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.

Wrong About RINOs

“I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” —Will Rogers

Representative Julie "The Mad Hatter" Brown, Strafford, District 1 RINO of the Year

When I began doing the RINO Report, I had opined initially that RINO’s don’t really care about my musings on whether or not he or she is a RINO. I was wrong about that. I am finding out that RINO’s do care. Fact is, I am finding out that some I have labelled as RINO’s are actually…well, quite thin skinned.

The true test of how well-read the blog has been, is evidenced by the number of people who stop on  by to call me a MORON.  Such viscera is good for the inner constitution.  And, Despite being negative, it’s still feedback.  When I get such feedback I am reminded of 28 years ago…back to the year, 1983, when I was a recruit at Third Battalion H Company at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island. As the Senior Drill instructor

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Syrup of Ipecac For Lee Quandt

“A moment’s reflection shows that Liberalism is entirely negative. It is not a formative force, but always and only a disintegrating force.” —Francis Parker Yockey

RINO (ry•/n oh)  noun. (acronym)

            Republican in name only

  1. A person who runs for, or holds political office representing one’s self as a “Republican” but who adopts, votes for or advocates for political tenets that advance an agenda contrary to conservatism or the Republican party platform.
  2. A member of the Republican Party who is liberal.
Representative Lee Quandt (R)ino

One of our own RINO’s in the legislature has taken up the mantle of Charlatanry. But what makes this RINO Charlatanry so noteworthy is his engagement in tactics typically found on the left. People like Raymond Buckley, Kathy Sullivan, and Harrell Kirstein. Not only noteworthy are the tactics, but the very word choices used in the description.

This RINO writes, ”

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Voter ID laws: Disenfranchising People Since…eh…When?

“American youth attributes much more importance to arriving at driver’s license age than at voting age.” —Marshall McLuhan

Opponents of Voter ID laws argue the laws stifle turnout among students, poor people and minorities, who are more likely to vote for Democrats but might lack government-issued IDs, such as driver’s licenses and passports. And that is a totally flawed notion.

 Why is that notion so flawed? Simple. Let us look first at the largest demographic in the U.S. who is most likely to seek out  public assistance of any kind. In doing so, lets look at a program or two that are universally recognized:

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Too Much Ink and So Little To Write About

“If either the right wing or the left wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles.” —Pat Paulsen

I seriously cannot fathom how much press has been given to the Notion of Stephen Colbert running for President.  And he will likely end up garnering votes, even if such a notion is satirical. Mickey Mouse and other such ficticious characters have traditionally done so.

But we must not forget the Stupid People.  Those who vote for a candidate because the candidate is physically appealing or has nice teeth or speaks well or is the “chosen one” It is those same people that think “Plastic Jesus is an actual hymn.

Well, I don’t care if it rains or freezes,
Long as I have my plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Through all trials and tribulations,
We will travel every nation,
With my plastic Jesus I’ll go far.

Winston Churchill once quipped, “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” Is that to say people are dumb? Well some certainly are….others are simply glazed over…as if reading the assembly instructions to a new gas grill.

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Leftists Say (Write) The Darnedest Things!


“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” —Benjamin Franklin
On The Project Veritas Voter Fraud Project: Being curious, I went over to UnionLeader.com to see what the leftists had to say. One aspect about Leftists weighing in on a UL story is that they cannot help themselves. Sure enough, they didn’t disappoint!  There is the much-predicted name-calling, personal assaults on the character of others who post, deflection, and rank condescension.

SO I thought I might do this fun little exercise where a few of the comments are showcased. Here is what I found:

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League of Women Voters Now Hissing at Project Veritas Video

“Perhaps that suspicion of fraud enhances the flavor.” —C. S. Forester

Shrew
SHREW: (SHroo) def. 1. A small mouse-like insectivorous mammal (Sorex, Crocidura, and other genera, family Soricidae) with a long pointed snout and tiny eyes. 2. A bad-tempered or aggressively assertive woman.

The New Hampshire League of Women Voters call James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas video, “A Fraud.” The League has called for the prosecution of, “these out of state con-artists.” As Reported in today’s edition of the New Hampshire Union Leader.  Let the slash and burn begin, I say! These types of fights are the stuff dreams are made of.

Juxtaposing this anti-voter ID push-back with the viewpoint of the average citizen who votes, but does not dabble in activist partisan rancor, an overwhelming majority of those citizens agree it is perfectly reasonable to show who one is to vote on election days. Maintaining the integrity of a system, intended to incorporate the duty of one person, one vote, gels with average sensibilities and common sense.

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Eminent Domain: The 800 lb Gorilla In The Room


 

“Eminent domain is not the end, it is the means — a tool the government uses for economic development.” —Brad Thomas, Embree Group

Berlin Mayor Paul Grenier (D)

Paul Grenier, (D) the Mayor of Berlin and a Coos County commissioner took to the pages of the Union Leader yesterday to make the case for Northern Pass. “I take property rights very seriously,” wrote Grenier, then continuing on to rail against House Bill 648, asserting,

“HB 648 was specifically designed to stop the Northern Pass project, and some members of the Senate continue to seek amendments that target this project. However, if passed, this extreme approach would likely have much broader impact on our state than just taking out the Northern Pass.”

Mayor Grenier continues on talking about the Carson-Bradley Amendment to HB 648 describing the Senators’ Amendment as,

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Project Veritas Video: What Manchester And Nashua Officials Say

“There is no voter fraud problem in New Hampshire. We already have strong elections laws that are effective in regulating our elections.” —Governor John H. Lynch, in his July 2011 veto address of HB129

The New Hampshire Union Leader Front Page feature today: Video alleges voter fraud in NH. Granite Grok’s Skip Murphy yesterday aptly pointed out Governor Lynch’s position where he stated back in July,

There is no voter fraud problem in New Hampshire. We already have strong elections laws that are effective in regulating our elections.

That has been the key Democratic talking point right down the line. From our own Attorney General to Ray Buckley, “Shrill” Kathy Sullivan, and a gaggle of RINO’s in the legislature. Opponents continued to push back against Voter ID claiming whole groups of people would be denied access to the polls under this bill. In vetoing HB 129 bill last Summer, Skip also pointed out in the governor’s veto message:

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Brendan Bisbee Begs Bail

 

“Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk.”  —Henry David Thoreau

Brendan Bisbee is a former police officer who now sits in jail, convicted of perjury after he lied to help his girlfriend Kristin Ruggiero lie in order that her ex-husband be thrown in jail, have his career ruined and deny a relationship with their minor daughter born of that relationship.

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RINO OF THE WEEK REPORT

“Remember that a government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have.” —Barry Goldwater 

The 2012 Legislative Session brings new opportunities for analysis of the Granite State Legislature. The RINO Report began in July of 2010 and featured those Republicans who were “clear cut” Republicans in Name Only. For them the label aptly fit the first slew of Choices were found to vote with the Republican Agenda only 30-45% of the time.  As we moved up the list, the choices became less clearer, however we often turned to the New Hampshire House Republican Alliance Scorecards and looked at the vote content carefully.  Albeit, some who probably made the list could have made it after some who were originally featured. There were some who did not make the RINO Report that really should have. I will promise to make it up to them.

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RINO OF THE YEAR!

Representative Julie “The Mad Hatter” Brown, Strafford, District 1 is the RINO of the Year based on three separate polls!

Representative Julie “The Mad Hatter” Brown, Strafford, District 1 RINO of the Year

I was certain when I started these polls that Ken Gould would win. But Julie Brown left Ken in the dust and was overwhelmingly chose by over 300 participants in the polls.  In the coming days, I will be looking more closely at what  drove the selection…But I have be honest…I would have selected her myself.  Aside from other RINO’s, none has demonstrated such flippant arrogance and elitism as Julie Brown has.

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Charlie Bass Says Mitt Does Not Like To Fire People

“Contempt is the weapon of the weak and a defense against one’s own despised and unwanted feelings.” —Alice Duer Miller

Willard "Mitt" Romney on "Firing People"

New Hampshire’s own RINO Charlie Bass was on Fox this morning defending Mittens’ comments about firing people. Charlie Bass was right. Here is what Mittens said:

“I want individuals to have their own insurance,” he said. “That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy. It also means if you don’t like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.

“You know, if someone doesn’t give me a good service that I need, I want to say I’m going to go get someone else to provide that service to me.”

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ConservationNH And Their “Tree-huggin” Hippy Crap

“The college idealists who fill the ranks of the environmental movement seem willing to do absolutely anything to save the biosphere, except take science courses and learn something about it.” — P.J. O’Rourke

The NH Union Leader’s Ted Seifert featured a story about ConservationNH.org and their inaugural release of the, “Dirty Dozen” list of bills currently before the legislature.  According to filings with the Secretary of State, this group began in 2009 and its board is comprised of individuals listing affiliations and accomplishments more warmly welcoming in the left-wing political arena. That is an important distinction to make because they have RINO’s Rick Russman and Liz Hager on their team.

When readers go to the website, ConservationNH.org, the information is incomplete. There are no links to actual bills, titles or analysis other than what ConservationNH.org has to say about it. Lets look at their list:

HB 1512 – To Abolish Municipally Supported Land Conservation

 

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Gun Bills? Lynch Fights With Risky Behavior

 ”Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.” —Unknown
The Union Leader’s Gary Raymo reports  how two New Hampshire State Police troopers demonstrated how quickly a semiautomatic rifle can go from unloaded to loaded during a press conference at the Statehouse. That is all that is said.  On the face of it, the reader is left to deduce what the troopers did to demonstrate the point.

Here is this press conference on Tuesday. A whole bunch of people…citizens, lawmakers, other cops, press and who knows who else are concentrated in this room for a press conference to hear Flynch and his lackies decry gun bills. Now, we add a couple of State Troopers with fully loaded firearms to the mix. Then each Trooper, caught in the governor’s gamesmanship and bidding, chambers a round on a semi-automatic rifle, placing it fully in battery (technical term meaning ready to fire) whilst standing amongst a crowd. Interesting concept.

Even people with the minimum of education and brains understand basic safety concepts. NONE of my firearms are EVER loaded with live rounds ANYWHERE with only a few exceptions. First, In my home I have loaded shotguns and handguns for personal defense…welcome to Manchester…break in elsewhere. Second, is the sidearm that I carry on my person. That gun never gets unholstered except for specific need… i.e. self-defense. Third, at the range with muzzle pointed in a safe direction.  It is perfectly lawful to have a loaded handgun in my vehicle because I have obtained a N.H. Pistol Revolver license.

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The Shrill Kathy on Political Weirdness

” The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity and the brute by instinct.” —Marcus Tullius Cicero

The Union Leader has given Ink to the Shrill Kathy Sullivan for yet another inane senseless rant.

Kathy SullivanI told my friend Steve Vaillancourt it might be a New Year’s Resolution to simply ignore her. But in ignoring her, I think a final analysis is in order.

For all of the useless Pablum The Shrill Kathy has written, she is never lost on attacking anybody with a “R” attached to their name. The Shrill Kathy never criticizes the asinine or silly policies of her liberal friends. The Shrill Kathy never details anything positive coming from the Democratic Party as a juxtaposition to conservatives or Republicans.

The Shrill Kathy quips,

I also hope that 2012 is a year in which common sense, and not ideology, return to center stage, both in New Hampshire and the country as a whole. That is the only statement arguing for common sense in the whole rant.

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Mitt Romney: The Matthew Lesko of American Politics

Romney_lesko_small.jpg

“My opponent isn’t pro-choice or anti-choice, he’s multiple choice.”   —Senator Edward M Kennedy on Romney during the 1994 Senate Election

When Mitt Romney came to New Hampshire in June and announced his candidacy, One of the first visceral reactions I had was that Mitt could not win against Obummer. Not for all the conventions and opinings currently swirling about, but for the simple facial evaluation that the man in not honest. He is too phony, fake and disingenuous. His Flip flops are well-documented in the 2008 campaign by the very moderate-RINO that endorsed him…John McCain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IS33Hkgnls4

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NH Legislature: Who is the RINO of the Year?

During the course of 2011, we featured legislators who ran as Republicans but cast votes demonstrating a fealty with the house liberals. Cast your vote on “who” should be the RINO of the Year. [poll id=”3″]

Hoplophobes To Oppose Three Gun Bills

”Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples’ liberty’s teeth.”—George Washington

Governor Lynch and his hoplophobite cronies at the New Hampshire Police Chiefs Association are ramping up once again to put the kibosh on three Gun Bills slated to taken up this week by the legislature.

House Bill 334, relative to the state’s authority to prohibit or regulate firearms, firearms components, ammunition, or firearms supplies. Many find this legislation confusing because there is a belief that Public institutions fund with tax payer dollars already fall within the purview of RSA 159:26. In fact, Attorney Penny Dean told the Union Leader, current state law prohibits the University System from banning guns. Yet, somehow those educrats have carved out a little niche of unaccountability and have made an end-run around the legislature, ruling over their fiefdoms as they see fit.
“I think this would be a huge mistake considering the age of the students here, and to have some possess firearms would be extremely dangerous,” UNH Police Chief Nicholas Halias tells the Union Leader. “Some students use alcohol and others use drugs, and having any weapon available would be catastrophic.”

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