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

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

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

 

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

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2023

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

Remember. The Left always tells you who they fear.

 

HT | ZeroHedge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. The Public System Limits Aid to the Most Deprived

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

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

Conclusion

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

 

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

 

Łukasz Jasiński |  Mises Wire

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The post Seven Reasons to Abandon the Public Health System appeared first on Granite Grok.

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

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

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

 

of 3 historical snapshots:

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

— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) November 22, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

Remember, ridicule and mockery are effective weapons:

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

Now, let the mockery and mayhem begin.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

Same applies to all domesticated animals.  Including the sheeple.

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

How is this different than Nazi Germany?

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

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

Remember what they wanted to do to the unJabbed:

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

I will agree to reparations with the following conditions:

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Pick of the post:

 

 

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

 

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

 

Palate Cleansers:

 

—

—

 

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

 

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

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

 

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

 

The post MONDAY MEMES appeared first on Granite Grok.

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

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

 

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

[Update – CNN]

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

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

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

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

 

 

HT | Vermont Daily Chronicle

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

I already FOUGHT this battle – NOW I may have to do it again? Crikey! After founding and running GraniteGrok for 17 and a half years, hardly a month has gone by since I announced my [semi-] retirement, yet I find myself at the keyboard again over this nonsense. ”

During that announcement, I said that my attention had to turn to advocating for the Grandson in the school system due to his diagnosis and also having to deal with the Granddaughter’s severe issues, dealing with her medical folks, the Gilford School District that has to deal with her Special Needs education, and DCYF that placed her with us (first as “Fictive Kinship Caregivers” and now full-fledged “Skilled Care Foster Parents”).

While I had said that I’d be writing from time to time, my priorities had to be ‘family.’ I also said that I had a few unfinished projects to follow up on to square all the open circles, so I’d still be writing from time to time. Unfortunately, I am faced with the same battle that I already won but at a higher, more difficult level, and no, I didn’t see it coming.

Regular ‘Grok readers are familiar with my Gilford School Board (GSD) skirmishes (and a few others) over Policy JBAB; which enforced Government speech upon all who were on school grounds. “You WILL use any students’ “preferred transgender pronouns.” Tacked onto that was THEIR shot across the bow to Parents that the GSD staff WILL lie to you about the transgender status of YOUR child in THEIR school (ostensibly as they don’t trust Parents to love and care for their children as much as the GSD staff does. After almost three years of being a relentless Pain In Their Collective Asses (including a long legal battle), I won.

Imagine my surprise, late last night while surfing, to find a couple of articles that said that the Obama retreads embedded in the Biden Administration have decided that because they control the Gold that they give out to the various States, they can now demand fealty to THEIR mandated Government Speech demands. A State’s Foster parents will use Transgender preferred pronouns for any Trans Foster Children in their care. And it goes further. ALL Foster Parents MUST be “Transgender Affirmative.”

In this case, in the State of New Hampshire, that would be me! I’m betting you already know what *I* thought of that, right?

• First, several lines from The Godfather and John Wick movies that perfectly outlined my ire (and explain why you are seeing my byline so soon after “retirement”) Me: [Godfather – Michael Corleone] “Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In!”
• [John Wick] “You Wanted Me Back… I’m Back!  “I’m Thinkin’ I’m Back!”
• And from Watson, the head of the infamous head of the NYC Intercontinental Hotel in the John Wick trio of movies (I haven’t seen #4 yet): “What did you think? You stabbed the Devil in the back and forced him back into the life that he just left.”

For those not in the know, Keanu Reeves plays John Wick, the world’s best assassin who fell in love with a lady, removed himself from that world, and was forced back into that life again. That’s what happens when you kill a man’s dog and steal his car, both post-mortem presents from his now-deceased wife.  E.g., not a guy to screw around with.

While I make no claim to be a John Wick (I’m just an ordinary schlub from Central NH and not a make-believe character in a wildly successful film series), I can understand the ornery and absolutely dedicated nature of the character in his devotion to “correcting” people that need correcting.

I also failed to heed the advice I’ve given to others. Do not write something to someone when it’s a bit too late to be emailing ANYTHING to ANYONE due to writing mistakes that can pop up. That said, I was rather upset.  I was going to have to fight this same fight all over again with a different set of people.

And I ignored myself about writing that email.

I sent it to three NH DHHS employees (two work directly for DCYF) as a shot across their bow (see image above).

Unfortunately, they are decent people, but, once again, we are REQUIRED by our NH Constitution’s Article 8 to hold our public “Magistrates and Officers” accountable. So here’s what I sent, but with some editing to clean up some atrocious grammar mistakes.

I have also added more text from the linked-to articles along with more thoughts (thinking that I’m a bit more coherent right now – but that’s always open to debate).

 

I think not.

Good evening,

This comes at a propitious time as I have finally done all of the long preliminary work of getting my Granddaughter settled, working hard with the Gilford School Board, advocating for all of her cognitive and emotional testing (still working on getting the needed Dartmouth-Hitchcock reference), and doing all the DCYF/CWEP classes to earn the General, Skilled Care, and Emergency Foster Parent certifications (but still waiting for the Crisis class to be offered to complete the circle).  Now I have the time, given all the time spent these past four months on the more important items just listed, to return to finishing up my past DCYF-related Right To Know demands, send off a whole raft of new ones (because a few DCYF workers have created more problems and not caring that they created them for folks like me).

Add to them, what I just read tonight that will affect me personally as well as other Foster Parents across NH:

• Lack of ‘Affirmation’ Is Child Abuse: New Biden Rule Applies Transgender Standard to Foster Care

I dryly note that the actual URL for the above title gives away the Administration’s game: new-biden-rule-reveals-transgender-movements-endgame-no-dissenting-parents-allowed. A snippet from it’s opening paragraphs says it all (emphasis mine, reformatted):

Transgender orthodoxy may soon become a litmus test for parenthood, according to the logic of a new policy working its way through the Department of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden.

A new rule in HHS’ Administration for Children and Families would apply the idea that any lack of “affirmation” constitutes a form of child abuse to foster care placements. Once that idea takes root in foster care, child protective services agencies might start applying it more broadly.

The rule would reinterpret the Social Security Act, which requires agencies to ensure that each child in foster care receives “safe and proper” care. The rule would lay out steps agencies must take to meet that requirement for “LGBTQI+ children,” defined as kids who “identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, as well as children who are non-binary, or have non-conforming gender identity or expression.”

Before agencies place a child with a foster parent, known as a “provider,” that person must “establish an environment free of hostility, mistreatment, or abuse based on the child’s LGBTQI+ status;” receive training “to be prepared with the appropriate knowledge and skills to provide for the needs of the child related to the child’s self-identified sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression;” and must be able to “facilitate the child’s access to age-appropriate resources, services, and activities that support their health and well-being.”

In short, using “discrimination” is once again being used to supercede  Constitutionally protected Rights of Free Speech, the prohibition to Government not to interfere with one’s Religious beliefs, nor the Right to Association (or the converse: the Right to NOT Associate with those you may not wish to). Go read the whole article.

• Non-Affirmation of Child’s “LGBTQI+” Identity Is Abuse Under Proposed Foster Care Rule

…Providers are “expected to utilize the child’s identified pronouns, chosen name, and allow the child to dress in an age-appropriate manner that the child believes reflects their self-identified gender identity and expression.”

Sorry, we are not devotees to either the CRT bastard child called “Childism” nor the Social Justice variant that “children run a family” (which is being demanded here) – that’s extremely poor parenting along with the other stupid idea that parents that are supposed to be their child’s “friend” instead of doing the hard work of, you know, doing actual parenting. Nor will I be forced to learn the now THOUSANDS of preferred pronouns, neo-pronouns and all of the craziness of made up words simply to be “affirming” and this sector has literally gone off the rails (search here on GraniteGrok for “stack of stuff” to see any number of stories I’ve listed containing material on this) and have my Granddaughter taken from me because I don’t fit someone’s Leftist Ideology.

So when is the NH DHHS/DCYF in favor of implementing this new rule now proposed by the Biden Administration (comments end 11/27/2023)?

Ah yes, silly me – asking a simple question rather than using RTKs. It’s getting late so I figured I’d try the simple way first – like I did the Gilford School Board.  Funny that – they eschewed “easy” and went directly to “boy this is gonna hurt for a while”. However, I’m hoping for better this time.

I just spent two and a half years suing the Gilford School Board and forced them to modify their blatantly unconstitutional strictures encased in their Policy JBAB that violated Part 1 Articles 5 and 22 of the NH Constitution as well as those proscribed in the US Constitution’s First Amendment of

1. MANDATED usage of “preferred pronouns” by anyone on school grounds – a government-enforced speech violating the above
2. Also, their unconstitutional mandate forced their staff to lie to parents over the raising of their children by denying parents knowledge of their child’s transgender identity in the school (by various means).

Indoctrination much in demanding fealty to a government philosophy or suffer consequences? The School Board, the NH Association of Superintendents, and the NH School Board Association were forcing this Policy JBAB upon Districts state-wide (note: given the level of lawsuits here in NH and nationwide, the NHSBA pulled JBAB from their portfolio and told local Districts: “we may have given you this policy but good luck, suckers – you’re on your own!”. CYA at work – they understood what was coming as being the progenitor of that Policy).

That #2 was “interesting” as I used the Grandson’s Principal to make my point in calling out the School Board, IN FRONT OF THEIR Sr. Staff, for forcing their staff to lie, during the Public comment section of an open School Board Meeting by directly asking “What is the transgender status of my Grandson?”. And no, not an idle threat:

https://granitegrok.com/blog/2022/05/gunstock-commish-kiedaisch-my-bylaws-trump-state-statutes-gilford-school-board-brava   (go to 8:36 to cut to the chase about lying to me but the starting is also illustrative – and other courts are ruling against the use of preferred pronouns all over the nation – we are hitting “Peak Trans” (a la “Peak Oil”).

So How Did It Feel, Gilford School Board, to Watch Your Principal Lie to Me in Public Because of Your Policy JBAB?

 

“What Is The Transgender Status of My Legal Son?” Part 1

“What Is The Transgender Status of My Legal Son?” Part 2

“What Is The Transgender Status of My Legal Son?” Part 3

“What Is The Transgender Status of My Legal Son?” Part 4

Way to go, you SB morons for cratering that most fragile of attributes between those that govern versus citizens attribute even as:

Trust

E.g., Article 3 (emphasis mine):

When men enter into a state of society, they surrender up some of their natural rights to that society, in order to ensure the protection of others; and, without such an equivalent, the surrender is void.

I posit that Free Speech and Religious Freedom are not counted amongst those “surrendered Rights”.

Most of the students AND parents sitting behind me that night were quite unaware of the Policy – afterwards, I had a ring of parents asking rather upset and pointed questions. It pays to read RSAs and Rules. The school board and staff, however, were not amused.

Point was made – the Policy was soon neutered as they couldn’t point (nor could their lawyer as they FINALLY asked her “What is the RSA or Ed RUle that supports this Policy?”). In this Dillon’s Rule State, the Legislature has never delegated such Powers to a mere subdivision of the State such as a School Board.

Nor to DCYF, as DCYF is a mere subdivision of the State as well.

This will be amusing to bring this issue to our GraniteGrok friends in the Legislature (see NH Constitution, Article 7) in on this “development”. So, I look forward to version 2.0 in this matter. Please also note I know a number of lawyers in such pro bono groups that take on such cases in this matter (especially the ADF, among others), that do.

Added for this post: ACLJ, Christian Legal Society, Liberty Counsel, Thomas More  Law Center, and Pacific Justice Institute. Since I’ve already done this fight before, I’m betting they’d take a listen from me.

Hmmm, somehow I think that my semi-retirement from GraniteGrok, announced just a month ago, is also now going to be revoked/voided…

The post Shot Across The Bow – Will NH DCYF Take a Knee To The Biden Administration? appeared first on Granite Grok.

As Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis get closer to each other in Republican Presidential Primary polls, demonstrating at least a sliver of separation from the rest of the dwindling pack, the battle for second place was bound to get a bit more personal. And it has!

Scrabbling for Trump’s crumbs is beginning to take on a bit of an edge, and it has dragged the specter of Hillary Clinton on to the political stage.

If ever the Right had successfully isolated a candidate – Alinsky style – it is Hillary, and a pro-DeSantis PAC called Fight Right has released a 30-second ad tying Nikki Haley to her. (Related: With Nikki Haley in Second Place in NH, I Feel Obligated to Remind Voters That She is a Constitutional Threat.)

 

The ad features brutal back-to-back clips in Haley’s own voice of the candidate praising Hillary Clinton and honoring her as the reason she got into politics. It concludes with a nail-on-chalkboard sound bite of Clinton’s infamous hyena-like cackle.

 

A cackle that would make for an excellent ringtone to let you know someone “special” is calling. A jilting ex, the IRS, whatever  you think works.

Here’s the ad.

 

New Pro-DeSantis super PAC drops million dollar ad buy highlighting Nikki Haley’s love of Hillary Clinton. pic.twitter.com/QSYMDac9R3

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 21, 2023

 

The post Pro DeSantis PAC Ties Nikki Haley to Hillary Clinton appeared first on Granite Grok.

Power dynamics, policy debates, and public perception intertwine in the conundrum of American politics, where, I believe, there is a persistent undercurrent of skepticism regarding the authenticity of political discourse.

It might be possible that politicians, regardless of party affiliations, may share language coaches, orchestrating a grandiose performance akin to a reality TV show. This extreme thinking might challenge the conventional understanding of political dynamics and, therefore, posit that the adversarial nature of American politics may be nothing more than an elaborate charade.

Now let’s have a peek at the shared language coach puzzle with a perception that unveils the intricacies of political discourse and invites us to question whether the carefully crafted communication strategies employed by the new crop of upcoming politicians like Vivek Ramaswamy contribute to a more nuanced understanding of politics and governance or serve as a veil that obscures the true nature of their intentions and behind-the-scene collaborations.

On a hunch, both Democrats and Republicans may be engaging in a collective effort to refine their communication skills through shared language coaches. This notion raises questions about the apparent animosity displayed between political opponents. Could these individuals collaborate to craft a compelling narrative beneath the surface, playing different roles in a carefully choreographed spectacle?

To understand what’s currently unfolding in American politics, or perhaps what has been present for a long time, we need to examine the Good Cop, Bad Cop perspective with a discerning eye, recognizing the hidden interplay of political strategies, alliances, and the potential shared objectives that may lie beneath the surface of apparent ideological conflicts.

The concept of politicians playing “good cop, bad cop” is not new. Still, the idea of it being a coordinated act adds a layer of intrigue to the current political landscape, including what’s happening in Texas right now. Thus, do we need to understand that politicians alternate between roles, presenting the illusion of fierce ideological battles while secretly working together behind closed doors? This dynamic could be a strategic maneuver to maintain public interest, perpetuating the illusion of a divided nation while concealing a more unified reality.

The notion of a reality TV paradigm in US politics arises from a video that has surfaced, where Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential candidate, is seen plagiarizing Barack Obama’s speech during a GOP debate. The line in question is: “So let me just address a question that is on everybody’s mind at home tonight: who the heck is this skinny guy with the funny last name, and what the heck is he doing in the middle of this debate stage?” Ramaswamy said this line at the beginning of the debate.

The line was originally from a speech Obama gave at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. Obama spoke about hope in his speech, which would become the centerpiece of his White House bid. He said: “The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.”

Reality television has become dominant in modern entertainment, shaping narratives, manipulating emotions, and blurring the lines between fiction and reality. What if American politics, too, has, by design or otherwise, adopted elements of this genre? From what I see happening all around, I do get the feeling that politicians are not just participants in the political process but actors in a grandiose reality TV show, where the stakes are not just policy decisions but the perception of power and influence.

This is all about the allure of spectacle, where the orchestrated drama, scripted narratives, and theatrical performances within the political arena try to keep the audience captivated, shaping perceptions and overshadowing substantive issues. The allure of spectacle distracts the public from underlying issues and fosters a sense of unpredictability, keeping viewers engaged in the ongoing political drama.

While the idea of American politics as a shared reality TV show may seem extreme, for now, it raises important questions about the nature of political discourse and the authenticity of public narratives. Evidence supporting such a theory may need to be made clearer. Still, the observed understanding challenges us to reconsider the motivations behind political actions and the potential influence of entertainment culture on the political landscape. Whether this theory holds water or not, its very existence underscores the need for a critical and discerning public capable of seeing through the interplay of politics, media, and entertainment in the 21st century.

 

The post The Theatrics of American Politics Reeks of Reality TV appeared first on Granite Grok.

It isn’t just the Supreme Court, but the MAGA Republicans, Conservatives, and people who respect life, but it all started with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. In the two years since the Court shook the world and disappointed the Left Wing of the nation, there have been 32,000 more births and 32,000 fewer abortions.

This data is according to three researchers from the Georgia Insitute of Technology and Middlebury College, who wrote their conclusions in a report published by the Institute of Labor Economics in Germany on Friday.

“As of November 1, 2023, 14 states are enforcing bans on abortion in nearly all circumstances, and 23 percent of U.S. women of reproductive age have experienced an increase in driving distance to the nearest abortion facility, from an average of 43 miles one-way before Dobbs to 330 miles at present,” the researchers wrote. “This represents the most profound transformation of the landscape of U.S. abortion access in 50 years,” they added. “The longer the driving distances to abortion clinics, the greater the increase in birth rates,” according to the report.

For instance, Texas, one of the 14 states to enforce near-total bans on the procedure, saw its fertility rates increase by 5.1 percent as its driving distance to the nearest abortion clinic increased by an average of 453 miles. Mississippi saw a 4.4 percent spike in birth rates, as the average increase in driving distance there was 240 miles after the state imposed its ban.

It is not just a case of mileage. Abortion is far more complex than an Uber ride to a clinic. Planned Parenthood is throwing a ton of money, our taxpayer money, at causes and candidates that are sympathetic to their plan. We must remember that the original purpose of Planned Parenthood was to lessen the number of Black births in the country. That was the reason most of the first Planned Parenthood clinics were in poor, predominantly Black inner cities. Early backers of Abortion were not concerned with women’s or reproductive rights but with racial cleansing. When are the Black and Brown communities going to smarten up and stop backing Democrats who have never cared about minorities?

In most issues, the pendulum swings, and it has favored the Left for many years. That weighted ball is beginning to swing the other way. The nation is starting to see a movement toward the middle. Minorities are polling in support of Republican policies. Even the younger vote is turning Red. The Left could not keep the nation hoodwinked forever, and the Border, crime, and the economy are proving the Left does not have the answers. The concern and money pouring into Ukraine and now Israel show the priorities are not on Americans.

The promise of Student Loan Relief that bought so many votes for Democrats in 2022 proved a lie. The youth of America feel duped, and the sleight of hand has opened their eyes. They see the future as not being bright and the American Dream as not having a happy ending. There also seems to be a new respect for life. Laws in some states like Maine and Ohio may make it easier for women to end their pregnancy, but programs like preborn.com are gaining traction, and their message is resonating. And babies are being born, 32,000 beautiful babies that a few years ago may never have seen their mother’s smile.

The post Night Cap: SCOTUS Saves 32,000 Newborns appeared first on Granite Grok.

Frau Hocul and New York State’s Public Health Industrial Complex are celebrating a recent court win. A policy of forced quarantine that had been struck down as unconstitutional has been resurrected like some undead beast to feed on Lady Liberty.

 

A rule that allows the state Health Department to lawfully order someone to involuntarily isolate or quarantine to control a highly contagious disease, such as COVID-19, has been reinstated in a unanimous decision by a mid-level appellate court.

The ruling by the Fourth Judicial Department, which has jurisdiction in 22 counties in central and western New York, overturns a decision last year by a state Supreme Court justice in Cattaraugus County who found the rule violates the constitutional requirement for a separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches when promulgating rules as severe as involuntary isolation. …

The appellate division’s decision to overturn the lower court’s ruling was issued Friday and based on a technical issue with the lawsuit filed by Republican lawmakers and an organization.

 

The ruling is being appealed, but seeing as it was dismissed on a lack of standing, it feels like the question won’t be whether the Governor’s health department can confine citizens but if their elected representatives have standing to object in court.

It occurs to me that if the Judicial Branch can determine that the legislative branch lacks standing to oppose acts by the executive branch that lack legislatively approved authority, why can’t the legislature just rule in its own favor and be done with it?

That seems to be where we are on this.

 

NEW — NY Appeals Court Reinstates Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Power to Enforce Quarantine Camps

“It allows the Dept. of Health to pick and choose which New Yorkers they can lockup or lockdown without any proof that you’re sick, without any proof you’ve been exposed to a communicable… pic.twitter.com/2jukPhBiRn

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) November 22, 2023

 

The post Judge Says New York State’s Dept. of Health Can Have Its Quarantine Powers Back appeared first on Granite Grok.

We are approaching critical mass, the point at which all hell breaks loose. The government is pushing us ever closer to a constitutional crisis.

“What if the rights and principles guaranteed in the Constitution have been so distorted in the past 200 years as to be unrecognizable by the Founders? What if the government was the reason we don’t have a Constitution anymore? What if freedom’s greatest hour of danger is now?”—Andrew P. Napolitano

What makes the outlook so much bleaker is the utter ignorance of the American people—and those who represent them—about their freedoms, history, and how the government is supposed to operate.

As Morris Berman points out in his book Dark Ages America, “70 percent of American adults cannot name their senators or congressmen; more than half don’t know the actual number of senators, and nearly a quarter cannot name a single right guaranteed by the First Amendment. Sixty-three percent cannot name the three branches of government. Other studies reveal that uninformed or undecided voters often vote for the candidate whose name and packaging (e.g., logo) are the most powerful; color is apparently a major factor in their decision.”

More than government corruption and ineptitude, police brutality, terrorism, gun violence, drugs, illegal immigration or any other so-called “danger” that threatens our nation, civic illiteracy may be what finally pushes us over the edge.

As Thomas Jefferson warned, no nation can be both ignorant and free.

Unfortunately, the American people have existed in a technology-laden, entertainment-fueled, perpetual state of cluelessness for so long that civic illiteracy has become the new normal for the citizenry.

It’s telling that Americans were more able to identify Michael Jackson as the composer of a number of songs than to know that the Bill of Rights was the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

In fact, most immigrants who aspire to become citizens know more about national civics than native-born Americans. Surveys indicate that a majority in every state but Vermont would fail a test of U.S. citizenship questions.

Not even the government bureaucrats who are supposed to represent us know much about civics, American history and geography, or the Constitution although they take an oath to uphold, support and defend the Constitution against “enemies foreign and domestic.”

For instance, a few year ago, a couple attempting to get a marriage license was forced to prove to a government official that New Mexico is, in fact, one of the 50 states and not a foreign country.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Here’s a classic example of how surreal the landscape has become.

Every year, the White House issues a proclamation affirming the importance of the Bill of Rights.

These proclamations pay lip service to the government’s commitment to upholding the Constitution and guarding against government abuses of power.

Don’t believe it for a second.

The government doesn’t want its abuses checked and its powers restricted.

For that matter, this is not a government that holds the Constitution in high esteem.

Indeed, we wouldn’t be in this sorry state if it weren’t for the damage inflicted in recent years on the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights, which historically served as the bulwark from government abuse.

In the so-called named of national security, the Constitution has been steadily chipped away at, undermined, eroded, whittled down, and generally discarded to such an extent that what we are left with is but a shadow of the robust document adopted more than two centuries ago.

The Bill of Rights—462 words that represent the most potent and powerful rights ever guaranteed to a group of people officially—became part of the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791, because early Americans such as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson understood the need to guard against the government’s inclination to abuse its power.

Yet the reality we must come to terms with is that in the America we live in today, the government does whatever it wants.

Make no mistake: if our individual freedoms have been restricted, it is only so that the government’s powers could be expanded at our expense.

The USA Patriot Act, passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, drove a stake through the heart of the Bill of Rights, violating at least six of the ten original amendments—the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments—and possibly the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well. The Patriot Act also redefined terrorism so broadly that many non-terrorist political activities such as protest marches, demonstrations and civil disobedience were considered potential terrorist acts, thereby rendering anyone desiring to engage in protected First Amendment expressive activities as suspects of the surveillance state.

Since 9/11, we’ve been spied on by surveillance cameras, eavesdropped on by government agents, had our belongings searched, our phones tapped, our mail opened, our email monitored, our opinions questioned, our purchases scrutinized (under the USA Patriot Act, banks are required to analyze your transactions for any patterns that raise suspicion and to see if you are connected to any objectionable people), and our activities watched.

We’ve also been subjected to invasive patdowns and whole-body scans of our persons and seizures of our electronic devices in the nation’s airports and at border crossings.

We can’t even purchase certain cold medicine at the pharmacy anymore without it being reported to the government and our names being placed on a watch list.

Government surveillance, militarized police, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture, eminent domain, overcriminalization, armed surveillance drones, whole body scanners, stop and frisk searches (all sanctioned by Congress, the White House, the courts and the like), etc.: these are merely the weapons of the police state.

The power of the police state is dependent on a populace that meekly obeys without question.

Remember: when it comes to the staggering loss of civil liberties, the Constitution hasn’t changed. Rather, it is the American people who have changed.

Those who gave us the Constitution and the Bill of Rights believed that the government exists at the behest of its citizens. The government’s purpose is to protect, defend and even enhance our freedoms, not violate them.

It was no idle happenstance that the Constitution opens with these three powerful words: “We the people.” Those who founded this country knew quite well that every citizen must remain vigilant or freedom would be lost. As Thomas Paine recognized, “It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”

You have no rights unless you exercise them.

Still, you can’t exercise your rights unless you know what those rights are.

“If Americans do not understand the Constitution and the institutions and processes through which we are governed, we cannot rationally evaluate important legislation and the efforts of our elected officials, nor can we preserve the national unity necessary to meaningfully confront the multiple problems we face today,” warns the Brennan Center in its Civic Literacy Report Card. “Rather, every act of government will be measured only by its individual value or cost, without concern for its larger impact. More and more we will ‘want what we want, and [will be] convinced that the system that is stopping us is wrong, flawed, broken or outmoded.’”

Education precedes action.

As the Brennan Center concludes “America, unlike most of the world’s nations, is not a country defined by blood or belief. America is an idea, or a set of ideas, about freedom and opportunity. It is these ideas that bind us together as Americans and have kept us free, strong, and prosperous. But these ideas do not perpetuate themselves. They must be taught and learned anew with each generation.”

If there is to be any hope for restoring our freedoms and reclaiming our runaway government, we will have to start by breathing life into those three powerful words that set the tone for everything that follows in the Constitution: “we the people.”

People get the government they deserve.

It’s up to us.

We have the power to make and break the government.

We the American people—the citizenry—are the arbiters and ultimate guardians of America’s welfare, defense, liberty, laws and prosperity.

It’s time to stop waiting patiently for change to happen.

We must act—and act responsibly.

Get outraged, get off your duff and get out of your house, get in the streets, get in people’s faces, get down to your local city council, get over to your local school board, get your thoughts down on paper, get your objections plastered on protest signs, get your neighbors, friends and family to join their voices to yours, get your representatives to pay attention to your grievances, get your kids to know their rights, get your local police to march in lockstep with the Constitution, get your media to act as watchdogs for the people and not lapdogs for the corporate state, get your act together, and get your house in order.

In other words, get moving.

A healthy, representative government is hard work. It takes a citizenry that is informed about the issues, educated about how the government operates, and willing to make the sacrifices necessary to stay involved, whether that means forgoing Monday night football in order to attend a city council meeting or risking arrest by picketing in front of a politician’s office.

Whatever you do, please don’t hinge your freedoms on politics.

The Constitution is neutral when it comes to politics. What the Constitution is not neutral about, however, is the government’s duty to safeguard the rights of the citizenry.

“We the people” also have a duty that goes far beyond the act of voting: as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, it’s our job to keep freedom alive using every nonviolent means available to us.

Know your rights. Exercise your rights. Defend your rights. If not, you will lose them.

Freedom’s greatest hour of danger is now.

 

John W. Whitehead | Rutherford Institute

The post What If the Constitution No Longer Applied? Freedom’s Greatest Hour of Danger Is Now appeared first on Granite Grok.

One of my first acts as the Big Cheese (the only cheese), aside from having to write or find a lot more content, is to resolve a handful of wants and needs that have been niggling at the edges for (what feels like) ages.

I am referring to a subscriber/donor ad-free VIP version, a faster, cleaner site, a more intuitive search, and a better mobile experience.

We are adding “links” into the header, allowing you to sort content by region of interest. You’ll be able to ‘Grok New Hampshire, New England, The US, or the World with one link that will sort content by these categories the way you can jump to microgroks now (a feature that will continue).

We are dropping the existing underlying architecture and switching to something cleaner and faster. There is also discussion about dropping Disqus as the commenting system. We will still have comments, and there is a way to migrate existing comments into the new design so we do not lose any of that, but Disqus poses problems. It is woke. It removes reader comments without our say-so or yours. And not everyone wants to sign up to use it. The new ‘Grok would load even faster without the weight of it, while the default WordPress commenting system is lighter and more than adequate.

Dropping Disqus is not a done deal, but it is on the table. I’d appreciate input from the commenters who use it before I decide one way or the other.

Non-Disqus users should know you can use the WordPress commenting system without registering. You can comment as a guest by providing your email address, which will alert you when someone replies to your remarks. Registration is not required, and my inclination is to keep it that way unless the spam and trolling get out of hand.

And because our audience is both national and global, we will keep the appeal of a state-level blog and a focus on local and regional stories but attempt a feel that is a bit broader. In other words, we are tweaking the mechanics of the site to catch up to what has been an editorial state of being for many years.

The layout will not change much, if at all, but we are also resolving issues with the MicroGroks along the way. The current version does not permit you to load more content despite the button that exists to do that. This function will now work.

We are dropping GrokTALK! as a separate page/environment. Most of that content is offloaded and offline, so the links don’t work, and everything these days is video/podcasting, all of which will be curated under GrokTV! moving forward.

In other news, I am working on expanding VermontGrok, and I have a line on at least one young female conservatarian author – a demographic we need and want to attract – and there are a few other surprises coming.

As always, this stuff costs money, so I can’t end without asking for your continued and ongoing support. The Donate page stays, and you can use it to give with credit or debit through GiveSendGo (no transaction fees) or PayPal. We also have a Stripe account, and I will add that option soon.

If you’d like to send a check, email me (steve@granitegrok.com) for the address (that has changed).

 

 

The post The Next Generation of ‘Grok! … appeared first on Granite Grok.

New US House Speaker Mike Johnson struck a blow for liberty and justice last week when he finally authorized the release of all the tapes from the January 6, 2021 “insurrection.” We were told by no less than President Biden himself that this was the “worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”

The FBI was unleashed by the Biden Administration to hunt down hundreds of participants in this “insurrection” and lock them up in the gulag where they awaited trial in torturous conditions – many in solitary confinement.

A Congressional Committee was set up under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi to “get to the bottom” of the “Trump-led insurrection.” It did not include a single Representative nominated by the opposition Republican Party, but rather two “Republicans” – Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – who could be relied on by Pelosi and the Democrats to toe the line.

In short, the whole thing was an old-fashioned Soviet show trial, where the evidence was kept secret and the pre-determined verdict – guilty – was to be used to tighten the grip of the ruling regime and intimidate any further dissenters into silence. The message was clear: “speak out against the ‘perfection’ of the 2020 election and you may find yourself in the gulag along with the insurrectionists.”

It was terrifying and profoundly anti-American.

And, as we finally can see for ourselves thanks to Speaker Johnson, it was a huge lie. The new video shows demonstrators shaking hands with police officers once they entered the Capitol Building. They were welcomed into the building by officers who even held the doors for them to enter! They had no way of knowing that they would soon be rounded up and locked away.

Does that mean no crimes were committed on January 6th? Not at all. The tapes already released were carefully chosen to single out examples of violence and other possible criminality. But the full release of the tapes demonstrates beyond a doubt that the endless propaganda that this was a coordinated attempt to overthrow the government was false.

And as for that violence and mayhem on January 6th? How much of it was instigated by undercover FBI agents? New footage clearly shows officers outside the building firing on protestors with no warning. That must be why, in hearing after hearing, Biden Administration officials like Attorney General Merrick Garland have refused to tell Congress the number of federal agents present and their roles in instigating violence.

The release of this evidence should immediately result in the release of all non-violent protestors awaiting trial or serving their sentences. Those in power responsible for promoting this lie should take their places in the jail cells.

This delayed justice will not help protesters like Matthew Perna, however. Though the new video release clearly shows him calmly walking inside the Capitol in the presence of unconcerned police officers, when Merrick Garland’s Department of “Justice” announced they would seek terrorism charges against him, Perna, in despair, decided to hang himself in his garage.

Yes, there was an insurrection of sorts. Those in power hated Donald Trump so much that they were willing to torture and even murder their fellow Americans to keep him from the presidency. Unless these people are brought to justice, we will have no Republic left to defend.

 

 

Ron Paul | Ron Paul Institute

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

The post We Must Demand Justice for the January 6th Protestors! appeared first on Granite Grok.

The Climate Cult’s illuminating lights have clearly defined for us what the ‘Change’ in Climate Change means. They will change anything about the narrative to keep the fear alive (and the money flowing), even when it makes them look like idiots in the process.

There are scores of examples where some catastrophic prognostication failed not only to appear but came not even close. An Ice-free Arctic, flooded coastlines, and cities underwater. A Biblical rise in the frequency and severity of storms or insects or plagues (the latter being, in fact, about higher taxes and more regulations about CO2 not from it).

Fifteen years ago, former NASA ‘expert’ James Hansen, who got every one of his other predictions wrong, announced that were approaching a tipping point.

 

Exactly 20 years after warning America about global warming, a top NASA scientist said the situation has gotten so bad that the world’s only hope is drastic action.

James Hansen told Congress on Monday that the world has long passed the “dangerous level” for greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and needs to get back to 1988 levels. He said Earth’s atmosphere can only stay this loaded with man-made carbon dioxide for a couple more decades without changes such as mass extinction, ecosystem collapse and dramatic sea level rises.”

 

There is more CO2 and it still only amounts to a fraction of a fraction of the atmosphere. Rather than destroy ecosystems, it has expanded them, greening the earth in places that had not supported plant life or farming for a long time.

 

“We see a tipping point occurring right before our eyes,” Hansen told the AP before the luncheon. “The Arctic is the first tipping point and it’s occurring exactly the way we said it would.”

 

Except that it wasn’t, and it hasn’t. But the lie continues, affording life to narratives from the likes of Progressives hellbent on destroying the Western Lifestyle for everyone but themselves.

And until they replace their thousand-dollar shoes for the sandals of a beggar and designer suits with homespun rags, they should be laughed at and ignored – and removed from positions of power as quickly as can be legally managed.

 

The post Fifteen Years After Another Climate Tipping Point Speech… appeared first on Granite Grok.

The Biden administration is pushing for widespread electrification in less than 20 years through government subsidies and coercive regulations as part of its aggressive climate agenda. The truth is that President Joe Biden’s goals are an illusion at the expense of the American people.

While EV proponents try to claim that EVs will soon be cheaper than gasoline vehicles, our new research demonstrates that EVs benefitted from hidden subsidies that total nearly $50,000 per EV.

Who is footing that bill? Gasoline vehicle owners, taxpayers, and utility ratepayers are.

Electric vehicles primarily benefit from regulatory credits and generous fuel economy standards, which average $27,881 per vehicle. EVs have been given an unlawful 6.67 multiplier to their rated fuel economy, so an EV with a rated fuel economy of 100 miles per gallon is credited as if it is getting 667 miles per gallon. What’s more, the EPA’s proposed fuel economy standards are designed to require that 67% of new passenger cars sold be all-electric by 2032, demonstrating a clear government preference toward EVs without proper consideration of costs and benefits.

For gasoline vehicles, the price you see at the gas pump covers the cost of extracting, refining and transporting the gasoline, but the same cannot be said for the cost of charging an EV. EVs require new charging infrastructure, and their large power draw increases the strain on electricity infrastructure. As our research highlights, a typical EV charging overnight at home consumes as much power as several homes, and an EV charging at a fast-charging station in 30 minutes consumes as much power as a small to medium-sized grocery store. A few extra EVs in the neighborhoods are manageable, but widespread EV adoption will require significant and expensive grid upgrades.

Adding insult to injury, EV owners alone aren’t shouldering these increased electricity costs, which average $11,833 per vehicle over ten years. Until a utility starts charging EV owners for the extra infrastructure costs to serve them, those costs are shared among all the utility’s customers. Residential electricity costs across the U.S. have risen 20% over the last three years, and a rapid forced adoption of EVs will only make this problem worse.

Direct federal and state subsidies provide EVs with another $8,984 per vehicle over ten years, including the widely publicized $7,500 federal tax credit in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act and smaller state subsidies for EVs. All these subsidies, of course, are borne by the American taxpayer.

President Biden’s expensive green pipe dream is not without irony.

While the Biden administration claims that these draconian EV mandates are necessary to combat climate change, the widespread adoption of EVs in the developed world would have negligible effects on global emissions and climate. For starters, if EVs are able to displace all the carbon emissions from U.S. passenger cars, that would only cut out 20% of U.S. carbon emissions. Our calculations show that even if the U.S. eliminated all of its carbon emissions by 2050, the effect on global temperatures in 2100 would only be 0.08 degrees Celsius.

But EVs will not even get us that far because they don’t cut carbon emissions much—if at all—compared to gasoline vehicles. As pointed out by Mark Mills in a recent op-ed in Real Clear Energy, it is nearly impossible to measure an individual EV’s emissions. While driving an EV itself does not directly produce emissions, the emissions to generate the electricity used to charge EVs vary widely depending on location.

EV batteries also require fossil fuels to produce, and many components of EV batteries are made in emissions-heavy China. The emissions resulting from mining and processing the materials used in the battery are largely unreported, and the emissions during EV production could potentially be enough to wipe out the emissions saved by not combusting gasoline.

A recent study by Volvo attempts to quantify some of these factors, and the result is not rosy for EVs. The lifetime emissions of the electric version of the Volvo SUV at the center of the study are only a third less than the emissions of the gasoline version, and that is when it is charged on the carbon-light European grid. Different assumptions could lead to an EV emitting more carbon than its gasoline counterpart. The obvious conclusion is that without rapid reductions in carbon emissions from the electric grid, an equally Herculean task to EV mass adoption, EVs will continue to produce significant carbon emissions.

Emissions from gasoline vehicles are projected to decline 20% over the next decade, and hybrids, which nearly double the fuel efficiency of a gasoline vehicle with a battery that is 50-100 times smaller than an EV battery, would actually produce the least amount of lifetime emissions. But the net-zero advocates are needlessly demanding all EVs—or nothing.

EVs would also have little impact on levels of actual pollution in U.S. cities, like soot and smog because the U.S. is already a world leader in clean air. When the number of passenger cars on the road fell by half during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there was no measurable impact on air quality in the U.S. Our air pollution levels are so close to their natural state that weather has a far greater impact on pollution levels in most U.S. cities than the emissions from our vehicles.

The reality is EVs are not going away any time soon, but neither are cars in general. Americans are still driving at nearly the same rate they were before the COVID-19 pandemic—more than 3.2 trillion miles total annually. Even the addition of a few hundred million new EVs over the next decade, up from 20 million today, will only account for approximately 10-20% of all passenger vehicles globally.[GU1] [GU2] [3]  Currently, 90% of EVs in the U.S. are purchased as a second or third car, usually in addition to a gasoline vehicle. If the U.S. were to adopt the Biden administration’s preferred number of EVs, consumers would have to purchase EVs at a scale and velocity ten times greater and faster than any new model car in history.

Even this isn’t enough to achieve the left’s dystopian net-zero goals. The International Energy Agency forecasts [GU4] the number of global households without a car needs to rise from 45% today to 70% to achieve net-zero by 2050. That’s right—70% of people around the world must not have a car to meet the global elite’s climate goals. Most of the 45% of households who do not own cars are in the developing world and crave the kind of personal mobility we enjoy in the U.S. and in Europe, but net-zero will require them to remain confined forever or to rely solely on government-owned transit. Even the developed world will have to cut its driving dramatically. In California, regulators predicted [GU5] that the state’s emissions goals will require Californians to both buy EVs and reduce miles driven by 25%.

Coercing American citizens into buying EVs is simply untenable and is not truly environmentally friendly. As our research shows, EV subsidies and mandates are already costing Americans $22 billion annually, and that amount is set to rise dramatically, with particularly adverse impacts on lower-income Americans. The Biden administration would be wise to end its special treatment of EVs, prioritize the American consumer, and stop driving the U.S. auto industry off a cliff.

 

Brent Bennett, Ph.D., is the policy director for Life:Powered, an initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation to raise America’s energy IQ, and a former battery researcher and engineer. 

Andrea Hitt is a communications manager for the Texas Public Policy Foundation and previously served as communications director for Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ).

 

Brent Bennett and Andrea Hitt | RealClear Wire

The post The Biden Administration’s EV Goals Are an Expensive Fantasy appeared first on Granite Grok.

There is one thing you can count on from Democrat voters in places like Burlington, Vermont. No matter how bad it gets, they’ll believe some other Democrat can make it better (the same way they claim their socialism will work ‘this time).

Mayor Miro Weinberger is not running for re-election. We can observe this transition from one failure to the next in real-time.

As regular readers know, Burlington is Vermont’s Democrat canary in the coal mine. The center of stupid in the Green Mountain State (I know some will say it is the Democrat ghetto of Montpellier, the state capital). Burlington is where bad Democrat ideas go to find life before spreading statewide, manifesting in the predictable outcomes we have seen in every other example of long-term, almost monarchic, left-wing urban rule.

Miro’s replacements will discuss higher taxes, more crime, increased homelessness, declining services, and small-business flight as they chase a nod from their future political peasants. Things Democrats did to Burlington, assuring that – no matter who is elected, under their leadership, the burning sh!t wagon will keep rolling (to enthusiastic applause).

There are few, if any, examples of Democrats making a city better. They can spend more, tax more, spend more, and tax more, but the goal of progressive politics – whether its adherents understand this or not – is destruction. There can be no other outcome. And I’ll accept that there are any number of doe-eyed Dems who believe the rhetoric despite the evidence. They feel the Bern and then act surprised when it burns. Scrambling to find more “revenue” to throw down the holes they’ve created and can never fill, but that only makes matters worse.

It is their density!

All Gurl Diversity

No men have stepped up to run Burlington. All the current candidates are progressive women who somehow escaped the womb and rose to prominence in the progressive ranks. Three Democrats vying to challenge a progressive for the job. Talk about diversity!

Maybe that’s the hook.

A man (Miro) ran Burlington for 12 years. It’s time for a woman’s touch (whatever that is). And so, next March, the progressive peeps in the Queen City will pick a new Marxist to manage the decline and fall of their “town.”  To encourage the legislature with their embrace of bad ideas. And we’ll be here to help document it.

Knowing that there is nowhere for Burlington to go but down.

 

 

 

The post Change in Burlington: Replace Male Marxist Mayor with Female Marxist Mayor appeared first on Granite Grok.

Since its development as an integral part of genetically modified organism (GMO) cropping, glyphosate – the active weed-killing ingredient in Roundup – has attracted controversy over whether it causes human disease, particularly non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Previous jury verdicts have been split, with some finding liability and others not. Bayer, the successor to Monsanto (which developed glyphosate), settled some 125,000 cases for $10.9 million in 2020 without any acknowledgment of wrongdoing or toxicity. The recent California case of Dennis v. Monsanto Company may be a game-changer, awarding plaintiff Mike Dennis a stunning $332 million for non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) he claims was caused by Roundup.

Verdict Condemns Monsanto

The verdict is huge because, after reviewing the evidence, the jury determined that Monsanto had breached its obligations to consumers, awarding $325 million in punitive charges on top of $7 million in compensatory damages. This indicated the jury found wrongdoing on a larger scale than mere neglect or understandable error and believed Monsanto had deliberately obscured the risks to the public.

The Jury Verdict form signed Oct. 31 suggested that Monsanto knew or should have known Roundup can cause NHL when used as expected; that the company failed to adequately warn of the dangers; that scientific and medical knowledge generally accepts that Roundup risks causing NHL; and that lack of warnings was a substantial factor causing the plaintiff’s illness.

The economic stakes are astronomical: The use of glyphosate in Roundup for GMO crops has created a multibillion-dollar industry in agriculture and chemical production. If glyphosate is not dangerous, the risks to efficient agriculture and corporate profits of banning it are economically devastating. On the other hand, if glyphosate is indeed carcinogenic, the damage already done to the ecosystem and soils may be unfathomable and irreversible.

The EPA Supports Glyphosate

Glyphosate has been controversial for decades. In March 2015, the International Agency on Research on Cancer (IARC) categorized the chemical as a “probable human carcinogen” based on evidence of cancer in humans and animal experiments, concluding there was “strong evidence” of genotoxicity.

American regulatory agencies, though quick to embrace International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conclusions about carbon dioxide and anthropomorphic climate change, have balked at such denigrations of what seems to be America’s favorite corporate product. Despite the IARC’s determination and tens of thousands of lawsuits by people alleging harms from glyphosate, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains that people can keep safely ingesting it:

“Glyphosate products used according to label directions do not result in risks to children or adults … The Agency concluded that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans … EPA does not agree with IARC’s conclusion that glyphosate is ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ … Due to its widespread use, trace amounts of glyphosate residues may be found in various fresh fruits, vegetables, cereals, and other food and beverage commodities. However, these trace amounts are not of concern for the consumer.”

On June 17, 2022, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit “vacated the human health portion of the glyphosate ID.” EPA stated that it is creating a new standard that will still approve glyphosate:

“The ID included interim risk mitigation measures in the form of label changes, including labeling to manage spray drift and herbicide resistance. It concluded that the benefits of glyphosate outweigh the potential ecological risks when glyphosate is used in accordance with the labels … EPA’s underlying scientific findings regarding glyphosate, including its finding that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans, remain the same. In accordance with the court’s decision, the Agency intends to revisit and better explain its evaluation of the carcinogenic potential of glyphosate and to consider whether to do so for other aspects of its human health analysis.”

FDA Roundup Testing

Criticized for not testing foods for the chemical, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began doing so in 2016. That agency found glyphosate residues in 59% of corn and soybean samples, below what the EPA set as acceptable levels of exposure. With the herbicide now prevalent in ever more US crops, the Dennis lawsuit once again has people wondering if they’re being exposed to a deadly chemical and, if so, why America’s regulatory agencies don’t seem to care.

Bayer strongly challenged the Dennis verdict, claiming reversible error by the court. That same court just issued a permanent injunction banning California from requiring glyphosate products to be labeled with consumer warnings. As the Dennis appeal makes its way through California’s legal system, glyphosate will still be widely sprayed on American soils and crops as both a desiccant and a chemical adjunct to “Roundup Ready” GMOs. As to whether this is good or evil, the jury is still out.

 

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

The post High Stakes Dispute Over Roundup Weed Killer appeared first on Granite Grok.

In just a few short years, Canada has gone from a nation of people stereotyped as nice and polite to a nationwide concentration camp culture looking for new excuses to end lives. Medically assisted dying (MAiD), meant to help the terminally ill in chronic pain, has set its eyes on children with vaccine injuries and even babies.

The not-so-great White North passed Government managed death a few years ago (2021) and has since proposed offering it to the sick, the poor, the homeless, and those with mental illness. Last year, we reported on a coloring book meant to normalize the idea of assisted suicide in what appears to have been a marketing campaign aimed at the idea of parents legally killing their children.

Remember, Canada has socialized health care. It can not only refuse treatment to the living. It can badger them (through counseling) to consider medically assisted dying – not out of an abundance of empathy, but as a matter of good accounting. Adding anyone of any age who might cost the system more money, especially a child with a lifelong ailment, is easily reframed as just looking out for the taxpayers.

Slippery Meet Slope.

The value of human life is reduced to a budget line item on a police-state ledger, where (if not now, then soon) the Government that controls health care and decides who has a right to defend themselves and can freeze your bank account or can incarcerate you at will, explains how it is in everyone’s best interest to end a life, perhaps even your own.

Mafia Government. Absolute tyranny.

And now an official association of doctors in medically socialist Canada is publicly justifying MAiD for children and infants.

 

The Quebec College of Physicians defends its support for the practice by claiming that some babies are suffering from “unbearable pain” that only assisted suicide can quell.

What is unclear from all the support, though, is how custodial situations work in which a child is handled by two different parents who may not both be in agreement that a child’s “pain” warrants assisted suicide.

Adults, the college says, can decide for these babes, this acting as a “safeguard” between the child and attending “physicians” who are ready and waiting to kill babies for profit.

 

This could also be Canada’s answer to child abuse. Troublesome brat or medically demanding child. Euthanasia MAiD to order. Either the parents or the state as ward and caregiver can scribble up a diagnosis, approve the treatment, kill the child, harvest its organs, and look at all the good it’s done. Feel free to be horrified, but that is the direction of the culture in Canada.

Experts, who – coincidentally – are all depopulation progressives in some form – are reportedly recommending assisted suicide to relieve chronic illness or pain from vaccine injuries caused by an unnecessary government-mandated COVID-19 injection.

Are you with me yet?

I’ve been mapping out this Gestapo-like scheme for several years, and here it is, in our faces. Not some tiny progressive European country whose people are descended from generations of serfs, but Canada. Tenuous colonial ties to the British Monarchy aside, both Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia are illegal, and for good reason. Normalizing government-encouraged suicide is leading to standardizing government-encouraged euthanasia. Sure, it’s for children, but then once upon a time, Medically Assisted dying was for the terminally ill in chronic pain, and today, it is for homeless vets and people struggling economically (often) as a result of government policy. Heck, in some of these countries, you can ask to have the state help kill you if you’ve been sad for a while.

And sure, it’s Canada, not our country. I won’t travel there in case they decide that Americans should be euthanized, too. Still, places like Oregon and Vermont – my New England next-door neighbor – are on the same slippery slope (with Oregon much further down but Vermont eager to catch up) because that’s what depopulation progressives do.

The compassion argument appeals, but it is merely a foot in the door, as human nature and the history of assisted suicide attest. Governments concerned with population control are ideological descendants of social and cultural engineers who, one hundred years ago, inspired Hitler. Could he even have imagined a government that could, in the light of day, counsel undesirable segments of its population to line up to die? To convince them?

And what would stop anyone like that from using it under the cover of darkness to eliminate political opponents who wanted to live?

 

The post Slippery Meet Slope: Doctor Suggests Medically Assisted Dying for Children and Babies appeared first on Granite Grok.

The nations of the world are pursuing an unprecedented energy transition. Efforts are underway to force a shift from coal, oil, and natural gas to renewable energy sources by 2050. However key elements of the proposed transition suffer from major safety issues, specifically batteries for electric vehicles and electricity storage and hydrogen fuels for industry.

Most energy sources involve safety risks. Gasoline cars can explode or burn, especially after collisions. Natural gas pipelines and processing facilities have been known to explode or combust. Nuclear power plants have caused famous disasters like Three Mile Island, Chornobyl, and Fukushima, when cooling systems have failed. But green energy is bringing a new dimension of safety problems to society.

A transition from gasoline and diesel vehicles to electric models is a major part of the green energy revolution. President Joe Biden, other political leaders, and the International Energy Agency call for electric vehicles (EVs) to completely replace internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2050. EVs with high-capacity batteries are a new technology that is rapidly gaining market acceptance. Automakers compete to increase EV range by introducing larger and more powerful batteries.

But battery fires may threaten the EV revolution.

Lithium batteries in cell phones and other portable electronic devices are banned from commercial airline baggage compartments because of fire risk. Batteries in electric cars contain graphite, metals, and other materials bathed in flammable electrolytes with thousands of times more energy than your cell phone battery.

Electric cars spontaneously combust. Earlier this year, a father from Elk Grove, Illinois, was about to pull onto Highway 99 when he felt his Tesla start shaking. He pulled to the side of the road and exited his car just before it burst into flames. He was unable to save the child car seats from the back of the car and was glad that his children were at home.

This summer, a Florida car owner had her vehicle in for servicing and was given a Mercedes EV as a loaner. The loaner was parked in her garage and not charging when it burst into flames. The flames and smoke caused heavy damage to her home.

BMW, Ford, GM, Hyundai, and Tesla electric cars have all experienced problems with battery fires. In the most visible case, GM recalled all 141,000 Chevrolet Bolts produced between 2016 and 2021. In August, electric truck maker Nikola announced a recall of all 209 of its heavy electric trucks because of battery fires.

In total, the rate of EV fires does not exceed the fire rate for ICE vehicles. But EVs can ignite unexpectedly when charging overnight in the garage or even when just parked in the driveway, locations where gasoline-powered cars typically don’t catch fire.

Battery fires are very hard to extinguish. They can burn for hours while fire departments douse them with water and even re-ignite after the fire appears to be out. Some fire departments have resorted to lifting the flaming EV and dropping it into a huge tank of water to extinguish the flames.

Grid-scale batteries are being deployed by utilities in Australia, the U.S., and other nations. These are huge batteries that provide electricity storage to back up wind and solar facilities. When wind and solar systems generate excess electricity, it can be stored in batteries and released when the wind is not blowing or the sun is not shining. But grid-scale batteries also have issues with self-ignition.

Today, grid-scale batteries store only about one-millionth of the electricity that the world uses annually, but many of the few batteries that have been deployed already have suffered major fires. Batteries have burst into flames in Arizona, California, New York, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Grid-scale battery fires result from thermal runaway caused by mechanical damage, poor air conditioning, or overcharging.

What is the current leading cause of accidental fires in New York City? The answer isn’t cooking or smoking. It’s fires caused by e-bike lithium batteries. Batteries on e-bikes spontaneously burst into flames when charging or just sitting idle. After ignition, the batteries burn with high heat and set fire to storage areas or whole buildings, sometimes killing or injuring residents.

According to the New York City Fire Department, e-bike fires jumped from 44 in 2020 to more than 200 this year. The fires caused 10 deaths and over 200 injuries in the city during the past two years.

Green hydrogen, produced from electrolysis of water, is also proposed as a new fuel for the energy transition. Leaders call for a hydrogen economy to reduce emissions and fight global warming. Hydrogen is touted as a transportation fuel and a replacement for natural gas and coal in heavy industry. More than $280 billion in subsidies have been committed globally to develop green hydrogen.

But hydrogen exists in nature only in compounds. Pure hydrogen is very reactive and takes only a low level of energy in the presence of oxygen to burst into flames. The world’s rush to deploy hydrogen fuel may become a major safety hazard.

In 1937, the airship Hindenburg exploded in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The explosion ended 35 years of efforts to deploy hydrogen airships. More than two dozen airships exploded from 1908 to 1937 from accidental hydrogen fires, killing hundreds of passengers and crew. The world decided hydrogen airships were too hazardous to continue their use.

But green energy advocates now call for a network of hydrogen pipelines, public hydrogen fueling stations for vehicles, and even the use of hydrogen to heat homes. These systems will need to compress hydrogen to 700 atmospheres of pressure, making leaks probable. And unlike natural gas, hydrogen leaks are prone to spontaneous combustion and resultant explosions and fires.

Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced $1 billion in grants for electric school buses. But the number of electric bus fires around the world is growing. God forbid we start seeing spontaneous fires in electric buses full of children.

It’s clear that world leaders are ignoring the growing safety problems of green energy. But these fears are being pushed aside in favor of Climatism, the fear of human-caused global warming.

Steve Goreham is a speaker on energy, the environment, and public policy and the author of the new bestselling book Green Breakdown: The Coming Renewable Energy Failure.

Steve Goreham | 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.

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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