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“The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.”

– President Barack Obama, Inauguration, 1/20/09

Uh-oh – this isn’t going to help “the Government works right” meme, eh Barack?  You know, that implicit Progressive Boast that Government is “capable”?  Well, the series of scandals, often seemingly by his political appointees and certainly by those on his ideological bus, has put a frown on that.  Certainly the IRS, targeting TEA Party groups simply because of a political disagreement, strikes even more fear of the most feared agency in the Federal Government.  But wasn’t that kinda the plan?

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Remember that argument?  That Government spends far less on administrative costs, 2-3%,  so that ALONE is a good thing (with the implied meaning that the Government can do as well as private insurance (who were around 20-25%).  What they didn’t ever want to talk about was the fraud in the Government’s Medicare / Medicaid system with a run rate of around $80 Billion (although I have heard of lower ones of $50 – 60 Billion).  Private insurance spent more as a percentage basis (4-7%) but their fraud rates were far, far less; spend a little more percentage wise to find it and spend FAR less in outgoes due to fraud (“Fraud, about 9 % of the Medicare budget“) – see:

Or take Medicare. Other than the source of its premiums, Medicare is no different, economically, than a regular health-insurance company. But unlike, say, UnitedHealthcare, it is a bureaucracy-beclotted nightmare, riven with waste and fraud.

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“May I suggest a good book today – and a GREAT Obamacare healthcare insurance plan??”

Well having seen that the ALA had pledged local libraries to be in the Obamacare “sign up here” corps (like other “community organizers” like the discredited ACORN organization (where Obama was an instructor in Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals), unions, and other left leaning organizations whom, if I were a betting man, would have Voter Registration materials with the policies whispering “and remember which Party is giving you this free healthcare!” – yes, I am that cynical), I asked and received answers from two of my three Town Selectmen (Oh Gus?  Still waiting).  The only thing of note is that while ACORN (or its reconstituted and renamed chapters) will be getting paid for its solicitation of soon-to-be-healthcare-wards-of-the-State (and remember – Obamacare is getting School systems to recruit “the children” to badger their Parents to sign up), those 17,000 public libraries will be doing it for free on the local taxpayer property tax dime.

In responding, they said no from their standpoint but the final decision would rest with the town’s Library Trustees.  So, I asked them, too!  Do you think I’ve received an answer yet (emailed on 6/30)?

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If You Don’t Work, You Die

I was reading a Nero Wolfe book the other day and there is a man we’re obviously supposed to dislike going on about how it’s stupid to try to feed all the hungry in the world. It puzzled me how this could be even disputed, much less a bad opinion. Given the different kleptocratic kakistocracies around the world, trying to feed all the poor is in fact to support dictators and evil men. Trying to feed individual, targeted poor is different, but then you can’t feed “all the poor in the world.” Of course, this was a time when the power of governmental organization and “scientific governance” were considered forces for good…

Indeed.  I do believe that most of the world’s poor ARE poor not because of themselves but because of bad government – incompetent at best and at worst, evil and tyrannical.

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We do work hard, we Groksters here at the ‘Grok.  No, we don’t do it for the fame, the glory, or the money (er, none of us earn a dime here (Unlike Zandra Rice Hawkins of Granite State Progress; an transplant supported by outside-the-State Billionaires) – we’ve found ourselves to be on solid ground when we realized that we should not give up the day jobs) – but we do have lots of opinions on a whole lot of subjects, issues, and events and we are not shy about sharing them from our Conservative / libertarian (note the small “L”) standpoints of free markets, fiscal frugality, Constitutional values, limited expressions of Government, and Individual Freedom and Liberties.

So when someone else gives us a H/T (Hat Tip) or asks us to speak or uses some of our material (in the way it was meant), it is most appreciated.  Four recent ones come to mind

• The hard work that Grokster Steve has been putting in on GrokTALK! every Saturday morning resulted in a national syndication for our podcast (and soon, adding in live audio streaming and call-ins)

• Grokster Rick has had one of his blog posts picked up by the Swedish outlet, Kristian stadsbladet: The Gay Marriage Report

• DaTechGuy (Pete Ingemi) had Grokster Mike on his syndicated radio show to share his views on “stuff”

• And then someone walked up to TMEW and I in Lowes picking up a few things…

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After doing GrokTALK! podcast in Concord this morning, I headed north on Route 93 in heading back to the Lakes Region.  Heavy traffic: lots of out of state plates and a bunch of boats and camping trailers being towed.  That said, the overall speed was quite high and then I remembered that the speed limit had just been raised from 65 to 70 MPH from Concord northward pretty much up to the border (excluding the Notch).  I would have to say that most folks were in the 70 to 75 mph range.

Then I also remembered what I had read in the Nashua Telegraph as first the Senate approved the higher limit and then again when Gov. Maggie Hassan signed the bill.  Concern for more accidents, more deaths?  Nope, what caught my eye was a crie du coeur from those whose Enviro mindset is that we peons driving at all is “a sin against GAIA” – we should NEVER be allowed to ‘create more pollution’ under any condition:

“…goal should be to increase fuel mileage and reduce unnecessary travel.”

The message?

• How DARE you even think you should be able go faster! 

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“May I suggest a good book today – and a GREAT Obamacare healthcare insurance plan??”

When I heard of the news that the American Library Association had pledged to support Obamacare registration efforts in public libraries, it occurred to me that this trade group, in collusion with the Obama Administration, had unilaterally decided to dragoon local government employees into a politicized Federal Government (and without paying for such time and effort, too).  A tad incensed that my local library was going to expend time and efforts (and therefore, MONEY)  into something no one had approved of during the Budget Season in my wee hamlet, I asked my three Town Selectmen (who run the town – there is no mayor.  They would be City Councilors if in larger cities):

…I am rather skeptical that the Town of Gilford has allocated any funds for a line item such as “Librarian Obamacare Outreach” or I’m not thinking that any funds alloted for professional development would cover training in the 2,700 pages of the Obamacare bill nor the 20,000 pages (+) of resulting regulations in order to be such a resource to the general public:

…Libraries equipped with public computers and Internet access already serve as a bridge across the digital divide, so it made sense to get them involved, said Julie Bataille, spokeswoman for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Is it the case that Gilford Library staff will have their time taken up with this activity?

And of the three, I did get responses:

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You know, the one where the targeting ‘of only a few” TEA Party groups by ‘ couple of rogue agents’ quickly became more than a handful of offices and included some of the real higher ups who thought they were safely ensconced deep within the D.C. HQ.  Turned out to be almost 300 TEA Party groups were harassed by our Civil Masters civil servant for simply requesting 501(C3) tax status but being of the “wrong” political persuasion (the absolute NERVE of those TEA Partiers, telling us who derive our salaries from their tax monies that they want a smaller and less intrusive government, one that obeys the Constitution and costs them less!).

Incompetent and too big was the plea by the Obama apologists…

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A loyal reader sent me this tip and asked if I could post it – we have another “Anybody recognize this guy?“?  If you know, let us know in the comments or email me Skip@GraniteGrok.com

I think most people who would venture here know about the Robin Hood operation out in Keene – the folks that have been staying a couple of steps ahead of the parking / meter maids and saving the car owners from tickets from overstaying their parking.  Heck, it not only went viral, it hit the major news networks!  I’ve heard of people doing this from time to time – mostly during prime shopping seasons and the shopkeeps and Chamber of Commerce folks have had “drop a dime” campaigns in the meters so as to draw in more shoppers to keep their tills tinkling.

Sidenote: with the newer centralized kiosks that spit out paper stubs to put under your windshield, this kind of “showing kindness to strangers” may get much harder.

However, not everyone is thrilled to their core about this (probably due to the way that the attendants have been swarmed by the “Merry Banders” with cameras.  I “get” the political street theater stuff and yes, sometimes it can be overdone.  But this “Angry Man” (not to be confused with Islamic Rage Boy……maybe) had NO reason to be angry.  First off, Derrick is just standing there with his camera focused on a car and a card that had been left behind when Angry Man drives up (starting at 2:07) and for no reason, unloads on Derrick and then steals his camera (is this typical behavior of Democrats, Annie, the taking of other peoples’ property by simply grabbing it?).

The worst? I think this guy has to reside on the Left side of the aisle- I really can’t believe that “Angry Man” actually said

“You have to respect other peoples’ Rights in this town.  Because we have to lose some of our Rights for you to GAIN your rights. You’re being rude!”

Spoken like a true “life is absolutely a zero-sum game” Statist.

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