keep wondering: when will the run-of-the-mill folks realize this?
Note about the image at the top: I don’t think the artist realizes what he was doing when it was done.
I’m betting that it was supposed to show that if Government treats everyone “equally” (the number of boxes under each child), there are still some that will never succeed at a task (here, writing on the board in the left frame). However, the rightmost frame shows what actually happens:
See the result of redistributing (by the Government agent, the teacher)? Yep, the redistribution of boxes has created the “equity of outcome,” – but different kids are treated differently and completely implements “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” Certainly, the image shows the “from” part in how Government will react to implementing “equity” – those that are capable of doing more will have things taken from them. Simply because they can do and be more – how is that fair?
And what is taken from him, in this case, is given to another – but only in part, as the smallest child only got one box from the two that the tallest child had in the beginning.
And now EVERYONE is now operating at the lowest (artificially) common level. After all, no one can be any better than anyone else, right?
Oh, that “missing” box? As we have seen, “equity” will result in Government deciding all things – including “skimming off the top” from those most capable for themselves instead of a complete redistribution.
Oh wait, isn’t this happening now?
Remember, too, what Hillary Clinton famously said:
“We’re going to take things away from you” – Hillary Clinton, June 2004
Bernie Sanders approved the message (except he’s still reneging on giving up two of his valuable homes for “the common good”). Neither has Hillary. But we’re supposed to be all happy as they take stuff from we common folks.
(H/T: Instapundit)
The post A Reminder: The Difference Between “Equality” and “Equity”… appeared first on Granite Grok.
The mounting evidence is overwhelming and damning. It appears Biden lied time and time again during the 2020 presidential campaign about his knowledge of and role in his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings and corrupt influence peddling.
Recall Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. He was insistent, claiming:
“I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.”
“I don’t discuss business with my son.”
And again, “I’ve never discussed with my son or my brother, or anyone else anything having to do with their businesses, period.”
Note the categorical, demonstrative emphasis of “never,” “anything,” and “period.” Now, witness after witness evidences the lie.
This week there was the explosive testimony by Hunter’s former business partner Devon Archer before the House Oversight Committee regarding Joe Biden’s participation in phone calls and dinners with Hunter and Hunter’s business associates.
In his Statement on Devon Archer’s Testimony released after the Hearing, Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said Archer testified that Hunter put his father, then-Vice President Biden, on the speakerphone during business meetings at least 20 times to sell “the brand.” According to Comer, “Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ that his son sold around the world to enrich the Biden family.”
Archer also released a personal letter from Joe Biden written on official vice-presidential stationary that included a handwritten note to Archer from Joe Biden stating that Joe Biden was “happy” and, as described by Archer, “excited” about Hunter’s new business venture.
In June, an IRS whistleblower testified before the House Ways and Means Committee regarding an alleged July 30, 2017, WhatsApp message from Hunter to Henry Zhao, an executive with CEFC, a Chinese energy company:
“‘I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight.
And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.
I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.‘”
A few days later, according to news reports, CEFC sent $5 million to one of Hunter’s companies.
Yet, during the Oct. 2020 presidential debate, Biden insisted in response to a direct question from the debate moderator that Hunter never made any money from business deals with China. Now, those claims have been directly refuted by his son, who admitted at his plea hearing in federal court on federal tax evasion charges to having received millions of dollars in payments from China business deals. Biden’s false denial during the 2020 presidential campaign has earned him “Four Pinocchios” (a designation reserved for “Whoppers”) from The Washington Post Fact Checker in the wake of Hunter’s admissions.
An IRS whistleblower also produced an FBI Form FD-1023 that was publicly released by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). That form – used by FBI special agents to record raw, unverified information from confidential sources – records the informant’s account of dealings with the Bidens relating to the Ukraine gas company Burisma, including the payment of $5 million “to pay one Biden” and $5 million “to another Biden.”
Another Hunter business partner, Tony Bobulinski, has produced emails related to the business deal with CEFC outlining the equity distribution for the partners including “10[%] held by H [Hunter] for the big guy [Joe Biden]”.
Further, White House visit records indicate that Hunter’s business associates made almost 100 visits to the White House while Joe Biden was vice president.
All these Biden lies during the election were compounded by the Biden campaign’s conspiracy with 51 former national intelligence officials to deceive the voters through a Public Statement falsely characterizing the Hunter laptop and emails as Russian disinformation. (Related: CLANCY: Biden “Campaign Will Be Thrilled” – A Sordid Tale of CIA Election Interference) In fact, the Biden campaign was so thrilled that Biden’s campaign chairman, Steve Ricchetti, called former CIA Acting Director Michael Morell to thank him personally for the Public Statement.
And, of course, Congressional Democrats, the liberal press, Twitter, and Facebook all helped the conspiracy to promote the false narrative and censor the truth until after Biden’s election.
It is time Biden is held accountable.
Evidence indicates Hunter was engaged in a scheme of influence peddling – selling the Joe Biden brand to earn millions. He was ready to plead guilty to evading taxes.
Evidence indicates that Joe Biden knew of and participated in business meetings in person and on the phone with Hunter and his business associates for this purpose and lied about his knowledge and involvement to cover up the wrongdoing during the 2020 presidential election and thereafter.
Evidence indicates that Biden and his presidential campaign conspired with former intelligence officials to discredit the Hunter laptop and emails as Russian disinformation until after the presidential election.
All this evidence (which is only a brief summary of the massive evidence that has been gathered to date) points to Joe Biden knowingly conspiring with a number of co-conspirators to defraud the United States and the voters and to corruptly obstruct and subvert the integrity of the constitutionally mandated presidential election in 2020. As reflected by number of post-2020 polls and in the assessment of former Attorney General Bill Barr, this conspiracy impacted the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Hence, the pivotal question: Where is the indictment of Joe Biden?
Michael Clancey | Daily Caller News Service
Michael Clancy is a lawyer, member of the Federalist Society, and a frequent contributor to The Daily Caller on Constitutional law and political issues. Follow him on Twitter @MikeClancyVA.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
The post Evidence Suggests Joe Biden Conspired To Defraud American Voters. Where’s His Indictment? appeared first on Granite Grok.
A simple nick on the neck (not by TMEW or me) was enough to get us “DCYF entangled” into caring for the Granddaughter. Yet, there is a highly monied, highly politically organized, and narcissistic movement (yes, the Trans-Authoritarians hell-bent on helping in reducing our traditional American norms to rubble) that demands that much more harmful acts should be blessed.
Blessed to the point of criminalizing Parents for NOT doing what a child is demanding (re: under the philosophy of “Childism” – an off-shoot of Critical Race Theory that maintains that simply being a Parent makes you an Oppressor to your now “victimized” child).
Some norms, however, still remain on our “books,” and many are codified into law, taking into account that children are incapable of making decisions that are considered to require “adult reasoning.” Well, except for one, and I’m betting that regular ‘Grok readers know what it is:
(Image H/T: Powerline)
Sorry, that last one should have read, “Can I take hormones and chop off my genitals and make believe that I can be something I can never be?” What should also have been part of it could have been, “Can I read your Porn mags?
Again, “transgender” connotes that doing so actually can do that – it can’t, but the Trans-Authoritarians are working hard to persuade us all that it is possible. Failing persuasive means they are perfectly fine with employing emotional bullying to make you.
Yet, NH State Rep Mike Bordes and others decided that keeping Parents in charge of their children is a negative and promptly not only sided with Democrats but signed on (wrote?) the amendments that gutted the rights of Parents to be in charge of their children. I’m betting he’s perfectly fine with this, too:
Just mind-boggling.
(H/T: Hot Air)
Elections in 2024 aren’t that far away…
The post Why Is It in JUST This One Area, Society Has Decided to NOT Protect Children? appeared first on Granite Grok.
They’re flying so thick and fast it is amazing.
Take heart – there will be a Meme Overflow and almost certainly a Friday Meme Overflow-Overflow. Last week’s Overflow-Overflow.
Remember, ridicule and mockery are effective weapons:
Now, let the mockery and mayhem begin.
*** Warning, a few possibly off-color ones, in case tender eyes are about ***
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https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/enemedia-compilation-dangerous-to-democracy.mp4
This, and similar, clip aggregations have been making their way around. One has a slew of hosts telling people to be careful about looking for health information on the twitterverse. The wording, time and time again, is precisely identical across dozens and dozens of broadcasts.
Biden White House asked Facebook to tweak algorithm to push mainstream over conservative news: memo | Just The News
Biden Administration Ordered Facebook to Change Algorithms to Suppress Conservatives › American Greatness (amgreatness.com)
Knowledge, as the saying goes, is power. Even greater power, though, is the ability to convince people to not read / listen to / etc. something you don’t want them to see, or to automatically disbelieve it if it does cross their path. Or merely to successfully distract from important things (not to say that an actual revelation of aliens wouldn’t be massively important, but I have my doubts about it):
And leave us not forget the willing blindness of people – those “useful idiots” that Yuri Bezmenov described.
Who will, once The State turns on them, be shocked as it consumes them.
What I have predicted, and will again, is that once it’s clear to the sheeple that the gates have been closed their hottest fury will be for us, who warned and warned and warned… because they viewed us with such disdain for being paranoid nut jobs and yet we, the unwashed deplorables, had the temerity to actually be right when they were wrong.
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PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA
Massachusetts Bill Would Implement “Most Egregious Gun Control” in U.S. – The New American
I recently went in to get fingerprinted and photographed for my MA LTC. Not that I go into that state much, but I do sometimes – and I’d like to be able to have the choice to carry legally. Now, I’m not so sure about the license. And if these bills pass into law… maybe that LTC gets cut in half and sent in. More on the gun grabber behind this:
Who’s the liberty-hating mind behind Massachusetts’ “Lawful Citizens Imprisonment Act”? – Bearing Arms
From the above article (links in original):
Regardless of where you live, letting Representative Michael Day and his legislative aide know your thoughts is important, as he has attacked the very fiber of the most important Amendment in the Bill of Rights.
Michael Day can be reached at:
Michael.Day@mahouse.gov and info@electmikeday.com
Email to Day’s legislative aide: Talia Quinn Talia.Quinn@mahouse.gov (be nice, Ms. Quinn is collateral damage to Day’s treasonous actions)If you’re feeling real bucky, sending Day some letters and or post cards, letting him know you’re thinking about him while he’s on summer break, I’m sure would be appreciated:
Representative Michael Day
State House
24 Beacon St.
Room 136, Boston, MA, 02133Given what I was told about Day’s office’s reaction to online trolling – I mean, er commentary, and communications on social media, here you can find his accounts to express your feelings directly to him in a public way:
Representative Michael Day (@representative_day) • Instagram photos and videos
Representative Michael Day (twitter.com)
State Representative Michael Day | FacebookDo take some time to stop in and show the Gun Owners’ Action League some love and support. The state organization is tackling this affront to liberty head on and they could use all the help they can get! These freedom squishing-policies tend to migrate, so let’s stop it where it is now!
For more information about Michael Day’s modern day take on Democrats’ Massive Resistance to civil rights, visit GOAL’s page dedicated to it HERE.
As I understand it, if this passes into law, gun ownership in MA is going to become extremely difficult… and legally dangerous. The state of my birth, where the shot heard round the world was fired.
There’s a reason I call guns & ammo “tyrant vaccine”:
Get the bumper sticker! (You may need to adjust to PG-13 as the image upsets the woke types at Zazzle.)
Show why you own guns! They’re TYRANT VACCINE. Bumper Sticker | Zazzle
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I’d say this should be filed under CLUELESS as they do the very thing to Trump, except I know they’re not clueless. The Left is insane, but their fiendishly clever too. Also: remember that they only care about the opinions of their Fellow Travelers. Calling out their hypocrisy, while historically important, has no effect as they do not value our opinion.
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The True Story of the Atomic Bombs
A classic from Bill Whittle. Another:
I remember, years ago as an hourly employee in a defense contractor, some wit had done a bit of graffiti in the men’s room with the Enola Gay flying away from the mushroom cloud, and the caption: “Developed and built by lazy, illiterate Americans. Field tested in Japan”.
Now, having had my fun, yes, I am a Japanophile. There is, IMHO, much to be admired in that ancient culture. Honor, for example – something we have precious little of today. But I have ZERO sorry for dropping the bombs. None.
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South Africans are about to learn the Zimbabwe lesson.
MHO: When, not if, starvation hits, don’t send them a single bite. Not one packet of seeds, not one sack of fertilizer. Only use those as trade to get the remaining whites out.
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Simple questions for Pfizer
Watch the body language of the Pfizer people. They’re extremely uncomfortable.
I used to joke that I was sure that Pfizer had a “saline special” shot for their employees. Now, while I can’t claim with True Knowledge that these lots for employees only are that, the mere fact that they produced lots only for their employees is exceedingly telling.
BOMBSHELL: Spokesperson Admits During Tyrannical Australian Senate Hearing that Pfizer Employees Were Given Special Batch of Vaccine, Different from What was Distributed to Public (VIDEO) | USSA News | The Tea Party’s Front Page.
In a shocking revelation during a Senate hearing in Tyrannical Australia, a Pfizer spokesperson revealed that the pharmaceutical giant had imported a special batch of COVID-19 vaccines solely for their employee vaccination program.
And from the same article, the agreement the Australian government had with Pfizer prevents revelation of the actual terms of liability indemnification:
“Senator, any indemnity agreements between Pfizer and the Tyrannical Australian government are confidential and we are not able to discuss that in this forum,” said Thiru.
“Why are they confidential? Because as a taxpayer, I paid for those injections even though I didn’t take any. Why are they confidential? From taxpayers, 26 million Tyrannical Australians. What are you hiding?” Roberts asked.
Related to the Jab:
Spike in Miscarriages and Stillbirths Directly Linked to Covid Shots, Study Finds (substack.com)
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/yeadon-believe-them.mp4
Remember what they were willing to do:
“Errors”:
And more:
Senator Rennick: “What percentage of profits does Moderna allocate to help people who have been injured by the vaccine?”
Moderna: “Zero, Vaccine injuries are not our problem, but the government’s”.
What’s that expression? Privatize the profit, socialize the risk?
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/moderna-and-vaccine-injuries.mp4
And on the Jab (and Covid) in general:
Remember this video?
https://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/naomi-wolf-they-knew.mp4
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BATF: Burn All Toddlers First.
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Hundred million pounds of nothing!
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Give him chops for being willing to look, see, and change his mind. Learning can only take place with a HUMILITY mentality – the ability to recognize and admit that what you knew, and perhaps believed with all your heart, was wrong.
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My Tree in Israel just sent out a new recipe. Again, best olive oil ever – and while, in full disclosure, I am friends with one of the founders, I receive no compensation for plugging them.
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Pick of the post:
You must – MUST – grasp by the core of your soul that the Globalists intend this. TINVOWOOT.
Trump’s total number of votes in PA – a process that, by definition, should only go UP as votes are tallied and reported, goes down by 19,958. The Potato’s total goes up by… drum roll please… 19,958.
And yet, in line with so many of the above images about the thickness of the other side, when you point that out there’s a dismissal of “oh, that’s a glitch”. Yeah, a glitch that happened multiple times in multiple states. And was that glitch ever undone? Should be easy enough to do. Right? Right?
And we’re totes gonna vote them out for real in 2024. What a joke. Is there anyone with three functioning brain cells that talk with each other that actually believes this?
>>>>>=====<<<<<
Monday Musical Memory:
Kodo – “O-Daiko” – HD (japanese drummers – Taiko – tambours géants Japon)
>>>>>=====<<<<<
Palate Cleansers:
—
—
The post MONDAY MEMES appeared first on Granite Grok.
Last year, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) announced a new pistol brace rule. The idea was to turn millions of Americans into felons overnight while creating a trap. Even if you tried registering your “short-barreled rifle,” you’d only be telling them where to arrest you.
Filing requires you to provide the ATF with your name, address, and all sorts of stuff, including fingerprints.
Any request that goes unapproved for 88 days is automatically declined. At that point, the ATF’s default response is to engage in an enforcement action against you, and you’ve sent them all the information they need to find you, arrest you, and confiscate your property, because you tried to comply with their rule.
The violation is a felony; up to ten years in prison and 250,000 dollars in fines. And this is the ATF, so hide your dog (you can’t hide the gun you already told them you have).
Hi, my name is Bill. I have an unregistered firearm that you can confiscate at this address. Please don’t shoot my dog.
I asked if New Hampshire would use HB1178 to protect us from this overreach – should it survive the likelihood of a lawsuit? HB1178 prohibits “the state from enforcing any federal statute, regulation, or Presidential Executive Order that restricts or regulates the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” It has some holes that need patching, but as written, the State could stand up for law-abiding gun owners or prevent action on any rule that does not exist in New Hampshire law.
If they wanted.
I’m sure Sununu’s donors and homers could expect some air cover, but we’ve been more honest – see also unkind – when the Gubbnuhhas have been less than an ideal advocate for liberty. The odds we’d get equal protection are thin, unlike states like Montana, which was unequivocal. It wasn’t going to let the Feds enforce that in their State.
But it looks like the Fifth Circuit may have saved Sununu and Formella from having to lift a finger in defense of Granite Staters who disagree with them on other issues.
The court ruled 2-1 that the ATF targeted stabilizing braces without giving the public the chance to weigh in on the regulation. …
Judge Jerry Smith noted that the ATF did provide a public comment period on the proposed rule in 2021, but that the final regulation was so different from the proposal that it amounted to “a rug-pull on the public.”
Judge Don Willett agreed and added that the rule might violate Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms.
The Fifth Ruling only covers the Eastern District of Louisiana • Middle District of Louisiana • Western District of Louisiana • Northern District of Mississippi • Southern District of Mississippi • Eastern District of Texas • Northern District of Texas • Southern District of Texas • Western District of Texas, but it’s a Federal Court so there’s reason to pause action anywhere else.
There are also other lawsuits pending, so enforcement of the final version of the rule seems unlikely, while the process of letting government employees (judges) decide if other government employees (the ATF) stomped on rights that exist in the absence of both.
But it’s a step in the right direction and should please the animal rights folks. If ATF isn’t engaged in additional actions against law-abiding citizens, fewer household pets are likely to get wounded or killed by government agents.
The post Fifth Circuit “Shoots Down” Biden-ATF Pistol Brace Rule appeared first on Granite Grok.
The New Hampshire Liberty Alliance (the “NHLA”), founded in 2003, is a non-partisan coalition working to increase individual freedom in New Hampshire, by monitoring bills in the legislative sessions and encouraging private charity, a civil society, and citizen involvement.
The NHLA reviews liberty-sensitive bills in each legislative session. Bills are evaluated based on their effects on civil liberties, personal responsibility, property rights, accountability, constitutionality, affordability, regulation, fiscal impact, and taxation. From this evaluation process, it publishes a weekly handout called The Gold Standard, distributed to members of the House of Representatives and Senate prior to their votes, to try to give them an understanding of whether a given bill is pro- or anti-liberty.
The Gold Standard reports then form the foundation for the NHLA’s annual Liberty Rating, a report card by which Representatives and Senators are “scored.” The Liberty Rating is based on pro-liberty and anti-liberty votes (typically via roll call votes) and their impact on the State of New Hampshire. Pro-liberty votes protect individual freedom of choice and personal responsibility, recognize the superiority of freedom over coercion, respect the citizen’s right to self-government, promote good government, and recognize the value of voluntary economic decisions. Anti-liberty votes replace self-governance with interventionist ownership, assume agencies backed by force are superior to voluntary choices backed by personal accountability, and assume a better economy can be designed by a central authority that compels communities to pay for policies people may not willingly support.
The voting scores and grades for the 2023 legislative session were announced at the NHLA annual Liberty Dinner held recently. And the numerical voting scores and grades for every State Representative and State Senator appear on the NHLA website. Grades range from A+ to CT (constitutional threat).
No Senators, but 103 Representatives, were rated CT. A “CT” grade is described as “considered unfaithful to their oath to uphold the New Hampshire Constitution and the principles of liberty.”
The following are the numerical voting scores and grades for the State. First are the NH State Representatives from Belknap County, the notional home of the ‘Grok:
[An “Incomplete” grade overrides a letter grade if 50% or more of scored votes were missed due to absenteeism, incomplete term or otherwise missing roll call votes.]
And the following is the listing of scores of the State Senators covering Belknap County:
Note that the highest-rated State Senator in the entire state was Keith Murphy, with a score of 69.0 and a grade of B-.
See Related:
The post The 2023 Liberty Ratings appeared first on Granite Grok.
Every year, thousands of young adults and many mid-career professionals decide to become licensed nurses. Why do they do it? Besides the fact that there always seems to be a shortage of qualified workers in the nursing field, the pay is excellent, and new entrants to the discipline can choose the place where they wish to pursue their careers. Benefits for new hires are also among the best for graduates in any area of expertise. What are some of the ways that can help a future nurse speed up the process of becoming qualified and gaining enough experience to land a prime position?
Fortunately, there are many practical tips that make life a bit easier for anyone who chooses the profession. Some of the best ones include being proactive by volunteering at a local hospital to get a feel for the job, researching the top schools, applying for college loans to cover tuition and related costs of a four-year degree, joining online forums, and exploring the various career paths within the job category. Consider the following suggestions if you plan to build a career as a nurse.
Do Hospital Volunteer Work ASAPThe summer between high school and college is a great time to inquire about volunteer hospital work in your hometown. Many collegiate admission offices even suggest doing such work to gain insight into the way healthcare establishments operate. The requirements are usually quite simple. If you are a high school graduate, over the age of 18, and are enrolled in a four-year nurse training program at an accredited school, you can sign up to spend between 10 and 40 hours per week performing all sorts of hospital chores. Expect to do a little bit of everything, from registering incoming patients to helping with customer service inquiries over the phone or online.
Use Loans to Pay For CollegePaying for schooling is one of the two biggest hurdles to entering any profession. For future medical professionals, the most efficient tactic for dealing with the financial side of education is to get a student loan. Today’s lenders offer reasonable terms, fair interest rates, and other conditions that working people can live with. Taking out a loan to cover books, lab fees, tuition, and transportation is also the most frequent way of paying for a nurse’s four-year course of study at a college or university.
Additionally, it’s easy to apply online and get all the information about rates, terms, and repayment periods within a short period. On the academic side, earning good grades is a challenge for everyone in a collegiate program that leads to licensing. However, for students who feel they need to repeat a course or get extra tutoring help, there are multiple opportunities to do so. The great majority of students graduate within four years unless they’re attending special five-year programs that offer special credentials at the end of the coursework.
Research Your Favorite Schools & ProgramsDon’t omit the research phase of your preparation. It should include several hours of checking out the pros and cons of at least five college programs to which you might apply for admission. Everyone has a short list, so create yours and then get busy comparing reviews, expenses, faculty ratings, daily student life, and other factors that play a part in your final decision about where you’ll hang your academic hat as a nurse in training.
Join a Reputable ForumThere are hundreds of nursing-related chat and discussion forums you can join. Some are much better than others, so take your time finding a room that is moderated by a licensed medical professional, does not charge a membership fee, includes many participants, and features educational discussions about subjects that interest you. Note that some chat forums focus on how to get admitted to a collegiate program, while others are geared to assist students who are already in school. Join several rooms to get an idea of how the daily discussion goes. Don’t spend more than about 15 minutes at a time in a session. After about a week of lurking and minimally joining in a few conversations, select one that suits your needs and that you can attend several times per week.
Deal With Legal TroublesNo matter your age, it’s imperative to deal with any legal issues that stand between you and a nurse’s license. The situation is typically not a problem for young adults. But those in their 20s and 30s who choose to enter a nurse training college program can have one or more marks on their legal record. Ask a lawyer if you could get any misdemeanors expunged from your record, especially if they happened before you turned 18. Be prepared to show documentation that you attended diversion programs for any impaired driving citations. Take your lawyer’s advice about how to handle violations other than driving and low-level substance possession matters.
The post The Medical Career Lifestyle: 5 Tips For Future Nurses appeared first on Granite Grok.
Have you heard of “Boy Toy”? It’s a book Dover School Library retains on its shelf. The plot of Boy Toy is centered around the sexual abuse of a boy by his female teacher. Not only is the story filth but page upon page is laced with profanity.
Imagine content and words only fit to be written on the bottom of a toilet seat targeting these children’s minds. Such are the books recommended by UNESCO/UN, which influence government schools.
The path that our public school UNESCO/UN curriculums since WWII have traveled reminds me of the allegory of throwing a frog in lukewarm water so he won’t jump out before you boil him alive. Our youth have suffered this increasing heat of fatal indoctrination that is stealing many of our children’s minds while simultaneously striving to take away parental control. The goal is for the state to take sole possession of your children. These recommended books in the Dover scandal, along with many other thought our state and nation indicate the temperature in the boiling.
Teachers must follow the curriculum or lose their jobs. But at some point, the moral responsibility to protect children needs to supersede. I can smell the “moral pollution” the Dover school is propagating to minors all way here in Merrimack. All my life, I have tried to live up to the moral: “ If you see something wrong and you don’t oppose it, then you become part of it.” If Dr. Harbron and School Board members are sitting on the fence, ignoring such garbage, they would certainly do well to follow this moral.
Too many parents still don’t realize their children are in hot water. Google the 4 part series by Duke Pesta called The “SOCIALIST DESTRUCTION OF EDUCATION.” Seriously, consider getting your children out of public schools!
I recommend Dr. Pesta’s Freedom Project Academy.
The post Boy Toy: Public Toilet Morality appeared first on Granite Grok.
Elected officials in Vermont at both the state and federal levels will not have to take the stand and explain their part in a years-long multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme to defraud foreign investors. The state has settled out of court.
The Vermont state government is trying to sweep its EB-5 Ponzi-like scheme under the rug.
Just days before the state was devastated by continuous rainstorms, we were informed that the civil lawsuit against the state by eight EB-5 investors had been settled “out of court.” The storm’s statewide destruction moved the settlement entirely off the radar screen, possibly, forever.
…
Several of Vermont’s most senior political members — some now retired, and some senior state officials — may rest easy. They will not be called to testify about what would cause the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services to close down a state agency.
Then Governor Peter Shumlin and Vermont’s members of Congress all have ties to a development plan in Newport, Vermont, that used the government’s EB-5 program to swindle millions for foreign investors. But it wasn’t just a cash-for-green cards scheme. Vast sums of public money were redirected in the name of the swindle. The Newport Resort would need access, and crafty pols used theirs to spend your money on infrastructure.
If you missed it, back in early 2016, we reported on the funneling of millions of dollars, laundered through the Feds, to “projects” in Newport, Vermont.
From 2014 through 2015, over 17 million dollars was awarded by the FAA and DOT to remodel the airport serving the tiny town and the 4600 residents. It caught our attention (see Les Otten and the Balsams Boondoggle), introducing us to Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros. ..
Senators Sanders (I) and Leahy (D), and Congressman Welch [sold it as] Expansions “that will bring people for business, tourist and recreation opportunities throughout the region.”
They were very excited to announce all those funds secured for the runway and then a taxiway expansion(s) to this local airfield.
Leahy also personally complained to a Senate Committee about delays with the EB-5 program (being used to support the Ponzi scheme).
All while the project developers were giving campaign donations to these political allies.
Newport, Vermont resident Bill Stenger has his fingers in all these pies, and like any good “developer” has invested his fair share of dollars on the local crop of politicians. He gave $4000.00 to the campaign of the current governor, Peter Shumlin, and his resort project, Jay Peak, shows a $2000.00 donation to Shumlin in 2012.
He gave Patrick Leahy $4800.00 dollars in 2010
Peter Welch got $1000.00 dollars in 2014.
Ariel Quiros gave $2000.00 directly to Shumlin, $14,000.00 to the VT Democrat Party, and another $12,000.00 to the Vermont State Democrat Federal Campaign Committee- which funnels donations to support the campaigns of Vermont’s…Senators and Congresspersons.
And Q Burke Mountain Resort gave Shumlin $2K in 2014.
And according to this report, the same Jay Peak developers have donated a total of least 71,900.00 dollars to Vermont Democrats since 2011.
It looks like the Vermont Democrat party, the governor, a congressman, and two Democrat US senators were getting “paid” to support the schemes, but none of them will have to testify or explain what they knew and when they knew it.
In the end, over 800 foreign investors were swindled. An out-of-court settlement returns over 16 million to them, and while the summation of the civil suit hints at releasing close to 40,000 pages of documents related to the Ponzi scheme, does anyone expect to see proof of complicity between Vermont Democrats, corrupt developers, and the deliberate fraud perpetrated on the investors and US taxpayers?
I’m not holding my breath.
The post Are Sanders and Leahy Off the Hook for Their Part in Scheme to Defraud Foreign Investors? appeared first on Granite Grok.
The day after America celebrated its independence and its founding principles of self-governance and liberty, across the pond, Britain paid tribute to its values of collectivism and statism by commemorating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the National Health Service (NHS).
Children’s choirs sang “Happy Birthday” at a thanksgiving church service celebrating the NHS at Westminster Abbey. In attendance were the prime minister and the opposition leader, among others. The notion that the NHS is the closest thing the United Kingdom has to a state religion has never been truer.
However, behind the pomp and pageantry, the NHS is a god that has failed. The reality is that the NHS should be one of the United Kingdom’s biggest shames, as it constantly lets down both patients and staff while placing a substantial burden on the taxpayer.
The number of people waiting for treatment in England has reached unprecedented levels, with a backlog of 7.4 million—about one in eight of the population. Alarmingly, over 371,000 people have been waiting for over a year to receive treatment. The UK has significantly fewer hospital beds, doctors, nurses, CT scanners, and MRI units than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average. In addition, the UK has the second-highest rate of treatable deaths in Western Europe. How can anyone believe this system deserves to be eulogized?
Yet the NHS worshippers can’t admit that the system is failing as they hang on to the lie that the NHS is an example of socialism working. Instead, they turn to conspiracies, claiming the NHS is failing because the Tories are purposefully underfunding it to push privatization as a viable alternative. This is far from the truth: NHS funding is at record-high levels, above the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average.
The argument that the Tories are trying to privatize the NHS has been pushed by mainstream news outlets for over four decades, from the Times in 1980 to the Byline Times in 2023, who claim that this is all a move to transition to a US-style system.
Nevertheless, the truth remains that when compared to not only the United States but also the rest of Europe, the UK continues to exhibit a significant level of statism in its healthcare system. As Dr. Kristian Niemietz, head of political economy of the Institute of Economic Affairs, points out,
After more than four decades of moral panic about secret privatisation plans, the UK still has an unusually state-centred healthcare system. Even if we include general practitioners, dentists, pharmacists and optometrists, spending on non-NHS providers still only accounts for about a quarter of the NHS budget. Spending on private providers (i.e., companies such as Bupa) in the way most people probably understand it accounts for less than one-tenth of the budget, a figure that does not show a rising trend. Private hospitals only account for one in ten hospital beds in the UK, compared to three out of ten in Austria, four out of ten in France, six out of ten in Germany, seven out of ten in Belgium and ten out of ten in the Netherlands.
Yet despite the facts, NHS fanatics would rather blame the issue on privatization boogeymen than address the point that the socialized centralized system has little accountability, cannot efficiently allocate resources, and provides patients with very little choice or freedom.
The reason why these NHS fanatics are fine with ignoring the facts is because they see the NHS as more important than human life and prioritize their dogma over reality. We could see this during the pandemic, when “protecting our NHS” was prioritized and the whole country clapped outside their houses every Thursday during the lockdown.
Meanwhile, very little coverage is given to the fact that the lockdown effects killed more people than covid, especially due to delayed treatments from the accumulated backlog. Instead of considering that the NHS’s inability to deal with the healthcare needs of Britain is a flaw in the system, NHS fanatics turn a blind eye.
NHS supporters are putting their fingers in their ears and are causing unnecessary suffering and costing people their lives. What does it matter that healthcare is “free at the point of use” when many are denied care altogether due to the waiting lists? While patients are quick to thank the NHS whenever healthcare goes right, they don’t apply the same logic to its countless failures. Those who dogmatically defend the NHS should try explaining things to the elderly person waiting for a delayed ambulance or the cancer patient waiting for delayed treatment.
Is it worth having worse healthcare outcomes in comparison to more market-based European countries to protect “our” NHS? Are they protecting people needing care or are they protecting the myths of socialism? The case seems to be the latter.
Jess Gill | Mises Wire
Author: Jess Gill
Jess Gill is a British libertarian political content creator. She is the Creative Director of Reasoned U.K. Jess creates political and economics videos on Tiktok and YouTube, where she has gained a following of over 30,000.
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The post Lessons from Socilaized Medicine: “Britain’s National Health Service is a god that has failed.” appeared first on Granite Grok.
The natural (biological!) physical advantages men have over women, even mediocre C-team men like Will Thomas, are beginning to prove troublesome. For example, swimming’s World Governing body kicked Thomas out of women’s events last year.
In a seismic move for Olympic sport which will mean that American swimmer Lia Thomas can no longer compete in elite races, swimming’s rulemakers announced that transgender women must now establish that they “have not experienced any part of male puberty.”
Fina, world swimming’s governing body, also announced plans to establish a new “open” category of competition to include transgender women that, according to president Husain Al-Musallam, would involve “some of our biggest events.”
Post-pubescent males must compete as men or in the new melting pot category.
British Cycling had to give men the boot from women’s competition until they’d found a diplomatic way to explain why men can’t just decide they are women and win all their competitions. And it looks like Fina has found the out they were looking for – even the British government is beginning to see the light.
“This is the right and sensible decision to take,” said Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary. “Fairness must always take precedent over inclusion and should be unequivocal. Also important that trans women are able to compete in own class, this is the solution.” …
Al-Musallam said swimming’s new policy was “based on real science” and there is confidence it will prove robust against any legal challenge in being “necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate” objective. “Our athletes must come first,” he said. “Of course, I understand why transgender athletes would like to compete in a category of their choice. However, I have an obligation to every single one of our athletes.
“Equality is also a key principle for us. This is why we are faced with such a delicate balancing act. We have to protect competitive fairness, and also the past records and achievements.”
Real science!
Competitive fairness.
The nerve of these people. And now British Rowing has jumped into the queue.
Transgender women will not be allowed to compete in the women’s category of British Rowing events, the sport’s UK governing body has announced ahead of a change in policy due to come in later this year.
Only athletes “assigned female at birth” will be allowed to compete in the women’s category in competitions under its jurisdiction, or be selected to represent Great Britain or England at international events, British Rowing said in a media release published Thursday.
But will they ever kick intact men posing as women out of women’s locker rooms?
The post Transwomen Getting the Boot From One Women’s Sport After Another appeared first on Granite Grok.
Many Americans today are willing to buy what they are told. That is the lesson of covid. We bought what the government was selling, uncritically so. The American press, from the perspective of their value is their reporting of facts without bias, is dead.
The publication of news that is done has become propaganda. What we are seeing is manipulation of the news cycle for political advantage. And we are eating it up with a spoon. Our ability as citizens to view events with a critical eye appears to be gone or at best greatly diminished.
The current American regime is the most tyrannical, least constitutionally loyal in the nation’s history. Each time there is building momentum in the Biden corruption investigation there is a legal-media intervention. Here are some examples from the recent breaking bad story timeline.
1. On March 17th Hunter Biden admitted the laptop is his. The significance being the laptop’s content, while disgusting, is also valid evidence of his “business” dealings.
a. On March 18th Trump announced he was going to be indicted.
2. On June 8th the FBI FB 1023 documents came out showing $5 million for Hunter and $5 million for the big guy.
a. June 9th the Trump Mar-a-Lago indictment.
3. On July 31st we got Devon Archer’s testimony.
a. August 1st was the Trump January 6th indictment.
The point here is to illustrate the coincidence of coordination of breaking bad political news for the regime with the immediate follow-up of legal bad news for Trump. The appearance is a repetition of coordination between the Biden DoJ actions and the receipt and publication of bad political news for the regime. The timing of the distractions raises questions. Could this regime be more destructive of our republic?
Something we are seeing is egregious differences in prosecutorial zeal. We are seeing Trump believes, along with about half of the electorate, the 2020 election was flawed. The observations include but are not limited to:
· There were changes to election law allowed outside extra-constitutionally.
o Laws are supposed to be changed by the legislature, not by the courts.
· Zuckerbucks were a factor in polling place operation in some areas.
· There were bags of ballots showing up in some locations.
· There was the True the Vote data analysis.
· There were postal worker affidavits that were sat on until it was too late.
· There were the Twitter files.
· There was Facebook coordination, the violation of our first amendment rights through governmental coercion, and or coordination of social and news media outlet reporting.
One purpose of the prosecutions is to ensure discussing whether the election was fair, legal, and acceptable will no longer be tolerated. That is what these Trump indictments really are. They are intimidation, by the regime, of the opposition party. The message is; if the Democrats win, the election is fair… because the Democrats won. At best, this is the denial of Trump’s right to free speech, and by extension, that’s true of the rest of us.
We need to impeach the entire Department of Justice. Why did none of the indictments include any charge of incitement? If Trump is guilty of all this “stuff” and he caused January 6th, why is there no incitement charge? If the President broke the law, why did they not impeach him? The House did so twice without evidence… which resulted in a lot of wasted time and money, as well as two acquittals in the Senate.
From 2004 we went through the hanging chad fiasco. In 2016 it was Russia collusion. With respect to the election stealing claims, the shoe was on the other foot. The RNC has a video montage out about the complaints after those elections.
So now we cannot challenge covid, we cannot challenge climate, and we cannot challenge elections in which the Democrats win. We should stop and think about our direction of travel… We seem to be dangerously lost.
The Democrats need to own undermining confidence in our institutions. Our ruling elite seem to have decided; we, the electorates no longer have a say in anything that happens in this country. Think about it. The federal government determines how much water your faucet can put out, whether you can buy a gas stove and requires car companies to make only electric vehicles. The list is nearly endless… completely fascist and entirely Democrat driven.
They are increasingly bold in the use of every tool of government to suppress dissent. They are taxing us to increase their power to suppress us. That’s the definition of tyranny.
Read the Declaration of Independence… It contains a list of tyrannies of the King… It articulates what we tried as remedies and explains why independence was the required next step. How is today’s situation so much different?
The Trump indictments are problematic. Should there be a conviction, it will move us closer to dissolution of the nation by half. There is a large portion of the country which will not accept a conviction of Trump on these charges by the political opposition.
The American system of government only works if the losers of elections consent to be governed by those who won the election. The actions going on now may well result in a large portion of the country withdrawing their consent. That is what happened with the Civil War.
The problem with this election is there are now so many people who believe the electoral system is so corrupt and Democrats have so much partisan control of the voting system that we no longer trust the outcome. Many believe the courts stymied the submission of evidence of wrongdoing instead of airing the grievances and adjudicating the facts.
The American republic is rooted in federalism and it only works when we believe in and support the American values and principles. We are traveling quickly down a very dangerous road.
The post So, We Cannot Challenge COVID, We Cannot Challenge Climate, and We Cannot Challenge Elections in Which the Democrats Win? appeared first on Granite Grok.