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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.
Budgets

Tales from the Budcomm – It is now on its way to make “No means NO!” mean something again

Summary: This is an Act that remedies a technical problem within the current Municipal and School District budget process that allows Governing Bodies (Selectmen, School Boards) to transgress the fiscal policies of Budget Committees and votes of the Legislative Bodies (e.g., local voters). Current law and regulations allow Governing Bodies to effectively overrule those budgetary approvals at the General Ledger line level by transferal of monies at the Departmental of Revenue Administration MS-Form level.

For my entire time on my budget, I always thought that “No meant no” during the time that NH local SB2 approved Budget Committees are constructing the budgets (both town/Municipal” and the School District budgets) that will be presented to the townfolk at Town Meeting (which for SB2 towns would be at the ballot box). If the BudComm members decided that a line item was insufficient, it could be raised.  If the BudComm felt that a line item had too much money allocated for it, it could reduce that amount.  And if the BudComm felt that the amount was a complete waste of taxpayer money, they could zero out that particular line item (“No means NO!”) and felt that the Governing Body (Selectmen, School Board) could not spend a cent on that “Purpose”.

Turns out I was wrong – but I now have a solution in LSR 2019-0573 HB:

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BREAKING NEWS: former President George H.W. Bush has died

From the Resurgent: President George H. W. Bush has died. The 41st President of the United States and last World War II veteran to serve as President, had been in ill health for some time. President Bush had one of the most impressive careers in modern Washington. He had been a member of the House … Read more

school-funding-taxes

So School Districts want “involved Parents”? Er, not so much here

My operative question in this (and those similar to them) is this: Who works for whom? Reformatted, emphasis mine:

Parents lament Connecticut school district’s decision to stop lunch visits

Some parents cherish school lunch visits with their children. If work or other obligations allow them, it can be a time to check-in with kids and model good social behavior. But in a Connecticut town’s elementary schools, district officials have sided with those who find such visits to be disruptive. Parents can no longer visit their kids during lunchtime at the Darien system’s K-5 schools after they struggled with a growing number of cafeteria visitors.

“It feels like a punch in the gut,” said Jessica Xu, whose oldest child is in first grade. “I chose the town for the schools. I’m so frustrated the schools don’t want me there.” Although some supported the decision in the wealthy shoreline community that prides itself on its high-performing public schools, Xu is not alone. Parents have protested at town meetings and in online forums, saying they can help their children resolve conflicts with others or simply help them open milk cartons.

And who are the “those” people?

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Quotes

Notable Quote – Ben Shapiro

“The left is expert at framing debates. They have buzzwords they use to direct the debate toward unwinnable positions for you. They are tolerant, diverse, fighters for social justice; if you oppose them, by contrast, you are intolerant, xenophobic, and in favor of injustice. Now, all these terms are – to be polite – a … Read more

Yes, Steve, the Manchester Democrats really do hate Rich Girard AND lawyer Karen Hewes invokes the Streisand Effect

MANCHESTER — An attorney representing a Manchester High School Central senior has sent a letter to At Large school board member Rich Girard, requesting he stop discussing her publicly or during meetings or face legal action, after he contacted her through a district-operated student email account regarding an opinion piece she authored in a student newspaper. The student, Rachel Phelan, 18, wrote an editorial in the Sept. 28 edition of “The Little Green,” Central’s student newspaper, urging support for city teachers currently working without a contract.

And said attorney is identified later on in the article as Karen Hewes of EdLaw New England in Bedford. Who accuses Girard of violating FERPA, the Federal law that protect students’ Personal Indentifiable Information (“PII”) as Grokster Ann Marie talked about here. Yet, I dryly note that her letter to Girard to stop talking about Rachel Phelan was leaked to the UL (do ya really think it was Rich that would have done that?).  Naw, this boob of an attorney

Sidenote: Wanna make a bet I’ll hear about that as either being sexual harrassment or politically incorrectly for simply using a common American English slang phrase?  First Amendment, baby – just like Rachel Phelan “outed” herself as an adult, so has this nitwit.

not is just trying to threaten Rick Girard – she also outed her client to everyone in NH.  Great job, just a great job. Which brings up the case – for fee or pro bono?  Truth or self-aggrandizment? Or just being self-unaware of invoking the Streisand Effect?  OK, to recap (thank you, Steve):

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WIndham Pelham School District

Part 1: Back to the Windham School District; yet another self-inflicted wound, eh? Yes, teacher Elizabeth Talon, that would be you.

“Are NFL players participating in Civil Disobedience?“

That is the question that was put to Elizabeth Talon’s class – but was the NFL really the true subject of this “lesson”?

First, let’s put a baseline into place examine the new Code of Ethics that was adopted earlier this month by the NH Board of Education in that a few snippets may well apply (found here, emphasis mine):

  • The educator accepts the responsibility to practice within the educational profession according to the highest ethical standards and aspires to continuously and consistently make decisions which are, first and foremost, within the best interests of the student.
  • There is also a recognition that the decisions and actions that the educator makes, whether inside or outside of the school and classroom, may be reflective of ones’ professional judgment.

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WMUR_Logo

Going along with my previous observations about WMUR – a tilt; Part 2: So “Diversity” really means “Democrat”?

Democrats yammer all day about about diversity this, diversity, there, diversity there…but I’m wondering how “diverse” their voting records will be for all that talk about “diversity”?  Do that really mean diversity in thought?  Diversity in legislation?

No, “Diversity” on the Democrat side is only skin-deep on the outside and mono-thought culture on the inside:

I bring that, partly as a younger person. I’m also a Latino and we could also use some more diversity in the Legislature from that perspective as well.

My question is this: Why?  If you are a Democrat, and you speak like a Democrat, and you vote like a Democrat, what does being a Latino have to do with anything?  What does having others around you look like you have to do with anything if you all act the same in the Democrat mode? From my perch outside of both Parties, it simply devolves to

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WMUR_Logo

Going along with my previous observations about WMUR – a tilt?

On yesterday’s WMUR News9 at 5pm, they ran a piece on the new legislators, newly elected on November 6th, as they were going through their 3 day State House orientation:

Like the political junkie I am, I watched it…and went “wait…what?”  Diversity? Methinks WMUR’s Adam Sexton went tilt on “diversity”.

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Illegals storming US Border

So, WMUR ran this now debunked “Mom and two kids in diapers at the border” picture

Ask yourself – what loving mother is gonna put her babies into such a dangerous situation, after being “penniless” and walking 2880 miles to end up in a “spontaneous” picture where 500 hard core, mostly male, illegal aliens trying to break into the US AFTER being warned that the border will be defended? And now are being deported by Mexico back to their home countries?  Shades of the  Israel / Gaza Strip border as the Palestinians Antifa movement has a history of staged pictures, videos, and Narrative.

And WMUR has led with the story, with this now discredited pic, during their 5pm, 6pm, and 11pm newscasts last nite.  Yeah, layers upon layers of fact checkers and editor at this Hearst outlet. News or Narrative?  “As it happens” or propaganda?  Proving the ideological bent of most newsrooms around the country don’t swing Right but have no problems with Open Borders.

Sidenote: as much as the UL has been creeping leftward, is anyone beside me thinking WMUR is sprinting in that direction the last couple of years??

And there’s more!

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Dude (Dudette?), it ain’t Capitalism that has failed

This is failure all over the place. Capitalism can do a lot of things to raise one’s standard of living but I doubt it can even BEGIN to touch this one. But the phrase “Stuck on Stupid” does come back to the fore but, yup, this is one of those that you just can’t unsee… … Read more

Blogline of the Day – EVERY life matters

On a post about Planned Parenthood New England’s 1 “100% Support for Womens Health” Honor Roll’ Actual Women’s healthcare is when everyone leaves the office alive ….. Funny how PPNE would never put it that way. (H/T: as seen on Facebook)

Blogline of the Day: C’est vrai!

“Democrats do not have foreign enemies; they have domestic enemies.” What about Russia, you ask – don’t the Dems view them as “foreign enemies”? No – only a useful idiot foil to use against their real enemies – domestically, that would be Trump and his supporters. (H/T: Instapundit)

Democrat State Senators: Granite State Opportunity Plan – A State Budget That Works for Everyone

Yeah…..nope.  Impossible and can’t be done for a few commonsense reasons I’ll list in a few minutes.

Unlike the Republicans (and I’ll talk about THAT in a few minutes, too), the Democrats have their plan and their bills all ready on the NH Legislative taxiway ready to take flight.  Take a look at the list of the LSRs (Legislative Service Requests – ideas for bill to be put into “legislative-ese”. Note: your’s truly has asked my new House reps to sponsor one for me) – all kinds of spending, taxing….and behavior modification (yeah, you don’t behave according to them).  The NH State Senators already have their overall plan, Granite State Opportunity Plan, in place (thanks to the helpless NH GOP, they now run the show) and plan on pursuing it hot and heavy.

It will be a disaster if they do and let me start picking it apart with the first part of it (other Groksters will be pulling other strings): A State Budget That Works for Everyone. A Pure Public Relations play – such a thing is impossible and they either know it and are lying about it or they really believe their crap don’t stick and don’t know that it does.  Let us proceed with the fisking, shall we?

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Sad that Santa has to say that

C’mon folks – we can do better!  Let’s give back (hate that phrase, “give back”, by the way) to Santa his dream of a Govt that protects our Rights and our private property!  We can do this – let’s make it happen in 2020 (Lord knows, the Democrats aren’t gonna do it). (H/T: Powerline)

Thanksgiving is over – now you may begin!

For decades, I have never allowed TMEW to start in on Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving Day is over.  I’ve been known to walk into a store to get something on my “current shopping list” only to walk right out when I saw Christmas sales – in October.  Not gonna do it. Now you may proceed; … Read more

If only…

Would this have made up for Manhatten? Of course it would have! (H/T: Powerline)

Be thankful for Capitalism’s Abundance and the Charity it allows

Kevin Williams has a very thoughtful piece on Capitalism for yesterday’s Day of Thanksgiving.  While not directly thanking God (which the Pilgrims did on that day back in 1623), he confronts the wave of Socialism that reared it’s ugly head on November 6 and does a nice job of defending it when most cannot stand against the “kindness” onslaught of those believing that Government directed economies (Socialism, Communism) and behaviors are VERY MUCH superior to customer / individual self-directed choices (Capitalism). In part (reformatted, emphasis mine):

There is a part of the Christian tradition that relates charitable giving to the Seventh Commandment, which is the prohibition on theft. The idea is that the world and all that it contains are God’s gift to corporate mankind — “the universal destination of goods,” in theological jargon — so that the man with two coats holds one of them unjustly when his neighbor shivers in the cold with no coat at all. Private property, in this understanding, is instrumental in promoting the common good, but it does not supersede the primordial gift.

There is great grace and goodness and wisdom in that. But it simply assumes the existence of coats and coat factories, the vast and incomprehensibly complex apparatus of coat-production that incorporates materials, effort, and intelligence from people all over the world, coordinating the efforts of men and women who do not speak the same languages, share the same religion, reside in the same countries, or even know of one another’s existence — from goose farmers to computer programmers to chemical engineers.

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Data Point: cost of Thanksgiving dinner for 10, 1986-2018

The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 33rd annual survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $48.90, or less than $5.00 per person. This is a 22-cent decrease from last year’s average of $49.12. “Since 2015, the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner … Read more

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