GraniteGrok

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."

-President Barack Obama, inauguration 1/20/09

Dope of the Week - Bureau of Engraving and Printing

OK, someone clue me in here:

• We as taxpayers supply the money
• Government purchase some printers
• Government employees use the printers
• Government wants them back
• We as taxpayers have to ante up MORE money to bribe the Government employees to return the printers that the Government owns in the first place?
  

Fox News has the story:

Maybe when you print money all day, it becomes easier to spend.

A Republican congressman is taking a hard look at a program in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing that would give hundreds of senior employees $75 gift cards in exchange for their printers, which the government already owns.

"It's absurd and demeaning that managers would offer employees gift cards for the simple act of returning office property," Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, said in a written statement Tuesday.

Issa wants to know why the bureau is not asking employees to return the printers for free and has written a letter to Director Larry Felix demanding an explanation.

"I'm going to need your assistance in helping me understand why your agency needs to spend in excess of $40,000 to recover its own property," he wrote.

The Washington Post reported that the bureau created the incentive program because it wanted to cut down on printer use to save money.

The article said at least 534 employees have individual printers. The gift cards were offered as a way to induce those who might otherwise be possessive about the printers to give them up and use a network printer.

But Issa questioned the logic in that.

"If collecting printers will save taxpayers money, the government shouldn't have to bribe federal employees to do it," he said.

Bureau spokeswoman Claudia Dickens told FoxNews.com that the bureau would respond to Issa but offered no explanation for the incentive program.

"We are researching it and preparing a response," she said. "I can't say anything about it at this point."

One result of having a smaller government (with smaller departments) is that it is harder for stupidity and callousness toward taxpayer money to remain hidden - the psychology of allowing such becomes much harder as there are fewer "corners to hide in".  Remember, as Liberals insist that Government must grow to provide more and do more "stuff", it automatically creates more "dark corners".  No, this is not limited to just Government, but it seems that the word "accountability" only gets applied when something like this arises - and generally, the word that then becomes used is "scapegoat"

I can formulate a response in 30 seconds: 

Because it isn't our money, we can be stupid.  We got caught red-handed being stupid, so anything we do say will be held against.So, we're not saying anything.

Sure, President Obama - your Government works REAL well....real well....

Posted by Skip at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, it is time to haul out the Dope of the Week award and dust off the dust - to an Arizona based Nanny Stater.  Yup, one more politician that Knows Better Than The Rest Of Us How To Help The Poor; the story from Phoenix that the City Council decided that they would no longer allow:

churches to feed the destitute

via zoning laws (just in time for Thanksgiving!).  The 'Grok has often wailed against the "professionalization of charity" that is running rampant in today's society.  What this shows is yet another incremental step of ungraciously telling traditional charitable organizations to "butt out".

Free meals for the hungry?  Not by this church in that town!  The hungry thank you, Sal!

(H/T: Reason.TV via Hot Air)

Posted by Skip at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Man, talk about getting a politician to screw himself into the ground. "I'm NOT going to raise taxes. I'm just going to collect more money to pay for stuff. Everything's on the table. Except taxes. The new ones. That I'm not gonna raise. For anything. Except transportation. Never, I say! Got that?"

Hmmm. You think maybe we could get our own Governor Lynch to answer some tough questions about taxes like we see in this video of Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds? And who is that persistant gal sporting the laptop? Is she a blogger?

Ouch!  How could we NOT hand GraniteGrok's coveted Dope of the Week Award to this man? Too bad we can't catch more of his big-government comrades (in BOTH parties) on camera like this.

Perhaps Deeds should have consulted with NH's elusive cast of slippery characters like Hodes, Shea Porter, Shaheen, Lynch, and the rest for lessons on how NOT to get caught in this situation. Or, maybe, New Hampshire needs new media?

[H/T Pat Ruffini & Taegen Goddard's Political Wire]

Posted by Doug at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Just saw this over at Bruce's place (No Looking Backwards):

Give Us This Day Our Daily Nanny State Asshat

Today's featured Nanny State Asshat is Dover, Massachusetts Police Chief Joseph G. Griffin, author of this craptastic idea.

Boston Globe: Dover to pull plug on drinking ban idea

On the agenda today at Dover's town meeting is a proposal to ban drinking on private property that is in view of a school, playground, or park. Under the measure, Dover Police could confiscate alcohol, issue a $200 fine, and arrest drinkers who defy the law.

After opposition from residents worried that Big Brother was stomping into their yards, town selectmen now plan to withdraw the proposal, rather than have it debated at the meeting.

"The way it was worded may have given some people the idea we would have been going out riding around, saying, 'Hey! There's a guy with a beer in his pocket! Tackle him!' " said Dover Police Chief Joseph G. Griffin.

Yeah, it's not like the chief was suggesting these individuals be violently assaulted. He merely wanted to seize their property without due process, fine them a couple hundred bucks and give them permanent criminal records for having engaged in lawful behavior on their own property.

What's not to love?

Thought - any thought by the Chief as to "land, home, free, brave"?  On private property?  Somebody exile him to a Libertarian re-education camp, PLEASE!  Not that I'm against Libertarians - its more a case that they WOULD be able to teach this "defender of laws" some of what the underpinnings of the laws are here in the US. 

I'm with Bruce...

Posted by Skip at 6:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I got this from our friends at the CNHT. I used to think that George Roberts of Gilmanton was the worst Town moderator ever (He botched up the ballots at a vote so bad one year-- the year that the Town of Gilmanton appeared to have passed SB2-- that the vote total could never be determined, and instead, SB2 lost by default) until I watched these three videos. This guy in Atkinson really takes the cake.

And shame on all those drones in the room who supported this guy as he sought to prevent a citizen from taking his picture during the meeting. It's people like that that have allowed tyrants and despots to rule with reckless abandon throughout history. How could those people agree with the notion that an elected official-- during an OFFICIAL meeting-- can prevent a citizen from snapping a picture, all the while allowing the news media to do so?

Can you believe this guy? How do you suppose he intended to deal with the pictures in the man's camera? You can almost see the Brownshirts if you squint your eyes. And to throw a citizen of a town out of the Annual Meeting for taking a picture of the Moderator-- with public access video cameras rolling and newsmedia cameras clicking, well, the Sadam Husseins and the Adolf Hitlers of the world would be proud. Can you believe that such an action could take place here in New Hampshire? It just goes to show that one must be ever vigilant in defense of liberty and freedom, as there are those who threaten them at ALL levels of governments- big, AND small.

Posted by Doug at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Boss gets 7 pages

In addition to being featured in Andrea Peyser's new book, Celebutards, when one looks up the word "dope" in the dictionary lately, most likely a person would expect to see an accompanying picture of Bruce Springsteen (inexplicably nicknamed "the Boss"). After diving completely in the tank for the Magic Obama and his socialism-- sure to be funded by the ordinary folks he claims to care so much about --sure to upset a sizeable chunk of his Boomer fan base-- he now proceeds to attack an American institution serving those same millions all across the USA. Indeed, the aging pop star, starting to look more like some silly looking gramps trying to relive his teenage years with body piercings and the "doo" (click the Yahoo!News link below), has been caught red-handed in both a case of rank hypocrisy, and biting the hand that feeds in a near perfect storm of stupidity. From Yahoo! News, via Drudge:

The Boss is owning up to a mistake. In an interview with Sunday's New York Times, Bruce Springsteen says he shouldn't have made a deal with Wal-Mart. This month, the store started exclusively selling a Springsteen greatest hits CD.

Some fans were critical because Springsteen has been a longtime supporter of worker's rights, and Wal-Mart has faced criticism for its labor practices.

Springsteen told the Times that his team didn't vet the issue as closely as he should have, and that he "dropped the ball on it."

Springsteen went on to say: "It was a mistake.

Hmmm. I wonder how many millions he's made off this deal before one of his fans (actually believing that Springsteen thinks the crap he routinely foists on his fans actually applies to HIM) caught him red handed partaking of the very success (of Wal Mart) against which he rails.

Yeah, I used to actually enjoy this man's gift and talent as a musician, but he lost me a long while ago. As a friend recently said in an email, "I can't run to the radio fast enough to change it when this America-hating jerk comes on!" Yep...

[UPDATE] Oh, and if I was Wal-Mart, I'd tell him to clear his stinkin' CDs off my shelves. Pronto. I'll bet that'd put a dent in the Boss's racket. (Actually, I'd probably tell him where to stick them if I really WAS Wal-Mart). Bruce Springsteen, man of many millions, thy name IS hypocrisy!

Posted by Doug at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, we know that we live in a target rich environment and we really should be handing this trophy out more often.  We had a really good candidate in NH Rep. John Reagan (R- Deerfield) but these folks take the cake!

There is no doubt that many folks were very supportive when Gov. Sarah Palin was introduced as the Veep nominee - many were ecstatic!  Out of that, TeamSarah.org was born to act as a rallying point.

Well, we've got some negative news (seemingly performed right out of Rules for Radicals by William Ayers - Barack's buddy) from a friend , Bill Collier, who assists over at TeamSarah (and also posted over at RedState).  Thus, we collectively award these Democrat Dim-wits the Dope of the Week:

TeamSarah.org, an online community of over 63,000 who admire Sarah Palin and all she stands for, currently is experiencing an attempt at framing the whole community as guilty of unsavory racist behavior.  This apparently is part of an overall attempt by the the worst elements of the progressive faction, conduct for which all liberals should be ashamed to be associated, even indirectly.

This was started, for example at DemocracyUnderground (which brags that it intends to turn the word conservative “radioactive”) — well before that unfair and arguably defamatory piece was published in The Huffington Post, an extremist liberal website that evidently does not police its own content for accuracy.  It is shocking that the HuffPo dropped any pretense of journalistic standards — like, for instance, simply calling TeamSarah and its proprietor, the Susan B. Anthony List, for a balanced picture, before running a recent attack on TeamSarah.

Thanks go out to Kelley S who serves TeamSarah brilliantly as a guardian, going out on patrol, looking for invaders who are attempting to frame and defame the community.

Thanks to Kelly, we now have screen shots, ID’s, and IP’s of a number of individuals who have planned an effort, and attempted to implement it, to act as agent provocateurs and discredit Team Sarah by planting racist and other unsavory material as if they were members.

Today, January 2, people have seen weird posts from individuals who seemed overwhelmingly racist, bigoted, and in general unsavory sorts posing as Palin, and traditionalist values, supporters.

As you well know, the Huffington Post alleged that Team Sarah was racist, bigoted, and hateful.  Not so!  TeamSarah strives  to live up to the high standards of decency and humanity exemplified by Gov. Palin. And we do a good job of it.  We moderate posts, guide members, and work intently to keep the standards of the site high.  The most unsavory leftist elements are doing something weirdly similar, in cyberspace, to the arson committed against Gov. Palin’s church in Wasilla, Alaska.  And trying to set us up to take the blame for their vile actions.

We now have the evidence of what we suspected all along: the liberal extremists have been creating “sock puppets,” fake people whose sole mission is to come to TeamSarah, post horrible things, and then make copies of these posts to “prove” that we are bigots and cretins.  It is the equivalent of framing the innocent, it is pure dirty tricks.  And it is vile.  We call upon all principled Liberals to condemns these actions.  This is not the first time this has happened.  We have also documented “dirty tricks” from DemocracyUnderground.com http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7495801&mesg_id=7498189 and from YAforObama.com
http://yaforobama.ning.com/profiles/blogs/trolling-team-sarah-reposted.

We will not REACT and let these attacks cause us to mistrust one another or become distracted. TeamSarah is standing by our very high community standards.  We can only call upon sites like SomethingAwful.com, Huffingpost.com, YAforObama.com, and DemocracyUnderground.com to behave with similar decency.

Continue reading "Liberal Sock Puppets invading TeamSarah!" »

Posted by Skip at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

We haven't done this for a while; the Dope of the Week trophy has been laying around for a while gathering dust (real easy with the wood stove going all the time with temperatures in the single digits here in central NH - nothin' but dust-creator, that).  But, we've taken it off the shelf and spiffed it up real purty like, cause this winner is a real loser!  From our friend, Maggie, from Thurber's Thoughts, we present someone who cannot wait for the censorship to begin again via the Fairness Doctrine:

Mayor Finkbeiner demonstrates his ignorance - again

In defending himself against the planned recall effort launched by a group of business people (Take Back Toledo), Mayor Carty Finkbeiner made the following claim, as reported by our daily paper:

"Mr. Finkbeiner accused WSPD-AM, 1370, of violating the Fairness Doctrine in not allowing him to respond to what he said were "vicious, one-sided diatribes" over the last three years, and said he would ask Congress to investigate WSPD."

Poor guy.  First he makes a fool of himself by kicking the Marines out of Toledo and now this (plus a whole bunch of other stuff), he has made a laughingstock of himself and is dragging Toledo with him.

Apparently, our mayor doesn't know that the Fairness Doctrine was repealed and is no longer in effect, even though some of his fellow Democrats want to bring it back - maybe for reasons just like this.

As for the rest of the mayor's comments, he takes the usual personal swipes at the individuals involved with Take Back Toledo, saying the named individuals are only interested in power and wealth, though this would be characterized by some as the pot calling the kettle black...

If you can't quite remember, the Fairness Doctrine used to rule the radio waves; instead of leveling the field for opposing sides, it served to silence both.  Democrats hate the idea that Ronald Reagan took it out of service and it allowed conservatives, faced with liberal print and TV media, a place to gather.  Finkbeiner shows how bad that doctrine could be to take away the right to hear the arguments.

And for those Liberals that don't like this saying that conservatives have taken over the airwaves, my message is this: find a station, raise the money, and purchase the airtime just like the rest of us.  Otherwise, stop complaining.

Posted by Skip at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dope of the Week - a tad late.

Leslie Carbone is a good writer that blogs at, amazingly enough, LeslieCarbone.com  She attained what a lot of bloggers desire - access to the White House (jealous?  a bit, to be honest) for bloggers calls.

However, I think she became the victim of what has happened to us once in a while - politicians not really knowing what to make of bloggers.  Sure, if a Lefty blogger gets invited to one of these and asks "inappropriate" questions or blogs inartfully (ok, a rant) - so what: they are acting as expected.  That said, let a conservative Republican blogger do the same, they are sometimes treated worse because "hey, I thought you were on our side!" and get rather upset.

As Erick Erickson of RedState has said, many politicians on the Right don't understand bloggers - are they supporters (maybe)?  Are they campaign workers, supposed to toe the line (sometimes, but then the blogging should be secondary)?  Or are they journalists?  Erick's answer is none of the above: think of bloggers similar to a Pastor - they have a "flock" of readers that they can influence.  And based on how the blogger is treated, that circle of influence will hear about it.

Well, Leslie was treated rather shabbily as far as I can see.  The problem was not that she was invited, it was how she was "disinvited":

I dialed in a little before 11:00, got the please-wait message, and listened to the butchered music. An operator came on and asked me for my identity, which I provided, and then subjected me to a few more minutes of music. Then I heard a voice saying something unintelligible, and the line was cut off. I dialed back in, explained to the operator that I'd been cut off, gave my information again, and was connected to the conference call, which was already in progress.

I listened for around 10 minutes to the doomsday talk and pleas to "work" the Republicans who voted with the Constitution yesterday.

Suddenly, the line went briefly silent, and then a voice said, as nearly as I can reconstruct it:

"We have been advised by the host that you are not allowed on this call, so I'm going to hang up your line; please do not dial in again."

Now to be honest, she had been on an earlier call and had written a non-impressive post.  And she admits to that.  But I think she is justified with "the final thought". 

Now, if the White House doesn't want me on its calls, that's its prerogative. But kicking me off after I've been invited is a lousy way to win my support, makes them look like they don't know what they're doing, and is just plain tacky. 

Indeed!

Posted by Skip at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Given that this is the weekend for fireworks (here in NH, the State has not yet gone so far as to make all fireworks illegal - adults are still recognized as such in some things), this seemed appropriate!

Thus, this nitwit earns the Dope of the Week award for just plain stupidity.  From the Near Miss category of the Darwin Awards comes this story:

(12 August 2006, Indiana) At a party somewhere between Nashville and Bloomington, a young man was drinking and watching people set off fireworks. Suddenly a great idea occurred to him. He could improve upon this amateur fireworks display! He put down his drink and set to work.

When it comes to fireworks, your brain can't be much safer than sheltered inside a football helmet. He found an old helmet, duct-taped a mortar-style firework to the top, put it on his head, and lit the fuse...

A bright flash of light nearly blinded observers. When their eyes recovered, they saw him lying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding. Astoundingly, the 21-year-old survived this party stunt with only a mild concussion and burns.

His helmet, however, was blown to pieces.

Unlike Nanny Staters, I do not believe that laws should be passed so as to prohibit this kind of behavior.  Rather, shame, ridicule, and the simple outcome of this "experiment" should be sufficient to keep others aware of consequences of stupid behavior.

Posted by Skip at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

DOPE: Secretary Peake

Our friend Sue Peterson sent the following note that left us no choice but to immediately issue GraniteGrok's coveted "Dope of the Week Award"...

Good morning everyone...I would like you to read this AP news report about Secretary James Peake -- he is against the VA Hospital in Manchester being a full service hospital and against the Veterans being allowed to go to any medical facility...seems that according to this report, well he is quoted here-- just read for yourself: 

"After touring the Manchester VA Medical Center, Peake also said he is against giving veterans cards to let them receive treatment at non-VA facilities.  "That's called Yellow-Page medicine," Peake said. "I think that potentially is dangerous, because I'm not sure the individual is necessarily the best consumer. It's hard to be an educated consumer of health care."

So, you as Veterans cannot make good decisions???  I do hope that we can continue to fight this....Secretary Peake - what is your medical coverage???   As I have said before along with so many of you....our Veterans should have the same coverage as our Senators and Congressman.  Please let me know what you think we can do - we have to do something!!!

Even if you set aside the fact that we're talking about veterans, this mindset that individuals cannot make educated decision about their own health-- that some GOVERNMENT agency can do that better-- is one that I find both offensive, and dangerous. "Yellow-Page medicine" as opposed to, what? Canadian style? Or maybe Cuban? Yikes!

Posted by Doug at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

The following letter was sent by the flag-removal lawsuit filer Claude Roessiger's lawyer to one of the veteran activists expressing displeasure over what he tried to do to Wolfeboro's public display of Old Glory. You'd think the guy would have simply crawled back under the rock from whence he came following his withdrawal of the suit. But nooooooo...

Writes the letter's recipient:

Believe it or not I got an email this morning from Roessiger's attorney trying to convice me that his client is a Patriot, and that the displaying of American Flags in Wolfeboro was a partisan display. Here is Attorney William Chapman's actual comments:

Mr. Howe-

I am the attorney who represented Claude Roessiger in the now-terminated suit against Wolfeboro. He brought suit because the town refused either (1) to remove the American flags it is permitting a resident to display on town utility poles or (2) to allow Mr. Roessiger to display his own banner on those poles containing advice from George Washington that our country should avoid foreign entanglements.

Please be assured that Mr. Roessiger is a patriotic American who believes in what our flag stands for. What he objects to is someone using the flag and town property – public property – to advance a particular political viewpoint: support of the Bush Administration invasion of, and continued troop presence in, Iraq. It is clear from minutes of the meeting at which the selectmen approved the display of flags that they both understood and agreed with the reason for displaying the flags.

Mr. Howe, who is organizing tomorrow's American Legion Flag Day motorcyle ride through Wolfeboro, replied, putting the whole thing in context:

Continue reading "Flag Flap Update: This guy just won't stop stepping in it!" »

Posted by Doug at 5:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(not Wolfeboro... just a random pic)

It's been a while, but the coveted GraniteGrok Dope of the Week Award begs to be presented once again...

As found in yesterday's Citizen newspaper:

A Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, man is suing the town over a downtown display of American flags.

The town has about 100 U.S. flags affixed to downtown utility poles as a way to show support for American troops fighting in Iraq. But Claude Roessiger claims the Bush administration's foreign policy has turned the flag into a symbol of what he calls "in-your-face, with-me-or-against-me patriotism."

In his lawsuit filed Carroll County Superior Court, Roessiger says the display is excessive, unusual and unlawful.

What do you say? What kind of person is offended when travelling through small town America lined with flags? I always found the sight uplifting. Even when Clinton and Carter were president...

[Read an update to this story by clicking here.]

[Update # 2: Lawsuit has been withdrawn!    Click here]

Posted by Doug at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (45) | TrackBacks (0)

What does one even make of the white-on-black conspiracy theories that are suddenly all the rage? First we had Barack Obama's 20-year pastor claiming AIDS and crack were perpetrated on American blacks by a government hell-bent on their desruction. Now comes the latest "mainstream" character claiming wild stories of intrigue. From The Sun (UK):

SOUL star ALICIA KEYS has bizarrely claimed the US government invented ‘gangsta rap’ to convince black people to kill each other.

Keys, 27, said the violent hip-hop style was an anti-black conspiracy. The American, who has sold 25 million albums worldwide, believes the government encouraged the 1990s murders of rappers TUPAC SHAKUR and NOTORIOUS B.I.G.

She told a magazine: “The murders were fuelled to stop a great black leader from existing.”

And I alway thought hip hop was a conspiracy perpetrated by otherwise talentless thugs to fleece money from their fellow brothers and sisters. I had no idea!

How could we not bestow GraniteGrok's prestigious "Dope of the Week" award for this one?

Posted by Doug at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This guy needs to lighten up a little-- perhaps he ought to switch to plain donuts and caffeine-free coffee...

In the age of video in the hands of ordinary people everywhere, perhaps stuff like this will become less frequent. I find the cop "dude's" statement at the end about hoping the video doesn't wind up all over the Internet a fitting end to the video-- especially when you consider it has been viewed (adding up the totals of the vid's numerous postings) over 300,000 times already. Heh!

Officer Dude is this week's winner of GraniteGrok's prestigious "Dope of the Week" award.

Posted by Doug at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yup, the coveted 'Grok Dope of the Week Award goes to a dead tree news organization - The New York Times.

In this story, NYT is basically bad-mouthing what Yahoo did in China concerning

For a company that ostensibly believes in the Internet’s liberating power, Yahoo has a gallingly backward understanding of the value of free expression .

The company helped Beijing’s state police uncover the Internet identities of two Chinese journalists, who were handed 10 years in prison for disseminating pro-democracy writings. Testifying before Congress last year about one case, Yahoo’s legal counsel said the company was unaware of the nature of the investigation. Did he miss the language about providing “state secrets to foreign entities” — a red flag for a political prosecution?

Er, NYT, how about what you've been doing lately?  Remember outing a state secret here about tracking terrorists financing with the SWIFT financial reporting system?  How about those secret renditions?  And the use of cell / sat phones?  And troop movements? And...yes, the list goes on and on.

Or was it just because Yahoo's target were journalists - you know, like your Jason Blair (a "fair haired rising star" who rose to that title because he made up the stories you printed?)

That shows how much they care about the power of information to liberate the world.

Free expression is a right.  What the NYT seems to forget is that is also has a responsibility. It has shown how little they care about those that try to keep us safe....and how little it cares about the rest of us in the country. 

Dopes 

(H/T: Slashdot) 

Posted by Skip at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

......

Executive Councilor Raymond Burton, R-Bath, who heads a committee charged with developing the plan, said unless the gas tax is raised, the state will continue to struggle to keep up with highway needs.

Continue reading "At least he's consistent. Dope of the Week Award..." »

Posted by Doug at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

When it comes to helping parents take time off from work, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards is raising the stakes.

.

The former North Carolina senator on Tuesday will propose spending $2 billion a year to help states create family leave programs that offer workers at least eight weeks of paid time off to care for a newborn or ill family member. The proposal is similar to those offered by his rivals but Edwards would put up more money — Sen. Hillary Clinton's plan calls for $1 billion a year; Sen. Barack Obama proposes $1.5 billion.

Continue reading "Dope of the Week: John Edwards (again)" »

Posted by Doug at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

LC: I reached down with my right hand like this to pick up a piece of paper.

.

DK: Was your gold ring on your right hand at anytime today.

.

LC: Of course not, try to get it off, look at it.

.

DK: Okay. Then it was your left hand, I saw it with my own eyes.

.

LC: All right, you saw something that didn't happen.

DK: Embarrassing, embarrassing. No wonder why we're going down the tubes. Anything to add?

NN Uh, no

.

DK: Embarrassing. Date is 6/11/07 at 1236 interview is done.

.

LC: Okay

.

Posted by Doug at 12:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"A convicted robbery getaway driver is in trouble for allegedly showing off weapons on MySpace.com and bragging on the social networking site about drinking and using drugs, prosecutors say."

Posted by Doug at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I live 5 miles from the center of the Town of Bradford. There's not much excitement here in this rural community especially out where I live. It's why we moved here from Bedford's hustle and bustle in 1991. We love the outdoors and the privacy we have on our 27 acres. Yep, even a river runs through it...well, it's really a brook and, unfortunately, I've never seen Brad Pitt fly fishing here although he and Angelina and the kids are welcome.

We regularly watch deer from our farmer's porch. Beautiful herron's land on our pond, and life is pretty simple and quiet most of the time. Sometimes we see bears and moose cutting through our property. Canadian geese make regular stops when migrating. Wood ducks mate and meander through the water. It's peaceful and beautiful, and we're blessed to live permanently in what many others would consider a vacation home.

Unbelievably, the peace was interrupted Monday when the little branch of Lake Sunapee Bank was robbed at knife point. Yep, it's where I bank and I know all of the tellers by name and see them out and about elsewhere in the community.

I also substitute taught at the Kearsarge Regional School District for several years and fairly regularly saw Mark Laspesa,, the alleged bank robber, sweeping and going about his custodial duties. I talked to him there a few times and he helped me move some desks. He was always pleasant to me.

I was shocked to see his picture in the paper, click here, while he was in the midst of allegedly robbing my local bank. More accurately, "armed robbery" since apparently he had a knife.

Mr. Laspesa is most definitely the Dope of the Week. Why, you ask? He wears no disguise, he banks at the branch he alledgedly robbed, he uses his own car, the tellers and many people in town know him; when the police catch him, he still has the clothing and knife used in the robbery...need I go on!

It really makes me wonder why this quiet, former custodian would do such a stupid thing. Since he made it so easy to be caught, I can't help but wonder what made him so desperate? I almost feel sorry for him, although I'm sure the very nice gals down at the bank may have been quite frightened. I'm sure I'll see them later today, when I do some banking, and hear the entire story.

Of course, it's all the town's people have talked about since then. Well, at least it takes the focus off of what they usually gossip about. You know small towns; if they don't know anything about you, they just make stuff up whether it's true or not. Our family was verbally "victimized" by many townspeople shortly after we moved here because people "heard" we were in ministry.

The rumors were unbelievable and some of them were just plain bizzare. My husband and I tend to ignore such things, but when our 6-year old son came home from school one day and told us about some of the horrible things kids were saying to him about us, my husband took action. 

Continue reading "I know that guy!" »

Posted by Judy at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yeah, we have been rather sparing in giving this award out lately.  Looking over the just the political scene, one could rightly conclude that simple sloth explains  the inactivity in this area as there have been so many deserving would-be-honorees.

So, I've off-shored the award this time - off to the UK for this one.  I give you - Prince Charles!

 
Why (this time)?  For someone who is supposed to be the Defender of the Faith (titular head of the Church of England), he seems to not be all that willing to be loyal to his own faith.  This story talks about this:

London - Muslims and Christians have far more in common than they have differences, Britain's Prince Charles said at the opening of an exhibition of Islamic art in London Thursday.

'So much attention is paid to the outward differences between faiths. Almost reflexively, this becomes translated into seemingly impenetrable divisions between people,' said Prince Charles, who has made the promotion of inter-faith understanding one of his main interests.

'People who - if they did but know it - are in fact linked by much and separated by little,' he said.

And this is the person that probably still is hoping that one day he will be King?

God save the Queen...

Posted by Skip at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Former Commission Carol Murray, who led the department for seven years, says sometimes workers' focus to get the job done means they turn a blind eye to environmental violations. Former Commissioner Leon Kenison says he remembers ordering workers to stop illegal dumping, only to be ignored.

Posted by Doug at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yeah, I decided I'm the dope of the week having contracted SSS (Sudden Stupid Syndrome) as we call it here at the 'Grok.

While I try to save, save, save things, after writing a long post electing Roy Buckley, State Democratic Party Chair for the Dope, I somehow got rushed...maybe because I'm one of those quintessential multi-tasker people?...previewed my excellent post...trust me it was...I emailed Doug to see what he thought about adding a previous picture and he so very kindly tells me I don't have a post ready for publication.

Okay, so I just have to take responsibility and, at least for today, you can call me "Dope of the Week!" But, Buckley will probably be next week if I can reconstruct my thoughts so stay tuned. 

But with that take some good advice and save, save, save! Ya'll have a great weekend and thank a veteran for their service.

BY JUDY 

Posted by Judy at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Although my ideas are in the earliest stages of development, they are, in my mind, worth investigating. "I propose a limitation be put on how many squares of toilet paper can be used in any one sitting."

Posted by Doug at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In show of sensitivity, schools chief renames Easter events

TIVERTON — The Easter Bunny was to have made a stop at a craft fair at the Tiverton Middle School tomorrow, appearing for photos with students as part of a fundraising effort sponsored by the school’s Parent-Teacher Council.

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But Schools Supt. William Rearick called a halt to the use of the word “Easter” at a school event, just as the word “Christmas” is out of bounds in school publications and activities.

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Instead of the Easter Bunny, the Parent-Teacher Council booth will offer photos with Peter Rabbit.

Similarly, Rearick said, he has told officials of the Tiverton Land Trust that a flier inviting children to an egg hunt cannot include the word “Easter.” Rearick said he planned to review the proposed wording — which a Land Trust official said does not include the word “Easter” — before deciding whether students can take the flier home. Rearick said yesterday,

“We’re trying to walk a fine line between promoting any religion” while permitting celebrations.

“I don’t like the term ‘politically correct,’ ” Rearick said, but during the last year and a half or two years, he has become “more aware of folks who don’t have a Christian background.”

Posted by Doug at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

the flip side of Ann grabbing headlines for herself is that she deliberately put the presidential contenders and the other people attending CPAC in a bad light (Left wing talking point: "See, that's what Republicans really say when they're together!") in order to draw attention to herself.

That makes her extremely selfish, especially since this is the second year in a row that she has said something particularly obnoxious and controversial at CPAC. What's on tap for next year? Will she drop the N-bomb? Will she use the C-word to describe Hillary Clinton? Whatever her plans are, after being burned twice in a row, CPAC shouldn't invite her back next year.

I really hate to do this, but for her stupid remark, there is no choice but to give Ann Coulter the GraniteGrok "Dope of the Week" award...

Even if she claims we're all using the wrong definition of the word, she still shouldn't have done it. Huh?

Continue reading "Ann Coulter's Britney Spears moment?" »

Posted by Doug at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

The Democratic-controlled House issued a symbolic rejection of President Bush's decision to deploy more troops to Iraq on Friday, opening an epic confrontation between Congress and commander in chief over an unpopular war...

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The vote on the nonbinding measure was 246-182, and within minutes, Democrats said their next move would be to challenge Bush's request for $93 billion in new funds for the Pentagon.

Posted by Doug at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Documents? Oh, THOSE documents. Never saw 'em..." »

Posted by Doug at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Doug at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

if you make the most of it... You study hard. You do your homework and you make an effort to be smart... ah... you, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.

Posted by Doug at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (3)

(H/T: Hot Air)

Let's see, the government is here to help the downtrodden and those in need.  And face it, when there's lots of money (from us taxpayers), reality has no right to intrude on a government mission, right? 

So, here's a case where a WHOLE sub-group, an entire sub-culture, is refusing to help the government help them.  These people have the audacity to tell our government that that they don't have a need nor want the help! 

Yet, there are some in our government that won't take no for an answer.  And will continue to waste our money and our government workers time to keep doing stupid things.  In this case, the person best doing the  head-constantly-pounding-the-wall for no real reason at all, our very own Dope of the Week, is:

Jeanne Carroll

Deputy Director of the Ohio's Office of Family Stability in Ohio

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has this story (Emphasis in BOLD are mine. And I have taken out some "white space" to shorten the article up):

Counties caught in conundrum: getting Amish to take food stamps

Claridon Township -- Tim Taylor's job calls for finding ways to distribute food stamps to Geauga County's Amish. He might as well be trying to sell them cars.

The horse-and-buggy crowd philosophically opposes the support program overseen by Taylor's agency, the Geauga Department of Job & Family Services. Accepting public assistance is verboten within the Amish culture. It simply is not done.

Yes, these Amish, these gentle folk that have sadly been in the news for the wrong reason (the senseless shooting of little girls an a one-room schoolhouse in PA) have drawn this lady's ire.  She just refuses to understand that their whole philosophy of life is one dedicated to the worship of God and self sufficiency is a large part of that philosophy.  Frankly, they just want to be left alone. 

Have we, as a nation, gone so far down the road that we have to insist that we cannot take care of ourselves and that we have to take their help?

But Taylor is under orders to at least try to get them enrolled. The Ohio Department of Job & Family Services has asked Geauga and Holmes counties, which feature the state's largest Amish populations, to lift dismal food-stamp participation rates.

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Taylor and his Holmes counterpart, Dan Jackson, called the mandate a waste of tax dollars, time and resources. In their eyes, the directive is government bureaucracy that ignores the obvious in setting an unrealistic goal. "No matter how much we do, the Amish won't sign up," Taylor said. "It's not something they endorse."

But the offer needs to be extended, said Jeanne Carroll, who is deputy director of the state's Office of Family Stability.

Geauga and Holmes lag far behind the rest of the state in getting eligible families registered. The state cannot presume that a group won't participate, Carroll said. Eligible families need to be made aware of the food-stamp program and given ample opportunity to join. "We can't assume they don't want the benefits," Carroll said. "Frankly, they may."

Who said anything about assuming?...

Continue reading "Hi, we're from the government and we HAVE to help you" »

Posted by Skip at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My turn.  This one is for the UK's Home Office, who just hasn't seem to made the connection:

Tackling the scourge of knife crime

Well, well - take away the guns and what do you think happened.  Sure did: 

Back in 1988, when the Conservatives were in charge, the Criminal Justice Act created an offence of carrying something with a blade or point in a public place without good reason with a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

[snip]

Meanwhile, the Violent Crime Reduction Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, aims to up the minimum age someone can buy a knife to 18.

Other pieces of legislation include the Knives Act 1997, which creates offences relating to the marketing of knives in a manner to encourage violent behaviour, or as combat weapons.

[snip]

"It is already an offence to carry a knife in public. Those found guilty face a penalty of up to two years imprisonment. Possession of an offensive weapon carries a maximum penalty of four years imprisonment. Murder would result in an automatic life sentence," she added.

Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, says a mandatory prison sentence for carrying a concealed blade is required to tackle a worsening culture of knife crime.

They just don't seem to be making a real connection - take one thing away and those that wish to do violence will not stop doing violence just because they cannot get the weapon of choice - they'll just choose another.  No gun, no problem!  Get a knife - and it seems they have.

The problem is: what's next after the knives?

Hey folks, watch out for those cricket bats!

Posted by Skip at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

has officially extended her hand, together with many believing Jews, to the Iranian President Ahmadinejad, upon his historic viisit to the United States. The respectful display of friendship brings peace, harmony, respect and trust.

It is the sincere hope of Torah true Jews, with the help of the Almighty, that this expression of peace will counter the provocations of the Zionist organizations. The motes operandi of Zionism and its organizations, is the cause of animosity and mistrust, which can only bring catastrophic results, endangering Jews and non-Jews alike, in Palestine, the U.S.A. and around the world.

Continue reading "GraniteGrok presents the Dope of the Week Award" »

Posted by Doug at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm just hearing about this now...remember the story of Rosa Parks?  Well, here we go again - what a dope!  This time, Ms. Davis (a white school bus driver in Shreveport, LA)  reportedly told some black kids that they had to sit in the back of the bus as the front was for the white kids.

The NAACP is up in arms about it, and I think rightfully so. There is no reason that this should be happening nowadays. Generally, I am skeptical about overt racism being reported for the simple reason that any attempt to do would be quickly be found out, and the person or group committing this crime had to be rather simple-minded. I guess I get a twofer in this story.

Often, I believe, that when race is brought to the forefront and used as a club, it is generally a time to turn over and go back to sleep. One such example is the alleged Duke rape case of the mostly white lacrosse players assaulting a black stripper to “dance” for them. The morality part of this aside (and I think it was wrong for this activity to happen regardless of the races involved). What seems to be coming out in the blogs and MSM is that the case appears to be so full of holes and the stories just from the alleged victim so contradictory, the charge of “race” seems to be collapsing on its face. I really do take Dr. King's words to heart that until we ALL stop seeing race, racism will continue to be there.

However, not so here in this case. If turns out to be true, I hope they throw the book at Ms. Davis. I certainly am very interested to see how the whining and dodging is going to be tried in this case (e.g., lawyers stretching or manufacturing a “reality”).

(H/T: Neal Boortz) 

Posted by Skip at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't think that Israel has any legal or moral justification for their massive bombing of the entire nation of Lebanon. What happened is that Israel is holding almost 10,000 prisoners, so when the militants in Lebanon or in Gaza take one or two soldiers, Israel looks upon this as a justification for an attack on the civilian population of Lebanon and Gaza. I do not think that's justified, no.

The fundamentalists believe they have a unique relationship with God, and that they and their ideas are God's ideas and God's premises on the particular issue. Therefore, by definition since they are speaking for God anyone who disagrees with them is inherently wrong. And the next step is: Those who disagree with them are inherently inferior, and in extreme cases -- as is the case with some fundamentalists around the world -- it makes your opponents sub-humans, so that their lives are not significant. Another thing is that a fundamentalist can't bring himself or herself to negotiate with people who disagree with them because the negotiating process itself is an indication of implied equality. And so this administration, for instance, has a policy of just refusing to talk to someone who is in strong disagreement with them -- which is also a radical departure from past history. So these are the kinds of things that cause me concern. And, of course, fundamentalists don't believe they can make mistakes, so when we permit the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, it's just impossible for a fundamentalist to admit that a mistake was made.

Posted by Doug at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Much has been written here in NH, due to the ascendancy of Gene Robinson to bishop of the NH Episcopalian church (openly gay, recently admitted to a rehap facility for alcohol abuse). As an Evangelical Baptist, I have glumly watched, sometimes in horror, as these “high” churches (for their liturgical services) have changed their doctrines to suit the times and the norms of the public culture from their original doctrines of how to worship God.

Concerned about their fracturing denomination, about 150 Central Florida Episcopalians packed the sanctuary of St. Richard's Episcopal Church on Saturday.

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"We take no position on Scripture or theology or morals," said Donna Bott, a leader of a group called Episcopal Voices of Central Florida, which sponsored the meeting. "We are just Episcopalians."

Posted by Doug at 4:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

He began by commenting on the recent heat wave. "I have to admit," said Edwards, "this is not the New Hampshire weather I remember."

In addressing a question about his lack of experience in foreign policy, Edwards said that he has been in Lebanon, only feet away from the battlegrounds. He said that is also going to China next month as well as to Africa in the fall. The senator continued by saying that while he has been criticized about his knowledge of foreign policy, he has a clear idea about what America should do in the world.

"If you really want our country to be looked up to, I think it is critical for the world to see the character of our people," said Edwards. "I don't think they do see this. We need to let the world see our character. We need them to know that we do things other than in our self-interest."

Posted by Doug at 5:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Because Inquiring Minds Want to Know..." »

Posted by Doug at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

News Advisory:

-- Former Vice Presidential Democratic Nominee, Sen. John Edwards, To Hold Special Townhall Meeting as Part of the "2006 Change Wal-Mart, Change America Tour"

-- Pittsburgh Event is Fifth Stop on a 19 State, 35 City, 35 Day Tour to Fight For a Better America

Tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 4, 12 p.m., at the Hill House, 1835 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, Sen. John Edwards will speak about his fight and vision for a better America at a town hall meeting sponsored by WakeUpWalMart.com.

The event with Sen. Edwards is the fifth stop on WakeUpWalMart.com's "2006 Change Wal-Mart, Change America Tour." The tour is an exciting and unprecedented national bus tour going to 19 states and 35 cities in 35 days with one mission -- to change Wal-Mart and change America for the better.

At the event, Sen. Edwards will sign the Better America Pledge -- a huge 8-foot-by 6-foot sign -- and pledge to support America's fight for affordable health care and good paying jobs.

As an added visual at the event, the "2006 Change Wal-Mart, Change America" National Bus will be on display. The 45-foot long, fully wrapped bus (more like an enormous sized billboard) nicknamed "Smiley," is wrapped side-to-side and front-to-back in patriotic colors, emblazoned with the American flag, and the name of the tour, "2006 Change Wal-Mart, Change America Tour." In addition, on each side of the bus, in bold letters and colors, the message of the tour will be available for all to see -- including "Join America's Fight for Health Care."

What can one say? Here we have what amounts to a smooth talking huckster offering up nothing more than the exact opposite of the market system that forms the economic foundation of America- socialism. If Mr. Edwards wants affordable healthcare and better paying jobs for people, why doesn't he just open a business and do so? This guy just reeks of phoniness.

Wal-Mart represents the latest target in the left's war on successful American businesses. The bottom line is that the labor unions don't like the fact that Wal-Mart leaves them on the outside looking in. Click here to get the real scoop on the "Wake Up Wal-Mart Campaign." See who's really behind this group that cares so much about Wal-Mart's employees (that's right- nobody forces people to work for them as slaves). Click here to read our past granitegrok "Dope of the Week" award winners.

Posted by Doug at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

"If I was president, this wouldn't have happened."

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"The president has been so absent on diplomacy when it comes to issues affecting the Middle East...We're going to have a lot of ground to make up (in 2008) because of it."

This is about American security and Bush has failed. He has made it so much worse because of his lack of reality in going into Iraq.…We have to destroy Hezbollah,"

Continue reading ""Dope of the Week" Nominee: John Kerry" »

Posted by Doug at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Although they broke the law by illegally crossing our borders... our city's economy would be a shell of itself had they not, and it would collapse if they were deported. The same holds true for the nation.

We must dig deep into the city's accounts to pay for illegal immigrants, while illegal immigrants do not pay their fair share of taxes, either to the city, the county, the state, or the country.

Posted by Doug at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)