A new crescendo in histrionics was evident in the latest National Climate Assessment Report released on November 14. As energy prices rise and global efforts to dominate fossil fuels, food production, and international travel are embraced by the Biden administration, the credibility of the climate change narrative is wobbling, and for good reason.

What is increasingly clear to many is that even if humanity is warming the globe, the renewable energy “solutions” on offer are ineffective, if not counterproductive.

Bogus Climate Report

The recent Fifth National Climate Assessment Report strains credibility in two particular spheres: making broad claims attributing meteorological events to climate change that may likely have different causes and peddling renewable energy technologies while avoiding their manufacturing contribution to pollution and warming. The report states that the US must achieve “net zero” carbon emissions in order to avert certain catastrophes and that inadequate progress has been achieved:

While US greenhouse gas emissions are falling, the current rate of decline is not sufficient to meet national and international climate commitments and goals. … US greenhouse gas emissions decreased by less than 1% per year on average between 2005 and 2019.

Chinese Pollution?

This analysis raises an important question: If the US decreases its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 1% per year and China’s increases by 2% or more, is there a “net zero” impact on the planetary climate? This issue is often raised as a “hands tied behind our back” rationalization for why the US must not unilaterally compromise its economy to save the planet when other economies are not. But it highlights a much more important inquiry: How much of China’s increase in GHG emissions is attributable to the renewable technology products or components (e.g., solar panels, EVs) manufactured there and shipped to the US?

The US government has issued what appears to be a massive Climate Propaganda Report. Completely ignoring the GHG emissions of products manufactured to reduce GHGs is a dangerous game. It is increasingly obvious that burning coal to manufacture solar panels and digging mines to excavate lithium for EVs generate enormous quantities of GHG emissions – much of it in China and other nations abroad – that create further environmental damage. And yet energy consumption and toxic pollution are systematically excluded from consideration of the “net” impact on the environment of these technologies.

When these additional costs are factored in, it becomes immediately clear that 1) the net impact of solar panels and EVs on the environment is still destructive, perhaps more than current consumption practices, and 2) there are not enough physical resources on the planet to replace existing energy technologies with renewable alternatives.

These facts are ignored by self-anointed “climate warriors” who appear more interested in fighting ideological battles than they are in waging war against pollution. There is astronomical money to be made in manufacturing government-subsidized, government-mandated products, whether those products are solar panels or EVs. This is a terrifying moral hazard: a collusion of government and corporate interests.

Targeting Profits Over Carbon

The federal government is not out to ban NASCAR racing – what is its environmental impact? How about lawn-mowing, golfing, or downhill skiing? If saving the world is at stake, why are these industries ignored while cows are targeted, and solar panels are subsidized on the backs of the poor? Perhaps the answer has more to do with power and money than saving the planet.

This answer explains the other fatuous shortcoming of the report: It links everything to climate change. Canadian and Maui wildfires? Not human mismanagement of forests but humans’ carbon dioxide. Diminishing groundwater supplies in the Midwest? Not human pumping of ever more groundwater to irrigate almond and wine plantations, but humans’ carbon dioxide. Vermont’s record flooding and cool temperatures while the nation was in a heat wave? Well, climate change of course: no actual evidence required.

An Ideological Scam

It may be that humans are warming the globe, but not as fast as those who are exploiting the situation claim. Cash-to-clunkers was a scam that retired functional vehicles early while boosting new car sales with government subsidies (as intended). Ethanol as fuel is a joke, both environmentally and as a source of energy security. People’s ears may be itching to hear false hopes, but the sad truth is that these are all demonstrable scams.

The report states: “Across all regions of the US, people are experiencing warming temperatures and longer-lasting heatwaves.” This is not entirely true: Mount Washington set a national record low in February, and Vermont saw several record low-temperature days as well as a very unseasonably cool summer. But since it is presumed a priori that all weather patterns prove the theory of GHG impacts, there is no hope for “real science.” If it gets warmer, it is human-caused; if it gets colder or wetter, it is human-caused. As with social justice ideology in general, all roads lead to the party line.

Climate Facts

That party line is crumbling under the weight of human need and science – the science of measuring the full costs of manufacturing fancy EVs, both in regressive wealth transfers from the poor to the rich and in assessing the externalized costs of manufacturing (and disposing of) EVs, solar panels, and windmills. The name “renewable” is a deliberate misnomer: The report seeks to disconnect US-generated carbon dioxide from Chinese emissions, yet US consumption of renewables is inseparable from Chinese pollution. There is no net zero in our backyard when the costs of production of renewable energy gadgets – at home or abroad – are accurately calculated rather than externalized to China. They are instead deliberately avoided. Climate change orthodoxy is about power over other humans, not power to save the planet. Next thing you know, Biden et al. will be chastising China for its GHG and pollution emissions – the ones it generates by making piles of cash selling polluting “renewable” technologies to Americans.

 

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

 

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Ever wonder if you were living in the Dystopian States of America? Senator Rand Paul’s Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up, published October 10, 2023, does not disarm those haunting feelings.

This book is not for those who wish to place everything we have learned during the covid-19 control program in a memory hole. To the contrary, Paul is encouraging those who would pursue the truth to join him in confronting the difficult questions this period raises, including the origin of the covid-19 organism: did it arise naturally and spill over from an animal into the human species, or did it emerge as an accident from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). He further asks what our government has done to conceal its possible funding of the WIV “gain-of-function” research that was being done there. He explores the tangential issues of the nature of the organism’s transmission and the efficacy of such measures as masking, social distancing, and the selective shutting down of the United States economy and the nation’s educational systems.

Is all of this significant? Certainly, if we accept that a million Americans lost their lives to covid-19, along with five million worldwide.

Senator Paul’s opening salvo is aimed at how the covid-19 organism arose, making a serious case for its having escaped the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s laboratory where Dr. Shi Zhengli had gained an international reputation as the “bat scientist.” Because the book is primarily chronologically oriented, describing Senator Paul’s efforts to get at the truth about the covid-19 pandemic, the reader does not at first learn who the first three victims of covid-19 were. Toward the end of the book, however, we learn their identities. All worked in the WIV, and one, Ben Hu, was a “gain-of-function” researcher and a colleague of Dr. Shi Zhengli.

Was the federal government somehow involved in funding this dangerous gain-of function research? If so, was Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, somehow involved? The book is full of formal interchanges between Senator Paul and Dr. Fauci. If it served no other purpose, reading these exchanges makes Deception an excellent intellectual investment. The reader should be able to determine who is telling the truth.

Likewise, Deception shines a light on the reaction of the mainstream media to those raising questions about the covid-19 control program. How many people have already forgotten the incessant drumming of the party-line message originating in the government—that the virus had jumped from animals in the Wuhan “wet market” to the human population but that Operation Warp Speed would protect Americans by cutting through the bureaucracy and unnecessary prehuman testing to give them a safe and 95 percent effective vaccine against this new pathogen? Also, what did 95 percent effectiveness mean if not that getting the shots would immunize us and prevent transmission in ways that herd immunity could never achieve without a devastating increase in deaths and hospitalizations?

Deception reminds us that there were attendant social actions, either voluntary or coerced, that were promoted as necessary to slow the transmission of the disease. Masking was one of those measures, something visible that separated those socially responsible from those who would recklessly expose their fellow humans to such dangerous pathogens. If one cloth mask was not totally effective, perhaps two would finally trap those nasty viruses. To be really safe, sanitize every surface touched by those disease-transmitting humans with Clorox.

Never mind that the medical profession already knew that surgical masks were ineffective as barriers against the transmission of viral aerosols. Deception reminds us of the basic math that was being ignored, that the pore size of those masks was six hundred times the size of a covid-19 virus organism. Picture taking a handful of dried peas, throwing them against a chain-link fence, and then counting the number that make it through. Deception identifies masking as nothing more than theater.

Deception also reminds us of the lockdowns that were implemented by governments, including our own but excluding Sweden, which chose to keep its economy and schools open with apparently no ill effect. The book emphasizes the critical loss of education and how forced homeschooling differentially affected families. Those that had an adult at home to monitor the homeschooling survived, but what about the many households where this resource did not exist? Were these families that could afford to fall further behind in education?

The lockdown mentality seemed to bring the authoritarians out of the woodwork, but the most damaging of these authoritarians were the state governors wishing to build an image of being tough on disease. Senator Paul notes that these were primarily Democratic governors, but elsewhere, he finds fault with Republicans who were part of the hysteria. He specifically notes how President Donald Trump—who unleashed Operation Warp Speed, which led to the destruction of supply lines—promoted “stimulating” the economy by sending out substantial checks to virtually everybody. Of course, the federal government had no real wealth to disperse so the ongoing effect was inflation and a significant increase in the federal government’s debt.

Deception is not easy reading. There are parts where the average reader will need to work through medical terminology such as furin cleavage sites. This should not deter the typical reader from getting a sense for these concepts and how they fit into the bigger picture. It is the flow of medical logic that matters.

While Deception may be the most comprehensive view of what might be called the covid-19 control program, it is missing the piece about the Nuremberg Code. The Nuremberg Code arose out of the post–World War II decision to convict the Nazi doctors who were guilty of unethical human experimentation. Seven of these individuals were executed for “crimes against humanity.” A thorough comparison of that code with what might be called the covid-19 control program should reveal that all ten items in the code have been violated under the latter control program. That Deception does not address this important piece in understanding the covid-19 years is no criticism of Senator Paul, who has covered so many of the relevant questions from a critical scientific and political perspective.

Although government officials have announced that the covid-19 pandemic emergency is over as of May 11, 2023, we are still living with the aftermath of the pandemic late into 2023. During the emergency period, we have seen the degree of authoritarianism, disinformation, and hysteria that was unleashed for this one pathogen alone. In an essay from the Institute of Medicine Forum on Microbial Threats, Mark Woolhouse and Eleanor Gaunt of the University of Edinburgh warn that “ongoing global ecological change will continue to produce novel infectious diseases at or near the current rate of three per year.”

Do the math. If we accept that the government can declare medical emergencies at will, then we acknowledge that the government is empowered to eliminate our liberties at any time. This is a power even greater than that enjoyed by Adolf Hitler as he rose to become the absolute dictator of Nazi Germany in 1933. If we accept this, we fail to remember the lessons of history.

That, I believe, is Senator Rand Paul’s contribution to liberty. He won’t allow us to forget.

Phil Duffy is a regular contributor to WFYL’s We the People, the Constitution Matters, a lifelong student of history, and the author of the forthcoming A Tale of Four Cities, an investigation about who really wrote the first modern text on economics and why it matters today.

 

Phil Duffy | Mises Wire

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Merrick Garland is the United States Attorney General and heads up our Justice Department, which includes 115,000 employees. Garland is obviously a very busy man working with Joe Biden and Christopher Wray to find ways to target and harass people with a Conservative ideology.

He also is too busy and understaffed to respond to an urgent letter of request sent to him in August from a United States Senator and Congressman. For five months, Senator Susan Collins and Congressman Jared Golden have been waiting anxiously to get at least a response from Garland, but their wait continues. I can guarantee that Randi Weingarten doesn’t have to wait five months for a response.

Collins and Golden reached out to Merrick Garland for help with the growing problem of illegal, Chinese-owned pot farms that have popped up in Central Maine. These farms are causing fear, anxiety, and health hazards to the residents of rural Maine by a group of Chinese Nationals that many have claimed are more ruthless than the MAFIA. Collins and Golden’s cry for help has remained unanswered.

Maine is a large rural state with a very low population density. Besides a few large city areas like Portland, Augusta, and Auburn/Lewiston, the state comprises small towns with limited law enforcement resources. The State Police is understaffed and stretched across the state. Real estate is relatively cheap, and all of these factors lead to Maine being a target for the Chinese Cartel’s illegal marijuana farms popping up throughout central Maine. There are as many as 200 of the “farms” identified, but the Maine Congressional Delegation cannot get a response from the Justice Department.

Maine State Reps. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips) has sponsored L.R. 2903, “An Act to Provide Investigative Authority to the Maine State Police, Sheriffs, and Local Police Regarding Maine’s Recreational Cannabis Laws and Ordinances to Ensure Proper Enforcement,” so we can tackle this crisis head-on and take back our land and protect our Maine way of life,” he said.

The fate of L.R. 2903 will hinge on Thursday’s meeting of the Legislative Council, where the bills that will be considered next year will be decided by legislative leadership. Democrats control Maine’s state government, and it will be interesting to see if this Bill sees the light of day. Democrat Governor Janet Mills refused to comment on this developing situation in her state.

We know the Biden Administration is in bed with the Chinese Government, but does this influence extend to our Justice Department? If Washington can turn its head and ignore 100,000 annual deaths caused by Chinese Fentanyl, is it surprising they have no concern over 200 Chinese Nationals turning Maine homes into Pot Farms? The people of Maine cannot let this effort to get help die, nor can the thousands of people who own seasonal homes in the Pine State. We must support Senator Collins and Representative Golden in their efforts and force Governor Mills out of her silence and into action.

I have written about the current state of Maine and the frustration many of us have over the liberal Marijuana and Abortion bills recently passed. Faced now with a severe safety issue facing their constituents, the politicians have gone underground. This situation is a failure of the Government to do the primary job they are tasked with: to protect the people. It is a shame that these shortcomings are forgotten as we go to the polls, and these inept individuals are rewarded with reelection.

The post AG Garland Ignores Maine’s Cry For Help appeared first on Granite Grok.

In the 2024 Republican presidential primary, there have been rumblings outside the massive 46.3-point advantage held by former President Donald Trump. A surprise contender, former ambassador Nikki Haley, is making strides in the polls.

There are two factions inside the Republican Party: one supporting Donald Trump and his America First agenda, and the other supporting the globalist, neocon, establishment, business-as-usual agenda.

The business-as-usual Republican crew is seeking a candidate to defeat Donald Trump, who poses an existential threat to their agenda. The noble horse they chose to gallop toward triumph, Governor Ron DeSantis, unfortunately, has slowed to a crippling halt.

The DeSantis disaster has set off a wild race among establishment donors and political operatives as they desperately search for a new horse to bet on. Among all the candidates in the contest, Haley has the most in common with the swamp GOP establishment, which makes her an ideal fit. Nikki Haley is an unrepentant neoconservative who has no shame in her game when it comes to opposing the America First agenda. (RELATED: DEROY MURDOCK: Donald Trump Looks More Electable By The Day)

In 2017, during her tenure as US Ambassador to the United Nations, Haley was an aggressive warmonger. Despite President Trump’s clear demands to pivot away from Bush-era neocon policies, Haley wanted US military intervention in North Korea, Iran, and Syria. In 2021, Haley opposed the US withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan.

“Our enemies have always hoped this day would come,” she said. “They know from history that when America retreats, freedom falters.” It comes as no surprise that after her tenure as the warmongering UN Ambassador, she was rewarded with a cozy paid board position at Boeing.

When it comes to trade, Haley is a globalist and “no fan of tariffs” against our enemies like China — even though they work.

 

Donald Trump stands in stark contrast to Nikki Healy. Trump chose to meet with Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, and forge a peace deal rather than intervene militarily. He de-escalated the evident start to World War III when Iran retaliated for the assassination of Qasem Soleimani. Also, Trump pulled US troops out of Syria. There were no new foreign wars under the Trump presidency.

The United States trade strategy under Trump was the most successful in recent history, particularly in terms of leveling the playing field with China. The Phase One China Trade Act required China to purchase $200 billion in US products and services, which would have decreased the trade deficit to $167 billion dollars. Trump was a thorn in the side of the neocons and globalists; Haley is their silver lining. (RELATED: RASHEED WALTERS: The Case For Donald Trump)

According to Gallup polls, Republican support for the Ukraine war has withered since the start of the conflict. Republican voters have had enough of war, particularly when it comes to Ukraine, which serves as a litmus test for any Republican candidate seeking office and aligning with neoconservative principles.

Contrarily, Haley believes it is the duty of the United States to support Ukraine financially so that they may promote “freedom and democracy” and undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin through proxy. “When you see a freedom-loving country trying to protect their own turf, we should give them every ounce of ammunition they need,” Haley said in 2021. Her words in April 2022 must have made her friends at the military-industrial complex lick their chops, anticipating the hefty profits coming their way.

The American people deserve a president who isn’t in bed with special interests, particularly the military-industrial complex and has no desire to sacrifice American lives for the sake of lining their buddies’ pockets. We yearn for peace and prosperity, a path that can solely be paved by the reemergence of an America First Donald Trump presidency.

 

Rasheed Walters is an entrepreneur, political commentator, and historian who resides in Boston. Follow him on Twitter @rasheednwalters.

Rasheed Walters | Daily Caller

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Matthew Graves is the Biden-Regime’s DOJ’s top persecutor of J6 protesters. His wife is Fatima Gross Graves. They are both COMMUNISTS. They and their ilk are a permanent ruling class, while the rest of us are a permanent underclass that serves their needs and whims.

Anyone who doesn’t like this arrangement is an insurrectionist, treasonous, blah, blah, blah. Here is Fatima telling Congress that female athletes need to “learn to lose gracefully” to males. But just keep pretending that the Democrats aren’t Communists and that we can coexist with them.

 

National Women's Law Center President Fatima Goss Graves, the liberal witness at the Title IX hearing, says that female athletes should "learn to lose gracefully" to biological men. pic.twitter.com/2YPqQDk0cQ

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 5, 2023

The post Girls, You Need To “Learn To Lose Gracefully” To Males appeared first on Granite Grok.

The new face of feminism is conservative.

How do I know?  Not ONE democratic congresswoman voted for the Congressional H.R 734 “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023.” (The vote was straight down party lines with all 219 Republicans voting for the bill.) Think about that! How could any elected woman not vote to support, in essence, an amendment to Tile IX, the wildly successful law enacted by Congress 50 years ago that transformed women’s athletics at all levels of competition? The amendment states, “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

It is hard to believe that in 2023 there is controversy about the definition of one’s sex. Confusion about the scientific definition of sex reflects a society with an abundance of mental health issues or just too much privilege and time on its hands. Dress however you want, identify however, but Title IX was in part enacted to provide equal opportunity for female competition, which in effect provided some safeguards from injury. (RELATED: KENDEL EHRLICH: The Government Is Totally Botching Its Most Important Job)

So, where are the likes of Gloria Steinem, the bra-burning leader of the feminist/sexual revolution in the late 60’s and early 70’s? Where is Hillary, the women of the View, and The “Squad”? Nowhere to be found.  Those of us who have been paying attention know the hypocrisy of the feminist left. Their religion is not so much women’s rights as “Democrat.” They never support or have a kind word for Republican women, especially those who have dedicated themselves to their families and communities.

Today, however, we find Riley Gaines and Sarah Huckabee Sanders leading the charge to protect women’s rights.  Sarah ran for governor of Arkansas, so she asked for the responsibility; but Riley Gaines became the new face of feminism because she faced an injustice she never dreamed of.  As a young girl/woman, she put in hundreds of hours of practice swimming against other women, working to achieve ribbons and medals while competing against other females.  And then it all changed:  Riley was forced to swim against a biological male.

How did this happen? How could the NCAA sanction such unfair competition?   It made no sense. Yet, the NCAA did nothing except encourage competitors to keep their mouths shut! This is akin to encouraging domestic violence victims NOT to testify.

It seems that each week brings a new, shocking story about a transgender male competing and winning in women’s sports.  One of latest horror stories is about a biological male playing field hockey at a high school in Massachusetts.  He flung the ball in the air so hard it knocked the teeth out of an opposing female player. (RELATED: BOB EHRLICH: The Sky Is Blue — Believe It)

And now there is a new twist to the horror. A transgender male soccer player threatens to sue rivals for discrimination because the opponent/girls refuse to participate in games against the biological male. Note: one girl has already suffered a broken knee while attempting to block the biological male’s shot.  So where are the parents of these transgender males competing against women?  Are they celebrating their son’s achievements, clapping loudly at the medal ceremonies? Do these parents have daughters who are athletes? Please, SOMEONE make this stop!

Today, Riley tours the country speaking to organizations, campuses (that don’t cancel her), and association meetings that understand the significance in protecting the “woman” part of women’s sports.  Thank you. As for Governor Sanders, she signed an executive order eliminating “woke” language from state documents that attempts to eradicate biological differences.  For example, in Arkansas, the terms, “pregnant people,” “birth giver” and “laboring person” will not appear in state documents. The Governor called those terms “nonsense.” Per “Concerned Women for America, Legislative Action Committee,” 21 states have enacted laws to protect female athletes from unfair competition in sports.  This list includes Arkansas, signed by Governor Sanders’ predecessor, Governor Hutchinson. Let’s keep it going.

These are the new faces of feminism: women who actually support women.  Who would have thunk!

Kendel Ehrlich is the former First Lady of Maryland, a former prosecutor, former Deputy Director of ONDCP, former Director of SMART and former Acting Director of BJA.

 

Kendel Ehrlich | Daily Caller

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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.

 

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You might be hard-pressed to find an argument that our College and University system is failing America. Secondary education is where the indoctrination of American students began, and that poisoning of our children’s minds has finally reached pre-school.

The process is complete, and an entire generation has been indoctrinated from K-16. Let’s get simple. These kids are brainwashed, and higher education has never returned so little for the record high cost. Tuitions have far outpaced the cost of living, and as long as students can secure loans to pay these exorbitant amounts of money, the tuition will continue to rise. It has become a game with these institutions to continue to raise the ceiling while students and society are the losers. Students and their parents are strapped with high-balance loans, and society is burdened with poorly educated students and a generation that hates America and its history. It is time to rethink the economics of higher education.

The protests on campuses against Israel and in support of Hamas and Palestinians have awakened a lot of American minds to the poisonous atmosphere in American colleges and universities. In the spirit of Free Speech and the First Amendment, these institutions refused to shut down the protests that the masses saw as hate speech. The actions of many against Jewish students have instilled a fear that many say brings back memories of 1939. Many of these students have bravely come forward to tell their stories and describe their fears. These institutions are not doing enough to protect these students with Jewish lineage. Many high-level donors are reacting by notifying their Alma Matas they will not be seeing any further donations.

The response of these donors should be a blueprint for what our Government should do. All schools enjoy a tax-exempt status, but to go one more step, Washington gives more than $100 Billion of taxpayer dollars yearly in the name of aid. The other side of that equation is the endowments held by secondary schools. Current estimates have this fund at a balance of $807 Billion. We people claim every day that the rich in this country should pay their fair share in taxes. When an entity has nearly $1 Trillion in the bank, should they be considered wealthy? Should an entity with that kind of surplus be given money from American taxpayers, many of whom are living paycheck to paycheck? Should this entity be exempt from paying taxes when the Government taxes seniors who live on $2,000 a month from Social Security? The obvious answer to all of those questions is a resounding No, but all of these scenarios exist, and nobody questions them.

These institutions have not earned nor deserve our hard-earned money. They have chosen to participate in the reformation of our country and not in the education and preparation of our children to be the next generation of leaders. They have turned out a generation that condemns our past and chooses to tear down our great country. Their option is to replace America with a new socialist alternative, but that should never happen and not on our dime.

The tax-exempt status should be the first tradition to fall. If they can save billions, they can pay taxes. If they can accumulate billions, they do not need tax subsidies. This is not about being fair but about righting a wrong. Colleges and universities have been a party to creating a WOKE society; to me, the party is over.

 

The post Time To Rethink Our Investment In Higher Education appeared first on Granite Grok.

Manchester teachers are getting a new contract. It calls for four more days of professional development. While PD can be beneficial to teachers, taxpayers should be looking at what teachers will be doing during every professional development day.

Several years ago, I attended a presentation by Manchester Proud. The presentation showed everyone how the district would be implementing the fads put forth by education reformers. None of these people had any record of success in improving academic outcomes, but that didn’t matter. People just want to be told that the district is doing something with their tax dollars.

While I was seated for this presentation, I struck up a conversation with a Manchester teacher who had taken the day off of school to attend this event. She told me she was using a professional development day so she could attend. She also mentioned how kids were graduating from the district but didn’t know basic math. There was no mention at this event about ways to improve math education in the district. It was more smoke and mirrors explaining how new education fads would be added.

This is an example of how money spent on professional development can be wasted. PD used to help teachers become better at teaching math or other core subjects will benefit the teachers and students. But as you can see, the taxpayers in Manchester just flushed more of their money down the toilet by paying this teacher to attend an event that would never help her in the classroom.

PD should be scrutinized by the school board and community every year. Money spent to improve the quality of teachers serving in the district could be beneficial to your children.  But as you can see, some of those valuable resources can. be wasted, too.

Four more days to PD is a lot to add to your school budget. Someone should be asking for details and scrutinizing PD every single year.

 

The post Will Manchester Waste More Money on Professional Development for Teachers? appeared first on Granite Grok.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

This is the current Wellness Policy:

JLCF Healthy School Wellness Sue

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

1. Microdosing Fly Agaric (Amanita Muscaria)

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

2. Regular Physical Exercise

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

3. Mindfulness and Meditation

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

4. Balanced Diet and Hydration

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

5. Adequate Sleep

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

6. Professional Counseling

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

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

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

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

Case DISMISSED

So Ordered

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Case DISMISSED.

      So Ordered.

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

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

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

“I think we picked on the wrong family”.

Ayup.

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

It’s Frahn-ken-Steen.”

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

It looks like this,

 

 

Which looks a lot like this nearly 50 years later.

 

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

A wind that needs to change.

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

 

 

HT | RCSB

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Protect your rights or lose them forever!

Representative John Sellers
Grafton District 18

 

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

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

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

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

 

Register at School or Home

Students have a decision about where to register to vote.

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

You may only be registered and vote in one location.

Tuition Status

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

 

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

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

What to do?

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

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

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

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

Stop overcharging non-resident voters for the same education.

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

It’s the right thing to do!

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

So, what is it?

 

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

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

Let the mayhem, mockery, and ridicule resume:

 

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

 

 

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

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

— Robert A. Heinlein

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

Control the information flow, and control what people believe.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

I’d buy that for a dollar.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

IMHO there’s no fire in Hell hot enough…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All on the US taxpayer dime.

 

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PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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Pick of the Post:

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

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Palate cleansers:

 

—

—

 

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

 

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The post Meme Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.

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

 

WaPo Image of Trump-Caesar

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

WaPo image of Trump-Napoleon

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

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

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

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

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

WaPo image of Gen. Mike Flynn a la Kathy Griffin

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

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

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

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

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