Rick Olson

Rick Olson is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a BA in Social Science. Rick subsequently attended Massachusetts School of Law in Andover MA. Rick takes up second amendment issues on Granite Grok, as well as issues surrounding hunting, fishing, trapping and wildlife issues. Rick Olson is a former Police Officer and Deputy Sheriff. He is Past President of the New Hampshire Wildlife Federation, President of the Londonderry Fish & Game Club  Rick is a nationally certified firearms instructor and a Hunter Education Instructor. He can frequently be found teaching Urban Rifle and Defensive Pistol classes as an Instructor with Defensive Strategies in Goffstown, NH.  Rick resides in Manchester with his wife Lisa. He has four children and ten Grandchildren.

How About Those Gas Prices?

“As you know, the government takes 40 percent of what you make. The other 60 percent, of course, taken by the gas stations.” — Jay Leno

Is this You?Been to a Gas Station Lately? Prices have spiked markedly in the last two weeks. For those of us driving Sport Utility Vehicles the effect is most pronounced. Just this week it cost nearly eighty dollars to fill my Ford Explorer’s fuel tank. It was nearly a year ago when President Obama quipped,

“If you’re complaining about the price of gas, and you’re only getting 8 miles to the gallon… you may wanna think about a trade-in”

Yes. I know..it’s an SUV….but show me a “clown car” with the performance benefits of an SUV. Fact is, there isn’t one. It appears that Obama believes middle America has the means to expend all the funds necessary to lower gasoline costs and improve efficiency. The President may well be right, but he overlooks the considerable cost one has to undertake to achieve that end.

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The Anti-Gun Cadre Levels Its Sights On Pemigewasset Valley Fish & Game Club

“When I come off I93 sometimes [sic] & see a poster advertising MACHINE GUN SHOOT TODAY – frankly I am turned off & really annoyed to see that in our area – great advertising for our corner of NH with all the other gun violence in the nation.  Is this what we want our area to be known for?” —Martha “Ma” Richards, Holderness, NH

The Pemigewasset Valley Fish & Game Club in Holderness, started in May of 1941 through the efforts of it’s founder, Rosco Whitcomb with by-laws drawn up by local sportsmen. The “Pemi” remains today, an active and vibrant local community sporting club, and like so many other Fish & Game Clubs, adheres to principles of Conservation of habitat, fish and wildlife propagation and good and ethical sportsmanship. It’s members hail from all ends of the socio-economical demographic and is truly a representative microcosm of the larger society and culture of the area.

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House Bill 1339: Union Leader Editorial Doesn’t Get It

“As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights.” —James Madison

Granite Grok Writer Rick Olson during Pheasant Season 2011 with his Hunting Dog "Chloe" a six year-old German Shorthaired Pointer
Granite Grok Writer Rick Olson during Pheasant Season 2011 with his Hunting Dog "Chloe" a six year-old German Shorthaired Pointer

On Tuesday a Union Leader editorial called House Bill 1339, “preposterous”.  In the UL Editorial entitled, “Contract Hunting,”  The UL aptly describes why the bill is problematic. HB 1339, sponsored by Representative Paul Mirski, Joe Duarte and Gary Hopper, is an effort to keep access to hunting, fishing and trapping accessible to all, irrespective of economic and social strata.

The Union Leader points out,

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The Anti-Self Defense Cadre Strikes Again in Strafford County

“Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal.”  —Friedrich Engels

Joseph Hebert is a criminal. He has a considerable arrest record for everything from assault and drug possession to burglary. Clearly, he is a miscreant.  This Saturday Hebert’s personal illegal fortune-seeking ran aground. He was caught taking other people’s stuff without their permission. We, common folks call this, “Stealing.”

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Then There Are “These” Refugee Costs

“All institutions are prone to corruption and to the vices of their members.”  —Morris West

Beatrice Munyenyezi  has resided nearby here in Manchester since 2002 .  Like many others who have come  to the United States as Refugees, Munyenyezi came to raise her children, work and, essentially, “live the American Dream.”  But also unlike many other refugees, Munyenyezi presently stands accused of personally participating in the Rwandan genocide, as an extremist Hutu who not only killed, but had a hand in the rapes of untold Tutsi victims.

U.S. Immigration in its’ U.S. District Court complaint in Concord, accuses Munyenyezi of lying  to enter the United States to gain citizenship. Currently behind bars without bail, Munyenyezi  is slated to begin trial this Wednesday on fraud charges.

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Concord Monitor Fisking: Several Bad Ideas On Hunting, Wildlife

 “As for editorial content, that’s the stuff you separate the ads with.”  —Lord Thomson of Fleet

On Thursday, February 9, 2012 the Concord Monitor‘s Dan Williams wrote an opinion column entitled, Several bad ideas on Hunting, wildlife Williams contacted me personally to talk about his upcoming story. When I read the column, however, I didn’t recognize the lion-share of our conversation. Much was missed in the piece and it took on a rather pejorative tone, versus an analytical tone.

Seeing the text on line, I attempted to clarify with only nominal token success. I had to generate an account, was limited to 1000 characters in my response. and was only permitted one entry. My second one never appeared.

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The Concord Monitor’s Integrity Deficit

“I can only assume that your editorial writer tripped over the First Amendment and thought it was the office cat.” —E. B. White

On Thursday February 9, the Concord Monitor ran an opinion column written by Dan Williams regarding several pieces of Legislation pending in Concord affecting Hunting, Fishing and Trapping.  Aside from writing for Granite Grok, I am the President of the New Hampshire Wildlife Federation, and also the President of the Londonderry Fish & Game Club. I am a hunter, a fisherman (of lesser sorts) and a Trapper.

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Correct. We Men Have Nothing To Say About Reproductive Rights

“Ah, yes, divorce… from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man’s genitals through his wallet.”  —Robin Williams

Again, My associate Steve Mac Donald hits another home run with today’s entry. In the wake of the  Komen for the Cure Planned Parenthood funding controversy, Steve recaps for us what the die-hard blow-hardettes had to say. Steve writes,

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Cilley Jackie Enters The Governor’s Race

“The problem with political jokes is they get elected.”—Henry Cate

MANCHESTER — Former District 6 Democrat state Senator Jackie Cilley has thrown her hat into the gubernatorial ring for the Granite State’s Corner Office. Joining Maggie “the Marxist” Hassan, she seeks to replace Governor John “Lefty” Lynch who will not seek another term. “Silly” Jackie came to the Manchester YWCA to make her pitch yesterday rolling out the same old tired liberal screed often heard before.   The Union Leader’s Beth LaMontagne-Hall reports, Cilley pledged to, “ensure quality education for all students, protect the environment, fight right-to-work legislation and keep same-sex marriage on the books in New Hampshire.

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America’s Democrat Mayors Ruining the Country for Decades

“In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous.” —Tacitus

Forbes.com’s  Kurt Badenhausen detailed America’s Most Miserable Cities, 2012 last week.  In formulating his thesis, Badenhausen writes,

 We looked at the 200 largest metropolitan statistical areas and divisions in the U.S. to determine America’s Most Miserable Cities. The minimum population to be eligible was 256,000. We ranked each area on 10 factors, including average unemployment rate between 2009 and 2011; median commute times to work for 2010 based on U.S. Census data; violent crimes per capita from the FBI’s 2010 Uniform Crime Report; and how pro sports teams fared in the area over the past three completed seasons.

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Romney Advocacy For The Welfare State

“I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.” —Willard “Mittens” Romney

Romney not concerned about the poor.
Willard "Mitt" Romney: The Matthew Lesko of American Politics

That is what Mittens said…and the lefties will tear him to shreds over that very statement.  Especially the class warfare artisans in the political arena. While Romney is correct  about the poor having a social welfare safety net, It is that same “safety net” that creates government dependency and self-perpetuation of a system that its’ patrons become dependent on, rather than self-sufficient and self-supporting.

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Wardrobe Malfunction?

“A lot of women are turned off by the physical appearance of some of the first feminists.” —Helen Reddy How well did our esteemed Secretary of State think out her wardrobe, make-up and styling before making a very public U.N. appearance?  I am going to get skewered for this but am I the only one … Read more

Running for Selectman And Saying What One Means

“An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing which never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down to a town-meeting or a vestry”  —Thomas Jefferson

Letters to the Editor, no matter what newspaper features them, are always fodder for intrigue, strange ironies and unintended humor. Other times, letters to the editor are little more than rank lies, propaganda and charlatanry for “true-believers.” But for the most part, letters to the editor provide that surface-level thumbnail viewpoint of the author…for the most part.

Running for Selectman2012 is a political year on all levels national, state and local. One such letter that inevitably piques my interest are letters to the Editor by candidates seeking office and asking for the support of the public who might elect them. I pay particular attention to such letters because running for a seat on any town leadership platform inevitably shapes a person’s public persona for better or worse.

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RINO OF THE WEEK REPORT

This Week's RINO of the Week

“A government big enough to give you everything you need, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have….”—Sen. Barry Goldwater

Representative Marshall E. “Lee” Quandt, Rockingham District 13 is this week’s RINO OF THE WEEK.  Representative Quandt tends to be “Clintonista” with his navigation of the New Hampshire political Fabric and based on his New Hampshire House Republican Alliance Scorecard, he enjoys some modicum of success doing that.

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Gay Weddings Debated. Why?

There’s nothing wrong with being gay. I have plenty of friends who are going to hell. —Stephen Colbert

HB 1264, sponsored by Representatives Jerry Bergevin of Manchester and Frank Sapareto of Derry met with a firestorm of opposition from the Gay Community along with religious and civil rights groups mouthpieces. The Union Leader intriguingly, made this a gay/straight issue through the context of their reporting, despite nothing in the bill making any direct (or even indirect) reference to any group respectively.

 

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The Food Stamp Nation and Its’ President

 “I’d go to, like, six different schools in one year. We were on welfare, and my mom never ever worked.” —Eminem

Greetings from the Welfare State

During the Republican Presidential Debates, Newt Gingrich referred to President Obama as the, “Food Stamp President.” That was last week. Yet, over two years ago, Wyatt Emmerich, Publisher for the Northside Sun based in Jackson, Mississippi posited an editorial where his underlying thesis was, “a one-parent family of three making $14,500 a year (minimum wage) has more disposable income than a family making $60,000 a year.”  (See Emmerich’s Editorial in its entirety, Here)

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RINO OF THE WEEK REPORT


“Ostentation is the signal flag of hypocrisy.” —Edwin Hubbel Chapin

Representative Frank V. Sapareto (R) Rockingham District 5 – Derry  is this week’s RINO of the Week.  But let us be clear about Representative Sapareto. He is not a run-of-the-mill RINO. In fact, as a State Representative, (notwithstanding this one bill he filed), He is one of the more solid Republicans up in the Legislature. In fact, the House Republican Alliance scores him at 86% which isn’t bad at all.

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Dunbarton Gets a New Police Chief

“I decided that if the police couldn’t catch the gangsters, I’d create a fellow who could.” —Chester Gould The Town of Dunbarton welcomed the arrival of Daniel Sklut as its’ new Police Chief.  I wish him well, best of luck and success in his service to Dunbarton residents. Being a police chief in New Hampshire … Read more

Democrats And Voter Fraud

“Voter Fraud is an accepted way of winning elections here…”—Unnamed Democratic Election Worker “This is an ongoing scheme and it occurs on both sides of the aisle…What appears as a huge conspiracy to non-political persons is really a normal political tactic.” — Democratic City Councilor Anthony Defiglio to NY State Police. http://youtu.be/Mc51hyhp33o Glad there’s no voter … Read more

Ray Buckley’s Punchlines on Voter ID

This morning’s Union Leader features State Democratic Chairman Raymond Buckley calling for “bipartisan support” for prosecuting those who used the names of dead Granite Staters to receive ballots during the presidential primary.

Not at all surprising. In fact, many have wondered how long it would be before we heard from “Buckles the Clown” regarding the ongoing saga of Democratic advocacy of Vote Fraud in the Granite State.  Just another punchline from “Buckles.” Seriously. When has Raybo ever done anything for a higher bipartisan purpose?

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