Ellen Kolb, Author at Granite Grok

Check Your Party Registration

September 26, 2018May 18, 2018 Ellen Kolb

FYI, it’s that season again: the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office has issued the standard biennial reminder of the deadline for changes in party registration before this year’s primary election in September. Nothing new; just a reminder.

“Tuesday, June 5th is the deadline for changing your political party affiliation before the September 11, 2018, State Primary Election…Voters should verify that they are either registered as affiliated with the political party in whose primary they plan to vote on September 11, 2018, or that they are registered as undeclared.”

Follow-up on Thursday’s Numbers

September 26, 2018May 11, 2018 Ellen Kolb

Brief epilogue to my last post:

What’s the concur/nonconcur/Committee of Conference vote on the therapy ban bill, HB 587?

HB 587 is on its way to Governor Sununu’s desk. It could strip professional licensing from any counselor whose words to a gender-questioning child are deemed insufficiently supportive of gender reassignment. That’s the absurd vagueness of this so-called “conversion therapy” bill.

Watching for Thursday’s House Numbers

September 26, 2018May 9, 2018 Ellen Kolb

I’m an indie voter with some passionately Republican friends who held forth this morning about the need to back the GOP in November, etc. etc. etc. I just let them talk. Good people, strong convictions, lots of enthusiasm. But you wanna sell some voters on the GOP? Let’s see a few numbers after this week’s … Read more

Woman Celebrated for Killing 3.5 Million People

September 26, 2018May 3, 2018 Ellen Kolb

The Twitterverse murmured #ThankYouCecile the other day to mark the end of Cecile Richards’s tenure leading the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Hats off to the Babylon Bee for skewering that bit of social media hashtagging: “Woman Celebrated for Killing 3.5 Million People.”

That satirical bull’s eye came just a few days after another one from the same source: “Planned Parenthood Defends Bill Cosby: ‘Sexual Assault Is Only 3% Of What He Does,’” I wish I’d written that.

But in all seriousness, Richards is a consequential woman.

Paving the Way: Judges, Children, and Gender

September 26, 2018April 17, 2018 Ellen Kolb

Could the state take a child away from a parent who does not want the child to receive cross-sex hormones and amputation of healthy body parts? An Ohio court has told us the answer: yes.

When transgender identity is treated as a non-elective medical procedure, that’s where the child welfare and legal systems inevitably lead.

Van Ostern Has Plans

September 26, 2018March 14, 2018 Ellen Kolb

I’m just going to leave this here. From John DiStaso, WMUR: “For the first time in several decades, New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner later this year could face a serious challenger for a likely bid for his 22nd term as the state’s top elections official. WMUR has learned that Colin Van Ostern, the … Read more

Next March for Life in Washington: January 18, 2019

September 26, 2018January 26, 2018 Ellen Kolb

As a public service, I hereby announce for the benefit of all reporters, bloggers, and commentators that the next March for Life in Washington will be on Friday, January 18, 2019. Mark your editorial calendars now. No excuses. Rain, shine, or snow (and I’ve marched in all those conditions), the event goes on. I was … Read more

House Declines to Refer Rep. Rogers to Legislative Admin Committee

September 26, 2018January 9, 2018 Ellen Kolb

The New Hampshire House on Tuesday rejected (on a 99-222 vote) a motion to refer Rep. Katherine Rogers (D-Concord) to the Legislative Administration Committee on the grounds of her recent guilty plea to an assault charge. Rogers admitted to assaulting Susan Olsen during a ballot recount in November 2016. (See Steve MacDonald’s December 22 post.)

Abortion Statistics: “Inexpedient to Legislate,” Says N.H. House

September 26, 2018January 3, 2018 Ellen Kolb

The New Hampshire House today rejected HB 471, on abortion statistics. The bill would have put New Hampshire in line with the Centers for Disease Control, which has collected statistics for abortion surveillance for many years.

The vote on an “inexpedient to legislate” motion was 200-154.

Two hundred legislators voted like people who are afraid of evidence-based public health policy and afraid of political retribution from abortion providers.

How many children are terminated annually? It doesn’t matter, was the unspoken message in Representatives Hall.

Universal Rights, Anyone?

September 26, 2018January 2, 2018 Ellen Kolb

From Twitter: the United Nations wants to celebrate human rights. @obianuju suggests that the U.N. broaden its horizons. A very important anniversary coming up in 2018: Universal Declaration of Human Rights is turning 70!#StandUp4HumanRights & read your #RightsOutLoud ???? https://t.co/NS3qFiFtIy pic.twitter.com/FdYnWG2RIV — United Nations (@UN) December 30, 2017 Until the UN stops their support for abortion- … Read more

Go Figure

September 26, 2018December 23, 2017 Ellen Kolb

h/t Alexandra DeSanctis via Twitter: Woman has to pay $12/month for birth control. Democrats: This is the greatest social crisis of the modern era. Family keeps extra $18/week under GOP tax reform. Democrats: $18 is literally nothing how dare you suggest it will help people. — Alexandra DeSanctis Marr (@xan_desanctis) December 22, 2017

What Book(s) Would You Give?

September 26, 2018December 17, 2017 Ellen Kolb

The recent Granite State Taxpayers party ended with a Yankee swap of the best kind: books, preferably from one’s own bookshelf, on politics or economics. We had an interesting mix by the time all the packages were claimed. Every holiday gathering should end with books for all, as far as I’m concerned. So, readers, I’m … Read more

Alicia Neely Gets Her Job Back

September 26, 2018November 22, 2017 Ellen Kolb

Update to Kimberly Morin’s October 31 post on the Grok: Alicia Neely has been reinstated to her job at the Sununu Youth Center. The formal announcement from Governor Sununu does not indicate if she’ll get back pay. See Morin’s October 25 post at New Hampshire Political Buzz for a summary of the case – the … Read more

Senator Shaheen’s Public Service-ish Email

September 26, 2018November 3, 2017 Ellen Kolb

Have you signed up for your Obamacare coverage for 2018? Well, have you? I haven’t. The Affordable Care Act isn’t affordable. But open enrollment is upon us, and it’s time to run the numbers for another year (already done, thank you), and Senator Shaheen wants you to know it.

From her Halloween email, sent from her official account and not her campaign account:

Who Needs Permission?

September 26, 2018October 19, 2017 Ellen Kolb

The Joint Legislative Committee on Legislative Rules voted today to accept a New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Medicaid rule change, providing coverage for gender-altering procedures. Substance of the rule aside, what amazes me is the process by which it came about. The administrative side of government is the one I know … Read more

Challenging “Banned Books Week”

September 26, 2018September 27, 2017 Ellen Kolb

It’s “Banned Books Week.” Pardon my groan. I rant about this every year. No end in sight, alas. The folks behind Banned Books Week – a coalition of the American Library Association and allied groups – lost all credibility with me years ago when they conflated “banned” and “challenged,” especially when the challenge is to … Read more

Candidate Craig Advances for EMILY’s List “Farm Team”

September 26, 2018September 20, 2017 Ellen Kolb

Manchester City Hall (photo by Billy Hathorn [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons)

To absolutely no one’s surprise, the September 19 primary in the Queen City confirmed that Ted Gatsas and Joyce Craig will face off once again in Manchester’s mayoral race. Craig lost to Gatsas in 2015 by 64 votes.

Craig has the endorsement of EMILY’s List this year, as she did in 2015. The abortion advocacy group describes its rationale for involvement in state and local elections:

Heads Up: Here Comes Next Year’s Legislation

September 26, 2018September 12, 2017 Ellen Kolb

Legislators gotta legislate. The 2018 process is underway, with legislative service requests (LSRs) now being filed in Concord. House members have until the 22nd to put LSRs into the hopper. The first batch has been posted, and the list will be updated periodically on the General Court web site. LSRs tell you sponsor and topic. … Read more

Where’s the “…Need Not Apply” Sign?

September 26, 2018September 7, 2017 Ellen Kolb

Not saying they got the idea from Councilor Volinsky, but it seems a pair of U.S. Senators think the no-religious-test thing in the Constitution has been quietly deactivated. From a commentary by Tiffany Bates in The Daily Signal: “Do you consider yourself an orthodox Catholic?” is an unusual and inappropriate question for a senator to ask … Read more

Reaching Out to Texas

September 26, 2018August 29, 2017 Ellen Kolb

texas The news coverage of the epic flooding in Texas leaves me overwhelmed. It’s good to hear about relief efforts that let those of us at a distance reach out with practical help. I’m sure your inbox and social media feeds are full of appeals which you’ll respond as you’re able. Here are a few that touched a chord with me.