GraniteGrok http://granitegrok.com/ gran·ite n. 1. A common... hard igneous rock... used in monuments and for building. 2. Unyielding endurance or steadfastness: a will of granite. grok: /grok/, var. /grohk/ vt. [from the novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", by Heinlein, where it means metaphorically `to be one with'] The emphatic form is `grok in fullness'. 1. To understand, usually in a global sense. Connotes intimate and exhaustive knowledge.-- The Jargon File 3.2.0 en Copyright 2010 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:30:17 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.35 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Notable Quote - Adam Smith

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

- Adam Smith

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/notable_quote_adam_smith.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/notable_quote_adam_smith.html Notable Quotes Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:30:17 -0500 "DO YOUR JOB!" As you can see, the 'Grok is running a banner ad "Make Sure Your Voice Is Heard".  There is no more divisive issue in the country today than healthcare.  No, it is not that people do not receive the healthcare - the law already stands that if they go to a hospital, they will be treated.  What all the howhaw is what is the payment process?  The Statist / Progressives complain that we all have to pay for the uninsured's visits to the hospital, thus we NEED this huge honkin' bill to pay for it?

Let me boil it down: so you Progressives want us to still pay for the uninsured AND pay for the thousands more for all of the bureaucracies that this bill will entail - mostly sight unread?

AND it looks like MY Chuckleheaded CongressCritters Carol Shea-Porter, Paul Hodes (the Senator-wanna-be), and Jeanne Shaheen are going to go along with the plan to say that the US House of Representatives, via the Slaughter Solution, is going to pass a rule that says that they voted on the Senate bill....when they haven't?  "Bend the Price Curve" - that's all I've been hearing - all that's going to happen is that they are going to "Bend the Constitution" and not do their jobs!

When it all comes down to it, it still is the same case that I spoke about last April 15th at the Manchester TEA Party event:

THEY WON'T READ THE BILL!

And now, if you really want to simplify and boil it down to the essence of the day, Pelosi (Carol Shea-Porter's BFF) isn't getting the message either:

THEY REFUSE TO VOTE ON THE BILL!

A year later, they still haven't!  The problem is, most of us have.  And here in NH, we ain't liking it all that much.  A year has passed - and Carol Shea-Porter, Paul Hodes, and Jeanne Shaheen (Democrats all from NH) still aren't listening or reading - or voting:

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/do_your_job.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/do_your_job.html Healthcare Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:53:20 -0500 Muslims’ Sheep Mentality
Diffusing the present dangerous confrontation between Islam and the West demands rational, impartial and cool heads to untangle facts from myth, understand the Muslims’ mindset, and redress any grievances on either side.

The word Islam literally means "submission to the will of Allah."  In that regard, a true Muslim has no choice but to do as the Quran dictates. They are told what to eat, what to drink and what to avoid eating or drinking. In other words, a true Muslim must live like a sheep his entire life.  Muslims are only permitted by Islam to eat the food offered them by their book; in other words, the food outside of the book is forbidden.
  • [5:1] O you who believe, you shall fulfill your covenants. Permitted for you to eat are the livestock, except those specifically prohibited herein. You shall not permit hunting throughout Hajj pilgrimage. Allah decrees whatever He wills.
  • [5:10] As for those who disbelieve and reject our revelations, they are the dwellers of Hell.
A Muslim is, first and foremost, an Ummahist—a citizen of international Islam. It does not matter in what country they live or have become a citizen. First and foremost, they are Muslims. In other words, the law of the land means nothing to them, only the words of their holy book. So, when a Muslim takes the Pledge of Allegiance to serve in the United State military, he is either ignorant of the implication of his pledge or is lying willfully. What Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan did when he killed 13 (plus an unborn child) people at Fort Hood, Texas, and hurt 30 others, did not feel any remorse; he only did what was asked of him by his holy book. Like many Muslims, He had ben programmed from the moment he was born. What is very scary is that we have other Maj. Hasans in our military establishment and also within the civilian community that can snap at any time.  

Ignorance of the law is never a valid reason in a court of law, and lying in the process of applying for a federal job is grounds for denying the application and possibly even more severe consequences. Sadly enough, taqqeyh—lying, or dissimulation—is not only condoned, it is recommended to the Muslims in their scripture. Hence, a Muslim can and would lie without any compunctions, whenever it is expedient. 
  • [5:77] Say, "O people of the scripture, do not transgress the limits of your religion beyond the truth, and do not follow the opinions of people who have gone astray, and have misled multitudes of people; they are far astray from the right path."
  • [5:78] Condemned are those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel, by the tongue of David and Jesus, the son of Mary. This is because they disobeyed and transgressed.
The Muslim’s mind is imprinted with authoritarianism which starts with the supreme authority, Allah, through his one and only prophet, Muhammad, his Caliphs or Imams, and the high-ranking religious divines all the way down to the village clergy. A dangerous feature of the authoritarian personality is the relative lack of independent thinking. This deficiency makes the person highly amenable to manipulation. Islam, by its rigidly authoritarian make up, robs a Muslim of independent thinking to the extent that the believer blindly adopts it as his infallible system of belief. Hence, the religion of Islam is guilty of conditioning masses of people as easily manipulatable instruments in the hands of authority figures.

To Muslims,...]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/muslims_sheep_mentality.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/muslims_sheep_mentality.html War w/ Islamofascists Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:30:19 -0500 “The Roll-Out of the Marc Tucker/Obama/Arne Plan” Guest post by Donna Garner

Here comes the roll-out of the cradle-to-the-workplace plan that was begun by the National Center for Education and the Economy (NCEE), Marc Tucker, and Hillary Clinton in the 1980’s and now is extended even further by Obama and Arne Duncan.

For those who may be wondering who Marc Tucker is (since he is advising the U. S. Department of Education about how to implement the Common Core Standards and Race to the Top), here is a reminder.  

Marc Tucker and Hillary Clinton had plans way back in the 1980’s to have national standards, national tests, national curriculum, and a national database.  The Marc Tucker “Dear Hillary Letter” was posted by Rep. Bob Schaffer in the Congressional Record (9.25.98): http://www.eagleforum.org/educate/marc_tucker/

Now Marc Tucker has joined up with Obama and Arne Duncan to mount a complete federal takeover of the public schools without a single vote ever having been taken in Congress to approve this effort:  National standards (i.e., Common Core Standards), national tests (i.e., Board exams), national curriculum (aligned with the national tests), a national database (probably produced by Bill Gates), and teachers’ evaluations and merit pay tied to individual students’ test scores, thus forcing teachers to teach the national curriculum each day --

Race to the Top federal funds provided by taxpayers will be used to push states into allowing 10th grade high-school students to take national tests (i.e., Board exams based upon the Common Core Standards); passing these exams will allow students to enroll in community colleges.  

Students will be pushed into community colleges rather than required to take the rigorous high-school coursework that provides the prerequiste skills needed for admittance to major colleges and universities.

The 10th , 11th, 12th  grade Board tests will be less than rigorous.  The college readiness draft standards in math released by the writing team have given us a big clue. So far the comments by experienced mathematicians and math teachers are pretty grim.   Please read “Alternative Needed to Common Core: An Additional Consortium for Common Standards” written by Williamson M. Evers & Ze’ev Wurman and published on 1.3.10: http://www.educationnews.org/blogs/19265.html

In mathematics, the standards are perhaps even worse. While essentially all four-year state colleges require at least three years of high school mathematics, including Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry or above, CCSSI’s standards require only Algebra 1 and few bits and pieces from Algebra 2 and Geometry. In other words, students who graduate from high school having taken only math coursework addressing those standards (and presumably having passed a test based on them) will be inadmissible to any four-year college around the country.

The high-school students who pass these less-than-rigorous Board exams (national tests) will not take the rigorous four years of high-school courses normally required of them. Their high-school years will instead be spent taking less rigorous community college courses that will doom students to workplace careers rather than motivating them to master the prerequisite skills needed for success in major colleges and universities.   

These “feel-good-about-yourself” community college courses will end up giving students a false sense of accomplishment.  The end result will be a society made up of 90% “worker bees” without their having mastered a four-year, high-school, broad-based, foundational, liberal arts program that will make them well-educated American citizens who are able to read well and think logically and analytically.

It is my opinon that around 10% of high-school students will choose to stick with the rigorous four-year, high-school program centered around Advanced Placement courses that will give them the academic background to attend major colleges and universities.  

In other words, the Marc Tucker/Obama/Arne Plan will produce probably 90% of Americans who are the poorly educated “worker bees” -- those who will be easily manipulated by political and social justice agendas.

Only 10% of high-school graduates will gain a quality high-school background leading to admittance to major colleges and universities, and these students will be the ones who control the direction of our country.

What this cradle-to-the-workplace plan actually will do is to track students.  One track will take rigorous high school, AP-type courses; and the other 90% will take dumbed down community college courses.

Contrast that with the goal of our Texas Commissioner of Education and our Texas State Board of Education’s plan.  They are rewriting all of our curriculum requirements so that ALL high-school students have access to learn the skills necessary to go to college or into the workforce.  

All Texas students will be given the opportunity to learn explicit, rigorous, academic, grade-specific, measurable curriculum that grows in depth and complexity from one grade-level to the next (K-12).

Through careful implementation of well-designed state curriculum requirements and state-designed tests aligned with the curriculum, a majority of students will learn and achieve success at each grade level so that they arrive at their high-school graduation with a broad-based, enriched, core-subject background that will prepare them for whatever life choices they make.  

High-school students in Texas take the 4 x 4 core courses (e.g., math, science, history, English) all four years in high school, but students can explore their individual interests by choosing electives from a wide assortment of courses.

The Texas Plan offers a much better future for our country than the Marc Tucker/Obama/Arne Plan.  If we set the standards right, focus them on back-to-the-basics skills that grow in depth and complexity from one grade level to the next, and then test students on quality tests that are aligned with the grade-specific curriculum, we will see a large percentage of our Texas students develop the pre-requisite skills necessary to be successful in college and/or the workplace.

For those states that follow the Marc Tucker/Obama/Arne Plan, we will see a large percentage of students who will be fooled into thinking they have taken “college” courses when in reality, they have been pigeon-holed into the “worker bee” mode for a lifetime.

For another disturbing aspect of the Marc Tucker/Obama/Arne Plan, please read about the subjectivity of the scoring of the national tests -- Education Week, 1.14.10, “Experts Weigh In on 'Race to Top' Testing Rules,” by Catherine Gewertz: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/01/14/18tests.h29.html
]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/the_rollout_of_the_marc_tuckerobamaarne.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/the_rollout_of_the_marc_tuckerobamaarne.html Educational-Industrial Complex Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:15:42 -0500 Yesm, I had a slight departure from blogging this weekend..... TMEW and I had some other plans for the weekend, and during the "down time", I just couldn't summon what was needed to put ideas to fingertips (e.g., writer's block). 

S'all right though, as yesterday I spent putting my fingertips to a different purpose: we spent the afternoon and early evening at an intro level marksman class the the Belmont Firearms and Range.  We've done our share of making small holes in perfectly good pieces of paper - just didn't have it down pat how to make perfectly larger holes out of collections of smaller ones.  We've learned that it is harder, much harder, than it looks.

Well, we passed and now are much better at it at 10 & 15 yards (for me, 10 rounds in a 2" grouping three out of four mags!) - not so shabby for a couple of duffers that just started this new hobby this past fall....

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/yesm_i_had_a_slight_departure_from_blogg.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/yesm_i_had_a_slight_departure_from_blogg.html Misc. Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:45:23 -0500 On the Chicago suit regarding the Chicago Second Amendment Case. Guest post by Dan Itse (NH House of Representatives)

First, the purpose of the 14th Amendment was to ensure that all citizens of a State were treated equally before the Law.

Second, you don't have to go to the Second Amendment to see the right of self defense protected. This reliance on the Federal Constitution is dangerous as it relies on a distant government for protection.

The privileges and immunities clause Article IV, Section 2 along with the Constitutions of the States (which are far more protective of our rights) establishes all you need. The privileges and immunities clause defines that every State a member of the United States recognizes the rights enumerated in each State. Since Pennsylvania has the explicit enumeration of the individual right to keep and bear arms and Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Virginia have the implicit individual right to keep and bear arms in their recognition of the right to defend life and liberty and protect property, the individual right to keep and bear arms has been absolute since before June 21, 1788, before the ratification of the Bill of Rights and long before the 14th amendment (1865).

The Articles of Confederation also include this concept.  Article IV has the same clause of privileges and immunities of each State being recognized by every State. Therefore, the recognition of the individual right to keep and bear arms of member States has been recognized since 1781.

Basically, in regard to the member States of the United States, the Second Amendment is at its least irrelevant or maybe at its strongest, redundant.

Does it is recognition under the incorporation doctrine (progressive doctrine of centralization) weaken the Tenth Amendment? Only psychologically since the Constitution for the United States already required the recognition of the individual right to keep and bear arms by the States. The danger is that it makes us less aware of our rights recognized by the States.

The concept incorporation of the Second Amendment via the Fourteenth Amendment can not ultimately damage the Tenth Amendment.  The only thing that can damage the Tenth Amendment is the failure to enforce it.

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/on_the_chicago_suit_regarding_the_chicag.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/on_the_chicago_suit_regarding_the_chicag.html Guns Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:32:57 -0500 Notable Quote - Milton and Rose Friedman

Political leaders in capitalist countries who cheer the collapse of socialism in other countries continue to favor socialist solutions in their own.  They know the words, but they have not learned the tune.

- Milton and Rose Friedman

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/notable_quote_milton_and_rose_friedman_1.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/notable_quote_milton_and_rose_friedman_1.html Notable Quotes Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:32:12 -0500 NH Politics - what fun! A recap You know, NH is a great place for the politically minded!  It is here that retail politics flourishes; there is much truth to the old joke of "hey, aren't you supporting so-and-so?  Dunno, only met him three time so far..."

While it is true that media politics leaps in at the end of the trail (i.e., in true earnest a few weeks before voting day for the Federal candidates, shorter for the State oriented ones) and it does cost tons of money for radio, TV and mailed piece, it is the eye to eye, handshake, and small group talks predominate.  And they certainly are!  Politics among the inside-baseball types, jockeying for the support of this political / activist person or that special interest group by the candidates has been non-stop for months now.  Yes, we are in the Perpetual Campaign here in NH - all the way around from the ticket bottom (the local races at the Town level) to the near top (US Senator).  Lines have been drawn, issues staked out, and stances mostly set (er, they can ALWAYS change, right).  

Looking for a full time hobby (obsession)?  This certainly can be one!

Retail Politics - this stage that is in full force right now here in NH and a lot of it has been precipitated by Judd Gregg's decision to leave the Senate - let's call it Let's-Play-Political-Musical-Chair-Palooza! I'm only going to address the Republican side of the equation. Candidates have not been shy in flocking in for this once in a generation opportunities:

  • Senator:
    • Hodes wants to make the jump from Congress to Senate and seems to have the Democrat field to himself.  Well, at least, for now; his less than steller poll numbers may act like a summer porch light to other moths out there. 
    • In fact, I've heard the rumors that in addition to the other "political lurkers" out there waiting to see if there an opportunity, I've heard from multiple sources that it is looking highly possible that Lynch will decide "I've been Gov long enough".  What a WONDERFUL place for the Do Nuttin' Guv Lynch to be hidden amongst 434 others and simply be one of the crowd - he certainly could be uncontroversial and cast no important votes: just like he has as Gov. - but easier!
    • On the Repub side, there is Kelly Ayotte, Jim Bender, Bill Binnie, and Ovide Lamontagne carving out niches for themselves, with Ayotte being perceived as the Anointed Establishment one, Bender and Binnie the Businessmen, and Ovide (so much easier to type!) as the anti-Establishment, Liberty/Freedom candidate 
    • In the polls, everyone is either competitive with Hodes or can beat Hodes.  This is good news, optimistic news, but if conclusions were now, why campaign.  Stuff happens, "macaca" moments take place, and oppo research can turn up golden nuggets of Kryptonite at the most inopportune time.
  • CD-2 Congress: with Hodes jumping chairs, yet another empty seat.
    • I'm not commenting on the Dem side of the field - YET
    • Republicans are flocking in to compete for that now empty seat: Bob Guida, Jennifer Horn, and that TEA Party posseur (and relative latecomer to the race) Charlie Bass.  The latter has been (hmm, do I dare make the joke and use the double quotes on the word has and been ???) a professional politician in DC already, Jennifer has not been tainted and Bob has had much experience in NH.

Sidebar: I've already pasted Bass for being a TEA Party wanna-be-without-having-done-the-work.  Imagine that - a politician trying to take credit for the work of others!  Shame on him for even THINKING he could get away with it!

That said, the folks that have been part of the movement;  Jack Kimball has come out of the TEA Party movement here in NH to run on TEA Party principles, and Frank Guinta, Jennifer Horn and Bob Guida have been supportive, spoken at, and helped at events.  Bass can't hold a candle for these folks!

  • CD-1 Congress
    • Frankly, Carol Shea-Porter has become an embarrassment.  Running lock step with Pelosi hasn't helped in the TEA Party environment, but her constant foot-in-mouth disease has made her gaffes and mis-speaks national fodder for the blogosphere o the Right.  Poll numbers?  Tanking.
    • The front runner on the Right is former Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta accompanied by Bob Bestani, Peter Bearse, Mike Castaldo, and newcomer Rich Ashooh.
  • Governor
    • Lynch - see above.  For someone that has been at 70% positive, the latest Rasmussen polls reflect the Teflon coming off.  What can you say when he polls 50% against 32% against low name recognition Republican rivals?  His integrity is now in question from his flip-flop on gay marriage, his judgment is now in question on the flip-flop on the LLC tax, and now having to lay off workers because of his mismanagement of the budget (er, getting shoved around by the House and Senate Democrats???) ain't helping either
    • And Republicans have lined up there as well - Jack Kimball, Karen Testerman, and now John Stephen.

And there are still others on the Republican side that are waiting to announce - notably, Sean Mahoney who has been rumored to have been ready to jump in for several races.  While it still remains to see which race (Congress?  Senate?  Gov?), it means that inside the NH GOP, there will be the Republican Committeeman slot open - yet one more chair around which there will be swirls and circles.  I'm already reading / hearing rumors: Grant Bosse, Steve Duprey, Tom Eaton, Joel Maiola, Chuck Douglas, Tom Rath...

Heh!  I would be perceived as the proverbial wrecking ball - a fiscal conservative, a social conservative....Hey, why not a blogger this time?

Naw, I actually SUPPORT the Platform!  Shades of heresy - I actually think the planks are to be promoted, supported, talked about, and put into action!  Worst, I guess, is that I talk straight - and let people know it.  Holding politicians accountable does not endear one to those same such folks.  Plus, I have no money to campaign with - just the 'Grok.  Something tells me that would not be enough...

...or would it?  Comments please.

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/nh_politics_what_fun_a_recap.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/nh_politics_what_fun_a_recap.html Political Blogging Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:46:40 -0500 Notable Quote - Pope Benedict XVI It is becoming an increasingly obvious fact of economic history that the development of economic systems which concentrate on the common good depends on a determinate ethical system, which in turn can be born and sustained only by strong religious convictions.  Conversely, it has also become obvious that the decline of such discipline can actually cause the laws of the market to collapse.

-  Pope Benedict XVI

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/notable_quote_pope_benedict_xvi.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/notable_quote_pope_benedict_xvi.html Notable Quotes Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:38:14 -0500 He Doth Protest Too Much Paul  Hodes is out there talking up a storm about how he’s “not going to be bullied into changing his position” on Health care.  I almost fell out of my chair laughing.  I never realized he had his own position, but if that’s what he’s calling it fine. But consider this first because it tells you a good deal about who Paul Hodes is.  Six to eight months of increasing constituent objection, all the phone calls, email, faxes, letters; the comments in the old press and the new; the declining approval of Hodes, the congress, and the president, none of that has swayed “the position” of one Paul Hodes.  But the minute AHIP starts an ad campaign about the possible downside of this plot to reform health care, Hodes feels bullied?

Hodes reacts defensively to special interests but not his own voters.  Nice message.  And I know why, but maybe you don’t.

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/he_doth_protest_too_much.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/he_doth_protest_too_much.html Healthcare Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:17:55 -0500 The Tent Tax Party What do you get when you mix 124 Donkeys and one RINO?  A list of NH House reps on the wrong side of a bill to repeal another stupid tax.

The House voted to ax the tent tax, (HB 1445) and repeal the 9% 'rooms and meals' tax for people who go to a camp site and provide their own room and their own meal.  The bill still needs to pass the state Senate, which has a similar bill all its own, and then get past fence-sitter Lynch whose positionwe can  never know from day to day, not that we can rely on what he says as an indication of how he'll act once an actual bill is on his desk, but it's got momentum, even if some of it represented by legislators who are afraid to touch it.

HB1445 did still have its supporters.  Margie Smith tried to table it, but that lost 153 to 171.  The tax and spenders then tried to ITL it but that failed 145 to 181.  Then when Sherm Packard managed to get an OTP roll call vote to pass the repeal, it succeeded  202 to 125.

68 House reps did not vote on this bill. A list for another time perhaps.

But 124 democrats and 1 Republican (Rock 5  Kenneth Gould) tried to keep the tax alive  and were more than happy to do it for the record.  So here's the record on the jump

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/the_tent_tax_party.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/the_tent_tax_party.html Taxes Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:51:50 -0500 Linguists For Hodes  Stupis

One of the joys of blogging is the anonymous commenters who drop the bottle of Booth's Dry Gin long enough to type something lucid. (Lucid is a stretch)   Most of these word-smiths are probably NHDP staffers who can't find anything better to do while they watch the party lose special election after special election on the road to being sent packing in November.

One recent commenter with the  anonymous name"YouLittleDick" had this to say about a post asking whether chronic ethics issues avoider--and keeper of campaign cash from corrupt democrats--Paul Hodes knew anything about an implication of impropriety with Ethics committee chair Edolphus Towns.

 

"...but it's worth looking in to." As a matter of general health I know that it is worth looking into your butt for polyps. Oh, but your head is already there, so keep looking. Hodes is one sharp lawyer and has a very persuasive gift of gab (debate). Now, spell gambling - three times! Do it with your mouth closed because you might get more of the poop in it. Any polyps?

 

For those unfamiliar, this is the apex of liberal thought in the defense of any argument.  Anatomy, quite often feces or things related to it, and if possible insulting your typos, your intelligence, etc.  I guess there are a good number of proof readers in the liberal camp with ass obsessions which makes sense.  If you are incapable of original thoughts yourself--beyond the mind set of a middle school bully--but still have a desire to work with words, you are left with looking at other peoples ideas, hovering around them like a moth, and just about as intellectually agile.   Still can't spell Massachusetts though.  And if that's all you've got going for you, why not.  And to be fair, I did misspell gambling.

As to Hodes being a sharp lawyer, are you implying that he's sharp enough to have noticed that the Chairman of a committee he sits on continues to find himself associated with corruption and just hasn't exposed him yet?  Or do you mean sharp as in, good at getting crooks and embezzlers like Rosie McNamara off without paying back the taxpayers she screwed?  Or maybe we can combine the two and he can help get his committee chair off without having to pay back any of the taxpayers he's screwed.

Hodes is a rubber-stamp liberal hack trying to run as something he's not, just to make his loss (to whomever wins the republican primary) look competitive.  Don't bother.  We can see the fork sticking out of you from here.  You're done.

But keep the comments coming.  You losers crack me up.

Cross Posted From NH Insider

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/linguists_for_hodes.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/linguists_for_hodes.html Just Plain Stupid Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:35:50 -0500 Objective Journalism - take 1,456,435,789 From NewsBusters:

It was the MSM version of "win one for the Gipper."  A manifestly moved Andrea Mitchell told a Dem congressman that with Pres. Obama having put so much on the line for health care reform, "you've got to get this for him."

Mitchell, ostensibly a "correspondent," her voice brimming with emotion, made her heart-felt plea to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) during her 1 PM MNSBC show today.

ANDREA MITCHELL: Bottom line, what happens if you don't get health care for this president is, this is really all-or-nothing for the sense of his power, his legacy, he's invested so much in this, in this first year. You've got to get this for him.

Yeah, that's certainly an objective viewpoint from a stalwart of the MainStream Media - "we report...and tell you what to think too!" Let us translate for this highly esteemed (at least on the Left) report (and cheerleader for) on the aspect of Obamacare. 

Poor President Obama, he so certainly deserves this - why, he's golfed worked so hard on this - all 11 pages and 411 speeches.  And let's not forget all those frequent flier miles in Air Force One for all those speeches!  His Presidency is at stake!  And it is all because of those rotten, selfish Republicans who won't vote for him and his sterling oratory!

Right!  Those self same Republicans can't hold ANYTHING up - but since many journalists can't do even simple math, the numbers just don't add for them (including the unemployment stats for their industry either).

Look, I have no problem with those that opine - that's what Fox News does most nights.  But that's what they do - they make NO claims to be objective (as opposed to the actual news story folks). 

Andrea Mitchell IS supposed to be objective - will she be the next to jump the line and just go work for Obama (like a larger and larger number have already done)?

Speaking of downslope number (journalism unemployment) - haven't they figured out that it is this kind of reporting (good thing that all 5 of her viewers were just starting to tune in) that is causing their dismal rating - and for Fox's to continue to climb?

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/objective_journalism_take_1456435789.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/objective_journalism_take_1456435789.html Journalism - not? Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:03:32 -0500 Round about some of the NH Conservative sites - week of 3/12/10 It's been a while since I've done this - apologies!  I start off with Brent from Weekend Pundit who has a graph that is right up my alley:

Just as Bismark did in Germany in the 1880's did, the Progressives are "vote buying" with bribes so that they can institute their Nirvana where "experts" make all the decisions and we all can go do whatever it is that we want to - provided we only do what they want or allow.  Having this number of people NOT having any skinny in the game is not good for anyone (paying or not) long term.  At some point, the money runs out - will the Progressives then own up to the mistake?  And make no mistake - we are seeing the effects of this writ a bit smaller in NJ, NY, and CA where very few paid the freight for the rest.  When those very few become miniscule (either "going Gault" or left the state), who is left financially to pick up the slack?

But of course, these Liberal / Progressive / Socialists never own up to the real answer to that question.

*****

Well, it's not flushing during the Superbowl, but it was hockey in Canada during the Olympics!  Paul from Pun Salad delivers this chart:

He also has a great line about Nanny Statism about the sale & purchase of raw milk:

It's a usual story of our alleged public servants throwing themselves between willing buyers and sellers.

They generally think its "selfless" - I just wish it would be more of MYOB & let adults be adults.

*****

Bruce at No Looking Backwards points out a flaw that Freedom folks seem to have - nd end game.  In this case, that nutty NY Pol that wants to ban restaurants from using salt while cooking:

Incremental erosion of our liberty. It's the bedrock principle upon which their empire rests.

State: We must ban all _________.
Sheep: NO! That's outrageous! We Won't let you!
State: OK, you win. We'll only ban certain kinds of __________.
Sheep: YAY! We defeated the tyrants!

Lather, rinse, repeat.

If we are going to fight, we should be acting like Sherman's March to the Sea.

*****

Charlie Arlinghaus over at NH Watchdog is warning we NH Citizens to not accept cries of "we killed it" concerning the LLC tax:

The governor and the legislature are sending mixed signals on the possible repeal of the controversial LLC tax. The governor has said he is working on a plan to repeal the tax but we haven’t heard about any details of the negotiations with legislative leadership. Complicating matters, the House leadership today is planning on rejecting a bill to do precisely what the governor says he and the leadership want to do.

Gov. John "Do Nuttin'" Lynch has ALWAYS tried to be in the still waters - finally, he's getting rolled in the roiling waves - it's about freakin' time the Teflon wore off.  Better yet - he's doing it to himself!

*****

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/round_about_some_of_the_nh_conservative_11.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/round_about_some_of_the_nh_conservative_11.html Conservatism Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:39:46 -0500 Notable Quote - Friedrich Hayek

We have progressively abandoned that freedom in economic affairs without which personal and political freedom has never existed in the past.  Although we had been warned...that socialism means slavery, we have steadily moved in the direction of socialism.  And now that we have seen a new form of slavery arise before our eyes, we have so completely forgotten the warning that it scarcely occurs to us that the two things may be connected.

-Friedrich Hayek

]]> http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/notable_quote_friedrich_hayek_3.html http://granitegrok.com/blog/2010/03/notable_quote_friedrich_hayek_3.html Notable Quotes Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:42:02 -0500