GraniteGrok

Starting Saturday morning at 9 am!

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As usual, this week's broadcast version of GraniteGrok and AnkleBitingPundits brings an array of items and guests for your consideration-- ALL STARTING AT 9AM! As always, thanks to the technical wizardry and analytical skills of Skip, if you are beyond the broadcast area of Newstalk 1490 WEMJ, simply click here for instructions on how to connect and listen on the Internet via livestream. (Podcasts here)

Yet another "G.A.B. session" where we focus big bright lights on Governments Acting Badly! As usual, we'll talk local, county, state, and national. No matter where you look, it's all pretty much the same-- only the names change...

• The Hippo Press trashed both GraniteGrok and the anti tax pledge in their latest issue with a stunningly one-sided look at NH's system of government funding via the property tax. This just joins a long list of favorable press Mr. Henle and the Granite State Fair Tax Coalition has received as they set out to demagogue our present arrangement. We maintain it the SPENDING, not HOW we're taxed. Click here, here, here, here, and here for prior posts on this subject. We'll defend our point of view and remind listeners that Mr. Henle has turned us down in the past to join us for a little debate. With loving press coverage like he got in the Hippo, why should he?

• One of our local papers, the Citizen, has written a rather scathing op-ed about our recent call for the Chair of the Belknap County Commissioners to resign following the ongoing fiasco that is county government. It is just as I predicted: despite the fact that the County Finance Director/Administrator has been fired and the AG is investigating, Tom and I, thanks to our persistant use of the Right to Know laws and careful study of the budget process, are looked upon with a higher degree of scorn by the powers that be and their protectors. 

• With Manchester Mayor Giunta dropped out of the race for governor, what is the state of the GOP here in NH? Could help be on the way from Team McCain?

• Do we or do we not face a bad economy? Are the stories od woe and despair amplified simply because a Republican occupies the White House? Skip had an interesting post with a comparison chart including the Clinton era.

• We'll talk with Michael Van Winkle (no relation to Rip), spokesman for the Sam Adams Alliance. We'll get the lowdown on the Alliance and what it's all about. What is Samsphere? Why bloggers? What are some successes and failures? We'll find out about other projects like Ballotpedia and the Sunshine Review. What has caused this reaching out-- the left? Oh, and what are the Sammy Awards?

• Our buddy John Hawkins of RightWingNews & the Conservative Grapevine conducted another of his surveys, this time asking "right of center" bloggers who they most and least like among possible VP choices for Senator McCain. Mitt Romney and Michael Steele (both of whom I had in my top 5 submissions)  topped the list of favorites. We'll talk "veepstakes" and see who else made the list, and who was among the least desired. Howard Dean raised the specter of McCain's age this week. We'll see if we agree with the need for concern, and whether this amplifies the importance of the veep pick. Ever hear of Michael Whitney? He's one very confused liberal that can't figure out who America's real enemies are. If only more of this were to make its way into the mainstream so the folks could get a clear picture as to what these loons are all about. Oh, and we'll undoubtedly find out if John agrees with Barack Obama's take on small town Americans, being from North Carolina and all. Does John use guns and religion "as a way to express his frustration?" John's latest Townhall.com column includes 20 questions for Barack Obama. Time permitting, we'll go through a couple.