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.

IRS Scandal: TEA Party, Constitutionalists, 9/12ers, Romney donors – but they added this group to the audit list?

Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen a litany of the groups that have been targeted by the IRS simply because they are opposed to:

  • Obama’s policies and Presidency
  • a large governmental bureaucracy that continues to insert itself into more and more simply by dint of regulation (in addition to “enabling” legislation)

The entrenched bureaucracy, with a heavy list to Left / Democrat ideology, has proven Conservatives right.  They have now admitted to it, kinda non-apologized apologized for it, and now realize, with the taking of the Fifth Amendment today, with criminal intent (possibly).  But at least there was a reason – these Government workers believed that they were defending the ramparts of their castle against the barbarians that just can’t get it through their Neaderthalic heads that we all NEED Government – the more the better for all.  And make no mistake, this is a on-going, almost hot, war going between we who believe that least government is best government so as to allow for the greatest amount of personal Liberty and those that believe Government knows best for us all in how to order Society efficiently for safety and security.

They decided to “harass” those that differed from them politically – to support Obama and to support themselves.  Their version of political war (with all due respect to von Clausewitz).  But to pick on those who merely wish to adopt little babies and children; these are considered to “political battlefield combatants by Progressives?

As we get word that the IRS has harassed a number of pro-life groups, including at least one alleged demand that a pro-life group not picket Planned Parenthood, check out this statistic: In 2012, the IRS requested additional information from 90 percent of returns claiming the adoption tax credit and went on to actually audit 69 percent. More details from the Taxpayer Advocate Service:

Read more

The tolerance of cultural Marxism in the Academy? Does not go far, it seems

Institutions of higher learning, at least when I was there 30 40 years ago, they were hotbeds of discourse, ideas, and ideologies.  You had a stand – you took it, you said it, and you defended it.  Others did the same.  At the time, even if they didn’t listen, they at least gave you the time. Nowadays, Political Correctness (aka Cultural Marxism) has taken over the Academy.  How DARE you be a Conservative AND believe in God – you are a traitor to the Movement (and an evil person too!).  It is no longer enough to no longer give the opposite side time – in fact, press the pedal to the metal: there is a zero tolerance for The Other among those on campus. The Classic Western Liberalism that drove the Academy for centuries has turned into the same intolerable Illiberalism that Progressivism has brought to America (emphasis mine):

America’s great universities continue to be bastions of intolerance. They profess to prize “diversity,” which in practice means that everybody must believe the same things. The campusreform.org blog has the story of how the Northwestern University Student Senate refused to allow student Stephen Piotrkowski to become vice president of diversity and inclusion because he admits to being a white heterosexual male.

Read more

Part of the NH Advantage is local control. SB11? Not so much

  1. Does it allow Exeter and Stratham actually do that?
  2. Does it give others a “platform” on which to do other things – unintended consequences?

My background is as a software developer – not a lawyer.  However, as any one that has done any programming, the object is to first write the code that actually does what is needed (design, code, debug).  The next pass is to sit and try to think of all of the ways and permutations that users will use that programming to do their work – and how to subvert their efforts on insisting on “being stuck on stupid”.  For lack of training, unsure of the job requirements, cases of “let’s just try THIS and see what happens” to those that rub their hands in glee and exclaim “LET’S PLAY GAMES!” – one can be sure that your code will stop some of the inanities that users believe your code should otherwise handle.

Emphasis on some.  Many silly things it won’t simply because I don’t think like they do so I can’t write the software to keep them from using it “wrongly”.   To be sure, more will see what works, what doesn’t, and then will try to exploit it because 1) it is a challenge to do so, but for some idea of fun, or 2) they have an ulterior reason to exploit the system from some sort of personal gain. Get the wrong logic operator in the wrong spot (AND instead of OR, EXACTLY instead of CONTAINS) or assuming data is returned from a call in a certain format and type, and things can fizzle pretty quick.  GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) deliberately done can really hack out a system – the environment in which a program is run also effects what it can / can’t do and the results (valid / invalid) are spit out.

Laws work the same way.  Although not being a lawyer, reviewing laws can be just like reviewing a large program.  Instead of CPUs and networks, the political atmosphere into which the law is enacted is its operating environment.  And make no mistake, just as in computer systems where programs compete for scarce resources, the equivalence is all of the special interest groups hoping to gain some advantage (rent-seeking, be it for commercial gain or ideological success) in either how the law was written (re: hidden back doors, zero day exploits) or the how it can be interpreted to out-chess folks not as aware by those that seek to use it in unintended fashions.

Read more

Guest Post by Ken Eyring – a conversation on SB11

[Emphasis mine – Skip]

I wanted to share the conversation that I had with Rep. Abrami via email over the past few days regarding SB-11. I am concerned about some of the unintended consequences in the language of the Bill. These concerns are listed below.  If you agree with me, please share your concerns with your representatives.

———————————————————————————————-

From: Ken Eyring
Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 7:08 PM
To: Abrami, Patrick
Cc: ~All Representatives
Subject: Re: Senate Bill 11 — Please consider these concerns/potential unintended consequences

Dear Honorable Representative Abrami,

Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns and share your thoughts.  Per your advice, I read Mr. Johnston’s summary of the bill (which you sent to me).  With sincere respect, I believe that both you and Mr. Johnson misunderstand the concerns that I and others have raised.  I am concerned that SB-11’s language may not be interpreted in the manner which you (as a sponsor) intended.  Please give me a moment to explain.

In my previous letter, I referred to some of the text in SB-11 as amended (e.g. “waters of New Hampshire”) that I felt could be broadly interpreted to mean ALL waters of New Hampshire, regardless of source or location.  I appreciate that you agree with me that the Bill’s current statement of purpose does not focus on the true purpose — and I want to thank you in advance for amending this section on Wednesday on the House floor.

There are other areas of the Bill that I am also concerned about, and perhaps it is due to a lack of understanding on my part.  I would appreciate if you would help clarify the following concerns related to this excerpt from 31:141:

Read more

Dismantling a “positive activist government” is a bad thing?

Translation: what Katrina vanden Heuval, editor and publisher of the Far Left “The Nation” calls “a positive activist Government” I call a Progressive’s wet dream.  What she, as truly a fine example of a far Leftist, wants is a Government that is invested in every aspect of our lives and has no problem with that Government taking private property from some to give to others, believing that the Marxist ideal of “social justice” is actually written in our Constitution (a la “separation .

Who the heck am I trying to kid – these folks HATE the “negativist” (which tells government what it canNOT do, to limit government to preserve Liberty) Constitution – that scrap of paper that, according to them, should have been sent to the toilet paper factory centuries ago.  And yes, I mean that, given how a multitude of data dots are all self-connecting themselves this past week from decades of Progressivism and the Reign of Comrade Obama these last few years.  How else can you explain the verbiage from their mouths and the actions of their works?  At least vanden Heuvel is honest about it – talks AND walks the talk (easier when one is rich and “got mine” is pervasive).

From This Week with George Stephanopolous:

Ron Fournier (National Journal) – People are looking, outside of government, for their own workarounds around the Federal Government.  Millenials have a high level of civic engagement but polls show that they do not trust government.  What this means is that people like that, the next generation, are staying out of Government. That’s not a good thing.

George Will: Big Government (back at him), the best construction of the IRS, the scandal is that Big Government is impossible to monitor.  That’s the lesson of this!

Ron Fournier (National Journal) – But any government has to be trusted. These scandals are only ….

George Will: Every government has to be trusted but bigger the Government gets the bigger the distrust ought to be and will be.

Katrina vanden Heuval: But I have never understood why people that hate government go into government because we are seeing an intent to dismantle a positive activist government.  There are Millenials around this country who still see as they face  student debt and other factors, a need for a positive government that would improve the conditions of peoples’ lives.

I can tell you, Katrina!

Read more

Belknap County Conservative Republicans’ Family Fun Day – interview with Greg Moore

The last interview from the Belknap County Conservative Republicans’ Family Fun Day was with Greg Moore, the Executive Director of the New Hampshire chapter of Americans for Prosperity.  His mission as Exec. Dir., as always, is to reach out to all kinds of groups, current and new (as the BCCR group is) and let them know what AFP is all about and see if there is common ground on which the groups might be able to collaborate.

This is a three part interview (split for time, and at the end, for technical issues (er, bad cable yielding lots of static – and again, apologies to Colette Worseman and Susan Olsen for the time they spent with me graciously doing interviews which will never be heard).

Parts 2 &  3 after the jump:

Read more

Notable Quote – Robert Heinlein

Any government will work if authority and responsibility are equal and coordinate. This does not insure “good” government, it simply insures that it will work. But such governments are rare — most people want to run things, but want no part of the blame. This used to be called the “backseat driver” syndrome. – Robert … Read more

” ‘Is this still America?’ he asked him. ” But that is not the proper question

Grokster Scott had that quote from Congressman Kevin Brady at the IRS hearings:

“Texas Republican congressman Kevin Brady had the harshest criticism for Miller.

‘Is this still America?’ he asked him.

I put up the video of Congressman Mike Kelly voicing a similar tone, albeit different words:

…I am more concerned today than I was before and the fact that you all can do just about anything you want to anybody, you know you can put anybody out of business that you want anytime you want.

You talk about that you are a horribly run organization?  If you’re on the other side of the fence, you are not given that excuse.  When the IRS comes in, you are not allowed to be shoddy, you aren’t allowed to be run horribly, you’re not allowed to make mistakes, you’re not allowed to do one damn thing that doesn’t come in compliance and if you do, you are held responsible right then.”

The proper thought, the proper question is leading from  “Is this still America?” is that we all should be contemplating “is this the America of which we speak of in glowing terms the present, or the one of our past”?  Many on the Left are dumbfounded that the question is actually being asked – their answer is “Look at all the freedoms we have left!” and in comparison to many other countries, we do many more.  But that is not the proper response – the proper response is a more proper question:

“What freedoms have we lost?”

Read more

Belknap County Conservative Republicans’ Family Fun Day – interview with Don Walker

After doing GrokTALK! first thing in the morning in Concord, I headed up to Laconia to Funspot where the Belknap County Conservative Republicans were having their Family Fun Day – under the tent, free food, and opening up their arms to the public at large to talk about the Republican Party Platform, Constitutional values, and conservative values.  One example of their literature contained information on their mission, who they are, where they stand, and an answer to those that disagree that their group should even exist (full info after the jump).  While I was there, I took the opportunity to get a couple of interviews.  This first one with is long time conservative activist and co-founder of the group, Don Walker:

  

Technical note: normally I just use a shotgun mic on the camera but the ambient noise level was just too high for that configuration.  Instead, we were wearing headsets due to the noise level and then trying to pipe that into the camera via a soundboard – something I have seldomly done in the past.  Post-processing, it became clear that one of the cables used to do this went bad – I apologize to Susan Olsen and Colette Worseman as their interviews were too static-y to use, and I had to edit Greg Moore’s near the end as well.

You know, I can’t remember the last time that the “official” Belknap County Republican Committee had such an event – estimates were that between 125 – 175 people came over at some point during the day.

Our Mission:

Read more

The answer, obviously if you had been paying attention, is “Yes!” (shades of SB11)

WMURHe keeps asking, so we keep answering.  This week, Pindell finally gives an UP to the TEA Party movement, along with a question:

Tea Party: The decentralized movement got a new reason for being this week with the news the IRS was targeting them. Since they were proven right on this does it mean everyone needs to take Agenda 21 more seriously?

After all, there is a difference between being paranoid (which many have place the TEA Party because of our warning of an incipient Tyrannical Government) and being what our Founders instructed us to do: be vigilant.  The problem is that while many Americans are familiar with Hard Tyranny in other countries (e.g., Soviet Union, Iran, third world countries with Strong Man despots masquerading as Democracies) they’re blinkered when it comes to Tyranny in other forms (i.e., the soft despostism of De Tocqueville moving onward to the medium Tyranny exemplified by Atlas Shrugged; good intentions that morph in to “you WILL do it because we know it is good for you”).

Much has happened with this IRS scandal – and it is becoming clear that the IRS has institutionalized an attitude that “we are above the law”.  Combine that with a Big Bureaucracy, a Public Sector Union mentality, and almost unlimited Power, you have seen an extremely

Sidenote:  YES, finally we see a real use for the word EXTREMISTS!

biased hierarchy willing to stomp on those that are perceived as a threat – not merely as a political one, but as an existential one.  One that has to be stomp on and stomped out.

Read more

EMail Doodlings – SB11

SB11 – the bill ostensibly written to allow Exeter and Stratham to cooperate on a water system.  However, as we have written here on the ‘Grok, we have seen a lot of problems with the bill as it is too broadly written.  With the Feds and the NH regional planning commissions pushing the Federal “Sustainable Communities Initiative”, we see that as one of the possible on-ramps for totally losing that which makes NH special without any of us having much of a say so in favor of Planners’ solution to any future ill – a move from local control in towns and cities to ‘regional approaches’ (overseen, of course, by the NH Regional Planning Commissions).  Thus, I wrote to a couple of NH Senators a bit ago:

<redacted>, thanks for writing and letting us know.

To say that when Steve posted the news up on GraniteGrok about SB-11, it took my breath away – I had no idea it was even in the works. It looks just like legislation I would have expected to see coming from the Water Sustainability Comission. Why? They made it quite clear that during their “listening session” (how I HATE that phrase, as having been to some, there is no “listening” going on; only Cass Suntein style “nudging” to a determined outcome) that one of their stated aims was to remove water from being private property (“I BUILT that well”) to a publicly owned “common resource” with a handful of votes and the signature of a pen.

I crossed swords with them earlier this year – and look at the verbiage in the bill:

  • Therefore, the general court declares and determines that the waters of New Hampshire constitute a limited and precious public resource to be protected, conserved, and managed in the interest of present and future generations.
  • This requires careful stewardship and management of water and wastewater within the state
  • To maximize health and safety, ecological and aesthetic values, and the overall well-being of the people, the state of New Hampshire must enable municipalities to protect water supplies
  • In order to foster regional approaches
  • and authorize the establishment of charges to owners and users of property

Read more

EMail Doodlings – SB11 Part 2

During an email conversation, I was emailed the NH Association of Regional Planning Commissions broad legislative support document – what the local RPCs want the towns and NH Legislature to do.  Again, I looked at what SB11 was supposed to do, compared that to what SB11 will allow planners to do, and looked at the agenda of how the RPCs with to “Fundamentally Transform” NH’s lifestyle simple because they know a more “efficient” way to “guide us” – as though New Hampshire hasn’t figured out how to do this over the last 400 years by ourselves.

But, we aren’t trained Planners, are we?  When I read over the bill again, I decided to compare what it was put up to be (to make it easier to allow Exeter and Stratham to do a water system together) with how expansive it seemed on the first read through it.  And then I read the NHARPC legislative document. So, I just casually put down every disparate area down.  Once again, I was floored:

On 5/7/2013 9:20 AM, Skip wrote:
Gee:

  • Lakes
  • recycling
  • water
  • energy
  • agriculture

Read more

Schadenfreude, Mr. Morgan? Or is that just the scales falling off your eyes?

CNN’s Piers Morgan, the Brit Twit who decided that taking on Pro-Second Amendment folks during the run up to the Senate’s attempt to pass stricter gun laws to boost his ratings (er, #FAIL), is seemingly having a change of mind about it all.  You see, after poo-pooing (or screaming, taking your pick) that that these … Read more

Notable Quote – US Senator Mike Lee

“When an agency like the IRS can single out Tea Party groups; or the Department of Justice can monitor reporters’ conversations; or HHS regulators can openly extort the regulated; and there are no consequences — we are no longer citizens but subjects. It would be a mistake for Republicans to view the latest IRS scandal … Read more

Share to...
BufferCopyFlipboardHacker NewsLineLinkedInMastodonMessengerMixPinterestPrintRedditSMSTelegramTumblrVKWhatsAppXing