Anytime a student is seen by a school social worker, school psychologist, or clinical mental health counselor, and services are billed to Medicare or Medicaid by the school, a medical diagnosis code is applied. The medical diagnosis code is referred to as a CPT code, which is a procedure code. This refers to the services being performed. An example would be counseling or therapy.

The DX codes are referred to as ICD-10 diagnosis codes. Those with medical coding and billing would be familiar with all of this.

All of this information is included in the student’s medical chart, which follows them to high school, and into any record that is requested by the military later on in life. This also includes anyone who wants to pursue law enforcement as a career. See: https://icdcodelookup.com/icd-10/common-codes/mental-behavioral-health

It’s also important to know that President Biden wants to remove parental consent on Medicaid billing. Democrats on the House Education Committee also voted against HB1616, which would require parental consent for Medicaid billing. This could mean that you may never know what mental or medical services your child received at school.

Anita Hoge warned about some this years ago when she wrote: The Medicalization of Schools.

Now that we see schools hiring counselors, social workers, and school psychologists at an alarming rate, just check your school roster to see who’s been hired over the past few years. Parents need to understand their rights under the law and what this can do to a child long-term.

Federal law requires written consent from parents when their children are assessed or receive mental health services. But we know many schools do not obtain consent from parents when their children participate in Social and Emotional Learning, and their child’s personal mental health data has been shared without their knowledge or consent too.

While I want every child to receive mental health help if they truly need it, it’s important to know that something as simple as a trip to the school counselor for a bad day can have life-long consequences.

The post Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Can Deny Your Child a Career in the Military or Law Enforcement appeared first on Granite Grok.

Act Now: ask your reps to vote YES on the reconsideration motion and vote NO on the Ought to Pass (OTP) motion for HB 1283.

Shockingly, this past Thursday, the New Hampshire House of Representatives, including many or the Republicans, ignored the concerns of the disabled community, veterans, and concerned New Hampshire citizens of all ages and cast its vote to legalize state-sanctioned suicide. Surprisingly, many representatives were not even present to vote. You can see the full roll call here: 33 Democrats voted against state-sanctioned suicide, 39 Republicans voted in favor.

HB 1283, relative to end of life options passed by the closest of margins in the NH House, 179-177, after lengthy debate. However, we are grateful to report there has been a request for a reconsideration vote, and so the bill will be going back to the full House again this coming Thursday, March 28 with the potential for a revote.

Please Submit Group communications or Press Releases to steve@granitegrok.com.
Submission is not a guarantee of publication – Publication is not an endorsement.

First, the House will vote on whether to reconsider. If the vote for reconsideration is successful, then the bill will again be voted on. If the reconsideration motion fails, the previously passed bill would move directly to the Senate.

The reconsideration vote is a true gift and our last chance to kill the bill in the House before it goes any further. Through the combined efforts of so many, we are so close to success. With one last push we can defeat this bill before it gets any closer to becoming law in New Hampshire.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
We urge you to contact your representatives to be present at the House session on Thursday, March 28 and to vote YES on the reconsideration vote and then NO on HB 1238 should the reconsideration motion pass.

Contact Your Representative

Rally on Thursday
There will be a rally in the Statehouse at 7:20 AM on Thursday, March 28, prior to the vote. Please attend if you are able. We especially encourage young people to be there to highlight the harmfulness of a bill that undermines the suicide prevention efforts that are so needed for young New Hampshire citizens. For more information on the bill, its risks, and the vital reasons why it must be killed, check out @nhcornerstone on X/Twitter. Please retweet Cornerstone media to spread critical awareness to kill this bill.

Signs will be provided but feel free to bring your own. Just remember, no signs with wooden or metal posts or frames are allowed in the State House. You can find more information about the rally here.

..

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As a young law student in Washington, D.C., I experienced Watergate through the eyes of the Washington Post. I frequently mailed their articles to my Dad. He was convinced the Watergate break-in was a hoax in an attempt to remove President Nixon from office, one of the greatest international strategic thinkers of the 20th century.

Nixon had just been elected in a 49-state landslide over the hapless George McGovern, for whom I cast my first vote in the 1972 Presidential election. While few may know it, history has revealed Deep Throat (W. Mark Felt) leaked classified information to Woodward and Bernstein because he was passed over for the Director of the FBI.

Demolition-crat-gate (DCG) makes Watergate look like a “Child’s Birthday Party.” DCG is a relentless malicious criminal assault on former President Donald Trump and now candidate Trump to prevent the American voters from re-electing him for the second time, having stolen Trump’s re-election in 2020.

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

The barrage of vicious and unfounded political attacks by the mainstream media has been endless, beginning with Spygate and the Russian Hoax, continuing with the Zelensky phone call, an invasion of Mara-Lago by the FBI, the peaceful J6 demonstration infested with FBI, CIA, and ANTIFA agitators, and now malicious persecution dressed up as Lawfare in Georgia, Florida, New York State, NYC and Washington, D.C. by persecutors who were elected promising “to get Trump.”

Anyone watching President Trump’s re-election rallies held across the country will see massive crowds of thousands of patriotic Americans, proving most Americans have opened their eyes and realize the Demolitioncrats have conducted a persecution and defamation campaign against Donald Trump. They stole the 2020 election and intend to steal 2024.

For the sake of our nation, Donald Trump needs to be reelected as our 47th President!

The post Night Cap: Watergate v. Demolitioncrat Gate appeared first on Granite Grok.

No matter how despicable you believe Jeannie Shaheenie and Mags Hassan are … it’s not anywhere near as despicable as these two actually are. The latest minibus (as opposed to omnibus) contains a special earmark for late-term abortions in New Hampshire.

Perhaps every bit as despicable as Shaheenie and Mags are the NHGOP “leaders” who are too cowardly to call out these two witches and Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

I know. I know. New Hampshire Advantage. Focus on the fiscal issues. Workforce housing! (What a lovely euphemism for apartment complexes to bring urban density.) Education Freedom Accounts! (A relatively minuscule part of the overall education budget … but it allows the NHGOP to avoid directly taking on the education bureaucracy.)  Legal marijuana! Slava Ukraine! New Hampshire Advantage! Slava Ukraine!

Thank you, @senatorlankford for speaking out against the $ 2.5 million in minibus earmarks for two hospitals that perform late-term abortions.

Federal taxpayer dollars should never be used to facilitate the taking of innocent unborn life. pic.twitter.com/BMGDN7FXqS

— Tony Perkins (@tperkins) March 22, 2024

The post The Latest Congressional Minibus Contains $2.5 Million For Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Late-Term Abortions In New Hampshire appeared first on Granite Grok.

The scope of damage caused by mRNA and lipid-nanoparticle technology might take years to unravel, but the data to date is not good. Many, including those who rolled a sleeve or two during The Scare are looking side-eyed at the blood supply, and yes, some have risen to meet that need.

Since the pandemic began, there has been a growing trend of people rejecting blood transfusions when their doctors can’t or won’t assure them the blood they are to receive would be from someone who hasn’t been vaccinated for the virus, no matter the risk of morbidity and mortality.

Now, grassroots efforts are revolutionizing blood donation by connecting Covid-19 unvaccinated blood donors with those in their own communities who need safe blood transfusions.

There is no guarantee that blood from the usual suspects like the American Red Cross is not contaminated (they don’t test for it) so if this is something that matters to you, there are resources available to consider now before you need blood and there’s no time to waste.

• SafeBlood Donation (Need a donor)
• Pure Blood Registry
• Blessed By His Blood Cooperative
• My True Blood

We have not checked or vetted these. This is just information. You’ll need to do the legwork.

And here’s a video with Del Bigtree from Highwire and the director of media relations for safeblood.com discussing Safeblood and the availability of blood from people who did not get the mRNA injections.

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Social and Emotional Learning is the latest fad in public education. SEL is considered Tier 1 in a three-tiered mental health framework for students attending public schools. Money for this initiative came through a federal grant several years ago, but as those funds dried up guess who is left to fund these initiatives? The local taxpayers.

SEL is taking valuable time out of the day to teach children about mental health problems. This might be valuable information for children who experience anxiety, but this is covered by a teacher, not a Child Psychologist. SEL is also causing some children to become anxious at the suggestion. Parents are reporting that their children are coming home believing they are depressed because they learned it in school. SEL doesn’t just target some of the children who need extra support, it’s for all children in the school. Where some children were fine, they are now believing something is wrong with them.

The Multi-Tiered System of Support for Behavior (MTSS-B) has already come under scrutiny because student personal mental health data that has been shared in some New Hampshire schools. These mental health data have been shared without parental knowledge or consent. This is not only a violation of the School Counselor’s Code of Ethics, it violates a child’s right to privacy enshrined in The New Hampshire Constitution. We are uncovering all kinds of problems with SEL and the MTSS-B framework in our public schools.

Parents in Merrimack are now looking at the SEL costs to taxpayers. The cost shift to local communities is staggering, and it will go higher.

The district may be able to bill Medicaid for some of the mental health counseling. But parents should know that President Biden is trying to remove parental consent from Medicaid billing. Biden has claimed that the government needs to streamline the billing process, so they want to cut parents out of it. Schools have been charged with Medicaid fraud in the past. Parental consent is one way to ensure that the billing is accurate.

Parents also need to see what services have been provided to their children. By removing their consent, it’s possible that their children could receive services without their knowledge or consent.

Currently, there is proposed legislation in New Hampshire that would require parental notification for every service provided in schools that are billed to Medicaid. HB1616 . 

Schools are implementing health-based clinics for physical and mental health. Manchester has already contracted with Amoskeag Health to provide school based health services for students.  I’m still trying to figure out how they managed to adopt the CDC Centers for Disease Control Community School Model without legislative approval.

The way this is going, don’t be surprised when your child receives these services, then bills Medicaid, but you are never notified.

The Vote in Education on HB1616 was 10-10. All of the Democrats on the Committee voted against parental notification on Medicaid billing. HB1616 will soon go before the full house for a vote. It’s critical that everyone contact their elected representatives and ask them to support it when it goes to the House floor.

A child’s mental health is important, but turning local schools into mental health facilities will cost more money, and the results are not always positive. If your child needs extra support, then parents need to seek assistance outside the school system. This can be done with someone who is an expert in the field of child psychology,  who understands the importance of involving parents and keeping your child’s personal information private.

When schools bill Medicaid, you should know that there is NO code for normal. Your child will be labeled, and that information will then be sent to the federal govt.

The federal student privacy law (FERPA) was gutted during the Obama administration, which means that government agencies can share personal information without parental knowledge or consent. The change to FERPA included adding EXCEPTIONS so that some people can access your child’s personal data.

When your district uses an SEL tech vendor, they upload your child’s personal mental health information into the database. That SEL VENDOR is considered an EXCEPTION who can avoid obtaining parental consent for accessing your child’s personal information.

Now that the SEL vendor has collected your child’s personal mental health information, that vendor can share this sensitive personal information with anyone else who fits in the EXCEPTION category. In other words, your child has NO privacy protections when it comes to the security of their personal mental health information. Your child’s records can be shared over and over, and you will have no idea it’s happening.

Student personal mental health data has already been shared with Keene State- BHII. The students and parents were never consulted, and they never approved. Keene State-BHII would be considered an EXCEPTION to the FERPA law. Does this violate a child’s right to privacy? I believe so, but that would mean a parent would have to sue their local school for violating their child’s right to privacy. A judge would then have to determine if their constitutional right to privacy was violated.

In this video, you can listen to some of the staff in our local schools talk about how they want to manipulate consent forms to keep parents in the dark when they are administering mental health services to their children,

Everyone should REFUSE SEL for their children. If your children need mental health services, use a private provider who will keep your child’s records secure and private.

 

The post SEL is Draining Tax Dollars from the Merrimack School Budget appeared first on Granite Grok.

MSNBC (NBC), CNN, ABC, CBS, etc. want you to hear from Republicans … FAUX-Republicans whose role is to attack real Republicans. Stated somewhat differently, a real Republican would never get a gig on the Regime-media because the Regime-media is advocacy not journalism and their role is to advocate for the Regime and against the opposition.

What should get real Republicans concerned … IRATE, actually … is NOT that Ronna is going to MSNBC, but that Ronna was the head of the RNC for so long. How can you expect to win elections when the person in charge of winning elections despises most of the candidates that she is supposed to get elected?

The donor class controls the GOP; they would rather control the GOP than have the wrong Republicans … i.e., real Republicans … control Congress or the Presidency. Just yesterday I watched Trey Gowdy bloviating like a lunatic on Faux News not about the latest minibus betrayal of Republican voters, but about the removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker.

The NHGOP is a caricature. GOP voters renominated as their gubernatorial candidate a FAUX-Republican who despises actual Republican principles THREE TIMES. But … I know, I know … “he’s good on guns and taxes.”

The current NHGOP gubernatorial primary involves a former U.S. Senator who became a mini-me Jeannie-Shaheenie over the course of her term and supported AMNESTY for illegals versus a State Senator who voted to codify Obamacare into State law. But the NHGOP’s “leaders” tell us they are “solid conservatives” who will protect the “New Hampshire Advantage.”

New Hampshire Advantage! Slava Ukraine! New Hampshire Advantage! Slava Ukraine!

 

The post Ronna To MSNBC … You Should NOT Be Surprised appeared first on Granite Grok.

What could possibly be causing an uptick in marine deaths related to Offshore Wind farms? Many factors may disrupt marine life, including noise, vibration, sonar, and more, many of which we are not aware of. Let’s scratch the surface of some of the data.

Observations on structural and operational issues that may cause problems with this technology;

1. Offshore wind farms look like a sea of lightning rods! And yes, they are often hit by lightning, and even mitigating factors are not deterrent enough to stop Mother Nature’s force. According to the updated National Fire Protection Association handbook, “While physical blade damage is the most expensive and disruptive damage caused by lightning, by far the most common is damage to the control and damage to electronics.”
2. Nor’easters and hurricanes. The eastern seaboard has its’ share of Cat 1-5 hurricanes and nor’easters. Offshore Wind will be a disastrous hazmat situation. I saw the full power of a Nor’easter in 1978 when the ocean pummeled Hampton Beach, where I lived. Steel girders at the sea wall were standing straight up, twisted like butter. Boulders the size of cars littered where Route 1A once was. This was onshore, and out to sea was much worse. A Cat 2 hurricane can have winds up to 115 mph, and a Cat 5 157 mph and higher. The wind turbines cannot handle anything above 55 mph when they shut down. Plus, they are vulnerable to storms. A study done by a pro-green group admits this out loud in an extensive paper done in 2012. Failure modes can include loss of blades and buckling of the supporting tower.
3. Anyone who has stood in water and touched an electric fence knows that water is a conductor of electricity! What if a shark bites into a cable? And how will a team get even close to the scene to fix it? I’m not sure they have protocols for these. The cables becoming exposed on the ocean floor are an issue. Never mind the high voltage cables under beaches that eventually end up at a transfer plant, where humans congregate, especially in the summer.
4. The technology is primarily coming from countries where we have no control over how the technology is fabricated, labor laws, and environmental laws.
5. This technology has a short life span and huge environmental challenges for disposal, but I doubt the foreign installers will come back to retrieve the blades, turbines, towers, and cables once they are rendered useless.

The ocean is our last Wild West. We do not understand it enough to know all the problems that could happen to marine life and plants, not to mention human pollution.

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

Challenges and possible problems for marine life but not limited to:

Wind: Today’s wind blades can turn up to 180mph, with an average speed of about 100mph. They can only sustain wind speeds from at least a nine mph wind with minimum and maximum wind of 55mph. The sheer velocity causing vibration and noise can cause disruptions on the ocean surface and below.

Light flicker: On land, many domestic and wild animals are afraid of the light flicker caused by the blades. When the light flicker hits the ocean, it can be disruptive to marine life below.

Vibration: Wind Energy turbines are a fast-growing source of anthropogenic vibrational noise that can affect soil and animals sensitive to vibrations and thereby alter soil community functioning. Animals rely on different sensory stimuli to acquire and process information from their environment. The ability to acquire this information is essential for an animal’s reproductive success and survival. If this can cause problems for earthworms, what about ocean life?

Noise: The reported sound pressure levels of an operating turbine are 105–125 dB re 1 μPa measured at 100 m distance and –54 dB re 1 m s–2 sound particle acceleration at 20 m distance with most energy below 1,000 Hz. Most fish species can detect these pressure levels.

Electricity comes from cables carrying up to 690,000 volts of Electrical and Magnetic Field (EMF) traveling along the ocean floor, under beaches and roads. 12,000km of cable are needed to bring power to the shore off Long Island and NJ, which is the distance from NY to Tiapie.

Sonar is used to map locations for wind farms. It is used extensively in NJ and other states. Germany uses active sonar transponders to warn submarines. 3D sonar is being tested off Block Island on a wind farm there.

Excavation: the massive amount of drilling, pile driving, and rock involved in the excavation of offshore wind is directly affecting marine animals.

Hot Water into the Ocean: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Is releasing heated water back into the ocean. This sounds like insanity. I thought the goal was to curtail ocean warming, not make it worse. This is to cool the High Voltage Direct Current Cooling (HVDC). Only two offshore wind projects are using AC current because of its proximity to the shore. The design is much worse and details are in their report, see link below. “The most effective way to cool large HVDC systems is by using deionized water in a closed system. The deionized water is then cooled by seawater pumped through a heat exchanger, absorbing heat from the deionized water. This open loop cooling process allows continual operation of the HVDC converter. Sea water is filtered to remove small particles, sand, and other elements to about 500 microns. Chemicals, such as sodium hypochlorite, may be added to prevent growth in the system, with an estimated concentration of 10-200 parts per million as proposed for the Mayflower Wind project (Mayflower Wind Energy, LLC, 2021). The filtered, heated water is then discharged back into the ocean (Figure 1).”

Then there are problems like turbines exploding, oil leaks, waste from the blades in landfills since they are not recyclable and will last forever, disruption to fish migration and fishermen, the lifespan of the mechanics, servicing the windmills, and more we don’t even know about.

This is the short, most obvious list.

The following letter was sent from someone within the Army Corp of Engineers posted on a New Jersey ground zero for offshore wind farms whale deaths grassroots page. Virginia, NY, and Carolinas have grassroots groups to save their shores, as well.

https://protectourcoastnj.com/

“So you think Ocean Wind turbines will have NO IMPACT on the ocean?

They require carpet bombing the seafloor with sonar non-stop. Who uses sonar? Whales & dolphins.

Punch thousands of holes, 60′ wide by 100-150′ deep. (sorry scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels, crabs, etc.)

Then, build caisons of steel and concrete. A caisson is a watertight structure which is used as an “anchor” for a foundation

Next: erect 1,000 ft wind turbines, with blades 180′ long, spinning at 180 mph. Turbine blades will slice up anything that happens to fly by.

The down draft from blades will impact the sea and waves below. Ever see a helicopter hover over water? Imagine that 24-7. The non-stop sound they emit won’t cause any problems-Right?

How Do Sharks and Rays Use Electricity to Find Hidden Prey? Animals that hide on the seafloor are often masters of disguise. But even the most evasive of prey cannot hide from hungry sharks and stingrays. These predators can detect tiny electric currents radiating from animals like shrimp and small fish. Without using their ears, nose, or eyes stingrays can locate and devour their prey.

Next: Dredge a trough 6 feet deep by 10 miles long back to the shore.

Lay the electrified cable. (Sorry sharks and rays) Re-bury that trough. A great thing for the ocean and it’s inhabitants?

Oh yeah, the onshore existing energy grid and stations can’t handle the incoming power. So, this will require multiple off shore “islands” to be built for new power sub-stations.

Now multiply this from New England to the Carolinas and beyond.

Hope you don’t like seafood. Scallops, shrimp, clams, mussels and crabs will be depleted beyond recognition.

Generations of fisherman. You’ll be going broke.”

What we do know:

In July of 2016, a federal appeals court ruled that the US Navy was wrongly allowed to use sonar in the nation’s oceans that could harm whales and other marine life.

Environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), filed a lawsuit in San Francisco in 2012, arguing the approval violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act. But why has this become an issue? Sonar has been around for years. Evolution of surface ship sonar from the end of World War I until the present time; surface ship echo-ran systems have evolved since WW1 with systems that have lower operating frequencies, high transmitted power, and longer pulse lengths. According to the Navy’s own studies, Low Frequency Active (LFA) Sonar generates sounds up to 140 decibels even more than 300 miles away from the sonar source. Many scientists believe that blasting such intense sounds over large expanses of the ocean could harm entire populations of whales, porpoises and fish. What the Navy learned from the effects of sonar on marine mammals is severe hemorrhaging; sonar has been linked to hearing loss, deadly mass strandings, and interference with whales. Interestingly enough, the NRDC is actively promoting offshore wind as a solution to “dangerous greenhouse gases”!

This is why the Navy was forced to stop! Why are Offshore Wind developers allowed to use this damaging technology now? If they discovered this problem and banned the Navy from using it and prove there is a connection between sonar, noise, vibration, and marine mammal deaths! Why is this so hard to understand? The Green New Deal and its money, is why.

How does this relate to Offshore Wind Farms? See the diagram (complete links following chart) that puts East Coast wind farms in proximity to reported deaths of marine animals. The chart from Northeast Ocean Data is over a 20-year period. The interactive map shows most of the strandings between 2019 and 2020 when exploration (high use of sonar and construction) began in earnest for the Offshore wind farms shown on the left map.

https://efifoundation.org/insights/siting-isnt-simple-for-offshore-wind/

https://www.northeastoceandata.org/maps-show-marine-mammal-strandings-from-maine-to-virginia-by-season-species-and-county/

Migratory birds are also taking a hit.

As reported by The Telegraph: “Data from German scientists looked at the number of red-throated loons in the North Sea before and after the installation of five offshore wind farms.

“Numbers of the birds were found to be up to 94 per cent lower within half a mile of the wind turbines, on average, after they were built.

For a decade, studies into “Wind Turbine Syndrome” have shown bone metabolism in farm animals. Who’s surprised it could be responsible for marine animal problems?

Competing Coastline Use: 

From the EIF foundation (EIF): “Another factor limiting offshore wind potential on the West Coast is that some coastline areas are already claimed for other uses, including military operations and environmental sanctuaries. The U.S. military has mostly blocked offshore wind development in southern California (except for Morro Bay and Diablo Canyon regions) over concerns that turbines may interfere with aerial and coastal training at military bases.

Wildlife sanctuaries (including Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary) occupy much of the central California coast and northern Washington, further limiting West Coast installation for offshore wind. There is potential for offshore wind farms to protect ocean ecosystems by preventing other maritime activity in the area, although scientists have yet to fully understand the impacts of offshore wind on ecosystems. Why are we jumping in with both feet on the East Coast? It sounds like if it is related to Green energy, we suddenly have blinders on! If the offshore wind is so harmful to wildlife sanctuaries, marine activities, and the military!

Why is it all over the East Coast and not the West Coast?

Source: https://efifoundation.org/insights/siting-isnt-simple-for-offshore-wind/

Two key landmark court decisions: 1. French Council of State annuls wind turbine permits, major impact on energy future

Paris, March 9, 2024 – In a landmark decision, the French Council of State has ruled that authorizations for onshore wind turbines and rules for the renewal of wind farms are illegal. The decision comes after a legal challenge brought by the Fédération Environnement Durable and 15 associations.

Consequences:

Projects under review or authorized but not yet built: These projects must imperatively undergo a complete environmental assessment.

Existing wind farms: All wind farms built on the basis of the now-illegal ministerial decrees should no longer be authorized to operate in their current state.

Reasons for the cancellation:

Lack of environmental assessment: The Council of State found that the ministerial decrees on noise measurement did not undergo an environmental assessment, which is a violation of the law.

Lack of public participation:

The Council of State also highlighted that the decisions approving the noise protocol were not subject to public participation, violating the principles of participation and transparency.

Reactions:

Environmental associations: Environmental associations welcome the decision of the Council of State, calling it a major victory for environmental protection, the health of local residents, and respect for the law. They point to the systematic disregard of these laws by the public authorities, whose sole objective was to impose the installation of wind turbines that are increasingly rejected by the population, especially in rural areas.

State: The State has been ordered to pay compensation to the plaintiff associations.

Impact on the French energy future:

The decision of the Council of State will have a crucial impact on the future of French energy. The development of onshore wind energy is now being slowed down, pending the implementation of new authorizations and rules that comply with the law. This decision also raises questions about the viability of ongoing projects and the future of existing wind farms.

https://environnementdurable.org/?fbclid=IwAR0pA6_yiOgStoKMzXTltnkZFsniAnRcN_PBPPpmgMTqjaEwEntCx1fiIiM

2. March 8, 2024, The Yurok Tribe posted the following announcement to its Facebook page Wednesday evening, just hours after news broke that Crowley Wind Energy plans to let its partnership agreement with the Harbor District expire without signing a lease to develop a heavy-lift marine terminal on the Samoa Peninsula:

[On Wednesday], the Yurok Tribal Council voted to formally oppose the development of floating offshore wind energy projects off the Yurok Coastline.

The Tribal Council opposes offshore wind for the following reasons:

The 900-foot-tall offshore wind turbines will indelibly tarnish sacred cultural sites from the coast to the high country.

There is insufficient scientific research on the adverse environmental impacts associated with the massive floating wind turbines and platforms.

The Tribe is gravely concerned about potential risks to the interlinked ecosystem extending from the deep ocean to the headwaters of the Klamath River.

The federal government has not recognized the Yurok Tribe’s unceded ocean territory or its sovereign authority to determine whether and how this territory should be developed.

Wind power has been with us for centuries. The Amish and remote farms still use wind for energy and wells. But on a grand scale, it just doesn’t make sense compared to natural gas, nuclear, and oil. I don’t believe wind power is without a carbon footprint like the propaganda says. But like everything “green energy” lately, not enough research is done before implementation. We hear about birds and bats confused on land, some end up victims to the blades. Whales “mysteriously” washing up on shores, no disease, propeller strikes or fishing nets.

We are told it is climate change, but let’s be real. I question the logic and testing and the potential harm to marine ecosystems. We need to get answers before more harm is done in the name of “green” energy and climate change. Where I get all bound up is the shift from the “Save the Whales” and Greenpeace activists who would literally throw themselves in front of ships to save whales too, “It’s green, so it must be ok”? The problem now is now that Biden has thrown millions into the Green New Deal just for offshore wind.

Companies are making bank, and the heck with a few whales… People get paid to shut up, the MSM machine starts pushing propaganda, and who’s the wiser? In Maine, one whale washed up due to entanglement, and the fishermen were attacked.

Ten mysteriously wash up on shore in 10 days, and the offshore wind is moving ahead at flank speed. The BOEM has just released the Gulf of Maine wind energy area that will directly impact Mass, NH, and Maine. Not one mention or study of impacts on the ecology! The impact area includes not only fishing areas but also whale migratory paths and Right Whale foraging areas.

Documented strandings on the east coast 2023:

This only lists whales washed onshore and not animals dead drifting or other marine life. Some data can be found on NOAA, but it is limited. Most reporting is from local news.

December 1, 2022 – December 31, 2023 summary: Dead Large whales, East Coast. 85

(“unknown” is when it was sighted, but never made it to land, and they could not confirm type) Maine-10: 8 minke, 1 humpback, 1 fin; MA-17: 8 minke, 6 humpback, 1 sperm whale, 2 unknown; RI-3: 2 humpback,1 fin; NY-18: 4 minke, 9 humpback, 2 sperm whale. 1 unknown; NJ-14: 2 minke, 11 humpback, 1 unknown; MD- 1:1 humpback; VA-10: 1 right whale, 2 minke, 6 humpback, 1 fin; NC-9: 1 right whale, 1 sei whale, 2 sperm whale, 5 humpback; FL-3: 3 sperm whales.

 

Save the Whales, No – Save The Wind!
Save the Whales, No – Save The Wind! Part 2: FOLLOW THE MONEY

The post Save the Whales, No – Save The Wind! – PART 3- THE DATA appeared first on Granite Grok.

One of the very human things that happens when you evolve beyond ideas about the divine (God) is the heady rush to replace that with something else—cults of personality, hobby obsessions, substance abuse, Scientism, even the god King without God, or climate change—where you are god.

The idea that puny humans are altering the planet is a great way to scare the small-minded and launder money, but it also creates a false god. You. You are unmaking a world, you stud. Now stop it – as if the world couldn’t shake you off faster than a bad habit. But they have a plan. It’s a pantheon arrangement where some gods are better than others (they have all the stuff and power). It’ll be great for them, and all we have to do is not think about what we had to give up to save the world and, every now and again, to thank them. They might expect bowing or kneeling at some point down the road.

That’s the current arc. The climate revolution is a journey to a world with oligarchic god-kings whose splendor is an example to the rest of us disarmed on subsistence living in our walkable open-air prisons – and a recent pronouncement by the International Union of Geological Sciences commission isn’t likely to change that, but it does put some gum in the works. Everything climate change is based on the idea that human beings are more powerful than 4.5 billion years of Earth doing what it did for 99.999% of the time, without us. And that with a little more of your money (just like public education), they can fix it.

You’d have to have a god complex to think like this, and that’s been the justification for the Anthropocene, the human era—the geological age of modern man-made climate narratives.

Not so fast.

The highest governing body in geology has upheld a contested vote by scientists against adding the Anthropocene, or human age, to the official timeline of Earth’s history.

The vote, which a committee of around two dozen scholars held in February, brought an end to nearly 15 years of debate about whether to declare that our species had transformed the natural world so thoroughly since the 1950s as to have sent the planet into a new epoch of geologic time.”

Nope.

We’re still in the Holocene, which began 11,700 years ago with the melting of the ice sheets. Bad news for the Climate Cult. It suggests that melting ice sheets and warming are normal (they are). It also erases the geologic human era, which means that the International Union of Geological Sciences is in desperate need of infiltration and subjugation.  We can’t have a bunch of scientists messing with The Concensus. That just won’t do.

Related: Must Watch: Climate the Movie – The Cold Truth

I’m sure there is a movement afoot to address this. Perhaps the Union of Concerned Scientists—which is mostly a bunch of partisan progressive political hacks carrying bags of cash out of the climate laundromat—will publish a report on why we ARE in the Anthropocene. It’ll be as inaccurate as every other report they’ve published, but that’s not the point. Saturating the human world with the correct sound bites is what matters – while labeling everything contrary (like Geologists implying there’s no evidence of human geologic influence) disinformation.

They’ll fix this; just wait.

Until then, enjoy the moment. It’s not likely to last.

 

The post Where Geologists Throw Off the Climate Cult’s Groove appeared first on Granite Grok.

Representative Lorie Ball is currently proposing legislation that targets improving reading education for all students in New Hampshire. I urge you to watch her presentation before the House Education Committee on March 5th, 2024. She explains the problems with reading instruction in our public schools, and then how some changes could positively impact reading proficiency for students.

What’s even more disturbing is those who speak after her who oppose a bi-partisan effort to improve reading literacy in our schools.

Start at the beginning:

Here are the facts: according to NH DOE 2023 statistics, 48% of NH students scored below proficiency in English Language Arts, 58% scored below proficiency in math, and 62% scored below proficiency in science. In addition, according to the 2022 NH DOE Statewide Census by Disability, of the 30,917 students identified with a disability, 10,077 are identified with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) in English Language Arts and/or Mathematics. Clearly, this data shows that NH needs to do more than address reading proficiency. NH needs to address all aspects of foundational skills needed to set the path for future educational success and lifelong learning.

Using federal expectations for ruling out students with SLD, HB 1015-1106h meets that criteria. This bill goes beyond addressing the five components reading literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension), by requiring public and charter schools teach spelling, grammar, and writing mechanics. This bill assures students are provided the instruction they need to learn the specific skills used to determine if a student needs specialized instruction, rather than being identified as a student with SLD because they were never taught the skills.

HB1015-1106h provides a proven pathway to effectively addressing NH’s low proficiency scores in all areas of English Language Arts. In addition, it addresses the low proficiency scores in mathematics reasoning and mathematics calculation (including fluency) by providing explicit, systematic instruction through grade five. More importantly, as amended, this bill allows districts to maintain local control to choose the program that best meets the needs of their district and students.

School districts will have three years to pilot programs, budget, and train staff for full implementation of new programs by July 1, 2027. While, at first glance, this mandated start date seems far away, it is a reasonable amount of time for districts to make the change. In fact, many NH school districts are already well underway in the process of moving in the direction this bill specifies.

Now is not the time for legislators to ignore the needs of NH students and use the mandated start date as an excuse to vote against this bill. Doing so only kicks the can further down the road, leaving our students’ academic needs unmet. Experienced educators know that explicit, systematic instruction is a proven method that benefits all students and assures all students in public and charter schools will be able to access the general education environment. Given the time it takes to pilot new programs, budget, and train staff, I encourage our legislature to pass NH1015-1106h so districts can have programs in place no later than July 1, 12027.

This Bill came out of the House Education Committee 10-10 with democrats supporting and republicans opposed. I believe the Republicans are making a big mistake and need to reverse their opposition to support HB1015-FN.

FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVES HERE, AND ASK THEM TO SUPPORT HB1015-FN

The post CALL TO ACTION: Support Reading Literacy in New Hampshire appeared first on Granite Grok.

Chuck Morse, candidate for Governor and past NH Senate President, was the guest speaker several nights ago at the regular meeting of the Tri-County Republicans.

The Tri-County Republicans group, which meets monthly in Alton, typically draws hard-core conservatives (“real” Republicans) from Belknap, Strafford & Carroll counties, which come together at the NE corner of Belknap. If attendees were prepared to be lulled asleep because they had heard some of the opposition political patter to the effect that Morse was unexciting and actually boring, they were in for a big surprise.

As is typical, Morse opened with an abbreviated version of his life story and then proceeded to discuss his accomplishments from his many years in state government, followed by extensive questions and answers. Morse clearly demonstrated an encyclopedic knowledge of our state government, how it works, and its problems. He was candid about aspects of our state government and what needs to be fixed, mentioning some state departments by name.

He explained his key role in crafting several state budgets and his role in reducing our taxes, including both business taxes and personal taxes, such as the tax on interest and dividend income. He explained his early endorsement of President Trump, his strong stands for local control of our schools and land use regulation, and his promise to oppose any state income tax and any broad-based sales tax.

He did not hesitate, even for a moment, nor did he seek to avoid answering any questions, including some from the “hard graders” in the room. He was articulate and very polished. All in all, it was a very impressive performance, especially meaningful to those who had not previously heard from him.

It should be noted that there should be little doubt by voters that a vote for either of the Dem candidates for governor is a vote for making New Hampshire over in the mold of Massachusetts. Thus, one of those Dem candidates has actually been endorsed by the failed governor of Massachusetts. And that same candidate essentially promises to do for and to our entire state what she has done as the failed mayor of, and for, Manchester- with a dangerous, homeless-infested downtown, with many assorted unsolved problems across that city.

The bottom line is that our voters will be in the enviable position of having two very strong Republican candidates for governor, and the choice between them may be difficult. What should not be difficult is the postulate that New Hampshire cannot afford to have as its governor either of the Dem candidates now running for that office. If you want to be notified of upcoming meetings of the Tri-County Republicans, email this writer at njs@silbersnh.com to be added to the list.

 

Reminder: Content about candidates or by candidates is not an endorsement by GraniteGrok.com or its authors.

The post Morse Impresses on the Stump appeared first on Granite Grok.

Comrade Volinsky got some bad news this week. A judge has ruled that his clients, Mary Lee Sargent and Arnold Alpert, do not have standing to sue the state for removing a historical marker honoring Communist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.  I have to wonder if he knew that and just took their money.

Kissinger determined that Alpert and Sargent and others in the group lacked standing and therefore said he did not need to go further on the state’s other arguments.

Citing Avery v. Comm’r NH Dept of Corr. “in evaluating whether a party has standing to sue (the court) focus(es) on whether the party suffered a legal injury against which the law was designed to protect.”

“Neither an abstract interest in ensuring that the state Constitution is observed nor an injury is indistinguishable from a generalized wrong allegedly suffered by the public at-large is insufficient to constitute a personal, concrete interest.”

“Rather the party must show that its own rights have been or will be directly affected,” the judge wrote.

While they consider an appeal, let’s revisit what this all means in the context of progressive whining about history and statues and feelings and racism.

Few, if any, of those leaning left oppose the removal or destruction of statues to American History to how it is taught. It may not be long for this world if it hurts someone’s feelings or can be linked to some human rights violation or injustice (actual or alleged). But if Mary Lee Sargent is correct [that the marker was removed based entirely on political ideology], don’t those all need to go back?

And [if so] does that open us up to honoring every slave owner, racist, fascist, or white supremacist of historical interest or influence [Democrat or otherwise] who was born or lived in New Hampshire. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn’s ideological passion, after all, resulted in the ethnic and political persecution, cleansing, and deaths of many millions of people.

Communist regimes murdered blacks, Jews, Women, Children, Christians, and homosexuals, but that does not begin to plumb the depths of incarceration, abuse, discrimination, and intolerance credited to Elizabeth Gurley Flynn’s preferred ideology.

As if that is not enough to chew on, shortly after the marker came back down (and we missed this when it happened), someone printed up replicas of the marker as yard signs.

“Like most people, I was not very aware of the historical marker when it was first placed but when they started talking about removing it, I was alarmed,” said Poinier, a former school board member. “It’s been really heartening to see how much support the community has given to this really interesting ‘Rebel Girl’ and the signs have been met with great enthusiasm.”

I hope you put them up next to your ‘In my America’ Yard sign. Talk about a tone-deaf echo chamber. In their America, they … honor a woman who defended a political ideology that “murdered blacks, Jews, Women, Children, Christians, and homosexuals.”

If that’s worth celebrating, and why wouldn’t Democrats want that – it is, after all, the promise of their political ambitions; perhaps the answer is to put the marker back. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn represents not just Concord’s past but its future. A movement disguised as pro-labor and pro-democracy destined to use and undermine the people it claims to defend to erect a violent, intolerant, despotic one-party state.

Can we get a Marxist equivalent of an Amen?

The post Gurley-Man Loses In Court appeared first on Granite Grok.

As an education researcher, I’ve been hearing about wasteful spending on teacher professional development for decades. Teachers do value quality professional development, but some will privately tell you that it can be a waste of their time, and taxpayer dollars.

It wasn’t that long ago that SAU21 brought the far-left political group Seacoast Outright to train teachers. What could have helped teachers in the classroom, instead time was spent indoctrinating the staff with a one-sided view of transgender issues. There is a debate going on politically on whether a child should receive hormone therapy or even receive drastic mutilation by removing their sex organs. I asked that the presentation to the teachers at least include other medical viewpoints, but Superintendent Nadeau refused my request.

De-transitioners are blowing the whistle on the severe trauma they are now dealing with because, as children, they wanted to transition to the opposite gender. Some of the de-transitioners are suing their medical providers for agreeing to these barbaric surgical procedures now that they are adults.

Professional Development (PD) can support teachers in the classroom by making sure teachers know the academic subject, and the best way to deliver the instruction to students. But when PD becomes a lesson in political biases, not only are you wasting valuable tax dollars, you are missing an opportunity to help teachers succeed in the classroom.

Recently, the Sanborn staff was subjected to a dose of biased information during a professional development day at school. Several staff members were bothered that the information provided was politically biased and possibly violated their civil rights. After requesting information on the presentation, I decided to speak up on their behalf with this email to the Superintendent and School Board Members.  I thought you should know about it:
=================================================================================

Superintendent Ambrose and members of the Sanborn School Board:

Thank you for providing the information from the recent professional development offered to the school staff.

One of the biggest complaints I hear from teachers is that sometimes professional development is a waste of money. It’s also interesting to note that when Massachusetts drove their academic achievement to where their students were finishing at the top nationally, they focused on PD. But focused on academic content during PD.

Massachusetts students were able to compete with students at the top on international tests of math and science. They focused on improving their academic standards, tests, and made sure PD was academic based. This helped teachers in the classroom, and it helped their students academically. Parents could see that their public schools were the best in the country, and they supported them.

 

What you presented during PD did not sit well with some who attended this presentation. I can’t blame them. It was one-sided.

For instance, there was no balance to anything that was presented based on what you sent me.

In Dr. Parker’s bio, it says:

Dr. Don Parker is a transformational keynote speaker and professional development provider. He specializes in SEL, supporting teachers to build trusting relationships with students, restorative practices, trauma-informed practices, and improving the culture and climate of schools to enhance students’ and teachers’ feeling of belonging.

How is Dr. Parker a specialist in SEL? SEL programs tend to be developed by individuals who have a mental health background. These programs are now group therapy in the classroom. This is why I have teachers privately expressing concerns that they are not qualified to subjectively grade their students’ behaviors. They are not qualified, and they are concerned about where this sensitive data is shared. SEL is now a product to sell, and vendors profit off of this latest fad.

There are no privacy protections when SEL data is uploaded to a database, they are considered as part of the “exceptions” in the FERPA law. SEL Vendors do not have foolproof privacy protections for your students. I was told that Dr. Parker didn’t mention any of that, and I didn’t see that in the materials you sent.

Restorative practices have been criticized as unethical, and they have no place in the classroom. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/restorative-circles-are-unethical-and-have-no-place-schools

EXCERPT:
In the past decade, the role of the teacher in schools has slowly shifted from pedagogue to therapist. Perhaps the most glaring example of this shift is the practice called “circle conversations.” These circles are cousins of the non-punitive approach to discipline called restorative justice, and are intended to be community-building prophylactics.

While the ritual—I mean classroom practice—can vary from school to school, it has a few common characteristics: students sit in a circle, pass around a talking piece, and discuss open-ended questions, often deeply personal ones….

From what I was told, Dr. Parker didn’t mention any critical thought on this latest fad.

Trauma informed practices should come directly from a student’s therapist or mental health provider. Dr. Parker has no background in the field of Child Psychology. Why are you looking to an educator for this information?

Based on some of the books that are now available to children to read in the school library, many children are reliving trauma. It’s one of the worst things you can do to a child who has experienced abuse.

Improving culture and climate can be handled by exit interviews with families who are removing their children from the public schools. I don’t believe he mentioned that in his presentation. I do understand that the federal government has prioritized culture and climate, but one of the most important discoveries to make is why families choose other education options for their children. I just provided you with free advice; hopefully, you will act upon it.

I was told that research from this author was included. Zaretta Hammond is focused on implicit racial bias. Is racism a problem among the Sanborn staff? Implicit racial bias means that everyone is inherently racist. Is this a message important for the Sanborn staff to hear? Would this kind of message be considered a violation of their civil rights? Would this violate their rights under the anti-discrimination law in New Hampshire?

Feeling of belonging is certainly a worthwhile goal. How are you helping your religious families feel welcome? One of the biggest complaints among religious families today is, the public schools have made it a hostile environment for their children.

I wanted to take this opportunity to offer you some critical analysis on this chosen speaker. I did not see any documentation on how this would result in improving literacy in the core academic subjects.

The self esteem movement has been tried, and there wasn’t much success with it back in the 80’s. Teachers and public school supporters are desperate to get back to academics.

Successful leaders look at the good and bad in order to make an informed decision. They do not just surround themselves with “yes-men.” Those who are successful want to know ahead of time if what they are doing will have positive or negative consequences. I think your staff deserves that.

They were subjected to a slick salesman selling them the latest fads in education, and many people in the audience saw right through it.

Sincerely,
Ann Marie Banfield

The post Flushing Your Money Down the Toilet on Professional Development for Teachers appeared first on Granite Grok.

The New Hampshire House passed HB1283, also known as Assisted Suicide or Medical Aid in Dying, by a 179-176 vote this afternoon[0]. New Hampshire Right to Life (NHRTL) and a broad coalition of other organizations[1], staunchly oppose this legislation and call on the NH Senate and Governor to reject it.

Jason Hennessey, President of NHRTL, emphasized, “As a society, we should promote a culture that values and safeguards all human life, rather than using death as a solution. Legalized assisted suicide with HB1283 undermines our efforts to prevent suicide and support those who are suffering with compassion, care, and dignity. Furthermore, it opens the door to elder abuse, to devaluing the lives of those with disabilities, and allows insurers to prioritize death over coverage for costly care, creating a horrific conflict of interest. NHRTL urges the NH Senate and Gov Sununu to uphold the sanctity of life and oppose HB1283.”

NHRTL believes Rep Terry Roy summarized the issue best during the House floor debate when he asked the question “Are we a culture of life or a culture of death?” [1] at 5:15pm.

NHRTL also highlights that in other states, patients have been denied potentially life-saving healthcare and instead given information on Assisted Suicide[2,3]. Assisted suicides have also taken place in other states for mental health issues like anorexia[4].

A 2015 study examining states that had legalized Assisted Suicide found an increase of 6.3% in the overall suicide rate, and a 14.5% increase among individuals over the age of 65 [5].

NH Right to Life is New Hampshire’s largest and longest-standing organization dedicated to the pro-life cause.

0: Bill: https://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billinfo.aspx?id=1136&inflect=2 House Debate: https://youtu.be/UgVBgogUdDI @ 4:15pm
1: Some other organizations opposing HB1283 include: the many members of the NH Coalition For Suicide Prevention (including Disabled American Veterans of New Hampshire, State Veterans Advisory Committee, United Spinal Association New Hampshire Chapter, Brain Injury Association of New Hampshire, ABLE New Hampshire, and Not Dead Yet) NH Cornerstone, American Academy of Medical Ethics, Catholic Diocese of Manchester, and Americans United for Life.
2: https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/365326-how-assisted-suicide-laws-are-creating-a-duty-to-die-medical-culture/
3: https://dredf.org/public-policy/assisted-suicide/some-oregon-assisted-suicide-abuses-and-complications/
4: https://coloradosun.com/2022/03/14/denver-doctor-gaudiani-aid-in-dying-aneroexia-patients/
5: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26437189/ [full paper]

Contact:
Jason Hennessey
President, New Hampshire Right to Life

The post New Hampshire Right to Life Urges State Senate & Governor to Oppose Assisted Suicide, HB1283 appeared first on Granite Grok.

In 2020, during what passed as the Democrat primary, Joe Biden pledged that he would open the border. If … IF … you really cared about protecting America from an illegal immigrant invasion, you would have gotten 100 percent behind Trump. Did Ayotte? Did Sununu? Did Mikey Graham? NO, NO and NO. Just the opposite.

They stealth-supported Biden.

These three and their ilk are such phonies. Their sudden interest in and opposition to illegal immigration is because they see illegal immigration as the magic carpet that will transport Ayotte into the Governor’s office. This is the same Ayotte who supported AMNESTY as a U.S. Senator: Will History Repeat Itself … How Ayotte Flipped On Illegal Immigration After Being Elected Senator.

Sadly and tragically, Republicans as a Party have sat on their hands for three years. Our country has already been transformed … 10 MILLION ILLEGALS have invaded under the Biden-Regime. One-Party rule isn’t coming. It’s here. Some clarity from Tucker:

Tucker in Texas: "I don't understand how you can be Governor of a state in 2020 and all of the sudden the border opens up and you get invaded and you don't do anything about it. I don't understand that as a man and I don't understand that as a father. The leadership model is the… pic.twitter.com/MCxiRZbL2b

— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 20, 2024

The post Night Cap: Illegal Immigration … The Magic Carpet appeared first on Granite Grok.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had occasion to watch Robert F. Kennedy Jr. give testimony before Congress.  Most recently, he was trying to explain why a hearing on censorship should not itself be subject to censorship.

That’s worth watching for the content alone. But in addition, it’s been so long since we’ve had a presidential candidate who could accurately be described as ‘presidential’ that it’s good to be reminded of what one looks and sounds like.

Although we disagree on some policies, I think he and I share one of our deepest beliefs:  If we’re ever going to get anywhere worth going, we need to start having better conversations.

Towards that end, I tend to focus on things like making sure we agree on the meanings of the words we’re using, avoiding common logical fallacies, agreeing ahead of time on what kind of discussion (moral or cost-benefit) we’re going to have, and so on.

He tends to focus on things like mutual respect and freedom from censorship.

I want people to stop having the wrong conversations. He wants people to start having the right ones.

But we’re after the same thing—making public discussions more like conversations and less like sporting events.

So, given that he’s currently one of the most censored people in the world, how can we get people to listen to him defend the importance of speech that is both free and collaborative, even on topics that people  are divided on?

A good ad can go a long way towards that.  Do you remember the famous 1984 ad that Apple ran during Super Bowl XVIII?  If you haven’t seen it, take a look now. (It’s hard to believe that it was made 40 years ago.)

What I’m imagining is a variation on this theme.

You start by seeing two groups instead of one, each facing away from the other, listening to two different demagogues rant on two giant screens about how the people facing the other way are ‘the biggest single threat to our way of life’ or something like that.

Both screens are plugged into a single outlet. You see a hand reaching towards the plugs and hear RFK Jr.’s voice saying, ‘This has to stop.’  The hand pulls out both plugs.

Cut back to the original view.  The screens are blank and quiet.  The people are looking around in a daze as if just awakened from a dream.

We hear RFK Jr. ‘s voice saying, ‘We have to start talking to each other as neighbors, treating each other as human beings, respecting each other as fellow Americans. We have to stop reflexively viewing each other as existential threats. We have to start talking to each other instead of about each other.’

And people start crossing the aisle warily at first, but shaking hands, introducing themselves, and easing into civil conversations with each other.

Because his voice is so distinctive, you wouldn’t even have to identify this as an ad for RFK Jr.  I mean, except for all those laws… made by Congress… abridging freedom of speech.

 

The post An Ad I’d Like to See appeared first on Granite Grok.

The recent unfortunate event in New York City, which honored the promoted FDNY members, poses many questions about rights and decisions. As does the outburst by the Gold Star father who shouted down Joe Biden as he delivered the State of the Union address.

Freedom of Speech is paramount to a free society, as is decorum and respect for those around us. It is a balancing act, but Freedom of Speech is protected in the Constitution. I do not think decorum appears in that incredible document. The incidents at the NYFD honor ceremony and the Joe Biden State of the Union may be guilty of lacking decorum, but they should be protected speech.

The incident at the FDNY event would never have happened if anyone else had been at the microphone other than New York Attorney General Letitia James. You have to ask if she was on the program before or after the ruling in the Trump v. NYC fraud case. Either way, she had no connection or place at this ceremony. That is how the firefighters in the audience saw her appearance. As soon as James was introduced, the boos rang down from the rank and file. The boos quickly evolved to calls for Trump. The audience’s actions embarrassed James, and her ego will not allow that insult to her highness to go unchecked. There is an investigation into who was chanting with the threat of disciplinary action for anyone not coming forward to confess. The AG and the Fire Department are using the fact these folks were on the clock and, therefore, guilty of insubordination. That is pretty lame.

The gentleman with the loud voice at the SOTU was Gold Star Father Steve Nikoui, who lost one of his sons during the botched evacuation of Afghanistan in 2021. The heckling was a reference to an attack at the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan that occurred during the evacuation. Nikoui was further devastated in 2022 when he lost another son to suicide. His son was unable to get over the loss of his brother. Life circumstances do not, and maybe should not, be an excuse for a person’s actions. But under the circumstances, most people feel that Nikoui should be given some leniency, for he has already paid a huge price that will continue for the rest of his life. For nearly two weeks, the charges remained on the books until Tuesday night, when the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia — which is under the direct supervision of Attorney General Merrick Garland, announced the charges against Nikoui had been dropped. This is a decision most people can support.

These are two examples of the existence of a microscope we all live under in this new world order. If what you say merely offends someone or a party, you are guilty, and we will find a charge to fit. Free Speech to Democrats is an inconvenient right that needs to be controlled. That control is in the form of political persecution. Other examples are people praying outside of abortion clinics, conservative speakers on American college campuses, or the practice of avoiding coverage of any Donald Trump speech, calling them all misinformation.

The rules have changed, and we no longer need debate or a vote to make those changes. The Democrats. who used to say they were the Party of the People, are now the Party of power and self-preservation.

The post Freedom Of Speech And Thought Is On The Block appeared first on Granite Grok.

This week, the House voted in favor of H.287, an act relating to the Renewable Energy Standard, by a vote of 99-39, with eleven members absent. Even with a half-dozen or so Democrats joining all of the Republicans in voting NO, it looks like the Democratic Party leadership has twisted enough arms, if everyone were present, to override a gubernatorial veto. Here’s to hoping Senators have more common sense.

The overall issue with this bill is that, by some estimates, it will cost electric utilities an additional $1 billion to purchase power over the next decade. When fully implemented, this means as much as an additional $192 will be tacked onto the average Vermonter’s annual electric bill. This is on top of other factors leading to higher costs, such as increased demand, inflation, etc.

The added cost in H.289 comes largely from the fact that lawmakers are forcing utilities to buy more in-state renewable energy from companies that are, coincidentally, major donors to their campaigns and causes. The utilities themselves and the Department of Public Service backed another plan to meet the Net Zero emissions goals for a fraction of the cost by allowing the utilities to buy clean power from any available source. But this bill isn’t really about emissions, it’s about cronyism.

So, what do regular old Vermonters get for this added expense? Not a damn thing!

This point was made clear in a floor debate exchange between Representatives Gina Galfetti (R-Barre Town) and Laura Sibilia (1-Dover: pictured above). Well, clear despite the rhetorical smoke screen of jargon and obfuscation (that’s a polite term for the fecal waste of a male bovine) thrown up by Sibilia, which was truly monumental. Let’s analyze!

Here’s Galfetti’s question, “Scientifically speaking, what impact will moving the RES target up by two years and increasing the mandate from [75] percent to 100 percent renewables, as S.289 would have us do, have on future climate trends and extreme weather events in Vermont?” Pretty straightforward. Could answered with one word: none.

Instead, after re-stating the question a couple of times Sibilia starts spewing the kind of word salad non-answer to a simple question that she is, hat tip, the master of. I’ll interject my thoughts in brackets and italics as they occur.

SIBILIA: “One of the important factors of the work that Vermont has done around climate change is committing to the Paris Accords. Why is that important? [It’s not. Particularly in regard to the question? But do go on….] That is important because there are other much larger countries, much larger states, that are also committed to the Paris Accords and to reducing carbon emissions. Why does that matter for Vermont? [It doesn’t. You’re presenting something irrelevant as if it were a relevant point in order to avoid answering the question.] We – and as someone who lives in rural Vermont I feel acutely – we run the risk if we are not keeping apace of falling pretty far behind and falling behind pretty quickly [Now, here’s an opening for Galfetti to ask, okay, what are the consequences of ‘falling behind’ in terms of impact on future climate trends and extreme weather events in Vermont? Answer: none, unless you count Vermont ratepayers saving a billion dollars as a consequence.], and our most vulnerable will be subjected to that falling behind. [Another opening to ask really? How so?] We’ve seen this with the transition —

At this point, Representative Joe Parsons (R-Newbury) called for a point of order, stating what should have been obvious to any rational person in the room: “I’m hearing a speech and not an answer. I don’t think she’s giving an answer; I think she’s just giving a speech.” Yup! But Speaker Jill Krowinsky (D-Burlington), of course, ruled that Sibilia’s “answer” was just fine. Let’s get back to it….

SIBILIA: “We frequently have this debate here when we are talking about the energy transition: ‘This is not going to fix the climate here in Vermont.’ And we are not an island here. [No, we’re not. Without China, Russia, India, etc. on board doing these same things – and they are emphatically not on board — our efforts here are entirely wasted. So how is this worth an extra billion dollars on your constituents’ electric bills?] So, what is the effect that this Renewable Energy Standard is going to have on the climate here in Vermont? It’s the same that it will have across the United States. [Yes, none. Why can’t you just say that? NONE!]

It’s not going to stop the impacts of climate change we are seeing and feeling right now here. What it will help with is allowing more distributed energy, more renewable energy in our state and gives us greater resilience for stronger storms and more frequent storms which we are seeing in Vermont. You know, some of our utility folks let me know whenever there are hurricane force winds now just because it’s pretty wild that that’s a regular occurrence and causing damage.

Okay, stop the tape! This is just absurd. How is more renewable energy – wind and solar – which are, in the best of circumstances, intermittent, non-baseload power – going to make us more resilient in the face of hurricane-force winds, etc.? The most wind-resistant wind turbines automatically shut down – stop producing any power whatsoever – when wind speeds hit 55 mph – 18 mph, LESS than when hurricane-force winds kick in at 72 mph. And since more rain means more clouds, which means less efficient solar generation, if we are really experiencing hurricane-force winds and the cloud cover that generally accompanies more flooding as a regular occurrence, mandating more reliance on in-state wind and solar is the last thing we should be doing.

What H.289 does is add the injury of making us LESS RESILIENT in the face of extreme weather to the insult of having to pay a billion dollars more for less reliable power. Sibilia is just flat-out lying here. Call her out!

But back to the debate…. Galfetti asks, “Okay, so I just want to be clear. Basically, ratepayers are going to have to purchase carbon [Renewable Energy] credits [or RECs] in order to not be able to measure any impact on climate change in the state of Vermont. I want to be sure that’s correct.” And here, Galfetti falls into the trap you have to be wary of when dealing with someone educated in the Bill Clinton School of It Depends on What the Definition of ‘Is’ Is.

SIBILIA – Rate payers are not required to purchase credits. None of our utilities are required to purchase credits, and when they do it is usually to maintain rates and to manage rates…. So, RECs are typically a means of keeping rates low. Low-er.

Again, stop the tape! No, ratepayers don’t ‘purchase’ RECs directly, they are forced to pay the cost of them in their electric bills. Sibilia knows this. No, utilities aren’t ‘required’ to purchase RECs if they can get all of their power from sources deemed renewable by the RES, which happens never. Sibilia knows this. That’s not what Galfetti was getting at, and Sibilia knows that too. And to insinuate that the government forcing utilities to buy RECs – an artificial cost placed on top of the actual cost of the power — to utilize certain sources of power is somehow a tool for lowering electric rates for customers is at best a grotesque attempt to mislead people.

Even so, the REC discussion was an unnecessary rabbit hole to open up and get dragged into. Who buys RECs, and a detailed discussion of how they work is at best tangential to the main point: H.289 raises the cost of electricity by as much as a billion dollars, and Vermonters get no benefit from that added expense. Ergo, there is no good reason to vote for this bill.

The floor debate over H.289 went on for roughly four hours – largely like this (I watch this stuff so you don’t have to…). And this post covering about seven minutes of it is already getting long, so I’ll wind up with one more whopper told by Laura Sibilia:

Is that [the RES] going to fix the climate in Vermont? It’s not going to fix the climate in Vermont, but it’s going to help fix – it’s going to help slow the climate change impacts globally. [Emphasis added.]

Good grief! The follow-up question to that is, “Really? By how much?” Answer: By no detectible amount. And, “Is that worth another billion dollars coming out of already struggling Vermonters’ pockets?” I’ll answer more succinctly than the Representative from Dover. “No.” It is not.

 

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

The post House Passes Renewable Energy Standard Amidst Cloud of Baloney appeared first on Granite Grok.

Thanks to everyone who sent me links to this, and it was several of you. To what? Climate The Movie -The Cold Truth. I had not set time aside to watch it but several readers were quite excited and adamant that I watch it sooner rather than later.  I did.

It was worth the time and effort. Here’s a bit from the description.

 

“This film exposes the climate alarm as an invented scare without any basis in science. It shows that mainstream studies and official data do not support the claim that we are witnessing an increase in extreme weather events – hurricanes, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires and all the rest. It emphatically counters the claim that current temperatures and levels of atmospheric CO2 are unusually and worryingly high. On the contrary, it is very clearly the case, as can be seen in all mainstream studies, that, compared to the last half billion years of earth’s history, both current temperatures and CO2 levels are extremely and unusually low. We are currently in an ice age. It also shows that there is no evidence that changing levels of CO2 (it has changed many times) has ever ‘driven’ climate change in the past.”

The beauty, I think, is in how this film explains things calmly and sanely using experts who explore the issues surrounding the topic of weather and climate, history, CO2, the consensus, as well as the climate alarm industry, cash cow, and the politics.

We hope you can find time to watch it and share it.

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Rumble("play", {"video":"v4hzs25","div":"rumble_v4hzs25"});

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I’m going to call a spade a spade.  There will be no sugarcoating and no special treatment for any reps that I once liked and respected, so let’s get started. Consider me the National Transportation Safety Board examining the wreckage.
88 Republicans voted the wrong way on HB 1002, making them enemies of Nashua’s citizenry. And 51 Republicans voted to indefinitely postpone HB 1414, making them enemies of transparency for Gunstock Mountain Resort.

If you’re not up to speed on HB 1002, click here, and here, for HB 1414.

These two bills were in the House today, the first being the RTK Tax and the other being a full audit of Gunstock.  It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t expecting any shenanigans at the podium in an effort to defy the Judiciary Committee’s recommendation to refer HB 1002 to interim study.  An amendment was introduced, and the bill passed, much to my disgust, as about 20+ more Rs voted incorrectly than on February 1.

And I was appalled to see certain people on the list of rogue voters to banish HB 1414 to the same fate that as SB 272 (Indefinite Postponement) in the House last year.  You can visit NH dot gov, pull up the docket, and click on the pie charts to see who voted what way on any bills that have roll calls on the record, which I’ll leave you to do as you wish.

However, I compiled a cross-referenced list of “double offenders” as there are 31 of them and I’ll point out again that I’m giving special treatment to nobody.  The list is the list just like the truth is the truth. Don’t these reps want transparency?  It is, after all, an election year, so without further delay, here is the list.

Alexander
Ankarberg
Bean
Boehm
Bogert
Bordes
Boyd
Brown
Coker
Griffin
Harley
Harvey
Healey
Hunt
Janigian
Kuttab
Lascelles
MacDonald
Mason
McGough
Nelson
O’Hara
Ouellett
Pauer
Plett
Stone
Tripp
True
Walsh
Weyler
Wolf

And lastly, regarding the Corner Office, I leave you with two suggested questions for Chuck Morse, in addition to asking him about his 11/19/21 crime against NH.

They are what he would do if HB 1002 or HB 1414 made it to his desk.

Kelly Ayotte already answered my question, saying she wasn’t a fan of HB 1002 on February 8 while stumping at Sky Meadow, but she needs to be asked what she would do with HB 1414 (or the new number of the next attempt at it) upon its arrival at her desk.

The post Republican Enemies of Transparency appeared first on Granite Grok.