Skip, Author at Granite Grok

Hundreds of state employees quit union after Janus

November 1, 2019 Skip

(And at least one was not forced to join one – ME!) (reformatted, emphasis mine) ******** Last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. AFCSME triggered a 5.9% reduction in New Hampshire state employee union membership, state payroll data obtained by the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy show. The sudden drop reversed a … Read more

German Deplorables Send a Message: Chancellor Angela Merkel Slaughtered in Regional Elections

October 31, 2019 Skip

The German Deplorables are starting to smarten up and voting their beliefs. Worst hit – the Ruling Elite. “A rebellion has broken out in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU) after it suffered defeat in a regional election on Sunday.”

Why am I not surprised: “First Common Core High School Grads Worst-Prepared For College In 15 Years”

October 31, 2019 Skip

This is the opposite of what we were told would happen with trillions of taxpayer dollars and an entire generation of children who deserve not to have been guinea pigs in a failed national experiment. For the third time in a row since Common Core was fully phased in nationwide, U.S. student test scores on the nation’s … Read more

Manchester Mayor Craig: Using Manchester School District Emails are fine for me but not Rich Girard?

October 30, 2019 Skip

Progressives – Speaking Truth To Power on “the means justifies the ends”. I did not know that using school district email systems to recruit underage students to work on campaigns was a “legal thing”. Last time I knew, that was a big No-No, but in this case, Socialist Joyce’s campaign used Joanne Cockerill’s access to … Read more

Tales from the BudComm – white hats or black hats?

October 29, 2019 Skip

Or alternatively: Is your town budgeting for RansomWare? That’s when hackers infiltrate an entity’s computer network and take complete control over all of the IT assets and then, like a human hostage, hold them up for ransom (“pay us $XXXXX or your files will be encrypted by us forever”). The next on my list of … Read more

Really, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig? YOU posted your “beauty mark” video, I merely comment on it, and I’M sexist?

October 29, 2019 Skip

…blaming someone else for their own mistake and willingness to NOT OWN UP TO IT. This really is hilarious – and I bet that the Mayor Craig campaign decided to make the bet that no one actually WATCHED either video (or WMUR running it). Well, leave it to them to try to fund raise off … Read more

Is a stealth financial “lock up” starting to happen?

October 27, 2019 Skip

I do look at CNN, mostly for the business side as their presentation of the markets is better than some of the others. There, I saw this post and started scratching my head as I haven’t seen this anywhere else in the “general issues” sites that I visit. I’m not a financial geek and I’m … Read more

Tales from the BudComm – Progressives hating on NH’s history of volunteerism

October 27, 2019 Skip

It must be nice to think that other peoples monies is yours to spend. I don’t. The budget season has just left the starting gate for this year and this past Thursday was the first “get stuff done” (as opposed to organizational stuff). Thus, time for budget sub-committees to start bringing the results of their … Read more

Palate Cleanser – amusing, over and over again

October 27, 2019 Skip

Yeah, back again. Complete disk failure on the old laptop so I’ve been offline for a few days. Is there such a thing as “the online DT’s?”? If so, I got them so I’m glad to be back after looping, over and over, trying to get those disk sector errors under control. Didn’t work – … Read more

Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig’s “beauty mark” can’t figure out if it should be Left or Right?

October 23, 2019 Skip

Her actions and stances are certain Progressive / Socialist / Leftist. Her talking points, such as they are, is a huge stretch in trying to appear to be more on the Right. You know the old song and dance of a Democrat – a “pragmatic centrist” during the election season to the point of seeming … Read more

Well, is Mayor Joyce Craig and the Manchester City Charter Commission about to get a wedgie?

October 21, 2019October 21, 2019 Skip

I am certainly hoping so because if you fail to live by the law, you die by the law. Or in this case, the City Charter Commission will die by the law. A judicial injunction is being filed (or is already done) against the City of Manchester for blowing off the law. Why? If you … Read more

Cornerstone: Committee to Vote on Anti-Human-Trafficking Bill Wednesday!

October 21, 2019 Skip

HB 201: Relative to Increase Penalties for Adults Buying Sex from Minors, will be voted on by the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, October 23.

Tales from the Budcomm – the last season

October 20, 2019 Skip

Yep, after three three-year terms, this is the last budget season for me based on a promise I made to TMEW. New members are on-board, sub-committees member assignments are done and the scramble to set appointments with the department heads is already in gear. By the middle of January, each budget for each municipality and … Read more

Everything Gets Political When You Ask Politicians for a Bailout – Plus Pandering Dan Feltes

October 20, 2019October 20, 2019 Skip

The biomass “subsidy by govt induced higher electrical rates” issue just won’t go away. The Union Leader has yet another piece lamenting that companies aren’t getting corporate welfare. Landowners are angry that the government won’t help their profits or politics for a new protected class (“unemployed biomass workers”).

With PG&E shutting down its high power lines due to high winds…

October 19, 2019 Skip

I actually think the NBA line is a little more biting – and true. (H/T: Powerline)

von Mises vs Marx: “Freedom” vs “Total Control”

October 19, 2019 Skip

Me: “Let me decide for myself.” Bernie-Bros (and the rest of the current den of Democrat Prez Wannabees: “We’ll decide from on high because you’re too stupid”. Freedom vs enforced “equality”. Self-interest vs Faux Moral Superiority. Individualism vs serfdom. How will you vote? Me? With Mises: (H/T: Cafe Hayek)

Grandfamilies Study Commission: Second Meeting

October 20, 2019October 19, 2019 Skip

Interesting meeting with an interesting mix of people and organizations (see my previous post here for the mandated list). It was clear that even while I was the appointee from the Department of Education via Commissioner Frank Edelblut, there were three grandparents on the committee.

Laconia School District: This shirt inappropriate for a third grader to wear to school

October 18, 2019October 17, 2019 Skip

UPDATED and BUMPED II:

We do a lot of writing and when one of the Groksters gets it wrong, an apology is required. Tonite, it is my turn and I apologize to Superintended Steve Tucker, Principal Eric Johnson, and Teacher Lindsey Packer. I publicized bad information – information for which I fell for. From my Daughter-in-Law’s Facebook post on this issue that I just happened to screenshot:

“Using ‘adequacy funds’ to buy adequacy” – a sequel

October 17, 2019 Skip

OK, tag teaming off of Ian’s post on why why we aren’t paying for “verifying achievement” instead of “verifying attendance” here because of a question of from a LONG time reader who worked with me for over a decade at my former employer (Epicor). Here was his email on Ian’s post and, of course, my … Read more

Blogline of the Day – The “friends you keep”

October 16, 2019October 16, 2019 Skip

YOU CAN JUDGE A TV PROGRAM’S AUDIENCE BY ITS ADVERTISERS, so what does it tell us that the first ad I saw on the CNN Democratic presidential debates was “Ron Reagan, lifelong atheist,” on behalf of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.