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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.

A voice suffering from Government Tyranny – simply for being TEA Party – Part 2

“I think the IRS needs to fix its labeling machine: we’re the San Fernando Valley TEA Party not Occupy Oakland”

In addition to Becky Gerritson, another TEA Party founder by the name of Dr. Karen Kenny  of the San Fernando Valley TEA Party testified to the Congressional committee on the targeting that they received from the IRS (emphasis mine):

Thank you Mr. Chairman.  John Adams knew that facts are stubborn things. In this district, facts are hidden under the mantle of office.  They get used as tools or weapons but they wait for us. We must seek them with the Lamp of Truth and put them into words.

But you and I speak languages in this Republic. You speak the language of Power, of pen, purse, and gavel. I speak American grassroots, the language of Liberty, through Providence, Property, and Civic Virtue.

We seldom speak together about The Rule of Law unless it is ignored or violated; now is such a time. I have a story that bridges the distance between my State of California and this Capital.  What I say here must be said here.

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Wouldn’t this be a violation of the Scout Oath and Law? “Morally Straight”?

New Boy Scout OathTo set the stage, the Boy Scout Oath:

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

And the Boy Scout Law:     A Scout is:  Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.

So how does the following square with the above? Especially when it is a Scout Leader deciding that the rules do not apply to him? From Big Government (reformatted, emphasis mine):

Despite a directive from a leader of the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), prohibiting scouts from advocating political or social positions, some scouts and adult supporters of Scouts for Equality wore their uniforms Sunday as they marched in Utah’s gay pride parade. The Utah Pride Parade in Salt Lake City came just a little more than a week after national delegates of the BSA approved allowing gay youth to become scouts. NBC News reports that Kenji Mikesell, an 18 year-old Eagle Scout and high school senior still active with his troop, said of his decision to wear his uniform in the parade, “It just feels like the right thing to do.”

Sigh.  This is not a rant against the Boy Scouts nor against “gay pride”.  It IS about the further co-opting of traditional groups and their values by an increasing militant pop culture that cannot allow such things to continue to exist.  Of course, the latter has no problem being draped in those values – especially as they know that they are actually hollowing them from the inside – out.

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Another case of Government “Fine for me but not for thee” – IRS edition

I really can’t add much more than the title – from Washington Free Beacon (emphasis mine): The IRS spent over 4 million taxpayer dollars on a conference in 2010, CNN reported Tuesday evening. The actual amount wasted is unknown because the IRS was not required to keep its receipts, something that they require taxpayers to … Read more

Data Point – Where are the Entrepreneurs?

021313jobs-600x373

Let me say right off the bat that I am no economist and would never even try to fake being one here on the ‘Grok.  That said, I see this chart as being extremely troubling.  Our traditional economics here in America has depended people, drawn to America on the idea that they too could make their own American Dream, that were willing to take that risk.  They knew and understood that while the risk to succeed meant great riches if they did indeed succeed, they could also nose-plant – yet took that risk anyways.

Some, being imprudent, failed to do the requisite homework, failed to calculate the risks, went ahead and risked it all anyways by starting up their business, and did the nose plant.  And yes, some did succeed despite themselves (re: anyone remember Pet Rocks?).  Most look, however, evaluate those risks and as this chart shows, have decided that the future is too unknowable to risk it.

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Biden: “If it only saves one life!” It did, it really did!

Gun Appreciation Day - Concord
The UN does want to come and take them

It has been a bit since I put one of these stories where a gun helped to save a good guy against some bad guys (who also had guns), but given that 60 nations have just signed the UN Small Arms Treaty (sending US Secretary of State John “Lurch” Kerry into a paroxysm of joy that Obama said he was going to sign it), it is good to point out that most often, guns are used to protect the good folk (as opposed to just be used by those that would commit malfeasance):

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Fort Wayne police say a man fatally shot a man who tried to rob him outside his home.

Police say the intended victim was standing on or near his porch Saturday night when he was approached by two men who tried to rob him. However, the man was armed with a handgun and fired several rounds, striking one of the would-be robbers several times while the second fled on foot.

The intended victim called police immediately to report the exchange of gunfire. He was shot in the foot and was in good condition Sunday at a hospital.

Police said the robber who was shot was pronounced dead at the scene and that a weapon was recovered near his body.

Police didn’t release the names of the men who were shot.

They should.  And as rapidly as possible.  And as for the dead robber, a lesson: Thou Shalt Not Covet.   Else you get Covered (up, as in body bag).

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Notable Quote – Scott Rohter

Only a few countries follow the principles of limited government and individual liberty as set forth in our Constitution, and only a few countries actually have free and open markets. These are the political and economic principles that built America into a great and flourishing nation. Whatever strategy the United States is employing, it is … Read more

Extreme Pandering – really? Republicans can’t even master level 1 Pandering.

AmnestyIsRepublicide(Image H/T: Powerline)

It is my belief that any movement on making the actions of illegal aliens now legal will not result in a brand new group of voters for the Republican Party no matter how much the R blowhards in the US Senate (McCain, Graham) would have us believe.  Even the fresh face of Marco Rubio now has some mud on it as he as alternatively tried to parlay his “newness” in the Senate as being a “third way” on making millions of illegal aliens US Citizens.

Sure, I’ve heard the warbling of “it will take them years!”, and “they will have to prove residency!” and of course, the money issue of “Pay back taxes!”.  Eyup!  And yes, “we’ll secure the border or start yet another commission” does NOT warm the cockles ANYwhere in the proximate vicinity of my body.  Right – I have NO hope that anything other than lip service will back up Marco’s claims that ANY of that will be done.  In fact, I posit that our crack TSA security theater workers will catch 100% of all “test contraband” (think: guns, bombs) before these immigration strictures are actually working 100%.

Not my first rodeo here – and I have YET to see My Government keep its promises or properly enforce both the letter and spirit of the Law. Clinton didn’t.   Bush didn’t (and we here at GraniteGrok were part of that effort back in 2006/2007 that help to melt the switchboards in DC).  Bush II didn’t.  And for all of the brouhaha that Obama “raised” deportations, let us not forget three things:

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Notable Quote – Dr. David Beito

The shift from mutual aid and self-help to the welfare state has involved more than a simple bookkeeping transfer of service provision from one set of institutions to another. As many of the leaders of fraternal societies had feared, much was lost in an exchange that transcended monetary calculations. The old relationships of voluntary reciprocity … Read more

Quick Thought: Democrat Cognitive Dissonance

I had bookmarked this a couple of days ago as it mirrors the same situation here in NH – Voter ID.  For Conservatives, this should be but a simple matter: with the current and  rampant Identity Theft epidemic, what is so wrong with making sure that the person who is asking for a ballot is … Read more

So, Obamacare has just declared me to be a Winnah – a Trifecta even!

Heritage: Projected Premium Increases by State
Heritage: Projected Premium Increases by State

But this is more of the case of winning the “TSA Lottery” – and frequent fliers know EXACTLY what I mean.  You have just gotten the attention of theatrical security corps and they are about to go through your stuff and your junk and apply that micro-duster to your carryon.  Well, in the last couple of days, our HHS Bureaucratic Overlords (you know, the ones that have decided that Religious values has no place in THEIR Public Square) have announced a few more “features” that our pocketbooks are going to cringe over.  Most of us knew that the Young are going to be paying well MORE than their fair share in supporting Obama’s Socialized Medicine and that Oldsters would not be (mostly because they vote more frequently).  Those following this “train wreck” (great line, Senator Baucus!  Thanks for being the “Architect” for this – and now retiring as it comes into reality) pulling out of the station already knew that smokers are going to get hit REAL heard by this – their premiums may lead the pack (yes, pun intended).

But the news of the day is that there are now others in the Obama line to pay the Obamacare train wreck ticket prices:

  • If you are overweight – BMI, anyone?  (Check)
  • If you have high blood pressure (Check)
  • If you have high cholesteral (Check)

Yeah I win the Trifecta – even as the last two CAN be modified by weight loss, but EVERYone in my Mom’s family had the last two two – ya think the IRS will give me a pass on my paperwork (due to genetics)?  I CAN fix the first (yeah, I gotta start that diet again) but the genetics are already stacked against me there.  Hey, IT.JUST.ISNT.MY.FAULT!  But what about…

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FairPoint….happens

FairPoint Communications purchased all of Verizon’s landline business a few years in NH, VT, and ME.  They made a big deal out as well they should have – it greatly increased their subscriber base.  They also made a lot of promises, such as ramping up employment and rolling out “high speed” Internet, especially out in the northern part of the state.  However, they took on a ton of debt to do so – and it showed early on in carrying out those promises.

Personally, their customer service sucked.  Just as soon as they announced their “new website”, I went over to set up electronic payments – especially since they had to pay Verizon to continue to provision a number of software packages as FairPoint was not ready with their own when Cutover (when the line transferred from Verizon to FairPoint).  Accurracy and quality of response simply sucked when the FairPoint systems kicked in.  I CANNOT tell you how many hours I spent on the phone trying to get my online account to actually allow me to pay my bill.  I finally gave up and just recently tried again (and was quite surprised when it actually worked).

Yeah, that feeling lasted a whole long time.    I called them a bit ago on a billing question and ended up signing up (under NH’s deregulation of the electricity provider industry) to sign up for their electrical provisioning arm, FairPoint Energy (yeah, delusional at the time).  Kept paying the PSNH bill as normal – and I did see a small downtick in the cost.  But NOT enough to put up with this:

Fairpoint Energy -title-proc

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“Morally Ambiguous” – And Secularists everywhere go “Amen!”

New Boy Scout Oath

That used to be “Morally Straight” – kinda hard to be (or teach) as our society becomes more and more Secular – which is already leading to “situation ethics” or “relative morality”.  This will result in a time there will be no absolute right and wrong – so how to hold people accountable for something that is obviously wrong but they simply say “No, it’s NOT!”?

There a tight connection between Cultural Marxism (aka Political Correctness) and being Morally Ambiguous in this case.  Simple, really.  Throw out the old religious tenets, which for centuries formed our moral foundation, and replace it with what ever we (Progressives) want it to be.  After all, it’s what we do, we on the Left.  How ELSE can we redefine Government in our own image if we don’t give society a new set of values that are favorable to us?  We HAVE to pick off and subsume those institutions that promulgate those old standards.  That way, OUR Government will be the only institution left that can dictate what is right and what is wrong.

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Speaking of Moral Ambiguity – yes, there is a War on Religion if it is not Secular Humanism

Marines Cross PendletonAdding on from “Moral Ambiguous” is this snippet from Imprimis (emphasis mine, I urge you to go read the whole thing – GRTWT) explains it well:

The idea seems to be that moral views historically supported by religion—which of course means all moral views other than modern secular ones—are constitutionally suspect.

Even as our Constitution was built, in no small part, on values from our country’s  Judeo-Christian heritage.  We are starting to live that phrase “a prophet has no honor in his own country”.

Here we come to the unifying feature of contemporary challenges to religious freedom—the desire to limit the influence of religion over public life. In the world envisioned by Obama administration lawyers, churches will have freedom as “houses of worship,” but unless they accept the secular consensus they can’t inspire their adherents to form institutions to educate and serve society in accordance with the principles of their faith. Under a legal regime influenced by the concept of public reason, religious people are free to speak—but when their voices contradict the secular consensus, they’re not allowed into our legislative chambers or courtrooms.

Freedom of expression, freedom of speech?  Only that which is allowed by Government which is to say, no freedom at all. Those Constitutional values…..

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More thoughts on Republicans passing SB11

Grokster Susan has the list with the title of “All your water are belong to them….“; it is still GraniteGrok’s belief that the finger has been removed from the dike with respect to the right to private property concerning the water underneath one’s land and that this may well give the Taxaholics yet another revenue stream of taxing (you watch – 4% of income is a magic number) private wells and septic systems (either directly or via metering).  Grokster Steve points out that the idea of New Hampshire-ites being taxed for the rainwater falling on their land has already been breached.

My concern, however, was with the evolving process of Legislators creating more and more “enabling legislation” that creates more opportunities for “UnDemocracy” – as Rich Lowry points out (reformatted, emphasis mine):

It is appropriate that the worst scandal of the Obama administration— the IRS targeting of conservatives — is a scandal of administrators and bureaucrats, of otherwise faceless people endowed with immense power over their fellow citizens and running free of serious oversight from elected officials.

They are the shock troops of the vast bureaucratic apparatus of the federal government. Its growth has been one of President Obama’s chief goals, and the one he has had the most success in achieving. He has greatly enhanced the reach and power of regulatory agencies that are an inherent offense against self-government, even when they aren’t enforcing the law in a biased way.

The administration’s corruption isn’t bags of cash or lies about interns; it is the distortion of our form of government by sidestepping democratic procedures and accountability and vesting authority in bureaucrats. The Administrative State…

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