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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.

GrokTV Event: GSPLPAC presents Rosa Koire on Agenda 21 – Parts 1 & 2

Behind The Green Mask: UN Agenda 21

Tuesday night, the Granite State Patriot Liberty PAC presented Rosa Koire, author of the book “BEHIND THE GREEN MASK: U.N. Agenda 21” – The Agenda for the 21st Century Sustainable Development.

She spent two hours talking about how zoning laws have been targeted by those wishing implement mandatory high density housing, the community data compiled by local towns and cities that would be used against them in attempts to “provide justice against institutionalized racism”, the attacks on personal property by calls to move to a commutarian philosophy (where the “common good” outweighs any Rights of the individual), and a forced move from personal cars to an all public transportation model.  Governance would go from elected and accountable officials to an unaccountable and unelected bureaucratic regionalism model.

Here is Part 1:

Part 2 after the jump:

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A thought on Veto Day and SB 289 – “AN ACT relative to presenting photo identification to vote in person.”

While there is a part of me that is going “Yeah, this may cut off some of the Democrat ‘advantage’ at election time” but that’s not why I am glad this has passed –  The reason is for a more open and more TRUSTWORTHY part of Government – a voter now has to present a qualified picture ID in order to obtain a ballot and vote in the State of NH.  Sure (as the critics say), you can manufacture a fake ID  – lots of high schoolers do it to by tobacco or alcohol.  Illegal immigrants buy fake IDs to get a job or other economic reasons.  The point however, is that the use of fake IDs is generally for one’s self-interest (agreed: exceptions exist).  To manipulate or skew an election takes a lot of money, a lot of people, and therefore, a lot of planning.  Much harder to do than to just walk up and give a name, take a ballot, and off you go to the voting booth.  Heck, this last election I told the election lady my friend’s name instead of mine – all the while looking at the Town Clerk in the eye (and she started to wag her finger at me as we have known each other for years and she KNEW what I was doing).

The word came down via the email list from House Republican office in the NH House that the SB 289 veto of Gov. Lynch had been overridden (text of same is after the jump).  What I noticed, though,  was any mention / the absence of the person who had been the impetus this year to get this bill passed into law.  Without him, and without his planning and his volunteers, it is doubtful that it would have had the mindshare of legislators without the publicity he generated.  That would be James O’Keefe of Project Veritas who was behind this video:

 So I let him know how I felt:

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Toadie? Or bootlicker?

From The Corner: NPR’s Horsley: By the time the President finished speaking, the rain had stopped, and a little sunshine was peeking through the clouds. That gave David O’Donnell of Portsmouth one more reason to be impressed with Mr. Obama. Rally Participant O’Donnell: See what his voice does? It clears up the weather, too. It … Read more

Quick Thought on the Supreme Decision on Obamacare

Updated Thought:  Roberts is getting a lot of grief for siding with the Liberal Supremes and finding that Obamacare was Constitutional under the taxing ability of Congress.  Putting aside the argument that the tax language originated in the Senate (instead of the House where Constitutionally it must originate), I’m mulling over the idea, given other commentary I’ve seen, has Roberts actually laid in a hidden ambush (albeit, long term) by creating a virtual dead-end canyon into which Lib Big Govt-ers are going to get led into?  I’m no lawyer, but are we seeing a “boxing in” strategy starting to appear – like a good military planner, willing to accept the short term (and perhaps, massive) losses in order to set the stage for an eventual judicial Originalist victory (with a wee bit of help from a helpful Congress)?  I can see the two sides but not the end of canyon – at least, not just yet.

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In addition to the philosophy that I am paid to work and not to blog, work is REAL busy today – and my boss keeps calling with new fires to put out.  But it is lunch time, and a couple of quick thoughts:

  • I am generally an optimist, but to be sure, at the first blush of the news, my heart sank as the immediate reaction is: Freedom is hanging by a thread – or less.  If NOTHING is done going forward, it will break.  The question still remains – how far can Government go in telling us how to live our lives legislatively?  Are we at that tipping point where we can be told to buy broccoli or be taxed if we don’t?  What is the definition of “limited Government” now?

But there ARE some good things here:

  • HUGE – Supremes finally put a stop to encroachment of Govt via the Commerce Clause. It sets the stage for a disavowal of Wickerd (that ’42 decision that denied a farmer the ability to grow his own wheat).   It also can be used to set the stage for killing off the mantra that the “General Welfare” phrase means “we can do anything we want to”.
  • The Medicaid clause has permanently killed part of the club that Congress has used for years to force States to do something against their own interest (leaving the discussion on 17th Amendment aside).  The ruling said that the Feds CANNOT cut off funds meant for the States for vastly expanding Medicaid (and then stop the funding later on but leaving the States on the hook)  if some of those States that refuse to participate in the expansion.  The Feds will have to fully fund those parts that the States now engage in – the club was to be that all the funding would be pulled.  This will have ramifications in years going forward

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Here’s the “Obamacare – I won’t raise your taxes” Tax over which Mr. Obama will send Mr. IRS to chat with you

“Under my plan, no one who makes less than $200,000, you will not see an increase in your taxes”

– President Obama

Here’s the financial penalty TAX box future that Mr. IRS will be showing you if you decide that buy healthcare insurance is not in your future.  You may try the latter but you certainly will be paying the former:

Obama Penalty Taxes

(H/T:  Patheos)

I will have to say that for a Party that is ALL about the Progressive Income Tax, this chart, created by them, shows how regressive and repressivethe Obamacare TAX is.   Those earning over $100,000 can afford the lawyer / account to help defend them if need be.  You think that the $30K wage earner can do the same? The penalty is $173.75 per month – for a lot of lower income folks, that’s a car payment.  No doubt about it – this tax will result in lower overall economic activity. And if that lower income bracket dude’s company decides it is cheaper for them to drop insurance altogether, the premium will be even more.

Let’s see – do I buy that new Obama Prius that’s been vetted by the EPA and the Fed D.O.T.?  Or do I make Mr. IRS go away by paying this new TAX?  What’s the economic good to me to have to just throw my money away in the latter case?

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GrokTV Event: Brookfield Planning Board – presentation on “Sustainable Communities Initiative” – Part 2

Ken Eyring continues and finishes his presentation of some of the paperwork that just never seems to stop once a local community signs onto the “Granite State Future Plan” (the NH adaptation of the Federal program called “Sustainable Communities Initiative”  operated by a consortium of the Federal EPA, the Federal Dept. of Transportation, and the Federal Housing and Urban Development).

Sidenote: viewed from one angle, that last department’s name is indicative of the goal – to fundamentally transform how Americans will be allowed to live by creating “urban development” villages with high density housing and just public transit: not just bringing the city to rural areas but making rural communities into “micro-cities” where everyone is forced to live together instead of the types of town NH has historically had).

Some main points, overall:

  • The endpoint has already been established
  • Local control will be a thing of the past
  • Why is taxpayer money being used against taxpayers best interest?
  • Those presenting “the plan” are not being honest – they are not upfront about what towns are about to get themselves into and not honest about the techniques being used to do so.

Part 3:

Part 4 (and last) after the jump:

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GrokTV Event: Brookfield Planning Board – presentation on “Sustainable Communities Initiative” – Part 3

Eileen Mashimo next addressed the Brookfield Planning Board and added some of the connections to some of the groups that are behind the scenes of this initiative, how the people and the groups all  interconnect, and the methods by which this “Granite State Future Plan” is being rammed through the process (it is rather manipulative).  All said and done, it is clear that those behind this do not have the standard model of democracy in mind, nor values that our Founders would agree with or give their blessing to them.

Part 1:

Part 2 is after the jump

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GrokTV Event: Brookfield Planning Board – presentation on “Sustainable Communities Initiative” – Part 1

Monday night, the Brookfield, NH Planning Board heard a presentation by Ken Eyring and Eileen Mishimo on their research concerning the Federal Government pushing their Sustainable Communities Initiative (called Granite State Future Plan here in NH, a “massive entitlement / welfare program”).  Those that are pushing this agenda are doing so by making it seem innocuous in the beginning but based on the hundreds of hours of research that Ken and Eileen have done on primary documents, it results in a virtual takeover of local communities by land use and zoning changes and collected demographic studies that are then used in lawsuits when Federal “standards” are broached by local communities (i.e., how local towns give up their sovereignty via “Federal money with invisible strings attached” and “strumg up” by their own efforts to comply with ensnaring federal regulations and mandates).

Ken Eyring from the Southern NH 9.12 Project presented first in his slow, quiet, methodical manner (hey, he’s a software engineer – what else would you expect!).  Here are the first two segments:

Part 1:

Part 2 after the jump:

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really – “bipartisan financial support”?

There is a piece in the NY Times byCampell Brown calling out Planned Parenthood for being too ideologically pure when pummeling supporters that stray from “their line”. Gay rights supporters in New York offered an instructive lesson during last year’s battle for marriage equality. Gay marriage passed in New York because four Republican legislators crossed … Read more

Voting – no ID required. So, what will it be for Obama’s Durham’s event on Monday?

“So, NH Democrat Chair Ray Buckley, are you going to stand up against the racist, class warfare attempt by the Obama Campaign to disenfranchise New Hampshire supporters?”

No word back from the Obama Campaign Staff about whether or not they are going to pay Durham’s asking price for supplying security for Monday’s event (for the campaign that raised the most money ever in 2008, $30K should be chump change, right).  So I decided to stroll on over to the NH Democrat Party to see if they had any info.  Well, not so much.

As you can see, I checked their home page – it had hardly anything.  What you see is what they had.  Pretty much – bupkis.

You know, even though his Cabinet members have been here, and his wife too, I would have thought it would have been a Real. Big. Deal!

 

So, I decided to go to their calender:

One of the biggest political events, campaign wise, for the NH Democrats, and they can’t even see fit to put President Obama on their schedule?  Boy, it seems not a heck of a lot love for the Big Guy?  Is your Press Secretary Colin Gately who kinda forgot all about the President coming inbound?

Seems to be catching – even Democrats incumbents are running away from Obama (et tu, Ray?) (The Hill via GateWay Pundit):

Three prominent West Virginia Democrats said Monday that they would skip the party’s national convention in Charlotte, N.C., this September over concerns that links to the party could hurt their re-election chances.

Sen. Joe Manchin, Rep. Nick Rahall, and Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin all said they would avoid the convention, according to the West Virginia Metro News.

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A couple of things about Organizing For America / NH that has me scratching my head

Anybody wanna buy OFANH.ORG and OFANH.COM cheap?

 

This graphic was at the front page of the NH Democrat Party website.  As part of trying to find out if the NH Dems were going to be consistent with insisting that NH Supporters should not have to present ID to get into Obama’s Durham event, given that they do not support presenting IDs for voting.

A curious thing – I followed the Please contact your local OFA-NH Office here and there were a bunch of offices listed across the state.  Like this one for Concord:   

 

 

Well, I looked at the email address and saw the domain name: OFANH.COM.  I didn’t think much of it, but being the curious kind, I decided to go visit the site, OFANH.COM.

 

 

Heh!  Not even a re-direct for the “Forget about shooting straight, this is the Gang that can’t pick up the gun”?

Here’s what I found when I decided follow it out:

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Data Point – 2012 Presidential Poll

Rasmussen puts out a daily poll on Presidential approval that I have been posting, well, a long time.  If Obama’s numbers keep going in this direction, he’s going to have a very long campaign season – and not a happy one.  A minus 22 means that 22% surpus of likely voters are signaling their disapproval … Read more

Why is it so hard to get a simple answer to a simple question; has NH Romney Victory Fund Communication Director Tommy Schultz been taking lessons from Jay Carney?

“Tell me, anyone see an answer to my original question in there?  Does anyone see a promise in there to the question I asked?  Does anyone see ANYTHING in there on illegal alien amnesty, the original topic?…This is like a Bible preaching Pastor given a zoning ordinance to influence what he preaches from his pulpit.”

We get campaign folks reaching out to us all the time – in the last few years the New Media has become more important in shaping and reporting on the news.  Certainly to the latter, we try to get off the proverbial couch and get out to the local events and provide coverage (part of our citizen journalism here at the ‘Grok).  To the latter, I still think that I like Jon Henke’s description of political bloggers and the advice he gives to politicians in dealing with bloggers (paraphased):

“Bloggers are like Pastors with a flock in their church.  That Pastor has sole control of that pulpit and does influence all those that come to listen to him make pronouncements and giving opinions that they will listen to.  Why?  They keep coming back, Sunday after Sunday, to listen for more.  They have learned to take those words and evaluate them for truthfulness; the fact that they keep coming back means they have vetted  those words.

So too with bloggers – they are not your followers and they are not your staffers.  Yes, they make like (or tolerate) you, but their first calling is to their readership and their independence.  They are the gatekeepers to the folks you are trying to reach.  Approach them as you would a Pastor –  or you may not like the result.”

Tommy Schultz, the NH Romney Victory Fund Communications Director (and yes, that is how he signs his emails; I asked if he wanted to be called Tom, Tommy or something else – he said Tommy) should have been given that advice before he called me.  He also should have listened better when I told him:

“Remember, I warned you that we go after both Rs & Ds (and savor every moment doing so).“

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Data Point – 538 polling averages for NH

Even though the national race seems to be widening (“don’t get cocky, kid!”), that may not spill over to every state.  Like I said here, the Prez race here in NH is going to be real close – a game of percentages for those Electoral College votes.  To show how close, I saw a link … Read more

ObamaCare HHS Mandate – is it safe to say that Obama wishes to discrimate against small colleges?

I’ve started to track those colleges that are having to give up offering healthcare to their students because of Obamacare.  I won’t catch them all, or even a large percentage of them, but I am seeing more notices:

Now add another – Geneva College (reformatted):

Dr. Ken Smith, president of Geneva College in western Pennsylvania, intends to pay a fine to the federal government rather than comply with the federal government’s mandate that forces institutions to provide abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization to its employers. The mandate, scheduled to be effective on Aug. 1, could financially penalize institutions for not complying with Department of Health and Human Services demands that blatantly undermine religious freedom. Placed in a challenging situation, this small, Presbyterian, liberal-arts college located in Beaver Falls, PA, will likely be forced to drop health-care insurance altogether, resulting in steep fines.

“We would rather pay the fine than violate our conscience,” Smith said in an interview with Scribe.

That fine is hefty.  Assuming the mandate stands, “There will be a significant financial impact on the college because we cannot be compelled to take action that violates our conscience. If [the fines] are over half a million dollars, we’d have to find a way to absorb that.”

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It is not enuff to vote “against someone”; at times, you need something to “vote for”

“Long term solution”: please don’t let it be a form of a Pelosi-ism: we have to vote Romney in to see what we voted for”

A bit of a continuation of my previous post, lamenting that Romney’s Comms Director, Tommy Schultz, couldn’t answer my question.  So, I went to the Romney site, Issues, Immigration to see what he had to say relative to my question:

  • A Strong Stand Against Illegal Immigration

Mitt Romney will protect legal immigration and the 4.5 million who are waiting in line to enter the United States legally by taking a strong stand against illegal immigration. He believes that illegal immigration must end and has a proven track record of advancing that goal.

OK, he’s FOR legal immigration (er, very FEW are really against that, and most of those bring up that perceived the assimilation rate is not high enough), and against illegal immigration.

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The constantly evolving Obama

If we were to have a King, I would have preferred to have George Washington: (H/T: Lucianne.com)

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