Skip

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.

Welcome to real world economics!

From the Laconia Citizen:

County admins work to pay health costs

LACONIA — The Belknap County administration and department heads presented a working budget plan to commissioners on Thursday that, in many departments, takes money from wages to pay health care costs…

Now, the rest of it is behind a paywall, so I’m not going to bother trying to get the rest of it.  Actually, don’t need to as they left the most important part up front (and bolded above).  Welcome to the private sector, boys & gals!  Every outfit that has a payroll knows that while you might pay a wage, the managers think “total compensation”  where wages are only one component.  Sure, every cost for an employee is divided up into separate General Ledger accounts but when someone is hired, it is the totality of the cost of that employee that is factored: wages, vacation, holiday, healthcare, other insurance, taxes, and other ancillary costs make up the whole cost.  One reason why wages have stagnated has been the rapid rise of healthcare – it’s like the carnival whack a mole game – when one comes up, another has to go down.  In a lot of cases, especially for smaller businesses, they can’t raise both wages & insurance costs.  So one takes from one part of the pie to pay for the other.  If healthcare costs are zooming, and the decision is made not to cut them, you end up with the same wage.  So the above bolded line is not surprising to those of us who have signed both the back and front of payroll checks.  Total compensation MAY indeed be going up – higher taxes paid, higher healthcare paid – just not wages.  Reality, dude. 

Read more

Well, I “wonder” whose missing from this picture?

This morning, I saw this photograph on the Concord Monitor front page – Governor Maggie Hassan ALL smiles as she signs the legislation that implements Obama’s Medicaid Expansion:

Hassan Signs BradleyCareDemocrat, Democrat, Democrat, Democrat – ringed by all Democrats.  But nary a pixel of any of the real folks that made it happen: NH State Senator Chuck Morse, NH State Senator Jeb Bradley, NH State Senator Bob Odell, or NH State Senator Nancy Stiles.  If it weren’t for these Rogue Republicans, this Democrat Happy Day would not be here.  But it probably will be here again.  Why? 

Read more

Notable Quote – Fr. Robert Sirico

Many of the confusions of our age rest on a loss of certain crucial distinctions. The most apparent is the distinction between rights and privileges. John Hospers, my philosophy professor at the University of Southern California, used to say we have undergone a “rights inflation.” As in a monetary inflation, the value of the common … Read more

“Brady Campaign to Honor Yee for Violence Prevention”

As Steve laid out here and here, we have an Uber-GunGrabber now in deep sneakers: Democrat Leland Yee has been indicted for gun running.  Yup, gun running – he may be against “gun violence” here in the US but two-facedly has no qualms about making a profit from “gun violence” somewhere else.  It is stunning, … Read more

Notable Quote – Steve Mac Donald

On Obamacare’s illustrating of Democrat philosophy (emphasis mine): This isn’t even a law anymore.  It is lawless.  That state where there is no defining framework, no boundary, and most importantly no way for any person, business, municipality, or state to know if and to what extent it is operating in or outside the law. This … Read more

Notable Quote – Prof. Don Boudreaux

On Education (emphasis mine): Here’s a better idea: shift education responsibility to parents. Mr. Hettleman likely disagrees, given that in his op-ed he doesn’t once mention parents or families.  But it is mothers and fathers – not politicians – who have the greatest interest in the welfare of their children and who know their children … Read more

Well THAT must have been a shot to the Light Bringer’s self-esteem!

From the acclaim of hundreds of thousands in stadium settings to a lonely clap; I don’t think that I have EVER seen a US President give a speech or a joint presser only get a single person clapping.  Slowly.  And everyone else just wanting to get out of the area. I watched it several times … Read more

We’re used to the idea here in NH, so why not others?

 NH Constitution: [Art.] 10. [Right of Revolution.] Government being instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the whole community, and not for the private interest or emolument of any one man, family, or class of men; therefore, whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means … Read more

Data Point: What was promised, didn’t

The questions is: will the American Public hold him responsible for the riches promised but not delivered?  Who will be held accountable?  What was promised, enjoying a robust rip-roaring economy if we just followed Obama’s proscriptions and policies, have delivered less than half than “better future to come”. Remember, he and his accomplicies decided that … Read more

Cold? You betcha!

Now, I wait all summer for February as I do prefer the colder weather.  However, I have had it – enough! . Here in NH, it has been downright all winter long – it got cold and stayed cold.  ALL winter time.  I can’t remember the last time that we had single digit temps in the … Read more

Well, when someone is paying for you, what’s not to like?

Obamacare -Year of the SnakeIf you look at my previous post, you will see the name of Republican Herb Richardson who voted for BradleyCare today – the expansion of Obamacare’s Medicaid program.  So much for that Plank of the NH GOP Platform, eh?

Sidenote: does any Conservative in NH have a sufficient amount of scotch tape and glue to put it back together again?  Or even want to?

So, what’s the connection between the post’s title and Richardson?  This (emphasis mine, reformatted)

LANCASTER — Former U.S. Senator Scott Brown, a Republican of Massachusetts, who won the seat formerly occupied by the late U.S. Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy in a special election and is now seriously considering a run against Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, visited the home of Rep. Herb Richardson, a Republican of Lancaster, and his wife Rita on Saturday afternoon…The top issues that Brown believes differentiates the Republican Party from the Democratic Party are its deep concerns about the skyrocketing national debt and deficit spending, the lack of jobs, and Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) that, he says, is crushing job creation….He characterized Obamacare as a “monstrosity” that’s hurting the middle class.

All fine and dandy thus far – it is what got Brown elected his first run for the US Senate from Massachusetts.  But then: 

Read more

Guess who from NH has dropped Obamacare from their campaign site?

Big Government:

Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA), a first-term representative whose district includes parts of Ventura County, Simi Valley and the San Fernando Valley, has apparently removed her support for Obamacare from her campaign website. As recently as late February (see cached image above), Rep. Brownley claimed that the “Affordable Care Act…made some much needed improvements to our health care system.” That section is now gone.

Heh!  So I was curious: who from the NH all-gal Democrat Pack has removed Obamacare from their website too (or hasn’t added it, if a new site)?

Read more

So it IS Democrats that are taking Medicare away from Seniors!!!

For decades, I’ve been listening to the puke that the Democrats have put out that Republicans just hate Seniors and are just waiting to take Medicare away from them.  Yet, guess who really IS taking away Medicare from Seniors?  Yup, with their vote for Obamacare, they took $700 BILLION out of the Medicare program. Democrats … Read more

Obama: We don’t need no stinkin’ Hellfire or Tomahawk missiles!

“like running a white flag up on a very tall flag pole and saying, ‘We are ready to be walked on,’”

Determined Weakness. That’s right – the Obama Pentagon budget is getting  rid of two of our most potent weapons: the Tomahawk cruise missile fired from US Navy ships and submarines and Hellfire missiles from our aviation assets of all services.  Kaput, gone, no more stocking.  Who needs offensive weaponry, I guess Obama is thinking, when we’ve reset up relationship with Russia, China is building up its military solely for parades, North Korea looks at their ICBMs only as party fireworks, the Middle East has no more Islamist problems, and those Iranian mullahs – such kidders!  And the Socialist government in Venezuela is so showing up capitalism and the crowds in the square are just so peachy keen!  What better way to “fundamentally transform” the United States by taking it from being the lone military Superpower to an also ran way down the list?

Er, not so much (emphasis mine, reformatted) – and it speaks for itself without comment from me:

President Barack Obama is seeking to abolish two highly successful missile programs that experts say have helped the U.S. Navy maintain military superiority for the past several decades.   The Tomahawk missile program—known as “the world’s most advanced cruise missile”—is set to be cut by $128 million under Obama’s fiscal year 2015 budget proposal and completely eliminated by fiscal year 2016, according to budget documents released by the Navy.

In addition to the monetary cuts to the program, the number of actual Tomahawk missiles acquired by the United States would drop significantly—from 196 last year to just 100 in 2015. The number will then drop to zero in 2016.   The Navy will also be forced to cancel its acquisition of the well-regarded and highly effective Hellfire missiles in 2015, according to Obama’s proposal.  The proposed elimination of these missile programs came as a shock to lawmakers and military experts, who warned ending cutting these missiles would significantly erode America’s ability to deter enemy forces.

Read more

HB 413 – BradleyCare

As Steve points out (“Yes, The NH Democrat Majority House Passed Bradley Care“), the NH House has also voted to implement Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion.  I just figured that I’d point out the Republicans that voted for this – who seemingly have abandoned their belief that Republicans stand for limited government (this will be one of … Read more

This Week – Liberal tries to defend the anti-religious HHS mandate by using religion (or something)

I really can’t get my head around what or how US Congressman Keith Ellison (R-MN)  said on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” (yeah, I watch the Sunday talking head programs, mostly, so you don’t have to) about the HHS Mandate and religion.  It is clear that he believes that Government should be able to control one’s expression of religion (e.g. not how YOU believe you should live but by Government’s belief system – and yes, Obama has made it clear there is one) except of course, when it comes to Islam. Such as that corporations MUST give their employees free abortifacients even if it violates deep and long held religious views against it.  How else can one put it that having The State forcing people to act contrary to their conscience is anything BUT Tyrannical?

Anyways, it probably a good thing that the Obama Admin is not letting him anywhere near the Supreme Court to help out; I just can’t logically unpack his paragraph:

Let’s step back from the whole Obamacare Affordable Act debate and ask ourselves what this would really mean. Do we really want a corporation to be able to have its own religious views AND impose them on its employees?  What would that mean for our separation of church and state for individual liberty?  What would it mean for corporate personhood?  This is scary territory and people need to win.

Well, I have no clue what HE means other than he’s with Obama: believe as the Government demands., but I shall try: 

Read more

“…governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

The full line from the US Declaration of Independence is: “That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”  Meaning that the American philosophy that we allow ourselves (we give our consent) to be governed by our elected Representatives.  Which also means that there can be a time where that consent, if given in the past, can be withdrawn in the current period or some time in the future?  Are we starting to see a tipping point where that consent is starting to be withdrawn?  We have already heard from Connecticut and have commented on the situation there that it seems that the vast majority of gun owners have decided that they do not consent to the odious firearm statutes that have turned law abiding citizens into Class D felons simply for having purchase something that was legal in the past and are now illegal.  And that has declared them to be on the same moral level as sex offenders (for having to register with the State).

We heard that in NY that other gun owners are in non-compliance with the hastily passed SAFE Act that equals the regulations in Connecticut and those in NJ are starting to do the same:  

Read more

“Livid” and “berserk”

However strange it may be, I am on Steve Vaillancourt’s email list.  Like any distro list, a lot go unread, some get glanced at, and a few are interesting.  This was both amusing and alarming as he describes the mental state of NH State Speaker of the House Terri Norelli.  The two words above did grab my attention – and Steve’s words from this morning (“liberal ghetto” and “twig snapping”) goes in on this as well – one begins to wonder “nervous breakdown” or “will there be a double down”?  Emphasis mine:

From: Vaillancourt, Steve
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 5:18 PM
To: <redacted?
Subject: a livid speaker

Normally I would send what I write to all, but for once I figure, why antazgonize [sic] Democrats any more than necessary, but of course, I realize any one person could pass this along to them.

“Livid” and “berserk” were the words I heard bandied around yesterday from a large number of Democrats to describe Speaker Norelli’s demeanor in front of her caucus Thursday morning.  One person said she had never been so angry.  Another rolled his eyes in shame.  I didn’t even ask for these comments.  In fact, when the first Demcrat began to describe Norelli’s actions in detail to me, I immediately explained to her that by telling me, she could expect me to use it.  She then quieted down; perhaps I shouldn’t have warned her, but I believe in being honest with people.  I also don’t usually name names.  In this case it was a she–hint–no friend of free staters.

Would that have been NH State Rep

Read more

Share to...
BufferCopyFlipboardHacker NewsLineLinkedInMastodonMessengerMixPinterestPrintRedditSMSTelegramTumblrVKWhatsAppXing