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Co-founder of GraniteGrok, my concern is around Individual Liberty and Freedom and how the Government is taking that away. As an evangelical Christian and Conservative with small "L" libertarian leanings, my fight is with Progressives forcing a collectivized, secular humanistic future upon us. As a TEA Party activist, citizen journalist, and pundit!, my goal is to use the New Media to advance the radical notions of America's Founders back into our culture.

Notable Quote – Gary Robbins

One reason for this situation is that “We the People,” who are supposed to monitor our government, are 300 million individuals, each evolved to be able to digest only a tiny fraction of the knowledge necessary to keep such a huge society working. In the free market, when each of us sticks to our own … Read more

Internet Doodlings – Tree Hugger commenter Bussdriver87 wants a Peoples Government or something…

Well, I have been absent from Tree Hugger (the Greenie Communitarian with Fascist leanings site) for a while so I figured it was time to pay a visit.

SideNote: due to the Great Diaspora / Banning by TH of those willing to challenge their “Green Come First” religion, it has been OUR great benefit that “C.dog e. doG” and “Cris P. Bacon” have become tremendous commenters here – again, thanks guys!

At “Should We All Be Working a Four Day Week“, an architect decided to put her firm on a “5 days work in 4 days” schedule.  Great!  If she’s the owner and wants to do that, she should have the Right to do so (as long as no laws are abrogated).  They also had a poll asking what folks thought  about a 4 day work week (e.g., yes, no, other).  I left the following for the original downer premise (emphasis mine):

We are working’ 5 days in 4’ week because how we live as individuals has consequences for everyone else. The way we live now has created many problems: scarcity of resources, scarcity of jobs, climate change, wealth discrepancies and many wasted lives. These are all escalating problems which are not being addressed by the institutions of power: Governments, Banks, the Multinationals have too many vested interests in the current system to be the agents of change.

for the architect:

Why should it be up to OTHER entities (“Governments, Banks, the Multinationals have too many vested interests in the current system to be the agents of change”) to make such a decision for YOUR company?

You made it for your’s – good for you. If employees like it they will stay; the converse if they do not. Push the decision making down to the lowest granular level – if you can make and win the argument, congratulations! To have those “Power Entities” make the decisions for others is summed up in one word: “tyranny”.

Blaming it on others or other entities is a cop out – especially when one has made the right decisions and done the hard work to be in a place where they are able to make such a decision.  I figure that some might not like the longer days but some might really like always having 3 day weekend but one didn’t (emphasis mine):

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Apparently, what was not good for the goose IS good for the gander

Obama’s political promises all come with expiration dates – every.single.one.of.them.  It seems that his political taunts do as well – at least those that can help him if he conveniently forgets that he used them against his enemies earlier.  Like when being a non-profit was BAAAD for Americans for Prosperity and but now good for his campaign organization assuming the exact same non-profit structure (it will allow him to hide the identity of HIS donors – malfeasance he accused AFP of during the campaign).

AFP certainly noticed the hypocrisy:

Today Americans for Prosperity, a nationwide organization of citizen leaders with over 2 million activists and 34 state chapters, released a new video poking fun at the president for his new non-profit, tax exempt group.

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More on the dreaded Sequester Numbers – Department of Defense (aka-Big Obama screw-up)

Is this the equivalent of threatening local police, firemen, and teachers?

I showed the overall impact of what the Sequester will have on our current Federal budget here.  As you see, the answer is almost negligible.  Today on Fox was a snippet of Secretary of Defense Leon Pannetta testifying to Congress on what the Sequester will have on the Military:

Instead of being a first rate power in the world, we’d turn into a second rate power.  That would be the result of sequester.

And we have seen the first “results” of that with the news of delayed refueling of  the USS Abraham Lincoln with trickle down effects from there (including Pannetta threatening to cut Military pay). So, how drastic is THAT drastic?  Really, can you see it?

DoD Sequester

The actual numbers?

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On the dole: “A hand up or a hammock?” Let’s get back to basics

Welfare, that is.  Used to be called “charity” from private sources, and sometimes, folks stayed at the county “poor house”.  Nowadays, the dole (heck, even “welfare”)  is dressed up in smooth bureaucratise so as not to “cause undue stigmatism towards those that need assistance”.  Payments go directly from Government “dole-er outers” to those that supply the services or goods like Section 8 housing or EBT cards.

coca-cola-2-liter-botleAh yes, EBT cards – groceries, drug stores,….vacation hot spots, casinos, and strip clubs!  Money is money and fungible if you are a well-flushed non-profit (Planned Parenthood moving abortion money as well as any crafty hedge fund operator), well-connected politician, or welfare “client”.  From an efficiency standpoint, an EBT card is just as easy as technology can make it inexpensive for Government to allocate taxpayer monies – and for those on the dole to purchase a lot of things that they normally can’t.  Oh, not necessarily directly with the card, but how often have you been behind someone in the grocery store buying groceries that are sometimes more expensive than what you can afford – even as you are dinged for higher taxes for these “most vulnerable”?  Well, it has been my mindset that while a safety-net does need to be provided, why does it have to purchase filet mignon (and yes, I did see that purchased with an EBT card)? It shouldn’t – and given technology, it should easily be possible, using a longer term benefit / cost ratio, to limit EBT transactions to less variety and less costly food products (and locations).

One California legislature is willing to make a first swipes:

The money California taxpayers pay that funds CalFresh, the food stamps program, may be earmarked so that the recipients of government largesse cannot use the food stamps to buy sugary sodas and other beverages that have more than 10 calories per cup.

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Guest post by NH State Rep Jane Cormier – “Bad Bill of the Month”

Bad Bill of the Month

HB 135 Bill Sponsored by Rep. Stephen Shurtleff, Merrimack 11

HB 135 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE….

1. Eliminates the provision allowing a person to use deadly force anywhere he or she has a right to be. (If you are in a dark parking lot, just be ready to run, I guess…)

2. Amends the definition of non-deadly force. (The bill amends by removing, “The act of producing or displaying a weapon shall constitute non deadly force.”)

3. Repeals the provision granting civil immunity for the use of force in certain circumstances.  (Be careful about showing your gun in a possibly dangerous situation or you could be in serious trouble…?)

 The sponsor of this bill, Rep. Steven Shurtleff, is a retired U. S. Marshall and law enforcement officer. As a “qualified retired law enforcement officer”, he is covered under (LEOSA) the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, to carry a concealed firearm in any jurisdiction in the United States. This means Rep. Shurtleff is immune from the provisions of his own bill! This bill seeks to restrain law abiding citizens from carrying under their Second Amendment rights. However, Rep. Shurtleff will have the right to carry anywhere – anytime. Hypocrisy at its finest? You bet it is. But, our story continues…

At the public hearing of the bill, on Jan. 22, according to Andrew Hemingway (recent candidate for Chairman of the NHGOP),

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The White House is out with its Sequester Doom & Gloom – but what does the chart really say?

Ah yes, Obama hoisted on his own petard.  How “smooth” is it for the White House to start hauling out these “the Sequester is going to hurt children and old people” stats, but fail to note “Oh yeah, our boss was the one that first suggested this with his last self-serving hissy fit on the last debt ceiling fight”:

  • Some 600,000 poor women and children will no longer get free milk and cheese
  • 2,100 fewer food inspections will take place if federal budget cuts expected to kick in March 1 actually take place.
  • federal agencies notified hundreds of thousands of federal workers that furloughs could be around the corner
  • 70,000 children would get kicked out of early childhood intervention programs that help poorer children catch up to middle-class peers, heading into kindergarten.
  • 1,000 fewer criminals would be prosecuted due to furloughed federal prosecutors.
  • 4 million fewer “Meals on Wheels” would be delivered to the elderly.
  • 1,000 fewer research grants would be awarded, cutting research and laboratories for some 12,000 scientists and students.

Oh, the horror of it all – this PROGRESSIVE policy of “try to trick the Republicans” – Obama set this up to take a hard toll on the Military, believing that the Republicans would cave before letting that happen.  Seems, however…

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Notable Quote – Prof. Israel Kirzner

A free society is one in which individuals are free to discover for themselves the available range of alternatives. In his masterly critiques of the theory of central planning, Hayek directed attention to the circumstance that the information available in an economy is always scattered among countless individuals, never concentrated in the mind of a … Read more

What a combo of jobs – but pushing the limit of ‘Grok Rule #1?

OK, so it is a lightweight Friday nite.  Yes this is off the regular beaten pathI don’t think I have EVER seen one person with such a combination of jobs interplaying both at the same time. I’ve hesitated for a while about posting this – this is about as close to ‘Grok Rule #1 (adult … Read more

NH HB 514 – NH State Reps having a “I want my free lift ticket” hissy fit bill

HB 514 – can you say “Give us a perk that mere voters can’t have”?  Whiners, they are.  Talk about voting something from the Public Larder Treasury!  Grant Bossie from NH Watchdog has the sordid tale of the “NH State Reps who want free skiing” (reformatted, emphasis mine):

(CONCORD) Some New Hampshire Representatives want their free lift ticket back. After getting free passes to state-owned Cannon Mountain Ski Area for years, a Legislative Ethics Committee letter last winter found that the freebies violated the Legislature’s ban on gifts over $25. But a trio of lawmakers have introduced a bill that would exempt Cannon Mountain from the gift ban.

 And who are these fine, upstanding ethical NH State Reps that want us to pay for their skiing?  The ones that are supposed to be leaders here in the State?

Representatives Gary Coulombe (D-Berlin), Andrew Schimdt (D-Grantham), and Herb Richardson (R-Lancaster) are sponsoring HB 514, which adds an exemption to the ethic guidelines for House and Senate members to receive passes to Cannon Mountain. The House Legislative Administration Committee takes up the bill with a public hearing Thursday morning at the Legislative Office Building in Concord.

 Hey, why not?  Don’t like the current definition of what true ethical behavior is?  Simple – with our descent into relativism and subjective morals, all one has to do is simply redefine what ethical behavior is?  Isn’t that the lesson that the Progressives have given us with post-modernism and deconstruction?  Neitzsche nihilism – does anything matter?  It used to: “Live Free or Die; death is not the worst of all evils” – strong words built on a strong philosophy of knowing what was right – and what was wrong.

These chuckleheads could take a lesson from that wise saying – they really should.

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Messaging: So Obama wants to decide if more people should not be allowed their Second Amendment Rights?

Click to watch
Click to watch
“But there are certain people, people who have mental health issues, perhaps.    People who have felony records.  These are all categories of people who are not entitled to carry guns and I think that we have to make sure that it continues to be the case.  One of the things that the President has asked me to do is to look at that list, those categories, and see if we have to expand it to make sure that, again, the wrong people do not come into possession of guns.”

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“So God made a Liberal”

I do have to put up the RAM truck ad from the Super Bowl – while people figured out it was a Dodge Ram ad, the star that every one has talked about since was the monologue on farmers that the late Paul Harvey gave and served as the narrative for the ad.  Very well … Read more

Humor with a lesson: Where would you rather be: California or Texas?

CALIFORNIA:  The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor’s dog, then bites the Governor.

 1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie “Bambi” and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.

2. He calls animal control. Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

3. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

4. The Governor goes to a hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and getting his bite wound bandaged.

5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while the Fish & Game Commission conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous      animals.

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The real differences between Republicans and Democrats – Tyranny #2

I stumbled on this post over at PowerLine – where they had abstracted an entire post by David Horowitz: “How Republicans can win” that talks about the severe differences in how Conservatives / Republicans view life vs how Progressive / Democrats do.  Since Horowitz was heavily involved in the New Left in the sixties, he knows intimately how they think and how they act – and why they are starting to take the rest of us to the political cleaners in their religious zealotry in marching with Obama to “fundamentely transforming America.”  For this is no “this way is better / no, that way is” battle we face – as Progressives truly believe that they are in a political Civil War to beat and overthrow the Founders / Constitution vision of Liberty and Freedom in which WE get to decide for ourselves and replace it with the Progressive brand of socialism / “social justice” in which Government will provide for all our needs (er, but never mention the “strings chains attached” to allow that to happen).  I have abstracted a few paragraphs that point the major differences (emphasis mine):

…The Democratic Party has been moving steadily to the left since the McGovern campaign of 1972. It is now a party led by socialists and progressives who are convinced that their policies are paving the way to a “better world.”

This vision of moral and social progress has profound consequences for the way Democrats conduct their political battles. Unlike Republicans, Democrats are not in politics just to fix government and solve problems. They are secular missionaries who want to “change society.” Their goal is a new order of society— “social justice.” They think of themselves as social redeemers, people who are going to change the world. It is the belief in a redemptive future that accounts for their passion, and their furious personal assaults on those who stand in their way. When he was president, Bill Clinton once told Dick Morris he had “to understand that Bob Dole” – a moderate Republican – “is evil.” It is the same missionary zeal that allows Democrats to justify a campaign ad accusing a decent man like Mitt Romney of causing the death of a female cancer victim.

This should set the table.  Take Zandra Rice-Hawkins, Exec Dir. for Granite State Progress for instance (yes, a major Progressive parachuted in with the Colorado Model supported by major Progressive $$ – no native Live Free or Die in her!).

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Tyranny #3 – Minimum wage isn’t about economics – it’s about “Community”, dontcha know?

“All one community…“

Of all the reasons to raise a minimum wage (leaving aside for the moment, the utter crassness of know-it-all politicians who believe they know what’s best for the health of a company, especially a small biz in this economy, than the owners do), this has GOT to be one of the stupidest:

CONCORD – The state’s business community, large and small, turned out in force Tuesday to attack two bills that would raise the minimum wage while allies with organized labor and anti-poverty programs said reinstating a state minimum and raising it above the federal standard would have an economic stimulus effect.

Both Rep. Peter Sullivan, D-Manchester, and Rep. Timothy Robertson, D-Durham, said the new Legislature should undo the work of the last one, which got rid of a state minimum wage that had been on the books since 1949.

Sure, why not – they are actively working to undo everything that the Republican supermajorities did last session.  Hey, monkey-DC, monkey-Concord as far as the Democrats are concerned.  Is this now the “new normal” – whip sawing the State simply “we’re not Republicans”?  Instead of governing well (which used to mean “do the least harm, or even better, emulating Cal Coolidge), do the Dems really want to descend to tit-for-tat eternally?  Or, again as what is happening in DC led by Obama, trying hard to erase the GOP?  Either way, that is not governance, that is elementary school playground.

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Biden:”If it only saves one life!” Does Joe want the Elderly just to take a knee and die?

Imagine what would have happened if the Progressives are successful in effectively neutering the Second Amendment: A 72-year-old homeowner immediately retrieved his handgun when he heard several home intruders attempting to gain entry to his Las Vegas residence early Monday morning. And when the criminals entered his bedroom, he opened fire, killing one of the … Read more

Data Point – Future Entitlement Spending

When you look at future Federal budgets and wonder why you can’t feed YOUR kids because the Progressive programs (and the debt for funding them) are sucking it away from you, you can blame ourselves for putting these chuckleheads at the helm. (H/T: Heritage)

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